Never

Chapter 3: Good Day Gone Bad

Thaddeus's POV:

The day started so promising to end up tied down in a basement. It wasn't the first time I'd had such a stark contrast from the beginning of my day compared to the end, but bloody hell, it was annoying.

My day started lovely. Low-hanging clouds hovered low on the Cambrian Mountains as I ascended the steep incline. Wales was cold this time of year, but cold was hardly an issue for a vampire.

I adjusted the cylindrical pack resting on my back and sprinted up the last few feet until I reached the cave I was looking for. I stepped inside and brought my hood down, thankful for a break from the weather. While the cold didn't bother me, I wasn't fond of the wind.

Crouching down, I started humming the song while I slid the cylinder pack off and unzipped the top. Then, so she'd know it was me and not a trick, I started to sing.

Up on the mountain high
There lives a soul that does not die

I began singing as I started a fire, then pulled the colorful bouquet of flowers from the solid container I sealed them in to prevent damage. Standing, I left the pack where it was and walked over to the small stream flowing through the cave. I dropped the flowers one by one as I walked along the stream, continuing the song while the current carrier the flowers into the dark abyss of the cave.

Her whispers carry in the breeze
A song to lure and to please

There was a shift of rocks scattering down the side of an incline in the cave. I kept on, dropping more flowers and watching the stream carry them deeper into the darkness. Towards her.

Visitors come from far away
Searching for the voice renown to allay
Heard but not seen, she hides from you
But do not look, for if you do

A low rumbling growl shook the caves, the stalactites threatening to break under the vibration. More pebbles and rocks scattered and I dropped the last flower as I sang the last lines, staring into the darkness where I could hear a steady heartbeat.

One glimpse will make you lose your breath
Then you will learn, it was a song of death

The growl grew louder and in less than a second, I was tackled to the ground, great big teeth snapping inches from my face as paws bigger than my head held me down. If anyone were to see her, they would describe her as a strangely colored and abnormally large lynx. She had the body of the lynx, except a much longer tail, but nothing else was lynx-like except her incredible agility.

Her coloring changed again. She was redder this time, like a fox. The black and white stripes wrapped around her legs stood out more than the last time I saw her. And there along her sides, probably on her back as well, faint spots were beginning to show. They were a paler red, almost yellow or orange, but that's just how they would start. When she hit maturity, the true colors would show.

I smiled up at her. "Darling, did you get your spots?"

The massive cat-like creature above me ceased its growling and snapping and in a blur of motion I only felt the breeze of, a girl with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes now hovered above me in tattered clothes. "Yes I did," she grinned widely and hopped to her feet, offering a hand. "Aren't they lovely?"

"I could hardly see them," I admitted, taking her hand and standing, sighing at the state of her clothes. It didn't matter how many times I brought her new clothes, they were always practically threads by the time I returned. Like a true child, she gave them no care. She'd get them muddy, scrape them up, spill juice from berries all over them. Her clothes were never in good condition when I returned. "Let me see again."