His Obsession

“Put that bar stool down, you mangy SOB!” Felissia snapped six hours later after the sun had set and the August Jalapeno opened its doors. The werewolf in question meekly set the stool down and returned to his seat with his tail between his legs.

Puck sat at the bar and peered at everyone in childlike amazement. There was the werewolf next to him who nearly tossed a stool at someone who had insulted him. A vampire playing chess with another of his kind at a table. Talisa was holding a weekly Wicca Club gathering in a corner with six of the members.

Never seen this many people outside stories? The Voices inquired.

Puck nodded, This place is like...

A pub? A few Voices asked as a few others added at the same time. A bar?

That fish and chips place in that romance novel one of you were talking about. Puck replied. You know, the one about the knight and the serving wench. What is a serving wench anyway?

The Voices snickered or groaned.

Puck, this place and the one in the novel are called pubs. They serve food and drink here. The Voices replied.

Okay, so what about wenches? What are they?

A few of the Voices snickered as a few others groaned and discussed amongst themselves Puck’s naivety.

Felissia noted a vague look in Puck’s eyes as she wiped down the bar and wagered he was speaking with the Voices. He was still watching everyone around him in fascination but there was something that wasn’t completely focused on them. She watched as Puck frowned and motioned to her. She came over and noted he barely touched the water she had left for him.

“Miss Felissia, what’s a wench?” he inquired innocently. “The Voices, they’re too worried about ‘virgin ears’.... whatever that means... to answer me.”

Felissia snickered, seeing the Voices’ point. “Now what brought this question along?”

“Puck was told a story about a place that reminded him of Miss Felissia’s pub. It had a knight and a wench.” He frowned. “But Puck doesn’t know what a wench is and the Voices won’t tell him. So since Miss Felissia has a pub, she must know what a wench is.”

The vampire sighed, “It was a romance novel, wasn’t it?”

Puck nodded, “It had fish and chips...”

“I doubt that was what the story was about...”Felissia muttered. “Anyway! A wench is what peasant women were called in the Dark Ages. They were basically waitresses.”

“Is Miss Felissia a wench? She brought Puck and other people drinks and food.”

The werewolf seated next to Puck snickered and put a friendly arm around him with a grin. A moment later, he removed it meekly as Felissia shot him a nasty look.

“Wenches are also what the men of that time called prostitutes.” She told the younger vampire wryly. Puck had the sense to look embarrassed as a patron stomp through the door and up to the bar.

“O positive baijiu, now.” Growled a familiar voice as he slammed a massive hand down on the bar. Suddenly pale in the face, Puck followed the fist on the bar up to its connecting massive arm and shoulder to the face of a man who haunted his nightmares.

“Luk Jiang, it has been awhile.” Felissia greeted mildly. “Don’t tell me your usual haunt doesn’t carry your favorite.”

“My usual haunt is crawling with fucking cops.” Luk snapped as he sat down beside Puck, who was beginning to shake uncontrollably.

“Everyone likes to play once in awhile.”

“Why is the Black Widow crawling with police?” Felissia inquired as she knelt down and brought up with her a ceramic bottle of O positive blood laced liquor.

“Black Widow, it’s a new club. Gothic joint full of fun, dancing and drinks.” Maeve’s voice said inside Puck’s mind. He clasped his hands over his ears with a whimper. The werewolf next to him looked over at him concerned.

“Some big shot human’s children were hurt there so they’re trying not to look like asses.” Luk sneered. “Election year, y’know.”

Felissia poured the vampire a shot glass full of the pink liquid with a knowing nod and slid it to him.

Luk tossed the drink back and winced, “If you ask me, those brats were askin’ for it.”

Those words were the last straw for him. With an animalistic growl, Puck hauled back his fist, putting the full force of his body and all the strength he could behind the punch aimed at Luk’s jaw. The strike sent the unsuspecting man flying across the room and into an empty table.

“Shut the fuck up!” Puck screamed snapping to his feet as the werewolf in the next stool uneasily got up and away from him. Felissia was up, over the bar and placed herself between Puck and Luk instantly as the bar went disturbingly silent.

Luk pulled himself from the table’s wreckage and slowly rose to his full six foot plus height. He licked away some blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at the white haired teen who had dared to hit him.

“Puck.” Felissia warned noting a suspicious lack of awareness. The Voices are making Puck not notice the blood.

“Puck, huh?” Luk growled cracking his knuckles menacing like. “Well, all we need now is some sticks and I can play some hockey.”

From across the room with her friends huddled around her, Talisa sensed the violence she had felt when she first scanned Puck focus itself on a target. She tried to recall everything heard about Luk Jiang and think of why the subdued violence inside her friend would focus specifically on him.

“Puck knows what you did.” He told the larger vampire. “You held him down, let your friends hurt him. Puck can still hear him screaming. The Voices try to muffle his cries, but Puck still hears Mikel.”

He’s one of Puck’s creators! Talisa and Felissia realized at the same time.

“Get outta my place, now!” Felissia shouted at Luk as he advanced on Puck. When the bigger man looked to about to argue, she only had to point toward the door and at least two of the other patrons equal to Luk’s size and strength got up to escort the vampire out the door.

“You may be tough shit with these beer starved losers, Gray.” Luk shouted as he marched toward the door. “But...”

“Get out!” Puck screamed as the room went abruptly glacial and every glass in the bar cracked. Luk left with an unimpressed snort.

Everyone kept their distance as Felissia guided Puck away upstairs.

“Did you feel that big cold draft?” one of Talisa’s friends asked as the room filled with speculative muttering.

“It was as if someone walked over my grave.” Another murmured.

“Or a bunch of ghosts coming to a friend’s aid.” Talisa replied with a frown.
************************************************

“Do you want to talk about it?” Felissia asked as they sat next to one another on her bed. Puck was staring at the place where he picked at the blankets and shook his head.

