Chapter Twelve: Disappearing Bait

~ Marie ~

The plan was simple. Have Mark leave the house and see who followed him. His destination would be a nearby recycling center, which should be deserted at this time of night. If no one showed up, then they would just head back together. If someone followed then Marie would take that chance to place a tracking spell on them.

She left the study to find Mark pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen doorway. He froze at the sight of her, to the point that it didn’t even look like he was breathing. A moment passed before Mark straightened up and strode over. His steps faltered and he stopped three feet away from her.

“I am very sorry for what I did to you.” Mark bowed with his arms at his sides, fists clenched. “I’m really very sorry. I didn’t mean to atta— .”

“Stop. You don’t need my forgiveness.” His eyes were wide for a moment before he avoided her eyes. His shoulders drooped and he hung his head.

“I understand. After what I did, there’s no way you could forgive me.”

“Stop talking and listen.” He looked up at her, warily. “While you are here, I am responsible for your care. I should have bought more blood for you when I saw the supplies were running low. It was my fault, not yours.“

“But I’m the one that dropped it! If I hadn’t been trying to hide it, you— ”

“Mark.”

“Sorry.”

“I just wanted to let you know that you weren’t as out of control as you think. I was asleep for a while but you didn’t do more than grab my wrist. Either way, I will make sure that you have what you need.” Mark nodded and frowned but he wasn’t listening to her as his gaze was turned inward. Adrian chose that moment to enter the room and stand next to Mark.

“I don’t see anyone outside so we can go ahead.”

“Wait.” She turned to Mark and gestured for his hand. He gave it to her and she pushed up his sleeve to expose the lower half of his arm. First, the monitoring spell on his shoulder to keep track of him. Next Marie wrote a spell on his skin then filled it with magic once she was done. “I placed a barrier on you. It will only activate when someone attacks.” She explained it before either of them started asking questions. Mark studied his arm from every angle as if tilting his arm a certain way would reveal the spell.

“Ready?” Marie nodded while Mark snapped to attention. He gave Adrian one last firm nod before turning around and heading out the back door. Once Mark closed the door quietly behind himself, she turned her eyes to her watch. They would wait about five minutes before going after him. Sooner, if someone started following him. She sat on the sofa arm as she waited. “Why didn’t you do that sooner?”

“The barrier?”

“Couldn’t you have put a barrier on him and sent him home?”

“Magic doesn’t work that way. I would have to be close enough to feed magic to the barrier every so often.” And there was no way that would have happened. If Mark had made it home that night, she never would have found out about any of this.

“How often?” She pushed her annoyance back down.

“Depends on the barrier.“ Marie avoided his eyes as she put her arm down. “It’s time.” She went out the back door with Adrian following close behind her. Since Adrian was faster, he would head straight for Mark. Once he caught up, he would follow at a distance so that he could intervene if necessary. Marie split her attention between the sidewalk and her spell as she walked. So far Mark was still alone. A touch on her arm pulled her attention back to her surroundings. Adrian had grabbed her arm and he continued to pull her towards him until she was right beside him. “Why are you still here?”

“You’re not paying attention.”

“I’m fine.”

“It looked like you were about to walk into oncoming traffic.”

“That— ” She nearly bit her tongue as Adrian scooped her up and jumped backwards with her. A vampire stood where she had been moments before.

[Is he still alone?] His voice spoke directly in her mind. She was never going to get used to that. Marie frowned. The urge to shudder was strong but she pushed it away and focused back on her spell.

“No.” The vampire lunged at them and Adrian jumped back again before circling around him and running ahead.

[How many?] Her stomach was making it hard to concentrate on the spell. The bottom dropped out each time he evaded the vampire’s attacks. Marie took a deep breath and held onto his shirt more tightly as she forced herself to focus on the spell.

“Two.” Adrian ducked again before he twisted around and tried to kick the vampire. The vampire jumped back and Adrian used that chance to duck around the park bathrooms. Adrian ran even faster, bobbing and weaving through the trees without slowing down. He stopped suddenly and the force of it made her cling even tighter, even though he already had a firm grip on her. He took a sharp, right turn and continued running.

“Put me down.”

“And then what?”

“You go after Mark and I’ll take care of the vampire here.” Without her dragging him down, Adrian should be able to outrun the vampire and catch up with the boy. She had the choice of either putting a tracking spell on the vampire here or catch up with Mark later and put the tracking spell on one of those vampires.

