Thanks: Bonnie and Beth. My dear friends and best critics. Not only do they help me with my writing, they won’t let me say my writing sucks! Also, to Sue, who helped me get in touch w/my violent side (whether this is a good thing, is up to the reader to decide *g*).

Dedication: Everyone who wrote me about ‘Death Cometh Nigh’, esp. those who liked Alecia, Adrian, and Bram. A special thanks to Kate who recommended the story. That was a nice surprise.

Note: Because this is a sequel to ‘Death’ there are direct references to the other story. I know it’s rather long, but if you read that one first, this story will make more sense.

Caveats: PLEASE READ This story is rated R. It contains violence, profanity, and some brutal sexual situations (to a much lesser extent w/the main characters). Also, I thank the ppl who liked my original characters (OCs), but there are those who reacted unfavorably. These aren’t Mary Sues. I created them before TS aired. If you don’t like OCs, please go elsewhere.

Okay, now for those I haven’t scared off *grins* I hope you enjoy.

They ran down the sidewalk, hand in hand, laughing hysterically. If anyone was watching them, they didn’t notice. The only light shone weakly from the street posts. They didn’t even need that to see by. The young woman tugged on her boyfriend’s arm, halting him in his tracks. He flung her around and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and spinning her with one arm. She laughed wildly, hugging his neck, the other arm stretched out as if to grab the wind. She tilted her head back as her short, dark hair flapped around her face. He set her down.

“God, I feel great. Night’s still young. What else is there to do around here?” Jacoah stepped out into the street. No cars coming. If there were, he wouldn’t have cared. They were immortal now. They were gods. Cars couldn’t hurt them.

Chandra still stood on the sidewalk. She leaned casually against one of the light posts, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Why don’t we go find Inez and Saber? They said something about the S&M club. Wouldn’t that be fun?” She smirked.

“Mm, I like a bit of pain with my sex,” he said, his back turned to her.

Chandra joined Jacoah on the street, sidling up behind him, wrapping an arm around his stomach, the other sliding around his belly, to his chest to pull him against her. Her lips brushed against his ear. “I like pain.”

He chuckled. “You like inflicting pain.”

She nipped his ear, giggling huskily. He leaned back into her. “Girl’s gotta have a hobby.”

He turned around, his arms going around her, nuzzling his nose into the black silk of her hair. Damn, she smelled good. Even better than when they were human. Everything was better now. He wasn’t exactly sure what they were, but things were pretty damned fine. “I like pain, too. Feels great, baby. Whips, chains, you name it.”

She laughed, biting his neck playfully. He felt the sharp pressure of her canines. She didn’t bite down. “Knew there was a reason I kept you around.”

“Besides my good looks and charm?”

She pinched his ass. He jumped against her and she laughed again. She sounded drunk. “You are so fucking fine.” She licked his neck. “And I am so fucking hungry. When’re we gonna eat?”

“I bet the S&M’s good for food. We’ll get a bite to eat there.”

She grinned, her canines growing. Her eyes glittered. Literally glittered.

A car pulled down the road, bright lights pouring from the front. Neither moved out of its way. Instead, Chandra pulled Jacoah down for a wet, fierce kiss. The car honked as it stopped only a few feet from them. The car door flung open. “What the hell--?”

Jacoah and Chandra whipped their heads in his direction, faces distorted. Their eyes flared red.

“Shit!” The driver jumped back in his car, slamming the door shut. It peeled back, nearly missing a car as it pulled onto the other road. A car horn blared.

They fell onto each other, howling with laughter.

“Too fucking rich!” Chandra exclaimed, wiping at her tears.

Jacoah grinned. “Now how ‘bout that club food?”

. . . sooner or later, it always comes back to the guy who is awake in the night and hears something getting closer and closer . . .--Stephen King

Jim knelt beside the body, having already donned his latex gloves. The victim was a leather-clad young man, in his early twenties, wrists handcuffed together to the scratched wooden headboard. Two tiny puncture wounds were directly over the carotid artery on his neck. They were marks Jim was all too familiar with. He was glad Blair wasn’t here with him. He didn’t know how his partner would handle this. If Blair was in his current position, Jim was sure Blair wouldn't be handling it well. As it was, Jim could barely keep his hands from trembling.

Three other bodies had been found in a similar fashion, though less marked up. Whoever had killed this unfortunate soul had taken his or her time, inflicting as much pain as possible until he died. The other bodies only showed signs of intercourse and minimal scratches. This young man had been the only one mutilated. Jim didn’t even want to look at the genitals again. It made him sick to the stomach just to think about it.

The scenario he was piecing together went something like this: vampire cultists were targeting S&M patrons, perhaps an initiation rite. They dominated their victims during intercourse by binding them, in the one case by also torturing the victim. After the climax, they drained the bodies of blood. Jim wasn’t sure if he bought it himself, but he didn’t want to think of the other option, the option that hung onto him like the remnants of a nearly fatal disease.

He ran a gloved hand over the puncture wounds, feeling with heightened senses through the material. It felt uncomfortably familiar, like the marks on Celestra’s victims. There was no way this was happening again.

Jim smelled a tobacco stench and felt a familiar presence behind him. “Find anything, Jim?”

“Remember the vampire murders last year?”

Simon groaned. Jim craned his neck up at him just as Simon removed his cigar from his mouth. “I thought you took care of that?”

“I thought we did, sir.” He shook his head, glancing at the body. “I don’t know . . . it can’t be happening again.”

“More vampires.” Simon swung his head from side to side, raising his eyebrows, eyes closed--the perfect picture of incredulity.

“I don’t know that for sure, sir.” He hoped to God he was wrong about this. It just couldn’t be happening again. They killed Celestra; they took care of the problem.

“Why after all these years are we suddenly having a vampire infestation? What happened to the normal criminals?”

Jim wished he knew. “We don’t know that this is vampires, Captain," he said again. If he said it enough times, perhaps it would even be true. "It could just be cultists.”

“It could be,” Simon agreed. He stuck the cigar back in his mouth and spoke around it. “What about those three kids?”

Jim rose to his feet. “What about them?” He removed the gloves, using the action to avoid Simon’s dead-on gaze.

“Shouldn’t you call them and make sure this isn’t going to be a problem?”

“It’s not.” He didn’t know that, of course.

“You don’t know that.”

Like he had said. “Vampires can’t be that common of an occurrence. These are just cultists.” That’s what he wanted to believe.

“Call them anyway, Jim.” Simon removed the cigar and blew out a puff of smoke.

Jim frowned at the acrid odor, but knew it’d be useless to complain. “I will.”

Simon cocked an eyebrow. “That’s an order, detective.”

Jim looked him straight in the eyes. “Understood, sir.” And he did understand, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

At the station, Jim pulled out a number that he had never used, but Blair used frequently. Blair had kept contact with the vampire hunters, something that Jim had never found time to do. It wasn’t that he disliked the kids. They were fine; but they were painful reminders of what they had gone through together. He had wanted to put the past totally from his mind. But what was happening now was overwhelming. He needed their help. There was no other way around it.

He punched in the number, praying that no one would answer the phone. They were dealing with vampire cultists, he was willing to believe, but if someone picked up the phone that theory could be blown apart. He didn’t want that. He was perfectly content handling this case as one of cultists. The truth that nagged at him was simply unacceptable. The phone stopped ringing and a familiar male voice came over the line.

“Hello?”

“Hi . . . Adrian Ward? This is Jim Ellison.”

There was a pause, then a surprised, “Detective Ellison? Um, what can I do for you?”

“I think we have a problem here.”

“Problem? As in vampire problem?”

“Something like that.”

A moment of silence passed, before Adrian pursued the topic with, “Well, what exactly is the problem?”

“I’m not sure if they are vampires. It could easily be vampire cultists, but I’m not sure.” No, he wasn’t sure, but he had a pretty damned good idea. He just didn’t want to believe it.

“What’s the crime scene like?”

“The bodies, there were four of them, were found at an S&M club. The killers had intercourse with their victims before draining them of blood. One of the victims was mutilated. All were bound to beds.”

“Jeez. Sick bastards,” Adrian muttered. “Kind of sounds like Celestra.”

“It does,” Jim said, grudgingly. No comparisons, he thought. The more similarities, the worse it looked for Cascade. The worse it looked for himself.

“I can’t tell for sure right now. I need to meditate on it. Can I call you back in about two hours?”

“Yeah. I’ll be sitting in my office doing my paper work.”

“What’s the number?”

Jim gave it to him, listening to the scribble of a pen on the other side of the line.

“ 'Kay, thanks. Hold on tight. I’ll see what I can come up with for you.”

“Great. Thanks, Adrian.” He hung up the phone, feeling anything but great.

When Adrian would call back, when he picked up that phone, before Adrian would even say anything, Jim would already know. He knew now, but he wouldn’t admit it to himself. How could he? He couldn’t handle what had happened then. There was no way he’d be able to handle it now.

He stared at the computer, fingers resting lightly against the keyboard. He had files to fill out, reports to write, but he couldn’t concentrate. Over and over he saw the body of the mutilated young man, the shriveled corpses, the fang marks.

