I didn't bring up my questions right away. Instead we found a place to stash the car, stole another one from the same parking lot and drove off. This vehicle was an SUV with tinted windows. My leg was starting to feel normal, but the sleepy side effect of healing was gradually taking its toll. I mentally drifted for the next hour while Shaggy drove us to the next and last safe house.

Each brief bout of rest would show me that alien landscape of pillars and fire. The sun in this alternate world almost matched the one in reality. Shaggy’s phone rang and stirred me from the latest round of near sleep.

"Shit. Are you serious?" She asked whoever was on the phone. There was a pause. "How?" Another pause followed. "We could come back to the compound."

The one-sided conversation wasn't very helpful. My fatigue made things sort of hazy for a while.

"No, you're right. What about you guys? How is everyone holding up?" Shaggy asked. A moment later her breath sucked in sharply. "Jesus, really?"

My eyes opened enough to actually look at Shaggy. She slumped against the side of the steering wheel. Her face drained of all color as she listened to the voice on the other side.

"I don't know. We'll figure it out. We've only got to lay low for another couple of days. The worst part will be replacing the blood bags." She paused again. Shaggy was looking at me from one eye. The rest of her face was covered in the mop of hair. "Yeah. I'll ask. If anything he'll heal quickly enough provided we keep food in him."

She listened to the last bit of whoever was talking then clicked the phone closed. Her eyes bored into mine as her brain tried to digest the conversation. I waited to be brought up to speed.

"That was the house. They were attacked." Shaggy said to me.

"How bad?" I was hesitant to ask. Part of me was grateful that fewer people were chasing us. The other part was frustrated that Kahina's people were dying.

"Four wolves down. Two burners, one human." She listed off what must be the enemy casualties.

"And ours?" I asked.

"Three of the main staff." Her words dropped off and hung there.

"Anyone else?"

"Family members that shouldn't have been there." Shaggy kept her eyes on the road and refused to look back at me. I didn't know how to ask any more questions anyway.

Those in Kahina's employ often times had their family visiting. Parents, brothers, children from estranged spouses. It was in everyone's best interests to keep in touch. A niece or second cousin might be invited into the household if they were recommended by a current staff member. It was a lifetime position with a good salary. Not to mention possible sponsorship if they wanted to attempt a transition to the vampire race.

Now was the worst time for family to show up. Chances were they had come to be supportive during this rough time.

"Who was on the phone?" I asked.

"One of the daytime staff. They said someone had been in all the computers last night." She responded slowly.

"What does that mean?"

"That Anthony knows where all of the Lady's properties are. Bank records, credit card statements, everything. They'll be waiting for us at any of her locations." Shaggy turned the car down another road. I only vaguely knew where we were by triangulating the pull towards my home and Evan.

"They've got a Seer too," I said, recalling Candy's words from our earlier deal.

"Are you shitting me?"

"That's what an elf-" Friend didn't quite fit. Given the help we received, enemy didn't seem right either "-I know said."

"That's odd. Seers are typically elves who are good at projecting visions of other locations, past, present, sometimes future. It would be difficult to block one for any length of time." She mulled over the idea as we drove. Her cheek caved in while she chewed at it.

"Well, it explains how they tracked us to the hotel. Though with Anthony getting the other locations from the computer would be just as effective." Shaggy briefly closed her eyes at a stop sign and starting muttering under her breath. "This elf, is it the one who kept us hidden back there?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Are they still helping?" She asked slowly. A car behind us honked and we moved forward through the intersection.

"I guess.” I shrugged awkwardly. Candy was probably out there watching. “The deal was to block the Seer and help us get out of there. She's been quiet since we left the hotel."

"Great. What'd you offer her?"

"Nothing immediately important." I skirted the answer. The idea of leaving Kahina after all this was done irked me. "Can't we go to Sector?"

"Haven't you been paying attention? If Anthony, a vetted vampire, was compromised, there's no telling who else is. Daniel is about the only person I trust and he's not in charge." She kept driving down streets I didn’t know. Either Shaggy memorized all these locations or we were both mildly lost.

