Demoniac
~Sequel to Midnight~
Author: UtsSQ
Rated: Soft R for
violence and implied sexual scenes, language-beware…I get kind of gross in this
one…lol
All right-I went ahead
and did it-this will complete what I am going to call my ‘Death & Darkness’
Trilogy, for lack of a better title.
This one features Batista with support from my other characters that
most of you should already know…lol. Enjoy!
~*~*~*~
Prologue
The music was the
worst part.
Loud, thumping,
pounding, it shook the walls, rattled the glasses at the bar.
The women did not seem
to care. They danced on, moved to the
beat, their faces never losing the bored, far-away look he’d come to associate
with most of them.
On some occasions,
something was different. One of the
women would stand out. She’d be dancing,
moving just like the others, but more into it. She’d smile at the men who sat
around watching her, making eye contact, enjoying every minute of her power
over them.
That’s what he was looking for. And that
is what he’d found. One girl, hardly
more than twenty years old, gyrated her hips to the
heavy bass. Something about her made her
seem more…there, more real than the other women on the stage. A certain vitality
seemed to flow from her, reaching across the room to grab his attention. He met
her eyes and saw them widen, saw her suck in a breath as he beckoned her to
him.
She made her way to
his table. Without a word she began
dancing for him, for him only. Her eyes
never left his. He enthralled her just
as she had enthralled him at first glance. She had such innocent blue
eyes. He smiled slowly. This was definitely the one he’d be leaving
with tonight.
The song ended. Instead of going backstage, the girl stood
before him unsure of what to do. He let his smile widen. He rose to his feet and held out his
hand. The girl took it with no
hesitation.
He led her through the club, out the back door.
There was a dark alley, a place he was very familiar with. He’d come to this very club on several
occasions, seeking a suitable woman for his games.
It was a bit chilly
out. The girl did not seem to
notice. He pulled her against him and
kissed her deeply, his hands roaming her bare skin. He felt power building up inside him as it
always did when he took another one. He
made short work or removing the tiny panties she was wearing and lay her on the cold concrete.
With a laugh he pulled out of her mind, letting her take control back. Horrified at her position beneath him, she
began struggling. Ignoring her useless
screaming, her biting and scratching, he entered her brutally, thrusting again
and again at her body, reveling in her pain.
She screamed again and
again as he used her. It did not
matter. The music of the club was too loud, the club itself was on the outskirts of the town limits. No one would hear.
Her nails raked at his
face. He laughed again, coldly,
relishing the brief flash of pain that faded into pleasure at her hands. He loved it when they fought. It made the
finish that much sweeter.
With a hoarse shout he
climaxed, sorry that it was over so soon, but knowing the best was still to
come. The girl lay on the ground,
sobbing softly into her hands, curled onto her side. He got dressed and kneeled over her, his hand
stroking her side. He smirked, his eyes
glowing in the cold night air as his fingernails grew. The tips sharpened, became pointed. Satisfied, he gave her one last caress. Drawing back, he slammed his fingers into her
side, feeling the skin split against his forceful entry. The girl had time to wheeze one more scream
out before he took her heart in his hands and began pulling it, using his nails
to slice at anything that got in the way.
Triumphantly he got to his feet, her still warm heart a pleasant weight in his
hand. His nails had returned to normal.
He’d gotten no blood on his clothing.
He studied the body for a few minutes, basking in the glory of his
kill. He reached down and grabbed the
dead girl’s hand, and began dragging her along the alleyway. He did not want her body discovered just yet.
That would ruin his fun.
He carelessly tossed
the corpse into his car and drove toward his house. Her heart was still in his hand. He glanced at it repeatedly, his grin growing
wider. She had been something, all
right. He could feel her heart calling
to him, telling him what to do. It was
hard to resist the urge to pull to the side of the road, but he managed. That was also the same every time.
At his house in the
wood, the man climbed from the car and began dragging the lifeless girl to the back. There was an old barn there, unused for many
years. He had found a use for it.
With regret he set her
heart aside, careful not to damage it. The girl he took into the barn and after
thinking for a moment, put her body into an old water
trough that rested against the wall.
Hanging over her head was the body of another woman although that one
was well into decomposition. There were bodies throughout the barn, some
playfully posed, some strung up, some torn apart in
rage. He could not always control
it. Tonight had been a good night. He’d done well, and he’d earned his reward.
He tenderly traced a
finger down the dead girl’s face, then shifted her
head until she appeared to be staring at the woman hanging above her. Satisfied with her positioning, he went to
reclaim her heart. It was still a bit
warm. With a grin of pure happiness the
man walked into his house, cradling the organ against his chest. She’d like
this one, he knew she would. She had to.
He was starting to lose his patience.
She had to see what he’d be willing to do to be with her. That was all there was to it.
1
Someone was crying.
Dave stepped onto the
back porch and looked around. It was
just past noon, and although the sun was shining, it was chilly outside. He
scanned the yard, his eyes coming to rest on Alex, who was
sitting under a tree with his knees drawn up, crying as if his heart
were breaking.
Alex was Samantha and
Glen’s young son. He’d just turned five
a few days before. Dave walked over and sat down on the grass next to the
little boy.
“What’s wrong,
kid?” Dave asked affectionately. Alex sniffled and looked up, wiping at his
eyes with his hands.
“They’re so sad. It
hurts.” Alex spoke as if that explained everything.
Dave just shook his
head in confusion. Alex pointed to the
left, toward the woods. Dave glanced
that way, frowning a bit.
“Is somebody out
there? Did they hurt you?” Feeling angry at the thought, Dave started to rise
to his feet. Alex stopped him.
“Nobody’s there.” The
little boy sighed and looked down. Dave
could see how frustrated he was, that he didn’t have the words to explain what
was bothering him.
“Should I go get your
mom?” Dave asked Alex softly.
“No. She can’t make them stop either.” Dejected,
Alex stood up.
Dave grabbed his
hand. “The only thing over there is an
old graveyard. Through
the trees. You haven’t been
playing out there have you? That place
might be dangerous. Those stones fall
over all the time…” But Alex was shaking his head before Dave could finish the
lecture.
“Nobody plays there
anymore.” With that Alex tugged away and wandered toward the house. Dave sat for a few minutes, wondering what
the hell was wrong with him. He’d been
acting weird for a while. Glen was worried,
he could tell, but there wasn’t anything they could do. Alex seemed to be
struggling with something big, and refused to say more than a few words about
it.
With a sigh, Dave rose
to his feet, intending to find Samantha and tell her what he’d seen. It was amazingly easy-she was coming
downstairs when he ventured into the living room, following a grumbling Katie.
“Jack gets to go all
the time…” The little girl was muttering under her breath.
“Well Jack is sixteen,
pumpkin. He’s almost grown up. You still have a bit of growing to do.”
“It’s not fair.” She
pouted, the spotted Dave standing at the foot of the stairs. Katie dazzled him
with a sunny smile. “Hi,
Uncle Dave.”
“Hey, handful.” Dave grinned back at
her. He was always in awe of how the six
year old could change gears so quickly. “You giving
your mom a hard time? Cuz I totally approve.”
Katie giggled. Samantha playfully swatted her as she moved
past her daughter. “Keep encouraging her.
I’ll send her to live with you.”
“Threaten me why don’t
ya.” Dave said with a smirk. “What’s
going on?”
“Miss Know it all here
thinks she’s old enough to go out hunting with her dad and Jack.”
“I am old enough.”
Katie said emphatically, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Not quite, darlin’.”
Dave tweaked her on the nose. Katie
refused to be joked out of her mood.
“Jack was hunting when
he was ten! That’s just four years older!”
“Jack never hunted
when he was ten. He had to fight in
self-defense. That’s not the same thing.
Stop trying to twist it to suit your argument, future lawyer.” Samantha said
wryly.
“Mom…” Katie sounded
so frustrated it made Dave laugh. She shot him a withering glance.
“I’ll tell you
what…I’ll hire you to work for me.” Dave grinned at the way her eyes lit
up. “When you’re
eighteen. After you’ve have
training.”
“How is that fair?”
Katie said, huffing.
“She may not need
training. She might be able to argue the
fangs and dogs to death.” Samantha nudged her daughter. “How about you go downstairs and finish your
homework? And help Nick out a little.” All the kids were home schooled, except
for Jack, who decided he was ready to go out and give high school a shot.
“Nick never needs
help.” Katie muttered under her breath.
She walked toward the kitchen.
Samantha watched her go, a smile on her face.
“Poor kid’s gonna be
just like you when she grows up.” Dave observed.
“I know. That’s probably why we butt heads so much.”
She glanced at Dave, then frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“How could you know
something is wrong?” Dave asked, leaning against the wall.
“My spidey senses are tingling.
Is it Glen? Jack?”
“No and no. It’s Alex, actually.” Dave pushed from the
wall and wandered to the sofa across the room.
Samantha followed, leaning on the arm of the couch. “He was outside crying a few minutes ago.”
“Is he all right? Is
he hurt?” Samantha half rose, but Dave waved a hand at her.
“He’s fine as far as I
can tell. Physically
anyway.” He paused, thinking. “He
said that ‘they were sad’. And that it
hurt him. And he pointed to the woods.”
Dave shrugged. “I told him there wasn’t
anything there but an old cemetery. I
think he got made and walked off. He
said they weren’t playing there or anything, so I don’t know…”
Samantha’s frown of
worry smoothed out as he spoke. He
trailed off, not knowing what exactly he was trying to say. “I think I might have a good idea what it’s
about.” Samantha finally spoke.
“Well, I’ll be glad to
hear it. Kinda freaky, how he was talking.” Dave said with a lift of his
eyebrow.
“I think Alex might be
a little empathic.”
“Empathic? That’s a
new one on me.” Dave frowned.
“He can sense what
people are feeling. Or in this case,
what the dead are feeling. And he feels
it too.” Samantha shrugged. “I had a
suspicion a while back about it.”
“These kids and their
weird powers...” Dave muttered.
“Tell me about it.”
Samantha laughed. There was Lily with
her super strength. Nick with his
telepathy. And now it seemed that Alex was developing a skill of his own. “Poor Katie’s gonna feel left behind
again.” Of all the children, save Jack,
Katie was the only one so far who had exhibited no signs of being anything
other than a normal human girl born to normal human parents. Samantha was glad, but also knew that Katie
felt different from the other kids. And
she didn’t like it.
“He’s pretty upset.”
Dave said, bringing the conversation back to Alex.
“I’ll talk to
him. He’s gonna have to learn to control
it or go crazy.” Samantha rubbed her eyes wearily. “Glen still planning on
coming in tonight?”
Glen, Jack, and Mark
had been out on a hunting mission. Well,
the actual name for it was a ‘security’ mission. In the past few years, police and lawmakers
had started to crack down on hunters, branding them vigilantes. Dave had decided to market the house as a
security firm. It seemed to satisfy the
local cops, who wanted nothing to do with the rogue fang or dog that
occasionally popped up.
There had been reports
of a wolf that had been tearing up a town a few hours away. Glen had hoped to wrap everything up
today. Samantha hoped he was right in
hoping. They’d been gone almost a month, and she was tired of living in this
house. Although it was huge, and she
liked the people there, she felt most at home at Glen’s big Victorian house on
the other side of town.
“As far as I…” Dave
didn’t finish. Ashley, a young girl who
had taken over some secretarial duties, stepped into the room.
“Dave…you have a
call. The woman said it was urgent.” She
shrugged. “I tried to get a name, but
she wouldn’t tell me.”
“That’s all right
Ash. I’ll take it, anyway.” Dave was
bored. Hopefully it would be something to do.
Samantha followed his
lead, meaning to find Alex and have a talk with her boy. Ashley smiled at her uncertainly. Samantha patted the younger girl’s shoulder
on her way past. “Don’t worry, you’re doing a good job.”
“Not as good as
Allison, but I’m trying.” Ashley said with a laugh. Allison and Dave had broken up and it had not
been pretty. Allison had decided it was
best to seek her fortune at another house.
Dave had not been too sorry to see her go. She’d been pushing for more permanence in
their relationship and he resisted every step.
Samantha moved on, seeking out Alex for a little heart to heart
talk.
“Hello?”
Dave took the cordless phone into the kitchen, planning to grab a drink.
“David?” The feminine
voice was smooth, soft. Dave recognized
it but could not place it.
“That’s me. Who is this?”
There was a
pause. “This is…it’s me, Diane.” Her
voice seemed to get softer at the admittance of her name.
“DJ?” Dave almost could not
believe it. Diane Jones, affectionately known as DJ, had been his longest
lasting relationship. It that case, she
had been the one to shy away from commitment, leaving him to give her an
ultimatum. She’d refused to be pushed. He moved on, getting his hunting job with
Mark. DJ had seemed to all but disappear
after that. “Deej…how
the hell are you? What’s going on? Ash said it was urgent…”
“It is. I wish this were a social call. I have a problem. I’m hoping you can help me with it.” Her sultry voice brought back memories,
memories Dave thought he’d left behind for good. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming
breath.
“All right. I’m listening.” Dave sat at the table,
grabbing a nearby pen and notebook. He
took notes as DJ spoke, spilling out the story of what had been happening to
her for the last few months.
2
“I just get home and
you’re telling me you’re leaving with Dave to go help one of his friends, and
you don’t even know what’s going on?”
Glen stared across the
bed at Samantha, who was calmly packing her bag. “I’m not leaving this very minute, but yes, I
am going. You got your fun, now I get mine.”
“You think this is
fun?” Glen asked his wife, incredulous.
“After spending months
at a time playing babysitter, yes, this is the best time I’ve had in years.”
Samantha grinned at him. “And don’t
question my motherhood status. I love
the kids. But I can’t sit here at home
all the time. You aren’t the only hunter
in this family. I’m going stir crazy.”
Glen couldn’t help but
smile at her, although that little frown of worry still clouded his features.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you, that’s
all. We have our family to worry about.”
“Look, bud. I let you go runnin’ around,
killing all the fangs and dogs you want.
Just give me this one thing.”
“Mmm…and this one thing
will lead to another. And another.” Glen shook his
head. “I can’t believe Dave even asked
you to go. I thought he’d rather have a
rattlesnake watch his back than you.”
“All the snakes are
hibernating.” Samantha said glibly, zipping her bag shut.
“I was hoping to spend
a little time with you, Sammy.”
“We have all night.”
She said, grinning at the suggestive tone in his voice.
“There is that I
suppose.” Glen said with a smirk.
“Although I did want to see the kids…”
“They’re sleeping.”
Samantha tossed her bag to the floor and climbed onto the bed. “If you want me, come get me baby. It’s been a while.”
“That it has.” Glen
followed her lead, joining her on the bed.
**
In the basement of the
main house, Dave was pacing the floor, occasionally running a hand over his
head. Mark and Christine were watching
him, a bit amused, mostly concerned, as he explained what little he knew.
“She just outta the
blue calls and asks for help. She says somebody is stalking her, and that this
somebody might be right up my alley. Meaning a fang or a dog.
DJ always knew what I was, that I was a hunter. I didn’t try to hide it
from her.”
“So she’s not sure who
it is?” Christine asked, toying with a lock of hair. Mark put his arm around her comfortingly.
“She didn’t say one
way or the other on the phone.”
“Is she sure this guy
is dangerous?” Mark asked. “I mean, you
said before that she was pretty hot.
Maybe he’s just moonin’ over her.”
Dave laughed. “Yeah, she’s a looker. But she’s scared to death. I can tell. I want
to go help her.”
“I don’t mind running
things while you’re gone.” Mark said with a shrug. “I’m sure Glen will help. He always does.”
“Try not to kill
Sammy, though. It might piss Glen off.”
Christine said with a laugh.
Dave rolled his
eyes. Yes, he’d asked Samantha if she
wanted to go with him. She’d jumped at
the chance to get out of the house and do something. They both shared that same feeling of being
boxed in. He hoped he would not regret
asking. They did not get along as a
general rule, it was just the way they were.
“I won’t kill
her. I might need her. You know…she’s got the vamp skills.”
“She might be
rusty. Glen’s been keeping her close to
home.” Mark chuckled.
“It’s like riding a
bike.” David said with a smile.
“Besides, she’s strong, like Lily. I hate to admit it but I need her on
this.” He glanced at Mark. “Are you sure
you don’t mind?”
“Hell, why would I?
It’s temporary.” Mark laughed. “When are you heading out?”
“Tomorrow night. I didn’t want to just up and leave everything
in the air.” Dave sounded a bit frustrated at that. Mark smiled at Christine.
“You don’t have to
stick around on our account.” Christine said with a laugh.
“It’s not your
account.” Dave rolled his eyes. Mark and
Christine both started laughing. “Trust me, if I
thought Glen would let her leave, I’d go right now.”
“Good call.” Mark
chuckled. “If you need anything, extra hands, anything at all, you call and let
us know.”
“I will.”
“And you can tell
Sammy not to worry. I’ll keep an eye on
the kids. She’s done it enough for us.”
“I will.” Dave sighed
and once again rubbed his head.
“You really like this
girl, huh?” Christine asked, sounding awed.
Dave decided not to lie. “I asked her to
marry me. She said no.”
“She must be crazy.”
Christine grinned at him. “And not want
to deal with all this?” She gestured, indicating the room, the house, the life
they led.
“It wasn’t just that.
But I’m sure that probably played a part.” Dave shook his head. “I should go pack. I want to leave as soon as I can get Sammy
away from Glen.” With that he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Mark
and Christine exchanged another knowing look.
“Think he still has a
thing for her?” Mark asked sarcastically.
“Oh, that’s a given.”
Christine grinned wickedly. “How about
you take me upstairs and show me that you still have a ‘thing’ for me?” Mark
laughed and happily obliged her.
**
Dave made one last
stop in the kitchen for the night, wanting to grab a bottle of water to take to
his room. Lily and Nick were there,
sharing a bowl of popcorn.
“You guys are up
late.” He said, ruffling Nick’s hair on the way past.
“Mom said we could
watch a movie.” Lily said, sighing, looking at her brother. “Dork here won’t decide which one.”
“I’m not a dork, Lil.”
Nick’s voice was all serious. He looked
at his sister with dark eyes, a smile on his lips. “I don’t wanna watch that kissing crap that
you like so much.”
David laughed at that.
“I wouldn’t want to watch it either.” He said, agreeing with the boy. Lily was red-faced.
“I don’t watch that
stuff. That’s for mushy grown-ups.” She huffed. At ten, she was still a tiny
little thing, but she made up for it in attitude. “I like action movies.”
“Since when? Five minutes ago?”
Nick said with a smirk.
“What would you know,
you’re still a baby.” Lily said it with a worldly air. Nick rolled his eyes.
“Dad still calls you
his baby. How’s my baby today?” He pinched Lily’s cheek. He did a fairly accurate imitation of Mark’s
deep voice. Lily heaved a put-upon sigh.
