Today
I have to find him, Dedra told herself. She was worried she wouldn’t find the guy she had been following as she looked down the street. It had to be him. I know it was. And I lost him; her reminded herself with disappointment.
The dirt bag she had been following was the last person to see Satet alive. Dedra recognized him from the description in the police report. When Dedra saw him for the first time what really caught her attention were his eyes. It wasn’t the fact they were hazel green, but that his pupils were outlined with a ring of bright emerald. She had never seen a human with eyes like that, at least not natural that way. That’s because he’s not human. He’s a bloodsucking leech, she told herself, halfway down the crowded street.
Satet’s body had been found in a field outside of town. There was no blood in her veins and no sign of how she was drained of it. The doctors and police working the case were at a loss, but Dedra knew what happened. It was her job to know what happened. This sap she was looking for had seduced Satet to join him on a ride out of town. He was probably laughing and joking until they were far enough away that no one would hear her scream for life. Then this monster, this leech, this vampire fed. Fed until it was satisfied, which ended up leaving poor, unsuspecting Satet dead.
What a pig, she thought as she eyed the people walking by her. She stopped when she spotted him. He was leaning on a building as he watched her with his un-nerving eyes. Her heart froze in her chest when she saw him turn to go down the alley.
She hesitated for brief moment before she pushed her fear aside to rush after him. As a vampire hunter she wasn’t going to let her doubts stop her from facing this beast in a dark, dead end ally. In fact, she preferred it. This way there would be no witnesses and she would have no reason to explain the way the world really was, and the coward wouldn’t be able to run from her.
She kept her eyes straight ahead as she avoided the trash that laced the ground. She could see the end of the alley was cluttered with beat up boxes and a dumpster. She slowed her pace when she walked by the dumpster in case he was hiding behind it. The rotten smell escaping the open lid knotted her stomach. God, she thought with disgust as she turned away from it. Not wanting to get dirty, she turned her attention onto the tall stacks of boxes. There were a few stacks he could hide behind. Her left hand hovered over her coat; ready to grab the stake in her belt.
From behind her came a male's voice singing "Dreams End" by Spiral Dreams. She felt her heart stop beating for the second time tonight as she silently cursed herself for being so dumb, she should’ve checked behind the dumpster. Damn her vanity.
How could I let him sneak up behind me? What kind of hunter am I, she wondered, as doubt suddenly shadowed her confidence.
Digging her heels in the ground she turned to face the vampire. He boldly stepped toward hers. She didn’t see any fear in him, though she was a hunter. Her pride pushed her chest out as she silently vowed to make him fear her.
He stopped singing to smile at her. It was a smile that meant trouble was coming. "Well Missy, it looks like you’ve gotten yourself into quite a mess here." He eyed the solid walls that surrounded them. "Doesn't it?"
"I guess it does," she coldly agreed, as she wrapped her left hand firmly around the stake.
She saw him look at her hand that was in her coat before meeting her eyes. His head tilted to the side as questions filled his eyes. "What do you have in your coat little one?" The smile was no longer on his face as a dangerous spark flashed in his eyes. He was a very deadly being.
Why am I here? She sometimes wished she could forget about her up bringing and not go after the kill. But vampires were predators that fed on her kind and it was her job to stop them, no matter how much fear they caused her. "Nothing," she replied, keeping her eyes on his. "I'm just having cramps. But you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"
He flashed her his dazzling smile again. He seemed to find her very amusing. "Actually no, I wouldn't.” He took a few long steps towards her tp fill in the gap between them.
Dedra felt her heart speed up. She was mentally preparing herself for the fight and the kill. I am the slayer, she reminded herself.
He let the smile slide from his lips as dark lust filled his eyes. "But I could help you get rid of them," he gently whispered, allowing the lit breeze to carry his words to her.
She eyed the dirt on his pants before looking at his face. She could see his canines had already lengthened as they slightly indented his lower lip. No matter how many times she saw them she couldn't get over how they looked. Sharp, yes they had to be, but they also looked delicate and thin. As if one gentle push from a finger would knock them out. But of course it took more than that, and Dedra knew that because she had tried it. Not all vampires she came across she killed right away. Some she experimented with; toyed with them for her own pleasures the way they toyed with humans.
He was so close Dedra could feel the body heat coming from him. "You're never going to have problems with them darn cramps again."
He reached out to restraint her arms, and was surprised when she bought her left hand up to shove the stake cleanly through his heart. His hands tightened on her before going limp as he fell to the ground. His body was finally able to catch up to his age. She watched as his hair fell out, and his muscles shriveled up. His skin rapidly decayed, making him appear as if he had been dead for years rather than just a few minutes.
She smiled to herself as she stared down at him. "Damn, I guess you can't help me with my cramps. Now can you?" Watching a vampire she killed die always filled her with a sense of power and pride. She felt a sense of self worth as well. She was saving people everyday. She knew she was important, and that facing her fear was worth it.
As her eyes slid over her kill she saw a tattoo above his left collarbone and then it was gone. She stared at him a few minutes wondering if she really saw anything then decided it didn’t if she had.
The sound of clapping coming from behind her stunned her for a second. After she collected herself she turned, ready to fight. No one was there. She was faced with only the brick wall. Clap, clap, clap. She turned again, but again, no one there. She spun in a circle, no one. Clap, clap, clap. Then she knew where it was coming from.
