I Knew You Were Trouble

(Slayer's note: I talked with Tobias, and we decided the best way to tell you this next part would be to let him co-author. I wasn't there when a lot of this went down, and instead of hearing it all second hand, we thought it would be best for Tobias to tell you his side in his own words.)

Rachel

"What am I gonna DO, Cassie??"

My best friend sighed. "I don't know, Rachel. This is serious. All I do know is, the last thing you want to do is accuse him outright. Are we sure you didn't just forget to put them back after patrol?"

It was Saturday night, the day after my birthday. A really wonderful weekend had been flipped upside down when I realized the two packets of human blood had gone missing from my freezer. The first time Tobias spends the night, and the VERY addictive blood goes missing. This was a nightmare. For a brief, shining fucking moment, everything felt perfect. Sure there was the threat of impending doom hanging over our heads, but last night, dancing with Tobias, surrounded by my family and friends? It felt perfect. Then it all went to hell.

I called Cassie immediately, making up a lie to my mother about forgetting we were supposed to work on a school project this weekend. I thought the days of having to lie to my mom were over, but apparently not, and boy it sure did come easy, didn't it? I even used the lovely family day she planned for us and had invited Tobias along to as the reason the project slipped my mind. So I rainchecked the movie night, called Cassie and then wracked my nerves on the drive over to pick her up.

"Yeah, I retraced my steps." I muttered to Cassie. "Two nights ago me, Taylor, Estrid, Ax and Tobias went on patrol. We didn't encounter anything past a few standard vamps, I came home, checked in with my mom and put the blood away."

Cassie frowned. "And you've already checked with your family?" I didn't need to answer, she read the look on my face. "Rachel! Are you kidding me?? Let's go ask them right now!" She was already moving from her seat on my bed, but I lunged for her arm before she could make it to the door.

"Cassie, wait!" I pleaded. "I… I don't want to tell my mom. Not yet. Not until I KNOW what happened. I don't… you should have seen her face when I woke up in the hospital, Cass. She had already convinced herself that Tobias hurt me, and was ready to ACT on it. I just… she REALLY likes him now. Like, she mentions how helpful and thoughtful he is all the time, or what a sweetheart he is... and…" I looked away from my friend and sighed. "Look, the divorce, everything that happened with my dad, it really messed her up. More than she's ever admitted. She didn't use to be so bitter. I love my mom, but when she makes her mind up on someone, she can be really nasty. I've seen it, and I don't want her to do that to Tobias."

Cassie sat back down and rested her head on my shoulder. "Ok. We'll do it your way. I still think we should talk to your sisters, at least Jordan." I nodded, she was probably right. "But, and I know this won't be easy, Rachel… but I really think you need to talk to Tobias. If you're so worried about what other people might think of him, I think you should talk to him first. I can help, if you want? In situations like this, it's supposed to be better to use 'I' statements rather than 'you' statements. Talk about how YOU feel, not how you think he might feel or what you think he may have done."

I groaned. I knew she was right, and after the whole vampire thing, we promised to be open and honest with each other. I looked at the clock on my nightstand. "Ok, I relented. "I'll talk to Jordan, then swing by his place after I drop you off. Thanks again, Cassie."

Cassie smiled. "You're loving having a car, aren't you."

"Psh", I said with a roll of my eyes. "Yeah, not the way I envisioned having wheels would go, but it is convenient in a Slayer crisis. Is there anywhere you want to go? Depending how tonight goes, I could be free tomorrow. You really came through for me tonight, Cass. Let me make it up to you. I'll take you anywhere you wanna go!"

Her eyes lit up. "They just opened a new hyena exhibit at the Santa Barbara zoo… and I still haven't been there since they got their lowland gorillas last year…"

I laughed. "Ok. Deal." I heard footsteps up the stairs, too controlled to be Sara's, especially after cake and ice cream. "I'll be right back," I said with a sigh.

knock knock* "Hey, Jor? Truce?"

Jordan's door opened with just enough space for her to stand in. "I thought you were doing homework." She sounded a little snarkier than when we normally call truce.

"Can I talk to you? It's important."

She deflated a bit and stepped aside to let me in. "More important than movie night?" She didn't sound angry, hurt maybe?"

"Yeah… I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to blow it off. But… Jor promise me you won't say anything to Mom or Sara, ok?"

Her eyes went wide. "Wait. You're not ACTUALLY pregnant, are you?"

I choked. "Oh my god no. Did I tell you Ax thought seventeenth birthday meant the birth of my seventeenth child??" That caught her off guard and she erupted into a fit of giggles. "But seriously Jordan, you gotta promise."

"Ok," she said wiping her tears away. "I promise. Now what's up?"

"The packets of blood that I keep as an emergency back up? The ones I had in the back of the freezer? They're gone."

My sister raised an eyebrow at me. "Aren't those Tobias'? Maybe he drank them while he was staying over?" Truce or no truce, there was a very apparent 'duh' sort of tone to her voice.

"No. Absolutely not. Tobias doesn't drink blood. Especially not human. Those are for like, super emergencies. Human blood can be really powerful for vampires, even ones with a human soul, like Tobias. It's like a drug. We keep the blood here instead of at his place so he isn't tempted. It's easy for a vampire to lose control around that stuff." Her eyes went wide at that. Shit. I messed up. I didn't want my sisters to be afraid of Tobias. He was the main person in charge of keeping watch over them while they were at school. Being the Slayer has brought enough fear and terror into my family's lives, I didn't want them to be afraid of my boyfriend. And right now? Jordan looked terrified. "Jordan, no don't worry. Tobias would never hurt any of us, you can trust him. Look, it's probably no big deal, maybe mom threw it out thinking it was something…"

I stopped talking. Something was wrong. Jordan didn't just look scared. She looked like she was about to have a full blown freak out. Her breathing was quickening and her eyes started to tear up. Motherfuck.

"Jordan. What did you do?" I was trying in vain to reel in my anger.

"You said…you said truce…"

"JORDAN. WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?!?"

"Rachel?" Cassie's voice was full of concern, as she walked the short few steps from my room to Jordan's. "Is everything ok?" From the doorway, Cassie looked into the room. Jordan had her arms wrapped around herself, tears streaming down her face. "Rachel…" Cassie said cautiously, in her 'attempting to diffuse a situation' voice. "Remember what we were saying before? I statements?"

I growled. "How's this? *I* am going to go full Slayer mode if you don't tell me what you did right fucking now, Jordan!"

"I…I…I didn't know!" My sister wailed. "I thought it was just like, his food! I figured you just had it here in case he wanted a snack! I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS DANGEROUS! YOU NEVER TELL ME ANYTHING!"

I opened my mouth to scream at her, when I felt Cassie's hand touching mine.

"Why don't you let me and Jordan talk, Rache?" She said softly. "Is that something you'd be ok with?" Cassie asked my sister. Jordan nodded. "I've got this." She said to me, with a calming smile. "Go."

I huffed out a hot breath of air and stormed out of the room, heading back to mine. If it had been anyone else, I would have been offended. Angry at the idea that I was too hotheaded to handle a situation like this. But it was Cassie, and this is what she's better at than anyone I know. It was Cassie's emotional maturity that I needed in this situation to begin with, right? That was the whole reason I called her.

I paced around my room. Jordan was fifteen. FIFTEEN! Why did she always act like such a fucking CHILD?! I let out a frustrated groan. I needed to think about something else. Needed to calm down. On my wall over my desk, I had one of those cork bulletin boards. I pinned little quotes and things there. Some that I cut from magazines, some that I wrote on stationary. There were a few new additions to the board, I had pinned them up this evening. One of the things we had done today was drop my mom's disposable camera off to be developed into pictures. I had pinned up a few of my favorites, Cassie trying to shove a piece of cake into my face, Ax and Sara's macarena totem pole, all six of us original Scoobies posing together. I looked at the photo I pinned to the center of the board. A candid of Tobias and I, dancing together and laughing. I pulled the pin out and took the picture down off the board. What was I thinking? This one deserved a frame.

The door to my room opened behind me, and Cassie stepped in. "How are you doing?" Not a day went by that Cassie didn't amaze me. She just had to deescalate a classic Rachel Berenson meltdown where I was absolutely the aggressor and still, her voice was full of concern for me.

"So how bad is it?" I asked with a sigh.

Tobias

My name is Tobias. Tobias Harris, according to the state ID I found in my wallet when I woke up in a cave with no memories of who I was or how I got to be…the way I am. Look, Rachel said she's writing this book chronologically, so I'm sure you already know all about me and who I am. I'm a vampire. Not like regular vampires though, I have a soul. My human soul. Rachel always says I'm a human trapped in the body of a vampire, but I don't know. I have all the powers of a vampire, as well as the instincts of one. It's hard to think of yourself as a human when the only food your body ever really craves is blood.

[Tobias! You did not eat that fruit, there! You must eat it! Your life depends on it!]

"Ax-Man, it's just one fruit, and it's sitting on a TNT crate, I'm not risking a life for one lousy peach."

Ax crossed his dainty arms over his chest and huffed out his nostril slits. [It is not a peach, it is a wumpa fruit and perhaps you would have more remaining lives if you did not skip so many of them.]

"Oh my god, fine!" I twirled my thumb on the joystick, turning the blue board shorts wearing creature around. I sighed. Had to time this just right. I flicked my thumbs, hitting the buttons and joysticks in time as Crash Bandicoot jumped into a TNT crate and exploded.

[Oh.] Ax said smugly. [You have perished. I believe it is my turn now.]

I scoffed and tossed him the playstation controller. "You play dirty, Ax." I said with a laugh.

[I do not know what you mean, Tobias. I have already had my bath today.]

ding dong*

"Ax?" I asked, pulling myself from the couch. "You expecting anyone tonight?"

[No] the Watcher said without moving a single one of his eyes from the tv screen. [Perhaps it is Marco. I mentioned to him it was likely we would spend the night playing PlayStation.]

dingdongdingdongdingdongdingdong*

I sighed. Definitely Marco. "Dude, chill out! I'm coming! But so you know, Ax just started his turn, so you're gonna have to…" I opened the door and much to my surprise, was greeted not by Marco, but by the Slayer. "…wait. Oh, hey."

