The Wolf of the Wilds

The Long Road to Redemption Pt.2

Welcome to part two of this (not very) short story. Please make sure you've read part 1 before reading this.

Her knuckles struck the door several times with thudding raps. Standing back and shoving her hands in her pockets, she waited. She waited, and waited, and waited some more. No one answered. Whispering a curse, she stepped up to the door again and this time pounded it with her fist. Jaw tensed, her foot tapped against the flagstone with impatience. Again, nothing happened.

She let out a quiet, humming growl, turning away from the heavily locked entrance. Oh no, she wasn't going to let it drop that easily. She had a job to do and no door was going to stop her.

After a large amount of wandering the Gauxan streets, she found a winding alleyway that ran directly behind Herra's site of operations. It was long, tall and thin, with the subtle scent of decay and blood. Rat dropping covered the ground, while pallets, empty boxes and broken barrels lay around in disrepair.

Between her and the building was a tall wall, a line of cast iron spikes along the top. It was quite the obstacle, but she could manage.

Heaving over a box from out of the back of a liquor shop, she dragged it towards the bottom of the wall and tested its strength. For a moment, she stood there contemplating her next move, before finally she clenched her jaw and nodded to herself.

Taking off towards the box at a run, she used the raised surface to launch herself towards the top of the wall. Fingers brushed metal and she gripped on as if her life depended on it.

Boots slipping against the damp stone, she scrambled to find a safe lodging. Momentarily balanced, she took a second to catch her breath. And then, with all her might she dragged herself upwards and over the top. The spikes proved quite inconvenient and one uncomfortably poked into her leg, but other than that, she was unscathed.

The drop on the other side was a little too high for her liking, but she landed it with a hastily executed roll and a grunt of pain from the awkward impact. Straightening up, she found herself in a ratty garden. Although, garden was probably quite a generous assessment, it looked more like a glorified toilet. Suspicious yellowed drizzles stained every available surface.

Striding up to the back door, she tried again, pounding her fist against the wood. This time tough, there was an immediate reaction. Stomping footsteps approached, and Helena stood back in time for the door to come swinging outwards with a bang.

"What do you want?" a woman hissed with a heavily accented voice. She stood in the frame, a blade pointing towards the intruder.

"I need to speak with Herra," Helena replied blandly, doing a good job keeping her demeanour neutral, despite the weapon aimed at her chest.

"Your reason?" she asked, still holding her in a fearsome stare.

"Business. I have questions."

The woman pursed her lips and was about to reply when a voice floated from somewhere beyond the door. "Let her in, Riya. We can deal with a stray pup if we need to."

She didn't look happy, but she dropped her blade, not yet putting it away and stepped out of the way of the door. "Please, come in," she intoned, her voice a mockery of a welcome.

Helena stared at her, hunching her shoulders, with fingers dancing over her blade's handle. Eventually, she took the strides into the darkened building.

It was very obviously a vampire's lair. All the windows were covered in heavy fabrics and the distinct smell of spiced blood permeated very inch of the place. With her dark clothes and complexion, the woman that had allowed her in seemed to blend into the dark and Helena jumped out of her skin when she felt the brush of air against her arm.