JACKL Inc. Ch. 01 - New Beginnings

Kevin was a prick.

He looked like a burnt out surfer. His curly hair was like an attempt at a Caucasian Afro. A mishmash of Bob Ross or Simon Garfunkel when he had hair. Either way it was absurd. He looked like he had smoked too much weed, and dropped too much acid. But that was just his mask.

Underneath he was a white collared, type-A prick.

He just happened to be the most powerful fae in the region, and he liked to hold dominion over all of us like it was his god given right. Fucking thing was, it was his right. Gaia had chosen him to keep the peace with the mundane. She was a fickle bitch, but no one wanted to mess with her. So Kevin had his little fiefdom, and the rest of us played our parts as his chattel.

"Nah, man," I said, "I'm cool, still on the wagon," I tapped my forehead, "keeping all my fantasies up here."

"You look a bit on edge," Kevin said tilting his head to watch me closely, "Can I help you? I can get you a room for a weekend, stock it with some surplus blood bank pints."

"Fuck no," I said, "That shit is like piss, full of all the... No, that wouldn't help me, Kevin."

"So you do need help," Kevin said.

He managed to keep his superiority complex in check, barely,

"What can I do?," he asked, his eyes intense, "I don't want to have to find out you've murdered five people in Pacific Beach on Monday."

Fucker was always up in my dreams.

"Pft," I tried, but the look in his eyes betrayed that he nailed me.

"PB? Man, that's tapped out," I started, then changed tack, "Look Kevin, I'm alright. I think I might head out to the desert and find some coyotes. Take the edge off. Maybe a cougar - the mundanes are freaking out about big cats on their jogging paths."

"Call Jake," Kevin offered, "Take him with you, he can be a good sounding board. You shouldn't have to try to keep sane by yourself. We want to be a community."

"Yeah," I lied, "I'll do that."

Maybe if I just parroted back what he wanted to hear, he'd leave me be.

"Great," Kevin said, and picked up his menu, "I'll check back in with you on Monday."

I knew when I'd been dismissed. So I slipped out, and left the cantina or whatever the fuck the joint was called. I was in a worse mood than when I joined him. I found a bus that was headed to Pacific Beach and hopped on. Dropped a couple of coins and headed to the back of the bus.

Cute little surfer chick was two seats in front of me. Two stops later I was beside her, and greeted her with a smile.

"I'm Vlad," I said, smiling at her.

"I'm Tiffany," she said, "do you live around here?"

"You could say that..." I smiled and lowered my sunglasses. She was soon entranced by my eyes.

She was short a bit above five feet tall. Blonde hair, tanned flesh. I let my eyes wash over her. Her bikini top did little to cover her full breasts, and prominent nipples. Her cut off shorts were a little dated style wise. I could tell she loved the ocean. Her whole persona was surf culture - tats, piercings, tanned, sun bleached hair, and only a little make up.

And her heart... such a sweet little beat.

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"It's a ways down, in PB," she smiled, "a little apartment a few blocks off the avenue, would you like to see it?"

"Sounds like a blast," I said, "I have nothing to do this afternoon."

"Is that so?" She smiled and arched her breasts, "I might be able to think of something, or someone you could do."

I grinned, the slutty ones were always the most fun.

In three hours she was a hollow shell. I sucked her dry after we fucked. The first bite was a bad idea. After just a taste of her I gorged, I couldn't stop until she was empty.

It was just barely getting dark, and the taste of her blood made me crazy with more thirst. I looked out the window.

I watched a black couple walk past the end of the apartments. I slipped out of Tiffany's apartment, leaving the door unlocked. I stalked the couple in the dusk. They turned into the building next door.

I slipped behind them as they walked up to their apartment. I killed the male by snapping his neck, then pulled the woman into their apartment. My bite stunned her before she could scream.

I dined slowly, wanting to make this last. I could feel the pitchforks closing in. I'd have to enjoy this night.

An hour later, the pair were sucked dry. I drained him first, forcing her to watch, paralyzed in fear. She fainted before I even started sucking, took all my fun away. I can be an asshole.

I was still hungry. A pair of hearts were beating close by. Just on the other side of the wall.

They were fucking, I could tell. Their heart beats a frantic thrumming of increasing lust, and need.

I had needs too.

It was easy to burst through the wall into their bedroom. I snapped his neck to keep him from interfering. I stunned the girl with a bite, before she could scream. I sucked him dry while he was still in her forcing her to watch, then drained her body as well.

