by Devon Ashley
Quiet as she was, she could sense Abby maneuvering the pebble and stone paths, seeking her out. After all these years, Abby was the only hunter she was ever able to sense. She had always thought it a bit odd, but it wasn’t until she learned of her age that she began to believe why this occurred.
“Sure it’s safe to meet here? It’s pretty easy for someone to hide about.” Abby pushed her way through the elephant ear plants.
“No one ever comes in here. The guys spend all their free time playing video games and the girls are off in their cliques gossiping about their lives outside the school.”
Emily too had once belonged to one of these cliques. Unfortunately, Emily knew more about what was going on and just wasn’t as carefree as the rest. She knew she couldn’t tell them yet and she just couldn’t pretend everything was hunky-dory either. Lately, she chose solitude. Darby and Mira let her be, knowing full well she would seek them out eventually.
“So does the Order suspect anything?”
“Well, they’re definitely freaked out by you for some reason or another.” Emily raised herself up off the bench and locked eyes with Abby. She didn’t hesitate, feeling abruptness was the best way to go for an honest reaction. “But they have yet to figure out you’re a vampire.”
Abby’s expression was exactly what Emily had expected. Flawless. No one could keep a straighter face than Abby.
“Vampire, huh? When did you come up with that theory?” she asked coolly, sitting down in a metal chair opposite Emily.
“Oddly enough, a few months after you started training me. I could never get you guys to do anything during daylight hours. Then I convinced myself you had been working the night shift for so long it was all you knew. But now that I know how old you are, there really doesn’t seem to be a more fitting piece to the puzzle.”
Abby huffed. Emily waited silently for her answer, gently swinging her feet underneath the bench, occasionally extending her feet to kick a few pebbles.
She raised her left eyebrow. “If you thought we were vampires then why did you stay with us for the past two years?”
“Because I trusted you. You saved my life. So I thought, how evil could they really be? How often do you meet a vampire willing to save the hunter? And I’ve learned more from you in the past two years than I did the entire eighteen years I spent here.” Emily paused, then asked the question she had been longing to know. “So tell me already. What are you?”
Chapter Eleven
Abby knew this day would come. It always did. Through the years she had made many acquaintances but kept them that way on purpose. Secrets were hard for everyone to share, particularly Abby, because her secrets were…well, unusual to say the least. Her associates knew some things, but only Noel truly knew all the things that made Abby who she was. After all, he was responsible for one of her many secrets.
Through the past two hundred or so years, she had successfully kept her identity to herself, allowing others to see only the part of her they needed. Emily, for instance, always saw the huntress in Abby. It was what she knew and could understand, but it was only one part. Aside from her healing power, Emily had yet to witness the other attributes that were the complexity of Abby.
Abby pondered as Emily watched her, seeking answers. The question wasn’t what to tell Emily about herself, but whether or not to tell her.
“I don’t wanna come off as over-dramatic, but there really isn’t any other way of saying this that can get you to understand. What you’re asking to know about me could actually get you hurt.”
Emily looked confounded. “I don’t understand.”
“When you’ve been around as long as I have, special abilities begin to get noticed. I’ve tried to minimize the witnesses, the allies, the enemies, but the count gets higher with each passing day. People begin figuring things out. My coming here has informed the Order that I’ve been alive for two hundred years. From this point on, they’re gonna try their damnest to figure out the source of my longevity because it’s something that would benefit their cause.”
“They could never hurt you. They’re afraid to even be in the same room with you.”
“And that’s what makes them dangerous. You’re right; they won’t be coming to me for answers. They’re gonna go elsewhere for them. They’ll ask questions to other people, who will in turn become curious as well. Eventually, someone desperate enough for this answer will go after those they suspect to know these secrets. And before they’ll come for me or Noel, they’re gonna come for you.”
“Because I’m your friend,” Emily finished.
“No. Because you’re vulnerable. You’ll be the easiest one to break.”
Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn’t thought about that.
“Noel and I would die for each other, without hesitation. We would do anything to keep the other safe. Are you really gonna allow yourself to suffer torture should it ever come to that? We’re not naïve. We would never expect that from anyone. It’s why so few people know anything about us.”
“I would never rat you out, especially to some piece of scum looking to capitalize on your-”
“Misfortunes?” Abby interrupted. “Cause you’d actually be right.”
Emily responded quietly, “I was going to say gifts.”
Abby sighed. She was tired from both her journey and her non-productive meeting earlier that day. Even on a good day this was a hard conversation to have. “It’s easy to say that now. But given the worst circumstance, you’ll wanna give in.”
Emily shook her head in disagreement. “I’d never do that to you.”
“Why? Because you’re my friend?” asked Abby sarcastically.
“No,” Emily said flatly. “Because I owe you my life. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you. And no, I don’t wanna die. But let’s face facts. I’m already vulnerable. People are already aware that I’ve spent two years with you. So if I’m in danger of going out like that, I wanna know what my death would be protecting.”
