Scarlett Kisses

Chapter 6: A Deal with the Devil

We walked in silence most of the way, which had been a mistake. I'd spent the first half of the walk thinking about all the ways that I was going to make the caster pay for the deaths he had caused. I would be the only form of vengeance for those bodies lying in the town morgue. Briefly, I wondered if the town morgue had enough room to house that many. It was so small, I bet that were unequipped for that kind of traffic. They had probably sent a few of the bodies to the nearest city that had the space. 

It had been somewhere close to the half way point when my nose had caught a familiar scent and I had been ripped from my contemplation of bodies and forced to focus on the new smell that I had detected. It was fresh and crisp, like walking through a forest early in the morning. It was a manly scent, dark and mysterious. I knew that it was coming from Tavin. He had worn the same type of cologne for the past few years. I was used to it being in the nest, barely noticeable over the smell of all the newbies, until we were upstairs. It was the only space in the house where the others didn't normally venture. But out here in the open, the scent took on something new. It gave me a sense of home and of normality. 

I closed my eyes briefly and took in a long breath through my nose, savoring the scent. I opened my eyes again and let them glance over to where Tavin was walking just a bit before me. We had slowed our speed now, walking at a mortal's pace. I had done it to think. Tavin probably had the same reasoning. We might as well get our thoughts in order before taking on a caster. We rarely went anywhere together that wasn't with our entire group, so it felt odd to have this much alone time with him. I watched him, studied him. Letting my night blessed eyes adjust to see better through the dark. He stepped over a stone and hopped over a small bed of moss. The way his body moved was so smooth, like water flowing through a stream, not all all phased by the rocks that blocked it's path. 

I was still admiring my nest leader when my shoes finally hit the pavement of a town road. I had only taken a few steps on the smooth surface when that distinctive scent of Tavin began to be washed away by another scent. My mind quickly changed it's focus, the nerves through my body beginning to spark to life as the coppery scent fully reached me. Blood. There was blood near her. Tavin had scented it to. I could tell by the way his stance changed to more of a crouch. He looked at me suddenly and nodded toward the back of some empty buildings accross the way. I nodded back, letting him know that I understood. 

As nest leader, Tavin was first to any kill, so he stayed just a bit in front of me as we silently made our way over to find out what was making the smell. It was definitely human blood, I knew that immediately. My stomach ached from hunger, but I restrained myself from running out and breaking rank. At that moment, I started to regret Tavin coming along. If he wasn't here, I could have rushed forward, assessed the situation and seen if I had an opportunity to catch a killer. For now, I had to wait and assume that someone had hurt themselves and that there was no killer around to catch. Inside, I knew that was a lie. The scent was too strong. There was too much blood. Someone had died here tonight. 

As we rounded the edge of the building, we came out to what looked like an abandoned basketball court. The lines had faded, leaving only blank concrete behind. The goals still stood, but the netting had since rotted away. It was then that I saw the form on the ground in the middle of the court.  Tavin rushed forward a few steps and leaned down to inspect the body. Faster than any human could move, two forms came hurtling into sight, fighting one another. Grunting and snapping sounds escaped from the forms as they fused together, hitting and pushing against each other.  It took a moment for me to realize that only one of the forms was  moving at vampire speed. The other moved more slowly, but still quicker than any mortal could. 

"Tavin", I called out. "It's a slayer!" That was the only way to explain what I was seeing. It was a slayer, attacking a vamp. This body must have been the vamp's kill and the slayer stumbled upon him during dinner. I pulled my dagger from my boot and started to edge forward. If I had been farther away, I would have left them be, but this slayer was too close to my nest. If he survived this fight, it wouldn't take him long to find us. I didn't like to kill slayers, but after all, they were killers themselves.