CHAPTER 2

For all the movie buffs….see if you can catch the Flatliners reference in this chapter ;) And I hope you notice that David is falling back into character. A little less softhearted, a little more badass…just the way it should be.

"I can't believe this." Each word fell from his mouth like he was spitting them out.

"It doesn't matter, because you're coming. I'm not leaving you here."

"Afraid I might bite?"

"No, afraid others may bite you. Look, it isn't my fault you know him. Don't get all pissy with me. Adrian might be coming too."

"Great, now I'm really eager to go. Can't wait to get fur all over the seat of my bike."

"We're taking a car. You can bring your bike if you want."

"I sure as hell ain't leaving it here."

The back and forth arguing continued even as both of them packed. David was throwing things violently in the bag with both hands, a burning cigarette in his mouth, completely ignoring any no-smoking rules in the house. He blew the smoke out through his nose in order to keep his hands free, making him look even more like an angry bull. He was not liking being the last person to be included in decisions. He growled to himself under his breath, sometimes curses, mostly English, some occasional Latin, some languages she didn't recognize….but all of it angry. He realized Cate had stopped moving and turned. She was standing behind him, hands on her hips and giving him a look that immediately put him on the defensive. He started in English but then flew into a flurry of curses, only slightly muffled by the cigarette, that Cate only barely recognized as some sort of South American language. "I did not fucking come here to be ordered around, não irei com aquele lobo maldito e não tomo ordens de você …" it went on and on. The idea of David speaking a foreign language, and with perfect accent, seemed funny, but upon hearing it spewing forth in his loudest, roughest voice…God it sounded hellishly awful.

"What is that? How the hell do you know that?"

He tossed down the shirt he was about to throw in the bag and snarled, finally removing the cigarette from his mouth. "Portuguese. Extended stayover in Brazil due to some extremely powerful cocaine."

"How many do you know?"

"Three or four fluently, but I can curse in just about everything. And if I have to go through the whole damn civilized world in alphabetical order to show you how pissed off I am, I will!"

What had started out as a great idea, coming up to a new state with a beautiful girl to do some large-scale ass-kicking, was now turning into being ordered around like he was a private in the army. And Michael! God, he thought he had been rid of that kid. He had told Cate everything, but she was still emphatic about going. This idiot had gotten his pack killed and impaled David himself on gazelle horns for crying out loud! Gazelle horns! Was there any more ignominious way of dying than that? And Cate was acting like he was being a big baby because some kid kicked sand in his eyes on the playground and stole his truck.

"David, I know you were serious when you said you wanted to do this. Come back with me, stay with me, go kill people with me, all nice and dandy. But can you let your ego go just for one split second? That's what being in this clan is about. It's hierarchy, it's respect. It's like a pack." She leaned against the wall and held her arms out slightly. Come here, and put that out. David obeyed, putting the end of the cigarette out on the palm of his hand and stepping forward. Cate knew that David didn't do what she said just because she said it. He was too full of himself for that. He did it because he chose to listen to her. But then again, it was the same with her. He touched his forehead to hers.

His breath was cold and stale against her nose; neither of them had fed the night before "I love you, but I'm not about to play nice with everyone just because you and your grand-daddy say so. Your 'clan' may be like a pack, but remember, I ran the pack."

"I love you too, jerk. But this is a very simple situation. One, I need to go back to California. Two, I don't want to go back to California by myself. Three, I want to go back to California with you. So you're going."

"Oh am I?" he stepped forward, pushing her with his chest so that her back went rigid against the wall.

"Yes, you are."

"And just how are you going to convince me?"

She saw the look in his eyes, but was not about to have herself thrown off track by his insinuations. "I don't need to convince you. You're already convinced you're going to go, because you don't want to stay here by yourself. Now, you're just bitching about it, and trying to get laid in order to get some good out of it."

David withdrew the pressure of his body slightly and curled his thin lower lip in a scowl. "Someone can't take a hint."

