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Astrid tsked as she was looking at the whiskey that she ordered. The amber color was mocking her for her latest failure. Sighing deeply, Astrid drank it in one gulp. Tonight, she did not care about the burning sensation of the liquor that was flowing deep inside her throat. She tapped the glass down on the counter as the bartender—Timothy—was smiling at her.
“Well, that was something. Anything happened lately, cara?” Timothy asked curiously. Astrid looked at him. He was handsome for someone who was living among the locals in Lacul Rosu with his tan skin and bright eyes. Astrid blinked her eyes, disgusted with herself as she was fawning over a male that she could defeat on a whim.
“Yeah, something like that,” Astrid replied gruffly. She was tapping her glass. Timothy chuckled softly before refilling her whiskey another pint. Astrid was looking at the green glass window. Instantly, it reminded her of the bright emerald orbs of the abomination that she needed to take out.
An abomination named Aaron Covaci when she was first tasked by His Holiness of the Order.
Astrid refused to think of him as a living being. However, after spending some time with Aaron in Sicily, Italy, a couple of weeks ago as the first contact against her target, she was completely lost.
Not only does Astrid know him as a normal man with whom she has a lot in common things with but regarding him as a living being who deserves to be loved even after she knows the truth.
As per her order, Astrid needed to take him out because Aaron Covaci was a Blue Blood who was known to have blueish-red blood. Plus, he was not only a regular blue blood but a Pure Blood, one of the Originals. The Originals were to be believed the direct descendent of Nos de Ville and Lillian Dalca after they converted into an abomination.
Astrid sighed softly, rubbing her temples. The sloshing sound of whiskey filled her eardrums as Timothy slipped the glass in front of her. Astrid murmured her thanks.
“Here you go. I hope you can get it through whatever you’re facing at the moment, cara,” he said. Astrid nodded and held her glass. Timothy chuckled, shaking his head before he went to help others.
Sipping on her whiskey, Astrid looked around the bar. It was quiet for there was no crowd tonight. She thought the locals did not have anything much going on in their lives. Thus, the emptiness of the bar told her another story.
“Hey, Timothy! Is the crowd always like this in Lacul Rosu?” Astrid asked nonchalantly, tracing her finger on the rim of the glass. Hearing silence, Astrid looked up. Her violet eyes were looking at Timothy. He hummed under his breath, putting the clean glasses away before he shrugged at her question.
“Most times, they are but when the doctors from the facility come to have a party, they will have a blast here. Of course, that means more tips for me that night,” he replied, putting his towel on his shoulder. A patron asked for a particular drink. Timothy greeted him, excusing himself from Astrid before he went back.
Gulping the last of her whiskey, Astrid wiped her mouth. She put 10 Romanian lei underneath the glass and stepped away from the counter. She stepped outside the tavern. The air was chilly that night as Astrid pulled her trench coat tighter against her body.
Her eyes were wandering around against the darkened forest. Then, she was looking at the top of the mountain where a small, remote facility stood in all its glory. Astrid arched her eyebrow when fear crept into her backbone. As she checked out the facility from afar, Astrid could sense the creepy vibes from it.
She smirked, knowing fully well where the abomination might be hiding. Astrid trusted her gut feelings when it was all she had relied on since her training with the Order of the Holy.
“Why don’t I check it out then?” Astrid mused aloud as her fingers were tapping on her iPhone screen. She was emailing His Holiness for the new information that she might be getting from the creepy facility.
Maybe it would be something that I can use to take down those idiots, she mused as she hit the Send button. Astrid put her iPhone away before making her way toward the inn where she was staying for her mission in Lacul Rosu.
Even better if I could catch Aaron Covaci in the flesh, Astrid mused as she was smirking. She shivered whenever she thought of his name. Astrid grimaced before she cleared her head of Aaron Covaci and her dire need to prove that she was the Huntress of the Order for a reason.
He still has that power over me, damn it! Astrid thought with disdain as she stepped inside the inn.
Astrid sighed, smiling at the locals. She stared at those who occupied the lobby at this late hour. She paid them no mind and went up to her room. Astrid was about to unlock her room when someone was smacking on her butt. She glared at the drunk man who dared to touch her without permission.
“Excuse me, domnisoara! I didn’t see you there,” he said, hiccupping as he was baring his yellow teeth at Astrid. His putrid breath was making Astrid dizzy with rage.
She smiled meekly, stepping closer. She gripped his fingers and broke them. The drunk man screams silently. Astrid smiled saccharinely as she gripped him tighter.
“No harm done, domnule. I’m sure your hand will be okay in the morning,” she replied before releasing the drunk man. He dropped to the floor, gripping his broken fingers, and cried like a baby. Astrid smirked before stepping inside her room.
She closed the door and locked it. Astrid took off her trench coat and stepped up to the balcony. She unlocked the doors and stepped onto the balcony, looking at the night sky.
The chilly night breeze was shivering. Astrid rubbed her arms for warmth as she sighed deeply. The mist was forming at her mouth before she looked down on the streets below.
Everyone there was having fun and they were doing the best that they could to avoid each other. Maybe Romanians did not like a tourist. However, Astrid was one of the tourists with her blonde hair and violet eyes. They might be thinking that she was an incarnation of something evil for the locals have darker complexion, hair, and eyes.
“I hope I’m not wrong about this. I asked for Bianca Belmonte because I knew that she was being used in an experiment that was dealing with the Craving Virus in Romania. Now, I’m on the lead to Gabriel Kovacs and Aaron Covaci. It’s like killing two birds with one stone,” Astrid mumbled under her breath.
She rubbed her face, pouring warmth onto her skin before an email chimed. It was from His Holiness of the Order. Astrid opened it up, reading it nonchalantly. She furrowed her eyebrows before her eyes widened like saucers. She was too stunned to speak. Astrid was left speechless.
There was evidence that Aaron Covaci and his cousin, Gabriel Kovacs were there at the creepy facility as well as Bianca Belmonte!
Astrid smirked as she tapped her iPhone against her chin. “Hmm, I think it’s time to pay a little visit for them after that humiliation in the village,” she mused aloud. The cold was long forgotten as Astrid stepped inside her room again. She looked into her wardrobe before pulling on her usual outfit.
She put on her all-black leather suit that fit wonderfully against her curves. Astrid was humming a lullaby as she put stakes in their usual places. Then, she took her daggers and concealed them on her. She also took the crossbow and quivers of arrows that she had dipped into a hemlock to paralyze the abomination that she captured.
Astrid looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled. “Perfect,” she stated as she Dutch braided her hair. It was important to keep her hair out of the way. She left her room as she stepped out through the balcony. She climbed up onto the rooftop.
Astrid looked at the facility that stood proudly in the night at the top of the mountain. She was pulling the hood of her leather suit to conceal her identity against the shadows. Astrid narrowed her eyes, sending prayers for her mission that would be carried out that night.
Aaron Covaci, you’re dead and I will bring Death to your doors tonight, Astrid mused before she made her way to the rooftop.
“Tonight, you’re going down, Originals, and I’ll be your doom,” she whispered against the wind. Astrid jumped and rolled for the longest time before she got her hook out for her to swing toward the facility.
Astrid might as well have gone out in style and come knocking on their windows like the vigilante that she was for she was the Huntress of the Order. She knew she was the one that would have the last laughter as Astrid was getting through the night with a smirk on her face.