Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Trying to squeeze through the crowd of Lightbringers at the crack of dawn was not on my to-do list of the day.

“I don’t… have much…” I pushed my body between the heavily armored men. “... more to say about… the incident…”

Bazak stepped in front of me so I couldn’t push through his men any further. His white hair stood out among the younger soldiers. I was so tired of his white hair. I was so tired of all the fair hair that had been in my evening. At least with the vampire, it wasn’t due to age. Sighing, I put my hands on my hips.

“We’re sharing details, are we? Have you heard any news of my mother’s disappearance?”

For just a moment, his eyes flicked away before refocusing. I knew whatever he was about to say was a lie. It was always a lie. “We have nothing new to report. We all miss her dearly.”

“Then we have nothing more to talk about today,” I said as I tried to push myself around him.

His hand pushed against my shoulder, and with little effort, he stopped me in my place. Despite his age, he was still at his peak level of strength. There was a reason he was their commander.

“Sylvia, you will tell me more. You’re acting suspiciously.”

I tried to let him push my shoulder back to throw him off balance, but all it did was to cause him to grab me by the other as well, holding me in place. I huffed and tried to pull away. People were moving about, starting their days. Causing more of a scene was the only way I was getting out of the situation. Bazak hated that type of public perception.

“I told you everything I know. Please stop harassing me!” His grip tightened around my shoulder instead and caused me to wince in pain. “Let me go, Bazak.”

“Tell me what happened, Sylvia. “

“I already did.”

“You’re lying,” he said as he squeezed tighter.

A strange feeling overwhelmed me. Anger being a big driver, but that wasn’t it alone. Something new, something powerful rumbled inside me. Latching onto it, I used that feeling to help me say in a firm voice, “Leave me alone.”

The air vibrated as I said it and Bazak immediately dropped his hands with a confused look on his face. His eyes glowered at me, drilling into me with loathing. I watched as that familiar look of anger transformed his face. Everyone thought of him as some benevolent leader, but I knew better.

“We will be back later,” he said as he motioned for his men to disperse.

Shock covered my face. He never gave up that easily. I don’t know what the vibration was, or what the feeling was, as it was already gone. All I could feel was an intense exhaustion pulling on my senses. The men looked confused at his order, but they listened and started moving away. Whatever I had done, it had worked, and I was thankful for the respite.

I rolled my eyes and finally could push past him as I mumbled, “I’m really tired of hearing that already.”

Reaching my door, I looked back at the commander. He stood alone, burning me with a gaze of utter hate. The feeling was entirely mutual. I went inside and slammed the door behind me, putting a physical barrier between myself and the commander. Finally in a familiar place of safety, I slid down against the door and collapsed in a sob.

My mental walls could finally come down and the insanity of the evening came crashing in waves. Curling into a ball, I tried to hold myself as tightly as I could while the tears freely streamed down my face. It had been literal years since I let such emotions consume me. Bazak being the last to elicit them.

The vampire did his worst, apparently. He tried to kill me and it didn’t work. He tried again, and it didn’t work the second time. But Bazak, he could do far worse to me. I already knew he was capable of cruelty, even if no one else did. I’d take dying in a field of flowers over whatever hell Bazak would put me through.

Several moments passed. I let the exhaustion and horror freely run over me. My emotions had full control, and they wanted to make me a sobbing mess. That was what I was that morning, a mess. I could feel the exhaustion pulling at the edge of my eyes, could even swear I saw a lick of that misting darkness. Every time it appeared, my eyes couldn’t focus on it and it was quickly gone. I took a deep breath to center myself.

Rolling into a sitting position, I struggled to pull off my muddy shirt. My head got stuck in it and my only reaction was a soft cry of frustration. Wiggling myself around, I managed to free my head from my disgusting clothing. My open floor plan allowed me to crawl toward my bedding. I knew I had things to do, but I just needed a few moments of respite. There were only so many things I could handle before a nice nap was my only desire. Giving into that desire seemed like the best idea at that moment.

