Fun fact about vampires: they don’t produce a lot of body heat, so generally the ones living as far north as Pembroke go to ground until the next spring because sluggish and weakened vampires make a good meal for other monsters. Now imagine my… amusement when one started dropping bodies in Calais just a short drive up the road from my little shop. To their credit, they limited their targets to the weak and dying; I don’t watch the news but I’m pretty sure I’d seen papers blaming it on some new virus. Body number six hit the news and I was breaking into the hospital morgue to get my own look at the bodies.

Dr. Mortimer Finch came in as I was examining undisclosed body number seven.

“Hey Morty,” I spoke when I heard his stride quicken.

“What are you doing here, Wildes?!” I glanced up to find a frustrated haze lingering around him.

“Relax, I’m wearing gloves.” I muttered the words before turning the cadaver’s head away from me and moving the hair out of the way, “I need a second opinion.” He closed the distance, keeping a wary eye on me, “Is it just me, or does that look an awful lot like a vampire bite?” I already knew the answer based on the scent I’d picked up under the sterile and fluorescent lighting, but Mortimer still peered over my shoulder at the wound.

“You found the same on the other victims?” He sounded resigned to it now as he cast a critical eye over the other six bodies I’d dug out of storage.

“We have a new vampire in the area.” His brow furrowed at my conclusion.

“How do you know they’re new?” A somewhat wicked smile tugged at my lips.

“Because the locals all know breaking the Caeleste Lex makes them fair game, b’sides,” I paused to tap the side of my nose, “if it were one of them, I’d know the scent.” I have a good memory for scents and he knew it; Mortimer shivered at that thought.

-----

Later that day, I was covering the shop while Michael worked on a commission in the back. It was getting close to when I had to pick up the boys from preschool and I was itching for a kill—for that high. Word from my little network of information about some human asking around about my case got to me earlier today so I was stuck even if I wanted to close shop early. The itch got bad enough I was out front smoking when a VW bus pulled in up the street. I exhaled smoke when I picked up a human scent from the woman about my age who got out. I took a moment to study her curiously—she didn’t carry herself like a hunter, or even someone with combat training, and dressed in some sort of fusion of almost goth and boho hippie with long wavy brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders. I straightened up as she paused to snap a photo of the street, putting my cigarette out and ducking back inside. I’d made it around the counter before the bell rang over the door and I paused to close my journal.

“Hello?” I leaned on the counter to watch her approach.

“Good afternoon, welcome to Dogwood Apothecary. Can I help you with something?” She began to wander the shelves, running her fingers along the fronts of jars as she passed, pausing every now and then to examine the ones that piqued her interest.

“So,” when she finally spoke she glanced up at me briefly before averting her gaze again, “Did you know there’s been a string of unexplained deaths at the hospital up the road?” As a matter of fact, I did know about them, and I knew what was causing them, it was my case after all.

“It’s been all over the news, they say it’s an epidemic,” I lied. I lost track of her behind a shelf.

“Did you know vampires are actually just like us?” I’m sure by ‘us’ she meant humans, but I could pretty much guarantee that they weren’t ‘just like’ either of us.

“‘That so…” It wasn’t really a question but still she nodded enthusiastically.

“They are, really the only difference is that they can’t die.” The muscles in my jaw tightened as I let out a quiet groan.

“And, you know, the fact they eat humans,” I pointed out, unable to keep the sarcasm from my words. She glared at me over the counter, though it honestly wasn’t very threatening with how much shorter than me she was even with the three inch heels.

“They’re just like us and they deserve to be loved just as much as either of us.” That comment brought up a whole new argument from me, but I wasn’t going to share that with a stranger. “And the best way to keep ghosts away is a salt line…” she continued talking but for the most part all of my responses were non-committal and quiet. “Are you alright?” I blinked, shaking off the thoughts of rain and Scotch, and wood planks beneath my back.

“Yeah, fine.” She shrugged and continued her wandering.

“Do you think it could be a vampire killing those people in the Calais hospital?” I stared at her for a long time before I finally replied.

“Who are you?” She bumped into one of the shelves in her surprise at the question and I winced as a few of the jars crashed to the ground on the other side, sending broken glass and dried herbs everywhere.

“I am so sorry,” I exhaled through my teeth and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

“It’s fine, just,” I spoke through my teeth as I looked up again, “don’t touch, anything else.” She frowned, stepping away from the shelf in disappointment, “So, who are you?” She blinked.

“What? Oh!” She smiled, approaching the counter, “I’m Echo,” I raised an eyebrow at her outstretched hand, “just Echo. And you are?” I shook her hand rather apprehensively.

