Haldred Chronicles: Alyssa (15 page)

“On whose bloody
authority?” bellowed the dwarf, marching across the tavern toward the unwelcome
arrivals.  Six crossbows very quickly swung to point at her.  Gretna, whilst
stubborn, wasn't stupid and stopped at the centre of the tavern, raising her
hands.

“My authority
actually.” said a quiet, but commanding voice.

The two Darnhun
nearest Gretna parted to allow the owner of the voice to enter from the
direction of the obliterated front door.  He was a well-dressed man in furs,
with a bald head and grey moustache.  He smiled that superior, arrogant smile
that men of power possessed.  He looked down on Gretna thoughtfully.     

“I do
apologise.” he said though not with any real concern behind his tone.  “But we
are here for one of your bar staff.  We have come for Alyssa.”

“We've been
through this.” said Gretna, face reddening with barely contained rage.  “She's
not
a bloody vampire.”

“I'm afraid, yes
she is.” said the figure, casting his eye around.

That aroused a
few low mutterings from the clientele and caused Alyssa to swallow nervously.

This is not
good.

FOR ONCE
CHILD, YOU AND I ARE IN AGREEMENT!

“We are here to
arrest her,” the man was saying now.  “Where is she?”

Alyssa's eyes
shifted to Katy.  Katy was casting her a sideways look and seemed to be
thinking.

Well Vlad,
seeing we're on good terms for a change, any ideas?

STRANGE AS
THIS MAY SOUND YOUNGLING, RUNNING MAY BE YOUR BEST OPTION.  YOU ARE NOT YET
STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE ON SUCH WARRIORS HEAD ON!
  

“Where is she?”
the man repeated, impatience evident.

Behind her,
Alyssa heard the kitchen door open.  She chanced a look and saw three more of
the Darnhun entering, crossbows aimed.  Beyond them, the back door to the
outside.  It was closed but near to hand.

Alyssa's eyes,
full of fear, looked back to Katy, who seemed to have made a decision.

'Run' she
mouthed.

Alyssa
hesitated, even as she heard the Darnhun behind her moving further into the
tavern.  Weapons pointed inward and away from her.

Alyssa could
move fast when she needed to, inhumanly so, with sudden bursts of incredible
speed; faster than the eye could blink.  Another vampire ability she had
learned and now had good use for. 

She let go of
the plate and turned, twisting into a low crouch as the tray started to fall. 
Pushing off from the floor, she rocketed through the open inner door, into the
kitchen.

Three more
Darnhun were in the kitchen, watching over the remaining terrified barmaids. 
With one of them in the way, the door to the outside closed behind him.  She
barrelled into him as she landed, her speed and strength belaying her lithe
body as she knocked him to one side, into one of his colleagues.

She spun round
in her low position and swiped at the door she had just entered through,
knocking it closed.  She was rewarded with a dull thud, the doorway closing on
one of the Darnhun as he tried to come in after her, knocking him back.  She
turned to face the third Darnhun, who had had enough time to drop his crossbow
on its sling and draw a wicked looking dagger.  He brought it round to swipe at
Alyssa.  She ducked under the slash as she balled a fist and awkwardly punched
upwards, into his chest.  It was enough though, as she heard him cough as the
wind was knocked from him and he fell away.

There was no
time to lose as she crouched down in front of the door to the outside.

I really hope
this works.

* * * * *

“That was quite
an entrance.  How long do you think it'll take them?” asked Malak, lazily
casting the tavern another look.

“Oh I'd say...”
Victoria began but was rudely interrupted as the back door of the Tavern burst
apart.  Splintered wood exploded outwards, carpeting the street behind the
tavern in a cloud of fine sawdust.  A single figure was silhouetted for a
moment, crouching in the fog of the explosion.

Victoria and
Malak simply stared.

The figure
stood, and in the half light of the Tavern windows, they could see who it was.

Alyssa.

“..now.”
Victoria finished, as she and Malak exchanged a quick glance.

Alyssa started
running, darting off toward the nearby smaller alleys.  Victoria and Malak
leapt from the coach and ran after her.

This is
probably an immensely stupid thing to do
thought Victoria as she sped off, Malak on her
tail and Alyssa in front of her.

We're chasing
a freaking vampire!

As she ran past
the door she glanced inside.  Three of the Darnhun troopers were down on the
floor and looked like they wouldn't be getting up in a hurry.  Others seemed to
have just entered the kitchen and were rushing out of the tavern.

Three of
them?

No use for the
softly, softly approach now.

Victoria could
hear behind them the Darnhun fanning out and Horna bellowing angrily into the
night.  She and Malak rounded a corner as Alyssa ran on. 

