One of the lights outside of the gym had been flickering for the better part of a week. Cassidy had meant to mention it to Juan Diego in case he just didn’t know, but every time she saw him, it slipped her mind. Now, as she stepped out into what should’ve been a chilly evening, the vibrating light glanced off bushes and pavement, creating an eerie atmosphere, like an old horror movie filmed in black and white. It fit Cassidy’s disposition, and she wondered what role she would play in such a picture. Right now, she felt more like the villain than the damsel in need of rescue.
She’d lingered too long. The sound of voices behind her had her sighing in annoyance. It would have been easier to do what she had in mind if she were all alone. Now, there might be some explaining involved.
Cassidy turned to see Tara and Dax walking along chatting amicably. She smiled and said, “See you guys tomorrow,” taking a couple of steps backward, praying that they wouldn’t ask where she was headed.
As if she’d implanted the sentence into her mind, Tara asked, “Where are you going?”
“Oh, uh, just… I need to go run an errand.” She continued to back down the sidewalk, hoping she wouldn’t fall off of the curb.
“That way? There’s nothing that way,” Tara reminded her.
“Well, there are a few things. It’s nothing really.” She had a good fifty yards between them now and thought there was a chance she was in the clear when Tara’s eyes enlarged and her mouth fell open.
“Oh, my gosh! It’s true—isn’t it? You did bring back a baby Vampire last night?”
“What’s that?” Dax asked, obviously lost. He looked from one girl to the other. “A baby Vampire?”
“I didn’t… it’s not…” Cassidy began, but she was mentally exhausted and didn’t know what to say. “Fine. She’s not a baby. She’s a little girl. And yes. I did.”
“Oh, wow. Just wow,” Tara gushed.
Dax was looking at her like she was crazy. “Why is that so exciting?”
“I’ve never seen a baby Vampire before,” Tara replied. “I bet she’s just adorable.”
Rather than correcting her friend again, Cassidy just said, “Yeah, she is. But it’s really not a big deal. I’m just gonna go see if they’ll even let me in. I doubt they will without my sister there with me.”
“Can we come?” Tara asked, a hopeful expression on her face. “I’d just love to see a Vampire up close and personal before I have to go on a hunt. And I just bet she’s too cute.”
“You’re looking at one,” Cassidy reminded her. Tara had closed the gap a little bit as they spoke, but she was still a good twenty feet away. Nevertheless, Cassidy saw her roll her eyes. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Cassidy said. “You’re a Hunter. Hunters and Vampires don’t mix.”
“So are you,” Tara replied, rushing over to her now. Dax was slowly joining them. “Besides, we have a Guardian with us.”
“Uh, no offence,” Cassidy said, “but he’s, like, three days old.”
“Thanks,” Dax said.
“As a Guardian,” she further explained, hoping she didn’t sound too mean.
“Come on! Let us go. If they say no, they say no. That doesn’t mean they’ll turn you away.”
Cassidy exhaled through her nose loudly. Clearly, Tara was not to be deterred. Dax looked curious, too, though not as much so as Tara. She figured the other girl had a point; if they didn’t want them there, the Guardians at the gate would just turn them away. Besides, Bonnie would probably like Tara. “Fine,” she managed. “You can come. But nothing silly.”
“When have I ever been silly?” Tara asked, looking like a wounded kitten.
“You haven’t. And now is not the time to start.” She couldn’t figure out how else to warn her that they needed to act like grownups. She figured Tara was probably only seventeen, maybe eighteen, and she knew that Dax was nineteen. Cassidy had recently come to respect the fact that she was just a punk kid herself and that she didn’t know what she didn’t know--until it was scratching her on the arm, changing her life forever.
Tara chattered most of the way to the tagging center, which was about a mile away from the rest of the compound down a windy road. It only took them a couple of minutes to get there, despite their somewhat leisurely pace. Cassidy wasn’t surprised to see a locked wrought iron gate attached to a high brick wall that ran around the entire premises. She was pretty sure they’d driven in from the other direction the night before, and this was the entrance the Vampires usually used to gain access. What did surprise her was that there was no one there.
“Do they have a buzzer or something?” Tara asked.
“I don’t see anything like that,” Cassidy replied, looking closely at both the gate and the pillars next to it. There was an IAC access code on the gate, though. She could see it. She doubted she’d be able to get through using her own IAC, but she decided to give it a thought. Using the same process she did in order to call an elevator or open a door to an office building, she reached out with her mind to the gate and was shocked when it swung open.
“How did that happen?” Dax asked as Tara began to giggle.
“I used my IAC,” Cassidy explained as the three of them walked through. She decided it would be best to shut it behind them, so she manually closed it.
“Your what?” the newbie asked. “Oh, wait. Is that the thing, the implant, they put in your eye?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, walking up an asphalt drive toward the main building. “Christian will put yours in in a day or two.” Tara made a noise at the mention of the tech guy’s name that made Cassidy believe he’d freaked her out with his weirdness as much as he’d freaked Cassidy out, but she didn’t want to go into that right now and decided to ignore it.
