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"Hold," Kailyn ordered, handing Eli and apple. He moved to take a bite, but she gave him a warning look over the top of her sunglasses and he stopped. She started to dig through her backpack. Eli lay down, stretching his legs out on the bench and putting his head in Kailyn’s lap. She pushed him off at once and Raven slapped his arm.
"Here we go," Kailyn said, pulling a book out. "I have to read this!" It was thick, and old. Viviane gave her a sympathetic look, but Riyan and Tristan started to laugh. "It’s not funny!"
"It was just the look on your face," Tristan said. Riyan nodded and Raven began to giggle.
"Well fine, then I won’t tell you about the new girl I met in the library!" Kailyn exclaimed.
"New girl?" Eli asked, perking up.
"She’s from the east coast or something," Viviane reported.
"What’s her name?" Tristan asked his sister.
"Sarah something . . . umm . . . Mitchell maybe?" Kailyn said, frowning and adjusting her super-protective sunglasses. While sun wouldn’t set either her or Tristan on fire, it could be uncomfortable, and they both got sunburned really easily. At night Kailyn preferred low-cut shirts and short, slinky dresses and skirts, but long sleeves, high necks and pants or long skirts were the order of the day. Every day. "I just ran into her and she kind of mumbled her name and said something about needing to talk to Giles. She didn’t seem extremely talkative. But she was pretty, and she smiled . . . she seemed more shy than mean or whatever."
"Plus she was probably getting a major wiggins from that creepy library," Viviane said. They all gave her a look. "What? It gives me the wiggins! And why are you always in there anyway?"
"Book," Kailyn pointed out, lifting the tome she’d just pulled out.
"Oh. Right."
"Are we going to the Bronze tonight?" Raven asked. "There’s this really great band playing."
"I’m in!" Kailyn cried. "Riy? Tristan?"
"Sure," Riyan said.
"Where you go I go," Tristan said. "We’re twins, remember?"
"Right. Attached from birth," Kailyn said, rolling her eyes.
"Well I’d love to go," Viviane said. Kailyn and Raven exchanged small smiles. Eli laughed outright, until his girlfriend elbowed him.
"Maybe that new girl will show," Riyan suggested. Kailyn nodded and took her apple back from Eli, who was about to take a bite.
"The Bronze it is . . . like always," Tristan said.
"This town’s so boring!" Eli grumbled, eyeing Kailyn eating the apple with fervor. She paused for a second to roll her eyes. He didn’t know the half of it!
"Is she here yet?" Viviane murmured to Kailyn, motioning towards the entrance of the Bronze. Kailyn looked up immediately and scanned the crowd.
"She’s wearing a blue skirt," Kailyn whispered.
"Brown hair?" Viviane asked. Kailyn nodded imperceptibly and studied the new comer. She was slim and very pretty, with wavy medium brown hair, long and layered around her delicate face. She looked up and her large blue eyes met Kailyn’s green ones. The Slayer looked away.
"Who were you staring at?" Tristan asked curiously, coming up to her with drinks. Viviane had floated away somewhere. Kailyn smiled at him and took a Coke.
"That new girl. Sarah something. She’s here."
"You shouldn’t stare," Tristan said.
"Why not? She’s staring at you right now." Tristan looked over involuntarily and caught the girl’s eyes. She blushed and looked away. "See?" Kailyn said.
"No excuse," he said, and Viviane broke in before he could say more.
"You want to dance? I love this song," she said.
"Sure," Tristan replied, too nice to refuse. Kailyn bit down on a giggle and sipped her Coke, watching the door for Riyan. Eli and Raven were on the dance floor—Raven desperately trying to stop her boyfriend from making an ass of himself.
"Kailyn," said a voice. She turned and found herself face to face with the very cute quarterback of the football team.
"Brad," she said, smiling and brushing back a strand of blond hair.
"What’s up?" he asked. She gave a tiny shrug, casting a glance up at him through her lashes.
