Title: A Steady and Constant Balance
Characters: The members of the Kliq, mostly Scott, Mike and Sean in
the first parts. Loads of cameos by nearly everyone else in WWE.
And several of my own creation because I needed a bad guy and didn't
want to use a real person.
Disclaimer: I do not own the name or trademark of any of these living
persons.
Warning: Some chapters contain implied drug use, bare with me it
isn't what it seems. I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of the
wrestlers named. Later chapters will contain more graphic material
including an attempted rape and graphic but consensual sex. m/f.
Rating: PG-13 for now accelerating in later chapters.


Beryl sat her bag down on the curb outside the chain-link fence
that enclosed the rear entrance of Spokane Arena and pulled her
wallet from her purse.
"That's 16.97." the cabbie said.
Beryl handed him a twenty. "Keep the change." she said
distractedly. She was growing more and more anxious now that she was
here. Today was the first day of Beryl's new job of Nurse-
Practitioner
with WWE. She was to assist and occasionally fill in for their
current doctor.
The taxi pulled away into traffic and Beryl shouldered her bag
nervously. "For crying out loud, get over it. They're just people."
She berated herself and approached the gate heaving a deep breath.
"Hang on, lady!" a gruff voice sneered. "Where's your pass?"
Beryl reached into her purse and pulled out the laminated
employee's badge that Shane McMahon had given her three days earlier.
"Sorry," she smiled but she didn't appreciate his rude tone. The
man shoved the pass back abruptly and turned toward a dark green car
that had pulled up. Beryl picked up her bag and started down the
slope toward the arena. Once past the gate the car slowed to let
Beryl cross the lane.
"Hi there." a deep voice sounded and Beryl looked back over her
shoulder.
A man sat relaxedly in the passenger seat of the green car
resting his arm on the window frame. A thick mane of midnight black
hair was clubbed back to reveal the hazel eyes that grinned out at
Beryl.
"Hi," she said trying to keep her voice even but it wanted to
squeak through her rapidly constricting throat. Not sure that she'd
been heard Beryl gave a half wave but the car was already pulling
away.
"Hi." she mocked herself. "You dork."
Of course Beryl was aware she would see famous people, people she
herself was a fan of but actually seeing her favorite brought the
reality of it crashing home. She scowled, she wasn't aware that Scott
Hall was currently with the WWE. The last she'd heard he wasn't doing
anything but the occasional show in Puerto Rico or some such place.
"I'm really here, I'm really here, I'm really here." the thought
thundered through Beryl's mind despite herself.
Inside the arena another guard asked for her pass but in more
welcoming tones. "You're the new nurse, Huh?"
"More or less." Beryl smiled never one to get uppity about her
degree.
The man pulled a radio from a clip on his belt. "Cheron?"
A staticky, "Yeah," replied.
"The nurse is here."
"Send her down." the overly loud clack blared.
The guard pointed to the end of the main corridor that was almost
lost from sight in the chaos of activity. "All the way to the end and
hang a left. Cheron's the lady with the harassed look about her."
"Thanks," Beryl smiled.
"See you at supper." the man said before answering a barely
intelligible blast of noise from his radio.
Beryl walked up the white cinder-block lined hallway dodging
around grips and stage hands that scurried about readying the arena
for the show set to begin in just over three hours.
A sharp jolt shuddered into Beryl as someone slammed into her
from behind. "Whoa." a man said grabbing her arm before she was
knocked into a rolling case pushed by one of the grips. "Sorry."
Beryl righted herself and turned to her assailant/rescuer. A
crooked smile beamed from a familiar face.
"Just like me to kill the new doctor on her first night. Grey
Sanders." the man smiled more widely. "We were told you'd be starting
tonight. Do you know where the Med Shed is?"
"Not exactly," Beryl said. "I'm looking for Cheron."
"I just saw her, come on. I'll show you."
"Thank you." Beryl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Along the way Grey introduced Beryl to Rob Van Dam, Val Venis and
Victoria.
"Hey guys." Grey turned toward the group standing by the soda
machine. "This is Beryl, the new doctor." The three introduced
themselves and Grey continued on down the corridor with them all
saying they would see her at supper.
"Wow." Beryl said. "Everyone's so nice."
"Not the assholes you expected?" Grey said in tone that told Beryl
he was teasing.

 

"Hey, there you are." a harangued voice called.
Beryl turned to see a woman wearing a headset and carrying a clip
board.
"Cheron?"
"Yeah," the woman said scribbling something down. "I'll show you
where to go."
"See ya', Beryl." Grey said. Beryl smiled but didn't have a chance
to say anything before Cheron began giving her instructions in a near
barking voice between snippets of conversation on her headset.
"This arena's Med Shed's right here," Cheron pushed a door open
and Beryl sat her bag on a stainless steel counter. "The crew will
usually have it stocked by the time you and Gordy get here. Gordy's
late by the way, his plane's been delayed so I'll have you stay here
in case anyone needs something." Then Cheron's face split with a rare
smile. "They look all sorts of tough, but you know men-big babies
when they don't feel well.
"Gordy handles the big stuff and he'll show you the ropes but
bandages and aspirin he shouldn't take personally. Gordy's a
character but he likes to show his assistants how he likes things
done himself."
"Doctors," Beryl said. "The biggest babies of all."
"No kidding," Cheron said. "I'll see you at supper."
Beryl opened the cupboard to see how all the supplies were
arranged and nodded her head with an expression of approval on her
face. The regular doctor seemed to have all the basics covered. A
small box sat on the counter with a pad of blank prescriptions on
top. Beryl wasn't stupid or naive, she figured the company had it's
unofficial trade in steroids.
Cheron had left the door open and a metallic rap broke through the
underlying buzz.
"Hello," a smooth voice greeted as Beryl turned.
"Hi," her voice actually did squeak but she quickly cleared her
throat to, she hoped, give the impression that she merely had a
cold. "Excuse me."
"Scott said he saw a new face. Shawn Michaels." the man stepped
through the door and offered his hand. "You can call me Mike but his
name really is Sean." The blond winked and jerked his head toward the
man whose frame now filled the doorway. As her eyes turned to the
second figure Beryl thought she saw Mike shake his head slightly.
"Sean Waltman." the darker haired man smiled. "Or Sixx or Kidd, or
you can call me whatever you like just like these guys do."
"Beryl." she said.
"Barrel?" a smooth, deep voice that Beryl already recognized came
from around the corner.
"Beryl." she corrected, used to people mispronouncing and even
mocking her name. "Its short for Chrysoberyl. My parents were
geologists." as though that should explain it to anyone.
The tall figure ducked through the door frame. "Wouldn't it have
been easier to name you emerald?" a charmingly lopsided grin played
across the handsome face.
"I guess they didn't think of that." Beryl smiled.
"Scott," the man said and Beryl took his offered hand in her left
as she had the others in her right. She felt his thumb softly slide
over the skin of her ring finger as it pulled away.
"Ah good." a gravelly voice sounded from the door now hidden
behind Scott's towering frame. "You're here." the doctor said. "And
already in practice." He added sharply.
"No, Doc." Sean said. "We were looking for you."
"Oh?" The graying man took a pen from his pocket and cleared his
throat. "I'm told you're my new assistant. I'm sorry I wasn't able to
see you in New York when you interviewed but Mr. McMahon tells me
you're quite well qualified."
"Yes, sir." Beryl said, a bit irritated about being scrutinized in
front of these men.
"I'm sorry," He blinked as though someone had just informed him he
was being less than tactful. "I'm Gordy."
"Beryl."
"Like the gemstone." Scott's even baritone grinned.
Gordy opened the box on the counter and handed Beryl a
stethoscope. "Would you go ask Cheron if I could speak with her
before the meeting? I didn't see her when I came in."
"She's upstairs." Mike said helpfully pointing left out the door.
Not wanting to loudly dispute the fact that she was not hired to
be Gordy's Girl Friday, Beryl left to find the stage manager. She
stopped fuming after a brief moment.
"Stupid!" she scoffed at her temper. "He was writing them
prescriptions and didn't['t want you there."
The damage done my such things nettled Beryl. How could people so
concerned with fitness resort to such unhealthy methods of achieving
it?
"And I need the pyro to be perfect tomorrow." Beryl heard Charon
speaking somewhat loudly with the lighting effects crew. The woman
only paused to make a put upon sigh and Beryl jumped at the brief
chance to deliver Gordy's message.
"Yeah, yeah." Cheron waved her hand impatiently. "Tell him I know
what its about and I asked Vince to find us a runner just for that
but I don't know if its being taken seriously."
Beryl returned to the Med Shed to find Gordy alone. They spent the
next hour going over how Gordy liked procedures followed. He was easy
going over all and none of his instructions phased Beryl much. He
insisted that if any of the wrestlers needed anything beyond the
basic wrap or occasional pain killer that she tell him immediately
but added that he'd broken most of them to that fact already anyway.

"So?" Paul asked as Mike, Sean and Scott entered the dressing room.
"She's okay." Mike said.
"Kind of cute, eh Scott?" Sean smirked as Scott started to get into
his gear. "I saw you checking her out." Scott looked as though he
were going to fain innocence.
"Don't waste your breath, man." Kevin said, pulling his shirt over
his head. "You were digging on her from the car."
"So she's cute," Scott scowled at their ribbing. "And I'm not the
only one who noticed so we need to keep our eyes open."

"Hey kiddo," Linda McMahon peeked in the door. "How you liking it
so far?"
"Everybody's been really great." Beryl smiled looking up from the
requisition forms Gordy was explaining.
"Well, like I told you-we're a family. Sometimes the children have
their spats but we all work together to keep the boat afloat." Linda
said. "Come on you two. I wanted everybody to meet in the cafeteria."
Gordy and Beryl followed Linda to a large room with long tables and
the smell of broccoli and chicken drifting from the kitchen where a
crew of caterers were preparing supper. Linda joined her son near the
metallic curtain as he called everyone to order.
"First we have some new faces on the crew. Phil joined us in Salt
Lake City on the sound crew. And Beryl's our new girl in the Med
Shed. She'll be assisting Gordy and filling in from time to time so
be good to her or she'll stick you with big sharp needles where the
sun don't shine." Shane joked and several people laughed as Beryl
smiled from the doorway.
The show went smoothly except for Al Snow twisting his ankle. The
cast and support staff were preparing to leave while the stage hands
packed to go to the next town on the roster.
"You'll ride with me when we need to drive." Gordy said. "Until
you know all the ropes. It's better that way."
"See you later." Grey smiled as Beryl passed him on the way to
the parking lot.
"Good night." She climbed into Gordy's rental.
"Hey, Gordy." Kevin's voice called from several cars down the
row. "Where you staying?"
"Super 8."
"See you there."

It was the next night at a RAW taping in Sacramento that Vince
used Beryl's introduction to those that had not been at the house
show to bring up a recent increase in the number of injuries.
"If you want to try something out start practicing it in the gym
not at a show. You know who are." Vince's eyes flicked over to Lita
who was sporting a brace on her right elbow.
The feeling that she was being watched caused Beryl's skin to
prickle and she cast a glance around the room to find Grey's eyes on
her. She smiled awkwardly.
Just then a wave of cold filled her stomach and Beryl shuddered.
She didn't know where the chill came from and wondered if she wasn't
really catching cold. As she shuddered Beryl stepped back slightly
and came up against a warm wall of chest.
"You all right?" Scott asked softly as his hand came up to touch
her arm.
"Yeah," she answered whispering herself so not to disrupt the
meeting. "Just chilly in here, I guess."
"It'll pass I'm sure." Scott smiled. "I left my jacket in the
dressing room or I'd be a gentleman and let you wear it."
Beryl's eyes crinkled in a grin and she was glad Scott couldn't
see her face. If she had seen the sharp glare Scott had given Grey
she might not have smiled.

 

Beryl sat on a stool in the Med Shed watching the monitor of what
was going on in the ring. Gordy had gone to wrap Bill Goldberg's knee
and left her to watch for trouble out front.
"Hey." Grey said abruptly from the doorway startling Beryl and
making her cough on the juice of the orange she was eating.
"Hi," she cleared her throat. "What's up?"
"Nothing." Grey tilted his head to the side and his hair fell
into his face.
Beryl was suddenly hit with how damned attractive Grey really
was. Smoky gray eyes, shoulder length brown hair; Beryl didn't
remember ever hearing how old Grey was but he appeared to be in his
early thirties perhaps and hadn't aged a day since he had come onto
the wrestling scene.
"Just thought I'd say hello."
"Hello." Beryl smiled. Grey's eyes scanned the room and her
smiled faded a bit. "Gordy's in the dressing room right now. I can
tell him you were looking for him if you like."
Grey waved his hand as though batting the thought away. "Oh, no.
I wasn't." He smiled again. "I don't do things like some of the guys
do. I prefer the natural method. It's more healthy."
"I'd have to agree there." Beryl said, her mind flicking over all
the guys who were so nice but she couldn't help feeling were flirting
with disaster by taking the steroids Gordy prescribed them.
"You like oranges." Grey asked.
"Needed the vitamin C." Beryl said. "I keep getting chills."
"Well, we don't leave the Rain Belt for another week." Grey
smirked at his own humor. "You'll need the minerals. Minerals fortify
the blood."
Beryl stood to whisk the orange peel into the trash can and Grey
approached from behind. Before he took a third step his eyes darkened
and he turned toward the door that was nearly shut. The portal was
pushed open and Scott entered.
Again Beryl felt as though someone had poured ice water into her
stomach. She winced and folded her arms about herself.
"Still cold." Scott said, it was not a question and he took off
his leather jacket, holding it out to Beryl. "Here."
Beryl accepted the garment, too cold even to speak. Shrugging on
the still warm coat Beryl didn't see another contesting glower pass
between the two men.
"I'll see you later, Beryl." Grey said. "I'm up in the next
segment."
"Be careful."
"Don't you mean 'break a leg'?" Scott asked smilingly after Grey
had disappeared through the door.
"Do wrestlers have that superstition too?"
"Feel better?" Scott asked meeting Beryl's eyes.
"Yes," Since putting the jacket on the chill had disappeared
almost completely. "It must be the weather or I'm not used to
traveling so much, but I think I'm getting the flu or something."
"Garlic should take care of that." Scott said. "Fresh garlic."
Beryl smiled again, everyone had a natural remedy for the flu it
seemed.
"When you see Gordy could you tell him I stopped in?" Scott
asked.
"I will," Beryl replied smiling half-heartedly. Scott's eyes
scanned her face briefly and he turned to go. "Thanks for the jacket."
"Keep it for a while." Scott smiled over his shoulder and was
gone.
Gordy came back a few minutes later and grabbed an ace bandage
while Beryl told him Scott and several others had been to see him. He
nodded and said. "Come on, I'll let you help me wrap Trish's ankle.
As they approached the ladies' locker room Gordy slowed. "At
some point when you fill in for me you might have to go into the
men's dressing room. That won't bother you too much will it?"
"Oh, it that why they still teach anatomy in Med School?" Beryl
said a bit peevishly and Gordy smirked at her but afterward she no
longer felt as though he was mollycoddling her or just giving her
busy work.
No one hurt themselves that night and Gordy simply made rounds of
old complaints, handing out Tylenol and a couple prescriptions for
Vioxx while he left Beryl to pack the supplies back into their crates
for the crew to move to the next town.
Grey stood at the cross hall watching the door to the Medical Room
darkly. Scott and Mike approached from behind unnoticed until Scott
brought his palm against the wall sharply giving a loud report in the
near empty corridor. Grey turned his eyes to the pair with a bored
expression.
"You need to stay away from her." Scott warned without the least
hint of humor.
"If you can't give it a try, don't blame the rest of us. Some of
us still enjoy the thrill."
"And I've told you before to keep your claws out of people's
heads."
Grey smiled malevolently. "Oh you should taste the tidbits she
has floating around in there." He turned a pious expression to Mike
and threw his hands up making a fake lunge. "Praise the lord." He
guffawed and when Mike didn't flinch he turned back to Scott. "I
hardly know where to begin with that one." He jerked his head toward
the only door with a light still coming from it.
"You'll stop now if you have any concern for your own neck."
Scott stepped closer to the shorter man.
"We'll see." Grey gave him a nasty smirk and walked out to the
parking lot.

After wishing the road crew a safe trip Beryl was surveying the
room to make sure she didn't leave forget anything when she saw the
jacket she had taken off before repacking the supplies. Knowing most
of the talent had already gone Beryl grabbed the coat and sprinted
toward the parking lot. Seeing Mike and Sean getting into a blue
Suburban with a couple of others she ran toward them.
"Hey," she said a little winded. "Is Scott still here?"
"No. He just left." Sean said looking over at Mike. "He won't be
around for a couple of shows."
"He said to tell you to take care of his jacket." Mike's eyes
darted to the black coat.
"Oh," Beryl replied thinking. The guy barely knows me. But she
was also more than a little giddy at the gesture.
"You coming, kid." Gordy asked as he walked toward his rental.
Beryl put the jacket back on and followed him. The jacket was like a
blanket of warmth against the slashing rain as the medical staff got
out of the car in front of the hotel. The tail came halfway down her
thighs but it was snuggly with a faint whiff of a warm masculine
scent Beryl couldn't name.
The hotel bar was already packed with the talent and the staff
that didn't travel ahead. Beryl could hear them as she stood behind
Gordy at the counter waiting to check-in.
"Hey guys." Kevin called from the archway that led to the
restaurants and bar. "Join us for dinner?" Gordy nodded and Kevin's
eyes turned to Beryl. "How about you, rookie? You feeling up to some
dinner?"
Beryl's mouth turned down at the corners. When had her health
become a topic of public concern? "No, I think I'll just go get some
sleep." Beryl was given her key card and waved good-night to Kevin
and Gordy who were still mulling around the archway of the crowded
lounge. They returned the wave and Beryl made her way to the elevator.
Soaked to the skin below the knees Beryl turned the radiator
dial as high as it would go and let the room heat before removing the
jacket. She went into the bathroom and turned the hot faucet on full
blast. While the bathroom filled with steam Beryl tossed her clothes
into a pile and grabbed her nightie and robe.
Opening the shower door again Beryl was anticipating the hot
flow when a knock sounded from the door. Beryl rolled her eyes and
wrapped the black kimono robe about herself. Looking through the spy
hole Beryl saw a man's head and shoulders. Making sure the robe was
tied properly closed she pulled the door open with the chain attached.
"Your dinner ma'am." a young waiter said expectantly waiting for
Beryl to step aside.
"I didn't order anything." she said. It came compliments of a
gentleman." the waiter said with an almost leering grin as he looked
past her into the room. "For Room 412, that's you."
"All right, bring it in." Beryl said trying not to scowl but a
knowing smirk spread on the porter's face really got on her nerves.
She tipped the man and closed the door behind him. Beryl looked where
the waiter's eyes had fallen. Scott's jacket lay across the chair
next to the bathroom door where clouds of steam were coming from the
still running shower. A blush crept up from Beryl's toes it
seemed. "Yeah, I wish." she smirked.
When Beryl had finished her shower she took the cover from the
tray to reveal a tasty plate of lasagna. Seeing that there was an
extra piece of garlic bread she could well guess who'd had it sent
up. It didn't matter that he wasn't there in person, the four people
he was nearly inseparable from were.

Portland, Oregon's show didn't go as smoothly as the previous
evening's. Beryl and Gordy arrived at the arena under the daylight
beginnings of a full moon. It was a house show to a nearly sold-out
crowd.
"Boy, they really come out at the full moon." a security guard
said as Beryl wiped the blood from a cut on his forehead where a fan
had hit him. It wasn't as deep as she'd first thought so Beryl
patched him with steri-strips and sent him off-duty with a
prescription for a mild pain killer.
The ring stairs were slick from thrown soda causing Randy Orton
to slip and gash his forearm badly enough for Gordy to have him sent
to the hospital for stitches. Gail Kim was hit in the eye by the
straw from a soda cup. The security staff was busy escorting people
out in droves while Gordy and Beryl were patching everybody back
together.
"Holy cow!" Beryl said that night in the hotel lounge. "I
thought those animals were going to tear the place down."
"I've seen worse on the full moon." Mike smirked over his plate
of shrimp fettuccine.
"Did they actually change into wolves? Honestly!" Beryl passed
the salt to Sean.
"You seem to have your appetite back." the dark haired man
smiled.
"Was my cold on the six o'clock news?" Beryl asked with a
lopsided grin. "Here's the midnight report, maybe they'll be an
update of my condition." The lounge was nearly deserted by now and
bartender had turned the volume up so he could hear the weather.
"Another grizzly find in the Pacific Northwest." the
anchorwoman said. "This morning the body of a teenager identified as
a sixteen year old runaway from Sacramento was found along this
stretch of highway just twenty miles south of Portland.
"The investigating officer on the scene described the victim as
having looked like she had been mauled by a mountain lion."
"Well so much for that." Beryl pushed her half eaten plate of
spaghetti away.
"Get some rest, kid." Gordy said as Beryl rose to pay her
check. "Its a long drive to Seattle."
Sean and Mike had offered to ride with them this time and share
the driving. Beryl and Gordy agreed whole heartedly. "We should leave
by nine to get there on time." Mike said and Beryl waved back over
her shoulder.
The ride up the Pacific Coast Highway would have been nicer if
it hadn't been made in torrents of rain. Sean was driving as they
crossed north into Washington state and made a pit stop.
"Your turn to drive." Sean handed Beryl the keys.
"Pilot picks the tunes?" Beryl smiled at Mike who had shot gun.
"Sure." HBK replied as Beryl leaned forward to pull her arms
from the coat that was too cumbersome for her to drive in. "You sure
seem attached to Scott's jacket." he smiled crookedly.
"I had to keep it close or I'd have left it somewhere." Beryl
said refusing to acknowledge the faint blush or Mike's doubtfully
raised eyebrow.
"Your story, tell it how you like." He grinned.

Again the crowd was a mob and Gordy and Beryl had their hands
full with keeping the security staff and talent on their feet and in
one piece.
"We have the next two nights off and the full moon will be over
by the time we get to Dallas." Rob Van Dam winced as Beryl handed
Gordy a pair of surgical shears to cut a gauze wrap that was covering
a nasty scrape on Rob's left arm.
"Thank God," Gordy said taping the dressing down. "We'd have to
use the cage just to protect you guys from the fans otherwise."
"You going home until Friday, Beryl?" Gordy asked as everyone
ate a late dinner after the show.
"Just for tonight, then I'm flying down. Thought I'd check out
the sights." she shrugged.
"Well, I'm going home before the kids forget what I look like."
Mike smiled.
"I'll see you guys later then." Beryl said and walked to her
rental car.
"How's she doing?" Sean asked after Beryl had disappeared
through the door.
"Fine." Gordy said.
"You know what we mean." Mike said.
"Fine," Gordy said more firmly. "What about you know who?"
"He seems to have gotten the message for now." Sean said.
"He never lets anything drop if he really takes a mind to go
after it." Gordy stood. "You know how he is."
"Keep an eye on her." Mike said. "Something tells me this
isn't over."

 

Beryl grabbed different clothes for the next three weeks on the
road and tried to for a couple more hours. She woke in a cold sweat
before her alarm from dreams she could barely recall in detail at
first, just knowing that some horrible thing watched her. Knowing
that her nap was over she showered and left for the airport after
having breakfast with her aunt. By late afternoon she was in Texas
checking into her hotel.
"Isn't it a little hot for leather?" Scott's deep voice
resounded from down the hallway as Beryl opened her door.
"Now that you mention it." she grinned. With an even stride
Scott approached and Beryl handed him his jacket. The image of what
the waiter must have thought flashed through her mind bringing on a
crimson blush.
Scott stood in the door frame his hazel eyes watching Beryl as
she tossed her bag on the bed. "Ya hungry?"
"I could stand a bite." Beryl returned to the door and was
pinned by the gaze she briefly saw on Scott's face.
"A little bird told me you wanted to see some sights."
Beryl grinned. "Is there anything the five of you don't let each
other know?"
"If there is I don't know it." Scott took Beryl to a small
restaurant on the far side of town. "If you like Mexican food you'll
love Texas."
"So far so good." Beryl smiled taking a mouthful of rice. They
finished their late lunch and Scott drove south.
"Where are we going?" Beryl asked. Scott shrugged and smiled
mischievously. It occurred to Beryl briefly that she didn't really
know Scott and she ought to be more cautious, but when she looked at
him she couldn't help but trust him.
"Hey look." Scott pointed up the road on Beryl's side. She
turned to look and at first didn't see what he was looking at. "You
like cotton candy?" Scott's charming smile spread across his face as
Beryl spied the lights of the carnival. The dying sunlight was
painting the sky a blood red as Scott parked his rental on the
fairgrounds lot.
Beryl stopped to look at the wares at a booth selling swords and
daggers. When she turned back around to ask Scott a question he was
nowhere to be seen. Beryl looked in the direction they had been
walking but even given Scott's extraordinary height she couldn't see
where he had gotten to.
"Do you like teddy bears?" Scott asked seeing a row of large
stuffed animals in a game booth. "Beryl?" he turned when she didn't
answer. "Damn!" his eyes darkened.
Not wanting to wander around searching for Scott all evening,
and never one to get easily rattled, Beryl walked over to a small
covered area of tables next to a corn dog vendor and sat down. If
Scott came back she'd see him and if not she would listen to the band
playing a few yards away and be quite content. She was watching the
people dancing to the music and young men trying to impress young
girls at a dozen games of varying shadiness.
Just then, the crowd of perhaps a thousand people, the hair on
the back of Beryl's neck rose. She was being watched her gut instinct
told her, but not merely watched. Visually devoured.
A rush of adrenaline caused her heart to jump. Beryl rose from
the bench and began scanning the crowd, she'd felt like this once not
too long ago but she couldn't quite recall when or where. The
sensation became down right menacing and Beryl moved closer to the
vendor's trailer in hopes of blocking herself from her pursuer's
sight. That, her gut told her, was exactly what this person was. A
pursuer and one she knew most likely.
As soon as Beryl was tucked under the awning her stomach
plummeted with the ice cold feeling once more. But even this was
better than the near terror of a moment before. Beryl gasped lungfuls
of air and got into the short queue waiting to order food from the
trailer.
In spite of there bing a dozen people in line ahead of her Beryl
soon found that she was nearly to the counter. As she moved a step
closer again the grip of breathtaking fear stabbed at Beryl's heart.
Her gorge rose in her throat as it dawned on her that her stalker had
no intention of letting her out of his sight.
Now glad of the overly bright glare from the rides, Beryl
stepped to the counter trying not to shake too much. "Large D-diet
Pepsi, please." she said.
While the man was filling her pop Beryl again scanned the crowd.
Feeling that she would see her stalker if she looked over her
shoulder Beryl began to turn when a large hand grabbed her forearm.
Letting a squeak that caused several passers-by to stare, the
frightened woman brought her hand up to ward off any coming attack.
Scott's bright smile shone in his eyes and again the cold
crawling tore at Beryl's insides. "Make that two." Scott said and
hurried Beryl several yards away. "Hey." he touched her clammy
skin. "Are you all right? I didn't mean to startle you so bad."
Beryl looked up into Scott's concerned scowl and felt relief
flood through her. "It wasn't you, Scott." she said. "I just, I don't
know. It feels like someone's following me." The mere memory of that
icy fear made Beryl's eyes well up with tears and Scott pulled her
against him resting his empty hand at the middle of her back.
"No one would dare try to hurt you while I'm around." He said
fervently. Beryl rested her head against his shoulder taking a
shuddering breath to steady her nerves because she was starting to
feel silly.
Scott could feel Beryl's heart racing as she pressed against
him. The warmth of her he felt through the cotton of her tee shirt
and he scowled at his reaction because he knew he shouldn't be
enjoying this so much. He turned his eyes to the crowd but the one he
had glimpsed just a moment before he found Beryl had disappeared. He
looked down and saw that the chill-bumps had faded from her skin.
"You know," Scott took a sip of his pop. "It's been a long time
since I was at a carnival without the kids. I was about to impress
you with my dart throwing skills when I realized I had misplaced you."
Beryl stepped back blushing slightly. "Sorry, I stopped to look
at something."
"Than I'll have to keep you closer to me." Scott smiled and laid
his arm across Beryl's shoulders. "Shall we, fair maid?"
"My pleasure, kind sir." Beryl beamed.
Beryl felt like a teenager with a crush as she and Scott walked
the midway. Scott shortened his stride so Beryl could keep up with
him in the teeming crowds that surrounded them.
As Scott paused once more in front of the game booth Beryl
watched the players ahead of them all leave disappointed and didn't
want Scott wasting his time when they could be enjoying each other's
company elsewhere.
"I think this game's fixed." Beryl whispered so the carny
couldn't hear.
Scott looked at her with a smile. "Never say the word 'fixed' to
a wrestler." He winked. "Do you want the red giraffe or the blue
teddy bear?" He pointed to the top row.
Beryl saw his dogged determination and sighed. "Teddy bear."
The carny was barking to the crowd. "Hit three fruit win a
prize. You sir?" he pointed to a man walking by holding hands with a
pretty blond. The man waved a denying hand and continued on.
"I'll play." Scott stepped forward.
"Three darts for a dollar. Hit three cherries get something from
the top row."
The way the light hit the trio of darts the carny handed Scott
Beryl knew they'd been dulled. She smirked doubtfully when Scott
looked down at her.
"Watch and be duly impressed." He said with a comically
exaggerated grin. In less than a minute the carny was handing Scott
a big fuzzy teddy bear and congratulated him through gritted teeth.
"Now you're just showing off." Beryl smirked as Scott passed
her the large toy but he caught the delighted glimmer in her eye as
well.
"You noticed, good." Scott sipped his brow as though he had just
expended a large amount of energy. "I'd hate to think you weren't
paying attention."
Beryl eyed Scott mischievously and shifted her eyes to the booth
next door where nearly everyone seemed to win. She stepped up to the
more amicable carny and handed the woman a dollar. This carny gave
Beryl a softball and pointed at a pyramid of painted milk
bottles. "Watch and be duly impressed." She made to throw the ball
but paused. "Or at least don't laugh when I miss by a mile."
All three bottles toppled and Beryl looked at Scott. The stuffed
animals were smaller here given the better odds and Scott looked at
them all. "That one." she said, "The green one." A lopsided grin lit
his face as the animal made it's way to him. Beryl didn't miss the
fact that the prize came with a faux emerald necklace.
"Come on." Scott wriggled his eyebrows. "There's big nauseating
rides just screaming our names." They spent the next half an hour in
line for a three minute spin on the Gravitron.
Scott stopped to catch his breath as they stumbled off the
machine. "What next?"
"Spider?"
Scott looked at the contraption and straightened like a man
bravely facing a firing squad. "Okay." he said and after another wait
in line they were locked into a bright red car. "Do these things
spin?" he asked the ride's operator who winked knowingly and set the
car twirling as they were lifted higher into the air. Beryl smiled to
hear Scott laughing like a fiend.
Still holding their sides that ached from laughter, Scott and
Beryl gathered their stuffed animals.
"Oh, boy." Scott said. "If I go on another ride like that
everyone's going to know I had enchiladas for lunch."
Almost as a cue it seemed some of the rides began turning off
their lights. A man's voice could be heard over the loud
speaker. "Thank you for attending the Jackson County Fair. Come
tomorrow for our holiday fireworks. The midway is closing now. Please
drive carefully."
"Your wish is his command." Beryl said her eyes dancing with
mirth. "Come, Oliver. Let's escort the slightly green gentleman and
bear back to their vehicle."
"Oliver?" Scott's eyebrow raised.
Beryl held up the gigantic blue bear. "Oliver." she smiled with
rosy cheeks. "I had to name him something."
Scott looked at his bear with a twisted smile. "Hmm." he
scowled. "She's green, could be Irish. Chris O'Bearl."
Beryl laughed and turned away so Scott couldn't see her blushing.
"Hang on." he put a hand on her forearm. Holding the small toy
just so Scott unfastened its necklace and grabbed Beryl's hand. As
his fingers brushed the underside of her wrist he felt her pulse
again and wondered at the quickening pace of his own heart. If Mike
were here he'd say Scott was being reckless. He could almost hear him
now.
Beryl fingered the bracelet for a moment then looked up at Scott
biting her lip. "Thank you." her voice almost broke. Scott shrugged
trying to be nonchalant.
"Come on. Let's get another pop and walk back to the car."
At the hotel Scott and Beryl rode the elevator up to the fifth
floor where they were both staying. They stood in the empty hallway
after exiting the lift.
"I'm down this way." Scott pointed back over his shoulder. "I'll
see you tomorrow."
"Good night, Scott." Beryl smiled.
The playful laugh shone in Scott's eyes and he lifted the light
green teddy bear to eye height. "Sweetest of dreams, lass." he said
in a squeaky Irish brogue.
Beryl laughed and waved Oliver's big blue paw. They both
lingered for an awkward moment.
"Tomorrow's the Fourth of July." Scott shuffled his feet in a
nervous way Beryl found endearing.
"It happens every year, just after the third." Beryl tilted her
head and smiled.
"If the weather's all right tomorrow do you want to watch the
fireworks." Scott asked.
"That sounds really nice." Beryl smiled and turned. When she'd
gotten her door open she looked down the hall to Scott who'd just
done the same. She waved and stepped through her door hugging Oliver
tight as she bit her lip again smiling at the butterflies that
swarmed in her stomach.
Kicking off his tennis shoes Scott sat on the edge of his bed
and looked at the teddy bear. He could just imagine what the others
would say, once they finished laughing but Scott smiled at the thing
whose glossy black eyes winked in the lamp light. He closed his eyes
as the memory of Beryl pressed against him played in his mind. When
he talked to Sean in the morning he didn't think he'd mention that
part. Not yet anyway.
Beryl slept peacefully in the room lit only by the mercury
lights peeking in around the curtains. She turned over as blissful
visions filled her mind. Into the pleasant dreams came the serpentine
fright. The bright pinks, greens and blues of the carnival midway
became a blood red scrim that tainted the entire world save the pair
of pale eyes that watched so violatingly. Beryl's eyes fluttered open
to escape the troubling dream to see a shadow looming at the foot of
her bed.
Stifling a cry Beryl sat bolt upright but the menacing figure
was gone. Scrambling for the lamp on the bed stand she managed to
find
the switch with her trembling fingers. The soft light showed only the
standard equipage of an economy hotel room. Never one to panic
herself into helplessness Beryl pulled open the drawer and grabbed a
pen. Holding it in an ice pick grip she moved to the foot of the bed.
Nothing but her bag and the brown carpet.
Beryl sat back on her heels. Oliver sat in the forest green arm
chair next to the window where she'd put him.
There was little hope of returning to the more enjoyable dreams
and Beryl knew she'd only fret and jump shadows if she tied to sleep
so she turned on the TV. According to the flier on the dresser there
was a continental breakfast serving at 5:30. It was quarter to six
now so Beryl jumped in the shower and went downstairs. Other than a
couple of blurry eyed business men Beryl was alone in the small
dining room.
Grabbing a cup of fresh coffee and a blueberry muffin Beryl sat
at a table near the only window. The sun rose brilliantly and a soft
smile spread across her face. If the weather stayed clear she'd be
watching fireworks with Scott tonight.
Her reverie was interrupted when the chair across from her was
pulled out and a man sat down.
"Wow!" Grey's lips curved into a wide grin. "It isn't everyday
that a guy gets treated to a smile that sweet." Beryl's smile
faded. "Ouch. Did I do something wrong?"
"No, Grey." she straightened. "I was just thinking."
"About something quite pleasant apparently."
For a moment Beryl felt strongly compelled to tell him
everything that had happened the previous evening but when the
remembered sensation of safety at Scott's arm resting blithely across
her shoulder entered her mind she turned away from Grey.
"Hey guys." a voice said from the doorway. Beryl looked to see
Sean standing with his travel bag in hand.
"Morning, Sean." she greeted.
A malevolent smirk that Beryl didn't see crossed Grey's face as
he stood. "Bye, Grey." she said wondering at the dark look on Sean's
face as the shorter man passed him.
"I'm sorry, I saw you talking with someone and I thought it was
Scott." Sean turned away.
Beryl opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly.
Of course Scott will hear about this immediately, she seethed. And
likely just as soon Sean would know all about their evening out. What
one of them knew the others always heard. A black anger filled Beryl
so completely it almost startled her. She drained her coffee cup and
went back to her room. Now that the sun was shining bright she felt
it was safe to catch the sleep she'd lost to the nightmare.

Sean sat his bag on his bed and went to the room next to his and
knocked. Scott opened the door still wearing his pajamas.
"It's 6:12, do you know where your charge is?" Sean said as
Scott let him in.
"Damn." Scott scowled, he'd let his guard down. "Where?"
"She was downstairs and she wasn't alone." Sean said. "I saw her
come back up a minute ago. By herself." he added before Scott could
ask. "There's two of us now, more eyes to watch out.”

 

Scott and Sean went down to get breakfast and Scott told Sean
selected bits of the evening.
"He was there last night too?" Sean asked. "Did Beryl notice
anything?"
"She was a little scared." Scott replied. "But she didn't see
him."
"What did you do?"
"We walked around the carnival. Stayed in the lights and
crowds." Scott looked into his coffee feeling the heat of it through
the glass cup the way he had felt Beryl's warm skin through her shirt.
"He's taking a different tack this time." Sean scowled. "Do you
think we should call Mike. He's all the backup we have until Kevin
and Paul get back."
"No," Scott shook his head. "We'll just be more alert."
"Well, like I said there's two of us now." Sean finished his
coffee. "I wonder what he's up to. When I saw them she didn't seem
all misty eyed like they get sometimes. To be honest Grey didn't look
real happy about it either."
"Maybe she's fighting him." Scott smiled to himself.
"I hope so."Sean said. "She's a nice girl. I'd hate to see her
end up like some of the others."
Scott's jaw strained with the epithets he wanted to spew at the
mere thought of Grey harming Beryl.

The phone rang on Beryl's nightstand and she rolled over to eye
it irritably. Heaving a sigh as the third ring blared through the
room Beryl sat her hand on the receiver. "Hello."
"Hi Beryl." Scott's voice came over the line. A prickling
filled her mind and she scowled but had no recollection of why she
had been so upset earlier.
"Hi Scott. What's up?"
"Sean and I are going to the movies and I thought maybe you'd
like to come."
"Yeah, give me a few minutes." Beryl grabbed a pair of shorts
and a pink half shirt. Sliding her feet into a pair of sandals and
tossing her room key in her pocket she walked toward the elevator.
The deserted hallway seemed much more sinister than when she
and Scott Had said good-night and Beryl felt a shiver go up her
spine. The lift doors hissed open and she entered turning quickly so
not to leave her back open. As the doors closed a hand reached in to
halt them.
"Hi there." Grey smiled and pushed the button for the lobby
which Beryl had already lit.
"Hi." Beryl said watching the light above the door as one often
does in an elevator with other people.
"Happy Fourth of July." Grey said.
"You too." Beryl glanced up with a smile. She looked back up as
the light jump0ed from 4 to 3 but she felt his gaze remain on her.
She felt awkward in the silence. "Who's your match with tomorrow?"
"Probably Sean." he replied. "House shows tend to stay on the
televised storyline."
Beryl fought the urge to actually say "duh". Sure he was quite
good looking but the last few days something told Beryl that she
should be careful around Grey Sanders. It was much the same feeling
she'd had the previous afternoon while she and Scott were alone in
his car but this sensation only intensified instead of retreating as
it did around Scott.
The renewed silence grew stilted before the elevator reached
its destination but Beryl no longer left compelled to speak to Grey.
When the doors opened it was to find Scott waiting for the elevator.
A look rather less than hospitable passed between the two men once
again. For a moment no one moved until Beryl stepped forward to stand
between them.
"What movie were you guys thinking of seeing?" she smiled.
"We haven't decided yet." Scott replied dismissing Grey without
a thought. He led Beryl out to the rental opening the glass door for
her as his fingers lightly touched at her back. "Do you care it Sean
goes with us to watch the fireworks?"
Beryl felt her heart sink a bit but the smile Scott had treated
her to since she'd gotten off the elevator wouldn't let her get too
bummed out. "No problem."
"Lunch or movie first?" Sean asked from the front of the rental.
"Movie." Scott said. "If we get hungry we can get some popcorn."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Beryl looked out the back window and
Sean turned on the radio as Scott started the car. Beryl felt eyes on
her but this time quite pleasant and she turned to look at Scott
watching her in the rear view mirror. He winked when he met her eyes
and the butterflies began a dance in Beryl's stomach.
They watched an action movie and the three of them split two
buckets of popcorn and a box of Milk-Duds. Scott parked in front of
an Italian restaurant several blocks from the carnival. While they
were waiting for their meals Beryl excused herself.
"What is up with you?" Sean said. "You've had that smile since
we left the hotel."
Scott leaned forward a bit and lowering his voice in the crowded
dining room. "She is fighting him. He couldn't get in her head."
"Do you think he'll give up?"
"Maybe eventually but not yet most likely." Scott said his
concern returning. "He's gotten too used to being uncontested and he
doesn't like not getting his way." He paused for a moment. "I've
never seen anyone ward him off so quickly."
"Maybe she already has a boyfriend." Sean said taking a drink of
iced tea and smiling at a pretty dark haired woman in a nearby
booth. "You know, someone who's already in her head."
Scott felt as though someone had slugged him in the stomach. She
would have said so wouldn't she? he thought. Why would she need to,
an opposing voice said. Because you were flirting with her, because
she hugged you for a moment when she was frightened. Scott didn't
like that opposing voice, it talked too much.
Beryl returned just as their food arrived. Sean smiled brightly
but Scott seemed suddenly quite somber. The threesome sat in the
restaurant drinking lattes but as the shadows grew long and the
mercury began to reach more enjoyable levels they continued on,
walking to the fairgrounds.
The carnival was in full swing when they arrived with probably
five times as many people as the previous night. Scott and Sean both
shortened stride to stay with her as she walked between them but
Beryl was disappointed to find that Scott didn't show the slight4est
inclination to put his arm around her as he had so often before. In
fact he seemed more than a little broody.
Scott kept looking sidelong at Beryl mostly she chatted with
Sean but several times he caught her glancing at him. Once she gave
him a troubled smile. He wondered if she was feeling the mental
intrusion again but he had no sense of any tampering. In fact he knew
without much effort of will that Grey was no where in the vicinity.
Sean's words of earlier interplayed with the image that had
rooted in his mind of Beryl pressed against him. The feel of her in
his arms crossed with the maddening picture of her in someone-anyone-
else's. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, he was supposed to be
keeping an eye on her not making designs of his own. But that didn't
matter now, the voice returned. You do feel this way and you won't
feel better about it until you ask her. There was no way he could ask
Beryl anything with Sean around however.
As they walked a mischievous glitter lit Sean's eye. "I shall
win a prize for the lovely lady." he said. After several tries at
the ring toss Sean handed Beryl a cupie doll key chain.
"Kidd, let me show you how it's done." Scott gave a self
satisfied grin and they walked across the way to the dart booth where
the same man as before eyed Scott with a doomed grimace. Even more
quickly than the first time Scott had targeted three more cherries
and the carny handed him a large white dolphin toy.
"Did you cheat?" Sean asked with a knowingly raised brow to which
Scott shrugged with a twisted smile. Beryl didn't see how Scott
possibly could have done so but at least now he wasn't ignoring her.
"I'll be right back, guys. I'm gonna get a soda." Sean walked
ahead.
Scott looked at the ferris wheel behind them. The line was
short. "Wanna ride?" Scott asked.
Beryl sat her prizes down by the operator's folding chair as
Scott sat in the seat.
"The last time I rode one of these I was with a cute little
blond." Scott winked at Beryl who eyed him sharply. What a thing to
say to a girl!
"She's nine and calls me Daddy." Scott smirked. Beryl shook her
head and smiled. Scott laid his arm across the back of the car and
indicated the empty space next to him with an inviting hand. Beryl
quite gladly sat down and they were strapped in. The car swept
backward to halt once again.
Beryl waved her hand at a mosquito on her cheek and Scott's hand
gently touched her forearm as he smiled at the bracelet. Beryl
blushed. "It's not everyday a man gives me jewelry."
"Beryl can I ask you something?" Scott swallowed. Just ask and
get it over with the voice urged.
A flip remark was squelched a the serious look on Scott's
face. "Go ahead." she said softly.
Scott sighed trying to decide how best to ask. "Is there
anyone?"
A pink tint lit Beryl's cheeks. "Wow. Now there's a loaded
question." The thoughts from this morning came to Beryl's
mind. "Which of the five of you's asking it?" She hadn't meant for it
to sound as harsh as it did but Beryl looked up into Scott's
greenish-brown eyes until he turned thoughtfully away.
It was a fair question Scott considered, but how was he to
answer it? Beryl already had plenty of evidence that Scott and the
others had discussed her at least twice. It was necessary that they
do so but there was no way he could tell her why.
"There are things we talk about and things we don't." Scott
turned back to Beryl who was watching his face while he spoke. They
were at the top of the ride now as the last passenger got on.
"No Scott, there isn't anyone."
Her words were barely formed when Scott leaned down to brush his
lips against hers. His fingers lightly caressed her cheek and she lay
a hand against his chest. Scott pulled away first, still touching her
face. Their eyes remained locked for a moment. Beryl bit her lip not
sure what to say.
"I like your friends, Scott. They're great, its just...That
isn't a mistake I could stand to make again."
Scott put his fingers under Beryl's chin and gently pulled her
face to his. "We don't have to tell anyone anything if you don't want
to."
The ride ended and the couple found Sean. Scott kept smiling at
Beryl but didn't make any moves.
"Hey cool." Sean said after they'd all made another circuit of
the carnival. "An old fashioned spook house. You guys wanna go?"
Scott shrugged and Beryl nodded.
"You go first. I'll send Beryl in second and go last. In case
she gets scared." Scott said it in a tone of jest but gave Sean a
meaningful look while Beryl rolled her eyes. Sean was first in line
and handed the ride operator his ticket. Beryl mad to do the same but
Scott touched her arm as though to hold her back. As soon as Sean
disappeared through the thick black curtain Scott grabbed Beryl's
hand and pulled her to the far side of the artificial stone facade
nearer the exit.
Once they'd rounded the corner into the shadows Scott pulled
Beryl to him and closed his arms tightly as she stood on tip toe to
kiss him.
"Just thought I'd do something more to keep quiet about." Scott
said as he raised his head. Beryl smiled delightedly at the feel of
being wrapped in Scott's arms.
"If its worth doing its worth doing well." She said reaching up
to pull Scott into a deeper kiss. Beryl stepped into Scott as his
tongue flicked hotly across her lips.
"Come on, He's gonna miss us in a minute." Scott said giving
Beryl one final soft kiss before they stepped toward the exit where
Sean stood looking around expectantly. He was facing away and Scott
crept up on him. Just then Sean turned about with a vexed expression
and came up short so not to bump into Scott.
Sean scowled at them questioningly. "Were you..." he pointed at
the exit door. "I didn't hear you behind me."
"You're right, Kidd." Scott said. "That was fun."
A smirk crossed Sean's face. "What did you think of the
vampire?" he asked Beryl.
Beryl put a hand to her stomach to quiet the still swarming
butterflies. "I nearly wet myself." Behind Sean's head Scott lifted
an interested eyebrow.
Just then a whistling sounded from the nearby football field to
announce to the crowd that the fireworks would start soon. A trio of
young women walked by one of them giggling as she recognized Sean.
"Mmmm. Is everything copecetic?" he asked Scott.
"Everything's cool." Scott smiled. "Enjoy the fireworks, man."
"See you back at the hotel." Sean winked and followed the bevy
of beauties like a cougar stalking sheep.
"Wanna watch from the bridge?" Scott asked taking Beryl by the
hand.
"Sure." she smiled.
They bought pops from a vendor on the edge of the midway and
walked up a slope to stand on the bridge over a swiftly moving stream
that edged the fairgrounds. The pyro-technics began and Beryl sat the
stuffed animal down. Scott nuzzled her ear as he held her from
behind.
Beryl sighed as she relaxed back into Scott's warm embrace. The
safe feeling of trust returned and she couldn't reason why she'd been
so concerned earlier. Sure she had been incredibly hurt but Scott had
never done anything that would indicate any malicious intent. You're
still gun shy is all, her own inner voice voice said. She let the
worry vanish as her eyes watched the multi-colored sparks and
streamers light the sky, their reflected ghosts dancing in the
burbling creek below.
A feeling like sitting near a warmly crackling fireplace came
over Scott and he tightened his grip. His forearms folding across
Beryl's stomach he pressed her closer. "I could get used to this."
Beryl's head lay back against Scott's chest and she craned her
neck to look up at him. "Me too." she smiled almost dreamily.
The grand finale was going off but Scott noticed only the
sparks reflected in Beryl's eyes. The only pounding was the pulse of
her heartbeat that he felt and heard every time he touched her. It
was
mesmerizing to sense the blood flowing through her veins, pulsing
form her heart as it thundered open and closed. Scott looked quickly
away, he couldn't remember this ever happening before.
Beryl looked up after what seemed a blissful eternity in Scott's
arms. She'd barely noticed the spectacular finish but now the crowd
had thinned to a fraction of its former number. The lights of a bank
clock several blocks from the now nearly deserted bridge read 11:19.
"Its getting late." Scott said relaxing his grip reluctantly.
Beryl saw a look in his face more troubled than what he'd worn all
afternoon but he held her hand as they walked the rest of the way
across the bridge and back to his car.
Beryl tried to stay awake on the drive home but the near
tangible air of security she experienced around Scott seemed to lull
her into slumber. Scott woke her with a soft touch on her cheek.
"Come on." he said with his charming smile. "I'll help you get
the zoo upstairs."
Beryl unlocked her door and took the dolphin from Scott
depositing it on the floor just inside. He rested his hands at her
waist, the feel on her again quickened his own pulse, startlingly so.
"There's nothing more I want than to have a really big secret
to keep.' He said. "But I don't think I should yet."
Beryl smiled sweetly. "Good night, Scott." she lay a hand on his
chest and stretched up to kiss him quite passionately. Scott pulled
Beryl deeper into the kiss with a hand at the back of her neck before
stepping out of the doorway.
"Good night, Beryl."
"Sweet dreams, Scott." she still held his hand.
An almost wanton smile played over Scott's mouth as he moved
away. "That is certain."

