100: Basson

Canopies of large willow trees hung lowly over a beautiful, crystal clear body of water, on top of which, delicate pink waterlilies floated amongst flat green lily pads. Now and then a rusty coloured crab would peek its head from the water and rest against the wet riverbank then crawl sideways against the soft sand of the riverbed.
“When we were younger, my brothers and I would come here all the time. All three of us would sit for hours right by this very riverbank and we’d try to catch fish…” she then sighed before shaking her head and then turned towards me, saying, “Sorry to drag you into my day of doom and gloom. In the first few days of the festival, it was all so new to me. I couldn’t quite process the loss of my siblings. But as the days passed by and I wandered this city by myself, it began to dawn on me… my brothers are really gone. After all of these centuries, they’ve left me. I guess I just feel so alone.” As she said this, I felt compelled to reach out and place my hand on her shoulder. Loneliness wasn’t a foreign concept to anyone. We have all felt lonely at one stage in our lives. However, loneliness which was attached to the loss of people who were once prevalent in your life was arguably one of the most painful types of loneliness.
We spent more of the day soaking in the scenery ahead of us and talking, and while we did, Kyle and Darren spent the day avoiding us by either leaving us to get us coffee or food or beverages. But at some point, they ran out of excuses and wound up sitting with Samantha and me.
“So… Phoenix, what have you spent your week doing?” Darren asked as he leaned back on his hands.
I was surprised by his pleasant tone of voice and his brother, Kyle, was even more surprised. However, I soon realised that Kyle was more angered and disturbed than shocked.
“You aren’t really trying to make small talk with… that, are you?” He asked.
Darren rolled his eyes before giving a shrug and saying, “What does it matter? Sooner or later we’re all going to die and then it won’t matter that we’re vampires and she’s a hybrid.”
But unfortunately, Kyle didn’t have the same outlook as his brother and so he huffed before he turned away from me. I didn’t pay him much mind, instead I focussed my attention back on Darren.
“I’ve been searching around for a friend of mine. Felicity.” I then paused before raising a brow and trying my luck, asking, “have any of you seen her around?”
Samantha and Darren both shook their heads and Kyle ignored my question.
“Why do you ask?” This came from Darren who eyed me curiously.
I shrugged before telling him that I wanted to spend some time with her. It wasn’t a complete lie.
Admittedly, I was disappointed in my lack of ability to find out where Felicity was, and I had also realised that I was going to get nowhere near Basson if I had to get to him through Darren and Kyle… that was until Darren suggested that we spend the rest of the evening at a nearby hangout spot- the Elderflower. And in that moment, I knew that the Moon Goddess had to have been on my side and that I couldn’t pass an opportunity such as this one up.
“That’s a great idea! I could use a drink, I’ve spent too much of this day sober,” Samantha said.
Darren then turned toward me and raised a brow; his way of asking me whether or not I was in.
“Sounds good to me.” I said.

