Haldred Chronicles: Alyssa

by JG Cully

  Wait.

  Had the pressure come from somewhere outside the Council of Peace? Now there was a thought. Someone outside the Council of Peace, who had an interest in a vampire. But who? Who the hell would want a vampire?

  At this moment her contemplations were interrupted as the door opened and Gretna marched in with a collection of towels.

  “You know, you could have knocked.” Victoria said, turning slightly to cover herself. She wasn't that surprised, or indeed that embarrassed. She wasn't surprised, because Gretna was a Dwarf after all. Dwarves brought a whole new meaning to tactless. She wasn't embarrassed because as far as she knew the only male in the Tavern was Malak and he'd been given orders to prop up the bar. Something he was more than happy to do, particularly now when he'd no doubt be surrounded by a variety of pretty young girls.

  “I could have.” replied Gretna. “But I then remembered it's my bath, in my room, in my tavern. So I can do whatever I bloody well please.”

  Victoria sighed. “Yes.”

  Arguing with a dwarf was pointless anyway. Gretna rather brazenly tossed a towel at Victoria and she had to catch it mid-air with some difficulty, holding it up before it landed in the bath.

  “Bloody hell, give us a chance!” Victoria fumed, having to lean out from the bath at an uncomfortable angle. She swung herself out, splashing water, and rather hurriedly wrapped the towel round her. “And you could have closed the door!”

  “I could have” said Gretna. “but then I remembered...”

  “Enough!”

  Victoria secured the towel and accepted another from Gretna (this time, not thrown).

  “Well, at least you're in better form now.” commented Gretna with a smirk.

  Actually I am thought Victoria. Only a little while ago she had felt like death warmed up. Now, after the vegetable soup, hot bath and herbal balm she felt fine.

  “I do feel better.” she said, a slightly confused expression on her face.

  Gretna smiled. “Dwarfen brand healing.” she said with a touch of pride. “Sod your Magra potion rubbish. Dwarf's heal yeh proper.”

  “Didn't know you were of that profession.” said Victoria next, starting to dry her hair.

  Gretna shrugged. “Awful lot you don't know about me missy, and never will.”

  “Victoria?” said Malak's voice, coming from the corridor outside.

  “In here.” she said.

  “Yeh decent?”

  “Aye.”

  He entered. Then very quickly exited shielding his eyes and adapting a very embarrassed expression.

  “Gods woman you said you were decent!”

  “I am you idiot,” she said. “It's called a towel.”

  “Aye but you're naked underneath.”

  Gretna and Victoria exchanged confused expressions.

  “Beg pardon?” Victoria hazarded.

  “A man should never see a woman in naught but a towel.” he intoned, as if reading from some etiquette manual. “Unless she's his wife. It's not...proper.”

  “You're a strange little man Malak.” said Victoria, continuing to dry her hair. “If you’re not coming in then sod off and I'll speak to you down stairs.”

  She heard footsteps receding as Malak wandered back to his post.

  “He's a bit of an eejit isn't he?” asked Gretna.

  “Oh yeh.” Victoria said. “He's a royal pain, but good at his job. Hell of a shot and he's getting better at the detective stuff.”

  “That's good.”

  Victoria finished drying herself and reached for the mug of vegetable soup.

  “So...” said Gretna as Victoria raised the soup to her lips. She waited as the human took a sip.

  “...when yeh thinking of marrying?”

  Victoria snorted, making a very unladylike sound and swallowing a mouthful of soup in the process. She set the mug down a bit too quickly, spilling some of it and had to stop herself doubling over.

  “What?!?” she sputtered, steadying herself. Her eyes watered from the hot liquid going down her throat a little too fast and she gasped as it entered her stomach. Victoria tried to compose herself, coughing and taking in gulps of air.

  “Dear Gods!” she gasped. “what, what gave you the idea we were lovers?”

