Cadence stopped talking and stared into her sister's hazel eyes. After a long pause, still holding her gaze, she simply said, "Yes." She watched Cassidy's porcelain face begin to crack, starting with a single tear, which splintered into a rivulet of sobs over the course of several seconds as the realization set in. "I'm so sorry, Cassidy," Cadence said, pulling her sister into her arms.
"How is this possible?" Cassidy asked in disbelief, her head still buried. "I just talked to him, like, last week. He was here... right here... on this couch, giving me a hard time about how short my cheerleading skirt is, and this stupid boy at school, and now, just like that, he's gone?"
Cadence was surprised to hear he had just been at her house, but she didn't question that aloud, not right now. "I know," she agreed. "Believe me, I'm having an extremely difficult time accepting it myself, Sis."
"What happened?" she asked, pulling back a bit, absently swiping at her nose with the back of her hand.
Cadence had thought ahead and made sure there were tissues handy. She pulled a few out of the box on the coffee table and handed them to her sister. Remarkably, she had been able to hold back her own tears this time, so far. "I can't really go into detail, Cass. But, sometimes our job is dangerous. "
Cassidy was shaking her head. "Cadence, why do so many people you love die?"
"Ha," Cadence said, the truth of what her sister was asking hitting a raw nerve. "If you had any idea how many times I have asked that question myself lately, Sis.... I don't have an answer for that, I honestly don't. I wish I knew..."
"Was it an accident?" she asked, tears still streaming down her face.
Cadence knew her sister would ask a lot of specific questions, and she wanted to be honest with her, but there were so many things she wasn't allowed to tell her, not yet. "No, it wasn't an accident. But I really can't say much else, Cass. I'm sorry. I wish I could explain everything to you, but I'm not allowed to. It's just part of my job."
"I know," her sister said, pointedly.
"Good, I'm glad you understand," Cadence said, mustering a weak smile, her hand on her sister's knee.
"No, I mean, I know, Cadence. I know."
Cadence raised an eyebrow at her sister, a skeptical, but cautious expression on her face. "What do you mean, you know?"
Cassidy swallowed hard, choking back tears, but clearly also contemplating how to reply. "I mean, I know that you're a... Vampire Hunter. I know."
Cadence drew a deep breath. Shocked, she said, "What are you..."
"Please don't pretend it's not true," Cassidy said, her eyes showing the truth of the matter.
"Uhm, listen, Cass, I'm not allowed to talk about what I do," she stammered.
"Why not?" Cassidy asked. "Don't you think I deserve to know?"
"I do," Aaron said, and Cadence wondered how long he'd been standing behind her. It wasn't like her not to know when he was in the room. "Tell her," he said quietly.
Cadence turned around, meeting his eyes. "Tell her?" she asked, not sure why he would authorize such a thing. She wasn't able to Transform until she was at least seventeen, and generally speaking, Hunters and Guardians put off having such conversations until their offspring were old enough to go through the change process.
"She's been through enough. You can explain it to her," he assured her.
"But what about Grandma's book and..."
"Cadence," he said, stepping forward and squeezing her shoulders. "I think we're passed all the bullshit at this point. Tell your little sister what we do." He leaned forward and kissed her on the top of the head, and then crossed the room to sit in the armchair opposite her father's, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.
Cadence took another deep breath and turned back to her sister, who was looking at Aaron with a grateful, yet surprised, expression. "Okay, Cass. I'll tell you. I am a Vampire Hunter."
"I knew it!" she exclaimed, just above a whisper.
"So, Elliott didn't tell you?"
"No, he wouldn't tell me anything," Cassidy confirmed. "I just... did some research."
Cadence glanced at Aaron, but he was clearly lost in his own thoughts. She pondered what type of research was available, but returned her attention to her sister. "My job is, obviously, to kill Vampires, but only the bad ones."
Cassidy nodded. "There are good Vampires?"
"Well, there are Compliant Vampires. If they follow the rules and only feed on animals or very bad people, we leave them alone."
Cassidy absorbed that for a second before asking, "And was Elliott a Vampire Hunter, too, then?"
"No," Cadence answered quickly. "He... was... a Guardian." It was still difficult to use the past tense when speaking about her friend.
"What is a Guardian?" Cassidy asked, glancing at Aaron who was sitting back in the chair now, quietly observing.
"A Guardian's job is to protect Vampire Hunters from Vampires. When we get in trouble, they can intercede and keep us safe," Cadence explained.
"So, can Vampires kill Guardians?"
"No."
"But Vampires can kill Vampire Hunters."
"Yes."
"What can kill a Guardian?"
Cadence glanced at Aaron, who gave her a sympathetic look, before turning back to Cassidy. "Only a Vampire Hunter.
Cassidy took that in. "But why would a Vampire Hunter want to kill a Guardian?"
With a deep sigh, Cadence said, "If I knew the answer to that, maybe these last few days wouldn't have been hell on Earth, but I honestly have no idea."
Nodding, Cassidy said, "So, it was a Vampire Hunter that killed Elliott?"
"Yes."
"And is this Vampire Hunter still alive?"
"Yes--for the time being."
"But you're going to get him?"
"Hell, yes, we're going to get him," Aaron replied, causing them both to turn and look in his direction.
