Rowan doesn't understand what is happening. Is this a part of the test? Why is there a vampire helping him to fight his battles? Rowan wants to say that maybe he was given two tests after all: kill a wendigo and a vampire.
But this guy isn't a strigoi vampire; he's a moroi, and moroi vampires aren't to be killed because they're less dangerous. Rowan doesn't care if they're less dangerous; they're the ones who created strigoi vampires in the first place, and also they still drink human blood, which Rowan thinks is disgusting.
And most of all, it was a moroi vampire who killed his parents. You can easily differentiate them from the colour of their eyes; this guy has those familiar silver colored eyes just like the vampire who killed his parents. Rowan will never forget those eyes.
"Hey mate, are you okay?" The vampire says in a British accent; he's not from around here at all. So where did he come from? Rowan thought moroi vampires stay in Europe; well, yes, there are moroi vampires in the United States, but not many, and no moroi vampire would want to come to a small town, so what is happening?
Rowan just looks at him.
"Nice to meet you, I'm-" Before he could finish that sentence, Rowan throws a fireball at the wendigo that was about to attack the moroi behind him. The moroi ducks, and then he looks back at the wendigo.
The wendigo screams and struggles, wriggling like a worm before turning into ashes. Fire always does the job on most creatures, wendigos and vampires.
"Bloody hell." The moroi says, looking at Rowan in shock. "You just did magic, how?"
Rowan doesn't answer; he just stares at him. He is attractive, Rowan must admit.
Light gelled blond hair, full pink lips, sharp defined jaw, and those silver eyes. He's dressed in a white tank top and black pants.
"Wait a minute, in London there were rumours that a werewolf witch hybrid lives in New York, that's you?"
Rowan sighs. "Yep, I know you're going to-"
"That's bloody brilliant!" The moroi says, and it catches Rowan off guard.
"What? Brilliant?"
"Yes, it means you're special. Hell, I thought they were just rumours, but I'm face to face with a hybrid, a smokin hot one I might add." The moroi smirks and waggles his brows.
Rowan cringes so fast, but he also feels something electric at the same time, almost like it also turned him on. He might be a vampire, but he's attractive as hell; Rowan isn't blind.
Seriously, what the fuck is happening here?" Rowan asks himself because he still doesn't understand.
"Who the hell are you?" Rowan asks, folding his arms.
"Oh, sorry, beautiful, I'm-"
"Who-what?" In comes the leader of the flesh-eating monster group. He looks around in horror when he sees his brothers have been turned to a crisp. Then he looks straight at Rowan.
"You, witch, you did this." He points an accusing finger at Rowan.
"Actually, I also did this." The moroi says. And that gets the wendigo even angrier.
"You killed my family, and you will both pay!"
Both Rowan and the vampire receive a hug from behind, but it's not the friendly kind of hug;they have both of them trapped.
They both struggle to get free.
"Let go!" the moroi vampire orders. But they don't take orders from him; they take orders from their master.
"You both are going to regret this!" he says in a vicious voice, and it looks like he's turning into his true form.
What Rowan learned all these years from studying different creatures is that wendigos have a human form where they look normal, but their true form is more monstrous than just having pitch-black eyes and razor-sharp teeth.
Wendigos exist because cannibalistic men are cursed and turned into these monsters who have an undying urge for flesh.
The leader's bones begin to crack, and his body begins to twist in the most gruesome-looking way possible. His body turns into that of the monster he was cursed to be.
"Bloody hell." The moroi mutters when he sees the wendigo changing; he grows taller than usual. Now he looks like an actual monster.
The wendigo lets out a screeching sound that people in the club are probably not going to hear because of the loud music. Humans are pretty clueless when it comes to the supernatural world.
Well, not all of them.
The wendigo is no longer a normal human in a suit. He's a seven-foot-tall monster.
He's gaunt, a skeletal monster with a deer skull for a head, twisted antlers, glowing crimson eyes, and unnaturally long limbs ending in razor-sharp claws. Its decayed, shadowy body and predatory posture give it an eerie, ancient presence.
A human would pee their pants if they saw something like this.
But not Rowan, because he's trained for this, and no way is he going to let a vampire distract him from getting his mark.
"I'm going to eat your flesh. The both of you!" the monster screams. "But who should we start with?"
The moroi gulps, but Rowan stands firm, looking at the monster with so much courage.
"Let's start with the witch, shall we?" the wendigo orders the wendigo holding Rowan hostage to let go of him. He does so, and the wendigo's arms grow long enough to hold Rowan like a doll.
The wendigo picks him up.
"NO!" The moroi struggles even more, but the wendigos holding him are pretty strong, especially when they're teamed up to hold him prisoner.
