Third person's pov:
Mr. Minatozaki was waiting up for Sana. All the house lights were on. Sana's mind was blank as she tried to think of a way to make him let her go.
Tzuyu pulled up slowly, staying well back from Sana truck. All three (Tzuyu, Mina and Dahyun) of them were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the wood, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. The engine cut off, and Sana sat, motionless, as they continued to listen.
"He's not here," Tzuyu said tensely. "Let's go." Dahyun reached over to help Sana get out of the harness.
"Don't worry, Sana," Dahyun said in a low but cheerful voice, "we'll take care of things here quickly."
Sana felt moisture filling up her eyes as she looked at Dahyun. She barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when she would see him again after tonight was anguishing. She knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes she would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.
"Mina, Dahyun." Tzuyu's voice was a command. They slithered soundlessly into the darkness, instantly disappearing.
Tzuyu opened Sana's door and took her hand, then drew her into the protecting enclosure of his arm. He walked her swiftly toward the house, eyes always roving through the night.
"Fifteen minutes," Tzuyu warned under his breath.
"I can do this." Sana sniffled. Her tears had given her an inspiration. She stopped on the porch and took hold of his face in her hands. She looked fiercely into his eyes.
"I love you, Tzu" Sana said in a low, intense voice. "I will always love you, no matter what happens now."
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Sana," Tzuyu said just as fiercely.
"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep appa safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later."
"Get inside, Sana. We have to hurry." His voice was urgent.
"One more thing," Sana whispered passionately. "Don't listen to another word I say tonight!" Tzuyu was leaning in, and so all she had to do was stretch up on her toes to kiss his surprised, frozen lips with as much force as she was capable of. Then she turned and kicked the door open.
"Go away, Tzuyu!" Sana yelled at him, running inside and slamming the door shut in his still-shocked face.
"Sana?" Mr. Minatozaki had been hovering in the living room, and he was already on his feet.
"Leave me alone!" Sana screamed at him through her tears, which were flowing relentlessly now. She ran up the stairs to her room, throwing the door shut and locking it. She ran to her bed, flinging herself on the floor to retrieve her duffel bag. She reached swiftly between the mattress and box spring to grab the knotted old sock that contained her secret cash hoard. Her father was pounding on her door.
"Sana, are you okay? What's going on?" His voice was frightened.
"I'm going to Mom," Sana shouted, her voice breaking in the perfect spot.
"Did he hurt you?" His tone edged toward anger.
"No!" Sana shrieked a few octaves higher. She turned to her dresser, and Tzuyu was already there, silently yanking out armfuls of random clothes, which he proceeded to throw to her.
"Did he break up with you?" Mr. Minatozaki was perplexed.
"No!" Sana yelled, slightly more breathless as she shoved everything into the bag. Tzuyu threw another drawer's contents at her. The bag was pretty much full now.
"What happened, Sana?" Mr. Minatozaki shouted through the door, pounding again.
"I broke up with Tzuyu!" Sana shouted back, jerking on the zipper of her bag. Tzuyu's capable hands pushed away and zipped it smoothly. He put the strap carefully ober her arm.
"I'll be in the truck — go!" Tzuyu whispered, and pushed her toward the door. He vanished out the window.
Sana unlocked the door and pushed past her father roughly, struggling with her heavy bag as she ran down the stairs.
"What happened?" he yelled. He was right behind her. "I thought you liked him."
He caught her elbow in the kitchen. Though he was still bewildered, his grip was firm.
He spun her around to look at him, and Sana could see in his face that he had no intention of letting her leave. She could think of only one way to escape, and it involved hurting him so much that she hated herself for even considering it. But she had no time, and she had to keep him safe. She glared up at her father, fresh tears in her eyes for what she was about to do.
"I do like him — that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it — I can't stay here another minute!"
His hand dropped from her arm like she'd electrocuted him. She turned away from his shocked, wounded face and headed for the door.
"Sana, you can't leave now. It's nighttime," he whispered behind her. She didn't turn around. "I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired."
"Just wait another week," he pled, still shell-shocked. "Your mom will be back by then."
This completely derailed her. "What?"
Mr. Minatozaki continued eagerly, almost babbling with relief as Sana hesitated.
"She called while you were out. Things aren't going so well in Osaka, and if Seok-min doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Korea. The assistant coach of the Tennoji Ward said they might have a spot for another shortstop."
Sana shook her head, trying to reassemble her now- confused thoughts. Every passing second put her father in more danger.
"I have a key," Sana muttered, turning the knob. He was too close, one hand extended toward her, his face dazed. She couldn't lose any more time arguing with him. She was going to have to hurt him further.
"Just let me go." Sana repeated her mother's last words as she'd walked out this same door so many years ago. Sana said them as angrily as she could manage, she threw the door open. "It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Dobong-gu!"
