Before The Dawn

Chapter 3: Teach Me Everything You Know

“There are many, out there, all are different in their own way. Some are harder to beat and some are like flies,” she said. He nodded. “I have a book at home where I write all the creatures I’ve encountered throughout my experience. The first pages my father wrote down some of the creatures he’s met and they are fierce.”

“How big is the book?” he asked. With her hands she made a space of about 17 centimetres. His eyes widened.

“There are still many pages I’ll have to fill in over the course of my destiny.”

“For curiosity, do you write in some kind of diary or like a memoire?”

“Well, I do but not after every battle,”

“That’s good,”

“Anthony, would you like to come over for me to teach you about the creatures? The book is too heavy for me to really carry around,” she said. He stopped in mid-step.

“But, your father,”

“He won’t mind, really, he probably won’t be home, he’s usually gone during the day,” she said. He nodded. They continued down the hall to their first class: English. Danielle took a seat in the back like she always did and Anthony took the seat next to her.

“Hey mate!” a few male voices said aloud. Danielle felt them coming closer to where she sat.

“Hey guys,” Anthony said before giving Danielle a nervous glance.

“So, who’s you new friend there? She’s hot,” the blond one commented. She shot him a dirty look. The red head stood next to her trying to make her speak.

“Uhh,” Anthony stuttered, “This is my friend Danielle.” He knew that he’ll get a beating later. She probably didn’t like being in a large group of guys especially who fancy her.

“What’s up beautiful?” The blond said sitting in front of her. She looked at him straight in the eye and changed her blue eyes to her gold feline ones. He shot out of his chair panting.

“Dudes, let’s sit in the front, that girl’s a freak,” He said and walked to the front with his friends behind him.

“I don’t think he meant freak. He just doesn’t know you.” Anthony said.

“I’m glad he did. What were you thinking?” she said looking at him.

“I-I don’t know. They’re nice guys; it’s also your fault for not giving them a chance,”

“Me? Give THEM a chance? I don’t trust them one bit, especially with my secret,”

“But,”

“No buts Anthony, I don’t like them, you can go back with them if you want, I can battle on my own, and I’ve done it for the past 3 years,”

“No, I won’t,”

“You’re very stubborn, y’know that?” she chuckled. He smiled a bit to see her smile.

“I’ll ignore that,” He said leaning back in his chair. The bell rang for class to start. He learnt besides that she was good at protecting the world from darkness she was also very smart. How does she have the time? He thought. He watched curiously how she answered correctly and quickly every question thrown at her. When it came for his turn he always stuttered before hearing Danielle whisper the answer to him. He continued to admire his new friend’s perfections. He watched as she was annoyed with a strand of her red hair and would always push it behind her ear.

“Anthony, class finished,” he was awakened by her voice. She was leaning against his desk.

“Sorry,” he said and got up and followed her to their next class. “So, how’s your arm?” He said sitting in the back of their Math class. She pulled up her sleeve to reveal 3 bloodless deep marks. “Doesn’t look too good,”

“I just need some disinfectant when I get home,” She said pulling back her sleeve of her trench coat. Anthony tried concentrating on his work but it was too complicated for him. He started to tap his lead pencil in a fast cadence on his notebook. He looked at the equations over and over and couldn’t find a reason for them. They looked like a code.

“Anthony, are you okay? You’re drifting away,” a distant recognizable said. He shot his head up. Danielle was looking at his direction at his empty math exercise sheet. He looked at her and that it was already done.

“Yeah, I’m okay, well; can you help me with my math?” he asked shyly. She looked at him for a while then she sighed.

“Okay,” She stood up and leaned on his desk. “Do you remember how to do this?”

“I’m not very good in math,”

“Here, let me show you,” she said and started to write down her own problem and step by step showed him what to do. He tried very hard to follow but he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. He admitted to himself she’s really pretty and one-of-a-kind; especially with her dark red hair and piercing cold blue eyes. He never suspected her to be so dangerous, so protective, so adventurous, and so unpredictable. “Are you listening to me?” she shot at him. He soon lifted his head to reveal a pair of angry eyes. “If you don’t want my help, I can forget about all this,” she said.

“No, no, I’m sorry; I just drifted off for a minute,” he said. He watched at her eyes became just a little softer. Class was soon over and she hurried out of class.

“What’s the rush?”

“I’m not rushing,” she said walking a little faster.

