WoFCT: Chapter 3

 Nearly 3 years ago I had a knock on my door. It had been in the evening, the sun had nearly set. I was living in a tiny studio apartment that I was being charged way too much for and working as a janitor for a nearby school. I looked through the peep hole and saw a man I did not recognize, I took the chance and opened the door anyway. He would be my first encounter with the monsters, and a vampire. He was short, portly fellow, looking like the vampire from the old TV show The Munsters. He wasn’t wearing a red lined cloak,with a high collar but he may as well have been. He wore dark small rimmed glasses, was milk pale, black slicked back hair with a window’s peak, and a black well tailored suit for his potato like shape. I would learn later that a great deal of vampires were lawyers, gave new meaning to blood-sucking-lawyer. They could walk around during the day with super strong sunblock and dark glasses. On days that the sky was overcast or early morning or late evening they didn’t even bother with the sunblock. He still smelled of it.

“My name is Rafael Morcant,” he said offering a small white gloved hand at me to shake mine, “I represent Thaddeus Blackwood. May I come in?” I nodded and stepped back, he entered my humble bachelor pad, fake leather and fake chrome, most from IKEA, empty pizza boxes and beer bottles. I had never been one to settle down roots, and therefore had nothing personal on my walls, no art, no knick knacks. He looked longingly at a seat and I moved the trash out of it. He delicately sat down, removed his glasses and laid his briefcase on his knees.

“Who is Thaddeus Blackwood?” I asked. We obviously shared a surname but I had never heard of him.

“Apparently your great - uncle, the brother to your grandfather,” he explained. His voice was soft and completely accent free.

“I didn’t know my grandfather had a brother.”

“You are Asher Blackwood?” He asked even though he seemed to already know the answer, as if the question was a formality.

“I am.”

“Father is Elias Blackwood?” I nodded, “And grandfather is Corvin Blackwood?” I nodded again. “Then I have the right person.”

“What is this about?” I asked as he began to remove packets of papers and placing as best he could on my coffee table.

“Sir,” he addressed rather formally, “Thaddeus Blackwood passed last week and I am here as executor of his estate. He has left everything to you, great-nephew Asher Blackwood.” I sat in silence a moment trying to wrap my noggin around this. I wondered if I was about to become a millionaire, and actually I was…

“Why everything to someone who didn’t even know him?” I questioned.

“There are some stipulations and rules you must abide by in order to receive and keep his estate.” I raised my brows. Was he expecting me to spend a night in a haunted mansion? “Number 1, you must remained unmarried. A girlfriend, or boyfriend is acceptable but you cannot marry.” I threw him a sideways glance. “We cannot risk the estate leaving the Blackwood family line, it almost always descends from uncle to nephew or some rare cases uncle to niece, aunt to nephew.”

“Uh huh,” I said rather stunned, “What if I knock up a girl?”

“The estate will return to escrow until your heir is old enough to control it.” I nodded.

“So what are we talking about when you say, ‘estate.”

“The late Mr. Blackwood was extremely wealthy, my law firm handles the accounting, you will no longer have to want for anything. His wealth is extensive but not infinite.” I felt giddy, suddenly realizing that I no longer had money stress. To not have to work, to just travel, live my life how I wanted, fast cars, fast women, and… “I’ve seen that look before. There are other stipulations. The estate contains a business called The Notary. It is a dive bar on 5th, have you heard of it?”

“Sell it, what do we need a bar for?” The lawyer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “What?”

“The bar is one of the stipulations, you must run it.”

“I’m inheriting millions-”

“Billions,” he corrected and my mouth fell open.

“Billions?” He nodded, “But I have to work at a sleazy bar?”

“The Blackwood family has provided a service for generations to my kind,” he began as if trying to tell a child their dog just got hit by a car.

“Your kind? The rich?” I asked.

“Vampires.” He said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Vampires?” I repeated and he nodded. I suddenly found myself guffawing at him. I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes, but suddenly sobered up at his expression. “I have to run a bar for vampires?”

“Not just vampires, there are werewolves and merfolk, the trinity of the supernatural. There are other species, fae, djinn, even wendigo but they are extremely rare.” I found myself staring at him, “We’re not supposed to let humans know we exist. We’ll go over all this later.”

“But you’re telling me?”

“The Blackwoods are a special family to the supernatural, you solve our problems, have for centuries. That is why it’s imperative the estate remain within the bloodline.”

“I’m to be a supernatural fixer?” I asked, still not believing, starting to think this was a hoax.

“Thaddeus used the term Private Investigator.”

“Any other stipulations?” I asked, now just being an ass and having wished I hadn’t asked.

“Let’s see, cannot marry, must keep and run the bar, must take over the investigations, you cannot tell anyone what you know about the supernatural, and lastly you cannot fire me. I have been executor of the estate since the early 1700’s.”

“1700’s?”

“Your ancestor Victor Blackwood saved my life. Running his estate is a debt I’m repaying.”

“What if I say no.” I suddenly heard myself ask, “What is the point of millions-”

“Billions,” he corrected again.

“If I can’t even travel the world or just live a life of luxury?”

“The private investigations, you do it for free or barter, the assets of the estate pay for the bar, and make sure you can travel for work, be clothed and fed.” My head was spinning.

“And if I say no?”

“We wait until you have a child or until your sister has a child.”

“My sister is gay, good luck waiting for that.”

“Mr. Blackwood,” he began I could feel his impatience with me, “Yes, there is the matter of the bar, the investigations, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime. You will live in another world entirely.” I, like an idiot, agreed. I signed the documents and then met who would become my best friend, Vael Ithraan, the first djinn I’d ever meet.