by ID Johnson
"Wow, how many of us are there?" Jack asked, absently rubbing the label on his Budweiser.
Giovani paused to consider the question. Not nearly as many as there used to be. Holland had gathered as much of her family together as she could before she went in to battle against Cadence just a few days ago. When their mother had died, she had taken most of the clan with her. Though she had created many children over the years, and even had great-to-the-nth-degree-grandchildren at this point, dozens of them had been destroyed that day. Now, Giovani and his sister, Zabrina, were working together to locate existing relatives. If they were going to seek vengeance against Cadence and the rest of the LIGHTS team that had destroyed their clan, they would need the numbers. Of course, having Jack Cook with them was also quite the asset. If anyone could lure Cadence out, it would be him.
"Well," Giovani finally replied, "We aren't exactly sure, honestly. Right now there are about six of us in this area. We know there are others across the country, possibly around the world, but not everyone has chosen to stay loyal to Mother. Some of have gone off on their own. Perhaps, they aren't even aware of who their mother is. But recently, it's just been Zabrina and I. And now you."
Jack was nodding along. "Seems like I've got a lot of people to meet," he remarked. He was exhausted; it had been an extremely long day. "Do Vampires sleep?" he asked, unable to stifle the yawn that escaped his lips.
Giovani watched as a familiar red Charger sped down the street at the end of the block, disappearing into the distance. "Yes, baby ones do," he said, finally able to return his attention to his guest. "Once you get a little older, you'll start to process your meals better, and you won't get so tired. Eventually, you really won't need to sleep at all. But that will come with time. I've got a spare room," he added, walking down the narrow hallway that led to the sleeping quarters. At the end of the hall, he pushed open a door, flipping the light switch. Jack followed and peered into the room. The bed was large, at least a queen, the duvet black like the couch. The furniture looked new and well lacquered in a matching black. "Will this do?" Giovani inquired, not volunteering the information that Zabrina had gotten the room ready specifically for him just a few days ago.
Considering the state of the dorm room Jack had been living in the entire fall semester, dingy, cramped, and full of empty pizza boxes, this was certainly a step up. "Yes," he said emphatically. "This is great."
"Wonderful," Giovani replied, stepping into the room. "I think these clothes should fit you. If not, let us know, and Zabrina and I will find you something else to wear." The closet was brimming with new clothes, tags still on, and several pairs of sneakers. It was as if they had surveyed his old wardrobe and bought new versions of practically everything he had previously owned.
Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, still looking into the open closet. "Unbelievable," he murmured. "Thanks a lot, brother," he said, extending a hand toward a grinning Giovani.
"Oh, and I had Zabrina procure that cell phone for you as well," he added gesturing to the iPhone on the night stand. "All ready to go."
"Wow, this is amazing!" Jack said, picking the new iPhone 6 up and turning it over in his hands.
Giovani laughed, taking Jack's hand in his. "Only the best for my brother," he said. "We want you to know how much we appreciate having you as a part of our family."
And it wouldn't be too much longer before Jack would be called upon to prove how much he appreciated being part of that family.
***
The Enclave was still parked where they had left it, which shouldn't have been surprising to Cadence, but returning from a hunt was always a bit like waking from a dream, and it took her a bit to get her bearings. She wouldn't have been too surprised to see that it had been carried off by dragons.
Elliott pulled the door open for her politely, and she slid into the passenger seat. "When does that no-longer-need-to-sleep phase kick in?" she asked, reaching back and pulling the seatbelt across her lap as Elliott shut the door behind her.
He rounded the front of the car and pulled himself in as he answered. "I would say a year or two, but for you, who knows. You don't seem to fit any of the statistics."
She couldn't help but snicker at that, though she couldn't deny the truth. Even before he had pulled the car around and was heading back down the windy path, she had her head back against the seat, eyes closed. "It must be like coming down off of elicit drugs," she said quietly. "I go from the ultimate high to a crashing low."
