THE VAMPYRE HUNTER

Chapter Three

WE DROVE FOR ABOUT SIX HOURS BEFORE OUR CAR STOPPED AT THE GATE.

There were about six guards at the gate; three flanked on each side. They each had a sword strapped to their side and were clad in thick black armor; their faces covered with a helmet-what’s up with that-?.

One of the guards removed his helmet and moved to speak to Royce; even though it was dark, none of them held torchlights which I found a little weird, like how could they see?. I could see them clearly because I had a very strong vision and could see clearly in the dark. I wondered if they had the same type of eyes that I had.

The guy was tall and lean, he had long brown hair tied into a ponytail, when he spoke, his voice sounded rough and husky; like he spent most of his time yelling.

“Hey Royce, you’re early today”. Early??, Its past ten in the night, how is that early?, I thought.

“Yeah, I had to handle something real quick”, Royce said, pointing towards me. The man leaned through the window to stare at me and I smiled sheepishly.

“Oh!, Hello I’m Jake and you are?”

“Maisie, Maisie Baldwin”

“Nice, well I don’t want to delay you guys so go ahead and Royce when you’re free later we need to talk, something’s happened”. Jack moved back and directed us towards the gate, yelling at the other guards to open it. Now I know why his voice is like that.

Royce nodded and drove in to the Academy, acknowledging the other guards on the way.

The Academy looked gothic. The academy was built in the European style architecture though it didn’t look like it was as old as the ones back in Europe. The buildings were elaborate, almost churchlike with high peaks and stone carvings. There were four massive gargoyles perched on the buildings and they looked really scary in the night. Their mouths were opened wildly but they did not spout water. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doors here and there. The academy looked more like a University than a high school.

Royce parked the car and we all came out of it, the other three guys walking away.

“Aren’t they coming with us?”, I asked Royce as he led me to the Dean’s office.

“Their presence isn’t needed at the moment, they’ll join the rest in patrolling the grounds”. It was then I noticed other guys clad in thick black armor and a helmet with a long sword at their sides, walking around.

“Oh, why are they all wearing armors and why aren’t you?”

“ You ask a lot of questions Maisie”, Royce said with a sigh.

“Sorry”, I smiled apologetically.

“No it’s a good thing don’t get me wrong, just thought you would save the questions for later when you’ve been properly checked and are well rested”.

“I don’t feel tired”, I said with a shrug.

“You will soon”.

We walked up a flight of stairs and walked out a door that led to a corridor. Formidable double doors loomed ahead and I guessed that was the Dean’s office since it was the only one there. There were two guards by the doors and they were both dressed like the ones I had seen outside; thick black armor with a helmet.

“You didn’t answer my question”, I whispered to Royce. He chuckled and nodded at the guards and they both opened the doors.

The Dean’s office was perfectly furnished and well designed. Several leather chairs sat before a large oak desk. There was a bookshelf by the side filled with many books; an aquarium filled with colorful fish lined the wall behind the desk.

Behind the desk sat the Dean. He looked quite young to be a Dean, I was expecting someone who was between 60-70 but this one looked 30-40; probably a little older than my mom was. He had on glasses and had thick short wavy hair and a goatee, his eyes were light blue and when he stood up he was as tall as Royce but not as bulky.

“It’s good to see you again Royce”, his gaze flicked to mine, “and this is?”

“I’m Maisie Baldwin”, I stretched forth my hand which he took in his. He had a firm grasp.

“Baldwin?, Daughter of Marie Baldwin?”. I nodded in response because I didn’t trust my voice enough to speak. This still feels like a dream or more like a nightmare.

“A Vampyre attacked her home and fed on Marie, She…..she didn’t make it but Maisie here killed the Vampyre and well I brought her here to protect her and also so she can defend herself in case of next time because we all know there’ll be a next time”. It was Royce who spoke this time.

“Marie is dead??”

“She is”

“Impossible, she was one of the best vampyre hunters out there, how could she have been killed so easily? And you said she- pointing at me-, killed a newly fed Vampyre?!”

“Yup”, Royce said popping the p.

