Anastasia woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and sore shoulders. A little drool saturated the pillow she was laying on. She had never drooled in her life, but she has also never slept across the hall from the promise of the most delicious of sins either. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she squelched that thought. She had stayed up late long after Pam had fallen asleep, just thinking about last night's revelations. Her Affinity being a vampire hunter made her want to cry, laugh, scream... but none of that would change what has to happen, what is meant to happen. She will have to attack and kill him eventually. Maybe Pam wouldn't resent her too much given the circumstances.
She sat up realizing Pam wasn't beside her. Running out of the room, she came to an abrupt stop when she saw Pam calmly eating a piece of toast at the table. Calm down, she berated herself for her brief panic. Even if they did find out Nastia was a vampire, they wouldn't harm Pam, right? She's human. Then again, the persecution of one faction does not exclude the collateral damage of another.
"Morning," Ethan greeted as he waited on the sputtering coffee maker. Despite the greeting, his mood seemed to be darker than his ebony brow.
AJ was on the other side of the great room hitting on a punching bag. He stopped when he saw her. Sweat blackened his gray t-shirt and made his toned biceps glisten. His racing heartbeat and the way his shoulders moved up and down from the exertion made her own blood purr. She averted her hungry eyes keeping her vampiric side in check. The rattling of the chain signaled he went back to hitting the bag.
"So," she said biting into the toast Pam offered her. "Can we begin my training or is there a whole process to this?"
She heard a faint scoff come from across the room.
"While I love an eager student, let me get my caffeine in first," Ethan said. He poured the dark liquid into a cup of ice then gulped it down. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he asked, "What about you, Pam? Are you interested?"
Pam waved her hands frantically expelling the idea like flies. "No, that's okay. I am not brave enough for all that. I didn't even like gym class. But I could make snacks for you guys or something if that's a thing."
"That can definitely be a thing."
Nastia let out a sigh of relief. If Pam had insisted to also go out hunting vampires with these nutjobs, she would have to hypnotize her best friend, again.
"I second that," AJ said. "Thanks for having some common sense, Pam."
He looked pointedly at Nastia when he said that, leaving not a shred of doubt as to who he was implying lacked sense. She stood up and positioned herself between him and the bag. His fist stopped a millimeter from her nose, a tremor shook his arm holding back the force that was about to accidentally hit her pretty face. His proximity didn't bother her with her senses blocked by the burning sage. She made a mental note to ask about that, but first, she stabbed AJ with a frosty glare. "What is your problem with me?"
"Wow. Where to start? At this second? You're acting like this is a game. You have no idea what you're getting into. You could have died last night."
"But I didn't."
"If I wasn't there, you would have."
"Are you expecting a thank you?"
"I wasn't. Not from you. But ya know, yeah, a thank you would be nice."
"Thank you!"
His face contorted not knowing how to take such hostile gratitude. "You---"
"What is so hard to understand about me wanting to be a hunter? You say I almost died last night as if I should just accept that and be terrified. What if I don't want to be scared? You won't always be around. What if I want to save myself next time? Who the hell do you think you are to stop me?"
He opened his mouth about to say something then just closed it. Smart.
"Point to Ana. That settles it, eh?" Ethan clapped his hands together, that one cup of joe transforming his mood. He looked at AJ expectantly. AJ sighed signaling he was done fighting this fight. "Is it alright to call you Ana? Anastasia is a bit of a mouth full. Pam says you only let a few people call you Nash?"
"No, I don't mind. Whichever is fine."
"Great. If you want, Ana, we can begin your training as early as... right now?"
"Really? Yes, let's do it."
He tossed her a bottle of pain pills and a water, both of which she caught with ease though her shoulders protested. "First, take some of this. I'm sure you're sore. Do you have formal training in any martial arts?"
"No," she mumbled, chasing the pill with a sip of water. Her exceptional skill in compulsion was all the defense she needed... until recent events.
"Alright," the grown man said, picking up a long, red-stained orange wooden staff. "No worries. Being a blank slate has its advantages as well and you're still young. First, we'll start with some stretches and basic stances. Then I will assess your natural instincts in some one-on-one combat."
