Come In

Chapter Twenty-Three

I had the message in my hands. I wanted to drop it, but I couldn't move. I had known Kim for what, a week? But she was a pivotal part of my life now, and not just because she helped save Cam. She had been living here, giving her life to us so that she could help. She had trained herself in magic all so she could help save someone she'd never met.

And they'd taken her.

"What is it? Let me see." Victor said. I hadn't noticed that my hands were shaking until I felt a pair of cold hands cover mine, gently unfastening my grip on the paper. I looked up at Cam with tears in my eyes. He stared back at me, his entire face melancholy. He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me into his embrace as Victor took the paper. I heard his gasp as he read the message.

"Oh dear" he breathed. I could imagine his face falling as he said it.

I turned toward Victor, whilst keeping my arms wrapped securely around Cam's waist.

"What can we do?" I asked, my voice robotic. Victor seemed to ponder my question for a while, but I could see that he'd given up on an answer. He looked in shock.

"Well I'm sure they wouldn't have taken her where they kept me. I'm not sure, but I think I may be able to remember a few things from when I was brainwashed... If I concentrate." Cam said, his voice right by my ear. I merely nodded. He kissed me on the cheek before letting go of me.

I couldn't believe what a mess my life had turned into. A few weeks ago, I was just a teenager at her last year of school. My biggest worry was whether I'd graduate. But now, my life was vampires, vampire slayers, witches, and kidnappings. I feel that I had subconsciously put all of the stress into a drawer in my mind, but I knew for a fact that that drawer was full up now, and although this last thing wouldn't fit, it would try, and that would mean that everything would explode out.

I noticed that Victor was still standing in the same position as before, his mouth hanging open, his eyes unblinking.

"Vic?" I said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He finally broke out of his reverie.

"I apologise, Anna. I should have been more careful. I should have realised that it wouldn't be as easy as it had seemed to be. They're out for blood, and I don't know how we're going to stop it." He said, his eyes filling with tears, his words falling out of his mouth clumsily. I hadn't seen him unravel like this before- it was very disconcerting.

"Why don't you go to bed, sir. It'll do no good if you're dead on your feet- you need to be awake. We'll do what we can." Cam said, placing a hand gently on Victor's shoulder. Although they were both around the same height, Victor seemed to shrink in comparison to Cam.

"Thank you, Cameron. I suppose you're right." He said as he walked toward the stairs. I let out a breath when I realised that he was going to get some rest, because Cam was right. We needed him awake and alert.

I looked up at Cam, and a wave of serenity washed over me. Although my mind knew that this wasn't the time, my subconscious was elated whenever she looked at Cam's face. We had him back- we saved him! I hadn't had any time to celebrate, and I wanted to. But I knew that I shouldn't.

"I think I may have remembered something. I believe it will help. When I was brought to that building, they hadn't done anything to my mind yet, so I remember them talking. One of the Pardos that were in he forest was speaking to one of the guards about the 'army base' and about someone who had just been promoted to their actual army- apparently, you have to be trained before you can actually be used. But I figured, why not start there?" Cam said to me as he sat us on the sofa. I could see an inkling of excitement spark in his eyes, and I let myself share the feeling. This was good news, but there was a problem.

"Cam, we have no idea where this army camp is. I don't think we can track it." I said, letting the spark inside me fizzle back out. Cam merely smiled, and brushed a stray hair out of my face.

"I can get the coordinates. I'll go back in and find them." He said, speaking as if he was talking about making a shopping trip. How could he be so cavalier about his life? Did he not realise how connected my life was to his?

"Cam, you can't just waltz in there. There will be guards, and people, and all of the vampires and Pardos. It'll be a suicide mission." I said dejectedly.

"I don't think so. Firstly, I know a lot about the inside of that place- where things are, what doors trigger alarms. I don't know why that's all I remember, but it's enough to go on. I know exactly where to look." He explained.

"But we can't just walk in there and expect it to be free to take. They'll be expecting us to come back." I said.

"They'll be expecting some brilliant plan. They won't be expecting the easy option. The most obvious option. I believe that they wouldn't even prepare for it. Its brilliance is in its simplicity. Besides, if I run into trouble, I can take care of myself." He stated, laying his arm over my shoulders.

"We can handle ourselves. You're not going by yourself, Cam." I said, and the tone in my voice obviously stopped any arguments he was preparing.

Cam sighed, and began to run his fingers lightly against my arm, sending tingles through my spine. It reminded me of the night at the graveyard when he'd told me about me being the slayer.

"Should we go tonight? I can wake Vic up- he should know." I said, trying to distract myself from the feelings that Cam was giving me. He frowned, shaking his head.

"No. Not tonight. You're tired. I can see that you haven't slept in too long. Besides, we'd have a better chance in the daylight. I know Vampires, and they prefer to relax when the sun makes an appearance. It's going to be pretty sunny tomorrow, too." He said, continuing his blissful journey up my arm. He was right. I was dog tired, and I remembered why Victor had gone to bed- I wouldn't be any help if I was suffering from this exhaustion.

"Tomorrow" he whispered right into my ear, his cold breath sending tingles into my brain.