Blood Bonds Pt. 11

Sarah followed Talera's glance upwards, saw the boy's mother smile and roll her eyes, nodding. Standing in a blur, Talera swiped out a hand, raking four diagonal slashes down the boy's tricep. He howled, but in victory, no pain on his face. His peers came rushing over, mouths hanging open. For effect, Talera bared all her teeth at them, eyes blazing, then vanished in a roar of wind. The boy growled back at empty air, shifting into a wolf cub with a bloody foreleg and tearing into the trees. His companions gave the area one last fearful sweep, then took off after him.

"He'll be legend for years. The boy who took on the demon," Kevin chuckled. "He'll be crushed if it doesn't scar."

"I got him at an angle," Talera laughed softly, dropping out of the sky to settle on the rock on Sarah's other side. "It'll be a badass scar in a few days." They all turned their heads in the direction of the open area as Pershing cleared his throat, barking a call to order. As people and wolves made their way into the clearing, Talera stood once more, pulling Sarah to her feet.

"Let's leave them to their games," she murmured in Sarah's ear.

"Already?" Kevin asked the demon, raising his brows, looking back over at the Alpha.

"Good hunting," Talera winked, then kissed him on the cheek. "Do me proud."

"If I suck you're going to give me lessons, aren't you?" he chuckled wryly.

Sarah looked between the two of them, eyes saucer-wide.

"Good hunting to you as well," Kevin said, face serious suddenly. "I'm not stupid enough to ask if you know what you're doing, but be careful with her, please."

"I will. She'll never leave my side."

"Are you talking about me?" Sarah asked, face full of suspicion.

"Let's go flying," Talera said to her, avoiding the question. Sarah saw only a blur, then felt strong arms catch her around the waist from behind. In a moment, Talera had them ten feet off the boulder. Sarah swallowed a rise of nausea as they floated higher, looking down on the gathering from a hundred feet up.

Pershing was saying something, arms raised, all attention on him. Then Kevin stepped forward, loosed a truly terrifying roar into the night, and burst into wolf-form, tearing into the woods, all others streaking after him.

"They're hunting people, the drug dealers." It was more a statement of morally ambiguous fact than question, but Sarah felt Talera's nod anyway.

"Is that why you had to get me off the ground? So I wouldn't become game?"

"No," Talera half-sighed, half-chuckled. "We have a hunting expedition of our own."

"Why are you taking me?"

"Not that kind of hunting," the vampire murmured, floating them higher, wings coming out suddenly, blocking some of the chill wind. "I'm actually the game this time."

"And you're gonna float us both right into the trap?" Sarah asked, deadpan, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning her head back so that she could look Talera in the face. The demon flashed a dark half-smile green eyes glinting.

"It's still a trap, even if you know about it," Sarah pressed, raising a brow. But the vampire just smiled, wings vanishing.

They had moved remarkably far from the campgrounds, the lights from the cabins long vanished into the dense trees. Sarah could hear running water as they descended into the forest. A creek rushed below, cascading over a small but beautiful waterfall. Talera touched her cheek to Sarah's and the world burst into color as it had the night before.

Pale pink rhododendrons glowed in the moonlight like snowbanks, shivering and swaying on a breeze, which swept through the creek bed suddenly.

"Are you doing that?" Sarah asked, looking back again. She only got a lifted brow in response. The girl rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the gorgeous surroundings.

Fallen blooms like little upturned geometric umbrellas floated downstream with the swift-moving current, catching the light of the full moon in their cups. Others littered the moss-covered rocks. Small oaks and hemlocks fluttered their leaves all along the sides of the semi-circular falls, driving the scents of the clean water, old leaves and fresh, new life towards the girl the demon was setting gently on the rocks. A steadying arm caught Sarah around the waist for an instant as the girl took a step forward and nearly wound up on her behind in the creek as she slipped on the slick gneiss.

"Thanks," she murmured, still awestruck. "Where are we?"

"Sarah's Creek," Talera answered, cracking a smile. "My family used to camp here all the time."

As she spoke, her attention drifted upwards, eyes peering intently up at the moon. Within a few seconds, the wind picked up and wisps of cloud began to sweep in. Heavy banks boiled up suddenly, blotting out the moonlight, sinking the valley into what would have been blackness if Sarah hadn't been seeing through enhanced eyes.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at her demon.

"Setting the mood," Talera murmured back in a voice so low Sarah wasn't entirely sure she heard it aloud. "Don't move a muscle."

Swallowing hard, Sarah froze. A sharp, hissing sound cut through the babble of the water, followed by a solid thunk. Talera grunted lightly, then went down on her knees.

"Talera!" Sarah shrieked, eyes searching her friend for the injury. A large dart was lodged in the meat of her upper arm, emptying a dose of some liquid into the vampire.

Panic started to set in, sweat beading on the girl's forehead despite the chill night, but she caught the expression hidden behind the mask of dull pain on Talera's face. This was a game.

"Don't smile yet," the vampire whispered in that same barely-there voice. "You're about to get your feelings hurt."

"It's down! Good shot!" came a sudden yell from behind them both. A familiar voice. "Move in!"

"What the hell?" Sarah started to ask, turning, eyes narrowing in confusion, but froze. The barrel of a large and intimidating gun proceeded to nose its way out of the bushes behind them, more appearing with metallic clicks from all around, above on the ridge, at the top of the falls, all wearing what had to be night vision glasses.