Scott walked with a purpose into his hotel room. He caught up
the leather jacket and shrugged it on. Putting his key in one pocket
and a square of paper Gordy had left for him in the other he turned
back to the still open door. The perfume Beryl wore left its soft
enticing essence on the supple leather. Scott inhaled. Peach Musk.
With increased urgency he continued on his way.

 

Beryl woke to her 9 am wake up call and went down to grab some
breakfast. Scott, Sean and Gordy were sitting at the same table she
had occupied the morning before.
"Morning, " she greeted as they waved her over. Scott held her
eyes for a moment and she smiled. They ate a light breakfast then
went to pack since they'd be on the road after the show. Beryl
gathered her toiletries forn the bathroom and was sitting Oliver and
Dallas (the dolphin) on the bed when the phone rang.
"Hey." Scott's voice said smoothly.
"Hi." Beryl tried not to squeal with delight. "I was just
thinking about you."
"I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better good morning." scott
said and Beryl blushed.
"One of these mornings." Beryl aly her bag on the bed and set a
stack of closthes she'd just brought back fron the laundrymat next
door. "I'll see you at the arena, I'm going down to rent a car now
and avoid the swarm."
"See you there." Scott said.

Once the talent began to arrive Beryl and Gordy were kept busy.
Four people had burned themselves at barbecues, Chris Jericho had
skinned his knee playing football at a family reunion, and Ivory had
stitches in the bottom of her foot where she'd stepped on a broken
bottle at the beach.
"It seems to me that we're kept busier on days back than when
they've worked a week straight." Gordy said as Beryl rubbed a cramp
in her neck she'd gotten while pulling cactus barbs out of Steve
Austin's palm. He'd tripped and fallen into some landscaping just
outside the arena. Beryl extracted them, put salve on the red welts
and wrapped it in gauze.
Beryl was sent to the ladies locker room to see about a cut on
Victoria's forearm. Returning to the Medical Room Beryl pased Gordy
going into Shanej's makeshift office.
"Hey, kiddo," Gordy called. "Hold down the fort for a bit will
ya?"
"Sure thing." Beryl waved. She entered the Med Shed and opened
the cupboard to put the boxes of steri-strips and guaze back and took
out a bottle of Ibuprofen. The door to the room slammed with a loud
bang and Beryl turned with a gasp to find Scott sweeping her up in
his arms.
"You couldn't expect me to go all day without seeing you."
"You saw me at breakfast." Beryl giggled as Scott's lips lightly
touched her earlobe.
"But the tastiest thing at the table was out of my reach just
then." He said as his hands slid over the seat of Beryl's jeans and
he pulled her to him.
"I don't mind your friends knowing we're a thing, they just
don't need to know how much of a thing. Besides you seem to have
gotten yourself quite a handful now. Beryl said leaning in to kiss
Scott's throat.
"Mmm," he again felt the pulsing of Beryl's heart and relaxed
into it's rhythym. "You could make a man forget himself doing things
like that."
Beryl looked up into Scott's face. "You could make a woman
forget herself wearing outfits like that." She stepped back to eye
the ring attire Scott was in having just finished his match. "And in
case you didn't hear the ladies out there scrreaming, I'd say you
made quite the impression once again.
There was a knock at the door, it was official company procedure
that the doctors keep the doors closed when dealing with anyone.
Scott sat Beryl from him in a reluctant but hasty fashion and she
turned to the sink grabbing a dixie cup and filling it with water.
"Come in." she said clearing the blush from her voice with a
harumph. Gordy entered and sat a clipboard on the exam table between
him and Scott.
"Just take a couple-" in hte moment of passion Beryl had
completely forgotten what she had taken from the cupboard and she
looked at the package quickly. "Ibuprofen and you'll be right as
rain." She came around the edge of the counter, handed Scott the cup
of water and pinked a bit to see his physical reaction had not calmed
completely.
"And you may want to ice that." She tried to sound clinical.
Scott's eyes lowered and he replied under his breath. "I'd
prefer a moist heat." Beryl gave Scott a sharp look but her blush
betrayed her and she rolled her eyes smilingly.
Once the Med Room was cleared and everyone was patched up Beryl
and Gordy took to the road. Nearly everyone else had opted to stay
the night in Dallas and drive to Houston early in the morning. It
was three a.m. when Beryl got checked into her room and she kicked
off ehr shoes falling into the bed.

Too soon her wake-up call came and Beryl rose bleary eyed to
jump into the shower. She was brushing her teeth when Scott knocked
on her door.
"Good morning." he smiled when the door opened. Beryl smiled
around the handle of her purple toothbrush that still stuck from her
lips. She waved her hand for him to come in and went to rinse.
"I just got in." Scott said leaning against the the wall when
Beryl returned. "Kevin and Paul pulled in just behind me. We're all
going out to breakfast. Wanna come?"
"Give me a few minutes to put my face on."
"I rather like this one." Scott reached out and ran his fingers
over Beryl's cheek. "Come on." He enticed kissing her softly. Beryl
smiled and let Scott lead her out the door.
Four floors up they stood waiting for the elevator talking in
low tones and laughing at the moment they were sharing. Like an
elipse the hideously familiar viel of fear came over Beryl and she
shuddered, her head jerking toward the far end of the hall as if she
had seem the sensation fly like an arrow from the direction opposite
her own room.
Scott's eyes darkened as he stepped between Beryl and the end
of the hallway. He put an arm around Beryl to find she was shaking.
The elevator door opened and Scott urged Beryl quickly inside glad to
see they were alone. He started the car on its descent then pushed
the Stop button and turned to Beryl.
In a flash she was in his arms soaking the front of his shirt in
her tears. For a time Scott held Beryl silently as she cried.
"Are you all right?" He asked rubbing her arm to warm the
chilled skin.
"God, sometimes I feel just awful lately." she said in a
rush. "I get these terrible feelings and thoughts. I've started
having the most horrid dreams." Suppressing another shudder Beryl
wiped at her cheek and looked embarressed at the front of Scott's
shirt. "I'm sorry, Scott. You must think I'm absolutely mental."
Scott scowled in concern. "What dreams? Can you wake up from
them?"
Beryl looked at Scott like a foreigner who'd found someone who
spoke her language. "Not at first, when they ended it felt more like
I'd been allowed to wake-up. I wouldn't remember tme right away but I
started seeing little bits of them while I was awake. That's what
makes me so scared.
"Now I can wake-up if I really try but its like any of my
dreams can turn into them. God this all sounds so crazy."
Scott pulled Beryl into a secure embrace. "You're not going
crazy." He said simply. There was nothing more he could say to her,
he wasn't allowed to tell her what was truly going on but Scott set
his mind that it would stop.
"Come on." Scott let the elevator continue on it's
way. "You'll feel better when you've had some sun." He didn't want to
sound as though he were belittling Beryl's concerns but he needed to
get out of here and speak with Sean and Gordy.
"There you guys are." Paul called. "We were about ready to form
a search party."
"My dear." Kevin said flirtaously. "You look white as a sheet.
Let's get you some sun, a cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast." He
patted Beryl's hand like a doting grandma and she smiled.
Gordy looked silently from Beryl's white pallor to Scott who
returned the look meaningfully. Gordy nodded. "Let's wait for Sean
and we can all go."
"Go where?" Sean asked coming from the check in carrying his
bag.
"Breakfast." Paul said.
Scott leaned closer to Beryl. "Go ahead with Paul and Kevin,
babe. I need to talk with Sean. I won't be long and you'll love the
place. We go there whenever we're in town."
"You want we should order?" Paul asked as Scott and Gordy
followed Sean to the elevator.
"Pancakes, ham and eggs." Scott said.
"Me too." Gordy said and Beryl smiled at the happily expectant
look on his usually somber face.
"Where we going? Brown's?" Sean asked. Paul nodded and a dopey
grin crossed Sean's face. "Cinnamon roll." he said dreamily.
"You have to see their cinnamon rolls." Kevin opened the door
for Beryl.
"You'll know you're in Texas when you see the size of it."
Paul said.

"What's up?" Gordy asked Scott when the three were in the
elevator.
"Kidd, you just pulled something vital." Scott told Sean.
"Owwie, I hope I'll be all right." Sean replied not feeling
remotely like disputing with the serious look on Scott's face.
"Ice pack and an extra day's rest you'll be fine." Gordy
smirked and turned back to Scott. "What's the deal?"
"I'm going to have to be a bit more hands on with our problem
child."
"What'd he do?" Sean asked.
"He's really starting to mess with Beryl and if she keeps
blocking him she could start to read him."
"Oh boy." Gordy went slightly pale. "If The Order finds out we
could be in for some deep shit."
"Why?" Sean scowled.
"The main purpose and function of The Order is to insure that
normal humans don't find out we exist."
"Me and-"
"Given what both of you have been through you were made members.
The Order may not see Beryl's circimstances in the same way. She
started fighting off the dreams but if she starts to channel from
Grey-"
"The dreams?" Gordy went even more pale.
"Yeah, she's done a hell of a job warding them off but its
starting to freak her out."
"That's quite a lot for her to just tell anyone." Gordy said
expressionlessly.
"I thought I saw the two of you making moon eyes at the fair."
Scott eyed Sean. "And what the hell was that vampire comment
about?" he laughed and cuffed Sean in the arm.
"There wasn't a vampire in the spook house." Sean snirtled.

"You missed the mad house." Beryl said as Kevin, Paul and she
sat down and the waitress poured the first cups of coffee.
"It's usually plenty enough of a zoo at my house." Paul
smiled.
"Why?" Kevin asked. "What happened?"
"Everybody went crazy." Beryl said as Paul handed her the
creamer. "It was a warzone. They turned the ring into a landfill and
sent Randy to the hospital. Poor Gail's out for another week and she
may need surgery on her eye."
"You'll get used to it, rookie." Paul said pouring sugar into
his coffee as the waitress came to take their orders.
Just as the food arrived so did the others, including
Mike. "Figured you guys would be here." he said as he sat down on
Scott's left. Beryl was on his right. "So." he leaned half into Scott
and looked at the pair. "Have you two hooked up yet or what?"
Kevin and Paul arched brows as Beryl blushed and Scott
scratched behind his ear self consciously. Beryl looked up at Scott
and saw that he wasn't going to say anything one way or the other.
"We're working on it." Beryl said her eyes flicking from Scott
to Mike and back.
"You hound." Kevin smiled widely at Scott who took Beryl's
admission as a cue to lay his arm across the back of the portion of
booth she occupied.
"You young things want to go to Murphey's tonight?" Paul asked.
"What's Murphey's?" Beryl asked and got three differents
answers. Bar, club, and restaurant according to Sean, Kevin and Scott.
"It's a bar that has the best seafood and hottest band in
southeast Texas." Mike clarified.
"We'll have fun." Scott urged and Beryl nodded.

The crowd was fairly large of a house show but they were more
subdued in the heat that didn't drop near so much as was hoped.
Beryl looked up from the clipboard she was filling out an order
form on to see Scott standing in the doorway wearing his gear.
"I thought you just had a run in tonight." she smiled.
"Sean pulled his abs working out yesterday. I'm taking his
match."
"With Grey?" Beryl scowled. "Be careful."
"Careful as the situation calls for." Scott pulled Beryl close
to him.
Cheron poked her head around the corner. "You're up."
"I'll see you at the restaurant." Scott said.
"Make sure it isn't sooner." Beryl stretched up to kiss him.
Scott halted on purpose to make sure he didn't see Grey before
they both got to the ring and when "Marvelous Me" began to play he
made his way out.
Grey gave a nasty smirk as Scott stepped into the ring but Scott
responded with a bland grin.
Earl Hebner made at checking their pads and relayed the opening
moves. Scott nodded and for the first few minutes he stayed with the
charade that this was a normal match. Scott and Grey had had dozens
of matches before and Scott was waiting for a particular moment.
Grey, with his disdain for the authority Scott had been given by
The Order, was still afraid of doing anything to defy them directly.
Scott was well aware of that and meant to make use of it now. Grey
had let his guard down when he saw that Scott was staying on line and
wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary when he had Scott in
the corner. As Grey went to climb the ropes to keep Scott trapped
with several blows Scott brought a closed fist into Grey's stomach
knocking him back and winding him.
Grey gagged when Scott repeated the blow and fought himself
vomiting the black gorge. Scott put Grey into a sleeper so he could
say what he needed to.
"This is the very last warning you're going to get." Scott said
evenly.
"Still foreplaying with your food?" Grey hissed through clenched
teeth and Scott jerked his head sharply.
"I can't stop you from feeding how you like but even you know
that you're going too far with these head games that you're playing.
If I find you going back you'll be getting a visit."
Scott released Grey to deliver a running clothesline from the
ropes and from then on the match had resumed. Grey had been given
this match and Scott didn't stray from that part of the plan. For the
remainder Grey said nothing but he watched Scott and Beryl darkly as
they left the arena not long after.
"Oh, I'm not done yet." Grey said with a growling laugh. A fetid
smile crossed his face as his eyes darkened to black orbs of
hatred. "Not with either of you.”

 

A hot wind whipped particles of sand through the crowded parking
lot as what seemed a mob of people made their way toward the front
door of the rustic looking building. The Kliq were far from the only
one who'd arrived at Murphey's. Nearly two dozen others had
accompanied the seven and as the small army approached the door a
tall bouncer grinned more welcoming than his physical appearance
would have suggested. Kevin shook his hand and Beryl saw that if they
were to be compared Kevin might well be the one found lacking.
"Hey, Tiny." Kevin grinned.
"I's wonderin' if you boys was gonna stop by." the man spoke in
a perfect Texas twang. He opened the door and stood to the side as
the large group entered, nodding and giving a "Howdy, ma'am." to the
ladies as they passed. Tiny followed and showed them to a smaller
dining room half separated from the rest of the establishment.
"Have a seat, I'll have a waitress sent in." Scott led Beryl
toward a table in the far back corner and Sean and Mike followed.
"You'll love the seafood, babe." Scott said laying his arm over
Beryl's shoulder. "It was swimming in the Gulf this morning most
likely."
A woman with hair even redder than Beryl's came up to the
table. "Hey boys, what can I get ya'?" Beryl noticed that this
waitress was the only one yet in the room but she had passed all the
other tables to get here.
Mike and Sean got beers and Scott ordered beers for Paul and
Kevin but Diet Coke for himself and Beryl had the same. Across the
poorly lit room Beryl saw Tiny lead Kevin, Paul, Booker T and
Christian through a door marked "private".
"Hey," Scott nuzzled Beryl's ear bringing her attention to
him. "Wanna dance?" Beryl nodded and they found a small space on the
crowded dance floor.
After the match Scott had changed into jeans and a Miami
Dolphins tee-shirt. His hair was clubbed back as it had been the
first time she'd seen him in Spokane.
"What?" Scott grinned at the look Beryl was giving him.
"Nothing." she smiled and leaned into Scott's arms. She was
wearing jeans, a tank top and a light blue shirt in case it was
cooler when they left as the weather report predicted. Scott's hands
roamed from Beryl's waist to the swell of her hips as he pulled her
closer brushing aside the tendrils that had escaped the loose knot of
her hair.
"Dinner is served." Sean grinned at them.
"Hold that thought." Scott whispered in Beryl's ear from behind
as they followed Paul.
"I fully intend to pick up where we left off." Beryl replied
over her shoulder eying him suggestively.
Paul and Kevin had returned but several times Beryl would see
groups of two or three going through the door with Tiny. She was
starting to think that the waitresses, who were all young and
vibrantly beautiful, were serving more than drinks.
The food, a platter of shrimp, clam strips, scallops, and a
couple oysters, was excellent and Beryl listened to the guys talk
laughing about things they remembered. Gordy left once dinner was
through but the rest stayed. Beryl smiled as Scott put his arm around
her once again and after a few minutes led her to the wooden floor in
front of the stage.
The band was quite versatile and they went from a soft country
song to Doug Caulkins' "Watch Out Baby." and Scott's skill took
Beryl's breath away as he twirled her through the quicker steps. When
Foreigner's "Waiting For a Girl Like You" began Scott pulled Beryl
against him again. He held her close in the circle of his arms.
Beryl's heart was thundering as the safe feeling she usually had
around him faded in just the right way the longer they danced.
Scott lowered to brush Beryl's lips. The kiss grew prolonged
until a "whoo" came from behind them. They turned to see Sean
laughing as he danced with a woman who had been standing at the bar.
Beryl stood on tip toes to breathe in Scott ear. "Let's go, its
too crowded here."
"You took the words right out of my mouth." Scott said.
Kevin, Mike and Paul remained at the table for several minutes
after they saw Scott and Beryl head for the door. They were
reminiscing about various events when a tinny buzz sounded just
barely audible above the band. Mike scowled as he fished his cell
phone out of his front pocket. His face blanched and he looked at
Kevin and Paul as a voice droned in his ear.
"We better go, guys." Mike said.
"I'll get Sean." Paul said finishing his beer as Kevin and Mike
stood. Sean was standing at the bar with the curvy blond. He was
leaned in speaking in low tones as his hand lowered stealthily from
her waist to her hip.
"Hey," Paul said from behind. "Mike just got a call."
"Sorry, babe." Sean paid for the young woman's drink. "I gotta
go."
Although he did it reluctantly. Sean turned and left without
another word. He and Paul met Kevin Mike in front of Murphey's.
"Come on." Mike said from the front seat of the SUV Kevin was
driving.
"If it's Order you better call Scott." Paul said he and Sean
strapped in the back.
"It's a little while before we get back to the hotel." Sean
said. "Give them a few minutes. He and Beryl looked pretty into it
before they left."
"No kidding?" Mike made a little nod. "I better call Gordy
though, this involves all of us and he's the closest thing we have to
a sixth right now." Sean was silent at the reference to one he would
just as soon have not thought about.
"If Beryl's fighting Grey, are you sure Scott can handle her."
Paul scowled.
Kevin grinned. "I imagine he's giving it his best shot right
about now."

The elevator doors had closed but Scott and Beryl were engaged
in a long kiss and neither had told the lift where to go. After
several impassioned minutes Scott smiled brightly. "We better get
upstairs before we get arrested."
"I'm on four." Beryl turned toward the panel. "Where are you?"
"Farther than that." Scott wrapped Beryl in his arms as she
pushed "4".
Without the faintest shadow of the misgivings she'd had at first
Beryl turned to Scott after she unlocked her door. His eyes played
over her in the dim entrance to the hotel room. Beryl backed into the
doorway and kicked off her shoes while Scott stepped forward closing
the door behind him.
The latch had barely clicked and Beryl was in his arms. Scott
pushed the outer shirt Beryl wore back off her arms as he pressed his
mouth to hers. Her tongue darted against his lips and she pulled
Scott's tee-shirt from the waist band of his jeans lifting it over
his head.
Scott's cross winked against his chest in the small rays of
light that leaked in around the curtains. Strong hands pulled Beryl
back into a scorching kiss. The only barrier between Scott's furred
chest and Beryl was a layer of pale lace and the ash gray tank top
she still wore but he felt her heart thundering excitedly.
Beryl's slim fingers fumbled at the button of Scott's jeans as
one of his hands reached up and released the knot of her hair
letting it spill down her back. Scott stumbled against the wall as he
tried to kick off his shoes while he kissed Beryl and her hands
worked at his zipper.
"Whoa!" Scott gasped as Beryl ran her hand against him. "My
turn." he said and pulled her shirt over her head. Lithe fingers
unfastened the button of Beryl's blue jeans. As he lowered the zipper
his other hand slid beneath the thick denim to squeeze her bottom
before pushed the garment down to her knees. Scott hand's clasped at
Beryl's waist and he kissed her abdomen standing when he felt her
muscles tighten.
Beryl stepped out of her jeans and as she flexed her leg to kick
them out of the way Scott's hand slipped between her thighs and
kneaded sensitive flesh through the panel of light pink cotton.
"Oh, Jesus Scott!" she gasped.
"That's one." Scott pulled Beryl's mouth to his lifting her
completely off her feet with one arm and pressing her to the wall.
Scott moved his hips against Beryl who responded with equal
fervor, her leg wrapping against Scott's and her arms held to his
shoulders as his lips touched at her throat. His touch was a fire of
Ecstasy and she could hardly breathe.
The Peach Musk Beryl wore filled Scott's senses as he gave a
sucking kiss at the side of her neck. Suddenly he felt the blood
rushing in Beryl's throat just a skin's width from his lips. He
jerked his head up and gasped in the chilled air to clear his head.
Beryl opened her eyes to see Scott looking at her. He was
breathing heavily and a prurient look filled her own eyes as it hit
her that Scott had just stopped himself to prolong the night. She
couldn't see his expression exactly but it felt most definitely
predatory. In a flash he crossed the distance to the bed.
Without considering the wisdom of his actions Scott deposited
Beryl on the mattress and stood watching her for a moment. Scott's
jeans joined Beryl's in a pile by the bathroom door. Beryl drank in
Scott's form. The darker boxer-briefs he still wore contrasted with
his lightly tanned and heavily muscled thighs. A soft smile touched
Beryl's lips that apparently Scott was not planning to make this a
too hasty event.
Scott stretched forward over Beryl but pulled her to her side
and lay facing her. Again he pulled her leg to his waist to bring his
stiffness against her. Scott arranged his arm to lay beneath Beryl's
head to make the prolonged kisses more comfortable for them both.
Beryl sighed with pleasure as Scott moved, she rose slightly to
kiss his throat. Scott's eyes closed and he twined his fingers
through her hair.
"Chrysoberyl." he breathed as he felt her pulse softly through
every inch of skin he touched. He rolled forward pressing Beryl to
her back. Scott kissed Beryl forcefully and felt her move beneath
him. Again he pressed his lips to her throat.
Beryl almost purred at the sensation and he lifted his head to
look at her. Thin lines of light pulsed at her throat where he had
just tasted her soft skin.
"Oh, God Scott" she said looking up into Scott's face. "You're
eyes look so incredible in the dark."
Scott's voice caught in his chest. How could he explain what she
was seeing? Before he could find the words Beryl reached up to touch
his cheek. She thought it was just a trick of the light. Not daring
to continue Scott began to push away.
A droning buzz sounded.
"Damn!" Beryl scowled. Of course someone had to be calling right
now.
Scott turned away from Beryl, from the maddening sight of her
veins flowing with her blood. He picked up his jeans and pulled the
cell phone from the pocket. There was no one there when he answered
but that didn't surprise him given that the others knew he wasn't
alone.
Beryl rolled to her side and watched Scott wishing he'd come
back to the bed. Flipping the phone closed Scott slipped it back into
his pocket and stepped into his jeans.
"You're leaving?" Beryl said as Scott sat on the edge of the bed
with his back to her as he put his shoes on.
He released a breath, there was no good way to excuse himself.
Beryl sat up next to him and he turned to face her. "I'm sorry,
Beryl." he ran a knuckle over her cheek not daring to kiss her yet.
Even if he could stay he wouldn't just to insure that he didn't do
things he'd regret. "There's been trouble." He knew it was more than
he should have said.
"What's wrong?" Beryl asked. "Is everyone all right?"
Scott smiled at her instant concern. He gathered his shirt from
the floor. "Will you let me in if I come back?"
Beryl bit her lips that Scott would ask. "Yeah."
Scott kissed her quickly. "I'll be back if I can." He stood and
left before he could change his mind, not sure if he actually would.
Scott made his way to the elevator turning his head so a passing
couple couldn't see his face. As the doors closed Scott punched the
fake panel wall of the lift.
"Damn!" he swore bracing his hands against the wall. He'd never
come so close to losing control before. Why now? Why only with Beryl?
Scott inhaled deeply, Beryl's perfume was still thick here and he
could almost hear her pulse even now.
The elevator opened on the sixth floor and Scott turned to see
Gordy standing in the hallway with a younger man. Scott averted his
eyes but not before Gordy started.
"Shit." the balding doctor said recovering from the
shock. "It's all right, Scott. He's a runner. I would have brought a
bag with me but Mike said you were busy. How is Beryl?" he asked
suddenly worried. He'd never seen Scott like this. The Order had
given him position precisely because he had always displayed infinite
control.
"She's safe." Scott answered gruffly.
"Come on." Gordy said as the third man got onto the elevator
and Scott stepped into the corridor. "I'll get you fixed up and we'll
head over to Mike's room.”

 

Paul and Mike sat in the chairs at the small table. Kevin
stretched out casually on the bed with his hands folded behind his
head. Sean sat on the other side talking quietly with Gordy who
leaned against the wall half listening to the conversation and half
watching Scott.
Scott was standing by the window with his arm on the wall. He
leaned his forehead on his wrist and released a quiet breath. In
his head he heard only Beryl's pulse, saw only the lines of her veins.
"Scott!" He turned to see the others looking at him and Mike
holding his palm over the receiver of his phone. "Do you need to say
anything to Vonnegut?"
"No." he said and turned back toward the window. Kevin looked at
Gordy who had come in with Scott ten minutes earlier. Gordy shook his
head. Kevin went to stand at the window with Scott.
"You all right, bra?" he asked in low tones while Mike finished
the phone call with Vonnegut, their immediate link with the main
counsel of The Order.
"Fine." Scott answered in the same bland tone he'd used with all
three words he'd spoken since he'd come in. Scott continued to stare
out the window knowing without looking when Kevin moved away. He was
aware of everyone's concern, these men who were brothers, but how
could he ever express what had happened?"
"Here's the deal." Mike said rubbing his eyes and stretching his
shoulders. It was going on two in the morning and all he wanted was a
few hours of solid, sound sleep. "The girl they found in Portland was
no ordinary runaway. She was the oldest daughter of a Sacramento city
councilwoman."
"Shit!" Paul rubbed his temple.
"Oh, it gets better. About thirty people saw her at the show but
that was about the last time anyone saw her before they found her
body in Oregon."
"Do they have any idea who did it?" Sean asked.
"Three big fucking guesses." Kevin spat as he say back on the
bed. "Now ask if I think he'll answer for it."
"What kind of spin's being put on this?" Paul looked at Mike.
"Well, the girl had been grounded and snuck out to go to the
show with her boyfriend. He says they had a fight and she got into a
dark sedan in the downtown area. They'll either blame the boyfriend
or say she was mistaken for a hooker and some nut sliced her up."
Mike replied with disgust.
A moment of silence filled the room. It had always rankled them
that The Order could have such callous disregard for human life.
"What are they expecting?" Scott asked still facing the narrow
part in the curtains.
Mike looked at Scott. "We have everyone accounted for every
minute from the 10th to the 12th. The Order's handling any questions
for now so there's nothing we can do. But they will be in touch."
"Well, boys." Kevin stood. "It's getting late and we all have an
early day."
As soon as everyone stood Scott walked to the door and was gone
without another word. He got into the elevator without waiting for
the others like he normally would. As the doors slid closed Scott
looked at his watch. 1:56. He'd left Beryl's room over an hour ago.
He was feeling better now but his earlier reaction still had him
shaken. As much as he wanted to go back to Beryl he thought better of
it. With a bit of temper he pushed the button for the sixth floor.

Beryl writhed beneath Scott as he filled her each gasping in
pleasure at the other's touch. He reached up to sweep her auburn hair
away run the tip of his tongue along the column of her neck. Beryl's
soft murmur became a plea for Scott to stop and then a pained cry. A
horrid joy filled Scott as Beryl fought against him. He ignored her
pleading to stop hurting her.
With a burst of panicked strength Beryl finally managed to push
Scott away and scramble to her feet on the far side of her bed. Blood
flowed down her naked body from the wound on her throat. As though
just coming to his senses, Scott tried to stand and rush to her side
to staunch the flow that pulsed heavily from between Beryl's fingers
but Scott couldn't move. He couldn't call for help. He could only
watch as Beryl fell to her knees, the blood making a darker pool in
the carpet. As she leaned back against the wall Scott felt himself
try to scream at the way her dead eyes stared in mute accusation.
Scott had barely closed his eyes when he came awake in a cold
sweat and couldn't go back to sleep. He turned the television on but
barely heard it as he lay in the dark.
A thousand times his mind had shown his the image of Beryl's
veins softly glowing beneath her skin. He couldn't explain why it had
happened so he couldn't be sure it wouldn't happen again or that next
time he'd be able to stop himself.
Scott released his breath in the shaded room. He should never
have let it get so far in the first place. The first time he'd
touched Beryl's arm after sensing that Grey was reading her he knew
his reaction to her was stronger than normal. The very nature of what
Scott was made him experience things differently than most people. He
had a vague sense of nearly everyone's heartbeat but not the
sensation of feeling the rush of their blood.
After a while Scott stood up and began to pace. He hated that he
seemed unable to think of anything else, hadn't even been able to
concentrate on his duties. He rubbed his neck, funny how the aches
and pains always hit you in the middle of the night, he chuckled
humorlessly.
Scott stretched, trying to find something to distract himself
from the inner turmoil. Finally it was time to go to the airport. At
least he'd be busy for a little while. Carrying his bags, Scott
walked toward the elevator. A door opened on his left and Gordy
stepped into the corridor.
"I need to talk to you." the doctor said and held the door open.
"What is it?"
"I can't be at the arena the first hour or so. We have to make
sure no one goes and does anything foolish, but the big problem is
damage control. What do we do it Beryl hears more than is good for
her health?" Scott released his breath and looked up at the ceiling.
He'd been hoping to forget about his own problems with Beryl and now
here was another one rearing its head.
"You need to be careful with how much you let her see." Gordy
said. "The Order's already concerned that she may know too much."
Scott looked at Gordy for a long moment. "You drew the short
straw? The lucky one who got to have this talk with me that I can't
tell her what's going on even if she wound up being in the middle of
it?"
"Something like that." Gordy said. "I also get to be the one
who does talk to Beryl. Put my ass on the line so none of you have
to. I'm her boss and as far as she's concerned this will just be a
matter of company policy."
The clock on the nightstand said 7:30 when a knock sounded at
the door and Gordy opened it. Kevin and Mike walked in.
"We're heading out, you coming or you gonna wait for Beryl?"
Kevin asked.
"I guess I better go with you guys." Scott shouldered his bag
and they all four walked to the elevator.
"See you guys at the airport." Gordy said as he turned into the
small dining area.
Sean joined Mike, Kevin and Scott as they climbed into the SUV
that Paul had idling at the entrance. No one said anything but Scott
felt each of them glance furtively in his direction. He supposed he
had been rather moody the night before and they were concerned why.
He had always told these four men nearly everything, as they had him,
but he couldn't bring himself to do so now. Still he wouldn't let a
wedge grow here either.
Taking a breath he turned from looking out the back
window. "Gordy laid it all out, guys. You don't need to worry about
me."
"Are you all right?" Mike asked. "You seemed upset last night.
You know you can tell us."
I can't tell you this, he thought but aloud he said. "No, every
thing's fine."

Beryl swatted the phone receiver just enough to make it stop
ringing and pushed the blankets back. She'd managed to stay up until
almost three waiting for Scott to return. Finally she'd fallen asleep
watching a movie, coming awake briefly around five to turn the
television off and crawl under the covers.
Stumbling into the bathroom she dressed, finished packing and
went down to get a cup of coffee for the drive to the airport.
"Morning, kiddo." Gordy said from a table in the corner. "You
all right?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she smiled at the odd question. It
was twenty minutes to eight and Beryl expected the place to be
crowded with all the wrestlers who were staying here but Gordy was
alone. "Where is everybody?"
"They just left." Gordy said. "We have a bit of a problem?"
"What?"
"I have some business to attend to when we get to St. Louis.
Vince gave me the day off officially but I don't think you're ready
to take the whole enchilada quite yet." Beryl looked at Gordy, she'd
been with the company for nearly a month now. She opened her mouth to
reply that she'd never be ready if she was never given a chance but
Gordy hushed her with a severe look.
"I've decided to get back on the clock as soon as I've finished
but I need to make it clear that there are aspects that you are not
to be involved in."
Beryl sighed. "I chose to go into sports medicine, I know some
of the guys take the short cuts. I'll tell them they need to talk
with you just like I have been."
Gordy looked at his coffee cup. If only steroids were the only
thing he had to worry about. "Kiddo, this is more than that and I
don't want you involved." he said in quiet tones. "I can't say
anymore but for all our sakes you need to be careful tonight."
Beryl stared in puzzled awe for a few minutes. The groups of
people who met with Gordy behind closed doors, the room at the club
marked private. She felt sick, was Scott or his friends, even the
corporation itself involved in something illegal? She had heard about
Scott's past but in the time she'd known him not once had he seemed
even slightly intoxicated. "I will be careful." Beryl said through
numb lips.
"Okay," Gordy smiled slightly. "We better go it we don't want
to walk to St. Louis."
Beryl drove to the airport silently imagining the worst. The
waiting area for NorthWest Flight 7916 to St. Louis was jam packed
with wrestlers, a few families and a ton of fans seeking autographs.
Beryl saw Scott but couldn't get close to him. After a few minutes he
looked in her direction with a distracted smile.

The five men arrived at the airport to find throngs of people
hanging around. Even at the gate they were swarmed and the going was
slow. Some of the others saw the constant recognition as a bother
from time to time but Scott had always enjoyed talking with his fans.
Today he only wished he had more time before the plane left.
The buzz of people was beginning to drone in Scott's head as
they pressed close. Imperceptibly at first but growing to a soft
thrum he heard the sound and a fond smile lit his eyes. He'd been so
worried at its constant presence that Scott hadn't realized how very
familiar Beryl's pulse had become. Like the sound to someone's voice
or tread of footsteps you know belong to a particular person without
even seeing them.
As security began to direct people away so boarding could be
called Scott glanced at Beryl with a smile and she waved.
"Sorry I left before I got to say good morning." Scott said as
they stood in line waiting to board.
"No problem." Beryl smiled.
"Come to think of it I'm sorry I left before I could say good
night." Scott tilted his head to the side. Face to face with Beryl in
the light of day he was sure everything would be fine.
"You can make it up to me later." Beryl smiled at the charming
look on Scott's face.
"Wanna to dinner some where not full of people?"
"I could stand that." Beryl said.
Scott was across the aisle from Beryl, who had upgraded but the
woman next to her switched seats with Scott and they say together.
"Hey." Paul leaned over the back of Beryl's seat.
"We'll be watching you two." Sean smirked.
"Yeah," Kevin leered as he turned in the seat ahead. "No
sneaking off to join the mile high club in the bathroom."
"Children." Mike said still looking at the magazine he was
reading. "Take your seats."
The pilot announced take-off and the others sat down.
"Sorry," Scott smirked. "Sometimes they just can't help
themselves. Not that it was a bad idea."
Beryl shook her head and looked at Scott with a smile. "Maybe
next trip."
Scott rose an eyebrow that Beryl's tone was not entirely
scoffing, she gave a innocent blink in reply.

 

The arena seemed rather subdued as Beryl stepped into the Med
Shed. Scott came in a few minutes later. He had ridden with the rest
of the Kliq in an SUV Mike had rented.
"Is Italian all right with you?" Scott asked as he came in
pulling Beryl up into his arms.
"I love Italian." Beryl stretched up to kiss him.
"There's a place on the other side of town. It isn't the greatest
but it's open late and its pretty close to the hotels."
"I'm sure we'll have a good time." Beryl smiled.
Scott saw Paul wave at him from the corner of his eye. "See you
after the show."
"Be careful." Beryl said as Scott kissed her and walked back
toward the locker rooms.
Beryl was running a check on the supplies when she winced and
grabbed her head. She nearly went to her knees at the stabbing pain
certain that her nose would start bleeding to relieve the pressure in
her skull. It was as though foul tempered snakes were slithering
around inside her head.
Images more vile than those forced into her dreams filled Beryl's
mind. What made them worse was that they first seemed intermixed with
the memories of her moments alone with Scott before he'd had to leave
so quickly.
A young woman screaming as something came after her. The
perspective was as the one who tormented and threatened the girl.
Like a cat playing cruelly with a frightened mouse Beryl felt glee at
her terror but also a driving hunger. She saw a hand not her own curl
into a fist and strike the teen. A blur of motion as she fell upon
her prey and the taste of blood filled Beryl's mouth. The dark forest
was now the bright Med Room and the taste of blood was replaced with
bile as Beryl rushed forward and vomited into the sink.

Gordy pulled his rented Contour into the outer parking lot behind
the arena. His business hadn't taken quite as long to clear up as
he'd thought. Opening his trunk and retrieving an unmarked box Gordy
went inside.
The arena in St. Louis was laid out differently than most
stadiums. Usually the room devoted to patching people up was more in
the center, here the dressing rooms were along one long corridor
with a T-junction at the end. Catering occupied one end of the
shorter hallway while an aqua-therapy room, several private
conference rooms and the Med Shed took up the other. The Med Shed
itself was about as far from where the wrestlers left the ring area
as is could be which never made much sense to Gordy but did make the
room more private which had its merits given some of the more unusual
goings-on.
The box he toted inside wasn't heavy but its contents made it
unwieldy if it wasn't carried level. He was trying to balance the
thing as he came around a corner and nearly ran into Cheron.
"You have it." she said in relief. "Good. The natives were
getting restless with the rookie holding down the fort. Don't you
think it would just be easier to just let her in on it?"
"Tell that to the people upstairs." Gordy said. "You know how
paranoid they are right now."
"When are they not?" Cheron scoffed. "I'll be by if I get two
seconds."
Gordy was on his way toward the medical room when he became
aware of someone standing opposite the door that stood slightly ajar.
"What are you doing here?" Gordy narrowed his eyes as he
recognized Grey. The younger man looked at him with eyes darkened in
a manner similar to what Scott's had been the night before only far
more disturbing.
"Enjoying the show." Grey replied in a growling whisper. "I
think this time she felt it." A vile sneer played over his face. "She
fights it so hard, no wonder Scott likes her so much."
"Leave you son of a bitch!" Gordy spat.
"I got what I came for." Grey shrugged.
Gordy pushed the door open to find Beryl doubled up over the
counter running water into the chrome basin. He slung the box on the
exam table and stood over his assistant patting her back. "Are you
all right?" he asked pulling a dixie cup from the dispenser and
filling it.
Beryl looked at Gordy for a moment. She'd only told Scott about
the horrid dreams but she was reluctant to tell Gordy. It was never a
good idea to let your boss know you had come unhinged.
"Just a headache." she said trying to give a plausible
explanation but as soon as she found her voice she couldn't halt
it. "Blood-" she shivered and didn't see Gordy's eyes slide toward
the box. "I tasted blood in my mouth and I-" she looked into the sink
to make sure she'd rinsed it all away.
"Oh," Gordy said and Beryl was puzzled that he sounded
momentarily relieved. A scowl split his face and he
straightened. "Come on, let's go get you a seat in Catering where you
can rest for a few minutes."
A couple of people were mulling around as Gordy and Beryl
entered. He led her to the far back corner from the door and sat a
cup of coffee in front of her. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He
strode with a purpose out of the large overly bright dining area.
To Hell with The Order, Gordy thought and never mind what he'd
said earlier, this all needed to stop now. Beryl had begun to channel
when Grey read her, he'd as much as said so and The Order was
watching more closely than ever. It was time to tell Beryl before
Grey drove her insane with the filth he was pouring into her head,
but Gordy wasn't Kliq. Only one of them could be the one who told
without suffering severe repercussions and Scott was more closely
involved than anyone else. Gordy snorted, this morning he was
cautioning Scott not to say anything and now he was to entreat that
this was exactly what needed doing.
The door to the dressing room the five Kliq members occupied
opened as Gordy rose his knuckle to knock. Paul brought himself up
short so not to trample the man.
"I was going to come get you." Paul said then looked at Scott.
"He didn't contact." Gordy answered the unspoken question. "I
came here to talk with him."
"They found another body in Dallas." Mike said. "Woman in her
twenties."
"At least he made sure this one was legal." Kevin sneered with
distaste.
"We'll get to that." Gordy broke in. "But I'm afraid he's given
us a bigger problem much closer at hand."

Beryl rubbed her temple. Why were these things happening? Six
weeks ago she had interviewed with Linda and Shane McMahon in New
York and been so excited. Then she started her dream job and
everything got so weird. She felt safest around Scott and that in
itself was unusual, she had never needed anyone to make her feel
secure.
Beryl smiled in the midst of her pain and turmoil. In the ten
months since her last boyfriend had left she had found it incredibly
difficult to trust people but around Scott she felt okay. She was
looking into the empty coffee cup and didn't hear Grey approach until
he pushed back a chair and sat down.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Grey said at the small jump
Beryl had made.
"It's all right." she replied. "Is something wrong?"
Grey looked away briefly. "I just wanted to say I was sorry."
"Sorry?" Beryl repeated wondering what Grey could have
done. "For what?"
"Hanging around all the time." he scratched behind his ear in a
self-conscious way. "I didn't realize you and Scott had gotten so
serious."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't mean to be pushy. I know you'd hung out some but I
didn't know until today that you guys were that involved."
A sinking feeling hit Beryl's stomach much worse than the
crawling sensation. "What have you heard?"
A rendition of events from the hotel room only Scott could have
divulged was told and Beryl felt like vomiting again. The sickly
feeling very quickly became a vast black swamp of anger.

