BloodStone: Ice (Book 1)(Completed)

Chapter 1

She watched with ice blue eyes glittering in the dark. The rain poured unrelenting onto the warm cement creating a whirl of steam that rose like ghosts from graves. Lightning arched in the clouds, threatening the ground below with savage streaks. Softly she swore under her breath. She was standing in an inch of water, in the middle of a sudden lightning storm. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the rain,or even the lightning. It was that the two figures causing the storm were about to electrocute her in their carelessness.

They had already done her job for her. She couldn't begrudge them that. There was enough still left for her to do, that letting them do this small thing, really didn't bother her. Alright, it wasn't a small thing. It probably would have taken her a few hours to destroy that many vampires. They had done it in just a few short minutes.

She had watched their quick hands flashing across and breaking necks. Seamlessly passing the bodies between them. Listened to the crunching as fists punched through breast bone, ripping the hearts casually from the chest cavity. The vampires had fought back, crowding into a circle. Mercilessly slashing jagged clawed hands at the two figures. But the two had just parried easily with arms and elbows, or sidestepped the attacks altogether. It was as if this fight had been choreographed and rehearsed over countless years. No movement was wasted. No opportunity for mistake given. The only blood shed had come from the vampires now crumpled, unmoving and undead on the city sidewalk.

 The problem, however, lay in the fact that they were being so careless in the cleanup. They weren't even bothering to see if anyone was watching. And anyone could be. The existence of vampires was a well kept state secret, yet they didn't seem to care.Or if anyone was going to be caught in their crossfire. And someone was.She was. She glanced at her shoulder, a quick gesture of thankfulness at the spiky water-like creature sitting there, and then glared at the sky. The storm ceased, the clouds dissipating so quickly that there was no chance to call them back.

The two figures looked up, and held perfectly still. They could have been statues of granite in the darkness with only the dim streetlight casting their shadows. As if they held one mind, they turned together and stared at her. She held her breath. Until now, she had seen nothing of them but profiles in the dark. Two tall men, fighting creature of the night, in the night. Now she was not so sure that she should have believed that they would not harm her. They had, after all, just killed eight minor vampires, one of which was at least a century or two old. Still, she trusted her own strengths, and if they meant to take her out, it would not be so easy. Besides, this was her city. And they had almost electrocuted her.

She stepped around them, the familiar voice whispering in her ear that she would be fine. She knew the creature would not lie to her. Could not lie to her. Bending low over the first body, she began to work.Picturing in her mind what she needed to do, she separated the oxygen from the blood stream, drawing it out through the pores in a little hiss of steam. The body collapsed in on itself, the blood pooled around it drying into flakes. Swiftly, she did the same to the next,continuing down the line, finishing with the pile of corroded hearts.The two figures only stood, faces and expressions still hidden in shadow, watching like silent sentinels from a cathedral roof. When the last of the blood had been dried, she swept the water off of the ground and carcasses and into the gutter with a quick gesture of her hand. She reached into her pocket and drew out a small bag, scattered a fine dark powder over each one, stepped back, produced a box of matches, struck one, and tossed it on the closest body.

Instantly,flames engulfed all eight bodies. She felt a hand grab at her shirt, to draw her back, away from the small inferno, but there was no actual contact, so she didn't move. She turned to stare at the two figures, not sure which one had grabbed at her. They both stepped warily away, obviously unsure of how to proceed, or even what she was. She smiled to herself, a little pleased with their confusion. It made her feel slightly better about what she had done.After all, they were the ones who had almost electrocuted her. She had, so far, posed no danger whatsoever to them. And she didn't intend to. She would never stop anyone from ridding the world of its demons and undead, as long as they didn't harm the humans in the process.