• Chapter 3:

    John Daniels stared at the pale green walls of his office. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the warning out of his head. ‘A demon will kill you…A vampire’s blade will be stained with your blood…’ He shook his head and ran his hand through his short brown hair. The chance of a demon getting through the city’s barrier is very slim, especially for a vampire. Why would a demon want to kill him, anyway? Despite all of Daniels’ doubts, the anxiety that plagued his body continued.

    Three days. He thought. Three days and I’ll be out of this city. Marsanna has the strongest city barrier in the world. I’ll be safe there.

    He was suddenly dragged back into reality when his phone rang. He reached over his oak wood desk and pressed the speaker button.

    “Yes?” he asked.

    “Mr. Daniels, a couple of people from the Mercenary Guild are here to see you.” A female voice answered. His bodyguards were here.

    “Send them in.” he answered.

    He released the button and leaned back in his leather chair. A minute later, two bright-eyed girls entered his office and a sense of doom rose through Daniels’s body.

    “Good morning, sir!” said the girl who walked in first. Her blonde hair and blue eyes she made her look like one of those dress-up dolls that little girls love to play with. The second girl was even younger than the first and had the same big, naïve smile on her face.

    “Mr. Daniels, right?” asked the blonde. Daniels slowly nodded as she continued. “I’m Rebecca Sevilla and this is Lily Jade. We were sent to be your bodyguards!”

    Daniels stared at them in disbelief. Did they really send a couple of girls to kill a demon? Daniels was quiet for a minute. Procuring new bodyguards would mean breaking the contract with the guild. He would have to pay more money and waste more time doing the paperwork and waiting for the new hunters to arrive; time that he simply didn’t have. It’s only for a couple of days. Daniels thought. His eyes wandered to the girls’ chests. Maybe they could at least distract the enemy if it shows up…

    “Uh, Mr. Daniels?” Daniels looked up at the red-haired girl who had spoken. “Can you explain your situation to us? All we know is that you need protecting from a vampire.”

    “Yes, of course.” he answered. “Well, I received a warning a little more than a week ago that I would be attacked by a vampire.”

    “Who gave you the warning?” asked the red-head.

    “That is none of your concern.” said Daniels. “Suffice to say that it troubled me and so I’ve taken precautionary measures. Unfortunately, this city is far from my company headquarters so I wasn’t able to take most of my usual guards with me. All I need you two to do is…guard me until I leave this city three days from now.” Daniels glanced at the two girls to see if they had detected the underlying distain when he voiced that last part, but they both seemed perfectly oblivious.

    “It sounds easy enough!” said the blonde. “When do you want us to start?”

    Preferably never. “As soon as possible.” He answered.

    “Okay, then!” Rebecca turned and placed her hand on the door behind her. “In that case, I’ll go drop some stuff off back at a hotel. Lily will stay with you until I get back.”

    Before Daniels could object Rebecca exited the office leaving him with the red-haired girl. Lily gave her client a reassuring smile while he restrained himself from banging his head on his desk.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The night was dark but the shining lights of the buildings and the soft glow of the city’s barrier blocked out all signs of the stars. Not that Lily would be able to see them anyway, trapped as she was in the windowless office room; her client shifting through papers behind her. The safety measure was necessary since they weren’t sure just how the supposed vampire was going to try to kill Daniels; a gunshot through a window would work just as well as draining his blood. Still, Lily desperately wanted to be outside; to feel the cool night air against her skin.

    She began to softly hum her song, the one from her childhood, as she thought about the yearly camping trips her family would take when she was young. Those were her favorite memories: sitting around the warm fire with her family and looking at the millions of stars in the sky unhindered by the bright lights of the city. That was, until the barrier over the park shattered, taking her old life along with it.

    “Will you stop that? I’m trying to work,” said Daniels, not looking up from his desk.

    Lily jumped as she was torn away from her daydreaming. Daniels had practically ignored her the entire day, only referring to her when he needed to, so she had not expected his sudden comment.

    “What was that?” she asked.

    “Bodyguards are supposed to sit quietly until they are needed. Not make annoying noises,” he said bluntly, still not looking up.

    Lily narrowed her emerald eyes at him.

    “Grumpy-butt,” Lily said, and stifled a laugh at the expression on her client’s face as he finally looked up at her.

    “What did you say?” said Daniels in disbelief.

    Lily turned to hide the smile on her face.

    “Nothing sir,” she replied innocently, her eyes bright.

    She watched amused as his face turned red, his tired eyes glaring at her.

    Despite what her client may think, Lily wasn’t an idiot; she recognized a sexist when she saw one. They weren’t exactly uncommon in guild clients who expected someone who should at least looked tough enough to do what they had been hired for. Most clients usually change their minds when they see the job get completed without any trouble.

    However, Becky and Lily both realized early on that Daniels wasn’t the type to ever be reassured that a woman or even a couple of them could do anything more than light paperwork even if they saved his life. So, after a few failed attempts at trying to look serious about their jobs, both of them decided to give up and act like themselves much to the dissatisfaction of Daniels.

    Lily knew that she should probably at least try not to get on his nerves so much in case she would regret it later, but she just couldn’t help it right now. She felt so alive at night; so full of energy.

    Then suddenly Lily’s phone rang, saving her from getting into any more trouble with her client who had resumed his work.

    “Hello?” answered Lily.

    “Midnight check-in,” called Becky from the other side. “Everything okay up there?”

    “Yep! We’re doing great! How are things on your end?” asked Lily.

    “First floor is secure and the perimeter just checked in fine. No signs of an intruder so far,” replied her best friend. Becky yawned before continuing, “How come you sound so awake? Is there some new kind of coffee you’re drinking that I don’t know about?”

    Lily laughed. While Becky was usually able to keep up at late hours, both girls had to get up extra early that morning to catch the train. Unfortunately, Becky had problems with sleeping while traveling on locomotives so she hadn’t had any rest for the last 18 hours. It was no wonder she was tired.

    “Nope, the coffee up here is just as bad as downstairs,” Lily said, earning another sour look from Daniels. “Hang in there, though. Only a couple hours left, and we’re done for the night.”
    Then, Daniels’ regular guards will escort him home and take care of the rest until tomorrow, she thought.

    “Yay,” her friend sighed.

    Lily smiled, but it quickly faded as yelling erupted in the background. She could hear Becky talking urgently with someone, probably a guard, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

    “Becky? Is something happening?” Lily called out, uncertainly. Daniels noticed the change in Lily’s tone and his eyes snapped up to meet hers. “Becky, answer me! What’s going on?” she asked again, worried.

    “An intruder has been spotted. Get ready, just in case,” Becky finally answered.

    “Okay. Be careful,” Lily said.

    “You too.”

    Lily swiftly hung up and turned to her client, placing a hand on her sword.

    “What’s going on?” asked Daniels, turning pale.

    “Someone may be trying to break into the building. Don’t worry, just stay behind the desk,” said Lily taking up a position between him and the door.

    Daniels complied, surprised by the sudden seriousness of his bodyguard.

    Here we go. Wish me luck, brother, Lily prayed.

    ((Comment box too small for the critique? Feel free to post in my discussion forum. ))