There was a knock on the door to our door. I looked to James and he got up. 

"Room service. I ordered lunch for us."

"Make sure you check before you open the door." The last thing I wanted was the door busting down and people coming in to get us. I still didn't think anyone knew we were here but you could never be too careful. 

James nodded and looked through the hole before opening the door. He brought in the food and set it down on the desk in the room. 

He brought me a bowl of soup. Chicken soup. It smelled amazing. 

James was eating a sandwich at the desk watching me. 

"I thought I would take you somewhere else again today. I was thinking we could see the Tower of London."

"Please don't tell me we have to take another cab." 

"It's really not that bad. I've been in worse."

"Not that bad? I saw my life flash before my eyes."

James rolled his eyes with a smile. "Always the drama queen." He gave me a wink and I stuck my tongue out at him taking another spoon full of soup. 

"Anyways, being the ultimate tourist isn't exactly a way to blend in," I said pointedly. 

"El-" He paused for a moment seeing the look on my face at his slip. "Eliza, we're two Americans in London. We don't exactly blend in to begin with. Doing tourist things would at least let us blend in to one crowd."

"But we don't know if it's secure out there. At least around here it's a small area, we know it well, know how to get away."

"We can't just live in this room for some undetermined amount of time. We can't just put our lives on hold because we don't have the area scoped out. We can't just hide forever. I get that we're supposed to lie low, but that doesn't mean we have to completely disappear."

"Fine. We'll go to the tower, do touristy things." I sighed feeling defeated. James was right, we couldn't just put our lives on hold. Well we could, it would just be incredibly stupid. It would be like letting The Organization win. 

I set the bowl my soup came in on the bedside table and James moved toward me with a smile. I knew that smile, it was his predatory sexy smile. My breath caught at the look in his eyes, pinning me down as he closed the distance between us. 

He was standing in front of me, looking down into my eyes. He leaned over and kissed me lightly, and that was all it took. He was like a drug that I just couldn't get enough of. 

My arms wrapped around his neck and I pulled him down as I laid back on the bed. I heard a low rumble come from him and the kiss intensified. 

His mouth moved along my jaw, his teeth brushing my skin on his way to my neck. He left small kisses and the sweet trail of fire burned through me. 

His teeth brushed the mark he'd made and it sent a shiver down my spine and I pulled him closer to me. 

My heart was racing. When we both finally pulled back our breathing was ragged. "So this tower," I whispered. 

"Right, the tower." James' low voice made me want to pull him back in to me but I let him get up. 

"I'm going to check my email quick to see if your sister sent anything."

"I really wish you'd just stop with the emails. You're so worried about them finding us and yet you're leaving a trail for them. Wouldn't they be monitoring her emails?"

"They would be, but it doesn't really matter. They'll see that my email is still active, that it's still me. I don't use another email because then they'd be more suspicious. It's not like they could track this back to us anyways," I said as I pulled the laptop out. 

"My IP is bouncing off so many different places around the world they'd never be able to track it down to us here. Besides, do you really want your sister freaking out?"

He knew I had a point. He also never really tried to stop me because he used my email as a way to keep in contact with her as well. 

We didn't check the email often, about once a every other week. Sure enough there was another email in there from her. She was asking where we'd gone. She wanted to know if we were both alright and if we were ever going to go back.

I started typing out my reply. I'd explained to her that we couldn't tell her where we were for safety reasons, ours and her own. If she knew where we were, there was a chance they'd get a hold of that information through monitoring her emails. Even if they didn't, the less she knew the better. If they ever decided to use her to get to us, it would be best if she didn't know where we were. 

I assured her that we were both quite alright, better than we'd been in a while since we were living- for the most part- without fear. I couldn't really answer if we were going back though. While we both hoped that one day we would be able to go back, there was always the chance that it wouldn't happen. We had no idea what the future held for us. 

I handed the laptop over to James so he could say what he wanted to his sister and I went to change. I pulled on a sleeveless dress that went to about mid thigh. It was a copper colored faux leather that took on a military feel with paired buttons going down the whole front. 

I cinched up the tie that went around my waist and pulled on a pair of brown dress boots. They were low enough that they were still comfortable. I wouldn't have a problem walking around in them. 

I figured if we were going to be here then we were going to dress the part instead of sticking out more like tourists. 

When I was done changing, James had just hit send and closed the laptop. He looked up at me and I could see in his eyes that he approved of the outfit. 

"Oh close your mouth," I said jokingly to him. 

"And if I don't want to?" 

"I'll make you." I winked at him and his eyes darkened. 

