by J A Campbell
In town, she managed to find enough parking lot change to use a payphone and place a quick, desperate call to Cade for help. She would have called Kat directly, but she only had enough money for one phone call, and Cade had an answering machine so she could get the message out even if he didn’t answer. She also knew he checked it daily, even if he wasn’t home. Kat was harder to get ahold of. She routinely forgot to check messages, especially if she was traveling.
She left a message.
Three days later, Cade showed up. Hopefully, Kat wouldn’t be far behind. It would be dark soon. Maybe then.
Three trained humans against a half a dozen werewolves and one seemingly old vampire might work, if they were armed. They had come in unarmed, fortunately, but witnessed what happened to someone who tried to bring a weapon in against the rules clearly posted at the entrance. It had only been a knife, but the hopeful had been badly beaten and sent on his way. He apologized the entire time, and Charity doubted he would even think to tell the authorities. She could imagine what they would do with someone who brought a gun. Especially one loaded the way she and Alex typically loaded theirs. Expensive silver bullets had saved their lives on many occasions.
Kat would be able either to rescue the three humans and get them out, then return with some vampiric reinforcements to take out the cult, or to sneak their weapons in and help them handle the situation.
Charity hoped.
The werewolves gestured for the hopefuls to form a line in front of Father Aeron.
It was safe enough to stare at the group. Everyone else was. Aeron rarely turned anyone away, but occasionally he did. Charity hadn’t figured out what made the vampire cast some out, but she hoped Cade would pass muster.
Father Aeron was tall, gaunt, with prominent cheekbones, and skin so pale it was nearly translucent. He would have been almost cliché for a vampire, except the arrogance he sometimes displayed was hidden behind a façade of tender concern for the well-being of his followers. Whenever he thought he was observed, a smile softened his sharp features. If Charity hadn’t seen him in a rare unguarded moment, she could have thought he was genuine.
He currently had his benevolent smile turned on Cade. She saw her friend’s face twist in confusion, before resuming his normal laid-back expression. That expression was as much an act as Aeron’s, and Cade might have been as dangerous as the vampire, in his own way. At least Cade was on humanity’s side.
“Welcome, my children. Here, you will find community for all. My friends will find you all berthing and assign you to chores. We gather again for evening devotions in two hours.” Aeron turned and left the tent out the back.
The tent was backed up to the house that Aeron claimed as his own. The werewolves were the only other people who went in there, except once a day when someone from the flock was selected for private devotions with Father Aeron. Charity assumed that was when he fed from them.
Charity shuddered, but stood along with the rest of the people in the tent and went forward to greet the new blood. Pun intended.
It took a little time, but she and Alex casually worked their way over to Cade. She brushed against him, hard enough to let him know she had, and slipped a note into his pocket. She could have done it without him knowing, but she wanted him to see her quick note sooner rather than later.
As soon as they could, Charity and Alex slipped away. They would have to come back in time for the evening devotions, but they had a couple of hours to themselves. Hopefully, Cade could slip away and meet them, but, if not, the note gave a time and location that seemed relatively safe to meet in the evening.
Charity couldn’t wait to get this mission over with and get out of there. She and Alex had already been here way too long and the chance of discovery went up every moment they were there. Eventually, one of them would slip up and let on that they weren’t truly devoted. Or they would be chosen for their private devotions with Father Aeron, and then what would they do? Neither of them was about to let some random vampire feed on them. They had to get out of there.
Cade didn’t manage to find them before the evening devotions, and she didn’t dare look for him in the crowd, so she and Alex snuck out of their assigned living quarters at about two in the morning. While vampires would be alert, werewolves typically kept to a more normal human cycle.
Charity didn’t feel all that great about being up at two a.m. either, but they had to talk to Cade.
Alex squeezed her hand as they slipped into the cornfield surrounding the compound. It had once belonged to a family of farmers. She didn’t know what happened to them, but the field had been planted before the vampire took the place. Fortunately, she and Alex had ended up in the structure nearest the fields and had found a small outbuilding that would help muffle their voices when they spoke.
