Anastasia Romanov

by Svetlana Ivanova

  I released my grip from the girl and stepped aside. A low growl rose from my chest as I was crouching and ready to sprint out with my predatory instinct, an instinct I had long suppressed deep inside.

  But before I could lash out, a shocking pain flared through me. I gasped in shock, yet unable to comprehend what was happening.

  My surprised gaze dropped to where it all started. A hand no smaller than mine held the hilt of the blade just below my ribcage. Blood poured out from the right side of my body. My white blouse reddened like blossomed roses.

  Then my eyes lifted back to stare at the person who was holding the knife in disbelief. Valerina, the sweet beautiful maiden as innocent as a little lamb, was staring back at me.

  "You're one of them?" was the first sentence I uttered in a bitter whisper.

  She pulled the blade out of me again, causing another burning pain to knock the breath out of my lungs. I gasped for air and stumbled backward. My hand gripped the bleeding wound as I placed my other hand on the theater seat for support.

  Valerina just stood there, watching me with a troubled look on her face. For a moment, I could see a lightning flash of anguish in those piercing sea blue eyes. But it ended so quickly, I almost thought I had imagined it. The girl stepped back slowly while her trembling hand still held the blood-stained blade. She turned to the others.

  "She's the real princess," Valerina spoke in a quivering voice.

  "Back away from her, Beta," a female voice spoke. "Even she's wounded, she's still dangerous."

  I was still staring at her with a look of betrayal on my face. It took longer than usual for my wound to stop bleeding. I doubted that it would heal anytime soon as I had been neglecting to feed.

  Slowly, I managed to make my way towards Valerina.

  "Why?" I asked, panting harder.

  "Don't move!" A male voice cried out in warning.

  "Beta, get away from her!" the same female voice said. "What are you doing? It's an order!"

  Valerina seemed to be rooted in place. Her misty eyes glittered with overwhelming emotions as she kept staring at me.

  "You're a vampire," she muttered shakily at last. "You're the monster we're born to kill."

  Her words filled with so much hatred, I couldn't believe they came from the same lips that once shared my passionate kiss.

  Then a sharp whizzing sound pierced through the air as a flying arrow darted in my direction. With my inhuman reflex, I seized the weapon in my hand with an annoyed hiss. My sharp fangs pushed out instinctively and then I flashed forward in a blur.

  Taking one of the hunters by surprise, I snatched his crossbow away and stabbed the arrow into his chest.

  Then I spun around and got hold of another hunter so fast he couldn't react in time as I bit into his throat and tore his windpipe in the process.

  Another hunter came at me with a long shiny blade, intending to chop my head off, but I dodged his blow and shoved my fist into his stomach. He went crashing into a row of seat.

  Suddenly, an arrow pierced my leg, causing my knee to buckle. I winced as I pulled the weapon out roughly, but then several black wires were dropped over me and wrapped around my limbs.

  The wires sent a shocking electricity through my entire being. I writhed and screamed in agony until my body fell numb onto the floor. As the pain subsided, I laid breathlessly on my side. Their tasers drained me out of my strength. I couldn't move a muscle even if I was in my normal state, let alone weak and fragile.

  "We got her, Alpha," one of the hunters said. They had surrounded me with their crossbows pointing and ready to fire. Through my hazy vision, I saw two slender figures walked towards me. The others parted way to let them through. I knew right away who the girl in red was, but the other one beside her was still unknown to me. I gazed back at them, knowing I was now their captive.

  Valerina couldn't look me in the eyes. Then another figure pulled the hood back. It was another young woman, barely older than Vale. The most noticeable thing about her was that she shared the same resemblance with Vale— beautiful and fierce, with long brown hair and gray eyes.

  "It's about time," she said and took a bold step towards me.

  "Sister, what are you..." Valerina asked but the gray-eyed woman ignored her.

  Her gaze never left mine. She motioned for the others to pull me up into a seated position. Then she got down on one knee and stared right into my eyes.

  "Kill me!" I muttered darkly.

