Argent Eye IV

39

I was the first person to walk out after Stark and Penelope, worried that if I stayed, people might start asking questions I couldn't answer.

"Hey, Mills, wait up!" I heard Tina say. I turned and let her catch up, but what I really wanted was some fresh air. "Are you okay? You look pale."

I nodded. "I'm okay." I said. "I think I just need some air."

Tina nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

I smiled at Tina. "Thanks, but I think I just need a minute alone."

She nodded, and then placed a hand on my shoulder. "Whatever is going through your head, please remember that you're not on your own with all this."

"Thanks, Tina." I said, before turning and making my way outside.

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As soon as I got outside, through a back entrance to a ground-level car park, I welcomed the fresh air and took a few deep breaths. It definitely helped ease some of the anxiety I was feeling, but no amount of fresh air could rid my head of the thoughts going through it.

Why couldn't Haydn have just stayed dead? If he was more powerful than before, then I had no idea how I was supposed to stop him. It had nearly killed me the first time.

Tina's words repeated themselves in my mind, and I realised then that I wasn't alone. Aside from the people I worked with, I had other support from uni, and even from home.

The door opened behind me, and I turned to see three people walk out- two men, and a woman. I thought they were just out here to get some air like me- perhaps for a cigarette break, or to go to their car. Maybe they were going home. The fact was, I didn't think anything of them being out here. I smiled at them in acknowledgment, and then turned back to my thoughts.

"So, is it true?" One of them asked- I turned back to the woman. The two men were standing just a bit behind her, looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Is it true, that you and Haydn are connected?" She asked. I realised then that these guys must have just come from the meeting.

I pursed my lips. "Unfortunately, yes." I said.

"Is it just a mental connection? Or is it physical, as well?" One of the men asked this time.

I had wondered this myself, but wasn't sure. "I don't know." I said.

"You see, we've come to a bit of a realisation." The woman said. "That if you are connected physically to Haydn, then whatever hurts you will hurt him, too."

I frowned, wondering what this woman was getting at. Surely she didn't mean...?

She did.

The woman lunged forward, bringing up a blade from somewhere, and slashed the air in front of me.

I jumped backwards, and tripped over my own feet in the process, landing on my backside.

But this woman wasn't hesitating- she'd already swiped down with her Black Prometheum again, but I held an ice-fused arm up in defence. Her blade clanged against the solid ice, making a small indentation in it, and she continued to force the knife down. She was practically on top of me, her face a picture of pure rage and determination, before I pushed back by releasing a burst of ice energy.

The woman flew away from me, landing hard on the ground next to the other two men with a heavy groan. They took one look at the woman, and then turned their attention back to me.

"Please, don't do this." I said, not wanting to hurt anyone, but they were already onto me. One of them ran, before the ground under my feet was sharply lifted, throwing me off balance. Once again, I'd fallen over, whilst the man picked up his pace.

He was nothing more than a blur as he landed on top of me, and he practically hissed in my face- his eyes were a brilliant red, and his canines had elongated into sharp fangs. This was the side of a vampire I'd yet to encounter, and quite frankly, it was fucking terrifying. I wondered if Tina looked like this when she was pissed.

I tried pushing against the vampire, but his strength was incredible. I called the ice to my hands as I pushed, although it didn't seem to be doing much. It didn't affect him like it would a human.

Then, he bit my forearm.

I actually screamed- I wasn't entirely sure where it came from, but I couldn't help it as an intense pain centred itself at the bite point, before making its way up my arm. It was extraordinary- I couldn't compare it to anything I'd ever felt before. It burned, but not like fire. It ached and stung and cramped all at the same time.

In a final effort to be free of this vampire, I charged my veins with a metallic strength, and kicked him in the stomach.

He flew off me, and I quickly stood up, although immediately I regretted it. My whole body seemed to hurt, the pain spreading from where the vamp had bitten me right into the back of my head and down my spine.

Then my head started to spin- I saw three blurred figures standing there, and was certain that they were about to kill me. I tried fusing just my arm with the ice, and managed it for a few seconds, but it didn't seem to be healing the gruesome teeth marks. I tried again, but I couldn't focus. I didn't have enough energy to do it.

Then the door behind them opened, and two others appeared there.

"Hey!" A male voice shouted, but it was kinda echoey. Was that Stark? "What do you think you're doing?!"

My three opponents took a step backwards, as did I, and that was it. I fell, my legs feeling like jelly. The pain was too much.

I felt a pair of hands catch me, stopping my head from smacking the concrete.

"Millie?" I heard a woman say.

"Tina?" I whispered, and then everything went black.

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