The rest of the week flowed uneventfully, a blessing, but I was on alert at all times. Particularly given the reappearance of vampires in my daily schedule. Although the ginger leech hadn't shown his face again, I'd found that the wispy female was in mine and Cat's chemistry lab.
On Friday, the three of us - Cat, Allie, and myself - clambered into my car to head up to the Soldotna campus.
"I don't know how you guys don't crash your cars everyday," I shook my head, "The scenery is so beautiful around here. I'd get distracted if you didn't keep me focused."
I waved a hand out the driver's window at the spectacular, wavy swells of purple mountain across the inky inlet. The other hand firmly gripped the steering wheel.
"Just you wait," Allie warned," Once it's winter, you won't be able to see through the snow. Then you'll get it."
"If you say so," I shrugged, glancing in my rear view.
A familiar powder-blue prius appeared around the bend behind us.
"Clique at our six," I noted.
Allie twisted in the backseat, gripping her headrest as she stared brazenly at the oncoming car.
"Oh, she'll just overtake you," Allie assured, though she kept staring, "Anne's known for being reckless."
"She got pulled over by our police chief himself, once," Cat remembered, "She was going over one-hundred."
That made sense to me. Vampires were used to speed and efficiency. Not to mention... if they believed that human laws outlawing murder didn't apply to them, they weren't likely to care about the ones regarding speed limits either. Then again, she should've been more careful. A brush with law enforcement and their strict record-keeping could spell trouble... though she likely just compelled the officer into letting her go.
"Yikes," I mumbled, gripping the wheel tighter.
But the car behind me seemed to adjust, cruising along instead of moving to pass.
"Hm," Allie huffed, then faced forward again, "Guess not."
"You think she's heading for class?"
"She's probably driving, Leo," Allie frowned, "What did they announce he was going into at graduation? I know it was a certificate of some kind..."
"Welding?" Cat shrugged.
"And ...Anne?" I continued, "What about her?"
"Oh, she's working part-time at a thrift store," Allie remembered easily as Cat nodded, "Last time I heard, she was saving up to start a business of her own either tailoring or making clothes, I think."
I glanced again, gaging the car's speed. It didn't seem a threat, but I'd keep an eye on them all the same. It appeared that there might've been three to four vampires in the vehicle. I shuddered.
Nothing to be done about that now.
"What about the other people in your graduating class?" I asked instead, seeking a distraction, "What're they going into?"
Allie rattled off a list of classmates and degrees which I listened raptly to. The girl was a gossip, like myself, but far too enthusiastic for anyone to hold that against her. Cat's opposing, quiet demeanor wasn't at all disinterested. In fact, her attentive nodding and humming made it clear she paid strict attention.
The pair of them soothed my frayed nerves as I continued driving. Especially as that damn prius stayed resolute in my rear-view. Religiously, I kept exactly at the limit. Perhaps it would grate against the vampires' nerves.
That thought sent a zing of satisfaction through my gut.
They were an odd coven, that was for certain. I wondered how they'd gotten by with all the lies about non-existent family. Well, that one was easy. They could easily use compulsion to manipulate humans' memories: mesmerizing them into believing any story without evidence.
"Hey, could we turn on something other than news?" Allie complained and I startled.
"Oh, sorry."
"And was that in Italian?"
"U-uh, yeah, a podcast," I mumbled, quickly unplugging my phone from the jack. "Sorry."
"Why?"
"It's just nice to hear my language."
"But the news?" Allie protested.
I shrugged, quietly offering her the jack.
"No news is good news, don't you know?" she teased.
I chuckled dryly.
In truth, I'd been checking in to recognize any trace, any evidence in the Italian news of what had occurred just a couple weeks earlier. Something to show that someone among the humans had noticed my family's absence. But... nothing. The way it should be.
I swallowed thickly.
"Didn't you say your Mom was Italian, though?" Allie pressed. "She'd probably help you keep the language fresh in your brain."
"Well... it's just Dad and me these days," I mumbled, my knuckles whitening on the steering wheel. "The news is the only way I hear my language now."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Cat shoot Allie a meaningful glare. Thankfully, the chatterbox quieted about that subject.
"You know," I started, leaning a little into the awkward I'd caused, "I think I'd like to stop by the police stations in both Soldotna and Homer. Just... would make me feel better, safer, I think."
"Yeah, sure," Allie said eagerly, "You'll like the Chief in Homer. His name's Scott Murphy. He's a little uptight-"
"You're only saying that because he's almost caught you partying on multiple occasions," Cat rolled her eyes, "The man's been at the department for, gosh, twenty years now?"
"I bet you can reach out to him if you've got worries," Allie supplied helpfully, "He goes to the same church my mom does. Anyone can talk to him."
Church?
I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose skeptically. The church hadn't been particularly accepting of my people.
