acing after katrina, her eyes ablaze with fury.

everything had happened so fast that caleb barely registered her departure, staring instead at the three wooden arrows stuck in the ground. he quickly rose to his feet to move next to a large tree trunk for partial cover and strained to hear anything beyond the sound of the wind rustling the trees and his heartbeat pounding in his ears. the sun had set completely, and darkness enveloped the backyard except for the dim illumination provided by the ornate lamps surrounding the patio area.

he absently dusted the seat of his jeans to remove stray grass and dirt as he scanned the periphery of the backyard. then his eyes focused on a dark-skinned figure standing at the northern end of the property line near some pine trees. the figure appeared to be a dark-haired man wearing dark slacks and a turtleneck shirt. his hands were held out to his side, and he appeared to be unarmed.

"vampire," caleb muttered, to which the figure inclined his head in polite acknowledgement. the mere fact that the visitor could hear him from that distance was additional confirmation of his suspicion.

the figure made a brief beckoning gesture with his right hand, as if summoning caleb towards him, and said, "truce. i bring a message."

caleb hesitated, and then saw the figure hold up a folded piece of paper in his left hand. he looked to his left and saw no sign of katrina or paige, so he shrugged and walked towards the figure.

okay, call me crazy, but he seems peaceable enough. he said "truce," right?

katrina and paige raced through the woods onto the adjacent properties, searching frantically for the individual who had launched the arrows, but they found nothing.

"we should've heard or seen them by now. there's no way that a human could move that fast," katrina angrily muttered.

"one of us then," paige growled from thirty feet away, having easily heard her friend's comment.

"harrumph," katrina grunted and waved paige to continue off to the right while she canvassed the left.

caleb tensely stood before the vampire, though sporting the bravest expression that he could muster on short notice. he silently berated his body's anxious heartbeat for giving away his true demeanor to the stranger. however, a corner of the vampire's mouth upturned slightly, and his irises began to glow with a yellowish hue. the stranger's eyes scrutinized caleb in an instant.

"greetings, caleb taylor," he offered. "i regret that i don't have time for pleasantries, but i'm sure you understand."

"i'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," caleb countered. "we've never met."

the stranger sagely agreed. "yes, you are at a disadvantage at the moment. and yes, i also know that you're afraid."

caleb frowned, squaring his shoulders with bravado in response. however, the figure held out his empty palm in a peaceable gesture with a facial expression that spoke of a parent stilling the actions of an animated child.

"we're aware of your meeting with alton in london," the vampire plainly stated. "and we hope that your mate hasn't committed to a course of action, yet."

"your contacts in london? the ones in the tube tunnel system?" he pressed.

the vampire appeared perplexed. "tube system? no, our contact observed you while site-seeing in the city."

not from the tube system? caleb pondered with a blank expression. i didn't recall seeing any other vampires while site-seeing.

noting the young man's obvious confusion, the stranger hastily continued, "i represent parties of a moderate mindset, and we are not supportive of alton's agenda for the summer conference. we hope that your mate will consider remaining neutral in the matter and abstain from attendance."

"why not tell her yourself?" caleb queried, hoping to stall the stranger until either katrina or paige could return.

the ebony-skinned stranger held up the note in his left hand and extended it towards caleb. "katrina's reputation precedes her, and she might not receive us in a manner that we would prefer. we had to take a small risk to draw her away while we instead reached out to you," he explained. "the note explains everything. please give it to your mate."

"ever hear of trying email or a phone call?" caleb challenged.

the vampire shook his head. "you are most amusing, young man. but the new ways are not always mine. i still prefer the traditional methods of our kind. i leave you in peace. for now."

the stranger focused on something beyond caleb, causing him to peer back over his shoulder. by the time he looked back, the figure had already blurred into the trees north of him.

caleb's eyes scanned the surrounding area, finally settling on a lone figure standing less than fifty feet to his left. a woman in similar dark clothing to the stranger's and carrying a hunting bow looked at him with a sneer. by the glow of one of the estate's eaves lights, he confirmed that she had short auburn hair and pale skin. her eyes momentarily flashed hazel, and she briefly winked at him before turning to disappear in a blur of motion.

"damned if life doesn't keep getting stranger with these vampires," he muttered after letting out a deep breath. then he heard what sounded like two charging bulls coming from the forest of the neighboring property to the south.

after a few minutes, katrina stopped, realizing that there was no sign of the intruder, no scent, and no other obvious trail to follow. paige instantly appeared at her side.

