them.”
“Even with Jonny’s warning and knowing where
we live?”
“I told Jessi we wanted to move. She said
Xander pays the bills so to do whatever,” Brandon replied. “We can
find a new place this weekend.”
Ashley blew out a breath. Her brother wasn’t
cooperating with her plan to help save his life. He had a point
about her purely physical gift, but so did she about his purely
mental ability.
“Fine,” she said finally.
“You’re not chickening out are you?”
“No. Just worried about messing up your life
if I get in trouble.”
“I’m good,” Brandon said, eyes on the
screen. “And I’ve got some targets for you.”
She glanced at him. “You do? How? I thought
Jonny took the phone.”
“I figured out something,” he replied
vaguely. “Look.” He pointed to a small map with red and blue
beacons. “Vamps are blue. There are a few active pockets in San
Diego.”
She observed the targets. Some were moving,
others still. “What’s red?”
“Jonny’s vamps.” Brandon enlarged the subset
of San Diego with the blue vamps. “I figure we can go after the
rogue vamps instead of his. We both win.”
“We both win,” she repeated. “Why do you want him to
win?”
“I want him not to corner you again. This
way you can fight vamps and Jonny won’t get pissed.”
She studied the map. “How do you know whose
vamps are whose?”
“I’m a hacker.”
“That doesn’t explain it. Brandon, are you
…” She drifted off. Her brother wasn’t working with Jonny, was he?
How would Jonny have had time to set up something like that? Why
wouldn’t Brandon have told her? It wasn’t like him to keep secrets
from her. “Never mind. I don’t care whose vamps they are. I’ll go
get ready.”
“I’ll send you some locations to hit.”
She nodded and retreated to her room. Ashley
changed quickly and armed herself with her batons and knives. She
tucked the mask into her bra and slung on her backpack before
returning to the living room. Brandon had texted her several
downtown locations, and she stopped behind the couch to calculate
how to reach them before tucking the phone away.
“Got it. I’ll text when I’m there,” she said
and strode out of the apartment.
Busy with his laptop, Brandon grunted in
response.
Twenty minutes later, Ashley hopped off the
bus and walked along a quiet sidewalk running near the baseball
park. Most storefronts were dark for the night, and she paused in
front of the building whose address Brandon had sent her. The
locale was boarded up, so she continued past the front and down a
side alley running beside it. The door on the ground level on this
side was also boarded up.
Stepping back, she scoured the side of the
building for a window to give her access. Most were boarded, but
one – four stories up – was not. She tugged out her mask and
stashed her backpack. She checked her phone before tucking it
away.
Five vamps, Brandon had texted. Monitoring your vitals. Bring back cells.
She smiled and tucked the phone into her
backpack. Brandon’s ability to sense minds was getting stronger and
stronger. A year before, he hadn’t been able to sense who was in
the adjacent apartment let alone across town.
She assessed her way up the side of the
building. Tonight was a night of pure athletic ability, no
questions asked. Rested after her four days off, energized after a
good dinner, she was ready to test her luck against five vamps.
With a deep breath, she used speed and
strength to scale the side of the wall, vaulting from the nearby
dumpster to reach the lowest window, then twisting, pulling,
leaping and contorting to reach the sturdier boards on the
neighboring window. Ashley played the deadly game, maneuvering in
midair, scaling the building with the agility and fearlessness of a
spider on the ceiling.
When she reached the window that wasn’t
boarded up, she paused in her movement to rest briefly, uncertain
what awaited her. She launched upwards with
“Even with Jonny’s warning and knowing where
we live?”
“I told Jessi we wanted to move. She said
Xander pays the bills so to do whatever,” Brandon replied. “We can
find a new place this weekend.”
Ashley blew out a breath. Her brother wasn’t
cooperating with her plan to help save his life. He had a point
about her purely physical gift, but so did she about his purely
mental ability.
“Fine,” she said finally.
“You’re not chickening out are you?”
“No. Just worried about messing up your life
if I get in trouble.”
“I’m good,” Brandon said, eyes on the
screen. “And I’ve got some targets for you.”
She glanced at him. “You do? How? I thought
Jonny took the phone.”
“I figured out something,” he replied
vaguely. “Look.” He pointed to a small map with red and blue
beacons. “Vamps are blue. There are a few active pockets in San
Diego.”
She observed the targets. Some were moving,
others still. “What’s red?”
“Jonny’s vamps.” Brandon enlarged the subset
of San Diego with the blue vamps. “I figure we can go after the
rogue vamps instead of his. We both win.”
“We both win,” she repeated. “Why do you want him to
win?”
“I want him not to corner you again. This
way you can fight vamps and Jonny won’t get pissed.”
She studied the map. “How do you know whose
vamps are whose?”
“I’m a hacker.”
“That doesn’t explain it. Brandon, are you
…” She drifted off. Her brother wasn’t working with Jonny, was he?
How would Jonny have had time to set up something like that? Why
wouldn’t Brandon have told her? It wasn’t like him to keep secrets
from her. “Never mind. I don’t care whose vamps they are. I’ll go
get ready.”
“I’ll send you some locations to hit.”
She nodded and retreated to her room. Ashley
changed quickly and armed herself with her batons and knives. She
tucked the mask into her bra and slung on her backpack before
returning to the living room. Brandon had texted her several
downtown locations, and she stopped behind the couch to calculate
how to reach them before tucking the phone away.
“Got it. I’ll text when I’m there,” she said
and strode out of the apartment.
Busy with his laptop, Brandon grunted in
response.
Twenty minutes later, Ashley hopped off the
bus and walked along a quiet sidewalk running near the baseball
park. Most storefronts were dark for the night, and she paused in
front of the building whose address Brandon had sent her. The
locale was boarded up, so she continued past the front and down a
side alley running beside it. The door on the ground level on this
side was also boarded up.
Stepping back, she scoured the side of the
building for a window to give her access. Most were boarded, but
one – four stories up – was not. She tugged out her mask and
stashed her backpack. She checked her phone before tucking it
away.
Five vamps, Brandon had texted. Monitoring your vitals. Bring back cells.
She smiled and tucked the phone into her
backpack. Brandon’s ability to sense minds was getting stronger and
stronger. A year before, he hadn’t been able to sense who was in
the adjacent apartment let alone across town.
She assessed her way up the side of the
building. Tonight was a night of pure athletic ability, no
questions asked. Rested after her four days off, energized after a
good dinner, she was ready to test her luck against five vamps.
With a deep breath, she used speed and
strength to scale the side of the wall, vaulting from the nearby
dumpster to reach the lowest window, then twisting, pulling,
leaping and contorting to reach the sturdier boards on the
neighboring window. Ashley played the deadly game, maneuvering in
midair, scaling the building with the agility and fearlessness of a
spider on the ceiling.
When she reached the window that wasn’t
boarded up, she paused in her movement to rest briefly, uncertain
what awaited her. She launched upwards with
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