  “Well you both obviously like each other.” said Gretna, spreading her arms as if the statement didn't need justification. “Seen the looks yehs where giving each other down in the pigging bar. Bloody obvious it was!”

  Victoria's eyes widened, in both shock and confusion.

  “Obvious? I just told him to sod off didn't I?”

  “Aye” agreed Gretna nodding. “And then you told me what a good shot he is and how he's getting better.”

  Victoria made to reply but her mouth didn't produce any words. Well, that was true. She'd told him to sod off then defended him in the same sentence.

  “See, you're thinking now aren't yeh?” said the dwarf in triumph, tapping the side of her head. “Not just a cloak rack is me.”

  “Yes, but, we're partners...I mean colleagues! We work together but we're not...” she paused, feeling uncomfortable for once. “...we're not close.” she said next, more quietly.

  Gods I'm in bloody school again.

  Gretna crossed her arms. “Yes yeh are.”

  The dwarf took a step forward, hands moving to hips and eyes scrutinizing again. Victoria had to stop herself stepping back. For four foot nothing the dwarf was rather intimidating.

  “You trust him?”

  Victoria nodded, doing her best not to appear too committal.

  “With your life?”

  Victoria met the dwarf’s stare. She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh.

  “Yes.” she said, almost with resignation. “With my life.”

  “And he with yours?”

  “I suppose.”

  Gretna nodded. “Well then lass, take it from me.”

  Gretna pointed an authoritative finger. “Trust is where it starts and where it ends. Fill in the middle part and you've a partner for life. Don't leave it too long.”

  She thumbed toward the door. “Your man might be an arse. But he's loyal and not a bad looker. Plus he knows what he's doing.”

  Victoria wasn't used to being lectured or advised, not any more. She was a veteran of the school of life now, and wasn't sure how to respond to this. What the dwarf was saying made a creepy kind of sense.

  “Maybe” she allowed.

  Gretna shook her head. “Ah! Stubborn. Reminds me of...well, me! It can be a good thing and a bad thing. But in love...”

  She shook her head. “..yeh got to treat them proper.”

  “Thank you.” said Victoria, a little more honestly this time.

  Gretna, satisfied, turned on her heel and headed out of the room. She paused at the door.

  “Besides...” she said, casting Victoria a final look. “...you're a good looking lass yourself. You've a fine arse on yeh and a good figure. Any man would be proud to have yeh by his side.”

  She headed on out the door. Leaving Victoria doing something she didn't do often. Something called blushing.

  * * * * *

  Katy knocked on the door again

  “Maybe he's not in?” she ventured to the cloaked figure beside her.

  “Well he did say he was working late.” said Alyssa's voice from the cloaks hood. “But it's almost morning now. Surely he's back?”

  The two girls had slipped from alleyway to alleyway, moving slowly toward where James lived, keeping out of sight of Larrick city militia patrols. Alyssa had managed to break into one of the clothes shops and acquired herself a heavy cloak to keep her hidden, as well as a new tunic to regain her dignity. She had left the right coin in exchange, of course, as well as taking a little time to remove the crossbow bolts. Katy had advised, rather sensibly, that they were something of a dead give-away.

  Now they had at last made their way to James' house and were waiting for him to answer the door. Patiently, and at the same time
, rather worriedly. Dawn was getting awfully close.

  And I really, really don't feel like exploding right now thought Alyssa.

  Fortunately, she didn't have to explode as the door at last opened. Though James looked like he might explode, if only for a minute. He'd obviously been fast asleep as he was dressed in a night shirt, with a night cap on and rather sleepy look on his face. He was also brandishing a saucepan (rather unconvincingly it might be added) and his face was flushed. He had obviously been preparing to yell at whoever was at the door, his mouth was wide open. He had stopped himself just in time however when he saw Katy and Alyssa. His eyes went wide and he very slowly closed his mouth, his rage at being awoken abating quickly.

  “Ah, morning.” he managed.

  “Morning.” said Katy, trying to look apologetic. “Sorry for waking you.”

