Page 39 of High Noon

I laughed. “No, Yarrow. You are thirsty. I’ll get you someone to drink.”

“Someone…?”

“Why do you think we really made the Haven, Yarrow? Vampires must feed.”

“But you said it was to help the humans,” she argued.

I stood and walked to the door before posing a single question, one that no one had been able to answer to my satisfaction. “Why should I do that?”

* * *

Titus

As we looked around the trading post for any trace of Eve, Maru, or the Lakota warriors who promised to bring them here,I couldn’t help but wonder how Abram’s reception was going. Was he being hailed as a returning hero? I wondered what Victor would think when he saw his fangs. Kael, the bastard, would probably be morbidly ecstatic.

He’d extract what he needed and then Abram, like every other vampire, would be discarded. A threat such as him, an Asset who’d been turned – even though he didn’t ask for it – wouldn’t be tolerated.

Victor had been cruel to Eve when she allowed a vamp to smack a stake out of her hand. What would he do to an Asset who ‘allowed’ himself to be turned? Would they drag him into the arena so a lesser Asset could practice his or her slaying skills? Better yet, did Victor have any idea how powerful Abram was compared to the vamps that skulked around in the dark back home?

I hoped they underestimated him. For once, I would root for Abram so I could watch him splash Victor and Kael’s blood all over the arena. He could paint the Plexiglas red, for all I cared. I wasn’t sure when I’d changed; when I’d become so angry that I was willing to root for Abram, despite all he’d done to make life before traveling, and during it, miserable. I guessed it came down to who I hated worse: Abram, Victor, or Kael. Turns out, I hated the latter jerks worse.

They’ll get what’s coming to them.

In the distance, a single gunshot rang out. The west was definitely wild, made even wilder when you threw vamps into the mix. I wondered how many Abram sired before Asa caught him.

How many had Terah, Asa, and Enoch made? They’d had plenty of time to make an army, but it didn’t look like they had yet. When would they?

Enoch and Asa appeared beside me.

It was clear that Eve and company hadn’t arrived, so we converged near a trailhead and decided to go find her instead of waiting. Let the record show that I thought it was a bad idea and we should stay put, but was outvoted by the two Nephilim brothers, who banded together against me, despite their obvious beef with one another.

We began jogging northeast, the sun raising higher in the sky with each mile. When we saw the silhouettes of four horses and their riders, Enoch breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s them.”

Eve was actually smiling, and for a few minutes, I wanted to let her. I wanted to catch my breath and remember what it felt like to smile, too. Because once again, we’d managed to survive and find one another. Even though the journey sucked, we were one step closer to home. Against every odd imaginable, we survived.

I let out a whoop and cupped my hands around my mouth. “Maru! ‘Bout time you showed up!”

He laughed in reply. “If I’d known you were so directionally challenged, I would have come sooner!” he taunted.

As soon as Maru dismounted, I ran up and gave him a quick hug, slapping his back the way men do upon greeting friends. “Good to see you, man. I heard your landing was soft. You lucked out on that.”

“Yeah, so I’ve seen.”

“Seen?”

Maru grimaced. “A couple of Eve’s clones hit the ground outside the Compound. They hit so hard, their bodies left an impression in the sod.”

“I bet they did.” Eve hopped down from her saddle and I wrapped her in a gentler hug. “Don’t be pissed at me,” I whispered into her ear. The Nephilim could hear it, but the Lakota and Maru couldn’t.

“I don’t have the energy to be pissed,” she answered, wincing. “You’re hurting me.”

“What?”

“My shoulder,” she said, motioning to the wrapping I’d missed in my excitement to see her and Maru.

“What happened to you?” Enoch asked, fury lacing his voice.

“I won a duel,” she replied proudly, lifting her head high and standing a little taller.

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