This got long, so only this first part is complete. Hopefully I’ll get the rest done soon! Enjoy.
Sara watched in silence as the apartment building burned, taking with it everything but the thin nightdress she wore beneath her borrowed blanket. She had vacated the ambulance in favor of her landlord’s daughter, who had been badly burned, and now Sara just waited, not really sure what for or why. Sidelined by those worse off than she, she found the frantic flow of people unceasing, only moving around her and moving on.
Story of my life, she thought mirthlessly, eyes still on the sight of her home burning brightly. The fire was raging, and she very much doubted anything in her side of the building would be left save ashes. It made her clutch the blanket around her more tightly, needing any possible comfort with her life gone up in smoke.
“You all set, miss?” a voice asked gruffly from behind her.
Sara turned and stared blankly at the paramedic who had spoken, weary brain not ready to process rational thought. “I think so.”
“You think so?” the man repeated, straightening from the bag at his feet to eye her more thoroughly. “Someone coming to get you? Where’s your family?”
“Don’t have any,” she muttered, barely loud enough to be heard.
But from the expression on his face, he’d heard her just fine. She was too tired to try and unravel the mixed emotions flashing through his eyes, but she recognized the pity all the same. “Do you have somewhere to stay?”
Always it had to be the hard questions, the ones she didn’t want to face. Trying to speak failed her, so she shook her head.
“I’ll see who I can find for you, miss,” he offered, gesturing for her to lean against the nearby police car. “Try to rest, if you can.” That she could handle.
He was back almost immediately with a man in a suit, but neither looked like he had good news. The suit extended his hand to her, firelight glinting off the badge at his belt. “I’m sorry, miss…”
“Daniels. Sara Daniels,” she supplied once she realized he was asking for her name. She shook his hand, but he barely gripped hers.
“Well, Miss Daniels, I’ve someone calling the local shelters, but we’re having trouble finding a place for you. Do you have any friends or relatives you could call?”
“No.” She forced herself to stand straighter, shifting the blanket around her shoulders. “There’s no one.”
“I can drop her at the station,” the first suggested, but the badge shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Miss Daniels, I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything.”
She couldn’t find it in herself to thank him, so she just nodded, making herself comfortable on the cop car’s back bumper. This seemed enough to satisfy the two men, because they both moved off to do other things without a backward glance. When the EMT-type left shortly after, she gave him a small wave of recognition before looking pointedly away. She didn’t have the courage to watch anyone else leave her alone.
How long she waited there leaning against the police car, she didn’t know, but when she next heard approaching footsteps she looked up to find most of the crowd gone, just the remaining fire crew and police who were making their way into the disaster scene. The man approaching her didn’t look like a cop, not the way he dressed in a muscle shirt and studded black denim, but the officers who noticed him didn’t stop him, either. “I think we can find a space for you, at least for the night. Do you have any money?”
The blunt question startled her, but it was a fair one. She tried to reply in kind. “All my cards are in there.” She nodded at the burnt-out shell of a building. “I can’t get at my bank account or credit till the bank opens, maybe not even then. No ID.”
The man nodded grimly, but for some reason the expression stabilized her. This man wasn’t excusing things, he was dealing at face value, which (while bringing her issues home) was refreshing. “My car’s in the alley; I couldn’t get closer. It’s late, I’m sure you’re tired. C’mon.” His gesture pointed them away from the scene, and he hovered just close enough for her to feel sheltered without him invading her personal space.
He remained at her elbow as they walked the dark row of hedges to the nearby alley, not much more than an unpaved driveway for the crowded houses backing onto it. Lulled by his comforting silence, her awareness began to drift, not paying any attention to her surroundings until she tripped on the gravel.
“Careful,” he cautioned as he caught her arm.
“Sorry.” She mustered a thin smile which faded the instant she took her eyes off her toes. There were no cars in the alley, just darkness unbroken by street lights. When she met his eyes, she stumbled back a few paces; there was a feral quality to his gaze that shook her to the core. “What the… who are you?”
He grabbed her elbow, steadying her once more, but this time it was anything but comforting. “Don’t worry, dear, you won’t have to concern yourself with anything anymore.” What little light there was glinted off his dark eyes and sharp canines, only adding to his nightmarish expression.
She might’ve been tangled in her blanket, but she could still smack him, which she did promptly. “Help! Somebody!” she screeched, trying to pry his fingers away from her arm.
Her struggling only made her captor’s grin widen until a voice from behind her spoke. “Let the girl go,” was the command. “You’re surrounded.”
Her captor sneered over her shoulder as she struggled harder. “I doubt that,” he replied.
