Chapter 37

“Aleda…” he said under his breath.

“Yeah?”

“…Go back to the bike. Now. Don’t run.”

“Are y-”

“Just go!” he whispered harshly.

Aleda backed away slowly, keeping Ryan’s large frame between her and the house full of awakening suckers. More eyes joined those already peering through the window. She tried to remember what he had told her about that breed. Euro-American hybrids: not too bright; nocturnal, but no sunlight allergies. She glanced up. Not that it would make a difference. The sky had been completely overcast all day. She was no more than a few feet from the old house before the suckers inside began to move towards them, and she saw other eyes from other windows staring at her intently, like a wolf stalking an exposed rabbit through the grass.

She looked at Ryan. He had pulled himself to his full height, razor-sharp claws bared and ready at his sides. Waiting. Just waiting for one of them to make the mistake of coming too close.

There was a scrabbling at the door. The door swung open and five of them emerged. More close on their heels. Heaven, how many suckers were there in that desolate house? The five that had come first circled him, focusing on the nearest prey. They were obviously confused, though not dissuaded, by the predator’s claws on his hands. It bought her a few more seconds. A few more meters towards the motorcycle. She had to swallow her urge to run as fast as she could towards the bike. It would do her no good. The keys were still in Ryan’s pocket.

The five that had first emerged converged on Ryan. The next three did not. They moved towards Aleda instead, and her blood ran hot and cold. The moment the first of them passed Ryan he turned and skewered it through the chest, inciting the rest to attack immediately. He caught one with the back of his arm, landing a blow that sent it flying across the yard. Another landed on his back, clawing greedily for his neck, and was flung off with a roar.

But there were too many.

One caught him with a wicked scratch that left crimson trails across his face. Ignoring the blood trickling into his eyes, he leapt into the air, spinning, knocking four of them free of their grips and landing a blow on a fifth with his foot. His hair, now shining with sweat, was flung out from his face in a dark halo. He came back to earth several meters closer to Aleda and hit the ground running.

“Let’s go!” he barked at her. She ran without hesitation. “Back of the bike!” she heard him call behind her. “Dagger!”

She reached the motorcycle first, though he was close behind, and fumbled open the compartment under the seat. Inside was a dagger to match her mother’s. She grabbed it and turned to look back. One of the suckers had caught up with Ryan, just a few feet away. It scored a lucky strike to his throat, and blood poured momentarily from the wound. He snarled and thrust two sets of claws into the thing’s chest. It collapsed. He ran two more steps to the bike. Jumped on. Much farther than a human could have managed. Aleda straddled the seat behind him. The keys were caught in his pants pocket. Aleda looked behind them fearfully. The rest of the suckers were only meters away. Finally the keys were free. He gunned the engine. Aleda had never heard a better sound.

They couldn’t accelerate quickly enough. Another sucker caught up with them before they could speed away. It caught the bike. Not knowing what else to do, Aleda brought the dagger around and plunged it into the creature’s heart as they finally gained enough speed to break free. The movement threw her off balance, and she swung precariously in her seat. She could feel her legs slipping, though one hand still clutched uncertainly at Ryan’s shirt. Just as the fabric slipped from her fingers his strong hand clamped around her wrist, anchoring her to him and to the bike. She buried her face in his back with a grateful sigh.

He drove them along back roads for a few miles, until he was sure they were out of harm’s way. They pulled to a stop along a narrow road that wound through the forest. Nobody else would drive this way. Ryan dismounted from the bike and look Aleda over. She was still cocooned in his leather jacket.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He pulled off his helmet and set it on his seat.

She nodded and did the same, rubbing her fingers over her scalp where the helmet had pressed down. “I’m fine. You?”

He pulled at the neck of his sweater and grimaced. In the brief moments spent with his throat torn open, the collar and shoulders had been splattered heavily with his blood. He rubbed at the fabric, managing to remove some of the stain, but too much of it had soaked into the material.

“Well, there goes another sweater,” he muttered.

“Not to mention the sleeves are a bit shredded,” Aleda pointed out.

He looked down. “Yep. Definitely ruined.” He sighed. “Well, I guess it was my turn, since yours got torn up last time.”

“…Sorry for getting us into such a mess.”

Ryan let go of his sweater and frowned at her. “What are you talking about? I’m the one who drove us to that nest.”

“Yeah, but you could have stayed and cleared it, if I wasn’t there.”

“I’ll clear it tomorrow. No problem.”

“And your sweater. That’s ruined.”

“I spent two dollars on this sweater, Aleda,” he laughed. “Please don’t worry yourself over it.”

“Still, though,” she persisted. “I was in the way.”

“What?” Ryan demanded. “Now who’s been telling ye that?”

“Nobody! They didn’t have to! How many times is it now, that I’ve almost gotten myself killed?”

