Luca

Yellowed grass, the blades like straw, reached Luca's knees and covered the field stretching before him as far as even his powerful vision could see. Today's snowfall had been the fine, powdery variety, and the white drifts at the base of the stems shifted with the breeze. Van huddled against his side, her lashes and nose visible above her scarf.

"You're sure this is where they said to meet?"

He tried not to sigh in exasperation. Three times she'd asked the same question. Temperatures were falling faster than the sun, and when the horizon's golden hue burned out to indigo, they would fall well below what was safe. For humans at least. Though, even with an increased tolerance because of his shifter blood, he would happily exchange his coat for fur.

"Yes. They were very precise. Longitude and latitude."

After Van recovered from her breakdown, she suggested looking at the file she'd retrieved to see what was so special about it, but Luca convinced her it would be better to call the number on the back of the card. They could figure out the file once they were safe. His jaw tightened. They were putting a lot of hope in a group of people they knew nothing about. It was possible they were trading one danger for another, but right now at least, he knew who posed the greater threat.

"But this is outside of Briarwood. If we get caught..."

"If we get caught, we're in trouble for bigger reasons than me taking a trip over the city lines. Tommy thinks whoever turned him in probably knows about our involvement too."

"Trixie."

It would be easy to agree with her. He had been the one who told her not to trust any Slayers, but something told him Van was wrong about the Slayer. Trixie had been at Riviere. If the Slayers knew about the supernatural hangout, they would have raided it by now.

Dust billowed across the field, and the evening light glinted off unlit headlights. Pointing, he told Van, "Car."

"Maybe we made a mistake. Maybe we should have run. Maybe we should have waited. The Asylum may know nothing about us working with Tommy. We jumped the gun. Oh god."

"Van, Van," he shook her gently and tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

What he found there made him want to cry. From day one, he had admired her strength and determination. When she found out about the supernatural world, she hadn't batted an eyelash, but finding out the truth about her father had crumbled her stone walls. Now, she was a girl made of glass, and the next wrong thing would shatter her.

"Do you want to go back? To your father? To that school? Even if your secret is safe, can you go back to that house knowing what you know?"

Her bottom lip quivered. "No."

"Do you trust me?"

The quivering ceased. "Yes."

The car was close enough for him to make out the number of people inside. "If things don't feel right, we run. Okay?"

She didn't have time to answer. Car doors opened and slammed, and three bundled figures crept toward them, raised hands holding sinister black metal. He growled. The woman who issued instructions to him earlier had not made him think their greeting would be so antagonistic.

"What's the code?" the person in front barked. It was difficult to tell beneath the layers, but he thought the speaker was a woman.

"Old man of the sea," he replied smoothly. A clever allusion to the sea god, Proteus, and a powerful indicator of where their allegiance lay. Luca thought, at the very least, these people were members of the supernatural community.

"You didn't mention Van would be here." The leader lowered her weapon and zeroed in on the girl at his side. "This will cause too much trouble."

Van bristled, then went motionless. Luca reached for her, afraid she'd finally snapped, but then she bolted toward the group. She was so fast he could barely follow her, and the two people in the back yelped in surprise when their leader's head snapped back as Van's fist made contact.

"You bitch," Van shouted, drawing her arm back for another strike.

"Stand down," the woman shouted at her comrades before barely dodging another blow.

Uncertain, Luca watched the women circle one another, strongly suspecting the woman was Trixie. Van moved with a nimble grace that spoke of years of training, but he suspected it was her Helsing blood giving her an edge, the same way it had the night of the accident. The other women's stance remained defensive, and he suspected neither one would welcome his interference.

Van managed two more hits- one to the stomach and another to the face. The last one sent her opponent to the ground, and she cupped her mouth before spitting blood into the snow. As if deciding she the fight was done, she launched herself at Van, pinning her against the ground.

"Stop, Van. Stop!"

"I sat in your living room, and you could have just told me then," Van sobbed and quit struggling.. "The truth. That's all I want from you people. Is Hailey in on it?"

Luca started. Hailey?

Honey blonde sprang free when the woman pulled back her hood. When she removed the lower face covering, the entire picture came together, and Luca was looking at Hailey twenty years in the future.

"Mrs. Francis," he croaked.

"Sorry, Luca," she said, rising and helping Van to her feet. Van shoved her away and stood on her own, drawing a smile from Nancy. "We had planned on revealing things slowly once we got you both back to base."

"Why all the subterfuge?" Van demanded.

"Van," Nancy sighed, "A secret society doesn't last very long if we tell everyone about it. I couldn't trust that you weren't buying into what your father was teaching you. I was hopeful it wasn't the case because of what Tommy told us, but we needed to be sure."

"No, you needed me to get that file, and you used the identity and help of this group as leverage."

"Come on. Let's get in the car. We'll talk about it somewhere that's not so exposed. The Slayers are on high alert, and Van, to answer your question about Hailey. No, she doesn't know. Her father and I didn't want to put the pressure of a double life on her. We hoped if we taught her to love everyone, it would eventually occur to her that the Slayers were wrong."

"Come on," Luca said, putting his arms around her shoulders and moving her to the car. He understood why she was upset, but Nancy was right. This place was outside of the Slayers normal areas of patrol, but that didn't mean they were safe.

When they climbed in the vehicle, Van propped her elbow on the door handle and stared out the window. Nancy alternated between watching her from the rearview mirror and twisting around in her seat to openly stare at the girl. Luca squeezed into the middle seat, wishing for more leg room but not trusting their new companions enough to not put himself between Van and them.

"I'm Scott," the man beside Luca said. Both of the other people had removed their hoods and face coverings once they were on the road.