They went out hunting that night, the tension between them making them rather unsuccessful. It wasn't the end of the world, as they had gone a few days without feeding before. David had told her that human blood could sustain you for over a week, animal or vampire blood for about four or five days before you started fiending pretty badly for a kill, but being young was causing her to feel pretty grouchy and snappy already. She has told Daniel that she and David would be gone all night and for most of the day in order to round up supplies. If they both spent another day sleeping at the mansion, it would seem too odd. They rented out a room in a ramshackle motel, owned by a very old Native American man with yellowed, drooping eyes, once the morning light began to appear.

"He wouldn't go missing" David has said, eyeing the old man, but Cate's glare stopped his train of thought.

"No people."

"What if I find a murderer or a child molester, then? Then can I eat them? Or is this choke hold on my balls permanent?" He said as she flopped down on the bed. But he was having a hard time concentrating on making his point watching her lie there in nothing but one of his own black shirts and a ridiculously low-cut, scanty black thong. She had walked out of the bathroom and he swore his jaw had just about hit the floor and gone all the way through the earth to China.

Do you have to wear stuff like that when I'm trying to argue? It's not fair.

Oh, it's completely fair

"If you find a scumbag worthy of death, then fine, go ahead." I don't want to fight tonight, David.

He managed a conciliatory grunt and lay down on the bed on his back alongside her. Maybe going back to California, spotted with more cesspools of lowlifes than a Dalmation has spots, wasn't so bad after all. After a while, he knocked his head lightly against hers to get her attention. "Hey. I'm sorry."

"I heard you." She rolled over and took her usual position beside him, up against his side with one arm across his chest. "I'm just tired. And hungry."

He turned over and wrapped his arms around her with a playful growl. "Meh, stop complaining."

"David?"

"Yes?"

"Since when did my ass become a handrest?"

"Since you decided to wear that."

He kissed her and slowly moved his hands until they rested on her lower back instead. "You were serious about the whole murderer and child molester thing, right?"

"Oh for goodness sakes. Yes, fine."

"Cause technically, Michael's a murderer." His voice had gone soft, prodding her. She immediately recognized he was trying to manipulate her into saying something.

"No, he was defending himself against you and your crazy posse."

"But if he killed me now…you'd call him a murderer, wouldn't you?"

Cate realized David had pushed her into a verbal corner but ignored the question. She knew the answer, but it wasn't the logical one. Of course, if someone killed David she'd have their guts for garters. He knew that, but he'd asked her anyway. "Just please, bury your pride for a few days. Can you do that? Maybe you'll even end up respecting this guy."

She heard him make a derisive sigh in reply, but the noise softened as she kissed his neck. All right. I'll try.

She moved her lips up to his ear and breathed out slowly.

Ok, I'll really, really try.

I thought you didn't like me taking advantage of you?

I lied…

………………………………………………………………………………..………………

When they returned the following evening, David found that someone had washed and tuned up his bike. It was standing outside the mansion, gleaming. "Not bad" he clucked his tongue and ran a gloved finger over the curve of the handlebars. "Going away present?"

"Peace offering." A light voice intoned. Adrian seemed to appear out of nowhere, wiping his hands on a rag. "I have my own bike, so I thought we'd just head off like this, without the old clunker of a car."

Cate gave Adrian a grateful smile, but the look he returned was unreadable.

"So, what's your bike?" David said, trying to consolidate his momentary superiority by making sure he had a better ride. Though he couldn't think of much that could beat his. A 1986 Triumph Bonneville was as good as you could get.

"I'll show you." Adrian gave an odd smile and headed off around the corner of the house. Seeing him from the back, David noticed a thick, distinct line of black fur running down from the tip of Adrian's hairline down his neck . He could follow it down along the young man's spine through the thin undershirt he was wearing. Weird. Like a topline on a horse or something. Somehow he hadn't noticed it at dinner. After a few seconds deep rumble sounded and Adrian came back around. He had obviously anticipated the challenge and parked his bike nearby. David's jaw hit the floor for the second time in twenty-four hours. A Triumph Bonnie. But this was a '78. Meaning it topped out at about fifteen more miles per hour than his.