"Restrain it," Nel said tersely, emerging from behind the black-clad man with the machine gun, brandishing a big handgun at her friend. She moved past the black girl to poke at the prone vampire with the barrel of her weapon. Talera didn't react at all, just stayed slumped on her knees, head down.

"We got it," the little blonde said into a Bluetooth device at her ear, gun still pointing without waver at Sarah. "We're bagging it and bringing it in. Get the medics ready. We pumped it full of enough sedative literally to kill a herd of elephants, so we don't know how its system will react."

Sarah just stared in mute shock, hearing the tinny, unintelligible response to the clinical analysis given by the girl she'd thought her friend for the last four years. In seconds the rocks were crawling with men in black fatigues. They grunted in protest as they hauled Talera to her feet, cursing under her unexpectedly dense dead weight. Two more grabbed her arms from behind, locking her forearms into heavily reinforced restraints.

"What about the civilian?" one of the men asked, looking from Sarah to Nel, a sneer on his face. Sarah realized they didn't know she could see them in the darkness.

"Nel?" Sarah called, fixing her face in an expression of confusion and terror.

"Yeah, I'm blown," Nel sighed, shaking her head. "Make it look like a hiking accident."

An odd humming, song filled the woods just as Sarah started to step forward. As one, each of the men looked up, faces going dreamy, freezing in their tracks. Sarah felt Talera's power burn through the Mark on her arm and race into her body, but she held still.

The men holding Talera let her go, arms falling limp at their sides, mouths slack. The demon kept her head bowed, but stayed on her feet, arms still shackled at her back.

In unison, the men took off their night vision gear, dropped their guns and lay peacefully on the ground, falling still as death at once, all expressions sliding from their faces. A sharp wind sliced through the trees, knocking the tiny blonde off balance, the gun flying from her hand, glasses tumbling from her face. The clouds parted above, moving entirely from sight, letting the full light of the moon shine down brightly.

There came a rustle of feathers from above, but Sarah didn't look away from Nel, watching the other's reaction. Ana and Ash, both wings and eyes showing brightly, landed softly on either side of the demon and black girl, all facing the lone blonde. Popping the restraints around her arms like they were made of crepe paper, Talera raised her head, shaking it just a little.

Nel took up a defensive position, bringing her hands up, ready to fight. Ana snickered, covering her eyes with a hand as if embarrassed for the girl.

"Got impatient, huh?" Talera asked, lifting one brow, grinning with all eight fangs showing. "Agent Cassidy."

"Fuck off, demon," the little blonde spat back.

"Technically speaking, we're the fuck-off demons," Ana mused to Ash, who only twitched his gorgeous face in a smirk.

"Put her in the car," Talera said evenly, nodding at Ana.

The succubus motioned for the girl to climb up the hill, away from the creek. The light in the blonde's eyes was easy to read.

"Just give me an excuse," Ana breathed, voice frostbite cold.

As the two vanished over the top of the falls and into the trees, Sarah breathed a sigh of mixed relief and sorrow. A sudden movement snapped her to attention as Talera's knees gave out again. Ash bent to catch her faster than thought, chuckling lightly.

"Are you ok?" Sarah asked.

"You're making me dizzy," Ash snorted, hefting the demon up high enough that she could get her feet on the ground, though she leaned heavily against his chest.

"I'll give you two a minute," Sarah sighed, turning and following the other two up the winding path through the moonlit trees.

Looking back at the top of the falls, Sarah smiled softly, heart aching for an instant. Ash pushed Talera's face into the shadows of his neck, tilting his chin a little, stroking her hair tenderly. When he stiffened, closing his eyes, clutching her tightly, Sarah turned and continued down the path.

After a few turns through the dense undergrowth, Sarah topped a small rise and came down the hill into an open parking and camping area. A black Mercedes was waiting, engine purring deeply. Ana stood, arms crossed, flexing her wings as she stared at Nel. The blonde was making a good show of bravado, but the terror in her blue eyes was real.

Sarah stopped a few yards from them both, just staring blankly at the girl who'd been her friend. Talera appeared beside Sarah suddenly, placing a cool hand over hers, squeezing back when Sarah grasped her fingers tightly.

"I would've told you sooner, but I wasn't sure until a couple of days ago," the vampire said softly. "She's really good; I'll give her that much."

"Who is she really?"

"Still not sure, though I'll have that information in short order," Talera said, eyes cold. "She's federal government. Very well trained. Probably a joint operation with a Hunter organization. My guess is FreakOps. Think...bad SciFi movie with unlimited funding. Catch the freaks, lock them up, use them, dissect them, et cetera."

Taking a slow breath, Sarah started towards the car, face unreadable, picking up speed . When she was arm's length from the blonde, she hauled back and punched the shit out of the tiny girl, sending the spy flying back against the unyielding hull of the car. Bleeding profusely from a nose that was canted at an odd angle, Nel slumped to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"'Make it look like a hiking accident?'" Sarah seethed, towering over her. "Four years. For four years, I thought I was your friend."

Reaching down, Sarah yanked the pliant girl to her feet, dragging her back, throwing open the back door and shoving her roughly inside. Slamming the door, she stalked around to the other side and got in next to the sobbing blonde. Talera raised a brow at Ana, who shrugged, then got into the front passenger seat.

"Fix your face," Talera hissed, opening up the center console and retrieving a box of tissues, tossing them into Nel's lap. "You're bleeding all over my seats."

__________

Thanks for your patience, everyone.