It wasn't quite dark out yet when I woke up. I figured it was around dusk, there was just a little bit of fading light leaking into my room around the curtains. It was the second day in a row Samantha let me sleep as late as I wanted, which was a nice treat.
I wondered if it was a reward for how I impressed her last night. That thought reminded me of everything that happened, and I sat up to check out my shoulder.
Sure enough it was completely healed. Like Sam said, there wasn't even a scar or mark. It really did seem like it never happened at all. Except I knew it did. I still had my prize, the dealer's pistol was on my bedside table where I left it before going to sleep this morning.
I finally slipped out of bed and opened my door to check on Sam.
Same as last night, she fell asleep on the sofa again. She was naked and sitting upright, with her head tilted back against the cushion as if she'd simply switched off while she sat there watching TV.
I wondered when she last used her bed. I also wondered why she didn't at least lie down or something, she didn't look very comfortable like that.
I picked up the remote and checked the recently-watched screen. She got through another ten episodes of her silly vampire show today. I glanced at the clock and thought a moment, then shook my head. She couldn't have had more than three hours sleep the past two days combined. I doubted she'd be much use at all tonight, I wasn't even sure we'd go out on a patrol.
Her little phone was on the coffee table, and it suddenly started buzzing. Samantha's eyes opened as she raised her head up and glanced around. It was like she just switched back on again, but I managed not to jump this time.
"Hi Tara," she said as she reached for her phone. "How are you doing this evening?"
I nodded, "I'm ok thanks. I had another good day's sleep. How about you?"
Sam's expression wrinkled into a frown as she stared at her phone. She didn't respond to my question, she just got to her feet and stated "Get dressed. We have to go."
"What's wrong?" I asked as she stalked into her bedroom.
She went straight for her closet as she called back to me, "Isabelle is sending the car to pick us up. We have twenty minutes before he's downstairs waiting for us. We're going to the mansion."
My stomach lurched. Isabelle summoning us to the mansion wasn't good. A hundred terrible scenarios played out in my mind. She found out what I did last night. She knew I beat that guy up, she found out I drank his blood. Maybe he died? Maybe I was going to be executed because I accidentally broke the Covenant. Then Sam would be killed too, she's my Dame after all. She's the one who turned me and trained me. Any mistakes I made would be her responsibility.
Samantha's voice snapped me out of my panic, "Tara! Get dressed, put on something nice. We have to be down in the lobby when the car gets here."
"Right," I nodded as I hurried into my room. I scrambled into panties and a bra, then some dark slacks and finally a burgundy blouse. I went with my one and only pair of heels, they were like kids training heels or something. Only one inch rise, and they were comfortably padded. They sucked for running or any kind of demanding activity, but for walking and standing they were adequate.
Sam was already in the bathroom doing her make-up when I emerged from my room. I joined her in there and did the same, then we both quickly did something with our hair.
Finally I took a moment to look at her. We had very different ideas of what 'dressing nice' meant.
I'd brushed my hair and put on some subtle lipstick and a bit of eyeshadow. Along with the clothes I'd chosen, I had a sort of 'business casual' look going on.
Samantha was in her ankle boots, an un-damaged pair of black denim pants, and a new clean purple tie-dyed t-shirt. She had black lipstick, dark eyeshadow, and dark eyeliner on. And touching up her hair meant running her hands through it once or twice so her messy black mop was mostly out of her face.
She nodded "You look good. Grab a nice coat and you're done."
The only thing I had that fit the bill was a black autumn jacket. Meanwhile Sam pulled on her leather jacket. She stuffed her phone in one pocket and a pocket-knife in the other, then the two of us hurried out.
We got to the lobby with a minute or two to spare.
"Did Isabelle say why she wanted to see us?" I asked nervously.
Sam shook her head, "Nope. Something serious I'm sure. Maybe about the victim in the park the other night?"
I was still worried it was because of what I did last night. I was scared to even mention it though, so I just stayed quiet and kept my fears to myself.
Right on schedule the large black Cadillac limousine pulled to stop outside the lobby. Sam moved forward and opened the door and motioned me inside first. Then she followed, and pulled the door closed behind her.
As I got in I was surprised to see two other vamps already seated inside. Reuben and Jessica were in the best seats, at the very back facing forward. So I settled into the seat behind the driver, facing backwards across from Reuben while Sam took the spot beside me.
Reuben hadn't changed at all since I first saw him three years ago. Six-foot-four, muscular, smartly dressed, he seemed like a giant compared to my tiny body. Jessica wasn't that different. She had to be five-foot-eight, a tall slim redhead. She was dressed like me, in slacks nice shoes and a jacket. They were both peacekeepers, same as Samantha.
I stayed quiet while Sam greeted them both, "Hey Reuben, Jess. They called you two in as well? Any idea what's up?"
The redhead shook her head, while Reuben replied in his smooth deep voice "It won't be anything good, that's for sure."
The driver was a vamp named Eric. He'd been around for decades. Sam told me he was Claudia's chauffeur back when Samantha was first turned. He looked like he was in his mid thirties, and he was always wearing a fancy suit and tie. He was always silent and seemed unapproachable. I wondered what that must be like, spending his entire unlife driving other people around.
Eric didn't have any more stops to make, and the drive from our place to the mansion took a little over twenty minutes.
