Haldred Chronicles: Alyssa

by JG Cully

  “Help me! Get a bloody shovel!”

  Malak smirked, lowering his crossbow and moved to help her out.

  “Woman,” he said. “you must have one heck of a tale to tell.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Nine:

  Hope Is Kindled

  * * * * *

  Alyssa didn't fly often. She had found it took a lot of effort. It was rather hard to remember which limbs to flap in which order, as now all of a sudden her body had three sets of limbs, not two. She had to remember not to flap her real arms, or kick her legs; else she would knock herself from the sky. She'd managed to do that more times on previous flights than she'd care to admit. She'd also never flown with a passenger before and was keen to get down somewhere safe.

  She didn't like flying, not just because of the effort but also the damage it did to her clothes. Having two wings burst from her back tended to wreck anything she was wearing and that much was true now. She could feel the tattered remains of her tunic hanging limply from her back and was more than a little concerned that her modesty might be in danger if any more clothing strands worked their way free.

  Well, it was a nice tunic.

  Still, escape had been better than the alternative. Vlad however was very unhappy.

  YOU HAD THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY! He was yelling as Alyssa flew onwards. YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER EASILY AND YOU DID NOT!

  Give it a rest Vlad Alyssa muttered inwardly. She couldn't put him in the box right now as she was concentrating too hard on flying. She really wished he'd shut up.

  Meanwhile Katy, bless the girl, was holding on for dear life and whilst she couldn't see, Alyssa was sure Katy had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Alyssa's night vision was doing what it was supposed to do for a change and she picked out a landing stop. There was a flat topped warehouse just below them now, one of the old army blocks now long since abandoned. It would do.

  As long as I don't trip. Again.

  She flapped her wings and let the air currents pull her upright. She then spread her wings and started to descend.

  AT LEAST LAND PROPERLY THIS TIME!

  Alyssa kept the wings spread out and slowly she descended towards the roof. However, as has been said before, Alyssa was not the most skilled in the arts of grace, or flight for that matter. She retracted the wings inside her a moment too early.

  “Oops” she cringed before she fell rather abruptly the last few metres.

  Katy, thankfully, was unaware of the mistake, as she was still holding onto Alyssa for dear life. It was only as Alyssa impacted feet first did Katy blink. She looked up from holding on to Alyssa's chest, effectively curled round the girl, to find Alyssa's expression one of intense discomfort.

  Katy, forgetting her own momentary terror, thought it best to check on her friend.

  “Are you ok?” she asked.

  “Ouch” replied Alyssa through clenched teeth. She was acutely aware of the fact that her feet were several inches below the roof of the warehouse they were on.

  Katy let go of Alyssa and stepped back, now noticing likewise her friend's predicament.

  “Help.” whimpered Alyssa, standing with her ankles covered in a collection of splintered wood.

  “Ah, how exactly?”

  Good question

  “Can you pull...on my legs?” Alyssa groaned. “Help me...dislodge them?”

  Katy knelt by Alyssa's buried legs and took hold. With Alyssa pulling at the same time she managed to dislodge one foot then the other with less trouble than expected. Just a pity Alyssa's shoes didn't appear.

  “Darn.” muttered Alyssa. “I liked those shoes.”

  “Not my best landing.” she said next, wincing.

  Now free of the roof, Alyssa hobbled with Katy's help over to the small wall that ran along the outer rim of the roof.

  The two girls sat side by side for a few moments. Katy was staring off into the night sky. Alyssa figured Katy would be trying to come to terms with her discovery now.

  Not every day your friend turns out to be a vampire.

  “You ok?” Alyssa said presently.

  Katy was giving Alyssa a considered look. The girl's face was a little unsure, as if an unseen conflict was being fought within her mind.

  “I will be.” she said, smiling weakly. “Just as soon as we get down from here.”

  Alyssa frowned, then took a look over her shoulder down at the street below. Only now did she realise just how high up they were.