Abby had given this speech reluctantly a few times before. Each time she told herself it would be the last time and she wouldn’t involve any more people, but it never seemed to work out that way. She didn’t bother telling herself that this time.
After a long hesitation, Abby reluctantly said, “Noel and I descend from the original line of pure vampires, not the mutated versions you hunt today. There are only a handful of us in the world, possibly less than twenty.”
Emily’s breath was forced out. She didn’t even realize she was holding it. Concerned, she asked, “You’re dying out?”
“No. We’ve always been few in numbers, by choice. Although the vampires you seek today originated from our line, they’re nothing like us.”
“What happened to them?”
“Mutation. Today’s vampirism was caused by one single vampire that happened to have lived a mortal life as a cannibal. Unfortunately, immortality did nothing to curb his appetite for bloody meat. His urge led him to bite people in the fatty areas of the body. Those that didn’t bleed to death turned. His thirst was transferred to those he infected, and so on, and so on. With time, they craved the blood more than the meat. More and more people were recklessly infected until their numbers were as great as those today.”
Emily’s body tensed, her eyes became glassy. Abby was distracted by a white blur in the corner of her eye. She turned to see a flower softly unfolding before her. Its stem began moving toward the moonlight. Several more flowers followed suit. A sweet perfume filled the air around her.
“So the line of vampires existing today originally came from someone like you?” It wasn’t really a question, more a thought spoken out loud.
“They don’t know that. My kind wiped out their elders a long time ago, including the cannibal. With their deaths died the truth about their beginnings. They have no idea pure vampires exist and that we actually hunt their kind.”
“And here I thought you hunted cause you were a huntress,” huff
ed Emily.
“No. I get away with it because I was once a huntress.” Abby rose and slowly paced before Emily, her arms crossed. “A hunter is all they see. They have no idea what I truly am.”
“So what exactly do you and Noel do?”
“Once upon a time, we would infiltrate a nest, befriend the vampires and determine the best way to wipe them out. These days, we hunt bigger game and leave the vamps to you guys. We’d have to be pretty bored or come across a really large nest to even bother.”
“Oh,” said Emily, as if her mind was far away. Her face looked ready to pass out, tired and blank.
“Are you okay?” Abby asked. She did ask for this…
“Yeah,” she replied, unchanged. “It’s just – a lot of information to process. I had always considered this a possibility, but honestly, I never thought for one second there’d be any truth to it.”
Abby looked up and out through the glass dome. The night was still young, too early for her to turn in. Noel was already out for the night getting a feel for their new surroundings. She too wanted to go but he was insistent she speak with Emily first. She hadn’t had any fresh air in several nights. She yearned to be outside in the crisp, cool air.
Emily’s unexpected question pulled her back to the warm atmosphere of the conservatory. “So how did your kind originally become infected?”
“Same as legend says, bitten by a rare type of vampire bat. Most were accidental, like the cannibal, but a few were intentional.”
“Like you?” she pursued.
Abby answered with a quick lift of her eyebrows. “It wasn’t until the cannibal began turning people that we even realized we could infect others. Originally, for the mutated, it was a simple case of gingivitis that allowed the blood to transfer to the victims. After several mutations, they developed fangs.”
Emily’s face puckered as if she bit into a sour lemon. “Do you have the fangs?”
Abby chuckled. “No, none of the pure do.”
“Were you bitten by bats?” asked Emily, slightly disgusted at the newer thought.
“I wasn’t, but there’s an elder or two still alive that transformed that way.”
“And people think rabies are the worst thing you can get from an animal bite.”
Abby’s lips softened upward. “Don’t worry. After what happened with the cannibal, my kind hunted down and destroyed the bats. Noel and I were both infected by introducing the blood of a pure vampire into our bloodstream.”
“I don’t understand how that makes you immortal,” Emily said, befuddled.
“Join the club,” replied Abby. Truth was, her kind had spent millennia trying to figure it out. It was only with recent advancements in technology that they were able to more clearly define their unique characteristics.
“I’m not quite sure how it all works, but I’ll tell you what was told to me by our researcher. It has something to do with cellular apoptosis.”
Emily looked lost, dumbfounded. “Abby, this place taught us how to read and write, but it wasn’t meant to get us into college. I’m gonna need simple terms.”
“It means cell death. Every cell in the human body has some sort of self destruction button. If the cell is sick there are several possible ways for it to die. If it starts inside the cell, something called p53 is needed. If outside the cell, it’s necessary for lignands to bind to the cell wall. The blood from my line acts like a poison, causing every cell in the body to start the process for cellular death. But our blood also contains decoys in massive numbers. They’re blank forms of p53 and lignands. They attach, and since they don’t actually do anything, the cells can no longer kill themselves. It also seems to keep us from aging further. Noel and I are in what seems to be limbo, neither life or death progress any further.”
“Wow,” said Emily, looking completely taken aback. “That still went completely over my head.”
“Took a while for me to get it too,” Abby said reassuringly.
“Okay, I’m not a science person, but tell me this. You can keep your cells from dying but what about infection? Say your cells get sick and they can’t be replaced because they can’t die?”