"You do need to catch up on some sleep," Elliott remarked as he made his way down the bumpy road. Only the light of a few wayward stars complimented the headlights, which were on high. "I still can't believe you just did that. . . ."
Her head shot up momentarily before she slammed it back against the sea. "Whose idea was this?" she asked quietly.
"I told you," he explained, his right hand steering while his left supported his head. "I didn't think you'd actually go. I was going to stop you at the gate. You're just too damn fast." He glanced over at her to see if she was still awake before continuing. "I bet you're that kid everyone always dared in school 'cause you'd do anything."
"Ha," she snickered. "Not hardly. I was a different person . . . before. Now, I guess, maybe I'm a little overly confident. I don't know. I just felt like I could do it, so I did."
"How did you know where he would be?" Elliott asked as the dirt road met up with the narrow county road that would take them back toward the interstate.
Cadence considered his question. "I'm really not sure," she admitted. "It just seemed logical that he would be in the center of the house, in a room that was difficult to access but near an exit. I don't really think once I start a hunt; instinct completely kicks in, and I just do what my body wants to do."
"Like, when you chased Henry?" Elliott asked, referring to incident that had led to the biggest riff he and Cadence had ever had.
"Exactly," she confirmed, nodding. "I just had to chase him. I heard Aaron telling me to stop, but I couldn't."
After that incident, Aaron had been outraged and Elliott had publicly called for Cadence to be removed from the team. After some explanation from the newly-Transformed Hunter and some research, Aaron had let it go, accepting her explanation that she literally could not stop herself. Elliott had disagreed with his statement, thinking Cadence's recklessness was dangerous for the entire team. Now, however, after having carefully watched her in action, he could see exactly what she meant. "Listen, Cadence," he said quietly, "I think I owe you an apology. I never should have stuck my nose in your business with Aaron. It wasn't my place, and I'm sorry. I'm also sorry I said he should fire you. Glad he doesn't always listen to me."
Elliott's apology meant a lot to Cadence. She had been seeking his approval for a while now, knowing just how close he was to Aaron. She knew it had to be difficult for him to apologize, however, and she didn't want to embarrass him. Without even opening her eyes, she patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, big guy. I appreciate that. Just see what you can do to help me fix it, okay?"
He glanced over at her again, chuckling under his breath. "I'll see what I can do," he replied, starting to feel like he was her older brother. "By the way," he added, waiting to make sure she was listening. She opened her eyes a crack and he continued, "Aaron doesn't hear a word about this little Operation Barbarosa bit, got it, kid?"
She laughed softly, shaking her head. "He won't hear about it from me, but you and I both know he's gonna find out. He probably already knows." Then she added, "He probably has a camera in Barbarosa's house."
"Yeah," Elliott agreed, chuckling along with her. "As he was dying, Barbarosa fired off one last telepathic message, "It was . . . Cadence. . . ." he said, in a voice mimicking a dying old man.
Cadence's laughter increased, and she began to realize she was growing slap-happy. "Okay, don't make me pee," she said, holding her stomach.
"Aaron, I am your father," Elliott said in his best Darth Vader/Barbarosa voice. It d
idn't really make a lot of sense, but he suddenly felt as if Cadence's plea was a challenge.
"Seriously, stop," she said punching him in the arm, trying to contain a fresh out-burst of laughter. "You wanna clean this car before you return it to whoever you borrowed it from?"
Considering what that would entail, he replied, "No, I guess not. All right, I'll stop. But you're probably right. He will find out. We just have to make it seem like it's not a big deal, like it was super easy, you know? We just strolled in, took him out, piece of cake."
Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, Cadence agreed, saying, "Okay, works for me. I'm gonna fall asleep now."
"We'll be at the hotel in, like, twenty minutes," Elliott reminded her.
"I don't care," she said, her head leaning back against the seat again. "I'm so tired. I could sleep for a few days."
They were traveling down the freeway now, and the soft hum of the engine, along with the steady lulling motion, was putting her to sleep. "All right, I'll carry you in when you get there," Elliott replied, only half-joking. He would if he needed to.
