Derek’s two companions had released Kaleigh when Fia burst in on them; they were now standing, arms splayed, eyes round and blind with fear.
“Put the gun down,” Derek repeated, drawing the sword over his head.
“Fee!” Kaleigh cried weakly. “Fee, please. Help me.”
To give up her gun would put Fia at a serious disadvantage, but she knew in a split second that she had no other choice.
“Put it down,” Derek repeated. “Guys. Get the gun. We might need it.”
Fia separated her hands, showing him the pistol. “I’m putting it down.” But instead of dropping it, she clicked on the safety and hurled it into the forest.
“What the hell! You crazy bitch. I told you I wanted that gun,” Derek shouted, spittle flying.
Fia moved slowly toward them, her arms still outstretched. “You told me to put it down. I put it down. You don’t think I’m handing you my sidearm so you can shoot me with it, do you? Then I really would be a crazy bitch.”
“Shut up! Stop talking!” Derek ordered. “You are crazy. You’re all crazy monsters.” He still held the sword over his head, poised over Kaleigh.
Now that she was closer, Fia could make out the intricate details of the sword. It was some kind of decorative piece. Sweet Mary, Mother of God, it was one of those damned Franklin Mint reproduction abominations. But it was sharp. Someone had sharpened it. She could see that, even at a distance of twenty feet.
“Now you need to put that down,” Fia said quietly. “And you need to step away, Derek. So far, nothing has happened here that can’t be fixed. So far, you can get yourself out of this.”
“Yeah, right. Like you wouldn’t come after me in the middle of the night and suck my blood dry. Or…or send one of the other freaks from that freaky town of yours?”
“Derek? What are you talking about?” Fia slowly lowered her hands to her sides.
“Fia…” Kaleigh whimpered.
Fia made a split-second decision. If she could get the sword from Derek, she could take on all three of the boys without risking Kaleigh’s life—
Fia leaped. At the same instant, Derek turned. Fia didn’t know if he meant to stab her or if he just turned in startled reaction. The damned tip caught her in the shoulder and ripped her sweatshirt; pain blossomed as she tucked, fell, and rolled out of his reach.
Kaleigh screamed again.
As Fia spun in the leaves, trying to find the best position to gain her footing again, she heard the pounding of footsteps as Derek’s friends took off.
“Hey, guys! Come on!” Derek shouted. “Mike. John. Come back here. We’re gonna finish them off. All of them!”
“Run, boys! Run while you can,” Fia called, unable to stop herself.
“Shut up. Shut up, you hear me?” Derek turned back to Fia, brandishing the sword.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Fia could see Kaleigh struggling to pull the pool cue out of her own chest, but she was too weak. The tip was imbedded too far into the ground beneath her.
“Kaleigh, lie still,” Fia called. “You’ll just make the bleeding worse.”
“You better shut up and start worrying about your own blood,” Derek snarled, taking another step closer.
Fia pressed her hand to the wound in her shoulder. She was bleeding pretty badly. Her sweatshirt was soaked. She was dizzy. Slightly disoriented. Think. Think, she told herself.
Where were her supernatural powers now? This was ridiculous, to have allowed herself to be overpowered by a snotty-nosed teenage human with a toy sword.
“Derek…Derek listen to me,” Fia started. Negotiation. The FBI was all about the power of negotiation. “We need to talk about this. About what’s going on here.”
“Nothing to talk about. I’ve been waiting my whole life to do this. To get you back.”
“Get me back? Get me back for what? Derek, you don’t know me.”
“Not just you. All of them. All of them, for what they did to my mother!” He held the sword in one hand and wiped at his eyes with the other.
Getting him to talk…it was working. “What about your mother? What did I…what did we do to your mother? Derek…your mother committed suicide.”
“That’s what they said, but it was a lie! They all lied!” Tears ran down his cheeks, but he placed his other hand on the sword again.
As Fia spoke, she shifted her hands behind her, trying to figure out how she could get to her feet, but stay out of his way. If she could get to Kaleigh, if she could get the pool cue, she could defend herself and Kaleigh.
“What wasn’t true, Derek? She didn’t commit suicide?”
“No. She didn’t, I knew she didn’t. My father. The police. They all said she slit her own throat, but it wasn’t true. It was one of you. It was a vampire that killed her.” His voice wavered. “They attacked her and they drained her blood. They just made it look like a suicide. I always knew it was vampires.”
Fia looked quickly at Kaleigh, but the girl’s eyes were closed. She was drifting out of consciousness.
“Kaleigh. Kaleigh, stay awake, hon,” Fia called.
Kaleigh’s body jerked. She opened her eyes.
Fia looked back at Derek. “Derek. Derek, listen to what you’re saying. There’s no such thing as vampires.”
“Liar! I know it’s true. I always knew it was a werewolf or a zombie or a vampire that got her. Then I meet Kaleigh and she tells me there’s a whole nest of ’em living one town over. Then I knew it was a vampire who killed her. I knew my mother wouldn’t have killed herself. I knew she would never have left me like that. Let me find her that way.”
Kaleigh whimpered.
Fia realized there was no sense asking the girl what she had said. Or asking Derek exactly what she had told him. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that this young man was obviously mentally unstable. Meeting Kaleigh had sent him off the deep end.
What were
