“She's not here,” said Alexa.
“How do you know?”
“I know my mom's scent...” she said. “Peppermint.”
Olivia's wide eyes returned to normal when she realized what Alexa said hadn't been what she expected. Instead of going further into the house's first floor she sprinted up the stairs with Olivia running behind her. She walked down the hall, passed Olivia's room and a guest bathroom to one at the end of the hall. It was the master bedroom and much bigger than Olivia's, pink floral bedding neatly folded onto the queen size bed. Automatic shutters had made it hard for her to see so she flicked on the light and took in the sight of her room, everything just as she remembered. A wooden desk positioned cater-corner held a laptop and hundreds of books that she read to learn about the outside world. She pulled open a closet door and saw all the clothes she left behind neatly folded as they had always been. They both turned their attention to the door when they heard a creak beneath them.
“Is it mother?”
“Go check.”
Olivia left the room but as she exited she heard a clank as if a blade of sorts was being drawn. When she got downstairs and walked through the halls toward the kitchen she saw the man who had given her the blood bag. In the few short nights he had been there, he seemed to have lost a significant amount of weight but was still much larger than her.
“You've brought your sister?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “For my mother, yes.”
“The task has been given to me now. I've been given strict orders to kill Alexa.”
“You have not!” Olivia spoke in a louder voice than usual and a disbelieving tone.
“But I have...”
Alexa had walked in at the tail end of their conversation but had already known exactly what they were talking about. Olivia turned and tried to tell her anyway. “This man is trying to kill you.”
“I remember you,” she said to the man, ignoring Olivia. “Nolan Martin...?”
“You can call me that or simply the guy who is charged with the task of killing you.”
“I guess I should have suspected that,” Alexa spat as she walked toward him. It was something about returning to the colony that made Olivia see her differently or maybe Alexa had changed as soon as she walked through the gates. In the outside world she looked like a frightened human, afraid of confrontation, but there was a glimmer in her eyes as if she were laughing at the thought of an impending battle and eagerly anticipating it. Nolan's attempt to rush toward Alexa was haphazard and sloppy as she easily dodged him. His face collided with the wall and he turned around with anger in his eyes. They were standing just outside the entrance to the kitchen and he ran in, pulled wine glasses from the island and threw them at her but Olivia moved quickly and shielded her, the glass breaking against her back and shards sinking into her skin.
“Olivia!” Alexa screamed.
“I'm alright,” she said, wincing. “Trust me.”
When she turned her back toward Alexa she could see the shards being forced out of her exposed neck and the wounds regenerating. Olivia moved from in front of her and glanced back quickly to see her paralyzed by the sight but called to Alexa to pull her out of her thoughts. Just as Alexa snapped out of it she saw Nolan headed toward her with a broom handle. Olivia was fast and was once again standing in front of her but this time Nolan anticipated it and shouldered her to the side. He held his arm upward preparing to strike Alexa but she pulled two Kris daggers from out of sheaths behind her back. He swung the handle around like as if it was a bat but Alexa jumped back, her small stomach narrowly missing the tip of it. He kept swinging it back and forth but couldn't come close to Alexa as she evaded each one. Growing frustrated, he threw down the handle and ran toward the den and hid in its spaces, the fireplace flickering as he sat behind a chair. His scent and breaths alluded Olivia to his exact position but Alexa held her arm out when she tried to follow him. She couldn't smell him as strongly as Olivia could, but she could at least smell him and smiled as she walked slowly down the hall. She made no sound as her feet trod across the tiles lightly. In the quietness she could hear the bead of sweat tumbling down Nolan's skin and the splash it made as it dripped onto the carpet. She pushed the den door open and slowly surveyed the area. The den was neat and quilts lay over the backs of the leather chairs facing a crackling fire. It was set up just as she remembered, except she noticed one thing was missing as she looked at the fireplace.
Nolan jumped out from behind a chair with a dark iron rod in hand and had once again begun swinging at Alexa who was deflecting each swing with her jagged daggers. Olivia didn't know what to do as she heard the clang of blades versus the fire poker so she remained still in the kitchen, confident that as long as no blood was shed she would be alright. They took their fight from the den and she watched Nolan's graceless moves as he flailed about with the weapon in hand. Alexa jumped backwards towards the kitchen, still evading him with her small daggers. Olivia couldn't figure out why her sister didn't just end it as she knew she wanted to. Maybe he had to give her a reason to kill him, she thought. Nolan quickly realized he wouldn't be able to manage a scratch on Alexa with a weapon like that and darted into the kitchen and passed Olivia who was leaning against the wall. He was now in the dining room and he tried to reach for the glasses that were situated on top of the table.
