Authors: Kathleen Edwards
-The tribal war, 1564 AD-
“We need more ammunition!!” the commander yelled as soon as he had instructed his people to fall back. From the look of things, it seemed as though everything was going haywire and the commander had two options – tell his troops to fall back and retreat into the bushes or stand the ground and fight to the death.
And judging from what the king had instructed the commander, England wasn’t going to cow down to her enemies. And that only left him with one options only – to fight tot eh death. He hated having to lose people, but from the look of things, their enemies weren’t normal people. As a matter of fact, it seemed as though they were frail in the day but in the night, it seemed as though they were becoming monsters.
In the commanders thirty years as leader of the English army, he had never seen anything like this. And it had gotten to a point where his advisors were starting to tell him to defy the king, run for his life and then beg for his mercy. But the commander was too darn arrogant to allow himself to ever do that. If anything, he would rather die than throw himself at anyone’s feet and ask for forgiveness.
“That is my final word. We need more ammunition for our guns. If we don’t have any by nightfall, then I am afraid that those creatures from the east will come back and we will be done!”
“We can just retreat and live to fight another day.”
“NO WAY! WE STAND AND FIGHT!! AND WHERE THE HELL IS THE DEATH DEALER??!”
Everyone was quiet and looked around. And it was at that point that the handsome, well-built blue eyed war engine, Viktor sauntered through the tent and went into an immediate troop attention, recognizing the presence of the commander with a salute.
“Good. How are we doing in the armory?”
“It’s bad sir. We have used all of the arrows and spears as well as swords. And the canons are almost done. We will need some soldiers to dig up the clay and burn it but that would do us any good because those monsters can’t be touched. They move too fast and they can’t die. Word on the barracks is that the enemy is in cahoots with creatures that are abominations and we aren’t going to win this war no matter how hard we fight.”
There was dead silence in the tent. The only sound was that of the gust beating against the roof of the tent. For a moment, the commander was confused. It was only a couple of minutes till nightfall and he knew that he had absolutely nothing against the enemy. And now, from the look of things, his pride was going to be put to test without a doubt and that was something he wasn’t going to live to regret.
But before he had the opportunity to think of a way in which they were going to stay on top of their game, they heard screams coming from the barracks and they all grabbed their swords and watched. It was clear that they were under attack and that there was nothing they could do about it.
“We defend the commander with all we have until our last breath!”
But that was the last word that ever came out of the soldier who was standing next to the commander. The lights were out and then without any warning; his throat was snatched. Everyone was killed that night, all except for Viktor, the war engineer. The creatures of the dark had much better plans for him.
***
Joyce woke up in the morning, wondering just how she was going to get a job. Her dad was giving her a lot of pressure to make sure that she was going out there looking for a job. But after doing it for a while, Joyce was on the verge of giving up. She had a degree in accounting but from the look of things, it seemed as though everyone her age had a degree in accounting. And that spelled doom for her since the competition in her field was too darn high.
But that morning, Joyce just decided to go out there and try something out for the sake of trying it out. She had reached a point where she herself was starting to have a difficult time staying in the house just because of the guilt that she was feeling. It was just too much for life. She was turning twenty-three in a months’ time and she wanted to celebrate it in her own apartment.
Most of her friends were already in stable relationships, let alone having their own apartments and that also contributed to her discomfort. At the end of the day, it seemed as though everything was going to be fine since the dictum says that there is always a silver lining after every cloud. And that was whatever the heck she was going to aim at that day – the silver lining. Meaning that she was going to do all in her power to ignore all of the bullshit that came through her way.
And without further ado, Joyce woke up and made sure that she was getting to work as soon as possible. She made a point of getting everything ready and left the house before her dad woke up.
Apart from getting a job and moving out of her father’s house, it seemed as though there was another thing that Joyce was having trouble with – finding the right man to be with. But at the moment, she knew that she had no other choice but to prioritize as much as possible. She knew that if she did everything accordingly, then the right man was going to come over and make her day without a doubt. but until then, she had to wait.
And just like that, Joyce begun her day in high spirits. And that was how she landed a job at a club as a bartender.
