CHAPTER 10

Ash flashed himself to Sanctuary and mentally searched for the hunter but couldn't locate him. All he could get was the sensation that he was in New Orleans and he was fighting against something. Something that was trying to block his mind and Sam was fighting back.

Ash tracked down Aimee who was talking to Fang. The blond looked worried and Fang was trying to reassure her.

"I'm telling you Fang, somethings wrong. He should be here. He's never not turned up and you know it."

And Fang did know it. If Sam ever missed his turn at watch duty for Sanctuary he always got word to one of the other Dark Hunters. Fang was concerned and it wasn't often the wolf worried about anybody outside of his pack and family.

"He probably got caught up in some Dark Hunter business." He winced as Aimee just glared at him.

Fang visibly sighed with relief when he heard Ash approaching. Out of all the supernatural beings Fang knew, his wife was by far the most terrifying. Ash hadn't visited Sanctuary for several weeks so there was only one reason he could be here now. Fang didn't believe in coincidences.

The Arcadian had spotted Ash before Fang did. She gave Ash a smile but he could see the concern in her eyes. Aimee was obviously thinking the same thing as Fang. Sam may not go out of his way to make friends but that didn't stop Aimee from worrying. She was just that kind of bear.

Ash gave that mysterious smile of his before greeting them.

"Fang. Aimee."

Aimee didn't even greet Ash before getting to the point.

"Sam's in trouble"

Ash just cocked an eyebrow at her and gave no indication that was why he was here. "What makes you say that?"

Fang sighed before joining the conversation. "He should have been over here by now and he hasn't been and we've not heard from him." He paused as if ordering his thoughts. He wasn't even sure if the event from two nights ago was even relevant. "There was someone in here a few days ago. Wasn't a demon but there was something odd about him. Sam said he never saw him and we haven't seen him since. Maybe he tried to find him."

Aimee interrupted her mate at that point "And about an hour ago I overheard someone talking about how a Dark Hunter tried to kill an Appollite kid and the description sounded an awful lot like Sam. Tall, brown hair, muscular, carried a very large knife."

Ash's eyes narrowed. Knives were Sam's weapon of choice but he would never attack a kid. There were rules for a reason and if any of his Dark Hunters broke that particular rule then that was punishable by death. Instantly. Ash still had his painful memories of being attacked when he was a defenceless child and he would not permit that action. If Sam was guilty Ash would kill him himself.

"Sam wouldn't hurt a kid, Ash". Ash couldn't help a slight smile as Aimee jumped immediately to Sam's defence.

Ash saw Fang give her a slight sideways glance at her and there was a spark of uncertainty in his eyes and he could tell what the wolf was thinking. Sam could be a cold bastard at times and if he thought that he had to, if it was necessary, would he?

Ash didn't believe that Sam would hurt a kid but not everybody in the city would believe that. Ash sighed. From now on his men were going to have to watch out for revenge attacks as well as the usual Daimon attacks once that story got out. Why was life never simple? At least it meant Stryker wasn't involved in whatever was going on. It may be screwed up but he had his own moral code. He wouldn't sacrifice his own.

"Was the kid hurt?"

"He had a pretty bad knife wound on his throat and some nasty bruises. But he was more scared than anything else from what I heard".

"Okay. Don't worry Aimee I'll track him down."

She smiled and Fang put an arm around her. She visibly relaxed but was still worried.

Ash headed out of the bar, again trying to locate Sam. As usual the buzz in the bar had calmed him but still he was unable to find Sam. Sam was harder for Ash to track than the others due to his constantly upheld psychic barriers but he should be able to find him. He could feel Sam's barriers were erect but they felt muted, as if Sam was wrapped in a thick blanket, it was making it difficult for Ash to pinpoint his location. He sighed. Savitar would probably be able to locate him which would be easier but he had the feeling that he needed to find Sam quickly. And the hours of darkness would soon be ending so Sam would be forced to take cover for the day.

Ash knew that Sam wasn't really the social type and there was only really one Dark Hunter he almost considered a friend. He quickly called Jean-Luc.

The pirate answered almost immediately

"Si"

Ash got straight to the point. "When was the last time you heard from Sam?"

Jean-Luc didn't even hesitate. "About four hours ago."

"How did he sound?"

Ash could almost feel the scowl on the pirates face.

"He sent me a message. He was worried. It's been too quiet here. What's going on boss?" The question was suspicious.

"Nothing worse than usual."

"Mierda de torro, boss."

"Jean-Luc" Ash warned

"First there's Sam's mystery monster, then no daimons come out to play and now Sam's missing."

"What monster?" Was he talking about the guy who Fang had mentioned? Maybe Sam had gone looking for him.

"Some feminino kicked Sam's telekinetic ass then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He asked me to warn the others since you weren't answering your phone"

"Did you say a woman?" Was there two of them? Had Sam maybe run into his mate?

"It is the days of equal opportunity Ash. Now what's going on?"

"I'll take care of it." Ash hung up before he flashed himself to his AWOL hunter's home and retrace his path. He would just have to follow Sam's usual route and see if he could find him. He didn't expect to find him there and he really didn't expect to see what he saw going on under the shady trees of Sam's home.