With Jack driving like a bat out of hell and light traffic on I-84 eastbound, we managed to make it up to Hood River in less than an hour, rolling into town just before 10:00 pm. I directed him to the fairgrounds from memory. I’d been dragged there enough times over the first eighteen years of my life for various Renaissance Fairs and SCA Events that I could probably have found my way there blindfolded.

Quiet hours were beginning as we arrived, but many people were still out and about, mostly gathered around the bonfires scattered around one edge of the fairground. Jack parked at the end of the line of cars and turned off the engine but grabbed my arm before I could open the door.

“Ground rules. First, no revealing your nature or anything about the supernatural. Second, this is just for you to make up with them. Third, we go straight back to the safe house after.” Jack gave me a hard look, narrowing his eyes at me. “Got it?”

“Got it. But what will you do while I find them? Are you just going to wait in the car?” I asked.

“And leave you on your own?” Jack gave me a bemused look. “No. I’m going with you.”

“She knows you too. Won’t that give us a greater chance of being recognized?”

“Yes, but I won’t feel safe with you by yourself. I can protect myself if need be.” Jack glanced around outside, craning around to check the back too. A few people were smoking in front of a car a row down, but they had their backs turned to us and seemed to be focused on their own conversation. “Let’s go. Keep your head down and act casual.”

We both got out of the car and walked toward the fires. It was dark out here in the country, and the moon was down to just a sliver tonight so there was hardly any moonlight, but to my surprise I could still see almost perfectly. Jack stumbled on the uneven ground, so I took his arm.

“I can see. Just hold on to me.”

Jack gave me a grateful smile and wrapped his arm in mine and took my hand. I was glad he couldn’t see me in the dark, since I was sure I had a goofy smile on my face.

My parents had owned the same tent for years, and I’d recognize it if I saw it. However, first I steered Jack toward the bonfires. Despite the lateness of the hour, that was where we were most likely to find them. My mother loved to socialize, and was always one of the last to turn in.

We neared the fire with the biggest group of people around it. With my new vampire vision, the light of the fire actually made it harder for me to see; pure darkness seemed to be better for my new eyes. Then someone stepped aside, revealing two profiles. I stopped abruptly, recognizing my mother and father. My mother was shorter even than my barely five-foot height, and combined with the big, poufy dress meant it couldn’t be anyone else. My much-taller father stood next to her, wearing what I had always joked was his pirate coat, which was buttoned tight against the night’s chill.

Jack leaned down and whispered in my ear, “What’s wrong?”

“I spotted my parents.” I jerked his head toward them. “We can wait here and tail them back to their tent.”

“No, we need to get this over with. I recognize that tall muscular guy over there. He was one of the men who abducted me.” Jack’s eyes flicked in the man’s direction, and I turned to follow his gaze. “No, don’t look.”

I jerked my head back, trying to glance over with just my eyes as Jack pulled me along again in the direction of my parents. Jack was right, I was terrible at this. I hadn’t even spotted the man, although now that Jack had pointed him out, it was obvious he didn’t belong here. He looked very uncomfortable in his obviously brand-new, store-bought doublet. A strange bulge in the shirt’s side could only be a gun.

We were almost to my parents when a man and a woman stepped out of the crowd, stopping directly in our path. I moved to go around them, but the woman’s arm shot out, blocking the way.

“Who are you?” she hissed, glaring at me. “And why do I feel so drawn to you?”

I stared back at her. I could almost feel the animosity coming off her and the man in waves. “Do I know you?” I craned my neck to see around her and make sure I didn’t lose track of my parents.

“No, that’s the problem.” The woman glared at me and put her hands on her hips. “You should have sent in notice if you wanted to attend an event outside your home area.” The man with her was nodding along to her words.

“What are you talking about?” I said, glancing over at Jack to see if he was as confused as I was.

Jack looked like he’d bit a sour lemon. He leaned toward me. “They’re vampires, Ev.”

Oh, right. I could see it now. Both of them were pale under their makeup, and the firelight reflected off their eyes with an odd sheen.

“I’m sorry, I’m new. I didn’t know the rules.” I pushed her arm out of the way. “But I’m in a hurry, and we’re not staying.”

