With a sigh, Cadence 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.