Scott was a giant black man, and Luca wondered how much of his bulk was because of the coat he was wearing. From the way the seams strained every time he shifted in his seat, he guessed most of it was all muscle.

The third member of the party was driving, but she followed Scott's lead and introduced herself as she merged onto the highway. Her accent was a blend of her latina heritage and Boston, and whenever she turned her head, Luca glimpsed a silver ring in her eyebrow. Definitely not a Slayer, then.

"I'm Luciana, but you can call me Luce. Only my girlfriend calls me Luciana, and that's because she enjoys busting my balls."

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Luca, but I guess you already know that."

Van huffed but said nothing. Luce bounced in her seat like an excited puppy. "Man, I was so pumped when Nancy here asked me to tag along. We've wanted to get some shifters with the Delts for a long time, but-"

"Luce," Nancy warned.

"Shit, my bad."

Scott laughed, sending vibrations through Luca. "That's why we don't take Luce anywhere. She can't keep her mouth shut."

"Is she saying anything you're not going to tell us anyway?" Luca asked, tired of this dance around the truth. There was only one reason they wouldn't be truthful with them, and that was because they still weren't sure if Luca and Van would be part of the group.

"You'll get answers, Luca. We don't have the authorization to give them to you."

"Who does?" Van asked. "That's the first person we want to see."

Simultaneously, the three stiffened, and Nancy cleared her throat. When she looked into the back seat, her porcelain skin had somehow gone even more pale. "If you have the file, then I'm sure it can be arranged."

"Looks like we'll have to come to some arrangement then," Van replied, crossing her arms as she turned away from the window. Luca put his hand on her knee and squeezed, hoping she would take it as the warning he intended it to be.

"Van, please. We're all on the same side."

"No, Nancy. We're not. I'm on my side. I'm done being a part of other people's agendas, and I have something you want. I won't give it up for free."

"Luca. Tommy told us you were levelheaded. Can't you reason with her?"

Van's response, while worded less politely than he would have liked, mirrored his own feelings. He didn't want to hand over the flash drive without a few assurances. Even if he didn't agree with her, his answer to Nancy would have remained the same.

"I'm on her side."

"We're here," Luce announced, turning down a dirt road about ten miles outside of Briarwood. Beyond Thornton, even.

Luca had never been so far from home, and the tension inside the car had distracted him from paying attention to the world outside. They hadn't traveled far enough for the scenery to differ greatly from what he saw every day, but every tree and stone sent a thrill through him just because he had never seen it before. For the first time, he felt free.

"This is your headquarters?" Van didn't sound impressed.

"Sorry, we can't all have castles," Luce quipped. "And no. It's one of many spots we use. We alternate between different places so if they expose one, we're not out in the cold."

"Luce, dear god woman," Scott shouted. He dragged his fingers down his cheeks, rolling his eyes to the heavens until only the whites of his eyes were visible.

Van snickered and slid out of the car. Luca followed behind and took her hand in his while they waited for their escorts to stop bickering.

Wherever this place was, they had received several more inches of snow. Enough so that no blades of grass poked above the icy crust. A sprawling farmhouse stood about twenty yards in front of them. Mature trees surrounded the building, their gray branches naked save for a light dusting of snow. It would have been a peaceful place if not for the armed guards posted by the door and the corners of the house.

"You know," Luca whispered as they followed Nancy into the house. "This feels like old times?"

"What do you mean?"

"You, being all prickly and sour. Don't get me wrong. I like that you look at me all soft and sexy like now, but sometimes I miss your sharp edges. Good to know they're still there."

She snorted. "You're a strange one."

"Ah, I see you didn't deny that you look at me all soft and sexy like."

"My mother always told me that silence is a more truthful denial."

"Ouch," he said, grabbing his chest with one hand while tightening his grip on hers with the other. Now was not the time or place for this light banter, but he needed to hear it. Needed to know they were both okay.

"If you two are done flirting, you can wait in this room," Nancy said, opening a door to the left.

Van shifted her booted feet on the threadbare runner covering the dented wooden floors, but neither of them moved to go inside the dim room. Luca looked down the hallway, taking in the surroundings. Fading and peeling floral wallpaper dominated the upper half of the wall, while the bottom half was covered in dated, dark wood panelling. A musty odor clung to the house, making him wonder if the roof leaked. This was the hideout of a group struggling to get by, not one ready to take on a group like the Holy Asylum of Light.

"Come on. I promise I'm not going to lock you in there and leave you," Nancy said, rubbing her temples. "We all know both of you could get out if you wanted to."

"I don't even think I'd need a Blessing. I would just have to shake the walls until they fell down." Van pushed on the door frame to prove her point. "Fine, but I'm hung-"

"Van?" Luca shouted as her mouth fell open and she swayed.

"Walker."

Then she slumped forward, only his swift reflexes saving her from falling to the floor.

He pushed her hair out of her face and checked her pulse. Nancy was down the hall, shooing a little boy out of sight. Luca, convinced Van's breathing and pulse were steady, studied the child, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.

"Can you carry her?" Nancy asked, returning to their side after issuing a stern warning to the child when he poked his head back around the corner.

"Of course."

"She'll be okay. She just had a shock, but we can put her in bed in case she needs to sleep it off."

Luca cradled Van in his arms as they walked up the stairs. Every board groaned beneath his weight, and her head lolled slightly to the side as he shifted his grip to walk through a narrow doorway. Putting her on the bed Nancy led him to, he again checked her pulse before giving the Slayer his full attention.

"What the hell kind of shock would make her faint? Van isn't some fainting damsel."

"I don't think it's my place to tell you."

"Bullshit."

"I promise. When Van wakes up, we'll tell you everything. We've got a lot of explaining to do, and I just hope she listens."