"The Girl!" Shaddus shrieked gleefully, his wild eyes turning immediately from Mireille to Kiyah.
The small, white-haired girl was trembling, her throat muscles visibly contracting, and her knuckles matched her hair.
"Leave her!" Mireille called, dragging herself upright while using a lab table for support, "it's me you want!"
The mad Vampaneze merely shook his head, a foamy drool issuing from one side of his mouth in anticipation. He moved closer to Kiyah, the sinister grin still playing across his lips. Quickly, she moved as far as she could away, eyes dancing about the room—it was as though she was searching for something to use against him, though the effort seemed futile. She backed into a cabinet, her hands groping around the counters beside it.
Mireille took a step towards Shaddus but crumpled to the floor, pain shooting through her left leg. The Vampaneze took that opportunity gladly, as he lunged at Kiyah with his sharp nails prepped for the kill.
Mireille felt a scream escape her throat and was surprised to find that it had come from her and not the girl. She turned to where Shaddus had attacked, expecting to find a scene of utmost horror; what met her eyes frightened and relieved her at the same time.
Kiyah's stance was slightly crouched, and the small girl had managed to grab a scalpel from the counter—it was now buried deep in Shaddus' heart. Her aim was true, and a scarlet stream erupted from the mad Vampaneze' chest.
Kiyah was almost frightening, standing there in the dim room, half-drenched in blood, her pupils contracted so that her emerald irises consumed her eyes totally. She was gently shaking as Shaddus slid to the ground, shuddered a moment and finally lay still.
"M-miss…m-miss Mira…?" Kiyah managed, her voice quivering like a plucked bowstring.
"Here, child," Mireille responded quietly, "is he dead?"
The little girl gulped and nodded curtly, once. Her eyes hadn't left the limp, unmoving form of Shaddus.
"I…I didn't m-mean t-to…" Kiyah whimpered, falling to her knees beside the dead Vampaneze, so mesmerized by her own deed that she was numb to the fact she was kneeling in a puddle of blood.
"It was necessary, dear," Mireille whispered, dragging herself over to the girl, "you did what you had to do…and you were more brave than any vampire I've ever seen."
Kiyah slowly turned to face her and murmured, "So it's true, than…Vampires…and he was one of them…" her words were forced and only loosely connected.
"Yes, Kiyah," Mireille told her, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, "and I am one of them, as well...though, of a different kind than he."
"Make me one," the girl replied, the bloodstains on her white hair gleaming in the moonlit room, "I don't want to be…this…anymore…"
She closed her eyes and pushed away from Mireille's touch, leaning heavily on the counter as she got to her feet. There were tears, barely visible on her cheeks, but still there. Mireille found her heart touched by this girl, a young human who had deemed to show her kindness…how could she refuse this only request?
"I cannot," she said somberly, watching the girl from her place on the floor, "the council would not approve and you are too young. Your parents would surely miss you. They-"
"Stop lying to me!" Kiyah exclaimed angrily, "They would be happy to have me gone! All I do is take up space and time in their lives! All I do is burden them by living under their roof!" she slumped down again, so that they were eye level, "and your council can go to Hell. How can I live like this…?"
Mireille watched her for a moment and then finally said, "I cannot deny you this, child. You are more than worthy to become a vampire and if you wish it so, I will not stop you."
Kiyah stared back at her through wide, red-rimmed eyes, "You mean it, Miss Mira? You'll let me come with you?"
Mireille nodded solemnly, "I would not say it if I believed otherwise. I will have to blood you and you will become a half-vampire…my assistant."
"How do you…uh, blood me?" Kiyah asked nervously, eyes even now almost entirely green.
Mireille took her nails and pricked each of her fingers at the tip, then motioned for Kiyah to hold out her own hands. The girl did so, though they were shaking noticeably, and Mireille did the same to Kiyah's fingers. She jerked at the sudden, sharp pain, but then disregarded it.