Her cruel words did their job — Mr. Minatozaki stayed frozen on the doorstep, stunned, while Sana ran into the night. She was hideously frightened of the empty yard. She ran wildly for the truck, visualizing a dark shadow behind her. She threw her bag in the back and wrenched the door open. The key was waiting in the ignition.
"I'll call you tomorrow!" Sana yelled, wishing more than anything that she could explain everything to him right then, knowing she would never be able to. She gunned the engine and peeled out.
Tzuyu reached for her hand.
"Pull over," he said as the house, and Mr. Minatozaki, disappeared behind them.
"I can drive," Sana said through the tears pouring down her cheeks. His long hands unexpectedly gripped her waist, and his foot pushed hers off the gas pedal. He pulled her across his lap, wrenching her hands free of the wheel, and suddenly he was in the driver's seat. The truck didn't swerve an inch.
"You wouldn't be able to find the house," Tzuyu explained. Lights flared suddenly behind them. Sana stared out the back window, eyes wide with horror.
"It's just Mina," Tzuyu reassured her. He took her hand again. Her mind was filled with the image of her father in the doorway. "The tracker?"
"He heard the end of your performance," Tzuyu said grimly.
"Appa?" Sana asked in dread.
"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now." Sana's body went cold.
"Can we outrun him?"
"No." But he sped up as he spoke. The truck's engine whined in protest. Her plan suddenly didn't feel so brilliant anymore.
Sana was staring back at Mina's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window.
Her bloodcurdling scream lasted a fraction of a second before Tzuyu's hand clamped down on her mouth.
"It's Dahyun!"
Tzuyu released her mouth, and wound his arm around her waist.
"It's okay, Sana," Tzuyu promised. "You're going to be safe." They raced through the quiet town toward the north highway.
"I didn't realize you were still so bored with small- town life," he said conversationally, and she knew he was trying to distract her. "It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well — especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you."
"I wasn't being nice," Sana confessed, ignoring his attempt at diversion, looking down at her knees. "That was the same thing my mom said when she left him. You could say I was hitting below the belt."
"Don't worry. He'll forgive you." Tzuyu smiled a little, though it didn't touch his eyes.
Sana stared at him desperately, and he saw the naked panic in her eyes.
"Sana, it's going to be all right."
"But it won't be all right when I'm not with you," Sana whispered
"We'll be together again in a few days," Tzuyu said, tightening his arm around her. "Don't forget that this was your idea."
"It was the best idea — of course it was mine." His answering smile was bleak and disappeared immediately.
"Why did this happen?" Sana asked, her voice catching. "Why me?" He stared blackly at the road ahead. "It's my fault — I was a fool to expose you like that." The rage in his voice was directed internally.
"That's not what I meant," Sana insisted. "I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this Dawn decide to kill me There're people all over the place, why me?"
Tzuyu hesitated, thinking before he answered.
"I got a good look at his mind tonight," he began in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault." His voice was wry. "If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you… well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge — a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever." His tone was full of disgust.
Tzuyu paused a moment.
"But if I had stood by, he would have killed you right then," he said with hopeless frustration.
"I thought… I didn't smell the same to the others… as I do to you," Sana said hesitantly.
"You don't. But that doesn't mean that you aren't still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker — or any of them — the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there." She shuddered.
"I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now," Tzuyu muttered.
"Jeongyeon won't like it."
Sana could hear the tires cross the bridge, though she couldn't see the river in the dark. They were getting close. She had to ask him now.
"How can you kill a vampire?"
Tzuyu glanced at her with unreadable eyes and his voice was suddenly harsh.
"The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces."
"And the other two will fight with him?"
"The woman will. I'm not sure about Jay Park. They don't have a very strong bond — he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by Dawn in the meadow…"
"But Dawn and the woman — they'll try to kill you?" Sana asked, her voice raw.
"Sana, don't you dare waste time worrying about me. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and — please, please — trying not to be reckless."
"Is he still following?"
"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight." Tzuyu turned off onto the invisible drive, with Mina following behind. They drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Dahyun had her door open before the truck was stopped; he pulled her out of the seat, tucked her like a football into his vast chest, and ran her through the door.
They both burst into the large white room, Tzuyu and Mina at their sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of their approach. Jay Park stood in their midst. Sana could hear low growls rumble deep in Dahyun's throat as he set her down next to Tzuyu.
"He's tracking us," Tzuyu announced, glaring balefully at Jay Park. Jay Park's face was unhappy. "I was afraid of that." Mina went to Chaeyoung's side and whispered in his ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. They flew up the stairs together. Momo watched them, and then moved quickly to Dahyun's side. Her beautiful eyes were intimidate and — when they flickered unwillingly to Sana's face — furious.
"What will he do?" Jeongyeon asked Jay Park in chilling tones.
"I'm sorry," he answered. "I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off."
"Can you stop him?"
Jay Park shook his head. "Nothing stops Dawn when he gets started."
"We'll stop him," Dahyun promised. There was no doubt what he meant.
