by ID Johnson
“I guess.”
“Geez, Cass! Who are you?” Cadence asked, picking up a pillow off of the couch and tossing it at her sister.
Cassidy’s reflexes were incredible now that she had Transformed and she easily caught it and tossed it back. Cadence barely caught it before it smacked her in the face. “I don’t know,” the teenager sighed. “I’m tired.”
“How is your eye looking?” Cadence asked, leaning forward.
“The same,” Cassidy replied. She was wearing a colored contact now to hide the steely gray eye, the only physical evidence that she was part-Vampire.
Realizing she was going to get nowhere, Cadence didn’t press her to take the contact out and show her, even though she really wanted to see it. Jamie, the team Healer, had been monitoring her closely, but none of them really knew what might happen once Cassidy was infected by Zabrina, one of the Vampires the team had recently terminated, and Jamie had started the Transformation process in an attempt to save Cass from becoming a Vampire herself. Cassidy had felt fairly normal when she’d come out of the coma the doctor had purposely put her under, but the gray eye was proof that everything wasn’t the same. She’d also reported having strange sensations from time to time and occasionally hearing voices, which Jamie had assumed were likely telepathic messages from other Vampires conversing nearby.
And occasionally, for no apparent reason, her fangs would drop.
Luckily, Cassidy had no desire or necessity to drink blood, human or otherwise. She had two years of high school left, and her family really wanted her to finish in Shenandoah, though Cassidy had argued that it would be better if she went to LIGHTS now to train. Cadence knew her sister could be a secret weapon in fighting Vampires—that she could potentially help them find Gibbon, who hadn’t surfaced since he escaped in October—but her parents wanted Cassidy to wait, and Cadence respected their wishes, especially since Cassidy had almost gotten killed the last time she went out on a Hunt. Not that she was supposed to be there, but nevertheless, Cadence was the one who had to sit down across from her parents and tell them that Cassidy was some sort of a Vampire/Vampire Hunter hybrid, and she didn’t know if her mother would ever recover. Once they realized she was mostly herself, both girls had been forgiven, but Cadence still felt responsible, so she didn’t press the issue of Cassidy coming to LIGHTS.
Cassidy did, however, and Cadence was fairly certain the reason for the attitude was the fact that she knew her sister would be leaving soon to return to headquarters, and she wouldn’t be allowed to go. She went a few times a month on the weekends and had spent a good deal of her winter break there, but that wasn’t enough. Cassidy wanted to be part of the action. And she also didn’t like being away from Brandon for more than a few minutes.
“Why are you really here?” Cassidy asked through her newly-installed IAC.
“I told you. I wanted to check on you,” Cadence replied.
“All right, well, I have a test tomorrow, and I need to go study.”
“You mean you need to go talk to Brandon?” Cadence asked, sending up a stream of hearts and kisses emojis.
Physically shaking her head, Cassidy got up out of her chair, “You’re such a moron.”
“Are you two talking through your eyes again?” Liz asked. “I really wish I had one of those thingies. Is that possible? Can normal people have those?”
“No, just abnormal people like me,” Cassidy replied, crossing her arms.
“Now, honey, you know that’s not what I meant,” Liz sighed as Cassidy held up one hand.
“God, when did you turn into such a teenager?” Cadence asked, also standing up. “Before you disappear, give me a hug. I’ll try and come back and get you this weekend.”
“Try hard,” Cassidy replied, half-heartedly hugging her sister. “This town is lame.”
“I’ll do my best,” Cadence assured her as she slunk off toward the stairs. Returning to her seat, Cadence asked her mom, “So… how long has this been going on? I don’t think I noticed her attitude at all when she was at LIGHTS.”
“Probably not, because that’s where she wants to be,” Liz replied, shaking her head. “She hardly comes out of her room anymore, and even though we have a ‘no technology at the dinner table rule,’ how can we possibly tell if she’s talking on that thing? It’s not like I can make her stop.”
