J.R. Rain's Vampire for Hire World_Fire Warrior

by H. T. Night

  I’d started my alchemist training three years ago and dropped out of high school. Well, normal high school. The school I presently attended appeared to be a normal Catholic school on the outside, but once the doors were shut, that was when the true nature of our education was revealed. Is there magic? Some. Archibald Maximus, our Dean of Students, used a combination of science and magic. His own special form of alchemy. Ultimately, this is how we were taught. In my case, I had multiple gifts I had yet to unleash on the school. The Fire Warrior had yet to make an appearance. That was for the good of everyone.

  Archibald Maximus. Besides being our trusty Dean of Students, he ran a mystical reading room on the third floor of the library at Cal State Fullerton. He was the one who encouraged my mother to have me join his school. Maximus had a portal that took him directly to the Reading Room at any given time when he felt the need to visit.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. I was a speck under six feet tall. My dark-brown hair was short. I thought shorter hair fit my face better. At least, that was what the prettiest girl in Alchemy School had once told me when I’d been a freshman. I’d had short hair ever since.

  My solid jawline gave me a Superman look without even trying. And whenever I needed an ego boost, I would twist a Superman-ish curl over my forehead and go shopping at the mall to complete my impression of the superhero. I was shy and this was about as outgoing as I got when it came to girls.

  Unfortunately, this Clark Kent would be too skinny for his suit.

  Although I was thinner than average, I had muscles galore with extreme definition. But unless I was wearing form-fitting clothes, most people thought I was just super-skinny and had no idea of the muscles hidden under my clothes. That was probably why I took off my shirt whenever I could get away with it. It was something I started to do when I noticed the only time girls would talk to me was when my shirt was off.

  I pulled off my basketball shorts. Then I put on my red running shorts with no underwear. I put on my white t-shirt and slipped into my black hooded sweatshirt and grabbed my white Asics running shoes from my closet. I already wore socks, so I just slid on the shoes.

  I left my room, walked out the front door and went running. I loved the streets of Fullerton, though there was one area where I didn’t want to run. One night, I’d literally gotten run out of that area of town by local thugs. Even though I used to be a boxer, I knew I was outnumbered that night and I didn’t like to fight unless it was absolutely necessary. I wasn’t one of those guys who was always itching to mix it up with someone all the time.

  As an alchemist, I could still fight. It wasn’t exactly boxing, but boxing had proven to be very helpful to my fight strategy, stamina and skills. Alchemy was one of the few protections that humans could use to fight off the immortals and the supernatural world when its creatures got out of line. And they got out of line quite often.

  Sometimes, I asked myself why I’d decided to go to this bizarre school, but then, I’d realized what was realistically out there. I no longer lived in a lollipop world where our only enemies were the countries that got out of line. We had unseen paranormal enemies, too, and every year, I learned more about them. Vampires. Werewolves. And other strange creatures. All lethal.

  I knew there was a fight coming to us, the humans. Something we wouldn’t see until it had completely engulfed us. I might not be immortal, but I’d had to whip some of their asses from time to time.

  However, my strength could only do so much. At this point in my life, power was my only gift that I knew how to completely control. That, and the Fire Warrior.

  Over the past ten years, supernatural gifts and abilities had been given to me. Alchemy had helped me to control and hone all of my gifts. I felt that I received the best from both the immortal and mortal worlds. Some gifts, I used often; others, I had used only once.

  I was persuaded by my mother to learn how to be an alchemist. Alchemists brought science and physics—and sometimes, metaphysics—to the fight against evil. Alchemists used everything around them to manipulate situations in their favor to defeat the bad guys.

  But right now, I was going to get my run in. I buckled down and ran hard and far. As I went down the streets of Fullerton, I felt alive.

  I headed down Harbor to Hillcrest Park. I took a left at the park and ran around Fullerton College. I reached Chapman Avenue, and I ran up to the Cal State Fullerton track. I did eight laps, ran back down Chapman and then home.

