"Do you have it, Molly?" Delilah asked me in a soft whisper. The dark shadows gave her pale face a ghostly cast, and her blue eyes glittered like ice in the low light. Her long, dark hair blended in with the shadows, and her expression was unreadable.
"Of course I have it," I snapped, before I remembered to lower my voice. "I mean," I whispered, "You know I do."
"Show it to me," she demanded. I glared, and she added a "Please" in a grudging tone.
I shrugged, and removed the smooth, flat stone from my pocket. She breathed an unnecessary sigh of relief, and took it from my hand, rubbing it gently.
Another sigh, this one an almost aroused moan. "Oh, yes," she hissed, "This is what we need. I can feel its magic… pulsing inside…." She continued to murmur to herself, and I saw her hand drift down slightly, before she jumped back into reality, and handed me back the stone without another word.
I placed it in my pocket.
"Give it back to me when I call for it," she reminded me, then quickly covered my mouth at the sound of light footsteps approaching, although I hadn't been the one talking.
The Strigoi came into focus, its garnet eyes shining boldly through the night. It was young, and male, probably no older than me or Delilah when it had been turned. It was pretty enough, for a freakish monster, with almost feminine features and lean limbs. It paused, and sniffed the air, and then froze, turning slowly towards where we were hiding out. Its eyes narrowed, and it stalked closer.
"Now!" Delilah yelled, abandoning our former idea of sneaking up on the monster. No subtly…. We both burst from behind the bush, jumping out at the Strigoi.
Its face was an amusing mix of comical shock and incredulity. Human though I was, I was still far stronger then my Moroi friend, and she allowed me the harder job, that of keeping the Strigoi still while she worked her magic.
Surprise dulled the Strigoi's reflexes, and I used the opportunity to grab him from the side and twist his arms behind his back. I kicked the backs of his knees, and he crumpled to the ground, a fearsome snarl of rage exploding from his throat. I jumped on his back, and quickly tossed the magic-infused rock to Delilah, who pressed the side of it against the Strigoi's neck.
He cried out in both pain and anger as if the stone was made of charmed silver. I rolled off of him as his limbs started to jerk uncontrollably, lashing out at random. Finally, after a few minutes his seizure-like movements ended, and Delilah removed the stone. Where it had once rested on his neck, a burned in rune now sat.
Delilah and I shared a grin. "Good job holding him down," she told me.
"Excellent job with the magic," I congratulated. I stood up and dusted off my pants, which were, unfortunately, ruined. I held out my hand, and Delilah grabbed it, pulling herself into a standing position. She placed the stone in her jacket, patting it slightly, as if making sure it hadn't fallen out in the past two seconds she had put it there.
We both glanced down at the Strigoi. Who wasn't there anymore.
I swore, and spun around, looking frantically for the Strigoi.
"Right here," he growled in a menacing purr, and I whirled, finding his arms wrapped around Delilah, preventing her from moving away, his fangs pressing lightly against the delicate skin of her neck. "Tell me what you did," he said, "Or I will color your pretty little Moroi friend in shades of scarlet."
I snickered. "Go ahead and try," I offered, "Better yet, aim straight for the jugular."
He grinned with delight, skinning his lips back, and then- nothing.
His eyes widened in alarm, but his fangs would not move closer. He jerked his head up and stared at me in horror. "What the hell did you do to me?"
Delilah shoved his arms aside and frowned at me; perhaps resentful of the way I had suggested he kill her. "What I did, you mean," she said, crossing her arms against her chest.
The Strigoi snarled, and she ground her teeth. "The stone currently in my possession," she lifted the stone from her jacket pocket and flipped it around between her fingers, "Was an ancient Moroi artifact of great power." She shot me a half-smile, "We stole it from a human museum." Her smile widened, and her eyes glazed slightly, before she returned to her explanation, "It was charmed centuries ago. Any Moroi who places it against the skin of a Strigoi will gain power over that Strigoi. Any living creature whose blood touches the stone before the spell is initiated, they will not be able to hurt."
The Strigoi's eyes suddenly lit up with a malevolent glow. "I can still hurt her," he said, nodding to me.
"Actually you can't," Delilah said wearily, "We used her blood on the stone, too. Are you even listening?"
The Strigoi bared his teeth in a futile gesture of frustration.
"So," Delilah continued, "As the Moroi who initiated the spell, I now have control over you." She gave an evil leer, "You're going to protect us on our journey, Strigoi," she commanded, "Even when it means putting your own life on the line."
The Strigoi's eyes blazed, and he screamed a long list of curse words into the sky.
I walked up and patted him on the shoulder, and if looks could kill… well.
"What is this mission?" he asked between gritted teeth.
"That's the spirit!" I said cheerfully, and nodded at Delilah.
"Two missions," she corrected, "One. We infiltrated the Strigoi organization that has been growing in this region. And two…." She bared her teeth in a feral grin. "We take down the Moroi government."
The Strigoi actually smiled. "That last part seems fun."