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II.
KIANDRA FOLLOWED THE VAMPIRES OUTSIDE. She knew where the brothers were headed and she wanted to find out exactly what the vampire brothers intend to do with the hunters. An all-out bloodbath right outside the popular watering hole in town wasn’t something the residents wanted since that would draw too much attention to them and more outsiders would be privy to their business.
Concealing herself, Kiandra was at least an arm’s length behind the vampires who walked with a purpose towards the parking lot where the hunters parked their impressive looking muscle car. Kiandra grew-up with a car-buff for a foster brother so in a way she formed a quiet liking towards muscle cars. Although she was invisible to the naked eye she still wasn’t fully non-corporeal; her footsteps could still be heard and her breathing as well so she must maintain her distance from these vamps if she didn’t want to be found out. She knew how sensitive their hearing was and one slight misstep and her cover would be blown.
Dominic and Stefan stopped a good foot and a half from the parked Impala. Dominic couldn’t help but admire the shiny black muscle car. He owned a muscle car of his own, but it wasn’t anywhere near as pristine as this hunter’s car.
It took a while before the hunters realized they were followed back to their vehicle. The shorter of the two was first to acknowledge their presence.
“ ‘Sup, fellas?” he asked hinting a southern accent.
“Not much, just wondering,” it was Stefan who answered. Between Dominic and Stefan, the younger of the two was the more civilized one. Dominic tend to pounce first and ask questions later.
“Wondering?” the taller of the two hunters cocked an eyebrow. He closed the passenger door and stepped away from the vehicle. “ ‘Bout what?” he asked.
“We’re wondering what two hunters are doing in our town,” Dominic decided to cut through the chase and lay it all out on the table. He figured if the hunters knew that they’d been figured out they’d be at a disadvantage.
Kiandra watched the hunters’ reaction after the vampire just outed them. She had to applaud the two for keeping their cool even though there was a slight change in their body language. She was sure the vampires noticed it as well; both hunters’ shoulders tensed, but their facial expression did not betray their sudden feeling of unease.
“Why? Last I heard this is still a free country and that pub there,” Alex pointed at the establishment behind the vampires, “is free for everyone, otherwise your bouncers wouldn’t have let us in if we were persona non grata, hm?”
Dominic and Stefan briefly looked over their shoulders then looked back at the hunters standing with their guards up now. They remained standing where they were and neither Stefan nor Dominic moved from where they stood. Kiandra held her breath in anticipation of what was about to happen. She glanced over her shoulder at the two bouncers who were eyeing the foursome curiously. She knew those two shifters by the door would defend the vampires against the hunters regardless of who started the fight; she just hoped that no fight would get started this night.
“They’re newbies,” said Dominic. “Besides, it isn’t everyday a pair of hunters strolls in to Mysteria Pub,” he added.
“Why? Are hunters not a pub-fave or something?” Alex goaded.
Dominic’s eyes turned to a pair of deadly sharp slits. Alex would’ve been bisected with just a glare if Dominic was able to do that, but alas he could only figuratively slice someone with his glare, and the damn guy didn’t even bother to flinch!
“Hunters in Mysteria Lake mean trouble,” Stefan spoke, beating Dominic from saying something nasty towards the outsiders. “This is a quiet town, and none of its residents wants trouble,” he added speaking on behalf of the rest of the otherworldly residents.
“And yet a couple of vamps are living amongst them,” it was Sam who goaded the brothers this time.
Dominic and Stefan exchanged a bemused look before each other burst out laughing. Sam and Alex thought them crazy for laughing. Was there a joke? If there was neither brother caught it. Even Kiandra found herself chuckling at the absurdity of what the hunter just said.
“You guys have no idea, do you?” Stefan said finally after he finished laughing.
“No idea about what?” demanded Alex who looked miffed because he was being laughed at.
Neither brother replied. Stefan waited until Dominic composed himself once again then asked, “Again I ask you what two hunters are doing here in Mysteria Lake?”
