Underneith the Black Vail

“Leon! How could you! I can’t do this, I don’t even know him!!” I hissed completely outraged that my cousin could have me spending time with someone I didn’t even know! “I’m sorry Raven, but I’m not letting that money go to waste! You don’t get out that much anyway. Aside it takes spending time with someone to get to know them. Also I’m sure the station paid a lot of money for me to take this cruise. I would go but you know how Aunt Katie is. If I don’t show up for her, in her moment of crisis she’ll think I don’t care and we’ll have to get her committed again. Don’t worry, D’s too womanish to want to rape you.” He grinned wryly at me as he walked out the door, “I told D you’d be there to pick him up in an hour, better get packing!” And with that he left. I threw a plate at the door and it shattered.
I sighed in complete defeat and went to pack, trying to think of how I got myself into this mess…Leon was going to go on this trip to a private island somewhere by Ireland for a 3 week vacation, it had been a gift from the police department but he couldn’t go because of his freakishly unstable Aunt Katie whom lived somewhere in Washington State and of course as he stated, he didn’t want the vacation to be wasted so he sets me up. Damn him!
I cursed silently and threw a lot of books into my bag. I had to keep myself busy, and hopefully away from this ‘D’ person. I had never met him but Leon was always bitching about him…So why is he sending me on a vacation with him?! I swear to the gods that Leon doesn’t make any sense what so ever! I grumbled and slammed the door shut behind me and locked it.
I made a few stops at my ’usual’ spots to get some of my ’needs’…They would help me enjoy my trip, alone or not. Hopefully it would keep me tide over until the trip ove over. All I’d have to do is get them past the security guards, which wasn’t too hard to do really. I packed them in my coffee bean holder to hide the scent and then rolled them up in my incense carrier.
I really didn’t know why I was letting myself get into this. If I had been more firmer with Leon he wouldn’t of did this to me. I don’t know why I wasn’t more harsher, I really didn’t want to go but I owe him a lot…I’m always asking him for favors where as he never asks me for anything…we’re defiantly even now or at least we should be I think.
I reached Chinatown, I had been here quite often, I was a regular at the restaurants here. Their food was the real deal, not that a American crap they try to pass as real. I walked along and realized that Leon hadn’t even told me where the pet shop was located! He was in too much of a hurry I suppose. Well fuck, what the hell am I suppose to do now?
I figured I could ask one of the owners of the stores here where the pet shop was. I had feeling everyone knew everyone here, it was sort of a town all it’s own really. It didn’t feel like it was apart of New York for once you set foot in Chinatown, it felt like you had entered a whole new world. Chinatown was well known for it’s strange happenings and bizarre deaths that couldn’t be explained.
I entered one of the restaurants that I was well known at and looked for the owner, we were close friends, he told me where the best…well he told me things. I spotted him by the kitchen and headed toward him and waited for him to acknowledge me.
“Greetings Raven, here for your usual?” He smiled his mysterious smiled at me. I chuckled and shook my head, “ Not today I’m afraid, I’m looking for a pet shop owned by a Count D.” He looked at me strangely but still wore his smile like it was burned to his lips, “May I inquire why?” I leaned against the wall and sighed, “Because my idiot cousin Leon set me up. He was going to go on this cruise the police station was sending him on but a freak crisis came up so he’s sending me in his place. Apparently the Count was already going with him.”
He chuckled and nodded, “Ah I see, well his shop is down the street from mine.” I nodded and thanked him and headed out but before I got out of ear shot I heard him say, “Be careful, you may not know what it is your wishing for.” I frowned but didn’t ask him what he meant by it.
I found the shop, walked in, and looked around…Damn! He had more suit cases than I did! I had to latterly jump over them to get to the couch so I could set down and wait for him. I looked around, such strange animals could be seen in the cages. I shuddered, for a sec I thought I saw a person in a cage…Strange, I’m not even high right now!