Part 9
Tiegra couldn't understand why Susanna would run away. Something terrible must have happened, or someone had hurt her in a way she couldn't deal with...
She shuddered.
"Did she tell you anything?" Ethan sat dejectedly on the window seat.
Tiegra shook her head. "Not a word. Some things in her room are gone, clothes and stuff."
"So she's run away. *Why*?"
Why was the question no one seemed to be able to answer. She raised her eyes to look at Ethan.
He shook his head. "*No*," he said firmly. "Nothing happened." He stared at her, as if those dark eyes could bore into the centre of her mind.
Tiegra sniffled and shook her head again. "Nobody else knows..."
Ethan sighed. "Nobody else has a clue."
Tiegra's eyes rolled. Great. Susanna was missing, anything could be happening to her, and nobody had any sort of clue where to even start looking.
"The witch shop," she said, standing up. "The witches she gets her info from. If she needed help, she'd go to them."
She was out the door in a second, Ethan on her heels. The witch shop was only a few blocks away, taking barely ten minutes to get there. Once inside Ethan turned the sign on the door to read CLOSED, locked the door and drew the blinds.
The counter girl, Selene, was staring at them, fear and surprise in her eyes. "What are you - "
"Where's Susanna?" Ethan cut her off in mid sentence. She stared at him, backing away. Tiegra couldn't blame her. Ethan still had his intimidating Night World darkness, combined with his physical size...No wonder Selene was scared.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice shook slightly.
"Yes you do," Tiegra said casually, joining Ethan and leaning against the counter top. "Now we can make this easy - "
"Or hard," Ethan finished for her with a curl of his lips.
Selene didn't say anything. Tiegra and Ethan exchanged glances.
"She was here the other day," Selene blurted out. "Something had happened. She was a - "
Tiegra frowned. "She was a *what*?"
Selene sighed. "A vampire. Okay? She'd been made a vampire and was freaking and wanted to run."
Tiegra found herself at a loss for words. Susanna...vampire...same sentence? But *how*...
"Where did she go?" Ethan demanded after a second of chocked silence.
Selene's eyes closed. "She went to a town called Greenville. It's a got a safe place for rejects of both the human and Night World. That's *all* I know. Now get out of here."
Tiegra looked at Ethan, who just shrugged helplessly. They left the store. "Ethan, did you..."
"*No*," he said emphatically. He was clearly annoyed. "Why does everyone seem to assume I've hurt her?" He was also clearly as distressed as she was.
Tiegra reached out and pulled him to her, holding him closely. "I know you won't hurt her," she whispered.
He shook his head. "I loved her," he muttered, clinging to her as tightly as she held him.
"Shall we tell the others?" she asked.
Ethan sighed and nodded, getting into his car. "What choice do we have?"
Tiegra nodded, sitting in the passenger seat as Ethan put the car in gear and drove off. "Then we find her and bring her home."
* * *
Part 10
The town was like a normal town anywhere in the country. Fairly small, everything seemed to be within walking distance. It was almost *too* picturesque for Susanna's liking.
"So that's pretty much it," Jack concluded, putting the Porsche back on the driveway.
"Is this your car?" Susanna asked. He'd been flirting with her non-stop, his questions gentle, but probing. She answered as carefully as she dared.
Jack snorted. "Nah. It's Carter's. Idiot left his keys." Even Susanna found herself intrigued by the mysterious Carter.
"So who are you, really?" he asked, shutting off the engine and turning to face her. "If we keep calling you Suzy, you look like you're going to puke." He snorted. "Then Kathryn will kill you for throwing up on the furniture or the carpet."
Susanna managed a smile. She had to tell someone. She might as well trust him. "My real name is Susanna. I used to be a vampire hunter. One night a vampire caught me and changed me. When I woke up I freaked and ran."
It was the truth as such, but not quiet the *whole* truth. She didn't know if anyone could handle the whole truth.
"That sucks," Jack said sympathetically.
"Tell me about it," Susanna snorted. "Why are you here?"
He turned away from her, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "My last boyfriend was human. My parents found out and freaked." Jack's eyes rolled. "Not just about the human thing. They had hunters kill him. I refused to stay in Night World, I'm not exactly Daybreak material, so I came here."
Susanna found she could relate. Then she found herself eyeing him curiously. If he was into boys, then... "How come..."
Jack grinned at her. "I go either way. As long as I can fuck it it doesn't bother me."
"Oh." Susanna got out of the car and followed him back into the house. She wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone else. She headed up into her room, wondering what to do with herself now she was here. She needed an entire new identify.
~Oh the hell with it,~ she thought. ~I'll worry about it tomorrow. I'm going to bed.~
She stopped dead, feeling cool arms around her waist. "Kathryn?" she asked nervously. "What are you doing?"
Kathryn's laugh was deep and throaty. "I know exactly who you are Susanna Lomax. But you probably don't remember me, do you?"
* * *
Part 11
Tiegra didn't want to admit it, but she would have much rather gone to Greenville with Ethan and get Susanna themselves, but they had to tell the rest of the group.
