by K. A. Poe
“What is it?”
“I was just thinking about the last few months,” I murmured, “and about tonight.”
“I'm not looking forward to it, either, Alex.”
“I know. Will you be there?”
“Of course I will. Just in case...”
After the close call I had last time, he wasn't very eager to let me go out alone. Paul and Kim didn't count as safe company, considering their past records. I was surprised either of them had lived through any of their hunting experiences with how bad their skills were—surprised, but thankful.
“Perhaps some breakfast will help clear your mind a little. It is the most important meal of the day you know,” he winked.
“Sounds good,” I smiled, knowing he wasn’t actually going to cook. “Just something small is fine, scrambled eggs and sausage, maybe?”
“Deal,” he grinned, kissed me on the forehead and hurried out of the room.
I stretched across the vast bed one last time before reluctantly climbing off and heading downstairs. Salem had summoned a plate with a small portion of scrambled eggs and two sausage links, which I ate hungrily as he stared at me from across the table.
“What?” I mumbled as I took a sip of orange juice and puckered. It was far more sour than I had expected.
“Nothing, I am just glad that you are here.”
“Where else would I be?”
“Nowhere,” he frowned, “you aren't the only one that has been dwelling on the past.”
I put my glass down and sighed. “Salem, there's nothing to be worried about any more. Raziel is gone, he can't hurt me.”
“But he was close. Too close,” I heard a faint growl escape his throat.
“No matter how close he was, he wasn't close enough,” I slid a forkful of eggs passed my lips.
“I couldn't bear to live without you, you know,” he looked at me, his expression serious and full of despair.
“I know.” I reached across the table and touched his hand, “I’m fine, really, stop worrying about it.”
“He’s not the one I’m worried about anymore, Alex. There are more of them out there, more of them just as strong, if not stronger, than him. You cannot realize how many.”
“And we will kill each and every one of them, I’m not helpless anymore,” I said with a confident grin.
Salem simply shook his head. “This was a bad idea.”
I impatiently waited for him to continue.
“You shouldn't be out there hunting. It's not safe. It is one thing to protect yourself if one comes for you, but to seek them out is crazy. Do you not remember how close I was to losing you last time?”
“Salem, you’re the one who convinced me to listen to Paul in the first place...”
“I know, and I was wrong!” he spoke harsher than I had ever heard before, but then his face went back to the concerned look he had before. “I don't want you to die because of me.”
“I wouldn't be dying because of you. This would be my life, whether you were in it or not. With or without you, Paul would have seen to it that I became a hunter. It’s in my blood.”
Clearly, that didn't help. He looked even more upset by that fact. “I'm going to go for a walk,” he muttered through clenched teeth. Before I could even protest he was headed towards the doors.
I stared after him, watching the large white doors slam shut. Pushing my plate aside, I contemplated following him but decided I should give him some space to think. Without the distraction of Salem, my mind began to race again about all that had changed. With an attempt to drown out the nagging thoughts in my head, I wandered to the living room and pulled out my well-read book of Edgar Allen Poe’s works I had gotten for my last birthday.
2. HOPE
It was mid-afternoon by the time Salem returned. He was withdrawn and uncommunicative no matter how much I tried to convince him everything would be fine. I wasn't used to seeing him like this. He was always in a good mood and open to discussion. When he came back into the house, he went straight to the white sectional sofa and I immediately went and sat by him.
“Is there something you’re not telling me Salem?” I asked quietly.
“I am just worried about you.”
“That's all this is about?” I hated having to pry the information from him.
“Mostly,” he finally said.
“You can tell me anything, you know.”
“I know...I just do not know if I can say what is on my mind right now.”
“Is it about me hunting?” I asked, trying to figure it out without him having to say it.
“No.”
“Is it about Raziel?”
He flinched. I must have been on the right track. “No, not exactly.”
I swallowed before letting myself ask, knowing it would hurt him to hear it. “Hannah?”
“Yes,” his voice was strained.
Hannah was Salem's half-sister. Raziel – formerly known as Thomas Winter before he became a vampire – was her true father. Salem only discovered this six months ago, and it was torturing him. His memory of being human was foggy, but Raziel had shared his own memories with him. He hadn't quite described the vision to me, all I knew was that Raziel had attempted to keep Hannah alive until it became too much and he killed her.
“Salem...” I said quietly, gently, “What exactly did Raziel show you?”
“That's really not going to help me feel better, Alex,” he replied bitterly.
“You don't know that. Talking about things can help...”
“He was at a house with Hannah. I cannot believe I was there, too, and unaware of her presence. How had I not known?!” he shook with anger. “She was probably six in the vision he shared with me. That means three years had passed since he took her. Three years during which I could have saved her. He showed me what became of her...” His voice trailed off and he sat up suddenly.
“What?” I asked, shocked by the bizarre look on his face. He looked almost hopeful. “Salem?”
“I don't think it was her, Alex.”
I stared at him incredulously. “What do you mean?”
“The little girl he showed me, she couldn't have been Hannah,” he shook his head, “why would he want me to think he killed her?”
“I don't know what you are saying, Salem,” my voice had grown concerned.