She raised an eyebrow. "So that's how you boys get down, huh?" Taylor smirked and gave me a look that… I don't know what it meant. "Just as long as I get a turn after Ax…" She practically purred.

"Ah! Uh…so…. What's up?" I stuttered, stumbling backwards.

Taylor laughed, shrugging. "I don't know. The Watchers spent the day together, I figured if we're going to be working together, we should get to know each other too? I mean… I never met a human vampire before. Didn't even know there could be such a thing." She smiled again, and this time the danger was gone. It was a normal smile. A real one. "Plus, you and Rachel seem… close. I thought maybe you could give me some tips on how to crack that shell?"

That made me chuckle. Rachel is my favorite person in the world, but I know some, if not most others find her abrasive. Rachel doesn't waste time pretending to like you if she doesn't, it's one of my favorite things about her. She's so open, so real. Not everyone shares my opinion, however.

"Come on," I said, leading her to the door to the basement. "Ax-Man, Taylor and I are gonna be in the dojo if you need me. Call Marco if you need a player two."

Ax swiveled one of his stalk eyes to Taylor and me and winked, something he's picked up from his time here amongst humans. [It's for the best] he said airily. [My turns typically last 63.8 percent longer than yours, and 2.79 percent longer than Marco's.] As we descended the stairs to the basement dojo, he added, [Marco understands the importance of Wumpa fruit.]

"Rachel's not so hard to get along with," I said as I led Taylor down the stairs. "She respects honesty and doesn't have any time for people who try to bullshit her. That's really it. She'd rather someone disagree and call her out to her face than pretend to take her side when they don't actually see eye to eye. Look at her best friend. Cassie and Rachel are as different as possible. But Rachel respects Cassie because she never pretends to agree with her when she doesn't. Rachel and I are pretty different people too…but we work, you know?"

Taylor nodded. "Speaking of… what's your guys deal anyway? You're a vampire, she's a Slayer. But you're what? Dating? Or just fucking?" I choked, and Taylor just smirked at me. "What? You're gonna tell me it's none of my business?"

"I mean, it isn't." I said with a little laugh, "but yeah, we're dating. It's not a secret."

The new Slayer raised an eyebrow at me as she walked over to one of the weapon stands and selected a rokushakubō staff. She began to effortlessly twirl the fighting staff in elegant circles, even passing it from hand to hand as she did so. "Things seem pretty serious between you two," she said coyly. "That was quite the statement gift you gave her last night."

I shrugged, watching her expertly go through a few different kata with the weapon. "Rachel's important to me. I wanted to give her something that would show her, something that would last."

"About that," there was almost a sneer on Taylor's face, "what's the endgame, by the way? I mean, no offense Tobie-boy but help me understand the logistics here. I mean, does having a human soul change the whole, never age, never die thing?" I didn't say anything, which was as good as answering her, apparently. "Didn't think so. So you what, date until she outgrows you? Literally? I mean, you can't expect her to be with a sixteen year old forever, right? So what's the plan? Break up when your relationship threatens to throw her in the clink, or do you create the first ever Vampire Slayer Vampire?"

"What does it matter to you?" I snapped, harsher than I intended. This girl was getting under my skin.

"Oh ho ho HO!" She mocked, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have touched a NERVE! I'm just curious, is all. Never been with a Vampire before…"

"You know bōjutsu." I said curtly, doing my best to change the subject. Taylor grinned, clearly winning whatever messed up game she was playing.

"Of course. When you're up against demons that die when you poke them with a stick, your Watcher makes sure you know how to use a bunch of sticks. Bōjutsu, escrima, silambam, donga, tahtib." She spun the bō staff, and then stepped into a fighting stance, pressing the end of the staff into my chest. Right over my heart. "What's the matter, Toby Hawk? Scared?"

I stepped forward, calling her bluff. With a movement quicker than she was expecting, I grabbed the staff, twisted it out of her arm and spun it into fighting position behind me. Then I tossed it away. "If you just wanted to test yourself against me, all you had to do was ask. You didn't need to get me mad at you, first."

Taylor smirked playfully. "Oh but it's so much more fun this way."

"Alright then, let's see what a K-Mart blue light special Slayer can do. Hajimē!"

Taylor brought her fists up to guard her face, moving towards me with confidence. She threw a couple jabs, to test my reaction time. I didn't give her anything, merely stepping back and away from her strikes. I noticed her foot pivot and sure enough, a roundhouse kick came for my head, quicker than I expected. Not quick enough though, I blocked it with my forearm and the impact was enough to send Taylor off her feet and crashing to the tatami mats.

"Damn," she spat, picking herself up. "So this whole Visser thing's no joke huh?" Taylor refocused herself and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, clearly no longer worried about holding back. She had ferocity, but lacked the natural grace and form of my usual sparring partner. I blocked her offense easily, and caught her with a sharp kick to her midsection. "FUCK!" She doubled over.

Maybe it's some internalized misogyny, but I didn't feel good about winning a fight with Taylor, even if she was a Slayer. "You ok?" I asked, offering my hand in respect.

She sneered and grabbed it, pulling me into her while simultaneously jumping up and wrapping her legs around my ribs in a tight body scissor. She spun so I landed hard on my back, with her kneeling over me in full mount position.

"That was dirty." I coughed weakly at her.

Taylor smirked down at me. "Oh, you haven't SEEN dirty yet." She leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Give me a chance, and I'll blow your mind." She barely nibbled my earlobe when I shoved her off me, fast and hard. Taylor went flying across the room and crashed into an assortment of training weapons. I expected her to look up at me either enraged or smirking, but was wrong on both counts. Her eyes went wide, she looked scared. The weird part was she wasn't looking at me, but past me. "So uh… how much of that did you see?"

"Enough," said an icy voice from behind me. A voice I'd recognize anywhere. I turned my head to see Rachel, standing at the top of the stairs. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was glaring holes through Taylor. "I need to talk to you," she said to me, her gaze softening a bit.

I don't think Taylor noticed though. "Oh don't be mad at him, Rache. We were just having a little fun. Totally innocent, I promise." Taylor's tone certainly implied that it wasn't, but Rachel was too smart for her. Was she TRYING to piss Rachel off? Hadn't I JUST told her that Rachel respects honesty and hates people who play games?

"It isn't about you," Rachel said simply, then to me she added, "It's important." I didn't miss the way she emphasized the word important, telling me something was going on, but at the same time cutting Taylor down a bit. "Whatever you THINK is going on here," Rachel said to the new Slayer with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I can assure you it ISN'T. See, unlike you, I actually KNOW Tobias. Trust me skank, he's not interested." Taylor said nothing but smirked in rebuttal.

"I'm really not." I said honestly, as I picked myself up off the ground. That actually elicited a reaction from the Slayer, although a small one. For a brief second, a look washed over her face. Hurt? Did she really think we were flirting? I sighed. I didn't want to make her feel bad, despite her less than respectful actions. "Look, I think that's it for tonight," I said to Taylor. "You can stay and hang with Ax if you want, but I doubt you'll get him to do anything but play videogames tonight."

"You guys got Gran Turismo?" Taylor asked with a shrug.

I nodded. "Ridge Racer too, but I warn you, Ax cheats."

Rachel gave Taylor one last disdainful look, then turned to head up the stairs. I caught up with her and reached out to hold her hand. She flinched, just a bit, then laced her fingers into mine. Ok. So she was mad at me after all.

I followed her up the stairs to my room. Once inside, she closed the door behind us and sighed, heavy and tired. "Is everything ok?" I asked, feeling dumb in doing so, clearly it wasn't.

"I don't know. No? Ok definitely no, but not like red alert emergency no." She bit her lip. "Your blood's gone." Before I could even fully register the words, she winced and then added, "JORDAN took your blood. I know it wasn't you. But she waited until you spent the night to take them, which really pisses me off."

I just blinked at her. "Jordan? What would she need blood for…oh no." No…. Did I let Rachel down?? Did David or one of his cronies somehow get to Jordan when I wasn't watching her??

Rachel saw the panic on my face and instinctively put a hand on my cheek. "No, babe no. She's fine, just an idiot. Cassie talked to her, apparently she was in the girl's room last week and noticed a kid at her school didn't have a reflection. Jordan insists she's a "good" vampire who doesn't want to kill, but didn't know how to go about getting blood otherwise. So Jordan decided to help." Rachel fumed and let out an angry breath. "I mean, how could she be so stupid?! And to frame YOU! I…ok so she didn't know how blood works… that you don't normally feed on it. I guess she just assumed the whole hunting thing was a lie we came up with so our mom wouldn't freak. She didn't think it was a big deal, I guess she thought it was the same as eating my leftovers from the fridge when I'm not home and then pretending not to know what happened to it." I smiled a little at that. "Anyway, we explained things to her. Or at least Cassie did. I'm just so angry at her. We work so hard to keep her safe from this shit, and she KNOWS that. She KNOWS what you do for her and Sara and to just go and…RRRRGH!"

I chuckled softly and tip-toed up to press a kiss to her forehead. "I imagine it's easy to think that vampires and other demons aren't as much of a threat when you don't actually see them and have the most incredible monster slaying big sister in the world."

Rachel rolled her eyes at me, something I secretly loved. "So are we going to talk about it?"

That took the wind out of my sails a bit. I sighed. "Did you… did you think it was me?" A loaded question, I know, but she was the one pushing us in this direction.

"I don't know…" Rachel admitted, "I mean… I was ready to work through it with you if you had… but no. No, I knew deep down you hadn't. Not without telling me. I trust you, Tobias…" Her voice was soft and sweet, like it gets only when we're alone. But then it hardened a bit, "I mean, if I didn't trust you so much, Taylor wouldn't be the only one picking her ass out of the kendo sticks…"

I smiled. "Thanks for trusting me. You know I'd never, you know. Betray you like that. Not with anyone and especially not her."

"You didn't have to be so nice to her about it." Rachel grumped. "What was she doing here anyway?"

