Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Rescue and Meeting.

I held my breath as he removed his fangs in a matter of milliseconds and closed his lips around the two little holes.  He began to suck, and I felt the blood been drawn from my system.  I began to get weak fairly quickly.  When vampires started to drink, they drunk fast so their prey couldn’t escape.  I blinked a few times, my eye lids becoming heavily quickly.  I weakly shoved at him.  I gripped the dagger and used the rest of my strength to plunge it into his chest. He let out a strangled cry and took his cool lips off my neck.  I heard another growl, this one was more menacing and it didn’t come from the dying vampire on top of me.  The vampire was suddenly ripped off me.  I saw a dark shape standing next to me, they had hold of the dying vampire.  The dagger was still in my hand.  There was a hole in the dying vampire’s chest.  My warm blood dripping down my neck.  This is how some vampire’s victims die.  The vampires leave them to bleed out onto the floor in the streets.  The blood cooled and diluted because of the rain.  We were on a slant slightly, so rain washed down the street, washing away my blood with it.

The figure stood next me watched the other vampire wither and shrink in on himself until he looked like a hundred year old corpse.  It looked down at me and I looked at them with a blurred vision.  Whoever it was bent down and lightly brushed the holes in my neck, his fingers were cold, and I was sure they weren’t cold from the rain.  I looked at his face, but it was too dark to make anything out, apart from two blood red eyes.  I fought against how heavy my eyelids were as the person next to me bent to my neck.  I felt something cool brush against the puncture wounds and I winced. 

There was that pain again, of blood being drawn from my system.  I winced again and my hand snapped up to grab the hair of the person next to me. It was short and felt like silk.  It the person was human, it would have hurt, but vampires rarely feel pain.  Depends on what happens to them.  A punch in the face didn’t hurt, but if they got stabbed somewhere then that did hurt.  I gripped my dagger, determined to use the last of my strength to kill this second vampire, but the vampire suddenly drew back.  My eye lids finally dropped, nearly closing.  I saw a face looming above me, looking down at my face, but I barely saw it.  I let my eyes close and drifted.  The last thing I felt was a cool finger sliding over my lips.

 

I gasped and sat straight up in bed, panting slightly as sweat dripped down my back.  My hand automatically went to my neck; I felt two little puncture marks there.  So it wasn’t a dream.  A vampire had really attacked me in the town, and another vampire had pulled them off me just as I delivered the final blow.  I blinked and looked around the plane white room that I was renting in the hotel in the town, the Royal Hotel.  It was only a short walk away from where I was attacked.  I looked down and saw that I was wearing a white tank top and just my underwear. I frowned and hugged the duvet to me.  It was still raining outside.  I looked at my bedside table and found my dagger there, its sheath next to it. 

I then realised how dark it was in here, someone had closed my curtains.  I groaned and looked at my window, only to find a man standing in front of it.  I yelped and rolled off the bed away from him.  I grabbed my dagger off the bedside table and pointed it to him.  He held up his arms in surrender as I looked him over.

Well, the first word that came to mind was hot, but he was a vampire, the eyes were a big enough cute, but that was because he was a vampire.  They were naturally beautiful, it made it easier to lure their pray.  But this vampire was....hot.  He had jet black hair and pale skin.  He wore black jeans and a grey sweater, but the sweater was tights, and you could see his muscles through it.  Either he worked out as a human, or he’d gotten those muscles when he’d been turned.  Either way he still had them.  He looked at me with blood red eyes.  His face was beautiful, with full, pale lips and a perfectly straight nose.  His lips were thin and looked soft. 

Those lips in mind curled up at one side into a smile.  Even that was cute.  I looked at his eyes as his eyes were trained on my dagger, which was pointing towards his heart.

“Who are you and what the f**k are you doing in my room?” I asked.

His eyes drifted over my face and then over my body.  I scowled.  This guy might be cute, but I didn’t like people just staring at me.

“Erm, hello, face is up here!” I said to him, pointing to my face.

“Sorry,” he said with an American accent, looking back at my face.  “Just looking.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Who are you?” I asked again.

“Call me Ash,” he said, smiling again.  “What may I call you?”

“Ayre, call my Ayre, like everyone else.”

“Okay, Ayre.”

