by Tracy Sharp
She managed to wait until he opened his car door before flying out after him, and she was almost on top of him when the car door slammed and the locks clicked home.
Ezra’s face was so sad and unbelieving as he started the engine and backed out of her driveway.
That look on his face was the only thing that kept her from jumping onto the hood and smashing through the windshield, and then ripping him through it before tearing out his throat.
Ezra
I should have killed her. That’s what I would’ve done with any other dangerous vamp. Use my demon dagger and sink it through her heart. I’d only exterminated a couple of vampires in my career, and they weren’t easy to kill. I should’ve killed her while she slept. But I couldn’t do it.
Even with her fangs dripping and her eyes already devouring me, I couldn’t imagine doing it.
She was still Candace. Yes, she was now a blood sucking fiend, but still Candace.
And I loved her. There was no other word for it.
The road ahead of me blurred. Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked to clear them.
And almost hit the wolf that walked onto the road in front of me.
It was him. The wolf shifter. Wonderful.
He stood in the road, staring at me with strangely serene eyes until I stopped my car.
He sat down, looking almost casually away, and then back at me. His body language not the least bit threatening.
That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t tear me to bits the second I got out of the car.
But I didn’t sense animosity from him.
I sat for a second longer, the two of us studying each other, before I opened the door and climbed out. “Okay. What is it?”
He stayed seated, watching me approach. Of course he couldn’t talk to me, and I’m not a mind reader, so he would have to find another way of communicating with me. “I’m not really in the mood for charades.”
The wolf looked down the road toward Candy’s house, and then back up at me.
“You want to know where she’s been?” I crouched down so that I could look him in his damned canine face, hoping he wouldn’t bite mine off. Probably not wise, because staring a canine in the eyes is a challenge to them, but at that moment I really didn’t give a crap.
The wolf raised and lowered its head in the affirmative.
“She’s been in hell. Okay? Literally. We both have. And if you want to know how she’s doing? Well, not so good, pal. Your crush was bitten by vampire bats during our visit to the underworld, and she’s now a bloodsucker. How do you like them dog biscuits, huh?” My voice cracked on the last word, coming out slightly choked.
The wolf’s eyes seemed to widen and he looked back down the road, a little whine escaping his throat.
“Yeah. Not good news for you, is it? So now, even if you decide to change back to your human form, you guys won’t really be a good match. Although, they say opposites attract, so maybe I’m wrong.”
The wolf kept staring down the road, and I could see the sadness in his face, the way you can see it in the face of any dog. Maybe he wasn’t a complete dick after all.
It was just a reflex but I reached out and stroked his back. He startled a bit, then turned and nudged by hand away with his nose, letting out an annoyed little huff.
I dropped my hand in surrender. “Fine. Jerk.”
We both stared down the road, looking at Candy’s house in the distance. A small white bungalow, cheerful and quaint, giving no hint or warning at all of what now lived within it.
“The thing is, I know what I should do. It’s my job to kill those bloodsuckers.” I had to admit, it was kind of nice talking to someone who could only listen.
The wolf turned and glared at me, a deep growl coming from him.
“Give me a break. I think you know how I feel about her. I’d never hurt her. I don’t even know if I could hurt her to keep her from killing me.” I stood up. “Look. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Candy. I know she’s dangerous, and it’s my job to protect the living from supernatural monsters. But I will never hurt her. I can’t talk to her right now. She’s... hungry. I hate to say this, but you’re probably the only one right now who can get near her without becoming vampire food.”
He lowered and raised his head, and began walking toward Candace’s house at a slow kind of lope.
“Good talk.” I climbed back in my car and drove away, feeling like the most helpless, useless wizard on the planet. I glanced at Candy’s house in the rear view mirror until I couldn’t see it anymore.
Candace
Candace felt like she could run after Ezra’s car and easily jump onto it, but instead she fell on her knees and gasped, her hands clutching her abdomen. The cramps took her breath away. She didn’t want a cheeseburger. She didn’t want pizza. She wanted blood. Every cell in her body cried out for it, craved it. She needed it.
She lay down on the grass and curled into the fetal position. She heard bugs and earthworms moving in the dirt. Her preternatural ears even heard the movement of bird wings in the trees above. She smelled something that had crawled under her porch and died years ago.
Her night vision was amazing. She saw everything as clearly as if it were daytime. Better than if it were daytime. Colors were brighter, as if her eyes were new.
And then another scent drifted to her. She smelled the wolf before she saw him, slowly, cautiously, walking down the road toward her. It was her wolf. She’d forgotten about him. A disturbing and yet hopeful thought came to her. Could she eat him?
His answer came back to her loud and clear in her mind. No. His voice sounded deep and somewhat husky.
She pushed herself up, despite the pain in her belly. “You can hear my thoughts.”
Yes, and you can hear mine. Vampires and wolf shifters are excellent mind readers. Especially with each other. You will learn to block your thoughts from other supernatural creatures. But for now, I think it’s good we can read each other. I think I can help you.