“Yes, you are, I can barely keep up with you,” She stayed quiet as she persuaded back to her locker. She didn’t feel well; her stomach was churning and doing flips. Her blood was boiling. Not again. She threw herself onto her locker and quickly turned the dial to her combination. The voices around her started to become louder and louder in her ears, her head was spinning. Her eyes changing from blue to red to yellow and then red again, she put her hand to her head; it was sweaty and warm. She had a strange taste in her mouth; craving.

“Danielle? You okay?” Anthony asked. She was shaking under her coat. Danielle heard his concern but she couldn’t focus. She felt her canines grow longer. I got to get out of here, she thought. Her legs were heavy but she didn’t want to make a scene so she twisted on her heel and ran towards the closest exit leaving her bag on the floor near her locker. She made past all the students and pushed the doors open as she felt the cool wind on her warm face. She ran a little more before she collapsed near a tree. She tried as hard as possible to control herself. She took deep breaths.

“Danielle!” Anthony cried after her. He ran after her. She’s fast. He watched her open the doors and let the sun shine in the hall. He watched as the people looked at them strangely, like he made her cry or something.

Danielle made her hand into a tight fist. Calm down, take control, she thought to herself. She felt no difference. She made a sudden hissing sound. She felt her craving rise, I need blood. Wait, no! I’m no monster! She heard the thumping sound of sneakers on the ground.

“Danielle, are you okay?!” Anthony said getting closer to the shaken girl on the ground. No, Anthony, go!

“Go away!”

“Huh?”

“Go away before I’ll hurt you!” She cried. Her craving was rising for his blood.

“What do you mean?!” He cried back, afraid. She turned around to face him. He saw her fangs at the corner of her mouth and her eyes shifting colours. She looked dangerous. “Let me help you,” She jumped on him letting his back hit the ground. She hissed and soon snapped out of her moment.

“Please, go, I don’t want to hurt you, I’ll be fine, tell the director or someone that I went home sick,” Her eyes were soft and sorry. He looked deep in her eyes. She got up still shivering.

“Go,” He said. She nodded and started to run away from the school. He watched her run farther and farther. I’m not scared of you Danielle, you have to learn that.

Danielle ran faster and faster almost to the point you couldn’t see her. I need to get to Trex and fast! She stopped in front of Trex’s Cafe and bar. She pushed the door open. Two big bodyguards stopped her.

“No minors,” One said.

“Trex! It’s me, Dani!” She yelled. She hated the nickname Dani but Trex was the only person she tolerated with it.

“Let her go, she’s family,” said a deep voice from far. The bodyguards let her pass. Trex was behind the bar cleaning glasses. She slumped to a stool. It was only noon and it smelled heavily of alcohol and cigarettes.

“Help me Trex,” she whispered. She looked up to see Trex. His silver grey hair was messy and he was wearing a button up dark blue shirt. He touched her forehead. She remembered how she met him: it was when she first started the guardian business. She almost killed him when her powers were uncontrolled and her craving was unbarring. Trex, knowing what to do brought her a vial of blood and calmed her down using some herbal mist and a cool rag. Only last year they tried a relationship but figured they won’t work out but stayed Danielle’s closet friend and older “brother”. He told her his secret: he’s a vampire.

“Jesus, Dani, you’re boiling.” He exclaimed.

“I need blood, my craving is overwhelming.”

“Come with me,” He said and went through the little door from the bar and took her hand and brought her to a secret from in the back. It was decorated with red silk and steaming pots. He sat her down on a cushion and told her to sit still and inhale the steam. She took deep breaths through her nose and exhaled by her mouth. Trex came back with a small vial of blood. Danielle held it in her hands. The glass was chilled and she looked at the thick red liquid inside. She unscrewed the little cap and quickly drank it.

“Feel somewhat better?” He asked. Danielle nodded. “Isn’t today you first day of classes?” She nodded again.

“Dammit Danielle,” he said. He used my full name, she thought. “Don’t you dare skip a lot of classes this year.”

“Sure, Trex, I’ll go to my next class with the craving sensation of blood in my mouth, my boiling skin and cold hands and my mutant coloured eyes.” She said sarcastically as she wiped a drop of blood from her chin.

“Does someone know?”

“Yeah, I met a mortal yesterday night, he knows who I am now, and he’s trust worthy, a keeper.”

“That’s nice, but aren’t you a little worried if you do the wrong move and he tells everyone?”

