Rowan watched as the leech zipped up the walls and disappeared over the rooftops. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. This one was an enigma and well in control of themselves. This made them dangerous. If they were left unchecked, they would likely, given enough time, grow in power enough to rival the reigning leech here in Ironridge. As much as she loved the thought of the two of them tearing each other apart and saving humanity from their games, she knew that wasn’t how it would go. 

Yet what it said… it lined up things, things that should not have. It was right. So many of these attacks, these murders were not actual vampire attacks. It had the hunters thrown in disarray as they desperately tried to track down who was doing this. The leeches didn’t want to step out of the shadows. They would likely lose, but they would take so many down with them, it wasn’t worth it. She couldn’t fathom who would want this.

So when it claimed that Keegan was one of its killers in life, then… hunters did this, or there was a split in the group or… there is another group. The thoughts were chilling and she hated the thought of division causing the crumble of everything she worked for, all the time and life she gave this group. She knew that total victory of them was likely never going to happen, but to throw it all away… it pissed her off. 

Then there were those dead assholes. They didn’t have to shoot that woman, Beth, the leech called her. It was going to let her go, she wasn’t a target. Even if she wasn't, we were here to see that bystanders were safe. She could still see it, their sidearms drawn both taking aim at the vampire. They shared a quick gaze and one took aim at the girl, the other tried to hit the leech. For a fledgling it was fast, and it moved before they shot. 

But why the girl? Why did the leech save her?

Then there was the whole matter that Callahan was pushing. He pushed and pushed that Melody Chambers was a vampire, a real one and caught them investigating. He put through enough pressure that it had reports in both the Specter Watch and the PD looking for her. Sure enough Martinez baiting her back into a trap, with another photo gig confirmed it. She felt it was very odd. Something was rotten in her group. 

Anyone who knows vampires, even in passing, knows this is fake. Melody had said that, at the scene. It’s right. A vampire wouldn’t leave a mess like that. It isn’t vampires then. 

Rowan loathed the thought, but this time, a vampire wasn’t her quarry. She didn’t and wouldn’t believe the vampire at its word, but enough lined up. If it was a victim of these phony attacks and she just happened to be made afterwards, then someone inside the group, somewhere was involved in this. She looked back at Martinez, leaning against the wall. He was lucky, but it wasn't him. He is struggling too much with the reality of everything. 

She looked back at the two casualties. They certainly could have been in the know. No way to confirm it now. There was also the fact that  was putting pressure on the contacts in the media to downplay this, and the fact that it was still not being suppressed worried her. She had to find the source of the interrupt, she had to find the corruption in her group. 

The leech can help, Rowan thought with a grimace, It’ll be hard to kill now, with its guard up anyway. 

“Jules, are you okay? That’s a nasty hit you took there.” 

Rowan watched him groan in response, but waved her off. He was tough, and he would make a great addition. Though he could be too caught up in what happened with Melody. It was clear he still harbored something for the girl, but that girl was gone.

“I’ll live,” He grunted before making his way over and surveying the scene, “Holy shit. Mel… did this? I—”

“It’s what they do, their kind. They kill, they take, like they own the world.”

“I can’t, I just can’t get the scene out of my mind, blood dripping from her chin, that crooked smile and… those eyes.” 

“The Melody you know is gone Jules, she is. Take the time to deal with it, but accept it.” 

Rowan watched as his face hardened, but said nothing. Only time would tell where he ended up. Rowan walked with him and checked on the girl – Beth. She was fine, sleeping. Her dress still had a bloody bullet hole where she took a hit to the chest, though her skin was unmarred. 

She watched as Jules turned to her, “Why did your team shoot her, a bystander?” He growled. 

His face was cold fury, and for the first time she thought if anything would sway him away from their cause, it was this. She shuddered, failing to control her own anger. 

“That is a good question.” Her voice was flat, “That should not have happened. The leech – Melody saved her. Healed her.” 

“Why?” 

“No clue. That isn’t something I’ve seen their kind do. I am sure they do to keep their feedings from being lethal every time but…” 

“So then some part of her must—” 

"Jesus, Jules, no. She’s just an effigy of who and what she was.” 

“You can’t prove that.” He growled, “Look. I can’t justify all of this but she didn’t let someone just die. That counts for something. It does to me.” 

Rowan rubbed her temples, fighting the inevitable headache at this point. There was no escaping it. She knelt down and rifled through the woman’s clutch and came up with an ID. 

“I will get this one home, you deal with those since one of them is also PD.” Rowan said.

Jules merely grunted in response. With a little bit of shaking she managed to rouse Beth, though she was still very lost to it.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” 

She managed to get her into her SUV, sprawled in the backseat before heading off toward the address. She was afraid of what might happen to Beth. She had no idea what kind of connection, or if one would form at all with such intimate connection to a vampire. Nothing that could be done now, but she wondered if it would have been better to let her… die. 

Beth didn’t really come around, still locked into the slumber Melody put her in. She couldn’t let her be seen like this. Too many questions. Blood, bullet hole in the fabric… With a sigh she dug around in the back where she kept a go bag. She grabbed a fresh set of clothes. Basic tee and sweats and a pair of scissors. She cut the dress off and managed to stuff  the girl into the clothes. They fit more or less.

She hated that thought, and let herself pull out of her thoughts for a moment as she found herself pulling up to a relatively well to do neighborhood. It didn’t take long to find the place, the kind of place with two stories, a garden only a professional could maintain, three expensive cars, sleek and shiny in the drive.

She killed the engine and let her head rest back. A vampire with a reflection of humanity scared her far more than a mindless husk of blood and death. Also she couldn’t forget the other one, the one that aided her briefly. Perhaps that one that made her, though it didn’t matter if it did or not. That one was old, and that made everything that much more dangerous. No matter how far she looked out she couldn’t make sense of the game being played. 

It didn’t take long, she was sure some security would roll around. A large man, security uniform, one hand on his sidearm knocked on the window. With a sigh she rolled it down.

“Rowan, Private investigator.” She jerked her thumb to the backseat, “Nothing in any case, just found her passed out at a club I was working.She uh, was pretty wasted. She can keep the spare clothes.” 

With a flicker of his eyes he looked and confirmed it.

“God damn it Beth. Ugh. Come one, help me haul her inside. First credentials, however. 

After showing her ID, she helped drag the cat in before turning and leaving. Driving away, glancing in the back mirror, she couldn’t help once again feeling that maybe the best thing would have been to stop the leech. She wasn’t sure why, but she feared something new had been unleashed.