by Lilly Wilder
“If that is what has to be, so be it,” Emile nodded, smiling back at her.
“Alright then,” she agreed. “As soon I get accepted at the Academy, I will erase your number and you will never hear from me or my brother again.”
“Thank you,” he echoed his gratitude.
“I’ll call you in a week,” she quickly motioned, unwilling to rest on the emotional side of their conversation any longer.
“It’ll be ready,” he told her, in a reassuring voice..
She was already standing on her feet, ready to go.
When she turned around, she noticed that the biker gang was gone. The place was almost empty, save for a few sad faces trying to drown their sorrow in cheap liquor. She couldn’t wait to get out of here.
Chapter 3
The moment Mina stepped out of that musty bar, she immediately realized that Kellam’s motorbike was gone. The tire tracks were there, but that was it. She looked around, hands resting on her hips. The street seemed empty, devoid of any life. She wondered if those bikers stole it or did something to it, out of spite.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
Someone tapped her on the shoulder so suddenly, that she was on the verge of breaking the guy’s arm but she managed to restrain herself, still on guard. With Mina, it was a natural state. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down even when she was asleep.
“Was that your bike?”
The voice belonged to a scrawny little boy of no more than ten. She realized that his feet were bare and dirty. His fingernails were black underneath. She wondered how he could walk on hard gravel, like that, without any shoes.
“Where is it?” she asked him, eyeing his tiny frame, greasy hair and dirty clothes.
“Barry had it moved to the back of the bar,” he explained, pointing with his bony little finger.
Mina knew that he was referring to Barry, the owner, whose nickname was Barracuda, and hence the name of the bar. This is where she and Kellam always used to meet Emile, even though they always tried to keep a low profile, never mingling with anyone, never chatting or getting to know anyone. It was just too risky.
“It was in the way,” the boy continued, seeing that she said nothing. “Don’t worry. It’s over there.”
He pointed at a little back alley, which led behind the bar. It looked like any other alley, hidden from plain sight and for that reason alone, dangerous.
“Thanks, kid.”
She rushed over, but the moment she entered the alley, she realized that it was a trap. She should have known better.
In front of her, a few feet away, she saw the tall guy who had approached her at the bar, with a few guys next to him. They were all swinging weapons in their hands. One even had a pair of nun chucks. She felt like giggling at the thought, knowing she could swing that shit way better than he could, but this was no time for giggling.
She turned around, but not really to escape. On the contrary, she did it so she could see how many of them there were, and how she should open this can of whoop-ass. As the tall guy approached her first, she tried to check him for any marks. He was dressed in leather pants and a jacket, all of which didn’t allow for much visibility in terms of tattoos or any other markers, which might tell her which clan they belonged to, and also, who sent them after her. Or maybe, this was just their lucky day, to have stumbled onto a slayer, and they thought they could kill her quickly and go home to be heroes. Well, too bad.
“Now you, really, look lost, little girl,” the guy grinned, and there were a few chuckles behind him.
He was standing right in front of her. If she reached out with her arms, she could touch him, which meant he could do the same. She had to be on guard, wait for them to make the first move. They always make the wrong judgment about her, seeing her slender build and sweet face. With that angelic visage, she really didn’t look like she could ever hurt anyone. And, Mina was usually more than happy to let them live in this conviction, until it was too late and they were already lying in the pool of their own blood, taking their last breath.
“I don’t want no trouble,” she started, purposely speaking slowly, and sounding as if she was afraid. She was very good at that. She took one step back, to strengthen this false impression, but it was unnecessary. They already bought it.
“Maybe you don’t, but trouble is what you found,” the guy hissed, baring his teeth. “You probably taste sweet, Goldilocks. Too hot or too cold? What do you say, boys?”
From the way that he addressed them, she realized she was wrong. He wasn’t looking for their approval. He already had it, because he was their leader. She made a mental note not to jump to conclusions again, like that. That might come at a heavy price.
The bikers all roared with laughter. To them, this was a done deal. She was as good as dead. Now, they might as well have some fun with her, before the job was done.
“I say she’s just right,” the guy clicked his tongue against the tip of his teeth, then approached her even closer, almost breathing in her face now.
She could almost smell the rotting flesh on his teeth, the whiff of blood all around him. They’d probably fed recently. That smell of blood was always hard to get rid of. Suddenly, he turned around to the side and she noticed a small, vampire ankh tattoo, right underneath his left ear. The bottom of it was a pointy dagger, aimed to the left. Mina immediately knew he belonged to the Sanguinity clan. Only they had that tattoo.
