Lexia (The Deadwood Hunter Series) (3 page)

I’m gonna make it... I am going to make it!
she chanted in her mind. But she was growing tired now and panic was setting in making it harder to think clearly. She couldn’t keep up this pace for long; her lungs burned with fiery strain.

But you’re not just anyone
a voice whispered in her mind. She pushed past the burn, increasing her speed, tapping into power that had always been there hidden away deep inside.
No, not anymore,
she thought pushing herself faster.

With the exit just yards away, a surge of hope filled her carrying her through the exit, but she had forgotten about the tree roots that snaked across there. Her foot twisted into a rut pitching her forward; she got her hands out just in time as she hit the ground and the air rushed out of her body.

A car screeched at her side stopping centimeters from her face and scattering gravel into her eyes; her vision blurred as her eyes watered. Lexia scrambled back, wiping at her eyes whilst trying to catch sight of the panther that must surely be on top of her. But in the tree line she saw a blur of midnight black, its gold eyes seemed to glow at her then it turned and vanished back into the undergrowth. Lexia let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Lex! Lexia! Oh my god, are you alright?” Her dad shouted running to her side, shaking her lightly. “Lexia, what were you doing?”

Tearing her eyes from the forest, she focused on her dad’s distraught face. “I...I...I thought I saw something, chasing me, a-an animal.”

Lines of confusion marked his face. “What kind of animal?”

Looking into her dad’s face she thought she might tell him everything.
He’d always been there for her, kept her safe, given her the best life…
But as he looked at her now like she had lost her mind, she realized that this was a secret she could never tell.

“Lexia, are you sure you’re… look at your eyes... they’re…?”

Lexia tore her eyes away from her dad, his last question lingered in the air. Panic twisted her gut and she jumped to her feet quickly, afraid of the way he was now looking at her. “Yes, yes, I’m fine, must have run too long.” Turning, she dashed to the house and unlocked the door heading for the bathroom, leaving her dad standing in the driveway staring at the spot she just ran from.

He didn’t bother her after that, not even to make her tea, which he did most nights when he made it home in time. She felt lost and confused, his face kept floating across her mind. She couldn’t quite grasp his expression, he looked at her like she was a stranger or his worst nightmare come to life. He felt miles away from her, even though in reality he was just down the hall. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that in that moment, as he had stared into her new eyes, she had lost him forever. The feeling settled heavy in her stomach, twisting at her insides.

She had to get out of the house; there were too many thoughts and feelings churning around inside her, slowly growing and twisting, threatening to consume her.

Lexia was looking at herself in the mirror; she’d put on a short, tight dress that clung to her every curve, it was made in a soft grey material. The color seemed to make her eyes sparkle even brighter, the new ring of gold muted against the crystal blue; she smiled feeling more like her old self.

She tied her long, wavy brown hair over one shoulder, ringlets curling together over her breast, a few escaped curls framing her face. She then paired her dress with long leather boots that stopped just below her knees. She stared at the person before her, the person she used to be. This person in the mirror looking back at her was her old self; she didn’t understand what death was or what it felt like to be utterly lost like a plastic bag floating in the wind. She was young and free; her only worry—to get out of Deadwood.

For a brief moment Lexia wondered if she could pull it off, whether she could climb out of her window like she’d done so many nights before and meet Alice and be an ordinary teenage girl.
Fuck it! I can’t sit around here with all my thoughts.

Slipping her fake ID into her purse, she sent a quick text to Alice asking her to meet at the club and then pulled up the window and climbed down. Leaving her worries and troubles behind her, she felt her gut unravel as she landed softly on the ground.

Alice turned up an hour after Lexia arrived. Lexia had already had a few drinks and different men kept coming up to buy her more hoping they would get lucky.

“Jeez, Lex, what are you wearing?”

“It’s new, you like?” She smiled sweetly.

“Well, I see plenty who do,” Alice said, glancing around and glaring at the men who were openly drooling over her exposed thighs.

“You okay, Lex? You’ve not been with it lately. And since when did you dress like a slut?”

