SLAYERS

It was a long night. As dawn came she hit the bed. But she couldn’t fall asleep. She was

very tired, but she couldn’t make her eyes close. After ten minutes of lying in bed, she got up

and went to the kitchen. She drank a grass of orange juice, then went to her living room. She

took out the weapons in her bag and started to clean them, one by one. When she finished, she

went to her hidden weapon room and placed them next to the others. She had an entire arsenal

– swords, knives, guns, shurikens, bows and stakes. Her favourite was a silver scythe with

purple leather, the lightest weapon she owned. She created it herself when she was an

apprentice. The phone beeped. She took it and checked the message.

“Tonight, at Noir Club. Bring your best weapon. He’s an old one, a strong one.
Name: Christopher. Might have helpers, so Mike will be there as well.”

“That Mike again…he’ll be a pain in the ass. But he is strong and we’re a great team. Well

then, I shall prepare for this one.” she whispered while she went to take out the scythe. She

looked at it to check if there’s anything wrong, then she assembled it into a 50 cm leather

shaft, perfectly fitting in the harness on her back. She then took it out and pressed a hidden

button, making it burst and become a deadly scythe. She spun it around a little, slicing an

invisible enemy. She grinned. This was clearly her favourite weapon. She put it back together

and into the harness, then she threw the harness on the couch. “Next…” she whispered, looking

at the weapons. She took some six-points shurikens and placed them in a bag that would go

around her waist. She also put in the bag some smoke bombs, then she placed the bag next to

the harness on the couch. She went back and chose a gun – a silver, 19mm compact Glock,

inscribed with the name Hades and number 13.

***
 At nine sharp, Leti was on the rooftop across the club. She was waiting for Mike. The sun

disappeared, but the sky still had some red and orange hues in the horizon. As she was looking

at the scenery in front of her, she heard the slight sound of footsteps behind her. She took

out her gun at pointed it at the man behind.

“You should make more noise when you’re coming. Not act like a cat, silently sneaking behind. At

least not when you’re dealing with slayers.” Leti said, putting the gun back.

“Hello to you too.” said Mike, grinning like crazy. “You look good tonight.”

“We’re going to a club. I need to look like…going to a club.”

Leti was wearing a black short dress, which had a flared skirt, purple high heel boots and

her hair tied in a messy pony-tail. Mike, on the other hand, had casual clothes – a pair of jeans,

a white t-shirt, a black vest on top, and black sneakers. His chin-long brown hair was neatly tied

in a small bun.

“Shall we go then?” Mike asked.

“Do you know what he looks like?”

Mike took out his phone and in ten seconds Leti found her answer – he showed her a

picture with the target: a 30 something guy, blond hair and dark blue eyes. He had a distinctive

mark, which made it easy to identify him: a crescent moon on his left side, starting from the

corner of the eye, going up, above his eyebrow. The mark was an interesting one. Leti wondered

how he got it, but soon dismissed her thought. He was going to be dead soon anyway.

“Interesting.” she said.

“And attractive.” Mark added, eyeing the girl.

“Asshole.”

Leti jumped from the rooftop, landing perfectly on her feet. Mike followed close. They

entered the club and went to the bar. The barman asked if they wanted anything. Mike asked

for a beer, then looked at the girl. She was looking around, trying to find the target. He told

the barman to bring two beers, then followed her gaze.

“He’s not here.”

“Yet. I got a beer for you as well.”

“I’ve heard.”

They started talking about random stuff, Leti asking him what are things like at the

“office”. She moved alone when she finished her apprenticeship, never going back to the place

she spent most of her teenage years. Mike was still living in that place, being too comfortable

and lazy to actually look for a place of his own. He was three years older than her, and while

training he had been her teacher in one-to-one combat classes. He was a tough guy, but Leti

realized he had a soft side as well.

Suddenly, Mike stopped and looked behind her. She turned and saw Christopher. She

finished her beer and looked at Mike questioningly. He told her to wait, but Christopher

noticed her gaze and looked at the girl, narrowing his eyes. Mike pulled her hand, bringing her

into his arms, hugging her tightly.

“What are you…Mike!”

“Shush, love.”

Love? What was going on with him? She managed to look at him and then she realized – it

was a cover. They had to make sure Christopher didn’t run away and her staring at him

intensely wasn’t a great idea. She put her hands around her partner’s neck and muttered a

sorry. He smiled and kissed her cheek.

***

It was a little past midnight. Christopher was sitting on a couch, looking at the girls

dancing in front of him. He was behaving too well. There was clearly something wrong. Maybe he

noticed? The two of them were dancing close by, making sure their target was still around.

Christopher got up, talked to a guy dressed in black and then went towards the exit.

“We’re on, Leti.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“I’ll follow him, you go to the front…meet me on the alley behind the club.”
 They split. Mike was right behind the blonde guy, while Leti was close to the front door.

But she was blocked by the guy Christopher talked to.

“Hello. I’m not feeling well. I need some air. Would you please move?” she asked, sarcasm in her

voice. The guy laughed and she saw that as an opportunity to run.

She went outside, turning right, entering on a small alley, trying to reach the back door

of the club and meet her partner. But the guy was right behind her. She jumped on a trash can,

grabbed the fire stairs, jumping up to the rooftop. When she reached the top, she tore her

dress. She had a black and purple costume under it, skin tight, made from leather. She smiled

and ran to the left, next to the edge. She got her purple scythe harness, putting it around her

thigh, her bag and gun. She put them around her waist, being ready to fight. She turned around

and saw the man coming at her, his fist ready to meet her face. But she dodged, took out her

gun and shot the man. He dropped to the ground, grunting.

