Chapter 27

Dean, his head under the hood, is faking a car trouble in an isolated portion of the road.

"Problems?" A woman's voice comes behind him. He slowly turns around. "If you'd like… Can give you a lift to my place, Darling." Vampire Kate adds, caressing his chest through the T-shirt.

"Think I'll pass… Don't do bloodthirsty chicks…" He smirks.

She slaps him with the back of her hand and he falls flat on the ground. A huge black vampire appears next to her. She lifts Dean up like he weights nothing. "Why?... We can have so much fun together, Sugar." She goes to kiss him when an arrow pierces her through from the back; instantly followed by another one, hitting the other vampire. "Damn it!..." She turns around to see John and Sam coming out of the edge of the woods. "Barely even stings!"

"Give it a moment, Sweetheart… It was soaked in Dead man's blood… Isn't it poison for you?" The father grins, just before she faints. He then faces the black guy, raising his machete and with no hesitation, cuts his head off. "Lift her up!" He orders his older son and gives her the same treatment.

.

A little further in the woods, they go for the campfire settled at the spot they previously planned.

"What's that smell?" Sam asks.

"Saffron, skunk's cabbage and trillium… It'll block our scents for a while... Put some of the ashes on your clothes." John answers distractedly, looking around. "The hell!... Where is Eli?" They start to look around, not screaming her name, risking being located. "Damned!..."

"You think she went after Luther on her own?" Dean comes.

"I fear she did… She has enough guts to do it…" With no other word, he goes back to his pickup, followed by his two sons. "What are we doing now?"

"Go for the barn... She's on foot, maybe we can catch up with her before she gets there..." He explains entering it.

.

Bo, one of the vampire soldiers, comes back at the nest. "They got Hank and Kate!" He reports to Luther. "What do you want us to do?" They hear some ruffle on the side of the barn, picking everybody's attention.

"You can come to me, Elisabeth... Nobody will hurt you..." Luther says to the dark.

"Who the fuck is Elisabeth?" Bo spits out aggressively.

A human shape comes out of the shade. "Hello Luther..." She softly says.

The roar of a car passing by on the road nearby puts Luther on the alert. He grabs Eli's arm and drag her inside.

.

John, a pair of night-vision binoculars in front of him, is trying to see inside the barn. "We have to go back inside." He whispers to his sons.

"No Dad... That would be the last thing to do now... They have Eli... They probably expecting we'll come for her..." Dean warns.

"She puts herself into this... And I need that Colt!" John harshly says.

"You don't mean that... Leaving her to the vamps... Really?"

"If you have a better plan to get her and the Colt... I'm all hears... But, it has to be fast, because Luther won't wait long to turn her this time... He won't make that same mistake twice... And we won't know for sure what we're getting out of that barn... Eli or a turned bloodthirsty vamp!"

.

"This day started quiet roughly, but it seems to go for a happy ending… You are welcome in my nest, Elisabeth…" Luther showing her around.

"Our reunion is not coincidental, I'm afraid… I'm here to make you an offer…" She manages to look comfortable talking to him.

"An offer?... Interesting… And I though you came back just out of love…"

She softly laughs. "Those hunters… They don't come after you?"

"Really?... You're sure?... After what we did to Elkins, you really want me to believe they won't seek revenge?"

"Killing Elkins was a bad move… And I suppose some of your soldiers already paid the price of it… Am I right?"

"I lost a few today… That's right…"

"Will you go for revenge, Luther?… Will you start a war?... I thought you were looking for peace, now."

"Depends…"

"Well, in fact, there is something they want more than just wasting you and your kind… It's that Colt you took from Elkins…"

"It's just an antique… What is making that gun more important than their lust for extermination?… They are hunters… That's what hunters do…"

"Give them the Colt and they will leave you in peace!... I can guarantee you this…"

"Why are you so scared of me, Elisabeth?" Luther asks, suddenly close to her, brushing slightly her hair with the back of his hand.

"It's a scary place… And I don't know if I can trust… Your companions…" She answers, in the most languorous tone she could manage.

"They won't lift a finger on you… They have orders and they know what they risk if they don't follow them…" He stares at her intensively. "You are blocking your thoughts from me…"

"I learned a few things… Who is she?" Pointing a finger at the red-haired young woman, still attached at the beam, to change the conversation.

"A pale reflection of you, I'm afraid…"

"Hum…" She plays disappointment.

Luther comes closer to her and takes her in his arms. "Don't be mad, my Love… I was just… Unoccupied… And painfully lonely…"

"Luther, don't... I'm not…" She whispers. He goes to kiss her, but she sees his second pair of teeth appearing. She slowly pushes him away from her. "Wait… Not now… That guarantee I told you of, is me… If you turn me before the deal is made, I doubt those hunters will let you go out alive…" She manages to say, feeling her willpower degrading by the second.

"Do you trust them?" He asks.

"Yes… I know them well… And they are true men of word…"

"Did one of them own you?"

"Ah… Well…"

"Don't be afraid to tell me…"

"My heart belongs to one of them, yes…" She murmurs as steady as possible.

"That is very unfortunate… I don't know if I can keep you on my side…"

"He doesn't know… We didn't consummate…" She says quickly, approaching him again.

"Will they leave you be if I'm agree to hand them the Colt…"

"They will do as I say… I told you, the gun has a bigger purpose for them… Nothing to do with us…"

Luther stays silent for a moment, walking along the barn. "So, then be it… Make the deal…"