Blood and Burning

6

As it turned out, Erin questioned Conrad during the demonstration not because she had a bold bone in her body, but because she never stopped asking questions.

She pressed about everything—about Van, about my childhood, about my sister’s relationship with Conrad, about my training as a hunter, about vampire biology, everything.

I quickly realized that the only way to deflect her incessant questioning was to ask her questions. She liked to talk about herself, it seemed. I was content just listening.

We stayed at a hotel in Sacramento, after about twelve and a half hours of driving. It was almost 10pm. We ordered DoorDash from Chili’s.

We woke up with the sun the next day, at just before 7, and we were back on the road by 8.

By about 2:30pm, we were finally pulling into the driveway of our cute little Santa Barbara Airbnb. There were stone steps leading up to a small front porch, and there were pink flower bushes planted beneath a bay window to the left of the front door. The house had white siding and deep green trim.

We carried our bags inside—it took two trips. Erin chose the bedroom off the living room, so I took the one at the back of the house. Both bedrooms had private bathrooms. When we converged again in the kitchen, she had a small smile on her lips, as her eyes scanned our surroundings.

“I’ve never been to California,” she shared with me.

I just stared at her.

“This place is nice,” she added, as she ran a hand over the cool, granite countertop that she leaned against.

“I guess.” I brushed past her to rummage through the cabinets. “I will do what Conrad sent us here to do, but I intend to get it done fast, and then drag this s**t out.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, beyond the few weeks, tops, that it’ll take us to find the information he’s looking for, we’re on vacation.”

“How long are you planning for us to stay here?”

I shrugged one shoulder and closed a cabinet that housed small appliances—a four-slice toaster, a blender, a hand mixer, an InstantPot. “Not sure yet, but that asshole has kept me trapped in Pullman for a year. I’m not used to staying anywhere for an entire year straight. I’ve earned a vacation.”

I turned to face her and she looked troubled. I gathered early on during our drive that she would make that face before she said something stupid, so before she could, I reminded her, “Think before you speak, Erin.”

“I…am?” Her frown deepened.

“I get the sense you should not say whatever it is you’re thinking, then.”

She hesitated. “You’re probably right.”

I rolled my eyes, and moved on. “Conrad and everyone else who has sent hunters here to find this coven have sent the wrong hunters. If all we’re here to do is get information, this mission will be a breeze.”

“What do we do if we come across a vampire?”

“When we come across a vampire, we kill it?”

She shifted her weight uncomfortably. “How?”

“Have you learned anything at all about hunting so far?”

“Yes, just haven’t practiced much,” she said slowly.

I sighed. “Like I said yesterday, then. No better way to learn than in the field.” I breezed past her again and headed back to my bedroom. I called over my shoulder, “Come on.”

She scurried after me.

I set my backpack full of weapons on my bed, but I hesitated. These were mine, and Van’s. I grabbed the mission pack that Conrad had given me from where I’d dropped it on the floor near the closet.

I unzipped the bag and shuffled through it. He’d given us the usual—knives, guns, syringes full of various concoctions, tracking devices, and several doses of a lotion-like truth serum that could be absorbed through skin, among other things.

I pulled out a blade in a sheath. “I’m assuming you’ve never so much as touched one of these?” I asked Erin.

She just shook her head.

I nodded. “Probably not the best idea to let you loose with one, then.” I pulled out a handgun. “How about this?”

She nodded. “Yes, my dad taught me how to shoot when I was a kid.”

My brows rose. “Okay, but have you done it recently?”

“As recently as about two years ago.”

“Great.” I slapped the gun into her outstretched hand. “Keep it on your person at all times.”

“Why do you use knives? Wouldn’t a gun be safer? And more effective?”

“Personal preference. And there’s nothing more effective than beheading a vampire.”

“Where would I shoot one?”

I tapped her between the eyes with my pointer finger. “Aim for here, or the heart. Good practice to remove the head after you get ‘em, too.”

“Will going out be dangerous?”

“Tonight? I hope so.”

She swallowed thickly.

“But it’s more likely that no, it won’t be. Most vampires can’t pick out a hunter from a crowd. I’ll warn you now, though, once we start digging around, word will spread fast. Then they’ll know us.”

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Erin jumped.

“Must be our groceries,” I chirped. Our platinum credit card-purchased groceries!

It took us about another half an hour to carry everything inside and put everything away. Johnny might as well have purchased one of everything in the store. He’d ordered things we used to eat as kids, but that I hadn’t eaten in years, like cheese pizza Lunchables and Chicken in a Biskit crackers and Little Debby snack cakes. I was glad I’d taken the time to order meat and fruits and veggies myself.

I tucked my single slice of cheesecake onto the top shelf of the fridge, but first I found a sharpie marker in a drawer and wrote my name on the plastic container. I wanted to eat it before I did anything else, just like Van and I would have, but I didn’t want to share our tradition with Erin.

My gaze lingered on my cheesecake before I shut the refrigerator door.

I was surprised to find Erin cracking open the jar of pickle spears when I turned around.

“You like pickles?” I asked her.

“They’re my favorite snack.”

“Awesome. I ordered them just for you.”

“You don’t want any?”

“No, thanks.” I glanced at the time on my phone. “Let’s go out.”

Her brows knit together with concern as she bit into a pickle. “Out where?” she asked, through her mouthful.

“Out, Erin, goddamn. Didn’t you do any Googling before we came here?”

“Googling?”

“Santa Barbara reportedly has great nightlife. Good for the sake of our mission, and good for someone who has not done anything exciting in a year.”

“Where will we go?”

“Downtown? I dunno. Just, out. You don’t like to go out?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“Best wrap your mind around going out frequently, at least until we have the information we’re looking for.” I glanced at the time on my phone. “Let’s go out.”

Her brow furrowed as she bit into a pickle. “Out where?”

“Out, Erin. Didn’t you do any Googling before we came here?

“Are you planning to work tonight?”

“Since we have no idea who to look for or where to look for s**t, our first step here is to chat up the locals. So, yes, I suppose I am. We’ll be sisters. We just moved here from Colorado.”