LunarEclipse

Ch. 6

Eclipse floated in a hazy black abyss. Every part of his body was numb, he couldn’t move if he wanted to. He would have liked to stay there a little longer but something kept jabbing his arm. So he reluctantly forced his eyes open. When he adjusted to the bright lights he found himself lying spread-eagle at the bottom of the stairs. He blinked twice and wondered only one thing:

What happened?

“So nice of you to join the land of the living again,” Lunar said sarcastically. At least now Eclipse knew who was nudging his arm the whole time. He weakly pushed Lunar’s foot away and rubbed his shoulder. Lunar just snorted and crouched down so his face was right above Eclipse’s. “What do you think you’re doing? Get up and guard Vanessa.”

“There are two reasons why that isn’t going to work. One). I can’t move and two). Vanessa is perfectly safe right where she is…no one’s going to get her,” Eclipse counted the reasons on his fingers and added as an afterthought, “I don’t really know who would want her.”

“Oh, really? Then you don’t mind if I go check?” Lunar got up and walked to the door.

“Wait…that’s probably not a good idea,” Eclipse warned, wanting to stop Lunar but his body refused to move. The barrier around the door glowed threateningly when Lunar approached. Couldn’t he see it?

When Lunar reached for the doorknob a violent explosion of red and white sparks knocked him off his feet. He sat there, bewildered and clutching the hand that took the most damage from the protective barrier. It took him a few minutes to sort out in his head what happened but when he regained his composure he stormed to Eclipse.

“What was that?” he thrust his hand in front of Eclipse’s face. Jagged red burns circled Lunar’s hand and wrist. It looked painful.

“Ooh…” Eclipse winced, “You might want to get some ice on that or something.”

“Answer my question, you worthless bastard,” Lunar growled.

“It’s protective barrier set up to keep everything at a distance until I break it. Like I said, Vanessa is perfectly safe.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I did warn you but you didn’t listen.”

Humiliated, Lunar ground his teeth together and went away leaving Eclipse stranded on the floor. He still couldn’t move very much but the feeling in his legs were coming back. He guessed he’d have to stay there for another hour until he could get up and walk.

“I really am useless,” he said to himself.

“Excuse me…” a young boy stood over Eclipse. He looked up. The boy looked like he was a few years younger than him and he had the prettiest grey eyes Eclipse had ever seen.

“Ah…sorry, I can’t move right now. I’m—”

“Recovering?” he finished, “I saw you execute an almost perfect barrier spell a little while ago. Actually I was in another room but I could feel it.”

“Yeah…I used too much energy so I can’t move now. You’ll have to step over me for the time being.”

“I can help you with that,” he knelt down and placed his hands on Eclipse’s chest. Soon Eclipse felt a warm glow emitting from the youth’s hands and then a sudden jolt of energy sparked through his body. The glow faded and Eclipse found that he could move almost perfectly. He sat up and flexed his fingers.

“Wow, thanks…”

“No problem. You should be able to move now. Don’t try using any more magic techniques and you should be able to stay standing.”

“What’s your name?” Eclipse stood up and leaned against the railing.

“My name is Raoul,” he said with a shy smile.

Eclipse laughed, “That’s a pretty flashy name for a cute kid like you.”

Raoul blushed, “I’d bet anything my name isn’t nearly as weird as yours!”

“Ha, you got me there. I’m Eclipse.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Eclipse,” Raoul said.

“Likewise. You seem to know a lot about magic…who taught you?”

“Oh, no one. I’m self-taught. Not bad, huh?”

“No, not bad at all…Raoul?”

“Yes?”

“You’re not human, are you?”

---

Lunar hissed when he tried moving his hand, it felt like the burns were getting worse. He didn’t even know if that was possible. Then again, the burns were magic related. Maybe it continued to eat away at his flesh. But if that were true Eclipse would have told him about it…right? His skin wasn’t blistering so it didn’t look too serious. He shook his head and searched for someone for help.

He found the head house keeper he showed her part of his hand, “Do you have a first aid kit I could borrow?”

The old woman gasped, “How on earth did you get that?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just give me a first aid kit.”

“Y-yes, of course. There’s one in every room, follow me,” She led Lunar to an unoccupied room at the end of the hall, “Would you like me to call someone to help you?”

“No, thank you. I can handle it from here.”

When the woman left Lunar went to the bathroom and, after rummaging through the drawers, found the first aid kit. He turned the faucet on and let icy cold water run over his hand. It stung at first but the pain slowly ebbed away. While he soaked his hand he took notice of his surroundings. The bathroom, with its granite countertop and stone-tiled floor, was as large and as lavish as the rest of the room. The walls were painted a pale yellow with accents of burgundy and the towels and other bathroom necessities matched the color scheme. The counter had two sinks and a mirror that stretched all the way to the high ceiling. The shower alone was big enough to fit at least four or five people.

“Talk about overkill…” he said, shutting off the water. Reaching for a towel he dried off his hand and looked in the kit for bandages.  He stopped when the door to the room was opened and then quietly shut behind the person that came in. Lunar could hear the sound of tiptoeing footsteps on the carpet. Whoever was in the room definitely didn’t want to be noticed.

Lunar pulled his gun halfway out of its holster and smirked. If it was Eclipse on the other side of that door he would be welcomed with a bullet…

---

All of the pleasantness in Raoul’s face faded in an instant. He placed a hand over his eyes and turned away from Eclipse, “You could tell that easily?”

Eclipse nodded.

“My mother was a Vampire while my father was undeniably human.”

“I see…” Eclipse looked carefully at the boy’s eyes. When he squinted he could see that his pupils were red instead of black. It was a telltale sign of a half-breed along with blunt fangs that would never be able to pierce flesh, even though half-breeds craved blood the most. It was like a punishment for being the offspring of a forbidden union between two different species.

