Chapter 2: Gangs
Dylan Anders let out a loud, frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair, a classic Dylan tell. This time, the tell meant she was annoyed. Annoyed with herself and annoyed with that college kid who had sent her on a wild goose chase. Dylan spent a week tracking down a false lead, and was now at the same place she had started. It turned out the "lead" was just a good lie told by a broke college student in hopes to pay off some of his enormous college debt with the reward that was posted now for a "deranged serial killer". Dylan had been following this specific case for half a year, and now that the killer had moved to her city in the last two weeks, Dylan was all over the case. She worked much longer than usual days to try and get the case solved hastily, and the wear was starting to show on her exhausted body.
Standing up suddenly, the rolling chair flew out from underneath Dylan and she crossed her lovely corner office to look at her clear white board that was covered in tidbits of information. Dylan had worked for years in the FBI, earning a high up position as a criminal investigator and profiler. She took on the darkest cases searching for signs of vampire activity and eradicating the monstrosities from her beloved town. Now, the latest evil incarnate had arrived, and she was working hard to keep her street safe. So far there were five victims, and she was determined not to let there be a sixth. She just needed to work harder, be smarter, to find the damn thing's location.
Dylan's rumbling thoughts were interrupted when one of her team members threw her door open. Normally she would frown on such an invasion, but Dylan knew better and knew that they would only interrupt like this if something urgent had come up. "Lany, the docks! Something's going on down there! I think there's another victim!" That was all she needed to throw herself into action. Lany was a nickname given to her by her fellow team members. After speaking with the team, and using a bit of a mental push with some of them, she convinced them to let her go alone. Dylan feared that there was more than one vampire, or her favorite phrase for them: deadling.
The air was heavy tonight, tainted with an all too familiar scent of evil. Dylan recognized it anywhere. Increasing her speed, Dylan traveled in the form of a wild dog, wanting not to raise any suspicion she found the form much quicker than her "human" form. Dylan could not travel in the form of mist as so many could. Since her blood was not pure, she did not have as many abilities as the Carpathians did, so she was a little more limited in travel and sometimes took a bit longer than a full blood would be able to. This did not bother Dylan, however, since her mage abilities made her very strong and each battle she fought was unique.
Finally reaching the docks, Dylan shifted in the form of an eagle and perched on one of the higher up metal containers. Dylan listened for any movement, the sharp ears of the eagle hearing just the slightest, softest movement. A breeze gave the creatures away, and Dylan knew there were three deadlings in the area tonight. Masking her presence, Dylan took off from her perch, silently stalking them.
Gavril Travnikov soared through the air in the form of a small owl, his thoughts weighing on him heavily. Tonight, he had decided, would be his final night before he greeted the dawn. It had been over twenty years since he had last seen her, fifteen since he last sensed her presence. None of his brothers or any other of his kin could sense her either. No one had heard anything that gave him suspicion of her whereabouts. After searching for so many years, Gavril cursed himself for allowing her to escape him. Now, he had no other choice to assume she was dead. No other explanation made sense as to why a part of him felt as if it was dead. How she died, Gavril could not guess, but he was more than one hundred percent certain she was no longer apart of this world. His world was too bleak, too grey. Gavril was too far gone to last another night before the beast claimed him. He could no longer resist that call of evil.
Rumors had spread to his ancient ears that spoke of a clan of great evil traveling tonight. Their plans unknown, Gavril knew he had a small window of time to eliminate the threat they posed to the human life. They were an ancient group of brothers who had turned simultaneously one night, and were never heard from again. They were powerful, even succeeding in killing two females of his kin. The sins of the evil brothers brought him here, to this night. As he drew nearer, his enhanced eyes saw a fight had already began, but who on this earth would dare to challenge the evil band of brothers? A flash of golden hair caught his attention, dragged his eyes to her. A young women sporting dark clothing fought hard, and immediately he felt a sense of familiarity followed by gleeful happiness wash over him. It was her. After all these years, it was her. She truly was alive. Relief rushed through Gavril, and he knew he was saved, as long as he saved her first.
Gavril made his presence known and watched her reaction, her golden brown head twisting, fear clear in her eyes as she mistook him for another attacker. Her reaction hurt him deeply and he threw himself into action. Gavril landed in between her and the assailants, trying to protect her from danger. He sent his sense out and tried to feel for any damage done to his päläfertiil. Gavril found a few broken bones and minor cuts, but the wound that worried him the most was the broken collarbone. "You need medical aid." Gavril attempted to communicate with her, but frowned when he was slapped with a mental barrier. Taking a defensive crouch, he decided to worry about it later.
Dylan was in mid-action when she felt his presence, a sinister call to warn her things were going to get even rougher. The distraction gave the vampire the opening he needed, allowing him to land a strong punch at her chest. With a sickening snap, Dylan knew her collarbone had broken, and the air rushed out of her lungs. As she regained herself, a man appeared out of the sky and landed between her and her enemies. A command reached her, but she shut her mind defensively before she could hear it.
