Haldred Chronicles: Alyssa (17 page)

Where the
hell did they come from?!?

Victoria took a
step back, eyes wide in shock.  She had read in the archives about vampires
having the ability to fly.  But this?  She never expected this!  Where...where
did she keep those? 

Alyssa cast her
an apologetic look.

“Sorry.”

The wings rose
with a whoosh of air, lifting high and wide over the girl’s back, then flapped
downwards in a blur of motion and to an accompanying thunderous boom.  Victoria
was blown off her feet as Alyssa launched herself into the air, the wings
propelling her upwards.  Up, into the night sky.

Victoria was
instantly blown back such a distance that her flight was only stopped when she
hit a snow drift, and sank into it.  For the briefest of moments there was a
human shaped hole in the snow, before it collapsed in on her.  Rather quickly,
the alley was once again silent, with only a very weak sound of huge wings
flapping, slowly disappearing into the night.

The silence was broken
by Victoria's voice coming from the snow drift.

“Well,” said the
muffled voice.

“Sod.”

* * * * *

Malak turned the
corner, weapon up and scanning.  His breathing was heavy from long periods of
running.  He'd heard something just now.  It had sounded like a muffled
explosion, or a gust of wind.  He'd been hunting, after he and Victoria had
split up.  She'd disappeared, running off after the vampire he imagined. 
Bloody stupid idea that had been, 'cause now he'd lost not only the vampire but
Victoria as well. 

He'd run from
alleyway to alleyway, street to street, but found no sign.  As the minutes had
ticked by, his searching had become more frantic; this was bad, very bad. 
Victoria could keep her investigative ways.  Malak was a soldier, a hunter soldier. 
Hunting skills now put to good use in trying to find the vampire or her.  He
knew he'd hit the vampire earlier.  No doubt, he didn't miss.  Years on years
of practice with his weapon (on alive and not so alive targets) had honed his
abilities.  He didn't miss, he hadn't missed.  It was just that vampires maybe
needed more bolts, or bolts in different places.  So be it; he'd plug her in
the eyeball and see if that did it. 

He moved to the
corner of the alley where he'd heard the sound, and peeked his head round
slowly, pushing his K-12 out in front of him, it's fresh bolts glinting in the
moonlight.  Ready to be unleashed again.   

The alleyway was
a mess.  Discarded boxes and barrels lay everywhere, as if tossed about by a
freak gale.  Oddly, there was no light from the houses either side of the
alley.  Either no-one lived in the houses or they slept very soundly indeed. 
He listened but could hear nothing.

Then he saw it,
something on the ground.

He moved over
carefully, eyes still scanning, weapon still at the ready.  Only when he
stooped to pick up the object did he let his eyes drop.  He realised what it
was immediately.

Victoria's
pistol.  He knew it well.  She'd customized the grip for her hands and the
weapon was like new.

This isn't
good.

He looked
around, up at the roofs and up and down the alley.  The only other things in
the alleyway were boxes, barrels and a lonely looking snowdrift.  That seemed
to be rippling from within.

His weapon was
up immediately, as he dropped to a crouch aiming for the centre of the
snowdrift.  His finger tensed on the trigger.

Hold up
he told himself W
hat if
it's a civilian?  Might not be the vampire about to ambush.  Just some poor sod
who had a load of snow fall on top of them.

He relaxed just
a little.

“Who goes there?”
he yelled into the snowdrift, expression serious.

“Malak?” came a
muffled voice.  It seemed to be coming from the snowdrift.  It was very
familiar.

“Victoria?” he
replied with a great deal of uncertainty.

“Malak!” said
the voice, a little louder and more commanding now as the movement beneath the
snows surface became more pronounced.

“Help me!  Get a
bloody shovel!”

Malak smirked,
lowering his crossbow and moved to help her out.

“Woman,” he
said.  “you must have one heck of a tale to tell.”

* * * * *

* * * * *

Alyssa didn't
fly often.  She had found it took a lot of effort.  It was rather hard to
remember which limbs to flap in which order, as now all of a sudden her body
had three sets of limbs, not two.  She had to remember not to flap her real
arms, or kick her legs; else she would knock herself from the sky.  She'd
managed to do that more times on previous flights than she'd care to admit. 
She'd also never flown with a passenger before and was keen to get down somewhere
safe. 

She didn't like
flying, not just because of the effort but also the damage it did to her
clothes.  Having two wings burst from her back tended to wreck anything she was
wearing and that much was true now.  She could feel the tattered remains of her
tunic hanging limply from her back and was more than a little concerned that
her modesty might be in danger if any more clothing strands worked their way
free.

Well, it was
a nice tunic.

Still, escape
had been better than the alternative.  Vlad however was very unhappy.

YOU HAD THE
PERFECT OPPORTUNITY!
He was yelling as Alyssa flew onwards.
 YOU COULD HAVE KILLED
HER EASILY AND YOU DID NOT!

