Knight (2 page)

Chapter Two ♣ The Thief

B
oston's streets were in its usual spirits. Valeriana inhaled the damp morning air and breathed it out loudly through her nose. There was that mild scent of pollution with the crisp smell of the nearby ocean.

Valeriana decided to walk for a few minutes before grabbing a cab. She could not miss out taking a stroll, especially after Jareth's accusations of her gaining weight. It was fair out today, low chances of raining according to the forecast.

She brushed the hair out of her eyes, then tucked her hands inside the pocket of her jeans. People crowded the streets, but not too much that she felt suffocated.

Her phone started vibrating from inside her pocket so she fished it out and slid her finger across the answer button. “Hello?” She said.

“Val!” An enthusiastic voice echoed from the other side of the line. “Where are you?”

“I'm really sorry, Xan.” She muttered. “I got held up by mom. Said that I should have a proper breakfast and all, ya know. But I'm grabbing a cab, right now.” She stopped at the taxi stand with the phone against her ear, waving her hand out to hail a cab.

“Yeah, well . . . I'm waiting out here so get your butt over quickly.”

Valeriana bit back a laugh. “I'll be there in a jiffy.”

As she stood at the tip of her toes and continued hailing, someone harshly collided with her that she practically fell over and landed on her backside. There was an abrupt tug on her arm before the person who rushed past her completely ran off. Her phone skidded to the ground, thankfully protected by the case. She picked it up, grumbling complaints under her breath.

“Watch where the hell you're going!” She screamed at him before taking a few moments to stand. Valeriana dusted off her jeans before suddenly realizing that something was not quite right. There was lack of weight on her shoulder. Something was missing.

“Holy—my bag!” She exclaimed, stunned for a moment.

Valeriana eyed the form that was now running and instinctively dashed after the thief with a slight stumble.

“Hey! Give that back!” She yelled, racing forward at full speed.

She trained her eyes on the man dressed in a gray jacket and denim jeans, wearing a red cap. Of all the days that she could have her bag get stolen, it was this?

She brushed past against other people who regarded her with curious gazes. “Thief!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

No one seemed to care, though. Damn these people and their feigned indifference.

“Valeriana? Val! Shiznits! Are you okay?” The phone echoed.

The call wasn't cut just yet. Struggling a bit, she held it up against her ear and screamed, “My bag! That stupid thief is getting away and—”

“Hold up your horses a second! Your bag was stolen?”

“I'm running after him right now! My money's there damn it!”

“Should I call the police—”

“No time.” She breathlessly told her, throwing her knees up higher seeing as the thief was getting out of sight. She said, then stuck the phone in her pocket and continued running.

“Watch where you're going!” Exclaimed a man she brushed against, papers flying all over the place and a Starbucks coffee cup spilling over.

“Sorry!”

Trying to keep up her pace, she focused on her breathing. It shouldn't have lasted longer than two minutes, but the physical exertion had Valeriana slowing down. Moreover, her legs began feeling heavy and her knees sore. She stumbled a couple of times along the way, nearly falling over.

“You are so not getting away from me, bastard! You do not piss off a Kerrigan.” Her voice was low, barely a whisper as it trembled with anger. She could not afford to raise her voice much since she was trying to take in as much oxygen as she could.

“You . . . are . . . not . . .” She huffed and puffed.

Eventually she felt herself slowing down bit by bit until she felt that she could no longer go on. Her feet grew tired before twisting and tripping over each other, causing her to fall forward and land flat on her face.

She cursed and breathed hard. “God, I'm so stupid.”

Grunting in agony, she stood from the ground and cradled her nose. She wanted to run forward, but her knees quivered and were unable to support her fallen weight. She could only watch as the culprit disappeared from her line of view.

I hate him.
 She thought, anger and frustration boiling inside her. She started cursing him mentally, imagining herself impaling him and draining every last drop of blood he had. It was a little bit sadistic, but her mind worked wonders whenever she felt angered.

“Damn it.” She said under her breath, her lips tight.

She rubbed her hands against her rear end and twisted around aimlessly, trying to pinpoint her location. “Crap.” A groan vibrated in the back of her throat at this realization. “I hate this.”

There was an insanely loud bark followed by a snarl of some sort from somewhere nearby that she jumped out of her skin at the sound. It seemed like some sort of strangled growl, resembling an irritating screech from nails scratching the surface of a blackboard. It sawed on her nerves, along with an ominous feeling that made chill bumps appear on her skin. She grimaced at the uncomfortable feeling and rubbed the back of her neck.

Great, I must've hit my head.
She thought and started finding her way out of the abandoned alley.

The wind picked up, bringing her hair to dance along. Her heart rate increased and a knot formed in her stomach. She caught a dark figure appear from the top of the building from her peripheral vision. Hastily looking up in alert, she saw nothing but empty space.

Once again, the sharp vibrating sound of something hard that clashed against metal bounced off the walls.

Clang!

“Shucks. Where am I? What part of the city is this?”

She searched her surroundings and was able to catch sight of two figures from a distance. Valeriana squinted, trying to make out the far image of the three bodies that looked as if they were battling each other on the rooftop. It took a short while, and she continued to watch. No matter how she tried, her feet wouldn't move. It had her in some sort of spell.

