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That was basically it for my meeting with Seriph. She had stood up after mentioning the toys and cleaned up the tea, looking at my cup and asking, slightly impolite it seemed, if I wanted to wait or if she could clean up. It was probably a test, to find out more about who or what I was. After she came back she asked me to leave.

"Shall I talk to the owner of Jack for you?"

I shook my head. "No, he'll still be awake and I have to decide on the way. Eh... How will I reach you?"

She smiled. "Tomorrow you'll find a new phone and another gift at the docks. But not exactly in the same place. Be there at eleven. I might have something interesting for you to do."

I smiled. "Alright, I'll be on time."

"Will you be able to find this house again?"

I was a little surprised by the question, but I got the underlying meaning. "I will. I should always be able to find anywhere I've been once before."

She shrugged. "That might come in use later. Of course I won't be here tomorrow."

Some people might have added a carrier, like 'nothing personal', 'you won't be able to find me' or even 'you're only here because I wanted you to'. But not her, she was classy and sophisticated in a gentle way. She didn't need to say it because I understood the rest, hearing the meaning easily. She didn't boast because she didn't need to.

Despite her childish voice, vision and visage, she was strong.

I must have really made her curious that she went through all the effort for this.

She giggled. "Oh, and don't forget the briefcase, you'll be returning those goggles for now. Unless you have a good place to store them?'

I shrugged. "I'll bring them in the case with me tomorrow." it seemed easier. Something in her voice told me that I would definitely see them back. Of course new toys would be fun, because new toys implied new things to learn, new adventures and obstacles.

A small fraction of mine wondered if this is how older and richer vampires amassed fortune.

Probably not.

"I'll see you again, Amy. And I'll have some more guesses by then." She smiled, waiting for me to leave.

I bowed and smiled, leaving the room and the mansion silently. When I looked around I was slightly surprised not to see her looking at me through one of the windows. But perhaps she trusted me... Or she just knew me well enough already to know that the first thing I would do now is go to Tyler.

And I did.

It was almost two in the morning when I arrived, fortunately Tyler was still there and welcomed me with a normal grumpy smile. There was no one else in the store and I was surprised to find it still open.

"Late sending?"

He smiled. "Yes, something like that. Funny seeing you here this late."

I took a small breath. "Well, I suppose I'm giving my notice."

He shrugged. "I thought I heard something like that. Working for a small firm now?"

A small firm... "Yes, in a way."

He nodded. "Make sure you remember your lessons though. There are still people you don't want to mess with. Any secrets that could hurt you are best kept locked away."

Locked away. "Oh, that reminds me, can I get something from my locker?"

He let me walk further and didn't look at all surprised when I retrieved the briefcase and, like his usual self, didn't ask anything about it. He didn't ask me, I didn't ask him. There was one question that I had completely neglected to ask.

"Don't you ever worry about the police?"

He shrugged. "Why? I'm a legitimate business and there are plenty of repair companies that use my wares."

I suppose that made sense. "I'm sorry I asked."

He grinned. "Good luck, Amy."

I smiled back. "You too."

With that I left Jack and headed back to the Cathedral. It was surprisingly quiet but I'd seen it happen a few times before. Apparently there were some small festivals in the countryside sometimes that drew quite the crowd. And, I suppose, sleeping a night outside in this nice summer wasn't too bad.

I spend the rest of the night writing. Okay, most of that wasn't spend actually writing, but playing the words back in my head over and over again. Hoping to find every detail about Seriph that she gave me. But she'd been precise. Though answering my questions, she raised a few unasked ones in the back of my head that didn't get a chance.

But there's always tomorrow.

Especially for her.