The merciless hunger made her desperate, and she felt like crying. “How? Please, tell me what’s happening to me.”
You already know the answer to that question.
Candace felt like a patient getting the worst possible news from a doctor. “No.”
Yes. The wolf sat a few feet from her.
“How do I reverse this? There must be a way. Blood transfusion?” The very idea of blood made dizzy with want. She licked her lips.
No. There is no way. This is your life now. Listen to me. Candace, are you listening?
“Yes,” she said, the hungry whimper in her voice making her ashamed.
There is a place here in Halfmoon, on Lenore Street. It’s a dead end, and that is what they call the bar. Dead End. The old warehouse at the end of the street is a vampire bar. Willing blood donors frequent the place. Go there now. You will find what you need.”
“I don’t know if I can make it that far. I need to eat now.”
You have the ability to shapeshift. Fly.
She felt frantic. Near delirium. Even walking seemed like an impossible chore, never mind flying. “I don’t know how.”
Candace. You are a beautiful eagle. You can fly above all of this. Go, now, eagle. Fly.
Candy looked up at the sky and felt tears on her cheeks. She raised her arms like she’d seen raven do.
Her body changed all at once, and she lowered and raised her wings a couple of times, the sound of her feathers brushing the air sending a burst of hopeful joy through her.
A golden eagle. His voice was impressed.
I love eagles, Candace said.
You’re beautiful. There you go. Now Fly.
She flew.
24
Ezra
I called Strummer. I didn’t know what else to do. I’d handled demons and monsters, and even a trip to hell, but I didn’t know how to deal with the person I cared for most becoming a vampire: a creature I’d committed myself to protecting the living world from.
Strummer’s voice came through the cell line sounding tired. “Ezra. What’s wrong?”
“Candace didn’t come out of hell the same way she went in.” I felt breathless. My pulse beat in my ears.
“No one ever does,” the calm voice replied.
“She’s a vampire, Strummer. And she’s hungry. I don’t know what to do.”
There was a pause, and then, “I’ll be right over.”
I paced my office while I waited, peering out the window every few seconds. Astrid’s presence was everywhere. The extra pair of converse sneakers beneath her desk. The small can of freeze hair spray beside her computer. An old radio with a tape player on a small shelf next to her desk, beside which sat a cardboard box filled with 80’s cassette tapes, mostly punk and new wave. Astrid said the tape player and tapes had been her mother’s when she was in high school.
Astrid’s mother now lived in a nice room at Lockland Center. A place that would ensure she took her medication so that she wouldn’t try to fly from the roofs of any more buildings.
She’d never known her father.
So I’d been it. The closest thing to family Astrid had. If I was honest, she’d been the same for me. Like a little sister. I wanted to keep her things around me. I couldn’t bear to accept that she was really gone.
A motorcycle hummed down the road, becoming louder as it drew closer. Strummer was here. I felt a flood of relief wash over me. I met Strummer outside and watched him dismount. A solid, muscular guy with a square jaw. He was built like a truck. I watched as he pulled his helmet off and walked toward me.
The words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was going to speak them. “I can’t kill her, Strummer. I won’t.” I took a shaky breath, and then said, “And if you say we have to, we won’t be friends anymore. And I’ll have to hurt you, Strummer. Don’t make me hurt you.” This last part was ludicrous and we both knew it. Strummer was far more powerful than I was. But I’d give it all I had, to protect Candace. I’d fight to the death, and we both knew that, too.
Strummer stood in from of me and slowly blinked, everything about him serene. “We may not have to kill her.”
We went inside and I offered him a beer, and he told me why.
The reason, I already knew and understood, but in my shock and horror over the situation, I’d forgotten. Simply put: Candace wasn’t a monster.
As much as she’d looked like one the last time I’d seen her, she hadn’t been a monster before she’d turned, and she wouldn’t be one now. The very fact that she hadn’t torn into me when she’d had the chance proved it. She’d rather starve or walk into the daylight and burst into flames before she’d hurt an innocent person. She’d sworn to protect, as a cop, and even though she’d quit, she was still a cop through and through. She would continue to protect and fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, even as a blood sucker.
I told Strummer about the wolf shifter, and how he’d been headed to Candace’s house before I’d driven off.
“That’s good,” Strummer said. “If this wolf is that taken with her, he’ll help her through this.”
I bristled. “I should be the one helping her.”
“You can’t right now, Ezra. Set your jealousy aside, for Candace’s sake.” He regarded me with steady eyes, leaning against my desk, and then took a long drink of his beer.
“I know. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I got up and went into the kitchenette, and placed the empty in the box with the other empties. I don’t know why I bothered. I never took them back to the store. I just put them out with the rest of the recycling.
I walked back into the main office area. “How is the wolf going to help her? He can’t talk.”
