Chapter 23
"Guardian Castile, get those seven to safety and protect them. We've certainly got company tonight." I told him stiffly and gestured at the other seven undergraduates.
"What are you talking about, Kai?" Ali frowned at me. I grabbed his collar and tugged him down so that I could whisper into his ear.
"There are friggin' Strigoi out there. I can smell blood, that means that the two guardians that you left here are now dead. Get those seven to safety."
"You need to get to safety as well," he told me sternly.
"Just get them out of here. I've got this covered. I've lived here for the past six years, I know how this place runs and I know it like the back of my hand." I glared at him.
"You're not fighting with them." Ali scowled at me. "Brent, Johnson, get the eight kids out of here," he ordered.
"Wait, what?" Brent blinked in shock at the sudden order.
"Damn it, Ozera, make sure the dozing ones get the hell out of here fast!" I warned him with a desperate plea in my eyes.
"Take care of yourself." Drew nodded in understanding. "Guardian Brent and Lady Drozdov, please come with us. This is urgent." Drew told them and grabbed the hands of two of the girls and started running back towards where we came from. They ran to an area where there was a large open space and I breathed a sigh of relief at Drew's intelligence. An open space would certainly be better than where we were at that moment with alleys all around us and balconies. There were far too many openings for a Strigoi to attack us where we stood.
"Damn it Valentine! Get out of here." Ali commanded and tried to push me away.
Unfortunately, Jill did not take the hint and went to open one of the doors of the vehicles. I watched solemnly as two bloodied bodies fell out of the SUV and Jill screamed in horror. I smacked my forehead and glared at Ali. "Do you want to give me one of your stakes? I knew you have at least two on you right now."
"No, you're going to get to safety just like the others." Ali told me stubbornly. He tried to push me again but to no avail and in that moment, two Strigoi jumped out of hiding and lunged at Jill.
Ruthlessly I shoved Ali away and reached for the stake that he kept hidden inside his jacket. While running as fast as I could to Jill's side, I threw the stake at one of the Strigoi and tackled the other one. My instincts coursed through me and without a moment's hesitation I snapped the Strigoi's neck which would definitely incapacitate it for a short moment. That short moment was all the other guardians needed to get their act together and to slip into guardian mode.
One of the guardians wrenched me up from the Strigoi and staked him. Another three Strigoi jumped out of an SUV, breaking the windows and doors in their haste to attack us. I ducked out of the first one's way and kicked as hard as I could at the other one. I grabbed Jill's shaking hand and dragged her away from the centre of the fight while four of the guardians fought with the three Strigoi.
"Ozera, fire circle!" I shouted when I noticed a Strigoi creeping up on them, using the shadow of the night as her cover. Drew instantly threw up a flaming circle and they all saw the Strigoi. Unfortunately, the circle wasn't high enough and another two Strigoi managed to jump on them from above. The circle dissipated instantly and I watched with horror as Ingrid and Roxy were wiped out with a single swipe.
Anger overrode ration and I knocked into the first Strigoi so hard it rattled my teeth. I snapped his neck before going blindly for the next one with a menacing growl. "Guardian Brent, give me a stake right now!" I commanded and he was so caught up in the moment that he obeyed without delay. He threw me a stake and I flipped it a couple of times in my hand. The Strigoi and I circled each other for a few moments and I could see the others watching tensely.
The adrenaline that was coursing through me was driving me insane and my entire body itched to make the first move. My mind on the other hand told me to stay put and to not rush. I knew that more often than not, being too hasty in a fight was often the main cause for failures and deaths. I was certainly not up for dying tonight or making any major mistakes that could get me fatally injured, so I shoved the instinct down and simply waited with a bated breath for the attack.
I was ready for it when the Strigoi lunged at me and I stood firmly up until the last moment when I turned slightly to the left and curved my body so that the Strigoi slipped right past without touching me. I swung my arm upwards then down in an arc and stabbed the Strigoi right through the chest where the heart would be and he crumbled instantly. I wrenched the stake out and threw it as I span around at another Strigoi who had been preoccupied with running at the Moroi. The stake caught her in the shoulder, barely missing her heart and she hissed in pain as she collapsed, scratching at her chest at the pain.
I stormed towards her with a murderous glint in my eyes. I was surprised when Guardian Jenson whirled past me and took care of the dying Strigoi before I could. He sent me an unfathomable glance and I was certainly surprised when he handed me a stake. "You're going to need this," he told me stiffly before going after another Strigoi.
I momentarily lost my momentum and pace so it was really no surprise to me when a Strigoi crashed into me, taking us both to the ground. I grunted in surprise and stared in complete shock when a block of earth collided in the Strigoi on top of me. The force of the hit was so strong that it sent the Strigoi flying off and I sat up feeling disorientated.