“Hey, enough abuse! I just want to have fun! Isn’t that why we came?”

“Ok, I suppose, get us a drink then.”

For the next hour they chatted about boys and school. Lexia felt herself relaxing, the crazy events from the last few days a distant memory. Alice mentioned the amount of drinks she was throwing back a few times but Lexia brushed it off insisting everything was fine.

“Let’s dance!” She pulled Alice up, dragging her toward the dance floor.

“Lexia, it’s eleven, maybe we should head out?”

“I climbed out the window, Dad thinks I’m in bed,” she giggled. “Come on, one dance. Please?” Lexia smiled the kind of goofy smile you smile when on a happy high from too many drinks.

“O-kay.”

Lexia sauntered onto the dance floor wiggling her hips then she turned around to face Alice. Alice swayed stiffly in front of her. “Come on, Alice, loosen up!” She grasped her hand making her twirl around.

“Stop it!” Alice said.

“Fine!” Lexia dropped Alice’s hand. Turning dramatically she wiggled off into the crowd of bodies until she reached the middle of the dance floor. When she looked back, Alice was walking out the door. She paused for a second giving Lexia a pleading look that said ‘come home with me’ and then disappeared into the night.

For a split second Lexia felt bad but then her happy drunken haze banished that thought and she stomped over to the bar. She didn’t want to think about the fact that Alice was normally the silly one out of the two of them or about the look she’d given her, so Lexia ordered another drink and washed Alice from her mind with the sharp taste of vodka.

Many drinks later, Lexia was well aware she’d had too much to drink but the alcohol had numbed her brain just like she had intended it to. The pounding beat jerked at her body as she swayed to the music. She felt like a puppet being controlled by an invisible master; her hips moved on their own accord under the spell of the music that swirled around her.

Twisting around, she noticed strange brown-gold eyes watching her from the bar. He smiled, noticing her look. As he walked toward her a warning bell chimed in a distant part of her brain, but before she could think of what it meant, his warm hands touched her hips sending sparks across her skin. Drowning in sensation Lexia twirled around, hands in the air, moving along to the hypnotic music, his body pressed along the length of hers, making every nerve come to life. The lights and sounds all seemed to blur together, bodies brushing by hers as they swayed and danced around her, their energy seemed to crackle in the air around them making Lexia’s skin tingle; it was a heady feeling and for once Lexia let go, surrendering to the sensations.

His hands trailed up and down her body leaving a scorching trail. He spun her around, pulling her close till their bodies touched and her breasts rubbed against him. His eyes widened as she gave a slow seductive twist of her hips. She smiled, taunting him; it was so unlike her but she felt as if someone had taken over her body. It felt good, empowering, to feel how she affected him, to see his eyes focus on her only. In that moment as they both swayed and twisted as if one, they felt spellbound, lost in the fever of lust that spun around them like a magical web.

But when someone bumped into Lexia, a jolt ran through her body. Spinning around she looked for the person that had radiated such darkness but she couldn’t see anything; only dancers surrounded her, all lost in their own worlds oblivious to the danger that had just passed by. When Lexia felt hands skim over the curve of her hips, wrapping themselves around her waist and pulling her close, she pulled away. The spell now broken, her vision cleared and shivers that had nothing to do with arousal slid down her spine. Looking up into his eyes now, they seemed so familiar but there was something not quite right about her mystery dancer. Stumbling back she staggered to the exit; he held out his hand to her, a questioning look in those golden-brown eyes but didn’t follow.

Cold air hit her as she stepped out into the dark night. Wrapping her arms around herself, Lexia headed for home realizing how stupid she’d been tonight; getting so drunk when danger seemed to be following her around every corner. She knew she had to do more than just type ‘vampire’ into a search engine; she’d changed and now she was seeing the world for how it was. Had there always been darkness around her and she’d only just noticed it? She couldn’t carry on being so reckless, otherwise she may wind up dead.

Lexia managed to walk home without seeing anyone and as she snuggled into bed she felt as if she was finally coming to terms with the events of the past few days. Feeling suddenly exhausted, sleep claimed her almost straight away and she drifted off dreaming of a golden-eyed stranger drawing tingling trails across her skin.