  “Ah that's…that's ok.” he said. His expressions were all over the place. He couldn't be angry so his face was halfway between really pleased and really confused.

  “Suppose, ah” he was completely at a loss, so Alyssa helped him out.

  “Can we come in?”

  “Of course.” he seemed to recover a little and stepped back, allowing the two girls to enter.

  His house was as immaculate as always. Alyssa smiled. She was already feeling a lot less tense just being here. Everything was so tidy. Even the fireplace, with the embers of a recent fire still visible, looked well maintained. She could tell from Katy's expression that she was impressed too.

  “So neat.” she breathed.

  “Thanks” said James rather proudly. Alyssa beamed at him.

  There was a pause. Each of them exchanged glances. Eventually, it was little Katy who broke the ice.

  “You're probably wondering why we're here?” she said simply.

  “I am kind of.” he flashed Alyssa a smile. “Though I'm not complaining.”

  Oh Gods you soppy sod.

  “We've some explaining to do.” said Katy, rather quickly so the two lovers before her didn't have a chance to utter any more statements that might make her sick.

  Oh yeah we do groaned Alyssa inwardly.

  She was not looking forward to this.

  James indicated the dining table and they all sat. James and Alyssa opposite each other and Katy in the middle seat. Katy looked from one to the other. Alyssa and James were staring into each other's eyes. She coughed tactfully. Alyssa sighed, knowing what she had to do.

  Might as well get it over with.

  “James.” she said, for the first time finding it difficult to meet his eyes. His warm, welcoming...

  Focus!

  “I.” she began, searching for words. Finally, after tense seconds, she decided to just come out with it.

  “I'm a vampire.”

  James, to his credit, hardly moved on hearing what for most people would be incredibly surprising news. He sort of just sat staring. Not in shock or horror or even surprise; just staring. Alyssa frowned.

  “James?” she asked tentatively. She could see out of the corner of her eye Katy displaying a similarly confused expression.

  He blinked, almost as if coming out of a trance.

  “Um.” he said. He wiped his face. “What?” he settled on.

  “I'm a vampire.” she repeated. What part of that was he having difficulty understanding?

  “Ok.” he said.

  Ok? I tell him I'm a supernatural being and he just nods and says ok?

  Alyssa frowned, looking over at Katy but she shrugged.

  “Well.” said Alyssa. “I'm glad you're so understanding.”

  It was Katy who suddenly twigged what was going on.

  “You don't know what a vampire is, do you James?” she said. Not unkindly, just matter-of-factly.

  “Ah.” he made to argue the point but thought better of it. “Not as such no.”

  “Oh Gods.” muttered Alyssa, hanging her head.

  “Sorry.” he said.

  We are so made for each other.

  She sighed. How do you explain vampires to someone who doesn't know what they are? Technically not knowing what a vampire is wasn't all that surprising. Their very existence hadn't been that widely known until after Igor Regorash was defeated. Whilst he was rampaging around the southern lands, reports of the attacks had been hushed up by the Argon government. Even after the heroes had become famous, the vampire slaying was overshadowed by the peace. Not everyone had been following the plucky adventurers’ saga; it had been kind of a fad at the time.

  Still, it was a bit inconvenient at this particular moment.

  “Ok” said Alyssa raising her head.

  Here we go.

  “A vampire,” she said. “Is a supernatural being that must drink human blood in order to stay alive. Vampires were once human but through a process...”

  She paused briefly then shrugged. “A process I don't know, they are changed into vampires. A vampire cannot exist in the sunlight. They tend to...explode!”

  She found herself casting a worried look at James' curtains but fortunately he used similar blackout curtains to herself.

  “They are technically dead, so don't breathe. They possess unnatural abilities, like flying or changing into animals.”

  “So.” She didn't know if she could say anything more. “Ah, and I'm one of them.”

  “Oh and I'm the last of my kind.” she added. Best to give the complete picture after all.

