Hunter's Strike

“Lissie look! I made you something.” Calypso held out the the drawing with two chubby hands. Her long golden curls framed her face and brightened her smile.

Her sister sat across from her at the little table in their playroom. It was just the two of them there, as was usual. Callisto’s hair was parted the opposite side from Calypso’s, but they were dressed the same. Sitting they way they did, they looked like mirrored reflections of each other.

Callisto took the drawing and her eyes widened. “Is that me in a giant robot, Lypsie?” she asked in awe.

Her sister nodded enthusiastically. “And look there! I gave you a gun that shoots kittens! Pew! Pew! Mew!”

“This is the best thing ever.” Callisto handed over her own drawing. “I drew you as a princess, look.”

“Is that a dragon in my castle?”

“Yes, he’s a good dragon. He breathes fire on people you don’t like.” She pointed at the crayon-drawn fire coming out of the spiky green blob.

The playroom was large and filled with all manner of toys, most hardly touched. Mother was very strict about messes. The floors and child sized furniture were all very colorful and friendly, but did not look truly lived in.

“Calypso, come in here please.” It was Father’s voice, coming from their parent’s bedroom.

Calypso stood up. “Coming!” she shouted.

Callisto grabbed her arm before she could go. “Don’t go in there,” she said quietly. Her demeanor had suddenly shifted. Her body was tensed and there was fear in her eyes. “Where’s Mom?”

“Still out.” Calypso was starting to feel scared. What was going on?

Callisto stood up as well and ran into their bedroom. She grabbed a hairbrush from the table by her bed and started brushing her hair quickly, changing the part in her hair from one side to the other. Her fingers were too small to hold the brush correctly and made it very messy. Calypse went over to help her. “What’s wrong, Lissie?” she asked worriedly.

“Stay here. I’ll go.”

“He called for me though.”

“I’ll go.” Her voice was dark and she clenched her hands tightly. “You don’t go.”

Calypso stared at her sister, trying so hard to understand. “But he hurts you.”

Callisto didn’t back down. “Not you.” She turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

XXXxxxXXX

It was night, and the room was dark. She was curled up in bed, with the blanket covering her entirely, but Calypso could still hear her crying, still see the blanket trembling.

She slipped out of her bed and climbed into her sister’s. She put her arms around the blanketed figure and leaned her head on it. “I’m sorry, Lissie. I’m really sorry.”

Callisto pulled the blanket away from her face. She stopped sobbing, but her body still shivered. “I hate him. He should die.”

A light knock came at their door. Both girls lifted their heads and looked at it.

Calypso turned on the lamp by the bed. “Hello?”

The tap came again.

Callisto slid out of the bed. Calypso reached out a hand to her, but didn’t stop her. She winced as her legs took her weight. The shaking was even more noticeable now. She slowly walked over to the door. Who in the world would be knocking on their bedroom door at night? “Don’t open Lissie, you don’t know who it is.” Calypso hissed, too frightened to go after her sister.

“It’s not locked.” Callisto reached up and turned the knob.

A woman stood on the other side, smiling gently. She wasn’t tall like most adults, and had straight brown hair that fell past her waist. “Do you really want him to die?” she asked pleasantly. Her brown eyes were soft and kind.

The two girls stared at her silently.

The woman leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees. “I’ll kill him, if you want me to.” Her smile widened, revealing sharp fangs. Callisto gasped. Calypso grasped at the blanket, as if ready to hide underneath it.

“Of course, I won’t do it for free. If you want me to kill your father, then you both have to do something for me in return.”

Callisto was the first one to find her voice. “Who are you?”

“My name is Nora. I already know your names. Callisto and Calypso Summers.”

“What are you doing here?” Calypso asked from the bed. Nora turned her gaze towards her and she shrank back.

“My seer has died, but not before telling me where I can find a new one.” She spoke simply, but the girls had no idea what she was talking about.

“Are you a monster?” Callisto asked.

Nora grinned again. “Oh yes I am.”

“A good monster?” Calypso asked hopefully.

Nora shook her head. “Oh definitely not.”

It was then that Calypso started crying.

Callisto didn’t back away, even though she was scared. “You came here to kill Father?” she asked.

“That is the idea I came here with. I can’t have any witnesses lying around when I kidnap the two of you, can I? Though you two can just agree to come with me and I’ll kill him in return instead. That sounds like a much better way to put it, don’t you think?”

“Why do you want us?”

“So many questions! Such an inquisitive young girl.” Nora reached out both hands and cupped Callisto’s cheeks. Her hands were like ice, making Callisto shake even more. “You really are precious. Tell me little one: Do you want to become a monster, too?”

“No!” Calypso screamed. She stumbled out of the bed and ran over to her sister. “No! No! No!” Tears streamed down her red cheeks. She grabbed at her sister’s bed clothes frantically.

Callisto stared deep into Nora’s eyes as they slowly burned bright red. She could not tear herself away from that deep gaze. The shaking in her legs stopped as her whole body grew still. “Yes,” she said softly. “I’ll be a monster, too.”