Chapter 4

Lexia woke the next morning feeling well-rested and ready to take on the world. She dressed quickly, almost skipping down the stairs to find her dad, but found the kitchen empty. She looked around the old kitchen and noticed a plate and coffee mug sat on the countertop. Glancing at the clock, it read just after 7.30 am so he shouldn’t have left for work yet. “Dad?” she called, heading back into the hall in search of life.

 A note sat on the hall table, the single line looking as lonely as she felt:
Lexia, I had to work early.
Dropping the note she watched as it floated to the floor. With each flutter towards the ground, her stomach followed and when it lightly came to rest, a tiny fleck amongst a sea of dark boards, Lexia realized there was more than just the unordinary troubling her life right now. She could feel the distance growing between her and her father as if it was a physical thing.

Walking back into the kitchen Lexia felt so angry at her dad; he had no right to avoid her. He was her dad, he had to stand by her always. Her anger increased turning into a torrent of rage. Balling her hands into fists she wanted to hit something so badly. It churned and built within her until she wanted to scream. Lexia stormed across the room and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.

She froze, staring at the stranger’s face. Terror replaced her anger as radiant gold eyes looked back at her, the cold hardness within them causing her step back.

A knock at the door startled her. Taking a deep, calming breath she watched her eyes change from gold to blue, then the knock came again. “Just a minute,” she called, her voice breaking.
Oh god what is happening to me, I feel so out of control.

Opening the door she found a delivery guy holding the package that contained her new weapons she’d ordered the day before. Signing quickly Lexia took the package, barely registering the man as she slammed the door in his face.

Lexia ripped open the package with her bare hands not pausing until her fingers brush against cold silver. Taking the slick, sliver knife in her hand, she twisted it around watching the early morning light glint off the metal. Smiling she felt strangely powerful.
God I wish there was something around I could kill!

Startled by the strange direction her thoughts had taken she dropped the knife back into its box. Next she picked up the stake; the smooth silky wood felt cool against her skin. Excited, Lexia decided to try out her new toys. Heading out to the old shed she pulled open the creaky wooden doors. Amongst the old boxes and cobwebs hung her dad’s old punching bag, a film of dust covering its surface.

Having cleared all the junk to the sides Lexia stood staring at the bag, stake in hand.
Well now or never, Lexia; time to die, punch bag!
She jabbed the stake forward and a cloud of dust puffed into the air but the stake didn’t even pierce the fabric. She tried again putting all her body weight into it but still the stake only just cut through.
God, Lexia, you can’t even kill a bag!
Frustrated she put all she had into the thrust; hitting the bag the stake slid in an inch and she stumbled forward. “Stupid thing! How am I supposed to stake a vampire if I can’t even stake a bag?”

 Lexia punched the bag, again and again, feeling the rage and fear from the past few days building up inside her. She channelled it into her strikes, jolts of shock ran up her arms, and a sheen of sweat broke out across her skin as Lexia struck the bag again. With all that fury flowing through her veins it slid straight through the fabric and into the bag with ease. Pulling the stake back, Lexia stood and looked at the hole she’d just made. Panting, she thought,
God, that felt good
.

She froze as she heard a rustle behind her. Slowly glancing around she noticed an old broken mirror, and reflecting on its dusty surface was a black panther. Looking down at the knife laid on the table besides her, Lexia made a split second decision. She spun with the grace of a ballerina, taking the knife in her hand as it brushed past. She watched as the knife left her hand and flew true; it turned over and over in the air before sinking into the ground where the cat had just stood. Running forward Lexia bent to retrieve the knife and caught a glimpse of the panther retreating into the green depths of the forest.

For a second, Lexia felt overwhelmed with the urge to hunt down the panther that had taken an interest in her. She stepped forward, gripping the knife tight in her hand, feeling the impulse start to take hold and imagined sinking the sharp blade into the smooth, velvet fur of the cat... Sucking in a breath she mentally shook herself;
where did that come from? I need to get my emotions in check.