by T. H. Hunter
I got out of bed. My leg was still hurting, though it felt much better than before. I would probably be able to cover a bit of ground. I put on my old clothes; they felt slightly stiff from washing. I found my shoes and put them on, too, and walked gingerly towards the door.
When I reached it, I paused, listening. There was nothing to be heard. I gently pushed it open and was immediately blinded by the strong rays of the sun. The warm beams felt strange on my skin. I looked down at my arm; it didn’t seem different at all. What did I expect? I must have read too many novels.
The sight that greeted me was extraordinary, that much I had to admit. I found myself in a mountain landscape stretching as far as the eye could see. The hospital building I had just exited from lay at the edge of a cliff. Further up the mountain was a trail that led up to a castle, undoubtedly Cranvin Castle, its grey-white spires with black roof tiles towering impressively over me. Several enormous birds were circling the castle’s towers, though it was hard to see them properly due to the blinding light of the low sun. Below me, bathed in a mellow orange light, a narrow road snaked its way down the mountain for perhaps a mile or even two, culminating in a little village.
Going up to the castle was, of course, not an option. The only thing I could do was to go down further into the village and hope that I could find some means of transportation. These people, regardless of whether they really were vampires or not, were clearly very powerful. And I was hampered by my leg. I had to be extremely careful.
I made my way down the narrow path through the village as quickly as my leg would allow. I couldn’t see anyone out and about. Suddenly, I heard a tenuous call from behind me.
“Miss Flynn…”
It was the old nurse. I kept walking, pretending not to hear her.
“Wait, Miss Flynn!”
I picked up the speed a bit, but didn’t dare to turn around. I had very little time before she would alert Doctor Yurasov or someone else.
I finally reached the village, my leg protesting at every step now. The small half-timbered houses looked like from another century, or millennium even. I doubted half of them had electricity or heating. Piles of firewood adorned almost every yard in preparation for the coming winter. I turned into a muddy sidestreet as soon as I could.
I followed the street a little further, careful to walk close to the houses to remain out of sight of the hospital and Cranvin Castle. A small red-bricked church, by far the newest-looking building, marked the end of the road. There were only a few children playing there, though my ‘modern’ clothes didn’t seem to bother them in the least. Then, there was a sound I had never heard before, like a deep cry of some animal. The children immediately looked into the sky and pointed something out to one another, fear flooding their little faces. I followed their gaze. What I saw made my blood freeze.
What I had earlier mistaken for birds at greater distance turned out to be gigantic bats, heading in the direction of the village. Supressing my panic, I frantically looked for some sort of cover. I was attracting a lot more attention from the villagers now, their faces looking stonily at me. They had obviously come to the conclusion that the creatures were looking for me, that my presence here wasn’t authorised.
I hid in the shade between two houses, checking the sky. The gigantic bat-like creatures were circling the entire village, though I didn’t think they had pinpointed my exact location, at least not yet. Suddenly, a window opened right above me and a grim-looking woman began yelling at me in a language I didn’t understand. The noise would give me away in no time. I had to move fast. The only place left was the church. Cursing under my breath at the woman who had blown the whistle and eyeing the sky at the same time, I tried to sprint, but my leg wouldn’t go any further. I had to hide.
I passed through the little graveyard and opened the church’s doors. It was quiet, there was nobody around.
I’d never been in an Orthodox church before. The golden adornments of the altar were matched only perhaps by the beauty of the mural paintings on the walls.
“Impressive for such a little village, is it not?” a voice came from behind me.
I spun around at once. It was Doctor Yurasov.
“How did you…”
“The gargoyles alerted me the minute you left,” he said.
“The what?”
“Our flying guardians. You must have seen them looking for you. Come, let me show you something.”
I had little choice. I followed him out of the church into the graveyard. Judging by the dates on the graves, this graveyard was at least 800 years old, much older than the church itself. At last, Doctor Yurasov came to a halt, indicating the grave on our right.
“I am sorry, Miss Flynn. We waited as long as we could in this weather, but we didn’t know when you would recover consciousness.”
I stepped forward. The tombstone bore my grandfather’s name, Richard Maximilian Flynn. He had died defending me. And I would never forget that as long as I lived.
We stood there for quite a while in silence, as the memories of that horrible attack passed before my eyes as vividly as if it were happening again. I remembered the last time I looked into his warm hazelnut eyes, the moment we had decided to fight. And then, how he had lain there unconscious, blood trickling from his head. Hot tears were streaming down my face, but I didn’t wipe them away this time.
I was grateful that Doctor Yurasov didn’t try to talk, that he left me to my own thoughts. He simply stared at the tombstone, his expression grim yet resolved. I looked back at the freshly turned-over earth, though my mind was miles away.
“They won’t stop, will they?” I said.
Doctor Yurasov turned to me.
“No, Miss Flynn. They will not. They will hunt you for the rest of your life.”
