Lucy Poindexter's House, San Diego County
Lucy pulled into the drive of her house and exited the large vehicle. As she did, Sayuri and Willow scrambled to get out and start unloading bags into the house.
"Are you sure you didn't overbuy, Lucy?" Sayuri asked.
"Twenty people are likely to show up and one is that boyfriend of yours. No, if anything, I hope I bought enough." Lucy said as she opened the side door of her house.
"With Kashi's appetite we'll have to be sure everyone else gets some." Willow stated.
"Willow!" Sayuri admonished.
"Well, the boy does like to eat." Lucy pointed out.
"Isn't the Marauder pretty obvious outside?" Willow asked.
"More than I'd like, but I didn't have time to go swap cars and truth be told it makes me feel safer out there. Normally, I take it to an old run down piece of property I own. On the outside it looks like a service station that went under. In truth it holds the larger hardware I can't drag around." Lucy explained.
"May I use your bathroom? I want to clean up and change clothes." Sayuri asked clutching the bag she'd obtained during the stop to buy and Willow had both purchased an inexpensive change of clothes and some basic toiletries for their stay. Sayuri organized the purchases and clothing.
"Yeah. Why don't you go get cleaned up too, Willow? You two don't know where things go so you aren't much use unloading. Sayuri, go up the stairs and to the left. You can use my bathroom. Willow, right through here is the guest bathroom." Lucy explained.
Sayuri made her way up to the bathroom. She placed the items she'd purchased on the counter and looked for the items Lucy had instructed them not to bother buying like soap and toothpaste. She had assured them that she had plenty at her house. Sayuri set about cleaning herself up. She washed the makeup off her face, showered, changed her clothes and brushed her teeth.
She felt clean but still exhausted and slightly numb from her experience. Her thoughts had been drifting as she was about to close the medicine cabinet, when something caught her attention. She noticed a conspicuous medicine bottle out of the corner of her eye. She picked up the bottle of prescription medication and read the label noting the dosage. She then quickly put it back. She had not meant to pry but she'd recognized the name of the medication. She did not like the implications of what she'd seen.
By the time Sayuri got out of the shower, Willow had long finished and was eating a sandwich. "You've good bandwidth here, Lucy!" Willow commented as she browsed her phone.
"Well, I maintain this place as a base to scout San Diego. In the past, it was also the fall back point if the Hunters were run out of Los Angeles. So, a few amenities were needed like extra rooms, fast Internet for communications and access to a near by armory. Then later, Dr. Spectre helped me get it enchanted to prevent spying." Lucy explained.
Sayuri began making a sandwich of her own. The shower had done a lot to clear her head and Lucy had helped as well. Surprising to her, Willow had answered many of her questions. Her mind wandered over the strange things she'd learned over the course of the evening. It was hard to believe she'd been up since eleven and in just over thirteen hours, so many illusions about the world had been shattered.
"Willow, I want you to go set up some folding tables and chairs out back. They're in that storage room. Sayuri, you'll help me prep the food for those that are coming." Lucy ordered after they'd finished their sandwiches.
"Yes ma'am!" Willow piped as she shot up and out the back to set up.
"Sayuri, open up the zipper bags and pour some of the marinade inside. Put one chop in each we'll get them out and grill when the company arrives." Lucy said rummaging through the sacks of supplies to hand her the items needed.
"Yes of course!" Sayuri said as she started to work on the assigned task.
"You're dealing with this rather well. girl. I'm surprised. Most people can't handle such shocking revelations about the world in such short order." Lucy commented as they worked.
"Panicking won't help. I've been working toward being a doctor. The last thing a doctor needs to do is to panic in an emergency." Sayuri said.
"True. You know you have to make a decision to make. It's a hard one and you have to make it soon. If you stay with Kashi, you'll be exposed to this world whether you like it or not and whether he likes it or not. It's a part of who he is now. He can't escape it, but you and he just started to date. You could walk away now and everyone is likely to forget about you. No vampires seeking vengeance, no hunters showing up asking for help. Most people can't handle the weirdness or the violence. It doesn't mean you're weak. Only a few people are cut out to deal with this. It's like being in a guerilla war, only it never ends." Lucy said her voice full of warmth and understanding.