Only when she and Ethan walked into the headquarters, silence fell, and eyes moved away from them.
"I don't fucking believe this," Ethan muttered angrily, and stalked out.
"Nice going," Monica snorted.
Tiegra was confused. "What's going on?"
Rashel glared at Quinn and Morgead. "Never mind," she snapped.
"Ego monsters," Jez added.
Tiegra's eyes rolled. "Poor Ethan," she muttered. Then she faced the group. "We know where Susanna is."
That got everyone's attention. She was more pissed off at Quinn and Morgead than the vampire who had attacked Susanna at the moment. Ethan should be in on this.
"What's happened?" Morgead asked, ignoring her.
Tiegra frowned. "She's been made into a vampire."
Dead silence fell. They were all as shocked as Tiegra had been.
"Who?" Monica demanded. "Tell us so we can find them and *torture* them."
Tiegra shook her head, feeling tears beading in her eye. "I don't know. She went to the witch shop and Selene said she'd been made a vamp. She was freaking and wanted to escape and run, so she went to a place called Greenville."
"Who would be strong enough to do something like that to Susanna?" Jez asked, shock obvious.
"Three guesses," Quinn said dryly.
Tiegra had to physically restrain herself from hitting him. "Get over it, you arrogant bastard," she snapped.
"Hey!" Rashel jumped in front of her.
"No!" Tiegra snapped. She was upset over Susanna and in a very bad mood as well as pissed off at Quinn. Power was boiling over her body, her animal straining to get loose and kill something, anything.
"Ethan didn't do *anything* to Susanna. He *loves* her." She glared at Quinn. "He needs to get over himself. So Ethan was a Night World vamp - so fucking what? Who's to say that he - or - or Morgead won't suddenly turn evil again?" She folded her arms. Quinn was holding his ground, not backing up, ready for a fight if it came to that.
"Knock it off, both of you," Jez snapped. "She's right."
"Get over your fucking ego, Quinn," Tiegra muttered, forcing herself to take a step back and calm herself down.
"So are we going to rescue Susanna or what?" Ethan came back into the room, deliberately ignoring Quinn and Morgead.
"Yeah," Rashel said firmly. "We're going to bring her home."
Tiegra moved closer to Ethan. "*Ethan* and I are going to bring her home."
"What about the rest of us?" Monica asked.
"You guys are on alert in case anything goes wrong," she answered coldly.
"Let's go," Ethan muttered to her, eyes narrowed with determination. Tiegra nodded.
* * *
Tiegra couldn't understand why Susanna would run away. Something terrible must have happened, or someone had hurt her in a way she couldn't deal with...
She shuddered.
"Did she tell you anything?" Ethan sat dejectedly on the window seat.
Tiegra shook her head. "Not a word. Some things in her room are gone, clothes and stuff."
"So she's run away. *Why*?"
Why was the question no one seemed to be able to answer. She raised her eyes to look at Ethan.
He shook his head. "*No*," he said firmly. "Nothing happened." He stared at her, as if those dark eyes could bore into the centre of her mind.
Tiegra sniffled and shook her head again. "Nobody else knows..."
Ethan sighed. "Nobody else has a clue."
Tiegra's eyes rolled. Great. Susanna was missing, anything could be happening to her, and nobody had any sort of clue where to even start looking.
"The witch shop," she said, standing up. "The witches she gets her info from. If she needed help, she'd go to them."
She was out the door in a second, Ethan on her heels. The witch shop was only a few blocks away, taking barely ten minutes to get there. Once inside Ethan turned the sign on the door to read CLOSED, locked the door and drew the blinds.
The counter girl, Selene, was staring at them, fear and surprise in her eyes. "What are you - "
"Where's Susanna?" Ethan cut her off in mid sentence. She stared at him, backing away. Tiegra couldn't blame her. Ethan still had his intimidating Night World darkness, combined with his physical size...No wonder Selene was scared.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice shook slightly.
"Yes you do," Tiegra said casually, joining Ethan and leaning against the counter top. "Now we can make this easy - "
"Or hard," Ethan finished for her with a curl of his lips.
Selene didn't say anything. Tiegra and Ethan exchanged glances.
"She was here the other day," Selene blurted out. "Something had happened. She was a - "
Tiegra frowned. "She was a *what*?"
Selene sighed. "A vampire. Okay? She'd been made a vampire and was freaking and wanted to run."
Tiegra found herself at a loss for words. Susanna...vampire...same sentence? But *how*...
"Where did she go?" Ethan demanded after a second of chocked silence.
Selene's eyes closed. "She went to a town called Greenville. It's a got a safe place for rejects of both the human and Night World. That's *all* I know. Now get out of here."
Tiegra looked at Ethan, who just shrugged helplessly. They left the store. "Ethan, did you..."
"*No*," he said emphatically. He was clearly annoyed. "Why does everyone seem to assume I've hurt her?" He was also clearly as distressed as she was.
Tiegra reached out and pulled him to her, holding him closely. "I know you won't hurt her," she whispered.