“A little,”

“Dani, you’re old enough for your own responsibilities, I’m not going to help you this time. If you get exposed, well, you’ll be killed, and I don’t want you dead, you mean a lot to me, y’know that?”

“I know Trex, don’t baby me too much,” He started to damp her forehead with a cold damp rag. Danielle loved the feeling against her warm skin.

“I’ll baby you until we die,”

“Y’know, I’m going to be immortal in 2 years.” She said. Trex smiled.

“While I already am,”

“True, how long have you been 19?”

“Almost 50 years, I’m younger than most vampires,” She nodded and closed her eyes as he continued to press the cloth against her forehead. She continued to inhale the steam around her. The taste of blood still lingered but her crave was diminished. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Better, thank you,” She said still keeping her eyes closed. She soon found herself in his strong arms. He kissed her head like a child. She felt both safe and secure in his arms. Trex has been there for her no matter what has she become or how cruel she can be and therefore welcomed him into her life with open arms.

“Trex,” she said barely audible. She felt her canines going back to normal and her head stop beating.

“Yeah, Dani?” he mumbled in her hair

“What time is it?” She said looking up.

“It’s only 5 o’clock, your parents don’t expect you until late, so calm down, it’s not like you have really anything planned for the evening,” Trex said with a mischievous grin. Danielle looked at him with suspicion.

“Not yet, I’ve been battling creatures all summer, I’d like at least one night off,” she moaned.

“Maybe this is your night,”

“Don’t flatter me Trex, we tried and it failed,” Trex held up his hands defensively at her response. She gave a small giggle. He placed his arm on hers. Danielle moaned in pain as his strong arm was on her bite marks. He quickly lifted her arm and pushed her sleeve to her elbow and looked at the bite marks in horror.

“When did this happen?”

“This morning, Black Ink was in the hallway,”

“Black Ink at dawn? That’s really strange, unusual.”

“I know, it left me this nasty little gift,”

“It’s not bad, but it’s not good.”

“I’m planning to put something on it once I get home,” she said and pushed back down her sleeve and she lowered her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t destroy the creature, I literally killed him. I just dug my nails into his skin, only trying to hurt it but then I felt a rush of... I can’t explain it.”

“You reaped it?”

“I guess,” she said. Trex stared at her. She looked up and looked at the worried look in his amber coloured eyes. She never felt so guilty.

“It means you’re getting closer to being like your father,” He said. Danielle suddenly felt thrilled. She admired her father and had dreams of being powerful and ruling like him. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Don’t you have to go back to work?” She said randomly.

“Hey, I have like 4 guys at the counter, they can handle it,” He joked. She gave a smile. She loved Trex very much; just the way he made her smile was enough. He nuzzled her head lovingly.

“Dammit, I was so busy being uncontrolled I left my book bag at the school,” She said. Trex smiled.

“Be right back,” he said. She sat back on the cushion. He soon disappeared. After 5 minutes he came back with her book bag.

“What took you so long?” she teased. She took the bag from her reach and opened it. Noticing that homework from her missed classes was inside. Anthony. She found a piece of folded note book paper. She read the gentle loops of his handwriting. Danielle, don’t worry, everything is fine, the director is cool with it. I already packed your homework. Call me; I want to know if you’re okay. Here’s my number: 714-486-5444. –Anthony.

“Awe, the kid’s got a crush on you Dani!” Trex said looking over her shoulder. She got up and placed the strap over her shoulder. “You’re leaving already?” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “But we’re just getting started.” He said in her ear.

“I promised to lecture him on creatures. We made a deal; he has to be there for every one of my battles,”

“All? I’ve been with you on few occasions and it isn’t very pretty.” He said. Danielle shrugged. She pushed the door open to reveal already full bar.

“I have to be going, it’s already getting close to twilight,” she said. Trex placed a kiss on her cheek.

“Be careful, if you ever need me, use your telepathy. My mind is always open for you,”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said and smiled. She walked out into the twilight sky. She looked up and saw the first few stars. The weather was cool and refreshing. She shivered and pulled her coat closer. She noticed it was calm. Too calm. She took her cell phone from her pocket and dialled Anthony’s number.

“Hello?” said Anthony on the other line.

“It’s Danielle,” she said.

“Thanks for calling me, are you alright? What happened then?” He asked. She heard the distress in his voice. On the other line, Anthony was happy to hear her elegant voice. He worried about her all afternoon; thinking if she was okay and what happened to her to behave in such a dangerous and frightening way. Danielle paused for a moment.

