Defender's Blood Alex's Destiny (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  Wonder how long it takes him to do his hair in the morning? What? I am seriously thinking about his morning hair routine, seriously, after what just happened? She gave herself a very hard mental kick in the ass.

  “So, do you think you could slow down a bit?” she asked. “The way you’re driving around these winding roads, it's making me feel sick again, and I don’t want to mess up this nice car of yours,” she told him.

  “Yes, okay, I can slow down a bit, I think we should be safe for a while,” Zach said.

  “So, just who, or what, the hell are you and what is going on?” she said quietly. Zach turned his head and looked at Alexina, the look just about curled her toes.

  Once again she berated herself – for God’s sake woman, you are not a teenager, and you don’t even know this guy. But jeez, his eyes were the most amazing steel grey she had ever seen. They were completely out of this world, at this she realized his mouth was moving, and she tried to tune back in.

  “Well, Alexina, my name is Zachariah, but everyone calls me Zach. I know you go by Alex, but your full name is so much nicer, so Alexina is what I will call you. What I am, is a Vampire,” he told her, waiting on her reaction.

  Her mind reeled, no, this can’t be true. Well, she knew they were out there, everyone did, but they kept very off the radar, so to speak, and as far as she knew, there were very few in the UK and fewer still in Scotland.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting that answer,” she whispered. “Are you going to hurt me?” she asked him, with visions of the old Dracula movies coming to mind.

  “No, Alexina, I am not going to hurt you. I am here to help you, keep you safe,” Zach replied in a soft tone.

  Alex was finding it difficult to form words.

  Finally she spoke. “From what though?” She noticed she had said ‘what’ rather than who, and this surprised her. She took a deep breath and continued, “I have no idea what’s happening.”

  Zach was glancing between her and the road ahead, once more she saw his lips moving. “Okay, I'll give you the information I have to hand. I work for the Supernaturals Council and my job is usually to round up what we call Supers, that’s a collective term used to cover anything Supernatural, from a Vampire to Witches, who have gone off the reservation, so to speak.”

  "What? Shit, I've heard of that Council thingy. There was something on TV about it ages ago, but I thought it was all baloney! I mean Vampires, Witches – that's stuff out of books and films! I never really thought I would come across one of them." Alex's mind was whirling around and she was more than a little astonished. She was sitting in a car with a freaking Vampire!

  “It's all real, Alexina, very real. If it weren’t for the Council, there would be a hell of a lot of humans being killed, or used for other means, none of which would be pleasant. It’s our job to hunt those who do wrong down. After all, the human world doesn’t have anything even close to being strong enough to deal with them.” Zach gave her a smile and turned his attention back to the dark road ahead.

  At this, Alex realized he was talking with a slight American accent. “You’re not from around here, are you?” she said ruefully.

  “No, I’m not, I’m stationed out of our headquarters in the US,” he answered.

  She looked taken aback and responded with an incredulous tone, “The US, you mean the USA, as in America? That’s pretty far for you to come, isn’t it?”

  She waited on him to talk again, just to hear his voice. She really liked his voice.

  Zach answered her question. “Yes, as in America. I travel wherever I am needed, and right now, I am needed to keep you safe. From what, we are not sure, but we know you are in extreme danger. And I'm the one that is going to keep you from harm.”

  She tried to take this in, was she dreaming? She wasn’t sure, but she was a practical person, and she decided to at least hear him out. After all, what happened in the woods was real, scary, but real.

  “So, just where are we going? You do realize my car is back in the car park? I'll need it for work tomorrow.” Her voice was getting stronger, and her tone was one of impatience.

  She waited on his response to this. It may not be important to him, but her old wreck was hers, and she did need it for work.

  “Sorry, but you won’t be going to work, not tomorrow and probably not for a while. My orders are to get you to Headquarters as soon as possible. So, I'm taking…”

  She cut him off mid-sentence.

