Winch guides me down to a chair and my eyes never leave Edge. I couldn’t risk taking my eyes of him even for a second. “You knew about this?” I ask Winch.

“Yes. Almost pissed myself when they first approached me a few months ago and they told me what he was.” Winch pointed to Edge.

Fuck, now there was no denying what was standing in front of me. Right now I need a beer so big I could drown in it.

“You have known about this for months?” A feeling of relieved rage envelopes me. “I am going to kill you Winch!” I get up, but he pushes me back down onto the chair.

“We contacted Sargent Winchester a few month ago and requested to watch you for a while. We had Zeek or Edge as we call him who is a part of our unit, to shadow you on a few of your missions.”

“I am very pissed at the fact I had no idea I had a tail and didn’t notice, that and the fact that you were stalking me.” Edge shrugs.

“If makes you feel any better, I was tailing you from miles away of your position.”

“No, it doesn’t.” I answer.

“I saw you make an impossible shot. It was pissing down and the wind was blowing in your direction and you still managed to shoot the target through a tiny window. I checked afterwards the shot was right through her temple. Impressive.” He marvels, but I didn’t take any of that as a compliment.

“Instead of blowing smoke up my ass tell me what this is all about.” I say harshly.

Gerald walks towards me with a knowing smile. A smile which confirmed that what he was about to tell me was going to shatter my world like glass. “I am sure at this point you must have some idea of what Edge is.”

“Vaguely, but I am convinced I’m still legless from last night. There was a lot of vodka.”

“I am sorry to say this, but this is all very real.” Gerald apologizes.

“Just tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“Please tell me that your real name isn’t Gerald.” I say on a sigh. Edge snorts and covers it up fast behind his fist, accompanied with a few coughs.

“Who are you to talk Ainsley.” He says with a curt tone.

“Damn.” I say on an exhale. “Just get it over with then. Take the foundation of my reality away.”

“First thing, here.” Gerald hands me a thick stack of papers. I take them off him and I only need to glance at it for a second to know it’s a contract.

“You can read that at your own pace, but what we said before is true. We want you to be Edge’s backup in the field.”

“Right,” I begin smacking the contract in Edge’s chest. He grabs my hand along with the contract. His chest beneath my fingers was hard as steel and not as cold as I recall from earlier. No, it was more room temperature, but that wasn’t my most surprising discovery. His chest was hard and silent. I pressed my hand harder into his chest and further up trying to feel for a heartbeat, but nothing. I wonder if that’s something you miss having.

My eyes move up to his and I almost swallow my tongue when I discover that his eyes are glaring at me, but they were also glowing. He better not try that eye thing on me again.

I pull my hand back and I take a deep breath before asking my next question. I hope that I don’t sound like I need to be in mental hospital after this. “Why does a vampire need a human partner?” I ask letting the word hang in the air. It felt foreign and frightening. I hoped the moment the word left my lips all three of them would look at each other and piss themselves laughing, one would pull out a camera and shout “I can’t believe you feel for that!”, but no one did.

“We deploy teams of two for one simple reason. Blood has a very short shelf life.” Blood? Shelf life?

“What does blood have to do with…” I didn’t finish that sentence and I scoffed turning on my heels walking away from them. “Fuck no, I won’t be his walking blood bag. If all you need me for is to be his meal on wheels then you can fuck off. This was a waste of my time and yours.”

I move around everyone mildly surprised that Edge even let me leave the room now knowing that he could just appear in front of me.

I won’t leave my station so if some fucking blood sucker got hungry while on the mission he could munch on my neck. That was so insulting. If they wanted a neck that dick could bite then anyone would do, it didn’t have to be me.

But if you took the job you wouldn’t have to pull that trigger anymore.

Don’t delude yourself they asked for a sniper knowing that I would need to use my skills one day.

Or maybe they just wanted someone who was used to being in harsh environments.

Then they can ask a marine, they were more used to that than I was. They can figuratively suck it.

“Poor me another one, please.” I push my empty pint glass across the bar to the bartender.

“Same as before, soldier?” The woman asks and I nod.

“One for me too, please.” I hear Edge’s voice from behind me.

“Go away.” I say to him.