The man with her, dressed as a Victorian nobleman, was suddenly standing in front of me. He grabbed my arm, his grip like iron.

“Stop,” Jack said softly. “It’s fine, he’s with me. I’m Jack Smith, from the PCA.” When both vampires looked at him blankly, he continued. “I work for Stacy Cord.”

Both lit with comprehension, but the woman frowned.

“Why’s he being escorted in our territory by a mangy mutt instead of a vampire?” she sneered.

Jack let out a growl, his eyes flashing dangerously. He gritted his teeth, and I could see the effort it was taking him not to respond to the insult. “They’re busy tracking down that rogue vampire. Like you should be doing.”

The man had the grace to look guilty, although the woman merely tossed her head, making her blond curls bounce, and pouted. “Like I’d miss the event of the season. I’d have to wait months for the next chance to show off my new outfit to people who can appreciate it.” She posed a little and I, who’d grown up with a seamstress mother who was a period perfectionist, could see why she was so proud of it. It was deep red with a low-cut corset, a big bustle with at least a dozen layers of petticoats, and wide-sleeves. Wait, I recognized that hand-stitching on the sleeves.

“It is fabulous. You look amazing. I can see why you want to show it off.” I smiled at her. “It fits you perfectly. Your seamstress did an excellent job.”

The woman’s chest swelled and she batted her eyelashes at me before smirking at Jack. “I’m glad to see someone can appreciate quality.”

“I’d love to get one for myself.” I glanced at the man still holding my arm. “That’s why I’m here, actually. To see Mrs. Boesch. I just want to talk to her and then we’ll be going.”

“Not going to stay for Cloved Fruit?” the man said in a thick British accent, finally letting go of my arm. “It’s the highlight of the evening, isn’t it, Clarissa?”

Jack looked down at me in confusion. Cloved Fruit was a sexy drinking game popular at Ren Fairs. I could see why vampires enjoyed it, but there wasn’t time to explain all that to Jack now. I shook my head, mouthing “later” at him, and then said, “No, maybe next time.”

“More for us then, Reggie.” Clarissa took Reggie’s arm again, giving me a critical once-over. “If I may give you a bit of advice: ask for an outfit that’ll go with heeled boots. A bit of height will help you win over the ladies better.”

Jack let out a guffaw that he badly covered up with a cough. “After you then, ma’am.”

Clarissa gave Jack a dirty look, but escorted us over to my mother and father, who were talking to a man I didn’t recognize. I overheard her say, “I haven’t seen her,” before Clarissa walked right between her and the man she was speaking to, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“Rose, good evening. This young gentleman,” Clarissa gestured to me, “was just admiring the new outfits you made for Reggie and me. He just had to meet the designer to get one of his own.”

My mother had a smile on her face as she looked at Clarissa, but as soon as I stepped out of Jack’s shadow and into the firelight, the smile slid off her face and she wrinkled her nose as if she’d just stepped in something disgusting.

“I won’t speak to that thing,” she sniffed, “until my daughter returns.”

Even Clarissa looked taken aback at vehemence in my mother’s tone. Well, this reunion was off to a great start. At least my father was looking at me. I decided to start there. I turned to him with a pleading look. Sometimes my father could talk sense into my mother. I felt, more than saw, Jack move to stand next to me.

“Dad, I wanted to see you to—”

“You heard your mother,” my father said mildly. He was almost expressionless. My mother lifted her nose in the air and turned her back to me, picking up her skirt in both hands and walking away. My father gave me a small frown as he looked me over, taking in my scraggly five-o-clock shadow that had taken me two weeks of cultivating to grow, and my chest, flattened by my makeshift binder. “Come back to us dressed as a proper young lady again, then we can talk.” He turned and hurried after my mother.

All the air left my lungs, and I felt like I was going to puke. Then I wondered if vampires could throw up.

“Dad? You idiot!” Clarissa leaned down to hiss at me. She was angry because she thought I’d faked my death before being turned, as was common practice. She didn’t know that wasn’t the case with me. “And you, how could you be a part of this?” she demanded, whirling on Jack.

“I agree, he is an idiot,” a man said from behind me, followed by the click of a gun being cocked. “All of you, put your hands in the air.”