I flipped onto the bed and curled underneath the many furs and quilts I had. Pulling an old stuffed bear into my chest, I held it close, letting its memories comfort me. My mother had given it to me after father had passed. It comforted me then and comforted me when she went missing. It was the one thing that truly made me feel connected to her still. I let its soft body snuggle into my chest and give me the solace I needed. My body took note and pulled me into slumber.

His eyes pierced the darkness of my mind in a red cloud. They were watching me, waiting for me. Panic filled my thoughts, remembering what he had done. I tried to run, tried to hide, but there they were at every turn. I watched as my body froze in place, his hands roaming up in the darkness. They took hold of me and swiftly pulled me under. My hands tried to grab onto something, anything, to keep me afloat, but they just slid across the ground, empty. Darkness consumed me.

A pounding on my door shattered my fitful sleep. In a frantic haze, I pulled on a practical dress and tried to comb some of the dirt out of my hair as the knocking continued.

A voice rang out, calling my name. My tension evaporated when I realized it was the bookstore owner. I was afraid Bazak was back to interrogate me, but luckily, it was just someone who was expecting a delivery. Braiding my hair as I walked to the door, I opened it with one hand before continuing the braid.

There before me stood a portly man with a look of concern on his face. I smiled at him standing there, obviously worried about me. It was comforting that someone cared enough to see how I was when I went missing from a set date.

“Sylvia! My dear! Are you okay?”

I smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you, Mr. Pendergrass. I’m okay. Thank you for checking on me.”

He turned my body this way and that, inspecting to see if I was harmed, then smacked my hand playfully. “You gave me a fright, my dear! You were late with your delivery. At first I waited because you’re always late, but this time you were really late! I asked a patron if they had seen or heard anything and they told me the most dreadful tale!”

Word traveled fast in our town.

“It attacked you in the woods at night and the Lightbringers think you’re conspiring with vampires?”

My mouth fell open in shock. “Well, not exactly….”

“You look like a mess, m’dear!”

“I didn’t get attacked out there, but I nearly did.” I went on to tell him the version of altered events that happened. All the way up to the Lightbringers accusing me of mischief. “Why would I lie, Mr. Pendergrass?”

“They must not know you very well,” he laughed. I could see the wrinkles of age around his eyes. Mr. Pendergrass had been a genuine friend to me these past few years. He took a chance on me when so many would have rather ignored me. It allowed me to grow my business into what it was today.

The Lightbringers weren’t too fond of his bookstore. I had heard them muttering about sharing knowledge with those who didn’t deserve it. If it wasn’t for their protection against the darkness and what hides within it, I don’t think anyone would allow the Lightbringers the power they had. At least, I hoped that people wouldn’t let them have it.

“But you’re okay? You’re not hurt?” I often thought of him as a father-like figure. He was one of the few men I ever granted that thought.

I smiled at him and nodded. “Yes, I’m okay. A little dirty still. I just came in and crashed. I was far too exhausted from running through the woods. Sorry I missed your delivery. I can get it ready right now if you don’t mind waiting.”

“I don’t mind. I was more worried about your safety than any tea,” he said as he patted my shoulder.

He chatted with me as I boxed up his goods and finished tidying myself up while laughing about some of his recent patrons and the odd requests he received. It was nice to have someone care for me as he did. I enjoyed the company and the conversation. Together we carried a few bags of fresh tea leaves and herbs with us down the street to his bookshop.

I had slept the day away. The sun was already making its descent toward the horizon. The exhaustion had truly taken over and had stolen the daylight hours from me. It surprised me that Mr. Pendergrass was the only one to interrupt my slumber. Surely the Lightbringers weren’t done harassing me.

By the time I was leaving his shop, the night was pulling in and the dark fog was hanging over the city. My gaze looked at the sky as I started walking home. It was painted with purple and red hues as the sun set, coloring the city with a much needed flavor. I needed to get home. I couldn’t be out at night. He was going to come back for me and I wasn’t about to be caught—

“What is it that you even do?” That smooth voice cut through the air.

