Leaving a friend at a bar in an unfamiliar part of town with two strangers was a shitty thing to do. Considering Sofia had been debating to kill her it might have been a mercy.

She was pacing back at the apartment, mostly because she really needed to yell at Jackie more.

It had been tempting to just pack her stuff and leave but… Jackie was all she had here really. Her Renfield. Her wolf in sheep’s clothing.

She couldn’t believe she had started feeling more. How fucking insane was that. A vampire and a serial killer. What the fuck.

Even worse was that she could excuse the murder. Sofia was a killer too. Who was she to judge? She had Jackie in chains.

Even thinking about it there were so many ways to get around the safety net she gave Jackie.

What she couldn’t excuse was being used. Being manipulated. Sofia had been vulnerable and scared, and Jackie had swooped right in to save her. All she asked for was immortality, immunity to Sofia’s control, and, oh yeah, to help her kill people.

Then again, Sofia had wanted that too. That was the only reason she had given in, because of how on board Jackie was.

The only reason they had gotten closer was because of the blood bond. Blood buddies. Sofia had wanted to give her a safety net maybe more than Jackie had wanted it. And who knows how long she would have stayed dead and numb without Jackie’s coaxing.

“Fuck!” Sofia growled. Of course, there was one way to find out. To know with absolute certainty the truth.

She hated feeling like this. Paranoid.

Jackie still wasn’t back. She hated that she was worried. But unless for some reason she decided to continue her date with the two hockey players alone she should have been back by now.

So either something was wrong or she had misplaced her loyalty. She didn’t know what option she preferred.

Sofia slipped back on her shoes and exited the apartment. She could sense the direction of Jackie. She took off running.

She just needed to know for certain. It would be very hard to stay angry at Jackie if she was seriously hurt. Couldn’t kill a traitor if she was already dead.

Despite her mental attempts at bravado, she did not remotely feel better.

She was back at the bar in no time. If she didn’t restrict herself to human speed then she could practically fly. She could feel Jackie in a different direction. Smell the flesh of the boys and the scent of Jackie.

“Good,” she muttered to herself. Well not good. They weren’t at the bar anymore which meant… she had no idea who would be winning.

Two large hockey players vs Jackie wasn’t a particularly fair fight though. Sofia might have to even the odds.

Except now she had no idea how to find Jackie. Getting to the bar was easy. Now all she had was a thread pointing to Jackie like a compass. It gave no further information.

She closed her eyes and inhaled, trying to find some kind of scent trail like dogs did. She could smell them around the entrance of the bar and then… maybe around to the parking lot. Shit.

She hurried over to the few remaining cars. They were all empty. She didn’t recognize any of the smells.

Of course, they had a car. How was she supposed to track them now? Who was even hunting who?

Toronto was a maze of buildings and concrete. Navigating it was hard enough even if she knew where she was going.

Except she didn’t need to navigate like a human. She looked around and then jumped. Her hands grabbed onto the edge of the bar’s roof before she pulled herself up.

She had never been remotely athletic but that didn’t matter now. She could lift her body weight like it was nothing. The laws of physics probably still applied to her but she was superhuman.

She ran for the side of the roof and jumped the gap. Sofia sailed through the air for a moment before gravity pulled her too low and she crashed into the wall. Pain flared through her whole, the world spinning and incomprehensible.

Then she hit the ground. She could feel the bones snap and the muscles tear. But she was still warm, her body had some resilience even if by now it wasn’t much.

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With a groan, she stumbled to her feet. Her bones snapped and slid back into place. This wasn’t the kind of pain she could enjoy. Mostly because she maybe had to rescue Jackie.

Why couldn’t she turn into a bat? Flight would be incredibly useful right about now. Could other vampires do that? Was that like a bloodline gift or something? Whatever Eloise had called their eyes.

Maybe she just hadn’t figured it out yet? It wasn’t like it was remotely intuitive. Except she did not have the time or any idea how to even try.

“Fuck me,” she muttered and took off running in the direction of Jackie. She had already wasted so much time.

It didn't take her long to pick up speed, she definitely scared the shit out of several passers-by. That feeling of lightness returned again, her feet seeming to hit the ground less. Now that she had been aware of her body she noticed it.

She glanced down at herself, trying to decipher what was going on. This had happened before, a feeling of almost flying. She nearly tripped on herself.

The only way to describe her body was wispy. Partially transparent and not even really there. Mist, her body was partially mist. She glided through the air as much as she was running.

What the actual fuck. She didn’t have time for more vampire bullshit. Another thing mentioned in folklore that was now her reality. Was this a normal vampire thing or another bloodline gift? So much for being a bat. She really wished she could call Eloise again, but the number had been discontinued.

She mentally tugged on her own body. Urging it to be lighter and faster. She had no idea if it was working and she didn’t really have much capacity to focus on it right about now.

She skidded around a corner and continued her sprint. Nearly barreling a few people over as she went. There were going to be so many witnesses. The only saving grace was no camera footage.

Was flying an option? Mist could float through the air. She wasn’t having any luck. Honestly, this was the most unbelievable thing so far.