“Reyna Wildes,” I was quiet, crossing my arms across my chest and leaning back against the shelves behind me. “So what’re you doing here?” She looked slightly wounded by my short tone, dropping one hand to rest it against a patchwork messenger bag slung over her shoulder, as if it gave her some sort of comfort to know it hadn't moved.

“I’m a writer,” again, I raised an eyebrow, “Well, I mean I write this podcast, The Echo Phenomenon, maybe you’ve heard of it?” I didn’t answer, and after a moment, she looked slightly deflated, “Oh, well, it’s about everything from the simply abnormal to straight up supernatural and I heard about the deaths in the hospital and thought it’s got to be something weird going on.” I studied her for a moment.

“So you thought you’d benefit from the deaths of about seven people?” I deliberately loaded the question and she faltered slightly, as if confused, “Look, it’s a virus going around,” I had to suppress a dry laugh at the vampire-virus joke she probably wouldn’t get, “people in the area have gotten it too, the hospital is simply a largely concentrated cesspool of infection when they don’t know how it’s spreading. Go home.” It took everything I had not to growl those last words; the last thing I needed hanging around was a supernaturally obsessed human podcaster.

“But—” she started to protest but I got up off the shelf and moved around the counter to open the door for her.

“I’ve got to close up, I have kids to pick up.” I ushered her out the door and locked it behind her, flipping the sign around just as Michael started to come back from the back room.

“Reyna?” I shoved past him into the back room.

“Don’t ask.” The back door slammed behind me as I climbed into my Jeep.

-----

I’d tracked the vampire angel of mercy to an old house in Calais not too far from the hospital where they probably worked. As much as I hate to admit it, she managed to jump me.

On any other day when I’m armed for vampire, I can take out an entire nest and leave with little more than a few scratches.

Today though... well, let’s just say I’ve been a bit half cocked for a while now, and it was starting to really affect my work.

She slammed hard into me, knocking me back against the wall and ducking away again before I could swing the kukri at her neck. I swore as she snickered from the dark.

“You must be suicidal, walking into my home with only that little knife.” A smirk tugged at my lips in the dark, contrary to the overwhelming mess of colors from the scents of death and blood and vampire.

“Maybe just a little,” I took a deep breath, focusing on narrowing my senses the way Alix had taught me when things got too messy with the dark and the synesthesia. My vision went shades of silver with only a splash of color where her soul was as she rushed me. I caught her with a speed that matched hers and she let out a yelp of surprise muffled by my hand clamped against her mouth.

“Maybe you’re the suicidal one, setting up shop so close to a hunter’s home, and here in the East of all places.” I spoke softly and her expression faltered slightly as I raised the kukri again in my free hand.

The moment I moved to cleave her head from her body, there was a flash of light across my vision that temporarily blinded both of us.

Once I’d blinked the light from my eyes and the color back into my vision, the vampire was gone, but I did catch the scent of a vaguely familiar human.

I swore under my breath.

A moment later, I was tearing the tarp from the back of my Jeep and dragging a couple of gallon cans of gasoline out of it.

I flicked my lighter to life, lit the dark damp line on the ground and the cigarette pressed between my lips and walked away.

-----

Michael met me at the door, took one look at my expression, and got out of my way. I pushed past him and dumped my duffle on the floor next to the sofa before continuing to the front window. I’d seen the same VW bus Echo had climbed out of on the way out when I’d gone to get the pups and it was pulling in again now.

“Did anything happen while I was gone?” Michael looked up in confusion from his book.

“Some customers dropped by, had a few commission requests; just the usual,” he lowered the book slightly, “Why do you ask?” I was quiet for a moment as a source of the brilliant white flash came to mind.

“Did all of them buy something?” My follow up only made him look and smell more confused.

“Not all of them…” He spoke slowly and I turned back to him, “We had this girl come in that seemed to have to touch everything, but she didn’t buy anything. I figured maybe she just couldn’t find what she needed.” I shook my head slightly.

“When did she come in?” He shrugged.

“I don’t know, just a little before you got back with the boys.” I made a sound half growl and half groan as I closed my eyes, kneading my forehead with my knuckle in an attempt to stave off the incoming headache. “Why do you ask?” I didn’t answer, I just grabbed my .45 and tucked it into the shoulder holster under my jacket before slipping through the door into the shop.

The front door slammed behind me as I crossed the street with a long stride.

I banged on the back door of the bus and waited, listening with my jaw clenched as the sound of a panicked scrambling came from inside.

The door finally opened and a look of uncertainty flashed across Echo's face before she beamed at me.

“Mrs. Wildes, I’m glad you stopped by,” she began, but a sharp look from me and her voice petered out.

