Genevieve Palk scraped her black hair back from her face and viciously tied a band around it. She wiped the sweat from her brow and glared at the young Martian opposite her. Rimfire grinned and spun the basketball on one finger before using his tail to dribble the ball towards her. Gen stood her ground untill Rimfire made a break to the right, she followed him and drove her shoulder into his stomach. He gasped and almost crumpled to the concrete; Gen laughed and grabbed the ball. She ran across the court and threw it at the net, the ball sailed through the air. It fell towards the hoop and Gen was about to give a victory whoop when the ball lodged between the hoop and the back board.
"Ah crap" she huffed.
"That's what you get for using illegal moves. No shoving" said Rimfire, playfully nudging her shoulder. Gen laughed as Rimfire used his tail to haul himself up to the hoop and free the ball. He tossed it to her but she missed, jogging to catch up with it she noticed a familiar shape lurking in the shadows across the streets.
"Gen? You playing?" Rimfire's voice seemed to come from so far away, she could feel the empath in her wanting to reach out to the shape and discover it's intensions but she refused to give in to her curse. Whoever was over there could go swing for all she cared, but they had definitely been following her. Gen didn't need any special abilities to tell her that this was the same creep that had been opposite the garage this morning, or standing just out of sight when she had left Quigley Field with Rimfire. Now here they were again.
"Gen? You okay?" She looked up at Rimfire and swallowed, after a moment's indecision she pushed the ball at him and strode across the street towards the indistinct shape. She stepped off the curb and let out a yell as three sets of brakes squealed.
"Whoa there sweetheart! You're gonna end up as street pizza if you do that!" Gen took a deep breath and tried to still her thundering heart as she stared at the white mouse on the red bike, she hadn't even checked the traffic before crossing! Rimfire was suddenly at her side, scanning the shadows across the street.
"Uncle Modo, someone's been following us since we left the scoreboard. They were standing over there." He pointed towards the alleyway opposite, the giant grey Martian mouse climbed off his bike and stalked towards the opening. His good right eye glowed red as he checked behind garbage cans for signs of anyone hiding. Modo turned and shrugged at his nephew.
"There's no one there now. You sure you saw someone?" asked the tan mouse on the black bike, he lowered his field specs and looked at Gen with bionic red eyes.
"I know I saw someone. I felt them; they were at the garage and at Quigley Field. I wanna go home now. Please" she said. Gen was suddenly cold despite the heat of the day; Rimfire slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed before climbing onto the back of Modo's bike.
Midnight watched from the fire escape of the building opposite the basketball court as the scene unfolded before her. The girl knew she was there, that much was obvious. Which meant Riordan was right about her being an empath, Midnight sighed. She'd almost been hoping her Fratele was wrong about this one. The girl was gifted. To sense Midnight from that distance she had to be. Normally, Midnight could stand right behind someone and they wouldn't know it untill they were lying on the floor with their life's blood flowing away.
The four mice mounted their bikes and headed off; Midnight guessed they were headed for the garage. If she cut across the roof tops, she could get there before them. But first, it was time to top up the sun cream or she'd have some serious tan lines. Midnight pulled a bottle from her pocket and sprayed it across any exposed flesh; the cooling effect was immediate and soothing. She slipped it back in her pocket and took a running jump to the next building, raising her arms for more lift. Midnight landed on her feet and continued to run, bounding from building to building untill she reached The Last Chance Garage. Midnight stepped off the edge of the building and landed in yet another alley. She peered around the corner and raised her eyebrow. Four mice and two humans stood in the opening to the garage and they were all waving at her.
Gen gripped Charley's hand as the woman emerged from the shadows. Rimfire had spotted her dropping from the building just as they arrived back at the garage. Throttle, Vinnie and Modo gaped at the shapely figure approaching them. She looked as if she were heading off to be ringmaster in a circus. A long, leather duster flapped about her feet as she walked, her tight black trousers and red top were a shiny PVC material and her hands were clad in black gloves. Her knee boots had heels so high it was a miracle she could move, let alone walk. Her hair was white blonde and cut into a sharp bob with two electric blue streaks that framed her face. Gen swallowed as the woman stopped just a few inches in front of her.
Midnight stared down at the human girl; the smell of fear was so strong that Midnight had to physically control herself from sinking her fangs into the girl's neck. There was a beat of silence before the older woman spoke.
"Who are you?" asked Charley. Midnight remained silent, she didn't answer to any of these mortals. There was another beat of silence before the white mouse spoke up.
"You gonna answer the lady or are ya just deaf?" snapped Vinnie. Gen swallowed, unable to tear her green eyes from the newcomers golden gaze. Throttle stared at the PVC clad stranger and then at Gen, he suddenly figured out what needed to be done. He placed a hand on Gen's shoulder.
"I think she's here for you, kid. You try asking her." Gen swallowed again, her throat suddenly dry.
"Who are you?" croaked Gen. The stranger's answer was immediate and weird, her voice low and almost as husky as Throttle's.
"My name is Midnight. I am the Calaul of The Blackwing Court and I am here to protect you."
