I dropped it on the ground and unzipped it, revealing my modest collection of weapons.Inside were two swords and a handful of daggers, all of which had arrived with me on Earth.
“Whoa,” Eliza whispered.“Where did you get those?”
I shrugged, trying to play it cool.“Family heirlooms.”
It wasn’t a lie, per se.The swords were unlike any of Earth’s weapons.The first was a slender, double-edged blade, forged from infernium, a rare and indestructible metal found only in the deepest pits of Hell.Runes etched the hilt, which glowed with a hellish crimson light.I’d named this sword Inferno’s Kiss, because it could channel my hellfire, allowing it to sear through flesh and bone with nary a thought.
My second sword, Shadow’s Embrace, was shorter but no less deadly.The tenebrium metal was so dark, the blade seemed to drink in the surrounding shadows.Dark hellspawn hide wrapped around the hilt, and the blade had a slight curve, perfect for slashing.
As for daggers, I had three: Whisper, Hell’s Fang, and Oblivion’s Edge.They didn’t possess any special enhancements, but they were wicked sharp and lethal in the right hands.Sometimes, all a girl needed was a sharp stabby knife.
“Family heirlooms?”Eliza echoed.“I’ve never seen anything like them.”
I frowned, reconsidering my decision to bring these weapons along.As much as I missed using my blades, maybe bringing them on this hunt hadn’t been such a great idea.They certainly attracted attention—the kind I could do without.
“I don’t mean to question your competence, but do you know how to use them?”she asked.
A small smile came to my lips.“Definitely.My father wasn’t exactly the nurturing type.He had incredibly high expectations of me and raised me as a warrior.”I stood and held Inferno’s Kiss up to the moonlight.“Admittedly, I’m a bit rusty.I haven’t held a sword in a decade.But I’m sure the muscle memory will kick right in.”
Eliza watched me with a mix of curiosity and amusement as I began to gear up.I secured Inferno’s Kiss over my right shoulder and Shadow’s Embrace over my left, each hilt positioned for quick access.Then I distributed each of my daggers across my belt: Whisper on my left, Hell’s Fang on my right, and Oblivion’s Edge at the small of my back.
“Impressive setup,” Eliza remarked as she reached into her own bag and pulled out her weapons.She armed herself with a sleek crossbow and a pair of silver-tipped stakes, the tools of a seasoned hunter.She slung the crossbow over her shoulder and secured the stakes in holsters on her thighs.
I admired her efficiency.Eliza was a professional through and through, and it was clear she knew exactly what she was doing.“Alright,” I said, discarding my coat for easy access to my weapons.It was cold as a witch’s teat out here, but it wouldn’t kill me.“So, what’s the plan?”
Eliza glanced around, her eyes scanning the darkened streetscape.“We wait.The vampire usually returns to her lair just before sunrise.We’ll stay out of sight and ambush her when she gets close.”
I nodded.“What does she look like?Not that I’m expecting others, but it might be handy to have a description of the target.”
“Pale, dark hair, and apparently has a penchant for leather,” Eliza replied.“She’s got a bit of a gothic vibe going on.”
Didn’t all vampires?From what I’d seen, they all had the same look.
Eliza led us a good couple kilometers away from the car to what appeared to be a boarded-up mine entrance.We found a spot with a good vantage point, but out of sight from the entrance the vampire was using.Settling in for a long stakeout, we made ourselves as comfortable as possible on the cold ground.
“So,” Eliza said, breaking the silence.“How does someone raised as a warrior become a bartender?”
I quietly snickered.“I guess that isn’t the typical career trajectory, is it?”
Eliza joined in with a chuckle, her breath visible in the frigid air.“I’m not sure.I don’t know many bartenders.”
“Fair enough.”I repositioned myself to keep my daggers from digging into my hips.“I guess I just wasn’t keen on the expectations my father placed on me.”Truth.“And he had no intention of letting me lead my own life.So, when I got the chance, I carved out a new path.”That part, admittedly,wasn’ttrue.But I couldn’t admit that someone—most likely my father—had ripped off my wings and exiled me to Earth.That might have revealed just a smidgen too much about me.
“And this new path of yours led to bartending?”Eliza asked.
“It led me here,” was all I said.“But I had to make a living somehow, didn’t I?”
“Bounty hunting pays a lot more, you know,” she said.“I haven’t seen you in serious action yet, but you claim you know how to use those swords of yours.So why not takethatpath?”
“At the time, I just wanted something peaceful.Something that didn’t involve fighting.”
“Says the woman who swatted down a werewolf in a single strike.”
I laughed.She wasn’t wrong.I had my skills—thanks to my father’s upbringing.He’d insisted his minions mold me into a weapon, and they’d done exactly that.My life in Hell had been anything but pleasant.The days had been an endless blur of training sessions, fighting hellspawn, demons, my father.Earth was a cakewalk compared to that.And when I arrived here, the last thing I’d wanted was more fighting.
But I couldn’t share any of that with Eliza.
“I wanted something different,” I told her.“Something that gave me freedom from the life my father raised me in.”
