by J A Campbell
He nodded. “Okay. I will search from above. I do not think I will be able to follow any trace of the girl, but if we’re lucky, and quick, as the night isn’t young, we might get a trail on the werewolves.”
“I will follow you.”
He nodded then ran a few steps before leaping into the air and transforming into a giant Golden Eagle of the sort hunters partnered with in Mongolia. Shapeshifting was not an ability I had seen to that degree in any other vampire. He claimed he had met another Mongolian vampire who could do the same, so maybe his ethnic background had something to do with it.
I jogged after him, able to follow because of our House bond. If anyone happened to notice a giant eagle flying at night over the skies of Charleston, hopefully they would think he was an owl or something. I supposed it didn’t matter.
Wrapping the darkness around myself, I made sure no one would see me. No need to invite trouble. I followed Hawk out into the countryside until he swooped down and landed next to me, changing back into a man as he did so.
“I sense them,” I said as Hawk pointed. We had left the coastal swampy areas and headed into the forest I normally thought of as were territory, anyway. Several cars were parked at a trailhead, even though it was late. Maybe some sort of werewolf meeting? I was glad Hawk had come along.
“Ekatarine, we have a few hours, but we need to find a place to stay once the sun rises.” Hawk glanced around. “If we’re going to have a young human with us, we won’t be able to simply sink into the ground to hide from the sunlight.”
“We passed a large hotel not too far back. We can steal one of these cars and head back that way.”
Hawk considered the vehicles, glanced at me, then shrugged. “That’s as good of a plan as any. I should have had you get your car.”
I shrugged. “Okay, so get up in the air again. I’ll go by foot, see if I can assess the situation. Hopefully we can resolve it without fighting. If not, rescue me.”
He clapped me on the shoulder before leaping into the air. I headed off down the trail at a fast clip. I didn’t want them to have warning that I was coming, and we were getting short of darkness.
I needn’t have worried. The entire pack was engrossed in a raging argument about the little girl standing in the middle of their circle. Tears streamed down her face.
“What were you thinking?” one of the women shouted.
“She were alone,” another, male, said in poor English.
“Yeah, we supposed to leave her there?” another female asked.
“Yes! Or at least don’t bring her here. You could have dropped her off at the police station.”
“Oh. But, thought we could keep her.” The male grabbed Sylvia’s arm. “She make a good wolf.”
“I don’t want to be a wolf!” Sylvia shouted, but no one paid attention to her as she jerked her arm away from the male werewolf.
“You idiot, this is not the Dark Ages. We’re not stealing children. You really want one, make your own!” The woman was really pissed off.
“Yeah, well, now she knows where we are. Can’t just let her go.” The man smiled.
“Was that your plan?”
The kidnappers shared a glance before they shook their heads. “Naw, just convenient.”
I waved my hand, trying to get Sylvia’s attention. Amazingly, it worked.
She glanced at the wolves around her, then darted past them. I ran forward, vampire fast, and snatched her up, before heading for the edge of the forest.
It took about zero seconds for the werewolves to notice that I snatched their prize and to take off after me.
“Hawk, get down here and take Sylvia,” I shouted. “I’ll hold off the pack.”
Hawk landed, returning to human form, and grabbed Sylvia. He sprinted toward the parking lot before she could even comprehend what had happened. I turned, silver bladed knives in hand, and snarled at the wolves. “I’m retrieving my friend’s daughter. You can back off and live, or I’ll kill you. Your choice.”
They didn’t even slow down, but at least I could say I warned them. Giving myself to the fight, I spun, dodging claws as they shifted form. I struck with my blades, scoring hits. Normal steel would cut a werewolf, but the silver burned.
As soon as they realized I was armed with silver, they became a little more cautious, trying to work together. Several rushed me at once and I leapt straight up, landed on one of their backs, and sunk my knife into his heart. It was one of the kidnappers, and I couldn’t feel bad about his death. I jumped back up, caught a tree, and drew one of my .45s.
The female who had grabbed Sylvia howled in rage. I shot her in the face, then through the heart, and she fell.
It wouldn’t be long before they followed me into the trees, but I held my fire to see what they would do now that the idiotic members of their pack were dead.
The woman I thought might be the leader paced under the tree I perched in. “You know that won’t keep you safe, right?”
“I wasn’t worried about staying safe. I was curious to see if you would back off, now that two of your pack are dead.” I mentally crossed my fingers. I didn’t want to fight them all.
“You came into our territory, vampire.”
“Actually, you came into mine. Stole a friend’s child, and then tried to prevent me from retrieving her.”
“Come down here and find out how we feel about your trespass,” she snarled.
Sighing, I holstered my gun. My damn sense of honor kept me from shooting them from the treetops. I hardened my fingers into claws, which would also kill a werewolf, and leapt to the ground. They converged. I struck out. Claws scored across my arm and someone got me across the face. I grabbed an arm and tossed someone into a tree, dodging the next attempt to grab me. It wasn’t going to take long before someone got the bright idea that they were surrounded by a forest full of wooden stakes and tried to toss me into a tree. I’d done it to enough vampires myself that the thought had already crossed my mind.