Give it a
rest Vlad
Alyssa
muttered inwardly.  She couldn't put him in the box right now as she was
concentrating too hard on flying.  She really wished he'd shut up.

Meanwhile Katy,
bless the girl, was holding on for dear life and whilst she couldn't see,
Alyssa was sure Katy had her eyes squeezed tightly shut.  Alyssa's night vision
was doing what it was supposed to do for a change and she picked out a landing
stop.  There was a flat topped warehouse just below them now, one of the old
army blocks now long since abandoned.  It would do.

As long as I
don't trip.  Again.

She flapped her
wings and let the air currents pull her upright.  She then spread her wings and
started to descend.

AT LEAST LAND
PROPERLY THIS TIME!

Alyssa kept the
wings spread out and slowly she descended towards the roof.  However, as has
been said before, Alyssa was not the most skilled in the arts of grace, or
flight for that matter.  She retracted the wings inside her a moment too early.

“Oops” she
cringed before she fell rather abruptly the last few metres.

Katy,
thankfully, was unaware of the mistake, as she was still holding onto Alyssa
for dear life.  It was only as Alyssa impacted feet first did Katy blink.  She
looked up from holding on to Alyssa's chest, effectively curled round the girl,
to find Alyssa's expression one of intense discomfort.

Katy, forgetting
her own momentary terror, thought it best to check on her friend.

“Are you ok?”
she asked
.

“Ouch” replied
Alyssa through clenched teeth.  She was acutely aware of the fact that her feet
were several inches
below
the roof of the warehouse they were on.

Katy let go of
Alyssa and stepped back, now noticing likewise her friend's predicament.

“Help.”
whimpered Alyssa, standing with her ankles covered in a collection of
splintered wood.

“Ah, how
exactly?”

Good question

“Can you
pull...on my legs?” Alyssa groaned.  “Help me...dislodge them?”

Katy knelt by
Alyssa's buried legs and took hold.  With Alyssa pulling at the same time she
managed to dislodge one foot then the other with less trouble than expected. 
Just a pity Alyssa's shoes didn't appear.

“Darn.” muttered
Alyssa.  “I liked those shoes.”         

“Not my best
landing.” she said next, wincing. 

Now free of the
roof, Alyssa hobbled with Katy's help over to the small wall that ran along the
outer rim of the roof.

The two girls
sat side by side for a few moments.  Katy was staring off into the night sky. 
Alyssa figured Katy would be trying to come to terms with her discovery now.

Not every day
your friend turns out to be a vampire.

“You ok?” Alyssa
said presently.

Katy was giving
Alyssa a considered look.  The girl's face was a little unsure, as if an unseen
conflict was being fought within her mind.

“I will be.” she
said, smiling weakly. “Just as soon as we get down from here.”

Alyssa frowned,
then took a look over her shoulder down at the street below.  Only now did she
realise just how high up they were.

“Woah!” she
said, practically leaping up from her perch on the ledge.  “I didn't know we
were this high!”

She gave Katy an
apologetic look.  “Sorry.  Again.”

Gods I'm
apologising a lot these days

THEN STOP
DOING IT!

“It's okay.”
said Katy.  “I'm not that afraid of heights.”

Neither am
I.  Well not that much.

“But you might
want to cover up.” Katy added.

Alyssa frowned
before looking down at herself.  Immediately noticing that those last strands
of clothing were pretty much gone.  She gasped and hugged her almost bare
chest, blushing fiercely and recalling the recent corset situation in all its
uncomfortable glory.  She looked around for something to cover up with but
surprisingly there wasn't anything to hand on the roof of the abandoned army
warehouse.  With a resigned sigh she sat down beside Katy. 

Well as long
as no-one sees me up here.

She couldn't
help but think that statement was maybe tempting fate.     

“So.”

Alyssa used one
hand to fix her glasses again as the other carefully maintained what little
dignity she had left.  She dared not meet Katy's eyes.  “I'm...ah...”

“A vampire.”
Katy completed the sentence.  “The wings thing kind of confirmed that.  And the
teeth.  And ah”

She pointed to
Alyssa's back.  Where the ends of the three crossbow bolts still protruded.

“Those” Katy
concluded lamely.

Alyssa sighed
again.

“Yeh.” She
fidgeted with her glasses.  “Sorry I didn't tell you.”

“It's ok.  I
imagine it's not something you admit to that often.”

“You and
Victoria were technically my first.”

Unless you
count the number of muggers I've beaten up.  Lucky no-one ever believes them.

“Were you
telling the truth back there?” Alyssa said next.

Cause I
really hope you were!

SHE WAS NOT!
IT’S ALL LIES!
  bellowed Vlad,

Right, that's
it!

A lot had gone
wrong tonight, but she was going to fix one particular point right now.  Alyssa
screwed up her face just as Katy turned to reply.  Katy frowned, watching as
Alyssa almost seemed to tremble outwardly.