  “What? No, no, no. I need to go to work, I can’t just not go, I need my salary to survive. I’m not rich, I can’t lose my job!” Her voice rose until she was nearly shouting.

  “Alexina, please calm down. You are in danger, and not the sort of danger you can call the local police to take care of. You have to come with me. You will be coming with me. I will keep you safe, I have to,” he retaliated. His tone was forceful, and one that usually got no arguments, from anyone.

  “Why?” she cried.

  “Why what?” Zach asked.

  “You said, ‘I will keep you safe, I have to,’ why?”

  “Because I do,” was all he could come up with.

  *****

  Zach was bewildered as he tried to sort through the conversation, and his visceral reaction to Alexina. He was confused, as he had really never felt like this before, and his ‘before’ was a very, very, long time.

  He had what he called little dalliances with other Supers. Usually she-Wolves, as they were highly sexed, and he loved their stamina. However, he had not once ever fallen in love, or felt more than a passing attraction, for any female, Super or human. So he was unfamiliar with the reaction to this female that he was feeling.

  For goodness’ sake, he told himself, he had only just met this woman. What was so special about her? He didn’t know.

  *****

  Alex was very quiet as she tried to get all this into her brain and process what was happening. Okay, so he had said she was in danger – from what and why?

  She tried to think of ever coming into contact with anything, or anyone, ‘Super,’ as Zach called it, that may have led to this. But no, she just knew she hadn’t.

  So, what? Did he expect her to just go with him?

  Apparently so. Would she? When she thought about this man, Zach, he had said was his name, she didn’t know him, but she was absolutely certain he had saved her life in the woods.

  She had no idea what was there, but she had known in her gut it was there to hurt her. So, would she go with him? Hell yes. Well, after she had spoken to her Aunt Mary that was.

  She didn’t want to, at worst die, at best be hurt. So she would go with him and try to find out, as quickly as possible, how to stop this ‘thing’ and then get back to her normal, boring job working in IT in a bank.

  “So, Batman, where are we going?” She tried to make a joke of it, as she was actually terrified and trying desperately not to show that to this stranger.

  She was a bit of a control freak, and at this moment, she was in control of nothing, so that scared her. Scared her a lot.

  “Batman? I'm not a Batman, I'm a Vampire, did you not understand?”

  She laughed, actually laughed, it was a lovely sound. “Yeah, I understood you, it’s just a saying. You know, Batman from the comics? Batman and Robin? No? You don’t get it, do you?” She looked at his befuddled expression. Nope, he didn’t get it, he was a strange one.

  Then she laughed all the more as she thought – a strange one? Yes, of course he was, he was a feckin’ Vampire.

  When she had stopped laughing, Zach responded. "Of course I know of the comics, and I think I've even seen one of those Batman movies, but I don't understand why you brought it up. So, sorry, no, I didn't get that, but the answer to your question on where we are going is quite simply – to a safe place until I can make arrangements for the jet to be ready. Once it is, I will take you to Headquarters to see what the next step is.”

  Alex just stared at
him with her mouth hanging open. Jet? Did he just say jet? You have got to be kidding, she thought. He was getting a jet?

  “Uhm, did you just say jet? As in aircraft? You have a jet at your disposal? Are you having a laugh?” she asked incredulously.

  Again Zach tried to be all business as he answered, he wasn’t sure it was working, though. “No, I'm not, as you put it, ‘having a laugh’ – another of your little sayings? The company jet is always at my disposal, when I am on an assignment. I can ‘move’ as you found out earlier. However, the other players in the case usually do not have that ability, so the jet is always available.”

  “Wait, I can’t go on a jet with you to America,” she cried, and Zach glanced over. “I don’t have my passport with me, or my toothbrush, or anything!”

  “That’s okay, we can get it later, once your place has been cleansed and made safe. However, even if we could not retrieve it, that would not have been a problem, believe me.”

