Heavy breathing and rapid footfall could be heard against the piercing howls that pursued them. Linda and Lily ran through the dark abandoned streets as fast as they could, a pack of wolves hot on their trail. Snarl and snap, a wolf's teeth barely missing Lily's ankle. The hunt had begun.
Linda and Lily turned down a narrow alleyway, forcing the spread out wolves to funnel. But some took to scaling the rubble of buildings piled up high on their sides, their shapes barely seen in the moonlight. Just as they reached a corner, a silhouette dropped in front of them, causing Linda to try and stop, her feet sliding on the slippery snow and ice. Hands closed about her wrists and she was spun around and held firmly. She fought furiously and saw Lily turn and try to run back the other way, only to be caught in the grasp of the girl they'd met moments before. Two wolves circled her, whining with anticipation, but keeping a distance while the others remained up above, peering down with perked forward ears.
"Let us go! Please!" Lily whimpered.
"Ge'off o' me!" Linda screamed, fighting against Cyrus. But no matter how she struggled, she was as effective against him as a flea is against a statue.
"You know this is what's best for Lily. She can't be saved," Rena said, grabbing a hunting knife from her boot, her other arm holding Lily firmly.
"How do we know? Isn't there something we can try!?" Linda begged. Although she had told her sister this was to be her fate, she herself found as it quickly approached that she could not bear it. Cyrus covered Linda's eyes, and looked at Rena. Rena held the blade against Lily's throat, but hesitated.
"Maybe there... is..." Rena said quietly. "But... it might be a fate just as bad."
"Bad idea, Irene," Cyrus warned. "I should be the one to do it, like we agreed. You're too soft."
"What? There's another way?" Lily asked, trembling in Rena's grasp, feeling the cold blade across her throat.
"What if you were still afflicted to only walk in the night, to drink blood, but could choose how much of a monster to be?" Rena asked Lily, a soft whisper in her ear. Lily trembled.
"What're you talking about?" Lily whimpered.
"Oh, come on Irene, really? Of everyone you could have taken on, you'd choose that bog muffin? You know nothing about her!" Cyrus's grip on Linda lessened, distracted. Linda tried to wrench free, but he was quick to recapture her, holding her even closer than before.
"Please! If Lily can be saved-"
"She can't be saved, just have the inevitable prolonged," Rena interrupted. She lowered the knife, but kept a firm grasp on Lily. Rigamarole padded closer and sat down beside Rena, lanting and looking up at the two women. "And bog muffin? You didn't seem to think so poorly of her a few nights ago."
"Touche. But think carefully, Irene."
"Rena. Please call me Rena, now." Rena said. Cyrus raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Rena let go of Lily, who spun around to face her. The sudden movement caused Rigmarole to growl a warning but remain where he was.
"I'll take any chance I can get!" Lily said. "If you know something..."
"I don't know enough." Rena said frostily, looking Lily over critically. "But you may come with me while I deliberate," Rena said, sheathing her knife and tucking it back into her boot. "I will hold off killing you as long as I can, but when you descend too far into madness, I will do what must be done."
"Wait, what? We're bringing her with us?" Cyrus asked, astonished, and less than pleased with this decision. He sighed and let Linda go, who quickly moved out of Cyrus's reach.
"You may come as well, Linda. That was your name, right?" Rena said, looking at the older of the two sisters.
"Yes. You're making 'sumptions we want to go with you," Linda said, frowning deeply, pitting her chin.
"You are free to go, but when people see the signs, they will kill Lily, and possibly you as well. I won't force anyone to come with me. And I can't guarantee she will be saved, but I'm at least willing to see what can be done before it truly is too late," Rena said.
"Now hold on, Irene..." Rena shot Cyrus a sharp glance, "Or, Rena, how can we trust them?"
"How can they trust us?" Rena challenged before either Lily or Linda could vocalise the same sentiment. "This isn't about trust, it's about desperation. And one thing you taught me, Cyrus, was what we will do, and who we will accept help from, when we're desperate."
"Surely that's not the ONLY thing I taught you," Cyrus muttered, feigning hurt pride.
"Well, what will it be? Come with us and accept my protection while I try to find a way to help Lily, or go your own way?" Rena asked, placing a hand on her hip. Linda wrapped her arms about her younger sister, staring long and hard at Rena.
"Who are you people?" Linda finally asked.
"Don't tell them..."
Irene smiled faintly. "We're vampires."
"Damnit, Irene!"
----------------------------------------
Nel stirred the spruce tip tea, gazing down into the swirling water in her pewter mug. The steam gently arose as it slowly settled into placid stillness, and she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the flickering candlelight. She then took a sip, looking up across the table at her mother-in-law, who was knitting while waiting for her tea to be cool enough for her sensitive mouth.
"Jill...?" Mrs. Fisher's eyes momentarily looked up from her task, fingers moving by muscle memory, before she looked back down at her project. "How long has Rena been with the Fishers?"
