Ten Years Earlier...

Frost covered the grass that bordered the sidewalks by Cherry Park not too far from Manitou Bypass in Colorado Springs. It was a decent October night with only a few scattering clouds overhead. Bright and full, the moon stared down at the earth. The red ring around the moon made me squirm though.

To me that was not a great sign, especially since ten of us track a renegade vampire. Guy, my fiancé, flowed from one shadow to the next while Vick and seven other members of the local werewolf pack fanned the area. Most would think of us as insane trying to kill a vampire at night, but it is a full moon and there are nine werewolves. I think we are on more than equal ground.

I, on the other hand, could get seriously hurt on this expedition. I am only a tad bit higher on the food chain from a human. My only job tonight is to feel out the vampire. Anything supernatural has a distinct feel to me. Sometimes when I am lucky, I can see shapes or colors swirl around them. But that only happens to the extremely powerful ones I meet. I am looking for one of those tonight.

Driven into the brink of extinction vampires are the thorn for humanity. Illegal in all but one country there are no rules that protect them only ones to destroy them. Yet, with all the rules governing vampires, they still find a way to smuggle themselves into various host countries and maintain a life.

There is a twisted respect for vampires, be it only slightly. The supernatural generally accept another being of the supernatural only on the condition that they do not upset the world that they run in. The one that I tracked now knew the pack and the members. So killing a pack female set the beasts in motion. I am just here for support.

"How are you doing?" Guy sneaked up on me.

I tried to regain my composure and whispered, "I'm fine."

Never pausing, Guy kept scanning his surroundings with his pale blue eyes; always watching with the eyes of his beast. Guy seemed lucky in the regard that he could hold onto a part of his alter ego and still look normal. Only people similar to me or other werewolves could tell the difference.

"Just watch out will you?" Guy stated his face stern with masked unease.

About to answer, I closed my mouth when Guy held up his hand. The other men had stopped walking as well with their attention off to the left. I tugged on Guy's t-shirt trying to get his attention on me so he could tell me what it could be. Instead of answering, he shook me off.

Seconds passed and I could feel the strain in the air. Something was happening but the wolves did not want to go running off on the wrong trail.

Guy turned to me and mouthed, Stay here.

Nodding my head, there was nothing else I could do but wait for them to return. In pairs or threes, the men ran off down side streets or across parking lots. Figuring there was going to be a wait I sat down on the freezing sidewalk along one of the empty buildings trying to keep to the shadows.

It's funny how things seem larger than they do in real life when you are all alone in the dark hunting a vampire. In my mind, the trees wanted to uproot themselves to eat me. Buildings took sinister shapes to form mouths to taunt me. I should have asked Guy to have one of the guys stay behind with me.

I jump when I hear a metallic noise behind me and breathe a sigh of relief when a grungy looking cat runs across the street to the park.

"Stupid cat." I mutter to no one in particular.

"Stupid cat." Came an echo from around the building.

I cannot tell if it is male or female but that does not matter. Pressing myself closer to the brick wall, I hold my breath praying that it is not what I think it is.

A pale hand slides over the red brick just a foot away from my face. I can see wet blood embedded under the long fingernails that are broken and ragged. Alarm bells whistle and ring in my head for me to run. I cannot feel my legs and my eyes do not want to look away from the taunt form that is sliding along the brick. Pale drawn skin, the vampire crouches next to me. Black glassy eyes look at me once then stare off into the park. More blood stained the worn t-shirt and jeans the vampire wore.

"Are they looking for you too, Bethel?" The vampire quickly turns to me stroking my long red hair, "Have they finally decided to turn against you as well?"

Tears sting my eyes because I know I will not escape. Tricked into leaving me the werewolves searched for the vampire and here he was running his fingers through my hair, all the while smiling at me.

"I know what I can do." Whispered the vampire, who yet again surprised me but with his speed by forcing his way between my knees to sit in front of my face.

I don't want to know. I don't want to know, kept bouncing around in my head. I really did not want to know what his idea would be. I had seen what he did to Veronica there was nothing left but pieces. Her family had to have a closed casket service. There were only pieces.

"Don't you want to hear my idea?" Pouted the vampire.

Slowly, I shake me head.

"I will tell you anyway." Beamed the vampire. I could smell the odor of death as the vampire bend down to whisper in my ear, "Will he still love you when you come from me?"

The voice that whispered to me was clear and devoid of any insanity. When I looked up in the onyx eyes of the man that sat before me there was no residue of what haunted him earlier. I wanted to run away screaming.

"Can vampires love, Bethel? Will you find out?"

I don't want to find out about anything dealing with vampires, I whimper in my head. I can feel his breath on my neck with a faint hint of copper. Dear God kill me please.

A woman screams not too far away. Seconds later, a wolf howls in the night. The werewolves found a trail. That is enough to bring me to my senses.

I try to push the vampire off me. It was too late; I let him get too close. That did not stop me from trying to struggle out of his bear hug. Every inch of the vampire pressed against me as we rolled on the sidewalk.