  Without saying a word, she drew out a sharp hunting knife and shoved the blade into my ribs. I clenched my teeth to hold back a horrible scream that threatened to burst out of my lungs.

  "Malena!" Vale cried.

  "For Roza," Malena spoke and pulled her knife out of me again. I was winded and ready to faint, but a small cry echoed from the corner.

  "Stop! Please don't hurt her!"

  Lyra's limping body appeared from the dark. Several hunters turned their weapons towards her as she approached them.

  "Stand back!" one of the men shouted but Lyra pushed them away as if she was blind and deaf.

  "Don't hurt her...” I tried to tell them, “she's...human.”

  Lyra dropped herself over me as the hunters stood back and looked at each other in bewilderment.

  "She's the good one. Please don't kill her," Lyra begged as her hands wrapped around my bound-up body.

  "Stupid girl! How could you protect a blood-sucker? Have you already sold your soul to this devil?" A male hunter hissed in disgust and then the others pulled her away from me.

  "She's not like the others!"

  "Lyra..." I croaked dryly.

  "Alpha, we must kill her while we still have a chance. The other vampires will be here soon," one of their members urged.

  I just wanted to nod in agreement and let them get it over with. Then I heard the sound of a static voice in the air.

  The girl who had just stabbed me in the gut, pressed her hand to her ear to concentrate on the message.

  "What?" she frowned as she seemed to be speaking to someone through the com unit. "But sir, we are this close!"

  A moment of static voice later, she stiffened and turned her face back to me. Valerina looked at her sister with questioning eyes then our gazes met again. The girl bit her bottom lip and forced herself to look away.

  "Yes, sir! We'll be back in twenty-four hours," the Alpha finished and turned to the others again. "Mission abort!"

  "What?" Vale said along with a few other hunters, but hers sounded more like a relief.

  "Change of plan," the older sister simply said. "Now Trotsky wants her alive."

  Afterward, she ordered the hunters to relocate me. They quickly dragged my wounded body out of the burning theater.

  "Alpha to Omegas...” her voice spoke into her com-unit again as we walked through the front entrance and out into the pitch black night. "Ready for plan B? Good."

  From the corner of my eyes, Valerina kept glancing at me. Lyra was tagging along with the hunters. Once we reached a black tinted truck, they tossed me inside. I rolled over the metal floor in pain. They began to yank the heavy steel door shut.

  "Now, destroy everything," Malena's voice commanded before the engine of the cars roared and began moving.

  The sounds of spinning tires over the ice engulfed the silence. A moment later, I heard distant explosions one after another. Through the tiny barred windows of the truck, I could see the night sky was lit bright red as the beautiful Ostankino slowly burned.

  Chapter 13

  I woke up stiffly in the corner as the running truck came to a halt. The engine noise that had damned me throughout the restless night suddenly stopped.

  I bit my lips to minimize the flaring pain and forced myself to sit up. Then the heavy metal doors screeched open dryly.

  A burst of white light poked my hazy eyes. I winced and averted my face. My wounds had finally closed up, but the raw anguish still roamed inside my body like biting bugs.

  My silk shirt was ruined
by sticky blood and now clung to my flesh. My injuries would take a few more hours in order to heal back to normal, yet I doubted that the Hunters would let me live to see another day.

  I heard them barking orders at each other for a few seconds before I realized what was happening outside.

  Then I turned my head back and squinted my eyes against the brightness that bathed over my crumbled form. A handful of black figures was rounding up at the rear of the truck. They tugged their guns and crossbows against their shoulders, aiming at me.

  The whole scene was almost comical as I believed such caution wasn't necessary. I had neither strength nor desire to fight these human hunters. All I wished now was that they would finish me sooner and stop all the fuss.

  "Get her out of the truck," someone ordered in a voice of authority. I realized it was the same Alpha huntress.

  In spite of her command, no one dared getting near the truck. I could sense their fear in the air.

  "Alpha, that thing is savage. We should drug her first," one of them suggested.

