Chapter 24 JHAN VICTORIOUS.

CONTINUATION…
I didn't like the attention but at the same time I didn't really mind it.
"It's that kid that beat that adjudicator..." I heard voice from the back of the crowd.
"No way! He had blonde hair..." I heard a vampire girl say and I wondered where she must have got that idea from.
Tia was just smiling widely and confirming their doubts.
"It is him!!!" Someone bellowed, and the crowd only grew more information thirsty.
I spotted a clan of girls. All eight of them seemed to be about Tia's age and they were sitting and standing around a broken car. They were all very beautiful and I noticed they were all looking straight at me.
I was transfixed in there alluring gazes. Tia nudged me painfully at my side. I was broken from the trance.
"They call themselves the Nymphets. But they spell it with an 'I' instead of a 'y' which I think is dumb to me," She said.
'Kelderrrrr..." A soft voice sang out in my head. I immediately knew it was one of them. The one that was actually sitting on the cars bonnet—seemed to be their leader—was smiling at me. She twisted strands of her purple hair in-between her fingers.
Tia nudged me again—even more painfully than the first.
"Yeah, Tia?"
"I don't like the way you are looking at them!" She said, looking a bit angry. She casted a deathly glare at the clan of females, who seemed not to notice. Next thing, she was pulling me through the crowd of vampires. And towards some fallen tree trunks.
"Okay! Okay!" A loud deep voice called out as we dumped our weight onto the tree. I saw a large bearded man standing atop a tree stump. He wore big baggy clothes and had a shaven head. He had gotten the attention of most of the vampires present.
"The sun is about to come up devils, so let's make this quick... First match Dan versus Jhan."
And I had not heard wrong, indeed Jhan stepped out from the crowd and into a large ring made of wood and barb wire.
"Wait, is that really..." But the dark skin and crew cut was typical Jhan trademark.
"Yep, he comes here every morning to beat the snot out of someone..." Tia laughed.
But my heart sank a little when I saw that Dan was actually the big guy who had ripped out the other big guy's hands.
"Oh no..."
"Don't worry, Jhan always wins," Tia said reassuringly.
The crowd gave uproar of cheers for Dan which made me think even worse for Jhan. They were about the same height but Dan's build was a heavy buff mean while Jhan was lean buff.
The bearded man stepped in-between them. "Fight!" And in a flash he was out and they started to inch closer to each other. Both of Dan's fists were held in front of his face and seemed vaguely hyped but Jhan seemed utterly uninterested.
I watched, quite unsure of what would happen next.
Dan threw a three quick jabs at Jhan who easily avoided all.
Dan gave a loud battle cry and then threw a punch so fast at Jhan's face it was impossible for Jhan to avoid it. But...
The crowd gasped in awe and I stood up to get a clearer view. Jhan had caught Dan's punch, he held Dan's closed fist in his right hand. The awe and confusion on Dan's face was too tangible to not be solid.
Dan started at a battle cry again but Jhan held his outstretched forearm, lifting him into the air and sending him down with a loud crash.
Dan seemed dazed on the ground and the crowd gave an uproar for Jhan—an uproar that I happily contributed to. Jhan, on the other hand, just walked out of the ring like nobody's business.
"Jhan walks away again, undefeated," The bearded man announced. He announced some more competitors but half of the crowd seemed to have lost interest.
"Wait here lemme grab something for us to drink," And with that Tia stood up and walked towards a small shed at the edge of the play ground.
I was zoning out when I realized someone had just sat beside me.
I turned sharply to lock eyes with one of the Nymphet girls—the purpled haired one. I looked at her nervously, glancing at her then at the direction Tia had gone.
"Hey there, Kelder," She said, her voice low and whispery.
"Oh hey," I said nervously.
"I'm Jamine, leader of the Nymphets. I'm sure your girlfriend has told you a lot about me..." She said in the same tone.
"Yeah, not really," I said, hoping this conversation would end.
"I saw what you did to that adjudicator at the hall of the higher court... That was pretty brave, attacking an adjudicator, risking your life like that…" She drew nearer to me and whispered into my ears, 'it could have cost you."
But I didn't answer her.
"So tell me Kaldar, how strong are you actually?" She asked, but I didn't really know. I knew I was supposed to be stronger than everyone here, but practice also had a hand in it. And I was still very young, they probably had years of experience on me.
She leaned in close to me and whispered into my ears, "I'll be by my corner if you need me." She looked at me with a copy smile on her face as she sashayed away.
I heard a voice, Tia's voice. She was at a distance and from the looks of things she didn't like the being harassed from the blonde vampire guy that was trying his best to block her from moving. She tried ignoring him and moving to the side but his group of friends stood in front of her, blocking her as well—all gloating in her frustration.