I shrugged. "She said she wanted to get to know me better since we'll be working together and all."

My girlfriend made a face at me. "And you actually bought that? She's never tried to get to know ME better."

"Well about that," I said with a chuckle, "she also said she wanted some tips on how to get along with you…although in retrospect I think she just wanted to know how to get under your skin. I'm sorry. She did it to me too, before the weird flirt fighting. Said a bunch of shit to make me angry."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at that. "Like what?"

I was about to say something dumb like 'it's nothing ', but that would be an outright lie. Rachel was being open and honest with me, when I'm sure it was really hard to do so. How could I not do the same for her? The truth was, what Taylor said HAD bothered me. It bothered me a LOT.

"Tobias…?"

I sighed. "She… she asked how we're going to work. You know, in the long run. With me being a vampire and you being a human. You're going to age and keep aging and I…well. I won't. If I can avoid being staked, I could be around for a really long time…"

Rachel's face contorted a bit and then she pulled me in to a tight hug. "I'm gonna kick her ass so bad…" Then she stopped muttering and kissed me. "You think I don't know that, Tobias? I knew exactly what I was getting into with you. I thought it was worth it then, and I'm even more sure now. Tobias…" Her voice got softer, almost quiet. "You studied Slayer history with Elfangor right? Do you know the average lifespan of a Slayer once their powers have been activated?"

I didn't, not the exact number. But I knew it wasn't very long.

"It's a year, Tobias. Now look, I don't know why the Watchers seem to think that's ok, but that's how it is, within their system. One Slayer and one Watcher. Not exactly how we do things, is it? Do I think I'll live a long life? Not really, no. But I'm gonna try. I'm gonna fight. And if I somehow make it to eighteen and we're still together…well then we'll find a way. We've got resources, babe. We've got the most in-depth collection of spooky books this side of Transylvania, and THREE powerful sorcerers. I know time magic is dangerous but I've already had Cassie look into it a bit. There are aging spells, lots of them. For both ways. We'll figure something out. Just… don't give up on us yet, ok? Especially not because of something that bitch said."

I laughed that sort of short, shakey laugh that comes when you're crying or trying to stop yourself from crying at least. How did I ever get so lucky? "I promise." I said. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too. So what do you think her deal is?" She asked, plopping down onto the edge of my bed. "I mean, first she comes up to me in the mall and calls me out, then we find out we're both Slayers and she acts all friendly to me…and now this? What's her problem??"

"I don't know. We really don't know anything about her."

Rachel sighed. "I mean, I do. Kind of. At least, I know what it's like to have to change schools a ton, always being the new kid. It's hard. It's easy to put up imaginary walls between yourself and everyone else. It's also easy to think of everyone as an enemy, especially when you change schools as often as I have. Nothing seems permanent, you know? You can get into shit with people and not worry about it because the worst thing that happens is you leave again and start over. I don't know, I can't pretend to know what's going on in her head, but that's how it was for me."

"What do you want to do about her?" I asked.

"I don't know, I guess wait and see? I obviously WANT to kick her ass… but it's like I said before. We need HELP. We finally evened the odds a bit, I don't want to throw that away."

"Ok. You want to hang around for a while? We don't have to go down there again if you don't want."

She sighed. "I don't want. I should head home soon, I told my mom I wouldn't be out late tonight…" She looked at the clock on my nightstand. "But I guess it's still pretty early." She smiled sweetly and patted the space next to her on my bed. "Sit with me?" I did. She played with my hair, like she often did when we were alone. "You know you aren't just some fling to me, right Tobias? Her voice was soft and soothing. "You're important to me. I want you to be in my life for as long as you want to be. I know it's a messed up situation we're in… but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it work."

I smiled at her. "So am I."

"Good." She said, smiling back. "Now hurry up and kiss me."

Rachel

By Monday, my anger at Taylor had finally started to subside. Cassie and I went to the zoo, and we even took Jordan and Sara along, on Cassie's suggestion. After talking with Jordan the night before, Cassie told me she thinks Jordan's been feeling left out, like a less important part of my life now that I was the Slayer. It was probably why she decided to try to make friends with the vampire at her school. At first I groaned at the idea of driving to Santa Barbara and back with both of my little sisters in the car, but Cassie had a point. I have been feeling guilty about neglecting them, and although I'd never admit it to their faces, I did miss the little monsters.

By the time the weekend was over, between my birthday party on Friday, my mom inviting Tobias to spend Saturday with us and then a Sunday road trip to the zoo with my best friend and sisters, the thing with Taylor felt like nothing. Cassie said Taylor probably felt threatened by me, and since we're both Slayers with equal power, she went after the thing that I have and she doesn't. My hot vampire boyfriend.

"Heeyyy, Rachel."

I sighed into my locker. I didn't recognize the voice right away, so that could only mean one thing… another white knight approaches. I turned around and was met by Bailey, giving me his best 'cool guy' grin. Well, just like all the others, 'sir' Bailey was about to find out that I'm not the princess or damsel in distress. I'm the dragon.

"What." I snapped harshly.

"Heard you had a killer party on Friday. How does a guy get lucky enough to end up on the invite list for the next one?"

I shrugged. "You could try having a conversation with me without hitting on me like a sloppy drunk frat boy."

"Heh. You're funny. So, you wanna hang out or something?"

"No, I'm not and no I don't." I sneered. "Now get out of my way, I'm late for a club meeting."

"Fine, whatever you stuck up bitch!"

"Making new friends?" Cassie smiled as I caught up with her down the hall.

I rolled my eyes. "He's just lucky I didn't introduce him to another new friend, the floor." We headed to our fundraising meeting for the Friends of the Sunnydale High Library club, aka the Scoobies.

[Despite our best attempts to bait the Arn with demon bodies, I believe he has fled from the area. Taylor and I encountered a hostile Grasper last night. We dispatched of it and left the body there, as we had previously.] Estrid was in her human form but communicating through thought speak. Apparently Ax COULD have been doing that this entire time, but was determined to "master mouth speaking."

"I did a fly by this morning, and again just before lunch," Tobias reported. "The body was still there, big gnarly claws and all. Graspers aren't an especially common species, if the Arn were still here, I doubt they'd be able to pass up those big clawed hands."

[Yes] Estrid agreed. [Had I known beforehand an Arn was lurking about, perhaps I would not have had Taylor dispatch of the Lerdethak. I believe it was sent out as a test, of sorts. The Arn must have known that a Slayer and Watcher would be present near the hellmouth. The wounds on the bodies we left would have been a clear sign. I believe the purpose of the Lerdethak was to deduce the skill/danger level of the Arn's would be pursuers.]

"So…what? That's it?" I growled. "The Arn just packs up shop and moves somewhere else? And we just let that happen??"

"Unfortunately, yes. Suh." Ax said solemnly. "Under other circumstances staaaan sezzz, I would suggest we attempt to track it, but we simply cannot afford to leave Sunnydale at the moment. There is too much happening here."

"I'll say!" Everyone turned to the door and the direction of the new and now familiar voice.

"Hey Mel," I smiled. Melissa interrupting a Scooby meeting was becoming a regular occurrence. What can I say? The girl was plugged in to the goings on around school and she always brought us good intel.

"Have you heard about the body??" She shouted. "They found a body in the empty classroom in Hall E! I think it was that girl Holly. Apparently she was covered in like, spooky symbols."

"Is the body still there?" Jake asked, shooting out of his chair. I almost laughed, the hero leaping into action.

Melissa nodded. "I think so. Feroyan and Principal Stella were there when I passed by, waiting for the cops I think."

"Ok," Jake said nodding, planning it out on the fly. "At least we've got another ally on the scene. Let's go check it out and see if we can identify those symbols."

Estrid huffed a bit, she didn't even like it when a Slayer called the shots, let alone some human kid she didn't know. But this was what Jake brought to the table. He could think quick and on his feet faster than the rest of us. We all trusted his instincts.

"Perhaps some documentation, Tobias? Doc. Kyooo"

"I'll get my camera." Tobias said.

"Do you think it's Holly Perry?" Marco asked as we hurried down the hall. "I hope it isn't, I was thinking of asking her out."

"The actress?" Taylor scoffed. "From that bobsled movie?"

"That's Halle Berry, you philistine," Marco retorted, rolling his eyes. "And she's in Race the Sun with Eliza Dushku, the solar car movie, NOT Cool Runnings."

"Marco?" Jake snipped.

"Yeah, mon?"

"Shut up."

As we got closer to the room, I saw a small crowd of kids trying to get a peek through the glass window on the door. Principal Stella and a frazzled looking Mr. Feroyan were doing their best to keep the horde at bay.

"Did the dispatcher say about how long it would take the police to get here, Andrea?" I heard Mr. Feroyan ask the principal.

"Why are you asking me?" She replied back calmly. "I thought you called them."

"WHAT!?" Feroyan practically shrieked. "I thought you said YOU already called them!"

Principal Stella shook her head. "I'm sorry Henry, I must have misspoke. This whole situation has me quite disoriented. Will you please go and call 911? I'll keep the children out."

My psychology teacher sighed. "Sure, of course. I'll be right back."

As soon as Mr. Feroyan dashed off, the principal yelled in her terrifyingly stern voice, "ANYONE WHO DOESN'T DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY WILL BE GIVEN DETENTION EVERY WEEKEND FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. THIS IS NOT AN INDLE THREAT!" She looked a guy named Jawan right in the eyes. "Try me." She practically spat. It worked.

Once the coast was clear, Principal Stella opened the door and hurried us in. She closed the door behind us, staying out in the hall to keep watch. It was a death at a high school, the cops would be here soon. We had to move fast.

"Holly Perry…" Marco lamented genuinely.

Immediately Tobias began snapping away with his camera, trying to get as many shots of the body as possible. Melissa was right, Holly's body was covered head to toe in symbols, a few were carved into her skin with a blade, but most were drawn on in ink.

Cassie knelt down and sniffed the ink on Holly's arm. Gross. "Sharpie!" She exclaimed. "This is black sharpie ink."