A man with a drawn gun appeared in her peripheral vision. “Don’t.” He smirked slightly, and to her relief, her attacker appeared shaken.
Shaken enough that wrenching her weight to one side broke his grip. She fell heavily, pains springing up everywhere her body connected with the ground, but she was free. She dodged the man’s lunge, kicking his knee as hard as she could and propelling herself forward with a scramble at the same time.
The man with the gun stepped between her and her attacker, giving her a moment to catch her breath and rise, using the side of the nearest house for support. Turning, she found only a lump of charred coal where her attacker had been, her two rescuers shaking their heads. The one with the gun tucked it out of sight under his denim jacket as she realized his androgynous companion held a crossbow.
“Who… who are you?” she asked, voice shaking.
The one with the crossbow squatted next to the charcoal as it fell to ash then sifted through it with the tip of their crossbow bolt. “Zack.”
The one with the gun had turned toward her, but at his name looked back at his companion. “What?”
The tip of the arrow pulled a thin chain from the mess, an ankh shining through the soot once subtracted from the mess. “He can’t have been alone.”
“Damn,” was the immediate response. “Miss, you should get home,” he told her spinning to eye the shadows nearby. “Now.”
Something in the tense way he spoke made her want to run for her life. “It burned. Who—”
“Not now,” Crossbow snapped.
She turned to demand answers and her eyes flew wide. “Behind you!” A moving mass of shadow had detached from the dumpsters ten feet down the alley, and it made straight for them swinging outlandishly long arms.
Crossbow spun and shot, but the bolt flew straight through where the shadow’s heart should’ve been. “Tell me you brought them,” they cried, confusing Sara until she saw the one called Zack reaching in his pocket.
“Close your eyes!” Zack yelled, tossing a small object in the creature’s path.
Sara barely managed—a bright flash bloomed through her eyelids. The after-image still making her reel, she felt someone grab her hand.
“Run!” She thought it was Zack, but she was still seeing spots. Given her options, she ran with him back towards her former home.
His companion caught up as they reached a gray Jeep parked opposite the ruins of her building. Zack already had his keys in hand, but a muffled roar from the alley made her tremble, fumbling with the door handle. “Get in,” urged Crossbow.
It was too late to argue, though the last fifteen minutes were shouting at her not to get in some stranger’s car. With Zack in the driver’s seat, Crossbow jumped in beside her, pushing her over as they dragged the door shut. “Drive! Max should be ready for us anyway…”
“Call her,” Zack replied, pulling out of the parking space with a screech. “They aren’t ready for him.”
The person beside her fumbled their phone from their pocket with a muffled curse. Punching speed-dial viciously, they waited impatiently, head turning back and forth to watch for the creature. “No chance it’s—” he began, but Sara heard the sound of someone answering the phone. “Max, get them up. We’ve had a little run in with an umbral fiend.”
There was a shrill reply that Sara couldn’t decipher, but the call was quickly ended without any response from the person beside her. “There, they’re ready.”
“Too much faith,” Zack complained audibly, shifting to look at Sara in the rearview mirror. “Sorry you got dragged into this. What’s your name?”
“Sara. And you saved me from the vampire, you don’t need to apologize.” She blinked as she heard the replay of her own words. Vampire?
Zack’s response cut off her next embarrassed comments. “Aye, but we were a bit hasty.”
Hasty? She opened her mouth to question the word before realizing that he hadn’t replied to her foolish vampire comment. If anything, he confirmed it. “I must be dreaming,” she murmured.
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” the person beside her agreed, though she couldn’t tell how sarcastic they were being.
Looking out her window instead of facing their sarcasm, she sighed. “Yeah, I—on your left!” A single burst lightbulb was all the warning she got as darkness sped past the reflections on car windows and houses, growing swifter as it came. For something made of nothingness, when it impacted the car, they all were slammed sideways as the driver’s side windows shattered all over them. She landed hard on her wrist, trying to catch herself, with her ally’s elbow in her stomach, driving the breath from her lungs. The same roar as from the alley sounded as Zack slammed the gas pedal and the car squealed away.
“Are you okay?” She thought the body she’d landed on was more feminine than the clothes they wore, but the voice hadn’t changed; if anything it was more masculine as their stormy blue gaze sought her hazel eyes. Gentle hands helped her sit up again, brushing fragments of glass from her dirty nightgown. “Zack, you good?” Their eyes didn’t leave her, noticing the instant she winced and favored her wrist.
“Yeah,” the driver panted. “You both okay back there?”
