Dripping water and malice, the witch Sloane pointed the tip of her blade in the boy's direction with wicked glee. "The gang's all here!"
"I did warn you what would happen if you were still here when I moved in," her tone was as sharp as her sword.
Fed up and feeling cornered in their own home, David snarled "Enough! We are not leaving this town. And we don't share."
Sloane cackled. "I figured you would say something like that. Guess I'll have to go with plan B. Oh goody."
"What the fuck is plan B?"
Be ready for anything, David warned the others so only they could hear.
None of the lost boys liked the manic, toothy grin that stretched inhumanly across the witch's face.
"I'll have to flush you out of course!"
And with that boldly and happily declared, Sloane took her sword and swung it like a bat at the fountainhead next to her slicing cleanly through the stone.
The boy's flinched when the sword made contact with stone and braced themselves for an attack of some kind. But it never came and they just stared in mounting confusion when no attack came.
Pauled burst out laughing. "Was that it?"
Sloane slowly straightened up, bringing her weapon to rest casually at her side. David noted she did not appear phased by Paul's open ridicule. He and Dwayne shared a quick look out of the corner of their eyes and that was all the opening the witch needed.
"Sneak attack!" she cried excitedly.
Dwayne heard the canine growling from his side before he felt razor sharp teeth pierce his flesh and claws tear into his chest.
The other boys cursed loudly in different colors as their brother was dragged away from them by the witch's black hound familiar. Paul and Marko leapt into the fray, trying to grab the massive dog and pull it away from Dwayne's throat while simultaneously trying to keep from losing any fingers. David could only stand there and watch the beast flash its bloody teeth in between mouthfuls of flesh and tissue that it wrenched free of his second in command. Though he heard the savage dog snarling, it was as though he were hearing it from a great distance, muffled and slightly muted. Instead, what he was really listening to was his brother's screams.
Reflexively, without thinking at all about the curse that promised pain from anyone's touch, he rushed at Sloane with every intent to kill her with his bare hands; he was filled with an all encompassing rage.
He was so close, his claws actually brushed the skin of her neck, he could almost taste her blood on his tongue. Before he made it any closer to her person, water exploded from where the fountainhead had been cut with such force and velocity he was actually thrown backwards to the floor. And then he felt a searing, burning sensation where the water soaked through his clothes and touched his face.
"HOLY WATER!" he screamed and scrambled desperately backwards to get away from the now overflowing fountain.
He was temporarily blinded, fearing the dangerous waters would dissolve his eyes in their sockets, and every attempt to wipe his face dry had the opposite effect.
"Oh FUCK!" he heard Paul swear.
Paul and Marko had managed to pry the big black dog from Dwayne's bleeding body and hurl the still thrashing animal across the lobby only for it to disappear. Now they scrambled to heave their injured brother up into the air with them to avoid the rising water level.
"Get him out of here!" David yelled to the floating pair and their charge. The head vampire had managed to drag himself up on the front desk that was now an island in a sea of holy water.
They hesitated, fighting the compulsion to follow their sire's orders. The thought, What about you?, went unsaid and they made a mad dash for the exit. As they flew overhead, they heard Sloane cackle and brandish her sword through the air, just barely missing Marko's foot.
They escaped into the night injured, beaten, and without their leader.
The holy water was waist high as Sloane waded slowly towards David crouched on the front desk. He'd shed his waterlogged duster and shirt. The cursed spider tattoo still managed to stand out starkly amidst his damaged, mottled skin.
"How the fuck are you doing this?" he hissed at her.
She tilted her head curiously without breaking stride. "The holy water gag? You think because I'm a witch my magic can't touch it? As if. Witches are holy beings too, David. Kinda. In a way."
She stopped just short of the front desk. When she playfully pointed her sword at him, he batted the blade away and laughingly she let him. She licked her bottom lip flirtatiously, smearing her lipstick even further.
"It's about what you believe, David."
He sneered at her. "I believe you're a massive bitch and a pain in my ass."
She threw her head back and laughed. "Why, thank you!"
"Do you take anything seriously?" he huffed. His half-blind eyes might have been playing tricks on him but he swore he saw something dart across the ceiling. He hoped it wasn't any of his brothers disregarding his implied order to not come back and save him. But if it was, he would buy whichever of them the element of surprise.
"Nope!" Sloane replied, really popping the 'p' sound.
David feared his teeth would crack from how hard he gritted them in frustration. "If you think you can take Santa Carla for your own, you're in for a surprise. You're not the only witch in town. And when you inevitably piss them off enough, they will hunt you down and kill you."
It wasn't technically a lie. Even though Jess had said they wouldn't help him kill their sister, he knew if and when push comes to shove, Jess was fully capable of doing what needed to be done to end the fight.
Sloane raised a brow, no less amused. "What makes you think they won't just join me instead?"
"Because they're not demented like you are!" he fired back.
She sighed dreamily. "You always say the sweetest things to me."