“I’m not doing that.” [How is Mark doing?]

“Fine.” For now. Mark was still ahead of the vampires chasing him. Adrian nodded before he tightened his grip on her and jumped to the left. He ran without stopping. The vampire slammed into the tree and used it to change directions. Even with them a good distance in front of the vampire, they weren’t getting anywhere. If they tried to rejoin Mark like this, they would not be in a good position. And even if Adrian ran all the way from here, they still might not make it in time.

Dammit.

She didn’t want to use this but she didn’t have a choice.

“Can you lose him for a couple of minutes?”

[I’m not putting you down.] She shook her head

“We need to stay in one spot for about a minute but he can’t be touching us.”

[Alright. Hold on tight.] She tightened her grip around his neck. Adrian shifted her a bit then went on the offensive. He launched himself at the other vampire, sending a series of kicks towards him. Whenever the other vampire would try to launch a counterattack, Adrian would jump back just enough to put a tree between the two of them. This went on for several minutes.

Marie kept her tight grip on his neck. She didn’t like the idea of falling at these speeds. Suddenly, after one of his kicks, Adrian took the arm that was bracing her back and pushed the other vampire in the chest. The vampire was surprised by the sudden attack and wasn’t able to dodge properly when Adrian went for another kick. The vampire twisted his body to try to avoid the blow but still got hit in the side and went tumbling forward. Adrian turned and fled in the opposite direction just as the vampire jumped back up. Marie took one of her arms off Adrian’s neck and put a hand out.

“Don’t look back.” Marie didn’t wait to see if he had heard her. She did a quick spell and the area flashed with a bright light. There was still an after image on her vision even though she’d closed her eyes. She could only imagine what the vampire was seeing now. She put her arm back on Adrian's neck as he ran straight then took a sudden detour and went right. Marie scanned the area behind them. The vampire wasn’t following them. Yet. Adrian ran for a bit more before he came to a stop near another park restroom.

[We don’t have much time before he comes after us.] Adrian glanced at her expectantly. Marie hesitated. He was right. She’d committed to this. There was no going back now. She closed her eyes and felt Adrian’s grip on her tense momentarily. She opened her eyes. "What did you do?" He straightened as he looked around. They were near a restaurant that she’d been to once before. It was the closest location that she knew.

"Teleport. We shouldn’t be that far."

“What’s going on with Mark?” She focused back on her spell as Adrian readjusted her before he took off running towards the train tracks.

“He just got there.” Adrian picked up his pace as he turned left and ran along the tracks before turning right. He slid to a stop right in front of a side entrance. The lock on the gate had been broken and Mark was already inside along with the two vampires chasing him.

“I’m leaving you here.” Adrian dropped her but she managed to get her legs under her just before he let go. He quickly dashed forward while Marie stumbled for a bit. Once she was steady, she headed in. Mark put his hands up as one of the vampires lunged forward to attack. Marie quickly put up her obscure spell just before the vampire was thrown backwards onto a pile of metal. The spell was only meant for small areas so she wasn’t sure how much of that was actually covered but some coverage was better than none.

The blond vampire circled Mark, his focus was completely on the boy. Adrian took the chance to sweep his legs out from under him. Mark ran around them and headed for her just as the vampire that had been thrown started to get back up.

Mark reached her side but instead of getting behind her, he stood in front. He put his fists up in front of his face and waited, his body tense. The dark haired vampire staggered around a bit before he shook his head. He approached them slowly, his eyes scanned the area around the boy. Marie glanced quickly at Adrian. He was still busy fighting the other vampire and had his back to them. Mark was also focused on the front. Now was her chance.

She started to write out a tracking spell when Mark suddenly rushed forward towards the dark haired vampire. Tsk! What was he doing?! Marie cancelled the spell and rushed after him. She was no match for a vampire’s speed and Mark was already attacking the vampire by the time she was close enough. Adrian had taught him well, at least. She didn’t know much about fighting but he appeared to be holding his own. Mark landed kick after kick on the vampire, driving his back. It also didn’t hurt that every time the vampire tried to counterattack the barrier protected Mark and kept him from getting hurt. The vampire finally had enough and jumped back landing on the top of the fence. He pulled a white piece of paper out of his pocket and held it in his fist as he launched himself yet again at Mark. Dammit! That wasn’t good.