The corn rustled around them in a slight breeze that helped hide their movements and prevented her from hearing much around her.
She caught the barest hint of vampire with her Hunter senses and spun around, heart pounding. Charity knew she was more sensitive than most Hunters to whatever extra sense they had that let them sense the supernatural. Her husband still couldn’t really tell Kat was a vampire unless she dropped all attempts to hide.
“Boy, you weren’t kidding when you said this place was messed up,” a familiar and most welcome voice whispered to her left.
Charity sighed in relief. “Kat.”
“The one and only.” She gave both Charity and Alex quick hugs before gesturing for toward the small hut. “Did Cade make it?”
“Yeah, but we’re not sure where he is. We slipped him a note to have him meet us here,” Alex said as they carefully entered the small outbuilding. Kat scanned the cornfield one last time before she shut the door behind them. She pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. The weak light just illuminated the room enough for Alex and Charity to see, though Kat blinked a few times as if the light were very bright.
“We’re alone for now, but we should be quick. I can’t do as much to hide myself from a werewolf’s sense of smell. I found some scent neutralizing soap, but it’s not a full solution.”
“Kat, what do we do?” Charity asked.
Kat sighed and shook her head, unruly red hair bouncing slightly with the movement. “The real trick will be taking out the werewolves and the vampire without having to fight the humans, too.”
“Do you think he can control them like that?” Alex asked.
“Probably. Anyone he’s fed from anyway. If he’s using mind control on them, why not take it a step further and implant triggers for that sort of thing?” Her emerald green eyes flashed in anger.
Charity knew Kat disliked overt mind control, though she also knew the vampire wouldn’t hesitate to use it to get out of a speeding ticket. It wasn’t really the same thing, and even Charity recognized that.
“Do you know this vampire?” Charity asked.
Kat shook her head. “He’s not anyone notable.”
“So, how do we do this?”
“Start a fire? Take out the baddies in the chaos?” Kat shrugged. “Cause some other sort of distraction. I’ll see if I can sneak in and take the vampire, and you guys focus on the werewolves?”
“I do like the part where you take on the vampire,” Alex said.
Charity nodded her agreement. “But we’re not armed.”
Kat pulled back her jacket to show her .45s. “I’ve got two. I can get more if we’re not moving tonight.”
“We need to find Cade. He knew I passed him the note. Where is he?” Alex glanced over his shoulder, as if he could see him through the splintered wooden boards.
Kat swore softly. “You two get back. I’ll be able to find you. Let me see if I can find Cade. If all hell breaks loose, get to me. And if all hell really breaks loose, try to keep Cade from losing his shit too badly. I’d like to walk away from this. Even if I have to do it at a run.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Charity said, squeezing Kat’s shoulder.<
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“He’s going to figure it out eventually.” Kat’s expression turned inward, and she tightened her lips for a moment before shrugging. “Hopefully it’s not this time.”
“So, the plan is for a distraction, you take out the vampire and we take out the werewolves?” Alex asked.
“Sounds good to me,” Kat said and glanced at Charity.
Charity didn’t have a better idea, so she nodded and headed for the door. Kat touched her arm.
“Let me go first, just in case.” Kat switched off the light.
The Hunters nodded and watched as Kat slipped out the door, disappearing into the shadows.
Charity and Alex traded a quick look in the darkness before following. It was easy to forget Kat was a vampire, even though they both knew, until she displayed her powers. They had both seen many vampires over the years with varying levels of abilities, but Kat’s casual use of small powers, like fading into the night, made them wonder how powerful she really was. Most of the other vampires they had fought wouldn’t have managed the trick so smoothly, at least not to their enhanced Hunter senses. They were both quite certain they’d never seen the true extent of her abilities.
Where on earth has Cade gotten to? Kat thought as she crept through the cornfield. It wasn’t like him to not show up. He was extremely capable and his absence made her skin crawl.