"It will hurt more, now," Mireille said warningly, as she joined their hands at the fingertips and held them there, "and to some extent…this is wrong."
Kiyah closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip as the pain spread from her fingertips until her whole body was on fire. The feeling was unlike any she'd ever felt—burning and torturing, but powerful and godlike. She felt as if she could lift a bus, felt as if a bullet could go straight through her and she'd be perfectly fine.
Mireille broke their connection and fell back, away from her new assistant. She felt stupid, having forgotten to test the girl's blood before she'd turned her. If the blood was bad, she'd just released a monster, but…no, she knew this girl in a way she couldn't explain. Testing her blood now would be wrong; after all, what was done couldn't be taken back.
"How do you feel, child?" Mireille asked her, checking to see that all went well.
Kiyah was already on her feet, eyes wide as they'd been when Shaddus had lunged at her, "I feel incredible!" she exclaimed, expression so manic Mireille was afraid she'd done something wrong, "I've never felt this good in my life, I…I feel like I could crush a brick to powder!" as if remembering something, Kiyah turned to her new mentor, "Miss Mira…thank you…"
Kneeling down, Kiyah hoisted her up and, putting the older woman's arm about her shoulders, supported her as best as she could. Mireille let the girl help her to a stool and then spat on her wound, hoping to be able to move in a few hours. In that time, Kiyah would most likely have finished cleaning up the mess.
"There's no need to thank me, Kiyah…" Mireille said stiffly, spitting in her hand then rubbing it on the other girl's fingers as well, "I don't think you quite understand what it is I've done, you see…though you will be able to go out in sunlight and such, I'm afraid you will ahev to become used to solitude. You already know you must leave your family."
Kiyah shrugged and replied, wiping-up some of the blood with a paper towel (there was a dispenser on the wall), "I don't mind, really. I only have one friend, anyways. I'm used to being alone, Miss Mira…but, Rin…"
Mireille took that to be the name of her friend and said gently, "We will have to think of a plan so that the police will not search for you. Can we trust this friend of yours?"
"I would trust her with my life," Kiyah responded tersely, "but she'll be heartbroken…her parents, well…they…they hit her a lot, and…" she broke-off, looking sadly at her feet.
Mireille shook her head, "I know you feel for your friend, but we will only be using her to formulate an escape. She cannot come with us."
Kiyah gave an unladylike snort and went back to scrubbing at the floor, then her shoulders quivered uncertainly, "So I'll really be alone…?" her voice cracked on the word 'alone' and Mireille felt something tug at her heartstring.
"You will be with me, Kiyah. You will not be completely alone, but…as I told you, this life is hard and I think I have done something terrible in bringing you into it…"
"I don't care, it will just make me stronger," the girl replied quickly, looking her in the eye, "let's get out of here, though. I can't stand to look at him," she jerked a finger at Shaddus, "anymore."
Mireille nodded and said, "Very well. I can limp now, so I suppose staying longer will do no good. Is the mess cleaned up?"
"As good as I could get it, for the floor, but…he might drip a bit. Are we taking him with us? To, uh, hide?" Kiyah bit her lip nervously.
"Honestly, girl, common sense!" Mireille snapped, "we cannot leave him here…though, I'm afraid I don't have strength enough to carry him myself…"
Kiyah paled, if possible, more. Sure, she could carry him, if it came to that, but…
"I can't do it," she said bluntly, after a moment of silence, "Miss Mira, he's dead…and I…just can't…"
"Very well, girl," Mireille growled at her, "Let the school discover the body in the morning. Then you will see why we don't blood children."
Kiyah's fear vanished in a heartbeat and she retorted angrily, "Have it your way, you old hag! I'll do the dirty work and you drag yourself behind me! Careful, or I might lose you!"
The girl whirled around and lifted Shaddus' dead weight easily, then headed for the door without a backwards glance. Mireille watched in awe, quite aware that this had been a good choice of assistants. If ever she were in need of help, she would be able to trust this girl with her life on any occasion. It was uncanny the way she seemed to be adept at pushing aside any worries that she had.
