Blood. A lot of it. The scent permeated the room, and drew my consciousness to the fore. I sat up and replaced my hat on my head. I felt Tess pacing on the far side of a blood smeared door. I pushed through into the main room. A body lay off to the side covered in a tarp. Dawn, Daïna, and Walter sat around the ruins of what had once been our card table. Daïna was blood covered, and naked, save Dawn's jacket. Mike approached from the far side. 

“What in the flying fuck happened here?” I asked. 

Walter took an ice pack from Mike and held it over a bruised eye, “fucking mutiny,” he said. 

Dawn jerked a thumb towards Walter, “one of his tried to stake you in your sleep. Daïna didn't take kindly to that.”

“Shit,” I said. 

Walter nodded, “they didn't see the benefits of an alliance with an enemy agent.”

“Why are you naked?” I asked Daïna.

“I did not have time to change out of my clothes before I transformed.”

“Ah. Well. Thanks for saving my ass.”

She shrugged, “were it not I, Dawn would have intervened.”

“I'm sorry,” I told Walter. 

“They made their choices. Tried to talk ‘em out of it.”

“Just the one?” I asked, gesturing at the tarp.

Mike spoke up, “One dead, the rest bailed. It's just me n Walt left willing to work with a vamp.”

“Fuck. To what do I owe this loyalty?”

“Nothing really,” Walter said, “The others called me a traitor. No changing their minds on that. Your partners saved my life as much as yours.”

“Huh.” I said, turning to Mike, “what about you?”

He held up a hand to display a gold ring, “till death.”

I nodded, “I get it.”

“What’s next for you two?” Dawn asked Walter.

Mike shrugged and answered after sharing a glance with Walter, “home. Shit’s fucked. Original plan was to follow you lot to Casa Loma and clean house there after you got what you wanted.”

Walter continued for Mike, “even odds the rest will go ahead and try to clean house there, anyway.”

“Fuck.” I said. I crossed the space to the tarp, and flipped up a corner. The body was in rough shape. Daïna had really done a number on the guy. At least their pants retained the structural integrity necessary to hold a set of car keys. I replaced the tarp, and turned to face the others, “well, should we go for a royal visit?”

Daïna stood and took the keys from my hand, “I’ll drive. I believe a Canadian driver’s license would arouse less suspicion if we encounter the RCMP.”

I nodded and relinquished the keys.

“If you do get there in time,” Walter said, “be appreciated if you kept as many Hunters alive as possible.”

“Are you still willing to work with them? After this?” I asked, “looks like they tried to take you out as much as they did me.”

Mike answered for Walter, “Yeah. They might be short-sighted assholes, but we still have a common enemy. Difference in approach aside.”

Walter nodded at Mike in agreement, then took a step towards me. He held out a hand. I shook it, “good luck,” he said, “I hope you’re able to get the payback you’re after.”

“Fingers fucking crossed,” I said. 

—*—

The first minutes of the drive were taken in silence. Daïna had taken the time to wash off the blood in a work sink. Mike had provided her a set of clean clothes from the trunk of his taxi. Ill fitting as they were on her frame. The scent of blood still permeated the cab, despite the wash. It got on my nerves. Made me hungry. On edge as I was, I didn’t catch the first two times Daïna spoke my name.

“Huh? What?” I asked after Tess jabbed my ribs by reaching through my seat. Daïna’s jaw was clenched, “sorry. Off in my own world,” I said, “what's up?”

“Back in the warehouse,” Daïna started, “Walter referred to all of us— well, Dawn and I. I do not believe he was aware of Tess—” she paused to collect her thoughts, “Walter referred to us, myself included, as your partners. You did not correct him.”

“Shit,” I said, “sorry. Didn’t even catch that.” I lifted my hat free, and ran my hand through my hair in a nervous gesture, “we have Walter's contact info. I can shoot him a text and set the record straight. Honest mistake. Won't happen again.”

Dawn leaned forward from the back seat, and let fly a jab into my arm, “dumb fuck. She doesn't care about the record, she wants to know how you actually feel.”

Daïna bit her lip. She kept her eyes on the road, but I could feel her watching me with her peripheral, “Dawn is correct. The thought crossed my mind that it may have been a declaration of your intentions.” She pressed the brake to stop at a light. 

“I thought werewolves hated us vampires.”

She turned to face me, “Loup-garou. Not werewolf. The difference is subtle, but matters. And yes. We do. But so do hunters. So do you, if I'm not mistaken.”

“Well shit.” I said, “can't argue there.”

Daïna accelerated at the green light, “so?”

“So do you want that to have been a declaration of my intentions?”