Cate heard his mind screaming in fury at being upstaged. Boys….she thought.

Adrian cut the motor and put the kickstand down. "Couldn't resist. But I think we all need to talk before we go ahead and do this." Sliding lithely off the bike, he stood in front of both of them, crossing his arms but maintaining a neutral face.

Oh boy, here it comes.

"I know what both of you are. I smelled it on you as soon as you came in. I haven't told anyone, and I'm not going to spread it around. But know that I'm going to be keeping a very, very close eye on both of you." He looked towards David and his voice became dangerously soft. "Especially you. Are we clear?"

David slid his fangs down purposefully and circled one with his tongue. At almost the same moment, the line of hair down Adrian's back stiffened like a threatened dog's.

"No full moon for a while there, Ade."

"I don't need a full moon."

Cate had just about had enough of this ridiculous posturing. "Stop it, RIGHT NOW!!"

Both boys turned as they heard the slithering noise of knives being unsheathed.

Cate's face was like a thundercloud, punctuated with the spark of yellow in her glaring eyes, as she pointed both her knives outwards, one towards each. "I'm NOT going to put up with any of this shit on the ride, or else I'll leave both of you in the middle of Arizona with nothing but a trashed up bike and each other's wonderful company! I didn't ask you both to come so I could get some sort of entertainment watching you puff up in front of each other like a pair of freaking roosters. Grow up. Adrian, quit the passive aggressive shit. Just because you've known me longer doesn't give you the right to decide whether my friends are worth their salt. And David, if you keep trying to start a fight, so help me God I will give you a fight to remember and then never even look at you again. Are we clear?"

The boys didn't answer, staring at her after the outrage. "I said, are we clear?" Cate yelled like a drill sergeant, her brown eyes flashing.

"Crystal."

……………………………………………………..……………………………………………

Once everything had been packed and goodbyes said, David went missing. Cate found him inside, talking on the phone. "What're you doing? We're leaving."

David held up a finger and spoke into the receiver, smiling wickedly at her "Hey, Paul. Want to go to LA?"

Two against one were better odds.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Paul was eager to go. Despite spending most of his days expanding the adult section in the video store or being with Star, he was a little bored with the sudden transition to normal life. He had managed to get a bike also…a trashed up Suzuki that Cate doubted passed 29 horsepower. But at least he had a ride. David's plan had unfortunately backfired, because Adrian and Paul hit it off immediately. Paul was taking great delight in showing off while Adrian watched, wearing a perpetually amused expression, his lips pursed and trying to hold back a chuckle.

"And then I was like – 'Like hell you are!' and wham, that sucker went down."

"Oh?"

"Hell yeah and then Star was all like 'Omigod thank you Paul, you're so biiig and maaannly."

"I see."

"You forgot to tell him about how two kids flushed you down the bathtub drain" growled David, fiddling with the rear-view mirrors on his bike. It had taken them two nights to get to Los Angeles, and he had put up with them the entire ride only because of Cate. He was also annoyed to see that Paul had indeed begun to grow his hair back, and it was already as messy as before.

They reached the address that Daniel had given them around nine o'clock, and Cate volunteered to go knock on the door. "Ade, come with me. David, Paul, just hang back for a second. If Michael sees you right off, especially you, David, I don't think any amount of storytelling or convincing is going to work."

