"I need to know that you are going to keep quiet about everything that happened." Joan grabbed Rooney's hand and stopped her from entering the slayer training gym.
"Why should I," Rooney snapped at her.
"I said I was sorry."
"For what exactly? For protecting a vampire? For bringing along that idiot and nearly getting us all killed, or for hitting me in the back of the head with a shovel!?"
"Um... all of the above?" Joan cringed.
"You know what, this was a mistake. Screw off." Rooney pulled her hand free.
"Wait, please. I really am sorry, but you can't go in there and tell everyone what happened."
"Why's that?"
"We need Lyssa."
"Really because it's starting to feel like the only reason you are keeping her around is because of Rebecca."
"No! We really do need her. If we lose her we lose our only advantage. And what is worse than letting one vampire live? How about letting hundreds of slayers go into a battle they aren't prepared for, to die."
Rooney looked down as she weighed her options.
"Maybe you're right, maybe it's mostly about protecting Rebecca, but that doesn't mean Lyssa can't be useful to us."
"You do realize that the moment your vampire friend stops being useful they will kill her, regardless of what you say. Rebecca made her choice Joan; you can't protect her forever." Rooney looked into her eyes.
"I can try." Joan's voice shook.
"You'll only get yourself killed."
"She's my best friend, what can I do? I can't just let her die."
"You love her... don't you."
"What!? I thought we already established this."
"No, what I established was that you liked your bimbo friend as more than a friend, I thought us being together was your way of saying you are ready to move on. But that's not it, is it? You love her, like... really love her."
Joan avoided Rooney's gaze by staring at the ground, refusing to answer Rooney's question and by doing so, answering it by omission.
"You can't protect her forever Joan. Eventually, Lyssa will die, and she will take your friend with her regardless of whether you like it or not. You have to try and break their bond, for Rebecca's own good."
"She won't let me! Trust me, I've tried. Not only that, but it's too late. Their bond is so strong, strongest I've ever heard of or seen. You saw how fast Lyssa got there to protect Rebecca. We can't break the bond without one of them dying and there is a 90% chance that person will be Rebecca."
"Then you need to distance yourself from her. I'll keep this secret for now, but Rebecca's time is running out. Once the pack comes for Lyssa the clock will strike twelve. Because if they don't kill her, we will. Your friend has weeks at best, days at the least."
Joan looked away in pain.
"Distance yourself from her, because it's going to hurt like hell when she dies. Trust me. I know." Rooney turned to head inside.
"Why did you join the guild?" Joan asked. "Most of these people have been indoctrinated by their family, friends. You... I looked into you. You have no family or friends in the guild, first from your line. So, how and why did you join a slayers guild."
Rooney paused by the door, not turning to face Joan.
"My dad had an affair with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. When she found out she was the side chick, she came to my house and killed him and my mom. I had to hide, I watched the whole thing play out before me. I was only eight. I became an orphan and wanted to find answers. I dedicated my whole life to get as strong as I could so I could be ready to face that woman if I ever had to again. But it wasn't enough, I was losing my mind. I know what I saw but no one believed me. That vampire taunts me, sometimes just appearing out of nowhere again, watching me from a distance, letting me know that she's still here. She can still come after me whenever she wants. Because of her, I've gone through many therapists, many foster homes... " Rooney clenched her fist before turning to face Joan.
"Finally, I decided I was mad and that I wanted to kill myself. As a last-ditch effort to make peace with myself before I did it, I went to church to pray for forgiveness for what I was about to do. It was there that I was saved. I was the last to leave the altar and as I stumbled out, I saw a couple of people talking about vampires and getting ready to go to a slayers meeting. The rest is history."
"Oh," Joan said.
"I came here for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to kill all vampires. I hate them with every fiber in my body. They all deserve to die. I've suffered too much at the hands of vampires. I will keep hunting and killing them until I find the woman who killed my parents, who came back just to taunt me and killed my friend. I'll hunt her for the rest of my life if I have to. So you can protect your vampire all you want, but when the time comes. I will kill her. It's as simple as that." Rooney once again turned to leave. "You're not who I thought you were. Just don't come crawling to me when this all goes wrong. I know how this story ends and I'm not going to stick around for that."
With that Rooney walked into the training gym and left Joan behind in the cold.
Comments (4)
See all