Lexia (The Deadwood Hunter Series)

by Raithby, Rachel M

  As she turned up the drive a sickening chill set in the pit of her stomach. Lexia lengthened her strides, each crunch of gravel making her cringe. There was movement up ahead in the shadows. She stopped while her eyes adjusted to the dark and then took a step back as she saw what waited for her.

  A woman stood ten yards ahead blocking her path to safety, only she wasn’t a human woman; she had blood red eyes that glowed in the darkness and ghostly white skin pulled sharp over her bony face. Her clothes were torn and dirty, clinging tight to bones that seemed to jut from her skin. She held her hands by her side, each long nail curled and ready to strike.

  “What do you want?” she called, surprised how strong her voice sounded even though she was shaking with fear.

  “You killed my mate, bitch!” the woman spat, leaping for her with lightning-fast speed, closing the space between them in seconds. Lexia had no time to think over the woman’s answer or even time to draw breath and scream. She felt cold, hard steel grip her arms and then cool air rushing past her face. When she hit a tree, pain exploded throughout her body. She gasped as she connected with the hard, ungiving surface, all the air rushing from her lungs. For a second Lexia just laid there, stunned, unable to move even a finger; tears pricked at her eyes as she tried to deal with the pain. A voice screamed in her head, get up, it told her, you can’t just lay here and be killed! FIGHT. Scrambling to her feet Lexia mentally shook herself, I’ve killed three of these things before, I can do this.

  Peering out into the darkness Lexia tried to find the vampire woman. Suddenly a ghostly fist appeared before her, Lexia tried to dodge it but wasn’t quick enough. The fist as hard as steel caught the side of her face; it slid off her cheekbone and past her ear as Lexia moved her head. She’d missed the full force of the punch but still felt dazed. She threw punches hoping the vampire would back out while her head stopped spinning.

  Her fist connected but the vampire never flinched; each blow felt like hitting concrete. With each wave of pain coming from Lexia’s fists, she felt her sprits drop. Panting furiously Lexia tried again and again to cause the vampire injury, but she was formidable and soon Lexia grew tired. The energy and strength that she had felt drained away with each punch or block she made.

  The vampire knocked her to the ground like a rag doll, her razor sharp teeth snapped near her throat. Lexia brought her knees up as a barrier, desperately trying to keep the vampire from her throat but her muscles ached and all the energy seemed to have left her; a dark gloom clouded her mind. There’s no point, Lexia just wanted it to just be over; this fight, the fear, the madness she’d felt gripping at her all day. She looked up into the savage face of the woman above her, the woman who would bring about her death. She no longer looked like a woman, she snapped and snarled like a savage beast and her blood-red eyes bulged from their sockets. Lexia closed her eyes feeling oddly calm preparing for the pain that would surely come with her death. But when her eyes closed she didn’t see darkness but the face of her dad, and then sadness enveloped her as she thought of how he would be alone if she died here now.

  Picturing her dad gave her power; it raged through her worn-out muscles, pleasure and pain erupting throughout her body, giving her the strength to throw the vampire off. Lexia felt around on the ground desperately searching for some kind of weapon and as her fingers brushed across a sharp branch, she felt a surge of hope fill her; all light and goodness, she was strong, she was invincible and as the branch sank through the vampire’s heart Lexia smiled, feeling elated. The vampire woman slumped to the floor, the branch still protruding from her chest, her blood-red eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Lexia who stood above her. The adrenaline, the ecstasy rippled through Lexia and for just a moment she stood there feeling like a god, feeling alive, her prey dead at her feet.

  And then the body rotted away and panic took over; like a great tsunami Lexia had no hope at stopping it. She ran towards the house feeling her chest constrict, her stomach twist, and with a trembling hand, she unlocked the front door.

  Standing in the dark, quiet hall Lexia took huge gasping breaths and collapsed to the floor. There she laid, a trembling, frightened mess lost in the dark, frightening thoughts circling around and around her head.