"Well, it's not what I pictured doing with my life. But life is never neat and clean, if we don't adapt to it we stagnate and decay. I won't run from what life throws at me, Lucy. I tried to retreat from my problems when my mom died. That doesn't help. You can't run from life. Because life follows you wherever you go and you bring your problems with you. Besides, if what you say is true, Kashi is a hero and you hunters are fighting a war no one sees or will ever get recognition for. That's a special sort of courage. How can I not answer it with courage of my own?" Sayuri said getting her thoughts off her chest.
"Stick to those guns, girl. They'll see you through some dark places when the time comes." Lucy said with a smile.
Sayuri smiled in return. She was encouraged by Lucy's praise. It made her feel like she could do this.
"Now lets work on that salad!" Lucy said.
Carl's Diner
Greg looked up at the clock. He was about to leave. The subject's mother, with whom Jesse had a strange obsession, was about to head to her other job. However, instead of getting ready to leave she was staring at the television and talking on her phone.
Oddly, none of the other staff said anything about this strange behavior. They also seemed alarmed by the images on the television. Curious, Greg set down his book and picked up his tablet. When his tablet woke up, panic gripped Greg's heart. It showed over three hundred unanswered alerts. He quickly pulled up his map only to show his subject was gone.
Greg blinked and pulled up the news for the subject's last known location as well as setting a program to trace her last recorded movements. The news was shocking. A gang war had broken out in Ladera Heights. Scanning the alerts it appeared that a dozen hunters and over three hundred vampires had been in the area set up to monitor the subject.
Momentarily stunned by the numbers, Greg pondered what this might mean. His search program prompted a new alert. Switching to the program he saw the subject's trail was going south on the San Diego Freeway. Alarmingly, the trail was vanishing backwards. Something was running a sophisticated bit of magic to wipe out the subject's trail. Doing a quick check, his tablet helped him identify the magic as a Etheric trail vaporizer. Greg wracked his brain for Etherites who would have taken off with his subject.
Greg put his tablet down and tried to organise his thoughts. Staying here was pointless. The mother was always out of the loop. He would need to analyze the magic and find a counter. As advanced as this magic was, he'd need help. He didn't dare call Jesse. If he heard what had happened, he'd be lucky if Jesse just chewed his ass off. A wave of panic surged up his spine. He realized if the subject had died, being shot for incompetence would not be something he'd put past the cowboy for his extreme failure.
A stop gap solution came to him as he pulled up Brad's tablet's address and sent a direct message. Maybe, with help, he could overcome the trace destroying magic and find the location of the subject. He deeply hoped she was alive as he walked out of the diner and got into his car.
As the door swung shut behind him, he missed Banyan dropping one frantic call to get another. "It's Kashi he's okay!" She exclaimed happily to the staff that was consoling her. She spoke in an excited, relieved manner that her son was well and quickly began to ask questions. Questions that, if Greg had heard, would have put his mind at ease.
Lucy's House.
Bree's Dodge and Jesus' Chevy pulled up to the side of Lucy's home. Getting out, Kashi rushed to the gate in the privacy fence. Quite a few people were already here. Kashi looked past them all. He saw Sayuri through the sliding glass door and ran to her.
"Sayuri! Are you alright?" Kashi asked hurriedly.
"I'm fine, Kashi. I'm just helping Lucy move some things out into the back. As soon as a few more people arrive they're going to have a planning session" Sayuri explained.
"You should go home! I don't want you in danger! It's my fault you were put in harm's way. I don't want you to get involved in all of this." Kashi said taking her hand as if to lead her out.
"Yeah going home is going to be safer than staying in a place fortified against attack." Willow quipped as she walked past with an armload of computer equipment.
"Don't YOU say one word missy! You are the ultimate cause of this! If you hadn't gone and gotten involved with these people you would have never been kidnaped! I wouldn't have had to go rescue you. I would have never fought any vampires and we would have never been in this mess!" Kashi accused, his temper flaring slightly.
"I was trying to help you! I found people who knew something about your condition! It wasn't my fault I got kidnaped! Further more YOU didn't rescue me! Other vampires did and they sent me home. I never saw you 'til I was safe already." Willow shot back.
