I just thought of this on one of my sleepless nights. Enjoy.
"If I became Strigoi… I'd want someone to kill me." She knows he doesn't want to be found. It only makes killing him harder, not that she minds. After all, that's the thrill of it. One-Shot.
The beat of the song bored me the second I stepped into the New York City night club. The bouncer didn't put up a fight about letting me in, which was a positive fact. For him.
I stepped down onto the stairs leading to the dance floor, not saying anything to any of the guards who tensed the moment they saw me. I didn't like difficult humans. Having absolutely no I.D. or any of my passports on me kind of made me look suspicious. Humans tended to be difficult when they have no idea who you are or what you want.
I saw a flash of red at the bar, and made my way towards it after looking for any possible threats. He turned around as soon he sensed my presence, putting his elbows on the counter and leaning back. I still did not have a full view of him, for the dancing bodies kept shoving and rubbing against me. This was new.
Along the year of my hunt to kill my love, humans started to avoid me. It wasn't like I didn't want them to avoid me. He said it was just because of the way I looked.
"The way I look?"
"Menacing to some, babe."
"Any reason for meeting me here?"
"I got a trail."
"On him?"
"Yes."
"Long time, no see," He greeted me. I glanced at him and sat on the stool he gestured to. "Took you long enough to get back."
"Well, hello, Ivan! I missed you, too!" I said sarcastically, ordering water from the bartender. I didn't look at Ivan. The less eye-contact with him, the better.
"You have been on your own for a year now, brownie. Aren't you a bit happy we finally got him?" His hand brushed against mine as he turned his back on the dance floor.
"We haven't killed him yet." I took a sip from the water and then set it down, making the mistake of looking at him. We made eye-contact, which I instantly broke. I heard him laugh, but the only thing I was concerned with was closing my eyes.
Ivan was a very, very interesting Dhampir. His red hair, so dark it was almost black, stood out among a crowd. His eyes were what bothered me about him, though. They glowed so white it made me want to grab a mirror and check my own eyes. He said his eyes got like that with age. I said it was because of all the tattoos on his neck.
"If it helps, I got her." Ivan announced, with an almost happy tone. We had met in Austria, during a fight. I was cornered by three Strigoi and he helped me out. Turns out he was a lone guardian, who just traveled the world and hunted. His main goal was to get the Strigoi that killed his Moroi mother. Ivan, it seemed, had succeeded in avenging his mother's death.
"It helps you, not me. What have you got on my damned guy?" We stood up. Rule one: Never stay in a place too long. He led me away from the entrance I came in. Rule two: Don't attract too much attention when you are leaving.
"I traced him to New York City. Don't know which part, yet." Ivan opened the door he led me to. We stepped into a dark alley. Typical. I had to fight down snort. I did a quick check of the place, making sure of our safety.
"I'll get him this time. I can feel it." I leaned against the brick wall, the shadows swallowing me alive. "Did you bring it?"
Ivan rolled his eyes. "Of course." He reached into his coat, pulling out the one thing I couldn't be seen with on an aircraft. Looking behind me to do another perimeter sweep, I took the object away from his offering hand.
"Thank you. You have no idea how vulnerable I felt without one," I told him. I ran my fingers along the side of the silver stake.
"I do, Rose, I do." The sadness in his voice gave all his feelings away. He was with his mother when she got killed. He was also without a weapon. Fire was out of the question, for his mother specialized in water. Ivan told me he just got out of there before he got himself killed, too. He said he barely got out alive. His mother wouldn't have wanted him dead.
I put the stake in the inner-pocket of my trench coat. Without looking at him, or saying goodbye, I left Ivan standing in the alley. My Rule: Don't get attached. "Don't stare at my ass."
I didn't see the need to look back. I knew he was smirking.
Welcome to the city that never sleeps! After spending two months in Europe, having jetlag and trying to contact Ivan, I strangely thought that I could peacefully watch the city from a rooftop. Crazy, right? Ivan said the best place to start would be downtown.
I directed my focus when I heard a car screech. Nothing new, it seemed. Pedestrians tend to wander out onto the road with their phones attached to their ear. Oh, no worry if a car hits them. I don't even think the woman noticed the angry cab driver.
I made no movement as a rain drop hit my cheek. It slowly slid down, almost like a tear. More drops started falling around me. Still holding my crouching position at the edge of the roof, I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail.
Sudden movement in the alley below me made me freeze. I focused my gaze, making out a shadowed figure. Bingo.