It wasn’t hard to avoid the few sentries as she slipped into the compound and crouched in a shadow, studying everything around her.
She suspected Charity and Alex had gotten back okay because she didn’t hear raised voices over the sound of the wind in the corn. After a few minutes just to listen and make sure that she had a pretty good idea of where all the werewolves were, she carefully reached out her senses. It wouldn’t do for the other vampire to notice her.
Kat thought she sensed the Hunter off to her left, and he wasn’t alone, which might have been why he missed the meeting with Alex and Charity. He had at least two of the werewolves near him. Had he gotten in trouble, already?
She snuck through the darkness, wrapping it around herself like a cloak. She pressed up against the building Cade was in and listened. Soft voices, one of them his. No one sounded distressed. That was a good start.
Now the question was should they start the fight now, or wait until she could get more weapons?
She would prefer to wait.
Raised voices answered her question for her.
“Maybe I should just leave,” Cade said more loudly. “I’m clearly not in the right place. I didn’t come here to be a soldier.”
“You’re suited to it,” another male voice said. Likely one of the werewolves. “We can make you stronger, more powerful. You’ll like it.”
“No thanks.”
Though his voice remained even, Kat could hear the strain underneath his words. He was worried.
Now how would she do this without giving away her secret? She should have left her pistols with Alex and Charity. Cursing that lack of foresight, Kat moved for the door, drawing two of her silver-bladed knives.
“Let’s take you to Father Aeron. Maybe he can convince you.” Kat heard them stand. She crouched next to the door, holding one of the knives by the blade and ignoring the discomfort the silver caused her, prepared to hand it off to Cade.
The door opened and two werewolves pushed Cade out. Her friend glanced around as if hoping for rescue. Hell, maybe he was hoping she would show up and save his ass. He knew she was coming. Well, if that’s what he wanted, that’s what he was going to get.
As he walked past, she moved her arm into his path and basically smacked his hand with the hilt of her knife.
His eyes widened and he took the blade without breaking stride.
Kat stuck out her leg and tripped one of the unsuspecting weres. As he went down, she came up with the other knife, burying it in his throat so he didn’t make a sound.
Cade was already moving while the other werewolf tried to catch up to what was going on.
“If only it were always that easy,” Cade whispered as he lowered the dead werewolf to the ground, cleaning the blade on the guy’s shirt. “Where on earth did you come from?”
“Trade secret,” Kat whispered back. “I’ve already spoken to Alex and Charity. Let’s drag these bodies inside. Anyone else in there?” She knew the place was empty, but had to ask to maintain her cover.
Cade shook his head.
“Great.”
They went back inside and Cade hugged her. “I thought I was seriously dead there. Thank you.”
“Sure.” Kat hugged him back, though she wasn’t sure she had actually ever hugged him before.
He stepped back and looked at the ground while running his hand through his hair and clearing his throat, acting embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“No problem. So, we need a plan. So far we’ve come up with making a distraction while you, Alex, and Charity go after the wolves and I try to get the vampire. I’ll give you this knife, and Alex and Charity can have my pistols. I’ve got a few more knives, and I’m going to rely on my natural sneakiness and try to stake the vampire. I’m guessing he’s old enough to dodge bullets, anyway.”
“Hard to dodge at point blank,” Cade said.
“Yeah, true.”
“You should keep at least one of your guns. Too bad we don’t have time for you to get more.”
Kat wasn’t going to be able to defeat that argument, so she nodded. “We need to hurry.” She pulled off her light leather jacket and shrugged out of her shoulder holster. “Here.”
With Kat’s help, Cade managed to squeeze into her rig, though they had to let it out completely, and she guessed he would take it off as soon as he reasonably could. She left both pistols in their holsters.
He kept the knife she gave him and Kat tucked hers back into its wrist sheath. She had a few more.
“Let’s get Alex and Charity,” Kat said. She hurried toward the door with Cade and reached it just as it was flung open.
