She Wolf4 - Incongruous

Julietta Lightbarer
By Tina c.

A raindrop splattered wetness on the tip of her freckled nose. Minutes before, the gray skies had been dry of heaven’s tears. A brisk current of air blew through cracks in the plaster wall, lifting up the red fur on her feet. She shivered and hugged her knees closer.

Julietta Lightbarer sat huddled on the mold-invested floor of her apartment room. The thirty year old felt real fear claw at her inside as she whimpered away the dark hole in her heart.

It had been years since she had last felt safe.

A lady centuries before, loved and adored, now only a barely perceivable remnant of that glorious past. Human change was kind to none, her least of all. Julietta took a shuddering breath of icy air. Tomorrow seemed so far away. Too late in coming.

A light at the end of an eternity of tunnel travel, she felt its presence. Unhelpful and useless as the metaphorical light was truly, it gave her hope.

Julietta Lightbarer felt the end would never come for her, she was destined to live a life made horrible and filled a despair that she dreaded. Royalty meant nothing in this new age of computers and accountants, teen punks and television. Her wide eyes stared unseeing at a world that gave way to chaos.

****

Seth ran a paw through his thick, red facial hair. He twirled his finger around the ends. He remembered the morning Julietta Lightbarer had met him on that lonely street corner. Violet and Pine. Twenty long years and three states later he could still remember the intersection where she had stolen his heart. His nose wrinkled at the phantom smell of sewage and old fruit. A grin softened his often grim expression.

Julietta had been a lovely creature. A human with the ability to perceive the paranormal bitten at a young age and changed into something majestic. The werewolf sighed heavily. Perhaps it was this reason alone that compelled him to harbor the vampire, Jade Suon. She had been human not so long ago and a highly empathic human at that. Seth could see so much of Julietta in the quiet, non-assuming Jade Suon. Her Asian eyes sparkling with the same vigor for life and beauty and acceptance.

A knock on the door stirred the werewolf from his musings. He placed the sweet memories back in their little spot at the back of his mind where he could always reach them to mull over when the mood to do so assailed him. He smiled a bittersweet smile.

****

Jade Suon stood on the other side of Seth’s door, her palm resting flat across the dark, aged wood. She listened with the ears that so recently had been made super-human. Paranormal abilities were only the beginning of the change that had taken over her body and soul.

“Come in.” Seth’s voice invited, there was a melancholy air to the tone. “It is open.”

Jade turned the brass knob, it’s shiny countenance out of sync with the old buildings rusty interior. She had puzzled over the new plumbing as well, but left the questions unasked. A simple shrug was enough to pass over these trite details.

She stepped into the small quarters and spied the werewolf sitting on the edge of his bed. A blush made it’s way up her neck, she twisted his sleeves in her hands, suddenly nervous.

“If I am interrupting your prayers I can come back.”

Seth chuckled, a bright smile lighting up his red eyes. True humor entered his voice. “Nonsense, child. I was merely thinking. You are always welcomed.” He motioned towards the chair opposite him, where it had been placed next to the wall of fading red paper. “Now, tell me what has been bothering you.”

Jade took the offered seat, she ran her sweaty, shaking palms across her jeans trying to calm her speeding heart. This would be more difficult than she had first though, but, of course, she could count on Seth not to judge her. Seth never judged.

“I’ve been thinking about blood lately. . .A lot and it is starting to really scare me.” Her wide eyes locked with his knowing gaze. “I’m worried.”

A sad frown met her concerned one. “I would be upset if that did not worry you. The fact that you are aware of what you are feeling and are still able to curb these impulses leads me to believe that you are not going to play out your worst fears.”

“But what if I can’t stop myself? I’ve heard the stories of vampires unable to control their urges. Especially if they are already hungry.”

This grabbed Seth’s attention. He studied her intently with his glowing red eyes.

“Have you not been feeding? Is the chicken’s blood not enough.”

She shook her head. “It isn’t that. I just. The whole thing disgusts me. I’ve been having a really hard time keeping it down.”

“Ah. I am sorry to hear that.”

“I’ve tried.” Desperation leaked into her confession. “I’ve tried telling myself that it is just incredibly gross warm milk. I’ve tried thinking of it as tomato juice…Nothing has worked so far. I’m starting to feel….hungry.”

“That is regrettable.”

****

Trevor Snow looked out the small, barred window of his room. It felt like a cozy cell. There was everything that he needed - or wanted - to survive, but he was still a prisoner. The outside world inaccessible while he stayed in the protective custody of the monastery.

Seth had introduced him to a few of the others that lived in this new world. An underground brotherhood of the unusual. Paranormal, supernatural and just plain strange were all patrons of this religious sanctuary. Trevor felt both blessed to have been found by the monk and distressed that he was forced into the life of a freak.

His parents were out there somewhere, no doubt devastated by his death. Trevor would give anything for a chance to see them one more time. To hug them close and tell them that he would be alright, that everything would be alright. It tore him up inside that he could not even give them that little bit of closure. Tears pricked his eyes painfully and he ran a hand over his face. He had spent a lot of time thinking about where his life was headed and the answer had still not presented itself to his internal debates.

Whether he was now meant to go on in this world as a strange creature of the dark, feared and shunned or not was still for him to determine. Seth had been a great help. The large werewolf had been there to talk to and he had given sound advice to Trevor, for that the boy would forever be grateful. Whatever he decided, his new life would be thanks to that kind werewolf. A bit of a contradiction, but a reassuring one as Trevor knew that someday in the near future he would also be a contradiction. It was his hope, his redemption and all he had left to do was figure out how to make it real.

Trevor stared up into the blue open sky and tried harder to close the gap between what he wanted to become and what he had become. A gray area that he knew Seth would help him through.

****

Tamlina Gray sat on the floor of her room, her eyes stared unseeing at the uncarpeted, cold cement. She could hear her little brother’s screams and she could see the terror in her mother’s eyes. It was a bad nightmare that played over and over and refused to let up for even an hour.

Dark circled colored her eyes and she ran a hand through her knotted hair. It had been days since she had thought of eating. Pale skin pulled taunt over her muscles. She had never been capable of keeping on a few extra pounds, something her mother had always been on her case about. A tiny sob escaped and she hugged her knees to her chest, her brow furrowing in deep distress. Another sob shook her shoulders.

This was just too much to take. Knowing that her family’s bodies were located just blocks away under six feet of clay and dirt. Tears sprinkled her bare arms as she tried to hold back the scream of anguish that was building up inside of her heart. It all hurt so badly.

She may have killed the vampire who had murdered her entire family, but Tamlina was far from finished with her thirst for revenge. Angry eyes stared unseeing as pain forced it’s way through her body and mind.

****

Seth watched Jade closely. The last thing that he wanted to do was introduce a danger to his children or those fragile creatures under his protection. He had safety rooms where he could put Jade until the hunger passed or until she could come to realize that drinking animal blood was a way of life for her now. It was not a disgusting thing, it was a life giving ritual and until he could convince the woman of this he would have to make sure that she did not endanger herself or those that called the monastery home.

“Jade.” He started softly, imploringly. “You know that I want to help you, but I need you to want this to happen. You have to accept that what has happened to you is not just a bad thing. Vampires have been painted with a bloody brush of misunderstandings and ignorance. I think that there is much more individuality to vampires than the legends would imply. Are you willing to put the stereotype to the test?”

Jade smiled through pooling tears. “I’ve already put it to the test.” She wiped at her eyes delicately. “I understand what you are saying and the answer is ‘yes’. I am not going to let this thing beat me.”

“It is more than that, Jade. You have to accept that this is not going to go away and it is who you are now. I’m sorry that this has happened to you, but it has so you have to deal with it. Not as we wish it were, but as it is.”

“What does that even mean?” Jade asked, her voice raising.

“You have to be willing to let yourself change into something…it will be up to you what that something is.”

“English!”

Seth sighed heavily. “Like it or not, you are no longer human and you need to start treating your body that way. You need to change the way that you think. It will be difficult, I won’t lie to you, but I know that it is possible to guide your new powers and senses. I am living proof of that. You do not need to be a monster, Jade, but you are not human anymore and you have got to accept that.”

“I can accept that. I’ve had to!” Jade argued, her voice growing angered.

“On an intellectual level perhaps, but this goes so much deeper than that. Your heart has to accept the fact that you are a vampire.”

Jade flinched at the name. A single, salty tear smeared her dark mascara sending a dark trail down her cheek. Seth felt badly for the woman and for the things that he was being forced to say to her, but he also knew that tough love was sometimes the only option available. He reached across the distance separating them and laid a hand on her knee.

“I will be here to help you through this. You will get through this.” He promised solemnly.

“I’m not so sure. This hunger. It’s so strong sometimes and I cannot control it.”

“You can, you have. How do you think you have made it through the common rooms up to my quarters without anyone losing their lives. I know that you passed the infirmary. I know that you smelled the blood. I also know that you are sitting before me scared and every bit as innocent as you were the day your grandmother sent you to me.”

The shaking grew and soon Jade was engulfed in a hug of self-loathing. She felt her body spasm and after a moment realized that she was trying ineffectually to cry tears of regret. One moment. It had taken one moment for her to lose her life and gain a new curse.

“I never wanted this.” She admitted to the world, losing site of the fact that she was not alone. Her eyes grew distant and clouded. “I never wanted this at all. I saved that woman from the vampire…I thought it was the right thing - the only thing that I could have done, but I’m not so sure now. I just don’t know. What if I could have avoided all of this?” She questioned.