"Stop. Helping. You. Suck. At. Helping!" Kashi growled back, jabbing his finger into Willow's chest for emphasis on each word.
Bree had walked through the open had heard most of the sibling's quarreling and she gave both of them a firm look.
"Am I going to have to separate you two? Like I used to when I babysat you?" Bree asked, a steel hard edge in her voice.
"Oh wow! It's Bree!" Willow exclaimed. She set the computer parts down in a chair and rushed over to hug the athletic young woman.
"I'd say I'm surprised you remember me, Strawberry, but, I'm not. God look at how you've grown." Bree marveled.
Sayuri knew of Bree Madigan. Her cousin, Reiko had told her stories about her. When Reiko was fifteen she had been hanging around a crowd of car enthusiasts. Bree had busted the group who she had discovered were, in actuality, a theft ring. Reiko had been sent home to her father who was mortified. He ran a large specialty salvage and restoration lot that depended on its excellent reputation. His business worked with expensive foreign and luxury cars for both stars and studios. He would have been ruined if he was suspected of dealing in stolen cars. He had been so angry with his daughter he grounded her from going anywhere or seeing anyone save Sayuri.
"Still messing with computers, Strawberry?" Bree asked nodding to the stack Willow had put down
"Yep! Going to set up a digital projector, a booster for the wifi, and some file sharing drives on a mini server. This way everyone will have access to the maps and data they need to plan." Willow explained.
Sayuri remembered when Reiko was angry she had told her some pretty nasty rumors about Bree's father and Banyan. Sayuri wondered if they were true. She couldn't help but examine Bree and Willow for similarities.
Sayuri noticed their red hair. She found it curious due to what happened to her cousin. Her cousin Reiko's hair had changed to red when she'd manifested. Before that it had been a silky dark brown like Sayuri's own. Now it appeared to be liquid fire. Sometimes, when she was channeling the power within her, her hair even glowed and moved on its own. Bree's hair was a lively hue and had a wavy, full body. It was an orangey , fiery red. It was the closest natural hair to that of Reiko's that she'd seen. If it had been lighter, it might have passed for strawberry blonde. Willow's hair was far darker. It was a ruby, almost maroon color. It did not look fiery or lively. It was so fine and straight it just sort of pooled about where it spilled. It looked more to Sayuri's eye like a liquid. While both red, they were not that alike.
Both were pale, but their skin was also different, quite different in fact. Bree's had peach tones and one could imagine it would break out in a blush or angry red easily. Willow had the pallid coloration of a porcelain doll. Pallor that, had Sayuri not known Willow to be in good physical condition, might make her suspect the child's health was bad.
The eyes were what clenched it, however. Bree's were emerald green with a darker limbic ring and flecks of yellow. Willow's, by contrast, were a harlequin green that was almost neon in intensity with no other colors.
In build they were completely dissimilar. Bree had the shoulders and height that were popular among eighty's super models. She had more muscle, however, and a bit more curves. Willow was an extreme contrast. She was rail thin and delicate. She looked very much like a doll that would break if you played with it roughly.
Convinced the two were only alike in very superfinal means. She thought Kashi might look more like Bree's sibling than Willow. Which led her to an alarming realization. Willow and Kashi looked almost nothing alike. His hair was thick and naturally blond. She'd seen that when she'd worked on his make up. She'd originally thought it was dyed. His eyes were blue. In the body they could not be more different. Kashi had a fit swimmers build and a darker Asian coloration turned a warm bronze from playing sports outside and spending so much time on the beach. Both siblings shared a nose, mouth and jawline with their mother, a fact that made Kashi look a bit effeminate in the face. Other than the traits they shared with their mother, the two could not look more different. Bree's voice snapped her out of her reverie.
"Don't use your anger about how things are going as an excuse to snap at your sister." Bree directed to Kashi.
"This is her fault! She caused this mess." Kashi accused.
"The problem with 'what if' situations is you can never see where things would have gone wrong. Every 'what if' is sugar coated with hindsight and wistfulness. If things had gone differently they would have had different problems arise. We can never say for sure if they'd be worse. So it's a waste of time. Deal with what is and leave what could have been to your dreams where they belong." Bree lectured.