Ax and Estrid were now back in their Watcher bodies, using their tail blades to gently move the body around, so as not to leave any fingerprints.

[These symbols look Dayangese, Estrid noted, [but very few of them are written properly.]

Ax nodded, something he never used to do but has since picked up from being around us so much. [Indeed. Between the poorly executed Dayangese and the use of the pungent permanent marker, I believe this was done by humans.]

"Not a lot of blood," Tobias commented. "I don't think she was killed here."

Marco nodded. "Just used this empty classroom to dump the body." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then added, "I'll look up a list of all the unused classrooms this semester. Chances are if they're dumping her here, they used another one of rooms to do it in. Probably on the other side of the school, then tossed her here to throw the scent off the track."

[Aximili! Look at this!] Estrid cried, as she pulled up Holly's shirt revealing her bare chest. All the boys immediately looked away, even Marco. Cassie, Taylor and I just stared at Estrid in horror as she used her tail to point at the gruesome hole in Holly's chest. [Her heart has been removed.] Estrid said calmly, completely unaware of the huge social taboo she just committed.

"Estrid!" Cassie scolded, "You can't just remove someone's clothes like that! It's extremely private!"

Estrid just blinked her eyes at my friend. [Is this privacy of the deceased more important than figuring out who did this and why?]

"Well, no of course not." Cassie said, sounding a little embarrassed. "But.. you could have at least warned us. Ax…?"

[Estrid, I believe it would be like spreading the hind legs and revealing one's under-flank to strangers. Necessary for the investigation yes, but there are many rules and rituals involving human's artificial skin.]

[Oh!] Estrid exclaimed, actually looking a bit embarrassed. [Apologies, humans. Tobias? Would you be able to document the wound?]

"Oh um…"

"Here," I said, taking the camera from the still blushing Tobias.

[That should be everything we need.] Ax said, just as the faint sound of sirens wailed off in the distance.

"Alright, let's bail."

"So… we've got a missing body part again." I said once we were back in the library, angry at the situation in general. "Do we think this could be our Arn after all?"

Marco shook his head and pointed at the newly developed picture I had taken of the hole in Holly's chest. "We know the Arn wasn't doing any killing of their own, but even so, the wounds are all wrong."

[Marco is correct] Ax said. [The incisions the Arn made were clean and cauterized. They were surgical in nature. This looks more like the work of a butcher.]

"An unskilled butcher." I muttered.

"Knock, knock! I'm back!" Melissa hurried into the room without her usual saunter. "I think I found something."

"What did you find, Mel?" Cassie asked.

Melissa pulled a weathered, folded piece of paper out of her purse. "So you know how Allison's been seeing that guy Jawan? The running back?"

"Melissa." I said, running out of patience.

"I'm GETTING THERE, Rachel! Ok, so apparently he's been pressuring her lately to… you know. Like pressuring her to the point that she was ready to end it. But then he told her he'd back off if she just went along with pretending they did. See apparently there's this little list making the rounds…"

Something flashed in Jake's eyes. "The Hit List?? What does that stupid thing have to do with this?"

"What's the Hit List?" Cassie asked guardedly. "Like… that list Rhys and Matthew had? Of everyone they wanted revenge on?"

Marco shook his head. "No, something a lot sleazier."

I scoffed, having a pretty good idea of just the sort of list it was. "Oh my god."

Melissa started unfolding the piece of paper. "Fair warning, girls. We're all on here."

The Hit List was a crude, but admittedly thorough set of lists of what looked to be most of the girls in our school. It was written in dozens of different handwritings with gross little notes next to some of the names. There were different categories for each list, with such tasteful titles as "Puts Out", "Bangworthy" and "Mount Everest". I found my own name under all three of those.

Marco let out a low whistle. "What's the air like at 29 hundred feet, Xena?"

"Oh Marco, be kind to yourself. You're not THAT short."

"LET ME SEE!" Taylor shouted and snatched the paper from Melissa. "Bangworthy?? That's IT?" She practically screeched. "This is such trash. If you two hoochies can make it to the Everest list, I should be at the TOP!" She slapped the paper down onto the table. Why did she care what a bunch of gross idiot boys think anyway? Did Taylor WANT to be objectified?

Suddenly Jake smacked a hand to his beet-red face. "Oh. I get it now. It's not a tall thing."

I barked out a laugh. "No, cousin. It sure isn't."

Tobias tilted his head in a very bird-like motion to read the list. He frowned. "This is gross."

"Oh easy for YOU to say, Tobias." Marco said with a roll of his eyes. "YOU'RE dating within the top 1 percentile."

A deep blush traveled up the neck and all over my boyfriend's face.

Cassie made a face at us. "Tobias is right, this is disgusting. Why are we even-"

Melissa slammed her finger down on a list near the bottom left corner of the sheet. "Virgins". It was a long list, but next to some of the names, instead of little notes were stars. Melissa pointed again. One of the names with a star next to it was Holly Perry. Some of the names were crossed out, but I noticed Holly's wasn't. My eyes darted to the other star marked names. Beth Owens. Marian Nguyen. Allison Chambers, there was a line through her name. Oh, of course. The crossed out name meant no longer a virgin. Then my heart stopped. I did a double take to make sure the star was actually next to her name, it was kind of hard to tell with some of them. But yes, there on the list, marked with a star were the words Cassie Whistler.

It was a few moments before I was able to make eye contact with her, and by the look on her face, she definitely remembered that joke I made to her in the bathroom. I gave her a very small, sheepish smile. Why'd I have to make a virgin sacrifice joke?

"Oh man," Marco groaned. "So we're thinking what? Ritual sacrifices?"

"Look at the stars," Tobias said, pointing again at the list. "They're upside down. Like a Satanic pentagram, but without the circle."

[Aximili, are you thinking what I am?] Estrid asked pointedly.

[Amateurs.] Ax replied confidently. Estrid's eye smile confirmed it.

[Yes. It doesn't seem like any ritual I know of, but the Dayang do have quite the barbaric history. But these childish attempts at symbolism here and on the body reek of ignorance. Children playing at that which they do not understand.]

"So what, then this is just some idiots from school who don't know what they're doing? Are they even that dangerous?"

"Extremely." Cassie said harshly. "Marco how can you even say that, someone is DEAD."

"HEY! You don't have to lecture me, OK?! You didn't even KNOW Holly. I did. She was really sweet. She was nice to me and laughed at my jokes. She had great taste in movies and wanted to start a water polo team here at school. NO ONE in this room is more upset about her death than me, Cassie. That's NOT what I meant. I meant these guys are just humans. Not like, demon/magic/Slayer level danger. Just regular killers with knives."

[Not at all, Marco.] Estrid replied. [Cassie is correct. These 'idiots', as you call them are extremely dangerous. They clearly have access to some knowledge of Dayang culture. Most of the Dayang on this plane are traders. The Dayang were one of the first people to discover magic and travel between realms. They collect powerful magic ingredients and spells from around all known reality. There's no telling what kind of magic these humans could posses. Their ignorance and unfamiliarity make them all the more dangerous.]

"Like a baby with a loaded gun." Cassie said gravely. "Someone is going to get hurt."

I nodded. "So what do we do? Find everyone on the list with a star next to their name? Then what?"

"We could bring them here," Jake offered. "Some of us keep them safe while the others go after the killers?"

"No." Cassie said firmly, surprising me. "Mel? You said Jawan was trying really hard to get Allison off the list one way or another right?" Melissa nodded, realization dawning in her eyes. "Doesn't that strike anyone else as suspicious? He just so happens to get Allison to pretend she's not a virgin anymore and then Holly gets killed in some sick ritual sacrifice? Even if he didn't cut her heart out himself, Jawan knows something."

Suddenly my Slayer senses went off and a very recent memory flashed in my mind. Principal Stella chasing the kids away from the crime scene. "Oh SHIT! You guys, Cassie is totally right! Jawan was one of the kids crowding around the room where they found Holly's body. Stella had to give him the evil eye to get him to leave."

"That's too many coincidences." Tobias agreed. "But still… shouldn't we do something about the other girls on this list? We need to keep these creeps away from them."

"Oh, we will." Cassie said. There was a dangerous confidence in her voice that made me uncomfortable. It didn't sound like Cassie. It sounded like… me. "We're going to find Jawan, and we're going to make him tell us everything he knows. Then, we're going to give him exactly what those creeps want. A virgin from their list."

After filling Allison in on WHY her new boyfriend was so eager to get her to go along with his lie, it was easy for Melissa to get her to help us out. Allison told Jawan she wanted to skip out on last period and make out somewhere. And gee, wouldn't you know it, Jawan knew of an empty classroom that wasn't being used.

Allison went to class, but the rest of us skipped. We got to the room early and got into position. I sat on the teacher's desk and lit a couple of those small candles from the science lab. Not enough light to give me away, but enough for Jawan to see a body. When the bell rang, Marco cut the lights.

A few minutes later, the door opened. "Ally? Baby you in here? Oh. Whoa. Nice thinking, babe. Uh… did you just want to make out or…"

"Yeah, that's enough. NOW, Marco."

The lights went on and the door slammed shut, with Jake and Tobias standing between Jawan and the closed door. Cassie, Ax, Marco, Estrid, Melissa and Taylor were spread out around the room, surrounding us.

"Hi Jawan." I said cooly.

"What the hell…"

"DUDE." Marco grinned. "She totally Miller's Crossing-ed your ass."

"Hey, I don't know what's going on here, but-"

"Actually, Jawan. I think you do." Cassie angry was a scary thing. I've never seen it before, not like this. She didn't explode like me or Marco. No, she was more like Jake. An implosion, cold and calculating. Cold fire. "We know you wanted Allison off the list," she said calmly, but with an edge to her voice. "And we know why, too. You didn't want her to end up like Holly Perry did. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell us everything you know about the ritual and who's involved. Then, you're going to help us stop it for good."

Jawan scoffed. "Or what? Maybe Big Jake and these losers could take me now. Maybe. But then you'll have the whole football team after you guys. You think you nerds can take on the Grizzlies?"

"Taylor?" Cassie asked.

