AFTERMATH

RIKKI abruptly halted beside the ladies’ clothes department store and stared at the displayed tabloids on the newspaper rack.  Her amber eyes reflected the headline imprinted on ‘The London Daily’ tabloid.  KILLER FIRE STRIKES AGAIN!

            “Need one, young miss?”  Asked the middle age salesman who happened to notice her among the several Londoners that were standing in front of the store.  His tired-looking eyes were staring at her scarlet hair and then shifted back to her face, so as not to be rude.  In the past, Rikki always found it annoying whenever she received unwanted attentions because of her uncommon look: an Asian look which consolidates with an eye-catching scarlet hair.

               She bought one newspaper and set off to a nearby park to look for some unoccupied bench.  She found one but already had one occupant who, like her, was also holding The London’s Daily tabloid.

            “May I?” she asked.

            The young gentleman with a scruffy brown hair looked up to her and, as expected, was taken aback by her uncommon appearance.  But silently regained his composure fast enough to avoid annoying the Asian lady.  He then positioned himself to the other end of the bench far enough for Rikki to occupy the other end.

            Rikki settled herself on the vacated part after expressing her thanks to the young gentleman and started reading the only part of the newspaper that took her attention in just one glance.

KILLER FIRE STRIKES AGAIN!

John Willington

 

 

42:31, LILI NIGHTCLUB, LONDON – The ‘Killer Fire’ that took everyone’s attention and is dreaded by all Londoners these past few weeks, appeared again last night in one of the crowded Nightclubs in the city.

 

The twenty-six year-old bartender, Louis Mc Neill, unfortunately met his end after being enveloped by an angry fire that suddenly occurred inside the night club.

 

Private Investigator Leon Selwyn, who happened to be doing an assignment, witnessed the burning of the screaming bartender but not soon enough to find out the cause.

 

Same as the former victims, the killer fire left nothing from the body but dust.

 

 

Rikki had already finished reading the articles but her eyes were still staring at the words.  Killer Fire.  Left nothing from the body but dust…  She really is here.

She put aside the tabloid and turned her head towards the young gentleman’s direction.  The guy seemed to have lost in his own world, his brows were furrowed and hands were tightly clenching the newspaper.

His gray eyes looked furious.             

 

“YOU asked for me, my Lord?”

            Vladimir de Rue pulled his bloody lips away from the blood-drained body of the best assassin in Europe and looked up on to his most loyal disciple, Valentin.  The pale young man offered him a towel he gratefully accepted.  “Yes, I did.”  He replied after wiping off the fresh blood on his lips.

            Valentin waited.

            Vladimir settled himself on a nearby couch and signaled the present servants to take the body away from his sight.  The servants did as what they were told, leaving their Lord and his disciple alone on their own.

            After making sure that they were totally alone and didn’t have unwanted listeners, Vladimir fixed his striking green eyes onto Valentin’s.  “Have you got your hands on The London’s Daily newspaper?”

            The disciple stared at him.  “I haven’t.  There’s no London’s tabloid in France.

            The room was suddenly filled with Vladimir’s amused laughter.  “Yes, of course.  There’s none.  Silly me.  Suddenly making a very dumb question.”

            “Forgive my ignorance, my Lord.”  Valentin said apologetically.

            Vladimir shook his head in response.  “It’s mine, not yours, Valentin.”

            He didn’t give a reply.

            The young handsome Lord pointed the newspaper that was neatly put on the table.  “Please read the headline article and let me know your thoughts about the matter.”

            Valentin went and reached for the sheets.  It only took him a few seconds to read the said article and had set it aside after.  His sapphire eyes looked bewildered.  “The Lady…is in London?”

            Vladimir let out a very warm smile as he looked up on to the high windows where the sun light were trying to come in but couldn’t reach them.  “She certainly is.”

            “Do you wish for me to go and have a look, my Lord?”

            The warm smile quickly disappeared from his lips.  “No.”

            “My Lord?”  His disciple was puzzled at his sudden change of mood.

            “At this moment, London is the most dangerous place for our kind.  I do not wish to lose you, Valentin.”

            “I’m grateful, my Lord.  But…those people she killed?”

            “Yes, they were our kind.  But not from our tribe.  So, they do not matter to me.  I want you to notify everyone my warning not to wander in London.  If they disobey, tell them not to expect sympathy from me.”

            Valentin nodded but didn’t move to dismissed himself.

            “I assume you have some news for me?”

            He nodded again.  “I’ve found out that the VSS sent a slayer in London.”

            Vladimir raised a brow.  “They did?”

            “Yes, my Lord.  But I’m certain it wasn’t because of the Lady.  I don’t know what’s going on inside their council, but they didn’t receive any news regarding the ‘Killer Fire’.  I assume it was blocked by someone on her side.”

            “So, what was their reason on sending a slayer?”

            “I’ve learnt it has something with our kind that had over-populated the city, resulting into a so-called ‘numerous unsolved murder cases’.”

            Interesting…  “And the name of the slayer who was sent?”

            “I believe she was called Scarlet.”

            The moment Vladimir heard the name, he let out a terrifying laugh that filled the room and made Valentin shivered in dread.  “What kind of idiot council does the VSS have?!  They just made the biggest mistake they shouldn’t have done!  They freed her Chosen Aide from their grasp and pushed her back to her master!”  He then calmed down and smiled amusingly.  This is really interesting.  “I can’t wait to find out what happens next.”

YOUNG Matthew almost jumped in joy after reading the head line of The London’s Daily tabloid the old lady at the park was reading.  He hadn’t really read the article but he was sure his Big Sister had done what she had promised to him.

            The child grabbed his bike and rode home as fast as he could manage, with the newspaper he had bought on the way stuffed under his right arm.  He stopped in front of an old apartment building, parked his bike, climbed the fourth floor and excitedly stormed into room 017.  “You did it, August!  You really did it!” his dark eyes were beaming in joy.

            The silver haired big sister turned her hazel eyes from the vandalized wall to the twelve year-old lad.  “Yes, I did.”

            “How did you do it?  You know, asking the Killer Fire to punish that bastard bartender?”

            August’s eyes gazed at the young fellow intensely.  “Its name is not Killer Fire.  It’s a friend of mine.”  She corrected the boy and turned her attention back to the wall.  She reached and drew another line on the wall, crossing the other four.

            My Guardian.