Part Seven:
 

Rating: PG-13 for profanity.
 

“Damn! I hate public pay phones. It ate my freakin’ quarter.” Arianna slammed the receiver down. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. It occurred to her that she and Gabriel must look pretty scary to the rest of the people in the airport, wearing all black, leather jackets, and evil expressions.

Well, let them be scared, damn it, she thought. Arianna was mad because she couldn’t contact Thierry, and when she got angry, her scowl alone could frighten small children. Gabriel was bored, and when he wasn’t concentrating, some of his old attitude came out. His gray eyes were narrowed; his muscles tense. His stance said two things: “Get the hell away from me,” and “Fuck with me and see how bad I mess you up.” Gabriel’s whole aura was one of danger, and Arianna was sure he wasn’t even aware he was radiating it.

That’s one of the things you pick up while living on the streets, Arianna thought wryly. She knew. She often found herself unintentionally slipping into a menacing demeanor. It was a hard habit to break.

She put a hand on his arm. His body relaxed, and he smiled at her.

“I guess I’ll find the cellular,” he said, shrugging off his green army knapsack and rummaging in it. They had decided it was easier to use a quarter at a pay phone than to find either of their cellular phones, which were buried in their backpacks.

Apparently they were wrong.

After about a minute, Gabriel produced the phone and flipped it open. Arianna took it and dialed Thierry’s private line. He picked up after the second ring.

“Yes?”

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Arianna. Are you at the airport?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you carrying any weapons?”

Arianna glanced around to see if anyone was listening. “Uh-huh, sure thing, boss.”

“There are people around?” Thierry caught on quick.

“Oh, yeah. Lots.”

“Do you have a gun?”

“Yeah, we both brought books to read on the flight.” Gabriel gave her a curious look. She waved him away.

“Good, you’re both carrying guns. What about knives?” Thierry asked.

“Yup,” Arianna confirmed.

“What kind?”

“Um...” She contemplated how to tell him what kind of knife was strapped to her calf.

“Oh,” Thierry said. “You can’t say. Wooden?”

“Yes.”

“And the bullets?”

“I got the cutest silver ring,” Arianna gushed.

Gabriel stared at her. She was talking about jewelry with the Lord of the Night World. Had she lost her mind?

“Good,” Thierry was saying over the cell phone. “So you’re taken care of. Find Ash, and then go to any security guard, show him some proof you’re from the Night World, tell them I sent you, and ask to be taken to Callan. He’s head of security. And it doesn’t matter who you ask; every guard in that airport is a member of Circle Daybreak.

“Really? Cool.”

“Be careful, and come back soon.”

“We will. Bye.” Arianna ended the call and handed the phone back to Gabriel.

First we find Ash, she sent.

What the hell were you two talking about? Gabriel demanded.

Weapons. Now hush. Using her sixth sense, Arianna searched the terminal for Ash’s vibrations. Focusing on them, she sent him a message asking where he was.

Ari! She heard Ash’s voice in her head, pleased to hear from her. I’m at McDonald’s. Are you close?

Arianna looked around. Yeah, she sent. We’re right above you. Wait for us. To Gabriel, she said, “Come on. We’re going to McDonald’s.”

They took the escalator down one level and went through the doorway next to those famous golden arches.

Arianna spied Ash lounging in a booth, lazily sipping a soda. He gave her a slow smile, then was on his feet in one swift motion. He walked towards them in a predator’s stride; muscles, bones, and joints more in sync than any human’s could ever be.

Arianna glanced at the boy with ash-blond hair coming toward her, and then at the dark-haired boy standing beside her. Gabriel, not being a hunter by nature, didn’t have the predatory grace that Ash did, but all his movements were controlled and precise - a necessity if you wanted to stay alive on the streets.

And both boys were built similarly. Ash was tall and lithe-muscled, as was Gabriel, and they both had long legs and a slim waist. And in terms of attitude, they also had a lot in common. Although either would be likely to have a natural fit if Arianna ever mentioned it.

Ash threw the cup in the garbage can. He had a blue bookbag slung over his shoulder, and he was wearing a red shirt that showed his muscles nicely, and baggy blue jeans. There was a black iris stitched on the bottom of his shirt; the symbol of lamia, or born, vampires.

“What now?” he asked.

Gabriel looked at Arianna. He didn’t know what they were supposed to do next, either.

“We find a security guard to take us to some guy named Callan,” she informed them.

“Any security guard?” Gabriel asked. When she nodded, he pointed to a man outside the store. “There’s one.”

They all left the restaurant and began walking towards the man in the uniform. There was a black dahlia emblem on his pocket flap. He was a witch.

“Unity,” Arianna said when they had approached him. She brushed her hair back her left hand that wore her new dahlia ring. The man noticed it and smiled.

“Merry meet,” he responded. He had brown hair, and the violet eyes that were characteristic to the witches from the highest family, the Harmans. “How can I help you?”

