A Fall of Silver

Allison “
Quicksilver” Bankes rubbed the back of her neck. Her scars ached, presaging a headache she didn’t have time for.

“
We need to look for Kathy Sherman. I’m worried.” Theresa Blackstone’s slim hands jerked nervously. She motioned for the teenagers loitering at the dining table to clear away the remnants of their supper. Despite the late hour, the rich aroma of liver and onions still filled the air.

“Another kid missing?”
Quicksilver touched Theresa’s wrist in sympathy.

T
he dark-haired woman pulled away, belatedly pretending to tuck her shirt into the waistband of her jeans.

Quicksilver
pretended not to notice. Most people in the orphanage avoided her, left the room with fear in their eyes when she entered, their feet moving even faster when she smiled. She could guess what they saw in her face. Anger. She tried to control it, but it festered inside her, poisoning everything she touched. She hated the emotion and worked to suppress it, but ironically, her efforts to control it only made the rush of her rage more overwhelming when it awoke.

She smile
d a nice, nonthreatening smile. The expression felt unnatural. “Are you sure she didn’t go for a burger?”

“
No. She’s a good kid. She would have told someone if she intended to be out after dark.” Theresa’s eyes strayed toward the windows of the orphanage. Nothing was visible through the night-shrouded panes.

“She could
’ve lost track of time. You know how it is when you’re seventeen.” Even as she said it, she caught Theresa’s anxiety. Her stomach twisted in response. They both had reason to dread the night.

Fury stirred
the depths of her mind, reptilian and cold. She held it back. This time, she’d control her emotions. Be normal, or at least act that way.

“
Maybe. But we lost the other two kids last month. I’m worried. The dark is hungry—I can feel it. I thought we’d destroyed them, but now I’m not sure. Maybe Gwen and I only made matters worse.”

“How could you make it worse?
” Quicksilver asked. “You killed all the vampires, didn’t you? The entire clan.”

“
Some of them might have escaped the fire. They might be refilling their ranks—I just don’t know!”

“
Kids run away all the time. It may be nothing.” Dear God, don’t let this start again. Don’t let me lose control.

She had enough blood on her hands, staining her soul.

“No—please! Find her. Bring her home.” Theresa’s dark eyes clouded with her own terrible memories, but she always managed to stay calm, in control. “Please!”

How
do you do that
? Quicksilver stared at her, searching for the key to her composure when Theresa knew only too well what might be hunting in the dark.

Theresa was one of the few who knew vampires weren’t just flickering images in a horror movie. Years ago, long before Quicksilver arrived in Virginia, Theresa had been a novice nun at the Convent of the Weeping Madonna. A clan of vampires seeking revenged had attacked and only one person escaped with her life: Theresa Blackstone.
Her drive to salvage something from the tragedy led her to abandon her previous career choice and create an orphanage out of the ruins of the convent. And if she occasionally woke up screaming, well, no one mentioned it in the morning.

She wasn’t the only one
with nightmares.

Quicksilver
had her share of bad dreams, and she’d been glad to take refuge at the orphanage over a year ago. Exhausted and searching for a safe place to sleep for the night, she found something in Theresa’s air of deep calm that she desperately needed.

“
I’ll bring her back, don’t worry.” Quicksilver hugged Theresa and left abruptly, praying they were wrong.

There weren’t that many places in Grenville for te
enagers to hang out. She made the rounds without success before she started backtracking, hoping to find the missing girl trudging home, alone.

F
our blocks from the orphanage, she turned a corner and halted, surprised. Silhouetted against the dark mouth of an alleyway, Kathy stood illuminated by the golden glow of a streetlight. Two slender, young men bracketed her.

Men who move
d with the flashing grace of vampires.

Anger stirred inside Quicksilver
, so hot and insistent her body went rigid with her efforts to contain it.

Kathy
turned toward a fair-haired man with a light, breathless laugh. She tilted her head. The streetlight illuminated the girl’s face and her shimmering expression of joyful wonder. Quicksilver’s heart twisted with pain, remembering how it felt to find two such seemingly glorious friends. She’d found such friends once and had paid a terrible price for the lesson.

The girl
reminded her achingly of herself in that terrible moment when her innocence was shattered. The inexperienced teen was flattered and awed at attracting such handsome men. She didn’t realize what awaited her if she followed them into the dark, if she let them eat her soul.

D
espite a sense of bitter futility, Quicksilver steeled herself. A final, sympathetic breath whispered over her lips as she strode forward. Relinquishing control, she unleashed the fury within, the force she’d come to hate.

T
he trio left the narrow circle of light and blended into the shadows of the alley. Quicksilver crossed the street and broke into a run, her heart thudding in her chest.

Swerving around the corner
, she didn’t stop until she caught sight of them. They stood at the far end of the alleyway. A rusting chain-link fence sagged behind them, creating a dead end.

Even if Kathy
had realized her mistake now, she couldn’t escape. The eight-foot fence blocked the way.

