The Slayer Chronicles:
Athena
Sunrise was close. Too close. She reached out a hand to steady herself, as she climbed a steep hill. Her long skirt snagged on a branch. She tugged it free, hearing a loud rip.
She cursed this land. It was so rugged, so barbarian, so wild. If she weren't being chased and in fear for her life (well, unlife) she would be enjoying it. But she was the hunted, not the hunter. She decided she didn't like the role reversal. Not at all.
She reached the top of the hill and glanced worriedly at the sky. Absently, she wiped her muddied hand on her torn and filthy skirt. She could feel the sunrise prickle at the back of her neck. It was so close....
She glanced behind her and saw her pursuer was fast closing in. Damn, but the girl was fast. She was also persistent. The little girl had followed her all the way from Greece. She glanced to the sky again. She would never make it to a safe place to hide from the sun; she would have to make her stand here. She watched as the Greek girl approached. The girl did not try to climb the steep hill for that would have made her a vulnerable target. Instead, she followed the base of the hill down a ways before starting to climb. All the while she climbed, she had a wooden stake bare in her hand.
* * *
Athena watched the blonde vampire woman warily. She had been surprised when the vampire had stopped her flight. Athena thought she would have to run the vampire to ground before she would be able to kill it. She supposed the lightening sky had something to do with the demon's decision.
This vampire and her crew had cut a bloody swath through Athens and a good portion of Greece. The horror and pain they had inflicted on her people had outraged her beyond reason. She had caught up with the demon crew just outside of Sparta. There had been a massive battle. The result: all but the blonde woman was dust. This vampire seemed to be a master at escaping. Athena was not the type to give up easily. She was named after Athena, Goddess of the Hunt, and so she hunted this vampire throughout Europe. Now she had caught up with her. Now it was time to make the demon pay for what she had done. Athena had followed her to the end of the world. This would be their battleground. Only one would walk away, Athena knew it would be she.
She reached the top of the hill and started walking calmly toward the vampire. The vampire watched her come. Athena stopped a few meters in front of the vampire. This was really the first time they had met face-to-face. In Sparta, Athena had fought the others while the blonde woman had hidden in the shadows. She had hid and watched. Sizing up her enemy possibly. Or maybe she just didn't go in for fighting someone who could fight back.
The woman was small, with a lot of blonde hair piled on her head. But because of the chase, that hair spilled out of its once elegant style. The dress had once been the height of fashion (and had probably been stolen off some poor sole's body) but was now in tatters. The demon dared to pass for human and she also deigned to make herself part of the aristocracy. Athena was a part of the higher class and she looked down her nose at those who tried to pass themselves off as better than they were. This woman had probably been gutter trash in her human life.
A soft wind picked up. It ruffled the grass and the women's dresses. Athena's dress was a simple white shift. It made for ease of fighting. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a clip. She looked every inch the aristocrat and she knew it. She was proud of who she was and very confident in her abilities. This was rare for someone who had not yet reached her 18th birthday.
"Vampire!" She called. "I am Athena, the Vampire Slayer. I am also your death." She widened her stance and held her wooden stake aloft. She waited for the vampire to make her move.
"I figured you for a Slayer. Only a Slayer would have the gall to pursue one vampire across an entire continent. That and you killed many of my companions. Do you know how hard it is to find enjoyable company?"
"Yes. You and yours killed a great many of my favorite companions. And I mourn their passing, but I will see you dust before dawn."
The vampire shrugged. She tried for nonchalance, but in truth she was very afraid. She had never gone up against a Slayer before. She had actually avoided them as much as possible. Her sire had killed a few Slayers but it was something she, herself, had been unwilling to try. But it seemed she was about to get her first taste.
She launched herself at the young Slayer, all fists and feet. She was a blur of kicks and punches. If this girl had been any one else, they would be dead. But this was a Slayer, and she was not just any one else.
The Slayer blocked the kicks and punches without too much trouble. The vampire was strong and capable. But Athena knew she would be able to win this. Losing just didn't figure into the equation. And it didn't hurt that sunrise was only a short ways away. If she couldn't wrap this fight up soon, the sun would finish the vampire off.
They traded blows for a little while before Athena saw the opening she desired. She grabbed the vampire by the throat and swept her legs out from under her. The vampire was pinned and Athena's stake was poised directly over the demon's heart. Athena looked deep into the crystal blue eyes of the vampire and then....everything....just....stopped.....