  “Woah!” she said, practically leaping up from her perch on the ledge. “I didn't know we were this high!”

  She gave Katy an apologetic look. “Sorry. Again.”

  Gods I'm apologising a lot these days

  THEN STOP DOING IT!

  “It's okay.” said Katy. “I'm not that afraid of heights.”

  Neither am I. Well not that much.

  “But you might want to cover up.” Katy added.

  Alyssa frowned before looking down at herself. Immediately noticing that those last strands of clothing were pretty much gone. She gasped and hugged her almost bare chest, blushing fiercely and recalling the recent corset situation in all its uncomfortable glory. She looked around for something to cover up with but surprisingly there wasn't anything to hand on the roof of the abandoned army warehouse. With a resigned sigh she sat down beside Katy.

  Well as long as no-one sees me up here.

  She couldn't help but think that statement was maybe tempting fate.

  “So.”

  Alyssa used one hand to fix her glasses again as the other carefully maintained what little dignity she had left. She dared not meet Katy's eyes. “I'm...ah...”

  “A vampire.” Katy completed the sentence. “The wings thing kind of confirmed that. And the teeth. And ah”

  She pointed to Alyssa's back. Where the ends of the three crossbow bolts still protruded.

  “Those” Katy concluded lamely.

  Alyssa sighed again.

  “Yeh.” She fidgeted with her glasses. “Sorry I didn't tell you.”

  “It's ok. I imagine it's not something you admit to that often.”

  “You and Victoria were technically my first.”

  Unless you count the number of muggers I've beaten up. Lucky no-one ever believes them.

  “Were you telling the truth back there?” Alyssa said next.

  Cause I really hope you were!

  SHE WAS NOT! IT’S ALL LIES! bellowed Vlad,

  Right, that's it!

  A lot had gone wrong tonight, but she was going to fix one particular point right now. Alyssa screwed up her face just as Katy turned to reply. Katy frowned, watching as Alyssa almost seemed to tremble outwardly.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, leaning back, almost expecting Alyssa to explode.

  Alyssa didn't answer immediately. She simply shook for a few seconds.

  Vlad, was very firmly put in his box. Silenced, for now.

  “Done” she said with an outward breath, before noticing Katy giving her a look.

  “Best that I not explain, think you've had enough weird stuff tonight.”

  Katy smiled. “I suppose.”

  “What I said is true.” Katy said next. That conviction in her voice was infectious.

  “Just need to get you into the library at night. It's a bit late now though so...”

  Katy frowned, looking thoughtful. “...we need a place for you to stay.”

  They couldn't very well go to Alyssa's house. The Council of Peace would probably already be raiding it. Alyssa tried not to think what a mess of the place they'd be making. She figured she couldn't go to Katy's either. Again, the Council of Peace would probably be around and asking questions.

  They could go to James but...

  No wait. They could go to James' house! He hadn't been at the tavern. They wouldn't know his face, or his name. Unless Gretna talked, which was frankly unlikely.

  Hmmm.

  “We could try James' house?” Alyssa ventured. She wasn't sure bu
t it seemed the best option.

  Katy nodded. “Best bet I guess.”

  Alyssa stood, rolling her shoulders, ready to unleash her wings again. Katy passed her an apologetic smile.

  “Ah, think it might be a better idea if we just find a way down. Because...”

  Katy's expression suggested she didn't know how to break things to Alyssa. Alyssa knew the look.

  “I'm not very good with flying.” sighed Alyssa

  “Yes.” said Katy, “that and you need some clothes”

  * * * * *

  Malak and Victoria's troubles that night were continuing.

  After digging Victoria out of the snow drift they had headed back to the tavern. Victoria enlightened Malak with the story of her little 'adventure.' The encounter with the vampire, the information the vampire had given her and the vampires escape. She told the final part of the story with almost tangible embarrassment, as well as a great deal of frustration at her own human weakness. Malak had the good sense not to mock her for it.