  She crawled up the stairs many hours later, careful not to wake her dad, and stripped off her clothes, climbing between her cool sheets. Closing her eyes, Lexia curled into a tight ball, gripping her knees as small tremors travelled down her body. She willed herself to sleep hoping she could shut out the horrifying images, hoping that maybe she would wake tomorrow and the past two days would have just been a nightmare.

  Chapter 3

  Her dad left early for work the next morning. Lexia laid there listening to him leave. Normally she would still be fast asleep but she’d tossed and turned all night; vampires and death had haunted her dreams. With no one home it made it easy to skip school.

  Lexia couldn’t face the world today; she’d woken, laid in that blissful second before your memory resets, and then her eyes had focused on the hand curled next to her face. All innocent and relaxed until she’d seen the red dots sprinkled across her skin reminding her of the night before, of the death that hand had caused. Lexia thrust her hand under the covers and then pulled them over her head. She planned to stay there for most of the day; she wanted to wallow. School would be over soon anyway, so what did it matter?

  When she finally crawled out of the pit of despair, Lexia made the decision to no longer hide from her problems, it was time to try and work out what was happening. Grabbing her laptop Lexia brought up a search engine and typed in ‘Vampire.’ She sat for hours filling her head with information. Most of it seemed to be fantasy, but she was beginning to find out that not everything was as it seemed. By late afternoon she’d ordered herself a stake and a silver knife from a site she’d found—they did next day delivery, too—she hoped nothing would attack her before then.

  “I cannot believe they sell this stuff on the internet!” she muttered to herself.

  Her phone vibrated again and she looked down to see ten text from Alice, the latest read:

  Why aren’t you at school & why are you ignoring me? Up for going out later?

  Lexia didn’t reply, she had no idea what to say, she never missed school and she always kept in touch with Alice.

  Suddenly her room felt so small; the walls seemed to be closing around her. Vampires and the supernatural buzzed through her mind.

  “I’ve got to get out of here.” Lexia ripped off her pajamas as if they were suffocating her, changing into her running clothes as fast as she could. She dashed from her house onto the trail near her home; she’d run this path so many times it felt like a second home.

  She watched her feet move steadily over the forest floor until she fell into a steady rhythm. She found herself relaxing, inhaling and exhaling with the thud of her steps.

  When a sheen of sweat covered her skin and her breathing grew heavy she turned onto a trail that would lead her back home. Lexia jogged slower, her senses becoming more alert. She got the feeling someone was following her. Someone or something? Her chest tightened and her heart rate doubled as she glanced around, her mind racing. It’s not night time. Vampires can’t go out in the sun? What else was out there if vampires were real?

  Catching movement on her right she picked up her pace. Cursing for tiring herself out, Lexia pushed herself to the limit; her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. She glanced back quickly seeing... What the fuck! Risking another glance, she definitely saw a sleek black panther prowling through the trees.

  The panther was closing the gap between them. Lexia’s breathing labored with each hard footfall, but up ahead she could see the exit about 50 yards away.

  I’m gonna make it... I am going to make it! she chanted in her mind. But she was growing tired now and panic was setting in making it harder to think clearly. She couldn’t keep up this pace for long; her lungs burned with fiery strain.

  But yo
u’re not just anyone a voice whispered in her mind. She pushed past the burn, increasing her speed, tapping into power that had always been there hidden away deep inside. No, not anymore, she thought pushing herself faster.

  With the exit just yards away, a surge of hope filled her carrying her through the exit, but she had forgotten about the tree roots that snaked across there. Her foot twisted into a rut pitching her forward; she got her hands out just in time as she hit the ground and the air rushed out of her body.

  A car screeched at her side stopping centimeters from her face and scattering gravel into her eyes; her vision blurred as her eyes watered. Lexia scrambled back, wiping at her eyes whilst trying to catch sight of the panther that must surely be on top of her. But in the tree line she saw a blur of midnight black, its gold eyes seemed to glow at her then it turned and vanished back into the undergrowth. Lexia let out the breath she’d been holding.