“First off, I’m not married.” She looked slightly surprised, though if she knew me at all, she probably wouldn’t have.

“But your kids…”

“Are adopted—that’s not why I’m here.” I took a deep breath before diving in. “You’re a podcaster, but you can’t have that many serious listeners if you present no proof, so...” Echo glanced unconsciously towards her patchwork messenger bag and I knew where to look, “I need your camera.” I finished as I snatched the bag from under a table littered with notes.

It only took me a second to pull out the camera and set the bag back inside as I flipped through the recent photos.

Beautiful pictures of scenery; hills and forests and mountains.

The town, even the store front of my little shop, Dogwood Apothecary painted onto the window above a Dogwood tree in full bloom.

The old house in Calais.

I slowed down.

There.

Taken from some dark corner of the room was a photo of my wrestle with the vampire.

I breathed a sigh of relief; by some stroke of luck, the image was a little blurry and no one was very recognisable.

“This,” I turned it to her, “how did you get this picture?” My voice was low when I asked, an unspoken warning in the even tone that had always put even strangers on edge in the past.

“That’s none of your business.” I raised an eyebrow at her before a wicked smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth, revealing the sharp tips of two of my canines.

“Really? Because I’m pretty sure that’s me in the picture.” Echo’s pale green eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms a moment before she made a lunge for it, trying to snatch it from my hands.

I almost felt bad for her with how much faster I could move.

The second she moved, I slipped the pistol from my holster and flicked the safety off with my thumb, stopping her short.

“As a matter of fact, it is my business, especially because photographs like this are what makes my job such a gigantic pain in the ass from time to time.” Echo frowned in confusion, hooking her thumbs in the belt loops of her black skirt.

“You’re job... at the Apothecary?” I exhaled slowly, realizing what I’d just let slip.

“Fuck.” I had gotten used to not having to deal with humans that lacked a knowledge of the supernatural or the Council that kept them secret—of the world I lived in, and now it’d come back to bite me. Echo stared at me, as if on the verge of figuring it out, so before she could think too much on it, I gave her something else to focus on.

I quickly checked the camera for backups and pulled the memory chip out.

It snapped so easily in my fingers…

I handed her back the camera.

“You should stick with the landscape shots,” it was meant as honest advice, but her scent told me she didn’t take it that way. I turned and walked away without waiting for a reply. The door into the back closed with a near inaudible click and I let out a quiet breath as I leaned back against it. “I wonder if this is how Jesse feels about paparazzi,” I spoke more to myself than anyone else, shaking my head after a minute as I dismissed the idea, “Nah, she seems to rather enjoy the attention.”

“Reyna,” Michael spoke slowly, “That seemed like a rather harsh measure.” I looked over at him with a bored expression—he stood by the window so he probably saw my conversation with the human.

“Because of her, that thing is still loose out there,” I flashed a bitter smile, “and now, I can’t just use the patterns to find it again.” I growled in my frustration, “All that work tracking it, completely useless.” I punched the wall beside the door hard enough to dent the drywall and swore again.

The door to the shop slammed.

The bell rang quietly to no one as a human heartbeat left the building.

The engine of a VW Bus turned over and came to life outside.

The sound began to fade into the distance and I swore again.

The back door slammed.

My duffel landed with a thud in the back of my Jeep and I slid the kukri into a hidden space between my seat and the center console as I coaxed the engine to life and sped out of the alley, scaring some pedestrians half to death when I nearly ran them over.

-----

I trailed Echo’s bus a few cars back until finally, she pulled into the parking lot of an old warehouse, parking her bus under the only working light in the lot. I rolled to a stop just past the turn into the driveway, turning my headlights off as I waited, watching. Echo’s bus quieted as she climbed out of the driver’s seat, slinging her bag back over her shoulder as she turned to gaze up at the warehouse, her hands worrying the hem of her shirt as she stared up at the building.

Then she set her jaw, straightened her back, and started to make her way to the door of the warehouse.

The one light flickered slightly, and she looked up.

The light flickered again.

A heart beat.

And the light went out and I lost Echo in the dark for a moment.

I waited, my eyes adjusting quickly.

I found her, if only for a second.

She was gone with a shriek muffled by distance, and the metal door slammed shut again behind her.

I was still trying to decide whether she was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

Maybe even both.

I breathed a heavy sigh before pulling my Jeep into the parking lot in the shadows around the building, turning off the engine and climbing out. I strapped my kukri’s sheath securely to my thigh before reaching into the back for a leather bracer I normally wore under the sleeve of my coat when I hunted vampires. As the leather unrolled I checked each aspen stake with a careful eye before strapping it to my forearm.

