by Jen Pretty
“Oh my god. I’m so screwed,” I told Armond what I had called the weird guy and what I did, but he just started to laugh. I sat there staring at him, and he just laughed harder.
"This isn't funny. What if the elders are mad at me and this test is a punishment?" I demanded.
He just kept laughing. So I stood up got a pillow and started beating him with it. He grabbed me and pinned me down on the bed still smiling, but he had the decency to stop laughing his ass off at least.
"You are fine." He said from inches away from me "they probably think you are funny and you are so young they won't expect you to even understand what you are doing. They won't expect good behaviour from a child," He said still smiling from only a few inches above me.
“I’m not a child though. I’m 22 in a week. What if you’re wrong?” I asked seriously.
“I’m not wrong,” he said moving closer to me and then leaning down and kissing me gently. I wasn’t really surprised by the kiss since Armond and I had gotten so much closer in the last few weeks, but I was surprised by how soft and gentle the kiss was. Armond is a big man who likes to kill vampires with a pair of freaking swords. Gentle was unexpected. Unfortunately it also had zero effect on me. He pulled back slightly and looked at me for a moment and we both started laughing. “I’m sorry,” he said but I waved him off and we laughed a bit more. Obviously that was not the direction our relationship was going to go. Armond and I had a strong bond, but it felt more like my bond with Luke every day. Too bad. When we finally stopped laughing, Armond sat up pulling me with him but he didn’t let go of my hand once we were sitting side by side on his bed.
“How old are you?” I asked still watching him.
"One hundred and four. I'm one of the youngest hunters," He said. Then his phone made a sound, and he checked it. Flipped it closed and then pulled me up to standing. "We have news from last night's scouting."
I took a deep breath. I couldn't turn back time and change whatever had happened to V. If she was indeed a monster, I had to help take her out. Even if it killed a part of me.
Armond pulled me to my feet and walked beside me down to the conference room. He sat me beside him, and we waited for the room to fill and my new nightmare to begin.
Once all the hunters had filed in, Reg stood up and addressed us all as he usually did. "Our scouts were successful. We have the location of the newest nest of vamps. It's not far from the club in an upscale house on a cul-de-sac around the corner from our timekeeper's condo." I gasped, but Reg kept going "the scout team counted at least two dozen low-level vamps and six mid-level." He paused to let that sink in "We are going to hit them today at noon. It's only an hour drive, so we will leave in an hour. Team one and team two only. Team 3 will stay here and guard the house. Having vamp action so close to home isn't comforting. Dismissed" Reg said before giving me a pointed look and leaving. Armond waited with me until all the rest of the hunters were gone.
“You can do this,” he said. Then he stood up, kissed the top of my head and left the room.
I sat for most of the hour there just trying to figure out a way to save my friend. I bet this was the test that elder was talking about. A horrible test. A test I might fail.
Armond came and collected me when it was time to go. I had finally left the conference room and had scooted up on the counter in the kitchen with a cookie and coffee from my favourite kitchen lady, and I watched while she was preparing for dinner. Mixing things and pouring things. Watching her reminded me of watching my mother bake when I was a child. I hadn't touched my cookie or coffee but having them made me feel better. Armond picked up my cookie, took my hand and led me to the waiting SUV. He tucked me in the back and got in beside me. Reg was in the front passenger seat which was weird because he never rode with us.
“Can you do this?” he asked me point blank. I just stared at him. Could I? I wasn’t too sure
“I think so,” I said tentatively.
"That's not good enough. I need you in this timekeeper. I have 20 hunters going through those doors, and I want 20 to leave again."
"Hey, easy," Armond said to him.
"No. Reg is right, Armond. I need to get my head in the game. I can't be responsible for hunters dying. If my friend is in there, she is already gone. Besides, she wouldn't want to be responsible for killing kids or anyone, really." I sighed and looked out the window. I guess that was all Reg needed to hear because he turned back around and before I knew it we were stopping behind my condo.