"nothing. no trace at all," katrina growled.

paige cocked her head to one side and whispered, "wait. what if this weren't an attack? what if it were a diversion?"

katrina's face showed momentary surprise. "diversion from what?" then her mind instantly formed a picture of her mate, and she turned in a fury to speed back to their property.

paige became a mirrored blur at her heels.

when they broke from the tree line, they instantly spied caleb standing with his back turned to them at the north end of the yard.

relief poured through katrina as she determined that her mate appeared unharmed. she stopped just short of him, reverting to a human-like speed. she walked up behind her mate and wrapped her arms around his upper shoulders and across his chest while resting her chin on the top of his left shoulder.

paige stopped beside him, curiously looking up at his face.

"we lost them," katrina softly lamented. "not sure who they were, but they're gone now."

"yep," caleb said. "they just left. the female vampire was the one with the bow."

katrina's heart froze and her eyes widened as she realized how easily she could have just returned to find her lover's corpse. a sharp intake of breath from paige marked the short vampire's response, while her eyes reflected unsettled surprise at caleb's revelation.

caleb felt katrina's grip tighten around him to a nearly uncomfortable level.

"i'm sorry, my love. you could've been killed. we were foolish to leave you alone and unprotected."

"who knew, kat? in the end, they only wanted to pass along a message," he reassured her, though he still felt somewhat anxious. "besides, you had no way of knowing."

"what message?" katrina growled.

he recited what the stranger had said and tried to hold up the note in his right hand, but katrina's continued embrace trapped his arms in too vise-like a manner for him to move.

instead, paige glanced down and retrieved the message from his hand. "crushin' our boy, red," she casually observed as she unfolded the note.

katrina's grip loosened considerably, and she kissed him on the cheek in silent apology. he appreciated their closeness despite the serious circumstances and relaxed in her arms.

"it's in latin," paige offered, handing the note to katrina. "i never quite mastered latin."

katrina released caleb and quickly read the note. despite the darkness, her vampire vision had no problem discerning the text.

paige watched her face for a reaction to the contents, and then absently sniffed the air. "i think your stinky dead meat is burning, kiddo."

"crap!" caleb cursed as he raced over to the patio grill. he grabbed the metal tongs and flung the grill cover open, only to be met by a billowing cloud of smoke.

katrina's eyes flickered to him in a moment of distraction then concentrated on the note again as she wandered in his direction. paige darted across the yard to retrieve the arrows and the frisbee then returned to walk beside katrina. she observed caleb's ministrations with mild amusement as he hastily pulled the meat off the grill and transferred it to a platter.

a few minutes later, everyone returned inside the house, and caleb checked on french fries baking in the oven. the vampires sat on barstools at the kitchen island counter while caleb removed additional side dishes from the refrigerator to place them on the countertop. then he went into the small downstairs basement to retrieve some blood for katrina and paige. as he heated it in the microwave for them, katrina stared at paige with a dark expression.

"the note indicates that a group of moderates of our kind prefer the traditional manner in which vampire matters have been handled to this point. they don't favor any form of union or organization. and since i'm well respected in the vampire community right now, they would prefer that i not allow my status to be misappropriated as a figurehead in alton's latest venture this summer."

caleb placed a plate, flatware, and a glass of iced water on the counter between katrina and paige. he retrieved the two heated glasses of blood and placed one before each of the women.

"thanks, tiger," paige said before returning her attention to katrina. "so, exactly what do you intend to do?"

caleb removed the fries from the oven and piled some on his plate. he filled the rest of his plate with half-burned, grilled brisket and slathered it with barbeque sauce. then he sat on the remaining barstool between the two vampires.

katrina wryly smirked at the heaping portion of food on her mate's plate then looked at paige. "i'm not sure. but i'm not ready to declare either way for now. i think that i'll keep an open mind."

"alton's counting on you," paige warned.

katrina frowned. "that may be. but then, so is caleb. and his best interests come first."

caleb stopped eating, and he peered at katrina's emerald eyes with a wary expression. her gaze appeared steely and somewhat distant, and he recalled seeing that look once before. "oh, no, you don't," he sternly warned as his heart rate rapidly increased. "you've got that 'i'm going to lock him up safely in the house' look again, and that's sure as hell not going to happen."

katrina arched an eyebrow at her mate and shook her head with a sigh. he's never going to let me live that down, is he?

she recalled when she had gained his permission to try and save him from chimalma and secured him in the estate under paige's watchful eye until she and alton could hunt down their enemy. it had nearly driven him crazy to be locked up in the house for days on end. still, he did give his permission to let me protect him.

paige snickered and stole a crispy french fry from caleb's plate. he noticed her and curiously surveyed her as she crunched on it.

