Debating internally on how to answer, Casey khat the issues she was currently having had nothing to do with the friend beside her. “Let’s see, where should I start? Obviously you see that I am no longer employed as a ward.” She poio the dried blood on her chest. “I came home, promptly got almost arrested by the FBI, I have been pgued by dreams of you know who…”

  Sylvie nodded and put her hands in her jacket, twirling the lens case in her hand. “I won’t say his her.” She paused for a sed, “Please keep going.”

  Casey leaned against Sylvie’s shoulder. “My mom was insistent that I do something, anything. So I went for a walk.” She sighed, “I just never went back.” Casey tugged at her blouse. “I found myself in a fug rain storm on the boardwalk where the saed my arms and cheeks, causing them to burn and finally I got attacked by a couple of vampires that, oddly let me go…after they figured out who I was.” Casey reached out to touch Linda’s marker. “So I came here. I hadn’t been here since she was murdered.” She looked up, “That covers it, so yeah, you find me kneeling in the mud.”

  “I told your mother…” Sylvie stopped mid-thought ahe tact case tightly in her hand then froze in pce for a few seds. “Casey. We are about to have trouble.”

  Casey pulled away from Sylvie and looked around, “What do you mean trouble?” Her heart started rag in her chest. “We are alone in the graveyard, right?” Casey questioned with uainty and started lightly shaking. “I should have expected this, Sylvie.”

  Slipping her leather jacket free, Sylvie ed it around Casey. “We have a few minutes. I don’t think it is long enough to escape on the bike, they would just give chase until we stopped.” She poio the air. “A couple of young bats.” Sylvie hopped up and smiled. “I will only be a few seds.” She bolted back to her motorcycle and grabbed the helmet from the gas tank auro Casey’s side ihan a mihis should dey an atta your nebsp; You buckle it on while I get a couple of branches.”

  Casey quickly lost track of Sylvie’s movements and just followed her friend’s instrus. “There we go. Snug as a bug..” Casey tried to ugh as she heard the cracks of wood being snapped in front of her. “..At least that is what mom used to tell me wheucked me in.”

  Returning with three thick pieces of wood snapped from a close by oak, Sylvie extended her cws and whittled them into sharp stakes. “Two for you and one for me.” She winked, “Just in case you miss.” She looked down and spotted the pink stohat she’d initially offered as a token of respect for Linda, “I will make this up to her ter.” Sylvie picked up the stone and crumbled it in her hand to form an abrasive powder. “I know you only have two hands, but this should give you enough time to get one of those stakes in the chest.”

  “I..I don’t know if I do this without..help.” Closing her hand around the fine rock pieces, Casey suddenly got an idea. “Kiss me!” She nearly shouted. “That will make this a little more even and I will…you know…your ward.”

  Spotting the twin bats in the distance, Sylvie shook her head. “There are things about me that you don’t yet uand, mainly because I haven’t mentio.” She took a deep breath, “Besides it takes a couple mio adjust and we don’t have the time.” Sylvie draped herself over Casey. “I am going for an illusion first. If that doesn’t work, then we have the element of surprise.”

  forted by the fact that the troag bats didn’t dispy any knowledge of tactid flew straight for their target, Sylvie crouched into her normal protective stanbsp; Fangs and cws locked into pd Sylvie devoted a healthy portion of blood to her strength and reflexes to give her a bit of an edge versus her two younger brethren.

  -Let’s hope in this case age prevails over impulse.-

  Wheires shifted out of their tiny bat forms and into a pair of men dressed in colorful clothing, Sylvie quickly looked at both their hands and spotted peared to be a jester’s cap tattooed in blue and gold with little red bells hanging from the points. “Good evening, Gentlemen. You are a little outside your hunting ground. I know Jester. How is he doing these days?” Sylvie raised one of her bluish eyebrows and waited.

  Curiosity got the better of Casey and she turned and looked up to see her two former attackers. “Th..That’s them.” She paused as her lip quivered from fear. “S-Sylvie, The b-b-big one, he um..” Casey trailed off and looked down at her hands hidden in Sylvie’s leather jacket.

  When Sylvie heard her friend stammering iion to the bigger vampire of the small group, she khe torture that had to be going through Casey’s mind. “Gentlemen, I think you are in the wrong pce.” She patted Casey on the shoulder, “She is under my prote.” Sylvie smiled, “Probably better that I take care of this and leave you both out of it. Her employer would be very upset to see the state she is in.” Spotting the ferocious look iwin vampires' eyes, Sylvie got the feeling that diplomacy was ay gesture and came up with a quick backup pn.

  “Hello there Moonie.” Crushing leaves and patting his big chest, he tinued. “The pipsqueak behind me is Owen and I am Oscar.” He rubbed his bald head, “Oscar Reynolds. We met a few months ago in the parlor.” He ughed, “I recall tellier that I would have loved to ink you.”

  Noting the frail and pale Owen, Sylvie squinted her eyes and split her attention to watch Oscar walk to her opposite side so it appeared that the two men could attack from both sides. “I assure you, we are just fine. Oscar. I thank you for stopping to make sure that Miss Rivers and I were well cared for.”

  Oscar shook his huge head and rubbed his pointed . “You have it wrong. We want our spoils.” He pointed one of his thick hands at Casey. “You see, we found her all alone on a benbsp; It was Owehere that remembered her.” He patted his big chest. “It didn’t matter to me at the time, then he mentiohe Raven’.”

  Owen spoke up, “Oscar, I am telling you this is a bad idea. We have a town of people out there. Let’s just feed out there and fet this.” He almost pleaded, yet at the same time crouched with his cws extended. “Although…” Owen fshed his fangs covered in blood. “...We’ve eaten quite a bit this evening and nothing is as good as the one you let go.” He cackled and took a step forward.

  Stalling for time the best she could, Sylvie once more tried to reason with the two younger vampires. “I always get her here, if you need a refresher course on just who ‘The Raven’ is.” Sylvie curled her own lips back to expose her four shiny white fangs. “Curious, what makes you think that Miss River’s isn’t capable enough to handle you without her mistress?” She patted Casey on the shoulder reassuringly.

  “She’s bleeding you dolt.” Oscar chimed in before letting out a booming ugh. “Thralls don’t bleed long, they regee.” He took aep closer to Casey. “I certainly shouldn’t be smelling the delicious blood she’s got, almost like it belongs in my mouth.”

  Hair on the back of Sylvie’s neck went up a split sed before she sensed Oscar moving in for the kill. Rather than moving to intercept the huge vampire, Sylvie pounced on top of Owen and had started swinging her cws wildly, carving pieces of his pale flesh from his body before the weak vampire knew what was really happening.

  “Arghh….” Owen screamed and gurgled blood from his mouth in a small fountain. “Os…” He tried to scream to no avail as his throat ened as wide as his mouth. Kig and filing desperately to get the elder vampire off of him, Owen mao swipe across Sylvie’s chest ond then fell perfectly still.