Chapter Four
Harry stood out on the fire escape in his boxers, his fingertips lightly pressed to his lips. They were still warm from where Edward's lips had just been, but the sensation was beginning to fade. Shaking himself, Harry forced himself back into the warmth of his apartment, resisting the urge to put his ear to the wall to try and eavesdrop on Edward. He went straight to his new kitchen, reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a small bottle of Captain Morgan's Rum. Unscrewing the top, he turned the bottle up and chugged the whole thing so that the liquid left a burning trail down the back of his throat. Satisfied, he tossed the empty glass bottle into the recycling bin labeled glass before he placed his arms on the cool counter top and bowed his head in frustration. He had never been this unsure of himself, as he was when he was around Edward. He makes me so… aware of him…Harry thought miserably, feeling a cold sweat cover his body, even though it was quite warm in his apartment. Harry sighed, wishing there was someone he could go to here in the states.
"I need to get some air," he muttered to himself, slipping into his discarded clothes on the floor. Grabbing his keys, he hurried from the room, locking the door as he passed. He hurried past Edward's room so he wouldn't be enticed to stop, and took the stairs two at a time.
As soon as he stepped out into the New York night air, he felt no relief. The breeze that blew over him, ruffling his unruly hair, did nothing to ease the intense heat in his body. Setting off at a brisk walk down the sidewalk, he marveled at how many people were out on the streets despite it being three in the morning. Stuffing his hands into his jeans, he walked down the cracked sidewalks and across crosswalks without fear of being robbed, for he feared no muggle. Besides Edward… a nagging voice said in the back of his mind, warning him. Harry ignored it and continued walking.
It wasn't until his legs were beginning to burn that he slowed his pace and began to look at his surroundings. He wasn't familiar with the states yet, so he had no idea where he was, or where he had come from. "Stupid," he berated himself, kicking a stone at his feet. The stone flew down the sidewalk a ways before it cracked a trashcan next to stoop. Unaware to Harry, six men that had been passing a brown paper bag covered bottle around were sitting on the stoop, and they all jumped up at the sound. Their bloodshot eyes fell on Harry as he began walking across the street.
"He threw a rock at us, boss," said a small, wiry guy with spiky hair sticking out in every direction, "let me cut him for you?" With a flick, a switchblade appeared in his hand, flashing in the light of a nearby car's headlights. The other guys smirked and looked up at their leader for permission.
The leader scratched his chin with the butt of his own switchblade; "Lets not leave a body this time, boys…" The others immediately got up, a little unsteadily at first; then they sobered at the thought of an easy kill. They all slipped into the shadows and began tailing Harry, followed by their leader at a more leisurely pace as he flipped and spun the switchblade with expert hands.
Harry, unaware of his immediate danger, turned a corner and continued walking, unaware he had turned down a dead end street. The small gang, having a intensive knowledge of all the roads in their turf, immediately recognized the trap they could spring on their target, and split into two groups. Two took the right side of the street, two to the left, a single man down a side alley that was near the end of the street, and the boss straight down the center. They had used this formation so many times it was branded into their heads; each man knew his own job so well he could do it blindfolded. The boss sighed in disappointment; he had wanted something of a challenge. So bent on their intense stalking of Harry, no one noticed that the man who had taken the side alley was unconscious, a hard blow haven knocked him out. A shadow slipped along on top of the buildings, watching the predators as they stalked their own prey, unaware that they were being stalked themselves.
Harry, seeing the end of the road ended in a brick wall, turned to go back the way he had come. His heightened senses, which had been dulled by the rum, suddenly went into overdrive as he saw the five men moving towards him, the flashes of metal in their hands telling him they were armed. Slowly pulling his hands from his pockets, for the first time he suddenly wished he hadn't left his wand back in England. Stupid… the nagging voice in the back of his thoughts barked. His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings and looking for potential weapons, when he saw the tiniest movement of a shadow within the shadows.
"We're going to teach you not to mess with Yuri Logan," the spiky haired guy chuckled, passing his switchblade restless from hand to hand. The other men added their own jeers, their leader the only one remaining silent.
Harry removed his eyes from the moving shadow to face the one who had spoke first, "Yeah? Why doesn't Yuri take care of his problems instead of sending his puny lackeys?" His fists clenched at his sides, still wishing he had wand, but deciding he would have to deal with these guys with his fists. He gulped inwardly, knowing his hand-to-hand combat was barely nonexistent. Before spiky hair could reply, the shadow moved out of the corner of Harry's peripheral vision and Edward was there in front of Harry, leaning forward in a defensive crouch. Harry blinked, "Edward?"
