It was close. No matter how well it concealed itself to every other being in London, it was in vain. How could it know there was a higher class of scout searching for it? She could smell it. The last one. Oh, how she had been waiting for this night. A night so cold and quiet, so perfect for a hunt.
These sorts of criminals, these creatures, monsters, aliens that wronged innocent lives in her city… there was a special hate in her heart for them. And this one, it couldn't hide any longer. For too long it had been concealed in a crowd, knowing that with too many spectators, it would be impossible for Vastra to strike. But tonight was cold, tonight, the streets were empty. Vastra had been hoping it would be foolish enough to prey, and her wish had come true.
Tonight, it would be over.
Over the howls of stray dogs and the wind rushing through the streets, she heard it – its voice was light and smooth, sickly to her knowing ears. Everything about it was a deception. Vastra quickened her stride as she approached the end of the ally, though her footfalls made no noise on the earthy road beneath her.
She pressed her shoulder to the brick of the building on the corner as she peered into the street from within the shadows of her hooded cloak; although most citizens had bundled themselves away from the icy streets, she could still not risk a sighting of her own.
She could see it had taken the form of a human female, poorly dressed in spite of the bracing winter's chill. Its hair was long and fair, and sat lifelessly on its pale shoulders. It was speaking to a young brunette woman it was circling in the street; the poor girl must have been quite lost to be there, in the depths of East End at such a time. Brothels of varying sorts lined the alleys in these parts; they stood before a rather seedy one that evening. Vastra knew the creature's sisters had amused themselves by lurking outside those establishments and luring potential clients to their deaths.
As Vastra curved her body to round the corner, it began.
It was pressing the girl to the ground, leaning over her, partially revealing its true form to her. As Vastra deftly pulled a syringe from the inside of her cloak she hoped the girl would not be so weak as to immediately succumb to fright – Vastra knew the monster enjoyed this. Every second it spent terrifying the girl was a second it didn't yet strike.
It was lowering its head as the girl fought beneath it, but Vastra was nearly to it. Her footsteps, though at a run, made hardly a tap on the cobblestone road. She tightened her grasp around the needle. Its teeth were dripping cloudy blue liquid on to the girls exposed neck.
The monster shrieked in pain as Vastra withdrew her hand from its back, the plunger pushed and the syringe emptied in to its spine. It thrashed at itself to attempt to remove it, and the girl lost her momentary paralysis and shuffled from underneath it, her eyes wide as shillings. Vastra slowly drew out the sword at her side as she watched the creature writhe and quiver at her feet.
"It's too late," Vastra said in a cool, indifferent voice.
Vastra's lips curled into a cold smile as its head turned in agony to gaze upon its attacker. "You…"
"I see you have deviated from your usual modus operandi," Vastra continued smoothly, brandishing her sword at its neck with strength and control. "Have you expanded your taste to innocent young ladies as well?"
As the beast lowered its head and pulled the syringe from its back with a pained grunt, Vastra quickly glanced to the innocent young lady who was watching the exchange with mixed horror and intrigue.
"Are you alright, dear?"
She watched as the girl looked quickly between the two figures before her. Vastra then remembered the young woman could not see her face, which was just as well; Vastra wasn't sure how well the girl would handle two unknown beings under such duress. After gazing for a moment in to the shadows of Vastra's hood, the girl nodded.
"Good," Vastra with more care. She heard the creature rising before she saw it, and sharply turned her gaze back toward the figure, its limbs trembling as it carried its weight with weakened strength.
"I wouldn't bother, if I were you," Vastra told it sternly, reaching behind her back and pulling her second sword as it balanced itself. "You know perfectly well what that was – you have two minutes left on this good Earth, at most." Beneath the shadows of her hood she gave it a smirking smile. "Why not spend it repenting what you've done?"
The monster breathed heavily, its shoulders sagging as it struggled to maintain upright. "Why not spend it finishing what's been started?" it spat.
The girl tensed as the creature slowly turned its head toward her. Vastra bared her teeth in vexation and brought back the creature's attention with a shout.
"Your fight is here!" she said with force, stepping before the girl to protect her from its violent gaze. "If you wish to die in combat, do so in the manner of your sisters."
Vastra smirked; the mention of the creature's kin sparked a hidden rage within it. With a deafening cry, the creature rushed toward her, long clawed talons that seemed sharp as knives shooting from its fingers. Vastra caught them easily with her blades as it raised its arms to attack her, the talons screeching and groaning against the metal as Vastra threw back its blow. She swung her swords back in to position as she watched the cowering figure of the creature.
"You are in no state for this," Vastra said in a gentler tone, looking on as the creature held its hands carefully to its middle as it sputtered and wheezed with pain. "Submit to me, and I will grant you death swiftly and painlessly."
The young woman gave a small, surprised gasp as the creature began to lift itself from its huddled state on the ground. Vastra held out her hand to stay the girl's breath as it slowly approached them. Its yellow eyes pierced the pair of them as its human form continued to strip away; thin black spines protruded from its dress, and its human flesh seemed to melt, revealing a blackish-blue leathery skin.
Its spines inflated with its shuddering breath, much like how a threatened animal would. "My people," it said as its arms fell from around itself, staring with contempt in to Vastra's shadowed face, "never submit."
Its gaze turned sharply back to the girl before it moved with astounding speed in spite of its deteriorating form. Truthfully, its dash had caught Vastra by surprise, and by the time her body could react it was already too late; its hands were around the girl's throat. As Vastra readied her strike she was relieved to see it was too stupid to have quickly finished her off; the terror in the young woman's face was too satisfying for it to have yet killed her.
With a silent inhale of breath, it was done. As the creature slowly slid down the front of the trembling girl, Vastra withdrew her blade from its chest. It had been a careful blow; an inch too far and she could have bloodied the young woman as well. The girl stumbled away from the deteriorating monster before her, and Vastra sheathed her swords and looked on as its body began to decay in to a powdery dust that lifted away from it in the night's breeze. Soon, it would seem merely as if the street sweeper had neglected his nightly duty.
Vastra's attention was taken from the pile of ash as the girl shook, then finally collapsed on to her knees. She was clutching her chest; one of the creature's talons had grazed her skin. Vastra knelt down beside her and watched her carefully; it was not likely she would soon stand again.
The girl's eyes peered in to her face, her expression filled with questions. Vastra admired her for her courage, or at least her ability to withhold her fear; she had hardly made a sound during the ordeal, and her eyes were quite dry.
Though Vastra believed she could handle the truth, the streets of London (nearing one o'clock in the morning) were not an ideal place for a chat. There was, however, one thing Vastra could answer without words.
With a bit of reservation, she lifted her hands to her head and revealed herself to the winter air.
"Everything will be alright, my dear," Vastra assured her softly as the girl's lips parted in silent shock. She could see the girl's mind struggling behind her eyes with what they saw, and soon, as Vastra predicted, it was too much. The girl fell forward in to Vastra's waiting arms.
The sound of hooves against cobblestone approached as Vastra lifted the girl's limp form from the road.
"Thank you, Parker," Vastra said as the cabbie jumped to the road, holding the carriage door for its unexpected passenger.
"Where to, Ma'am?" the cabbie asked as Vastra stepped in to the carriage, laying her unconscious companion across the bench. "St. Johns?"
"No," Vastra said slowly as she pulled a handkerchief from her dress and pressed it to the girl's wound. "I will tend to this one."
"Very good, Ma'am," Parker replied, and snapped the door shut.