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“You didn’t know about the bounty.” It would seem that Cerasus knew little more than she had before facing the hunters. Something about his lack of knowledge on the matter made Izzy feel slightly better. At least she was not the only one in the dark, metaphorically speaking. And at least it was not normal for a bounty to be out on vampires. Just, apparently, Cerasus. She resisted the urge to ask what he had done to get a bounty put on him, but only just.
When Cerasus turned to her with his answer to her final question, Izzy’s eyes narrowed. “Because it’s totally normal to be capable of escaping with the state you were in compared to the power of the hunters,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as his gaze softened slightly.
“What time difference?” She shook her head and placed her fingers to her temples. “Know what? Not important right now.” She moved both hands in a dismissive gesture, more to try getting the question out of her mind than anything else. If things were to get any better, she needed to put her head in the game, if for no other reason than so she would not be beheaded. Or de-limbed. Whichever came first, if not both. “We need to get your missing parts back... Man, I already miss conversations that didn’t involve that sentence.”
Izzy exhaled slowly and put her hair up into her usual half-ponytail as well as she could without a mirror or hairbrush, hoping having it out of her face would help her think.
“We need a plan,” she continued thoughtfully, twirling a piece of her hair that was too short to reach the ponytail. “If I’m the only one in any shape to face them between the two of us, we’re in trouble. I don’t know how much Mr. Riley is willing to... help us help ourselves,” she glanced to him, hoping she had gotten one of his favorite phrases correct, “but either way, meeting them on their turf was a fiasco. We need to set a trap for them, and get them to come to us without them knowing it. They said they’ve been trying to find your hiding place for a while. Where were you staying before here? I don’t know how they sniff vampires out, but if you’re smell, aura, or whatever they can track is still there, maybe we can use that to our advantage. Unless we want to lure them here.” She glanced around the room, then to the door leading to the shadowy hall beyond. “There’re three of them, and two of us. This place is pretty big. If we separated, unless they wanted to risk one of us escaping, they’d have to split up to catch us, right?"

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Izzy nodded her agreement at not counting on Riley, her shoulders sinking slightly at his wordless response. She had hoped that, since he had accompanied her back to the school, he would at least offer some form of aid, but that was dashed with a couple noncommittal laughs.
“At least I gave it a shot,” Izzy muttered, disheartened, as Cerasus hopped onto a desk. She followed his lead, leaning on another desk and stretching her legs out in front of her. It scooted a couple inches against the tiles of the floor at her added weight, then stopped. She stared at her shoes, trying to think of something else, then raised her head to look to Cerasus when he spoke again. Her stomach did a flip, and she inhaled sharply at the thought of being tracked, whether they wanted it or not, before her attention turned to Riley.
Yet again, he had helped them. She glanced to Cerasus, trying to gauge exactly what he thought about the unusual man, but his own glance told her he was just as suspicious of him as she was. Him showing up when he did to save the day more than once was far too much of a coincidence to settle right with Izzy. He had to be here for something more than just to save a damsel and man-child in distress.
“Why are--” she started asking, but cut herself off before she could finish with “you helping us.” So far, any questions to him had been answered in an irritatingly roundabout way. She doubted this time would be any different, and suspected she already knew the answer that would follow.
“Thanks for that,” she said instead, caution in her voice. Perhaps if she got him talking, either she or Cerasus could catch him in a Freudian slip. “Since we’re,” she nodded toward Cerasus, even though Riley could not see her, “out of ideas here, what would you suggest we do in this case?”