The woman pushes both our pints in front of us and I reach into my pocket for some money. “I got these.” Edge extends his hand holding a twenty to the woman. “Keep the change.” He announces with a flirtatious smile.

“You can only stay if you’re going to keep buying my drinks.” I pick up my pint and take a huge gulp. Edge takes a small sip from his and I eye him closely over the rim of my glass. “You can drink other things other than blood?”

Edge puts his beer down and arches his eyebrows at me. “Didn’t think you believed us.”

“Not sure if I want to believe it would be more accurate.” I admit.

“Yeah, when I woke up after being changed it was hard accepting that this was my new reality too.” I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for him. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that there was a vampire sitting next to me drinking a beer, never mind waking up to find out you are one.

“I’m sorry you’re dead.” I say not knowing what to say. Edge snorts and takes another big sip.

“Sorry you had to find out about the living undead.”

“What about Gerry?” Edge frowns with confusion. “There is no way I am calling him Gerald.” Edge shrugs.

“I kind of like it. And no, Gerald isn’t a vampire. Just me.”

“How many of you is there in this unit?” I ask gulping down a wave of unease.

“I can’t answer that.”

“How many vampires are there in general then?” I ask a different question.

“Just vamps?” He asks specifically and I choke on my beer.

“Fuck, what else is out there?” I ask horrified.

“The truth.” He says sarcastically waving his hand above our head. I stare at him not impressed one bit. “No one ever laughs at that.” He grumbles playfully. “You’ve seen supernatural movies. It’s like that.”

“Depends on which movies you’re referring too.”

“Ones that don’t suck.” I snort. Edge gives me a confused look before realizing he had just made an unintentional pun.

“How is it that I have never come across any of it before?”

“Because of the obvious, humans are safer not knowing about us.” His replies aren’t really answering my questions. I am just getting more confused than enlightened. He keeps his eyes focused on the beer in his hands with admittedly really heavy looking shoulders. I can’t imagine the burden he must carrying with him, but his silent brooding does highlight his handsome face.

“Anyone ever tell you that you look like the protagonist from those cheesy crappy romance novel with that long hair?” I ask him with a giant smirk making him purses his lips.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was actually an insult. I was calling you, how do the American’s say it, a basic bitch. You know for a vampire.” Edge doesn’t look amused by my description of him.

“As I recall all those men in those novels happen to be handsome, rugged, ripped and unbelievable endowed.” He smirks when I look down to his privates.

“Read more than a few, have you?”

“I have been alive a lot longer that I imagined I would be, so I have to pass the time somehow.” I stare down at my drink and contemplate my next question.

“If I ask your age would that be rude?”

“Nah. I am 235 years old.” I nod my head absorbing that information.

“Would that be considered old in vampire years?”

“No, I am somewhat young. I have met vampires much older than I am.” I couldn’t even imagine what they must be like. A creature that old must be dangerous.

“Shit.” I rub my head. “This is all real, isn’t it?” I groan into my hands.

“Yeah.” Edge says solemnly.

“No offense, but I don’t want to be a blood donor for you.”

“Trust me when I say I don’t like this human – vampire buddy system either, I have to worry about making sure my partner comes back alive, but it has worked really well so far.”

“What kind of missions does your unit deal with?”

“We deal with supernatural cases. There is a lot more vampire activity out there than I would prefer despite the fact this division was open well over 90 years ago by Gerald’s father. To put it in simple terms we hunt the bad things and some messed up humans who are involved.”

“Sort of like Buffy the vampire slayer.”

“I have never watched that show. In fact, anything that has vampires in it, I tend to avoid.”

“I understand that. Anything that has to do with soldiers and the army I tend to avoid too. Don’t need to watch another Oscar nominated true story.”

We had this weird atmosphere around us. It wasn’t heavy or uncomfortable. It was like we were two strangers getting to know each other in a bar over a drink. From the outside this looked completely normal, but I was drinking with a man who I wasn’t even sure could drink.

“What’s in that contract?” I ask bluntly. “And don’t you tell me to read it. Tell me now, what should I expect if I sign it.” Edge pushed his hood down and didn’t take his gaze off the glass in front of him.

