“Doubtful,” Saul said. “I’m sure you know the rules. You are not allowed on our territory. We take that seriously. Have you not heard about what happened to the Greelys?”
“Indeed, I have heard,” Gestalt commented. “But I do not care. Really…if you care for this young man, why keep him trapped? Rogues are a whole different creature than your pathetic little brood that suffers under the laws of The Guard.”
“Maybe,” Jill said. “But there are four of us and one of you. So go ahead. Take another shot.”
Gestalt seemed to consider this. Saul stood in front of him, as unmoving as ever. Nikki stood behind Saul, staring darts into Gestalt. And behind Gestalt, Kara and Jill stood, waiting to see what would happen.
In the center of it all was Jason. He stood on the opposite side of the room, watching. He looked helpless and slightly afraid. Kara thought he looked like the child of a divorce, watching a fight between two parents that only partially wanted him.
Gestalt took a step back away from Saul. He raised his hands and shook his head. “It does seem that I am outnumbered. You are correct. I know when my chances are slim.”
“You’re fucking lucky I don’t kill lightly, or you would be dead for laying hands on my sister,” Saul spat. “Get out before I change my mind.”
Kara could actually see Saul shaking from the strain of keeping his anger at bay.
Gestalt grinned. “Oh, I bet that would be an interesting discussion,” he said. “I’d love to hear you explain to The Guard how you killed a Rogue before they had a chance to question him. They’d love that, I’m sure.”
He then turned to Jason and gave him a thoughtful look. “As for you, son…I am not far away. When you make up your mind, just follow your instincts. You’ll find me easily.”
“Out now,” Saul threatened, stepping back up to him.
“Of course,” Gestalt said, and made his way through the doorway. He gave Nikki a curious glance as he left and then headed back down the stairs.
“Should we follow him?” Jill asked.
Surprisingly, it was Jason that answered. “No. He wants us to. I could sense it. He’s got a trap waiting for us, I think.” He spoke absently, as if he had no real say in the matter and knew it.
“Here in Red Creek?” Saul asked.
“I’m not sure,” Jason said. “I think so.”
Jason stepped towards them and looked like he might start crying. He looked to Kara and frowned. “I’m so sorry for what I did…what I tried to do. I was…I don’t know…when he told me to do something, it was like he flipped a switch in me. Something in me wanted to please him very badly, and I couldn’t stop it. It felt…well, I won’t lie. It felt good. Please forgive me.”
Kara didn’t want to accept the apology but knew that she had to. It was the right thing to do. She wasn’t sure how the levels of obedience ran in terms of vampires and she really didn’t care. But she was following Saul’s lead on this one and assumed that when Jason had attacked her, he hadn’t been in his sound and rational mind.
She nodded. “As long as you don’t take my kicking your ass personally.”
“Kara,” Saul said. “Why are you here anyway?”
“I came to ask you if you might know about any recent vampire activity. Sheriff Morel was killed and I am pretty certain a vampire did it. And now that I’ve had the displeasure of meeting our new friend Gestalt, I think I have my answers.”
Nikki walked over to Jason with caution in her step. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m just tired of having my head fucked with. That’s all.”
Saul joined them and looked at Jason with genuine concern. “We have to find out what he is planning and stop him,” he said. “You will have to choose a side.”
Jason nodded. “I’m mainly just thankful to him for clearing up the question about my identity. So I’m a Rogue. We know that now. But I didn’t like how easily he could manipulate me. He was inside my head. But I don’t like feeling trapped here, either.”
“Will you take our side for now?” Nikki asked. “You fought well against the Greelys. Will you do it again?”
“Of course,” Jason said. “I don’t have much choice.”
“In the meantime,” Kara said, “I have a dead cop on my hands and, apparently, more fucking vampires in my town. Someone want to fill me in?”
CHAPTER TWO
1
Dawn arrived slowly. Saul and Jill slept; Saul took the couch while Jill took the guest bedroom. The master bedroom—the one in which they had allowed Jason to mend—was left empty. Jason had walked out onto the front porch, sitting in the farthest corner where the rising sun’s light never truly touched.
Kara had left as soon as the first rays of sunlight had warmed the ground. She seemed to be taking these sorts of things with an eerie sort of calm. She’d asked a few questions before leaving and was overall handling the situation just as well as the rest of them.
Soon after everyone had retired for the day, Saul had become aware of Nikki getting out of bed. He’d kept his eyes closed, feigning sleep, and listened to her as she put on her clothes. Nikki kept her eyes on Saul as she dressed, hoping not to wake him and unaware that he was already awake.
Nikki made her way quietly out of the bedroom into the living room. She could see Jason through the living room window, sitting in the shadows of the porch’s corner. She stepped forward and stood in doorway where the door had recently been torn from its hinges. She looked out to the creature who once had been her friend—the boy that had once blushed continuously around her. He was a totally different entity now. None of that sweet innocence was there anymore. Now all Nikki could feel coming off him was hatred, anger, and an intense sense of confusion.
“You’re making the right decision, you know,” she told him.
“We’ll see,” he said flatly.