A few minutes of silence followed, Gen glanced back at Throttle but he just shrugged. Charley squeezed her hand again but Gen didn't know which part of that sentence to question first. Luckily, Vinnie had never been shy about asking questions.
"What's a Calaul?" Midnight just stood staring at Gen untill the raven haired girl suddenly became angry.
"You answered my question, you can answer theirs too!" Midnight inclined her head slightly and turned to face the white mouse, at any other time she might have tried biting him just for fun. He was just her type, tall and heavily muscled with bandoleers that crossed his chest and half his face covered with a metal mask.
"Roughly translated, a Calual is an executioner." Gen gasped and stepped back, the huge grey mouse suddenly stepped forward and Midnight found herself face to face with a glowing red eye. Or rather, face to chest plate as he was well over two feet taller than her.
"We don't execute children around here, m'am." His voice was little more than a growl but Midnight still sensed the hesitation in him, this one didn't like fighting women. Well, Midnight had no trouble putting the odd man through a wall even if that man was a mouse.
"I didn't say I was going to execute Genevieve. I said I am the executioner, I believe it is the norm these days for people to have jobs?" asked Midnight, she quirked her eyebrow and stepped around him. The tan mouse with the leather vest and green field specs stepped between Midnight and the human girl.
"You're from a court? Like a law court?" he asked, keeping his voice level. Midnight would have smiled had she remembered how.
"Not exactly. My Court is like a human family or a witches' coven or a werewolf's pack – "
"Wait, a human's family? Aren't you human then?" interrupted Gen. Midnight turned her gaze back to the girl, her eyes suddenly glowed yellow and long fangs sprouted from the canines in her mouth.
"What do you think?"
"Oh my God! You're a . . . a . . ."
"You can't be a vampire!" cried Charley. "You're out in the daylight!" Midnight reached into the pocket of her duster and held up a spray can.
"Sun cream. Factor 6000 of course" she explained with a fleeting shadow that tried to be a smile. The mice and the women just stared at her; it was the young mouse with the orange streak in his hair that spoke first.
"You said you were here to protect Gen. Why and who from?" asked Rimfire. Midnight raised her eyebrow again and allowed her fangs to recede, her eyes faded from a bright yellow to a swirling gold.
"The Blackwing Court is the oldest in existence, dating back to just this side of forever. Our ancestors moved to Romania centuries ago which, if I'm honest, is probably where all the vampires in Transylvania stories came from. Each vampire was recruited because they had a special gift or talent that would prove useful to the Court. The current Liderul, or Leader to you, is Riordan. He's a telepath and over 600 years old. I was recruited because I'm an Elemental which means I can control and manipulate the five forces of nature. I am also one of the few trusted with the Ales Unul" explained Midnight, she noticed the white mouse opening his mouth again and decided to try and stop using the Romanian.
"Chosen One. Genevieve is the first human to be chosen by Riordan for over a century, you should be honoured. We don't invite just anyone to join The Blackwing Court." The girl stared, wide eyed, for a moment before asking in a trembling voice.
"You want me to be a vampire?" Midnight's eyebrow rose again, the girl's voice was full of incredulity but her eyes, well, they told a different story. The older woman suddenly yanked the girl backwards and shoved a finger in Midnight's chest.
"Nobody is turning my goddaughter into anything! I'll kill you if you try!" Midnight stood her ground, keeping her voice level and as light as possible.
"Genevieve is 16. The Book of Vampir states that we cannot bring anyone into a Court untill they are 18; they must have at least had a chance at a normal life before they make the decision. I cannot force her" explained Midnight. The white mouse wrapped his arm around the woman's waist and pulled her back, his hand lingering on her waist a fraction too long for it to be just a friendly gesture. Midnight's eyebrow rose again but she said nothing. The big grey mouse rubbed his metal hand across the back of his neck and sighed.
"Well, I guess we can cut you a break, m'am. I'm Modo, by the way. That's Throttle and the guy with the big mouth is Vinnie." Vinnie looked annoyed.
"Oh man! I didn't even say anything!" Charley and Rimfire gave a small wave when Modo introduced them, Midnight nodded to each one but she guessed the q and a session wasn't over yet. Throttle seemed to have something on his mind.
"You said you were here to protect Gen. Protect her from what?" Midnight's gaze flicked over his shoulder for a second before coming back to his face. She lifted her chin towards the entrance of The Last Chance Garage.
"Them, for a start." Throttle turned and blinked, not quite sure what he was seeing. Emerging from the shadows of the garage were four beings, they were about 3 feet tall with pointed ears and long noses. Their skin was a bright red and they carried axes in their gnarled little hands.
Midnight watched, amused as Vinnie levelled a weapon at them, Throttle's hand suddenly glowed green and a small laser popped out of Modo's arm. She turned towards Gen and grabbed her wrist, dragging the girl across the street with Charley and Rimfire in tow. The sound of laser fire followed them but Midnight didn't look back, she released the girl before slipping off her duster and handing it to Rimfire.
"Do not lose that, baiatul" she said. Rimfire nodded and watched as Midnight strode back across the street towards the brawl, she sighed.
"Time to earn my keep" she muttered and waded into battle for the first time in almost 200 years.