  “Lex! Lexia! Oh my god, are you alright?” Her dad shouted running to her side, shaking her lightly. “Lexia, what were you doing?”

  Tearing her eyes from the forest, she focused on her dad’s distraught face. “I...I...I thought I saw something, chasing me, a-an animal.”

  Lines of confusion marked his face. “What kind of animal?”

  Looking into her dad’s face she thought she might tell him everything. He’d always been there for her, kept her safe, given her the best life But as he looked at her now like she had lost her mind, she realized that this was a secret she could never tell.

  “Lexia, are you sure you’re look at your eyes... they’re ?”

  Lexia tore her eyes away from her dad, his last question lingered in the air. Panic twisted her gut and she jumped to her feet quickly, afraid of the way he was now looking at her. “Yes, yes, I’m fine, must have run too long.” Turning, she dashed to the house and unlocked the door heading for the bathroom, leaving her dad standing in the driveway staring at the spot she just ran from.

  He didn’t bother her after that, not even to make her tea, which he did most nights when he made it home in time. She felt lost and confused, his face kept floating across her mind. She couldn’t quite grasp his expression, he looked at her like she was a stranger or his worst nightmare come to life. He felt miles away from her, even though in reality he was just down the hall. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that in that moment, as he had stared into her new eyes, she had lost him forever. The feeling settled heavy in her stomach, twisting at her insides.

  She had to get out of the house; there were too many thoughts and feelings churning around inside her, slowly growing and twisting, threatening to consume her.

  Lexia was looking at herself in the mirror; she’d put on a short, tight dress that clung to her every curve, it was made in a soft grey material. The color seemed to make her eyes sparkle even brighter, the new ring of gold muted against the crystal blue; she smiled feeling more like her old self.

  She tied her long, wavy brown hair over one shoulder, ringlets curling together over her breast, a few escaped curls framing her face. She then paired her dress with long leather boots that stopped just below her knees. She stared at the person before her, the person she used to be. This person in the mirror looking back at her was her old self; she didn’t understand what death was or what it felt like to be utterly lost like a plastic bag floating in the wind. She was young and free; her only worry—to get out of Deadwood.

  For a brief moment Lexia wondered if she could pull it off, whether she could climb out of her window like she’d done so many nights before and meet Alice and be an ordinary teenage girl. Fuck it! I can’t sit around here with all my thoughts.

  Slipping her fake ID into her purse, she sent a quick text to Alice asking her to meet at the club and then pulled up the window and climbed down. Leaving her worries and troubles behind her, she felt her gut unravel as she landed softly on the ground.

  Alice turned up an hour after Lexia arrived. Lexia had already had a few drinks and different men kept coming up to buy her more hoping they would get lucky.

  “Jeez, Lex, what are you wearing?”

  “It’s new, you like?” She smiled sweetly.

  “Well, I see plenty who do,” Alice said, glancing around and glaring at the men who were openly drooling over her exposed thighs.

  “You okay, Lex? You’ve not been with it lately. And since when did you dress like a slut?”

  “Hey, enough abuse! I just want to have fun! Isn’t that why we came?”

  “Ok, I suppose, get us a drink then.”

  For the next hour they chatted about boys and school. Lexia felt herself relaxing, the crazy events from the last few days a distant memory. Alice mentioned the amount of drinks she was throwing back a few times but Lexia brushed it off insisting everything was fine.

  “Let’s dance!” She pulled Alice up, dragging her toward the dance floor.

  “Lexia, it’s eleven, maybe we should head out?”

  “I climbed out the window, Dad thinks I’m in bed,” she giggled. “Come on, one dance. Please?” Lexia smiled the kind of goofy smile you smile when on a happy high from too many drinks.

  “O-kay.”

  Lexia sauntered onto the dance floor wiggling her hips then she turned around to face Alice. Alice swayed stiffly in front of her. “Come on, Alice, loosen up!” She grasped her hand making her twirl around.

  “Stop it!” Alice said.

