Chapter 4
I do not own Claymore
Sheila was out late on a run, she had been having trouble sleeping for the last few days and thought that running for a while would tire her and then she could sleep.
Her route led partly along the old Chandler railroad tracks, they had been taken out and a combination busway, walkway and bike path had replaced them.
It was a great running path at night, she could get into her full stride and not attract too much attention by keeping up with traffic on foot.
Lost in her thoughts, Sheila almost missed the feeling of being watched by something not human.
Her instincts intruded into her thoughts and she used her aura sensing abilities... Vampire? Did she sense another vampire?
Anastasia was the only vampire she had ever met and she had seemed a very decent sort, she had fed only on murderers and other human monsters, though lately she had made a connection through a blood bank where she regularly got blood to treat her "Anemia".
Sheila slowed slightly and came to a stop, she stooped as if to tie her running shoes...There it was again!
Her human instincts urged her to flee from her stalker, but her warrior's mind overrode them, she wanted to face this intruder in her neighborhood.
She wanted a confrontation.
Footsteps softly approached, Sheila felt the attempt to 'charm' her and out of the corner of her right eye, she saw a pair of shoes stopping, she looked up and saw a man with red eyes and a smile on his pale face.
"Oh my!" he said softly, "You're a big girl, you'll be a good feeder!"
His lips parted and Sheila watched the long white fangs emerging from his gums as he came towards her crouched form.
Sheila clenched her fist and came up swinging, her first punch broke off his fangs and tore his lips to shreds, her second knocked him out cold, and so ended her first violent encounter with a vampire.
Sheila flipped open her phone and punched 'Anna,' moments later she heard Anastasia's voice. "Sheila? It's kind of late for you isn't it?"
Sheila chuckled a bit and said drily. "I just got through knocking out one of your fellow 'children of the night', I'm at Chandler bikeway and Coldwater Canyon, out in the valley, what do you want me to do with him?"
A moment later Anastasia responded.
"Ordinarily, I'd say leave him for the sun to find. But no, I want to see him, I want to impress on him that he's trespassing."
Sheila volunteered.
"I can take him to my place and lock him up till you can deal with him."
Anastasia replied. "I can come out right now and we can deal with him tonight if you'd like."
"Yeah, you might as well. I'm not gonna get any sleep after this bit of excitement, I'll see you soon."
Closing up her phone, Sheila picked up the unconscious vampire like a bundle of rags, tucked him under one arm and jogged back to her house, leaving behind two broken fangs.
Tony woke up in pain, his dry mouth ached and he had terrible headache.
His tongue tip felt the broken ends of his former fangs and when he tried to assess the bruise to his head, he discovered that he was securely bound.
Opening his bloodshot eyes, Tony looked around and saw that he was in a shuttered room and that two women were sitting quietly across from him.
He recognized the tall one, she had sucker punched him the night before.
The smaller one was new to him, although he sensed that she was his real nemesis, another vampire!
The smaller one spoke first.
"I am Anastasia Karloff and I am an elder, more importantly, this is my hunting grounds and you have been trespassing or rather, poaching."
He tested his bonds discreetly and soon realized, he was well and truly screwed, these two could do anything they wanted to him.
"Finished?" Asked Anastasia and Tony could only glare in his frustration.
"I have some questions for you to answer truthfully, don't try to lie to me. I can read your recent memories like a book, so I'll know if you are lying to me."
Tony sighed and said quietly. "I don't have any choice do I? Okay, What have I got to lose? This vampire shit sure isn't what I thought it would be. Do you have any idea what it feels like to not be able to go out in the sunlight anymore? I grew up here and loved the summer and going to the beach to scope out the girls and catch a few waves. Now? I'd burn up, it really sucks. Ask away lady, I've got nothing to hide!"
Anastasia smiled at him and replied sympathetically.
"It was almost two hundred and fifty years before I dared to see a sunrise again, not every vampire is thrilled with being undead, but that's what life has dealt us. How we deal with it is what keeps us human by not surrendering to the lusts and cravings, hanging on to what's left of our humanity, keeps us sane."
Tony looked a bit startled and he blurted out.
"You're over two-fifty? I would never have believed it before I got turned. Damn!"
Anastasia shrugged and asked him."Who turned you and how long ago was it?"
Tony closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he said quietly.
"I met her at a party, she had this charisma and I couldn't say no to her. She came home with me and stayed about three days, it was all a blur of really wild sex and getting bitten, it didn't really hurt, y'know? It was like a pinching sensation, the last night she was with me she opened a vein on her arm and asked me to drink some of it, I was so aroused by her that I was up for any suggestion.