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Izzy scowled as Riley basically stated only what had already been said, with his ‘You’re only helping yourselves’ mantra tacked onto the end. “Sure. But the issue is of how I get them alone when they work as a unit.”
Ceresus’ outburst made Izzy jump, and the desk behind her scooted further back, knocking her off balance. She caught herself and straightened, glad she was not the object of his ire. She stood there, glancing between the two as Cerasus asked the question that had been on her mind as well.
Though Riley had seemed quite calm since she first met him, she kept an eye on him just in case. After all, she had seen how easily he had stopped those hunters, and though she doubted she could do anything, at least she could try to intervene if things escalated. But his composure never broke.
Izzy cocked her head slightly in mild amusement at how childish Cerasus looked in his anger, which, if not for the rage in his eyes, made it almost impossible to take him seriously.
Finally, they got an actual, fairly straight answer from Riley.
‘There’ and ‘here?’ “You mean between humans and the supernatural.”It felt odd on her tongue to say, to refer to humanity and not include herself. Izzy's eyes rested on Riley as he continued speaking.
She glanced to Cerasus at Riley’s comment to her. “Not cowardice exactly,” she said slowly, “just the whole safety and strength in numbers aspect.” All the same, thus far, she had not thought if it quite like that. She had thought Cerasus’ was simply a proud, boastful soul. She had not stopped to consider exactly how much of his pride came from his true abilities. To her, his name meant nothing, but until three days ago, vampires were only stories made up to frighten kids and entertain teenagers. For all she knew, he really could be at the top of the supernatural food chain. If she helped him, what would she be unleashing?
Despite Cerasus being only a couple feet away, Izzy had to know. “And what,” she began, trying to make the question sound as innocent as she could without arousing too much suspicion, “exactly, is he capable of?”

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Izzy’s gaze followed Cerasus, her expression quizzical at his peculiar reaction to her question. After his superciliousness regarding his bloodline, he was sulking about her asking about his abilities.
She watched Riley replace his unlit cigarette in his mouth for the umpteenth time that night, listening intently to his explanation. She breathed a sigh of relief that he did not care to kill aberrations, as he so called them. Though she now knew he was a sort of peacekeeper, that did little to explain how he did what he did, but it was far better than “a mystery.”
“I’ll be sure to add ‘negotiator’ alongside a countertenor in a women’s choir.”
Izzy glanced to Cerasus when Riley gestured to him. She nodded at his question with a soft, “Yeah.”
She looked to Cerasus when he interrupted, him calling Riley “boy” making her pause. Then, she remembered that, in comparison to the vampire, Riley very could well be little more than a boy.
Izzy snorted at Cerasus considering the obstacle the hunters created a “simple matter.” “Says the guy who had his arms and legs torn off and was left for dead,” she muttered under her breath.
“To put it lightly,” she answered Riley.
But you’re not human, are you? a small, harsh voiced asked in the back of her mind. She looked to the floor with a somber, yet sour expression. Which brought her back to the suicidal task at hand. Knowing that Cerasus’ reputation was apparently based around what he could do to his own, not humankind, it was just a matter of accomplishing the mission so she could leave the outrageous absurdity of this world behind. Even though she had the nagging suspicion he had only told her he could help her so she would do his bidding, it was still her best chance.
“So, how am I supposed to separate them?” She looked up, glancing between the two, then her gaze settled on Riley. “Unless you know of a better way to locate his,” she gestured to Cerasus, “stolen parts than trying to get the hunters to tell me. Which would only be another problem,” she added with a sigh.

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“I don’t know what you have against that title,” Izzy snapped at Cerasus, incapable of holding her own tongue when his newest chiding rubbed her the wrong way, “but I asked him a question, and an answer kind of involves speaking. So get off your high horse and go mope somewhere else if it bothers you that much.”
Izzy turned to Riley when she heard him answering her, doing her best to ignore any reaction Cerasus had. Her face lit up when he offered to step in. Whether he was a reliable source or not, she could use whatever help she could get.
“Really? That would be great. For the record,” she added with a light snort, “it wouldn’t be being a busybody. I’m the one asking you, not Mr. Underwear-In-A-Knot.” She hesitated. In many settings she had seen on television or read about involving the supernatural, help came at a price, and people in general almost always wanted something in return. Mix the two, and you had a perfect storm. Just to be safe, she asked, “But, is there something you would want in return for your assistance?”