"He acts like it," I muttered while thinking about Daniel’s attitude about this.

"No. His family can call in a lot of favors, but it isn't enough." Shaggy said.

"What then?" I asked.

"Well, there's one more place we can try." Shaggy hesitated for a moment.

"Where?" We had run out of safe houses. Whoever was following us had bigger guns than I could deal with. Even if I survived a few bullets an automatic might kill me. How many would it take to put me down, ten, twenty, thirty? Being in a car made it easier to escape. Sitting at my house wouldn't work out great.

"Lady Rhodes suggested we try your place as a last ditch effort, sir." She tried to sound polite with the statement. It was one of the first times her words hadn’t been annoyed or snappy.

I was growling before I realized it. My place? My sanctuary? What right did Kahina have to offer up my home without asking?

"The Lady said you might respond unfavorably." Ann Myers nodded. Was my face that obvious? I tried to relax it, which was fairly difficult at this point. "Look, if it helps you can take the Lady there, protect her, I don't have to go."

Oddly that did feel better. There had to be more to this vague plan. "Where would you go?" I asked.

"If I work quick enough maybe I can act as a decoy and distract additional enemies. I'm pretty sure I can keep moving for a day or two. Can your elf get them to follow me?" Shaggy asked.

"Maybe, if she's watching," I responded slowly. Candy probably was looking at us even now. She seemed potentially voyeuristic. "I’m not sure how hard these illusions are."

"She seems good at them.” Shaggy nodded while looking in the rearview mirror at me. Our vehicle turned towards my apartment. That much was easy to tell with my own abilities.

"So far. No one else knows where I live?” I asked.

"The only person who knew where you lived was the Lady, and until a week ago I'd never seen your place," She said. It seemed odd that no one had bothered to track me down. Though there were a few others who might know.

"Anthony may know where I live."

Ann cursed up a small storm. She didn't bother asking why or how. Maybe she remembered the incident from a few months ago where Kahina and her traitorous pet underlings had ambushed me. Anthony hadn't been there, but Lennon had.

"We'll need to sneak you home, and then I can go for Anthony." She stared off into the distance, thinking intently, then started smiling. "I never liked him anyway."

Given Anthony's smarmy attitude, it wasn't surprising that Shaggy was looking forward to this. Ann strapped another pack of ammo into a pouch and started counting again.

"Don't forget to make noise, anyone after you, isn't after Kahina," I suggested.

"That's the plan. Hopefully, if I can get their Seer's attention and make a run for it, they'll go after me instead. Wolves are predictable like that. They always chase." Ann Myers sounded willing to play bait. It should have bothered me, but her life didn’t mean as much to me. Not compared to Kahina's.

"The elf I know, directed this Seer towards the mansion." I said. while trying to figure out how far away we were. Maybe an hour at best, getting anywhere in the city always took an hour.

"That's probably why they got attacked. Can you get the Seer to follow me instead?" Shaggy asked.

"Maybe." I frowned a little. There had to be an easy way to ask Candy for help on this. "You'd leave me and Kahina?"

"She'll be protected downstairs in your place. Daniel said that it was safer than anywhere else. Even if Anthony knows, you're crossed up right?" Shaggy rattled off the reasons. When had Daniel been in touch with Ann? Of course, she could talk to all sorts of people on that little phone and I would be oblivious.

"Sure." My shoulder shrugged. There were more than a few crosses throughout my downstairs. "Doesn't help against humans."

"If we're lucky they'll never know," She said hopping onto the main road that ran roughly northeast. It would bring us to my neighborhood soon enough.

"Luck isn't running strong with us," I responded.

"We could all be dead. Since we're not I'd say our luck is just fine. Anyway, make sure to cover her up before you go down." Shaggy said with a straight face. For a second, it looked like her forehead twitched as other thoughts occurred. "For the crosses. It might mess with the transition."

I barely stopped my eyes from rolling at the badly phrased comment then responded. "Fine. Drive." I said, pretending not to know which direction we were already going.