Grinning like a mad woman, Taylor picked up a couple of thick, hard cover text books and tossed one each to me and Tobias. She picked up one of her own and effortlessly tore it in half. Tobias did the same. I shrugged and tossed my book away. Then I hopped off the teacher's desk, reached down and tore one of the metal legs from the desk. The table went crashing down as I swatted my makeshift club in my hand.

Jawan's eyes were wide in terror. "What…what are you?"

"We're the ones trying to keep people safe from all the monsters in this town." I sneered. "Monsters like you."

"ME?!?" Jawan practically sobbed, "YOU guys are the ones with the freak strength! What are you?! Vampires??"

Tobias smirked. "Maybe."

"Maybe not." I added coyly. "So let me break this down Jawan, and it's up to you if we keep rolling with that theme. We're gonna rough you up until you talk. Then, either you're going to go along with everything we tell you to do, or we're gonna keep breaking body parts. Mel? What did you say all Jawan's future plans hinge on?"

"Oh that would be his football career. He's got college scouts already wooing him and he's only a junior."

I twirled the broken table leg in my hand. "I imagine it'd be pretty hard to play if I rip your legs off like I did this desk."

Tears were welling up in Jawan's eyes now. "W…why are you doing this?"

Marco stepped forward. "The Princess Bride. The Fifth Element. Willow. The Last Unicorn. Blade Runner. Do you know what those have in common, you piece of shit? They were Holly's favorite movies. She never had a bad word to say about ANYONE and now she's fucking dead. Just know, if I had it my way? We wouldn't just be threatening to kill your career. Remember that."

"I…I…" The star running back started to bawl. "I'm fucking sorry, please…fuck…don't kill me. Don't hurt me, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY! I didn't think they'd really do it…"

"WHO?" Taylor shouted, suddenly brandishing her knife and pressing it lightly to Jawan's throat. Cassie's eyes flashed to me. We had just crossed the line out of her comfort zone and she was silently pleading with me to keep it from going any further. Thankfully…

"The Key Club!" He blurted. "It was the fucking Key Club ok?! Charles' older brother works at the storage unit place, they were going through an abandoned unit and they found a bunch of creepy voodoo shit! They found this…this altar thing. It came with a book. He..he said we could have everything we ever wanted if we did the ritual. Money, power, girls. But… I don't know. It didn't work. She must not have been a… you know."

Marco swung on him, hit him right in the cheek. It was almost funny, Jawan was two, almost three times Marco's size. But Jawan was too scared to do anything about it. He just took the hit and sobbed.

"Please… I'm sorry…"

"Yeah we heard you." I said. "Now this is what you're gonna do. First, you're going to tell us where this altar is. We know it's here on campus. Probably another of these empty classrooms, right?" The terror in his eyes confirmed it. "Thought so. Then you're going to tell your Kiwannabe buddies that you stumbled onto one of the girls on your list. You saw her alone, and took the initiative. You're gonna talk your boys into doing the ritual again, tonight. Ax? Can you get in touch with our Pemalite friend? We're going to need big magic to pull this off."

"We are?" Cassie asked, looking up at me, confused.

"Yeah. No way I'm letting this scum take you anywhere without me."

[What do you require, Slayer?] Estrid asked.

"I need to be invisible and be able to communicate with all of you through thought speak. Or at least with Cassie and you or Ax."

[Consider it done.] The Watcher replied cooly. [A simple request.]

Ax looked shocked. I think we all were. I knew Estrid was a more accomplished sorcerer than Ax, but this was the kind of stuff we always relied on Erek for. It seemed on par with the spell he cast for us to take on the Howlers, and that had been a pretty big deal for him.

"Damn. Alright Es. Sounds good. So what do you say, Jawan? You gonna play ball, or are we going to have to cut your career and height short?"

"I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!" He wailed.

"Good."

About an hour after school ended, I was standing next to a very, very nervous Jawan outside a utility closet in Hall B. Inside the closet was Cassie, bound and gagged. I'd be in there with her, but I needed to make sure Jawan didn't turn tail and run, or give us away. So I was standing very, very close to him. The fun part, was that he couldn't see me. Estrid's spell worked beautifully, and I was completely invisible to everyone.

"Don't even think of turning on us," I hissed into his ear. "It would take me maybe two seconds to rip your arm clean off your body. Did that to a demon once. An Ongachic head hunter. Ripped his arm off and beat him to death with it." Ok, a slight exaggeration. I DID rip his arm off and beat him with it, but I only knocked him out. He'd disarmed my sword so I disarmed his body. Tobias came in with his claymore and finished the job. Still, Jawan didn't need to know that. "They'd better show, Jawan. Or things are going to get really painful…"

The big football player actually started to whimper. It was a strange sight for sure. Jawan Shirvani was a high school junior who could have easily passed for a fully grown man. It's a shame he turned out to be trash, because he was certainly not ugly. He had gorgeous tan skin and short, dark hair. He was one of those kids who could grow a full mustache and goatee before they could drive. He wasn't as tall as Jake or me, but he was built like a truck. Barrel chested with thick biceps and quads like ham hocks. But here he was, cowering and whimpering like a baby.

"I swear, they said they'd be here." He whispered.

Then, I saw them and I had to force myself not to laugh. Walking down the hallway were three figures all wearing long black, hooded robes. They didn't look like the robes David and his vampires or Cacophony and the other Howlers had worn though. These looked like they came from one of those Spirit Halloween stores, or maybe the school's theater wardrobe.

"Dude." One of the robes said in a voice that I DEFINITELY recognized but couldn't place. "Where are your VESTMENTS??"

"I…I ditched em!" Jawan stammered. "I didn't want anyone connecting me to the first murder ok?! I freaked!"

"But you still grabbed a new girl?" One of the others said suspiciously.

[Remember what we told you Jawan. Make it convincing.]

"Y…yeah I mean. They found the body. We might get busted so…I realized the best way out is to go through with the ritual again. Make ourselves too powerful to be caught."

The first creep put his hand on Jawan's shoulder. "That's right, my brother. We're about to become the new world order. Come on, let's get her to the altar chamber."

"Are we sure this one's really a virgin?" The third cloaked idiot asked.

"I..I think so." Jawan said and opened the door, revealing Cassie.

"Cassie Whistler…" the first voice marveled. "Not bad dude."

"Wait," the third voice said. "Isn't she going out with Big Jake? And always hanging with that Rachel skank?" Skank? Excuse me? I've dated all of ONE boy here. And even if I had dated more, who the hell was THIS toad to judge me for it. "If that last girl wasn't really a virgin, there's no way she is. The last one didn't even have a boyfriend."

"No," said the second voice. "I know her. She's definitely clean. She's the responsible, save herself for marriage type. Besides they don't even hold hands or anything."

[Cassie, you doing ok? Do you recognize that voice?]

[Yeah, I'm ok Rachel. It's…I don't know. I've definitely heard it before… but I can't place it.]

[Ugh, tell me about it. That's where I'm at with the one in front, too.] Then, to the others I said, [Hey gang, heads up. We're on our way.]

Two of the robed cowards grabbed Cassie by her arms and led her to a classroom a few yards away. The one I had decided was in charge turned the lights on, and that's when I saw it. It was bigger than I expected, about four and a half feet tall, maybe five feet across. It was all black, and shiny like obsidian with nearly every inch of it covered in carved symbols. They were the same sort of symbols that had been drawn all over Holly. Near the bottom of the altar was something like a step, or a small platform to stand or maybe kneel on. Over halfway up was a small, flat shelve with a single book resting on it. The top of the altar was curved, like a wide, shallow bowl. There was a hole in the center and when one of the cloaks placed a gothic chalice on the ground in front of a hole on the other side of the altar, I realized what it was for. Blood. They were going to drink her blood?? Had they drank Holly's?

"Well then," first voice said, pulling his hood back to reveal his face. "Brother Charles, Brother Jawan? Strip her and start applying the runes." BAILEY! It was that fucking creep Bailey!

"Well, I think that's enough." I said, making the Key Club members jump in shock. The other two removed their hoods to look around for the source of the voice. I didn't recognize them but by the look in Cassie's eyes, she had. I untied her gag and wrists. "Ok Estrid, you can drop the spell."

Suddenly, the room was filled. Jake, Tobias, Taylor, Ax, Estrid, Marco, and myself seemingly materialized out of thin air. Estrid had made us all invisible with her spell.

"What the fu-" I socked Bailey right in the face and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. It felt really good. "Anyone else feeling froggy??" I taunted. "Go ahead and jump."

The other two threw their hands up in surrender.

"JOE?!" Cassie shrieked. "YOU were a part of this?! I thought we were FRIENDS! We used to ride horses together…"

"Yeah well," the dorky looking kid with a wicked bad bowl cut sneered. "I thought we were friends. I thought maybe you even liked me. But then you got popular and started dating this dumb jock." He gestured rudely at Jake.

"Dumb jock?" Jake asked. Marco chortled. "Can I punch this one?" My cousin asked, and Joe's demeanor suddenly changed. He was once again the nerd cowering in fear.

We decided to call the cops. It wasn't a popular decision, but we couldn't agree on what else to do with them. Bailey, Jawan, Charles and Joe killed a girl in cold blood. They targeted her and planned it out. They weren't demons or warlocks or anything. Just pathetic boys with dangerously fragile egos. We couldn't just slay them, it wouldn't be self defense, it would be a execution. We couldn't just let them go with a warning either, they murdered an innocent girl and needed to be held accountable.

"What should we do about this thing?" Marco asked eyeing the Dayang altar.

[Nothing] Estrid said dismissively. [It poses no threat.] Everyone but Ax just looked at her in shock.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what happened to, 'no Marco, that's extremely dangerous, like giving a baby an Uzi and saying, go to town, Junior! Have fun'?!"

"We were mistaken. Kun. Tay Kuhn. Estrid is correct, this item is harmless." Ax said. We left, leaving Principal Stella to talk to the police.

"A TOILET?!" I squawked. We were back at the library now, getting the full Watcher debrief. "You're telling me those morons were praying to a Dayang TOILET?!?"