They spent nearly fifteen minutes just doing the stretches then over an hour going over stances. She mirrored him with little effort finding the exercises quite easy. He warned her not to take the movements lightly, that keeping good form will be the difference between life and death. All the while, Pam watched from the table and AJ watched between his own exercise regimens.
"Alright. Time to put what you've learned to the test. We will spar but I will go slow for you."
"Can I spar with AJ?" Nastia asked, anxious to see AJ in action so she could study any weaknesses. AJ swiveled his head over and Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"You're not ready to fight AJ, Miss Eager Beaver," Ethan said.
The truth of that statement had Nastia grinding her teeth.
"I'll fight her," AJ offered, wrapping his hands with tape.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, kid?" Ethan asked warily.
"Yeah. I can go slow, too."
"This is not going to be pretty," Ethan muttered rubbing a hand over his face but he walked away from them. "Okay, grasshopper. Focus! Remember don't let your enemy in arm's length unless you have the upper hand. Protect your bubble. We are focusing only on what we went over: blocks, deflections, and dodges."
Nastia nodded and readied herself putting up a defensive stance. She kept one foot further than the other. Ethan said to never plant yourself to the ground or you will be taken to the ground. Keep moving, stay light on the feet. She realized that was her first mistake when the thrall came running at her last night.
AJ didn't take up any fighting stance, but his body was more tense in a way Nastia couldn't explain. He started moving to her left and she started right. Don't ever let them behind you, Ethan had said earlier.
There was an ease to AJ's movements, like a predator waiting to make a move. Viewing her prey now as the predator, the hunted now the hunter, didn't sit well with her. She wanted to strike at him, but she had to remain on the defensive. Her thirst started raging at the back of her throat and her mind, hissing like a cobra. In the time it took to swallow it down, he had lunged forward, grabbed onto her underarm pulling up enough to make her shoulders sting and jabbed a finger right above her exposed navel.
"Dead." She heard his voice in her ear before being able to register just how close he was to her. He had completely penetrated her 'bubble' with little effort.
"Again," Ethan said. "AJ, she is just beginning. You can be a little more obvious with which direction you're attacking from."
AJ backed away from her. "And what good will that do?"
"She is still learning. I had to hold back when I first taught you."
"Fine--"
"No," Nastia interrupted. "It's okay. I got distracted. Don't go easy on me. I can do this."
AJ had a mixed expression on his face, somewhere between irritation and pride. He rolled his neck, the look slipping off leaving a blank canvas daring her to guess his next move. They took their stances. This time AJ didn't wait. He ran at her, and she was able to block his left arm, but his right hand touched her neck.
"I just decapitated you," he said smirking. The warmth of his hand sparked heart palpitations and a shiver ran down her spine. She shoved him away.
"Again," Ethan said.
They went at it a few more times and each time, Ethan offered a note on correcting her stance and her blocks and a consistent critique that she needed to learn when to dodge. Out of breath, she asked, "Can I please attack him this time?"
She ignored Pam shaking her head in the background.
AJ began saying, "You're not ready to go offens--"
"Let her," his mentor said.
With reluctant acceptance, AJ took up the defensive stance that Nastia had been attempting to use. She took a deep breath reigning in all her control. She charged at him thinking she would hit him with her left hand but sneak an upper cut to his jaw with her right. She ended up with both wrists in his grip. She never broke his bubble.
"I didn't even try to deflect those. You know why? It was that easy to read," he said.
"Okay, that's enough for today," Ethan said.
"But I haven't been able to block him once!" Nastia complained.
"Patience, grasshopper. It will take some time and practice for you to effectively block. Do some stretches, we will eat, and then we will give you a one-oh-one Vampire Staking lesson."
I don't have time.
"You did good," AJ commented as they sat at the table and ate the sandwiches Pam had put together.
She cut him a dark look thinking he was being sarcastic, but Ethan agreed, "He's right. Don't get discouraged. You have great reflexes. Rome wasn't built in a day."
Pam was nodding in agreement when she caught sight of Anastasia's shoulder. "You're bleeding!"
Nastia looked where the crimson liquid had seeped through the gauze in a perfect circle.
"I'll get more bandages," AJ volunteered getting up.