I scowled at his tone of voice.

“Why are you in my room?” I asked.

“Well, I wanted to make sure you didn’t die after the vampire attack,” Ash said. 

“You pulled the vampire off me?!” I asked, shocked.

“Yes!” Ash said, rolling his red eyes.  “Who did you think pulled him off you?”

“I don’t know,” I snapped at him, “maybe another vampire who wanted to kill me!”

Ash rolled his eyes again at me. I scowled at him.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me!” I shot at him.

He raised one eyebrow at me as a smirk crawled onto his face.

“Or what?” he challenged.

“Who’s the one with the knife here?” I asked, a smug grin on my face.

“Who’s the vampire with the super speed here?” Ash asked, a smug grin on his face.

“Oh,” was all I came out with. 

Ash laughed.

“And you’re not the only one with weapons,” he said, gesturing at his back with his hands.

Now that he’d pointed them out, I saw two silver handles over each shoulder, slanted slightly.  I saw two black straps over his abdomen, making an X.  The handles were detailed and looked beautiful, just like him.  He saw me staring at them and grinned.

“I thought vampires didn’t use weapons?” I shot at him, my eyes going back to his face.

“Some do, most don’t,” Ash said calmly, leaning against the wall.  “The ones that don’t get killed easier.  Anyway, Demon Hunter, I thought you’d have more weapons that just that dagger.”

I scowled again.

“My partner has them,” I said.  “This is a personal blade, it goes everywhere with me.”

Why was I telling him this?! Why hadn’t I gone in for the kill yet?! What was wrong with me?!  This vampire had been in room for god knows how long, he’d drunk my blood when I’d been dying, and now he was commenting on my weapons! Who the hell did he think he was? He had no right coming in here and talking to me.  I was a Demon Hunter, and he was a vampire!  We shouldn’t be talking, we should be ripping each other’s throats out!

“You’re right, we shouldn’t,” Ash suddenly said, smirking.  “But I don’t think killing you after saving you would be good.”

Oh yeah, vampires can read minds! That meant he’d heard everything I’d thought about him!  A fiery blush crept up my neck and I looked at my feet.  He chuckled.

“Okay, this is awkward,” I mumbled, looking back up at him.

“That’s an understatement,” Ash said, chuckling again.

I rolled my eyes.

“Anyway, why didn’t you kill me last night?” I asked.  “Or let the other vampire finish me.  I bet vampires aren’t every keen on other vampires saving Demon Hunters, are they?”

I smiled smugly at him, knowing that if anyone found out, he’d be in deep s**t.  But then again, so would I, for not killing him the moment I saw him.

“Well, first of all, I only came upon you be accident,” Ash said, holding up one finger on his right hand.  “Second on all” " a second finger stood up on his hand " “that vampire had annoyed me a while back so I decided to get even. And third of all” -  another finger - “you nearly did die.”

I scowled at him.

“How did I nearly die?” I asked.

“I drank from you,” Ash said, looking a little sad.  “I smelt the blood and I couldn’t resist.  But I nearly killed you that way.  I took more than I should have.”

“I didn’t ask about that,” I snapped, still scowling.  “I asked why you didn’t kill me.”

“I don’t know, okay?!” Ash snapped at me.  “I don’t know why I didn’t kill you.”

We both scowled at each other.  He’s such a d****e.  I felt like slapping him right now. 

There was a knock at my door.  I jumped about ten feet in the air and dropped the dagger on the bed.  Okay, I didn’t normally jump like that, but normally I didn’t have a vampire in my room.  I looked at my door and then back at my window, but Ash was gone.  What the.....?  Oh, yeah, super speed!

I shoved the dagger back into its sheath, chucked it on the bed and then walked over to my door, sorting out my hair, which I was sure that was a mess.  I groaned as I opened the door and tried to act as if I’d just woken up. 

My partner was stood on the other side of the door.  Jackie Swift.  She had a scowl on her pink lips.  I sighed and let her in.  Here we go.

“Where the f**k did you run off to last night?!” Jackie demanded, putting her manicured hands onto her slim hips.

