he hood of my black jacket kept my eyes hidden from view, casting them in shadows. Peering over the fence, I made sure the coast was clear before I smoothly swung my long, tanned legs over the white, picket fence and landed gracefully on the other side. The grass had clearly just been cut, and the sprinklers were running, having already dampened the ground beneath my white sandaled feet.
I ran to the side of the three story house without being detected. I was careful not to bump into any of the lawn decorations that lined the house. To me, the gnome and the fake deer were too much. Pointless. The humans that resided in the house quite obviously were flaunting their money by buying such expensive ornaments. The greed and pride in these beings was sickening to say the least.
Grabbing a firm hold of the many vines that were growing up the side of the house with my fingerless gloved hands, I started climbing up the side, using the ledges and crevasses of the brick wall to my advantage. I was lighter than a human, as my bones were not as dense. This made the climb easy. If I had weighed that of a human, the vines would have easily snapped beneath the weight.
The balcony on the second floor gave me a good chance to stop and make sure I was all set. Grabbing a hold of the railing, I jumped on the balcony, where a grill and a few chairs stood. I crept to the side of the house right next to the sliding door that led to the living room by the looks of it. “Are you sure this is the right place, Dia?” I asked my faithful familiar as I kept my eyes peered for any signs of movement in the shadows.
Dia flew out from my necklace, which was a cage, where she stayed so as to be out of the way. Her wings, a brilliant blue, provided light in the darkened night. Dia was a fairy, as beautiful as she was small. Pin straight red hair spilled out of her head in bunches. Her green eyes were bright and welcoming. The pink cocktail-like dress she wore was one I had fashioned myself. “I am most certainly positive, my Lady. The pendent is surely inside. I can sense its power. He is probably sucking out the life force of the family as we speak.”
I sighed as I tried the sliding door, which was unlocked. Humans were all too trusting. That was their greatest flaw. Sneaking inside, I didn’t even bother to shut the door behind me. Dia followed me, slipping back into the cage necklace around my neck. Stopping, I listened. A creak upstairs brought my attention to the staircase. Making my way to the base of the stairs, I peered up through the darkness.
The details of the house were of no use to me, so I didn’t even bother to look around and take note of all the furniture. I was focused on my only goal, and it alone. I started up the stairs, taking them two at a time easily. At the top, I heard the soft call for help, a sound no other human would have been able to hear.
Racing into the room, I threw the door open and took out my dagger. I sliced at the creature, which was leaning over the boy, with the consecrated cold iron blade. The shtriga screeched in pain as it slumped back. The boy, I saw, was really about seventeen or eighteen and scared out of his mind. He jumped out of the bed and ran for the door. Bad move.
The shtriga saw the sudden movement and leapt at him. This creature must be desperate for life force if it was attempting to over power me for this lowly human. I threw my dagger in the knick of time, catching the shtriga on the arm, pinning him to the wall. Pulling out another, I jumped and made it to the door before the boy. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the corner of the room behind me.
“Stay down,” I told him firmly, turning my attention back to the creature at hand. With my other dagger drawn, I made to go attack him, but the Shtriga had grabbed my own dagger and thrown it back at me. I caught it between my index finger and my thumb right before it would have pierced my heart, but I wasn’t able to get out of the way as it tackled me to the ground, making me drop the daggers, scattering them on the floor.
Cursing under my breath, I was about to have Dia go and retrieve them, but the kid was up and scrambling to grab one. “Stay back!” I yelled at him. I didn’t want him to get in the way, or all the weeks of stalking this thing would be wasted. It would kill the kid and get away from me. Again.
But the kid didn’t listen. He grabbed the dagger and tried to plunge it into the Shtriga’s back. But, it turned, unpinning me, grabbed the dagger, and was about to turn the knife around and slice the kid open with it.
I was up in a flash, pulling the kid’s arm out from the Shtriga’s cold fingers. Pushing the kid back, he fell onto his bed while I took the dagger in my left shoulder. Wincing, I took out my long sword made of the same cold iron and sliced its head off in one smooth motion. The demon shriveled up, leaving a lone blue pendent in its wake.
Sheathing my sword, I was thrilled to have finally killed the prey I had been hunting for three weeks. I grabbed the pendant I had come for, pocketing it. Pulling out the dagger, my essence began flowing out of the wound.
“W-what’s wrong with your wound?” the kid asked frantically, his eyes were still wide with terror. He was standing on the other side of the bed, keeping the bed between the two of us. Like that was going to stop me.
Turning, I was at the kid’s side in a second. Grabbing his shoulder, I pushed him up against the wall. “Don’t move,” I warned him. I leaned in and planted my mouth atop his. A human would have mistaken my action as a kiss. But, what I was doing was stealing his essence and using it to replenish my own. The added essence closed up the wound. I didn't need much, as the wound wasn’t nearly bad at all.
I could see why the Shtriga so desperately wanted this kid. He was delicious. He tasted like nothing I had ever encountered before. My pupils widened as I drank slowly, savoring the taste. His essence was rich, something normal humans didn’t usually have. They were usually airy and bland. But, there was a special kick to this kid. I had hardly tasted him and the wound was closed.
When I pulled back, I noticed the blood had rushed to his face. Blushing. This poor human child knew nothing at all. I turned and retrieved all of my weapons. “Wait! What was all that?” the boy asked rather annoyed.
