26.
"Ugh," Ari said, sliding into the back seat of the car when she'd finally broken free of her parents' clutches. "Those people are impossible to get any information out of."
"It's almost like they're professional secret keepers or something," Derek said, deadpan.
Ari shot him a look. Then her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why are you bleeding?"
"I was bleeding. I'm not anymore."
Ari looked to Astrid. "Uh huh. Did you two go have an adventure without me?"
"Derek's sister voiced a complaint about our previous meeting," Astrid said.
"Is she still alive?" Ari asked.
"Yes," Astrid answered. "Though temporarily less likely to hunt us down now."
"Is she staying alive?" Ari asked.
Derek huffed. "For now. It's complicated."
She accepted that with a nod. He'd expected more of a fight. But honestly, as much as he felt about his family, he wasn't ready to close the door like that. Yet.
"I have information," Ari said. "Not much, but some."
They pulled into Astrid's driveway not long after. The girls had grown up together, after all. They didn't live far from each other. Derek paused when he climbed out of the car. The house seemed to have its own faint aura of gold.
"Am I imagining things, or is your house glowing?"
Ari looked at Astrid. "Oh, now he can suddenly see the wards? I wonder how that happened."
"It'll fade," Astrid said, grabbing one of Derek's bags. Derek tried not to be dazzled by the gently shifting and flexing magic bubble before him. It was as if the sunset had been wrapped around the house like a cloak.
"Most interesting, "Ari teased.
When they got to the kitchen Ari began unloading plastic containers into the fridge. "My parents sent leftovers. Lots of leftovers. They know Astrid doesn't cook much."
"I can cook," Astrid corrected. "There's just not much point in cooking for yourself."
Which only left Derek with more questions.
"What's your information?" Astrid asked, popping a tub of meatloaf and potatoes into the microwave. Derek eyed the fridge. It seemed wrong to keep his blood bags with Ari's parents' leftovers.
"Andrew Sarris, whoever he is, isn't a student at MVU. Or staff. The school email system is pretty unimaginative and I emailed a dozen versions of the name and they all bounced back as unknown. I've been trying to collect background information on the other victims, but there hasn't been much. The whole fae angle puzzles me though. I want to make sure it's okay with you if I ask Drake to look into it."
"Who's Drake?" Derek asked.
"A close friend of Ari's," Astrid answered. "He's fae. Fine. But tell him to keep it discreet."
Ari grinned. "He can do that."
She grabbed her phone and got to typing. "The other victims weren't students either, except the one we found. So I don't think school is the common denominator now,"
"So you think we should go back tomorrow?" Derek guessed.
"Probably. I mean, the only big issue is Ellie, I think, and she should take at least a few days to heal, right?" Astrid offered.
It was unlikely she'd come after them directly at all. Ellie was a good fighter. But she knew she couldn't take him on directly and she wasn't stupid. She'd likely heal and stew for a bit, then pretend to not care so she could catch him off guard later. She knew how to play the long game. Vampires could afford to have a lot of patience.
"A week or so, I'd guess," Derek answered. "She's unlikely to come after us alone."
"The victims have to have something in common, right? At least in the views of the killer." Ari offered.
"I mean, it might just be where they were or something. Right person wrong time," Derek said. "But you're right. They probably do have something in common that we haven't figured out yet."
Anything to keep Ari engaged, but not out playing vigilante on the streets.
"I would feel better if I taught you how to fight," Derek said.
Ari glared at him. "I can defend myself."
"I'm sure you can, Ari. But it would make me feel better to know."
"I get that I'm not a vampire, and not a demigod," she glared at Astrid, who hadn't defended her. "But I'm not helpless."
Derek blurred and in half a breath moved behind her, using his iron strength to pull her right wrist up along her back. He forced her body tight against his, letting his full strength flood his veins, his body like unyielding stone against her. He rested his chin gently on her shoulder.
Tendrils of energy twisted out away from Ari's chest. At first Derek though they were solid things, Then they plunged into him. His vision went black. Panic and terror shot through him from nowhere. He tasted blood and felt nothing but his body as he knew it sinking into empty darkness. Twin needles, burning cold, pierced his throat. Somehow Derek felt himself falling endlessly into shadows, save for the pain at his throat, as if shadows and falling would be all there was forevermore.
The world snapped back into place leaving him dizzy and still tasting the memory of the electric blood that had turned him from mortal to who he was today. He blinked several times before he realized he was staring up at Astrid's kitchen ceiling. He lay prone on Astrid's floor. The memory of his sire's blood faded until he only tasted his own. He'd bitten his own tongue, apparently. Ari was nowhere to be seen. But Astrid sat on a stool sipping tea.
"That was mean," Astrid said to him.
It took effort to shape words. While he wanted to get up and not lay there like a fool, being still while the world still quivered around him sounded like a fantastic idea. "I'm sorry," he said at last.
"No. Not mean of you. It was understandable that you wanted her to know how fast and strong you can really be. You withhold a lot of yourself to play human for us. It was mean of Ari to attack you."
Astrid offered him a hand and pulled him up when he accepted. Her touch was reassuring. Nothing felt solid yet, least of all the rolling mess of feeling churning in his head.
"Ari can pull emotions, and sometimes memories attached to them out and make us feel them, a thousandfold. Relive them over and over in a matter of moments. It's not fair to you because I'm betting you have a lot more material for her to work with."
"Just because she has magic doesn't mean she doesn't need to know how to handle herself in a fight," he said defensively.
"I agree," Astrid said. "You need to remember that we have had to figure most of this out alone. Ari, though, has family, who protected her, and taught her. Family who are also witches and know better than us about what she can do. And both of her parents are cops. I'm sure she's already been trained, to some degree, and already been lectured today. And yesterday. And the day before."
Astrid paused a moment and studied him. "What do you remember?"
Derek studied his hands. "Being turned. I didn't even realize I could remember it."
"We bury memories, or blunt them, often. But lots of times she can find them. Good and bad." Astrid offered him her hand again. He took it. She squeezed him reassuringly.
"Was it that awful?" she asked quietly.
"The stupid thing is, it didnt have to be. I've turned two people and neither found the experience terrifying. But the woman who turned me, she liked it when people were scared of her. So she made sure it was horrifying."
"Sounds like a major bitch," Astrid said.
Derek laughed. "Yeah."
"Is she dead now?" Astrid asked lightly. But when he looked at her she saw the darkness swimming behind her eyes. It was not a casual question.
"Yes, very. And she has been for a long time."
"Good," Astrid said. Then she leaned her head against him and squeezed his hand again.
Yes. Good.