“Whether your choice was right or wrong. It was made. Now we need to deal with what is facing us, not what could have been.” Seth replied softly. “I am so sorry for your loss, Jade, but we need you to move forward.”

****

Trevor itched for a chance to go outside and experience the life of a young adult he had been deprived of at the whim of a dark creature. He took a deep breath and made his way to the door of his room, his cell, reaching down he turned the knob.

The hallway outside was dark, cobwebs clinging to the corners of the ceiling, the wallpaper peeling. He wondered who had chosen what must have once been a very cheery, floral pattern. Somehow he could not see Seth choosing such a decorative wallpaper. With a shrug, Trevor dismissed the detail and continued on his trek through the mansion. He had not been given a very liberal tour and now thought that his time could best be spent discovering exactly where it was he had agreed to live. A smile of curiosity stole over his features.

He was reminded of the summer his freshman year when he and a group of five friends had decided to break into the local ‘haunted’ house on Halloween. He frowned suddenly at the thought that maybe their fun-filled quest to find a ‘ghost’ might have ended in true disaster that night. A shudder ran up his spine.

****

Julietta sniffled a bit, her dark nose twitching at the phantom sneeze that wanted to manifest. She fought the urge, tired of all the allergies she had built up over the year of living in that broken down place she called home. The rent was cheap so she was able to keep it otherwise she would be forced to take to the street. Others life her were luckier, they could get jobs in the defense industry, but she refused to hurt anymore than she already had and so she had tried her hand…her paws at other careers, but it was hard for a furry, tall, obviously non-human to find employment through regular channels. She knew a few kind people who took in charity supernatural cases and they had graciously agreed to pay rent for the building. Another sniffle broke the chilled silence of the room. Julietta hugged herself closer, her long floral print dress scratching against her long, red fur.

A growl of disgust rumbled through her chest. She was sick of living through the same day of nothing.

****

Daniel H. Harris looked the building over cautiously. He would have written it off as an abandoned monastery if he had not seen the werewolf and vampire enter it. Days before he had been checking up on the vampire Trevor Snow and he had arrived just in time to see the young creature escorted to the building of worship by an old, fierce-looking werewolf. The thirty year old man ran a hand through his spiked red hair, the gel sticking to his fingertips.

He would need to tell the others and see what the leaders wanted him to do, until they replied he would keep away so as not to raise any suspicions. This could mean great new allies for the cause or a possible fracture in their plan to Reform the way the world dealt with abnormal beings. Daniel reached into his pocket, felt around for a moment and frowned. He had left the device at home. A sigh escaped from between his lips and with an eye roll at his own lack of foresight, he turned on his heel and began the long trudge homeward.

****

All those long years ago Julietta had looked out her window, eyes shadowed with a deep sadness, and she had seen a form walking down the street, it’s back to her view. She had pushed her shuddering body to a standing position. She had ran for the door, sprinting down the single flight of stairs that lead to the ground level. The young woman had been out the door and down the rain drenched sidewalk in moments, her strangled voice yelling after the form.

“Wait!”

Seth had turned to face her, his red eyes glowing with curiosity and alarm.

“Wait!”

The woman had met up with him at the intersection, at the edge of the broken sidewalk. She had looked at him with a mixture of awe and hope. Twenty years later she would still look at him with that strange mixture that had turned her world upside down in the course of one wary glance into the world.

****

Seth let Jade leave his quarters. He knew that she would need as much support as he and the others could offer her, but he also knew that ultimately the choice to change and become something different rested entirely on her shoulders. If she did not want to take up the strange path that had lead her to this new life then nothing he said could change that. She would have to make up her own mind. Until then he would be there to help show her the way. A light in the darkness of uncertainty.

Once alone again, he looked over at the dresser set against the far wall. He could see Julietta’s picture there, her glowing smile warming him as he felt her hands on his arm. Even though she was dead he could still feel the presence of her soul. It’s kindness and forgiveness and caring saturated everything in the monastery. His eyes closed and he let his hands fall open, an invitation to her lingering form.

“I love you, Julietta Lightbarer.” He spoke softly, his voice a deep purr. “Then, now and forever.”

****

Trevor saw a half-open door just off the hall he had been following for some time. His curiosity aroused, the young vampire walked towards it. Peeking inside he saw nothing at first and then a small keen drew his attention to the form pressed against the wall, shivering.

He pushed the door open a little more. There was a young woman sobbing on the floor, he took a small step into the room.

“Excuse me, are you alright?” He asked hesitantly.

She glanced up, wiping at her eyes in embarrassment. “No. I’m fine.”

Trevor smiled uncertainly. “You don’t look fine. I can get Seth if you need -.”

“No!” She said more forcefully. “I’m fine. Just…I just.” Her tears began anew, cascading down her face in a river of pain and despair. “I just lost my family.”

Trevor felt a pang of empathy. He took another step forward, his voice lowering. “I know how you feel.” He told her honestly. “I lost my family too.”

“I’m sorry.” She said through a sniffle. “How did they die.”

Trevor wanted to lean down and wipe her tears away, his heart breaking at the sight of her grief.

“They didn’t die.” He explained. “I did.”

Her gasp of surprised had been expected but when she drew away, her eyes going wide with rage, Trevor felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. She meant to murder him, he could see it in her eyes. He turned and ran, his footsteps echoing loudly off the walls of the hallway.

“Seth!”

“Seth!”

He heard her scream seconds after his own cry for help, but she sounded like a warrior calling for backup. Trevor used all the super-human powers at his control to remain mere steps in front of the young woman. She was much faster than she looked. Panting, Trevor ran for his life.

****

Seth met the two youngsters at an intersection of the hallway. He grabbed them each by the arm, holding them still with an iron grip. Both tried to pull away, Trevor out of fear and Tamlina out of pure hatred. Seth felt sympathy for them both. This was not going to be an easy introduction. He would have liked to have kept them separated during their stay.

“You should have asked for a guided tour if you wished to check out the premises.” Seth told Trevor with a small shake of his head. “I would have referred you and she not to have met under such conditions.”

“So, you knew he was here! Him! A vampire!” Tamlina’s face turned a light shade of red, she glared angrily at the werewolf. “I thought you were looking out for me.”

“I am, young one.” Seth replied softly. He sighed. “Trevor is not your typical vampire.”

“So, he doesn’t drink blood? He doesn’t kill innocent people!” She directed the last at Trevor with venom in her voice.

“No. Not anymore.” Seth said.

“Anymore? What, is this some kind of joke?” Tamlina mocked.

“No.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Trevor spoke up for the first time, defending himself. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.”

Tamlina ground her teeth together to control herself. “Yeah? Says you!”

“I’m sorry. Okay. I’m sorry for what I’ve done.”

Tamlina refused to hear the contrition and self-loathing on those honest words. All she allowed herself to hear was the lies of a hostile vampire.

“I can’t stay here. Not with that.” She spat on Trevor’s sleeve.

****

Seth knew that it would take a lot of work to get those two understanding each other, but he also knew that in order for them to survive the coming months in the isolated company of the monastery, they would need to learn to work together and fast. They had to at least be able to tolerate the each other in order to survive in the isolated monastery lifestyle.

STORY

HUMAN MONSTER: SUPERNATURAL FANFICTION
Human Monster
By Ebbtide

Summary: Dean helps a woman in need. Not all monsters are of the supernatural variety.

Yells sound from the other side of the hotel wall. There is a sound of a fight, something gets smashed. Dean rolls over in his sleep, bone-weary from the last week of Hunting. He buries his head under the pillow and tries to get his tired muscles relaxed so he can sleep. It has been days since his last hotel room and he does not want to waste the money. It is getting harder to come by these days.

A sharp scream is cut off almost as soon as it starts. There is a louder crash on the other side of the thick barrier. Muffled voices raise in anger and pain. Dean Winchester looks over at his young brother Sam and is not surprised to find that the dark haired man is still asleep. It has been a very hard few days for Sam Winchester especially. With a sigh, Dean pushes himself up.

There would be no more sleep for him. Not for a while.

He hears the door to the room next to theirs open and then slam closed. Dean feels relieved that whatever the occupants had been fighting over - the fight was, in fact, over. He sighs again and runs a hand through his short blond hair. Why can life never be simple. Even the act of sleeping has become too complicated to achieve.

He eyes the door with discontent and longing. The night air in southern California is a balm to his ravaged skin, but he feels too tired to move. With a low, weary groan the Hunter pushes to his feet and slips a jacket over his bare shoulders. Outside he feels the warmth soak into his body and a smile forms across his face. To stay there and never leave is impossible, but so fondly dreamed of. Dean let his head fall forward, eyes closed in tired distress.

He knows that the woman has been watching him ever since he exited his room. It was for this very meeting that he has forced his exhausted body to walk into the cement parking lot. He hears her sniffle for a moment and knows that tears are likely hidden by the shadowy veil of night.

“You should leave him.” Dean says softly, his voice carrying in the stillness.

The woman freezes in fear and surprise. He hears her breathing come in quick gasps. She scared of him, this attention that he has given her, and rightfully so if the earlier argument is any kind of meter for him to judge her life by. Men could be such monsters, Dean thinks with sadness.

“I promise, I won’t hurt you.” He adds without looking up or opening his eyes. He is content to stay unmoving - his aching back and ribs begs for just such inaction. It is his mind that will not let him go back to rest. It is his beating heart that refuses to leave this woman without options or encouragement.

