Chapter Two
Dennis started to pull her through the crowd, yelling “C’mon, we have to get out of here!”
Ana allowed her training to take over, scanning the alleys this way and that. She twisted out of his grip, grabbing his forearm instead and said, “My car and companions are just over here, let’s go.” He opened his mouth to argue, and instead nodded. They sprinted, breaking through the crowds and into an almost- empty side street. She breathed a sigh of relief to see Mason and Pauline, weapons at the ready with the CRV started.
“We have a guest.” Ana shouted to them as they closed the distance to the car. “Let’s get out of here.” She looked at Dennis. “You’re backseat with me. No funny business.” Mason climbed into the driver’s side, barely waiting for all the doors to close before gunning it. It took them under 3 minutes to hop on the freeway, and Mason was not stingy on the gas.
As the car passengers simultaneously panted, Ana looked back and thought she caught a glimpse of a pale, almost translucent man gliding between members of the crowd, head moving manically as he bit into their necks. She grimaced before turning back to the car at hand. Dennis addressed Mason, “Head due west on the 97 for the next few hours. I’ve a place at the foot of the mountains we can hole up in.”
Her business partner nodded. “Hey thanks man, appreciate the help. Name’s Mason Eddette, this is my wife Pauline Gifford. I see you’ve already met our Ana ….”
She thought it was perhaps a trick of the light, but his eyes looked sheepish when his gaze flicked her way. Then he looked back towards Mason. “Yes. My name is Dennis Fren, I own a company that deals in the buying and selling of artwork and antiquities. I have a sizable land holding near here, which is where we are headed.”
Pauline turned her head nodding and smiling. “You are also a werewolf.”
Dennis seemed to tense ever so slightly, but Ana and Mason looked at Pauline. She grinned and said, “Just remember me when bonuses come around. You told me to do research, remember? Look -” she turned back to Dennis, “We have no quarrels with you. You seem like a pretty upstanding guy.”
Ana twisted herself toward him. He seemed like he was trying not to meet her eye. “We operate Mayfield’s Expedition Services, connecting the gap between humans today and everyone else. If my colleague vouches for you, then you are safe. Now, I have a lot of questions,” she tried to give her most charismatic smile, “So let’s start with the simplest of them. What’s up with the townsfolk railing against you, and other werewolves in the area?”
He shrugged with a sorry-I-don’t-know face, “I pay the farmers handsomely for all the meat I eat. They just can’t get the stories out of their head about the monster that’ll rip humans apart in the forest.”
She nodded and tried to meet his eyes. “Why were you at the Night Market tonight? And why did you say I’d save hundreds of lives by leaving? I am a trained hunter – to me it seemed I would do more good if I killed Lord Gillesbury.”
The car was very quiet. Lights on the highway flew by, briefly highlighting his face. It looked anxious, but thoughtful. He started slowly, taking a deep breath. This time, he did meet her eyes. “You will save hundreds of lives, because Melvin will follow us.”
“Umm… who is Melvin?”
“His full name is Lord Melvin Gillesbury, though most just refer to him as Lord Vampire. For the kids it’s ‘Lord Vampy’. He was turned on his 18th birthday almost 838 years ago. The further we get you from Egarsville and away from people, the more people we can save.”
Ana shook her head in disbelief. “See, there you go again. How is my leaving saving lives? We,” she rotated her fingers between Mason, Pauline, and herself, “are the closest hunters in the area to deal with this. And why would a starving vampire follow us, specifically? They typically will just attack whomever sporadically until they are full. Actually Pauline, can you check to see if we have any messages from the town?”
Pauline started poking at her cell phone, and Dennis’ lips had formed a hard line. “Melvin is following you, specifically. And he won’t stop until he has you. So as long as I take you far away from the villagers, we will save many more lives.”
Pauline’s neck straightened, and Ana could see her eyebrows raise as she looked towards Mason. Ana repositioned the gun on her lap, and licked her lips. “Vampires are only known to chase specific people that have been Marked. Now to my knowledge, I have not been Marked. Are you telling me otherwise?”
His eyes flicked down towards her lap. Pauline shifted her weight in the front seat so she could see both of them in the back, and pulled a long knife from a sheath on her calf. Mason repositioned the rear view mirror, shoulders tensed. Dennis slowly raised his hands. “Look, I didn’t mean to cause trouble. When a werewolf finds his mate, he Marks them so the other wolves will back off.” His voice was gentle, and light, with a little wryness. “I was hoping to tell you over dinner in a couple of months. Not in the back of a car speeding away from certain death.”
There was dead silence for a brief moment before it was broken by loud chortles from Mason, joined by Pauline. The tension fell from the front of the car. Ana’s eyes were wide, and she slowly shook her head. There was a shick noise as Pauline sheathed the dagger. She turned to Ana and said, “Mayor’s called twice. Ten dead so far. Cops can’t keep up with Gillesbury.”
Ana nodded, eyes still on Dennis. “Call him back. Tell him it is our understanding that we are leading the vampire away from the city,” she paused, “And that he’s an idiot.”
Pauline smirked. “And add an ‘I told you so’, if possible.”
Ana flicked her gaze to Pauline and offered a tiny smile. “If possible.” Turning back to Dennis, she said, “There’s a lot to unpack here….. let’s start with this Marking thing. How was that done?”