“Malak, engage!”
Victoria ordered, drawing her pistol, Alyssa's speed making her only a moonlit
silhouette in the distance.  She heard the distinctive click of Malak flicking
the safety catch off his crossbow.  She moved to the side to give him a clear
shot as they raced after Alyssa through the streets, quickly leaving the
Darnhun behind.

Malak might not
be the most experienced or indeed the most intelligent investigator in the
business, but he was a damn fine shot.  She heard him stop, dropping into a
crouch with practised speed.  There was a thud, as the drawstring on Malak's
crossbow sprung forward, unleashing a bolt.  Up ahead there was the sound of a
bolt hitting flesh.

Alyssa kept
running.  So did Victoria and Malak, as he easily sprung back into a run.

Must have
been a flesh wound
concluded Victoria as they got the girl in their sights again.

“Take her down!”

Malak was
skidding into a crouch again in the muddy street.  Their were two more thuds as
he unleashed more bolts in quick succession.  He called it 'double tapping',
apparently a military term.  Again Victoria heard the sound of bolts impacting
but still the girl kept going.  Alyssa was at the end of the street and turning
left.  Victoria and Malak ploughed on, reaching the end of the street
themselves and skidding round the corner, weapons up.

Ahead of them,
in the gloom, a running figure disappeared into another side street.

“Double back.”
Victoria said.  “We'll catch her in a crossfire.”

She ran on
before Malak could argue.  Good soldier that he was, she heard his footsteps
receding in the other direction and she increased her pace, heading for the
side street.

She slowed as
she rounded the corner, and had her weapon up and aimed.

She stared into
an empty street.

Shit.

* * * * *

Alyssa had been
aware of something hitting her but had kept going regardless.  She knew she
could outpace any human in a sprint.  But this wasn't really a sprint, and her
pursuers seemed to know this.  This was a cat and mouse chase; she was the
mouse.  She'd ducked into a sidestreet and was looking round for a hiding place
amongst the wooden crates that were stacked along the walls and alleyways.

THEY WILL
EXPECT THAT YOUNG ONE
!

Fine time for
you to chip in!

He was right. 
They were still after her so they knew she was in this side street.  They'd
probably search the place.

THE ROOF!

Sometimes
Vlad.  Just sometimes, you get it right.

She crouched
down then leapt, impossibly high, almost as if her body weighed nothing at all,
defying gravity.  The good thing with going for a roof instead of a ledge was
that even if you misjudged how high or how long, there was more roof to catch
you.

With a thud she
stopped, managing for a change not to fall in a heap upon landing.

She knelt and
waited, listening.

* * * * *

Victoria moved
silently, ears pricked up and listening for even the slights sound of
movement.  She heard footsteps up the street.  Her weapon was up quickly, but
it was only Malak, entering from the other end as ordered.

Good man.

She flicked her
hand at him, indicating for him to check the alleyways that lead off the side
street.  Their quarry might be in one of them.  Quietly, Victoria started to
search the street itself, moving carefully round the wooden crates.

* * * * *

Alyssa hazarded
a look over the lip of the flat roof she had landed on, looking down the
street.  She saw them.  The two hunters.  The same two she'd encountered first
in the tavern.

Victoria
and...the guy.  She'd not caught his name.  They were moving away.  They'd not
seen her.

Thank the
Gods.

She ducked down
and crept on all fours, slowly, to the far end, away from were she'd seen the
two of them going.  She could make good her escape now.  Still moving with as
little noise as possible, she kept low and crawled over to the lip of the
roof.  She put her feet over and down, onto the slanted slate covered sides of
the building.  All she need do now was jump down and she'd be away.

Carefully, she
stood up ready to...

The slate
beneath her gave way almost immediately.

She squealed as
she felt her footing slide out from under her.  She fell on her backside and
slide down the roof after the slate, making a thunderous racket.

DAMNATION
GIRL!
Growled Vlad as they went down.

* * * * *

Victoria whirled
round as she heard the crash and yelp behind her.

“Malak, on me!”
she yelled and dashed off after the sound of running footsteps, hoping he'd heard
her and would follow.  She rounded the corner back into the main street, just
in time to see Alyssa running off leaving a shattered slating in her wake.

She was on
the roof.  Of course!

Victoria
holstered her pistol and made to chase the girl once more.  She had Alyssa just
in front of her, running through the streets.  The girl darted into a side
street and Victoria whipped round the corner after her.  She kept on, holding
the girl in her sights as they darted through one street after another, footsteps
thundering off the cobbled, snow covered streets.