  Cleansed, what the heck was he talking about?

  So she asked him, and Zach replied in a quieter tone. “We will have our Witches completely cleanse your property and the surrounding area, then put wards up to stop anything coming at us while we are there. It will keep you from harm, Alexina.”

  She opened her mouth and the first thing in her head popped out. “Oh right, of course that’s just a normal night, you know, getting Witches around for a little party,” she retorted sarcastically.

  Zach looked at her, trying to figure out this human. She certainly had a weird way with words. He pressed a button on the console and Alex heard the ringing of a phone and then a gruff “Hello.”

  “Zach here, I’m coming to you now with Alexina, can you make sure the place is warded please?”

  “Already done,” said the other person.

  Zach continued, “Good, you have her home address, can you please send the appropriate people to cleanse and ward it? We will be going there to pick up a few things before flying later tonight.”

  Alex was stunned. Tonight, oh my God, this was real, she thought. I am going on a plane, to America, with someone I don’t even know.

  Her mind was swirling, and she didn’t even hear the rest of the conversation. When Zach stopped talking, and there was silence in the car, she realized he had finished the call.

  He was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t figure out, and she was sure she was looking at him with total shock. “It will be all right, you are safe with me,” he told her, but at this moment she didn’t feel safe. Even though Zach didn't make her uneasy, the thing in the woods definitely did. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but safe was not the word she would use, no way.

  She looked out her window and saw the countryside fly past. Although Zach had slowed down a bit, he was still driving pretty fast, and they were getting closer to the city. It wouldn’t be long until they reached Glasgow, and she didn’t have a clue as to where exactly they were going.

  Her panic started to rise to the surface again, and she realized she was hyperventilating and feeling light-headed. She jumped in her seat, when she felt Zach’s hand on hers in her lap.

  Where his skin touched hers there was a tingle. A weird feeling, but she didn’t know if he had felt it, too? He gave a squeeze. “Please try to relax, I know this must all be rather scary for you, but you are in the best possible hands with us.”

  “So you say, but I don’t know you. You could be some crazy eejit, for all I know.” She gasped, trying to breathe normally.

  Zach again looked at her as if she was speaking Latin. “Eejit? What the blazes is an eejit?” he asked.

  “Eejit, you know idiot, it’s a Scottish thing, like ‘you barmy eejit.’ No? How long have you been in Scotland? Have you not heard it before?” Alex tried to explain to Zach the meaning, but he wasn’t getting it, not at all.

  “Sorry, Alexina, I have not heard that before, but I take your word for it, for what the meaning is. It’s quite difficult to follow your talk sometimes. I’ve only been here for a few days this time, but nobody has called me an eejit before.”

  No, of course nobody had. Anyone with half a brain could see how tough he looked. Nobody that was sane would mess with him.

  Alex picked up on something he had just said “This time? You said you’ve only been here a few days this time? So you’ve visited Scotland before?”

  “Yes, I was here before but a very, very long time ago.”

  She was looking at his profile and questioned him. “When?”

  Zach’s face looked thoughtful as he answered. “Well, let me think, it was during the late 1800s I think, 1898 or thereabouts. It was a very different place then.”

  Alex could only stare at him. 1898, oh my God, that can’t be right, she thought. “Sorry, but did you mean 1998?” she whispered, and Zach’s head shook as he answered.

  “No, 1898 give or take a year. Yes, Alexina, I am very, very old.”

  “So how old are you?” she asked.

  “I have been on this earth for many centuries. That’s why I’m so strong in the Vampire powers, such as being able to move from place to place whenever I wish.”

  Alex didn’t know what to say. She knew about Vampires being in the world, but didn’t realize anything like this was possible.

  She studied him for a bit, and then came out with the only thing she could think of: “Well, you certainly look good for your age.” Zach laughed and she joined in, but it was more of a nervous laugh.

  She continued to question him. “So what were you doing here then?”