A warm breeze washes over him and for a brief moment he forgets about everything. The woman, his brother and the life that he never chose. All of his worries fades for a single moment in the wake of feeling so peaceful. He feels the urge to cry when the moment ends.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The woman begins to deny, but Dean has heard this story many times and he quickly cuts her off with a firm, but calm statement.

“He hurts you. We both know it and now is a chance for you to do something about it.”

“I fell.” She begins with a motion that he hears, but does not see. He assumes that she is covering up whatever new injury her man has given her as a threat for the future. Dean has seen this all so many times in the past.

Women used and abused by human monsters. Not all evil crawls in the night on the words of a devil tongue. Dean turns to face the woman for the first time, his hazel eyes boring into her frightened blue gaze. He sees the fear in them, the servitude she has forced upon herself. He knows better than to take that step in her direction that comfort begs to walk. He remains unmoving and just looks into her battered soul.

“You’re stronger than he is - you’re stronger than you think.” He assures softly.

The woman wipes at her eyes, smearing a line of mascara down her cheek. Dean wants to wipe those tears away, erase her pain so stark in the open night air. He practically feels her anxiety pouring off in waves of emotion. It is then that he sees her hands are shaking. She hides it well. Practice is hope’s enemy.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She says in a choked voice that wavers dangerously even as she tries to exude a poise she does not own. “I’m fine. He‘s just had a bad day. It‘s nothing, don‘t bother yourself over it.” She laughs a little, dead laugh.

Dean shakes his head. “We both know better than that. He owns you.”

It is a truth that is read so easily on her open face. She is not the closed book that she likes to imagine. Dean has seen this so many times before. Every one of them is his mother. Broken inside, wanting something more. Needing to believe in something better and right. He sees Mary Winchester’s green eyes begging for a new life.

Dean blinks. His tired mind has blurred together his mother’s features with those of this stranger. He turns away again and looks out at the horizon of city lights. The woman is not his responsibility, but still he feels for her in a way that is so very personal.

“I can help you get out of town.” He offers with an invisible sigh. “He won’t find you, I promise.”

She wants so badly to take him up on that offer, but there are so many doubts holding her back. She bites her lip, tears spilling down her chin.

“How can you be sure?”

He glances at her sideways, his eyes hold firm resolve. “You aren’t the first one I’ve helped. Trust me and I will get you somewhere safe.”

She takes a small step forward, hugs herself tight and then steps backward. “I-I don’t know.”

“You can trust me….”

“Mary.”

The blinks come more rapidly as he tries to keep his tired mind in line. It hurts him to see her pain so real. She has his mother’s name.

“Mary Wilson.” She supplies weakly. “If you are sure…then.” Her eyebrows draw together. “All of my stuff is in the room.”

“I have money. We can get you new stuff.” Dean supplies quickly. He knows the first few minutes are the hardest, but if he can get her to see the possibility of life without her slavery to an abusive man then she will make it. “Come one. We can leave right now.”

His eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep, but the night hides this fact from the woman. To her, Dean Winchester is a knight riding in with an impossible gift: freedom.

“Yes.” She whispers.

Dean smiles a little. “Good. I need to pack quickly and then we’ll be gone.”

As he passes her on his way back into his hotel room, Dean pauses and gently puts a hand on her shoulder. The expected flinch does not make him back away. He is now close enough for her to see the sincerity in his expression.

“Don’t worry, Mary Wilson, you’re safe now.”

****

Mary sits in the back seat of the Impala surrounded by the earthly possessions of the Winchester boys. She figures them for a couple on vacation, but something about this theory does not quite fit. She knows theirs is a story she will never hear.

A second man, Sam, sleeps in the passenger seat - soft snores confess his tiredness. She feels guilt over the fact that she has caused these men so much trouble, but as the miles fall behind them she also feels hope-renewed spring up inside the well of her soul. She looks out the side window with new eyes. No drunken boyfriend to hold her back or force the dreams from her spirit. She is a free woman.

“Thank you.” She says aloud for the tenth time in as many minutes. The gratitude will never be expressed fully in words. “You saved me.”

She sees Dean glance back at her in the rearview mirror. He smiles a tiny, half-smile that speaks of a weariness no one should have to shoulder. “It was your choice to leave. You saved you - I‘m just a glorified exit-driver.”

He winks in jest and she laughs softly, freely. With no boundaries to constrict her any longer, Mary Wilson looks ahead to a new life and a new purpose.

THE END.

Another Kind Of Mercy3 - Incongruous

ANOTHER KIND OF MERCY

A light drizzle rained feeling on the pale, dead skin of a young vampire. A pile of freshly dug earth mixed to mud and dripped steadily over the still body. The boy’s human name had been Trevor Snow and he had been nineteen the night he had been bitten nearly two years before. Unlike normal humans, the body of one bitten by a vampire did not rot and decay at a quick rate. Sometimes it would take decades for the first signs to manifest.

Warm hands pried open the stiff mouth of the corpse, pink fingers pulling out a clove of garlic. The hands threw the garlic well beyond the confines of the small cemetery, then they reached down. A thin silver knife nailed the soul into the body that had housed it faithfully for so long. It was carefully extracted and tossed to the side.

Daniel H. Harris pulled himself out of the grave. In five minutes the vampire would re-awaken, hungry and alive. The thirty-year-old man wiped his hands on his faded blue jeans, adjusted his coat and walked calmly away.

Daniel let his troubled blue eyes focus on the grassy plots of the graveyard and then the indifferent gray of the sidewalk. In five minutes time he would be on a bus and halfway across the city. He had saved a soul from eternal captivity and in several hours time he would find another graveyard and another vampire to free. Daniel Harris was a Reformer.

The Reformers had started off as a group of three humans against cruelty to paranormal creatures. Their protests had started small, slowly building momentum as the number of their followers increased over the years. Now they were several thousand strong, although they worked hard to remain under the radar.

Finally, the time had come for them to exert their power over change. Freeing the vampires was just one step that would lead to peace among the different creatures of the planet earth. Not all of them were valued or accepted, yet, but the Reformers would soon change that reality. Fifty major cities, a hundred Reformers in all, simultaneously finding and rescuing as many vampires as possible. The clan of the undead would soon be reunited. Daniel felt confident that his choice had been the right one.

All living beings deserved a life - vampires were no exception in David’s mind. He reached the bus station just in time to step onto the waiting transportation. He claimed an empty seat in the far back, he let his gaze drift out the window towards the cemetery where his latest charity case would be gasping fresh air, hungering for life blood.

There was no guilt over the fact that an innocent might die that night. Daniel was a firm believer in Fate. If it was meant to happen then nothing would be able to prevent it. Everything happened for a reason, the man was certain of this ultimate truth.

He let his eyes close, leaning his head back against the seat. He could feel eyes on him, the other passengers curiosity drawing them to the man with the spiked red hair, black leather coat and ragged, fingerless gloves. In stark contrast of this grunge, punk look were the softened expression on his angelic face. No piercing or tattoos marred the delicate, almost feminine features that had garnered him hundreds of stares over the long years of his life.

The drizzle outside turned into a downpour as Daniel relaxed even further, slumping down in the seat, his coat hugged tight around his body. His pale pink mouth fell into a thin line as he tried to remember the address of his next target. He had made the mistake of forgetting his little black book that morning. A soft sigh escaped from between his lips. He would need to buy another shovel.

****

Trevor Snow choked on his own dry tongue. He tried to swallow, tried desperately to breath air into his lungs, but something was very wrong. Scared brown eyes widened at the feeling of vertigo that swept over him, blurring his vision into a twisted image of a claustrophobic grave. He screamed in fear and jerked upright in the coffin.

“Help!” He yelled, his lungs finally filling with crisp air.

No one responded to his cry and he did not wait to find out why. Fear pumped through his body, his heart speeding up to match the adrenaline flowing through his veins. He stood up, unsteady on legs that felt like they had never been used. He felt his stomach rebel and then he gagged, unable to expel contents that no longer existed.

The taste of garlic in his mouth made him heave again and again. Cold, stiff fingers clawed into the dirt sides of the grave as Trevor pulled himself painfully out of the pit. He lay panting on the ground above, unwilling to look around himself for several long minutes.

A downpour of rain left him choking again, this time on cold water from the heavens. The young man’s jaw worked automatically as he swallowed the liquid. His body craved liquid. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. Not water though. Something else, something thick and heavy and full of life. His gasps came in shorter bursts.

****

Natalia Drummer walked as quickly as she dared in four inch heels over rainy cement. She held an umbrella covered in cartoon cats and dogs over her head. Long, wavy red hair fell over her shivering shoulders. It had been a long day at work and the dancer wanted nothing more than to get out of the weather. Her jacket had been stolen during break and she was left with barely anything to cover her pristine form. A tight, golden leather dress hugged her body, pushing her breasts upwards and affording no heat. She hunched her shoulders, keeping her head down.

The cemetery off to her right gave her even more of an incentive to walk the three blocks to her apartment as fast as possible. She glanced over her shoulder towards the main gates of the graveyard and relaxed a fraction to see that they were still safely padlocked from the outside. She had a fear of ghosts that had been instilled over years of watching Stephen King movies with her late boyfriend. He had been into the “Goth” scene and she had humored his strange idiosyncrasies. At least, until he had brought out the leather binding straps. She saw enough freaks at her work.

A dancer was the formal title she used to introduce herself to new acquaintances, but stripper was the street term.

Natalia felt someone watching her which was not unusual considering her get-up, but it made her hurry a little faster all the same. She was practically jogging in heels meant for nothing beyond a brisk walk. Her eyes grew wide with fear and she forced herself to remain calm. She gripped her house keys in one hand, ready to fight if it came to that. She took a deep, steadying breath and tried to resist the urge to glance over her shoulder again.

