Accession

Chapter 2: The Warning

"Dannnng."

I drew the word out and finished on a sharp exhale.

The two men blocking the road were huge. Well over six feet, both. Their massive frames stood out against the brightening horizon like skyscrapers. I knew, just as Memphis and Ken knew, those men were not human. And, they looked vaguely familiar.

"Step aside, human. This is no business of yours." The shorter of the two had balls.

From my assumed safe spot behind the truck, I listened to the men argue. I knew that, should either of them feel frisky, there was nothing our security detail could do to stop them. Memphis's knuckles grazed the back of my hand in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"What do you think they want?" Ken asked.

"Maybe they want my autograph and a picture. I am a big star, after all." There was the cocky Memphis I knew and loved.

"I doubt it." I nudged him playfully with my elbow. "They don't look like fans to me."

"Oh, sure, they are!" He took a step forward and turned, pressing his front against mine. Gesturing toward them, he said, "Just look at their dark, stereotypical clothing and glowering stares! They are absolutely fans."

"Memphis, hush!" I laughed and looked back at them. The laughter came to a swift halt when I realized the icy blue eyes of the taller man were drilling into me.

Ken noticed. "What? Do you know them? Who are they?"

"Um." I tried to think. As I flipped through the mental rolodex, a ball of pain took shape between my eyes. "I don't, I don't know."

"Babe? You okay?" Memphis stroked my cheek.

"Yeah. Yeah. Just a little headache."

Blue Eyes smirked, a devious and disturbing half-smile that gave me the impression he knew exactly what was going on. Then, he let out a sound that spiked my heart rate. It was like a laugh, but not. It was evil. Pure evil. "Give Fallon a message for us. Tell her we're watching."

I couldn't make out the guard's reply, mostly because I was too busy trying to figure out how I knew them. Especially after my name was mentioned.

"Babe? Hey, babe?"

"Huh?" I shook my head, blinked away the ache, and focused on Memphis. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Dude said, 'the time is coming.' Do you know what that means?"

My eyes flicked to the horizon. The sun would be up soon. As a dhampir, the sun didn't bother me at all. I could run around naked, doing cartwheels on the beach at noon, if I so desired. My human half protected me. Ken, however, was one of the few remaining full vamps on the planet, and Memphis was sunlight sensitive. Daybreak was not their friend.

"No, I don't." I side-stepped Memphis and rounded the side of the truck. "Wait. They're gone."

"Yeah. Strangest thing. A few minutes ago, they just vanished. Just, poof." Ken flexed his fingers flamboyantly to illustrate his point.

"You've never met anyone who could dematerialize?" I asked, almost in disbelief.

"No, honey, I'm not from the old world. How many vampires do you think I've been around?"

I shrugged. The old world was long gone, true, but vamps weren't the only ones who could divide their cells and transport themselves anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. Memphis and I did it all the time.

"Well," I said, clapping my hands together. "Now that's over, we need to get this last shot. The sun will be up soon."

Ken snapped into action. "Yes! I was actually thinking those two brutes stopped us in a good spot."

He broke into long strides, crossing nearly four feet of ground in a single step. Holding his hands out in front of him, he squared his thumbs and index fingers. "Follow me! Follow me! Follow me!"

"Do you think we should follow him?" Memphis asked beneath a furrowed brow.

"We absolutely should." Although, I didn't need to tag along to see what Ken saw.

Ahead of us, the asphalt gave way to a loose dirt road that ran alongside a sharp cliff. Beyond that, the dark water of the ocean raged like a caged lion. Whitecaps rose and crashed with an angry melody that filled my heart with joy. It was the perfect place for the last scene, especially considering the first was Memphis shredding the opening chords on a peak overlooking a similar, angry ocean.

"I see it," I said, falling in line beside him. "And I love it, Kenny."

"Excellent." He spun around and snatched the megaphone to his face. "Let's reset!"

As the sounds of a scrambling crew rose behind me, he turned his entire body to face me. "By the way, Fallon?"

"What?" I glanced over just in time to see him raise the megaphone again, but I wasn't fast enough to put more distance between us than the six inches or so.

The amplifier squealed loudly in my face, as he pulled the trigger. "Don't call me Kenny."

I winced, shoved a finger in my ear, and tried to shake out the ringing. As I did, a long-buried memory broke through. My naturally slower heartbeat slowed even more. The warning had been misinterpreted. They were coming for me.