Snow peppered the path I trudged, hastily filling in the footsteps that came before my own. My breath visibly left me to mingle with a thick plume of smoke that seemed to appear from nowhere. Confused, I stopped and sent out a thought. What's goin' on?

Just a little resistance, is all. A familiar voice replied in my head. Nothing major.

Uh-huh. I thought flatly. Remind me again why I'm here?

Because you're the strongest of our strike team.

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to the lieutenant to answer a rhetorical question. Then why am I bringin' up the rear?

Because you're too close to this mission. He mentally sighed.

Too close to her, ya mean.

Damnit, soldier-- he stopped mid-thought, then sent out a mental order. Get here now! We need backup.

Oh, do ya now? I thought back smartly. I thought I was too close to the mission.

Fuck him for makin' me hang back. Let him and the rest of the team handle this mess. Shit, might do the bastard's ego some good if he got his ass kicked by a couple of vamps.

So long as she got out safe.

She's not here. He mentally snapped.

My entire body went stiff. The fuck you just say?

No. No she was there, she had to be. She was supposed to arrive by ferry to the vampire Simone's compound three months ago. That's what the harbor master said when we'd interrogated him.

Could the intel have been wrong?

My feet were moving before I realized it. What about Simone? She could have her squirreled away somewhere in the compound.

Yeah, that must've been it. Damn leech was probably hidin' her from us.

We can't find her.

I almost stumbled. You can't find her? Where the fuck could she be?

My heart was pounding, blood roared through my ears. The monster inside me fought for control, begged to be released. And it almost won, but I took in a couple of calming breathes. God forbid I let go and she sees the real me.

A crunch in the snow snapped me back to reality, and my eyes focused on a form in the trees. It was teeny, feminine, but I couldn't bring myself to call it a girl. It's eyes were too big, too bright, it's skin unearthly luminous in the dark of night. And it's mouth, so small and delicate looking, opened up to reveal long, glistening fangs.

Vampire.

The thing jumped me in a heart beat.

"Die, foul demon!" It snarled, rearing its head back.

Before it could strike, I throat punched it and flung it to the ground. "The only foul thing here is your breath, blood sucker."

I straddled the monster, pulling a syringe out of my vest pocket and holding it up for her to see. "See this here? This is silver nitrate--enough to take out ten of you leeches."

She didn't seem to get what I was saying, so I yanked the protective cap off with my teeth and held the needle inches above her eye. "Answer my questions, ya live. Don't answer them...well, you really don't wanna know what'll happen."

It growled beneath me, but made no effort to protest.

"Where's your lady? Where's Simone?"

"Not here."

"No shit, Sherlock." I replied impatiently. "Where she at?"

"Out fucking your mother." It laughed hysterically, then spat in my face.

I cursed, wiping off the spot with my free hand. "You nasty mother--you think I'm playin'?"

Hastily, I dug my knees into it's arms to keep it pinned, then I forced one of its eyes open. Pressing on the plunger just a little, I forced a drop of silver to the needle head, and watched as it fell into the vampire's eye.

The sound it made was like a puma in a garbage disposal. It screamed, roared, whimpered. And when it finally settled to a low whine, I hissed, "let's try that again. Where's Simone?"

"Gone to the island." The monster panted, sweat beading on her forehead. "To warn the queen of your pursuit."

My heart did a somersault.

"The queen?" I repeated. "I thought the queen was supposed to show up here back in September."

Something must've happened to keep her there. They must've locked her up or used some kind of vampire mind trick on her, or something.

No way she'd be willing to stay with those freaks, not if she knew what they really were.

"She was, but she was attacked by one of Gildoroy's followers." The monster offered. "That's all I know."

"Son of a bitch," I sighed, suddenly dog tired. "You sure that's all you know?"

It nodded frantically. "That's it, I swear!"

"Alright, thanks for the info." Instead of getting up, I drove the needle deep into the monster's chest, and pressed the plunger all the way down.

"You said I could...live." It's voice was cracking, fading as death took hold of it.

I shrugged, standing to my full height. "I lied."

Just then the lieutenant came through the trees, taking in the scene in front of him.

"Damn, soldier, that's cold."

"Nah, that's justified." I stopped to give the vampire a hard kick. Yup, it was dead. "Got some new intel about the queen."

It was weird, referring to her so indifferently. But I had to be indifferent, or at least pretend to be. It was the only way I was gonna be able to get to see her again.

Lord willing.

"I heard," he nodded, pulling a cigarette from behind his ear. He lit it and took a long drag off it before speaking. "So, she's still on Lachlan Island, huh?"

"Yup."

"Guess we better get to packing our bags."

I eyed him skeptically. "We?"

Was he really gonna let me go, too?

"Damn straight. That island's slap full of vampires," he paused to take another puff. "We're going to need as many boots on the ground as possible if we plan on tearing her away from them."

"You think they'll put up a fight?"

He chuckled without humor. "They're vamps. It's what they do."

After that, he flicked his cigarette butt onto the dead vampire at my feet, and turned to walk away. "Clean that up and let's get the fuck out of here. We'll be leaving for Lachlan Island at dawn."

Taking the axe out of the holster on my back, I lined it up with the dead thing's neck and drew back. Just hang tight, Audrey. With a quick swing I cut through muscle and bone, cold blood spattering my face. I'll be there soon.

A/N*

💕