by Justin Sloan
Jared was on guard at the tunnel that led to the area where they stuck the new vampires. Damn, the guy was huge. She smiled, thinking how appropriate it was that Valerie had nicknamed him Godzilla. She motioned for him to walk with her as she headed on to check on their visitors.
“I want to make sure no one gets trigger happy down here,” she said as they walked. “Can you talk to your boys, ensure everyone knows that I won’t tolerate any… ummm... accidents?”
He chewed on his cheek for a moment, brow furrowed in a way that gave him a real brute look. “Cammie, some of these vamps… Not long ago they were taking down our brothers and sisters.” Jared’s breaths came heavy, and it was clear he was trying to keep down his anger.
He certainly wasn’t alone in these feelings, but it was time to move on.
She paused and took his hand in both of hers. It was surprising how her two hands were almost the size of his one, and for a moment she imagined that hand caressing her face, engulfing her in his grip. But that wasn’t the conversation they were having, not this time.
Not ever again, if she could keep her promises to herself.
The look in his eyes made that a hard promise to keep. Especially when they were this close and she picked up in his scent—like oak, freshly polished, a distant hint of pine to it.
Her breath came heavily now too, and she closed her eyes so she could focus. “Those brothers and sisters were fighting the wrong enemy. We have no choice but to unite going forward.”
When he pulled his hand away, she looked up at him again and was surprised to see defiance in his eyes. It was an emotion she’d rarely seen from him.
“We’ll take down the assholes who run this town, defend ourselves from Valerie’s brother, but after that… I can’t make any promises.”
“You step out of line, it’ll be Valerie you answer to—not me.”
He bit his lip, a moment of insecurity in his otherwise hard persona. Cammie decided to leap on it.
“You think she’ll let you walk away from here? Or turn on her kind?”
“If she makes a wrong move during the fight….”
Cammie slapped him, and the power of that strike twisted his head around, hard. He turned back to her with his defiance magnified, so she hit him again, this time with a closed fist that sent him to the floor.
Eyes flashed yellow and he moved to pull his clothes off for a transformation, but she was on him in an instant, pinning his thick arms down to the floor, clawed finger in his face. He might’ve been twice the size of her, but she was faster and damn strong—especially considering the fact that she was one of very few they knew that could partially transform at will.
“You ever say anything like that again,” her voice hissed in fury, “and I will tear your fucking head from your fucking body, you understand me?” Her hand was shaking, claws growing longer so that the tips pierced the skin just under his jaw. A trickle of blood came out and she shook her head. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”
“It’s like the good ol’ days,” he said, voice dripping half with malice, half with unhidden lust. “You want to keep me in check, violence isn’t the only answer.”
“In those days, I’d like to ask who controlled whom.” She pushed herself up and noticed a vampire in at the end of the hallway.
“I was just….” The vampire turned and walked off.
“Think he heard anything?” Jared asked. “Suspects us?”
“First, there’s no us. Get that through your thick skull. Second, there’s nothing to suspect. Whatever stupid thought you had back there was just that—a stupid thought, fleeting, gone. And my threat stands.”
She turned to follow the vampire.
“What did you want?” Jared called after her.
Before entering the hall of vampires, she paused and turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Someone to walk in here with me so I’d feel safe, you prick. But since I apparently can’t even trust you, I’d rather go alone.”
She turned back to enter and found herself face to face with Royland, the vampire father of the Forsaken clan that had been wiped out. He was tall and slender and presently looking down at her with narrow eyes over his hooked nose.
“Isn’t it we who should have concern?” he asked, his right eyebrow raised in question.
Cammie opened her mouth, closed it and then shrugged. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. But you have to admit, some thirty or so vampires in one place….”
“Since the one place happens to be your hideout, where you know the ins and outs and have access to the weapons, along with Valerie on your side,” he snorted, “I’d say you have nothing to fear.”
“And if that weren’t the case?” Jared interrupted, stepping up behind Cammie.
Royland turned his eyes on the male Were and looked him up and down. “If we were on the streets, set against each other through predicaments that neither of us set up? Forced by circumstance to fight to the death?” Royland chuckled, his mirth quite dry. “Well, I’d hate to see that day, for both our sakes.”
