Cleovim's Story Ch2

Cleovim's Story

Chapter 2:

The sky was now dark blue. There were bright street lights lighting the streets. There were still plenty of people out and about. Cleovim picked a direction and walked as she tried to figure out what to do next.

Plans weren’t her forte, but without one, she would be doomed to just walking around this new city. Since no one believed in vampires here, she must have been in Meroka. She didn’t know much about Meroka, since she didn’t pay attention to it in her studies. She only knew basic facts. Meroka was another dimension connected to her dimension, Myphelo. From her understanding, the mortals made life in Meroka very difficult for all magic creatures. So several magical creatures got together and formed Myphelo. There were many different opinions as to how it call came about, but that was the gist of most of them.

“Hey, cutie! Where you going?” A male called out from the side of the street.

Cleovim kept walking. She wasn’t sure what he had said, but by the annoyed and offended look on several women’s faces in the area, it was probably bad. She looked around and bit her lower lip. She wasn’t sure where she was or where she was heading. She was just hoping she would find a path back to Myphelo.

“Hey, where are you going, shorty?” The man who had been calling out into the street grabbed her shoulder.

Cleovim let a surprised cried.

“Hey it’s cool, shorty. I just wanna talk.” He held up his hand.

“I don’t understand English.” She shook her head, speaking Arabic.

The man raised an eye brow. “Isn’t that some Muslim talk?”

“I don’t know English.” She repeated as she took several steps back. “I have to go. I have to get home.”

“Hey, shorty. It’s okay.” He gave a smile that Cleovim knew to be evil as he put his hand on her shoulder again.

“Get your hands off!” She snarled. Without pausing to think, she grabbed his hand and twisted it until he screamed in pain. “No one shall lay a hand on me unless I wish it!” She bared teeth at him to make a point. She let go of his hand and went back to her walking. She didn’t have time to waste on some rude mortal.

After a few minutes of deep breathing, Cleovim had finally calmed her nerves. She stood at the cross walk and then she began laughing to herself. Did I really use a quote from a cartoon on him? The idea, in and of itself, was ridiculous. Yet she had done it and he had been afraid of her, though the fear was probably from her breaking his wrist. The sign turned from a hand to a person and off she went.

Cleovim’s stomach started to protest the lack of food. She had gone too long without food. She needed something. Something warm and bloody. She licked her lips. She stared up at a large concrete building. She stared at the word on the building. She still wasn’t very good with English. However, she did recall the word ‘library’ that was proudly carved on the building.

“A library!” She walked up the thick steps. Libraries always hold answers. Or at least that’s what her friend, Shelly, claimed. If it did tell her how to get home, she would have to give her a thank you gift. Maybe some rare sea shells? That probably wouldn’t work. A mermaid like Shelly probably had plenty of sea shells. She would have to get her friend something that she would like and be able to make use of.

She grabbed hold of the handle and tugged. She arched an eyebrow when the door didn’t open. Did she pull when she should’ve pushed? She decided to push the door, but it didn’t budge. She stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

A man came to the glass door and gave her a perplexed look. “I’m sorry miss, but the library is closed.” His wavy red hair framed his face and came to his shoulders. His mint green eyes seemed tired, but not annoyed with her. He held a stack of thick books in his hands.

Before he could turn his back to her, she reached up and grabbed his arm. She stared him in the eye and grabbed his hand. She hoped that he was susceptible to the mind control trick like the lady in the clothing store, but he seemed to be too strong for her.

“Come in.” He pushed the door open more to allow her entrance.

She bit her lip as she entered. She hadn’t seen his face go expressionless. But it was better than walking around hopeless on the streets. The door closed with a loud clack. He walked up to a countered and plopped the stack of books on it. He sighed as he walked behind the counter.

“Why are you wondering around here lost?” His Arabic wasn’t perfect, but he made an attempt.

“How did you know I spoke Arabic?” She took an instinctive step back.

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re wearing an ankh around your neck.” He held up one finger. “You look like a lost frightened child.” He held up a second finger. “And you tried to use a mind control trick on me to get help.” He held up a third finger. “You’re from Myphelo. Am I right?”

Cleovim gave a soft nod.

“So, here is the big question. Why is a vampire like you lost in this dimension?” He crossed his arms and scrutinized her.

Cleovim took a step back. “I was kidnapped and brought here. I’m trying to find my way back home.”

“Uh-huh.” He nodded in understanding. He leaned under the counter. Once he found what he was looking for, He came back up with a gun. He put it on the table. “So how did they kidnap you?”

“They drugged me with a dart while I was walking in the park.” Cleovim shuffled her feet.

“Why did they kidnap you?” He came back up with several rectangular boxes.

“They said I was worth a lot.” Cleovim stated. “I think it has something to do with my parents.”

“And what do they do?” He opened the side of the silver boxes and began counting their contents.

“They’re the leaders of our clan.” Cleovim stated.

He nodded, loading a clip into the gun. “How long have you been walking around in the sun?”

“A few hours I’m sure.” She looked at her red hands. She was sure her face was even redder. Hell, it might have even been burnt by now.

He looked at her and shook her head. He started putting the extra clips into his pockets. “Why did you come here?”

“I recognized the word library.” She nodded. “My friend, Shelly, is always saying that all the answers can be found in a library.”

He smiled at this as he got out from behind the counter. “Come with me.”

Cleovim followed him, several steps behind him. She wasn’t too sure if she could trust him. He didn’t look like any of the men who had kidnapped her. But then again, anyone with a gun couldn’t be too safe to be around. He opened a door at the back of the first floor. He walked in and fumbled around for the light switch.

“I know that it’s here.” He grumbled. “Somewhere.”

Cleovim sighed in relief. He really was just a mortal. She stared at the light switch as he continued to look for it, on the wrong wall. After a moment, she walked forward and flicked the switch.

He turned and blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the new found brightness. “I’m an idiot.” He chuckled.

Cleovim bit her lip as she took a step back. She could smell the blood pumping through his body. It smelled delicious and with his laughter, it was starting to smell sweeter. “You can’t snack on random people.” She chided herself mentally. She followed him down the stairs and bit her lip. His scent was wafting up the stairs into her face. She wrapped her arms around her stomach in an attempt to muffle the grumbles her stomach was making.