"Behind you!" A deep voice called, and Rashel Jordan spun around, her make-shift weapon swinging around to crack against the huge shape looming over her. The branch split in half, but the groan of pain from her attacker was enough for Rashel. She launched herself at him, elbow swinging up into his face, while her other hand shoved the splintered end of her branch into his chest. His anguished scream echoed through the forest, and as he fell to the ground, pale skin already beginning the change from undead, to dead.
"You know, it's still a bit disconcerting watching you do that," A wry voice said. Rashel turned, shooting the dark vampire behind her a grin. When their eyes connected, all the tension in Rashel's back eased, her mind acknowledging Quinn as her soulmate. His black eyes gazed down at the decaying vampire in disgust, and he stepped over him, dragging a tiny boy behind him.
"Timmy, did they hurt you?" Rashel asked, eyeing him from top to bottom. They had risked walking through a clearing, and were attacked by two of the vampires that were following them. The first Quinn had neatly disposed of, which was not easy when Timmy was doing his best at breaking free of Quinn's grip on his wrist. The little vampire stuck out his tongue, and sneered, "I wish." Rashel sighed - she wished more then anything that her little brother-turned-vampire could go back to how they used to be, how they should be if not for Hunter Redfern.
If not for the man sending vampire after vampire to hunt them down.
"He'll find us, you know," Timmy said stubbornly as Quinn forced him to keep walking, "And when they do, you'll be sorry!"
"Shush," Quinn said quietly. He would have preferred to just let go of his hand, letting the boy run away and try to find his own way back. But Rashel would never forgive him for letting go of the only 'family' she had left. And since beating the sense into what appeared to be a four year old boy was out of the question, restraint was all he had left.
"How much further?" Rashel asked, wiping her brow. They had been walking for nearly 15 hours, and were dirty, hungry, and both Timmy and Quinn desperately needed blood. They tried to steal a car in the last town, but Timmy was too much of a nuisance to get close enough, and they couldn't leave him by himself or he would run away. Of course, Rashel could have gone by herself, but Quinn insisted she didn't leave his side.
"This is the hill I met Ash on last time I was here - it should only be a few more miles," Quinn replied, attempting to smile but failing miserably. His last meal had been over 24 hours ago, and he was starting to feel the drain on his energy. They kept walking, and Quinn glanced at Rashel, thinking, 'Timmy isn't going to make it much longer, Rashel.' Rashel glanced sharply at Timmy, and hesitated, glancing down at her arm. Her sleeve of her favorite leather jacket was ripped, and beneath her creamy skin she could see the blue veins running down her arm, full of nutritious blood.
"You cannot be serious." Quinn stated this with a cold glare, and Rashel sighed, 'He needs it. For that matter, YOU need it..'
'Do not get me started, Rashel. Its out of the question.' Quinn walked faster, angry that his mind and his thirst were telling him two different things. Timmy, on the other hand, looked at Rashel with a gleam in his eyes. A split second later, he launched himself at her, shaking free of Quinn's grasp by pure blood lust. The motion sent them both rolling down the side of the hill. Quinn cursed under his breath, following them down faster then human eyes could comprehend. Timmy was latched on to Rashel's arm, fangs sunk deep into her vein. Without a second though, Quinn ripped him from her arm, throwing him backwards into a large tree trunk.
"Jesus Christ, Quinn.." Rashel muttered, dizzy from the sudden loss of blood. Quinn turned from Timmy, snarling in her direction. 'See, bad idea.' Slowly, she stood up, wiping her arm on the thigh of her torn jeans. Quinn watched, then flicked his eyes back up to hers, and glared, "That isn't your brother anymore, when are you going to realize that? He's a little monster, Hunter Redfern's prodigy child. For all we know he's tracking him somehow, and that's how they keep finding us!"
"They keep finding us because they smell a vampire and human together," Rashel spat back, "Stop telling me he's a monster!" Quinn grit his teeth - when was the last time someone had spoken to him like that and gotten away with it? Years... He ground his teeth harder as he mentally cursed the soulmate principal. Holding out his hand, he let out a long breath, and said, "Come on. Just a bit further." Rashel seemed to accept the sudden change in temperament, and Quinn knew she was feeling his emotions just like he could feel hers. Frustration. Confusion with this sudden bond they were still getting used to. She put her hand in his, and Quinn pulled Timmy off the ground by his wrist, and dragged him behind them. Timmy kept resisting, but Quinn's hand in Rashel's was sending little sparks of warmth up his arm. She shot him a weary grin, and said, "Yeah, I know. I feel them too."
"I see a house," Timmy's voice broke in, "Maybe there are humans inside! I think I can even smell one!" Quinn frowned, and nodded, "That's the place, but.. I do smell a human. Strange.." Rashel looked at him warily, and said, "Remind me again how welcoming are your cousins going to be, Quinn?" Quinn shot her a dry smile, "Before or after we explain I come in peace, for the first time this century?" Rashel nodded, spotting a piece of wood on the ground that would be a good defense weapon.
"Don't tell me Rashel the Cat is nervous," Quin smirked, as they climbed the rickety fence into the yard. Rashel rolled her eyes, "I can take them." She dropped his hand - something made her feel like this wasn't the time for hand holding or comforting. They approached the house slowly, knowing the occupants could sense them around, but not sure how they would be met. Timmy was almost shaking, he wanted the human's blood that badly. Quinn looked completely composed from the outside, but Rashel could feel the strain on his body through their link. 'Soon.' She sent to him, not looking. They had only just come to terms with the fact that fate had a huge sense of humor, and had destined them soulmates. The fact that, until then, they had despised one another's race was still looming over them. She felt uncomfortable with the idea that very soon he would need to go and find a blood source to sustain himself with.