It was like she was watching the battle from elsewhere. Athena could see the vampire pinned beneath her. She could see where her own hand was wrapped around the vampire's throat. But she was next to it all. Just watching. It was like a prophecy dream. Except that she was awake. She looked around, very much confused.
Athena started to turn around and when she did...she saw the room in London where she had left her Watcher, Xanadu. He had come with her from Greece. They had tracked the vampire together and when they reached London, he checked in at Watcher Headquarters. He wanted to stay. She expressed her desire to continue on in search of the vampire. It was like watching the conversation that had happened a scant two weeks ago. She remembered the conversation, but she could not understand why she was seeing it again now.
"Athena, I understand your need for closure but I order you to stay here!" Xanadu thumped his desk with his hand for good measure.
Athena struggled for composure. "This fiend murdered many of my countrymen. I will not have her escape now! Not while we're so close. Stay in London. I will return when the creature is dead."
"Athena, no good will come from this. I have a bad feeling. She is just one vampire. You are the Slayer. There are many other vampires for you to dispatch and other evil things as well. You are letting this single vampire consume you."
" I want her dead, sir. I cannot rest until she is rotting in hell."
Her Watcher sighed. "Your single mindedness will destroy you. I fear for you."
Athena gave him an affectionate look. "I can take care of myself."
"I know. I have trained you these last several years. But you have only been the Slayer for two and a half years! That is still so very young."
"Many Slayers have died long before now," Athena said quietly.
Her Watcher sighed again. "If it means so much to you, then go. But I beg you not to. I have an ill feeling about this."
The image faded from the current Athena's vision. A knot of fear was growing in her stomach. She was starting to see her Watcher's point. She had been pursuing this vampire pretty determinedly. And she was starting to see her folly.
She looked back to the battle. She and the vampire were still frozen in their fight to the death. But now the two of them were no longer alone on the grassy hill. A figure stood behind them. He was all in darkness but she could make out the distinct outline of a man and he had wings coming from his back....like an angel? She took a step towards the figure and stopped fearfully. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. If he was an angel then why was he draped in shadows? Why couldn't she see his face?
As if in answer to her question a swash of light lit up his face for just an instant. Athena gasped in shock and horror. By the Gods...
In that moment, when she saw his face, she understood. She wasn't going to win this fight. She couldn't win this fight. It would mean the destruction of everything. She had to lose. She had to die.
With a rush, the Slayer was back in her own body. The shadowy figure was gone and the vampire was struggling underneath her. She looked at the vampire and realized this demon face was the last face she would see on this earth.
Xanadu, I am so sorry I did not listen to you...
Mother, Father...forgive me, I do wish I could see you both again.
I also wish I could die on Greek soil...
Her hesitation to drive the stake home was all the opportunity the vampire needed. She shoved the Slayer off of her and swatted the stake away. In the next instant, the vampire was sitting on top of Athena. Their positions were nearly completely reversed.
The vampire lovingly stroked Athena's face. "Poor child. You're going to die all alone in this harsh land. So very far from your homeland."
The vampire's blue eyes met Athena's choclatey brown ones.
"Tell me Slayer...do you believe in guardian angels?"
Athena smiled triumphantly. "Not yet..."
The vampire frowned in confusion. The confusion only deepened when the brown eyes of the Slayer turned a clear blue and her face looked slightly different. The features were not the same and her long brown hair looked blonder...closer to the vampire's color. But the moment was gone and the same girl was looking back at her.
The vampire didn't hesitate any longer. She snapped the Slayer's neck.
Athena the Vampire Slayer was dead.
* * *
Darla smiled and stood up. She brushed her hands on her skirt and made a mental note to pick up a new dress. This one was garbage. Pity. It had looked stunning on her. She started to walk quickly away. The sun was coming. She glanced back at the Slayer for one little second and then looked quickly away.
"Not yet..."
The words echoed in Darla's ears. It caused a chill to course through her cold body. But she determinedly set her shoulders and forgot all about the young girl who very nearly beat her in a fight.
She made it to a dark wood just as the sun was coming over the horizon. Darla sighed in relief. Safe. That had been too close. She stayed in the wood, following the paths until she came to the edge of the trees. There was a small town just ahead. She smiled in satisfaction. A town meant a new dress and plenty to eat. Maybe she would look into finding a new companion to run with. She wondered what the men in Ireland were like...
She was about to draw herself back into the shadows and wait for nightfall when a rough wooden sign near the roadside caught her eye. It pronounced the name of the town....
Galway...