"Oh, she was there when I married Jona. They didn't tell me everything at first, but, when a girl never loses her youthful bloom, one starts asking. Like you are asking." Jill said, eyebrows up but eyelids drooping as she kept her gaze down on her needles.
"What do you really think about her being... like... those things," Nel asked. This caused Jill to put down her knitting and look archly at Nel over a pair of cracked reading glasses that were held together with wire.
"She is not like those things, if you mean the abominations," Jill said stiffly. She then resumed her knitting. "Both can't abide sunlight, and both feed on blood, but Rena never takes. She always waits to be given. And she is never needlessly violent. She's also a sight nicer to look at," Jill added with a grin.
"That doesn't take much," Nel remarked with a soft snort.
"Well if I remember correctly, Rena was born in... the late 1900's I believe. She was just barely a young woman when she became a vampire. She'd been friends with Peter's Great, Great, Great..." Jill paused a moment, setting her knitting on the table and began counting her fingers, "....Great grandfather, Jordan Fisher."
"And she'd been following his family the whole time? Feeding on them?" Nel inquired, eyebrows raised in astonishment.
"Yes. As I understand it, Jordan originally was engaged to Rena when she was mortal. But when she became a vampire, she was dead to the world and you can't legally marry a dead person." Jill smirked and shook her head. "So later on he married someone else. Peter's ancestors provided her with blood willingly, and she protected them. I don't know when oaths and all those formalities began. But it's worked for the Fishers. I'm not sure at what point they migrated to this side of the mountains, but I believe they used to live somewhere near Vancouver."
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
"Where's Vancouver?" Nel asked.
"Bless you child, I forget you are younger than Peter and never knew the world before the Flash. It's along the west coast." Jill tested her tea with a tentative sip.
"Before I came here... were Rena and Peter ever... involved... romantically?" Nel asked, finding it difficult to ask the words. She quickly brought her tea to her lips as Jill spat tea out of hers.
"No! No one would ever... Rena is untouchable. Why do you ask?" Jill asked, looking concerned over at Nel. Nel glanced to the side, her mug hovering below her chin.
"I guess... they just seem very close. And I try not to be jealous, but... I wondered if that was why he seemed to be the only one who wanted to keep his oaths."
"No, no. Rena usually was aloof, but she had a soft spot for Peter. They were more like siblings, since he was my only child before Jona passed away. And Jona's two children from his previous marriage were mostly grown and didn't have much to do with their little half brother." Jill snorted softly in fond recollection. "Though I think, at first, it was her pups he liked to play with more than her."
"I know Ash wants to play with her pack, but some of them are wild. I don't trust them to be gentle," Nel reflected.
"With Rena's influence, they are as tame as dogs," Jill remarked. "But I can understand your caution. Wouldn't want him to think all wolves are friendly."
"Certainly not," Nel uttered.
"And wolves come in many forms," Jill reflected as she took a long sip of her tea, her gaze growing distant as the candlelight played tricks on her face.
----------------------------------------
"This had better be good for me to be dragged away from my supper..." Sheriff Black growled as she dusted the snow off of her hood and shoulders. As she stomped her booted feet, she looked up seeing four people, one of which she did not recognize - and did not like the look of. Her trademark sneer was quickly on her face.
"You Day girls have some explaining to do. You didn't show up for your duties and with Vamps around..."
"We're sorry, Sheriff-"
"And you! Running off to Copperwood alone. Find anything or was it a waste of time?" Sheriff Black asked, her glare bearing down on Rena. Rena calmly met her gaze, frosty and cool to the Sheriff's fire.
"The Vamp has been dispatched and Jay returned. I also brought this wanderer back with me." Rena said, gesturing to Cyrus.
"And who are you?" Sheriff asked.
"Cyrus," he responded, nodding his head, keeping himself unusually neutral in contrast to his usual smarmy demeanour.
"Cyrus who?"
Cyrus sighed. "Cyrus Tinker."
"Well I don't know no Tinkers and don't like folk from outside the Ward. You been in vamp territory, you're gonna get searched."
Cyrus placed his hands on his hips. "And what do you mean by searched?"
"Ladies, you might want to leave," the Sheriff said, walking up to Cyrus. He lifted his chin, looking up at her from his short stature.
"Alright..." Linda said, taking Lily by the shoulders and heading off. Rena remained right where she was.
"He hasn't been bitten, if that's your concern," Rena insisted.
"Ain't taking chances. Now strip." Sheriff said, resting a hand on her revolver. Cyrus raised his eyebrows, letting out an incredulous guffaw.
"As you wish!" Cyrus said, smirking as he began to disrobe. Rena crossed her arms, keeping an eye on both Cyrus and the Sheriff. She had seen Cyrus naked before and it no longer had any impact on her. It just reminded her just how small he was despite all of his macho bravado.
The Sheriff snorted and walked around him, inspecting him for bitemarks. She looked at the blood soaked bandage on his back from where Rena had driven in the stake. "Where'd you get that?" Cyrus pointed at Rena.