Footsteps sounded behind her, she tensed.

****

Daniel H. Harris had found his next subject.

A folding shovel had cost an extra fifteen dollars, but it was money well spent. He went to work digging up the grave - a time consuming and exhausting effort that would reap a giant reward. Another vampire would be freed onto a world that should have never shunned or forgotten the majestic creatures. Once human they had been turned into something beautiful and immortal. David felt sweat soak through his shirt, muscles aching after his previous job.

One more grave and then he would call it a night and go home to his fish and plants. Not a relationship man, David had been waiting for love to come to him. So far it had been a lonely life. He had no one beyond a distant cousin whom he never spoke to and the Reformers. They had been like a second family to him and now he did their work religiously.

He had six feet and two minutes to go. Then it was back home to his plants and fish.

****

Trevor shadowed the woman, his thirst and hunger growing by the second. He wanted to taste her blood. It felt so strange and yet so right. He shook his head, ran a hand through his brown hair and at last gave into the compulsion.

He was surprised at how good it felt, how easy it had been to kill. The initial spring that had felled her left him wondering at his own super-human abilities, but Trevor gave it little thought after his first bite had allowed him access to the crimson life that flowed inside her veins. The woman had tasted so beautiful and kind. He could sense her character through her lifeblood. It gave him goose bumps.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he questioned his actions. A law of human nature still ingrained in his conscious. It would fade with time, as it always did in the minds of vampires. They slowly but steadily grew out of their old natures. Trevor had no idea what had happened to him or what would happen later all he had a clear grasp on was the present and the insatiable hunger for more. More blood and more life.

A tongue snaked out between blood covered lips to gratefully lap up what was left of the meal he had enjoyed thoroughly. The last few spilled drops coming off the dead woman’s warm neck easily. He stood to his feet.

The sounds of the city played around him in a tune of oblivious self-absorption. The teenage body was clothed by the same suit he had been buried in so long before, but the clothing had grown old and tattered by the ravages of time. He looked down at his bloody shirt front and unceremoniously ripped it off with the same impossible strength he had used to murder.

Thick, dark eyebrows fell in a confused glower, his brow furrowing as he thought threw the last few days of his memories. They were shady and broken, splintered around an attack of some kind. Waking in a graveyard did little to dissuade his growing doubt. Fear clawed to get out, but Trevor took a steadying breath, letting the cold air on his exposed chest draw him back to the present. He needed clothes and the rest of his questions he could answer later. When he had more to drink.

He wiped at the red blood on his face, it smeared across the back of his hand.

****

Seth looked over his shoulder, wary of the shadows moving just outside the scope of his vision. He sniffed the air with his long, dark snout at the suspicious behavior. He hated going outside the monastery. Holy ground kept his family and he safe, but on the rare occasion he had no choice in the matter.

There had been talk of a new vampire, a young one, in the neighborhood and he wished to offer an alternative to the fledgling. Seth was the overseer for an underground safe house for those of supernatural tendencies that wished to change their lives. He was more than that, Seth was a werewolf. He understood the pressures and the fears.

The early evening’s soft drizzle had finally abated, but his breath still came out in sharp clouds of condensation. The creature looked through glowing red eyes at the silent world. It was well past midnight and he had the next three blocks to himself. A dim moon hung low in the sky, veiled by the smog and smoke from an active city. Seth shrugged his cloak closer about him and moved quickly through the distance separating him from his target. Rumors had put the young vampire in an abandoned warehouse near the waterfront district.

Seth hurried faster, his pawed feet pattering softly along the damp cement. He had thirty minutes before his children had been instructed to send help. Vampires were dangerous creatures and he did not want to get bitten.

****

Daniel H. Harris took a bite of his yogurt, sighing as he leaned back in the kitchen chair. It had been a good day, a long day. Three vampires had been released from their forced captivity. He would report the numbers to the Reformers in the morning. For now, he was ready to just have a cold beer and get some sleep.

Ten minutes later he watered his plants, fed his fish and then flicked off the lights. Through the semi-darkness illuminated only by the streetlights outside he made his way to the bed.

Tomorrow would come soon enough. The clock read past midnight.

****

Seth glanced cautiously around the front of the building before attempting to access a side door. The warehouse was large and smelled strongly of rats. The werewolf ran a pawed hand over his thickly furred face. He hated rats.

Scratching and the soft patter of tiny feet greeted him when the door was pushed silently open. Inside was dark, but his red eyes could easily distinguish the forms within. Boxes and barrels stacked and then deserted were trailing dust and cobwebs. The floor was covered in boot prints. All the same size, all small. Either a woman or a young man.

Seth sniffed the air - he felt no presence, but vampires were always difficult to sense. He walked further into the warehouse, passing a tall stack of boxes on his left. He cocked his head to one side, his advanced hearing had distinguished a sound that did not fit. He knew that if the vampire was present, it had already become aware of him, there was no reason to keep hiding.

“My name is Seth…I have come…to help.” The werewolf spoke loudly, pulling down the hood to reveal his own creaturely features. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

“What are you.”

Seth’s keen hearing could not pinpoint the origin of the voice. He stepped further into an open space towards the middle of the warehouse. He looked around, his peripheral vision picking up movement on the far left corner of the ceiling. He stood very still.

“Why don’t you come out so that we can talk about it.” Seth invited calmly. “I’m not going to hurt you, vampire.”

There was a gasp from the ceiling. Seth could make out a dark shape moving down the wall. He opened his hands, ready to defend himself with four inch long claws, their dark color blending with his brown robe. He watched the shape reach the floor and flit from cover to cover until the glowing red eyes could just make out a young man. Pale, scared and half-naked. The vampire approached hesitantly, distrust emanating from him in waves. The werewolf could smell the young creature’s fear.

“I am not going to hurt you.” He repeated the reassurance. “Unless I have to.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” The young creature asked, his words laced with sarcasm.

“I guess my answer to your question hinges on you answering mine…honestly.” Seth replied. “Have you killed anyone?”

The young non-human flinched away, taking a step back towards the shadows. “I didn’t mean to! You have to believe me, I didn’t understand what I was…what I was doing…what I had become.” He took a shuddering breath. “None of it made sense then. Until I learned the truth.”

This grabbed Seth’s attention. “Who told you ‘the truth’, boy?”

“My name is Trevor - Trevor Snow.”

Seth grunted in acknowledgement, his red gaze focused intently on the boy. “And? What was this entities name?”

Trevor took a small step in the direction of the werewolf, once it seemed evident to him that Seth was not going to try anything. The young creature hugged himself with cold arms trying to bring back a heat that would never again fill his being. He still could not truly fanthom the idea that he was a walking dead.

“He said his name was Daniel H. Harris.”

“H. Harris?” Seth raised a furry eyebrow.

The boy shrugged. “He was kind of weird about it too, making sure that I remembered his full name like that. He said that history was being made - that freedom was coming.”

Seth frowned. That sounded like the talk of a Reformer. He had met a few in his day and they made his skin crawl.

“Did this Harris mention anything about Reformers?”

The young vampire shook his head, brown eyes wide. “No. He just told me his name, said that thing about freedom and then he took off. I tried to follow him, but he lost me on a bus route. That’s when I stumbled across this place.”

Seth hated asking the question, but it was necessary. He took a deep breath, trying to find the right way to phrase the words. Delicate situations were often times so easily turned volatile. He would have to handle this young vampire with care.

“How many souls have you drank?” He asked quietly, no condemnation in his voice.

Trevor’s eyes widened further and his self-hug tightened. “A few.”

“I was afraid of that.” Defeat bled into Seth’s voice. “Did you turn any of them?”

The boy vehemently shook his head. “No.”

“You’re sure.”

“I’m positive. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want any of this.” His voice choked with emotion Trevor bowed his head. “It’s all a nightmare.”

****

Daniel H. Harris tapped his fingers in a staccato rhythm on the table-top in his apartment. He sat staring at the half-eaten bowl of rice sitting in front of him, steam and delicious scent distracting him further. The Reformer knew that he had forgotten to do something the day before, but what that something happened to be, he could not remember. His brow furrowed deeply as he thought over all of his actions the day before trying to pinpoint the exact moment he had noticed something missing.

He remembered the three vampires before dinner. The shovel! He had forgotten his shovel at the last gravesite. Daniel clenched his jaw in agitation. Losing to shovels in one night made him more than irritated at himself. He pushed the bowl of rice away, no longer hungry.

A frown turned down the corners of the Reformers mouth.

****

Seth lead Trevor Snow into the front door of the monestary. The youngster hesitated a few steps inside, his dark gaze flitting nervously over the religious room.

“Are you sure that the crosses won’t hurt me or something?” He asked with concern. “I’ve seen a lot of movies. I know that vampires aren’t suppose to go on sacred ground.”

Seth chuckled dryly. “Movies are not considered real for a reason. You will be fine. There are other vampires staying with me, but all have taken an oath to abstain from drinking human blood.” His tone turned low and serious. “You are only allowed inside my home as long as you hold to this oath.”

Trevor nodded in acceptance. “I understand.” He gulped before adding softly. “I never wanted anyone to die. If I could take back those few murders…I wouldn’t hesitate. It was pure instinct driving me and I hope it never happens again.”

Seth patted the boys cold shoulder reassuringly. “We will see to that, do not worry.”

Family Matters2 - Incongruous

Family Matters


She steps carefully over the pile of fresh, dark earth. It is no secret why she is there, in the middle of the night, surrounded by darkness and moonlight. Family and friends have chosen to ignore these little trips into the graveyard. They look past the nightmare actions that she makes each night.