Some think dropping from a three story building is easy. If it can be done in movies, it's okay to do it in real life. Ha-ha. Truth is, there is a bit of a free-falling thrill for one second. The next second you will be scared shitless as the ground comes closer. The proceeding second your feet are already on the pavement, and the rest of your body is coming down. Balance is the key, and also the fact that you remember to keep your tongue in your mouth.
I straightened my pose the moment I landed, walking casually towards the shadows of the alley. The figure didn't move, which is what I expected. I stopped about ten feet away from him.
"You are looking in the wrong place, Ma Cherie." The unfamiliar voice did not startle me. It was not him. Of course it wasn't.
"Am I, now?" The corner of my mouth twitched.
"He is not here. He never entered the city." The man went on. He took a step out, and I could see him more clearly now as the moon lit his face.
"The fucking truth?" Hey, I asked nicely. A girl can only have so much patience.
The Strigoi made an almost growling sound at me. I just raised my eyebrows. He taught me not to stall. I liked killing better if I can have an attitude while I'm at it.
"Non."
Why, oh why, is every single Strigoi against the death of my ex-mentor? "Au secours!" I don't like asking for help, but when I need to, I do.
"Non!"
I almost rolled my eyes at him. "What it your name?"
"J'ai soif."I have thirst. "J'ai faim." I have hunger, he told me.
"Yeah, and I've someone to kill." I didn't waste anymore time. I reached into my coat and whipped the silver stake out in a flash. The Strigoi didn't back away. Instead, he actually had the nerve to smile at me. But, unlucky for him, I knew why he wasn't afraid.
I turned around and kicked, managing to catch the Strigoi behind me off-guard. He didn't stagger, but then again, I didn't expect him to. Not wasting any more time, I lunged at him and made my kill. Some hair fell in front of my eyes, and I turned back to the French guy with a menacing smile.
"Adieu." With that last parting word, I killed him.
I decided to leave the bodies where they were. Naturally, I would cover up my tracks and get the hell out of the city before more undead show up. But sunrise was three hours away, and I knew they could use a tan. The sun rays would take care of the rest.
It had been four days since my arrival to the city. I trusted Ivan, still do. If he said my mentor was here, then he either was here right now or left the second he set a foot in the city.
It's sunset time. The time of the day I could barely wait for. Everybody seemed to wake up at this time. The inhabitants of most of the city were walking. All I had to do was simply blend in.
"Sorry," A guy that bumped into me apologized. I kept on walking, just as he did. The city people were used to rudeness, as was I. No need to acknowledge a silly apology.
I eyed the alley on the other side of the street, where I could make out a pair of eyes and a cigarette being lit. I didn't look both ways as I crossed the street. My senses told me no cars were coming, and I wanted to keep an eye on him.
"Brownie," He greeted me when I passed him. He stepped out of the shadows and matched my pace as we walked towards Central Park.
"I have a limit, Ivan. Where the hell is he?" My voice was low. Anybody that walked by us would think I was just an angry, mumbling girlfriend.
"I apologize… but then again, you know I won't mean it. I see you have hunted." Ivan nodded in approval. Both of us seemed to thrive off of killing Strigoi. The rush of killing and the fear of being close to death created a thrill.
"And I see you have not. I know you are hiding something. Spit it out," I sneaked a glance at him. He was wearing a smirk, the cigarette casually hanging from his fingers.
"Patience, probie."
"Which you know I don't have."
He chuckled as we reached Central Park. "Will the lovely lady by my side join me for a walk?" He extended his elbow.
"Why, Ivan, I'm surprised you even had to ask." I linked my arm, accepting his request. We looked like brother and sister. So different in looks, but yet so alike on the inside. I could laugh at that, really.
"You are wondering what I'm not telling you."
"As always."
"Well, who am I to keep secrets from you?"
"A fucking know-it all. Come on, Ivan, don't do this to me." I stepped away from him, yanking my arm back. He gazed at me calmly as I stepped in his path, facing him.
"The princess was asking for you."
I almost staggered back a little, but experience prevented me from showing my emotions easily. "And her reasons were…?"
"What else, my dear? You know exactly what she wants."
I glared at him for a second, but then we continued our walk. A mother passed us frantically, pushing her stroller. She kept sneaking glances behind her back, looking at us as if we were about to jump her. "And you know exactly what I told her, Ivan. Quit playing games with me. I need to know where he is."
"Need is such a strong word, yes? People want something, wish for something, but need… it seems to put a certain obsession to a subject."
