Marie’s eyes glinted as she stared down her nose at me in a manner that reminded me all too well of those disapproving teachers I’d had during, well, pretty much my entire school life.

Evie shifted on the couch beside me as that hawk-like gaze transferred to her and her brows drew together.

“Who would care to explain what happened?” she said and I found my mouth to be suddenly dry as I stared down at my feet.

“Couldn’t be helped…” Patrik began but cut off as she held up one finger to him without even turning from where she sat on the couch opposite us. He subsided and shrugged apologetically as I glanced his way. Delilah, beside him, smirked.

“It was my fault,” I said and she nodded. Great! No help there. I’d not expected her to agree so readily. “When she… made me act like that. I just lost my temper.”

“And revealed yourself in the midst of them,” Marie said and I nodded slowly, heat colouring my cheeks. “Revealed not only that you are Shadowborn, but what type you are.”

“I’m sorry,” I said as I looked up and then quickly away from her expression.

“Well it could not be helped I suppose,” she said and I looked up in surprise.

She tapped one finger on her lip as she considered, her eyes distant. Her face had closed up and I had no idea if she was still annoyed or not. I flicked my gaze towards Evie and she smiled reassuringly, not at all bothered by the older woman's anger.

“It couldn’t?”

“No,” she exhaled a soft sigh and her eyes focused back on me once again. “Several of the vampires were destroyed and none of you were hurt. That is what matters.”

“She got away though,” I said and when she lifted an eyebrow, added, “the lead vampire.”

“Oh, Anahella,” Marie said and it was my turn to blink in surprise. “It is not unexpected, she is very old.”

“Very strong,” Patrik added from the doorway. I glanced his way just as Delilah rolled her eyes and ducked from the room since it didn’t appear that I was about to be shouted at.

“Anahella?”

“From Latin-America dear,” Marie said. “Means beautiful I believe which is quite apt for her. She is indeed very beautiful or so I am told.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked. “Will they be after us? What about police? Is it safe for Evie?”

“Not to worry,” she said as she waved away my questions with one languid gesture. “They will not have involved the police and while they will avoid the club for a short while, that will only make them easier for us to track.”

“How?” Evie asked.

“Without the club, they’ll leave corpses,” Patrik said solemnly.

“What! Why?” I twisted in my seat to look at him and he tilted his head towards Marie and shrugged.

“The blood clubs hide their activities,” Marie said softly. “If one goes too far and a human dies, the club takes care of it. But at the same time, they work to ensure that deaths do not happen. More to the point, the club ensures a willing and ready supply of people to be fed on.”

“So without the club they’ll what? Feed on random people?” I asked with mounting horror.

“Yes.”

Her reply was simple and hit me like a kick to the stomach. I’d screwed up and because of that, people would die. How many children would lose their parents like I did? How many people would lose their loved ones? It was all my fault.

Evie’s hand touched mine, her fingers lacing through my own and squeezing tight. She understood and was doing what she’d always done for me. Offered comfort.

“Now about your friend,” Marie said and I tensed as I looked up. Time for the other shoe to drop. ”I understand that you were at the club.”

“Yes,” Evie said as she stared the older woman straight in the eye. She didn’t appear at all fazed though her hand tightened in mine.

“And your boyfriend was a vampire.”

“She didn’t know,” I said as I caught movement in the corner of my eye. I glanced over to see Patrik close the living room door, his face blank.

“Perhaps not,” Marie said and tapped on her lip with one elegantly manicured nail. “But we must be sure.”

“How?” I asked. Patrik had one hand behind his back and it didn’t take much to imagine what he had tucked behind his belt there. He wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I’m afraid she must undress and let us inspect her,” Marie said.

“Why?” Evie asked.

“Screw you!” I said before she could answer. “She’s my friend, you can’t treat her like this.”

“We need to check for bite marks,” Patrik said slowly. His voice was filled with tension and I realised he was using his power.

“No,” I said. “There’s no need.”

“It’s fine,” Evie said before I could protest more. She climbed to her feet as she let go of my hand and shrugged. “It’s only a little nudity.”

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I looked away as my best friend in the whole world, my only real friend, was forced to strip before strangers. I hated how powerless I felt, how utterly unable to stop her having to do that.

“Underwear too,” Marie said. I glanced to Patrik and saw that while he stood ready, he’d at least averted his gaze as best he could to allow her to keep some of her dignity.

The silence stretched taut as Marie rose from her seat and inspected my friend. All the while running through my head was the litany of curses for myself as I let it happen. It was wrong and I knew it was another thing I would be unable to forgive myself for.

“You can get dressed now dear,” Marie said as she turned back to the couch opposite. Patrik turned fully away and released his hold on the knife hilt that stuck up over his belt, clearly visible with his back towards me.

“See,” Evie said as she squeezed my hand in hers once more. “Wasn’t so bad.”

“Why?” I asked Marie, still not quite able to look at Evie.

“When a vampire bites you, it can be quite… pleasant,” she replied. “For some, it’s like a drug. Intoxicating and incredibly hard to resist. They become dependent and willing to do whatever they are asked so long as they can experience that pleasure once more.”

“Junkies,” I said as I thought back to the emaciated girls in the club. The ones who’d seen me as competition, someone who would be chosen to be fed upon before them.

“Indeed,” Marie said as she nodded agreeably. “If your friend had bite marks from the vampire she’d, admittedly unknowingly, been dating… well, we couldn’t have allowed her to remain here.”

“But I don’t,” Evie said. “So it’s fine.”