Three things happened next, one after the other in perfect sequence.
Sloane reached out a finger to run along David's face.
He recoiled before she got too close.
And something knocked into the back of Sloane's head so hard she was slammed underwater.
David's eyes widened. A vampire he did not recognise hovered about the churning holy water. Agitated by his hesitancy, the stranger flashed his fangs at him and gestured wildly to the exit.
"Hey! Come with me if you want to fucking live!" He clapped his hands trying to keep his attention. " Let's go! Move your ass!"
David had a split second to decide if he was going to trust this random stranger who just happened to show up in the nick of time, or face the quickly recovering Sloane.
Better the devil you don't know?
Fuck it. He was getting the hell out of there regardless if this new vampire was in his way or not.
Avoiding the witch, the deadly holy water, and the new guy David made it to the exit in an instant. He pushed himself to wring every ounce of speed he could muster, despite his still burning surface wounds. The real hurt lie a ways deeper, however. It stung having to abandon his territory, his home. Not to mention, the last tangible trace of October was slipping out of his grasp. Running for his life felt an awful lot like turning his back on the only place that had really been HIS.
"Wait up dude!"
David bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from outright snarling.
Clearly, this guy couldn't take a hint.
He was quick to blink away his misty eyes and course-corrected. Fairly certain Sloane wasn't going to pursue now that she had what she wanted, he set off towards the woods. In the forest, dark and deep, he lured his tail.
As soon as both their feet hit the ground, David rounded on him. "Who the fuck are you?"
The guy put up his hands defensively. "Easy. I'm the guy who saved your ass, remember? I'm Shane."
Now that he actually had longer than a second to take this 'Shane' in, David did just that. Clearly a surfer dude if anything he was wearing was to go by. Shoulder length shaggy dark blond hair. Scruffy beard. There was something familiar about his eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"What were you doing down there Shane? Why'd you decide to fly in?"
He didn't even bother wasting his energy wondering why October's security wards didn't hinder him at all. Sloane had already demonstrated anyone could just waltz in when they wanted to.
Shane dipped his head slightly, the motion making him appear almost harmless. "I know Sloane. She killed my entire tribe. I was trying to warn you about her but I got there too late."
David searched Shane's hooded eyes, looking for any hint of deception but was so utterly exhausted he decided he didn't actually give a shit. A mistake probably, but he had other, more pressing priorities at the moment. Like finding his family and getting them safely out of town before the sun rose.
"Do yourself a favor," David started backing away, ready to get the hell out of dodge, "start running and don't stop until you're far, far away. This whole town is cursed."
Shane's eyes widened in panic. Whether it was his words that set him off or the fact that he was clearly about to leave him, David couldn't be sure.
"Wait! Please don't just leave me. I don't have anyone or anywhere to go. I was hoping…"
David paused. You've got to be kidding me.
He glared at Shane. "You want to join my tribe?"
The corner of Shane's mouth quirked up. He tilted his head like a bashful puppy. "I did just save your head."
David grinded his teeth, obscenities collecting on his tongue. He did not currently possess the patience to really give this guy any serious thought. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, he hesitated just outright telling the guy to go fuck himself.
He breathed deeply through his nose, sparing a moment to collect himself.
"I'll talk to the others. No guarantees."
David might be losing his mind, but he could have sworn, Shane looked somewhat surprised by his answer, probably expecting him to in fact tell him to go fuck himself. Jokes on him though.
"Thanks." Shane nodded gratefully.
If he thought David was going to thank him for saving his life, he had another thing coming.
David turned his back on him without a second thought and took off.
"I think he bought it," Shane called out to the shadows of the forest.
"I think you're right," the shadows replied gleefully.
The witch stepped out of the darkness behind the trees appearing no worse for wear, unlike the vampire that had just flown off.
Shane kept his expression neutral, watching the witch cautiously.
She stared right back, unblinkingly. It was frankly disturbing how confident and at ease she was all the time. Predicting what she was going to do next was nearly impossible.
He braced himself for anything when she came to a stop in front of him.
Even though he was taller than her by a foot, she still had a way of making him feel exposed. Vulnerable. She was capable of anything. Including cutting him loose if she decided she didn't need him.
"The next time you see him, you'll have to try a little harder to win over his pals. Got it?" She clasped her hands in front of herself as if that made her any less dangerous.
"Got it."
Her creepy expression froze in place, though he swore he saw her eye twitch which added to the already sinking feeling in his chest.
Suddenly the ground opened up beneath his feet and he really was sinking into the dirt. He cried out as he clawed and struggled to no avail. The dirt stopped around his shoulders and he was completely immobilized.
"What the hell?" he swore at Sloane, reduced to merely glaring at the witch.
She laughed.
"I told you to 'push' me out of the way. Not kick me in the back of the head."
She sneered down at him.
"The next time you think… don't. You do exactly as I tell you. That way we both get what we want."
He watched in dismay as she pulled back her steel toe boot and braced himself for impact to the face.