“Maybe we should have waited to have it put in, but I was hoping that it would be a compromise. She could still know what’s going on and talk to Brandon whenever she wants but she could stay here and finish school with her friends.”
“I think she’s kind of stopped hanging out with a lot of them,” Liz said, leaning in closely, even though they could hear loud music coming from Cassidy’s room now. “She still sees Lucy and Emma, who know the truth of course, but that’s about it.”
“She’s not cheerleading for the basketball team?”
“No, she decided not to. Said it was ‘lame’.”
Cadence shook her head. “She didn’t even tell me that.”
“I guess she didn’t want you to question her about it. She’s still a child, Cadence. I hate to see her miss out on so much because of this… accident.”
“I know, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, honey, I wasn’t saying it was your fault.”
“I should have never trusted her to come back here by herself.”
“Well, what’s done is done. As much as we may regret what has happened in the past, there’s nothing we can do to go back and change it,” Liz shrugged.
Her mother’s words resonated for several reasons. “What if you could?” she asked. “What if you could go back and fix something that had gone wrong. Would you do it?”
Eyebrows furrowed, her mother asked, “What do you mean, Cadence?”
Turning more to face her, Cadence asked, “Mom, what if you had a way to fix one thing that had gone terribly wrong. Even if you knew there may be some consequences, would you change it? If you felt like the outcome would be better after the change?”
“Well… that’s a lot of ifs, honey,” Liz replied as she mulled over the question. “I guess it depends on how severe the consequences were and how much of a wrong it would right.”
“A major—huge—life-altering wrong, Mom.”
“Darling, is there something you want to tell me?”
Cadence let out a sigh. “No, Mom. I was just… thinking about the past and things I would like to change. Wishing I could change a couple of them.”
“I know it’s tempting to spend our time thinking about all of the things that have gone wrong and wish they were different, but those things can’t be changed, dear. Sometimes, it’s best to just focus on all that’s gone right. Accept that the past is the past and you can’t go back.”
“Right,” Cadence said, nodding her head. As much as she wanted to agree with her mother, clearly Liz did not have all of the information. For that matter, neither did Cadence. She realized she shouldn’t have even brought it up without being able to tell her everything, but her mother’s advice was usually very sound. This time, however, it just left her feeling even more unsettled.
“Are you going to stay until your father gets home?” Liz asked.
“As much as I want to, I need to get back. I have a few things I need to talk to Aaron about, and they honestly can’t wait,” Cadence explained.
“All right. Well, come back as soon as you can. Dad will be sad he missed you.”
Cadence loved her father dearly and really did want to stay and say hello to him, but a quick search of her IAC told her that the next blue moon—the kind her grandmother had been talking about—was only a week away. She had a lot of answers to gather and not a lot of time to find them. It was almost like Hunting a Vampire who didn’t want to be found.
***
Gibbon liked the dark. It was comforting. Like a warm, black blanket, he could crawl inside and shut the outside world off. A few weeks ago, after slogging through sewers and drain pipes f
or months, he’d come across this new dark place. Though there were lots of people walking around above him during the day, hardly anyone ever came down here, and at night, he was free to go out, do his bidding, and then come back here to be alone.
The outside world was frightening though, now more than ever, and a few times he had brought his prey down here with him, as if he were inviting a friend over for dinner. Of course, they never came willingly, and he supposed that was because they were smart enough to know when he grabbed them that the only one who would be eating dinner was him—and they would be the main course. Still, having his friends nearby was a bit of a comfort, despite the smell, and now that he had a few acquaintances in the corner, his new world seemed even more inviting.
Occasionally, his peace would be disturbed and some unknowing human would venture down here where they didn’t belong. He had added a few more heads to the dinner menu that way, and as he sat in the shadows in the darkness, he heard a familiar clang of metal on metal and knew someone was nearby.