  She looked thoroughly miserable. She'd taken a chill when the snow drift had covered her; her nose was red and running, her immaculate features now oddly highlighted by wet messy hair and a pale sickly complexion.

  They arrived at the Elk’s Horn tavern to find that the Council of Peace delegation of professional idiots had gone. Considering Victoria was shivering and in grave danger of catching hypothermia from her brush with the snowdrift, they had wisely decided to get her indoors. Gretna had met them at the now door-less entrance to the Tavern, with an exceedingly angry face and a complete lack of concern on seeing the bedraggled investigator.

  “Oh look!” she said as Malak and Victoria appeared at the door frame rather sheepishly, Victoria still shivering despite wearing Malak's cloak.

  “The Council of WAR has returned! Have we come to scare the living hell out of my maids perchance? Or chase away my customers again? Perhaps you'd like to do BOTH and then some!”

  She was brandishing a hammer that made both Malak and Victoria feel more than a little threatened. Repairing the reputation of the Council of Peace after this was going to take some doing. Leaving the Tavern unhurt might take some luck as well.

  “Would it help,” ventured Victoria, without much hope one might add and doing her best not to stutter as she spoke. “...if I said the raid wasn't my idea?”

  Gretna's expression remained one of barely contained rage. Like a bull regarding the red rag.

  “...that I suggested against it?”

  The dwarf still had the look of someone about to tear the head off someone else. This wasn’t working.

  Ok, new plan.

  “And that I'm sure the Council would be more than willing to compensate you for tonight's mistake?”

  Gretna raised an eyebrow. There was a pause, and a silence that needed to be filled with further reassurance; possibly of the financial persuasion.

  Expenses are going to kill me.

  “Should I say, today's mistake?”

  Gretna turned her head, both eyebrows now rising in a gesture that suggested 'keep going.'

  “Or perhaps...the last 3 days?”

  “My friends!” declared Gretna, casting her arms wide, her face suddenly beaming as if regarding a long lost family member. “Come in, come in!”

  Victoria didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or cry. She felt too ill to care either way

  “Sarah, run a bath upstairs. Bofar, get the vegetable soup going. Unless you two want something more...”

  “Gods no!” both Malak and Victoria said in unison as they took a seat by the door.

  “Anyway.” Gretna's expression turned serious. “Your money might pay for the loss of custom and hopefully, reputation. But what about Alyssa? That true what they said? She a vampire?”

  Malak and Victoria exchanged looks of resignation. No use in hiding anything now.

  Victoria nodded. “'fraid so.”

  The dwarf sighed, crossing her arms and leaning up against a nearby table. She shook her head.

  “I don't believe it.” she said. “I mean the girl was so nice! She was my best barmaid.”

  “Well neither did...”

  Victoria interrupted herself with a loud violent sneeze that made Malak and even Gretna jump.

  “Oh gods.” Victoria groaned, sniffing and wiping her nose. “Bloody cold.”

  “Bath and soup I'll sort yeh.” Gretna assured them in what Victoria suspected was a rare show of concern.

  “What will you lot do now?”

  “Hunt her.” said Victoria, her voice suddenly very nasal. “Official threat to peace, doesn't make it right mind.”

  Gretna frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

  Victoria winced, having said something she had promised herself she wouldn't. Malak rolled his eyes.

  “Just tell her,” said Victoria, “sod it if I could care anymore.”

  Her investigation was well and truly over. It had been made a complete mess thanks to her superior. Maybe getting Gretna on side might fix a little of the reputation. Hers and the Council of Peace as a whole. She felt sick as a dog. She didn't really bear the girl any ill-will for escaping, but she did bear her ill for firing her into a bloody snow drift.

  Malak enlightened Gretna to what had happened with Alyssa, stopping occasionally to let Victoria sneeze. By the end of the tale Gretna seemed a little more sympathetic. Her expression gave nothing away but her body language was at least a little less confrontational. By the end, she had given Victoria a rather generous portion of vegetable soup which Victoria had to admit, was rather good. The other barmaids had left the three of them alone, busying themselves cleaning the place up after the raid, cleaning up the spills and putting the chairs back up again. One unfortunate girl was even busy attempting to remove a crossbow bolt from the wall.

