The Vampire Hunter's Academy: The Darkness (14 page)

That was why he could get inside her mind and block the master’s attempts. She needed a distraction. Besides, whenever she was around him, she became an open book. He hated leaving her, but Congo advised that his girl needed rest so that she could continue with their training. He could dig it. Besides, he needed some space to think. Plan. He needed more answers about master vampires, their abilities and what exactly she was up against. Memories of his recently abandoned life flooded his senses.

Standing on the corner of the high school he barely attended under the cover of night, he waited for the mysterious dealer to make an appearance. He already knew the deal on that fucker, and based on the number of bodies that has been disappearing since he came into town, King did not need to his heightened senses to tell him that the dealer was vampire. The plan? Exchange the package for money and be gone. The dealer’s minions were vampire too, while a few of them were demons utilizing glamor to appear human. Armed with a couple of Glocks, silver chains and a couple of knives he blessed with holy water. Before his parents were murdered, they taught him and his brother well. And even though they were probably rolling around in their graves, this was survival. He still needed to eat; he had a girlfriend at home he needed to take care of; plus, he wanted to get away from the very streets he ran. A part of him wanted a better life. His girlfriend and her mother deserved a better life even though at times they could not see it for themselves. As a matter of fact, he’d asked her several times what her thoughts were on moving out of Atlanta once he saved up enough money. At the time, she tossed a thick dookie braid over her shoulder and waved her colorfully manicured hand and dismissed him as she continued reading one of her gossip magazines.

One way or another, with or without LaQuanda, he was out of Atlanta.

His crew, which consisted of three other neighborhood hustlers he grew up with waited, positioned in the shadows with guns drawn. Of course, King knew the plan was farfetched, but none of his boys believed in vampires, had never seen one and wouldn’t have a clue what to do should they actually encounter a set of fangs. He could only hope that all of them would make it out of here alive, and as soon as the exchange was made, he would make himself ghost.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he brushed his fingers against the Glock he held tucked in his waistband. Sweat dripped from the back of his neck down his back, courtesy of the August humidity, and his white T clung to him like second skin. His nerve endings ignited with fire as the all too familiar scent of sulfur entered his nasal passages. He spit and narrowed his gaze. A limousine pulled up, leaving it impossible for him to see beyond the tinted windows. But he didn’t need to see into the tine to know what he was up against. The limo came to a stop in front of him, and he tensely waited for someone to emerge from the vehicle.

The tinted window slowly rolled down to reveal the dealer behind the deaths. His breathing slowed to deep inhales to attempt to slow down his increasing heart rate. His palms tingled with the temptation to reach for his Glock, but he kept them hanging loosely at his sides. The vampire drug lord sat relaxed against the leather interior. Don is what he called himself, but in the streets, he was known as The Black Death. Jet black hair slicked back to perfection, dark brown eyes with a hint of crimson in the center of his irises; creamy café au lait skin and dressed to the nines in a business suit. Don smiled, revealing a set of ivory fangs which led to a series of events King will never forget.

Two creatures materialized next to King, but he didn’t bristled. He never moved an inch. Unfortunately, Vernon, his best friend since kindergarten shouted, “What the fuck?!” And then all hell broke loose. Cursing, King moved quickly, incapacitating one of the vampire henchmen by wrapping a silver chain around his neck, bringing the six foot entity to his knees in a screaming hiss. Gun shots rang out, and the blood curdling screams of another one of his friends was soon cut short when King heard bones snap. Several more vampires materialized from the limo, surrounding King and it was then he realized that he was going to die tonight or worse…wake up three days later feigning for blood. He would not accept the latter, so yanking out both Glocks, he went Scarface on all of them, spinning around in a circle unleashing round after round. They dematerialized and reappeared in varying spots, with the goal of forcing him to exhaust his ammo.

The package he was carrying had tumbled off into the street. Sirens were closing in and he was still in the middle of a fight for his life. He pulled the trigger as his last round of bullets finally plunged into the neck, face and chest of one of his enemies and then somehow the streetlights went out. He could hear their snarls, Don’s laughter and the subtle movements of something else in the shadows before he was hit in the back of the head and collapsed onto the pavement unconscious.