Strummer placed his empty bottle on the desk beside him. “Some vampires and wolf-weres can read each other’s minds. If not, he’ll make sure she follows him to a blood donor bar. He’ll lead her where she needs to go.”
“I can’t believe there’s so much I don’t know about the supernatural world.” I shook my head. “How can that be?”
“There’s more to know than I could ever learn in several lifetimes, Ezra. You’ve only been at this game for a few years. You’re a babe in the woods.”
“A babe in the woods? Are you joking? Have you seen some of the monsters and demons I’ve fought? You’ve seen Baal. It takes more than a babe in the woods to kick his ass, and I’ve done it.”
“Yes. But you have a lot to learn.”
I paced past the window again. What I saw turned my entire body cold. Candace stood in my yard, staring at me through the window. Blood stained her mouth and chin. “Well, I’d better learn it fast.”
Candace
Ezra is afraid of me.
Her belly was full but her heart ached. He’d never look at her the same way again. She felt a sorrow so deep and bottomless in the center of her that it took her breath away.
Candace didn’t approach, but instead stayed several feet from his front door and window. She’d tried to see the state of herself in the reflection of that window, but she cast no reflection.
Blood still smears your mouth and chin. The wolf’s voice whispered in her mind. You look like something out of 30 Days of Night, but without the inbred look.
Thanks. She wanted to laugh at that, and had felt herself start to grin. But Ezra saw the grin and took a step back from the window, looking more frightened than she’d ever seen him. She wished she’d thought to clean up. She hadn’t realized. She wiped her chin with her hand, but the blood was dried.
He thinks you want to eat him. The wolf’s voice in her head sounded amused. Try running your tongue over your teeth and smile bigger.
Candace shot him a look. Seriously? He’s my best friend, Fido. Cut the crap.
Mika.
What?
I am Mika.
Okay. Cut the crap, Mika.
All right. Are you going to stand there looking nightmarish and scaring your friends until they come out and stake you, or until dawn breaks and you burn up?
Candace lowered her head. What was she going to do? She didn’t even know why she’d come. Except that she needed Ezra to know that she was sorry. She wanted to ask him to please not abandon her. He was the only person she cared about in the world. Watching him look at her with fear and revulsion made her want to sink to the ground and wait for the sun to sizzle her into ashes.
You look like a living nightmare, Mika said.
I’m aware. You already said that.
I only mean to suggest that you clean up and come back another night. Ezra knows that you are alive, so to speak. Let him process this huge turn, pardon the pun, of events.
Candace rolled her eyes. Ha. Ha. You just can’t help yourself, can you? You missed your calling.
Maybe I will take my show on the road. Mika, the comedic wolf-were’s hysterically funny game of charades.
She was ignoring him now. Go away.
“Nice. Use me to get fed and then toss me aside. Fine. But you’ll come crawling back to me,” his voice held a jesting tone. “All the pretty vamps do.” And then she heard him turn and run off.
Candace stood there a little while longer, watching the horrified look on Ezra’s face. When a soul crushing sadness came over his face, and he lifted a hand for her to wait and then vanished from the window, she shifted into the eagle and flew away.
She soared high above the trees, and then higher and higher, until the town of Halfmoon looked like a small scale model of itself. She could leave. She could just fly away and leave it all behind. Go somewhere nobody knew her.
And then what?
Candace flapped her new, powerful wings and rose, the wind cutting through her feathers colder up here. It felt good. She looked up at the stars and felt that she could
just keep flying up toward them, and maybe she’d somehow reach them before she tired and her wings stopped working, and she plummeted back down, eventually crashing back down to the ground.
Maybe she could drown herself in the lake. Or fly farther, to the ocean, and let herself drop. She could wait around until a shark swam up and ate her.
You would only succeed in killing the shark. Mika’s voice whispered in her mind. And then your chewed up parts would find their way back together and you’d have to rip your way out of the shark. Gruesome business. I don’t recommend it.
And you know this how? She asked him.
You wouldn’t be the first newly made vampire to try this method of suicide. I have known a couple.
Irritation spiked through her. Why are you still snooping around in my head? You said there was a way of blocking you.
When Mika spoke again, his voice sounded amused. While this is not a social media platform where you could just click a button and block me, there is a way, but it takes practice. Right now, I think you will benefit from my meddling.
In her mind, she sighed. You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?
Nope. Not until I know you’ll be okay.
I’m dandy. Now buzz off.
I can read you, remember? Nice try, though.
She said nothing, but stopped her ascent to the stars. She leveled off, and flew without knowing where she was going, breathing in the chilled air.
Come back down. I’ll tell you what I can of your sudden change. There are things you need to prepare for. Some things are best known before they happen.
Mika, just leave me alone for a while. I’ll come back down, but not now. Just let me fly.
And with that, she felt Mika’s presence in her head leave. He simply wasn’t there anymore.
She stayed in the sky and soared, not looking down at the place where she’d lived her entire life. A life that had changed forever.