A dark glint filled Scott's eyes as he made his way toward
Catering. Despite what the others had said Scott had figured he would
at some point have to tell Beryl the truth. This was best done after
a firm basis of trust had been established and he hated having his
hand forced. Especially by Grey.
Everyone that saw Scott's purposeful stride gave him wide berth.
Everyone but the one who would have been best served by caution of
Scott's anger. But Grey was not an overly cautious individual.
"Try talking your way out of this." He sneered stepping from the
dining area.
"What have you done to her?" Scott could see Beryl burying her
face in her hands.
"Its' more what you've done." Grey said. "As far as she knows."
Shoving past Grey Scott saw in Beryl's face that the topic of
conversation had been altered. Beryl stood and approached Scott with
a look as dark as his mood in her eyes.
"Thank you, Scott." she said clenching her jaw. "For letting me
see what a complete asshole you are before I did something really
stupid." In her head she continued. Like telling you I love you.
Forcing herself not to run and not to cry, not in front of Scott,
Beryl stepped past him, he did not try to stop her.
"Excuse me." Beryl said to Gordy who stood in the doorway.
"Beryl, you need to lis-"
"Let her go, Gordy. Scott said, he hadn't turned around. Gordy
stepped aside.
"Scott, she needs to know."
"Maybe she's better off." Scott said in low tones.
Barely through the door, Beryl heard the exchange. Too hurt and
angry to yet wonder what they meant. She knew all she needed to know
and she was better off. But knowing Scott had given such vivid
details when he had said he'd never do such a thing brought tears to
Beryl's eyes. Not ready to return to the Med Shed she stepped into
one of the empty conference rooms.
Scott walked down the corridor but halted when he heard Beryl's
heartbeat coming from behind a heavy steel door. He looked at the
door for a long moment; he could go into that room, lock the door
and tell Beryl everything.
How? the inner voice said. How would you make her believe the
unbelievable? By doing what you almost did last night? What you've
been thinking about all day whether you want to admit it or not?
"She's better off." Scott repeated and returned to the locker
room.

 

Beryl stepped into the crowded elevator and pushed the button
for the top floor. In ones and twos the other riders exited until
Beryl heard the last remaining passenger clear their throat. He
turned to see Mike.
"Beryl, I know you're mad but you have to hear me out." he said
quickly.
"Scott likes, talking tell it to him." Beryl turned back around.
It had been just over a week since St. Louis. Gordy and the
others had tried to convince Scott to tell Beryl what was going on.
He was immovable on the subject and wouldn't say why.
Taking matters into his own hands Mike jumped at this unexpected
chance to try to get Beryl to listen to him. He didn't plan to tell
her himself but he hoped he could get her to give Scott a chance to
explain what had happened.
"Look, I don't know what it is you heard but Scott would never
talk about you like that."
"And I suppose there was someone else in the room." Beryl said
trying not to cry. It seemed like that's all she could do the last
few days.
"There's things going on here that you need to know about."
Beryl didn't want to hear any of what Mike might
say. "Congratulate him for me. The phone call-a genius cliffhanger
and I hate to be the buzz kill on all you guys' locker room bragging
sessions but there isn't going to be a chapter two." she wiped at the
hated tears that had begun to fall.
It was only Beryl's stubborn determination not to let Scott know
how much he'd really hurt her that made Beryl not tender her
resignation in St. Louis. Through Kansas City, Gary, Akron,
Springfield and Chicago she had stayed busy tending to a multitude of
injuries. Now here in Baton Rouge was the first time any of them had
tried to talk to her.
Mike saw she was unwilling to hear him so he exited on the 8th
floor and knocked on Kevin's door where the Kliq was meeting. "I hate
to say it but having a woman that pissed off, better him than me."
Mike said. "I just saw her in the elevator."
"No luck?" Paul asked.
"That's one thing they have in common." Kevin said toweling his
hair. "They both use Pig-Head brand stubbornness. Shame they can't
get back together."
"Why can't you guys just drop this?" Scott said closing the door
behind him.
Mike turned to face him and decided that it was time to have it
all out. "Because Grey spent the last week gloating about breaking
you two up but if he goes back to his old tricks Beryl's dead and you
know it." Mike said in an uncommon show of temper.
"How am I supposed to tell her, Mike?" Scott said stepping
forward. "I've gone over it a hundred times and there's no real good
way to say it.
"'I didn't blab, Beryl honest. Grey knows every little detail
because he's a vampire and he read your mind. How do I know that?
Because I'm a vampire too. Sorry I didn't' mention it sooner but
there's this whole organization that I'm a part of and they told me
not to tell you. By the way they may cut your throat while you're
sleeping if they think you know too much.' Never mind that we can't
actually name Grey."
"We'll go to the main council and tell them that Beryl won't
talk." Gordy said handing Scott a bag. "She thinks the whole
company's part of an international drug cartel and she hasn't said
anything." he almost laughed.
"Well she falls under my watch and I've made up my mind." Scott
drained the cup and Gordy retrieved another pouch from an unmarked
box on the dresser.
Scott looked down into the cup filled once more. In the six
years since he'd been turned he had never fed in any way but the
supplies of blood that Gordy provided. Most of the two dozen vampires
in the federation's employ did as well. Grey and a handful of others
chose to hunt. "The natural method" they called it. To Scott they
were worse that animals, especially Grey who flaunted it.
Is that why you're so upset? the inner voice asked. You felt the
urge to feed and you think that makes you as bad as Grey?
Scott went to the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the
minuscule balcony. Mike followed and closed the door.
"There's more to it than that." Mike said. "Isn't there?"
Scott sighed. They, none of them, were going to rest until he
told them. He braced his hands on the black railing and looked down
to the distantly lit pool eight stories below.
"She's safer this way, Mike." Scott released a breath.
"I disagree." Mike said. "If she knows the whole picture maybe
Grey won-"
"Not from Grey," Scott said and though his voice was low Mike
heard it plain. "She's safer from me this way."
Mike's face paled. "Did you-?"
"No!" he shook his head thinking it should have been
obvious. "But Mike she was right there." Scott closed his eyes and
his senses filled with Beryl as she moved against him unaware of any
danger. "I kissed her and I felt the blood flowing beneath her skin.
God, I wanted to. I wanted to taste her more than I wanted to-" Scott
stopped himself from mentioning the things Beryl had so hoped he
wouldn't and although she thought already to blame Scott couldn't
bring himself to discuss her in such a way.
"If you hadn't called me just then, Mike, I could have killed
her." he gave a shudder as the dream image of Beryl's eyes staring in
death came to his mind.
Mike looked at Scott silently, unsure of what to say. Not even
certain he could speak given what he'd just heard. Scott still hadn't
faced Mike since he'd come onto the balcony and he seemed lost in
thought once again.
"I think maybe I should leave."
"No, Scott." Mike replied in urgent tones. "That is the last
thing you should do. We'll figure out why Beryl gets under your skin
so much but the balance we are supposed to keep is already off
without another member. It's hard enough keeping Grey and his ilk in
check. If you left they'd have free reign of every city we go to."
"They already do." Scott said under his breath.
"More reason for you to stay on. Eventually we'll have another
member but right now you're it. Sucks, I know Scott but there it is.
Kevin and Paul are keeping their people in line. Sean and I get to
work the human relations angle and like it or not your watch has been
compromised because we don't have a member from Grey's line that we
can trust on board.
"So now it falls to all of us to see that this gets straightened
out. I know you like Beryl but you aren't protecting her by
protecting her. If you don't trust yourself alone with her that is,
I'm sorry to say, not as important as arming her with the truth.
She's a strong spirit no doubt given how well she began to repel him
but I don't think Grey's going to stop with splitting you guys up."
Mike stopped when Scott snorted in derision and thought, not for
the first time that this might be what pissed Scott off the
most. "Confucius say 'Sleeve bad place to carry heart, worse place to
hide it'."
"You're going to play Dear Abby now?" Scott sneered but
regretted his tone immediately. "I'm sorry Mike." he said. "But I
still don't think telling her is a good idea."

Beryl and Gordy drove to Atlanta in what seemed like one long
thunderstorm. As they left Baton Rouge behind Beryl turned on the
radio to combat the silence.
"Reports this morning of a body found along the banks of the Red
River were confirmed by the Baton Rouge Chief of Police. Chief Walter
Tisin said the victim's identity is being withheld pending
notification of next of kin. Martin Hastings who found the body early
this morning said he thought that he'd found the victim of last
week's boating accident."
"Eeooh." Beryl shuddered turning the radio back off. "I swear
it's like there's a whack job in every city we go to."
"There's whack jobs everywhere these days, kiddo." Gordy
yawned. "Wake me when you want me to take over."
"I will." Beryl said. "Sweet dreams."
The long hours spent driving wore on Beryl's mind. That's when
she thought too much. About Scott, about her nightmares, about
whatever was going on at work. Always these three in this order, back
and forth.
The anger at having been no more than something for Scott to
crow about in the locker room. How it hurt to think that she'd
misjudged him so badly. The dreams she'd only told Scott about and
how they had gotten worse in the last week. The images of chasing a
young woman through a dark forest. Remembering how Gordy had started
when she'd said she tasted blood. That he left her in the cafeteria
to get Scott. Grey telling her what Scott had been saying. How
moments before those very images had come to her mind inter played
with the gleefully horrid scene just before Gordy had entered.
Beryl reached into her purse for some aspirin, swallowing them
with a mouthful of bottled water. Next time I'm renting a car with a
CD player, she thought. When Beryl reached the town nearest the
halfway point she pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant
and woke Gordy.
After they got back on the road Gordy looked at Beryl but didn't
ask what she was thinking about. For some vampires it wasn't
necessary to read a person to get the general sense of what they
were thinking. He'd been hard pressed to keep Beryl busy enough not
to think too much, sensing that for her the pieces were beginning to
click even though she may not know it.
Four hours later Beryl stretched out on the mattress of another
hotel room. It was going on 17 hours since since she'd slept but she
lay staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts plagued her without
reprieve. Anyone who'd treat a person so callously wasn't worth this
much turmoil but Scott was never far from her thoughts and that was
her biggest trouble. She couldn't stop thinking about him so she
never stopped being reminded of how hurt she was.
To say she cried herself to sleep would only be correct if she
had truly slept. Instead the dreams returned as disturbingly vivid as
ever to destroy any hope of rest she might have had.

The show in Atlanta went well overall, a few pulled muscles and
a small cut of Ric Flair's forehead he got juicing for his match that
didn't quit bleeding as quickly as it ought to have, but the crowd
was incredible and an energetic buzz suffused the atmosphere.
After the show Beryl went out with Lita and Randy Orton to a
restaurant where a bunch of the other wrestlers and staff were having
dinner. The four of them sat at a table in the center of the crowded
dining room. Randy was telling the ladies about a match he'd have
during his training and Beryl laughed. She turned her head and her
smiled faded when she saw Scott looking at her from the corner where
he was leaning in his chair against the wall.
Kevin turned to see where Scott's gaze fell. It didn't surprise
him to see Beryl. "You really ought to tell her." Kevin said but
Scott seemed not to hear him.
The near deafening music people were dancing to was softly
underscored by the steady beat of Beryl's pulse. When it skipped was
her eyes met his briefly was like ice in Scott's chest when he was
her smile vanish but Scott continued to watch her. He heard Kevin and
felt the others looking at him. Finally he waved a waitress over.
"What can I get you?" she smiled.
"Do you have a pen?" Scott asked taking a napkin from the center
of the table. The woman handed Scott her pen and he looked at the
slightly crumpled surface. After a moment he wrote a short note on
the napkin. "I have to talk to you. Scott."
"I need you to take a Diet Coke to the red head in the green
shirt." Scott point dto Beryl. "Give her this with it."
"You got it, hon."
None of the others said anything and Scott went back to quietly
watching Beryl. After a few minutes the blond waitress approached
Beryl with a tray.
"Miss?" she got Beryl's attention and she looked up from her
conversation. "The gentleman in the back asked me to bring this to
you."
Beryl followed where the woman pointed until her gaze met
Scott's once again. She ran her fingertips across her forehead as she
looked away and for a moment Scott was sure Beryl was going to
refuse. But she sighed and nodded. "Tell the gentleman thank you."
She said and the waitress sat the silver and red can on the table
next to the one Beryl had neatly finished.
Randy and Lita looked at Beryl quietly. The exchange with Scott
in the dining room better than a week ago had become a much
ballyhooed topic. Beryl eyed the can sourly for a moment before a
tense smile split her face.
"What ails your gender anyway?" she joked at Randy.
"Yours most often." A deep voice sounded from behind. The three
turned to see Grey standing beside Beryl. "Can I sit down?"
"Go ahead." Lita said. "We were leaving anyway."
"Night." Beryl said. "Take some tylenol if your elbow still
hurts in the morning."
"Aye, aye, Doc." Lita grinned.
"You ever not on the clock?" Grey smiled as Beryl drained the
last of her first soda. She gave him a look that said she had little
use for humor at this moment. "You seem down lately." Grey leaned
slightly into her. "I can't help feeling a little responsible for
raining on your parade."
"Don't worry about it." she hoped he'd let it go.
"I know the guy's no saint but I honestly hadn't figured he'd
go ar-"
"Don't!" Beryl said abruptly, shocked at her reaction of
defense on Scott's behalf after what he'd done. "I don't want to talk
about it, Grey."
"Sorry." He said his eyes dropping just a bit and he reached
out to touch her arm knocking over the nearly full can of pop. A
foaming flood of brown liquid spread across the table. Grey picked up
the napkin and began trying to mop it up. Soon the thing was a sodden
mess that Beryl wouldn't have been able to read even if she had known
there was a message on it.
Grabbing more napkins from the dispenser Grey knelt to dab at
the soda that had dripped. His eyes flickered over to where the Kliq
sat. "Nice try." he mouthed the words to Scott.
Scott stood with a murderous glint in his eye but Kevin and Paul
each grabbed a shoulder before he'd gotten more than a couple of
steps.
"Not here." Kevin said standing in front to block Scott. "We'll
deal with that asshole but we can't do it here." Every muscle in
Scott's body had tensed with the uniform purpose of getting his hands
on Grey and Kevin found the object of stopping Scott more than a
little difficult.
"Scott!" Mike said. "you can't deal with him in the open like
this. Think of Beryl." Finally Scott relented and sat back down.
"I'm sorry." Grey looked at Beryl who was busily mopping at the
cola flood.
"It's all right.' she replied. "I was just about finished
anyway."
"You going back to the hotel?"
"Yeah." Beryl paid for her meal.
"Can I get a ride with you?"
"Sure." she shrugged into her jacket. "I'm the tan Accura by the
lamppost."
"I'll meet you outside." Grey smiled and Beryl reminded of a fox
lurking over a rabbit warren.
"I'll be out in a minute, I have to see if Gordy needs a ride."
"Looks like their leaving." Sean said.
"Looks like their leaving together." Paul raised an eyebrow.
Several tables away Gordy looked up from his conversation with
Cheron to see Scott eying Beryl and Grey darkly. "I gotta go." Gordy
gulped the last of his beer and began walking toward Beryl when she
turned in his direction.
"I was just coming to find you." she said. "I'm heading back to
the hotel if you need a ride."
"Yeah." Gordy said. If she's not careful she's going to end up
being fished out of a river, he thought as he followed Beryl to her
rental.

 

The next few days were pretty quiet. No one got hurt too bad but
it seemed to Beryl that a lot of people were visiting the Medical
Room. Coming back from taking a cold compress to Bill Goldberg Beryl
met Scott and Kevin coming out.
"Hey," Scott said as he turned toward Beryl putting his hands in
his pockets and rocking forward on his feet slightly. Not long ago
she'd found it almost cute when he did so.
"Hello," she said brushing past him.
Scott leaned in the door frame as Gordy left with Kevin. Beryl
marked down the ice pack on the supply sheet trying to ignore Scott's
presence. "How you been?"
"Busy." Beryl replied icily.
"Beryl we need to talk."
"No, Scott we don't." she lay the clipboard down noisily. "And I
don't think you'd really want to hear anything I'd want to say to
you."
Biting back harsh words Scott turned away. Mike had suggested he
start by saying he was sorry but Scott didn't want to apologize for
something he hadn't done. He wanted to just tell Beryl he hadn't
betrayed her trust but he understood that to her it must have
appeared so.
Beryl fumed for a few minutes trying not to start crying again,
she was so sick of her own tears. She wished she could just stop
thinking about Scott. It wasn't' so bad when she was angry it was the
other times, in the car, in her rooms at night, when she remembered
his charming smile, the thrill of his touch. Or the fact that
honestly she missed his a little.

"Stubborn woman." Scott fussed as he slammed the dressing room
door. "Hard headed little harpy."
Kevin smirked. "You have so little in common. Whatever did you
see in her?" Scott glared at Kevin peevishly.
"Come on," Sean said. "We gotta get ready for the match." Sean
and Scott were in a tag match with Grey and Chris Jericho (who was
currently a face) leading up to the PPV in two days. There was no
show the next day and most everybody that lived on the east coast
went home.
Beryl flew from Charlotte to Boston where the Pay-Per-View was
going to be. It was noon when she got checked into her hotel. She set
her mind to staying occupied so not to think about any of the things
that had been troubling her lately. There was a seafood place on the
harbor that Beryl recognized from the Food Channel and she ordered a
plate of shrimp Alfredo. Along with not thinking about Scott Beryl
decided to forget her diet, she was taking the day off from all her
worries.
From time to time throughout the day Beryl felt someone watching
her but she didn't' see anyone she recognized.
"Hey kiddo." Gordy said as Beryl entered the hotel after her day
out. "Seeing the sights?"
"Yeah," she said sitting a couple of bags down next to the table.
"Grab a cup of coffee. "
"I could use a sit down." Beryl smiled pouring a cup from the
pot kept going for the hotel's guests.
"The troops are going to be at the arena around four tomorrow so
I thought maybe we'd get there about two to get ready to do any
doctoring."
"I better get to sleep then." Beryl finished her coffee. "Goody
night." she took her bags and disappeared into the elevator. They
left for the arena after lunch and set out all the things they
figured they'd need. It wasn't as bad as they'd thought though. A
couple cases of bad sunburn, a bee sting and a nasty bruise where
Scott Steiner had been hit with a softball during a charity game
between WWE and a radio station in Detroit.
All the McMahons were in town for the PPV since it was a joint
presentation. After Vince said a few words dinner was served. Beryl
sat with Coachman and Al Snow who were going over some dialog when
Grey sat down next to Beryl.
"Were you at the mall yesterday?" he asked. He looked over
Beryl's shoulder briefly before continuing. "I was going to holler at
you but I would have felt like a real idiot if is wasn't you."
"I did some shopping, yeah." Beryl laughed.
"My mom used to tell my sisters that nothing helps a girl get
over it like a day at the mall."
Beryl looked away, hadn't she already told him she didn't want
to discuss the topic of Scott.
"You look nice today." Grey reached up to touch the braid Beryl
had put her long hair into. "You supposed to run out to the ring or
something?"
"Not officially." Beryl pulled the plait to the other side of
her head unconsciously making sure the ponytail holders were still in
place. "But its always a possibility."
"True." Grey said. "Would you tape me before my match?"
"Yeah, if I'm not patching someone up."

Across the room Scott, Gordy and Mike sat down with their trays.
"How'd it go yesterday?" Scott asked.
"We kept an eye out but he didn't make any moves." Gordy
said. "I think he was just giving us the runaround."
"You know how he likes to stalk." Mike said with distaste but
Scott's attention had been drawn to the very ones they were
discussing.
"Like now for instance." Gordy watched Grey flash the three of
them a leer as he sat next to Beryl.
Scott's eyes followed every second of their interaction. His
hands balled into fists when Grey reached up to stroke Beryl's
hair. "Hands to yourself, asshole." his jaw clenched.
Mike looked at Scott for a moment. "All you're doing is
torturing yourself. You need to go talk to her."
"I've tried." Scott stood leaving his plate barely
touched. "It's time everyone stopped telling me what I need."
As Scott pulled his trunks, pads and boots out of their case
his mind was an angry buzz and he knew that was a bad state to be in
going to the ring. He was lacing up his boots when Sean
entered. "We're changing the plans tonight, Kidd."
"What you got in mind?"

In the fourth match Trish came off bad doing a super kick to
Victoria in their title bout. Afraid that she'd damaged her Achilles'
Tendon, Gordy and Beryl were tending to her in the medical room
waiting for the ambulance.
Scott and Sean's match was next and they came out first as had
been planned but that's where the plan was altered and dramatically
so.
Sean did a baseball slide under the bottom rope and caught
Jericho soundly in the mid-section. Jericho played little in The
Kliq's plans but Scott and Sean needed him out of the way while they
dealt with Grey.
Grey was onto the fix before Chris hit the mats. He entered the
ring but stayed in the corner watching Sean from the corner of his
eye. "Is this the visit I get for sniffing around inside your little
girlfriend's head?"
"No," Scott replied. "This is just because you pissed me off."
"Oh," Grey sneered. "Don't blame me for your lack of action.
It's your friends robbed you this time. From what I felt she was
ready to give as good as she got too."
Scott's jaw set firmly at Grey's crudely referring to Beryl in
such a manner.
"I think I'm starting to get to her." Grey correctly read
Scott's expression. "Maybe if she lets me in I'll give you a play by
play like the one she gave me unawares. I'd only be fair, right?"
If Grey was hoping to get a rise out of Scott he was woefully
successful in the attempt. Seeing little more than streaks of red in
his vision Scott came forward and caught Grey's head in the crook of
his elbow while his right fist came up repeatedly into Grey's face.
"That doesn't look good." Beryl scowled nodding toward the
monitor, Gordy turned.
"Oh, shit!" he said and that was before the blood could be seen.
Grey managed to push away from Scott by struggling in a wild
frenzy that accompanied being truly scared for the first of three
times in his life. As he slipped from Scott's grasp Grey fell
backward through the ring ropes hitting his head resoundingly on the
steps. He was knocked senseless for a moment and found Scott looking
at him with a raised brow and smirking manner that seemed to
ask "what are you going to do now".
Grey reached up to wipe what felt like honey from his face and
looked at his hand covered in his own black blood. The look of shock
didn't escape Scott who merely stood in the ring with a satisfied
look on his face. He had done what he set out to do, let The Order
sort it out now.
Looking at the monitor and growing more and more pale Gordy
turned to Beryl. Policy said as company physician he had to stay with
Trish until the ambulance arrived and there were too many McMahons
running around to ignore that. If he were Kliq maybe that could be
overlooked given the circumstances but not as it was.
"Shit!" he cursed. "Get out there and take security with you."
he barked at Beryl who was only waiting for the word. She grabbed a
med kit and ran to toward the entrance. Vince had sent two guys out
just ahead of her.
Grey was still sitting on the mats when Beryl came out. Jericho
had caught his breath and one of the security guards was helping him
to his feet. The other was standing a couple of guards from Grey at a
loss for what to do since Scott and Sean weren't continuing the
attack.
Beryl pulled a think cotton tad from the clear plastic case and
held it gently to Grey's nose and mouth. "Come on." she said trying
to smile comfortingly but only just succeeded in not wincing at the
blood coming out so thick it looked black to her. "Let's get you back
to your dressing room where I can take a look at that head."
Seeing Beryl turn such nurturing attention to Grey was a needle
in Scott's resolve to let the matter rest right here. Before
security, or Sean, could react Scott slid beneath the bottom rope
behind Beryl and grabbed her wrist forcing her to stand and face him.
"You'd be wise to take better care with he company you're
keeping lately." Scott said not realizing until just then that
Beryl's palm was touching his bare chest as she braced to push him
away.
Before he felt more than a single beat of her heart through the
contact Beryl rested her weight on one leg and shoved Scott back
outraged that he would chide her about anything. "Given the current
way of things, Scott, I'd say that the company I keep is none of your
damn business!"
Her ire fully inflamed Beryl was prepared for Scott to come at
her but not for him to turn away as though he were biting back words.
It seemed to her that Scott was not used to not saying what he
thought, especially when he was angry and Scott appeared to be
extremely angry right now. Even so as he turned away his expression
became almost wounded and Beryl's heart lurched.
Scott returned to the dressing room well ahead of Sean, he
grabbed some clothes from his bag and slammed the door to one of the
bathrooms without saying a word to Kevin, Paul or Mike who eyed him
anxiously having witnessed the goings on out front.
You let him think he got the upper hand, the inner voice
berated. You didn't report to The Order like you should have when he
forced the read. You thought your problems with Beryl would be solved
if she stayed away. Did your feelings of losing control go away? Or
get worse?
Fighting the urge to scream "shut up" Scott striped down and
stood under a torrent of hot water. Running a handful of suds through
the dark hair that covered him.
Are you going to try and convince yourself you don't miss her?
Or the way she felt against you?
Leaning his head back to let the water wet his thick hair Scott
breathed in the hot steam and scrubbed at the black strands.
You're so ready to just give her up?
Mike was right he realized, he was torturing himself. He had no
intention of giving Beryl up, not to any of the depraved things Grey
could concoct, but he hadn't done nearly enough to get her back, or
even to keep her safe. That was at its end.
But he had to deal with his reaction to her and right now his
reaction was very strong indeed. Dressing quickly Scott hurried to
the Medical Room hoping, but not hoping, that Beryl was still tending
to Grey.

"Boy," Beryl said as she pulled a third pad from Grey's
face. "He sure put the whammy on you. I've seen blood come out blue
before but black's a new one on me."
Grey didn't' say anything but as Beryl leaned in to press a new
dressing to his lip Grey;s hand came up to rest on her knee. She
delicately lifted his wrist and placed his hand on the pad. "Hold
that there." she eyed him pointedly and stood to check out the back
of his head. He wasn't bleeding from the site and fearing a closed
head injury Beryl sat back down in front of Grey.
"Look me in the eye." she instructed.
"A welcome invitation." Grey smiled but Beryl smirked at his
advance.
"Now up at the lights." His dilation was a bit uneven so Beryl
stood. "You sit tight. I'm going to have Gordy evaluate you, but I'm
pretty sure he'll send you out."
"Don't leave yet." Grey's hand came closed around Beryl's arm,
she looked at the tanned skin. The first two knuckles were a bit
knobbier than the others and a thin scar etched the back of his hand.
Beryl smiled at Grey though a sudden unease sprang to mind like
she should remember something important but couldn't. "I'll send
someone to sit with you Grey but we really need to get your head
looked at and only Gordy and authorize shipping you."

Gordy looked at Scott as he entered. Scott's irises had again
gone the empty jet color and he closed the door. Trish had just been
placed on the ambulance so Gordy was alone.
"Sit down," he said pulling a pint bag of blood from the box.
In a voice more gritty than normal Scott growled. "I can't even
think straight right now. Why do I hear her blood, Gordy? I hear her
heart whenever she's near. If I touch her I feel the flow of her
blood beneath the skin. Why is this happening? I've known other women
and they didn't make me lose it like this. I know I should tell her
the truth to keep that son of a bitch away from her but I can't." he
drained one pint regaining a hold on himself.
"I've been a vampire a long time but I don't know everything and
any of the ones who maybe could help you, you don't want to have
knowing that a human is effecting you like this."
In his frustration Scott pulled the second bag's tab harder than
he meant to causing the seam to rip spilling the blood into Scott's
face and down onto the counter and his shirt.

Concern for Grey's injuries made Beryl careless of the rules
even with Linda and Vince barely ten yards away.
"Gordy." she pushed the med room door open. "I need you- Oh my
God!"
Beryl reacted with her heart at the sight of Scott soaked in
blood. Gordy quickly pushed the bag into a bio-hazard receptacle and
grabbed a handful of towels to cover the mess on the counter.
Before she could think how she would just as soon slap him for
having bragged about almost getting her into bed Beryl was standing
in front of Scott dabbing at the blood that had splashed into his
face.
Now that he'd ingested enough blood to stave off his craving
Scott appeared unaltered looking at Beryl with his hazel eyes. He
heard her tripping pulse but not her blood circulating.
"What happened?" Beryl asked feeling the sting of tears in her
eyes that Scott had been so badly hurt. Be okay, her mind pleaded. I
won't be mad anymore just be okay. But all he did when he knew it
would hurt...
"Just a nose bleed." Scott said stoically taking a small step
back. She was here, she was almost in his arms his heart raced at her
nearness but he was still angry.
"The door was closed." Gordy said the harsh edge dulled at
seeing Beryl tend to Scott as though she'd never thought he betrayed
her.
Beryl faltered looking from Scott to Gordy. "I'm sorry." she
said, the events of the last hour coming back to her and she hid her
concern behind her own anger once again. "I think Grey may have a
concussion and I need you to check him."
Gordy looked at his assistant for a long moment. "I'll look
after Scott." she said misreading his Gordy's scowl.
"I'll be back in a minute to finish up." Gordy exited carrying
his medical bag.
"Who did this?" Beryl asked Scott. He looked down at her seeing
that the wide-eyed concern had faded when Gordy had berated her. Here
now was probably the best chance he'd get to talk to her while she
couldn't leave, he thought trying to work up the nerve to do the near
impossible.
"Was any of that necessary, Scott?" Beryl said her temper
flaring."You could have killed him."
Grey again, Scott thought. Could he have been telling the truth
that Beryl and he were getting close?
"If you knew half of what I know about Grey Sanders you
wouldn't be able to sleep long enough to have any nightmares." Scott
pushed Beryl's hand away and stormed out the door.

Still in a foul temper Beryl sat on the far side of the
restaurant from Scott. Their eyes met once but they both turned away
with a glower.
After a while Gordy came in with Rob Van Dam. He'd gone to the
hospital to get Grey, who went to sit with Beryl.
"Heard you got a week off." she said.
"Yeah but there aren't any flights to LA until tomorrow so I'm
stuck for the night." Grey said. "I'm staying with Rob unless I get
any better offers."
Beryl coughed slightly. "Good luck with that."
Grey tilted his head to the side and slid his eyes over Beryl's
face. "Isn't it standard procedure not to leave a concussion victim
alone for the first few hours." Again Grey's hand covered Beryl's
knee this time sliding rather familiarly up her thigh. "We could keep
each other company."
Beryl shoved Grey back outraged at his behavior. "The last thing
I need right now is company." She stood, lay a twenty on the table
and walked angrily toward the door.
Grey looked toward Scott and gave a mocking wave. Scott could
see Grey's eyes darken as the shorter man turned and started after
Beryl.
Coming from the men's room Sean saw as Beryl shoved the heavy
door open and a moment later glimpsed Grey coming through the crowd.
"How's the head?" he asked stepping in front of the door.
Grey shoved Sean aside with an inhuman growl just as Scott's
hand fell on his shoulder.
"It'd be the last thing you ever did." Scott said. "If you ever
touch her no doctor in the world will be able to save you and I don't
care who you're related to."
Full fangs were visible as Grey rounded on Scott.
"Are you sure you want to do that here?" Kevin said standing on
Scott's right as Sean was on his right.
The extended canines disappeared but Grey stepped close to
Scott. "You had better stop worrying about that little bitch and
start being concerned with your own neck."
"Anytime." Scott said the bland smile showing on his face.

 

Beryl paced her room. "Men!" she spat, not for the first
time. "Why are they always so-"

"Difficult!" Scott said to the lamp on his nightstand. "That's
what she is. Difficult." Didn't she even sense the danger she was in?
Was she so angry that she had negated whatever gift she had blocking
Grey?
Well it would serve her right. he continued his mental diatribe.
I told her I'd never talk about the things we do and the second Grey
tells her she hates me without so much as asking if it were true.

A swirl of images buzzed through Beryl's mind. The girl in the
woods. NO! don't think about that- you'll think about the blood.
Blood, there was so much blood on Scott's face. Don't you feel for
him!! Scott who had bragged so loud that even Grey who he seemed to
loath had heard every detail.
That day in St. Louis she'd been thinking about that-no,
something had brought it to mind. Her hands came to her head as Beryl
remembered the incredible pain. The moments with Scott had come
vividly to mind but they flashed between bits of the girl being
chased through the woods. Like one image was being drawn out while
the other was being poured in. The blood she tasted, was that someone
else's memory?
Of course not! You must have bit your lip.
You've bitten your lip before and it didn't make you vomit, the
inner voice said. You know its more than that.
So what's going on? The image of her and Scott together, the
girl, the blood. Gordy had warned her to be careful while he was gone
that day. Had she inadvertently stumbled into the very thing he'd
warned her against.
Well, enough was enough! she determined. If she was in the thick
of it all anyway she had a right to know what It was.

Scott stormed until he was in a towering fury. A fury that
needed to be fed.
"Gordy," he said into the phone. "Is there a store house near
here?"
"The runner's here now." Gordy replied. "I'll be up in a
minute."
His darkened iris' scanned the room in what he always supposed
was a suppressed hunting instinct. He'd never much entertained the
thought of hunting for the blood. Only with Beryl had he ever even
felt the impulse. That impulse was fully on him now just thinking
about her.
A knock came to the door.
"It's open." he called out.

With a deep breath to again steady her resolve that had flagged
slightly now that she was here, Beryl pushed the door open the rest
of the way.
The lamp on the nightstand filled the room with a soft light as
Beryl entered. Scott was standing at the window with his forehead
resting against his wrist. He was bare to the waist as he leaned
against the wall. He shifted a bit and the muscles along his back
flexed beneath the skin.
Oh no you don't! Beryl's resolve shouted and swallowing back all
the tender thoughts she had Beryl took another breath and stepped
well into the room.
"If you want to talk you can start by telling me what's going
on. And don't tell me to go talk to G-"
Beryl's voice died in her throat as Scott turned and she saw his
face. Scott's eyes were black orbs and his lips parted to reveal
needle sharp teeth.
Beryl turned to run but found Scott behind her impossibly fast.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back closing the door. Scott
heard Beryl's rapid intake of breath and covered her mouth to keep
her from screaming as he pushed her to the closed door only firmly
enough to insure she not get away.
Mentally Scott berated himself, if he hadn't been so distracted
he would have picked up on Beryl's heartbeat. But he hadn't and now
she'd seen him in the full throes of his vampirism. The room wasn't
dark as it had been when she thought the sight of his eyes was a mere
trick of the light. When he had felt the flow of her blood in her
veins.
Scott's eyes slid from Beryl's face to her throat. Again he saw
the faint red illumination from her carotid artery. He could almost
hear her blood singing to him. He'd given a passionate kiss to the
side of her slender neck that night. What if he did so now, went
farther, tasted her blood? A covetous sigh escaped him and he looked
back into Beryl's eyes. Frightened tears poured down her cheeks and
touched Scott's hand.
Seeing that frozen terror in Beryl's soft blue-gray eyes broke
Scott's heart and he pushed her away. She stumbled from the force and
fell to the carpet scrambling into the corner as far away from Scott
as she could manage to get. Too scared even to yell for help Beryl
sobbed but couldn't take her eyes from Scott's face.
Scott looked at Beryl's trembling body, her hands balled into
fists held at her mouth as she peeked over her knees that she'd
pulled tightly to her chest. One sobering thought pierced Scott's
animal desires; Beryl could only be allowed to leave this room one of
two ways. Convinced to keep quiet or unable to speak.
"Shit!" he cursed. She hadn't shown much inclination to listen
to anything approaching reason and there was no way he was going to
let anyone harm her. "Why'd you have to come here now, Beryl?"
Beryl sat shivering for a long moment before she spoke. "I came
to find out what's going on." she trembled through numb lips.
"This, Beryl!" Scott said gruffly indicating his face. "This is
what's going on."
Why did this woman always seem to get herself into the most
dangerous circumstances? Why did he even care anymore?
More than what was expected of him, he did care. Her
compassion, her strength. Most people would have gone insane from
half of what Grey had done to this woman. He'd seen it happen more
than once and more than once the very thought of him doing that to
Beryl had driven Scott to the edge of violence. Beyond.
So often he had held her when she was shaking and scared.
Looking down at Beryl's tear stained cheeks Scott felt that
tenderness returning.
"It's all right." Scott sighed talking in low gentle tones. "I
won't hurt you, baby. I don't think I could if I wanted to."
Are you sure about that? the inner voice taunted. He wished it
could be more constructive but now that he had Beryl here Scott was
determined to have his say.
"I never betrayed you, Beryl. I swear. It's hard to explain what
happened. It's called Reading, I suppose it's like a telepathy thing
some vampires can do.
"There's so much you have to know but I'm not sure how to say
it. Gordy will be here in a minute, maybe he can."
Beryl looked at Scott as he sat on the edge of the bed not
attempting to come closer. Had he really said 'vampires'?
Scott let Gordy in and quickly closed the door once more. The
middle aged doctor nearly dropped the two bags when he saw Beryl
huddling in the corner.
"She just got here." Scott tried to explain. "I thought it was
you when she knocked."
"Oh, shit." Gordy said opening one of the bags himself. No point
hiding it now, but when Beryl saw Gordy imbibe she made a small
squeak.
An island of sanity had arrived when Gordy came in the door.
Now here was Scott with eyes like empty holes and Gordy who'd always
been so stoic-seeming tearing open and drinking from what looked the
world like a blood-bag. This had to be a joke or she'd hit her head
or this was another of the terrible dreams.
Seeing Beryl's eyes flash with panic, Gordy sat the bag on the
television stand. Scott had gone around the corner into the bathroom
to feed.
"Have you called Mike?"
"There wasn't time." Scott said, the urge sated enough so he
took on a more normal appearance. "She was starting to freak. I had
to try to calm her down."
"Okay, good, but call him now."
"Hey, kiddo." Gordy continued speaking in gentle tones to
Beryl. "You're probably sort of confused by all this, huh? I know
it's pretty freaky but no one's going to hurt you. Believe me, we've
all spent a lot of time and energy making sure you stay safe."
Mike was at the door in minutes. "What happened?" Scott had
only said they had a problem involving Beryl and needed him right
away. "How much did she see?"
"I was pretty vamped out when she got here."
Mike slowly approached Beryl where she sat her eyes somewhat
glazed. "Beryl?" he spoke softly. "Beryl I need you to look at me."
When she didn't respond Scott stepped toward Beryl who pressed
against the wall.
"Should I get Sean?"
"No," Mike gave Scott and Gordy a sharp look but kept his tone
even. "The last thing she needs is a ton of people gawking at her.
You're lucky she didn't try going through one of you two or the
situation would have been unsalvageable. It's up to her really if any
of us get out of this so you two stand over there while I see what I
can do."
"Beryl?" Mike said moving into her line of vision and crouching
down. Beryl's eyes focused on Mike's face. "Hey, how you doing?"
Beryl's reply was a hissing whimper but Mike continued as
though he understood perfectly. "Yeah, I know. Kinda caught you
flatfooted didn't it?" Another unintelligible squawk. "Its pretty
complicated Beryl but I know you can understand it you just listen to
what we have to say. Will you do that?" She gave a high pitched tweet
but it was accompanied by a nodding of her head. "Good, I knew you'd
be reasonable." Mike smiled and ventured to pat Beryl on the
shoulder. "Let's go sit at the table though. My knees ain't as young
as they used to be."
Mike helped Beryl to her feet as Scott looked on anxiously. He
wanted so much to tell her he was sorry that he'd frightened her but
didn't want to backtrack over the success Mike was having in
defusing the situation. He pulled out one of the chairs and backed
away.
Mike sat and heaved an exhausted sigh. Where to start, he
thought, thinking Scott had been correct in saying there was no good
way to say this. "I know you're strong, Beryl. Otherwise you wouldn't
have lasted as long as you have. So I'll just lay it all out. Yes,
Scott and Gordy are vampires."
That word again, Beryl thought. Her mind reeled at the sudden
topsy-turviness that reality had taken. But losing her parents at
eleven, Beryl had experienced topsy-turvy before and one never
forgets that. Or that things do right themselves if you give them
time.
"Are you?" a small voice passed through Beryl's lips and Mike
paused to study her face. Her eyes still looked glazed and over
bright but this was a good sign. Mike know he had to tread delicately
but if she was asking questions then her mind was functioning and
there was hope.
"No," Mike replied. "Grade A certified human."
"How do you know about them?" Beryl asked, her eyes sliding
toward Scott and Gordy without looking directly at them.
Mike touched the cross at his neck. "I'm in with the good guys.
I've survived the bad guys more than once. All of us have."
Beryl scowled thinking about the gold crucifix Scott was
wearing. Guessing at her thoughts Mike continued. "It's not a
good/evil thing. Vampires are just like us humans." Mike waved a
restraining hand. "Many of them consider themselves to be human, just
a bit-different."
"But before we go into any of that," Mike emphasized his words
by putting a hand on Beryl's forearm across the table. "I really
can't begin to tell you how vital it is that you not tell anyone what
you've seen and heard here tonight. I won't sugar coat this, you are
in danger just for knowing."
Beryl's face was pale and she opened her mouth to speak but
Mike stopped her. "We can't really go over the who right now, but
things will go much smoother-"
A harsh pounding came to the door and they all started. Scott
and Mike's eyes met briefly and Beryl saw them freeze for a moment.
Get moving, girl! the inner voice ordered. They've put their
trust in you now prove you're worth it.
Beryl stood and the three men looked at her, wary of what she
might do. Mike had been quite correct to say that is was up to Beryl
if any of them made it out of this.
With a deep breath Beryl straightened and held her head high.
She stepped away from the table, her mind thrumming quickly over how
to handle this volatile situation.
"You!" Beryl picked up the bag of blood that Gordy had sat down
and handed it to Scott releasing the item as quickly as Scott's
fingers closed around it. "Finish this up and leave just a little on
your lips." She looked at Gordy. "Take his pulse or something. You,
look vaguely worried." she added to Mike who already did really.
"One minute." Beryl called when the knock repeated. Scott had
finished the blood and Beryl shuddered seeing a red foam on his
lips. "Lay down." she said before her resolve could flag too much.
Beryl took the bag from Scott, deposited it in the bathroom trash and
looked quickly in the mirror. Straightening her hair and wiped any
remaining tears from her cheeks. Her eye's were red but it was going
on three in the morning so she figured it could be expected.
"Who is it?" Beryl called through the door.
"Night manager." a deep voice answered. "I've had complaints. I
need to come in." Beryl eyed the others who each returned the look
grimly. Why was he here in person instead of calling first?
Beryl grabbed her stomach and made a pained expression. Scott
caught on and lay back holding his abdomen. He rose an eyebrow at
Gordy who stood over him. Was this the same woman who was cowering
the corner not long ago? Hadn't he already decided her strength was
one of the things he loved about her?
Love? the inner voice smirked at him but Scott thought the
analysis was best saved for a later time.
Taking another steadying breath Beryl opened the door just
slightly.
"I got some complaints of raised voices." a short, pudgy man
said. Beryl scowled, even when Scott had spoken gruffly it wouldn't
have been loud enough to be heard through the walls.
"I have a sick man in here." Beryl said as the night manager
pushed past her.
"There's a lot of people in here."
"Excuse me, Mr-"
Atherton. And you are?"
"Chrysoberyl Pemberton. I and Dr. Piron are the Medical staff
for WWE. We asked Mr. Michaels to help us get Mr Hall into a car so
we could get him to the hospital."
The pear shaped man covered his mouth. "Is he contagious?
Should I call an ambulance?"
"He's not contagious. He's injured."
"I'm calling an ambulance."
Beryl took and exasperated sigh and put her fingertips to her
forehead. "Let's do each other a favor, Mr. Atherton." She put her
hand on the man's shoulder and turned him back toward the door. "If
you call an ambulance the EMT's are going to have to sign privacy
wavers and that means I'll have to call Mr. McMahon's private
attorney. She'll call Mr. McMahon and he'll be-oh don't get me
started. I can only imagine that he'll reconsider having his people
stay here.
"There's what fifty, sixty of our people here? At fifty bucks a
night and most of us have been here two days." Beryl looked at
Mike. "We play Boston what three, four times a year?"
"At least." Mike nodded earnestly.
"Wow, that's like twenty-five thousand dollars in business
you'll have to explain to your boss how you lost. And maybe Mr.
McMahon will decide never to do business with any other franchise
either. To put it mildly we'd both be out jobs. Or you can accept our
apology about the noise, go back to the front desk and let us get
this man to the emergency room."
The man, who'd blanched at the word 'attorney', looked to each
of the four in turn seeming incapable of action.
"Look!" Beryl grabbed his lapel. "I don't have to dick around
with you with blood seeps into this man's abdomen. Now toddle
yourself back downstairs and let me get him some help or I will make
damn sure when the whole flock of lawyers get started on the lawsuit
they know exactly who kept us from seeing he got emergency medical
care in time to save him."
Almost to emphasize the point Scott gave an agonized groan.
"Go." the man sniveled and Beryl escorted him roughly to the
door. "Sorry." he popped his head back inside. "I'm a big fan."
Beryl closed the door, leaned against it and sighed covering
her face in her hands.
"Damn!" the three men said in unison as they eyed her
incredulously.

