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Eukara Vox -> Gate into Darkness (7/3/2008 4:06:35)
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The lights on the street barely flickered in the thick air that hung on this side of town. Shadows moved under the lights; secret transactions no one was supposed to see wavered in the mist. But she saw it. She saw everything.
Elyra scanned the area for anything unusual. She enjoyed her vantage point. This apartment had been in bad condition for so long that no one ever came up anymore; its location on the thirteenth floor was an excellent place to watch for signs of abnormal behavior. The bedroom window was devoid of glass, making it the perfect perch to watch the world below. Sitting in the window frame, Elyra’s left leg hung down the wall, while her right leg was pulled up to her chin. Out of pure boredom she played with one of her daggers. Waiting for Ess to call with an update has got to be one of the most annoying things I have to do in my day.
An argument ensued under a light post below her. Another deal gone bad. Let me guess, the stuff wasn’t the good quality the dealer wanted. Elyra closed her eyes and zeroed in on the individuals, listening for anything that would be of worth to her. Yep, how predictable. Goon number one wants the real stuff and Goon number two doesn’t know what the other is talking about. Gun shot in 5... 4... 3... 2...
Boom!
Echoes of the crack of gunfire interrupted the stillness of the night. Elyra opened her eyes and looked down at the light post. She watched nonchalantly as the goon with the big gun rifled through the clothing of the dead guy. Shoving whatever it was he wanted into an inside pocket of his duster, he looked around the area, sweeping it for potential witnesses. He kicked the body for good measure and then strolled off down the street, whistling a merry tune. She watched him walk away as if nothing had transpired. Pigs. The lot of them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, but not any normal kind of movement. The kind that you swear you saw but write it off as an illusion.
She turned her attention to the rooftops across from her. Wisps of fog hung above the roofs, obscuring the uneven surfaces. There it is again. The wisps swirled violently, indicating that someone was running. Elyra peered across the street and counted two distinct shadows disturbing the fog. Cautiously, she dropped from her windowed perch and landed onto the roof below, rolling to muffle the sound of her feet hitting the surface.
Quickly, she sprinted towards the fire escape and grabbed the rails. Kicking the latch, the ladder descended three floors, going through two landings in the process. Holding onto the handrails, she slid down the ladder, passing each landing in turn. Before the ladder crashed to a halt above the street, Elyra jumped off and wiped her hands on her pants. She glanced upwards, immediately zeroing in on both shadows. Elegantly, both continued to make their way across the rooftops, jumping the gaps as if they were merely playing a child’s game of hopscotch.
Assessing the situation, Elyra realized her only recourse was to begin her pursuit by way of the dirty street that ran by the back of the apartment buildings. Eyeing the retreating shadows once more, she realized they were headed north. You are getting yourself into trouble, girl. Rule number one: Do not take the dirty street. Elyra's wry smile lit her eyes for a moment before she proceeded to run. She sprinted down the street, keeping to the dark recesses while trailing the shadows. Occasionally, she tripped over the legs of a homeless individual, but she didn’t have the time to stop and make sure the person was okay.
Watching her quarry change direction, Elyra was forced to turn down an alleyway. She hated alleys more than anything else in the city. It would be nice if the city paid attention to the lighting here. The things that one could come across... Keeping her eyes on the rooftops and her ears trained to her surroundings, Elyra turned corner after corner watching as the shadows ran above her.
Suddenly, she saw a drastic change in their speed and movement. Dang, they know they are being followed. As far as Elyra could tell, they hadn’t figured out that they were being followed from below. The change in their motion indicated they thought they were being followed from behind on the roof. This is still at my advantage.
Rounding another corner, Elyra examined her surrounding and recognized where she was. She paused just long enough to realize how deep she had ventured into the Black District. Crap, not good. This is the last place I need to find myself pursuing my quarry. This part of town crawled with the city’s most desperate, dirty and feared scum. Elyra watched as the shadows on the roof worked their way towards the center of the District. She picked up the pace, hurdling a few men passed out on the street and rounded three more corners until she ran into an alley with a dead end.
Pacing back and forth in frustration, she realized the dead end was new and cursed under her breath. I hate this district! Constantly changing things to shake off people like me, as if that would keep us from our pursuit. Exhaling forcefully, she looked around and felt her phone vibrate. She flipped it open and heard Ess’s voice.
“Elyra, two Vamp—”
“I know. You are a little late.” She looked around, aware that something wasn’t right. “Ess, I am in the Black District and —”
Slowly, and quite gracefully, one of the figures dropped thirty feet in front of her into the shadows. She turned around and watched as the other materialized behind her. She slowly began to close her phone, cutting off Ess’s protests.