Quicksilver’s breath
ing grew harsh and fast as she hesitated, balanced on the balls of her feet. The rank odor of spoiled milk and rotting meat from the trash littering the narrow alley caught in her throat. The oily stench seeped through the air. It saturated her clothing and hair with the foulness trapped between the brick walls. She swallowed a cough and quietly moved forward.

T
he blond vampire put his arms around Kathy. Her hands rested on his chest as she stared into his face, mesmerized by his gaze. The second creature stood nearby, his shoulder against the fence, waiting.

Just like Carlos and Carol.
Anger thrummed in her head at the memory of her own personal Hell.

A rat skittered along the wall, disturbed by
her light tread. At the sound, the second vampire glanced her way. He chuckled and gestured to his companion before striding forward, his steps springy with self-assurance.

“Kathy
!” Quicksilver reached behind her back. Her fingers gripped the cool metal handle of a whip.

“
Your friend is occupied,” the dark-haired vampire replied. His eyes flickered over her. She could feel his interest quicken along with his stride. “Come—leave your friend to Jason.” He held out his hand. “I’m Tyler—why don’t you and I talk—”

“Let’s
not.” She flicked her whip, uncoiling it with a sharp snap. The silver fall uncoiled and flashed in the darkness. “Kathy, come here! These men are dangerous!”

“
Who are you supposed to be? Wonder Woman?” Tyler gestured at her whip and grinned. His loose-limbed walk closed the distance before she could blink. His eyes glittered with a feral, crimson light in the darkness.

“
I’m not interested in justice.” She glanced over his shoulder, focusing on the girl. “Kathy, get away from him! Now!”

Kathy made no response. She
gazed at Jason, so entranced that she showed no sign of hearing the urgent warning. With eerie grace, she tilted her head to one side and exposed her long, white neck. Blank docility smoothed her face. Her pale pink lips curved in an uncomprehending smile.

“Kathy!”
Quicksilver’s throat tightened. She knew the pain of those teeth…. “Please, Kathy!”

Tyler laughed.
One pale hand pressed melodramatically over his heart. “She’s found true love.”

“
She doesn’t know what she’s found.”

“Give her another
minute. She’ll find out.” The vampire halted just a few yards away. His dark gaze examined her with the clinical detachment of a butcher eyeing an unexpected, but not unwanted, delivery of beef.

An expectant hush
whispered around them.

She couldn’t allow
Kathy, hardly more than a child, to suffer the pain the vampire threatened.

Fury surged upward, taking over her mind
as logic vanished. She cracked the whip above his head.

Tyler’s
gaze snapped upward, following the arc of the silver lash. A smile still curved his lips when she flicked her wrist again.

The
thin coil wrapped around his neck.

“You can’t hurt me with a whip
—”

“
Really?” She yanked.

The monofilament strand tightened
. A second jerk sliced cleanly through the skin and bones.

Tyler
was still grinning when his head slowly toppled off his shoulders and landed sloppily at his feet. A hiss sizzled through his flesh and crackled into deep fissures. He disintegrated into a fine cloud of ash. The gray powder swirled through the air before a draft forced them down to rain silently over the dank pavement.

Quicksilver
glanced at the end of the alley. The remaining vampire stared back. His surprised expression revealed the animalistic canines between the curve of his open lips.

“Tyler
!” he yelled. He belatedly focused on her. “Damn you, who
are
you?”

“
Who do you want me to be?” She smiled at the fair-haired vampire.

Jason
.

He
pushed the girl away. The chain link fence clattered and flexed as Kathy’s shoulder hit the flimsy barricade. She glanced up at him, her expression puzzled and hurt. Her trembling hand reached out to touch him.

Uncaring, he shook
her off with a curse. Then he moved to confront Quicksilver.

She
laid a mocking hand against her cold cheek, the skin damp from the evening air. “Oh, dear! Where is poor little Tyler?”

“Wha
—at?” Kathy’s voice sounded slurred, sleepy. She rubbed her bruised arm. Then she noticed Quicksilver standing a few yards away. The girl studied her, her face slack with confusion.

“
Stay where you are, Kathy.” She ran forward, closing the gap.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t fast enough.

Face twisted with the sudden realization that he was not as invulnerable as he imagined, Jason crouched. His gaze darted back and forth, calculating his escape. Then, instead of facing her, he leapt backward. He hit the fence with a rippling, metallic clang. It bowed under his weight, but didn’t collapse.

She ran faster
, ignoring the tearing pain in her thighs as she pushed to go faster than her human muscles could withstand. If he survived, he’d return for Kathy, and he’d be far crueler when his fear turned to rage over his friend’s death. He’d seek revenge and inflict as much pain on Kathy as he could, but his savagery wouldn’t stop there. Soon there’d be some other ignorant girl to use, a girl entranced by his inhuman beauty. She’d believe him, too, when he told her she was special, his chosen one. And she would die if Quicksilver failed to stop him now.

“Jason
, wait!” Kathy caught at his shirt. Her needy, desperate expression tore at Quicksilver.

Did I look like that when Carlos…. She forced the memory away.

The metal fence swayed under his weight, the links banging and sagging.

“Let go!”
He kicked Kathy in the chest as he caught the top of the fence.