 

The relief of having dodged the bullet was short lived.
"If he's working for the council we had better be on out way in
case there's more coming." Mike said.
"More of who?" Beryl asked from the door.
Scott stood and approached Beryl who stepped away from him
quickly. He held up his hands to show he wasn't going to hurt
her. "We'll explain as best we can later but we have to leave now."
"You tow get Scott packed, I'll go with Beryl to get her things
and come back here so Gordy and I can pack." Mike said back to
directing traffic. "Kevin's already gone home so call Sean, he's the
only one whose had enough sleep to make the drive to Concord." Mike
turned to Beryl. "Come on, we have to hurry."
Beryl's room was on the floor above at the opposite end. Not a
vast distance but she couldn't remember ever having taken a longer
walk than this. Mike walked behind Beryl at guard for signs of anyone
approaching. They reached the empty elevator and Mike stood in front.
When the door opened he stepped out and quickly scanned the hallway
before waving Beryl out. They were at her door when the lift doors
opened again. Mike stepped next to Beryl as a woman and two men
entered the corridor. One man looked at them for a moment before they
walked in the opposite direction.
Beryl opened the door of her room and she and Mike
entered. "You'll have to come with us in the minivan." He said hoping
she wouldn't balk.
Beryl was still too bewildered by the night's events to offer
any protests. She called the rental company and told them the car
she'd rented wouldn't start and she'd leave the keys with the clerk
because she didn't have time to wait around for anyone.
Mike looked through the curtain into the back parking lot. A pair
of dark sedans occupied the end spaces nearest the exit. He watched
them while Beryl packed her bags but couldn't see any movement from
inside the vehicles.
"We'll go back to Scott's room." Mike said and having seen Beryl
flinch away from Scott he added. "I know you're a bit thrown but it's
probably the safest place for you."
She'd been told that they would explain and Beryl was thinking
to herself that someone had damn well better.
Once back in Scott's room Mike gathered everyone's room keys to
check them out. After Mike and Gordy left the silence between Scott
and Beryl was nearly tangible. They had a hundred things they wanted
to say to each other but didn't know where to begin. Scott wanted to
tell Beryl once again, now that she was more cognizant, that he
hadn't kissed and told.
Scott had called the ability to enter another's mind Reading
and Beryl thought about that aspect for several minutes. Hadn't one
of the ideas she'd had before coming here been that someone had seen
her memories and given her some of theirs. And now a question entered
Beryl's mind.
"My," she began and her voice so abruptly it seemed almost
deafening. "The way I felt for you." she emphasized the past tense a
little. "Did you put that in my head?"
Scott was torn between glad Beryl was speaking to him and
wounded she could think him capable of such a violation. "I have the
ability to Read but I rarely use it. I think it's too much like ra-
other things I would never do. I've never been in your head, Beryl."
She turned away. Guess again, she thought. You've barely been
out of it for weeks.
"Besides," Scott continued, pulling a tee-shirt on. "You have
the ability to block."
Beryl turned back to Scott. "What do you mean?"
Scott sat on the edge of the bed and watched the way the light
shone softly on Beryl's hair. "When I first found out you were being
Read I blocked it but you started blocking yourself."
"How?"
Scott smiled. "I don't know. No one really does. Few people can
do it and I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing it so
quickly."
"But who w-?"
Scott stopped her. "I can't tell you who it is. We're going
against the rules telling you as much as we have, but the council
will understand our reasoning when we get a chance to explain. We've
tried to make sure you stay safe from --him but naming names is
inexcusable and I doubt any of us would be spared."
Beryl leaned against the wall and looked at Scott. A secret
population of vampires, a governing organization that apparently
spied on its members and now possible execution for simply knowing
they exist. She felt her legs tremble and side stepped into the chair
she'd occupied before the situation had gone from weird to worse.
"Hey," Scott came to kneel beside her, he didn't move to touch
her knowing she'd likely flinch away from him but he rested his hands
on the arms of the chair. "We'll make it out of this. Mike will call
our contact and we'll explain why we had to do this. The guys have
been after me to tell you for weeks to tell you anyway."

Mike stuffed his bags full and went to turn in all the keys.
Keeping with the charade Beryl had begun was vital and Mike explained
to the woman behind the counter why he had all the keys. He gave the
woman Beryl's car keys and while she scribbled a note for the shift
that would take over in just about an hour Mike ventured a
question. "Does a Mr. Atherton still work here? Last time I stayed he
was the night manager I believe, we went to school together back in
the day."
"No," the heavy set woman replied. "I've worked her since they
built the place and I don't think we've ever had a Mr. Atherton."
"Must be another town." Mike said. "Sometimes they all run
together."
"I imagine." the clerk nodded sympathetically. "You take care
now. You'll do yourself a mischief if you're not careful."
"Mischief's my middle name." Mike winked and gave the woman
such a devilishly charming smile that she blushed and giggled.

Scott stood from comforting Beryl and when he opened the door
he was startled to see how pale Mike's face had become.
"The clerk's never heard of our good Mr. Atherton." He handed
Beryl the keys to the minivan. "You'll go in front. When we get to
the car unlock the sliding door so we can get Scott inside and hand
the keys to Sean. You'll ride in the middle, Sean drives and I ride
shotgun. Let's move."
The quintet made their way across the parking lot. Sean and
Mike flanked Scott who hunched as though trying to bend double from
pain in the mid-section. When they reached the vehicle Beryl unlocked
the door and as she stepped aside her eyes darted to a curtain being
pulled open several floors up. It was her room she realized and the
voyeur had a physique similar the man who had questioned them. Beryl
looked away from the window, her heart lurching in fear. Her eyes
were inching up the wall when Scott stepped forward with
Mike's "assistance".
"Don't look back." he whispered softly. "We see him."
As they rolled past the two dark cars Mike took his cell phone
from his jacket pocket and dialed Vonnegut's number. If any of them
would feel safe to sleep ever again this problem needed to be sorted
out now. If Mike was concerned about waking Vonnegut he needn't have
been as the contact answered on the first ring.
"Her resourcefulness has saved you all. Tell your vampire to
take greater care in the future." The line went dead after that and
Mike folded the phone giving Scott a look.
"He's not happy with you but it's cool."
"How do you know for sure?" Beryl asked.
Scott snorted derisively. "The council is too convinced or their
own power to lie."
Beryl rolled her eyes. The cloak and dagger was wearing
thin. "Council of what?"
"The Order." Mike said. "The inner circle you might say. There
are other things besides vampires and The Order tries to keep things
running smoothly between us and all of them. The council decides how
best to do that."
"There has to be a balance and there are cells of people who
observe and make sure that gets done." Scott sighed. "We are the ones
who do that here, but we've been off lately. There's supposed to be a
sixth but she left."
Sean made a noise but didn't speak.
"I'm sorry, Beryl." Scott resumed. "The dreams, the feeling that
you were being followed, all of it's my fault. I came back to the
company to try and help restore the balance but I haven't been able
to. Certain elements have proven harder to control than I thought and
you got caught in the middle."
Beryl contemplated their words for a long while. A question
occurred her but when she turned toward Scott and Gordy she say they
had both dozed off. Realizing that it had been a long time since she
herself had slept and weeks since she'd slept well Beryl lay her head
on the duffel next to the window. She curled her legs onto the seat
and stretched out.

Scott leaned forward over the middle seat and quietly watched
Beryl sleeping. Gordy was snoring loudly next to him and Mike dozed
in the front. Scott released a breath, for weeks he'd dreaded telling
her but with it all said and done he did feel a bit better. He wished
he could be certain that they could get back together but for now he
was content that she knew he hadn't done anything as deplorable as
Grey had said.
Scott reached out and brushed a strand of Beryl's auburn hair
from her face. She blinked awake. "Thanks." Beryl said stiffly seeing
Scott's jacket laying over her. She handed it over the seat as she
sat up.
"We're almost to Concord." Scott said "We're getting checked
into the hotel then going out to breakfast if you want to come with
us."
"I think I'll stay at the hotel." Beryl replied quickly but when
Scott tried to hide a hurt expression she smiled tightly. "I need a
hot shower and a couple more hours of sleep before I face the world."

"So at least she knows now." Sean said. They hadn't had a
chance to tell him anything. It had shocked him, to say the least,
when they called him in the middle of the night and told him that
they all had to leave immediately. Once they'd gotten to the
restaurant they took a booth away from the other customers and told
Sean everything up until they'd called him.
"Maybe now things will get back to normal." Gordy said. "As
normal as they ever get around here anyway."
Scott didn't say anything but knew that with the situation
involving Beryl at least partly resolved he'd better concentrate on
keeping his charges in check. For the next week that would be easier
since Grey was out of commission. But eventually he'd be back.

Sean apologized to Chris Jericho, who was not aware of the more
unusual denizens of the company, saying that he'd misjudged the slide
and that they had changed the match because Scott was mad at Grey for
lying to Beryl about what he said. Jericho took it well sitting with
Scott and Sean at dinner before he had to get ready for the first
match.
Scott noticed when Beryl came in because she came in late and
sat at an empty table away from everyone else her eyes darted to
those closest and Scott saw that she hadn't eaten any of her meal
before she left barely fifteen minutes after she'd sat down.
"How's she doing?" he asked Gordy.
"Trying to keep busy enough not to think about it." Gordy
replied. "Its something she'll have to work through for herself."
"I know." Scott said softly.

Beryl busied herself with running an inventory of the medical
supplies, needing a diversion from her thoughts. These people she had
bandaged, talked and joked with as they ate meals together. Now
whenever she saw anyone her mind crawled with images of what they
might be.
Scott watched from the doorway as Beryl pulled various boxes
form the cupboard, counted their contents and made a mark on a
clipboard. With her mind occupied Beryl looked more serene than she
had at dinner and Scott was glad she had found a moment's peace.
Beryl was checking her counts against the usage report and
didn't hear Scott approach from behind even though her had cleared
his throat to warn her he was there. Scott reached up and lay his
hand on Beryl's shoulder.
Stifling a shout Beryl whipped around causing the clipboard to
hit the linoleum with a clatter. A look of fear more intense than the
one she'd worn at the carnival nearly a month earlier flashed in the
moment her eyes met Scott's. Backing as far as she could into the
counter, Beryl's hand came up to her throat while she caught her
breath.
Scott stepped back form Beryl looking at her as thought seeing
her clearly for the first time. The blue cast of the florescent bulbs
shone down and Scott thought they made Beryl seem small and fragile.
He reached up to touch her hair softly. He had been so sure that if
she knew the truth things would be different but he hadn't expected
that they would get worse. Instead of angry she was terrified of him.
Scott studied Beryl's face, if this was the last time he would be
this close he wanted to remember as much as he could.
His fingertips caressed the smooth skin of her cheek. "I would
never have hurt you, Beryl." he said gently and turned toward the
door.
Beryl's breath caught in her throat as Scott made to leave. She
had spent three hour in her hotel this morning alone with her
thoughts, which made the room quite crowded indeed.
Scott was a vampire, she had seen enough of his face when she'd
surprised him in his room to find it plausible. The depthlessness of
his eyes had chilled her in the light but had awed her when she'd
seen them in the dark. If he had been in full grip of his drives last
night he could easily have killed her but he hadn't. And she would
have been far more vulnerable while she had lain in his arms.
Obviously he didn't mean to harm her.
Whatever else this man was, she was Scott. The same Scott she
had trusted more than anyone else in all her adult life.
Now Beryl's heart lurched that he was leaving with the
impression that the opposite were true.
"It isn't you, Scott." Beryl said, quickly touching his arm
hoping to halt him. He looked at her over his shoulder. "You said you
can't tell me who made me see those horrid things and I accept that,
Scott but that means he's still out there.
"I've likely been alone in a locker room with someone who raped
and killed a girl and wanted me to see it." A shudder of revulsion
mixed with fear stole up Beryl's spine. She didn't want to cry but
found herself unable to blink back the tears.
Scott came back to stand in front of Beryl. He wiped her tears
away with his thumbs as he cradled her face. "If you think I'd let
anyone harm you while there's breath in my body you haven't been
paying attention."
Beryl couldn't restrain herself, she threw her arms around
Scott's neck and kissed him deeply. The moment of shock that Scott
experience was short-lived and suddenly it was almost as if they had
barely come up for air from their last kiss.

 

"We never did have that meal, did we?" Scott said pulling Beryl
back into his arms.
"No, we didn't." Beryl lifted her head and smiled. Twenty-four
hours ago they had been in another Med Room in a very different mood.
"I know this great restaurant just down the street. I don't
think the others go there much. It's quiet, sort of dark and the
food's top shelf."
"I was convinced when you said meal." Beryl laughed at Scott's
attempts to entice. "I'm starved."
"I noticed you didn't eat earlier." Scott said.
Beryl's head straightened. "Have you eaten?"
"I didn't clean my plate completely but I got enough." Scott
teased, knowing without Beryl's smirk that that wasn't what she'd
meant. "No, I came hoping to find Gordy."
"He's in with Shane." Beryl threw her head back and laughed
almost hysterically.
"What?"
"All this time I though you guys were coming to Gordy for
steroids."
"That's what everyone's supposed to think. It's easier that
way." Scott said and cut open the unmarked box. Beryl had never
opened the boxed Gordy brought in because he had a strict policy that
he himself do all the initial counts on new supplies and now Beryl
knew why.
Scott pulled out a bag and Beryl turned to face the wall. In her
typical habit Beryl fastened onto the analytical approach as it
concerned Scott's vampirism. Her years in nursing and med school made
her ask questions.
"May I ask you something?" Beryl began hoping not to hear any
weird sounds as Scott fed. "If you can't answer just say so."
"Go ahead." Scott said in a deep raspy voice that made Beryl
jump slightly.
"Do you eat-other food-out of habit or do you still need to?"
"We need food same as any human." Scott said. "We also need
blood but it serves a different purpose."
"Sorry." Beryl swallowed hard at Scott's tone.
Scott stepped around until Beryl could see he'd finished. "I
consider myself human." his tone was softer.
Beryl looked up at Scott's face. Again her inner voice repeated.
Whatever he was, he was Scott. "So do I." she said.
Scott's brushed his knuckle softly across Beryl's cheek. "I have
to go get ready for my run-in. I'll meet you back here after the
show." Beryl nodded and Scott smiled to hear her heart flutter.
"You're feeling better, I see." Gordy said as he came in several
minutes later to find Beryl humming to herself as she watched the
monitor.
"Much better."
It's about time the two of you came to your senses, Gordy
thought. He'd passed Scott in the corridor. Most of the time Scott
kept his thoughts in check so those of him line couldn't connect
unless he wanted them to but as he passed by Beryl's face filled
Gordy's mind. Kids, he'd thought shaking his head.
The run-in went smoothly but Batista skinned his elbow in the
ring steps during the main event and Beryl was wrapping it in gauze
when Scott knocked.
"Thanks, Doc." Batista said as he opened the door and side
stepped Scott.
"You ready?" Scott leaned in the door frame. He'd changed into
jeans and a blue chambray shirt. He must have just stepped out of the
shower because his hair was still damp when he'd clubbed it back.
Beryl smiled-damn he looked hot.

Scott had described the restaurant accurately Beryl saw. Candles
lit every table with dancing light and music, comprised mainly of
soft violins lilted through the air.
"You look really nice." Scott said.
Beryl smiled at him. "I'm a wreck, but thank you."
Scott reached across the table to lay his hand over Beryl's.
Beryl liked the feel of her hand in Scott's but her mind was suddenly
troubled. The gloom-and-doom feeling was getting tiring and yet Beryl
couldn't shake it.
"What is it?" Scott's grip tightened.
"You already told me who it is." Beryl looked at Scott's hand.
Her mind went back to the day before when Grey had grabbed her wrist.
The scar of a scratch on the back of a tanned hand that she'd seen
ball into a fist and draw blood from the mouth and nose of that poor
terrified child in the vision Beryl had been forced to relive so
often. A chill went up her spine that she really had been alone with
the one who'd come so close to driving her mad. The words Scott had
said to her just moments later came to her.
"We can't talk here." Scott stood and pulled Beryl up with him.
He approached the counter and paid for their coffees, which were
nearly untouched.
Scott was silent so long on the drive to the hotel that Beryl
was sure he was angry with her. A buzz did fill Scott's head but it
was more a jumble of where he should start in his explanation. He was
glad she was figuring out so much, it made telling her the truth
easier. He'd wanted this opportunity and now The Order couldn't touch
her. Vonnegut had said so and something truly drastic would have to
occur for him to change his mind.
With an arm draped over Beryl's shoulder Scott led her to his
room. As soon as they entered Scoot went into the bathroom, the sink
was still running when he returned with a small towel. "I can't tell
you if you're right or wrong but I can show you something. I have to
call Gordy and hook up first because this isn't easy." Scott nodded
toward the bed as he picked up the hotel phone. "Sit down." Gordy had
just gotten a shipment from a runner and brought two to Scott's room.
Scott thanked him but didn't offer the explanation he senses Gordy
was expecting before closing the door quickly.
Scott sat the bags on the nightstand next to Beryl who swallowed
hard at the fact that Scott would actually be drinking it soon.
"This isn't going to be easy to watch." Scott looked Beryl in
the eyes. "You can leave if you want but I think you need to hear
what I have to say."
"I'll stay." Beryl said. Truth be told she was more than a
little curious. Believing Mike's assertion that vampirism had nothing
to do with good or evil Beryl decided it must be a medical condition
and she wanted to know the facts.
Scott looked as though he wanted to say something else but after
a moment he reached into this pocket and pulled out the small knife
he'd opened the box with earlier. He sat it on the table and rolled
up his sleeve.
"What are you going to do?" Beryl looked up at Scott nervously.
Without responding Scott set his face in a grim expression and drew
the blade across his inner arm just below the elbow. "Scott!" she
gasped in horror and saw not the streams of crimson but a thick mass
of black matter.
"Because I can't say who it is I'll let you think back to where
you've seen this before." Scott said as Beryl remembered trying to
staunch Grey's bleeding. "Our blood changes, no one knows why.
Hundreds of years ago people thought it was because we were dead and
it was decaying but obviously that isn't true."
"Hundreds of years?" Beryl repeated. "How-"
"I'm fourty-five." Scott almost laughed as he held the towel to
his arm. He sat down on the bed next to Beryl whose brains was
bursting with questions. Scott opened the first bag and drained it
drinking a bottle of water afterward.
"Have you always been a vampire?"
Scott sighed, this was probably the most difficult question to
answer because it concerned the aspect of his life he was least proud
of. He had long ago learned to be honest with himself about it
however and he would give Beryl no less.
"I was turned six years ago. I don't remember it really." Scott
lowered his eyes slightly. "I wasn't in a stable frame of mind, I'm
sure my reputation precedes me. It often does."
Beryl put her hand on top of Scott's. "I have heard lots of
things, but I didn't hear them from you. I'm sorry, Scott." her eyes
held his without looking away though she felt ashamed. "My uncle gave
me some advice once that I should have remembered. He told me that
when someone tells you that another person is up to no good you need
to ask yourself why. What's in it for them. I was so hurt that Grey
had known something only you and I shared I was too angry to consider
reason."
Scott ran his knuckle along Beryl's cheek. "Next time you'll
know better."
"I don't want there to be a next time." Beryl replied, close to
tears. "I should have asked you if it was true."
Scott wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. "Let's both
do that. I'll never lie to you and if you want to know anything at
all just ask me. I promise to do the same."
The pulsing of Beryl's heart quickened and she gave him a kiss
that became quite passionate. Scott's hands roamed to Beryl's waist
and she seemed more than compliant with them, but a flash of the
things he'd seen made him pull away a bit.
"There's something you should know." Scott kept Beryl at arm's
length as he stood. "You do something to me."
"What?" Beryl asked.
"I've never hunted for blood, I want you to know that." Scott
began. "But when we...in you room that night...I wanted to. I'd never
want to hurt you, not in a million years but I don't know if I could
stop myself." Scott looked away.
"Hey." Beryl said softly, pulling Scott's face to her again. "I
trust you. If you were going to hurt me you could have any number of
times but you didn't even try to." She tilted her head to the side
and smiled crookedly. "Besides, you just lost a lot of blood, if you
try anything too wild I'd slap ya'."
Scott couldn't help but grin and held Beryl in his arms looking
down into her eyes. "I can be quite a handful from time to time."
"Is that a suggestion?" Beryl arched a wicked brow.
Scott paused as though considering. "I don't think I need any
help getting going."
"Yes, I know." Beryl's eyes glittered as she pressed her body
fully against him to stretch up and kiss Scott who pulled her shirt
from the waist band of her jeans.
"Neither do you it seems." Scott smiled as Beryl worked at his
buttons.
"If I did, I'd let you know." Beryl pushed the shirt back off
Scott's arms pinning them briefly behind him and planting her mouth
at the base of his throat licking his salty skin with the tip of her
tongue.
"I would most willingly oblige." He freed his arms one by one
to wrap them around Beryl, his palms resting at the bare skin in the
middle of her back. His lips caressed her neck just under her ear and
if Beryl had any remaining qualms they were silenced when Scott
guided her down to the bed breaking the momentum with one hand as he
covered her.
Scott held his weight on his elbows, his body responding to the
feel of Beryl beneath him as her hands touched him softly at his ribs
while her mouth caressed his shoulder.
Beryl gave a soft laugh as Scott's lips tickled along her neck
before he stood to unfasten his jeans. Beryl wriggled out of hers
while Scott turned off the lamp. When he lay back down Beryl reached
her hands upward around his waist and pushed her fingers beneath the
elastic of his briefs, raking her nails lightly against his hips as
they moved slowly against each other, hands and mouths exploring.
Scott's head came up from kissing Beryl's breasts and he looked down
on her form a moment before turning quickly and pulling her on top of
him.
Scott nuzzled Beryl's ear looking along her back to where his
hands worked at the eye-and-hook fasteners. They came apart and the
article found its way to the carpet. Beryl swept her hair to the side
and kissed the front of Scott's throat as she lay against him, the
crisping of dark hair that covered his chest tickling deliciously.
The feel of Beryl's light weight atop him was splendid to Scott
and he kissed the tender skin of her throat. Having just fed he was
able to relax at the way her pulse felt against his lips, letting him
consider all the intriguing what-ifs. Scott ran his palms down to the
swell of Beryl's hips and with urgent pressure he pushed against her.
Beryl caught her breath as the outline of Scott's firm penis pressed
at the yellow cotton her panties.
"Oh God Scott." Beryl arched her hips into his in absolute
readiness.
In quick fashion Scott divested Beryl of her last remaining
garment and covered her once again, firm hands pulled Beryl's leg
upward from the knee. A soft moan escaped her as Scott filled her so
exquisitely continuing with a steady momentum of his hips.
Scott smiled pruriently down into Beryl's face meeting the eyes
that glittered desirously up at him. He claimed her lips, his tongue
tasting the sweetness of her mouth as he moved within her. The
approaching climax began to throb through Scott as he lifted his head
as his strokes became more forceful. Beryl kissed his throat, his
jaw, twined her fingers in the forest of his hair pulling his lips to
meet hers once more as they moved against each other.

Even in the spellbound aftermath Scott refused to let Beryl out
of his arms as they lay facing each other. Their eyes met in the soft
light.
"I love you." they both began and laughed.
Scott smiled. "Well that solves the awkward moment of wondering
if one of us said it because the other one did." his eyes crinkled
and he rolled to his back. Beryl snuggled against him beneath the
crisp white sheets and blue bedspread.
For a month Beryl had suffered terrible nightmares, days on end
of hair raising fear and sickening visions. Now she released a
peaceful sigh as she lay her head on Scott's chest and listened to
his heart. In fact only one thought intruded into this blissful
reverie.
The last thing Beryl had been able to eat was the dinner she had
angrily walked away from because of Grey's unwelcome proposition.
According to the red read-out of the clock on the nightstand that was
about twenty-six hours ago and suddenly Beryl's stomach felt every
single one of them.
Kissing the furred space about Scott's heart Beryl tried to pull
away but Scott wrapped his iron thawed arm around her. "Don't go." he
breathed into her hair.
Beryl smiled. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Scott. I'm just
going to run downstairs for something to eat."
He released his grip but sat up when she stood. "I just got you
back." He reached for his clothing. "I'm not going to lose you to
ptomaine-poisoning from a vending machine sandwich."
Beryl shook her head and laughed as she pulled on her jeans.
"I tell you what." Scott stood. "There's a place on the other
side of town, they close in about 45 minutes but if we book we can
make it. We'll get some stuff to go, come back here and you can ask
me the million of questions I can hear the gears grinding over."
"I thought you didn't read minds." Beryl smirked prettily.
Scott's mouth twisted into a playful smile. "You're not real
hard to figure out."
"You haven't figured me out yet." Beryl looked around for her
shirt.
"I'm sure I'll have fun trying though." Scott tossed her the
article. "Sound good?"
"Sounds good." Beryl tied her shoes.
They managed to get to the restaurant in time to order and took
the meals back to the hotel, sitting on the bed cross-legged as
though they were on a picnic.
"Okay, begin you interview with the vampire." Scott teased.
"Ha-ha." Beryl smirked and opened her mouth to ask a question.
"No, I can't turn into a bat." Scott said cutting his t-bone.
"I wasn't going to ask that." Beryl laughed.
"I'm sorry, babe." Scott patted Beryl's knee. "Go ahead."
"Well, sunlight and crosses don't hurt you, but is there
anything that harms you?"
"I'd probably die if you hammered a stake into my chest."
"Well, duh." Beryl eyed Scott dubiously. He smiled innocently
and handed her a cheesy biscuit.
"Actually we're rather resilient." Scott said thoughtfully
chewing a bite of lobster while he considered his words. "Things that
do severe damage to normal people we can usually bounce back from
fairly quickly."
"So you're pretty much invulnerable?"
"Not really. If we take a bad enough hit we die like anyone
else. Damage to the spinal cord can still paralyze us, but normal
tissue is regenerated more quickly."
"So you really could have killed Grey?"
Scott shrugged. "I wouldn't want to kill even a sad son-of-a-
bitch like him, not that I'd miss him much. I just needed to deliver
a message."
"What?"
"To leave you alone." Scott looked Beryl dead in the eye. She
swallowed hard at the realization that Scott had protected her when
she was so angry. "There are also wards but they're different for
each of us. There's something about garlic that can be unpleasant. No
wait, that's bad breath."
"Scott!" Beryl giggled.
"Certain of us are more sensitive to it than others." He said
more seriously. Grey's line is highly allergic, mine not so much."
"Line?"
"Sort of like a family. A vampire can be born or turned." Scott
explained. "The vampire that turned me was born into it. That's
really all I know about her, but either way I'm part of her line,
which includes Gordy."
"Are there many lines?"
"A dozen, maybe less."
"There can't be many of you then."
"More than you'd think." Scott said.
Beryl was quiet for a moment considering Scott's words as she
watched him eat. "You said the blood served a purpose, what does it
do?"
Scott looked at Beryl thinking about her reactions; whenever he'd
fed in front of her she had looked away or tried to hide an
involuntary shudder. "Control." he said. "Whether we hunt or get our
supply from a store house, we have to feed at least once a day, more
if we use a lot of energy."
Beryl's brow crimped and Scott tried not to smile, but he found
it really sort of cute. "Like working out or something?"
"No," Scott said stretching out on his bed. "Certain of the
things we do use lots of energy. Reading takes a lot if you're not
used to it. So does Zipping."
"Zipping?"
"That's just what I call it." Scott smiled. "I don't know if
that the right word."
"What is it?" Beryl asked as she sat in the middle of Scott's
bed looking at him. She was trying to stay on the topic but Scott
looked so good laying half on his side with one ankle crossed over
the other. He had unbuttoned his shirt part way and Beryl was
fighting to keep her concentration.
Scott looked at Beryl warmly then his eyes slid toward the
dresser. "Your bags about to fall." He said. Beryl turned her head to
look and was shocked to Scott pushing it away from the edge of the
dresser. "I got it."
Sure she couldn't be seeing Scott in both places Beryl looked
back around. Scott winked at her from the window.
"How'd-" Beryl half turned to look toward the bag and now Scott
was leaning over her. In a shocked reflex Beryl scrambled away from
him, nearly upsetting her Styrofoam dinner container. Teetering on
the edge of the bed Beryl found herself being pulled firmly against
Scott's chest.
"How's that for showing off?"
"Scott, that's freaky."
"Yeah, but I'm liking the outcome." he said cradling Beryl to
him as he held her easily under her knees and back.
"I guess I can't complain myself." Beryl wrapped her arms around
Scott neck as he shifted her in his arms and kissed her deeply. When
Scott lifted his head he again saw the outline of Beryl's veins
beneath her skin.
Beryl studied Scott's eyes as he released her knees, deciding
they weren't so much empty as a velvety blackness. Yet as she watched
the darkness deepened until she felt herself falling into them. Beryl
lay her palms on Scott's chest and stretched up to kiss him. Scott
held her away slightly with a hand on her shoulders. He hadn't meant
to start Reading her and only the memory of what he'd done to her in
his dream forced him to recede. Still he heard the flow of Beryl's
blood and his growing hunger was a drive unconquerable, he was not
surprised to find himself erect.
A smile almost cruel in its wantonness played across Scott's
parted lips making the fangs visible to Beryl. This broke the
mesmerized state of her mind and she turned away from him but Scott
grabbed her arms pulling her back.
"You're wondering how it would feel." Scott breathed in the
guttural growl. "It would hurt," he ground his hips into Beryl. "But
I would do things that would make you love it." He lowered his head
and ran the tip of his tongue along the side of her neck. Beryl's
heart tripped. This made him stop and Scott pushed Beryl to arm's
length. "Go get a shower started. I'll be there in a minute." He was
tempted to tell her to lock the door against him as well.

Beryl pressed her back against the all-too-flimsy planking and
shook her head to clear it. For one moment all the world had been
Scott's eyes that swallowed her up, his voice that enticed her to
want a touch so far from loving.
Scott watched as Beryl closed the door behind her seeing by the
shadows that she hadn't moved away. Still her heart hammered in her
chest torn between a survival instinct and a desire so very dark.
Scott opened the remaining bag and let the blood sate him.
Beryl looked at Scott's phone laying on the counter next to the
sink still running with water. If he used up all the hot water I'll
ring his neck. Beryl almost laughed that so normal a thought could
enter her mind after so abnormal an occurrence. But that was how
Beryl dealt with such situations. Who could truly define normal
anyway?
A week ago normal had meant the world played by a certain set of
rules. Barely twenty-four hour ago those rules had been drastically
altered. Suddenly monsters were real, but along with that knowledge
came one sure thought. Scott was no monster. No matter what he needed
to do or how dark his nature while he did it.

 

Beryl stepped out of the shower, realizing her bag was still in
the other room. She bit her lip and listened but didn't hear anything
from the bedroom to discourage her going to retrieve the article.
Deciding that given Scott's nature, she'd likely know when she saw
his face if it was all right to approach him. Wrapping one of the
large towels around herself, Beryl slowly opened the door.
The lamp next to the bed was still on but Scott wasn't here. She
grabbed her bag from the dresser and turned back when the key rattled
in the lock.
"You all right?" Beryl asked as Scott came in carrying two more
bags in a paper sack.
"Better." he said.
"You're going to pack those on ice aren't you?" Beryl rose an
eyebrow.
"Yeah, why?" Scott grabbed the ice bucket.
Beryl smirked. "I just got you back. I don't want to lose you to
a blood-borne pathogen you got from not keeping your supply at a safe
temperature."
Scott smiled but the mention of the blood reminded him of his
actions when he'd been vamped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you
earlier."
Scott's eyes were again the dreamy hazel Beryl had become so
fond of. He hadn't buttoned his shirt before he'd left and Beryl
noticed that however much time had passed it hadn't completely erased
his desire.
"I'd have to say it wasn't entirely your lust for blood
talking." Beryl tilted her head to the side.
"I was fine until I saw you all wet and wrapped in a towel."
"You want I should take it off?"
"Do you think that will resolve the situation?" Scott's eyes
glittered with mirth.
"Maybe not right away." Beryl smiled letting the towel drop just
slightly. "But I think it could lead to some interesting things."
"I could almost guarantee that." Scott's eyes followed the line
of the towel as it sagged against Beryl's breasts.
He knew now that he would have to feed whenever he made love to
her but at least it was a solution. If there was another he would
find it but the fact that he had become so drained after so little a
thing as moving across the room made Scott see he would need to
become more adept with his abilities. Those things were issues for
later however as Beryl stood so temptingly before him.
Scott stripped to his briefs while Beryl watched appreciatively.
He stepped forward to close the distance between them and swept Beryl
up into his arms. "Isn't this where we left off?"
"I believe it was." Beryl again wrapped her arms around Scott's
neck while he cradled her. Scott moved to the bed and lay her down.
She met his eyes and saw that although they were still normal looking
they held a glimmer of predatory want. He leaned forward crawling
along Beryl's body until he hovered above her. Scott claimed a kiss
as Beryl moved beneath him arching up slightly.
Scott's mouth trailed down to Beryl's throat and continued to
the edge of the towel. He rose and unfolded the corner that held it
closed. Beryl gasped as Scott's mouth closed over her bare peak.
"Scott," she murmured softly. His lips brushed against hers, his
hand sliding down Beryl's side to rest at her waist. Beryl's eyes
fluttered closed as she relaxed into the feel of Scott's passionate
maneuvering. Scott's weight was lifted away and Beryl felt his lips
return to touch her stomach, his hands caressing her as he slid lower.
Beryl was utterly besotted with the ecstasy Scott inspired as
his mouth torched the skin of her inner thigh. His name moaned past
her lips with pleasured shock while Scott's tongue scorched at her
flesh. Scott held her in such a way that Beryl couldn't refuse him as
the sensation grew so unbelievably intense that it seemed the very
walls would burst into flame it he continued much longer.
Scott pulled back and entered Beryl so full her hands came up in
a reflex to push away from him. It would hurt, but I would make you
love it; his words repeated in Beryl's head.
Scott moved from his knees, burying Beryl's climax in the
beginning of another. Wrapping her tanned legs about Scott and
arching with his insistent hips, Beryl looked up into Scott's face.
He leaned forward planting his palms on either side of Beryl for
leverage as he rocked into her. Beryl dug passion-thoughtless nails
into his arms but he hardly felt it as his gaze met and held hers.
After a moment Scott grabbed both edges of the towel and sitting
back he pulled Beryl up until she was straddling him as he knelt on
the mattress. His arms wound about her pressing her firmly to his
solid chest as he came up on his knees with each thrust.
"Chrysoberyl." he growled against her throat. When she was
younger Beryl hadn't much liked having so unusual a name but she
loved the way Scott said it.
Interlocking Beryl's fingers in his Scott leaned forward
trapping her beneath him holding her hands above her head as he dealt
the final rough strokes.
They came together floating in blissful currents back to earth
to nestle in each other's arms. Scott kissed Beryl's temple as she
lay a drowsy head on his shoulder.

Sunlight stole across the bed shining against the red highlights
in Beryl's hair. She lay on her stomach still partaking of the
soundest sleep she'd had in a month. If she'd been asked if she
thought it was a reprieve from the dreams that had plagued her or the
vigor expended that lent to her slumber Beryl would likely had
answered with a smiling blush.
It was a warm smile that spread across Scott's face as he sat on
the edge of the bed next to her. He leaned over and kissed the nape
of Beryl's neck. "Good morning, babe." He returned her sleepy grin as
she swept her hair out of her face, sat up and slid back against the
headboard. Scott pressed a Styrofoam cup of warm coffee into her
hands.
Beryl sniffed the gently steaming beverage. "Mmm, I can't decide
if you're better at getting me to sleep or waking me up."
"This is just coffee, babe. Otherwise it'd be me covering you
instead of the sheet." Scott winked and bent forward to kiss
her. "You going home today?"
"Yeah," Beryl replied her eyes sliding toward her bag that still
sat on the dresser since her trip to retrieve it had been
detoured . "I ought to. My aunt calls every Wednesday and I wasn't
there the last few times. She'll get all worried."
"I thought you lived with your aunt." Scott took a sip of his
coffee.
"I stay in her house." Beryl said. "She's a travel nurse, she's
in Kenya right now. I was going to go with them but I decided to run
off with the circus instead." Beryl leaned forward to kiss Scott.
"Well, I'm glad you did." Scott smiled. "Any plans after that?"
"No, not really."
"Want some?"
"What you got in mind?" Beryl asked twisting to sit at the edge
of the bed.
"Wanna come over and play at my house?" Scott wiggled his
eyebrows. "Dana's got the kids until school starts so otherwise I'd
just veg-out all week."
"Well, if it would keep you from being lonely." Beryl
grinned. "I can probably get a flight down tomorrow night."
"I'll meet you at the airport then."
After a rather steamy shower that lasted so long Beryl only had
time to cram her clothes hurriedly into her bags, they drove to the
airport where they kissed good-bye before Beryl had to race up the
terminal to make her flight.

Scott sat on the back deck of his house as the sun set over the
lake. He'd gotten home in the mid-afternoon, after visiting a store
house in Orlando. He needed a good supply because he spent the day
practicing at the things he knew he could do. All except Reading, he
still found the idea of invading another's thought repulsive. He
often used a lesser ability called Scanning. It was a way to get a
general sense of someone's mood or motive, like watching a preview
instead of the whole movie. Within one's line you had to concentrate
so not to remain open to others, which Scott hated; or so you didn't
receive an unending buzz of what the others were thinking, which
Scott hated even more.
He had needed two bags to stave off the fatigue from just four
hours of zipping, and focusing his strength, as he'd done with the
dart game (a guilty smile crossed his face as he remembered showing
off so openly for Beryl). Once Vonnegut had suggested that it my be
Scott's inexperience and ill use of the abilities that caused Grey to
disrespect his position. Scott had wanted to say that Grey was power-
hungry because it ran in his line, but guessed that Vonnegut would
take umbridge to such an observation of his nephew's character.
Scott planned to do the same tomorrow, until time to get Beryl
from the airport. An image of her face filled Scott's mind as the sky
was painted in streaks of orange and peach. Sunset was three hours
away for Beryl but Scott hoped it would be as beautiful for her when
it arrived.

Actually by the time Beryl got home she was too tired to watch
anything but the back of her eyelids. The two-and-a-half hour flight
from Concord to Chicago was followed by an almost two hour layover
when the plane was delayed by heavy rains in The Rockies. The same
storm delayed her arrival in Spokane as well and made the driving
conditions atrocious once she'd rented a car and tried to make her
way home to north Idaho. A brilliant thunderstorm in the mountains
covered the sun's sinking but Beryl was already asleep.
Without Scott's warmth near to comfort her Beryl's sleep wasn't
as restful as the previous evening's and by sunrise Beryl was
awakened by an uneasy crawling in her stomach. Not since the carnival
had Beryl been so frightened by the sensation of being watched. To
avoid the rising fear Beryl attributed it to being alone in the large
house after weeks of crowded hotels.
The hither and yon travel schedule had begun to lend a sort of
timelessness to her days. Day was when you were awake, night was when
you slept. Sun-up or sundown was a whole other matter. The hours
other people kept was either immaterial or inconvenient, depending on
what you needed to do.
She was starting to think about breakfast when Aunt Jane called.
When they were done Beryl called Scott to tell him she'd be there
earlier that she had thought. Shouldering her bag packed full of
clothes selected more for her days with Scott than for work, Beryl
stepped outside her door sliding the key into the dead bolt lock.
With a jolt Beryl turned, for an instant certain that someone
had been standing behind her. The bottom dropped out of her stomach
as she scanned the short distance between the side door and the
garage. Beryl again felt the creeping gaze of inimical intent. She
almost wet herself when the rusty squall of a screen door sounded
from the house next door and a woman stepped out.
"Good morning, Barrel." the woman said in the pruny voice the
woman had always used when speaking with her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Sears." Beryl replied, this once glad of the
old biddy's presence.
Like the clouds parting to reveal bright sunshine, the shadow of
fear fled and Beryl hurried to the locked garage.

The flight seemed twice it's five hours as Beryl anticipated her
time with Scott. She was gathering her bags when a pair of Strong
arms wrapped around her from behind.
"Hey, beautiful." Scott breathed in her ear sending little
shivers of delight up her spine as he lifted her off her feet quickly.
"Mmm," Beryl smiled and turned once Scott had sat her down. "Hey
back."
Scott held her firmly while he kissed her. Beryl got her last
bag and followed Scott outside. She opened the doors for him since
he'd hoisted her larger bag.
It wasn't a long drive and Scott explained to Beryl what he was
trying to do. "I really should have practiced when I was first
turned. I've needed four pints just today."
"What happens if you don't get blood?"
"I'd make what you saw two nights ago look like a fuzzy little
kitten." Scott said in a tone that spooked Beryl just a bit. "It's
called a revenant. It goes back to the earliest myths but it's more
complicated than Renfield and Dracula and all that."
"You mean sort of like a Zombie or something?"
"Zombies do what they're told, but a revenant serves only its
hunger and they're a danger to everyone. The Order doesn't tolerate
them and has them destroyed as soon as they find one."
"Destroyed?" Beryl swallowed, not liking the sound of that.
Scott replied with a meaningful look. "Has it occurred to you that
the people you guys work for aren't very nice?"
"It's dawned on us once or twice." Scott smirked grimly. "We
don't exactly share their philosophy but they do what they do for a
reason. The old legends of vampires mostly come from revenants,
because that's when we can't control ourselves. A revenant has all a
vampire's abilities, none of the control and a hunger it would kill
its own mother to satisfy."
As Scott pulled into his garage Beryl sat listening to him
explain, neither moving. "A vampire is turned when one drinks the
blood of a human and that human is given the vampire's blood. It
can't be an accident like in the movies because..."
Scott turned to make sure his garage door had closed. "Look." he
said and Beryl saw that's Scott's fangs were bared once again but a
set was visible on the lower jaw as well. Beryl jumped slightly but
saw that Scott's eyes had not darkened.
"The bottom set injects, well I hate to say virus or poison but
its along those lines and that's what spreads the vampirism. If the
human isn't given the vampire's blood, they become a revenant.
There's no guarantee that they won't become one anyway. That's why
the council takes a rather limited view of those few vampires who
proliferate. The same thing happens to us when we don't feed. We
revert to a mindless state. Most often it's temporary but once in a
while it's permanent and the council deals with it in typical
fashion. We don't see eye-to-eye with the council often but when a
revenant runs loose they threaten the balance."
"That must be awful," Beryl shuddered. "To be so mindless."
Scott squeezed her shoulder. So often her wits had saved her lately.
Hell, it was only her fast thinking that had saved them all when he'd
bumbled into revealing himself to her. Beryl's mind traced over that
evening as well but instead of the awe Scott felt at her quick-
wittedness, Beryl's mind caught on something Mike had said.
"What other things are there?" A look of a child frightened of
the dark passed over Beryl's face as Scott unlocked the door to the
breezeway between his house and garage. "Mike said The Order keeps
the balance between humans, vampires, and the other things."
Scott turned toward Beryl and looked at her for a long moment
wondering if anyone had ever warned her what curiosity did to cats.

 

Beryl bit her lip and eyed Scott lustily as he handed her a
glass of soda. They had spent the afternoon in Scott's hot tub
talking, kissing and watching a mated pair of swans glide across the
lake with their four cygnets. They had dried off before dinner an
now were sitting on the redwood deck watching the sunset.
Scott had changed from his blue trunks to a pair of denim shorts
and a gray polo shirt. Beryl was wearing a pink off-the-shoulder sun
dress that showed off vast amounts of her trim legs and Scott seemed
to approve. After sitting the glasses on the table he reached inside
and turned off the lights.
The dying sun cast a crimson hue over everything and Scott lay
his arm over Beryl's shoulder. A star began to twinkle above and
Beryl leaned close to Scott's ear.
"Make a wish." she breathed.
"Don't need to." Scott ran his thumb across Beryl's lower
lip. "You're already here."
"Mmm, you hopeless romantic." Beryl stood.
"What are you doing?" Scott's eyes swept her form as she pulled
at the fuchsia cord that tied the front of her dress closed over a
panel of white eyelet lace to reveal a set of red strapless lingerie.
Beryl's pulse was quickening as Scott watched the garment skim past
her waist and hips fluttering to the slats of the deck.
Beryl stepped out of the circle of fabric and knelt before
Scott. "Just because you're the vampire doesn't mean you always have
to be the aggressor, does it?" She ran her palms up Scott's long
muscular thighs, a sweet smile curving her lips.
"I'm equal opportunity, honey." Scott replied watching her every
movement with a darkly lustful glower as he parted his knees to
accommodate her.
Beryl pulled Scott's shirt over his head coming back to kiss him
passionately, his hands pushing at her back. Pressed full against him
Beryl moved downward nuzzling his throat and stitching kisses down
through the dark hair that covered him.
Scott's hands came up to assist Beryl with his zipper but she
brushed them aside. She pulled him into an incredibly passionate kiss
before she pushed him firmly backward until he was leaning into the
railing of the deck.
"Relax, baby." she said wickedly. "I got this."
"I resign myself to your tender mercies." Scott growled as
Beryl's hands freed him. He leaned his head back gasping while Beryl
ran her tongue up his length nipping softly when she reached his tip.
Scott's head swam with desire when Beryl used the small amount
of cum he'd ejaculated to lubricate the movement of her hand while
her incredible mouth worked at his head. He twined his fingers
through her hair drawing her deeper into the act as he felt the outer
image of his vampirism come forth. Scott's tongue moved over his lips
feeling the razor sharp points of his fangs while his mind raced over
myriad visions of sinking them into Beryl's slender column of neck as
he did those promised things to make her love the experience. In the
still watches of the night it was this image that would play through
him mind.
Having become lost in those dark thoughts Scott didn't notice
Beryl look up at him but somehow knew the lurch of her pulse was not
one of fear and his desire raced with hers as he felt the mounting
pressure of release.
Scott gave a guttural moan, arching his hips upward as his lust
spilled onto Beryl's welcoming mouth. The slick salinity of him
filled her throat as Beryl's eyes fixed on the image of Scott's lips
parted to show the fangs that just now thrilled her to the core.
Without fear or revulsion she looked at Scott's mouth, he had
not begun to Read her but somehow to see her regarding him so openly
sent a jolt through him. Beryl reached up and touched Scott's lips
and gazed at him with a look so loving Scott was petrified for a
moment.
Heaving himself to his feet Scott disappeared into his house
while Beryl gathered their clothes. She sat down on the bench for a
few minutes before entering, sure that she had done something wrong
to make Scott leave so quickly.