“I still think we can
trade you in for a kid sister.” She said, casting a withering glance at him.
“Aw…you love me.” Nick
laughed and playfully punched his sister’s arm.
Dave shook his head and left the kids to their argument. He had a lot to
do, and not a lot of time to do it in.
**
DJ paced her living
room, fighting the urge to lift the shades on the windows and look outside.
After that morning’s
little ‘present’ she wasn’t entirely sure if she would ever go outside
again. She’d stepped out to get the
paper and had kicked the small box on her porch. She was hesitant to pick it up but knew she
would have to. She also knew she should
call the police, but could not make herself do it. They had done nothing for her so far, in fact
they treated her problem as a joke, a scam played on
her by neighborhood kids.
It was easy for them
to say that. And it was obvious why they
said it. DJ was not just pretty, but beautiful. Soft dark hair, blue eyes,
creamy skin. She used to be an
actress, nothing major, just a few small parts on television. It had been boring though, not the glamorous
life she’d imagined.
So she’d come back to her hometown to try to settle down. She was a writer, a
damn good one according to her publisher. Under her penname, she’d published
four books, each one progressively more popular than the last.
Her life had been good
until a couple of months ago when she’d gotten the first card. It was in her mailbox but there was no stamp,
no return address. Just three words were
printed on it in block letters: I LOVE YOU.
DJ dismissed it as a
joke, of course. The last person who had
said those particular words to her was Dave, and that had been a long time
ago. She’d had flings since then, of
course, but had never come close to that kind of relationship again.
Too bad she’d ruined
it with her freak out and cold feet.
And it was so
strange. Even after all this time, the
first person she’d wanted to call had been Dave. She fought the urge and called
the police when she got the third card.
It had been written in rusty red ink that she had been sure was blood.
Once again, the words I LOVE YOU had been inked in block letters. In smaller letters was the word
‘forever’.
It sent a chill down
her back. A few days
after that she’d gotten the first package. It had no note, and contained only a lock of
dark hair, close to her own hair color.
The police had done
nothing with that either. A hoax was
what they called it. She had their
attention at the next several packages, but once again they could not do
anything about it.
The packages got progressively gorier.
After the hair came an ear. After the ear, a finger.
Then a hand.
Female, all of the pieces he left for her. DJ did not know how she knew it, but she did.
She’d stopped going to
the cops. They were looking at her as if
she were the crazy one. They would do nothing to help her, were not even trying
to find the guy who was doing this. They
had no bodies, no missing persons reports, no clues as
to where he was getting the parts for his little ‘gifts’.
The worst one, until
that morning, had come just three days ago.
Inside a small green box was a mound of tissue paper. On top of the paper were two pieces of dark
flesh. It had taken a moment, but DJ
realized that what she was looking at had once been the rosy nipples on some
girl’s chest. She’d gagged and thrown up in the sink at the thought of it.
She did not know how
it could have possibly gotten worse, but now she had an idea. In the box that was on her porch that
morning, which she had opened in some kind of strange trance.
It was red, fist
sized, glistening. Fresh.
A human heart, the arteries and veins
jagged. It had obviously been ripped
from someone’s chest, some woman’s chest.
Crying, DJ had closed the box and had gone to her phone. She called the one person in the world that
would do something. At least, she hoped
he was still that person. She’d hurt
him, but he would come. She needed him
now more than she ever had.
3
“Wanna know my
opinion?”
Dave sighed and
shifted in the driver’s seat. Samantha
had been unusually quiet during the trip.
She’d barely spoken on the plane, and they’d driven for an hour before
she decided to chime in.
“Not really, but I’m
sure you’re going to tell me anyway.” He said sarcastically.
“Of course I am.”
Samantha smiled at him. “I can’t imagine
why you would want me along on this little trip. Although one small thing
comes to mind.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
“This woman of yours
kinda scares you.” Samantha poked his arm.
Dave laughed.
“Yeah. I’m scared to death.”
“You are. So I’m supposed to be the chaperone of this
mission. Babysitting
again.” She heaved a sigh.
“You’re a grown up. Why would you
need me to run interference?”
“It’s complicated.”
Dave decided it was probably best not to lie to her. Samantha could smell a lie
a mile away.
“Try me. It’s not like
I can do anything to get away from you.”
“Funny.” Dave bit his
lip thoughtfully. “Look, a long time ago
DJ and I were pretty heavy into each other.
It ended. I’m not sure if I’m wanna even see her, let alone think about what might have
been. So…”
“So I run
interference. Keep your mind on the
job.”
“I was hoping.”
“Damn.” Samantha
started laughing. “I lost that bet.”
“What bet?” Dave
risked a glance in her direction.
“Christine and I had a
bet on this top secret mission of yours. She said I’d be playing mediator. I said you would try to talk me into
pretending I was your new girlfriend-or even wife.”
Dave snorted. Samantha laughed merrily. “Shoot me if the thought ever crosses my
mind, please.”
“Oh, you like me and you
know it.” She leaned back in her seat.
“Are we there yet?”
Glad she’d changed the
subject, Dave turned his attention back to the road. “Another twenty minutes or
so.”
“This place is weird.”
Her voice sounded suddenly serious. Dave
glanced at her again. Samantha was staring out the window at the buildings that
went by at even intervals.
“What? The town?”
“Yeah. Strip clubs out the ass. What kinda perv background do you come from?”
“It’s the army base.”
Dave said with a sigh. “And there are a
couple of underground casinos around here.
The clubs do good business. The
only thing that might outnumber ‘em are they tattoo parlors.”
“And this is where you
grew up?” Samantha sounded interested.
Dave wondered if he was just giving her ammo for some later insult-fest.
“Mostly. I worked at one of the tat places when I was
a kid. Then I met a guy who thought I’d
be a good hunter.”
“The abridged version
is never as good as the uncut.” Samantha stated. The buildings faded from sight. There was nothing now but trees and road, and
the dark sky above.
“That’s all I’ve got
right now.” Dave signaled a turn even though they were the only car on the
road. It was almost dawn. The town didn’t really wake up until noon or
so.
Fifteen minutes of
driving down winding country roads brought them to DJ’s house. It was set back from the road, surrounded by
trees, and every window glowed with light from behind the curtains that were
drawn over them.
“She’s definitely
scared.” Samantha stated the obvious as Dave parked the car and climbed out to
stretch.
“I guess we’re going
to find out why.” Dave shrugged and led Samantha toward the porch. The front door opened and the light over the
steps flashed on.
A woman appeared in
the light. Her dark hair was pulled up,
away from her face. She looked tired. Too tired to be scared at the moment. But apparently she’d been waiting for them.
“Dave?” The name was a
question in her soft voice. Dave stepped
toward her and wrapped his arms around DJ, hugging her close, feeling her
shudder against him.
“It’s
gonna be all right, Deej.” He rubbed her back
affectionately. DJ sniffled against his
chest, holding him tight.
“I didn’t know who
else to call.” She whispered.
“Well, you made a good
choice.” Dave touched her chin, bringing her eyes to meet his in the glow from
the porch light. “I’m gonna do whatever
I can Deej.” They held each other’s gaze for a few
long moments.
Samantha cleared her
throat. Dave and DJ jumped. They had forgotten she was there. “I’m Sammy.
Since clod is not going to introduce me anytime soon.”
This got a smile from
DJ as she extracted herself from Dave’s arms, embarrassed. “Sorry.
I’ve had a horrible couple of months.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Samantha grinned at the other woman, then looked to
Dave. “How about we take this reunion
inside, away from any prying eyes?”
DJ looked around, her
expression losing its brightness at the thought of being watched. Dave took her
arm and led her toward the door with Samantha at their heels.
Once inside, he made
sure the locks were engaged before following DJ into the living room. He had not been in this house in so long yet
everything felt as familiar to him as if he’d just left yesterday. Although the furniture was new, it was in the
same style and color that it had always been.
The television was bigger. Those were the only differences he noticed.
The three of them took
seats and looked at each other expectantly.
“It would help, I
suppose, if I knew exactly why we were here.” Samantha said, breaking the
silence that had fallen over them.
“Oh…” DJ blushed a bit
and stole a glance at Dave before turning her attention to Samantha. “Well…a few months ago I started getting
postcards…” She filled them in, telling them about the progression of ‘gifts’,
tearing up a bit at the most recent one.
She managed to choke back her emotions long enough to pull a small box
from under the couch. “I gave copies of the notes to the police. I kept them
all. I don’t know why, probably because
I just couldn’t believe this was happening…”
Samantha sorted
through the box, glancing at a few of the notes. “Blood.”
“You think so too?” DJ
sounded relieved.
“I can smell it.”
Samantha wrinkled her nose. “Did you
give the cops the rest of the packages?”
“Most of them. They didn’t seem to want them though.” DJ
shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do with them, so I stuck them in the deep
freeze. I don’t use it anyway.”
“You’re keeping body
parts in your freezer?” Samantha laughed.
“I didn’t want them
near food I was actually going to eat.” DJ said by way of explanation.
“Sounds like something
in one of those books of yours.” Dave said, reminding
the women he was still there. He was
slowly reading through the notes, feeling anger building inside him.
“You’ve read my
books?” DJ asked, surprise in her voice.
“You read?” Samantha
said, almost at the same time.
“Yes. And yes.” He
shot a dark look at Samantha, who was looking at him in mock awe.
“Wonders. Never.
Cease.” She said slowly. Dave rolled his
eyes and turned to DJ and smiled.
“All four of them. I wouldn’t miss ‘em.” He shuffled the
postcards in his hands then tossed them into the box. “Do you have any idea who would do this?
Anyone you’ve dated recently, worked with, pissed off?”
Samantha raised an
eyebrow but said nothing at Dave’s attempt to pry a bit into DJ’s private
life. They had to know some of it.
“Nobody I can think
of. I haven’t gone out in forever, I
work alone on my computer, and I don’t see enough people to piss them off. My publisher does get mad, and my agent, but
they’re in New York for Pete’s sake.”
“It was worth asking.”
Dave shrugged again.
“I don’t even see the
mail man half the time. I work all day
writing. At night I watch movies. That’s pretty much it.” DJ sighed and leaned
back against the couch. “I don’t even
know my neighbors. I’m a bit
antisocial.” She seemed to want to explain it to Samantha. It was something Glen already knew.
“How about your acting days?” Dave asked, pressing her.
“I was a nobody. Who the
hell would remember that?” DJ grimaced at the thought of it.
“You’d be
surprised. There have been quite a few
documented cases of stalkers going after the strangest of celebrities. You’re a
famous author now.”
“Famous and with a pen
name.” DJ said dryly.
“Easy enough to figure
out who it is.
I did.” He held up a hand before Samantha could chip in a smart comment.
“That’s silly. Who would bother me over a couple of books?
They aren’t a reflection of who I am. Just stories.”
“Seems to be someone
is taking the story just a little too far.” Dave rubbed his head. “DJ…you know
this is not what I usually deal with…”
“Fangs and dogs…” She
said softly, nodding.
“That’s right. So I’m not sure what exactly we’re gonna do
yet. Unless it is a fang or dog stalking you. I know
how to deal with their kind.”
“Well it can’t be a
vampire. Whoever it is leaves the stuff
right after dawn. I tried keeping an eye
out for him, but he doesn’t come. It’s
like he knows when I’m watching and when I’m not. He manages to sneak in a
out before I know he’s here.” She shuddered again at the thought.
“Dogs don’t like the
light much either.” Dave stated.
“Yeah, but in human
form they can walk in the sun.” Samantha spoke.
She was staring at the curtained window, thoughtful.
“I don’t see why a dog
or fang would go to such lengths. They
usually just take what they want. They
don’t play games.”
“Maybe this one is the
exception.” Samantha said, her voice still thoughtful.
“He thinks he’s
something else.” DJ finally spoke up.
“What else is there?”
Dave asked, reaching for her hand. DJ
smiled at him then reached for the box of postcards. There was a folded up piece of paper amongst
them. She carefully smoothed it out and
handed it to Dave.
Dave looked at the paper, a frown appearing on his features. “A demon?”
“Demon?” Samantha echoed the
word with surprised eyes.
“That’s from him. He sent it with the heart. It was underneath the…the heart.” DJ closed
her eyes. It was not just a postcard,
but a letter, the front of the paper filled with neat lines of red-tinged print.
“Gimme…” Samantha held
out her hand. Dave gladly passed the
paper over to her and rubbed his hand on his jeans. She glanced at the first words and snorted. “My love. Does he really think this is the way to make you
fall for him?”
“I don’t know what he
thinks. Except for what’s in that letter.
He claims he’s an incubus, and he wants to have a baby with me. The ‘gifts’ are his way of wooing me.”
Samantha skimmed the
note and looked thoughtfully at DJ. “Incubi do not kill. At least, not in the normal
legends. They usually just want to get laid.”
“I know. I’ve done some
research.”
“You don’t seriously
think this guy is possessed by a demon do you?” Dave asked, incredulous.
“No.” DJ hated to kill
the relief the flashed on his features. “I think he really is a demon.”
4
Dave decided that
everyone was too tired to think straight.
DJ was falling asleep on the couch.
Samantha had gone back to thoughtfully looking at the curtained window.
“I guess we could all
use some rest.” He told them. DJ smiled
in relief.
“I think that I might
actually be able to sleep, now that you guys are here.” DJ admitted. “I hated being alone in this.”
“Well you’re not alone
anymore.” Dave returned her smile.
“There are only two bedrooms.
I’ll take the couch.”
“No, no. I’ll take the
couch.” Samantha said, waving off Dave’s protest. “I won’t be able
to sleep for a
while. New places freak me out a bit I
guess. Besides, I want to call the
kids.”
“Ok, ok.” Dave held up
his hands. He helped DJ to her feet and
followed her out of the living room after saying good night to Samantha.
DJ stopped at her
bedroom door and looked up at him with a sad smile on her face. “I don’t think I said this, but thank you for
coming. You’re my hero.”
Dave grinned. “Yeah, well, I haven’t done anything yet.”
“But you will.” Her
voice was sure. “You always made me feel
safe. I guess that hasn’t changed.”
Dave shrugged and
shifted on his feet, but said nothing.
He did not want to go into a big talk about their past.
“If you get up first,
come wake me up. We’ll have to sit down
and talk about what we’re going to do.” Dave decided to go back to safer
territory.
“Ok.” DJ sighed
tiredly and ran her hand through her hair, shaking it loose. “I hope I don’t have nightmares. It seems like every time I close my eyes, I
have bad dreams.”
“Well you can come get
me for that too. I’ll talk you down.”
Dave smiled at her.
“Like the old days
again.” DJ’s smile was even sadder. He
did not know how that was possible. “David…”
“Good night, Deej. Try not to
worry too much, we’re right here in the house.” Dave
did not let her finish what she had been going to say. He turned and went into the guest room,
closing the door behind him.
After Samantha made
her phone calls, she’d gone into the bathroom and changed. She was a little
tired, and attributed that to the trip.
She wouldn’t have a problem sleeping, she just
wanted Dave and DJ out of her way in case she decided to do some snooping
around. By nature she didn’t need much
sleep, just a couple of hours here and there.
Samantha stretched out
on the couch, tugging a blanket over her shoulders. Like always, sleep came easy to her. She’d never had a problem with nightmares or
dreams. She was like a fang when it came
to that.
She woke early in the
afternoon, stretched, and rose to her feet.
The house was silent. Dave and DJ
were obviously still sleeping. Samantha
took a quick shower and got dressed. She
found the key to the rental car and wrote a quick note, telling the others that
she was going to go explore town a bit and try to find a lead. They had to
start somewhere.
It had snowed sometime
during the day. There were a couple of
inches of the white stuff on the grass, but the road was mostly clear. Samantha steered the car over the pavement,
driving aimlessly, trying to get a feel for the small town that DJ called home.
It was
strange…considering that there was an army base and so many outlying homes,
Samantha did not sense the presence of any fangs. Usually she got a tingling sensation at the
back of her neck when there was one near.
It did not mean they were problem fangs, it just meant that they were
there. Two hours of driving and she still had not gotten even a small sense of
a vampire.
In a town this size, with its army base so near and its countless strip clubs
of transient workers, there should have been at least one. And more likely five or
eight. The fangs tended to go
where the feeding was easy. This
bothered her, more than she could put into words.
She stopped for food
and gas at five and resumed her slow study of the town. It was starting to get dark. The clubs were opening, the parking lots
filling slowly with cars and trucks.
Samantha picked one at random and pulled into the lot.
Samantha went toward
the door. There was a cover charge but
the guy working the door let her pass with a wave of his hand. They obviously did not get many women
customers. The guy kept his eye on her
as she passed. Samantha grinned at him.
She took a table near
the back of the club, out of the way of general traffic. There were twenty or so men seated at the
tables surrounding the dance stage. A
woman was moving to the music, her clothes seeming to melt from her body.
A waitress appeared
and Samantha ordered a beer. She had
just taken her first sip when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the number that appeared and
smiled.
“Hey baby.” She
greeted warmly.
Glen chuckled into her
ear. “Are you guys doing all right? Sorry I missed you this morning,
I had a few things to deal with.”
“Yeah. Chris told me.” Samantha resettled the phone
against her ear and listened as Glen filled her in on what was going on at the
house. Alex had pretty much stayed in
his room all day, which was worrisome. Samantha
told Glen not to get worked up. Alex had
to figure out his power on his own.
“So what are you
doing?” Glen finally asked with a laugh.
“I’m sitting here,
watching some chick flash her boobs at a bunch of horny farmers.”
“Seriously.” Glen was laughing
still.
“I am serious. This place is like one giant strip club. I’m trying to find a sympathetic fang and all
I get is T and A.” This made Glen laugh
harder.
“Need some backup? I
can come up and help you research.” He offered, still grinning.
“I think I can handle
it, darlin’.” She said wryly. “I didn’t
know you were into this kinda thing. Interesting.”
Glen was chuckling
again. “What guy isn’t into that kinda
thing?” He asked rhetorically.
“Well, when I get home
I’ll strip for you. You should probably
go ahead and install a pole in the bedroom.”
“Don’t give me any
ideas.” He was still laughing when they hung up after saying they loved each
other.
Samantha put her phone
back into her pocket and froze. That sense….the vampire thing…was suddenly
working. She felt as if spiders were
crawling on the back of her neck. She
glanced around and let her eyes fall on a tall, well built man at the bar.
He was not drinking, he was buying a drink for one of the dancers. Samantha knew that without even talking to
him. He looked to be in his late thirties.
Of course, being a fang he could be a lot older. Samantha stared at him
until he looked in her direction, a slight frown on his face. She cocked her eyebrow. He spoke briefly to the woman beside him and
ignored her protests as he abandoned his spot by the bar.
The fang slid into the
booth across from Samantha, a slight smile tilting the corners of his
lips. “Hunters don’t make a habit of
coming here.” His voice was tinged with a drawling accent. He didn’t look worried, just amused.