I ducked low, put on a burst of speed, came out behind several with my .45 drawn, and opened fire.
The bullets stung and got their attention.
Two more of their number had fallen since I’d jumped out of the tree. There were three left.
“I’m more than happy to leave now.” Using my vampire speed, I holstered the one weapon and drew the other to have a fresh magazine.
The leader held up her hand as the male next to her made moves like he was going to charge me.
“Go. But we won’t forget this, vampire.”
“Yeah, whatever. Just keep your hands off of little girls who don’t belong to you and I’ll forget all about this. I find out you’re kidnapping children again, I’m going to forget I forgot and kill you all.”
“You talk big, but someday we’ll find you when you can’t hide behind your guns.” The male sneered.
“Again, yeah, whatever.”
My nonchalance took them aback, but there were so many more dangerous foes that had crossed my path that I wasn’t worried about them. I had also made a note of their license plates. While I wouldn’t remember the numbers, the plates were from New York. These weren’t locals. I didn’t think I had to worry about them targeting anyone I cared about. At least anytime soon.
When they continued to stay back, I faded into the forest shadows before turning and sprinting toward the parking lot. Hopefully Hawk already had Sylvia at the hotel and we could call her mother to come get her.
“She’s fine, Arlette. Just come get her, okay?” I had gotten a room for the day and Hawk had used a vampire glamour to sneak her into the room. There was no doubt in my mind that, without vampire powers, if anyone saw us, they would call the cops. We were very obviously not her parents. Fortunately, I could hear Arlette’s car start up in the background. She was on her way.
“I’m coming, Kat. Just stay put.”
“Look, if we have to move, I’ll call you. I promise. Now concentrate on driving, and I’ll see you in about an hour.
Room 212.”
She hung up and I sank down into the chair in the dingy hotel room. It wasn’t a place I would have stayed if I had much of a choice, but I didn’t have a choice, so it was this or nothing.
Hawk, always good with children, was telling stories to Sylvia, and I used the distraction to clean up as much as I could in the bathroom.
The damage wasn’t bad. The scratches across my face weren’t deep and would be healed by tomorrow evening. If they hadn’t been werewolf claws, the marks would be gone already.
My arm was a lot worse and it hurt like a son of a bitch. I ended up tearing a relatively clean piece of my shirt off and wrapping it around my arm. It would have to do until I got home after the sun set. At least it was winter and the days were short.
Feeling a little better, though I wasn’t about to shower without having clean clothes to change into, I went back into the bedroom.
“Thanks for saving me, Mrs. Veronis.” Sylvia looked up from whatever Hawk was showing her on his phone.
“You’re welcome, Sylvia. What were you doing?”
“I wanted to thank Jin for the bracelet, even though Mom took it away. I took something of hers, though. It seemed fair.” She held up a necklace that prickled with magic.
I laughed, guessing the necklace was why Arlette couldn’t find Sylvia. It was probably an anti-scrying amulet or something.
We settled in to wait, and before too long I sensed Arlette coming down the hall. I glanced at Hawk. “You want her to see you?”
He shrugged. “Don’t think it really matters at this point.”
“Okay.” I opened the hotel room door before she could knock and gestured for her to enter.
Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Are you okay?”
“Nothing a few hours won’t heal. Come in before someone sees you.”
She slipped into the room and her eyes went straight to Sylvia, who was trying to hide behind Hawk.
“Who’s that?”
“A friend of mine. Jin’s uncle, you could say.”
“Oh. Uh, thank you.”
Hawk nodded, but didn’t say anything. He did glance down at Sylvia hiding behind him. “Go on, she won’t be too mad, I promise.”
“You’ll protect me?” She glanced up at him.
“It’s what I do.” He put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her toward her mother.
Arlette knelt and wrapped her arms around Sylvia. “What happened, honey?”
“I wanted to thank Jin for her present, even though you stole it. Some wolves grabbed me. Kat and Hawk saved me. I told you she was nice.” Sylvia sounded on the verge of tears, but she was also angry.
“Yes, honey, you were right. Let’s get you home, okay?”
Sylvia sighed. “Okay.”
Arlette picked her daughter up and headed for the door. I opened it and both Hawk and I waved back when Sylvia waved at us, and then they were gone.
“Okay, want to switch rooms?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You get this one.”
He held up a keycard. “Already did.”
Though probably unnecessary, we switched to a room on the third and top floor. It was a single bed, but we were family and didn’t care. We moved loose objects in front of the door after dead bolting it and using the chain. Then we passed out curled up together and slept like we were dead.
“Mom, Sylvia wants to know if it is okay if she comes over again. I guess her mom said it was okay.” Jin clasped her hands together in front of her and gave me puppy-dog eyes.
“Of course, sweetie. Why wouldn’t I let her come over?”
“Well, I don’t know.” Jin frowned. “I guess there’s no reason.”
I laughed. “She’s welcome.”
“Good. Her mom will drop her off in a little bit.”
“Okay.” Saturday afternoon was a good time for Jin to have company. She didn’t have any activities and Mary was off with Kevin.