“And your sister?” Nora purred.

Callisto turned to Calypso, who was clutching her and sobbing incoherently. She took her sister’s hand. “Can you promise we’ll always be together?”

“Always. Until the day you die.” Nora’s voice was like honey.

XXXxxxXXX

Callie stared up at the ceiling. “Why is that the only memory I have from my previous life?” she asked. “I don’t remember our parent’s faces, or the house we grew up in, only how it all ended. Why is it that when we’re turned, our old selves just crumble into ash?”

She looked down at her hands. “Can I take away someone’s life like that? I’ve never killed before, but it seems like the same thing. Would it be easier if I had killed before?”

She flexed her fingers slowly. She knew they were there, claws that no one could ever see. That basic Influence so powerful it even hid the truth from the vampire itself. She couldn’t show those claws even if she wanted to. The survival instinct was too strong. A vampire had to blend in, at all costs. A chameleon that was always in disguise, even while sleeping, even while on camera. Until death.

Her claws were hidden, but no less deadly. Killing someone with them would take practically no skill. To a vampire, killing is the easiest thing. It was what they were born for.

She thought of Angie, sweet and strong. Her body was so fragile, but she threw it in front of anything that would hurt her friends. Humans had a different kind of strength. One that did not need sharp claws.

She thought of Sybil, alone and afraid. Cowering in the darkness, not even a glimmer of hope in her life. She was sad and pitiful, and only alive thanks to Callie’s interventions. Did that make it right for her to take that life, the one no one wants?

Sybil was broken, inside and out. Abused and unloved, poisoned and defeated. She was still a person, though. She was still alive. For now, at least. The thread Callie used to find her was thin and the girl’s future was unreadable.

Callie could see her potential, the diamond in the rough. Sybil could make a powerful vampire. She could be an unstoppable force if she wanted. She could be tempered, an edge of steel honed razor sharp. She could be strong enough to withstand any trial.

She could be the most beautiful monster in the world.

xxxXXXxxx

Blue was ready for a new mission, and finally she was approved by Medical for fieldwork again. Now, she just needed a mission.

She came across Red first. “I’m go for the next job. When are you and SIlver heading out again?”

“Geez, didn’t you enjoy your vacation at all?” Red asked wearily. There were dark circles under his eyes.

"That was not a vacation! That was torture.”

“Geez. Okay, okay.” He held up his hands in defeat. “I think Silver plans on going out again tonight.” He then let out a big yawn.

“What have you guys been up to?” Blue wasn’t used to seeing Red exhausted. He wasn’t even flirting with her, which was a relief.

“We’ve been staking out the ship at the dock. Green’s there now keeping an eye on it.” He walked past Blue, heading for the break room. “I’m gonna go nap for four hours before I go back out again.”

“You sleep, I’ll go instead.” Blue told him. “I’ll go tell Silver.”

Red yawned again. “Thanks Blue, you’re the best.” Then he wandered off.

XXXxxxXXX

“What are they even doing here?” Blue asked. “I read up on Donovan Blackswell and he never stops at large commercial ports.”

She and Silver were lying on their stomachs, watching what by all rights looked like a pirate ship, from the top of a shipping container a hundred yards away. They had to be so far away in order to not be scented by Donovan or his crew. A vampire’s nose was only sharp for about fifty yards, after that scents merged together and it was difficult to focus on individuals.

“He’s picking up something,” Silver answered. “Something he can only get here.”

“What is it?”

“If Harris knows, he hasn’t told me. Whatever it is, he wants us to retrieve it.” Harris was the boss, the one that hired each of them. He was a silver-haired man who liked gray suits. They mostly called him Gray, except for Silver. Silver did not like Harris.

He was also Vice-President for a large company that specialized in bio-engineering, confusingly named Mechanex. The hunters had a floor in the Mechanex building entirely to themselves.

Harris was also ambitious. Everyone knew that he wanted to be CEO one day. It’s rumored that he started hiring hunters just for that purpose, though no one could figure out what exactly his plan was.

"Ugh, they even have red sails. How gawdy can you get?"

"This one is a show off, that's for sure," Arthur agreed.

"Have you ever tangled with him in the past?"

"No, but my father did. A long time ago."

Blue was surprised. Silver never talked about his past. "What was your Dad like?"

"Drunk."

Well, like father like son, she guessed. "Was he as good a hunter as you?"

"No. That's why he died when I was thirteen."

“I see.” Maybe it was best if she just kept quiet.

“How’s Marcy doing?”

That question surprised her even more than talking about his family. She hadn’t realized Arthur even knew about her sister.

“She’s doing fine. Enjoying her summer. I sent her to a sleepaway camp upstate. She said they even do horseback riding.”

“Good. Better to be out of this city air. Stuff is poisonous.” He retrieved his hip flask and took a healthy swig.

“Like that’s not?” Blue pointed out.

“I’ll be lucky if it’s the cancer that kills me.”

“Touche.”