I was fucked.

I called Jake.

"Jake, bro," I said, "I'm in a bind."

Kevin showed up fifteen minutes later. I was already bound by charmed ropes from the clean-up team. Sammi was pacing back and forth. She was talking on the phone, making her plans, scheming.

Kevin looked at me, tilted his head for a moment, then rammed the stake through my heart without a word. I shrieked in pain, then the darkness swallowed me.

—————

Rick - Present - Estate

My phone beeped at 7:30AM.

I opened my eyes, the room was dimly lit by the overcast skies over the ocean. I couldn't remember where my phone was.

It kept beeping.

"Rick, make it stop," Celia groaned beside me.

I slipped from beside her and slid to my feet, my toes probing the carpet. My trousers from last night were on the floor beside the bed. I kicked the pile lightly and felt my phone. I pulled up the pair of trousers, and extracted my phone, then turned off the alarm.

Celia sat up and crossed her legs, looking at me tiredly.

I could relate.

"C'mon," I said, with a grin, "Let's shower and make ourselves presentable for breakfast."

"A shower does sound nice," Celia said, and I helped her off the bed.

Of course the bathroom shower had a view of the ocean. As long as no helicopters passed by, it was an enticing view. We lathered each other up and then rinsed each other off. A fair share of kisses and gropes. Then we toweled off and dressed in our clothes from last night. Neither of us had thought to bring a change of clothes.

I went to relieve myself, realizing I hadn't seen Sammi yet.

As if on cue, there she was, popping into the bathroom as Celia was coming back in to brush her hair.

"Sorry!" Sammi said, with a blushed smile.

"We need to work on boundaries," I said, looking apologetically at Celia.

Celia surprised us both and hugged Sammi tight, "Did you sleep well?" she asked, before finding a brush and working the tangles from her hair.

"Not really," Sammi confessed, "I never sleep well in mundane beds, and the pool isn't the same as my bay."

"We were just coming to meet you," I smiled, "You couldn't wait five minutes to see me?"

"Welllll..." she smiled, and winked at Celia, "I thought I'd come and escort you both, see if there was anything you needed. I know last night was a little busy. Did either of you have questions?"

"Who are these people," Celia blurted, "Are they related to Hertz? This place is amazing."

"I did want to give a bit of background, actually," Sammi said, "The Jackson's company is called JACKL Inc. The initials of the first five members of their family. Jeremiah, Alyssa, Kelly and Carmen you've met. The L is Lexi. Three of them, Aly, Kelly and Lexi are Fae. Jeremiah is a halfling. Carmen is the sweetest human being ever."

"You called them a family?" Celia asked, "If Kelly is married to Jeremiah, how are the rest related."

"They are a polyamorous family," Sammi said, "Kelly and Jeremiah have the legitimate marriage, but they all consider themselves as committed to each other."

"That's fascinating," I smiled, and looked at Celia and Sammi smiling.

"Don't get any ideas, Romeo," Celia laughed.

"They've been together for over twenty years," Sammi said, "They have two children Zac and Naomi, they are both halflings, you saw her for a moment last night. There are also six more females who make up part of their family. It's very unique."

"Ratio seems a bit off," I mused, then connected the name, "I met Lexi last night too, and Brooke."

"Yes, that's right" Sammi said, "Brooke is another Fae, a dryad — tree nymph."

"That explains the log to the chin," I mused, rubbing my jaw.

"You're not making any sense," Celia said.

"You had to be there," I said, and changed the subject, "What does their company JACKL Inc., do exactly."

"To the outside JACKL is a property management firm," she said, "If you paid attention to any of the things I gave you, Rick, you'd have noticed that the Fairview Apartments are owned by JACKL Inc."

"So I it's their legitimate front," I said, "What do they really do?"

"That's what this meeting is for, Rick," she smiled, "They want to enhance the relationship between fae and mundane. The venue, we really need a name for it, is part of their overall plan. They will also brief you, and they want to bring you into JACKL formerly."

"Wouldn't all fae be a part of JACKL?" I asked.

"No," she said, with a thoughtful frown, "Not all fae see this as a good thing. Remember most fae are unaligned with light or dark, and are often distrustful of humans. The dark fae beings want power, and to enslave humans. Jeremiah sees you as someone that can help unite and grow the light fae faction."

