Lexia (The Deadwood Hunter Series) (2 page)

Lexia sat watching her friend impatiently tapping her foot on the polished wooden floors as she waited in line and Lexia smiled to herself; they were complete opposites, Lexia laid back and breezy and Alice impatient and fiery, but they complemented each other perfectly and had been best friends since the moment they met on the first day of school. Alice was the only one of Lexia’s friends who knew about her mother leaving her, the only one who knew Lexia was much older than all the other students in her year. Lexia told her everything and for the first time in her life she had something that not even Alice could know.

Alice put down their food and then plonked herself in the chair opposite. She looked at Lexia and frowned at her troubled expression, “Hey, Lex.”

Lexia looked up, “Yeah?”

“Are you alright? I mean, you seem really distant; you’d tell me if something was wrong?”

Should I tell her the truth? “
I’m fine, honestly,” she said with a plastered smile on her face.

Lexia spent the next thirty minutes forcing herself to pay attention to every word Alice said. Fortunately Alice was the talkative one out of the duo and did most of the talking. As long as Lexia added a comment or two, Alice was happy and when they parted ways, Lexia thought she’d done a good job at convincing her she was okay.

As Lexia walked down the long driveway to her house she stopped; looking into the forest, she could have sworn someone was there. Quickening her pace she made it to the house and bolted the door behind her. The strangest feeling had come over her; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and every nerve in her body felt like it was electrified. Waiting, Lexia watched for movement in the trees but when nothing stirred, she ran up the stairs and threw herself on the bed with a sigh. “I’m losing my mind,” she muttered.

She’d never been one to be afraid of being alone, but right now she seemed to jump at every shadow. She felt as if her body was on high alert, ready and willing to attack at a moment’s notice. But if she wasn’t mad then that meant the world of the supernatural was real and Lexia couldn’t decide which was more frightening.

Three hours later, Lexia looked at herself in the mirror. She was hiding out in the bathroom at Lucky’s Diner. Everyone kept mentioning her eyes; she’d tried to avoid eye contact with people but that proved hard when she had to serve them. Taking a deep breath she stepped back out into the diner, chanting the lie she’d been telling everyone all night:
it’s just a play of the light, it’s just a play of the light. Who the fuck am I kidding? You’re a freak, Lex. Well, only 5 hours left,
she thought with a sigh.

The night turned out to be pretty busy, keeping Lexia from dwelling on her worries. Twenty minutes before closing, the door chimed; Lexia stiffened as a chill over her skin slivered over her skin. Looking up she saw a man take a seat in front of her. He was tall and well-built, the kind of man she and Alice would drool over, and his eyes were so light brown they could have been gold. He smiled at her but there was nothing friendly about it, the kind of smile that whispered of danger and excitement. Lexia gulped and the hairs on the back of her neck bristling.

“What can I get you?” She smiled back, squaring her shoulders.

“Just a coffee, black.” His voice was a deep, rough rumble that made goose bumps appear up her arms. Turning to fetch his coffee, she felt his eyes on her every move as a lion would stalk its prey. There was definitely something about this guy, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He felt off but not in a run for your life way. He was dangerous, but enticingly so.

Shaking her head, she returned with his coffee. As he reached out to take it from her, his finger brushed hers sending a jolt of heat up her arm. Gasping she lost her grip on the mug and it started to fall. The man’s arm shot out so quickly all she saw was a blur. Chuckling, he said, “Careful now, love.” And placed the cup on the counter.

“S-Sorry.” She turned and started to head out back needing to put some distance between herself and this strange-eyed man.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

Lexia froze not sure whether to tell him her name.
Argh, stop being so paranoid, he’s probably just being polite.

Lexia turned and looked at him again, his eyes twinkled in mischief as he slowly took a sip from his drink. They never left her as his lips touched the rim of the mug. She felt trapped by his gaze, like looking into the eyes of a great hunter before he made his kill. She was a helpless rabbit caught in headlights; she had no choice but to answer, “Lexia, but most people call me Lex.”