He awoke to find himself handcuffed on a hospital bed and the watchful stare of Atlanta’s top detective, Allen Gordon. He was facing criminal charges involving possession, conspiracy to distribute and murder. His life was about to go down the toilet in just a matter of hours when Congo, Archer and Tia walked in that day. He remembered being extremely pissed off at them for not finding him sooner and for not being there for his parents when they needed them most. As a matter of fact, he recalled being willing to face his fate with the judge instead of leaving the hospital and police custody with them. And despite his hostile protests, he went with them anyways…

And he was grateful. He found out shortly after his arrival that The Vatican had been searching for him for some time after it was discovered that his parents were murdered. Because he and his brother had no next of kin for the state to look to, they were lost in the system, which was another thing that angered him: had the courts not separated them, his brother may have lived. He would have protected him from the wrong people. He might have chosen a more positive path instead of the streets of darkness where he blossomed in his rage and anger for years. But he was here now, with a second chance to protect someone he cared about…

So, yeah he was definitely asking questions and kicking some ass during training, so the next time he found himself surrounded by a group of vamps, he would have a team with him. Sanaya would not have to fight this battle alone.

Chapter Eighteen             

“Forget everything you thought you knew,” Eve began as she circled the young team of potential Guardians. “Last night, some of you witnessed a serious psychic attack conducted by a master level vampire.” She listened to the surprised gasps coming from both Charlie and Lisa who were fortunate enough to not have witnessed the traumatizing event. She stopped in front of Sanaya who kept her eyes focused on the ground, muscles tenses. “It is not your fault Sanaya. We have been trying spoon feed you everything we felt you should know according to the phases typical of a Slayer. But we were wrong. You are not like the previous Slayers. We wanted to give you more time to figure out who and what you are on your own and simply guide you through the process. Again, we were wrong. There is no time.”  Her eyes met Archer’s who stood behind the group in the gym. Eve continued to circle the teens, eyeing each one and making mental notes of their weaknesses while Archer continued the speech.

“For the last few days a master level vampire has been tracking our slayer and desperately trying to figure out a way in, and last night he was almost successful. He came in as a projected image of himself and attempted to snatch her. He banked on her being too young and not fully matured yet to activate whatever powers she has to defend herself. Slayers are not just fighters ladies and gentlemen. They are living, breathing weapons. Sanaya’s scent alone is a weapon. Her blood is a weapon. She was born to hunt and kill vampires as easily as she breathes.” He paused studying their faces. “And last night, she reminded the fucker just who the fuck she is.”

“What did she do?” Lisa asked glancing at Sanaya.

“We are not sure how she did it, but Eve says her eyes burned bright silver and burned the bastard’s retinas out. He fled before she could finish him off.”

A sense of awe blanketed the room and now all eyes were on Sanaya.

“But that’s not everything,” Archer continued. “Sanaya was able to get him off of her, but that did nothing but piss him off even more. He attacked her again mentally, which all vampires are capable of doing. He forced himself into her mind with the goal of driving her out of the safety of the group with his call. Had it not been for King, it would have been one hell of a night for the Slayer.”

Now all eyes were on King, with Maya offering a knowing smirk. He shot a glance to Eve who simply smiled at him which made him stand a little taller.

“I am telling you this because even though all of you are highly gifted, you still need each other’s backs. It is important for you to be aware of one another’s strengths and weaknesses but one of you might be person who either saves your teammate’s life or be the cost of it. For instance, we all know Maya can summon demons at will and has proven to be a strong Clairvoyant. Summoning demons is a bit of a struggle for Guardians to accept, but think of the possibility. Imagine all of you trapped in a known hell cavern surrounded by legions of demons. Eight against thousand, you figure out the odds. With her ability to summon, she can also control them which may give you enough time in your fight to get the hell out of dodge.” Archer shrugged. “Just sayin…”

“And Charlie is no slouch either,” Eve added. “Telekinesis is her talent. She can manipulate all forms of matter with her mind. So if the day comes when it is raining bullets, she can project a force field around you. Just like with all of your gifts, the possibilities are endless.”

