“Angel? Where are you?” Blaine’s voice on the phone had me on edge.

I’d debated calling my boyfriend all day but was afraid he’d be just as upset as I was about losing my job. He was always so successful in everything he did. But not me. And I just couldn’t go home right now. Not after I’d been drinking all day. “I’m fine, don’t worry—“

“But you’ve been gone all day!”

“Listen, I um...” Quick, think of something. “Um, ran into some old friends of mine after work.”

Silence. Did he believe me? “Are you drunk?” he asked, and my shoulders tensed.

“K-kinda. But it’s okay. I’ll be home really soon, okay?”

Silence again. Finally, he huffed. “I don’t know. Who are these friends you’re with?”

What should I tell him: I’m with a vampire hunter and we’re going to find a vampire?

“It’s just... an old high school buddy.” I breathed. There was no way he couldn’t see through my lies. He knew as well as I did that I had no high school friends anymore.

“Fine. Whatever.” Blaine clicked his tongue. “No. You know what? Just don’t even come home tonight. Let’s talk in the morning when you’re sober.”

“But—“

“That’s enough, Angel. Good-bye.”

Argh! I slammed the door behind me. Why did I come right back here after that? If I had the mind, I’d jump on the next bus back home and tell Blaine everything.

Why was I so scared? Maybe it was because Blaine intimidated me. Sure, we’d been together for years but his successes still made me feel like a failure at everything. A high school drop out punk who hadn’t been able to hold a job since he was sixteen couldn’t compete with the likes of him—a college grad, a successful entrepreneur, and drop-dead gorgeous father of the year.

I collapsed to the floor burying my head between my knees.

“Did something happen?” the man asked.

“He...” I swallowed. “It’s my boyfriend.”

“You tried to explain to him what happened tonight?” The man sighed. “No surprise. You mortals think the worse.”

I raised my head. “Who exactly are you?”

The man stood and pet the back of my head. “Suppose I am nothing. Ah...” A slight chuckle echoed from his throat. “My name is Lucious. It is all you must know for now. In any case, now that you’ve returned, we shall start the investigations tonight.”

“Tonight?” I jerked away from his touch and stood quickly, wobbly on my own two feet.

“Best time is now, wouldn’t you say?” He swung open the door, waving me out to follow him, then disappeared.

I peered around the doorway, spotting only a shadow vanishing around the house. “Hey!” I rushed out the door and followed the figure—his figure—skirting fast along the sidewalk.

He lead me passed the other houses to an abandoned area nearby a small stream. As late as it was, there was no one else around. Just us. A shiver crossed my spine.

The clouds were thick in the sky, covering the moon. A cool breeze whipped my bangs from around my face, tickling my neck and bringing me a chill.

I stopped when he did.

“It’s here. This is where I awoke. I’m sure you can sense it already,” he said.

“I sense nothing.” Which was a fact. It didn’t take much for me to get that inkling of a different presence around me. And the truth was, there was absolutely nothing here of supernatural essence.

“Very well. Walk around then. Over by the water, or the rocks over there. Tell me what you feel.” He motioned to a grouping of boulders away from us.

“Alright, then.” I took his advice and bent down where he advised I go.

I listened for voices. I searched my thoughts, my fears, my anxieties for anything other than his company standing impatiently behind me. At first, there was nothing. Only the sand, the whistling of the thistles in the wind, and the stony rocks that made up the land.

But soon, something strange made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. An inkling. A sense. I’d tried to push it back so I could understand it more—if I didn’t restrain it, it would try to consume me. I gasped in a breath, suddenly feeling as if I couldn’t breathe.

“Death,” I whispered. Digging my fingers in the sand, I spotted red flicks of something that once was...

“Blood?” his voice lingered in the air behind me.

I jumped up on my feet. “Someone died here. Their blood drained from their body...” I swallowed. Strange how I knew as I never had such premonitions. Had this gift I was born with improved over the years, though I never used it like this before?

“At least we know you truly have the gift,” he said, lightheartedly.

“You did this!” The words poured out from my mouth.

“Calm down. This is not what we came out here for.”

“No! You killed someone here, so you brought me to show me you’re a murderer.” There were no clues or reason I should think that, but for some reason, I did. No, I knew it was true. The senses drawing through me now told me, he was definitely a murderer.

“And what of the vampire? Do you sense him?”

“Vampire?” I groaned. “No. I don’t. Matter of fact...”

“I’m leaving.” I took a step forward.

“Wait,” he said, standing in my way. “You don’t understand your gift, do you? There’s much more to it than just sensing spirits.”

“I don’t care to understand.” I brushed past him, seeking a way out. “I want to go home. Apologize to my partner. Get on with my life... without you!”

It was quiet as I walked a few feet as if he decided to let me go of my own will. Perhaps I should keep an eye out in case he was holding a knife, ready to kill me.

Then, his voice came to me. “There’s so much that you don’t understand about yourself, Angel.”

I turned swiftly, prepared to give him a piece of my mind. He was gone.