“What!” Aeron stood there, clearly having noticed the spilt blood if nothing else.
“Go!” Kat shouted and tackled Aeron, counting on his presence to hide her use of vampire powers in front of Cade.
Cade hesitated.
“I got this, seriously, go now!” She added just a touch of compulsion but couldn’t let herself feel bad about it. It was better for everyone if Cade, Alex, and Charity were armed, and it was better for her if Cade didn’t watch her fight this vampire.
He ran.
Aeron took advantage of her slight distraction, grabbed the front of her shirt while changing their momentum, and tossed her off of him.
For a moment, she was afraid he would go after Cade. As she slammed into the wall of the nearby house, grunting as it knocked the air out of her lungs, he charged toward her, fangs extended. Probably, he figured she was the bigger threat and he could deal with Cade later. He was right on the first account, if that was his thought process.
Kat landed on the ground in a crouch and twisted as the other vampire came at her, swiping with a clawed hand. Her twist carried her out of his path, and he hit the wall behind her. Kat stood quickly, grabbing the back of his collar and shoving him forward. She drove her knife into his back, through his ribcage.
He howled in pain, but managed to throw her off before she could sink her blade into his heart. She landed on her back, wincing as a rock cracked one of her ribs.
The other vampire came at her in a blur, and Kat wished she had one of her guns. He landed with both knees on top of her, cracking more ribs. Before he could do more than land, Kat kicked off the ground. She didn’t manage to do much more than dislodge him, but that was enough.
Gunfire shattered the peaceful night. Aeron glanced over his shoulder.
His distraction proved fatal. Kat sprouted claws of her own and shoved them into his chest, tearing out his heart and part of his ribcage. Blood splattered her as he screamed before bursting into dust.
She climbed to her feet, s
haking her hand to get the remaining gore off of it and wrinkled her nose. “Yuck.”
The .45s barked again and Kat hurried in that direction, hoping she wouldn’t get shot in the process.
Cade and Charity both held one of the .45s. They stood back to back, with Alex at their sides, one of Kat’s knives in his hand. Without a gun, he wasn’t much use, but he could protect them if one of the werewolves dove in.
Fortunately, there was only one were left alive, and Cade shot him in the head. The element of surprise worked in their favor.
“It’s me,” Kat called out, before Charity could do more than half turn in her direction.
“How’s the vampire?” Charity asked, though Kat suspected she knew the answer.
“I’m not splattered with my own blood,” Kat said, smiling.
“Good.” Charity grinned back.
“Okay, let’s get the hell out of here and call the cops before anyone wakes up enough to investigate,” Alex said.
That was a sound idea, and they all ran into the cornfield. The authorities could deal with the human end of the cult now that the supernaturals were dealt with. Normally, Kat would have worried about the werewolf bodies, but she didn’t suspect the authorities would look too closely at the corpses. The causes of their deaths were pretty evident, and no one would find the dust that had been Aeron.
And, yet again, Kat managed to keep Cade in the dark about her vampiric nature. She would call this one a win.
The Parkers’ Kids
South Carolina, Early 1990s
We were all tired after the last job, and, though I was surprised at the trust Alex and Charity displayed, they offered to let me spend the day at their house so I wouldn’t have to find a hotel in the middle of the night. Of course, it was also an act of trust for me to stay there. Before now, they hadn't told me where they lived, so I was somewhat surprised that they only lived half a state away from me.
I followed them into a small mountain town, down a twisty road, and up a gravel driveway, deep into the woods. I was a little uneasy. This was were territory, but I guessed we'd be safe, since two Hunters lived here and weren’t bothered. They parked up by the house, and I pulled in next to them. There was a battered pickup parked on the other side of the house and a few lights on in the otherwise dark house. No moonlight filtered through the thick covering of clouds and trees. The silence after the growl of my engine was deafening, and I felt more than a little uneasy as I climbed out of my Firebird into the dark night.