"She got on top of me afterwards and pinned me down. I didn't care by that point, the sex was so good. She bit me and kept sucking on my neck until I passed out after my last orgasm as a human."
Tony gazed at them and said quietly.
"I never did get her name. When I woke up again I felt really strange, it was light out and I thought "Shit! I"m late for work" I dressed really fast and went outside and was hit by the worst searing, burning pain all over my body! Every bit of exposed skin seemed to be smoking and burning all at once, I dashed back inside and it stopped at once. I tried going out again and again, each time the same shit hit me, this went on until I couldn't take it anymore. Needless to say, I lost my day job. Luckily, I found a night time warehouse job where I could be inside all of the time. This happened to me about three years ago by the way."
Tony glanced over at Sheila who had sat quietly the whole time and he asked her.
"How did you manage to get the drop on me like that? I thought I had you under my spell and you didn't seem to notice me until wham! It was the best sucker punch I ever saw, what did you hit me with and you broke my fangs, you know?"
Sheila simply answered. " I knew you were there all along, your 'charms' have no effect on me, I hit you with my fists and I intended to break your fangs.
"You should thank Anastasia here, If I hadn't met her and gotten know her a little bit, I would have just crushed you and let the sun find you."
Taken aback, Tony said anxiously.
"Damn, that's cold! Why didn't my "charms" have any affect on you and how come you're so strong?"
Sheila stood up and said to him. "Rather than explaining, I'll just show you."
She turned and left the room briefly.
Moments later, she returned with a huge, gleaming, two-handed sword in her right hand and a cantaloupe in her left.
Tony gaped and squeaked. "Holy crap! I just wanted a little blood... I wasn't going to kill you! Oh man, are you ladies gonna kill me?"
Anastasia snapped impatiently. "Oh be quiet! Man up will you? I swear, vampires these days have no stomach for unpleasantry!"
Tony closed his mouth with an audible click as his teeth clashed together.
He lay perfectly still with his eyes wide open and focused on Sheila and her huge claymore, she held up the cantaloupe and asked graciously.
"Would anyone like some fresh cut melon?"
As if on cue, Anastasia replied prettily. "Why yes! Thank you." Sheila tossed the cantaloupe up in the air and her right arm and shoulder blurred for a brief instant. The cantaloupe landed in Anastasia's outstretched hands and split into four slices. Sheila casually wiped the juices from her massive blade and said.
"What I am, is a former warrior from the organization, the people just called us claymores because of the swords we carried. For some reason a side effect of the operation that made us, is that we don't age. Our bodies continually heal themselves and so, we remain ever youthful."
Tony gulped and said. "I barely saw you move and you cut that melon to pieces, what else can you do with that blade?"
Sheila grinned at him and replied casually. "I could bring this house down around our ears or cut a car in two. I've chopped down trees and smashed boulders into pieces during battle and the blade never even got nicked or dulled."
He was about to comment when Anastasia cut in and remarked frankly.
"In short, Sheila here could chop both of us into mincemeat before we could even react and she is not even the most powerful warrior alive today, or so I'm told."
Sheila smiled and said. "Teresa is the strongest of us all, in fact she was the strongest ever. Even after she was killed, the organization kept her body preserved and when the rebellion began, they revived her in hopes that she would fight for the organization. Fortunately for us, she joined our cause."
Tony squirmed a bit and said. "I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what the hell is this 'organization' you mention, when was this rebellion and where was it?"
Sheila sighed and said quietly. "The organization existed before modern history began. It never had a name, it was just 'the organization'. The warriors like me were created by them to fight and control yomas and awakened beings, it's all very complicated really.
"We rebelled against the organization and destroyed the facility where new warriors were made, so no more could be made. The facility was near what is today Sevastopol, in the Crimea. It was submerged when the natural dam between the Mediterranean sea and the Black sea broke through back in about fifty-six hundred B.C. and flooded it under several hundred feet of water."
Anastasia commented.
"And you were there for this flood? It must have been crazy."
Sheila grinned and replied. "I missed that one actually, it happened a couple of hundred years after we split up and went our separate ways. I was up in what became Sweden at the time."
Tony finally blurted out. "Are you actually telling us that you're almost eight thousand years old? If it wasn't for the fact that I became a mythical being my own damn self, I'd be hollering "Bullshit!" loud and clear."
