Crimson's parents were killed by vampires when she was 6 years old. Because of that she's sworn vengeance on all vampires and spends every night tirelessly hunting for vampires to kill. Lamech is the leader of the biggest vampire clan in the world...
The area right after the stairs in the basement was a big open space with three different doors, apart from the one to the dungeon. Aideen led me to the one on the right and opened it to a big room that was clearly designed for fighting practice.
There was a large area with a special mat that would lessen the impact of falls. Various practice weapons were in stands along one of the sides. A few boxing bags hung from the ceiling. And much, much more. Really it looked to me like anything one might want when learning to fight was there.
There also were three vampires in there, one woman and two men. They were in one corner of the mat. It looked like one of the men were instructing the other two, but they stopped what they were doing as we entered and I decided to promptly ignore them.
"So... What do we start with?" Aideen asked and shifted a bit back and forth on her feet.
I walked on to the mat and she followed. When I was as far away from the vampires as possible, but still with enough space to train, I stopped and turned to face her.
"We'll just start with you showing me what you got. Both in technic and strength. So just try hitting my hands," I said and held them up for her.
"Shouldn't you wear like those pads or whatever? They always do in movies. Won't you get hurt?" She bit her lips and looked anxious.
I laughed lightly. "I would be very impressed if you managed to hurt me."
"But... I'm a vampire. I... I'm much stronger than before."
"Did you see me fight Everett?" I asked her.
"Did she fight Everett?" I heard one of the vampires whisper to the others.
"Haven't you heard? Apparently Lamech stepped in to stop it and he was pissed off," another answered.
"Yeah, but..." Aideen started to answer me, both of us seemed set on ignoring the others, because if I heard them, then she definitely did too.
"Did you see that he managed to land a few good punches?"
"Yes..."
"Did it look like any of those particularly hurt me?"
"No, but..."
"What? Is she claiming she actually stood a chance against a vampire?" the first one exclaimed, though still keeping her voice to a whisper.
"She looks fine enough. If she hadn't, would she be walking around today?" the third pointed out.
"Being a witch must have its own perks in a fight," the second one added.
"Do you believe that your punches will be worse than Everett's?" I asked Aideen, still ignoring the other vampires, though their whispers slowly started to annoy me.
"Fine, alright! I get it. Up with your hands then!" Aideen exclaimed.
I laughed again and held up my hands. I didn't let her hit though before I took them down. She had made her hands to fists and already there she had done wrong.
"Have you never heard that you shouldn't ever have your thumb inside your fist?" I shook my head.
"Why not? What difference does it make?"
"You risk breaking the bones in your thumb if you do. Even as a vampire you run that risk, and although it would heal almost instantly, it would still hurt when it happens."
"She seems to at least know her stuff," the first commented and I rolled my eyes.
Unable to ignore them any longer I turned to them. "And my hearing is also perfectly fine."
All three of them looked a little abashed. I guessed their whispers had been rather low and that they really hadn't thought I could hear them. The woman out of the three of them seemed to regain herself the fastest.
"Well, you seem to be a rather special one," she said and looked me up and down with eyes brimming with curiosity.
"And you seem to be a rather intrusive one," I replied.
One of the two male vampires snorted. "She got a point," he said and I could identify him as the third and last of them to have spoken before.
The woman scoffed and hit him lightly, but came with no retort.
"Out of curiosity," the other male said, "what spell did you cast on yourself when fighting Everett? How long does it last and could you cast it on someone else?"
"And why on earth would I need to cast a spell to fight a vampire?" My eyes turned to slits. Just like Lamech, just like everyone I had ever fought, this vampire considered me weak. Before I had seen the underestimation I was usually subjected to as my greatest weapon, but now it had started to become an annoyance.
"As if you would manage for even a second without magic," he answered and I saw his muscles tighten.
"Try me," I challenged him, but before he moved, the other man put a hand on his shoulder. They shared a look and the one that questioned me rolled his eyes.
"You're unfortunately not worth the consequences," the arrogant ass scoffed to me and turned to leave. The other vampires followed.
"Let me know if you change your mind," I said after him. "And if you do, please remember to not underestimate me."
"She really thinks she's something. If it wasn't for Lamech..." the vampire muttered under his breath.
"He's not here and won't need to know anything. The only thing stopping you is your own cowardice. So come on! I dare you!" I shouted at him, regretting my words a bit as soon as they left my mouth. Though not enough to back track.
The two other vampires hooked their arms in his as he turned to walk back.
"Let me go! I want to teach her a lesson," he snarled as they pulled him away.
"Goddess, get a grip on yourself, will you?" the woman sighed and then cast me a look I couldn't quite comprehend. It looked a bit like approval.
Without any other comment being exchanged, they had left the room.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