The thing about vampires is that there are typically two versions of the same legend, unless we’re talking about certain specific species within the group like the Leanan Sidhe. Both versions go back to what’s widely accepted as the story of the first vampire: Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler, whose head was removed and then sent to be displayed on the end of a stake—an aspen wood stake, according to some of the older texts.

Most hunters only subscribe to one of the methods.

I say better safe than sorry.

I locked my Jeep and turned back to the building. The door was unlocked when I tried it, and try as I might to avoid it, it still creaked as it opened into the pitch black inside. I paused for a moment as my eyes adjusted to the dark, letting the emptiness slowly take the shapes of shelving and machinery and everything else the company had just left behind because it was more cost effective than cleaning it out.

There was a crash down the hall, followed shortly by a pained cry, and I turned to follow the sound, trailing my fingertips along the wall as I walked. I found Echo trying to fight off the vampire in a dimly lit room further down the hall; she was putting up quite the fight, for a human. I leaned back against the wall beside the door to watch for a while: now I was curious.

The vampire managed to get a crushing grip on her throat and I breathed a heavy sigh.

“I suppose I should actually get involved…” I muttered the words and took a deep breath, “Hey,” the two of them froze, their eyes snapping to me in an instant, “you need some help with that?” The vampire turned on me with a hiss, letting go of Echo. I didn’t move, just watched with a mix of boredom and apathy as the vampire stalked closer and Echo dropped to her knees gasping for air.

“I’ve got this!” She shouted back and I started to laugh, crossing my arms across my chest.

“You again,” the vampire spat the words at me, fury in her voice, but I continued to ignore her, “I’ll skin you alive for what you did to my nest!” I raised an eyebrow as Echo struggled to her feet.

“Oh no,” I spoke somewhat sarcastically to the vampire, “she’s ‘got this’, skinning me can wait,” I waved one hand in a noncommittal gesture, “by all means, continue. I’ll just wait here.” The vampire stopped in her confusion, looking from me to Echo and back again until Echo, much to our mutual surprise, actually tackled her back to the ground.

It didn’t really matter though.

Almost an hour later, I started checking my watch as the boredom began to really set in. There was another thud and I glanced up in time to see the vampire had finally managed to get a hold on Echo’s throat again, her sharp fingernails starting to draw tiny trickles of blood that painted my vision with an iron haze and a thick copper taste in the back of my throat.

I could see what came next before it could happen, my body slipping into motion without my having to tell it as I slammed hard into her side, sending her crashing to the ground as she was jerked free of Echo.

There was legitimate fear in her eyes as I approached the vampire in a leisurely manner.

“Did you really not know who’s territory you were hunting in?” I stepped over her and crouched down so that we were face to face.

“What’re you on about?” The vampire’s voice was shaky as she answered and a surprised laugh escaped my lips.

“You’ve never heard about the Soul Collector out here, the Bloody Red Queen of the East?” She scoffed.

“That’s a myth, like Azrael or the bogeyman, what of it?” A wicked smile tugged at my lips and I raised an eyebrow briefly before my eyes turned red gold and my canines bit into my lip.

“Tell me something, Vampire,” I lifted her partially from the ground, my fist knotted into the front of her shirt as I bit off the last word like an insult, “how many of your kind, of any of you, have you heard about coming here? Not many, right?” She nodded slightly as it began to dawn on her, “And how many of them come back?”

“I never thought—” Her voice shook and I suddenly turned serious, my gaze narrowed.

“You’re right, you never thought.” I drove one of the aspen stakes into her heart with practised ease, a single dying breath escaping her lips before I closed my eyes. When I opened them again they had slid back to their normal emerald green. I climbed slowly to my feet, drawing the kukri from its sheath and lifting it for the final blow.

“No!” I froze, taken entirely by surprise at Echo’s sudden exclamation. I twisted slightly to look back over my shoulder at her, still not lowering the kukri, “she was still a human being.” My gaze narrowed slightly.

“She stopped being human when she started eating them. Whatever was left of the life she had is long gone now.” I looked back down at the body in my grip and swung down, severing the head from her shoulders in one clean movement.

Blood splattered my face, but I barely noticed.

“I said I had it.” From the look on Echo’s face and the slight tremor in her voice as she stared at the body as I rose to my feet again, I could guess she’d never seen one before; or at the very least, never one like this. I shrugged.

“I bore easily and you weren’t moving fast enough.” She tore her gaze from the blood but it returned again in an instant, her face turning an unhealthy grey.

“I had it all under control. I didn’t need your help.”

I almost felt bad for her.

