Bump in the night.

Chapter Eleven: Done

Two weeks had passed, the museum had been shutdown to undergo investigations from the Council.
Dolores was dead, along with four other employees, discovered to be a shapeshifters working for my father, who'd been working with Vikrom.
There was still no trace or word of him otherwise, Grayson and Grams had tried, but he was a ghost.
Grams and Gramps decided to stay in Carson City with us at the ranch, staying in the spare room. Ben and Grayson had barely left either, only going out for a few hours to deal with things I wasn't privy to knowing, before they'd come back.
I filled my time with training and reading. Within the two weeks, my aim had greatly improved and I was now able to almost land punches on both Ben and Grayson in training.
My sword and polearms training seemed to be where I excelled, to the point Ben bowed out and Gramps stepped in to train me.
A snow storm had ripped though the town the last two days, burying our cars and making it near impossible to open the front door.
Grayson helped me unbury the door and his car once the storm had subsided.
Thankfully his car was alit bigger than mine, it drove through the high snow, making easy work to clear a path as he drove.
He held my hand while I watched out the window, he held it up and kissed the bruise on my knuckles.
"Gramps?" He asked, looking at the line across them from a polearms.
"No, Cindy, actually." I chuckled, Cindy excelled in shooting, but she was wild with a polearm, no technique, just wild swinging until she impacted.
She'd managed to get my hands from a wide swing I wasn't expecting, one of the first hits I'd taken in a week.
We drove the rest of the way in an easy silence, before we got the supermarket to do grocery shopping.
Grayson pushed the trolley behind me, while I absently threw things into it.
He picked up a can of something I'd throw in and raised a brow.
"Since when do you eat canned beans?" He showed me the label, making me look down at all the things I'd thrown in.
I groaned, none of it was what I meant to grab.
Grayson chuckled, taking the cart to the front desk and saying something, before he was back with an empty one to start over.
He took the list from me, pulled me between his arms and together we pushed the cart and got the right things.
It had started to snow when we got back to the car. Grayson hauled me to front seat, picking me up to put me in. He gave me a kiss as he leaned in and turned on the car, blasting the heater for me.
Watched him load the back of the car, my eyes widening when a familiar woman stepped beside him and smiled.
I turned in my seat to look at her, thinking for a moment I was going insane.
But there she stood, her brunette locks flowing around her pretty face, unlike the last I'd seen her.
She looked into her car, seeing me she gave me a tight smile.
"Hey, Penelope, right?" She asked, her voice the same.
I slowly nodded.
"Yeah, hi Juliette." I managed a small smile which she returned, looking back at Grayson to say something quietly.
She gave me one last look before she disappeared and Grayson closed the boot of the car, coming to sit in the front seat.
He hesitated for a moment, looking at me.
"So, she wasn't Juliette." I realised, thinking back to the woman I'd let into my house.
Grayson nodded. "Juliette was in Germany when the attack happened. It seems Vikrom had counted on our history to have been a way to get to you." His hands were strained on the wheel, making it creak from the force.
I reached across and pulled one of his hands free, bringing it into my lap and covering it with both of mine.
"Why is she here now?" I asked, I softly traces a pattern on the back of his hand, making him smile.
"She came with Councillor Benedict after hearing they'd used a doppleganger of her, she asked to be put onto the team."
"The team?" I raised a brow at him.
He chuckled.
"Yes, your Grams is very...influential, among the Slayers. She put a call out for a security team for you."
"Why?" I demanded, suddenly angry. I understood my father was dangerous, the message from the vampires making everything even more so, but I didn't need more Slayers around me.
Especially ones I'd already seen be killed because of me. Grayson looked at me, his brows set in a determined stare as he pulled into the ranch, shut off the car and turned to me.
"You need protection. I can't be with you every day, especially when the Council start to get involved. I need to know you have someone around you, I can trust. Juliette won't let anything happen to you." His voice was final.
"What i-"
"I don't want to hear it, Pen." He set me with a hard stare, cutting me off.
I sat silently for a moment, considering.
Finally I sighed and squeezed his hand.
"Fine, but only if you approve them." I said, going to climb out.
Grayson was there, lifting me out of the car and walking me to the front door in his arms.
He kissed me, gripping my face and holding me against him.
In the cold, he was like a fire. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself deeper into the kiss, he moaned when I bit his lip.
He stared at me with lustful eyes as he placed me on the steps, darting back to the car to grab the groceries while I opened the door for him.
I felt the few rushes of air as he ran by me, taking everything to the kitchen before the front door closed and he stopped me in the foyer.
Standing behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.
I leaned my head back, pressing my ear to his slightly-too-fast heartbeat and sighing at the comfort the feeling of him, brought me.
We stayed there for a moment, swaying slightly as he kissed the top of my head.
"Your new guards will be here tonight, along with Councillor Edward." Grams called, coming down the stairs.
She stopped when she saw Grayson and I.
Grams still hadn't forgiven us for our declarations of love, I knew it came from a place of concern, but she had relaxed at least enough to smile at the sight.
"Grayson was just telling me." I said in a flat tone, Grayson squeezed me warningly. I pulled away from him, walking past Grams and up to the attic.
She tried to say something but I ignored her, waving to Cindy and Gramps who were doing something in the spare room.
Wayne had opened the training room and the attic into one room, the furniture was out in the basement, the floors padded with training mats and a new wall of weapons sat by the window.
I changed into my workout attire and turned on the speakers.
I spent the next hour or two, drowning out the world with loud music and training with a sword until my lungs burned and, despite the cold winter air coming through the window, I was sweating.
I jogged downstairs to grab a bottle of water, Grayson was in the sunroom on his phone. He eyed me as I walked past, making me aware of the tights and sports bra hugging me.
I threw him a teasing look over my shoulder as I climbed the stairs, wiggling a little extra and making him have to ask whoever he was speaking to to repeat themselves.
I giggled until I reached the attic, Grams holding my blade and staring at me.
She wore a long sleeve and a flowing skirt.
"I believe we need a chat." She said, swinging the weapon effortlessly around her.
I grabbed another from the wall and turned to her, dropping into a stance.
"I'm not really in the mood." I said and turned away from her.
I felt her move behind me, I dropped and spun, putting the blade flat above me and supporting it with my hand as Grams' blade clashed with mine.
Her brow twitched in surprise.
I shoved back, arching my blade to make her retreat.
"Penny," Grams warned as I stepped towards her.
I smiled.
"You wanted to talk, Grams." I swung again, going over the top.
She parried it, kicking my sword wide.
I used the momentum to spin me, kicking out my leg and catching her in the side.
She doubled over, clutching the sword and her side.
Her eyes flashed with anger and she lunged, throwing a fast and brutal set of swings and jabs at me that I blocked and dodged, our weapons clashing so violently, they sparked.
She managed to kick me in the chest, throwing me to the ground.
"You need to reconsider this whole Grayson thing." She finally said, coming to help me up when I hesitated.
I kicked her hand away, rolling to my feet and attacked again.
"Why, so you can tell him I told you so?" I demanded, our blades locked above us.
Grams eyes flashed with hurt.
I used the moment to pull my sword back and swing low, she arched backwards just out of the blades tip.
"It's dangerous!" She snapped, we circled each other, the tips of our blades a breath apart.
"More danger than my father?" I asked with a angry swing she blocked. "Or the hoards of Dark ones who wish to use me as a spawn factory?" Another swing, this one filled with so much anger when my blade impacted with hers, it snapped.
I yelled in frustration, shaking my arms to drop the coils I had worn everyday since the attack.
They fell into my hands, I slapped them together, a light binding them and making them a golden sword.
I continued my attack.
"You don't understand this world! You could be killed!" She snapped at me.
The words enraged me.
"Stop controlling my life!" I screamed at her, attacking her relentlessly with wild, hard strikes.
She managed to block them all, though I could she wasn't expecting my strength.
"You left when mum died!" An overhead blow that forced her to the ground, shielding my strike.
"You left us in the dark!" Another blow that made her stumble.
"Because we weren't Slayers!" The last blow broke her shield, making her arms drop as she fell backwards.
She stared at me, her eyes wide with surprise and sadness.
"I'm done." I said finally, pulling my sword apart to make it coils again. I pulled them onto my arms, turning to see Cindy, Gramps and Grayson in the doorway.
My eyes stopped at Grayson, he'd brought up the idea a few days ago, it wasn't until now I'd decided.
He nodded his head, disappearing downstairs.
I looked at Grams.
"I'm going away for a while." I told her, I heard Cindy try to protest but Gramps stopped her, hushing her to let me finish.
"Until my dad is found, I put a target on everyone's back." I looked at Cindy. Grayson stood behind her again, my duffle bag packed.
"Grayson is taking me somewhere, to train and learn." I said finally, not knowing who to look at anymore, I stared at my feet.
"Penny, I didn't-" Grams was on her feet, her arms wide as she approached me.
I held up a hand to stop her, giving her a small smile.
"I'm sorry, too." We shared a tight smile before I turned to Cindy and Gramps, he stepped forward quickly, giving me a strong hug and kissing my cheek before stepping beside Grams.
"You know we love you, Petal." He'd whispered in my ear. I bit back tears and nodded.
Finally I looked at Cindy, for a moment I saw as the small eleven year old girl who still needed a teddy to go to bed.
I stepped to her and hugged her tightly.
She hugged me back.
"You're coming back, right?" She asked in my ear, sniffling tears.
I nodded against her.
"I won't be gone forever." I promised her. We shared a pinkie-swear and I left.