Uneven concrete tore through my black sweater. My elbow started to sting from the open wound. I know he is just letting me try to fight him. Even I know I am just desperate.

"I'm sorry but I need to leave soon." The vampire breathed against my neck. “Find me when you are ready.”

Rising to his knees, the vampire lifts me by my shoulders and slams me down. Above washed in red, glittered the moon. The woman screamed louder.

I screamed louder as I pushed words and memories away. Memories, only memories I reminded myself.

How could I have been so stupid? Bethel Abbott, psychic extraordinaire to the rescue to bumble everything up. I am such an idiot. I cursed myself as fire and smoke burned my eyes and made tears run down my cheeks. The tiny amount of water made rivers through the ash and dirt staining my face.

Minor demons pranced about the magic circle of protection I stood in. Their pale shapes distorted into crude parodies of human beings. Yet, others poked and prodded at the magical seal. The blood that made the seal came from my veins -not offered of course-- but it wasn't meant to protect me from the hosts that now wanted in. The owner of the circle lay in a heap on one of the rocks below. Her skin broken and weeping. Not blood but bubbling fat from being roasted.

Intense flames can do that to a person. The bowels of Hell can do that at an even greater rate.

On the horizon, larger shapes loomed; I could only guess that the major demons found my sanctuary. I think I made a mistake opening that door. I should've seen the blue paint on the eaves. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here and the Devil wouldn't be staring at me.

At least, I think it's the Devil staring at me with blazing eyes and causing all the bad memories and nightmares to resurface. Considering I can't discern any solid form from the smoky tower before me, I'm still a little lost. All I know is that it's big and stood about twenty feet tall. The concrete floor of the basement dangled precariously above the smoldering pit of hell removed from its original location of the human plane of existence. Here I stood staring eye to eye to a monster. What was the world coming to?

As time passed, the remnant of the basement floor crumbled at the edges, falling to the depths below. I didn't bother to leave the center of the Grand Pentacle. I knew that if I did it would be all over and I would join the vodou priestess below to roast. God bless Solomon and the Greater Keys for gaining the knowledge of circles of protection.

"What will your choice be, House of God?" The rumbling voice of the Devil shook my island of salvation. It not only spoke to me in English, but the words echoed in every language created by man.

The pitter-patter of falling blood proved to be a great distraction from that thunderous voice as the gash down my right arm still bled. How was I to answer? What would happen if I told it off?

But...this is not where my story begins.
Three days earlier...

Scenes from the hotel room's television lighted the room in vibrant blues and subdued reds. It worked as the only light in the room, which is fine by me. I like it dark these days.

Taking a break from cleaning my Glock 17, I looked up at the wall mirror across from the bed. The face that stared back appeared haggard and worn. I guess that's what happens when you fly cross-country on short notice. Really, short notice. There were black rings under my hazel eyes showing just how drawn I felt. Hooking my jaw length red hair behind my ears, I went back to cleaning the barrel of my gun.

Disassembled pieces placed about me, I didn't bother to watch the muted television. It was probably another infomercial or maybe even a classic sitcom. I cared less.

A loose piece of paper fell from the bed as I moved to pick up one of the many cleaning rods I had accumulated over the years. The rest of the case file decorated the bed underneath my gun parts. I think there were pictures underneath the coverlets. I'm not quite sure.

Midnight, right on the dot, I received a phone call. Not many people know my direct line and I like to keep it that way. However, Guy Larsen is one of the few chosen to have that privilege. Guy and I have a past -- a deep past. So, when I get a call from him at midnight I know something is wrong.

Here I am in Baton Rouge, Louisiana cleaning my gun in a cheap hotel room as the air conditioner tries to stay alive in the humidity. As soon as I entered the room two hours ago, I cranked that puppy up as high as it could go. Now it whined at me as it struggled to keep my room at a nice cool temperature.

Right as my door closed, a manila folder slipped underneath. It came without preamble or any other indication of whom it came from. Now it littered the bed and desk.

But, I've come to expect that from Guy. Since our break up --or my run from the relationship-- ten years ago, he became more cautious, more secretive. Almost as bad as me. Almost but not quite.

I guess it was expected. I mean him being cautious and secretive. He just doesn't want to be hurt again. I can understand. After all, I'm the one that ran away. I ran away from who and what I am. I still don't embrace it; still can't come to terms. But I make do. Guy on the other hand has to embrace what he is. He has to embrace it every full moon and anytime in-between. That's what happens when you're a werewolf I guess. Either embrace it or die.

My situation on the other hand is either you embrace it or you live a miserable life. I'm working on making it better. It's been a long and hard road just to get to this point in my life in terms of acceptance. I know I still have far to go and I'm afraid it will never be on the same level it once was on. Absently, I pieced my gun together.

But my thoughts wander. I should be thinking about the reason why I'm in Baton Rouge. It wasn't hard to look to either my left or right and see the reports about the body snatching.

