Neither Tara or myself reacted with shock or surprise as we found ourselves staring down the barrels of Daniel's and Kathryn's guns. I'd suspected this sort of welcome since Jess first started asking us to come back here to help them.

For the moment, Tara and I stood just inside the meeting room as we surveyed the scene.

Julian and Olivia stood side by side in the middle of the room, they were about five meters from Tara and I. Daniel stood about a meter back and to the left of Julian, Kathryn was likewise about a meter back and to the right of Olivia. That put both enforcers roughly six meters away from me and Tara.

With their weapons already on us, there was little chance for either Tara or myself to move without risking horrific silver injuries.

I slowly raised my hands up and to the sides slightly in a gesture of surrender, and Tara did the same.

"Jessica," I said calmly while I kept my eyes on the two elders, "Why do I get the feeling that you led me and Tara into a trap?"

The redheaded vamp closed the door behind us, then in an apologetic tone she replied "Sorry Samantha. We all do what we have to do when it comes to survival."

Olivia spoke up, addressing me and my girlfriend. "If either of you reach for your weapons you will be shot full of silver and left to suffer for a month or two before we get around to finishing you off. Surrender now and we will be merciful."

I'd never actually met her before, but I knew at a glance she was an elder. She was in her late twenties when she died, and like nearly every other vamp I'd ever met she was attractive, though in Olivia's case she'd benefit by doing something about her 'resting bitch face'.

Her short blonde hair was done in a vintage style, and she was wearing a pale yellow knee-length dress and low heeled shoes. She looked the same height as Jessica, about five-foot-eight, and she was slim. Her figure was a little more angular than curvy.

By contrast, Julian was one of the older-looking vamps in the Family, and one of the handful who wasn't much of a looker. He'd been in his mid-forties when he was turned. He was around the same height as Olivia, but his shoulders stooped slightly. His short dark hair had some grey streaks, and his olive-toned skin had picked up a few faint wrinkles before his age was forever frozen in place.

He was dressed in dark slacks, a button-down shirt, and an old tweed jacket. The only thing he was missing was the wire-rimmed glasses, then he'd have the math-teacher look perfected.

I waved my two raised hands slightly and pointed out, "We've already surrendered. So what's next?"

Daniel and Kathryn still had their weapons trained on us, as Jessica stepped forward. She reached into my jacket pocket and removed my folding knife, then she moved around beside Tara and pulled up the hem of her hoodie and took the forty-five from my girlfriend's holster.

The gun was tucked into Jessica's belt, and my small knife went into her jacket pocket.

She didn't bother trying to take my chain, but I realized she might not have even known it was a weapon. I almost never used the thing, she'd probably never seen it in action. And more to the point, she didn't take the dagger from the hidden sheath inside my jacket. Then I remembered, I never told her or the others about that, never showed them. When we were talking weapons in the park that day I told them all I carried was a knife. Jess must have assumed I was referring to the folding lock-blade I'd kept with me for the last thirty years.

And just like the last time we faced a couple elders, nobody thought to actually search us. It was kind of refreshing knowing they never fucking learned.

Once we were 'disarmed' Jess moved to stand behind me and slightly to my left. Daniel and Kathryn relaxed, they both lowered their weapons but didn't put them away. Daniel held his shotgun sort of at-ease in his hands, the barrel was pointed downwards and to his left. Kathryn held her big handgun at her side, pointed at the floor.

I noticed Kathryn's revolver wasn't even cocked, and I knew my girlfriend would have picked up on that too. She'd probably already worked out her plan of attack based on where the two enforcers were and how they were holding their weapons.

Olivia motioned us forward, and me and Tara slowly approached while Jessica followed behind us.

Tara and I stopped when there was only about a meter separating the two of us from the two elders. Julian stood directly in front of me, Olivia stood before Tara.

I let my hands drop to my sides since nobody was pointing guns at us anymore, and Tara did the same.

"So what happens now?" I asked, as I looked back and forth between the two elders.

