1. Aiden
AIDEN
The mirror fogged over quickly as the shower ran hot in the bathroom.
Leaning on the counter, my forearms tensed as I sighed and opened my eyes.
My reflection was impossible to see through the steam.
Turning away, I walked into the large shower and stood under the scalding hot water streaming from the rainfall showerhead.
When I woke up in a cold sweat at four this morning, I knew the next few days were going to be miserable.
I already felt like complete shit. My head was pounding, and I ached everywhere.
There was a constant tension that I could never release.
I hoped this shower would at least help me feel a bit better so I could get ready for the day.
But the ache in my lower back radiated through me.
Leaning forward, I rested my hands on my knees, letting the hot water pound on my back while tears welled in my eyes.
A soft chime sounded from the bathroom counter soon after I turned off the shower.
My hand reached out, grabbing the fluffy black towel that hung outside the glass shower door.
Once I had dried off a bit, I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked over to the counter.
My cellphone lay face down on the black marble countertop.
Flipping it over, I tapped the screen and saw a notification from my boss, Vea.
Vea
Just saw your email. No problem.
Vea
I’ll have Milo send you a link for the 9 AM when I’m in the office.
I let out a sigh of relief. Mentally, I was prepared to go into work, but I really didn’t want to have to deal with it when I felt like shit. I was lucky that Vea was so understanding.
Taking my time, I got dressed in a pair of sweatpants before leaving my room.
When I walked out into the hallway, the scent of fresh blood brew wafted from the kitchen.
My best friend and roommate, Desdemona, stood at the kitchen counter pouring the coffee into a travel mug.
Her dark black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and she wore a maroon pant suit tailored perfectly for her.
Des turned around and looked at me with wide eyes. “Yeah, I don’t think my mom is going to go for that casual of a Friday. We have to leave in like two minutes, Aiden.” She tossed her thumb over her shoulder toward the front door of our penthouse apartment.
Walking slowly into the kitchen, I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Is this the blood brew from the shop on the corner?” I asked quietly, ignoring her comment about casual Friday.
“Yeah, it is.” She answered, walking over to me. The clack of her heels was slow as she approached. “You okay?”
Des gingerly placed her cool hand on my shoulder, and I nodded. “I’ll be okay, just not feeling great this morning. I’m working from here today.”
She let out a small chuckle. “Your lack of clothes makes a lot more sense now. I know my mom loves you, but bare chest and sweatpants would be pushing it for sure.” When Des turned away, I smiled and finished fixing my coffee.
We always favored the coffee from this particular shop.
Not because we were friendly with the vampires who owned it but because they knew the best ratio of blood to coffee.
They had the recipe down, and whatever they did to mix the dried blood with the coffee grounds made for the perfect morning beverage for our taste.
“Yeah, I’m sure Vea would not be okay with this.
” I looked down at my tattooed chest and stomach and imagined just what Vea would do if I walked into the office dressed this way.
She would lose her mind. Vea was without a doubt the best boss, but I would never jeopardize the position I held within the Mortis family. Even if she was like a mother to me.
Des gathered her bag and coffee and walked to the door. “I’ll see you later then. Text me, and I’ll pick us up something for dinner. We can stay in and watch a movie or something if you’re still not feeling good.” She tossed a smile over her shoulder as she approached the door. “Love you, Aiden!”
“Love you, Des,” I called back to her as she walked out the door.
Des and I shared a penthouse apartment in downtown Noirhaven.
As soon as we were able to move into this place, we took advantage of the opportunity.
The Mortis family owned the building, and Vea offered the penthouse to Desdemona when she started working with the family.
Des immediately asked me to move in with her, and naturally I said yes.
That was almost 100 years ago now. We grew up together and have been best friends forever.
I don’t think either of us could imagine it any other way.
Walking back to my side of the apartment, I pushed the door open to my office.
It was small. The back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows that looked over downtown Noirhaven.
My desk sat to the right, and to the left were art prints and sculptures I had collected over the years.
Many of them were scattered throughout the apartment, but my favorites were here in my office.
Placing my coffee on the desk, I walked over to the window to look out into the morning sky.
Noirhaven was buzzing with morning energy.
The moon had set on the horizon, and the sky was filled with stars.
The shops and buildings were brightly lit with hues of red, orange, and pink neon that would fade to cooler tones through the day.
Noirhaven thrived in darkness, and all of the city's beings had adapted to it over the centuries.
But the neon glow of the city was what made Noirhaven special.
The glow that burst from downtown at any given hour was like nothing you could imagine.
As I took in the cityscape below, my phone buzzed in my pocket. When I pulled it out, the notification was a reminder message to check art market listings for customers of the Mortis family.
Pulling up my usual sites, I went through the various pages checking the new posts for anything that may be of interest to the beings that hired us for art acquisitions.
Most of the money that moved around in Noirhaven was spent on high-end art or Pulse.
The Mortis family controlled the market for Pulse, but the Shirogane’s controlled the art market.
Finding no new leads on the usual sites, I pulled up the Shirogane Auction House site to find they had announced an auction to be held the following week.
Clicking the link for more information, the address and time populated on the screen along with a list of artists that would be featured.
Some names stuck out to me, but none that piqued my interest too much.
A banner ran across the bottom of the page that read, “FEATURING FIVE NEW SENKETSU ART PIECES!” The banner was bright red and black and continued scrolling across the page.
Looking at the clock, it was nearly nine, so our morning meeting would begin soon.
I had to make sure Vea was aware of this as soon as possible.
Vea started the meeting promptly at nine.
After we said our good mornings, I unmuted the microphone on the video call.
“I’m so sorry to jump in first thing, but I just found something you all need to see.
” I shared my screen and scrolled down to the banner.
Vea’s eyes went wide. Her brother Viktor leaned back in his seat, turning his head to her.
“What are we going to do about this, Vea?” Viktor asked, scratching at his salt-and-pepper beard.
Vea shook her head and directed her attention to the camera. “Aiden, prepare to go to the auction. You and Milo.”
Nodding, I stopped sharing my screen.
“I’ll give you a call this afternoon, Aiden,” Milo said as he looked at me through the camera.
“Sounds good,” I replied, and the video call was dropped.
Pushing away from my desk, I grabbed my coffee and stood. My mind drifted as I walked back over to the windows to look out into the city. This city where so much was happening and no one even knew.