It was like seeing for the first time. The honking of cars sounded that much louder and the autumn trees where a that much brighter red, their leaves already beginning to fall. The blue sky was tinged orange with the promise of sundown and a slight chill grazed my cheeks, making my hair tangle in cruel knots. People walked down the streets on cell phones, yet it was the best thing in the world right now. I glanced over at Damen, speechless.
“It’s so much more beautiful than I remembered…” I utter, and his eyes softened.
“I understand.” He said “Come on. We need to get going before sundown.”
I nod, and he barely gives me time to give one last look as he grabs my arm and runs, not too fast, but fast enough that people won't suspect something was up. We crossed a zebra crossing while cars honk at us and shout crude words. I have an urge to flip the finger, but perhaps that would be inappropriate right now.
Suddenly Damen came to a stop and I almost barrelled into him. “We’re here.”
Here? I think, as I gaze at the seemingly abandoned factory. Dirty glass was scattered on the ground and the occasional creek could be heard, questioning it's safety. Surely, there could be no-one in a place that looked so…desolate.
“But…there’s no-one here!”
Damen scoffed as if it was the most stupid question in the world “That’s what they want you to think.”
He started stepping over rubble at lighting speed, jumped and caught a metal bar before swinging in through the broken window. Smart-ass… I don’t think I can do that, so I just take the door.
Damen was waiting for me by the door with his eyebrow cocked in a way that made me want to punch him in the face and kiss him at the same time “You take the boring way?”
“Shut it, you know I’m not as—“
A loud smash rang through the building, and me and Damen got into a crouch. If they were coming. We’d be ready…
“Evangeline,” Damen whispered “Obviously don’t use magic. Attack with your arms only. Remember, they are faster, they are stronger, and they are—.”
I barely caught the shadow that flitted across my vision, but Damen caught it. His red eyes darted across the room, fast and alert. The shadow flickered again, and came closer and closer. I bared my teeth in a growl, but my fear was festering inside.
And then, it stopped. Almost as if…
As if it was directly above us…
“Crap…”
And then I heard a thud, directly behind me. I was quick, and I flitted around to face the creature. It was in-fact, a girl.
“Welcome to my humble…home.” She sneered, her porcelain doll appearance fooling no-one. Her lips were painted a bright red and her eyes a bloody scarlet. There was no gold ring in her eyes, just a pool of blood. Her red dress was designed in a brutal shape that showed off her lithe body, the end of the sleeves jagged yet beautiful.
“Eleanor…What are you doing still in London? Don’t you know it’s not safe in the city? Didn’t you hear what happened to Gabriel?” Said Damen, voice steady but mocking.
This seemed to hit a nerve. Eleanor cried violently “You would be foolish to mock me fearless warrior!”
Damen wasn’t done “I heard you and Gabriel were…close?”
Eleanor’s lip trembled, and for a minute I thought she would cry. Instead. She shrieked like a banshee “silence!”
Damen’s next words where slow and precise “Or what?”
Eleanor gave a cruel smile, and lifted her hand to the air.
Snap.
They fell from the ceiling, one by one, about 6 in all and each set of eyes as bloody as the last. They were like demons falling from the sky.
“Shit…” Damen swore silently next to me, and then everything erupted.
Eleanor dashed out the door, and vampires surrounded us. Their eyes where cruel and unforgiving as the charged at us left, right and centre. Damen pulled out a razor sharp sword that gleamed in the light, before tossing me a similar one only smaller. I wielded it, ready to stab the first thing that tried to attack me.
I didn’t have to wait long. A red head with sharp teeth ran at me, faster than I expected and I dodged just in time as she skidded to a halt. She whipped around, and her hand flung out to grab my neck. I ducked and slashed the blade across her knees. It started to sizzle where I’d cut her and she screeched in pain. I stared at the blood on the blade as she clutched her knees.
I took the moment to check on Damen .There was a charred body at his feet, and he was trapped in a dance with the pale haired male.
Red flashed to my side and she caught me by surprise. Before I knew it I was down on the ground, her face looming in. Her eyes homed in on my neck.
“Get off me you bitch!” I hissed, as she leant down to bite….
She stopped, looked up and coughed blood over my face before falling forwards with a knife in her back.
Damen was standing there, with a weary look on his face. “Your welcome.”
He couldn’t see the dark haired vampire charging at him behind, his eyes hungry.
“Duck!” I yelled, and he did as I said, a confused look on his face. I threw the knife, and surprisingly it hit the target. The vampire collapsed, a knife in his fore-head.
“Your welcome.” I said. Damen stood there wide-eyed, eyebrows raised.
“Nice shot…” He grumbled and I smiled to myself. Score one to Evangeline!
I gazed around at the rubble and wiped the smile off my face. “Are they all dead?”
“Not just yet…Stand back.” He said, and stepped towards the nearest body and pulled it into the middle of the floor. He stacked the others on top until there was a huge pile of bodies. Damen narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists. Suddenly, the pile erupted into flames.
I jumped back, but the flames where carefully controlled. I smelt charcoal mixed in with old blood and something that smelled like rotten eggs. I scrunched up my nose. “Urghh…Vamp smells bad.”
Damen watched the flames “This is bad you know. I’d appreciate it if you’d be serious for just a second.”
I cringed at his tone. “What do you mean? Don’t you usually deal with this many?”
“No. I expected one at most. Usually they end up killing each other, they aren’t exactly bright creatures.” He said “Something like this.” He gestured to the bodies “Proves they’ve started to work together.”
“And more rogues means…”
“Less sane vampires.”
I thought for a second. I suddenly realized how important my job was, killing evil vampires. If I failed, so would the underworld.
“I’m sorry…”
Damen gave an amused look “For what?”
“Being an idiot. I’ll try harder from now on.”
Damen gave me a curved smile “You’re not that bad. You know, for a newbie.”
I scoffed “Yeah, thanks.”
And then we left the scene of the crime and the smouldering pile behind us.
When I entered my room, Violet was waiting there anxiously twiddling her thumbs. I thought Vampires where supposed to be all calm and collected all the time. Well, they were in twilight anyway.
“Evangeline! Are you alright? Have you got any…ya know?” She made biting motions on her neck.
“No, Violet, I did not get chowed down on by a vampire. I’m peachy, trust me.”
She looked relieved “Yeah, well I don’t need you getting all rabid on me. Anyway, aren’t you going to ask how my day was?”
“So what, are we like a married couple now?” She gave me a withering look “OK then, how was your day?”
“Crap. We found humans, tons of the things. About 10 all stacked up under the bridge, not very nice to clear up.” She bit her lip “Something freaky’s going on, I’m telling you.”
“Yeah, Damen said they’d started to work together.”
“So, basically we’re screwed right?”
I shook my head “Not if I do my job properly.”
Violet smirked “As I said: screwed.”
I slapped her on the arm, and she shot little misty water droplets at me.
I jumped into bed and turned over, twiddling with a strand of hair and thinking of the dead vampires…mainly Gabriel.
Because Damen had never burned his body, and I was beginning to wonder how important that fact was.