"Hah! Don't dwell on the past, huh? This from the woman who told me I should always think about the past and learn from my mistakes?! Well, which is it?" Kashi shot back.
Bree sighed. "They're not the same thing, Kashi and you know it. Tell me, Kashi, are you still pining for that bike?" Bree asked.
"Bike?" Sayuri asked confused.
"It's how I came to baby sit Kashi and Willow. You see, Willow was born on the twenty first of December but had to stay in the hospital for four days. She was born very sickly, so Banyan joked to Kashi she was a 'Christmas present' when she came home." Bree explained
"That was a stupid thing to say! What kid wants a baby for Christmas?! Money was tight 'cause mom and dad had just divorced. She knew I was going to be disappointed with my presents. None of that would have happened if Mom hadn't been being cutesy!" Kashi accused.
"I've never heard this story but I'm noticing a trend of Kashi blaming his faults on others already." Willow said.
"Very astute. Well, on Christmas Day Kashi didn't get to open his presents until later in the day because they had to go get the baby. I won't go into what an ordeal that was, but regardless, he told his mother he 'didn't wanna Willow!' He wanted a bike. Of course, that didn't change that they brought you home. When there was no bike among his presents, Kashi threw a fit. Banyan sent him to his room. She was emotionally and physically drained from giving birth only days before and having to go pick up her daughter. She didn't feel like dealing with a five year old. From what I understand, Banyan fell asleep in a chair in the baby's room not long after." Bree continued.
"You were sick when you were born? What was it? Jaundice?" Sayuri asked.
"I wasn't breathing and had no heart beat. The doctors thought I was stillborn but there were faint signs of life. They revived me, then they had to fight to keep me breathing. My lungs didn't want to work right. Apparently they were under developed." Willow stated unemotionally. To her they were just old facts she'd learned.
Sayuri stared in shock at that amazing news.
"Anyhow, so Banyan, was quite surprised when she was awoken to a loud banging on the door. There was Edith Johnson, me, and my mother. My father had died shortly before this and Edith had invited us over for a meal. She'd always liked my father. She even came to the funeral. But anyhow so Edith says 'Banny you missing something?' A phrase both she and my father had used when bringing a certain trouble making little scamp home." Bree explained as she cast her eyes over at Kashi.
"Come on Sayuri you don't want to listen to this nonsense." Kashi said but Sayuri was not swayed to leave.
"So even when he was little Kashi used to get brought home by the cops?" Sayuri asked with a mischievous smile.
"Indeed! With Banyan working and Jin always drunk or up to trouble himself, he'd sneak away and 'visit' anyone and everyone. He was a regular Dennis the Menace. So, Banyan grabs up little Kashi asks what he's done now. Only Edith shakes her head. 'I mean this, Banny.' She corrected and then presented a bundle wrapped Willow." Bree paused for effect, looking at Sayuri.
"A WHAT?" Sayuri asked astonished.
"The boy had crept into the baby's room, taken his sister and put her in his red wagon. He tucked a note on her that read 'To Santa, North Pole. Thank you much. I don't wanna Willow. I wanna bike. Send this Willow to someone who wants her. I like blue bikes if you have one. Love you, Kashi' Bree finished, trying her best to remember the poor vocabulary and childish scrawl on the note taped to the newborn Willow.
"You tried to mail your sister to the north pole?!" Sayuri gaped at Kashi, astonished.
"Oh for crying out loud! I was FIVE!" Kashi replied defensively.
Sayuri started laughing. "I'm sorry Kashi, but that is hilarious. Awful but hilarious."
"This explains my early memories of feeling cold and alone with angry voices around me." Willow said.
"Bullshit! You might have a freaky photographic memory, but there is no way you remember things that happened when you were four days old! I only remember it as a story I've been told. I do recall being pissed about not getting a bike and dad being gone, though." Kashi accused.
"That does sound rather unbelievable." Sayuri commented
"Watch this. Willow; words and paragraphs. C.S. Lewis. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Fifth word of the first five paragraphs." Bree said pulling up something on her phone to show Sayuri.