Of course that didn’t keep the bitterness from my voice when I replied.

“Of course, you were about to quite literally have your throat torn out and your body drained of blood, but you had it all under control.” She shot me a glare and I shook my head, “Look, kid, I don’t know what you were thinking that you decided to come here by yourself, but if you learn nothing else from this do me a favour and remember this: Vampires can die, so long as you cut off the head or put a wood stake through its heart, Vampires are not human, not anymore, and most of them will eat you sooner than sit down and have a conversation, and last,” I grabbed her by the upper arms, forcing her wandering gaze to meet mine, “walk—” I stopped, “no, run the hell away from this world while you still have a chance.” She seemed too stunned to reply, so I let go of her and turned away.

I left her there in the dark with a body that would turn to ash at first light.

-----

I honestly thought it’d be over.

I thought maybe she’d be smart enough to listen when I told her to run away as fast as she could.

I guess I was wrong though.

Loki and Zevi chased each other back and forth around my feet playing our version of cops & robbers: Soul Collectors & Reapers.

Michael was yelling at someone on the phone upstairs loud enough that I could make out his side of the conversation with relative ease.

The rotary phone on the wall was ringing off the hook.

All while Echo paced in endless circles in front of the counter, rambling on and on, about what I’d lost track half an hour ago, only occasionally picking up a lot of excited “I knew it!”

I leaned heavily on the counter.

I wanted to swear at her, but I didn’t want to do it in front of the pups.

“Oh my God, finally real proof, like legit proof that this is real!” My gaze narrowed slightly.

“You can’t share this.” Echo froze, her expression slowly deflating as she turned to look at me dead on.

“But,” her pale green eyes were filled with a mix of frustration and confusion, “you hunt these things, right? The dangerous ones at least.” I nodded slightly in slow confirmation. “Don’t you want some credit—a thank you every now and then?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You didn’t thank me.” I pointed out and she frowned.

“I had it handled.” I scoffed. “Wouldn’t it at least be easier if there were more of you doing it?” And that actually earned a dry laugh from me.

“No,” I spoke simply, “I’d have more messes to clean up.” Echo’s look slowly changed, her face turning stiff as she glared at me.

“I finally have proof, solid, undeniable evidence that monsters are real—the supernatural is real, it’s all real; I finally have proof that I’m not crazy, and you’re saying I can’t share it?” I really didn’t understand why she was having such a hard time with this, “They all think I’m crazy, do you know what that’s like?” I set my jaw, resisting the urge to snap a reply, “My own family thinks I’m crazy and I finally have the chance to prove that it’s not just in my head!” She fell silent for a moment, but still I said nothing, waiting for the rest of it, “You know, I think I know why you won’t let me write about it: you’re a fracking, selfish bitch.” I didn’t mean to react, I swear, but suddenly my canines had sliced into my lip again and my eyes flickered into red gold with pupils constricted to narrow slits.

“I’m not asking you to not talk about it for my benefit, I’m asking for my kids, and everyone else,” I paused as I thought about it, “actually, I’m not asking at all, I’m telling you.” She grit her teeth and started to reply but I didn’t give her the chance. “You still don’t get it? How about this,” I cocked my head to one side, a malicious grin plastered to my face, “go ahead and talk about it, but if any of it goes online,” I grinned wider, “I’ll destroy everything important to you.” Because that’s what’ll happen to us, I left the words unspoken because I thought she’d understand without explanation.

And she really did seem to at the time.

I didn’t find out what she did until I got back from dropping Loki and Zevi off at school.

There were cars lining both sides of the street as I turned onto it, some of them with back windows plastered with stickers for Bigfoot, Area 51, and quite a few had one with “Don’t be blind, Broaden your mind” paired with an image of Echo’s seafoam green VW bus and the words “The Echo Phenomenon” in bold, 70s style letters.

My grip on the steering wheel tightened as I pulled hurriedly into my space in the alley, and I was halfway out of the driver’s seat by the time I turned the engine off.

I started to bolt through the back door, but I was in such a rush I’d nearly forgotten to lock my Jeep.

I jerked the door open again so hard that I almost stopped to make sure the hinges were okay before I locked it.

The back door slammed behind me and seventy something sets of eyes, including those of Michael, Jesse, and Echo, all landed on me.

God, I hate crowds.

A beat later and the people started chattering away again and asking Echo for autographs while Michael and Jesse tried in vain to usher them back into the actual shop.

They hadn’t just invaded my shop, they'd invaded my home.

A trio of strangers sporting homemade t-shirts for The Echo Phenomenon approached me, if hesitantly, with something between admiration and awe in their eyes.