“Seems to me it’s the
same for fangs.” Samantha sipped her beer.
“Fangs don’t make it a
habit to come here.”
“Want to tell me why?”
Samantha caught his eyes with hers. The
fang took a deep breath and sighed it out.
“Outsiders would not
understand.”
“Try me. I’m sure I’ve
heard more unbelievable things.”
The fang looked at
her, as if measuring her. “Some say this whole town is cursed.”
“A curse? And why is that stopping
the fangs from coming in and taking over?” Samantha finished her drink.
“There aren’t a whole
lot of fangs in the surrounding area anyway.
This place is out of the way, quiet.
The people are not necessarily the friendly type.”
“And this curse?”
“We’ve had a few
disappearances.” The fang stroked his hands together as if warming them.
“Tell me.”
“Young fangs, for the
most part. Women. Somebody turns these young girls and leaves
them, they don’t know what to do, they come here to
work. Then they drop off the face of the planet.”
“You wouldn’t happen
to know who is doing it, now would you?”
“Don’t look at
me. I don’t turn anybody, not after the
first time. It was hell, and I don’t
like that kind of responsibility.”
He sounded amused. Samantha was not. “Do you think it’s possible that some fang is
turning them on purpose, just to hunt them later?”
The fang
shrugged. “Your guess is as good as
mine. No one knows who is doing the
turning.”
“So why exactly are
you here?” Samantha said, frowning a bit in concentration.
“I’m looking for my
sister, if you must know. She
disappeared a few nights ago after coming here to work.”
“Wait…she worked
here?”
“Yes. Undercover, so to speak. And she vanished, just like the rest of
them. No one here cares-the girls that
come and go are transient. They don’t
leave forwarding addresses when they leave. So no one is alarmed.”
“What about the
police?”
The fang started
laughing. “The police
around here? There are only four of them, which is amazing considering
the army base. They’re a bunch of
drunks. I don’t think they’ve ever done
any real police work. And I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were paying them
to fumble the ball.”
“Fuckin’ cops.” Samantha morosely
toyed with her empty glass. “So what do you think is happening to the girls?”
“Honest answer? I do
not know. They disappear, that’s the only thing I’m sure of. Frannie would have
called me if she couldn’t come home after work.
She was a fang but she was afraid, you see. She was never one to like crowds, or
strangers, so she’d call me or one of our brothers just talk say hello during
the night. I got one call. After that, she dropped off the face of the
planet.”
The fang was silent for
a moment as the waitress came with another beer for Samantha. After she was
gone, he looked to the woman across from him. “Do you know what is going on
here?” He asked.
“I don’t have a damn
clue. At least not yet.” Samantha drank her beer, the
studied the fang thoughtfully. “Do you
know?”
He smiled. “I know that there is something here,
something bad. I can smell it. I’m not worried about myself. I’m worried
about them…” He gestured at the stage where three women were now gyrating to
the music.
“Are they fangs?”
“No. Not at the moment.” He gave her a meaningful
look. “The ones who turn…”
When he didn’t finish,
Samantha gestured at him with her glass.
“I’ve thought about it, you see.
The ones he turns, these girls, all have to use their body, their youth
to make ends meet. He’d offer them
eternal beauty because fangs don’t age.
Most of these girls would have a hard time resisting.”
“Great.” So maybe it
was some psycho fang they were dealing with.
That made Samantha feel better. “Thanks for the
talk.” She threw some money on the table and rose to her feet. The fang reached
out and took her arm, stopping her from walking away.
“You mean to stop him,
right?” His voice had gone low. His blue eyes caught hers. Samantha nodded slowly.
“I mean to kill the
fucker.” She gave the fang’s hand a pat and he let her go.
“A hunter in action. It’s been a while…”
He said it with a smirk. “I’m
Steve. If you ever need help from a
fang, just look for me at the casino.”
“There’s a casino
here?” Samantha asked, remembering Dave saying something about an illegal one.
“Oh, yeah. You’ll have no
problem finding it.” Steve smiled again.
Samantha found herself smiling back.
“I’m Sammy. You have another girl disappear, you find
me.” Now it was her turn to catch his eyes. Steve nodded. Samantha left him there in the bar and
stepped into the frigid night air.
It was time to get
back to DJ’s house. They needed to sit
down and talk about what they were going to do, get a plan. With a sigh, feeling tired as if she’d never
slept, Samantha turned the car back toward the house.
5
He could not believe
it.
The man stood in the
trees, watching the house. For the first time in days she had the curtains
open, mindless of the night that surrounded the house. He could see her in there, sitting on the
couch, talking to a stranger.
Not just a stranger, a
man. After all he’d done for her, she was entertaining someone else, probably giving the
stranger credit for his work. He began
pacing, anger filling his features, hands clenched at his sides.
Ungrateful bitch. That was what she was.
He suddenly stopped
and stared in the window at her, once again admiring her beauty. He could not be mad at her, damn it, although
he wanted to, although he knew his rage needed a vent. He needed something, some gift,
that would prove his love for her.
A car was pulling into
the driveway. He stared as a woman got
out and climbed onto the porch. She
stopped and looked around. She seemed to be looking in the very spot he was
hiding. The man held perfectly still,
waiting her out. The woman finally
entered the house, slamming the door behind her.
He stood for a few
more minutes, confused, angry, sullen. He did not know
what the hell she was up to, but he was determined to find out. And God help
those people if they stood in his way.
He would have her, they would not stop him.
**
“And where have you
been?” Dave asked almost before Samantha could close the door.
“Out. Did you not read my
note?” She shook her coat off and hung it on the rack that was by the
door. “I don’t ever want to see that
much naked woman again, I can tell you that.”
Dave started
laughing. DJ looked confused. “Out bar-hopping?
What would Glen think?”
“He wanted to know if
he could come up for a visit.” Samantha sank onto an overstuffed chair and
sighed happily. “Any
news?”
“Nothing. It’s quiet.” Dave
studied DJ for a moment. “We decided to
open up the curtains. If this guy is watching, we think having visitors will
set him off.”
“Good idea.” Samantha
stretched. “I met a fang.”
“What?” DJ sat up
straighter. She’d heard of vampires of course, knew they existed, but had never
seen one.
“Don’t worry, he’s not
our guy. He was clean. Pretty refined for a fang.”
Samantha said with a laugh.
“Did he know
anything?” Dave asked softly.
“Only as much as we
do. Although I think he was hinting that your body parts are coming from
disappearing strippers. One of them was his sister. And…he thinks the strippers were all turned
fang before they died.”
“So we are dealing
with a fang.” Dave said, looking meaningfully at DJ.
“Still can’t figure
out how he goes out in the daytime.” Samantha said,
the frown of concentration on her face again.
“Maybe he’s a dog.”
“Dogs can’t make
fangs.” Samantha reminded him.
“So he’s a fang that
snapped. You know what happens when they go over.” Dave reminded her, not
wanting to bring up Mark. He knew that
Samantha had heard the stories.
“It still doesn’t
explain the daylight thing.”
“Maybe he’s a hybrid.
Like you and Lily.” Dave refused to drop his opinion. Samantha sighed.
“Maybe. I doubt it.” She
refused to give in to his ideas. She wanted to keep her options open.
“He says he’s a demon.”
DJ took advantage of the lull in their conversation. Dave gave her hand a reassuring pat.
“If he’s a fang and
he’s gone crazy, he could think he’s the president. We don’t know.”
“I still say we
shouldn’t be looking for just a fang.” Samantha said. She hesitated. “Although…”
“Yeah?” When she stopped,
Dave looked at her exasperated.
“I don’t know. When I
got back here, I could have sworn there was a fang nearby, watching. It was there and gone like that,” she snapped
her fingers. “Weird.”
“Very. But it supports
that we’re dealing with a fang. A crazy one, but a fang anyway.” He squeezed DJ’s hand. “And
I know a thing or two about taking out a fang.”
“He’s not just a damn
vampire.” DJ met his eyes, then looked away, seeking
commiseration from Samantha. In the other woman, she found it. “He’s evil. More than evil. I
can’t explain it. You haven’t been living it for months, I have.”
“So let’s see what we
have.” Samantha sat up and spoke before Dave could begin arguing with DJ.
“Girls turned fang.”
“That’s a vote for
fang.” Dave said, sounding smug. Samantha shot him a look.
“Dismemberment. That shrieks of dog.
They like to play with their victims.”
“Ok. So wolf gets a
vote.” Dave admitted. The smugness was gone.
“If the heart were
really ripped out, like DJ said, that would take a certain amount of insane
power.”
“Fang again.”
“Daylight.”
“Damn it. Dog. Although they don’t like it either.”
Dave said sourly.
“In human form it
doesn’t really bother them,” Samantha reminded. They were silent for a minute, each thinking.
“So what the hell am I
dealing with here?” DJ finally asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“I hate to say it, but
I don’t have any idea.” Samantha’s voice was soft, apologetic. “Something new. That’s all I can say for sure.”
“Can you stop it? Stop
him?” Tears rose in her eyes as she looked from Samantha to Dave. “I’ve written enough about serial killers to
know that they escalate. And it’s just a
matter of time before I’m the victim.”
“I’m not going to let
that happen.” Dave promised, staring into her eyes. “I’d die first.”
DJ laughed harshly. “I
think it might come down to that. You’re an obstacle now, one he won’t be able
to just go around. He probably already knows you’re here. He’s going to come
after you too, because you’re in the way of something he wants.” She took a
shaky breath. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I should have just let the
cops do their job…”
“All right, stop right
there.” Samantha had heard enough. “We know what we’re doing. If this guy wants
to try anything, we’ll deal with it. The cops aren’t going to do anything, and
you know that. We will. We can stop him. We just have to be patient, wait him
out. It’s his move, and I don’t think he’s going to wait long to take the next
step.”
“I just don’t want the
next step to be either one of you.” DJ said with a wry smile.
“Oh, if he fucks with
us he’ll bite off a bit more than he can chew.” Samantha said with a laugh.
Dave was nodding in agreement.
“You gotta understand,
Deej. This is what we live for. We like it when the
chips are down and the odds are against us.”
“It helps motivate.”
Samantha said with a grin.
“So this guy, whatever
he is, doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“Well thanks for
trying to make me feel better.” DJ smiled up at him, a genuine smile that
seemed to light up her whole face. Dave felt his breath catch in his
chest. She had a way of doing that to
him, even after all this time.
Samantha cleared her
throat, pulling him back to the matter at hand. “This fang, Steve, said he’d
help us.”
“You trust him?” Dave
asked.
“I don’t know. I just
met the guy.” She shrugged. “He seemed all right. He was kinda hot.”
“Don’t tell me you’re
going to start judging the fangs on looks.” Dave said rolling his eyes.
“Gotta start
somewhere.” Samantha rose to her feet. “I hate waiting, damn it.
Hopefully this guy will trip up, and soon.” With that she left the room,
heading into the kitchen.
DJ and Dave looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. DJ hoped that
Samantha was right, that they guy would do something foolish, that all this
would end sooner rather than later. She
felt as if she were falling apart. Dave seemed to sense her thoughts and pulled
her against him, offering her some comfort. For now it was enough, having him
so close, to help her forget briefly that she was in deep trouble.
**
He paced his barn,
stopping every now and then to admire one of his ‘collection’. What was he doing wrong? Why couldn’t she see
that he loved her?
Seething, he kicked at
a woman’s arm that was lying on the ground.
It thudded against the wall with a satisfying thump. He looked around, eyes wild. A body hung from
a frayed rope against the far wall. He
went to it and yanked, pulling it to the ground. With a cry of anger he began
ripping at the decayed flesh, taking comfort in the destruction he caused.
Fifteen minutes later,
his anger faded into a more manageable level.
He was disgusted with himself, with the mess he had caused. He’d ruined his display, his treasures. A
smile curved his lips as he thought of her.
He’d just have to start over. And
what better place to start than her auburn-haired houseguest that he’d seen
last night? She was quite pretty, lithe, slim.
It did not matter that she was not one of his usual victims. Perhaps
that quality would be what pulled her to him finally, once and for all.
The smile still
playing on his lips, he went into his house to plan for the next night. He’d
give them one day, then he’d take her friend, and
decide what gift he’d make of her to his beloved. The man she was entertaining
could wait. He’d deal with him when he
was ready.
6
“That’s crazy and I’m
not gonna let you do it.”
Samantha was already
pulling her coat on. She stopped and shot Dave a withering glance. “Gosh Dad.” She cracked a smile. Dave did not return it. It
was a damn fool idea, and he couldn’t let her leave. Glen would kill him if
anything happened to Samantha, and more than that, it would kill Glen if
anything happened to her.
“You’re nuts. Stay
here, we’ll brainstorm.”
“I am not gonna sit
and wait for him. Look…” Samantha
finished tugging her coat on and looked from Dave to DJ, who had said nothing
thus far. “He’s obviously romantically obsessed. If I leave, he’s more likely
to come around, thinking you and DJ have something going on and I’m just
watching.”
“In the meantime,
you’ll be making a target of yourself.” Dave grumbled.
“Maybe. Maybe
not.” Samantha shrugged. It was
nearing dawn. They’d spent the night
talking, discussing possible plans. Dave
hated to admit it but Samantha was right. The guy would more likely be drawn
out when he and DJ were alone. He’d think he was protecting his property. “I’ll be fine. I’ll stay at a motel in town, scout the bars
at night, see if there are any more loose cannon fangs
hiding out. We can meet up here, or out on town a few times a day.”
“I can’t let you just
go out there alone.” DJ said finally.
She was shaking, scared to death.
“What if he decides we’re friends and he comes after you?”
“I can take care of
myself.” Samantha said wryly. Her fingers wrapped around the knife she carried
in her coat pocket. It wasn’t her usually, but it was wickedly sharp. She felt safer having it on her.
“Glen’s gonna shit
twice then come up here.” Dave said with no humor. “Which
will put him in danger. Do you really want that on your head?”
“Glen is going to stay
home with the kids and let us handle this our way. Trust me.” Samantha smiled.
Glen would have a bit of a freak out, sure, but he was smart. He’d realize they
were doing the right thing. Eventually. “I’ll call
after I check in. And I’ll call Glen and
make sure he knows you are one hundred percent against this.”
“Damn straight you
will.” Dave finally cracked a smile. “I still say this is a bad idea.”
“Yeah, me too. But it’s the only one
I have right now. You kids have fun.” Samantha turned and left the house. DJ and Dave looked at each other.
“She’s going to get herself
killed.” DJ said softly.
“Nah. She’s too crazy to
die.” There was a bit of admiration in his voice.
“You like her.” It was
not a question. Dave laughed.
“Like I’d like a brain
tumor.” He looked at DJ, who was confused. “We pretend not to get along. It’s our
thing. She’s married to my best friend.”
“Oh.” It was soft. DJ
smiled shyly. “You guys fight like an
old married couple.”
“Shut up.” He said it
with affection. “I wouldn’t wish her on my best friend. Unfortunately he wished
her on himself.” With a laugh he led DJ toward the living room where they could
sit and talk for a while before heading to bed.
Samantha stopped at
the first motel she reached, just two miles from DJ’s house. She accepted a key from the sleepy looking
clerk and took her bags up to her room. She would not get anything done before
dawn, that was a given. She decided to
call Glen before heading to bed, to let him know what was going on.
It was well afternoon
when Dave was awakened by the soft squeak of the floorboards in his room. He sat up and peered through the murky
darkness, picking out DJ’s shadow from the general gloom.
“What’s wrong?” He
came all the way awake. DJ perched on
the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped.
“I told you…I have
nightmares…” Her voice was a whisper. Dave reached out and tugged her to him,
taking her in his arms.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“I don’t know…” She
sighed. “I don’t remember much. I’m in a dark place. Someone is after me. I
feel myself dying…”
“Well I’m not gonna let
that happen.” Dave soothed her, rubbing her back.
“I know you won’t. I
don’t deserve it, but I know it.”
“What do you mean, you
don’t deserve it?” Dave asked, pulling away to look at her. He could make out the contours of her face in
the dark room, that was it, no sign of the emotion she was feeling.
“You know what I mean.
After I practically threw you to the dogs, you come back as soon as I ask you
to. I don’t deserve any of that…kindness.”
“Believe me, it’s not
just kindness.” Dave said with a smile.
“Oh? Then it’s a call
of duty I suppose, just…”
Dave shushed her. “I still love you, you know.”
DJ was silent. He felt her shake a bit in his arms and hugged her closer.
“David..,”
“I’m an idiot, I know.
I thought that was all behind me. I thought I could come here and help you and
that would be it, but I can’t just ignore what I feel.” He stroked her
hair. “I tried to move on, but couldn’t
do it. I hurt a couple of people, women, and for that I am sorry. They weren’t
you. I couldn’t give them more than what I had already given them.”
“I am so sorry. For
what I did to you back then. You can’t realize how sorry I am…” DJ said softly.
“It’s all right. You
weren’t ready. I was pushing you.” Dave nuzzled her hair, breathing in its
clean smell.
“I got scared. You
were my first boyfriend, you know. My first…everything.”
“I remember.” Dave
sighed and kissed her head. “It’s not
something I’m ever likely to forget.”
“I fucked up, huh?
Nothing was the same after that. I pretended I was happy. I wasn’t. And now this…like some kind of punishment for being stupid.”
“You are not stupid. I
was the dumb one. As usual. I wanted something, I had to have it, to hell with how you felt.
That’s the way I was.” He chuckled. “That’s the way I still am.”
“I never thought it
was a bad quality.” DJ said, smiling. “I
wish I could go back.”
“Don’t we all.”
“I would have said
yes.”
Dave was stunned to hear it. He sat
there, holding her, eyes closed, feeling like he’d been hit by a ton of bricks.
“If I could change
things, if I had the power to change things, I would have said yes.” DJ
repeated softly. “I loved you. I think I might still love you. I think that’s
probably why I hid myself away here, away from people, from men, who might try
to challenge my feelings for you.”
Dave chuckled again.
“I threw myself into work. Oh, I had a couple of girlfriends over the
years…although I would never call them that. They chose not to stick around
after a while. I just didn’t want to go further than…what we were doing.”
DJ laughed. It was a
beautiful sound in the dark, lifting Dave’s heart a notch. “I’m not going to
lie and say I was a nun or something. I
had a few dates myself. I always pushed them away though. Probably not as
aggressively as I pushed you.”
“Deej…”
Dave sighed. “We were always the most
fucked up couple.”
“Beauty and the
Beast.” She said with a smile in her voice. That was the affectionate nickname
they’d given each other, although DJ always said Dave was the beauty part. “If
we make it through this…”
“We will.” Dave’s
voice held a certainty that made her feel warm.
“I don’t want to lose
you again.” She admitted as if he had not interrupted.
“Deej…”
Again he said her name, his voice a mix of emotions that hurt her heart to
hear. She’d caused him so much pain, she did not know if she’d ever be able to
heal him.