"Thanks, Jacks." I smiled sheepishly at him and he gave me a hand up.
"I guess that being a Moroi really does come in handy sometimes," he grinned wryly.
"Duck." I commanded and he dropped instantly. My arm lashed out and with a single swipe I plunged the stake deep into the Strigoi's chest. I made sure that the life was completely out of its eyes before snatching the stake back out. "You're pretty good for not passing out this time." I teased.
"Hey, last time I was hit before I passed out. That was totally not my fault," he complained defensively.
"I know, I'm only joking." I smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Why are there so many Strigoi around here?" Dan grumbled.
"There are I think two Moroi bars not that far from here." I told them before I fully realised what I saying.
"How did you know that?" the Moroi boys, with the exception of Drew stared at me in shock. Drew was surprised because he already knew that I was aware of Moroi bars being around here. "Aren't you meant to be new to everything except the killing part?"
"I was warned. I've encountered a couple of ex-guardians before in the past six years and they told me about the bars. They warned me that I might spot a few Strigoi while working in this area." I explained vaguely. I noticed a flash of suspicion cross Drew's eyes but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just narrowed his eyes at me. I stared stubbornly at him and refused to disclose anything else.
"Kai!" I heard Ali shout in warning and I shoved the Moroi away as I whirled around with stake in hand and slashed it across the neck of the Strigoi before staking her properly. Wrenching the stake out, I noticed the last Strigoi running away and I hastily calculated the distance in my mind. I decided to risk it and threw the stake as hard as I could. A grim smirk tugged at my lips as the stake struck its target and got rid of the last Strigoi.
"That was completely reckless! I told you to stay away from the fight!" Ali bellowed as he stormed up to me. I raised my arms in preparation for his hit when I saw his pull back his arm. I shut my eyes and waited for the pain to come but it never did. I peeled open my eyes to see both Drew and Crispin holding Ali back. I could see the fury in his eyes and I flinched.
"I'm sorry, Guardian Castile but in a situation like this, you can't afford to hold anyone back. Holding them back places them in direct danger because it makes them practically hopeless." I told him seriously.
"You should not have jumped into the fight," he hissed through gritted teeth. "I don't care about whether you're confident with yourself or not just because you've made kills before, but you're not longer a rogue, Kai. You cannot just go jumping into every fight you see fit. Now that you're under the protection of the school, you have to abide by our rules."
"So you're saying that I should've held myself back and just watch Lady Drozdov get attacked? Don't joke with me!" I retaliated, feeling my own anger rise.
"She was safe."
"That is bullshit and we both know it!" I screamed at him, jamming a finger into his chest. "You had your friggin' back turned to a Moroi! A bloody royal one at that! Don't go blaming me for jumping into a life and death situation. Saving others come first! Self-preservation comes second to that and you know it!"
"Not when the person in question is a ro -"
"Don't!" I screamed and shoved his chest hard enough to make the air leave his lungs so that he couldn't finish his sentence. "Don't you fucking dare." I growled at him. I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes from anger and I was more than tempted to beat the crap out of Ali in that moment. He might have been my childhood friend, but even we had our tiffs and this was certainly one of them. Ali always seemed to be much more over-protective than anyone else. He was more over-protective than my parents were and that was saying something.
"Both of you, calm down. The first thing we need to do is to secure the area and call for re-enforcement so that they can inspect any wounds and to tidy up the area." Crispin stepped in and put a hand firmly on Ali's shoulder to restrain him. "Alistair I want you to scout the area to see if there's any more danger and clear your head while you're at it. We don't need any personal issues to complicate the situation."
Ali looked like he wanted to refuse for a moment but then he took a deep breath and stormed off. I stared at his back guiltily. In truth, we were both at fault. If I had been an ordinary student, he would've been right that I shouldn't have recklessly jumped straight into the fight. Technically speaking, I should've let the guardians handle it all. However, I wasn't just an ordinary student; I was a student who had killed more Strigoi than I could count without attending a vampire school. There was absolutely no way that I was just going to stand back and watch others fight in my steed just because I was back in school. I had lived off of instinct for far too long to be able to supress it during an attack. My instant reaction to a Strigoi attack would be to fight and defend. That was just who I was.
I suddenly remembered that Roxy and Ingrid had both been knocked out and I let out a gasp. I turned around and ran to where they were lying and Els stared up at me with wide eyes when she saw me approach.
"How… how did you do that?" Els whispered. "I couldn't even move and they were knocked out before they could even blink."
"It's practice, Els." I told her grimly and checked over my two friends.
"They're both fine, they might hurt when they wake up, but they're fine." Els reassured me and I just stared at her for a moment before grabbing her for a tight hug.