The walk to the cul-de-sac behind my building was cold and seemed to take forever. The house wasn't a mansion, but it was close. A white brick two stories with tall columns in the front. The immaculate lawns and landscaping spoke of wealth but with all the curtains drawn and the complete silence the house had an eerie quality. Armond and I swung around the back with our team. I was just getting ready to pull my magic when every door burst open, and vamps and trolls started flooding out. This was the first time I had seen trolls since I was attacked by one the day I met Victor. They were massive, but our hunters were ready in half a second, and the fight began.
Armond was beside me, guarding against any vamps or trolls that got past our team. My magic came to me as soon as the door opened, so the hunters started picking off the vamps and trolls as they came through the door. Then everything changed. There were vamps coming down off the roof, and I started seeing some I knew. V was in front of me, but she didn't look like V anymore. She was scary. He nails were long like typical vamps, and her teeth were jagged and sharp, and her eyes were blood red. She was really gone. My knees went weak, and I almost collapsed. Time snapped back, and hunters started screaming. I screamed, and my magic flared again, but this time it stopped everyone. I was face to face with my friend, and she was frozen in time.
I stood and looked at her for a moment. I had kept hoping that it wasn't true. That she was in Hawaii or on some other tropical island, but I couldn't deny what was right in front of me. What was I supposed to do now? I couldn't just leave them all frozen forever, but I couldn't watch as someone killed her. We had shared so much together. We weren't that close. I mean we hung out together and partied together, but we often went long stretches without talking to each other. Now I wished I had spent more time with her. I couldn't remember the last time I spoke to her. Maybe that night she told me to meet her at the club. God. What was I doing?
I couldn't hold this time stop for much longer without passing out, so I pulled Armond's sword out of his hand. Tears fell from my eyes as I raised the sword and swung it hard. Vs' head fell off, and I snapped time back. The fight carried on, but I just stared at my friend where she lay on the grass. Vampires just kept taking people from me. This had to end. No more. I stopped time again and ran into the house. I found 4 of the six mid-level vamps. They could move just a tiny bit in slow motion, but they were too slow to stop me. I killed three but the 4th I chained up with some heavy chain they had in the house. I assumed they used it to restrain other vamps or maybe trolls. I used all the chain I could find to tie up this vamp and then snapped time to slow and kept my borrowed sword at the vamp's neck.
“If you move I’ll kill you,” I told him and had no doubt in my mind I would do it. I was so angry.
“Where is the leader of your group?” where can I find him?”
The vampire hissed at me, but I knew he wasn't like the wild vamps outside. He could tell me what I wanted to know. I pressed harder on the sword, and black blood started to ooze out of his neck. He grunted again, his eyes going wide "You took my friend. I'm not happy. You will tell me what I want to know or I will end you slowly," I said.
"Timekeeper." He muttered.
"Ya. And right now I'm a pissed off timekeeper so don't waste my time."
“Our master will find you,” he muttered.
He was being a dick, so I cut off his hand.
“I want to know where he is,” I said over the vamps screams.
“He is nowhere and everywhere,” the vampire
yelled. “He cannot be found!”
Ugh. This was a waste of time. I cut off the vamps head and went out to find Armond. I walked outside just as he finished taking care of the last of the trolls. I was completely depleted. The house wasn't that big, but my magic could reach the vamps and trolls on all sides, so I was holding a lot of time. I was getting stronger but still not strong enough, and Armond caught me just as I was falling.
I woke in his arms again, but I didn't mind this time. I looked at him, but he just looked worried. "What's wrong?" I asked him.
“Where did you go?” he asked.
“I had to try and find the leader,” I said defensively. “They can’t take everyone from me.”
"So you went into the building and chopped up the mid-level vamps on your own. You decided to risk your life and what do you have to show for it?" he asked sounding angrier now.