My shoulders dropped and I could feel the fear creep back into my body, slowing my walk. There he was, casually leaning against the stone of a nearby building. The silver eyes watching me like the predator he was. His hair was braided and pulled back so one would know how illustrious it was. It made me wonder how much effort he put into it. I kept walking, ignoring him entirely, and watched as he scrambled to catch up with me. The movement was clumsy and ruined the entire hunter persona he was trying to exude. He wasn’t about to exhibit his incredible speed and strength to stop me at dusk when people were still milling about, finishing their days.

“I was making a delivery.”

“What kind of delivery? What do you do in that glass building of yours?”

“It’s a greenhouse. I grow plants.”

He was quiet, offering no witty or harsh commentary. I turned my head to look at him and saw him raising his eyebrow, trying to think hard on what were apparently my very difficult words. Why a greenhouse confused him was unbeknownst to me.

“So you deliver… plants?”

“Yes.”

“For what reason?”

Letting out a scoff, I stopped and turned to him. He wasn’t expecting me to pause on our promenade across the city. With a dramatic flourish, he had to turn on his heel and backtrack to face me. A look of irritation was evident on his face. It was so peculiar to see his mannerisms and how he carried himself. The man before me now was not the man I had assumed he would be. He was not the violent predator I had dreamt about. How he had behaved the previous night was forceful and demanding. The man in front of me now was acting curious and confused about the growing of plants.

It made me wonder how little he knew about humans if he didn’t even understand the concept of growing plants for them to consume. How isolated and old was he? Maybe he truly didn’t understand. It did me no good to cause any additional trouble with him, so I opted to explain it as if he was a child.

“Humans use various plants for meals, drinks, and medicinal reasons. I grow those plants and sell them to different vendors and consumers.”

“Humans are strange. Couldn’t you just do that outside? Why a glass house?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at him. The whole interaction was so surreal. This man drained my entire body of blood the night before. He tried to kill me in an alleyway. Here I was explaining gardening to him. His eyebrows furrowed at my laugh and he turned to walk away from me.

“Are you ready to go?”

I let out an annoyed sigh and said, “No. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Oh, so you’re choosing the guys outside your glass house then,” he said while flipping his hand away.

My eyes widened. They were back at my home? I took off in a run, startling him as I sprinted past. I heard him groan and his footsteps were soon following behind me. Bazak and his crew must be looking for me again. I knew they’d show up eventually. He couldn’t resist harassing me after everything that had happened. This was only giving him the reason he needed. I couldn’t let anything happen to my home. It was all I had after he took everything from me.

We rounded a corner, and the sky was alit in flames. Tears immediately streamed down my face as I saw my home, my garden, my life blazing away into the evening sky. I tried to sprint toward it, but felt arms around me, pulling me back.

“Let me go!”

“No.”

His grip was tight.

“That’s my home! My bear! I need my bear!”

I heard him let out an annoyed noise.“Your what?”

“My bear, it’s all I had… it’s all I have left of my mother…”

I dropped to my knees as he let me slide to the ground. The fire grew higher into the sky, the plants inside giving fuel to the flames. I tried to scream in anguish, but his hand covered my mouth, muffling me. The fire quickly consumed the building, and I watched as I lost everything I had left.

There, standing proudly in front of the building, was a silhouette I recognized; Bazak’s. That horrible man stole my mother and now stole my home. A rage built inside of me, one I couldn’t control. It was an urge to destroy him, to kill all of them. Tendrils of darkness were actually invading the edges of my vision.

Pulling at the fingers covering my mouth, I let out a scream, and the street vibrated. The windows shook as the scream cascaded down toward the men. Heads whipped around toward us and I heard the vampire let out another groan.

“You’re going to be the death of me, aren’t you?” With little effort, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Whirling around, the Lightbringers unsheathed their swords and ran right toward us.