by Primo, Jaz
Katrina nodded once, and Paige backed the cycle up another foot then revved the engine. The bike lurched into motion, kicking up gravel as it spun, and she raced back in the direction from which they had just come.
Caleb’s mouth was agape as he pulled his helmet off and watched with awe as Paige raced away from them. She wielded the cycle as if she were some sort of stunt racer.
“Get in the car, my love,” Katrina insisted as she squeezed his body slightly in her embrace to focus his attention. “Let’s get you back home.”
“But aren’t we going to follow her?” he protested.
“Paige is an alpha and can handle herself perfectly well,” she explained as she herded him towards the passenger side of the car. “She’ll call if she needs help.”
He stared into her eyes dubiously, but she pointedly ignored him and instead took his helmet from him and tossed it into the back seat. Then she gestured with her head towards the passenger seat and waited for him to sit down.
“Buckle up,” she prompted as she closed his door, appearing in the driver’s seat mere seconds later.
The velocity of her movement made his head swim.
She wheeled the car around to head in the direction opposite from where Paige had gone and propelled them back towards Mableton. Caleb worried for his friend as he studied the rear view through the side mirror, hoping that Paige would be okay.
I know Paige is capable, but we don’t have any idea who our stalker is. His experiences in London had only emphasized that there were very dangerous vampires lurking in the world.
Katrina surveyed him with a hint of concern and reached out to caress her fingertips soothingly along the side of his face.
“Did you enjoy your ride for the most part?” she asked to distract him.
He cast a furtive glance at her. “Sure. I mean, it was surprising how different riding with her felt at night versus daytime.” It seemed prudent to avoid telling her how alarmed he had been as they had sped through the night sans headlamp.
She sensed some evasion in his response.
“Do you remember the last time that I was speeding you away in my car following an unexpected encounter?”
He eyed her suspiciously, easily recounting when they had raced across town from the restaurant where the renegade vampire, Chimalma, had nearly trapped him last winter. It felt like an eternity since that dangerous encounter. Finally, he recalled, “Yeah, that was a bucket load of fun too.”
She stifled a smirk at her mate’s dry wit. He’s so adorable when he’s flustered.
“Well, unlike then, you’re not in any danger this time,” she explained. “It’s not beyond expectation that a curious vampire might just be traveling through town. Having declared my claim to Mableton and part of Atlanta earlier this spring, there were bound to be those who would take pleasure in flaunting their unannounced defiance when traversing my territory.”
Caleb acknowledged the possibility, but doubted that this was the case. Vampires didn’t usually strike him as recalcitrant teenagers out to thumb their nose at authority.
Vampires usually do everything for a reason.
“Maybe,” he replied in a dubious tone.
Katrina wasn’t entirely convinced herself. She slipped her cell phone from her purse and called Devon Archibald, a vampire indebted to her employ as restitution for his poor judgment in nearly killing Caleb as wayward prey. She called upon him from time to time to help patrol and secure her territory.
Following her brief chat with Devon, she focused on Caleb with a confident expression. “Devon’s going to patrol our area first and then around your campus. He’ll let us know if something, or someone, turns up.”
Caleb suddenly realized that they had already arrived at the gate entrance to their addition. Wow, we must have been racing back here.
Once in the estate, Katrina went to their sublevel chamber to finish some emails and call Alton while Caleb retrieved a Coke from the refrigerator and sat at the kitchen bar to reflect on the evening’s events. He wondered what could have been of so much interest that another vampire would care about him and Paige so much.
After finishing his cola, he felt restless and went out to stand on the front porch to wait for Paige’s return. The fog had begun to clear, revealing large patches of the night sky.
“Nice night, but you’ll have to move further away from the house lights to stargaze properly,” rumbled a deep baritone off to Caleb’s left.
He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Devon’s hulking figure just a few feet away. The ebony-skinned vampire stood with his muscled arms folded before him. His gleaming white teeth were exposed in a wide, self-satisfied grin.
Caleb nodded at the imposing figure, having recently acquired an appreciation for the vampire who had once tried to make a meal out of him. Following their recent trip to England, Caleb and Devon had discussed the works of Shakespeare, which Caleb had brought back in a leather-bound collector’s edition as a souvenir for Devon. While hardly friends, per se, the two had formed an increasingly comfortable rapport.
“I’m actually Paige-gazing at the moment,” Caleb quipped. “How did you get here so fast from Marietta?”
Devon worked evenings as a security guard for a company near his home in Marietta and was a bouncer for some local clubs. A drive to Atlanta should have taken longer than the time that had passed since Katrina had phoned him.
“I was at your college’s library doing some research when Katrina called,” Devon said. “I was actually thinking about taking a literature class, but wanted to review some of the texts listed in the online syllabus before deciding.”
Caleb immediately approved of the vampire’s interest in taking a college course. Despite the stigma that large-framed, muscled men typically garnered, Devon was highly intelligent, often rivaling Caleb’s own grasp of various literary subjects.
“That’s great,” he said. “I’ll be happy to recommend some good professors, if you’re interested.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Devon replied. “But what I’m most interested in is finding out more about who it is that I’m supposed to be looking for.”