"it's okay, my love," katrina assured him. "i promise not to overreact."

caleb accepted that and returned to eating.

"why don't you tell me about the woman with the bow again," katrina prompted.

he shrugged. "beautiful woman with short, auburn hair."

however, he became distracted as paige snatched a longer fry, dipped it into her glass of blood, and then ate it. he groaned. "eww, gross."

"hush," paige muttered and promptly procured another of his fries.

"ahem," katrina cleared her throat, used her hand to grasp his chin, and gently rotated his face towards her to recapture his attention.

"sorry," he sheepishly offered as he stared into her eyes.

she adopted a forgiving expression, briefly kissed him, and encouraged, "you were saying?"

"she winked at me before she disappeared," he recalled, to which katrina adopted a less-than-amused visage as she released his chin.

"careful, kiddo," paige mock-warned. "she might have her eye on you for more than just target practice."

katrina flashed her friend a dirty look, but paige shrugged and innocently replied, "hey, i'm just sayin'."

"but i still wonder about the male vampire," caleb said. "he seemed older somehow, like alton does at times, although he could pass easily for his thirties or so. and his yellow eyes were unique."

something that he said struck a nerve in katrina, and her attention bored into her mate with sudden intensity. "yellow eyes?"

"yeah, they were ominous-looking," he replied. "kind of eerie, actually."

katrina pursed her lips as paige watched with sudden interest.

"know that one, red?" she asked.

"i think so," katrina replied. "he sounds just like a vampire i encountered while traveling through northern africa back in the early 1900s. if he's who i'm recalling, then he's an ancient one. i think his name was hakizimana."

caleb and paige both looked at katrina.

"it means 'god saves,'" katrina explained.

"yeah, well, i think he said his name was ted," he said.

katrina stared at him as if he had just turned into a frog before her eyes, while paige exclaimed, "ted? he said his name was ted?"

he chuckled while holding up one hand, admitting, "sorry, i made that up. i just wanted to see your faces. it was priceless."

katrina rolled her eyes and shook her head. paige snickered while mussing caleb's hair with one hand. "good one, tiger."

then she stole another of caleb's french fries.

he smiled at paige's compliment. "he actually never told me his name. you know, in the end, neither of them seemed overtly hostile. still, i was ready to fight for my life, if necessary."

"you didn't challenge him, did you?" katrina asked.

caleb shrugged. "not really. i was just resigned to stand up to them."

paige stopped chewing a fry, and her pale blue eyes narrowed. she shot at glance to katrina with a look of concern.

not a good approach, kiddo, she recognized.

"on that topic," katrina sternly began, "the next time something like that happens, you don't approach them. you run, either to me or paige, as fast as you can. understood?"

he clenched his jaw, not wanting to just turn and run every time a vampire showed up on his turf. he thought that he made a fairly level-headed decision earlier that evening, and it had turned out to be correct.

"so, i should just stand there and get eaten?" he snapped.

katrina took a deep breath. "no, but you're not equipped to confront a vampire, particularly multiple vampires. promise me you won't do anything careless like that again."

"fine," he replied in a tight voice while stabbing two fries with his fork.

she had misgivings about his sincerity, but let the topic drop. it's only going to antagonize him further by harping on the subject, she resolved. but she worried about his taking too many chances around vampires. he was very fragile as a human, and his life could be snuffed out in a moment. that was something that she couldn't endure.

he slowly returned to eating, and the three of them silently sat through the rest of the meal. katrina and paige somberly observed him as they drank their glasses of blood. even paige's previously playful mood of stealing fries had abated. when he finished, he cleaned up and then rinsed the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.

"i'm going to confer with alton and see what he thinks," katrina finally offered. she popped a kiss on caleb's cheek then retreated down the hallway with the note in hand.

he activated the dishwasher then leaned against the counter watching paige. "thanks for covering me in the yard this evening."

she darted from her seat to embrace him warmly. "no problem, kiddo. babysitter's always on duty."

like i could do anything less for him. he's such an important part of my life now.

he fondly recalled her self-appointed nickname when he had first met her last fall.

geez, my friends would never let me live it down over that "babysitter" business, if they ever heard about it. still, he knew that in her own quirky way she meant well. paige is one of the best friends that katrina or i could ever have.