The fang marks. They were nothing but. They were fang marks.

He fisted his right hand. His nails dug into the skin. Maybe he’d break the skin, draw out enough pain to jolt him from the thoughts, the memories.

He couldn’t handle the memories. He couldn’t handle a lot of things right now. He hadn’t been able to handle anything since entering the Cat Scratch club and laying eyes upon the victims.

At some point he managed to start typing, working with a mindless need. Anything to forget.

He did manage to forget. Then the phone rang. It was Adrian.

“Detective . . .”

He knew, as he thought he would.

“I sensed them.”

Which wasn’t good.

“They’re real.”

He had already known. “What am I gonna do?”

Adrian sighed. “I don’t know. Unless you think you can find them and kill them on your own, there’s absolutely nothing you can do until they decide to move on.”

“When will that be?”

“Who knows. Vampires are not all alike. They all operate differently.”

Before he had a chance to stop himself, or question the wisdom of his reasoning (as if he’d actually given himself time to reason), he blurted, “Can you three come out here and deal with them?”

There was hesitation from Adrian before he said, “I think that’s doable. It’s the summer so at least we’re not in school right now. It’s just work. When do you have in mind?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Morning?” He sounded doubtful, but said anyway, “Okay. I’ll talk to the others and see what can be done. I’ll call you tonight. Will you be home?”

“Yeah. I should be home around six.”

“ 'Kay. Talk to you later.”

Disturbed, Jim hung up the phone without another utterance. The nightmare had been realized. Now for the worst part.

Telling Blair.

~*~

Jim heard Blair’s voice as soon as he stepped into Hargove Hall. The anthropologist was in his office, conversing with one of his students. Jim swallowed down his anxiety. He didn’t want to be the one to break the news to his partner. Blair had never quite gotten over the vampire incident. Jim knew that it had more to do with the fact that Blair had been forced to kill Celestra, than anything else. Blair had never been forced to take another’s life. He’d been in many dangerous situations, but not once had he even shot a criminal. When given a gun, he purposely mis-aimed so the bullet would miss his intended target. Then suddenly he was pushed into a split-second decision. Kill Celestra or watch Jim die. The weapon had not been a typical one. Instead of a knife, gun, or anything material, he had used his mind. He had made Celestra burn to death.

Internally, Jim winced. Blair did it to save his life. Yet he never talked about it. In fact, he seemed to want to avoid the subject altogether. And though it had never been spoken between them, Jim had felt the subtle changes in his friend. Blair was more withdrawn, less eager to accompany Jim to crime scenes, and the very mention of vampires caused him to clam up. Blair refused to even watch anything on TV that dealt with vampires.

It was his fault. He told himself that constantly. If not for him, Blair would have never been forced into the decision. If not for him, Blair wouldn’t have had to face the vampires. After all, Celestra’s main target had been Jim, her precious Sentinel. The Guide, Blair, had only been a special bonus. To add to all of it, Celestra had not been the only one Blair’d had to contend with. Jim had also attacked him. That was the hardest to reconcile. He had been unable to control himself, to overpower Celestra. Blair had forgiven him, but Jim had not forgiven himself. There was never going to be a way to totally forget what had happened, to shroud the memory of choking Blair, punching him, and hurting him.

He stood outside Blair’s office where he could see through the frost-patterned window, Blair seated at his desk and a young woman standing in front of it. Though he could’ve easily tuned in his hearing, he chose to give Blair and his student their privacy. She turned around after only a minute or so and when she exited the office, gave Jim a bright smile.

Jim entered the office, closing the door behind him. “Flirting with the coeds again? Thought you got over that old habit, Short Eyes?”

Blair had his hair tied back and was wearing his wire-framed glasses. His eyes lit up. “Ha. That's a good one, man. What’re you doing here anyway? Couldn’t stand to be away from me any longer?”

“It’s an addiction,” Jim said, walking to stand in front of the desk. He wasn’t going to sit down. He was too tense. He shoved his hands into his khaki’s pockets, hoping to conceal his nerves. Blair seeing him nervous wouldn’t help.

Never mind, Blair saw it anyway. His smile disintegrated into a frown. He leaned forward in his chair. “What’s going on?”

“There were four murders today at an S&M club. They looked suspicious so I called an old friend of ours.”

Blair’s brow furrowed.

“Adrian Ward.”

Blair placed his hands on the desk and was about to push up, but stopped and sank back. His hands remained on the desk. “Why?”

Jim braced himself. He wasn't sure what was going to come next. “Vampires.”

There was a minute change in Blair’s facial features, something that looked suspiciously like horror. It was quickly hidden, but his tone had gone completely numb. “I don’t need this right now.” He removed his glasses so he could rub his face, then placed them back. “When are they coming?”

“Probably tomorrow morning. I’m handling this case on my own.”

Blair’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding me. Simon’s letting you do that?”

“Simon doesn’t want anyone else on this case. He’s convinced that we’re dealing with the supernatural, too.”

Blair sighed, standing from his chair. He removed his hair tie and gathered the loose strands of hair together and retied them. “Well. Guess I’m done here. I’m going to stop by the Thai place and pick up dinner. We’ll talk about this at the loft. This is not the place to be discussing this.”

“Are you okay with this?” Jim studied his friend’s face carefully. Blair was good at deceit, but he could always detect a lie.

“It’s shocking. You’ve gotta admit that.” Blair moved around his desk to stand in front of Jim. “I’ll handle it, man. Don’t worry. Sides, it’ll be nice seeing the kids again. I like them.”

“I do, too,” Jim agreed. He patted Blair on the arm and walked out of the office, Blair following so he could lock the door behind him. As Blair turned from the door, their eyes met. Jim was hit with a surge of emotions not his own. Fear, doubt, dismay, all of which were Blair’s.

Blair’s eyes widened, lips parted slightly. “Are you scared, too?”

Jim felt his throat lock up. Had Blair felt that? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t admit it to Blair. He was the protector. Blair had to know he was being brave in the face of danger. “No, Blair. I know everything will work out.”

The damndest lie he’d ever told, too.

~*~

In the loft, they sat at the table, eating dinner while Jim decided to give Blair the story from the beginning.

“Ever hear of the Cat Scratch club?”

Blair’s eyebrows arched, fork dangling in mid air, noodles dripping from it. “Uh, yeah. S&M club, isn’t it?”

Jim nodded, lips pursed. “That’s it.”

Blair set the fork back on its plate. “That where the bodies were found?”

“Yeah. I think they’re a bit more perverse than Celestra and her lackeys.”

“I don’t know about that,” Blair mumbled, staring at the Thai carton he was eating out of. “Though she may’ve had more class. We didn’t catch her at any S&M clubs. But she sure as hell knew how to scare a person.”

Jim repressed a shudder. A memory ripped through him. Hands bruising against the slender column of Blair’s neck . . . the frightened, pleading eyes . . . the helpless cries . . .. “She certainly did know how to scare people.” He picked at the food in the carton. His stomach was full of lead. There was no way anything he had just eaten was going to digest.

"Still trying to keep your distance, Sandburg?" The gravelly voice taunted. "Weak, pathetic. Why're you still here, kid? Trying to prove your worth?" Jim (the monster) sniggered. "Trying to prove what a man you are?"

Blair's lips pressed together firmly. "You don't know what you're saying, man. That scent's affecting you again. Control it. I know you can."

Ellison rotated the rest of the circumference to face Blair fully. "No, Chief." Jim (the monster) grinned maliciously. "I don't want to control it; I'm stronger with it."

He jerked, as the memory sliced through his mind, throwing his fork down, and knocking the carton over. Rice spilled out over the table. Blair was by his side instantly, a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Jim waved him off, willing his heart to slow down. He gripped the edge of the table and closed his eyes. Slowly, he opened them again. “I’m fine. Just tired. It was a hard day.”

Blair stepped back, retracting his hold on Jim’s shoulder. “I guess it was.” He didn’t sound convinced. “It’s different this time. Are you sure it’s going to work out?”

Jim glanced at him. “What’s that, Chief?”

“Dealing with the vampires.”

He sighed. Oh. That. “Yeah. I think it’ll work out. There’s no reason for it not to.” Well, there was, but no need to be picky about the intricacies.

Blair sat back in his chair. He inspected his right thumbnail carefully, running his left thumb over it. “I just get this feeling that the situation is different. I can’t explain it. But the difference here is bad. Very bad.” He shrugged. “I probably sound ridiculous. All I know for sure is that this is giving me the severe creeps.”

Jim agreed with his entire soul, but the trick was voicing it. His own fears couldn’t be admitted to Blair, not to the person he had sworn, above all others, to protect. There was no way Blair could know he was having flashbacks (and yes, Blair, I’ve been having them all along). “I’m sure everything will be all right. After all, we have our very own vampire experts to help us. They’ve been in the business for what? Four years? I’m sure by now this will be like swatting flies to them.”

Head still hung low, Blair raised his eyes. It made him appear child-like and innocent and ancient and all-wise at the same time. It was extremely disconcerting. “Adrian once told me it never gets easier. Sometimes they’ve even come close to losing.”

