# Transformation

### The Clandestine Saga Book 1

## ID Johnson
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

* * *

Cover art by Sparrow Book Cover Design

  Created with Vellum

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For Bill

### Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

A Note from the Author

# Chapter 1

"We really should do something fun while you are all in town," Drew Peterson exclaimed as she plopped herself down on a giant pink bean bag chair near the window in Cadence Findley's bedroom. The rest of her friends were strewn about the room already; Taylor Christianson and Sydney Cox on the bed, Jon Chancellor and Kash Donatello in the two small chairs across the room, Jack Cook slumped against the wall next to the chairs. How many times had they all crashed here during high school? Now that all of them except for Drew, the baby of the group, had graduated from high school and gone on with their lives, these times were much rarer, and it had occurred to Cadence more than once that evening that this may be the last time she had her gang all together.

While her friends continued their idle chatter, Cadence sat in front of her computer screen, trying to finish the last two pages of her English paper. Professor Martin was such a jerk for giving them homework over Thanksgiving break! If she could just get this done, she would finally be able to enjoy her friends' company, rather than haphazardly chiming in from time to time and occasionally shooting annoying glances in their direction when they got a little overzealous in their enjoyment of a week free from school.

The group was a bit of an eclectic collection of personalities. Cadence was never quite sure what the glue was that kept them together, though Taylor insisted that _Cadence_ was the glue. She didn't think so. With her long brown hair, large brown eyes, and perfectly proportioned facial features, she had been fairly popular in high school. Yet, she had always felt there was something different about herself, like she never quite fit in with the rest of the kids in school. She had participated in extracurricular activities, like cheerleading and choir. She had attended the dances and pretended to care about what others thought of her hair and her clothes. But at the end of the day, she always felt that the worries of high school were nothing compared to the "real" world. When she graduated last May, there was no question she was going away to college. She would have liked to have gone even farther than the University of Iowa in Iowa City, but they offered her a pretty nice scholarship, and she took it. And it wasn't so far away that she couldn't drive back to her hometown of Shenandoah for holidays such as this.

None of her friends had gone with her. In fact, she and Jack had broken off their two-year long relationship because he did not want her to go. He had already signed on to play baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers—a pretty big deal—and was hoping that he would show up "big man on campus" with his pretty little lady on his arm. But Cadence had other plans for her life, and his insistence that she follow him to Lincoln had ended their relationship, though they had somehow managed to remain friends, something that Cadence was thankful for.

The rest of the group had scattered to other institutes of higher learning, with the exception of Jon who went to work for his father's plumbing company for a bit, hoping to save some money before starting college. And Drew was a senior in high school this year. She had been on the cheerleading squad with the other girls, and though her peppiness was often annoying, she had wedged her way into their group via a short-lived relationship with Kash.

"Cadence, did you hear me?" Drew's chipper voice called from the corner. Cadence had been so preoccupied with finishing her assignment she had no idea what the rest of the group was talking about. "I said, 'Have you ever heard of an Eidolon Festival?'"

Temporarily pulling her eyes away from the computer screen, Cadence turned to address the spunky little blonde. "A what?"

"That's exactly what I just said!" Jack chuckled from his slumped position on the floor.

"It's so cool!" Drew said, bounding up from the floor and crossing to where Cadence sat in front of the computer. "I saw a flyer the other day at this gas station. We've got to check it out!"

"Because a gas station is where I always go to meet my entertainment needs," Jon mumbled sarcastically as Drew shoved her way between Cadence and the computer.

"What are you doing?" Cadence asked, watching helplessly as Drew grabbed the mouse out of her hand and opened up Chrome.

"Okay, so, Miss English Teacher," she said, referring to Cadence's career ambitions, "what does eidolon mean?"

Cadence thought for a moment. She knew she had heard the word before, but she wasn't precisely sure she knew the correct definition. In fact, she would be surprised if Drew knew. She wasn't exactly known for her broad vocabulary.

Taylor was standing behind her chair now, a purple pillow pressed against her chest. "It sounds like a place lazy people go to drink wine if you ask me!"

Drew snorted and rolled her eyes. "It's eye-dol-in not idle-wine!" she exclaimed.

"Isn't it like a ghost or something?" Cadence asked. Drew was frantically searching Google, trying to find more information than what was printed on the flyer from the gas station.

"I've never heard of it before," Kash remarked, "But if it's a party, you can count me in."

"A party about ghosts?" Sydney asked. She was still sitting on the bed but was no longer reclining. She strained her neck to peer across the short distance to Cadence's computer screen.

"It just means a specter or a phantom," Drew proclaimed. "I know, I looked it up on Dictionary.com."

"And that makes you an expert!" Jon added in his typical sarcastic tone.

"I'm not an expert," Drew responded as she continued various searches containing the words "eidolon" and "festival" and "Iowa." "But I would like to be!"

"Well, what did the flyer say?" Taylor asked.

Drew continued to search, now adding the word "secret" into her search criteria. "It was kind of cryptic, for a flyer. It just said something like 'Eidolon gather, Percy's Lot, Villisca, witching hour, November 26th.' I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't dropped my keys."

The rest of her friends exchanged questioning glances, but Drew didn't seem to notice. She continued to search as the others drew straws nonverbally to determine who got to ask exactly what Drew meant. Finally, Jon exclaimed, "Explain!"

Drew was used to having to explain herself. She was a bit ditsy at times—most of the time. She sighed in frustration, "I was walking out of the gas station, and I dropped my keys. I bent down to pick them up, and I noticed a red scrap of paper sticking out from behind a trash can. It was bright red, so it caught my attention. So, I grabbed it and read it. And I had no idea what eidolon meant, but I knew that festival meant party! So, I tried to find out more info on my phone, but I couldn't find anything else out about it. I did find out that eidolon means phantom though, which sounds cool, so I think we should all go. It'll be totally creepy and fun!"

"So, for all you know, this is, like, a private party?" Taylor asked, confused.

"No, I don't think so. It's a festival, and it was a typed flyer, so it's not like someone just wrote a note and dropped it. They want people to go," Drew said a bit defensively.

"Then why don't they advertise it or at least have a website?" Sydney wanted to know.

Drew sighed, tossing the mouse away and crossing back to the bean bag chair. "Come on, guys!" she exclaimed. "All of you are off in college or working, and I'm here going to flippin' high school. I never get to have any fun! Would you please just go with me?"

"It sounds kinda cool to me," Kash agreed. For a moment, Cadence wondered why Drew and Kash ever broke up.

"Listen," it was Taylor this time, "it's the night before Thanksgiving. I don't think my parents will like it if I'm out partying until the wee hours of the morning. My mom is going to expect me to help with the dinner, you know."

"What time is the witching hour anyway? Midnight?" Sydney asked, her expression seeming to indicate that she was considering going with Drew.

"No," Cadence said almost automatically. "It's 3:00 AM."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. "I always heard it was midnight."

Cadence's glance became a bit sterner. "I'm sure," she replied.

"Search engine it!" Taylor said, taking over the mouse.

Jon laughed, "Because the word Google is trademarked," he commented quietly, almost to himself.

"She's right!" Taylor exclaimed. "It is 3:00 AM. Says so right here."

"On Wikipedia? The most reliable source of information since the invention of the Internet," Jon sneered.

"No, it's not Wikipedia! It's a site about witches!" Taylor said defensively.

"There's no way I'm going out to a party at 3:00 AM the night before Thanksgiving!" Sydney stated emphatically, her hands tugging absently on her light brown ponytail.

"Me neither!" Taylor agreed.

"Come on!" Drew pleaded. "We've gone out that late lots of times! Remember when we snuck off to Red Oak Tap? We all told our parents we were staying at Cadence's house, and she told her mom she was at your house, Syd. It was the best time ever!"

Sydney seemed to contemplate this argument for a moment, her green eyes flickering with memories of times well spent with this group of friends. "I don't know...." she said as the tides began to turn in favor of one last hurrah with her gang.

"Well, I'm in. And I'll drive," Kash said, slapping both hands down on his legs.

"I'm too scared to go!" Taylor proclaimed, pouncing back on the bed next to Sydney.

"You'll be fine!" Kash proclaimed.

"I'll protect you," Jon added, rapidly raising and lowering his eyebrows.

Taylor laughed. Jon was always flirting with her, but thus far, nothing had ever happened between them. "You're going then?" she asked, tossing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder.

"Well," Jon said hesitantly. He looked at Kash, who was nodding his head. The two of them had gone almost everywhere together since the beginning of high school. Even now that Kash was attending Iowa Western Community College, they still found plenty of time to hang out together. Cadence knew it would be hard for him to miss out on a chance to have another adventure with his best friend. "I guess so," he said slowly. "If Kash is going, then I'll go. I've never been to a festival based on wickedness before, but I can only assume this may be a prime opportunity to see some boobies."

The girls all groaned in disgust, and Sydney threw a pillow at him while the boys chuckled in agreement.

"Jack?" Drew asked.

Jack was fairly reserved, so the prospect of seeing topless women probably wasn't a motivating factor for him, at least not one he would be willing to verbalize. But as his eyes glanced around the room at his friends, they lingered on Cadence. She felt uncomfortable and had to look away. "I don't know," he began. "Cadence, what do you think?"

Having turned her back to the group when the pressure of Jack's intense stare became too much, she slowly turned back to face them. She was silent hoping no one would remember that she was present, and therefore, she wouldn't be asked to go. Of course, since they were sitting in her bedroom, the chances of this were slim. "Well," she sighed, "this certainly isn't my thing. There's nothing at all interesting to me about ghosts and goblins, vampires, and all that."

"Seriously?" Drew asked, slumping her shoulders. "You know no one else will go if you don't, Cadence." The pouty face was back, and Drew released a loud sigh before crossing her arms and leaning back sharply. "Fine, I'll just go by myself!"

"I said I'd go," Kash reiterated, but Drew didn't lose her wounded kitten expression.

"I don't think it's a good idea for some of us to go and not all of us," Jack stated assertively.

As much as Cadence wanted to disagree with him, he did have a point. Drew was only seventeen years old, and even if Kash and Jon went with her, they still might end up in a situation that wasn't safe. However, if all seven of them stuck together, like they always had, she felt better about their chances of avoiding evil regardless of the theme of the revelry. She glanced at Sydney, who was chewing furiously on her bottom lip, a sign that she had not decided whether or not to risk it, and Taylor who was staring at the floor, shaking her head back and forth slowly. Taylor clearly did not want to go. Then, Cadence looked back at Drew. Her arms were still crossed, her chin forced into her chest. "Fine," she finally acquiesced. "Let's go."

_The sky was pitch black, clouds covering whatever stars may dare to shine. The moon hung low, its enervating journey home to the horizon almost concluded. Though it was late November, the chill seemed to come from within, not from the cool breeze that gently nudged her back to the safety of their vehicle._

_A glitch in the passage of time took place, and suddenly they were in the midst of the festivities. Flashes of smoke and fire clouded her vision. Many of the participants were masked, or perhaps their faces were contorted. They wound their way amongst the ghouls and specters. A parade of undead gamboled by, clad in crimson and black, shrill laughter ringing, percussion jarring them along. A pair of eyes that seemed to see through her very soul. Pure evil incarnate._

_Suddenly, the search was on. Frantically looking, running about. She did not know who or what she was looking for, but she knew she must become whole again at once. And then a vision of horror. Scarlet droplets turning to an endless flow. Disbelief overshadowed by rage, and it was over. An incessant need to run, to escape, to flee this place, never to return. They would never return...._

Cadence bolted upright. Despite the chilly room, she was sweating. At first, she couldn't remember exactly what she had been dreaming about, but she knew she had been sprinting in her dream, and her chest heaved as if she had been truly attempting to outrun a predator.

She wiped her brow on the sleeve of her flannel pajamas, and after a moment to compose herself, turned to her nightstand and a drink of water. Whatever she had been dreaming, it was terrible, and she was afraid to go back to sleep. She glanced at the clock next to her bed. It was 3:00 AM. She felt chills climbing up her spine as she realized at this time tomorrow, she would be at the Eidolon Festival. Suddenly, she remembered, she had been dreaming about attending the fair. But, if her dream was any indicator of what type of phantoms they might encounter at such a place, it wasn't ghosts and ghouls they should fear. It was vampires.

Cadence pondered making a phone call to one of her friends, possibly Sydney or Taylor. As the details from her dream came flooding back, it seemed more and more real. Considering the time, she decided not to disturb them, though she was sure neither of them would mind if she woke them up to discuss her trepidation. Nevertheless, it was in fact, just a dream. She finally withdrew her stare from her iPhone on the nightstand and slid back down under the covers. She would talk to Drew the next day and tell her she didn't think attending the Eidolon Festival was a good idea at all.

# Chapter 2

Kash's mom had driven the same Suburban for the last twenty-two years and, even though it was old and had no bells and whistles, it had enough room for all seven of them to ride in one vehicle, so most times, it was their vehicle of choice. When they all piled in at 3:15 in the morning to make the short trip to Villisca, most of the girls did so reluctantly, particularly Taylor, who was actually crying, and Cadence, who had clearly lost her battle with Drew, and once again, given in to the sobs and declarations of attending solo. Cadence hated being late, but she figured for an event such as this it didn't really make much difference.

Typically, Sydney and Drew sat in the back because they were the most petite. Cadence was shaped more like an athlete, and though she really didn't have a much bigger footprint, she did have longer legs, so the other girls let her sit in the middle seat with Taylor, who was just a bit curvier than the other girls and Jack, whose position had changed from right next to Cadence to the far side of the seat once they decided to be "just friends." Despite the fact that Jon had ridden shotgun approximately four thousand consecutive times, he still insisted on yelling "shotgun" as they approached the vehicle, just in case someone decided to challenge his position.

This time, however, the seating changed just a bit. Taylor and Cadence were ordered into the vehicle first so that the others made sure they didn't try to escape. Though it was possible Taylor may turn and run at any moment, Cadence wasn't going anywhere without Drew. She was determined to keep her younger friend in her sights the entire time and keep her safe no matter what. She had no reason to suspect that this would be anything other than a wild party, full of costumed drunks attempting to get lucky. Nevertheless, her dream had been enough to inspire a sense of caution, and she was particularly concerned about Drew's well-being.

Drew was sitting in the middle of the seat in front of her, so excited that she would not even buckle her seatbelt but insisted on leaning up between the two bucket seats, shouting directions. It had not been easy, but she had been able to procure the address for Percy's Lot through an extensive online search of property records. Luckily for them, there was only one Percy who owned a significant tract of land near Villisca, Iowa.

It was unseasonably warm, and most of them were only wearing light coats or jackets. Drew was wearing a bright red cape and had also brought a Guy Fawkes inspired mask. Drew mentioned that she was disappointed that no one else had decided to wear a costume, but she was so invigorated that they had decided to go, she let her disappointment lie.

Cadence hadn't been easily convinced to come along. In fact, Drew had been forced to turn on the tears. Cadence had showed up earlier that day, adamant that this was a dangerous idea and that someone could get hurt. They weren't invited to these festivities; they didn't know anyone else who was going to be there, and for all they knew, this could be a group of devil worshipers. Drew had snickered at the last remark, which made Cadence angry. She explained what she had dreamt and that it had not ended well and, though she was aware it was just a dream, and no, she didn't think it was a premonition, _per se_ , it did make her more aware of the fact that what they were doing was potentially hazardous, and they should just find something else to do. By then, however, Drew had already purchased her costume and made arrangements to sneak out of the house. There was no way she was going to change her mind, and if Cadence didn't want to go, she could just stay home by herself. Drew was going. Period. End statement.

So, Cadence had to go, too, because she was not letting Drew go without her, no matter how many gentleman escorts she may have. If Drew was going to put herself in a vulnerable situation, then Cadence was going to follow. She just wished she hadn't quit karate lessons in the third grade.

It didn't seem to Cadence like it took very long at all to reach what Drew was sure must be Percy's Lot. At first, there didn't appear to be anything much happening in the open field west of town. In fact, the countryside seemed to be sleeping. Then, Kash pointed out a soft orange glow off in the distance, and they realized there would be some trekking involved in reaching their destination.

They decided to pull into the field and drive in the grass for a bit, an attempt to determine whether or not there was an actual designated parking area or if they were supposed to hoof it from the road. As Kash carefully made his way over the uneven surface, they began to see dark shapes in the distance and realized there were, in fact, other vehicles. The sound of music drifted through the air, and Drew began to sway in time to the beat of the drums.

As they poured out of the vehicle, Cadence paused for a moment to look up at the sky. A soft haze illuminated the night around the festivities, but the rest of the firmament was nothing but ebony, crowned by a full moon sliding below the horizon, its pale orange hue lending an air of foreboding. Cadence knew this scene looked familiar, and she braced herself for what she felt may come.

As they approached what seemed to be an entrance, the entire party tensed up. They had no idea if they would be charged a monetary fee, required to show an invitation, or sign over their first-born child. There was no gate, however. No ticket taker. Only a ring of tents, haphazardly thrown up to create some sort of perimeter and several more temporary dwellings within the outer circle. It was difficult to ascertain exactly how large the area was. Several bonfires were strewn amongst the structures, and the smoke created a permanent fog that hovered around them. There was also a thin layer of fog that sat right on top of them, lending itself nicely to the eerie setting. As if reading her mind, Jack leaned over to Cadence and said quietly, "All we need now is a creepy castle, and we'll be all set."

Perhaps what was more disturbing than the setting were the partygoers themselves. Many of them were wearing costumes, much to Drew's delight. Many more needed no costumes; they were even more frightening than those in masks and capes. Everywhere she looked, Cadence saw complicated facial piercings, brightly colored hair, and any skin that was showing (and there was a lot, despite the cooler temperatures), was tattooed. These were not your typical, " _Mom_ " tattoos either. Rather, the majority of them depicted horror scenes and fantastic creatures hell-bent on ripping one's lungs straight from one's chest.

If anyone noticed they did not belong, they said nothing. There were a handful of other lost souls wandering around, eyes wide open, mouths ajar. But the majority of the attendees had clearly known what to expect, and they were there to revel in their own unique world of horror.

"Let's go home," Cadence pleaded, turning to Jack and placing her hand on his arm.

It was loud and difficult to hear. "What's that?" he asked, leaning toward her.

Cadence glanced around again. She was accidentally making eye contact with many of the revelers now, and their piercing stares seemed almost mesmerizing, not in a way that made Cadence feel comfortable or safe. "I said, I think we should go home," she repeated more urgently.

Jack had heard her this time, and he was nodding his head. Drew was still walking ahead of them, giggling with delight like a small child at her birthday party. Kash was close behind her, though his expression was not quite as chipper as his ex-girlfriend's. Taylor and Sydney were both cowering behind Jon, only peering out from around his shoulders from time to time to make sure no boogeymen were about to pounce on them. Taylor was still crying, and it actually seemed to be working against her because it was drawing stares from the fiends around them.

"I'm not sure we are going to be able to get Drew to come with us just yet," Jack explained.

Cadence knew he was correct. The only way they were going to get Drew back into that vehicle was if they picked her up and carried her. "Maybe we can convince her," she said, letting go of Jack's arm and walking toward Drew, who was bouncing up and down to the beat of the drums.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cadence saw a flash of black, perhaps a human form, but moving much more quickly than any human ever could. She turned to see what it was, but by the time she was able to whip her head around, it was gone. She didn't feel frightened, for some reason, however, just surprised. She made a mental note and continued to attempt to catch up with Drew.

Placing her hand on Drew's shoulder, she pulled her back gently in an effort to get her attention. Drew didn't seem to notice as she was enthralled by the music. Ahead of them, some belly dancers were entertaining a crowd near a small bonfire, and Drew pulled away from Cadence, headed in that direction. In the speechless environment, they had to rely on expression and gestures, so Cadence and Kash locked glances and followed.

As they approached the small group of belly dancers, Cadence could see a sizable group of musicians off in the distance. There was a crowd congregated nearby, and every dancer was a portal unto him or herself, moving and gyrating however the music moved them. There were only a few couples dancing together, and they seemed to be performing some sort of mating ritual, or perhaps a few of them were mating, though Cadence did not wish to stare hard enough to find out. She did notice that a few couples slithered into the forest near the dance area, and she could only assume they must be consummating their relationships.

Drew seemed so fascinated by the belly dancers that she didn't notice the other dancing going on behind her. Cadence was hopeful it would stay this way. She wasn't exactly sure where the rhythm might take Drew, but she was afraid it wouldn't be anywhere closer to home.

As her petite friend swung around in circles, swaying to and fro with the beat, attempting to move her hips similarly to the more accomplished dancers, Cadence turned to check on her friends. They were all still there, all still together. That, at least, was something to be grateful for. She turned back to Drew in time to see some sort of an Egyptian hand-flare, like something out of a Bangles video, and shook her head in disbelief. Kash began to dance along with Drew, an indicator to Cadence that, from his perspective, this whole thing may have been his attempt to re-hookup with his ex-flame, and Cadence had to look away in disgust.

She noticed the outline of a figure dressed in black just against the trees near where the band was entertaining the crowd. She peered more closely, and the person, what appeared to be a muscular man, faded back into the darkness of the trees and disappeared. She almost rubbed her eyes, attempting to determine whether or not they had been playing tricks on her. Why was she seeing these odd creatures? Were they real or imagined?

Just then, a loud booming began to shake the ground. From the back of the outer circle, a stream of percussionists started to pour out of one of the tents. They began to dance their way down the worn dirt path, banging methodically on their instruments, winding their way around the perimeter of the circle. There were other musicians within the parade as well, but it was the deep vibration of the bass drums that carried the reptilian line along.

Most of them wore costumes, almost all in shades of red. It was difficult to see anyone's full face. Either a half mask, paint, outlandish makeup, or an instrument hid most of their faces from view. Cadence was standing directly beside the route, and she soon felt Drew's arm slip through hers as she bounced up to get a better view.

As the procession began to wind down, the crowds along the route started to cheer. Tailing the parade was a small group of individuals who seemed to be of some significance. They slowly came into view, and as they did so, Cadence felt a chill the length of her spine. She knew she had seen those eyes before. The pale white skin, bright red hair, blood red lips. She recognized her instantly. This was the woman from her dream, the one she had been running from.

Beside her, Drew was gasping as well, but not at the woman. Once Cadence collected herself, she glanced at her friend to see she was blushing, staring incessantly at the man walking next to the redheaded woman. He had a light complexion with jet black hair and steely eyes just as piercing as his companion. And, much to Cadence's dismay, those piercing eyes were firmly planted right on Drew.

It happened rather quickly, and Cadence wasn't exactly sure what was transpiring until it was far too late. Just as the party approached where she was standing, the man reached out to Drew, taking her by the arm and pulling her into the parade. Kash was too far separated from her to get there in time, and the rest of their group was on the other side of the parade, so Cadence knew she had to act on her own. She reached after Drew, stepping into the parade route herself. Just then, the woman with the red hair bumped into her. Cadence shuddered when she felt the coolness of her body against her arm. She looked up into penetrating gray eyes, suddenly frozen with fear.

Her voice like the hiss of a snake, the woman opened her ruby red lips and snarled, "You should be very careful to watch where you are going!"

Cadence said nothing, only stared into those mesmerizing eyes.

"Otherwise, you might get hurt!" she continued, pushing Cadence backward into the crowd and away from where Drew was disappearing. Cadence caught herself before she fell. Something about the woman's tone caused her fear to morph into anger, and no longer petrified, she fought her way back to the front of the crowd.

The tail end of the parade was just passing, and she was back together with the rest of her friends. She could still see Drew giggling as she rounded the corner, dancing along with the dark man.

"We have to follow her!" Cadence yelled to the rest of the party.

Those who had been standing on the other side looked confused. They had not seen Drew become swept up into the parade. "What are you talking about?" Jon asked, his arms now around both of the other girls.

"Drew!" Cadence exclaimed. They began to glance around, just realizing that she wasn't there.

"Why bother?" Kash asked, a look of defeat on his face.

"This is no time for pity parties," Cadence said as she began to step forward down the path where Drew had disappeared. "If we don't find her, something awful is going to happen."

"That's what happens when you go off with strange men at parties," Kash said nonchalantly.

Cadence spun on her heels. "Listen, you may have come here with the idea that you and Drew were going to hook up, but this situation has just escalated beyond what may or may not hurt your feelings." Then, turning to Jack and Jon she said, "I'm telling you, if we don't find her, something bad—very, very bad—is going to happen to Drew. I just know it."

Regardless of how Kash felt about the present situation, it was evident to all of them that they needed to find her immediately and get the hell out of there. Taylor burst into tears, and Sydney dropped Jon's arm so that she could comfort her. Cadence sighed; they were wasting time. "Look, Jon, why don't you take the girls back to the Suburban, and we'll find Drew and meet you there?"

Jon hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want me to help find Drew?"

Cadence nodded. "I think we can find her faster without the three of you, and I don't want to lose anyone else."

He nodded and began to usher Taylor and Sydney away. "No, wait!" Sydney yelled, spinning back around. "I want to help!"

"No," Cadence, declared. "You'll be more helpful in the car, praying, where we know you're safe."

As if she had been given a command, Sydney nodded her head in understanding and turned to go. The little party walked quickly, and Cadence would not have been surprised to see them break into a sprint. What she was surprised to see was that they were clearly being followed by two figures dressed all in black. This time, she could easily see they were a man and a woman. They followed at a distance, never speaking to each other or anyone else, and although she had no idea who they were or why they might be following her friends, her instincts told her this was all right, and she needed to concentrate on finding Drew.

By the time the others left and Cadence continued down the path the parade had followed, she couldn't even see the end of the chain anymore. In fact, the crowd had filled in the trail so completely she had to push her way through just to continue her search.

Upon reaching the tent at the back of the outer circle, where the parade had begun, she realized Jack and Kash were now far behind her, several groups of people separating them. She sighed in despair, running her hands through her long brown hair and stomping her booted foot on the ground. There, in the dirt, she saw a Guy Fawkes mask and realized it must be Drew's. Picking it up, and feeling overwhelmed by helplessness, she yelled, "Dammit!" She knew she should wait for the men. They would, most likely, be a far better match for the dark haired man than she was. However, a feeling in her gut told her that, if she didn't go right now, Drew was going to be in much more trouble than any of them wanted to think about. Glancing over her shoulder, she decided to press on with her search, though she had no plan and no idea where Drew might be. As she turned back around, she bumped directly into someone. At first, she assumed it was just another partygoer, but then she noticed his outfit and realized he was dressed entirely in black leather. He was only there a split second before he disappeared, a flash of black against the white tent beside her. It was almost as if he wanted her to be aware of his presence. There was only one facial feature that caught her attention and that was his piercing blue eyes.

Cadence shook her head violently, attempting to clear her thoughts, and took off toward the band and the area where the dancers continued to revel. She peered through the crowd, mask still in hand, jumping up to see if a different vantage point improved her perspective, which it did not. She became aware that there was a mounting presence of black-garbed persons on the perimeter of the dancers, and this alarmed her a bit. However, she knew she needed to find Drew immediately, and she was unable to let anything distract her from this mission. Jack and Kash were nowhere to be seen. She paused for just a moment to consider where Drew may have gone. Just then, she saw a couple slinking off into the protection of the trees, and she realized that Drew must be in the forest.

She took off into the woods, instinct completely guiding her now. She was moving so quickly, yet she was able to make her way between the twisted branches that reached for her coat and nipped at her hair, hardly making contact with any of them. As she weaved between the obstacles that lay between her and Drew, she began to ponder if this was what it was like to have an out-of-body experience. She was cognizant of what she was doing, but it was all happening so quickly, it seemed surreal. It was as if she was being guided by an internal force that knew exactly where Drew was and which path she must use to reach her the quickest.

Cadence began to hear noises in the trees in front of her. She knew that many couples had ventured off into these woods, and it was possible that she may come across someone else, but as she stepped into a clearing, she realized she had seen this unfold before. She was not at all surprised to see the gray eyes of the dark haired man staring directly at her, his mouth wide, razor sharp teeth exposed. Drew was there, her bare back glistening in the light of the few stars that had made their way through the clouded heavens. He knelt beside her, his hand cupping her head, and even from this distance, Cadence could see she was too late. A thin scarlet line trickled its way down her long, pale neck, dripping off of the back of her shoulder.

She had seen it all before in her dream. She knew what would happen next. The way he was looking at her, as if Cadence would be his next meal. She began to think, perhaps, he had also had a premonition. She wasn't willing to wait to find out. The anger boiling up inside of her was too much to contain. As he stood to meet her, she ran straight for him, tossing the mask aside. She had no weapon, but she felt she did not need one. He opened his mouth so widely, she could no longer see his eyes, as if baring his teeth would somehow frighten her into submission. It did not. As he stepped toward her, she agilely stepped around him, grabbing his skull from the back. In one complete motion, she cranked his head from one shoulder to the other, ratcheting his neck, causing a popping and cracking sound like nothing she had ever heard before. She continued to pull until she realized she was holding his head in her hands, his severed body tumbling to the ground beside Drew.

If she were to pause and think about what had just happened, Cadence knew she would fall to pieces. Stopping to consider what she had just done or figure out how it was possible would have to wait for later. She tossed the decapitated head aside and knelt to ascertain the condition of her dear friend. She could plainly see that blood was flowing freely from two puncture wounds on her neck. She felt for a pulse and found none. She looked around, hoping to see Jack or Kash, thinking they could help carry her out, get her to a hospital, possibly resuscitate her. They were not there, but she realized she was not alone. There was no time just now to address the man in black with the piercing blue eyes who had suddenly shown up directly to her left. Rather, she turned back to Drew, feeling for a pulse, contemplating whether or not she should go for help or begin CPR. She hurriedly adjusted Drew's clothing, standing now and peering through the trees, not sure if the noises she heard around her were her friends, or perhaps, more enemies.

"You need to go," she heard him say as she turned back to Drew. Panic was starting to set in. She noticed that there was no longer a torso next to Drew but didn't allow herself to contemplate where it might have gone, or, for that matter, how she had just managed to pull the head off of a vampire. She decided to start CPR and began pounding on Drew's chest, praying her heart would start beating again.

"You really don't have much time," he said, taking a step forward.

Cadence began blowing into Drew's mouth, trying to remember how many counts of each she was supposed to perform when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She continued to pump Drew's chest, his hand still there and clearly in her way. "I have to save her," she said as calmly as she could muster.

"If you don't go now, we might not be able to help you."

Cadence continued to pound, oblivious to the urgency in his tranquil voice.

The hand on her shoulder suddenly became much firmer, and she was being pulled to her feet. He spun her around to face him. "Cadence, Drew is gone. You must go now!"

She stared at the stranger, not sure what to make of him, the situation, or what he had just said. Suddenly, the sound of branches breaking and heavy breathing drew her attention away from those intense blue eyes and back to reality. She braced herself, afraid that it might be more vampires, but it was not. Jack and Kash came tearing through the trees, clearly out of breath and exhausted from attempting to keep up with Cadence.

"Cadence!" Jack exclaimed. He looked relieved at first until he saw Drew lying on the ground. Then, his expression changed from joy to overwhelming grief. Kash was standing nearby, his eyes locked on Drew, stunned.

Suddenly, the instinct from Cadence's dream kicked in, and she had an overpowering understanding that they all needed to get away from there immediately. She did not know the relationship between the dark haired man she'd annihilated and the redheaded woman, but she was quite certain that, once the woman realized what she had done, there would be hell to pay.

"We have no time," she said as calmly as possible to her friends. "We have to get out of here. Now."

"What about Drew?" Jack asked. Kash was still not moving, but Cadence could clearly see the tears streaming down his face.

Cadence glanced back at the man in black. He nodded.

"Bring her."

There had been plenty of chatter on the Intelligence Assistance Communicator, or IAC, recently, so it was no surprise to Aaron McReynolds to see Cadence and her friends arrive at the Eidolon Festival. He believed he had brought enough of his team with him to sufficiently cover anything that might arise, although he was hopeful that Holland and her clan would be particularly careful considering who Cadence was and how obligated he was to provide her with unconditional protection. He was, however, extremely surprised to see Carter pull such a bold move and whisk one of Cadence's friends away like that. The Vampire should have known that would not be permitted. Nevertheless, he took her, and that livened things up beyond a typical peacekeeping operation.

As soon as Drew had danced her way into the parade, Aaron began organizing his team, calling in backup immediately. He knew from his vast experience that this would most likely activate Cadence enough that she would track Carter down. He was thankful she had sent most of her friends back to the car because it made it easier to protect them and gave him less subjects to worry about inside the perimeter.

After she bumped into him during her frantic search for Drew, he knew there was no stopping her Transformation. Rather than attempting to trail Cadence through the woods, he used the IAC infrared to track her and reach the destination simultaneously. If necessary, he was ready to step in on her behalf, but clearly, she needed no help defeating Carter, which was a shocking testimony to her strength and power. Now, as she began to realize what was happening around her and attempt to escape, his role became even more difficult. On the other side of those trees, a legion of vampires was just recognizing what had happened here, and they would all be willing to do whatever it took to bring her down.

Using the IAC, he was able to communicate to his team without speaking aloud. Therefore, Cadence and her friends had no idea the magnitude of the operation unfolding around them. His primary objective was to get Cadence, Jack, and Kash home with no harm befalling any of them. However, she was his main concern, and if that meant losing someone else along the way, so be it.

_"Eliza, Jamie, Elliott, pick up on the other side of these trees. As soon as they're clear, I need to hear some engines."_ The orders were clear, and he knew his team would respond appropriately.

Jack scooped Drew's limp body up, and Cadence began to lead them out of the woods. Her instincts started to kick in, and she knew exactly where she was going. However, she was also well aware of the fact that her friends were not keeping up with her. She did her best to keep pace with them, wondering why they were running so slowly. The man in black did not follow them. Conversely, as they wound their way through the woods, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of similarly dressed persons, and Cadence realized they were being escorted.

Approaching the edge of the woods, she could plainly hear the music from the band. She could see that the dancers continued. If any of those individuals happened to be vampires, and somehow, she seemed to know which ones were, they were presently unaware that she had just destroyed one of their own. While it seemed more reasonable to slowly walk out of the woods and nonchalantly exit the festival, hoping no one noticed the body Jack was carrying, every fiber of her being was telling her to run, sprint, fly out of that place as quickly as possible. It was all she could do to slow down enough for her friends to keep up.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble drowning out the music and causing the entire back section of dancers to pause mid-step. As if materializing out of nowhere, three jet black motorcycles came screeching out of the night, flying toward them. Jack and Kash jumped back into the woods, clearly a bit alarmed, but Cadence could plainly see they were there to help. The drivers were dressed in black.

They motioned impatiently for the three friends to get on. While it was extremely difficult for Jack to keep ahold of Drew and still hold on to the back of the rider, he managed by throwing her small body over his shoulder, despite the unbelievable speed they began to travel. Cadence jumped onto the closest bike, barely glancing at the driver, and held on as tightly as she could, and she realized she was actually traveling more quickly than the other two bikes.

The motorcycles seemed to be a tip to the vampires that something had happened, and it did not take long for the redheaded woman to show her pale white face. Cadence was concentrating on watching where they were going, unsure exactly how her driver was managing to weave through some of the tight spots they were passing through. However, a blood-curdling scream pierced the night sky, causing her ears to ring, and she knew without even turning her head that this must be the woman with the steel gray eyes. She squeezed the waist of her driver more tightly, and he somehow found a way to make the bike go even faster.

From his vantage point, Aaron could see that Eliza was struggling to balance the bike and maintain her speed with Jack and Drew's body behind her. In fact, she almost wrecked twice just navigating the tents. He could see that Elliott had almost made it to the Suburban with Kash before she had even exited the grounds, and Jamie was long gone with Cadence. " _I'm struggling!"_ she called in to Aaron, and he began to contemplate exactly how to get her assistance. Just as she made the call, Holland and her band of cronies began to ascend on her. _"I don't know how I am going to get Jack out of this alive."_ Her voice sounded panicked, which was unusual for her, an indicator the situation was serious.

Aaron had not planned for Drew's body to be extracted when he had made the plans to use motorcycles. However, he knew it was important to Cadence, and he thought they could do it. Now, with a clan of vampires closing in on Jack's tail, the idea didn't seem like such a great one.

Holland's anger had made her strength grow immeasurably, and now with each leap she took closer to Eliza, it appeared as if she was flying. Aaron knew he needed to find a way to slow her down. His position near the woods, where he stopped to coordinate his forces, was so far away from the exit, he didn't know if it was possible to catch up to the infuriated Vampire now. However, he was also fueled by emotion and was capable of moving even more quickly than she was.

Jack was terrified. He almost could not fathom what was happening around him, not to mention that he was holding the body of a dear friend. He could see what appeared to be vampires swooping in on them from all directions. He thought that, if he left Drew behind, perhaps they would have a better chance of escaping, but he couldn't consider leaving her, especially not when he knew how much she meant to Kash and Cadence.

As they were exiting the fairgrounds, the bike hesitated just a second. Jack felt an icy cold flick on his shoulder. He glanced down to see that his jacket was torn. He saw no blood, so he assumed he had not been injured, but with all of the adrenaline coursing through his veins, it was difficult to tell. However, he knew that, if this driver didn't find a way to speed this bike up, the next time he would not be so lucky. "Hurry! Hurry!" he shouted to the purple-haired woman driving him away from the scene of horror.

Jack glanced back over his shoulder, though his instinct told him it wasn't a good idea to do so. He realized whatever it was he had felt on his shoulder it had originated with none other than the redheaded woman from the parade, the one who had pushed Cadence. Looking back at her now, he hardly recognized her. Her face was contorted, her teeth exposed, sharp white daggers protruding from her mouth. Perhaps what was most unsettling was the fact that she appeared to be flying! She was hovering above him now, and he was fairly certain that she would reach out and pluck him from the back of the motorcycle with little effort at all.

Just as Jack was coming to this conclusion, a jarring force knocked her off balance, sending her flying to her right, tumbling on the ground. Jack thought he heard a squeal of delight from his driver as she pushed the gas a bit harder, and the Suburban began to come into view.

Aaron had flung himself into Holland with as much force as he could muster. It was enough to throw her a good twenty feet into the air and clear Eliza's bike from Holland's clutches. The rest of her clan was far enough behind that his team would be able to come in from the parking lot and intercept them with no problem. Holland had been the imminent danger, and now she was picking herself up off of the ground.

He could tell from the glare in her eyes that she wanted to return the blow, but she was clearly set on one goal: find the brown-haired girl and make her pay. Still, as she gathered herself back up, she looked at Aaron and spat, "You shouldn't have done that!"

He disagreed. "You broke the rules, and you're in pursuit of a Hunter. I can do whatever it takes."

She hissed at him as she leaped off. "The girl might be gone, for now, but I still might be able to catch up to her friends. I'll see you later, Aaron." She took off again, swept up in a sea of Vampires and chaotic partygoers trying to reach the exit.

Aaron was fairly certain his team had things under control, but he followed, and eventually sprinted around Holland, absently wishing there were no rules regarding destroying Vampires at an Eidolon Festival. By the time he reached the parking lot, Elliott was shouting instruction to the rest of Cadence's friends, and she and Jamie were long gone.

Eliza was helping Jack with Drew as he struggled to climb into the vehicle. Aaron could hear the other two girls in the back seat whimpering. He couldn't imagine how frightening it must be for them to see that their friends were being chased back to the parking lot. Behind him, he heard his team holding up the vampire; they would be safe now, but that wouldn't erase the terror. They'd need another method for that.

When the girls saw Drew's body, they began to cry even more. The whimpers turned into wails. The male members of Cadence's party were all wide-eyed with disbelief.

"Start the car!" Elliott barked." Kash nodded, a numb look in his eyes. "Drive straight to Shenandoah Medical Center and do not stop for anything!"

Once the engine was running, Elliott went around to the back where Eliza was helping Jack load Drew's body. Aaron followed, keeping his distance and letting his team operate. Elliott looked at the girl for a moment before catching Aaron's eyes and nodding solemnly. Unfortunately, the fact that Drew was gone was no surprise to Aaron. He nodded back in understanding, and Elliott reached into his pocket, pulled out a small knife, and slashed the side of Drew's throat, turning the puncture wounds into a stab wound, at least on the surface.

"What are you doing?" Jack yelled. "You'll kill her!"

Elliott did not reply. He simply patted Jack on the shoulder before slamming the Suburban door shut and signaling for Kash to drive. Clearly, Jack had carried her on the back of the motorcycle, hopeful that getting Drew to a hospital would allow her to be saved. Aaron knew from experience that reality would set in when Jack realized there was nothing dripping from the fresh stab wound.

# Chapter 3

The trip back to Shenandoah would have typically taken about forty minutes, but the man steering the bike was flying, and Cadence found herself winding through her own neighborhood in just under twenty minutes. Though she was happy to have the speed of the bike, at this point, she really wished she had been in a car with this person so that she could ask him some questions. The more she thought about all that had just happened, the more surreal it became. By the time she reached her house, she was quite certain she had lost her mind entirely.

And yet she knew she had not. As he pulled the bike to a stop on the street in front of her house, Cadence began to realize just how cold she was. She also wondered where her friends had gone. She was extremely concerned that they had not all made it out alive. At the same time, she had the ridiculous notion that she mustn't wake her parents, lest she get in trouble for being out too late.

Cadence stepped off of the bike as he was putting the kickstand down. She had so many questions to ask him, but she didn't know where to begin. As he climbed off of the bike and removed his helmet, the only thing she could think to say was, "What the hell?"

He seemed to be suppressing the urge to laugh at her frustration though it was a bit comical considering the circumstances. "It's okay," he said, hanging his helmet on the bike and walking around to the sidewalk. Cadence followed, her palms pressed against her forehead. "We'll explain everything."

Cadence stared at him for a moment. He was a bit shorter than her, even though the frosted tips of his sweeping haircut came to sharp spikes above his forehead. He was nice looking, though Cadence didn't think him particularly striking, but he had very kind eyes. Cadence felt a bit of comfort just by staring into them for a moment. However, she did not forget all that had just happened, and she desperately wanted some answers. "Who are you?" she asked, followed quickly by, "Were those vampires? Am I a vampire? Are my friends all right?"

He motioned with his hands as if he were calming a raging sea. "Slow down, Cadence. There's plenty of time to explain. You're perfectly safe now." As he said those words, he glanced up, and Cadence followed his eyes. She could clearly see the forms of the same black clad figures who had protected her at the festival on the rooftops of her own home and her neighbors. Though she still felt uneasy, her fear began to lessen.

"My name is Jamie," he began to explain. "Yes, your friends are all fine. Well, except for Drew," he added looking at the ground. Cadence sighed, unable to accept that information right now. "Yes, those were Vampires and no, you're not a Vampire. Listen, Eliza is on her way here. You need to go inside and pack a bag. She will take you someplace where you will find out everything you need to know, okay?"

Raising one eyebrow in skepticism, Cadence stared at him, still not able to grasp that any of this was really happening. "Go in and pack a bag and leave in the middle of the night? Without talking to my parents or my sister? Or letting my friends know that I'm okay? I don't think that's a good idea."

The sound of a motorcycle approaching distracted them both momentarily. "Cadence," Jamie said, taking her by the arm and leading her toward the house, "there's no reason for you to explain to your parents. That will be taken care of. Your friends will have an alternate memory of what has transpired. Soon, all of your questions will be answered. Now, I have my orders, and you have yours. Are we clear?" His tone was calm, reassuring, and firm.

Though she was shaking her head "no," Cadence approached her house, took her keys out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and walked inside. Careful not to make any excessive noise, she quietly crept up the stairs. She was fairly certain she heard both a motorcycle in front of the house and movement on the roof.

She tiptoed past her sister Cassidy's room and gently turned the knob on her bedroom door. Reaching inside, she flipped on the light and stepped in, removing her coat as she did so. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a form across the room. Stifling a scream, she turned, terrified the redheaded woman had beaten her back to her house. Somehow, the person managed to cross the room in the same amount of time it took her to put her own hand on her mouth, and a stranger's hand was resting on top of hers. "Shhh! There's no reason to wake your family."

Once she caught her breath and looked up, she realized she was staring into the eyes of the man who'd helped her in the woods. That thought was pushed aside as she angrily responded to his statement. "No reason?" she whispered, simultaneously shoving his hand off of her mouth. "As if being chased by vampires, losing Drew, and having no idea where my friends are wasn't enough, now I have some creepy guy showing up in my bedroom!"

He pushed the door closed and crossed back across the room at a normal pace. "Creepy?" he mumbled almost to himself.

"I didn't...." Cadence started to explain, but she didn't have any words left to do so. "I'm sorry," she started.

"No, that's okay; it doesn't matter," he said as if he couldn't care less what she thought. "Listen, there're some things you need to know right away, and there're some things that you will find out when you need to know them, all right?"

She was still leaning against the wall near the door, her exhausted body toying with the idea of giving up. She said nothing, only nodded slowly. He did not seem like the type of person one would argue with, assuming he was, in fact, a _person_.

"Jamie told you Eliza will be removing you; that's true. You'll need a bag. You'll be gone for a few days. While you are away, my team will have your home and your friends' homes under surveillance. The next time you see your friends, they will not remember these events exactly as you do, and you should just accept their understanding as reality." He was pacing as he was talking, and Cadence's weary eyes were having trouble keeping up with him despite the slowness of his pace.

Cadence had so many questions, but she didn't feel like he was the right person to ask. He seemed incredibly impersonal and rigid. Despite the fact that he was probably one of the most physically attractive men she had ever seen, she felt completely uncomfortable in his presence, as if he were a drill sergeant and she was the newest enlistee.

As if he could tell his demeanor was startling her, he suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face her. He kept his distance, however, both physically and emotionally as he said, "I'm so very sorry we weren't able to help your friend."

Cadence thought about that for a moment. There were so many people in black everywhere she looked. None of them were available to help Drew? "Yeah, why weren't any of you?" she asked, as tears began to stream down her face.

The stranger sighed. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I can't really explain all of the rules of engagement right now." He looked around the room, as if hunting for a tissue.

Cadence realized all of her emotions were catching up with her now that she'd had a chance to think about what had happened, and she began to sob uncontrollably now.

"It's okay," he said, stepping closer to her. She hesitated at first, but then she put her head on his shoulder and let her emotions consume her for a moment. He patted her gently on the back and Cadence struggled to gain control of herself. "Listen," he said quietly into her ear, "there's only so much we can do in these types of situations. You'll learn all about that, and then you'll understand my team was pretty helpless to stop this. And you can't blame yourself. You... you were incredible. I've never seen anything like that. So, don't try to put the responsibility for this on anyone except the guilty party. And that's the Vampire, okay?" She was still crying a bit, but she was starting to regain her composure, and she slowly nodded her head against his shoulder, though she wasn't quite sure she understood everything he was telling her. "And you got that bastard," he added. "You got him good."

At that Cadence looked up, wiping the tears still streaming down her cheeks on the back of her hands, "Yeah?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," he confirmed.

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but smile a bit. She wasn't sure why she was proud of herself for being able to rip the head off of a vampire, but she was, and the fact that he was also proud of her somehow made her feel like maybe she hadn't failed Drew after all. Maybe she really had done everything she could.

Cadence realized that the man's shoulder was fairly wet, and since leather isn't particularly absorbent, her tears were rolling off of his jacket. He stood there, awkwardly for a moment, as if he wasn't exactly sure what to do about it.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, suddenly feeling a little silly. Here she was crying on this handsome man's shoulder, and she didn't even know who--or what--he was. Quickly, she crossed the bedroom to the attached bathroom and grabbed some tissue. "I'm so sorry," she repeated absently wiping at his jacket. "You're so kind to let me cry on your shoulder like that." She glanced at him but had to look away, feeling suddenly very embarrassed.

He took the tissues from her and continued to work on his jacket for a moment before tossing them into a nearby trash can. "It's okay," he said, awkwardly. "So, get a bag packed," he reiterated.

"Right!" Cadence said, coming back to the reality of the moment. "Let me see...." She began to bustle around the room, looking for a bag and for items to place in it, deciding taking things one step at a time was probably the best approach. Thinking about going off in the night with a group of strangers, to an unknown location, would do her little good at this juncture. She pulled open her closet to grab a few things, but stepped back out once she realized he was still talking to her.

"When you're ready, Eliza will be waiting out front. You'll have everything explained to you as soon as you arrive at the other location. All right?"

Cadence nodded and pulled open a dresser drawer, feeling a bit self-conscious about pulling out her intimates in front of this handsome stranger. While she understood what he'd said, she felt out of place, like she wasn't sure if she should thank him again or scream at him and tell him to get out of her house.