The young woman, seventeen and looking every year of it, has long dark hair that falls straight against pale skin. Her almond colored eyes are forever squinted into a hard expression of stoicism. Her name is Tamlina Gray and she is a vampire slayer. A thankless job that has brought her more pain than praise.

This night, she stares down into the freshly dug grave. Any moment now the full moon will rise and the ghost of the vampire victim laying in the coffin below will be released into the world.

Tamlina knows how to stop this terrible event from happening. She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a pair of silver scissors.

Removing her gloves, so as not to get dirt stains on them, she crawls carefully into the grave, one foot on either side of the coffin, she prepares herself for the sight within. It never gets easier, but she squares her shoulders and pulls back the lid. Inside the remains of a nineteen year old man are composed into a picture of endless slumber. She swallows hard, flinching at the thought of what she has to do next.

The scissors glint in the low light, twin blades of justice and revenge. She brandishes them with a familiarity of a lover, her hands tightening their grip as she swings her arm at a downward angle. The sickening sound of flesh being stabbed makes her feel revulsion at the deed overshadowed by the knowledge that it had been the right move. An hour later and the vampire would have risen from its new grave. Tamlina Gray would not stand for another vampire to be allowed life. They all deserved to be killed before they chose to take the lives of innocents.

She knew from personal experience just how devastating a vampire attack could be - stealing the life of a loved one without a single thought of regret or remorse. Tamlina let the scissors stay inside the dead body, the handles poking out at odd angles, then she reached under her shirt and fingered the necklace of garlic cloves hanging against her skin. They would need to be placed inside the dead body’s mouth. She hated this part.

A droll drizzle starts at that second and she shivers inside her thin coat. Winter was through and cold weather was suppose to be gone. With a heavy sigh, Tamlina blew a bang out of her blue eyes and, with a quick flick of her wrist, dislodged a clove of garlic from the necklace. Reaching down into the coffin she pried open the dead man’s jaw and thrust the clove inside. The garlic would keep the soul from manifesting outside the body, the silver would keep the body dead. As long as neither were disturbed, the vampire would never be allowed to live. She closed the coffin lid.

She crawled out of the grave and stood, looking down at the lavish wooden box. Tamlina patted the dust off her hands, her job was done. Any moment the graveyard attendant she had bribed would return to fill in the gravesite. Adjusting her coat, hugging her warmth to herself, the teenage girl walks towards the graveyard exit. It was almost sunset and she needed to get home before curfew.

Tamlina Gray had not been a vampire hunter for more than five years, but they had been very intense years filled with weapons training, research and hunts. The dark haired girl had become very adept at spotting and killing the creatures. It was a personal crusade that brought her family together. Five years before, they had lost Timothy Gray to a vampire - her older brother and confidant - to the violent whims of a bloodthirsty hell raiser. Now, she spent her nights hunting down those wicked animals. Human husks without a soul.

Just out of her site a dark shape flitted between shadows.

*****

The haunting, fog enriched night circled around Tamlina a cold hurricane of colors and sounds as the young woman skirted her way around the front of her parent’s home, her eyes scouting the darkness for any signs of danger. It had become a life-saving habit.

Outside the scope of her trained senses, a form lurked in the dark.

She could already smell the home-made dinner waiting for her inside the house and with one last glance about the neighbor hood Tamlina sprinted up the steps and into the house. Inside the warm, cozy atmosphere helped her to shake off the somber attitude that always followed a slaying. She had extinguished a life - an undead life, but a life all the same. The young woman was acutely aware of just what she was doing, what she was ending, each and every time she chose to stab a silver blade into the cold flesh of a some poor victim of nature’s cruel ways.

Through the night, piercing eyes spied her every movement. A soft growl emitted a fog of breath into the cold air.

She shrugged out of her jacket and threw it on a living room chair as she made her way through to the dining area. Her two younger brothers, the twins Jared and Jensen, were already chatting loudly as they served their own plates of cold turkey sandwiches and gravy-covered mashed potatoes. Mr. and Mrs. Gray were seated at either end of the table and they both followed
Tamlina with solemn eyes as she sat in her accustomed seat.

“How did it go?” Mr. Gray asked, his honest blue eyes filled with unspoken concern.

Tamlina avoided his gaze. “Fine, Dad. It went fine.”

“Are you alright, honey?” Tamlina’s mother asked, her golden eyes wide.

Tamlina squirmed under their attentive gazes, a cloud of irritation falling over her expression.
She hated the overprotective qualities so apparent in her parents.

“I’m fine. Everything is fine.” She reassured them both with a forced smile. “Can we just eat, please.”

“Of course, honey.” Mrs. Gray said, passing a bowl of steaming rolls to her daughter.

Tamlina filled her plate with the delicious food. She avoided meeting her parents gaze and instead turned her attention to Jared and Jensen. The two young twins were always getting into some kind of trouble and she tried to stay abreast of their latest schemes. The last thing she wanted was for either of them to get hurt and both her parents and she worked hard to keep them safe.

“What have you two been up to?” Tamlina asked.

Jared and Jensen exchanged smiles. Their matching green eyes lit up with mischievous delight.

“We are going to -.”

“Compete in the science fair!”

Tamlina laughed softly at their enthusiasm. “Is that so?”

“Yep”

“Uh, huh!”

“What project are you planning?” Mrs. Gray asked.

“We’re making -”

“A volcano!”

“Really?” Mr. Gray’s eyebrows rose at the excited announcement. “I don’t know boys.” He continued. “Doesn’t that sound a little too…destructive?”

Mrs. Gray shot her husband a bemused grin. “Don’t you mean messy, dear?”

He chuckled. “Yes. I guess that I do.”

Tamlina frowned. She hated it when her parents adopted this light, carefree atmosphere around her brothers. They needed reassurance, sure, but they also needed to b aware that at any moment the world could go very wrong. They could not be cajoled into complacency. She stared down at her cooling food, suddenly no longer hungry.

“I think I’ll go up to my room.”

“Is everything okay, Tam?”

“Are you okay, Tam?”

The young woman gave each of the twins a wan smile. “Of course.”

Her parents knew where she stood on the subject so she did not feel compelled to state her annoyance. Instead, she politely excused herself and walked upstairs to her bedroom. Once inside she closed the door, only then relaxing a fraction. Tamlina knew better than to ever let her guard down, even inside her own home, but in her room she felt secure enough to sleep.

That was saying a lot.

Pentagrams, holy symbols, holy artifacts, knives of a multitude of varieties as well as a myriad other protection measures had been stored in carefully concealed places around her room. To an outsider, all that her bedroom housed was an over abundance of pink, fluffy pillows and stuffed animals, but for her family and herself, Tamlina had created a battle trench. Capable of warding off the enemy indefinitely.

Collapsing on her soft, pink bedspread Tamlina thought about the days events. She had done good. Three vampire spawn killed before dinner. A genuine smile pulled up the corners of her lips. Thomas would be proud of her, she could almost picture him smiling down at her from heaven. She had done all of this for him. For her older brother.

The very first time she had seen a vampire it had literally knocked the breath out of her, she had lain in shocked stillness as the savage beast bit into the neck of her only older brother, Thomas Gray. The paranormal creature had sucked his life-essence out through the conduit of blood and killed the boy. Tamlina had watched her father run out from the house, screaming in incoherent rage at the site he witnessed. At the time, Tamlina had not been aware of her father’s extracurricular jaunts into the world of hunting vampires, but after that night twelve years ago she became acutely aware. It would consume her every waking moment.

Her mother, Janice Gray, had also been a hunter by trade until she had finally settled down into the family lifestyle. Now Janice could barely go toe-to-toe with a ghost and live. Years of chauffeuring children to soccer games and gymnastic tryouts had loosened her shield of experience. Now it was falling heavily on Tamlina’s shoulders to protect her family. She was the family secret that they tried to hard to hide from the rest of the world.

Tamlina Gray was a hunter first, daughter and sister second. She liked it that way, it gave her a sense of justice that she had always felt robbed of after her helpless viewing of Thomas’ attack. She had watched as he died, that night her father had showed her the garlic and silver ritual. He had performed it on Thomas’ gray corpse. She had cried through the entire experience, too young to truly understand what a good thing her father had been doing.

The young woman rolled onto her side, fluffing a pillow under her head. She felt the reassuring fabric under her hands and relaxed even further. Tamlina felt certain that even though there were dangers in the outside world, she would be safe in her bedroom. She felt a wave of exhaustion flood over her, closing her eyes she let sleep take her away from the chaotic world she lived in.

Outside her window, on the lawn below, a dark-shrouded form watched and waited.

****

Screams. Someone was screaming. Her brothers were screaming.

Tamlina jerked awake, her body instantly alert. Her hand closed around the throwing star in a hidden pocket within the pillowcase. She tucked it into her palm and jumped to her feet in one quick, graceful moment.

The young woman opened her door and peeked out into the hallway. She could see no one between herself and the stairway. There was a loud noise downstairs followed by another bloodcurdling scream.

“Janice!”

Tamlina flinched at her father’s desperate cry. Something awful was happening downstairs and she had to stop it. She reached behind her dresser, beside the door to her room, and pulled out a hidden throwing knife set. There were six slim blades holstered together in a compact leather case. Tamlina took a calming breath before stealthily exiting her room and walking to the head of the stairs. There she waited, carefully glancing over the railing into the open living room area below. What she saw made her stomach knot in fear.

