[ St.Merrow's academy…continued]
"What's the matter, little dove?"
The voice was annoyingly soft…if not for the gleeful menace curling beneath each word. The vampire grinned, long limbs moving with eerie grace as he stalked towards her, head tilted like a curious predator.
Arabella's breath hitched. The padded flooring of the gym felt like it would give way beneath her, but she stood her ground, taking small, measured steps backward.
"Stay back,night crawler, " she warned, glancing sideways towards the steel emergency exit, calculating her chances if she made a run for it…and then finally came to the conclusion…she would never make it in time.
"Oh, but we haven't even said hello properly…where are your manners,little dove? Didn't your grandfather teach you better? " he drawled, his fangs peeking as he bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. His eyes gleamed, not red like the stories said, but a dark void…depthless, soulless.Or maybe it was just because of the daylight.
This wasn't Arabella's first time seeing a nightcrawler. She had seen them in museums, seen them fly in the distant sky near the outskirts… But this sure as hell was her first time seeing one so close.It was like staring death in the eye.
She stepped back, again, only to hit the leg of a rowing machine. The metal clanged dully, echoing in the otherwise silent gym. She flinched.
"Clumsy little human."The vampire chuckled, circling now.
She was being toyed with… that much she could tell because if that thing wanted to actually feed on her… she would have been a goner by now. It was playing with her… and enjoying every bit.
Arabella's fingers brushed the edge of the heavy punching bag. She waited, watching him inch closer, watching his feet…each step.
"How…how are you out in the daylight? You belong to darkness…you don't belong to the light," she hissed, her tone low, furious.
"Neither do you, human."
And then…thwack…she shoved the bag with all her might.
The vampire snarled as the leather mass swung into his face, giving her just the moment she needed.
She ran.
Bolting past the treadmills, she skidded around the squat rack, her feet slipping slightly against the floor. The vampire's growl vibrated behind her as he recovered, faster than she expected.
Arabella didn't look back. She tore through the gym's back corridor, slamming her shoulder into the emergency door that opened onto the balcony.
"RUN!" she screamed the moment she burst outside.There were oblivious kids hanging around… chit chatting, some lounging, others tossing a ball and what not.
The sun filtered through high clouds.
They turned towards Arabella, blinking.
"There's a vampire right behind me…RUN!" she screamed her heart out.
Panic exploded.
Children scrambled. Chairs fell. A water bottle rolled off the edge. Someone else screamed, not knowing why yet, but feeling the fear in Arabella's voice.
Then the vampire swooped out.
Arabella barely ducked as it soared over her head, its wings flaring wide like a cloak of death. The wind of its passing knocked her hair into her face.
Another shriek. Then another scream…this one not hers.
She turned…a new vampire had joined. From the sky.
Two night crawlers terrorising in broad daylight… What sort of nightmare was this?!
She backed against the railing, hands spread, mind racing.
"No, no… don't panic Bella, think…think, " she muttered, watching the second one glide closer, eyes locked on her neck like it could already taste her.
"Look at me,pastor's granddaughter," it said,viciously slithering.
She wanted to bolt but her legs froze.
Its mouth opened, revealing rows of serrated teeth, and it dove, faster than she could dodge.
But it never reached her.
A blur slammed into the vampire from the side.All Arabella saw was a man in a black suit…just a flash of motion and then a low, guttural growl.
They toppled midair, crashing onto the balcony tiles with a sickening crack, rolling.
Arabella gasped.
The suited figure was on top now, fists pounding into the vampire's chest before lifting it up and into the sky…so fast it was like a glitch in the sky.
And then Arabella saw fire!!!
The vampire ignited midair… twisted violently,its limbs flailing.The fire caught first at its wings.The creature let out a bloodcurdling scream. The next second it was reduced to nothing more than a writhing flame of screech and shrieks. Smoke poured from its eye sockets.And then it exploded… it's body literally combusted and vaporised in front of Arabella's eyes.
She stood frozen. Her chest heaved. Kids were crying behind her. Someone whimpered.
She looked up again, eyes glued to the sky.
Smoke curled above the clouds where the vampire had combusted, trailing like the ghost of a scream.
The air hummed with static…and the sharp tang of burning flesh still lingered.
Her limbs locked as her gaze followed the figure that still hovered midair.