“I don’t think I can
lose you again. I’ve never felt this way about anybody. It scares me.”
“You’re not the only
one.” Dave felt as if all their years apart were melting away. It was their
last night together all over again. It was bittersweet, heartbreaking. For the
second time in his life he felt like crying.
“I shouldn’t be
dumping all this on you now. Not when we could be killed by some crazed guy at
any time.” DJ pulled away from him and swiped at her eyes, rubbing away the
moisture that had gathered there.
“I love you, Diane.”
Dave said it so low she wasn’t sure she heard him.
“Even after what I
did?”
“Probably even more
after what you did.” He said with a bit of humor. “There is nobody else I’d
rather be with. I always knew it. I thought I’d just have to accept it and go
on alone.”
“I’m so sorry, David.”
She sighed. “I love you, too. I always
have.” She moved, meaning to stand. Dave
grabbed her hand and pulled her back down to him.
“I think maybe
Samantha left us alone so we could sort this out.” He said, grinning. “I don’t
wanna waste the time she’s given us. She’s a pain in the ass, but every now and
then she has a decent idea.”
DJ laughed shakily,
resting her hand on Dave’s bare chest.
“I think I might need a little time to sort out…”
“Nope. Not this time. I told
you, I’m used to getting my way.” Dave smiled and leaned forward, claiming her
mouth with his.
When they finally
broke for air, DJ was laughing a bit. “I always did have a weakness for giving
you what you wanted.”
“Umm…gonna prove it?”
He asked seductively. He pulled her down
into the bed, the years falling away once again, and joined with her as if he
had never left.
**
Night was falling.
Samantha had talked Glen out of coming and offering support, assuring him that
she’d be fine. She’d dealt with worse on
her own and at least in this case she had Dave as backup. She wasn’t about to underestimate their
adversary, but it was just one man. Small fries to someone who had fought off a dozen fangs at one
point in her life.
She dressed carefully
in black leather pants and a blood red long sleeve t-shirt. It was too cold to wear anything skimpy; if
she was going to catch this guy’s attention, she’d have to use something other
than her body, that was for sure.
Sure that Glen would
not like that line of thought, or that Samantha was trying to lure the killer
to her, she left the hotel and headed for the nearest bar that did not boast
strippers as its main form of entertainment.
She checked her
pockets, making sure she had her knife, cell phone and room key before entering
the bar. She found a table and ordered a
beer, not really wanting it, just wanting the waitress to go away so she could
think and watch the crowd.
This being a weekday,
the people in the bar were older, working class types. A few were in
conversation with each other, but for the most part the only sound was the
jukebox in the corner playing old country songs at a volume just below
deafening.
“We have got to stop
meeting like this.” The deep voice pulled her from her thoughts. Samantha looked up at Steve and watched as he
sat down opposite her.
“What are you doing
here?” She asked, taking a sip of her beer. “I thought you were trolling the
booby bars, looking for action.”
“I was. I had a weird
feelin’ you’d be in here, so I decided to check it out.”
“Are you stalking me
now?” Samantha eyed him speculatively.
Although it was possible they were looking for a fang, she had a feeling
that Steve was not it. He seemed stable, especially for a vampire. As if he’d made peace with what he was and
enjoyed the benefits immensely.
“I wouldn’t dream of
it. But having a hunter here, now, kinda makes me wanna go where the action is.
That would be where you are.” He took her beer and sipped it, keeping his eyes
on hers.
“An alcoholic fang. How
precious.”
Steve laughed. “I like
the taste. The alcohol doesn’t do anything for me. So have you found anything?”
“Yeah. The motel I’m staying
at doesn’t have cable.”
“Cute.” Steve offered
a lopsided smile.
“Yeah, you are. What’s
a nice fang like you doing in a town like this?”
“I told you. I’m
looking for my sister.” He shrugged.
“Any luck?”
“About as much as
you’re having apparently. Nobody talks in this town. It’s like pulling teeth.
And believe me I’ve been tempted to do just that a time or two. Torture just
isn’t my thing though.”
“Oh, and what is your
thing?” Samantha decided to bit at his suggestive tone.
“Enchantment usually. It doesn’t seem to be
working with you though.”
Samantha laughed. “It
usually doesn’t on married women.”
“Damn. I knew it.” He grinned
boyishly. “How married?”
“Extremely married.” She took her beer
back and finished it. “Better luck next time.”
“It was worth a shot.”
With that he rose to his feet. “I’m meeting a friend. He was supposed to talk
to someone for me today. I’ll see ya around.”
“Don’t be a stranger.”
Samantha called after him, smiling. Steve waved over his shoulder but did not
turn around.
With a sigh she paid
for her beer and stood to leave. Outside it was even colder than earlier. Snowflakes were drifting down. Samantha decided to walk for a while, to
clear the cobwebs that seemed to cloud her mind. That was what a couple of years of being out
of commission did.
There were no people
out, and why would there be? It was cold, it was dark, and it was the deadest
town Samantha had ever seen. There were four blocks of dark businesses
separating her from the next bar on her list.
She began walking in that direction.
Her breath puffed out
in little clouds. It was strange how quiet the town was, even at night. There
wasn’t even a dog barking. She had time to contemplate Steve, who seemed to be
the only fang within miles. It was very strange. The fangs obviously knew
something was up, but they were being as close-mouthed as the townspeople.
Samantha was lost in
thought when rough hands grabbed her from behind and dragged her backward into
a small alley that she had not noticed.
Too surprised to cry out, she started struggling against the arms that
were around her.
The unknown assailant
grabbed her hair and slammed her face first into the wall of the building in
front of them. Samantha saw stars and
felt her knees buckling. With all the strength
she could must she lifted her feet and pushed against the wall, knocking her
attacker back, falling on top of him on the ground.
He was quick to recover. She felt him wriggling under her, turning too fast for
her to react. That knock to the head was slowing down her reflexes, scaring
her. The man was on top of her, rolling
her over. Samantha tried to see his face but the lights from the street did not
penetrate the alley.
She felt hot breath on her as hands latched around her neck. She bucked against
the weight holding her down, summoning all the energy she had left.
The guy went flying. She hadn’t thought
she’d been able to get him off of her.
And then she realized that someone else was in the alley. A large shadow moved after the attacker,
chasing him to the far end before turning back to Samantha.
“Are you all right?”
Steve’s drawl was the most welcome sound she’d heard in ages. Samantha struggled to her feet, shaking her
head, trying to rid herself of the pain.
“I’m good. What the
fuck?” She gasped out, feeling pain in her throat. The guy who attacked had been
surprisingly strong. She rubbed her neck
and swallowed a few times experimentally.
“I don’t know. I heard
noises, I looked, I helped.” Steve took her hand and
pulled her toward the street where there was light. “You look like hell. I guess he caught you
unaware.”
“I was stupid. Wasn’t paying attention.” Her voice was scratchy.
“It’s easy to forget
around here. It’s too damn quiet.” Steve said, patting her shoulder.
“Did you see him?”
“Kinda. He had
something over his face. Dark hair. Dark
eyes. That’s all I got. About my size.” He
shrugged. “I could run after him, but he was quick. Fang
quick.”
“I know. And fang
strong.” Samantha settled her jacket around her.
“You want an escort
back to your motel?”
“Like I need a fang to
protect me.” Samantha tried huffing but it hurt.
“So are you saying I
shoulda let him choke you to death?” Steve said with a grin, falling into step
beside her.
“I woulda kicked his
ass.”
“I don’t doubt that a
bit.” Steve chuckled and led her through the falling snow to her room. Samantha thanked him at the door and watched
him walk away. Strange. She still didn’t know if she trusted him.
Sure he’d helped her but it was passing weird how he’d been in the right place
at the right time.
With a sigh she
glanced in the mirror at herself. She
had red marks around her neck and a bruise forming on her forehead. “You should
see the other guy,” She said, her voice a croak. She sighed again and grabbed her car keys, meaning
to head to DJ’s house to talk to Dave about what had transpired. Things were
going to happen quicker than either of them had thought.
7
She’d barely driven
two miles when her cell phone started to ring.
Samantha took her eyes
off the snow drifted road for a moment and snagged the contraption from her
pocket. She didn’t bother looking at the caller ID. She had a pretty good idea who it was.
“Hello.”
“Sammy, are you all
right?”
Glen’s voice was
dripping with worry. Samantha smiled a
bit.
“I’m fine. What’s
wrong, do you miss me?”
“You sound weird.
What’s wrong with your voice?” Glen refused to be joked with. Samantha tried to
clear her throat, but it still ached. It would heal and be good as new in a
day, but right now she was going to have to suffer.
“I had a little
scuffle. I’m fine.” She repeated. Glen
heaved a sigh.
“Alex woke up
screaming, crying. He said you were hurt.” Glen’s voice was still concerned
although some of the alarm had drained from it.
“Well I’m not.”
Besides the headache and sore throat, she added in her mind.
“He kept saying he
wanted water because his throat was hurting.
And his head. He asked for aspirin, and he
choked on them because of his throat.”
“Glen…seriously, I’m
good. Like I said, I had a scuffle but I’m all right.” She swallowed, trying to
work through the hoarseness. “Put Alex on the phone. Let me talk to him.”
Glen muttered and
Samantha heard voices. Her son whispered
a soft ‘hello’ making her grin.
“Hey, baby doll. I
heard you had a bad dream.”
“It wasn’t a dream.”
His voice was still soft. She got the
feeling he did not want anyone to overhear. “Mom, are you all right? Did the
bad man hurt you?”
“Baby, I am fine. A
little bumped and bruised. Don’t worry. I’m gonna take care of him.”
“Good.” The boy’s
voice was filled with relief. “He’s
angry…” There was a pause and Alex’s voice dipped lower. “Really
pissed off.” He waited to be yelled at for the rough language. When
Samantha didn’t correct him, he went on. “And he’s cold. Cold and angry, not warm and angry like when
you argue with Uncle Dave.”
That made Samantha
laugh, and she was immediately sorry.
“Kiddo, thanks for the information.”
“Did it help?” Alex’s
voice was back up to its normal level.
“Bunches. Sweetheart,
from now on when you start getting those crazy things coming at you, I want you
to do me a favor.”
“Sure, Mom.”
“I want you to try to
block them out. Think of something else, anything. A song. Just run the words of the song through your
head over and over. It’ll make it not so
scary.”
“I’ll try.” He did not
sound convinced it would work. Samantha
smiled.
“I love ya, baby. Now
you go back to bed and give your Daddy the phone. I’ll be home before you know
it.”
There were more noises
and Glen came back on the line, sounding much more relaxed now that Alex had
calmed down. “I don’t know how you do
that.”
“I have a mother’s
touch, that’s all.”
“I do miss you.”
“I know you do. I’ll
be home soon though.”
“How soon?”
“That remains to be
seen, love. Now let me get on with driving. It’s snowing and the road is a
little slippery.”
“Be careful, babe. I
love you.” Glen hung up, leaving Samantha to drive on in the dark.
She finally pulled
into DJ’s driveway and stopped the car.
The snow was coming down harder now.
She rushed to the porch and went through the door, frowning. It should
have been locked.
“Hey! Anybody home?” Samantha’s hand was in her jacket pocket,
touching her knife.
“Yeah, we’re in here!”
Dave’s voice called from the living room. Sighing, she locked the door and
followed the sound of laughter.
DJ was watching Dave
try to start a fire. She was still in
her robe. Dave was wearing a pair of
jeans and nothing else.
“My, my, my. Am I interrupting
something?” Samantha said, her voice scratchy. Dave
looked up at her, his smile dying.
“What the hell
happened to you?” He was up and standing in front of her before she registered
the movement. He took Samantha’s chin in his hand and turned her head, studying
the abraded flesh on her forehead and neck.
“Had a close encounter
with a wall. I’m all right.”
“I’m calling Glen.”
“I already talked to
him.” Samantha smacked Dave’s hands away and shrugged her coat off. “The door
was open.”
“I know. I left it
open. I was hoping the asshole would be bold enough to walk right in.” Dave
grinned.
“Nice. Too bad he was
busy in town trying to kill me. And he hasn’t even met me yet.” There was humor
in her voice.
“I’m so sorry, about
all of this.” DJ said, tightening her robe. “If I hadn’t called, you wouldn’t
have gotten hurt.”
“Nonsense.” Samantha waved her
hand. “Shit happens. I’ll get over quick enough. I did have another encounter
with our friendly vampire though.”
Samantha quickly ran through the events, not editing anything out.
“Kinda weird, him
being there when you needed him.” Dave said thoughtfully, wrapping an
arm absently around DJ’s shoulders.
“You don’t have to
tell me. I was there, I know.”
“You think he’s going
to be trouble?” DJ asked, snuggling against Dave’s side. Samantha shook her head at the display.
“I don’t know yet.
He’s not being totally straight with me. I don’t like it. I might have to let
Mister Knife have a word with him.” She laughed. It was a strange sound with
her voice not working right.
“You’re not going to
hurt him are you?” DJ asked, eyes wide. “I mean, he
did save you. Even if he’s got an ulterior motive.”
“I was kidding.”
Samantha rubbed her throat. “I need a drink of water. I feel like I’m still
choking.” With that she rose to her feet and headed for the kitchen. Dave waited until he heard water running
before leaning forward and snatching his cell phone from the table.
“What are you doing?”
DJ asked, running a hand through her hair.
“Calling Glen.”
“She said she called
him.”
“I know. I also know
her, and knowing her means knowing that she probably failed to mention some of
the details.” Dave dialed Glen’s number.
He answered on the first ring. Obviously he could not sleep and
something was worrying him. Dave recapped everything that Samantha had told him, and waiting while Glen processed the information.
“If that fang touches
her, I’ll kill him.” He was referring to Steve, Dave knew. He smiled.
“I think the fang is
the least of your worries. Some hopped up thing tried to kill her tonight. I
don’t think he’s gonna want to leave it unfinished.”
“I’m coming up there.”
“Good. Glad to have
you.”
“Don’t tell her unless
you absolutely have to.” Glen instructed. “I have to call Mark, see if
Christine can take the kids. I can be there in…” There was a short silence. “Six hours or so. If I hurry I can get the last flight.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“No, I’ll rent a car.
Better we have two.” Glen said goodbye and hung up before Dave could reply.
“Her real knight in
shining armor is on the way.” He said softly to DJ, who had listened to Dave’s
side of the conversation in silence.
“She’s gonna be mad,
huh?” DJ asked, trying not to look at the open windows. It made her nervous,
not being able to see out into the night.
“She’ll get over it.”
Dave kissed the top of DJ’s head. “Besides, we can use the help. There’s
something you should know about Sammy…”
“Why are you talkin’
about me?” Samantha reentered the room in time to catch her name.
“I was just going to
give Deej here a bedtime story. Even
though we’ll be up all night.” Dave smiled and looked down at DJ. “Sammy
here is part fang.”
“What?” DJ sat up and
stared at the other woman.
“I’m the best part.”
Samantha said sweetly.
“Born of vampire
parents. So she has some of their traits, including their strength.
So if that thing tonight managed to overpower her…”
“He caught me
unawares. There’s a difference.”
Dave went on as if she
had not spoken. “Then he’d probably make mince meat of me. Much as I hate to
admit it. I’m just a regular old human.”
“This is sadly the
truth.” Samantha said, her tone very serious. Then she
laughed. Her voice sounded better after drinking some water, but she still felt
as if she had to cough. “It won’t happen again. Guaranteed.
He’s a sneaky fuck but I can be sneakier. It’s how I survive.”
DJ laughed at
that. Dave just rolled his eyes. He
looked down at her, trying to convey with his eyes that she could not say
anything about Glen coming. DJ nodded imperceptibly. Unfortunately, Samantha
was not born yesterday. She noticed the gesture and narrowed her eyes.
“You guys are plotting
anything retarded are you? Because I have been known to kick
a team member’s ass from time to time.”
“No, no. Just sharing some afterglow.” Dave said with a smirk. Samantha made a face.
“Gross. Just…spare me
the details. I don’t wanna know.” She sighed. “I told you people I make a
terrible babysitter. Now maybe you’ll start listening.” Dave laughed. DJ gave
him a confused frown. He began explaining that Samantha’s main job for the last
few years had been motherhood, and she felt like an unpaid babysitter most of
the time. Not only to the kids, but to the hunters who called the house home
base. Then he told DJ of Samantha’s
comment in the car about being the mediator between them. DJ had a good laugh. It was the first time in
a long time she had been tempted to do it.
**
He stood in the
shadows, watching the house. He’d almost had her, had felt her blood throbbing
in her veins as his hands tightened around her neck. And then that damn fang
had come along and ruined everything.
He’d had a hunch that
Auburn would come back to this house.
He’d been waiting for an hour when she finally made an appearance. Now
she stood in the living room, waving her arms, telling some story or other by
the look of amusement on the faces of the man and the woman that he loved.
And they were sitting
on the couch. Cuddling. That should be him in there,
not that dark haired man. She was his
damn it. She’d been his for a long time.
They looked just a little too comfortable with each other. And they were hardly dressed. It did not take
him much to put two and two together. He began balling his hands into fists as
he watched the three people talk into the night.
A movement to his
right brought him out of his rage. He
looked, at first not seeing the man, but then his eyes found him amongst the
shadows. The fang from
earlier in the night. The one who had stopped him. He was looking at the house thoughtfully,
standing just beyond the trees as if he didn’t care if he were seen.
He could take the fang
out. He had not been seen. But he was
curious as to why this fang would want to help these people. The dark man and
Auburn were hunters, vampire killers. It was not something he knew, but
something he could smell on them. He’d run into their kind a few times before,
but had managed to get out unscathed.
And this fang was not
bothered in the least that there were two people within shouting distance that
would kill him as soon as look at him. Interesting. Very interesting.
He stood silent as the
fang seemed to melt back into the trees, disappearing with no sound on the snow
padded ground. He waited until he was sure the fang was gone before giving the
house one last lingering glance. A change in plan was in order. Auburn would
not be caught out twice so easily. He would have to do something to draw her
away from the others. And he would have to do it soon. He could not wait any longer to have his
woman. He’d waited long enough.
Perhaps it was time to
send her another message. He smiled at the thought, already planning out the
next night in his head. He'd have one more lowly girl,
then Auburn, then the prize would be his. He rubbed his hands expectantly.
After losing his chance with Auburn, he relished the thought of an easier
target. For practice. Still smiling coldly, he moved
away from the house toward home.
8
“And what exactly are
you doing here? I told you I was fine!”
Samantha was standing
in the doorway of her motel room, looking at Glen as if she were going to rip
his head off.
“You look fine, all
right.” His voice was laced with sarcasm. It made her smile. Glen reached out
and grabbed her chin, turning it to get a better look at the bruising on her
head and throat. “I’ll kill the fucker myself for this.”