Mireille followed the girl, sort of semi-hopping along, until they were at the back of the cafeteria. There was a door leading out that the lunch workers used to transport food in and trash out, and she suspected this was the means of exit Kiyah was planning on using.
"Where do we dump him?" the girl finally asked, turning to Mireille, "because if the cops find him then we're in trouble. You've done this before, right?"
"Not often," Mireille said sternly, then her look softened, "but you are correct. I've done it before, though I'm not entirely proud to say so. This was once my home, also, and I guess I felt the need to protect it. An old friend of mine, Larten Crepsley, once told me he felt that way about his hometown."
"You said we couldn't have friends, didn't you," Kiyah asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Mireille sighed and then finally managed a slight smile, "Well, I suppose if I could find some other vampires, then…but none of them would be your age, dear. I doubt any vampire has ever taken an assistant so young before, but…well, it has been quite some time since I saw anyone, so I wouldn't know…and I never did say you couldn't have friends…"
Kiyah had to smile back at the older woman, "Well, then, I suppose you were quite lonely. We'll just have to keep each other company."
Much later, Kiyah finally finished shoveling dirt into the hole. She examined the grave carefully, but found nothing askew. Nobody would ever know that it had been tampered with, unless the police investigated a case that involved excavating it…in which case, there would be trouble. Mireille gave a nod of approval and took Kiyah's arm, guiding her away from the grave and placing the shovel conveniently in a bush.
"Come along, then, child," she said gently, "my ankle's healed-up already, so I should be able to flit if needed. Let's get to your friend's house and see if we can't come up with an excuse for you to disappear."
Kiyah nodded and they proceeded out of the cemetery, where Mira motioned her to get on her back. The girl obliged and soon they were flying down the sidewalk, going so quickly time around them seemed to stop. Kiyah's stomach gave a swoop of excitement as they halted in front of the house she'd described to Mireille earlier.
"This is it, then?" Mireille asked, cautiously looking through one of the windows.
Kiyah nodded and went over to another window in back. Mireille had the distinct feeling she'd done this before, but said nothing as Kiyah rapped three times on the glass.
In mere seconds a thin, brown-haired girl appeared behind it and undid the locks. She was smaller than Kiyah, though not by much, and Mireille noted a dark bruise on the girl's cheek, just below the eye.
"Hello…" she said timidly, "What brings you to my window…?"
Kiyah gestured towards Mireille and said quickly, "Rin, do you remember Miss Mira?" and, as soon as the girl nodded, went on, "I have a lot to tell you, so could you please let us in? Once we're in we can talk."
"Kiyah…" Rin's eyes wandered away from Kiyah's and to the blood that had dried on her clothes and in her hair, "what's that? You're covered in it…it looks like-"
"I know, Rin, but please," Kiyah interjected hastily, "you have to hear us out, okay? I know this will sound crazy, but it's all true. Just let us in…"
Rin's eyes widened but she shook her head and helped Kiyah over the windowsill and into the room. It had a small bed and was basically bare besides that; so clean that it couldn't possibly have belonged to such a young girl.
"Now, tell me what's so important," Rin said quietly, after Kiyah helped Mira through also.
Kiyah cleared her throat as discreetly as she could and started, "I went to school earlier tonight…er, last night…and I thought I heard something, so I went to go check it out…" she paused and watched Rin's expression before continuing, "I found Miss Mira fighting with some man I didn't recognize, and…well, he attacked her and injured her leg…I'd suspected before because of books I'd read. There was one from the library that said Vampires have a scar on each fingertip and Miss Mira did, so…well…"
Rin frowned and said delicately, "Kiyah, you don't really believe in that stuff, I mean…only one other person checked that book out in years…it was all totally fake, right?"
