CHAPTER 21:

JADEN'S POV:

We arrive at the vampire hunters' house at exactly eleven o'clock. They're all lined up in front of the house military style. Jeez, these humans take their vampire killing seriously, don't they. They are strapped with weapons and wearing combat clothing. Don't they know that with me there, weapons won't be needed.

When I first met Jonathan and Daniel, I got a feel for their age. They've been vampires for ten years, tops. They'll be easy for me to control. It's such a relief to not have to hide in the shadows while I protect her with my vamp powers. This should be fast and easy.

Catalina and I get out of the car. I slap my hands and rub them together, "Okay children. Just follow us and let's get this over with."

Noah laughs without humor, "I don't think you understand how important this is to Catalina."

I glare at Noah, "I understand perfectly well, but I think that the sooner we get this over with, the sooner she can get past it."

"Before you guys get into a pissing contest, can we please just go? The plan was to be at the warehouse, waiting, when Jonathan and Daniel show up," Catalina looks annoyed. I put my arm around her and smile smugly at Noah.

Rick and Zoey ride with Catalina and me in my car. Noah, Colin and Joseph ride together in Colin's SUV. Thirty minutes later, I park in front of the warehouse and direct Colin to a place in the back where he can park. We don't want Jonathan and Daniel to get suspicious and take off before we have a chance to properly greet them.

The warehouse is completely empty and perhaps a little dirty inside, but it will suit our purposes just fine. We have thirty minutes until they arrive. Since there are so many in Catalina's entourage, we figure that everyone, besides me, will hide in the office of the warehouse, including Catalina.

Once I have Jonathan and Daniel under control, then Catalina and the hunters will emerge and we'll get the party started.

While the others go into the office, I stop Catalina so that I can have a few private words with her. I pull her into my arms and can feel her body shaking. "It's going to be alright, angel. This is what you have been waiting for. After they're dead, it's over."

"There are others like them." Catalina says grimly.

"Yes, but we'll worry about them later, or you can retire from the killing business and I can take you somewhere far away from here." I don't know how she'll take my suggestion.

She leans her head back to look up at me, "I'll have to think about it."

"Whatever you want. Whatever will make you happiest is what I want too."

She goes up on her toes and kisses me on the cheek, "Thank you for being so wonderful."

I give her a mock surprised look, "And imagine, I don't even have to try."

She groans, "You must be the cockiest vampire in the world."

I rub my hips against hers, "You would know."

She pulls out of my arms and walks towards the office, "I'll just give you and your big ego some privacy. I'm sure you both have lots to talk about." I laugh, relieved that my attempt to lighten her mood worked.

Five minutes later, I hear a car pull up outside. I wander out of the large warehouse door to see Jonathan, Daniel and some vampire that I've never met before, getting out of a white van.

Unfortunately, this unknown vampire is old. Not as old as I am, but old enough that I can't control him. Oh well, guess I'll have to take him down the old fashioned way. I walk up to them and introduce myself to the new vamp, "Hello, I'm Jaden. I've already met Jonathan and Daniel, but who would you be?"

The new vamp puts out his hand and I shake it, "Hello Jaden, I'm Bryce. I work for your father. I'm here to make sure that you have everything you need." How considerate of him.

"Well, I need Jonathan and Daniel to both walk into the warehouse and wait just inside the doors." The two vampires I just mentioned do as I say since I have already put them under my influence.

Bryce looks confused. "What's going on?"

I smile at him, "Nothing to worry about. Now, if you'll just follow me?" He looks unsure, but he probably doesn't want to disobey the boss's son. So, being my father's son is good for something after all.

After we enter the warehouse, I turn on the lights and slide the large metal door shut behind me. Jonathan and Daniel are standing still, just like statues, not speaking. Bryce walks around them, "Did you do this to them?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Bryce looks at me suspiciously.

"Because I can." I answer vaguely.

"Why didn't you do it to me?" He looks genuinely curious.

"How old are you?" I ask him.

"Almost a hundred." He says proudly.

"Well, that's why I didn't do it. You're too old."

He looks amused, "A vampire can never be too old."

I smile at him, "True, but you're not old enough to have powers yet."

"Not yet, but I'm expecting them to start emerging soon."

I walk towards the office door, "That's too bad."

