She’d finally fallen asleep around four AM. Before that, I’d held her close on the bed as she cried. Whether from grief, shock or a little of both, she’d obviously needed that release.

As I’d wrapped my arms around her and pulled her towards me, feeling the trembling of her body as tears wracked her. I understood, finally, how it must have been for her all those years. When she’d held me while I screamed as the nightmares came.

After she’d finally succumbed to sleep, it was my turn to shake. I’d killed a vampire! Not only that but I’d used my powers and almost been killed. Been touched by creeps more times than I could count, kicked the ass of a bouncer and… I shuddered at the memory of what that one vampire had done to me.

Compulsion, Patrik had called it, later in the car as Evie stared blankly out the window. It was something the older, more powerful vamps could do. They altered your perceptions and made you willing to do whatever they wanted. Some could even command you to do something against your will.

Whoever she was, the way she’d made me feel had left me wanting to scrub myself clean. It was so much worse than what the guys had done. At least with them, I was still me. A thousand showers wouldn’t be enough for me to feel clean again. Not that I had any chance of that.

Arriving back at the house, Jo had stormed inside and the distant slamming of a door sounded shortly after. Patrik had shaken his head and suggested I take Evie upstairs, out of the way. Still unspeaking, I’d shown her into the room I’d been given and as soon as the door closed, the tears began.

A fairly epic meltdown followed and I’d spent the night holding her and whispering soothingly to her until she’d finally fallen asleep. Beyond exhausted, I’d not been long from sleep myself.

Which is why I found myself waking at some point during the next day, laid on the bed with my best friend’s body pressed against mine. My arm was around her waist with her hand firmly holding it in place. She’d grabbed hold of it in her sleep and seemed unwilling to let go.

We were both still wearing the same clothes from the night before and I ached in every possible place I could ache. It was pretty certain that a couple of my ribs has been broken and while I’d expected more pain from that, it felt more like a pretty serious bruise.

Evie sighed, a soft exhalation of air that brought my attention back to the present. We’d not really done much in the way of talking and I was fairly sure she’d be wanting an explanation when she finally woke up. It was one of the reasons I was trying hard not to disturb her, even though I could feel a rather firm pressure on my bladder.

“What time is it?” she asked sleepily and followed it with a yawn.

“No idea,” I replied as I squinted at the thin beam of light filtering through the gap in the curtains. “Late morning I think.”

“I should get up,” she said though she made no effort to actually move. “Work expects me in today.”

“Might be best to take a little time to yourself,” I suggested quietly.

She seemed far too calm and any minute, I expected the tears to come once again. Every second it didn’t, the ache in my muscles increased from the sheer tension of waiting. I wondered if that was how she felt, all those times she’d looked after me.

“No,” she said. “Something ordinary might be a good idea right now.”

What could I say to that? She had just witnessed her best friend stab her boyfriend who instead of bleeding out on the ground, had turned to ash and charred bones. Even murder aside, it would be a little hard for anyone to take in and the fact that she was even talking to me at all was a good sign.

“What was he?” she asked after a dangerously long pause where I wondered if I should speak first.

“A vampire.” Yep, one of those creatures you didn’t believe existed a day ago.

“How did you know?”

“Being at a vampire blood club was probably a good start, but when he touched me, I saw it.”

“Why when he touched you?”

She turned her head without moving her body, revealing just her profile to me. I traced the contours of her face with my eyes as I chose my words carefully.

“You know what happened to me when I was young?”

“Yeah.”

“It was a vampire that killed my parents,” I said and paused to swallow past the sudden lump in my throat. “Well, they aren’t the only type of monster out there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Werewolves, ghouls, and ghosts. They’re all real, all those monsters you’ve seen in horror films. Even demons, and I can see them all.”

“No shit,” she said with a sigh as she put her head back down on the pillow. “But how does that mean you can see them?”

“I’m half demon,” I said in a rush and paused, but she didn’t so much as twitch. “We’re called Shadowborn and can do some things as well as recognise other types of supernatural creature.”