***

I soon realised why the three of them were quite alright with me coming along to The Elderflower. The place was quiet and so they didn’t have to worry about hiding me. It was situated at a closed-off street corner and had two stories. The second story of the building had an outside balcony which was covered in beautiful strings of vines which flowered large, bright pinkish and orange blossoms. They even hung from the ceiling and sometimes wrapped around the ceiling lights. The furniture was made of cherry wood and polished to perfection. We were tended to by a waiter named Craig who was a lanky man with a head of dark brown curls and dark eyes. He was hesitant when we arrived at first- his hesitancy stemmed from me- but once he had received a reassuring nod from the manager of this place, he seemed to relax slightly.
Once we were seated, I began to wrack my brain for a way to get to Basson. It wasn’t until they ordered their first round of drinks that an idea made its way into my head. I had a better chance of asking the twins about him if they were a little drunk. And so, I waited until about the fifth round of drinks before trying my luck.
I leaned in carefully before lowering my voice, saying, “I hear that someone here supplies vampire drugs…”
It was just a fishing line with a bit of bait. I wanted to see if either of them would bite before I went any further.
“Oh, Basson! I didn’t think you were the type to dabble in vampire drugs, Phoenix,” said Darren. Kyle had no interest in what I had to say and immediately turned towards Samantha and started talking to her instead. But I didn’t mind because it became apparent to me that Darren was more than ready to help me.
“Basson only deals with people he trusts… but he trusts me so perhaps I could convince him to get you what you want.”
And I’m not sure whether it was the drinks or a genuine gesture, but Darren smiled at me. Admittedly I was taken aback by it, but I returned his smile and said, “Yes that would be great, thank you.”
He took another sip of his drink before tilting his head to the side and motioning for me to follow him. I followed carefully as we walked towards the bathroom. I was sceptical at first, but that all changed when Darren tapped at one of the wooden planks in the wall. It shifted and then a few other wooden planks folded together, making a large opening in the wall. Beneath that opening was a door which Darren knocked on thrice before entering. It led to a large, dimly lit room, one which smelled heavily of roses and the sweetness of wild berries. The walls of the room were lined with trays of flowers which seemed to be thriving in this darkness, and a few trays of random items of stationary here and there. In front of us was a square shaped hole in the blue carpeted floor filled with neatly stacked boxes. The boxes at the top were opened up and with in them were vials of various luminous liquids. Further in the room was a large wooden desk, atop of which were more boxes, smaller ones, and next to them were stacks of papers and a few more random pieces of stationary. The person who sat at this desk was covered in shadows and sat cross-legged on his cushioned recliner chair.
“Basson, I have a new customer for you today,” Darren said as we got closer towards his desk.
Curious, I strained my eyes to see him a little closer and make his features out. Luckily, I didn’t have to work too hard because in the next moment, he stood up from his chair and then stepped closer into the light of the room. His hair was long and bright red and tied neatly at the back of his head with a white silk ribbon. He had small, sharp features and his eyes were almost a violet-like shade framed by thin brows. He was tall but well-built and when he walked, he did so with confidence.
He sniffed the air for a moment before frowning and gazing down at me, but when his eyes met mine, they softened.
“Phoenix Ackerman. What an honour it is to meet you.” He then bowed slightly and shortly afterward straightened. His facial expression had now changed, and he looked a little sterner. “But I’m afraid I don’t deal with outsiders.”
I was more than a little pissed off. I had wasted my entire week trying to find answers and now when I was just a step away, he refused to help.
“Look here, I won’t take no for an answer!” I said, not even caring that my voice had a sharp edge to it.
But Basson didn’t respond well to my persistence. “Don’t you dare raise your voice at me. You might be popular here amongst the Tenebris locals, but you’re just a noble bitch to me.”
I was just about to lose it, just about to give into that werewolf side of me that I had been suppressing for so long when Darren surprisingly placed a hand out in front of me, stopping me from going on any further.
“Please Basson… i-if you won’t deal with her, then deal with me. I’ll take responsibility for whatever she asks you for and I’ll pay for it all too.”
I couldn’t even muster up any further words, Darren had left me stunned. But I wasn’t the only one. Basson stood there gaping for what seemed to be an eternity before he started to nod.
“Fine.” He said with a sigh and then looked down at me before asking what I had come here for.
I hesitated a moment before regaining my composure and asking, “A silverish drug.”
He raised a brow. “Silverish drug? You don’t know what it’s called?”
I shook my head, no and then said, “I was hoping that you could help me with that.”
He sighed and then shook his head. “There is only one type of drug that I deal with which is silver, and it’s not a drug per se. We call it Liquid Moonlight. I’m not too sure what it does, but when I first received it from my supplier, I was told not to use it on myself nor to give it to anyone who did not ask for it. Technically you asked for it, you just didn’t know its name so I’m not really doing anything wrong here.” As he spoke, he made his way towards the square hole in the ground and started removing boxes from it. And as he did, I began to wonder who else bought this stuff from him. So, I asked, half expecting him to refuse to answer me. But I was surprised when he actually did.
“A few people in town now and again. But rarely. That’s why it’s so expensive.” Basson then stopped and opened one of the boxes that he took out from the hole. From it he removed a cylindrical box which he opened and removed from it a large vial of silver liquid and with it, a syringe. He then bound the items in some wrapping paper and tied it with some string which he retrieved from one of the shelves against the wall. He held it out for me, and I took it in my hands, eyeing it in wonder.
“That’ll be roughly a hundred thousand.” I gazed up at Basson astonished as he placed his hand out expectantly.
“Here you go!” Darren said, placing the money in his hand. I didn’t expect him to fall through on his promise to pay for me.
“You don’t have to!” I protested.
“What are you going to pay with, huh?” He said with a smile. I couldn’t argue with him any further, because the next thing I knew, we were walking out of the room.
“Goodluck…” Basson said before we left, “And if you ever need anything, Phoenix, you’re always welcome here.”
I was happy that I made a friend, but even more happy that I had finally gotten what I had been searching for. All that was left was to bring it to Demetri.
“You didn’t buy that to use on yourself, did you?” Darren asked as we made our way into the hallway outside of the hidden room. I froze the moment he said it and began to think up ways to answer him. But as I gazed up at him and looked into his eyes, I saw something that I hadn’t before and immediately I knew that I could trust him.
“No, it’s not for me. I’m trying to figure something out-”
“-about David?”
How did he know about David? I was just about to ask him when he interrupted me. “Why don’t we go for a walk? I’m sure that by now Kyle and Samantha are shitfaced.”
“Shouldn’t we make sure they get home alright then?” I asked, worried.
He chuckled before shaking his head. “So naïve. They’re nobles and this is Tenebris. They’re as safe as can be.”
I thought about his offer for a moment or so before my curiosity got the better of me and so I agreed and followed closely as we made our way towards the exit of the restaurant which had now become slightly busier than earlier.
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Yay! We've made it to chapter 100!!
Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love and a belated Happy New Year to you all!