Eyes Like Ice

"Miss Lumberton, I don't think it would be wise to-"

The woman cut me off with a short, "Do I look like I really care what you think, servant girl?" Her brown eyes narrowed as she turned to face me in her small study. The walls were lined with book-filled oak shelves, the floor was covered by a rich ruby-colored carpet, and the walls were a slightly darker shade of red. A single oak desk stood near the back of the room, located right in front of the large window that overlooked the moonlit back garden. The short woman began to pace again, her hands clasped behind her back and her long emerald gown brushing her calves every time she moved. "All you need to do is go in and steal the money. I don't care how you do it, just get it done."

I nodded, not wanting to face the consequences if I disobeyed her.

"Good." She stopped pacing and turned to face me once again. "Now, go, and try to be back before midnight."

"Yes, ma'am." It was ten o'clock now, but two hours was all I needed. I turned and left the room silently.

My pace slowed as I walked up the deserted hallway. To take weapons, or not to take weapons? That was the question.

I quickly decided on not, thinking that my claws and fangs would be enough. I shuddered involuntarily when a gruesome thought hit me, though, and I stopped walking, beginning to rethink my choice.

There was a possibility that another Levellua would be after the same treasure I was after. Miss Lumberton had made that clear when she said there were many others seeking to steal this incredible amount of money. If I was going to face one of my own kind, weapons might be a good thing to have with me. Then again, it wasn't in our nature to fight each other, so maybe I could negotiate with any Levellua I met during my robbery.

After several more moments of silent debate, I chose to leave my weapons behind, hoping that all of the other Levellua in the world were as civilized as me.

Without even bothering to change out of the black outfit I had worn to school earlier that day, I exited the mansion and set off for the home of Mrs. Eleanor May Hanwell, jumping from roof to roof silently in a demonstration of my natural grace and ability, my lithe figure being illuminated only slightly by the dim light of a white crescent moon.

-

My sneaker-clad feet made no sound when they hit the cement path that led directly to the Hanwells' front door. Their mansion was nowhere near as large and extravegant as Miss Lumberton's, but that didn't matter. I knew for a fact that there were thousands upon thousands of dollars hidden in that dwelling, and I had every intention of stealing that money.

I climbed through a first story window that had been left open by what was probably one of the more careless servants, then easily managed to sneak upstairs, following the scent of money and valuables to a set of locked double doors that happened to be situated clear across the building from my starting point.

I was surprised to find that the doors were actually unlocked. Then I swore mentally, realizing what that meant.

Somebody else had picked the locks.

Somebody else was already inside the room.

I entered the expansive study-like room cautiously, seeing several safes with their doors ajar and a desk with all of its drawers pulled out and emptied, now lying scattered about the paper-littered room.

I dove to my left suddenly, instinct being the only thing that saved me from having a set of two-inch-long Levellua claws stabbed into my back. I never got the chance to look at my attacker, for they lunged again, trying to rip through my flesh with those deadly claws of theirs. I dodged these attacks with ease, eventually managing to land a blow to the person's face that sent them back a few feet. They back-flipped with ease, landing on their feet in a crouched position and watching me closely.

The man appeared to be about seventeen, all muscular and sexy and youthful. Messy, semi-long brown hair hung down in his Levellua-blue, nearly colorless eyes, causing me to wonder how he could see like that. He was clad in faded gray jeans and a simple white T-shirt, his feet protected by a pair of clean white tennis shoes. He was hot, he was deadly, and he was smirking. The bastard was smirking at me. It was a cocky smirk, too, as if he actually thought he could beat me.

"So my only obstacle for tonight is one scrawny girl? How disappointing." His voice was taunting. It pissed me off.

Wow...I had finally gotten something more than irritated. I had gotten truly angry. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but I never got a chance to figure out the answer, seeing as the arrogant little prick charged at me again.

His fist headed toward my face, but I caught it with ease before he could touch me. His other fist copied the first fist's movement, only to be captured by my free hand. He tried to pull away, but my claws sank into his flesh, and he stopped struggling, knowing that if he pulled back now, he'd be in some serious pain. Our species' wounds tended to heal quickly, although that didn't mean we felt the pain any less.

"Scrawny little girl?" I hissed, my blue, contact-covered eyes narrowing while his own eyes widened. "You wish." I pushed him back into the nearby white wall, having used enough force to make the surface crack when he hit it. My claws dug deeper into his skin. Then, when I felt that he had suffered for long enough, I bit his neck. My slightly-sharper-and-longer-than-normal canine teeth, which I simply refer to as 'fangs' most of the time, didn't go into his flesh as deep as I had wanted them to. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to kill him.