Victoria knew
her body was getting tired.  Knew that in an endurance race she'd never beat a
vampire; they didn't breathe after all, didn't get tired.  All they needed was
blood.

Let's just
hope I don't become the source of that blood

She rounded a
corner into another nondescript alleyway.  She'd no idea where in the city they
were now, no idea how long they'd been running and no idea where Alyssa was.

You're not
fooling me this time!

Victoria slowed
her run, pistol up again, this time checking above her.

The roof
again!

She scanned the
rooftops, looking for likely hiding places.  Likely places the vampire would
have moved to.  All professionals make mistakes, even the very best.  All too
often it's when you make that one, critical mistake that you pay for it. 
Victoria's mistake was making an assumption about her opponent.  Assuming that
said opponent would follow a pattern.  Alyssa didn't follow a pattern.

She wasn't on
the roof.  She was in the alley, crouched behind a wheelbarrow.

As Victoria
moved past, Alyssa struck.

One minute
Victoria's pistol was held beside her, at the ready, the next it was pointed
upward toward the sky.  Not by Victoria's hand, but Alyssa's.  The young girl
had moved from her hiding place with incredible speed and grabbed Victoria's
gun hand, pushing the weapon away.  Victoria reacted, her other arm going for a
left handed draw of her sword.  It would be clumsy but it was all she could
do.  It would have worked too, if Alyssa had only one arm.  Sadly, she had two
perfectly functioning arms and stopped Victoria's attempt easily.  Victoria
tried to struggle, to break free, but the girl was so strong, formidably
strong.  She held her in a vice like grip, one Victoria could not break no
matter how hard she tried.

Sod you then.

Victoria
preferred to conduct herself in violent situations using her fists.  However,
with her fists currently immobilized, she had no choice but to make her
intentions known using her legs, or more precisely in this case, her knees.

You asked for
it.

She jerked her
right leg up, bringing her knee straight into Alyssa's stomach.  She quickly
regretted this action; Alyssa didn't even blink.  Victoria, on the other hand,
found herself cringing in pain.  The girls stomach was solid as stone and the
pain Victoria was feeling in her knee almost brought tears to her eyes, causing
her to grit her teeth.  She didn't voice any of her pain (apart from a slight
'hmph!' that escaped from behind her teeth) but her mind certainly did.

Hells depths
that hurt!

Alyssa's head
had been down, but after Victoria's rash action, her head rose slowly.  The two
women's eyes met.  Victoria stared into the young girl's eyes.  They looked
rather...angry.

Great.  Just
great.  Now I've pissed it off.

Victoria had
expected the eyes to have been red or have gone black or some other action to
indicate the girl was something other than human.  Instead they just seemed
very displeased.         

This was it,
Victoria realised, she was done for.  She was at Alyssa's mercy, and it was
time to pay the price for her brash action.

Fine bloody
way to go out
she thought ruefully.

“Just get it
over with.” she hissed with a last act of defiance, turning her head so that
her neck was exposed.

If death was
coming, it had better be quick.

There was a
noise, like a hissing cat or something, and Victoria saw out of the corner of
her eye two pointed fangs jutting forth from the girl's upper jaw as she opened
her mouth, sliding forth to a spot just an inch from Victoria's throat. 
Victoria grimaced, before squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the end.  She
should be calling out, or screaming or something.  But no, no she'd not show
that kind of weakness, not even now.

I'm not going
to give you the satisfaction.

Precious seconds
passed.  She felt nothing.

She chanced
opening one eye, and instead of seeing a vampire from the very depths of hell
closing in for the kill, she saw a young girl...

...Crying?

Victoria blinked
and looked again.  No, she was right, the girl was crying.  Big tears were
rolling down her face past her glasses, even as she stood like a statue, mouth
still menacingly agape.  It was both tragic and oddly comical, as the girl had
not retracted her fangs and stood with the two huge canines still extended.

Those eyes
didn't look quite so angry now.

What the?

“Uh,” Victoria
could hardly believe what she said next, “are you ok?”

Alyssa sniffed
and suddenly let go of Victoria, stepping back.

Ordinarily when
an opponent made such a critical mistake Victoria would have taken the
opportunity, and made them pay dearly.  She normally took such action as
arrogance on the part of any enemy she faced.  She didn't this time.  Instead,
she holstered her pistol and let go of her sword that she had automatically
gripped in her free hand.

She was at a
loss as to how to deal with a vampire in tears.