[As you know, the Dayang, or Loose-Skin Demons have an inner face, hidden within their heads, behind their standard faces.] Ax explained. [They eat with their outer faces, and…excrete waste with the inner.]

"What about the spell book?" Jake asked.

Tobias held the tome up. "I grabbed it."

[Ah.] Estrid said, sounding uninterested. [That was not necessary. It is not a spell book and therefore poses no risk or threat.]

"So…then what is it?" Cassie asked

[Ah, well] Ax actually sounded embarrassed. [You see, the excretion process can take a while…]

Marco barked out a laugh. "NO WAY! It's a demon Reader's Digest?!?"

We started dispersing after that. Cassie had to get home to work with her dad, Jake had practice. Ax was to relieve Erek looking after my mom. I had a few hours to kill before patrolling with Taylor and Estrid, I thought maybe instead of him watching over them all afternoon, Tobias and I could pick my sisters up from school, then spend a little private time together at home while they did homework and watched TV. My mom's been working late recently, so I knew we'd have at least a few hours to make out, uninterrupted.

I looked around for Tobias, but didn't see him at first. Then I heard a giggle coming from Ax's office.

"Oh come ON Toby Hawk. The kids will be fine. Come and hang with me! I promise you'll have more fun." She was playing with her hair and leaning forward just enough to show off her admittedly impressive cleavage. I sucked at my teeth. What was her PROBLEM?

"Taylor," Tobias said kindly, "you KNOW I'm not into you like that. I don't know why you're doing this, but I'm with Rachel and watching over her sisters is important to me."

"Fine, we'll call it a raincheck. But I'm gonna get you alone again, count on it."

Tobias walked over to me, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."

I glared daggers at him, but nonverbal anger never works on Tobias. He just thinks it's cute.

"We still on for today?" He asked with a hint of guilt in his voice. "Pick up the gremlins, then hang at your place?"

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be hanging out with Taylor?" I said her name venomously.

Tobias sighed. "You know I wouldn't, Rache."

"Yeah well, maybe I'd feel better if SHE knew that. Why do you just let her flirt with you like that? She's doing it to fuck with us and it's like you're HELPING her!" He opened his mouth to speak but I wasn't done yet. "And BEFORE you say anything, this isn't about trust ok? Of course I trust you. But it fucking HURTS that you won't stand up to her for me, Tobias."

Now there was more than just a hint of guilt on his face. Tobias looked at me with those sad, gentle eyes of his. "Rachel… I didn't mean-"

I sighed. "I know you didn't MEAN to but you did. Look… I can't deal with you two tonight, ok? YOU go on patrol with Taylor and Estrid. I'll pick up my sisters and watch them tonight."

"Rachel… come on."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Tobias." Not for the first time, I stormed off, leaving Tobias just standing there. It was dumb. I didn't WANT to be alone tonight. Well, not alone, technically. But still, I was angry. Angry at Taylor, angry at Tobias. Angry at the Ellimist for making me the Slayer…

[Aximili? Are you alone?] Estrid had stayed back while Ax closed up the library. Everyone else had taken their leave, and Ax was in his office.

[Yes, Estrid. Is something the matter?]

[I… was hoping to speak to you, privately.] There was trepidation in her voice, maybe even fear?

[Ah. Yes, there are some things I wish to discuss with you as well, however… I do not have much time. I am to relieve Erek in guarding Naomi in forty-one Earth minutes.]

[Perhaps we can begin the conversation now, and agree to continue it at a more convenient time?]

[Of course] Ax said warmly. [This must be important. What did you wish to discuss?]

[The nothlit, Tobias. He is a DANGER, Aximili. I understand wanting to disregard the more archaic standards of the Watcher Council, but allowing a Visser to roam free is catastrophically irresponsible! Even a nothlit still has the base instincts of their vampire body! What happens if he suffers a brain injury in combat and loses his higher functions?? You will have a nearly unstoppable animal on your tails.]

Ax had never seen Estrid get this emotional before. On one hand, it gave him a sort of thrill, that this beautiful and mysterious Watcher who he had quickly become smitten with would open herself up like this to him. In Watcher Culture, this was only done with those you are close to or those you wish to be close with. On the other hand, it broke his heart that she could still feel this way about Tobias, who was Ax's closest friend in this, or any world. What made him feel worse was the fear that maybe she was right.

[Tobias is my shorm, Estrid. I trust him with my life. And if we are to stop the Sharing and one of the very Powers that Be, we will NEED him. Even WITH two pairs of Slayers and Watchers.]

[YOU ARE RUNNING WITHOUT A HERD, AXIMILI! Do you even know HOW nothlits come to be??] There was a wild look in Estrid's main eyes now.

[…All I know is that the ritual is called the Escafil. But neither I nor my brother were ever able to discover anything further.]

[The Escafil is a BLOOD ritual, Aximili. In order to restore a soul to it's body and vanquish the demon, it requires the blood of a dead Watcher, and the death of that Watcher's Slayer to activate it.]

Ax just stared at her with all four eyes in a state of total shock.

[So I ask you, Aximili] Estrid said gravely, [are you SURE you can trust him? SOMEONE killed a Watcher and Slayer to make him as he is. And the FIRST thing he did was seek out the next Watcher.]

[But he is already a Nothlit, why would he want to perform the Escafil again? It makes no sense, Estrid.]

[Don't be a fool! Of course it does! Is there not the chance that there is another vampire out there that he wishes to restore?? You know nothing about him, but take him at his word that-]

[We made the pact.] Ax said simply. Estrid's eyes went wide. [The Enos Ermarf. Elfangor taught it to him. He used a stake, pressed right to his heart. We performed it after his true identity was revealed.]

It was now Estrid's turn to be in shock. [Y…you performed one of our most sacred rituals with an ALIEN?! Worse still, with a VAMPIRE??]

[Elfangor taught it to him. I…do not know that I would have. Not before. But now? I told you, Estrid. I trust him with my life. Now…before I go. Estrid…how do YOU know the details of the Escafil? How were you able to cast such a powerful invisibility spell over all of us without the use of ingredients or bodily damage?? What…what ARE you?]

Estrid sighed, deflated almost. [Aximili… I do not wish to tell you. Not just for the sake of keeping my secret… but because I do not wish for you to think less of me.]

[Estrid, please. I… I have grown very fond of you. But I cannot allow myself to have feelings for someone who hides themselves from me.]

[I… I told you, Aximili. I have studied the old magicks, the dark arts… Learning any magic was forbidden so why shouldn't I learn the most powerful, the most dangerous?]

Ax gasped and instinctively took a few small steps away from her. [You…you are a Warlock?! You take the cost of your magic from others??]

[Yes. Nothing so obvious, and never on the innocent. My…'donors' are the bigoted fools of the Watcher Council. An undetectable disease here, a curse there. They tried to deny me my magic and now they themselves buy it for me.]

[Estrid I… I must go. I will think on this. I…I am not sure how I feel about it. About you…]

Estrid sighed, then shuffled her hooves. [I…I understand. But Aximili, I… I am sorry. I didn't know…]

Ax's eyestalks stiffened. [Didn't know what…?]

There was a pained look in Estrid's eyes. [About Tobias… about the Enos Ermarf…]

Suddenly Ax's entire body went rigid. [Estrid… what have you done…]

[I… I thought he was a threat. A danger… I…]

[ESTRID! WHAT DID YOU DO TO TOBIAS?!] Ax was raging now, nostrils snorting, tail twitching.

[Not me…at least not physically. It's Taylor, Aximili. She has taken Tobias to our home. She is going to slay him.]

Tobias

I shouldn't have come here. I KNEW that, I really did. So why had I? I… I don't really know. I was mad, far more at myself than I was at Rachel. Was I even really mad at her? A little. But she was right, in my attempt to spare Taylor's feelings, I'd hurt those of the person I cared the most about. The person I loved. Stupid. I was stupid. But I needed to blow off steam, and when Taylor suggested a sparring session, a real one this time (she promised), I accepted. Taylor was one of two people that I could actually take some frustration out on when sparring without having to worry about hurting her.

It was a little odd, going to the apartment she and Estrid shared, especially knowing they didn't have a dojo like we did. Not to mention what Rachel would say… but no. She told me to go with Taylor. To patrol with her and Estrid. She'd understand and maybe even appreciate the fact that I didn't hate the idea of maybe kicking Taylor's butt a little for all the shit she was pulling. Plus, I only agreed to come on the condition that there would be no flirting, no funny business.

"So this is it," she said with a shrug. "Home sweet home." It was a run down apartment complex two blocks over from the Bronze and only a few more away from where Marco lived. "What are you doing?" She asked me, as I stood awkwardly at the open door.

"Uh…you have to invite me in."

Taylor barked out a laugh. "Oh my god, DUH. I completely forgot. Yeah yeah, come on in, dummy."

Their apartment was barely furnished, the walls were bare, no art or photos or anything decorating them. The only things decorating the room were the shelves of Estrid's watcher books. There was a tv, a love seat sofa and a plain looking coffee table.

"We got a three bedroom," Taylor explained. "We keep the spare empty and use it for training." She opened a door in the hallway and led me in. She wasn't kidding, this room was even more bare than the living room. There were pieces of training equipment here and there along with some weapons, but it really was just an empty room. Taylor gestured to the center of the room and I obliged.

I turned to face her and dropped into a fighting stance. "Ready?" I asked smiling

"No." She said simply before her face twisted into a wicked grin. "And neither are you." With an index finger, she pointed up to the ceiling.

No. No, no, NO! I recognized the symbol painted on the ceiling. It was large, about 4'x4' and circular with ornate symbols. It's a sigil commonly known as a Demon Trap. I tried to rush for the door but hit an invisible wall. I tried again and again in every direction. *WHUMP!* *WHUMP!* *WHUMP!*

"NO! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS??"

Taylor sneered. Not for the first time, I was disturbed at how much she resembled Rachel. "Isn't it obvious? Unlike your sweetie-pie, I haven't forgotten what the job description is. You're a DANGER, Tobias. Regardless of what's floating around inside you, that body is still a Visser. And I'm gonna slay it."