He looked almost sad staring into space. I could tell he was no longer with me in this bar, he was somewhere else, reliving a bad memory that I had resurrected in the debts of his mind. I hadn’t meant to do that with my question, but at least now I know he wasn’t going to bullshit me with some fake positive answer nonsense.

“The worse thing in that contract is the clause that states if you die in the field before your service is up you give your consent for your partner to turn you into a vampire.” My body seizes. My entire body starts to tremble and my vision starts to get blurry. I swallow down the bile and saliva trying to loosen the giant knot that formed in my throat.

“What kind of disturbed clause is that? Do you even know how many soldiers die in the line of duty? Too many!” I shout.

“It’s not a requirement I like either, but it’s there none the less.”

“All this tells me is that you’re recruiting new vampire candidates, not partners. Let me guess once your partner drops dead and you turn them next they are chained to your team for the rest of their eternal life.”

“It is messed up, but that’s why we give you a choice to join us or not. Many of our soldiers are itching to be changed and as much as I hate to admit it being a part of this group makes it a lot easier for us vampires. Fresh blood is always in the blood vault and we get an awesome pay check for our service.”

“Sorry, but that all doesn’t make me happy about signing over my mortal life to you.”

“It’s not ideal, but we saved the world enough times to make putting up with the rest of that bullshit worth it.” My ears tingled at his statement. I look at him discreetly and he has a small smile on his face. Shit, I just gave him something to use on me. The way my eyes lit up at his statement can’t be hidden. I joined the army to make a difference and when I wasn’t lying to myself, I did it so Dad would be proud of me. And I know that’s never happening.

“You’ve saved the world before?” I ask sheepishly averting his eyes. Edge takes another large sip and shows me his bright flat white teeth.

“More than once. Being a part of this world means you’re stopping some world ending threat weekly. As tiring as it is that some idiot has a world domination plan every other week, it puts a skip in my step knowing I kill those freaks.”

“Look at the pot, calling the kettle black. Can’t exactly call you normal, now can we?”

“Being a vampire is the least weird thing out there. I once knew this ghoul who got drunk off his ass and broke into a prison for a snack.” I pause on my next sip, blinking wildly at his story.

“Hold the fucking phone. Ghouls?” I say letting out a loud. “Ew!” The image of something with grey decomposing skin eating me sent shivers up my spine.

“Yup and a whole lot of other things that you would discover if you took the job.” Edge dangles the bait in front of my nose.

There is a long pause between us and he says gently. “What you do for your country is brave.” He says and a small wave of pride makes me look away in embarrassment. “But I saw the look on your face when I mentioned that shot you took during your last mission. You don’t like the killing part of your job, do you?”

“I would be a monster if I did.” I tap my nails on the wooden bar hating how he had me completely figured out. “Every time I received a letter of congratulations or was given a medal for taking someone’s life it never made me happy. All I saw was the body dropping dead in my scope. That image never leaves you.”

“They were all bad people.” Edge offers in sympathy.

“Not all of them. I don’t get to decide who I shoot it’s never my choice, but I do it anyway because it’s expected of me and if I don’t people die. The only difference between me and any other soldier who first enlisted was that I happen to have great aim.” I have held those words inside me for years and now that they’re out in the open. I feel like I have betrayed everything I have ever learned. I was proving my Dad right with how disappointed he was in me for choosing this life and my Mum who cried for me as if I had already signed my death certificate. That left a bad taste in my mouth. I was still trying to make them proud of me to this day. I didn’t do it for Queen or country I did it so my Dad would look me in the eye again one day. The shit we do for our parent’s approval only to realize that no matter what we do it’s never the correct choice.

“I’m sorry.” Edge’s low sympathetic tone sent a chill up my spine. “I can’t promise that there won’t be humans in your scope again that would be an impossible promise to make, but if I can help it, I’ll make sure the only things you have to shoot are already dead or working for them.” That sentence makes me smile. “Humans can’t be avoided, where there is money to be made there is going to be some idiot that wants a piece of it.”

“Here, here!” I raise my glass to Edge and he clinks my own glass with his own. “This is for the assholes that profit of the misfortune of people.”

“And may they all die choking on that cash!” Edge finished.