Sara had to struggle to breathe at first, her body was just stuck gasping. She could see the clear concern on her companion’s face, despite how indifferent or sarcastic they’d been before. “Yeah,” she managed at last. “Not sure I’ll agree later when my wrist starts swelling, but I’m fine.”
“Swelling?” Zack whipped his head around to look back at them, but couldn’t keep his blue-grey eyes off the road longer than that. “What’s wrong?”
“Let me see,” her companion urged her, beckoning.
Sara reluctantly stopped cradling her wrist to her chest and used her left hand to support the injured wrist as she extended it. “I just landed wrong. I’ve twisted things before, I’m pretty used to it.” She sounded bitter even to her own ears, but just dropped her eyes so she didn’t have to see their reactions. “I’m pretty clumsy. It’s fine.”
She sensed more than saw the nod beside her. “Doesn’t look like it’s broken. I’ve a first aid kit in the back, but I won’t be able to do anything about it until we get where we’re going.”
“And where is that?” She swallowed. She didn’t know what was happening, really; the nightmare that had started with her fire alarm and choking smoke just seemed to spiral further and further out of control. Sara could hope she was asleep, but she doubted it. Her life was a string of disasters… what was one more?
The driver answered her when she flinched at the probing fingers investigating her wrist. “A motel for now. I don’t know how you’re caught up in this, but we can’t very well leave you behind now.”
Sara closed her mouth on an involuntary yelp, jerking back a little but willing her traitorous body to let the person beside her check her wrist. It sounded like they had some training or at least experience. She had to take a deep breath, counting to five and letting it go, before she could trust her voice. “Is… are we safe at some motel?”
“We’re safe on the highway,” Zack replied, meeting her eyes briefly in the rearview mirror. “Those demons may be many things, but fond of light isn’t one of them.” A dry rise of his eyebrows and a glance sideways made her look out the broken window beside her. The light level hadn’t really registered, but when she actually paid attention to it, she had to admit the blue-white LEDs keeping the highway lit were offensively bright. She must have made a face because when she turned back, Zack chuckled, his eyes in the mirror smiling at her. “Jordan can help with your hand and we can regroup with our friends before we will need to worry that they may have tracked us down.”
When she turned to consider her companion, Jordan met her eyes with more humor than before, lips twitching sideways in a brief smirk. “You’ll be fine,” they told her. “It’s not sprained.” Even with their inspection done, they didn’t release her hand at first. Then she shivered in the wind whipping past the broken window, and it was like the spell was broken; releasing her, Jordan reached backwards over the car seat, fumbling for something awkwardly. “Here.” A blue flannel shirt was yanked between them by the arm.
“Thanks.” She had trouble even putting on the shirt over her injured hand, but Jordan was quick to unbutton the cuff and help ease her hand through. She gave them a feeble smile, pulling the shirt around herself and feeling a little better once it was on. Her washed-out purple nightdress was thin, too thin for this time of year, but her building was always warm. Had been warm. Sara hugged the flannel shirt around herself, shivering again, this time not from the chill. It hadn’t really settled in yet, the fire and its repercussions, but she was starting to realize. Why the idea of a vampire or a shadow demon was easier to believe than the fact she now had nothing, she didn’t know.
The car slowed as they took an off-ramp outside the city, and the change in noise level as the air stopped whistling past her broken window broke Sara out of her depressing thoughts. She didn’t know where they were, but she rarely left the city—they could be just outside the city proper or five hundred miles away, it wouldn’t make a difference to her. Rationally, she knew they hadn’t spent that long in the car, but she hadn’t really been in the best headspace to notice. The road crossing under the highway led to a less well-lit area, but the signs for the gas station and the motel next to it were both lit up well enough to see them.
There were only a few vehicles in the motel lot, three spaced out along the row of numbered doors, and two at the far end, which was where Zack pulled in. He jumped out of the Jeep and shook himself off, shards of the window hitting the pavement like crystal rain with little pings. He opened Sara’s door, looking at her with concern. “Are you okay? You’re cut…”
“What?” She slid out of the car and heard the same tinkling sound of glass hitting the ground.
“Your cheek,” he told her, starting to reach out but hesitating before he actually touched her.
Her fingers went to her cheek, finding stickiness in the first handspan in front of her ear. Her hand came away red with half-congealed blood. “I didn’t even notice.”
He didn’t look like he knew if that should amuse or frighten him. “Jordan, get your kit. The Jeep’s filthy; it can’t be good for her.” His hand did rise to his own cheek to check, and he hissed a little when his fingers reached his ear, but aside from a tiny nick in the edge of his ear, he had come away with no injury. “Come in, Sara, you must be cold.” He led her to the last unit in the motel and knocked twice, then twice again.