  “Poor girl.” Gretna concluded. “Where'd you think she'll go?”

  Good question

  She'd not be back at her house. Horna and his crew would no doubt have already hunted that down and be redecorating in a suitably untidy manner. Same with the girl Katy, they were bound to figure out that she was gone as well. So where?

  “Maybe that girl Katy's place but I doubt it.” Victoria sipped her soup again, then abruptly turned away to sneeze again.

  “Bath'll be ready shortly lass.” Gretna assured her.

  Thank the gods.

  “Never seen you this bad.” commented Malak. “Thought you were one of them proper hardy types?”

  Victoria cast him a rather annoyed expression. One that was utterly ruined when she had to turn away and sneeze again.

  “You're lucky I'm sick” she said, recovering with watering eyes “or I'd kick your ass.”

  His smirk said he understood at least.

  * * * * *

  With her clothes hung up in the corner, Victoria sat in a bronze bath filled to the brim with hot water and bubbled soap. She was leaning back, her head resting on the far edge of the bath with her eyes closed and a herbal balm on her forehead. Apparently, it would help to unblock her nose, or so the dwarf had said. She had her arms crossed over her chest, the hot water lapping around her naked body. It felt good, relaxing at last. A small table sat beside the bath, with a fresh mug of vegetable soup steaming beside her. Malak and everyone else had been tactfully told not to disturb her on pain of death. The violent, painful kind. Now feeling relatively normal, her mind had the time to go over what had happened over the past few hours.

  Alyssa was a vampire. Possessing incredible strength, speed, retractable fangs, a very resilient body and the ability to fly. On paper, that made her a deadly opponent. Except she wasn't really an opponent. Instead she seemed to be an unfortunate young girl who had some incredible abilities forced upon her and was desperate just to be human.

  But was that the truth?

  Victoria trusted few people and trusted even fewer at their word. The Alyssa girl had seemed sincere in her story, but was it all just an act? She had cons
idered that before, and dismissed it. But now, again, that thought came back. Was she lying? Was there some greater plan behind this? Or was it just an unfortunate girl who found herself the last vampire and just wanted to not be the last vampire?

  What about Horna?

  Victoria considered her boss a professional idiot at the best of times but his reaction and execution of the operation had been ham-fisted even by his standards. A Darnhun raid on a popular tavern with minimum intelligence and preparation, and what intelligence that had been passed on hadn't been acted on. The Archives mentioned the possibility of Alyssa having abilities other than those observed in the brief period she and Malak had followed Alyssa, and yet Horna hadn't taken any precautions; he hadn't seemed to even care. If Alyssa had fitted the stereotype of a vampire (bloodthirsty, merciless, physically powerful engine of death) half of the troops Horna sent in would have been killed.

  Why did he rush it?

  It had felt rushed. There had been no observation of the target other than that briefly carried out by Malak and herself, no consideration whether the troops brought were enough to get the job done. Not even any adequate backup plan should things go wrong. Only she and Malak had been on hand as backup, and even then it had been grudgingly accepted rather than called for. Use of mercenaries was nothing new in the Council of Peace. It was the preferred method for most military operations they had to carry out. Regular workers, such as Malak and herself, were in the minority, whilst the muscle was contracted in. But the way Horna was using the Darnhun was almost like his own personal army, and even in the murky politics of the Council of Peace, that was wrong. Victoria's mind now turned to darker thoughts.

  What does Horna want with the girl?

  What if he wasn't just going after her because he was told to? What if he wasn't being leaned on from higher up? Not that Victoria would like to admit to being deceived. She thought she could read Horna well and to her, Horna had been telling the truth. He had acted as if he had no choice in the matter, as if pressure was being applied from somewhere up the ranks.