Losing. A nice way of saying they were nearly killed. “We’ll be with them this time,” Jim assured his friend. This he meant whole-heartedly. “We just have to stick together. That’s what makes us invincible.”

“ ‘United we stand, divided we fall’,” Blair quoted, a sad-amused smile on his face. “Truer words were never spoken.”

Jim agreed with that. “If anything bothers you, let me know. There should be no secrets between us.” He felt like a hypocrite for saying that. “We do this together.”

“Together,” Blair murmured. He smiled. This time he raised his eyes to meet Jim’s gaze. This time, however, Jim was looking away. His face fell. “No secrets between us.”

The rejection was evident. Blair had seen the lie and there was no way he could recover that. Jim feared Blair would confront him now. That was usually his way. Something, however, kept Blair silent. Blair boosted himself from his chair and without a word, went into his bedroom, shutting the French doors behind him. Jim was left sitting at the kitchen table alone. Alone with his thoughts and fears and with the images flooding through the poorly constructed dam he had erected in his mind.

A protector. You think you can protect him? You’re a coward.

How could he ever hope to protect Blair, the person who had told him he was a Sentinel, the person who had christened him Blessed Protector, no matter how offhanded the remark? He tried being strong, he had thought he was strong, but until the challenge came face to face with them, he would not truly know.

The phone rang and wearily he got up to answer the phone by the refrigerator.

“Hey, Detective. It’s Adrian. Bram and Alecia have it cleared up for tomorrow.”

“Good.” He rubbed his temples with one hand. At least something was going right. “I’ll buy the tickets and call you back as soon as I do.”

“One way tickets?”

“Yeah. Who knows how long this will take.”

“Point taken. Okay. I’ll be waiting to hear from you later.”

“And Adrian?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Thank you.”

“No problem, Detective. I’m sure you’d lend us a hand if we needed it.”

There was a click as Adrian hung up the phone. Jim gripped the phone for a second before hanging it on its receiver.

I’m sure one of us would, he thought. I can’t say much for the other.

~*~

Blair was floating. The room was small and bare, the only furniture a bed with a cover sheet and a worn-down brass headboard. A beautiful young woman, long blonde hair framing an oval face, eyes and lips set in bliss, lay naked on the bed. Her arms were pulled above her, handcuffed together to the headboard. A young man, darkly handsome and also nude, stretched over her, adorning her with nips and kisses. He scratched his nails down her hips, drawing faint streaks of blood. She lifted her head, lips opening slightly for a kiss. Gently, he bestowed one upon her. He ran his hands through her thick mane of hair, then down her cheek. She tilted her face into the caress. He dug his nails into her cheeks, drawing thick pools of blood that ran in dark rivulets to drip from her chin and onto her chest and the mattress. She moaned, eyes closing in ecstasy.

“More,” she pleaded.

“More?” her partner teased. His lips brushed against the scarlet smeared on her cheeks. He lapped at it like a cat. “I can give you so much more. I can give you eternity.”

He’s not going to kill her. The thought struck Blair like a sledgehammer to the stomach. This was worse than death. Much, much worse.

The man’s head ducked down against the groove of her neck. There was a sound, as if he had bitten into an apple; but it wasn’t fruit, it was the nectar of the nocturnal gods. She gasped again, hips bucking against him. Then an unmistakable sucking accompanied by his occasional gasps and her ceaseless moans. Blood dribbled down the white expanse of her throat, leaving a stark trail of red in its wake. Blair stared at it, horror overcoming him.

The vampire drew back and bit its tongue, causing blood to spill over as he gazed with hooded eyes at the semi-conscious woman on the bed. She watched him through slit-eyes. She was neither afraid nor curious. She was hypnotized, completely under his spell. She had no idea the fate about to befall her.

The vampire bent over, slipping his tongue past her lips. She latched on like a starving feline and the vampire gasped, startled. He tried to draw back, but she held fast, a low growl rumbling through her chest and throat. He stilled, allowing her her fill.

As she drank she began to twitch. Her moans of pleasure morphed into mewls of agony. The twitches intensified until she was writhing and the mewls became wails that wracked her body, arching her back off the bed. Her fists gripped the handcuff chain as she was imprisoned in unbearable torture.

She heaved against the handcuffs, yanking her arms. The chain broke, freeing her from the bed, not from the pain. She flung her arms out, handcuffs dangling from her wrists. She threw her arms around the man’s naked body, solid and muscular, offering refuge in her moment of horror. He crooned in her ear as her body’s convulsions eased. Her hands slid over his back, smearing it in her own blood. With a soft gasp, she went limp in his arms.

The vampire’s lips brushed against her ear. “You’ll like being a god. We are the ultimate power.”

A flash of white light and Blair was spun back into his corporeal body. He stared into the darkness, clutching the bedspread around his shoulders as he shook uncontrollably. His heart galloped in his chest, thudding in his ears like a bass drum.

It was worse than they could’ve imagined. He had turned her into a vampire. He had cursed her. There were others. He had not seen any others, but he knew without a doubt.

“Blair?”

He flinched, ducking under the covers before he recognized the voice. He chastised himself for his cowardice and drew the blankets down. “Yeah?”

Jim stepped into the room, silhouetted by the light of the full moon. Standing there stolidly, features invisible, he looked like a mythical sentry from some long-forgotten tribe. “Are you okay? You sounded like you were in pain.”

“I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”

“Nightmare about what?”

“The vampires.” He inhaled deeply. “They’re multiplying. I saw one of them cross a young woman over. There were more transformations. I know there were.”

Jim stepped further into the room. The moonlight spilling from Blair’s bedroom window revealed him clad only in boxers. “Did you see anything else?”

Blair shook his head, feeling absolutely miserable. “Not really. The vampire looked young, but that doesn’t mean anything. He could be five hundred for all I know.”

“Or he could be really young.” Jim crossed his arms over his chest.

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with,” Blair said, fighting down a wave of futility. The situation was not hopeless. He couldn’t let one vision defeat him. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fall asleep again. Have you been able to sleep?” He strained to see Jim’s expression through the dim light, but he could only see vaguely.

Jim didn’t answer him immediately. Hesitantly, he said, “I’ve been sleeping okay.”

Blair had sensed this earlier, a lack of complete honesty on Jim’s part. Jim had said there should be no secrets between them. He had been lying the moment the words passed his lips. At first he hadn’t wanted to say anything. Jim had been screwed up after the Celestra incident. Blair didn’t blame him. Celestra had used Jim thoroughly, stealing his power and control--extremely devastating to a control freak like Jim. He thought he should allow Jim his reprieve and deal with his issues alone, maybe he’d get over them before it was a hindrance; but now looking at the shadowed form of his Sentinel, he doubted that letting the problem go really would help.

What he said next shocked the hell out of himself with its bluntness. “You’re lying.”

He cursed the shadows for he couldn’t see Jim’s reaction to his statement. “Am I?”

“What are you hiding, Jim? You want us to be honest with each other. You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Jim said nothing.

“Does it bother you?” It was like talking to a statue. Hell, a statue showed more emotion than this. “You don’t have to be ashamed you know. It’s human, man.”

“I’m a Sentinel.”

Ah, okay. So they were getting somewhere. “You think because you’re a Sentinel, ‘the Protector of the Great City’, you’re not allowed to feel fear?”

“It’s not normal fear, Sandburg.”

“Then what is it?” He tried to keep his frustration down, but it slipped past anyway.

“It’s called terror.”

That stopped him cold. “You’re terrified.”

Jim nodded, his face still obscured. “I don’t know if I can face these creatures again. You nearly died last time because I couldn’t. Chances are, I won’t be able to handle it this time either.”

"It wasn’t your fault,” Blair said desperately. “What Celestra did to you, could’ve happened to anyone.”

“But it didn’t. I nearly killed you, Sandburg. Do you think I could ever forget that? I literally--almost--killed you.”

“That was a year ago,” Blair argued, but Jim wouldn’t allow the excuse.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s the same situation. I didn’t want to believe it was vampires, but I knew it was before Adrian told me. I’m supposed to be a guardian, but this is my Achilles’ Heel. Let’s face it.”

Blair shook his head, frowning. “Only because you allow it to be. I know you can deal with this. You just need to try.”

Jim slicked his hand through his short hair. “Maybe. Maybe I just need time.” He shrugged. “I’ll deal with it when the time comes. By the way, I bought tickets for Adrian, Alecia, and Bram. Their flight gets here at one.”

Blair nodded, disconcerted by the abrupt change in topic. Jim didn’t want to deal with it right now. There wasn’t much he could do about that. At least now he knew what the problem was. This wouldn’t affect them. Jim wouldn’t allow it to. He watched Jim leave his room as these thoughts ran through his mind. He sank back into the bed, pulling the covers back around his shoulders.

. . . And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. . .--Genesis 1:3

Jim had checked the arrival notices several times since they had arrived at the airport and Blair had admonished him for being so restless. The kids’ plane wasn’t late yet. Jim had huffed at that. He hadn't been able to stop pacing. Blair was grateful when Jim announced that he saw a plane with their airline logo landing. Several minutes later the plane pulled up to the gate and only a few minutes after that, people began to emerge from the gateway.

