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I rested during the day and caught up on schoolwork, although I found it almost impossible to concentrate on anything other than the boys. A smile played upon my lips constantly as my thoughts shifted between each of them, and more than once I squirmed when I thought about the sensations they had caused in my body. I never knew it was possible to feel such intense things. It made me realize that my brief foray into love, the stolen kiss from Michael, had barely hinted at what was truly possible. I was glad that it was something I could keep to myself. I liked having something personal and hidden, and I couldn’t wait to see them again. I just hoped they didn’t get into too much trouble because of it.
Julia returned and was eager to get out on the streets and hunt vampires. She was restless as we went through all her weapons again, even though we told her she needed to know how to use them for her own good. She was equipped with the usual items and seemed proud to wear them. Then, we went out into the streets and hunted vampires.
“This is amazing,” she said as we went outside. “But how do you handle living with him? He seems so strict.”
“He’s not so bad, he just likes things to be a certain way.”
“I can’t believe you kept this hidden from us. I guess that’s why you’re not staying in the dorms?”
“That’s right. Julia, you know I was being serious when I told you that you can’t tell anyone about this, right? This isn’t some kind of game. This is real and we have to protect the secret so that we can keep Slayers safe.”
Julia gave me a patronizing look. “Elsa, don’t be such a spoilsport. Look, the fact is that I’m not as naïve as you think I am. You see, when I suddenly started feeling different I realized something. All this time I thought my Mom hated me, that my parents just wanted to forget about me, but I know now that they only wanted to protect me and that really they gave me something special. Mom told me stories when I was younger. I thought they were just little fairytales at first, but when I saw Arthur and he explained things to me it all made sense. I realized the stories weren’t just stories at all, but she was preparing me for the future! So yes, I’ll keep it a secret, because my Mom obviously thought it was important, but I’m not going to be grim about this destiny.”
I have to admit I was a little envious that she had managed to get some closure with her parents and learn that they had sent her away for her own protection. It gave her a connection with them that I never had with my own parents, and the common bond that existed between myself and Julia weakened.
“I used to think she was making things up about Slayers and vampires,” Julia continued. “I never gave it much thought when I was growing up, but it’s all starting to come back to me now. Mom always told me that things weren’t as they seemed. She said there was a true story, one that they didn’t tell you, about the very beginning.”
“What kind of story?” I asked.
“Slayers and vampires have existed from the very beginning and it’s all tied up with Christianity. Think about the Garden of Eden. The serpent that came to Eve…it wasn’t a serpent at all. It was a vampire trying to seduce her away. Eve was the first Slayer. She was tempted, but
when she ate the apple she saw the truth and she killed the vampire. It’s always been something that’s existed in the world, but Mom said that people like to hide the truth because it would change everything if they knew. I never actually thought there was any truth to it.”
I don’t know if Julia realized what a bombshell she had just dropped. I stared at her, agape, wondering if this was actually true or if her Mom had just lied and made this all up, because if we were descended from the first woman…it meant that this wasn’t some magical thing at all, and it also meant that Slayers and vampires were caught in an endless dance.
“So what kind of things do we do anyway? Where are the vampires?” she asked, looking around as we walked through the dark streets of the city. I told her to keep her voice down because we didn’t want anyone to overhear us, but she didn’t seem bothered.
“It’s not like they’d believe us anyway,” she said. I just shook my head. It wasn’t long before we came across our first vampire. I found the tracks and we followed them to an old warehouse. The shadows danced and the only light was from the moon. It poured in through the skylight and it was clear that the vampire had made this his lair. It was perfect really; close enough to the city that the creature could make it there without too much trouble, but far enough away that it could retreat during the day and remain undisturbed. I put my finger to my lips and strained my ears, listening for the tiniest sound. Julia wasn’t being careful at all. She didn’t pay attention and walked right into the middle of the room, pulling her stake out and calling for the vampire. I hissed at her to come back.
“Don’t worry, we’re Slayers, right? We’re made to kill them,” she turned and called towards me, but then the shadows moved and a feral vampire leaped out of the darkness with its fangs and claws bared. Julia shrieked as she turned and saw it. She raised her hands and stabbed wildly with her stake, but she only hit air. The vampire hissed and writhed, swiping at her flailing arms and it was only pure chance that she didn’t fall victim to its attacks. I ran forward, the wooden boards creaking under my feet, and threw myself through the air. The vampire turned to face me but I ducked under its claws and jabbed my stake up into its heart. There was a momentary look of panic on its face before it turned to dust.
Julia was panting.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You could have been killed on your first night! This isn’t a game Julia. You have to pay attention to what you’re doing. I’m not going to go back to Arthur and tell him that you died during the first night. And these are feral vampires. What hope do you have when we eventually go up against the masters? This isn’t Angel Academy. You don’t have the run of the school and nobody out here is going to bend to your will like they do at school. You’re not in control here and you can’t just treat everything like it doesn’t matter, because if you make a mistake out here then you’re dead.”
Julia was on her knees, still trembling. Part of me hated being harsh with her when she had just been through something traumatic, but another part of me figured it was the only way she was going to learn. She had to know how serious this was. She looked up at me and I think she understood that while we were out of the academy I was the one in control. I was the one who knew what she was doing, and I had just saved Julia’s life.
“I would have died if it wasn’t for you,” she said meekly. I held out my hand and helped her up, after glancing around to make sure there weren’t any other vampires lurking nearby.
“We all have to learn at some point,” I said. “This is a dangerous world. The academy is easy. Out here…one mistake can end everything. I’ve come close a few times myself.”
“You made it look so easy.”
“I’ve just been at this longer than you have. It’s something you’ll pick up as we go along. You’ll get the hang of it, and when you’re ready we’ll be able to take on the masters. It’s rare for two Slayers to be in such close proximity as us, so we have something of an advantage. I’ve been trying to think of a way to coax them out, but it wasn’t possible with just me. With two of us we might be able to set a trap.”
“I hate to think there’s something worse than them,” she shuddered.
“They’re just feral. They’re dangerous, but they don’t plan ahead. They just live by instinct. We need to get to the ones who are behind all this, if we have any hope of stopping the spread of vampires.”
“Do you think they can be stopped?”
“I’m assuming so. It might take some time, but that’s why we’re here after all, isn’t it? What’s the point of Slayers if vampires can’t be brought under control?”
“I just mean, like…Mom always told me that there should be balance in the world and I think she might have been talking about Slayers and vampires. If what she said was true and that balance has been there ever since the beginning, maybe it’s never going to be possible to end things. To be honest, the way she spoke about things she never even made being a vampire sound that bad…”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking at Julia incredulously. We had moved outside again and were by the docks. The water at the edge of the city undulated like black glass. The moon reflected off it, and in the distance thin grey clouds floated across the horizon. Our footsteps echoed against the stone ground.
“Well, if you think about it, it’s not really the end of the world is it. Not if you’re a proper vampire I mean, not one of those…things,” she screwed up her face in disgust.