“Wow!, How old are you child?”

“I’m sixteen, seventeen by December”

“She took after her mom”, Royce said with a smile on his face.

“She sure did”, the Dean said and looked at me with affection in his eyes.

“Is she in then?”, Royce asked

“Of course she is, I wouldn’t want such talent to go to waste, having someone like her will help us a lot but I’m afraid she has a lot of work on her hands since she arrived late into the term. Catching up might be a problem”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll personally train her and make sure she meets up with her mates in time”

“You would?”, The Dean and I asked at the same time.

“Of course, it’s the least I could do for Marie.

“Wouldn’t that eat into your time?, I can get someone else to train her”, the Dean said while walking back to his seat and sat down.

“The others can take care of things without me. I’ll ask Jake to assist, the two of us training her will help her a great deal, she needs two of us to balance things just in case”. The Dean nodded in understanding though I had no idea what Royce was referring to.

“Well then, since you’ve taken it upon yourself to train her there’s no problem. All she needs to do is sign the papers and also visit the infirmary because she looks beaten up”.

“I broke a rib”, I added and they both stared at me in shock.

“And you’re just mentioning that now?!!”, Royce yelled.

I shrugged nonchalantly, “it doesn’t hurt that much anymore, I’m fine”.

Royce sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

The Dean brought out some forms to fill which I did and after wishing me good luck, Royce took me to the infirmary for check up and treatment.

“Are you sure you broke a rib?”, The nurse checking me asked.

“Yes”, I nodded and winced. “ I think I have a fractured skull too”

“Well I’ve checked everywhere and there’s nothing broken, I can only tell your head was smashed from the dried blood on your hair but other than that there’s nothing. Whatever you broke has fixed themselves up”, the nurse said with awe in her voice. “ I’ve never seen anything like this in a human before”, she turned to look at Royce who in turn looked at me strangely.

“Has this ever happened before?”, He asked.

“No… I don’t know, I’ve never been this badly injured”. Royce nodded but the strange look didn’t leave his face.

“That’s all dear, all you need is a shower, some hot meal and a good night sleep”. Oh, so now I smell, Great!.

I nodded and came down from the bed.

“Goodnight Rosa”, Royce called out to the nurse and I noticed a blush on her face. Awesome!

“Good night Royce”

On our way to the dorms, we stopped by the cafeteria to get food for me, I didn’t know how much I was starving till the smell of the food wafted to my nose, they smelled heavenly.

Royce led me down one of the wide hallways in the dorm, passing several closed doors. He stopped by one and handed me a key.

“This would be your room for as long as you stay here”. I nodded and fit in the key, turning the lock to open the door.

“Thanks Royce”. He smiled and opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it, nodded and turned to walk away.

“What time should I come to meet you tomorrow?”

“You don’t know your way around the school, so I’ll come pick you up to give you a tour”. I nodded, smiled and walked in.

“Whoa!”. The room was way bigger than mine and it was a single dorm room and here I was thinking I had to share a room, I’m glad I don’t.

There was a double bed in the middle of the room with a bed side table and a clock radio. The floors were covered with a wall-to-wall carpet and a rug was placed by the side of the bed. There was a full length mirror and also a small sized mirror on the dressing table with a stool in front. There was a drawer and a built in wardrobe along with an en suite bathroom. On the wall were three landscape paintings. There was another door that led to the living area.

I noticed my things had been brought to the room, probably by one of the guys that came along with me. I picked up my vanity bag and went to the bathroom to clean up.

The bathroom had both a shower cubicle and a bath tub but I decided to use the shower. I picked up the shampoo that was kept there- it was strawberry scented- and used it to wash the caked blood thoroughly off my hair. I still found it weird that I had no broken bones even though I was so sure I had broken some bones. I was too tired to dwell on it so I just shut my mind off.

After I was done, I wrapped the bathrobe round my body and went back to the room. I ate the heavenly smelling meal and was satisfied.

I was so tired after the hot bath and meal that I had no strength to think about my mom, instead I laid on the bed and drifted off to sleep.