Thirst for Vengeance - Victoria Sinclair (to read list .TXT) 📗

the tree line one more time. Only this time I swore I saw a flicker of movement coming closer to the cabin. My heart was pounding in my chest with adrenaline as I kept studying the tree line. After about ten more minutes of waiting I didn't see anymore movement and decided I was just tired and had been seeing things.

Walking back over to my bed I laid down and yawned. I really need to go to sleep or tomorrow is really going to be a rough day. I thought to myself as I pulled the my covers up over me. I was still staring at the window when sleep came for me, before I succumbed to slumber, I couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or my imagination but I thought I saw two ice blue eyes staring through that window.

 

Hectic Day

 There was a slight chill in the air as I slowly walked outside to stretch my legs. Nightmares had plagued me all night of a blue eyed demon. No matter how far or hard I ran in my dream I just could not get away, waking up in cold sweats multiple times. Walking over to the far left side of the clearing I saw Alex saddling the two brown mares that he had bought last winter. "Aurora, I see that you are finally awake. Thought I was going to have to leave without you." Alex stated as he gave me a wide grin. I shot him a glare as I tried to stifle a yawn. "Just didn't get a good night's rest is all." Alex looked me over for a few minutes as I walked over to one of the smaller mares and double checked the straps.

"You know you don't have to go with me on this hunt, you could wait a couple of days. A hunter is no good if they are not in top condition. That is physically, and mentally Aurora." "Yes, I know this and I'm telling you Alex, I am fine." I knew we would be having this conversation, because it was something Alex had preached many times before. Not wanting to get into an argument this early I quickly turning around and walked back inside to get my gear.

As I entered my room I grabbed for my bigger blades first. Quickly strapping them against each of my outer thighs. I then took the smaller blades next, strapping them under my forearms for quick access. My sword belt came on next, I tightened it to the point it almost hurt my hips, but at least I knew it would not fall off. I then slowly pushed my sword into the sheath. I took a deep breath and exhaled. A smile quickly spread across my face. This was finally happening. All that was left was my bow and my bag. Strapping the bow onto my back, I decided to just carry my pack in my hand and put it in one of the horse satchels. Maybe, I thought to myself, I have too much gear. I could never outrun anything in all this gear.

As I started walking toward the door, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. An eerie feeling starting to creep up my spine, slowly I turned around to inspect my room. There wasn't much in the room, a small full-size bed made of oak and a small oak dresser next to the bed. Other than those two items my room was void of any furniture. As a rule, hunters didn't keep very many material things in their house. This was for multiple reasons, the two main was because you never knew when you would have to leave your home behind forever, or if a monster ever found your home they would destroy everything.

My eyes then flickered to the window. Feeling compelled to walk over I slowly walked over to inspect the window, feeling the chills down my spine thicken and the hairs on my arms started to stand on end. Faintly marked into the windows were the words. 'I'll be watching.' What the hell is this? I thought to myself as I slowly ran my fingers over the glass.

I jumped back in horror as I realized the carving was on the inside of the glass, not the outside. Does this mean the blue eyes I saw outside my window were not a dream? Why here and why now? Trying to calm my nerves, I quickly left the room and headed back outside. Should I tell Alex? After a quick moment of contemplation, I pushed the thought out of my head. No, that would not be a good idea. I decided as I made my way back out front. I forced a smile as Alex brought both of the horses over. "Are you finally ready?" He huffed as he lifted himself on the saddled horse. I gave him a quick grin and nodded my head. "Good, come on then!" He quickly turned the mare facing toward a small, almost invisible, dirt trail beside the training room. "No time to lose!" Alex shouted as he disappeared behind the trees.

Giving one last glance at the cabin I quickly pulled myself up onto Eliza and followed Alex onto the dirt path. The sun was finally starting to come out and it gave the forest a warm feeling to it. Yellow and red leaves glowed under its shine as we made our way down the winding trail. It had been so long since I had been to the village. Almost a year now and I wasn't sure if I was dreading it or excited by it. That's when my mind went back to the window. What on earth did that message mean? I'll be watching. I was lost and confused. Does this mean a vampire was in my room? In the house? Was this vampire crazy enough to go into a house with not one but two monster hunters? Or...was it the same vampire at all? Shaking my head, I decided to push all these thoughts to the back of my head and focus on what was head of us right now. That's where my focus needed to be and I was not going to let the blue eyed vampire ruin anything else for her.

After an hour of steady riding we finally left the shadow of the woods. It was weird not being under the cover of the forest, considering that was where I had spent most of my time. After about another ten minutes of riding through slightly tall grass, we came upon the flattened trail that lead to town. As we got closer to the market I decided I was more nervous than anything, since it was only Alex and myself on the mountain I was not used to being around so many people.

We stopped right before the market entrance and gave our reins to a stable smith who was sitting outside, the barn next to him already filled with a couple horses. As I dismounted my horse a could feel a knot forming in my belly and I went ahead and pulled my cloak closer to myself. Alex walked over next to me and gave me a wide grin,

"You might as well get used to it. If you are sure you want to go out on your own that includes going to markets and buying your own provisions without me."

I glanced up at him for a moment. "I will be alright, just will take some getting use to, I guess." I muttered the last part. We made our way into the market, it was getting close to midday and the market was already alive with people buying and selling goods. The smell of fresh baked bread invaded my nostrils and my mouth started to water. I had forgotten to grab a bite to eat this morning with everything going on. As we passed by the bakers Alex turned to me and put a few coins in my hand. "Go ahead and go and get us some bread and pastries for the road. I will go down here and buy the clothing and seasoning."

I looked him over for a second and smiled. "So you finally trust me to buy things now I see." The last time he had given me coins to go into the bakery I had bought nothing but pastries and spent almost all of our money. Alex chuckled a moment before giving me a wink and disappearing into the crowd. As I went inside the shop the smell of fresh bread hit my nose even harder. As I took a look at all the different pastries the ship had to offer I noticed the baker in the corner of my eye giving me a weary look. It was only then that I realized it was not common to see a woman in pants, black pants at that. The knives on my hips probably didn't help me either. The poor soul probably thought I was going to rob him.

,

I walked over to the shopkeeper and bought a couple loaves of break and about 4 meat pastries. The whole time he did not say a word and continued to give me a weary gaze. I put everything but one meat pastry in a medium cloth bag. The smell was making my stomach growl and I had to go ahead and have one. As I walked back out onto the street I had a stranger walk directly into me. I stumbled back for a moment, my temper rising. After I regained my footing I whipped around to give the stranger a piece of my mind when I stopped and my jaw almost dropped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there! I didn't hurt you, did I?" The man before me was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen.

He had shaggy blonde hair that stopped just before his eyes, which were a soft blue-gray color. He stood about six feet tall and from what I could tell from under his cotton shirt he was very well built. He had a perfect chiseled face and no hair on his chin or cheeks. I felt my knees go weak. What is this feeling?

"Are you ok?" He gave me a curious glance, snapping me out of my trance. My angry quickly came back when my should started to ache, "You need to watch where you are going!" I snapped. I checked the bag which contained our bread and noticed to the disappointment of my stomach I had dropped the meat pastry on the ground. The man before also noticed it. "I'll buy you another, I am so sorry." He went to go into the bakery shopped and I sighed and shook my head. "Don't bother, just watch where you are going from now on." I stated as I started to walk away. I didn't know what it was about that man, but he made my heart skip and I did not like it. Which was a complete lie, but that's what I was telling myself. This had never happened before and it almost unnerved me. Deciding it was time to find Alex I weaved in and out of the markets