"God… when I saw Roxy and Ingrid get taken down… I didn't know what to think. I thought that you guys were going to get killed."
"But we didn't, because you saved us, Kai. You really are amazing." Els smiled and patted my back soothingly.
"I'm not, if I was amazing then I would've saved you guys before the pair of them could even be knocked out." I scoffed.
"You really do love to put yourself down, don't you?" Els commented wryly.
"No, I'm just truthful." I protested.
"Hey Kai, how are you feeling? You got knocked down pretty hard at one point and you have blood on your head." Dan asked worriedly and he ran his hands over my head gently.
"Ow!" I squealed when he touched a particular spot and I glared up at him childishly.
"Found it," he grinned victoriously. "I was right; you have blood in your hair as well."
"How could you tell? It's practically pitch black except for the faraway street lamp all the way over there."
"I've adapted to the poor light conditions a little bit," he shrugged. "Lady Drozdov, do you think you can help fix this wound?"
"Yes, of course." Jill nodded. I could see that she was still a little shaken. No doubt she was not expecting to get attacked but at least she hadn't fainted in shock. "Thank you Kylie, for saving me back there. I think that you may have been right about what you said earlier to Alistair. There was absolutely no way for any of the guardians to get to me in time because they simply weren't in guardian mode at that moment. You were very fast, Kylie."
"That's the result of a lot of heavy running." I smiled shyly at her compliment and flinched when her hands softly touched my scalp. I let out a breath in comfort when I felt her magic sooth the pain on my head. After a few moments, the pain was completely gone and I knew that whatever injury it had been was no longer there. "Thank you."
"No problem, it's the least I could do in return for you saving my life."
"It was my pleasure, Lady Drozdov." I inclined my head politely and she smiled warmly at me.
"You know, Kylie, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought that you were already a fully-fledged guardian and one of the best as well." Jill beamed. "I don't believe that you are that far behind with the vampire 101 studies, it would be easy for you to jump a year so that you can become a guardian sooner," she suggested.
I stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before shaking my head frantically. "Oh I couldn't possibly do that." I spluttered and flailed my arms all around.
"I don't see why not, you've got the talents for it and the best teachers at the school will make sure you pass academically as well." Jill frowned in confusion, not understanding why I couldn't possibly jump up a year.
"I can't possibly leave these people alone." I smiled softly and hugged Els to me to emphasise my point. "I want to spend time and graduate with these people, Lady Drozdov. I thank you for your compliments, but these are the people that I want to graduate with and I can't possibly leave them when they've done so much for me."
"Kai, why did you have to be such a sweet talker?" Els complained and hugged me tightly.
"I'm not that much of a sweet talker." I laughed sheepishly. "So anyway, how long do you think it'll take for the re-enforcements to arrive?" I asked Crispin.
"I've just called them and they will be here within the next hour. They're sending the nearest group they can. A couple of alchemists will be here within ten minutes."
"You mean those magical humans who really have a thing against the vampires?" I tilted my head to the side in query.
"Yes," he nodded.
"Don't tell me, you read that in the text book right?" Els arched her brows curiously at me.
"No, Guardian Maxwell told me about them." I shook my head and let the lie fall off my tongue easily. "Well, actually, he explained what they were, but I'd met them on several occasions before as well."
"Oh?" Jill arched her brows at me in surprise. "So this is not you for kill?"
"No." I told her truthfully. There would be no point in lying since there would be no way for this to be my first kill, not with the way I'd fought so efficiently.
Everyone fell silent for a while and the silence wasn't broken until the alchemists arrived.
"Kylie? What are you doing here? I thought this was official guardian business." Arthur called out in surprise when he saw me.
"Hey Arthur, hey Tam." I smiled tiredly at the couple.
"Don't tell me, you've been caught haven't you sweetheart?" Tamara frowned with concern as she strode up to me.
"Getting caught is right. I was caught about this time last week I think… or maybe it's been a few days more than that. I can't even remember anymore. All I know is that I've spent a whole week at a vampire school." I told them sheepishly.
"A whole week?" Arthur glanced at me with wide eyes. "With that temper of yours, I would've thought that you'd be expelled straight away," he teased.
"Well, I've managed to retain my anger just a little." I grinned. "The combat classes have certainly helped."
"So you are well?" the couple asked me seriously.
"Yes, I've been treated very well." I nodded solemnly.
"Aw, that's such a shame. I'm going to miss our monthly dinners together. I'm going to miss your treats little rogue." Arthur pouted and I had to admit that seeing such a childish expression on a fully grown man was more than a little amusing.
"You know these two people?" Els asked shyly.