"Children, Had, Feet, Old, Said," Willow replied with a shrug, without stopping to think.
On Bree's phone Sayuri saw she nailed it. Each word was correct.
"That's incredible!" Sayuri marveled
"It's freaky is what it is." Kashi responded.
"Strawberry here can tell you almost the exact time and date of anything she's ever seen, read or heard. If only we had more witnesses whose memories were as clear detective work would be a breeze." Bree said
"Why do you call her Strawberry?" Sayuri asked.
"Strawberry Shortcake. I loved that doll. I found mine and gave her to Willow along with some of my old stuff. She didn't have many toys when she was little. Money was tight. So with her hair, I just started calling Willow Strawberry." Bree explained.
"She even used to use strawberry scented shampoo. I think it started a bad habit. Willow enjoys cutesy crap too much and likes people treating her like a little doll. Still, they weren't near as freaky as some of her other toys. Like that one eyed porcelain doll with the cracks in the face." Kashi lamented.
"Leave Kimberley out of this! And her cracks weren't bad 'til you sat on her!" Willow accused.
"Alright it is time to separate you two! Go on out and get to work, 'll leave Kashi and Sayuri to talk." Bree said helping her pick her things back up.
Bree and Willow exited the kitchen and closed the sliding glass door giving Kashi and Sayuri some privacy to talk. After a moment Kashi took Sayuri's hand and started to speak.
"Look, I know we'll have to stop seeing each other because of this. But, I want you to know…" Kashi hesitated for a moment. He was sure in his heart of what he meant, but that didn't make it any less difficult to say. "...I think I really do love you. I never meant for you to end up in danger. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you what had happened to me. I'm also sorry for putting you in danger because I hid what I am, but, I think I'm the most sorry that we'll never get to see more of each other." Kashi said quietly.
"Don't be ridiculous, Kashi! I'm not going anywhere. Whatever happens, we'll face it together. No one should face this sort of stress and strangeness alone." Sayuri countered.
"Wha...what?!" Kashi replied, obviously dumbfounded.
"You want to send me away to keep me safe, right? Well my mother was never involved in anything dangerous in her entire life and she died of violence, Kashi. Life isn't a delicate nick nack to be put up in storage. If you don't use your life you might as well not have one. I told you I tried to hide from life once, that doesn't work. I'm not going to start running from uncomfortable truths and unpleasant situations again, Kashi. My life is my own and I will live my life not squander it chasing a false idea of safety." Sayuri explained.
Kashi thought for an uncommonly long time for the normally impulsive boy. He had always had a desire to protect others. However, the resolution in Sayuri's words and the strength of her conviction brooked no argument. Moreover, something about the way she spoke pulled at Kashi. He almost felt that things had to go well. In the face of such strength how could they not?
"Alright, but to face things and run headlong into danger are two very different things. Please try to stay safe. I don't want you going where there might be combat." Kashi pleaded.
"Of course not! Facing trouble and seeking it out are very different. I'll help where my talents can be put to the best use. I'm going to help here at the house. Apparently, quite a few of the hunters have a few people they know that help them. No one can do this sort of thing without support." Sayuri replied.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Jesus said his whole family helped him and it sounds like he has a really big family. You know with cousins and uncles and stuff. I wonder what that's like? It's always been just me and mom." Kashi said.
"And WIllow?" Sayuri chided.
"I'm trying not to think about Willow right now, for her own safety's sake" Kashi responded a glint of humor returning to his eye. Sayuri hit him in the side, playfully.
Kashi opened the sliding glass door again and walked out back with a renewed hope for the future. It took about fifteen seconds for that hope to fade as the scene before him unfolded.
Lucy and James were standing alongside five other hunters they were arguing with Jesus and the seven other hunters that had gravitated to the other side of the table that stood between them. The two groups were arguing in such raised voices that Lucy finally spoke up. "Lower your voices! I DO have neighbors." She called out in warning.
A hunter who was an amputee from the middle of one forearm down pointed his stump at Lucy. "I don't give a crap about your damn neighbors! I came down here to stop you from talking some hot headed fools into getting themselves killed for nothing!" He raged.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Kashi demanded.