"Nothing special. What about you?"
"Nothing yet," he said softly. She smiled flirtatiously and opened her mouth to reply.
"Outside Kai," Tristan whispered in her ear. She barely stopped herself from throwing him across the room in suprise, and nodded curtly instead.
"Brad, I have to go, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?" He looked unhappy, but shrugged.
"Later," he said. She smiled at him and turned to follow Tristan towards the back exit.
"What do you think you’re doing?" she hissed.
"All our friends were talking to strangers and then they disappeared outside. That’s not a good sign."
"They’re probably not strangers to them!" Kailyn exclaimed, slapping his arm. His expression didn’t change and she didn’t say anything else on the way to the alley entrance. She opened the door and stepped out—and found herself facing all her friends and six vampires. Plus the new girl.
"Slayer," the vampire that held Riyan said. When had Riyan gotten there.
"Yeah, that’s me. What do you want?"
"We have a message for you," the one not holding anyone said.
"Okay. Do share," Kailyn said, mentally planning how to get the vampires and keep her friends safe at the same time.
"Well it kind of involves your friends."
"Being dead."
"That’s interesting, ‘cause I’m kinda thinking about you."
"Being dead," Tristan finished.
"You will both die, but first the other will fall. She has come and the Slayer will fall before her might."
"Yeah yeah, I’ve heard it okay? Can we get to the point?" The "head" vampire smiled, then snarled, morphing into it’s game face.
"Okay," it snarled, bending to bite Riyan. Before it was close, the twins were in motion—Kailyn kicked the vampire’s face and wheeled to punch Raven’s captor, kicking between another’s legs to make it release Viviane. Shrieking in fright, Kailyn glanced over to make sure Tristan had gotten Eli and the new girl free, then they went back to back and each pulled out stakes. The six vampires closed into a circle around them.
Kailyn kicked out to the side and threw a stake into one vampire. Behind her Tristan staked one as well. She braced herself and, knowing what she was thinking, Tristan flipped her over his back and landed her in front of him. He flipped the vampire that had been charging her right onto her stake and she did the same for him. Four down, two to go. Two gone. They stopped and glanced around. The last two had escaped. They glanced at each other, sighed and turned to the hard part—explaining to their friends.
"Okay, we’re at the library. You can explain now what the Hell those things were!" Eli exclaimed.
"See, Hell is a good word to bring in here," Kailyn said nervously, glancing at Tristan for support.
"Kailyn? Is that you? Whatever are y—Oh, good evening. Can I help you?" Giles asked, seeing the rest of the group.
"They know Giles. They were attacked and the vampires got a little graphic," Kailyn explained.
"Did I just hear the word ‘vampires’?" Raven asked.
"Oh my god!" Viviane exclaimed. "They could have bit my neck! Make-up never covers scars!"
"Relax, Viv," Kailyn said. "You’re okay."
"Right, ‘cause you’re the Slayer. Whatever that is," Riyan said.
"Giles?" Tristan appealed for help.
"Quite so," the librarian said, and proceeded to give them the whole explanation as to how vampires had come to be, and why Kailyn had the power to fight them.
"I’m still hearing the word ‘vampire’ a lot," Raven said numbly.
"I know it’s really hard to accept at first. Well, I don’t really ‘cause I kind of grew up with it, but I can understand how hard it must be for you," Kailyn said, walking over to her best friend.
"All this time we’ve been walking around as if we were safe and there have been vampires?" Riyan asked.
"What if I-what if I dated one?" Viviane asked in horror.
"They can’t come out in the daytime," Giles pointed out.
"So?" Kailyn and Tristan exchanged looks. Then she remembered Sarah.
"Oh, wow, Sarah—it’s Sarah right?—this must be a lot for you to take in. Let me introduce myself . . . and everyone else. I’m Kailyn Summers, this is my brother Tristan, my friends Raven Wilder, Eliot—"
"Eli."
