Scarlett: Part IV
It was Scarlett’s favorite day of the year. The only day that she could accumulate at least five kills. She could pull off three, maybe four on a good day depending on the situation, but considering the amount of tourists on Bourbon, she was shooting for seven. Every Halloween Scarlett dressed enough to be distinctly intriguing yet still conspicuous. This year she dressed in an emerald green form fitting toga dress she ordered off the internet. She knew she would run into Dave sometime tonight and that he would get a kick out of it. Besides, what better disguise could a predator ask for than one that demands the comfort of men, the Goddess of Love. After Halloween, everything went dead silent.
The New Year came and went without incident. Scarlett hadn’t seen Cassie at all in the past few weeks and it made her uneasy. She was no longer worried about how dangerous Cassie could be, not after Halloween. She hadn’t planned to steal Cassie’s intended victim, but it was too easy. Chris had fallen like rain in Seattle. He was so genuine in his love for her that it was almost hard to do him in, but she quickly got over it. He didn’t even struggle when he realized what she was doing. It was too easy. Scarlett had broken her goal with ease. She succeeded in seducing not only seven but ten men to their deaths that night. She couldn’t wait for Mardi Gras.
It seemed that she wasn’t going to have a problem sharing her hunting grounds. Scarlett had run into more than one other predator on more than one occasion and it never really caused a problem. As long as they avoided one another without a direct invitation of war, everything would be fine. Excluding Halloween, Scarlett had followed the rules.
She was having breakfast at the Court of two sisters when the rules changed. She was sitting quietly editing photos on her out of date laptop when Cassie appeared. She sat without invitation and to relinquish tension, Scarlett let it slide. For the first few minutes they sat in silence. Finally Scarlett was fed up.
“Can I help you?” She sounded like a customer service representative that might actually care or just had nothing to do.
Cassie simply sat and stared at her a moment before a answering.
“Yes you can.” Her voice was cold as ice, “I was here first.”
Scarlett had to suppress a laugh. It was clear that Cassie was asking, telling her to leave, but a master never gave up their position to a novice.
“I can guarantee that my blood was roaming these streets before you were even born.” Scarlett made sure her tone was demeaning. Enraging Cassie further would only make for more sport. “I can understand your frustration in having a competitor whom is better than yourself at your own trade, but you forget that this is a game that has no rules.”
Cassie’s face went blank for a second but she quickly recovered. Obviously she was not used to being talked down to.
“I could turn you in.” She was overly cocky in her threat. It was a novice mistake.
“And what good would that do?” This time Scarlett let her amusement show through a massive smile, “You go to the authorities and tell them you can identify a murderer without any proof besides the fact that you know I am such because you are murderer yourself. You have no other proof.” Scarlett laughed her last five words. The result was what she had intended, Cassie was furious. Regardless of how much Cassie had prepared herself for this meeting, she obviously hadn’t prepared enough. For a moment she sat speechless slightly shaking with rage while Scarlett returned her gaze with a friendly smile. After a few moments, Cassie closed her eyes and took a deep breath; a relaxation technique Scarlett knew well. Her mother had taught her at an early age to control her emotions with a variety of breathing exercises. It was another minute or two before Cassie actually spoke.
“Obviously you think that I’m not as good as you are at our ‘trade’ as you say, but I know that staying concealed is one of the biggest concerns of our kind. If you won’t play fair or leave, I will either expose you or beat you at your own game.” Her face was stone solid serious and it made Scarlett want to laugh out loud at Cassie’s ultimatum, but she used all her power to suppress her amusement.
“Well,” She sighed as she began pulling her gloves off. “I can tell you three things. Firstly, I do not intend to leave. I like it here.” Cassie’s eyes widened as Scarlett’s hands became visible. The scarring was disgusting, but it was helping get her point across. “Secondly, there is no fair in this game. You either survive or you don’t. And third,” Scarlett took off her sun glasses, leaned in as closely as she could to Cassie, and pulled her hair behind her ear exposing her scar, “I don’t lose.”
Cassie’s eyes were filled with terror at the sight of the maimed “goddess” in front of her. The vision only lasted a second before Aphrodite was back in costume. She was definitely playing out of her league but there was no way she could fold now, not after the fact that she just openly waged war with a greater power. She felt like had just stormed Normandy. Without a word, she stood and slowly walked away; she needed to rinse the sand out of her mouth.
Scarlett smiled as Cassie walked away without a word. She was obviously chewing something over but neglected to share. Her eyes stayed on Cassie until she was out of sight. The idea of a game excited her. It had been far too long since she had any healthy competition and although Cassie wasn’t exactly what she considered competition, she would do. Scarlett spent the rest of the day wandering Jackson square taking photos and reading. Around seven she packed up her gear and headed towards Aunt Tiki’s. Dave would want to hear about the upcoming storm.
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