Glancing up, she could see him looking toward the window and checking a band on his arm that didn't quite appear to be a watch. She realized he was probably still very busy, what with all of the angry vampires. Once he announced he was leaving, she didn't know if she should shake his hand or wave goodbye from a distance. She was, however, quite certain that she shouldn't hug him. Hugging did not seem to be his thing.

Cadence glanced back down into the drawer, trying to gather her thoughts. She finally realized there was one thing she did need to ask. "What's your name?" She looked back up and found herself all alone.

With a sigh, she grabbed the last few items she thought she might need and shoved them into her bag, mumbling under her breath the whole time. Who were these people? Were they people? What did they want from her? What kind of ramifications might killing a vampire bring upon her, and where the hell was her lip balm?

Eventually, she decided she had everything she needed, and with another glance around her room, she flipped off the lights and cautiously opened her bedroom door, afraid another black clad figure--or worse--might be lurking in the hallway. She saw nothing unusual, so she headed for the stairs.

Cadence was extremely careful not to wake her family as she snuck back out the front door. She grabbed her keys so that she could lock it behind her. Once she opened the door, however, she was momentarily distracted by the Aventador parked in front of her house. "Holy shit!" she muttered quietly. She'd never seen anything like it.

"Ready to go?" a petite, burgundy-haired woman dressed all in black asked from where she stood leaning on the jet-black Lamborghini.

With her mouth still agape from spying the car, Cadence hurriedly locked the front door and then bounded down the steps. The car was so amazing, she almost didn't want to get in because she wanted to keep staring at it. She finally managed to pull her eyes away from the exterior and climbed inside, as the woman, whom she assumed must be the Eliza both men had mentioned to her, tossed her bag in the back. "Is this your car?" Cadence asked, rubbing the dashboard.

With a snicker, she replied. "No, it's not mine, but I get to drive it sometimes. Pretty sweet, huh?" she asked, shifting it into gear and pulling out onto the street. "I'm Eliza, by the way."

"Hi. I'm Cadence. You must know that already, though." Cadence felt more than a little awkward so she decided to return her attention to the car. Clicking her seatbelt, she said, "It's amazing." She wondered what it might be like once the sports car got out on the open road. "Whose is it?"

Eliza seemed to hesitate before replying, "Well, we will get in to all of that. Let's just say it belongs to the team, okay?"

Cadence was now familiar with the phrase "the team" but she still had no idea what anyone was talking about. "Okay, but when do I get all of this explained to me? And by whom?"

"When you get to Des Moines, and by someone who used to be in your same position," Eliza replied. She paused briefly at a stop sign and then rushed on to the next street, causing Cadence to grab onto whatever she could find for a moment. Thoughts that this driver might not be the best match for a car that could go this fast entered her mind, but then she realized Eliza was still speaking to her. "Now, I need you to send a very specific text to your parents. Say this and only this: 'It's happened. I'm on my way.'"

Letting go of the seat and the grip on the door she'd grabbed to steady herself and leaning back in her seat, Cadence sighed. She was so physically and mentally exhausted at this point, she almost didn't have the energy to argue. Almost. "What? How will they have any idea what that means?"

"They will know," Eliza replied, pulling onto the highway, going at least twice the speed limit. Once again, Cadence was a bit fearful, but she thought back to how skillfully Jamie had handled the motorcycle at such quick speeds, and Eliza did seem to know what she was doing, even if she was tearing up the road.

Not sure how Eliza's statement was possible, Cadence pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Isn't there anything at all that you can tell me?" Cadence asked as she finished sending the text. A quick glance out the back glass let her know that Jamie had reappeared and was also accompanying them on his motorcycle. While she felt a little safer, she also felt more annoyed that she didn't know exactly why he was there or even where they were going.

Eliza shifted her wrist nervously on the steering wheel. She was shorter than Cadence and not as muscular, but Cadence knew she was extremely strong, having caught glimpses of her earlier as she drove Jack to safety. Her curly hair was almost purple and fell in ringlets down past her shoulders. She had very pretty green eyes, and Cadence thought that, given the right opportunity, they could well become good friends.

"Well, I can tell you a few things, I guess," Eliza finally stated hesitantly. "What exactly do you want to know?"

There were so many things, Cadence wasn't sure what to ask first. "What are you?" she asked. The expression on Eliza's face made her realize she had been fairly impolite. "I mean," she revised, "you—all of you, people in black—don't seem to be human. Are you?"

"No, we're not human. Not in the sense you mean," Eliza confirmed.

"So, what are you?" Cadence asked again.

The sun was beginning to peek over the top of the horizon now, and warm streaks of red, pink, and orange illuminated the road before them. Cadence couldn't help but think, once again, all of this seemed like a dream. But she was certain she was wide awake when Eliza's voice brought her out of those distant thoughts. "We are Guardians," she said simply.

Cadence shook her head and began to chew absently on her cuticles, a bad habit she had been trying to break, but given the stresses of the day, she was going to have to let it slide. "And what is that?"

Another sigh and a pause. Then, Eliza nodded and slowly answered, "We guard Hunters against Rogue Vampires. And, we can guard Conforming Vampires against Rogue Hunters, though that's hardly ever an issue."

Cadence had to mull that over in her mind for a few moments. "So, you're saying that all of those people I saw in black today only have the job of protecting hunters from vampires?" So much of that information didn't make any sense to her. Still confused, Cadence asked, "You mean, like, deer hunters?"

Eliza laughed aloud. "I'm sorry!" she said waving her right hand in Cadence's direction. "That was rude! I'm so sorry. You really don't know anything about this do you? And I thought Aaron was going to explain the basics to you," she said emphasizing his name, as if Aaron was actually in the car.

Looking over her shoulder, like perhaps she'd somehow missed an entire being in the tiny car, Cadence asked, "Who's Aaron?" Even as the question came out of her mouth, she realized she already knew the answer.

There was no traffic on the road, and Eliza was still owning the road, going at a breakneck speed. After a quick lane change, she replied, "He's our Leader. He is the one that gives us all of our directions." Then, she added, "He's the one that you said was 'creepy,'" chuckling once again.

Cadence felt her cheeks redden. "How do you even know about that?" she asked. "Were you eavesdropping or something?" Surely, he didn't leave her room and then go tell all of his friends about their conversation? Cadence liked Eliza, but her giggling was starting to get a bit annoying.

"No! Well, not exactly," Eliza attempted to clarify.

The driver didn't say anything else for a few moments. Cadence watched in confusion as Eliza's expression changed rapidly as if she was having a conversation with someone that Cadence wasn't privy to. But that was impossible--wasn't it? Cadence was starting to think nothing was impossible. Finally, she asked, "Are you talking to someone? What's going on?" she looked around the car again thinking perhaps these people could also turn themselves invisible.

"Um, all of that will be explained to you shortly. You've had a really long day," Eliza coaxed, "Why don't you try to take a nap? We'll be at our destination soon."

"And where is that?"

"You'll see," Eliza reiterated, flipping the radio on almost as if she thought the music might stop Cadence's questions.

Cadence sat back in her seat frustrated. Clearly, Eliza was done talking. As much as she wanted her questions answered, obviously, she was not going to get any further with Eliza than she had with Jamie or Aaron. Feeling a bit defeated, but even more exhausted, she finally gave in. Leaning her head against the headrest the best she could, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Eliza glanced over at Cadence and was relieved to see she'd finally given up and was trying to sleep. As much as she wanted to explain everything, she knew that wasn't her place. She'd even spent the last several minutes asking Aaron to let her at least answer Cadence's questions, but he'd refused, telling Eliza to "follow protocol," one of his favorite phrases.

She drove on but couldn't seem to let it go. Even though she was aware Aaron had returned to Villisca to check on the situation there, she couldn't help but send him another message over the IAC. " _Cadence is completely unaware that anyone else can see us or hear our conversations. It's not fair. She should know that!"_

It took him a moment to respond, and when he did Eliza could pick up on his annoyance in his tone. _"She will."_

_"But not now!"_

_"Follow protocol!"_

Hearing the same order twice in the same few minutes made Eliza's blood begin to boil. _"Grrr! You could be a little more flexible!"_

_"And you could be a little more compliant. From your visuals, it looks like she's taking a nap now, so you shouldn't have to worry about it. You'll be there in forty minutes at the speed you're going. Just let it go."_

_"Fine! Whatever you say, boss!"_ She turned her IAC to off, even though she knew he could turn it right back on whenever he wanted to. With a deep breath, she tried to turn her attention to the song on the radio and the road in front of her. No matter how she tried to fight it, her mind kept returning to her conversation with Aaron. He could be so frustrating when he refused to be reasoned with. Why couldn't he just listen to someone else's opinion from time to time? She sighed loudly and then glanced over to see if she'd disturbed Cadence, but her passenger was still sleeping. Eliza continued on, trying not to think about Aaron at all, but then other more pleasant memories of the Leader surfaced, and a smile parted her lips. He might be frustrating, but he had his good points, too.

The morning sun illuminated the road in front of her, casting it in shades of fiery pink, and Eliza drove on, although she couldn't help but think about the implications the events of the night would have. She was well aware that nothing about her team would ever be the same now that Cadence had begun the process. Eliza only hoped that, whatever might happen, everything turned out for the best. For everyone.

Jack Cook stumbled through the front door, careful not to wake his parents, who probably wouldn't be up for another hour or two, and headed for his bedroom. He was exhausted, but thoughts of what had transpired that night flooded his mind.

It was quite evident as he carried Drew's body into the emergency room that there was nothing the doctors could do for her. When the hospital staff began asking questions about what had happened, Jack didn't know exactly how to respond, nor did any of the rest of Drew's friends. Luckily, their good friend Elliott showed up shortly after they arrived at Shenandoah Medical Center, and he was able to explain the tragic accident that had resulted in Drew's death. He carefully explained how she had been rock climbing early that morning and slipped on a loose rock. Her friends had been nearby, but when they reached her, they could easily see that Drew had a gaping gash in her neck. Elliott explained to the doctors and nurses how her friends had tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late.

Jack recalled Elliott's precise words as he explained to the distraught group of friends what had taken place. "Drew died. It's sad, but it's just one of those things that happen."

Of course, they had all agreed; it had been a tragic accident. When Elliott explained it, it just seemed to make perfect sense. There was no reason to question what had happened, no reason to think anything bizarre or unusual had occurred. They had all been rock climbing; that was true, even though glancing down at his feet, Jack thought he wouldn't generally wear these shoes while climbing. Drew had gotten ahead of them, also true. She just fell. They were all very sad to see her go, but this is the sort of thing that happens sometimes. They all needed to accept what they knew to be true.

Jack reached his bedroom and flung himself down on his bed without even taking his shoes off. The sun was rising and rays of light jutted through his curtains. He thought back to the heart-wrenching scene at the hospital when Drew's parents had arrived. They were both hysterical. But Elliott had been there for them as well, and he explained to them what happened in a way that they could accept and understand. Elliott and Drew had been friends for so long that Drew's parents trusted him and believed what he had to say. They were so very sad to lose their daughter, but they understood that sometimes tragedies happen, and we just have to accept them and move forward.

With a sigh, Jack pulled himself up off of his bed and slipped out of his jacket. He mumbled to himself, "We shouldn't go rock climbing in the middle of the night anymore. It's too dangerous." As he went to hang his jacket on his coat rack, he noticed a small tear in the left shoulder. "I must have fallen, too," he thought. He rubbed his shoulder absently, realizing there was also a small tear in his shirt. His shoulder didn't hurt, and he was too tired to investigate so he decided to go to sleep. When he awoke, he knew he would feel much better. Elliott had told him so.

Kicking out of his shoes, he pulled down the blankets and dropped into bed certain that everything would be better soon.

Cadence felt someone gently shaking her arm. She knew she was in a car, but that was the only memory that would cooperate. "Cadence, we're here," she heard an unfamiliar voice say quietly, and Cadence realized the car was no longer moving.

It felt like she'd only been asleep for a minute. Yawning and rubbing her eyes, Cadence sat up and tried to remember where she was going and who she was with. At first, the memories that popped into her head seemed so ridiculous that she thought they had to be fragments of a dream. The sound of a motorcycle pulling in behind them, as well as the realization that she was sitting in an extremely expensive sports car, were firm reminders that she was, in fact, recalling what had happened correctly. Unpleasant images came next; Vampires had attacked them, and somehow, she'd managed to decapitate one of them before fleeing with the assistance of a group of some sort of warriors who called themselves Guardians.

Those thoughts were not nearly as difficult to digest as her next one. Why had she killed that vampire? He had been hurting her friend. He'd taken Drew. Cadence remembered reacting with no thought at all and throwing herself at the dark haired man, ripping his head off of his body in retaliation. Because he'd killed her friend.

Drew was dead.

And now she wished she hadn't followed that chain of thought quite so far.

The door next to her popped open. "Come on; let's go," Eliza exclaimed. Cadence looked over her shoulder. She hadn't even seen the woman get out of the car.

Eliza grabbed ahold of her arm and practically dragged her out of her seat.

Grumbling in protest, Cadence asked, "How can you be so chipper after having been up all night?" with another yawn.

"We'll explain all of that," Eliza said, smiling. "Be happy! It's finally time to learn everything!"

The tone of her voice seemed to grate off of Cadence's brain, but she was glad she'd finally have some answers. She staggered out of the way so Eliza could grab her bag and closed the door.

Cadence saw Jamie standing near the trunk of the car and absently waved at him. He smiled in return, but he didn't appear to be nearly as energetic as his partner. With a sigh, Cadence allowed Eliza to loop her black clad arm through her own and turned around.

For the first time, Cadence looked up and realized where she was. "Holy hell," she muttered, "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

The Queen Anne with the buttercream paint and white gingerbread trim was quite familiar. They were standing in the driveway at her grandmother's house.

# Chapter 4

Cadence's grandmother had lived in this house for as long as she could remember. Her parents tried to make the trip from Shenandoah to Des Moines at least once or twice a month. It took about twice as long in the family car as it had this time since she was certain Eliza had topped speeds well over one hundred miles per hour. The trip generally took her dad at least two-and-a-half hours while Eliza managed to cover it in about half that time.

Grandma Janette was up and seemed to be expecting them when they pulled in. Cadence wasn't sure if she should introduce Eliza and Jamie or if she already knew them somehow. The question was answered when Janette released her granddaughter and embraced each of the others, asking, "How have you been?" Cadence shook her head, wondering how it was possible that her grandma knew these two people that she'd just met a few hours ago? Cadence was so ready to find out what the hell was going on.

As most grandmothers do, Grandma Janette insisted on feeding Cadence first before revealing anything. "Come on into the kitchen, honey," she insisted, leading her by the arm. "The biscuits are on the warmer, and I'll fix you up some scrambled eggs."

Even if she'd wanted to protest, the heavenly smell of her grandmother's biscuits was intoxicating, and Cadence felt her stomach rumble in response. She dutifully took a seat at the little table in the corner of the kitchen, and her grandmother went about slathering gravy overtop of two large biscuits. "Here you go, darling," she said with a smile as she returned to the stove to work on the promised eggs.

Cadence dug in, but a few forkfuls into her breakfast, she looked up to see Jamie and Eliza standing near the kitchen doorway. Her mouth slightly full, she asked, "Don't you guys eat?"

Eliza opened her mouth to answer, but before she could formulate a response, Janette looked at her sharply. Then, with a soft smile, she said, "Why don't you two go sit in the living room, make yourselves comfortable. We'll be in shortly."

As they filed out, Janette glanced over her shoulder at Cadence and said, "Darling, I am so very sorry to hear about your friend. I remember Drew. She was a sweet girl."

Cadence temporarily gagged on her biscuit. She knew her grandmother meant well, but thinking of Drew instantly made her choke up. Her grandmother left the eggs for a moment and quickly handed her a glass of water. Cadence took a sip, and after regaining her composure, managed, "Thanks, Grandma. I'm just having a really hard time wrapping my mind around all of this, especially the idea that Drew is gone."

Her grandmother just nodded slowly, as if she understood exactly what she was saying. "It will all start to make more sense soon, I promise you." She returned to the stove and Cadence concentrated on eating the biscuits without choking again. A moment later, her grandmother slid a full plate of eggs in front of her, and though she'd been starving a few moments ago, Cadence had no idea how she would eat all of this.

It was tempting to swallow her breakfast whole so they could get on with the transferring of information, but she knew how much her grandma appreciated a nice breakfast, so she continued to shovel the food into her mouth until she couldn't possibly take another bite, all for the sake of her grandmother's happiness.

Neither of them said much while Cadence ate. Her grandmother usually asked a million questions about school, her friends, her boyfriend, etc., but today Grandma Janette only sat nearby and sipped her coffee, as if she was leery of saying the wrong thing. Clearly, she didn't want Cadence to start asking her questions just yet.

Cadence finally set her fork aside and patted her stomach, hoping none of that came back up later. She knew she shouldn't eat so much when she was upset, but at least she was no longer starving.

"Would you like some more?" Grandma asked.

"No, thank you," Cadence replied, and before her grandmother could force anything else on her, she jumped up to rinse her plates off and put them in the dishwasher. "Okay." Cadence asked. "Can we talk now, please?" she asked, turning back to face her grandmother.

Grandma let out a soft sigh. "There's no need to rush, darling. I've been waiting a very long time to have this conversation with you, and I almost thought that it would never happen. Now that it is finally upon us, I'm honestly a little nervous about the possible outcome."

Cadence couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, not sure what that meant and slightly terrified to find out. "Grandma, do you know what happened last night? I mean, not to Drew--but to me?"

The only reply was a sharp nod, but looking into her grandmother's eyes, Cadence saw something she'd never noticed before. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something told her there was more to Grandma Janette than Cadence had ever realized.

Janette slowly rose from the table and made her way into the living room, her steps slow and measured, as if she were reluctant to go. Cadence followed behind, trying to take her time and be patient, something she'd never been good at.

Though the sun was up now, as it was nearly eight o'clock, the windows had heavy curtains, and not much light entered the room. Eliza and Jamie were sitting in armchairs on either side of a coffee table, both of them staring intently at the screens of what appeared to be iPhones. As the ladies entered the room, they both put their devices away and gave their full attention to Janette and Cadence.

Gesturing for Cadence to have a seat on the sofa, Janette crossed over to the bookshelf. On the very top shelf, there was a well-worn photo album, one that Grandma had always cautioned the children not to touch. It was too fragile. They would see it when they were older, she would say. Now, it seemed, Cadence was old enough at last.

Sitting down next to Cadence on the sofa and resting the book beside her on the opposite side, Janette cleared her throat and slowly began to unfold the story Cadence had been waiting to hear.

"Cadence, darling, do you know what the word clandestine means?" she asked.

Nodding her head, Cadence said, "Yes, it means secret."

"That's right," Janette concurred. "What about the word ternion?"

Cadence thought for a moment. That word did not sound familiar to her. She shook her head.

"Ternion means a set or group of three, like a triad," she explained.

"Like a trilogy?" Cadence asked.

Janette nodded her head, "More or less. Today, you are going to learn about one of the most well-kept secrets in the history of the world, the Clandestine Ternion."

Cadence looked at Eliza and Jamie, and they were both smiling reassuringly at her. "Okay," she said quietly, grabbing a pillow off the edge of the sofa and pulling it to her chest.

"You see, the Clandestine Ternion is made up of three distinct types of beings. As of last night, you have now been introduced to all three types. Do you know what they are?"

Again, Cadence stopped to think. She was sure about two of them. "Well, Vampires," she said, watching the rest of the group nod. Gesturing at Eliza and Jamie she said, "And Guardians."

"Those are both correct," Janette agreed. "And the third?"

Cadence swallowed hard, hesitating. "I take it the correct answer isn't humans?" She watched the others shake their heads. Then, she thought back to what Eliza had told her in the car. "Hunters?" she asked meekly.

They all nodded and smiled proudly, and Cadence felt like a kindergartner who had correctly identified her colors. "Now, you should know that we refer to each of those groups as a Passel. Within the Clandestine Ternion there are three Passels; Vampires, Guardians, and Hunters." Janette continued, "What do you think each of those Passels does?"

If Cadence had known this was going to be a quiz, perhaps she would have drank some coffee or gotten more sleep. "Well, I know what Vampires do," she said, starting with the easiest one. "Obviously, they kill humans and drink their blood."

"That's true. Some of them do that, amongst other things. Go on."

"Well, I assume that Guardians guard things—uh... people... uh... Passels? And I think that Eliza told me that they guard Hunters, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Janette confirmed.

"And then, I guess Hunters hunt." That answer seemed obvious enough. But what did they hunt? There only seemed one possible answer, and a lump formed in her throat before Cadence managed to squeak out. "I guess they hunt--Vampires?" She looked to the others for confirmation and focused on Jamie's reassuring smile for a moment.

"Very good!" Janette said clapping her hands together. Jamie and Eliza looked pleased at Cadence's answers, but also amused that Janette was so impressed by Cadence's simple responses. "Let's go a step further, all right?"

Cadence nodded, wondering what all of this had to do with her and slightly afraid to hear the answer.

Her grandmother continued. "What you must understand is that there are forces and powers beyond your present human understanding that balance the Clandestine Ternion and keep things in order. There are some rules that you must recognize, and there are some laws that simply cannot be broken. Let's go over those, all right?"

Again, Cadence nodded, still trying to figure out how she fit into this picture.

"First of all, a Vampire is not capable of killing a Guardian. If a Vampire could kill a Guardian, the entire Ternion would be off balance, and things would quickly spiral out of control. We would end up with a world ruled by Vampires."

Cadence needed some clarification. "Wait—are you saying that they are not physically capable of killing a Guardian or they truly cannot kill them?"

Eliza chimed in this time, "Cannot!" she said, shaking her head from side to side vigorously.

"Okay," Cadence said, understanding. "So, if Vampires could kill Guardians they would just kill them all, kill all of the Hunters, and kill all of the people?"

Three heads nodded up and down confirming her assumption.

This made perfect sense to Cadence, though she wondered why whoever made this rule didn't just make it impossible for anything to kill anything, but that was beside the point at this juncture.

"So, can anyone kill Guardians?" Cadence asked. The room went silent, and Cadence got the impression that she may have crossed a line or jumped ahead.

"We'll get to that, I promise," Janette said, clearly trying to stick to the order she was supposed to follow while explaining the Ternion. "Vampires can kill Hunters, and of course, Hunters can kill Vampires. However, Guardians also guard against Hunters wiping out the entire species of Vampires."

"What? Why?" Cadence asked, thinking it would be a great idea to just completely wipe out all of the bloodsuckers and do away with the problem completely.

"Because, believe it or not, Vampires do serve a purpose," Janette explained. "When they do their job correctly, Vampires clean up the under-belly of the human population. They eliminate evil and corrupt humans."

Again, Cadence had to check the room to make sure she understood correctly. She looked at Jamie this time. "So, Vampires are allowed to kill humans as long as they are bad?" He nodded his confirmation, making her head swivel to Eliza. "But, who determines who is a bad vampire and who is a good vampire? Or who is a bad human or a good human? How do I know for sure that jackass I killed last night wasn't on the Nice List?"

"You're jumping ahead again, darling," Janette stated, bringing her back down a bit. "We'll get to all of that, all right?"

Cadence nodded in agreement, though she wasn't quite sure why, and Janette continued.

"There's just one more thing you need to know," she hesitated and looked at Eliza and Jamie for support. "It rarely happens, but it is possible, for a Hunter to kill a Guardian."

Cadence's face took on a look of confusion. "Why would a Hunter ever want to kill a Guardian? Aren't Guardians there to help Hunters?"

Janette said nothing, so Eliza picked up for her. "Yes, our primary role over the years has become the protection of Hunters who are engaged in battle against Vampires. However, occasionally, and on extremely rare occasions, a Hunter will find reason to eliminate a Guardian, and there is very little that we can do to protect ourselves because a Guardian cannot kill a Hunter."

Cadence thought she understood precisely what Eliza was saying, but she didn't quite understand why her grandmother was so upset. Having learned from her previous mistakes, she chose not to ask just yet but to wait and see what topic came up next. After a moment, Janette seemed ready to continue. "You asked who determines which Vampires are good and which are not?" Cadence nodded. "Well, the Guardian Passel has a Leader, and that Leader determines the majority of what the Passel does. He or she communicates with all of the Guardians and the preponderance of the Hunters and lets them know the status and location of all of the Vampires. It is solely up to the Guardian Leader to determine who is considered a Rogue Vampire and who is considered a Compliant Vampire. Hunters are not allowed to hunt Compliant Vampires, and if they are caught doing so, the Guardians will no longer provide service to them."

"Wow," Cadence muttered, pondering all of this new information. "It seems like it would be nearly impossible to keep up with all of the Vampires in the world and then adding in most of the Hunters. How in the world does the Leader keep up with it?"

"I will defer that question to Jamie, since he is more of an expert on the current system," Janette said, looking in his direction.

Jamie sat up a little straighter and cleared his throat. "Well, every Hunter and every Guardian has a device implanted directly into his or her eye. It's called an Intelligence Assistance Communicator, or IAC. It's basically the smallest and most powerful computer ever invented. It allows you to communicate via thought with anyone else who also has an IAC implant. We can also access the use of each other's eyes, record data, etc. just by our thoughts."

Cadence looked around the room to see if anyone else was buying this. "Seriously?" she asked, "You expect me to believe that you each have a computer chip in your eye that lets you communicate telepathically? No way, that's not possible. I believe the Vampires, Ternions, and the Pastels, or whatever they're called, but there's no way I believe that you have a chip in your eye. That's insane! If that were true, we'd all have them."

Jamie and Eliza exchanged glances. "I guess you'll believe that part later when we implant yours then," she said, laughing. Suddenly, her demeanor changed, and she looked like a scolded puppy.

"See now, what was that?" Cadence said, picking up on it as she pointed across the room at the other woman. "Why did you make that face?"

Eliza's eyes were wide with innocence. "What? I don't know what you're talking about," she began.

"Yes, you do!" Cadence insisted.

"It's all right. You can tell her now," Jamie said calmly.

Eliza glanced at him and then back at Cadence. "Sorry. I guess my first instinct was to lie. Because, I just got _in trouble_ for saying you'd be getting your own in soon!" she emphasized the "in trouble" portion as if she was not speaking to Cadence when she said it.

"In trouble? What? From who?"

"From Aaron," Jamie explained. "He didn't want her to say that, so when she did, he told her to stick to the protocol. Now that you know about the IAC, though, Eliza didn't need to lie to you about her reaction." He looked at her sharply, but she ignored him.

Cadence was still puzzled. "So, you're telling me that Aaron, who is somewhere in Villisca or Shenandoah or God-knows-where, just told you not to say that to me _through your eye_?"

They both nodded. "Yes, that's correct," Jamie confirmed.

"And then, all of those strange facial expressions you were making on our way here were because you were talking to him?"

"Well, I don't know about making strange facial expressions..." Eliza began.

"Oh, you do!" Jamie agreed. "You always make crazy faces when you're talking on the IAC."

"I do not!"

"You do!"

"All right," Janette chimed in, bringing them back to the topic at hand. "I think that's enough about the IAC for now. I don't have one. I prefer to communicate the old-fashioned way," she said, gesturing at her house phone. "Cadence, whether you choose to accept its existence right now or not, you will find out eventually that it does exist, and it is how Aaron coordinates the thousands of Hunters and Guardians around the world."

Cadence nodded, but then the entire message sank in. "Wait, what?" she asked. She could see her grandmother's face going back over what she had said, attempting to figure out what her granddaughter was questioning. "Did you say that Aaron was the leader of the entire Guardian Passel?"

As if she hadn't realized how intensely her granddaughter was looking at her now, Janette confirmed, "Oh, yes. He is the Guardian Leader."

Cadence looked at Eliza and Jamie in disbelief. "I thought he was, like, a shift manager or something, not like, the CEO."

Eliza burst out laughing, and Jamie did his best to stifle a chuckle. "That's hilarious!" Eliza said, though once she saw Cadence's face, she attempted to control herself a little more.

"Oh, my gosh!" Cadence exclaimed. "And he just heard me say that, too? Didn't he?"

"Yes, but it's okay," Eliza said, regaining control of herself. "He's actually laughing, too. Which is rare. You should be proud."

Cadence wasn't proud. She was mortified. And then she started thinking back to the night before when she had called him "creepy" and practically blew her nose on his jacket. "Wonderful," she mumbled. "I sure hope he never has to save my ass again. He's liable to let the Vampires have me."

As if she'd completely missed the point of Cadence's humiliation, Janette went back to the original question. "Being the Guardian Leader is a lot of responsibility; that is certain," She shook her head sympathetically. "Especially now, since there's no Hunter Leader."

Finally letting the situation with Aaron go for now, Cadence refocused on her grandmother's words. "I'm sorry—what? Wait. Did you say there is no Hunter Leader?"

Again, the three veterans exchanged glances. "That's right. There hasn't been one for quite some time. Which has left the Guardian Leader to do the job of both." Grandma let out a sigh after she finished, as if the situation was somehow tragic.

"But, why?" Cadence asked. "What happened to the Hunter Leader?"

The eyes shifted around the room, and Janette finally picked up the old photo album that had been sitting next to her on the couch. "This is a difficult story for me to tell, darling," she said, "but I do believe you have the right to know."

Cadence felt her heart fluttering a bit as she anticipated what her grandmother might say next. She watched as she slowly opened the album to the very first page.

Attached to the page of the photo album was a daguerreotype of her Grandma Janette and her Grandpa Jordan dressed in wedding clothes, which seemed to look as early as the mid-19th century. "This is you? And Grandpa?" she asked, waiting for an explanation.

"Yes," Janette confirmed. "This is our original wedding photograph, taken in 1858. Since that time, we've had several others made. Otherwise, well, people would have quickly figured out we weren't quite the ages we claimed to be."

Realization began to dawn on her, and Cadence stared at the picture for a long time before she quietly asked, "So, both of you were also members of a Passel?" The pieces were starting to come together, even if the puzzle was hard to accept. "You still look so young, though. I've heard that Vampires don't age. Is that true for Guardians and Hunters, too?"

"Not quite," Janette began. "It's true some Vampires don't age. There are some that look the same age they were when they were created until they are destroyed. The original Vampires were in their mid-twenties, and though none of them have lasted these tens of thousands of years, they never looked a day older than the day they were created. Other Vampires, do age. We aren't sure why. Hunters age, just not as quickly as humans. They age just like a regular person until they are Transformed. Once they go through the Transformation process, they age much more slowly, but eventually, they will look the same as an elderly human and can die of very old age. When I was Transformed at 17 in 1855, I looked practically the same for many decades."

Cadence interrupted yet again, "So, Grandma, you're a Hunter?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I was," Janette confirmed. "For a very long time. But, well, after your grandfather died, I was converted back into a human."

"You can do that?" Cadence asked, once again bewildered and trying to keep up. Now that she was getting some information, it was becoming overwhelming.

"Yes, in certain circumstances," Janette explained. "But it's rare, and it doesn't always work. Sometimes the individual stays a Hunter, and sometimes the conversion kills him or her. I do not recommend it."

"And you said you were Transformed into a Hunter?"

"We will definitely talk about that later," Janette said, looking directly at Jamie, who just nodded.

"Guardians age even more slowly than Hunters, and eventually all appearance of aging will stop. This is different for all Guardians, and no one knows for sure why that might be. Some Guardians look rather young while some appear to be much older.

"Once a Guardian is Transformed, there's no going back. And there's no way to die either, unless, of course, a Hunter kills them." The end of her sentence trailed off, and Cadence felt her heart breaking for her poor grandma, unsure of why this was such a sensitive topic but aware of how it was affecting her nonetheless.

"Now, let me show you another picture," Janette said, flipping further into the book. She paused on a picture of her Grandpa Jordan. By the looks of it, it must have been taken much more recently than the other. "This was taken just a few days before your grandfather was killed."

Cadence paused to absorb that information before responding. If what her grandmother said was true, there was no way what she'd always accepted about her grandfather's death could possibly be true. "We were always told that Grandpa died in a plane crash," she said. "As long as I can remember, that's what Mom and Dad said. That can't be true, though." She wondered now if her dad even knew the truth.

"Yes, I know that's what you were told, darling," Janette said, patting her gently on the knee. "It was much simpler to tell everyone that Jordan had died in a plane crash while traveling for business than it was to tell them the truth."

"And what is the truth?" Cadence asked timidly.

"Your grandfather was the Guardian Leader prior to Aaron taking over that station, and he was killed by a Hunter."

Cadence gasped. Her entire reality was being tipped on its head. "How is that possible? If you were a Hunter and he was the Guardian Leader, how could that have possibly happened?"

Cadence could tell by Janette's expression that she really wished to say no more. A glance at Jamie and Eliza showed nothing but concern for her grandmother.

Janette had tears in her eyes, and she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

"This is a difficult memory for all of us," Jamie said quietly. "Do you want me to tell her?"

"No, I'll do it," Janette insisted. "It's my burden to bear. Is Aaron still with us?"

Jamie nodded, a solemn expression on his face.

Cadence couldn't help but wonder why her grandmother had asked that particular question, but she realized Aaron must've known her grandfather if he succeeded him. Perhaps this memory was also troublesome to him.

Janette's voice cut through the silence. "It was my fault," she began. The Guardians protested, and Cadence imagined the third one, the one she could not hear, likely did as well. "No, now, let me tell it my way. It's my story."

Eliza and Jamie exchanged glances and seemed resolved not to speak as Janette relayed the information to her granddaughter.

"Before I ever met your grandfather, I had dated a Hunter by the name of Skelton. He was sweet on me, seemed to have been that way for as long as I could remember. I didn't really like him so much. He was a good looking fellow, but I knew for a fact he had been hunting Compliant Vampires, and I didn't approve of that. Jordan was the Guardian Leader when I Transformed, but he didn't train me. I didn't meet him until I had been hunting for several years. Once I established a reputation for being fairly handy with an ax, my weapon of choice at the time, well, Jordan wanted to meet the little lady who took off Vampire heads with 'one fell swoop' as he used to say. Your grandfather was quite the character, you know." She smiled at Cadence, and for the first time since she had walked in the door, Cadence thought she saw some joy in her eyes.

"Anyway, about the time that I met Jordan, there was an accident. The Hunter Leader was severely injured by a Vampire when the Guardians didn't get there in time to assist. Your grandfather was livid. He said we needed new forms of communication, new protocols, what have you. Back then, it was pretty common to lose over one hundred Hunters a year to Vampire kills. We almost couldn't grow them fast enough to replace them. But your grandfather, see, he was a smart cookie. He got his people working on technology. Did you know that we were using cell phone technology to communicate with each other in the 1940s? Can you imagine what that type of capability would have done during World War II? Of course, all that came much later than what I'm talking about now. But those were the types of things he was working on, finding ways to save more Hunters' lives and chase down more Rogue Vampires. And he was very successful. And so popular with the Guardians and the Hunters alike; he really was."

Janette paused then, glancing down at the picture of her late husband, and Cadence sat quietly, waiting for her to continue. "Well, once I went to train with Jordan and he actually started to work with me, you know, go on hunts and the like, well, my popularity grew as well. Whenever you lose a Leader, there are usually at least a few years of transition where the group doesn't know for sure who they want to appoint as Leader, or they are divided. But for me, it was quick and painless. Representatives from the other Hunters approached me one evening and asked me if I would accept the position of Hunter Leader. I talked it over with Jordan to see what he thought, knowing how demanding such a job might be. Well, he was tickled pink for me, you know. He was real happy. He thought I should accept for sure. And so, I did. And that was a long time ago, back in 1858, same year we got married. You see, darling, there's a history of that in our Passels. With very few exceptions, if the two Leaders are of different genders, they almost always end up hitching up. Not sure why, but it's a fact. Isn't that right?" she asked the question of Eliza and Jamie who both nodded in agreement.

"And we were happily married for over a hundred years, fighting Vampires together, inventing new things, new methods. Old Skelton, well, he didn't like it. So, he decided to go off on his own. We heard from him every once in a while, especially if he'd make a big kill, some nasty Vampire brought down by his hand, you know. But for the most part, he was out of sight and out of mind.

"We even decided to raise a family. I was fighting Vampires even at nine months pregnant. I did that with both your daddy and your Aunt Lorraine. Can you believe that? Life was pretty good. We were planning on spending the next couple of hundred years together. Of course, I thought for sure your grandfather would outlive me, and we talked about that. It's part of being a Guardian. You know most of the individuals you love in your life will be lost to you eventually." The two Guardians present in the room nodded. Cadence remembered that Aaron was also listening and absently wondered if his reaction was the same as these two.

Her grandmother continued. "But then, Skelton shows up again. He comes in, wants to talk to Jordan, wants to join forces with him. This is about the time that your daddy was going to make his decision, whether or not to join the family business, you know, or if he was just going to stay a human. As a Hunter, if you don't Transform by age 21, you lose the ability to do so. Anyway, Skelton shows up. And we worked together really well for several years. Jordan had met Aaron by then and was just real impressed with him. He took Aaron under his wing, you know, training him up in case he ever decided to step aside from Leader and let someone else do it for a while. But what we didn't know was, this whole time, Skelton's plotting; he's scheming away, just looking for the perfect opportunity to get Jordan in a situation where he can destroy him and make it look like it was an accident. And, finally the time came, and, well, I won't go into too much detail, darling, I really can't. It's just too hard." She cleared her throat, and Cadence nodded, seeing the tears coming back again. "But I will tell you, what Skelton didn't know, and what damned him in the end, is that your grandfather was wearing a recording device. Aaron had set him up so that everything he did or said would be relayed back to some big computer that kept track of all of it. This was before the IAC, of course. So, even though Skelton said it was an accident, well, the tapes said otherwise." She was dabbing at her eyes again, and Cadence wasn't sure if she was finished or not. She was afraid to interrupt so she just waited. Finally, Janette added, "And now you know about your grandfather, what an amazing individual he truly was."

Cadence leaned over and hugged her grandma tightly. All these years she had, had no idea of the true story of her grandparents' love, and how it spanned the length of nearly a century-and-a-half. "Thank you, Grandma Janette, for letting me know," she said, still holding her tightly.

Her grandmother said nothing, just patted her gently on the back. Finally, after a few minutes, they let go of each other, and Jamie cleared his throat, gaining Cadence's attention. "I know all of that was probably more than a little overwhelming, but I need to further explain the Transformation process." He paused, his eyes glued to Cadence's, and even though she was nervous, she nodded for him to continue.

"Basically, every Hunter and Guardian is born with a genetic code in their DNA which will activate one of a few ways. Back in the olden days, before we had the technology that we have today, it took several years for full conversion, unless the gene was extremely strong, such as in the case of your grandmother. She basically willed her way into becoming a Hunter and activated that coding within her genes. Clearly, you can see how it worked for you last night. You needed to accomplish certain tasks, so you did." Once again, Cadence found herself nodding, though she wasn't sure why. She still wasn't allowing herself to consider what had happened to her last night.

Jamie continued. "Nowadays, we have developed a serum that essentially lets us go in and speed up that Transformation process, making it much, much shorter."

After he finished speaking, the reality of where this was heading set in, and she realized she needed clarification. A lot of it. "Whoa, wait, hold on a second, timeout," Cadence said, making a "T" shape with her hands as if she were the referee in a basketball game. "Did you say I activated something in my genes last night? What? No, I was just angry. I just did what any normal human being would do when they were in a similar situation." The idea that her words were ridiculous crossed her mind, but she went with them.

Again, glances were exchanged between the two Guardians. "No," Eliza said as they both shook their heads. "You activated your Hunter gene last night. That's the only way you could have ran up to thirty miles per hour and torn the head off of a Vampire."

"What?" Ignoring the last part of the statement, she said, "No! I wasn't running that fast!"

"Yes, yes you were," Jamie agreed. "You just couldn't tell how fast you were moving because you have limited experience in judging it. Trust me, you were burning up the path."

Cadence stopped to consider this for a moment. She did feel as if she was covering a lot of ground last night, but she had no idea she was moving that quickly. "Really?" she asked. "Was I really going that fast? How do you know?"

She could tell by the pause that there was some conferring going on that she was not yet privy to, so she sat quietly and watched Eliza nod, even though she would never admit she was doing so. "Let me pull up the footage," she said.

Once again Cadence was confused. "What are you going to pop out your eyeball and let me use it as a telescope or something? I mean seriously, how does that work?"

Eliza began to giggle, which turned into a snort, which made her laugh even louder, and finally it seemed that she must have received a directive to get her act together because the laughter halted abruptly. "I can project it," she said very seriously. She walked over next to where Cadence was sitting on the couch and pressed a few buttons on what looked like a watch. Suddenly, a video appeared in the air in front of her, and though there was really nothing for it to project on to, Cadence could see it very clearly. She recognized herself, all right, and she was running through the woods.

"But, I'm not going that fast!" she said, as the video didn't seem to show too much exertion on her part.

"Two things," Jamie said from his seat across the room. "Look at the speedometer at the bottom of the screen, and realize that Aaron is the one recording you so at this point, he is paralleling you, and he knows how fast he is running, which at this point is 32 miles per hour. And you know how fast he can move."

"Now look at this footage," Eliza insisted, fast forwarding a bit. "This is when you enter the clearing. He's in front of you at that point and can see you approaching."

"I'm not sure I want to see that," Cadence said, thinking of the scenes she saw upon entering the clearing.

"He actually edited it for you," Eliza said, looking at Jamie who made a face as if he were surprised. Cadence wasn't sure what that was all about, but she agreed to watch the footage as long as she wouldn't have to see Drew or the Vampire she had decapitated. Sure enough, she came flying through the trees, approaching cheetah speed, dodging tree limbs as if she could just tell where they were going to be.

"Wow," Cadence said, unable to believe she was seeing herself move that quickly and agilely. "So, why haven't I ever been able to do this before? I mean, I should have been blowing up the track meets in high school, you know?"

"Because you needed something to activate that gene within your DNA. And just typical adrenaline isn't going to do it most likely, unless it's layered on with event after event after event," Jamie explained. "So, if you decided to undergo Transformation all by yourself, you could probably fully do it on your own within a few months, maybe a year. But, with the serum, you could do it literally overnight, and then, you'd be practically at full power before you even complete your training."

"Now hold on there just one flippin' minute," Cadence said, looking from Jamie to her grandma and then back at Eliza who turned the video off and took a step back. "Just because I have this gene in my DNA, that doesn't mean I have to use it, right? Isn't that what you said, Grandma? I'm pretty sure I heard you say that."

"Yes, that is true," Janette agreed. She was still on the fence as to whether or not she wanted Cadence to undergo the Transformation. She knew the pros and cons for each and did not want Cadence to make a rash decision.

Cadence could tell that Jamie was listening to Aaron as he was speaking, though she wasn't sure whether the words he chose were his own or if he was just relaying them. "But Cadence, this really is a bit of a non-negotiable for you. I mean, first of all, clearly, you are a natural at this. You were meant to be a Hunter. You come from a direct line of Leaders. This is what you were destined to become. Also, consider the good you would be doing for the world by helping rid the planet of the types of scum that you eliminated last night. It was simple for you because it runs so thickly through your blood. Can you imagine what you would be able to do if you were fully Transformed?" Cadence looked at him dryly, and he seemed to gather from her expression that he was not making much progress. "Look, Cadence," he said, scooting to the edge of his chair and attempting to look into her eyes from across the room. This seemed to be a shift in tactics, and she gave him her full attention. "That horrible bitch, Holland, the redheaded Vampire, she is still out there. And she is partially responsible for the death of your friend. She did nothing to stop Carter from taking Drew. She would have killed all of you last night if she had been given the opportunity. You know what you need to do. The choice is easy. The opportunity to stay young and healthy practically forever, to stay just as beautiful as you are today for decades to come, who wouldn't want that? Not to mention, you are capable of doing so much to right the wrongs of the world. We want you. We need you. What do you say? Will you join our team?"

Though she was desperately trying not to, Cadence burst into laughter. His face looked so sincere, and yet his words seemed canned and trivial. Not to mention she was completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to think about any of this. "I'm sorry," she said, covering her mouth. "I don't mean to laugh, I just... I need a while to think about this. It's really a big decision, a life altering decision, and it's not one that I am willing to make on hardly any sleep in over twenty-four hours."

Jamie rested his head on his hand. Cadence couldn't tell if he was thinking or listening. Finally, he turned back to her and said, "All right then, I understand. Why don't you go get some rest, and we'll talk about it again tomorrow—or this evening?"

Cadence agreed. Sleep was the only thing that could help clarify this situation for her. She hugged her grandmother and kissed her on the cheek. Without another word, she stood and grabbed the overnight bag she had brought in with her, carrying it up the stairs to her grandmother's guest room.

As she rounded the corner, she heard Eliza say, "Well, that went over well," followed by what seemed to be the sound of a pillow being flung across the room.

"At least they get along," Cadence thought to herself. She knew, if she decided to convert, she would be fast friends with Eliza and Jamie. But the thought of having Aaron in her head 24/7 seemed a little much to consider right now, especially since he seemed to be moving in on his own, even without the technology the others had implanted. She resolved not to think about it again until after at least a three-hour nap, at which point she would be refreshed and ready to make her decision without hesitation. At least she hoped that was the case, though with all of this new information, she wasn't sure how she could ever process all of it and make the correct, life-altering choice.

# Chapter 5

There is a small threshold of consciousness, somewhere between waking and dreaming, when one is not quite cognizant of all the waking world holds, nor has one quite lost the grip on those fleeting fragments of dreams that linger. For Cadence, this was the most dangerous and feared state of mind because she knew, even before she fluttered off to sleep that, upon waking, for just a brief synapse, she would, in fact, forget that Drew was gone. It was in that moment, just before fully rejoining the wakened world that her mind would momentarily allow her to believe that all was as it should be, and then, as the memories rushed in, filling the vacant tide pool of her conscious mind, so too would the realization that something was amiss, an occurrence had transpired. Just as the pounding waves crush and carve the solid stone, so too, would the remembrances force her mind to submit, causing the same rush of initial pain to beat down on her once again.

It was for this reason alone that she had been thankful to forgo true sleep for as long as she had. In her experience, being physically exhausted was much easier to deal with than even the briefest moment of reliving the horror she had felt the day before in realizing that Drew was dead. But after a few hours of sleep, she was brought crashing back to reality, reliving those moments all over again as her mind let go of one world and focused in on another.

As her eyes flittered, she slowly arrived back where she had left off. The sun poured through the cracks in the curtains, a reminder that she played such a small role in the cast of the universe that it mattered not how she felt or her degree of grief, the march of life clambered on despite her.

And yet, after her discussion with her grandmother, Eliza, and Jamie, she did feel slightly less insignificant. She rolled over on the small twin mattress, adjusting the blankets and attempting to block some of the sun's rays from her eyes. If what Jamie said earlier were true, perhaps, she may have it within her to make a significant impact on the Clandestine Ternion. Even after seeing herself on the footage Eliza had provided, she was still having difficulty believing she had performed all of those feats of skill. She had always been a naturally gifted athlete when she had attempted to play sports as a child, but she never stood out. If she had been able to run that quickly up and down the basketball court, perhaps her Optimist Basketball league team would have won the fifth grade tournament.

Even though her grandmother's house was decent sized, it was also old, and noise traveled easily. She could hear voices coming from downstairs, and she was certain there were more than three. In fact, she was positive she could hear at least two more voices, one of which she did not recognize, the other one becoming increasingly more familiar. Perhaps it had been this deeper booming voice, the unfamiliar one, which had jarred her back to reality. Aaron's voice was much quieter and more controlled. She could hear him, though she couldn't make out what he was saying. Each time the other man spoke, she could understand every single word.

From what she could gather, it seemed that these two were reminiscing with her grandmother about battles from long ago. It had been difficult for Cadence to place Aaron in the same age category as her own grandmother, to accept that they could be contemporaries. He looked like he was just a few years older than her, and yet, from what her grandmother said, he had to be over one hundred. It was just another piece of this enigma she couldn't quite understand.

