Eris stalked the night for food. He peeked into the Shadow Realm, hoping a certain Shadowling was not stalking him tonight. Her presence, of late, was beginning to be a nuisance. The smell of jasmine distracted him, and he looked away from the shadows. The girl was closing up a coffee shop. She thought she was safe now that the Vampyre had been disposed of. But the truth was that no one was ever truly safe.

Least of all from him.

Eris used his magic to make the lights on the street flicker. On his back, his rune throbbed. He watched the girl look around, startled as she fished around her purse, probably for her car keys. Traveling through the shadows, he slid up behind her as he continued to make the streetlights flicker.

Through the shadows, Eris stepped forth, looking more like a Shadowling than a Vampyre. Cutting the girl’s scream short, hand clamped tightly over her mouth as he dug his fangs into her collarbone, the sound of her keys hitting the floor briefly noticeable. Through the blood, he sought out her juicy memories.

Eris jumped back, involuntarily letting the girl drop to the ground. A face in her mind stirred up long-forgotten feelings of hate within. There was someone in her life who was all too familiar. Pietro.

Eris had hated him two thousand years ago. Why was he here now? How could he be here now? Picking up the unconscious girl, Eris dug through her mind, taking away the last few moments of her memory, and then sought out the name of the man who looked like Pietro. His name was Jason. Eris almost snapped her neck in his rage.

Controlling his rage, he gently picked up the girl he had so carelessly let fall to the ground, unlocking the door to her car with a wave of his hand. Gingerly, to make up for initially dropping her, he sat her in her car seat. Once she was settled and strapped in, he picked up her keys, put them in the key with the electrical rune etched on it, into the ignition, and locked the door.

“Jason, you teal-eyed fool, who are you really?”

***

Eris stood on the clock tower. The city was large and vast. This was what had become of his small village, expanded into a vast and brilliant city. He wondered if this was Naavah’s doing, as a way to make amends and repair the damage done so long ago.

“Why are you up here?” came a voice. Eris growled and stared at Shira across the landing.

“What do you want now?”

“You cut your meal short, why?”

“Because I saw something I did not like.”

Her black eyes glistened in the dark with mischief. “What?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t, but you look furious, and I would love to know what had done this to you, Eris Sintas.” The hatred in her voice and eyes was clear, especially behind her malicious smile.

Eris still watched her carefully, deciding on what to do. He could use her, manipulate her, get the thorn in his side to become more like a splinter on his finger. If the girl was going to be around, she might as well make herself useful.

“How long would it take you to find someone?”

“I am not a hound,” she all but snarled. “It could take weeks to months. There are hundreds upon hundreds of people in this city alone.”

“Can you find someone or not?”

The muscles in her jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“His name is Jason.”

“That’s very helpful,” she muttered, the sarcasm dripping from her sour disposition.

“He has blond hair and teal-colored eyes.”

“That’s very—oh, so that’s what it is. This Jason is that fool, Pietro. How amusing!” Her cold, detached laughter filled the air. Eris cut it off quickly, wrapping his hands on her throat. The hatred in her black eyes shot daggers through him.

“I don’t care how long it takes you. Take all the damn time in the world if you want, just find him!” Letting go, he took a step back, watching her as she tentatively massaged her throat.

“Are you sure Selene has not stumbled across the face of her long-lost beloved?”

“Selene would have said something,” he muttered, looking away from her and into the night sky.

“Are you sure?” Eris growled at her as she slunk into the shadows of the clock tower cast by the moon. Rolling his eyes, he walked to the edge of the clock tower and leaned against the building, arms crossed, as he stared up at the moons. What are you Gods playing at,  he asked himself, thinking of the last time the Gods had turned his life into a chessboard.