“That darkness… it came from your hands and pulled the knife towards you. That’s because you’re a, what did you say? Shadowborn?”

“Yeah.” Her head moved as she nodded thoughtfully and I lay there, muscles tense as I chewed on my lip and screamed at her in my mind to say something, anything.

She twisted around on the bed, rolling over so that she was facing me. Face centimetres from mine and I stared into eyes that were red and puffy from the night's tears. I saw myself reflected there and I had to look away.

Away from the shame, from the disgust, I thought I’d see. Away from the truth hidden in them. Her hand pressed gently to my cheek, a little pressure, just enough to turn my gaze back towards her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice soft, almost gentle.

“Sorry? Why?”

“For not believing you all these years.”

Tears blurred my vision and I blinked them away, refusing to allow them to fall as her hand slipped around to cradle the back of my head, fingers moving through my too short hair as her forehead pressed against mine. It was a closeness, an intimacy that I hadn’t felt for a long time.

“I believe you now and I’m here for you,” she said.

“Stop it!” I said, almost a cry, as I fought back those tears that I knew would never stop if I allowed them to come. “You shouldn’t be here for me! I killed your boyfriend!”

“You defended yourself against a monster,” she said firmly. “The things he said to you, the way he held you… that wasn’t the Mickey I thought I knew.”

Her hand moved, gently stroking my hair as she had so many times before. Calming, comforting and a reminder that she was there for me. Always would be.

“These others,” she asked as I sniffed and wiped at my nose with the back of my hand. “Are they… Shadowborn too?”

“Patrik is. Jo is a Hunter.”

“Hunter?”

“She’s human and kills the monsters,” I confirmed. “They both do.”

“And this is what you’ve been doing?”

“Last night was the first time,” I said and as briefly as I could, I explained what had happened since that night I’d left her at the party.

The werewolf, the ghoul and of course Abe, the man who had confirmed for me that I wasn’t crazy. That the world was full of monsters and my nightmares were real.

“Quite a story,” she murmured and then hesitated before she asked her next question. “What did he mean? Mickey, I mean.”

“What?”

“He said he’d been told to watch you and that he’d take you to someone. Who?”

“No idea.”

To be honest I’d forgotten what he’d said since my attention had been focused on just surviving and reaching for my knife to kill him. Now that she’d reminded me though, I did begin to wonder.

“Eurgh,” she said as she pushed herself upright. “We need to get moving and get changed. Where are we?”

“Somewhere in Manchester,” I replied absently as I sat up beside her. “A safe house of sorts.”

“You think they’d mind if I took a shower?” she asked and glanced down at the silver dress she wore that sparkled wherever the light touched it. “And, possibly borrow some clothes?”

“Yeah, shower’s down the hall,” I said. “I’ll grab us both a change of clothes.”

She stood up and glanced back at me with an impish grin on her face, a sign of the irrepressible spirit she bore that nothing could keep down for long. “I almost didn’t recognise you in the dress when I saw you last night.”

“God, I hate this damn thing,” I replied with a scowl. “The amount of pricks that thought they had a right to grab my ass was ridiculous.”

“Yeah, well, that aside, you looked good. Should dress up more often.”

“No thanks,” I muttered as I led her to the door. “Bathrooms one door down, I’ll get you some clothes.”

She smiled once more, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes or erase the worry there. She was putting a brave face on it, I was sure, but she was deeply worried. Understandable really. Her whole world had just been turned upside down. Much like mine.

With a sigh and a slight shake of my head, I went in search of more suitable clothing for us both.

****

After a shower and change of clothing, I felt so much better that even my aches and pains seemed to be fading. It was certainly useful to have so many spare sets of clothing in the house too.

Both Evie and I had changed into jeans and while I had opted for a plain, navy blue t-shirt, she had gone for a lavender v-neck cami top. The plain canvas trainers were a huge improvement over the heels of the night before and I actually felt like I could walk down the stairs without breaking an ankle.

