Learning

We had spent about three days at Chris’s apartment above his weapon store. Yesterday, Thackery had explained about the different levels of demons.

“There are six types of demons. First there are Shadow Hunters. They have no true shape or form. They possess the shadows of people and use it to control that person. They are trouble makers, but relatively harmless. Second are Slithers. They are snake-like demons that use speed and trickery to claim their prey. Next there are Shifters. They can take on the appearance of any mammal. In their original state, they look like a typical zombie. Flesh rotting and peeling away from the body.

“Werewolves come next. They aren’t what Hollywood has portrayed them as. They don’t need a full moon to change. They are like us in some ways. Some are actually really nice. They use their power for good. We Vampires come next. Each of us usually have a unique ability. We are separated into two categories. Blood Vampires, which are vampires that feed on human blood regularly and are very strong, and Vegan Vampires. I didn’t come up with the name, so don’t look at me like that. We are named for the fact that we don’t eat human blood, as vegetarian humans don’t eat meat. Finally there are the Legion Hunters. Vicious demons that follow orders from Satin himself. They are very powerful. They wear those cloaks to show dominance. Honestly, I thought they had us in the forest. I didn’t know Mell could hold that many back long enough. She is more powerful than I realized,” he had said with a bright smile.

Tonight, I went outside and enjoyed the cool breeze. Carbon Hill was a small town. How Chris managed any business is beyond me, but they came and went all night every night, though most were vampires or werewolves. I had to admit though, his land was very nice. His shop was originally a motel, but Chris knocked down all the walls to the rooms and built a small apartment on top of it. Thanks to Natalie’s magic abilities, the space was larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. His back yard was well cut and taken care of. It went from the road to a cliff that overlooked a lake.

I sat at the edge of the cliff and watched the ripples in the water dance and play with each other. The sound of soft footsteps told me that I was no longer alone.

“May I join you?” Tine’s girly voice ask. She sat down without waiting for an answer. She wore a light blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She was barefoot despite the coolness of the ground. “So how are things going?”

“I honestly don’t know. My entire world has been turned upside down. I’m not really sure about anything anymore,” I replied. I picked up a small rock and held it up for her to see. “This rock is me. I was perfectly fine where I was. Unfortunately,” I threw the rock into the black water, “now I’ve been sucked into the currents of a war I didn’t even know existed.”

She looked from me to the lake and back. “Actually, the war hasn’t started,” she said with a sheepish smile. “Not yet anyway. We all know its coming though. That’s why Chris and Thackery have been working on us all some weapons. Even with all our fighting skills, we are going to need to be armed. Thanks to Mell, Thackery and I have learned how to use a variety of close combat weapons. My personal favorites are the nun chucks, but I like the free movements and the fluidness of the motions. Thackery has a strange style. He likes using either a scythe or a staff. Mell prefers a long range bow, but she is very skilled with a katana.” She glanced back towards the house. “Well, time to find out what kind of weapon is best suited for you.” She flipped into a back handspring and landed in a fighting stance. “Show me what you got,” she said, beckoning me to join her.

“I’m not going to fight you,” I stated, then turned back to the lake. A slight whistling noise was all the warning I had.

Instinctively, I lay flat against the grass, narrowly dodging Tines foot as it sped past where my head had just been. She smiled and beckoned me again. The glair I leveled at her made her start to laugh. She shifted deeper into her stance, like a lioness about to pounce. Seeing no other choice, I stood faced her.

A wicked smile spread across her face as she lunged. She moved so fast she was just a blur. I moved to block her fist aimed at my face, but I felt her heel connect to my ribcage. I staggered back and gasp. I caught a glimpse of her as she danced back for a second attack; her fangs glinted in the moonlight. My fangs dropped in response. Everything changed. Her movements seemed to be slower. I could hear each step she took as she charged me.

My face spread into the same wicked smile she had. In one lithe movement she jumped and spun, her heel flew towards my face. Reflexes took over and I ducked under her attack, then leaped to the side to dodge her second attack. I aimed a low kick at her legs, but she easily cart wheeled over it.

Playful snarls ripped through the air as we lunged and dodged. We began to draw a crowd of other vampires and werewolves that wanted to see what all the commotion was about. Thackery and Mell stood and held hands as they watched. Thackery was no doubt reading my thoughts, learning how I moved. He studied my movements carefully.

Tine smiled and vanished. She moved so fast that she turned completely invisible. I suddenly knew she had been holding back the whole fight. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she hugged me from behind and laid her head on my shoulder. “I win,” she whispered into my ear. My body froze. I knew that if this had been an actual fight, she would have just took my head clean off. She laughed and stepped back.

The spectators started to laugh and cheer. A thin blonde vampire and a werewolf about the same size as Chris walked toward us.

“Hi, I’m Chase,” the vampire introduced himself in a deep voice. It almost sounded like he was high. “This is Darren,” he indicated the werewolf at his side. Darren smiled and gave a slight bow.