That look that once sent a shiver of fear straight through me now invoked a new emotion entirely. 

"That tower," I said again. 

"Right."

We left the room and went back down and out the front of the hotel. James brought in another cab and I took a deep breath and jokingly made the sign of the cross before getting in the back seat. He rolled his eyes at me and got in. 

He gave the cabbie the address and the man took off just like the one the day before. I closed my eyes for a moment. I had a hard time believing that James had been in worse. If he really had, I never wanted to experience it.

It was about a twenty minute drive through traffic until we pulled up as close as it could to the Tower of London. James and I walked the rest of the way, going up to the wall where we were supposed to enter. 

We went in a tour group. I liked tour groups, but I also hated them. You had to go at the guides pace and it was rarely ever the pace I wanted to go at. They were either too fast or too slow. Despite my feelings about the speed though, I found it to be an interesting tour. 

The guide talked about the ravens that wandered the premises. How there were at least six that stayed all the time, a wing clipped to ensure they stayed. There had apparently been a story that if the ravens left, the tower and the kingdom would fall. 

As I thought on the story it made me feel sad. They were as trapped as I'd been in a life that they may not have wanted. I couldn't imagine anyone or anything wanting to be stuck within the walls of anything. It reminded me of how I'd been trapped in the life my father had trained me into. 

Along the way we stopped in front of an archway with a plaque that labeled it as the Bloody Tower. A place where it's assumed the two princes were murdered and the White Tower where it's said tortures had taken place. 

They talked of the beheadings that had taken place within the Towers walls. One woman, the Countess of Salisbury, was struck with the axe eleven times before dying. 

The whole experience put me on edge, each new place reminding me of the life I'd left behind when we came here, the life I wished I could escape. I felt the blood of my past on my hands and absentmindedly wiped them across my dress. 

When we started heading inside the building I looked up at James. 

"You really didn't think it through before bringing me here did you?"

I could feel the tension in him as we'd gone through all the different areas. With each new stop he became more tense. 

"I may have remembered the place slightly different. It's still an interesting place. It's history, Eliza. You can't just forget history, it makes up the present. None of us would be where we are and who we are without the past."

I knew what he was saying and he wasn't talking about the tower. He was talking about me. I still felt uneasy though. 

We walked through the place looking at the different displays that were placed throughout the inside of the tower. I was glad this covered the last of the tour. I needed something to let me forget everything I'd just heard, something to let me calm back down. 

I walked past the line of horse statues with banners above them linking them to the Kings of the past. and the armor designed for a child. 

Everything in here had its own unique, interesting past and yet at times it seemed to encroach on my own. 

The crown jewels had been kept for last. I couldn't believe the way they shone in the lights, all the diamonds and jewels sparkling under the intense, brightness. The way they reflected drew me in. I wasn't normally a jewelry or diamond kind of girl, but I could appreciate something good and shiny.

When we were finished we walked around the area. I was on edge after our trip to the Tower of London. I kept glancing around, trying to pass it off as looking at the scenery around us. Really, I was watching the people, trying to determine if any of them were Organization operatives. 

"I didn't for this to happen Eliza. When I went there with my family I didn't really think of it in that way, I didn't know about all the workings of this world and I guess it just all had a different meaning for me."

"I know," I said sounding edgy. "I get it."

We walked around a while more and James tried everything he could to take my mind off the Tower and off my past. It was a nice gesture but it didn't really work. I tried letting him believe it did, but I don't think I was doing a great job of it. He could tell how distracted I was.

We went out for dinner in a small restaurant. It was quiet. I think he had chosen it for that specific reason. He knew being in a small place with few people would calm me down. Knowing where the exits were, being able to scan the entire room, being able to watch every person that went in and out. 

It worked. 

When we left we were passing an alley and I heard a strangled cry. I stopped suddenly, James stopping right next to me. I knew he'd heard it too. He'd probably been able to hear more than me. 

I headed down the alley and he tried to pull me back. 

"El-Eliza, stop. Get back here," he hissed. 

There was no way I was going back. I didn't go back when I heard something like that and he should know that by now. I was too preoccupied with the noise that I didn't even scold him for the near slip. I knew it had been out of exasperation. 

It was dark, the sun had set a while ago and there was only one light that was hanging over a back door. Other than that and the moon, it was pure darkness. 

I pulled the gun out from my hiding place in my dress. 

"Seriously? You have a gun on you?" I heard James' hissed whisper. 

"Do you really think I go anywhere without it? I just hide it where you won't find it."

I could feel the disapproval rolling off him and I stopped, turning to face him. 