"No. You're gonna TRY." I growled, still pounding on the invisible walls of my prison.

"Ohhh what," Taylor giggled. "You think I don't know you're stronger than me? You think I did this alone? I've got more magic than that Michelangelo up there, Toby Hawk. Estrid gave me some spells to weaken you…but I've got a lot more than that. Stuff she doesn't even know about.

Suddenly, pain. No, pain isn't a strong enough word. My mind went blank, my entire body was on fire. My outsides, my insides, all burning and burning and burning. I screamed and fell to the floor.

"Does it tickle?" Taylor taunted. "Estrid said this spell would replicate the feeling of being burnt up by the sun. Except it won't damage you physically. You won't die or turn to ash. It'll just keep going and going for as long as I want it to."

I writhed and squirmed on the ground. Was I still screaming? I couldn't even tell, the pain was so extreme, so entirely overwhelming and enveloping.

"It hurts to burn, doesn't it? I know…" She said darkly. Then the pain stopped. I lay there, a heaving, soiled mess on the floor.

"P…please…"

Taylor let of a peal of laughter. "Face it Tobias, there's nothing you can say or do to make me stop. I don't WANT anything from you except for you to DIE."

She was right, now that I could form thoughts again, I realized my only chance was to stall. Drag this out long enough for one of my friends to save me. "Y…you know how this feels? Wh…what hap…"

"What happened?" She sneered. Then, "I suppose this IS my one chance to tell someone. You certainly won't be around long enough to tell it to anyone else. See, I've always been this pretty, Tobias. When I was a freshman, the juniors and seniors would ask me out every week. I was the first freshman to ever make the varsity cheerleading squad. I went to the junior AND senior prom in my first year of high school. I won homecoming queen as a SOPHOMORE. Anything I ever wanted, I got. Either it was given to me, or I TOOK it. Then…the accident happened. They said it was faulty wiring. I was asleep. Asleep in my bed when flames engulfed my room. When my house burnt down around me. Fire department and EMTs got me out alive, but what was the point? My body was destroyed, my parents dead. My beautiful hair, my perfect skin, all gone. Melted away into a disgusting ooze of flesh and exposed muscle. Every night I lay in my hospital bed crying and praying for death. Do you know what that's like, Tobias? To have no hope? To feel trapped in a hellish nightmare of an existence?"

The scary part was… I DID know what that was like. Ever since I met her, I'd been so distracted by how much Taylor looked like Rachel, so caught up in how different she was as a person to Rachel, I never realized how similar she was to me.

"Then," she continued, "I was chosen. I was found. But not by Estrid, not yet. I was approached by a man who said he could restore me. Give me back that which was taken from me. Make me whole again, beautiful again. He said all I had to do, was swear allegiance. Not to him, but to the higher power that he served."

A chill ran down my spine. I knew exactly what higher power Taylor was talking about.

"I was SAVED," she hissed, "in the arms of CRAYAK." Then her fingers moved, creating symbols and once again I was thrown into indescribable agony.

Then, just as suddenly, it stopped. My entire body was awash with warmth. With comforting joy. I was in a dark, crowded room. Music was playing, I was swaying gently, back and forth with Rachel pressed against me. I was dancing. Dancing at the Bronze to the Goo Goo Dolls, of all things.

"Hey," Rachel said softly, beautiful eyes as blue as the clearest ocean staring deep into my soul. "I like you, Tobias."

I smiled, how could I not? This was dangerous, so dangerous. If she learned the truth about me… what happened to keeping a distance, Tobias? But she was amazing, so strong, so smart, so beautiful. In ancient civilizations she would have been worshipped as a goddess. "I've noticed…and uh, in case you missed it? I like you too, Rachel."

She grinned that wild, wicked grin at me and I felt my knees go weak. "You don't care that I'm taller than you?"

"Are you kidding," I said with an easy laugh. "Of course I care! I actually like it quite a bit."

Then she kissed me, softly, yet deeper than she had ever before. The first kiss was to test the waters. The second was poorly timed and far too slimed. But this? This was a real kiss. This was a kiss with meaning behind it. And just like that, my mind was on fire again. The memory of Rachel melted away as everything went white with pain. I screamed. I screamed and screamed as my body spasmsed and my mind dissolved away into anguish.

"I will take you into MADNESS, vampire!" I heard the words, but couldn't even comprehend them at the time. Then the pain stopped and slowly, over the course of a few minutes my mind returned to me. "By the time I'm done with you, Tobias, you'll wish you never turned me down. You'll be begging me to love you, and then you'll be begging me to stake you."

"…muh….muh frensh….svf muh…."

Taylor laughed again, high and giddy. "You think your friends will save you?? Well, you know they just might. But trust me, demon. If they do, if by some chance you survive this…you'll wish to God they hadn't. Oh I've got something special for you, vampire. A curse cooked up just for you, by a warlock more powerful even than Estrid. This curse comes straight from the Drode himself… But that's for later. For now, let's get back to breaking you, shall we?"

Another memory…or was it? I was in a place I'd never been before, never seen before. There was a Watcher standing there, arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't Aximili, he was older… "Yes, Tobias. You are correct. You are my son… I needed you for this moment. This is your destiny…"

Who? My father? What was this? Elfangor?

Then another memory. This time I DID recognize my surroundings. The cave! The cave where I woke up, but I wasn't alone, and I was in pain. My wrists and ankles burned and sizzled. I screamed and thrashed. Shackles! Silver shackles! They burnt me and held me to the ground.

"I'LL KILL YOU! KILL YOU ALL AND DRAIN YOU DRY! DRINK YOUR BLOOD, SLAYER AND TEAR YOUR WATCHER IN HALF WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

Who's voice was that? MY voice? No…

I wasn't alone. There were people here with me. Three of them. I recognized one. Andrea Stella, the Principal. There was a girl with her. Or a young woman? Early twenties maybe. Blonde hair. A Watcher stood with them, not one I recognized.

[Are you sure about this?] He asked. His fur was darker than I'd seen before. Midnight blue, almost black. His chest was a tanned brown.

"It's the only way," Principal Stella said sadly. "I am sorry, my friends."

[Then it is what must be done. Loren?]

"I'm ready, Arbon. I'm not afraid. Don't worry, Tobias! We're going to save you. We're going to send that demon in you back to hell. And then you…you're going to be amazing…"

"It has been an honor, my friends." Stella said solemnly.

Then like a dream, it all faded away and all that was left was indescribable, blinding agony…

Rachel

I heard he sang a good song

I heard he had a style

And so I came to see him

And listen for a whiiiiiiii-iiii-iiiile

And there he was

This young boy, stranger to my eyes

I was up in my room, trying and failing miserably to concentrate on my homework. I had the Fugees playing on my stereo, I needed to listen to something other than the mixtape Tobias gave me, or Erek's band that we danced to regularly.

Strumming my pain with his fingers

Singing my life with his words

Killing me softly with this song

Killing me softly with his song

Telling my whole life with his words

Killing me softly

With his soooo-oo-oo-oooooong

I sighed. Sing it, Lauryn. Lauryn gets it. I looked back down at my notes. I really, REALLY didn't care who the Hessians were or what role they played in the Revolutionary War.

"AAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I shot out of my chair like lightning, that was Sara screaming downstairs. My eyes darted around my room for weapons. Shit! My sword was at Demon House and my battle axe at the library. I grabbed a stake, but I need something! Ah HAH! The murder frisbee Marco gave me! My weapons in hand I bolted down the hallway and cleared the stairs in a single leap.

"SARA! WHAT'S-" I found my little sister screaming and pointing towards the living room. I wrapped her in my arms and said, "It's ok Sara-Bee. I've got you. You're ok."

"Rachel…" I shot around at the sound of Jordan's voice. "Rachel I screwed up…" She sobbed. This was what had scared Sara so bad. Jordan was in the living room, on her feet, with David's arm wrapped around her torso, his hand pulling back her head to expose her neck.

"Heeeyyy Cousin." He sneered. "I told you I'd be back."

I felt my blood go cold as it froze like ice in my veins. David. He was IN MY HOUSE. He had Jordan. How…

"Wondering how I got in?" David mocked. "You shouldn't have messed with me, Rachel. I didn't get to be a sub Visser, didn't kill TWO Slayers by being an idiot. I'm smarter than you, Rachel. Smarter than ALL of you. Did Jordan tell you about her little friend? It was a nice story we made up, wasn't it Jor-Jor. We sure fooled her."

I couldn't think, couldn't BREATHE. David had my sister, he was too far away. I was fast, but nothing I did would be fast enough. He'd sink fang into her throat in milliseconds.

"I'm …I'm sorry," Jordan gasped between sobs. "He… he said he was Saddler, th…that he was good, had his soul back like Tobias. B…but you wouldn't buh…believe him because of what he did as David…"

A gross grin twisted its way onto David's face. "That's right, Rachel. I gave Jordan just the sob story she wanted to hear. How stuck up, head strong big sister wouldn't listen to me, how all I wanted to do was help the cause. She fed me, invited me in. All because I promised her the one thing YOU never gave her. Inclusion. I'd turn her into a vampire, and then return her soul to her body. So we could be warriors, just like Tobias." He laughed and the very sound of it made me sick to my stomach. "So STUPID, Jordan. So, so-"

"STOP, MONSTER!" Suddenly, in a flash of blinding white light, Erek, in his Pemalite form was standing next to me. He started chanting low, in a language I'd never heard before.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSZZZZZZZ!* "AAARRGH!" In an instant, the arm that was holding Jordan began to sizzle and smoke and David yanked it back, releasing her. I moved as fast as I could, faster than I ever had before. In the blink of an eye, I grabbed Jordan and pulled her away, back behind me and Erek, next to Sara.

David stumbled backwards, clearly shaken. "Wh…what did you…?"

"What I should have done long ago," Erek said sadly. "But I needed to be in your presence. You will threaten this family no more, monster. If you or any of your underlings touches these girls or their mother, you will burst into flames as if exposed to the sun itself." I'd never seen Erek like this before…and that spell… he just hurt David. HURT him, and threatened him with death. How…?