Rowan tries his best to free himself from the wendigo. He doesn't even know if he should cast a spell because his spells are very unpredictable. He might intend to set this monster on fire, but then he might end up setting the whole club on fire; that's why he barely uses magic.
That perfect fireball earlier was merely just luck.
He doesn't know what to do anymore; he's trapped, and this monster is crushing him. He couldn't cast a spell if he wanted to because he'snot concentrating.
"I'll show you what it feels like to be killed," he says, about to tear Rowan's skin with his teeth. He brings Rowan closer, and Rowan can't believe this is it; is he really going to fail his test?
It's all the moroi's fault, he thinks. If he wasn't distracted, he wouldn't have allowed this wendigo to transform; now he's going to be the first Lockwood to fail his test.
The wendigo stops moving, and he lets go of Rowan, who falls to the ground but lands on his feet. He looks up at the wendigo to see what his problem is, and he sees the wendigo swatting the air; it looks like something is harassing him, almost like he's trying to get birds or insects to leave him alone.
"Hurry, I don't have time!" The moroi says, and Rowan looks at him to see the wendigos that were once holding him also look as distracted as the wendigo. Rowan is more confused than ever, but when he looks at the moroi, he understands that he's the one doing this.
His silver eyes are glowing, and blood comes out of his nose.
"Please hurry!"
"Oh," Rowan says, snapping back to the issue at hand. Rowan tries to concentrate, and then fire appears on both hands. He's relieved that he hasn't set a curtain on fire.
While the wendigo is distracted, Rowan throws a fireball his way, and he goes screaming in pain. Rowan does the same thing to the other two wendigos who held the moroi captive. There's a lot of screaming until they all turn to ashes.
Rowan has done it; he's killed them.
The moroi lets out a loud breath and then puts his hands on his knees like he just got out of a race.
"Bloody hell, that was intense." he brings out a handkerchief and then wipes his nose with it. "I think we-"
Rowan tackles him to the ground before he says his next words.
"Whoa! Oohh, I think I like this." he smiles, but Rowan isn't having it.
"Who are you and why are you here? No, firstly, what are you?"
"Silly handsome goose, I'm a vampire, of course," he reveals his fangs, and yes, Rowan can see that he's a vampire. He knew it the minute he saw him.
"Are you also a witch?"
"What? No, I'm just a vampire."
"How's that-" he stops. "So how did you do that? What did you do to them?"
"Oh, I created an illusion. I can go into people's minds and make them see things," he says proudly, "but there's a limit; I can't do it for long or else I'll die, which sucks."
"Wait, wait, all moroi vampires do this?"
"No, just me."
"How?"
"I'm a spirit user."
Rowan quirks his brow. "A spirit user?"
"Yes, a fifth element."
"There are five? I thought each vampire yields one of the four elements: water, fire, earth and air."
"Yes, they do, but I don't; I yield the fifth one, which is spirit. It's really rare though."
Rowan just stares at him because he really has never heard of this fifth element, and vampires are the creatures he's meticulously studied.
"Look, as much as I love this, I really would want to get up now."
"Oh, sorry." Rowan rises to his feet and helps the moroi up. He did help him after all; without him, he would have been toast.
"Ahh, much better." The moroi says, smiling, and Rowan wonders why he smiles so damn much.
"I'm Damien, by the way, Damien Ivanov." he brings out his hand for a handshake. Rowan looks at the hand and then looks at a smiling Damien. At first, he doesn't want to shake his hand, but he takes it.
"Rowan," he says.
"Nice to meet you, Rowan." They shake hands. "Wow, your hands are so strong, and you seem strong too." Damien looks at Rowan's body seductively, and Rowan doesn't take his hand back until the lights flicker.
"Whoa," Damien says, looking around, and Rowan does, too.
What just happened? He asks himself.
"That was weird." Damien looks at the watch on his wrist. "Bloody hell, I've got to go, but I'll see you around, my Rowie."
"Excuse me? What the fuck did you just call me?"
"Rowie." he takes Rowan's hand and plants a kiss on it; as soon as he does, the lights flicker again. They both look up.
"Whoa, maybe we're destined to be together, Rowie."
Rowan takes his hand away from Damien.
"You wish, moroi."
Damien giggles. "You'll grow to like me, don't worry." he winks, and Rowan rolls his eyes.
"See you later, my Rowie." And then in a flash he's gone. Vampires are pretty fast.
Rowan just stands there, and he looks at the hand Damien kissed, then looks up at the lights to see if they'll flicker once again; they don't. Rowan wonders what the hell that was about.
He winces when he receives a sharp pain in his arm. He takes off his leather jacket, and he looks at a tattoo magically forming on his arm. This is it; he's done it.
Rowan Lockwood has passed his test.