Alyssa's head
was down again, little rivers of water still flowing, pooling round her
glasses.  She was sobbing; her sharp fangs protruded just past her chin and
looked unwieldy as she cried.  Victoria, despite protests from the more
militant side of her brain (
Attack!  Whilst you have the element of
surprise!
) reached forward and, with an incredible amount of care, placed
her hand on the girl’s shoulder.  Alyssa seemed as surprised by the motion as
Victoria was at making it, tensing slightly at the touch.  But Victoria was
finding herself feeling very, well, sorry for the girl was probably the best
way of putting it.  Though damned if she could figure out why, considering that
the girl had been about to bite her.

“You are a
strange one.” Victoria mused.

Alyssa removed
her glasses briefly to wipe her eyes, looking up as she did so.  “Guou Goon't
know the half of git.” she sniffed.

She looked
downright miserable even with the comically oversized teeth preventing her from
speaking in a coherent manner.

“You might want
to pull those in.” suggested Victoria very tentatively.

“Guorry.” said
Alyssa, doing so, the fangs slipping back with an odd slurping sound.  Victoria
grimaced
again
.
 It didn't sound very ladylike and looked pretty
disturbing truth be told.  It reminded her that she was dealing with something
very unnatural.

“This wasn't
supposed to happen,” Alyssa started, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.  “I
had a boyfriend and...and a best friend...” she trailed off.

She burst into
tears again, sobbing, the scene no longer as odd or funny without the fangs. 
For all the world she just looked like a frightened and miserable teenage girl.

“And a....and
a...a good job!”

She covered her
face with her hands and Victoria had to resist the urge to hug the poor girl
and tell her everything would be fine

What the
blazes is wrong with me?  She's a bloody vampire!

“I felt human
for once!” wailed Alyssa, in full stream now.

Ah so that's
it.  The poor girl didn't want to be a vampire.

At least that
explains why she'd been less than forthcoming with tearing me apart.  Thank the
Gods.

“Alright,
alright,” said Victoria, feeling more like a bloody social worker than an elite
Council of Peace investigator.  She was still unsure as to how to handle what
had quickly turned into an utterly bizarre situation.

“Just calm down
will you?  Take a seat.”

It was fortunate
that they were in an alley that had a variety of crates and barrels scattered
haphazardly about, giving them plenty of places to sit.  They chose two low
crates sitting beside each other.  Victoria, very carefully, led the sobbing
girl over.  She had relaxed a bit, though the instinctive part of her brain
ensured that one hand was resting on her holstered pistol, just in case.

Where the
hell is Malak?

They sat.

Victoria looked
at the bedraggled teenage girl before her.  The girl's glasses weren't sitting
right and her short hair was a mess now, tossed about in her mad dash for
escape.  Whilst her eyes weren't reddened from crying, the tears were plain to
see, leaving lines across her pale features and small puddles of water around
the glasses.  Without the fangs, you would never have guessed the girl was a
vampire, or indeed currently the most wanted individual in Larrick City. 
Tenderly (
Gods what is wrong with me!
) Victoria brushed the hair out of
the girl's face and looked at her,

She's so
young...looking.

“Alright.” she
said as Alyssa started to get control of herself.  “Tell me your story.”

Victoria liked
to build up the persona of 'hard-ass' but she found that some responded better
if she pretended to give a damn.  Or actually gave a damn; she still wasn't
sure which it was right now.  Part of her did actually care, whilst the other
part was demanding to know why she wasn't taking the opportunity to floor the
girl; or shoot her; or gut her; or all three for that matter.

Alyssa removed
her glasses again, wiping her eyes with her tunic sleeves.

“It was a year
and a half ago I think.” she began, her voice still a little broken.  “Just
before the peace.  He took me from my bed in the orphanage.”

She sniffed,
swallowing.  Victoria suspected this tale was going to awaken old emotions.

“I awoke but he
used some kind of water to put me to sleep again.” Alyssa continued, absent
mindedly rubbing her arms.  “When I woke up again, he'd already changed me.  I
don't know how.  I...I felt awful.”

Her eyes took on
a distant look, obviously searching her memories.

“He said I could
no longer eat or drink normal food, that I'd have to drink blood.  Human
blood.  I was horrified, said I'd never kill anyone.  But he said that I didn't
need to, said I would not kill.  Only drink enough to function.  The killing,
he said, would come later.”

She looked over
at Victoria and smiled with a touch of embarrassment. 

“That wasn't a
comforting thought.”

This story
sounded very much like one the girl hadn't told many or perhaps anyone at all.

“He seemed so
kind,” Alyssa said next, looking away to stare off again.  “like he regretted
changing me.  Said that I was special.  I liked that part at least.”

Her face
darkened.  “That was before I realised he was a liar.”

Victoria wanted
to ask just who she was referring to, but she let the girl continue

“Go on.”

Alyssa shrugged.