The door flew open, the blonde woman behind it inhaling to say something—instead she saw Sara’s bloody cheek. “What the hell… get in here, all of you.” She stepped back, encouraging them inside with an insistent gesture. “Jordan?” She looked out the door when she didn’t immediately see anyone behind Sara.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Jordan appeared around the Jeep, slamming the back hatch and coming into the room with a large plastic box. “Damn, Sara, that’s not a small cut.” Sara had stuck next to Zack when she realized there were two other people in the room, both working on something in opposite corners, on the floor. They glanced up, but she felt rather out of place and shy. Jordan had to grab the sleeve of the shirt she was wearing, tugging her to sit on the end of the closer bed. “Zack, do you have that ace wrap in your bag still?” The plastic box was set at her side, and it opened to reveal quite a bit more than just a first aid kit—it looked more like a surgical kit on top of some basics like the wipes and bandaids that Jordan handed her to hold.
“Probably, lemme check.” Zack turned away to the small table, where the blonde woman from the door met him with quiet words that sounded accusatory. Zack’s eyes were buried in a beat up backpack until he tried to return to Sara and Jordan, and the blonde stopped him. He said something, too low for Sara to catch, and pushed past to extend the rolled bandage.
Jordan took it, nodding at the wipes Sara had in her hand. “Clean her cheek for me? I’ll get something better to sterilize it in a second.” Zack obediently did as he was told while Jordan wrapped her wrist carefully, being gentle enough that even if it did swell, the bandage wouldn’t cut off the circulation but still supportive enough to help. “Sara, this is Maxine,” Jordan added, tilting their head to the blonde woman. “Harry is rigging something to explode when our friend shows up, and that’s Greg trying to abuse the innards of that laptop back there. Guys, this is Sara. She’s been in a couple bad spots tonight, not least when the Ansatarian Order attacked her in an alley. She’s got better eyes than Harry does, and warned us about the umbral fiend that was also present before it sucker punched me in the same alley. She also seemed to irritate it more than Zack did…” Chuckles came from the three motel guests she’d just been introduced to. After pulling a bottle and some gauze from the kit, Jordan smirked again and met her eye. “And that’s saying something.”
“Shut up,” Zack told them, but he was smiling as he said it.
Max, the blonde woman, shook her head as she came closer, definitely looking skeptical as she took in Sara’s nightdress under the flannel shirt. “And you’re in your pjs, why?”
Sara still felt out of her depth, but at least that question she could answer. “My apartment building burned. I’ve nowhere to go. I thought I was being escorted to a shelter for the night, except the guy turned out to be a… um…”
“Vampire?” the other woman supplied. Sara winced, but nodded. It was hard to believe, and now that she wasn’t feeling the adrenaline anymore, she had to actually accept that it wasn’t her imagination that these people hadn’t corrected her misunderstanding. She hadn’t misunderstood; he really had been a vampire. The blonde woman shook her head and glared at Zack when he backed up so Jordan could sterilize Sara’s cheek. “You brought a normal person here? Are you insane?”
“She was targeted,” Zack replied, frowning. Sara blinked at him, but when she opened her mouth to ask, Jordan shushed her and turned her chin sideways to keep dabbing the stinging liquid on her cut. Zack, meanwhile, avoided meeting her eyes. “They can’t follow us, unless they’ve found a way around that.” The words didn’t make sense to Sara, but when Zack glanced at Maxine, something seemed to have upset her. “If they’d broken that, they’d be here already,” Zack kept going, and the blonde actually shot Sara an apologetic glance.
“I don’t understand,” Sara said.
Jordan sighed heavily, but didn’t look at Maxine and Zack. “It’s just a theory.” The other two shared a glance that told Sara it was anything but. As much as she appreciated Jordan taking charge of her injuries and trying to be supportive without scaring her, Sara was well past scared at this point, and it was starting to bother her. Jordan stopped cleaning her cheek and frowned. “Hey.” When she didn’t answer, they laid a hand on her shoulder. “Sara. You’re okay.”
Zack spoke up. “You finished?” Jordan glanced back and nodded, so Zack stepped forward and offered Sara a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. “Come next door and let’s talk? It’s quiet and we can leave these guys to their preparations. You’re safe with me; I swear it, Sara.”
She had hesitated to go anywhere alone, but there was something in Zack’s eyes that told her he knew what she was going through, what was trapping her thoughts and tongue. That was new; she was all too used to having things go wrong and receiving pity but no understanding. It made her wonder at who he was, but it was enough that she didn’t pull away when he tugged her toward the door, not releasing her hand.