"Okay," she murmured. "I'll let you."
Elliott drove on in silence for just a few moments, but there was a question nagging in the back of his mind. Aaron was his best friend and had been for as long as he could easily remember. He had seen Aaron get involved with the wrong girl so many times, leading to disaster for the entire team. Elliott had just assumed that Cadence would be equally problematic. Now, he wasn't so sure. There seemed to be something different about this girl, not just the way that she killed Vampires in a single-bound, but the way she understood Aaron, the way she cared about him. Elliott was on the brink of giving his blessing, for what it was worth, to their relationship. Before he did so, however, he felt he needed to know one more thing. "Cadence," he asked quietly, not sure if she had actually fallen asleep yet, "do you love him?"
She wasn't asleep yet, not quite, but his words brought her partially back to reality. "Hmm?" she asked, knowing he had asked her something but not precisely sure what it was.
"I said, 'do you love him?'" Elliott repeated, even more quietly this time.
Without opening her eyes, Cadence replied, "Don't you think, if I do, I should probably tell him that first?"
Elliott considered her answer. "And if you don't?"
Rather than responding, Cadence just smiled and shifted in her seat, rolling a bit so that her face was aimed at the door. He could interpret that however he wished.
For Elliott, a nonresponse was as good as an actual response in this case, and he nodded knowingly to himself. He vowed that, in the future, he would be less of a hindrance to fate and more of a supporter. He had a feeling there wasn't much that could stand in the way of Cadence and Aaron.
***
Eliza had stayed off of IAC as long as she could, but after Elliott and Cadence had been gone for a couple of hours, she began to realize something had to have gone amiss. Either Elliott hadn't been able to keep her in the car, or he had intentionally set her up to go after Barbarosa. As much as she didn't want to see Cadence get hurt, she was just a bit curious to see what would happen when the super-human Vampire Hunter went up against the seasoned bloodsucker.
Hannah had mentioned contacting Aaron and letting him alert whoever was in the area to offer back-up. But Eliza was pretty sure she had talked the blond out of that plan. All that would do, in Eliza's opinion, was complicated matters. If Cadence wasn't sure who her backup was and who was on the side of the evil Barbarosa, someone could unintentionally end up getting hurt, or worse. No, in Eliza's opinion, it was best to just let it be. Elliott would either talk her out of it, protect her, or deal with the consequences.
And ugly as it sounded, that would solve a personal problem for Eliza.
That idea to let the two operate uninterrupted had lasted for most of the time that they were gone, but at about 2:30 AM, curiosity got the best of Eliza, and she finally decided to contact Elliott and see how it was going. "Where are you guys?" she asked, using the IAC.
"On our way back," Elliott replied. He had just reached the outskirts of Lincoln, Cadence asleep beside him in the passenger seat.
"How's Cadence?" Eliza asked, a bit hesitant to ask in case something had happened, though she figured Elliott would tell her if that were the case.
"Sleeping," he replied shortly.
"And Barbarosa?" Eliza asked, despite her earlier thoughts, genuinely relieved that Cadence was also safe.
"Also sleeping," he said at first and then added, "for a very, very long time."
Eliza was shocked. "She got him?" she asked.
"Yep."
"Unbelievable," Eliza replied.
"We speak of this to no one--and I mean no one," Elliott implored, hoping she understood exactly what he meant.
Eliza hesitated to reply. Of course, she felt Aaron deserved to know. Rather than agree, she said simply, "Word will get out, you know."
"I know," he admitted. "But not from you."
Eliza said nothing, just sat back on the coach. The situation was a difficult one. Anyone who knew her could tell that she still had feelings for Aaron. She had been very hopeful that they would be able to mend their relationship and thought they were headed in that direction, until Cadence entered the picture. Though Eliza thought of Cadence as a friend and had a great deal of respect for her, she couldn't let her opinion of the girl interfere with her plan to get back together with Aaron. Eliza had a few tricks up her sleeve, a few talents few others were aware of. So far, nothing she had tried recently had been successful. But she was not the type to give up so easily. Cadence was a force to be reckoned with, and Eliza realized she was going to have to get really creative if she was going to stop this Hunter from tracking her prey.