  “Fine!” Lexia dropped Alice’s hand. Turning dramatically she wiggled off into the crowd of bodies until she reached the middle of the dance floor. When she looked back, Alice was walking out the door. She paused for a second giving Lexia a pleading look that said ‘come home with me’ and then disappeared into the night.

  For a split second Lexia felt bad but then her happy drunken haze banished that thought and she stomped over to the bar. She didn’t want to think about the fact that Alice was normally the silly one out of the two of them or about the look she’d given her, so Lexia ordered another drink and washed Alice from her mind with the sharp taste of vodka.

  Many drinks later, Lexia was well aware she’d had too much to drink but the alcohol had numbed her brain just like she had intended it to. The pounding beat jerked at her body as she swayed to the music. She felt like a puppet being controlled by an invisible master; her hips moved on their own accord under the spell of the music that swirled around her.

  Twisting around, she noticed strange brown-gold eyes watching her from the bar. He smiled, noticing her look. As he walked toward her a warning bell chimed in a distant part of her brain, but before she could think of what it meant, his warm hands touched her hips sending sparks across her skin. Drowning in sensation Lexia twirled around, hands in the air, moving along to the hypnotic music, his body pressed along the length of hers, making every nerve come to life. The lights and sounds all seemed to blur together, bodies brushing by hers as they swayed and danced around her, their energy seemed to crackle in the air around them making Lexia’s skin tingle; it was a heady feeling and for once Lexia let go, surrendering to the sensations.

  His hands trailed up and down her body leaving a scorching trail. He spun her around, pulling her close till their bodies touched and her breasts rubbed against him. His eyes widened as she gave a slow seductive twist of her hips. She smiled, taunting him; it was so unlike her but she felt as if someone had taken over her body. It felt good, empowering, to feel how she affected him, to see his eyes focus on her only. In that moment as they both swayed and twisted as if one, they felt spellbound, lost in the fever of lust that spun around them like a magical web.

  But when someone bumped into Lexia, a jolt ran through her body. Spinning around she looked for the person that had radiated such darkness but she couldn’t see anything; only dancers surrounded her, all lost in their own worlds oblivious to the danger that had just passed by. When Lexia felt hands skim over the curve of her hips, wrapping themselves around her waist and pulling her close, she pulled away. The spell now broken, her vi
sion cleared and shivers that had nothing to do with arousal slid down her spine. Looking up into his eyes now, they seemed so familiar but there was something not quite right about her mystery dancer. Stumbling back she staggered to the exit; he held out his hand to her, a questioning look in those golden-brown eyes but didn’t follow.

  Cold air hit her as she stepped out into the dark night. Wrapping her arms around herself, Lexia headed for home realizing how stupid she’d been tonight; getting so drunk when danger seemed to be following her around every corner. She knew she had to do more than just type ‘vampire’ into a search engine; she’d changed and now she was seeing the world for how it was. Had there always been darkness around her and she’d only just noticed it? She couldn’t carry on being so reckless, otherwise she may wind up dead.

  Lexia managed to walk home without seeing anyone and as she snuggled into bed she felt as if she was finally coming to terms with the events of the past few days. Feeling suddenly exhausted, sleep claimed her almost straight away and she drifted off dreaming of a golden-eyed stranger drawing tingling trails across her skin.

  Chapter 4

  Lexia woke the next morning feeling well-rested and ready to take on the world. She dressed quickly, almost skipping down the stairs to find her dad, but found the kitchen empty. She looked around the old kitchen and noticed a plate and coffee mug sat on the countertop. Glancing at the clock, it read just after 7.30 am so he shouldn’t have left for work yet. “Dad?” she called, heading back into the hall in search of life.

  A note sat on the hall table, the single line looking as lonely as she felt: Lexia, I had to work early. Dropping the note she watched as it floated to the floor. With each flutter towards the ground, her stomach followed and when it lightly came to rest, a tiny fleck amongst a sea of dark boards, Lexia realized there was more than just the unordinary troubling her life right now. She could feel the distance growing between her and her father as if it was a physical thing.