It was a clan of rural nomads and she was surprised to see them here, so far in the city. They usually steered clear of overly civilized places and were one of the less troublesome clans. Neither she nor Kellam had ever had any encounters with them, so Mina knew she had to be extra vigilant. A clan she’d never fought before could mean new powers, new skills, and that could mean her downfall, if she wasn’t careful enough.
“You know, I’m almost sorry to do this,” he kept on talking, almost sensually now. “You and I could have had some fun together.”
She felt his hand graze her cheek, which was burning now. His nail was trailing a line on her skin, pressing hard, but not hard enough to pierce.
“But, it wasn’t meant to be…”
He raised his hand to strike her down, but she was faster. She rolled away from him, to the side and this gave the others a chance to attack. Her silver blade flew out of her pocket, ready to shed vampire blood. Her leg immobilized one of them, leaving him on the ground, while she snapped the neck of the one next to him. There were three left, not counting the leader, who seemed to stand by and wait for them to bring her to him.
Her blade sliced through the heart of the guy next to her, while the other grabbed her by the hand. She turned swiftly and her heel kicked him right in the chin, sending him down to the ground. The fifth one came at her with his fists, but she slid between his legs, severing both of his muscle calves. He fell straight to the ground, bleeding profusely, unable to move.
She got back to her feet, breathing heavily. These guys were just child’s play. She’d had more dangerous stuff than them for breakfast. However, with the tall guy… something told her she should watch out.
“Nicely done, Goldilocks,” he actually clapped for her, circling around her, like a vulture.
His eyes revealed nothing but ferocity. He wasn’t hungry. He was enjoying this.
“When they told me about you, I didn’t believe them,” he continued, with a self-satisfied grin on his face. “I had to see it for myself, and I must say, I’m impressed.”
“That might actually mean something, if I knew who you were,” she snorted, squeezing her blade in her hand, knowing her life depended on it.
Her words were meant to insult him, but she saw no such emotion on his face. She just saw emptiness behind that hollow grin, like a mask.
“All good things come to those who wait, Goldilocks,” he teased her. “And, while I’m really having fun here, I’m afraid I can’t stick around for much longer. Those you can keep as
my gift to you.”
Mina watched with awe as he transformed into a raven and flew away, leaving the bodies of his clan members for her to do with as she pleased. As most of them were still alive, she got the wooden stakes out of Kellam’s backpack, and struck them through each of their hearts. When she was done, she realized that the little kid was still hiding behind a big dumpster and he’d witnessed everything.
She could see the fear in his eyes, the disbelief, the little snots dripping out of his nose in thin strips and him totally unable to move a muscle. His little innocent life was over and, now, he was a man, stuck in a child’s body.
“Shit, kid…” she raked her fingers through her hair, as she spoke to him. “Come here.”
The child didn’t move. He sank even further into the darkness, behind the dumpster. He was petrified of her, of them.
“Come here, I won’t hurt you,” she told him softly.
She wasn’t used to this kind of talk, but she knew she’d never forgive herself if she just disappeared and left this kid in this pool of vampire blood. This time, the boy believed her words. There was something in her voice that made her tame even the wildest of beasts. She outstretched her hand, making sure to pocket her blade before doing so. The boy walked over to her, dragging his bare, bloodied feet.
“Here,” she sat down on the ground and started messing about with her sneakers.
Now, she was on the same level as him and it made him more trusting. He got closer. She wasn’t looking at him anymore. She was too busy taking off her sneakers and socks. Then, she put them right next to his feet.
“They might be a size too big but even that’s better than being barefoot.”
The kid looked at the sneakers, then at her. There was a quizzical look on his face.
“Yeah, I know that the socks are purple with hearts,” she smiled. “Sorry about that.”
A second later, he grabbed the socks and the sneakers, and was about to put them on.
“Wait,” she urged him, grabbing a bottle of water from Kellam’s backpack and a handkerchief.
She poured the water on his feet and wiped them carefully with the handkerchief. His feet weren’t squeaky clean when she was finished, but it was much better than before.
“There, now try them on,” she told him.
The kid did as he was told. He sat down on the ground as he put on the socks, then the sneakers. He got up, then eyed his feet, which were bare no more. There was a wide grin on his face, which lit up as he walked around, then jumped a few times.
“Good, huh?” she asked, and he nodded. “Well, alright then.”
She got up and walked over to him. The smile disappeared from his face, as her hand rested on his greasy hair, shuffling it a little.
“Next time, think twice whose side you’re going to take, alright?” she asked.
He nodded again, even quicker than before. She pulled her hand away and he shuddered, as if she was about to hit him. She had no idea who he was or where he came from but seeing him like this made her sad. She wanted to help him, to do more than just give him her sneakers but she couldn’t do anything right now. She had too much on her plate.
