Chapter 13 #2
His focus on me shifts from concern to the edge of suspicion. Am I protesting too much? I stop and slouch a little, trying to appear a bit more hurt, more human than I am. Not hard, really, since it doesn’t feel like I have any more incubus juice.
But I’m no actor. I need to change the subject, fast.
“Rafa, what were you even doing here?!”
I look behind the Crown Victoria and toward his black SUV, which is half on the curb a block away.
I notice that the driver’s side door is open like a barricade.
He was probably behind it when he took his first shot against the elf.
(Because that’s what Monster Hunters do.
They shoot paranormals. Let’s try not to forget that part, right?)
My pointed question cuts him short. He scrubs the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed. The words seem hard for him.
“I… didn’t like how I left things. I obviously misread stuff and acted like a total ass.
So, I waited in my car outside your apartment, because I wanted to apologize—which I get is totally stalker-y, and it didn’t take long before I realized that.
But then I saw you get thrown out the window—and use magic to get back up and haul ass down the street.
” He flashes a slight smile. “Pretty impressive, by the way. You definitely undersold what you could do.” His brow knits, his whole face tensing.
“After you told me no, I know I shouldn’t have stayed, and I’m sorry.
Before the window and then the elf coming after you, I was about to leave, I swear… ”
He lets out a frustrated huff, running out of words, before he looks back up from his boots, ashamed. Contrite. Vulnerable.
And yeah, he was being more than a bit stalker-y, which is not cool.
But the truth is, he came to my rescue when I needed him.
That’s why he’s here. Because he’s a real hero, and that’s what real heroes do.
And now he looks guilty about it. So for the second time this night, I’m wrestling with my own guilt for making the paranormal-killing Monster Hunter feel bad.
I sigh. Heavy. (And don’t even have to fake it.)
“Dude, whatever. You saved my life…”
“Still. You didn’t ask me to.” He frowns, sheepish. Like he broke some badass bro code or something.
I take a breath. Time to throw this hangdog a bone.
He’s certainly not acting like he’s on to me.
It actually seems like he might think I’m some kind of kick-butt wizard, which is not the worst thing in the world in terms of a cover, even if it’s not true.
Either way, me being all standoffish isn’t going to help anything.
I put my hand on his upper arm (since his shoulder would literally be a stretch.) “Rafa, I’m glad I didn’t have to. For real.”
A shy expression of delight lights up his stoic, action-hero eyes. And I have to admit it—even though he was super pushy before (and shouldn’t have stayed outside my apartment!), I don’t hate the fact that this Instagram-worthy superhero seems to be into me.
And that immediately makes me think of Collin, since he had been trying to play matchmaker between the two of us before. I’d been so shook that I didn’t even notice he was gone!
I look around as non-suspiciously as I can and immediately see him, casually leaning against the smashed-up car. Collin eyes Rafa appreciatively and gives me an encouraging grin, paired with a thumbs up.
Well, heck. Looks like he thinks I’m safe with this guy, and he’s supposed to know everything, right?
Rafa follows my gaze to the wreck. The steering column is still open, wires hanging out. “Not your car, huh?”
Oh, right! Crap! I stole a car tonight, didn’t I? I forgot that, too!
I wince. “Um, actually, no.”
That doesn’t faze him at all. “Didn’t think so. That was a big crash. No one out here to hear it this late at night, but there’ll be police. And now it’s covered with a bunch of your DNA.”
Double crap! There’s blood all over the steering wheel and everywhere. My paranormal blood.
Rafa misreads the horror in my eyes. “I’m guessing you don’t have a spell for that, huh?
Don’t worry. The branch of my clan back East encountered the same problem once DNA testing became a thing.
Luckily, we already had a way to get rid of evidence of paranormal activity and turns out, it works just as well on human genetic material. Hang on.”
He quickly returns to his SUV, grabbing something from the glove compartment, and comes back with what looks like one of those bug foggers.
“Stand back.” He places it in the car, and pulls the soda can–like tab.
The car immediately starts to fill with a thick mist that spills out of the driver’s side door and onto the street, where the fae fell.