"James, we're on the run from a group of people who've proved they have no problem with shooting at us. I'm going to keep a weapon on me."

"How did you get that into the Tower of London? We went through security."

"It's plastic. Do you really think The Organization wouldn't have found a way to get past security?" I gave him a pointed look. 

He wisely stopped talking and I continued on. I heard another strangled cry followed by a scuffle. There was a blood curdling scream and I ran forward. James cursed and ran after me. I nearly tripped over the trash and obstacles on the ground. I knew James wasn't having the same issue, his werewolf sight would help him. 

He could have passed me but I think he was afraid that I'd hurt myself. 

I finally saw what was going on. There were two people in the alley. A woman was cowering, trapped by a wall of trash with another person hovering over her. 

But it wasn't a person at all. I wasn't even entirely sure what it was. The skin was pale like a vampire, but it looked nothing like any vampire I'd ever seen. 

I stopped dead in my tracks. I had no idea what this was. I hadn't ever gone against anything but werewolves and vampires. I was actually out of my element here. 

The thing turned toward us as it heard us approach. As soon as I saw its face I knew what it was. I'd never seen one before, not outside the bestiary. It was a ghoul. 

"Shit," I said quietly. 

"What is it?" James asked. 

"Ghoul. I don't have anything to help with this."

"What do you need?" 

"Preferably? Fire. They say that silver could work on it but I'm not entirely sure. They aren't common so no one's had to find out. At least it wasn't in the bestiary back home. Do you have a light of any kind?"

James looked through his pockets. I knew he'd had a mini flashlight on his key ring but he'd ditched that when we left Trevor's house. 

All he pulled out was the phone he'd gotten when we came here. I'd made each of us get a prepaid phone in case we needed it in an emergency. I had Trevor's number memorized and I'd made him memorize it as well. There would be nothing in it to trace it back to us or him. Calls would only be made in an emergency and after that the phone would be disposed. 

Luckily the phone had a flashlight. A fairly powerful one at that. 

"Shine it at the ghoul," I said in a rushed whisper. 

The ghoul, now regarding us carefully instead of the woman it had cornered started coming our way. I'd read they were fast, but they were faster than anything I'd seen. 

James pulled the flashlight up quickly shining it directly at the ghoul. 

Lights weakened them. They became slower and less powerful. I aimed the gun and shot at the creature. 

It hissed and cried out in pain. The sounds it made were so animal like that it made me cringe. 

I rushed forward, the smell of rotting flesh radiated off it. A remnant of it's past meals. It was screeching and wriggling on the ground. 

I looked around the alley finding something, anything that could do what I needed. 

"Find something sharp. We need to behead it." James nodded and started looking around. 

I heard the creature screech at my words and it got up from the ground rushing at my turned back. It knocked into me making me fall to the ground. 

I thrashed around trying to get onto my back so I could fight it easier and potentially get off another shot. 

When I did get onto my back I nearly froze. The creatures eyes were a pale white that seemed to glow in the dark. The pale white almost green skin was wrinkled yet pulled tight over the monsters bones. It's sharp teeth bared as it snarled down at me. 

Saliva started to drip, falling onto my face and it seethed. It's breath was rotten. Decomposing flesh. It made me want to vomit. It ripped the gun from my grip and reared back to take a bite of me. I shut my eyes tight all I could do was hope James would be able to help me. 

I heard a loud thud and the weight of the creature was suddenly gone. 

I opened my eyes to see it lying a few feet away shaking it's head. James was standing at my feet, a long sharp metal object in his hands. 

"Are you okay?" His voice was tight and worried. 

"Fine. Just behead it. One motion, clean through."

He nodded and advanced on the creature. If anyone could behead it in one swift go, it was a werewolf. 

James went toward the still disoriented creature and swung. Sure enough, that one stroke was all it took. The head fell from the body, both parts falling to the ground. 

"We need to burn it," I said quickly. "Do you have a lighter?" 

"Do I have a lighter? Do I smoke?" James asked. 

I just rolled my eyes and looked around frantically. I heard the quiet whimpering of the woman still cowering over in the corner. I tried to calm myself down and I went over to her crouching down in front of her. 

"Do you have a lighter?" I tried to sound friendly. I didn't want to frighten her more than she already was. 

She was shaking and her eyes were wide. I wasn't even sure if she'd heard me. 

"Do you smoke? Do you have a lighter?" I asked again. 

She finally nodded and with shaking hands reached into her purse and pulled out a lighter. 

"Thank you," I said and took it from her outstretched hand. 