The handsome man in that suit.
He was watching her as well…his silver grey eyes locked on hers, unreadable.
Arabella parted her lips to say something…when suddenly…
YANK…
She was pulled back with brutal force. Steel like ice cold fingers closed around her arm, then her throat.
Her feet left the ground.
A wheeze escaped her as super sharp claws pressed against her jugular.
The first vampire had her.
His grip was unshakable, as he coiled around her like a viper. One arm caged her torso, the other hand poised at her throat, a talon pressing just enough to draw blood.
Arabella gasped…the sting was sharp as the warm droplets slid down her skin.
But the vampire wasn't looking at her.
He was looking past her.
Right at the man floating above them.
Negotiating?!
Staring into the eyes of her 'would be' savior.
Arabella's voice trembled. "Let me go…you blood sucker.Didn't you see what happened to your friend,huh?He is gonna kill you if you don't let go…"
"Quiet," the vampire hissed near her ear, his breath rancid. "We are talking."
The man in the sky dipped lower.
Gracefully.
Then he perched atop the balcony's iron railing, one boot resting, the other hanging casually. He looked like he had stepped off the page of a high end fashion spread…sleek black suit, buttoned just enough to look expensive, but unbothered by the chaos around him.
His eyes were grey.
Just like Mark's.
Was he a Guardian as well? But wait… Wasn't this Mark's territory?
This man's hair was darker…almost black with a faint bluish tint that shimmered under the sun. It curled at the end like it was born of winds. And when he smiled, it was all charm.
His gaze flicked to the vampire holding Arabella, then to her neck where blood was beginning to bloom.
"Well, that's not very gentlemanly," he said lightly, voice tinged with boredom. "You know… puncturing pretty girls in public."
The vampire growled low in his throat, his claw digging in just a little deeper.
"Easy now," the man warned, raising a finger. "You don't wanna play me with that, scumbag."
Arabella winced. She could feel the vein under the vampire's nail pulse…like one twitch could end her.
The man didn't flinch.
He took a slow step forward, still balanced perfectly on the railing.
"Let. The kid. Go."
His voice dropped an octaves.
"Then you and I can go on a nice little candlelight date. Somewhere private. Maybe the woods, maybe a rooftop… depends on how romantic you are feeling."
He tilted his head playfully.
Arabella would have laughed if her life wasn't flashing before her eyes.
The vampire hissed, pulling her closer as a shield. Its eyes darted skyward… towards the clouded trail of smoke still hanging where its partner had died.
"Oh… what's that?" the man cooed, glancing up.
He sniffed the air theatrically.
"Hmm. Burnt meat? Fireworks? Or was that your boyfriend I roasted five minutes ago?"
The vampire snarled in warning. His claws pressed harder.
Arabella gasped again. "No…please… don't…"
She choked on her words as her blood trickled faster now, her knees threatening to give out.
"Shit," she mumbled. "I am… bleeding."
The man's face shifted ever so slightly.
The playfulness dimmed.
Just for a moment.
He stepped off the railing.
Feet touching ground soundlessly.
He walked forward…hands raised, empty palms out.
"Okay, okay… look, buddy," he said, eyes never leaving the vampire's. "You are clearly nervous. I get it. You saw what happened to your little flying trash bag. But let's not do anything stupid…Or you might end much worse…"
He was closer now.
Too close.
Arabella could feel the vampire twitch behind her. His breathing was faster. He was way more than just nervous.
"Back. Off," the creature snarled, digging in deeper.
Arabella whimpered as the claws tore through the skin just a little more. Her blood trickled down in thin red lines now, staining her collarbone. Her vision blurred at the edges.
Still, she didn't scream.
She refused to.
"Don't move," she whispered through clenched teeth looking at the handsome,suited man, straight in the eye. "Don't… make him panic."
But the man didn't stop.
His voice remained maddeningly calm.
"You know what your problem is?" he said to the vampire, completely ignoring Arabella…slowly reaching into his coat.
"You never read the room. Or the sky."
He pulled something out…a small device? A shard? Arabella couldn't see.
The vampire hissed louder, panic rocketing.
The man smiled again.
"Tell you what. You let the girl go…"
He flicked the thing between his fingers.
"…and maybe you can still catch your breath before I tear your wings off and burn your filthy soul from the inside out."