The moment Mina stepped out of that musty bar, she immediately realized that Kellam’s motorbike was gone. The tire tracks were there, but that was it. She looked around, hands resting on her hips. The street seemed empty, devoid of any life. She wondered if those bikers stole it or did something to it, out of spite.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
Someone tapped her on the shoulder so suddenly, that she was on the verge of breaking the guy’s arm but she managed to restrain herself, still on guard. With Mina, it was a natural state. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down even when she was asleep.
“Was that your bike?”
The voice belonged to a scrawny little boy of no more than ten. She realized that his feet were bare and dirty. His fingernails were black underneath. She wondered how he could walk on hard gravel, like that, without any shoes.
“Where is it?” she asked him, eyeing his tiny frame, greasy hair and dirty clothes.
“Barry had it moved to the back of the bar,” he explained, pointing with his bony little finger.
Mina knew that he was referring to Barry, the owner, whose nickname was Barracuda, and hence the name of the bar. This is where she and Kellam always used to meet Emile, even though they always tried to keep a low profile, never mingling with anyone, never chatting or getting to know anyone. It was just too risky.
“It was in the way,” the boy continued, seeing that she said nothing. “Don’t worry. It’s over there.”
He pointed at a little back alley, which led behind the bar. It looked like any other alley, hidden from plain sight and for that reason alone, dangerous.
“Thanks, kid.”
She rushed over, but the moment she entered the alley, she realized that it was a trap. She should have known better.
In front of her, a few feet away, she saw the tall guy who had approached her at the bar, with a few guys next to him. They were all swinging weapons in their hands. One even had a pair of nun chucks. She felt like giggling at the thought, knowing she could swing that shit way better than he could, but this was no time for giggling.
She turned around, but not really to escape. On the contrary, she did it so she could see how many of them there were, and how she should open this can of whoop-ass. As the tall guy approached her first, she tried to check him for any marks. He was dressed in leather pants and a jacket, all of which didn’t allow for much visibility in terms of tattoos or any other markers, which might tell her which clan they belonged to, and also, who sent them after her. Or maybe, this was just their lucky day, to have stumbled onto a slayer, and they thought they could kill her quickly and go home to be heroes. Well, too bad.
“Now you, really, look lost, little girl,” the guy grinned, and there were a few chuckles behind him.
He was standing right in front of her. If she reached out with her arms, she could touch him, which meant he could do the same. She had to be on guard, wait for them to make the first move. They always make the wrong judgment about her, seeing her slender build and sweet face. With that angelic visage, she really didn’t look like she could ever hurt anyone. And, Mina was usually more than happy to let them live in this conviction, until it was too late and they were already lying in the pool of their own blood, taking their last breath.
“I don’t want no trouble,” she started, purposely speaking slowly, and sounding as if she was afraid. She was very good at that. She took one step back, to strengthen this false impression, but it was unnecessary. They already bought it.
“Maybe you don’t, but trouble is what you found,” the guy hissed, baring his teeth. “You probably taste sweet, Goldilocks. Too hot or too cold? What do you say, boys?”
From the way that he addressed them, she realized she was wrong. He wasn’t looking for their approval. He already had it, because he was their leader. She made a mental note not to jump to conclusions again, like that. That might come at a heavy price.
The bikers all roared with laughter. To them, this was a done deal. She was as good as dead. Now, they might as well have some fun with her, before the job was done.
“I say she’s just right,” the guy clicked his tongue against the tip of his teeth, then approached her even closer, almost breathing in her face now.
She could almost smell the rotting flesh on his teeth, the whiff of blood all around him. They’d probably fed recently. That smell of blood was always hard to get rid of. Suddenly, he turned around to the side and she noticed a small, vampire ankh tattoo, right underneath his left ear. The bottom of it was a pointy dagger, aimed to the left. Mina immediately knew he belonged to the Sanguinity clan. Only they had that tattoo.
It was a clan of rural nomads and she was surprised to see them here, so far in the city. They usually steered clear of overly civilized places and were one of the less troublesome clans. Neither she nor Kellam had ever had any encounters with them, so Mina knew she had to be extra vigilant. A clan she’d never fought before could mean new powers, new skills, and that could mean her downfall, if she wasn’t careful enough.
“You know, I’m almost sorry to do this,” he kept on talking, almost sensually now. “You and I could have had some fun together.”
She felt his hand graze her cheek, which was burning now. His nail was trailing a line on her skin, pressing hard, but not hard enough to pierce.
“But, it wasn’t meant to be…”
He raised his hand to strike her down, but she was faster. She rolled away from him, to the side and this gave the others a chance to attack. Her silver blade flew out of her pocket, ready to shed vampire blood. Her leg immobilized one of them, leaving him on the ground, while she snapped the neck of the one next to him. There were three left, not counting the leader, who seemed to stand by and wait for them to bring her to him.
Her blade sliced through the heart of the guy next to her, while the other grabbed her by the hand. She turned swiftly and her heel kicked him right in the chin, sending him down to the ground. The fifth one came at her with his fists, but she slid between his legs, severing both of his muscle calves. He fell straight to the ground, bleeding profusely, unable to move.
She got back to her feet, breathing heavily. These guys were just child’s play. She’d had more dangerous stuff than them for breakfast. However, with the tall guy… something told her she should watch out.
“Nicely done, Goldilocks,” he actually clapped for her, circling around her, like a vulture.