Delivering a roundhouse kick to Suit, she bounced off of him and caught the first homeless guy in the head before her arm met the woman around the neck. When her feet hit the ground, Eliza pulled the woman over into the men, using her as a battering ram to knock them both down. A fourth Vampire was on her now. This one was slow and chubby, as Vampires went. She kicked him in the groin twice before her knee caught his chin, all the while tugging and twisting on the woman’s head as her claws dug into Eliza’s arm. Her head popped off just in time for Eliza to bring her knife back around and catch Chubby in the side of the neck while the other two men stumbled to their feet.
Chubby was out, on the ground, spewing ash like a Vampire volcano. She didn’t need to worry about him anymore. That left four, and the prostitute was hanging in the background, observing, while the other three, all men now, gave Eliza another go.
“You know you can’t kill me, so why bother to try?” she asked them as they came at her again.
Confusion washed over their faces, and she realized they had no idea what she was. Sometimes newborns were difficult to kill because they could be wild, but in this case, it was their confusion and lack of skills that made overpowering them easier. As Eliza sunk her knife into the suit’s chest cavity, she fought off the other two with her legs, wrapping them around the neck of the homeless man as her knife ended the business suit. She squeezed with her thighs as he bucked and tried to get her to let go. Even before he started to disintegrate, she managed to sink her knife into the other guy’s head. That wouldn’t kill him, since it wasn’t his heart, so once her feet were back on the ground, she grabbed hold of his shoulders and spun him around, pressing his back to her chest. It only took a moment to unscrew his head, and all the while, her eyes were locked on the woman near the fire escape who was taking it all in with a smile on her face.
Eliza caught her knife before it hit the ground but she didn’t put it away. Instead, she raised her other hand in front of her and beckoned for Miss Kissy Face to have her turn.
The woman laughed, that same obnoxious giggle they’d caught in the alley below. “For what? I like this life too much to end it so soon.”
“So why did you let your friends die?”
She shrugged. “Who says they were my friends? I just wanted to see what you could do. Impressive.”
Eliza wasn’t used to having anyone admire her work, especially not a Vampire, but she didn’t acknowledge the compliment. “Who are you? Who made you? It wasn’t Holland.”
Once again, the Vampire laughed. “Oh, no dear. Holland was a mere child compared to my father. I can’t tell you anything more, but you should be prepared. The end is upon you.” She smiled sweetly, her fangs no longer visible.
“What does that mean?” Eliza asked. But the Vampire was done answering questions. She turned around and leapt over to the next building with no effort at all, and a bright white fog encompassed her, completely blocking Eliza’s view of both the Vampire and the edge of the building.
Quickly, she crossed to the edge of the roof, contemplating whether or not to calculate making the jump. She hated to see the blonde get away, but without knowing exactly where she might land, she decided to wait and see if the peculiar fog cleared before she jumped. It was beginning to dissipate already, but it took too long to fully clear, and by the time she could see again, the woman was gone.
Reluctantly, Eliza took a few steps toward the fire escaped but realized it was shaking with the weight of someone coming up. Using her IAC, she could see that it was Sergio. His view point showed the side of the building flying by as he leapt up the same way she had moments ago. He pulled himself up over the ledge and stood beside her, catching his breath.
“You’re a little late,” she smirked.
“Hey, you’re the one who told me to go around.” He smiled back at her and surveyed the ash left on the rooftop. No need to bother cleaning it up as it would blend in nicely with the other grime and debris.
“Did anyone run interference with our john in the alley?” Eliza asked, ready to head back down.
“Yeah, Mila sent Andor in to talk to him. I’m not sure what his story was, but I’m certain the guy bought it. He was probably just happy to get out of there without getting shot.”
“Or bitten.” Eliza didn’t really care what the story was either. It seemed like her job here was done, so she climbed back onto the fire escaped and started working her way down, jumping from one landing to the next, sometimes skipping a floor when she could. Once again, she wished she had the superpowers she’d heard a second dose of Transformation serum could bring about so she could just leap all the way to the ground.
Mila was standing at the bottom waiting for her. The Area Leader was a thin woman with a harsh, but not unpretty face. Her black hair was tied behind her neck in a loose ponytail that only reached a few inches down her back. When Eliza came to a rest a few steps away from her, Mila patted her hands together in a silent clap. “Well done, Eliza. That was impressive.”
A few other members of their team were nearby and also agreed. Eliza could feel her cheeks turning almost the same color of deep burgundy as her hair. “It was nothing.”
“That took a lot of skill. I am confused by the entire situation, however. Why would the woman let you kill her colleagues and then just leave? And do you have any idea who she was referring to when she said her father is stronger than Holland?” Mila folded her arms across her chest.
Eliza was shaking her head on all accounts. “I really have no idea. I am hopeful she was just bluffing, but we need to be prepared in case she wasn’t.”
A black SUV pulled to a stop at the end of the alley, and the five Guardians and Hunters who had gathered at the foot of the fire escape headed that direction the second Sergio’s large black boots hit the pavement.
“Well, I shall make inquiry with Hannah and see if she has any ideas. This is something real HQ will want to know about.”
Eliza had gotten used to the KC team being referred to as “real HQ” though while she had been stationed there, she’d had no idea the other teams referred to it that way. “Why Hannah?” she asked.
“She is in charge. Aaron and Cadence are still honeymooning.”
“Right.” A knot formed in the pit of Eliza’s stomach. She should’ve remembered. Part of her was glad she hadn’t because she might’ve been dwelling on it every day, like she had a few weeks leading up to the wedding. When it had been postponed for reasons Eliza still wasn’t clear on, she’d had the faint hope that maybe Aaron had changed his mind. It was dumb. Of course he hadn’t. Now, he was probably off on a beach somewhere with his blushing bride while she was here, in Hungary, killing Vampires on rooftops and pondering how much worse a creature could be than Holland.
“I will let you know if Hannah has any information,” Mila continued as they piled into the vehicle, her heavy accent difficult to understand over the engine. “In the meantime, well done, Eliza.”
A small smile pulled up the corners of her mouth, but now that her mind had been allowed to fall back into that dark place she’d spent so much time in recently, contemplating the mistakes of her past, Eliza couldn’t help but think nothing she ever did really mattered. She’d never make up for the sins of her former life.
