The Pendant

She knew she did not have a great deal of time. There was still so much to do tonight. The incident at the apartment had set them back and now she needed to clear her head. She had no concentration left and her body felt hollow. She felt like she had died again. The worst part was the only reason she was alive in the first place was Chris and now he was gone. Briefly she wondered if she would lose herself to her demon again. She could not let that happened. Too many people were relying on her and even though she had let Chris down that did not give her an excuse to let the world down.

In the distance she heard a scream and knew her release was about to occur. She raced to the sound of the scream. Whoever was being attacked was putting up a fight, screaming at the top of their lungs, begging for help.

She reached a dark alley, “Let her go.” She growled deep within her chest to emphasis her point. She glared at the assailant as he slowly turned to face her. Her eyes widened when she finally saw the face of the attacker. His brow was enlarged and protruding, his incisors were elongated, and his eyes were a piercing blood red. He gave a feral growl and lunged at her.

She had been caught off guard by his appearance and did not react in time to miss his attack. He landed on top of her, if she had breath in her lungs it would have been knocked out at the impact with the ground. Her eyes refocused and saw his glowing red eyes glaring back at her. The weight of his body pressed down on her.

He straddled her hips, his hands pressed down on her elbows. She growled deep in her throat, planted her feet on the ground, and pushed off the ground. Her attacker was forced off of her and landed on the ground above her head. She quickly jumped to her feet, grabbed her Bo, and spun around as her Bo extended to full length.

Her face shifted into its demon and the attacker gasped at her. “You fight your own kind!” He growled and lunged at her again, this time she was ready. She used the end of her Bo to slow him. It entered his chest as he advanced forward. She clicked the center button and the Bo shrank back down.

He slowed and Jade used that moment to jump towards the alley wall. She used the wall to redirect her attack extending her Bo and bringing it down against his neck. Her swing was hard enough that the Bo went the whole way through his neck. She landed silently on the ground behind the headless body.

His head rolled and his body staggered a few feet before the body combusted into a pile of ashes. Jade shook her head to suppress her demon. She walked up to the pile of ashes and shook her head in astonishment. She turned her head towards the dumpster near the dead end of the alley.

Her eyes fell on a girl who was curled into a ball crying. Jade walked slowly over to her and extended her hand. The girl flinched away. “I’m not the bad guy here girl.”

“You’re like him!” The girl’s cries became harder, more labored.

“I am nothing like him.” She growled and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to lose my temper. He and I are of the same race but we are nothing alike.” She extended her hand to the girl who took it.

Jade hosted the girl up and tilted her head examining her neck. She let the girl go, “Get to a hospital and tell them you were bit by an animal. No one will believe that it was a vampire and instead of being taken care of you will be evaluated for the psychiatric ward.”

Jade jumped up on the dumpster and was about to jump onto the first level of a fire escape when the girl called to her. “What happens if another one comes?”

“Run.” Jade jumped up the fire escape and on to the roof without looking back. Liam was not going to be happy about this. She did not really know how she felt about this. She lost Chris and found out that there are other vampires running around the city. It was overwhelming and she was almost excited to leave for this mission. She needed to get out of this town and clear her head. The fight with the random vampire did nothing to setter her nerves.

Before she knew it she was at the skylight to Liam’s office. She jumped down on the table and then to the floor. She took her customary seat and looked at the two men that had been waiting for her.

“What the hell is all over you Jade?” James asked as he walked over to her and ran a finger across the collar of her duster. The grey brown residue clung to his skin as he rubbed it between two fingers.

“Vampire ash.” She said as she looked at him. His face twisted with disgust as he wiped his fingers against his pants. She smirked at him and looked to Liam. “Why are there other vampires out there? I thought I was the only one.”

“You are the only one like you. That was our goal when we were adjusting the DNA of the demon. You still have your humanity, they do not but they are very real. They are out there and we were trying to create something, someone to fight against them. Someone who could withstand what they were capable of.”

“Are these test still going on?” Jade asked with rage in her voice.

“No we were shut down shortly after you.” Liam looked at his large hands and sighed. He took a seat at the table, tilting the chair back he added, “Jade whatever you saw tonight is what you could have been but something changed in you. Try not to dwell on it. We have more pressing matters at hand.”

“Damn it Liam! She lost someone tonight and saw what she could have become give her a fucking break!” James screamed slamming his hand down on the table. The outburst was so sudden that Jade actually jumped, betraying her cool exterior.

“It’s fine James. Thank you.” She looked at Liam and pointed to the file. “What do you have for me and when is the rest of the team getting here?”

Liam slid the folder across the table to her. “This is the team. You and James will be leaving soon. There is a town near the equator on the African continent that borders several areas that the necklace could be. We are working on transportation to work around your special needs Jade. James once we get you two there it will be up to you to find the necklace. Jade is there to be your eyes, ears, and muscle.”

James nodded and pulled the file towards him when Jade was finished. He shifted through the papers and grunted. “What does this thing look like? I see maps and possible locations based on lore but what does it look like?”

“There is no visual confirmation on the item.”

“So we are going after something that might not exist and no one has seen?”

“Yes James, it is imperative that you find the necklace of Aello.”

“What if it doesn’t exist? How the hell am I supposed to find it then?”

“Timothy picked up, left his business, and is headed halfway across the world to find this. Our man on the inside is keeping us up to date on his movements. Timothy seems to think that this necklace is real. We need to treat it as if it is.”

“When do we leave? We are running out of night.” Jade added feeling annoyed with the bickering. Why do they have to scream? Jade rubbed at her ears trying to stop the ringing that was brought on by the screaming.

“You don’t have an issue with this mission?” James asked completely shocked.

“Of course I do but I have nothing left to lose at this point.” Jade looked into his eyes giving him a sad smirk. The spark that had been in those eyes earlier that day was gone. She seemed to look through him rather than at him. Then without warning her eyes flashed red, so quickly that he was sure he had been mistaken, and her eyes sparkled again but this time with anger and rage.

“Ok when do we leave Liam?” James nodded and turned his attention to Liam.

“Right now, there is a freight boat at the docks. They know you two will be below deck and have agreed to let you out once they dock and the night has fallen. At the dock there is an off road capable jeep with UV blocking windows that will allow you to travel in both the day and the night. The Jeep will have all the items you will need for travel.”

“Ok. Let’s go. There is only an hour until dawn and I really don’t feel like turning into a crispy critter before I even get this thing started.”

James chuckled and flung his hiking bag over his shoulders as he stood from the table. He reached for Jade’s bag and she growled. He pulled his hands back in a mocking defense and laughed, “Sorry I won’t try to be a gentle man again.” Jade gave him a smirk and grabbed her own bag as they headed for Liam’s car.

Jade opened the back door and sat in the back seat allowing James and Liam to sit up front where there was more room for their legs. James turned around in the passenger seat and shook his head at her once they started moving. “You know you could have had the front seat.”

“I’m shorter.” She answered without looking away from the window.

The dock grew in the distance. There were large shipping crates being moved by large cranes onto the deck of several different ships. For being very early in the morning people were buzzing along the decks talking and hauling boxed items on moving dollies. The dock was dimly lit by streetlights placed several feet apart leaving large areas of darkness and shadows.

Liam pulled up to a large freight boat at the end of the dock and put the car in park. He handed Jade and James several papers including updated passports. He nodded towards the boat and James exited the car. Jade reached over to get to grab the bags as James circled the car and opened her door. She cocked her eyebrow at him, handed him his bag, and headed towards the boat.