This neighborhood looked dingy enough to be one of my haunts. It wasn't quite noon yet and the place was ugly. At least no one was chasing us. Whatever tail we had should have been lost between Candy's efforts and the police scene. If that didn't do it then Shaggy's daredevil driving might also be effective.

She kept the car headed towards my home. Gradually, some of the landmarks looked familiar. This place was maybe a handful of blocks away from Candy's compound. Not that I was tempted to visit.

I bent down to check my leg. The wrappings were almost soaked through. My toes were able to wiggle. It took a few minutes to unwind everything and look at the mess. A little bit of pressured yielded pleasant results. The pain wasn't completely gone, but it was a lot better. The vehicle had a few useful items. Road flares, a solid wrench, and one plastic bag that all my makeshift bandages went into.

"The Lady will need blood, with an overabundance of it the transition will have a greater chance of success." Shaggy broke the silence.

I didn't say anything right away. Blood was one of many outstanding issues between me and Kahina. That and the emotional garbage we would have to sort out after she woke up. If. No, when.

"If you're going to stay with her it should be you. Besides, as Pack you'll heal fast enough." The slightly shorter brunette tried to sound polite at least.

"I heard you earlier." I said, thinking about her offhanded mention of keeping food in me.

"Will you do it?"

Kahina was in the backseat of our borrowed SUV. I finished pulling off the wrappings and brace before turning around to look at her. Her body barely shimmered anymore. Though I couldn't tell if that was due to a lack of fresh blood in the last three hours or the daytime impact, maybe it was both.

The first time she tasted my blood life had gone from happy times to the dark ages. Then the second time had been rather heated. Our relationship had changed since then. And since she was unconscious maybe we could manage. She wouldn't have any way to fight me for more. Hell, I hoped not.

"I'll take care of it," I said while trying to remain calm.

"Good." Shaggy nodded.

There was an uncomfortable silence as we drove onward. The issue with Shaggy’s real identity had been put off long enough. We had a small amount of time and weren't being chased. Now was my best chance to clear the air.

"Everyone acts like there's something off about you," I commented.

There was a pause. I saw her hands grip the wheel a tiny bit tighter. "How so?"

"Little things. That agent. What you said about an assignment. Standing next to Daniel when we first met with Keeper." I started listing off the issues. There were other moments. Having my best friend on speed dial? That was the game breaker really. I doubted any of Kahina's other employees had his number.

"It's nothing." She tried to wave it off. Last time I confronted Shaggy about this she gave a half-assed excuse about family connections.

"How about that wolf, Adolpha Kundre?"

"What about her?" Shaggy's voice turned defensive. That was as much a confirmation as any other action.

"She asked you about a Sojourn." Of course, there hadn't been any explanation about that. A Sojourn was a temporary stay of some sort. Ann couldn't be temporarily staying with Kahina. Vampire households were a lifetime contract. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing that will hurt the Lady," She said.

"Hell. Daniel said you could be trusted with Kahina." I didn’t question her intent with regards to Kahina. It was more along the lines of needing to understand Shaggy’s conflicting backstory.

"How glowing of him." She chewed briefly at the inside of her cheek. It was a conflicting signal compared to her other habits. Shaggy ground her teeth and had a forehead tick, but the inside of her cheek was reserved for serious thinking.

"Although he never said I could trust you in general." I tried to remember the wording but failed.

"Probably not. If it came down to a choice between you and the Lady I'd let you die in an instant." She paused briefly.

"Fine." I shifted in the chair to get a better view of Kahina's slumped form. She had trusted Ann, Shaggy. Enough to tell Shaggy where the safe houses were. Something that even Anthony and I hadn't known. The question was if the trust was by design or accident. Finally, it seemed reasonable to follow Julianne's last advice to me. Just ask.

"Who are you, really?" The direct method might work better.

"Ann Myers. Twenty-four years old. Went to college and got a major in marketing with a minor in fine arts." Her tone was trying to joke, but the pinch to her face wasn't selling the same story.

"Are you one of the Hidden?" Keeper had mentioned them. She barked a short laugh.