“It wasn't her! Her hair was wrong, her face...her voice.”
“She was older than the last time you saw her, Salem...of course she was different. People grow, people change.”
“No, this was not Hannah.”
“How can you be so sure?” I frowned, partly wishing he would return to his state of despair rather than rambling on about seemingly nonsense and getting his hopes up.
“How could he possibly have kept her a secret from me during a course of three years? That would be impossible. I would have smelled her. I would have heard her. This was someone else entirely. It has to have been.”
“She could have been kept somewhere else, Salem...”
“Either way, I am almost positive it was not her!”
I sighed. “Then what do you think happened to your sister?”
“He would either have set her loose or...” he frowned, all sign of hope fading from his face, “…turned her into a monster like me.”
“You're not a monster,” I objected. “If he did turn her, wouldn’t that be a good thing? It could mean she is still out there somewhere.”
“But she wouldn't be the same.”
“You don't know that, Salem. Maybe she would have turned out like you. Raziel showed me her, too, remember? I could sense good in her, pure goodness. I don’t think a person like that can be so easily corrupted.”
He smiled slightly at the thought, and then returned to sulking.
“Would you rather her have died, if this is all true?”
“No...maybe…I don't know,” he sighed and looked through the window behind us. “We should probably get ready to go.”
> I glanced through the wide windows and noticed the sun had begun to set. That was my cue to leave. I begrudgingly left the comfort of the sectional and followed Salem out to my car. The Alero sat parked in the garage. The car had seen better days and was now covered in blemishes of rust. The rain and snow over the years had beat freely on it without the safety of a garage until recently. We climbed into the old car and headed off towards the graveyard.
I was unsurprised to find Paul's Jeep Wrangler parked by the curb. I pulled up behind it and hesitated for a moment. Salem grimaced and exited the car, abandoning me for a moment while I gathered my crossbow from beneath the passenger side seat. He wasn't comfortable at all with my use of the weapon, especially around him. He knew I would never hurt him intentionally, but one accident with the poison soaked arrowheads would be all it took. I tucked it under my hoodie and left the car.
3. CONTROL
Paul was leaning against a street lamp, his arms folded across his chest and a bleak expression on his face. He was still uncomfortable with the relationship I shared with Salem, despite their apparent bonding after the incident with Raziel. Aunt Kim stood beside him – her face was the exact opposite of her brother's. She looked absolutely thrilled to be here, but that was no surprise for me. She worked as a journalist, but during any other hour she was a thrill-seeker. That was her absolute passion. She had told me numerous horrifying stories about parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping and swimming with sharks. Nothing, she said, was as thrilling as a vampire hunt, however.
“Evening,” she said through her full, red lips. “Ready for some fun?”
I laughed, always amazed at her enthusiasm. “If that's what you want to call it.”
“Paul and I are going to be behind you the whole way, but don't be surprised if we're out of sight,” she replied, glancing once at her brother then back at me. “We don't want them to know there’s more than one of us out here if we can help it. Thankfully the wind is blowing our way tonight.”
My eyes widened. “Them?” I said hoarsely. Salem tensed beside me.
“I think we have at least two here tonight, judging from the stories we’ve been hearing.”
“What stories?” I asked anxiously.
“Nothing you should worry about,” she smirked. “All you need to do is stay focused and try to control your abilities. If things get out of hand, we’ll be real close.”
“This is a bad idea,” Salem muttered. “One is bad enough. Going after a group, even if it’s only two, is not smart at all.”
Kim shook her head, “We can't just let them get away. Not to mention, the more danger she is in, the more likely she will phase.”
“She's right,” Paul intervened, uncrossing his arms and approaching me, “you’ll be fine, and like Kim said – if things get out of hand, we'll be there. And so will he,” he nodded toward Salem.
My stomach was churning as I slowly inched away in the direction of the cemetery gates. I glanced back to assure Salem once more that everything would be fine, but he had already vanished into the darkness. The air was unusually cool for May; my temptation to shiver was difficult to fight. With teeth chattering noisily, I slowly walked passed rows of old gravestones. How was I supposed to stop two vampires from noticing me if I was making so much racket? I stopped abruptly when I spotted them. They were leaning over what I could only assume was a body, pulled near an opening in the back fence. The unkempt and over encroached woods beyond nearly obscured them from even the bright moonlight.
The male vampire was almost as bulky and tall as Paul. His back was toward me, but I was positive what he was doing. He knelt beside the head of the unidentifiable body. The person twitched and whimpered then ceased to move. I had been too late to save them. Beside him was a short female vampire with long bushy black hair that contrasted her elegant snow-white skin. Her eyes were alert, and she was sniffing the air. I heard her whisper something to her companion and he stiffened.
I crouched low behind a nearby tombstone, knowing that within seconds he would be looking for the owner of this new scent. Peeking around the edge of the grave, I watched them edging nearer. It was now or never. With crossbow in hand, I rolled out from behind the grave marker with full intent to let bolts fly. They were gone.