“Daddy!”

“Mom!”

The twins were seated back-to-back on the floor, bound by a thick rope. Tamlina felt all the blood rush from her face. There was blood soaking through the collars of their matching sweatshirts. She had to swallow the urge to vomit when she saw both of her parents, similar bloody wounds on their necks, tied to the two living room lounge chairs. A stranger stood in the middle of the room, wearing a long black cloak with a hood. Tamlina could not see the face of the stranger, but she knew what it was - a vampire had just killed her entire family.
She wanted to scream, run, cry and kill something. Her almond eyes squinted into slivers of pure rage. Jaw clenched she vaulted over the railing towards the killer. Her body slammed heavily into the tall creature, knocking them both to the ground.

“I’ll kill you! You killed my family, I’ll kill you!” Tamlina heard herself yelling harshly.

The creature rolled out from under her and tried to stand, she grabbed it’s ankle and stabbed with the silver throwing star. An otherworldly sound of pain erupts from the hooded vampire. Tamlina goes to her knees, dislodges the weapon and then lunges to her feet, doing a back flip to give herself some fighting room. The last thing she wants is to become another of the monster’s helpless victims. Gripping the star she judges the wounded vampire. The silver has poisoned it, but not lethally. She could take care of that real quick.

With an expert flick of her wrist she sends the star whistling through the air until it comes to a stop, imbedded in the heart of her family’s killer. The vampire dropped with a shriek. She sneered down at the writhing form.

“I told you I’d kill you.” The girl’s voice shook.

“Tam?”

A broken voice whispered from behind her, she turned. Jared’s brown eyes were wide and staring.

“What is that?” The boy asked softly. “What happened? Where’s Dad and Mom?”

She felt tears prickle against her eyelashes. Her chin shivered as emotions took over now that the crisis was over. Her family - her dead family - was waiting for her to rescue them. A part of her soul died at that realization. Tamlina bit her lip. Tears slipped down her face.

“I’m so sorry, Jared.” She knelt down in front of him, her eyes drawn to the blood-soaked sweater. The thick liquid had pooled around him on the floor, in a flood of red life-essence. She looked away, brushing at the tears.

“What is it, Tam?” Jared’s voice grew panicked. “Are you hurt? Why are you crying?”

He did not know that he had been killed. Tamlina felt her breath freeze in her lungs, she could not move. This could not be real. The teenager collapsed to her hands and knees, broken under the innocent gaze of her younger brother.

“Tamlina.” Janice Gray spoke from the chair.

Tamlina looked up, her eyes meeting those of her mother. She found her father’s unmoving, slumped form on the other side of the room and swallowed hard. Everything was happening to fast, this could not be real. She repeated that in her mind as her body starved for air.

“Tamlina, you know what to do.” Her mother said softly, voice breaking at the end.

“I-I can’t.”

The older woman nodded slowly, painfully. “You have to, honey.”

“I won’t.” Tamlina choked out. “How can I?”

“Mommy? What’s happening?” Jared asked, his voice raising in alarm.

Tamlina sniffed, tears cascading down her cheeks. “Please, don’t ask me to do this.” She begged.

Janice Gray closed her eyes, resting her head back on the chair. “You don’t have a choice, honey. You know what will happen to all of us if you don’t do it. I am sorry.”

Tamlina could not even respond, her throat closing up painfully. She held the silver throwing knives loosely in one hand. There was garlic in the kitchen. She’d have to bury the bodies, alone. If the police found them, they would remove the knives and garlic, thus releasing the vampire soul. Tamlina could not even contemplate ever doing such a repulsive thing. Killing strangers was one thing, killing her entire family another entirely. She hesitated, unwilling to give in to what she knew needed to be done.

“Call Seth.”

Tamlina blinked up at her mother, she should have thought of the man. Seth would help them, he was a werewolf they had known for years. His family and he lived in an old, broken-down monastery several blocks away. He would help her do this horrible thing. He would understand.

“What?” Jared asked again, frustrated now that no one was answering his questions.

Tamlina ran a hand through his short, dark hair and kissed the dead boy’s forehead before standing to her feet. She would have to be fast, the neighbors would be getting suspicious soon, especially if they had heard the screaming. She would have to run.

***

“Seth.” A breathless Tamlina fell to her knees, heart pounding against her chest. She motioned over her shoulder in the general direction of her home. “They’re dead. My family, they’re all dead. I need your help.”

The furred, lank creature bent down to extend a helping hand, she took it and the werewolf carefully pulled her up. His eyes glowed red, but concerned wrinkles around them overshadowed any fearsome quality. Tamlina’s hands shivered uncontrollably inside his own. The werewolf hugged her for a brief moment. He smelled of damp fur, not quite unlike a dog.

“We have to hurry, they’ll change - the police - and then digging the graves.” Tamlina’s said. Her thoughts refused to order themselves and she found herself babbling incoherently to the furry family friend.

“Shhh, child.” Seth soothed her with his calming tone. “Let us go take care of this unpleasantness.”

***

Tamlina stood in the pouring rain, letting the damp soak through her skin to cool the aching loneliness lodged in her heart. She had done what needed to be done and the betrayed, haunting eyes of Jared would forever end her sleep-filled nights. A horrible thing to ask of anyone, she had been forced to kill her family before they could do the same to others. While it was possible to sate the bloodthirsty cravings a vampire was born with, very few actually managed it long-term.

It would have been a perfect hell for her parents and brothers to live through that. Now they did not have to, she had seen to it. With Seth’s help.

The werewolf had move the bodies, without a moment to spare as the police sirens had echoed off the walls of the house. They had escaped to the cemetery behind the monastery. The ritual took no time at all and Tamlina had focused on the job that she could do in her sleep - vampire killing. The fact that it was her family, she forced into the back of her mind. There would be plenty of time to mourn their loss in the empty years to come.

The darkness was silent except for the occasional sound of a car passing outside the walls of the cemetery.

Tears mingled with cold raindrops, both a reflection of the gaping hole in her heart. Pain magnified each time her eyes strayed to those freshly dug graves. The earth soaking up the water pouring from heaven as if thirsty for life. Tamlina watched through a blurred vision as her world slowly turned from night into sunrise. Pink flecks on the horizon mixing with gray clouds to guide the sun into the sky. She would never smile at that sight again.

A weariness embraced her soul then, an exhaustion that seemed to go beyond the physical. She would never be able to get past that night, at least, that was how she felt. Her soul had died with her family.

What Have I Done 1 - Incongruous

What Have I Done

Cold blood pounds through my veins, adrenaline causing my thoughts to blur as I force myself to stand on the swaying earth. There was never a chance to make a different choice and now I will have to live with the consequences forever.

Compelled into a decision I would have killed not to make, I look down at the dead body at my feet. My name is Jade Suon and I have just died. The body, laying so pale and alone in the darkness of an empty city park, is my own. Shadows obscure the familiar features, long dark hair curled around bloody shoulders. I have shed one form of living for another.

A pink edge to the horizon warns of the coming dawn and with tears in my eyes I step over the unmoving form and walk away, following a concrete path to the edge of the park where I hail a taxi cab. The driver in the yellow vehicle does not notice anything odd about me. How could he? I have not changed in any outer sense, my appearance still the same. I look like the Jade Suon that had so naively wandered into the danger of the park.

Cold raindrops begin to fall against the window as I look out at the lights, buildings and people that pass by in a slow flash of life.

My name is Jade Suon and I have just died.

My name is Jade Suon and I will now start living a new life.

***

Twenty minutes later I stumbled over the welcome mat inside my small, two room apartment. My first instinct is to call Terra Wright, my best friend, and tell her everything that had just transpired. I immediately dismiss the idea as I reach down to untie my blue sneakers. My fingers are shaking as they pull out the rough bow and loosen the laces.

Adrenaline is still keeping my heartbeat elevated as I enter the room, shedding my thick winter coat and shoulder bag. I want the nervousness to end, the anxiety to stop, but it does not. Outside my living room window the sky has turned a strawberry red, the clouds swirling in the pattern of sunrise. I see the edges of the sun poking over the buildings on the horizon and I shudder. I know what my new life means. No more sunshine on my bare skin.

I walk quickly across the room and pull the dark, thick drapes over the window to shield me from the haunting view. It is a painful reminder of a life that will never again be mine again. For once, I am glad for the unusual thickness of the material. When I bought them online and had them shipped to my apartment it had been a disappointment, now I count it as a miracle.

I enter my bedroom, the window blinds already closed from the night before, I collapse heavily on the end of the bed. I sit there, taking in the silence of my home, my body shaking from shock.

Outside I hear sirens down the street. Maybe they have finally found my body. A morbid fascination with that thought makes me wonder if I should claim it. Should I bury it? What will the police tell my family? How will I explain this mystery away? I shake my head and sigh.

The carpet is warm under my thin ankle socks and I pull them up onto the bed beside me, wrapping my arms around my knees I sit there and think about what I have done.

The choice had not been easy, but at the time I had been dying and the feeling of my life-force draining from my body still haunt my veins. I shivered and hug myself tighter. Yesterday my most pressing concern was getting to work on time. I would never go to work again.

Jade Suon had died in that park, under that bright, full moon. I am a shadow of my former self. A body and a mind with the absence of a soul. I feel a tear spill over my blackened, beautified lashes and I let it fall. The knowledge that I had been forever changed left me with a hole in my heart and a numb haze in my mind. This was a nightmare, but at least I was alive to endure it.

My family. My eyes search out the phone station on the table at the right side of my bed. I could never call them again. As far as they know, I am dead. I will always be dead. Now that I have made my choice.