Soon, two familiar faces appeared. One was feminine, with a diamond-shaped face, boyishly short brown hair, and Jim-like eyes. The other was exotically handsome with the darkest of blue eyes set into an angular olive-toned face, framed by black hair that hung just past the shoulders. Both caught sight of Jim and Blair and rushed to them, exchanging hugs and bright smiles.

“It’s great to see you guys again!” Alecia enthused. “We talked about this and talked about this and we just had to tell you first thing, just so we don't pull the surprise later." She took a deep breath. "Adrian and I are engaged.”

Blair’s eyes widened at the unexpected news. “That’s great! Why didn’t you guys tell us before?”

“We wanted to tell you in person. This is such a big thing,” Adrian explained. “We haven’t set a wedding date or anything.”

“Yeah,” Alecia added. “Aje still needs to get his Bachelor’s and I want to finish with my Master’s before we do anything.”

“And you guys are gonna be so happy together,” a new voice sarcastically interjected. “What a joke.”

All turned to see Bram Lyte, bangs limp, complexion pale and unshaven, and green eyes dulled by crescent smudges underneath. Alecia and Adrian’s elation took a sudden nosedive.

Bram indicated Blair and Jim with an inclination of his head. “S’up? I’ll be down at the baggage claim. You guys take all the time you need. I know you have a lot to talk about.” With that, he trudged off.

“He has a habit of making people uncomfortable,” Blair noted. The first time they had been together in the loft, Bram had ended up erupting in fury and stalking out, leaving everyone feeling pretty much as they did now. Eyes flicking between Adrian and Alecia, both looking in the direction Bram had stormed off, he asked carefully, “What’s going on?”

Adrian mumbled cryptically, “This is going on. Why don’t we walk and talk?”

Everyone agreed and they walked down the aisle in a line--Jim, Blair, Adrian, and Alecia. The crowd had dispersed after everyone had gotten off the plane, leaving them with a fairly clear path.

“Bram’s been burning out. He’s been getting into a lot of trouble and may end up getting kicked out of school.”

Blair looked at Adrian, shocked. “Why?”

Adrian shrugged, not looking back at him. Alecia clasped his hand. “His grades. Failing too many classes. And there are other problems.”

“Like what?” Jim said. Blair looked at him. Jim’s eyes were narrowed.

“Like getting a speeding ticket.” Adrian paused. They waited, knowing it went beyond just that. “He was also arrested for a DUI and reckless driving. He was going ninety-five in a forty-five.”

Both Jim and Blair stared at him. Blair’s mouth hung open. “What was he thinking?”

Alecia shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but her bitter tone gave her away. “He wasn’t obviously.”

“To top it all off,” Adrian said, “he was fired from his last job. He hasn’t even tried finding another one.”

“If he’s having all these problems, why’s he in Cascade?” Jim asked.

“I don’t know,” Adrian said, resigned. “He doesn’t say much of anything to us anymore. He likes hunting vampires. I think it’s the killing part for him.” He shook his head, eyes on the floor’s carpeting. “When we told him we were engaged he acted like he didn’t even care.”

Blair studied Adrian, watching for a reaction to his next question, wondering if either had ever considered it. “Do you think he’s jealous?”

The reaction was what he expected. Alecia was genuinely surprised, her expression directed at Blair one of absolute disbelief. “Jealous? Aje and I’ve been together for three years now as a couple. It never seemed to bother him before.”

“Are you sure about that? Maybe he was, but just hid it well. The engagement may’ve just been the breaking point.”

The younger two were silent as they let the words sink in. Blair watched as Alecia tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth, staring straight forward. Adrian was still gazing at the ground.

Finally, Adrian said, “Maybe it’s time we go our separate ways.”

Alecia released his hand, turning on him. Blair gripped his arm. The biceps flexed under his hand. “That would be the biggest mistake of your life.”

Blair felt Jim move closer behind him. “Adrian, I think before you make any decisions you should discuss this with Bram.”

Alecia placed her hand on Adrian’s other arm. “He’s right.”

Adrian didn’t move, meeting Blair’s eyes evenly. “I know he’s right. I just don’t know what to do about it. Bram is a lost cause.”

“You don’t know that,” Alecia said, tugging on his arm. Blair’s hand fell away as Adrian turned to face her. “Don’t make any rash decisions. Bram needs us more than he did before.”

Adrian raked a hand through his long hair, sighing. “Maybe. I don’t want to deal with it, though.” He looked over at Jim and Blair. “We have stuff to get done. There’s no reason to think about this right now.”

Blair noticed Alecia’s frown, feeling one similar to it on his own face. Adrian was right in one respect though--they had stuff to get done.

~*~

Because Jim’s truck wouldn’t accommodate the three extra passengers and he didn't want two separate vehicles, Blair had driven his Volvo. As soon as they crowded in, Jim told him to drive to the S&M club. Before they did anything else, he wanted the kids to see the crime scene and hopefully pick something up he missed.

Bram wasn’t saying much of anything to anyone. Jim decided that the next opportunity that arose, he would make sure that he had a talk with him. There was something about Bram that he genuinely liked, despite the kid’s smart-ass mouth.

Blair pulled up to the S&M, parallel parking in front of the entrance. Yellow and black tape was strung along the building to ward off curiosity seekers.

Adrian read the unlit, red neon sign. “Cat Scratch club. Place you guys frequent?”

Blair turned in his seat to give him a lopsided grin, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “I do, man. Every Saturday night. Jim never did seem to get into it. You’d think someone in his line of work would like pain.”

Jim rolled his eyes at the lame joke. The backseat passengers got a chuckle out of it. He opened his door and stepped out. “Okay. Enough jokes. We’ve got work.”

Inside the club, Jim led them through the maze-like structure, taking them down to one section in which several rooms were set. He opened the door to one, gesturing for Adrian to step inside. It was only large enough for three people to stand. Blair and Bram chose to stand in the doorway.

“Were the victims in this club the only ones?” Adrian asked as he moved to stand at the foot of the bed.

Jim answered, “As of the night before, nothing has been reported.”

“That dream I had,” Blair said suddenly. “That happened last night. I was channeling into the vampire for some reason. It was happening as I watched.”

“What?” Adrian’s head shot up to face him.

So did Jim’s. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t know.” For the benefit of the vampire hunters, he briefly explained his vision. Then finished with: “I was so freaked out I couldn’t even think clearly. It never occurred to me that it was an actual vision. If I can figure out where it took place then we’ll be that much closer to the vampires.”

Jim frowned. He didn’t like the idea. He didn’t like the idea of Blair anywhere close to the vampires. He would rather let the kids handle this. They were young, but they were experienced. He and Blair were not.

Adrian, on the other hand, did like the idea. “That’s doable. I know a trick that might work. First, let’s see what I can pick up here.”

He closed his eyes and held his hands, palms down, over the bed. He took in a deep breath. Everyone stood silently, waiting in anticipation. He jerked. His eyelids fluttered. Suddenly, his body writhed, his hair flying around his head. He clenched his hands, biting his bottom lip, regaining his control. There was a sick look in his eyes that Jim didn’t like. It reminded him of last night when he had gone to check on Blair.

“I couldn’t see the face, but I could feel the power. She wasn’t very old, twenty-five at the most. I couldn't see her face, but she had short, dark hair. She’s been a vampire for less than a year. If you saw a transformation last night, then that would be that vampire’s last. It usually takes at least a couple years for vampires to cross people over more easily, though even then it’s very draining for them. When they’re young, one person is usually the limit for several months.” He glanced at Jim. “Were any other victims found here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll take you to the rooms.”

Jim took Adrian to the next three rooms. In each room, Adrian focused on the images that came to him, giving them brief details after each episode. After the last, they congregated in the hall. Adrian had already come to the conclusion that these were indeed fledgling vampires, but he hadn’t been able to see their faces or pick up names.

“We should have no problems, right?” Jim asked, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.

Adrian shook his head, rubbing his hands against the front of his jean-clad thighs. “I didn’t say that. They may not be as strong as the older vampires, but they’re highly reckless and just as dangerous, if not more so for the simple fact they’re so young. The one woman I saw, with the short, dark hair, she was the worst. She tortured her victims before draining them of blood. She doesn’t kill just for food. She kills because it’s fun for her. That and the pain she inflicts upon her victims.”

That wasn’t what Jim wanted to hear. It nauseated him.

Adrian threw his hands up. “That’s all I can really say about that. I would need to channel again to get more information. If Blair can figure out where his vision was coming from, I could probably learn more there.”

Jim didn’t like the idea of Blair going through any trances, especially not after waking up in the middle of the night because of one of those damned visions. But he had to admit to himself that it was their best shot at tracking the vampires down. “Let’s go then. There isn’t any reason to stand around here.”

~*~

Upon returning to the loft, Adrian ushered Blair to sit in a full lotus in front of the couch. Adrian sat on the coffee table they had pushed away to give Blair room. Jim and Alecia sat on the couch in front of Adrian and Bram on the one diagonal.

Adrian guided Blair through the trance. “You’re going back to last night. You saw a young woman and a male vampire. He crossed her over.”

Blair responded in a monotone. “Yes.”

