“The technical term is [b]Nightborn[/b],”Liza corrected, her back to Alice as she stirred away at the boiling bird before her with a wooden spoon,”and as I said, Vampires, Werewolves, and supposedly Gargoyles. Witches and warlocks deal with our kind, though they are not Nightborn, but magicians, a whole other bunch.”

Liza stirred away as the small chicken, identifiable by smell, that simmered away in the bubbling water. She tossed in pinches of salt and light touches of pepper. While Alice scribbled away at something over at the small desk across the room, Liza tended to the cooking meal, and was nearly finished when Alice started on again about her dress and delivering a letter of owes to Dalton.
Liza took a sharp breath, turned away from the stove briskly, took the taped up letter from Alice, and ripped it in half slowly, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

She turned back to the stove and, as she did, said,”Well, I’m no black belt, but I can show you basic self defense yes. How to throw a punch, launch a kick, dodge an attack, the basics. Trust me, you’ll need to learn to defend yourself and how to fight now.”

Liza lifted the boiled chicken from the pot with a pair of tongs and lay it on a cutting board on the counter, seizing a large knife from within a drawer in front of her. She also reached over and grabbed hold of the packet of blood from nearby.