Sensing his intent, Olivia was at the table and had ripped the cloth away, taking the glasses with it before he could grab any. He ran away from the table and back into the kitchen, sliding his hands across the counter top for the knife block but Olivia grabbed him by the neck and held him in the air. She felt the knife go through her heart and dropped him as she spat blood. She rolled her eyes and groaned as she pulled it out but Nolan was already gone with another knife in hand. He was running toward Alexa, hoping that a smaller weapon would make it easier for him to get in close and for the most part it did as he swung it back and forth. She continued to deflect each attempted slash with her daggers—her weapon of choice in class as she had been great at wielding them. Growing tired of his futile attempts to attack her, she figured she would end it by knocking the knife away and throwing her leg up for a roundhouse kick but in a surprising move to her, he blocked with his arm. She barely had any time to recover from being knocked down when he picked up the knife and lunged at her with it. She had scooted back and was using her daggers to push her body off the ground with her back against the wall as she did. Nolan slashed at her and with only seconds to react, she turned away but was cut by the knife. She cried out as she recognized the pain, something she hadn't felt in years.
The warmth of her blood as it trickled down her skin brought memories of being forced to fight to up her skill. In that same moment, as defenseless as she was, she watched Nolan try to come in again with the knife but his body was flung into the shutters, forcing a dent in it. Olivia struggled to keep her bloodlust away as she pressed her fingers onto Alexa's ribcage. The blood was everywhere and her hands and lips were trembling at the sight and scent. Nolan was shaking off his daze and she had forgotten about him until he yelled out, “You're an immortal vampire!”
She stood up slowly and watched him take off but like a burst of white light traveling beside him, she sped past Nolan and stood in front of him before he could reach the door. She thought he didn't deserve the satisfaction of a quick death but hearing her sister's cries reminded her of how quickly she had to end it. She raised her hands to his head and snapped his neck.
Olivia was thankful she fought the urge to bite him because she knew she wouldn't have been able to explain bite marks to her mother. She opened the door and peered around the colony for any wandering souls. There was none. She heard their heartbeats and steady breaths but she couldn't figure out why none of them had heard all the commotion within the house. She turned her head at another of Alexa's cries but this one was quiet as if it could barely come out. She swung her into her arms and pulled the door closed and then she was off at
a speed so quick that no one would've seen her even if they had been out.
Alexa's heartbeat was barely audible as she lay in her sister's arms. Olivia's lips quivered as she tried hard to fight the urge to feed. When she approached the house she let out an unnecessary sigh of relief as she heard Alexa's heartbeat pick up and when she knocked on the door it swung open quickly. Troy felt his heart freeze over, plummeting to the ground and shattering into a million pieces as he looked at his girlfriend's sweat soaked and bleeding body.
“Oh my God...” he reached out for her and his eyes began to water. “What happened to her?” he shouted as he pulled her out of Olivia's arms. He ran to the living room and laid her gently onto the couch. He kept trying to put his hands to her face but hesitated as he came in close, afraid to touch her. “What the hell happened to her?”
Olivia stepped inside the house and followed his scent to the living room. When she tried to lean in to her sister, he blocked her and turned to her with eyes filled with murderous intent.
“She was attacked.”
He had finally had the courage to put his hand to her body and tucked fingers around her ribcage with a phone in the other hand. He started dialing but just before hit the TALK button he heard Alexa's small voice. “Don't call...”
“I have to call the police; I have to get you an ambulance!”
Alexa glanced over at Olivia who had moved away from the blood that was getting to her. “Can you come here Olivia?” she asked softly.
“I cannot...”
“You won't hurt me,” she choked the words out as blood poured behind them.
“Alexa!” Troy shouted.
She smiled faintly. “Could you get the first aid kit out of the closet?”
“Your wound is still bleeding,” he argued.
“Yeah....” she turned back to Olivia, “Would you please come here?”
Olivia lowered her eyes and sighed. She pushed her back off the wall and was quickly at her sister's side. Her swift movements prompted Troy to speak up, “She's a vampire? She did this to you?” his voice was deep and tinged with anger.
Her cold fingers had warmed up when she placed them on Alexa's open cut. “This is a knife wound,” she said in a lustful voice and swallowed, “I have fangs.”
“Who would have stabbed her? Your mom?”
“A man attacked her and Alexa fended him off as well as she could. She practically took him down.”
Before Troy could respond, Alexa had spoken. “Please Troy, get the first aid kit.”
He shook his head defiantly as his hands balled into fist but still he stood up and stalked away with a pained groan. Olivia shifted around Alexa so that she was sitting on the couch beside her with access to both her arm and her ribcage. Every time she stared too long at the blood trickling down her arm, she would find her vision blur and grow hazy as they did before she drained people. She was terrified at the thought of her bloodlust taking over her so she fought as hard as she could to force it down, turning away when she could.
“You knew you were going to be attacked?” she asked, looking at the almost blank walls. She studied a small picture that sat on top of the mantle, of a little boy and a young woman.
“The thought of her actually wanting to see me...” she huffed and it sounded like something that resembled a slight chuckle but Olivia couldn't tell, “I toyed with the it but I figured she just wanted to kill me.”
“She did not.”
“Please Olivia. Know one thing about your mom...she gets other people to do her dirty work.”
“Have you killed before?” she asked, curious.
A small smile spread across Mar's face, “Never.”
She refused to believe it and shook her head but said nothing. Troy had returned with the kit and Alexa sat upright thanking him as he opened it for her.