Caleb rehashed his and Paige’s brief experience that evening, to which Devon intently listened as he spied a sole car traveling past their driveway gate. There was not much for Caleb to relay, actually. As Devon walked out into the large front yard in the direction of the driveway, Caleb followed.
“I hear a motorcycle,” Devon offered, cocking his head to one side.
“It’s probably Paige,” Caleb ventured, though he couldn’t hear anything yet. A few moments later, he recognized the roar of Paige’s new Harley. As the entry gate opened, he moved to stand in the middle of the driveway.
Paige pulled the cycle alongside the young man and idled the motor as she slipped her helmet off. Devon folded his arms before him with a curious expression.
“Did you catch up to him?” Caleb asked, taking in the confident manner with which she perched atop her seat. He was again impressed by the petite vampire’s ability to manage the cycle beneath her.
“Him?” she challenged.
Caleb shrugged. “Whomever.”
“Whoever they were, they took off as soon as I headed after them,” Paige absently explained. She focused her attention on him with a narrow-eyed expression. “So, did you tell Mother Hen all about your ride?” she asked.
As if on cue, Katrina appeared on the front porch as Caleb sneered.
She’s wondering if I told on her or not.
“I told her it was quite different riding with you at night,” he said.
Katrina appeared beside him in a blur with an expectant look on her face.
“Sorry, Red,” Paige replied to her unasked question. “They took off, and I wasn’t able to catch up.”
“Hmm,” Katrina replied as she casually draped one arm across Caleb’s shoulders. “Any ideas?”
Paige shrugged. “Only one. They’re riding a fast machine
to outrun me, I’d venture.”
“Caleb seemed to enjoy his ride tonight,” Katrina said, baiting her friend with a penetrating expression.
“Yeah?” the blonde vampire hedged. “Well, that’s good. It was fun, after all.”
Caleb curled one arm around Katrina’s waist, gently guiding her in the direction of the house. “Well, I guess that’s a wrap for now, then.”
Katrina relented and allowed herself to be led back towards the house. Paige watched them depart for a few moments then proceeded up the driveway towards the garage with a self-satisfied expression. She admired Caleb for his judicious silence.
Later, Devon reported the results of his patrol of Mableton, but he had found nothing by the time he headed back to Marietta. Paige even went on a nighttime prowl on foot, but she also found nothing. Katrina remained at the estate, suspicious of prospective vampire interests in either her or Caleb. After their London experiences in March, she wondered if her assistance to Alton in the subway raid had placed her on the radar of any opposing vampire factions.
Her mind continued to contemplate a host of possibilities and scenarios as she lay in bed snuggled beside Caleb. She reveled in his body’s proximity as his arm tightened around her body from behind. He stirred slightly, and she caressed his arm. His lips briefly pressed against her bare shoulder, and she appreciatively purred while he drifted back to sleep.
This is perfect, she thought in appreciation, reveling in the warmth of his body against hers. This is all I need.
* * * *
The next day was uneventful for the most part. Caleb went grocery shopping to acquire items that he needed to do a barbeque that evening. Granted, he was cooking only for himself, but any occasion to fire up the grill required serious planning in his mind.
Hey, it’s a guy thing, he rationalized.
The strange events of the previous evening had been all but forgotten by the time sunset arrived. Despite the waning daylight, the prominent shade on the east side of the house provided enough protection that Katrina and Paige comfortably moved out onto the back porch to watch Caleb prepare the grill. The two vampires perched on patio lounge chairs while sipping warm blood from glasses as they observed him.
Eventually, following a final trip into the house to finalize preparations, Caleb returned holding a large plastic Frisbee.
“Anyone feel like tossing this around while I cook?” he baited.
Paige considered the atmosphere with a quick peep at the sky and set her glass aside on a nearby table. “Go for it,” she challenged.
With a single swipe of his arm, the disc hurtled through the air and into a deeper region of the backyard. Paige moved in a blur to chase it as Katrina chuckled. The youthful vampire caught it with one hand just inches before it touched the ground, giggling with satisfaction.
“Red!” she called while tossing the Frisbee to her left across the large expansion of yard towards the trees of the adjacent property.
Katrina sped out of her chair and into the yard like a bullet as Caleb placed meat onto the grill.
Damn, that was fast! He once more marveled at the speed that vampires were capable of moving compared to humans.
“Oh Ca-leb,” Katrina taunted a few seconds later.
“Bring it on,” he chuckled as he closed the lid of the grill.
The rapid exchanges among the trio often left Caleb struggling to keep up. Both vampires heartily laughed or giggled as they watched him either triumph or flounder in his efforts to catch the elusive disc. On one occasion, Paige sped ahead of Caleb to catch him before he nearly slammed into the trunk of a large tree while concentrating on snatching the Frisbee from midair. Soon afterwards, he recalled his grilling responsibilities and raced to attend to his food before it burned on one side.
After turning the meat, Caleb expertly threw the Frisbee back towards Paige. The vampire caught it smoothly with one hand as it started to pass behind her back. He shook his head at her graceful motions as she deftly propelled the glow-in-the-dark plastic disc towards Katrina, who sped backwards in a blur to match the high velocity of the Frisbee as it sailed towards the northern extreme of the property line. With a ten-foot leap, she snatched it from the air then propelled it back towards Caleb.