“You can’t tell anyone about me—I have a decent job here. Sure it’s just housekeeping but I earn enough money to live off of.”

“I won’t tell, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Eclipse. I really feel like I can trust you.”

Eclipse snorted, “Tell that to my partner.”

“Partner? You mean that angry looking human that was with you a minute ago?”

“Yeah…”

“O-oh, I had no idea you were a couple. You don’t seem to get along well with him.”

“What? No, no he’s not my partner like that. We’re just coworkers. I’d like to get along with him but he hates me…he hates all Vampires.”

Raoul’s eyes darkened, “All humans are like that.”

Eclipse couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Obviously the kid had more than a few bad experiences with humans. He was sounding like Eclipse’s brother before he disappeared. Eclipse would be fighting an uphill battle if he tried to argue.

“Not all Vampires are like them, though….I really like you, Eclipse.” Raoul said quietly.

“Thanks, kid…speaking of angry human’s I guess I should go help him.”

“Why? I though he hated you.”

“He does, but I don’t. I like him enough to want to help…a little bit at least.”

“You’re the strangest Vampire I’ve ever met.”

“Ha, I get that a lot. See you around. And thanks again for all your help, you really saved my ass.”

“Wait, what do you do? I mean—what kind of job makes you work with people like him?”

“…I work for CHAOS,” he said quietly before leaving the boy alone.

---

Raoul glared at Eclipse’s receding back. Unbelievable! Eclipse was a Vampire hunter? It was obvious that those humans brainwashed him. Why else would a Vampire work for an organization that killed Vampires? It pissed Raoul off. He folded his arms and a glass tube pressed against his skin.

“Oh, I almost forgot about you…” he said, patting the syringe hidden in his sleeve. He stared back at Vanessa’s room, there was no way he could get through that barrier. And he couldn’t think of any way to get Eclipse to drop it.

Raoul sighed. Now that Vanessa was out of the question he’d just have to find himself another subject. According to his boss, gender didn’t matter. But he would have to find someone easy enough to keep an eye on and someone dumb enough to—

“Raoul, there you are!” the head of housekeeping called, interrupting his train of thought “I’ve been looking for you. One of the young men that came here earlier is injured, could you go help him? He’s in room 7’s bathroom.”

“Yes, of course.”

She was obviously speaking of Eclipse’s partner. Raoul would rather be cleaning toilets than go anywhere near that dirty human. Then again…he could be the new guinea pig. Raoul had no problem with causing him any pain. A devilish smirk stretched across his lips and he patted the syringe once more.

---

The bathroom door opened and, much to Lunar’s surprise, it was not Eclipse but some kid wearing a housekeeper uniform. The boy had a pleasant smile that was clearly phony.

“I was told to come help you with your injuries, my name is Raoul,” he said. The fake politeness was irritating.

“You don’t need to. I said I didn’t need any help.”

“I can’t refuse directions from my boss…”

“Then lie and say you—”

Raoul closed the bathroom door and Lunar heard the lock click. His eyes narrowed.

“What do you think you’re doing…?” Lunar tensed.

“Following orders,” he pulled a syringe filled with clear liquid out of his sleeve and removed the cap from the needle.

“What—?”

There was no time for Lunar to react when Raoul lunged forward and tried sticking him with the needle. Raoul pushed Lunar against the wall. He gripped the boy’s wrist tightly with his good hand, struggling to keep him at a distance. When he felt the needle touch the cloth of his shirt Lunar slammed his knee between Raoul’s legs.

He instantly dropped the needle and doubled over, “Bastard,” he squeaked, glaring at Lunar through watery eyes.

“That’s my line,” Lunar said, kicking the syringe out of Raoul’s reach, “What the hell are you trying to do?”

“I’m doing my job!” he spat, jumping up and tackling Lunar. They both fell over and Raoul reached for the syringe. Lunar tried beating him to it by getting back up but Raoul grabbed his leg and pulled him back. Suddenly Lunar felt a familiar prickling sensation on his leg. It felt similar to the time when Eclipse healed his wounds but this feeling was much more threatening. He struggled to escape when he looked back and saw a faint glow emanating from Raoul’s palm. It lifted into the air like yellow smoke. Before he could wrench his leg free the smoke-like magic wrapped around his leg and sunk into his skin. His leg became numb and heavy.

Raoul laughed and brushed himself off before grabbing the syringe, “I never expected you to put up such a fight. You’re pretty tough for a human.”

“You think this is all I’ve got?” Lunar questioned as he struggled to get up. He used to countertop to support himself. Raoul’s grey eyes narrowed. Smirking, Lunar pulled out his gun, “It’s not a smart move to pick a fight with me…especially now. I’m in a very bad mood today and you aren’t making it better.” He pointed the gun at his chest and pulled the trigger. It clicked and no bullet came. Lunar’s eyes widened in mortification. How could he have been stupid enough to not even check for ammunition? He fumbled to get another cartridge.

Raoul seized the opportunity and plunged the needle into Lunar’s abdomen. He screamed when the fluid was injected into him. Gasping, he let the gun fall to the floor. Lunar leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. Whatever Raoul injected him with sluggishly moved through his body and made everything move in slow motion.

“Wh…what did you…do?” he slurred. Raoul just grinned and kicked Lunar hard in the head. The force knocked him to the ground. Blood trickled down his lip and nose.

Raoul crouched down and sneered, “Your blood smells toxic. Tell me, do all Vampire hunters smell this way?”

“What did you do?” Lunar repeated, pushing himself back into a sitting position.

“I drugged you. Was it not obvious? But don’t worry it won’t kill you. It wouldn’t be good for a test subject to die.”

“T…t-test subject?”

TBC