"The what?" She looked genuinely perplexed at that one. "I have no idea what that is. Honestly." Her laugh was completely at my expense and genuine. The Hidden was foreign to her.

"Are you an agent?" I dropped the real guess on her. It took a moment for the mirth to die down. We had to sort this out.

"And if I am?" She asked. If Shaggy was lying about who she was, it would be difficult to trust her. Before, sure, but this was crunch time. Even if Shaggy had put all this work into Kahina.

"I'd ask how you got past the background checks."

"Ann Myers is a real person." Shaggy gripped the wheel tighter while talking.

"Who. Are. You?" I was starting to angry with my question being avoided.

"Can't tell you. Not officially, not out loud. You can guess all you want and nothing will make me tell you." Shaggy shook her head. We were almost to my tiny apartment.

"Why?" My words felt almost parrot-like at this point. I could have taken her and tied the woman to a chair and demanded answers. There were lots of ways to get people to talk.

"It's just how it works. I'm Ann Myers. To everyone, I'm Ann Myers. You should understand."

"I don't," I said while trying not to feel annoyed.

"Jesus." She muttered. The words were barely audible and only my sense of protection over Kahina gave me any access to my abilities. Shaggy's words bounced off the window with a slight distortion.

"What can you tell me?"

"My orders." She briefly smiled. Most likely the woman was happy to give me any answer so I would shut up. "Since it's not my name or who I am."

"And those are?" I said. It felt good to finally get somewhere in untangling life.

It was frustrating to admit that being able to share personal details was starting to feel normal. I couldn't tell Ann, Shaggy, what I could do or who I was. Candy and Evan wouldn't tell me either. For someone else to refuse to tell me about their personal life felt par for the course.

"My orders are simple. Ensure Lady Rhodes survives no matter what else happens." Her words sounded dry as if she needed a drink to keep talking calmly.

"That includes letting me die?" I asked. She had shown no regard for safety. Any help directed towards me was purely because of the tactical advantage my life gave.

"Yes," Shaggy said.

"And killing those humans?" I asked about those she had essentially taken care of without a thought in the elevator.

"Yes."

"Endangering civilian lives?" My words moved on to the next target. Those explosives had been her idea, not mine.

We were getting close to my apartment now. She turned into a cramped driveway. Just another car in a mess of them. Julianne owned, had owned, one of the few free parking lots in the neighborhood. Tons of people parked here on weekends and wandered the entire strip of bars. Others came down to watch the sports on a large screen.

"Yes." Shaggy’s voice was still dry.

"Why?"

There was a long pause while she figured out how to answer. My hands slowly ran over Kahina’s face, straightening her hair. Finally, Shaggy said "Because letting her die would cause untold amounts of destruction. You haven't seen it, I have."

"Seen what?" I couldn’t figure out how the death of one woman would end the world. It would cause me grief, I might go mad, but the world would keep right on going.

"If she dies it'll be the end of everything as we know it," Shaggy said. We had parked a few minutes ago, but the conversation kept right on going. I needed to understand.

"That's crazy." I tried to sound certain but failed. Candy had spouted the same sort of doomsday nonsense. The whole idea of an end of times was ridiculous. Tomorrow the sun would rise, people would be born, people would die. There was no one person that important in the grand scheme of things.

"If she dies, it'll come true. You don't have to believe me. We can show you." Shaggy paused and looked at me. "Later of course."

"Of course." I parroted while trying not to raise an eyebrow. "So Ann Myers, not a Sector agent, not undercover." I practically felt like Daniel with my stupid sarcasm. "You’re saving one vampire convert because everything ends otherwise. I mean I love the woman, but that's far-fetched."

The comment came out offhanded. It took me a moment to realize what I said, out loud. God help me. I loved her. It was one of those statements that splits a man’s thinking into two parts. One part analyzing the words for truth. The other part held its breath as if the world might shatter upon hearing it said out loud.

"Ask your elf friend if you can read the Sins of the People sometime. It's mind warping, and they show that it's true." Shaggy didn't bat an eyelash, it was clear the world had no intention of falling apart from four simple words.