We both take large gulps and I contemplate everything that he had just told me.

It sounded appealing, not the “if I die and he turns me into a vampire part”, but the not having to kill my own kind anymore and the saving the world part really have my leg bouncing in excitement. A chance to do some real good. A chance to be the person I always wanted to be and if I made it to my retirement, I could lay back with a sweet retirement plan.

“Give it here. I can see the contract poking out of your coat.” Edge smooths his long hair down and takes out the stack of papers laying them in front of me.

“You caught me. Although, Gerald may have sent me here with an alternative motive, but I did want to check in on you.” I stare down at a piece of paper that was going to change my life. I would have to relocate to America and leave everyone back here in England. Well, the people who could still stand to see my face. All that stands between my life changing is the small dotted line at the end of this page.

“What happens if I don’t sign it?” I ask.

“Normally I would erase your and everyone’s memories and you would go back to your normal life.”

“I will admit that’s a tempting offer.” I bite my lip wondering I could turn around and walk away from this unscathed.

“That’s not an option.”

“Why the hell not?” I snap louder than I meant to.

“You can’t be compelled remember?”

“No, I remember it working.” I growl at him.

“It didn’t. Your mind resisted and that’s a rare talent. I don’t know what your options are now.” He admits honestly. “You proved you couldn’t be compelled. That was a first for me. If it had worked to some extent you would have picked up the gun and pointed it at Winchester, but you didn’t even reach for it.” His brows furrow in annoyance. It looks like I may have bruised his ego.

“Yeah about that.” I say casually. I raise my pint to my lips and drain the rest of my beer, but it was mostly just a mouth full of foam. I wipe my lips casually and not giving him any chance to react I lift my fist and punch him right across his left cheek making the woman at the bar jump.

I was a bit proud when he recoiled from my punch. My knuckles hurt badly, but I didn’t show it. Edge on the other hand slid his hair behind his ear and acted like my punch was no more than a gentle breeze to him. “That’s for using Winch.” My words where dripping with venom.

“Yeah, Gerald usually makes me point the gun to your own head and shoot and the gun is always fake too. I don’t know what Gerald was thinking.”

“And tell me.” I inch closer to him. “Why should I work for an asshole like that?” He takes a deep breath and scratches his chin.

“Truthfully I don’t have a good answer to that.” Edge turns meeting my eyes.

“At least you’re honest.” I say bitterly.

“You you have my word if you had fired I would have stopped you from hurting him.” My ears tingle at his adamant statement.

“Your insurance better cover counselling too.” I look blankly into space reliving that moment. “It must be nice being on the other end of that messed up test.”

“I don’t envy you all that’s for sure. But I know what it’s like to have a friend’s life in danger and it’s your fault. You feel helpless and scared. I’m sorry.” His head dips down towards the bar and I arch an eyebrow. He was either being very genuine in his apology or he was the world’s best con artist. Yet, I pride myself in being able to read people really well and I didn’t sense anything fake in his words. For now, just like I always did, I will listen to my gut.

“Any witches in your world?” I ask. Edge lifts his head up and smiles.

“Bet your ass there is.” He says enthusiastically.

I always found witches and wizards, the entire concept of magic brilliant. My secret childhood fantasy was that I would wake up one morning and discover that I was a witch. I blame my Gaggy for that.

He gave me a few moments of silence to mull over everything I had learned today and I arrived at the only option I had. I had to sign that contract I had no other option left. My only way out slipped through my fingers like water. Where they going to kill me? I doubt they would take my word for it that I wouldn’t speak of this to anyone. I certainly wouldn’t trust anyone that much.

I tap the contract that’s in front of me and say. “Since it sounds like sign this or die, so I have one condition. Unless running is an option.” I ask hopefully.

“I can guarantee you can’t outrun me.” He gets closer.

“A good shot might buy me enough of a head start.” I say casually.

“Unless you expect me to just stand there and take it I doubt you could hit me.”

“Is that a challenge Vampire?” My eyes were wide with excitement. I liked a challenge.

“Want to take out our guns here and now and compare?” His eyes glow slightly.

“I am sure mines bigger.” He purrs and sit back up appraising me. “You’re something else.” He remarks.

