Gripping Alexa's wrist in his hand, Tom rushed them with an intent to get out of the book store. It didn't matter that she squirmed her wrist. Nor did it matter the way she was whisper-yelling at him to release her. What mattered was that he took her away. His heart thudded with anticipation as he recalled that unfortunate yet eventful night in the forbidden jungle. His first instinct told him to keep his, no, their distance from that blood-sucker. It told him that, the vampire was a threat not only for him but also for his girl. For some reason, he wasn't ready to trade her life either.
Behind him, getting dragged, Alexa was left confused. For life in her, she couldn't comprehend Tom's action. She wanted to pressure her feet and force him to stop, but then, she looked at the old owner of the shop who smirked at her.
That fool's eyes were twinkling teasingly. Perhaps he had seen their not so secret kiss in the back. Perhaps she shouldn't have dropped that book. Alexa's cheek warmed and she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself there for a thousand years when she heard him chuckle. Her face crimsoned, even more, when her keen ears gathered the nosy older man whispering something along the lines of young love. Perhaps that man should mind his own issues. Now she wanted to keep getting dragged and get out of that place the soonest.
Her mind cursed herself for side-tracking the issue at hand. She narrowed her eyes at her object of affection. At least she deserved a reason for being subjected to this much embarrassment.
She expected him to not stop. And so she groaned when his sudden halt forced her nose to get collided with his lean back.
"What the -," she cursed under her breath. Her free hand went to her nose as she tried to soothe some fading pain in it. She opened her mouth to put some sense in the thick skull of her git but shut her mouth faster than anything when she looked over his shoulder. Curiosity shone in her orbs when she saw him, the man just outside the window, leaning against the counter near the exit.
Standing there, with his hands folded in front of his chest, and his feet lazily leaning against the wooden counter, he looked so laid back. His wrinkled black suit matched his unruly black hair. At the same time, they contrasted perfectly against his white skin. He was pale, even whiter than Alexa. He looked like he didn't know the existence of the sun at all. He looked like he had an eternity. His superciliousness was naked from the disinterested glances he threw around the old book shop. The slight twitch around the corner of his blood-red lips screamed confidence, mystery, and danger.
"Finally! Humans forget that time isn't limitless. Not for them at least." He spoke.
Sition, wasn't it? At least that was what Tom had whispered to himself. His voice sent the shivers of fright down Alexa's body. She could feel some dark aura around his stance. The way his eyes glinted when he looked at her made her feel weak. The feeling which she despised.
Tom adjusted his stance. He pushed Alexa behind him. His height covered her petite form fully. It was like he was shielding her, protecting her from any harm. Like his instincts told him that she needed more protection than him, despite it was him who was attacked by the beast in front of him. "You!" He hissed, not knowing his protectiveness warmed the heart of the girl behind him.
Sition strayed his eyes from the girl to the boy. Calculating and experienced eyes narrowed with crinkles around the corner. The twitch around his lips morphed into a full-blown smirk. The notorious expression of knowing-something-which-nobody-else-did morphed his sharp features into something that was very unsettling for the teens. The vampire loved the mess human emotions made. He found the drama that followed that mess entertaining. He loved manipulating them.
"Very original!" He mocked looking at Tom.
"What do you want?" Tom demanded through his gritted teeth. He wasn't ready to let some hilly-billy bloodsucker to get under his skin. He was better prepared than the last encounter, his mind consoled him. Besides, the bloodsucker won't do anything in broad daylight with witnesses around. Especially the old keeper of the shop. The young wizard was confident about that.
"Why?" Sition continued mocking. "I thought ours is a free country."
The vampire was pushing his limits. Intentionally. Annoyance was brewing up in the veins of young Prefect. His right hand curled sneakily around his wand. The same way Alexa's took a hold of her own. Perhaps the action was not sneaky enough.
*snaps*
Their eyes widened in disbelief and horror as they felt their wands getting broke in the half. The beating of their heart fastened when they looked at the expressions on Sition's face. He looked satisfied and arrogant. Hearing the snaps of wands, the shop keeper grabbed his own and approached the scene. The sudden appearance of this new person had confused him. However, he didn't want any funny business under his roof.
"You mister! What do you think you are doing?"
"I?" Sition lazily threw him a glance and replied. "You know that nothing happened here, sir."
The couple watched in horror as their only witness looked as if he was in a trance. The sudden distant look on his face and slight dimming of his hold on his wand confirmed Tom's doubt of the vampire's compulsion on his subject. Their only possible ally was no help anymore. The beads of sweat on the back of his neck left their trail to go inside his shirt when he saw the shop keeper putting his wand back in his pocket. The smile of his face was no consolation either.
"Of course nothing happened today." The shop owner repeated mechanically and went back to the deeper corners of his shop. As if he hadn't just left the lives of two teens in the hand of some creep.
Alexa looked at the whole scene. She didn't know who this man was, but there was no way his intentions could be good. Instinctively she left her place from behind Tom and came up to stand beside him. She knew Tom was good in general wandless magic, but she had no idea how his skills were when it came to performing defensive spells without a wand. The advanced defence was an art that was usually mastered by wizards having way more experience more than theirs. She didn't want to risk him. His life was precious for her. Whatever was going to happen she wanted to stand beside him and face it like a warrior. After all, she was no fragile princess. She could take care of herself and those around her.
However, first, she needed to gauge her enemy. She wasn't some reckless fool to risk everything with no prior preparation.
"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice calm. Just like an ocean. A dead ocean. "And what do you want?"
The smirk on the lips of the vampire crept beyond a natural limit. His eyes drank in the challenge that was just posed.
A few miles away, in the walls of that ancient school of magic, Anthony sat in front of his crystal ball. An open copy of the seer's guide rested in his lap as he placed his hand above the smooth and spherical surface of that orb. His eyes widened. The sweat beads gathered on his forehead. His chest tightened as he contemplated what he had just seen.
Or was it what he thought he just saw?
He denied the possibility of the event he had just seen. Yeah! It wasn't real.
But what if it was. His conscience argued back.
"Tom!" He exclaimed. Breathlessly. Restlessly. And utterly terrified.
~*~*~
I hope you liked the chapter. Please vote, share and comment. Please tell me what do you think should happen next. Your support makes my day.
I am sorry, that I was absent here for a long time, but I have a piece of good news. I got a job. Soon, I will be able to afford my own physical set of Harry Potter books.
Thank you all!!!