“Lisa is our other fighting machine,” Archer stated planting a firm palm on her shoulder. Lisa’s slanted eyes surveyed the group around her nervously. “Don’t be shy about your gifts Lisa. You are the group’s Seer. You can look into past and present events and paired with Sanaya the both of you can warn the group of pending doom or look to the past for answers to present questions. Plus, the girl has moves like Jet Li in action.”

Lisa’s grin widened when Archer moved next to King who eyed him suspiciously. “And this is our diamond in the rough,” He added evenly. “This guy came onto campus already equipped with experience from fighting vamps and demons. Not only can he sense them like our Slayer, but he can smell them-which I may add, sucks. This guy is a strong Clairvoyant which is how I suspect he managed to back that master off of Sanaya. Plus, he has some tactical energy in palms he can manipulate. If any of you want someone to have your back other than Sanaya, this would be your guy.”

“And let’s not forget about Trent,” Eve said approaching the young man with a grin. “He is our audio who can hear a pin drop a mile away. Not only that, he operates like a reverse audio which you all witnessed him do when he threw his voice across the gym which confused all of you. In a fight that can come in handy when you are targeting a vampire or a werewolf.”

“Last but not least,” Archer said as he approached the kid everyone called Bullet. The twitchy kid bounced from foot to foot, his blue eyes lit with anticipation as the group faced him. “This is our superhero. He may be faster than Sanaya, but that won’t be determined until I clock them. Last time I checked, Bullet can reach speeds of one hundred miles per hour. He can outrun the fastest land mammal on the planet with ease. Honestly, we have never seen anything or anyone like him but the problem is, he can only maintain that speed for a short period of time before his body threatens to overheat…Sanaya requires some time to build her speed and she does not utilize it as often as she should. Bullet, on the other hand is twitchy as hell. It’s almost as if he is required to move at that speed constantly just to keep his organs functioning properly.” Archer offered the lanky boy a grin along with a power bar which he greedily accepted. “Now that you all know who and what each other can offer to the team, start acting like a team. Bullet could be useful in a rescue mission when seconds count. Help each other to grow and expand your gifts. This is the first time a Guardian team has been assembled before the Slayer decides who she wants on her team. Prove us right that you deserve your position because we have a hundred other students to choose from. Understand?”

When the group mumbled in agreement, Eve, Tia, Archer, Congo, Tatsu and Asim lined up in front of them wearing serious expressions.

“Now let us begin,” Eve growled as her fangs lengthened.

Petronius smiled as he watched from his HD 60’’ flat screen the master vampire known as Ronan moan in pain as he fed from another victim hoping to repair his eyes. The damage was done. Silver burned his eye sockets to mush and it would not matter how much he fed, his eyes could never be repaired. The poor bastard might as well step out into the sun and allow daylight to finish him off. Taking a seat on his leather office chair, he reclined to face the moonless night sky view from the twenty fifth floor vantage point, remembering the days of old when vampires were worshipped like gods and could roam the infant cities and streets freely until the day the very first Slayer stepped onto the scene. Since then, vampires and all supernatural entities alike had to retreat to the shadows where they have operated ever since, and it will not be until a day walker is born that the offense of the sun may be remedied.

Alex was supposed to be here for their meeting. Daemon had not been invited as it were discovered that his dear and ambitious brother had other plans of his own. The Beast had called a meeting to discuss the future of the vampire race and what their plans were to deal with the new Slayer. Smoothing out the lapels of his blood red suit jacket, he misted into the atmosphere to the second tenth floor where the board room was located to find The Beast, disguised as a human from European descent, dressed in a black Tom Ford exclusive suit, with his chestnut brown hair slicked back exposing his handsome features seated at the head of the table. Alex materialized soon after opting for the tuxedo and bow tie look, as if he were on his way to a ball. The Beast scowled as soon as the vampire took a seat across from Petronius.