Her brain tried to assess the danger, although her instincts were already telling her to run.

Two shadows and another figure mostly of blue.

Valeriana continued to watch them, entranced. Faded growls, clangs, and grunts filled the air.

What exactly was happening?

At long last, one of them fell and landed in front of her, making her scream and back away. The two other figures continued battling against one another.

Valeriana took a step back and stared at the image of a wolf with black fur. Its teeth were bared and wounds decorated its skin. Its coat was caked in blood and grime. Some patches of fur absent, showing the pink flesh underneath. She gawked at it in horror as it lifted its lids to reveal a set of blood-red eyes, standing up on its hind legs.

The beast advanced to where she was standing, its eyes full of evil intent. If she wasn't mistaken, it was probably readying itself to pounce on her.

“G-good, doggy.” She cooed, but all she was given was a skin-crawling growl. “Or not.”

The wolf started salivating before it snarled at the girl. It leaped towards Valeriana in an attempt to attack her. The sight of it opening its mouth and its long, sharp claws extending towards her made her heart practically jump to her throat.

“Holy mother of—”

Luckily though, she managed to dodge it with a scream, colliding with the rough pavement as a result.

She crawled away from it as much as she could while sitting until her back came in contact with the wall.

It stalked towards her, its eyes resembling those of a predator's. Valeriana's eyes remained in contact with it, wide in disbelief and fear. Her hands patted the ground next to her, desperate for anything she could use against the strange beast.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

“Gosh, please let there be something.” Her fingers trembled as her blood pulsed through her veins, fueling her with adrenalin rush. “Anything.”

Her eyes frantically searched her surroundings until she caught sight of a rusting, metal pipe leaning against the wall a few steps away from her. She could reach it from where she sat if she lunged for it, but considering the distance, she wouldn't be able to get her hands on it before the beast got to her.

“I'm gonna die anyway.” She muttered to herself before throwing herself towards the only makeshift weapon she saw.

The beast dove for her as well. She managed to cover a short distance, watching the creature from the corner of her eyes as she did. Even so, it reached her before she could even reach the pipe, just as she anticipated.

The girl managed to avoid being completely trapped underneath its furry body, but it got to her knees. She felt its teeth graze the skin of her left leg, tearing through her pants. Valeriana hissed as she instinctively pulled back her feet and kicked the creature on the face with her other foot as hard as she could—as many times as it took until it backed down. It released a pained, dog-like whimper as it was thrown off.

“Get away from me, you savage beast!” She hollered.

It snarled in anger at her while Valeriana took the time to reach for the rusting pipe. “I almost ha—”

The wolf snapped its jaws around her foot, its narrow-edged fangs punching holes through her shoes. It tightened its hold around her and pulled her back, causing her to growl in frustration at it.

“I said—aaagh!” Sharp teeth penetrated the first few layers of her skin, causing pain to shoot up her leg.

She desperately reached out for the pipe, but her fingertips couldn't even come in contact with it. Feeling hopeless, she grabbed a small rock she managed to grope and hurled it towards the wolf. It hit the beast on the nose, causing it to momentarily be stunned.

“So your nose is your weakness?” She muttered, her brows quirking. “I wonder if normal dogs are like that, too.”

Wasting no time, she managed to finally get her hands on the weapon. She took advantage of the beast's current state and pulled herself to her feet.

It took a few moments to realize that her left foot was bleeding—the one the wolf bit. There were holes on the soles of her shoes, not to mention her sneakers were officially destroyed.

“These were my favorite shoes! Dumb dog!” She yelled at it.

She limped, holding the pipe in front of her defensively. The wolf shook its big head and turned towards her, baring its teeth.

“Oh yeah, come at me now, you mangy mutt. Let's see who's boss.” Her hair came loose from the ponytail, her bangs falling free and covering her line of vision. She absentmindedly blew them away, keeping her eyes trained on her assailant.

The beast did not hesitance and leaped for her. Valeriana blocked its teeth with the pipe, letting it gnaw on the piece of metal as they both fell. The girl landed on her back, the wolf's heavy body on top of her.

She could see the inside of its mouth and felt nothing more than revulsion as it salivated. “God, you have some breath.” She huffed, her face twisting in disgust.

It swiped its paws at her, causing Valeriana to try and push it away from her as far as she could to prevent herself from being wounded, but its weight and strength proved to be hard to fight against.

“Ow! Ouch!” Its sharp nails scratched her chin and tore the sleeves of her clothes.

'
Wretched human.'

She blinked and looked at the wolf with wide eyes. “What in the—”

A soft thump echoed in her ear and a lady landed exactly behind the wolf, holding the hilt of a double-edged sword with her hands. “Demon!” Said the woman. “Your fight,” she began as she pointed her weapon at it. “Is with me!”

The beast jumped and readdressed its gaze to the lady, growling threateningly at her. Valeriana practically sighed in relief when the
demon
faced the woman instead and got off her.

She was dressed in a uniform of some sort—a knee-length, royal blue coat and a frilly cravat around her neck. The coat had intricate patterns of gold on the shoulder pads. It had a high lapel and golden buttons running down the front.