Behind him, Dylan leaped into action, catching him off guard she lunged at one of the vampires. Dylan plunged her dagger deep into the deadling's chest, releasing a powerful poison that would burn the abomination from the inside out, weakening any attacks. Turning, Dylan moved to attack another vampire but instead was leaped on by the vampire she had just attacked. Blood leaked onto her back, burning through her shirt and to her skin. With a yelp, she threw him off and returned her attention to the vampire.
As she fought with weakened vampire, the other man took on two at once, covering her back. Dark, threatening storm clouds had moved in, and Dylan summoned a lighten bolt to keep at the ready. She had learned in her couple hundred years of experience, the only way to truly defeat the vampire was to burn its heart. While Dylan could control fire, her control over it was weak and she couldn't summon it at will. Lightening was the easiest way to incinerate the heart, all she had to do was merely suggest its path and it would follow.
Dylan was on the deadling with a blur of speed. She punched into the deadling's chest, ignoring the claws that dug into her arms and chest, raking her skin. With a burning sensation she pulled the blackened heart out. The deadling now reached desperately for the heart, but she was able to keep him subdued with a simple foot to his chest. Tossing the heart away from her, Dylan called the lightening and incinerated the heart, silencing the vampire for good.
That was when she heard a pop sound, and before she knew it a bullet had lodged itself in Dylan's side. The pain that followed was stunning, enough to nearly knock her off her feet. One of the vampires' underlings had appeared from the shadows, and attempted to protect its' masters. The possessed man launched himself at her, and began ferociously punching and kicking her. Dylan shook him off and had no problem knocking him unconscious, but she now bled profusely from her side. Looking at the stranger Carpathian, Dylan took down the mental barrier she had constructed and communicated with him psychically. "Average response time for any gun shot is 4-6 minutes. I can delay them, but our window of time has now closed. We must end this fight now." The male simply nodded and Dylan took the form of a small owl, rising into the night's sky.
With Dylan high in the sky, fog began to roll into town from the bay, blanketing the town in a white veil. The fog was incredibly dense, but Dylan knew this would only slow them down by a few minutes. Now perched on a metal shipping container, Dyaln began chanting under her breath. Shadows flickered to life and formed four human beings, very life like. Nodding at the shadow people, Dylan finished the mage spell by giving them a nonverbal command. At once two shadows began to chase the other two down the streets, two seeming to having guns. After a while, another pop sounded to bring the attention of the police elsewhere so Dylan and the man could finish their fight with the vampires.
"Heal yourself." It came almost as a command, but Dylan didn't resist for once. The injury to her hip was extensive, the underling having great aim. Dylan sloppily healed herself and threw herself right back into action. There were two deadlings and an unconscious underling left. Dylan launched herself at the deadling who seemed separated from the battle, as if he was orchestrating something sinister. In the bay, waves grew to an enormous size, and spray began to rain on the battle. Power was effecting the local area.
Sweat dripped down Gavril's brow and he noticed the blood that filled it. He too had suffered many painful blow, and was now riddled with major wounds. His right leg had been clawed down to the bone, chunks of skin hanging off. His right shoulder was covered in bite marks, to a point where some skin was missing in areas. The poison of the vampire rushed through is veins, attacking his blood cells and organs. Gavril had no time to push the toxins out as he launched himself into another attack. His opponent was also much weaker, and suffered from even worse wounds. The vampire attempted to shift into a reptile form and Gavril launched a psychic attack, causing the vampire to become stuck in between forms. Caught off guard, the vampire was slightly confused at being half vampire, half reptile. Gavril used this distraction to launch his final attack, and punched through his chest.
A strike of lightening followed by a burning smell signaled to Dylan that yet another vampire had been defeated. Sirens were heard not far off, and she knew she didn't have much longer. A release of energy told her that her spell was broken, and the cops were now rushing through the dense fog to their location. "Finish, csitri, for we do not have much longer. Humans are approaching." As if she needed a reminder.
As a final strike of lightening finished off her enemy, Dylan turned and in a matter of seconds he was on her. Dylan moved to a defensive stance, but he grabbed her shoulders, and twisted her to analyze her healing job to her hip. "This will not do. There is still too much damage. This must be attended to." Dylan was caught off guard as he picked her up, stunning her slightly. "We do not have time to-"
"Put me down this instant!" She yelled it both with her mind and with her voice. To his shock, Dylan hit him with a powerful psychic attack while simultaneously shifting into a small robin.
"No, I will not let you go this time!" The words echoed through her mind, confusing her. Before she knew it her mental barriers were taken down and she was forced out of her animal form. She fell into his arms again, staring confusedly at him. She didn't even know it was possible for that to be done. Dylan definitely needed to learn how that was done. "You will not escape me again, päläfertiil, I will not allow it. We do not have time to argue, the human cops will be upon on in a matter of seconds." And with that Gavril transformed them into water droplets, feeling the scene.
Cliffhanger, I know! Gotta love 'em. Well normally I don't but they are definitely fun to write!
Anyways so Dylan works in the human world. Since she is only part Carpathian she isn't as limited as they are, and able to work in most sunlight hours. If anyone needs more explanation or anything, send me a message. Please review, thanks!