Once the initial shock of having to attend yet another council meeting had worn off, Amber considered trying to try and excuse herself from the gathering but after a brief discussion with Jessica, she decided that something like this could help take her mind off of the damage that she’d caused a few hours before. Walking back to their little fruit stand, Amber grabbed a few of her things and gave Marianne a fake smile. “Lead the way.”

  -Keep calm, keep calm.-

  Amber urged herself as the sensations of her unwanted chaotic nature reared its ugly head once again.

  -I’ll be gd when this crap goes away. Just five years right?-

  She’d told herself and began to walk behind Marianne and used a bit of her blood in an effort to keep herself in check.

  “Jessica has to come as well, Amber.” Marianne commented ftly and pointed to the plump ward. “Basically, anyone that is attached to you.” She looked up and then tapped her lip, “Yeah, I like that term. Attached to you.”

  Without warning, Amber had a sinking in her stomach and swore she heard a gate opening.

  -No, not now..-

  Freezing in pce, Amber closed her eyes and prepared for the fight she knew was coming from that bck spot within her.

  -Little huntress. My little beast, her words are like daggers in your mind. It’s so easy. Drink and get her vampire blood. Stronger and more filling, then you can turn the town upside down. Just like the campsite..what’s one more pce, as long as it has blood. Blood is everything right, little one? Take it.-

  Admittedly Amber told herself that she was always hungry, always thinking about blood on some level and had many times considered doing exactly what the vile voice taunting her wanted her to do. Street to street without any mercy and without any thought about the consequences, Amber knew the path she would take by heart and the blood she wanted to consume first. Pcated by the rampage she’d had earlier, Amber dismissed the swirling chaotic temptation and confined her darkness back into its empty space.

  -Not now, not these people and not tonight.-

  Amber reassured herself and rubbed her temples before the present smmed its way back to the forefront of her problems. “Sorry, I lost my train of thought. You know how it is.”

  “Mmhm.” Marianne chuckled. “Just as a little reminder, I said Jessica has to come with us. Unless there are others attached to you.”

  Noting that Marianne didn’t say a word about Lay, Amber nodded in agreement. “Very well, Jessica will come along.” She patted the vampire on her shoulder. “Would you mind if we meet you in … what are you …” Amber sighed. “Did you drive or come via carrier pigeon?”

  “Funny.” Marianne smirked and pointed to a very rge bck SUV with tinted windows. “I’ll meet you out there, I understand you need to make arrangements.” She headed for the wide-open double doors, “Make pns for more than one evening, Amber Lane.” Her blood-tinged brown eyes denoted a hint of malice. “See you in a bit.”

  Quickly dashing to Jessica’s side Amber pulled her and Lay close. “Barely whisper.” She tapped on Lay’s chest. “Say nothing. Just listen.” Amber watched as both dies nodded. “If there is a time for you to do exactly like I ask, it’s now.” She specifically held Lay by her chin. “Jessica, we have to attend a meeting. I’m going to leave the keys to Moonshadow Fields and Market with our backup. It might be a little while before we come back.” Amber kept her finger over Lay’s pink lips. “Okay?”

  Amazed at how Amber thought, Jessica nodded. “Yep. I’ll just text her and tell her where the keys are, dumpling.” Jessica gave Amber a kiss and started walking in the opposite direction of where Marianne had exited. Calling out Jessica added, “All set, Dumpling. Backup is on the way. Shouldn’t be too long.” A moment ter, Jessica had quietly handed Lay the keys to the farm and market. Finding a pce where a group of people were talking boisterously, Jessica cupped Lay’s ear in order to whisper and use the noise to cover what she wanted to say. “Lay…” She paused, “…Sorry we don’t have time to expin everything that is going on. I gave you an overview so that should tide you over until we come back. Until then, just like Amber commanded, keep everything working as normal. Once we leave, you take over. Say nothing, do nothing until that SUV leaves. Understand dear?”

  Certain that she should have been scared, Lay had a sense of calm and assurance pulse through her body that removed any concern. She opened her mouth and quickly snapped it shut and simply nodded. Grabbing Jessica’s phone, she opened the text message screen and typed a few lines with uncanny speed. ‘I understand. Jessica, thank you. I will keep everything secret and stay quiet. I trust Amber.’ She handed Jessica back the phone and winked, before giving her fellow ward a light kiss on the cheek.

  Discarding the message, Jessica took Lay’s hands into her own for a few seconds giving them a confident squeeze before leaving. Making her way through the market and then outside, Jessica came to a stop and had a sense of tragic despair wash over her when she spotted the open car door. “I’m going to regret this.” She offered to the wind and then climbed inside. A quick sm sealed the SUV and Jessica hurried over to curl into Amber’s protective arms and then offered a weak smile. “Backup is on the way; I am assured that it shouldn’t be long.”

  “Okay.” Amber kissed the top of Jess’s head and looked over at Marianne. “Whenever you are ready.” She waited a moment. “Can you tell me what this is about now that we are alone?”

  Slipping the vehicle into drive, Marianne held up her finger until they’d reached the open road and were heading out of the small township and into a rgely deserted two-ne road. “I can’t say too much, since I am under orders not to. However, I can tell you that it’s pretty serious. There were representatives from all over involved, including the world council members.” She went quiet for a few seconds, “As I understand it there are spare world members at all of these little meetings.”