Anastasia chuckled and said. "I'm not really all that surprised, I know several elder vampires who are over two thousand years old, and only an idiot would ask Henrietta Maria how old she is, she is our queen by the way. Our archives have records of warriors or claymores, going back thousands of years."
Leaning the great sword against the wall, Sheila casually rolled Tony over, cut his bonds with a quick stroke of her knife, and said pleasantly.
"I'm releasing you to Anastasia, I would suggest that you two figure out how to feed you, now that your fangs are broken."
Anastasia shrugged and said. "Actually if the roots are intact, his fangs will come back in a day or so. Some vampires have been punished by having their fangs forcibly extracted, if the roots are removed, the fangs won't come back and they become 'fangless ones'. In the hidden realm, a number of vampires have elected to remove their fangs rather than forcibly feed on unwilling victims."
Tony absentmindedly rubbed his wrists, looked at Sheila and asked her. "Just how did you know I was coming? I thought I had hidden myself pretty good."
Sheila replied. "I felt your presence, some humans, vampires, yomas and werewolves all have a distinctive aura, we called it youki and all of us can sense it to varying degrees. One of us named Galatea can sense it over great distances. In fact, she can sense that I have two vampires in my house at this very moment and if my own youki signature suddenly changes drastically, she'll bring the cavalry. She is another very powerful warrior, only Teresa could defeat her in battle."
Sheila glanced at the clock and said.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I've got to clean up and go to work. You two can stay in here until it's dark."
Anastasia smiled and replied. "I appreciate that! We'll hang out here and if you don't mind, I can make arrangements for Tony here to get access to the private blood bank I get my blood from. That way he can stay where he lives and not have to risk getting seen or detected."
Tony stared at Anastasia for a moment, then asked incredulously. "You mean, you're not going to make me leave? You said I was trespassing before, what changed your mind?"
Anastasia shrugged and replied. "You were born and turned here, I moved here, to me, that does make a real difference. I am your elder due to my age, not because I made you. Make no mistake though, I will defend my territory against a trespasser, so be respectful and discreet and we'll get along just fine."
Tony grinned at her and said cheerfully. "Yes Ma'am!"
Looking thoughtful, Anastasia declared.
"I am going to have inform her majesty of your existence Tony. From what you've said, you were turned three years ago by an irresponsible female. I commend you for adapting so well. I suggest that you write a letter to our queen and introduce yourself. If you'd like, I'll help you with the letter."
Tony shrugged and asked.
"So now I'm subject to a queen? I was born an American y'know, we don't kneel to royalty."
Anastasia chuckled and replied.
"She's not so bad, as long as you acknowledge her sovereignty and don't attract the attention of the authorities . Chances are, you'll never meet her. Oh! I almost forgot, you'll have to pay a small tax now to the hidden realm."
Tony gaped briefly and blurted out.
"I gotta pay a tax? To be a vampire? You're shittin' me!"
Anastasia grinned at him and replied cheerfully. "I would never 'shit' a fellow vampire, it will all be explained to you after you've declared your existence. Welcome to immortality!"
After being buzzed in and making her way through the corridors of Susana's condo complex, Sheila gently rapped her knuckles on Susana's front door.
The door opened and Sheila stood patiently while the young Filipino male gaped at her breasts first, then looked up at her face and exclaimed. "You're taller than I imagined and prettier too!"
He stuck out his hand and said. "Hi! I'm Susan's brother Raphael, you can call me Ralph! You must be Sheila."
Sheila grinned at him, shook his hand and said. "Yes, I am. So, you're the legendary Ralph, I've heard about."
He grinned back and declared cheerfully. "I deny everything! There's not a shred of evidence against me."
Sheila smiled at him and replied drily. "Susan warned me you'd say something like that."
Ralph just laughed and remarked. "Well, I guess I can't fool you then. C'mon this way, she's in the living room."
Moments later, Sheila hugged her small friend then sat down across from her, while Susana's mother set down a glass full of iced tea for her to drink.
"So, how are you feeling? Are you climbing the walls yet?" Sheila asked her small friend, Susana shrugged and replied. "I feel just fine and to answer your second question."
Susana leaned closer and said in a stage whisper. "Get me out of here! I've climbed every wall here and I'll be starting on the ceilings next!"
Sheila laughed and said cheerfully. "Why don't you grab your purse and we'll scram outta here for awhile."
A few minutes later, they were driving into downtown L.A..
Susana had asked to go to Little Tokyo to eat some fresh ramen and browse around a bit.
Sheila had chuckled and remarked. "I don't go down there too often, none of the clothes ever come in my size and I just don't fit in some of those smaller shops."