Scott saw on his bed, opening a second bag of blood, at a total
loss for what to say to Beryl when he returned downstairs. Aside from
the passion he felt for Beryl was the love that had blossomed here.
Why then did he keep having the desire to turn her? He didn't want to
cause her pain but the thought of her blood could drive him mad. This
was twice in four days that he'd felt the will to turn her. She had
expressed a distaste at the thought of becoming a revenant and there
was no way to insure that she wouldn't become that very thing if he
attempted to do the forbidden.
What then? Would he always feel this torment? Would he one day
not be able to stop himself?
If Beryl was turned she might hate him for damning her to the
life of constantly craving human blood. If she became a revenant she
would be destroyed. The thought that he could doom the woman he loved
sent jagged slivers of ice into Scott's veins.
Beryl sat at the table in Scott's kitchen nursing a cup of
coffee. She stared down into the creamy liquid trying to decide what
she should do. She heard Scott moving around upstairs, as he had been
for over an hour now. The sky had darkened from navy to ebony but
still Scott stayed in his room.
Beryl stood and approached the bottom of the stairs when his
footsteps began to descend. Both unsure what to say to the other, a
silence loomed until Scott wrapped his arms about Beryl softly,
releasing a ragged breath.
Having promised to be honest Scott didn't want to dodge the
issue. "I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you someday."
Beryl looked up into Scott's hazel eyes and put her hand on his
stubbly cheek. "I'm not."
Scott leaned forward until their foreheads touched. "I love
you." he said.

It took three-and-a-half hours to drive to Miami. Scott and
Beryl left just after breakfast when they found out that Mike and
Sean had flown in that morning. Paul was still on vacation with
Stephanie and Kevin would be meeting them in Montgomery.
As soon as they reached the arena Scott went to have a talk with
those The Order had given him charge of.
Of the two dozen vampires that worked for the company, nineteen
worked on RAW. Seven were wrestlers (including Scott), seven were
security, three were on the production staff, one was on the road
crew and Gordy, who'd left Beryl in charge of the med room for awhile.
Scott's assertion of his authority was met with mixed reactions,
most of the dissenters being from Grey's line. Being that Scott still
had Vonnegut's backing none of them said so very loudly.
"When you find another member of their line they'll be easier to
reach." Gordy tried to grin reassuringly at Scott as they walked back
to the medical room.
"Finding one of them I can trust is like trying to find a
vegetarian crocodile." Scott scoffed. He hadn't even needed to Scan
them to know they were unhappy with him. There were three members of
Grey's line presented that hunted and they all had little liking of
being told how to conduct their affairs.
"They're not all of Grey's ilk." Gordy counseled. "A good many
of our line hunt and don't forget the one who turned you didn't
exactly ask your permission first."
Scott was silent, he had never liked discussing the beginnings
of this strange voyage he was on. In fact, Beryl was the only person
outside of The Kliq he'd ever told. Gordy knew because he'd come
across Scott before Scott had learned to block form his own line. It
was Gordy who'd taught him how actually.
The pair turned into the medical room. "It went that well, did
it?" Beryl asked seeing the expression on Scott's face. She handed
him a bag from the unmarked box.
"I'm taking you on the run tomorrow," Gordy smirked. "You ought
to know where the Orlando storehouse is."
Even though he wasn't Kliq, Gordy was connected in The Order
being the go-to guy for those that chose to have their blood
supplied. That meant he had specific procedures to follow and now
that Beryl was in on the big secret, most of it anyway, Gordy spent
the next hour explaining what those procedures were.
"It's true," Beryl said pulling an expression of incredulity at
the long winded protocol they had to follow in the acquisition of
blood. "There's a bureaucracy for everything."
Gordy gave Beryl a sharp look, hoping she was taking this
seriously because if the policies weren't adhered to they would
likely both get a visit.
That was the quietest moment of the evening. The last night of a
full moon, the crowd was again rather loopy and two security guards
were injured. Ivory twisted her ankle, Molly Holly pulled a muscle in
her abdomen and Bubba Ray Duddly hurt his back lifting Rob Van Dam
over the rope to drop him on hate table.
Mike's wife, Rebecca had come with him and they were staying in
a hotel near the arena but Sean rode with Scott and Beryl back to
Orlando.
Despite the late hour Scott and Beryl were packing their bags so
they could sleep-in in the morning. They were all flying to
Montgomery as soon as the Orlando show was over.
Scott was taking the larger bags to the car and Beryl stepped
into the glass block shower. She didn't linger as she would have if
Scott had joined her and she was toweling her hair when he came back
in.
"Have you seen my black nightie?" Beryl asked as she rummaged
through the over night bag that still sat on Scott's bed.
"And how." he said surveying the view of Beryl's thighs beneath
the rich green bath towel. She looked at him with a pretty sidelong
smirk. "You packed it." he said.
"Darn."
"I figured you just weren't planning on wearing one." Scott
smiled devilishly, before opening a drawer in his dresser. "Here," he
tossed Beryl a blue pajama top.
She bit her lip smilingly at the familiar gesture and wrapped
herself in the luxurious silken article. After packing his bag Scott
dressed in the matching bottoms. Beryl stepped forward and sat her
bag at the foot of the bed as Scott did the same and they turned down
the blankets. In only five days they were already adapting to a
common ritual.
"Time for bed." Scott looked in Beryl's smiling eyes. Her pulse
skipped a bit when he swept a damp strand of her hair behind her ear.
A swarm of butterflies took flight in Beryl's stomach at the way
Scott tilted his head to the side when he looked at her like this.
The blue-gray of Beryl's eyes was softly illuminated by the lamp
at the bedside table and Scott thought he could drown in them with
little complaint. Pulling her down to the combed cotton sheets Scott
held Beryl firmly to him.
A peaceful sigh escaped Beryl's lips. "You're going to spoil me."
"Rats." Scott laughed. "You're onto me."
"Is that a suggestion?" she squeezed his thigh.
"Every time I think I can spend the night just holding you I
find I need to do more."
"Whatever could cause you to feel that way." a wicked tone
suffused Beryl's voice as her hand continued its journey upward.
"I wonder." Scott said adjusting his pajama bottoms and pulling
Beryl on top of him. A seductive smile lit his face in the
moonlight. "I doubt Sean's asleep yet, he was still on the phone a
few minutes ago."
"Then don't moan so loud." Beryl teased bracing her palms in the
crisping of dark hair that covered Scott's torso as she moved against
him.

Gordy joined Scott, Beryl, Sean, Mike and Rebecca for a late
lunch down the street from the arena in Orlando. Just after the
waitress brought their food Scott, Sean and Mike all received a call
on their cell phones simultaneously, which usually meant it was The
Order calling them to a meeting with their contact.
The three of them stood. "C'mon." Mike said to Gordy. "We're
inviting you."
"You guys get the call?" a voice asked. Scott turned to see
Paul and Stephanie walking in.
"Yeah."
"Sorry, babe." Paul kissed Stephanie and she sat in the chair
Gordy had just vacated.
"That's all right." Stephanie smiled
"This town's full of malls," Rebecca sipped her coffee. "I'm
sure we'll find something to do."
"You be all right?" Scott asked kissing Beryl deeply. Stephanie
and Paul exchanged surprised looks.
"I should think so." Beryl said. "Be careful."
"Careful as the situation calls for." Scott said close to her
ear.
"I'll see she gets to work." Stephanie smiled.
The five men exited and Stephanie leaned over the table with
a "let's dish" look on her face. "I thought you two were on the outs."
"It was a misunderstanding." Beryl said, unsure of how much
these women knew.

"Thought you guys were gone a few more days." Sean said to Paul
as the men climbed into the mini-van.
"I was taking my sabbatical. As soon as I came to I got word
that we might be taking a meeting soon." Paul turned to
Scott. "What's with the lovey-dovey, bra?" he grinned. "The last time
I saw you two together you were ready to clean each other's clocks."
Scott grinned self-consciously. "She knows."
"You told her?" Paul raised an incredulous eyebrow.
"Didn't have much choice, she saw me."
Paul shook his head. "Last month we come back to find you're
sweet on her, now it's full-fledged lip locks. What am I going to
find next time, a wedding invitation? I may be a canine, brother but
you're a dog."
Scott's phone rang again as they neared the store house. It was
a staticy squall but he heard enough to tell it was Kevin and his
plane was delayed. He conveyed the message.
"We can fill him in tonight." Paul said.

Anyone driving by a storehouse, and there would be little reason
to do so, would see only a large deserted-seeming warehouse of
neutral color set back from the street. It would lay across a vast
parking lot that appeared to have once accommodated hundreds of cars
but now only occupied by the tall scattered weeds that grew up in
wide cracks in the concrete. Most of the places were surrounded by
chain link fence complete with guard station at the mechanical gate.
The gate was never closed, the guard station never manned because
presumably there was nothing here to guard. Often a sign hung on the
fence that read 'for sale' in paint so faded it was barely legible.
Even the wayward driver looking for a place to turn around would
see the broken glass of the guard station windows and decide that a U-
turn was more advisable. From time-to-time unmarked trucks would
drive up, or a car would pull into the lot and but they would park
behind the building and no one would see the occupants.
The two vehicles pulled into the derelict parking lot. One a
dark sedan that people tended to look away from if it came into their
vision and the other a maroon Chevy Astra carrying five men who were
so much more than they seemed, some vastly so.

"Sit down." a voice instructed as Scott, Paul, Mike, Sean and
Gordy entered a room deep in the bowels of the large warehouse. They
turned to see where the voice came from and saw Vonnegut sitting at a
long table.
The spaces nearest the dour looking man were empty but five
chairs at the opposite end had been pulled out. Vonnegut didn't not
repeat himself but waited expectantly for the men to comply.
Vonnegut was not one with whom it was difficult to tell where
you stood. Two of the places were lade with the type of ornate
chalices Vonnegut thought it was a vampire's inherent right to drink
from. The others were somewhat less spectacular. One of the chalices
sat at the opposite end of the table from Vonnegut and this is where
Scott sat. Thought he had summoned all of The Kliq, it was Scott with
whom he would speak.
Scott looked at the blood inside his goblet. He wouldn't partake
of anything given in the spirit that these other men were less than
he. None of the others paid much attention to the things placed
before them.
Vonnegut quietly noted the refusal of his hospitality. "I
haven't the time to dally today so I'll get right to the point." He
began. "Grey never got off the plane six days ago."
Scott and Gordy didn't look at each other as they connected
quickly.
"He was accounted for until her boarded the plane." Scott
informed Vonnegut who looked Scott dead in the eye. Outwardly Scott
appeared to be giving Vonnegut his undivided attention but from the
moment they'd entered the warehouse he'd put to use one of the
abilities he'd been using since he was turned. A kind of echo
location. As a single parent it was useful to know every cough and
murmer made in the night by his children. That same sharpened sense
of hearing gave Scott the whereabouts of four others hiding in the
dark corners of the room.
"He was not accounted for getting off the plane. You and he were
at odds, threats were made."
Scott leaned back in his chair with an almost bored
expression. "He was Reading a human who was blocking. I warned him of
the dangers and he began to target her."
"This same girl you told of your and our existence?"
"She channeled Grey." Gordy interjected. "She would have figured
out that he was responsible for at least one death."
Scott remained silent as Vonnegut's eyes slid toward Gordy but
he didn't respond.
Vonnegut lifted his hand and waved to fingers beckoning someone
forward. A tall woman with dark hair approached and sat a file in
front of the elder vampire. She stood back from his chair but did not
retreat into the shadows. The elder opened the file with the tip of
his left index finger.
"Chrysoberyl Therese Pemberton. Aged 28. Born in Lafayette,
Louisiana. We've had our eye on this one for a long time. Her mother
had pronounced telekinesis, much like Mr. Hickenbottom only not quite
as adept."
"And your nephew read her on at least five occasions." Scott
said, not liking the connotation of Beryl being watched by anyone but
him.
"I know the faults of those in my house." Vonnegut said his jaw
tight.
"You merely chose to ignore them." Scott stood. The others
followed suit. "I should think you've got your hands full with a
rogue vampire running loose. We won't take up anymore of your time."
As a unit the five men approached the door. None of Vonnegut's
associates tried to stop them.
Mike looked side long at Scott as they neared the van. "You
think pissing him off is a really good idea right now."
"He has bigger fish to fry, especially if Grey goes on a spree."
Scott said.
"And where do you suppose he is." Mike said and all of them
paused.
Paul pulled out his cell phone and hit a programmed
number. "Stephanie, get all three of you to the arena right now.”

 

When The Kliq arrived at the arena the three women were sitting
in the cafeteria drinking coffee. Scott lay a hand on Beryl's
shoulder as he approached, squeezing softly.
"How was your afternoon out with the girls?" he winked, but
Beryl thought he looked a bit troubled. Stephanie had been in a
dressing room at the mall when Paul's call came through and she
hadn't told Beryl or Rebecca how urgent he sounded.
"Is everything all right?" Beryl asked Scott as he leaned
forward to kiss her.
"Can't talk now." he replied next to her ear.
"Love birds." Stephanie smirked laughingly. "You guys going out
after the show."
"I don't think any of will have much of a chance today." Paul
said. They hadn't even been able to check into a hotel yet.
"Come on, kiddo." Gordy said from the doorway. "The troops are
coming in."
"See you guys later." Beryl stood and Scott kissed her again and
smiled as she followed Gordy to the medical room.
"You were right, sweetheart," Rebecca smiled at Mike. "He is
head-over-heels."
Scott smirked at the two couples who were smiling at him. "Yeah,
so?"

Though Beryl asked Gordy more subtly he was no more forthcoming
with details of the situation than Scott had been. Gordy went to give
Randy Orton on ice pack for a hyper-extended wrist and Scott entered,
closing the door behind him.
Knowing she wasn't going to get any answers until Scott was
good and ready Beryl stretched up to kiss him. Scott held her gently
looking into her eyes.
"Don't go anywhere alone. okay?" he said at last.
"That sounds just a touch ominous." Beryl scowled.
"I'll tell you when I can, but there's too many people here with
unknown allegiances."
"Then you need to be careful, too."
Scott grinned with bravado. "I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."
"You were a big boy when you were turned too." Beryl scowled at
Scott's seeming unconcern for his own safety.
"I'll be cautious." Scott replied smoothly at her worry. "I plan
to be around a long time putting that vexed look on your face."
"Make sure you do." Beryl lay her cheek against Scott's chest
trying to contain the quake in her voice.
"Baby, don't worry." Scott whispered softly, holding Beryl to
him. Again he relaxed into her heartbeat, feeling the heat of her
through the fabric of her shirt. He nuzzled her hair breathing in her
perfume. Beryl held Scott around his chest beneath the leather jacket
and closed her eyes as his own pulse could be heard as she leaned
against him.
"I gotta go, babe." Scott pulled away from Beryl. "Don't go
anywhere alone?" he repeated.
"I won't." Beryl said as Scott kissed her forehead. Scott
caressed Beryl's cheek tenderly and left to get ready for another
match with Rene DuPres.

Quickly wrapping a towel around his waist Scott stepped from the
shower to grab his cell phone. "Hello."
"Hey, its me." Kevin replied. "I just got in. What was the hub-
bub?"
"I'll tell you when I see you." Scott said. "There's no sense
heading here. Rob didn't make it either." Referring to the match
Kevin and Rob Van Dam were scheduled to have.
"Where you guys staying?"
"Don't have a place yet, give me a call when you get checked in
some place and we'll head over there."
The main event hadn't been decided yet and only two people had
been injured, both lightly. Beryl and Gordy waited in the wings
watching the match (Sean and Paul against The Dudley's). It ended
well and after Sean and Paul had showered and changed they met the
others out by the cars, which were parked together.
Both vehicles were pulling into traffic when Scott's phone
rang. "Kevin's at Red Roof."
The eight of them checked into five rooms after stopping at a
Wendy's drive-thru for dinner. Scott and Beryl had a corner room on
the third floor.
They sat on the bed cross legged once again.
"How's your arm?" Beryl asked noticing that Scott was rubbing
his right elbow next to an old surgical scar.
"Just a little stiff." he shrugged.
Beryl sighed. "So why didn't you come to get it looked at?"
"I'll be fine. It does this every now and then."
Beryl sat her remaining french fries aside and came to her knees
kneeling next to Scott who released a soft sigh and resigned himself
to the examination letting her carefully flex his arm, asking when it
hurt or became difficult to move.
"It's a little inflamed." Beryl stood and grabbed the ice
bucket. "We should pack that."
"You're not going alone." Scott eyed her meaningfully.
"Scott," Beryl rolled her eyes when Scott took hold of her
hand. "The ice machine's right down the hall."
Scott pulled her back. "I prefer a hot pack."
"A moist heat as I recall." Beryl smirked as Scott's arm wound
around her. "You're trying to change the subject." she giggled as
Scott nuzzled her throat.
"No, I'm not." Scott said between kisses. "Is it working?"
"No," Beryl smiled letting Scott lead her to the mattress.
"That's a shame." he said unbuttoning Beryl's jeans. "I had such
hopes."
"Hate to disappoint." Beryl said wrapping her arms about Scott's
neck.
"I'll try to contain my misery." Scott slid his hand under
Beryl's tee shirt.

Kevin opened the door as Mike and Sean entered.
"Paul and Scott aren't here yet, we should wait for them." Mike
said sitting at the table as a tapping on the wall began.
"Damn!" Kevin running a towel threw his hair. "Whatever that
guy's eating I need some. This is twice now."
"Well it has been nine whole hours." Sean rolled his eyes as
Mike let Paul in. "Scott's next door." He answered Kevin's puzzled
look.
"Who?" Kevin scowled for a moment. "Not Beryl. They were ready
to throw down last week."
"That's what I thought until I saw them at lunch." Paul grinned.
"So what happened?"
"Chapter two." Mike smiled. He hadn't told the others exactly
what he'd seen when he met Beryl or when Scott and Beryl shook hands
in the med room at Spokane Arena. Explaining the intricacies of
visual auras was much more complicated than telling someone that
vampires and werewolves existed. But after Scott told him how Beryl
effected him Mike began to develop a theory of why Scott had reacted
to strongly to Beryl.
"Well they wrote a couple of chapters this morning." Sean said
picking up the hotel phone.
"Scott already knows what's going on." Mike said scowling at Sean
who put the phone back down.
"So who's going to let me in on it?" Kevin smirked.
"Your favorite asshole and mine." Sean replied.
"What about him?"
"He's unaccounted for." Mike answered. Gordy saw him get onto the
plane but he didn't get off in LA. Vonnegut has people questioning
the one who were supposed to watch in Kansas City but no word yet on
what they found out."
Kevin looked at Mike for a moment. "The last time we saw him he
was about to go after Beryl. Did anyone tell her?"
"Scott warned her to be careful, but couldn't give her details."
Sean said.
"Maybe I shouldn't be the only one hearing this then." Kevin
said. "How much does she know?"
"She saw Scott the other night. It was pretty hairy for a while
but thanks to her we made it out." Mike replied. "Turns out she might
be a repressing TK agent."
"Well, she did block pretty quickly and she channeled in barely
six weeks." Kevin said. "But maybe she'll be more comfortable with
getting the rest of the story if she had company." he suggested.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mike raised an eyebrow.
"I can't answer of Paul but I say if we're bringing her in we do
it all the way." Kevin looked at HHH.
"I think it's probably best under the circumstances." Paul said
taking out his cell phone and dialing his room number.
Scott called Mike on the hotel phone.
"Hello," Scott answered on the third ring.
"It's Mike."
"Kevin ready?"
"Actually we decided that the both of you better come."
"Both of us?" Scott turned to Beryl who was standing in the
doorway of the bathroom and she scowled.
"Paul and Kevin figure we might as well pull out all the stops."
Mike smiled to himself, he hadn't told Scott his theory. "Oh
yeah, I think so."
"Give us a couple of minutes." Scott sat the receiver in its
cradle.
"What?" Beryl asked.
"You'll find out." Scott said adjusting the water temperature in
the shower. He looked at Beryl, hoping it wouldn't all prove too much
for her. She'd gone through so much already.
She'll be fine, the inner voice said. She's strong.

Much like the reality of vampires, Beryl learned that night that
the lore of lycanthropes was ofter off the mark.
Beryl and Scott entered the room next door to find not only the
guys waiting for them but Stephanie and Rebecca too. Rebecca handed
Beryl a cup of coffee.
"You're going to need that." Mike said. "First of all, we know
Scott couldn't really say earlier why it is we were called to a
meeting with a council member and I suppose we ought to start there.
"Our contact informed us that Grey isn't where he was expected
to be and has been missing for the last six days."
Beryl looked at Mike for a long moment. She could feel that
everyone was waiting to see her reaction. "Are you expecting tears?"
she said through clenched teeth. Some of them appeared a bit shocked
at her bitter tone, Scott was not among them. "I spent the last month
and a half seeing what that sick bastard is capable of and feeling
how much he enjoyed the fear of that girl. If he's gone I say 'good
riddance'."
Kevin snorted. "I'd agree with you, but we didn't say he was
gone. No one knows where Grey is."
"The council mandates that all hunter-vampires be accounted for
at all times," Gordy explained. "Somehow he slipped through."
Beryl turned to face this man who had come to see her almost as
a niece. "And they just told you this morning?"
Mike and Scott exchanged looks, she had voiced a concern they
all had.
"Be that as it may," Mike interjected. "We thought you should
know so you can take care."
"I'll grow eyes in the back of my head and learn to sleep with
all of them open." Beryl stepped a bit closer to Scott.
"Well," Paul said standing. He nodded to Stephanie and she did
the same. Kevin was already on his feet and the three of them stood
in the middle of the room. "That's another thing we wanted to tell
you, that you don't have to do that because you're not alone."
The legends of werewolves say that they can change on the full
moon. In fact, they can transform at anytime but the full moon forces
them to. It was a voluntary change that Beryl witnessed these three
endure and the process was accompanied but Mike trying to explain as
Beryl stood half terrified and half transfixed.
"Its more violent at the moon." he said. "They take sedatives
and sleep during the worst of it. Otherwise they'd be almost totally
savage."
"When people say I'm the biggest bitch in the business, honey,
they ain't kidding." Stephanie winked as she reverted to her human
form.
Beryl watched as Paul did the same but Kevin stayed canine for
another moment eying Beryl closely.
"Um," she said feeling like a special on lamb chops. "Scott."
"You're all right, babe." Scott said, the oddness had long ago
worn off for him. "He won't hurt you."
"What did you think I meant when I said that we'd all spent a
lot of time and energy making sure you stay safe?" Gordy said. "When
we saw that Grey had picked you, and it didn't take him long to do
so, we began an almost ceaseless watch."
"Of course now Scott does it nearly all by himself." Sean
smirked.
Kevin stretched as he took on the more familiar aspect once
again. "We'll continue that until Grey is found and dealt with."
"Which I dare say is not as harshly as he deserves." Paul said.
"I don't know," Scott said. "He's always been unruly to say the
least but now he's making Vonnegut lose face. Not to mention that
he's bringing in unwelcome attention."
"Rogue vampire." Mike said. "After the under age girl in
California, he'll have a hard time of it at least."
Kevin winked at Beryl. "Werewolves and vampires and bears, oh
my.”

 

RAW was in Montgomery, Alabama according to the map but it felt
like they were broadcasting from the pits of Hell. An ongoing drought
and heat wave made the atmosphere rather unpleasant and it seemed as
though every time Gordy and Beryl tried to catch their breath someone
else needed doctoring up.
Eddie Guerreau and Spike Dudley made an unplanned dive into the
front row and a little boy was accidentally kicked in the face
causing a horrible now bleed. Gordy wouldn't let Beryl go into the
crowd given the current danger but soon she was busy with a cut on
Brock Lesner's shoulder where he'd smacked into the ring steps.
Six pulled muscles, a strained back and one broken wrist later
all nine of them sat to a late dinner before some caught flights home
and the others returned to the hotel.
"You guys coming out?" Kevin asked Scott.
"I haven't had a chance to ask." Scott turned to Beryl. "The
annual convention's this week, wanna come?"
"Convention?"
"If you're up to it, we're all meeting at my house Wednesday.
It's easier to talk there, no prying eyes and ears."
"None but ours watching over you." Scott smiled in the lopsided
way Beryl had grown so fond of.
"Sounds like fun."
"The annual Children of the Night Retreat." Sean smirked. "It's
a hoot."
"Don't you mean a howl?" Stephanie grinned.
"When's you guys' flight?" Rebecca asked.
"1:06." Beryl replied looking at her watch.
"WE better go." Scott said. It was a non-stop flight and they
slept most of the way.
"You showed me your baby." Beryl said as they made their way
across the long term parking lot. "This is mine." A black Mustang
convertible stood in the tinted glow of the soda lights. It was just
after four in the morning Pacific Time and the sun was staining the
late August sky.
Having gotten a fair amount of sleep on the plane Scott and
Beryl were ready for the day and by the time they reached her house
the sun was high.
They walked down a path that wound through a copse of trees
before continuing down the eastern side of a valley to a meadow
surrounding a small lake. Beryl and Scott carried a cooler between
them and a pair of fishing poles.
"Whoa!" Scott paused as the path opened to the view of the
mountains and fragrant pine trees.
Beryl smiled fondly at Scott's reaction. "Come on, city boy.
There's a whole lake full of Trout waiting for us."
They spent the early afternoon doing almost as much fishing as
kissing, then sat to the sandwiches and fruit Beryl had packed when
neither of them had gotten any bites.
As the shadows lengthened Scott and Beryl sat in the tall grass
at the edge of the water watching butterflies make busy circles among
the wild flowers that dotted the meadow. Scott lay back and Beryl
rested her head on his shoulder and they made pictures of clouds.
Once or twice they heard the distant whine of dirt bikes but
otherwise the universe existed for them alone.
Scott shifted to put his arm under Beryl's head. She lay her leg
over Scott's and he held her right hand in his across his stomach
with fingers entwined. His thumb stroked hers absently.
"If you could invite five people to dinner, who would they be
and what would you serve?" Scott asked. Beryl smiled at the getting-
to-know-you question but she didn't hesitate answering it.
"You, your kids and my parents." she said. "I don't care what
we eat."
"God, I'm sorry." Scott scowled, turning to his side. "I didn't
mean to be-"
"It was a fair question." Beryl put her fingertips to Scott's
lips. "And that's my answer to it." She looked up into Scott's eyes,
her heart began to race as Scott's gaze became downright wolfish.

"Mmm." Scott looked at Beryl as she lay beside him in the
aftermath. "Did you know you make love in rhythm with your heart?" he
whispered hotly in her ear.
"You can hear people's hearts?"
"Just yours." he kissed her forehead.
"Scott that is so sweet." Beryl cooed.
"It sort of freaked me out at first, actually. Then it nearly
drove me mad."
"I think my heart stopped when I first saw you." She softly
touched the stubble on his chin.
Scott smiled, pulling Beryl close against him. "I couldn't hear
it right away."
Beryl shifted until she was resting her head on her arms across
Scott's chest. "When did you first hear it?" she asked looking into
his face.
"The first night of the carnival I felt it when we touched.
After the fireworks I heard it whenever we were next to each other
but now I hear it most of the time. Not while you're in another
state or anything but if you're in the same room." Scott lay his hand
lightly on Beryl's back.
"What does it sound like?"
"There's a bit of a murmer that worries me a little." Scott ran
his thumb over Beryl's lip. "Did you have that before I stopped your
heart?" he laughed fondly.
"Don't tease." Beryl brought her palm softly down on Scott's
chest. "You were my favorite wrestler before we met. I was petrified."
"And who was your favorite before that?" Scott said feigning
insult.
"There was this one guy-I can't remember his name but he had
such a nice ass."
"Really?" Scott smirked almost wondering if he'd heard her
right.
"What was his name?" Beryl eyed Scott mischievously. "Pins?
Needles?"
"Razor Ramon?" Scott said in the thick accent that had been part
of that persona.
"No that wasn't it." Beryl nuzzled Scott's chest playfully.
Scott gave a crooked smile and swatted Beryl's bottom. "Brat."

Lost in the bliss of each other's company Scott and Beryl became
aware at the same time that something was amiss. Scott's head came up
as they broke a deep kiss and he listened tensely.
The birds that had been serenading them and insects that trilled
in the woods had all fallen silent. "Stay down." Scott instructed in
a gentle but firm tone as he crouched to see just above the top of
the tall foliage. For a fleeting moment Scott was sure he had seen a
figure moving among the trees back the way they had come.
"Is there another way back to your house?" he asked quietly.
"Old logging road on the other side of the lake." Beryl answered.
"Let's go." Scott helped Beryl to her feet. "If we get separated
try to make it to your house. Call Kevin and stay there until the
guys come to get you." The color was fading from Beryl's cheeks that
had been flushed from Scott's fervent kisses a moment before.
Scott followed Beryl closely as she headed toward the dirt lane.
Stepping onto the dusty track Beryl came up short bumping into Scott
as a green SUV screamed on its brakes. Scott shoved Beryl behind him
not deferring to the marking that identified this as a police vehicle.
"Barrel?" a middle-aged man in dark glasses said as the window
slid down on its track.
"Howard?" Beryl peeked around Scott's arm since he still stood
in front of her holding her in place.
"You all right?" The man eyed Scott with open suspicion.
"Yeah, Howard." Beryl pushed past Scott squeezing his hand
reassuringly. "This is Scott."
The officer nodded quickly. "Mrs. Sears said you weren't alone.
I was looking for you i the woods. You shouldn't be traipsing about
with all the trouble lately."
"What trouble?" Beryl asked.
"State boys found a body just over Painter's Peak." Howard
pointed to the mountain behind them. "Girl missing from Kansas City."
"I hadn't heard." Beryl swallowed but tried not to look
abnormally shaken by the news.
"Hop in. I'll give you folks a lift back to your aunt's house."
"That's a good idea, babe." Scott said steering Beryl toward the
rear door with a hand at the small of her back.
"Place has been a madhouse the last couple of days." Howard said
as he continued toward a turnaround. "Once they ID'ed the body the
feds started swarming about and the press wasn't far behind."
"When did they find her?" Beryl asked.
"Last Wednesday at Rider Creek Flats." the deputy replied. "You
remember that place?"
Beryl scratched behind her ear self-consciously. "I remember you
marching me home from there at One o'clock in the morning and being
grounded from everything but breathing for the next two months."
Scott looked at Beryl with a raised brow but at the moment they
had more important things to consider. Beryl was thinking along the
same lines. The girl was missing from the place Grey was most likely
at when he slipped away from him watchers and her body turns up
practically in Beryl's back yard.
"What happened?" Beryl asked trying to keep the tone of
concerned but uninvolved citizen although inwardly she shaken.
Wednesday was when she had sensed the all-too-familiar sensation of
being watched. She had convinced herself it was nerves at the time
but now she wondered.
"Some kids came tearing down the hill and got stopped by a state
trooper."
Beryl grabbed Scott's hand. "Did they see who did it?"
"Now that's where the thing gets sketchy." Howard's brow
crinkled.
Howard Silvers had been a friend of Beryl's Uncle Charles and
Beryl knew when he said "sketchy" he meant that things had parted
with well defined normality.
"According to what they were ranting when they were-well, you
know what goes on up there." Howard gave Beryl a hard look. "Girl
gets nervous, the young man decides it's time to go, the headlights
catch something up a path. They gave the trooper a rambling
description but when he got them to the station they both denied
seeing who did it. They remember seeing the girl's body but not the
guy.
"What you think, Barrel?" Howard asked mispronouncing her name
as he and most people did but sincerely seeking her medical
opinion. "Can they both suffer traumatic mental repression?"
Beryl was at a loss. Of course she couldn't tell him what she
thought had happened. Scott looked at her.
"More likely they saw her body and their imaginations got the
better of them."
Howard didn't say anything more until he wished them a good
afternoon and reminded Beryl to lock her doors.
As soon as the front door closed behind them Scott was dialing
his phone. Beryl took a step toward the kitchen but Scott grabbed her
arm.
"Stay put."
"Okay," Tamara Nash's voice said from the other end of the
line. "but supper will burn if I can't get it out of the oven." she
sniffed.
"Sorry," Scott smiled. "You can move. I know how grumpy the big
guy gets if he doesn't get fed."
Tamara chuckled. "He's watching the game if you need to talk
with him, Scott."
"Please." While Tamara took the phone to Kevin Scott turned to
Beryl. j"I'd rather you let me check the house out first." Beryl
nodded.
"Hey, what's up?" Kevin asked.
"I think he was here." Scott said and told Kevin about the
girl's body.
"You're already booked for tomorrow." Kevin said. "Take that
flight but call before you take off. If anything else happens get
yourselves to a safe house. One off the network."
Scott insisted that Beryl remained locked her bathroom when he
went to search her attic rooms. It was a ten-minute eternity where
every sound was amplified in the windowless darkness.
When Scott finally returned Beryl busied herself with making
dinner and playing spades with Scott when she wasn't' stirring or
draining. Scott helped her peel potatoes and prepared a homemade
barbecue sauce from things in the pantry.
After dinner, Beryl stretched out on her bed in the finished
attic suite.
"It's been ten years since I had a guy up here." she winked.
"Were you still grounded at the time?" Scott teased.

 

Scott called Kevin just before the doors of the plane closed and
the pilot asked all passengers to turn off their cell phones. Kevin
met them two and a half hours later in Phoenix.
Sean pulled into Kevin's driveway ahead of them, so they were
all there. Kevin pulled the large Suburban past his garage, down a
dirt track and through a row of trees.
"I got you guys, Mike and Becka in the guest house." Kevin
said. "We'll drop your stuff off and head back up to the big house
for supper."
"Hey, guys." Paul waved as Scott, Beryl, and Kevin came out onto
the large redwood deck.
"You bring a bathing suit, Beryl?" Stephanie asked. "Likely us
ladies will be left to wallow in misery around the pool while the
guys talk shop."
"Speaking of that," Kevin said. "We probably better have a short
chat."
"That's our cue," Stephanie stood. "Lets go see if Tam and Becka
need help with dinner."
Beryl followed her into the house. "Need a hand?" she asked.
"Yeah," Tamara smiled wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Becka
and I were going to play spades. Now we can play teams."
"Coffee?" Rebecca asked.
"Please." Beryl smiled.
"Life's short. Eat dessert first." Tamara said taking a dish of
lemon meringue out of the fridge.
"I hear that." Stephanie grabbed four saucers. "What happened
anyway? We heard Grey might be up to no good."
"Sounds like his handiwork." Beryl shuddered.
"Let the guys worry about such unpleasantness." Tamara said
dishing up the pie.
"Don't think about all that." Rebecca carried a try of demitasse
cups to a small table that stood in an alcove off the kitchen. The
four women sat to a game of spades; stirring pans of sauce, basting
chicken or checking a kettle of potatoes between hands. In the last
hand both teams (Tamara and Rebecca against Beryl and Stephanie) were
tied at eight points and they both bid six tricks.
The sliding glass doors to the deck scraped along its track,
Kevin and Scott entered.
"Spades?" Kevin arched an interested brow, kissing Tamara on the
temple. As he straightened he pulled a card from her hand and tossed
it into play.
"No help from the peanut gallery!" Stephanie scowled, that card
gave Tamara and Rebecca their sixth trick. She and Beryl only had
four and it looked like they might get set. "You watch out, Beryl.
These two only play cutthroat, when we let them play."
Scott leaned into Beryl's ear, tickling her neck with his
breath. "Play the jack, see what draws." he suggested in a whisper.
The earlier tricks had mostly gone off-suit and if Tamara or
Rebecca were holding higher spades, they were holding them back
because Beryl took the trick and Stephanie nearly came out of her
chair with a whoop.
"They were killing me with off-suit." she said laying down the
ace and queen.
"King must be buried." Rebecca said as Beryl marked the two
points to win the game.
"Either way, dinner needs tending to." Tamara said.
"Need a hand?" Kevin asked, holding her by the waist as they and
Rebecca went into the kitchen.
"Those are heavy." Scott said to Stephanie who was hoisting a
tall stack of plates. "Give 'em here." Beryl followed Scott outside
with handfuls of silverware.
"What's everyone drinking?" Stephanie asked entering the kitchen
where Kevin was lifting a large roaster pan from the oven for Tamara.
"Go ask Beryl if she wants a soda or a beer." Kevin said to Sean.
"Just get her a soda." Tamara said.
"Why?"
Tamara fixed her husband with an I-know-you-aren't-that-naive
look. "Because Scott might be using it later."
"They don't do that." Kevin scoffed, blushing slightly.
"And you know how they get down do you?" Tamara's expression
hardened into the one that had always more than negated Kevin's
greater height.
He took a can from the chiller and handed it to Sean. "Soda it
is."
The nine companions laughed and talked as they sat to their
dinner, passing platters of chicken and bowls of vegetables among
themselves. A casual gathering peopled in a slight majority by men
meant several times the biscuits got pitched rather than passed.
"Quit it!" Tamara scowled giving Sean a tap on the back of the
head after he'd tossed a roll to Stephanie, who'd caught it deftly.
Talk of such common things as how the kids were doing over
vacation, the score of the baseball game last weekend or how much the
gas mileage of a vehicle had improved since the guys had tinkered
with it made Beryl soon forget the fact that she was the target of a
homicidal maniac on the loose. With good company and Scott's arm
around her all was right with the world.
"This is the best part." Rebecca smiled as the guys stood.
Scott picked up his and Beryl's plates and disappeared into the
house with the other men.
"About half a dozen times a year Kevin does this." Tamara said
watching Kevin's backside. Beryl smiled as she and Stephanie's eyes
met. Beryl didn't have any siblings and her aunt and uncle had never
had children of their own. This was the first time she'd felt like
part of a large family and all she'd done is walked in the front door.
The guys came back carrying strawberry short cake and served it
to their ladies. Sean poured them coffee and then they returned with
their own plates.
Dishes were an assembly-line affair. Kevin, Scott and Sean
cleared the table, Mike, Paul and Stephanie washed while Rebecca,
Tamara and Beryl dried and put them away. Afterward Sean, Paul,
Kevin and Scott played two-on-two basketball in the driveway. Scott
and Paul played skins and Beryl had a hard time keeping up with the
conversation as the ladies and Mike sat on the front porch watching.
Noticing Beryl watching him with a desirous smile, Scott aped a
Hulk-Hogan-like muscle flex. Beryl laughed.
"Whoo-hoo, baby," Stephanie joked.
While Scott was mugging Sean was charging up toward the hoop
with Paul hot on his trail. Sean smashed into Scott they were both
sent sprawling, Sean's elbow connecting painfully with the concrete.
Beryl was down the steps, hurrying to Scott's side. "I'm fine."
he said. "Check Sean."
Beryl looked at the scraped up hide on Sean's arm after
escorting him into the house. Tamara pulled open the mirror, sat a
bottle of peroxide and box of gauze on the table where Sean sat.
"Good thing we finally got a medic on the team, huh?" Tamara
joked to Sean not noticing when Beryl looked at her. "If you hook up
with a lawyer the ten of us will be able to start society over again
if the Apocalypse comes." She winked like a teasing big sister.
"Yeah, and if chicks dig scars, this should help out." Beryl
smiled as Scott's arms circled her from behind.
"You all right, Kidd?" he asked.
Sean winced as Beryl cleaned the deep scrape with peroxide. "I
suppose."
"How are you?" Beryl asked over her shoulder.
"I'll let you check me out later." Scott smiled wickedly as
Beryl turned her head and kissed him on the jaw.
"Sure," Sean said. "I get the owwie and he gets the kiss."
"All right," Scott smirked. "But be quick, she gets jealous."
Sean gave Scott a mockingly horrified look.
"Go on, you." Beryl swatted Scott's butt. "Quit upsetting my
patients."
"Wanna play spades with Kev and Tamara?" Scott asked. "Everyone
else is going out."
"Sure. Partners?"
"Always." Scott kissed Beryl's hair as she began wrapping Sean's
arm.
"You making a run tonight?" Sean asked Scott.
"In the morning." Scott answered. He'd fed this morning after
visiting the store house in Spokane.
Once Sean's arm was bandaged he took a couple of Tylenol with
the others.

Kevin and Tamara won the game resoundingly.
"Ah good." Kevin wrapped his arms around Tamara as she gathered
the cards. "Now I can take the queen upstairs and see what tricks she
has in store."
Tamara giggled. "Good night, guys." she said as Scott took
Beryl's hand and led her out the back door.
A half moon tinted the deck fading into blackness toward the
trees as Beryl looked at their surroundings.
"Tired?" Scott asked. It was just after one and Scott knew that
Beryl was often awake much later than this.
"Not really, but I don't want to disturb anyone."
"Let's take the long way to the cabin then." Scott pulled Beryl
close and they started down the steps.
A fragrant scent filled the air as the couple walked along a
narrow path. "Tam's rose garden." Scott said, plucked a full pink
bloom from one of the bushes and handed it to Beryl. She smiled as
her heart fluttered and Scott pulled her to him in the velvety
darkness. He looked at Beryl for a long moment.
"I wouldn't want to be a werewolf, I'd miss seeing you in the
light of a full moon."
Beryl sighed pleasantly as Scott continued down the path again.
A white bridge spanned a narrow brook just inside the cover of trees
and Scott halted at its apex.
A kiss, soft but promising so much more fell upon Beryl's lips as
Scott held her. He smiled and placed his fingers gently over her
heart even though he felt it everywhere their skin touched. This
didn't happen all the time but it awed Scott when it did.
"My heart?" Beryl said with a soft blush, her hand over Scott's.
She'd never be able to hide her feelings from Scott if he sensed the
very rhythm of her pulse.
"It's going like a frightened rabbit." Scott said taking the
clip from Beryl's hair, letting it course down her back until he
gather it in his hands. "I don't know why it should." He pressed her
almost painfully to him. "I'd think you'd be used to being seduced by
now."
Just past the bridge, in the thickest part of the wooded copse,
a small hollow had been created several years before when an old tree
had fallen over. Somehow grass had grown here thick and cushiony. The
gnarled roots formed a shelter almost like a shallow cave and it was
here Scott led Beryl.
Their fervor grew to a white-hot intensity as they moved, though
not a stitch had been removed. Scott's hips ground lustily against
Beryl and she felt him straining through the denim of his jeans as
her palms lay across his bottom pressing him more firmly to her.
Scott's mouth closed over Beryl's, his fingers played over her
breasts feeling her through the smooth satin of her blouse.
Beryl pushed her hands between them to find Scott's zipper but
he grabbed her wrists. Beryl looked into his face, seeing the black
wells of his vampire's eyes in the moment before the parts of Scott
that were every bit as dark took over. She was still. A feeling very
close to shame flooded Beryl but not so quickly to cover the deep
thrill of seeing his mouth-the hellishly sharp fangs behind those
heavenly lips.
Go on, the voice of Scott's desire taunted in its coldest tone
ever. You know down deep you want to, deeper down you know she wants
you to. Read her and know she's screaming to feel that pain.
Scott tried to Scan Beryl's face without going deeper but found
it like trying to swim in a maelstrom.
Before her reasoning mind could talk her out of it, Beryl arched
up to press her slightly opened mouth to Scott's. Hungrily she tasted
his lips, feeling the points of his fangs gingerly.
How long have you wanted to do this? her inner voice wheedled.
Don't hold back now. Beryl pressed harder into the kiss and blood
welled from a wound ripped on Beryl's lip by the scythe-like
sharpness of the cuspid. It was a minute amount but more than enough
to ignite Scott's senses.
The speed with which he moved took Beryl's breath away as he held
her shoulder with a bone crushing grip and pulling her upward as he
sat in a half-crouch. Scott's fingers twined in Beryl's hair forcing
her head to the side. The tips of Scott's fangs halted at the tender
skin of her throat.
Love alone stayed Scott from tasting the nectar of Beryl's
blood. The thought of denying her the choice the same way he had
been. He closed his eyes fighting for control.
"Do you want this?" Scott asked and heard Beryl choke back the
answer she couldn't give.
Scott stood and pulled Beryl roughly to her feet. He held her by
the forearm instead of her hand and marched them through the woods.
Beryl opened her mouth twice to say she was sorry, but stopped
both times. Sorry for what? Wanting him? The passion she felt with
Scott was more intense than any in her life and she couldn't
apologize for it. They had promised to be honest with each other and
she had been. She couldn't answer his question because yes and no
would both be true. Yes, she wanted him. Every inch, but no because
she was scared. Not of him of course, but she didn't yet understand
exactly what the vampirism was.
"Go inside." Scott ordered as he pushed Beryl none-too-gently
toward the porch of the large cabin.
"Where are you going?" she asked on a soft, broken voice.
To get what you wont' give me, the inner voice spat and Scott
felt like a complete bastard for even thinking it. Not openly
answering her question, Scott turned and walked into the dark woods.

The SUV roared into life and Scott pulled out of Kevin's
driveway, speeding away from the sound of Beryl's pulse that hammered
in his ears. To hear her fear and pain was inescapable and the harder
Scott tried to ignore the echoing the louder it became. He couldn't
pinpoint when he'd started hearing her emotions with her heartbeat
but the sensation was not a comfortable one at the moment. He only
hoped it would lessen once he'd fed.