  “What?” Amber questioned and was honestly perplexed as to why there were ‘many’ meetings. She looked over at Jessica, who had the exact same concerned look in her brown eyes. Rage closed over Amber’s mind and she watched her vision slowly turn red and begin assessing exactly what she’d need to do in order to kill Marianne. More than half of them had her pulling and slicing the vampire's head off before she could react. Noting that the dashboard appeared to be made of a dark wood to make the interior look more luxurious, she guessed that it would take longer to fashion a stake and dismissed the idea. Slowly locking into pce, Amber felt her cws extend and her fangs extend. No sooner had Amber sat up, than she felt a set of dainty hands csp her cws. Rimmed in red, Amber turned her teal eyes towards Jessica who simply made one little move to indicate ‘no.’ Somewhere in the back of Amber’s mind she felt that Jessica was right.

  -Almost huntress. Almost. You are so easy to tempt. Come on, huntress, feel her eyes on your cws. Watch the orbital liquid drain from them, swim in her blood. Blood is everything right, little huntress?-

  Quickly regaining control of her impulse thanks to Jessica’s reinforcement, Amber took a habitual breath and felt her blood slowly calm down. “So.” She spoke from her teeth, “Why are there so many meetings, Marianne?”

  Overcome with a sense of dread and fear, Marianne gnced into the rear mirror and spotted the hate glowing in Amber’s blue-green eyes. “I..um..” She pulled the vehicle over and held up her hands. “A-Amber.” She stumbled through her words. “I want to…Oh Christ….” She watched Amber’s eyes pulsing and closed her eyes to avoid the swirling pool of anger. “…I can’t tell you..don’t…don’t … “ Marianne began shaking. “Orders. I literally cannot tell you.” Her voice dropped to a little whine, “Please.”

  Content with the knowledge Marianne was deathly afraid was more than enough for Amber and she pointed to the road. “Let’s not keep them waiting, right?” She turned to Jessica who was smiling wide. “Everything will be fine, Jess.” Amber patted Jessica’s thigh and addressed Marianne again. “Any chance we can get something on the radio or even something from your pylist?”

  Slouching in the driver’s seat, Marianne began crying with relief and rubbed the blood from her tears hard enough to smear the makeup on her face. “S-sure.” She reached for a little controller and handed it to Amber the best she could while her hands shook uncontrolbly. “P-presets. Give me a little time to collect … Oh Jesus…Oh Jesus…”

  “Marianne, We're good.” Amber pressed a button and the radio fred to life. Adjusting the channels until she found a station pying ‘Up from the Bottom’ by Linkin Park, Amber then pointed to the road once again. “Rock soothes me. How long is this drive anyway?”

  Unwilling to tempt fate a second time, Marianne left her blood-streaked face alone and pulled back onto the small road. “It’s going to take at least a couple of hours. The others are set up in a hybrid corn and wheat field in the middle of an old farm.” She offered a smile from her tear-streaked face, “I want to say it was abandoned sometime roughly in the twenties..” She paused, “Nineteen twenties. So about a hundred years or so ago.” Using her ongoing speech to keep herself calm, Marianne prattled on. “It’s a very nice farm, to be completely honest. I love the smell of fresh wheat and natural corn.” She half-ughed, “The stuff we grow now smells …”

  “Mechanical and artificial.” Amber added easily. “Curious, did our fruit smell like that when you came in?” Amber winked at Jessica.

  Shaking her head while she watched the road slowly slip by, Marianne made sure to keep her comment as polite as possible. “I didn’t smell anything off, Amber. Not at all. I was honestly tempted to bring some back with us.”

  Changing the subject back to the upcoming event, Amber first squeezed Jessica’s hand and then asked, “So, can you tell me how many will be there? Just the basics.” Amber kissed Jessica’s hand then a little crease formed on her forehead. “It’s just helpful to know what I am walking into.”

  “Six.” Marianne offered. “That’s all I can tell you.”

  “Fair enough. Tell me how you came into the fold, unless that is off limits too.” Amber inquired and looked into the mirror and grinned when Marianne quickly looked away. “Last I saw you, it was three of you. Daniel, you and…I can’t recall the other girl’s name.” She shrugged, “Doesn’t matter. What made you want to become …”

  “A vampire?” Marianne let the word flow freely. “Daniel and I discussed it when this team of six visited the reconstruction site. Before I knew what was going on, Daniel had made a few agreements…” She sighed, “...that I cannot discuss.” Reflectively taking her foot off the accelerator, Marianne let the SUV coast until she realized what happened. “That night, Daniel turned me. She didn’t want to, but she told me the alternative was not promising.”

  “You were a ward?” Amber asked and gnced over at Jessica.

  “Yes.” Marianne paused, “I can’t say much more. I am only the messenger as part of the ‘deal’ that was made.” She threw up her hands with air quotes.

  Settling back into the seat, Amber grabbed her girlfriend and pulled her tightly to her hard frame. “I won’t make any deals, Jess. Don’t worry.” She looked into her lover’s soft and gentle brown eyes. “You and I, Jess. You and I.”