For underestimating me, he deserved worse than death.

So I released him after a moment, allowing him to instantly scramble out the window. Once he was gone, I grabbed the red bag full of goodies he had left behind, then leapt out the window after him.

I landed in a catlike stance and looked around, only to find that the sissy was faster than I thought. Then the light breeze shifted, bringing the scent of the boy back to my nostrils. I whipped around quickly, looking up at the dark figure perched on the roof.

"I'm Dominick Langley," the Levellua stated, and I could almost see his smirk in the darkness of the warm, quiet night, "and you're lucky I went easy on you."

Before I could say a word, he turned and walked away. Moments later, I knew he was gone.

I growled softly while hefting the red bag over my shoulder. Then, I turned and walked off of the property, leaving the Hanwells' none the wiser.

They really needed to get a security system or something...

I wiped Dominick's blood away from my mouth with my free hand as I walked up the street. It tasted good. Levellua blood always did.

It was eleven-forty-five by now, and I was still ten minutes away from Miss Lumberton's mansion.

"You smell like blood," a voice said suddenly from behind me.

I stopped walking and calmly sniffed the air.

A vampire.

Of course he could smell the blood on me.

"Is that a problem?" I questioned while turning to face the source of the masculine voice.

Damn. And I thought that new kid at school was gorgeous...

The vampire was nearly as white as me with semi-long, spiky black hair. His eyes were silver, and I found myself gazing into them, wondering how they could be that color. Silver eyes weren't normal for any species. Pushing that thought aside, I continued to study him. He was probably four or five inches taller than I was, and even through his black, silk, button-down shirt, I could see his abs. Yummy.

And the fact that I just used the word 'yummy' is a sign that he really, truly was one handsome hunk of bloodsucking man.

"No, not at all," he replied, his voice just as smooth and emotionless as my own. "I was merely stating a fact."

"Well, I'm not a vampire, if that's what you're thinking." I turned to walk away, but I stopped dead when he next spoke.

"I know."

He knew? How the hell could he know? Vampires were good at deciding species when they smelled someone's blood, but I wasn't bleeding. So how did he know?

"You do?" I looked back at him. "How?"

He shrugged. "The blood I smell on your breath is Levellua blood, and only a Levellua would dare fight another Levellua, although even that is rarely done."

"You must be quite old if you know what Levellua blood smells like. Most of the younger vampires have no idea what we are, let alone what we smell like."

The vampire nodded. "I'm over a century old, and one hundred years ago, all vampires knew what your kind smelled like."

"Ah..." I took a moment to observe him more. He appeared to be no older than nineteen, but as he had just said, he was much older than that. The black pants he was wearing went well with his silk shirt, as did the black shoes he was wearing. "What is your name?"

"Spike." Before I could comment on it, he hastily added, "My mother always used to call me that. She was a weird woman." His eyes became unfocused, as if he was getting lost in a memory. "She's the reason my eyes are this color, too. She always did like silver..." He snapped out of his little reverie and looked at me once again. "And what is your name?"

"Raven. Raven Guthrie."

Spike gave a small bow. "It's nice to meet you, Raven." He straightened, allowing his silver eyes to lock with mine again.

"Likewise, Spike. I really should get going, now, though. My master will be angry if I'm late."

He nodded, something close to sympathy flickering to life in his pretty eyes. The emotion quickly vanished, though, and all he said was, "Right. Goodbye." He turned and vanished up a nearby alleyway, leaving me to murmur a soft goodbye to the night that he could probably here from wherever he was in that alley.

I turned with a sigh and began to walk again, my pace a bit quicker than it had been before.

-

"Another Levellua?" Miss Lumberton said questioningly after I'd explained what had happened.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied simply, lowering my eyes to the desk I was standing in front of.

"Who did he belong to? Where is he staying? Can you take him out before he gets in the way?" The woman watched me intently from where she stood on the opposite side of the desk, her expression a mix of anger, shock, and even a little bit of fear.

"I don't know, I don't know, and he won't get in the way."

"How can you possibly know that? What if his master orders him to rob the same house you're robbing again? If you encounter him in another one of these situations, he could be a problem."

"If I encounter him in another one of these situations, I'll make sure he stays out of my way." I kept my gaze respectfully lowered as she studied me carefully, trying to decide whether I was being truthful or not.

Eventually, she just nodded and said, "All right. You're dismissed."

I gave the smallest of bows and headed toward the door. "Goodnight, ma'am." All I received in response was a soft grunt before I made it out the door.

Once I was out of the study, I went to my bedroom and got ready for bed, thinking that one thought that echoed through my head every night before I fell asleep...

I hate my life.