“Just feeling cornered.” I might be smiling, but my eyes weren’t. “And when I am cornered I tend to get a bit defensive. I have been known to bite.” I flash him my teeth. “Anything I can do to make you change your mind, maybe convince you to go back to that asshole and tell him you managed to compel me and I said no?” He backed up a bit in alarm.

“First you hit me, threaten to kill me and now offer to fuck me.”

“I never said fuck, you just have a dirty mind.” He smiles stroking his hair. I look at it and my own fingers are itching to stroke it.

“Sorry, but no.” I nod my head weighing my options.

“Shame, I’m pretty decent.” I wink and he chuckles.

“What a glowing review.” I could do exactly as I said and take him out long enough to make a run for it, but honestly I am pretty sure with all that sniffing he did he could probably track my scent so I wouldn’t get far. Now, I could get staby and hope something hits home, but he wasn’t a bad guy honestly he was just following orders. Lastly, my biggest problem Winch I am sure the second I ran he could be used to lure me back. I showed my hand too fast and now I don’t have an out.

“Shit.” I rub my forehead. “This is what’s going to happen.” I turn giving him my full attention. “I’ll sign the contract and you will return the favor by doing me one.”

“What’s your condition?” He asks cautiously. I give him my best mischievous smile.

“Bust some myths about vampires for me.” I declare cheekily lightening the mood. “Final offer.”

“Fuuuuucccckkkkk.” Edge lets his head hit the bar and his shoulders start to tremble with laughter. “Every time.” He groans into his arms.

“You can’t blame me. The supernatural isn’t supposed to exist I want to know about it. Although my Great Great-Great-Gaggy on my Mums side was originally from New Orleans. I grew up with my Gaggy telling me these impossible stories about the supernatural that his Nanna used to tell him.” I take a giant gulp of beer remembering how he used to laugh so hard he set off his smokers cough while he told me all these stories about our ancestors.

“New Orleans? So, you’re not pure English?” Edge asks curiously.

“Well after all these years I am sure that blood is thinner now, but I am a born and bred Yorkshire lass. I grew up eating fish, chips and mushy pees.” I say letting my accent thicken. Edge chuckles and I hear his foot tapping in impatience for my impending questions. “Come on, the price is low.” I challenge.

He bites the inside of his cheek and starts clicking his tongue. He reaches into his coat and pulls out a pen and holds it in between us. “Here’s my condition. You sign it now.”

“Only if you answer some of my questions right now and no loopholes like “You’re not ready to know the truth about my kind”.” I mimic his deep voice just to further annoy him. He doesn’t hesitate when he answers.

“Done. And I don’t sound like that.” He says snottily. I take the pen and with a deep breath to swallow down all of my panic and hesitation, I sign on the dotted line.

“Aren’t you frightened to be talking about your dead ass in a very busy bar?” I slide the contract back to him. Edge examines the contract and folds it up putting it back into his coat.

“Almost everyone in this bar is drunk to the point where they’re just rambling. In fact, I just heard the guy at the back say “Oh shit, I think I’ve gone blind”.” I stare at him for a moment and burst out laughing so hard I start to let out a high-pitched squeak.

“Alright ask away.” He invites while trying to supress a chuckle.

“Not so fast.” I announce. I point to my empty glass. “Since you’re paying and all…” Edge raises his hand and points at my empty glass. I have another pint in front of me in seconds loving that the female bartender was giving us extra attention because of the man next to me.

“Anything else you fancy, Love?” She asks in a flirtatious tone.

“I am only interested in the beer.” Edge answers awkwardly. I chocked on a gulp and tried to put on my best poker face. The woman scoffed and uttered a “wanker” under her breath.

“Now ask your stupid questions so I can go home.”

“Oh the possibilities.” I jump in my seat with glee. “Sunlight?” I ask swiftly. This was the biggest controversy with vampire novels and movies. I wanted to know if it was a bunch of bullshit.

“I can walk in the sunlight, but it can hurt a bit.” He says. I look at his hoodie and that must be why he was wearing it this morning.

“By that do you mean you burst into flames if you stay out in it too long or it gives you a bad sunburn?”