“Not quite,” Marie said and something in her tone caused my already tense muscles to almost go into spasm they were trying to tense up so much.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did he not bite you?” she asked. “It couldn’t be love. Those foul creatures have no such emotion left inside of them. Why then would it stay with you, and not feed?”

I was suddenly very aware of the looming presence of Patrik behind us. The flash of silver in his hand as his arm surged past me towards my friend. I cried out and reached desperately for my powers but nothing came.

“Don’t worry,” he said as he placed the flat side of the blade against her bare shoulder. “I won’t hurt her.”

“No reaction,” Marie mused. “So not supernatural.”

“Could be Shadowborn,” Patrik said.

“Is she?”

He frowned as he stared down at her and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying, “nei.”

“So not supernatural and not Shadowborn. Why then did he not feed?”

Evie glanced at me, the barest movement of her eyes as she held herself rigid. The knife blade against her shoulder was very long and very sharp.

“He was watching me,” I said, desperation in my voice.

“Why?” she pressed.

“I don’t know,” I said and spread my hands helplessly. “He just said he’d been told to watch me and that now he’d found me again he was going to take me to someone.”

“Patrik,” she said as she waved one hand towards him. “Be a dear and go fetch us some tea.”

“Of course,” he said and slid the knife back into its sheath as Evie released the breath she’d been holding in one great whoosh.

“What the hell!” I snarled as I surged to my feet. “You can’t treat my friend like this.”

“Oh be still child,” the older woman said. Her voice, while free of menace, still held something that warranted caution. A voice in the back of my mind was trying desperately to remind me she’d spent a lifetime as a hunter and was dangerous.

“Lena,” Evie said as she pulled me back down beside her. “It’s fine. Really. They needed to know I wasn’t going to be a threat to them.”

“Listen to your friend dear,” Marie said agreeably. “We cannot risk the safety of what we are doing for the sake of your sensibilities.”

“But…” I said and looked to my friend. She smiled encouragingly and shrugged her shoulders.

“It really is fine. Like visiting a doctor.”

“See,” Marie said. “Now the first question we should be asking is who sent this vampire to watch you?”

“How should I know?” I snapped back. “It’s barely been more than a couple of weeks since this whole thing began for me. I’ve killed a ghoul and a vampire, but that’s it.”

“You killed a ghoul?” Evie asked and I nodded.

“That’s why the police were wanting to talk to me.”

“Speaking of them…” she said as she pulled her mobile from her jeans pocket. “Apparently you’re no longer a person of interest.”

“What?” I asked at the same time as Marie did.

“Yeah, I had this text from the very cute policeman who was looking for you,” she said with a smile that showed dimples. “He said that since they no longer needed to speak to you, he could ask me out.”

“This bears investigation,” Marie said. “We don’t have any kind of pull with the police, so it wasn’t us.”

“Why’s it a problem?” Evie asked.

“Because I was the only one there,” I said thoughtfully. “No other witnesses, no other suspects, just a body.”

“I shall check into this,” Marie said. “As well as who may have sent a vampire to watch over you. All you need to do is decide.”

“Decide what?”

“Whether your friend here wants to become a hunter.”

****

I stared at the older woman, shock plain on my face before I turned to Evie. She appeared nonplussed and at a loss for words. The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile as she shrugged.

“What?” I said and realised that I seemed to be saying that a lot lately.

“Your friend here knows about what we do,” Marie began. “She knows the monsters of myth and legend are real and that you have powers. Her choices then are simple. Does she go back to her safe little life and pretend it all never happened or does she join us in the fight?”

“Well… I…” For some reason, I couldn’t think of a response. Evie at least looked thoughtful and for one moment I held out the selfish hope that she’d do it. Become a hunter and join me fighting the monsters.

Then the moment passed and I realised how truly selfish that was. To ask her to leave her safe life and join me doing… whatever I was doing. Hell, I’d not even fully decided what I was going to be doing.

After Abe had saved me from the werewolf and opened my eyes to the truth, revealing to me that I wasn’t crazy. How could I go back to stacking shelves at the supermarket? I had no comfortable life to leave behind. No family or friends other than Evie to notice I’d gone.

“No,” I said as I looked at my friend. “You need to go back to your life. University, your family and the chance of a life worth living.”

“Hardly likely now I know the truth,” she said ruefully.

“You’re not a fighter,” I said. “You never have been. You’re far too good-natured to ever hurt anyone.”

“What was I studying at uni?” she asked and I blinked.

“Erm, medicine. What does that matter?”

“I was studying for a profession where I could help people,” she said firmly. “You say the world's full of these monsters hurting and killing people? Well, if I can help stop them that’s worthwhile.”

“It isn’t just that,” Marie said. “There’ll be danger and hardships. You’ll lose people you care about and likely die young. Few of us reach old age.”

“You did,” she said pertly and grinned at the sour look the older woman gave her. “The only real answer I can give is, how could I return to my life and live in fear of the things in the shadows?”

“Good,” Marie said. “It’s settled. You can stay here for now and start training with the others. You two will make a fine team.”

“Us two?” I asked and risked a smile for my friend. I didn’t want her to do this, but since she was, I could be happy having her close.

“The teams we have work in pairs usually,” the older woman said. “A hunter and a Shadowborn.”

“So what now then?” I asked.

“We’ll set up a training regime for you both,” Marie said. “Patrik can help with that.”

“He can?”

“He was, briefly, training to be an armed forces instructor,” she said. “He’ll work something up.”

“That’ll have to wait,” Jo said as she strode into the room and all three of us jumped a little at her sudden entrance. “I know where some of the vampires are.”