“Now is not a good time Ess.” Snapping the phone shut, Elyra watched the approaching form in front of her. “Quite an evening, isn’t it?” she said quietly, replacing her phone in a pocket of her pants.
The shadow in front of Elyra materialized into a man. The soft click of boots on pavement accompanied his slow approach, stopping a few feet from Elyra. He laughed, sending a very familiar tingling down her back. “Oh, quite an evening indeed. You are a persistent one, but then, we were all warned that you would be difficult to be rid of, right Delilah?”
Elyra heard the voice of a woman behind her. “Yes Yelsef, but surely the two of us have nothing to worry about. The Hunter is outmatched.”
The sound of sliding steel echoed off the walls of the buildings that lined the street. Behind her, two daggers were drawn, and Elyra recognized the sweet sound of the duet. Pulling her own daggers from their sheaths, they joined the song, and Elyra paused long enough for the scant light to reflect off the sliver blades and jeweled hilts.
"Oh, that's pretty," Delilah purred behind her. “Those shall be wonderful trophies to hang on my wall.”
Yelsef chuckled darkly and pulled his sword, much like a rapier, and trained it on Elyra’s heart. "Shall we begin?"
Lunging forward, Yelsef thrust the sword directly at Elyra, grinning maliciously. Spinning to the side, Elyra met his sword with one of her own daggers and parried the blow. With the other dagger, Elyra blocked a swift strike by Delilah as one of her daggers plunged down towards the woman's neck. As the vampyress prepared to strike with the second dagger, Elyra pushed the sword back enough to give her room to kick Yelsef. Her foot connected with his abdomen, and he stumbled backwards.
Swiftly turning to block Delilah’s second strike, Elyra miscalculated and the hilt of the vampyress’ second dagger connected with Elyra’s jaw. An audible crack sounded and Elyra, wincing in pain, stumbled backwards into the wall behind her. Shaking her head, she looked at the two vampyres in front of her and tested the tenderness of her jaw. Well, this will definitely hurt tomorrow morning.
Both vampires rushed Elyra, weapons drawn, and she realized she was trapped. Delilah, being the faster of the two, attacked first. Though Elyra was able to block both daggers, the sheer strength of Delilah’s arms pushed her towards the ground. As she fought to maintain her footing, Elyra watched as Yelsef pulled his sword across her body, aiming for her stomach. Suddenly she shifted her weight, throwing Delilah off balance, and allowing her to pull both their daggers towards the approaching sword. Metal rang as all three sets of weapons met in the middle. Delilah brought up her knee and rammed it into Elyra’s chest, knocking her to the ground.
The absence of Elyra’s daggers and strength caused both vampyres to lose their balance. Lurching forward awkwardly, Yelsef tried to untangle his sword from Delilah’s daggers. The movement only made the situation worse and a sudden redirection of his sword caused him to fall. As he fell, he tried to use his sword as support, but only managed to make Elyra’s life easier. Yelsef’s sword plunged into Delilah’s upper thigh, burying itself as he met the muddied ground on his knees.
Delilah screamed as blood pumped from her wound, trickling down her bare leg and pooling on the ground under her foot. Yelsef looked in horror at his sword, deep in the leg of his partner and let go, trying to get up. Trying to find leverage, one of his hands dug into muddied soot stained crimson and he cried out. Taking advantage of the situation, Elyra scrambled to her feet and tackled Delilah. Both women landed in the middle of the street and the impact of the fall rammed the sword deeper into Delilah’s leg. She screamed in agony once more, clawing at Elyra’s face.
Struggling to free one hand, Elyra finally plunged her dagger up into Delilah’s ribcage and rolled away from the vampyress. Delilah’s body arched violently and her breathing became labored. She tried to sit up so that she could get to her feet and found that her body wouldn't respond. Tears welled up in her eyes as the knowledge of her circumstances became obvious. In one last attempt to help her partner, Delilah grasped the dagger by its jeweled hilt and ripped it from her body. Shallow gasps accompanied her attempts to talk, but despite her determination, Delilah could not speak. A black-red hue fanned out over the party dress the woman wore, seeping slowly towards her stomach, coloring the soft material in death. Short-breathed, Delilah held the dagger towards Yelsef, and cried out to him. The dagger rolled off of her palm, clattered onto the pavement, and she slowly sunk back down.
Elyra heard Yelsef scream and looked up in time to see him running at her, slashing wildly with his sword. He rapidly swung at her head and then turned around, quickly slashing at her legs. Barely able to keep up with Yelsef’s crazed attacks, Elyra felt herself forced closer and closer to a wall. Before she knew it, the wall loomed close, and she had to think quickly. If I turn my back on this man, I can use the wall to get free, but I take the chance he will cut me down before I can act. Blocking once more, she knew it was turn or die.
