[Dennis]“Dennis!”There was a sudden impact from behind the creature and it released me. I managed to stop myself from falling backward. The creature shrieked and fled faster than I could track. Sybil stood a few feet away from me. She held up something and smiled. I could see a tear in the corner of one of her eyes. Quickly, I closed the distance and wiped her tear away. She laid her empty hand on my chest. That was the closest to death I had come since turning into a vampire. Sybil saved my life. “Are you alright, darling?” I asked. “I wasn’t the one that thing was trying to squeeze to death. I had the most horrible feeling that you would die if I didn’t do anything,” she replied. “It could have turned and attacked you. I appreciate you saving me, but part of me wants to scold you for putting yourself in danger.”“And all of me wants to scold you for putting yourself in danger. You could have been killed! All you had to do was distract it and run! Why didn’t you run?” Sybil said, punctuating every sentence with an open handed slap to my chest. “In my first life I was a warrior, Sybil. I thought it would be a simple enough fight, but there was something strange about that creature. We need to report back to Master Nightshade. How did you get it to run away?” I asked. She held up something that looked almost like a mix between a root and an artery. It oozed pitch black sludge. Her hand was covered in the same sludge. “I was trying to grab its spine, but I got this. I don’t know what it is, but I know it isn’t what I was aiming for,” she replied. “No, you got exactly what you were aiming for. You got something from the creature, a weak point. This will help us to find it again. Our allies can do far more with this than we can,” I said with a grin. “You are amazing, my love.” Sybil smiled and leaned her head against my chest. I let her. She was never a fighter, not in her human life, not now, even with all the training. This was the first fight she had ever been involved in and I was grateful for her participation. Once she had enough comfort, we went to the end of the alley and I picked up the human. He was alive, if fairly low on blood. This was the first person to survive the creature. I also had a description I could share with everyone else. Every little bit would help the cause. We made our way quickly to the Nightshade Manor. This would definitely make Master Nightshade happier. I knew he was worrying about Echo, and how this could all affect the supernatural community. Giving him something to go on would relieve some of his stress. When we reached the manor, I went to the speaker box by the main gate and hit the button. It wasn’t long before I heard the clicking of the speaker. “Who’s there?” Master Nightshade asked. It was so late at night that he was the only one in the house awake. That was good. I didn’t want to worry Echo. If she knew I was in a fight and almost lost, she would worry too much. “It’s Dennis and Sybil Lyons. We saved a victim the creature was feeding on tonight,” I told him. There was a chime and the gates opened. I knew he would let us in with that information. “Come straight to the house,” he ordered. As we arrived at the house, we were greeted by Master Nightshade himself. He took one look at the human in my arms and nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face.“I’m glad you two made it back in one piece. And with a survivor, no less. Come in. We can put him in my office for now.... What is that?” “Part of the creature and some of its blood,” Sybil answered. “This was in its back running along its spine.” His eyes widened, as did his smile. Sybil had pleased the Master of the territory. This could only be good for us. “Wait right here,” he said and went into the house. A few moments later, he returned with a gallon sized zipper bag. He opened it and held it for Sybil while she put the root into the bag. It wasn’t stiff, so it was easy to manage. “Go clean up in the restroom by the dining room. We’ll wait for you before we start. I would like to hear all about how you managed this feat,” Master Nightshade said with a smile. “Thank you, Master Nightshade,” Sybil replied and went past him, into the house. “Follow me.” I nodded and trailed behind him to his office. When we entered, he directed me to the couch. I carefully laid my burden down on it. He was still unconscious. “He seems fairly weak, but it looks like he hasn’t lost too much blood to survive. He should recover. We can take care of him here. Once he is recovered, we will see how we can help him before he leaves.” “You would have a strange human in your home?” I asked. “It is a home full of supernaturals and guarded by more supernaturals. I’ll have Lisa and her mate move into the main house while he’s here. They will be in charge of taking care of the human,” Master Nightshade replied. I realized