"They've got some crazy plan to attack the vampires down in San Deigo. They want to use you as their point man on the attack. It's not just loco it's batshit insane." Jesus explained in a frustrated tone. His face was red from agitation.
"San Diego is where the attack originated! We need to show them there is hell to pay when they attack Los Angeles or anywhere else for that matter! The last time we did, it took them eight years to get the courage up to do it again! The best way to protect the people and communities of L.A. and elsewhere is to take the fight back to them!" Lucy insisted, slamming her hand down on the table.
"I want to know how do you get any protecting done when you argue so much?" Bree asked. Both sides turned to glare at her.
"I don't understand, Jesus, isn't that a good thing? We killed a lot of them already. If we hit them when they're weak, we can fight them on our terms in their homes or wherever vampires live...um...dwell...whatever! If we wait, we have to defend others and worry about property damage. It's always better to fight in an enemy's land. That way the damages don't wipe out your infrastructure and hurt your civilians." Kashi said with a glimmer of tactical insight.
Willow looked at Kashi in shock. Even Bree raised an eyebrow in surprise. Jesus shook his head. Kashi wasn't sure how he knew these things, it just felt right. He'd always helped implement plays for his football or soccer team, but he'd only displayed this level of tactical insight since he'd gained his exaltation.
"It's not that simple. Last time that sort of raid was carried out, Kashi, about the same number of people you see here went. Six died; Paula, Big Ted, Quick Ted, Fat Ted, Garcia, and John. Kevin here lost most of an arm and Juanita lost her legs. It was messy. The vampires we fought tonight were newly made. Their creators turned them into vampires and tossed them at you. If they lived they'd have been accepted into the San Diego dens. If not, oh well. The ones that stayed home are tougher and smarter. We'd never make it happen. We have to focus on protecting what we have, not chasing after vengeance." Jesus explained.
"Then we need more people and a better plan than last time." Kashi said nodding in thought as he looked at the information laid out on the table.
"That's what I was saying when Jesus decided go on a tangent." Lucy replied testily.
"We are not going to make a deal with the Devil! You have completely lost your mind old woman!" Jesus spat.
"Hey, hold on there! Don't talk to Lucy like that! You don't get to be old without having learned a thing or two." Kashi said in defense of the woman who had saved his beloved Sayuri and sister.
"Right, that's why I think we need to reach out to some of the local L.A. vampires..." Lucy started.
"Do what?! Are you nuts?" Kashi spluttered, completely reversing his seconds earlier defense of Lucy.
"Remember, Kashi, you don't get to be Lucy's age without learning a thing or two." WIllow mocked.
"You shut it and go inside! You don't have any part of this, little girl!" Kashi ordered. Indignation and frustration were beginning to creep into his voice.
"All the vampires you've had trouble with are a group called the Sabbat. San Diego is their nearest stronghold. The vampires of L.A. hate them. We can use that to our advantage." Lucy offered.
"I don't give a good God damn…" Kashi began, but he was cut off. The gate to Lucy's backyard opened and a pretty hispanic woman in a wheelchair maneuvered past the gate and into the yard. She was wearing a sleeveless ribbed tee shirt and jean shorts sewn up at the ends to conceal her amputated legs. She looked around at the scene before her and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, let me make a quick sum up, just to make sure I'm on the right page; that's Kashi, the sun guy you've been talking about for four months. The bonita there is his sister, the older girl is his girlfriend. The other one in the leather jacket, which is undoubtedly to cover the holster, and reeking of cop is Bree something or other. She's also sun powered. Lucy is calling for a raid on San Diego and she wants to call for help from all quarters. She has James, Jean, New Ted, Big Al, Ray-Ray, and Grace siding with her on the attack. I'd also bet she's at least considering making some calls to others for help because they want to get this done and they'd rather not die in the process. Meanwhile, we have Kevin, Mark, Simone, Sally, Reg, Donnie, and Billy Ho all backing the ball less wonder who not only doesn't want to go but is trying to talk everyone else out of it. Not to mention making us all look like a bunch of morons for arguing like this." The new comer surmised.