“Nothing that gruesomely cinematic. Think more like a weird itch that you can’t quite scratch. Also not all of our missions happen during the night that would be a huge problem if we were flammable. Think about it.” I shrug realizing he had a point.

“So, it’s more annoying than a problem.”

“That seems about right.” Edge looks around the bar searching for something.

“What are looking for?”

“Can I smoke in here?” He asks and I nod. He pulls out a packet of cigarettes. He pulls one out with his lips and I stare at him confused.

“Well, that answered my next question about whether you can breathe.”

“Wrong I can’t. I just liked smocking while I was alive and well it can’t kill me now, can it?” I laugh at his bad attempt to lighten the mood.

“A man who can joke about his own death. I like it.”

“Want one?” He tilts the box towards me offering me one and I happily pull one out.

“I have never seen someone so happy for a smoke.” He marvels as he lights my cigarette. I take a deep drag and let out a content ahhhh.

“Try buying cigarettes in the UK. The fucking things aren’t cheap.”

“Take ‘em. Consider it a bribe.” He hands me the packet to keep and I don’t even ask him if he was sure. I take them off him before he changes his mind.

“Thank you.” I say putting them into my pocket.

“Next.” He says after taking the first puff of his own cigarette.

“Does animal blood do the same for you as humans?” I had always seen that the hero vampire in those cheesy TV shows tend to always drink animal blood when they wanted to be good boys and to avoid killing people.

“Do I look vegan to you?” He answers my question with a sarcastic one of his own.

“Fair enough. Wait doesn’t drinking human blood make you uncontrollable?”

“Does eating steak send you on a murderous rampage?” He fires back.

“Depends on how badly they overcooked my steak.” I say. “Back to my questions how about your reflection?”

“This isn’t some stupid vampire chick flick.” I smile and take another large gulp. “Think about it logically even dead things have reflections. That table and chair are considered dead aren’t they? They have a reflection.” I take a drag of my cigarette hiding my smile.

“Touchy.” I remark and he lets out a puff of annoyance.

“You try being on the other end of this conversations constantly.”

“Yeah well suck it up.” He flips me off. “Stake to the heart?”

“I feel like that would kill most things. Also, no offense, but I don’t really feel comfortable telling you how to really kill a vampire right now.”

“Considering that’s who we’re hunting from tomorrow onwards, don’t I kind of need to know?” Edge takes a deep breath thinking for a few moments. I could metaphorically hear the gears turning in his head and whatever came out of his mouth next was going to be a load of bull.

“We can be killed by being steaked in the heart, but it’s got to be from a wooden stake that was taken from consecrated ground then has been blessed by an ordained Priest and dipped in Himalayan salt.” His eyes were looking directly at me unblinking.

“So anything religious is a no-no?” I ask and he stiffly nods. “Wow.” I say looking every bit as impressed by that bullshit answer as I felt. “That was a load of bollocks.”

“What makes you say that?” Edge asks defensively.

“Because of this.” I pull out the necklace from my shirt and held it in front of his eyes. When he realized it was a cross, he smiled uncomfortably knowing he had just been caught in a lie. I held it closer to him to make sure he wasn’t smocking and of course he wasn’t in any pain. “This has been on my person for years and it was gifted to my Mum, by her religious Mother in-law who made the Priest at the church bless it with holy water and prayer.”

“It’s because – ”

“Don’t worry about it.” I kick his foot playfully. “I’ll find out how to kill you another time then.”

Edge smiles and folds his arms on the bar waiting patiently for my next question. I had many more stupid ones that I was sure I would discover with enough time with him, but all this time there was only one question I wanted to know the answer to.

“Have you ever changed anyone Edge?”

“Once.” He said with a saddened tone. “He was a good man.” He finished solemnly. The hidden meaning in his words was obvious.

“Was he not a good vampire?” I press. I needed to know what could happen to me if it ever came to that.

“No. He turned out to be a monster.” My shoulders completely slump.

“What about you, were you a good man?”

“Yeah, you would’ve have liked him.” Edge referring to his human self as if he was a completely different person made my skin crawl.

“You better not let me die out there.” I warn. I turn to him slowly.

“Don’t be stupid and I will make sure you get to your retirement.”

“Then let’s kill some vampires.”