Mark went after the vampire again but just as he landed another hit, the vampire countered. A talisman was slapped onto the barrier just as it activated. Instead of disappearing, the barrier continued to show as light pulsed around the talisman. This wasn’t good. She rushed over and threw a fireball at the vampire. He jumped back several feet before rushing forward again.

She held another fireball in her hand and threw it at the vampire. He jumped back again but she was closer this time. Marie ripped the paper off the barrier and shoved it in her pocket to study later. It was time to end this. The barrier wasn’t going to last much longer and neither would she if they had anymore of those. Time to change tactics. She hoped that Adrian would be able to carry out their plan. Marie turned to Mark and placed a hand on his chest.

“Watch your head.”

“Huh?” Those were his last words before she teleported him back to the house. Hopefully, he heeded her advice. She turned back. The vampire was right behind her. Marie tried to get out of the way but she didn’t make it in time as pain lanced across her back and right shoulder. As she hit the ground, she threw several fireballs at him. He dodged most of them but one grazed his leg. His pant leg caught on fire and he threw himself to the side. The dark haired vampire slapped at his leg, cursing loudly. She started to write her tracking spell out but he put the fire out and leapt to his feet before she was done. He glared at her before he glanced at the fight behind her. Whatever he glimpsed made him turn and run.

She turned around. Adrian had the situation under control. He was pushing the other vampire back easily. Marie started to write out her spell again. She finished and held the spell waiting for the perfect moment. The blond vampire reached into his back pocket and she could see a bit of white sticking out. Another talisman? Adrian didn’t have a barrier. The vampire lunged at Adrian but the Master vampire was quicker as he slammed the other vampire to the ground. That’s when she released her spell. It hit the blond vampire on the arm. Adrian glanced her way and nodded.

That one moment where he took his eyes off the fight was long enough for the dark haired vampire to make his reappearance. He climbed the fence behind Adrian and leapt in his direction just as the blond vampire lunged once again with the talisman held out in front of him. Marie teleported Adrian closer to her. The vampires collided in midair and went down in a heap. She pressed her lips together but there was nothing she could do about her mistake now.

The vampire Adrian had been fighting got to his feet and looked around before his eyes settled on them. He glared in Adrian’s direction and crouched down, ready to go again when screams broke the silence. The dark haired vampire rolled around and clawed at his arm. His back arched as he screamed one last time. A long agonizing scream that ended when his body went limp. The blond vampire backed away. He looked at them before looking back down at the body. The vampire shook his head before he turned and fled. This time she was sure the vampire wasn’t coming back as she checked the tracking spell.

“What just happened?” Marie made her way over to the vampire on the ground and knelt beside him but she was careful not to touch him. Better not to chance anything. She read the talisman that was pasted to the arm he’d been clawing at. Marie stood and turned towards Adrian as he came up beside her.

“Curse. It was designed to leech the life out of whoever it was attached to.” And not in a painless way either. Even though the drain had been quick, they had wanted their victim to suffer. Curses were nasty spells that could only be used to harm others. They had no other function. She frowned. Marie wished she had more information on them. Knowledge would help her come up with ways to counteract them but given their forbidden nature the information was a closely guarded secret.

“Is the body safe to touch?” Adrian picked her up and jumped back before she could answer. Her body tensed causing pain to spread along her back and arm. She followed his gaze. The vampire had moved one last time. His arm still in the air, reaching for something. The arm fell to the ground and the vampire didn’t move anymore. “He’s dead.”

Marie used a quick spell to burn the body. It was better to get rid of it in case there were any other nasty surprises. Adrian didn’t speak for a moment as they waited until the body burned down to ashes.

“Where’s Mark?”

“Back at the house.”

“Can you get us there too?” Marie frowned. He was asking for more teleportation.

“Put me down.”

“Do you need to stand to teleport?”

“No.” He raised one eyebrow and waited. Tsk. Marie closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were back in her living room. “Now put me down.” But instead of putting her down, he went into the hallway and climbed the stairs. Mark was nowhere to be seen but the door next to her room was closed. Adrian probably got him out of the way since she was bleeding all over the living room floor. “I can walk.” She shifted her body a little hoping he would get the hint but it only caused her more pain. He ignored her. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he kicked her door open and placed her gently on the bed.

“Where’s the first aid kit?”

“I can take care of myself.” His eyes scanned the room but he wasn't going to find it that way. Marie liked to keep her first aid kit under the bed. “I don’t need your help.”