"What's that?" I asked about the Sins of the People while trying to fix Kahina’s dress. Fixing her clothing didn’t help keep Kahina, but smoothing out wrinkles made me feel better.

"Trust me. You want it read from the source. If I explain it you'll think I'm nuts. Ask them to do the visual presentation. If you know any Speakers anyway, which you must." She was sort of rambling now. This topic probably freaked her out a little bit.

Shaggy got out abruptly. We unloaded amidst a crowd of cars around the bar. It was the perfect camouflage. I slung Kahina over a shoulder and we limped towards my home on the far side of the lot.

"Look. You lock down here, sir. I'll drive off, give me about thirty before having your elf put them on my trail." Shaggy fell behind me. It didn’t matter, this close to home and I would know if anyone unwelcome was nearby.

"You're taking the guns." I insisted. Guns didn’t suit me anyway. They never had. Their weight, the abuse that went into casting them, the pressure of a bullet being fired. It set my senses alight with aggravation.

"Yeah. I'll need them." She confirmed.

"Alright," I said while thinking about other options. There were a few swords downstairs. Plus crosses, silver, between all of it I could hold off a handful of people easily. Hopefully. I was putting a woman I loved on the line.

Shaggy pulled out a portion of the first aid supplies and set them outside my door. Bringing them in from there would be easy. She started to turn and walk away.

"Shaggy." I stopped to correct myself. "Ann." This was the first time I had used her correct name out loud in months.

She turned around in confusion. Really this sort of thing was beyond me. She was marching off to play decoy for a band of people trying to kill us. What do you tell people? Good luck with that? It seemed like a hollow choice of words.

"Don't die. I think Daniel would kick my ass." I said.

"He probably would, sir." She smiled momentarily before crossing the parking lot and hopping back into the SUV. Maybe Ann wasn't good with this sort of thing either.

I had a feeling that she was really Daniel's fiancée. The boss' daughter he told me about months ago. There were things that made no sense. Western Sector might have access to nearly every file and be able to push paperwork wherever it needed to go. The question wasn't about the documents, it was the time. Shaggy had been in Kahina's employ for years. How had the woman been leading a double life? Hell, at least I was invited to the wedding.

Kahina was bundled in a sleeping bag now. We stole it from the SUV. Partially using it to keep the sunlight off her in case is screwed with her transition. The other part was to disguise her while I carried her to my home. It also helped get her past the crosses without causing additional problems. Even unconscious vampires flinched from the symbols of their persecution. It was kind of creepy.

Like their bodies were aware.

I carried her through my front door where Kahina's purple ribbon remained to this day. We went past the weight bench that had once been thrown into my kitchen counter. Down the stairs that were lined with all sorts of homemade wards. Finally I landed on a simple mattress. It wasn't anything close to Kahina's caliber, but it was home.

Having her here didn't feel strange. Four months ago it would have been grating. Years ago it would have been unthinkable. Now it didn't bother me. She was mine just like anything else down here. The fact that it didn't bother me was both relieving and mildly unnerving.

I wandered back to the stairwell and set up my lame alarm system. It was a bit of tin that would crush if the door was opened wrong. My ears had been trained on that sound. It would seem almost natural to anyone trying to break in, but the noise would set me off.

The ceiling had been a weak point until I tore up the carpet upstairs and painted crosses on. Better still there was some silver wire running through right under the floorboards that might catch tearing claws. Not that anyone had tried. The idea felt sound but hadn't been tested.

The defenses cost a lot to put in. Julianne would have been outraged to find out how much remodeling I did. All to create a place where I could sleep peacefully.

Lifting the carpet and checking my alterations took five minutes. I took another ten with a can of black paint to touch it all up. Footprints had worn down portions over the years. A half hour later I took a breather and tried to figure out how to contact Candy. My cell phone might have minutes left on it from months ago. I didn't know Candy's number, but I knew Daniel's.

"Talk quick, man," Daniel answered right away.

"I need an elf's number." I felt too tired for arguing with Daniel, much less talking about anything else.