“I would like you to be honest.”

I nodded, “honestly? Hadn’t really considered you as a prospective partner. Didn’t even think that that was on the table. Friends with a common goal, sure, but before Dawn, I was strictly monogamous. I’m not exactly out there trying to collect girlfriends like Pokemon.”

Dawn leaned forward from the back seat as far as her seatbelt would allow, “and you, Daïna? How do you feel about our dear Jane?”

“I am—“ she started, “curious.”

“Curious?” I asked.

“When the Hunter tried to stake you. My heart broke. That was— not an emotion I expected in myself given the circumstances. So— curious. You are someone I would like to get to know better. There is a depth to you.”

I saw Dawn glance towards Tess, though she couldn’t see her at the moment. “Jane can confirm, but I think I speak for Tess and I when I ask what you want from our partner.”

Daïna took her eyes off the road for just a moment to look around the cab at those of us who were visible to her, “you all are very forward.”

I shrugged, “no point in beating around the bush.”

Daïna nodded, “after we end your sire, I would continue spending time in the company of you and your partners.”

I listened to Tess and repeated, “Tess is asking ‘as a friend, or as a partner?’”

“Forward, indeed,” Daïna said, quietly. “I am unsure. I have not had the opportunity to properly introspect my emotions. Would you all accept friends for now, and revisit the question of partners in the future after I've had time to consider?”

I glanced around, getting nods of affirmation from both Tess and Dawn, “works for us,” I said. 

 

—*—

The carriage loop of Casa Loma had more cars than a closed attraction had any right to. I wondered how many of these cars belonged to vampires. Or if Walter's hunters had made a beeline right for here. 

“Plan?” Dawn asked. 

“Well the vamp we got the intel from did say vampire court is held here. Figure that means I'm supposed to be here. Maybe we can just walk in, and request an audience?”

“Could work,” Dawn said. 

I listened, “Tess says she'll watch our backs and warn me if there's fuckery afoot.”

Daïna popped the trunk, and Dawn slipped her rifle free, working the lever to chamber a cartridge. She hoisted the rifle's sling over her shoulder. Ready, but not threatening. “Lead the way,” she told me.

We approached the doors in a line. I briefly considered trying to Aragorn the doors but opted for a stealthier approach. After Tess checked ahead for alarms I cracked the door just enough for the lot of us to slip inside. The foyer was well lit and empty. The coats slung over the backs of the chairs behind the ticket counter indicated that guards or greeters once watched the door. I grabbed a brochure from a plastic stand. We crossed the threshold into the great hall. Had I breath, it might’ve been taken away. Vaulted ceiling. Intricate carvings, and a floor so polished I could almost see my reflection. I stopped dead in my tracks. The smell was unmistakable. 

Daïna smelled it, too. “Blood,” she said.

“Fuck.” I said. 

Dawn let the rifle fall from her shoulder to a low ready position. “Walter’s hunters?” She asked.

“Hope not,” I said. 

“Fingers fucking crossed,” Dawn muttered. “Which way?”

“Left,” Daïna said. 

My sense of smell had gotten a lot better in undeath, but Daïna’s was still an order of magnitude better. Gold gilded double glass doors blocked the end of the hall. I locked eyes with the man inside. A fang filled grin greeted me through the pane as I placed a hand on each door and pushed my way through. 

“Welcome, Jane Farrier.” My sire said from atop a pile of bodies. His booted foot rolled one to the floor. I recognized the dead guy. Had joined the poker game the night prior. Nice enough guy. Had a neon tell, breathing in sharply, when his hand was good. Seems Walter’s hunters had made their way here after all. The smell of blood only got stronger. I ran my tongue over my fangs involuntarily. Dawn had her rifle's stock pressed firmly into her shoulder, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. 

“Duncan another alias?” I asked.

My sire laughed, “no, child. No. Duncan previously held court here. From this very room in fact.”

“Didn’t know vampires took vacations.”

My sire, Timothy, threw his head back and laughed. It was haunting. Chilled me to the bone, and slammed my mind back to mine and Tess’ blood soaked apartment. Fuck this guy. 

He spoke, “Duncan had heard of you. He wished to take pity on you. Take you under his wing.”

“Oh?” I questioned.

He nodded, “and did not listen when I told him of your drive. Your loathing of vampire kind.”

“So you warned him off, and stuck around yourself?” I rolled my eyes, “bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off.”

“I—“ my sire started to say, cut off by the roar of my revolver. He dove to the side, and my bullet smashed through the tall window behind him. He laughed.