“Too slow, little hunter,” the male snickered. His voice had come from behind me. Everything was already going wrong, as it always seemed to when fighting the undead. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but I ignored that fact – hopefully Kim or Paul would find her.
My words failed me as I climbed to my feet and turned toward him. A lock of platinum blonde hair dangled in front of his blood-red eyes. This wasn't going to be easy, but it never was. Paul had made it sound like a simple task when he first introduced me to hunting – you go out, find the monster, shoot it in the heart and you’re done. But there was always more to it than that. Tonight I was supposed to work on maintaining my transformation longer. Of course, the ultimate goal was to kill these monsters, but I was to do so as a raven. My crossbow was only to be used as a last resort. I had to keep myself and this vampire alive until my body altered...however long that might take.
I swiftly dodged his first attack as he leapt at me. Despite my heart racing, the miserable feeling of changing forms wasn't happening, just as it had taken its sweet time in the fight against Raziel. He pounced again, knocking me off of my feet and slamming me into the side of a tree. I felt slivers of bark pierce the flesh of my shoulder. I knew the scent of my blood would send the brute into a frenzy, and if I was going to stop him I needed to do it now. My crossbow had been knocked free of my grasp and lay mere inches from my fingertips. As the vampire pressed his strong hands around my neck, I dug my nails into his arm – it wasn't enough to distract him. My hand fell from his arm and dragged eagerly toward my crossbow. I could touch the back of it with the tips of my fingers but it was no use.
Death was facing me once again, all because I couldn't control this damned 'gift'! He lifted me off of the ground with one hand, and then slammed me back down. A sudden rush of dizziness overcame me, ridding him of any resistance I had been giving. The platinum haired vampire lowered his lips to my throat and bit deeply. I cried out as the overwhelming pain raced through my body. Why wasn’t the change coming!?
Before he had the opportunity to do much damage, he was gone. I heard a wretched crack and sudden thud! My eyes caught sight of something flying through the air. I sat up and saw the vampire pinned underneath a fallen tree, still as a corpse, and Salem glaring in my direction. Was he angry with me?
It only took a second for me to understand he wasn't looking at me, but at the woman behind me. He was there at once, knocking the bushy haired vampire to the ground with one touch. A monstrous snarl escaped the woman's lips and she launched herself at Salem, barely knocking him back into a tombstone. I watched in horror as the movements flew by me, as if I was witnessing a movie in fast-forward – she hovered over him, her hands at his throat, prepared to snap his neck.
Finally. The crunching, unbearable twisting and curling of bones. The whirl of radiant feathers. I was flying. My beak opened wide and a harmonious, yet powerful caw whistled through the air. The female vampire crumpled to the ground, grasping at her ears as the sound struck her. I avoided looking at Salem, knowing I was causing him just as much pain. I flew toward the woman and dug my talons deep into the flesh of her cold torso.
Without thinking, I pierced her lifeless heart with my beak. A cry of pure torture ignited from her throat, but I gave no mercy. I didn't stop until she fell limp beneath my body. Once I realized what I had done, I stared in shock at the vampire – the gaping, bloody hole in her chest. I turned my head anxiously toward Salem, who stood several feet away – his eyes were filled with horror. I stretched my wings, leapt off of the woman's corpse and fluttered in the air staring down at what I had apparently done.
Paul and Kim came out from hiding. They appeared impressed and satisfied at my work. But Salem...I couldn't deciph
er the meaning behind his expression. Was he horrified by me? Angry? I couldn't look any longer. With one swift turn of my wings, I was off and soaring into the dark sky.
“Alex...!” Salem's voice broke through the seemingly-endless silence. I ignored him and flew on. My wings flapped relentlessly behind me, guiding me away to an unknown destination.
4. COWARD
I felt like a coward as I soared through the darkness. This had been by far the longest amount of time I had kept shape, but that didn't matter to me right now. All that I cared about was the look I had seen on Salem's face when he saw what I had done. My wings carried me with no intended destination. It felt amazing to fly over the world. The cool rush of wind blowing passed me, the twinkle of street lamps below as I crossed over the highway. On-lookers would have thought I was just an ordinary bird. I flew until nothing looked familiar to me anymore.
I spotted a tree on a nearby hill and landed gently on one of its many limbs. My eyes scanned the surrounding area. I could see cars in the distance, inching across the asphalt like baby turtles slowly approaching the ocean's edge as they fought to make it home. A large, luminous moon hung in the ebony sky surrounded by small sparkling stars. I couldn't make out any constellations in the sky, aside from the big dipper. That was as much as I knew about astronomy.
I contemplated returning home but the idea of seeing Salem right now somehow made me nervous. In an attempt to think of anything at all to clear my mind, I thought about Janet. It was still heart wrenching to think about her being gone for good, but this memory was more distant. I could see her and Desmond clearly in my mind’s eye, laughing together as they pushed me on the children’s swing. It was hard to believe there used to be a time when they were happy together. This memory had been enough to relax my body and mind, the adrenaline from the encounter was slowly wearing off. Just as instantly as it had come, the familiar feeling of bones twisting and cracking came, and before I could grip the branch in my new form I fell to the ground. Everything went black.