  I was heading up toward my house when as clear as day I heard a woman say in my ear, “Find my truth.” I stopped running and looked around the street and there wasn’t a soul in sight.

  ‘Find my truth?’ Did I hear that or was that just my imagination? I had no idea, but now, I was a little creeped out. I decided to head up the street to my house. I returned and it was 9:00 a.m. My mom would be driving me to my school in an hour. I was already packed and ready to go. I just needed a long, hot shower.

  I took my shower and went to my bedroom. I lay on my bed in my towel, pulling just the sheet over me and intending to get dressed in a minute or two. But before I knew it, I had nodded off.

  Chapter Four

  There were werewolves for days.

  They kept attacking and attacking. There must have been a thousand of these canine beasts. I looked to the sky and I could feel him summoning me. He wanted out. I needed him to become a part of me. The beasts were snarling and I could feel the warmth of their breath. I could hear my father shout, “Go to the heat of the flame!”

  Then, suddenly—

  “Anthony!” Somehow, my mother was here. Relief and anxiety poured into me at the same time.

  “Anthony! Wake up!” Now, my mother was closer. Too close. I was awake. I had been sleeping. My mother was now in my open doorway. I was sweating profusely and she knew I once again had one of my nightmares. The problem with having nightmares and being the person I am, I’m just reliving actual experiences. And these nightmares are just a reminder that I will never lead a normal life.

  I gave my mother a brave face and she smiled at me, knowing there wasn’t much she could do when it came to the dream world. She had changed into a pair of purple sweats and she’d pulled her dark hair back in a ponytail.

  “What time is it?” I asked, my heart still pounding from the werewolves in my dream.

  “Time to go,” she responded. “You packed?”

  “Yes, I already put my bags in the minivan,” I said.

  “You’re ready to leave me until Thanksgiving?” My mom looked at me with her sad, puppy-dog eyes. I was pretty sure my sister and I were the only two people left on this earth who she did this to. Maybe Kingsley, too.

  I smiled at my mom. “It will give you time to conquer the world,” I said, “and not worry about cooking dinner.”

  She laughed. “Let’s hit the road, kiddo. Daylight’s burning.”

  My mom had a wry sense of humor for a vampire. She left the room so I could dress.

  In a few minutes, I changed into my blue jeans and a fitted blue t-shirt that showed off my physique. I made my way to the bathroom so I could comb my hair, brush my teeth and put on some deodorant. My leather jacket, a Christmas gift from my mom, was sitting on top of the hamper in the bathroom. I put it on—it always fit tight in the shoulders. It did give me a ‘Grease is the word’ feel. Truthfully, I had never seen the movie. But that didn’t stop my mom from singing the song whenever I wore it.

  I combed my dark-brown hair, but I didn’t pound on the gel to make myself look more like a greaser. I just combed it in the usual way. I combed all my hair to the back and then I made my part to the left. My mom said that each year, I had become more handsome. Well, at eighteen, I hoped I was reasonably handsome by this point.

  I’d only had one girlfriend of any significance. So, girls were still new to me.

  My sister was at her new boyfriend’s house. My mom was not too thrilled about her staying over there, night after night. She wanted her to commit to one plac
e or the other. Mom knew that Tammy could trust her new boyfriend by the mere fact that she could read his mind and probably hadn’t told him. Tammy had the ability to read everybody’s mind. It was real creepy when I first found out. I had a hard time dealing with it at first. Then I figured out that sisters don’t want to hear pervy things that their brothers were thinking. I would imagine all sorts of weird scenarios until she was completely out of my head. Since those days, I had two rules: One, I never ask whatever the hell she hears in my head. Two, I try to stay as far away from her as possible unless need be.

  I turned off the bathroom light when I heard my mother start up the minivan. She was an impatient woman sometimes.