“Oh. You.” Samantha playfully punched him in the stomach. Glen
was not going to be easily joked out of his anger. He moved past her into the room and dropped
his bag on the floor. “So I suppose Dave ratted me
out. Remind me to thank him later.”
“You think this is
funny?”
“No, what I think is
funny is now instead of just me in trouble, it’s going to be the both of us.
Good thing Mark and Chris agreed to be the godparents.” Her tone was still wry.
She did find it funny actually. She was having a good time, almost getting
killed included. It had been a long time.
Glen heaved a sigh and
studied her again, this time keeping his distance. “And I though marrying a
hunter would make the relationship easier.”
“Well it would not be
the first time you’ve been wrong.” Samantha laughed at the sour look on his
face. “Have you traveled all night?”
“The better part of
it.”
“You don’t waste time,
I know.” She grinned. “I was getting ready to watch a movie and pass out, but
since you’re here, I suppose I can find a better way to wind down.” She winked.
Glen fought a smile. “I’m still mad about this, Sam.”
“Be mad later…” She
stepped into his arms and kissed him on the neck. For a while all problems and arguments were erased
in the storm of their passion.
**
He found his next
victim by chance.
He had not meant to go
into any of the bars, solely so that he would not be tempted to rush himself.
He could not resist though. He was always weak when it came to beautiful women,
and this was no exception.
She was on stage right now. Jet black hair that almost looked
blue in the light. Pale, flawless skin.
Her eyes were dark, looking almost black in the club. He chanced a closer look, moving toward the
stage. Dark blue, like the deep fathoms of the night sky.
She was smiling as she danced, her lithe young body moving to the music. The
men in the club could not take their eyes off of her. She would be his. He’d treasure her
perfection as the newest addition to his macabre collection, but more
importantly, her eyes.
He would send those
dark blue orbs to the one he really loved, as a way of showing that his eyes
were indeed only for her, that these other women were just passing fancies. She
would understand this time. How could she not know how he felt after gazing
into eyes the color of a limitless night sky?
He forced himself to
leave before he could even begin to get impatient. The next night was plenty
soon enough. Of course, thinking of the dark goddess on stage was not going to
make it go by any quicker. He paused at the door and looked speculatively at
the bouncer, a young man who seemed more interested in staring at his tattoos
than at all the bare flesh the club exposed.
He worked a bit of his magic. He
asked the name of the girl currently performing. Getting his information, he
erased all memory from the bouncer’s mind. He would not recall anything that
had just transpired. It was a useful trick, but very taxing on this human body
of his.
“Jesselyn.” Her name was a murmur
on his lips. He had never bothered learning the names of the other girls, but
they had been nothing in comparison to this one.
And she was nothing in comparison to the one he really wanted. Too bad he’d have to wait an extra night. First Jesselyn, then Auburn, then Diane.
His Diane. He smiled thinking about her, already
mapping in his head the events that were soon to transpire.
**
Someone was knocking
on the door.
Night had just fallen. Glen and Samantha
had called a truce and had shown up at DJ’s house in good spirits. They were
eating when the pounding started.
“I’ll be back…” DJ had
no more than shifted in her seat when Dave was grabbing her arm.
“I’ll get it. You
don’t need to be going to the door.” He scolded, a
frown on his face.
“I’ll get it. Damn.”
Samantha was up before anyone else could speak.
Glen shook his head and rose to follow her, still not wanting to leave
her alone after what had happened.
Samantha threw the
door open, hoping to surprise whoever was knocking. They would expect
caution.
Steve stood there, the appropriate wide-eyed look on his face. Samantha grinned at him and leaned against
the doorframe.
“Takes a damn brave
fang to wander into the hornet’s nest. What are you doing here? And an
ever better question is…how did you know where I was?”
“I tried to motel
first. Then I…” Steve shuffled his feet, looking positively bashful. “Ok,
truthfully, I followed you last night, just to make sure you were all right.”
His eyes fell on Glen who was walking toward the door. He gave the taller man a
measured look, then turned his attention back to
Samantha. “Something’s happening. I can’t explain how I know, or why I know,
but you have to believe me.”
“What do you mean, you
can’t explain?” Samantha asked. She was already reaching for her coat.
“Look, sometimes I
just know things. And right now is one of those times. We have until midnight,
maybe, but I’d just as soon go there now and scope things out. I just thought
you would want to know since we seem to be after the same thing here.” Steve
stared at her, his clear eyes showing no sign of deception. Samantha was not
one to question her instincts about a person. Or in this case a vampire. So
she’d trust him a little, see where it went.
“All right, let’s go.”
“Wait up.” Glen was
tugging his coat on. Steve shot him another look.
“Steve, my husband
Glen. Glen, this is Steve, a relatively normal fang.” Samantha introduced them
as she checked her pockets for her necessities.
“Hi.” Glen offered a
wave. Steve was smiling.
“Relatively normal,
huh? You obviously don’t know me very well.”
“Well. I try. The hubs
came running when I told him you were tryin’ to seduce me.” Samantha deadpanned
it. Glen was frowning at her, then at
Steve. She started laughing. “I’m kidding. Calm down Glen, you’re going to have
a heart attack before we ever leave the house.”
“I am calm.” For a
second there he had been worried. He was silly to be, and he knew it, but he
could not help it. “I need to tell Dave where we’re going. Do NOT leave without
me. I mean it, Sammy.” With that Glen turned on his heel and walked back toward
the kitchen.
“He seems to think
you’re going to run off.” Steve observed, amused.
“Yeah well, I do have
a habit of doing such things.” Samantha pulled the knife from her pocket and
flicked it open.
“That thing actually
good protection from a fang?” Steve did not sound impressed.
“Wanna find out the
hard way?” With a practiced flip of her wrist, the knife folded into itself.
Steve laughed again as Glen rejoined them.
“Did I miss something
amusing?” He zipped his coat. Glen’s eyes caught the glint of Samantha’s knife
as she tucked it back into her pocket. “Threatening him, huh?” He was smiling.
Samantha tucked her hand into his as they left the house.
“You know me too well.
I need to shake things up a bit. Maybe I should start carrying a gun.”
“You’ll get no
argument from me.” Glen kissed her forehead, mindful of the bruise that still
colored it. “Where exactly are we going?”
“A bar downtown,
called The Bar.” Steve looked at them. “I’m not kidding. When original
names were handed out, this place was last in line.”
“And why are we going
there?” Samantha said with a laugh.
“Because he’s going to
attack someone there tonight. I want to stop him. If I can.”
His tone was dead
serious. Glen and Samantha exchanged a look.
“Steve…how the hell
could you know that?” Samantha asked as they climbed into Glen’s rental car.
Steve settled into the
backseat and ran a hand over his face. “Look, when I was kid I had these
prophetic dreams. Most ended up coming true. When I
turned fang it was like putting an amplifier on it, cranking it to eleven. So tonight as I was walking around, I just happened to go
past this place. And I got pissed off. So angry I couldn’t see straight. And I
saw in my head that something was going to go down in that place. Not in, but
near. It was dark. That’s all I know for sure. There was pain.”
His voice faded to a whisper then stopped altogether. Samantha turned to look
at him, then shared a glance with Glen. “Are you still
feeling anything from him? It? Them?
Whatever it is you’re pulling from?”
Her stumbling for
words did not even get a smile. “A little. It’s not so
bad.” He was quiet for a minute then raised his head. “I told you I followed
you last night.” It was not a question. Samantha nodded her head. Glen remained
silent. That was news to him.
“I felt the same thing
when I was looking at the house you were in. Everything was red, like it was
soaked in blood. Like I was looking out through blood.
If you don’t mind, I’m going to take that as a bad omen.” Some of the humor
returned to his voice. “So what do you think?”
“I think we’re
probably going to need a hell of a lot more than my knife.” Samantha said
wryly. “I also think we need to hurry. We have to stop this guy. Now.”
9
She was dancing.
Her body was like
water, like a river, flowing with the beat of the music. He admired her from
his booth in the corner, watched as she slowly took her clothes off. Jesselyn. Just thinking her name was enough to arouse him to new
levels. He wanted her. It was too early
though, much too early. Not yet midnight. Not everyone here was drunk enough
for him to get away with leading the woman outside.
And something else was
bothering him too. That damn fang, the one he’d seen at Diane’s house, was
here. He moved through the crowd with as much grace as the goddess on the
stage, his eyes piercing the crowd as if searching for something.
As long as he stayed
on that side of the bar, that was all right. He’d deal with the fang if the
fang needed to be dealt with.
The song came to a
resounding end. The crowd gave Jesselyn a standing
ovation. She seemed to bask in their attention, and he could see a golden glow
around her taut young body.
It was time. Fang or
not, vampire or not, he wanted her. Now.
She was on the other
side of the stage, in conversation with people he could not see. He did not
care. When she turned her eyes immediately fell on him. He smiled as a slightly
vacant look came into her dark eyes.
Too easy sometimes,
this enchantment thing. He so enjoyed the power he had though.
Jesselyn was coming him way,
ignoring all those around her. She
stopped inches from his table. He got a good look at her. She was wearing
nothing but a pair of lacy boy-cut panties. Her skin was lightly glistening
with sweat. He studied her up and down, from the fall of raven’s wing black
hair, to the high breasts, the flat stomach, down her endless legs to the spike
heeled shoes she was wearing.
Rising to his feet, he offered his hand. Jesselyn
took it, very willing to go wherever he would lead her. And right now he wanted
to go to the alley, the very same alley he’d used on numerous other occasions.
**
“It’s gotta be her.”
Steve had walked
through the crowd, keeping his senses open. He felt sick to his stomach. There
was something here, something evil, but he could not pinpoint its location or
cause.
The girl on the stage
caught his attention. He watched her dance for a few minutes. Usually the
strippers were under his radar-some were quite pretty, and some were good for a
quick feed if need be. This one was different. He did not know how he knew, but
he did.
She caught his eye and
cocked an eyebrow in his direction. Steve gave her a half-smile. She tilted her
head to the side and then back, then forward. Even without words he caught her
meaning. Sit. Wait.
He went to the corner
table that Samantha and Glen were seated at. Samantha was sipping a water, Glen a beer. Steve made his announcement and waited
to see what they thought.
“Probably is. She’s
the headliner, if there is such a thing at this kind of place.” Samantha toyed
with her glass.
“There is, and she
is.” Glen had looked briefly at the woman but spent most of the time studying
his wife.
“How would you know
about strippers baby?” Samantha laughed and gave him a
sly look.
“I read books.” That
was all he was going to admit. He was grinning. “And yes, I think she’s the
one. We need to get her attention.”
“I think we already
did.” Steve said as the song came to an end. He slid into the booth next to
Samantha and watched as the dancer made her way slowly through the crowd.
She stopped at the
table, mindless of her undressed body, and looked from Steve to Glen to
Samantha. “I think we’re all here for the same reason, so let’s not waste time
on explanations right now. He wants me, I can feel it. When he takes me, I want
you all to get him. Understood?” Her seductive voice carried a note of command
in it. Samantha felt Glen’s hand on hers, squeezing, urging her not to argue. “I’m Jess. Or Jesse.
Do not call me Jesselyn. That’s a dancer’s name. And
after this I am no longer going to be a dancer.” With that she turned her
attention to the other side of the room as if someone called her by name.
Before they could say
anything she was moving through the crowd, her body moving with the fluid grace
of a cat. To another
booth on the other side of the stage.
“Fuck me runnin’.”
Steve’s drawl was more pronounced when he got a look at the man who had
captured Jesse’s attention.
“What, do you know who
he is?” Samantha squinted in the barely lit club. She could see him, barely.
The only real defining feature he had was his blonde hair. So
blonde it was almost white.
The man stood and
began to lead Jesse away. Steve rose to his feet. “I don’t fuckin’ believe
this!”
“What?” Glen gripped
the other man’s shoulder before he could take off through the crowd. Time was
short, but he sensed this would be important. “Who is he?”
“A fang. His name
is…was…Kennedy.” Steven looked at Samantha and shook Glen’s hand away. “He was
killed last year.”
“Killed? Obviously not.” Samantha couldn’t help but be sarcastic.
“I killed him. I had
to. He went wild the last few months he was with our group. We couldn’t control
him. We had to take him out before he brought hunters down on all of us.”
“Went wild?” Glen
asked, falling into step beside Steve. Samantha led the way through the crowd.
They seemed to part easily enough.
“He had a thing for
women. Not willing women, either.” Steve sighed in aggravation. “We didn’t know
when we found him. Somebody turned him. He tried to rape a fang and got turned
for his trouble. He hid it for a while, then went nuts one night and killed a
few of our own.”
“Women?”
“Women he had fixated
on. I knew this whole setup was familiar. I knew it but I couldn’t believe it.”
They came to the short hallway that led to the restrooms. Samantha pulled her
knife out, flicking it open once again, the business end looking dangerous in
the dim light. “He can’t be alive. He can’t be.”
“Maybe you just
thought you killed him. Fangs are fuckin’ resilient.” Glen muttered, testing a
door at the end of the hall. It opened into a storeroom. There was another
door. They moved toward it.
“There wasn’t any
thinking to it. I snapped his neck. Then twisted it off.”
He said it as if it were no big deal. To
a fang, it wasn’t. “Fucker was after my
sister. I had to do something.”
“And you did. Now
wanna take a guess at how the hell he came back?” Samantha pushed on the door.
It opened silently into a dark alleyway at the back of the building.
“I know only one way…”
Steve did not get to finish the thought. There were sounds from the end of the
alley. They could see two shadows
struggling in the meager light from the street.
Without thinking,
Samantha ran forward, ignoring Glen’s hand at her shoulder, trying to stop
her. This asshole had tried to kill her,
now she was going to return the favor. The man had Jesse pushed against the
wall and everything around him was lost on him as he nipped at the skin of her
neck.
Jesse looked amazingly
calm. That was all that registered with Samantha before she leaped at the
attacker, her knife flashing. She sunk
it into his back to the hilt and twisted it.
The man lurched
backward, knocking Samantha off her feet as he became aware of what was
happening around him. Samantha had
managed to pull her knife out while she was falling. It was still gripped in
her hand. He took a menacing step forward.
Samantha sprung to her
feet. And almost fell down again as Glen and Steve rushed the bastard, knocking
him back again. Seeing he was outnumbered, not liking the odds, the man turned
and ran toward the street, going faster than he had any right to be going.
Glen and Steve gave
chase, leaving the two women in the alley.
Their footsteps faded into the night.
Samantha leaned down to catch her breath.
“That as close.” She finally said,
standing straight.
“I won’t be able to
get him to attack me again. I should have just taken him out when I had the
chance.” Jesse’s smoky voice sounded petulant. Samantha looked at her, eyebrow
up. She flipped her knife, that well practiced trick, but nothing happened.
Looking down, she saw
the blade was twisted into a lump, the metal a rough shape in the dark. “What the fuck?”
“Might as well toss
it. It won’t do any good against him anyway.” Jesse crossed her hands over
her chest, not to cover up her nakedness, just to have something to do with
them.
“How the hell do you
know?” Samantha was starting to feel a little frumpy in comparison to the
perfect female body before her. She realized something even as the thought
formed. Jesse was not cold. She was not shivering. She did not even appear to
be slightly shaken by almost getting raped and murdered. Samantha eyed her
curiously, all sarcasm gone from her voice. “Who are you?”
“I’m the one who can
stop him.” Jesse stated simply. She smiled. Samantha felt as if the alleyway
were suddenly lit up with neon. “We need to get your friends and find a safe
house so I can explain. Then we need to go hunting. This time we have to take
him out. If he gets to Diane, we’re really in trouble.”
Samantha could do nothing else but follow as the mostly naked Jesse led the way
out of the alley. This damn situation got stranger the longer she was involved
in it. Shaking her head, she tossed her beloved knife down on the street,
mourning its loss as if she would a friend. Apparently Jesse had more answers
than any of them had come up with. And hopefully the time had come to find out
what was really going on.
10
They made one stop on
the way to DJ’s to pick up Samantha and Glen’s bags from the motel. No one
spoke on the drive. Glen offered Jesse a shirt. She took it with a sigh.
Samantha got the feeling that she put it on more out of respect for her company
than out of any kind of shyness.
Kennedy had gotten
away. Steve and Glen had been right on top of him when he seemed to disappear
in a swirl of snow. The men had plodded back toward where Samantha and Jesse
were standing, shoulders hunched against the cold wind that blew.
Dave was almost
tripping over his own questions as Samantha, Glen and the two strangers came
into the house. The dark haired woman was barefoot, not seeming to mind or even
notice the snow she tracked in. Glen’s
T-shirt hit her about mid-thigh, but she gave no outward signs of being cold.
Samantha handled
introductions while Glen went to the car for their things. Everyone settled in
the living room near the crackling fire. No one spoke. Outside snow began
falling again, this time so heavily that it was hard to see much past the
window.
“I couldn’t have
ordered up a better night than this for storytelling.”
Jesse’s voice was
soft, but it caught everyone’s attention. Samantha rested in the circle of
Glen’s arms on DJ’s overstuffed chair, looking at the other woman
speculatively.
“So are we going to
get some answers, or should I just go get some popcorn and hot chocolate out
for this fairy tale?”
“Oh, answers. Although hot chocolate does sound lovely. Perhaps
later.” Jesse smiled at Steve. He grinned back at her.
“You two know each
other?” Dave asked, catching the interplay between the two new members of the
house.
“The secret’s out, Jess.” Steve was still smiling.
“Had to come out
sooner or later.” Jesse sighed and pushed her dark hair back from her face.
“Let me see if I can simplify this. The man you are after is not a man, but a
demon. Steve…and myself…were sent here to stop him.”
“So he really is a
demon?” DJ asked, eyes widening.
“Most definitely. We don’t come from
heaven or hell. We roam the earth like you. Doing our good
deeds, trying to earn our way to either level.” Jesse shrugged.
“You guys are demons
too?” DJ shrank back from Steve, who was sitting to her right on the couch.
“Hell no.” Steve said, his drawl more apparent as he blushed at his outburst.
He looked at Jesse again as if awaiting the Ok to go ahead. She nodded
imperceptibly. “When I was alive I was…well…not a very good person. Not bad
enough to go to hell, not repentant enough to go to heaven. So I came back, in
a sense. Found this body, this man who had turned fang. He was repentant. He
was a good man, honest. He let me take over because he understood that I would
have to, because I had a higher purpose that he could not understand.”
“Ok, you’re talkin’
crazy.” Samantha interrupted him. “So if you aren’t a demon, what are you? Vengeful ghost?”
“No.” Again he looked
at Jesse. Then he sighed. “We’re guardian angels.”
“Angels.” Dave stated
flatly, looking from the big man on the couch to the half-dressed woman
standing near the fire.
“Not quite yet. Like
he said, we were not the best people in the world when we were alive.” Jesse
spoke, a bit of humor tinting her voice. “We were given a chance to correct our
mistakes, to do selfless acts for others as a way to earn our wings. Or…to go
the other way and do hateful, evil things to become a minion of hell.”
