Fire and Ice

Seventeen: Lucinda

My head pounded painfully and my body ached in places I didn't know I could ache. It took a few attempts to open my eyes and even when I did get them open they were still a bit blurry. I had to blink a few times for my vision to sharpen. When they did, I wasn't sure that I wanted my eyes open. I took in my surroundings dark, ancient-like surroundings and grew more and more aware of the danger I was in. I moved my head slightly to the side making my body scream.

I clenched my jaw - in an attempt to bare the pain - as I lifted my head up from my chest. I looked around and saw an old stoned room with rusty chains on the floor, covered in dirt. I could feel the blood rushing out from my arms as they were tied above my head with chains and rope that connected to the ceiling. I was still wearing the clothes that I wore to the dance only last night. Was it last night? How long had I actually been out of it? I tugged on the chains and rope but had no chance of escaping. They wouldn't budge. I hung my head and groaned.

The door creaked on its hinges as it opened. My head snapped to attention as a dark silhouette walked into the danky room.

"You're finally awake," the person said in a low gravelly voice. I glared at them and didn't dare speak a word.

"It's about time considering that we are running out of it," he said again. "Lucinda right?" I my insides froze as he spoke my name. I fought against the urge to shake afraid to show any sign of weakness. My throat was dry and scratchy and I knew that I hadn't fed since the morning of the dance. I knew my chances of getting fed now was complete stuff all to nothing. After all, hunters were never known to be generous hosts. Not to my kind anyway.

"What is the matter Lucinda? You look like you're all tied up," the man said as an attempt of a joke. My eyes hardened on him and I saw that he was middle aged, tall, short dark hair with flecks of grey and silver.

"Who are you?" I asked with hope that I didn't sound as weak as I felt. "Why am I here?" There were so many questions I wanted answered but I doubted that he would answer them all.

"That is for me to know and for you to never find out," the man said with an evil gleam in his eye. "You are here however for a solemn purpose. It would be much appreciated if you would be cooperate." I looked around the room again hoping to find comfort in at least one thing but my hope began to die. Especially when Hayden walked into the room. My insides twisted as I stared at him. I never would have imagined that Hayden would have been a hunter but here he was dressed in black cargo pants and a black, tight fitted t-shirt. He still smelt of fresh rain but it no longer had the same effect on me like it did before. I clenched my jaw and was thankful for the restrains so I couldn't rip his throat out.

"Hello Lucinda," Hayden said softly. I glared at him with pure hatred. He was the reason why I was here.

"That is enough communication from you both," the older man said. "We must get down to the initiation process." I rose my eyebrows at them both. What 'initiation process' were they talking about?

"Hayden go get the tools." I watched as Hayden looked down at the floor and walked out of the room. The man and I stared at each other in silence until Hayden's return. Hayden came back carrying a large, brown leather bag which looked to be heavy. I couldn't tell if it was by the way Hayden carried it though. I eyed the bag wearily wondering what exactly it contained. I knew that I would find out sooner or later.

"Are you ready for this?" The older man asked Hayden in a whisper. He had placed his hand on Hayden's shoulder and squeezed it tightly. Hayden glanced over at me briefly before looking back at - what I could only describe as - his mentor. He nodded his head and opened the bag, hiding the contents from me. The older man took out a few things from the bag before turning to me. It was only then that I saw the knives, wooden stakes and a clear liquid. I swallowed hard as the older man approached me with Hayden lurking not far behind. Hayden avoided my eye contact but rather focused on his mentor.

"Knives," the man began. "They won't kill a vampire but it will hurt just like it hurts any other person. Of course the wound would heal quickly. Unless, you dip it in vervain." As he was saying this, the man dipped the knife in the bottle of clear liquid. He walked up close to me and looked over my body. Then he slashed the knife over torso, cutting my skin. The vervain stung and burned my skin. Making me scream in pain. I gritted my teeth together and squeezed my eyes shut. I tried to kick out at him but he caught my legs and sent the knife plummeting into my thigh. I bit back a scream knowing that I would heal eventually once the vervain wore off.

"Silver doesn't kill either. Wood does," the man continued to talk like he was giving a lesson. "Although to stake a vampire you need to get the heart. That can be hard sometimes considering you have the rib cage and other arteries that you have to get through before you reach the heart." My eyes widened at the man picked up the wooden stake and plunged it into my stomach pointing upwards. This time I did scream. In agony and terror. I could feel the stake inside me scraping against my arteries and almost touching my heart. I could taste blood in my mouth and for the first time in a while I didn't like it. I spat the blood out, tears running down my face.

"My dear," the man said with a cock of his head. I stared at him glumly. "Looks like you need to rinse your mouth out. You have a little bit of blood on your chin." My mouth wavered as I watched him grab the bottle of vervain water. He reached for my jaw and pried my mouth open pouring the toxic water down my throat. I gagged and spat trying not to swallow. My mouth and throat burned from the vervain. More tears escaped from my eyes as I cried out in agonising pain. Everything hurt.

"Please stop," I cried weakly. "Stop!" The man grabbed hold of the steak that was still buried deep in my chest and pushed it in a little deeper. I inhaled sharply and groaned.

"Not until you're dead," he told me softly. And with that he ripped the steak from my body spraying a little blood onto the floor. I screamed and gritted my teeth again waiting for this suffering to end. The man walked back over to Hayden and handed him the now blood stained steak.

"You know what you have to do," the man told Hayden strongly. Hayden nodded his head, his eyes hard on his mentor. The older man stepped away from Hayden and bid his farewells before he walked away promising that he would return. My eyes landed back on Hayden and I could see him move around uncomfortably. My whole body tensed as he approached with the weapons. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. I cowered from his closeness realising exactly how dangerous he now was.

"I never would have pictured you to be a hunter," I told him wearily - my throat still burning from the vervain. Hayden looked up at me, is expression hard and defensive.

"I'm not," he replied. "Not yet anyway."

"Initiation right?" I asked. I tried to move my arms because they were getting tired but all I managed to do was rattle the chains. I groaned in frustration too weak to fight back.

"What's with that by the way?" I asked in attempt to make small talk and distract myself from the 'tools' Hayden was holding. Hayden looked down at the bloody wooden stake in his hand and softly shook it before looking back up at me. I felt nauseated and lightheaded from the amount of blood that I had lost. He stared directly into my eyes and clenched his jaw.

"I have to kill you Luce."