"What's too bad?" Bryce is back to sounding suspicious.

"That you won't get a chance to become a grown up vampire." I open the office door. Catalina and her friends quietly file out.

I see Bryce's eyes go wide at the sight of the human hunters and he makes a run for the door. I grab onto the door handle before he can open it. He runs across the other side of the warehouse, to the back doors, at one hundred year old vampire speed. Too bad for him, that I'm faster. I catch up to him and grab him from behind. I throw him across the warehouse and he hits the opposite wall, falling to the ground. Before he can get up, I am in front of him, picking him up by the throat.

Since I am squeezing his throat, he is unsuccessfully trying to speak. Probably begging for his immortal life. "This isn't personal, but I'm sure you've done something in the past to deserve it." I snap his neck with one hand, then pull a stake out of my jacket. I drive it through his heart. I drop his body just as it turns to fire and then ash.

Hmm, I'll have to hire a cleaning crew to come in and sweep the place. I turn around to see the shocked faces of the hunters. "What?"

Joseph is the first to speak, "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Is there a good side?" Noah says bitterly.

"Not for you," I say mockingly.

Then I notice the look on Catalina's face. She is standing in front of Jonathan and Daniel. She has the look of someone who has seen her worst nightmare come to life. I rush over to her and stand between her and the two vampires, blocking them from her line of sight.

"Catalina, you don't have to do this. I can finish it for you." I place my hands on her cheeks and rub them with my thumbs, in a soothing gesture.

She blinks slowly and comes out of her daze. Then she looks determined, "No, that's okay. This is my fight. I'll be the one to finish it."

"Okay, but I'll be right here if you need me." I step back and to the side of her.

"Jaden?" She asks, not looking at me, since her eyes are fixed straight ahead on the vampires.

"Yes?"

"Are they blacking out like I did?"

"No, only humans black out when I use mind control on them. Vampires are fully aware of everything happening around and to them." I explain to her.

"Please make it so that they can talk." Her voice sounds odd. I don't like it.

As soon as I release them from my control a little, enough for them to speak but not move, Jonathan sneers, "What the f*ck is going on here? Why are you consorting with these humans?" He says the last word like it's a filthy word.

I ignore him. Catalina speaks, "Do you know who I am?"

"Dinner?" Daniel says and they both start laughing.

"I suppose you don't remember me, but I remember you. I remember you two as cowards who enjoyed picking on a young girl." Catalina says in a cold voice.

"You'll have to be more specific than that. There have been so many." Jonathan is speaking to her like she is a child.

Catalina looks thoughtful, "Then I guess I'm doing this for more than just myself and my family."

Jonathan is clearly the angrier of the two vamps, "I'm going to rip your f*ckin throat out!"

Catalina ignores his comment and moves closer to them, "You may not remember me, because I was still just a girl the last time we saw each other, but see that guy there," she points at Noah, "well, he was the one who killed your buddy, Cyrus." Noah smiles at them and bows. Stupid cocky human.

A look of realization crosses both of the vampires' faces. Daniel's eyes dart from Noah, then back to Catalina, "Catalina?"

Catalina gives him an evil smile, "So you do remember me?"

Jonathan laughs, "I remember how your mother cried when I killed her son."

Catalina's cool facade falters for a moment, but she quickly regains it. She knees Jonathan in the balls and there is an edge to her voice when she says, "You're going to die painfully." She looks over at Daniel, "So are you." Unlike Jonathan, Daniel has the sense to look afraid.

Jonathan looks at me with disgust, "You're betraying your own kind."

I give him a condescending look, "You're nothing to me."

Catalina's friends have remained quiet throughout this exchange, but Colin asks, "Hey Cat, do you need any help?"

Catalina's eyes remain fixed on Jonathan's when she says, "No thanks. I got this." She reaches down into her boots and pulls out her knives. She stabs Jonathan in the gut with one, leaving the knife there, "One for you." She stabs Daniel in the gut, leaving that knife there also, "And one for you." Both of them grimace in pain, as their blood pours out of the wounds.

She pulls the gun out of the holster hidden by her jacket. She aims it at them, "Isn't immortality so inconvenient for you both right now? Don't you wish you were human? You'd die a lot faster."

"F*ck you," Jonathan grunts out.