He laughed as he ran southwards towards the wooded tree line of the opposite end of the property. While not a vampire, he was both athletic and fast for a human, and he closed the distance to the Frisbee as it began losing altitude. The disc spun downwards at an angle as he reached with outstretched fingers to grab it in mid-air. Paige giggled and playfully cheered in support of his efforts. With confidence, he slung the disc towards Paige, who was positioned to his right, halfway between his and Katrina’s positions.
However, as Paige ran backwards to line up a perfect catch, something from the edge of the tree line behind Caleb caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She immediately changed direction to run towards him with wide-eyes.
“Down, Caleb!” Katrina shouted in horror.
An arrow hissed through the air at Caleb. He still had a puzzled look on his face as Paige slammed into him. She twisted and expertly rolled her slim body beneath his so that he didn’t impact the ground directly, landing upon her instead. The arrow imbedded in the turf at a slant not two feet from where they lay.
Katrina was already racing towards Caleb as another arrow arced in the air towards his location. Paige immediately rolled him beneath her and presented her petite back as a protective shield for his body. His eyes were wide as he watched the second shaft drill into the ground mere inches from the first shaft. He turned his head to stare up into Paige’s bright blue eyes, fearful that she might be hit by additional arrows plummeting towards them.
“Don’t worry, I’m durable,” she reassured him.
Despite acknowledging the truth in her statement, he frowned.
“Crap!” he exclaimed as a third shaft impacted the ground barely a foot away from the first two.
Katrina squatted next to them, glancing down to ensure that they were uninjured and scanned the tree line for only a second before racing towards it with a deep-throated growl.
“Stay here!” Paige ordered before racing after Katrina, her eyes ablaze with fury.
Everything had happened so fast that Caleb barely registered her departure, staring instead at the three wooden arrows stuck in the ground. He quickly rose to his feet to move next to a large tree trunk for partial cover and strained to hear anything beyond the sound of the wind rustling the trees and his heartbeat pounding in his ears. The sun had set completely, and darkness enveloped the backyard except for the dim illumination provided by the ornate lamps surrounding the patio area.
He absently dusted the seat of his jeans to remove stray grass and dirt as he scanned the periphery of the backyard. Then his eyes focused on a dark-skinned figure standing at the northern end of the property line near some pine trees. The figure appeared to be a dark-haired man wearing dark slacks and a turtleneck shirt. His hands were held out to his side, and he appeared to be unarmed.
“Vampire,” Caleb muttered, to which the figure inclined his head in polite acknowledgement. The mere fact that the visitor could hear him from that distance was additional confirmation of his suspicion.
The figure made a brief beckoning gesture with his right hand, as if summoning Caleb towards him, and said, “Truce. I bring a message.”
Caleb hesitated, and then saw the figure hold up a folded piece of paper in his left hand. He looked to his left and saw no sign of Katrina or Paige, so he shrugged and walked towards the figure.
Okay, call me crazy, but he seems peaceable enough. He said “truce,” right?
* * * *
Katrina and Paige raced through the woods onto the adjacent properties, searching frantically for the individual who had launched the arrows, but they found nothing.
“We should’ve heard or seen them by now. There’s no way that a human could move that fast,” Katrina angrily muttered.
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“One of us then,” Paige growled from thirty feet away, having easily heard her friend’s comment.
“Harrumph,” Katrina grunted and waved Paige to continue off to the right while she canvassed the left.
* * * *
Caleb tensely stood before the vampire, though sporting the bravest expression that he could muster on short notice. He silently berated his body’s anxious heartbeat for giving away his true demeanor to the stranger. However, a corner of the vampire’s mouth upturned slightly, and his irises began to glow with a yellowish hue. The stranger’s eyes scrutinized Caleb in an instant.
“Greetings, Caleb Taylor,” he offered. “I regret that I don’t have time for pleasantries, but I’m sure you understand.”
“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” Caleb countered. “We’ve never met.”
The stranger sagely agreed. “Yes, you are at a disadvantage at the moment. And yes, I also know that you’re afraid.”
Caleb frowned, squaring his shoulders with bravado in response. However, the figure held out his empty palm in a peaceable gesture with a facial expression that spoke of a parent stilling the actions of an animated child.
“We’re aware of your meeting with Alton in London,” the vampire plainly stated. “And we hope that your mate hasn’t committed to a course of action, yet.”
“Your contacts in London? The ones in the Tube tunnel system?” he pressed.
The vampire appeared perplexed. “Tube system? No, our contact observed you while site-seeing in the city.”
Not from the Tube system? Caleb pondered with a blank expression. I didn’t recall seeing any other vampires while site-seeing.
Noting the young man’s obvious confusion, the stranger hastily continued, “I represent parties of a moderate mindset, and we are not supportive of Alton’s agenda for the summer conference. We hope that your mate will consider remaining neutral in the matter and abstain from attendance.”
“Why not tell her yourself?” Caleb queried, hoping to stall the stranger until either Katrina or Paige could return.