Being human-adjacent was one thing but now partially a gas… Sofia wasn’t even sure how to process that. It was visual and physical in a way nothing else had been.

It was also really fucking cool. If only she could figure out how to make it work.

Sofia skidded to a stop as the thread started pointing back the way she had come. Unless Jackie had teleported then she had just passed wherever she was. She doubled back, tasting the air for any smells she recognized.

God, Toronto was filthy. The city never ceased to smell terrible.

Then she smelled her. Jackie. Sofia would sooner turn into a bat than mistake that warm inviting scent. After some shuffling, she was pretty sure she narrowed down the apartment, especially when she found the car that reeked of all three of them.

Sofia didn’t have time to celebrate though. She hurried up the stairs. The front door was locked. She punched through it and pulled the lock off. Then she simply opened the door and entered.

It was far nicer than her apartment and far larger. Two floors with a modern design. Everything was clean and spotless.

Sofia heard thumping upstairs. She ran for the stairs, it only took a single step in her strange weightlessness to reach the top.

She could hear heartbeats, smell blood, and hear muffled yelling. She kicked open the door.

The first thing she saw was Jackie sitting on a chair. Who in response to the door flying out jumped to her feet and raised her gun.

They both paused for a moment, staring at each other. Jackie lowered the weapon, her father's gun.

Jackie was somewhat beaten and bruised, she held a cloth to her bloody nose and was covered in several cuts and scrapes.

Still, she was in a better situation than the other two. The larger white boy, Sofia couldn’t even remember his name, was tied to the bed spread-eagle with a rag stuffed in his mouth. The smaller back boy was on the ground, rope tied around his ankles and wrists though his attention was focused on putting pressure on his leg wound so he didn’t bleed out.

Sofia was relieved Jackie was ok. And furious she hadn’t chased after her.

“I… didn’t think you would come back,” Jackie offered hesitantly.

“Back?” Sofia retorted with confusion, “I had to track you across the city.”

The boy on the bed tried to yell something though it was smothered by the gag. Jackie hit him in the shin with the handle of the gun making him whimper in pain.

The place reeked of blood. All of them were injured to some degree. Sofia was famished. But that wasn’t why she was here. “You let me go.”

“How could I have stopped you?” Jackie replied with a sigh. “Sometimes we just need to cool off.”

“All this time… you used me,” Sofia accused, unsure of what to say now that she was here.

“No, no I didn’t,” Jackie protested.

“You got me to kill your father!”

“I roped you into the plan because you were starving,” Jackie clarified. “I didn’t need your help.”

“He would have killed you if I hadn’t been there.”

Jackie didn’t have a response to that.

“Two childhood murders, revenge… what the fuck is this?” Sofia asked. This was… horrifying. Not the impulsive actions of a child nor the precision of someone long scorned.

“Justice,” Jackie offered. “GHB messes with memory and clears out of the system within 24 hours. Makes drugging and raping girls pretty easy. Especially for adored hockey players.”

Sofia turned her attention to the guys. This wasn’t really about them though. “You're escalating,” she retorted. She didn’t know much about serial killers but escalating was bad. One could only escalate so far before everything fell apart.

The next words Jackie spoke shattered whatever illusions Sofia had. “For you, Sofia. I’m doing this for you,” Jackie whispered, her voice quiet yet emotional. “No one can accept you like I can,” she pleaded, taking a step closer.

“We both know that’s a bold-faced lie,” Sofia retorted.

“Except it’s not,” Jackie countered, coming to a stop in front of her. “I can accept every part of you. If there’s anyone that can accept all of me it’s you. Only monsters can love monsters. We don't have to hide from each other.”

Sofia wanted to tell her she was wrong. But Jackie was probably right. Only someone as fucked up as Jackie could ever care about her, at least this new part of her.

Not because Sofia didn’t deserve to be loved, but because what human in their right mind would not run screaming from her? What gazelle would be crazy enough to befriend the lion?

But was any of this healthy? This bond?

Jackie may have been dangerous but Sofia needed dangerous. Jackie made her feel… good. Normal. Alive.

She craved connection, and Jackie gave her that. Jackie cared for her, they had both saved each other after all.

How could she ask for total acceptance and not give it in return?

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jackie, resting her head on her chest, listening to the drumming of her heart.

“A good friend stabs you in the front I suppose,” Sofia sighed.

“I’m not going to stab you,” Jackie offered with an awkward laugh.

Sofia shook her head. “You tell me what I need to hear. Even if I don’t like it.”

“I just tell it as I see it,” Jackie offered, gently hugging Sofia back.

“Considering what I can do, you are very brave,” Sofia laughed.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just tired of playing a part,” Jackie replied, resting her chin on Sofia’s head. Sofia could hear her heart calming, her slowly relaxing breaths. It was strange that a person, someone like Jackie, could feel safe.

A muffled complaint reminded them both of the two other people in the room. Sofia blushed with embarrassment.

“Please, we won’t hurt anyone else,” the boy on the floor begged. He was pale, very pale, there was a lot of blood pooling around him. What a waste.

“Now that’s something we can agree on,” Jackie offered with a snort.

The one on the bed began to trash in his bonds. Hunger clawed at Sofia’s throat. Best to get this over with.