“We’re just passing by,” Alex lied. Actually he wasn’t really lying. It was part-lie and part-truth. He and Sam were just passing by this small town in search of the still mysterious were-person, but while they were here they’d be doing some checking up just in case.
“Uh-uh. Try again,” Dominic said.
Sam glared at the eldest vampire brother. “He’s telling the truth,” he insisted.
Now Stefan cocked an eyebrow and turned to the younger hunter brother. “You really expect us to believe that flimsy excuse?”
“You have to since it’s the truth,” was Sam’s casual reply.
“Alright, alright, we’re going around in a damn circle here,” Dominic was bored with this back and forth they were having. “Either you tell us what you’re hunting or you get your asses out of this town now,” his usually calm blue/green eyes glowed an ominous shade of red-gold as he glared at the brothers.
Now the hunter brothers reacted when they saw Dominic’s eyes. It wasn’t fear that crossed their faces, but something akin to surprise and each reached for something they kept hidden behind their plaid shirts. Stefan quickly stepped in as mediator; he didn’t want to end this night with a brawl out in the parking lot. He had made plans with Ella and he wasn’t about to ruin their plan tonight by getting involved in a fight.
“Look, the last thing we want is an all-out fistfight out here. You and your companion might get lucky and land a couple of punches on us, but I’m warning you now, the townsfolk would side more with us than with you two,” Stefan warned, eyeing each brother carefully to make sure that what he was saying sank in to their heads.
Alex knew the vampire wasn’t bluffing. He had the odd feeling while he was inside the pub that this was a tight knit town; everyone was friends with everyone else!
“Fine,” Alex conceded. “Sammy and I don’t want a fight either.” He could feel his brother’s gaze boring a hole on the side of his face but Alex ignored him. Since they were the outsiders here they had to abide by the rules. “Is there a place we can talk?” he asked.
Dominic cocked an eyebrow and spread his arms wide, gesturing around them to indicate that the parking lot was a good place as any to have whatever conversation they were about to have.
“Right,” Alex didn’t look impressed but he really had no choice in the matter. He wanted to keep the peace between them and the rest of this town’s population so he better play nice. “Well, my brother and I are following a trail,” he explained.
“Trail of what?” asked Stefan.
“A were-person,” answered Sam.
Dominic frowned. “Were-person?” he echoed. “Can’t you two be more specific? There are a helluvalot of were-species,” he told them like neither hunter knew that.
“We’d love to be specific, but we can’t,” answered Alex.
“Why not?” asked Stefan.
“Because said were-person’s M.O. was different from other were-folks’ M.O., that’s why.”
“Are you talking a hybrid?” Dominic frowned.
“Could be,” Sam shrugged. “So far this were-person’s committed nearly a handful of heinous crimes,” he added.
“What crimes?” Dominic asked.
“It killed an elderly woman in New York, mauled the victim until her face was barely recognizable,” answered Alex.
“Mauled?” Stefan echoed. “Sounds like a werewolf.”
“That’s what we thought too until a second victim was found bearing the same M.O. but this time the victim looked stunned, like some sort of magic was used on the victim,” Sam said.
Dominic and Stefan exchanged bemused looks. “Sounds like you got a halfling who committed those crimes,” said Dominic.
“Yeah, a half-witch, half-werewolf, but when the third victim surfaced in Michigan bearing almost the exact same M.O., only this time the victim sported other bite-marks on his arms and legs. Usually the victims were attacked in the jugular, ripping their throats off for the kill, but the third victim appeared to have been used as a chew-toy before being disposed of,” explained Alex.
Stefan and Dominic had a clear mental picture of the victims, thanks to the no-holds-barred commentary of the two hunters telling them this story. But they still haven’t explained why they were in Mysteria Lake when all these victims were clearly from the US.
“Well, New York then Michigan...sounds like your victims are all Americans and are from down east,” Dominic murmured. “You two are out west and across the border,” he pointed out.