Grayson drove us to Callaway in silence, another black car was following behind us.
I could see Juliette in the drivers seat.
We arrived at the airport and checked in, going to an executive lounge.
Councillor Benedict was waiting for us, Juliette stood beside him while he lounged in the square blue chair.
He wore a thick coat, his salt and pepper hair and beard was cleanly cut and sculpted around his strong face.
He had steel-grey eyes and watched me a curious expression for a moment, sipping from a glass of brown liquid.
He put his drink down, his hands were adorned with thick banded rings, and he stood, stepping towards me to stand over me.
The man terrified me, he looked willing to kill me right where I stood.
Grayson stayed a few feet away, watching.
"Your name, child?" Councillor Benedict spoke, his voice deep and thick. It was the voice of a leader.
"Penelope Wayland-Everlight." I said firmly, meeting his stare.
He could terrify me all he liked, but I wouldn't let him stare me down like I was weak.
He gave a huffed noise, his head tilting back and I realised.
He laughed.
He nodded at Grayson before turning to Juliette.
"Have her on the morning roster. She can join the Hunters." She nodded and pulled out a tablet, pressing it a few times before she was on the phone.
Grayson stepped beside me, his expression tight.
Councillor Benedict sat down in his chair, picking up his glass and looked at Grayson casually.
He gave a slight smirk, huffing a small laugh again. He looked at Juliette who pulled the phone to her shoulder to hear him.
"Novak will be leading them." He said finally.
She nodded again, returning to her phone call.
Grayson relaxed, grabbing my hand.
Our next stop was Brazil, hunting a Chupacabra.