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JACOB

he shop is bustling with people at the center of the vampire city, Sarkup, as I search for some jerked beef and a few fresh fruits. I’m hitting a dead end. Looking for my mother is proving to be a challenge. She’s been out of my life for twenty-six years. I knew it would be hard to find her, but this is frustrating. All I need is to look her in the eyes, ask her why, and understand what is happening with my power. Simple. She abandoned us – I don’t want her back.

The only images I have of her are from pictures my father tried to hide from me. He said she was dead, but I don’t believe that. She was a demon, and those live for hundreds of years and are difficult to kill. It doesn’t make any sense for her to die without any explanation.

Sometimes, I wonder how our meeting would go. Hello, mother. Why did you leave your newborn? Do you mind telling me about these headaches that come on occasionally, making me feel like death would be better? How about Tengu, my demon companion? What do you know about him?

As much as I imagine meeting her, I can’t figure out how I would feel when I lay eyes on her. Would I be glad to finally meet her, or would rage fill me from the years of pain? Ever since I found evidence that she may be alive, an unpleasant sensation of hate has been building towards her.

Maybe she had a good reason. A part of me craves to believe. Or maybe my father would still be alive if she didn’t leave. Sighing, I focus on deciding between dried beef and fish.

I found a few letters in my mother’s things from witches Rosa and Teresa. Witches are petty, but they know a lot. The problem is that they like to hide, and they blend in very well with humans. The first thing I need to do is find them.

It has been a few weeks since I left Louvide in search of the woman who gave me birth. I have covered a decent amount of distance, but finding the witches is a challenge. A vampire city is a good place to ask questions. The problem is that vampires like to kill at the first opportunity they get. If they suspect that I am poking around, I will be a target.

Searching for information is a fine balance of appearing curious but harmless.

The bell above the door of the shop jingles occasionally as people come in and out. There’s a wide variety of selections; everything ranging from fresh fruit to clothing, making it the perfect place to restock and observe the interaction of people when vampires are around. Sometimes, humans are privy to things that vampires are not aware of.

I wander around the market when a tall blonde beauty catches my attention. Mesmerized, I watch her from the corner of my eye. Her features are soft and delicate. She is clearly not one of the townsfolk. Maybe royalty of sorts. Even though she is wearing a simple dress that has a few stains on it, it is obvious she doesn’t know manual labor; her skin appears too soft and clean.

What got me curious were her attempts to steal some fruit. Her ability to stay stealthy is not great; she keeps peering over her shoulder, making her look suspicious. I smile when she places something in her pocket and nervously looks around.

She is overthinking everything. When stealing, it’s important to appear as though one is doing nothing wrong.

Her eyes go wide when she looks somewhere past me, and her chest suddenly rises heavily. Moving my eyes from her, I find a couple of bulky men marching through the old wooden doors and scanning the space.

Hm. Interesting.

Using my ability as a halfling – half demon and half human, I focus on them. My power and strength are genetic anomalies. It’s a way the universe creates balance. Most of the time, when a human and a demon have a child, nothing happens – the baby is human. On rare occasions, when a baby from the two is born, it’s almost as strong as a God. I happen to be that rare occasion.

Vampires. My heartbeat quickens at the discovery. It shouldn’t be shocking to find them among the humans here, but why are they following her?

The girl moves a little to hide herself with some hats and clothing, but she is being too obvious with her constant jerky motions. At this rate, they will find her in no time. Sighing, I think of what the best course of action would be. She needs saving, that is certain. Damn my hero complex. It won’t let me sleep at night if I don’t do anything.

No harm will come if I help an innocent woman hide from some asshole vamps. Casually making my way towards her, I stand behind her, my chest pressing against her back. She jumps and stiffens. In the large mirror in front of us, her pale face drains of color, and her green eyes widen. A hint of guilt creeps into my chest for scaring her like this. Maybe I could’ve done this a little more tactfully.

“When hiding or running, it is important to blend in.” I take a hat from the shelf next to me and place it on top of her head. She lifts her head and looks at me from the mirror, her delicate brows coming together. Her eyes are the type of light green that makes me want to stare, and her pink, plump lips remind me of fresh raspberries. “Never look back too often and always observe casually.” I take a dress from a nearby hanger and align it with her body. “And always know when the right time to slip out and sneak away is.” I lock my eyes on hers again.

She doesn’t say anything, just stares at me from under the straw rim of the floppy hat. Her body shivers against my chest. That’s understandable; she is on the run, and I am a stranger. A massive one compared to her.

The two vamps walk around the market, searching, but between me blocking her from their sight and the hat covering her face, they won’t spot her. In the crowded space, no one seems to give the bulky men a second glance, but I watch them from the corner of my eye.

“I see two looking for you. Are there more?” I ask her, take the dress away, and replace it with a different one – the fabric is blue with white flowers on it.

“Probably two more outside,” she whispers, her voice shaky.

“Okay. We can work with that,” I state, and take off her hat to replace it with a white one that has a large blue bow. The edge of the hat flops over her eyes, so she tilts her head to look at me. Big, green eyes. Mesmerizing and beautiful. “They say that these are in style right now.” I wink at her.

“Are they now?” she asks as her brows go together.

There is uncertainty in her gaze. Something tugs at my chest, and I hope she chooses to trust me.

“When they turn, we will casually stroll towards the doors. We run when I say so. Okay?” I ask and slide my fingers through hers.