‘That should do for now.’ she thought and ran to the edge, looking down. She saw Mike having a

fight with Christopher on the alley that had access to the back door of the club. The blonde

guy was strong. And fast. It was clear that he was older and stronger than the other beings

she fought recently. She then looked at the main street. There weren’t many people around.

Probably because they were inside clubs and bars at that time. She thanked whatever mystic

force was on their side, and jumped to join the fight.

“What took you so long?” Mike asked. His lip was cut, blood running down his chin.

“How come you’re hurt?” she asked, sarcasm in her voice. Mike grunted, never leaving

Christopher’s gaze. Leti looked at the vampire as well. He was handsome, but he killed a lot of

people and it was their job to protect humans. She grinned and took out some shurikens,

throwing towards him. He dodged easily, coming behind her in a second.

“You’re sexy, but not smart.” he whispered in her ear.

Leti took out her scythe and held it up. The vampire looked at it surprised, but amused.

“Well, Christopher, sometimes you are both.”

He giggled when he saw the small bar, but in the next moment he groaned in pain as Leti

opened her scythe and stabbed him right in the guts.

“Bitch!” he moaned, pulling the tip out and moving back.

“I really hate when I hear that word said to women.” Mike said, going on and attacking the hurt

vampire. But since he was old, he would also recover quite fast. He was still bleeding, but he

was able to dodge, punch and grab Mike’s sword, go behind him and stab him in the shoulder.

Mike fell down, groaning, holding his right shoulder.

“Bastard!” Leti said, running to her partner. “Are you alright? Hold on, OK? I’ll just deal with

him…as quickly as possible.”

The girl turned around and looked at the vampire. He was smirking. She could see he’s

not bleeding anymore. ‘I need to erase that smug look on his face...’ she thought. She ran

towards him, jumped and tried to hit him, but he used the sword to protect himself. They

started fighting, the sound of metal resonating in the air around the side alley. Mike was

looking at Leti amazed. He knew she was good, but he had no idea how much she improved. She

was amazing, her movements’ coordination and the places she tried to hit were…by the book. He

remembered she was his best student among girls, but right now he put her in the category of

“best students of all time”. He started laughing when a silly thought ran through his head – she

was a ninja.

She jumped again, spinning above Christopher, throwing shurikens at him. He never saw it

coming, so he didn’t move and the silver stars cut deep into his skin. Leti didn’t wait a second

and she hit him with the scythe in the back, throwing him 2 meters away. She took out her gun,

shot him while running, then, in a precise blow, she cut his neck. She kicked his head off his

shoulders. In less than ten seconds he turned into dust and the light breeze spread it around.

She turned her weapon back into a small bar, placed it back in the harness and ran to her

partner, collecting his sword on the way. She didn’t care about the pile of dust left behind.

People will ignore it anyway.

“Let’s go.”

She grabbed him and placed a hand around his waist. They walked to his car, which he

left somewhere close by, in a parking lot. Leti placed him on the right seat, took his keys and

drove to her apartment.

 When they arrived, she placed him on the couch, then went to lock the door.

“Take your shirt off. I need to see what it looks like. And treat it.”

“I’m fine.”

“Right. Take it off, Mike.”

She disappeared for a minute, coming back with a box. She grabbed a chair and pulled it

in front of the couch. Then she opened the box and placed it on the floor, next to her. Leti

looked at him, looking at the wound carefully.

“It’s not that deep. I need to clean it and bandage your shoulder.”

“Leti…”

“Do you want me to call Magda?”

“No.”

Leti looked at him. He was sad. She never had a lover just because she couldn’t tell

anyone about her job. She had occasional one-night stands, always leaving before sunrise.

“I’m sorry.” she said, pouring some medicine on a piece of cotton. “I’m sorry you have a

troublesome relationship. I know what’s like not to share what you’re doing. We’re in the same

boat.”

“I don’t need…ouch! That hurts.”

“It stings a little.”

“A little?”

“You were saying…”

“I don’t need your pity.”

“This is not pity. And even if it is, it’s pity for myself. At least you have her. You can see her,

you can hug and keep her close. I have…no one.”

Mike looked at the girl amazed. She was very good at her job, she was caring, she was

energetic, yet she was sad and too serious for her age.

“Now you’re the one who shows pity.”

“I’m not.”

“Mike, it’s in your look.” she said, grabbing the bandage.

“Why are you so serious? You never make jokes, you never taste them. You’re running

everything through a thinking filter…sometimes you need to loosen up and…go with the flow.”

“I shouldn’t do that.”

“Right. Because…?”

“Hell will break loose.”

“Obviously.” he said rolling his eyes.

She finished bandaging his shoulder, then looked into his eyes. He was looking at her,

amused. ‘Loosen up…’ she thought, reflecting on his words. She rose, took the box and

disappeared again. Mike stood up and grabbed his vest and t-shirt.

“What are you doing?” Leti asked, appearing behind him. He looked at her and smiled.

“Going home.”

She didn’t say anything. She nodded and waited for him to go. Mike went to the door and

looked at her, before opening it. She wasn’t looking at him. Apparently, the floor was more

important. When he opened the door, he heard a weak ‘stay’ coming from behind him. The man

stood still, thinking about his own words – ‘go with the flow.’ So he closed the door, smiling.