David shrugged and gestured with his head that he and Paul should park behind the bushes lining the street. He noted with a bit of disgust that the new LA house looked almost exactly like the old one in Santa Carla. Pretty little one-level, picket fence, perfect for 2.5 kids and a collie dog. Nauseating. Adrian and Cate came up to the door and, after a brief moment of hesitation,

Cate went ahead and knocked. The door opened and she readied herself to speak. But the words never made their way out of her mouth. She stood there with her mouth open, staring at the young man in front of her. Dark hair, heavy brow, brown eyes, strong jaw…he was almost a perfect replica of Tobias. She was too shocked to speak. Adrian sensed her shock and smoothly took over, introducing himself. David watched from the bushes as they went inside, only after Michael gestured. "Hi, I'm nice, he's nice, we're both fucking lunatics, can we come in please?" he muttered darkly.

Minutes passed.

Hours passed.

It seemed like Cate and Adrian were inside forever. David had gone through almost nine cigarettes in an attempt to stifle his unease

"Hey, David?" Paul broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Uh…you remember what you said back at the cave?"

David's ears perked up. Hmmm. He did his best to sound completely uninterested.

"About what?"

"About….you know, if I was okay with what I was?"

"Hmmmm…."

"I don't know man. I'm starting to get all spun out and shit. I don't think this whole human thing is worth it."

"Star will be disappointed you feel that way."

Paul scuffed the ground with his shoes. "Yeah…yeah I know. But I just don't feel right."

David had to chose his words carefully. If Paul was considering turning back…that would certainly be a good deal for him. His ego had been bruised lately by not having anyone to really boss around, let alone a pack to run. Not being in control wasn't a feeling he was used to. Paul was sending all the right signals. His body language was nervous, his words ill-chosen and vague….he obviously wanted it, but didn't know how to ask for it. David didn't care about what was technically right or wrong, or what Star and Laddie would think, or if he should dissuade Paul for his own good…all of that was trivial. The taste of power tickled its way through his mouth, and God it felt good. What a stroke of luck! He decided that now all he had to do was give his former packmate the little impetus he needed. After all...it was what Paul really wanted, right? He had already led himself to the water, David just had to get him to drink. "Well, take your time thinking about it. My offer still stands of course."

Finally, the door to the house opened and both of them turned their attention towards it. Adrian came out first, and then Cate. Michael came out alongside her. Cate still looked shaken, but managed to walk steadily towards David, who put an arm subtly but possessively around her. Considering the Michael and Star fiasco, he was marking his territory early.

"Hey Mikey, how's it hanging?"

"Hi Paul."

"Well isn't this a motley crew. Two vampires, a werewolf, a human, and a walking penis." David said mockingly.

"Heeey!" Paul retorted.

Michael didn't respond, but it was obvious he was still suspicious of the entire story. His hackles rose at the sight of his sneering enemy. He had just gotten out of Santa Carla, had just barely begun to forget what had gone on….and it seemed it was all coming to a head again. He stared at David. Vague memories of their fight, ending with his arms against David's shoulders in a death grip, pushing him into the horns and watching the surprise and pain wash over those animalistic golden eyes, seeped into the forefront of his mind. "Let me get my bike." He turned towards the garage.

Paul whispered to Cate. "What did you say to him? How'd you get him to say yes?"

"Daniel gave me some convincing information, mostly about his father. He trusts me because of it. Well, trusts me enough to come along and see for himself."

"What information?"

"I'm not going to tell you. It's his business, not yours. If he feels like it, he can tell you. But right now all you need to know is he's open to the idea." Her voice sounded strained. "I also gave him one of my knives, so he'd at least feel like he had some sort of chance if for some reason we were all lying."

Are you all right? David probed her. She was pressing against him just a tad harder than normal.

No. But I'll tell you later.

Michael came back, wheeling his bike. Cate took over directing everyone with her last bit of energy. "Let's just stay here tonight, find a motel. Come tomorrow evening we'll start off early, and if we ride all night we should be able to get to Mesita but sunup."

Adrian revved his Triumph and looked pointedly at David, but David was too busy still thinking about Paul's request. Michael walked his bike up beside David and straddled it, staring at the vampire with distrust in his dark eyes. "Do you know why I'm doing this?"