“Anthony, are you still up for my lecture?” She asked. Anthony smiled.

“Yeah,”

“You know where I live, meet me at my house. I won’t be long.” She said and hung up. She started to run and picked up her speed. She felt her feet barely touch the ground. The street lights passed by in a blur and she was soon there in less than 3 minutes. Anthony’s black 1968 Plymouth Barracuda just stopped in front of her house when she arrived.

“Nice car,” she exclaimed as he just his car door.

“It was my father’s. It me the whole summer to get it to look good and work,” he said patting his hood at the new paint job. He followed her inside and surprised to see how Victorian it was. Danielle’s mother was reading a book in the living room by the fire place.

“Evening Danielle, you’re home early,” He mom said as Danielle hooked her trench coat on the coat rack.

“Evening mother,” she said. “Do you mind if I brought a friend? We’ll be in my room,” Her mother looked up from her book to glance at Anthony.

“Hello, Mrs. Reaper.” He said. She smiled and got up. He couldn’t believe how young she looked and how identical she was to Danielle. She shook his hand.

“You don’t have to call me Mrs. Reaper, call me Elvira.” She said with a smile. He noticed she had fangs. Didn’t Danielle say she was half human? Danielle looked at her mother and couldn’t help but wonder why her mother had fangs. She’s hiding something from me again, recalling that she kept secret about her father when she was young. “Alright you two don’t do anything I won’t approve.” They nodded and Anthony followed Danielle up the stairs. He couldn’t believe how big the interior was while the house looked small on the outside. He followed her to an elegant room. The walls were painted a crimson read and her bed had black silk sheets. He looked around to see the black wood Victorian furniture. On the walls there was paintings and posters of heavy metal and punk bands. On one wall there was a mural in progress. He walked towards it and traced his fingers over the designs of shadows, city lights and creatures. He looked at the far left of the wall and saw a person. It wasn’t finished.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s me,” She said looking through her large bookshelf for the book.

“Why is it incomplete?”

“I’m still finding my true self,”

“You’re a demon, how isn’t that your true self?” He said. He didn’t mean the coarseness of his words.

“I know that part, I’m still finding my place in this world. People don’t accept our kind very easily. Even if they did, we like to keep our lives as secretive as possible,” she said pulling out the big book. Anthony helped her lower the heavy book to the ground. They sat cross-legged on the ground against the edge of her bed. She put the book on her lap. Anthony leant a little closer. Close enough that his arm was against her bare skin. Danielle noticed it too and she liked the feeling against her almost pale skin. She started to blush at her reaction. She started at the beginning where the words were in red and in a fierce sharp letters.

“Are those words written in blood?” Anthony asked curiously.

“No, just red pen,” she said. “Okay, let’s start,” she took a deep breath and started to read her father’s words. Every word Anthony listened carefully.

“How is the Underworld?” he randomly asked when the entry mentioned the underworld.

“It’s dark and mysterious. You can’t go around alone. I’ve been there a few times when my father allowed me to go. I am legendary to the Underworld; no one thought that my father would have a daughter. I was supposed to be a son.”

“They never thought a girl would be as fierce as him?”

“Never in their life, have I surprised my father also.” She said. Both stayed quiet for a moment.

“You surprise me too, you look so innocent. You dress uniquely. I never suspected you.”

“Innocence is the key for keeping my family and me safe,”

“Yeah, it also makes you attractive,”

“Are you hitting on me?” She said feeling a bit embarrassed. Anthony saw the confusion in her icy eyes. He backed away a few inches.

“Sorry,” he said. Her eyes softened at the look of his face; it was hurt.

“Come back,” she said in barely a whisper. He heard it in the quiet room. He returned to sit next to her. Danielle blushed at the words she said. She never sounded so helpless before. She started to read again. Anthony asking short questions at times and she would answer them in short answers. In the hours, Danielle was able to memorize his scent. It was manly with the after-shave but the floral scent of his shampoo mixed with the little citrus scent of his hair gel gave it a gentle feeling. She liked how his green eyes were playful but were somewhat insecure. She soon got to the part of where her father wrote about her scythe.

