Chapter 10

Moving On

Anne called in sick for her first shift the next day, so I was called in to work her first shift. I suspected Anne called in because the vamp ambush the previous night had put her through the grinder. Indeed, I looked rough when I got back to my little ex-motel room apartment, and I didn't take nearly as much abuse as Anne had, and I healed even faster than slayers did.

Anne healed fast enough, however, that her bruises were already fading by the time she came in for second shift. I could barely see them under her makeup. She was clearly used to covering bruises. It was busy that night, and it wasn't until 11:00 that things calmed down enough for us to take a break.

Anne and I usually didn't take breaks together, so I was surprised when she came over to my table.

She sat down, took a drink, and watched as Mitch came out and wiped down the counter. He must have taken his weekly shower last night, because he didn't smell too bad today.

"Thank you for saving my life," Anne finally said.

"What?" Yes, it was lame, but I was actually taken by surprise. I didn't think she'd actually seen me.

"Yeah, I saw you," Anne said. "At first I thought it was a trick of the light and the dust, and lack of oxygen, but when I stuck my thumb in the hag vamp's eye, I saw you staking one of the big vamps. I wonder where the hag found all those guys."

Anne took a sip from her Diet Pepsi.

"So how long has the Council known where I was?" she asked. "Guess I now know who took Kendra's place."

"I'm not with the Council," I said.

"Really?" she responded.

"Who's Kendra?" I asked.

"Your predecessor, my successor," Anne said. "You know, the slayer who died so that you could take her place."

"Aren't you the slayer?" I asked.

"Ohhhhhh kay, so you are not a slayer?" Anne asked.

"Nope," I said. "But I was sure you were."

"Oh, I am," Anne said. "But what are you?"

"On your side," I said. "That's all I'm going to say, except to emphasize when I say that I am on your side, that is not to say that I'm on the Council's side. And I thought there was only one slayer at a time."

"Usually, that's the case," Anne said. "Funny thing, though, I died a year ago last Spring. Not for very long, a friend brought me back with CPR, but it was long enough to activate the next slayer."

"Kendra?" I said. "Was she Jamaican, by any chance?"

"I guess," Anne said. "Never did figure out exactly where she came from."

"But she's dead now."

"Yeah, I figure there's another replacement slayer out there some place."

"And that's who you thought I was," I said. "That makes sense."

"So why are you here?" Anne asked.

"Believe it or not, I just came here for a job," I said. "Your being here was just a coincidence."

"And you saving me?"

"You kind of reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"You don't look much older than I am."

"Appearances can be deceiving."

"I've learned that," Anne said. She took another sip from her Diet Pepsi. More customers came in. "Time to get back to work."

That was the last time I talked to her. After the shift ended, I told Mitch that I was quitting. He shrugged. He was used to it. I went up to Seattle, and took a job in a coffee house close to Pike Place Market. I worked there for two years, and my name while I was there was Cassandra Anne.

End