"You sound like the pilot of a Netflix movie," Celia smiled, "All y'all are geeks and nerds, tell me the truth."

"I know," Sammi giggled, "It can sound a bit nuts, can't it."

Then Sammi looked back at me, her eyes serious.

"Rick," she started, "You do need to know about Kelly."

"The blonde, Jeremiah's wife?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "Well one of the blondes, there are a few," she waved her hands and shook her head to get back on track.

"Kelly is a full fae succubus," she continued, "but she is frightened of her full fae form. Also succubi use their magick differently than male incubi. Succubi have an aura, a sphere of power that can enhance their effect. Male incubi have, as you know, strong pheromones."

"What about the kid, the halfling," I asked, "Is he like me?"

"That's the thing," Sammi said, "as a halfling, he inherited his mother's power, so his allure is like his mother's - aura based, not nearly as strong pheromones as you. He doesn't have a fae form."

"So what are you telling me?" I asked Sammi.

"Kelly is unfamiliar with your true form and may see you as a threat," Sammi cautioned, "The only times she has ever been in her true form is when she's been threatened. If she sees you as a threat, she might shift to attack you."

"So don't reveal your form, lover," Celia said, "Save it just for me."

"I like his form too," Sammi smiled and winked at Celia, "but, that is going to be impossible. To join JACKL formerly, you have to demonstrate your true form, and be cataloged in the database."

"I thought Tiff had, like, a sample of me." I said, "Doesn't that qualify?"

"Her samples are before you fully transformed, remember?" Sammi said, "Beside me, Celia, and Aisha, no one has seen your true form."

"Aisha?" Celia asked.

"Took her shopping," I said with a shrug.

"Ah," Celia chuckled, "I want to go shopping..."

"Let's not get distracted," Sammi reminded, "Let's go have breakfast. When the meeting begins, you should be aware of what might happen when you reveal your true form. We'll figure it out from there."

I checked myself in the mirror, and smiled at both the girls, "I'm hungry let's go eat."

I offered an arm to both of them, and they each took one. Sammi guided us down the hallway. At the circular foyer, we continued past it on the same level.

"You should know, being invited to the Estate means they think highly of you," Sammi said, "Some newly awoke fae aren't invited for a year or two."

"I hope I can live up to their expectations," I said.

Part of me still was getting used to this new world around me. Finding out about my past lives, making decisions impulsively which might negatively affect others lives. Like last night with Celia, that could have ended in disaster. I tried to tamp down my fears, and remain aloof. Inside I was anxious.

We entered a large room, much like a breakfast buffet at an upscale suite hotel. The food in the buffet was top notch though. I saw Carmen behind the counter, along with Maria. The faces from last night were arrayed around the room in small groups. Jeremiah rose from his table to come greet us.

"Morning, Rick," he smiled, shaking my hand, then smiled at Celia, "and you Celia, I trust you rested well?"

"It's been beautiful thank you," she said, "I just wish I had something nicer to wear."

He thought for a moment, then tapped the shoulder of one of the other blondes.

"Megan," he said, "I'd like to introduce you to Celia and Rick."

There was a pause for the customary greeting of full hugs and kisses to cheeks. Then Megan looked at Jeremiah.

"After breakfast, could you take Celia shopping," Jeremiah asked, "while we have our meeting."

"That sounds like fun!" Megan said and grinned at Celia, "What do you think, Celia?"

"I think I'd better call in sick to work!" Celia laughed.

In the back of my mind, I considered telling her to just quit. I selfishly just wanted to absorb her into my life, take care of her, provide for her. That was balanced by a desire to make sure she retained her own provenance.

"It's up to you," I smiled at Celia, "I'm sure we can get you back to work on time, if you need to be there."

"Rick," she looked at me sternly, "These are new clothes we're talking about."

I gave her a blank look, not knowing how to respond.

"Actually it's my day off today," she laughed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Your face though, babe, priceless," she grinned and kissed my cheek, "Shopping sounds great, Megan, thank you."

With plans made, we went through the line and filled our plates with breakfast. Often we were interrupted with introductions to members of the family. I felt I might be hugged and kissed to death before we broke for the meeting. Affection ran strong in this group of happy sexy people.

Megan also invited Lexi and Brooke to go shopping. With Celia in their clutches, the threesome left in a buzz of excitement and smiles. I looked over at Sammi and exhaled. I felt a little nervous. She held my hand and smiled into my eyes.

"I believe in you Rick," she said.