The Family owned a huge mansion on an enormous property, located not far from the heart of the city. It was like millionaire's row or something, a whole neighbourhood of large estates nestled in a wooded area. The property was large enough there were actually four separate buildings on it. In addition to the mansion there was a livery which housed the cars, and there were some accommodations on the second floor. Then there were two smaller houses which were home to vamps who weren't important enough to live in the mansion itself.
When we arrived, Eric pulled the car up to the front doors and stopped. Sam opened the door and climbed out. I followed her, then Jessica and Reuben came out behind me. Reuben closed the door behind him, and the four of us walked up to the imposing building and let ourselves in.
Another peacekeeper was in the foyer waiting for us, I remembered he was called Marcus. He was a little shorter than Reuben, and had a slimmer, less muscular build. His hair was short and dark, and he had an olive complexion. He also looked older than most of us, he was in his mid to late thirties when he was turned. But apparently he wasn't that much older than Sam in terms of how long he'd been dead. He usually wore a suit and tie, and tonight was no exception.
He greeted the four of us quietly then gestured to the right. There was a room just off the main hall that was usually set up like a meeting room, and whatever was happening it was going to be in there.
When we entered the meeting room I saw even more vamps already here waiting. I recognized all of them, though I didn't know all their names. It felt like almost every peacekeeper in the Family was here in this one room. There were only two absent, Carlos and our boss Cynthia.
Out of all the vamps in the Family, peacekeepers were supposed to be the toughest, the ones who knew how to fight, how to kill. Humans were scared of other vamps, but other vamps were scared of us. We were the 'elite'. Well, apart from the elders like Isabelle.
There was no set uniform, each vamp in the room had their own style. But that style was all generally either fashionable or professional. My 'business casual' look sort of fit in, while Samantha's denim pants, leather jacket, and messy hair made her stand out like an unruly teen. Which she sort of was. Sam and I were the two youngest vamps in the room, both in terms of how old we were when we died, and how long we'd been dead.
While all the others exchanged greetings and pleasantries, I stayed quiet and I stayed close to Samantha. Even though she'd spent the past three years as a bit of a pariah in the Family, these people were all still her coworkers. And they used to be her subordinates. At least a few of them showed Sam some professional courtesy.
As usual the lighting was subdued, we could all see in the dark after all. Between the dim lighting, the quiet conversation, and the way almost everyone here was dressed in dark clothes it almost felt like we were attending a funeral. The only thing missing was a bunch of flowers and a casket at the end of the room.
Then again, considering everyone here was dead a casket might be a bit insensitive. I had no idea how the other vamps felt about stereotypes.
After the greetings there was a bit of smalltalk. Apparently nobody knew what this was about, only that Isabelle and Cynthia called the meeting. And so far neither of them had arrived. There were a few comments about Carlos being absent too.
I was still worried about being in trouble, but Sam remained calm and cool. There weren't any chairs or anything, and the two of us I ended up hanging out at the back of the room next to one of the windows. The curtains were drawn but I knew it overlooked the driveway where it went past the mansion towards the livery building in the back.
Reuben moved away from another little group and came to stand next to Samantha and me. He dwarfed us both and despite his calm and pleasant demeanour I was still anxious around him.
"What's your take on this Sam?" he asked my Dame in a low quiet voice. "What's your gut telling you?"
She shook her head slightly, "I don't know, but I don't like it. We're all in here, that means nobody's out on patrol."
Reuben pointed out, "Not all. Cynthia's not here, neither is Carlos."
Sam replied softly, "Cyn doesn't consider herself one of us, she sees herself with the upper crust. She'll arrive with Isabelle, rather than waste time rubbing shoulders with the troops. As for Carlos..."
There was a pause then a sigh, before she half-whispered "He's either part of Isabelle's big announcement, or he's in big trouble, or he's dead. Or all of the above."
Reuben stared at Sam for a few seconds then he nodded slightly. After that he stayed quiet, but he stayed with us.
I felt a little pang of shock at Samantha's prediction. Not that I questioned or doubted her, but I knew Carlos was at least five decades dead. He'd been a peacekeeper since before Sam was even turned. The idea of someone or something killing him left me feeling even more uneasy.
We were all kept waiting another eight or ten minutes. The other vamps continued their small-talk, while me and Samantha and Reuben stayed silent at the back by the window.
I sensed Isabelle's arrival before she even entered the room. It was like an oppressive darkness preceded her, and the air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. The quiet conversation died away a moment before she strode in through the door. Cynthia followed two steps behind her.
Isabelle wore a black ankle-skirt and a dark green sweater, and flat dress shoes on her feet. She was about five-foot-five, and looked to be in her mid-twenties. She wore her short brown hair in a friendly style, and had some subtle make-up on her pretty face. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a nineteen-seventies church congregation.
And she was utterly terrifying to me. Despite her appearance I could almost feel her age and her strength like a thick choking fog had stolen the air from the room. Her eyes swept over everyone in attendance. They were only on me for a second but in that second I felt like I shrank another inch or two. I had no doubt she could kill everyone here with her bare hands, without even raising a sweat.
Cynthia stood two paces to the left and one pace back of Isabelle. Our boss was dressed in another designer pantsuit, and she looked her usual bitchy self. She was calm but frowning.
After another minute or so of complete silence, Isabelle took a breath then stated, "Carlos is dead. We believe there is a Hunter in the city."
Oh shiiiiiiiit
retpahc eht rof sknaht, tsal