The next morning, Maria woke early and staggered into the bathroom. She leaned heavily on the sink and peered into the mirror. Her eyes were sunken and heavy with sleep, her hair a tangled mess atop her head. She attacked it with a brush and splashed water on her face, attempting to wake herself up fully, still shuddering from her nightmares. This proved to be an impossible task and so with a resigned sigh she left the bathroom. It didn’t matter about her hair. She’d looked worse.
She dressed quickly, flung her bag on her back and proceeded to leave. At the door she paused, chewing her lip. Coming to an abrupt decision, Maria snatched the photograph of her parents from its frame on her dresser and slipped it into her pocket. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt that she would want it close to her today.
Her grandmother was eating toast and marmalade in the kitchen by the time she was ready to leave.
“’Bye, grandma!” she called, grabbing a slice of toast as she dashed past.
“Late again, dear.” Maria’s grandmother was shaking her head, her disappointment apparent.
“Only a little,” retorted Maria. “I know what I’m doing.”
“You should be more careful, Maria-“
“I know what I’m doing!” Maria repeated. She was tired of this repetitive argument in the morning and it often made her snap. “I can take care of myself.”
She left, closing the door angrily behind her. As usual, she would apologise for that later. Tossing one last look at her grandmother’s house, Maria hurried up the path and crossed into the first field that would take her to school.

Back in the house, Theodora West sighed, pushing her toast around the plate. She worried about her granddaughter, worried that she was unhappy, worried that she was suffering. Maria would never show it if she was and that was what Theodora didn’t understand.
She heaved herself out of the chair and washed her crockery in the sink, humming quietly to herself. Maybe she would plant some begonias today. Water the honeysuckle... yes, it would need watering after the dry night.
Theodora’s mind was a fickle thing, one-tracked and easily sent astray.
A sharp knock at the door brought Theodora out of her formless thoughts. She dropped the plate and hurried along the hallway. The shape in the window was broad and hazy due to the rippling glass. She did not recognise the person on the other side of the wood.
The unsuspecting elderly lady pulled back the door, surprised to see two beautiful men with white skin and powerful muscles on her doorstep. The hazel-haired one smiled pleasantly.
“Hello, dears, what can I do for you?” This was the last thing she ever said.

Daeht tossed the limp body to one side and both brothers stepped through the doorway.
“Which room do you think?”
Eyran considered this for a fraction of a second.
“The bedroom,” he concluded. “The girl would want it nearby. Safe from...” he paused, flashing a smile. “Oh, I don’t know.” He laughed harshly. Daeht grinned.
“Fine, I’ll go look. You take care of the woman.”
Daeht flew down the hallway, barely touching the floor. He paused at the top and breathed in deeply.
“Her scent’s everywhere,” he whispered. He heard Eyran’s gentle intake of breath, silent to human’s ears, loud and clear to his finely attuned senses.
Finally, after months of searching, we can get our hands on it.
He moved swiftly, following the heavy trail. It was so close.
At the final, white-wooded door, he paused, allowing the long-awaited scent to fill his nostrils, swirl in his mind, clouding reason. If he had a working heart, it would have been thudding violently with the thrill of the hunt, the chase and finally... the prize.
He swept silently through the doorway and closed his eyes, feeling with his other senses. The smell was so potent, stabbing at his mind like a blunt spear, sharp and numbing. Beautiful.
His search led him to the gap under the bed. A small box. Perfect. He pulled it out and ran his fingers along the lid, tracing the lines on the surface of the wood. The smell was staggering.
“You’ve found it.” Eyran appeared suddenly at the doorway, his clothes stinking of burning flesh, his eyes bright with a blazing fire.
Daeht said nothing, and lifted the lid. A plain, paper-back novel lay matter-of-factly at the bottom of the box. Daeht and Eyran stared at it, their rage building like a rampaging fire.
Their screams of frustration shook the little house from floor to ceiling.
Eyran balled his hands into fists and began to pace, speaking fast and low.
“She must have taken it with her- it’s the only explanation. Argh, we should have tracked her first, why didn’t we realise!? It’s too late to get her now, at the school, in the sight of other humans. Just have to do it on the way back, when she’s alone. Don’t want any witnesses-“
“What!? What are you saying!?” spat Daeht. “Let’s just get her now!” He started to rise, his teeth bared. Eyran grabbed his shoulder.
“No, listen! If we get her in the sight of others then they could raise an alarm. We’ll wait a few hours, Daeht, waiting a few hours is nothing compared to an eternity, right?” He smiled ruefully. Daeht shrugged him off.
“Fine. A few hours. No more.”
They both rose and left through the window, before the villagers swarmed into the yard, alerted by the sight of the smoke and the sounds of the screams, to find Theodora’s charred remains in a haze of black... acrid black stench, her friendly face stamped on every broken gaze.


A little note to say:
Sorry it took so long to upload this. I was away. Won't happen again, guys. Anyway, hope you enjoy(ed) this installment. Wait with bated breath for the next... it's going to get interesting...