I led my friend into the kitchen in search of something to eat and found Patrik, in just a pair of shorts with an iPod clipped to his waistband and earbuds in his ears. He glistened in the light that shone through the kitchen windows and his sweat dampened hair hung down around his face.

He glanced up as we entered and grinned in greeting. I smiled back and a quick glance to Evie revealed an appreciative smile on her face as she looked at his well-defined form.

“Morning ladies,” he said loudly. I winced and he grunted before pulling the ear buds out. The screech of some horrendously loud music filtered out through them as he muttered, “sorry.”

“What’re you listening to?”

“Death metal,” he grinned again as he tapped an icon on his iPod and the sound faded. “Not for everyone, but I like it.”

“Yeah, it sounds… loud.”

His laughter filled the room, comforting and warm. He certainly seemed in high spirits which made me feel a little better, as I’d half expected everyone to be pissed at how I’d screwed up the night before.

“Ja, very loud.” He looked at the two of us and frowned. “You hungry, ja? Much paler than usual.”

“I could eat,” I admitted and laughed as my stomach chose that moment to rumble. He smiled and pulled open a cupboard, revealing an array of boxes and pulled out a couple of blueberry breakfast bars that he tossed to me.

“Eat them first,” he said.

“First?”

“You used up a lot of energy last night, need to replace it, ja?”

“Right,” I said and ripped open the wrapper of the first and took a big bite. It was chewy and tasted much like flavoured cardboard but I forced myself to eat it all as Patrik pulled two cereal boxes out of the cupboard and set them on the table.

“Cereal if you want it,” he said. “Also can make toast, pancakes or we’ve grapefruit.”

“Wow, you certainly like your breakfast,” Evie said and he smiled widely at her.

“We’re big on having a good start to the day. We tend to use a lot of energy.”

“I can tell,” she replied as she ran her gaze over his glistening torso in a way that made him grin.

With an exaggerated roll of my eyes for her, I reached for the second bar only to realise I’d already eaten it. Patrick chuckled as he shoved a bowl across to me and I grabbed the box of wheat flakes and filled it almost to the brim.

“You’ll be hungry most of today,” he said as he passed over a four-litre container of milk. “Probably tomorrow too as your body heals your injuries.”

“Is that why my ribs are aching?” I asked and when he raised one eyebrow questioningly, added, “They snapped. I heard them clearly, but today they just ache.”

“Oh ja,” he nodded agreeably. “An extra bonus from our fathers.”

“So you both had demon fathers?” Evie said slowly. “Does anyone ever have demon mothers?”

“Yeah, sometimes,” Patrik said as he leaned back against the counter. He seemed totally at ease with being half naked, in a way that I doubted I ever could be. “Not often though.”

“Why not?”

“Demons like chaos,” he said as he tapped at his lip thoughtfully with one finger. “For them, creating a child isn’t an act of love, it’s violence or need.”

“Need?”

“Ja, to make more demons in their own realm,” he said. “They fight each other constantly, tearing and ripping at each other. Demons are not pregnant long in their realm, just long enough.”

He scratched at his head and ran fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his face as he considered how best to make it clear.

“When they possess someone here, sex, it isn’t about love. Often violent, always selfish and all about immediate desire. For one to possess a woman and wait for nine months as the child grows… it is rare that one would have the patience or the will to hold off on destroying it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“To grow a child inside of you, that is about creating life. Demons destroy. They hate and hurt others, feeding off of the pain and misery. Nurturing a child would be like us creating and growing a fire by feeding it parts of ourselves. It would destroy us in making it… you understand, ja?”

“I think so.” A quick look to Evie revealed a contemplative look on her face as she considered what he’d said. It also explained a little bit more about why he was so bitter about his own father. Born of violence. I wondered if it really had been different with my own father.

The bowl of cereal was empty and I set my spoon down with a sigh. It’d been a long night and a lot to take in over breakfast. I felt that nagging itch in the back of my skull, that need to be doing something, else I’d fall easily into a dark state of mind that I wouldn’t easily climb back out of.

