SHADOWS - Adversary

CHAPTER 4

Nora walked into the hotel room, shutting the door behind her as she let out a sigh. She was halfway done.

The form had just asked for personal details like phone numbers, but the actual questions the woman had asked were more difficult. Nora knew exactly how to answer them, but couldn't help but get flustered.

But it was over anyway, and that Campbell woman seemed to have approved of Nora's answers.

Nora stiffened. She had just heard a noise in her hotel room. Cleaners? No, I don't think so.

Pulling out the bowie knife from her jeans, Nora crept down the hallway, silencing her breath. 'See, hear, be silent,' her dad always said. If you were quiet enough, you could hear anything. She held her breath, listening closely. She could hear someone breathing. Or something.

Nora got to the living room where she could see someone sitting on the couch in front of the large TV. It was a woman with curly ginger hair. She looked at Nora in the reflection of the TV screen.

Crap. So much about not being seen. She had completely forgotten about the oversized plasma TV.

The woman looked familiar.

Nora paused, looking at the woman's face. "Valley?" She gasped. The woman giggled and turned around but kept her knees on the couch, looking at Nora. They both leaned forwards and hugged tightly.

"Hey sis," she greeted into Nora's shoulder, as though she hadn't just broken into her hotel room.

Nora let go and gaped at her. "What the hell?"

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Valley asked, frowning and releasing Nora as well.

"Yeah, of course I am." she answered quickly. "Just a little shocked to find you on my couch." Valley wasn't technically Nora's sister, but they grew up together so that's what it was like. Her mother had died when she was 10 so she came to Australia to live with her Godfather, Peter. This sort of made Valley's accent a little strange as it was halfway between Aussie and American.

"Good," Valley said cheerfully, "coz I'm not leaving. I'm gonna be your partner."

Nora laughed. "I don't have the job yet, you know."

"You'll get it."

There it was again with that unwavering confidence that Nora would become a Venator. It was really making her nervous.

"Come on, how ridiculous would it be for a Mayfield to not be a Venator?" Valley said. "And plus, you did great with the questions, and you'll do even better with the physical test."

"Wait," Nora said, "how did you know how I did with the questions. Oh, and while you're at it, how did you know which bloody hotel room I was in?"

Valley looked at Nora, exasperated. "Because I'm Valerie freakin' Kayla."

"Your middle name is Helen."

"Shut up," Valley said before giving up the hoax. "Okay fine, Jacqueline told me."

"Oh." Nora looked at Valley's golden, almost wolf-like eyes and smiled. "It's really good to see you again Valley." The twenty-two year old had left Australia the year before to become a Venator, as she was actually a year older than Nora, despite the height difference.

"You too Nora," she answered softly.

Nora was actually quite pleased to hear that Valley wanted to be her partner, it made the job a lot easier, and safer. Having a partner was encouraged for those reasons.

"So, how have you been?" Nora asked Valley as they sat at the table ten minutes later with a sandwich each.

"Good. Told so many people about 'Drop-Bears'." She said before taking a bite of her food.

Nora choked on hers and laughed. "Really?"

Valley nodded enthusiastically, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Why am I not suprised?" She chuckled. "How're the cases?"

"They're mostly good, some are just plain boring though." Valley answered.

"Which ones?" It showed just how quickly Valley adjusted that she found monster hunting boring.

"Vampires. I can smell 'em a mile off." She said, tapping her freckled nose with her index finger.

"Really? What the hell do they smell like?" Nora said, curious.

"Like, dead... stuff." Valley answered, grimacing in apparent disgust.

"Makes sense. I guess the wolf nose comes in handy though."

Valley smiled, "sure does."

Yep. Valley was a werewolf. That wasn't nessasarily a bad thing though because not all werewolves are bad, she proved that just as her mother did. Because Valley was born as a werewolf, rather than bitten, she had full control over her transformations. No whacking-out on the full moon like the bitten. This allowed her to choose sides; good or evil.

So most werewolves were good, even bitten ones. Some were bad though, these were called rouges. Valley always tried to talk the rouges into changing their ways, but some were too far gone. The wolf had completely taken over their minds. It took a strong and stubborn mind to overcome the disease. But the young Venator had made it her own personal mission to keep freshly infected werewolves from giving into the dark, animalistic impulses. She had already helped a couple last year.

The only reason Valley was able to become a Venator was because she was a born werewolf. A very trusted one at that.

"So," Valley said, wiping her bread crumb covered hands on her black stockings. "How excited are you?"

"What, for the job? Pretty bloody excited." She sighed in response. "But I don't have it yet, remember?"

"Oh stop doubting yourself Nora." Valley said. "You've got the physical test this afternoon, and we both know you're gonna flog it."

Nora smiled. She had always hated team sport, but that was different to fighting and shooting guns at a gun range. That, Nora loved.

Valley's right, Nora thought to herself, I am gonna flog this!