My mother never knew the truth and my father refused to believe me when I told him. I had always known, from as far back as I can remember, that there was more to the world. Supernatural and paranormal experiences are not restricted to words on the pages of books. No, there were real mysteries and now I was one of them. The living ghost of a dead woman.

What would this new life be like for me. What strange path had I chosen, so desperately, to traverse. I wondered these questions as I let my tears speak of a pain I was still too numb to feel.

The phone rang.

I let it ring. My shoulders shook as a sob escaped and the thought hit me like a load of bricks that my mother could be on the other end. The lights were still off in my apartment and with all of the windows covered, only a small sliver of light could be seen below each frame, a bright line in an otherwise dismally gray home. Another realization came to the forefront of my mind at that moment. I could never call this place home again. After today there would be police and family members and I would have to leave it behind. Start over again somewhere else as someone else. My blue eyes widened.

I would be truly alone. I sniffed, wiping at the dampness on my cheeks with my shirtsleeve. I felt the rough material slide across my skin and for a moment I refused to believe that any of it was real.

***

A vampire had bitten me. The curse of their disease both killing and changing and saving me all at one time. A supernatural triad of actions that only a vampire could revel in. Days before my death I had felt the presence following me. I knew then that it must be something powerful, but had I known it was a vampire I would have tried harder to evade it.

Being a human in a world saturated by mythical, mysterious creatures I always made it my business to keep an eye out for any local additions to my neighborhood of a non-human nature. Polite and obscure as most of them were, they could be easily shadowed by those vicious few who held tight to their savage heritage. I knew that vampires were blood thirsty and immoral, but most of them had died off centuries ago. Very few lived - or haunted - the free land of America.

Not only were vampires extremely rare, they were also very adept at hiding their presence. Mainly due to their experience with humans. They had lived so long among their co-species that it was second nature for them to adopt an easily over-looked disguise. I had known this and as a result my attempts to guard my friends, family and myself had heightened over the years.

I had always know about the existence of strange supernatural creatures, but it was not until my eleventh birthday that I truly came to understand the impact they would have on my life.

On the night of my eleventh birthday I had been visited by the ghost of my Grandmother. She had explained to me that certain women in my family line were gifted with a sixth sense. The ability to perceive paranormal phenomenon in their true forms. Unlike most humans, who saw only what was meant to be seen instead of what was actually there, I was born with my eyes open to the strangeness most could never dream existed. It was a gift that I used to keep myself safe.

I never intentionally interacted with these other-worldly beings, it was not my place, but on occasion I was put into a position where I found myself needing to reveal my secret to help others. It was not something that I was particularly glad to do, no matter what the circumstance, but I could not let anyone else get hurt for my own safety.

My death had been the perfect example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it had been any other human that had walked through the park that night all that they would have seen was a man and young woman making out on a park bench, lit by a lone lamp. That is not what I saw under that naked light. My trained eyes saw a vampire feeding off a fellow human. I knew what it was from the pictures that my Grandmother had shown me during one of her ghostly visitations.

The woman being attacked had fled as soon as I gave her the chance. How I did that was simple enough. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then I had called the vampire by his ancestral title. It had been over three minutes later. The woman saved, my dead body growing cold on the ground and the vampire on the loose in a city full of possible victims. A lot of good I had done anyone. Now I was a danger to them.

My heart had finally slowed its harsh beat and I lay back on the soft, queen-sized bed and relax. The phone rang three more times that hour, but I refused to move as my gaze remained glued to the colorless ceiling above me. I knew there was no way I would ever take another human life, but I also knew that I had been transformed by a single bite.

Blood was the key.

I would need to find a place to rebuild my life, to shape into a new form, but I would need to do it in a place where I could access non-human blood. I could not afford to take any chances. I refuse to be responsible for the death of an innocent.

My career background was very specific and I doubted it would be a handy starting point for any new job. I wrote columns for a local paper - at least, that is where I had been employed yesterday, but now Jade Suon no longer existed.

A change of name would be the first on my list of goals for the day. I had always wanted to change my name to Angelina Fontaine. I smiled softly, no wonder vampires chose such ridiculously florid, flamboyant names. When faced with the ability to call oneself anything it left the door wide open for possibilities. I decided to go with Angelina Fontaine and so now all I had to do was figure everything else out.

I would still need money. Society did not have a place for those whose species has changed overnight. No, I would have to forage until a job and a place to stay became available to me.

Twenty minutes later I pulled my traveling case out from under the bed, its white and blue flower print invisible to me in the darkness. Whatever special sight vampires must possess to see clearly in the shadows, I had not yet evolved it. Fumbling through my dresser and closet I packed from memory all of the things that I knew I would need to have with me.

“You should have known better.” A condescending, slightly shaken voice spoke from the corner of the room.

I glanced that way and saw the familiar, transparent form of my long-dead Grandmother, Violet Graham. I nodded a greeting and continued to dig through my sock drawer for the five hundred in cash I kept hidden in there. After a few moments my fingers closed around the thick, paper bundle.

“Being bitten by a vampire is a step backward, indeed.” The old woman’s voice continued accusingly. “Now look what you’ll have to endure. Years on the run until you are able to adjust to this life.”

“I don’t plan on running from anything.” I respond harshly.

“Well, you can’t very well stay here, now can you?” She asked knowingly.

“I mean from my new self, not from the physical geography. I thought you were being metaphorical.” I say in apology.

I hear her sigh, the sound almost hidden by the abrupt zipping noise as I close my luggage. I grab a coat from off of a closet hanger and shrug it over my shoulders, not bothering to put on the arms. Taking the suitcase under one arm, I hurry to the next room and slip into my shoes.

“Where will you go?” Violet voices my own concerned question.

I hesitate at the door, my hand on the brass handle. All that I know and all that I have grown to love is facing my back. When I open that door I will be walking away from it, never to return.

The daylight outside will be problematic, I suddenly think with relief. That means I must wait until nightfall at least before I leave.

The phone rings.

I cannot wait though, police will have to come to my apartment sometime. I feel sweat begin to bead on my forehead. Unsure of what action to pursue, I release the door handle and retreat to my tiny kitchen table.

I hear phantom footsteps follow me into the room and I look up at my Grandmother. She is wearing a too-large sweater of some non-descript gray color and because of its size the sweater hangs well below her waist, covering the awful striped pants worn below. She comes to a stop in front of the table, content to stand there and stare at me condescendingly. I hate it when she gets in one of her moods - usually after I have done something she personally disapproves.

“What?” I ask, my voice tight. “I should have left the girl to die?”

“Yes.”

I gawk at her in disbelief. My Grandmother, Violet, has always been a kind woman in my experience. The harsh, monosyllabic response stuns me. She frowns and shakes her head.

“Don’t look so surprised, dear. Of course I would rather you saved yourself. Is that so wrong?”

“N-No.” I stutter out as I move past my shock. “I guess not.”

“I guess not.” She repeats my words with a nod of finality. “You are alive and safe from most harms, but new challenges will face you now.”

“Hm.” I mumble in agreement.

“I know you didn’t plan this, dear, but you do have to deal with the consequences and it isn’t going to get easier.”

I smile up at her. “Why do you always have to be so smart?”

She shrugged, her eyes twinkling behind transparent bi-focal lenses. I laugh softly. At least she will remain consistent in my suddenly changed world.

“Thanks, for not leaving me.” I tell her, meaning every word with all of my heart. “At least this way I am not truly alone.”

Her hand touches my hair, light as a feather. “I would never leave you, dear. You need me.”

“True.” I agree.

“You’ll see, we will get you through this.” She encourages me. “As much as I would rather have seen you save yourself and run, I admire what you did. That young woman will have a life now because of you.”

I know what she says should make me feel better, but it does not. I picture that young woman’s face in my mind trying to burn it into my memory. Because of that nameless someone, I am no longer human and no longer truly alive, yet un-dead. My life has taken a strange, unpredictable twist and I do not know how I will recover from it.

Still, I have Grandmother to help me. Together, we stay unmoving in the kitchen as the hours tick down to darkness. If the police come before then, I will just have to deal with it.

***

It is nightfall outside my apartment. The artificial lights seem to have no affect on me, but still I huddle deep in my coat, the collar turned up for maximum coverage. I do not want to get recognized by anyone I might have known in my past life.

The short walk to the corner goes smoothly and I enter a taxi, quickly rattling off the directions my Grandmother had supplied. When alive she had made many contacts in the supernatural underground. A necessity in the large city.

She is gone now, but she will be back. To help support and guide me.

The ride is long and silent as I refuse to enter into any kind of discourse with the driver. I just want to get on with my new life and forget all of the things that I used to know. A new world has been opened up to me and I plan to make the most of it.

“Here you are, miss.” The driver interrupts my thoughts hours later. Startled, I jump a little, my arms tightening around the suitcase I have carried on my lap. “Worrisome place by the looks of it.”

I look out the window at the man’s ominous words, expecting to see the worst. Instead, I find myself staring at the battered, weather beaten side of an old monastery. I blink. This cannot be the right address. Grandmother sent me to a house, a home for the supernaturally uneducated and unprotected. A fortress of sorts, at least, that was how she had described it in my apartment. I felt my hopes fade.

“Wait here, please.” I tell the driver as I open the door to the yellow cab. My hand tightens around the handle of the suitcase as I walk towards the decrepit building. Stones have crumbled, the walkway fractured and overgrown with weeds. I feel the splatter of tiny raindrops on my nose and look up into the drizzling sky. Adjusting my coat tighter around my body I make my way carefully to the large, double front door.