Beryl stood at a window that overlooked the path that led to the
front door of Kevin's guest house. She had entered the room she and
Scott were to share not wishing to be difficult when he was so upset.
The clock read 3:42 and Beryl was very tired. She turned out the
light but know she had no hope of rest until she knew Scott was safe.
He'd left in so foul a mood that Beryl didn't know what she could
expect upon his return but an argument was better than not knowing if
he was all right.
Beryl's mind played over the encounter that caused his temper.
Once again the subject of his dark desire had arisen and this time
he'd asked if she felt the same. Still she couldn't sort out if she
did or not. If Scott had attempted to turn her the night she first
saw him as the vampire, Beryl would have fought him with all her
being. In the time since, however, she had come to see the action of
Scott burying his fangs into her skin as another act of intimacy.
In their loving, they were as open as possible for two people to
be, but for the times when Scott took on that dark aspect and he made
no secret of what he wanted. Beryl felt shame that she was holding
back from him when that was not her intention. But the very thought
of becoming that mindless monster Scott had described left Beryl in
a cold fear.
The sun began to kiss the horizon and with it Beryl's tears rose
at the turmoil she felt. In her emotional musings, she didn't hear
the door open and click back into place, but in the half-light
Scott's eyes roamed over Beryl's form and this she felt.
"If you want me to leave, I will." she said trying to keep from
crying outright. "I only stayed to make sure you got back okay."
Scott came to stand at Beryl's side his hand sliding across her
stomach and he pressed his lips to her temple. Involuntarily she
melted into his embrace.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost it like that." He'd thought
long and hard on the return drive why her effect on him only seemed
to strengthen but no answer came for any of the questions racing
through his head.
When she'd been so angry she would barely speak to him, the
sound of her heart drove him mad with the thought that he'd never get
to touch her again. Now, having spent so many moments alone with her,
Scott knew that the emotions he received from her would make him
insane if she left.
"Please, don't go." he said finally, but as he said it he knew
she wouldn't.
"Are you all right, Scott?" Beryl turned in his arms to face
him. "Really?"
Scott sighed. "Better."
"I'm sorry I made you mad." Beryl said relaxing into Scott's
arms as he nuzzled her ear, not voicing his deeper concerns.
"You drive me mad." he kissed the corner of her mouth. "Baby
girl," he breathed. "We have some unfinished business.”

 

The Kliq sat on the deck in the bright Arizona sun.
"According to Vonnegut the guys in Kansas City say they never
left their posts. There were four others they were keeping an eye on
and all of them were monitored. Vonnegut had the other hunter-
vampires questioned and one of them remembered seeing Grey get off
the plane."
"Either Grey's got a definite plan or he's got help." Scott
said. "Maybe both."
They had all dressed in swimsuits but the guys had gathered on
the deck for a discussion that had already stretched to over an hour.
Scott was sitting on the step beneath the sliding glass door watching
Beryl as she sat on the edge of Kevin's pool catching the sun. She
was in a black strapless swim dress and Scott wouldn't have needed
any extra motivation to look but this morning he'd woken with an
unease concerning her welfare.
Mike had noticed the way Scott's eyes kept straying toward Beryl
and sensed that his attention was due to more than her comeliness.
The groups broke-up briefly when Kevin went to answer a knock at the
front door and Mike took the opportunity to question him.
"Everything all right?" Mike asked Scott who had given a smile
to Beryl when she'd waved. "I heard you come in pretty early this
morning."
Scott sighed inwardly, there was no point in denying it.
"Still having trouble?" Mike guessed and Scott returned his
gaze. He couldn't rightly express the feeling of impending strife
since he'd never really experienced it before, at least not this
strongly.
"Yeah," Scott said, standing to stretch. At least he could
address one of his concerns. "I honestly don't know why I can't keep
it together."
"I have a theory about that."
"What?" Scott scowled questioningly at Mike.
"Hey," Kevin came out holding a large manila envelope. "Its for
Beryl." Scott's hackles rose immediately and he took the envelope
from Kevin while Sean waved Beryl over.
"What's up?" Beryl said coming up behind Scott and Kevin.
"You got a letter." Kevin said as Scott handed the item to
Beryl. She looked at the row of international stamps and the post
mark.
"It's from Kenya." Beryl opened the clasp and tore the seal. A
stack of black and white pictures was inside along with a smaller
envelope. "Its my Aunt Jane. I don't know how she'd know I was here
though." Beryl said thumbing through the photos of a middle-aged
woman, who resembled her strongly, giving check-ups to small children.
Scott breathed a sigh of relief at the innocuous pictures, even
looking at them over Beryl's shoulder. The half dozen photos were
sat on the redwood table and Beryl turned her attention to the thick
letter-sized envelope.
"All right." Tamara said, coming up the steps from the swimming
pool. "Enough business, we're starving. Which one of you sweet, kind-
hearted men wants to run into town and pick up dinner?" She batted
her eyes and leaned her head on Kevin's arm. Scott's eyes crinkled in
laughter at them.
"Now how could I say no to-"
"Oh, My God!" Beryl cried. Scott was at her side instantly as
she buried a tearful face in his chest.
"Holy shit!" Paul's jaw dropped, a sick color suffusing her face
as he looked at the four Polaroids scattered on the wooden slats of
the deck.
"Guess who." Mike said, picking up a postcard.
"Sorry I missed you." the spidery handwriting scrawled on the
postcard just above several spattered drops of a menacing brick-
colored substance.
Beryl was shaking so hard Scott feared she might collapse.
"Bring her inside." Tamara said, rather pale herself.
Paul gathered the Polaroids up before the other women could see
the images of the now-murdered teenager in various stages of torture,
one with a hand making rabbit-ears behind her bruised and bloody
face. It looked as if she'd been bitten at least twice.
Even having been himself in savage states of mind, Paul found
Grey's cruel toying with the poor girl unconscionable and his twisted
attempt at humor even worse. He couldn't even imagine how Scott must
feel right now, knowing only if anyone had been tormenting Stephanie
is such a way, he would stop at nothing to see them pay.

In the cool dimness of Kevin and Tamara's living room Scott held
Beryl to him as she sobbed. "Why won't he leave me alone?" Beryl
asked. "What did I ever do to him?"
"I've long ago given up trying to figure out why he goes after
some people and not others."
"Scott he killed that girl because I left before he could get to
me." Beryl said sick with guilt that anyone had suffered for the
things she found herself involved in.
"Hey," Scott pulled Beryl straight to look in her eyes. "He
killed her because Grey is a sick piece of shit. If you'd been there
she would have been after thought perhaps but she'd still be just as
dead. And so would you."
Beryl lay her head back on Scott's shoulder as Mike tapped on
the door jamb.
"I know you're upset, Beryl." Mike said. "But I need to know
more about the pictures. Things you didn't notice the first time you
saw them."
"Not now!" Scott said in an uncharacteristically gruff voice.
The terrified pounding of Beryl's heart made him want to protect her
from all of this.
Before Mike could speak, Beryl lifted her head and looked at
Scott. "Its only a matter of time before he does this again." she
said squeezing his hand. "He already has for all her know." Beryl
turned to Mike. "I'll try."
Scott relented his forthright refusal but sat next to Beryl
determined to end the encounter if he felt any undue distress. The
way she was gripping his hand Scott was sure he wouldn't need the
developing connection between them to know what she was feeling.
Focusing on the background in the pictures Beryl determined that
they were taken in a field barely a mile from where she and Scott had
spent the afternoon laying in the grass. The postcard came from a
bookstore in Beryl's hometown. It was from a picture taken by a local
photographer of a waterfall where Beryl's uncle and aunt used to take
her for picnics when she was little.
"Enough." Tamara said from the doorway, pushing through the guys
when Beryl had seemed about to start crying once again. "Let her get
some rest now." She led Beryl to the small alcove off the kitchen and
not even Scott dared disagree. In true feminine tend-and-befriend
fashion, Tamara, Rebecca and Stephanie tried their best to comfort
Beryl and take her mind off the horridness of the pictures.
Kevin, Scott and Sean took the SUV into town to get some pizza
since Kevin lived far enough away that delivery wasn't an option.
They used the opportunity to talk.
"So we take the pictures to the council or what?" Sean asked.
"The council didn't take care of this while they had the chance
and he's brought it to our door now." Kevin said.
"It's been at our door." Scott said. "I should have taken care
of this."
"No one could have foreseen he'd go this far, Scott." Sean said.
"I never should have given him the chance." Scott looked out
the window at the red-tinted rock formations. "I should have dealt
with that depraved bastard myself instead of trusting Vonnegut to
handle it."
"And now we will." Kevin said. "Grey's messed with one of our
own and he's going to find out there's no hole deep enough to hide
in. If Vonnegut tries to protect Grey, he'll get the same lesson."
Scott looked at Kevin a moment then turned outward once again to
consider his words. The wives may not be in the public eye but they
were no less part of the equation and it was not wise to meddle with
any member. Scott thought of Beryl a moment. Most of them had had
girlfriends in the five years since The Order had imbued the Kliq
with authority within the federation but they'd never been part of
the unit.
Even when Sean and Chyna had been an item she hadn't been Kliq
really, even though she was the second vampire keeping things equal.
Her self-imposed distance had caused disruptions in the balance even
back then. But with Beryl it was uunmistakablethat she fit. Hell,
she'd been told, by accident and designs, as much as Kevin, Paul and
Mike's wives had been. Which was basically everything.

Kevin pulled the Suburban into his driveway and Scott carried
four large pizzas into the house. He sat them on the counter and
pulled Beryl into his arms.
"I love you." he said quite fervently. "Did you get ahold of
your aunt?"
"Yeah," Beryl replied, laying her head on Scott's shoulder. "I
told her I saw her picture in a newspaper. The photographer she
described didn't sound like Grey, though."
Scott didn't think now was a good time to mention that Grey
could make people see or hear what he wanted them to. "To get in and
out of the country he had to have help. He's probably not alone."
"Great." Beryl said. "A whole fleet of them." She felt a chill
even Scott's embrace couldn't fully chase away.
Scott kissed Beryl's forehead. "Don't think about it, baby. He
can't touch you hear and he'd be a fool to try. We have more
connections than just the council."
"Hey you two." Stephanie said. "You gonna join us or make out in
the kitchen?
"So." Scott raised an eyebrow and looked down at Beryl. "Which
is it?"
A glitter of mirth filled Beryl's eyes. "You naughty thing."
Scott smiled lecherously and swatted her bottom as they turned to
join the others out by the pool.
After dinner most of the others sat in the living room watching
a movie but Scott took Beryl by the hand and led her out onto the
path they'd followed the night before, taking it all the way back to
the guest house.
"I'm glad you're liking the company." Scott said pulling Beryl
close. "But I'm ready for some quiet time."
"I like the way you think." Beryl stood on tip-toe to kiss
Scott's mouth. "I couldn't share you for one more minute."
"Baby," Scott said pulling Beryl toward their small
bathroom. "I'm all yours." She watched Scott strip down and step into
the shower. He adjusted the water to a pleasant temperature and with
an inflammatory look crooked his finger for Beryl to join him. She
walked most willingly into his arms.

Mike and Kevin were sitting at Kevin's kitchen table both sipping
at cups of black coffee. Everyone else was still asleep.
"What's the word?" Mike asked stifling a yawn.
"I called Tiny this morning and he put the word out. If Grey's
seen we'll know about it." Kevin replied.
"Good." Mike said. "We'll have to stay in contact with them
constantly until this whole mess blows over."
"I hear that." Kevin stretched.
"If we had a sixth we could have Scott and Beryl hole up some
place but we really can't spare him." Mike rubbed his eyes.

Scott woke content in the feel of Beryl curled against him. A
little smile crossed his face as he looked at her resting sound with
her head on his chest. Gently, so not to wake her, Scott swept away a
strand of hair. A sleepy smile curved her lips but she didn't stir.
After a moment her pulse began to race and her eyes moved beneath the
lids. Scott wondered what dreams she was having until her brow
creased in a scowl and she whimpered.
"Shh." Scott's lips moved against her forehead as she came awake
with a start. "Its only a dream, baby."
"Yeah," Beryl pressed more firmly to him. "But when am I going
to stop having it?"
Scott ran his hand over Beryl's hair. After the son-of-a-bitch
has driven you crazy, the inner voice sneered and Scott held Beryl
close to ward off his own chill.
Rain pattered on the window pane, nestled in each other's arms
Scott and Beryl were loath to leave this warm sanctuary.
Scott looked at the clock on the bedside table; it was nearly
eleven-thirty. He was surprised no one had called to wake them up. Of
course maybe they figured the pair of them were already awake.
With a chuckle, Scott kissed Beryl's hair. "You know I could
play in bed all day, but we better get up to the house. Tamara might
forgive us missing breakfast but we'll call down her wrath if we're
late for lunch."
"If her wrath can keep Kevin in line, I don't want to incur
it." Beryl smiled, sitting up.
"I hear ya." Scott said, watching the hem of Beryl's night
shirt rise as she stretched languidly.
Once they were dressed, Beryl and Scott again took the path
through Tamara's rose garden, holding hands and speaking of idle
things.
"Good morning, lovebirds." Stephanie called as they entered the
back door.
"Good afternoon." Sean said, eying them like a disappointed
school master.
"Hush, you." Tamara glared at Sean.
"I just put a fresh pot of coffee on." Kevin turned toward Scott
and Beryl.
"Sounds good." Beryl went to pour them each a cup.
"Sent out the word." Kevin informed Scott. "We got three
possible sightings but nothing concrete. They're being looked into
though."
"Tomorrow night's covered." Paul said, referring to the show in
Tucson, when Grey had been expected to rejoin show.
"If he comes within ten miles of the arena, we'll know about
it." Stephanie said. "Dad has the security staff on alert." The WWE's
security staff knew all about Grey and the others, many of them being
para norms themselves.
Scott nodded, not trusting himself to speak again given the
mental images of what he wanted to do to Grey when he was found. All
Scott knew was he wanted first crack at the psychotic parasite.

 

Well over a week had gone by since Grey had sent Beryl his warped
love note; Scott had become something of a warden. Without knowledge
of what Grey had concocted he tended to be weary of everything. He
and Beryl drove whenever is was plausible to do so. With the next
several weeks' schedule more sparse that meant all the scenery Beryl
got to see was highway vistas and more hotel rooms. The connection
that Scott felt was getting stronger. It was like a constant scan and
more than once the two of them would begin to speak at the same
moment after long stretches of quietly speeding along the highway.
The connection also tore at Scott's resolve. This woman who had
shown the wit and strength that had saved him was silently
withstanding the yoke of confinement. He knew she was unhappy but the
necessity of keeping her away from harm made Scott turn a blind eye
as much as he could.
Beryl would spend hours just gazing out the window of the car.
In the increasingly infrequent moments that Scott spoke, he was most
likely to be stating just what she was to be doing. Once in awhile he
would look at her with the tenderness he had formerly displayed, say
he loved her and they would spend the evenings in each others' arms.
In the still hours Beryl was glad of the brief respite from what
seemed a nation of prying eyes. But come morning Scott would again be
the stoic sentry of her safety.
Emergency lock down had been called twice in the last week. The
campaign of misinformation put in place by the McMahon's was
phenomenal, almost governmental in its chaotic simplicity. But both
times had proven to be false alarms.

Beryl sat on a stool in the medical room with her elbows on the
counter and her head in her hands. When Gordy needed to be elsewhere
Beryl would watch the monitors. With the Kliq's dressing room right
across the hall she was never alone.
Scott was Beryl's constant shadow when he wasn't in the ring,
when he was one of the others would be keeping an eye on her. Gordy
had been in the room each time someone needed anything and was
fortunate for them since Scott had no intention of leaving Beryl
alone in a room with anyone he was unsure of. Given that anyone might
be in league with Grey or in his thrall, the list of people Scott was
sure of was quite short.
I hope he's caught soon, she thought. I can picture this
getting old real fast.

As Scott pulled the rented mini-van into the parking lot of the
arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a house show two of the security
guards flanked the vehicle.
"Come inside, please." the taller of the two instructed, Beryl
recognized him as one of the vampires on the staff.
"What's happened?" Scott asked.
"He mailed in a message." The man answered as they led Scott and
Beryl to Shane McMahon's office. On the desk was another postcard
from with the waterfall scene. A large numeral "3" was printed on the
back.
Scott looked at the missive saying nothing. The postmark was
from a small town in Connecticut, one of the places Grey had been
seen in the last several days. Beryl rubbed at the back of her neck,
not knowing what to make of it. Three what?
If anyone thought Scott had been especially protective of Beryl
the previous week they hadn't seen anything yet. Nothing else out of
the ordinary occurred that might but tensions were running high. The
security staff was taking the threat very seriously, calling in all
the off-duty personnel. Even the smallest disruption was jumped on
with the rabid ferocity of a pride of lions.
By now used to Scott investigating every nook and cranny of every
hotel they occupied, Beryl stood at the door when they got checked
in. There was no show tomorrow so they planned on heading to Colorado
Springs in the afternoon. Keeping on the move they were less likely
to be located.
Beryl heard the water in the shower running and looked up to see
Scott beckoning her to him. Once under the hot steam Scott began
rubbing at Beryl's neck carefully.
"He'll slip up and we'll have him." Scott said working his
fingers at the knotted muscles of Beryl's shoulder. "This won't go on
forever."
"God, I hope not." Beryl winced as Scott came across a sore
spot.
"It won't." Scott kissed her neck.

In the early morning Beryl woke from another horrid dream.
Scott still lay next to her sleeping. Resting her head back on his
chest Beryl buried her face between the dark hair and the white sheet
feeling hot tears slide down her face. The nightmares were only
getting worse and her waking hours were little better given the
perpetual anxiety.
Scott's arms tightened around her, holding her silently until
her body was racked with sobs and finally she slept sound. When
Beryl's pulse and breath evened out Scott relaxed his grip and softly
stroked her hair wishing vampires were immortal so he could give Grey
a century of torment for each and every one of Beryl's tears.
It was the phone that woke Beryl the second time and out of
habit she'd reached out to pick up the receiver but Scott lay his
hand over it first. Blinking awake Beryl relented and watched as
Scott answered the phone. He was quiet but a scowl creased his brow
as a small buzz issued from the handset.
"Thank you." Scott said at last. "She'll be down in a moment."
"What?" Beryl questioned.
"You got a package at the front desk."
Beryl's lip twisted with indecision. "Should I go get it?"
Naturally Scott was torn. He didn't want Beryl to have
everything to do with Grey's little messages but each one might
provide a clue to his whereabouts or what he was up to.
"I'd rather you didn't, but not everything is up to me at this
point."
Beryl smiled. "Would it have been up to you before now?"
Scott decided to be quiet lest his masculine bravado get him
into trouble. He went with Beryl downstairs and stood behind her
while the woman clerking lifted a long white florist's box onto the
counter.
"This may be unpleasant." Scott said when they returned to their
room. "You may want to let me open it."
Beryl nodded and took her bag into the bathroom to take a
shower. Once she closed the door she stood at the mirror and listened
for any unusual noises from the other room. After several minutes
Scott opened the door and Beryl looked at his reflection. He reached
forward and sat a small envelope on the counter.
A piece of paper the size of a business card had been partially
tucked back onto the plain, blank envelope. Beryl pulled the card out
and flipped it over to read a scripted number "2". She stared at the
numeral for a long moment. "Was there anything in the box?" She was
almost afraid to ask.
"Roses." Scott replied. "I threw them away."
Beryl tilted her head. "If he did something to the thorns and
one of the maids takes them home and gets sick it will be our fault.
We should take them with us and toss them out in the dessert."
Scott kissed Beryl and smiled at the compassion she showed in
the midst of her own turmoil. "Okay, but you don't touch them."
"What if you were poisoned?" Beryl said urgently and turned
toward Scott. She pulled him closer to the light examining his eyes
and feeling his forehead.
"If I get a fever I'll let you sweat it out of me." Scott leered.
"Would you stop that?" Beryl rolled her eyes. "You brought in
the vampire mafia to keep me safe but you make light when I get
worried about you."
"I told you I'm a handful."
"That was an understatement and a half." Beryl smirked.
Scott kissed her cheek. "Seriously we have to call the guys and
figure out what we're going to do."

Beryl sat on the edge of the bed, her lips pursed as the guys
discussed what they thought was the best course of action.
Obviously Grey was counting down to an event and given the
schedule that event seemed to be the RAW in Colorado. Scott wanted
Beryl as far from there as they could get her in the thirty-one hours
until show time. Paul agreed. Mike argued that if they ran Grey would
know he had the upper hand and would become even more relentless.
Kevin said they should attend the show in true Kliq style to call
Grey out and show him they were unafraid. Sean felt the same.
"At the end of the day, it is your neck, Beryl." Mike said, and
all eyes turned her way as she rubbed at her temple. "What do you
say?"
Beryl looked at them all, her eyes rimmed with tears that she
blinked back as she looked from one to the other. Scott heard her
pulse thundering so fast it almost hummed rather than beat.
"What is it, babe?" Scott said sitting down beside her.
Beryl froze. "Scott, I don't know if I can trust myself. Grey
knows so much, what if he knows what I'd do?"
Scott put his arms around her shoulders. "I won't lie, babe. I
know it's odd to think of someone having Read your mind and Grey will
use it against you as long as he can."
Beryl's eyes shifted to the carpet as she considered. Scott
watched her face both Scanning and reaching out with the part of him
that had come to hear her emotions. Before she spoke his heart began
to both sink and thrum with pride.
She held her chin high though Scott still heard her heart
racking. In a voice small but set in it's resolve, Beryl declared. "I
don't know what he has planned. He may have Read me but he doesn't
know me. I won't run."
"You go, girl." Sean said vehemently. The others looked around
at him.

The mail was screened, no deliveries were allowed through and
all tickets were double checked as the arena in Colorado Springs
began to fill up. Kevin, Paul, Sean, Mike, Scott, Beryl and Gordy all
arrived at the same time. Gordy went to the medical room to check
things out, Mike and Sean went with him.
"It's clear." Mike said, returning to the cars where Scott and
Beryl stayed in the center vehicle and Kevin stood talking with
several of the security guards. Kevin waved to Scott and the two of
them flanked Beryl.
"How you holding up, rookie?" Kevin asked. He couldn't help
thinking over the last couple of days that she was looking a bit
shaken.
"You know I'd never wish any of you ill, but couldn't one of you
get hurt just a little so I have something to do today?" Beryl smiled
in frustration.
"I'll see what I can do." Kevin smirked and laughed shaking his
head.
"Let's concentrate on making sure you don't wind up needing
medical attention." Scott said as he opened the med room door and led
Beryl on with a hand at the small of her back. "Stay put, okay? I'll
be back in a little while."
Beryl kissed him good-bye and looked around the room with a
grimace. "I can't count the supplies again, my head will explode."
Gordy gave her a sympathetic smile. "This won't go on forever,
kiddo."
I hope to God not, her inner voice said sourly. It had been
nearly two weeks since the pictures had showed up at Kevin's. Scott
had hardly left her side, that situation wasn't so lamentable. Since
their days off had ended they had less time to be alone together and
that was understandable but with the unseen eyes at constant vigil
Beryl's nerves were stretched to their limit. Scott had done so much
to keep her sage Beryl thought it would be petty of her to complain
about being watched too closely.
Of course there was the real threat on top of the inconvenience.
Grey's plan was no closer to being thwarted now that the day was upon
them than when The Kliq had initiated contact with those para norms
outside The Order's influence. Awake or asleep, Grey made his
presence felt in Beryl's mind. Scott did his best to comfort her when
he sensed she was feeling especially tense but she didn't want to be
constantly bothering him when he had other things to attend to.

Scott's eyes carefully studied those in attendance. The Kliq had
called a meeting of all the para norms in the company, except Gordy
who was watching over Beryl. The others took most of the time
addressing those gathered to give Scott a chance to Scan as many of
them as he could. His Scan uncovered neither any dark plots nor the
sense that anyone was blocking. On Grey's closer compatriots, Scott
did a partial Read but found nothing that involved Beryl. The lack of
information did not please him.
Time was swiftly running out and they had no clue from where the
danger was coming. Again Scott thought of simply taking Beryl and
driving as fast and as far as he could. AS soon as the meeting ended
Scott hurried to the med room as much to be assured of Beryl's
continued safety as to feed.
"Good," Gordy said. "I have to be about business."
At least one of us can, Beryl thought wistfully.
"How did it go?" she asked handing Scott a bag.
"I got nothing." he ran his hand through his hair. "Not the
slightest idea where he is or what he's up to."
"Whatever it is we'll get through it." Beryl held her palm out
to Scott.
"What?" Scott looked at the two aspirin she was offering him.
"For your headache." Beryl blinked, smiling encouragingly. Scott
didn't bother trying to deny it or ask how she knew. If he could
sense how tense she was when she hadn't said anything she could know
he felt the same.
"Thank you." Scott said and pulled Beryl to him and kissed her
forehead, tempted to ask how long she had felt the connection.


Finally Linda called everyone to dinner and Beryl left the med-room,
glad of a change of scenery at least. Scott guided her to a table at
the back of the cafeteria where her back would be against the wall.
With Scott and Kevin flanking her Beryl felt like a toddler trapped
between her parents at a church function, threatened to be at her
best behavior.
When sitting between the two big men caused her to spill her
coffee onto her shirt Beryl stood, fighting not to curse.
"Excuse me." she managed through a tight jaw to Scott who'd sat
in the way of her getting out.
Seeing her strained expression Scott stood to let her by but
walked with her
"Scott." Beryl turned to him as they neared the bathroom. "You
know I don't mind your company but I don't think Molly would find
your presence in the ladies' room as tolerable as I do."
"Then you're just going to have to hold it." Scott crossed his
arms over his chest stubbornly.
"If he was in the building, we'd know about it already." Beryl
tried to hold her temper.
"I don't need to tell you how slimy Grey is, babe."
"Scott, this is ridiculous." Beryl's voice cracked with
fatigue. "I can't go home, I can't even go outside. Its like he's
already won."
"What's up, guys?" Stephanie said rounding the corner. Scott
looked at her.
"Don't you dare." Beryl said under her breath to Scott.

Beryl stood on the radiator and hit at the lower sill of the
window until it folded outward. "I can't believe he asked you to come
in here with me." she fumed to Stephanie.
"Are you going to jump?" Paul's wife teased coming out of a
stall and seeing Beryl at the window.
Beryl smirked. "Of course not. I just need some fresh air."
"Scott can be a real pain when he gets into mother hen mode, but
it's only because he loves you so much." Stephanie climbed onto the
heater as well. She rested her chin on her folded arms and looked at
Beryl.
"I know." Beryl blushed.

Dinner was finished and nothing happened. Final lighting and
sound check went by without incident. The opening pyro exploded and
the crowd popped but all was quiet backstage. With every uneventful
second that passed the tension grew. Scott stood in the hall outside
the med room more tempted than ever to take Beryl and run whether she
protested or not.
The Dudley Boys and La Resistance led the second hour, followed
by a 15-woman Battle Royal to determine the top contender for the
belt at the next PPV, then Scott and Sean fought Randy Orton and
Batista. They were in the shower while Kevin and Mike sat with Beryl.
"Well, all our matches are over, rookie. Sorry I couldn't make
your evening more eventful." Kevin smiled as the monitor caught the
last of Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho's match.
"Uneventful is good." Mike replied. Beryl was still watching the
monitor even though she couldn't go out front anyway.
Lillian Garcia was keeping the crowd revved during the
commercial break when the sound system began cutting out. Technical
difficulties were not unheard of so Kevin and Mike were not too taken
aback until the first chords of music were heard.
"My Eyes Adored You" blared all through the building. The fans
out front thought it a cryptic message of someone's eminent arrival
in the company and all conversation in the back was stilled as the
music became deafening.
Mike was the first to notice Beryl's pallor.
"What is it?" he asked realizing the song must have some
significance for Beryl and given her blanched face it was a negative
one.
This song had been playing on the radio of her parent's car just
before the accident that ended their lives and very nearly her own.
I haven't thought about that in years, Beryl's mind raced. How
could Grey possibly know?"
Tears welled in her eyes, not so much at the catalyst of her
memories, it was just a song after all, but for the depth of intimacy
Grey had stolen to concoct such a vile scene.

 

"But why all this hub-bub?" Sean asked. "Why a countdown just to
intimidate her with a song?"
"Exactly why, to intimidate her." Mike said. "To work all our
nerves. To tell us he knows more than we do."
"How could he know that?" Beryl asked tartly. "I haven't even
thought about it in so long?"
"Not consciously." Mike said. "Beryl, he Read you, he could have
gone anywhere in your mind."
Beryl folded her arms across her chest. Scott had been both
correct and far off the mark when he'd compared a Read with a rape.
The rest of the Kliq had barely managed to keep Scott from
murdering Phil, the sound mixer, when it was discovered he was in
Grey's thrall and had been induced to play the song. Scott was only
marginally less angry with Vince for not ordering everyone to be
checked when the trouble first started.
"Hashing this out all over again isn't going to solve anything."
Kevin said gruffly. It was nearly three o'clock and all their nerves
were frazzled. "He got past us. Period."
Scott wasn't angry with any of them or even with Phil. Scott was
disgusted that he had not been able to keep it from happening. What
if Grey had urged the guy to attack Beryl? He hadn't known and she
could have been killed. "We'll have to tighten up."
Beryl looked at. How the Hell could things get any tighter? Did
he plan on locking her in a cage?
"It's late." Mike said feeling that the room was only reaching a
boiling point. "We'll discuss all this tomorrow."
Scott and Beryl made their way down the hall to their room in
silence. Not a happy silence. Without waiting for Scott to, again,
check out the room Beryl grabbed her bag, walked into the bathroom
and closed the door very firmly behind her.

Scott sat on the edge of the bed listening to the shower run.
He'd barely spoken to Beryl since he'd come out of the locker room
wondering what the music on the speakers was about. Seeing her face
was all the proof he needed that this was Grey's doing. In no
uncertain terms he had ordered Beryl to stay in the med room with
Sean and Gordy.
Scott heaved a sigh. Things could have gone much worse. Beryl
was safe, if a bit shaken up. He stood and approached the bathroom
door. He had been rather insensitive to her in his anger and he
needed to apologize.
"Baby." Scott called out tentatively as he opened the door he'd
half expected to find locked. "Babe, I-"
Scott's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach when he saw
Beryl kneeling on the floor of the tub, rocking back and forth,
sobbing into her hands. For the last few hours her own anger had been
a brick wall and he hadn't guessed her fear had run this deep.
Another way he had failed her, he felt.
Scott hist the shower control with the palm of his hand to halt
the flowing water. He pulled Beryl upward cradling her to him. In
spite of the warm air and hot water Beryl felt cold. Scott carried
her to the bad and pulled the blanket over her bare shoulders.
"Talk to me, baby." Scott urged desperate with the fear that
Grey was succeeding in driving Beryl insane.
Beryl seemed to come out of a trance. "I swear, I didn't
remember anything about that."
"Baby, I know." Scott pushed the sodden curtain of her hair from
her face. "I'm sorry if you thought I was accusing you."
"Scott, I don't know what all he's taken from me."
Scott folded Beryl in his arms wishing he could keep her safe
but feeling a sick certainty that he had been seeking information in
the wrong place. For her part, Beryl came to the same conclusion.
"We need to know what he knows if we have any hope of stopping
him." Beryl pulled back looking to Scott's face.
"This can get pretty rough." Scott said. "Opening yourself up to
someone is hard. I don't want to hurt you."
Scott made a face of disgust at what he was about to do. Sure
it was for a better reason than the sick enjoyment Grey pursued but
Scott couldn't help feeling that Grey would laugh his ass off knowing
Scott was being forced to take such steps.
Beryl searched Scott's eyes. "Grey seeks to take but force, I'm
offering it to you."
"I love you," Scott said his mouth dry at the expression of love
so open on Beryl's face.
Scott started the Read there; with love. Soft things, he
thought. Nice memories and feelings, her favorite things. Picnics
with her aunt and uncle, her earliest recollections of Christmas or
the Fourth of July, that he now sensed was her favorite holiday. Then
memories that came with pain attached. Her Mom tucking her in at
night when she was small, her father letting her sneak up to watch
television and eat junk food. Saying good-bye to her Uncle Charles
the last Christmas before he died. Scott could almost smell the pipe
tobacco that Beryl would forever equate with the man.
A hundred nightmares, a multitude of day dreams. Spiraling down
to the things Beryl hated and feared. The things she, like anyone,
kept locked away. Don't look at it! Don't think about it!
It was dark, the mountain pass was water on top of ice. "Though
I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you." "Honey, watch out!"
A nauseating crunch as the deer was pulled under the wheels of the
station wagon. A feeling of adrenaline in the pit of Beryl's stomach
as the car spun and flipped, spun and flipped. Rending metal and the
horrid screams of a child.
Scott felt himself lifted and tossed like a rag-doll as the
scream became that of a grown woman. A jarring pain in his shoulder
that was only a faint echo to the liquid fire in his left thigh and
stomach.
"Oh, my God! Scott are you all right?"
Scott had doubled over when he hit the wall holding his abdomen.
He shook his head to clear it and found he was sitting on the floor
next to the wall opposite the bed. Beryl was kneeling over him her
face whiter than he'd ever seen anyone's.
"I'm sorry, Scott." she said tearfully. "I didn't know I could
do that."
Scott reached up and wiped her cheek. "Remind me not to piss you
off."
"Oh, Scott." she laughed through her tears. "I'm sorry."
The agony had faded somewhat but Scott looked up at Beryl in
pained sympathy. He knew she'd been injured in the car crash but he'd
never asked how badly. Cold suffused Scott's heart for a moment a the
thought of Beryl in that much pain.
"I wish I could have given Grey some of that," Beryl tried to
smile. "Maybe he'd have left me alone."
"Probably a defense mechanism you came up with." he replied as
she helped him sit up. "God, what happened to you?"
"Broke my leg and pelvic bone, ruptured my spleen and,
well...messed up some parts you don't have." Beryl pinked a bit.
"I'm never going to joke about PMS again." Scott said, rubbing
his side.

Twenty minutes later Scott was sitting in the bath tub of hot
water to soothe the muscles that still screamed at the abuse they
thought they had suffered. Beryl had pulled on a night shirt and
washed Scott since he was too stiff, both from the mental bombardment
and the abrupt trip across the room. Now she sat on the edge of the
basin with her feet in the water.
Scott had silently watched Beryl's movement, pruriently at first
while she'd lathered his chest them for more introspective reasons.
"Promise you won't think I'm a jerk if I ask you a personal
question?" Scott looked at Beryl, his hand resting familiarly on her
thigh.
Beryl smiled that he would ask after having Read her. "Go ahead."
"Can you have kids?"
"Oh, wow!" Beryl roared with shocked laughter, this was not what
she had expected.
"I'm sorry, babe." Scott said. "I like to commemorate this as
Scott the Asshole Day."
"You're not an asshole, Scott." Beryl leaned in to kiss
him. "Honestly, I don't know. The subject's never come up before."
Scott pulled Beryl forward until she was straddling him and
lifted her shirt over her head; his hands at the small of her back as
she leaned against him.
"I never told you I'm glad you're okay." He kissed her forehead
as all the madness of the day seemed to pour out of him. "When this
is all over I'll take you out and we'll put the town to bed doing
whatever you want. And it will be over soon, baby. I promise."
Scott stood pulling Beryl up with him her feet completely off
the ground. Of course they both know no one could make that promise
but now was not the time for any thought but each other.

"What are we doing today?" Beryl asked Scott over a cup of
coffee and blueberry muffin as they sat at the table in their room.
"I don't know." Scott said. "Grey's been seen in Boston and they
think they may have him this time."
"That's good news, isn't it?" Beryl said, seeing that Scott's
manner had again become somewhat stoic.
"It'll be good news when I see him with my own eyes." Scott
replied spreading marmalade over a piece of buttered toast, scraping
it in a way that just now irked Beryl a bit.
"So are we going to stay here until Thursday?"
Scott was reluctant to take Beryl to his house. They had spent
the previous weekend there with the kids, but anyone could expect
them to stay there. Kevin's place was closest but Grey had already
made his presence felt there. Mike and Rebecca's house was being
renovated and Paul's place was too close to where Grey was being seen.
If they stayed out of sight none of Grey's co-conspirators could
make any reports but after seeing Beryl's condition the night before
Scott knew she at least needed to get out of this room. If Grey's aim
was to see Beryl to an asylum why help him out.
"I don't know." Scott said looking at Beryl with a smile she
knew was forced. "We'll see, babe."
"Urg!" Beryl groaned at Scott's recent inability to give a
straight answer. She stood and leaned across the small table to kiss
Scott. "While you're making up our minds for us, I'm going to take a
bubble bath."
"Can I watch?"
"Since saying 'no' won't do any good I'd love you to." Beryl
said eying Scott over her shoulder. Scott stood and pulled her to him.
"Go take your bath." Scott squeezed her bottom, "I'm going to go
talk with the guys."
"Are you sure?" Beryl smirked. "You may want to check under the
bed first."
"Dropping my guard may put you in mortal peril but it's a risk
I'm willing to take." He teased.
"Brat." Beryl snapped Scott's butt was he exited the bathroom.
"Brat who loves you. Chain the door behind me." He added the
last without the tone of humor.
"Yes, dear." Beryl attached the chain after Scott left.

"Come in." Mike said motioning Scott in. "They'll be here in a
few minutes."
"Here." Gordy tossed Scott a bag.
"Hit me two times." Scott said. "It was a long night."
"Yeah, no kidding." Paul said with a yawn as he entered followed
by Kevin and Sean.
"I'm sorry, guys." Scott said to them all but looking at
Kevin. "I was a bit high strung in the wee hours and it was brought
to my attention that I was being a jerk."
"No, man." Kevin said. "If someone was fucking around with
Tamara I'd want to rip some heads too."
"We all feel that way, bra." Paul said. "Beryl's a nice girl and
none of us want to see her get hurt."
"You make a great couple." Mike added a lopsided grin crossing
his face.
"You need to remember that we're all in this together." Kevin
said. "We'll keep trying to figure out Grey's plans until we catch
the bastard and put him out of Beryl's misery."
"I know what Grey knows." Scott replied. None of the others
ventured to ask how. To do so would have been beneath the realms of
gentlemanly behavior none of them aspired to be too far removed from.
Mike's gaze seemed to bore deeper into Scott. "We'll have to see
what we can piece together."
"We'll give you peace and quiet while you work your mojo." Kevin
said. "We'll bring back lunch." He exited quickly, everyone but Mike,
Scott and Gordy in his wake.
"Here," Gordy sat several more bags on the dresser. "You'll need
these. I'm out of town until Monday."
Scott sat on the edge of the bed watching Mike, not knowing what
to expect.
"Relax, man." Mike said. "It's not a Vulcan Mind-meld. It's
easier to hear people who can Read. In fact I heard it last night.
What happened?"
"She isn't as repressed as Vonnegut seems to think." Scott
answered.
"Empathic transference." Mike nodded.
"What's that?"
Mike sighed. "I told you I had a theory about your reactions to
Beryl."
"For God's sake, man. Tell me." Scott gave a bark of
laughter. "I'm going off my rocker trying to figure this out."
Mike gave a cryptic grin that made Scott uneasy. "The easiest
explanation is that she's your mate."
Scott blinked several times, unsure of how to respond.
"I could talk us both to death and not be able to explain what
auras are but her pattern is the same as yours. When the two of you
shook hands the first time you met your auras splintered. You each
carry part of the other's around with you. Do you know how she feels
sometimes?"
"Not always, but-"
"More and more the longer you're together?"
"Yeah, but she's-"
"Not a vampire?" Mike smiled. "Tamara isn't a lycanthrope but
you should see he and Kevin's auras. I can't see where one ends and
the other begins. Your's and Beryl's are starting to go the same way.
Don't tell me you were completely unaware."
Scott remembered the way he'd felt not long ago at Kevin's. "Not
completely." Twice now he'd gotten the feeling that the other's were
seeing what he hadn't yet. Scott seemed almost to deflate.
"It's funny knowing how the fish feels, isn't it?" Mike smiled
knowingly.
Of course Scott had felt this way before but he had convinced
himself that he'd never feel it again. He loved Beryl very much, but
to think of her as his mate. Scott's mind swan with her image. The
way she scowled when she was thinking, the smell of her perfume that
he already felt embedded in his heart and soul.
"Holy cow." Scott smiled just before he was hit with a wave of
either elated panic or panicked elation. He couldn't decide
which. "But what if-
"What if the sky falls or the bombs come or the earth is
attacked by a fifty foot jello mold. Scott what if is going to happen
anyway."
Scott stood and approached the door. They had come through their
own tempers and stubbornness, what could be worse? He knocked on the
door of the room he and Beryl were sharing. After a moment he heard
the chain slide and the door opened.
"Is everything all right?" Beryl asked. "You were gone a long
time."
"It's fine. " Scott smiled down at Beryl. She'd just gotten out
of the tub, her hair was still mussed from a quick towel drying and
her eyes were a bit red from lack of sleep but Scott had never seen
anything more beautiful. He wrapped his arms around Beryl and kissed
her tenderly.
"Mmm, that was nice." Beryl smiled, blushing at Scott look of
adoration when she felt so disheveled.
"Seconds?"
"Please."
"Get dressed, babe." Scott said after the longer kiss. "I'm tired
of hotel rooms, let's go hang out.”

 

Beryl and Scott entered Paul and Stephanie's room once they were
both ready to go.
"Hey, girl." Stephanie said. "I got us salads. We'll let these
big gorillas eat the greasy cheeseburgers and fries."
"Sounds good." Beryl sat on the edge of the bed.
"I gotta go get packed." Kevin said.
"Hang on, man." Scott motioned with this head for Paul to join
them.
Stephanie shook her head when the three left. "Here." she said
handing Beryl a shake. "Chocolate, the fifth food group."
"Mmm." Beryl took a sip of the thick concoction. "You're an
angel."
"Give me a couple of days." Stephanie made a face.
"Full moon?"
"Times two."
"Yeow!" Beryl said. "No wonder you got chocolate."
"Here's to the lunar binge." Stephanie lifted her paper glass.

"What's up, bra?" Paul asked as the three entered Kevin's room.
Scott tucked his hands into his pockets and looked down at the carpet.
"Can you guys hang for an extra day?"
"What's wrong, Scotty?"
"Not wrong." Scott looked up with a dopey grin.

After lunch the seven piled into the three rentals and headed
out of the hotel parking lot.
Scott looked at Beryl from the passenger seat. She hadn't driven
in several days and now she winked mischievously at Scott whose eyes
reflected that glitter. She lowered the window and pulled into the
fast lane of the freeway.
Beryl had twisted her hair up into a knot and the stray tendrils
were blowing against her cheek in auburn wisps, Scott's eyes drank in
her image. She'd dressed in a pale pink blouse, a light denim skirt
that dropped to just above the knee and boots that climbed to mid-
calf.
"I love you." Scott said, watching her with that affectionate
smile that brought butterflies to Beryl's stomach.
"I love you too, Scott." Beryl smiled fetchingly as she looked
briefly at him. Beryl's eyes had barely turned back toward the road
when a horn blared beside them.

Paul, Stephanie and Sean waved as Scott and Beryl passed.
"She really needed to get out." Stephanie said after she and
Beryl flashed each other peace signs. "She was going nuts."
Paul turned to Stephanie with a wide grin.
"What?" she scowled suspiciously at her husband's demeanor.
"I have an assignment for you." Paul said. "You need to keep
Beryl distracted."
"What are you up to?" Stephanie asked when Paul was purposefully
keeping her in suspense.
"Scott's picking out a ring."
"No shit!" Stephanie's jaw dropped.
"Sure," Sean remarked from the back of the car. "Leave me the
only bachelor."
"Awe." Stephanie mocked a pout. "Poor widdle Seanie."
"Look at it this way, bra." Paul looked at Sean in the rear view
mirror. "You can go to strip bars and stuff whenever you want."
"So can you." Stephanie smirked.
"Yeah, but then so do you." Paul eyed her dubiously.
"What's good for the goose, baby boy."
"I take it back." Sean said rolling his eyes. "I am perfectly
happy being single."
"But you're missing all the nagging, the honey-do list, the
grief you get when you come in five seconds late." Paul teased until
Stephanie playfully cleared her throat. "I mean the home-cooked
meals, the companionship, the constant unending togetherness."
"Hey, who's been giving you home-cooked meals?" Stephanie gave
Paul The Look but both their eyes were glittering affectionately.

Beryl pressed the accelerator harder. They'd left the others
half a mile back. Scott's hand crept up Beryl's thigh as the
speedometer neared 75 MPH. He was enjoying this outing himself, not
realizing until now he'd been confining himself as well as Beryl in
the last several weeks. Seeing her laughing as they zipped through
the sunny landscape, Scott was assured all would be right with the
world.
"Speed get you hot, chica?" Scott wriggled his eyebrows. He'd
used the accent at private moments before and knew it drove Beryl
crazy. She bit her lip and met his bedroom eyes. He leaned over and
kissed the side of Beryl's neck whispering hotly in her ear. "You
looking for a Latin lover, Razor Ramon do you right, bambina."
"Don't make me pull this car over." She squeezed his thigh.

Beryl and Scott stood next to the rental waiting for the others.
The sun was bright and Scott was watching the way it shone in Beryl's
hair when Mike and Kevin pulled in.
"You may not remember that smell, rookie." Kevin smiled. "It's
called fresh air."
Scott kissed those loved tresses. "I have kept you a bit penned
up. Sorry."
Beryl turned in his arms. "It'll all be over soon." she smiled
into his face. "Let's just enjoy today."
"I plan to." Scott returned the smile and wondered briefly what
her eyes would look like behind a veil.
Sean, Paul and Stephanie pulled in and the seven went inside the
large mall. For awhile they stayed together, the couples holding
hands until they approached a large sporting goods store.
"That's it! You guys look at the most boring stuff. Come on,
Beryl." Stephanie said. "Let's go do the shopping we want to do."
Scott grabbed Beryl's arm before she was whisked away. "Meet us
in the food court at four. I'll have a white chocolate-raspberry
latte waiting for you."
Beryl stretched up to kiss him, she didn't have to stretch far
with the heels. "That's my man."
"Yada, yada, yada." Stephanie said pulling Beryl toward the
escalators.
"Where are we going?"
"Fourth floor." Stephanie grinned. "That's where they keep the
salons."