"Rogers, Riyan Claiborne and Viviane Chapman. We’re usually normal, I swear. Well, all of them are. I’m always the Slayer but . . . um . . . why don’t you tell us about you now," Kailyn said. The girl looked frightened and confused—no wonder, given what she’d been through for the night. How had she ended up out there with all of Kailyn’s best friends?
"I’m Sarah Mitchell. I just moved here from New York. I’m . . . are you sure this isn’t a dream?" She sounded rather desperate.
"I’m right with you!" Raven exclaimed.
"Here here!" Eli piped in.
"Okay, I know it’s strange and frightening and . . . and strange. But you’ll get used to it. And you don’t really need to act any differently. Just carry a cross and some holy water with you when you go out at night and you should be fine. And please don’t tell anyone about this. Any of you," Kailyn said.
"I-it must be kept secret," Giles seconded.
"Sarah? You won’t tell anyone?" Tristan asked. The others he knew—they didn’t have anyone to tell besides the other sin their group anyway. She looked up, almost startled and met his eyes.
"Of course not," she said, as if it were obvious. "You guys are the closest I have to friends, I’m not about to go ruining that and make myself look insane at the same time. Not in my first week anyway."
"Well I for one would like you to hang with us when it’s not, y’ know, a survival issue. Like at lunch," Kailyn said.
"Are you sure?" she asked, looking up at the six friends.
"We’d love to have you," Tristan said.
"Fresh blood," Eli put in.
"Yeah, we could totally use another girl," Viviane said. Raven met Sarah’s eyes and smiled and Riyan grinned at her.
"Thanks," Sarah said, smiling shyly. Giles cleared his throat.
"Perhaps, back to the subject?"
"Oh, right!" Kailyn exclaimed. "So I’ll walk everyone home so you’re all safe, and then I’ll come back and we can discuss the whole ‘message’ thing Giles."
"Very good. I’ll call Ms. Kingsley," he said.
"So your Mom’s one of these Slayer people too?" Eli asked.
"I thought there was only one," Riyan said.
"There’s supposed to be, but I guess she died for like a second once, so another Slayer came along, and then it kinda kept going. So now there’s two."
"No wonder she looks so good for her age!" Eli exclaimed.
"That’s our mother you’re discussing!" Tristan exclaimed. Eli apologized profusely, cringing.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Raven asked, ignoring her boyfriend’s distress—he’d brought it on himself. Kailyn and Giles exchanged glances.
"N-not that I can think of, but it is very kind of you to volun—" Giles began.
"Yes, actually," Kailyn said interrupting. She turned to Giles. "Mom had her Slayerettes, right? Well why can’t I have mine? Plus we could use the help. I mean, Aunt Willow and Uncle Xander and Aunt Cordy are always willing to help, but they’re busy and they go to bed early and stuff. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some young people to help? And Raven’s really good with computers and Riyan can read really fast, and I’m sure everyone else could find ways to help too. If they—If you all want to," she said, turning to her friends.
"I want to help," Riyan said. "The thought of having vampires out there and not doing something about it is a bit disturbing."
"If I can do anything, I’d love to," Sarah put in in a quiet voice. "I kind of dabble in witchcraft . . . would that help at all?"
"It might," Giles said, suprised. "Exactly what do you mean by ‘dabble’?"
"Just floating pencils and stuff like that . . . good luck charms for tests and lighting candles . . . my aunt taught me how."
"Aunt Willow’s a witch," Tristan put in.
"She’s not really our aunt though," Kailyn said. "Kind of an honorary thing."
"Maybe you could study with her," Tristan said. "If you want to learn more." Sarah nodded.
"Once more, back to the subject please? If you all want to help, I suppose we could find uses for you," Giles said. Kailyn smiled and met Riyan’s eyes. He smiled back and she clapped her hands suddenly.
"My very own Slayerettes!" she exclaimed, and the Scooby Gang 2nd
generation laughed and got down to work.