He stared out into the forest, as if sensing that there was something out there for him, something that he wanted badly but was terrified to seek. He looked like a depressed teenager in that terrible two or three years where self-discovery is nothing more than some shrouded shape in the darkness.
“I’ll help you through it any way I can,” Nikki said. “I have sort of been through it, you know.”
“Yes, I know. I feel like…I don’t know. I feel like you’re glad it happened. Like it was something you had been waiting for your whole life.”
“I don’t follow you,” she said.
Jason shrugged. “I spent so long trying to find answers to questions about things that were unexplainable, you know? UFOs, Bigfoot…all that crap. You’d think I’d be thrilled to be a vampire. But I don’t want it. I’m scared and I don’t want it.”
“I know, but it’s too late to start wondering what if, you know?”
“I know. This just sucks.”
“You have to look at it like th—,” Nikki started, but she was interrupted.
Jill came approached beside Nikki, her eyes wide with alarm. “Jason, you have to get going,” she said. “Saul just woke up and said that he feels like The Guard is near. They can’t see you here or they’ll know you’re a Rogue because they haven’t sensed you yet. And I don’t want to know what they’ll try to do. It’s a situation I’d really like to try to avoid.”
Jason stood up, clearly scared. “Where the hell should I go?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jill said. “The Guard can’t sense you. You could be hiding in the woods just a few feet out of sight and they wouldn’t know you were here.”
“One nice surprise after another, huh?” Jason groaned. “What about the sunlight? If I’m in it too long, won’t I get sick?”
“Not if you can find enough shade. I doubt they’ll stay long, anyway. They rarely do.”
“Sure,” Jason said sarcastically. He jumped over the porch railing and sprinted off towards the forest. He didn’t bother looking back. He was essentially pouting, and Nikki didn’t blame him. She felt bad for him and slightly pee
ved that Jill would have asked him so blatantly to go into hiding.
“Is that safe?” Nikki asked, watching Jason go. “Do we really want him off by himself at this point?”
“With The Guard coming we can’t help it,” Jill told her, “It’s the best thing.”
“Should I go with him?” Nikki asked.
“No. If you’re not here, The Guard will likely send their feelers out for you. It’s best not to tell lies. They see through them pretty easily.”
Nikki gave an exasperated sigh and then walked inside. Saul was straightening up some of the debris and mess that had been left over from the skirmish with Gestalt. He looked exhausted and thought that he likely wouldn’t get much sleep today.
“How soon will they be here?” Nikki asked.
“Within seconds. Keep an eye out in the yard for the mist, please.”
Nikki did, looking out into the yard. When she saw the mist begin to gather just in front of the driveway, she suddenly found herself hating The Guard. Why should they have so much control over the lives of creatures that never truly came to grips with what they were?
It seemed like too much power and Nikki had never done well with authority.
She sneered at the gathering mist as the figures of The Guard members started to take form.
2
Throughout history, The Guard had been known as a group of six immortal and authoritative figures. Until the early 1400s, many clans had assumed them to be nothing more than a myth – the supernatural parents’ version of the Boogie man. At the turn of the century, however, The Guard had suddenly emerged from wherever it was that they called home. They had then made a point to present themselves to each and every vampire clan, instituting that it was time for the clans to separate and start hibernating until it was their clan’s turn to feed.
The Guard soon became a revered, almost welcomed authority. A few of the more spiritual clans worshipped them as gods. Few other clans—including the Bentons—chose to see them as nothing more than a political entity. This meant that some clans actually communicated with The Guard's members on occasion. Saul and Jill Benton knew that their father had once been involved with The Guard somehow, but they had never learned quite to what extent. It was why Saul had not been surprised when Benali had started visiting him prior to the Greely plan.
Of course, Benali had then proceeded to betray The Guard by concocting a plan to kill off the smaller vampire clans with the assistance of the Greelys. The Guard was now composed of five members only.
Even in the wake of Benali’s betrayal, the remaining five Guards were greatly revered throughout the supernatural world. If anything, they were held in a much higher regard for serving justice to The Guard member that had betrayed them. In the eyes of the population over whom they presided, they had become even more powerful – and power was a thing highly coveted in a world composed of supernatural beings.
That’s why Saul felt slightly afraid as The Guard assembled in his living room. Even though he was working for them, a part of him still feared them with an awe that many humans felt towards God.
Moorcheh stood front and center with the beautiful Magdeline closest to him. They were the speakers. The other three members usually remained silent. acting as the enforcers. These were Polyxia, an elderly-looking being known for her unique abilities at witchcraft and dark magic. Then there was Aimon, a demon that had once been converted to do good works for Puritans. He had somehow become involved in the vampire community. And lastly, there was Dominiscus, the ten-foot-tall being that had to hunch over considerably whenever The Guard came to Saul to request certain jobs of him.
“What happened here, might I ask?” Moorcheh asked.
“We were attacked,” Jill replied. “It seems that there is a Rogue out and about.”
“A Rogue?” Magdeline inquired. “Here in Red Creek?”
“It seems that way,” Saul confirmed. “You didn’t sense any other vampire presence in Red Creek in the last few hours, did you?”