  I went out to the garage and the passenger side door was already open. She had already pulled her minivan halfway out of the garage. She was in a hurry. She hated traffic.

  I jumped in, sat in the passenger seat and shut the door behind me. “Patience is a virtue.”

  My mom paused, looked at me and smiled. “I’m hungry. How does Burger King sound?”

  “The Whopper is the breakfast of champions in my book.”

  We headed out and went through the drive-thru at Burger King. I did order a Whopper, in fact. Not to mention one each of their huge chicken and fish sandwiches. Throw in large fries and a jumbo Coke and I had my breakfast of champions.

  My mom hopped on the 91 freeway and we were off to Big Bear. “Anthony, I’m proud of you for sticking it out through your last year of the Academy.”

  “You say that as if you’re surprised that I’ve made it this far.”

  “You know your interests over the years have been all over the map.”

  “I know,” I said, a bit annoyed.

  “What’s that about?” she asked.

  “What is what about?”

  “Your tone. Isn’t this what you want?”

  “To become a world-class alchemist?” I said, with a chuckle.

  “Why are you laughing?” My mother was now visibly angry. I knew better than to answer. My mom paused the conversation as she continued to drive down the 91 freeway.

  “Anthony, I know it’s every boy’s dream to be a professional athlete. You probably could have picked any sport and would have been the best in the world at it. I know that must be a hard pill to swallow, but you have to swallow it. You can’t play human sports because you have a supernatural edge.”

  I paused and said, “I guess I will forever be your little hybrid.”

  “I hate it when you say stuff like that,” my mom said, growing upset. This was something that I said often, but she had no answer. So, until someone told me what I am, I had embraced being a “hybrid.” It sounded better than in-betweener.

  My mom took a deep breath and said, “Anthony, don’t make this hard on me. You know what I had to do to keep you alive.”

  “I know, Mom.”

  “I’m sorry that we don’t know exactly what you are. Trust me, I still don’t know exactly what I am... not completely.”

  “But you know that you’re immortal. There is no question that you are a vampire.”

  My mom looked over at me as she drove. “I know you need to know whether you’ll die a mortal’s death. I was told by Archibald Maximus that only time would tell on that matter. If he is befuddled, then not a soul alive or dead knows the answer. The bottom line is, you can’t fight other men in the ring for money because you’d have an unfair advantage. You can’t play in the NFL because you would be exposed. If anyone ever found out what you really are, you would be ostracized and booted from the sport. Anthony, you would probably end up in a government-run lab in some Area 51 type of place—and that would be very, very bad.”

  I didn’t reply. I’d heard all of this before. Having a pro sports career was non-negotiable. Never argue with a vampire who’s your mother.

  “I bought you all clean underwear,” my mom said with a wry grin. She was changing the subject to humor.

  “Look, I have taken care of my childhood problem.”

  “You’ve gotten a whole lot better, but remember, I’m your mother who does your laundry every so often. There isn’t much you can slip past me.”

  I was quiet. My mom liked to embarrass me when she wanted to deflect me. I’d learned about deflection techniques last year from my roommate, Barry.

  Mom continued, knowing deflection wouldn’t work on me. “Anthony, I thought you wanted this. This is a way you can use both your mind and strength. You will be able to do incredible things in the paranormal and supernatural world. You have already seen what your gifts can do. Being an alchemist will help you control all of your gifts. Channel them in good directions.”

  “I’m just tired of not knowing exactly what I am.” This conversation was going south for me in a hurry.

  My mom shook her head at me. I knew she had enough problems, and she didn’t need me to pressure her about questions she didn’t have answers for. “I’m not sure, son. I hate not being able to tell you exactly what has happened to you or what is happening to you.” She stared straight ahead as we headed into the base of the mountains on Waterman Avenue.

  My mom was quiet all the way up past the city of Arrowhead, which was halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, she spoke in a burst of energy. “I think this is the best job for you. Becoming an alchemist is an incredible opportunity to have a career that can make a difference.”