I took aim again, or started to. My eye was inexorably drawn to the floor behind the macabre pile, visible now as I shifted position. I recognized the red stained pattern on the floor. The body with the open chest cavity. Organs pinned in a pattern, and blood smeared in circles and runes. The same sigils that had adorned the wall behind the murdered Mrs. Renfrue, though the central rune was hidden under the corpse.

Timothy laughed again, “recognize it? Yes. I see that you do.” He ducked to the side under a shot from Dawn and her rifle. 

A sick cracking sound distracted us before we could continue fire. At first I thought it was Daïna, but it was coming from the ritual circle. The sound continued. A burst of sulfurous stench flooded the room. Another crack. Booming. It felt like the air itself was rending. The open body in the circle twitched. A clawed hand two feet wide burst from the open chest cavity. The claws dug into the floor, cracking marble and pulled more arm out of the chest. The flesh of the thing was black. So black it seemed to draw all the light into it. Reminded me of that carbon nanotube paint. It made it look two dimensional. Without form. Reality warped as a second arm clawed it’s way out of the chest. Horned head, and broad shoulders followed. All much too large to have fit in the chest cavity of the man. Behind me, Daïna's bone breaking transformation added to the cacophony. 

She placed a now clawed hand on my shoulder, “this fight is for me, little pup. You focus on your sire.” Her words were only slightly slurred by her lengthening snout.

I nodded up at her. Christ, she was tall like this. I touched Dawn's elbow, and she turned away from the demon that had fully emerged from the chest cavity. We faced my sire together. Just in time to see the half dozen or so bodies twitch and jerk to life. No. Not life. Undeath. Fuck. He had turned every hunter that had come here tonight. Distracted as we were, Timothy made a break for it. I took a step in pursuit, but stopped. Daïna was locked claw to claw with a goddamn demon, and I couldn't leave Dawn to face this many vamps by herself. 

She guessed my train of thought, and grabbed the collar of my jacket, pulling my face down into a kiss. “Go after the fuck,” she said, “I've got this.”

I hesitated just a second. I knew all too well how the blood frenzy surged within a freshly turned vampire. The boom of her rifle, and the mechanical working of the lever snapped me into motion. I sprinted out the door after Timothy.

The hall was empty. I stepped softly, and listened as I replaced the spent cartridge in my revolver. A scuff and a click to my right. I glanced at the brochure. Sir Henry's study, and oh. Well that's interesting. I stuffed it back into my pocket and picked up the pace, entering the study with gun drawn. Empty. As I expected. Brochure said there were secret panels built into the wall here. One led up, the other down. I figured Timothy was smart enough to avoid trapping himself in the wine cellar. Tess poked her head through the wall, and told me which one was which. Hadn't been able to see the latch, though. I shrugged and put a fist through the mahogany panel, ripping it clear. I raced up the steps. No point being quiet. Tim had to know I was in hot pursuit. The chair that slammed into my face at the top of the steps a clear sign a cautious approach would've been better. I tumbled halfway down the steep steps before Tess stopped my fall. I groaned, “thanks for the save, hun.” I ascended the stairs again, slowing at the top to clear my corners. The room was empty. Tim had moved on. The door still ajar. I stepped towards it, and stopped. Was the room empty? I sniffed the air, and briefly wished for a loup-garou’s sense of smell. I whirled, and shot. A spray of blood erupted from the thin air before the opening to the stairs down. My sire screamed, and became visible once more. I roared and grabbed him by his collar to violently throw him across the room. He struck the desk, and spun over it. I cleared the desk myself, and put another round through his chest. Unfortunately, not before he got a boot in between us. I tumbled over his head. He scrambled to his feet, and ran for the door.

“NO MORE FUCKING RUNNING,” I yelled after him, running out. I shot again. Missed. My fourth shot blew out TIm’s kneecap from behind. I holstered, and swung a fist at the back of his head. He fell fully. He rolled, and put arms up to defend his face. I threw punch after punch anyway. Bone crunching on bone. I put all my hate and rage into each blow. My life had been turned upside down by the man under my fists. My sire stopped moving. I stopped throwing punches. He coughed up blood. 

“Your wife begged when you killed her, you know.”

I gritted my teeth. Rage coloured my vision, “you’re taunting me fucking now?”

Tim was silent. He stared at me. “Yes,” he said, and placed a hand to my chest. My back exploded outwards as the spear of blood punctured my body. He stood, knee fully healed. The blood spear twisted painfully. I grunted. “You,” he said through gritted teeth, and fangs bared, “are an insolent little shit.” He pushed the spear down. I fell to a knee. “You’re right, though,” he said, “no more running. I made you for food, and food you will be.” I winced in pain as he pushed the blood spear down again. He opened his mouth, fangs descending on my vulnerable neck.  