I did it out of necessity, so she follows, but the softness of her skin against mine sends a thrilling sensation through my veins. Her body stills at the contact, but her grip on my hand tightens more than I expect, and she nods.

“Let’s go,” I mumble and tug at her.

With the hat still on, she follows me. We walk slowly as if shopping for nothing in particular, but her grip on my hand tightens even more. As we stroll, I look ahead and stealthily snatch a little lantern sitting on a shelf and stuff it in my brown bag. We will need it later.

Vampires don’t put this much effort into hunting humans, so who is this girl? I could use my abilities as a halfling to dig into her essence and learn what type of being she is, but I am enjoying the way her hand feels in mine. For some unexplainable reason, it feels right – as if a missing puzzle piece was found.

I lean in to whisper into her ear, “When we exit, take a right.”

“Yup,” she responds without looking up, but I notice her swallow nervously.

The vampires don’t scare me. I am strong enough to kill them with ease. Fighting is not my intention, though; I only want to help her get away. This is a welcome distraction from my mother and the unknown of my power. And she sure as hell is a beautiful distraction.

I push the wooden doors open, the bell on top rings, she jumps and tries to run, but I pull her steady. From the corner of my eye, I see the other two on the busy streets, so I bring her close to my side and shield her with my body.

“They are not looking for me,” I say into the top of her head, explaining my action. “If you run, they will notice you.”

She nods quickly, but her hand is sweaty in mine, and I hear her heart beating out of control. The streets are busy enough that we would not catch too much attention, so we walk, getting lost among the carriages, horses, and people.

“Where the fuck is she?” someone growls from behind us.

She jumps, her hold on my hand tightens, and she stops breathing. Pulling her into a dark alley, I press her against a wall with my body, letting the brick side wall hide us from the searching vampires.

“We need to wait them out for a few minutes,” I tell her, and keep her pinned under me, shielding her.

Her chest heaves, so I look down. The pink on her cheeks from earlier is gone. Her face is now white with sweat beading on her forehead. It’s sunny and warm, but she shivers and shakes.

“Get off me,” she wheezes.

Confused by her reaction, I move and press my back against the wall as well. Our hands are still intertwined, so I relax my grip, thinking she wants nothing to do with me, but she does not let go. Every breath she takes is shallow and fast as she stares ahead of her.

A panic attack. That is my first thought, but I am not sure if it’s because of me caging her, because the vampires are looking for her, or both.

A few minutes later, the vampires go in a different direction. I step away from the wall and look at her. My fingers are loose, but she has a death grip on them as she stares at the other wall just two feet across.

Because I don’t know what else to do, I give her a few minutes and let her squeeze the blood out of my hand. Gasping, she turns her eyes to me and then to our hands. She quickly releases her hold and shakes her fingers free.

Dismissing her strange behavior, I focus on the task at hand.

“There is an underground passage that goes to the other side of the city.” I look down at the wooden latch by my feet.

A few years ago, I discovered the hidden tunnels. It used to be a water supply system, maybe a hundred years ago. I was on a run myself, and it came in handy. It might be dark and a little tight, but it’s a good way of getting across without being seen.

Her eyes go wide. “I’m not going in there with you.”

“The vampires can smell your scent. It will be everywhere if you stay above. Below, you are invisible,” I explain.

“Why are you helping me?” She squints at me, her lips twisting.

Because you are the most beautiful woman I have seen, and you smell like apple pie, and I love apple pie. Something about her draws me to her. It’s hard to explain, but I need to make sure she is safe.

“I’m bored.” That is not a lie.

The search for my mother is not getting me anywhere right now. I don’t know where to look for the witches, and asking around will take time. Meanwhile, I can help her. What harm could come from aiding a beauty in distress?

“I don’t have money,” she states and glares at me.

“I don’t want money.” I chuckle.

“What do you want?” She crosses her hands to her shoulders and wraps them around herself.

My eyebrows go together for a second as I watch her try to hide her body from me.

“You will find this hard to believe,” I take a step back to give her some space, “but nothing. I saw you. You looked like you needed help, so here I am.”

I kneel to open the latch, but mostly, I don’t want to be towering over her right now. She seems like she has been hurt. How? I don’t know, but I want to find out.

The action must’ve helped because she drops her arms and looks down at me, contemplating and chewing on her lower lip.

“I caught her scent this way,” one of the vampires says somewhere around the corner.

Her eyes go wide. “Okay. Let’s go. Hurry. Hurry.” She practically shoves me inside the small hole.

I scrape my forearm on the way down, and before I have a chance to look up, her skirt is already in my face. Shocked at the sudden speed of her actions, I scramble to get my balance and catch her in the dark and damp space. Holding her by the waist with one hand, I reach up and close the wooden latch.

The only light we have are the small bits coming from the slits above, and that is barely enough for me to find the stolen lantern.

“It’s dark,” she whispers, her breath brushing my neck.

My breath hitches. The way my body responds to her closeness catches me off guard.

“Yes. That is a brilliant observation.” I joke.

“Shut up.” She taps my chest with her hand.

Letting go of her, I use the little bit of light coming from the top to find the stolen lantern and some matches. Without it, we will not be getting far. I could use my power to see, but she will be stumbling in the blackness. I don’t know who she is, so it is best that I hide my true identity from her. Those who know of beings other than humans will know that a halfling is powerful, and power tends to scare those who are hiding. If she knows what halflings are, she will run from me as well. I want to enjoy her company for just a little longer.