Julian finally spoke up. He smiled coldly at me as he replied, "I have very good news for you Samantha. Do you remember Jessica offered you the position of matriarch? She said if you came back you'd be in charge of all this. Well that's about to come true. The bad news is, you won't be alive to enjoy it."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "I'm not alive now, dumbass. I've been dead for thirty-seven years, remember?"

"You know what I mean!" he insisted with a frown.

He really did remind me of a high-school math teacher. It was like mouthing off in class then cracking jokes when the teacher tried to act all serious. Not that I ever did that back then. I was too shy and insecure, but I saw other kids do it.

Instead of responding to him again I just looked to my right. My eyes met Tara's and I told her, "Whatever happens Tara, I love you. I always will."

She gave me a warm smile and replied, "I love you too Sam."

The moment wasn't quite as powerful as when I originally confessed to her at our first show-down, but it still felt good.

And it was ruined almost immediately as Julian leered at Tara and said in his creepy old-guy voice, "Maybe I'll keep the little one around for my entertainment afterwards. Since we'll already be so close."

Tara responded with some exaggerated gagging noises.

Olivia seemed to have had enough of our antics, she sighed impatiently "Just get it over with."

Julian nodded, then suddenly crumpled to the floor like a puppet who's strings were cut. I knew that could only mean one thing, the Slúag Marb that was possessing him had vacated the body. It was now here in the room with us, invisible, invulnerable, and deadly.

Daniel and Kathryn looked startled when the elder collapsed, but Jessica stayed still and silent behind me. I figured she probably knew what to expect, and she certainly knew what Julian and Olivia really were. She'd probably told the elders about that ancient blood in me, which made me a more appealing host than old Julian.

And now the Slúag that used to be him planned on possessing me instead. I'd be gone, and Slúag Samantha would become the new matriarch.

The smell of decay was in the air almost immediately. Julian was probably the oldest vamp in the Family, and his body had already started decomposing.

Before I could react to any of this, I suddenly felt it inside me.

It didn't exactly hurt, but it was absolutely the most horrific sensation I'd ever experienced. My vision immediately darkened to a tunnel as my body went numb and cold. It felt like all my strength and energy suddenly left me, and I could actually feel every part of my very being dying at the same time.

I barely had time to panic about the tattoo not working when I felt a pulse of warmth across the back of my neck and the sense of impending death recoiled even quicker than it had struck in the first place. My strength was back, as near as I could tell I was completely unharmed.

Despite being unharmed, I wasn't unaffected. My mind reeled from the shock of the experience, and I was positive I'd be reliving that sensation in my nightmares for the next few decades. I glanced to my right, expecting it to try taking Tara since it was forced to spit me out.

Instead I heard a whimper from Jessica behind me, and I knew she was gone. The Slúag passed over my girlfriend believing her to be a small weak seven-year-dead vamp, in favour of the tall strong seventy-two-year dead redheaded enforcer.

Penny never mentioned how long it would take for a Slúag to get settled in after possessing a new body, so I had no idea when Slúag Jess would take action. It didn't matter though, I had no intention of waiting around to find out.

My enhanced speed and reflexes kicked in, and I went for my weapons. My right hand drew the silver-inlaid dagger from under my jacket while my left hand went for my chain. With only two good fingers on the right I couldn't do much in the way of fancy knife-fighting, but I could hold the weapon which was good enough.

I spun around towards Jess and flicked my chain back then forwards. The weight of the steel ball pulled the chain around the redhead's neck and I gave it a sharp tug. Slúag Jess was yanked forward, straight onto the blade of my silver-inlaid dagger.

I held the chain tight in my left hand, keeping Jessica pressed against me as I spun the two of us back around to face the others. I was using her as a shield now, incase anyone started shooting at me. Then I twisted the knife before pulling it free of her chest, and immediately thrust it upwards into her throat.

Meanwhile Tara had already burst into action.

She launched herself straight into Kathryn and tackled the taller woman. Both of them were in a heap on the floor but Tara was far stronger and faster than the older enforcer. At the same time Olivia broke into a run. She was making a break for the door, trying to escape into the main hall.