“Do you see them now?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t pay any attention to them. Focus on your surroundings. See if you can find something that gives you an indication as to where you are.”

“Bare. It’s . . . bare.” Though he continued in the monotone, Blair was afflicted by a hesitance that unsettled Adrian and by what he saw on the fringe of his vision, had Jim deeply on edge.

If there was nothing in the room, that meant he had to take it out another notch. It wasn’t something he was eager to do, but he couldn’t imagine any other way around it. He’d tried it once on himself and the consequences had been painful, but he thought he could control it this time. He wouldn’t let Blair go that far.

“Okay, Blair. The next part is trickier.” He saw Jim tense. “I want you to push yourself out of the room. You’ll feel a restriction and it won’t be easy, but struggle through it. Remember that your aura has the ability to absorb everything around you.”

He felt Jim’s gaze latch onto him like a leech. He didn’t care. He had to try, it was possibly their only chance. Blair would be fine. Adrian’s stomach clenched. He hoped.

Blair grunted. His face strained, eyelids squeezing together, skin sallow from exertion. A delicate layer of sweat shone on his forehead.

“Where are you now, Blair?”

Blair’s answer came through gritted teeth. “Hall. Cramped. Ugh.” His head collapsed forward. “Music. Dark . . . ugh.” His head jerked up and fell back. His body twitched. “Dark. Light.” He whimpered. “God! It hurts!”

Jim was to his feet instantly. Adrian raised a hand. He kept his eyes on Blair, but could feel the daggers Jim was throwing at him. “Can you go further?”

“Unh. Yes.” Another sound, a groan-whimper hybrid.

Adrian furrowed his brow. He suddenly felt apprehensive, particularly with the ice blue lasers directed at him. “Are you sure?”

“Y . . . eah. Just . . . dizzy. Dance room.” He gave a soft gasp of pain.

Jim swooped down beside Blair, ignoring the outraged cry from Adrian. He was going to ruin the trance! They’d never find anything out! Blair twitched again, back arching, knuckles bone-white as his hands fisted. His eyelids fluttered. Jim shook him, trying to break him out of the trance. Adrian bit the inside of his cheek. He hadn’t taken it too far had he? He couldn’t possibly have.

“Door,” Blair grunted out.

“Blair!” Jim exclaimed, his face gone ashen. “Snap out of it!”

Adrian rose to his feet. It had gotten out of control. Dear God.

Blair didn’t respond to Jim’s cries, instead he convulsed, grunts gurgling in his throat like a defective faucet. He gasped, his chest heaving. He couldn’t breathe, Adrian suddenly realized. He was suffocating. Shit. Jim yelled at the top of his lungs now, panic his driving force.

Adrian slid down to his knees, Alecia and Bram immediately by his side. They helped Jim stretch Blair out full length on the floor, hoping to control the convulsions and clear his airway. Jim held Blair’s head between his hands, leaning over him as he spoke soothingly, yet persistently.

Without a warning, Blair went limp. Jim pressed two fingers over his neck. He breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s still alive.”

Adrian ran a shaky hand through his hair. “No thanks to me.”

Jim didn’t respond to that. There was no reason he should. He had almost killed Blair because he had been so sure he could control the trance. And Blair had almost paid for Adrian’s mistake with his life.

Jim gathered Blair into his arms, sitting himself on the floor to accommodate the weight better. “C’mon, buddy. Wake up.”

Blair’s eyes opened.

“Are you okay?” Jim shifted Blair so he see could his face.

Adrian watched with bated breath, hoping that he would finally receive some reassurance.

Blair spoke roughly. “Divine.”

Adrian narrowed his eyes. As did Jim. As did Alecia and Bram.

“What’re you talking about, Chief?” Jim asked, just as confused as Adrian felt.

“The club.” Blair coughed weakly. “It’s called Divine.”

“I was wondering,” Bram muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. He was ignored.

“I guess that’s where we’re going,” Jim said. He gripped Blair under his arms and pulled them both to their feet. He wrapped an arm around Blair’s waist. “But right now I think everyone needs to recuperate.”

Adrian had no problem with that. Neither did Blair.

“No arguments here,” Blair said, his face tucked against Jim’s chest. “One thing though.”

“What’s that, Chief?”

“I think you guys are gonna have to carry me to bed. I can’t move.”

~*~

With Bram’s help, Jim carried Blair to his bedroom. He wanted to sit with Blair to make sure he was going to be all right, but Blair snapped at him enough times that Jim decided his presence was only keeping Blair from rest. In the living room, he settled himself on the couch, resting his head on the back. Bram was curled on the other in a façade of sleep. Adrian and Alecia were upstairs in his bed. Adrian had climbed up the stairs like a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs. Jim almost felt sorry for him. He reminded himself that Blair had come very near to death and Adrian was the reason for that. No matter what Adrian had thought he was going to accomplish, he should’ve told them the risks.

His heart tightened in his chest. He really didn’t want to think about that right now. He was going to give himself a heart attack and for no use either. Instead, he settled his gaze upon Bram, the young man pretending to be asleep. Strangely enough, he felt much the same for Bram as he did for Blair. He had filled the shoes missing in Blair’s life and he wanted to do that for Bram, too. He wasn’t sure what exactly Bram didn’t have that he needed, but Jim knew it was something; something obviously quite detrimental.

It wasn’t always enthusiastically that he played the part of hero for Blair. Usually, it was a burden. The city was his to protect and that was a great responsibility. Having Blair by his side made it a little bit different. Blair idolized him. He was the kid’s big brother in ways he had never been for Stephen. When it came to Blair, being a protector was more personal, the weight more crushing. That was what scared him most. That was why their current predicament had him so wound up. He knew that if he tripped and fell, the burden of who he was would kill him. The only reason he did it was for Blair. But as he looked upon Bram Lyte, he realized that he would also do it for this brash kid. The one with a chip on his shoulder the size of Seattle.

Bram needed him in a different way than Blair. The need in Blair wasn’t quite so great, not nearly so desperate. Bram, however, was a person that had been worn down, torn down, and was in serious need of repair. He’d never found anything in Blair that was in major need of salvaging. In Bram he saw a fractured soul and he couldn’t quite tell, but he thought it was almost beyond the point of mending. Maybe not quite, but the feat wouldn’t be either fast or easy.

Also, he had to remind himself of the age difference. That played the biggest role in the way Bram saw him and the way Blair saw him. It was the greatest key in how he should approach them. Bram was eight years younger than Blair, sixteen years younger than Jim. Though the kid had annoyed the hell out of him during their first encounter, he had also hit a spot that only Sandburg had ever found, and in a very different way. There was something about Bram, something warmly familiar that drew him to the kid like a magnet.

“Are you pissed or what?”

Jim blinked, startled. He focused on Bram who was now watching him with hawk-like intensity. “No. I’m not.”

“You’ve been giving Aje glares rivaling the Death Star laser.”

Jim looked away, out the glass sliding door opposite him.

“You and Blair are pretty close, aren’t you?”

Jim nodded, eyes settling over Bram. “You could say that. We’ve been through a lot together.”

Emerald irises scanned the loft, taking in the scenery, the details of the Odd Couple lives joined together by fated circumstances. “It’s kinda weird,” Bram muttered.

“What’s that?”

“You and Blair. You guys are so totally bipolar it’s not even funny. I knew that the first time I saw you two walking together. Doesn’t take your detective skills, Alecia’s feminine intuition, or Adrian’s psychic abilities to figure that much out. Yet, I found it odd to see how close you guys are. Just like me, Leesh, and Aje have always been.” When he said the last, Bram’s lighthearted tone plummeted into melancholy nostalgia.

Jim saw this as the opportunity he had promised himself he would take. Bram needed to talk about this, whether he knew it or not. “You guys aren’t like that anymore.”

He had hit the target. Bram winced, pain reflected in his bright green eyes. He looked to the ceiling, rolling onto his back. He stretched an arm to reach the back of the couch and gripped the edge. He cupped the back of his head in the other arm. “No,” Bram whispered. “We aren’t.”

“This is about the engagement?”

“Their engagement?” Bram glanced sideways at Jim, then the ceiling again. “No. I knew it was coming. I knew it since our senior year of high school. Leesh and Aje were meant to be together. I think they were both cynical about marriage because, unlike me, they came from broken homes. We’re talking broken as in shards all over the ground, ‘watch your step’ broken. Adrian lived with his aunt. His father abandoned him when he was four because he thought his son was a ‘freak’, and his mom did the same a year later. Alecia lived with her father; her mom didn’t give a damn about her. Leesh’s dad’s a trucker. Never home, so she learned to take care of herself. When Alecia and Adrian fell in love, neither wanted to admit it. They were too scared. But I think even then they knew.”

He had meant to open Bram up, but the outpouring of his heart surprised him. Bram had given him more than he had asked for and it was all sincere and all pieces of pain he was trying to remove. Alecia and Adrian were everything to Bram, that much was evident to Jim; but how evident was it to Bram? “Does it bother you?”