He snorted sending coffee splattering all over the counter. “You’re joking,” he laughed.

Lexia’s temper rose. Breaking eye contact, she walked towards him feeling her fists clench and her face harden. “No, I am not joking. Why is that so funny?” She glared at him, her eyes ablaze with anger.

He paused for a second, his smile faltering. “Lexia means ‘Man’s Defender,’” he answered.

“And that’s funny because…? Actually don’t bother. Finish your coffee and get out!” Lexia never saw his reaction; she turned and strode out back. When she returned five minutes later, he had left and the diner was empty.

“Do you wanna head off, Lexia? I’ll finish up,” said Jan, coming out of the kitchen door.

“Hey, are you all right?” said the small plump woman, her brown eyes scrunching up with concern.

“Yeah, just some jerk who was in here before got under my skin.”

“Will you be okay getting home?”

“Yeah, thanks, Jan, I’ll see you Friday,” she called heading for the door, wishing the day would be over already. All she wanted to do was crawl under her covers and hide.

Lexia walked along Main Street away from Lucky’s Diner heading toward Upper Main Street; her home sat on the edge of town, about a fifteen minute walk from the diner. The house was set back off Upper Main Street with a long driveway enclosed by tall pine trees, a wall of dark greens hiding the house from view.

As she turned up the drive a sickening chill set in the pit of her stomach. Lexia lengthened her strides, each crunch of gravel making her cringe. There was movement up ahead in the shadows. She stopped while her eyes adjusted to the dark and then took a step back as she saw what waited for her.

A woman stood ten yards ahead blocking her path to safety, only she wasn’t a human woman; she had blood red eyes that glowed in the darkness and ghostly white skin pulled sharp over her bony face. Her clothes were torn and dirty, clinging tight to bones that seemed to jut from her skin. She held her hands by her side, each long nail curled and ready to strike.

“What do you want?” she called, surprised how strong her voice sounded even though she was shaking with fear.

“You killed my mate, bitch!” the woman spat, leaping for her with lightning-fast speed, closing the space between them in seconds. Lexia had no time to think over the woman’s answer or even time to draw breath and scream. She felt cold, hard steel grip her arms and then cool air rushing past her face. When she hit a tree, pain exploded throughout her body. She gasped as she connected with the hard, ungiving surface, all the air rushing from her lungs. For a second Lexia just laid there, stunned, unable to move even a finger; tears pricked at her eyes as she tried to deal with the pain. A voice screamed in her head,
get up,
it told her,
you can’t just lay here and be killed! FIGHT
. Scrambling to her feet Lexia mentally shook herself,
I’ve killed three of these things before, I can do this.

Peering out into the darkness Lexia tried to find the vampire woman. Suddenly a ghostly fist appeared before her, Lexia tried to dodge it but wasn’t quick enough. The fist as hard as steel caught the side of her face; it slid off her cheekbone and past her ear as Lexia moved her head. She’d missed the full force of the punch but still felt dazed. She threw punches hoping the vampire would back out while her head stopped spinning.

Her fist connected but the vampire never flinched; each blow felt like hitting concrete. With each wave of pain coming from Lexia’s fists, she felt her sprits drop. Panting furiously Lexia tried again and again to cause the vampire injury, but she was formidable and soon Lexia grew tired. The energy and strength that she had felt drained away with each punch or block she made.

The vampire knocked her to the ground like a rag doll, her razor sharp teeth snapped near her throat. Lexia brought her knees up as a barrier, desperately trying to keep the vampire from her throat but her muscles ached and all the energy seemed to have left her; a dark gloom clouded her mind.
There’s no point
, Lexia just wanted it to just be over; this fight, the fear, the madness she’d felt gripping at her all day. She looked up into the savage face of the woman above her, the woman who would bring about her death. She no longer looked like a woman, she snapped and snarled like a savage beast and her blood-red eyes bulged from their sockets. Lexia closed her eyes feeling oddly calm preparing for the pain that would surely come with her death. But when her eyes closed she didn’t see darkness but the face of her dad, and then sadness enveloped her as she thought of how he would be alone if she died here now.