Through the watery sunshine from the sky light three stories
about them Scott watched Beryl ascend. She looked back and gave a
half wave and smile as a stray beam of sum illuminated her fiery hair
before she was blocked from his sight.
"Hey, man." Sean scoffed. "Are we going to be about this or are
you going to stand there until your eyes fall out."
"Where we going?" Kevin asked.
"DeBeers." Scott said coming back to earth.
The five men entered the quiet jewelry store on the other side
of the mall. The middle-aged sales manager showed Scott some very
nice engagement rings but nothing that caught his eye.
Finally Scott scowled in thought when it hit him like a ton of
bricks.
"Do you have anything with emerald accents?"

"Good lord, Stephanie!" Beryl cried seeing the window display at
a shop tucked into a corner of the top floor. A trio of manikins
wearing what looked like a cross between dental floss and chastity
belts. "I'm not going in there."
"That's not all they have."
"I shudder to think." Beryl smirked.
The first thing they had done was visit a nail salon just off
the escalator. It had taken up an hour of their time to get a full
set of acrylic nails. The shop provided chocolates and coffee so they
had felt quite pampered.
Beryl was carrying a small bag with several bottles of nail
enamel she'd purchased. Mercifully the risque establishment was
nearly empty when she and Stephanie entered.
"Come on, shy violet." Stephanie said. "You haven't been putting
that spring in Scott's step with pecks on the cheek."
Beryl gave Stephanie a wry smile. "Maybe so." She turned her
attention to some a sales rack, with more conservative items that
those showcased.
"Those are nice." Stephanie said, thinking that soon Beryl would
be choosing her trousseau. "What are you favorite colors?"
"Pink and black."
"Kinky."
"Stephanie!" Beryl smirked at her friends antics.

Scott stepped outside the austere jewelry sellers holding a
small bag with a single item in a burgundy box. He took a deep breath
and he seemed to merely look around at the scant crowd that ambled
among the shops in the lull of mid-afternoon.
In a sudden frenzy, Scott tipped the item onto his palm, stuffed
the bag into his jeans pocket and opened the velvet-lined box. A
princess-cut diamond sparked a dozen little rainbows and two trillium-
cut emeralds winked up at Scott as he sank almost weakly onto a bench
in the middle of the wide corridor.
Was he really going to ask her? Thoughts of the past entered his
mind. He had learned to stop playing the blame game over his divorce.
Somethings were his fault, some were not. He had done his best to
change those things he carried the consequence for and the others
were out of his control. What if things ended the same way?
Maybe they will, maybe they won't, the inner voice chimed in
with smarmy vagueness.
The others quietly watched Scott as he considered the ring. Kevin
sat next to his best friend and Scott held out the exquisite piece.
"She'll love it." Kevin said after a minute.
"When you going to ask her?" Paul asked.
"Tonight." Scott said and suddenly his guts felt like a half-
formed pudding. "Tomorrow. Her birthday's in a couple of weeks."
Kevin, Paul and Mike exchanged glances, remembering precisely
how he felt.
"Bra," Kevin said. "Do it right away."
"Otherwise you'll lose your nerve or she'll figure out you're up
to something." Paul said.
Mike could almost hear Scott start the what-if questions again
and he sat on Scott' left, opposite Kevin.
"Anyone with eyes can see that she's crazy about you, man.
You'll ask her, she'll say yes and cry; then you'll go back to the
hotel and have some of the sweetest that you'll get between now and
your wedding night. And tomorrow the two of you will start making
plans."
Scott's head shot up and he looked at the four men surrounding
him. "Will you gu-?"
"Of course we will." they all said at once, even Sean whose
attention had been split between encouraging Scott and exchanging
flirtatious looks with a short brunette several yards away.
Scott stood, his face set in an expression of firm resolve.

Stephanie and Beryl stood in the small boutique on the third
floor. Stephanie was mostly just looking but after more nearly three
weeks without going home Beryl was ready for a couple of new outfits.
After exiting they stood to admire a display of cobalt blue vases.
"When it all blows over, he'll calm down." Stephanie said seeing
the same wistful look on Beryl's face she'd worn the day before.
"I know." Beryl sighed. "And I know why he's so protective. I'm
just not used to the white knight riding to my rescue. I usually have
to kick the dragon's ass myself when the knight heads for tall timber.
Stephanie laughed, the knowledge bursting inside her. "Well
maybe this time you'll be riding off into the sunset."
Beryl smiled at the thought. Scott made it so easy to think that
was possible. She was shifting around the cumbersome bags when
Stephanie's phone buzzed.
"Hello," Stephanie answered.
"Hey, Steph." Scott's voice said. "We got the bastard. Tiny just
called. They pinned him down at some nasty little dive in Boston."
"Oh, Scott, that's great." she looked at Beryl and handed her
the phone.
"What's up?"
"We got him, sweetheart."
"Grey? When?"
"Just a few minutes ago."
"Good," Beryl released a sigh that had been building since the
day the guys had told her Grey was missing. "I hope he gets what's
coming to him."
"Oh, yes." Scott's voice held an odd timbre Beryl didn't
especially care for. "I'm certain Grey will get exactly what he
deserves. But right now I think we should celebrate, just you and me."
"You know I like the sound of that." Beryl smiled. After all the
trouble Grey had caused she couldn't help feeling a bit vindictive
herself.
"You remember the park we passed on the way here?
"Yeah, Lakewood or something like that."
"Lakewood Memorial, that's it. Meet me there in twenty minutes.
On the bridge."
"I'm already on my way."
"Hurry, honey." The voice deepened. "I'll make this a night
you'll never forget."
Beryl handed Stephanie back her phone and picked up her bags.
"Wow. That's good news." Stephanie squeezed Beryl's arm.
"God, yes." Beryl said. "Now maybe things can get back to the
more tolerable levels of bizarre."
"I hear you." Stephanie smiled. "If I don't see you before Paul
and I have to take off, I hope you have a good night." She wanted to
tell Beryl that she expected to hear everything when she got back but
figured that might tip Beryl off that she knew something.
"Thanks, Steph." Beryl reached out her less burdened arm and the
two friends hugged. "I'll see you when you get back. Chocolate shakes
will be on me."
"Moon's going to be over by then and I'll be hungry for
cheesecake."
"Hey. Chocolate cheesecake."
"You're a goddess." Stephanie mugged.
"Don't tell anyone." Beryl laughed as she finally fished the
keys from her purse. "Bye."
"Good night." Stephanie smiled as Beryl disappeared through the
door.
Those two make such a neat couple, she thought and went inside
the glassware shop to see if they had a bridal registry.

Beryl took a deep breath, with Grey out of the picture, she and
Scott could go anywhere they wanted, do whatever they pleased. Vince
had already okayed her a couple days off when the danger was passed
and Beryl couldn't help but daydream a bit as she drove the quiet
streets toward where Scott had said to meet him.
A stray thought crossed Beryl's mind and she scowled. Would
Scott be too old-fashion to accept if she asked him to marry her? As
mad as they were for each other the subject had not come up. They'd
had the talk every new couple should have about their past experience
and just last night hadn't Scott asked if she could have kids?
Obviously he was serious about her and he did think about the future.
The small parking lot was empty as Beryl pulled in and she
didn't see a bridge from here. She looked around the beautifully
landscaped area and noticed a path that led off into the trees. Her
high heel boots made Beryl hope the bridge was near but she set off
just the same. After a short stroll Beryl finally saw her goal. It
was a wonderful construction of natural stone cemented together that
spanned a narrow stream that trickled over a bed of golden sand a
rocks.
There was no sign of Scott yet but Beryl was more than content
to wait for him in such surroundings. She climbed the steps of the
bridge and half-sat on the edge. A small chunk of field stone wobbled
and Beryl stood thinking better of leaning against it but her hands
still rested on the stone railing as she looked down twenty or so
feet into the shallow brook as it danced away along its banks.

Scott stepped onto the escalator but took the risers two at a
time when he felt they weren't moving fast enough.
With a mind to find Beryl, whisk her off to some secluded place
and put his heart on the line he stalked up the moving staircase.
"Hey lover boy." Stephanie's voice sounded from above him and
Scott turned. "Aren't you going to be late for your little tete-a-
tete?"
"Huh?" he scowled. "Where's Beryl?"

Almost lost in dreamy thoughts of Scott Beryl was brought back
to earth when strong arms wound about her waist and she smiled when
she was pulled into a firm chest.
"Mmm." she sighed. "Hello."
"Hello." Grey's voice sneered and the arms tightened to restrain
her as a kiss was placed softly on the side of her neck.

 

Beryl's blood became a river of jagged ice as she fought to turn
to her tormentor, but Grey's grip loosened of its own accord. He
stood in the center of the bridge blocking her retreat. Beryl had
seen how lethally fast vampires could move, she doubted she'd make it
very far.
"Aren't you going to run screaming for Scott to save you?" Grey
smirked with sinister glee.
Her knees quaking, Beryl stepped back coming against the rock
banister. A wave of cold terror swept through her stomach, but she
fought to stay afloat in the tide of panic that threatened.
"I won't die running from a depraved piece of shit like you,
Grey!" Beryl managed though her throat was more inspired to shriek
than insult.
Grey smiled what would have seemed a genuinely disarming gesture
on anyone else. "You have me wrong. I'm not going to kill you." Now
the canines lengthened. "Yet."
"Seek help, Grey." Beryl scoffed as her hands sought out the
loose stone. "You're becoming boring."
Unrattled by Beryl's thin veil of bravado Grey sneered. "Did my
letter bore you? I saw the pictures of your aunt. Probably a leathery
old bird, but we'll find out soon enough.
"You see we've been working out a plan." Grey folded his hands
behind his back and bent forward slightly like a pompous school
master. While he spoke Beryl's fingers closed over the fist-sized
chunk of rock. It wasn't loose enough to be a ready weapon but she
began to work at the mortar with her nails.
"Not in the bleeding-heart, lets-all-get-along way the current
council does things. No, I'm afraid our methods are a bit more hands-
on. Of course you remember that don't you?"
An expression of sick pain crossed Beryl's face and Grey felt
triumphant pride that he had effected her so. He didn't see the blood
pouring from Beryl's fingertips or the acrylic torn down to the quick
as she clawed at the cement that still trapped her hoped-for
salvation. She dared not give the sharp agony voice.
"A Read here, a bit of the old vampire charm there. Did Scott
really think he could have me tracked by a pack of traitors too
stupid to see through the simplest of glamors?
Grey stepped closer his eyes sweeping the lower-than-normal
bodice of Beryl's blouse. His mind flitted to the scene of Scott and
Beryl in the wild flower-dotted meadow. Grey had been so tempted to
kill them both then but found this scenario much sweeter. He could go
slow, savor Beryl's fear at his leisure.
"I've never been very far from you two at all. The quaint little
get-together at Kevin's, every sickening sweet-nothing or dirty word
you've spoken to each other I've owned from the beginning."
He moved closer still. "Tell me." he ran a finger over Beryl's
cheek. "When he Read you last night, what did it feel like to have
him poking around in there? It didn't look as though you enjoyed it
much."
Hating the feeling of intimidation Beryl replied. "Well Scott
was big enough to hurt, I couldn't take him all at once. You I hardly
felt at all."
Having so much of his ego mocked, Grey lashed out bringing a
closed fist into Beryl's jaw. The force spun her into the solid
barricade but as she was turned Beryl felt the rock give way a bit.
Still reeling from the blow Beryl shook her head to clear it.
"I really liked you, if you hadn't been such a bitch." Grey
screamed the word. "And gone after the power I wouldn't have to be
teaching the both of you this lesson."
"What lesson?" Beryl said, working the stone free.
"I come from blood, I was born a vampire. That bastard was
turned." A cold laugh escaped Grey. "Did he ever tell you how he came
to be one of us? Can you even imagine how high you would have to be
to be sucked nearly dry and not remember it?"
"Scott told me everything." Beryl said. "You can't turn me
against him, you degenerate asshole."
"What did you say?" Grey hissed in outrage.
"If Scott's character is so detestable why did The Order name
him their representative instead of you?" Beryl turned to a half-
crouch and eyed Grey. "I wouldn't call that an overwhelming vote of
confidence. To know your own kind finds you unsuitable. I used to
dislike you, Grey, but knowing what I know now, I can barely bring
myself to even pity you."
"He was named to appease the council. A member of the only other
line nearly as powerful as my own." Grey snarled.
"Keep repeating that, Grey." Beryl smirked, making a gamble on
his temper. "I bet if you say it faster it may sound as though you
believe that and not the fact that you were left out because you are,
at best, an embarrassment."
With a roar of cold hatred Grey grabbed Beryl's arm forcing her
to stand. He didn't see her hand coming up until an instant before
the stone bludgeon shattered the socket of his left eye. Grey
released her with a howl as he clawed at his face.
Not looking back to see what damage she'd done to cause such
hellish shrieks, Beryl put a palm on the stone railing and flung
herself over the side of the bridge.

Stephanie was shaking so hard Paul feared she might faint. Sean
was driving the mini-van as they roared in the direction Beryl had
gone half an hour earlier.
"I swear it was Scott's voice. Beryl spoke with him too and she
was convinced. Oh God!" Stephanie broke down into tears.
Paul cradled his wife to him. "I know, baby." she tried to
soothe her. "Grey is deceptive." She leaned into Paul's shoulder
sobbing.
"This isn't your fault, Stephanie." Sean said looking at her in
the rear-view mirror.

As soon as Scott heard where Beryl had been going he, Kevin, and
Mike had sprinted toward Kevin's rented Astro. At the rate they
traveled it was fortunate the police were not present. Likely
fortunate for that officer as Scott was not in a frame of mind to let
anyone detain him from reaching Beryl.
Stephanie had heard the name of the park but not where Beryl had
been instructed to go once there.
Scott stood on the brake to halt the car beside the
Taurus. "Beryl!" he called out but there was no one in sight.
Mike closed his eyes trying to sense which way she'd gone but
the block Beryl had put up for her own defense kept him from
achieving it. Scott heard Beryl's heart racing and felt her fighting
back the panic of knowing she was in serious trouble, but this
connection was not a way to locate her.
"We'll cover more ground separately." Kevin said.
"I'll take the south corner." Mike said.
"I'll look north of this path, you take south." Scott said to
Kevin and the three men took off.

Beryl came down into the stream and icy water splashed over her
but it wasn't cold enough to numb her ankle as it wrenched or when
her knee connected with a large jagged rock. The slick moss didn't
cushion the impact and a nickel sized patch of skin was torn away
from the side of her leg.
Despite the pain coming from so many points Beryl tried to keep
a clear head. Grey had stopped screaming but she couldn't see him.
The bank of the stream was clear for about fifteen yards in this
direction and Beryl figured if she could make it to the copse Grey
wouldn't have a clear path once she could zig-zag among the trees.
Beryl began a determined but limping run toward the thicket,
with each step on her right ankle a searing pain shot up her leg. If
not for this she may have made it.
A sharp jolt shuddered through Beryl's body and she was sent
sprawling in the detritus of old leaves. Twice more Grey's solid fist
was brought into Beryl face until a trickle of blood escaped from the
corner of her mouth.
Grey covered Beryl while the pain fogged her mind, pinning her
arms beneath her. Thick gobs of black goo dripped from where his eye
had been and he turned his head slightly to regard her as his hand
closed over her throat.
"You little slut, I was going to make this quick but now I
hardly know where to start." Grey hissed in sheer delight at the near-
panic in Beryl's eyes shifted his weight to run his hand between her
thighs. "Where's he's been."
Beryl struggled with all her might but it proved useless as
Grey's fingers fondled her with invasive intimacy. "Or where he
hasn't." Grey's thumb pressed against Beryl's larynx as he turned her
head to expose her throat. He lowered his face, licking the crimson
stain from Beryl's lips. "I could enthrall you," Grey smirked
vilely. "And you would give me anything I asked but I want you to
feel this so that prick will know when he finds your body that you
suffered.
"Or maybe I should turn you so that every time he looks at you
it will eat at his mind that I had you, you were mine long enough for
me to do what he couldn't."
"Get off me, you fucking pig!" Beryl's jaw clenched as a
hopeless tear snaked down her cheek.

Kevin scanned the trees for any sign of Beryl. His canine
olfactory aided him and he was able to follow a vague trail of scent.
The essences that humans didn't notice and ordinary dogs overlooked
were as bright as Times Square to Kevin. The night he, Paul and
Stephanie had revealed themselves to Beryl Kevin had remained wolfen
to clearly mark her scent. With the news that Grey's whereabouts were
unknown Kevin thought it might come in handy. He was sorry to know
he'd been right.
To Kevin Beryl's scent was an electrically feminine scent; he'd
thought when he'd first encountered it that the aroma was a perfect
accompaniment to Scott's. That neon essence was weak in this place
but Kevin knew that Beryl was near. Near enough that he dare not
shout for Scott to join him lest Grey be alerted to their presence
and act rashly. After a moment of listening for any sounds of
struggle Kevin heard a scream from his left.

A white-hot fire torched at the side of Beryl's neck as Grey's
fangs ripped into her flesh. She screamed in outrage but she would
not plead. Grey's body held her to the ground and she couldn't move
as he shifted to position himself between her thighs.
"Get off her!" a deep growl came from the edge of the trees.
Grey looked up, his lips and chin coated with Beryl's blood, a moment
before what looked like an enormous gray and silver wolf knock him
from atop her. With a snarling growl the two paranorms fell into a
struggling heap.
Her body and soul racked with pain Beryl fought to stand.

A keening cry that froze Scott's blood sounded from the copse
ahead of him. He Zipped through the trees seeking the source as a
feeling of dread threatened to cut his legs from under him.
Scott came up short when he saw a figure stumbling through the
trees. His heart lurched as he realized this nearly unrecognizable
creature was his beloved. Beryl's hair was matted with blood and dead
leaves. He face was so swollen and bruised that at first Scott
couldn't tell she had tried to smile when she saw him. But these
things were not what stabbed at Scott's heart. The front of Beryl's
blouse was stained a horrid arterial red where it had been soaked in
her blood.

The trees had finally parted as Beryl moved away from the
cacophony behind her. There, ahead of her, was Scott; she grinned.
Stephanie had been right, here was her white knight riding to the
rescue. Beryl staggered toward him. The pain seemed to float away
from her and Beryl couldn't understand why her legs felt so weak, why
a cold, dark sleep seemed to reach for her.
"Scott." She said as his strong arms encircled her. Now she was
safe, now she was home. Beryl closed her eyes and lay her head on
Scott's shoulder.
"Baby." Scott held Beryl as though he could press her into his
very heart and breathed a prayer that he'd found her. Scott meant to
better see her wounds but she went limp as he tried to step back.
"Oh dear Jesus, No!" Scott shifted Beryl's body to hold her with
one arm. With a shaking hand Scott swept the tangled hair away from
Beryl's neck.
The strength ran out of Scott's knees and he sank to the verdant
grass, Beryl's head resting almost serenely against him. His baby,
his angel, the woman eh had planned to make his wife had been
destroyed. Scott took a deep shivering breath.
"I love you, Beryl." he whispered kissing her forehead before
his lowered her lifeless body to the ground.
A resolve born of the deepest hatred Scott had ever known filled
him and he willed the hunger to take away his pain. Scott continued
to where the sounds of a to-the-death battle was taking place. It
sickened Scott that he would have to stop it.

The two combatants tore each other at every opportunity and the
ground was slick with black and red blood. As much as Scott would
have loved to join in or at the very least watch Kevin rip Grey limb-
from-limb he stepped forward to pull Kevin back.
Reverting to a state only barely human, Kevin looked at Scott in
horror. "Did you see what he did to her? What else he was meaning to
do?"
"I know. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I've found a
use for this little maggot." Scott turned toward Grey. "I'll give you
a choice. You can give her enough of your blood to save her or I can
take all of it.
"I was about to give her a lot more than that." Grey sneered
though his blackened lips.
Infuriated by Grey's lurid remark, Scott's fist connected with
the gaping socket causing Grey to scream in agony once again. Another
solid hit winded Grey and sent him to the ground doubled up and
fighting for a breath.
"I may kill you anyway just for that." Scott's eyes were ebony
wells of rage.
"Does he have to be alive when he bleeds?" Kevin stood over Grey.
"When he bleeds maybe, but after that it's all fair game." Scott
nearly growled in anticipation.
"I think I'll start by ripping out the eye Beryl left in." Kevin
grinned viciously.
"Beryl did that?" Scott asked.
"I didn't." Kevin shrugged.
"My girl." Scott said with an impressed tone. Whatever else she
was, Beryl was a fighter.
Grey looked up at the pair and a jolt of fear shot through him.
Kevin had caused him to expend enough energy that Grey knew he
couldn't fight them both and have any hope of succeeding. If he was
taken he knew that The Kliq wasn't likely now to hand him over to his
uncle and any chance of mercy. His eyes scanned the immediate
vicinity for any hope of escape.
"Holy shit!" Paul swore coming through the trees the way Scott
had come a few minutes earlier. Seeing Grey try to get to his feet
Paul began the transformation.
"Don't!" Scott said and Paul saw his face. He'd never seen Scott
like this. The dark haired man looked like a demon with black eyes
rimmed red with blood lust and fangs primed with deadly intent. "Go
back and watch over Beryl." Scott growled.
"I just came this way, she isn't there." Paul said. From an
indeterminable distance a horrified shriek could be heard.
Grey used this distraction to make his escape, Zipping away
before the others could react. Scott gave a cry of unholy fury but he
needed to find Beryl and the scream seemed the likeliest place to
start.
The trio ran toward the sound to find a young woman. "Dear God
did you see her eyes?" The woman rocked her son certain that she had
seen a refugee from the deepest pits of Hell.
"Which way did she go?" Scott asked, now appearing human, but
not taking pains to be gentle. The woman pointed mutely toward a
cross street full of people He ran in that direction hoping to see
Beryl but she wasn't there.
Scott closed his eyes in agony. He could no longer hear Beryl's
heartbeat.

 

A bright shaft of light stabbed into Beryl's eyes and she
shielded her face. A thousand voices assailed her, like a crowded
room full of people trying to talk at once. Most were rambling over
trivial things, a few planning unspeakable acts, some sobbing in
broken-hearted dismay. One of the plethora of noises was a sigh of
enamored adoration that brought a handsome face to mind.
"Scott." a forlorn whisper passed Beryl's lips.
The sun had been shining so agreeably, she could see his smiling
face as they sped along the highway through the Colorado Rockies. The
very thought of Scott made Beryl's pulse skip affectionately but then
she looked around at this dank, grimy alley. How had she come to be
in this squalid place?
Beryl closed her eyes and tried to shut out the stray voices so
she could think. They had been at the mall. She and Stephanie had
gone off by themselves. Stephanie's phone rang, it was Scott.
You can't honestly still believe that, a sneering voice asked.
A loathing anger came over Beryl and her mind fogged with
hatred. The pain she was in, the desperate sense of doom she felt,
Grey had done this to her.

Kevin drove slowly along the darkening street, wearily eying the
nearly full moon in the violet sky. He couldn't leave now, Scott
needed him. So did Beryl 'though Kevin doubted she knew it, or much
of anything at this moment.
Scott's head shot up. "Wait!" he said.
"What?" Kevin asked slowing the Taurus further. "Did you see
her?"
"No," Scott sank back. "I thought I heard her. It's gone."
Kevin had never seen Scott like this before. It must have been
a horrid plummet to go from that look of sheer determination Scott
had worn when he'd charged across the mall searching for Beryl to the
expression of utter defeat when he'd looked across the park and
couldn't see her.
Kevin knew the score. Grey had fled before Scott could see to it
that Beryl was given a chance to be fully turned and as soon as The
Order found out there was a revenant on the loose they would send out
the head hunters.
As soon as he could Kevin had contacted those paranorms not
affiliated with The Order and was told that the locals would keep an
eye out. Kevin didn't need for Scott to come out and say hat he
wasn't quite as inclined to trust them as before. Unfortunately, they
were necessary; Kevin planned on staying with the search until the
moon forced him to give it up and he would need a safe house when
that happened. Paul and Stephanie had committed themselves to it as
well.
Kevin's cell phone rang. "Any sign?" Mike asked.
"No." Kevin answered, wishing he could be giving a better
report. Scott continued watching out the window. "Have you heard from
Paul and Stephanie?"
"About five minutes ago. They haven't seen anything either."
"We should go on foot." Scott said. "It'll be slower but we can
get more places."
Kevin looked at Scott for a moment. "We shouldn't split up, man."
Scott turned toward Kevin. "If she starts hunting she won't be
doing it in the middle of the street."
"Meet us at Central and High Street in an hour." Kevin said into
his cell phone before steering toward the local storehouse.
"We should keep looking." Scott stated quite firmly.
"You won't be doing her any good if you revert." Kevin replied
brooking no argument.

The momentary rage was replaced by fear. What had Grey done to
her exactly? She clearly recalled the searing dolor of his fangs
penetrating into her and warm waves of her own blood spilling forth.
How many? a small fretful voice whimpered. How may fangs?
Beryl felt at her throat but the slightest touch sent pain
screaming through her once again. She winced and murmured at the
discomfort and deeper dismay.
Beryl took stock of her surroundings. It was night time, the
moon shone down on her. The pavement and her clothing were drenched
as though from a recent downpour. She seemed to be the only person in
this alley but still her mind thrummed with the other voices. Several
yards in front of her a puddle of water was reflecting the bluish-
white of the moon. Beryl crept cautiously forward.
On hands and knees Beryl leaned over the minute rain pool and
saw her face, puffed and purple from Grey's beatings. She took a deep
breath and pushed her hair back over her shoulder. Two small deep,
round wounds could be seen above the collar of her blouse. Beryl
closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, though God seemed far away
at the moment.
Two was bad enough. She'd lost a fair amount of blood, no
denying she was several messed up and she was lost. But she would
heal. She could find Scott, he would take her to a doctor they could
trust and when she was mended she would go back to her life.
Let there only be two, Beryl prayed. God, please let there only
be two.
With slow determination Beryl looked again to the mirrory
puddle. Gingerly she pulled the blood-soaked cloth away from the skin
it had adhered to. Pain tore at her resolve but she managed to push
it aside. Her eyes closed but tears seeped down her face, the salt
stinging the cut on her lip.
Beryl threw her head back and shrieked into the night until her
strength abandoned her and she fell forward her palms breaking the
surface of the pool and shattering her image. In the end Grey hadn't
even been humane enough to kill her outright.
There would be no more adoring the way Scott's eyes crinkled
when he smiled. No more sitting with her friends, listening to
Stephanie gossip or the guys reminisce. No more affectionate kisses
or passion-filled nights.
Grey had stolen her life. As thoroughly as he had the girl
whose death he'd made replay in Beryl's mind. As wholly as the young
runaway in Kansas City cajoled into a stolen car and promised a hot
meal only to be raped and tortured to death so Grey could send Beryl
a message.
They were gone. Footnotes on police blotters and tears on the
cheeks of their parents. They couldn't fight anymore, but Beryl
could. Grey had stolen all their lives and by God he was going to pay
for it!
The raging cry became maniacal laughter and when Beryl opened her
eyes again they had changed. None of the blue Scott had pictured
filmed by lace, not even a sliver of white. Black too was a color,
but these eyes had no color, these eyes were a universe of mad chaos.
These were the eyes of Hell.
To her left a door was thrown open and a middle-aged Oriental
man stepped into the alleyway. Without seeing Beryl knew her own, new
fangs were visible behind her swollen lips. By will she closed the
distance between herself and the unsuspecting man; she pushed him
into the side of the dumpster he'd been about to open.

Scott paced the length of the car while he waited for the
others. The six of them had met nearly two hours earlier to divide
territories to search. It was nearly midnight now, Beryl had been
gone for over eight hours. They had agreed to meet here at this time
and Scott hoped the delay meant someone had found something.
Several times Scott was sure he'd heard Beryl's heartbeat or
caught a snippet of emotion from the connection that now seemed to be
weakening. But when he tried to concentrate on the sound it would be
gone again. Did this mean she was still alive, still human? He didn't
know and that tore at him.
Stephanie approached from a short, litter-filled alley. She
looked grimly at Scott, shrugged and sat on the curb. Scott watched
her and thought she must be the only one in the world who looked as
defeated as he felt. Scott fished into his jacket pocket and pulled
out a pack of Wrigley's Spearmint. He opened a stick and held out the
pack.
"Piece of gum?" Scott asked sitting next to Stephanie. She took
a stick but sat staring at the silver wrapper.
"Nobody is to blame for this but Grey." Scott said in a soft
voice as he studied the nutritional information of the side of the
green package. "Whatever happens, its his fault." Scott did not add
his feeling that as the one who dropped his guard he was every bit as
responsible.
Stephanie nodded but didn't' say anything. Scott put the gum away
and his knuckle fumbled against the small box. He brought the item
out and opened it.
The tiny sparks illuminated by the streetlights were knives in
Scott's heart. He had thought that by now he and Beryl would be
laying in bed watching the way the sparks fell across her hand.
"It's really pretty." Stephanie said biting back the defeatist
sentiment-she would have loved it.
Scott stood and quickly walked into the shadows, closing the box
and slipping it back into his pocket. He didn't want to cry in front
of anyone.
They hadn't found Beryl but they also hadn't found any fresh
kills. That was good news, at least there was no trail for Vonnegut's
trackers to follow. Vonnegut had not contacted them but that didn't'
mean he was unaware of the situation. Scott hoped he h=found her
first 'though he had no idea what he could do for her. If she fed at
all without tasting Grey's blood first she would be lost forever.

The man yelped as he caught himself against the metal wall of
the dumpster. In a thick, broken accent the man said. "What you want?
I got no money."
Beryl held him by the throat. "I'm not after your money." She
smiled evilly, almost tasting the man's fear. She'd felt this
sensation before, in the memories of Grey's kills. This scintillating
propensity to feed. The man was surrounded by a filmy outline, a dark
ghost image, and she could hear a vague rushing of his fluids as they
coursed through his body. An irresistible lust to bend this man's
will to hers, make him want to submit to her. Beryl stepped forward
pressing into the man, nuzzling almost affectionately.
A voice from the last rational depth of Beryl's soul screamed
out in horrified rejection of this new disregard for life. This was
wrong, she couldn't defeat Grey by becoming him. But there was more,
a sense of desperate urgency to do what was necessary to see that
Grey was dealt with.
What had Scott told her?
Before she had been able to think but now her memories came back
in disjointed blobs. Revenants were destroyed! That's what Scott had
said. Revenants were unturned vampires. She hadn't taken Grey's blood.
Any thought of him was vile but it renewed her sense of
purpose. Grey must be punished and she likely didn't have long.
"I only have time for one kill tonight." she sneered at the man
who was now praying in the Korean dialect of his birth. "You're not
it."
Beryl released the man and looked up a the buildings that
surrounded her. As soon as she willed it she was up the wall running
along the rooftops back in the direction of the park.

Kevin stifled a yawn as he came back out onto the sidewalk. It
was swiftly approaching four in the morning; the six of them agreed
to meet every two hours since telephone communication couldn't be
completely trusted. Kevin had been down countless alleys, dozens of
derelict buildings and no small number of seedy dives asking around
or when he was alone transforming enough for his heightened sense of
smell to be of use. There was no scent, sight, sign or word of Beryl
or anything remotely helpful. Kevin didn't want to go back to Scott
with another negative report and see his best friend slip farther
into despondency.
"Hey honey." a sweet voice cooed at Kevin and he turned to see
two young women approach. Dressed in punishingly high heels and
revealing short skirts they were quite obviously working girls and
Kevin started to turn away.
"Awe, baby." a third said coming out of the alleyway behind
Kevin. "Don't be like that."
Kevin scowled, he hadn't noticed her. "Sorry, ladies."
The newcomer dropped her voice. "You looking for the girl?"
"Another time perhaps." Kevin's hackles rose and he took a step
away from the young oriental hooker.
"No, not a date." she said softly. "Word is there's a Renfield
on the loose. I may have some information for you."
Kevin let the woman come closer but didn't drop his defenses. If
she'd been in the alley she may have seen him change and things could
get ugly in a hurry. The woman slipped her arm around Kevin's
waist. "Come on, honey. Right this way." She said more loudly,
glancing back to be sure she hadn't garnered any undue attention. She
pulled Kevin into another alleyway.
"I don't suppose it would do any good denying that I'm on the
hunt." she said. "I was in an alley a few blocks from here about an
hour ago what I saw something. I can take you there but you can't
tell anybody. I know you work for the council and I'm not what you
might call affiliated."
"Mum's the word," Kevin replied, wondering if it could be said
under the circumstances that The Kliq was still affiliated. "After
you." he waved the young vampire in front of him.
The woman led him through a maze of crumbling buildings. They
came to the mouth of another alley and the woman stopped. "I was over
there when I heard someone screaming. I looked over here and there
was this woman standing over Mr. Xiu, he runs this place. Then she
just let him go without feeding. I don't know who but someone from my
line did this. I tried to Read her but she's already blocking."
"Did you see where she went?"
The woman pointed straight up the wall of the building. Kevin
transformed and within minutes he knew the woman was telling the
truth. Beryl had been here; leaving a strong enough trail for Kevin
to follow if he hurried.

 

Scott had told Beryl about his first few months after being
turned, before he had learned to block. How the constant intake of
thought coming from the other vampires in his line had troubled him.
Beryl crouched down in the place Grey had forced her to the
ground and took a deep breath to clear her head. The block she had
put up was an unconscious defense and it took a strong will to lower
it enough to sort through the input she was receiving. Beryl wished
she could block them coming in as easily as she could stop her own
thoughts from going outward.
The thoughts were like individual threads in a tangled rope, at
first seeming to be inseparable but as Beryl concentrated she
discovered she could unravel them. Some were easily discarded as she
determined they were not from Grey. A woman patting her stomach
speaking in soft tones to a baby who'd just moved inside her. A
teenage boy trying to work up the nerve to ask his neighbor girl to
the movies. A man fuming about being denied a raise at work.
As the threads separated Beryl cast them aside, no longer
hearing them as she sought out Grey's mind. Finally now was one that
had his feel. Anger, hatred, fear; Beryl sensed them all and knew
Grey was close. The loathing rose like bile in her throat.
Grey had been hurt and though his original aim had only been
partially accomplished he was not disappointed in the outcome.
Let's see how high and mighty that bastard is when the little
bitch is staked right in front of him. The angry jibe came to Beryl.
Oh no-no, Beryl thought. The little bitch has plans before that
happens. She searched every image of the thread in hopes of locating
Grey.
He was wallowing in his hatred of Scott but he was no less
afraid of The Kliq finding him again. Grey was hunting, he had a
prospect in sight;a young girl and Beryl sensed she was not far away.
To Beryl's eyes the world looked differently than when she had
been human. Everything had an afterimage, as though several pictures
of the same thing superimposed on top on each other. This made the
images of Grey's surroundings hard to interpret.
Beryl entered the woods, following almost the same route she'd
taken when she found Scott coming toward her. The image of Scott's
face came back to slash at Beryl's heart which only added fuel to the
flame of her vengeance.
It was while Beryl was raging the lose of her life that Grey
made his fatal mistake.

The noon hour had passed and the sun was still high, but a
festival on the other side of town meant the park was nearly
deserted. One girl, perhaps fourteen had been walking a small dog
when, to her great misfortune, the poodle had slipped its collar.
She'd been looking in the bushes for the wayward canine when Grey had
grabbed her. He hadn't been fast enough to halt her scream however
and this was what cost him.

Kevin worked Beryl's trail but the sun hindered him. Not only
did scents mingle and dissipate more quickly as the sun heated the
pavement and rooftops but he had to be cautious of being seen as the
streets filled with people in their way to work. Unable to remain in
wolfen form to follow the neon essence Kevin had lost the trail
several times and had to backtrack until he found it again.
With every falter Kevin cursed. It was a matter of no more than
hours before the three werewolves would have to abandon the search.
Few people knew that many of the tycoons that settled the western
United States were paranorms who'd equipped those large ornate
mansions with secret rooms to conceal their hidden natures. The
descendants of those city founders were often in strict opposition of
The Order and it was to one of these that The Kliq had turned.
Kevin had been able to secure a sage house for the next several
days. One large enough to house them all, as well as tranquilizer
darts to take him, Paul and Stephanie down if they over-estimated the
time they could resist the lycanthropy. The six searchers paired up
once again and those partnered with the wolves had been given the
dart guns.

"Here," Sean held out a paper sack.
"Thanks." Kevin said tearing into the cheeseburger
hungrily. "How's Scott?"
"He's a wreck." Sean said not mincing words. "If he doesn't sleep
soon, he's going to crash."
"That's true of all of us." Kevin replied.

A sensation of triumph swept over Beryl but not all of it was
hers. The prospect of one more meal before he planned to disappear
pleased Grey as he forced the young girl to the ground among the dead
leaves and candy wrappers.
Sharp nails flowed from Beryl's fingertips as she readied to
strike. Grey's arrogance made him sure no one would find him. Beryl
closed on him with the speed of thought and slashed at his remaining
eye, forcing him off the girl.
Beryl caught a glimpse of the girl's face. Terrified green eyes
and mussed brown hair, but she was a lovely young lady. Still
possessing a bit of baby fat but she would live to grow out of that.
The memory of Scott asking if she could have children assailed Beryl.
She'd never know now.
"Run home, little girl." Beryl said her eyes their own subtle
blue again for a moment. "Cry to your mother and forget this ever
happened." Sunlight was filtering down through the trees and lit
Beryl's fiery hair. The girl found her feet and ran, sure she had
been spared by a terrible angel of mercy.
Beryl's moment of humanity was at it's end and she shifted the
horridly empty eyes back to Grey who lay on the ground clutching at
his face. He had not lost his remaining eye but thick streams of
blood flowed into it obstructing his vision form a gash on his
forehead that matched the three marring his right cheek.

A dark sedan stopped in front of a hotel in the outskirts of
Colorado Springs. A tall woman with black hair stepped into the lobby
followed by two men.
"Excuse me," the woman said to the young man who sat behind the
counter.
"Yes, ma'am." the clerk said standing, eager for a break in the
afternoon lull. "How may I help you?"
"I'm supposed to meet my sister here. Could you call up to her
room for me?"
"Certainly," the man consulted his computer screen. "What's her
name?"
"Chrysoberyl Pemberton, but she might be sharing a room with
her boyfriend, Scott Hall."
The man perused the information before him. "I'm afraid they
checked out several hours ago."
"Oh, no." the woman pouted. "She's going to be so mad at me. Did
you happen to hear where they might be going?"
"I'm sorry." the clerk replied. Seeing this alluring woman's
eyes he was ashamed he couldn't help her in every possible way.
"That's okay." the dark-haired woman said. "Thank you just the
same, you've been a real doll."
The three vampires returned to the car where a fourth
waited. "What shall we do?" one of the men asked. "Should we call
Vonnegut, Farrah?"
"If you want to tell him we lost the revenant you go right
ahead." the woman returned icily. Her lips twisted in thought. "Go to
the storehouse, maybe they've heard something. Tonight's a full moon
and at least two of them will need a place to stay. They can't just
check into another hotel and he won't leave her."

"Beryl." Scott murmured. Again he'd heard her pulse and this
time the emotion was incredibly strong. Sorrow, lose, regret. Was she
regretting an action she had taken, a kill perhaps?
"Fight it, baby." he said, but as soon as he felt the connection
it was suffocated once again.
"What's that?" Paul asked.
"Nothing." Scott cleared his throat.

"I'm wondering in you even can get it up without your fangs
showing, Grey." Beryl said kneeling over him.
Grey swept the ichor from his face and looked up at the monster
he had created. Her hair a fiery halo about her head, Beryl appeared
like a devil come to collect him and Grey struggled to get away from
her. He stabbed his mind toward Beryl's hoping to find the slightest
weapon to use against her. He entered as easily as ever but her
thoughts were a brick wall to him now. Grey tried to escape when it
felt like a vice around his head but found Beryl keeping him prisoner.
An almost pleasant smile curved over Beryl's lips. "Leaving so
soon? I thought you liked going into those intimate places." She
released him and Grey knew then that she was toying with him. She
could have broken him within that iron grip and she knew it as well.
But seeing that Beryl was torn with anger Grey thought she may get
sloppy and give him an opening.
"Don't look at me like the horrid monster here." Grey said. "You
beloved Read you at the first convenient opportunity, didn't he? I
knew he would if he felt I knew something he didn't."
"You did it all to prove Scott the villain I suppose." Her
mirthful expression darkened. "Spare me your lies, Grey and maybe I
won't pull your tongue from your mouth before I kill you."
Grey tried to Zip past her once again but Beryl caught his arm
and used his momentum to spin him into the bole of a large aspen
tree. The bones in Grey's wrist gave way in Beryl's enraged grip and
he connected with the tree with a sickening crunch. More black blood
oozed from Grey's nose.
Grey crumpled to his knees, his head fogged with pain as a
horrid fear crept into his soul. He had poured so much of himself
into Beryl when he'd Read her that she could predict his every action
and given her his gifts with her incomplete vampirism. He would not
win out.
"I can help you." Grey tried to bargain, seeing his options
dwindle. "You need blood, I can hunt for you."
The thought angered Beryl and she struck at his throat with a
closed fist. All the pain he'd caused and now he sought to placate
her with the blood of another innocent victim.
"Let's see how many times you can scream the word 'no' before
you figure out what it means." She squeezed his damaged arm and
picking up a broken piece of branch, Beryl spiked Grey's hand to the
ground.
Grey howled in agony until Beryl covered his mouth. "I could
enthrall you but I want you to feel this." Grey whimpered in dismay
at Beryl's empty eyes as she hovered above him. "I thought you liked
this part, Grey." Beryl smiled through the razor-sharp fangs. "The
victim's fear just before they die." The demonic grin faded
then. "Its just not the same from down there is it?"

Sean halted the mini-van in the empty lot of the park. "Are you
sure you didn't just pick up her back trail?"
"This is too strong, too new." Kevin said. "We have to hurry,
man. I don't have long. Are you sure you know how to use the darts,
Kidd?"
"Ah, duh. I tink sho." Sean replied peevishly.
"All right," Kevin said. "Just don't hesitate if it comes to
that."
"I won't, don't worry." Sean said.
"Come on." Kevin stood and walked toward the trees. He made sure
no one was around to witness his transformation that, for now, was
still voluntary. He sniffed and found a trail of Beryl's essence as
wide as a highway. Not only had she come this way, she had crouched
here looking for something. Kevin took off following the river of
scent.

Grey clutched at the hand he couldn't extricate. "My blood," he
pleaded to Beryl who circled him like a lioness surveying young
wildebeests. "If you have my blood, my uncle's squad won't come after
you. By now they're already on their way, I'm sure. But if you take
my blood, you'll turn and they'll leave you alone."
"You sniveling son-of-a-bitch." Beryl sneered sending the heel
of her boot into Grey's side. The mention of how precious little time
she yet possessed made Beryl steel herself to the task. "It might be
worth dying to know you'd suffer the same fate. But since I can't
really trust anyone else to see this gets done." She knelt and put a
hand on the back of Grey's neck and one on his forehead.
"You don't have it in you." Grey said, trying to reason with the
human nature he had destroyed.
Beryl smiled cruelly. "Yesterday you would have been right." She
held Grey's Head and twisted.
"BERYL NO!!" Kevin's voice cried from several yards away. He was
halted by the snapping crunch and stared at her in utter horror. This
couldn't be the same woman. Beryl was a gentle, caring soul; not the
monster he had just witnessed killing without remorse.

In her madness, Beryl didn't recognize this man who stood looking
at her as though she were diseased. He'd told her not to harm this
vile thing-he must be one of those sent to kill her.
Beryl's lips parted to reveal her fangs. "Stay back." she
hissed, poised to take flight.
"Beryl," Kevin held up a hand. "We can help you. I'll take you
to Scott."
"Scott." Beryl whimpered. She looked at the broken body before
her. Scott couldn't love anyone who could do that to another living
thing.
Her face twisted in pained shame and Kevin approached; rearing
like a wounded animal Beryl rounded on Kevin. Fangs and claws bared
Beryl sprang at Kevin unable to bare the thought of Scott looking at
her with the same disgusted expression as this man.
Kevin grabbed Beryl's wrists, holding her away from him and he
found it more of a chore than he would have guessed. Once he had
thought The Order heartless form the destruction of revenants but
seeing w2hat Beryl and what she was capable of he knew they had a
point.
"Beryl, even without Scott involved I consider you a friend so
please understand why I'm doing this." Turning slightly to the side
Kevin brought his leg forward just as Sean charged into the clearing.
As Beryl's feet were swept out from under her and she was forced
face-first to the ground a sharp sting slapped at the side of her
neck. She howled in savage outrage. Kevin had inadvertently released
one of her wrists when Beryl had fallen and she turned slashing at
him but her arm wouldn't obey as quickly as it should have.
"Sean!" Kevin turned. "God, man, that dart was set for me."
Kevin doubted Beryl weighed as much as 130 pounds, which meant she'd
been injected with more than twice the maximum dos of the powerful
tranquilizer. He felt for a pulse.
"You want I should wake her up?" Sean rose a questioning
brow. "I still have the other one." Sean patted his pocket containing
the back-up dart.
"She's not going to be happy when she wakes up." Kevin said,
hoping that 'when' was the correct word.
"What about him?" Sean looked at Grey's body.
Kevin shuddered at he look on Beryl's face when she'd broken
Grey's neck. Perhaps it wasn't actual joy, but it certainly was
satisfaction.
"His troubles are over." Kevin said at last.
"But what do we do with him? We can't just leave him here, he's
pretty vamped out."
"You get Beryl put in the car, I'll deal with this." Kevin
kicked at the remains.