"Does it hurt?" Pam asked, clucking over her best friend like a mother hen.
"It's fine, Pam. You finish eating. I'll take care of this," she said.
She stood up and walked to where AJ had disappeared. He was in one of the rooms, taking a big first aid duffel bag down from a closet. Without a word, she sat down on the chair in the room and pulled off the soiled bandages.
"Sorry. Guess I got too rough," AJ said as he kneeled down beside her using a rag to dab the reddened wound. The skin around her injury was starting to yellow.
"It's fine. I can handle rough."
"Yeah. I wasn't expecting that."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't take offense. You just always looked so... fragile like a doll. I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to be..."
"A jerk?"
"You almost died. I was scared," he stated quietly.
"You were? Why?" Their eyes connected and the temperature in the room spiked as it had during the dance. But this time, the bloodlust wasn't controlling her. When he started leaning in, she held herself back. "Your black eye already looks better. I guess you got that from moonlighting as a vampire killer, huh?"
He blinked, dazed. A hard look flashed in his eyes before he, too, leaned back. "Yeah. Thrall elbowed me in the face the other night."
"I'm sorry for assuming, you know--"
"My dad hasn't been able to hit me in years. Don't be sorry."
"How did you get involved with ... this?" She made a gesture with her hands.
"Part of the family business, you could say," he said not looking at her, his eyes now focused on the task at hand.
"Ethan is really your uncle? You don't look alike."
"No. He knew my parents back in the day. He and my dad were close, like brothers."
"What happened?"
He titled his head. "You sure are curious for someone who doesn't care."
"I shouldn't have said that. I do. I mean, it's not like I care but I also don't not care."
"You care but you also don't. Good to know."
"That didn't come out right."
"It never does for us, huh? It's okay. I'll take it." He stood up and offered her a hand, a promising sign of an unspoken truce. She took it and he helped her up. Only when they left the room did he let go. She didn't know why she let him hold her hand for even that long or why she wished it was longer. His heartbeat drowned her ears reminding her of exactly the reason why.
"Can we spar again? Maybe I can give you a matching black eye?" She said needing to hit him, needing to hate him.
He chuckled, tucking his hands in his pockets. Of course he would wear shorts with pockets. "You really think you can?"
"Don't be so cocky. I am going to beat you one day."
With a smile still teasing his mouth, he reached over pulling at her waistband making it snap against her skin. "So hard to take you serious when you're literally in my pants, Karate Barbie." Her flush traveled down her chest, hidden by the pink material. She wanted to say something back, but her tongue was tied so she just stomped away making AJ's grin widen. "Don't be mad. Barbie is a very accomplished lady," he jabbed, having found a kink in the stoic girl's armor.
She turned to hit him thinking she could catch him off guard. He dodged then pivoted on his foot while striking a blow to the center of her back. Before she met the ground, he pulled her back. Feeling off balance, her hands grabbed his arm that was now wrapped just underneath her breasts. She felt his laughter rumble in his chest. "That is how you dodge."
Her breath caught in her throat just as her ears picked up the sound of the door being opened upstairs followed by footsteps. Someone is coming. The humans, of course, didn't pick up the sound. She kept track of the steps noting how confident the stride was.
Maybe the groundskeeper wanted to check the museum?
Her theory was torn as the footsteps traveled straight to the entrance of the basement and descended the spiral staircase. Ethan had said they were a part of a group. Looks like Nastia and Pam were about to meet another hunter.
"Hey, Ethan, is AJ--"
Ivy's question was cut short as she registered the presence of the two girls and AJ detangling and stepping away from the one he had his arm around.
"Yeah, I'm here. What's up, Ivy?"
Ivy's eyes moved past the tan boy and connected with Nastia's glacial stare. The vampire felt something in her gut looking into Ivy's almond shaped eyes, something fierce and foreboding like a dark omen. Then those brown eyes hooked onto the pink shirt Anastasia was wearing.
And I am wearing her shirt.
Readers, in your personal opinions...
What do you think about Ana and Pam's friendship?
Do you think Ana is in love with AJ? Or is it all bloodlust?
Do you think AJ would kill Ana if he knew what she was?