Zack led her to the next motel room over, where a duffel bag lay on each of the two queen-sized beds. He closed and locked the door behind them like it was second nature. He saw her look. “They’ve got a key if they need to get in. I don’t want anyone to startle you.” She swallowed, nodding, still silent. He moved to face her and gently made her look up at him when she didn’t. “My instinct is to hold you, Sara, but I don’t want you to think I’m trying something, what with you not exactly dressed.” He looked a little embarrassed to bring attention to it, but he didn’t break eye contact for a moment. “You’re trembling,” he added. “May I hug you?”
She hadn’t realized her shakes until he said it, but once he had, she needed the hug. Rather than respond, she just reached out and he pulled her close, letting her bury her face in his shoulder and hug him back. How long had it been since she felt a strong embrace like this? It had to have been years. Since her parents died, even? But Zack didn’t hold her like family. One of his hands rose to the back of her head, his fingers stroking her hair. It was almost intimate, for all they were nearly strangers. His shirt smelled a little like soot, but there was also something evergreen and maybe freshly cut grass? It was hard to place, but it was unique and she held onto it to try and ground herself in the moment.
“I’ve been where you are,” he murmured, leaning his head against hers. “Max and her dad found me. I was a teenager, and it was quite a shock to be dropped into this world. I’m not sure any of the others knows what that’s like. They all came to it by seeking it out or having family involved.”
He had just been a kid. That would be even worse, though she wouldn’t be surprised if shock was exactly what was making her tremble. Not that she felt shaky while he held her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He was still stroking her hair, almost like he didn’t realize he was doing it. “Me, too. I know you lost your home tonight, that’s hard enough without the rest. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone. You can stay with us if you’d like to, or I’ll see if I can help you find a safe place to try and set yourself up again.”
Some of her tension drained out of her abruptly, leaning harder into him for a moment when her knees threatened to buckle. “Thank you!” It came out as an almost hysterical whisper. Whatever else she was feeling, she couldn’t help but feel safe for the moment with his arms around her. He’d rescued her, he’d protected her, and now he was comforting her. She didn’t know what to trust right then, but she wanted to trust him. Sara was glad of his embrace, suddenly feeling the fatigue of the hour and her ordeal catching up with her. “Can… is there time for me to lie down for a bit?” It had sounded like they expected to be followed by that demon.
“We can make time.” He released her slowly, looking concerned and keeping his eyes on her face.
“I don’t want to be a bother.” She couldn’t hold his eyes; there was too much going on in his expression she wasn’t ready to try and unpack.
He shook his head. “You’re not. Why don’t you lie down? I’ll go tell the others and come back to stay with you.”
Relieved, she smiled at him. It was probably a lousy smile, what with how she was feeling, but she tried. “I’d appreciate that.” She needed his hug more than she’d realized. She wouldn’t mind letting him hold her until she was less upset. “Would you… um, no. Never mind.” She didn’t know what she was doing starting to ask him that. It was too forward, and she felt her cheeks get hot.
“What?”
She had a feeling she was bright red; she dropped her eyes to look at his shoes instead. “Would you hold me for a while? I… really needed that.” She didn’t tell him she thought she still needed it. Hopefully her asking would give him that clue.
There was a moment’s hesitation, like he froze for just a second before he caught himself, but he answered her easily enough. “Sure. I’ll be right back.” He reached out and gently clasped her shoulder, then turned around and left.
Once the door was closed behind him, she went and sat down on the edge of the bed. What had possessed her? Rescuer or not, he was still a strange man she didn’t know. She reached for the covers and moved them aside so she was sitting in the bed instead of on it, but she couldn’t quite decide what to think of Zack. The comfort he’d so easily offered her was a balm for wounds of the heart she had buried some time ago, but at the same time it wasn’t like her to trust anyone easily. Even if he’d shown up just when she needed him, that didn’t mean he would be around the next time.
For she’d learned there always was a next time. She didn’t know if she had shitty karma or if everyone’s lives sucked as much as hers did, but there was going to be a next problem, and a next. Even Zack’s evasive comments had sounded like there was a target on her somehow, for the demon to follow her, not them. She slid out of one arm of Jordan’s flannel shirt slowly, thinking in circles about the night’s events.
A quiet knock preceded Zack and Max both coming into the room, a large tote bag in the woman’s hands. The blonde woman’s smile was easier and more friendly than it had been. “Do you mind if I join you? I think I may be able to answer some of your questions, if you’re ready for that.”