Spiky hair, who had been surprised at first, took in Edward's expensive clothing and smirked, "Another tourist, boss." The others laughed, while Yuri was looking at the alley where Edward had come from as if he knew where his last gang member was. Flicking his switchblade close and open with practiced ease, spiky continued forward, "This will be over before you know it, boss."
Edward hissed, his fang lengthening in his mouth as his crouch deepened. Unseen to any other the mortals, his eyes were coal black and his hands were curled into claw-like shapes. "Yes… it will be over quickly," Edward promised, remaining still as stone, waiting for them to make the first move.
Spiky, unfazed by the obvious signs of his danger, flicked his switchblade open one last time before reversing it in his hand so the blade pointed down, "A smart tourist. Now, die!" He charged, holding the blade so he could slash across in front of him in an easy arc. Harry gasped, but Edward's lips turned up in a faint smile. Stepping forward with fluid grace, he pushed aside the man's blade with an open palm, and then swept his foot out in a sweep, taking Spiky's legs. The surprise on spiky's eyes were replaced with surprise and pain as Edward slammed his elbow down into spiky's abdomen in midair. Spiky gasped as all the air in his body left him in one great whoosh and his back crashed into the concrete. The switchblade skittered across the cracked pavement, flashing in the street lamplights. Yuri smirked as he watched one of his men get beat up by a tourist, while his other men growled in anger, gnashing their teeth. With a snap of his fingers, Yuri released his boys on the twosome, not realizing he was sending them to the beatings of their lives. It was all over in a flash as Edward moved with the speed of lightening among the men, incapacitating them with quick punches to their abdomens, a chop to the base of their necks, and sweeping their feet out from under them.
Mockingly clapping his hands together, Yuri smirked, "Ah, so the little tourist knows how to fight." A sharp fang glinted in the corner of his mouth as his lip curled in a wicked grin, "I know what you are, Edward Cullen; your reputation precedes you." Bending at the waist, Yuri gave Edward a sweeping bow. Harry's eyebrow raised slightly in confusion as the battle turned in a direction he hadn't expected.
Edward hissed angrily, haven already recognized the vampire's mind before him, "So you go by Yuri Logan now, huh?"
Yuri calmly leaned his weight on one leg and crossed his arms over his chest, One's name changes over the centuries, old friend. Now, tell me why you are protecting such filth?
"He has nothing to do with this, Jax," Edward growled, slowly inching forward.
Yuri bristled, "My name is not Jax anymore!" Clenching his fists, Yuri lunged forward with lightening speed, catching Edward off guard. With the sound of deep thunder, Yuri's fist connected with Edward's, knocking him aside with apparently easy effort. Using the momentum of the punch to pivot on his left hip, Edward spun quickly and brought his leg around in a roundhouse kick to the side of Yuri's face. Moving through with the spin just as quickly, Edward continued to follow up with a sharp uppercut to the chin. Yuri stumbled backwards, his eyes narrowing as he began to realize he was fighting not a human, but an evenly matched vampire.
Using his quick, analytical mind, Yuri took in his surroundings and his opponent, trying to find some kind of leverage over Edward. His sharp eyes fell on Harry, who was standing a few feet behind Edward with a perplexed expression on his face. A plan began to form in Yuri's mind and, trying to buy himself some time, he rubbed his chin where Edward had hit him, "Nice moves, Edward; worthy of only one of our kind. But why protect the human when it would be so easy to give into the desires you have been denying yourself for so long?" Edward hissed in anger, Yuri haven struck a nerve by hinting that he and his family were weak for forgoing human blood for animal blood. Yuri's smirk was like that of the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, "I see you have some feelings for this human… lets put those to the test!" Without warning, Yuri charged forward and, knowing about Edward's ability to read minds, blanked his mind as he feinted away from Edward. When Edward followed, Yuri spun around to the other side, blowing past him and pounced on Harry with all his vampire strength.
Seeing the strange man coming towards him, Harry only had time to yell out Edward's name before Yuri was on him. "Edward!" Harry yelled, the weight of Yuri's stone-like body crushed him down onto the hard, unforgiving asphalt. A searing pain raked down his side and on his shoulder, forcing a cry to tear from between his lips. Then Yuri's weight was gone and inhuman yells of pain could be heard in the background, but the fire in his body was so intense, Harry's mind went blank except for one thing: escape from the pain! "Edward!" Harry cried, writhing in immense pain on the filthy ground as the venom coursed throughout his veins, seizing his heart in its icy grip.
The last thing Harry saw was the moon high in the sky over him, the craters on its white surface looking as if they laughing at him.