Ryan narrowed his eyes and studied her for a few moments before replying. “This is about the callin’, still, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, and me not wanting to get killed!”

“If you didn’t want to be gettin’ yourself killed, ye’d be back at your parents’ house right now, warm an’ safe on the couch!” he countered. “But ye’re not! Where are ye? Ye’re out in the middle o’ the bloody forest, just come from a packed sucker nest!”

Aleda scoffed at him and slid off the motorcycle. She finally tossed the dagger back into the compartment under the seat. “You know what?” she sneered. “You’re right! I should really be blaming you! After all, you’re the one who’s always dragging me into these things!”

“What the hell are y’on about?”

“I walk into a nestful of feeders? ‘Cause I was watching that damned nest with you,” she said, her voice dripping with venom. She stalked closer, circling him, and he turned to face her. “I almost walk into a nestful of suckers? ‘Cause I went to that nest with you!”

“See, this is your problem, right ‘ere!” he yelled. “Ye’ll put your problems on anybody but yourself!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Yes ye bloody well do! Ye’re so damned scared that you blame everybody else—even when there’s no blame to be had!”

She didn’t even know what to say to that. She could only stare at him, mouth agape.

“And don’t be fooling yourself, either,” he continued. “I’ve not seen a human less afraid o’ death since your mother was a lass! The only thing that really scares y’is finding out ye really can’t do all the stuff you refuse t’even try!”

“The hell you say! I try every damned week! And look where it’s got me!”

“Ye don’t even see it, do ye?” he demanded, moving close to meet her eyes. “Ye really don’t see it!”

“See what!?”

“Aleda, ye’ve been killin’ demons and ye’re not even called yet! Once with your bare hands! Doesn’t that tell ye something?”

“Sure it does! It tells me I’ve been really bloody lucky! Or are you forgetting that I got stabbed in the belly by a stupid mugger?”

Ryan let out a frustrated growl. “So ye learn! Tha’s what ye’re supposed t’be doin’, anyways!”

“Oh, what’s the point? Jaysis, you’re as bad as the rest of them! Saying what I should and shouldn’t be doing… Like I don’t even have a choice!”

He snarled. “I don’t bloody well care what anybody says,” he hissed. “Not now, an’ not never! An’ I don’t care if yet another hunterborn is wasted, just to be mopin’ about all day long! Just don’t do it on my time!”

He paused to catch his breath, his chest heaving with the exertion of their quarrel. Aleda stared at him. Studied him. Frowned.

“Yes… you do,” she said softly. Ryan narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s just it. You do care.” She shook her head slightly. How had it taken her so long to figure it out? “You care too much, and it kills you every day.”

He turned away.

“It’s all just a front, isn’t it?” she asked. “All the pissiness and indifference.”

“I can’t.”

“But you really do care, don’t you? About everything.”

“You don’t understand!” he snapped, looking back at her. “Everybody I ever cared about is dead. All of them! Every time I let myself… I can’t!”

He turned and walked restlessly into the trees, leaving Aleda to stare after him. There were too many things spinning around her head, fighting for her attention. Right in the front was the shock of seeing Ryan with his guards stripped away. She hadn’t even known they were there. Even having seen it for herself, she couldn’t imagine him looking so vulnerable. She walked a few tentative steps towards him, stopping several feet away. She couldn’t even begin to know what to say.

It was Ryan who broke the uneasy silence. “You know, it’s funny?” he said, still facing away from her. “Here I am, bitching about how everyone keeps dying on me, and trying to convince you to hunt in the same breath.”

Aleda chuckled. “Well, I guess I’m still safe, anyways.”

He turned and looked at her in silence for a second. “You know, you really are a natural,” he said.

“What?”

“It’s not just your aim. You’ve got the instincts, if you’d let yourself use them.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What, you mean go hunting again? You do remember what happened the last time I tried that, right?”

“I remember.”

“Yeah, pretty hard to forget I guess. Not everyday that your ward gets stabbed with a knife,” Aleda said wryly.

“With a knife? No, not everyday,” he agreed. “Come with us tonight. For tradition’s sake.”

Aleda hesitated. “And if I get stabbed again?”

“Then I’ll heal you.”

“…Why is this so important to you?” she asked.

Ryan shrugged. “I just hate to see talent get wasted.”

“Fine,” she said. “Why not?”

Her acquiescence earned her half of a smile, and Ryan walked passed her and back to his motorcycle. He looked over his sweater again and scowled at it.

“I hate to ask, but can I have my jacket back?” he asked. “I’m not sure I should drive around like this.” He indicated his collar, still soaked in his blood. Aleda looked at it and smirked. She pulled off the jacket.

“Here,” she said, handing it over. “But prepare to have your lungs crushed.”

“I guess I’ll just have to manage.”

 

 

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Several hours later, Aleda was pulling on her warmest coat.