“What are you
doing?” she asked, leaning back, almost expecting Alyssa to explode.

Alyssa didn't
answer immediately.  She simply shook for a few seconds.

Vlad, was very
firmly put in his box.  Silenced, for now.

“Done” she said
with an outward breath, before noticing Katy giving her a look.

“Best that I not
explain, think you've had enough weird stuff tonight.”

Katy smiled.  “I
suppose.” 

“What I said
is
true.” Katy said next.  That conviction in her voice was infectious.

“Just need to
get you into the library at night.  It's a bit late now though so...”

Katy frowned,
looking thoughtful.  “...we need a place for you to stay.”

They couldn't
very well go to Alyssa's house.  The Council of Peace would probably already be
raiding it.  Alyssa tried not to think what a mess of the place they'd be
making.  She figured she couldn't go to Katy's either.  Again, the Council of
Peace would probably be around and asking questions.

They could go to
James but...

No wait.  They
could go to James' house!  He hadn't been at the tavern.  They wouldn't know
his face, or his name.  Unless Gretna talked, which was frankly unlikely.

Hmmm.

“We could try
James' house?” Alyssa ventured.  She wasn't sure but it seemed the best option.

Katy nodded. 
“Best bet I guess.”

Alyssa stood,
rolling her shoulders, ready to unleash her wings again.  Katy passed her an
apologetic smile.

“Ah, think it
might be a better idea if we just find a way down.  Because...”

Katy's
expression suggested she didn't know how to break things to Alyssa.  Alyssa
knew the look.

“I'm not very
good with flying.” sighed Alyssa

“Yes.” said
Katy, “that and you need some clothes”

* * * * *

Malak and
Victoria's troubles that night were continuing.

After digging
Victoria out of the snow drift they had headed back to the tavern.  Victoria
enlightened Malak with the story of her little 'adventure.'  The encounter with
the vampire, the information the vampire had given her and the vampires
escape.  She told the final part of the story with almost tangible
embarrassment, as well as a great deal of frustration at her own human
weakness.  Malak had the good sense not to mock her for it.

She looked
thoroughly miserable.  She'd taken a chill when the snow drift had covered her;
her nose was red and running, her immaculate features now oddly highlighted by
wet messy hair and a pale sickly complexion. 

 They arrived at
the Elk’s Horn tavern to find that the Council of Peace delegation of
professional idiots had gone.  Considering Victoria was shivering and in grave
danger of catching hypothermia from her brush with the snowdrift, they had
wisely decided to get her indoors.  Gretna had met them at the now door-less
entrance to the Tavern, with an exceedingly angry face and a complete lack of
concern on seeing the bedraggled investigator.

“Oh look!” she
said as Malak and Victoria appeared at the door frame rather sheepishly,
Victoria still shivering despite wearing Malak's cloak. 

“The Council of
WAR has returned!  Have we come to scare the living hell out of my maids
perchance?  Or chase away my customers again?  Perhaps you'd like to do BOTH
and then some!”

She was
brandishing a hammer that made both Malak and Victoria feel more than a little
threatened.  Repairing the reputation of the Council of Peace after this was
going to take some doing.  Leaving the Tavern unhurt might take some luck as
well.

“Would it help,”
ventured Victoria, without much hope one might add and doing her best not to
stutter as she spoke.  “...if I said the raid wasn't my idea?”

Gretna's
expression remained one of barely contained rage.  Like a bull regarding the
red rag.

“...that I
suggested against it?”

The dwarf still
had the look of someone about to tear the head off someone else.  This wasn’t
working.

Ok, new plan.

“And that I'm
sure the Council would be more than willing to compensate you for tonight's mistake?”

Gretna raised an
eyebrow.  There was a pause, and a silence that needed to be filled with
further reassurance; possibly of the financial persuasion.

Expenses are
going to kill me.

“Should I say,
today's mistake?”

Gretna turned
her head, both eyebrows now rising in a gesture that suggested 'keep going.'

“Or
perhaps...the last 3 days?”

“My friends!”
declared Gretna, casting her arms wide, her face suddenly beaming as if
regarding a long lost family member.  “Come in, come in!”

Victoria didn't
know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or cry.  She felt too ill to care
either way

“Sarah, run a
bath upstairs.  Bofar, get the vegetable soup going.  Unless you two want
something more...”

“Gods no!” both
Malak and Victoria said in unison as they took a seat by the door.

“Anyway.”
Gretna's expression turned serious.  “Your money might pay for the loss of
custom and hopefully, reputation.  But what about Alyssa?  That true what they
said?  She a vampire?”

Malak and
Victoria exchanged looks of resignation.  No use in hiding anything now.

Victoria
nodded.  “'fraid so.”

The dwarf
sighed, crossing her arms and leaning up against a nearby table.  She shook her
head.

“I don't believe
it.” she said.  “I mean the girl was so nice!  She was my best barmaid.”