Bram blinked, startled, eyes still fixed on the ceiling. Jim was starting to doubt he’d even receive an answer when the hesitant reply came. “Kind of. Just lately, it’s been hard being around them. I was, like, consumed with this feeling, this sensation and it really hurt. It felt like someone was driving nails into my heart.” Though his eyes were dry, tears drenched his words. It almost sounded like a sob. “I guess some call it jealousy, but dude, jealous of who? Alecia or Aje?”

“Maybe it’s the intimacy. All these years you three have been a team, but the engagement is a symbol of them growing closer, leaving you out. The team is drifting apart.” He paused, a new thought dawning on him. “Have you ever had a meaningful relationship?”

Bram frowned. “Aje and Leesh.”

“Besides them.”

Jim waited as Bram thought it over, but he already knew what he was going to hear before anything was said. “No one.”

"Not even Luella?" He remembered the story he had heard last year about this girl, Bram's ex-girlfriend who had been turned into one of the undead. It had been a sad story, one in which Bram had still been grieving over, despite the fact it had occurred two years ago, and they had not been a couple in a year at that point. It sounded to him like that, if nothing else, could've been a meaningful relationship, if a bit confused by teenagers still trying to understand their world and themselves.

"Luella was . . . Luella was special and I honestly think I loved her even though I wronged her so badly. But it wasn't a meaningful relationship because I screwed her over and in the end she hated me so much she was going to kill me."

"She was a vampire then, Bram."

Bram shook his head. "Doesn't matter. She knew what she was doing. She could've attacked anyone. Adrian, Alecia, anyone. But she didn't. She chose me. There's no way in hell that could be called a meaningful relationship."

It cracked down on Ellison like a bolt of lightening. Alecia and Adrian were it for Bram. He wanted to delve into Bram's family life, knowing now that his parents weren't divorced. If Bram didn't come from a divorced family something else about his family life came into play. That was a line of questioning for another time though. What Jim wanted to know now was on a completely different tangent. He wasn't going to skirt around the subject so he decided to approach it as he would anything else . . . bluntly. Bram might run and hide, never opening up to him again. It was a chance he was willing to take. The one he needed to take, for Bram’s sake. “You were arrested.”

Bram’s eyes darted to him. Startlement shifted into anger as his face flared. “They had no right to tell you.”

He was now treading upon unstable ground. He stepped out, hoping he wasn’t about to damage anything fragile. “They’re concerned. So am I.”

“You really don’t even know me.”

“I know you well enough.”

Bram fell silent.

“I’m on your side, Bram. They told us about your grades, your job. You need to get your feet back on solid ground.”

Bram cocked an eyebrow. “And you’re going to help?”

“I’m going to try. I’ve been through some really tough times, too. I used to get in trouble repeatedly. Even after I became a detective. I tried marriage and found that I couldn’t even make that work, though my wife was an incredible woman. I had withdrawn into myself so completely that I shut out everyone who cared for me at all.”

“What happened?”

Jim smiled wryly, as if the truth were too strange to admit. “Blair Sandburg happened.”

Bram’s eyebrows shot up to meet his hairline, then narrowed in bafflement. “That was it?”

Jim nodded, still smiling. “That was it.” He shrugged, then rested his arms on the sofa edge, elbows crooked so he could rest his head in his palms. “The point is, what keeps people sane is a very specific person, or people, to fit into their lives. It could be anyone at all. The relation doesn’t matter. It’s the person that matters.”

Jim thought he saw something glittering in Bram’s eyes, but the young man was quick to wipe it away. “Support is what I lost. I want them back. I won’t lie to you. I don’t want to be an outsider.” His breath hitched. “It’s like--It’s like, they don’t need me anymore. We were the fucking three Musketeers.” The glimmer returned. This time no matter how much he swiped at it, it wouldn’t go away. “God, it hurts. I didn’t realize what they meant to me, what us as a team meant to me until they grew closer and I drifted away.” He spoke harshly, overwhelmed by emotions. Though Bram was only 5’5”, he had the look of a stereotypical jock, muscular and fit, someone only a fool would take on. Despite the macho demeanor he was fond of portraying, it all shattered when it came to affairs of friendship. Tears rained down his face, slipping across his cheekbones in shimmering trails that caught the sunlight before they were lost in his sideburns and bangs.

Jim was unable to stop himself. It seemed like such a natural thing. Something he’d restrained himself from doing the few times he caught Blair in tears. He sat on Bram’s couch, the kid sitting up to accommodate him, and pulled him into a hug. Bram froze against him for an instant. Then he melted as the gesture settled upon him and his tears seeped into Jim’s shirt. There was no reason for him to hold them at bay any longer. Jim couldn’t wax philosophical anymore, but he could do the one thing ingrained deeply into his very being.

He could be a protector.

And travelers now within that valley
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant melody;
While, like a rapid ghastly river,
Through the pale door,
A hideous thing rush out forever
And laugh--But smile no more.
--Edgar Allen Poe “The Haunted Palace”

Around three P.M., Jim gathered the incentive to call Simon. There was no hard evidence to give to his captain, but it wasn’t necessary. If Simon could throw his weight around and get results, hard evidence wouldn’t be required to get them what they needed. Jim had always known he had a good boss in Simon Banks. He didn’t put up with shit, but he was willing to always listen to all sides of a case, no matter how ludicrous one side might sound.

After thirty minutes of waiting for a return call from Simon, the phone rang. Jim snatched up the cordless phone before it could wake everyone else. Bram was now asleep on the couch, and the others had yet to wake up.

“I’ve made an appointment for you and your colleagues at Club Divine with the manager, Ken Orland, at five P.M. He’ll open the club up to inspection for you until seven. The club opens to the public at eight. Of course, if you turn up something the club will have to be shut down.”

“Understood. We’ll make sure to show up on time. Shouldn’t take long to go through the place anyway with the way these kids work.”

“Orland will appreciate it, I’m sure. Good luck, Jim.”

“Thanks, Simon.” He clicked the phone off. He didn’t put it back on its base. Instead, he stared at it in his hands, running his fingers over the dial pads.

Bram yawned and Jim looked over at the kid. He was being stared at through bleary eyes. “Somethin’ botherin’ you, man?”

Jim had to smile. He sounded just like Blair when he was tired. “No. It’s good news actually. Simon got us a break on the case.”

Bram nodded and pushed himself up so he was seated. He rubbed at the sleep still in his eyes. “Oh, yeah. I remember him. Tall, black guy. Right?”

“Yeah.” Jim almost laughed. That was Simon in a nutshell. He was sure his captain would be amused by Bram’s description. “That’s him. Tall, black guy. He got us an appointment with Club Divine’s manager at five.”

“You think we’ll actually find something down there? I mean, if the bodies haven’t been found by now they must’ve done something with them.”

“They may have, but I’m sure Adrian will be able to pick something up. Bodies or no. He can pick stuff up a lot if he’s around the area a transformation was made, can’t he?”

“I don’t know. He may’ve done it before, but I wasn’t around if he did.”

“I thought you three did this as a team?”

“Not necessarily anymore. I’m into the combat part of the gig. Man, that’s about all I’m good for. I don’t have Adrian’s abilities or Alecia’s intelligence and Aje can use Leesh as a ground support when he channels. It’s not like I exactly do anything when I’m there.”

“Maybe you are and they just haven’t said anything about it.”

Bram rolled his eyes. “I’m so sure. They don’t need me, hate to tell you. I’m about as useful to them as a spoon is with a steak. I just don’t cut it.”

Jim nodded, as if seriously contemplating this. He glanced down at the cordless phone still in his hands and sat it on its base before sinking into the couch diagonal from Bram's. Softly, “Are you going to leave them?”

Bram met Jim’s eyes in a challenge. “Why not? Like I said before, they got each other. The old saying is true. Two’s company and three’s a crowd. This team thing . . . it may’ve worked when we were in high school, but it sure as hell doesn’t work now. Maybe I can split on good terms, you know, talk it through and everything. I just don’t think anyone can convince me I’m truly important to this whole vampire hunting thing.”

Jim fought back the urge to shake his head. He knew exactly what he was dealing with now--a self-esteem problem. Identifying it, didn’t make solving it any easier. The best he could do was try to make Bram see the big picture. “What happens if Alecia and Adrian decide to have kids? Alecia can’t fight when she’s pregnant and Adrian can’t fight alone.”

Bram froze, as if the question had never occurred to him. Jim supposed it hadn’t. Thoughtfully, he leaned back into the couch and loosely crossed his arms so they rested upon his belly. “I don’t know. I just . . . I always thought she’d fight no matter what. I guess it’s very possible she could have kids though.”

“There would be no one to watch Adrian’s back.”

“I guess not.”

“He would be by himself.” Jim tilted his head forward slightly, as if that would help drive in his point.

Not that it would’ve mattered. Bram wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at his crossed arms. “Yeah. I guess he would.”

“There would be no one there to ground him.”

Bram scowled. “You’re making your point, detective. I still don’t know. The fact of the moment is, Alecia’s not pregnant and she’s still his other half. They don’t need me.”

Jim sighed, closing his eyes. This wasn’t easy. He opened his eyes again, wishing Bram would just look at him. “That’s not true and you know it.”

Bram faltered before saying, “Maybe I do, but the truth is often open to interpretation.”