“Hey, Mom, I’m going out,” she called. “I’ll be back later!”

Mom glanced out the window. “Okay, honey. Have fun with Nate, and remember—back by eleven!”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

Aleda hurried out the door, covered in several more layers this time. Hopefully it would be enough. Ryan waited for her several houses away on his motorcycle, holding out his spare helmet.

“Still couldn’t get the Deathtrap, huh?” she asked, and took the helmet from him.

“Talia’s still at work. Don’t worry, we’ll use her car as soon as she gets back.”

She shooed him away from the motorcycle. As much as she didn’t trust the purple backpack to hold up under ordinary circumstances, there was no chance that she was going to risk wearing it on the back of a motorcycle. With a little encouragement, it joined Ryan’s dagger under the seat. She pulled on the helmet and swung her leg over the seat, wrapping her arms around him to steady herself.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” she said when she was settled.

“I can still feel my ribs,” he teased. “Don’t tell me you’re tired.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be breaking you in half in a minute.”

“Just so long as you’re not tired.”

Her retort was drowned by the roar of his motorcycle coming to life. She could do nothing more than bury her face in his back and give praises to her foresight in wearing a warm hat and scarf this time. The extra insulation barely did the trick, though, since the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees since that afternoon. If they kept this up, she was going to have to get her own damned leather jacket.

Talia took a while getting home from work that evening. Ryan ate his breakfast while they waited for her, although Aleda couldn’t quite tell when he could have had a chance to sleep that day. Her alleged date with Nate was supposed to include food that night, so she accepted the frozen dinner he offered her.

It tasted like processed cardboard.

It did fill her stomach, though, so it was better than nothing. By the time Talia actually managed to make it back to the apartment they had finished and were watching television from the couch. She apologized profusely for being late, claiming a sweatshirt catastrophe at work. Within a few minutes they had abandoned the sitcom and piled into her rustbucket car.

“Now, remember,” Ryan said to her as they walked to their corner. “If it’s got teeth, go ahead. If it’s got a knife, let me handle it.”

“You’re hilarious,” she replied dryly.

“Well, I try,” he said with a smirk.

They waited in silence for a few minutes while Talia made her rounds.

“Hey, Ryan?” she said suddenly. “What are we doing here?”

He frowned. “We’re hunting. Why, did you think we were going on a hayride?”

Aleda shook her head. “No,” she said. “I mean, I thought you’d been clearing nests for weeks now. Why would there still be demons around here?”

“I haven’t cleared everywhere yet.”

“Not even five minutes from your apartment?”

“Apparently not.”

“Why not?”

“Look,” he growled. “Do you want to kill a demon tonight or not?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she protested.

Ryan just looked at her, his face an unreadable mask. Aleda found herself wishing she could still see him, even though it would be ridiculous for her to get herself stabbed again just so he’d have to dose her. After a few minutes it occurred to her that he had answered her question, although indirectly. She glanced at him thoughtfully out of the corner of her eye.

It took a while. Ryan might have been avoiding the shopping center for the past month, but it was affected all the same. There just weren’t many demons in Elkton anymore. Talia finally flushed out a lone feeder and lured it back to them. As soon as they were out of sight Ryan felled it with a blow to its head, knocking it down but not killing it. Aleda looked at him questioningly. His eyes glinted.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” he prompted.

Aleda grinned and pulled the dagger out of her waistband.

It was tricky, but surprisingly easy. The thing kept trying to get at her throat, her most vulnerable spot, while most of Aleda’s defensive training had focused on keeping that part of her untouched. It didn’t seem to learn, either. She had to wonder whether the turning process had some effect on intelligence. She finally got it with a slice through the neck and grinned triumphantly at Ryan when it faded. Then gagged.

Oh, hell, she’d forgotten about the stench.

Week-old meat, sitting out in the sun—that’s what it smelled like. Sweet mercy, that was putrid! They hurried away and back to the car.

Between waiting for Talia to get home from work and waiting for her to find a demon, it had gotten quite late. Talia, fortunately, finally agreed to let them use her car, since she was done for the night. The drive home was much nicer than before. Even if the car’s heat was busted. Aleda checked to make sure she had all of her mother’s things before jogging up to her front door.

“I’m back!” she announced when she walked through the door, tossing the backpack quickly onto the stairs. “The movie was gr–”

The words died in her throat.

Papá looked pissed.

“Hey, Papá,” she said nervously. “Is something wrong?”

“Your Nathaniel was here a few hours ago,” he said. “He came to pick you up for your date tonight.” Aleda’s face turned cold, all the blood rushing to the pit of her stomach. “He asked why you were not here,” Papá continued. “And I had to tell him that I saw you leave with him an hour before.”

His face hardened further. Aleda swallowed anxiously. “Where did you go, Aleda?”