Feinting to the left, Yelsef moved to block her attack. In the middle of the action, she abruptly turned away from him and ran towards the wall. Yelsef roared in anger and chased after her, screaming curses. Gathering herself, she leapt up, and vaulted off the wall and over the slashing vampyre. As she flew over Yelsef’s head, he thrust his sword up in a desperate move to stop her escape. The sword sliced her leg as she passed over his head; the pain spread like fire throughout the muscle. She landed in a crouch and thrust her second dagger at his legs, hoping to rip them open with her blade.
Leaping backwards to avoid her attack, he landed gracefully and brought his sword down on her head. She parried the attack and rolled out of the way into a jump, landing on her feet. As his sword ripped through the air towards her, Elyra thrust her dagger into the air and blocked the sword’s progress with her crossbar. Slowly he pushed at her, causing the dagger to slowly slide down the blade, bringing her closer to him. Right before her dagger met his own crossbar of platinum and jasper, she pushed with all her might.
The action startled him enough that he faltered. Elyra quickly pulled one of her throwing daggers and plunged it into his arm, ripping it down with all her strength through flesh and muscle, leaving a gaping wound the length of his arm. Yelsef pulled his sword back and screamed in agony. He fell backwards, gripping his arm while the thick red blood flowed over his hand and onto the street.
Yelsef looked at Elyra, and then at Delilah, before turning to run from her. Elyra passed by Delilah's body and picked up her other dagger before she chased him for ten minutes down the dark streets of the Black District. She was close enough to take one more good aim when suddenly, he jumped over a wall and onto a roof that was too high for Elyra to follow. Breathing hard and angry at losing one, she watched him escape.
“No, no, no, nooo!” Elyra yelled as she paced the length of the wall.
Angrily, she watched as the vampyre’s shadow receded into the night. A horrific throbbing in her leg forced her to look down, and she swore audibly. The wound was bleeding profusely, and knowing where she was, this would attract more trouble than she could handle. I had better get this taken care of and fast. Not to mention, I better get my butt out of this district. Elyra limped out of the alley and onto a main street. Scanning the horizon, she looked over the buildings for the Business Towers. She spotted them off to the right, and it seemed, they were far away by the look of things. I really must pay more attention to where I am running.
Elyra hailed a cab and climbed in gingerly. She instructed the guy to take her across town to the Artess Towers. During the entire ride, the cabbie said nothing to her but watched her in his mirror. When he pulled up to the Towers, Elyra tossed the fare into the front seat. She climbed out of the car and then stuck her head through the front passenger window.
“How about if I make it worth your while to not tell anyone that I am here?” Elyra asked.
The cabbie smiled, “Well, that depends on who you think might want to know. The price differs with the person who requests certain information.”
Elyra shook her head, “Cut the crap. I know you report everything to Julian, the Black District’s boss. I don’t want him or anyone else knowing anything. Name your price.”
The cabbie stroked his chin and looked at her. His yellow eyes glowed just slightly in the black night. “Hmmm, for you, my lady, five hundred dollars should take care of you. Any less, well, I can’t guarantee that I would have the strength to hold out.”
Elyra grunted in disgust, but handed over the cash. Shaking her head, she walked towards the glass buildings. As she entered the double glass doors, she turned back to see the cab already gone. Good riddance.
Elyra walked in and made herself comfortable in the lobby, ignoring the stares of the patrons in the main area. She picked up the newspaper and read the entire entertainment section before folding it back up neatly and replacing it in the seat next to her. Elyra looked at her wrist, 12:45. I guess that was long enough. She smiled at the attendant waiting on one of the Tower residents and limped towards the back of the building. She slid out the back door and made her way to her apartment.
When she arrived, she performed a check on all the rooms. Once she was sure it was clear, she relaxed a little and showered. She winced as the warm water and soap seeped into her wound and the bottom of the shower was dyed red with her own blood. Once the wound was cleaned up and she felt decently refreshed, she got out and wrapped a towel around her body.
She pulled out her first aid kit and removed all the necessary items she needed to sew her leg back up. If I ever admired anything about vampyres, it is their ability to recover. I bet Yelsef is already on his way to being healed. As she stitched up the gash in her leg, she thought about the one that got away. No one had ever gotten away.
She walked into the kitchenette and fixed a sandwich, realizing that she had to eat something to help the healing process. Rolling her eyes and eating, Elyra stared at the little rooms of the apartment. The grays and browns were all wrong, creating a dreary place to lay one’s head. She really hated this apartment. It definitely wasn’t as cozy as the other one. She finished her sandwich and went to bed. As she closed her eyes, she cursed the vampyre who got away. Yelsef.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
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