"Leave me alone John," She said in frustration. I was immediately filled with ire. Nobody picks on Tia, nobody picks on any one of my clan.
I stood up and started walking, slowly but with so much power. They were about thirty meters from me. I could see the vampires in front of me dash out if my way, wearing frightful expressions. I felt an ethereal energy spark to life and sizzle inside me. I felt another strength wake up in me, even boosting the courage I had to rip him apart. The anger was growing with every jibe they threw at her.
I got to them; his friends caught sight of me and backed away. Tia was looking as angry as ever and that even elevated my ire. The vampire—John—had just touched Tia's hair, and she jerked back in disgust.
"Hey buddy!" I said.
He turned around, catching sight of me and I saw a fear grow inside him. He back away from me. Tia walked to my side.
"You think it's funny huh?" I asked him. I noticed the area was beginning to get quieter and a start of a crowd was beginning to gather around.
I took a step forward and he took one back. He glanced around nervously.
I felt Tia hold my wrist, "Just let it be Kaldar," She said lowly. I looked at her and then slowly took my gaze back to the vampire in front of me. For a moment it all seemed like I would walk away and do nothing but no... I couldn't let him get away with it.
I heard the loud cracking sound and in a flash I had grabbed him by his throat, lifting his whole body into the air. I felt a beastly power diffuse inside me, spreading through my veins and filling me up with phantom heat and actual rage.
"HOW DARE YOU!" I bellowed.
"TIA IS MINE!!! SHE'S MINE! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HER? SHE'S MINE!!!" I yelled even louder. I was squeezing on his throat so hard I thought his head would break off his shoulders.
I dropped him, letting him fall to the ground grilling his throat and massaging the skin.
"Apologize..." I demanded.
"I'm sorry men, I'm sorry okay," He said desperately.
"Not to me to HER!!!" I bellowed before send a boot to his chest. He screamed out in pain. Blood spurted out of his nostrils.
"I'm sorry Tia, I'm sorry... Jeez." He took he hands, wiping blood from his nose
"If you ever touch her again, I'll test you limb from limb so slowly you'll die out of pain." I picked him up by an ankle and threw his body away. He soared through the air, helplessly, and slammed into the ring.
"Let's go Tia—"
"No you go Kaldar... You didn't have to do that—"
"So I was supposed to let him harass you?"
"He wasn't harassing me Kaldar, he's a jerk everyone knows that. It's how he behaves. You didn't need to do that to him."
I looked around me; everyone looked at me with fear in their eyes like I was some kind of monster.
I knew it would work this time. I tuned my eyes to my see-through sight, finding the clearest route for a quick escape.
"Kaldar?" Tia said my name. "Kaldar?"
I prepped my legs for a leap and with the same cracking sound; I threw myself into the air. I heard a loud gasp from the crowd around. I felt the wind push against me as I soared about fifty feet above ground.
I landed around the corner of the block and then I sped away, up the road and towards home. I spotted a number of watchers by the corners of buildings as I ran. I got to my window and pushed it open; jumping through it and into my living space.
"Why?" I asked myself. "Why did I do that?" I sat down on my bed, pressing the heels of my palms to my eyes.
But I wasn't at the wrong here; the boy got what he deserved. He shouldn't have disrespected her... He shouldn't have touched her. But then I remembered—his friends. I was so angry I forgot to destroy them as well. They were also harassing her.
I heard a soft knock on the door, I knew it was Tia.
"I'm not here," I said firmly.
"I'm sorry," She said, "I shouldn't have told you off, I know you were just trying to support me... I'm sorry Kaldar." She paused. "Please open the door..." She said.
I didn't answer. I tuned to see-through vision and looked at the door; she was facing the door, with her shoulder against it.
"I'm sorry Kaldar... I love you."
And that was all it took. I walked to the door slowly and twisted the knob. It wasn't even locked.
I looked at her, her face was laden with sadness.
"Come here." I hugged her tightly and she sighed.
She released her grip and I held her face.
"You better stop saying things like that if you don't want Jereum to stake us both."
She laughed, her normal girlish giggles.
"He doesn't have to know..." She whispered and I smiled.
I remembered Dawn, she had the same blue eyes as Tia and they reminded me of her.
"I'm tired Tia," I said, with a sudden change of spirit. She looked rather disappointed but nodded nonetheless.
"Okay, I'll leave you to rest then." She turned around and walked away. Towards the parlour.
I retired back to my room. I could still a buzz of energy in my chest. I needed to see Dawn. What must she be thinking, it had been a week and two days since I last saw her and I missed her like it has been a month. I touched the pendant she had given me, squeezing thee little metallic star in my palms, my thoughts flooded with her angelic beauty.