"NOTHING, ok? Is that what you want me to say? I got nothing. I chopped off my oldest friends head and then chained up a scary fucking vampire and cut off his hand. Then realized I wasn't going to get any information and killed him," I yelled back at him "I'm sorry." I ran out of steam and whispered the rest. "Killing your friend will make you do crazy things I guess." He was right to be mad. I fucked up again. But V was my friend, and I just want this to be over.
He dragged a deep breath in and let it out. I swear he was counting to ten with his eyes closed.
“Ok. Look. Reg is pretty pissed that you went off script with this one. He's going to yell at you. Probably once we get back so he can yell at you in front of everyone. So just let him yell and apologize. He will calm down in a day or two. I want to be on your team, Lex." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "We are supposed to trust each other."
Well shit. He was right. We had come to a nonverbal agreement these past few weeks, and we should be working together in this. As a team. I sighed.
"I'm sorry," I looked up into his eyes, and he lifted one side of his mouth into half a smile.
“Did you really chain him up and cut off his hand?” he laughed a bit then but bit his lip to stop himself.
I smacked his chest. “I saw it on TV once.”
“You are so bad ass.” He gave me a full toothy grin then propped me up in the backseat of the SUV and going off to find more wounded hunters.
Because of the speed and intensity of the attack from the trolls and vamps several of our hunters were injured. Most just bite wounds, but one hunter had been knocked out by a troll with a 2x4. Fucking trolls.
Chapter ten
Once our injured were collected and the cleanup crew arrived, we headed back to the mansion. As we passed my condo, I craned my neck to see if my doorman was still there, but I couldn't see him. I whipped around to look at my coffee shop. God my life was simple then.
"You will be able to go back soon if you want," Armond said, "Once we take out the leader of this group you will be safe again."
"Will I really be safe though?" I asked him honestly "Or will I always be a target for whatever vamp wants to start a war and take over the earth?”
He didn’t answer right away. “You would be safe with me.” he glanced at me quickly before returning his eyes to the road.
The 2 injured men in the backseat groaned and poked fun at Armond but he just threatened them with death, and they quit. I had to laugh. Armond was never that serious, but to hear him talk now, you'd think he was a lovesick boy, not a 104-year-old fae hunter who preferred to sharpen his knives so he could cut people efficiently. I snorted out a laugh. I was kind of falling for him too. I spent most of the ride home thinking about what my life would be like with Armond. He and I back in my condo, and living without the fear of vampires and trolls. Then I remembered what I had done today, and I sobered immediately.
I didn't deserve any happiness after what I did to my friend. V and I grew up together, and then I ended her. My sob caught in my throat and the tears sprung again so quickly I couldn't stop them from rolling down my face. "I killed her," I said before I covered my open mouth. No sound came out until another sob wracked my body and then a keening noise came through. I killed my own friend. Sure she had been turned into an evil monster, but she still looked mostly like Vanessa.
“Shit,” Armond muttered before pulling into the driveway of the house. He sped up popped the button for the garage and quickly parked. He shut off the SUV and pulled me across to his lap and cradled my head under his chin while I let all my pain go. The other hunters left, but we sat there for a long time. He just waited for me to get tired enough that I finally fell asleep.
The next day I woke curled up in the safety of Armond's arms. My heart was still broken, but he was holding me like he could keep me from falling apart.
“Good morning,” he said tentatively without lifting his head. I don’t know how he always knew when I was awake.
“Hi,” I replied.
“Do you want to get up and go get breakfast?” he asked.
"I don't know. I guess. Probably." He released me, apparently getting understanding from my random words strung together and I rolled off his bed and wandered out of his room. It was cold in the house, so I hurried to my shower and flicked the water on to hot.
I realized I had been standing there for a while so shampooed and got out. I found some clothes and headed for the kitchen.
It seemed like every hunter was eating right now, so it was loud and busy. I grabbed 2 trays and filled 2 plates and 2 mugs before turning around to look for Armond. He had just walked in the room, so I skimmed around the edge of the room towards him with our breakfast.
