Free Jaded Touch (Vesper) by Nola Sarina

Lower than the serpent crawling upon the filthy ground.
     

 
     
    Duty
    The Original Child scowled at me with her serpentine, oily features. Of all the Vespers, she always seemed the least human. Her bald head, black tongue, and refusal to speak set her apart from the rest of us, though she still bore our typical fangs, black eyes and veins over her pallor. She hated putting her Daywear on, and I couldn’t blame her.
    “Please?” I asked as we stood in the crisp, nighttime air outside our Crystal Palace. To the train men, the term Crystal Palace meant home. To us, it meant both home and an actual crystal palace. It glittered in the moonlight behind the Original Child as I held out her black leather hood, the match to the rest of her clothing.
    She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at me. We didn’t usually require her to wear her Daywear for travel on the Defensor, but the Gents were extra jumpy and Vashni advised us not to piss them off.
    “Come on. It’s just for extra protection since a train got blown to shit. Help me out here.”
    The Child scoffed and looked away, and I rolled my eyes.
    “Give that to me,” Rachel snapped with a flick to my bottom scar. I stiffened as red rage spread across my vision, and let her snatch the hood out of my hand. Seething, I turned away. It was one thing to have the Original Child witness the aftermath of one of my rages. It was entirely another to have her so close to such violence, and I wasn’t sure my Lady Vashni would ever forgive me for it.
    “Here, sweetie,” Rachel crooned in a horrible, baby voice that made me want to regurgitate a body. “Let’s zip you up.”
    I glanced over my shoulder and the Child met my eyes for a moment. She looked back to Rachel and slapped the hood away, baring her fangs. I turned to smirk with triumph at Rachel and bent to pick it up, and the Original Child held patiently still while I slipped it over her head and zipped it on tight.
    Vashni emerged from her invisibility behind the crystal walls and stepped forth into the night. Her dark features were highlighted by white feathers woven into her long, twisted brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders, half-covering impressive cleavage tucked into a form-fitting, crimson silk gown that pooled around her ankles when she stopped. She bent to kiss her Child’s head once, and the little, mute Vesper – daughter of the Original Immortals – gave her mother a thumbs-up.
    Vashni straightened and searched in the dark, and we followed suit. Through the shadows moved two black figures, sliding forward with the grace of serpents and the strength of men. I knew Sychar’s posture the moment I saw him, even though he wore full Daywear. The other Vesper beside him I assumed to be Festus, and confirmed my suspicions when he peeled off his mask to face my Lady. His dark hair had grown shaggy by his ears, and I wondered if that was because he was missing a pair of clippers. I struggled to hide my smirk at Sychar for the clever theft.
    They stopped and both dropped to one knee, presenting themselves for service in a formal bow. Vashni hummed with pleasure and they rose to their feet. I unrolled my hood from its sleeve around the back of my neck and pulled it over my face, the built-in black goggles only slightly obscuring my vision. I zipped it closed around my neck and yelped when I caught one of my black curls in the zipper. Sychar snorted, and I would have laughed, too, but my sisters took his noise for mockery rather than jest, and burst into peals of taunting laughter. I held my head high and tolerated it with more grace than they deserved.
    “I’d like to remind all our faithful guardians of the importance of your safe journey,” Vashni said, her alto voice ringing through the trees. “With my Child’s continued survival the human race survives, as well. As cursed by the serpent in the Garden, Levitiqas and I both beg your flawless service this night. Should she perish,” Vashni