He puts his hand on my shoulder, guiding me away like he did at the Lake Street house. “The chemical dissolves fingerprints, and even hair, which is why you don’t want to get too close to it.” His lips quirk, amused at his own joke.
I glance at his hand and he immediately removes it, wincing.
“Sorry,” he says.
But I bump his elbow gently to let him know we’re still cool. (I’m sure a real bro would actually punch him in the shoulder or something—you know, bromantically—but I don’t think I’ll be able to pull it off.) His expression brightens briefly in response, but then he looks around.
“We should go. Someone could come by any minute.”
“All right,” I say. My apartment is only ten blocks away. I could walk it, but because I’m wanting to keep things friendly (and I am dead tired), I add, “Would you mind giving me a lift back to my apartment? I’d prefer not to have to hot-wire another car.”
Bigger smile. “No problem.”
Rafa rolls his black behemoth of an SUV off the curb, with me in the passenger seat.
Collin appears behind him, in the back seat, next to the duster, shotgun, and scabbard placed where they were the last time.
The Monster Hunter is back to being the strong, silent type—no questions asked.
Not even why the hell an elf warrior would be throwing me out of windows and looking to stab me in the middle of the night.
That’s good, because I don’t owe him an explanation, right? Not even if he saved me. Not even if he’s actually being pretty cool right now.
The smart play would be to get as far away as possible from this big armed Monster Hunter as soon as I can. But now that I have a moment to think, the reality of what I learned from Collin less than an hour ago sets in.
Emma is being held by vampires.
She might not be in “immediate” danger, but that could change fast, especially if those vamps start getting peckish once they’ve realized they no longer have the watch.
I do have a way to get in touch with Ms. Stryker when she’s off-world in case of emergencies, but the message could take days to get to her, and depending on what she’s doing, she still might not be able to come.
I could instead reach out to the Feds, but that would inevitably lead to a ton of questions, ones that could be very dangerous for me to answer.
(And even if I do manage to avoid getting thrown into a black site as a malignant paranormal, this is the government—by the time they got onboard, it could very well be too late.)
I’m still the best chance this teenage girl’s got. A few hours ago, that would be just another way of saying that her current situation was hopeless. But Rafa plowed through those vampires in the Lake Street house like they were made of wet cardboard. And he does seem to like me.
The plan taking shape in my head is risky as hell, but what if I do nothing?
Could I live with myself if Emma winds up dead?
I’m never going to become the man I want to be by playing it safe all the time.
And, at least for now, I have the Avatar of Knowledge.
If that’s not a game-changer, I don’t know what is.
I can do this. I have to do this.
I clear my throat. “So, about that case I’m working…”
Rafa’s eyes flick to me briefly, his expression steady. “The missing girl?”
“Yeah. I have some more information about that. I now know where she is.” I hold his gaze to get his reaction. “She’s being held at The Benevolent Society of San Cipriano in Nob Hill. By vampires.”
“I think I’ve heard of it.” His jaw tightens. “The elf mixed up in this? That why he was in your apartment?”
“Yes,” I say, not lying, if not exactly telling the truth.
“But thanks to you, he won’t be a problem anymore.
The girl’s name is Emma. She has some magical talent, and the vampires need her for some big, evil ritual they can’t cast on their own.
I know exactly where they are keeping her in the building.
” I glance back at Collin, who is listening eagerly. “Or at least I can find out.”
Collin nods in response, pleased.
“And you think you might need some backup…” Rafa’s voice stays even, giving away nothing.
“Yeah. My boss is out of town. Way out of town. I don’t have enough evidence to get the police involved, even if they could handle actual vampires.
And, to be honest, maybe I can do a little more than I let on, but I’m no fighter.
At best, I’d be backup.” I chuckle in what I hope comes off as self-deprecating instead of nervous.
“Ideally, backing up from a very safe distance.”
His cocky smile from earlier returns. “It sounds like you could use a Monster Hunter.” His face then darkens, and he frowns. “Hm.”
I frown with him. “Um, is it too much to ask?”
He shakes his head. “No. Of course, I’ll help. But if they’re holed up in a building, a public building, this could be their nest. And that means there could be dozens of them. Bay Area vampires aren’t like the others. They’re special.”