"So long as Pastor Warde is the one preaching, you shouldn't have trouble sitting through a sermon to chat with the Chief afterward. His sermons never feel like lectures."
"Pastor... Warde?" I echoed, narrowing my eyes.
"Yeah, Kira and Mason's Dad."
Oh no.
My stomach dropped.
"They have a pastor for a father?" I checked again.
"And a doctor for a mother," Cat nodded, "My abuelita visits her regularly for checkups."
Two upstanding members of human society. Kidnapped by vampires.
That had to be the explanation, hadn't it? What perfect cover that provided. One of their compelled human puppets could supply them with patients from the hospital. The other could ward off suspicions through his connection with the church. Or maybe they'd simply found the latter to be a joke.
Desecrating the holy man. What fun.
My teeth gnashed behind my lips. I'd assumed the leeches had simply used compulsion to rewrite memories and the rumor mill to make up stories about families they didn't have. In reality, they'd captured and compelled humans to literally fill the roles.
Compulsion was only a stop-gap measure, meant for a handful of demands or memories. A human enslaved by vampiric hypnotism for long periods of time would eventually and inevitably be driven mad.
I'd need to find their coven lair. Fast. And free those humans.
I glared in my rear view again, trying to see past the window tint in the prius behind us. No luck. My eyesight may be better than a human's but it wasn't that good.
The prius followed us all the way to campus and, once parked, three figures emerged. Two were at class on Monday. The third was one of the individuals I'd seen only in the car that day. I hadn't seen the ginger-male since our confrontation on Monday. He hadn't dared show his face. That suited me just fine. Less vampire-scent wearing at my nose was welcome... though I did wonder if his absence meant he was hunting.
I shook the thought. I had no means of slipping away to find him. Once I had a better grasp of their habits I could form a more secure elimination plan. One that wouldn't leave me so open to being tailed or surprised.
Instead, in his absence, I'd taken the time to assess the wisp-female and mullet-male, training myself to recognize their individual scents. Now, as I circled for a parking spot, I watched for where they pulled in. Easily, I chose a spot just two-down from the parked prius. With such closeness, and a little luck, I'd be able to assess the scents of the other male and female pair today.
Allie and Cat chattered as we ambled past their vehicle. I let them. Quietly, I focused on my periphery. Unfortunately the second female, the blond, remained planted in the driver's seat. But the bulky male emerged from the passenger's side.
As he straightened, looming to full-height, the moment froze. The breath in my lungs stilled mid-stride. He stiffened, as if noticing the far-too-obvious stutter in my step. Even though I was acutely aware of his every movement, I itched to cast a sensory augmentation spell all the same. I needed the edge.
This one was dangerous.
I could see it in the subtle flex of his exposed fore-arms, bare to the Alaskan air. Those were well-defined muscles retained from his human-life. Without a care, he openly appraised me while adjusting the backpack over his shoulders.
I swallowed. Then dared to turn my gaze upon him.
His pupils dilated against blue-gray irises. No. That was silver, not gray, in the middle - just in the inner ring of his already-pale irises.
So they may all have silver eyes, I deduced, looking forward again.
Despite my assessment of his physical traits, a waft of spearmint carried on the breeze. He was a young vampire, like the thin female who was walking hand-in-hand with the mullet-male from yesterday. He cracked his knuckles as we walked off - a human tic. He was just was well-versed in those as his companions, minus the mulleted tick.
I'll need to keep a close-eye on the humans, I thought.
Allie began to pull away, "I'm going to be this way."
I stopped, staring after her pointed finger.
"Where?" I checked.
"Yeah, share your location," Cat seconded.
I was thankful for her backup. At least someone among the humans was taking the disappearances seriously.
Allie snorted, "There's a little bakery on campus. I doubt the muffins will make off with me. 'Sides, it'll be good to get work done in a spot where I can snort the stench of coffee every time I feel like dozing off."
"Leave some food and drink for the rest of us, weirdo," I teased, but felt immensely better when I felt my phone buzz; she'd done as Cat had asked. "We'll be on lunch break in a couple hours."
~
When lab let out, the first thing I utterly reveled in was the pale, tentative brightness that poked through the cotton lump clouds. There were only a few of those obstructions dotting the azure canvas, a last one blotting out the sun for the moment. After that, sunlight would guide us for an hour or two longer as we drove home.
I beamed.
Take that, bloodsuckers, I thought gleefully.
The familiar mint scent trails, belonging to the three vampires that had followed us in this morning, criss-crossed over the small campus. Yet not a single one could be seen. Even the wisp-female had mysteriously disappeared after our lab session ended. They'd been forced to hide, no doubt. Shelter in some dank, stinky room without windows.
Could this be the time to hunt them?