Occasionally, she would hear the chipper lull of Eliza's voice, and in some ways, it reminded her of Drew. They had a few commonalities. They were both fairly happy, with bubbly personalities. They were both what Cadence considered "little and cute" in that they were petite and attractive. They were both easily amused. And they both seemed to overreact a bit when they got their feelings hurt. One of the things that crossed Cadence's mind as she pondered whether or not to go through with the Transformation was that it would provide her with an opportunity to walk away from the painful parts of the life she had known before, while simultaneously ripping her away from all that she had known and loved. This was a delicate balance and one that needed to be weighed carefully. It was appealing in that, given the opportunity to begin afresh, she would no longer carry the burden of familiarity—no longer be forced to see the things and the people that reminded her of Drew. She would still be working to vindicate her death, which would keep her at the forethought of her mind, but it may also provide her the solace of pretend, as distance often allows one to do. If she could somehow believe that Drew was truly back safe at home, sitting on her bed reading a magazine and petting her little Chihuahua, Muffin, then, the pain of losing her would be a bit more manageable. Even though refusing to Transform meant going back to college, returning to class and the pursuit of her teaching degree, she would still be periodically faced with the things that reminded her of where she had been before. Even catching the eye of a fellow Shenandoah High graduate across campus might be enough to send her reeling back into reliving Drew's final moments again and again for years to come.

There were a lot of considerations to be sorted through, and she was hopeful that she would be given all of the time she needed to come to her own conclusion without the pressures of those who thought they knew what was best for her.

She finally decided it was time to go join the others. She stood and stretched, realizing she should probably change her clothes since she had slipped into a T-shirt and linen pants to nap. She pulled on a pair of jeans from her bag and changed her shirt. Just as she was deciding it would be a good idea to stop by the restroom at the end of the hall on her way down, she heard a tapping at her door and wondered how he could possibly have known she was awake.

Despite the fact that she was completely annoyed that Aaron couldn't at least let her come downstairs without bombarding her with requests to join the good fight, she caught herself glancing in the mirror over the dresser and straightening her long brown hair before she crossed to the door. Catching her breath, she pulled it open unsure of exactly how she knew it was Aaron. But she was certain.

"Hi," he said quietly, standing quite a few inches back from the door. She was surprised to see he was wearing jeans and a red long-sleeved T-shirt. She had just assumed that all Guardians always dressed completely in black. Regardless of what he was wearing, she couldn't help but notice how good he looked.

"Do you have a moment?" he asked running his hand through his light brown hair. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he had been slightly nervous waiting for her to open the door.

She contemplated what he would do if she told him no, something she was pretty sure he was not used to hearing, but of course she did have a moment, so she opened the door and let him walk past her into the small guest room. There were no chairs, hardly any furniture other than the small twin bed she had just hastily remade and aforementioned dresser, so they stood just inside of the door.

"How was your nap?" he asked, surveying the room.

"Fine," she said, though memories from the excruciating process of waking up still lingered freshly in her mind. "I'm a little surprised to see you," she admitted. "I thought if your choices were this evening or tomorrow, it would probably be tomorrow."

He looked a bit uncomfortable which surprised her. She would not have thought he had an embarrassed or shy side whatsoever. "Well, I hadn't planned on coming so soon," he conceded, "but I really felt like it would be best if I just spoke to you myself."

"As opposed to those two incompetents you've got downstairs?" she asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.

"No," he said, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. "They could do it, they're... they're fully competent."

He was stammering a bit, and it seemed to catch him off guard. Cadence wondered why he was having such a difficult time expressing himself to her. She was, after all, just one more human to potentially Transform into a Hunter. Why did this seem to be such a big deal to someone who had been doing this for so long?

"It's just, I'm not sure if they realize the gravity of the situation, honestly," he said slowly nodding his head.

Cadence took a step backward and slowly began to nod her head as well. "I see," she said, and then, taking a cue from her inquiry-based learning teacher, she added, "Tell me more about that."

Once again, Aaron ran his hand through his hair. He seemed cautious, as if he were trying to choose his words with care. "We are on a bit of a precipice here. Obviously, you know I am aware of everything they told you earlier."

She nodded. Yes, she was aware that he was present during any and all conversations she had had with members of his team.

"Well, something that was not mentioned to you is that, while the Vampires don't typically have a leader, they are attempting to organize. Now, this happens occasionally, and we are able to track down this newly appointed figurehead and eliminate them, thus mediating any potential uprisings." He glanced back in her direction, as if he wanted to make sure she was following, which she was. "However, in this instance, it's a bit different. If Holland is able to organize her clan and the rest of the Passel come onboard, well, she's going to be much more difficult to defeat than your typical Vampire Leader."

He paused then, which gave her an opportunity to ask for clarification. "Why is that?" she asked. She had a habit of absently twirling one strand of hair around her finger when she was deep in thought, a habit she was performing just now, and once she realized it, she stopped abruptly so as not to let him know that she was contemplating his offer.

"Holland is what we refer to as an Ancient Vampire. She's not one of the originals. None of them survive, but she is incredibly old. In fact, I'm fairly certain she predates the assigning of the name Holland to the location you're familiar with. Over the millennia she has increased her knowledge and power, as well as her sway with the other members of her Passel so much so that, should she decide to attempt to lead a Vampire revolt, it could be quite difficult for us to hold them in check. The potential for a holocaust is certainly present, and of course, that is something we must avoid at all costs."

She could tell by his tone that he was not embellishing the facts in order to sway her to join his side, and yet it was nearly impossible for her to wrap her mind around the idea of a legion of Vampires sweeping in and destroying humanity. "That sounds pretty serious," she said, withdrawing her hand from her hair and resting her pointer finger against her chin. "Do the others know this?" she asked, referring to Eliza, Jamie, and whoever else had joined them downstairs.

"Yes and no," he admitted. "They have received the information, but I think they don't truly understand the ramifications, considering they've never lived in a time or place when Vampires had free rein."

The way he said those last few words caught Cadence's attention. She looked at him for a moment, puzzled. "And you have?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "It's not pretty." He shook his head like he was pushing those memories aside, wanting to focus on the task at hand. "We want to avoid that no matter what."

This information intrigued her, and Cadence made a mental note to find out more information about this at a later time. For now, she wanted to know exactly what he thought she could do about this. "And how do I fit in to this proposal for preventing a Vampire uprising?"

"Well," he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "You're fully invested in this situation now, whether you want to be or not. I think you need to be completely aware of our position, and once you realize exactly how Holland's rise to power may affect you and your loved ones, you'll know exactly what you need to do."

He looked her right in the eyes with that last remark and those penetrating blue eyes seemed to stare right into her very soul, causing her to shutter and take a step back. In doing so, she pinned herself against the wall, and even though she knew there was no reason to consider escape routes, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

As if sensing her fight or flight reaction, Aaron took a step back and turned away from her a moment, giving her some room and letting her come down a bit from her initial panicked state. She wondered if he had any other superpowers he had yet to reveal. Surely, he couldn't read her mind. Did he realize she was near her breaking point? He at least had to realize that he would either have her resolve in the next few moments, or she would walk away, and they would have to start all over. After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, "I guess I need to hear more about that." She propped one foot up against the wall behind her to steady herself.

He turned back to face her but seemed to purposely avoid looking directly into her eyes. Maybe he had noticed how anxious she became whenever she looked him in the eye, and this was one of his tactics to keep her calm. Staring at a spot on the wall a few feet away from her, he said, "Well, Holland has your card." He laid it out for her in black and white. "She holds you personally responsible for Carter's death—her mate of over a thousand years—and she wants to destroy you and your family."

He paused for a moment, giving the weight of his statement a chance to sink in, but not so long as to cause her to panic. He continued. "Now, we know her present location. We know who she has contacted, where she is going, etc. We know that she is no longer in Iowa, and while she poses no current threat to your family herself at this moment, she has left associates, if you will, in the vicinity." He glanced at her long enough to see her eyebrows shoot up and assured her, "We have your family under constant surveillance, and they are perfectly fine. In fact, they are just sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner."

She nodded, but then she fully realized what he had said. Cadence had completely forgotten it was Thanksgiving! Her hands flew to her mouth, and she was about to insist that he let her go home when he reached out and took her gently by the arm. "It's all right," he said calmly. "They know exactly where you are; they know why you are here, and they understand the urgency."

She slowly released the breath she had been holding and nodded her head. Still, she had never missed a Thanksgiving dinner in her entire life, and the thought that her family had to celebrate without her, and without Grandma Janette, made her a bit weepy again.

Seeing the tears well up in her eyes must have made him anxious. He likely did not want a repeat of the situation the night before. "Please, don't cry," he said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small package of tissues. "But if you do, these are much more absorbent than leather. Today, I've come prepared."

Despite the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks, she couldn't help but chuckle. She took the package and removed one of the tissues, dabbing at her eyes, trying to hold back any more tears. She was also aware that he had not yet removed his hand from her arm, but for now, she did her best to ignore it. "Thank you," she said. "That's very thoughtful."

He nodded, shrugging off the compliment. "That's not a word I hear very often," he muttered, finally withdrawing his hand and placing it back in his pocket. "Anyway," he said, waiting for her to acknowledge if she was ready to return to the conversation. She nodded and he continued. "I just want you to be fully cognizant of the situation and aware of what Holland is capable of. Can we stop her without you? I hope so, but," he paused, making sure he had her full attention, "it will be a hell of a lot easier with you on our side."

Cadence sighed now, turning away from him, a bit frustrated. "See, now, that's what I don't get," she said turning to face the door and shoving the tissues in her pocket for now. "What is it that is so freaking special about me?"

Aaron seemed a bit surprised to hear her say that. He must have thought the footage from the night before would be enough for her to realize exactly what her capabilities were. "You seriously don't know? Didn't you see the footage from last night?"

She turned back to face him. He was looking at her inquisitively, his arms folded across his well-chiseled chest at which she was pretending not to stare. Returning her thoughts to his question, she replied, "Yes, I saw it, but no, I don't know. I really don't have a clue why I'm so special," she admitted, waving her arms for emphasis.

He scratched his head, as if he were trying to figure out a way to explain it in a way she could understand and believe. "Cadence, you're the granddaughter of two Leaders. That's a pretty potent gene pool. Let me explain, briefly, and with no visual aids how mating works within the Clandestine Ternion."

She grinned at his attempt at humor and gave him her full attention. "Are you going to tell me where babies come from?" she asked. He blushed, and for a moment, Cadence forgot he was the invincible leader and saw him as he must have been as a human, just as vulnerable as any of the rest.

After a moment, Aaron continued. "Not exactly. Quite simply, this is how it works. Vampires don't procreate. They don't need to. They want more Vampires, they make more simply by infecting a victim with their venom. That isn't to say they don't... do other things."

He looked uncomfortable, but she stifled a giggle this time and focused on the most important part of his statement. "Three bites on the neck Bram Stoker style or any flesh wound _Twilight_ style?" she asked.

"It's actually one of the few things that saga got right," Aaron admitted. "It doesn't have to be in the neck. In fact, any transfer of venom will cause them to change into a Vampire, assuming they don't die first. And since their venom can also be found in their DNA, even skin cells transferred from a Vampire to a human can cause the infection if they are transferred beneath the skin."

"So, if a Vampire scratches a human, they could be infected with the venom?"

"Yes, that has been known to happen," he confirmed.

She nodded and he continued.

"Guardians, Hunters and humans can all create offspring... children," he corrected, attempting to sound less scientific. She smiled and nodded, amused that he also had an awkward side. "If a Hunter or a Guardian has a baby with a human, that human will carry the gene from their parent's Passel. Upon Transformation he or she will be what we refer to as either a Level One Hunter or a Level One Guardian." She nodded, so he continued. "Now, if a Hunter or a Guardian has a child with another Hunter or Guardian—someone of the same Passel, well then that creates a Level Two Hunter or a Level Two Guardian. Slightly more powerful, generally speaking, though not always, than your typical Level One. Okay?"

"Got it," she said continuing to nod her head.

"All right, but when we cross Passels, something truly powerful happens. Children always get their dominant gene from their mother's side. So, if your mother is a Hunter, you will be a Hunter. If she's a Guardian, you'll be a Guardian. But, the children always retain many of the skills contained in the gene pool of the secondary Passel as well. So, the result is an extremely talented individual, such as yourself, who is able to come to full power quickly and have quite an impact on the mission of the Passel."

Now Cadence became slightly confused. "But, my dad carries the Hunter gene and my mom is a human. So, wouldn't that make me less powerful?"

He was shaking his head. "Your dad is a Dormant Hunter. And so is your mother."

Though he had said it calmly, this information caught Cadence off guard, and she backed into the wall again. "What?"

Again, Aaron stepped away from her, giving her some space to breathe. "It's okay," he said reassuringly. "I know this is a lot of information. Your mother's line has been dormant for centuries. In fact, she didn't even know she had the potential to become a Hunter until after she met your father and was introduced to the Clandestine Ternion through him."

"So, Papa Jim and Grandma Shirley had never been Hunters or Guardians or Trolls or Fairies or Wickens?" she asked, her head circling around on her shoulders as a sign of her inner confusion.

He couldn't help but laugh, "No," he assured her. "They have always been essentially human."

"Well, I certainly know what it feels like to be _essentially_ human," she said sarcastically, running her hands through her hair and looking up at the ceiling. He said nothing, giving her time to ingest everything he had told her, but when she glanced his way, she could see he was trying to hold back a grin. "You know what I mean?" she asked.

"Even though I haven't been essentially human for quite some time, I know exactly what you mean."

"Okay," she said, rapidly shaking her head again, attempting to clear her mind. "So, you're saying if I fully Transform, I'll be some sort of She-Ra Princess of Power, some sort of bionic woman or something? Wow, listen to those '80s references coming through," she muttered under her breath.

"I believe so, yes," he said nodding along with her.

She was pacing now, hoping to contain any more random thoughts from coming out of her mouth. "And, I'll be able to use these superpowers to defeat the powers of evil, such as that bitch Holland?"

"With the right support and training, I think you'll be able to defeat just about anything the Vampire Passel throws in your direction."

"And who exactly will be training me?"

"I will," he stated assuredly.

That made her feel both relieved and nervous. At least she'd learn from the best, even if he had the possibility of being a huge distraction. She continued to pace the small area from the door to the wall, about three steps in each direction, before she pivoted around and went the other way. Her hands were alternating between pulling on handfuls of hair and fanning her face. Again, he seemed to think it would be best to let her absorb this information on her own, so he said nothing.

Finally, after a few moments she turned and faced him. She knew he was right, that this was her destiny, that despite the fact that she was frightened and questioned her own abilities, that, clearly, he had no hesitation whatsoever. And if he believed in her, she truly felt she could do anything. After all, he had no doubt trained and supported thousands of Hunters over the years, and if he said she could do it, well, then, surely, she could.

Aaron stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to speak. Though no words came out of her mouth, she slowly began to nod her head. "Yes?" he asked, clarifying. "You'll do it? You'll Transform?"

At first Cadence still couldn't form the words, but finally, she was able to overcome the lump of anxiety in her throat. "Yes, I'll do it. I'll Transform."

Aaron let out a sigh of relief. Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. "That's wonderful, Cadence. Thank you so much for having faith in me and my team."

She was taken aback when he embraced her, but once the initial surprise subsided, she loosely hugged him back, noticing he was holding her like a coach might hug a star quarterback after winning the big game and nothing more. "Sure," she muttered. Then, with more resolve, she added, "I think it's the right thing to do."

He released her and took a few steps back. "I agree," he concurred. "Believe me, you won't regret this decision."

She snickered, "No, but _you_ might!"

# Chapter 6

Over the last century or so, Jamie had transformed many Hunters and Guardians using the serum method. He had not originated the idea or developed the serum, but he had made many improvements to the procedure, and while Cadence was still extremely nervous, she felt assured that she was in the best hands possible.

Cadence was lying in her pajamas on her grandmother's guest bed, still a little stuffed from the Thanksgiving dinner they had thrown together. It didn't have every dish one might imagine for the traditional holiday, but it was sufficient, and after the late football game had concluded, Jamie had asked if she was ready. Now was as good a time as ever so she had gone upstairs to prepare herself for a nice long snooze.

"Now, you should know, I've used this serum hundreds... maybe thousands of times to help both Hunters and Guardians Transform," Jamie said from his position beside the bed.

"Did you make it?" Cadence asked, hoping they couldn't hear the nervousness in her voice.

"No, but I've helped make it better," he replied.

The calmness of his voice was a reassurance, but Cadence was still unsettled. She looked to her Grandma Janette, who stood at the foot of the bed next to Eliza, and the reassuring look on the familiar face was comforting.

Aaron was lingering by the door, and she was thankful he wasn't so close. She couldn't imagine being any more jittery than she was, but something told her, if he was next to her, she'd find a way.

That was everyone as Elliott had been sent back to check on the situation in Shenandoah. She knew that Aaron would be leaving soon as well, but she had made him promise to stay until she fell asleep. For some reason, she just felt better knowing the man in charge was present while the procedure was taking place, though Aaron certainly did not have the same calming effect on her that Jamie did. Even now as she watched Jamie, whom she discovered was a doctor, removing hypodermic needles and vials from the small black kit he sat on the nightstand next to her, she felt as if she could trust him completely. That didn't make her stomach calm down any, however.

"How are you doing, Cadence?" he asked pausing for a moment to glance down at her.

She nodded her head. "I'm a bit nervous," she said, "but I trust you."

"Good," Jamie replied smiling. "Do you want me to explain to you what I am doing as I go, or would you rather just let me do it and get it over with? Either way works for me."

She considered the options. She already knew the gist of what was going to happen. Jamie was going to insert some sort of serum into her bloodstream, which would activate her DNA and make her Hunter abilities dominate her human limitations. She would be able to run faster, jump higher, aim more accurately, all of the skills she would need in order to successfully hunt and kill Vampires. She knew he was also injecting a medication that would make her sleep for at least twenty-four hours. This was essential for two reasons. First of all, it would allow her body to Transform while in a dormant state, which caused the process to happen more quickly and any damage to be repaired without delay. Secondly, while some Hunters never felt a twinge of pain while undergoing Transformation via serum, for others it was excruciatingly painful. Jamie had perfected this method so that no one need suffer for no reason. "You can just do it," she finally decided.

"All right then," he said, his smile reassuring her once again.

"Will it hurt at all?" she asked. She had asked that question earlier, and she felt like she got a non-answer so she decided to try again.

Jamie cleared his throat, an indicator that Cadence was not going to like his answer. "There is a possibility that it might hurt a little at first, depending upon whether or not you are predisposed for a painful Transformation."

Cadence glanced past him at Aaron who was avoiding eye contact with her now. Clearly, he had known about this caveat and left it out of his rousing recruitment speech. By Jamie's tone, Cadence got the impression she was likely one of those "predisposed" Hunters.

"And what sorts of Hunters are predisposed toward painful Transformations?" she asked, sitting halfway up.

Jamie glanced at Aaron this time, but Aaron didn't acknowledge him, an indicator that the Leader wouldn't be fielding this question. Jamie let out a sigh and turned back to face Cadence, forcing a small smile. "Well, usually those who have the most genes to transform are the ones who are most affected by it." Her eyes widened and she glanced at the faces at the foot of the bed and then back to Jamie. "But don't worry," he assured her again, "It will only last a few minutes, and then you'll be out."

"What do you mean by 'a few minutes'?" she asked. "And what did you mean by 'excruciating'?"

"I promise you, Cadence, you'll be just fine," he said, glancing at Eliza who was nodding. "There are a few minutes between when the serum begins to activate the DNA and the medication kicks in, but I'll be able to help you through those."

"Why can't you just give the medication first then?" she asked.

He chuckled a bit, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Because I don't want to kill you," he said.

She took that to mean he had tried it that way before, hopefully on lab rats or something, not actual Hunters, and it hadn't worked out right.

"All right. You all set?" he asked in that soothing voice.

Cadence glanced at the nightstand. Jamie already had the first syringe ready to inject. Her arm had been cleaned, tourniquet wrapped, Hello Kitty Band-Aid ready to apply. With one more glance around at the reassuring faces hovering over her, she nodded.

Jamie picked up the first needle and caught her eyes. She had to look away. She had never been a big fan of needles, and the fact that she was growing more terrified by the minute would only make matters worse. She felt a pinch as he began to slide the needle into her vein.

At first, there was just a slight burning sensation at the sight of the injection. Then, it started to radiate up and down her arm. She wondered if this was normal, or if this was what he'd meant by "predisposed" to "excruciating pain." Jamie was saying something about waiting two minutes before injecting the medication, but by the time he completed his sentence, Cadence had the answer to her question. The pain came so quickly and intensely, she could no longer hear a word he was saying. The serum was spreading through her body rapidly, and she felt like surely her veins must literally be on fire. She could feel the tears rolling out of the corners of her eyes, and she tried to open her mouth to tell the doctor, but she couldn't speak or even move. In fact, she was in so much pain, she was finding it hard just to breathe. She tried to stay calm, but panic was racing through her almost as fast as the serum.

She could see Jamie's face, though it was blurry through her tears, and she suddenly realized Aaron was there as well. She could vaguely feel his hand on her arm, but she couldn't really see him. She was slightly aware that he was giving some sort of command to Jamie, ordering him to do something, to do it now, and the next thing she knew Jamie had climbed on top of her. Initially, the weight of his body seemed to increase the pain, but after a few seconds, she began to feel a warmth spreading across her skin wherever their two bodies met. It was as if some sort of medicinal property was radiating out of him and into her. After a few moments, she began to feel the pain subside and felt her breathing return to normal despite the man she hardly knew lying on top of her.

Once she regained her ability to see, she looked past Jamie's shoulder and realized her grandma was crying, Eliza's arm around her shoulders. Aaron still had her arm in his hands, but she couldn't turn her head to look at him because Jamie was blocking her view completely. Still, knowing he was standing there made her feel much better, despite the fact that she was currently furious that he had not mentioned this Transformation being painful when he had initially told her about it. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her own breathing, not the serum coursing through her veins. It didn't hurt so much now, but she was still very much aware of its presence.

Though the pain prolonged the passage of time, Cadence realized it hadn't even been two minutes yet or else someone would have administered the medication. With Jamie sprawled on top of her she wondered if this responsibility would fall to someone else. The longer Jamie was on top of her, the limper his body became, and she thought he might be having some issues of his own.

After what was probably only a minute, though it seemed like days, Jamie said weakly, "Aaron, you're going to have to administer the medication."

The leader didn't answer immediately, and Cadence wondered if he was surveying the room to see if there were any other takers. She struggled to get the words out but asked, "Can he do that?"

Jamie couldn't answer, but she heard Aaron's voice. "I've seen this procedure hundreds of times, Cadence. I'm the most qualified of those present to do it. The syringe is already loaded. I'll just need to find a vein."

"Why can't Jamie?" she managed. She turned her head as far to her left as she could and saw Aaron had already picked up the syringe.

He was kneeling beside her now, and she felt his hands on her arm. "I'll have to explain what's going on with Jamie later. If he gets off of you, you'll go back to that state of intolerable pain, and your body might start shutting down in an attempt to protect itself."

"I'm sorry, Cadence," Jamie whispered. "I should've thought this might happen. I just..."

"It's okay," she assured him, though she thought she might need some clarification on all this later.

To Aaron, the doctor said quietly, "Make sure you get a vein."

"I know." He was already looking for one. Cadence could feel it.

"If you don't... the medicine will do no good. Might be... dangerous."

"I'm trying to use the same one you just did. I think I have it. As long as it doesn't roll."

Cadence was completely still at this point, and her arm was relaxed, giving him the opportunity to check it thoroughly, but she held her breath, waiting to see what happened while trying to ignore her grandmother's sobs.

Aaron thought he had located the same vein Jamie had just used. He lined the needle up and looked at Jamie, hoping to get some sort of indication that he was safe to proceed. From his vantage point, Jamie concurred that it looked like the placement was right. He slowly nodded his head just once, giving Aaron the motivation he needed to follow through. He felt the needle slide into her vein and breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, he pushed down on the plunger, letting the medication flow into her body. As the last few drops exited the syringe, there was a collective exhale from those in observation. Aaron applied pressure to the injection site with a cotton ball and secured it with the Band-Aid. He continued to apply gentle pressure for a few more seconds until he was sure that the bleeding had stopped.

"How do you feel?" he asked quietly, moving her arm over next to her body but not removing his hands.

It took her a moment to answer, but when she did, her voice was groggy. "Tired," she mumbled. "Warm."

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "That's good. You should go to sleep." Then, turning his attention to Jamie, he said, "I think she's stabilized. Do you want us to help you up?"

The doctor could hardly lift his head by himself, but he managed a small nod. He relied on his teammates to lift him up off of her, and Eliza grabbed one arm while Aaron took the other. They carefully lifted him up and off of the bed. Once he lost contact with Cadence, he began to restore himself and Aaron watched as it seemed like a wave of energy wash over his friend. "I think I'll be okay in a few moments," Jamie said as they carried him toward the door. "I'd like to stay until she's completely asleep."

"I know you want to stay," Aaron said, "but you've got to take care of yourself, too. That was a huge drain to your system, and you need to replenish." He and Eliza continued to walk Jamie to the door.

"Take him to my bedroom," Janette yelled after them. "He can rest in there." Eliza acknowledged that they had heard her, and they made their way out into the hall.

Jamie didn't protest anymore, and they laid him down on Janette's bed. Eliza stayed with him a moment to tuck the blankets around him, but Aaron rushed back into the other room.

Janette was stooped at the side of the bed. Cadence's eyes were barely open, and her breathing had become deep and slow. "How are you doing, darling?"

Cadence moved her head, as if she was aware that her grandmother was nearby but wasn't exactly sure where or what she had said. After a moment, she said, "So good."

"Do you want me to stay?" Janette asked, seeing that her granddaughter was quickly falling into a deep slumber. Cadence did not answer, so she lingered for a moment, brushing the hair off of her granddaughter's forehead.

"I know you wished there was something you could do. Watching her go through such a painful episode must have been very difficult. I'm sorry it happened." Aaron was standing next to the bed now.

"It's not your fault," Janette replied, catching his eyes. "Although, it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't decided to go through with this at all."

Something about her tone made him think perhaps she was wishing her granddaughter had made another decision. He had no response for that, so he didn't say anything at all.

After a moment, Eliza returned. She approached the bed cautiously. "Looks like she's almost out."

"How's Jamie?" Janette asked.

"He'll be okay," Eliza replied. "He just needs to rest for a few hours. I've never seen something zap him so quickly," she added.

Janette nodded. "Well," I think our little princess is off to dreamland." She gazed down at her granddaughter's slumbering face. "Do you think she'll be okay now?" she asked Aaron.

He nodded. "Yes, I think she'll be just fine." He knew there had been a possibility that Cadence would have some pain with her Transformation simply because of all of the coding on her DNA that would be activated. He had never expected anything like that. This was one time when he was especially glad that Jamie was a Healer.

"All right then," Janette, nodded. "I guess there are other things we should be doing." She squeezed Cadence's arm and whispered, "Sweet dreams, my darling."

Eliza glanced down at Cadence and smiled a sympathetic smile before meeting Janette at the foot of the bed and escorting her out of the room. She paused for a moment at the door. "Are you coming?" she asked, the lilt of her voice a bit grating to his ears.

"I'll be down in a minute," he assured her.

"She's asleep. There's nothing else to do," Eliza reminded him. Once again, he found himself at a loss for words, so he said nothing, and as she left, he heard her mutter, "I don't know why he needs to stay."

Aaron wasn't quite sure why he was still there either. He had promised Cadence that he would stay with her until she was asleep, and he had done that. Though her eyelids fluttered every once in a while, he knew she was out and would remain so for quite some time. He knelt down next to her again, studying her face. Though her lids were closed, and he could no longer see those curious brown eyes, he couldn't help but find himself reflecting on just how beautiful she truly was. In the brief seconds during the Transformation gone wrong when he thought there was a slight possibility that they might lose her, he didn't find himself wondering what his team would do if she was no longer able to help them defeat Holland; rather, he found himself pondering what he would personally do if something happened to her. This feeling both excited and terrified him at the same time. In his position, it was never a good idea to become emotionally attached to anyone, particularly a Hunter he was attempting to protect. As much as one attempted to always make rational decisions, nothing was as likely to interfere with decision making like an emotional reaction. So, he had attempted to avoid emotions as much as possible. Though it sometimes made others describe him as too direct or impersonal, this style of leadership had worked for him for more years than he cared to count, and he knew it was not in his best interest to let Cadence or anyone else interfere with that.

And yet, he couldn't help but remain next to her bed, watching her sleep, for much longer than he intended. Just another sign that he needed to find a way to distance himself from her emotionally before it was too late. She was perfectly still, except for the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. She looked peaceful, even happy. He hoped she was dreaming sweet dreams of more innocent days when Vampires were only Halloween legends, and the only guarding she needed was from scrapes to the knee. He stood and pulled the blankets up more tightly around her. As he leaned more closely to her face, he couldn't help himself, and before he even fully realized what he was doing, he gently kissed her on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Cadence," he whispered, leaving her to slumber. When she awoke, everything would be different. And then, the real work would begin.

# Chapter 7

Cadence didn't awake from her medicated slumber in twenty-four hours as Jamie had initially predicted. In fact, it had taken over thirty-six hours for her to finally start to come around, and even with that it took another two hours before she could fully open her eyes or communicate. When she found out that it was Saturday afternoon, rather than Friday evening, she was stunned. But Jamie assured her that she was fine, everything had gone according to plan, and she was just unlike any patient he had ever Transformed, so she reacted slightly differently.

She had stayed at her grandmother's that Saturday night, Jamie and Eliza both keeping an eye on her to ensure everything was going as expected. She hadn't seen Aaron since he injected her with the medication, and she was hesitant to ask where he might be. She was aware that he was extremely busy and knew he would likely show up when she least expected it. Still, she soon realized that she was beginning to miss him.

Aaron had been checking on her, however, even though she didn't know it. It wasn't necessary for him to question his team as to her progress; he could simply observe through their eyes when they were in her room attending to her. He noted that Jamie tended to spend a considerable amount of time in her room watching her sleep, which he found a bit odd, but at the same time, he didn't mind, because if Jamie was there, he was virtually there himself. Still, he intended to leave some distance between himself and Cadence and allowed her to heal without his interference. He knew that he would be seeing her quite a bit once she began her formal training in the weeks to come.

Early Sunday morning, Janette walked Cadence to the Lamborghini, which Eliza had already loaded and started up. She sat in the driver's seat, waiting patiently.

Cadence hugged her grandmother goodbye. "Thank you so much for everything," she said, holding back tears.

Janette squeezed her granddaughter tightly. "You be careful, now. I am excited for your adventure, but this is a dangerous path you've chosen, sweetheart."

"I'll be careful, Grandma," Cadence said, wiping away her grandma's tears. "Don't worry about me."

"I'll try not to," Janette nodded. It would be difficult. "Cadence, I have just one piece of advice for you. Listen carefully; When you are conflicted, listen first to that still, small voice inside you, the one that led you straight to Drew. If you put that voice first, beyond any voice in your head, you can't go wrong."

Cadence pondered this advice, nodding, but not quite sure she understood. When her grandmother said "any" voice inside of her head, did she mean her own conscience or chatter on the eye implant she would soon receive? Though she wasn't certain, she was pretty sure she actually meant both.

"All right," she replied. Giving her one last quick hug, Cadence slid into the Aventador, she waved goodbye one last time, and Eliza pulled out of the driveway and began her fast and furious drive back to Shenandoah.

Once her grandmother's house was out of view, Cadence was determined to focus on other things. Eliza hit the gas and seamlessly merged onto the freeway. "How is it that you can drive so quickly? Aren't you worried about tickets?" Cadence asked.

Eliza smiled. "Nope. IAC catches police chatter, too. I know exactly where every police vehicle is within at least a 100-mile radius."

"What about other cars?" Cadence asked as they flew up on a much slower going vehicle.

"My reflexes are at least ten times faster than the highest performing human's," she explained. "And, I'm trained to anticipate exactly what a human will do under specific traffic conditions—or any conditions for that matter—ninety-nine percent of the time. You'll see," she added.

Cadence nodded. She was beginning to see what Eliza was talking about. It seemed to her that the other cars were moving much differently than the Aventador was. While their movement was extremely precise and accurate, the other cars seemed to meander. Drivers in the other cars made turns and corrections much slower than Eliza's. As her view of the world began to change, Cadence became fascinated with her new perspective. It was almost as if she could slow down or speed up movement on demand, depending upon how much attention she gave the item or person in motion. It was really quite exhilarating.

"How are you feeling?" Eliza asked as she continued to weave in and out of traffic. Most of the other drivers didn't even seem to notice she had been there as she made her way by. No one seemed angry; no one flipped her the bird. They just kept on driving without truly taking notice of the blur flying past their windows.

Cadence considered the question for a moment. "Honestly, I feel about the same," she admitted. "I mean, other than this weird sense of perspective, you know, like motion looking different than before, I really don't feel like much has changed."

Eliza nodded. "That's good. Considering that we didn't change anything in your body, we just activated something that was already there, you really wouldn't expect to feel too different. Just wait until you run for the first time, though. Or swim. Or have sex." The last one made Cadence's eyebrows go up. "Trust me," Eliza said. "You don't know what you don't know."

"Okay," Cadence said, letting it go at that. "When will I start my training?" Cadence asked.

"Well, Aaron wanted you to have some time with your family, and do you realize that Drew's funeral is tomorrow?"

She nodded her head. Jamie had mentioned it.

"So, he thought you would want tomorrow off as well. Training might start on Tuesday, although it could be Wednesday. You know you're going to need to go shopping, right?"

The thought honestly had not occurred to her. "Where? Black Leather Is Us?"

Eliza chuckled, "Oh, girl. Don't you worry. I've got this covered. Besides, you're not a Guardian. You're not required to wear black. Though I don't know why anyone would ever choose to wear any other color."

Cadence was a bit nervous as black had never been her color. Perhaps there was some other hue she could wrap her mind around that Eliza would feel would be appropriate. "All right then," she said, going back over the calendar in her mind. "So, how many weeks of training will it take before I am ready to kick Holland's ass?"

Eliza pondered the question for a moment. "Well, everyone is different. Aaron usually doesn't want anyone to go out into the field actively until they've had at least a month's worth of intense training. He has some pretty rigorous requirements and assessments you will have to pass. I'm not sure who has assigned to train you either," she added.

Cadence looked at her inquisitively. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I thought Aaron was training me."

Eliza laughed again and this time it came out as a snort. "Aaron doesn't actually train anyone," she said.

"He doesn't?" Cadence asked, surprised. "But I asked him specifically if he would be training me, and he said yes."

"Well, he used to train people, but that was a long time ago. He usually just checks in with the training supervisors. He's so busy; I don't know how he even has time to do that. And as much time as he spent _not_ working this past week, well, he's probably got a shitload to get caught up on, that's for sure."

Cadence crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, feeling a bit betrayed again. She had asked specific questions before her Transformation in hopes to alleviate any of these surprises. "Well, can you just ask him who he is planning on having train me?"

"I can," Eliza replied, her nonchalance indicating she didn't know why Cadence was making such a big deal out of who her trainer would be. "I will, if you want."

"Okay," Cadence nodded. "Are you?"

"Now? Oh, no. My IAC's not even on right now," Eliza explained.

"What?" Cadence was really shocked now. "What do you mean? You can turn that thing off?"

"Well, yeah," Eliza said, taking her eyes off of the road for a second to glance across the seat at her friend. "How else are we going to do, you know, bodily functions? We do still have to go to the bathroom occasionally, you know?"

"Oh," Cadence hadn't realized there was a way to turn it off. She just assumed everyone got used to seeing what everyone else was doing all the time.

"Christian will go over all of that with you when you get to LIGHTS," she continued.

She didn't know who Christian was but she figured she'd find out soon enough. Her head was beginning to spin again. "And what does LIGHTS stand for again?"

"Lincoln International Guardian and Hunter Training Station."

Cadence found herself confused once more. "But I thought it was in Missouri, not Nebraska?"

"It is, princess. It's named after Abraham Lincoln. For obvious reasons."

At first, Cadence didn't understand what the obvious reason was, but then she remembered a book and a movie that had come out a while back. Something about Lincoln and Vampires. Stunned, she exclaimed, "What? Sweet Baby Jesus, you've got to be kidding me?" The revelation that one of the most respected presidents ever was really a Vampire Hunter seemed too much to take in.

"Nope. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction," Eliza assured her.

"Unbelievable," Cadence muttered. "Who would have thought it? Abraham Lincoln really was a Vampire Hunter. Next thing you know, I'll be seeing flying monkeys and horses that change color."

"Possibly," Eliza nodded. "Possibly."

They were almost to her house now, and Cadence was growing anxious to see her parents and her younger sister. She had originally planned on a nice relaxing week with her family. She had no idea the twists and turns her journey would take all at the same time, and something told her, based on this conversation, the surprises were not yet over.

As Eliza brought the car to a stop in front of her house, Cadence could hardly keep herself from leaping out of the vehicle and sprinting to the door. She wanted to be polite and thank Eliza for all she had done, but she also could not wait to see her parents.

As if reading her mind, Eliza said simply, "Go! Get out of here! I'll see you soon!"

Cadence nodded. She gave Eliza's arm a little squeeze before pulling her overnight bag out of the back and running to the door. She was not used to this speed, however, that was for sure, and she had so much trouble stopping, she almost ran into the door. "Whoa!" she said aloud. "Got to get these brakes checked!"

Her parents must have heard the car out front because her father flung the door open. "Cadence!" he exclaimed, giving her a hug. She heard her mom yell for Cassidy to come downstairs before she, too, embraced their first born.

"Oh, Cadence! We are so glad you're home," her mother exclaimed, leading her into the living room. "How are you, honey?" she asked, motioning for her to join her on the couch. "Do you need anything, darling? Water? Soda?"

"No, I'm fine," Cadence assured them. "I'm really fine, Mom, I promise."

"Well, you look good, kiddo," her dad exclaimed, sitting down in a recliner next to the couch. "You look like you've had a nice long nap. You look refreshed."

Cadence couldn't help but smile at her father's attempt at humor. "I guess you could call it a nap," she said, "but I don't think it was that refreshing. More like recovering from surgery, I guess."

"Now, was it painful?" her mother asked. "Because, we had always heard that Transformation was extremely painful, but now I guess they have some new method or something, and it's not so bad? Is that right, or was Aaron just trying to make us feel better?"

Just then, Cadence's sister Cassidy walked down the stairs and entered the room, preventing Cadence from asking the question burning in her mind—when had her parents talked to Aaron?

Cassidy was fifteen and looked very much like her sister, though she wasn't as tall, and she was a bit less muscular. The girls had always been close, and seeing Cadence go off to college had been hard on her younger sister. Cadence stood and threw her arms around her. "Hey, Cass! How are you?"

"Good," she said in her shy and reserved manner. "Are you feeling okay?"

Cadence wasn't sure what Cassidy had been told, but this remark made her think, perhaps, she knew everything. She looked questioningly at her parents.

Her mother spoke up, "Cadence is feeling much better, Cass. You're so sweet to ask. Cadence, we explained that you needed some time away from town to process your friend's passing, so you went to stay with Grandma for a few days."

Cadence was nodding along. "Yes, that's right. I just needed some time. But I'll be fine. Thanks, Sis."

As much as Cadence wanted to spend time with her sister, the questions she wanted to ask her parents were mounting, and she needed time without Cassidy in the room so that she could do so. Her father seemed to realize this as well, and he said quietly, "Cass, honey, we're going to talk to Cadence a little more about what happened that night when she was out with her friends. I really think it's best if you just join us for dinner in a bit; all right, honey?"

Cassidy was always extremely obedient. She nodded her head in understanding. "All right. I'll see you later, Sis," she said to Cadence.

"For sure," she replied, sitting back down on the couch next to her mother.

As soon as Cassidy was out of earshot, her mother continued. "Well, honey, we hope it wasn't too terribly painful."

"No, it was fine," she lied. They didn't need to know that the pain had been so intense that just the slightest bit of concentration could bring back that sensation, though a much milder version, in her extremities. "Jamie's system is great. It worked really well."

"That's a relief," her mother said, sighing and leaning back on the couch a bit. "We were so worried that you had gone through a traumatic experience. When we heard that you had decided to go through with it, well, it was just too frightening for me to think about, honestly," she continued.

"Your mother has a wild imagination," her father concluded. "She had visions of you screaming in pain, writhing around on a hospital bed, you know, the type of thing you see on horror films."

"Well, I didn't know," Liz chimed in defensively. "I just didn't know. That Aaron is a nice boy, but for all I knew he was telling us what he thought we wanted to hear."

Cadence had to stifle a laugh at her mother's word choice. The idea of referring to someone at least three times your age as a "boy" seemed humorous to her. "When was Aaron here?" she asked, attempting to be nonchalant.

"Oh, when was that?" her mom said, thinking back. "I think it was Friday afternoon, maybe. Or was it Saturday? Could it have been yesterday?"

"Yesterday I think," Eli agreed. "Yes, Saturday."

"No, I think it was actually Friday," her mother stated, correcting herself. "Because Becky had just stopped by, and she wanted me to look at the deals she had gotten on Black Friday shopping. I'm fairly certain it was Friday."

Cadence was sorry she had asked. _When_ Aaron had been there was actually irrelevant; she just wanted to know _why_ he was there, and what he had said, and if he had seen any embarrassing pictures of her from junior high. "Mom, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter. I just wanted to know if... if he, uh, what he had to say. That's all."

"Oh, well, let me think." Her mom took a moment to recollect the conversation. "He just told us that you had spoken to Grandma, that she had explained everything to you, or most everything, I mean, you really can't know everything about the Clandestine Ternion in just a few days. Or really even a few years for that matter..."

"Mom?"

"Right, well, he just told us that you understood everything and that you wanted to go through the Transformation process so that you could help catch the Vampires that had killed your friend. That's all, really dear. Isn't it?"

Her father nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, now that's what he said when he stopped by Thursday morning, Liz, because it wasn't until after that conversation that Cadence actually went through with the procedure, right honey?" he asked Cadence.

"So, he came by twice?" she asked, completely confused at this point.

"Yes, yes, that's right. You're right Eli. It was Thursday morning when I was working on the turkey. Oh, honey, it's such a shame that you missed such a lovely turkey this year. It really was something else. And then he came by, uh, Saturday morning and told us everything had gone well. They were just waiting for you to wake up. And now, here you are! All Transformed and ready to start your training. Oh, honey, we're so proud of you!" She reached her arm out and gave her daughter's leg a squeeze.

"And a bit scared, too, you know, Cadence, to be honest," her father added. "We're proud of you for choosing a path neither of us was ever willing to follow, but we would be lying if we said we weren't a little, uh, circumspect."

"Oh, circumspect, yes, I like that word."

"It's a good one, isn't it?"

"Mom, Dad, can we try to focus here, please?" Cadence begged, their typical banter growing increasingly frustrating under the circumstances.

"Sorry, honey," her dad apologized. "We just want you to know that we will always be here for you, no matter what you decide to do."

"And please be careful, darling," her mother added. "We understand that you're some kind of super-Hunter or something, but that doesn't mean that you can't get hurt. Please, just make sure you always listen to your commander and do exactly as you are told, okay, honey?"

Though this appeal seemed to go against what her grandmother had requested earlier, Cadence agreed, knowing it would do no good to needlessly worry her mother. "Okay, Mom; you know I'll be careful."

Cadence spent the rest of the day hanging out with her little sister, listening to music, and attempting to elicit whether or not Cassidy currently had a boyfriend. By the time 9:00 hit, she was exhausted. She told her sister good night and went in to her own room, excited to have the opportunity to sleep in her own bed again for a change. Though she was tired, she decided it might be a good idea to take a shower before she went to bed. The possibility of using her own soaps and shampoos made her happy. As she approached her bathroom, the pink bean bag chair on the floor next to her window caught her attention. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether it would be easier to keep the things that reminded her of Drew or get rid of them. She sighed, knowing this was just the first of many instances where she would suddenly be reminded that Drew was no longer here, and nothing would bring her back.

She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water wash away as many worries as she could flush down the drain. Though it was difficult to be home with so many reminders of Drew, at least she knew for sure her family was safe. She hadn't spotted any Guardians in the area when she made the drive in, but she had been assured that they were nearby, and she felt confident that her presence had not placed her family in any danger.

She turned the water off, wrapped her hair in a towel, and began to dry off. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and noted that she looked even more muscular than usual. Not "bodybuilder" muscular but definitely more chiseled than she had remembered. She wondered, if a simple Transformation could do this, what would a few weeks of training produce? She was looking forward to grabbing a fresh pair of pajamas out of her drawer as she had been wearing the same ones at her grandma's house for the last several days. Since she was in her own room, she didn't usually find it necessary to cover up before she went out to get her pajamas. However, since her house was under surveillance, and she wasn't exactly sure whether or not the curtains had been drawn, she decided to wrap another towel around her body before she walked out the door.

Cadence opened the door and exited the restroom. Glancing up, something very unexpected caught her eye, and she literally jumped back, into the doorjamb, the towel around her head the only cushion she had from what would have otherwise been a ridiculous blow to the head. "What are you doing in my bedroom again?" she demanded.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Aaron began. "I just climbed in the window.... I had no idea you were in the shower. If I had known, I wouldn't have come in."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you keep climbing in my bedroom window!" she exclaimed, adjusting the towel around her body to make sure everything was covered and suddenly fully aware that she had a large turban like fixture wrapped around her head.

"I know; you're right. It doesn't. I just needed to talk to you. And I didn't want to bother your parents. And you don't have the IAC yet...." Piling on excuses seemed to make it worse, so he finally stopped. He was staring at her; she raised an eyebrow to alert him of this fact, and once he realized she had noticed, he turned his eyes away, his hand automatically flying to his hair as he did so.

"Have you ever heard of a cell phone?" she asked, picking her iPhone up off of the nightstand and shaking it at him. "Or perhaps an email? Surely your people can get their hands on any phone number or email address they need." She was beginning to calm down now, even though she was still upset that he had almost walked in on her completely naked.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise," he said, still refusing to look at her.

"All right then," she said, walking around her bed toward her dresser, having to squeeze by him in the process. He took a few steps back, giving her a wide berth. She grabbed her cutest pajamas out of the drawer, slid by, made her way back to the bathroom, and slammed the door.

Now that her initial shock was over, she was actually quite enjoying watching him turn from pink to red to some sort of maroon color as he became more and more embarrassed. "I'll be out in a second," she shouted, hoping he didn't disappear while she was in the bathroom. She took a moment to run a brush through her hair and tie it back before she came out. She couldn't hear him, so she was wondering if he might have ducked back out the window

When she opened the door, he was still there, though he was sitting in one of her chairs across the room now. Despite the fact that it was almost winter, she was wearing a camisole top and boy cut shorts in a light pink that she felt really complimented her skin tone. Since the Transformation, she hadn't been affected by the weather the same way she was as a human. In fact, she almost felt as if she were generating her own source of body heat.

He seemed to notice what she was wearing, but he didn't make any remarks. She sat down in the chair next to him, picking up a throw pillow and hugging it to her chest. "So, what brings you by?" she asked.

He still hesitated to look at her, even though she was somewhat clothed now. He glanced in her direction and then back at the floor. "Well, I wanted to see how you were feeling," he began, cautiously. "I haven't seen you since the procedure, and I wanted to check in with you."

"I'm good," she said, nodding her head. "It took me a while to come around, you know, after the process," she explained, and he nodded that he was aware of that situation. "But now I'm good. I'm getting used to things, changes. I think that will take a little time, but I'll get there."

"That's good. So, what have you noticed so far?" he asked, finally becoming a little more capable of looking in her direction.

"Oh, just the way things move, mostly. It's almost like I can control it, you know? Like speed it up or down. It's weird. That's going to take some adjustment."

"It does," he said as if remembering having similar experiences early after his own Transformation. "You will get used to it, and it will really help you when you are in battle," he added.

"Right, battle," she said widening her eyes. "Not exactly something I do every day."

"That is part of the job description, you know?" he said smiling.

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I know. Just not sure I'm ready for that yet."

"No, you're not," he agreed. "But we'll get you over to LIGHTS in the next couple of days, and within a few weeks you'll be ready to go."

That statement opened the door for her question of earlier that day regarding who exactly would be training her. Now, with the topic hanging between them, she was hesitant to ask.

He seemed to know what she was thinking, however, so he broached the topic himself. "I spoke to Eliza earlier today," he said, clearly choosing his words carefully.

"Did you?" she asked. She kind of had a feeling Eliza would be asking if he was planning on training her or not, wanting to know for her own purposes. Something seemed to be going on there, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. Eliza just seemed very protective of Aaron, like she didn't want Cadence to get too close.

"Yes, I did," he reiterated. "She told me the two of you had had a conversation about your training and that you had some questions. That's really why I decided to just come over and meet with you, though you're right a phone call would have been nice."

She smiled. She was over it now. "Well, yes," she began. "I felt like, when we talked about its few days ago, that you had indicated that you would be doing my training, or at least the majority of it. But then, after speaking to Eliza, I was confused. She said that you don't really train anymore, and it would probably be someone else. So, I just wasn't sure what your plan was, or if you had a plan yet, or what was going on."