Body snatching, called in for body snatching. I sighed as I slipped my gun back into my shoulder holster. At least my soul was earning some redemption. Then again, people question whether vampires had souls or not. I felt like I had one and I bet my priest doesn't know the difference.

A blinking red light caught my vision off to my left. I muted everything even the phone. Now the little light demanded my attention.

Lifting up the receiver, I paused before answering, "Hello?"

"Bethel?" A male voice asked on the other side of the line.

"May I ask who is calling?" My suspicion level started to rise. I was tempted to slip off the other side of the bed and pull my gun to face the large window in the room, but decided against it.

"Hey, thought you made it to town safely. It's Guy." I could tell he was smiling on the other side, "How was the flight?"

"It was as good as a red eye could be." I repressed a frown knowing I was being harsh on purpose. "How's Rebecca?"

"She's fine. She's fine. We're doing fine."

I knew that wasn't true but didn't want to call him out on it. If he wanted to lie to himself then so be it, I wouldn't get in his way.

"You gave me a lot to look through." I admitted as I leafed through a pile of papers between my legs.

"I know." Guy sighed, "I told you it wasn't going to be easy."

"When is it easy?" I stated half-heartedly as I scanned one of the reports, "It's been three months so why no arrest yet?"

I could tell Guy was searching for what he could or could not tell me. It was one of the perks of being a cop. What can you tell your loved ones? How much do they need to know? How much can they handle? He didn't need to worry about me. I’m a big girl and I bet I could handle more than little Guy could any day.

"The locals don't understand magic -- at least they don't want to." Guy paused to think, "The pack feels the disruption. It's tainted. Not the normal zombie use. It's something beyond that. Something I can't fathom."

Zombies, I shuddered. The things stank to high heaven. But with the Lancaster Law of 1902, most people didn’t have to worry about Zombies in America. Nothing like finding a decomposed finger in a pound of flour to turn stomachs and turn people into the walking dead, I mused. If that didn’t grab the headlines as a national disaster then I didn’t know what did.

"So they're using magic to cloak themselves?" I asked as I pulled the phone with me to look out the curtains of my second floor room.

Puddles spotted the parking lot from the afternoon storm. Heavy clouds meandered across the night sky to another destination while the wind stayed at a steady speed. Not that many people were about so early in the morning.

I could hear Guy breathing on the other side. Why the silence? Why such a delay in answering?

"What aren't you telling me Guy?" I demanded.

"I don't think it's even human." He finally broke down.

"Have you seen it?" A frown creased my face as I asked.

"No," Guy admitted, "we've been guarding every cemetery within city limits and haven't seen a damn thing."

"So why the suspicion?" I voiced what I was thinking as I walked back to the rumpled bed.

"You're not the only person we've called in. You're the last resort. All the others that answered our call couldn't explain what was happening let alone discover that something was missing. Like a body from a grave."

Ah, now he admits why he finally called me. In ten years, we shared just a handful of phone calls and cards. To receive one with no holiday or birthday in sight made it a little more than obvious that something was off. I guess it was the fact that his little wife and I got in a tiff a few years back. Okay, so it was more than a tiff. We both ended up in the hospital with me arrested for assault. She deserved it.

"Well it's great to hear that you thought of me. And the fact that I'm your last resort means something. Are you sure there aren't others you can call?"

Here I was trying to push him away, shrug him off, when all he did was call for help. Maybe I should reconsider my opinion on vampires having souls. Or it could just be me. My fear of being too close to people. The fear of bringing them into my life.

"Don't you think I've tried calling others, Beth? They don't want the job." Agitation flooded through the receiver, "Most of the people the pack called think it's a joke or worse, an embarrassment, to be called in for a job like this."

"I don't think this is a joke, Guy." I shuffled through the photocopied pictures on the bed, "Anybody else and yeah I would think it was, but I know you. I doubt you would be able to pull this type of shit with anybody -- let alone me."

"Thanks for your trust and faith in me, I really appreciate it." Guy growled.

"Don't get butt-hurt that I gave you an honest opinion. I could lie to you. Would you prefer that?"

Sighing, Guy responded, "No, I don't want you to lie to me. Just say that you'll stick around to see this through, will you?"

I remember this scenario. It was the same one from ten years ago that started me down this god-forsaken road. I had to push back all the emotions that tried to well up to the forefront of my mind with those words. How could he expect me to stay when I wasn't even human? A monster, a blood-sucking monster to boot. I sighed and counted to ten hoping it would help me escape from dangerous thoughts.

"I'm already here, might as well help you." The face staring at me through the mirror appeared afraid and too young for its hard years. What was I getting myself into?

"You have my contact info if you need anything so don't hesitate to call. Well, I guess I'll let you go. Night."

"Talk to you later." I whispered as Guy hung up the other line.

Instantly, the room fell into silence. Only the swirling colors of the television proved that someone occupied the room at all. Outside a car drove through one of the many stagnant puddles. I couldn't stay in the room any longer.