His smile was bright when I got near he grabbed both trays from me and led the way to our usual seats beside Reg. Fuck. I hadn’t had my reprimand for going way off script yesterday at the raid. Maybe he has forgotten. I bit my lip and looked down at my plate as I sat.
"I realize you had a bit of a traumatic event yesterday…." Oh good, we were going to do this right now "… but you know that is no excuse to risk your life and the lives of my men. We have a protocol for a reason, timekeeper. You need to stop this shit before you get someone killed. You think you feel bad now? How about if one of my hunters dies because you have gone off to do whatever you feel like doing?"
“Go easy, Reg,” Armond said. Oh damn. Judging by the look that flashed onto Reg’s face that might have been a bad move on Armond’s part.
Reg swung around, pinning Armond with his captain hard-ass eyes. “You have something to say?”
Armond straightened “Ya, she is doing the best she can to deal with this. She is young, Reg, and we have been asking a lot of her. She is going to make mistakes, but she knows what she did was wrong. Give her a break."
"Fine. She can have a break. She stays home with team 3 while we go take care of a house this afternoon," He said, "we won't need her anyways, and perhaps she will have time to think about following proper protocol." He turned back to me "I can't have you on my team if you are unreliable. You may be important, but the lives of these hunters are important too."
By now the room was hushed as everyone listened to Reg tell me off. I deserved it. I definitely went a bit crazy yesterday and could have worn myself out and put everyone in danger. I didn’t like the idea of staying home though.
“That’s crazy Reg, what if it’s an ambush? I can’t just stay home,” I pleading with Reg to reconsider.
"It isn't. We have scouts on site right now. There are only 20 low-level vamps. You stay here."
With that Reg got up and left. I wasn't too hungry anymore, so I just sat there as the room filled with noise again. Once Armond was done with his meal, he took both trays back, and I headed to the basement to burn off some energy.
Armond came down about an hour later but just waited on a chair along the wall and watched me work over the heavy bag. I was still emotionally drained, but the exercise made me feel a bit more at balanced. When I was cooled down and done, Armond approached me.
"We are leaving in 20. Reg was apparently ser
ious about you staying home. Stay inside while we are gone ok? You are safe here, but it's safer in the house."
“Ok. I will. Don’t get hurt,” I told him.
“I promise.” He said and walked out of the gym.
I went back to my room. Showered and changed and made my way down to the entertainment room. Most of the remaining hunters were out guarding the house from strategic positions in the forest. Armond had taken me out and shown me one day, so I would know where to find hunters if I ever needed to.
"Hey, timekeeper! Come drink with us!" one of the hunters sitting at the bar said. It was only 11, but I figured it didn't matter. When you fought vampires and killed your friend, it was probably always a good time to drink.
So three hunters and I got extra tipsy and started taking turns singing karaoke. You wouldn't think these big, muscle-bound, monster killers could sing but get a little scotch into them and they forgot how dangerous they were. We took turns singing oldies and did some duets that I felt could be recorded.
“You know timekeeper.” one of them started saying
"Lex. My name is Lex," I said. "Reg always calls me timekeeper, but it's not my name." I poured myself another drink.
“…you know Lex…” he corrected, before pouring another drink for himself “you are an alright fae. I don’t blame Armond for wanting you. You are alright.”
He was so drunk I couldn't help but laugh at him. "I'm not alright. I haven't been alright for a long time. But if Armond is into crazy chicks with a substance abuse problem and a shocking lack of self-preservation, I'm his girl." I laughed again, and they all joined me.
“Let’s play some video games. See if you are too drunk to drive an Xbox controller.” he laughed again.
I was. I have played some video games and am usually pretty good at them, but this was a total disaster. The four of us racing cars around the track on the TV was more like a demolition derby, but we were having fun anyway.