Scott steered the white Taurus onto the street that ran along he
edge of the park He looked in the rear view mirror at Paul's wolfen
form that lay curled up in the back seat. The dart Scott had shot him
with still protruding form his shoulder. He gathered the gun from the
passenger seat and tucked it into his waist band pulling his shirt
over the weapon as his cell phone rang.
"Hey," Mike's voice said, sounding a bit beleaguered. "I just
had to put Stephanie down, you may want to keep an eye on Paul."
"He's out like a light." Scott said glancing back again. "Whoa!
Shit!" Scott stood on the brakes and swerved to avoid the young girl
who'd run out in front of him. Scott threw the door open and
approached the girl. She looked at the stand of trees on the opposite
end of the park over her shoulder and continued to run. Scott Read
her, already sure she'd seen something and quickly altered her memory
as she disappeared around the corner.
"Hang on." Scott grabbed the phone. "I'm at the park, Paul
thought the trail was leading back here."
A horn sounded a couple of blocks ahead. "I'm here." mike said.
They both drove into the parking lot nearest the copse.

Scott was running toward the trees when Sean appeared carrying
Beryl over his shoulder. He hurried forward, taking her from Sean to
cradle her in his arms. Scott held Beryl to him, never more relieved
in his life 'though her battered appearance tore at his
heart. "Where's Kevin?"
"Back there." Sean pointed over his shoulder. Scott carried
Beryl to the car and strapped her into the front seat. He pulled the
dart form her throat, seeing that not all of the drug had been
injected.
Kevin came out of the trees with Grey flung carelessly over his
shoulder. Not realizing Paul and Stephanie had already transformed,
he stepped out under the sky where the pale ghost of the full moon
that had risen shone down on him.
Falling to his knees, Kevin howled at the feel of his bones
twisting and contorting. Grey flopped limply to the side.
"Oh, shit!" Sean said fumbling for th last dart. Kevin was
already charging when he got the shot off.
Scott, Mike and Sean managed to get Kevin into the mini-
van. "Come on." Scott said. "Lets get them up to the safehouse."

Just as Sean closed the sliding door, an angry shriek sounded
from behind them. The three men turned to see the dark-haired woman
kneeling over Grey's body. She felt for his pulse though it was quite
obvious from the unnatural angle of his neck that Grey was dead.
"Give us the revenant!" Farrah hissed as two large men appeared
from the trees behind her. The dark sedan pulled forward to block the
entry to the street.
Scott would be a corpse before he handed Beryl over but they
were in no real position to for a lengthy battle. Sean and Mike for
all they had proven themselves were only human and none of them had
slept in better than 24 hours.
Farrah and the others were still about ten yards away. From the
corner of his eye Scott saw Mike's hand to to the back of his waist
and take out the tranq gun. Scott knew Sean was the only one
defenseless.
"Kidd!" he pulled the weapon form his waist, threw it to Sean
and zipped forward to halt Farrah's eminent attack. Mike used the
momentary distraction to take one of the head hunters in the side of
the neck. A moment later Sean did the same.
Incensed at seeing the body of her brother Farrah fell into a
near revenant state herself. A loose cannon but he was family and his
killer would suffer a universe of torment. She charged at Scott but
he sidestepped her handily. The vampress shrieked in rage once more
when she realized she'd overrun her mark and turned back toward
Scott. She'd seen his hand move quickly and a pain like a wasp's
sting pounded at the side of her shoulder. Farrah reached up in
reflex and touched the small metal barb.
"Darts." Scott gave an innocent, disarming smile. "I've been
practicing."
"You bastard." she cursed. Even though Beryl had gotten most of
the contents there was more than enough to drug the assassin. She
stumbled to her knees. "Vonnegut will have your head for this. Give
us the girl and he may spare you."
With eyes and fangs in full vampire mode, Scott pulled Farrah's
head back by the hair. He wouldn't have needed any extra reason to
be angry with the elder vampire. "When you wake up, tell Vonnegut we
will take care of our own. Do not look for us." He released her and
she fell limply to the ground.
Sean and Mike eyed Scott in silent awe as he let Farrah pitch
face-forward into the grass and approached the sedan. The driver got
out of the car.
Scott ignored the man as though he were an insect and stepped up
the hood of the car. Taking a deep breath, Scott concentrated his
strength, sending his fist straight down into the engine block. The
hood buckled and the two front tires blew with a popping hiss.
Scott strode toward his rental and pulled straightway over the
curb.

 

After the windshield of Farrah's car had exploded into a
thousand glittering pieces and Scott had nearly ripped out the bottom
of his car, Mike and Sean shook themselves out of their awed trance.
Mike pulled out after Scott and Sean took the rear.
Mike scowled in troubled thought. Grey was dead, Beryl was a
revenant, Vonnegut had sent his assassins to kill her and Scott had
gone what could only be termed ballistic. He called their contacts
among the unaffiliated and cashed in more than one favor. It seemed
that whatever hope they had still lay in Grey's blood.

The hidden basement apartment alone was larger than most houses.
Half was divided into showy, spacious living quarters. The other
half, separated by an ornate gathering room was more dungeon than
palace.
Four cells, containing the bare necessities and being rather
spartan of decoration, lay along a short corridor that opened into a
room of macabre purpose. In the days before storehouses, here was the
preparation room for the vampiric ancestors of this particular
family. The cells had been put in at the turn of the twentieth
century when the mansion had been made a safe house.

The three conscious members of The Kliq brought their compatriots
inside.
While Mike and Sean took two trips to return all the rental
vehicles, Scott ran a tub of hot water and lay Beryl into it. Seeing
the scrunchy was matted into Beryl's hair Scott took a pair of
scissors and cut it out. With infinite gentleness and care he combed
away the dead leaves and washed away two days worth of grime and more
than a little blood. He had to pull her hair away from the wound at
her neck, his jaw set from hurling epithets against the dead.
Scott bandaged Beryl's knees and throat and wrapped her ankle
that was so swollen he knew it was probably broken instead of merely
twisted. Finally Scott dressed Beryl on the blue nightshirt he'd
given her and carried her back to the secured room, chagrined at the
necessity of such measures.
The sun had set over an hour earlier and the hours of Scott's
wakefulness were making themselves felt. He looked at Beryl laying on
the bed, more in coma than in slumber. He kicked off his shoes and
slid in behind her, only meaning to hold her for a moment. For the
last 24 hours Scott's darkest fears had been given life and the
relief he felt at merely having Beryl so near was immeasurable. But
the even deeper fear of what he next 24 might hold stabbed at Scott
and before he knew it he was washing Beryl's hair with salt tears.
Though she couldn't comfort him with words, or the pretty smirk
she'd give him when he was obsessing about things outside his
control, Beryl's pulse lulled Scott's troubled mind into sleep.

Scott woke to the feel of Beryl turning slightly in his arms. He
nuzzles her ear and kissed her cheek before he rose, knowing it was
very likely dangerous to say with her. It was almost ten according to
Scott's watch. He unlocked the door and let himself out as quietly as
he could.
""This way." Mike's voice sounded from the direction of the
stairs. A few minutes later two men appeared pushing a gurney covered
in a white sheet. Mike followed the men toward the Preparing Room.
Scott's jaw tightened, knowing immediately that it was Grey they
were bringing in. Dead or not, Scott wanted to take him apart.
"I don't think she got any of his blood." Mike said. "Besides
what leaked out, he has a pretty full tank."
Scott nodded and walked in the opposite direction. "If you need
any help releasing it, let me know." Scott said to the men and Mike
did not like how he said it.

Beryl winced, holding her temples. Once again, she didn't
recognize her surroundings or remember how she'd gotten here. Scott's
masculine scent lingered and she knew he was close-by. Moving slowly,
lest her agonized head fall from her shoulders, she sat at the edge
of the bed.
The room was about the size of a standard hotel bedroom with a
sink and toilet in the corner hidden from the door by a screen.
There was the bed, a small table with one chair and no windows. One
wall was a solid gray metal plate broken only by a door of steel bars
with a narrow sill in the middle where things could be passed
through.
Beryl saw a neatly folded stack of clothes on the edge of the
sink. She dressed quickly and sent to stand by the door hoping she
would see Scott and he might explain what was going on.
"Hey, rookie." Kevin said from the cell across the hall. His
expression in the first moment that their eyes met was like a boot in
Beryl's stomach but she couldn't account of the spasm of guilt.
"What day is it?" Beryl scowled thinking she shouldn't be seeing
Kevin at all.
"Thursday." Kevin replied. "You haven't been out of it that
long, don't worry."
"But it's a f-"
"I'm a day reverter." Kevin shrugged. "I change back when the
moon isn't out. It's actually pretty rare. Paul and Stephanie'll be
wolfed out for a couple more days. Mike just dosed them so I doubt
we'll hear a peep out of them until tomorrow."
"Where are we?"
"Safe house." Scott's voice said. He smiled seeing her eyes were
normal looking and he could still hear her heartbeat. "I'm glad
you're awake, I was starting to worry." Scott slid the tray he
carried through Kevin's cell door and came to stand in front of
Beryl. "You hungry?" he reached through the bars and caressed her
cheek.
"Yeah, a little." Beryl smiled twining her fingers in Scott's.
He kissed her knuckle and walked back down the hall, returning with a
tray and pushing it to her. He disappeared again but after a few
minutes Beryl heard him speaking with someone but couldn't make out
what they were saying. Scott came back with a third tray and Beryl
stepped back expecting him to open the door but Scott sat down on the
other side. She sat down as well not saying anything for long moments
to consider his behavior.
"Why am I in here?" Beryl asked finally.
Scott looked at her, wondering how much she remembered. "Grey
injected you." Scott said in the tone Beryl equated with how one
spoke to a terminally ill child.
Beryl slid her tray to the side and pulled her knees to her
chest. "You think, I'm dangerous."
Her low tone of voice raked Scott's heart across the
coals. "We're working on a remedy for that. Finish your lunch, babe.
I'm sure it's been awhile since you ate."
"Unless you count that baker's dozen of kindergartners I
polished off." Beryl smirked sourly.
"Not funny." Scott said with a pained expression on his face.
"Sorry." Beryl sighed, knowing her remark had been in bad taste.
She looked down at the tray Scott had brought her. Marinated chicken
breast, green beans with french-fried onions, and a piece of warm
apple pie. She smiled at how thoughtful Scott was to bring her
favorite things but she had no appetite anymore. She was rather
thirsty however and reached for the cup. She brought it to her lips
and the liquid filled her mouth with a coppery flavor.
Beryl hurried over to the sink, fighting the urge to spit out the
rank taste right there. She gagged out the blood and Scott knew
before she turned that Beryl was gone again, buried beneath the feral
rage.
In less than a blink Beryl was at the door. She shoved the cup
back at Scott, he tried to grab it but the vessel slipped from his
startled fingers.
"I'll have no more of Grey's filth." Beryl growled through
bared fangs. "Or yours. Leave!"
Scott stepped away biting back a vicious retort.
"Now that is a hellish temper." Kevin quipped seeing the
widening puddle of black blood. Scott stalked darkly by without
replying.

Beryl struck at the wall in blinding anger. Even dead Grey came
back to torment her from the quarter she least expected. How could
Scott want her to have anything to do with that monster.
The image of Grey came to Beryl. Broken, bleeding and, in his
way, begging for his life and she had lacked mercy. Who then was
truly the monster?
A horrid scream tore from Beryl's throat. She had become that
mindless thing, a remorseless killer destined only to be destroyed.

A thousand dull razor blades to the skin couldn't have hurt more
than the sound of Beryl's cries. Scott lay his palms on the oak bar
in the center room breathing deeply to clear his head.
"I guess she didn't take the blood." Sean said.
"No." Scott barked out a humorless laugh.
"If she's going to jonse for blood, why not just mix some of
Grey's with some unleaded?"
"It doesn't work that way." Scott said. "It's a straight shot of
Grey's or we might as well hand her over to Vonnegut's head hunters
now."
"That isn't going to happen." Mike said. "We have more of his
blood and she'll realize there's no other way."
Scott spun to look Mike in the face. "You go look at her and
tell me if you think there's any rationality left in there right now."
"Right now." Mike repeated. "Scott, she shouldn't have been
human at all. We can't know what's going on in there but you have to
know she's fighting it."

Beryl knelt next to her cot sobbing in hopeless despair. The
situation was coming clear to her. She had killed Grey and while she
was unsure why it was that some times she could think fairly clearly
it wasn't difficult to guess that The Order knew about her condition
and would come for her. Scott, she knew, wouldn't give her over to
her doom but there was only seven of them, at most against an
incalculable number that Scott's superiors would send.
Struggling for anything to take her mind from her troubles, Beryl
grabbed one of the towels hung over a rack by the sink. Kneeling down
at the door, she reached through the bars and began mopping up the
mess.
"Hey, kid." Kevin said from his cell door. "Didn't care for the
beverage of choice? Can't say I blame you."
Beryl looked at him, pinking over her outburst. She shrugged and
continued her work carefully sitting the shards of glass in a small
pile and sopping up as much of the blood as she could reach. She sat
her tray on the lip of the door and leaned back into the wall to look
again at Kevin.
The doors were staggered so all Beryl could see was a small
corner where Kevin was sitting. Paul and Stephanie were sharing the
cell next to Kevin, but they were both heavily sedated.
"In case you didn't notice, Scott isn't exactly a Grey Sanders
fan."
"That was brought to my attention, yes." Beryl replied.
"It isn't my place to say, and Scott would kill me if he knew I
told you but he was a wreck when we couldn't find you. Whether or not
you take Grey's blood is your choice, but Scott is risking a lot
hiding you. Whatever you decide we'll stick by you and behind Scott
but believe that Vonnegut will find us eventually." Kevin said,
pulling no punches.
Beryl looked at the black-splotched cloth in her hands and
weighed Kevin's words very carefully. The air was deathly still until
footsteps sounded coming towards them. Mike came into view a moment
later carrying a hypodermic needle and a bottle of alcohol.
"Good night, sweet prince." he said to Kevin, who stood and put
his arm through the bars. Mike cleaned Kevin's inner elbow and
injected him with the powerful tranquilizer. Kevin took the piece of
gauze.
"Maybe next month we can defer this to the professional." Kevin
said. His tone wasn't harsh but Beryl turned away from him; not
before both the men saw a tear streak down her swollen face. She
didn't reply as Kevin disappeared farther into his cell.
"What about you?" Mike said sitting back on his heels to regard
Beryl through the door. "How ya' doing?"
"I've been better." Beryl faced him, wiping at her cheek. Mike
reached through the bars to check the cuts on Beryl's lips.
"You're not afraid I'm going to bite you?" Beryl smirked
peevishly.
"I'm not worried about it at the moment." Mike gave her a
gracious smile.
"Apparently you're the only one."
"You know that's not true." Mike put an alcohol-soaked cotton
ball to Beyrl's lip, touching it softly when she winced. "We don't
know how it is that you can seem sometimes, I suppose that you're
fighting it."
"If I can fight it, I can beat it." Beryl replied vehemently.
Mike sighed. "You might try because that is what you do when
life attacks; you grab it by the throat and dig in your heels. No
one's denying that some God-awful shit has been thrown your way and
you have conquered more than any of us, especially Scott ever dared
hope you could. I know you're strong, and I know you're brave and
between you, me and this bar," Mike tapped one of the steel rods in
the door. "I think you are Scott's only equal in the willful and
stubborn department and that truly is saying something." Mike winked
giving Beryl a lopsided grin.
"That's me." Beryl rolled her eyes, smirking in self-deprecation.
"But Beryl," Mike's tone and expression was deadly
serious. "This is one mountain no one can climb."
"Hey," Sean's voice echoed down the hallway. "We're going lights
out."
Mike waved to acknowledge Sean's statement. "You need anything?"
Beryl shook her head as Mike stood and grabbed the tray. "Good
night."
"Good night, Mike." Beryl folded her arms over her knees and lay
her head down watching as the wall sconces dimmed to one tenth their
former brightness, every other one extinguishing completely.

 

Scott lay in the ornate room staring up at the high ceiling. Not
since Arizona had his connection with Beryl been so uncomfortable.
Despair, guilt, sorrow and hopelessness fought for top billing in her
heart that he again heard.
If he sensed anger, Scott knew it wasn't directed at him and
that let him release much of his own. Much but not all and Scott
turned to his side in frustration and punched at his pillow. He lay
back on the lumpy item and his eyes fixed on the empty space beside
him. Scott let his mind drift along the thread of connection and knew
that Beryl wasn't asleep either. She was troubled and just as
restless as Scott.
"Can't sleep anyway." Scott growled under his breath, throwing
the blankets aside.
He stalked down the corridor, halting at Beryl's door. Her back
was turned as she walked her cell. Scott leaned against the cold wall
and watched her pace. When Beryl turned Scott heard her heart skip.
"I'm sorry," Beryl said, her voice cracking and Scott saw wet
tracks of tears in the low light.
"For what?" Scott replied softly.
"Being stubborn. For not realizing you never would have told me
to go off by myself." Beryl sniffed and stepped up to the bars. "We
wouldn't be in this situation if I hadn't been so stupid."
Scott leaned his head back and looked at the upper edge of the
door. Her apology was beginning to sound as though she had given
up. "You're not stupid and you haven't done anything to be sorry
for." he said finally.
"Haven't I?" Beryl's tone brought Scott's gaze back to her
face. "Scott, I killed Grey without a second thought." She growled
and though Scott could still hear her pulse clearly her eyes had
darkened once again. "I grabbed him by the throat and I snapped his
neck like a rabid dog. Even now I can't honestly say I wish I felt
bad about it."
Though Scott's anger was not directed toward Beryl he had to
clench his jaw to keep from yelling at her. "I know you well enough
to say that you cannot truly hate anyone, even someone as vile and
loathsome as that son-of-a-bitch." As he spoke Scott's own eyes
blackened. "But I do. The only reason you had a chance to kill Grey
was because I didn't find him first. I hate him for every life he
destroyed and that number isn't' nearly so small as the two you know
about."
Scott reached through the bars and grabbed Beryl by the shoulder
before she could react. He pulled her collar away to see the darkened
bandage at her throat. "For this alone I would have painted the
ground in his blood and I would give my eyes for there to be another
way to save you!"
Beryl stood frozen at Scott's impassioned words, red-streaked
tears flowing down her face. Scott released her arm and caught a tear
on his finger.
"Don't quit because you don't like what has to be done. Believe
me, the remedy is worse than the disease."
"I won't give up, Scott." Beryl said laying her hand on his
cheek. "But I need you to promise me something."
"What, baby?" Scott said wishing he could step through the bars
and hold her in his arms.
"We know there are no guarantees in this and I imagine that my
chances are even less since I didn't get his blood right away."
Scott nodded, "I looks that way."
"If I take his blood and I don't turn the council will come,
right?"
"They will come." He did not like where she was leading.
"I need you to promise that if I haven't turned by the time The
Order demands a body count, you'll remember that one is better than
seven.
"I won't hand you over!" Scott looked at Beryl in horror that
she could even suggest it. "Don't make me promise you this." he
closed his eyes.
"Scott," Beryl took hold of his wrist. "I don't' want to be this
thing. If I can drink the blood of that monster as detestable as it
is to know I would be his creation you can make me this promise. If
you don't I'll end this myself."
Scott saw the resolve in her face. "I promise." his voice broke
as he whispered the hated words.
"Scott, if you never lied to me, now would be a really bad time
to start." Beryl's throat was raw.
"I promise." he repeated.
Beryl looked at Scott. She had never loved anyone as consumingly
and she knew it wasn't fair to make him swear such a thing. He had
more to live for that just her and for that love she couldn't let him
throw the rest away.
"Will you take it now?"
Beryl wiped a tear from Scott's face. "Can you put some sugar in
it, that bastard really is foul."
Scott barked a relieved-yet-miserable laugh and pulled Beryl as
close as he could. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Beryl said, leaning the less bruised side of
her face into Scott's caressing knuckle.
Scott disappeared into the Preparing Room that now served as a
kitchen, to deliver to Beryl what he hoped would be her salvation.
"Your night cap, my lady." Scott said handing the vessel to
Beryl. She looked at the thick sludgy material for a long moment.
"I should have let you turn me." She looked up into Scott's
eyes. "I wish it was your blood I had to taste, you I'd be connected
to."
Scott cradled Beryl's face in his gentle hands. "You are
connected to me. That will never change. Believe that?"
Beryl nodded, the salt of her tears stinging her lips.
"Then be a good girl and drink up." Scott said with a pained
half-hearted smile, pressing the cup toward Beryl's mouth. Grimacing
in disgust as she eyed the cup again, Beryl took a deep breath and
swallowed large gulps of Grey's blood not stopping until she had
finished.
Her knuckles white as she gripped the glass Beryl shuddered
trying not to gag. She held herself as hot tears began to flow.
Risk be damned! Scott would not let Beryl cry alone. He tipped
the lock in the door and wrapped solid, comforting arms around her,
his lips pressed to her forehead. They stood like that in the near
dark for a long time, not saying anything.
"Hey," Scott said, wiping away the remnants of Beryl's
tears. "You never finished your dinner and I know how you get the
munchies in the middle of the night." he added with a lopsided grin.
"I am a little hungry." Beryl sniffed.
"I'll be right back." Scott said, closing the door behind him
and was back several minutes later carrying a large tray. "We're
fresh out of kindergartners but we have some ham salad sandwiches."
Beryl tilted her head and smirked. "What? No kittens or fuzzy
little bunnies?"
"See," Scott smiled, his eyes glittering with the joy of being
with her again. "You've got a vampire's sense of humor already. But
just in case." he indicated several bags of the black liquid. Beryl
made a face and Scott laughed. "Honestly, its harder than getting my
kids to eat brussel sprouts."
"Brussel sprouts taste better than this crud."
"But it has to be better that castor oil, right?" Scott blinked
and smiled in that innocent school-boy way.
"Guess again." Beryl scowled and sat down at the foot of the
bed. Scott handed her a sandwich wrapped in wax paper before
refilling her glass. He'd brought a pitcher of lemonade so Beryl
could wash away the taste she despised.
"How much of this do I have to take?"
"The more the merrier." Scott said. "You'll know when you've had
the right amount. It's different for everyone."
"Then hit me again. Let's get this over with."
Scott ripped open the third bag. "There's two more in the
kitchen you can have with breakfast if this isn't enough."
"I hope it is." Beryl shuddered in revulsion. "I can tell you he
was a man of incredibly poor taste. Have you fed?"
"Just about an hour ago, before I tried going to bed." Scott
answered putting the tray on the small table and coming back to sit
next to Beryl.
"I'm not keeping you awake, am I?"
"I couldn't sleep knowing you were so upset. I told you we were
connected, didn't you notice?"
"I know how you feel sometimes but you're not real hard to
figure out."
Scott's eyes crinkled at the memories of their first night
together. "You haven't figured me out yet."
"I'm sure I'll have fun trying though." Beryl leaned into Scott
kissing him deeply. "How long can you stay?"
With a hand on the back of Beryl's head, Scott returned the
kiss even while his brain screamed at him that it was a bad idea to
go even this far. "Get ready for bed." Scott rose. "I'll tuck you in
before I go." He stood next to the door, looking outward while Beryl
changed. If he didn't look elsewhere he knew he wouldn't be able to
leave.
After a moment Beryl's soft lips touched Scott's shoulder, her
breath caressing over his neck. He turned and pulled he to his warm
bare chest, his palms sliding over the blue silk that covered her.
The old familiar urge burning through his veins. "I better go while I
still have enough blood in my brain to make any rational decisions."
"In the last hour, I've come to realize that blood is completely
overrated." Beryl said her eyes flashing seductively.
"So is rational thought." Scott's voice spiked and he cleared
his throat. He took a steadying breath and set Beryl at arm's length
after another quick, firm kiss. He stepped through the door,
resetting the lock. "Your bags are in my room, I'll bring you some
more clothes in the morning."
"Pull up some floor and eat breakfast with me?" Beryl
smiled. "Make sure I'm a good girl and drink my Grey-juice?"
"Sure thing." Scott reached back through the bars and they held
hands for a moment. "Sweet dreams."
"That is for certain." Beryl's eyes raked Scott's entirety. He
left then, very quickly.

It was just after nine when Scott woke the next morning. As soon
as he stepped out of bed, he knew something was wrong. The air was
uncomfortably still. He dressed quickly and gathered some things to
take to Beryl. As he approached her cell he saw that the door was
slightly ajar.
"Beryl?" He pushed the door open the rest of the way.
Sean waved him in, looking a bit green. "I was serving breakfast
when I heard the dulcet tones of someone tossing her cookies."
"I got this." Scott said. He knew with one look that she had
regurgitated all of the blood she had taken the night before. She was
rejecting it like a transplanted organ.
Beryl looked pale and Scott guessed he knew why. She was
already shaking as she fought against the cravings. He knew this Hell.
"Come on, babe. Let's get you back to bed." Scott tried to
smile reassuringly but the last hope of saving her was gone. The only
question seemed to be whether he ended her suffering now or let
Vonnegut to the dirty work.
Scott helped Beryl to the cot and sat down so he could hold her
for awhile. Her skin was a sheen of sweat and she was burning up.
"Don't look so sad." Beryl whispered, her lips pale and
drawn. "Things turn out how they were meant to, even if we don't like
it."
"I don't." Scott clenched his jaw, he didn't want the last
thing she saw to be him already mourning her.
"Its funny, really." Beryl said, her eyes glazed. "He'd barely
bit down when Kevin showed up. All this over one little second."
"Don't talk." Scott said brushing his fingertips over her
forehead as she began to tense.
"Afraid I'll run out of breath? When the tank's empty, the
tank's empty. There ain't no saving it for later."
Scott recalled Mike's words when he'd said that Beryl hadn't had
any of Grey's blood. For a moment it seemed important but Scott
shoved it aside. Whatever significance it once had was gone now and
he ddidn't want to waste their last hours together thinking how else
things could have turned out.
"Besides, honey." That familiar glint of steely determination
filled Beryl's eyes. "I ain't giving up until God himself pulls up in
a hearse to tell me it's time to go."
"That's the spirit." Scott said but all his hope had
faded. "Maybe it'll be easier if you get some more sleep."
"Stay here?"
Scott nodded. Her heart kept fading in and out of his hearing
as her trembling grew worse. On several occasions before he had
lulled her to sleep and he did so now to ease her pain.
As Scott looked down at her face, almost serene in its pale
calmness, he wondered if he could carry out his promise. He didn't
want to hand her over certainly but the fires of Hell would be cold
before he harmed her himself.
For long hours, Scott remained still softly caressing Beryl's
hair of cheek when she tensed of mmurmured Once she opened her eyes
for a moment, though she was still asleep and Scott was petrified to
see that they were once again the chaotic wells of fury. He cursed
her pain and his own weakness for being too selfish to end it.
"SShh babe." Scott whispered as he reached forward to grab the
glass of water from the table. He fished out a chunk of ice and
rubbed it over Beryl's trembling lips.

Sean sat in the large room between the two wings of the secret
basement apartment. He was worried about Beryl and knew that if he
didn't do something to occupy his mind he would hover. Scott needed
to be alone with Beryl, he knew, so he sought a distraction. He hated
this confinement; no telephone, no Internet, no car and they couldn't
let themselves be seen. Sean was going stir crazy. They had satellite
television but nothing good had been on since a basketball game that
morning.
Sean stretched out on arm chair and kicked his feet up onto an
end table. He'd played this Uncle Kracker CD nearly to pieces but it
was one of his favorites and he figured if he couldn't go out he
could at least zone out.

Mike walked quietly down the corridor. He didn't want to disturb
Scott's moments alone with Beryl, especially since it was looking as
though one-way-or-another it would be their last. Mike felt
absolutely awful, after he'd revealed that it appeared the two of
them were meant to be together and now this. How could I have been so
horribly wrong, Mike thought to himself.
Scott heard a shuffling by the door and looked up from Beryl's
ashen face. Mike jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen and
moved away. Shifting gently to disturb Beryl as little as possible,
Scott lifted her head from his thigh and stood. Her hair was damp
with sweat and every few minutes she would get the shakes or begin to
mutter incoherently. The ice chips on her lips or forehead seemed to
calm her and since he was going that way he'd refill the pitcher. He
stepped into the hallway, resetting the lock and went to join Mike.
Mike took a deep breath as Scott entered the kitchen, hating to
give him anymore bad news. "Vonnegut's crew was seen hanging around
the storehouse. It doesn't look like they tracked us here but Berta
thinks they tried to follow her." he said referring to the woman who
was hiding them.
"If they knew where we were they'd have already broken down the
door." Scott replied with a humorless laugh. He kept one ear on his
conversation with Mike and one on the hallway to hear if Beryl began
to cry out again.
"Berta can make arrangements to have Beryl moved, but our
little wolfy friends will have to stay here."
"We won't split up." Scott said. "Either we hang together or
we'll all hang separately."
"Scott, we can't st-"
Both men jumped at the blood-curdling shriek that came from the
center room accompanied by a resounding crash.
"Sean?" Mike call as they both ran up the corridor wondering
what could make the younger member scream like that. Scott halted mid-
stride as he noticed that Beryl's cell door was open. Her cot was
empty and the sheet trailed across the dark marble toward the
door. "Beryl?!" he tried to shout but Scott's lungs seemed to deflate.

 

Sean's eyes were closed, his hand drumming against his knee and thigh. A shadow fell across his face and he looked up. A glad smile lit his eyes that Beryl was up and about but before he could ask how she was feeling she grabbed him by the arm. Sean was flipped over the glass coffee table which shattered into large jagged shards. He came to rest against the wall and in a blink Beryl was next to him her hand at his throat as she lifted him completely off his feet.

     Sean fought to breathe through Beryl's constricting hold. He tried to grab anything he could use to fend her off but there was nothing in reach. He didn't want to hurt her, she'd become like a sister after all, but the deadly glow of blood lust told Sean she wasn't feeling any fraternal connections at the moment.

     As Sean searched the fathomless depth of Beryl's grave-like sockets that monstrous fear was soon replaced with something akin to pity. What had been done to her was unconscionable. This poor girl who was so sweet and pretty. Hell, he recalled, at the carnival that if Scott wasn't going to make a move he'd be more than happy to step up. It was a crying shame what she had become and if this was the only way he could help her it was all right with him.

 

     Sensing that this human had come into her thrall She relaxed her grip on his throat. Her dark eyes glittering She stepped closer. All the universe was this driving hunger for blood. A multitude of inner voices telling her that this was wrong, this man was a friend; but all else was drown by her ravening thirst.

     Full lips parted to reveal pointed canines lengthened for the purpose of sliding through human skin and pulled back slightly to allow blood to flow from the wounds. And this human was going to supply her that.

     "Dear God!" A voice exclaimed from across the room, a cry for assistance more than swearing. She looked around; here was another human. If they were coming to her so be it, her first meal would be followed by dessert. She turned her attention back to her prize.

 

      Scott entered behind Mike and his eyes fell on the scene he dreaded most. Beryl's hand at Sean's throat and leaning in for the kill. She halted, fangs bared and her eyes were the colorless orbs they had been when she was under the blood lust.

     Like a whiff of perfume, Scott caught the wave of her influence that had ensnared Sean. At the very sight of her that same desire came over Scott, only his was not a helpless trance.

     "Chrysoberyl!" he said, demanding her undivided attention. Only now did he understand what had been happening to him. This was so much more than a desire to feed.

    

      Beryl looked up. Not at the sound of her name but at the voice. The Voice. Beryl's eyes followed the red lines of Scott's veins. She was mesmerized by the movement of his blood and licked her lips in want for more than the coppery fluid she craved. A moth doesn't care if it might get burned, it must have the flame. The flame was this bronze god that stood before her. Beryl's hands fell to her side as she gazed at the masterful form.

     As soon as Sean was free he limped toward Mike. The look on Scott's face was too like Beryl's for Sean to feel entirely secure just then. As he passed Scott, Mike pulled Sean into the corridor. They were barely out of the way when the heavy door slammed with a resounding boom.

 

      The bar fell into place locking Mike and Sean out. Scott's lips curved, Beryl had merely glanced at the door and it had flown shut; she seemed to have come to the same conclusion. All the blood they needed was each others'. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. Scott berated his own thickness. Grey hadn't taken enough of her blood to turn her and his blood wouldn't have done the trick anyway because...well, like Mike had said, she was his mate.

      In the space between two pulses of Beryl's heartbeat Scott crossed the room. A fire burned in Scott's blood and he surveyed the tender morsel before him. The lines of her veins, the excited rhythm of her heart, that lusting fire in her eyes and the fangs behind her cruelly smiling lips. Scott knew now that he would have plenty of time to partake of it all once he got down to the business at hand. She was fated to become a vampire, she was destined to turn her. Now was the time.

      Taking Beryl firmly by the shoulder, Scott pulled her to him. Like a box of fine chocolates he debated where to take the first bite. Scott swept the curtain of her reddish locks from the right side of her neck. Breathing in that peachy scent stiffened more than his resolve and Scott leaned his head forward. He held Beryl's body with a palm spread across her bottom and took a handful of her hair to expose her throat to his mouth.

     Beryl's creamy skin opened for him more easily than he would have imagined and he'd had many dark visions of just such a thing. Everyday for six years, Scott had taken blood. Stockpiled blood cooled for preservation. This was hot. Sensuous. Alive. There was nothing like this in all the wide world.

     You knew all along this was how you were going to have her, the inner voice said in ecstasy.

     A covetous sigh escaped Beryl's lips as she was held to Scott, her head tilted to the side. Grey's attempt had been a ragged, tearing pain but Scott's acanthus fangs were applied with a purposeful force. They penetrated with a sharp pain that deepened to a sweet ache as Scott bent Beryl slightly back. Her lips moved with a thousand soundless words of devotion and love and she began to shiver with the raw emotion of this vampiric coupling. A moan of wanton desire passed from Beryl as Scott's tongue moved over her throat, his mouth working with bruising force.

     In Scott's ears Beryl's pulse slowed, when it became only an infrequent tap an innate sense told him this was enough. Beryl's body was languid and Scott sank to his knees laying her on the carpet for a moment. He reached behind him and found one of the daggers of broken glass. More from a sense of ritual than necessity, Beryl had her own fangs after all, Scott ran the jagged point across the side of his neck just above the collar bone. He didn't make the puncture deep or too wide, even knowing that it would heal almost immediately after Beryl was done.

     Scott pulled Beryl's lethargic form to kneel before him. His dark eyes looked down on her libidinously. She was part child to teach, part lover to instruct. Scott held her in one strong arm and with his other hand on the back of her head drew her toward his throat with lief anticipation.

     Beryl tasted the blood on Scott's salty skin where it had dripped to his chest. She lifted her head slightly and licked it from her lips. Like the smell of roasting meat to a starved animal this taste only whet her appetite more. Scott gave a low moan at the feel of those wicked barbs entering the artery. She used all four, as he had, and her lips closed as she sucked at him. Rich and warm, this thick blood pulsed into her mouth.  A sensation matching the sound of Scott's heart grew in her ears.

     Retracting the fangs, Beryl pulled her head back. Technically she'd been a revenant for three days but even that transformation was nothing compared to this. She knew that all had to do with Scott even though she'd gotten just as much of her abilities from Grey. A whole other cacophony of voices blathered in her head but Beryl immediately shut them out. All but one.

     As Scott swam before her vision their eyes met once more, hearing the voice of the other's very soul. This was more than a Read. It was swimming in the ocean of the others' existence. All that made Scott himself or Beryl what she was. A thousand desires, broken promises, hopes and regrets. The universe in one single moment of contact. With a cry Beryl fell forward into Scott.

     Weak now himself, Scott clung to Beryl steadying them both. He saw the wildness leave her, even the true vampire's aspect receded, leaving the blue eyes he loved so much.

     "How do you feel?" Scott kissed her forehead, her previous injuries fading as he watched.

     "Like I haven't slept in a really long time." Beryl's voice broke with emotion.

     "You haven't." he said softly. "That's going to change."

     A thousand new lines of thought came to Scott and after a moment he pushed them aside. He shook his head in disbelief. When he joined with Beryl they had become Conduits between the two most powerful lines of vampires. It seemed he and Beryl were destined for far more than loving each other. By The Order's own law, Conduits could not be killed.

     "I'm tired," Scott said. "Let's go to bed."

     "I'm all for that." Beryl replied, her head leaning against Scott's chest.

     "Can you unlock the door?" Scott indicated the thick oaken panel.

     Her brow crinkled but the heavy bar didn't budge. "Sorry."

     "It's okay. Wait here." Scott stood, unbarred the door and went toward the kitchen where he heard voices.

     "Hey," Sean jumped from the counter where he'd been sitting. "You all right?"

     "He's just fine." Mike answered. "And I imagine so is Beryl now."

     "Tired, but good." Scott replied. "Mike, I need you to call a meeting of the council."

     "We don't need the entire council to announce our sixth. All we have to do it tell Vonnegut."

      "Call the council, tell them they can make Vonnegut the guest of honor." Scott turned and left without another word.

    

      Beryl lay her head back on the disarranged pillow. "I thought that whole vampires-levitate-when-they-make-love thing was just a myth." she smirked contentedly.

      "Apparently not." Scott leaned over her  teasing her lips with his tongue.

      "Mmm." Beryl wrapped her arms around Scott's neck. "You're good."

      A wicked smiled parted Scott's mouth. "That wasn't me, honey. My line can't do that."

      Beryl laughed softly. "Do you mean I took you to new heights?"

      "And how." Scott leered.

      "Well, if I can have kids that would have done it."

      "Twins," Scott teased. "One for each shot."

      "Count again." A sweet-yet-none-too-innocent smile curved Beryl's lips.

      Scott smirked and kissed her deeply. "Next time we should take precautions. The kid's gonna learn math eventually and figure out December to June ain't no nine months."

      Beryl lifted her head and looked up into Scott's face. "Honey, its only September."

      Scott's cheeks pinked slightly and he pulled away from Beryl. "I didn't want to do it like this." he said. Both his tone and the connection revealed a jumble of emotions.

      Beryl knelt behind Scott on the edge of the bed. "Did I say something wrong?" she whispered softly, laying her hands on Scott's bare shoulders.

     "I was going to do this somewhere nice. Make it really great for you." Scott stood up, got dressed and took up his leather jacket. He came back to sit next to Beryl who'd donned a nightie. As Scott had been buying the ring he had envisioned a thousand romantic, sexy even whimsical things to say when he presented it to Beryl.

     Not one came to mind now.

     The image of trying to do this properly and only being able to say something dumb (Scott like Beryl, Beryl be Scott's woman?) assailed him and Scott was forced to laugh.

      "What?" Beryl asked becoming puzzled; a moment ago he'd seemed upset, now he was in near hysterics.

      With tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks, Scott turned to Beryl. He heard her emotions like music; she was worried and a little scared, but she loved him. A love as fierce as his own and feeling that Scott was immediately somber. He took Beryl by the hand and led her to the fireplace lit to combat the slight chill that was beginning to creep into the nights.

     Scott reached into his pocket and his fingers clutched around the box. He knew he'd never be able to come up with something electrifying if he tried so he figured he'd let it rip and hope it didn't come out stupid.

     "I've seen into you." Scott began, clearing his throat when it cracked. "We don't even have to speak to say what we need or how we feel."

     The tears welled up in Beryl's eyes as she realized what Scott was doing and she heard his tripping pulse. When he had turned her some of himself had gone into her. This and the consanguinity they felt was unbreakable and the nerves slithering in the pit of Scott's stomach left Beryl speechless.

     "I hope you don't think this is redundant now." Scott pulled out the minute burgundy velvet coffer. He removed the white-gold band and held it out; Beryl's heart pounding a tattoo as she looked up at him.

      Scott was still for a moment until Beryl lifted her left hand. He had to swallow before he spoke again. "Marry me?"

     "Yes," Beryl said tearfully, nodding at the same time as Scott slid the ring onto her finger. His eyes traveled from the jewel to Beryl's face. He leaned forward to plant a slow, tender kiss on her trembling lips.

     "I love you." they again said in unison, holding each other for a long time.

     "A Christmas wedding sounds wonderful." Beryl smiled through joyful tears.

     "If it's what you want." Scott said, holding her softly. "We don't have to do it then."

     "I do like peach blossoms."

     "I noticed." Scott thought back to all the times the scent of her perfume had driven him to impulses of violent ravishment. "But we'll talk about our plans later." he added whispering in her ear.

     Beryl tilted her head to the side, catching his drift. "I bet we can reach the ceiling this time."

      "What's that? Ten, twelve feet?"

      "More like eight from the bed."

      "Bed?" Scott pulled Beryl down to the mountain lion pelt before the popping embers that filled the hearth.

 

      The Colorado Springs store house was a weathered white variation on the theme. A dark sedan pulled into the vast, weed-choked parking lot. In the back a dark-haired woman and a distinguished looking older man rode in livid silence.

      Vonnegut pointedly ignored Farrah's presence. She had failed him and if it had been anyone else she would already be dead. The body of his nephew had been sent to him three days earlier and though Grey's blood had been extracted and undoubtedly the woman had been fully turned Vonnegut had not called off the search for her or those hiding her. She had killed more than unstable mistake of his sister's with the twist of her wrists and she would pay dearly for it. They all would.

      His vengeance would already have been satisfied but for Farrah's incompetence. Vonnegut thought again of his most efficient assassin and her entire crew being bested by two humans and one abomination. A turned vampire, for Christ's sake, his pure-blood sensibilities screamed.

     Farrah had sought to salve Vonnegut's temper over Grey's death by taking him personally to where they were holed up. But the five men Vonnegut had named to the posts of keeping balance in the shaky venue of a mobile cell of paranorms seemed to have outsmarted him. Farrah smirked through her lips still swollen from Vonnegut's beating.

     When they had burst into the hidden apartment to find it empty Vonnegut had taken his rage out on the nearest person, which happened to be his niece. He may have killed her, family or not, if he hadn't been contacted just then.

    The rest of the council was right here in town and Vonnegut was in no mood to meet with those blood traitors. Why one of them had named a turned vampire as her replacement. That was marginally better than the two werewolves already on the council, at least they still thought of humans as only fit for the lower ranks. Vonnegut tried to put on a more unaffected face as he entered the council chamber.

    Seeing six of the chairs at the table occupied by the very ones they had been hunting both Vonnegut and Farrah were enraged. Farrah's eyes darkened as they shot to Beryl, sizing her up.

     "Vonnegut." a leathery skinned elder said. "We've been hearing some troubling news."

     As he spoke, Vonnegut's driver was escorted in by four large men, one carrying Vonnegut's briefcase. The attache was opened and a beige file folder was lifted out. It was slid down the table until Beryl stopped it with a mere glance.

     "Grey's pronouns tended toward the plural, it got me thinking." Beryl said her crystalline eyes surveying Vonnegut's face as she opened the file and pulled out a picture of her Aunt Jane. "We knew Grey had help but I figured it had to be someone pretty high up when he kept slipping in and out of such tight places with half the vampires in the country looking for him."

     The elder began again. "All these months of Grey's hunting the population we had declared off limits. We suspected it all a matter of him merely being unruly in the face of a lack of control by our representatives. Do you know how close he came to exposing us all? You risked open warfare when you sent your nephew to destabilize  the cell. All so you could swing your line into higher seats on the council when it appeared that we had lost control."

     "I don't have time for this." Vonnegut said derisively but his arrogant smirk faltered when he saw The Order's interrogators enter. He sneered into Scott's face. "You won't be with that bitch all the time."

     The unconcerned smile crossed Scott's lips. "As a matter-of-fact, I will be." Scott and Beryl linked briefly.

     Vonnegut scowled as he got the sense that they were communicating. Hadn't Grey been the one to turn this abomination?

     "Yes and no." Beryl smiled, having heard his unguarded thought. Vonnegut blanched at this. Conduits! Now he was truly undone. These two linked his line to that which was currently in the majority on the council. There was nothing he could hide from them now.

      Farrah eyed them all, wondering if she could take one of the humans before the others stopped her. The tall red-headed appeared close in front of her.

     "Look at their necks like again and I'll snap your's like I did your brother's." Beryl hissed through bared fangs. Farrah took a step back even before the two werewolves flanked her new adversary.

     "You may go." The council member said to The Kliq. "We'll be in touch and hope your new member will help bring your cell under control."

 

     Kevin smiled down at Beryl's hand as they all approached the rented SUV's. "Shall we celebrate the impending nuptials?"

     Beryl seemed to deflate. "What's wrong, babe?" Scott asked.

     "Well, if I'm a member of Grey's line and yours how am I going to know if that garlic thing works for which line? I don't want to go without Italian or Chinese food forever."

     "You'll just have to try it and see." Scott's eyes crinkled at her doubtful smirk.

    The one who until now had been the youngest member of The Kliq smiled mischievously. "We'll all bring umbrellas in case your head explodes and splatters everywhere."

     Beryl's stomach lurched with the nausea that had been plaguing her since the day before. "Ooh, Sean." She cuffed him peevishly. "That's gross."