David looked shocked. "Big magic, McGruff. How did you…?"

"Big magic indeed," Erek said. He had a sad, distant look in his eyes. "Bought and paid for by YOU."

David stumbled again, clutching at his heart. "Warlock magic?? You took the cost out of ME??"

Now there were tears clearly running down Erek's face and I knew for sure what he had done. Erek had broken his oath, his religious pact to never cause harm to another being. He broke it to protect MY family. "Yes," he said solemnly. "Now be GONE from this place. I banish you, murderer! BE GONE!"

With a tortured howl, David was gone, and Erek collapsed to his knees, sobbing. I dropped down and wrapped him tightly in a hug, my own tears flowing freely.

"Thank you, Erek." I whispered. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm so sorry… so…"

"Hush now, Slayer." Erek said in a soft voice. "You did not ask this of me. It was my choice. I have grown quite fond of your family. Jordan, Sara, Naomi, they are my friends. I would never let harm come to them. I'm sorry I did not sense what was happening sooner."

"R…Rachel?" Jordan's voice was tiny and broken. "Tr..tru-" Before she could finish the word, I had her wrapped in a hug as well and was crying into her hair. Sara joined us and threw her arms around Jordan too, sobbing into our sister's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Jor," I cried. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I didn't want you to be a part of my life. I just…this world of mine is SO dangerous. So TERRIFYING. I never wanted this for you. I tried to keep you away from it so you wouldn't be afraid. But all I did was keep information from you that would have told you how dangerous all of this was. But…if you really want this. Want to learn. I'll teach you. Teach you enough to defend yourself and Sara. And you can help us with research if you want, like Cassie, Jake and Marco. I love you Jordan. I love you Sara. I will NEVER let anyone hurt you."

We stayed like that for a while, the Berenson sisters huddled and crying together. Then the phone rang.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." Erek said reassuringly.

"It's going to be ok," I whispered to my sisters. "Everything's going to be-"

"RACHEL!" My eyes shot up to the Pemalite. There was panic in Erek's voice. "We have to go." Then, in my head, just to me, he said, [It's Aximili. He says Tobias is in terrible danger. Taylor is going to slay him. Estrid made a mistake and gave her spells to pull it off. Now the Watcher wants to help us stop her. We have to go. I'll cast a protection ward on the house and the girls while you call your mother.]

"NO TIME, EREK!" I growled leaping to my feet and reaching for my keys. "Just meet me there!"

"No." Erek said firmly. "I will take us there. I'll take EVERYONE THERE. I still have David's energy signature, he can buy us one more spell. Call your mother. I shall cast the ward. It will STILL be much faster than to drive."

I took a deep breath and nodded. He was right.

In a matter of minutes, Erek, Ax, Estrid, Cassie, Marco, Jake and myself were standing outside the apartment Estrid and Taylor shared. Tortured wails were coming from inside, in a voice that I instantly recognized. In an instant I was in Estrid's face, tail be damned. "I won't forget this." I spat.

[Rachel…I do not expect you to forgive me, but know I am truly sorry for the part I played in this.]

"This is awful," Cassie whispered. "How has no one called 911 over this yet??"

Marco sniffed. "In this neighborhood? Yeah right. I'd know, I live here."

"Enough talking." I said, preparing to kick the door in.

[WAIT! Let me go first, I will attempt to convince her I am still on her side. Once her guard is down, I will-]

"You've got ten seconds." I said. The tone of my voice made it clear there would be no negotiating.

Estrid let a huff out of her nostril slits then waved her fingers, unlocking the door. [Taylor! We must go! They know and they're here! We have no- AAAAAAARGH!]

I charged in, Ax and Erek right behind me.

[NO!] Ax cried, horrified as Estrid stumbled out of the second door on the left, down the hallway, her tail now nothing more than a bloody stump.

Taylor swaggered out after her, holding the blade from the Watcher's tail in her hand like a knife. "Did you really think you could pull a fast one on ME?! ON ME?!?" Suddenly, Taylor moved and before any of us could react, she had grabbed Estrid and was holding the severed tail blade at the Watcher's throat. "UH UH UH! Everyone stay the fuck back. Or I give Estrid here a much needed mouth. I'm thinking from her nose, down to her chest."

[Taylor…why? Why are you?] Estrid's voice was small and weak, I noticed she was losing a LOT of blood. That was bad, but honestly I had more important concerns at the moment.

"I swear Taylor, if you've hurt Tobias…"

She threw her head back and laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "Oh, I've done a LOT more than just hurt him, Big B. I introduced him to an entirely new concept of pain. I had him begging me to kill him. But I didn't. He's still alive. I was going to, but since you're all here I'll settle for plan B. You're gonna LOVE the parting gift I left you two with. And you…" Taylor said, looking down at Estrid. "I'm afraid I just don't need you anymore. See, I've been playing you this whole time, Estrid. Before you found me, I had already sworn myself to someone else. And my teacher, my REAL teacher? He's already got me a new Watcher lined up. You're not going to be the ONLY Slayer with a Visser watching her back, Rachel. And I promise you, mine is bigger and badder."

Estrid gasped. [The Abom-] Then Taylor plunged the severed blade through Estrid's throat.

"NO!"

[ESTRID!!!]

"OH MY GOD!"

"Hey Drodey!" Taylor called out to the air. "I'll take that ride now!" And just like that she was gone. I dashed into open room as Ax and Cassie tended to Estrid.

"TOBIAS!" He lay crumpled on the floor, but yes, he was alive. I ran to him, when suddenly I stopped moving. Something INCREDIBLY strong was holding me back.

"Rachel, wait." It was Erek!

"EREK LET ME GO!"

"RACHEL HE'S BEEN CURSED!"

That made me stop, but it tore me up inside. All I wanted to do was hold him in my arms. My sweet, gentle Tobias. My fault. This was my fault. I had to be a bitch and tell him to fuck off and now…

Erek's paw like hands moved quickly, casting a spell.

"C…can't." Tobias groaned out the word.

"Be still, my friend." Erek said and a green light began to shine around Tobias. "There. That should help, the physical pain at least. For the rest…I'm sorry, Tobias…"

"It's ok, thank you Erek." Then he looked up at me with those sad eyes. "I knew you'd come for me."

I was crying now, but I didn't care. "Of COURSE I came, I LOVE you, Tobias. I'm so, so sorry…" I leaned down to hug him, to hold him tight and kiss him. But he backed away, quickly like he was terrified of me.

"Rachel no!" His eyes were haunted now, he looked so sad. More so than I'd ever seen him. "She…she put a curse on me, Rachel. On us…" As he spoke I saw Erek frantically moving his fingers, casting a spell that would no doubt confirm exactly what Taylor had done. "Any physical contact between us, when I'm in this body…" His words sounded like they were struggling to get out. Tears were running down Tobias' face. "Any physical contact, Rachel. If it's out of love or compassion…and my soul gets banished from my body. Gone, and my body is open for any demon to possess."

"No…" I looked desperately to Erek, but the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. This is magic beyond even my capabilities."

"The Drode." Tobias said quietly.

I sobbed, and Erek hugged me.

"Rachel…?" It was Cassie, she had tears in her eyes. Estrid hadn't made it.

"Is it just me?" I asked Tobias, and he nodded slowly. "Cassie? Please. I need you. I need you to hug Tobias."

"I…what?"

"CASSIE PLEASE!" I wailed, and she did. Erek did some more magic to destroy the seal on the ceiling that was keeping Tobias prisoner. After holding Tobias for a long time, Cassie helped him up, then wrapped me in a tight hug. I sobbed into her shoulder uncontrollably.

Tobias

In the relatively short life that I've known and can remember, I've known pain. I've known longing, and despair and grief. What Taylor did to me, in the Demon Trap. Making me flip back and forth between happy memories and indescribable agony was bad. It was pain. It was brutal and awful. But this? This thing she'd done to me and Rachel on top of it? This was torture. Despite everything, Taylor was still just that spoiled, superficial girl who needed to be the most beautiful, the most liked. When faced with someone like Rachel, who exudes power and strength and beauty as naturally and effortlessly as she draws breath, Taylor found someone she couldn't be more than. So she had to take something from Rachel. From me.

It made me terrified, wondering just how powerful the Drode really was. In all those private moments between Rachel and I, our most intimate moments when we joked about the parallels between ourselves and the cursed couple in the movie LadyHawke, was he listening? Did he hear every word and cook up the perfect curse, ripe with delicious irony?

We were back at our house now, all of us. Ax had more or less completely shut down, emotionally. I don't think he had even fully processed his feelings for Estrid, let alone her betrayal and then her death. Marco was attempting to cheer him up, but everything fell on deaf ears. Ax 's eyes were glazed and glassy, as he stared off in three different directions at once, and yet nowhere at all.

"Tobias…?" Without even realizing it, I had started doing the exact same thing. I snapped out of my haze and looked up at Rachel. "There…um…there's still a couple hours of daylight left…will you come outside with me? I want to…I just… I need…." I nodded and tried to smile as best as I could. I led her to the sliding glass door to the back yard and opened it.

As soon as I stepped out into the light of day, I felt the changes begin. Bones crunched as they shrank and hollowed. My skin itched as feathers etched themselves in and grew from nothing. Soon I was a fully formed, two foot tall Red Tailed Hawk. Erek had confirmed this would be safe for us to do. Like it protected me from the sun, this body would protect me from Taylor's curse as well. Rachel sat down, crossed legged in the grass and gently picked me up. There is no good way to hug a hawk, even at my most careful, you can't avoid the sharp talons, and then there's the beak too. But Rachel didn't care. She cradled me in her arms like a baby, and she cried. She apologized over and over for nothing. She told me over and over that she loved me, and that we'd figure something out. That we'd find a way to undo this. Maybe she even believed it. I rubbed my head against her and told her over and over that I loved her and none of this was her fault, but I know she didn't believe that.

END. Chapter Eight

Based on accounts from Aximili Esgarouth Isthil

Next Chapter: Sharing is Caring