“Are you Reyna Wildes?” I guess they took my silent glare as confirmation, because they kept talking, “Thank you for your service.” A part of me would’ve been happy for the thanks, “if it’s not too much to ask, could we get your autograph?” But I’ve never thought of myself as a hero, and I was in a bad mood that seemed to just keep getting worse.

“Fuck off.”

My heart started pounding in my head.

A beat.

I shoved my way through the crowd to the lockers under the stairs, ignoring what was beginning to sound like a million voices all trying to be heard over each other.

A beat.

I fumbled with the lock, swore, tried again, and finally pulled it free leaving it crushed on the floor.

A beat.

I pulled a gallon can of gasoline from inside.

A beat.

I slammed it shut.

A beat.

I shoved my way through to the front door.

A beat.

The door slammed hard enough to rattle the glass panes.

A beat.

My stride carried me across the street in a few seconds.

A beat.

I tried the back door of Echo’s VW bus, and to my brief surprise, it was unlocked.

A beat.

I jerked the door open hard enough I was pretty sure I’d damaged the hinges; this time, I didn’t care.

A beat.

I emptied the can, dousing the inside with gasoline.

A beat.

I pulled a pack of cigarettes from my pocket, pressing one between my lips.

A beat…

Magic snapped to life on my fingertips and I lit it.

A beat…

I inhaled, relishing the temporary sense of peace that finally started to set in.

A beat…

I flicked the little flame into the back of the little bus, stepping back as the fire roared to life, destroying everything inside.

It took a few minutes for the strangers inside to start to notice the blazing fire outside; a few minutes of much needed silence alone. The strangers began coming out onto the street at a small trickle at first, but the more that came, the larger the groups became.

“Reyna Wildes!” I tilted my head slightly towards Echo, watching her with one eye as I stared after the smoke that escaped my lips to join the pillar that rose from the blazing fire before me, “What have you done to Emerson?!” She stared in disbelief at the flaming bus. I exhaled slowly, pinching my cigarette between long fingers and tapping it lightly; the ash seemed to me to fall from the end in slow motion.

“Exactly what I said I’d do.” She stared at me in disbelief, “I told you to run from here, and you didn’t listen,” I took one last drag on my cigarette before dropping it, putting it out under the toe of my converse. “I told you that you couldn’t talk about this,” I stalked towards her, “I told you why you couldn’t,” I grabbed her by the front of her shirt, forcing her to meet my gaze, “and I told you what would happen if you didn’t listen.” Echo looked away, tears welling in her eyes as her gaze was drawn like a moth back to the flames.

“I had to—I—” She stopped, swallowed, and began again, looking back at me as the tears began to track down her cheeks. “They thought I was crazy, I had to prove I wasn’t,” she shook her head slightly, “You wouldn’t understand.” I laughed aloud at that, forcing her back as I let her go.

“I wouldn’t understand?” I laughed again, “You’ve seen my eyes, you’ve seen them change, you have to have figured out I’m not human, like you.” Echo shrank away from me, but I wasn’t finished now she’d set me off, “You wanna talk crazy? I could turn feral any second and massacre everyone around me. You wanna talk about how the world’s turned its back on you because of it?” I laughed harshly, my teeth bared as my eyes flickered red gold, “All you have to do is keep your goddamned mouth shut and they’ll accept you.” I’d started out shouting at her, but now, my voice grew quiet, soft even, as if I was just realizing myself how much this was killing me, “but me? It’s in my genes, I can’t escape it like you can,” I forced a small, tired smile, “so I push my loved ones away, I distance myself,” I stepped back slightly as I felt myself begin to slip into oblivion, “and the more I care about them, the harder I push.” My thoughts had turned back to the rain and the Scotch, the cigarettes and the wood floor boards beneath my back.

To the oblivion and the blood.

I took a deep breath.

Echo glared at me, her pale eyes filled with anger and grief.

“Stop patronizing me!” She snapped at me and I closed my eyes, exhaling through grit teeth as I pressed my knuckles against my forehead, “Just because you’re too old to understand doesn’t mean you can talk down to me like I’m some child!” I don’t remember ever talking down to a child, I’ve always had a soft spot for children, but I didn’t see how that could help me at all.

“I’ll stop treating you like one when you stop acting like one,” my voice was a snarl.

Echo turned with an unintelligible exclamation and started to storm away, but once again I found myself reacting without thought. I grabbed her by the upper arm and she started shouting again, trying desperately to break my grip as I dragged her around the burning bus.

“Get your hands off of me!” She clawed at my fingers and finally managed to pull away, but it only took me a second to catch her again. This time, rather than continue to fight with her, I threw her over my shoulder, wincing when her shouts turned into screams so close to my ears and lancing across my vision. I finally set her down on the other side of the bus, backing her up to the wall.