"Yes. As I've already said, today wasn't my first kill and before, whenever I couldn't get rid of the bodies of the Strigoi, I'd ring this lovely couple up for help." I explained. "Els, meet Arthur and Tamara Brandon. Arthur, Tam, meet Els, the two collapsed people over there are Roxy and Ingrid, those five Moroi are Drew Ozera, Jacks and Quinn Dragomir, Dan Zeklos and Jill Drozdov, the guardians are Guardian Castile who's off running somewhere, Jenson, Black, Brent and Johnson." I introduced everyone.
"Nice to meet you all." Arthur and Tamara chimed in greeting and glanced at the scattered bodies all around.
"I see that two of the guardians did not fare so well with the Strigoi." Tamara smiled grimly as she gestured at the two dead guardians.
"No… I don't know what happened. We found them dead in the SUV." I told them.
"Well, since there are guardians here, they will at least have a proper burial. As for the Strigoi, how many did you take down tonight?" Arthur asked.
"Um…" I thought for a moment and used my fingers to help keep count. "Five."
"Five? That's a new PB for you." Tamara commented.
"PB?" Els asked curiously.
"Personal Best. My last record was four but there were never more than that who showed up. My only guess about tonight is that they sensed that there was a whole bunch of Moroi who would be moving around tonight so they planned a mass attack." I sighed and ran a hand through my knotted hair.
"Oh yes, Kai, if you were finally caught by the school, then what are you doing here?" Tamara frowned.
"I came back for a very important match because I needed to be there for my team." I smiled proudly. "Just to let you know, we won against Carlton High."
"You mean that ruffian school?"
"Yep."
"You beat them? Well done!" Arthur cheered and slapped my back in congratulations.
"Congratulations!" Tamara squealed and hugged my tightly.
"Ehem," someone coughed and we all turned to see Crispin standing there with amusement in his eyes. "I apologise about interrupting your conversation but I think it would be best that we tidy up the Strigoi as soon as possible. We've already gathered all the corpses into a pile to make things easier for you two."
"Thank you Guardian..?"
"Jenson." Crispin told them with a polite smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Guardian Jenson." Tamara smiled back.
"I hope that you take good care of this little treasure. Should we hear that she's been mistreated or she's unhappy, we're more than prepared to stir up trouble for the school." Arthur warned him.
"Valentine will be well taken care of at our school. It seems that she's already managed to make quite a few connections already. She has already befriended several royals, not to mention she has more than impressed the Lord and Lady Badica. Or so I've heard." Crispin grinned at me and ruffled my hair playfully.
"Hey, if you're not careful I just might deck you again." I pouted and pushed his hands away. "My hair is in enough of a mess already, I don't need to you make it worse."
"Now, now Kai, is that really any way to talk to a guardian?" Arthur chastised and smacked my head.
"Sorry, momentarily lapse of manners." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"You certainly do have quite a few of those, don't you?" Tamara teased.
"I can't help it." I whined and leaned against one of the SUVs as I watched Tamara and Arthur spread a bottle of chemicals over the corpses of the Strigoi. Soon the pile began to sizzle and the corpses were reduced to dust within a matter of seconds.
"Thank you for your help." Crispin inclined his head politely and Arthur and Tamara stared at him in shock.
"Well this certainly is a surprise." Arthur whistled.
"What is?" Crispin frowned.
"They're not used to vampires being polite to them. Normally, they would've been shouted at for spending so long talking to me." I explained to him. "There sure are a lot of bossy vampires out there."
"You're certainly right about that, Kai." Tamara scoffed as she seemed to remember something unpleasant.
"Anyway, it's a shame that we might not be seeing you again for a very long time, Kai." Arthur smiled sadly and drew me into a tight hug to which Tamara joined. "We'd better be going before any more vampires decided to appear. Sorry about not telling you about you being a vampire and all. But we thought that since you didn't realise it in the first place, there was no particular need to tell you."
"It's alright, I don't think I would've chosen to go to the Academy anyway, not unless I got caught." I pointed out. "I hope that I will see you two again at some point in the future. Don't get yourselves killed by accident."
"We shan't. We never turn up during the action, only after when we've either been called or we run across a random corpse that needs getting rid of." Tamara shook her head and gave me one last hug before the couple left.
"You sure do have a knack for attracting nice people to you, don't you?" Crispin commented with a grin.
"Who knows, it just happens." I shrugged.
The re-enforcements arrived five minutes later and we were all able to leave first while they took care of the SUVs and the two dead guardians. We were driven to the airport and I was asleep before the plane even took off.
Hi everyone!
I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating Taking Steps for such a long time but I just haven't had the inspiration to write anything on it yet T.T But, I can promise that the Konstantin will soon be the centre of focus because it's his birthday soon! AHHHHHHHH!