Catalina raises her eyebrows at him, "Any more poetic last words?"

"Bitch!" Jonathan looks like he is going to be an ass to the end.

Catalina looks at Daniel, "What about you?"

"I'm sorry?" Daniel looks like he is feeling sorry for himself, not for what he's done.

Catalina narrows her eyes at him, "Yeah, now you're sorry. Guess what?"

"What?" Daniel ask weakly.

"Sorry's over," The gunshots ring out as Catalina puts a bullet in both Daniel's, then Jonathan's shoulders. They both scream in pain. More blood. They fall to their knees, but still can't move beyond that.

Catalina re-holsters the gun, then walks over to Rick. She points to the crossbow in his hand, "Can I borrow that?"

Rick looks at her warily, "Sure," then hands it to her. I think this bloodthirsty version of Catalina is scaring her friends. They all look like they are shocked to some degree.

Catalina walks back over to where Jonathan and Daniel are kneeling on the floor and I swear that there is almost a skip to her step. She aims the crossbow at Jonathan and fires. The thin stake hits him in the other shoulder. Catalina slaps her forehead, "Damn! I missed. Guess I'll just have to try again." She looks back at Noah and he tosses her another stake.

She stands in front of Daniel and has a fake look of concentration on her face, "Now, let's try this again." She hits Daniel's shoulder in the same spot with the new stake. Catalina shakes her head in mock amazement, "Wow, my aim is really off tonight. Maybe I should have eaten something healthier than pizza." She acknowledges my presence for the first time in awhile, "Hey Jaden, next time you order pizza, make sure they put some veggies on it."

Jonathan and Daniel are obviously both in a lot of pain and since the bullets, stakes and knives in them aren't being removed, they aren't healing quickly like vampires usually do. Jonathan manages to work through the pain enough to say, "Hey Daniel, remember how Catalina's dad screamed like a bitch when we broke both of his arms?"

Catalina clenches her fists and looks down at the ground. I can tell that she is barely controlling her anger. She turns around and walks to Zoey. She holds out her hand and Zoey hands her the sword that she's holding.

Catalina walks back over to stand in front of Jonathan. She places the sword against his neck, then pulls it back like a baseball bat, then brings it forward to place against his neck again. Jonathan finally looks scared. Catalina repeats the swinging sword gesture a few more times, slowly saying with a look of concentration on her face, "I want to hit just the right spot." She quickly brings the sword back behind her shoulder one last time and as she swings it forward, she yells, "Swing!" Jonathan's head flies off his body and rolls onto the floor. Blood sprays onto Catalina's face, but she just uses her sleeve to wipe it.

She walks over to stand in front of Daniel. Daniel is crying like a baby. She pats his cheek and says, "Oh, don't worry Danny boy. You won't be missing your friend for long. In less than a minute, you'll be joining him in hell. You two can be roomies." She moves back and brings the sword up. She says, "This is for my mother," then chops his head off. It goes rolling and the blood splatters onto Catalina again.

Both bodies are still in a kneeling position. Catalina kicks them both to the ground. They won't turn to ash until the heart is staked. Catalina turns around to her shocked friends, "Who wants to do the honors?"

I walk forward, "I'll take care of it." I reach down and pull the stake out of Daniel's body. I relocate it to the heart. I do the same to Jonathan's body. In seconds, they are both ash. The heads also burst into flames and turn to ash. Don't know why it works that way, but it does.

I hear someone having trouble breathing behind me. I turn around and see Catalina practically hyperventilating. I wrap my arms around her trembling body, "Catalina breathe. It's okay, it's over."

She takes a deep breathe and I look down at her face. Her eyes are wide in shock and she has tears running down her face. I look over her head and see her friends looking uncomfortable. Noah looks like he wants to rip her out of my arms.

I feel Catalina reach into my pocket and pull out my keys. She takes a step around me, "Jaden, please get a ride home from Colin. I need to be alone."

She starts walking fast to the warehouse doors. I don't think she should be alone right now. At the same time that I run after her, I say, "Catalina, sleep." I catch her in my arms as her already sleeping body goes limp.

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IT'S NOT OVER YET!

JUST BECAUSE CATALINA HAS FINALLY GOTTEN HER REVENGE, DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE STORY IS OVER!

LOTS MORE TO COME!

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