-The dilemmas-
Viktor had to change his name to mike and assume a brand new identity, this was apart from shifting and starting over after a couple of years so that he couldn’t be detected. The fortune that he had amerced as an arms dealer almost five centuries had enabled him to become one of the most successful investors of the 21
st
century, even making him make an entry in Forbes.
In the end, especially after the incident that turned him into a vampire, mike had decided that he was never going to turn anyone into a vampire or even drain blood from a human being. He was a kind person and swore that even though he was dealing in weapons that ended up killing people in battle.
Over the years, he opted to feed on animal blood but with time, he also begun having a conscience and begun getting blood from hospitals. Thankfully, there were plenty of vampires working in hospitals just for the sake of keeping a low profile and getting access to all of the blood that they needed in order to stay on top of their game as far as life was concerned. But there were still plenty of vampires who were killing without mercy all over the world. But thankfully, mike wasn’t one of them.
He even went to the point of quitting his weapons business for the kings and barons and used his money to start companies during the industrial revolution a century back. And that explained why his fortune tripled over the decades to make him on of the richest men on the planet.
But still he always liked to keep his profile very low to the point that people only knew his name but not his face. And that meant that he could easily maneuver from one place to another without anyone knowing what he was worth and capable of doing.
He also had one of those incredibly effective sunlight rings that the witches had been selling to vampires over the centuries to make sure that they were in a position to walk during the sunlight and this made things very effective for them eventually.
***
At first, Joyce didn’t know that her luck was staring at her right in the face. She had been walking around the town for the better part of the day and since she couldn’t find a job, she decided that maybe a couple of drinks would do before going back home to her misery and a nagging dad.
She immediately went into the club and ordered a whisky double on the rocks and as soon as it got there, she immediately gulped it all down and wiped her slips with the sleeve of her blouse. It didn’t take long for the owner of the bar to notice that she was in deep stress and so, in the name of being a good owner and bartender, he made sure that he had sparked up a conversation.
“Ah, it’s just that I can’t get any work and my dad wants me out of the house.”
“And what does your boyfriend say about it?”
Joyce paused for a moment. That was another topic that she didn’t want to discuss about. But since the bartender was looking all friend and was doing it for her own sake, she felt as though it would be wise if she just kicked back and came clean with her feelings and her love life in general.
“I know it’s a little bit complicated when it comes to finding a job. But when it comes to having a boyfriend, it’s a little more complicated that life itself. In other words, I am single.”
The bartender smiled. Now he understood why she looked miserable. Having been in the business of talking to miserable drunks and customers for over four hundred years, peter was very good at reading people. And that said, it seemed as though the most important thing would be to try and give her some advice.
Yes, Peter was a vampire that had managed to mingle with humans and made sure that he had started something legit. And despite moving after every twenty years to avoid detection – you know, because he wasn’t aging and all – he had managed to keep his business for a very long time and therefore became very good with people.
“Here, this next drink is on the house. And if you ever need a job, you can come and work here for me. I am the owner of this place and I am forced to work as a bartender as well as the accounting guy. I don’t know what is happening to me nowadays but I am not as fast as I used to. Besides, you do strike me like someone who is good with handling money. Are you by any chance an accountant?”
Joyce raised an eyebrow. If it was a guess, then it was a smart one. She took another sip at the counter and smiled. You know what they say, when God closes one door, He always opens another. There was no way she was going to throw away that amazing chance. The good thing was that the club was near her home and so she wouldn’t have to waste way too much of fare until she got all sorted out.
“Well, I don’t really know what to say.”
“Say yes and start today. I think I would have an incredible time sitting back and having a couple of drinks for the first time.”
“I guess you have yourself a deal. But before I start, how much are you willing to pay me?”
“Two hundred a day.”
That was much more than she had bargained for. In other words, she was going to have a starting salary that was much better than most of her peers and needless to say, it seemed as though it was such an incredible deal – too good for her to refuse. And that was how she got to start her first job. And now the only thing remaining for her life to be complete was for her to find the love of her life.