“Hi,” Tine replied. “My name is Tine, and this is Jacob.”

Darren extended his hand to her. His eyes were a bright green, and he spoke with a gruff voice. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said as she shook his hand. His hand seemed to swallow hers. “I haven’t seen anyone move like that. It was amazing. Your movements were so fluid and fast,” he said, admiration laced through his voice. He glanced at me with a jealous look.

“Oh, we aren’t together. He is just a friend,” she hastily informed. He gave her a quizzical look. She giggled and answered an unheard question, “Yes, actually I can.”

“Can what?” Chase ask.

“Read minds,” Darren answered, pure awe in his voice. He shook his shaggy brown hair and laughed. “She is unlike anyone I’ve ever met.” He looked at Tine. She raised one eyebrow, then smiled and nodded. His return smile was so warm and friendly. I knew he would never harm her.

Chase leaned over as they started to walk away and ask, “What just happened?”

I laughed. “I think they just decided to go on a date. I have no idea where though,” I replied.

“They went hunting,” Mell’s voice informed from behind us. We turned to face her and Thackery.

Chase laughed. “Can you read minds too?”

“No, but my husband can. Tine is his sister.”

Chase suddenly jumped and started looking around.

Thackery laughed. “I can also make people hear my thoughts,” he said. We all started to laugh.

“Well it was nice meeting y’all, but I gotta get goin. When Darren gets back, just please tell him to catch up. We got stuff we gotta do,” Chase said. After he shook hands with us, he turned and left. The crowd had all went back inside.

Thackery turned to me and smiled. “Well, I know exactly what type of weapon you need. You will have to have some training first. We will have to show you how to fight. I have to admit, you do have a lot of poten-” His head snapped up in the direction Tine and Darren had went just as an earsplitting howl rent through the air. We all turned and dashed into the forest. Footsteps told us that there were a few who had heard and were following.

Thackery came to a sudden stop and glanced around. Mell swore under her breath. Three others had followed us. I recognized Chase and Chris. The third girl I didn’t know. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled into a short ponytail. Thin glasses framed her bright blue eyes. She, like Thackery, glanced franticly around. I looked up into the trees and saw why they were worried.

Purple eyes glared down from the trees. Twenty Blood Vamps dropped in a circle around the six of us. We stood back to back as they started forward. Everyone shifted and prepared for the inevitable brawl. Thackery smiled, Mell laughed softly, Chris grinned from ear to ear, Chase muttered about this being a waste of time, and the new girl pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with a sly smile.

Two of the Blood Vamps charged, but Tine came out of nowhere and, with a graceful flip, planted a heel in each of their faces before she landed on her hands. With a twist of her small body, she was upright. Two gashes ran across each cheek, though they were already partially healed, and her shirt was ripped across the stomach. We heard heavy footsteps just before a hairy hand seemed to come out of the darkness itself and snatch one of the Bloods by his neck back into the night.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. They all charged at once, fangs readied. Feral snarls emitted from their throats. I felt my fangs lower. A fist caught my jaw before I could react. The crack of my jaw breaking rang in my ears. My vision blurred. Things seemed to slide out of focus. Voices blended into one. I landed on the ground with a hard thud. Everything went black. A scream reached my ears. It sounded far away, but it was so familiar. Where did I know that voice?

I saw Amber in her bedroom. She was cowered in a small corner. Her room was trashed. The bed was embedded into the wall and the TV was smashed against the door. Broken glass littered the floor. She screamed again as a figure in a black and scarlet cloak stepped towards her.

“You’re coming with me,” it growled. It snatched her up by her hair. Her brown eyes were wide with fright.

His wicked laugh lingered in my ears as I opened my eyes. The smell of dirt, blood, and ash filled my nostrils. I could hear the battle as it raged behind me. Anger filled my body. I was suddenly on my feet. My jaw snapped back in place. Ten Blood vamps were still fighting. My vision had a red taint to it. Before I could even think, I flew into the fray. I flipped over one of the Blood’s back, took his head in my hands, and twisted it around in the other direction. He was ash before he hit the ground. Another came at me from the side, his fist flying at my face. I snagged his hand and shattered his arm on my shoulder. Then in one fluid motion, flipped and felt my foot connect with his jaw. I was mid flip as another came at me from the other side. This time my foot connected with the crown of his head. Both turned to ash.

The other seven turned towards me. I didn’t know why Mell and the others didn’t finish them, but I also didn’t care. The Bloods charged. My vision turned solid red. I no longer had control of my body.

A sudden roar sent birds flying in all directions. It was a bloodcurdling blast that shook the trees and made the rocks quake. I was shocked to realize that the horrible noise was coming from my throat. I looked around and was more shocked to find a bloody arm slowly turning to ash in my hand and seven piles of ash laying scattered across the ground. I dropped the arm and watched it smash into a small pile of dust.

“Jake?” Tine’s voice ask cautiously from behind me. I fell to my knees, exhausted. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.