“Stay safe, kid,” she waved at him, sat on Kellam’s bike and felt the harsh rubbery plastic on her bare feet.
She needed to go home and get ready. This was just the beginning.
Chapter 4
About a month later, Mina reached the small Romanian village of Rasinari. It was one of those place with barely a thousand people and everyone knew everyone, so any new face was looked upon with a mixture of distrust and curiosity. To her annoyance, no one spoke any English but when she mentioned the name Zeadore, people would look at her in fear, start crossing themselves and take out their rosaries to pray. That told her more than any English speaking person could.
Finally, she reached a small inn and there was a man who was supposed to take her up to the mountains with his small carriage. When she asked him why he didn’t meet her in the village square upon her arrival, as it was agreed, he just shrugged his shoulders, and spoke in broken English.
“I need drink first.”
Mina rolled her eyes, as she adjusted her heavy backpack. She hated the fact that she was in an unknown country without anyone to watch her back but she believed Emile was telling her the truth. Her gut told her he was to be trusted and her gut was usually right. The coachman offered no help with her backpack, so she just kept walking after him towards the village square, which was where she’d just come from. She was sweaty and annoyed, the worst possible combination when someone’s traveling.
She got into a carriage drawn by two horses and, immediately, felt like she was transported back a century or two. When she saw the condition of the roads and the high, winding paths that led even higher up the mountain, she realized that there was no way a car could ever go through here.
The road was long and full of potholes, making the carriage lean to one side, she’d bump her head against the wooden roof, then it would lean to the other side. There was no way she could close her eyes, even for a second, and maybe take a nap, which she so desperately needed. About an hour or so later, the carriage suddenly stopped. Mina looked out and she saw nothing but vast, endless fields of greenery and snow covered mountain tops which spread out before her as far as the eye could see. The coachman knocked on the top of the carriage a few times, to signal their arrival.
“Are we there?” she asked him.
“You go out here,” he told her angrily, almost shouting at her.
Mina looked around again. There was no one here waiting for her and no sign of any civilized life resembling the infamous vampire academy. She immediately thought it was a trap. Was Emile lying after all? Her knife was not in her pocket now. Too many airport checks wouldn’t allow that. It was well stacked inside the sole of her boot, all she needed to do was press on it with her heel backwards and it would pop out like a grasshopper, ready for action.
Mina jumped out, taking her backpack with her. She noticed that the coachman remained in his seat, the bridle still firmly in his hand. He showed no inclination of getting off or even helping her with her luggage. The horses were unsteady. Their soft whinnies started getting louder, more unsettling. Even the horses didn’t like being here.
“You wait here,” he told her.
“Wait for what?” Mina wondered, but before she could ask another question, the carriage rushed off, as if something had spooked the horses, as well as the man responsible for them.
“Miss Lucy Wing?”
She heard her made up name being spoken by someone behind her. She jumped and turned as quickly as she could, forgetting that she had a heavy backpack resting on her back.
She came face to face with a man whose age she couldn’t even venture to guess. His face showed wrinkles of many summers up in the mountains but the way he offered to take her backpack, and put it on his back so effortlessly, revealed a body which was not that old.
“Please, follow me,” he told her instead of a greeting, then started up a small, goat path towards the top.
He was climbing like a pro, even with that heavy backpack. She wondered if she’d be able to keep up.
“You’re kidding me, right?” she said, without moving.
“I beg your pardon, but there is no other way up the mountain, where we need to go.”
He sounded apologetic and almost sad. There was a quality about his voice that assured her he’d always been someone’s servant, never the master. She was pissed because the journey wasn’t finished already, as she’d had more than enough but even she couldn’t be upset with someone who sounded so genuinely penitent as this guy. As a result, instead of giving him a smartass come back, she just sighed heavily and started following him up the path.
After a while, Mina had no idea how long they’d been walking. They passed up beaten and unbeaten paths, went through small woods and over babbling brooks, where Mina almost sl
ipped and fell in the water. She’d already lost track of time. She was too exhausted to care any longer. All she wanted was to take a nice relaxing shower and hit the sack.
When she finally thought she couldn’t take it anymore, the anticipated view of a mansion opened up before them. Heavily surrounded by thick fog, it was old and grand, more majestic than anything Mina had imagined. It was surrounded by a heavy, iron gate which reached up almost to the skies. She wondered how come something this big wasn’t seen from any of the villages below. Apparently, being a vampire came with a few perks. She was sure that there was an ancient magic about this place, which had made it invisible to the villagers below them for centuries. There was no other explanation.