“Look at you,” Abby said brightly. “Smarter than you know. Until recently, we didn’t know this is what our bodies were doing. Our kind rarely gets infections. Somewhere along the line, someone did get sick and decided to drain himself of the tainted blood. He had a transfusion done, pumped himself with some medicine and the infection seemed to go away.”
“Wouldn’t that kill you? Losing all your blood?”
Abby grinned. “If it did, that stupid mural in the front lobby would depict it as another option.”
“So how long have you guys been this way? Were you a pure vampire when you lived here?”
“I wasn’t, but Noel was turned back in the late 1700’s. He was on his first assignment in Romania when he found me wandering in a forest. I was three and all alone. He understood the mark of the hunter on my shoulder and brought me here. Thirteen years later he returned to collect me.”
“Why?” asked Emily, confused.
“He claimed guardianship when he dropped me off. He knew hunters were released into the world without guidance and wouldn’t leave me there to train if they didn’t approve his terms. I spent the next nine years working with Noel…until-”
“Eraticus,” interrupted Emily.
Abby nodded her head, her eyes gazing out into the foliage. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She too had the brooding monster seek her out. She could still feel the heavy pressure sitting upon her chest, suffocating her, the cold dark eyes staring down at her from less than a foot away. His breath was rank and hot. Sharp talons cut into her neck as he gripped her tight. She was beginning to lose consciousness from blood loss when she pulled that dagger from her boot and began swiping blindly.
“I lost,” Abby said solemnly. “Just like everyone else. But not before permanently scarring his left cheek.” Abby drew an imaginary slash mark on her cheek. “In retribution, he left me to die a slow death.”
“Giving Noel time to come in and infect you before passing on.”
“Lucky me,” sighed Abby. Damned to life in darkness and solitude.
The thick, old-fashioned curtains in the library had been drawn by Emily to block all natural light. Abby felt relieved that Emily knew. They always had to be careful of their actions, careful not to reveal their vulnerabilities. It was only a matter of time before she figured it out and called them on it.
Abby was curled up against Noel on the sofa. They were trying to read an ancient book on the history of hunters. They were hoping to learn more about how a hunter became intertwined with the demon Morphus. The writing had faded and the flow of the language really slowed them down. Both were determined to continue, hoping it would mention something about the ordained huntress.
“Maybe we should call Sergei. See if he or one of our associates can decipher this for us,” Noel suggested.
Abby hated the idea of using their organization to help them out. She wasn’t sure who she could trust. Only two people within the organization knew of and approved all the members, their leader, Lord Gaius, and their recruiter, Nicodemus. They were told there were only about twenty pure vampires, but Abby was wary of the information given to them. Currently, she and Noel only knew a few. Sergei was a language specialist that was offered to them when they first started seeking information on Morphus. Barron was the scientist who tested and researched everyone’s blood in the group. He was introduced to Abby at his request due to a particular interest in her heritage. He was hoping to find the particular genes, if any, which were responsible for the attributes that made Abby destined to be a huntress. With her and Noel, that made up six out of the organization. Of those that remained, the only information ever given to her about their identities was that each offered a specific skill or expertise that could be called upon when required, never before.
Abby strained her eyes in a particularly worn out
area on the page. She angled the table lamp underneath, trying to bring out the faded lines in the paper. “No. We can figure out enough to get the gist of it. We’re just having trouble seeing it. Maybe we can Xerox it. Make it darker.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
A loud thump turned both their heads toward the wall bookcase. Emily had been scanning the upper most shelves, removing each book to see if something may have fallen behind. Finally giving up, she had jumped a few feet to the floor.
“You know, Chancellor Moore has his own private collection in his office. Anything useful is probably in there.”
“These books are useful. You just have to know what to look for,” stated Noel, his eyes returning to the book.
“I’m just saying, ask the Chancellor for his collection. You’re here to help. He should be willing to share.”
“Yeah, cause he looks like a sharing kind of guy. I’m sure he’ll jump right on that,” replied Abby sardonically.
At that moment, Darby entered the library with Mira. Both appeared to be in their mid twenties. So young, thought Abby. Emily had been the same age when they met two years back, but she seemed more mature than these two; stronger, more confident.
Darby had a beautiful glow to her lightly tinted skin. She had long blonde hair tied loosely in the back and eyes as blue as the sea. Mira, on the other hand, was far plainer. Sallow skin, mousy brown hair and unspectacular brown eyes - if ever there were a plain Jane, Mira was it.
Both came to about five foot five and had a lean, healthy weight. Surely flexible, they seemed to have little muscle mass. This astonished Abby. All of the current female hunters were far lighter and less dense than Abby and the women from her time period. Abby stuck out like a sore thumb. She dearly wanted to feed them all.
Emily was one of the more attractive huntresses. And she was the only huntress that had some weight. Probably due to the extensive workouts she was put through since they met. That and an appetite for red meat she curved on a daily basis.
“There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Darby said to Emily.