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“I’ll take any help at this point,” Izzy said exasperatedly.
She gawked at him when he named his price. “Fifteen...” Her mouth hung open slightly. She had a grand twenty-dollars to her name at the moment, and that was in her wallet back home in her dresser. But her options were slim. Cerasus was of no help in his current state, so she could either go it alone and, in all likelihood, lose her life, or agree to his terms and lose a lot less.
She cleared her throat before giving her answer. “O-okay.” She ran her fingers through the front part of her hair. “But I have no idea when I’ll have that, so you know.” She took a slow breath. “Where do you suggest we start, then?”

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“That’s why I’ll be there.” Izzy looked to Cerasus, wondering herself how Riley planned to negotiate with those three. "Monsters" was certainly a good fit for them. “Or at least somewhere nearby. You heard him. He doesn’t deal in causes or results. That part’s up to us.” She glanced to Riley almost for confirmation of the statement.
Her shoulders slumped when he said that he did not have much of a plan, but at least now she hoped his head would be in it. Three was better than two. Her brow rose at the thought of him simply asking the hunters for what he wanted.
“The game?” she said with Cerasus, only with a wary tone. “What game is that?”
Her eyes narrowed at how easy he made the task of separating the three sound, but she nodded her agreement all the same, not wanting to risk losing his aid. She exhaled when he said it would take a risk on their parts, as if it had not done so already. She opened her mouth to say she had expected nothing less with the way the night had gone so far, but it snapped closed and formed into a snarl when Cerasus did it for her. His action and being called his servant made a rage seethe in her stomach.
“Excuse me?” she hissed through clenched teeth, but Riley continued the conversation with his reply to Cerasus. It took a couple sentences before she turned her glare from him to look to Riley as he spoke.
“Good,” she growled. “Then what’re we waiting for?” She started toward the exit, eager to put more distance between her and Cerasus than that which the middle of the room to the corner provided. “We have hunters to go track.”

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Izzy turned to face Riley, suppressing a groan at having to wait. She had already forgotten that most people would be in bed right now. Before either she or Cerasus could agree or argue against him, a light snoring rose from his now slumbering body.
Izzy stared enviously at him for a moment for his ability to fall asleep so fast, then turned to leave once more. But, again, her departure was interrupted. Despite Cerasus' almost cordial tone, her hands balled into fists at being called, “my servant.”
She spun around toward him, fury twisting her face. “My name is Izzy, and I am not--” Her hiss cut short, and she sucked in a breath, her eyes wide as she realized her slip. She cast a worried glance to Riley, who’s snoring still echoed in the room, hoping he was really asleep.
She looked to the floor near her feet as Cerasus continued speaking to her, the fear of what her mistake may cost her all but extinguishing her enmity toward being called his servant.
“Trust me. It’s a lot,” was all she muttered at his comment about not knowing how great the amount Riley had requested.
Izzy watched Cerasus leave the room Riley had chosen as the perfect sleeping place, then followed his lead slowly out into the halls. She paused as she passed an old restroom, the signs beside either of the doors no more than a ghostly imprint of what they had once been. Either the school district decided to keep them, or someone had really wanted a restroom sign.
Realizing that she had not so much as looked at her reflection in a window since waking up in this abandoned, decrepit place, she entered the restroom that looked like it had once been labeled for girls. Though the long mirror at one side of the room was covered with grime, riddled with cracks, and had something green that Izzy preferred to not dwell on growing on it in places, they still reflected the stalls opposite them.
She hesitated a moment before entering the view of the mirror. Did she even have a reflection now?
Only one way to find out. Bracing herself for what she would--or would not--see reflected back at her, Izzy stepped slowly in front of the mirror. She released a breath she had not realized she held when she saw her own hazy, yellowed self moving in the mirror.
Despite the sorry state of the mirror, she could still tell that her attire made it look like she fallen into a ditch and been left there for a couple days. Though she still looked like herself, she had more of an athlete’s leanness to her, as if she had been training for a triathlon instead of laying on a hard school floor for three days. Noticing her irises looked more red than green, she stepped closer to the mirror to be sure it was not an illusion of the aged glass. While their color change was not entirely a surprise, she had expected them to at least be gold, like Cerasus’. She took the opportunity to bare the four fangs she had felt in her mouth and ran her tongue carefully over them.
Three days ago, she had laughed at the notion of vampires. Now, she was staring at herself as one. She leaned her weight on the counter and looked into the discolored sink as if it might hold a simple answer to all her problems, from Cerasus to having to face the hunters. Alas, it offered her only a gentle moan in protest against her leaning on it.
Izzy closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, the stench of the bathroom making her want to gag. She exhaled then left, hurrying through the school to the freshness of the outdoors. Being outside always helped her think. She still had a few hours until sunup, and had no intention of wasting them inside.
She stayed fairly close to the school, not wanting to risk going past the barrier Riley had put up, and kept a close watch on both the time and the horizon.