My eyes went wide and I glanced at Jack, who was glaring at me in an I-told-you-so way as he raised his hands above his head. I did the same, as did Clarissa and Reggie, who both looked slightly confused.

“Turn around, slowly.”

All four of us did so to find the man my parents had been speaking with holding us all at gunpoint. He waved the tip of the gun first at Clarissa and Reggie, and then at Jack. “You three, get out of here. I only need this one.” He settled the barrel back to point directly at my face.

Clarissa nodded, gathering her bustle in one hand and grabbing Reggie’s hand in the other. She frowned at me for a moment, but then shrugged, and she and Reggie almost ran away.

The man watched them go for a second, then glanced at Jack. “You too.”

“I won’t leave him.” Jack stepped between me and the gun. “Run, Ev.” The man’s gun barked, and Jack grunted in pain and staggered back.

“Not without you!” I grabbed Jack around the waist, letting myself sink into the near-fugue state that let me move so fast. I tossed Jack over my shoulder and dashed in the direction of the car. It was a bit awkward, since Jack was nearly a foot taller than me. Jack seemed heavier than he should have, especially with the way I’d thrown around that cop the other night, but he wasn’t unmanageably heavy, although it did slow me down.

Something warm ran down my back, and I smelled Jack’s blood. I couldn’t stop my fangs from descending. The gun cracked again. Pain blossomed up my arm, and I nearly dropped Jack. Something soft hit the back of my head and exploded, showering me with something wet. Had he thrown a water balloon at me?

People around the camp began screaming and running away from the shots. Lights began to go on all around the camp, heads popping out of tents as I wove around through the campground toward the car. I hoped the darkness made it so that no one noticed that I was running faster than the rest of the crowd.

I was going so fast that I almost crashed into the car, sliding on the loose gravel for a moment before falling against the trunk.

My right arm refused to move, forcing me to clumsily dump Jack sideways onto the ground. Jack moaned as he hit, and the strong smell of blood nearly made me swoon. Jack landed on his side. The front of his shirt had a neat hole in the front, and a trail of blood tracked up his chest.

I cursed and knelt down, applying pressure to the wound with my working hand. Jack’s eyes were fluttering and he was unresponsive.

“Don’t die, Jack,” I babbled, pressing on the bloody hole in Jack’s chest with my good hand.

Then Jack’s chest sunk in, and fur sprouted up from his face as his nose elongated. A moment later, a jackal lay there in Jack’s bloody clothes. It began thrashing in slow motion around in them, trying to get loose.

The screams began to get closer, and I looked up to see three men with guns moving through the crowd in our direction. They looked to be moving with exaggerated slowness, but it wouldn’t take them long to get into range, and they were already raising their guns. One had another water balloon out, and had his arm cocked back to throw it. Why water balloons? I didn’t have time to dwell on it now.

“Shit, keys.” I fumbled at Jack’s pants with my one working hand, trying to ignore the way the jackal was glaring at me. I finally got ahold of the keyring and tugged it free. I unlocked the car, and turned to get the jackal.

I grabbed Jack’s bloody clothes as a bundle, slow-motion jackal and all, and tossed the whole thing into the passenger seat without looking. Jack’s yelp of surprise seemed to go on forever while I climbed inside and got the car started. I was starting to get so thirsty, but if I slowed down, the men would get to the car before I’d be able to get us out of here.

A gun cracked, and the car jumped as the bullet impacted somewhere I couldn’t see.

My right arm still refused to move, so I had to awkwardly twist my left hand around in order to get the key in the ignition, frantically glancing at the slowly approaching men as I struggled to reach around the steering wheel. At least the car started right up.

As soon as I got it into reverse, I floored it, sending us careening backward into the road. I was starting to get some sensation back, but it still took me a moment to pop the shifter into drive with my partially numb right hand. I let my speed fall away as I hit the gas and roared away. Bullets whizzed after us as the three men chased us down the road, firing at the retreating car until they were out of view.

Jack jumped up into the passenger seat and sat down, having finally wiggled his way free of his clothing. His hackles were up and his lips were pulled back from his muzzle as if he were growling, although I couldn’t hear anything.

“I know, I know. You told me so,” I said to the jackal, slurring around the unfamiliar feel of my fangs, which refused to retract.

---

Continue on to Chapter 19

---