Chapter 3

A Chapter by WhiteWolfAvenger

You’d think that vampires wouldn’t need an assassin, right? I mean they’re supposed to be the top-of-the-food-chain bad asses that others come to when someone needs to be killed. Unfortunately it gets more complicated when talking about assassinating another vampire. The problem is that vampires get stronger as they get older; if you want to take out an old vampire (and have a chance at surviving) you had better have either numbers on your side or an older vampire. Even with those advantages, the risk of dying is higher than most vampires like.

Luckily for them, I can eliminate that risk.

Vampires care about living above everything else in this world. If there’s a way for them to accomplish their goals while having maximum safety, they’ll do it.

The easiest way to stay safe when it comes to killing another vampire? Get someone else to do it. That’s where I come in. I can go toe-to-toe with the strongest of vampires. I can outrun most vampires (not by much, but every little bit counts). Though I myself am not necessarily any smarter or more cunning than the average vampire, whatever is inside of me knows what its doing and I roll with it. It’s either that or be violently murdered by vampires. And not just the vampires I’m sent to kill.

Though Ivan had been civil when asking me to work for him, he hadn’t hidden his intentions to use more “harsh” methods of persuading me if I refused. Considering what I had already been through, I accepted as graciously as I could under the circumstances. Of course, I hadn’t really thought Ivan was serious about turning me into his personal assassin.

It wasn’t like I was already an assassin when Ivan found me. I had been working at my local library as an assistant. That’s about as far from “contract killer” as it gets.

Now I’m not saying that I’d been untouched by violence and death in my twenty-six years. Both of my parents had been brutally murdered when I was ten. I already knew a few things about death when Ivan and his group showed up. However, losing loved ones to a killer and being the killer yourself are two very different things. Up until Ivan forced me into working for him, the biggest thing I had killed was a deer and that was by accident. Now I killed people almost every month.

“You should probably come back another night,” Desmond said, bringing me back to the here and now, “Of course Ivan won’t forget to pay you, but he may have another job for you.”

“I seem to be getting more of them lately. Why is that?” During the eight months Ivan had had me under his thumb, I’d had maybe one or two assassination jobs every month. I had completed three jobs already and November was only in its second week.

“Well you’ve gotten much better at controlling yourself, perhaps Ivan is testing how long you can go without losing control. Or maybe he just wants his enemies taken care of as quickly as possible.” Desmond shrugged, knowing it wasn’t any of his business. Truthfully it wasn’t any of mine either, but I hated being kept in the dark about stuff that involved me.

I sighed and looked out one of the many windows Ivan had in his place to see that it had started snowing. Last year had been particularly mild for a Michigan winter and I was pretty sure Mother Nature would get her revenge this year.

“Did you drive?” Desmond asked, looking out the window with me.

“No, I didn’t see any reason to waste the gas.”

“Well you should still go home soon, in case the power goes out. I don’t think Minx would be too happy if you left him in the dark.” Minx was my Maine Coon and he hated being alone. Evidently he had been in a home where his owners liked to lock him in their closet whenever they would go out. He was now extremely claustrophobic (getting him to the vet was always fun) and seemingly determined to make up for all the loving he had missed out on during his kitten years. Though he liked almost everyone, Minx was particularly fond of Desmond. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

“Make sure to call when Ivan wants me to come over again.” I said.

“Will do.”

That being taken care of, I concentrated on getting home. This had been one of the first things Ivan had insisted I learn. I could do the same thing as the wolf that had helped me kill the vampire and werewolf earlier in the night. The most accurate way to describe what I could do would be to call it a form of teleportation. As long as I knew where I wanted to go or could at least picture it in my head, if I willed it, I could go to whatever place I chose. Though I wasn’t able to see it myself, Desmond had explained that when I shifted (the name Ivan had given to my ability) it looked like I combusted into black flames, which stayed for only a second. The curious flames were created by whatever beast was inside me and didn’t hurt at all. It only took a second to fully leave an area and then I would appear at whatever place I had thought of beforehand.

If I knew the exact spot in an area that I wanted to appear, I would go there instead of some random spot. I closed my eyes and pictured myself standing in my living room. Though I supposedly went up in flames every time I shifted, I always felt a few degrees cooler when it was happening. Something told me that it was the magic itself that caused the sensation.

Then I was in my living room.

My house wasn’t huge, but it was a good size considering I was the only one who lived here besides my cat. It was a two-story house that sat surrounded by a nice bit of forest. It was secluded and perfect for my line of work. Ivan had forced me out here about a week after he found me. He said it was so I would kill trees instead of people if I lost control at home. I was pretty sure it was just the whole overly possessive vampire thing. Though I hadn’t been thrilled to move out into the house, I had come to be very fond of it. I had brought all the stuff from my old house and shoved it into roughly the same positions in my new house. Besides having the comfort of my old things, the house itself had a warm aura. The front door put you right into the living room, which had plain white walls and a nice tan colored carpet. An open doorway on the right wall led to the kitchen. Stairs took you up to the second floor where the two bedrooms and bathroom were located. All in all, the house was nice.

Sure enough, the power had gone out and it was pitch black inside the house. Though I could see okay in the dark (thanks to the whatever was sharing my body and giving me enhanced senses), I still went into the kitchen and grabbed the flashlight I kept under the sink. Though I had to be a vicious, supernatural killer when I was with the vampires, I tried to hang onto any semblance of normalcy that I could when I was at home. As I went back out into the living room I clicked on the flashlight and allowed it to lead me up the stairs and into the first room I came to, my bedroom. I swung the beam of light into my room and ended up blinding Minx, who was lying on my bed. When I lowered the flashlight away from his eyes, he meowed and jumped off the bed so he could rub against my legs.

“Hey buddy.” I said, reaching down to pet him. It always amazed me how affectionate Minx was, considering his upbringing. Still, I was not one to turn down unconditional love, even if it was from a cat.

After I gave Minx some attention, I grabbed pajamas from my dresser and went back out into the hall to the bathroom. I set the flashlight beside the sink as I did my nightly routine.

When I was done in the bathroom I went back into my bedroom and climbed in bed. As I pulled the covers up to ward off the cold, Minx jumped up and laid down on my legs, a favorite spot for him at night. I leaned over and picked him up, setting him next to me. I knew he’d climb back on after I went to sleep, but I tended to toss and turn when trying to fall asleep and I really didn’t want to become a pincushion as he attempted to stay on me. Though I hadn’t done anything terribly stressful or exhausting, when I laid back against my pillows darkness took me under almost immediately.

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© 2014 WhiteWolfAvenger

Author's Note

Whew, finally got this chapter out. Actually, this chapter and the next were supposed to be one, but I decided to cut it in half. Anyway, like always, any constructive criticism or thoughts are appreciated.