The other amputee who it seems was Kevin, flexed his remaining hand into a fist then pointed very deliberately at the newcomer. "Did you learn nothing from the last time, Juanita?! Or did losing your legs give you such a deathwish that now you're gonna drag others down with you?" he accused.
Sayuri sucked in a breath. Those words had been crafted to hurt, if both had been on that raid they knew each other well having a friend try to hurt you was a hard thing to take. Sayuri was thinking of something comforting to say when her train of thought was derailed by Juanita's bitter laughter.
"I know you lost your arm in that raid, but when did you lose your balls, Kevin?" Juanita shot back.
For a second it looked like Kevin was going to jump over the table, but Simone, who was next to him, put a hand on his shoulder. Jesus was the one to respond instead.
"We are tasked with protecting the human world from darkness. We are not given our power to fight our enemies' battles for them! No hunter worthy of being called to the hunt should have to be told this. We do not ally with darkness." Jesus said with passion in his voice, but it was very obvious that he was struggling to containing a boiling rage.
"We protect each other as well. That's why we're here to protect you from your own folly with wise counsel." Kevin added.
Juanita arched an eyebrow. "Protect me? Yeah, I guess I should be thankful for you pulling me out of that burning car, Kev. I wonder why I never thought to thank you before." She shot back.
The words made Kevin's face go dark. Simone put her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes. The hunters all tensed up, leaving Kashi, Sayuri, Bree and Willow wondering what was going on.
"Oh, yeah, that's right! I guess I never thanked you because you didn't do it! You gave me up for lost just like you had abandoned Paula and Big Ted before." Juanita said her voice dripping with scorn.
"That's enough, Jaunita! For the love of God!" Simone begged.
"We don't need to turn on each other. 'Nita stop this." Jesus pleaded.
"No, Jesus! You don't have a say in this! At least Kevin used to have cojones. Where were you when I was about to burn to death? What were you doing when your former fiancée was about to roast in the same way you like to kill vampires? YOU weren't even there! YOU weren't there for me or any of us and yet here stands three survivors at your back! But I remember, querido, where you were. YOU were at home, sulking, saying we would leave the defenses of L.A. too weak and that we'd waste our lives for nothing. I remember that it wasn't YOU who came to my rescue and cut me out of that car. It wasn't any of you who saved my life... ALL of our lives." She furiously recited.
"Who did?" Sayuri asked tentatively, her eyes wide with shock at the raw display of emotions.
"Alex Silbern. A werewolf. He and his friends did." Juanita replied.
"Werewolves are real too?" Sayuri asked aloud in wonder.
"Figures..." Kashi mumbled in a distracted tone.
"Yes. He and his friends saved us. Of them, only Dr. Spectre was a hunter. Professor Sparks was a magi and Dr. Grove was a projector. The other four were vampires. They all brought friends too. It was the first time all the factions came together. We saw that when we did, if we could put old hates aside, even for a little while, we could do things none of us could do alone." Lucy said.
"So that's how you beat them down enough to give L.A. eight years of peace?" Bree asked.
"Yes." Lucy answered simply.
"More cars are coming." Willow piped in, looking up from the tablet she held in her hands.
"How do you know? And why are you still out here?" Kashi asked, annoyed.
"Lucy has security cameras." She explained in response to the first question. She did not dignify the second with an answer.
"Did you already called someone?" Jesus asked darkly.
"I was expecting Tex. She said she was coming." Juanita answered.
"Tex?" Sayuri asked, puzzled.
"My granddaughter, and that's not her semi-truck. It's a convoy." Lucy replied.
"You called that maldecido! Ay Dios mío do you hate us all that much?" Jesus complained rubbing his temples.
"What's wrong with Lucy's granddaughter?" Kashi asked.
"Well, I've never meet her but she's adopted. Popular hunter saying around here is she was fathered by Satan and her mother was a rabid velociraptor." James offered.
Kashi stared at James. He was a bit dumbfounded by the seriousness with which he uttered such an outlandish description. With all the other oddities he'd learned of late, he almost considered it might be true.
Who really came through the door made Kashi wish a devil spawned half-velociraptor had shown up instead.