  Zach answered, in that voice she was beginning to like so much, “I was transporting a Witch to Skye to do some kind of ritual she had to do and protecting her from some very nasty people.”

  “No change then,” she quipped.

  Zach gave her a quick smile. “No. I trust you now realize I have been doing what I do for a long time and I am very good at it. I'll do the same for you, Alexina, and keep you safe.”

  Alex had no doubt he meant it.

  Chapter 3

  She noticed it was raining now, quite heavy. They were in the city, but she hadn’t realized it, and when she tried to see where they were exactly, it was difficult because of the heavy rain.

  The road they were on was unfamiliar to her, and it certainly wasn’t the best neighbourhood in Glasgow. There were buildings all around, and some of the street lights were out, making it even harder for her to see where they were.

  “We’re nearly there, just up this alley,” Zach advised her. At that, he swung the large SUV into a very small alley, and Alex was surprised that it fit. Halfway up the alley there was a small illuminated sign hanging over a door, and this was where Zach pulled to a stop.

  He came around and opened the door for her and helped her out of the car. It was a large, high up vehicle, and as small as she was, it was a welcome hand that he gave her.

  She looked up at the sign to see the word ‘Prey’ illuminated and she shivered involuntarily. Zach’s arm was around her shoulders and he gave her a slight squeeze. “It’s the name of the club, don’t worry.”

  The large steel door screeched as it opened outward, then one of the largest men Alex had ever seen stood there. He was huge. Ginormous.

  Alex took a step back and was now slightly behind Zach, this guy scared her. Zach stuck his hand out and grasped the other’s hand in a strong handshake. “Hi, Duncan, nice to see you again. This is Alexina. Alexina, this is Duncan. He’s a friend.”

  She peeked around and thought, ‘Well, that’s good, ‘cause I sure as hell wouldn’t want him as an enemy.’

  Duncan said “Hi,” and moved over so they could walk in. Alex had another look at Duncan, and he gave her a lopsided grin. He had longish red hair and a good smattering of freckles over his nose and cheeks. She didn’t know how tall he was, but she felt like a child next to him.

  He was also large in the muscles area, his arms were the thickest she had
seen anywhere, other than on TV. He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a polo shirt, which seemed fit to burst across his chest.

  They went down a short hallway and through a door, and then the sound hit her. It was a club alright with music blaring away and loads of people on the dance floor. She looked at her watch, it was only 8:30 p.m., and it seemed a bit early for a club to be so busy. They didn’t usually get going ‘till long after she was in bed.

  There was a bar along the far end of the room and some booths and tables set around the dance floor. There were also doors in each corner of the large room with no clue as to where they went.

  Duncan guided them to the far left of the bar to a door that read ‘Private’ and went through into what she assumed was his office. Once the door closed the music was nearly inaudible, and she realized it must be a sound-proofed door or room.

  “Zach, it’s so nice tae see ye again,” said Duncan in a very broad Scots accent, “How ye been doin, keepin oot oh trouble?”

  “As always,” laughed Zach.

  “How’s the Pack? Everything okay?” He asked this mountain of a man.

  Duncan let out a huge guffaw. “Aye, everythin’s jest peachy. Dae ye know I’ve taken a mate? Her name’s Margaret, an she’s the best thing that’s happened tae me!”

  Zach gave Duncan a slap on the back, before replying. “Glad to hear it, and I’m sure the rest of the females will also be glad that you are no longer running around after them!” He laughed.

  Alex sat down on a sofa and tried to sort out what Duncan had said, mate? Pack? What language was he using?

  Zach saw her confused expression and explained. “Duncan here is a Werewolf, and is Alpha of the rather large Pack in this part of Scotland. I don’t suppose you realized just how many of us non-humans were about?” Zach finished, and she shook her head.

  What the hell? Of course she didn’t, she had absolutely no idea. She was, to say the least, stunned. Had she been living in a little bubble?