I frowned. No. They'd probably hunkered down in the same space. It'd be three to one, which weren't good odds. Especially in a potentially-cramped environment. Fear fluttered against the inside of my ribs at that thought. I took a deep breath, quelling it. At any rate, I'd told myself I'd wait two weeks to study them first.
Well, if hunting wasn't a priority right now, then maintaining my human facade was.
"You know," I started with Cat as we made our way toward the bakery, "We've got Allie figured out so it's about time we sorted you out too."
"Don't know what you're talking about," Cat murmured, though her shoulders scrunched defensively.
"Do you have your eye on someone?"
She blushed, "No one in particular."
"Keep your secrets," I said lightly, "Makes it more fun to tease them out of you later!"
As we piled back into my car laden with muffins and cups of late-day coffee, we stopped by the police station - as per my earlier request - and planned for our first sleepover next Friday. For the upcoming weekend, however, I bugged the pair of them for details about hiking trails. I asked specifically for the ones I should avoid due to disappearances. Cat was more than happy to rattle off a list of those, likely thinking that I'd dutifully avoid them. I wouldn't.
In fact, they'd be first on my list for investigation.
So I dropped the girls off and returned home, feeling a bubble of excitement brimming in my chest at the thought of hiking the mountains. Tracking vampires, particularly through uncharted wilderness, had been my favorite part of the job. As much as I enjoyed the babble of a good crowd, if I could hear humans near where I smelled vampire, that wasn't a good sign. Out in the woods, at least, I could safely engage the enemy with little fear of causing harm to innocents.
The overcast, but non-rainy weather tomorrow would be prime for the vampires... but if I didn't encounter them, perhaps I could hunt game for myself. The moose and caribou made for intriguing prey, similar to the red deer of my homeland, but much larger. Despite the food I'd just put down, my stomach grumbled as I pulled into my driveway.
The price of Alaskan groceries would certainly bleed me dry if tuition didn't do the trick first. Given my species heightened metabolism, I'd have find ways to be more sustainable. I tossed my keys on the kitchen table and sighed.
"So much to do," I grumbled, letting my long hair out of the ribbon-tied braid I'd set it in. The honey-brown strands looped in waves as they flopped down my back. "How's one person supposed to do it all?"
Before the invasion, my clan had designated roles. Our civilians, humans and non-military personnel, had been the backbone of our infrastructure. Hunters and Huntresses would rotate in among them, integrating into regular jobs whenever we needed a break. However, no Hunting personnel were expected to maintain a job while they Hunted. Protecting humans from the supernatural was a full-time job and then some.
Now I was tasked with both simultaneously.
I supposed school wasn't as high maintenance as a job. But, still, the thought of all that falling upon my shoulders at once was daunting. Not to mention trying my hand at stealth when I never had before. I couldn't tell how well or how poorly I was doing...I blushed, remembering my confrontation with the ginger tick.
No. It was evident I doing very poorly.
Absently, I ambled toward the bookshelf and ran my fingers upon the weathered spines of the texts. Their titles morphed beneath my fingers with a faint silver glow. The letters scurried and bent, rearranging the swooping lines of English into Italian. Turning silly stories into ancient texts filled with centuries-worth of knowledge. Alas, it was only one mere bookshelf. Back in the stronghold we'd had libraries upon libraries...
The text my fingers lingered upon was titled Stealth Glyphs I. I relieved the shelf of it. I thumped it upon my nightstand for a bit of light reading just before bed. Then I bustled about, my heart beginning to hesitantly buzz with excitement at the prospect of exploration.
I gathered a few things. A collection of items that were really just a disguise; a pack, maps, bear spray, a pocket knife, and a rolled tarp. The maps I spread out on the tidily-made bed, smoothing them with my palms and taking to them with set of markers. Using information I'd gathered from both the Homer and Soldotna police stations, I began to chart the disappearances.
Some trails were repeat offenders for persons plucked from their paths. For other disappeared humans, there was simply a general area in which they'd last been sighted. I honed in on a top-five priority sites based on my clustered marks, choosing one that was wedged right up against the National Park.
"A plan," I mumbled, feeling my chest swell with pride as I surveyed my writing. Then immediately deflated. "I need input to make sure I'm accounting for my blind spots, but from whom?"
You could commune with the Spirits.
My mouth thinned. It was custom to hold a communion with the ancestors and those recently-departed on each full moon. We'd dress our best, present offerings, and implore the Spirits for their wisdom. I'd missed the first full moon since the massacre.
I'd... I'd been too busy preparing for my classes. They'd probably understand. The next full moon, then, I wouldn't miss. But... that would be in another three weeks. I couldn't spare that time. I needed to get out into the field to investigate the potential crime scenes. Gather intel. With a deep breath, I folded the map and finished preparations.
The Spirits would understand.