-The fine waitress-
It didn’t take that long before people noticed that in peter’s place, as the club was called, had the hottest bartender in the town. And as usual, the guys begun crawling all over there in a bid to get things working as far as getting to flirt and finally win her over was concerned. And just like that, from never getting a text message from anyone, she made sure that she was getting a text message from virtually every single person that she encountered.
At first, it seemed as though Joyce was a little bit flattered. But in the end, it seemed as though it was rather difficult considering the fact that most of the guys who were hitting on her were old guys who didn’t really care to have a relationship with her, just a good night. Most of them were old, grumpy and married.
And even if Joyce was longing for a relationship, she wasn’t that desperate. And that said, she was left with no other choice but to make a pass at them since they weren’t her type, with all due respect of course. But deep down, she knew that somehow someone who was the right match was going to come by without a doubt.
And when that happened, then she was going to make sure that everything was happening the right way. The good thing about Joyce was that she always followed her instinct and that said, she decided to get a little patient.
Relationships aside, she had also managed to move out of her father’s apartment and on top of that, also managed to send him some cash at the end of the month, which made him one happy man. But that wasn’t all, he still demanded that Joyce got him a son in law since he was getting a little too old and he had goals to see her grandchildren.
Peter, Joyce’s employer was more than happy with the way the business was picking up and all of this was happening because of her. Besides, it seemed as though people liked Joyce and were talking so much about her to their friends who also made a point of visiting his joint. But what most people didn’t know was that peter wasn’t about the money. He had all the money in the world since he used to deal with mike back in the day and had his investments intact.
All he cared about at that moment was seeing people happy because, just like mike, he wasn’t interested in showing humans just how superior he was, unlike some vampires. He took a sip of that chilled B+ blood which was his favorite and made sure that he was keeping an eye on Joyce since in as much as she was entertaining all the new customers, she was his responsibility and he wasn’t going to let anyone try and mess with her.
And as far as Joyce was concerned, she was having the time of her life and for a moment almost kicked herself in the face for not having found that job much earlier. For the first time, she was starting to have some fun and she really was looking forward to having a very long future in that place. And that explained why several hours had passed without her even noticing that her shift was almost coming to an end.
And then as she was almost done with her shift that Friday, Joyce looked up to the door and stared for a moment. The man who walked in wasn’t just a handsome man with incredibly fitting clothes, but he looked like an alpha in flesh and blood. Joyce always loved dangerous men and that said, she couldn’t help but ogle as the hot, mysterious man stepped into the club.
***
Every Friday night, mike made a habit of visiting an old friend, who was also a vampire who was passing off as a bar owner. He and a couple of vampires went there to drink some chilled blood pass off as a drink and talked about politics and all the other normal topics that humans talked about when they were out on a Friday enjoying a drink or two.
But that particular Friday, it seemed as though things were going to feel very different and for a moment, mike wondered just what the heck was going to happen eventually. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to figure out what was about to go down.
Instead of peter, his bar owner friend, he had in his place a pretty young waitress. And for a very long time, mike had been looking for a woman who would make him feel butterflies in his stomach. But for a very long time, it seemed as though he hadn’t seen a woman who had the ability to do that, that was until that night.
“Hey, that is my new employee. If you think that you are going to have your way with her, then I am sorry because I don’t think that will ever happen any time soon.”
But it was apparent that peter was talking to himself because the guy wasn’t listening to him at all. Mike was already thinking about the best ways in which he was going to talk to her and get to ask her out. Peter knew that a relationship between a vampire and a human had never ended up well and it was clear that he didn’t want his friend or his employee to find themselves in some kind of situation that would be irreversible.
Peter also knew mike for a very long time and needless to say, it seemed as though mike wasn’t the kind of person to follow advice. Of course he got to listen to it, but never in his life did he even bother to follow it. And so peter decided to stand on the sidelines and watch. If things were going to work out, then their relationship would be the first he knew of. But if it was going to take a tumble, then he was going to step in just in time to prevent people from getting hurt.
But still, peter thought that he was being given way too much responsibilities and therefore wasn’t too happy about it.