“Mind if I go downstairs?” I asked and he shook his head.

“Nei. Jo has gone to pick up some things. Delilah is sleeping and Marie isn’t due until tonight. So go have fun.”

“Marie’s coming?” I asked as Evie looked at me and said, “Who’s Marie?”

“Ja,” he said with a bemused look at the two of us. “She’ll have many questions about last night.”

“Great,” I said as I dropped my bowl in the sink and headed to the cellar. Evie, with a last lingering look at the giant Norwegian, followed after me.

The cellar was pretty much the same as it’d been the last time I’d been down there. When I’d first used my power to throw Patrik around like he was a sack of potatoes rather than an impressively muscled giant of a man.

For the first ten minutes, I moved through the motions that Jo had shown me with the knife. One thing the fight at the club had shown me was how little of a warrior I was. Jo was a badass and no mistake, while Patrik could pick up and twist into knots anyone he wished.

I, on the other hand, had been put under some sort of mind whammy and though I’d managed to get a couple of licks in, I’d been held down and seconds from some vamp ripping my throat out. It was only the others turning up that had saved me.

Killing Mickey didn’t really count, though it was my first, it was still Mickey. He’d always been a bit of a prick and I’d not been able to take him seriously when I thought he was a human, let alone as a vampire.

“That looks good on you,” Evie said and I stopped moving as I came back to the present. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I looked back over my shoulder at her.

“What does?”

“That smile.”

I crossed to the stairs where she had perched herself and caught a wistful smile of her own. “Thanks, I guess.”

“No problems babe,” she said and her smile faltered. It wasn’t hard to understand why. It had been her boyfriend who’d called everyone ‘babe’ after all. I let out a sigh and settled down beside her on the step.

“Sorry,” I said and looked away from her. I didn’t need to see her face to know how upset she was.

“Told you, it’s not your fault. He was a fricken vampire.”

“Yeah, but you liked him.”

“Sometimes,” she said and I glanced at her to see a slight smile grace her face.

“Just sometimes?”

“Well, he was a bit of a dick most of the time.”

“True,” I said with a chuckle.

“To be honest, I was going to dump him anyway,” she said and nodded when I raised one eyebrow questioningly. “Really, I was. He was cute and fun sometimes, but he really was an ass.”

“That’s very true.”

She nudged me gently, leaning in and pushing her shoulder against mine. I looked over to see a genuinely warm smile on her face and eyes clear of the tears and condemnation I’d feared I’d see there.

“You did what you had to do,” she said. “I’m alright with that. Just wish I’d known he was a vampire.”

“How could you suspect that?”

“Oh, he had a way about him sometimes. Not violent, but cruel. Definitely not the sort of person I could hang out with for long, you know?”

“Then why were you with him for, what? Five months?”

“Like I said, he could be fun and he never actually hurt me.”

She bit her lip and looked away, studying the wall or the floor, anything but me. He’d been a bit of an ass to me, but I’d not suspected he was anything more than an entitled college brat. Not that I’d spent much time with him anyway.

“Besides,” she added. “The sex was pretty great.”

“Oh pu-hlease!” I said as I pushed myself up from the step. Evie giggled behind me as I stalked back to the centre of the room and took up the stance that I’d been shown.

She’d always unashamedly enjoyed sex in a way that I couldn’t. The random fumblings I’d had as a teen had brought little joy, though marginally more than those visits in the night from the foster parents. I’d never had that wild, exciting kind of experience that she seemed to find with her partners.

My hand shot out as I aimed at an imaginary opponent, slicing the air as I worked through the sudden tension that seemed to grip me. With each strike, a new face appeared in my mind's eye and I decided then and there, that I wouldn’t be the victim again.

Behind me, Evie watched in silence. Her mood had entered a calm spot, the eye of the emotional storm that was swirling around her. The tears and hysterics of the night before wouldn’t be the last and for once, I could be the strong one. I could be there for her as she’d been for me. I wouldn’t fail her.