Devil Inside

Knock Back A Triple Whiskey.

It took her minutes to get home. Kate was clearly in shock and Elsa placed her carefully on the sofa then stood staring at her friend at a complete loss for what to do next. Would the vampire be able to follow her scent back here? How long would it take him to heal from a broken neck?

“Elsa?” Her father stood in the doorway and suddenly she was struck by how much she needed him in that moment. For all her strength, speed and invulnerability, when it came down to hoping to make any sense of the new life she’d been flung into and it’s dangers, she was a lost little girl who still needed her daddy.

“Dad!” she cried, “Something happened.” She looked back at Kate as if that was enough explanation for him and he quickly moved to the trembling girl and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. Kate’s glassy stare began to focus on him and she moved her mouth as if she was trying to speak.

“Get my bag from the hall Elsa,” Marcus said with concern etched on his face, “I can make Kate comfortable then we’ll talk.” Elsa was holding his bag out to him before he’d even finished speaking. He took out the medical kit he always carried and proceeded to administer an injection to Kate, muttering calmly to her the whole time. Her breathing and trembling began to slow and her eyes became heavy; within second, Marcus was lying her down and covering her with a throw.

“It’s a sedative,” he explained, “You’d be surprised how often we need to calm civilians down in my job.”

“Not after tonight I wouldn’t.” Elsa was pacing the living room, her fear beginning to give way to anger.

“What happened?” Marcus asked.

“There was a vampire at the gig,” she said, her fists clenched, “He seemed to think I’d taken Kate along so I’d have something to snack on later and he wanted me to share.”

Marcus went white, “And you got away?” he whispered, “How?”

“I broke his neck.” Elsa said it matter-of-factly but as she did, the enormity of it hit her, “Oh god, I broke his neck, I broke his neck Dad!”

Marcus put his arms around her, “Shhhhh,” he soothed, “It’s ok. You did what you did to protect Kate, you didn’t kill anyone and ultimately, you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“I felt his neck snap,” she murmured into his shoulder, “I did that with my own hands and I didn’t care, I didn’t even hesitate.”

Marcus pushed her gently away so he could look her in the eyes, “What you did Elsa, was control a dangerous situation without anyone getting hurt. That vampire will heal. You are incredibly lucky you were able to do what you did, you must be so much stronger than even Hesper thought. You’re such a new vampire, I can only assume he must have been relatively new too.”

“He seemed very assured and confident,” said Elsa, doubting her father’s assessment that the vampire was young, “Do you think he could follow us?”

Marcus shook his head, “I doubt it,” he said, “Your scent won’t linger long enough, by the time he wakes up there will be nothing to follow.”

“You doubt it?” Elsa looked questioningly at her father, “You can’t be sure?”

“Even if he did find his way here, he can’t come in if he isn’t invited.”

Elsa was shocked, “That’s a thing?” she asked.

“Oh yes,” said Marcus, “I thought Hesper had filled you in on all this stuff?”

Elsa shook her head, “That one hadn’t come up.”

“Well, it’s a thing,” said Marcus, “You could come into this house because it’s your home. Places like college and the concert venue are open to the public, you don’t need an invite then but if you were to try and walk into a private home, you wouldn’t be able to cross the threshold unless someone asked you to.”