“Really? How so?” I know Stryker had tangled with a few over the years, but she never mentioned them being a particular problem. Still, if these vamps can get it together enough to try to pull off some apocalyptic ritual, that would make them special.
“They’re less feral, somehow. More organized.
Able to stay one step ahead. Just when you think they’re gone, more pop up.
It’s part of the reason I came back, even when I was told not to.
” He clears his throat. “Let me reach out to my clan here. See if they, hm… See how much they can help. They might not be happy to see me, but they won’t be able to ignore a nest of vampires kidnapping little girls. They’ll step up.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. Rafa’s brow is so heavy, I feel like I’ve just stumbled into the middle of ten seasons’ worth of Monster Hunter drama. But I don’t know how much I should dig.
Rafa’s confident smile returns. It’s similar to the forced casualness from the last time we were in his car together. “100%. No matter what, I’ll help you rescue that girl. How long before this ritual? Can we circle back this afternoon?”
“Yeah,” I say. “My sources let me know she’s not in ‘immediate danger.’ How about we meet at Joe’s Café on Polk?” Joe’s Café is close to my apartment and on a well-trafficked street. If his Monster Hunter buds get scary, I can at least beat a hasty retreat.
“Sounds good,” he says. “I’ll meet you there at two.”
We pull up across the street from my building.
Considering what happened, I expect to see cops or at least a bunch of shattered glass on the ground, but it’s all gone.
Even my window looks intact. It’s probably a glamour, which means the elf is as good as ever at covering his tracks and keeping his mischief on the down-low.
Since he’s currently pumped full of cold iron, that means he must have done it before he came after the car.
At least this time, his impressive power helps me.
Rafa extends his hand, and we exchange a very businesslike handshake. No innuendo or loaded agendas. Whatever he wanted from me before, looks like we’re teammates now. And for Emma's sake, I can’t say that’s a bad thing.
I watch him drive away, and it’s only when I’m safely back inside my apartment that I let myself feel how badly off I really am.
I might be pretty much healed, but my whole body still aches like crazy.
My incubus hunger is also present and accounted for, too—a low hum in the background that makes me want to get laid, soon, even though it’s the last thing I need right now.
But the real issue is the Obligation. Rafa might have prevented the elf from actively coming after yours truly, but it didn’t change the binding supernatural promise I made.
And broke. That’s all on me. It’s still there, and I’m holding it off, but just barely.
The burn, the squeezing around my heart—it’s getting worse.
I grip the side of the kitchenette counter, steady my breath, and focus on keeping myself standing.
Collin touches my shoulder, concerned.
“How bad is it?” he asks.
“Bad.” I straighten myself up. “I’ve got the Obligation under control, but I don’t know for how long.” I’m struck by a hopeful thought. “Wait. You’re supposed to know everything, right? Any chance you know a way to get rid of this curse that doesn’t involve handing you over to the elf?”
“I don’t know everything, Alvin,” he sniffs, but he looks guilty.
He then glances up and to the right, his eyes moving back and forth.
“But as far as human knowledge goes, there are only three ways to get free of a mystical pact: you can honor it, the person you owe can choose to release you… or you can die. And, just in case you’re wondering, him dying before you do any of those things means it will never get lifted.
” He frowns, very unhappy. “I’m sorry. I know I put you in this situation. I wish I had a different answer.”
Well, those options are definitely sucky. Luckily, I have one more magical resource I can tap. Even if it’s the last thing I want to do.
“You didn’t put me in this situation, Collin. I put myself in it. And if human knowledge can’t help me, then I guess I have no choice.”
I grimace at him, trying to make light of something that feels very heavy. “I’ll just have to appeal to a darker power.”
Collin’s posture immediately stiffens because he knows exactly what I mean.
Or, in this case, who. In San Francisco, there is one person who might know more than both Collin and Ms. Stryker about the magical world.
A paranormal expert with centuries of experience.
A woman with a relentless thirst to discover other people’s secrets but whose services come at a very high cost.
It looks like it’s time for a long-overdue visit with Mother.