My girlfriend easily pried the revolver from Kathryn's grasp. She raised and cocked it in one motion then pulled the trigger. The magnum was fucking deafening in the enclosed space of the meeting room, and there was a significant kick but Tara had four years of firearms training in addition to her enhanced strength and reflexes.

The bullet hit Olivia square in the back and the Slúag elder collapsed a meter short of the exit, leaving a spatter of dark blood surrounding a hole in the solid wood door.

Tara immediately turned the magnum on Daniel. She cocked and fired again without hesitation.

Daniel hadn't had time to even raise his gun, he was still standing there looking stunned. Tara's shot hit him in the middle of the forehead and he dropped like Julian had a minute ago. A trail of dark blood and grey matter splashed across the carpet behind his head.

And finally Tara turned the gun on Kathryn who was still on the floor next to my girlfriend. The last enforcer didn't even have a chance to beg for her life before Tara shot her in the head at point blank range.

I lowered Slúag Jessica's body to the floor and unwrapped my chain from her neck, while my girlfriend moved to Daniel and picked up the shotgun.

My dagger wasn't the best tool for the job but we didn't have a sword or axe handy and we needed to be certain the last two Slúag would never rise again. It took two messy strokes but I was able to cut the head off with my vamp-hunter blade.

Meanwhile Tara had moved to my side. She stood over me with the revolver in her right hand and the shotgun in her left. I looked up as she cocked the revolver. Our eyes met and I could see the anxiety in her expression.

"I need to be sure it's you," she said in a soft but wary voice. "Jacuzzi or bed Sam, which is it?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation I found myself grinning. "Jacuzzi. We have a bed at home."

With a sigh of relief Tara lowered the hammer of the revolver then stuffed the gun into her belt. She crouched and retrieved her forty-five from Jessica's body, and tucked that back into her holster. Then as she straightened up again she suddenly raised the shotgun and fired it over my head.

That was even louder than the magnum, but it proved a lot more effective. Slúag Olivia was back on her feet and had been trying to sneak away, but now she flopped over and started screaming and thrashing as smoke rose up from a half dozen vicious wounds on her back and side.

Tara calmly took a few steps closer to the screaming vamp as she pumped the shotgun, then she pressed the barrel into Slúag Olivia's throat and pulled the trigger. It was noisier and messier than me and my dagger, but it was also a lot faster and just as effective.

Without a word I moved to the bodies of the last two enforcers. I didn't bother trying to take their heads off, but I deeply slashed both Daniel's and Kathryn's throats with my silver-inlayed knife just to be sure.

"Are we done here?" Tara asked me.

I nodded, "I think so. That's the last of their enforcers and the last of the elders. Hopefully the last of the Slúag Marb."

I tucked my dagger back into the hidden sheath and looped my chain around my left shoulder again. I even retrieved my folding knife from Jessica's body and slipped it into my right pocket.

Meanwhile my kick-ass hardcore girlfriend was carrying the twelve-gauge shotgun in her hands and had the forty-four magnum revolver tucked into her belt, not to mention her own gun in its holster.

For some reason she reminded me of the original Terminator movie, if you replaced Arnold with a tiny cute busty blonde.

My girlfriend pumped the shotgun and said, "Then let's go home."

Tara led the way out into the main hall. There were three vamps out there waiting. I only recognized two of them, Victor and one of the guys who used to do the blood deliveries. They probably heard all the racket and came to investigate, or maybe they were part of the elders' plan for us.

My girlfriend didn't hesitate and she wasn't messing around. She obviously took Penny's pep-talk to heart, especially the part about no mercy and not leaving any enemies standing.

Victor caught a face-full of silver shot and went down in an instant. Tara blasted the other two in the back as they were fleeing.

Nobody else dared show their face as we made our way out the front door and got back into our SUV.

It wasn't even a quarter past nine as we left the property and set out on the long drive back home.

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