the Vampire and the Assassin

Chapter 18

We track them in the woods, and I can't believe I had thought it was a good idea to follow, but I have to learn, and this is a good as time as any. I find myself calmer than when Drew had been holding me. For some reason, just being around Ian is calming. I'm not sure if it's because I know he can protect me or what. I just feel safer when he's around.

I'm such a pitiful Assassin. The protector of humans, yea, right. I practically had a meltdown ten minutes ago. If I'm the protector, no one is safe as far as I'm concerned.

"We're close," Ian whispers.

I follow close by; I can't escape the eerie feeling from being in the woods. I've never been afraid of anything until recently. I didn't even know monsters existed until now.

Ian pulls me behind him so fast I feel dizzy. I will myself not to fall as I hear the most sophisticated voice ever. "We know who she is, Ian." He sounds British, and his voice is oh so charming that I want to peek out from behind Ian to see who it is. It's as if my mind is being pulled forward, but I know to stay right where I am. "I see she possess the gift to refuse us." He scoffs before continuing, "You won't be able to stop the change Ian, and neither will she. In fact, it's already started."

My mind races with questions. Is he talking about the town? Did they already start the killing?

"It wasn't supposed to happen." I can tell Ian's angry. His tense stand ripples as his muscles pull together, tighter.

"Maybe that's what we wanted you and the others to believe."

Curiosity gets the best of me as I peek around Ian to see our enemy. I figure I have to stop hiding behind him at some point.

"Oh, she is breathtaking Ian." The creature looks me over like I'm a snack, giving me much discomfort. He's elegantly dressed with a suit and tie on. His hair is slicked back. He looks just as human as Ian does if only a few years older. I can tell he must've women lined up to give their blood to him. The thought disgusts me. I narrow my eyes at him; he smiles back. "She's got a temper." His eyes go back to Ian. "He'll know what you've done soon enough, and all this rebelling against your own will be over."

Ian tries to push me out the way in that moment but it's too late. I feel an iron-like grip on my arm. She's fast but Ian's faster. He snatches her up, and she tries her best to claw at him, but he overpowers her. It's as if it takes nothing at all for him to separate her head from her body. He throws her remains to the side and rushes towards me. "Are you okay?" His hands touch me everywhere when I don't respond to him, probing and poking. He even lifts my shirt up to make sure I haven't been bitten. When he's satisfied that I haven't been harmed, he pulls me to my feet.

"What about the other one?" I ask as he continues to look me over.

"He's gone."

"What's really going on, Ian?" My head falls against his chest as his arms wrap around me. I take a deep breath. He's hiding something, and I'm not sure I want to find out what.

"We have to leave," Ian says against the top of my head. "It's the only way to stop the massacre that's coming."

"What are you not telling me? Who was that?" I ask, referring to the British man he had seemed to be so familiar with.

He lets out a sigh. "What I told you wasn't a lie. The recruits come to a different town every year and a hunting takes place." I shuddered at his description. "It's a rite of passage, but... it's also a test." I lift my head from him, and he continues. "A test to see how easy it would be for vampires to take over the human race."