Ashes of the Night (revised 3/23)

Ashes of the night

Chapter One

“Asher… hello you still alive buddy? Wake up Asher! We don’t have all day.”

  “What!  What’s going on are we under attack?”  I drew my sword while jumping out of bed and now stood looking anxiously around our room.

Cole was lounged out on the sofa next to Cooper and simply said “Naw man, it’s dark.  Are we going after that vamp or not?”

“Of course we are man, that’s our job ant it?” That’s how we are.  Joking one minute then, when out hunting the vamps, we we’re as serious as the president of the United States would be if a bomb was headed for New York.

I slid my sword back into its sheath on my bed stand and sat in the recliner across from Cole.

We’re pretty good vampire hunters.  Cole lost his mom and dad to some vamps when he was about six. Cooper’s parents died too only instead of vampires it was werewolves. Me I don’t know my parents. Cole and I were escaping an orphanage nine years ago when we met Cooper who, at the time, was fifteen.

We were down in an ally with two vamps, who were both trying to take a bite out of us. Cole has always been over protective of me.  Cooper came just in time and destroyed them. We must have looked really scared because Cooper let us stay with him that night.  I still remember sitting beside Cole and sucking my thumb while Cole told me he would always protect me.

Cooper didn’t make us leave but instead took care of us and taught us how to fight.

So, now we’re one of the most popular vampire hunting teams in the supernatural world. We didn’t start fighting vamps till we were eleven but for a witch and a shape shifter we learned quiet fast.

I went and changed into my all black out fit of black jeans, a little loose but comfortable, a black long sleeved shirt and my favorite expensive black denim jacket.  I slipped on some nice black running shoes, we always were black to blend into the night.  Cole had already laid out our weapons on the bed. Cooper was ready and watching the news. There had bean about six disappearances in the last week and we were sure there were at least four vamps involved, five at the most.

“Lets take two swords and one knife,” Cooper was moving toward us. I grabbed my swords off the bed. Attaching one to my belt as I swung the other onto my back, as did Cole though he strapped his knife to his leg.  I always attach mine to my left arm for easy access.

  We walked over to the window and opening it, looked down to make sure there was nobody there.  Cooper jumped out onto the fire escape.  We use the fire escape so we don’t draw attention to ourselves, Cooper’s idea, but we cant really walk out the front door of the hotel at midnight with a bunch of wooden swords attached to our backs.  Yes, wooden swords if you use steel or metal, their wounds would just heal up in about five seconds.  Wood, on the other hand will stay open as long as it would if you cut a human with a normal sword.  Even then, the black wood that my swords were made of is supposed to be deadly to humans so I figure it would do the job. Cooper always tells us he has connections with the owner of this hotel.  That’s the only reason Mr. Young lets him stay here for free.  I really don’t see were he got his last name from.  He’s definitely not young.

With Cole and Cooper following close behind we climbed the gates to get into the junkyard.  We were on our guard immediately.  The sweet smell of vamps filled the air, along with trash but what would you expect. Vampires smell sweet to help them attract humans. There was a small garage near a mound about five feet high; it was too dark to see what the mound contained.  When we were finally close enough to it what I saw sent chills down my back.  There were six bodies carelessly thrown out there.

  There was only a seconds warning. As a vamp jumped from a near by mound I drew my sword and stabbed him just as he landed. There were four and Cole was wrestling with one of them.  Cole got hit hard and went flying into the shack his sword landing by his feet. Cooper intercepted the vamp that was recharging Cole. Another vamp picked up Cole’s sword just as I reached them.  With it in his right hand he swung at me.  I quickly took my left hand and blocked his attack easily.  With his right arm held back I drove my sword into his heart.  I kicked him off of my sword and he landed into the pile of bodies about five feet away.

Cole was up now and was looking at me with surprise in his eyes.  “Wow!  I don’t remember Coop teaching us that move.”

“Yeah, I saw it on TV.”  I said jokingly. Then remembering the last vamp and turned to face him.  But he was gone.

I bent down beside the vamps and put a black moon mark on his forehead.  The moon stands for night. Most vampire hunters have signs they used to be identified in case any others cross by and see the mess.  Most know me as Ashes of the Night so I decided to go with the moon.  Since Cole is a shape shifter he uses a swerly mark, actually its because he can’t draw. We stood beside Cooper as he marked his vamp with a V and then added a line through it. He really likes the idea of getting rid of all vampires.

There was a time a vamp did get away; it was my first hunt.  He had supposedly come back with others.  We were long gone by then but they saw the moon. When a hunter came by he had been captured and forced to tell who we were so now not just hunters know our names.  Cole goes by Couch Potato.  OK, so it’s actually Black Flames but mostly because he thinks it sounds cool. 

The mystery of the disappearing vampire bothered me for a long time. Many vampires fight fair so it was two against one vamp and he didn’t even attempt to help his fellow vampire.

Was he watching us? Or would he come back to kill us to night? Cole was quiet and this bothered me too because it means he noticed the vampires lack of care for his friend.