He seemed to consider her question carefully before he responded. "Okay, so, first of all, you need to know that, she is right. I don't usually do training anymore, unless something comes up, there's an emergency, that sort of things." Cadence's face fell. He could tell that she was not happy with his response so far, so he started talking faster. "However, I am planning on making an exception for you." She took a deep breath and began to calm down a little bit. "Reason being, I don't think we have any trainers who will be able to keep up with you for one, and also because I know that we had talked about that as part of our agreement. So, yes, I will be doing the majority of your training. Although, I can't guarantee that no one else will ever be involved."

"Sure," she said, nodding along.

"You know, there might be times when I just can't make a session, that sort of thing, and then someone else may have to fill in. But, my intentions are to train you myself."

"Okay, good," she felt much better now and was glad that he had come even though things could've been very embarrassing for her.

"Now, that being said," he continued, "you should also realize that I'm going to be a lot harder on you than anyone else would be. You do realize that, right?"

Cadence wasn't sure if the thought had occurred to her before or not, but she nodded her head. She realized it now.

"If I'm responsible for training you, and I'm responsible for keeping you safe, you'd better be damn sure that I'm going to whip your ass into shape well before you come into contact with any more Vampires. That's a guarantee."

Even though what he was proposing did not sound like a lot of fun, it did make sense, and she was relieved to hear it in a way. At least, she should be as prepared as possible before she ever had to face the enemy.

"There is one more thing I wanted to mention to you," he said, avoiding eye contact with her again, and staring at the floor in front of him.

"What's that?" Cadence asked cautiously.

"Well, it has to do with Eliza," he said folding his arms across his chest.

Cadence cocked her head to the side a bit. "Go on," she requested.

"Eliza really likes you," he began. "So does Jamie for that matter, and everyone who has met you. But, um, well, Eliza has some areas we are working on, and getting along with other female members of our team is one of those areas."

Cadence was a little surprised. "Really? I think she's been super nice and supportive."

"Oh, yeah, I agree. Absolutely. So far, she has really gotten along with you extremely well. And I am hopeful that things will stay that way. But I wanted to let you know so that, in situations like today when you see her get a little defensive, you can come directly to me and ask me yourself instead of going through her. Do you know what I mean?"

Cadence was nodding. "You mean when I was asking her about my training?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"And she was adamant that you wouldn't be doing it?"

"That would be a prime example."

"Okay," Cadence said slowly. "Sorry. I had no idea that would be something she wouldn't want to answer for me."

"Oh, no, that's okay. And here's the deal, Cadence, you may not know when you're going to cause her to become a little hot-tempered. But once you recognize that it has happened, just slowly back away, and then let me know, and I'll address it."

She was nodding, but she really wasn't sure she fully understood what he was requesting. Cadence had realized, however, that Eliza only started acting funny when she mentioned Aaron. "Maybe, in the future, I should just... not talk about you to her at all then?"

"That might be one solution," he admitted.

She started to ask another question but then hesitated. It really wasn't her business, and yet she really wanted to know. Finally, she decided to ask, and if he wanted to tell her he could, and if not, he could tell her it was inappropriate. "I'm sorry for prying, but did you guys used to date or something?"

His expression changed completely, and Cadence almost wished she hadn't asked. He pressed his lips together, as if he were searching for an answer. Eventually, he began to slowly nod his head, and Cadence gave him a look that said, "That explains it." He said nothing more, though it almost seemed to her that he wanted to clarify. He glanced at her and then back at the floor several times, his hands rubbing together where they were folded in front of him.

She had about twenty follow-up questions but decided not to ask them since he didn't volunteer any more information. She knew she would be arriving at LIGHTS soon, and if there were other girls present, chances were she would find out anyway. Then another thought occurred to her. "Wait, are you still?"

"Oh, no," Aaron said, almost too quickly. "I mean, I love Eliza, don't get me wrong. Well, I mean, I don't _love_ her, but I... you know what I mean. The answer is no, we are no longer dating and have not been dating for quite some time."

Cadence held back a giggle that threatened to escape her lips. Clearly, Aaron was no longer interested in Eliza, though Eliza was certainly interested in him. "Okay, then," she said. An awkward silence settled upon them, and though Cadence was exhausted, and Aaron probably had more work to do than he could possibly ever finish, he didn't really seem to want to go, and she didn't really want him to leave.

Eventually, a yawn escaped Cadence, despite her attempts at stifling it, prompting him to say, "I guess I should let you go. I know you have an important event tomorrow."

Cadence had honestly been trying not to think about the funeral. She had asked her mother to locate her favorite black dress and hang it in the front of her closet so that she could just grab it in the morning without thinking and throw it on. She resolved herself against crying again while Aaron was here, however, so she concentrated instead on thinking about something that made her happy. Luckily for her, she was able to fix her attention back on his face and see his smile. His expression was one of concern and understanding, but his face still fit into the category of "things that made her happy," and she was able to force a small smile back in return.

He leaned in a little closer to her, cautiously. "Do you want me to call you tomorrow afternoon when it's over?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, please," she said without hesitation.

"Okay," he said nodding. Just then, his demeanor abruptly changed, and she assumed an alert came across his IAC.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. Just something I need to take care of." It was enough to break the spell they had fallen under. "Well, I better go," he said standing.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired," she replied, also standing and gesturing toward her bed.

"Right," he said, understanding. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then." He took a step back toward the window.

"Okay," she nodded, also taking a step backward, hoping some distance would make this less awkward. "Bye," she added.

"Bye," he said giving her one last glance. This time, however, when he climbed out the window, Cadence was able to track his every movement, unlike the time before when he had moved so quickly she couldn't even see him at all. Now, she had another reason to smile.

# Chapter 8

Drew's father had built this treehouse several years ago, intending for his younger sons to play in it. However, every time Cadence and the rest of their group came over, they almost always found themselves climbing the rope ladder and lounging around in the top of the oak that spanned most of the width of the back yard. Even today, though it was a bit chilly and beginning to mist, the treehouse was the place they went to automatically.

Taylor and Sydney were leaning against the wall, snuggled up under a blanket they had brought up so long ago, it now smelled of mildew. The girls never seemed to mind, however, and today was no different. Kash and Jon had also found spots on the floor, while Cadence had positioned herself on one of the windowsills. Though she was still with the group, she was able to gaze out the window and mentally drift away a bit when so inclined.

Jack was not presently with them. Throughout the funeral and the graveside service, he had been acting a little odd. Cadence wasn't exactly sure what was going on with him, but she was concerned. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he seemed fidgety, jumpy almost. Hopefully, she would have the opportunity to speak to him soon.

Most of the guests who had accompanied the family back to their home stayed inside where it was warmer and drier, but Cadence could hear a few voices drifting from under the back-porch awning up to the treehouse. She couldn't make out what they were saying, nor did she care, but she thought her friends all needed to be cautious if they decided to talk about what happened. Other people in town might start to question it, and she had no idea what her friends might say and what others might believe. She knew that their memories had been altered somehow, that Elliott had taken care of that while they were still at the hospital, though she had no idea what the Guardian Passel did in order to alter human memories. She was curious to know exactly what each of her friends thought had happened. For now, however, a code of silence seemed to have descended upon them as no one was saying anything at all.

After several minutes, Jon finally spoke up, saying, "It really was a lovely ceremony, wasn't it?"

Cadence knew he had found a way to be both tactful and sarcastic at the same time, choosing a canned comment to make that sounded cheesy and condescending, and yet, completely sincere at the same time.

"It really was," Taylor agreed. "I mean, I know you're being a jerk and all, but it really was a nice ceremony."

"I wasn't being a jerk," Jon said a bit defensively. "I really thought it was a nice ceremony. That's all."

"Well, it sounded sarcastic," Taylor retorted.

"I'm sorry you felt that way," he replied.

"All right, children," Sydney said. "That's enough. It was a lovely ceremony and.... she really would have loved it," she added, holding back a fresh batch of tears.

Cadence was just about all cried out. She had spent the majority of the morning sobbing into her father's shoulder. She could tell by her friends' faces that most of them had been crying quite a bit as well. Except for Jack. His face showed no tear streaks, and he seemed to be holding up fairly well, which Cadence thought peculiar.

"I just... I just can't believe she's gone," Taylor said, staring up at the ceiling as if she could see right through it.

"I know. Me, too," Cadence agreed. In an effort to prevent herself from crying again, she decided to do some probing. "Can you believe what happened? It just seems so...."

"Surreal," Jon said, completing her statement.

"Yes, surreal," Cadence agreed. "I mean, who would have ever thought that someone would go that way, you know?"

"Can we please not talk about it, okay?" Sydney asked through her tears. "I mean, I can't even look at rocks now without thinking about poor Drew. It's just so tragic." She burst into tears again and hid her face in Taylor's shoulder.

Cadence was puzzled now. _Rocks?_ She didn't want to upset Sydney but she needed to know more. "What do you mean?" she asked. "When you see a rock, what do you think of, specifically?"

"Really, Cadence?" Sydney asked. "Don't you know?"

Taylor sighed. She had been with Sydney every day since Drew's death. "She's just so afraid that she is also going to trip and have a rock slice her throat," she explained, as Sydney's wails grew louder.

"I see," Cadence said, nodding her head. "The way that Drew fell and sliced her throat on a rock _." Really? That was the best Elliott could come up with?_ And yet all of these people truly believed that this is what had happened, including the doctors and nurses he spoke to at the hospital. No one had questioned anything, so they must all, in fact, believe that those were the events that occurred.

Cadence was tempted to ask if any of them remembered anything else from that night, but she knew she was sworn to secrecy. The first rule of Clandestine Ternion was that no human was to know of its existence without reason. Otherwise, all humans would constantly live in fear of being killed by Vampires or caught in the crossfire of a careless Hunter.

Just then, she saw Jack step out into the yard, and she decided to try to talk to him to see if she could figure out why he was acting so strangely. She excused herself and carefully picked her way down the rope ladder, wary of falling in her long dress and high heels.

"Hey," she said as she approached him. He was talking to one of Drew's uncles but excused himself when he saw her coming over. "How are you?" she asked. "I haven't really had a chance to talk to you."

They walked off toward the side yard, out of earshot of most anyone who could possibly be attempting to listen. "I'm okay," he said as he stopped near the fence. He was wearing a dark blue suit, and Cadence remembered how that color had always set his eyes off. Today, however, they didn't seem quite as bright as what she remembered, and she wondered if he had, indeed, been crying after all.

"Good, good," she said. "I wish I would have been able to spend more time with all of you this week. I just needed some time alone, you know?"

He nodded. "I understand. You went to your grandma's house for a few days, your mom said?"

"I did. I just went up there and slept, a lot, and visited with my grandma and kind of wrapped my mind around what this would be like, you know, going on without our Drew."

He continued to nod as she was talking. "And now, your mom says you're not going to go back to school? She says you took some job in Kansas City or some place? Is that true?"

Cadence actually wasn't aware that her mom was telling anyone anything at this point, so this was all brand new information, though it did seem to be quite accurate. She quickly decided she would go with that story. "Yes, yes, I'm going to be working in Kansas City. Did my mom tell you what I would be doing?" she asked, hoping not to contradict any story her mother had already concocted.

He shook his head. "Just something about the security field, something like that?"

"Okay, yes, I will be working in security. Yes, that's what I will be doing." Although what she would actually be doing was quite the opposite of security, at least from a Vampire's perspective, she decided it would work. Many of her coworkers were in the security field. As a side note, she wondered if her mother actually understood what she would be doing or if she thought she would, in fact, be protecting someone. Although, technically, she would be protecting humans from Vampires, she tended to focus on the idea that she would be destroying Vampires. That sounded much more exciting to her.

"Well, that really surprises me," he admitted. "I thought you were just dead set that you were going to be a teacher, and now I hear you've changed your mind. It's really surprising."

"No, it's not that I changed my mind," she clarified. "It's just that I felt that I should take some time off, get my head back together, and then if I feel like returning to college to work on my education degree, I can do that, you know?"

He nodded, but she wasn't sure he truly understood what she was trying to say. He rubbed his shoulder absently and stared at the ground. Clearly, he was not his usual self.

"Jack, you look tired. How have you been sleeping since all of this transpired?"

He seemed to think for a moment. He glanced at her, and then his eyes darted away. It was as if he wanted to tell her something, but he was hesitating. Finally, he said, "Listen, Cadence, I've been having some really bad nightmares. And maybe it's because everything that happened that night was so unusual, or maybe I'm losing my mind, but I don't think Drew really fell down a cliff and cut her neck on a rock."

Cadence was stunned. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. She turned to her "old reliable" question and asked, "Can you tell me more about that?"

Again, Jack hesitated. It was almost as if he thought someone was spying on them, and if they found out he suspected someone had altered their memories of what happened, they would find him, drag him away, and no one would ever hear from him again. "Well, you see, Cadence, every night I have the same dream. We're not out climbing hills outside of Villisca; we're at some festival. I can't always make all of it out, but I know Drew is missing, and we're looking for her—but not all of us—just me and you and Kash, you see? And then we find her, and she's dead. And there's this mob chasing us. I know they're not people, but I don't know what they are. I just know I need to run as fast as I can. I don't know. It just doesn't seem like we would be out climbing rocks in the middle of the night, you know? I don't know."

Cadence could neither confirm nor deny his suspicions, but she did want to make him feel better. "I do understand what you are saying, Jack. But my advice would be, just try to let it go. At the end of the day, the details of what happened to Drew don't really matter. The important thing is that we remember her, that we honor her memory, and that we live our lives in a way that would make her proud. That's really all that matters."

He nodded as if he agreed, but then he leaned in closer to her ear and whispered, "I think they're coming for me next."

She felt a shiver go up and down her spine. "What?" she asked. "Who do you think is coming for your next, Jack?"

"Them... those people...whoever was chasing us... in my dream. I think they killed Drew, and they are going to come after me next."

At this point, Cadence really wished she had an IAC so that she could contact Aaron for further instruction. She wanted to stick with the story Elliott had created, keep the Ternion a secret, but still find a way to relieve Jack's fears. She knew the Guardians were watching the entire town, and there was very little chance that a Vampire could make it in to harm Jack without the entire Guardian Passel knowing. "Listen, Jack," she began, "we've all just gone through an extremely traumatic event. I don't blame you for feeling that way. We're all sad and fearful. We're all questioning our own mortality. But try not to think about things like that because, I assure you, you're perfectly safe. And I work in security," she said adding a little wink for effect.

He smiled at her, and Cadence thought, perhaps, she had eased his fears a bit. "All right then," he said. "I guess you're right. It's just a silly dream."

She was just about to excuse herself and start telling everyone goodbye when he added, "I just have one more question though. Why weren't you at the hospital with us?"

She froze. She had no idea what the correct answer to that question was. She tried stalling. "What do you mean?" she asked, instinctively taking a step back toward the treehouse.

He followed her. "You know, that night, when the rest of us went to the hospital with Drew. You weren't there. In fact, you never even talked to the police, did you?"

She hadn't talked to the police. Elliott had taken care of that as well. But she didn't know what to say in answer to his question. "Oh, don't you remember why I wasn't there?" she began, again trying to dig for information or at least buy some time, praying for a miracle. Just then, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her sweater pocket, and though, she did not recognize the number, she knew she had to answer it. "Just a second," she said to Jack. "I have to take this."

"No, wait, Cadence. The phone can wait; just answer me," he was saying, but she already had the phone up to her ear and had turned away from him. Jack seemed to be growing increasingly angry as each second passed, which seemed extremely unusual to Cadence.

"Hello?" she said, praying that it wasn't a telemarketer.

"Just look him firmly in the eye and say, very calmly, 'Elliott explained that to you. Don't you remember? Remember what Elliott said?'" It was Aaron, and while she was a little shocked that he knew exactly what she had been talking about, she was relieved to have some help.

Despite the fact that she had taken the phone call, Jack was still standing right in front of her, demanding an answer with eyes growing narrower by the second. She pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment, and looking Jack directly in the eyes, she said as calmly as she could, "Elliott explained that to you. Don't you remember? Remember what Elliott said?" Cadence watched in astonishment as Jack's expression went from anger to calm serenity.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Elliott explained that to me. I remember now. Thanks, Cadence," he said patting her on the shoulder.

If Cadence had thought Angry Jack was odd, Serene Jack was even more peculiar, and she really didn't want to wait around to see which Jack appeared next. "Okay, Jack," she said smiling, "I'll talk to you soon, but I need to take this phone call, okay?"

"Okay," he said politely. "Talk to you later, Cadence," and then he turned and walked toward the house, as if the trance had solved all of his problems.

"How the hell did you know what I was talking about?" she asked, pulling the phone back to her ear and walking over toward a corner of the yard away from the house.

"Look up," he replied.

At first she was confused, knowing he couldn't mean directly up. Instead, she looked out toward the rooftops. She saw nothing on Drew's parents' house, nor did she see anything, or anyone, on the neighbors' houses. However, when she peered off into the distance, she could see black clad figures on top of houses two and three blocks away. "Your people can hear me from all the way over there?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, "when we want to. I don't make it a habit of eavesdropping on you everywhere you go, but some of my contacts are reporting some unusual behavior centered around Jack, and we wanted to see if he would say anything to you."

"Well then, you already know that he did," she said.

"Yes, yes, I do," he said matter-of-factly.

"I really wish I knew when you were spying on me," she said slightly irritated that who knows how many Guardians had just been listening in on her discussion with her ex-boyfriend but even more so that he was talking to her in the curt little manner he used for business purposes. She found it particularly annoying. She had been looking forward to talking to him this afternoon since he had promised to call her after the funeral. If he was going to talk to her like this, she would rather not talk to him at all.

"You will know in a few days when we implant the IAC," he responded.

This tone of this answer was a little friendlier, and she began to think perhaps he realized he was being short with her. "Well, why don't you just bring it over later and put it in yourself?" she asked.

"Ha!" he smirked. "You want me to place an IAC? Are you crazy? You'd end up needing eyeball-removal-surgery."

She couldn't help but smile at that remark. "Well, could you at least, please, attempt to find some way of letting me know when your enforcers are scoping me out? I mean, what if I want to tell my girlfriends how mean my new boss is, and you're spying on me, you know?"

"Then, I guess you will only be able to tell them how awesome your new boss is, just in case I'm listening," he replied.

"Not saying that right now," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry I was blunt earlier. I wasn't trying to be rude; I was just trying to give concise directions to alleviate a problem. Cadence, you're going to have to get used to me giving you directives in that tone. It doesn't mean that I'm angry with you or belittling you; I'm just trying to direct the movement of thousands of individuals all at the same time. Do you understand that?"

She did understand what he was saying, but she didn't like it. She also didn't feel like pressing the subject so she said, "Yes, I understand."

"Good," he said in a much calmer, sweeter tone. "Now, how did it go today? Are you all right?"

She took a deep sigh. "I'm all right," she said. And she was. Not good, not perfect but _all right_.

"I'm glad. It will take time, but you can move on from this. We've all lost loved ones, and there's never an easy way through it, I know, but you'll make it, one step at a time."

"I know," she said quietly. She really wished he were actually there with her and not just on the phone.

"Cadence, I have to go," he said, "There's a problem that needs my immediate attention, and I can't keep flipping between talking to you and IAC."

"Okay," she said quietly.

"I'll talk to you later though, all right?"

"All right, bye."

"Bye."

"Good luck with your... thing" she said aloud, even though he'd already hung up the phone. She was beginning to feel a headache coming on and pressed her palm against her forehead. This relationship was getting more difficult by the hour, and she had no idea what she was going to do about it, if there even was anything she could do about it.

She decided to go tell her friends goodbye and head back to her house. Just as she was making her way up the treehouse ladder, she heard her text alert. _"You really don't want me to do that implant, but I can stop by this evening, if you want_."

Taylor and Sydney noticed the grin on her face immediately. "Who's that from?" Taylor asked.

Cadence could feel herself blushing, but she didn't want to say too much. "No one," she replied sheepishly. "It's just this guy from my new job."

"Oh!" Sydney said, looking at Taylor and then back to Cadence. "What's his name?"

"It doesn't matter," Cadence answered. "I don't really think he's into me anyway."

Returning her attention to her phone, she typed, _"Yes."_ She hesitated for a minute wondering if she should say more, but that would do. She sent the message and then returned to the arduous task of saying goodbye to her heavy-hearted friends.

"What are you doing?" Elliott asked, a pleading look on his face. "You know this never ends well!"

Elliott had been standing nearby the entire time Aaron was talking to Cadence on the phone, and he had also seen the text. "I know, I know," Aaron admitted. "And, I'm not intending to start anything this time," he said adamantly.

Elliott snorted, "The hell you're not. I have seen the girl, you know. I am a male. Sorry, gonna have to call bullshit on that one, bossman."

Aaron sighed. The Nevada sun was beating down on them, despite the fact that it was December. They were attempting to coordinate the destruction of a Rogue Vampire by a veteran Hunter. They believed the Rogue to be holed up somewhere along this particular hillside. "I'm really not," he insisted. "She just needs someone to talk to right now, that's all. And," he added, "as much as I want to run the other direction and hide, I just can't seem to do that."

"Which is an indicator to me," Elliott concluded, "that you are smitten with this girl, and you're going to end up in the exact same situation you do every single time this happens. You realize you can't have a relationship with a subordinate because every time you give a directive, she gets her panties in a wad, and then you end up breaking up, and she leaves the team."

"You make it sound like I've dated thousands of team members, Elliott. That particular scenario has only happened twice, and both of those situations were much different than this one. Most recently, let us not forget, she did not leave the team, and she is, in fact, presently a member."

"Yes, and how is that working out for you?" he asked sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter! Because nothing is going on between Cadence and I, okay?"

"Okay," Elliott said, not believing him one iota. "If that's the case, I'm going to see how she feels about men shaped like teddy bears!"

"Go for it," Aaron said, raising his hand up as if to say he wouldn't try to stop it. "Now, let's catch this Vampire so I can get back to Iowa,"

Cadence had taken a nap after she returned from Drew's house. She had visited with her family and watched some television with her sister. Now, she was sitting on her bed, dressed in comfy pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, perusing Facebook on her phone and waiting for Aaron to arrive. He had sent her a text earlier that he was still planning on coming over but that his trip to Nevada had been a bit longer than he expected, so it might be a little later than he had hoped. Hopefully, by now, he was at least in the air on his way back to Shenandoah

She knew that it was very unprofessional and risky to have a crush on her boss. In fact, she really wished that she could find a way to completely erase any friendly conversation that had ever taken place between them. She remembered that, just last week, she was completely convinced that he was an ass, and she didn't want to have anything to do with him. But then, everything else in her life had changed drastically since that time, so why not her feelings toward Aaron as well?

At about ten past ten, she got a text from him. _"Are you dressed?"_

_"Yes"_

_"Do you mind if I enter your room now?"_

_"No, go ahead_."

_"Via the window."_

_"That's fine."_

_"The same one I used last time?"_

_"YES!"_

_"Okay—just so we are clear. I'm coming into your room now, through the window, the one I used last time. In your room._

_"OKAY!"_

As he climbed through the window, she couldn't help but say, "All right, smartass, I get it. I made a big deal out of the fact that you broke into my home while I was naked in the shower. So sorry!"

"Well, someone is in a touchy mood this evening," he commented as he entered the room. He glanced at her where she sat on the bed. A step forward indicated to Cadence that he was possibly considering joining her, but he stopped and took a step back. Even though Cadence wouldn't have protested if he had sat down next to her, she was aware that his way was better.

While she had made a decision that she was not going to pursue this relationship romantically, once he entered the room, she found the act of standing and crossing over to the chairs a little more difficult. Luckily for her, he seemed steadfast in his resolve to stay on the far side of the room, so she mustered all of her strength and pulled herself up off of the bed, careful to walk directly to the chair and not within his vicinity lest she find herself inclined to throw herself upon him.

She sat down in the same chair she had been sitting in the night before, and he sat in the other. There were a few moments of silence again, but this time it did not seem as awkward. She was just happy to see him and finally talk to him in person. He seemed glad to have a long day over.

"How was your day?" she asked. "Did you get everything resolved in Nevada?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly. I don't think we'll ever get everything resolved in Nevada, but we were able to locate the Rogue we were looking for."

"Oh, that's good," she responded.

"Yeah, but those ghost towns out there are full of them. It's just a never-ending battle."

"What do they do in the ghost towns to make them Rogue?" she asked. "There aren't any humans out that far are there?"

"No," he explained, "but they'll go into one of the larger towns on a Friday or Saturday night, wreak some havoc, and then disappear back out into the ghost towns or the caves. Even when we have a tracker embedded in them, it's still hard to chase them down out there when there's so many places to hide."

"You use trackers on Vampires?" she asked.

"Yes, in fact, every Vampire is required to come to us to get a tracker within the first six months of conversion, and any Vampire who creates another Vampire must report it to us immediately and help us ensure that the new Vampire reports to us to get their tracker implanted."

"Well, if that's the case, why is hunting them down so difficult? Shouldn't we just be able to GPS all of them?"

"If they all reported it wouldn't be so hard, but a lot of times the ones that end up going Rogue are the ones who never cared about following the rules in the first place. Or they'll rip out their trackers."

"Yuck," Cadence exclaimed, visions of Rogue Vampires slicing their arms open and digging out little silicon chips filling her head.

"It's not that painful for them. They have a pretty high tolerance for pain, as you will see. It's just that it leaves a pretty nasty scar on their foreheads, and it's kind of a dead giveaway to any of us that something is going on."

"On their heads? Gross." Cadence stated, the visions becoming even more grotesque. "Who has to put those in?"

"You do," he teased.

"Say what?" she said, though she could tell from his tone that he was kidding. "I ain't puttin' no tracker in no Vampire's forehead, no way. Not happening."

He smiled at her for a long moment. "Your sense of humor is quite unlike anyone else's I've ever met," he said quietly before responding to her statement. "We have a sub-team who is responsible for that," he replied.

She wasn't sure how to respond to his first remark, though she assumed he must have met a lot of people in his day. Instead, she focused on his second comment. "Well, don't put me on that team," she said sternly. "Because I will be quitting!"

"Okay. Duly noted."

He was leaning on the armrest nearest her chair, and despite the fact that she was curled up and leaning against the opposite armrest, trying to keep her distance, there was definitely some tension between them. Cadence rarely noticed such things, but she was fairly certain that Aaron felt it, too.

"How did it go this morning?" he asked somberly, stirring her out of her thoughts.

"The funeral was depressing, of course. But I managed to get through it. Other than Jack's inquisition, everything else was okay. I mean, there's never anything easy about any of this, but like you said earlier, we've all been there. We just have to keep moving forward, you know?"

He nodded in agreement. "I do know. I know very well," he said. He looked away from her for a moment, and briefly, it was as if he was no longer there, like he was lost in a memory. Cadence had the urge to dig deeper into whatever loss had brought that sort of reaction, but she realized now was not the time or place.

"It was nice to see my friends, but everyone seemed so different now, so..." she was searching for the correct word, and the one that initially came to mind seemed so wrong, but it truly was the best word to describe the situation. "They seem naïve. Does that make any sense at all?"

"It does to me," he concurred. "They are naïve from your perspective. You have a lot more valuable information than they do, and they will never know the things that you know. It will always be more difficult for you to speak to them, to interact with them, to relate to them, now that your eyes have been opened while theirs remain closed."

"I understand," she said. It actually made perfect sense. She had almost wanted to treat her friends like children at points during the day because they seemed to understand so little. Though she had attributed some of it to whatever spell it was Elliott had put them under, perhaps it was also her new perspective.

The thought of Elliott prompted her next question. "By the way," she asked, "could Elliott come up with no better story than a rock slit her throat? 'Cause, if not, perhaps you need a new hypnotist."

Aaron laughed, and the sound of his laughter became infectious. Cadence couldn't help but join in. Even though it truly wasn't that funny, she was happy for the opportunity to laugh again; everything lately had been so somber and serious.

Upon catching his breath, Aaron stated, "It really wasn't his fault. On the way to the hospital, your friends had been discussing what they were willing to let the police know and what they didn't want to disclose. Basically, everything about the festival needed a cover up. Jack told the rest of your friends that you killed Drew's murderer, so they wanted to hide that as well. They determined the only way to do that was to say that a person didn't kill Drew, but that she fell. Well, with a gaping neck wound, that made Elliott's job a little more difficult than usual. It worked though; everyone directly related to the incident believes it. There are plenty of other people asking the obvious questions, such as 'where does one go rock climbing in Shenandoah,' that sort of thing. But none of those people have anything to do with the investigation, so it doesn't really matter."

"And will they continue to believe this forever?"

"Most people do," Aaron confirmed. "There are occasional situations like the one with Jack where something else triggers a memory, and they start to lose their belief in the façade Elliott has created, but for the most part they believe long enough that it just becomes part of their memory system. You know how older memories start to become fuzzier as time passes? Sort of like that."

"How does he do it?" she asked, wondering what else she didn't know about yet.

"Well," he began, "if we'd told you everything about the different Passels right up front, it would've been even more overwhelming, so you should expect to find some things out as time goes on. But as for this, here's the situation. Many Guardians, and a few Hunters, have specific gifts. These are usually enhancements based upon something they either really enjoyed or were especially good at in life. So, once they Transform, they become even better at that skill, and it sometimes becomes almost like a superpower."

"So, a superpower amongst the other _basic_ superpowers they already have?" Cadence clarified.

"Sure, you could put it that way," he agreed. "Well, in his human life, Elliott was a used car salesman." He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but giggle. "So, he's very, very good at telling ridiculous stories and getting others to believe them. He really does know how to hypnotize the person he is talking to so that they will believe just about anything he says."

"Wow!" she said, still laughing. "That's crazy! I never would have pictured him as a used car salesman! And so, I was able to reactivate Jack somehow?"

"Yes," Aaron nodded. "The spell was so powerful that you were able to get Jack back on track just by the power of suggestion and a few trigger words."

"Amazing," Cadence said, shaking her head in disbelief. "So, who else has a superpower?"

"Well, I don't know how much you remember from your Transformation, but Jamie was an outstanding doctor before his Transformation. He was one of the youngest doctors to ever graduate from Harvard Med. He is what we refer to as a Healer. I've seen a few in my time, but he is definitely the most powerful one I'm aware of. His gift is pretty incredible."

"That's right!" Cadence proclaimed, the memory just coming back to her now. "He did some sort of healing thing for me when I was in such excruciating pain!"

"Yes, he was able to get you calmed down long enough for the medication to be administered. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have been able to get it in, and then, well, I don't know what might have happened. But it was crucial that we get that second shot in to your system, and his healing allowed that to happen."

"I can't believe I didn't remember that!" she exclaimed. She made a mental note to make sure and thank Jamie the next time she saw him.

"That's pretty typical," Aaron explained. "Now that we use this accelerated method, most individuals tend to suppress the entire Transformation process, so the fact that you remembered any of it on your own is pretty amazing, actually."

She nodded her understanding. "And you gave me the shot of medication," she remembered.

"That's right, I did. First shot I've ever given anyone, and I'm extremely thankful I hit a vein or else, who knows where you might be right now."

"That's nice to know," she muttered. "Speaking of where I might end up, I've been wanting to ask you, should my knowledge of the Clandestine Ternion change my religious beliefs at all?"

"I get that question a lot, and all I can truly say is, if anything, in my experience, it should make them stronger. You just went from a God you believed had somehow managed to create one amazing species of free-willed beings when now, as you know, it's really four—at least four that we're aware of. So, I would say that, if you were a religious person before, this shouldn't change that."

That was a relief for Cadence. She had been brought up attending church, and while she knew she was a sinner like everyone else, she felt better knowing that there was an omnipotent being out there watching over her.

They were both quiet for a moment as she pondered his response. He was looking away from her, and she was content to study his profile, admiring his flawlessly structured jawline, the way his nose was perfectly proportioned to the rest of his features. She knew he could feel her staring, and she chose not to care. He glanced in her direction and then looked away again, that shade of light pink that always took over when he was embarrassed just starting to make itself known. Her mother had always told her it was rude to stare, but she thought she could make an exception under these circumstances. She leaned forward just a bit as she quietly asked, "So, what's your superpower? I know you must have one."

He looked back in her general direction and gave her a small, shy smile. "You'd never believe me if I told you," he said.

"Why do you say that?" she asked a little offended.

"Because, you don't seem to think I have even the slightest amount of talent in this particular area, so there's no way you'd ever believe that I'm actually better at it than practically every other individual ever born."

She had to know what he was talking about. "Try me," she said leaning even farther toward him.

Talking about his gift must've made him uncomfortable because he was changing colors again. She was surprised at how easily she could cause him to blush. Someone as powerful and experienced at life as him should've been less self-conscious, she thought.

Eventually, he cautiously replied, "Well, I can actually read other people's thoughts based on their emotions. I'm what is referred to as a Sensitive."

Her eyebrows flew up. "Really?" she asked a little surprised.

"Yes, it comes in very handy. Often."

"So, if you can read people's minds why do you need the IAC?"

"It's not quite the same thing," he explained. "I can't read minds; I can build understanding based on the perceptions of others. So, I can't climb into your head and know Cadence is thinking 'Elliott is the most attractive man I've ever laid eyes on,' for example. The snickering and eye rolling is noted, by the way." She couldn't help but laugh at that interjection. "It's more like, I know you're thinking about love—or lust—based on the emotions I can read coming from you, and then, build a scenario for what you are actually thinking about. Chances are if you're looking at a puppy, and I get emotions of joy and nostalgia, you're not thinking about what you had for lunch. Does that make sense?"

"It does," she confirmed. "Especially the part about me lusting after Elliott."

"Oh, well, then I'll let him know," he said grinning as she rolled her eyes again.

"So, when I first met you, and I thought you were an unbelievable prick, you knew that?"

"Actually, no, I didn't. See, that's the funny thing, Cadence, I have a hard time reading you. I can't quite figure out what it is. Sometimes I know exactly what you're thinking—almost to the mental picture in your head—and then other times you surprise me. Like when you said I was 'creepy.' I did not see that coming."

"Ha!" she laughed. She wanted to say that was a long time ago, but in reality, it just seemed like a long time. It was really just a few days ago. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't think you're creepy anymore. And, honestly, I thought everything was creepy that night. Because it was."

"I'm not sure about that. I'm pretty sure you really did think I was creepy when we first met. But I'll let it slide." It was her turn to blush now. He was leaning a bit closer

"So, do you think I still consider you creepy?" she asked, sticking her toes into the proverbial water.

He stared at her for a moment and bit his bottom lip, which made Cadence's heart flutter a bit. "No, I don't think you think I'm creepy." She nodded, realizing she was beginning to sink into those piercing blue eyes.

As if he could sense they were treading on thin ice, he leaned away from her and added. "I do know when you're mad at me though; that's for damn sure."

Cadence burst into laughter, happy to relieve the tension. After she caught her breath, she said, "Well, stop sneaking up on me! Seriously, you do that after you train me and I might hurt you!"

"Oh, really?" he asked, "You think you could do that?" She could tell he was teasing her, and she played along, nodding her head in agreement. "Actually, you probably could. I'm anxious to see what we discover once we get you out on the training field. I have a feeling, which is my superpower, that you're going to be able to do things like we've never seen before."

"Well, I hope I don't disappoint you," she said quietly.

"You won't," he said shaking his head. "I'm certain of that."

It was getting late, and they both knew it. Aaron didn't have to sleep like Cadence did, and her need to sleep would lessen over time as her body figured out what to do with all of the new energy she was able to produce. He glanced over his shoulder at the window, and she assumed he was thinking about leaving.

She felt like maybe she was the mind reader now, as she stifled a yawn. "I think it's just about time for me to go to bed."

"Okay," he nodded. "What are your plans for tomorrow? Do you want to stay with your family a bit longer, or are you ready to go to headquarters?"

She pondered that question. She wouldn't have minded staying with her family a while longer, but she knew some time away from her friends would be for the better. "Well, Eliza wanted to take me shopping before we went, but whatever you think is best is fine with me. I'm ready to get started."

He absorbed that information momentarily. "Why don't you go shopping with Eliza in the morning and then come to LIGHTS tomorrow afternoon? Do you know where she was going to take you?"

"No," Cadence stated, "but she did say to 'trust her.'"

"Oh, Lord," he said, "You're going to need a plane. All right, I'll set that up. I'll also get her your phone number so she can let you know when she's here. Sound like a plan?"

She nodded in agreement. Now would come that really awkward goodbye routine that neither of them wanted to confront. He stood first, the window he used to get in and out just a few steps behind him. She stood also, but she didn't step toward him; in fact, she didn't move at all. She was wondering if he could tell how badly she wished he would kiss her.

It was almost as if she was transmitting the thought directly out of her head and into his, like she was using an IAC, it was so strong. Aaron opened his arms slightly, and took one cautious step toward her. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were on his chest, the feel of his chiseled pecs evident as she slowly slid her arms around him. She leaned her head on his chest and melted into his embrace. Something told her that, if she turned her face toward his, he would probably kiss her. However, she'd given him more than one chance before now, and since he had not done so, she thought there must be a reason he did not want to do it. Hopefully, it was just a matter of time. He was smoothing her hair with his right hand, his left rubbing her back, and she would have stood that way for a very long time if he had let her. After a few minutes, however, he released her, and she stepped back, looking up at him intensely.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She nodded.

"Please try to remember that, when I am your boss, I can't be your friend. When I am a friend instead of a Leader, individuals die. Do you know what I mean?"

Again, she nodded, though she wasn't quite sure what he was trying to say. And maybe she didn't want to know.

"Good night, Cadence" he said, gently stroking her cheek before stepping toward the window once more.

"Good night," she said as she watched him disappear from view. She walked over to her bed and flung herself onto it, elated and dismayed all at the same time. At least tomorrow morning should be fun before the real work began. She was looking forward to training, but she was also a bit terrified that she wouldn't live up to everyone's expectations. She knew they would all find out soon enough.

Aaron had parked his motorcycle several blocks away from Cadence's house so as not to disturb her parents, but as he made his way back to it, he couldn't help but think about how close he'd been to kissing her just now. Despite what he'd said to Elliott, there was something there he couldn't deny. Cadence roused feelings in him he couldn't remember having felt for decades, and with standing there looking up at him between those long eyelashes, it was almost impossible for him to keep from leaning over and pressing his lips against hers.

Luckily for him, self-control was another of his superpowers, or at least it was tonight, and he was able to resist the urge to kiss her, once again. Even hugging her had been more emotional than expected, though, and he wondered how long he could keep this up. Clearly, it was too early into their relationship for him to complicate matters by pursuing a romantic relationship. But his pull to her was undeniable. He'd have to find a way to fight it, although, as he headed back to the airport, it seemed like defeating a legion of Vampires would be easier.

# Chapter 9

Shopping with Eliza was a little bit like watching a cat chase a laser pointer. No matter how many times she seemed to pounce on an item and declare that she "Loved it!" there was always something else within her eyesight begging for her to pounce it, too. By the time they were done, Cadence had spent more money than she could possibly imagine, needed assistance with her bags, and was developing a stress headache from her attempts to rein Eliza in all day.

But it had been an amazing experience. Aaron was correct in assuming they would need a plane, and this was not just any plane; it was a Gulfstream G550, one of the most luxurious and fastest jets available. Cadence had assumed that Aaron had just chartered it for them, but then Eliza explained the team actually maintained their own fleet of jets simply because, if they needed to get somewhere quickly, they had to be able to do so. She was finding out that this was really a monstrosity of an organization, and she was beginning to wonder how its Leader had managed to spend a week of his valuable time in Shenandoah, Iowa. When she had questioned Eliza, she simply said, "You're special," and changed the subject. Cadence wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

They had flown straight into Beverly Hills, first stop Rodeo Drive. Eliza explained that her first choices would have been Milan or Paris, but since they needed to get her back to headquarters relatively soon, this would have to do. And Cadence was rather surprised by how many outfits Eliza was able to find that would actually be accommodating for Vampire hunting. Eliza had helped her pick out quite a few outfits for hunting and several for training as well. She said since Aaron had handed over his credit card that morning, she was more than willing to do as much damage as possible. When Cadence had asked if it was akin to a corporate credit card or if it was his actual personal credit card, Eliza replied, "It really doesn't matter. Both counts have more money than God."

She had also bought a few casual outfits and a dress or two, in case there were any special occasions or other evening activities she needed to be elegantly dressed for. She had never spent money like this before and wasn't sure how Aaron was going to feel when he saw the bill, but Eliza assured her it was fine.

After several hours of shopping, they finally headed back to the plane and were on their way to LIGHTS. Cadence had told her family goodbye that morning. Her mom had cried, as she knew she would, and her sister had a bit, too. But Cadence had been able to hold back the tears, content in knowing she had made the right decision and fully ready to start a new chapter in her life.

She had learned from Eliza that her belongings from her college dorm room had been collected and placed in her apartment at LIGHTS. Aaron had also arranged for a moving team to take whatever else she wanted from her bedroom at home to be transferred. She had made a list, including most of her clothing and personal effects. He'd already explained that her new apartment was fully furnished. She was sure to make note that they were not to bring the pink bean bag chair.

As the plane landed at Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, Cadence felt flutters in her stomach. She was beginning to get a little nervous, as this all became a reality fairly quickly. When they deplaned, Cadence was surprised and happy to see Jamie there with a car to collect them. She felt like a celebrity with her plane pulling right up alongside the Cadillac Escalade Jamie had driven over.

"Jamie!" Cadence said, running the short distance to where he waited. She threw herself into his arms. Though it had only been a few days since she had seen him, it felt like much longer, and she was glad to have the opportunity at last to tell him how thankful she was for his willingness to use his healing powers on her when she was going through her Transformation.

"Hello, Cadence," he said, as happy to see her as she was to see him. "Eliza," he said as she also approached the vehicle.

"James," she said in a thick British accent, as if he were her chauffeur.

"How was the shopping trip?" he asked, pulling the passenger side doors open.

"Great," Cadence replied. She saw that Eliza seemed to be content to ride in the back, so she slid into the front seat.

Eliza had arranged for all of their bags to be delivered directly to their apartments, so they were able to proceed the short distance to LIGHTS without waiting on anything else being deplaned.

Jamie climbed into the driver's seat and headed out of the airport. "Well, are you excited?" he asked glancing in Cadence's general direction.

"I'm very excited," she replied. She was looking out the window at all of the tall buildings, wondering how far they were going, eager to finally see what LIGHTS was all about. "And, I wanted to tell you thank you for everything you did for me during my Transformation. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he said, smiling as he made a sharp left that would have sent her reeling across the seat if she had still been a human. Apparently, Guardians did not reserve extreme driving for the interstates. "We're excited to have you here," he said smiling, completely unaware that his driving was anything at all out of the ordinary.

"I can hardly wait to see what happens first!"

"I have your agenda," he said picking up a sheet of paper from the console and handing it to her. "It's really more like a list since we weren't exactly sure what time you were going to arrive. Our agendas are programmed into the IAC every morning, but since you don't have that yet, Aaron wanted you to have a paper copy."

"You have an agenda every day?" she asked, a bit surprised.

"Oh yes, every day," Eliza chimed in from the back seat.

"It makes sense," Jamie said defending the notion. "There are so many of us, we have to have some sort of organization. We're really just assigned to tasks as they pop up, and the agenda helps keep track of who is involved in what. It's not like we have scheduled bathroom breaks or anything," he added.

Cadence looked it over, and it didn't look so bad to her. She read it aloud so that Eliza could hear. "Visit apartment, tour facility, train, IAC implant with Christian," she modified the phrase "train with Aaron" so as not to offend Eliza. It looked like a pretty good agenda to her. "Who is going to be showing me my apartment?" she asked.

"That would be me," Jamie replied. "I am your host, unless otherwise specified."

"Terrific!" Cadence exclaimed. "I'm so glad we get to spend the rest of the day together!"

"Wait, you're training her?" Eliza asked. "That can't be right. You're great at what you do, but training is not your area of expertise."

Jamie must have known exactly why Cadence had not read that part aloud and wished to avoid it as well. "Um, I'm not sure about that," he lied. "Probably not. I guess I'm your host for most of those events. Put it that way. We'll figure it out."

Eliza snorted in disgust, but she didn't ask any more questions. If she had drawn any conclusions, she didn't say so, and Cadence chose to change the topic, rather than face her wrath.

"Will you be there when I get my IAC?" she asked Jamie.

"Do you want me to be?" he inquired.

"Yes, please!" she responded without hesitation. She wasn't sure if this was going to hurt or not, but she didn't want to take any chances.

"Then, I will be there," he replied. She grabbed his arm and gave it a squeeze. Jamie beamed in response, and Eliza made a sort of half-snorting noise in the back seat. In the rearview mirror, Cadence saw her eyebrows raised sharply.

"Unless it's not on your agenda," Eliza blurted.

"Listen here, Eliza Doolittle, you have quite the attitude this afternoon. Didn't shopping make you happy?" Jamie asked also catching her eye in the rearview mirror.

"Yes," Eliza admitted, "It did. I'm just crashing, I guess," she muttered.

They turned a corner, and a large building complex came to view in the distance. Cadence's heart sped up as she assumed this might be LIGHTS. They were out of the city now, and the campus seemed to take up several acres. They passed through a fence, which opened automatically as the vehicle approached. Cadence thought there must be some sort of sensor. Then they wound their way up a little hill toward the main buildings.

"Those two taller buildings in the back are the apartments," Jamie explained. "That building that looks like a gym is the _gym_ ," he said smiling, "and you don't have to worry about most of these other buildings because you won't ever be in them. Unless of course you get called into Aaron's office for doing something stupid, which happens more frequently for some people than for others," he added, glancing in Eliza's direction. She stuck her tongue out at him but said nothing. "His office is in that building right there," he said pointing to one of the taller buildings. "And then this little building right here is where we meet to talk about hunts, both planning and debriefing. Over here is the parking garage where we house all of the vehicles, except for the planes and boats for obvious reasons. You'll learn as you go, but basically, you can have a car delivered and picked up in front of you building, so you don't have to worry about bringing it over here unless you're in a hurry and want to pick it up yourself."

She was nodding along. "So how many people live here?"

"Well, it varies," Jamie said thinking. "There are about sixty-five full-time Guardians on our team and twenty other full-time Hunters. We work with other Hunters and Guardians as well, but most of them don't belong to our central team. There are other teams in other parts of the country and the world as well. The other ones around here that aren't part of our team work like independent contractors. Some Guardians and Hunters have long-term working relationships. Other Hunters don't use Guardians. Some Guardians are freelancers; it's a whole convoluted mess when you really stop to think about it. And then every new Hunter and Guardian in the world is required to come and train here. They must stay on location until our trainers determine they are ready to move to observational hunts and then to be released, at which time they could possibly be asked to join our team, though that doesn't happen very often, or another team in a different region. So, that's where the majority of the individuals on campus come from, and there could be up to two hundred or so of them at a time. It really just depends on who is Transforming."

They had come to a stop in front of one of the two apartment buildings. "This is the building where team members live, and that building over there is for the trainees."

"What? You're going to make her walk?" Eliza chimed in.

Cadence and Jamie exchanged glances before he responded. "No," he replied, "not any further than you are. Cadence is on our team now, Eliza. Didn't you realize that?"

"What?" Eliza asked. "How is that possible? You haven't even completed training yet. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great to work with you and all, but what if you suck?"

Jamie just shook his head, and Cadence didn't know how to respond. She was beginning to understand why Aaron had warned her that Eliza didn't get along well with other girls. "I'll show you to your room," he said, climbing out of the car. He tossed the keys to a valet who came out to move the car, which raised another question for Cadence.

She got out of the car and followed Jamie toward the building. "So, who are the other people that work here? They know about Clandestine Ternion, too, right? Are they humans?"

The doorman pulled open the heavy glass door, and Cadence found herself in a fairly large lobby. The center of the building was open all the way to the top where there was a skylight. It wasn't a towering building, perhaps only twenty floors or so, but it was still impressive, and Cadence was feeling more and more at home.

"Most of them are non-Transformees," Jamie explained. Eliza was behind them, but she was loafing, obviously still offended that she wasn't consulted before Cadence was asked to join them. "A few of them are Transformees who either couldn't cut it or decided it just wasn't for them. It's not easy doing battle with the powers of darkness every night," he said attempting a bit of humor. Cadence chuckled, but she also saw the truth in what he said.

Jamie manually pushed the up button on the elevator, though he could have called it through his IAC, and they all stepped inside. "Are you going with us to see Cadence's apartment?" Jamie asked Eliza. The look on his face made Cadence think perhaps he was also praying she would say no.