Sara shrugged and belatedly pulled the second flannel sleeve off, tossing the shirt to the foot of the bed where she’d pick it back up before they left. “I’m not sure I am ready, but I guess I may not always get to choose that. Probably better if I know.”
She heard someone hiss in surprise and looked over her shoulder to see both of them eyeing her back. “What happened?” Max asked.
Sara pulled her hair to one side to show the large gauze pad taped over her shoulder blade. “I didn’t duck fast enough as I was coming down the stairs with the building on fire. I think it was a chunk of the stairwell carpeting, but it was a mess, I don’t really know. They fixed me up.”
Zack sat on the other side of the bed behind her. “You’ve some kind of darker scars, Sara,” he said, voice rising in question. “Two dots at the back of your shoulder. Here,” he added, a single finger brushing her skin and raising goosebumps at the back of the fleshy muscle where her shoulder joined her neck. “What happened?”
She shivered a little and decided to climb into the bed at that point. “I don’t remember anything in particular. Could just be bug bites, I’m usually bug bait.” When she turned, lying square with the headboard, she saw Max and Zack looking at one another with a strange expression. “What?”
Zack lay down beside her, on top of the covers, and asked with one raised eyebrow if she still wanted him to hold her. She didn’t hesitate to scoot over and curl against him, even if Max was there; it wasn’t about being snuggly with him privately. She just needed to feel someone hold her. His arm wrapped around her loosely.
Maxine took a chair at the small table by the door with a sigh. “It could be nothing,” she said after Sara and Zack were comfortable. “But it looks a lot like a vampire’s bite. If they’ve attacked you before, that could be concerning. They don’t usually strike twice.”
Sara’s eyes widened, but there was nothing on Max’s face that made it seem like she was joking. “Um, wouldn’t I remember that?”
Zack’s hand stroked her arm lightly. “Not necessarily. That’d be where some of the concern would come in. If they could make you forget, it wasn’t just some random vampire. That takes power and practice. Or we could be completely wrong, and they are bug bites like you said. It’s hard to tell with old scars.”
She had to think about that for a moment, trying to digest the idea of having been attacked by a vampire before this. She didn’t remember any details about the scars, but they weren’t somewhere she would’ve been able to see them regularly enough to be sure a memory would have formed. “I don’t know that there’s anything I can tell you for sure.”
She couldn’t see Zack well, lying tucked against his side, but she could see Max nod. “We just weren’t expecting to see it, that’s all. From what Jordan was telling us, you’ve had a spectacularly bad night.” A quiet snort from Zack made Sara hide a smile. Max was watching the two of them with a vacant sort of look that suggested she wasn’t really seeing them, but a memory or worry of some kind. “If you’ve been targeted, Sara, I can’t really tell you what to expect, but I’d like to suggest you stay with us until we figure out if it was purposeful or just the opportunity. It’s entirely possible the demon attacked you because of the vampire’s death, not for some nefarious purpose, but I don’t like to make assumptions. You’ll be safer if you stay. I’m not going to force you or anything, it’s your choice.”
Sara nodded, feeling Zack’s arm tighten momentarily. “That sounds smart to me. I don’t really have anything I can offer, though. I don’t even have an ID; it’s probably melted plastic in my apartment right now. No money, no credit cards, nothing.”
“That’s okay.” Zack’s words rumbled against her as much as she heard them. “You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve a computer you can use to order a new ID from the RMV website, though they’ll probably want to ship it to your mailing address. Not quite sure how that will work, exactly.” His gentle hug tightened briefly. “Forget the details for now, Sara. We’ll manage just fine.”
Max snorted, drawing Sara’s attention. “What he’s not saying is he’s loaded, and he funds us generously.”
Sara looked up at him and was surprised to find his cheeks flushed. “Loaded, huh?” she teased.
He glared at Max before trying and failing to meet Sara’s eyes. “Money’s not going to be an issue. Let’s leave it at that, shall we?”
She was tickled that anything could rattle this man—who had so calmly aimed a pistol at a vampire not an hour ago—but she was enjoying his company and comfort too much to push him. Maybe he’d tell her more later, maybe he wouldn’t, but she took pity on him for the moment. “Thank you, Zack. I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.” Laying her head back on his shoulder, she sighed and tried to relax. “Is there anything I should know about being attacked or uh, targeted? Anything I should do or not do?” She tried to give Max her full attention, but now that she was lying down and feeling safer, the night was starting to catch up with her, and she stifled a yawn.
