Come In

Chapter Nineteen

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Victor's voice sounded strained, as if he was trying to tell me that I shouldn't go through with this. I knew that he thought that this was a bad idea.

But I had realised something.

"Cam told me once, that my dreams as a Slayer could be prophetic. And I had a dream a few nights ago, which I passed off as a nightmare. In the dream, I went to save Cam. He was in this building, and when I got there, he didn't know who I was. He wasn't really Cam anymore. Now, this was before I knew about The King, and what they do to their soldiers, so I'm thinking that this dream must have been prophetic. Which means I know what to expect. I know where to go, and how to get in. All we need to do is get Cam out if there, and deal with his mind elsewhere. That's exactly what I plan to do." I explained as I filled a rucksack with weapons. I knew that I was going tonight, whether or not Victor came with me. I had my plan, and I was going to get him back. There was no point in waiting.

"Okay. I get it- you're right. But what if there are things that you haven't foreseen? What if something happens after the end of your dream? You're plan is far from foolproof, and I'm not sure I can condone it." Victor's voice began to raise in agitation. I narrowed my eyes.

"I honestly don't care, Victor. I'm going, whether you condone it or not. I go alone or with you- it really makes no difference. This is happening." I said, and before Victor could reply, I was out of the door and in my car.

I didn't know where I was planning on going- I had hours before I was meant to go to that building. I decided to drive around a bit. It wasn't long before I found myself in Libby's driveway. I rang her to tell her that I was outside.

"Anna? What do you want?" I frowned. What had I done to have earned this cold tone of hers?

"Lib- is everything okay? You sound upset. I'm outside." I said.

"Go home. And no, everything is not okay. You completely bailed on me. Our double date turned into a horrible date with a sad third wheel, because you decided that you just didn't feel like coming. Or even calling to tell us that you weren't coming!"

Oh crap! The double date! I had completely forgotten, which was understandable, considering. But I couldn't exactly give Libby my real excuse. I tried to gather my thoughts, to try to find some sort of excuse.

"Lib, I am so sorry! My uncle paid a surprise visit. He's... ill. Some sort of chronic disorder thing. I've been so busy looking after him. I completely spaced, please come outside Lib." I said. Victor seemed like he could be related to me- he was technically living in my house at the moment, so I had a good alibi. But I wasn't sure if she was going to buy it. Libby had been silent for quite a while on the other end of the phone- I was beginning to worry that she saw through my lies. Finally, she spoke.

"Your uncle?" she said, suspicion painting her tone.

"Yeah, Uncle Vic. He's my mother's brother." I said.

"You said he's sick?" she asked. I sighed; it seemed as if she was beginning to buy it.

"Yeah, he's in a lot of pain... He thought my mother was home and thought he'd pay a visit." I said, slightly proud at the speed at which the lies were coming out of me.

"Well crap. I'm sorry Anna, is he going to be okay?" she said, concern in her voice. I let out a sigh of relief- she was buying it.

"He'll be fine... I think."

"Okay, sorry about having a go. I'll be out in a sec, hang on." She said, and I heard her keys jangling on the other end. Moments later, she was walking toward my car, a smile on her face.

"Hey babe, sorry about your uncle. Where are we going?" She said whilst she strapped herself in. I smiled back at her.

"I thought we'd go for lunch, my treat." I said.

"Sure! Where are we going?" Excitement bubbling in her voice. I felt guilty about the amount of time I'd spent away from her.

"Rose's?" I offered. Rose's was a small café on the edge of town, where Libby and I frequented. We knew the owner, and loved the food. I honestly needed this day with Libby- a day of normality. Of human life.

"Where else?" Libby agreed, winking.

It was a short drive to Rose's, and as soon as we walked in, Jack, one of the cooks, walked straight over to us with a huge smile on his face. He had dark hair with dark eyes, and olive-toned skin. He was all angles- cheekbones, a straight, almost sharp nose; his eyes were almond shape and his mouth seemed almost too small for his face. He was attractive, and he knew it. He always flirted with Libby and myself (and the rest of the female population), but I knew that he was secretly in love with Libby. There was something in the way he looked at her.

"Ladies! Haven't seen you in a while, how ya been?" he said, his voice rough. It sounded as if he was putting on a deeper voice. He winked at Libby? to which she giggled slightly. She never returned his affection, but she seemed to enjoy the attention.

"We've been fine, Jack." Libby replied, her tone bubbling. It took a lot out of me to restrain myself from rolling me eyes.

"Good, good. Why don't you sit here- you want your usual?" he asked. Libby nodded enthusiastically. Jack left swiftly.

The rest of that day was spent talking with Libby, catching up with her life, walking around and reminiscing about our lives. It was just like it was before Elios and Ant (a subject which I didn't dare to breach).

Soon enough, it was time for me to go home, and to prepare for tonight's rescue mission. I dropped Libby home, and took my time driving back to the house.

When I got there, Victor was standing in a black trenchcoat, armed with a crossbow, and beside him stood Kim, struggling to hold up a bag full of weapons. I could see sweat forming on her forehead from the excursion, I took the bag from her (which was surprisingly light in my arms- Vic really didn't exaggerate about slayer strength).

"So you're coming with?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at Victor. He gave a warm smile.

"Of course. I wouldn't actually leave you to do something like this on your own. Also, Kim's coming with us." I almost dropped the bag of weapons. Was he delusional? Kim was not anywhere near ready to face what was coming! Besides, she'd only just found out about vampires a little while ago.

"Before you say anything, you should know that Victor has been teaching me stuff that could help... He's been teaching me magic. I've learnt how to catch fire to things, and I'm sure I could do it to a... um... a vampire... if need be." She explained, her voice muted as if she was shy, or as if she was preparing for me to scold her. I sighed.

"That's fine. But don't put yourself in harms way unless you really need to. And you" I turned to Victor, "you're going to need to fill me in on this witch stuff. I was never told about witches." I said. He nodded in agreement.

"After. But right now, we have to leave. It's going to get dark soon, and that's when we have to make our move." He said, leaning down to lift a small leather bag from the floor. I decided that I should just ask about its contents on the way. We needed to get this done. Quickly.