Dennis smiled slightly. “Nothing untoward, of course. I just bumped into you the first night you came to the market. That’s it.”
“And it doesn’t wash off…?”
He shook his head, “Your skin absorbs it. It’ll be there for the rest of your life.”
Ana bit her tongue, “Mhm … and you didn’t think to ask me first? Maybe on a date?”
She watched as he shook his head again. “No time. See, other wolves can tell when you are someone’s mate, it’s part of your scent. But it doesn’t stop them from marking that individual as part of their territory, barring the wolf from accessing their mate. I didn’t have a choice.”
Pauline was pretending not to listen as she punched ‘redial’ into her phone. Even Mason was stealing furtive glances into the rear view mirror. Ana furrowed her brow. “We’re going to circle back on this ‘mate’ thing. So why would a vampire chase a person Marked by a werewolf?”
Dennis huff-sighed, “Your bodily make-up is a little different than the average person. I could not have a child with most women, as their body would not allow it. But I could have a child with you. Melvin wouldn’t be interested in children, but he could try to turn you. Most people die, but you have a higher likelihood of turning instead, because of your make-up. So he chases you in hopes of a companion. I seek to protect you in hopes of a family. I didn’t ask you, but you’ll be able to walk away once he’s dead if you choose to. He won’t ask you, and you’ll either die or turn into a crazed creature that lives for blood, and is in excruciating pain without it.” His eyes looked like they were pleading a bit, “I told you there were some conversations that go over better with dinner. And wine. Lots of wine.” He added, as if almost an afterthought.
“Uh-huh,” Ana nodded. “So Melvin the vampire will chase me with the plan of ripping at my throat to change me into a vampire, because you Marked me as your mate.” she raised an eyebrow, and he nodded. “Now how do you know I’m your mate?”
He inhaled deeply, a passing light on the highway briefly illuminating his face, and showing incredibly dilated pupils. “I can smell it.” he said weakly. “Everything about you. You are the one.”
“That’s – incredibly honest.” Ana breathed, “Now, you understand that’s not how modern relationships work? We go on dates, ask each other nicely, and don’t typically aim to end up with a child at first glance?”
Dennis chuckled, “Yes, I have been around long enough to know how it works. Frankly, I had it all planned out: on the last night of the Night Market, I’d invite you to dinner. If it went well, I’d ask you to go for a ride in the countryside in a few days. Then perhaps I’d wait a week, and invite you to the theatre for a movie.” he shrugged, “I figured I had a couple of years at least to woo you.”
Ana opened her mouth and closed it. “I -” she shook her head, “What if I wasn’t interested?”
He nodded. “I know there is a chance of that as well,” he flashed her his best smile. It was quite compelling. “If, in fact, I could not woo you, then I would proposition you. If you would be willing to be inseminated, and carry our child, that would be the first option. And if that was not of interest, I’d hope to convince you of donating your eggs, and I could find a surrogate. Less romantic, but it’s nice to have a few modern options.”
“You’ve ah- you’ve thought about this a lot, eh?” Mason piped up from the driver’s seat.
The werewolf nodded. “Well, when your opportunity to procreate comes up once every hundred years or so, you take the time to think about it.” he turned his gaze back to Ana, and cocked his head, “You are a rather extraordinary woman to absorb this information so calmly. I do understand this is an odd situation.”
She nodded slowly. “I’m just processing the likelihood of this all being one big joke. I’m thinking it’s not likely, so I’m just working on figuring out where that leaves me … and the answer is somewhere between a rabid vampire and a friendly, albeit motivated werewolf. So I’m going to table all this,” she gestured in general at him, “until we deal with Mr. Melvin, as I have little interest in having my jugular removed. How much farther until we get to your place?”
He was staring at her intently. Taking a breath, he looked forward, assessing the landmarks. “About half an hour left on this road, and another 40 minutes on the next. Melvin will likely be about a day behind us, it’ll take some time for him to be strong enough to travel.”
Ana nodded. “I’m going to rest for a bit. Pauline – what have you heard from Egarsville?”
“They’re just counting the bodies where they fall. The streets are clogged with accidents, and Gillesbury is just picking and choosing his targets now. They are looking to get people inside in hopes Gillesbury won’t enter.”
Dennis shook his head. “Unless those buildings have wards, he can get inside. That whole ‘invitation to enter’ business is a lark.” As Ana raised an eyebrow, he quickly added, “But I promise, he will catch your scent and give us chase, if he hasn’t already begun.”
Ana nodded. “We’ll call the mayor again once we’ve reached our destination. If Gillesbury has not started moving towards us by then, I’ll be back-tracking.” she paused as he nodded. “Now, I’m going to get a bit of rest. Maybe the only bit I get for a while. Pauline, I’d suggest you do too. Mason, I’ll cover for you once we get there.” she eyed Dennis, who was still staring at her. “Now, I’m a light sleeper. If you touch me, I will fire this,” she wiggled her gun. “I know the story of Little Red Riding Hood.”
Dennis smiled and held up his hands. “You won’t get any trouble from me. We can discuss the truths of that tale when you awake.”
Despite the odd situation, Ana found herself drifting quickly off to sleep. As darkness slowly took her vision, the last things she saw were Dennis’ eyes reflected in the window.