Jared furrowed his brow, but Cammie waved him off. “Go on to your post, Jared.” Jared glared, but with a quick nod of his head, he went back to his post. Cammie’s mouth was open for a moment in surprise before turning back to Royland.
“You two have a falling out?” Royland asked, observing the look she gave Jared as he walked off.
“More or less. But it’s his passion that intrigues me, when it isn’t close to getting us killed.”
Royland gaze softened as he nodded with understanding. “I could say the same about many of my vampire brothers and sisters.”
She smiled, doing her best to put the little interaction with Jared behind her. “Speaking of your brothers and sisters, I thought I’d check on them.”
“Then by all means.”
He stepped out of the way to give her room to enter, then smiled and waved her in.
With a mock curtsy, she walked past and entered the yellow-walled room. It must have once been a control area for the subway lines that were just on the other side of those walls, long ago put to bed. Like the Weres, many of the vampires were sleeping but had left a couple on guard.
“They’re looking up to fighting standards,” she admitted, glancing around.
“We don’t take long to heal after the blood has been replenished.” Royland walked past her to where a young female vampire slept, and stood over her, contemplative. “These vampires though, they’re mostly young. Many are only slightly better off than the Nosferatu, and could easily fall into their old ways.”
“You’ll have to see that they don’t,” she said.
“Me?” He turned, eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I’m putting you in charge of them. Separate them into squads, and take the groups that have rested into the old subway tunnels to test them, make sure they’re ready as they can be for the fight to come.”
“And if they’re not?” He knelt next to the sleeping vampire and brushed a lock of hair from her closed eyes. His expression was pained as he looked down at her. “If we’re marching off to our deaths tomorrow?”
“Valerie won’t let that happen.” Cammie smiled and then motioned him to follow her.
He cocked his head and stood back up, following. “Where are we going?”
She stepped back into the hallway and took just a handful of steps to stop in front of a door that led to the subway tunnels. Shoving it open with her shoulder, it made a loud creaking noise that possibly woke some of the vampires. A scent like soggy rats came through.
Cammie looked him up and down, wondering what he was capable of.
“Before you can test them, don’t you think it’s a good idea to test you?”
He smiled, confidently. “Test me?”
“Don’t hold back.” She jumped down off the ledge and moved to the center of the tracks.
“Oh, I won’t,” he said, and then he was gone, appearing a split-second behind her to deliver a knee to he
r kidney.
Only, she had anticipated the vampire trickery, and caught him with an elbow to the thigh. With both arms, she punched--one connecting with his stomach, the other to his forehead. He stumbled back, smiled, and then darted left for another attack.
Again she anticipated the attack and led with a sweeping block, which she meant to follow up with a punch. But it had been a feint and he'd switched direction or jumped over her, she couldn't be sure. He landed a damned painful kick to her butt that sent her sprawling across the subway tracks.
She quickly pushed herself up and turned, furious. Her claws were at the ready, teeth bared, but then she just smiled.
"I like your moves, vamp boy," she told him.
"That's not sticking," he said, voice gravy with annoyance. "You want to give me a nickname, go with something like King of Death or Mighty One."
She laughed. "Bring moves like that in the fight tonight, I'll call you whatever the hell you want."
After he took a few steps to his right, he jerked his head back in the direction they came from and asked, "Your boyfriend back there won't get jealous when I make you call me The Sexy Slayer?"
She rolled her eyes, "Okay, maybe not anything you want."
He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to answer the rest of the question.
"My relationship status, equals… none of your damn business." She took a fighting stance, claws at the ready. "No holding back this time."
"We both heal, after all,” he agreed.
She smiled and charged. This time she knew what this guy was capable of, and knew she could throw more at him. They moved like a dance, punches and claws coming from all directions, and each blocking in turn.
It felt great to hit something, and even better when she imagined Jared being the one she was hitting. She could hear the door opening multiple times during the dance she was having with Royland.
Both of them noticed the crowd that was forming, but that didn't stop them.
At one point, as she circled the vampire, she yelled out, never taking her eyes off of Royland, "Watch and learn, pups and cubs, this is how you take down a vampire."
Royland simply smiled and began the dance again.