I questioned him and a quick flash of panic struck me. It wasn’t my place to question the Master of the territory in his own home. I bowed deeply. “My apologies, Master Nightshade,” I said, keeping my eyes on the floor. He sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that you are exempt from things like that, Dennis? Echo considers you family therefore, you are my family, too. Family can question family and act in a more lax manner. I don’t see you as I see other vampires. You’re different. Sybil is different. You are my friends. Please stand up and look at me.” I lifted my head and met his gaze. He wore a small smile on his lips, assuring me that everything was all right. It was hard to overcome the habits formed from years of training. My sire would’ve had the head of any vampire in his territory who dared to question him. Sybil entered the room and came to stand next to me. She slipped her hand in mine and squeezed it gently. Master Nightshade guided us over to his desk and we sat in the chairs in front of it. “Now, tell me everything. How did you manage to save this human? And what did you find out about the creature?”Doing as he said, I recounted the events of the evening. I told him the cross streets where Sybil first caught the scent of the creature, where it led us, and about the fight. Master Nightshade listened intently, asking questions here and there to clarify certain points. When I finished, he sat back and stroked his chin thoughtfully.“And you have no doubt that this isn’t a vampire who was turned from some other being? It didn’t give off any signs of being a vampire?” Master Nightshade asked. “There was something familiar about it, but it didn’t have the aura or scent of a vampire. There is an underlying scent that we all have. But....” “But, what?” I didn’t know quite how to phrase it. I searched for the words that would make what was in my head make sense. “When it was squeezing me I was rather close to its face and I could feel its body. It... squished and writhed in a nauseating way, but the way it squeezed me was as if the muscles were fully intact. The face was twisted and gruesome, but also somewhat human. The chin and mouth were normal, but the rest of the head looked as if it had been squeezed, stretched, and twisted. “I jumped onto its back in the alley and could feel a hunch that was firm. In fact, it was the firmest part of the creature’s body. Almost like something attached to it. I never hit the hunch, but Sybil would have grabbed right about where it was....” We looked over at my wife. Her eyes slid from side to side as she worked on remembering. I would understand if it all happened too quickly. “It was wearing a loose cloak. When it turned during the fight, the cloak didn’t fall back into place. It wasn’t wearing clothes under the cloak, though. I had the idea to pull the thing’s spine out. It was right there. I had to save my husband,” Sybil looked at me and held out her hand. I took it and squeezed it gently. “So you went for the spine but ended up getting the root. And that was when the creature screamed and fled?” he asked. “It was,” I confirmed. “None of my attacks before seemed to harm it, but pulling that root out hurt it.” Master Nightshade nodded, looking thoughtful. We waited for his assessment. “I’ll get the root to everyone so they can have their people look into it,” Master Nightshade said, pulling out a piece of paper and writing on it. “This is the address of a vampire artist who is in town. I want you to go to her home immediately and give a full description of the creature. I want to see it for myself before the sun rises.” Taking the paper from him, I stood and bowed slightly. I helped Sybil up from her seat. She looked over at the human on the couch and back to Master Nightshade. “Will everything be okay with him?” she asked. “We will take care of him. Go on. Be careful out there. It’s still out there and now it’s mad,” he warned. “We’ll do our best,” I replied. After leaving his office, I led Sybil back out of the house. Once we were out, I wrapped her arms around my neck and my arms around her waist. She smiled up at me and we flew off the porch, headed into the night in search of the address on the paper. As we flew through the starry night sky, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease settle in my gut. The creature we had encountered was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Its twisted and grotesque appearance left me feeling disturbed and deeply unsettled.It was clear that this was no ordinary creature, and we had to find out more about it before it caused any more harm. The progress we made was marred by the fact that it was out there still. I watched the darkened scenery pass under me as my wife snuggled in my arms. It was out there somewhere. With luck, it wouldn’t strike again for a while.