"Look, Rin, he turned on me," she said hurriedly, "he attacked me while Miss Mira was injured and I…he came at me in the anatomy room and…I got a scalpel…and…"
Rin's chocolate eyes widened and she said breathily, "What are you talking about? You can't mean that you…you…"
"She killed him," Mireille said candidly, "and I've never seen any human kill a Vampaneze. Especially not a child."
Rin's lower lip was quivering, "Vampaneze? What on earth is that?" she turned to Kiyah abruptly, "and you can't mean what you say! Killing someone? You're both crazy!"
"A Vampaneze is a mad vampire, and Kiyah did kill him. We are not crazy and can prove the story if we must, but…we've come for your help. We need something to tell Kiyah's parents so that they won't worry. She has been blooded and will be leaving with me, I am sorry," Mireille told her remorsefully.
"You're taking her…?" Rin's voice shook as she spoke the words, "you can't take her…no, please, Kiyah…you're not leaving with her, are you? Are you!"
Kiyah hung her head and replied forlornly, "Rin, I'm a half-vampire…I know you don't believe me, but it's true…" she held out her hands to her friend, palms up so that the new scars were clearly visible even in the dim room, "see? The book was right…there are ten scars from the blooding…from when you make a blood exchange…"
Rin shook her head numbly, teeth grit, backing away slowly until she was on the opposite side of the room, "You killed someone…if that's true, then I don't even know you anymore…I trust you, Kiyah, but…you come to my house covered in blood saying you're a murderer and asking for an alibi…and now you're leaving me alone…"
Mireille had been letting the girls work it out, for the most part, but now saw fit to interrupt before Rin lost it, "Look, girl, she said there was proof, correct? How shall I prove it to you? I could bit through something metal, if you have anything. Would that be enough? I could scale the walls of your house without a ladder. Would you believe then?"
Rin gulped and looked around uneasily, "You can really do that?"
"That and more, girl. Superhuman strength is also one of our gifts which I could demonstrate if I felt the need," Mireille responded.
"Superhuman strength…" Rin mumbled, as if working something out, "then…if you're taking Kiyah, could you…take me, too?"
Mireille was taken aback, not having expected the girl to be so blunt as her friend, "Of course not, the council is already going to have a fit over Kiyah. You are too young to come with me, anyways."
Rin pouted and said dejectedly, "I'm only a year younger than Kiyah! And I could help you, really I could! I can cook and I'm really tidy and-"
"No means no, child," Mireille said firmly.
"If you don't take me, I won't cover for either of you!" Rin threatened desperately, "If you won't take me with you now, I'll follow you, no matter what! I swear I will!"
Mireille searched her for any hint of deceit, but found none and sighed heavily, "Very well…if you are going to be so insistent, I must find a way to 'kidnap' two children all by myself."
"Oh, that's easy!" Rin exclaimed happily, hugging her earnestly, "There's a river nearby, just get out bikes and I'll leave my parents a not explaining that Kiyah came over so we could go on a ride. We'll dump the bikes in the river and everyone will assume the worst. It's as simple as that."
Kiyah nodded with a grin, "Yeah, it makes perfect sense. And this way, I won't be lonely, and neither will you, Miss Mira."
Mireille felt she was getting in over her head, but finally gave her consent, "Your plan sounds like it will, indeed, work," she told Rin, admitting defeat, "I will take care of the dumping of the bikes, while you handle the note. Now, where are your parents, anyway?"
Rin flushed and said despondently, "They're sleeping it off in their room. I doubt the end of the world would wake them, at the moment."
Mireille didn't mention the girl's bruise, but silently decided that taking Rin was a mercy, on her part. The girl's home life was obviously worse than that of a vampire, by the look of her.
"Alright, then," Mireille said decidedly, "the bikes are in your garage, correct? I shall do the dirty work. After you two complete the note, gather a small—and I repeat—small bag of things for Rin. Kiyah, since you have nothing with you, we should probably fetch you some once we are done here then find a place to stay until tomorrow evening."