The Vampire's Rival

When she sweeps you off your feet

I knew now how he'd tracked us down. Josal had found us in these back woods by going through Trisca's front yard. And she'd likely heard about Lujeo. As Barons, it's true that they had been friends, but it was in the loosest meaning of the term. And while her power and influence didn't extend nearly as far as Lujeo's, she was formidable in her own right. Having said that, using Josal to find me in order to seek my alliance, seeing that I was the potential Baron of Lujeo's Enclave, wasn't at all her style. She wasn't one to shy from confrontation.

That made me wary.

She might not have been that powerful, but Trisca collected powerful "friends" like a billionaire heiress collecting Bvlgary jewellery, a role she'd played excellently before the Human Error. First as a mother then later as her own "previously hidden" daughter, when the mother act got suspiciously old, and she wasn't. That she thought I could now be another political cap in her feather was a little insulting, given our history. I hadn't thought I could feel any grouchier.

I happened to know about the "place" that Josal had was talking about, where Hadley and the others could get some reprieve from the primitive lifestyle they'd been surviving for the last week. It was Trisca's answer to Lujeo's Sun Festival. A place, deep in her woods, where vampires could remember the "good old days".

Same concept, but the execution couldn't have been more different.

"And who knows," Josal said. "Maybe you and Trisca could get to talk, catch up on old times. You know she's always had a soft spot for you, Ruq."

I couldn't deny the truth in that.

"Hadley? What do you think?" I asked.

She looked at me, as if surprised I'd asked the question. Then she looked at Josal.

"What's this place you're talking about?" she asked.

Josal gave her vague sounding directions.

Hadley took a moment to mull over the decision, then she looked back at me and nodded. Through our link, I could tell that there was something bothering her, but she kept it off her face.

"Tell Trisca to expect us tomorrow," I said.

"That's alright. I'll stay and be your guide. We'll leave early tomorrow morning," Josal said. He turned to Hadley and smiled. "We don't want you getting... lost. Again."

So, Trisca wasn't exactly making this a request.

"Now that it's all settled, why don't you come closer to the fire Ruq?" Josal said. Hadley's hand on the machete twitched as he walked past her and to the log she'd been sitting on next to the fire. Josal's eyes never left mine, although I was sure the canopy hid my face in shadow. "You must be cold out there, in the shadows."

This time I didn't hold back the telepathic punch. I saw Josal's eyes widen in horror as he felt the full brunt of the assault. He came to a halt, shaking slightly. He wanted to back away. Wanted to run. I riled up his fear even more, keeping him frozen in place. I was going to crush his mind. Turn him into a dribbling vegetable, stuck on imagining nothing but his worst nightmares for eternity. Those around him had no idea what was happening and paid him no mind as they went back to their banter from before Josal's interruption, albeit a little less jovially. Except for Hadley. She was looking right at me as I punished Josal for his insolence.

She walked over to me.

"Ruq, don't." Hadley whispered into my ear.

That was the only reason I pulled away from Josal's mind. The vampire slumped to the ground with his back against the log and his face scrunched up in terror. He wasn't dead, but I bet he wished he was. The effects of my attack wouldn't last long, but even a second was a second too long.