  I let out a humorless snort. They acted like they were actually dealing with a wild animal. Then I brought myself up onto my wobbly feet. Each of my movement caused the Hunters to be alarmed. Their hands gripped the weapons tighter— ready to pull the triggers at any time.

  "How long does it take for you to kill a bound and helpless vampire?" I asked sarcastically. "I find your lack of courage more intimidating."

  "Shut up, bloodsucker!" another hunter yelled back. "We would have beheaded you long ago!"

  "So what's stopping you now?" I said with a small chuckle then took a slow step forward. The sounds of raising barrels resonated in unison.

  "Don't move!" another familiar voice cried out. In her scarlet hood, Valerina appeared. Her voice pierced through the cold air. It was a command that sounded more like a pleading warning to me. Her sea blue eyes were undoubtedly begging. I gave her a sadistic smirk and took another step forward. The hunters backed away from the truck.

  "Is that what you've been training to do?" I said acridly and took another step. "To cower in fright when you face your enemy?"

  "Alpha, I demand your order to shoot!" a male hunter spoke in an urgent voice. "She could harm our men!"

  "No, hold your ground," Malena raised her hand up. "She's just scaring us. Prepare for the second capture but do not kill the captive. We still need her alive."

  "Anastasia!" Lyra's voice came from behind the ring of hunters, but one of them grabbed her by the shoulders. She thrust and struggled against the hunter, but it was in vain.

  "Don't try anything smart," the Alpha said, "or we will kill your human friend."

  My jaw clenched as we both stared at each other with intense eyes.

  "Then come and get me," I spoke in a steady voice, which stirred up everyone's anxiety even more.

  The Alpha nodded to her comrades. They shared a nod before advancing towards the truck.

  "Cover us," she whispered into the com unit, and the rest of her pack did so as she and the others came closer to me. One of them was loading some sort of long tube-like bullet into his gun. I realized it was a tranquilizer.

  I could see Vale was about to come over with them, but her sister gave her a look that stopped her in her track. I watched her face fell as she stood outside looking at us with her signature blade in hand. I stared straight into her eyes; why would it bother you now?

  As if she could hear what I was thinking, Valerina turned away, hiding her conflicted look inside the red hood, which seemed to contrast the snow-covered plain.

  Her sister and the others jumped into the vehicle with swiftness. They stepped cautiously forth and then froze again as if waiting for the new order.

  "You can't fight us," Malena said, noticing my frail condition with her calculating eyes. I realized then, that her eyes were deep bluish grey.

  "You're right." I grinned. "I couldn't take down a hunter — let alone five."

  Without wasting any more time, she nodded to her hunters and the one I saw earlier fired his gun. In my feverish dehydrated vision, I could see the sharp needle point darted towards me and pierced my upper arm.

  My dagger-shaped teeth flashed in an irritated sneer at the stinging sensation as the drug was injected into my system. I hissed and forcibly tore off the metal wires that bound my body then pulled the needle out. Almost instantly, a crashing wave of dizziness hit me. I dropped onto my knees.

  Two hunters proceeded to grab me by my shoulders, but I summoned my last strength and punched one of them off the truck then threw the other against the wall, causing the car to tremble with a loud crash.

  I swung my leg and hooked the third man’s foot. He collapsed onto the floor. As I was about to bite him, the gray-eyed Alpha jumped on top of me and put her hunting knife to my throat while her other hand wrapped firmly around my neck.

  "Stop it!" Vale's voice came from the outside. I didn't know who she was talking to, but surely I did not comply and gripped her sister's hand that was holding the knife and twisted the small wrist. The girl let out a pained cry and dropped the blade which I then seized before it hit the floor.

  In a blinding flash, I stood up and pushed Malena against the wall of the car. One of my hands pinned her shoulders while the other held the knife to her throat. I could hear her pulse pounding in my ears. I snarled in her face.

  Now that I got the upper hand, the Alpha knew I could kill her in a blink of an eye. She bared her teeth as she stared back at me in hatred and anger. Her eyes were like molten silver.