Picturing her dad gave her power; it raged through her worn-out muscles, pleasure and pain erupting throughout her body, giving her the strength to throw the vampire off. Lexia felt around on the ground desperately searching for some kind of weapon and as her fingers brushed across a sharp branch, she felt a surge of hope fill her; all light and goodness, she was strong, she was invincible and as the branch sank through the vampire’s heart Lexia smiled, feeling elated. The vampire woman slumped to the floor, the branch still protruding from her chest, her blood-red eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Lexia who stood above her. The adrenaline, the ecstasy rippled through Lexia and for just a moment she stood there feeling like a god, feeling alive, her prey dead at her feet.

And then the body rotted away and panic took over; like a great tsunami Lexia had no hope at stopping it. She ran towards the house feeling her chest constrict, her stomach twist, and with a trembling hand, she unlocked the front door.

Standing in the dark, quiet hall Lexia took huge gasping breaths and collapsed to the floor. There she laid, a trembling, frightened mess lost in the dark, frightening thoughts circling around and around her head.

She crawled up the stairs many hours later, careful not to wake her dad, and stripped off her clothes, climbing between her cool sheets. Closing her eyes, Lexia curled into a tight ball, gripping her knees as small tremors travelled down her body. She willed herself to sleep hoping she could shut out the horrifying images, hoping that maybe she would wake tomorrow and the past two days would have just been a nightmare.

Chapter 3

Her dad left early for work the next morning. Lexia laid there listening to him leave. Normally she would still be fast asleep but she’d tossed and turned all night; vampires and death had haunted her dreams. With no one home it made it easy to skip school.

Lexia couldn’t face the world today; she’d woken, laid in that blissful second before your memory resets, and then her eyes had focused on the hand curled next to her face. All innocent and relaxed until she’d seen the red dots sprinkled across her skin reminding her of the night before, of the death that hand had caused. Lexia thrust her hand under the covers and then pulled them over her head. She planned to stay there for most of the day; she wanted to wallow. School would be over soon anyway, so what did it matter?

When she finally crawled out of the pit of despair, Lexia made the decision to no longer hide from her problems, it was time to try and work out what was happening. Grabbing her laptop Lexia brought up a search engine and typed in ‘Vampire.’ She sat for hours filling her head with information. Most of it seemed to be fantasy, but she was beginning to find out that not everything was as it seemed. By late afternoon she’d ordered herself a stake and a silver knife from a site she’d found—they did next day delivery, too—she hoped nothing would attack her before then.

“I cannot believe they sell this stuff on the internet!” she muttered to herself.

Her phone vibrated again and she looked down to see ten text from Alice, the latest read:

Why aren’t you at school & why are you ignoring me? Up for going out later?

Lexia didn’t reply, she had no idea what to say, she never missed school and she always kept in touch with Alice.

Suddenly her room felt so small; the walls seemed to be closing around her. Vampires and the supernatural buzzed through her mind.

“I’ve got to get out of here.” Lexia ripped off her pajamas as if they were suffocating her, changing into her running clothes as fast as she could. She dashed from her house onto the trail near her home; she’d run this path so many times it felt like a second home.

She watched her feet move steadily over the forest floor until she fell into a steady rhythm. She found herself relaxing, inhaling and exhaling with the thud of her steps.

When a sheen of sweat covered her skin and her breathing grew heavy she turned onto a trail that would lead her back home. Lexia jogged slower, her senses becoming more alert. She got the feeling someone was following her.
Someone or something
? Her chest tightened and her heart rate doubled as she glanced around, her mind racing.
It’s not night time. Vampires can’t go out in the sun? What else was out there if vampires were real?

Catching movement on her right she picked up her pace. Cursing for tiring herself out, Lexia pushed herself to the limit; her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. She glanced back quickly seeing...
What the fuck!
Risking another glance, she definitely saw a sleek black panther prowling through the trees.

The panther was closing the gap between them. Lexia’s breathing labored with each hard footfall, but up ahead she could see the exit about 50 yards away.