I rolled my eyes. "You are such a drag." He chuckled a bit and moved on to a second cigarette. "May I?" I asked. He gave me his lighter and I lit his cigarette. Ivan didn't ask for it back. I kept looking at the flame the lighter provided me with. Such a small, delicate thing. I put my fingers over it, instead of just closing the lighter.
"Careful, brownie, you will hurt your fingers."
"They are already raw… rough… un-lady like."
"They may be all that, but there is no reason to hurt them even more." Ivan laced his fingers through mine. We didn't look at each other. We just walked through the park. We were enjoying the night, the breeze, and the calm before the storm.
"Would you miss me?" I asked.
"Depends on where you want to go and for how long," He answered honestly.
"I want to leave… forever."
He laughed at that. "Rosie, you don't want to leave. You never will want to leave. Nobody could even force you to leave. It's what you are, who you are… but, yes, I would definitely miss you." He stopped and kissed my forehead. I smiled. He was like a brother I never had.
"Let's go hunting," I suggested.
"Yes, let's." He lead the way out of the park. I looked at him as we walked, and pulled my hand away from him. I was already getting too attached.
I felt like curling up in a corner and sobbing. Ivan kept me together, and I was grateful for that. I was not getting attached.
"Do you want to leave the city?"
I sucked in a deep breath when he said that. "Why?"
"He is probably gone by now."
"He could still be here," I argued.
"I've no proof of that anymore." Ivan looked me in the eye on purpose. I held my gaze evenly, and he had to turn away once tears threatened to spill from my eyes. I blinked once when he looked away.
"I trust that he is here."
"I trust you are foolish… but you never know." Ivan chuckled. I sometimes wondered of his sanity. "Once when I was a young boy my father took me into the forest and told me 'Son, I want you to find your way home,' and do you know what I said to him? I said, 'Are you-'"
"Do you realize you are still talking?" I laughed.
"Why, yes, I do. I was in the middle of a-"
"It was a rhetorical question, Ivan," I raised my eyebrows at him. He gave me a look that said I know. "Anyway, will you try to not get us off topic?"
"You are wasting your life going after that man."
"He is no man. He is a monster," I corrected him like I did so many times he referred to Strigoi as human beings.
"Oh, and you realize this now?" He playfully punched my shoulder. Ivan stopped in front of a crosswalk. I rolled my eyes and instead focused my gaze ahead of me. As normal, at least a dozen people were waiting for the green light to cross. Some dare devils decided not to wait and just walked straight ahead. "See anything you want, Rosie?" Ivan dropped his cigarette and stepped on it.
I tilted my head to the side, focusing my gaze on the person standing in the shadows. "I think I just might." I straightened my pose.
Ivan chuckled. "What are you waiting for? Go get him."
He didn't have to tell me twice. The light turned green and two dozen people swarmed on the crosswalk. I bumped into a few people as I hurried across the street. The person took one look at me and headed away. I simply increased my speed.
It was like a dance, when you really take a second to think about it. He slowed down, I slowed down. He came to a stop, I came to a stop. He increased his smooth stride, I increased mine. He was always in the lead. Sometimes, a few heads turned when he ran, while others did not even realize he was there.
He led me to an alley, more into the trouble-making neighborhood. It was fenced off at the end, and I stopped walking when he stood, his back facing me. His lunatic laugh made me alert.
"Roza, you never give up do you?" He turned around. I narrowed my eyes at him. Somehow, I still expected to see his dark, inviting eyes. How foolish it was of me.
"No." I was proud of myself. So much venom in one word. Where's the cheering parade?
"So immature, and young…."
My blood boiled. He used this against me once before, when he was dhampir. When he was still my Dimitri. I hated feeling this way. I hated feeling helpless against my inner feelings for him.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Dhampir?" He seemed impatient. Somehow, I didn't imagine meeting him like this. I wanted some humanity at least left in him.
I laughed. It was a mocking laugh. The laugh showed him that I have no fear of him, that I'm mocking him.
He gazed at me thoughtfully. I must admit I was amazed by his self-control. Most Strigoi are too blood thirsty to even think about who they were attacking. Don't stall!
He was sizing me up, that much I could tell. He was seeing how much of a struggle I could put on before he had his fun and broke my neck. He was hungry.
As was I, for different reasons, of course.
I was hungry for a hunt. I knew he didn't want to be found. It only made killing him harder, but not that I mind.
After all, that's the thrill of it.