  I nodded.

  She added, “Some of the alchemists I have run across have become enlightened masters. They are able to defeat any immortal or supernatural creature that has challenged them.”

  “Mom, I have been defeating these beings since I was thirteen years old.”

  “Imagine the power you will have as an enlightened master. Imagine the good you can do. Your school is the first of its kind. If the new generation can train and learn how to defeat the mysterious creatures that are out to hurt the masses, then your school will start a revolution in standing up against the darkness. The threat is real.”

  “I know that. I have seen them all. The very best and the very worst.”

  “I know, son.”

  “Revolution?” I smiled at my mom. “You sound like one of my instructors.”

  “It’s a big deal. You’re a huge deal for being almost finished with your schooling. I am so proud of you.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Mom. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I still need to have another profession, along with being an alchemist. The last I checked, there wasn’t an alchemist alive who was being paid for their craft.”

  “That might be the way it is now, son. Trust me when I tell you that huge things are coming. One of the things will be alchemist-sponsored jobs.”

  “Again, you sound like one of my instructors. I might just have to go into the family business.”

  “A private detective?” she asked.

  “Hey, it works for you.”

  My mom smiled at me. “Being a private detective opens up a lot of doors. Who knows what might open up for you as more people come to know you on your own merit? I know that is important to you.”

  “Very important to me.”

  “Anthony, the sky’s the limit. I know it’s not the glamor of boxing or the glory of the NFL, but you will make a difference. The more you make a difference, the more the financial side will just fall in your lap. That has been my experience, and I trust it will be yours, too.”

  “Can I turn on the radio?” I said, changing the subject. Deflecting, like she sometimes did.

  “Are you going to just listen to sports radio?”

  “Probably.”

  “Just every now and then, turn it to a pop station, so I can feel my youth again.”

  My mom knew I hated pop music. I put on a show called “The Dan Patrick Show.” It was the one sports show that my mom sort of liked.

  As I listened, I nodded off a tad. It took another 45 minutes to drive up the highway to Big Bear. It was noon, and it was starting to become extremely hot, which was kin
d of unusual at that altitude.

  Chapter Five

  Finally, my mom pulled into the long, winding driveway of my campus.

  There was a fog rising from below that made it almost impossible to see, even with the sun above us. It made the campus seem even spookier than usual that a hot, sunny day was being socked in by ominous-looking fog. The campus used to be a private Catholic boarding school, complete with a Gothic architecture church out front. A church that sometimes gave me the creeps, owing to the open-mouthed stone gargoyles under the eaves that were actually rainspouts. I hated their eyes… dark holes that looked like staring pupils in the rising fog. A fog that smelled like rotten eggs, of all things.

  Usually, the school’s stereotypical spooky movie appearance amused me. Very few things actually bothered me. But when I stepped out of my mother’s minivan, I looked into those damn gargoyles’ eyes and this time, I wasn’t amused by them. Instead, those eyes sent a shiver up my spine that I hadn’t felt since I was a kid. I felt as if their stone eyes were on me and they were the eyes of the enemy. Which enemy? I didn’t know.

  I shook off a shudder, grabbed my bags from the back and set them down next to my mom’s minivan. I enveloped my mom in a big, tight hug. “Use your fog lights on the way back until you clear this pea soup at the bottom of the mountains.”

  “Good idea.” She paused. “So, I’ve decided to take that pleasure trip to Europe.”

  “Really?” That usually meant she had to do something extremely serious and I probably wouldn’t be able to get a hold of her for a week.

  “Wow, Europe. So sudden. You sure this isn’t really business?”

  My mom smiled at me. “It will be a little of both.”

  “Where exactly in Europe?”

  “What are you, a cop?” my mom joked.

  “No, just your son.”

  “I will be staying at the Mason Hotel in the city of Prague.”

  “Where the hell is Prague?” I laughed. Geography was never my strong suit.