Arianna dropped her voice. “Thierry sent us. We need to see Callan, the head of airport security.”

The man nodded. “My name is Erlyn Harman. Follow me.”

“I knew it! You have the eyes,” Arianna told him.

Erlyn smiled. “My mother’s a Harman. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Arianna Blaze.”

“I’ve heard of you.” He glanced at her. “You’re pretty famous, you know.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I know.” Introducing the rest of the party, she said, “This is Ash Redfern and Gabriel Wolfe.”

“Greetings, cousin!” Erlyn shook Ash’s hand. The Redferns and Harmans were cousins, since Hunter Redfern had married Maeve Harman in the fourteen hundreds and had borne four daughters.

Then the guard turned to Gabriel and studied him. “Shapeshifter? Werewolf?” he inquired.

“Witch, I guess,” Gabriel answered.

“With a last name like ‘Wolfe’?”

“Gabe’s an extremely powerful psychic,” Arianna spoke up. “So we figure he’s a lost witch. And he has a stronger version of the witch fire; he shoots it from his mind.”

“Then you must be a witch,” Erlyn said. “Unity.”

“Unity,” Gabriel replied. He gave the man an irritated look behind his back, and Arianna could hear him thinking, Werewolf, my ass.

They came to a door with the words “Head of Security Dept.” printed on it in big letters. Underneath it, and smaller, was “Callan McStanton,” with a black iris next to it. Erlyn knocked on the door.

“Enter!” boomed a loud voice from the other side of the door. Erlyn opened it and stepped inside.

“Mr. McStanton?” Erlyn began. “Lord Thierry sent-”

“Yes!” the middle aged man at the desk said. “I’ve been waiting for them. Thank you, Erlyn.” The witch left, closing the door behind him.

“Well, now.” The Irishman behind a desk cluttered with papers surveyed the three teenagers in front of him, while they studied him. Callan McStanton was in his mid-thirties, with shiny brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a strong jaw and a slightly upturned nose.

“I got a call from Lord Thierry,” Callan said. “I’m to get you on a plane to Oregon as soon as possible without taking you through any detectors. I also have information to pass on. Lock the door, Redfern.” Ash locked the door and he stood up.

Callan opened the other door in the office and brought out a cloth bag. He pulled out of it a gun and a sheathed knife and handed them to Ash.

“Put these somewhere,” he told the blond boy. Ash put the knife in his pocket and the gun in his bag.

“Give me your guns,” the dark-haired man told Arianna and Gabriel. Arianna hesitated, then pulled the uzi out of her jacket. Gabriel did the same. Callan nodded, and took two uzi clips from the bag. He handed them each one and instructed them to strap it to their leg with the leather strips he offered.

“It’s okay,” Arianna told him, taking the clips but rejecting the straps. She put her foot on the desk and rolled up her pant leg. She loosened the straps attached to the knife sheath and slipped the extra clip in-between the leather and her calf. Gabriel was also adjusting his knife to fit the clip.

“Well, Thierry did tell me you were prepared!” Callan laughed heartily. “Those bullets are silver, but when aimed correctly, they’ll put any vampire out of commission as well. Now, sit.” He gestured to the chairs. “I have some things I need to tell you.”

The three teenagers each sat in a red plastic chair, placing their bags on the floor.

At his desk, Callan steepled his fingers and took a deep breath. He handed them a photograph. “When you arrive in Oregon, you will be met by this man. His name is Lund Gottridge. He’s a made vampire, and he will provide you with transportation, and ‘supplies.’"

Arianna studied the picture. It was of a young man, not much older than herself, with red-streaked black hair, lively blue-gray eyes, and a mischievous grin. Not your typical Circle Daybreak agent, she thought. She handed the picture to Gabriel, who gave a sharp intake of air.

“Problem?” Callan asked.

“I know him.” Gabriel was staring at the photo in his hands. “This is Lund Nailer, from San Diego. We helped each other out once. I hooked him up with a fix, and he got me a place to stay for two nights.” He looked up. “Made vampire, huh? I’m not surprised.” He put the picture back on the desk.

“Are you ready to board?” Callan put the photo back in the drawer. “Wait outside for a minute, and I’ll put you on myself. The flight attendants on this flight are mostly witches, so they won’t give us problems getting on. I’ll have my people cut out the parts on the security cameras, so there will be no record that you ever got on that plane. Is everything clear?”

Arianna nodded. The Irishman dismissed them all with a wave of his hand, and busied himself with some files.

Once outside, Arianna turned to the two boys. “Was it just me,” she said, “or did it feel like we were being briefed for a mission?”

“I think Thierry’s getting a little paranoid in his old age,” Ash commented.

He and Gabriel were both lounging against the wall, looking bored, relaxed, and extremely sexy. They were so alike it was funny. Arianna laughed, earning a strange look from both boys.

Looking back and forth between them, she thought, This is going to be a very interesting trip.