"Sure!" she said in a chipper voice. Cadence couldn't determine if it was genuine or forced. "I have nothing else on my agenda. For now."

_"Great_ ," Jamie exclaimed. This time, there was no question the remark was disingenuous. The elevator started to move, and Cadence looked at him questioningly. "IAC," he explained.

Cadence nodded, marveling at everything the device could do.

As Eliza's face began to tell them she was otherwise engaged, Jamie tugged gently on Cadence's sleeve so she'd take a step closer to him, away from Eliza. Leaning into her ear, and in a voice Cadence could hardly detect, he whispered, "I really hope she doesn't notice we're going to the twenty-second floor."

While she had no idea what he was talking about, she nodded. A glimpse back at Eliza told her she was still on the IAC and was also distracted by her phone. Cadence couldn't imagine she would ever need it to communicate with anyone, but apparently, she liked to play games with it. "What are you playing?" she asked, trying to be polite.

It took Eliza a second to respond. "Oh, uh, Candy Crush. Easier to swipe with my finger than my eye."

Cadence laughed politely as the door opened. They stepped out into a short hallway. Looking around, Cadence realized they had gone to the top of the building. It narrowed up here, and there were only two apartments. Jamie took her to the right and pulled a physical key out of his pocket to open the door.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Eliza asked, suddenly realizing where they were. "This is the penthouse!"

"We are showing Cadence to her apartment," Jamie replied, popping the door open. He waited for Cadence to go in first and then followed her in.

"Yeah, but, this apartment is reserved for the Hunter Leader!" Eliza continued, following them in.

With raised eyebrows, Cadence turned back to look at the doctor. "There are only two apartments up here," he explained. "This one. And Aaron's."

The information was more than a little shocking. "Oh. Okay...." Cadence began, not sure what to say.

"We do usually reserve this room for the Hunter Leader so that he or she can work closely with the Guardian Leader if needed."

Only managing a nod, Cadence turned to survey the apartment. She couldn't believe how beautiful the place was. They entered into a stunningly decorated living room with an open-concept dining room and full kitchen behind it. To her left there was a space set up as a small office. She could see a couple of doors down a narrow walkway by the kitchen, and she was eager to see what was back there, though she couldn't pull her eyes away from all of the beautiful décor in these rooms.

As she passed the kitchen, she noticed granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Upon opening the first door, she found a gorgeous bedroom, decorated in shades of purple and gray, two of her favorite colors. The bed was huge, and it looked incredibly comfortable. She walked into the en suite bathroom and was thrilled to see a Jacuzzi bathtub and a stand-alone shower. Returning to the hallway, she also located a half-bath for guests and a laundry room with a full-sized washer and dryer.

Jamie was waiting for her in the kitchen while Eliza had dropped herself into a chair in the living room and was carefully studying her fingernails.

"This is incredible!" Cadence proclaimed. She threw her arms around his neck, and Jamie couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Isn't it?" he agreed. "And did you see the view?"

Cadence had briefly glanced out the window, but she was happy to look again. She could see a great deal of the green space from here, one of the fountains that decorated the campus, and off in the distance, she could see some of the buildings from downtown Kansas City.

"This is just amazing," she commented still staring out the window. "Ha! I feel like a grownup!" she laughed.

"I'm very glad you like it," Jamie replied.

"Why wouldn't she like it?" Eliza asked. "We're in the freaking penthouse!"

Both of them chose to ignore her for now, and Jamie continued. "This actually used to be your grandmother's apartment, you know, several years ago, of course, but this was it."

"Really?" Cadence asked. How exciting to think that her grandmother had once lived here, too.

"Yes, the building has undergone extensive remodeling since then, and the interior was recently just redecorated with you in mind, but it's still the same location, same address, as when your grandmother lived here."

"I wonder if that's why it was assigned to me," she said absently, still spinning around, taking in all of the little details of the decorating.

_"No, it was assigned to you because Aaron is thinking with the wrong head!"_ Eliza commented directly into Jamie's IAC.

"I'm sure that had something to do with it," Jamie said in response to Cadence's comment, not Eliza's. "Now, you should have some clothes in your closet from your house and your dorm room. Aaron wanted me to ask you to get into your training clothes before I show you the other buildings so I can just take you straight to him. Do you think you have anything that will work for that?"

"I'll go check," she said, bustling back to her new bedroom, planning to toss herself on to the bed just to see how comfy it was before she started to look for workout clothes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jamie demanded, turning to Eliza.

"What?" she asked, as if she had no idea to what he was referring.

"Could you be any uglier or more selfish?" he asked, like a father scolding his incessant daughter.

Eliza wanted to fire back with some smart remark, but in her heart, she knew he was right. Cadence needed this room because there was a pretty good possibility she would someday become the Hunter Leader if she were successful in the hunt at all. After all, her grandfather was one of the most popular Guardian Leaders ever, and her grandmother had more success as the Hunter Leader than any two other leaders combined. It made sense to move her directly into this apartment, establish her as the leader that she most likely would be, and expect the Hunters to follow. And even though Aaron had been doing a tremendous job running both Passels for years and years, she knew he would be much happier with help from a Hunter Leader. She was just extremely jealous of Cadence and wished she was a lot less attractive. Even though it had been a while since she and Aaron had dated, and it had been a disaster, she still had feelings for him. She needed to find a way to deal with that herself instead of pushing it off onto other people and making it their problem.

"You're right," she said. "I'm sorry. It's just hard, Jamie," she said tossing herself back against the chair then and slumping her head against her hands.

Jamie sighed and wedged himself into the oversized chair she was sitting in. "You know I'm not completely unsympathetic to your situation. But in all honesty, Eliza, you've got to control your mouth."

"I know," she muttered, her hands still covering her face. She thought his tone indicated perhaps he was getting a little tired of always being the one who had to listen to her whine.

"You're going to have to figure this out, sweetheart. Cause you know Aaron is never returning to that relationship, regardless of how much either one of you claims to have changed. I'm not fully blaming you, but that was not pleasant for any of us, having him so pissed off at you all of the time and inadvertently taking it out on us. No thank you."

"I know, I know," she repeated. "I just need to move on. Find someone else."

"Yes, you do," Jamie agreed.

Cadence came bounding back out wearing yoga pants, a matching T-shirt, and a light hoody. "Will this work?" she asked.

Though she had actually been looking at Jamie, it was Eliza who answered. "That's super cute!" she said, smiling. "That will definitely work!"

Cadence glanced inquisitively from Eliza to Jamie and then back again. He just smiled at her so she decided to pretend she hadn't noticed a complete 180-degree shift in Eliza's attitude.

"Are you ready for a little tour?" Jamie asked.

Eliza decided not to join them on their jaunt around campus. She said she was worn out from shopping and needed to take a nap. Jamie showed Cadence that there were some food options in the basement of their building, including a smaller grocery store and a couple of restaurants. He also walked her over to the debrief building and let her see the meeting rooms there. She noted they had a lot of technology, which wasn't surprising considering every single one of them had a computer in his or her eye. He didn't take her to Aaron's office because he probably wasn't actually there, and as Jamie put it, he hoped she'd never have to go there. It was never a pleasant situation when you got called into the office. It was kind of like going to see the principal in school.

They finally ended up at the gym. Cadence was extremely impressed with all of the equipment that was available. Their version of a rock wall was incredibly extreme, and Cadence was looking forward to giving it a try. Jamie also pointed out something they called The Hill which looked like a 75- or 80-degree incline. It was no wonder everyone hated it. There was also a lap pool, sauna, and whirlpool. There were several trainees using all of these services while they were on their tour, and Cadence understood why that would be one of the more popular places to hang out.

After their tour of the back part of the building, Jamie returned her to the gym floor where Aaron was waiting. He was wearing a white T-shirt and gray gym pants, but he found a way to look incredibly attractive even in those, and it was difficult for her to keep from bounding at him and throwing her arms around him.

He smiled when he saw her. The high ponytail she wore swung back and forth as she practically skipped over, and she was sure that and the smile plastered on her face would let him know how happy she was not only to be there but also to see him.

"Hey," he called to them as they approached. "You're smiling now, but you might not be once I start putting you through your paces." From the looks of it, he had been observing a couple of other trainees who were working out with one of the trainers. He said something to a very muscular man with dark hair and a whistle in his mouth and closed the gap between them. "How are you?" he asked.

At first, she thought he might offer his hand to her, or try to hug her, as he made some odd gestures before putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm great!" she exclaimed. "Never better!"

"You showed her the apartment then?" he asked Jamie. She assumed he knew that because he had likely seen at least bits and pieces of the tour through Jamie's IAC.

"Showed her the apartment," Jamie confirmed. "She loved it."

"Good," Aaron said.

Jamie continued. "I guess that well-known interior designer you sprung for paid off, despite the crunched timeline."

Aaron nodded but didn't otherwise acknowledge the comment, and Cadence wondered if Jamie meant LIGHTS sprung for or if Aaron himself had paid for her apartment to be remodeled. She wasn't about to ask that right now.

"Jamie, are you going to stick around and let me torture you, too?" Aaron asked, jokingly.

"No!" Jamie exclaimed. "In fact, I think I will just leave the gym altogether so I don't get roped into anything. Will you just let me know when she's ready for me to take her to Christian?"

"Oh, are you going to go with her to get her implant?" Aaron asked

"I asked him to go. Just in case," Cadence said quietly.

Aaron understood. "Okay, sure. That makes sense. I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Jamie said. Then, turning to Cadence, he said, "Good luck. You're going to need it." She reached out to hug him goodbye, and he kissed her lightly on the cheek before making his way to the nearest exit.

While Cadence certainly didn't mind, she was surprised. Her eyes were wide when she looked back at Aaron, who was smirking at her. "It's not...." Cadence began to explain.

"You don't have to say anything to me," Aaron said. "I already know."

She realized he meant he could tell by her reaction that she did not have romantic feelings for Jamie. She shook her head and tried to force the Healer completely out of her mind so she concentrated on the tasks at hand.

"All right," he said leading her over to where the floor equipment was housed. "I'm going to start you out on the treadmill. What we want to work on is your endurance but at your optimal speed. So, if we find that you can run a top speed of thirty-five miles per hour, then we want to work on pushing that speed for as long as possible. There are times when, on a pursuit, you may need to sprint that fast for thirty or forty minutes easily. Go ahead and hop on there, and we'll get you warmed up," he stated.

Those numbers still seemed absolutely unbelievable to her, but Cadence removed her warm up jacket and climbed on the treadmill.

"You're going to want to use this," Aaron said, hooking the kill switch on to the bottom of her shirt. His fingers grazed her stomach when he lifted the hem of her shirt, and little zaps of energy shot throughout her body. Cadence tried to ignore them, and those blue eyes, as she concentrated on her training. It might just be the hardest thing she did that day.

As Cadence began to follow his directions, she realized her body was now capable of some incredible things. She found she could easily run thirty miles per hour for up to fifteen minutes at a time and that was on one of her first attempts. She could lift hundreds of pounds and throw them the length of the gym floor. Accurately hitting her mark using a regular bow and a crossbow was easy, which was good to know, even though she would also have firearms at her disposal, and they would work with those another time. She even made it up and down the rock wall in the amount of time Aaron asked of her several times, even when he cut her initial goal in half. Every challenge he threw in front of her, she easily conquered until they reached The Hill.

Cadence was drenched in sweat as she took her place in front of the incline.

"You tired?" he asked, that smirk of amusement on his face again.

She nodded. "And sore."

"Good. That's why I put this one last."

"Is it easy?"

"Hell, no. It's the hardest."

"Great. Thank you," she replied making him chuckle. "Why is it last?" She couldn't help but think this was his own special form of torture.

"Because you're tired, probably more than a little angry with me for pushing you so hard, and I want to see what you've got when there's not much left in the reserves."

"Have I been acting like I'm angry with you?" she asked, a bit surprised to hear that. She wiped her forehead on her sleeve for the hundredth time.

"Actually, no. You've kept a good attitude the entire time even though I've demanded a lot of you. I'm incredibly proud of you."

Cadence didn't know what to say to that. She knew he was speaking to her like a coach to a pupil, but still, it was nice to hear. "Thanks," she said with a self-conscious smile.

As if he wanted to change the subject, he returned her attention to the obstacle. "All right, this is The Hill," he said as she took a drink out of a water bottle and set it back down on the floor. She nodded her head, and he continued. "It's pretty simple. All you'll need to do is just get up and get back down in six seconds."

Cadence had never worked out like this before, but she felt she had just a little bit left to give him. "Six seconds?" she clarified. She had no way of knowing if that would be easier for her or not.

He nodded, stopwatch in hand. "Ready?"

"Okay," she said assuming a runner's stance. He gave the command for her to go, and she sprinted up the incline as quickly as she could, turning at the top to descend. Her legs were burning before she even reached the top and, while she knew she had gone as fast as she could, it felt longer than six seconds.

"And that was twelve seconds," Aaron said as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Really?" she asked, panting.

"Yes, want to see?"

She shook her head. She'd take his word for it.

"Ready to try again?"

She took one more gulp of air and nodded. She was even more tired now than she was before, but she decided to try to dig deeper this time and maybe come back down backward. He gave the signal for her to go, and she climbed back up as quickly as she could, running back down the slope backward. By the time she reached the bottom, her legs were burning so badly she almost thought she needed Jamie to come and heal her.

"Well, that's better," Aaron admitted, "But it was still ten seconds."

Cadence was too out of breath to say anything, but she was royally pissed. She raised her arms above her head in an attempt to open her chest cavity for air.

"You go when you're ready." She recognized the tone from condescending trainers on TV. He didn't really want her to go when she was ready; he wanted her to go now. She might not have been angry at him before, but she was getting that way.

Cadence put her arms down and shook her head. This seemed impossible. But if Aaron told her to do it in six seconds, then she assumed that must be what everyone else was doing, and she needed to be able to do it, too. She assumed the position and took off up the hill. This time, however, she realized she didn't need to run back down if she just jumped. She wasn't sure how he would feel about that, but she decided to try it. When she reached the top, she jumped halfway back down the hill and then to the floor.

Aaron seemed impressed with her technique, but he said nothing, other than, "We're getting there. Eight seconds."

"What?" Cadence asked. She could think of nothing else to alter. She had given it everything within her. How was she possibly supposed to get up that hill and get back down in only six seconds?

And then she realized exactly what he had said. She felt like an idiot. "Okay, I'm ready," she said. He gave the signal, and this time, rather than running up the hill, she simply leaped. She couldn't quite make it in one spring but she was close, and she made it to the top on her second jump. She used the same technique to come back down. It seemed much faster this way, and she silently swore that if he said anything more than six seconds she was going to take his stopwatch and stomp it into a million pieces.

"What do you think?" he asked.

She was still busy catching her breath, and she was afraid to find out. "Not sure," she admitted.

"Look at the stopwatch," he said, holding it out for her to see.

"Four?" she asked, making sure she was reading it correctly. "Does that say four seconds?"

"Yes, it does," Aaron said smiling. "You cut your initial time by eight seconds, and you beat the goal I set for you. Now, why do you think that is?"

She had just about brought her heart rate back down near normal. One other thing she noticed about this new body is that it recovered much more quickly. "Well, the first few times I didn't think about exactly what you said. I just assumed you meant run. But you said 'get.' That could mean by any possible method. So, when I really stopped to think about the fastest way to get up there, I realized that I can jump a lot faster than I can run."

"All right, so this exercise wasn't necessarily about speed and endurance, it was more about creatively using our resources to our advantage. Don't be afraid to try something different, even if it goes against the norm. And, I was also trying to see how carefully you listened to exactly what I told you."

"Well, I guess I failed that," she muttered under her breath.

"Nah," he said shaking his head, "it usually takes me about four times to get people to understand my directions."

"If that were the case, there'd be a lot more dead Hunters, I think. You're just being nice."

"Well, I think it's about time I was nice to you. You've worked really hard, and I've been extremely impressed with your ability to follow my instructions, do what I ask of you, and give me everything you've got every single time. Nice work, Cadence." He lifted his hand expectantly, and she slapped it, but she didn't release it right away after the high five, and she noticed he didn't seem to notice the extra few seconds of contact.

Cadence was very proud of herself, but she still didn't know exactly how to accept a compliment from Aaron, so she just smiled. Her face was already red from exertion, so she was hopeful he wouldn't be able to tell she was also blushing, although she assumed he could ascertain that information using his secret power if he wanted to.

"All right, it's 6:30. I'm going to assume you will want to take a shower and eat something before Jamie takes you over to meet with Christian. What time do you want me to tell him to come by?"

He was leading her over to the door closest to her building and she followed. "Is 8:00 all right?" she asked.

"Sure, that should work fine. Christian knows you're his first priority tonight."

They were standing near a propped door now, and the cool December breeze was pouring through. Cadence instantly felt ten times better. "Okay," she said. She was a little anxious about this procedure considering that last one had not been at all what she was expecting. "Aaron, will you tell me the truth. Is this going to hurt? I mean, I know I have to do it anyway, but I want to be prepared."

He vacillated for a moment, like he didn't want to scare her but also not wanting to lie. "It probably will hurt a bit. Mine didn't, but I think most of them do. It'll be all right, though. Jamie will be there, and he can heal it pretty quickly if it gets to be too much, okay?"

She could accept that. She felt like he was being completely honest with her now. "What about your Transformation?" she asked. "Did that hurt?"

"Oh, God, yes," he said. "That was a long, long time ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. We had no assistance back then, and with my gene pool, even though it wasn't an instantaneous serum Transformation like yours, it was basically like working out every day with a similar level of pain of what you were experiencing the other day, although it probably wasn't quite as severe as yours or else I probably wouldn't have made it. But, yes, it was not pleasant."

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories or anything. I was just trying to gauge if the level of one's pain during Transformation had any correlation to the pain from IAC implant, but I guess not."

"I don't think so," he said. "I've never been able to establish anything anyway."

"All right. One more question," she said as she stepped out of the door. "What is the record on The Hill? Next time, I want to break it."

He smiled. "I love your determination. The current record is four seconds," he replied.

Her head cocked to the side in inquiry, she said "But that's my time."

"Yes, it is."

"So, did I tie with someone?"

"No, that would be a stand-alone record."

Puzzled, she clarified. "So, I broke the old record?"

"Yes, yes you did."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" she said playfully punching him in the arm.

He winced a bit, and she realized she didn't know her own strength. "I'm sorry. I guess it didn't occur to me. Cadence, you broke all of the records today. All of them."

"What? No, I didn't."

"Oh yes, you did. All of them. Speed, agility, endurance, everything. Shattered. The only person whose records you can improve upon now are your own."

She didn't know what to say. She had never thought of herself as much of an athlete, but now, she was actually impressed with herself. "Well, what was the record on The Hill before I broke it?"

"Fifteen seconds. And I know that to be a fact because it was my record that you shattered, thank you very much."

"But, I went faster than that the first time, when I ran!"

"What can I say? You're incredibly talented, Cadence. Now, go take a shower. You stink."

After Cadence took a shower and had a bite to eat from the fully stocked kitchen, she felt a lot better. Even though her muscles were sore, and she expected them to be so for quite some time, she still felt like her body was beginning to recover from the most arduous workout she had ever experienced by far.

While she was in the shower, she finally had a few moments to think, and she spent most of them trying to decide whether or not she should try to find Aaron and ask him to go with her. She felt better knowing Jamie was going to be there, but she felt a little weird about what had happened in the gym earlier in the day. And she honestly just wanted an excuse to spend some more time with Aaron.

At 7:45, she decided to venture over and see if her neighbor happened to be home. She really wished there was some way to just show up inside of his apartment, the way he snuck into her room, but she figured he had some sort of alarm system to guard against that anyway even if she would've been able to get past the lock. She stood outside of his door for a few moments, afraid to knock in case he was there and when she asked, he said he didn't want to go with her. Or what if he had company? She finally decided to just do it. If he wasn't alone, she could make something up and pretend she needed to borrow a cup of sugar or something ridiculous like that.

She had only knocked once when he opened the door, much to her surprise. Had he somehow known she was standing there the entire time? He said he couldn't read her very well, but was it possible that Aaron could feel her nervousness penetrating through the door?

"Hi," he said smiling. "Everything okay?"

The door had opened so abruptly, she was in mid-swing and was thankful she didn't actually hit him on the second knock. "Hi, uh, yeah. Fine everything's fine. It's just...."

"Do you want me to come with you?" he interrupted.

"Yes, please," she said, thankful this time that he was able to ascertain her intention without her having to ask.

"Sure," he said, opening the door wide enough for her to step in if she wanted to. His apartment was immaculate and looked every bit like a single man lived there--a single man with impeccably good taste. Of course, his sofa and loveseat were black leather. (What other color would they be?) The dining table was black, and the art on the walls was contemporary. It appeared that he was working on his laptop, even though he had clearly worked all day, and Cadence was aware some of the team members were going on a hunt later that night. She wondered when he ever had the opportunity to do anything fun.

"Jamie is on his way," he said, throwing on a jacket. She stepped back into the hallway and he followed, closing the door behind him. She noticed his key system was different than hers. She assumed it locked and unlocked using the IAC, and her door didn't have that yet because she wouldn't have been able to get in or out.

"I actually need to grab my coat," she said a little embarrassed that she had just decided to run next door and ask him on a whim.

"Okay," he said. "We may as well wait for Jamie in your apartment. He's on the fourth floor so it will be a minute."

Cadence unlocked the door and let him inside. She was determined to keep her apartment clean so there was nothing left out to feel embarrassed about, except, perhaps the _Cosmo_ on the coffee table.

"They really did a nice job in here," he said looking around.

"Didn't they?" she agreed. "I mean, I didn't see it before, but I just love it." The coat she intended to wear was in the closet in her bedroom so she ran back to get it and then rejoined him in the living room, where he was studying the art on the walls.

"This is one of my favorites," he said, indicating one of Monet's "Water Lily" paintings.

"Oh, I love that one, too," she agreed. "My art teacher had that exact one in the art room at my high school."

"Well, not this exact one," he replied, catching her eyes.

"Oh, no, I mean, you know how Monet did a lot of 'Water Lily' paintings? She had this one... one just like this one... in the art room. I didn't mean she had exactly this one."

"I knew what you meant," he said, "but this is an original, so I'm pretty sure, unless your high school art budget was astronomical, she probably didn't have this one."

"It's an original?" Cadence repeated, hardly able to believe her ears.

"Um hmm," he said as he walked toward the door.

"I have an original Monet hanging on my apartment wall?" she asked. How could that could possibly be true?

"Yes, they are all originals," he said nonchalantly.

She gasped. "All of them?" There were some pretty amazing artists represented in the collection.

He just nodded, one hand on the doorknob, as if he knew precisely when Jamie would knock.

"Why?" she asked. "I mean... that's awesome. But what if I do something to them?"

He didn't seem to think her question needed an answer so he didn't say anything, just flashed her that crooked grin. Aaron pulled open the door, catching Jamie in mid-knock, the same as he had Cadence. "Hey, Jamie!" Aaron said. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm coming, too."

The look on Jamie's face was one of surprise and a bit of awkwardness, likely because he happened to be holding a bouquet of flowers. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting my boss to open the door. You're coming, too?" he repeated, obviously startled.

Aaron nodded, stepping back so Jamie could enter if he wanted to.

"Okay," Jamie said almost as a question.

In an attempt to alleviate uncomfortableness, in the room, Cadence stepped forward. "Oh, Jamie! Are those for me?" He offered her the flowers, and she took them.

She heard Aaron mumble, "I can guarantee they're not for me."

Jamie didn't seem to know which remark to address first, so he turned to Cadence and said, "Yes, I just thought they might make you feel better, since you were so nervous."

"Thank you, Jamie! You're so sweet! Let me throw them in a vase really quickly."

Aaron had been holding the door open anticipating their departure, but Cadence heard him close it behind Jamie as she went off to the kitchen. Since it was attached, she could hear them, though she didn't think they cared.

"I guess I didn't realize you were coming," Jamie said to Aaron, awkwardly.

"I guess I didn't realize this was a date," Aaron retorted.

"It's not," Jamie sighed. "I know that. I just thought she wouldn't be so nervous if, you know...."

"If she had something pretty to look at waiting in her apartment?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I just wanted to set the tone, you know. This is going to be a fun, positive experience, and you'll be happy you did it."

"Do you mean... like a date?" Aaron asked as Cadence approached them.

Jamie had a deformed smile plastered on his face, clearly fake. She was certain she wasn't meant to hear what they were saying now. "No, I know it's not a date, but you could have told me you were coming."

"She just came over and asked me to go." Aaron seemed much more nonchalant about the entire situation--and slightly amused

"So? You could have told me instantaneously." Jamie replied, opening the apartment door.

For the next several moments, they continued to look at each other, as if they were still talking, but Cadence couldn't hear anything at all. She soon realized what was happening. "Hey, guys," Cadence said as they stepped onto the elevator. "Thank you both for being so kind as to accompany me. Now, stop arguing through your little eye computers, or I'm going to permanently remove both of them."

Whatever Aaron had said to him, Jamie looked more comfortable now, though he let out a small sigh. Aaron still looked amused, but he didn't say another taunting word toward Jamie, and Cadence was thankful. Making Jamie uncomfortable didn't bode well for her either.

The short walk over to Christian's lab in one of the office buildings was relatively quiet. Cadence hadn't realized that, by inviting both of them, she kind of did herself a disservice. She had intended to use Jamie for physical support and Aaron for emotional support, but now everything just seemed odd.

A man who appeared to be a little older than her with dark blond hair was hunched over a computer, his back to them when they came in. She assumed this must be Christian. He must have been working hard on something when they entered because he didn't even hear them at first. She wasn't sure if he suddenly realized they were there or if someone popped him an eye message, but he looked up abruptly, setting down the mouse he had been using, and coming over to meet Cadence.

"Hello, I'm Christian," he said extending his hand.

Cadence began to wonder what might be in the water around here. He was also an extremely attractive, well-built man, though his hair was a bit shaggy for her taste, with mischievous brown eyes. "It's nice to meet you," she said taking his hand.

"Likewise." He seemed to be soaking her up a bit too long for Aaron's liking, so he cleared his throat beside her, jarring Christian back to the task at hand. "Right then," he said crossing back over to his desk. Cadence thought she detected a bit of a British accent, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"Let's get you in the chair over here," he said gesturing toward something similar to a dentist's chair.

She took her coat off but wasn't sure where to put it. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her. Aaron took her coat, carrying it over to a rack by the door, and Jamie walked with her over to the black leather chair in the corner of the room. She was shaking already, and she was glad he was standing close by.

Christian was gathering his materials, which she assumed included the IAC he had created for her. Once he had the items he needed, he sat down on a stool with wheels and rolled over to where she sat almost fully reclined.

Jamie was standing about a foot away against the wall behind her, waiting to see if she needed him or not, and Aaron was still hanging back by the door. Though she was glad they were both there, she tried to clear her mind of them so that she could just get through the task at hand.

"All right, Cadence," Christian said, examining her eyes. "We are going to put the IAC into your right eye. Now, before I begin, let me tell you how this will work, okay? The IAC is a tiny little chip, so small in fact that I can hardly see it unless I look through this magnification lens. I will use some eye drops to numb your eye, and then I'll make a tiny incision on the surface of your eye, on the edge of your cornea, so that the IAC will fit right in. Then, I'll put some antibiotic drops in your eye, and you'll be all done. I'll also send some of the drops home with you so you can put a few drops in a couple of times a day for a week or so to guard against infection and help that eye to heal up nicely. Okay? Do you have any questions about that?" he asked.

Cadence shook her head. It sounded like he knew what he was doing, and she was just hopeful that this was not the one time he made a mistake.

"Good. Now, after we're all finished and the IAC is implanted, it will start doing what it needs to do to connect with your brain. I know it sounds weird and it is. I can remember being in your position not too awfully long ago thinking, 'This guy is nuts! That's not going to happen in my head!' But it does. You'll start off getting little bits of chatter, and then the next thing you know, Aaron's waking you up in the middle of the night asking why you left one box blank on a report you filled out." He laughed at himself, glancing over his shoulder in Aaron's direction, and Cadence wondered if he told that joke when his boss wasn't standing in the room. Aaron didn't seem to mind a little humor at his expense, and Christian continued. "So, the whole thing will be up and operational in about three to five days, all right? Do you have any questions about the IAC?"

"I have lots of questions about the IAC," she admitted.

"Okay, that's great. What we will do is, once it starts to come on, we'll get your mentor to go over it with you, kind of show you how it works, how to communicate, how to be sure you've stopped communicating before you mentally call the person you've been talking to a jackass, that sort of thing. All right?"

"Mentor?" Cadence questioned. "I don't think I have a mentor."

"I'm your mentor," Aaron said from his position in the back of the room.

Cadence was so nervous she barely caught the exchange of glances between Christian and Jamie. She gathered Aaron didn't take on mentees very frequently.

"And really, it could be anyone who knows how to use it. We just usually ask mentors to take care of that sort of thing because it makes it easy to keep track of who is doing what. So, if Aaron is too busy to show you how to get it going..."

"I'll show you how to use it," Aaron interrupted.

"Well, there you go," Christian said. "No offense. You're just so busy."

"None taken."

Aaron's responses were all short and sharp, which made Cadence assume he must be working while he was attending this procedure, which wasn't surprising since he was organizing a hunt for later that night.

"All right, Cadence, if you are ready, then I'll go ahead and administer the numbing drops."

She was as ready as she was ever going to be. He pulled her eyelid open and placed a few drops in her eye. "All right, go ahead and blink several times. We want to spread that around a little bit. Good," he said, looking at her intently. "I'm just watching the dye to make sure it spreads to where he needs it to be. "We're going to let that sit just a minute or two so your eye gets good and numb. Go ahead and close your eyes, and I'm going to give you a clean cloth to press against that eye until it's had time to set, all right? Just press this on there, lightly; don't push your eyeball out of the back of your head or anything, and we'll be ready in just a bit."

Cadence followed his directions, stifling a giggle. It was good that he was trying to make her laugh. It was helping her nerves a little. The room was excruciatingly quiet, and she thought they all must be talking about her without her knowing it. Even though she was certain Aaron was working, she thought he was extremely conscious of what was happening with her as he kept looking in her direction every few seconds. It looked as if Jamie and Christian might actually be talking to each other, and she wondered if they were expressing their opinions as to why Aaron would take on Cadence as his mentee.

After a couple of minutes, Christian finally indicated that it was time for Cadence to remove the towel. "How does your eye feel?" he asked.

Cadence blinked her eye rapidly. "It feels kind of weird," she said. "And my vision is very blurry."

"All right, good. I think we're in business then," he added. "Next comes the scariest part, but I assure you, I've done this hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and I've never screwed it up yet, okay? You see, I don't have to make a precision cut in a particular place. I just have to put it somewhere in your cornea, and your brain and the chip will work the rest out. If it starts to hurt, let me know immediately by raising your left hand, and I'll stop. I assume that's one of the reasons Jamie is here?" She nodded and he turned to get his scalpel. "Okay, just look straight ahead and hold perfectly still."

Cadence was terrified, watching that scalpel come directly at her eye. Christian had a pretty good grip on her head with one arm and he pulled her eyelid open with his thumb. It was all she could do to keep from attempting to jerk away. But she didn't. And it didn't hurt either.

"There we go," Christian said once the incision was made. He turned back to the table to pick up the IAC with a pair of tweezers. Attaching the magnifier to his eye, he clamped onto the chip, scrutinized it for a second, likely to make sure it was facing the right direction, and turned back to Cadence. Once again, he held her eye open with his left hand as he dropped the chip into the incision.

Cadence jerked backward in the chair, almost causing him to poke her eye with the tweezers. The second the chip hit her eye, she was suddenly flooded with streams of data, both voice and visual. It was as if she were instantaneously trapped in the mainframe of a computer database. The unending waves of information were overwhelming.

Jamie had no way of knowing what had happened, but he rushed over and immediately grabbed her head Aaron also hurried to her side.

"What's happening?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know," Christian replied, shocked. "I don't think she's in pain."

"Shut it off!" Cadence began to yell, unable to hear the volume of her own voice over the ones in her head. "Shut it off!"

"I can't," Christian said looking at Aaron.

"Then take it out!" she screamed.

"I can't do that either," he admitted. "The incision healed over when Jamie touched you."

"It's okay, Cadence," Aaron was saying in the calmest voice he could muster.

"No, it's not!" she screamed. "You've got to do something. It's too loud! I can't stand it!"

"It's flooding her mind with information." She could barely understand what Aaron was saying because of the incessant noise. Cadence grabbed her head with both hands.

"You can detect it with your IAC?" Christian asked.

If he replied, Cadence didn't hear him, but the next thing she knew, it wasn't Christian sitting beside her anymore on the stool. "Cadence, listen to me. I can help you to learn how to control it so you can turn it off yourself, but you've got to calm down and listen to me. All right? You're panicking, and that's not going to get us anywhere."

She still couldn't see out of her right eye very well, but she could see out of her left, and looking into his eyes was enough to make the panic start to subside.

"Take some deep breaths," he said. "Focus, just like you did in the gym. You're going to use your brain just like it's a muscle in your body, and you're going to turn the IAC off with your brain, all right?"

Cadence suddenly realized she was hearing him through her mind, not through her ears. His mouth wasn't moving, but he was talking to her. Even through all of the other cacophony, Aaron's voice came through clearly and loudly. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the flood of images and just listened to the sound of his voice.

_"The command to turn it completely off is simple. It's 'IAC full off.' That's all you have to do; send that signal through your brain to the chip, and it will turn completely off."_

Cadence attempted to concentrate. She tried stating the phrase once, but nothing happened. Aaron must have heard her because he reminded her that she needed to calm down or else her own brain wouldn't understand the command. She tried it once more, and suddenly, everything came to a screeching halt. The noise, the pictures, everything was gone. She slumped her head to the side of the chair in relief.

"Did you get it?" Jamie asked.

"Yes," Aaron confirmed. "She got it."

"But wait," Christian said, "Why couldn't you just turn it off for her?"

"I can't access the controls," Aaron replied.

"What? How's that possible? I created her IAC just exactly the same way I've created the rest of them. They're all the same with the exception of yours. How could you possibly be unable to access it?"

"I don't know," Aaron said, "but I can't. I can't turn it off, and I can't turn it on. Which means, if she's ever in a situation where she's in danger and her IAC isn't on, there's no way that I can warn her."

"Well, I don't like that at all," Jamie said as Cadence sat up a bit, finally beginning to regain her vision in her right eye. She knew they weren't talking to her anyway, though she couldn't help but listen.

"I don't like it either," Aaron continued, "but short of digging the chip out of her eye and replacing it, there's not much we can do."

"No, you're not doing that," Cadence assured them. She was never letting anyone cut her eye again.

"Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion it's not the chip's fault." Aaron was still sitting next to her, and as he spoke she was tempted to reach out to him, to see if it would steady her any at all, but she fought it.

"What do you mean? What else could it be?" Christian was standing near her feet, and she noticed he looked just as concerned as the other two, even though she'd just met him.

"Honestly, I think her brain is just wired differently than anyone else's."

"Great. My brain is defective," Cadence muttered.

Aaron laughed and rested his hand on her forearm where she gripped the armrest. "That's not what I meant. But it is different. So, we'll just have to work through these glitches."

"We're just going to have to keep an especially close eye on you," Jamie said, still standing next to her.

Cadence wasn't sure what to think of that, so she just smiled. She wasn't sure what the flowers had really meant, but she'd need to make sure Jamie know how much she appreciated his friendship sooner rather than later.

"Let's get her back to her apartment," Aaron said, looking at Jamie.

"Do you need any help?" Christian asked. "I still kinda feel like this is my fault."

"It's not your fault," Cadence assured him, even though she had no idea whose fault it really was.

"I think we can manage," Jamie replied, answering Christian's question about getting her back to the apartment.

Suddenly, Cadence had the sensation that she was floating and realized they had actually picked her up. She was expecting some help, not to be carried. "I'm okay," she said struggling to be put down. With her feet on the ground and Aaron's arm still wrapped around her waist, she steadied herself on their shoulders for just a moment to get her balance before blinking her eyes a few times. Her vision looked completely clear, just as it had when she came in. There was no trace of the voices and videos, much to her relief, and she was beginning to regain her sense of self.

"Are you sure you're okay? Can you walk?" Aaron asked after giving her a moment.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." As they approached the door, he plucked her coat off of the hook and helped her slide it on. Turning her head, she said, "Thank you Christian. I hope you know that this wasn't your fault. Clearly, this has something to do with my defective brain."

"Well, if there's anything I can do, please come back in, and I'll check it, all right?"

She nodded and headed out the door, Jamie on one side and Aaron on the other. Once she had taken a few steps, she knew she'd be just fine. "Guess I don't need those eye drops then, if you healed me," she said to Jamie.

"No, I don't think so," he said, one hand on her shoulder, the other out and on the ready in case she should happen to get dizzy.

"I really am fine, I promise," she said, and both men seemed to relax a little bit. She was glad Aaron still had her arm though, even if it wasn't necessary.

Upon reaching the apartment building, Jamie rode the elevator up with them to the fourth floor, but that's where his apartment was, and Cadence insisted that he get off there. She really was fine so long as she didn't accidentally turn her IAC back on before she felt confident in her ability to control it.

Once Jamie was out of the elevator, she gave in to temptation and used her condition as an excuse to wrap her arms around Aaron's waist and just let him hold her. It had been a long day, and she really didn't care at this point what was appropriate and what wasn't. He didn't seem to mind as he gently stroked her hair. He smelled like leather and sandalwood, and she found his scent completely intoxicating.

When they reached their floor, he took her hand and led her over to her door. "Why don't you let me come in for a few minutes and make sure you're all right?" he asked.

She hesitated only because she knew he had to leave to go on the hunt soon, and she was afraid that, once he came inside, she would be reluctant to let him go. But she agreed, and he took her key and let her into the apartment.

Cadence dropped onto the end of the sofa, sinking into the cushion. She finally felt like she could relax and completely let the terrifying sensation of not being able to control her own mind release.

"Can I get you anything?" Aaron asked.

She patted the couch next to her, indicating that she wanted him to sit down, which he did, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't say anything for a moment, just took deep breaths, trying to reorganize her thoughts. She could feel his hand running through her hair again and was aware of how nice it felt. He smelled divine; it was intoxicating. It was as if her senses were trying to reclaim their own territory. Resistance seemed futile. Her head rested in the crook of his neck and when she spoke, she wondered what effect her breath might have on the sensitive skin there. "Thank you for coming with me." Her voice was groggy, almost unrecognizable even to herself.

"You're welcome," he said just above a whisper.

His tone was indicative to her that the connection she was feeling was not imagined. She supposed lifting her face would easily bring contact between her lips and his. She kissed him only in her mind, but she did slide her hand across his chest to rest on his other shoulder. "If you hadn't been there..."

"Mmm, but I was. That's all that matters."

She was starting to drift off to sleep, the adrenaline leaving her bloodstream causing her to suddenly become very drowsy. The futility now seemed to be in fighting off dreamland. When he spoke again, his voice was distant.

"Cadence?" Aaron asked. Her eyebrows fluttered, coming into contact with his neck. "Do you want me to carry you to your bed?"

She mumbled something, something she didn't even understand, and he must have taken it to be a yes. The next thing she knew, she was in his arms and then in her new bedroom. She hadn't even taken off her coat, so he carefully pulled that off of her, removed her boots, and slid her between the covers. Cadence opened her eyes a few times, but she couldn't say anything, mental and physical exhaustion overwhelming her.

He sat down next to her on the bed and gently brushed the hair away from her face. "I'm going to go, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered without opening her eyes.

"I would stay with you, to make sure you're okay, but I have Rogue Vampires to catch. And I think you'll be just fine after a good night's rest. Sweet dreams." Cadence's eyes were so heavy, she couldn't even open them, let alone say anything, but just before he stood, she felt the warmth of his lips on her forehead, and she fell asleep in a state of bliss.

# Chapter 10

Cadence had received a text message that morning from Aaron, checking to see how she was doing and asking if she felt up to meeting him at 10:00 for training. Thoughts of how her night had ended had her feeling just fine, and she was out the door by 9:30. This morning was a little different than the day before, however. They were joined by another Hunter, Meagan, and her trainer, Shane, the guy Aaron had been talking to in the gym the day before. Meagan, a shorter brunette with wavy hair and an infectious smile, had been at LIGHTS for almost six weeks, and she was preparing for her first observation hunt the next night. Aaron explained that, if Meagan could successfully spar with Cadence, there was a possibility that she might be ready to go on an observation. This in spite of the fact that Cadence had never sparred with anyone before, and Meagan had been doing so almost daily for the last several weeks.

The type of sparring these ladies would be performing did not involve boxing gloves, however. It involved full-on hand-to-hand combat. Aaron reminded Cadence that he had already seen her in action and was aware that she knew how to trust her instincts. With Meagan, they weren't quite sure. The opponents she had practiced against previously were all either newbies or Guardians sent back for remediation. Now, with Cadence, they would be able to tell if she was anywhere near ready for combat with an actual Vampire.

Aaron gave Cadence fairly general directions. "Pretend she's a Vampire. Act as if you are trying kill her, but don't really hurt her. Understand?"

She had understood. Meagan and Shane did have one small advantage, however. They were able to communicate via IAC whereas Cadence had not attempted to turn hers back on yet. Nevertheless, Aaron seemed confident in her ability to defeat Meagan with minimal coaching from him.

The first round was not even close. Meagan was nowhere near as fast as Cadence. The newbie had her opponent pinned in less than ten seconds. The second round, it took her a bit longer but only because Cadence decided to let Meagan move first. After that, the trainers tried various tactics to make it more even and to hinder Cadence, such as only allowing her to use one arm or blindfolding her. Despite all of these obstructions, Cadence was still successful every single time. She was shocked at her own abilities but remembered what Aaron had told her about her gene pool. These victories were likely due to her amazing grandparents.

Even though she was losing time and again, Aaron and Shane were also very impressed with what Meagan showed them in the ring. For an average Hunter, she was doing great against a formidable opponent. She consistently made moves that would have most like been effective if Cadence hadn't been quite so fast or quite so agile.

After a few hours in the ring, Aaron left Cadence to work on the drills they had covered the day before. He let her know that he would be coming by that evening to work on her IAC. As always, he had an insurmountable amount of work to do, but he trusted her to do the exercises she was told to complete and do them to the best of her ability. She had had only one question. "When do I get to learn how to use the guns?"

"Tomorrow," Aaron had replied, amused at her enthusiasm.

Cadence stayed at the gym most of the afternoon. She was able to get in several reps of the exercises Aaron had taught her, and since her endurance seemed to last a lot longer than it used to, she continued to work out. At one point, Jamie came in while she was on the treadmill and checked on her. He was relieved to see she had fully recovered from the incident with the IAC, and he gave her a few pointers for improving her endurance. Cadence was glad things were not as awkward as they had been the night before. She really cared about Jamie, even if she wasn't interested in dating him, and hated to think he might have his feelings hurt because of something she did.

Overall, Cadence felt like it was an extremely productive day. By the time Aaron knocked on her door at 8:30, she had showered, eaten dinner, and taken a few minutes to relax with her copy of _Cosmo_.

"Hey there," she said as she opened the door. He was dressed in his hunting attire, all black, so she knew he was on his way out.

"Hi, how was the rest of your day?" he asked as he entered the apartment.

"Great! How was yours?" She offered him a seat on the couch and sat down next to him.

"Busy," he replied, honestly. "And not over yet. I'm about to catch a flight to Denver in just a bit, so I can't stay too long," he explained.

"What's going on there?" she asked out of curiosity.

"It's a long story," he began, "but basically it's a Rogue attempting to track down a specific Hunter and destroy him. Sort of like your situation, only this Rogue is angry because the Hunter killed his Vampirling, and he believes it was without cause."

"Sounds interesting," Cadence replied tucking one leg beneath her.

"Yeah, we think we have a location on him, but they called me in to help track him because he keeps slipping away. They think it's poor coordination on the part of the Hunters. Anyway, we have got to get your IAC up and running so you know what the hell is going on."

"Okay," Cadence said hesitantly. As much as she wanted to be on the same wavelength as everyone else, she was frightened to try the implant again.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she said though she wasn't sure if that was truly the case.

"Good. All right, so the first thing we are going to do is activate just my feed through your IAC. Okay, so just like you did last night when you went to turn it off, you're going to concentrate on giving the command that I tell you, and then that will activate the chip. Okay?" She closed her eyes, thinking that might help, and nodded her head. She was ready. "All right, so the first command is ' **IAC Aaron On**.'"

Cadence took a deep breath and mentally repeated those words. _"IAC Aaron On."_

There was a crackling noise and static at first, like when an older model television set has to warm up, but then suddenly, there he was--in her brain. When her eyes were closed, she could simply see a star in the corner of her right eye with a small "A" next to it.

" _You did it!"_

"Did you get that message I just sent you?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. Next to the A, his message popped up, but it wasn't as if she had to read it. The words were being read to her in his voice. It was like he had implanted his voice directly into her brain.

"Good. Now I'll teach you the commands to respond. Any time you want to talk to anyone else, whether it's me, Eliza, Meagan, whoever, you think their name first, the message, and then send. Any time you think the word send, you can be sure a message is going to that person unless you're in **Full Off** or **Full Pause** mode, which we'll talk about in a minute. All right? So, think of something you might want to tell me, and see if you can send it."

"Will I get some sort of opportunity to check it before I hit send? Like, can I see it?"

"Yes, you can. We don't usually have time to check every message we send since we send so many messages a day. It becomes second nature. But you can actually read it first if you want. The box where your messages appear is right above my line. Regardless of who else you have open, I'll always be in the same place. My messages will always be louder and faster than anyone else's because mine have top priority."

"All right, here goes." She wanted to think of something clever to say, but since she was also limited on time, she simply said:

_"I beat your Hill record by 11 seconds."_

_"I'm aware. Congratulations."_

_"How does it feel to know you got beat by a girl?_

"All right," he said, "moving right along...."

She laughed aloud and concluded that this might be a great way to mess with people.

"There are a few other things that you need to be aware of. You're going to need to know how to do a **Full Pause** , which is the same as a **Full Off** , only you're going to think **Pause** instead of **Off**. However, that's going to be problematic for you because I can't push you out of **Pause** the way that I can everyone else. I can't push you out of **Off** either."

"Why not?" Cadence asked.

"I have no idea, but I think it has something to do with whatever activated in your brain last night. So, any time you're on **Full Pause** you can see who is trying to contact you, but they can't actually access you until you allow them in by ending the **Pause** or by activating them one at a time. So, let's try putting it on **Full Pause** first.

_"IAC Full Pause"_

"Good," he said aloud, seeing her flip from **On** to **Pause** on his IAC. Then she saw his name light up in her eye and she knew he was trying to contact her. "See that? Just give it the same command as you did before to turn my feed on, okay?

_"IAC Aaron On"_

_"Nice work! You're a fast learner."_

_"You're too kind."_

"Ah, extra credit," he laughed. "You can also use the **Resume** command there instead of **On** to come out of a **Pause,** but it really makes no difference. So, **Pause** is good if you're going to sleep, or the bathroom, or something where you don't want others accessing your visuals."

_"Got it."_

"So, if you want to see what someone else is seeing, you have to turn them on first, and then just say their name and **Add Visuals**. That's it. And you get full audio with that, too, like a video camera. So, you've got me on, and there you go."

Suddenly, Cadence's field of vision was fragmented. Her left eye stayed completely as it was before, but now on the top half of her right eye, she was seeing what Aaron was looking at, which was even odder since it was herself. "Whoa!" she said, "That's crazy!"

"It does take some getting used to. But you've got time to practice, and you'll catch on. So, to turn it off, it's just the reverse."

"If I don't turn it off, can you force me off?"

"Yes, and in fact I had to allow you in. Now, with everyone else, I can override his or her decision to keep someone out. So, if we're out on a hunt and you need to access Elliott, but he's being an ass and won't let you on, I can see that denial pop up and turn it on for you."

Even as he was speaking, he was sending her a request to access her visuals so she could see what it looked like. "Do you see that?" he asked.

_"Yes, what's the command?"_

_"You can speak while we're sitting right next to each other, you know."_

_"But this is more fun."_

_"Visuals Aaron Allow"_

The request had been illuminated and once the access was allowed, it faded into the background so she could see who had access, but it wasn't drawing her attention away from the visuals themselves.