David turned his attention towards him and smirked. "No, Michael. Why are you doing this? Because you suddenly trust me?"

Michael nodded towards Cate, who was sliding onto the back of the Triumph. "Because I trust her. And I can tell she has you by the balls."

David's angry reply was lost in the exhaust of the three bikes in front of him.

After the first night of travel, when they had booked some rooms for the night, Cate immediately threw herself into bed and under the covers. David was in the bathroom taking a shower, so she didn't bother to try to muffle the sounds of crying. The entire scene was being dragged through her head again, bit by agonizing bit. The ending picture stuck like a snapshot of a nightmare. Tristan holding Tobias' head roughly by its dark brown hair. The brooding, soft eyes that had watched over her since she was a child were rolled up in death, the pale white of the eye flat and unseeing. It had been horrifying to look at. She was trying with all her might not to look at Michael. She knew if she didn't get a hold of herself, she would be a completely useless emotional wreck. But every inch of his face reminded her in some way of Tobias, every single inch. Even the way he spoke, the way he moved….calm, logical, quiet….her throat caught and her heart stopped every time he glanced at her, it was like seeing her brother's eyes looking through his. She dimly realized the water had stopped running in the bathroom but didn't care. She was going to cry if she felt like it. She snuffled and gasped into the pillow, and after only a minute or two felt a hand on her shoulder. "Cate? Cate, what's wrong?" It was that familiar, roughened voice that sounded distinctly anxious. She slowly turned around under the sheets to face him, hiccupping. He hadn't even bothered to towel himself off much, water was still dripping from his hair and face and onto the worn cotton pants he had pulled on as quickly as he could as soon as he heard her.

She looked at him for a minute. Oh, shit. It was one of those complicated moments. Every single suggestion of toughness had dropped from his face as if the water had washed it clean off. He looked like a sodden, fearful puppy, staring at her with wide blue eyes, and seeing his face only caused Cate to cry harder and grasp her head with her hands, as if she was trying to scrape out all the wreckage of her memories that had just been swept up and destroyed again by a tornado. "Hey, hey! Cate, easy, please!" he threw back the sheets and pulled her firmly to her knees.

"Cate, breathe. Breathe." She tried, but was still choking. He held her firmly against his damp chest and fixed her arms around his waist as if he was arranging a puppet.

"Breathe, damn it Cate!" he slapped her back, hard. She took in a deep breath out of shock, and then several more…and a few more…and gradually the choking ceased.

Her mental shield, which she had been fighting to keep up all night, finally dropped from exhaustion and David immediately saw what was the matter. Cate pulled her arms away from his waist and collapsed back down on the bed, curling up into a fetal position, now breathing but still crying. "Oh Jesus…."

He shook the water from his hair and got into bed next to her and tried to wedge his arms in between her knees and chest. After a brief struggle she finally relaxed enough to let him hold her. Calm down. Calm down. His forehead pressed against the nape of her neck. Calm down, child. He only rarely called her that except in instances where he needed to get her complete attention. This time it only worked halfway, but she at least managed to stretch out her body a bit more. Slowly, ever so slowly, her crying stopped. Her breaths were ragged and she felt her body ache, muscles going limp. Calm, child. Calm. Her back was soaked from being pressed up against his chest, but she didn't notice. There. Good. Breathe easy.