"Name?" Someone knocked on his door in the background. I heard Daniel tell the person that he would be there in a few minutes. Probably a meeting of some sort.

"Kanda'rila Ro'hal," I said it carefully. Candy's full name sounded nice but was too close to Kahina for me to use often.

"Second." The phone muffled and he spoke to someone in the background. It didn't sound important.

"Alright. Got it." He gave me the number and I scribbled it down in black paint on my broken countertop. If I stayed home for more than a few days this might actually get fixed. Julianne’s death made it difficult to stay for more than a few hours.

"How's it going?" He said.

"Terrible."

"Should only be a few days, man. Once she's through the pressure will back off almost instantly."

"Weird." I didn’t understand why vampires gave up after the transition. It was almost like a painful trial by fire process. Those who didn’t survive weren’t worth being part of the race.

"Vampires, right?" I could hear the shuffle of clothes as he shrugged. "Anyway, how's Ann holding up?"

"Your fiancée?" I probed.

"Heh. Wondered if you'd catch that. Anyway, man, call her Ann from now. There'll be time for proper introductions after we get this sorted out."

"She's out driving. Not sure where." I said. We hadn’t discussed how long she would be gone, which direction, what to do if there were problems. We covered none of those things, part of me suddenly started to worry.

"What? Why? Does she have Rhodes with her?"

"No. Kahina is with me," I confirmed that much.

"Thank goodness." He sighed. Someone knocked in the background again with a lot more force. "Listen, gotta go. You keep them safe, you hear?"

"Sure." I clicked the phone off, getting the drop on Daniel for once. Daniel didn't know Ann wanted to be used as bait. That probably wouldn't have gone over well. Part of me felt shifty for doing this to my friend.

Next would be a call to Candy. The idea gave me shivers. We had talked this morning, but it felt like days ago already. A moment later and my ears were presented with some girly song instead of the normal ringing. That was a new twist on technology.

"I hope that's you, Jeff." Candy's voice answered the phone. It wasn't playful or serious. In fact, she sounded exhausted.

"It is," I said.

"What do you want?" The elf’s tone took a hard turn.

"Can you make them think Kahina is in that SUV my partner was driving?" I said.

"Sure." Then Candy said nothing. I double checked my phone to see if the call had dropped.

"For how long?" I asked the elf.

"Not long. Hours, maybe. Their Seer is strong but lacks finesse." Candy spoke, and each word took another breath to try and say. The way she talked almost felt like Evan's passionless words. Where he was reduced to pushing past the fatigue in order to move his mouth.

"Give her twenty minutes before you start."

"Twenty minutes. Time for a quickie." Candy tried to turn it into an innuendo, but exhaustion muted the result.

"Thank you, Candy," I said.

She gave an empty hum and the phone disconnected. I guess saying her name still had some effect. The girl liked hearing it said. Maybe the name thing was her kink. Knowing for sure was impossible. Part of me hated her for mistreating Evan. Yet she had unquestionably gotten Shaggy, Kahina, and I out of a rather difficult situation at the hotel.

I was tired, but there was more to be done. Time passed while I dug through the storage room downstairs. It was deep and narrow. This had originally been two rooms until I discovered one of the walls was purely decorative. Reconstruction projects typically took days to research and drink my way through. My home wasn't perfect, but there were signs of hard work all over.

One of longer boxes had swords. Not the curved blades from junk shops. These were heavy pieces of metal with scarcely dull edges. Straight from the Emerald Kingdoms at the height of their feudal wars.

Years of neglect meant the metal needed work. Ripostes and parries were complicated for me but poorly kept weaponry was simple enough to figure out. Somewhere in this mess was oil and cloth to get them back into shape. No one could say I didn't care for my belongings.

There were only a few real weapons. I owned chain mail and a helmet that had seen battle. These old fashioned defenses were buried in between comic books, troll dolls, and other items still in their original wrapping. If someone did manage to kill me then this room could be cashed out for a lot of money. Everything needed care. I planned to do it after clearing space to work in my bedroom and a nap.

I face-planted into the bed next to Kahina. Once again she was the last person in my vision before passing out.