“Counterpoint,” I said, and pressed the barrel of my revolver to the hand holding the spear. I pulled the trigger and disintegrated his wrist. Connection to the man lost, the blood spear going through me melted back to liquid and slopped to the floor. I dropped my empty gun, and drove my palm up under his chin. I felt his jaw shatter. He reeled back. I lunged ahead and sunk my fangs into his neck. I felt his blood flow into me. He swung a fist at the side of my head. I ignored it. His blows got weaker the more blood I took. He fell to his knees, and I followed him down. I continued to drink. There was a brief struggle as the blood frenzy took him, but it was too late. He had nothing left. I had taken everything from him. I let go. He fell back. I wiped a hand across my mouth. It came back red. I stared at the body before me. I wasn't sure how long I sat. I barely felt Tess clutching my arm to her chest. I was numb. Another hand squeezed my shoulder, and Dawn sat next to me. Tess blinked over to my other side so the two weren't sharing a space.

“You got him.” Dawn said, matter of factly.

I tore my eyes off the drained remains of my sire. Dawn was covered in blood. She saw my unasked question.

“I'm fine,” she said, “none of it is mine.”

I nodded, and looked back at the body. 

Dawn gave me a minute before she spoke again, pulling a large knife from her belt, “do you want to do it?”

I thought on it. Tim was done. But he wasn't finished until he was staked and beheaded. After so much, after going so far, why now did I feel apathy? Indifference to my sire's end. I gave my head a barely perceptible shake. Dawn gave my shoulder another squeeze before she stood and drove a stake into my sire's chest, piercing his heart. She moved to his head, and brought the knife down hard. She had to saw at the end a bit, but head was removed from body without fanfare.

She wiped the blade clean, and returned to sit next to me. “Feel any better?” She asked. 

“No.” I answered truthfully, “I feel—” I paused, “I don't know. Numb?” Everything since our death has been leading to this moment, and now— Fuck. I didn't think killing the fucker would change anything, but I guess there was a bit of hope in the back of my head. That killing him would undo what he did to me. Would bring Tess back—” I trailed off.

Dawn leaned into me, “revenge is like that. You think it'll fix everything, and when it doesn't— well. It's a shitty, hollow feeling. I know it. When dad and I got the vamp that turned mom, we both knew it wouldn't bring her back. But—” she paused to take a deep breath, “but we hoped.”

I wiped a palm against my eye, trying to stave off any tears, “fucking sucks.”

“Yeah. It does. There's no undoing that kind of hurt. But it's not all bad. You were hurt. Tess was hurt. But you can rest easy knowing that that guy won't be able to inflict that pain on anyone else ever again.”

I forced my lungs through the motion of a sigh. “Yeah. I guess you're right.” I stood, and helped Dawn to her feet, “Daïna?” I asked. 

Dawn laughed, “kicked ass! Sent that demon back to hell, and helped me finish off the last of the vamps. She's, uh—” she paused, blood rushing to colour her cheeks, “she's looking for clothes. Tore through em again, and is fully naked at the moment.”

“Ah,” I said. “I see. Well, let's wait for her downstairs.” I gestured at the headless body, “I’m more than ready to wash my hands of— all this.” 

“Hands and face, I think,” Dawn said, mouth quirked in a cheeky grin.

“Shit,” I said, and tried to clean more of the blood with my jacket sleeve. 

“It’s fine, we both need a shower, I think.”

“Promise?”

She punched my arm playfully, “down, girl!”

We shared a laugh, and strode down the stairs hand in hand, Tess holding my free one.

Daïna was waiting for us freshly clothed in a shirt labeled staff. “I am glad to see you survived the encounter with your sire. He is finished, yes?”

“Yeah,” I said, “he’s done. It’s finished.”

She nodded, “what will you do now?” 

I shared a glance with Dawn and Tess, “I legitimately don’t know. Sleep on it first, for sure. I’m fucking exhausted. Emotionally and physically.” I gestured at the hole in my shirt left by the blood spear. “After that? Fuck if I know.”

Dawn squeezed my hand, “I wouldn’t mind sticking around town a bit. I feel bad for Walter and Mike, having to rebuild the local hunter force. And—“ she paused to sigh heavily, “and it means I wouldn’t have to deal with trouble at home for a bit longer.”

I squeezed her hand back in agreement. 

Daïna cocked her head to the side, “I believe we should continue this conversation elsewhere. I can hear sirens closing.”

“Fuck,” I said, “good ear. Let’s go home.”