"Throw him in the dumpster," I said to James. 

He did ask I asked and I stopped him as he picked up the head. His nose wrinkled with disgust as he held it. I knew that what he was smelling was an amplified version of what I'd been able to smell. I lit the head on fire and he tossed it in on top of the body.

He looked down at his hands before rubbing them on his jeans. 

The smell of burning hair and flesh went through the air as both parts caught on fire. Soon it mixed with the smell of burning trash and we turned back to the woman. 

"You just cut off his head and lit him on fire," she said with her eyes still wide.

"It wasn't a person. And if I wouldn't have done that, it would have killed you."

"Wh-what was it?" She asked in a terrified voice. 

"It's a really long story. First we need to get you medical attention. You need to be looked over."

I really didn't want to explain. I also didn't want to go anywhere high profile like a hospital. It was hard to say who might be watching in a place like that. 

I looked her over quickly and saw blood. I knew it was hers. I also knew she wouldn't be turned into one of those things so there was no need to figure out how to get a hold of The Organization that was here. She just needed medical attention. 

"Call an ambulance and get medical help," I said firmly. 

The woman pulled her phone out with shaky hands and dialed some numbers. We told her to tell them to go a block away from here. Thankfully she did without question.

I wanted the body to burn as long as it could without notice. The body of that thing needed to be completely gone. 

I went over and picked my gun up, slipping it back into it's hiding place. I went back to James and the woman and we helped the her get a block over and we waited with her until the paramedics arrived. 

We moved into the shadows when they showed up, getting away. We had wanted to make sure that she'd be fine until they arrived though. 

When that was done we went back out to a busy street. 

Under the lights I could see that the dress I had on was completely ruined. It was grimy from the alley ground and there was probably nothing I'd be able to do to fix it. 

James hailed a cab and we went back to the hotel. I went into the bathroom and took a long shower, relaxing into the hot water. 

I wrapped myself into a towel and went out into the room to grab pajamas and put them on. 

"You need to stop doing stuff like that," James said. 

"Like what?"

"Running into alleys and after God knows what."

I rolled my eyes. "What would you have preferred that I just let that ghoul kill that woman? It's the only thing I can do to feel right about myself! I lived four years killing everything that I came across without much reason other than the people I "worked" for told me it was the right thing to do. 

"I now have the opportunity to do things the right way, to kill the creatures that are actually harming people. I saved that woman's life tonight. How can you possibly be angry about that?"

"You could have gotten yourself killed, Electra!"

"But I didn't, James," I said with emphasis letting him know of his slip. 

"You were there with me. I knew you were around and looking for something to kill it."

"And what if I hadn't been able to in time? That thing was getting ready to take a chunk out of you and who knows if you would have survived it."

"But I did survive it. You did find something in time and it's dead."

"This time isn't my point. My point is what you do. You don't really think before you charge in and what if one of these days I'm not able to save you? What if one of these days you run after something and you don't have what you need to kill it?"

"I've managed this long. I've been trained for stuff like this. I know how to fight, I know what I'm doing."

A growl rumbled through James' chest. 

"If I hadn't have been there what would you have done? It had you trapped. What good would your training have done? You were lying there waiting for it to strike." His words sounded slightly disgusted. 

I felt anger flare up in me. He had been there with me. If I'd been on my own things would have been different I would have known no one else could help me. It would have been different. How could I explain that though?

"If you hadn't been there I wouldn't have been depending on you to save me in time."

He raked a hand through his hair and his eyes glowed slightly before returning to deep brown. 

"You infuriate me, Electra," he growled as he stood in front of me looking down. 

I looked up into his eyes watching as they pulsated with the yellow glow of his wolf. I couldn't even correct his mistake. 

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because I have no idea what I'd do if I ever lost you."

With his admission his pulled me to him, his lips crushing mine. I could feel the anxiety, the fear, and the anger roiling together in the kiss. Both of our emotions raw and out in the open mixing together. 

My heart was pounding in my chest like it was trying to break free. 

His anger at my stupid decision rolled through. His teeth pulled at my bottom lip and my fingers ran through his hair before closing down, clutching two fist fulls of it. 

There was something different about this kiss from the others. It held our raw emotions, letting them transfer between us. 

I knew what I'd done was stupid, I could see that. I just wished he could see what I did it. I wanted him to understand why I needed to do it. 

*******************

Well okay then... So there's that... 

Let me know what you think of this ghoul... What about their stances? Who's right in this, or are they both right? 

Leave your comments below to let me know what you thought of the chapter... And if you liked the chapter please give it your vote. Thanks!!