“Only if you skew it.”

Bram tightened his arms around himself. He raised his eyes this time, head still lowered, looking for all the world like a younger version of Blair Sandburg. Instead of the soulful blues, the orbs shining from this square-jawed face were a sparkling green; but the effect was still the same. Jim’s defenses were ripped away. A dangerous murderer couldn’t have moved him more. Then out of nowhere came the most peculiar switch in topic: “Why don’t you have kids, Ellison?”

He raised his eyebrows at the unexpected twist in their conversation. To his credit he recovered quickly. “Just never got the chance. Don’t think I ever really gave myself the chance.”

“Did you want kids?”

Jim’s brows knitted together. He wasn’t quite sure where the kid was coming from. The fact of the matter was, he’d never even given the question serious thought, despite being married to Carolyn who had brought it up several times. But he had always known the answer even if he’d never taken it seriously. “Not at first,” he admitted. “For the longest time it never even entered my mind.”

“When did it enter your mind?”

“Mmm.” Jim quirked his lips to the side. In the back of his mind he marveled that he was even going to answer this kid. He didn’t know Bram all that well. Yet it was as if he’d known this person for years. “I’d have to say a year ago.”

“A year?” A faintly amused smile played upon his lips. “Why’s that?”

“I met three nineteen-year-olds who reminded me of myself and my best friend. There was one in particular that had the most unique problems.”

Bram knew exactly whom he was talking about. “So you wanted to solve his problems for him?”

Jim shook his head, staring right beside Bram at the sofa fabric, which was really nothing to stare at. It wasn’t what he was looking at, though, but when. “No. That would have never helped him. I wanted to help him solve his problems for himself. Then that victory would be his own.”

“That’s noble.”

Jim met his eyes, smiling to himself at the shock he saw there. “Not as noble as he is.”

Bram was unable to stop himself from blurting, “You really would’ve made a great dad.” He blanched and covered his mouth as soon as it escaped.

Jim put his mortification at ease with a simple smile. Maybe he had no children of his own, but blood wasn’t the only indicator of family.

~*~

As soon as Blair woke up, he was afflicted with a vertigo that kept him from crawling out of his bed immediately. Images flashed through his head, the remembrance of suffocation filling his lungs. Until now it had not even struck him just how close he had come to dying. He vaguely remembered opening his eyes to see Jim hovering over him, concern written all over his face, and saying something. All that came before was the sensation of smothering. There was one thing he was certain of: he didn’t want a repeat of that performance.

The pictures finally fuzzed into gray then disintegrated altogether, giving him his vision back. He stumbled out of his bed, even more disoriented by the sunlight streaming through his window. What time was it? He squinted at his watch. It was just past four. He staggered into the living room, greeted by the sight of Jim walking towards him, and the others, who were seated, watching him. It was like he had just walked into a very important, top-secret meeting.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” said Jim. “I was just heading to get you up. We have a meeting at Club Divine at five with the manager. He’s letting us search his club for evidence.”

“Sounds good to me,” Blair said, wearily. “Though I don’t think I’ll be doing any mind tricks.”

“You don’t need to. I’m sure Adrian can handle everything.” He gave the remarked-upon man a withering glare. Adrian glanced away, ashamed.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind,” Blair said. He didn’t feel like discussing this right now or even thinking about it. Though he wasn’t about to approach this with Jim’s brand of anger, he was none too happy about what had happened either. It wasn’t that he blamed Adrian, it was just that he couldn’t forget.

“Blair.” It was Adrian. Blair looked at him. “I’m very sorry for what happened. Please, you have to forgive me. I thought I could control it. I honestly thought I could. Will you be able to trust me again?”

Blair shook his head. Like before, he didn’t want to get into it. “You’re already forgiven, Adrian. But you knew what could happen and you didn’t even give me the pleasure of a choice. I accept the apology, but I don’t know if I can place myself in your hands like that again. It’s too soon to tell.”

Sadly, Adrian nodded. Blair felt sorry for him, but he still felt the suffocation in his lungs and it was a painful reminder of what could easily happen again. He wanted to trust Adrian, but for right now it was still too close. Given time--and the right circumstances--he might be able to place his life in Adrian’s hands again.

~*~

Upon five minutes in Ken Orland's presence, Alecia had already decided that he was a scumbag. Jim was sure she would've said it to Orland’s face if it wouldn't have hurt their cause. Alecia wasn't that far off from Bram as far as temper went. The main difference Jim saw was, Alecia knew when to keep her opinions to herself. Scumbag or not, Orland was allowing them to go through his club. Simon must've told the guy something really good for him to be so open to their searching around his establishment. Whatever Simon had said, it paid off.

They searched through every single room, finding no bodies, but Adrian proved to them they didn't need hard evidence to get the goods. He reported that he had seen four vampires, four transformations, and four killings. Which meant they were now dealing with eight vampires and the vampires were learning to hide what was left of their meals. That could be good or bad, Jim supposed. Good that it wouldn't send the city into such a panic, since bodies weren't piling up; bad in that it made the investigation a bit trickier. With a man like Adrian Ward, however, bodies weren't necessary and neither were witnesses. Adrian witnessed everything and when it was over with he told Jim the best news they could possibly receive. Well, that wasn't true, as the best news would've been he knew exactly where the vampires were.

Adrian had seen the faces of their vampires in complete detail. As he viewed them, there were two subordinates, and the other two co-leaders. If either one of the latter was the definite leader, he wasn't able to tell. Before he could plunge into the descriptions, they were interrupted by Orland who wanted them gone if they hadn't found anything. Jim acquiesced and led them out of the club back to Blair’s Volvo. Blair didn't start the Volvo, though. Instead, he waited patiently, quietly, much as Alecia and Bram did in the backseat. Adrian wouldn't look Jim in the eyes now--he hadn't since the loft incident--but he gave Jim everything he wanted to hear.

“The first subordinate, the woman, has long blonde hair, a heart-shaped face, and green eyes. She’s a classic beauty, like she’s stepped out of the Victorian era. She isn't more than twenty-five. None of them are. The guy, he’s rough-looking, unshaven, with shoulder-length dark hair. He has a scar over one eye. It looks like he's blind in that eye. Must've been made when he was mortal. The other guy is cool and collected. A real player. He kinda looks like an 80's version of Rob Lowe. The woman . . .” He faltered and swallowed. “She’s very beautiful. Probably Asian. She has short, dark hair, just above her shoulders, and her eyes . . . they’re obsidian. And cold. She’s very sadistic.”

Jim stared out the windshield. From his peripheral vision he saw Blair grip the wheel tightly, his head turned to the driver's side window so all Jim could see was his brown curls. Inanely, he wondered when the sky had darkened into a deep blue. In only a few short hours the sun would set and the fiends would come out to play.

“We need to get to the station,” Jim said. “Get sketches done.”

Blair nodded and turned to the steering wheel, reaching one hand down to key the ignition on. He pulled out into traffic once the street was clear and headed for the Cascade P.D. Jim marveled that his friend's hands weren't shaking. He didn’t know if he’d have been able to keep his hands steady. His nerves felt like they had been overloaded with crack.

Get a grip. This was ridiculous. What good was he if he couldn't even think about vampires without developing some overwhelming phobia? The answer was, he was no good. These kids had no use for him. Blair, at least, had an ability that Jim didn't quite understand (neither did Blair, he was sure), but that could lead them in the right directions. Last time, with Celestra, it had been those very supernatural gifts that had saved them all. At least at the station he had something to do, actual detective work.

At the P.D. he enlisted the aid of a sketch artist and after approximately two hours of drawing they were presented with four lifelike portraits. He heard the hitching of Adrian's breath and the slight pickup in his heartbeat. Each face stared out at them through the graphite lines, depicting more reality and intensity than should ever be allowed in a pencil sketch.

“That's them exactly,” Adrian said, hushed.

Jim nodded decisively. “We'll check the database now that we know what we're looking for. Considering their penchant for fun and mayhem, they may have a record.”

The search was extensive and by midnight, Jim noticed he was the only one fully awake. Adrian and Alecia were leaned up against each other, both asleep. Bram's head rested on top of the desk, also asleep. Blair wasn't close behind, eyes drooping, leaning back in the chair he had pulled up beside Jim's--his typical spot. He looked to each, then to his computer screen where he had been searching through the database. He had yet to find anything and they were no good to Cascade exhausted. He rubbed his forehead to ward off an impending headache. This would just have to wait later. Tonight the citizens of Cascade would have to fend for themselves.

~*~

For the second time in two nights, Blair had a vision. The first had been bad. It had come out of nowhere, totally unexpected. He had seen the transformation of a young woman, complacent in the face of her impending death and ‘rebirth’. The second vision was worse.