"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven." His coven, The show of leadership in the clearing was merely that, a show.
Jay Park was shaking his head. He glanced at Sana, perplexed, and back to Jeongyeon. "Are you sure it's worth it?"
Tzuyu's enraged roar filled the room; Jay Park cringed back. Jeongyeon looked gravely at Jay Park. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice."
Jay Park understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.
"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against Dawn. I think I will head north — to that clan in Denali." He hesitated.
"Don't underestimate Dawn. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on… I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." Jay Park bowed his head, but Sana saw him flicker another puzzled look at her.
"Go in peace," was Jeongyeon's formal answer.
Jay Park took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
"How close?" Jeongyeon looked to Tzuyu.
Nayeon was already moving; her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. Sana gaped.
"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female."
"What's the plan?"
"We'll lead him off, and then Chaeyoung and Mina will run her south."
"And then?"
Tzuyu's tone was deadly. "As soon as Sana is clear, we hunt him."
"I guess there's no other choice," Jeongyeon agreed, his face grim. Tzuyu turned to Momo.
"Get her upstairs and trade clothes," Tzuyu commanded. Momo stared back at him with livid disbelief.
"Why should I?" Momo hissed. "What is she to me? Except a menace — a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us."
Sana flinched back from the venom in her voice.
"Momo…" Dahyun murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off.
Sana was watching Tzuyu carefully, knowing his temper, worried about his reaction.
But he surprise her. He looked away from Momo as if she hadn't spoken, as if she didn't exist.
"Nayeon?" he asked calmly.
"Of course," Nayeon murmured.
Nayeon was at Sana side in half a heartbeat, swinging her up easily into her arms, and dashing up the stairs before she could gasp in shock.
"What are we doing?" Sana asked breathlessly as Nayeon set her down in a dark room somewhere off the second-story hall.
"Trying to confuse the smell. It won't work for long, but it might help get you out." Sana could hear Nayeon's clothes falling to the floor.
"I don't think I'll fit…" Sana hesitated, but Nayeon's hands were abruptly pulling Sana's shirt over her head. She quickly stripped her jeans off herself. Nayeon handed her a shirt. Sana struggled to get her arms through the right holes. As soon as she was done Nayeon handed her slacks. Sana yanked them on, Somehow she was already in Sana's clothes. She pulled her back to the stairs, where Mina stood, a small leather bag in one hand. They each grabbed one of Sana's elbows and half-carried her as they flew down the stairs.
It appeared that everything had been settled downstairs in our absence. Tzuyu and Dahyun were ready to leave, Dahyun carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Jeongyeon was handing something small to Nayeon. He turned and handed Mina the same thing — it was a tiny silver cell phone.
"Nayeon and Momo will be taking your truck, Sana," Jeongyeon told Sana as he passed. She nodded, glancing warily at Momo. Momo was glowering at Jeongyeon with a resentful expression.
"Mina, Chaeyoung — take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south."
They nodded as well.
"We're taking the Jeep."
Sana was surprised to see that Jeongyeon intended to go with Tzuyu. She realized suddenly, with a stab of fear, that they made up the hunting party.
"Mina," Jeongyeon asked, "will they take the bait?" Everyone watched Mina as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still. Finally her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.
"Let's go." Jeongyeon began to walk toward the kitchen. But Tzuyu was at Sana's side at once. He caught her up in his iron grip, crushing her to him. He seemed unaware of his watching family as he pulled her face to his, lifting her feet off the floor. For the shortest second, his lips were icy and hard against hers. Then it was over. He set her down, still holding her face, his glorious eyes burning into Sana's. His eyes went blank, curiously dead, as he turned away.
And Jeongyeon and Tzuyu were gone.
They stood there, the others looking away from her as the tears streaked noiselessly down her face.
The silent moment dragged on, and then Nayeon's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear.
"Now," Nayeon said. Momo stalked out the front door without another glance in Sana's direction, but Nayeon touched her cheek as she passed.
"Be safe." Nayeon's whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. Sana heard her truck start thunderously, and then fade away.
Chaeyoung and Mina waited. Mina's phone seemed to be at her ear before it buzzed.
"Tzuyu says the woman is on Nayeon's trail. I'll get the car." Mina vanished into the shadows the way Tzuyu and Jeongyeon had gone.
Chaeyoung and Sana looked at each other. He stood across the length of the entryway from her… being careful.
"You're wrong, you know," Chaeyoung said quietly.
"What?" Sana gasped.
"I can feel what you're feeling now — and you are worth it."
"I'm not," Sana mumbled. "If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing."
"You're wrong," Chaeyoung repeated, smiling kindly at her. Sana heard nothing, but then Mina stepped through the front door and came toward her with her arms held out.
"May I?" Mina asked.
"You're the first one to ask permission." Sana smiled wryly. She lifted her in her slender arms as easily as Dahyun had, shielding her protectively, and then they flew out the door, leaving the lights bright behind them.
To be continue....