Disclaimer: Disclaimed.
A/N: Hello again. Sorry it's been so long.. I got hung up on reading both Breaking Dawn and the Maximum Ride novels. Whoops. Anyway, I also went through a small case of writers block, which is never any fun. But after forcing my muse to come out from under my bed, I managed to come up with the first true chapter of Iniquity. Hope you enjoy it!
Iniquity
Chapter One:
One, Two, A Warning For You…
Sometimes, I wonder why I'm here. Like, what's my purpose? Why am I living? Why did I survive that explosion, and not my family? Why couldn't they be here with me now?
Why did they have to die?
I don't enjoy being alone; it's hard and painful. I grew up in the Vatican since I was eight, after my mother and brother died when the Lugosi mansion burst into flames, but that doesn't make it any easier. I wish I had some family to run to when I needed help or some comfort, some real blood-relations, you know? But I guess that's too much to ask for.
You'd never catch me admitting this out loud. Van Helsing would never let me live it down; no one would, really. I'd be seen as a weakling, a nobody, and I'm no nobody.
I yawned. Last night had been nightmare after nightmare. That was the price to be paid in my line of work. You think the coppers have it bad? Try hunting monsters instead of humans sometime. See what that does to your brain.
Munching on some bread and cheese, I sat at a small table in the corner of my room. It wasn't a big breakfast, but it was all my stomach could handle at the moment. Sleepless nights will do that to a person, tie their stomach up in knots. Especially when those nights are filled with dreams about a thousand different people dieing a thousand different ways. Still, I forced myself to eat the food; I'd need my strength later.
After breakfast, I got dressed. As per usual, I wore all black, or at least, as much black as possible. A midnight blue top with puffy sleeves was the only color on me that day, and most of the shirt was covered by my black corset. The rest of the outfit consisted of a long black trench coat, black pants, and knee-high, soft-soled boots.
I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. The twin Mina King stared back at me, her brown eyes looking rather bemused. Her blonde hair fell about her shoulders, curling slightly as it had yet to be brushed. With a sigh, I turned away from the mirror me and continued to prepare for the day. I ran a comb through my hair, straightening out the kinks and what-not. I didn't bother with make-up; werewolves and other creatures tended not to care if their prey were pretty enough to eat.
There was a knock at the door, and I sighed again. "Who is it?" I called, my voice chiming like bells. I hated my voice; it's hard to sound mean and terrifying when you have a voice like mine, and one of the best known tactics was to scare your opponent before it could scare you.
"Mina," Carl called tentatively. "Can I come in…?"
Good, old Carl: quiet as a mouse, scared as a cat. "Yeah, sure. Come on in," I said, grabbing hold of a couple of sacks that lay beside my dresser. I used them to carry weapons and the necessities when I went on missions; it was a little trick that Van Helsing had taught me when I was in training.
The friar scuttled inside and closed the door behind him. After ten years, you'd think he'd have made it to "monk" by now. "I see you're already getting ready," he muttered as he turned to look at me. Then he made a face as he gazed about the room. "This place is a---"
"Yeah, I know," I grumbled. "I haven't exactly had time to clean up after myself, what with Jinette flinging me to God-knows-where every chance he gets."
"It's Cardinal Jinette, Mina. Show some respect," he chastised.
I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see because my back was turned to him. "Sure, sure," I said, but it was kind of hard to show any respect to a man with a woman's name, if you get my point…
"Anyway, you won't be going alone this time, right?" Carl continued on. "You said something about Elvric Sallow accompanying you?"
"Yes," I replied, pursing my lips. "Mr. Doom-n-gloom will by coming along to rain upon my parade."
"Well, it's certainly better than going alone. The world seems to be teeming with monsters these days. Especially in---"
"Transylvania," I finished for him. "Where I'm going."
He frowned. "Yes… Mina, you be careful, alright?"
"I know, I know. You were there ten years ago with Van Helsing and you both nearly died trying to stop some evil vampire. Don't worry, Carl. Dracula's dead now."
"Just be careful," he said again, more firmly. This was rather uncharacteristic of him. I'd never seen him so insistent, so strict before, so I backed off.
"Alright," I said, confused. "Okay, I'll be a good girl and mind my manners."
He scowled. "Be sure that you do." I could see the worry in his brown eyes, the fear. It wasn't the normal, ditzy fear that was always there; it was the serious kind of fear. It was the kind of fear that sent a dozen red flags up in my head.
I was headed into dangerous territory, that was for sure.