Jackie was the kind of girl who liked to dress up nice all the time and do her hair.  Her blond hair was pulled back into a pony tail right now.  Her eyes were framed with black eyeliner and the eye lashes were thick and black.  She was wearing a pair of white jeans and a thick, red jumper, which I could just see above her thick black coat.  The scowl on her lips did nothing for her face.  In fact, it made her look dangerous!

“Erm, well, I got attacked by a vampire and came straight back here after I killed it,” I said.  “It’s dead now, we can go home.”

Jackie growled at me.

“You killed it without me?!” she wailed.  “Why didn’t you wait for me?!”

I rolled my eyes.  Jackie loved killing Demons as most as much as me.  She got whiny and angry when I killed without her, or whatever anyone kills without her. 

“Yes, but it wasn’t easy,” I said.  “I got bit.  Then I came straight back here to sort it out.”

“Wow! You got bitten?”

Jackie raised one eyebrow, shock covering her face.  Okay, even I was shocked that I’d been bitten, but it had been raining, I hadn’t even been able to see five feet in front of me!  I rolled my eyes at myself and put my hands on my hips.

“Yes, I got bitten, but I killed him before he could get much blood,” I told her, a smug grin on my face.  I felt a little bad for taking all the credit, but I couldn’t exactly say a vampire saved me and then brought me back while I was out cold. That would ruin my reputation. 

“Where’s the body?” Jackie asked.

“Probably a pile of dust by now, and that would have washed away,” I told her.  “It was raining heavily last night.”

“What? Like now?”

Jackie walked over to my curtains and yanked them apart.  The sky was grey, with no sun, and it was raining heavily still.  I sighed and looked at Jackie’s face.

“Are we leaving right away, or....?” I asked. 

“No, I gotta call training centre and then we’ll see about going back,” Jackie said.

Damn her for being a few years older than me, otherwise I’d be in charge of this mission. 

“Fine, just get back to me about when we can go back America, okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Jackie said.  “I’m going for some breakfast, you coming?”

“I need to get dressed, I’ll meet you down stairs in a bit.”

Jackie nodded and headed for the door.  She walked out and closed it after herself, leaving me alone in the room.  Well, I thought I was alone.

“Well, good thing I can move fast, hey?” Ash asked, now lying on my bed with his hands behind his head. 

I scowled at him and put my hands on my hips again.

“Where did you go?!” I hissed.

“Wardrobe.”

He jerked his pale thumb at the wardrobe on the left side of the room, smirking still.  I glanced at it and then back to him. Now he was playing with my dagger, one finger on one end, and the point pushing into his other finger.  But not with enough pressure to pierce the skin.  I glowered at him and walked over to the bed side.  I held my hand out for the dagger.

“Give me my weapon back,” I said.

“Say please,” Ash said, still smirking.

God I could punch him.

“Go ahead,” Ash said, reading my thoughts.  “Although you might end up breaking your hand.”

I scowled at him again and lunged for my dagger.  His hands movies before I could grab it.  I scowled again and went for it again, and he dodged, he chuckled and was suddenly behind me.  I could feel his cool breath on the back of my neck, it made me shiver.

“I gotta go,” he said, I could hear the smirk in his voice.  “But we’ll  see each other again.”

He chuckled in my ear and pressed the dagger into my hand.

Then his breath disappeared.

I turned around and he was gone.  My window was open, and the wind made the curtains blow about.  I scowled and looked down at the dagger in my hands.  The handle was cold, and I was sure that wasn’t from the room temperature.  I went over to the window and slammed it shut before locking it.  Damn you, Ash!  I wasn’t going to let him get to me, no-one did that.  And not certainly a cute vampire who had saved my a*s.  I yanked the curtains closed and chucked my dagger back onto my bed.  I closed my eyes for a few minutes, thinking before opening my eyes again.  I grabbed some clothes out the wardrobe and then some underwear from the drawers.  I dressed darkly again, I always dressed darkly.  People told me to wear light colours, as the dark colours clashed with my creamy skin.  But I didn’t listen to them, as always. 

I clipped my sheath onto my belt on my black jeans and pulled my long, black sweater over it so it covered it up.  I could get into some deep s**t in a normal human caught it on me.  I’d get arrested, and then I’d have to come up with a story of why I had it on me.  And then I’d get told off by my boss. 