“This is nuts.” DJ
said, taking Dave’s hand.
“You believe in
vampires, werewolves, but this you have trouble swallowing?” Jesse asked,
arching an eyebrow at her. “There are still people in this world who think
fangs and dogs are storybook ideas, dating back to darker times. I think we all
know better.”
Steve was nodding. So was Samantha. Glen remained neutral.
“So you are a guardian
angel.” Dave said, looking at her with his head tipped to the left.
“Well, for lack of a
better term, yes.”
“Who do you guard? I
mean, who’s interests are you looking out for? I
always thought you had one specific person you had to help. Of course, that
could be more storybook ideas talking.” DJ looked around the room at everyone.
“Well…” Jesse
hesitated and looked to Steve. He shrugged. She turned to Samantha and gave her
a smile. “I guess it doesn’t matter now, if you know or not. I was assigned to
your son, Alex. He asked me to come help you.”
“What?” Glen spoke
before Samantha could.
“I’ve been with him
since he was about two months old. He’s got strange powers, and I’ve been
trying to help him. He’s still too young to understand, and I’m afraid I might
be pushing him too hard.”
“So…” Samantha shook
her head. “Alex knows about you. He can see you?”
“My real form, yes. The
way I used to look when I was alive.” Jesse shrugged. “This body is nice and
everything, but in reality I was shorter, chubbier, and filled with confusion.
Not a good combination.” She smiled again. “Of course he can see me like this
too, well, more dressed but in this body. I’ve bonded with it, you see, and
sometimes it’s hard to forget that it’s not really me.”
Glen was rubbing his
temples. “So last year when Alex went on and on about his invisible friend…”
“That was me.” Jesse
grinned.
“And how about that
time he was crying, right before we came here? What was that about?” Dave
asked, bringing her eyes to him.
“Oh, his power is just
waking up. It was the cemetery that was freaking him out. He could hear voices
from there. No one there died peacefully in their sleep, you know. He was
feeling their pain, their anger at being snuffed out. He can’t control it yet
but he’s made wonderful progress.”
“So he has a guardian
angel guiding him through this empathic stuff. But why?”
Samantha was still trying to wrap her mind around what she was hearing.
“I thought it was
obvious. That boy is special, Sam, more special than you or Glen could know. I
have to protect him, so he can fulfill his destiny. And that’s all I can say
about it, because I think we are already telling you people too much.”
There was silence for
a minute. Then Samantha turned to Steve. “And what about you?
You said your sister was a victim, so who are you watching over?”
“I thought it was kind
of obvious.” Steve smiled at her.
“What? Katie? Or maybe Lily. Was your sister actually in any trouble?”
Samantha questioned him.
“Well, technically she
wasn’t my sister. Steve, the real Steve, had a sister. And yes, she was a
victim. Even though he was a fang, he still had a streak of valiant intent. And family.”
“I get that. I’ve seen
it myself.” Samantha sighed. “So who?”
Steve was smiling
again. “You, of course. Why else would I just happen
to show up just when you needed me, how else could I have found you when you
were running all over town?” He looked at Glen. “The best thing you ever did
was meeting this guy right here. That’s my unsolicited opinion. You weren’t
taking so many risks. Made my…uh…life a lot easier.”
Samantha was looking
at him, her mouth open, at a loss for words. Glen cleared his throat. “So does
everybody have a guardian?”
“Not every one.” Jesse
paced to the window and looked out at the falling snow. “Only the truly good do, the ones who are needed later in life for some big
thing.” She looked over her shoulder at Glen and smiled. “You have one. But I
think it’s more out of a labor of love than any special power you have.”
“Angie.” It was not a
question. His first wife had been his world for five wonderful years, it made
sense that she would still be looking out for him.
“Is that her name?”
Jesse turned fully to face him. “She’s
not allowed to show herself. There is too much of a bond between you. It keeps
you from focusing on life here and now, too much living in the past.”
Samantha tucked her
hand into Glen’s and squeezed. “That’s kinda sweet actually.”
“DJ.” Jesse sighed. “Diane.
You are a different story. This fledgling guardian was assigned to you because
there was a fang who had developed an interest and he
was supposed to protect you.”
DJ shuddered. “You
said he was assigned. What happened?”
“Kennedy happened.”
Steve spoke up. He’d been looking thoughtfully at Jesse. “The fang that I…this
body…killed was the one obsessed. Your so-called guardian took over the body. And was immediately obsessed. You tend to carry some
emotions from the body you take over, you see. This guy was probably already
leaning toward the dark side. Kennedy pushed him the rest of the way over. He
became fixated on you, thinking that if he wins you he’ll win his way to hell.
He’s doing a damn good job of paving the path with blood.”
“He says he loves you,
am I correct?” Jesse said, turning back to the window.
“Yeah. In
one of those notes.”
“He’s convinced
himself that he does because there is no surer path to hell than killing
someone that you profess to love. It may very well be his ticket in. It may
only be another in a long line of murders. We can’t know for sure. He operates
on a different wavelength from us.” Jesse nodded toward Steve. “I can read his
mind, for instance. I knew what was going on here…even while I was with Alex
during the night last night. He has nightmares, you know, because his defenses
are down when he sleeps…”
“We figured that part
out on our own.” Glen motioned with his hand, cutting her off. “What I don’t
understand is how we’re going to stop this guy.”
“Right. He melted my knife
like it was butter and he was the sun.” Samantha said sadly.
“Conventional weaponry
does no good. The body he’s in is already dead.” Steve said, rising to his
feet. “There is only one way to kill him for good. To send
him to hell not as a prince but as a sufferer.”
“And how do we do it?”
DJ asked from her seat.
“We have to start by
giving him exactly what he wants.” Jesse brought all eyes to her with her
announcement.
11
“There is no fuckin’
way I’m gonna let you do that.”
Dave was the one who
broke the silence that had fallen over the room. He wrapped an arm protectively
around DJ’s shoulders. She was looking at everyone else like they were crazy.
“It’s the only way.
Besides, we’ll protect DJ. Nothing will happen to her.” Jesse’s voice was soft,
even. As if she were soothing a wild animal.
“The hell you say.”
Dave was scowling.
“Look, I know that it
seems extreme…”
“Only a little.”
“But it’s the only way
to lower his defenses. He’ll be so happy she’s come to him that hopefully that
obsession of his will completely take over. He’ll bond with the body he’s in
even more and become that fang. Then we can deal with him.” Jesse pushed her
hair back from her eyes and looked at Dave as if daring him to challenge her
again.
“I don’t like it.”
Dave muttered, squeezing DJ to his side.
“Duly noted. And I’d like to add
that if we don’t do this, now why he still thinks he loves her, then he’ll kill her anyway. Eventually he’ll start resenting
her for not giving in.” Steve moved to stand next to Jesse. “He thinks that
when he rapes these women, he’s giving them something that they want, you see. Like they came to him.”
“So he thinks he’s
irresistible.” Samantha said softly.
“That’s right. And he
doesn’t understand why DJ isn’t moved to be with him. He wants her to be
willing, he doesn’t want to force it, but he will eventually.” Steve looked at
the people sitting in the room, expression serious. “We have to do this soon.
He’s starting to crack. It’ll happen pretty quickly after that.”
“How do you know?”
Glen asked, adjusting in his seat.
“Because the same
thing happened with Kennedy.” Steve looked at the bigger man,
then to Samantha. “He’s been denied something he wants twice. Do you think he’s
happy about that? Hell no. He’s probably throwing a fit right now. And that
anger is going to focus on DJ.”
“How do you stop him
once I…go to him…” DJ’s voice faded out as she spoke.
Dave looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Deej,
you don’t have to…”
“Yes I do. I want this
over, David. I can’t take it anymore.” She smiled sadly up at him before
turning her attention to Jesse and Steve. “How do we kill him for good?”
Steve and Jesse shared
a look. “I believe this is where
Samantha’s love of sharp objects will come into play.” Steve said, grinning.
“The demon that took over is really just floating there, controlling the body
like a puppet. If he gets mad enough…or if he gets sexually excited…he comes
forward and becomes the person he’s controlling. You’ll have to get him in the
heart at the right time, when he’s as close to mortal as he’ll get.”
“You aren’t suggesting
we send these two women in alone are you?” Glen asked. His voice had taken on a
strange tone, as if he were trying not to yell at the two people he’d just met.
“And me.” Jesse said, her voice again soothing. “He’s tried Sam, he’s tried
me, he wants DJ. I think if the three of us were to go
in together, he’d be quicker to nail.” She laughed. “That’s not a sexual
comment either. He didn’t get Sam, he didn’t get me. He’ll want to take care of
us too. He’s not used to being denied. He’s like a spoiled kid that way.”
“Well I’ll go.”
Samantha said, shushing Glen when he started to protest. “It’s not like we have
a real choice here. Either we go in and get him or he follows us for the rest
of our lives…and eventually succeeds at killing us. And this asshole is not
following me home where my kids are.”
Glen was surprised
into a laugh. “I still don’t like it.”
“I can take care of
myself.” Samantha said. Steve cleared his throat. “Ok,
and I have a little help. I can handle him.”
“I hope so.” DJ extricated
herself from Dave’s arms and paced away from the couch. “When do we go?”
“Deej…”
Dave’s voice held a warning.
“David, I’ll not run
from this bastard for the rest of my life. He’s already stolen a few months.
I’m tired of being scared.” DJ looked into his eyes for a long moment.
“We have to figure out
where he is before we can go anywhere.” Samantha said from her perch on Glen’s
lap.
“Leave that to us.”
Steve gestured to Jesse. “Now that I know who it is, I think I’ll have an
easier time tracking him.” The two shared another look. “Do you have a bed we
can use?”
“This is hardly the
time for that.” Samantha deadpanned.
Steve laughed. “It’s
not for that…” He looked at Jesse again, and conveyed the message that he
wouldn’t mind a bit if it was. Jesse blushed prettily. “We’re going to have to
dump these bodies for a while. It’ll be quicker that way.”
“Dump the bodies?”
Dave asked, curious in spite of himself.
“We’ll have to leave
them briefly. It’s easier to get around without lugging the flesh with us.”
Jesse explained. “And when we leave, these bodies will for all intents and
purposes be dead. Until we get back in them.”
“You can use my room.”
DJ said with a sigh. “I don’t mind. Not like I’m going to be sleeping anytime
soon.”
“Lead the way. The
sooner we do this, the better.” Steve gestured toward the door. DJ led them out
of the room.
“I still think this is
a bad idea.” Dave grumbled, looking down at his hands.
“You don’t honestly
think we’d let anything happen to your woman do you?” Samantha asked, leaning
back against Glen.
“I think we’re in way
over our heads here.”
“Well, stop thinking. Shouldn’t be hard for you. I’m not gonna let that asshole
get her. You can count on that.” Samantha gave him a look. “He’ll have to go
through me first anyway. Might as well make it a challenge.”
She felt Glen’s hands go around her. “And you…stop being so overprotective. I
got along fine before we got together.”
“Can’t help it.” Glen kissed her neck.
“I don’t like it. If this guys builds up a big enough
head of steam there’s no telling what he’ll do. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“As long as he doesn’t
chop my head off, I think I can handle him.” Samantha felt Glen shudder. “That
was a joke. As far as I know he hasn’t collected any heads yet.”
“There’s a comfort.”
Glen said with a sigh.
Samantha gave the arm
that was around her a pat. “Poor baby. I suppose we
need to find something to occupy ourselves while Steve and Jesse do their
thing.”
“I can think of a few
things…” Glen murmured and kissed her neck again. Samantha laughed.
“I was thinking more
along the lines of finding myself a nice, heat-tempered knife.”
“You want to go
shopping? Now?” Glen shook his head. “That guy could
be anywhere. We can’t go out. I won’t risk it.”
“That guy is probably
wherever he goes to hide out, fuming.” Samantha rose, smiling at the protest
that Glen uttered. “You wanna come with me?”
“You couldn’t leave me
here.” Glen stood up. They nodded at Dave and went toward the door.
Dave sat there, fuming a bit himself. He could not believe that DJ was so
willing to put herself in danger. There had to be another way. He just could
not think of one. With a sigh he followed Samantha and Glen’s lead, standing to
his feet. He could hear noises from upstairs, footsteps as DJ moved around. He
felt a sad smile tug his lips. He couldn’t lose her, not when he’d just found
her again after all this time.
**
That was the second
time in as many nights that he’d failed.
He was in the barn
again. He didn’t bother turning on any lights. He could see in the dark, after
all he had a pair of vampire eyes to look out of. Right now they were glowing
red in his rage, giving everything a scarlet tint.
He methodically went
from one end of the barn to the other, tearing apart anything he could get his
hands on. His tantrum went on for hours
until he finally collapsed, all of his energy spent. He looked around at the destruction he’d
caused. Ruined, his whole collection, ripped to shreds and tossed aside
carelessly. He’d taken his rage out on
the dead women’s bodies, unthinking, blinded by his emotions.
It was not good. When
he’d first claimed this body, he had been a cold, calculating machine. Now the
slightest thing could set him off. Although Kennedy had been a fang, he was a
human before that, and those old feelings were still powerful way down at the
bottom of his mind. He didn’t need emotions. He just needed his woman. Diane.
With a groan of
frustration he rose to his feet with effort.
He was very tired. He would have to rest now, something he hadn’t done
in weeks. That was the other problem with taking over a human body. They had to
rest and be refueled constantly. Taking over a fang had been a good idea, it could go longer without sleep, without food. And
still, he grew so tired at the expense of a good amount of energy that he would
have to rest or risk the body failing.
Sighing, tired, he
trudged toward the house. When he woke up, when he was in a calmer state of
mind, he’d decide what he was going to do about Diane and her friends. He had
all the time in the world while they talked, spinning their wheels. It was
almost enough to bring a cold smile to his face. Perhaps tomorrow night he’d
pay Diane’s house a little visit. The time for hiding in shadows was past. He
went directly to bed, falling down into sleep filled with images of fire, of
pain. And loving every second of it.
12
Glen and Samantha
returned to the house just before dawn. They’d driven around for a while,
talking, planning. Glen did not like the idea of Samantha getting even more
involved than she was, but she of course was not hearing it. She was in her
element.
David sat in the
kitchen with Steve and Jesse. They were
talking quietly, Dave with a cup of coffee in front of him. He looked at
Samantha and Glen with weary, tired eyes. “Find what you were looking for?”
“Several.” Samantha
had a bag in her hand. They’d found a store about an hour away that did not
mind opening up for them to browse around. Glen had chuckled as she’d picked
through their various blades, remarking on their traits. To him a knife was a
knife. Samantha looked at them as some women looked at shoes, or jewelry. She was
infinitely picky.
“You won’t need them.
They’d just be ruined.” Steve said from his chair. He was toying nervously with
something in his hand.
“Yeah, well. It helps
me with my peace of mind.” Samantha put the bag on the counter and pulled a box
out. They were silent as she opened it up and experimentally flipped the
blade.
“Good thing fire’s not
your thing.” Dave muttered. This got a snicker from the others.
“Fire’s all right.”
Samantha said, putting the knife away. “Too uncontrollable though.” She looked
at Jesse, who was looking morosely at the wall next to her. “Are you all
right?”
“I’m fine.” Jesse
sighed. “We might have found him. He was exerting a lot of energy, it ended
abruptly. He’s probably sleeping right now, recharging.”
“So this would be a
good time to go after him?” Glen asked, taking the other empty chair. Samantha
hopped onto the counter and thoughtfully began unpacking her other purchases.
“Not at all. You see, when he’s
sleeping he leaves the body. We could go in and destroy the body, of course, it
would be easy. But the demon himself would still be around, still able to take
over another body and continue his quest.”
“So we have to kill
the body while the demon is in it.” Steve finished when Jesse appeared to
become lost in her thoughts.
“And that will in turn
bind the demon to the body. He’ll become its soul and be snuffed out like a
candle.” Jesse’s voice was dreamy. Samantha and Glen exchanged a look and
stared at her. Dave just shook his head.
“They insisted that DJ
not be here for the strategizing.” He said, unable to hide the trace of
disbelief that tinged his voice.
“What? Why not? Don’t
you think she should be hearing whatever we plan?” Glen turned his full
attention to Jesse.
“Actually…” Steve
spoke for her. Jesse was once again staring at the wall. “It’s
better she doesn’t hear much. Just the basics. We want
her going into this thing as if she were scared. We don’t want her giving away
too much of what we’ll be doing at the same time. He may be able to read her
once she’s close enough to him. We can’t risk him finding out we’re there too.”
“Makes sense.” Samantha was chewing
a piece of gum she’d pulled from her bag. “So what’s wrong with you, Jess?”
“Nothing’s wrong with
her.” Steve once again answered for Jesse. “She’s keeping DJ asleep. She was
pretty well wired, nervous. So Jess here is working a little
magic, putting her out.”
“Forced sleep. Hmm.”
Samantha made a noise. “I guess I know who to call next time I can’t go to bed
before five in the morning.”
“I can only use it in
extreme cases. It’s very draining.” Jesse said softly, her voice sounding
mildly robotic. Monotone. She suddenly shook her head
and looked at the group around her. “Sorry. Wow. She really was fighting it.”
“She’s asleep now?”
Dave asked, sounding concerned.
“Very deeply.” Jesse assured him.
“She’ll need the rest.” She looked at Steve and nodded. Steve hesitated and
turned to Samantha, flipping the object in his hand through the air.
Samantha snatched it out of her air without thinking, reflexively. “What’s
this?” It was heavy, small. A ring. The yellow gold
was dull with age. Twin blades were
etched into the band. In the center was a deep purple stone, round, so dark it
appeared black.
“A gift. I’ve been waiting for
a long time to give that to you.” Steve ducked his head. “I think you’ll find
it more useful than your knives.”
“A ring?” Glen cocked an
eyebrow.
“Make sure it fits.”
Jesse said with a smile.
Samantha slid the piece onto her right ring finger and held it up, admiring it.
“It’s pretty. What am I supposed to do, cold cock the fucker with it?” Although
it was not a huge ring, it certainly had some weight to it.
“You’ll figure it
out.” Steve said, grinning. “There’s a house across the street, through the
trees.”
“There is?” Samantha
was still looking at her new trinket as if mesmerized. It took effort to pull
her eyes from it. “I thought we were on our own out here.”
“DJ was. Until our
friend Kennedy moved in.”
“What?” Glen could not
believe it. “This thing has brass balls, setting up ops so close to DJ.”
“It’s not a question
of his testicles. It’s a question of his confidence. That’s how he was able to
keep an eye on her. At least, that what we think.”
Steve said with a sigh.
“As soon as we left
our bodies we sensed him close. All that power he was using…” Jesse shook her
head. “I don’t think anybody realized that place was there. No one has lived
there in a long time. The house is falling apart. There’s an old barn in the
back.” She paused and fitfully toyed with her hair. “That’s where he keeps
them. His victims. At least…it was.”
