Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Except for Sylvia. Who is, for the most part, mine. : ) I hope you enjoy it.
Sylvia Strider studied her reflection in the blotchy motel mirror. Two new gashes tore their way down her cheeks, overlapping old scars. She sighed, her amber eyes glinting from where they glared out from under her dark fringe.
Filling her cupped hand with water, she cleaned the wounds. She winced – not at the pain, she could handle that, but because she had failed. It was hard to prize yourself on your hunting prowess when you sported so many new scars every week.
Sylvia's attention was caught yet again by the reflection of her recent kill. A vampire by the rather dubious name of Mitch Slaughter had turned up on her radar when young virgins began to turn up with torn throats, bodies drained of blood. Sylvia had taken care of Slaughter in no time, and now was left with the aftermath.
"Make your target, make your kill, clean up the mess, and then get the hell out," she muttered to herself. Heeding her own advice, she advanced towards the corpse.
She grabbed its head and arms, beginning the slow drag-and-stumble to the door. Despite being made up entirely of tanned muscle, Sylvia struggled with the dead weight.
Eventually, arms burning, she dropped it. It was undeniable – she needed Adrian.
Adrian Strider – her twin brother, her opposite and her partner. He was brute force and charm, she was quiet intelligence and shyness. He walked into a room and had everyone eating out his hand in seconds. She was glared out of every party she attended.
Together, Sylvia and Adrian had made the perfect team – matching blow for blow, destroying when necessary, showing mercy when required.
Together, they were unstoppable.
But now, now Adrian was gone. So simply, and so terrifyingly. Like a ghost into a fog – once there, and then no trace.
Sylvia shuddered.
"No," she said. "No. I am not going to cry."
And then, she was crouching down beside the corpse of a vampire, crying for all she was worth.
I have spoken to the next chapter, and it intends to be longer. That's a promise.
Reviews are, of course, welcome and well loved.