“No,” Moorcheh said.
“Well, there certainly is,” Saul said.
“And he sprung up on us quickly,” Jill said. “I didn’t sense him, smell him, hear him…nothing.”
“And where is this Rogue now?” Magdeline asked.
“We scared him off,” Saul said. “I was with Nikki, at her apartment, when this fellow appeared. He said his name is Gestalt. Does that sound familiar?”
There was silence from The Guard for a moment before Moorcheh shook his head. “No, I don’t recognize that name. Why did you not dispatch him?”
“I did not want to take a vampire life without getting your approval first,” Saul reported. “I assumed that if there was a Rogue in our midst, you’d rather question him before executing him.” It was killing him to be so subservient to them while he had all of these new questions concerning his father and The Guard’s potential part in his death.
“Thank you for that consideration,” Moorcheh said. “But yes—should you encounter him again, you have our permission to kill him. However, if possible, we’d rather you capture him and summon us right away. Use your judgment and do whatever it takes.”
“I understand.”
“Well,” Magdeline said. “This is certainly something of an unexpected development. We came here, of course, with other matters in mind.”
“What might that be?” Saul asked. But in the back of his head, something raised a flag of warning. The timing of this…it seemed a bit suspicious, didn’t it?
“Well, this is also something of a new development in things,” Magdeline said. “You see, ever since Benali’s betrayal and the Greelys descent upon Red Creek, we have been contacting certain entities about the laws of things. You know the group known as The Marked, correct?”
“Yes, I do,” Saul said. Behind that, he wondered: Certain entities? Who?
Nikki rolled her eyes. “Sorry,” she said. “Forgive the new girl. Who are The Marked?”
Saul answered, not taking his eyes away from the members of The Guard.“It’s a group of humans who were supposed to have been chosen long ago to help rid the world of the supernatural in the event that supernatural presences with evil intentions started to disturb the natural order of things. Because these humans would have no idea that they were part of this group, it’s long been speculated that The Marked is really nothing more than just a rumor.”
“That’s why we are here,” Magdeline said. “Given Benali’s actions and the battle that took place here in Red Creek, we have to wonder if there are certain plans afoot. And with your mention of this Rogue here in town, it makes me more suspicious.”
No shit it’s suspicious, Saul thought. But what he said instead was, “What plans?”
“That’s just the thing,” Moorcheh said. “We don’t know. So we came here to ask you to visit the Last Ones this time.”
“And again,” Nikki said, “the new girl feels left out. Who are the Last Ones?”
Jill answered this time. “The Last Ones are almost like The Guard, only they aren’t immortal and can’t be summoned in times of great emergencies. If you think of it in terms of the political system, The Guard is the President and the Last Ones are Congress. They are the last of their clans and have been alive as far back as Biblical times.”
“What would the Last Ones know of these supposed plans?” Saul asked.
“If there are any sinister plans afoot,” Moorcheh said, “they may know nothing of them. But—and this is classified information among ourselves and the Last Ones—they do know the names of some of The Marked. Once you have those names, we’d like for you to visit them and size them up.”
“I understand,” Saul said.
“Why wait so long?” Jill asked. “The thing with Benali happened three months ago. Why wait this long to go to these extremes?”
“The Greelys were very powerful,” Magdeline said. “Very influential. While your efforts against them are quickly becoming legendary, there are some tha
t also see the point of what Benali and the Greelys were trying to accomplish. So yes, we find it beneficial to start reaching out to The Marked. And having the Last Ones informed can help because they have resources that can be of great use to you. All of this is a just-in- case plan, you understand.”
Saul thought it all seemed a bit extreme but did not want to argue. He wanted to seem obedient and set to please.
“So what comes first?” Saul asked.
“I’d say deal with this Rogue first,” Moorcheh advised. “Keep us posted and let us know as soon as you have handled it.”
“I’ll do that,” Saul said.
“After that,” Moorcheh said, “visit the Last Ones to get the names of The Marked. We will tell them that you are requesting a meeting and we will make the necessary arrangements to hold the meeting.”
“Okay.”
“Good,” Magdeline said. “We truly do believe we made a very good choice by having you fill this role for us.”
“It’s my privilege,” Saul said.
Magdeline gave a smile and nodded. In that moment, she began to slowly fade away, as did the four Guard members around her. Saul, Jill and Nikki watched them go, seeing the door-less doorway swim into place through their ethereal bodies.
Saul resented them in that moment. As always, they showed themselves long enough to express their wishes and tell him what to do. And then they disappeared, as if believing that they had graced Saul with their presence long enough.
When they were gone, Nikki rubbed at her head as if she had a headache. “What the hell did all of that mean?” she asked.
Saul, feeling as uneasy as he did three months ago when the Greely situation was coming to a head, looked out the doorway.
“It means that we need to get Jason to help us find Gestalt. And after that…well, I don’t know yet.”
3
When she pulled back out onto the road after leaving Saul’s cabin, Kara didn’t know where she wanted to go. She could easily drive over to Jess’s house and enjoy a quickie before he started taking clients for the day. That would be fun for sure, but she didn’t know if she had the energy for it.
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