The Shadows of the Sun

Chapter Three

        The light blinded the vampires for a second. A second was all I needed as I drew my knife and drove it into the vampire most within stabbing distance. It was one of the males, and the surprised and pained scream he emitted was enough to loosen the weight on me a little. A little was enough. I shot up through the gap I created, slashing at the hands that reached out to once again restrain me. As I had already done so many times that day, I started running. I felt as though I was running through wet sand, but the green blur that became my surroundings said otherwise. I was not as fast as normal though, that was proved when I suddenly slammed into something rock hard, or someone. The tracker wrapped his arms around me in an iron cage. Before I had a chance to really fight, the big one was in front of me and driving the needle into my neck. The effect was instantaneous. My body seemed to slow down and my brain became muddled and foggy. I was not knocked out like the first time, I could still fight them, but I might as well have been human in my efforts. Still, they appeared to be taking no chances, as they each gripped an arm and marched me off toward the others. We had created a small clearing where we had battled. The other two, who I presumed to be the Jane and Alec that were discussed earlier, were brushing dirt off of their rumpled robes. The boy, who I assumed was Alec, had a large tear going down one of the arms. It did not appear to be claw marks, so I presumed it was him I had hit with the knife. The girl, Jane, spoke in a flat voice.

"What do you know? The two idiots do it again." They simply scoffed at this.

"Difficult one isn't she?" Alec remarked.

"You'd think we'd know that after the two years we spent trying to catch her. I am starting to think this may be more trouble than it's worth." The tracker scoffed.

"That will be for the masters to decide" Jane sniffed.

"Should we risk running?" The big one asked. They all seemed to consider this.

"She's stronger than we originally thought. We risk losing her again if only one of us carries her." Jane thought out loud.

"It's only about thirty-five miles, the masters weren't expecting us until tomorrow anyway. We can walk for a while, then run when we know she's weakened enough, then walk again." Alec suggested. Jane nodded thoughtfully and just like that I was once again being marched forward. No matter how tired I was I kept my head high, and my chin up. A few times they tried to carry me, believing I was weakened enough. I proved them wrong each time and eventually they backed off, fearing me getting free. So, I trudged all the miles I had run hours before, now a prisoner. I was also made painfully aware of the fact I had no shoes. The sedative made me groggy enough not to fight them too much, but aware enough to watch them all and fight if need be. It was sloppy and painfully below my normal standards, but it kept the vampires away. They marched in a formation that had me blocked in on both sides. There were two that each held one of my arms twisted behind my back. Those were the big one, and the tracker, they seemed to have the most strength. The other two walked so there was one on my right, and the other on my left. They all seemed to have an air of smugness about them, like a young child that had accomplished some great feat and were just itching for the moment they could brag to their parents about it. The way they talked of their 'masters' it seemed as this was not too far off the mark. 

          It was nearly dawn when we reached the place where we had landed earlier that night. We had definitely been walking at a brisk pace. They seemed to be practically buzzing with excitement at finally succeeding in bringing me in. My whole being was aching for some sleep, and food. It had been far too long since I had enough of either. I was definitely thankful for the little bit of sleep I had caught on the jet. We approached a nice car. The windows were tinted far too dark to be legal, but I guess I did not know the rules in Italy. Although it was not the windows that had my attention a second later. The boy who had been on my left finally broke formation to open the car and reach for something in the backseat. What he pulled out broke whatever affects the small dose of sedative had on me. It was onyx. How could I have forgotten? I was now bucking, flailing and thrashing as hard as I was able. The two holding me were taken by surprise at my sudden movements, but recovered quickly and began in their attempts to contain me. All my fear was suddenly awakened. I had been too calm about their attempt to bring in me because of the lethargy brought on by the drug. Now any fear that was pushed down was awakened double time. I fought with pure desperation, but even that was not enough. They got the upper hand on me before I realized there was something else I could do. They could not put the onyx on me if I flared, not to mention the fact I would have sharp teeth and claws. My fear made it both easier and harder to flare. The vampires seemed confused by my sudden lack of fight, but quickly figured out what was happening when my form started to glow.

"She's going to change!"

"Stop her!"

"How?"

I was roughly yanked down to the ground and a cold, stone-like knee was on my throat, cutting off my airflow. If their intent was to stop my flaring, then they certainly succeeded. My surprise at the sudden lack of oxygen broke my fragile concentration, and my form returned to normal. The knee remained cutting off my precious oxygen supply for a moment longer before I was hoisted onto my knees and allowed to breathe again. I took in big gulps of air, shaken by the ease of which they cut off a life giving substance. These vampires were dangerous, even more dangerous than I had originally known. Someone yanked my left arm up, there was suddenly an icy burning pain. It seemed to cramp not only my muscles, but my power. Air hissed through my teeth in a pained breath. It gave me a headache. Then my right arm was pulled out in front of me. Weakly, I tried to twist out of the vice-like grip. I made no success, and soon I felt yet another cuff of onyx close around my wrist. This one was worse. It made the lion and metal symbol on my arm burn, it burned like everything contained in there was being slowly drawn. I writhed around in desperate hope to stop the awful burning, but my arms were held tight.
"Do you really think we need the choker too?" Someone behind me asked. I was too focused on the burn to register who was speaking.

"We should take no chances until we present her to the masters." That was definitely the female, Jane. I watched as she drew closer with the onyx choker. I knew I had no chance of avoiding it, and that the game was up, but I was not in the habit of quitting. So, I fought with every last bit I had, which was admittedly not much, but it was good for the vampires to know I didn't back down. The one who was holding my arms, which I narrowed down to be the tracker, only ended up with both of my thin wrists in one hand, while he used his other to force my head down so the girl could clip the choker on. When she did, the pain was agony. I could hold it back no longer. I screamed as my power deserted me, drawn into the dark stones. My body jerked and spasmed in the firm hold of the tracker. The chill of the night suddenly seemed to cut to the very core of my being as my spasms began to slow. My chest heaved as I desperately tried to draw in air. I barely had the strength to raise my head, but I did, and trained my eyes on the three vampires in my field of view.

"Someday." Was all I breathed to them, but they got my meaning. I dully registered it was the first words I had ever spoken to them. I never realized just how cold it was. I was trembling from head to toe, and the icy grip of the vampire tracker was not helping at all. The hands that had been so rough moments before were surprisingly gentle as they hoisted me to my feet. They were still firm, but not as forceful as they led me toward the car. To my shame I put up no fight. I couldn't even hold my head up well anymore. I was soon crammed into the backseat, with Alec on one side and Jane on the other. The big one was driving, while the tracker was riding shotgun. I really needed to learn their names. The only mercy of the car was the fact that there was heat. I also became aware of the fact that I still had one knife strapped to my thigh, and one in my boot. It was a comfort, when I currently had no other weapons. I had to be careful though, it may be the last few I have for a while. The car ride lasted only twenty minutes, and soon we were pulling into a dark tunnel like drive into a dark castle. The vampires obviously knew exactly where they were going as they rode into the heart of the castle in silence. We ended up in a garage-like place that had many more cars that were just as nice as the one we had taken. I was soon being pulled out of the car and into the freezing stone garage.