The other woman sighed. “Since we’re just guessing, there really isn’t anything specific I can suggest besides common sense. If someone’s targeting you, don’t go anywhere alone. Stay in public during the day, but preferably stay with one of us. Nighttime is going to be vampire open season, but they have other ways, too. Daylight isn’t a guarantee of safety, not if they’re really targeting you.”
Sara blinked at that. Vampires were creatures of the night according to legend, but she wasn’t sure if that meant they had other people working with them or just if there were things she didn’t know about them. Hollywood had certainly elaborated on many ways vampires could go out during the day, but she doubted any of it was real.
Max gave her a few moments to digest that advice before she spoke again. “Do you have any family you’d rather go to? I can’t say for sure that you’d be safe, but—”
“No,” Sara cut in. “I’ve no one.”
She could practically hear the questions in the minds of the others at her bitter tone of voice, and silence stretched out for a long moment. Zack stirred slightly, settling his arm more comfortably around her and loosely linking his hands together to complete the hug. “You’ve us now,” he told her quietly.
Max’s nod was almost enough to crack Sara’s outward calm. These people didn’t know anything about her, but they were ready to come to her rescue, even from her own demons. There was a certain amount of empathy in Max’s eyes, too, which made Sara wonder what the other woman’s story was. Zack had mentioned Max and her father, but Sara didn’t want to be nosy. They were being too helpful for her to piss them off.
“Did you get a chance to finish them?” Zack asked, what he meant confusing Sara until she saw Max’s nod and realized the question was directed at his friend.
The blonde woman stood to dig into the pocket of her tight jeans, pulling out a looped black string. She picked apart two or three sections and returned all but one to her pocket. When she let it out, Sara realized it was a simple necklace, a silver star charm hanging from the cord. “Do you mind wearing this, Sara?” Max asked, taking the step closer that let her extend the necklace. “It may help. We’ve all got them in one form or another, and it keeps us from being tracked. Hopefully it will help you, too. I’m not certain, since I don’t know what it is they’re after, or how they’re following you. But it’s the best I’ve got at the moment.”
“Sure.” She didn’t know how a necklace would help, but she took it and slipped it over her head, tucking the long cord into her nightgown. Zack stiffened and she hoped she hadn’t just flashed him or something embarrassing like that.
Max saw it, too. “What?” There was enough concern in her tone that Sara looked up.
Zack was staring at her, his eyes dark and unfocused. It was not a comfortable look, and she knew she was blushing before he moved a muscle. “Take it off, quick!” he burst out.
Sara didn’t know what to think, but she did as he told her, glancing at Max to see equal confusion in the other woman. It was Max that broke the silence first. “What, Zack? Talk.”
He ran his hand through his sandy hair, frowning. “I…” He hesitated, looking between the two women. His eyes finally landed on Sara. “I’ve some issues, I… can’t really explain it easily or well, not now. But when you put the charm on, I felt an almost magnetic pull toward you.” He looked over at Max. “You didn’t notice?”
The other woman shook her head, also frowning now. “Nothing that I could sense, no. Was it your—”
“Yeah,” he cut her off. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to let her wear that.”
Sara couldn’t make heads or tails of the expressive looks the two were exchanging, more seeming to pass between them than the vague words spoken. “Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Max reached out again and took the pendant, eyeing it then Sara. “This is a protective enchantment,” the woman explained, seeming very nonchalant about discussing magic. “There’s no reason it should… uh…” Her eyes went to Zack. “Draw someone in instead of keeping them away. But I trust his instincts,” she added, looking back at Sara. “I’ll have to spend some time thinking about it, but it’s really late.” Her frown returned. “Zack, if you’re drawn to her… maybe someone else should stay in here, instead of you.”
Sara could feel the arm around her tighten, and there was a slight jerk like he was startled, but he relaxed again almost instantly. He cleared his throat, but when he spoke he was subdued. “I wouldn’t have thought it an issue, but you’re probably right, Max. Is that alright with you, Sara?”
She wasn’t sure what they were getting at, but it seemed like whatever he meant by ‘he had issues’, it was somehow linked to how or why the vampire or the demon had attacked her. If that was the case, was he a threat? She didn’t want to believe it, not the way he’d comforted her, but glancing at Max, Sara could tell the other woman thought it was a serious enough concern to be ready to push the issue. “If you think so,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on, so I don’t know what else to say.” She pulled away from him slowly, regretting it immediately; she felt almost chilled without his warmth.
Zack sighed. “I’d like to explain, but I don’t have a week.” There was something hurt in his eyes as he, too, pulled back and then rose, looking at his feet instead of at either woman. “I’ll be in the other room if you need me.” He headed for the door, eyes still downcast. Sara wished there was something she could say; it looked like they’d kicked him while he was down.