“Magic?” She nodded, hoping that would get him to go. “Heal yourself then.” He leaned against the wall and waited with his arms crossed. Marie had the urge to ignore the order but that would be foolish considering there were two vampires in her house. So she took a deep breath and sent magic to her shoulder first. It was the easiest to heal since the wound was smaller. Next she focused on her back. The wound was deeper and longer than the one on her arm and required more magic. More concentration too. Healing was never her forte. A sigh escaped her as she opened her eyes. She jerked back. Marie hadn’t been expecting his face to be just inches away from her own. He grabbed her and kept her from falling off the bed. He turned her shoulder and stared at where the wound had been. Finally, he let go and straightened up. He licked his hand, getting the blood that had gotten on it.

She frowned as she remembered to clean the blood from her shoulder and back. A little bit of magic was used to fix her shirt as well. With that done, she stood up and made her way downstairs. Any drops of blood she encountered on her way down, she cleaned up. The living room was the last room that needed cleaning. She didn’t understand why Adrian felt the need to stay behind her but it wasn’t a habit she enjoyed. Marie turned to ask him a question. Adrian had a strange look on his face before it disappeared into his normal polite mask.

“Is Mark joining us?” He seemed to consider it before an upstairs door slammed open followed by quick footsteps on the stairs. Mark rushed into the room and quickly inspected her.

“Are you ok? I heard you got injured.” Mark nodded but he kept checking her body. She frowned. Adrian didn’t need to tell him that.

“I’m fine.” She went into the study and carefully made her way around the piles of books on the floor.

“It looks like there’s more books on the ground than on the shelf.” She ignored Adrian as she continued to make her way over. Once she reached the back wall, she knelt and pulled out a false book. It was obvious it wasn’t a real book but she used it to store maps so it didn’t matter that it wasn’t well hidden. She stood and the room spun. Marie tried to take a step back to steady herself but she couldn’t go back any further. Adrian was right behind her, holding her shoulders. “Magic can’t fix blood loss?” It wasn’t just blood loss affecting her though.

“I got what I came here for.” He let her go but he stayed right behind her as she made her way back.

“What else do you need?”

“Just a table.” Mark grabbed one of the side tables and looked to her for directions. She pointed to a spot between the two sofas and he complied. Marie spread the map out on it. A spell was written in the air above the map before she put her hands out in front of her, about an inch away from the script. While she kept the tracking spell firmly in her thoughts, she slowly lowered her hands to the map. The script followed and once she touched the map, they disappeared. She exhaled after she was done. Adrian and Mark were already sitting down and staring at the map. Neither of them blinked as they followed the small ball of light as it moved along on the map.

She decided to take this moment to go to the kitchen.

[What are you doing?] Marie ignored him as she went into the kitchen. She heard him come up behind her but she continued to set up the coffee maker. [You shouldn’t move around when you’ve lost so much blood.]

“Did you want some?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby counter.

“Yes.” Once the coffee was done, she poured them both a cup and handed his over. She took a sip from her cup as she went back to the living room. Mark glanced their way before looking back down. They sat in silence for several minutes as they watched the light zig zag back and forth across the map, never stopping in one place for very long.

“Um.” Mark stopped for a moment as he glanced at both of them. He cleared his throat before trying again. “What was that you did back there?”

“What was what?” She avoided Adrian’s eyes as she spoke.

“What you did to get me here. One minute I was at the junkyard, the next I was here.”

“Teleport.”

“Yeah, that. It was just...wow! I blinked and I was someplace else. Magic is amazing! This barrier was amazing too. Blocking all those attacks. I was able to get a few hits in too. I wish I could have a barrier like this on me all the time. I’d be able to fight too.” Mark put his arms up and punched the air. He stopped mid-punch and snapped to attention and bowed his head with a mumbled apology.

“Did you recognize any of the men there?” She pointed her question at Mark. He frowned.

“No.”

“I didn’t recognize any of the ones that attacked us on our way there or the ones following Mark.” So neither of them recognized any of their attackers. There was no way it would be that easy but she needed to ask. She would have to hope that tracking them would provide some kind of lead.

Silence returned as they went back to staring at the map. Her thoughts turned inward. She had used her teleportation in front of others. Not just once but several times. It was for a good reason but she was already regretting it. She stopped that thought and focused on keeping her emotions calm. With two vampires in the room, she didn’t need them to start focusing on her. As long as her secrets weren’t exposed, she shouldn’t dwell on the issue and move on. There were other, more immediate things that required her attention. Like what was she going to do if this lead led nowhere?