“You have a scythe? Can I see?” He said with excitement in his eyes. She sighed and smiled. She lifted her arm straight in front of her. She concentrated and in no time a large scythe appeared in her hand. The jewel in the middle of the blades glowing its magnificent shade of red. Anthony looked in amazement at it. He traced his finger in the blade. “Ow,” He said shoving his index in his mouth. Danielle control herself seeing the bit of blood on the sharp blade.

“Nice job,” she said taking a deep breath. “It’s very sharp.”

“Thanks for telling me,” he said sarcastically. “How do you use it?”

“Want me to use you as an example?” She said playfully. He laughed a low laugh. His laugh is beautiful, Danielle thought. “I just slice my opponent and it’s destroyed nothing really fancy.”

“Well, your scythe in fact fascinates me; it’s not what you see in Grim Reaper legends, it’s more what you see in Japanese comics of the Grim Reaper.” He said examining it more. “Look at it, there is 2 unique blades held by a circular ruby jewel in the middle that glows. The wooden handle is twisted with plant veins.” He said. She slowly passed it to him. “No, I can’t.”

“You can hold it for a little while before I’ll have to make it disappear,” she said as decently as she can. He took it in his two hands with delicacy. He struggled with it a little knowing it was heavier than he expected.

“You can hold this? Pretty heavy if you ask me,” he said.

“It’s nothing for me,”

“You have super strength?”

“You can say that. Now, can we continue? It’s getting close to 9 o’clock.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t live very far, a 5 minute drive and I don’t really have a curfew,” He said confidently. She nodded and put her hand and the end of her scythe and it disappeared into nothing. “That was cool,” he said. She couldn’t help but giggle at his boyish quotes. He smiled wide. He loved her little amused giggles, how they would happen when he said something that delighted her. He looked at her smile, at clean and white her teeth her, how her fangs looked dangerous but somewhat hidden, how her red lipstick made it more attractive.

“Okay, let’s get back to your lesson,” she said. He pressed a little closer to her to see the book better. She turned the page to reveal her own handwriting in beautiful fierce loops in black. She read about how her first creature was no more than a small Kryptonite. She explained that every creature she ever fought she named it herself and it would immediately become the name of the species.

“Let’s say a creature that you never battled before appeared and I help you defeat it, would it be possible if I were to name it, under your permission, it would go into the directory?” he said with delight.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said uncertain. She continued to read her own entries to him. Explaining time to time what exactly the creature was, what were its weaknesses, and anything that could be helpful to a mortal who wanted to fight a demonic creature. The hours slipped passed and they were getting closer and closer to her recent entries. Anthony yawned.

“I should take you home, we could finish tomorrow.” She said hearing his yawn.

“No, I’m fine, continue.” He said. As you insist, she thought and continued with no complaints. As she finished reading her last entry it was almost midnight and Anthony had trouble keeping his eyes open. Thank you father for making me nocturnal, she thought happily.

“Alright, Anthony, I’m driving you home.” He was too tired to speak and just nodded. She closed the book and placed it on the ground beside her and got up quietly. Although she was tiny she was capable of picking him up and quietly carries him to his car. She placed him in the passenger seat and dug into his pocket for his keys. She pulled them out and put the key in the ignition. The car roared into life. He did a good job on this car. She turned the car around. Then she paused. Dammit, I don’t know his address. She dug again into his pocket to put out a leather wallet. She found his driver’s license. 87 London Avenue. She pressed on the gas pedal and started to go at a normal speed not to wake the neighbours. This is too slow, way too slow for my liking. The speed meter was at 70km/h. She stopped at a normal suburban home. It had white brick and rose bushes growing by the driveway. She parked in front of the house. Removed the key from the ignition and shoved it back into his pocket along with his wallet. She gently shook his arm.

“Hey, Anthony, you have to wake up,” she whispered. Her shot open his eyes. He made his eyes get used to his surroundings, blinking several times.

“Sorry Danielle,” he said rubbing his eyes. She unlocked his door as he opened it. She stumbled out of the car. She watched carefully as walked to his front door and fiddled to put his key into the lock. She walked out of the car and appeared at his side. She slid the key in for him. “Thanks, ‘Night Danielle.” He said between yawns and he walked in.

“’Night Anthony,” she whispered as he closed the door. It was now midnight, she would love to stay out for an hour or so but she had a little clearing to do first.

A/N: Well, I was asked to make it longer, so I did. Sorry, if it is a little confusing. If there’s anything I should improve, don’t be afraid to tell me, it would help me in future chapters. Hope you like it.