Creeping out on all fours, an attempt to stay low and out of the light, Gibbon made his way to the heavy wooden door that blocked his new home from the long passage of pipes that led to a stairwell and the world above. Cracking the door just a bit, he saw a small boy wandering down the hall. He couldn’t have been more than eight. While taking a child was not something Gibbon preferred to do, this one looked curious, his sandy blonde hair hanging almost to his shoulders. His school uniform looked neat and pressed. This child must be greatly loved by his parents. Gibbon wanted to claim him and make those parents wish he’d never been born.
The child looked in wonder at each pipe, each pockmark in the concrete wall, and then his eyes fell upon the door. With bravery and curiosity, the boy began to approach. “Yes, come to me,” Gibbon thought. If he were to actually step through the doorway, it would make his job so much easier.
The child was only a few steps away when Gibbon heard footsteps on the stairs. “Noah? Are you down here?” a woman’s voice called. She sounded stressed but not angry.
At the sound of his name, the boy, only inches from the opening door, turned. “Coming, Miss Riggins!” he shouted, turning away.
By then, the woman was at the bottom of the stairs. Gibbon could see her, though he had to crack the door even further to get a better view. She was medium height with long brown hair piled atop her head in a bun. She had a lariat around her neck and some kind of an identification card. “Come on, Noah,” she said, her voice still a bit strained. “We don’t want anyone getting lost.”
“Yes, Miss Riggins,” the boy called again, and he bounded up the stairs and out of Gibbon’s reach.
The woman, however, had turned back to face the door, and Gibbon watched as she took a few steps closer, her forehead wrinkled. Unable to help himself, he cracked the door just a bit more, and the woman called, “Is… is someone there?”
As if responding to an invitation, Gibbon stepped back a bit, deeper into the shadows, and pulled the door open even more.
The woman, Miss Riggins, continued to step forward, the curiosity on her face turning to concern with just a touch of Gibbon’s favorite emotion—fear. She looked so much like some of the others—the ones he’d taken before. The ones he’d followed down the path, listening to their music, not paying attention, until it was too late. Yes, let her come. Let her step into his new home.
Miss Riggins pushed the door open ever-so-slightly, and stepped inside. Once her foot crossed into the shadows, Gibbon lurched forward, out of the darkness, and with one hand around her neck, the other against her mouth so there would be no scream, he dragged her backward into the black, nudging the door closed with his foot as he did so.
The burning in his throat didn’t allow him to savor her scent for too long, and in a few seconds he sunk his new, sharp teeth into the hollow between her neck and shoulder. She fought at first, struggling against his arms the best she could, but she was no match for someone as powerful as Gibbon, and within a few seconds, she stopped fighting. Then, Gibbon sank to his knees, dragging her along, reveling in the sweet, sticky feel of her blood dripping down the back of his throat. There would be no saving this one for later. He would drain her completely and then find her a place amongst his other guests, piled in the dark, dank corner .
Chapter Three
Cadence used the ride home to attempt to clear her head. She’d checked in with Aaron several times throughout the day, like she always did, but she’d had to be brief; she didn’t want him to know there was anything bothering her until she was home and had a chance to talk to him in person.
They had recently had the upper-level of the building remodeled so that instead of being neighbors, their two penthouse suites were now one rather large apartment. It had been a huge step for Cadence, but she knew that she loved Aaron and that he loved her. She was certain that this was the right thing to do. After replaying the conversation she’d had with her mother in her head a million times on the way home, however, walking into their shared space made her wonder if she had made that decision herself or if she really hadn’t had a choice.
He had a fire going in the fireplace and dinner on the table for her, with candles, which was extremely sweet of him, especially considering he probably wouldn’t eat any of it. As soon as he wrapped his arms around her at the door, she forgot that she’d been secretly planning his demise for the last two hours.
“Hey,” Aaron said, “how was your trip?”