She stood, and I stood alongside her. Jeremiah, Kelly and Alyssa all smiled, and we headed to a conference room down the hall.

Kevin - Past - Mexican cantina in Old Town

Vlad was going to fuck up, I knew it. I would lock him up to keep him out of trouble, if Gaia wasn't such a stickler for free will and consequences. Free will and consequences were going to give me a heart attack by the age of 546.

I was frustrated, not only by Vlad, but by the way the morning was shaping up. The call from Sammi was odd. Sammi was odd to begin with. A cute little busy body with a heart of gold. She tended to pick up the oddest creatures as little self-improvement projects.

She needed to realize that the San Diego Bay Area didn't mean her bay.

I grumbled at myself. I actually enjoyed her initiative most of the time. I just didn't like to meet new people. Whoever Alyssa was and the company she kept were unknowns to me. I tried reaching out to other regions to gather some intel, surely someone would have heard of her. Faeries and structured communications, however, weren't well aligned, so my queries fell on deaf ears.

I was a wizard, or a mage. I looked human, even when I wasn't wearing a mask. This washed up hippy mask I was wearing allowed me to blend. If I was meeting in the downtown business area I'd look more like myself. My real self didn't look like a wizard either, thank the stars, I hated beards and long hair. This get up was starting to make me twitch.

Shortly after Vlad left, on his collision course with destiny, a lovely tall brunette entered, alone. She peered into the dim interior then saw me sitting where I had told her to expect me.

"Hi, I'm Alyssa," she smiled and slipped into the seat Vlad had just vacated.

"Kevin," I said simply, "Sammi said you had questions."

"A ton," she smiled, "I would like to focus on the basics first, if you have the time."

"Basics of what?" I asked, often basics included a lot of complexity.

"Can you tell me what kind of fae I am?" She asked, "I don't seem to have an alternate form."

"How do you know you are a fae at all?" I asked and tilted my head.

She spoke an invisibility spell she had memorized and blinked out of view. I nodded, that was proof enough. Though invisibility spells were as basic as they came, the nature of magick was that only fae could invoke magick with words. Words in and of themselves had no magic. Humans speaking words was just stagecraft.

She uttered the reversal and popped back into view.

"You are fae," I said, "I'd say you are like me, a mage. Some call our kind wizards or witches. Druids is the old Celtic name."

"So we don't have an alternate form?" She asked.

I morphed into my normal appearance, and slowly blinked at her. She was beginning to bore me. She nodded and made an odd expression.

"Okay, Duh. I get it," she said, "I hadn't connected that, I've been able to change forms for decades."

"Where are you from?" I asked, decades of form shifting causing me to mentally check back in.

Her story was beginning to intrigue me, she claims she's been practicing magick for years. If it were in my area, I'd know about it. I ran a pretty tight ship in this region, and knew all the Fae. I had even felt some new arrivals in the past day, she must be part of the group.

"We just moved down here from Oregon," she said, "Myself and four other fae, a dryad, a kitsune, another mage, and a succubus."

"A succubus," I asked my brow lifting, "You don't say. We don't get many feeders nowadays, they all seem to have gone dormant."

"Feeder?" She asked.

"Energy feeders," I explained, "Succubus/incubus, demons, vampires, old school dark fae mostly."

"Oh, we're not dark," she smiled, "Kelly is the opposite of dark."

"Even more rare," I acknowledged, "Where did you say you were from."

"Oregon," Alyssa said slowly, emphasizing the correct pronunciation like a native would, "Willamette valley, though our lines trace back to Montana and other parts in the Northwest."

"Oh, the angel types?" I said, connecting some old memories of bad times, "I recall lots of old stories a few decades back, I heard they all got destroyed, or scattered."

"That was us," she smiled enigmatically, "We eliminated some dark cult that enslaved human women for financial gain."

"So you're the ones," I nodded, remembering the stories that filtered through the networks of our haphazard communication networks, "That's impressive. Even more that you're still around. A lot of darks are still grumbling about that. Rumor was it was halflings though, not true fae."

"Well we believed some bad lore, believed we were all angelic halflings," she answered, "After that adventure, we kept our heads down. We only recently understood there was a world of fae around us. We've decided we want to help the light."

I paused and looked at her. I wondered if she knew what she was getting herself and her friends into. Truth was, magick had been in decline for centuries. I didn't see that reversing anytime soon. Sammi and I debated that on a regular basis.