"We had a misunderstanding," Rena murmured. Sheriff ripped off the bandage, causing Cyrus to flinch. Black inspected the wound underneath.
"Well, it don't look like a bite. Some misunderstanding," Sheriff said, suddenly re-appraising Rena. "There's bandages in the second box on the lower shelf." The Sheriff indicated with a thumb.
"Are you satisfied? As much as I never would deprive a healthy woman of a stunning view, it IS chilly in here." Cyrus asked. The Sheriff looked up at him, one eye squinted more heavily than the other as she rested her hand over her revolver again.
"You best not get cute with me. I don't shoot blanks," Sheriff Black responded gruffly. She then nodded to his clothes which littered the floor.
"WELL NOW!" Cyrus responded in mock offence as he gathered up his clothing. Rena got down the box of bandages and unrolled some. Before Cyrus put his shirt back on, she began wrapping them about his torso.
"You two sleeping together?" the Sheriff asked.
"No," Rena responded with casual dismissal as she tied the bandage off, albeit a bit tighter than she had intended. Cyrus winced.
"Not so tight," Cyrus whined.
"But he ain't no random wanderer." Sheriff Black eyed them both, confident in her suspicion.
"Well showing up here WAS pretty random, but Rena and I do go back," Cyrus admitted as he buttoned up his shirt.
"Hmph. You from Fisham too?" Sheriff asked.
"No. Never been to Fisham," Cyrus answered. The Sheriff looked him up and down again, suspicion plain on her stern face, her fingers tapping her holster. Suddenly she grabbed Cyrus's chin with one hand, and his nose wrinkled as he contained the urge to snarl.
"You've seen he has no bite marks, and we'll be leaving for Fisham soon," Rena said, trying to tamp the unease down and out of her voice.
"Hmm, but his skin's white. I know it's been a long winter, but that just ain't right." the Sheriff said, not relinquishing her hold on Cyrus's jaw. His fingers splayed then curled into a fist, as he tried to bear the indignity patiently, constantly casting Rena dark glances.
"What more do you expect to see?" Cyrus asked through clenched teeth as Sheriff Black looked into his eyes, searching them. Cyrus returned her gaze, and Rena looked up, shaking her head emphatically as if trying to dissuade Cyrus of something. He glanced quickly at Rena, then rolled his eyes.
"Well, your eyes ain't red," the Sheriff said, finally letting Cyrus go. He wiggled his jaw side to side, rubbing his neck. "I suggest you both move along swiftly. And thanks for bringing the Day sisters back. Their mother kicks up fusses at spits, and we don't need that. They're women but you'd think them girls the way they get doted on."
"Ah... yes. The Day sisters expressed an interest in journeying with us to Fisham. Curiosity, I suppose," Rena said. Black huffed and rolled back her shoulders, regarding Rena with an air of suspicion.
"Linda's a homebody. Find that hard to believe. Lily, though, Lily I can see. Girl's a lazy pile o' butterfly flakes. She'd be no loss," Sheriff said, waving her hand. "They're adults, they can do as they please. I'll let their mother know they're safe."
"That would be appreciated. And to inform Madam Gold that Fisham has dealt with the current vamp problem. More may come, though, and you'd best be prepared," Rena said, keeping her tone professional.
"Tch. That all? Can I get back to my supper?" the Sheriff asked. Rena nodded her head. The Sheriff waved her hand at them, and Rena just tossed more vamp teeth on the table as an afterthought. She had promised to bring proof.
"I thought she was going to plunge her filthy fingers into my mouth. She doesn't look like she's ever cleaned her nails in her entire life, the old sow purse," Cyrus muttered once they were out of the Sheriff's office. Linda and Lily stood huddled under a lit street lamp.
"Alright, I've told the Sheriff you are coming with us and to convey to your parents that you are safe," Rena told the girls. "Let's go."
"Wait, are we leaving now? I ain't had a chance to say goodbye," Lily complained.
"No time for that. You two need to pack your bare essentials and we need to leave. Cyrus and I cannot travel during the day," Rena said very quietly, glancing around lest someone might overhear.
"What do we do during the day?" Lily asked.
"Sleep. Or don't," Rena said with a shrug.
"One of you could always ke-ack!" Cyrus stumbled forward after a solid slap along the back of his head from Rena. He rubbed his head and gave her a playful yet scathing scowl. "I was going to say keep watch."
"Mmm-hmmm," Rena responded, unconvinced. "Don't pay attention to anything he says. And don't forget how unkind he was to you, Lily. The man will snake anyone with a pulse."
Lily crossed her arms, looking away uncomfortably as her cheeks burned. Linda wrapped an arm about her sister and glared at Cyrus. Rena's warning was clearly redundant. Cyrus's ship was already sunk; there was no safe harbour with either of those women.
"Spoil sport," Cyrus muttered, crossing his arms. He then shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the falling snow. "Ah well. When all else fails, I can keep myself entertained. All it takes is thinking of you, Rena."
Rena rolled her eyes and kept walking, while Linda and Lily walked on obliviously.