Looking up she saw a handsome man standing on the fire escape. He had short, silky brown hair and two slits for sad brown eyes. His soft lips were pulled back in an amused smile, meant to taunt anyone e turned it on. He had on a pair of black jeans with a black button up shirt. Black was defiantly his color in Dedra’s option.
He jumped off the fire escape and landed perfectly in front of her. She took a step back and almost fell over the dead body lying there. His head tilted to the side as he looked down at the deceased vampire. "Good job," he told her in a flat tone, unimpressed.
When he looked at her again he took the time to look her over. She had straight mid-back brown hair with hints of red in it. Her skin was soft and tan, she had almond shape brown eyes, and he couldn't help but notice, her bottom lip was slightly fuller than her top.
"Thanks," she whispered. She couldn't explain why but her heart wouldn't slow down. It’s because he surprised you, she assured herself. She didn’t want to admit that it could be anything more.
His eyebrows bunched together in confusion as he looked at the sap again. “I didn't know it took so much out of a person to just stand still, and drive a stake through someone else." His eyes twinkled at her with amusement. "Unless you’re really, really out of shape."
“I'm not out of shape! You just surprised me,” she protested, feeling very offended by is words.
"That's bad."
Now it was her turn to be confused. "Why?"
"Because I could have killed you." There was a hint of disgust on his face when he looked at the stake sticking out of the corpse. “And aren't hunters suppose to be ready for anything at anytime?"
"I don't think people popping out of nowhere counts."
“People popping out of nowhere is exactly what you deal with on a daily basics and should not surprise you,” he corrected.
“How did you know I was a vampire hunter?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. This man was cute but annoying.
His looked at her as if she were dumb. "I don't know, maybe the stake was a little hint." He pinched his fingers together. "Or is that the new rave, carrying stakes around to stick into random people’s bodies?”
Feeling dumb she let her chin dip with slight embarrassment. Change the subject, her mind quickly ordered. "Where did you come from?”
"I was planning on talking to David, about what he did to that girl Satet.” His amused smile returned to its place on his face. "But instead I got to have the pleasure of watching you kill him."
"You’re a vampire hunter too?" I thought there was only one, she thought in amazement. She slowly looked him up and down and found herself measuring him. How many vampires had he killed? How long had he been a vampire hunter? Why had she not known about him? “How many of us are there?” she asked as she met his eyes.
His eyes lowered as he snorted to himself. “I was not going to kill him, I was going to talk to him.”
“He deserved to die.”
“Everything deserves to die. It is why we are here.”
“Not me,” she said shortly. She pushed her nose up into the air as she refused to believe otherwise.
He shot her a cold look as something dangerous glittered in his eyes. “Even you,” he whispered. He saw her swallow her fear. He took a calming breath as he looked away. “I should be going.”
"Wait." She didn't want him to leave. She had never met another hunter before. He looked at her with a what-do-you-want look upon his face. Embarrassed, she looked at the tip of her shoes. "I don't even know your name," she finally said, trying to ignore the knot growing in her stomach. Why did I say anything? she wondered, feeling rather dumb at the moment.
He smiled a genuine smile this time instead of the amused one he had used this whole time to mock her. She liked how it made him look, but she could still see the sadness lingering in his eyes. “Dionsus." He turned and left.
"Mom," she called as she entered the house. "Mom are you here?" She went into the kitchen and right away she noticed the note on the refrigerator.
Dedra,
I had to go to a dinner meeting. I'll be back later tonight. There's chicken in the microwave if you're hungry. Love,
Mom
Great, she bitterly thought as she put the note aside. Her mom was never home. She sighed to herself before she headed to the microwave to get some chicken, but then decided she wasn't hungry after all. As she was passing the phone it rang. "Hello," she said politely into it, in case it was someone important.
"Dedra, where have you been?" It was Geneva, one of the two good friends Dedra had. The other one was Eddie. "I've been calling for over an hour, and you and I both know it doesn't take an hour to walk from my house to yours."
"I know. Look Geneva, it's been a long night and I just want to go to sleep. So could this wait until school tomorrow?" She rested her head on her arm as she leaned on the wall.
"No, this can’t wait.” Dedra could hear the anger in her voice but didn't care. "I was worried about you Dee. So tell me, what happened?"
"I will. Tomorrow; goodnight." She hung up the phone before Geneva could say anything else. With her body heavy with sleep she went to her room to let it rest.
She felt herself slip into blissful sleep mode. She dreamt she was in a white room with light mist floating in the air around her. While she was walking through the mist a dark figure appeared. She slowly drew closer to it and saw it was Dionsus. He was dressed the same as when she saw him for the first time tonight. He even had the same damned, amused smile on his face.
A cold chill ran up her spine as she approached him. "Dionsus, where are we?" she asked in a quivering voice, never taking her eyes off his.
Why am I so scared, she asked herself, not sure what was going on.
"Nowhere.” He raised his brows as he admitted; "Everywhere. How am I supposed to know? It’s your dream." Suddenly she felt cold all over. Hiss face-darkened as he looked passed her. "Don't turn around," he warned her.
She couldn't help herself; she had to turn around. Behind her stood a beautiful average size woman with long curly hair. She had on black pants, combat boots, and a fitted white tank top. Dedra’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the wooden dragon on her necklace. Who wears wood as jewelry, a distance part of her asked.
Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed that in the woman's hand was an old fashion dagger, but before she could get a good look at the details on the hilt the strange woman in front of her smiled. "You should've listened to him." With a quick movement of her wrist she slit Dedra's throat.
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