It started much the same. He was floating, as usually was the case, and in a room similar to the one at Club Divine. Most of these clubrooms, he considered, were similar for the sake of both practicality and economics. He knew before he looked below that he would see a vampire with a victim. What he didn’t expect to see was the state of the victim. The young man wasn’t dead, nor was he unconscious. But he should’ve been. His captor knew exactly what she was doing to draw the agony out to its optimum efficiency. Optimum efficiency for her fun anyway. The bleeding, bruised man, who had been cuffed spread-eagled to the headboard, certainly couldn’t call his suffering either optimum or efficient. He probably couldn’t say much of anything about his current predicament other than a plea for death. Not that the slender, naked demon kneeling over him would care to grant that simple request. She was enjoying herself, that much was evident by the black laughter resonating from her like the vibrant chords of an organ.

“She’s very beautiful. Probably Asian. She has short, dark hair, just above her shoulders, and her eyes . . . they’re obsidian. And cold. She’s very sadistic.”

Beautiful, Adrian had right. But sadistic . . .. Sadistic didn’t even cover it.

She had done the maximum amount of damage already, but she was not finished and Blair didn’t want to see her handiwork. She had cut deeply into his right eye. The pupil was a mass of gelatinous tissue, fluid and blood oozing from it, some crusting the rim. A rusty river had dried along his cheek and just below his ear. His genitals were swollen and reddish-purple, crushed in her hand perhaps, and half-moon marks puckered the delicate, mutilated tissue. Blair felt nausea churning in his stomach and fist his groin cold and hard.

He was not going to throw up. He was not going to throw up.

She cooed at her victim, murmuring that he was gorgeous, more so in his agony than before. His good eye stayed on her, darting to follow wherever she moved, as if that would ease the next bout of pain. Tears coursed down his cheek, mingling with fresh and dried blood, pinking the salty liquid. She smiled soothingly at him, as if he were a child that had cut its knee and now wanted a kiss to make it all better. She scraped her nails down his side and latched on, clawing them into his hip. The other hand tangled in his hair, wrapping into it. She lowered her face so her lips lay only centimeters from his cheek. She opened her mouth, tongue flicking out to catch the mixture of blood and tears.

Blair convulsed and he knew that if he were in his physical body he would be vomiting right now. Guttural sounds escaped him like an incessant case of the hiccups. “Uh, uh, uh.” Perhaps he really was puking and he just wasn’t aware of it.

Perched on the bed against her victim, the vampire stilled. Dimly, Blair felt the beginnings of shock. She rose to her knees and cocked her head.

“Uh, uh.” He tried to stop the hiccuping grunts, but they wouldn’t, he couldn’t stop. He had to stop.

She slid one leg over her victim’s body and deliberately circled with her knees until she was facing his direction. She tilted her face up. Her eyes met his.

Obsidian, shining blackness. There was no soul behind those eyes, no reasoning such as even Celestra had managed. There was nothing. They were black holes.

And she was looking directly at him. He wrenched--“Agh!”--eyes squeezed tightly together, arms hugging his stomach like steel bands to keep his stomach’s contents from spilling. She was looking directly at him . . . and grinning a malevolent grin.

A bitter smell assaulted him and he felt the warmth of his blankets surrounding him. He was back in his own bed and he had vomited. He stumbled out of his bed, crashing to the floor, blankets tumbling down with him to twist around his body. He fought against them like a wolf in a hunter’s steel trap. He threw the French doors open with a clatter, bolting into the living room, the horrible odor following him, but he ignored it. There were much more pressing problems on his mind right now than the vomit adorning his hair and splashed lightly against his clothes. Mostly it had ended up on the blanket, but if he had been wearing it in full he wouldn’t have cared. He could only think about those eyes, see those eyes. Obsidian ice, black holes.

“She saw me,” he said, not knowing what else he could possibly say. “She saw me. She saw me.” If he said it enough times maybe everyone would understand the urgency.

Jim was rushing down the steps, not even having bothered to put on his robe. Adrian and Alecia on the couches and Bram on the floor were all waking now from the commotion that had started the moment Blair had taken a nosedive out of his bed.

“She saw you?” Jim was already by his side. His eyes were wide, confused, and worried, as they usually were when Blair lost control.

“She saw me,” he said again, feeling a lot like a broken record. But he honestly couldn’t think of anything else. Nothing else seemed to quite get the horror of the moment across. She had seen him. There was no way anyone could tell him that was perfectly normal.

“Is that possible?” Jim’s eyes darted to Adrian who was looking between them both, eyes like saucers, mouth partly agape. “Is it possible?” Jim repeated, desperately this time as he ran his hands along Blair’s shoulders.

Blair knew he was shaking. Jim would be able to feel it without even trying. The smell attached to him was starting to make him physically ill. He tried to push against Jim who was trying to soothe him. “No,” he argued, hating how he sounded like a petulant child. “I threw up.”

“That’s okay,” Jim soothed, just like a caring parent, and looked up at Adrian again, who was still speechless. “You haven’t answered my question.”

Adrian shook his head.

“It can’t be possible,” Blair whispered. “It can’t be.”

“She can do that, right?” Jim stared, as if he could burn the truth out of Adrian with just his eyes. “It’s happened before, hasn’t it?”

“No.” Every eye in the room fell upon Adrian. His face was flooded with apology, but it was also complete honesty. “It’s never happened before. She shouldn’t be able to do that.”

Blair burrowed his face into Jim’s chest. God, he couldn’t deal with this right now. He just wanted to puke the rest of his guts out and go back to sleep, preferably with no vampires haunting the edges of his sleep. A hand slipped through his hair and massaged his scalp. Jim’s chest rumbled as he spoke, tickling Blair enough for him to move away despite his disorientation and fatigue. He needed Jim’s solid support right now, but not at the expense of making himself look foolish. A little late for that.

“What does this mean?” Jim asked.

Blair glanced over at Adrian whose eyes still looked like saucers and his expression was still one of uncertain confusion. “I don’t know what it means.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know what it means?”

“Jim, relax,” Blair said. His voice sounded like it was coming to him through an oversized tunnel. He placed one hand on Jim’s chest to steady himself. The other he used to rub his eyes, like it would actually wake him up more. “Don’t give him a hard time right now, okay? Too much is going on and too much is at stake.”

“What do you suppose we do about it?” It was a question of exasperation that was trying vainly to be restrained.

“I have an idea.” And it was from the most unlikely source. Bram Lyte was looking at Jim eagerly. His eyes flicked from person to person as he spoke. “Blair just established a link with this vampire. Don’t you guys remember what happened with Celestra? When Blair made a connection with her he was able to hone in on her. Like a homing beacon. If he goes into a trance he can find her as easily as a cat after a mouse.”

Interesting way of putting it, Blair thought dimly. But who was really the cat and who was really the mouse? He sure as hell didn’t feel like a cat.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Jim asked. He was looking at Adrian, accusingly, who wasn’t meeting his glare.

“I’ve done it before,” Blair said, before he even had a chance to think about it.

“Once,” Jim said. “A year ago.”

Blair allowed that, but valiantly shoved on. “Yes. Once. But we didn’t have any problems then and we shouldn’t have any problems now.”

“She saw you,” he said dully, in an eerie approximation of Blair less than five minutes ago.

“Yes, but that may not matter now.” I don’t think it matters now, he added silently. Saying something like that would only stoke Jim’s doubts and they simply didn’t have the time for that. The one vampire’s victim was probably already dead, but what about the others? They couldn’t leave them alone to die. “We need to find these guys, Jim. Nothing will happen to me.” This time.

Their eyes locked. For an instant, not even really a whole second, Blair saw something there, a something that was more like a blend of apprehension and trust. Jim didn’t want him to do this, but he knew Blair’s choices. If Jim was in his place, he’d do it without question.

That was why he found himself sitting in a full lotus for the second time that day and why this second time he was not afraid, though he could still feel the remnants of suffocation and smell the acrid odor of his stomach’s contents.

It was easy moving himself from his body, like he was water being poured out of a pitcher. That’s exactly what it felt like. He was fluid and lighter than air. He opened his eyes and saw himself below, still as a corpse; Jim standing and fidgeting; Adrian, standing in front of his unmoving form, less calm than was normal for him; and Alecia and Bram, unmoving sentries beside Jim.

He merged through the ceiling and was riding the night air, following a tugging he couldn’t quite define. He’d never felt such a powerful force, like the beating of a dark heart not his own, yet still beating in his chest. He was sharing the same rush of oil-thick blood gushing through his veins with the creature and he had never known a sensation like that. The evil wasn’t before him. It was in him.

Before him loomed the structure, a building that came to him from his past. Years ago he had come to this place, against Jim’s word, to track down a serial killer. He had not been back since and for good reason. The place carried too many bad memories; memories that had been for the longest time nightmares.

They had their place, he thought, and it was the strangest, most unsettling coincidence he’d ever come across.

At breakneck speed, he swam across the night, diving back into his body. He opened his eyes, startling Adrian. Instantly, Jim knelt by his side.

“What did you find?” he asked.

He smiled to himself. Faith of the utmost kind was all Jim had in him. “I found where they are. I didn’t even have to go in. I felt her, like she was a part of me.” A hand rested lightly against his upper arm.

“Where are they?” Jim asked.

It felt odd to say the name, especially after all this time, and surreal because he had always associated the place with the most dangerous man he’d ever encountered. “They’re at Club Doom.” He smiled, the expression surreal in this moment of impending danger. "But first, I'm getting a shower."

Ch. Four