He shook his head. "I loved her," he muttered, clinging to her as tightly as she held him.
"Shall we tell the others?" she asked.
Ethan sighed and nodded, getting into his car. "What choice do we have?"
Tiegra nodded, sitting in the passenger seat as Ethan put the car in gear and drove off. "Then we find her and bring her home."
* * *
Part 10
The town was like a normal town anywhere in the country. Fairly small, everything seemed to be within walking distance. It was almost *too* picturesque for Susanna's liking.
"So that's pretty much it," Jack concluded, putting the Porsche back on the driveway.
"Is this your car?" Susanna asked. He'd been flirting with her non-stop, his questions gentle, but probing. She answered as carefully as she dared.
Jack snorted. "Nah. It's Carter's. Idiot left his keys." Even Susanna found herself intrigued by the mysterious Carter.
"So who are you, really?" he asked, shutting off the engine and turning to face her. "If we keep calling you Suzy, you look like you're going to puke." He snorted. "Then Kathryn will kill you for throwing up on the furniture or the carpet."
Susanna managed a smile. She had to tell someone. She might as well trust him. "My real name is Susanna. I used to be a vampire hunter. One night a vampire caught me and changed me. When I woke up I freaked and ran."
It was the truth as such, but not quiet the *whole* truth. She didn't know if anyone could handle the whole truth.
"That sucks," Jack said sympathetically.
"Tell me about it," Susanna snorted. "Why are you here?"
He turned away from her, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "My last boyfriend was human. My parents found out and freaked." Jack's eyes rolled. "Not just about the human thing. They had hunters kill him. I refused to stay in Night World, I'm not exactly Daybreak material, so I came here."
Susanna found she could relate. Then she found herself eyeing him curiously. If he was into boys, then... "How come..."
Jack grinned at her. "I go either way. As long as I can fuck it it doesn't bother me."
"Oh." Susanna got out of the car and followed him back into the house. She wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone else. She headed up into her room, wondering what to do with herself now she was here. She needed an entire new identify.
~Oh the hell with it,~ she thought. ~I'll worry about it tomorrow. I'm going to bed.~
She stopped dead, feeling cool arms around her waist. "Kathryn?" she asked nervously. "What are you doing?"
Kathryn's laugh was deep and throaty. "I know exactly who you are Susanna Lomax. But you probably don't remember me, do you?"
* * *
Part 11
Tiegra didn't want to admit it, but she would have much rather gone to Greenville with Ethan and get Susanna themselves, but they had to tell the rest of the group.
Only when she and Ethan walked into the headquarters, silence fell, and eyes moved away from them.
"I don't fucking believe this," Ethan muttered angrily, and stalked out.
"Nice going," Monica snorted.
Tiegra was confused. "What's going on?"
Rashel glared at Quinn and Morgead. "Never mind," she snapped.
"Ego monsters," Jez added.
Tiegra's eyes rolled. "Poor Ethan," she muttered. Then she faced the group. "We know where Susanna is."
That got everyone's attention. She was more pissed off at Quinn and Morgead than the vampire who had attacked Susanna at the moment. Ethan should be in on this.
"What's happened?" Morgead asked, ignoring her.
Tiegra frowned. "She's been made into a vampire."
Dead silence fell. They were all as shocked as Tiegra had been.
"Who?" Monica demanded. "Tell us so we can find them and *torture* them."
Tiegra shook her head, feeling tears beading in her eye. "I don't know. She went to the witch shop and Selene said she'd been made a vamp. She was freaking and wanted to escape and run, so she went to a place called Greenville."
"Who would be strong enough to do something like that to Susanna?" Jez asked, shock obvious.
"Three guesses," Quinn said dryly.
Tiegra had to physically restrain herself from hitting him. "Get over it, you arrogant bastard," she snapped.
"Hey!" Rashel jumped in front of her.
"No!" Tiegra snapped. She was upset over Susanna and in a very bad mood as well as pissed off at Quinn. Power was boiling over her body, her animal straining to get loose and kill something, anything.
"Ethan didn't do *anything* to Susanna. He *loves* her." She glared at Quinn. "He needs to get over himself. So Ethan was a Night World vamp - so fucking what? Who's to say that he - or - or Morgead won't suddenly turn evil again?" She folded her arms. Quinn was holding his ground, not backing up, ready for a fight if it came to that.
"Knock it off, both of you," Jez snapped. "She's right."
"Get over your fucking ego, Quinn," Tiegra muttered, forcing herself to take a step back and calm herself down.
"So are we going to rescue Susanna or what?" Ethan came back into the room, deliberately ignoring Quinn and Morgead.
"Yeah," Rashel said firmly. "We're going to bring her home."
Tiegra moved closer to Ethan. "*Ethan* and I are going to bring her home."
"What about the rest of us?" Monica asked.
"You guys are on alert in case anything goes wrong," she answered coldly.
"Let's go," Ethan muttered to her, eyes narrowed with determination. Tiegra nodded.
* * *