“What, he’s moved them
somewhere else?” Dave said, leaning forward, coffee forgotten.
“No. He’s…” Steve
curled his hands into fists. “He’s destroyed them. By hand.
Torn them apart in a rage. I think it’s because he was
thwarted, and he’s taking it out on women he’s already victimized. An easy victory. Good for his ego.”
“I think our best plan
is going to be to fuck with him.” Jesse said with a grim smile. “Keep him off
balance. The angrier he gets, the more out of control he gets. And the more out
of control he is, the better our chances.”
“So how do you suggest
we fuck with him?” Samantha said, her tone serious but her eyes dancing. Digging
for clues was all well and good, but now was the part she really enjoyed, the
proactive part where they actually did something to win their battle. She was
pumped for it.
“Why, by messing with
his belongings, of course.” Steve sounded as excited as Samantha felt. Glen
looked from one to the other, a smile tilting the corners of his lips.
“No wonder they picked
you.”
“Huh?” Steve looked
confused. Glen laughed.
“To watch over her. I think you share her
craziness. Just a little.”
“Oh. Probably.” Steve grinned. “Great minds think alike.”
“Ahem. So what is the
plan?” Samantha said, drawing them back to the matter at hand.
Jesse smiled.
“Well…it’s going to be a little gross…” The others listened as she filled them
in.
**
Samantha was covered
from head to toe with blood. And other fluids. Steve
and Jesse looked just as bad. As if they’d just went for a
swim in a slaughterhouse.
After making sure that
Kennedy was out for the day, they had silently treaded the woods, keeping to
shadows. They avoided the house. Jesse said that the demon would not venture
far from his body of choice, having a need to protect it while it is
vulnerable. The demon itself had expended large amounts of energy and would be
doing its own version of resting.
They gone into the
dilapidated barn, and Samantha had gagged. The smell was horrible, worse than
anything she’d ever experienced before. Steve had given her a reassuring pat on
the back, then had whispered what they were going to
do.
Three hours later,
reeking, drenched in blood, they left as quietly as they’d entered. Samantha
was tired. She felt slightly sick to her stomach. She’d dealt with a lot of
things in her life, had killed uncountable fangs and dogs, but this…this was
almost too much for her.
Glen had offered to
come, but she’d waved him back to the house. He needed to stay on guard while
Dave and DJ slept. He’d agreed
reluctantly, and had watched the three of them disappear into the woods.
Now as they crossed
the road, Glen stepped onto the porch, hands in his pockets against the cold
air. Samantha gave him a weak smile. “I
need three showers, two baths, and some new skin.”
“I think we can deal
with a shower.” Glen’s smile felt forced, he was too concerned to do more than
that.
“Steve and I will stay
up and keep an eye on things. You two get some sleep.” Jesse said, nodding at
Samantha. “I think he’s going to wait until dark to wake up. It’s the fang
body. He can force it to go out in daylight, but it’s much easier in the night.
So we have some time yet before we need to go there.”
“Good. I need a nap.”
Samantha’s smile that time was more natural. “Wanna get the door for me, hot
stuff? I don’t want to touch anything. Oh, and turn on the shower, and get me
some towels, and soap…”
“Yes, your
highness…damn.” Glen chuckled and held the door for her. She kicked off her
shoes on the way in so she didn’t track gore everywhere in the house. “Was it
really that bad?” Glen asked, following her to the downstairs bathroom.
“What’s worse than
bad?” She asked, grimacing as she tugged her shirt over her head.
“Horrible, awful,
disgusting, terrible…”
“Yes. It was all of
that.”
“Do you think this is
going to work? Glen started the shower as she finished stripping. She held her
soiled clothes in her hands and looked at him.
“It’s going to piss
him off. As for how it’s going to work…I don’t know.” She waved the clothes.
“Can you get me a bag? I’ll never wear this stuff again.” Glen nodded and went
to the kitchen to find a garbage bag. Samantha deposited the clothes and looked
relieved. She grinned and stepped into the shower. She planned on scrubbing away at least a
layer or skin. She rinsed her hands and turned the water as hot as she could
stand.
“When you get halfway
clean, how about some company in there?” Glen said, peeking around the shower
curtain. Samantha looked at him through squinted eyes. Her hands were in her
hair, working shampoo through the long locks.
“I suppose you could
come in here and get my back for me…” She grinned at him through the rising
steam in the enclosed space. Glen nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting
for her to signal she was ready.
They moved from the
shower to the bed they were sharing, falling into an exhausted, sated sleep
sometime later. Samantha dreamed of
blood, it was understandable after what they had seen that day. She would not
classify them as nightmares, though. She had dreamed so strangely for so long
that they rarely had the power to frighten her or even disturb her rest.
She cuddled to Glen,
head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. In the dim light of the bedroom
the ring, the heavy gold ring Steve had give her, began emitting a faint purple
glow. Samantha murmured and snuggled closer to Glen’s warmth, unaware of the
light that was filling the room.
13
Samantha was in the
kitchen, chewing on an apple, the first one out of bed.
Steve walked in and
gave her his crooked smile, then took the seat across from her. “Nervous?” It
was a little past four in the afternoon. They would have to leave shortly to
get into place for their plan to work.
“Surprisingly…no.” Samantha tossed the
apple core into the garbage. “It’s weird.”
“Nah. You just know what
you’re doing.” Steve looked past her. Samantha turned her head. DJ was walking
into the room, looking rested and smiling a bit.
“Good morning. Er…evening.” She corrected herself with a laugh.
Samantha shared a look
with Steve. “Howdy. You sound like you’re in a good mood.” Samantha said,
watching the other woman prepare a pot of coffee.
“Well…” DJ, glanced at
them again, then turned on the faucet to fill the pot.
“I’m just glad something is finally getting done. That’s all.”
“Yeah, then your
worries will be over.” Steve said, leaning back in his chair. “Everybody can go
back to normal. I kind of miss the quiet life.”
Samantha rolled her
eyes at him. “What good is a guardian angel if I don’t put myself in danger
every now and then? Give you exercise.”
“I’m dead, remember? I
don’t need exercise.” Steve said with a smirk. “We’re going to have to wake
everyone up soon. Get this thing started.”
Samantha nodded and
rose to her feet. “I’ll get them. Where’s Jesse?”
“Out. She needed to pick up
something.” Steve evaded, watching DJ make coffee as if fascinated.
“All righty.” Samantha knew a lie
when she heard one, but decided to let it go. She didn’t want to start any
arguments before they went out that night. They needed to focus. She turned and
left the kitchen, heading for the stairs.
Jesse reappeared
before they came back down. Samantha was talking quietly to Glen as they went
downstairs, a morose looking Dave behind them. Jesse was carrying a sizeable
white box as she entered the house. She grinned at the trio coming down the
stairs and ducked into the kitchen.
Glen and Dave at a
quick breakfast, listening as Jesse told them she’d gotten a present…for
Samantha.
Samantha was once
again sitting on the counter, swinging her feet. She looked at Jesse surprised.
“What is it?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure
it’s something you’re going to need tonight.” Jesse set the box on the kitchen
table and removed the lid. Nestled inside white paper was a knife.
“Ahh…more weaponry.” Samantha did not
sound impressed.
“This is special.”
Jesse hefted the knife with a bit of difficulty. “It’s gold, so it’s heavy.”
She explained.
“It’s black.” Samantha
said with a grin. It was not a knife as she’d first thought. It was too long
for that. A dagger then, two feet in length, made entirely of some black metal.
In the hilt were more of those purple stones.
“Trust me…it’s gold.” Using both hands, Jesse tossed the dagger in
Samantha’s direction.
Samantha caught it
one-handed. It was not heavy, as Jesse said, but lightweight. The grip fit
comfortably in her hand as if it were made for her. She admired the dark metal
for a moment, then squinted as a light seemed to flash
from the blade.
“What the fuck was
that?” Dave choked on his coffee. The purple light had been fiercely bright,
and no one had been ready for it.
Samantha was still
looking at her new weapon. The metal had changed color with the flash, becoming
smooth yellow gold. “Is this thing for real?”
“It can’t be. Who has
that much gold? And what the hell was up with the light?” Glen was rubbing his
eyes.
“It is. And you’d be
surprised who holds so much gold. And that light was Samantha accepting her
gift. It’s hard to explain. But the dagger likes her.” Steve said with a smirk.
“The
dagger…likes…her.” Dave said it slowly.
“It’s the simplest way
to put it.” Jesse said, grinning. “I decided to visit a higher power. After a
heavy three minute debate, they sent me back with that for Sammy.”
“First a ring, now a
knife. It’s a good thing I’m not the suspicious type.” Glen had risen to his
feet and stood in front of Samantha. She willingly held out the dagger when he
opened his hand for it. She dropped it into his hand. He grimaced at the weight
of it. If he tried to use it in a battle, he’d get his head bitten off before
he could finish swinging it once. Samantha held it with no trouble, taking it
back from him and experimentally cutting the air with it.
“I’d look weird tryin’
to carry this thing around town with me, but I like it.” Samantha said with a
laugh.
DJ was silent through
this whole exchange, her eyes riveted to the gleaming blade of the dagger. Dave
reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. Sammy’s not good for much,
but she is good with anything sharp.”
DJ smiled at him.
“That’s good to hear.” She cleared her throat. “When are we leaving?”
“Right now would be
good.” Steve glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have to get ready. He’ll be
up soon.”
Glen looked a bit
nervous as Jesse led them from the house. “I still think there has to be a
better way than putting Sam, DJ, and yourself in danger.” He said, falling into
step behind Jesse.
“If you’ve got a
better idea, I’d love to hear it.” She said with a grin. “We’ll catch him off
guard. After what we did this morning, I think he’s going to be about ready to
snap.” She sighed. “It’ll make it easier. I want you, Dave, and Steve outside,
ready to step in. But don’t rush in too early. Let us handle it as far as we
can. He would have no second thoughts about killing a man. It doesn’t fit his
scheme, but he’d do it for the joy of it.”
“Duly noted.” Glen sighed. “I still
don’t like it.”
“What’s to like? We
could all get killed. And that’s the bright side of what could happen.” Jesse
sounded humorous. Glen frowned at her.
“You think that’s a
bright side?”
“Considering the fact
that this guy likes to rape, torture, murder and apparently destroy the
bodies?” Jesse looked at him. “A quick death is preferable.”
“Great.” He slowed his
step until he was walking next to Samantha. He took her hand protectively in
his.
“What did I tell you
about buying trouble?” She seemed to be exceedingly calm. Glen could detect no
nervousness in her voice, her posture, or her hands. The dagger Jesse had given
her was strapped to her thigh.
“Not to do it.” Glen
said with a smile.
“Don’t distract me by
making me worry about what you’re going to do, Ok? I love ya, but this has to
be done. If you get hurt because you think you need to protect me…”
“I live to protect
you, Sam.” Glen squeezed her hand. Samantha smiled at him.
“Well, you need to
live for the rest of your family too. Keep the kids in mind.”
“And is that what
you’re going to do?” Glen let go of her hand to wrap an arm over her shoulders.
“Of course. All I have to do is
imagine this fucker messing with my kids, and it’s go time.” Her smile turned
predatory. Glen was happy to see it.
Samantha was a hunter, even after all this time, and the old instincts were never
at rest. Feeling a bit reassured but still wary, he did not speak again as they
made their way through the woods.
**
He rose slowly,
stretching, taking satisfaction at the pops and cracks that issued from the
body he was using. After resting he felt much better about things. He’d had
time to cool off, to refocus on his goal.
The vampire body
wanted to feed. It was one of the things that annoyed him. The body tried to
revert to its old ways. With little effort, he tamped down the urge. He’d feed
the body when he went to town. Right now he had to visit his barn, to inventory
his damage and decide what gift he’d send to Diane that night.
At first he didn’t
notice anything different. He was lost in thought. Something caught his eye
though and it took him a moment to figure out what it was.
The barn was clean.
There was not one drop
of blood, not one trace of hair, no body parts, not bodies. The floor was
poured concrete. Someone had converted it to a garage years ago. On it were no
signs of the gore he’d left behind last night. The gray concrete only sported
the ghosts of oil leaks past.
He rushed around the
room, seeking any sign of his work. Nothing. Even the
water trough had been scrubbed, the metal looking almost new. Infuriated, he
spun on his heel, meaning to exit the barn and seek out the intruders who had
destroyed his handy work.
He stopped in his
tracks.
Unbelieving, mouth
open, he stared at the woman who had entered the barn behind him as he’d
panicked and searched the room. He finally gathered his thoughts and a smile
formed on his features. “Diane.” Her name was a soft whisper of voice. She
nodded. She did not look frightened. She had finally accepted his gifts. He
knew without asking. And now Diane was his, all his. With another cold smile he
stepped toward her.
14
Samantha watched from
her hidden spot in the loft as DJ stood in the doorway of the barn. The gold
dagger that Jesse had giver her was in her hand. The metal seemed to be getting
warmer.
Jesse caught her eye.
She was on the first floor, behind the water trough. She made a motion with her
hand. Samantha nodded and turned her full attention to the man who stood in the
middle of the floor.
DJ was smiling at him.
Samantha had to hand it to her, she seemed to be a
pretty good actress. There was no sign of the nervousness or terror that had
plagued her the last few days. She knew that the five others were around, but
did not know where. Jesse had wanted DJ to be as left out of their plans as
possible, just in case Kennedy had any kind of mind reading power.
Kennedy took a step
forward. DJ’s smile widened. She moved into his arms with no hesitation when he
held them open to her.
Samantha watched in
shock as they kissed. “What the fuck?” She whispered under her breath. DJ was
pulling away, looking into Kennedy’s eyes.
“The others are here.”
DJ’s voice was soft but it carried through the empty barn.
“Including our special
‘friends’?” Kennedy’s voice grew harsh on the last word.
“Oh, especially them. You were right. Again.” She grinned. “How do you like the body?” DJ backed
up and turned. Kennedy was eying her hungrily.
“Fantastic. Did she
give you any trouble?”
DJ made a dismissive
gesture. “Only at first. She was already too scared by
your little gifts to put up much of a fight though.”
“Where are the
others?”
“I don’t know. I think
that Jesselyn suspected you were telepathic. They
wouldn’t tell me anything.” DJ smoothed a hand down Kennedy’s chest. “There are
five all together.”
“Piddling.” Kennedy shook his
head and smiled. “That’s all they have for us? I would have thought I’d rate
higher than that.”
“Well, DJ did
underplay her concern.” DJ said with a giggle. The sound sent a chill down
Samantha’s back.
“Hmm…well I think we
have a little game of hide and seek on our hands.” Kennedy raised his voice,
making sure that if anyone were in the barn, they’d be sure to hear. “Go to the
house, DJ. Wait for me. It won’t take long.”
“I want to help.” Her
tone dripped petulance.
“You will. I’ll deal
with these hunter friends of yours, then it’s just us.
And our special guests.” He stroked her cheek, then
leaned down and kissed her again. “Go on now. Like we talked
about last night.” DJ nodded and hurried across the barn. There was a
back door set into the wall, hidden in shadows. Kennedy watched her go, a smile
playing on his lips. “Now…the
fun.” With two strides he was at the barn wall. He flipped a switch,
dropping the building into darkness.
**
Glen was gritting his
teeth.
Steve looked at the
taller man, wry smile on his face. “That’s startin’ to work my nerves.”
“Sorry.” Glen stopped
for a moment, squinting through the darkness at the structure that was the
barn. The lights had gone out. That could not be a good sign. His started
gritting his teeth again. Steve sighed tried to ignore it.
“I don’t hear
anything. If something were gonna happen, wouldn’t it have happened by now?”
Dave said in a whisper.
“Most likely.” Steve shook his head.
He refused to give into the anxiousness that settled into his stomach. “He
knows we’re here.”
“How? Besides the barn
being cleaned, how could he know?” Glen clenched his fists, then
relaxed. Then clenched them again. At least he wasn’t
gritting his teeth.
“I don’t know.” Steve
felt his own jaw clenching as he felt the beginnings of righteous anger flow
throw him. “We were careful.”
“We should go in.”
Glen took a step forward. Steve stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“No. Wait for the
signal. If they need us, they’ll signal.”
“Maybe they can’t
signal.” Dave said, sounding frustrated. “Can’t you check on them? How the hell
have you been keeping tabs on Sammy all these years?”
Steve sighed. “I can
check, I guess. It’ll use up some of my energy though. Energy I might need
later.”
“We’ll watch over
you.” Glen said. “I gotta know she’s…they’re all right.”
“All right.” Steve sighed again
and closed his eyes. For a few minutes there was nothing but the sounds of the
night around them as he concentrated. Then he laughed. It sounded strange, as
if from far away.
“She’s all right.
Samantha.” Steve did not open his eyes. He’d used a little trick he’d learned,
sending a part of himself to her. Instead of being silent observer, he’s spoken
to her mind. And the laugh had been her smart comment right back at him, also
in her mind.
“What’s going on?”
Dave shifted his weight from foot to foot, ready to go running at the first
sign they were needed.
“They’re hiding.
Kennedy turned off the lights. He knows someone is there. He thinks the dark
gives him an advantage.” Steve’s voice still had a distant quality to it. “DJ
knew. DJ was helping him.”
“What?” Whispery voice
gone, the word was out of Dave’s mouth before he could check himself.
“Shhh…” Glen looked at
he barn again. It remained unchanged. “Can she
elaborate a bit?”
Steve was silent
again, just for a few seconds. “They killed her. Killed her
spirit. They sent her the body parts to weaken her mind so another demon
could take over.” Steve’s eyes opened. “Christ.”
“Diane…” Dave’s voice
had dropped back to a whisper. Glen looked at his friend and put a hand on his
shoulder.
“Dave…”
“Don’t.” Dave jerked
away from Glen. “Just…don’t, all right?” He turned to Steve. “There has to be a
mistake.”
“There’s no mistake. I
saw it with my own…uh…eyes.” Steve rubbed his chin. “It’s kind of like hitting
repeat on a movie.” He looked at Dave. “We have to kill her too. You know that
right? We can’t let them destroy anyone else.”
Dave was shaking his
head. “I can’t…”
“You can.” Steve was
adamant. “It’s not DJ anymore, not the DJ you knew.”
“I can’t believe I
fell for it.”
“Why not? You hadn’t seen her
in a while right?” Steve hesitated. “It was really, honestly DJ when she called
you. That I’m sure of. I don’t know when this demon took
her over, but it had to be after that. They wouldn’t care if you came or not.
They could find someone to kill anytime they want.”
“That’s not
comforting. At all.” Dave felt like sitting down and
crying. It was shocking to him. He had not cried since he was a kid. Even when
he and DJ had split up, he’d choked back his emotions and buried himself in
work. And now that he’d found her again…
He shook it off. And squared his shoulders.