_"Cadence, you haven't turned my visuals off yet."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about."_

_"Don't make me do it for you. You get a nasty error signal."_

_"Fine, but how am I going to practice this visual thingy if I can't see what anyone else is doing?"_

"I just want to see that you can give the command. I'll let you have access again if you want it," he said. She turned it off. "Thank you. One of the easiest ways to make sure you're covered on a hunt is to turn on everyone's and then just turn off the ones you don't need. So, if you went out with ten members of the team, you could just turn the entire team on and then start turning the people who aren't present off. It's the best bet for making sure you don't miss anyone."

_"What's the command for that?_

_"Make sure you're ready for it because it's going to be a lot of chatter, just like last night."_

_"Okay, I'm ready."_

_IAC Full On_

Cadence wasn't sure but she may have sent him a few expletives. When the full team came on, it was unbelievably noisy. Her right eye was flooded with teeny tiny pictures as the other members of the team allowed her access to their visuals. "Good Lord!" she said as she soon had over thirty open screens on her right eye.

"I know it's a lot. There are a couple of things you can do to make it easier, if you need to have everyone open. You won't need to very often. Unfortunately, that's what I'm looking at most of the time."

"Really? How do you even function?"

"It took a lot of practice. First of all, if you put on these glasses, it will automatically split the field into your left eye as well, leaving you a window at the top to see what is in front of you. However, you get used to looking through everyone else's visuals as your own, and your brain really is wired to be able to do so after a bit of practice."

Cadence slid the glasses on. It took her left eye a moment to adjust. "Unbelievable. I'm not sure that's any better," she admitted. "What else can I do?"

"You can prioritize your visuals. So, say you know you want to leave everyone open, just in case you need to access them quickly, and you don't want to have to wait for them to allow access again. You can stack everyone that you don't need immediately by giving the command IAC their name and the **Stack Visual**. You can also move them around by saying **IAC Priority 1,** then their name, and then **Priority 2** , etc."

"Okay, that makes sense. How do I fight Vampires with all of this clutter in my field of vision?" she asked.

"You can use the command **IAC Pause Visual** and that will take everything out of your field of view. And then, to turn it back on, it's **Resume**."

"Got it," Cadence said. She knew she was definitely going to need more practice, but it wasn't nearly as scary as she had thought it was going to be after her experience the night before.

"I've got to go, but there's one more thing I want to mention before I do. You can turn on the Newsfeed by saying **IAC Newsfeed On** and that will give you access to all of the chatter on the IAC, including any broadcasts from our network of Vampire watchers."

"We have Vampire watchers?"

"Yes, they're mostly Hunters and Guardians who no longer want to hunt, but they want to be involved, or non-Transformers. So, check that out tonight, too, all right?" He stood and walked over to the door. Cadence had to mentally flip a lot of switches to get back to where she was comfortable talking to him and leaving the IAC on. In fact, he was the only one she left on.

"Be careful," she said.

"Always am," he replied. "You can watch if you want to. Just request access, and I'll grant it for you. You'd probably learn quite a bit that way, actually."

"Okay," she agreed. It would be nice to see others in action before she went out herself.

"Just remember if you put yourself on **Full Pause** I won't be able to re-access you so keep that in mind."

"Right." She noticed they were lingering at the door, even though he was supposed to be going right now or else he was going to hold up the plane and make them all late. He was standing only a foot or so away from him, that intoxicating smell filling her lungs. Aaron bit his bottom lip, and little waves of electricity pulsated throughout Cadence's body.

_"Aaron, just kiss me already."_

He must have been surprised to receive that message; she was equally as surprised that she had sent it. Cadence was shocked by her own boldness, and she wondered if she should try to turn it into a joke. But when he took a step forward, she knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. He gently moved a lock of hair away from her face, meeting her eyes. He slipped his hands around her waist and she placed her hands on his chest. Aaron leaned in slowly until his lips were just an inch or so away from hers and then paused for a second, just long enough to make her catch her breath. And then, his soft lips were on hers, gently at first but then with more pressure. She slid her hands up to the back of his head and opened her mouth. He continued to kiss her for a few seconds longer before pulling back.

"I have to go," he said, his forehead resting against hers.

"Okay," she said, her eyes still closed, her fingers still entwined in his hair.

"They're asking where I am at."

"I understand."

"I'll see you tomorrow," he reminded her, kissing her softly on the forehead.

Finally, Cadence found a way to pull herself away. "Right... okay," she said, snapping back to reality.

Aaron pulled open the door but gave her one last longing glance before his eyes crinkled at the edges and that crooked grin spread across his face. He slipped away so quickly, she could hardly see him go.

Cadence closed the door and slumped against it. Sometimes, too much anticipation led to disappoint. However, in this particular circumstance that was not the case at all. She ran her fingers across her swollen lips, smiling at the memory, and hoping this was just the first of many kisses to come.

Watching the hunt had been extremely valuable to Cadence. She was able to observe how the other Hunters and Guardians talked to each other, how they accessed each other's visuals to determine where they needed to go and to coordinate their plan of attack. Aaron had allowed her full access to his communication screen, and she was actually able to see him firing off directives to his team members like a rapid-fire machine gun. He was sending out orders faster than she could read them. Of course, no one was actually _reading_ most of the messages; they were sent directly into the receivers' brains, including her own, but it was still incredibly impressive to see how fast they came.

Even though Aaron was working with a team he was not as familiar with, he was still able to pinpoint their strengths quickly, and they worked together to hem in the Rogue Vampire. Out of fear, the rebel charged one of the Hunters who grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, sending his head flying several feet into the air. What Cadence certainly would have found quite disgusting not too long ago actually had her cheering, and she couldn't wait to have the opportunity to prove herself on the battlefield.

The next morning, she met Shane and Meagan at the gun range. Cadence had been disappointed when Aaron had let her know he was going to be a little bit late. Most of her night was spent thinking about him, and she couldn't wait to see him. However, she understood that he had work to do, and Shane went ahead and got started as soon as both ladies were ready.

"All right, girls," he said in his booming voice. Shane had the appearance of a bodybuilder, though he had the peppy attitude of a personal trainer. Cadence didn't know him very well, and she wasn't sure what to think of him. He had a fun personality, but there was just something she couldn't put her finger on that made her not quite count him as a friend--not yet anyway. "Meagan, this is not your first time at the shooting range. I'm going to go ahead and let you get started on the targets over there while I run through weaponry with Cadence."

Meagan found her way to the target practice station and Shane continued. "I'm going to introduce you to the two primary weapons you will be using to kill Vampires." He reached over to the table next to him and picked up the first weapon, the larger of the two. "This," he said, "is a modified Beretta 93R. It packs the same punch as the regular Beretta but we're not shooting bullets here. That would be too dangerous to humans and wouldn't do nearly as much good. We are shooting liquefied silver ions, or LSI. Now, this is a compound created right here at LIGHTS, and it will essentially take out any Vampire with just one accurate shot to the heart. Since it is a continuous stream weapon, we have to be very careful to make sure the stream ends before we swivel the weapon to engage our next target. Usually this isn't a problem. Basically, the stream ends as soon as we take our finger off of the trigger but it is something to be aware of. LIS is not deadly to humans, or to Hunters, unless a Vampire is shooting it. It does sting when one of these two entities is hit by it. Please keep in mind, however, that since you are a Hunter, you can kill Guardians if you shoot them with LIS. You will be required to spend an extensive amount of time in our training modules learning the difference between Vampires and Guardians before we even consider allowing you to take the Beretta outside of this learning environment. Understood?"

"I have a quick question," Cadence said, hoping for some clarity. "Why do most of the movies and books out there on monsters say that silver bullets kill werewolves but not Vampires, if silver really is lethal to Vampires?

"I have some theories on that," Shane admitted, "But basically, the answer is they just don't get it. Confusion, maybe. I tend to think it's a conspiracy on the part of the Vampires. You ask Aaron that and mention a conspiracy; he'll laugh right in your face. Bottom line is this, best way to kill a Vampire, rip his MFin' head off. Second best way, silver to the heart? Got it?"

Cadence nodded, so he moved on to the next weapon. "Now this is a modified Glock. Because of the size of the Glock, it does not shoot LIS. We load these suckers with the real deal, silver bullets. Naturally, you can imagine these weapons are highly dangerous because they carry actual bullets, which can also kill humans. So, with this weapon, you can basically kill any entity. Which means, if a Vampire gets his grimy hands on one of these and fires it at a Hunter, they will most certainly drop dead just as quickly as any other being. I'm sure you know by now that Vampires cannot kill Guardians, but they can kill Hunters with any weapon at their disposal. Though they usually prefer not to use guns, they can, and sometimes they do. You may or may not be aware that the original Glock does not come with a safety feature. However, ours are thoroughly modified with a top-of-the-line safety mechanism, which you engage and disengage here," he said, demonstrating the safety to her.

After Shane took her through the steps of making sure the safety was on, how to take it off, and how to tell the difference, he showed her how to load the weapons and the best way to use the viewfinder for both of the weapons, especially since she was right eye dominant because the IAC could potentially interfere with the right eye's ability to focus correctly. It took a little while for Cadence to become accustomed to holding her eyes the way he instructed her to, and she found it much easier to aim if she had all of her visuals off, so she practiced turning them on and off quickly as she shot at the targets in the gun range.

Once she had gotten used to the weapons and done some target practice, the next step was to use the practice module LIGHTS had available. This was a simulated walk through, utilizing holograms to represent all three Passels of the Ternion. So, as she listened to Shane's instructions, Cadence realized, she would have to determine quickly who was and who was not a Vampire. If she accidentally shot a Hunter in the simulation, she would receive a two-point deduction. If she accidentally shot a Guardian, she would be put on probation, sent back through the initial training, and mandated to spend at least one week solely on target practice with no module practice. They took shooting Guardians very seriously around here, and she understood why.

The goal was to score at least thirty points on three consecutive turns through the simulation. Each Vampire kill was worth five points, and there were twenty Vampires within the five minutes of the module. The module changed each time, so it was not possible to rely on one's memory to pinpoint where to find the bad guys without risking taking out one of the good guys.

Once they reached their goal of three consecutive scores of thirty points, they would be allowed to participate in an observation. This was Meagan's fourth attempt at completing the modules. She had actually scored above thirty points twice before but not consecutively. She had shot a few Hunters but never a Guardian. Shane said he thought, perhaps, she was so worried about shooting a Guardian she wasn't firing fast enough and hitting the Vampires. Cadence listened to everything he had to say to her because she wanted to make sure she did the best she could.

Meagan entered the simulator first. Cadence was able to access her visuals to observe how she preceded. From the very beginning, Cadence could see some things that she was clearly doing wrong. She stood next to Shane, and they both reacted similarly each time Meagan missed a Vampire or almost took out a Hunter or Guardian. At the end of the simulator, she had scored twenty-five points. Good, not great, and not good enough to count for one of her three runs.

Then, it was Cadence's turn. She had her choice of weapons, and she chose the Glock. She felt it was small enough that she could raise and aim it with one hand if she needed to, which would make it easier if she ever decided to carry two. For this simulator purpose, however, she was only allowed one, and she couldn't wait to get started.

Just before she was about to start, she got a request for visuals from Aaron. She contemplated ignoring him since it was sure to make her more nervous, but she decided to go ahead and turn it on knowing that, if she wasn't successful this round, his feedback would be invaluable.

She entered through a black door and was given instructions to stand on the X. There was a clock counting down above her and a gentle female voice stating the time remaining. As the woman approached zero, Cadence's nervous sensation became excitement. She waited for the woman to say, "You may begin," and she rounded the corner, entering the simulator.

The first individual that appeared in front of her was dressed all in black, and she could tell immediately that this was a Guardian, so she did not shoot. However, in the corner of her eye she saw a Vampire appear to leap out from behind a piece of furniture. She shot it, hearing the soft ping from the scoreboard above her. To her right, another Vampire appeared, and she took it out as well.

As Cadence continued to wind her way through the maze of hallways and small chambers, she began to wonder why this was so difficult. She had reached thirty points within the first 10 seconds of the simulator. Though part of her thought it would be less risky to play it safe and put her gun away, lest she shoot a Guardian or Hunter, she was having too much fun to quit now. There was one small Vampire hiding beneath a dumpster that she missed, and she was extremely pissed off about it. At the end of her first round, Cadence's score was a near perfect ninety-five.

She exited the simulator to find Shane, Meagan, and Aaron all applauding her performance. "Well done!" Shane said as she placed her weapon on the table and approached them.

"That was amazing!" Meagan concurred. "I really wish I could get this like you can!"

"Thank you," Cadence said squeezing her arm. "You'll get it. You really will."

Aaron stepped over and put his arms around her, "Unbelievable," he whispered as he gave her a quick hug. She couldn't help but beam at him. Though she was still upset that she had missed that one Vampire, she was proud that she was able to get all of the rest of them.

Meagan did better on her second turn and was actually able to score thirty-five points, enough to count as a round toward earning her observation. Between turns, the girls talked about which strategies were working and which were not, and Meagan said that it was really helping her to watch Cadence's attempts. Even though Cadence was able to get her three consecutive scores of thirty in her first three attempts, and two of her scores were perfect, something a rookie Hunter had never accomplished before, she continued to take her turns because she wanted the practice, and it did seem to be helping Meagan to watch her and then discuss. By the end of the session, Meagan was scoring in the high fifties, low sixties, and she was able to get her three consecutive hunts as well.

Cadence's prowess had drawn so much attention that many of the veteran Guardians and Hunters had come to watch her in person. Rather than just following her visually, they showed up at the gun range to collectively cheer her on. At one point, Christian logged into the system and ratcheted the level of difficulty up. It made no difference; she was still easily able to score in the nineties. And she never had a kill that wasn't a Vampire, despite the higher numbers of Hunters and Guardians he threw her direction.

Once their session was over and most of the spectators had left, Cadence set her Glock back on the table. She wanted to rush over to Aaron, but he was having a discussion with Shane, and by the looks of it, it was important. Cadence hoped they were agreeing that Meagan was ready to go on the hunt the next night. The brunette had worked hard and earned it, in Cadence's opinion. Hopefully, it wouldn't be much longer before she was also allowed to go. Although, technically, she had met the requirements, she knew it wouldn't be this hunt for her. She still needed time.

Meagan came up behind her, and Cadence put her arm around her shoulders as Shane walked over toward them. He smiled at Meagan for a long moment before his eyes flickered at Cadence and then back to the other girl. "All right," he said in his booming voice. "We'll see both of you at the meeting room tonight at 9:00." He offered both women a high-five.

"What? I get to go, too?" Cadence asked, making sure she had understood correctly.

"That's what I said," Shane confirmed. "Be there ready to go watch our forces in action. All right?"

Cadence was elated. She threw her arms around Meagan, and they both jumped up and down shrieking for a few moments before they gave Shane his high-fives. Actually, Meagan flung herself into his arms, and Cadence thought it was nice she was so close to her trainer.

Glancing around the room, Cadence saw Aaron over toward the exit, deep in the middle of a conversation with Elliott, whom she hadn't seen since she'd arrived. Despite this, she couldn't help but run over and give Aaron a hug. He wasn't looking, and when she bumped into him so hard, she almost knocked him over, but she didn't care. She was too ecstatic. "Thank you!" she said, and once he'd had a chance to recover from the collision, she planted a kiss on his cheek and bounded away hoping she'd get a chance to talk to him again later. For now, she wanted to get back to her apartment so she could watch some more footage of recent hunts and go over her own recorded simulator footage, all of which she could watch from the IAC.

Cadence flew out the door on her way back to her apartment on cloud nine. Everything was going so well! She was making great progress as a hunter, she'd finally figured out her IAC, and, oh yeah, Aaron had kissed her! Finally, things were looking up! She felt unstoppable.

"What was that?" Elliott asked as Cadence flew away and exited the building.

Aaron felt the color rising up his neck. "Nothing. She's just really happy she gets to go with us tonight, that's all."

"Aaron, I've known you a really long time, my friend. Do you think I can't smell your bullshit from ten miles away? Now tell me the truth; what's going on?"

He stammered at first, not sure exactly what to say. There were a lot of people on this team he could easily lie to. Elliott was not one of them. "It's, uh, it's really nothing. I mean nothing's going on. Nothing's happened. Not much of anything really at all."

"Did you sleep with her?" Elliott demanded loudly enough that several other individuals within earshot turned to look in their general direction.

"NO!" Aaron said sternly. _"Please be a little more discrete!"_ he demanded of his longtime friend.

_"Sorry. That was way too loud. I apologize. I just know something must have happened because two days ago that girl couldn't look you in the eye without_ _turning_ _pink, and_ _now she's kissing you in public like it's just the most natural thing anyone would do. Just go up to your boss and plant a big one right on him."_

_"All right, all right, that's enough. I told you it was nothing really. I kissed her last night. She asked me to, and I did. And maybe I shouldn't have, but I wanted to, and it happened."_

_"You kissed her?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You KISSED her?"_

_"It was nothing really."_

Elliott huffed aloud before he sent back, _"Well, I think other things might be happening soon by the looks of it."_

_"Listen, I don't have any idea where this relationship is going, but it's really not anyone else's business."_

_"I beg to differ!"_ Elliott countered. _"What happened to no relationship?"_

Aaron had no response to the second part, so he concentrated on the first. _"How's that? What do you mean you beg to differ?"_

_"Think back to what happened last time with Ms. Whiney-Britches, ignoring your orders, doing whatever she wanted, almost got herself caught in the crossfire between two Hunters. We cannot have those types of situations, and you know it."_

_"That won't happen with Cadence,"_ Aaron assured his friend.

_"How do you know that?"_

_"She always does exactly what I say. Always."_

_"Yeah, well that was when you were her boss. Now you're her boyfriend. And if she doesn't want to do what you say, or she thinks you're being mean, or you looked at her cross-eyed, she's going to go do her own thing and put us all in danger. I just don't like it Aaron. I don't like it at all."_

_"Elliott, I'm not her boyfriend. It's really not to that point. She'll listen. You'll see tonight. Trust me. I've never seen anything like her. You watched her in the simulator. She's incredible. And if she's ready to go out into the field then so be it."_

_"All right, you're the boss. Just please don't hate me when I start saying I told you so._

_"I won't because you won't have to."_

# Chapter 11

The brief meeting held before the hunt was an essential part of the task. If the directives were not given, if all of the members of the team weren't clear, if the objective wasn't stated accurately, the entire mission could be thrown off just from poor planning.

Aaron liked to arrive early if possible so he could prepare his materials before he presented them. He wasn't always able to do that, particularly if the location was far away. But tonight's location was just a few blocks from LIGHTS, in downtown Kansas City, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

As he was finishing the last few tasks he needed to accomplish, Cadence arrived. On one hand, he was extremely happy to see her, especially since she looked amazing in the skin tight dark blue leather pants she was wearing. On the other, he was extremely cognizant of everything Elliott had said earlier, and he wanted to make sure that she did not let what had happened between them last night become a distraction. Instinctively, he went into "leadership mode," even though he knew she didn't particularly care for that tone. It was the only way he was going to ensure she realized that there could be no level of familiarity between them while they were working.

"Hi!" she said bouncing through the doorway. "Where is everyone?"

He glanced up at her and then returned to what he was doing, attempting to be completely professional. "You're a little early," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You can have a seat though, if you'd like. They should be here shortly."

Cadence's entire demeanor changed. "Okay," she said finding a seat in the back where she would be out of the way of those active on the hunt.

He could feel how much she hated that he'd spoken to her in that direct tone. Considering what had happened last night, she likely expected him to be happy to see her. And he was; she just couldn't know that. Her emotions told him that she thought he wasn't happy to see her at all, and she was suddenly wondering what it was that she had done wrong. Was he mad at her or just being short because he was in a hurry? She wasn't sure, but either way, the high she had been riding when she walked into the room plummeted toward earth. He sighed, realizing she wouldn't bother to try to talk to him again, not now, not even through IAC, as she clearly thought he didn't have time for her.

Despite the dismal emotions radiating from the back of the room, Aaron continued setting up for the brief in silence. Being aware that he had offended Cadence wasn't enough for him to let her become a distraction just then. He would find a moment to speak to her before the action began, but for now, he would rather she gave all of her attention to the task at hand. Surely, once Meagan and the rest of the team arrived, she'd regain her cheery mood.

Cadence sat in the back of the room wondering what in the world she had done to make Aaron treat her so coldly. She thought, perhaps, this is just how he was when he was on a hunt; she had no way of knowing. Still, she didn't like it. Arriving early should've given her a moment to speak to him before the crowd got there, not made her feel sick to her stomach and on edge more so than she already was but for a completely different reason.

The other members of the briefing party arrived just before 9:00. Seeing them file in made her feel a little bit better and gave her something else to focus on, other than the incredibly sexy man in the front of the room who seemed to be purposely ignoring her. One of the team members joked to another that they didn't dare be late but no one wanted to be early either. The response was a whisper she only caught part of but the words, "piss off Aaron" were clear. They both had a chuckle, and she was certain he had to know what they were saying, though he didn't make any indication. He seemed to know everything.

Cadence didn't recognize many of these people, and that made her even more nervous. She was hoping that Eliza or Jamie would be there, but neither of them was. She did see Christian, who smiled at her when he entered the room, and she recognized Elliott, but he didn't so much as glance in her direction. She found that rather odd since they had been amicable during Thanksgiving dinner, the last time she had spent any significant amount of time with him. Maybe he was upset she hadn't said hi to him this afternoon when she came to thank Aaron at the simulator....

Promptly at 9:00, Aaron said, "All right, let's go ahead and get started. Most of you know why we are here, but we do have a few items to go over."

Aaron took about 30 minutes to explain who the Rogue Vampire was, what he was accused of, and what the plan was for catching him. Cadence listened intently. She knew she was just there to observe, but she definitely wanted to know as much about this particular Rogue's background as possible.

His name was Henry, and he had been killing humans with no regard as to whether or not they were considered Innocent or not. Innocents were not to be touched while the others, criminals and the other lower echelons of society, were fair game to a Vampire. In fact, Henry had even killed some human children quite recently, and that was something the Guardians and Hunters both took extremely seriously. Three Independent Hunters had chased him into the Kansas City area a few days ago. All three were present, and all three looked rough to Cadence. Their names were Sam, Finn, and Camille, and they had worked together as a team for almost one hundred years. Sam was the oldest looking of the three. He had a large handlebar mustache and wore a slouch cowboy hat and boots. Finn was so angry looking; Cadence imagined that's what someone must look like who just drank piss in place of orange juice. He had shoulder length blond hair and was very scruffy looking, though she did think he might actually be attractive if he didn't scowl and considered purchasing a razor blade. The lone woman of the trio, Camille, was a middle-aged looking African-American woman with long black braids. She didn't smile, not even once, not even a little bit, and Cadence thought they could all benefit from some play therapy.

Nevertheless, these three were the most familiar with Henry's story. They knew what to expect, and they understood how he would react when he realized the position he was in. Aaron had given strict orders; his team was there to assist in whatever way Sam, Finn, and Camille needed, but they were in a supporting role here and were not to take the lead under any circumstances unless _specifically_ directed to do so by him. All of the Guardians and Hunters in the room agreed, and Aaron stepped aside so that Shane could give some information about the location they would be traveling to.

The bar Henry was known to be frequenting was called What's Happening, and it was located near a railroad track on Prospect Avenue. Though Cadence had grown up in Iowa, even she was familiar with the idea that you never went down Prospect Avenue at night, not if you were a human and valued your life anyway.

It was believed that Henry may have been utilizing the railway to travel from one state to the next, and they believed, if they were unsuccessful in his capture or termination this evening, chances were he would disappear on the next available train. Shane covered the exits of the bar, a front door, a back door, and the bathroom windows, which were big enough for Henry to escape through, and he went over the positions the team members would hold. There were only two other Hunters present, besides the visiting three, Meagan, and Cadence. One was a tall blond named Destiny and the other was an older looking man named Rusty. Besides Aaron, Shane, Elliott, and Christian, there were two more Guardians present. Their names were Paxton and Smith, and by the looks of them, Cadence wondered exactly how they'd ever passed the sim. Paxton had glasses and a bad complexion while Smith had a faux hawk and breathed through his mouth, his jaw hanging open.

When Shane finished, Aaron asked if there were any other questions, and there were none, so he gave the order to turn their IAC's on to the current team members and to load up.

They walked outside to an assortment of dark-colored vehicles. Shane was directing everyone into the proper rides for his or her location. He told Meagan and Cadence they would be riding with him, and in fact, they would be staying with him at all times.

Cadence looked around for Aaron and saw him standing near his motorcycle talking to Sam. She noticed Sam seemed to be gesturing at her and Meagan, and she wondered what in the world he could possibly be talking about.

She slid into the back seat of the Mercedes ATS and buckled her seatbelt. Meagan joined her, but neither of them said a word. After a few moments, Shane climbed in and started the car. "All right, let me go over this one last time," he said in as stern a voice as either of them had ever heard him use. "We are observing. All three of us. Just observing. We are not helping. We are not interfering. We are not saving the day. Does everyone hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Cadence replied instinctively. "I mean, yes, of course. I hear you."

"I understand, too," Meagan chimed in.

"Okay, good. We are going to be located off to the side of the bar so that you can see how the Hunters and Guardians work together to surround the Vampire and corner him. After the mission is complete, I also want you to see how Elliott goes about cleaning up our mess. All right? Questions?" They had no questions, so the three of them sat in silence for the next few minutes it took until they reached the location.

There was an art to congregating so many non-humans in one place without anyone detecting anything strange, and the team had it down. The vehicles spread out and parked in specific locations already determined ahead of time. In fact, Cadence could see just how much planning truly went into this, and she became even more impressed by what Aaron did every day.

Shane pulled the car into a parking lot a few blocks from the bar. They made the short trek to their station and took up a spot in the alley between the bar and an abandoned building. Judging from the drawing Shane had shown them during the briefing, Cadence believed they were on the side of the building with the bathrooms. There were two windows large enough for a typical sized adult to squeeze through. She remembered that Paxton was to be stationed outside of the bathrooms and that their observation party was to be on the other side of the building. Just as she was about to ask Shane if he was sure he knew which side the bathroom was on, Aaron approached her.

"Cadence," he said in that rushed tone he reserved for business purposes, "I need to speak with you for a moment."

Shane and Meagan were conversing about something a few steps away, and even though Cadence wanted to talk to Aaron about how he had made her feel earlier, she really didn't think this was the time. "Yes?" she said quietly.

"Listen, Sam and his gang have some trepidations about you and Meagan being out here. He thinks that your presence is an indicator that I'm not taking this seriously. I explained that you've both met the requirements, and I even told him your background, but he's still not comfortable. This is their hunt. We're just supporting, so just do your best to stay out of the way, all right?"

She could tell by his distracted expression that he was getting lots of chatter on his IAC that he needed to attend to. "Okay," she said.

"One more thing," he added. "This is completely against protocol, but since I'm in charge of protocol, I'm doing it anyway." He slipped a Glock out of his waistband and handed it to her. "Do you have some place you can keep this?"

She nodded her head.

"Good. You do not use this gun unless a Vampire is headed directly at you. Understand? Under no circumstances do you use this gun unless you—not Meagan, not Shane, not even me—unless _you_ are in immediate danger. Or unless I tell you to. All right?"

She nodded her head again, taking the gun and sticking it in the back of her pants under her shirt.

"All right. I've got to go. I will see you when this is all over," he said, smiling at her meekly and disappearing into the night.

She watched him walk away, feeling more confused than ever before. He hadn't given Meagan a gun, which must mean something. And he had smiled at her. Maybe the way he'd treated her earlier was due to the hunt preparations and truly had nothing to do with her. With a sigh, she headed back over to Shane and Meagan, suddenly remembering the situation with the bathroom windows. They were still talking and laughing, and she couldn't seem to get their attention so she slunk back against the wall and turned her attention to the action.

Cadence had her IAC on, and she had gotten much better about tracking what was going on where and who she should prioritize. She had requested access to Sam, Finn, and Camille but had been denied. She didn't want to bother Aaron by asking him to grant it for her anyway. As the three visiting Hunters were the only ones in the bar, she had no idea what was happening on that front. Shane knew, however, and he was attempting to relay everything to Meagan. Cadence tried to listen in, but she was frustrated. There wasn't much use in her even being there if she couldn't see or hear what was going on.

"They are confronting him now," she heard Shane say. So, the Vampire was in the bar. Surely, with the three of them inside, they would be able to trap him.

"Shane, I think we're on the wrong side of the building," Cadence said hesitantly. However, he was so busy relaying information to Meagan, he barely even glanced in her direction. Cadence sighed and tried again. "Aren't those the bathroom windows?" Again, Shane said nothing.

About that time, she heard Aaron saying, " _Someone is out of position_."

There was no immediate reply, and Cadence was almost certain it was Paxton, but she didn't feel it was her place to answer Aaron, considering she was just there to observe.

The next time Aaron was a little firmer. " _Shane, who is out of position_?"

Shane was still not listening however, as he was so intensely relaying information to Meagan.

"Shane," Cadence whispered as loudly as she dared, "did you hear that?"

He looked up at her absently. "What's that?"

_Shane who the hell is out of position?_

He had heard Aaron that time. "Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath. _"I'm checking."_

But by then it was too late. There was a loud crash, and glass flew from the shattered bathroom window into the air, raining down on them even twenty feet away. The Vampire had smashed through the window with the same velocity of an exploding bomb. Cadence covered her face and jumped backward into the brick wall behind her. She peered out over the top of her jacket, the corner of which she was using to cover her face, and saw Henry standing there, looking around, trying to determine which way to go. She knew he must be looking for a Hunter or Guardian to be stationed right outside that window, and since there were none, he could go either way.

To his right was Prospect Avenue. Though it was a high crime neighborhood, it was also fairly busy, especially this late at night when a lot of deals were going down. To his left was a parking lot, some abandoned buildings, and a semi-busy street. On the other side of the street were some rundown apartment buildings. But behind those buildings was a park. Cadence knew all of this from the planning meeting. If Henry could make it to that park, chances were, he could lay low and find a way to escape. He looked up at the top of the buildings. No Hunters were visible on the roofs, though he must've assumed some might be hiding. He made his choice and headed toward the park.

Shane and Meagan had recovered from the spray of glass, and as Henry took off running, he ran right by all three of them. "Aren't you going to chase him?" Cadence asked Shane.

"No, I told you, this isn't my hunt. We are all three just observing."

"But, he's getting away," Cadence pleaded. This was a Vampire who had killed children. How could Shane just stand there and watch him escape?

Henry was almost through the nearly empty parking lot when Cadence's instincts kicked in. Without thinking of the consequences, she began to give chase. She heard Shane's voice echoing behind her to stop and thought perhaps Shane even chased her a few steps. To her left she saw a flash and somehow knew it was Finn. But she was faster and got ahead of him. As she made it through the parking lot, she was keenly aware that Aaron was screaming at her to " _stand down immediately."_ But at this point, she physically could not stop her legs from moving.

Henry caught the traffic light just right and made it across the intersection while Cadence and Finn, who was close behind her, had to stop.

"What the hell are you doing?" he spat at her.

She didn't have time to answer. She saw Henry weaving in and out among the shadows near the apartment buildings. Despite the fact that there was oncoming traffic, Cadence began a game of Frogger and started to dodge the cars. She was able to make it through safely, but Finn was not so lucky. There was a screech and the sound of an impact. She didn't stop to see if he was okay. She was pretty sure a car couldn't kill him.

Aaron was stationed atop the building directly behind the bar, to the left of the parking lot. He stopped giving orders to the team through his IAC now and was screaming at Cadence to stop only on her own frequency. He had a feeling, however, that nothing he could say was going to stop her, so he was also moving. He had one tool that Cadence didn't know how to use yet and that was infrared. If he could pick up on where Henry was, perhaps he could at least protect her that way. He just didn't know if he was fast enough to catch up to them.

Henry had to make another choice. He turned and looked at her discovering she was fast on his heels. He looked off in the direction of the field but must've known that, if he decided to go that direction, there was a good chance she would reach him before he could find a good hiding spot. His other option, however, was to enter the apartment building and try to find a place to hide there, or at least something to make a bargain with.

If he had made his decision one second more quickly, perhaps Cadence wouldn't have seen which fire escape ladder he jumped up and grabbed ahold of. However, she came around the corner just in time to see him pulling himself up onto the ladder connected to building four. Even though she was no longer listening to the chatter on the IAC, she decided she should let everyone know where he was, so she passed that information along as she sprinted for the ladder he had climbed.

As she sprinted to the ladder, she caught a visual of Aaron climbing on the motorcycle he had parked at the foot of the fire escape on the building he had been stationed on. For some reason, the idea that he was coming to help stilled her a bit, even though the fleeting idea that he would be livid when this was over also crossed her mind. A few hurried words caught her attention as she came to a screeching halt beneath the ladder, and none of them were promising. _"Dangerous... monster... furious... disobeyed my orders."_

Cadence could still see Henry clambering up the ladder from her vantage point directly below him. Taking a lesson from her training, she was easily able to jump from the ground to the first platform without even using the lowest ladder. Henry must have glanced down just in time to see that and realize she could catch him in just two or three leaps, so he shattered the window next to the landing he was currently standing on and leapt inside. In the distance, Cadence heard an approaching motorcycle and hoped its engine noise wouldn't wake any slumbering humans.

Cadence cleared the rest of the stairs in just a few seconds. " _He's in the apartment at the back of building four on the sixth floor_ ," she reported, wondering if anyone else was even anywhere near her location. She cautiously pulled herself inside through the shattered window and found herself standing in the living room of a small apartment. Wherever Henry was, he couldn't have gone far. Instinctively, she pulled the gun out of her waistband and began to peer through the darkness.

She heard a noise from the back of the apartment and realized it was a baby whimpering. Afraid he might harm the child, she rushed to the room where the noise was coming from. There, she saw a horrific sight. Henry stood next to a bassinet, holding a baby girl by her throat with one hand, the claw-like fingernails from his other hand outstretched, threatening to scratch, bite, or ring the neck of the baby.

Though the baby was crying, the young, exhausted mother had yet to realize it, and she was still sleeping on the bed between Cadence and Henry. There was a window just to Henry's right, and the way he was looking at it made Cadence increasingly nervous.

"Put the baby down," she said as calmly as she could muster. At the sound of her speaking, the mother stirred.

"Now, why would I do that?" he asked, his voice just as ghoulish as his appearance. "Unless, of course, you mean, put it down there," he said, gesturing toward the window.

The mother was awake now, and she appeared to be frozen with fear. She was staring right at Cadence, and if Henry realized that she could also be used as a shield, Cadence's challenge would be a lot more difficult. "Ma'am, I know you have no idea who I am or what's going on, but please, get over here behind me, right now," she said, leaving the gun trained on Henry.

Perhaps motivated by fear of the weapon, or perhaps because she was not fully awake and thought she might still be dreaming, the woman complied and ran across the room to where Cadence was standing. It was only when she turned around that the horrific scene Cadence had been staring at for several seconds unfolded itself to her. "My baby!" she shrieked.

"I need you to stay calm, and stay right here," Cadence said, reaching her arm out to the woman as a reassurance that she should not move back toward the child.

"Why, you're nothing but a little kitten, are you?" Henry was saying to Cadence now, trying to get into her head. "Not even a full-grown pussy." His greasy, thinning hair blew in the wind, and Cadence noticed he was swaying.

"Put the baby down." Cadence stated again. She remembered what Aaron had said about shooting this gun, and she wondered how much trouble she was in already. Would it be worth it to take the shot? Then there was the possibility that she might miss and hit the baby, in which case her game was over before it even began.

"You know, every small child dreams of flying." He took a step toward the window.

The mother began to weep louder now, and Cadence was afraid she might try to save her child, putting her directly into her line of fire and potentially causing Henry to harm the baby or possibly infect the child with his DNA, transforming her into a Vampire.

"Henry," Cadence began, "put that baby down, and you can walk out of this building. I promise, I won't shoot you."

He began to chuckle, "And what of the rest of your forces, hmm? The old cowboy? The black lady? The hippy? Will they be so kind as you, kitten?" As he spoke, he reached with his free hand over to the window and slowly pulled up the glass.

The mother was frantic now. Henry seemed to know he had little chance of escaping unharmed. "You know, I'm toying with the idea of tossing this child out the window, just for shits and giggles." He began to laugh maniacally and Cadence felt sick to her stomach, but she didn't respond. What could she say that she hadn't already?

She wasn't sure if she could take the shot in time and dive across the room, catching the baby before the little one fell.

As Henry held the child closer to the cold night air, she began to wail even louder. The noise was making it increasingly difficult for Cadence to think. Just then, she heard Aaron's voice come over the IAC. His orders were clear, and she trusted that he could see the situation as she did.

_"If you've got the shot, take it."_

Henry was still swaying back and forth. In order to save the baby from becoming contaminated, she needed a straight shot right into his heart. Otherwise, he might have time to hurt the child before she could kill him. When he swayed to the right, his right arm provided enough cover to prevent her from trusting her aim. But, when he swayed to the left, he opened up just a bit more and she thought she had a clean shot to his heart. It had to be clean.

She pondered the idea of giving him one more opportunity to put the baby down, but she knew he was not going to comply, no matter what she said. He was driveling on again now, something about cats, but she wasn't listening. She was using every ounce of her concentration to time her shot.

To the right, to the left. _Fire_.

Even as her finger pulled the trigger, she began to dive across the room. Initially, her goal had been to catch the baby; she hoped to grab her before she fell out of the window to the sidewalk below. However, as she flew through the air, she realized Aaron had burst through the door and was diving for the child. Cadence shifted her focus midair and reached for Henry's head instead. As Aaron dove under her, she forced her momentum upward, grabbing Henry's skull and giving it one swift crank to the right. Not only did she break his neck, but just as had happened with Carter before, as she pulled, the Vampire's head came off in her hands.

She turned to see Aaron's upper body hanging out the window, his legs resting on the bed and the nightstand awkwardly. Tossing the head aside, she rushed over to him, afraid he might fall out of the window. If he had the baby, it might be difficult for him to work his way back in. She pulled him back into the room, relieved to see the baby girl wiggling angrily in his arms. On the sidewalk below, Cadence caught a glimpse of Elliott and felt relieved that even if Henry had dropped the baby, she would've been caught.

The mother hurried over to take her daughter. Her screams of terror had quickly shifted to tears of joy as she held her precious baby in her arms. Even while the mother was cradling the child, Aaron quickly and carefully checked to see if there were any scratches or teeth marks on the baby. He shook his head at Cadence, letting her know that Henry had not harmed the child, so he allowed the exhausted mother to calm her little girl.

Cadence could hear sirens in the distance and realized that, even in this neighborhood, shattering glass, the mother's screams, the roar of a motorcycle engine on the lawn, and shots fired had probably alerted the building's other residents to call the police. She looked down to see that Henry's body had already turned to ashes.

Just as the mother began to ask questions, Elliott entered the room. Cadence and Aaron were both more than willing to let him talk to the shaken woman. Christian had also arrived carrying some sort of vacuuming device, which Cadence assumed was to collect the remains of Henry. Without saying a word, Aaron grabbed Cadence by her upper arm, not hard enough to hurt her but firm enough to get her attention. He directed her toward the door, and as she passed Christian, he gave her a pathetic smile. The reality of what she had done began to set in, and Cadence realized she was going to have a lot of explaining to do. It was evident that Aaron was extremely unhappy.

Just as they reached the doorway, Elliott picked the Glock up off of the floor and, without turning his head, tossed it backward to Aaron, who caught it with his free hand without looking and tucked it into his waistband.

_"Twenty minutes to debrief. Resume protocol."_ Aaron instructed to the team sharply as he moved Cadence to the staircase.

Cadence ascertained that the last portion, the part about protocol, had to be stated because of her. She had broken protocol. And she had broken it good.

Aaron didn't say anything at all to her as he led her down the six flights of stairs. As they reached the landing before the external exit, he said sternly, "Do not say anything to anyone. Do you understand?"

Taking his directive quite literally, she nodded her head in the affirmative and walked with him out the door.

Most of the team had assembled on the sidewalk here, except for the two that were still inside and Meagan and Shane who, no doubt, were still standing in the alley. Cadence thought they might remain in their positions for the next several years if Aaron never gave them specific permission to move.

She could see that Finn was pretty beat up. His arm looked to be broken, and he had several lacerations on his face and legs. He was standing with his team on the sidewalk across the street. As Cadence and Aaron exited the building, Sam approached them, weaving in and out of traffic, screaming a trail of expletives at both of them. Aaron seemed to ignore him and led her over to where he had dropped his bike on the sidewalk before he kicked in the front door and sprinted up the stairs to save the baby. Cadence assumed she was riding with Aaron back to headquarters so she stood by as he righted his motorcycle. Sam had a few more choice words for her, and they were becoming more and more vulgar with each passing second. Though she was trying to tune him out, it was becoming increasingly more difficult. She didn't know if she should punch him in the face or start to cry.

Aaron looked at Sam sharply and slowly stated, "Sam, that's enough. I said I would take care of it. Now, leave her the hell alone."

The old man looked a bit intimidated at first, but then he remarked, "Yeah if everything you said happened, we wouldn't be in this situation now, would we?"

"I gave the order for her to take the shot."

"If that bitch hadn't taken off on her own like that...."

Suddenly, the older man jumped back a few paces and stopped speaking mid-sentence. Cadence had no way of knowing what Aaron had said to him over the IAC, but she got the impression he had used a few expletives himself. Whatever it was, it was enough for Sam to bite his tongue.

Cadence didn't understand why Sam and his party were so angry. She had completed a task they had failed at for years. They should be thanking her! Clearly, she was missing something, however, and since she had promised she wouldn't say anything, she was glad that Aaron had handled it. Even though he was obviously angry with her, she felt a little better knowing he had stood up for her against the verbal abuse of Cowboy Sam.

Aaron climbed on his bike and gestured for her to get on as well, which she did immediately. If he was giving directives to the rest of the team, he was doing so individually because she saw nothing more from him come across the team IAC.

Cadence glanced back over her shoulder as they pulled away and saw Sam's ire was up again. This time, he was speaking to Elliott. It was difficult to tell whether the Guardian was agreeing with the cowboy or telling him off, and as they turned a corner, Cadence lost sight of all of them.

Aaron neither said nor sent a word directly to her the entire ride back. He pushed the motorcycle's limitation on speed, and she had to hold on tightly to keep from flying off especially when they went around corners. Under normal circumstances she would have loved the idea of riding his bike with him. But right now, she felt like a small child who had been warned that she would be receiving a spanking when she got home.

As they pulled into the lot in front of the meeting room, Cadence's emotions began to get the best of her. She was doing everything she could not to cry. He parked the bike, waited for her to get off, and then, without a word, walked into the building, clearly expecting her to follow. He led her down a hallway to a small room near the back of the building. Looking at his watch, he let out a sigh. Cadence checked the time on her IAC and saw they only had ten minutes until the debrief was to start. She assumed he would need much more time than that to go over this mess with her.

Gesturing toward a chair on the other side of a small table, he said simply, "Sit. I'll be back." He slammed the door so hard behind him that the entire room shook.

Despite having such a small window of time to return for debrief, every single member of the team was punctual. No one dared be late when Aaron was this angry. The three Independent Hunters were noticeably missing, however. Cadence's IAC was still tuned to the rest of the teams, and Elliott mentioned that the Independents were extremely angry at both Cadence and Aaron and had been mumbling about seeking vengeance. The Leader said nothing in response to that comment, and Cadence wondered if it was something she should be worried about.

Right now, she had other concerns. Aaron stood at the front of the room with his arms crossed for a few minutes before he began. The same visual supports that were up earlier were up now, a reminder of the mistakes they had made. This mission had been a disaster from the very second they walked out the door, and while Cadence was certainly to blame for taking them off protocol, she wasn't the only one at fault. She wondered if any of that would come to light as they spoke or if everyone would be focused on her. Finally, after a few minutes Aaron began, saying, "All right guys, let's start at the beginning."

By now, some of the team members had assumed they should turn Cadence's vision off, and they had done so. But she could still see from Aaron's perspective and from Christian's, so she decided to observe from the latter's trying to see if she could ascertain whether or not she should just pack up and leave right now or if there was a possibility she might get one more chance.

Aaron crossed over to the map of the bar. "Our first problem, in my opinion, started right here." He gestured at the map and waited to see if anyone said anything. The room was silent. "What is wrong with this picture?" When no one volunteered any comments, he looked directly at Shane and waited.

Shane cleared his throat. "I had the restroom windows marked incorrectly on the map," he finally admitted.

"That's exactly right," Aaron said, taking out a marker. "You had the bathrooms marked on this side of the building, not over here where they should have been. So, our cut-off, Paxton, who was supposed to be watching the bathroom windows, was on the wrong side of the building. Which leads us to another problem. Guys, if you're supposed to be watching something—a window, a door, a car, a building—and you can't _see_ it, you've got to take responsibility for letting me know so I can help reposition you." He waited to see if anyone was going to say anything, but though they were all nodding, no one did. "Paxton, did you notice that you were not in front of the bathroom windows? The windows on that side of the building were small, and there was no way a full-grown man was going to be able to escape through them."

Paxton looked at Aaron nervously. When he finally spoke, it was just above a whisper. "I was confused. I saw that Smith was on the same side of the building as me. We talked about which one of us was out of position, but we didn't get it settled before everything went down."

Aaron nodded his head slowly. "All right, that's a start. So, if you are ever in a similar situation again, what do you think you should do?"

Paxton looked at Smith who was staring at the floor. After another long pause, he said, "We should let you know, and if we don't have time we should just make a decision."

"There you go." He opened his mouth as if he might make another comment to the Guardian, but stopped himself as if deciding spending any more time on those two was pretty worthless. "Then, we had another issue. Shane, I could not get ahold of you on the IAC. I knew there was a problem. I was trying to get you to fix it, and you were not answering. What in the world were you doing?"

"I'm not exactly sure, to be honest," he said, scratching his head. "Cadence kept yelling at me about something, and it made it really hard for me to hear anything else."

"Really?" Aaron asked a sarcastic look on his face. She hoped that meant he couldn't believe Shane was trying to pin this particular problem on her. "That's what happened? Are you sure about that? Because I have the recording. We can go over it."

Shane seemed to think for a second to see if he could come up with a better answer. "Well, she was trying to tell me something. I don't know what. And I was trying to listen to what was going on in the building and relay the information to Meagan because she didn't have access to the IACs in the bar, and I wanted her to know what was going on."

"You don't know what Cadence was trying to tell you?" Aaron asked, giving Shane one more chance to come completely clean.

Shane shook his head no, hoping Aaron would just let it go. But it wasn't Aaron who had to call him on it. "She was telling you about the bathroom windows, remember?" Meagan chimed in. Shane looked at her like he wanted to strangle her, but she kept on talking. "She said that she thought someone was out of position and that the windows were on the wrong side of the map. Don't you remember that?"

"Thank you, Meagan," Aaron said.

She smiled. "Happy I could help."

Aaron moved back to Shane. "What did you say to Cadence when she told you that you had made a mistake?"

Cadence wondered if Shane's first instinct would be to lie and try to cover his own ass again, but he must have realized that, if he did so, Meagan would throw him right back under the bus. "I didn't say anything," he admitted. "I just ignored her."

Aaron was nodding his head again. "And you ignored me."

Shane said nothing more, looking at the floor.

"All right, from that point forward, we were in an Emergency Procedure. Clearly, we did not plan for Cadence to attempt to chase the Rogue down. I will be speaking to her shortly and determining the consequences for her actions." He surveyed the room and saw that everyone was staring at the floor, so he continued. "As far as how the rest of you handled the EP situation, I have no complaints. Meagan and Shane, you held your positions as instructed. Paxton and Smith, you took care of the people at the bar. Christian and Elliott, you both moved into strategic positions quickly and handled clean up protocol. Everyone else did what was expected, held the perimeter, ready if called. Our three friends who decided they didn't need to come to this meeting broke protocol as well. I will handle that separately. Are there any questions?"

"I have a question," Christian said, raising one finger in the air.

"Go ahead," Aaron said folding his arms across his chest and looking unbelievably tired for someone who needed little to no sleep.

"I understand that Cadence broke protocol and disobeyed directives; I get that. I know what she did was impulsive and dangerous, perhaps a little insane. But, does she get any credit at all for actually killing the Vampire?"

Aaron checked the room again. A few heads nodding in agreement. Most of them stopped when they saw him looking directly at them.

"You know, that's something that Cadence and I are going to have to discuss." His tone conveyed that this was not a topic he wished to say more about.

Christian wasn't done, however. "Good," he said, nodding his head, "because, I just feel like, maybe if we were utilizing our people better..."

