Shadow was well aware that he was coming off as a strange little gremlin man, skulking around at night and finding some dark crevice to sleep in during the day, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. At home, he’d had his own room, his own things. He hadn’t had to go to any great lengths to be alone and he’d had enough room to breathe to do normal things like read and play games.

Maybe he’d steal a book from Adin. Or, you know, ask to borrow one. He wasn’t in the right state of mind to focus on anything, but at the same time, he needed a distraction.

Shadow sat up from where he’d been laying along the peak off the roof and immediately froze.

A predator’s gaze had its own distinct feeling, unmistakable, and it settled into the pit of Shadow’s stomach now. He had never seen Katrina before, but when his eyes locked onto a woman walking in the direction of the house from way far down the street, he knew it was her. And he knew he’d been spotted.

He leapt off the side off the roof, landing with a roll, and threw open the back door.

“What’s wrong?” Adin asked as Shadow shut and locked the back door.

“She’s here.”

“Katrina?”

Shadow nodded.

“Are you sure?”

Shadow just looked at Adin, terrified.

Adin took a deep breath. “Okay. I want you to hide and stay hidden. Don’t come out for anything.”

Shadow hesitated.

“I know you barely know me and it’s hard, but I need you to trust me and do exactly what I say. I need you to hide. I need you to not come out, no matter what happens. Not until Finch comes to find you. Okay?”

Shadow nodded.

There was a knock on the front door. As Adin turned towards it, Shadow opened kitchen cabinets until he found one that was empty enough and crammed himself into it.

Shadow heard the front door open and a voice he recognised as Katrina’s asked, “I assume you know why I’m here?”

“I assume nothing,” Adin responded. He sounded calm and his heart rate was still barely existent.

“I want Shadow.”

“Why?”

“So that Luther might consider behaving himself,” Katrina said. “He may look like a grown man, but you would never call someone who’s been a human for as long as he’s been a vampire an adult. He needs guidance.”

“Maybe a few years ago, but he seems to have found his way now. Move on. Make a new vampire. Treat the next one better and perhaps they won’t run away from you at the first chance they get.”

“I’ve tried. Three times since coming to this world, I’ve tried. It didn’t work.”

“Does the process involve crossing the barrier of death?”

“When it works.”

“Then I’m not surprised it isn’t working. This world has no spiritual plane. Certain things simply aren’t possible here.”

“Hm.” Katrina was silent for a moment. “Then I really need Luther, don’t I?”

“You have one chance to get this right. Whatever situation you create, you’ll have to live with forever. Be careful what choices you make.”

“Why should I care what you think?”

“I don’t expect you to, just as I’m sure you don’t expect me to give you Shadow.”

“Right now, you’re on my bad side. This house is small. There are only so many places he can hide. If you want to get on my good side, you can help me. Otherwise…”

Adin’s pulse was still much slower than a normal human’s, but it had started to pick up now. “I won’t be bullied.”

“Right. And you’re… some sort of a deer man? So the fusion of a human and a deer, two prey animals. Scary.”

“Humans are apex predators, not prey animals.”

“Depends on your perspective, doesn’t it?”

Adin’s heart rate had continued rising and it was now about as fast as a human’s immediately after exercise. Couldn’t she hear it? Couldn’t she feel the implied threat that came with it, like the pounding of war drums? 

“Not really,” Adin said. “A bear might attack a human, believing itself to be above them on the food chain, and it might well end up having that human for dinner, but is it really so above them if a whole group of humans comes back the next day and shoots the bear once they find out what it did? It was allowed to live only as long as it didn’t bother anyone, and the moment it did…”

‘Very profound, I’m sure, but let’s be realistic. I’m no bear and a gun won’t be enough to stop me.”

Adin’s heart was thundering now, but when he spoke, he still sounded calm. “It’s a good thing I’m not a gun, then.”

Shadow heard a meaty thud followed by a clatter as someone knocked over a chair, a snarl from Katrina and then the sound of two bodies colliding. Adin’s heart was beating so fast now that Shadow could no longer make out the individual thumps.

Adin had asked him to trust him, to stay put, but could he really just hide when this was happening? Shadow couldn’t beat her in a fight, he knew that, but maybe if he came out of hiding she would leave Adin alone. Maybe he could lure her out of the house and then find some way to hide before she could catch him. Luther was much faster than him and could have caught him in an instant, but maybe…

Shadow lifted his hand to push the cupboard door open as he heard the crunch of a bone breaking, then paused when the scream that followed was unexpectedly female. Katrina had been the one who had been hurt?

He heard two sets of footsteps head towards the front door. Heard the door slam. When Adin walked back towards the kitchen, he was alone.

Shadow cracked the cabinet door open, pushing attention away from himself as he peered out. Adin stood in the middle of the room, his shirt torn and his body covered in scratches. Blood that wasn’t his own covered his antlers, trickling down to meld with blood from a shallow gash on his forehead. His eyes looked vacant as he stood and stared, his heart still hammering in his chest.

Shadow let the cabinet door fall shut. He had been told to stay put until Finch came to get him. He would do that.

#

For most of the drive, Malyn and Tyla played a language learning version of eye spy of Malyn’s own invention. If Finch had the ability to magically speak all languages, he wouldn’t be learning shit, but he admired Tyla’s dedication anyway. 

Malyn, for his part, had a lot more patience for teaching than Finch had ever known him to have for learning. Finch had never gone to school, but he’d never hated education the way Malyn did. Finch had sought out help with reading and writing, the basics of maths, and then he’d used library books and the internet for the rest. He was under no illusion that he’d anywhere near made up for what he’d missed by never going to school, but he got by. They both did. Mostly only because Adin did all the paperwork and shit, but still.

The house they were going to was a rural property at the end of a long, dirt road. They got a lot of callouts to more remote areas. If there was something openly rampaging through the middle of the city, the police were usually on it pretty quick. If you thought you saw something weird in the woods, well. They’d get to it eventually… maybe. After a few calls and several missing livestock. Most people weren’t too keen on waiting to find out what they were dealing with all on their own before getting help.

Finch parked his car on a patch of dry grass in front of the house and put on his leather wrist cuff. It looked kind of punk rock, which was maybe not the most fitting with his no-parties-ever lifestyle, but he’d wanted something to cover the brand on his wrist and it did the job. His body armour also covered it nicely, but he hadn’t wanted to go in and spend the time putting it on before they left. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it.

By the time they got out of the car, the porch light was on and a man was standing outside the front door, looking confused.

“Hey,” Finch said as they approached. “We’re here about the potential breach activity?”

“Huh?” the man said.

“A woman at this address called up. She said she saw an unusually tall figure lurking in the woods?”

“Well, I live alone, so I don’t know about that.”

“Huh,” Finch said. “I guess we got the address wrong? Let me just call and check.”

Finch dialled their home phone and waited as it rang. And rang…

Finally, a voice mail service they’d never bothered to set up because it never got used kicked in and a robotic voice told him to leave a message.

Finch stared at the screen of his phone. “Ah, shit.”