Forbidden

The Pack

Van

 Hailey drove to the mystery destination like a woman possessed. Speed limit signs passed by in unreadable blurs, and Van was too busy praying for deliverance to scold the girl for reckless driving. Once, she'd loved the sensation of wind rushing through fingers poking out an open car window as it zoomed down an interstate. Her mother, Xandra, drove like she lived life- fearlessly. As if she were a creature made of sterner material than flesh and bones. Death had proved otherwise, and now her child adhered strictly to the laws of the road for fear of meeting a similar fate.

As the car whipped around another serpentine curve, Van's white knuckle grip on the door handle eased slightly, but only because thoughts of her mother's life distracted her from her death. Had that penchant for wild abandon been what drew Xandra to Abe? Van's father didn't strike her as the type to indulge in his more base desires, but his profession required a certain disregard for safety. Had her mother looked at him and seen the truth beneath his tightly mastered mannerisms- had he started out as a challenge?

She didn't get the chance to think much more on the subject because the car screeched to a halt in front of towering iron gates attached to stone walls, at least ten feet tall.

"What is it with people and gates around here," she said, leaning forward to get a better look in the darkness.

"Protection."

Van waved at the gate. "Why is it needed so much in a town where a bunch of Slayers live? Shouldn't we be able to keep them safe?"

Hailey shook her head and unbuckled her seat belt. "It's not protection for the people behind that wall. It's for protection for the people on this side."

Mouth hanging open, Van scrambled out of the car and followed the other girl. "I thought you said Luca wasn't a vampire? Is that what's behind here? A colony of vampires?"

"O em gee. I forgot what it's like to be around such a noob. Vampires aren't the only things that go bump in the night."

A shiver went down Van's spine. How had she not thought of this? Not once had she questioned the existence of other supernatural creatures, but it made sense. If vampires walked the earth, then other myths and legends likely did too.

"Zombies?" she squeaked, drawing a burst of laughter from Hailey. Van sagged in relief. "Okay, good."

Hailey sobered. "Oh no. I didn't say they didn't exist. They do. Necromancers are a nasty lot, and the worst ones have been known to raise the dead and set them on the innocent. I just found it funny that's where your brain went. Of all things, you're worried about zombies."

Necromancers? What the actual eff?

Throwing up her hands, she asked, "Well, what's worse than zombies?"

"I can think of a few things," a gravelly voice whispered from behind.

Hailey spun around and moved in front of Van, blocking her view of the new arrival. While she appreciated the attempt to protect her, Trixie's lessons made her feel confident she could protect herself. Especially when it was two against one. But when she looked over the young Slayer's shoulder, her heart plummeted to her stomach. There were five.

"Bane, what are you doing out so late?" Hailey demanded.

Bane... where have I heard that name before?

The boy- no, he was almost a man- in front, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at them. His eyes flashed bright in the moonlight, almost as if they were glowing, and Van gasped. This was the guy who jumped Luca at mini golf the other night. His gaze locked on her.