Night Light

“Don’t make me chase you,” Steven gritted out as he jerked his head to the side and locked his gaze on her. “I said he could go home… not you.”

Jewel’s lips parted as she froze in mid motion. How dare he give her an order? She gritted her teeth realizing she’d obeyed him anyway. She raised her chin up a notch in defiance as she came to a conclusion. The moment she got away, she would keep running… from all of them, including her father.

“What are you going to do with her?” the priest demanded indignantly.

“I’m going to do what you can’t do… keep her safe,” Steven yelled not wanting to fight about this. The bruise on Jewel’s face had quite literally shattered his nerves and he’d be damned if he was going to send her back to the man that did it.

“I don’t need another protector,” Jewel turned to leave but stopped short seeing two dangerous-looking men blocking the doorway.

Dean had felt Steven’s distress all the way down the stairs and now that he was looking at the girl who was causing it, he could see why. Reading her soul, he caught a fleeting glance of the elusive angel of death.

“You’re wrong.” He moved so fast, even the two shifters in the room missed it. “You do need a protector.”

Jewel stifled a scream when the man’s palm pressed against her sore cheek and his eyes turned the color of mercury. The cold hand that had been clinched around her heart with icy fingers for so long melted. Suddenly, she was reminded of feelings she had forgotten existed… warmth, safety… love.

The priest leaned back against his desk when the shadow of wings sprung out from the man’s back, flickered brilliantly, then disappeared.

“I’ll be downstairs,” Dean stated as the wind rushed in to fill up the space he vanished from.

Steven didn’t know why Dean had chosen that moment to reveal his power but he was glad the fallen had done it. Jewel’s cheek was healed and the priest looked like he’d just seen the light.

“We need to leave… now,” Nick said from the doorway.

Steven grabbed Jewel’s hand and started for the door, glad the shock had taken the fight right out of her for the moment.

“Wait,” the priest called, making Steven and Nick stop to look back at him. “Was that…?” he faltered, pointing at the spot where Dean had stood moments before.

Steven smiled genuinely at the excitement in the old priest’s eyes. “Yeah… it was.”

The priest smiled when Steven and Nick left the room with Jewel in tow. He nodded once and began gathering the tools he would need. In his mind, God was preparing the earth for His return.

Steven and Nick stepped out of the church but Steven pulled Jewel to a stop so he could glance up at the office window. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the office light go out.

“Looks like the old geezer is taking your advice,” Nick said.

Steven shook his head, “More like he saw Dean for what he was and is having some kind of religious experience. He gave me his phone number, I’ll call him when the coast is clear.”

“I don’t think a couple hours will be enough time,” Nick informed him.

“It is what it is.” Steven responded. “Right now, let’s get back to the club so we can give the news to Warren and Quinn.”

Dean sat on the roof of the cathedral and smiled down at the trio as they left the church behind. He’d given Steven all the help he could but the calming spell he had put on the girl wouldn’t last forever. He could feel the darkness under the building starting to mount as the vampires began emerging from their tunnel.

Unlike those from the other night, these were being influenced by something even darker, more sinister, than Dean had ever encountered.

Dean frowned wondering why he hadn’t sensed it when they cleaned out the first group that had taken residence here. This influence was very old and very powerful. As suddenly as he sensed it, the darkness was gone and only the vampire presence could be felt.

The fallen gained access back into the church to check up on the old man and make sure he got out alive.

Chapter 4

Trevor and Kat had tracked the vampire they’d discovered halfway across the city.

“What the hell is he doing?” Kat whispered, starting to get suspicious.

“Looks like he’s going shopping,” Trevor answered when the vampire stopped in front of a shop window and looked at the darkened display.

This vampire was young, barely eighteen from the looks of him. He had straight black hair and wore round-rimmed eyeglasses. With his hair pulled back, he would have looked almost presentable except for his pale skin.

The two picked up their pace when the vampire abruptly turned away from the window and started walking down the street again. Even with the shops closed, the sidewalks were busy this time of night.

They’d discovered the body of the vampire’s latest victim sprawled out on a well-manicured lawn. With their sense of smell, they’d been able to catch up with the bloodsucker just as the vampire reached Rodeo Drive. From there, Trevor had to hold Kat back a bit explaining that there were too many people around for them to just run in blindly.

Now, here they were, following a vampire on foot and neither one in the mood for conversation. Next thing they knew, they were on a city bus not really paying attention to its destination. Finally, the vampire reached up and pulled the cord to get off. Kat and Trevor rode down to the next stop and got off themselves before resuming their pursuit. The vampire continued walking and Kat growled in frustration.

“I’m starting to think this vampire is on drugs. We’ve almost made a complete circle.” She complained. “We’re only a few blocks away from the club.”

“There he goes!” Trevor exclaimed and ran toward an alley where the vampire abruptly vanished.

Trevor’s sneakers made a skidding noise when he reached the mouth of the alley and peered into it. Kat stood beside him, ducked down a bit so they could both peek around the corner.

“Damn,” Trevor cursed and drew out his 9mm.

“I still don’t understand why you carry a gun,” Kat said even though she knew Nick carried one too. It wasn’t the gun Nick relied on… it was the specially made wooden bullets that filled it. “Those things are useless against vampires.”

Trevor smirked, “You forget who I work for. These bullets are specially designed to explode on impact and the center is hollowed out and filled with just a bit of muriatic acid. That shit will eat through just about anything.”

“Why doesn’t the acid eat through the bullet then?” Kat asked, secretly gathering info to bribe Nick with.

“There’s an inner casing placed inside the bullet when it’s hollowed out that the acid can’t eat through. I forget the name of it at the moment.” Trevor explained. “It’s strong enough to not be damaged by the acid but fragile enough to break when it collides with something.”

Kat slowly stood upright, “Shall we go in?”

Trevor tightened his grip on the gun and headed in first, followed by Kat who had a razor sharp dagger in each hand; courtesy of Trevor. They combed the entire alley before they realized the vampire had vanished.

Trevor released his stance and let his gun arm down. “He’s gone!”

Kat released a frustrated sigh, “Well, since we’re this close, we may as well go back to the club.”

“As much fun as I had tonight leading the two of you idiots all over the city,” a voice said from behind them. “I must insist that you stay for dinner.”

Kat and Trevor whirled around toward the voice and froze when they saw the vampire they’d been tracking along with five others.

“The son of a bitch knew we were following him,” Trevor growled as he brought the gun back up and steadied it.

With walls on three sides and the vampires in front of them, Kat knew she and Trevor would have to fight their way out of here. She crouched down low when the vampires quickly closed in on them. One with flaming red hair leapt up hoping to get the drop on them, quite literally.

Kat immediately pushed up from her crouch and tackled the vampire in mid-leap. Her long nails now resembled claws even though no change had taken place. They crashed to the ground with the vampire on his back beneath her.