I can hear the car running behind me, the sound of a country radio station muffled by the foggy night air. I take a deep breath and push one side of the plain, wooden door open. It did not make the expected creak, it made no sound at all.

I looked inside to the darkness and almost immediately my eyes adjusted. It seemed my vampire gifts were exerting themselves. I take a step inside, set the suitcase down next to the door, and walk towards the nearest row of empty pews. The doors had taken me directly into a religious sanctuary.

My footsteps echo dully off the old, bare walls. I look up, the ceiling is high and dark, but I can clearly make out the painting there. My body is truly changed.

“Who are you?”

I freeze at the deep, unwelcoming bass. I scan the room and spot a robed form next to a small doorway at a far corner, by the broken podium stage.

“My name is … Angelina Fontaine.” I try my new name and like how it rolls easily off my tongue.

The robed figure walks slowly, methodically towards me. As the man leaves the shadows of the small doorway, I can see other faces peeking out. Three young, curious faces. I cannot tell if they are young women or men, but at this point that does not matter. They are wearing the same drab robes, but their hoods are pulled down. Unlike the man approaching me.

“Who are you, Angelina Fontaine?” The man asks in a monotone.

I frown. “I’m someone looking for help.”

“So, you are human?”

Suddenly it strikes me what exactly he has been asking. I swallow hard. “No. I’m a vampire.”

The hood is pulled back in one quick, graceful movement and the man’s features are revealed. I tense. He is no human. Red, glowing eyes are set into a fur covered face. Pointed ears poke out with tufts of long, dark hair attached. He is a werewolf. I have only met two of his kind before, but both times the creatures had been unbelievably kind and accommodating. I relax. My Grandmother had given me accurate information after all.

“A vampire, in this holy place?” The werewolf asked in a low, curios growl. “There are no easy meals here.”

I chuckle darkly.

“I am in search of safety and help.” I clarify.

He nods. “We are here to help those who need it, but if I find you are being less than truthful, I will act swiftly.”

I clench my jaw at the threat. A thrill of fear and relief mixing in my veins. He will help me.

“I was bitten last night. I died.”

“Your attacker did not claim you?” He asks me with stark shock.

I shake my head, rubbing my arms at the memory of those intrusive teeth biting through the soft skin of my neck. My hand reaches up involuntarily.

“I saved a young girl, he was going to turn her and I interrupted. The bite was defensive - to incapacitate me - and then he took off.”

“I see.”

He studies me with those glowing red eyes that I find impossible to read. After a long moment he nods his head once and steps closer to me, holding out his hand in invitation. I reach out hesitantly and shake it.

“My name is Seth.” He introduces himself.

“Seth.” I repeat back to him. “A pleasure.”

I hear a chattering from the far doorway and turn to stare at the slowly emerging group of youngsters. They seem encouraged by the handshake and I see three walk out cautiously. They are humans, blonde and if I had to guess, siblings.

Seth looked over his shoulder. “It is safe, children.” He turned back to face me and smiled, showing a row of sharp white teeth. “These are my children, Darien, Dorian and Dory-Ann.”

I smile at the children. “Hello.”

This is not the first inter-species family I have met, but no doubt it is the most unusual. I remember the taxi driver waiting for me outside.

“Can you help me?” I ask bluntly.

Seth bows his fur-covered head. “Yes. You may stay here with us and the others like you…Until we are able to find you a new life and identity.”

“The new identity is covered.” I reply with a wink. “Angelina Fontaine is all set for the new life.”

“Very well.”

“I have a cab waiting outside. Let me just send it away.”

He motions towards the door. “By all means, Ms. Fontaine.”

***

The harsh sounds of a city at night are all the more evident after those long minutes in the quiet of the church. I hurry across the empty street, pulling out the fare as I walk. The driver rolls down his window, his breath making a cloud of fog in the air outside the window.

“I’m going to be staying.” I inform him, handing over the cash.

He gives the monastery a critical glance before shrugging. “Take care, sweetheart.”

Then the car is pulling away and I am left standing alone on the lamp-lit street. Things will be different from now on, but I am confident that I will be alright. Everything will work out whether I want it to or not. I cannot die now. I am forced to deal with the consequences of my actions. With a heavy sigh I turn on my heel and return to the church.

“You made the right choice, no matter what I might have said.” My Grandmother is suddenly following me as I take the broken path up towards the large, open door that lead to my new home.

I smile. “I know.”

My name is Angelina Fontaine and last night I died.

My name is Angelina Fontaine and tonight I begin to live my new life.

As the cold air fold me in its arms, I am followed from one life to another, in a strange transition, by the only family left to me. The gray shadow of my Grandmother trailing behind as I enter the church. I look forward to what this new life can bring me, I am confident that I will allow only good to come out of this change.

CROSSROADS By Tina c.

Crossroads
By Tina c.

Trevor ran a hand over his bare arm. It was the same spot where Tamlina’s spit had landed on his shirt. He felt ashamed of himself, he felt regret over what he had done and most of all he felt like there was no way out. No hope for someone like him. He had killed. It had not been his choice, but he had still been the one to drain those bodies of blood. He could still feel his victims inside of him, their feelings pumping through his veins. Ghosts of past sins.

He shook his head and pulled on a clean shirt.

Seth had broken up the fight and sent the murderous Tamlina Gray back to her room, but that hardly made Trevor feel more at ease. He looked down at the floor, not seeing the shady carpet, only the denial of who he really was…all he could see was the past.

****

Daniel H. Harris threw down a handful of change onto the countertop and waited impatiently for the waitress to pour him a coffee.

“Black.” He repeated loud enough for her to hear over the music.

She sent him a small smile laced with annoyance. “Yes, sir.”

She brought him a steaming cup, the smell making his empty stomach rumble. The red haired waitress raised an eyebrow.

“Did you want something to eat?” She asked doubtfully, eyeing the small pile of mixed change on the counter top.

Daniel took a sip of the hot liquid and relaxed. “No, this is fine.” He replied curtly.

****

Trevor sat on the edge of his bed, arms straight at his sides. This was a disaster, coming to the monastery. He shook his head and wondered what he could have possibly been thinking the night he agreed to let the werewolf protect him. This was not protection. He was being imprisoned on the same acre as a foaming-at-the-mouth vampire hunter. The young man rolled his eyes, forcing his betrayal beneath the surface. He could deal with it later, once he’d found a way to escape the hunter.

It would only be a matter of time before she tried to kill him again. He had read the insanity in her eyes. The human girl was more of a monster than Trevor would ever become. She had no soul, no remorse, no guilt. He felt certain of this and it frightened him.

His hands clenched around the light blue bedspread beneath him, twisting the fabric. He had wanted so badly for this sanctuary to be real, for the promises to be kept. He shook his head. No one ever kept their word.

Trevor looked out the window to the sky that no longer cried.

****

A blond haired woman entered the restaurant. She wore a scarf over her head, it was tied neatly beneath her chin and matched her purple dress. She had a string of pearls around her neck and large, black sunglasses covering most of her face. She had high heels, purple gloves and a small purse. If anything, she looked monstrously out of place in that shady little diner. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of frying bacon as she made her way over to Daniel. He barely spared the woman a glance dwelling instead on the dark liquid inside his coffee cup. She took the seat next to his and waved away the waitress with an impatient flick of her wrist.

“You’re late.” The woman spoke first.

Daniel took another drink of his coffee. “So what. I made it didn’t I?”

“The others want a full report.”

“Marisa O’Connell. Did you really think I would Welch on this thing?” There was real humor in Daniel’s words.

The woman flinched at the use of her name and checked discreetly to be sure it had not been overheard. Her expression iced over.

“You should be more careful, Daniel Harris.” She replied coldly. “You never know who might be listening.”

He smirked and took another drink. “No, you don’t. And that’s H. Harris, thank you very much.”

“Report. I don’t have all day to listen to this.” She urged him.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Why the hurry? The leaders don’t meet until sundown.”

Marisa pushed back a bit in her seat eyes widening in shock. “You truly don’t understand the value of being discreet do you?”

“No. Now, as for the report. Daniel reached into his jacket pocket, could not locate what he was searching for and moved to his pants pockets.

“Lose something?” Marisa asked snidely.

“The report…is right here.” Daniel finished in relief as he located the mini-tape that he had used to record his oral report. He handed it to the woman under the shield of the counter. She took it, readjusted her glasses and stood.

“Until next week.” Without having once looked at him, Marissa O’Connell walked back out the restaurant door.

Daniel watched her go with a self-righteous grin. He knew that she was not a real Reformer. She was in it for the money and nothing else. Daniel abhorred the woman and all the other Reformers like her, they were not true to the cause. Not like him.

****

Tamlina paced across the length of her quarters. This was ridiculous! Seth, her friend and ally, was harboring murderous vampires in the monastery. She gritted her teeth in anger and tried to think of some way she might have misunderstood. There had to be an explanation, but Seth had not given any and she could not see any on her own. That boy was a vampire. He had killed, he had admitted as much to her and now Seth expected them to live together in peace.

Tamlina Gray shook her head, long blond locks swaying at the movement. This was not right.

****

“I would appreciate it if you would talk to the boy.” Seth said to Jade Suon.

The Asian vampire ran a hand over her eyebrows. “This will not be easy.” She admitted softly.

“Just do your best, dear.” Her grandmother’s ghost spoke up from a corner of the room. “I’ll be there with you.”

“I’ll try.” Jade promised them both with a grim smile. “Where’s his room?”

****