  There was that wonderfully delicate kind of silence. Where one party feels as if they've explained themselves reasonably well and the other party has no idea how they are expected to respond. James was quite clearly the latter. The poor sod was sitting partially dumbstruck, not knowing how to reply to this revelation. He bit his lip, his eyes switching from Katy to Alyssa and back again.

  “Ah.” he began. “So you think you're a vampire?”

  “Not think. Know.” said Alyssa.

  Katy, who was losing patience, came up with the perfect idea.

  “Just show him your teeth.” she said.

  Alyssa, a little apprehensively, opened her mouth, and let her fangs extend with a distinctive hiss. James, at last, showed the kind of reaction Alyssa had originally expected; except more so.

  His eyes went wide, he leaned back in his chair, and after a few seconds of staring in mute shock, fainted and slumped to the floor. It was Katy's turn to sigh.

  “Your boyfriend's a wimp you know that?”

  “Ge is ghot!” Alyssa said

  She pulled the fangs in, the authority of her boyfriend's defence well and truly ruined.

  James awoke with a start, gasping for breath and shivering as the cold water did its job rather well.

  “Told yeh.” Katy said, nodding at Alyssa. They were both crouched over James. “One cup isn't going to drown him.”

  James wiped his face before looking from one girl to another.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “You fainted when you saw Alyssa's teeth.” said Katy.

  “Teeth?” he frowned, his expression indicating a quick search of his most recent memories.

  He fainted again.

  “Oh for God's sake!” Katy's patience had broken as she grabbed the cup she had used before and took another sop from the water bucket beside them. A soaked James awoke again but this time Katy showed initiative.

  “Don't faint!” she commanded, grabbing him by the cuff of his nightshirt and pointing a commanding finger. Alyssa and James were both taken aback. Even with pigtails, Katy could actually look quite intimidating.

  Katy seemed to realise her actions were a little over the top as she quickly let go of James and returned to a more timid nature.

  “Sorry.” she said. “I just, get a bit impatient sometimes.”

  Alyssa looked at James.

  “Are you going to faint again?” she asked, not unkindly.

  He shook his head.

  “Good.”

  They let him get back to his seat and the three of them sat round t
he table again. Alyssa wasn't sure where to go from here. James was.

  “So.” he said, seeming to be more awake and more coherent now after having water splashed over him.

  “Not human then?” he said, wiping water from his eyes.

  Alyssa nodded solemnly.

  “You're a vampire.”

  She nodded again.

  He seemed to consider this for a while. When he spoke again, it was very accepting

  “Ok.”

  Katy and Alyssa exchanged the same glances they had used only a few minutes before.

  “That's what you said before.” said Katy, a frown appearing on his face. “Then you fainted. Twice. After the explanation, you're still ok with this?”

  James fidgeted, looking uncomfortable.

  “Well.” he looked over at Alyssa. She saw the look he was giving her. It wasn't angry. It wasn't regret. It wasn't even surprise.

  “You're not going to eat me are you?”

  And it wasn't sensible either.

  Alyssa smirked. “I don't eat people. I just drink their blood, and no,” she hastily added. “I'm not going to do that either. Sorry”

  His patient little face didn't change. He just nodded, as if that simple sentence had allayed all his fears.

  “Ok then.” he concluded.

  The hell? He's not even concerned?

  “That doesn't completely answer why you're here at this time of the night though”

  Well that was true.

  Together Katy and Alyssa filled him in on everything. The investigation, the raid, how Katy had met up with Alyssa again, and their plans for the immediate future.

  “So, you don't like being a vampire then?”

  “No!” Alyssa said, rather automatically taking his hand in hers (and for a change, not blushing). “I've been a vampire for a year and a half now and I hate it. I...”

  She felt tears welling in her eyes again.

  Gods I'm so emotional tonight.

  “...I just want a normal life.”

  James, to his credit, leaned forward and embraced her and Katy put her hand on Alyssa's back, comforting.