For a final touch, I tied back my hair, which was a little weird for me.  I normal kept it down, with my long fringe covering part of my face.  I grabbed my black sunglasses off the table and slipped them on.  Sure, it was raining out, but I liked it when people couldn’t see my eyes.  It gave me an edge, and some vampires need eye contact to read your mind, or even control with their mind.  The glasses was a little trick I’d learned from an old friend, who’d been killed three weeks after he told me about it.  

I headed out my room and locked it.  I knew now, after thinking about it, that Ash didn’t need eye contact to read peoples mind.  That meant he didn’t need eye contact to control me if he wanted to.  I growled at the thought.  So far I’d managed not to let any vampire control me, and I was sure as hell not going to let them.  Some Demon Hunters got themselves killed that way.  With the right command, vampires could tell the Demon Hunters to kill themselves, or kill their fellow Demon Hunters, or even launch an attack on an enemy coven. 

Being a Demon Hunter is always dangerous, I’d learnt that a while back. But with me, the more dangerous the better.  Life is too boring to not take risks, even risks that could get you killed.  I really don’t care about my death.  If I get killed, I get to see my family again, and if I don’t get killed, well, then I wait until the day I die.  I don’t try to keep myself alive, but I don’t try to get myself killed.  Sometimes I think about dying, but then another thought comes into my head: My parents wouldn’t have wanted me to kill myself, they’d have wanted me to live a full life.

But when that happens, more thoughts appear in my head, like they wouldn’t want me to be what I am now, a person who never go’s to parties or have fun.  They wouldn’t want me to train every day, or attack Demon’s solo.  I push these thoughts away with one thought of my own: They don’t want anything, they’re dead, all dead.  When I think that I always end up crying for several hours.  I may be a hard nut on the outside, someone who never cries, someone who always trains and keeps fit.  On the inside I’m really a little girl who punishing herself for what happened to her parents.  I train and battle to take my mind off them, but in truth, I’m always thinking of them when I’m training or running after Demon’s, how could I not? I took over their jobs, I took their lives, I stepped into their shoes.  But these are shoes that I’ll never fill, my parents were some of the best Demon Hunters around, along with a few other people.  And I’ll never match their standard.   Never, will I become as good as my dad at handling weapons, or as fast as my mum.  And it makes me sad every day.  Maybe I could have become as good as them if they were alive to help me through training, but they aren’t.  And it kills me a little inside every day. 

I wiped a stray tear that had slid from under my glasses from my eye and headed for the lift.  I was on the third floor on the hotel and I couldn’t be bothered to walk down all the stairs after last night.  I didn’t feel good, a little weak if anything, and that annoyed me.  I hated feeling weak, it made me feel vulnerable, and I hated feeling  vulnerable.  I sighed as the lift doors opened and I stepped in.  It was empty.  I pressed the button for the ground floor and leaned against the metal bar running along the three walls of the lift.  My reflection on the lift doors stared back at my from behind a pair of dark glasses.  I may look dangerous anyway, but with these glasses on, I looked like someone who was about to go into a room and kill everyone.

An assassin.

I shook my head at myself and stepped out the lift.  I passed a few people who gave me a dirty look and headed for the lunch room. 

Author's Note

Don't judge me, I'm only human! xD

Reviews

[VincentRayne]

I like the conversation between ash and the main character. I was wondering, is the main character's name not mentioned at all this chapter. I guess that from a first person perspective it's harder to do that but maybe have the other characters say her name. Like when Jackie first comes in she could mention the speaker's name because she is addressing her after all. Overall rating...pretty good. Just some grammar here and there.

[Jason Galliger]

The last part of this chapter where she muses on her nature as a demon hunter is great. I want to see more of this introspective style. It allows the reader to further connect with the character. I'm not gonna lie the vampire is very much a cliche pastiche of Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and most of the modern vampires. I want him to be unique and distinguishable from other ppl's ideas. Make him have some kind of trait or characteristic that sets him apart. There are a few minor edits here and there that you should be able to catch on a second read through.

[Coyote Poetry]

The chapter was very good. I like the vampire in the room with the demon killer. It was a interesting conversation. I like this chapter because you create more detail of Jackie and the main character. A very strong chapter. I enjoy it.
Coyote