VEE

Xander's smug triumph joins his words. "Look! Told you!"

Heath shifts his stool closer to Xander, and I lean over to join them in looking through the grimy window. A tall figure in a short, dark jacket climbs from a motorcycle in the car park outside the hall. He pulls off his helmet and leaves it on the bike before hunching against the rain and walking towards the hall.

"Score!" Xander's eyes shine as he looks to us. "I told you waiting was the right thing to do."

Draining his beer, Xander stands and grabs his coat. "Let's go."

I hurry after them outside into the drizzle, and we splash across the road to Heath’s car. Xander opens the car boot and sorts through the items permanently stashed inside. A long bowie knife gleams in the light cast by a nearby streetlight as he holds it up.

"What if he's human, Xander? You can't kill him," I say.

He hands it to me. "You can be the judge of that."

The knife is heavy in my hand, and I debate whether to give the weapon back. I don't need this.

"Take it, Vee," replies Heath.

Xander pulls out two more. "I don't want to use powers on the one guy, in case he's bait and there's a horde of others waiting to attack. A knife will do."

A thought strikes me as he sheathes and then tucks the knife into his jacket. Did Xander agree I could join them because he thinks we'll need my powers? Is he finally trusting my ability, despite my inability earlier?

"Plan?" Heath asks Xander.

"Stay undercover and watch what he does. If he stays inside the hall, we follow. If he comes back out, we grab him. Whoever the hell it is, they have info."

The grassed area between the car park and hall is muddy, and we squelch through, keeping to the shadows. As we move to the building rear again, Xander holds up a hand to indicate we stop. The door is ajar and the two figures appear, one dragging the other from the building. Light shining from inside casts across the pair, and my heart skips out of rhythm when I see who one is.

The brown-haired guy's wearing glasses, but that's the only Seth-like part of his appearance. Seth’s clothes are dishevelled, and he doesn't struggle against the grip the guy has around his neck. The biker guy's face illuminates briefly, impassive and unremarkable, but the strength he has over Seth isn't.

"Shit!" mutters Heath.

"What the hell is Seth doing back here?" growls Xander. "How did we miss him?"

I move to run toward the pair, but Xander grips my arm. "No. Wait."

"What?" I hiss. "Seth could be about to die!"

Heath rubs his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "She's right. Come on."

The man holding Seth drags him into the trees bordering the building. "Go after him!" I urge.

"Check the building," he says to Heath. "I'll deal with the guy and Seth. Vee, hang back and watch Heath."

Xander unsheathes his knife and walks into the shadows, his back to the wall as he creeps beneath the building's eaves in the direction of the trees. Heath takes my hand and squeezes.

"You okay, Vee?"

I look away from his concerned smile. No. I'm not the Vee who was here earlier. I’ll prove I’m stronger than her. Seth won’t die too.

XANDER

Well this adds a new dimension to the situation.

I only glimpsed his face for a few moments, but I've encountered this guy enough to know who he is. Taron, the mercenary who has the cheek to call himself a supernatural vigilante. Did Heath not recognise him too?

The last time I searched for Vee alone, I encountered Taron. I suspected, and accused, him of looking for Vee too. He refused to admit this, claiming he was searching for a rogue shifter drawing too much attention to a local pack. His job isn't too far removed from ours, and as he's a vamp against other supes, we allow him to work as long as he keeps his hands and weapons off humans.

If Taron doesn't kill humans, so why is he with Seth?

From my hiding place, I watch and weigh up the situation as Taron holds Seth against a nearby tree trunk, Seth's feet off the ground. I strain to hear their urgent voices and catch Seth's panicked tones. My muscles coil, ready to intervene and judging by what's happened to his friends, this situation doesn't look good for Seth.

Surely Taron can't be responsible for the other human deaths? The victim's injuries and taunting messages aren't his modus operandi, so what the hell is happening here?

Taron drops Seth to his feet, who grips the trunk, pushing himself back as if trying to blend in and escape. As Taron lifts his arm, hand curled into a claw ready to strike, I charge forward and slam into him. Caught by surprise, Taron loses his footing and sinks to the floor, and Seth cries out as Taron's claw-like nails dig into his arm. Seth lands on the ground too, clutching the wound.

Taron's anger shifts to shock as he looks up from the leaf-littered ground to where I stand over him. Strands of black hair escape his ponytail, and his dark eyes glitter in his pale face.

"What are you doing?" I snarl and slam a boot onto Taron's chest. "He's human."

Taron makes an ‘oof’ sound and grabs my ankle but can't move me. "I was given a job to do."

"To kill him?" I press my boot harder.

Taron coughs a laugh at me. "How's life, Horseman?"

"Safer than yours is right now." I snap my head around to Seth, whose white face matches that of the vampire right now. "Seth, get back into the hall. Heath and Vee are in there. You'll be safe."

The guy doesn't need asking twice. He scrambles to his feet and bolts around the corner to the doorway, almost losing his footing on damp leaves.

I look down at his assassin, pissed off there’s no fear in his passive face. "Who hired you to kill Seth?"

"No idea. My employers don't often reveal their names, do they? I didn't realise he was your mate!"

"Get up!" I demand and remove my foot. The moment Taron's on his feet, I yank him by the shirt so we're nose to nose. "Did you kill the girl?"

"What girl?"

"His friend."

"First time I've met the guy. Don't know anything about him."

This doesn't add up. I push Taron against the tree he held Seth against, itching to end his life with the knife in my jacket, but control the urge. Taron has answers. We find those first—then he dies. This rogue vamp always trod on thin ice, thanks to his activities, and he just fell through.

"How did you know Seth would be here?" I ask.

"The human? He was dumped here an hour ago—I waited for a text telling me to come. I was warned you might be around, but we have an understanding, yeah, Xander?"

I narrow my eyes. Is that why someone chose to recruit Taron? Because he's above suspicion by the Horsemen? "No."

"Hey, I helped you in the past."

I lean in and growl into his face, "Killing a human breaks our treaty, Taron."

"I didn't know he was human until I arrived!"

"But it didn't stop you, did it?" I snarl. "Tell me who hired you."

"Like I said, no fucking clue. Money is in my bank account. I do my job, and I'm set for retirement with that kind of money." Taron’s impassive attitude doesn’t change, which pisses me off more. Doesn’t he realise the shit he’s landed himself in?

I drag Taron away from the tree, then spin him around and lock an arm around his throat. "How about I take you inside and see if I can jog your memory."

Taron finally struggles against me as I half drag the reluctant vamp across the ground towards the building. He matches my height, though his slim build is deceptive. Vampires are strong. Me? Stronger. Always. The situation could’ve ended badly for Seth, but I’m lifted by the hope we could have a real lead.