“Would you shut the hell up for five seconds?” She snapped her mouth shut as I growled the words and I breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank God.” I muttered the words before looking up again, “Alright, you obviously aren’t going to turn your back on this like I told you to, but—”

There’s just so much Goddamned weight on my shoulders…

I took a deep breath.

...All I’m trying to do is live my mother fucking life…

Echo stared at me in confusion as I stepped back.

...Supposed to be happy, but I’m only getting colder…

I fished my cell phone from my pocket and checked the ID.

...Wear a smile on my face, but there’s a demon inside…

I breathed an exasperated sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

...There’s just so much Goddamned—

I answered, covering the mouthpiece with my hand for a moment as I looked back at Echo.

“Go inside, use the shop computer and take down the post. Send those people home, and then find Jesse, she’ll explain why you can’t just post these things without thinking of how it affects everyone involved.” She wore a look of furious disbelief as I started to return to the phone.

“‘How it affects everyone involved’? It put your shop on the map, it—”

“No,” I cut her off, “I’m sorry, could you give me a moment?” I spoke quickly into the phone before shooting Echo a sharp glare, “It didn’t put my shop on the map, it caused a bunch of complete strangers to invade my home—” I broke off as the man on the phone said something I didn’t quite catch about my pups, “Wait, what?” Echo started to make some retort but I held up a finger to signal her to wait with a sharp look before turning partially away from her.

“This is Miss Reyna Wildes, correct?”

“Yes?” I swallowed a rising sense of dread.

“Your two sons, uhh,” he paused, and I could hear the rustling of papers, “Ah, how interesting, Loki and Zevi Wildes?” I hesitated a moment, not sure I wanted to hear why he was calling.

“Yes,” my voice was low, quiet with worry.

“Well Miss Wildes, this is the Director at Willow Creek Academy and, well all I can really say over the phone is that your boys were involved in a fight on the playground today and... it—it’s best you just come talk to me, this is a little difficult to believe.” My sense of dread returned and I swallowed again.

It didn’t help.

“Yes sir, I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone and swore loudly, punching the brick wall beside me hard enough to tear open my skin and crack the brick. “I have to go.” Echo’s gaze narrowed.

“You can’t just—”

“I can and I will!” I rounded on her, cutting her off, “Go back to the shop, Echo.” My voice was a warning, and I walked away before she could respond.

-----

When I finally finished talking to the school, I had a pretty good idea of what had happened. One of the larger boys, who the boys admitted had been verbally bullying them since they'd started there, got frustrated because Loki and Zevi would always either ignore him or, occasionally, Loki would make some smart remark right back. So he and a few others ambushed Zevi on the playground, though thankfully he wasn’t hurt beyond a few scrapes and some bruising from when they’d pushed him down. Loki, gods bless him and have mercy on whoever messes with his brother, ran to tell them off despite their size, though judging from the black and blue bruise that had quickly formed across his cheek, it hadn’t gone well. So he’d retaliated in kind, sending two of the boys to the hospital and the third home to his parents.

I was quite proud of them, actually.

And I thanked God that neither of them had changed.

Mrs. Marsh—the woman meant to be ‘supervising’ their recess—had apparently not seen any of this, but the school operated on a zero tolerance policy when it came to physical violence, and so there we were: sitting on the curb out front of an ice cream shop with heaping cones…

Of course, my swearing at the Director for not getting both sides probably hadn’t helped.

“So,” I paused to lick some of the ice cream from the side of my cone, “why did the bully suddenly escalate to violence?” I took another bite, “I thought they normally stuck with one method.” Loki shrugged, his mouth covered in chocolate ice cream.

“He said now he had proof we were a family of freaks,” I stared at Zevi as he paused to wipe caramel from his mouth and lick his fingers clean for what I was pretty sure was the twelfth time he’d done it since we’d sat down, “‘cause of something called…” He trailed off, his nose wrinkling as he tried to remember. “The Echo something?” I felt my jaw tighten and I let out a frustrated growl.

“Do you know what he’s talking about, mum?” Loki spoke around his last mouthful of cone and I nodded slightly.

“Sadly.” I swallowed, “remember the woman that was in the shop this morning?” Both pups nodded, “She fancies herself a... supernatural investigator of sorts, is the best way I can think to explain it, The Echo Phenomenon is her podcast. She wrote about my last case and included at least one photo of the shop,” I paused briefly, “probably even used my name, now that I think about it.” Zevi’s milky blue eyes widened slightly and Loki swallowed his mouthful, almost immediately pressing his small fist to his forehead as the brain freeze kicked in. I climbed to my feet, popping the last of my cone into my mouth as I did so.