There was an awful pause as the truth of the situation settled in. Whether I liked it or not, I was now marked out as a target wherever I went. I had no place to go. And even if I did, they’d find me eventually, and everyone I knew would be at risk as well. Friends, old or new, would simply be a means of getting to me. They’d shown how ruthless they were. They had killed my grandfather. They would kill anyone else in their way without a moment’s hesitation. I’d be a curse to anyone I met. Whatever this place was, whatever was in store for me here, it had to be better than that.
I turned to Doctor Yurasov. I think he knew immediately, knew that my decision had been made. But he showed me the respect in waiting for it to come out of my mouth.
“Thank you, Doctor Yurasov, for everything you’ve done.”
He smiled and nodded. He understood that I would stay.
6
I spent the next few days back in the hospital ward while my leg recovered. It was a lot faster thanks to the Elixir I received from the nurse every morning. I visited my grandfather’s grave every day. I’d never been religious really, never giving the matter much thought, but the quiet graveyard and the small church gave me comfort. I missed him, but being able to come here made the transition a little easier. I tried to remember all the good times we had had together. And I vowed never to forget the men who had robbed my grandfather of his life.
After my leg had healed, I was brought to the Uninitiated’s training grounds and dormitories, which were located a few minutes outside of the village. Past a small wood in a clearing, several dozen small wooden huts were strewn throughout. This would be my home for the next week before the Trial.
I approached the nearest hut, though hesitated briefly before knocking. I tapped the door twice. Nothing happened. Perhaps they hadn’t heard me. I tapped again, and then suddenly a male voice spoke from behind me.
“They’re not back yet. Are you looking for someone?”
I swung around. He must have been my age. He was extremely fit physically, though quite a bit shorter in stature than I was. His blond hair accentuated his handsome face. He was wearing white pants and a jacket made of thick cotton. It reminded me of the uniforms they wore for Judo, only w
ithout the belts.
“Oh, I’ve just arrived,” I said.
“Welcome, then, I guess. My name’s Steve,” he said.
“I’m Beccs.”
He stood there, slightly awkward, not knowing what to do next, so I extended my hand. He shook it gratefully.
“It shouldn’t be locked,” he said. I opened the door carefully.
“Thanks,” I said.
We entered the little hut, which turned out to be a single room. To say it was barebone would have been an understatement. There were two bunk beds, one above the other, on the left. On the right, a wardrobe, a table and two chairs.
“Are you the girl everyone’s been talking about? The one who almost got killed by the Slayers?”
“That’s me,” I said.
“And is it true that you…that you have the Scarlet Curse?” he asked finally.
“That’s what they told me, yeah.”
“Woah. I guess we shouldn’t get in your way then, huh?” he said, giving off a nervous laugh.
“How so?” I said.
“I mean, you’re supposed to have all sorts of special powers. Did you use them to fight off the Slayers?”
“No, I… haven’t noticed anything.”
“Strange. Well, maybe with a bit of training. I hear it’s really rare, so nobody really knows how long it takes for it to show.”
“Yeah, I suppose. So is there a shower or something around here I could use?” I asked him.
“There’re communal bathrooms in the largest hut. There should also be some spare robes for you there. I’ll point you to them.”
“Thanks a lot,” I said as we stepped back outside. “Have you been here long?”
“Oh, about two weeks I think,” Steve said. “Though the days are all pretty similar, you kind of lose track of time. The bathrooms are right over there.”
He laughed again.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then. I think the girls should be back soon. See you around.”
“I’ll see you, Steve,” I said.
***
“You mean she has the Curse?”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard from one of the gargoyles.”
“You heard it from a gargoyle? They don’t even speak to the Uninitiated, Lynn!”
“No, no, they do, but you have to do it the right way. Jayden’s been teaching me how to do it.”
“Oooh, you’ve been alone with Jayden?”
“He’s only a friend! Anyway, he told me how to do it. There are signs. They tell you things, like non-verbally.”
“Yeah, Lynn, boys tell you stuff non-verbally, we get it.”
“I’m talking about the gargoyles!”
“Shh, you’ll wake her up…”
“We’ll see you at training, Lynn.”
“Okay, see you later.”
There was the sound of several footsteps, and of a door opening and closing. The hushed voices from below had woken me up, and it took me a while to remember where I was. I opened my eyes, only to close them again, blinded by the light shining in from the window. I sat up, looking down at the pretty girl lying on the bunk bed below me.
She had very dark hair and olive skin, like an Italian. She was wearing round glasses and the same white robes Steve had been wearing the night before.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she said, sounding rather nervous. “I’m Lynn.”
“I’m Rebecca, but people usually just call me Beccs,” I said.
“Is it true that you have the Curse?” she blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Yep,” I said, sounding more nonchalant than I actually felt. “But I didn’t know ‘til last week myself.”
“Must be amazing! I wish I had it. I mean, I know it has bad sides as well, of course. So they attacked you?”
I told her all about the attack, how they had entered the house in disguise, how my grandfather and I had fought them off as best we could. It was still very painful to talk about it, but Lynn was an excellent listener, and her sympathetic interest eased the pain a little bit.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your grandfather,” she said. “You must miss him a lot.”
“Yeah. He was great.”
“D’you think they’re still after you now?”
“That’s what Doctor Yurasov told me. I don’t think they’ll be stopping anytime soon.”
