Slayers: Book One

What Am I Supposed To Slay? (15)

Twigs snapped under the weight of my foot as Gaven and I made our slow advance through the forest, stakes in hand. It had been quiet the first hour of patrol, the only disturbance being our foot falls and the occasional retreating rabbit.

"I don't understand what made Allan want to send us out on our own." Gaven said. I shined my flashlight under a few large bushes about twenty feet in front of us but didn't spot anything.

"He's scared. And as far as Slayers are concerned, we're expendable." I said in a whisper. Gaven's fists clenched and unclenched.

A whimper sounded about forty yards away from us and I looked up at Gaven. He seemed just as suspiscious. I moved my flashlight around to see a foot move behind a tree near the whimpering noise.

A quiet cry caught our attention. Gaven stepped in front of me to take the lead with his stake in hand. He stepped around a few trees and over a few bushes to peer around the trunk.

Sniffling reached me through the air and I stepped closer. Vampires didn't cry...as far as I knew of.

Gaven gestured for me to come over while he bent around the trunk. I was scared, that much was true. What if it was a vamp pulling a trick.

"Stevie, you need to come see this!" Gaven called. I scanned the surrounding forest once more before turning on my heels and running over to Gaven.

A small child with auburn hair was curled up in the fetal position on the ground. He was drenched in sweat and crying quietly. I leaned over Gaven's shoulder and the little boy looked up at me. He had violet eyes and my first thought was to stake him. I pulled my stake out but Gaven gestured for me to put it away. I wasn't foolish enough to ignore him.

Gaven handed me the boy's wrist and my eyes got wide.

The pentagram symbol bubbled and turned red on his skin. The insignia of a Slayer was faint on his left arm. I gasped, asking thousands of questions in my head as I looked over to Gaven.

"Do you have any Holy water on you?" I asked. Gaven nodded and dug into his combat boot to pull out a little vial. He opened the cork and poured the vial's contents on the boy's Mark. Instantly, he stopped crying and whimpering.

I reached forward and placed the back of my hand on his forehead.

Gaven picked him up into his arms and held him close as we made our trek back to where we left the van.

It didn't make sense. Why would the little boy have the eyes of a vampire, and the pentagram of the Slayer? The pentagram was supposed to be a holy sign that would have the same effect on a vampire that a cross would. If he was part vampire, and Slayer, wouldn't that be contradictory?

The van was about thirty feet away when two shadows stepped in front of our path.

I immediately grabbed my stake from it's holster and held it up. My flashlight made their violet eyes glint dangerously and I knew that these were actual vampires.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." One said sinisterly. I glared at the two figures, wondering who to take out first.

"Jax, do you want the tiny blonde, or the big black haired Brawn?" One of them asked. Jax, the first one who had talked smiled.

"I prefer blondes. They're a little more fiesty." Jax replied. I stared him down.

"I think they're Slayers." The nameless one said.

"Don't worry, Nick. They won't know what hit them." Jax said evilly. I sneered at the two.

"Catch me if you can." I said lowly. Jax smiled and came rushing forward. In my head the whole thing went slow motion as I analyzed every little detail. Jax had a long deep gash on his left leg, vampire or not, it was a weak spot.