***
When Elliott pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the hotel, the sudden stop of motion jarred Cadence awake. Blinking, she turned to look at him, not quite remembering where she should be.
"You awake?" he said softly in his gruff voice.
"Barely," she replied, still rubbing her eyes. "That was quick."
"I actually drove the speed limit," Elliott replied, "Well, sort of. Maybe five or ten over."
Cadence groggily pushed the door open, not wanting to wake up completely. It would be easier to go back to sleep once her head hit the pillow if she could keep at least part of her mind in dreamland. But the noises from the street and the lights of the lobby brought her almost fully awake. Upon reaching room 456, Elliott used his keycard and pushed the door open. Cadence was vaguely aware that Eliza and Hannah were sitting on the couch, expressions of anticipation on their faces. She waved in their general direction and then headed for the bedroom door, managing to kick of her boots and shrug out of her coat before collapsing on top of the blankets. Thoughts of showering had entered her mind; she probably had some Vampire goo on her still from where Barbarosa had wrapped his hands around her throat, but she was too tired. Within a few minutes, she was back in dreamland, oblivious to the world.
Elliott joined the ladies in the living area. Neither of them said anything to him at first, just stared, waiting for him to speak. It seemed a bit like a game to him, a stand-off, and so he countered their stares with one of his own, intending to see who would break first. Of course, he wasn't too surprised that it was Eliza.
"Well?" she asked, her unusually high-pitched voice even more so in her excitement. "Aren't you going to tell us what happened?"
"There's really not too much to tell," Elliott said nonchalantly. "We got there, she took off before I could stop her, and the next thing I know, she's in his house. I decided to cut him off from the back exit, trapped him, and she shot him. The end."
Eliza looked at him skeptically while Hannah's expression was more of shock. "The end?" Eliza asked. "Really? That's all?"
"Pretty much," Elliott replied. He took his phone out of his pocket and opened up a social networking site, scrolling through it as if nothing exciting had
ever happened.
The women looked at each other with questioning expressions, not sure what to say. It seemed fairly apparent that Elliott was done with his explanation. Finally, Hannah said, "Well, I guess you're both very lucky that nothing horrible happened."
"Oh, something horrible happened," Elliott mumbled, "just not to us."
Hannah sighed, shaking her head. "What do you think Aaron is going to have to say about this?" she inquired with a motherly tone.
Without looking up, Elliott replied, "Why would he ever need to know?"
"You can't be serious," Eliza said, shifting herself in her seat so that her foot was under her. "You know he'll find out. He knows everything."
"Who do you think is going to tell him?" Elliott asked, sitting his phone down on the armrest. "It's not like Barbarosa has a bunch of friends. He's a hermit. I'm not saying anything; Cadence won't say anything. So, unless one of you takes it upon yourself to enlighten him, there's really no way for him to know, until he just realizes one day, many years from now, that Barbarosa hasn't reared his ugly head in a while. At which point, I will be happy to fill him in, and we can all have a chuckle."
"He'll know," Eliza repeated quietly. "He always knows."
***
Jack shot straight up in bed, the intense burning in his throat almost more than he could bear. He looked around the room, only vaguely remembering where he was and what had happened to him. It was still dark outside, and glancing at the clock, he could see that it was only 5:15 AM. He remembered Giovani saying that older Vampires rarely slept so he was hopeful that his brother would be available to tell him what to do about this condition. Pulling on his crumpled jeans from the floor and a T-shirt, he went out to investigate.
Giovani was sitting on the couch, game controller in hand, steering some mutant with a club around a make-believe world, destroying everything and everyone within sight. Next to him sat a tall, thin man with dark black hair, his own controller propelling a wizard through the same land, attempting to halt the mutant's progress, though without much luck. Both men were vocalizing their elation and devastation at each juncture, their expressions punctuated with all sorts of expletives and threats.