University of California, Irvine
Greg slipped into the basement of the computer lab and looked around. He then saw Brad sitting before an old CRT monitor hooked to a computer terminal. Brad was wearing the same gray hoodie he always wore over a matching t-shirt. He sported jeans so wrinkled he must have slept in them. Brad yawned and cracked open a can of soda.
"When Jesse finds out he might literally kill you." Brad said with a smile.
"I hate people misusing the word literally to add emphasis." Greg shot back.
"You're going to hate it worse when you get a bullet in the back of your head." Brad said, his smile widening.
Greg stood there for a second pondering this. He then pulled another rolling desk chair over and sat next to Brad.
"Do you really think he's going to kill me?" He asked, true worry creeping into his voice.
"Only if she's dead, which I now have great cause to doubt. However, with this level of screw up you still need to be worried. It easily could have gone so far south you'd have ended up in a unmarked hole in Nevada." Brad replied.
"This is screwed up, man. All this fuss over a little slip of a girl who hasn't even awakened yet." Greg shook his head in frustration.
"A girl who's the subject of a prophecy. Let's not forget that. You don't chase after prophecy for almost a decade and not get pretty upset when someone bungles things a few months from the finish line." Brad said as he typed lines of code into the text command lines on his screen.
"I can't believe this thing doesn't even have a GUI. Did you have any luck with the interference on the tracking?" Greg asked.
"No, but unlike you I've been here long enough to know what's going on. Don't mock the hardware, either. It's a super computer. The interface isn't meant for comforting lazy programmers who can't be bothered with learning real code." Brad said without looking up from his work.
"I recognized it as Etherite work. Pretty powerful stuff too. Have they stabbed us in the back and taken over our project without going through the Council of Traditions?" Greg asked, worried, wishing he could make more sense of the code on the screen.
"God you're such a newb. No, this isn't the work of rogues defying the Council's instructions for us to be the ones to bring the subject in and train her once she awakens. In fact, you won't find any Etherites near her when we find her." Brad said frustrated at having to answer the newbie's inane questions.
"How is that even possible? That is some pretty sophisticated magic I expected a cabal or lab or whatever the Etherites call their work groups." Greg questioned again.
"It's the work of one Magi. Had you been here longer you'd recognize the signature. You also don't need numbers to get sophisticated with magic when you have time. This is an enchantment laid down and tied to an area or object. It's a continual effect left in place and powered by a magically endowed object or localized imbuement of power to continually provide the effect to all who call on its power or enter the area of effect." Brad lectured in a bored voice.
"Why would you invest that much time and energy into something if you weren't going to stick around and use it?" Greg wondered.
"Because it was a gift to someone else or maybe because you had other things to do elsewhere and planned to come back and never got around to it. Though, knowing the creator, it was most likely forgotten about because you're an absent minded mad scientist." Brad answered in a litany of possibilities.
"You know who made this then?" Greg asked with relief.
"I said as much earlier. Not that I'd have to know that specifically given that I can easily tell it's Etherite work. Learn how your fellow traditions operate, kid. None of the other traditions are as likely to make sure they can take their toys with them as we are." Brad explained.
"Then who was it? Who left a trail erasing masking field laying around?" Greg asked puzzled
"Professor Sparks, Greg. This is Sparks' work. It matches the protections Sparks put on that hunter, Spectre's, pub. Unfortunately, that means it could be any sort of creature that's using it now, but my money is on hunters. They know of the subject but not that she's special. Vampires just attacked, no doubt seeking to kill the brother who the hunters are courting as an ally. It all fits that they would take her somewhere safe. So, we have to look for some hunter bolt hole that Sparks enchanted back in the fun old days when everyone thought the end of the world was just around the corner. Now make yourself some use and find an all night Chinese place. I've a hankering for some shrimp lo mein." Brad said tossing his soda can into a recycle bin.
"Food run? You're seriously sending me out for food?" Greg scoffed.
"Kid, the day you don't come to me because you need help fixing a screw up, know what's going on in the world, rather than having to have it explained, and aren't in danger of being gunned down and dumped in an unmarked grave as a screw up, that's the day I'll give a damn about your butthurt over being made an errand boy." Brad said mimicking Jesse.
With a sigh, Greg got up and headed out to look for shrimp lo mein.
