by Dave Ferraro
***
Rachel rubbed her arms to discourage the gooseflesh that had broken out over her bare arms. She sighed as she walked along the east side of the estate, keeping the mansion in full view as she swept the forest at its perimeter, keeping her eye on the lookout for any trespassers or strange occurrences. She’d just fallen asleep when Felicia had called. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she’d returned from Greece, and just when she had a nice long stretch of time lined up to get refreshed and rejuvenated, the psychic’s heebie-jeebie alarms had gone off. Of course. That was her life in a nutshell. One series of inconveniences after another.
Shivering despite herself, Rachel glanced up at the mansion again, noting that the main library lights were on. She wondered fleetingly who it could be. Probably Valor. It seemed their fearless leader could always be found in the immense three-story room, puffing away on a cancer stick. She shuddered in distaste. She had to know what those things did to her. Already, Rachel could see the fine lines forming around Valor’s mouth and she was probably barely thirty, if that.
She suddenly heard a snapping noise in the forest up ahead and froze. Cocking her head, she tried to hone in on the location of the noise. Maybe if she heard it again, she could dismiss it as some nocturnal creature going about its business. But she didn’t hear it again.
Frowning, she very carefully walked a couple more steps before pausing again. To be on the safe side, she pulled a small cylinder from a holster on her belt. With one whip downward, it would extend into a nightstick. It was standard issue for all of the hunters to carry, a measure of non-lethal force. She doubted this routine sweep would demand even that, but it felt good to have it at the ready just in case. And she had a gun holstered on her leg if it came to more than that.
Something shifted in the shadows up ahead, near the base of a tree, but she still couldn’t make out what it was. It looked big though. And she doubted that it was a deer. It seemed to be trying to slip away unnoticed. No way was she letting that happen.
Taking a deep breath, Rachel rushed toward the figure, catching it off-guard. She heard a sharp intake of breath as she closed in, and brought her nightstick down into the side of the creature with enough force to drop a full-grown man.
A sharp cry rang out in the darkness, and Rachel could plainly see that she was dealing with a person, a person lying on the ground, a hand at his side. As soon as she stepped out of the way of the moonlight, she got a good look at his face and sighed. “Noel.”
“Yes, it’s me,” he said, staggering to his feet. “Stop…hitting me.”
She smirked, watching him for a moment. He was very cute. Messy dark brown hair, chiseled features. Jordan could do worse. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
“I’m…making sure Jordan’s okay.”
“Oh, yeah?” she made to look like she didn’t believe him, even though she did.
“Yeah,” Noel told her, lifting up his shirt and touching his side gingerly. “I think you bruised a rib.”
“You’re a vampire. You’ll heal.”
“Thanks for the sympathy,” he murmured with a scowl.
She smirked. “Okay, why are you checking up on Jordan?”
Noel stood up a little straighter. “I haven’t heard from him since he returned from Greece. I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” she pressed.
Noel shrugged.
“Not good enough. You’re skulking out here in the shadows around his house like a…creepy stalker ex-boyfriend. Why the extreme reaction?”
Noel held up a hand. “Fine. I’ve heard some rumblings. La Faer Noir is up to something. I think they might be plotting something against you, sending something after you guys.”
“Something? Like what?”
Noel threw up his hands. “I don’t know! I just needed to make sure that everything looked alright. It’s just a rumor, but…” He shrugged. “I don’t want Jordan to get hurt and I was concerned, especially since he hasn’t called.”
“He’s been busy for the past few weeks,” Rachel informed him, letting her guard down. She pushed the button on the side of the nightstick and pushed it back in upon itself, reducing it back to a cylinder. “His sister was injured in Greece.”
“Injured?” he echoed, looking at her with concern.
“Yes. She lost an arm.”
Noel looked stunned, his eyes wide. “Jade? His twin?”
“That would be her.”
Pacing a few steps, Noel looked back at her. “He must be…”
“Devastated? Yes.” She bit her lip. “He also just came out to her.”
His head snapped up. “He did? Really?”
“Really. I’d say she probably wants to meet you soon, the demon who’s seducing the only family she has left.”
Noel licked his lips nervously. “Yes, well…I clean up good.”
Rachel chuckled. “Uh huh. I’m sure all your boyfriends’ moms love you.”
They regarded each other for a moment before Rachel shook her head. “You know, every instinct in my body tells me to cut off your head.”
Noel leaned against the trunk of a tree and smiled. “But I’m too beautiful to destroy?”
She groaned. “Don’t press your luck. I’m a vampire hunter. You’re what I do. Just….these are strange times. I’ll let you live for Jordan’s sake.”
“I appreciate it.”
She smiled. “Yeah, well, if you hurt him, I will kill you.” She cocked her head. “And don’t you dare tell him that I said that.”
He returned her smile. “Thank you, Rachel. You’re a good friend.”
Rachel looked amused at his words, but nodded. “Next time, just announce yourself, alright? Don’t…be all sketchy and stick to the shadows. It wouldn’t make a good impression on Jade.” She paused. “And Jade is the one you should be really scared of right now.”
“Duly noted,” Noel agreed. “Goodnight, Rachel.”
“Good Night.” She walked away, a bemused expression on her face. Leave it to a vampire with raging hormones to set off the in-house psychic’s radar.