“Trust me we wouldn’t be crossing the border if our intel didn’t point us this way,” Sam assured him.
“What intel?” Stefan asked.
Sam and Alex exchanged looks, conferring with each other exactly how much they should tell these vampires about the supernatural they were hunting.
“Our source said the halfling crossed the border after killing its latest victim in Idaho,” Alex decided they might as well lay their cards on the table. He was weary of entrusting this information to a couple of vampires who might or might not be in cahoots with this creature they were hunting, but he doesn’t have much choice in the matter. Besides, maybe they’d get lucky and find an ally in their so-called enemy.
“Okay, that still doesn’t explain what you two are doing in Mysteria Lake,” Stefan said.
Again the brothers exchanged looks. They already said too much and it might interfere with their hunt for this creature. Neither one of them wanted to risk letting this creature go and amass more victims.
“Look, we need to find this creature,” Alex said looking both vampires in the eyes. “The more we stand here dillydallying, the more chances this creature have of slinking away to commit another crime,” he added.
“We understand,” Dominic said. “But the people of Mysteria won’t be harbouring such creature. It’s against the law laid down by the founders of this town,” he added.
Sam and Alex had no idea what the vampire was talking about, but they got the gist of it. Mysteria Lake won’t be harbouring fugitives whether they’re human or not.
“And we should just take your word for it?” Alex goaded.
Again Dominic’s ire was riled, his eyes flashed red-gold once again and he looked like he was ready to pounce. Stefan blocked his brother before Dominic could take a step towards the cocky hunter.
“You’d better because it’s the truth,” Stefan answered.
“And your word is law,” Sam ridiculed.
“It is not,” Dominic growled, his fangs elongating and he was getting ready to pounce, but Stefan remained solid and kept him from doing harm to either hunter. “But the people of this town are rule-abiding citizens. They know the price they have to pay if they break the rules,” he added.
Alex and Sam didn’t say anything to further irate the already irritable vampire. They exchanged looks, conferring wordlessly with each other what to do. If the creature was lurking in this town, it chose a good place for solace; no hunter would dare touch it here given how passionate some of this town’s people were.
“Alright, I guess my brother and I will be making tracks outta your town really early tomorrow morning,” Alex conceded, turning his back to the vampires and headed for his car. He stopped mid-step and turned to the brothers, “It is alright if Sam and I grabbed a room at a motel here for the night, right?” He knew he was egging the temperamental vampire being held back by his companion, but Alex couldn’t help himself from getting the last word out.
Dominic’s response was another growl complete with his red-gold eye glowering. Sam backed away from the two vampires until he reached the passenger door. He gave the two an apologetic smile before ducking underneath the car. He barely got his seatbelt on before Alex peeled out of their parking spot and out of the parking lot.
Kiandra remained standing behind the vampires. She was careful not to make any sudden movements that would cause the gravel ground to make a sound. She was still shaken from the visual the hunter brothers gave of the victims. She knew the murders were brutal, but exactly how brutal it was she didn’t know – until now. Whoever was blackmailing her knew exactly what she was capable of, but killing innocent people wasn’t what Kiandra does; she was raised to become a better being regardless of her familial background.
Stefan turned his back away from the parking lot and faced his brother once the Impala left the parking lot. He grabbed Dominic by the lapels of his shirt and gave him a hard shake.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, huh? Are you really itching for a fight with those hunters, huh?” he demanded.
Dominic closed his eyes to calm himself, his elongated fangs retracted until they were back to their regular canine-size. Once he was calm again he opened his eyes and grabbed his brother’s wrists and forcefully removed them from where Stefan was gripping his shirt.
“Hunters are trouble and you damn well know it, Stefan,” Dominic reminded him.
“Yeah, I know they are, but weren’t you listening to what they said, huh?”
“Oh I heard what they said. They’re after some freak were-halfling that went on a killing spree, but so far all the victims they mentioned were in the US, obviously their intel wasn’t succinct because they’re thrown off the trail of this were-halfling killer,” Dominic pointed out.