“Puck..” Felissia was silent when the young man looked up at her curiously. She sighed, “Even though we’ve just met, you know if you need anything, you can come to me or Talisa right?”

“Puck knows.” He replied with a smile. “Witchy Poo and Miss Felissia are Puck’s friends, friends help friends.”

Felissia grinned and playfully ruffled his hair. “Yes, friends help friends.”

Are you busy? Asked a single voice inside Puck’s mind. The vampire froze and listened. I was hoping you could, if you weren’t busy…but you seem busy….

Puck is not busy, what is it you need, Puck inquired.

My daughter, we were in a wreck and she blames herself for…my death. The voice sounded confused on the last part as if it couldn’t accept the apparent truth that it was dead. I can’t, go into the light, pass onto whatever. I can’t rest with her believing it’s all her fault.

Puck understands, he replied and said aloud, “Puck will go to hospital.”

Felissia watched him dimly amused as he rapidly explained the circumstances and exactly where he was going. It was rather polite for him to enlighten me, even though I can tell when he’s talking to Them, she thought as he leapt off the bed and went racing off to Talisa’s room for shoes.

“Be careful while you’re out.” Felissia told him as he slipped on his boots. “Luk Jiang isn’t one to forget a grudge.”

“Puck will be careful.” He replied with a gleeful smile.

The Hospital of St. Mercy’s Eternal Trust was a bright monument rising three stories in the night sky. Its facilities housed doctors with an excess of specialties, equipment to perform these duties and patients. A hospital always had patients.

Puck was not interested in the people sitting in the waiting room, anticipating news concerning loved ones…or a physician to attend to them. He slipped past those in emergency room, away from dull eyed attendants filling out paperwork and answering phones and onward toward his mission.

She was no older than thirty, curly dark hair breaking out from where the bandages around her head didn’t quite meet. Her eyes were glassy, shell-shocked from the news of her father’s recent passing. With the knowledge that it was all her fault.

“You know,” Puck said as he stepped into the room. “It really isn’t your fault.”

She looked up at him and watched silently as he came to kneel by her side. He listened to something for a moment to something only he could hear before continuing.

“Your father’s aneurysm wasn’t caused by announcing the Vegas wedding. It was because of his weight and high blood pressure. It was unlucky timing that it ruptured right then and there.”

“A-an aneurysm..killed Daddy?”

“Yes.” Puck confirmed. Then he smiled “And he wasn’t all that shocked that you got married. Back in Vegas, when you weren’t looking, your hubby phoned him and ‘fessed up.”

The woman’s eyes began to become clearer. “How do you…?”

“He wants you to know he’s happy for you, that he approves of your husband and hopes for the best.” The vampire sighed as he rose to his feet. “He won’t be at rest until you’re okay. So quit blaming yourself. Think of only the cheerful stuff, be okay and live happily for him.”

She watched him walk out of the door, unable to get the stranger out of her mind. His bizarre yet simple words left her feeling as if a terrible weight had been lifted from her. The light that shone in his eyes didn’t seem completely due to insanity. It was almost as if he were a messenger sent by her father to offer her the peace she so desperately needed.

That went very well, Puck! The Voices cheered as the vampire left via the emergency room entrance. Never knew you were that good of a public speaker, did you?

“Puck was so nervous!” he replied with an edgy laugh. “Puck kept thinking daughter was going to scream and throw him out.”

Just because a few people before…

“Few people?! At least ten people Puck was trying to help tossed him bodily out their doors!” he exclaimed as he walked out onto the parking lot. The Voices paused , gathering similar thoughts and ideas before responding moments later.

You hadn’t taken a bath in weeks and kept listening to Them instead of us. What did you expect would happen?

Puck stopped and inhaled a deep breath to begin his long and emotional answer before a fist out of nowhere drove itself into the soft spot where his teeth met his jaw. The force of the jack hammer like blow send the vampire flying backwards, seeing white little stars before even landing.

“Holy shit.” He groaned, tasting a vaguely familiar copper liquid and heard something snap back into place over the insistent noise coming from the disjointed Voices.

“What the..” Puck mumbled untangling his limbs.

Luk Jiang! The dead finally spit out as one coherent unit as the young vampire blearily peered at the menace stomping toward him.

“Hello Jingle Jiang’le.” Puck greeted once Luk hauled him to his feet by his shirt. “You are aware Puck is not the hockey type of Puck, right?”

Luk heaved a meaty fist back to strike the white haired vampire again but paused, clearly surprised and uncertain as to what to do with him. Due to his playful banter, Luk could understand Puck was obviously insane. But the things he said at the pub…

“Puck knows what you did. You held him down, let your friends hurt him.”

Luk wasn’t an intelligent man but even he knew that witnesses, especially crazy witnesses, had to be put down. But then he recalled the blast of cold air and realized exactly how hard they both struck one another.

“Jingle Jiang’le noticed something.” Puck said with a mischievous grin, his eyes suddenly lacking even a hint of consciousness. “Did he notice this?”

The Voices jerked their marionette’s strings and in a flash of movement, had Puck shift in close and tore into his throat with his sharp fangs. Immediately Luk forced him backward into a defensive crouched with a mighty shove.

Puck chuckled, “Now doesn’t this bring back memories, eh?” He lapped up the blood around his mouth with his serpentine tongue.

“Let’s see, how did it go from there?” He rasped. “Oh yes, you let the others do most of the talking but when you did speak, we remember what you said. How did it go? Everyone likes to play once in awhile. ”

Luk’s face drained of color. “No way…”

“Oh yes Luk,” Puck chuckled. “Your handy work created a monster that night... and it’s about to kick your ass!”