  "What do you want from me?!" I hissed.

  Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on the side of my neck. My hand instinctively went up and pulled out another shot of tranquilizer. I turned my head to see the red-hooded girl standing with a gun in her hand.

  A veil of darkness engulfed my vision once again. My grip around the huntress loosened and my knees buckled.

  As I fell to the floor and slowly sank into unconsciousness, I caught a glimpse of Valerina and her sister standing over me.

  Then I was finally out cold.

  I WOKE UP ONCE AGAIN with a throbbing headache. At first, all I could see was the familiar whiteness. The effect of the drug had worn off a little, but I still felt numb and heavy as if my entire body had no bones. Slowly, I looked at the surroundings and realized I was in an iron cage. My hands were cuffed and my ankles were chained. I was on a moving sledge drawn by a pack of sprinting husky wolves. They were taking me through an unknown forest and towards a mountain range.

  The rest of the hunters and huntresses were riding either on horseback or motor-skis. I realized there were about fifteen human girls and boys who were loaded onto other sledges. They must have been rescued by the Hunters. One of them sat rather aloof from the rest. I recognized her to be Lyra. Somehow, I found it a relief that she was alright.

  Ahead of us, I could see two elegant figures on handsome black and white horses. The red-hooded huntress turned her head around to look at me, and it didn't take long for our eyes to meet. Her sister who was on the black horse took a glance at me and then back at her sister with a frown. Vale snapped her face back and continued to ride in silence.

  A wall of frozen mountain slope became visible as we got out of the dark shadowing trees. I could see a number of icy peaks rising high into the clouds.

  The trip over the deep snow took half an hour until we reached the foot of the mountain. Within a few hundred yards away, I noticed there was a huge iron gate, which lifted up and revealed a dark entrance leading into the interior of the mountain.

  We shot through the gate and traveled along a tunnel lit by torches. Obviously, I had arrived at the Hunters' secret hiding but why they brought me here still remained a mystery. I knew it was just a matter of time for me to find out.

  Chapter 14

  Valerina

  THOSE EYES.

  Those deep sad golden eyes were going to haunt me forever.

  The moment she grabbed me and kissed me, she ha
d me deep down to my soul. Although I refused to admit that I had been claimed by this beautiful princess, I knew it was just my own denial, and I wish I could, for the life of me, escape from those eyes.

  But I knew it was too late.

  I was the moth and she was my deadly flame.

  Our hunters arrived at the main entrance at last. I slid down the back of my horse. Malena swung her legs over hers and jumped off gracefully. Then the stable boys came and took our rides away. Women and children stood by, staring in amazement at our caged prisoner.

  The hunters began to unload necessary items as quickly as possible. Then slaves we had rescued from Ostankino were also allowed to get out of their carriages. All of them shared a look of wonder once they set their wandering eyes at the big stone castle hidden behind the rocky mountain.

  A troop of hunters rushed through the corridors. Among them was Arkady, whom we only referred to as 'Ark.' The red-haired man walked over to us while his long black cloak brushed over the cobblestone. The rest of the hunters and huntresses waited at the entrance, fully armed.

  "Unchain her," Ark spoke to our surprise. Malena stepped forward.

  "But the drug will wear off soon," she said.

  "It's an order, Alpha," he said. "Trotsky needs to speak to her right now."

  A frown creased both of our foreheads as we stared at Ark. Malena finally nodded and waved to the other hunters. After a moment, they opened the iron cage. Then two of our hunters gingerly and nervously removed the chains off of the blonde vampire's ankles, though they left the handcuffs on.

  Anastasia looked exhausted. She could barely move a muscle, yet it didn't seem to ease everyone's anxiety. Two shots of tranquilizers could easily kill a person, but Anastasia was conscious enough to stare back at us. Those glowing eyes examined everyone and everything as if she was calculating something in her mind.

  "Get out slowly," my older sister spoke again with a warning tone. "You're in our territory now."