When he opened the door, she was suddenly wide awake; a man with eyes like obsidian was staring right at her, an animalistic snarl on his face. She shrieked. “Zack!”
He didn’t look up fast enough; the stranger hit him with a palm to the chest and Zack flew back several feet, landing hard. Before she’d even realized it, the stranger was in the room and at her bedside, reaching for her. Max shouted something in a strange language, waving the star pendant in the air. It started glowing silvery white and the stranger’s claws—for he had actual claws and fangs, she realized—scraped her throat but failed to grab her as he winced and backed up a step.
It wasn’t nearly far enough for Sara. She scrambled towards Max, getting tangled in the covers in her haste to get away from him. The danger rolled off him in waves, scaring her so completely she couldn’t even speak. It was all she could do to stumble out of bed and back into the corner behind Max. Something slid down her neck and she reached up to brush it away; her fingers came away streaked with blood. She hastily pressed her hand against the scrapes she could feel burning like they’d been traced with a hot poker. She didn’t know how bad they were, but frankly just then the only thing she could think about was staying behind Max.
Zack moved on the floor and then a shot rang out, and a second. The vampire—for vampire he must be—staggered a little, but started around the bed towards her. Max brandished the charm again, chanting something that had a cadence but no meaning Sara could ascertain. Again he winced, halting with a look of rage.
“What the…” Jordan appeared in the doorway and hastily reached in their pocket and tossed some kind of powder in the vampire’s face. The thing reared back and snarled, its pale skin swiftly speckled with red blotches that bubbled like an infection. It was enough of a moment to give Jordan time to pull on a strap across their body, bringing the crossbow over their shoulder and into their hands; they immediately fired, a wooden arrow sprouting from the vampire’s middle. A second bolt hit squarely in the chest and the vampire practically exploded into dark dust.
A shout from outside was the only warning they had before a clawed hand smashed through the window, reaching for Sara. She shrank away, slamming her burnt back into the wall in her haste to get away. The stabbing pain brought tears to her eyes and she stumbled, falling down the wall to land on the floor. Max swung the glowing star charm against the hand, making its owner pull back with a roar of fury. A moment later the entire window came crashing inward, another pale stranger with black holes for eyes landing on Max, his arms around her neck. A second person jumped through the window right after, his eyes on Sara almost before he could have spotted her in the corner. He grabbed her arms hard enough to bruise, jerking her to her feet and back out through the window; suddenly they were outside the motel room with no one to stop them and Sara panicked, the scream of terror finally able to tear free of her throat.
Shouts from behind her came at the same time as a roar that physically shook the ground Sara’s toes barely reached. Even the leering vampire holding her looked a little startled, as did the two others in the parking lot who seemed to have arrived as reinforcements. Something slammed into the vampire holding her, throwing both the vampire and Sara to the ground. She saw someone race over and slash at the other two with rapid hands, fighting both off easily despite the strength and speed Sara could barely follow.
She didn’t have time to try and figure out who the fighter was; the vampire on the ground crawled toward her on hands and knees like he was as comfortable on four legs as he was on two, racing the short distance to grab her again, this time not hesitating to bare his teeth and snap his jaws into her shoulder. As soon as the lancing pain hit her she felt numb, unable to move to fight back or push him away. That same roar reverberated as she struggled to keep her eyes open, and the vampire was pulled off her, tearing the wound his fangs had made. She could hear other footsteps from the motel coming toward her, but she couldn’t sit up or call out.
Denim-clad knees hit the pavement in front of her and strong arms scooped her up. Head lolling like her spine didn’t exist, she saw Zack’s face swim into focus—except his eyes were bright grey, almost glowing silver with emotion, and as she blinked at him his pupil shifted, slitting vertically like a cat’s and then horizontally in a strange plus shape that was totally alien. Their eyes met and she felt his hands clutch her roughly before he jerked back, almost dropping her in his haste to scramble away. Someone’s hands managed to keep her head from hitting the ground, but she could only watch as Zack clutched his head, eyes screwed tightly shut. “Max!” he growled, the name almost lost in his strangely deep voice.
Sara was losing her fight to remain conscious, but she saw Max with her glowing star charm approach Zack. The woman swung the charm so the cord rapidly wrapped around her hand, and then she grabbed his head with both hands, the glowing star winking out of sight between her palm and his forehead. “Ego te castigo! Fuge de lumine! Exite!” Sara saw Zack collapse as her eyes shut and blackness claimed her.
to be continued…
Plot Bunny Whack-a-mole 