She went in and scored a swipe of her claws across his ribs, but received a slam to her own side that tossed her across the room to crash into the wall. She bounced off it as the breath was blown from her chest.
A pair of red eyes gleamed in the darkness, and she smiled. They were both loving this, she knew, and was glad to find herself forgetting all about that ass, Jared.
Soon all of the Weres and vampires watching were cheering them on, not so much caring which side got a hit in or took a fall, but just sharing in the excitement.
***
Diego couldn't believe he was finally kissing Sandra. Since seeing her on that rooftop, and even before that, if he really thought about it, he'd been craving this moment. Her breath was hot on his neck as she moved to nibble his ear. The thumping of her heart told him she was just as into it as he was, and when his hands grabbed her by the ass and pulled her close, she moaned and pressed her mouth against his firmly. Her tongue teased his, and the way her fingers ran through his hair and across his chest was too much for him to handle.
He pulled back from her and tore off his shirt, then moved in to pull hers off too.
"Wait, wait," she whispered, resisting.
He breathed heavily, watching her lust-filled eyes move across his chest and abs, and then--no she looked away and turned, holding herself.
"What is it?" he asked, unsure what had just happened, and if he should even wrap her in his arms.
"It's just… a bit fast." She turned back to him, then pulled him close by the belt loop. "You really want to take me, here, like this?"
There wasn't much thought needed for that answer. "More than anything."
She kissed him, then rested her head against his chest. "I want this as badly as you, I mean it." Her hand moved across his abs, then came to a rest with her thumb tucked into his jeans by the hip bone. "But not like this."
"I don't understand. Tonight could be dangerous, and--"
"But that's exactly my point." She pulled back again, taking both of his hands in hers. "If we do this now, it's like we've resigned to death. To loss. But honestly, I will not accept that."
He leaned into her, forehead pressed against hers. "Waiting means there will be a tomorrow, right? And it means we'll both have something to look forward to,” he sighed, “I get it."
She lifted his head with a finger under his chin. "You do?" She kissed him passionately once again.
Cheering came from down the hall and they both perked up, looking in the same direction.
"Any idea what that could be?" she asked.
"Since we're not otherwise occupied, I'd say we better find out." He squeezed her hand and pulled her up, and then led her toward the noise.
It was easy to find the location. Diego pushed on a door only to hear a slight exclamation of surprise come from the other side. “Sorry!” Diego called out, and opened the door more slowly this time.
A group of Weres and vampires were standing on the other side of a door, lined up along an old subway station platform. Just past them, one of the vampires and Cammie were going at it. At first, Diego smiled when the vampire landed a solid elbow to her jaw, knocking her so that she stumbled backwards. After what she'd put Diego through when they'd taken him to the bar and beat him in the back room, he couldn't help but want to see her getting a bit of her own medicine.
"This has to stop," Sandra said in shock. "Valerie--"
"It's fine," a Were interrupted from her left. "They're just sparring, preparing for the night."
"That's just sparring?" Sandra asked, uncertainty plain on her face.
"Maybe they could take it a bit easier," Diego admitted. A loud cheer went up from the crowd, and Diego pulled Sandra closer to see what had happened.
Royland and Cammie had both landed what would have been killing blows, holding back barely. Sweat dripped from each of them, a slight red sheen to his, and they both looked crazed with wide eyes that stared at each other as if they were frozen.
Finally the two pushed back and held up each other's hands while the crowd cheered again. They separated and Royland stepped forward, motioning for silence. With a nod of approval from Cammie, he addressed the crowd.
"We move out at dusk, so that doesn't give us much time. Break up into groups and start training. I want every Were here to know what it's like to go up against a vampire, and every vampire to know what it's like to go up against a Were.”
The sweat dripped off of his forehead, the sheen from the lights reflecting into the room.
"You heard him," Cammie called out, a little hoarse. "Get to work!"
The vampires and Weres agreed with another quick cheer, many of them jumping off the side to get into the middle of the room, and soon they too were paired up and sparring.
"We've already had our sparring," Sandra told Diego, biting her lip seductively.
"Stop it," he said. "You're killing me."
A voice called from beside the two of them, "Diego, is it?"
They turned to see Royland standing nearby. He nodded to Sandra politely and then said, "I'm going to rest up, but advise you get in there when you have a chance."