"All right Christian, you made your point...." Aaron asserted.

"I mean, maybe we should have let her participate in the first place, and then she wouldn't have had to break protocol."

"Yes, I understand what you are saying. All I can say to you is that, sometimes there are circumstances that you don't understand that require certain procedures." Clearly, Aaron was ready for this conversation to be over, but another member of the team had finally found his voice as well.

"Man, that's just... that's just screwed up," Elliot was saying shaking his head at Christian.

"What?" Christian said, gesturing wildly.

"You're going to sit here in a debrief and try to call Aaron out on something you know nothing about?" Elliott continued.

Aaron waved him off, "Elliott, it's all right. Just let it go."

"She's not even here. She's not even here to defend herself," Christian said, his frustration starting to show in his face.

"She doesn't need to be here," Elliott yelled. "At all! Anymore!"

Now, Aaron looked like he was starting to lose his cool. Both Elliott and Christian suddenly leaned back, and although Cadence had no way of knowing exactly what Aaron might have said to them over the IAC, it must've been stern. Aloud, Aaron said, "All right, we're done. Go home. Everyone needs to review Set-Up Protocols. Leave."

The majority of the team members left as quickly as possible. Christian lingered for a second and Cadence wondered if it was because he thought Aaron might want to say something to him privately or if he was waiting for her. He must have known he overstepped his bounds, but clearly, he didn't feel like the situation was handled correctly at all. He seemed frustrated at Aaron's inflexibility when it came to following protocols. Cadence couldn't blame him for wanting to get the conversation over if Aaron had anything else he wanted to say about it. Aaron did not look in his direction, though, so he finally headed to the exit. He did pause by the door and look in the direction of the room he knew Cadence was being kept in thanks to her own IAC visuals, and the sympathetic look on his face made her feel slightly better--momentarily.

Elliott was the only remaining team member in the room with Aaron. "I'm sorry, man," he said.

"You should be," Aaron stated with all seriousness. "If I tell you to let something go, you've got to let it go."

"I know, but man, I told you this was going to happen."

"No, no, this had nothing to do with that," Aaron said adamantly.

"You know it did. She thought you'd let her get away with it because she thinks she's your girlfriend. And look what happened. All the information Henry had, all gone, down the tubes." Cadence tried not to shudder at his word choice.

Aaron said nothing at first, just shook his head. "I know nothing I can say will change your mind, but you're wrong."

Cadence felt anger rising up inside of her. She had no idea exactly what Elliott was talking about, but she knew she was not Aaron's girlfriend, and nothing that had happened tonight had anything at all to do with her feelings for the leader. Who was Elliott to stick his nose in anyway?

"All right, brother," Elliott was saying, patting him on the shoulder as he walked to the door. "Good luck. Man, you're gonna need it."

Aaron watched his best friend walk out the door and continued to ponder his comments. Of course, Elliott had no idea that Cadence heard every word that he said. He likely assumed that she had turned her feed off, but the leader had purposely left her on. Despite his frustration, Aaron wanted her to know how the debrief went, what the others had to say, that he recognized the contributions she had made, and that he realized that others had made errors as well. The thought that his best friend might actually be right was more than a little unsettling.

Once everyone was gone, Aaron walked back to where he had left Cadence. He opened the door but didn't go in at first. He just stood in the doorway looking at her. Clearly, she had been crying, but she wasn't just then. After a few moments he finally entered, pulled a box of tissue off of a shelf, slammed it on the table and sat down across from her, his arms folded across his chest.

She looked at the tissues, but seemed resolved not to use them, or even touch the box. Her mouth opened, like she was going to say something, but she closed it. He imagined she had dozens of questions burning in her mind, but she waited for him to go first. After all, he was clearly the one in charge here, or at least he thought he was.

He wasn't exactly sure where to begin. After considering his options for what seemed like an eternity, he finally asked, "What in the world possessed you to disobey my directives and give chase to a Vampire on your own?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "What's done is done."

"Yes, yes it matters. It matters a lot, quite frankly. You've always done exactly what I've asked you to do until tonight, until it really counted."

She sighed, "I can't even explain to you why I did it. I just... had to. It was instinct. I saw a Vampire getting away, and I had to get him."

"I want you to realize that never, in over 150 years of working in this field, have I ever, not once, seen a Hunter do something so reckless and stupid. Not one time."

"Then, I guess, I'm just an idiot," she said dryly.

"No, you see, that's the thing," he said, uncrossing his arms and leaning toward her, elbows on the table. "You're not an idiot. It's like you weren't even listening to me. At all."

"I wasn't. I wasn't listening to you. Literally," she admitted

"Then what were you listening to?"

"Nothing!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air. "I was just reacting. I wasn't intentionally disobeying you. I think I did hear you once or twice, while I was sprinting across the parking lot, and before I jumped the fire escape, but what you were saying wasn't registering."

"You could have gotten killed."

"I know."

"You could have gotten that baby killed," he added.

She nodded her head. "But I didn't."

"Thank God. How did you know I would be able to get there in time? What was your plan if I hadn't?"

"I just knew you would," she said emphatically.

The anger and frustration were building in his voice as he exclaimed, "You just knew I would get there in time to save a freaking baby dangling out a window?"

"No, I didn't know if we'd be able to save the baby," she said, the tears streaming down her face again. "But I knew you would get there in time to save me."

Aaron leaned back in his chair, his hand brushing through his hair. He was quiet for a few moments, considering everything she had said, trying to come up with a fitting response. His conversations with Elliott were fresh in his mind, and even though he wanted to believe this was all about an instinctual response, at this point, he just wasn't sure. His heart was telling him one thing, but his logical mind, the one that put his team and his mission above all else, was telling him something different. "Listen, Cadence I don't think it's a good idea for us to..." he began but that's all he got out before she interrupted him.

"No, Aaron, it's okay. You don't have to say anything. I get it. I understand," she said, her tears drying up. She sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her hand, still refusing the tissues.

"Do you?" he asked, not sure how that was possible when he didn't quite get it himself.

"Yes, I do. It's fine. It's just fine."

"Okay," he said quietly.

They continued to sit in silence for a few more minutes before Cadence asked, "What's my punishment?"

He had been thinking about that a lot. Even before Christian had said anything he had realized, despite the fact the whole idea from the beginning revolved around capturing Henry alive, Cadence didn't know that. She had done her job as far as catching and killing Vampires was concerned, and she had done it better than any new Hunter he had ever seen. Despite the fact that she had broken protocol and put the entire team at risk, he felt that telling her he was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with her was punishment enough. Though she had said she was fine, her eyes were telling him something very different. He suddenly felt inclined to be lenient. "Why don't you take a few days off? We'll call it a suspension, but it'll just be an opportunity for you to go see your family, to visit your friends, whatever you need to do."

"Okay," she agreed, devoid of emotion.

"All right then," he said, standing and pushing his chair in. "You should go home, back to your apartment. I've got some things to work on here." She stood and rushed past him to the door careful not to touch him as she squeezed by.

Aaron didn't turn to watch her walk out the door, but the second he heard it slam behind her, he began to question everything.

Cadence covered the short distance back to her apartment building as quickly as she could. Hopeful that the tears would wait until she reached the solace of her room to start again, she avoided contact with everyone in the lobby as she made her way to the elevator and climbed to the twenty-second floor. She was slightly distracted by the number of messages she was receiving on the IAC, and though many of them were positive, she decided to turn it off. It would be better if she simply did not think about tonight's events at all.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator door finally opened. Stepping out of the elevator, she was surprised to see Christian leaning against her apartment door. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on for the hunt. He looked almost as despondent as she felt, and even though she was in no mood to discuss the events that had transpired, she was happy to see him.

As she approached, he opened his arms and she let him envelop her, burying her head in his chest, her tears held back only by sheer will power. He smelled of leather and a slight hint of cigarette smoke, something Cadence had never noticed before. Perhaps her renegade actions had driven him to lighting up. His arms were strong, and she felt solace in his embrace.

After a few moments, he spoke, concern and sympathy evident in his tone. "You holding up?"

Cadence pulled back a step, but he did not loosen his grip around her. "I'll be all right," she said, hoping it was true.

"Good," he replied. "What you did out there tonight was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. To think that it wasn't completely appreciated makes me furious. I just wanted to make sure you are all right, that Aaron didn't tear you down too much, and to let you know that I, for one, am convinced that you are a superhero."

She had to smile at that last bit. She didn't feel like a superhero, not right now anyway. "Thank you," she said, using the same quiet tone he had spoken in. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support."

It was getting late, and Cadence was tired. She was also very aware that Aaron could return to his apartment at any moment, and while she honestly didn't care if he saw her talking to Christian or not, she was not prepared to have to see him again so soon. She tried pulling away again, and this time Christian allowed her to, moving his hand to her hip. For reasons unbeknownst to her, she did not push his hand away.

She dug in her pocket for her key, absently thinking about how much easier it would be when they updated the lock on her door, inserted the key, and pushed the door slightly ajar.

Fully aware that Christian's hand was now caressing her side, she hesitated for a brief second, knowing that inviting him in would complicate matters. Yet, she was suddenly quite attracted to him, and it was getting more difficult by the minute to send him away. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Would you like to come in for a few minutes?"

In reply, he leaned forward, bringing his lips down on hers hungrily. With one hand, he pushed open the door, gently guiding her inside of the apartment with the other. He continued to kiss her, leading her over to the couch, not bothering to turn on the light, releasing her only long enough to allow her to drop down on the sofa and then joining her, finding her lips again.

Cadence quickly found herself breathless. Her mind was already cloudy with the events of earlier, and she found it much simpler to let her body respond, rather than lending any thought to what was happening. As his mouth explored her neck, her earlobe, she became extremely aware of his hands. She was hesitant; having only been intimate with Jack, she wasn't sure that she was ready to take her relationship with Christian so far within the first few days. In fact, until this very moment, he had been nothing to her but an attractive friend. Now, with his lips caressing the nape of her neck, she realized she had a decision to make, one she needed to make rather quickly.

"Christian," she said quietly, unsure of her own voice, "I think we better stop." She intended to push him back, but her hands were not responding the way she had hoped they would. If he heard her, he did not comply. His teeth gently nipped the tip of her earlobe, and she began to feel as if she were floating. It was only the incessant idea that she was in no state of mind to make this sort of decision that kept nagging at her to stop. Once more, she gave him a gentle nudge with her hands, this time a bit harder and said, "Christian? Christian! Stop."

He seemed to get the message that time and sat up abruptly, straightening his clothing as he did so. Cadence sat up as well, pulling her shirt down completely and glancing down to see if it was still buttoned. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It's nothing against you—at all. It's just been a very long, emotional day."

"No, I understand," Christian interjected. "It really wasn't fair of me to put you in that situation. I'm just extremely attracted to you, Cadence, that's all."

She wasn't sure what to say. Of course, she found him attractive, too, but saying so wouldn't help her present cause. She smiled, shyly, feeling herself begin to blush. "Thank you," she said quietly. She wanted to say something more, but no fitting words would come to mind.

Christian looked around the room awkwardly. Finally, he said, "Well, I should let you get some rest."

He stood and walked slowly toward the door. Cadence followed, still searching for something, anything, to say. She opened her mouth briefly but closed it again. Every sentence that popped into her mind sounded ridiculous.

Opening the door, Christian paused for a moment and turned back to face her. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" Cadence nodded, and he slowly leaned down and kissed her softly one last time before exiting her apartment.

Cadence rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. Her life was becoming increasingly more complicated by the second, and in that moment, all she really wanted to do was get some sleep. She resisted the urge to bang her head against the door and instead made her way toward her bedroom, hoping for sleep and the mental clarity morning may bring.

As Christian made his way back to his own apartment on the sixth floor, he couldn't help but feel a bit defeated. Though he certainly didn't wish to take advantage of Cadence's emotional vulnerability, he had been hopeful that she would confirm his suspicion that she was as physically attracted to him as he was to her. Now, he wasn't quite so convinced he had been reading her signals correctly. He certainly hadn't allowed anyone else to view their interaction on the IAC, but he had been recording it. He had a bit of a fetish for such things. Now, however, he was thinking he should review the footage to see exactly where he went wrong. He was hopeful that he would have another opportunity with Cadence, and the next time, he wanted to make sure her answer wasn't no.

# Chapter 12

The next morning, Cadence slept in. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually dozed on past 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock. But this day, she actually slept until almost noon. And, when she finally rolled out of bed, she was slightly trapped in that feeling of impending doom she desperately hated, remembering only her interaction with Aaron at first. Then, the other memories slowly came back, and she couldn't help but wonder if Christian would be upset with her for rejecting him the night before. Still, she knew she had made the right decision. Though she was attracted to him, she was not interested in a relationship with him, nor was she the kind of girl who fooled around just for fun.

Thinking about Aaron, however, that was a different story. She would have been willing to give him her heart and everything that went along with it. Now, the possibility of that happening was over. She knew she needed to find a way to get over it and move on. After all, she hadn't come to LIGHTS intending to meet a guy; she had come there to find a way to track down the Vampire she felt was partially responsible for Drew's death. And if that meant a life lived alone, so be it. Still, the thought of those piercing blue eyes, the way he blushed when she teased him, his perfect smile, all of those memories made the tears well up in her eyes again, and she knew she needed to find a way to keep herself distracted while her heart began to mend. Despite the temptation, however, she was certain that Christian was not the distraction she needed.

She decided to throw herself into her work. Perhaps there was something on the IAC to occupy her mind. By the time she turned it back on, she had almost two hundred messages. The vast majority of them were supportive. Most of them managed to compliment her on the kill without sounding negative toward Aaron or anyone else. None of them condoned her insubordination, and a couple accused her of thinking she was already the Hunter Leader. She understood that some people were automatically going to judge her more harshly because of who she was and where she had come from. She tended not to take those sorts of messages personally.

She had several messages from Jamie, wanting to know if she was okay, if she needed anything, if he needed to kick anyone's ass, etc. Most of them were rather humorous, and they actually made her chuckle. She responded that she was fine and that she appreciated his support. And word that Aaron had "broken up" with her must have also spread quickly because Eliza sent her a message stating that she had been there, and she was willing to be a shoulder to cry on any time. Cadence actually suspected that this message was one of elation on Eliza's part since Aaron was now single again, although Cadence would be the first to state that they had never been dating, so it wasn't as if they had actually broken up. He had simply made it clear that he was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with her. She was slightly disappointed that she had not received any messages from Christian, but she knew it was for the best.

Cadence actually did have a message from Aaron telling her to let him know if she was planning to go visit her family and she wanted a car so he could arrange it for her. She hadn't decided whether or not she was going to go home or just stay in her apartment. As much as she wanted to go back to the way things were a few weeks ago, when all of her friends were alive and the only problems they had were determining which college class to take or which shoes to wear, she knew that returning home was never going to accomplish that.

Relief that Aaron was still willing to be kind to her and treat her with the same respect he did the other members of his team settled her nerves for a brief moment. She had been worried as she fell asleep the night before that things might be so awkward between them that they would no longer be able to work together. One thing she had noticed about Aaron, despite his reputation for being a perfectionist with impossibly high standards, he never seemed to hold grudges against people when they made mistakes or said things he disagreed with. She fully expected Christian to be held after the meeting last night, but Aaron just accepted the fact that they had a difference of opinion and let it go. It took an extremely competent leader to be able to take that sort of criticism and not be compelled to display his power.

Even though she had more or less decided she wasn't leaving the house, she decided a shower would do her good. The warm water had a way of making her feel better, and as she stood beneath the down flow, she tried to let all of her worries go, a feat she knew would be nearly impossible, but there wasn't much she could do now except for try to move forward.

As she climbed out of the shower, her cell phone rang. Rushing over to the counter by the sink where it lay, she glanced down but didn't recognize the number. The screen read, "Lincoln, Nebraska," and she only knew one person who lived there.

"Hello?" There was no sound on the other end at first. "Hello?" she said again. "Jack? Jack? Is that you?

"Cadence?" She finally heard a very weak voice on the other end of the line, so raspy she could hardly even recognize it.

"Jack, what's the matter? Are you sick?"

"I think I'm dying," he said.

His tone was so serious she had to suppress the urge to panic. "Jack, if you think you're dying, you need to go to a hospital. Jack?" There was silence for quite some time before she finally heard him speak again.

"Cadence, I need you. Please. Come, help me."

"Okay! Calm down, Jack, you'll be all right. I really think you should go to a doctor or something. The hospital, maybe. Jack? Jack?" She looked down at her phone and saw that she had lost the connection. She tried calling him back, but it just rang and rang. She tried his parents and had to leave a voicemail. His roommate, Byron, did not pick up either. She suddenly felt like she needed to get to him as quickly as possible. Cadence hurriedly dried herself off and began to get dressed, suddenly remembering Aaron had sent her a message just a few minutes ago asking if she needed a car. In response, she replied, _"How about a plane?"_

It really wasn't unusual for Aaron to be up all night. In fact, it was to the point now where he rarely slept at all. The only reason he ever did so was because he truly enjoyed dreaming, especially when those dreams included visions of loved ones long gone. But last night, he had been up for several different reasons, none of them good ones.

First of all, he had to attempt to locate Sam, Finn, and Camille and let them know that, if they continued to disobey his directives, they would no longer be eligible for Guardian support of any kind. They had all left without permission last night, not to mention Sam's refusal to follow his orders to stop screaming obscenities at Cadence after the debacle of a hunt had concluded. He understood that Sam had his reasons to be mad, and while Aaron had agreed that they would capture Henry unharmed for several reasons, not just the ones Sam was aware of, Cadence had followed protocol in destroying a Rogue Vampire. She just hadn't followed his commands up until he gave her the order to take the shot, which was his decision. By then, there was no way to bring Henry in and save the baby.

Though Sam and his gang had some personal reasons for wanting to capture Henry rather than destroy him, Aaron wanted him taken alive because he had heard rumors that Henry was aware of exactly where Holland was. And it made perfect sense that he would know, too, because Henry was created by Holland, and Vampires tended to keep track of their own family members. His plan had been to capture Henry, extract any information he could get from him, and then hand him over to Sam. Now, with that plan busted, he determined he needed to return to the only leads that had thus far been successful. Rumor had it that Holland had returned to her roots, that she was somewhere in Europe, possibly Spain or France, and he needed to find her quickly, especially now that Cadence had taken out another one of her loved ones. As for the band of renegade Hunters, he had heard that they were on their way to Texas; another Rogue Vampire on their list had made an appearance and they were determined to make this one pay. So long as Sam and his minions stayed out of his way, Aaron would let him go.

Aaron had spent most of the night second-guessing his decision to tell Cadence that they needed to go their separate ways. As much as Elliott was convinced the events of last night transpired because Cadence was taking advantage of their relationship, Aaron was fairly certain that was not the case. When she said that she really could not control her instinct to chase a fleeing Vampire, he tended to believe her. He had never worked with a Hunter this powerful before. In fact, he wasn't sure one had ever existed, so, while it was still a problem if she could not control her instincts, at least he knew she had not purposely disobeyed him. He was beginning to think that he had acted too rashly, and he should have given it some time.

Just as he was beginning to think he should ask Cadence to stop by so he could apologize, he got her message requesting an airplane instead of a car. Finding the inquiry rather odd, he messaged her back wanting to know if everything was okay.

_"Jack is very sick, and I can't get ahold of his family."_

Aaron did not hesitate to arrange for her to take one of the smaller planes even though the idea of her racing off to see an ex-boyfriend was extremely unsettling. He was now completely convinced he had acted like an idiotic jerk for making such an important decision under such stressful circumstances. Now, when he had begun to realize his mistake, it seemed like it might be too late. For once, he found it rather fortunate that he had so much work to do to help keep his mind off of Cadence.

Cadence was extremely thankful that Aaron was not only willing to let her borrow one of the planes, he actually made all of the arrangements for her, including a ride to the airport. He even arranged for a car service to pick her up at the airport in Lincoln and take her to Jack's dorm room. Unfortunately, his kindness made him even more endearing to her, which didn't help her cause of trying to let him go.

As Cadence's plane touched down in Lincoln, she received an IAC from Christian, asking if she wanted to grab dinner. "Shit," she thought, realizing she hadn't even told him she was leaving town. She messaged him back, letting him know the situation with Jack. He sent his condolences, offered his assistance in any way, and requested a rain check for dinner, which she agreed to. She had been so focused on Jack, Christian had completely slipped her mind.

Stepping out of the car into the December chill, Cadence surveyed the area, not exactly sure where she was or how to find Jack. She had only been to Jack's dorm once, earlier in the fall semester. She had agreed to go with him to a fraternity party for the group he was pledging to. Being with such a large group of strangers had made her very nervous, and she had ingested a lot of alcohol, something she didn't normally do. Now, looking around the cluster of dorm buildings, she wasn't quite sure she could remember which one was his. He had not answered his cell phone, nor the phone he had called her on earlier in the day, and she still couldn't get ahold of any of his family.

Standing on the sidewalk, staring at her options of buildings, they all seemed to look the same. She thought about randomly walking inside one of them and asking if they could look up his room number in some sort of database. As if he was reading her mind, she got a message from Aaron saying, " _Did you get there okay? Need anything?"_

She was so startled that his timing was so perfect, she actually checked her IAC to make sure he wasn't connected visually. _"Dorm building and number?!?"_ she replied.

_"That might be helpful. Last name?"_

_"Jack Cook."_

Within seconds he replied:

_"Rm 402, Sandoz Hall"_

_"Thank you!"_

_"You bet. Let me know if you need anything else."_

She was glad to find that the main door was unlocked, though she didn't know what she would do if his room were locked, and he couldn't open the door. Busting into his room didn't seem right. Fortunately, when she reached the fourth floor and found his room, it wasn't a problem. Not only was his door not locked, it wasn't even closed all the way.

She entered slowly, afraid his roommate might be there, afraid she might encounter Holland or one of her cronies, and slightly afraid that she might be too late and find only his corpse.

He was lying on his bed in his boxers and a T-shirt, his blankets disheveled and hanging over the edge onto the floor. She could see that he was breathing, but even in the dimly lit room, she realized that he was extremely pale. She glanced around the room and didn't see his roommate anywhere, so she assumed he must be in class. The room was a filthy mess, especially Jack's side, with pizza boxes, soda cans, and various other trash items strewn about and mixed in with piles of dirty clothes. This was not the Jack she had known and loved, Mr. Organized, and the state of his room made her wonder just how long he had been feeling so ill.

There was enough room on the edge of the bed for her to sit down so she did so, clearing a space on the floor with her foot so that she could place her bag on something other than garbage. "Jack," she said quietly, rubbing his back. He twitched at her touch but didn't open his eyes. "Jack? It's me, Cadence. I came, just like you asked."

After a moment or so of patting his back, he finally began to rouse a bit. He rubbed at his eyes and rolled onto his side. "Cadence?" he said, as if he wasn't sure exactly where she was.

"I'm right here, beside you," she said. She gently guided him over so he was lying on his back, and she scooted up where he could see her better. "Jack, are you with me?" she asked.

He rubbed his eyes some more, blinking and trying to focus. Finally, he seemed to wake up enough to fully realize she was actually in his room, and he wasn't dreaming. "Cadence? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.

"You called me," she explained. "A few hours ago. You called me and told me you were sick and asked me to come help you. Do you remember that?"

He seemed to think for a moment. "No," he replied. "I don't remember calling you at all." He absently scrubbed at the top of his head with his hand and added, "But I'm glad you're here."

"Me, too," she said smiling. "But you look awful. And you smell pretty bad, too. How long have you been feeling this way?"

"Thanks, Cadey; way to kick me when I'm down." His voice was hoarse and weak, but she could still hear his personality coming through. "I don't know. What's today? Wednesday?"

"Wednesday? No, it's Friday," she clarified.

"Friday? No way; it can't possibly be Friday. I have the first part of my Chem final Friday morning," he said, glancing at the calendar hanging on the wall.

"Well, sweetheart, if that's the case, you missed it. Because it is most definitely Friday," she said with confidence.

"Ugh! This sucks! Now what am I going to do?" It appeared as if he was trying to sit up and couldn't. Cadence put her hands back on his shoulders and pushed him down into the bed, noting how warm and clammy he felt.

"You're not doing anything, except, perhaps, going to the doctor. Or a hospital. Babe, if you're so sick you lost a day and half of your life, I think it's time to go to the emergency room." She kept her hands on his chest, ensuring he didn't try to get up again.

"I'm really not that sick," he started. "I just need to take some more medicine."

"What kind of medicine were you taking?" she asked, glancing around the room and seeing plenty of trash but no medicine bottles.

"I ran out. I was taking Tylenol," he explained.

"Tylenol? You were taking Tylenol for the flu or the Bubonic Plague or whatever it is that you have? No wonder you're not getting any better. Sweetie, you need some antibiotics. Or a steroid shot or something. This does not look like an over-the-counter type of illness to me."

"It's not that serious," he insisted. "I'm not even coughing or puking or anything. I just feel nauseated and sore, like I've been working out too hard. It's nothing."

"What if it's spinal meningitis or mono? You have no idea, Jack; you're not a doctor. Let's go to the school clinic. They'll be able to get you in." She was persistent, and she could see that she almost had him convinced. "Come on, I'll drive. Let's get you dressed, and I'll find your keys, somewhere, in this horrific mess."

"My roommate is a slob."

She didn't buy his excuse. "Well, then tell your roommate to keep his giant pile of garbage on his own side of the room," she remarked as she surveyed his desk top for keys. She glanced back at him and realized he wasn't going to be able to dress himself. She wasn't even sure he was going to be able to walk down the stairs to his car. "Jack?"

"Hmmm?" His eyes were closed, and she could see that he was dozing back off.

"That's it, I'm calling an ambulance," she said pulling her phone out of her pocket.

That got his attention. "No, no. No ambulance. I'll get up. I'll get dressed. Just help me find some clean clothes, okay?"

She held her hands out and spun around in a circle as if to say, "I see lots of clothes. None of them are clean."

"Those jeans over there on the back of that chair aren't too dirty," he said pointing across the room, his eyes still closed.

Cadence had to be careful when she crossed the piles of trash to get to them, afraid she might twist an ankle or fall into the garbage, never to be seen or heard from again. She grabbed the jeans and glanced toward his closet, hoping she might see a sweater of some sort on a hanger. She saw his Shenandoah High sweatshirt hanging inside and decided he could just wear that. It was slightly easier for her to get to the sweatshirt because the closets were on his roommate's side of the room.

When she crossed back over to the bed, she found he was dozing off again. "Jack?" she said. "Help me or else you're going to the hospital."

Once again, her threat was enough to get him to cooperate a bit more. He sat up tall enough that she could slide the sweatshirt over his head. He pushed his arms through the sleeves with minimal help. She was a little leerier of how she was going to get his pants on. "One leg at a time," she murmured aloud.

"Huh?" he asked fading in and out again.

"It's how you put your pants on—one leg at a time—just like everybody else."

"Okay," he said, starting to fall back down into the bed.

"Jack, dang it, come on now. Work with me here, kid." She was able to get his pants up and over his hips finally. She buttoned them, zipped them, and began the search for shoes. "Any idea where your shoes are?" she asked.

Jack was out of it again, so she was left to search for shoes all by herself. She thought she saw one under his dresser, and as she was crossing over to dig it out, she got another message from Aaron. _"How is he?"_

Cadence was actually very glad to at least have someone to help calm her down and talk her through this. She was becoming exceedingly frustrated and wasn't sure whether she should take Jack to a doctor or the emergency room. " _Not good. He can't even sit up. I'm not sure what to do. Hospital? Dr.?"_

It took Aaron a few minutes to answer, but in the meantime, Cadence was finally able to locate the matching tennis shoes. "Jack," she said, "where's your wallet?" She was hopeful his insurance card would be in it and possibly some money or a credit card for the copay, although she could cover it if she needed to.

He clearly wasn't going to answer so she began to rifle around looking for the wallet, which she eventually found under some wrappers on his dresser.

_"Do you have transportation?"_

She knew she had seen keys somewhere. Looking around again, she spotted them over by his laptop.

_"Yes"_

" _Take him to Family Medical, 4501 Twenty-Seventh. Dr. Matthews will see him as soon as you can get him there."_

_"What would I do without you? Thanks!"_

_"Sure. No problem. Once you get him settled let me know. I need to talk to you about a hunt you're going on ASAP."_

She was surprised to see that he was even considering letting her go on a hunt again so soon, but she was glad to hear it. _"Okay,"_ she replied.

There was the minor problem of not having any idea where Jack's car might be. She needed to wake him up again just long enough to find out where he was parked. "Jack," she said, sitting him up. "Where's your car?"

He opened his eyes just a bit. "It's outside," he mumbled, "in the parking lot."

She sighed. Nothing was ever easy. "Can you be a little more specific? Do you have an assigned parking spot?"

"Yes," he mumbled, his head beginning to flop over again.

"And that spot is?"

"Thirty-eight."

"Thirty-eight! Perfect, we have a winner! Now, here's to hoping there's just one parking lot!" She checked her pockets to make sure she had her phone, and she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She stuck his car keys and his wallet in her pants pockets. She didn't see a set of room keys anywhere so she decided to leave the door ajar. It was risky, but a burglar could have just as easily taken all of their stuff while Jack was passed out on the bed.

She knew she could easily carry him--that wasn't going to be a problem. The problem would be making it look like she wasn't carrying him. If they passed anyone and they could tell that she was actually carrying a 160-pound man, that would look rather odd.

When she went to stand him up, it jarred him back to consciousness a bit, and he started shuffling his feet. Unfortunately, with all of the trash on the floor, she ended up having to pick him up and carry him out of the room, but at least she could tell that he was attempting to work with her. By the time she reached the stairwell, he was awake enough to start to climb down the stairs with her. She still kept a firm grasp on him, just in case he started to lose his footing.

"Where are we going?" he asked as the cool December air blasted him in the face. She had been in too much of a hurry to think of grabbing him a coat, but it probably would have been a good idea considering he was already so sick.

"We're going to the doctor," she explained. "Is your car this way?"

There was only one parking lot nearby, and that's the direction she was headed. He nodded, confirming she was taking him the right way.

"I don't want to go to the doctor," he whined.

"Well, you have to," she said. She saw his bright red Nissan Sentra just a few rows away. "Come on! We're almost there." She didn't see anyone else in the parking lot, so she picked him up off of the ground again and started carrying him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, coming back to consciousness again.

She put him down. "I'm just helping you to your car," she explained.

"It felt like you were carrying me," he said questioningly.

"Me? Carrying you? Don't be ridiculous." She helped him around to the passenger's side, opened the door, and sat him down on the gray cloth seat. She buckled him in, closed the door, and then flashed around to the driver's side, throwing her bag in the back.

This would be the first time that she had driven since her Transformation, and she was interested to see if she could drive as fast as everyone else. She had figured out how to access the police frequencies using her IAC, and she turned it on as she whipped out of the parking lot. "Well, if I kill us driving to the doctor, at least you won't be sick anymore," she said, just seeing if he was listening.

He chuckled and patted her absently on the leg, not even turning his head to look at her. She knew she should probably be worried that he was so sick, but she didn't have time right now to be scared. She'd have to save that for later.

Aaron had had to call in a few favors, but he had acquired the information he needed. He had fairly reliable intelligence that Holland was in Paris and that one of their most valuable turncoat Vampires knew exactly where she could be found. He had initially intended to wait for her to come to him. But, now that Henry was dead, too, he knew she'd be working more quickly to amass a larger number of Vampires. If he went to her, not only would he shorten the amount of time she would have to recruit, it would also give him the element of surprise, something he always found to be beneficial.

Whether or not to put Cadence on the team had been an inner struggle. He knew she was certainly going to be capable of eliminating more Vampires single handedly than anyone else he had in his service, yet he also knew that Holland would throw everything at her the Vampire queen had available. In the end, he decided she needed to go. The team needed her skills, and she would need to have some closure.

Handpicking the rest of the team members was not as easy as one might think. He knew Elliott would have to come, as would Jamie. They both had skills no one else could duplicate. He didn't really want to take Eliza. She had become a bit of a liability over the last few years. But he knew she was invested in this project because she had been present at the initial confrontation. So she was coming. He needed Christian, too, in case they had tech problems. He had already contacted six other Guardians based in Paris and their team was also eager to help.

As for Hunters, he had few highly reliable members to choose from if he looked only at his own team. He knew there were three Hunters based out of Paris who wanted to work with them. In fact, they were the ones that had tipped him off to talk to Sebastian, the turncoat Vampire that had given him a specific location. He wanted to keep his Hunter-to-Guardian ratio fairly low because he would have no trouble justifying why the Guardians were involved in killing these particular Vampires, and he wanted to make sure to offer plenty of protection to Cadence since she would likely be doing most of the killing. He finally decided to call in a female Hunter based out of California. She had worked with his team before but had spent the last few years off on her own. She wasn't exactly the easiest person to get along with, but he thought her style would work well with Cadence's and he knew she would be extremely effective on the battlefield. Her name was Stormy, and that name seemed to fit her perfectly.

After spending the majority of the morning getting commitments from his French connections, he finally decided to call in his own people and go over the plan with them. Stormy hadn't made it into town yet, but she should be there soon. He was also missing Cadence, of course, but he could fill her in later. He hoped she'd be willing to come back either this evening or the next day so they could get to Paris and get this over with, but he had given her a few days off, and if she intended to use them, he certainly wasn't going to argue. Technically, she was still suspended, and Elliott and Christian were on a team that didn't follow protocol, which meant they should miss the next hunt. Rather than bend the rules on that last one, he actually organized a hunt for that evening, one he would also not be attending, so that he could say Elliott and Christian had sat one out. And since Cadence was the only one who had any idea that she had been given a few days, or a suspension, or whatever one might want to call it, it really didn't matter if she decided to come back sooner.

He set the briefing for 4:00 that afternoon and decided to have it in his own office, rather than the room they usually used. After last night's shenanigans, he thought they needed a change of scenery. Everyone was on time, even Eliza, who was the only one who was ever late, and he was able to get started right away. He knew Cadence was still in the process of getting Jack to the doctor so she wouldn't even have her IAC tuned in, but Stormy did, and she was viewing the meeting from his perspective and Elliott's.

"All right, good afternoon everyone," he began once they had taken their seats. "The reason I called you all in today is because I've hand selected you to go on a high priority trip to Paris." He waited for the cheering to stop and then continued. "We are going to kill Vampires, not for the shopping or the sightseeing, just so you know." Eliza groaned disappointedly. "I know. It's terrible. Okay then. This is our primary target," he said bringing up a recent picture of Holland. "All of you were present at the recent protection mission we participated in in Iowa, except for Christian and Stormy, who we have on IAC, so the rest of you know her well. This is Holland. Approximate age is twelve to fourteen hundred, extended clan size numbers in the thousands, but her primary clan is estimated to be between twenty to thirty." There were some gasps from the team members who were really good at math, so he paused to explain.

"We will have quite a few French team members working with us as well. I know you're all counting and trying to figure out the ratio. Chances are we'll still be outnumbered, but that's nothing new. We're used to that, and most of her primary clan members are young. And we all know that young basically equals stupid."

They all verbally agreed with that, so he continued. "This is what we will refer to as Location One. It is an extremely popular burlesque strip club; I'll wait for the catcalls to stop, thank you, called Le Doll, located on Rue St. Denis. This is the location where our informant, Sebastian, a turncoat Vampire, has witnessed Holland and several of her minions hanging out over the past few days and actually quite a bit last summer as well. And to ease the consciences of those of you who are wondering why we would fly all the way to France based on the hunch of a turncoat, these three young ladies are Hunters who have recently taken positions—no pun intended—in the strip club so they can better keep an eye on Holland and her comings and goings." Turning to the picture, he said, "That's Chantal, the middle girl with the blonde hair is Genevieve, and the one on the end is Sabin." He noticed Jamie's hand was raised so he paused, "Yes, Jamie?"

"If I kill Holland, can I have one of those?" he asked gesturing at the picture.

"Well, they are strippers, so, quite possibly," Aaron replied, deciding to allow a little more fun into their brief this time since they were going to Paris and his old methods had not been working so well recently.

"Everybody has a price," Elliott chimed in.

"Not everybody," Eliza said, wagging her head.

"Anyway," Aaron continued, "I was able to procure some pretty valuable information from these three ladies this afternoon, and they are more than willing to work with us. They are a small team, just the three of them, without a lot of Guardian support, so they operate basically as informants to larger operations, such as our team. But they are always excited to get in on a hunt. Questions about that? No? Okay, good."

He pulled up the last slide, "Okay, this is an abandoned warehouse, known as Le Vieux Moulin, which is designated as Location Two, should we need a secondary location. It's located fairly close to Location One, and this is the place where Sebastian believes Holland and her clan are staying. I am working on getting more information about the interior of this building, but I do not have that yet. It would be nice if we can engage Holland and her clan here because it allows for less human interaction, but we may be reactive here, depending upon what she chooses to do. Any questions about that?"

Seeing that there were no hands, Aaron moved on. "As of right now, we are waiting on Stormy to arrive. I have sent a plane to retrieve her from California, so she will be here later this evening. We will also be waiting on Cadence, who is visiting a sick friend." He noticed the eyebrow raising and head swiveling but didn't acknowledge it. If anyone wanted to ask him why he had decided to take her, they could feel free to do so. Otherwise, the situation was between the two of them, though, he was pretty sure Elliott would want to talk about it. "So as soon as they are both here, I will let you know what our travel schedule is. We will get things moving as quickly as possible. All right, if you don't have any questions then you can go. Thanks everyone."

Christian was the first one out the door, a wide smile on his face. Aaron knew he would be happy he had reinstated Cadence, and he didn't have a problem with that. He was actually glad Cadence had already made a good friend on the team.

As the rest of the team exited, poor Jamie was getting an ear full from Eliza regarding the best shoe shopping in Paris. He threw Aaron a look that seemed to say, "Help me!" as she rattled on about Louboutin versus Yves Saint Lourent.

But Elliott stayed, as Aaron knew he would.

"I thought you took Ms. Vampire-Slayer off the rotation for a while, my friend. What gives?"

Aaron was straightening up the file he had started for this case and the rest of the conference table. "Well, Elliott, I've reviewed some research since I talked to Cadence last night, some scientific studies regarding DNA coding and instinctive nature in Hunters, and it turns out, she had a valid point."

"What was that? My grandparents were Leaders, so I don't have to listen to anybody?" Elliott asked sarcastically.

Aaron's patience was wearing thin, even with his best friend. "Well, yesterday you were telling me you thought she acted that way because we were dating—which we weren't by the way—and now you think it's something else?" He could feel the tension rising in his voice, and he knew he was about to lose what little patience he had left. "Since you're the expert on Cadence's decision making, why don't you just go ahead and explain everything to me now? That way I'll know what to expect next time."

Elliott seemed to realize he had pushed too far. He needed to reverse the tide quickly. "Whoa, all right now, calm down," he said in a serene voice. "You're the boss. You want to take her with us, take her with us. I just hope you're doing it for the right reasons, man; that's all."

"Believe me, I am," Aaron assured him. "I basically told her last night that I was no longer dating my subordinates. Now, in retrospect, I realize I not only acted like a total jackass but also like an idiot, because you know what Elliott, I like her. I do. And you let me convince myself that, just because I've had a few situations go bad, I shouldn't even give her a chance. Well that was really, really dumb of me, and now she's at her ex-boyfriend's, so there you go."

"Are you saying it's my fault that you broke up with her?" Elliott asked, suddenly on the defensive again. "'Cause you're a big boy and you can make your own decision. I didn't tell you what to do."

"Oh, you're right, Mr. Used-Car-Salesmen. It was completely my decision. You had no input whatsoever."

"You think I hypnotized you into breaking up with her? That is absolutely ridiculous," Elliott said defensively.

That really wasn't what Aaron thought at all. He was aware that Elliott had a way of influencing his decision making even without using his gifts. However, he was done with the conversation and was ready to move on to other things, such as checking in on Cadence. "You know, I think it would probably be best if we just ended this discussion right now, all right? I've got a lot of work to do, and I'm sure you do, too, so let's just let it go. It doesn't matter now anyway, all right?"

Elliott sighed and nodded his head. "All right, brother. As long as you understand that I always have your best interests at heart. I hope you know that."

Aaron slowly exhaled. He really couldn't argue with that, though Elliott's decision-making method was much different than his own and sometimes ended up leading them down paths he would have never gone without his influence. "I know," he said. "I know."

Elliott patted him on the back and made his way out of his office. Aaron had plenty of work to do, but he really wanted to know how Cadence was doing and what the doctor had to say about Jack. He checked the time. The doctor's office would be closing soon, so if he didn't hear from her within the next half-hour or so, that would be a pretty good indicator that he'd been sent to the hospital.

Cadence hadn't even gotten Jack fully across the threshold and into the waiting room when the receptionist came running over to help, alerting the nurse to get Dr. Matthews "stat." The older woman attempted to help Cadence lead him to a nearby chair, though Cadence knew she was really moving him herself. Dr. Matthews was out in just a few seconds, stethoscope in one hand, black bag in the other.

Jack's face was almost as white as the doctor's lab coat now, and his eyes were glazed over. Cadence stood beside him, holding him back in the chair, afraid that otherwise he might slide right out.

Dr. Matthews listened briefly to his heartbeat and his lungs. "How long has he been like this?" he asked Cadence.

"I'm not sure. He called me earlier, said he was sick, and I flew in from Kansas City."

"Has he been out of the country recently?" he asked.

"No, never," Cadence replied.

"Anyone else in his family sick? Roommate? You?"

"I haven't been able to get ahold of his family, and I haven't seen his roommate all day. I'm fine."

"All right, well, I think we need to go ahead and call an ambulance and have him transported to Bryan Health. Shirley, will you make that call please?" he asked the receptionist. "I'm sorry, miss, I just don't think there's anything much I can do for him here. We'll get him over to the hospital where they can run some tests and see what might be wrong."

"Okay," Cadence said, trying to keep it together. She had thought earlier, when he was able to hold a conversation, that once she got him to the doctor, he would probably be fine. Now, he couldn't even hold his head up, and she was becoming more and more concerned by the moment.

She sat down in the chair next to him, propping him up the best she could. She realized her phone was ringing, but she wasn't sure how to get it out of her pocket while still keeping him in his chair. She was afraid it might be his parents, so she momentarily let go of him in order to answer it. Even removing her hand for a moment caused him to slouch, and she had to act quickly to keep him from tumbling onto the floor. Clearly, this was a serious situation, and she was hopeful the ambulance would be there soon.

Answering the phone, she said "Mrs. Cook? Thank God. You need to get to Lincoln right away."

The doctors at Bryan Health said they thought it was some form of a blood infection. They had never seen anything like it. They started Jack on several high dosages of medication as well as an antibiotic and several other drugs Cadence had never heard of. His parents arrived about an hour after he was admitted, and the doctor explained that they hoped to see some quick improvement; otherwise, they would need to put him in a medically induced coma so that they could better monitor his response to the medication.

Cadence knew that the rest of their group of friends was on the way, but she didn't know exactly when they would arrive. She still hadn't had a chance to talk to Aaron, which she felt bad about, but she wanted to stay near Jack's bed, just in case he woke up. She also thought she should check in with Christian, so she sent him a brief update via IAC while the doctors were working on Jack.

Around 6:30, Jack's parents went to grab some dinner, and it was only a few minutes after they left that he began to flutter his eyes. She grabbed her phone to send them a text to tell them to return. Glancing up, she realized he was looking right at her. "Hi, Jack," she said reaching out and taking his hand. "How are you doing?"

"Cadence," he said smiling, "What are you doing here? You look so pretty."

"I came to see you," she said. "I was worried about you. Are you feeling better?"

"Oh, yes, I'm feeling much better now," he said. His eyes were still glazed over, and she could tell the medication was making him a little loopy.

"Your parents are here. They'll be right back," she said hoping that would make him feel better.

"Steve and Alice," he said, closing his eyes momentarily. "Alice and Steve."

"Yes, that's them. That's your parents."

"Hey, remember that time we snuck off under the bleachers at the football game and did it?"

She couldn't help but snicker. "No, Jack, that wasn't me. That was Andrea Lacombe."

"Oh, that's right. Andrea had big..."

"All right, medicine is working then. That's great." She leaned over to straighten his pillow, and he caught a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"I remember you, too," he said quietly, gently pulling on her hair so that she had to bend closer to him.

"You do?" she asked, her face inches from his.

He seemed to have fully returned to her for a minute, and he said, "Oh, yes, I remember. I remember everything, Cadence Findley."

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She fought to keep them from spilling out, afraid to upset him.

"Why don't you love me anymore?" he asked, a serious expression on his face.

Cadence thought about her answer for a second. She didn't love him, not like she used to, but she would always _love_ him. He had been her first love, and there was nothing that could ever change that. "I do love you," she said. "I'll always love you, Jack."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. I promise I will always love you."

"Good, then kiss me," he said slipping his hand out of her hair and up to the back of her neck.

She leaned down and gentle kissed his lips, and he pulled her in for more. His mouth was warm, his lips dry, and Cadence felt very uncomfortable but hoped it might help him feel better, so she didn't immediately pull away.

A noise behind her startled Cadence, and she stood up, just in time to see his parents enter the room.

Red spreading up her neck and face, Cadence stepped back out of the way, allowing them closer access to their son, but just as she did so, she heard him whisper, "You will always be mine."

Without comment, she turned and smiled in his direction, hoping this would be enough to help pull him through. Once he was well, she could remind him of all the reasons they had broken up in the first place.

Jack's mom, Alice, whom Cadence always thought looked like the perfect sitcom mom, appeared as if she had recently stopped crying. Steve, tall, and athletically built like his son, had his arm around her, but he looked more than a little concerned as well.

Cadence excused herself from the room before the tears began to splash down her cheeks. His parents were so busy asking him how he was feeling that neither of them seemed to even notice she had left. She went down the hall to try to find a quiet place where she could talk to Aaron.

Once she settled into a seat near a large window, she sent him a message. " _Hey, could you call me on my cell phone. I just want to hear your voice."_

Almost instantly, her phone began to ring. "Hi," she said just above a whisper.

"Hey, how are you? What did the doctor say?"

"Well," she began, "we're at the hospital. They admitted him. It doesn't look good, Aaron. I don't know. They said it was some sort of infection or something. I don't even think they know for sure. They think he must have picked it up from a student from a foreign country or something."

"Really?" he asked. "Cadence, that sounds a little suspect to me."

"What do you mean?" she asked, wondering if he had formulated his own opinion about what was going on with Jack, though she didn't know how that was possible since he was so far away.

"I don't know," Aaron said quickly. "I guess it's just... surprising."

Suspicious that he was back pedaling, Cadence said, "If it isn't a blood infection, I don't know what else it could be. He hasn't been outside of the country or anything. They said they've never seen anything exactly like this, and they're not even precisely sure how to treat it."

"Are they treating it now? They must be giving him something." he asked.

"They're doing something. I don't know. They named off a bunch of drugs they're giving him, a shitload of stuff I can't even pronounce. Antibiotics, steroids, I think. Just a bunch of stuff, trying to figure out if any of it will work for him."

"And is it working?"

Cadence wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. "I want to say yes. He was unconscious for the last several hours, but he came around a few minutes ago. He was talking coherently. He kissed me and told me he loved me." She couldn't help but stick that last little bit in there, wondering how he might react.

Aaron didn't say anything for a moment; she wondered if her plan had worked and he wasn't exactly sure how to take that. "Well, maybe they're right, and it is an infection. Hopefully, they'll be able to treat it, and he'll be fine."

"I hope so," she concurred.

"Yeah, me, too." Aaron was quiet for a long moment before he asked, "When do you think you're coming back?" he asked gently.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Did you say you need me for a hunt?"

"I do," he confirmed. "We've found her."

Cadence didn't hesitate. "Send me a plane."

# Chapter 13

Even on their own private jet, the ride from Kansas City to Paris seemed to take forever, and Cadence spent the whole time thinking about Jack and wondering how he was doing. The rest of the team understood that she needed some alone time, and they gave her some space. Before she left Nebraska, Taylor and the rest of her friends arrived at the hospital, and at least one of them was at the hospital around the clock so they could constantly keep her updated once she got off the plane. Nevertheless, she still felt bad leaving Jack when he was so ill.

When she had returned to his room that night, he was asleep, not unconscious again, but truly asleep. His parents said they understood that she couldn't stay, that she needed to get back to work. They already believed that the medication was working, and they were certain they'd be calling her soon with positive information. That was yesterday evening, and she still hadn't received any word from his parents, which was disappointing. And now, all of the rest of their friends were there as well, which left her feeling very melancholy and made the trip even longer.