“Good,” Cadence replied, sliding her hands up his chest. He was wearing a dusty blue button down shirt, her favorite color on him because it made his eyes sparkle, and as he bent down to find her lips, she could no longer remember what she had been so upset about.
She returned the kiss, her hand sliding up his neck and tracing the line of his jaw. His hands began to wander, too, and when he started trailing warm kisses down her neck, her knees began to grow weak. “I guess you missed me,” she breathed into his shoulder.
“Oh, yes. Very much,” he said between kisses. He had found the sensitive area between her neck and left shoulder, and she began to fumble with the buttons on the shirt she now found to be a nuisance.
A knock on the door behind her brought them both back to reality.
“Damn,” Aaron muttered, releasing her.
Taking a second to clear her head, Cadence unwound herself from him and said, “I’ll get it.”
“It’s Jamie,” Aaron muttered.
With one hand on the doorknob, Cadence turned and looked at him, wondering how long he had known the Healer was on his way to their apartment. She opened the door only a few inches, “Hey, Jamie,” she said with a forced smile. “What’s up?”
“Oh, you’re back,” the doctor said, his smile nothing but genuine.
Slightly shorter than Cadence with spiky, dark hair with frosted tips, Jamie was one of the nicest guys Cadence had ever met, and she was so very happy to have him on her team. She wasn’t particularly happy to see him right now, however. “I am,” she said, same goofy grin plastered on her face.
“Is Aaron here?” he asked, glancing past her. “We were supposed to meet in a little while and…”
“Hey, Jamie,” Aaron said, stepping around her. Cadence opened the door wider, so that they could all see each other now. “Everything okay?”
“Yes…” he said, a question in his tone. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Nope, nothing at all,” Cadence replied, her hand instinctively covering the spot on her neck where she thought she may very well have a hickey. “Would you like to come in?”
“No, thanks. Aaron, I just stopped by to let you know that I need to change our meeting time. Would eight work instead? Christian has something he wants me to take a look at. He said it wouldn’t take long, but it seemed kind of urgent.”
“He’s still working on the re-Transformation project with Dr. Morrow. I think he was supposed to get some data in today. That’s probably what he wants to talk to yo
u about.”
“I figured as much. I know you wanted to go over the labs I took from the new recruits sooner rather than later, so will that work?”
“What labs?” Cadence asked.
“Just some baseline results. We’ve decided to start monitoring the concentration of Transformation serum a week, a month, and six months after Transformation to see if it has anything to do with performance level,” Jamie explained.
“Sounds interesting,” Cadence managed, crossing her arms.
“And by interesting, do you mean boring?” Aaron asked, smiling at her.
“Precisely.”
“That time works fine, Jamie,” Aaron assured him.
“All right then. I’ll let you get back to… whatever you were doing,” he smiled smugly.
“See you in a bit,” Aaron said as he shut the door. “If only there was some way to get ahold of me without having to come to our apartment….”
Cadence laughed. “It never fails.” She had no idea why people insisted on stopping by when they could use the IAC but it seemed like, especially since they had moved in together, the rest of the team found it more convenient to swing by unannounced instead of using the nifty device they each had implanted in their eye.
The mood was ruined now, and Cadence realized she was starving. Avoiding the sexy man behind her, she made her way into the dining room. “What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“Not you… I guess,” she heard him whisper under his breath as he followed her into the adjoining room. “Chicken marsala.”
“Oh, yay! My favorite,” Cadence exclaimed, sitting down in her usual seat. He sat down across from her, and there was food on his plate, but she knew he wouldn’t take more than a couple of bites. Guardians didn’t have to eat much, though some of them ate . It seemed to Cadence that she actually ate more now than she ever had, even though she was told time and time again that she wouldn’t have to eat very much either once her body began to burn fuel differently. Apparently, her internal workings hadn’t gotten the message yet, just as she still needed a full seven hours of sleep to function, unlike most of her teammates. She wondered if her anomalies weren’t part of the reason for this new blood testing bit.