“Are you going to talk to her?” Loki was quiet.

“Yep,” I was trying to avoid the subject with them.

“What’re you going to say?”

“Go wash up, boys.” Loki looked a bit disappointed at the lack of answer, but still they scrambled to finish up and hurried ahead to the restroom.

-----

Most of the cars were gone when we got back, and Echo’s bus had been put out, but everything inside was black and charred. I pulled the Jeep into my space in the alley and got Loki and Zevi out of their car seats before letting them inside.

“What happened?” Michael looked up as I closed the door behind us and Jesse crouched down to fuss over the pups while she examined their already fading bruises.

“Where is she?” Both of them pointed towards the door into the shop. I paused beside Jesse as I crossed the room, placing a hand on her shoulder so that I could speak without the pups hearing. “Would you make sure they don’t go into the shop? Keep them entertained?” Jesse tipped her head slightly to one side.

“Reyna…” She spoke slowly and I forced a smile.

“I’m not going to kill her.” She raised an eyebrow and my smile slipped, “Please, Jesse, just keep an eye on them for me.” Finally she sighed, wearing a bitter sweet smile that somehow still managed to be gorgeous.

“Always, Reyna,” I matched it briefly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze in thanks before I approached the door.

I paused, struggling to contain my hurricane of emotions; yes, a lot of what I was going through at this particular moment was at least in part because of Echo, but I didn’t need to take out twenty-three years of mostly hell on her simply because she was the most recent thing to screw me over.

I took a deep breath, sliding into a slightly more bitter version of the same mask I'd worn when hunting.

I found Echo pacing in front of the counter again when I finally opened the door.

She stopped when I closed it again behind me, her pale green eyes filled with guilt as she met my gaze for the briefest moment.

“Hi,” her voice cracked slightly when she finally fractured the silence.

“Hi.” My tone was low and clipped as I leaned back against the door, crossing my arms across my chest.

“I—I’m really sorry about the post,” she started slowly, but the more she spoke the more her words seemed to run into one another, “I didn’t— I didn’t think it would go that far, or…” She trailed off when I simply continued to study her with a bored expression. “Jesse explained why you were so mad,” I raised an eyebrow at her and her voice faltered, “are—why you are so mad.” She fell silent again, worrying the hem of her shirt while the other clung protectively to her messenger bag. We stayed like that until the weight of the silence grew to be too much and Echo began to squirm, making it clear that I was going to have to say something eventually.

I exhaled slowly and Echo’s gaze snapped to me before flicking away again.

“You heard the phone call I got earlier was from the director of the preschool my kids go—” I stopped, correcting myself, “went to?” She looked about to reply, but seemed to think better of it, choosing instead to simply nod slightly. “Well,” I held her gaze, “he was calling to tell me that my two year old boys had gotten into their first real fight.” I couldn’t help the brief, bitterly sarcastic smile.

“Wh—What happened?” She spoke with more than a little hesitation.

“Zevi is blind.” She winced, “And small for his age. He was jumped by three of the larger boys. They shoved him down and Loki, being how he is, tried to stand up to them, by handling it diplomatically. They punched him.” Her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh my god.” I ignored her quiet exclamation.

“Long story short, Loki sent two of the boys to the hospital and the third to his parents with severe bruising.” She stared at me in confusion, “They’re not human, Echo. None of us here,” I gestured to the shop, “are human. You putting that thing online, it risks all of us.” Echo looked horrified.

“I—I didn’t think that—”

“No Echo, you didn’t think. You didn’t listen. That’s it. End of story. And now? My kids have it on their permanent records that they’re dangerous; they’ve been blacklisted, no school in the country will take them. Mention Jesse and her career is over no matter how good she is. Michael was in hiding. I said that I’m always cleaning up after other hunters? When hunters screw up, people die. This job isn’t like the books, it isn’t something you do as a hobby; this job is our lives. You invaded my life with that post.” I paused, letting that sink in, “And that’s not even including the hundreds of people out there that want me dead,” Okay, so hundred might’ve been a bit of an understatement when I think about it. Echo gulped.

“Reyna,” she spoke softly, “I had no idea. I’ll take it down, I swear, I was just waiting for you to come back and…” She trailed off as I shook my head, my laugh harsh.

“You still don’t get it?” Another harsh laugh, “You think taking it down now will fix it?” I shook my head, “Go, just leave.” She started to protest, but I didn’t give her the chance, “It was too late the second you hit ‘update’. What comes next? That blood is on your hands.”