For some reason, it seemed everyone and their brother was visiting Paris at the same time, which had made booking enough hotel rooms extremely difficult. Aaron told her that as soon as Eliza found out Stormy was coming, and there wouldn't be enough hotel rooms for them each to have their own, she had essentially called "Not it!" and talked Jamie into sharing a room with her. That left Cadence to share with Stormy since it only made sense the two remaining women would be best put together. And since the Hunters required more sleep, putting them in the same room was logical. Cadence was fine with that at first. They were both Vampire Hunters, which was something. Surely, she could get along with anyone for a few days.

Unfortunately, that had not been the case. As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Cadence wanted to call and check on Jack. The room was tiny, and the bathroom door was paper-thin. Stormy insisted that she needed to go to sleep immediately. If she were to perform at her best, she needed precisely ten hours of sleep each night.

"Well, I need to call and check on my friend," Cadence said.

Stormy was a burly woman with short brown hair and a ruddy complexion. She wore a slouch hat and cowboy boots. When she answered, her voice was anything but sympathetic. "I'm sorry," Stormy said, "but the next ten hours are quiet time for me, and that means you must be completely silent at all times. You cannot call in here while I am sleeping. You'll have to go somewhere else."

Cadence thought that arguing with her could quite possibly lead to a physical fight, and though she was fairly certain she would win, she wasn't willing to escalate the situation. "Fine, I'll go out into the hallway," she acquiesced.

She spent the next fifteen minutes on the phone with Taylor, talking about how Jack was doing. Taylor explained that they had changed some of his medications because he wasn't responding as they had hoped he would. They were hopeful that this new regiment would be more productive in creating healthy blood cells. He would also be receiving one or two blood transfusions daily now. She said he had been awake and talking for a few minutes that day, but he never made much sense. It upset Cadence to know that, each time he woke up, he asked where she was.

After hanging up the phone, Cadence returned to the room she shared with Stormy. However, Cadence quickly discovered Stormy had thrown the bar across the door, and even though she had a keycard, Cadence was unable to access her own room. She attempted to wake her up on IAC, but Stormy was either completely off or just ignoring her.

Cadence knew she had one of two choices. She could bang on the door and attempt to wake her that way, potentially getting into an altercation with her, or she could just find somewhere else to sleep. She was wearing linen pants and a sweatshirt and she had brushed her teeth before she went out to make the phone call. So, all she really needed was a bed. She knew that Jamie and Eliza were already sharing a room, and she didn't want to ask them to make room for one more. Christian and Elliott each had their own room. Elliott was out of the question, and she was afraid that, if she asked Christian, he would assume other intentions. Tonight, all she truly wanted to do was sleep. That really only left one person.

_"Hey, I'm locked out of my room. Stormy put the bar over the door, and she won't let me in."_

_"What! That's crazy! I can wake her up, " _Aaron offered.

_"No, don't do that. I don't want to make her angry. We'll just end up fighting."_

_"Okay, well, I know there are no more rooms available in the hotel. What would you like for me to do? "_

_"Are you sleeping or working?"_

_" Working."_

_" Can I sleep in your bed?"_

There was a delay in his response, and Cadence thought perhaps she had overstepped the new boundaries he had recently established. She hoped the delay came from multitasking and had nothing to do with her.

Eventually, he replied, " _Of course you can."_

_" Thanks. What room are you in?"_

_" Three-seventeen"_

She made her way down the hall and knocked quietly on his door.

"Hey," Aaron said, opening the door wide enough for her to enter.

"Hi. Thank you," she added as she stepped into the room.

"Sure," he replied. "I'm sorry Stormy is being so difficult."

"It's not your fault," she said, looking around. He must have been working on his laptop, which was open on the coffee table in the sitting area. He only had one queen sized bed in his room, but that worked just fine since one of them didn't sleep.

"It is and it isn't," he admitted. "I mean, I'm the one who invited her, and I'm in charge, so if she's being difficult, I need to take care of it."

"Well, maybe she's just tired, and she'll be nicer tomorrow. I don't know; I just went out in the hall to call Taylor to check on Jack, and she locked me out."

"That's a bit on the harsh side," he admitted, choosing his words carefully. "Well, it's all yours," he said, gesturing toward the bed.

"Thanks again," she said, walking over and pulling down the blankets. Slipping off her shoes, she sat down on the edge of the bed. She was very aware that he was still standing there watching her as she climbed between the sheets and scooted back against the headboard, propping the pillows behind her. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes, sorry," he replied, as if realizing he had been staring. "I was just going to ask how Jack was doing, but I didn't know if you wanted to talk about it."

She sighed, not really sure if she wanted to discuss him or not. Jack was just one of the many topics that she currently found upsetting. When she had first decided to ask Aaron if she could sleep in his room, she had thought she would be able to handle being so close to him, telling herself her sole purpose in doing so was to get some sleep. Now that she was here, she realized that her feelings for him were still at the surface level. He was dressed in very nice gray pants and a powder blue shirt, almost the same shade as his eyes, and she was beginning to wonder if coming here was a mistake. She had cried enough over him recently, and she really didn't want to go through that again.

He must have been able to tell how distressed she was, though he didn't know exactly how bad Jack's situation was. He seemed to be searching for something comforting to say. Anything would do if it kept her from bursting into tears. "Hey, it's okay," he said, sitting down on the side of the bed near her knees. "Jack's a tough guy, right? He can fight this, you know? It'll be fine."

"You don't sound very convincing," she pointed out.

He ran his hand through his hair, and Cadence knew he was thinking about how to respond. "You're right, I don't. I'm sorry. Do you want me to try again?"

Cadence shook her head. "It's okay; you don't need to patronize me."

"Oh, I'm not. I mean, I wasn't trying to." He sighed a deep sigh and turned so that he was facing her. "Look, Cadence, here's the deal. We can all say hopeful, reassuring things, and that's nice. It makes people feel good, at least for a few moments. There's nothing wrong with that. Except for when it doesn't turn out that way. And I have no idea if Jack's going to pull through this or not. Of course, I hope so. I hope he makes a full recovery, and you see him out there playing baseball in the spring, just like you always have. But, sometimes that doesn't happen. And we lose people. And it sucks. God, does it ever suck. But we find a way to go on—sometimes when we truly think there is no possible way to go on. Somehow, we find one."

Tears were starting to make their way out of the corners of her eyes. "I just can't imagine losing Jack," she whispered. "I'm just tired of losing people. I don't want to do it anymore."

"I know," he agreed. "I really do know."

She wiped her tears on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "You mentioned that before," she replied. "What do you mean by that? Do you mind that I ask?"

"No, I don't mind that you ask," he responded. "In the past, it has been difficult for me to talk about it. But I'm willing to talk to you about it, Cadence." She felt touched that he already seemed to trust her so completely. Taking a deep breath, he calmly stated, "My wife died." He wasn't able to look directly at her and instead stared down at his folded hands.

Cadence gasped, "Oh, my God, Aaron, I'm so sorry! I had no idea."

"I know. It's okay. I mean, it was a very, very long time ago. But, even when this much time has passed, it really doesn't make it any easier, unfortunately."

She had no idea he had ever even been married before, though it would make sense that someone who had lived as long as he had would have been married at some point. "Do you ever talk about her--to anyone?" she asked.

"No, not really. Not anymore. There are some incredible rumors about what happened, and most of the team knows about her, but there's really no one left that ever even met Aislyn. And, she was a human, so even if she hadn't gotten sick, she wouldn't be alive now."

"You fell in love with a human?" she asked, intrigued.

"Mm hmm," he replied softly.

"And you married her, knowing that, someday you'd have to go on without her?"

His only response was a shrug.

"That's incredible," Cadence said. "And pretty damn romantic," she added.

He smiled shyly, "I guess so. I don't know. I loved her. There was no question in my mind that I loved her, and I didn't care what she was. I was going to marry her. And so, I did, and we were together for a short time before she got sick, and even though I am what I am, and I did everything within my power, I could do nothing to save her."

"I'm so sorry," she said, holding back tears again.

"Thanks," he replied, nodding. Then he added, "So, I know. I really do know how you feel."

She paused for a moment, considering all that he had said, being ever so careful to control her emotions. There was so much that she wished to say. Though she had admired him before, learning of his ability to love someone so unconditionally just intensified her feelings. After a few moments she finally said simply, "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome. Thank you for listening. It's been a very long time since I've mentioned Aislyn to anyone. But I feel like you deserve to know, especially with everything you're going through with Jack."

"And thank you for giving me another chance," she added.

Her abrupt change of topic seemed to catch him slightly off guard "What?" he asked. "You mean on the team?"

She nodded, slowly, briefly glancing up to meet his eyes.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me for that, Cadence. I should have never...." He paused, as if he also didn't want to think about the conversation they had had the other night. With Jack so sick, she doubted he'd say anything about the possibility of giving her another chance either. Not now anyway. Finally, he just stated, "Cadence, I was mad at the wrong person, and I don't know if it was just my complete inability to see situations in any shades other than black or white, or if I allowed someone else's judgment to cloud my own, but I realized after you left yesterday, you never would have broken the rules if they weren't stupid rules to begin with."

"You mean the observation protocol? I don't think it's stupid..." she started.

"Sure it is. A rule that says every single Hunter has to follow the same protocol even when they don't need to, and it hurts the team? Yeah, that's pretty stupid. So, I couldn't hold you back anymore, even though it scares the hell out of me to see the risks you take. You know what you're doing. You said you trust me, and I need to trust you, too." Then he added, "And I do. I do trust you." He was looking directly into her eyes now, and she could see the sincerity in his words.

Unable to continue to hold his gaze, she looked away. After a moment she said, "Good. Thank you."

"Sure," he replied, nodding. Suddenly, he seemed to desperately want to exit the situation. Perhaps he felt he had had said too much. "Okay, I'm sorry. You're exhausted, and I have work to do, so I promise I will let you sleep."

"You look pretty tired, yourself," she pointed out, not looking directly at him when she said it, hoping she wouldn't think she was suggesting anything.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically as he stood to walk back to his computer.

"I'm just saying, you really are allowed to sleep, too, you know?" She adjusted the blankets over her shoulder, and turned her back to him.

"I know," he admitted. He flipped the lights off, and she heard him sit back down at the table. A shift in the remaining light in the room indicated he had turned the screen so that the light from his laptop wouldn't shine into her eyes. "And I did sleep. Once. A few years ago."

She couldn't help but laugh. "It's a big bed so you won't bother me. Just sayin'" She was too tired to worry about how he may or may not take that remark.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Good night, Cadence,"

"Good night, Aaron," she said.

When Cadence woke up the next morning, she was surprised not to see Aaron still sitting on the sofa working. She rolled over and realized he actually had gotten in bed with her. And he was asleep. Although, technically, he was on the bed, not under the blankets as she was, which she found a bit humorous. Clearly, he was concerned with violating her privacy. He had changed clothes into something slightly more comfortable than what had been wearing the night before, and he looked more peaceful than she had ever seen him.

He must have felt her staring at him because his eyes began to flutter, and then he was awake and looking back at her. "Good morning," he said softly.

"Hi. You slept! I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed, propping her head up on one arm.

"I know. Me, too. How did you sleep?" he asked, stretching.

She was momentarily distracted, staring at the muscles in his arms as he flexed them in his attempt to fully wake. She shook her head, gathering her thoughts. "I slept well, thanks. And you?"

"Better than I have in a long time," he admitted turning on his side to face her.

"You were tired," she reminded him. "See, sleep isn't such an awful thing."

"No, sleep's great. It's the making up for all of the work that I missed that's so terrible," he explained. As if realizing he had a ton to do and that he needed to find a way out of the bed quickly before the situation took a turn, he brought himself promptly to his feet, standing across the bed from her.

Stifling a giggle at his rush to get out of the bed, she reminded him, "Well, that's because you're doing the job of two people," doing a bit of stretching herself. "And two extremely difficult jobs at that."

"You're right; that's exactly why. But until the Hunters elect someone else as Leader, I'm just going to have to do it myself," he reminded her, walking around the end of the bed toward his computer.

"Well, I may not be my grandmother, but if there's anything that you think I can help you with, please let me know," she offered as he opened his laptop.

"Okay, thanks," he said, beginning to scroll through the information on his computer. His expression revealed he simultaneously checking the messages on his IAC.

Cadence could see that he was very busy, and she didn't want to bother him. But at the same time, she wasn't quite ready to leave. "I guess I'm going shopping with Eliza today," she mentioned, sitting up and attempting to detangle her hair with her fingers. She slipped her feet into her shoes without untying them.

He looked up at her, smirking. "Oh? Have fun--if it's even possible to have fun shopping with Eliza."

"I know, right? And the meeting with Sebastian is at 8:00?" she inquired, working on a rather obstinate tangle.

"That's right, 8:00. And he's coming over here. I guess we'll just bring him in here." Then he added, "He doesn't want you there, you know? He's afraid you'll lose your temper and kill him. Same for Stormy."

"I don't blame him," she admitted. "I just figured you wanted us all in the building, just in case something happens."

"That is probably a wise idea," he agreed.

"Well, I will go check on my lovely roommate and see if I am allowed to take a shower." She momentarily considered using his hospitality as an excuse to cross the room and hug him, but she was keenly aware of the fact that her mouth tasted like an old shoe, so she climbed out of bed and headed straight for the door. She continued to run her hand absently through her hair and, pulling the heavy oak door open, she turned and catching his eyes said, "Thanks again."

She realized she had his full attention, standing there in her crumpled sweatshirt, hair a mess. Cadence hoped he could overlook her disheveled appearance. He stared at her for a long moment, as if he couldn't really think of anything to say. Licking his lips, he bit down slightly and then managed to cheerily say, "Have a great day!"

Both eyebrows raised at his ridiculous tone, Cadence giggled. "I feel like I'm leaving Walmart." Crimson began to creep up his neck, but once again he must've been struggling for words, so she shouted, "You, too!" and bounded down the hall, determined that she was getting back into her hotel room, one way or another.

It was 8:37 and Sebastian had not yet shown up. Aaron had been in contact with a messenger off and on all day, receiving updates on Holland and making sure the turncoat knew where to be and when to be there. They were supposed to meet early so that, by the time the nightlife (or afterlife, as the case may be) started their nightly corruption of the City of Lights, his team was well informed and ready to bring Holland down.

Cadence was holed up in her room with Stormy who was polishing one of her guns. She had several, more than Cadence could easily account for, and this one was a custom number Stormy said she relied on heavily. "Is that thing loaded?" she asked, watching Stormy flip it around nonchalantly.

"Always," the Amazonian woman replied.

"Nice," Cadence muttered. She had asked Aaron about weapons yesterday, and he assured her they had quite an arsenal and that she would be fully armed. As exciting as that seemed, she'd never even been in a simulator with more than one Glock at a time, and the idea of trolling around Paris with a couple of Berettas or a handgun strapped to every portion of her body was sounding more and more like the backstory for an episode of _World's Dumbest Criminals._

_"I think we've got a no-show,"_ Aaron finally admitted at 8:45.

_"The first step toward healing is admitting you've got a problem_ ," she replied.

" _Sarcasm, very helpful. We're going to head over to Le Doll, which opens at 9:00, and see if Sabin and the girls know anything more. You want to come? "_

_"Strip club? You know it!"_

Cadence was certain she had to be breaking at least a few weapons ordinances. Before he let her out the door, Aaron had strapped two Berettas into her long black coat. She had two Glocks in holsters at her side and a third strapped to the back of her leg. They were all armed to the teeth and dressed like they were going to a cosplay for _The Matrix_ movies. Nevertheless, she felt like a badass, and she was more than ready to find Holland and finish this once and for all.

The French team was also tired of waiting, and they were descending on Le Doll as well. Aaron had made sure everyone had each other on IAC, and now Cadence was slightly distracted by the French-to-English translations she was getting zapped through her brain every few seconds. She heard the original message, and then the translation, and it was just a bit much. She had new resolve to learn all foreign languages so as to avoid this situation in the future.

There was a long line of patrons waiting to get in, and Cadence assumed those who were not armed would have a better chance of success. However, Aaron didn't take them to the front entrance; he took them around the side where Sabin was waiting and let them in.

Cadence had actually never been to any strip club before, so having her first one be a French burlesque was even more of a shock. She was having a very hard time not gasping at every X-rated scene that her innocent eyes were suddenly exposed to, and she felt as if her face must be a deep shade of crimson. Though she felt embarrassed at her naiveté, she did happen to notice that their fearless leader looked fairly uncomfortable himself. A few of the other guys, however, were having difficulty concentrating for other reasons altogether. She made a point not to make eye contact with Christian at all so as to make sure he did not get any ideas.

They followed Sabin into a dressing area. Some of the other performers were a bit startled to see such a large group dressed in dark colors walk in, clearly packing and unbothered by who may notice. But this was Paris, and they had likely seen stranger things.

Sabin and Aaron were speaking French, and even with her mental translator sprinting along as fast as its little legs could carry it, she wasn't keeping up. Essentially, they weren't sure if Sebastian had gotten cold feet or if he had been found out. Either way, they suggested a full scope of the club, and if they had no luck here, a raid on the Vieux Moullin. If Sebastian had just gotten nervous and was still undetected, Holland may actually show. She had been in a few nights ago. While the idea of raiding a warehouse full of Rogue Vampires and burning it to the ground sounded appealing, the first and most important step was to cut off the head of the snake.

Genevieve and Chantal both addressed Aaron and the rest of the group topless, and Cadence found it quite amusing to watch him attempt to speak to them nonchalantly when he was clearly excruciatingly uncomfortable. They were discussing location around the inside perimeter of the club that would work well for optimal vantage points and as much camouflage as possible. The club was open from 9:00-3:00, and if Holland had not shown up by 2:00, the plan was to disperse and rendezvous at 2:45 at Location Two.

As Aaron was discussing the details with the French Hunters, Christian approached Cadence. "Are you ready for this?" he asked quietly.

She glanced briefly in his direction, trying to prevent distraction at all costs. "I believe so," she said, nodding her head.

"Good," he said smiling. "I have a feeling you are going to kick some major Vampire ass tonight. Can't wait to see the show."

She couldn't help but smile at that. "Thanks," she said grinning.

"Sure. I know I'm not assigned to guard you tonight, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know, all right?" he said, gently squeezing her arm and stepping away.

Cadence nodded at him as he walked away, fully aware that Eliza was shooting her a questioning stare from the other side of the small circle the team had formed around Aaron and the informants. Cadence only shrugged at her friend and returned her attention to the rapid-fire translation.

Sabin had the night off, so she was armed; the other two were not. Therefore, they would be reliant on some assistance if things started to go down in the club. The rest of the team members were reminded to share their weapons if possible. Once the conversation with the dancers was finished, much to Aaron's relief, Cadence imagined, Sabin helped him place his troops as inconspicuously as she could. Cadence had been given fairly strict orders to stay with Aaron at all times, so she got to walk around with him as he positioned everyone. Sabin was clearly intrigued by the striking foreigner, and Cadence noticed how often she put her wispy little hand on him when she spoke.

Once everyone else was in position, Sabin went off to find a vantage point that leant itself well to where she generally saw Holland hang out when she was in the club. Cadence wasn't particularly saddened to see her go.

The main room of the club was shaped like a large oval with squared off corners. It was three stories high with balconies lining the sides and offering views to the main floor below which were ideal for observing but made deployment a bit trickier, especially when the club was full of innocent bystanders, as it was this evening. Despite the fact that the strippers were all female, there were plenty of women in the crowd, something Cadence found rather odd. Like most clubs, however, it was dark and smoky. Everyone on the team had night vision through their IACs, which could be useful when it came to tracking in the poor lighting.

She supposed Elliott had the best vantage point of anyone, poised in the rafters high above the crowd. Though he had the most experience at mounting the crow's nest, Aaron mentioned he had considered putting one of the French team members there so that Elliott would be more accessible should they need his guns. But in the end, Aaron knew the importance of a good rooster, and he left him in a position where a quick descent wasn't very feasible, essentially leaving them with one less pistol on the ground than he had planned on. Elliott said he was interested in checking his range from the rafters, however, and he may be of some help after all.

Placing Cadence was also of the utmost importance, he had explained. She needed to be able to see and to access her target quickly. He had settled on a location on the second story near the stairs. His plan was to stick as closely by her side as possible. Eliza was also assigned solely to Cadence's protection, so he felt fairly confident that, between the two of them, they could keep her safe, though once her instincts kicked in, everyone knew it would be nearly impossible to predict what she might do or which direction she might head.

The rest of the team was scattered amongst the different levels, some on the main floor, with Genevieve and Chantal taking advantage of their time on stage to survey the crowd as well.

Once the crowd really poured in, Aaron told her his Vampire tracker started getting hits all across the club. This application in his IAC picked up on the implants of tagged Vampires within a set range and determined if they had any complaints against them. If they had enough substantiated offenses on their record to meet Rogue status, the rest of the team would also receive notification. Of course, this only worked for Vampires who were tagged. It was a bit shocking to know just how many of the patrons below were Compliant Vampires. The incessant beeping was just one more aspect of Aaron's job that could have easily driven someone of lesser skill beyond the breaking point.

Once Cadence and Aaron found their positions, they were suddenly bombarded by club goers offering to buy each of them drinks. The constant interruptions were getting to be a bit of a distraction. Finally, Aaron closed the small gap between them and wrapped his arm around Cadence's waist.

She was rather surprised but certainly didn't mind. Nevertheless, she had to ask, "Whatcha doin' there, bossman?"

"Well, I was hoping that these nice patrons would start to think that we are a couple and leave us the hell alone so we can do our jobs," he replied, his hand on her side but just lightly resting there.

She was standing in front of him peering over the balcony, scanning the crowd for any of the known members of Holland's clan and for Sebastian. While she agreed that the French partiers were a distraction, she didn't know if he realized that he was causing even more of a disruption in her ability to concentrate. Yet, despite the knowledge that she knew concentration was vital, she wasn't about to ask him to move away.

"You know, it's easier to hold you when you're not packing heat," he whispered in her ear.

"Are you trying to disarm me?" she replied teasingly.

"No, not at all," he resounded. "I'll just have to figure out some other way to let everyone know you're presently spoken for," he said in a more flirtatious tone than she had ever heard him use before.

"I have a few ideas," she said biting her bottom lip. She was beginning to wonder if he wasn't also taking advantage of this charade to momentarily suspend their agreement to go their separate ways. If he was, she was definitely game. She felt like she was playing a role in an action movie, not like this was real life.

"Oh? What ideas?" he asked, clearly intrigued.

Though it required taking her eyes off of the club floor for a few moments, she convinced herself that the believability of their cover story was at stake. She swiveled her hips around so that she was facing him and placed her hand on the nape of his neck. Pulling him toward hers, she pressed her lips against his and drew his mouth open with her tongue. After a few moments she released him. "Believable?" she asked, requesting his approval.

In response, Aaron pulled her back in and kissed her again, this time a bit softer but still just as passionately. Releasing her, he said, "I think that might work. It does make it a little more difficult to see the club floor, but really, there will be other opportunities to kill Vampires."

She laughed and turned back to scan the crowd, making sure she hadn't missed anything while she had been thoroughly distracted.

" _What the hell are you guys doing?"_ Eliza wanted to know. She was standing just a few feet away with a drink in her hand.

_"Cover story,"_ Cadence replied.

_"Believability is everything_ ," Aaron noted.

_"Am I the only one working around here?"_ the third wheel wanted to know.

Cadence couldn't respond just then though. Her eyes locked in on a face moving through the crowd. She didn't have a good vantage point from where she was presently standing, so she began to move, her instincts kicking in.

There was no way Aaron could see exactly what she was doing, but he seemed to know by now that when she went into this state, it was best to just let her work and try to keep up. She could feel him following behind her as she trailed along the railing.

Cadence had a lock. It was Sebastian. He was winding his way through the crowd, heading down the middle of the dance floor, constantly looking over his shoulder as if he was certain he was about to be pounced on at any second. And that was Cadence's first thought, but the fact that he was here must be significant. If something weren't amiss, he would have never shown up in the club that night, knowing it was bound to be crawling with Hunters and Guardians.

Surveying the location of her teammates, she realized he was about to pass into Jamie's zone. " _Jamie, Sebastian, white shirt, middle of the floor, your ten o'clock."_

_"Affirmative,"_ Jamie replied.

Jamie was on him in less than two seconds, without the crowd knowing he had instantaneously covered about fifty feet and without bumping into a single one of them. Cadence watched and listened through the IAC as the doctor placed his hand on Sebastian's shoulder, as if they were long lost pals. "Sebastian, we've missed you," he said, keeping his grip tight as they continued to walk through the crowd. It didn't really matter exactly where they were going, so long as Jamie didn't let the Vampire get away.

"I need to speak to Sabin," Sebastian said, his heavy French accent making it difficult for Cadence to understand.

"Well, let's go," Jamie replied, leading him to where she stood at the back end of the club on the first balcony.

"God, I really want to go ring his neck, literally," Cadence muttered.

"Nice pick up," Aaron replied. "You can't kill him just now. We've got to figure out what he knows."

"Don't you want to go talk to him?" Cadence asked, turning to look at him momentarily.

"I'm dying to go interrogate the turncoat myself, but doing so would mean leaving you, and it isn't worth it. I'll just have to trust Sabin to gather and disseminate the information."

His response made sense, and Cadence nodded before returning her eyes back to the dance floor, crawling back over faces, searching for anyone else who might be a threat.

As Jamie reached Sabin, Cadence switched their primary vision setting to her so she could get the information as quickly as possible. She assumed everyone else on the team likely did the same thing. Since they both spoke French, however, it took a bit longer for Cadence to understand the message.

"Holland is on her way," Aaron explained, his translating slightly faster than the IAC.

"Where did you learn to speak such fluent French?" she asked, her smile showing that she was impressed.

"France," he replied smartly. "I lived here for a while. A long time ago."

"How old are you anyway?" she asked as she continued to survey the crowd. She had been wanting to ask for a long time but never had. She knew this might not be the best time or place, but she really wanted to know.

"That's a little rude," he teased. He had his hand resting on her shoulder, continuing with the façade that they were a couple.

"It just boggles my mind that you look like you're in college, and you're like, a hundred and fifty," she commented, her eyes continuing to fly through the faces in the crowd.

"That's a good guess. Let's go with that," he replied, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

She flashed him a disappointed smirk, not pulling her eyes completely away from the crowd. Suddenly, she realized her heart rate was increasing. She started to have an unusual sensation in the pit of her stomach, almost as if her insides were itching. She had never felt anything like this before, but she knew what it meant. "Aaron," she said, grabbing his arm, "She's coming all right, and she's bringing Armageddon with her."

"What?" he asked.

But she didn't have time to answer. There was a brilliant flash of white light and the front doors of the club came crashing open, a chilling wind blowing in so furiously, club goers were knocked to the ground and strewn about like flower petals in a storm. The music abruptly stopped, the lights flickered, and then, there she was, standing in the entryway to the dance floor, the crowd parting in haste to make way. Her flowing white dress illuminated in the lights from the dance floor lending a sense of irony as she resembled an angel, long red tresses billowing in the wind. "You want me? Here I am. Come get me!" She turned and looked straight at Cadence, her long, bony finger beckoning in her direction.

The crowd stood petrified with fear as Holland's legion filled the area around her. There must have been at least fifty of them, if not more. Cadence glanced back at Aaron. Bad intel, once again.

_"We got this."_ Cadence blasted to the entire team.

"You sure?" Aaron whispered next to her.

She nodded, pulling the Berettas from behind her back. She knew they were grossly outnumbered, but the Vampires had no weapons while they had semi-automatic rifles. Perhaps more importantly, they had Cadence, and she was pissed.

Unfortunately, the Vampires had chosen to take this fight out in public where there was a pretty good chance dozens of humans would be injured or killed. Even as this thought crossed her mind, the Vampires began to shriek, something Cadence took as a sign they were about to attack. Their faces contorted, exposing their spike-like teeth, their talon-clad fingers ready to slice through anyone they came into contact with.

As the Vampires charged into the crowd, the humans began to panic. The Compliant Vampires were suddenly forced to choose a side, predator or prey. Many of them instinctively chose to go along with the rest of their Passel and Cadence turned her head slightly to see a man sinking his teeth into his date. She trained her weapon on him and fired. Though it was too late for the woman who now had a gaping hole in her neck, at least this particular villain would not have a second victim.

Elsewhere, the previously clubbing humans were screaming, trampling each other, trying to find the closest exit. The Vampires were fighting through the crowd, spreading out, attempting to get to the Hunters. The Hunters and Guardians were limited to using their Berettas because the Glocks might kill the humans. Nevertheless, the room was illuminated in bursts of silver-blue light as the LSI searched out target after target.

Cadence had only one objective, and she didn't have time for the stairs. She leapt over the balcony, dropping the two stories as if she were a child jumping off the bottom step of a stairwell. She didn't see Aaron shaking his head in disbelief and calculating whether or not he could follow. After a second's hesitation, he bounded after her, though his landing was a bit rougher. Eliza belted for the staircase.

Trusting her aim, Cadence replaced one of the Berettas in its holster and pulled a Glock out of her right hip holster. The hell with protocol at this point; she could take out more Vampires faster with the handgun. She was heading toward Holland, but she was picking off Vampires right and left as she went.

Stormy was also proving why it was worth it to have her difficult ass around. Christian and Jamie had been assigned to cover her, though Jamie had been stuck in the back with Sebastian when the altercation had first started. He had rushed through the crowd as quickly as possible, considering he was swimming upstream, to get back to his station. Yet, neither one of them were able to add much protection for Stormy as she engaged Vampire after Vampire either at close proximity or with her guns. All they could do to assist was try to take out some of her peripheral attackers before she had the opportunity.

Chantal and Genevieve had also joined the engagement, procuring weapons from members of the French team. They worked well together and were managing to take out quite a few bloodsuckers. Sabin was fighting her way toward them, the three of them preferring to work together.

Though it was the primary responsibility of the Hunters to kill the Vampires and the Guardians to protect the Hunters as they did so, under these circumstances it was completely permissible for a Guardian to engage any and all attacking Vampires. All of them posed a threat at this point, so most of the Guardians were on the offensive as well, seeking out the predators before they could turn their attention to the Hunters they were assigned to.

Aaron was forced to take this position as well because he couldn't keep up with Cadence. Any attempt at situating himself between Holland and Cadence was out of the question as soon as Cadence took off. Cadence knew as she marched on in pursuit of her prey, she was making it increasingly more difficult for him to judge exactly which path she was taking to reach her goal and to head her off. However, at this point, she was more concerned about getting Holland than she was being protected as she did so.

Cadence knew she would probably have a clear shot at Holland within twenty yards of reaching her, which she was closing in on now. But she understood that Holland was betting she wasn't planning on using a gun to kill her. Otherwise, she would have never called her out. The rest of the Vampires knew that Cadence was off-limits, and after seeing how quickly she was taking out any of them that entered her proximity, most were staying as far away from her as possible.

Many of the humans had either fled the scene or had fallen victim to the Vampires within the first few minutes of the battle. Originally, they had made good screens for the Vampires to wind their way through to close in on their Hunter targets. However, with fewer humans, there were fewer places for the Vampires to hide, and their numbers were starting to dwindle. Though Holland's strategy to outnumber the enemy almost four-to-one sounded good on paper, it wasn't holding up against the far superior weapons her enemies employed.

Not all of the Vampires were having such bad luck, though. Chantal was engaged with a towering brute; his club-like fists had knocked her weapon out of her hand, and before either of her teammates were able to train their guns in his direction, he had severed her arm, plucking it from its socket as if he were defeathering a chicken. Hearing her scream, Sabin turned and fired, making the attacker pay with a direct hit to the heart. She rushed to her friend's aid, and Genevieve covered them with her guns as Sabin attempted to stop the bleeding.

Aaron was standing close by. He couldn't stop to assist because he was trying to keep up with Cadence. " _Jamie, we need you in the back by the stage."_

Jamie was doing what he could to assist Stormy, but she wasn't in dire need of his assistance for certain. _"I'm on it,"_ he shot back to Aaron and headed toward Chantal.

Elliott was able to take out quite a few Vampires from his location after all, especially since the crowd had dissipated. Now that the number of Vampires was diminishing, he ascended to the roof of the building so that he could make sure no reserve forces were about to infiltrate the location and to begin to ascertain how best to go about the clean-up process. In situations like this, it was never easy. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people had now had an experience either inside or outside the club. Generally speaking, the best way to convince the masses that they had seen nothing paranormal was to utilize the media, and he was hopeful that, when those sirens he could hear off in the distance reached them, they would be accompanied by a news van or two. _"Clear on the exterior,"_ he reported before making his way down to the street level to begin the second half of his assignment.

Cadence had reached her destination. Holland stood across from her in the center of the room. A few fallen bodies scattered the floor around them, but for the most part, the area was clear. Holland had increased her height, stretching to a seven-foot tall towering specter. Her arms had lengthened and her teeth were bared. Still, Cadence was not frightened. She had full confidence in her ability to take this bitch out once and for all, thoughts of Drew's face flickering across her mind. "Are you ready to end this?" she asked, tossing her Glock aside.

In response, Holland tossed the top of her head back, opening her jaw almost 180 degrees, and roared. Cadence could feel a rush of warm air billow through the space between them, filling her nostrils with the stench of death and the rusty smell of blood.

She removed the two Berettas, discarded them, and tossed her jacket as well. She could see Aaron shaking his head off to her side, but she knew what she was doing. The rest of the room was almost clear of Vampires, just a few more meeting their demise in the darker corners of the club. Holland's entire clan had been eliminated, at least those present, and she was more than pissed. She had nothing to lose.

Holland made the first move, stepping forward and swinging her claws at Cadence's head. Cadence was able to dodge her with no problem. However, when Holland swung her other arm around, she did so quickly, and it caught Cadence a bit off balance. She stepped backward, recovered her balance, and used Holland's disproportion to her advantage, delivering a swift kick to her stomach. With her elongated skull, it caused the Vampire to become top heavy, and she reeled to the side. Holland wasn't stupid, however. Recognizing that her attempt to frighten Cadence with her appearance was working to her own disadvantage, she quickly brought her body back together, regaining her more human form. Cadence wasn't expecting this tactic, and she had to reformulate her plan of attack. She only had a second, however, before Holland threw herself at the Hunter, the force of her body causing Cadence to fall on her back. Cadence used both legs to kick Holland off, and she went shooting into the air, landing about fifteen feet behind where she had been standing. This just provided Holland with more of a running start. This time when she launched at Cadence, however, the Hunter was ready. Just as Holland was about to land on top of her again, Cadence sidestepped and kicked out her leg, sending Holland tumbling to her right. She hit the ground hard this time, and Cadence took the opportunity to jump on top of her.

From Aaron's perspective, this was excruciating. His entire purpose in life was to protect Hunters, and the one that he wanted to defend more than any other wouldn't allow him to assist at all. He knew that, if he needed to, he would shoot Holland without hesitation, despite any protest onlookers might make regarding a fair fight. He wasn't going to let anything happen to Cadence. Period.

Right now, it didn't matter, however. She was winning. Cadence held her knees against Holland's hips and chest. Though Holland was attempting to claw Cadence off of the top of her, she was unable to land any blows in her present position. Cadence was attempting to gain a forcible enough grip on Holland's head that she could sever it, but she was having trouble doing so because of Holland's sharp claws. They were like razor blades and could easily slice Cadence's arm open or removed a finger. Holland was able to catch Cadence when she was adjusting and didn't quite have her balance yet. The Vampire used her feet as leverage and pushed up, knocking Cadence off of her and to the ground. Holland threw herself at Cadence, and though she didn't have time to jump up, she did spring her legs out, catching Holland, sending her flying through the air. She landed on one of the tables, shattering glasses and bottles and spraying bits of glass into the air.

Despite the glass, Cadence heaved herself at Holland, pinning her down on the floor. She had her by the throat now, putting all of her pressure against the ancient bones in her slowly elongating neck. Holland attempted to claw at her again with her fingernails. Cadence pinned her left arm down with her knee. She caught Holland's right hand with her left and began to squeeze. Holland could not scream because of the pressure Cadence had on her neck. Within a few seconds, Holland's tendons began to pop and tear. Twisting seemed to help, and Cadence pulled up, ripping Holland's arm off and tossing it away.

Holland's last attempt to save herself was to mutate her mouth, trying to grow her teeth long enough to swing the top of her head down at such an angle as to catch Cadence's arm, but the Vampire was very conscious of the breaking ligaments in her neck. Now that her left hand was free, Cadence was able to apply even more pressure around the Vampire's throat.

As much as Cadence hated Holland, held her partially responsible for Drew's death and for changing all of their lives forever, she looked down into the eyes of the monster beneath her and realized she was causing her to suffer excruciating pain. It was over; Cadence had won. There was no reason to prolong it any more. Keeping her left hand firmly planted on Holland's throat, she reached back with her right hand, drew the Glock from her leg holster, placed the gun against Holland's chest directly above her heart and pulled the trigger.

Despite the damage to her throat, Holland still managed to shriek. It was ear shattering. The same breeze Cadence had felt from her mouth earlier blew past her again, the stench almost too much for her to bear as Holland's body turned to ashes beneath her.

It took Cadence a moment to realize it was over. Slowly, she stood and dusted herself off. Surveying the room, she saw that only Hunters and Guardians remained, except for one lone Vampire cowering in the back behind Sabin and Genevieve. Sebastian had survived unharmed.

Chantal had been the only Hunter casualty, and Jamie had been able to cauterize and heal the veins where she was bleeding out, which saved her life. There wasn't much they could do about her arm, but at least she would live.

"That was agonizing," Aaron said, wrapping his arms around her. "I didn't know how much longer I could stand to watch that. Thank God you didn't attempt to decapitate her. As strong as she was, that could've taken all night."

Cadence managed a laugh, though she was still dazed. "Well, a wise man once told me, 'If you have the shot, take it.' So, I did."

He looked into her eyes, and bit his bottom lip. Cadence wondered if the fact that everyone was staring at them was the only thing that prevented him from leaning down and kissing her. He looked like he wanted to. Staring into those blue eyes, she realized that it really didn't matter what anyone else said or thought; she was falling in love with him. By the looks of it, there was still a chance he felt the same way.

Pushing those thoughts aside for a moment, Cadence momentarily leaned her head against his chest, taking a moment to recover from the excursion of battle. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths, content to let the world melt away for a moment. She was completely safe and secure now, with Aaron's arms wrapped around her. After a few moments, however, she realized everyone was still standing around staring at them, including Christian. And the police had to be nearby now. It was time they made a hasty retreat. She smiled up at Aaron and stepped away from him, intending to gather up the guns she had thrown off before the fight.

As Cadence stepped back, she caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Aaron must have seen it, too. He only had a split second to react, and his gut response was to throw himself on top of her. They both tumbled to the ground, Aaron landing on top of her. She knew she was safe, but she had no idea what had happened.

The next thing that registered was Eliza shouting. "I was one step too late," she said. "Damnit!" From her IAC, Cadence could see that Eliza was wrestling with Sebastian, Sabin standing nearby, clearly in shock. Eliza drew her weapon and shot Sebastian right in the heart.

"What... what happened?" Genevieve asked, this time in English. She came flying up behind Sabin.

"He grabbed Sabin's hand and fired a shot," Eliza explained, still breathing heavily.

Sabine was still stunned. "We completely trusted Sebastian. I would have never thought he would go Rogue."

Cadence was a little shocked but otherwise fine. She took a moment to catch her breath as she listened to the conversation, but she was ready to get back to her feet. Aaron still had her pinned to the ground, however, and it took her a moment to realize why.

Confusion set in; if Sebastian had fired a shot at her, Aaron couldn't be hurt. A Vampire couldn't injure a Guardian. Yet, as she unwedged herself and rolled over, the warm red blood oozing across the dance floor said otherwise. Panic beginning to set in, she turned him over. "Aaron!" she screamed. "What? How did this happen?" He was looking at her, still conscious though he was fading fast. "No!" she pleaded. "You've got to stay with me!"

She felt hands on her shoulders and realized Jamie was there. He was weakened from healing Chantal, but surely he had some energy left. She just hoped it was enough. Eliza ran over with towels from the bar, and Jamie applied pressure to the bullet hole, which was located right under Aaron's rib cage on his right side.

Cadence cradled his head in her lap as Jamie continued his work. Jamie was fading almost as quickly as Aaron was, and Eliza wrapped her arms around Jamie to give him the support he needed to stay upright. The rest of the team kept their distance, but they were watching intently. She could feel their eyes.

"How are you doing?" Jamie asked Aaron weakly.

_"I... think it might have hit a lung. I can't talk. I tried...."_

_"Okay, don't try then."_ Jamie had also switched to the IAC. _"Do you feel anything at all?"_

_"I feel... warm._

"Oh, God," Cadence mumbled.

_"No, that's good,"_ Jamie explained. _"That means I'm healing him._ " Back to Aaron, he pointed out, _"Of course, if you actually have a collapsed lung, that will take its toll on me. Hopefully, I can patch it."_

_"It doesn't hurt as much now."_

Cadence was glad to hear that, but she still wasn't convinced he wasn't feeling better because he was dying. Surely, Jamie would save him. She reached down and grabbed Aaron's hand, refusing to consider the idea of losing him. She ran her fingers through his hair. Without him, how could she possibly go on? How could any of them? "Please, stay with us. Don't leave us," she said, wiping at her tears with the back of her free hand.

He kept his eyes trained on hers, and she felt like, as long as they didn't break that connection, he would be forced to stay.

Jamie was giving it everything he had, but she could see he was starting to lose consciousness. Cadence caught Eliza's eyes. She looked as petrified as Cadence felt, but she kept her grip on Jamie, giving him the strength to carry on.

"What happens if Jamie passes out?" Cadence whispered to Eliza.

"He'll be done," she said solemnly.

That couldn't happen. Not yet anyway.

There was a sound at the door behind her, and using Eliza's vantage point through the IAC, Cadence saw Elliott enter the room. His expression showed he hadn't been watching what was happening because he had a smile on his face for a moment. She vaguely remembered catching a message from him a few moments ago, something about everyone being convinced they had just been shooting a movie about vampires and everything was fine. His expression shifted from confusion to shock when he realized everyone was staring at the situation in the middle of the dance floor. It didn't take him long to realize what had happened.

Christian caught him at the door, holding him back, even though he knew Elliott wanted to go to Aaron's side. He needed some room and there were enough people in the immediate vicinity for now. "Wait," he said, "Just wait."

Elliott understood and took a step back. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Sebastian grabbed Sabin's gun and used her hand to fire it. So, no matter who it hit, that bullet was lethal," Christian explained. "Rather ingenious, though he still ended up losing his life."

"And Aaron threw himself in front of her, not realizing it?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he would have done it whether he realized it or not, but yes, he dove to protect her," Christian recounted. Elliott scoffed, and Christian continued. "If I'd been in the same position, I would've done the same thing. I think any of us would've. That's our job. Not that I envy Aaron taking the bullet."

Cadence could see Christian's face, and he actually looked a bit jealous. After hearing those remarks, she wondered if Christian was actually somehow envious of Aaron. Before she could contemplate the ridiculousness of the notion, she realized Elliott was speaking again.

"Where is he hit?" Elliott asked, ignoring Christians remark and absently toeing his boot into the dance floor.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's right under his rib cage," Christian replied.

"Lungs?" Elliott asked, a grimace of concern on his face.

"Appears so," Christian replied, his arms folded across his chest.

Cadence returned her full attention to the situation at hand. Aaron continued to stare into her eyes. Suddenly, he took a deep breath, an audible one, the first detectable one he'd drawn since the gun went off. Cadence glanced at Eliza who was smiling. This was a good sign.

Jamie was just barely hanging on, and Eliza helped him lean forward so that Jamie's head was now resting right over Aaron's lungs. His hands were still applying pressure to the wound, but the bullet hole was no longer bleeding. For the first time, Cadence began to realize Aaron was actually going to recover. He opened his mouth again, and this time, he was able to speak. "Cadence?" he said softly.

She gasped at the sound of his voice, daring to hope that he was going to be all right. "Yes?" she asked, softly stroking his face.

"You have really pretty eyes." His voice had almost completely recovered now.

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. "Thank you. So do you." She smiled down at him as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better," he admitted. "But I think I'm going to be okay."

"Yeah?" she said, the tears beginning to stream down her face again now.

"Yeah. I don't think my body has completely healed yet, and I still have a significant amount of pain in my chest. But I'm pretty certain now that I'm no longer going to die."

" _That pain is the cells in your chest regenerating,"_ Jamie explained. _"I'm sorry, I can't do more... right now."_ With that, Jamie finally lost consciousness, slumping forward, Eliza's arms the only thing keeping him from hitting the floor. Elliott and Christian hurried over, helping Eliza lay Jamie down.

As soon as Jamie was off of him, Aaron attempted to sit up. Elliott took his shoulder, and Cadence helped steady him as he slowly came up off of the floor. He coughed up a bit of blood, but for the most part he seemed much better.

"You okay, bossman?" Elliott asked, still looking concerned.

"Yeah, I think so," Aaron replied, wiping the blood off of his hands on one of the towels. "I definitely owe Jamie my life, though. That's for certain."

"We're just lucky he was here and was able to react in time," Elliott noted before gently patting him on the shoulder and taking a step back.

"Thank you," Cadence said, relief and thankfulness that he was spared washing over her. "You saved me."

"That's my job," he replied. "I won't ever let anything happen to you."

Cadence nodded, and as much as she wanted to lean over and kiss him, she knew now was not the time or place. She'd have to thank him properly later.

Aaron looked around at the faces surrounding him. Everyone looked so relieved that he had recovered. Most of them had tear streaks down their faces. He felt appreciated for a change, which was refreshing. Of all of the faces, however, there was one to which he returned. Those calming brown eyes, the ones that had prevented him from slipping away, although the thought of an eternal slumber had been so tempting. He may have saved Cadence from the bullet, but she had saved him that day as well. As much as he wanted to let her know just how much he appreciated her, he realized that now was not the time. With a deep breath, one that filled his entire lungs, he said, "Come on guys, let's go home."

Taylor had left Cadence eight messages, each more despairing than the last. She didn't understand why she wouldn't just answer her phone. The first message was just to let her know that Jack wasn't feeling any better and that she should call if she got a chance. The next two were slightly more urgent. Jack had slipped into a coma, and the doctors weren't sure if they were going to be able to bring him back.

Next, she'd left a few messages letting her know that Jack's health was deteriorating rapidly. They had put him on a ventilator. The doctors were only giving him hours to live. The last two had just been asking her to call as soon as she could. She couldn't bear for Cadence to hear the news on her voicemail.

Jack was dead.

Cadence had been so concerned about Aaron and Jamie; she had let Jack slip her mind, something she felt horrible about. It wasn't until she was on the plane flying home that she realized she needed to check her messages. When she saw that she had eight messages from Taylor, she knew it couldn't be good. She recognized that there was nothing she could do while they were on the plane, so she may as well give her heart a few more hours without letting it break again. If Jack was gone, she really didn't want to know right now. She glanced across the rows of seats to the back of the plane where Aaron was fast asleep. After having almost lost him today, she couldn't put herself through the trauma of letting go of someone else she loved, not yet. It would have to wait. No matter who else she loved in her life, Jack had been her first, and she knew she would always love him.

The tingling started in his shoulder and slowly radiated through his entire body, spreading into his limbs, each finger and toe, his inner organs, even the hairs on his arms felt alive. He was cognitively aware that the pulsating pain he had been feeling throughout his whole body had finally stopped. Before he even opened his eyes, he knew he felt different. His body felt stronger, more powerful. He felt a new life coursing through his veins, and he intended to relish every minute of it. And he knew exactly whom he was going to spend it with. She had said she loved him just before she left. Now, Cadence would be his forever. Nothing, no one, could ever stop them from being together. Inhaling deeply into his freshly restored lungs, Jack felt invigorated. His eyes fluttered open, the dim light of the morgue sinking into the steel gray irises, causing them to burn at first, but then they adjusted, and he had a new view of the world around him and all the possibilities it contained. Yes, he would find Cadence, and she would be his, right after he quenched his insatiable burning in his throat.

* * *

End Book 1

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# A Note from the Author

Thank you for taking the time to read _Transformation_! I hope that you love these characters as much as I do. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. I love hearing feedback from readers!

If you'd like to continue to follow Cadence and Aaron's story, please read __ Book 2: _Resurrection,_ which is now available. The entire series is now available on all major retailers/

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