"Why Quinn, what a pleasant surprise," A girl's voice sounded. Rashel glanced at the porch to see a tall girl walking down the steps, smiling warmly. Quinn nodded to her, the rest of his body unnaturally still, "Rowan, the human world is treating you well." Rowan was about to reply, when her eyes landed on Rashel.
"Your a human," was all she stated. Her eyes had widened a fraction, but otherwise her body held the same stillness Quinn's did. Rashel nodded slowly, gripping Timmy's arm tight. Rowan frowned, and took a step back, "We didn't realize.. Quinn.. We could sense only vampires. Hmm. Maybe the rest of you better come out here." She said this is a normal tone, but the others inside still heard her. Two girls walked out first, one small with beautiful silver-blond hair, and the other golden haired, with a feral expression on her face. Rashel knew instantly they were both vampires, meaning they were Kestral and Jade, the rest of Quinn's cousins. She felt Quinn's tension as another vampire walked out, tall with ash-blond hair. Beside him was a human girl, who looked nervous as she bit her lip, examining the male vampires face. Their fingers were entwined.
"Ash." Quinn stated this, not saying anything else. Ash narrowed his eyes, looking from Quinn to Rashel, who were standing almost shoulder to shoulder. Rashel had the urge to hold on to Quinn, but she knew neither of them needed that disability in the situation.
"Brought lunch, did you?" Ash asked, eyes narrowing. The girl beside Ash frowned hard at him, and Ash dropped her hand, shifting into what appeared to be a comfortable stance, but it was one Rashel knew from experience. He could spring out of it and attack at a given moment, in the blink of an eye. Quinn sighed, "We need a place to stay. We're being tracked, I can't tell by how many."
"First, you tell us why your back. Ash said we'd be left alone," Kestral growled, her fangs glinting in the sunlight as she scowled at them both. Before Quinn could reply, Rashel caught his eye, and thought 'Let me try. They don't trust you.' He nodded, 'Tread carefully, vampire hunter. They may not appreciate someone of your.. reputation. ' Rashel nodded, turning back to the house as she said, "My name is Rashel Jordan. I'm.. I'm Quinn's soulmate." She said the last part almost with a wince, and Quinn shifted closer to her, sending soothing thoughts through their bond to help her relax. The wince had struck a cord in him - though he knew it was still hard to accept. Even still, the last thing they needed was the vampire hunter to let loose on the only people he could think to turn to.
"Soulmate?" Ash burst out, laughing dryly, "Oh, this is a real riot." Quinn snarled at him, restrained only by the hand Rashel put on his arm.
"Keep your mouth shut, Redfern," Quinn muttered, his voice sending a chill through Rashel's body. Quinn felt her moment of fear, and that damn cord struck again. He forced his voice to calm down, and said again, "We need a place to stay." The human girl beside Ash took a deep breath, and exclaimed, "I'm Mary-Lynette. Ash's soulmate." Ash groaned, rubbing his forehead. There was dead silence, until Quinn's low laugh rang across the yard.
"M'lin, really?" Ash grumbled, and Mary-Lynette rolled her eyes, "Get over it, Ash! They need help, he's your cousin! Whats the problem?"
"Can you believe this?" Rowan smiled, "Ash AND Quinn, both having human soulmates. The Night World would never believe this. Mary-Lynette, Quinn is like Ash. Well, worse, perhaps." Quinn felt Rashel's sigh, and thought 'Its who I was. Not who I am.' She nodded, not meeting his eyes.
"And I suppose you blew up Hunter Redfern's villa, too?" Jade said, speaking for the first time. Rashel grinned finally, and Quinn said, "Rashel infiltrated. Long story. He's not dead."
"Well, you may as well come in," Rowan said, suddenly sounding businesslike, "But, what on earth is that?" She was looking at Timmy, who was straining towards Mary-Lynette. Rashel pulled him back, "My little brother."
"We can lock him in the basement," Quinn muttered, taking his arm from Rashel and dragging him forwards. Timmy howled as he passed Mary-Lynette, "She's mine! Give her to me!" Rowan showed Quinn where the basement was, and Rashel walked stiffly towards the porch, eyeing Kestral in distrust.
"Do you want a shower?" Mary-Lynette asked, and Rashel's urge to get clean outweighed her strange feelings about Kestral. She nodded, "Please." Mary-Lynette showed her inside, and up an old staircase to the bathroom.
"You can call me Mary," She smiled, "Its so nice to have another human here. Not that you can't trust them, but still, you know?" She bubbled away, and Rashel found herself calmed by the inane conversation. 24 hours with Quinn on the run didn't provide much conversation.
"I'll be in the living room. I expect everyone will meet there to talk," Mary said, closing the door behind her. Rashel rubbed her face, finally giving herself a girl moment as she looked in the mirror. Great. You meet your soulmate, and you look like shit. She was bruised and burned from the fire, her clothes smokey and virtually falling into pieces. And her leather jacket was trashed.
'You look beautiful to me.' A quiet voice whispered in her mind. She blushed, forgetting not to project her thoughts. She closed her mind quickly, before she started to undress for her shower. They would have a lot to discuss, and a lot to decide soon, but for now she was going to enjoy her shower.