Susana laughed and said brightly. "Yeah that's true, but the food's good and some of the shops are pretty cool. My brother comes down here all the time, he says it's for the food and the shopping, I think it's really to look at the girls!"
After eating their ramen, they went browsing, Sheila was impressed, Susana made pretty good time on her feet, even though she had a soft cast on now.
They went into a shop selling kimono's, the sales clerk took one look at Sheila's height and shrugged apologetically before saying. "We don't have anything for someone your height." then she added hopefully. "We could make one for you, if you'd like!"
Sheila simply pointed at Susana and said cheerfully, "I'm just here to keep her out of trouble. Doctor's orders Y'know."
The girl's eyes glanced at where she was pointing and noted the soft cast on Susana's left foot.
The girl smiled at Sheila and nodded knowingly, Susana then found a simple yukata she liked and bought it.
They went browsing through a couple of shops selling figurines, manga and anime related items, Sheila felt a little out of place until she spotted a manga titled "Claymore" she'd overheard Helen remarking about the title at Miria's two weeks ago, what was it she said?
Sheila stared at the volumes for a few moments until Susana remarked. "My brother reads that series, I've only read partway through the first volume."
Sheila took volume one out and read the synopsis on the back cover.
She felt a strange sense of deja vu, like she was reading her own memoirs, although they were written by someone else.
Moments later, Sheila found herself standing at the cash register holding a stack of manga volumes in her hands.
The sales clerk smiled at her and said cheerfully. "That's a cool series! There's a couple of figurines and an anime series out too, we have them in stock, would you like to see them?"
Sheila nodded her approval and soon, a couple of boxed figurines and a DVD set were placed on the counter before her.
Picking it up, she read the synopsis and again, felt as if someone had read her diary.
"Shall I add these too? Miss..."
Intruded into her thoughts and Sheila looked at the sales clerk a moment before saying.
"Oh! Yes, please. Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment there."
The clerk smiled at her and rang up the sale.
Exiting the store with a large bag in hand, Sheila was surprised to see a young woman clad in warrior's armor and bearing a huge prop sword right outside on the sidewalk.
Several people were taking photos as she posed with her blade poised in mid swing at a young man dressed as a yoma, his face gruesomely twisted by stage make-up.
Stopping short, Sheila stared at the tableaux before her, long buried memories were stirred up by the image depicted by the cosplayers.
The pair resumed their strolling until the girl's eyes met Sheila's for a moment and she did a double take, then she exclaimed.
"Wow! You could cosplay a claymore so easily. You're so tall and beautiful and your hair and eyes are perfect!"
Without missing a beat, the young man reached into his holding bag and handed each of them a flier, it was advertising a convention for fans of anime and manga coming up in a week.
Susana smiled at them and said amiably. "My brother has been talking about this for a month now, he's talked about wearing some sort of costume. If I can get Sheila here to go with me I'll think about it!"
The young woman gaped and blurted out.
"Sheila? That's your name? That is so kewl! The tallest warrior is also named Sheila, what a coinkydink! I was thinking you'd make a perfect Galatea if your hair was longer. OMG! I'd love to get a warrior costume together for you. It would be so epic!"
Slightly overwhelmed by the girl's enthusiasm, all Sheila could do was smile and nod politely and say.
"Thank you! That's very flattering. I'll think about it."
Sheila grabbed Susana's arm and muttered.
"Weren't you interested in getting something called mochi ice cream?" and all but dragged her away from the costumed duo.
Sheila ate her mochi ice cream slowly, the flavors were new to her and she was enjoying them.
Susana was nibbling at her own ice cream and reading the flier the young man had given her, glancing up from the flier she asked. "Would you be interested in seeing this convention? My brother raves about this stuff and I admit I've watched it when I was really bored. Whaddaya think?"
Sheila just grinned at her diminutive friend and replied cautiously. "Let me think about it for a day or so, I want to read this stuff I just got and maybe talk to Helen about it, before I make up my mind."
With a puzzled look on her pretty face, Susana asked. "Why Helen? What does she have to do with whether or not you go to a convention about anime?"
Sheila chuckled and replied. "She just happened to mention the "Claymore" series when I saw her out at Miria's, I forget what she said and I just want to talk to her about it. Before you go there, my tiny friend. Helen is NOT my mother or big sister and I don't need her permission or yours, for that matter. Now eat up so we can get you back home, your foot has got to be aching by now, you've been on it for hours."
Susana grinned at her and said. "Yes Ma'am!" and quickly ate up the rest of her frozen treat.