“You’re safe here. The gargoyles don’t miss a thing. A couple of the guys tried to sneak into the castle – just to have a look – but they got discovered almost instantly.”
“So are you a born vampire then?” I asked her.
“Yeah, from an Italian-American family. But they wanted me to be educated in Europe, so they sent me here. Bit strange, this place, isn’t it? But the people are very nice. Except Mr. Vox, of course.”
“Who’s he?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ll get to know him later. He’s in charge of training us up for the Trial. I’m really scared of it, the Trial I mean. I got here late because my mother wanted me to attend my cousin’s wedding before I came here. Tough catching up with the others, some have been here for weeks.”
“I wonder what it’s going to be, though,” I said. “Did they tell you at all?”
“No, it’s a well-kept secret. Nobody knows. And if they knew they wouldn’t tell us anyway. Not Vox, anyway. But it’s supposed to test our physical abilities as well as our character.”
***
We talked for a while longer, and I felt a lot more relaxed now. I had stayed for survival, but perhaps this wasn’t going to be bad place at all. We joined the others outside for breakfast, at the far end of the clearing, close to the fire pit. It was local cuisine for the most part, sweet walnut bread and tripe soup. Two other girls I hadn’t met yet joined our table. One was called Lise, a very friendly girl from the Bavarian countryside, and Jelena from Greece.
“We’ll have to be at training in 10 minutes,” Jelena said, putting her knife down and looking at her watch.
We finished our breakfast and got up. The training grounds were only a few minutes away. Other people had already arrived, and there was much greeting, hugging and waving as people recognised each other. All seemed to be in a very good mood. There must have been two hundred people there at least.
“This is where we always meet,” Lynn said to me.
“Right,” I said.
“I’m thirsty already,” Lynn said.
We waited for some minutes. I noticed that most would-be vampires were my age, though some were older.
A rotund man, wearing a white doctor’s coat, emerged from the woods. As he drew nearer, the crowd began hooting and crying out with enthusiasm. It seemed he was a popular figure. Behind him, a tall man with round spectacles, also dressed in white, followed reluctantly. He looked tired and gaunt.
“Who is that?” I asked Lynn.
“That’s Doctor Wiley in front, and that’s his assistant, Mr. Vox.”
Doctor Wiley had a rotund and boyish face, which contrasted violently with his shock of pure white hair. He was grinning, returning some of the greetings as if he were some sort of rock star.
“’Fraid it’s out today, everyone, no more juice,” he said when he finally entered the circle. He held out his arms to show that he had nothing on him, though he was winking as he spoke.
People around me started laughing, others were mock-complaining. Evidently, this belonged to some sort of routine of his.
“Alright, alright. If you insist,” he said, holding up his hands to stop the chatter, “d’you want some more?”
The crowd cried out in affirmation.
He beamed around and then leant back, head facing up at the sky, emitting a terrible cry, like some wounded animal. Within seconds, the call was returned. The hairs at the back of my neck stood up. The others didn’t seem to be bothered, though.
Soon enough, two gargoyles were flapping towards us, looking even more menacing up close. They had flat snouts and
apelike faces, with extremely muscular bodies and wide, powerful wings. They were carrying what looked like a huge chest between them. The crowd became restless now, people were fidgeting next to me. Steve, who was also close by, was absent-mindedly rubbing his fingers against his lips.
The gargoyles landed on the ground with pinpoint precision, gently setting down the chest. Then, without any hesitation, they took off once more, no doubt heading for the castle again.
The chest was made of dark wood, ebony perhaps, with a golden lock and ornamentation. Doctor Wiley took out a small golden key from his pocket and slid a podgy hand over the lid. Evidently, he was enjoying every minute of this ritual. He let the tension rise a little longer and, with a swift and flourishing movement, opened the chest.
“There’s enough for everyone. One after the other, mind,” Doctor Wiley addressed the crowd.
Mr. Vox, his assistant, pointed at the person who would go first, a burly guy with a beard. He stepped forward, shaking Doctor Wiley’s hand and received a phial in return. He made no pretences, immediately fumbling the top off and drinking it in one go. His body relaxed visibly, like a drug addict getting his long-overdue shot. He placed the phial back in the chest and returned to where he had been standing.
“Is there any specific order?” I asked Lynn.
“It’s based on training performance. Jayden, that’s the guy with the beard, made it to first place consistently for the last week, so he drinks first. Like I’d be so lucky!”
Finally, after everyone else had received their phial, it was my turn as a newly-arrived Uninitiated to be beckoned forward by the assistant. Doctor Wiley eyed me with interest as I approached.
“Hello, hello, I haven’t seen you yet. What’s your name again?” he asked.
“Rebecca Flynn, sir.”
“Ah, of course,” he said, shaking my hand. “Flynn… The girl with the Scarlet Curse, eh?”
“That’s me apparently,” I said, smiling.
“Ha! Well, you certainly showed the Slayers a thing or two, didn’t you? Reminds me of the old days in the war. You may have the Curse, but you’re far behind training-wise. Don’t slack and you’ll be fine, Flynn.”