I raised one thin brown eyebrow. “You couldn’t put it all together on your own?” I asked. When he said nothing, I sighed. “Look, kid, that Shtriga was after your life force. I stopped it before it could do any damage. You should be fine.” The Shtriga’s blood coated the blade. I found a shirt askew on the floor and used it to clean the dagger.
“Hey! That’s my favorite shirt!” the kid cried. I shook my head. The attachments to unimportant artifacts humans had, I would never understand. Something as pointless as a shirt was easily replaced. “What about that kiss?” he asked, clearly embarrassed. His green irises couldn’t quite meet my own.
I chuckled softly. “That was not a kiss, but the only way I could heal myself.” When he looked at me cluelessly, I continued, “I am not human, so I do not bleed. My essence spills out in small amounts. It’s similar to humans and blood. If I bleed my essence for too long, I cease to exist. So, I needed to close the wound as soon as I could. The only way to do that is with the essence of someone else. I don’t take much, just enough to get me by, so don’t worry. Go back to bed, kid. Tomorrow, it’ll all seem like a bizarre dream.”
“My name isn’t kid, you know. It’s Shunsuke.” I shrugged. It mattered not to me. I’d never see the kid again. It was just a parting, a random coincidence. I started for the window, figuring it was safer to go out then the way I had come. “Wait, aren’t you going to tell me your name?” he asked.
I smirked over my shoulder, one leg dangling out the window. “It would do you no good. Other than to fantasize about me. Make something up. Isn’t that what you humans do when you don’t know the truth?” I replied as I slipped back out, climbing onto the roof and jumping to the next house over, my trench coat billowing in the wind as I ran.
That kid, Shunsuke, was different than the other humans I normally encountered, but that didn’t mean I was going to do anything about him. Humans were weak and tainted. He was different in the tainted area, but he was weak. Sure, he had an unusual essence, but it was nothing to concern myself with.
~.~
Slamming the door behind me, I stormed down the hall. My long, curly black hair fell in waves down my back free from the usual jacket I wore. My bare arms swung in rhythm of my fast paced walk. My hands were clenched in fists, one holding a folder tightly. Grumbling, I made my way back to my chamber where I would have to pack and get ready to go.
Dia flew out of the cage around my neck. “My Lady, what ails you? It won’t be so bad. The boy seemed quite cute,” she giggled softly.
I shook my head. Being cute didn’t matter. “He’s just a human. I’m in charge of babysitting a human. The others will have a field day with it; I’ll never hear the end of it.” I turned down a corridor, and bumped into Lana Woods.
She turned, startled. “Oh, Kayden.” She smiled warmly. “Off on a mission?” She asked, knowing full well what it was I had to go do. But, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of making me squirm. I, Kayden Nicole, squirmed to no one. I was higher ranked than all of them. I deserved respect. Dia, who was perched on my shoulder, gave me a warm pat on the side of my neck.
“Just a little assignment. Nothing to get to excited over,” I shrugged as I brushed passed her. My room was nearly in sight. If I could just make it there without being stopped again.
“Your ‘little assignment’ is a pretty big embarrassment to the Ghile’s name. Oh how your parents would be-” I turned, an eerie smile plastered on my face, cutting her off.
“Do we really want to get into shaming our family’s name. The Westley’s are pretty well known for your slip up at the fight of the Ichors. I do believe you ran and hid while I fought on my own. Some help you were. I do believe you haven’t been given a decent assignment since.” I shrugged nonchalantly. With that, I turned on my heels and proceeded to my room.
Shutting the door behind me, I flew onto my bed, throwing the folder onto the floor. Dia, hovering over my head, sighed softly. “You always get so worked up. You need to work on just letting it all go.” she told me, as she had numerous times before.
I rolled over onto my back so that I was face-to-face with her. My icy, blue eyes meeting her green ones. “I know, I know. But, they get me so riled up. They know nothing about me, yet they are so quick to judge me. I cannot simply let them talk to me in that manner.”
Dia dropped and stood on my forehead. “Maybe getting out and spending time in the human world would do you some good. Think of it like research.” When she saw my incredulous look, she continued quickly. “You have your mind set on what they are like. This way, you will be able to see for yourself. You talk about the others judging you before they know you, yet you are doing the same to the humans. Give them a chance.”
I sighed, crying out loud. “You are always the voice of reason. What would I do without you?” I asked. I sat up, catching Dia in the palm of my hand as she fell off my forehead. She shrugged her tiny, delicate shoulders.
Setting her on the bed, I moved around the room and packed my things, throwing everything into my duffel bag. I didn’t have much, so it didn’t take long. I changed into a short, black skirt and a blue, kimono-styled shirt. I grabbed the folder which contained the information on the mission I had been assigned. Opening the folder, the picture of the boy stared up at me.
If I looked at the boy with an open mind instead of going off all the awful things I thought of them, I had to admit he was cute. Shunsuke Mukuro, age eighteen. He had spiky black hair, blue eyes, a lip piercing, and looked pretty toned. I wondered if he was an athlete, what kind of person he was.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my duffel bag and opened the cage to my necklace, which Dia flew into. I slipped out of my room and out of headquarters without anyone stopping to talk to me. Shunsuke Mukuro, I was coming for you.