He knew that DJ would not have wanted her body to be used as it was. They’d
talked about fangs and dogs, and she’d always said she would rather he kill her
than let her live like that. This was no different. He just had to keep telling
himself that. Inside, deep down, there was still that feeling of betrayal, of
disbelief. He could not focus on it now, could not ask questions he would never
get the answers to. With a sigh Dave nodded at Glen and Steve. “Let’s go in
there and end this. Now.”
15
Although it was pitch
black in the barn, Samantha could still see.
Not as well as a full
fang, but well enough to make out the outlines of objects. She did not see
Kennedy though. He was just a shadow among shadows on the barn floor.
When she heard Steve’s
voice, seeming to come from nowhere, she’s stifled the urge to jump. She didn’t
want to talk out loud, to give away her position, so she’d mentally cursed him.
He had laughed. Then he’d asked what was going on.
Samantha filled him
in, once again without words, on everything that had happened thus far. Steve
had withdrawn. Now Samantha lay still in the darkness, waiting for a noise, a sign of
Kennedy.
There was nothing.
Five minutes passed, ten. She was
beginning to wonder if she should just come out from her hiding spot and get
this thing going. No sooner had the thought formed than something caught her
eye. Not Kennedy, he was still in silent stealth mode. Her
hand. More specifically, the ring that Steve had given
her. It was glowing, the purple tinted light seeming to pulsate with her
heartbeat.
Samantha gingerly covered
the ring with her hand. She figured she had just given away her position.
‘He can’t see it.’ Steve’s voice again in her head.
‘Great.’ Was her sarcastic reply.
‘Consider it an early
warning device. It tells you when demons are close.’
‘How close?’ Samantha
had been shifting on her feet, peering into the darkness even as she conversated with Steve in her head. Now she froze,
straining even hard to hear.
‘Very close. Stay low.
We’re gonna come in.’
‘No. Damn it. We
haven’t had a chance yet.’
‘Sam…’
‘Don’t you Sam me. Get
outta my head.’
She heard Steve sigh
and then he was gone. Relieved, Samantha let her hand wander to the dagger that
was strapped to her thigh. She froze again. This time because she’d spotted
movement out of the corner of her eye.
It was Kennedy. Even
in the darkness his white-blonde hair shimmered a bit. Samantha did not know
how good his eyesight was, but there was not way, if he were a fang, that he
couldn’t see her. He stood less than ten feet away and looked around. There was
a flash of white. Samantha understood that he was grinning.
“Gotcha, sweetheart.” He sounded playful.
Samantha sighed and stepped forward.
“I suppose it’s your
turn to hide.” She said, standing so that he could not see the dagger strapped
to her leg.
“Hide?” He tilted his
head, looking at her quizzically in the darkness.
“Hind and seek? You
know, you found me, I’m it, I’ll count to ten and let you hide then I’ll come
looking for you?” Sarcasm was creeping into her voice. It was lost on the man
standing before her.
“Sounds like a fun
game. I have a better one.”
“Oh? Freeze tag?”
Samantha grasped the dagger, waiting.
“No. I call it, kill the nosy bitch who ruined my place.” Kennedy
chuckled. “I was hoping to find my special friends first, but you’ll make a
nice start. Too bad there isn’t time for…you know.”
Samantha rolled her
eyes. “As if I would ever.” Kennedy had tried to sound
seductive. She could not believe that he was still thinking sex during all of
this.
Kennedy shrugged.
“Have it your way.” He took a step toward her. “Too bad
really. There’s something about you…” He trailed off, voice sounding far
away.
“Like I haven’t heard
that line before.” Samantha stepped sideways. Kennedy looked at her, his head
once again tipping sideways. Studying her. Perhaps changing his mind about time enough for raping her.
When he dove at her,
Samantha was ready. The gold dagger flashed in the darkness, cutting the air.
Kennedy threw his weight against her, dragging her down to the floor. She could
not get the dagger at a good angle to stick him.
Samantha decided to go
with another idea. Instead of fighting him off, she relaxed under his weight.
Kennedy was ripping at the front of her shirt. She could hear the soft sound of
buttons bouncing away into the darkness.
“That’s right, baby.
See, you want me…” His breath was hot against her throat. Fighting against the
nausea that rose in her at the sensation, Samantha brought her knee up between
his legs with all her strength.
Kennedy screamed and rolled away from her, cupping his crotch, cursing her
under his breath. Samantha was on her feet in seconds, spinning to face him
again. He was quick to recover, gasping as he rose to his feet to stare at her.
She could feel his anger coming from him in waves. Good. She wanted him angry.
She could deal with anger. She did not want to deal with his fake seduction
technique.
“That’s the last
mistake you’ll ever make, bitch.” There was not playfulness in his voice this
time. No longing, no pseudo-passion. He was pissed off. Samantha grinned in the
darkness.
“Come on and prove it,
asshole.”
Kennedy took a step
toward her. Then grunted in pain. Jesse had snuck up
behind him and knocked him on the head with a metal pipe she’d found on her way
up to the loft.
Kennedy spun on her,
trying to keep track of both women at once. His gaze settled on Jesse.
“You.”
“Yep, me.” She grinned.
With a cry of anger,
Kennedy rushed her, knocking her off her feet. Samantha was running, leaping into the darkness, landing on is back. The dagger
seemed to heat up in her hand as she raised it above her head to strike him in
the back with it.
Kennedy’s hands were
wrapped around Jesse’s throat. Jesse was trying to wheeze in air, gasping and
clawing at him. She pushed him up with all of her strength as Samantha jumped
him, trying to give the other woman a good angle for the dagger.
With a cry of anger,
Samantha swung the dagger down, over Kennedy’s shoulder. It sunk to the hilt
into his chest, the tip of the blade coming out of his back. Kennedy wailed in
pain and got to his feet, knocking Samantha away. He staggered, hands going to
the handle of the dagger, and fell to his knees.
Samantha went to stand
before him, watching as he gasped for air. The jewels on the dagger began to
glow, matching the ring that she was wearing.
Kennedy screamed once, his face a mask of rage and pain. He fell onto
his side, twitched once and went still. The soft purple glow from the ring and
the dagger winked out at the same time. They did not fade, but stopped glowing
as if they were candles that had been snuffed out.
Something was
happening to Kennedy’s body. There was muffled snapping
noises, strange gurgling sounds. Samantha made a face then leaned down,
grasping the dagger in her hand. With one foot she pushed back on his chest as
she pulled with her hands. The dagger let go reluctantly.
As soon as the knife
cleared his chest, Kennedy’s body began melting. That was the only way Samantha
could describe it. There were more of those strange liquid sounds, more pops.
In the darkness she could see his skin. It seemed to boil from the inside out.
Samantha backed up, bumping into Jesse. They grinned at each other.
“He’s gonna blow.”
Jesse said, pointing. Samantha turned back to Kennedy, watching as his body
seemed to swell.
“Gross. Is that what
happens?” She sounded fascinated. Jesse smiled in the darkness.
“Not all the time.
Sometimes they turn to dust.” The gurgling was louder. “I would suggest we get
outta here, unless you want to be covered by that shit.”
“I’m with ya.”
Samantha gave the bloated corpse one last look then turned and hurried after
Jesse. “What about…”
“DJ?” Jesse sighed. “Dave
is not going to like it. We’re going to have to take her out. She was helping
him you see. That makes her just as dangerous as he was, if not more so.”
“Well, I’ll let you
break the news to him.” Samantha said, her voice sad. Poor Dave. She felt sorry for him, for having to lose his
woman for a second time. There was a loud pop from upstairs, much louder than
the noises from earlier. “There he blows.” With a grim smile the women found
the door and exited the barn.
16
Glen was shouting
something.
Samantha turned her
attention from Jesse to her husband, who was standing just inside the tree
line. Of Dave and Steve there was no sign. She raised a hand in a half-wave
then realized he was not waving back. He was yelling and motioning at something
behind her.
Turning, feeling as if
she were moving in slow motion, Samantha barely had time to see the crazed look
on DJ’s face as she leaped at her, a knife flashing dully in the moonlight.
Samantha was knocked backward into the grass with a shrieking DJ on top of her,
swinging the blade wildly.
Samantha managed to
hit DJ in the arm. The blade that was aimed for her heart veered right and sank
into her shoulder. With a grunt of pain Samantha rolled to her side, throwing
DJ off of her. She slowly got to her knees, the handle still sticking out of
her shoulder.
DJ rolled and gained
her feet quickly. She snarled at Samantha and came toward her again, nothing in
her eyes but pure hatred and rage. Jesse
stepped forward, her arms snaking around DJ’s writhing body, holding onto her
with ease.
DJ screamed and
thrashed, fighting against the woman who had grabbed her. Samantha was slowly
getting to her feet. Glen had appeared, rushing forward as soon as DJ had
knocked his wife down. Dave and Steve were right behind him, both looking grim.
“You killed him! You
bitch!” DJ was still trying to get to Samantha. She neither noticed nor cared
that the three men had joined them.
Jesse shared a look with Steve and nodded. Steve stepped forward and
helped her hold onto the fighting woman.
Samantha smacked
Glen’s hand away from her and settled her grip on the knife in her shoulder.
“You knew we were going to.” Was her simple statement as she tugged once and
the knife slid free. She threw it to the
ground in disgust. Her shoulder already had a tingly, itchy feeling, meaning it
was healing. She tugged the golden
dagger from its sheath on her thigh.
Dave stepped in front
of her. “Don’t.”
“You know we have to.
It’s not like I want to.” Samantha motioned for him to move but he did not
budge. Dave held out his hand.
“Give it to me.”
Samantha stared up
into his eyes for a moment, trying to read his blank expression. She hesitated
then put the dagger into his hand. She did not immediately let go.
“DJ’s dead.” She said
softly.
“I know.” Dave’s voice
was just as soft. Samantha finally saw something in his eyes that almost broke
her heart. She released the dagger and watched as he turned to face DJ.
DJ saw Dave with the
blade and immediately went still. A cold smile twisted her face. “Killing me is killing her.” The hateful
creature laughed.
Dave stopped in front
of her, looking down into the eyes of the woman he had loved for so long. There
was no sign of his Diane there, nothing, just a deep hatred and empty heart.
“Diane is already dead.” He said softly. He watched her eyes widen as he
brought the blade up.
“Too bad really. We were good
together, you and I.” Again a cold laugh. “You never
even knew the difference when I took her over. Pitiful,
stupid human male.” There was no pity in her voice. Dave almost thought
he heard a tinge of fear.
Dave hesitated again,
settling the blade in his hand. “I’m sorry Deej.” He
barely muttered it. Without thinking he swung his arm, slicing through her neck
with the razor sharp edge of the dagger.
DJ gurgled, her eyes
round in surprise as her blood rained from the wound in her neck. Jesse and
Steve let her go and she dropped to her knees, her hands going up to try to
block the wound.
Dave let the dagger
fall from his hands and stood there, head down, eyes closed, listening to the
sound of his beloved dying. He felt a hand slip into his and squeezed
gratefully, glancing to his side to see Samantha standing there, shoulder
bleeding, trying to comfort him.
She gave him the
saddest smile he’d ever seen in his life. “It’s over.”
Dave nodded. The
sounds had stopped. There was silence for a few minutes. DJ’s body was crumpled
at his feet. Jesse stooped down and checked her.
“She’s dead.” With a
sigh she rose to her feet. “I don’t think we’re going to have a show like we
did in the barn. This wasn’t a heart wound.” She kept her tone neutral as she
looked at Dave. He was staring down at DJ, expression unreadable.
“I’ll take care of
her.” His voice was still soft. He gave Samantha’s hand another squeeze then
released her, kneeling down to gather DJ’s body in his arms. The others watched
in silence as he took her into the barn.
Steve shuffled his
feet. “As soon as he’s done we need to scatter.” Everyone nodded. He cracked a
smile at Samantha, who was experimentally shrugging her shoulder. “Good job. And congratulations.”
“Congrats for what?” Samantha rubbed her
shoulder. It was sore, but it was manageable. She’d live. She’d been wounded
worse in her time. “Not to be a party pooper or anything but I don’t think any
kind of celebration is in order…”
“Not a celebration.”
Steve bent down and picked up the dagger. It had returned to its dark metal
color, and seemed somehow smaller. He held it out for Samantha to take. “This
belongs to you now.”
Samantha took it from
him. It was smaller. And lighter. “I don’t get it.”
“You don’t need it
right now.” Jesse said with a sad smile. “It only changes when it’s needed. And
your ring…”
Samantha looked at her
hand. The stone in her ring was no longer purple. It was pure black. It also
seemed smaller.
“Kind of an early
warning device. It’ll also work when you need it to.” Steve took her hand.
“I suppose this is sort of a promotion.”
“A promotion?” Glen looked as
confused as Samantha felt.
“No more fangs and
dogs. A demon hunter, from now on. And your children…”
When Jesse paused,
Samantha looked at her expectantly. “What about them?”
“All demon hunters as
well. From birth. Not earned as you have earned it.”
Jesse grinned. “Even little Katie. She’ll wake up her power sooner or later.
They will need training. Lots of training. But I think
we made the right choice in their teacher.” She stepped forward and took
Samantha’s hand. “We have to go now. Back to our real mission, which is to
watch over you and the kids and guide you.”
“You don’t have to…”
Steve smiled crookedly
at her. “Yeah, we do. You don’t know what kind of energy it takes to keep these
bodies going.” He stepped forward and kissed Samantha on the forehead. “I’ll
still be with you for a while yet. Don’t ever wonder if you’re alone, got me?”
“I do. And thank you.”
Samantha touched his face. Steve gave her one last look then reached over and
shook Glen’s hand.
“You take care of
her.” He told her husband. Glen was nodding.
“Always.” Glen gave Steve’s
hand a squeeze then let him go. “And thank you. I’ll feel better knowing you’ll
keep an eye on her.”
Steve grinned and
backed away, heading for the barn. Jesse was smiling serenely. “I have to get
back to Alex. David will be all right. With time. I
can’t give away the future but I know it’s true. So don’t worry about him too
much.” She reached over and hugged Samantha, then Glen. “Don’t worry about the kids either. We’ll
help guide them.”
“I know you will.”
Samantha grinned at the other woman. “Thank you. For
everything.”
“Think nothing of it.
It’s a gift and a curse at the same time. Just depends on your mood when you
think about it.” Jesse smiled and turned to leave. “Knowing you people like we
do, we tend to look at it as a gift.”
“Agreed.” Samantha said. She
wrapped an arm around Glen’s waist. They watched as Jesse disappeared into the
barn. A few minutes later, Dave reappeared, looking more tired than Samantha
had ever seen him. “You all right?”
“I will be.” Was his simple statement. He watched as the fire he had
started in the barn grew, the orange and yellow flames licking at the dried
wood of the building hungrily. “Let’s go home.”
“Good idea.” Glen gave
Samantha a hug and turned to lead them from the burning building. Dave hesitated, sparing one last glance
before following his friends away from the flames.
Epilogue
Five years passed in
the blink of an eye.
The family was
gathered once again at Mark’s house. It was July fourth. The kids were excited
about fireworks and food, and little else that day.
Glen was sitting on
the porch steps with Samantha one step below him, cradled in his arms. They
watched as Lily, Alex, Katie and Nick played a very involved game of tag. Lily, although the oldest of the group, was still on the small
side. Her brother towered over her, grabbing her playfully and spinning
her around. She squealed and laughed, making the adults on the porch smile.
“Kid’s gonna be bigger
than the both of us.” Glen said with a grin, watching as Lily finally got her
‘little’ brother to put her down.
Mark laughed and
nodded. “Mutant genes.”
“Nick is not a
mutant.” Christine rolled her eyes and smacked him playfully on the arm.
“We’re all mutants.”
Samantha said, leaning back more comfortably against her husband. “Where is
Jack?”
“Picking up his
girlfriend.” Glen chuckled. “I guess it’s about time we got to meet
her.” Jack had met a girl in school named Ellie. They had been inseparable for
three years. She came from a family of hunters too, so there was no problem
worrying about what her reaction to them would be.
Jack was not
twenty-one. Glen and Mark had discussed it and had given him his own team. He’d
shown more than prodigious talent for running a group of hunters. Glen worried
about him, of course, but his oldest son was very adept at taking care of
himself.
Things went on the
same after DJ’s death, and yet they were different. Every now and then that
ring that Samantha always wore would begin glowing. Glen worried about her too,
but Samantha took to demon hunting the same way she took to everything…with
confidence and skill. The kids were growing into it too, each one learning and controlling their special gifts. Even little Katie, who had been slow to start. She’d been in
the kitchen one day when everything on the table just started to float. When
he’d walked into the room, he’d ruined her concentration and the dishes she’d
been levitating had crashed to the floor.
“Dave’s running late.”
Mark said, glancing at his watch. He smiled at Samantha. “You don’t think he
maybe got a bit sidetracked?”
“I try not to think
about it.” Samantha spoke up with a grin.
A few months after the
incident with DJ, Samantha had decided to retire from fang hunting all
together. She had a replacement for her expertise in mind. She’d called her
father and Alexander had sent Jade to them.
Jade was…something.
They all agreed on that at least. Blonde hair, blue eyes, she looked like the
dream of the American girl. She had an attitude though, and a mouth that was
dirtier than any sailor’s. Dave had been determined not to like her, just as
he’d been determined not to like Samantha. Especially since Jade was Samantha’s
best friend.
Until she’d shown up. And Jade and Samantha
had immediately shared a war of words and insults. It was how they got along
and they both seemed to like it. Fascinated in spite of himself, Dave had asked
Jade out. She’d agreed. They’d spent the night talking about their pasts, their
jobs, their lives. They’d spent the day in bed. They had been together ever
since.
Glen had worried
briefly that it was too soon after DJ for Dave to be going into any
relationship headfirst. Samantha had laughed and pointed out that Jade was
nothing like Diane, that Dave was smitten, and that DJ
was in his past once and for all.
Mark rose to his feet.
“I’d better check the food.”
Christine laughed and followed him. “It’s about time. I’m starving here.” They
playfully argued as they went down the steps. Samantha looked up at Glen and
smiled.
“So…”
“So?” He kissed the
top of her head. “What’s on your mind.”
“Nothing. Just weird how things
work out, that’s all.”
Glen smiled. He knew
exactly what she meant. If anyone had told him that he and his brother would
mend their fences, that he’d get married and have two more kids, that Jack and Dave both would find women who seemed to
understand them…he’d have laughed and called them crazy.
“I suppose this is
what a happy ending is supposed to look like.” He observed. Samantha smiled and
pulled his arms about tighter around her body.
“If it’s not it’s
gotta be a damn close thing.” She tilted her head and pulled him down for a
kiss, the smile never leaving her features. It was not the end, and probably
would never be the end as far as their lives as hunters were concerned, but
Glen knew that these moments when all was right in the world made everything
else worthwhile.