“Can you really heal yourself with this? Please let me call the hospital or at least a nurse to get some advice.”
“My sister's a vampire, I honestly...”
“We don't have to tell them!” he tried to reason. Alexa was resolute, slowly shaking her head as she pulled out some bandages. She pulled a small mirror out of her pocket and began cleaning the wound and bandaging it. When she was done, she sat back, tired.
Troy looked down, astonished. “How did you do that?”
“We fight and we get hurt often in the colony.”
It was Olivia who had spoken and Troy briefly turned to her. “What? Like Battle Royale or something?”
“I don't know what that is.”
“It's a Japanese movie he likes.”
Olivia nodded. “Well, we train so that we can hunt humans by any means necessary.”
“Well what's the point of a vampire having fangs if you're going to do that?”
“I think I can answer that.”
They had all turned their heads toward the entryway of the house. Troy leaned back to see around the wall that separated the rooms and saw that he had left the door open. In the doorway stood a woman just a few years older than him. He was at the door quickly with a confused expression on his face. “Who are you?”
“Just the girl with all the answers.”
Seven
“Do I have to run it by you again?”
Troy dropped to the floor to gather up the pieces of the first aid kit that had spilled out when it fell to the floor. The woman hadn't taken up much of his time, in fact she hadn't taken up any really since she had spoken so fast but Alexa felt every second he was away as if they were hours.
“Troy? Who is it?”
He didn't answer Alexa and instead turned back to the woman. “It's not like what you're telling me is anything surprising. No offense, but if you're the all-knowing, otherworldly creature who comes bearing sagely advice, you should work on your timing.”
Her leather pants squeaked as she stepped back, genuinely offended. “I'm not offended, I am however annoyed that of all the places that the vampire could go, she decided to come here,” she said, exasperated.
“Troy,” called Alexa.
He held his palms up as if stopping the woman, “Don't come in this house.”
Troy had entered the living room and saw Olivia practically huddling in the corner, her lips pulled in as she eyed her sister. He went to Alexa's side and rubbed her back, “What's wrong? Do you want to go to the hospital now?”
She shook her head and stumbled over her words. “No...I..just wanted to know who was at the door...”
“Some...” he trailed off.
Olivia had raised her head slowly, the scent of her sister's blood too intoxicating to ignore. If Alexa had seen the terror in her eyes before they went cold, Olivia's next moves wouldn't have looked so bad but all she could manage was a scream as Olivia now stood in front of her with unrecognizable eyes. She opened her mouth and long fangs showed themselves, but just before she could move in closer to Alexa, her neck snapped back and she fell to the ground. The woman threw her hair behind her shoulder as she looked down at Alexa with a smirk, “You're welcome.”
Sweat was dripping down Troy's face as he looked at the girl's body. “You killed....”
“You killed my sister!” shouted Alexa.
“She's a vampire, she was already dead,” the woman said matter-of-factly. “She'll come back any moment but I'm truly sorry for saving your life,” she put her hand to her chest, “next time your sister wants to rip into you, there won't be any heroism from me.”
Alexa had ignored her snide comment and only focused on a single word: Vampire.
“What did you say?” she asked, sitting up further in the chair. “And who—what are you?”
“I said you should be a little more grateful that I kept your sister from chomping down on you....or something like that,” she said as she rolled her eyes.
“Who are you?”
“Names Erika and I'm here to help you.” She held out her hand for a shake and when Alexa begrudgingly took it, she looked up the woman and saw he
r dark brown, almost black eyes, rounded into an almond shape. Straight black hair with strands of purple woven through ran down her back and she looked so pale, much like Olivia. Her white skin got lost in all of the black that she wore, a black satin trench coat tied at her waist and black leather pants.
“Are you a vampire?”
Erika rolled her eyes again. “Not at all. But I am a little supernatural myself. Actually, in the world of vampires and other supernatural creatures,” her voice fell into an obnoxious whisper, “I'm kind of a big deal.”
“And what is that exactly?” asked Alexa.
“Ever heard of a kitsune?”
They shook their head and spoke in unison, “No.”
“Great, that means I have a whole lot to tell you guys tomorrow.”
She was walking out of the living room toward the door, the clattering of her boots against the floor annoying Troy because she hadn't taken of her shoes. It was an easily forgivable thing considering the circumstance but he couldn't deny how annoying it had been, especially when he couldn't shake the feeling that she looked familiar, like someone who would understand his need for people to take off their shoes when entering his home. He stopped her before she walked out the door.
“Wait. You're just going to leave?” he asked when she turned back at him.
“Uh, yeah.”
“If you're supernatural like you say, couldn't you do something about my girlfriend. She's bleeding.”
Erika stomped back over to the living room and prodded Alexa's body without warning despite the girl's angry protests. She felt her body warming under Erika's touch and was sure she saw a faint glow between their skin. When she pulled her hand back, the blood was gone and the cut was completely healed. Troy was too busy looking at Alexa to notice the slight wooziness in Erika as she stood up. “Everything is healed. Child is still in you. Peace and balance has been restored, now if you'll excuse me,” she said as she tottered to the door.
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