Hunted in Darkness

Endings

The looks that met them at the dinner table ranged from confusion to anger. Everyone had heard something, and most knew it involved their beloved Luna and this stranger. Krysten hugged Kat and seated her by her side with Emile facing them, sitting between Max and his Beta. The pack was doubling down on protecting the two vampires, and everyone took notice. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but these people were family now, like it or not.

Kat sipped beef blood from a goblet, they hoped the blood would give her strength to heal quicker, the shadows of bruises on her throat and the occasional sharp gasp of air when she moved too quickly told the story of her body being broken. Emile enjoyed a repeat of the rabbit from last night and recovered part of himself just being able to watch Kat across the table and see that she was safe. After dinner the text from Dorthea came in. It was time.

They bundled into the black SUV together, Krysten hugging Kat tightly and making her promise to come back someday soon before letting her climb into the big car. Max asked for the hundredth time if the pack was needed , but both Emile and Kat knew that having their friends in danger would just distract them from the mission. Dorthea needed Em there to finish her spells, and with the information Kat had given her in confidence about the beasts request, they had a plan on how to lure it out. Now to hope it would work. 

Dorthea hugged them both, and Kat only winced a little, she was on the mend. Dorthea led them to a workroom in the back of the shop and took the sheet off a massive clay statue. It had rough features resembling Emile and a shock of his hair on its head. The clay smelled of blood and of something else they couldn’t place. “Do you think it’ll work?” Kat asked, eyeing it quizzically. “I think so, but I need a few things from both of you, first we need to join hands and chant together. Then I need for Em to touch it and give it permission to use his form, then, and here is the weird part, Kat, I need you to kiss it, pretending it is Emile. It has to feel like you love it the way you love him.” I nodded and she began chanting in Yiddish, grasping my hand while I grasped Em’s. We chanted along to the best of our abilities. When the chanting finished Em squared up with it as if addressing a man and gave it permission to use his form. The clay started to define itself and harden into a shape, and it began to look like Emile. Dorthea nodded at me, and I gazed for a moment at Em, fixing his face in my mind, then turning and kissing the lips of the clay man. When I opened my eyes, a very convincing copy of my beloved stood before us in clay. I looked at Dorthea and realized that her plan might actually work. 

The clay man moved slowly, but it did move of its own accord. We loaded it into a borrowed van and drove to an empty warehouse in town. By now at least a hundred vampires had turned up in sundry places, with their hearts ripped out, some werewolf clans had lost their lives protecting vampires, even some witches had ended up dead because they tried to help an undead friend or colleague by trying to banish the demon. Empty husks. It was time to end this.

I sat in the chair placed for me in the middle of the room, and closed my eyes. My friends hid themselves out of my sight, and I let myself slip into sleep. The silver wolf whined as I approached the threshold of the dream, but I hugged her and whispered “It’s time” she silently backed away as I crossed into the dream world. Bodies littered the ground and the smell of death stung my nostrils. The monster lounged on a throne built from rotting bodies, his skin a perfect coppery tan, teeth white and glistening. He had grown beautiful on the blood and flesh of my kindred. He looked bored with his stinking cesspool world, but otherwise, rather pleased with himself. “You” he hissed, moving from his throne and sauntering towards me. “Come to give me your heart?” “No, someone else already has that, as long as they live I will never be your queen and you will never have my heart. Come and take it, bastard.” I ran headlong out of the dreamworld, feeling him on my heels, I forced my eyes open. The portal was blinding and he fell out of it. I jumped from the chair and hid behind the clay man. “So, is this the one who gets your heart when I cannot have it?” the evil thing sneered “Yes, he is the being I love most in this world.” “Then I shall have his heart, and then yours.” He strode towards the clay man, and his fingers became talons, ripping into the flesh, they pulled out a pulsating heart, covered in blood, and swallowed it. Then he stepped towards me. I could see in the shadows Dorthea holding Em back.

I took measured steps, like waltzing, back, back, side, back. The leering face changed and a snarl crept across it. I smiled. The clay man turned and hugged the beast, miring him in quicksand. The beast man screamed, showing his serpent fangs, he bit the clay, but found himself choking as it coated his mouth. The golum was swallowing him ,and at the center of the flailing clay was a burning red heart. I saw it pulsing beneath the clay, and ducked behind the chair. I felt strong hands puling me backwards, Emile holding me against him. The shriek sounded like a train and suddenly a brilliant white light exploded in the middle of the room. The creature and the clay man exploded into a million pieces. Our nightmares were over.

I hugged Dorthea tightly. “What the heck did you put in that heart?” her smile was a little sad “I didn’t put anything in it, it was the heart of a saint, soaked in communion wine and holy water, prayed over by believers for decades. Just don’t ask how I got it. I’ll never tell. That sure did the trick, though.” 

“I guess we have some calls to make. Don’t you dare be a stranger anymore, girl.” I nodded emphatically. “I won’t be, promise.” I held Em’s hand tightly and he squeezed back “ So, maybe we have a chance to be happy again?” He asked, his eyes hopeful. “Let’s sleep for a month and talk about it then, but...maybe…” I kissed him deeply. 

Marcy was overjoyed to be able to start telling vampires they could go home, apparently not every clan had been as welcoming as Maxim’s and it took daily negotiations to keep the peace. The werewolves were very glad to be rid of their house guests with but few exceptions. 

Nick never trusts me to go on vacation again, and I think he half suspects I got abducted by the mafia.

Krysten sends her wolf now and again to remind me of our connection, and I send her purple violets to thank her when she does, Maxim calls Emile regularly, they have become friends. I have not seen another demon in my dreams, and hope never to again. Emile has moved into my apartment, we’re giving it a trial run as long as he keeps doing the laundry. I spend time with my dear friend Dorthea every chance I get.