For the next two days, Izzy avoided Cerasus as much as she could. If Riley had heard her name, he gave no indication. Her impatience with the wait for Riley to bring word their plan was to go into the next phase drove her to the brink of insanity. But, at least, she noticed she had not had the insatiable desire to drink blood, as she had fearfully antcipated. That was one thing she was pleased that media had gotten wrong.
The night following when the deal was struck, she dared to enter the town, ever wary of any sign of the hunters. She stayed long enough to sneak into her home and grab a couple changes of clothes and other necessities. She had also taken the precaution of hiding her usual camping gear. She was careful to not stay too long, and lingered in random places before and after her visit hoping it would throw off anyone trying to follow her and not give away her family’s location. She even stopped by the park where he had first met Cerasus, where she found her walking stick concealed in the tall weeds.
At long last, Riley brought the news that he had managed to negotiate with the hunters. She was ecstatic to finally be getting somewhere, to be capable of taking a step further. Until she heard who she would have to go against first.
If she was going to make it out of this, she needed to know more about fighting than what little she had gleaned from the spats she got in with her brothers and from being dragged to their tournaments. With the date for her match undecided and the need to improve her knowledge on combat techniques, she donned the spare camouflage hoodie she had grabbed the previous night, and headed to the school’s exit as the moon began its ascent, releasing her from the prison the sun locked her in.
She glanced over her shoulder as she went, vaguely wondering where Cerasus was. When she looked forward again, she found him standing in the doorway, and she came to a halt. Before she could ask him to move, he spoke.
“He’s a... what?” Izzy blinked at him. “But he hunts vampires, and with other vampire hunters!”

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So, Izzy thought at the number he gave, he’s at least that old. The nonchalance with which he threw it out there made it easy to believe he was older.
“I figured he wasn’t human,” she answered him, irritation in her voice at him apparently thinking otherwise. “‘Vampire’ just wasn’t at the top of my list of possibilities.” She glanced out to the quickly rising night behind Cerasus. A sense of comfort from the encroaching darkness settled over her, promising a solace she had first fully noticed nearly a day past. “I don’t suppose you’d have any tips for fighting him, then, would you, or is it something you’d rather I just figure out on my own?” she finished with a soft snort.

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“Yeah.” Izzy glanced down at herself. “And I’ve got about as general of an understanding as you can get.” Her head perked up slightly as Cerasus apparently recalled having something to add.
Izzy watched him go after yet again dropping an important piece of information on her as if he had just told a child that the grass was green. Cerasus’ doubt that Thurdge would try that was far from reassuring. He had also doubted that the three would still be working together. She made a mental note to make sure to watch out for that.
Yet, the confidence he seemed to have in her abilities despite having failed the first time made her wonder. After all, he did not gain a reputation for nothing, and he seemed quite positive that she possessed a similar prowess.
Still, walking into a fight with only the hope that she could win based on that would be idiotic. With the exit open, Izzy stepped out into the glorious night. She quickly checked that she still had the twenty dollars she had taken from her wallet and shoved in her jacket pocket just in case, then headed to the only bookstore in town that stayed open after dark, keeping to the shadows of the deserted side streets as much as possible.