Jin glanced toward the door. “That was fast.” She ran to open it and I stayed out of the ray of light it let in. We usually spent the days upstairs so the downstairs could be open for guests, but we didn’t have any at the moment, so we took advantage of the bigger space. Jin had spread out a tea party with a large number of her toys, including the stuffed horse Hawk had given her a couple of years before.
Sylvia ran inside and Jin got her involved in the party. Arlette and one of the women I recognized from her coven followed. She had a basket in her hands.
“Kat, this is Charlene. You didn’t have time to meet the other night. Can we talk to you upstairs?”
Glancing at Jin and Sylvia, I hoped they would be safe enough. Just to be sure, I locked the front door and gestured for the witches to follow me up the stairs. I showed them into my office where the kids and I spent a fair bit of time. Games and children’s books were scattered everywhere.
“Sorry it’s a bit of a mess.” I shoved a few books off of a chair and offered them seats.
Charlene traded a glance with Sylvia before she sat.
“We wanted to offer you a gift as a thank you for saving my daughter,” Arlette said.
I shook my head. “It’s not necessary, Arlette. I wouldn’t have wanted you to try and take on an angry werewolf pack.” My arm was almost healed. My face was back to normal.
“We wouldn’t have been able to find her at all unless she took that amulet off.” Arlette shook her head. “We owe you a great debt, and we recognize the difficulty you have raising children when you can’t go in the sunlight.”
I shrugged. “I’m managing.”
“How did you end up with children?” Charlene asked.
Clenching my jaw, I debated not answering, but it wouldn’t hurt anything to tell part of the story. “They are my friends’ children. My friends were killed, but they made the decision that I should raise Jin and Kevin. They knew I could keep them safe. Their grandfather agreed, so we made it happen. He, uh, doesn’t know I’m a vampire, and should you happen to meet him, I would prefer it stay that way. The kids know, of course, and my friends knew.”
Both women looked surprised.
“Well, that’s a fascinating story. I hope someday to hear all of it, but I suspect there are many reasons you don’t want to tell it all. Regardless, we have something for you.” Arlette reached into the basket and pulled out a line drawing. It looked like half a sun with rays pointing off of it. If I wasn’t mistaken, there were sigils in the sun’s rays. “We spent a great deal of time in thought and communion with our coven’s patron goddess. She gave us this for you.”
I tilted my head, not understanding.
“It is the outline for a tattoo. It will protect you from the sun.”
Not sure what to say, I simply stared at them. I didn’t think I understood them correctly.
Arlette smiled. “I know we aren’t great mages, but this is real magic and it will protect you.”
“My skin won’t hold a tattoo,” I finally managed to say.
“It will hold this one, if you’re willing to let us put it on you.”
They sounded sincere. Did I trust them? No. Was this an opportunity I could afford to pass up? Also no.
“Kat, you have saved my daughter’s life. I promise, this is what we say it is. I doubt we will ever be friends, but as a fellow parent, I want you to be able to experience your children’s lives fully. What can I do to convince you I’m telling the truth? I do understand your mistrust.”
“Let me see, then.”
She frowned.
“Meet my eyes and don’t fight me.” This was an act of trust on her part. That alone would probably convince me she was telling the truth.
She shared a glance with Charlene before nodding. “Very well.”
I met her eyes, looked deep into her memories, and saw that she and her coven had done what she told me. I released her and nodded. “If it works, thank you.”
Arlette nodded. “It is the very least we could do. I will go keep
an eye on the kids. This will take a while and has to be done in one sitting. I hope you have a high pain tolerance.”
“What you should hope is that I’m not hungry,” I quipped.
Charlene paled and Arlette hesitated at the door.
“I’m not. Relax.”
The women laughed nervously and Arlette left me alone with Charlene.
“And?” Hawk asked after inspecting my back.
“I wanted to let it heal first. I haven’t tried it.” I was afraid it wouldn’t work, so I hadn’t told Jin or Kevin yet, either. Arlette and Charlene had both admitted there was no way to know for sure until I walked out into the daylight, but they were confident they had followed their goddess’s instructions exactly.
“I’ve not seen ink this metallic before.”
I shivered as his light touch tickled my back.
“It was very well done. Even if it’s only decorative, it is beautiful. However, your skin would have rejected the ink almost immediately if it weren’t truly magical. They did something to you.” He didn’t sound all together approving.
“I looked...”
“Yes, you told me, and I know why you took the chance. I would have done the same. Now, go home, and when the sun rises, get up and walk under it. Then call me and tell me how it went.” He shoved me toward the door.
Though I tried to sleep that night, I couldn’t, so I got up and went down to the waterfront. If the witches were wrong, my life would get pretty exciting for a few minutes, but I could get home before I got in too much trouble. The live oaks rustled in the slight breeze, and I stared out over the Atlantic Ocean to watch my first sunrise in over five hundred years.
Slowly, the sun rose, spreading its rays across the water. They touched me, warmed my skin.
I tried not to flinch, but my hands didn’t smoke, didn’t burn as the sun rose from the watery horizon into the sky.
Continuing to stare at my hands as they continued to not burn, I marveled at the extra colors the light provided.
“You okay, miss?” a police officer patrolling the waterfront asked me.