She woke up several times that day in a cold sweat from fleeting nightmares. Every time she woke, she found him already awake as well, gently stroking her to get her back to sleep. She only found out later by asking that he had stayed awake the entire day.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Rita was rummaging around carefully in her stacks of old photographs, letters, and notes. She was a pack rat, for all of her cleanliness, finding it hard to throw away anything with the vaguest hint of a memory. And she had a lot of them. Her family was an old one, going all the way back to thousands B.C., as her grandfathers had always told her. She herself had the look of an eighty year old woman…but witches age well. Truth be told, she was one-hundred and twenty, and still had quite a ways to go. Magic, especially white magic, tended to have a way of extending your life. It didn't matter much to her. She was happy where she was, and knew her family would have approved of her current position. But right now, she was intent on dredging up those old memories. David's face was too familiar. He reminded her of someone, someone she couldn't quite place. If she had so chosen, she could know immediately who he was, but such invasions of another's mind bordered dangerously on black magic, which she had tried mightily to avoid for the past sixty years. Piles of papers built up around her as she opened various boxes and chests, searching for any kind of clue to ease her curiosity. She was getting to the point where the photographs were more of her extended family than of her. The dates ticked down from 1950, to 1920, to 1890, and she saw herself appearing younger and younger, finally in an undated picture balanced upon the knee of her father. She smiled at his face. He had been such a good man. He hadn't known his wife's origins or her unusual powers, but it hadn't ever caused strife in their family. Rita had taken after her mother's side.

She continued looking at the picture fondly. Her father, no more than twenty-eight. Her mother, even younger, with flowing hair that showed no color, but Rita knew it had been red. Her father had called her his fiery one. Her father's elder brothers, fallen during war. She remembered them slightly fondly, but they had been too old to play with her. She was but a child, no more than five. And lastly, her father's younger brother. This was the one she remembered well. He was barely past twenty and had always been kind to heralways giving her small presents from his outdoor excursions – tiny wood frogs with golden eyes, lavender sprigs, once even a baby squirrel that had fallen from its nest. She had nursed the poor little thing for months, and it ended up completely in love with her, never leaving the yard of their house, much to her mother's dismay. She said it kept stealing food. He had been closer to an older brother than an uncle, but had never returned from the war, either alive or in a casket. Rita's eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. She peered at the picture and took a sharp intake of breath. No…..The eyes were the same. What had his name been? She frantically wracked her brain, trying to find some evidence against what she was fearing was true. Her father's side of the family had been deeply religious. The men all had biblical names. His was Jediah. His brothers were Matthew, Caleb…..and David.

At once, everything clicked into place. Rita was no fool. The paleness of his skin. The flash of color in his eyes when he had looked at Adrian. The incredibly faint smell of blood on his clothes. The charm, the flattery….the fox had gotten in among the chickens.

And then she remembered something else.

Something even more frightening.

How cold Cate had felt when she hugged her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"No. You're not doing that while I'm around."

"Michael." She still couldn't quite meet his eyes. "You said you trusted me. I don't kill people. And David is under strict orders not to. We need to eat something or else we literally can't ride. At least he needs to. It's been days."

"Orders? They day I believe that David is following orders, especially from his girlfriend, is the day I'll gladly tie myself to the train tracks."

"Look, there are tons of non-innocent pickings around here. Probably even a few vamps."

"You'd take out your own kind?"

"I don't consider them 'my kind'"

"Oh, I forgot. You're the nice vampire. Fine. Leave me with the fuzzball."

Adrian raised his eyes over the edge of his book and his topline fur rose in an annoyed reply. Michael hadn't exactly been getting on his good side either. The boy really had a thing against non-humans. Cate gave up and stomped outside, where David and Paul were waiting. She knew Michael had a hatred of vampires…but not to this extent. It might make things problematic. "Paul? Shouldn't you be inside?"

"Er…I dunno, thought I might tag along?"

Cate immediately looked at David. He shrugged and gave a soft snort of laughter, smiling at her.

"Any reason you just feel like tagging along and watching us kill something?"

"Not really….habit? I could bring condiments? Napkins? Something?" Paul offered.

"Hey, Cate it's all right. Just us boys reminiscing. You know, night on the town, old memories….he'll stay out of the way when it becomes necessary…"

What are you playing at?

But he didn't answer her. He turned to Paul and she saw a smile pass between them. "Allright, let's hit the town, man."