Holidays are Hell

"By all means," Joseph said.

Doe sneered. He lifted his hands, chanting. Six felt a brief tug on her body, but it slid off her like water, and she smiled. Took one step forward, reaching behind for her gun. Doe faltered. The vampires all looked at each other.

"There is a curious thing called possession," Joseph said. "You might have heard of it. Thing is, you don't have to fully inhabit a person in order to keep someone else out. I'm surprised you didn't know that, Doe."

Doe paled. He said one word and the vampires jerked in front of him. Six knew what Joseph wanted before he asked; she tossed him the gun and then barreled into the vampires, clearing a path for him so that he could chase after Doe. He did, disappearing around a corner in the long office corridor.

Behind her, the elevator dinged. The two vampires who had escorted them up ran off, snarling. Their human faces had drained away; they stared at her with hollow eyes and black mouths, sharp tongues writhing deep within the maw. The air felt cold.

"Sister," hissed the woman. "I think, perhaps, we no longer want you to join us."

Six laughed. It was too funny. Five vampires against one. She liked those odds.

Doe ran fast, but Joseph did, too. He caught up with the older man. Before he could fire the gun, he heard a low voice fill the air: binding words, pushing against him. Joseph held up one hand and let his own voice fill the air. Double tones, loud and strong. His voice drowned out Doe, and he lifted the gun and took aim. His grandfather had always been good with a gun. So had his father. The steppe made men hardy, that way. Joseph fired.

The bullet caught Doe in the knee. He went down screaming and Joseph stood over him. Doe tried again to use his gift, but the power, while strong, slid away.

"What did you think it would do for you?" Joseph asked quietly, kneeling. "Really, what? Eternal youth? Perfect control over the people around you? And you thought you could beat me with that? You're no better than a vampire. Worse, even. You had a choice. Same choice as my grandfather. As me."

Doe's face contorted. "I should have killed you all when I found you the first time. Made it easy."

"Yes," Joseph said. "You should have."

He put the gun against Doe's forehead and pulled the trigger.

Joseph left Doe's body. He did not watch the man's soul leave. He ran back to help Six. There were four piles of ash on the ground. No doubt all of them had died with their heads ripped off. Vampire strength was obviously doing her some good.

The last vampire alive was the terror cell planner. Six had him pinned face down on the ground. She had somehow found time to locate a mini-recorder, which she held up to Joseph.

"How do you do that?" he asked admiringly, taking the device. Six smiled.

Joseph turned on the recorder and held it by the vampire's face. He watched as Six questioned him on tape, methodically breaking his fingers every time he refused to answer. And when he still refused, she commenced ripping those fingers off his hand, one by one. The dismembered digits turned to ash.

By the time she reached his pinky, the man had begun blabbering like an idiot. Helped along, of course, by Joseph's own coercion. He did not feel like wasting any more of their time. When Six was satisfied, he turned off the recorder and slipped it into his pocket. He did not want to preserve, for posterity, the sound of Six tearing off a man's head with her bare hands.

Which she did, quite easily. The vampire turned to ash "So," Joseph said. "That was… interesting."

"Very." Six wiped her hands together.

"I hope this doesn't mean we're breaking up," he said. "Now that the danger is over."

"There is always danger," Six said. "And no, I am not going anywhere. Not without you."

"Good," Joseph said, the adrenaline finally seeping away making him shaky. He wrapped his arm around Six's shoulders and pulled her near.

"Happy New Year," he muttered, and kissed her hard.

Epilogue

Three weeks later, Six found herself in Mongolia. It was a nice country. She could admit to herself that she loved it.

It was a beautiful day, cold and crisp. Furs lined her throat. Her leather jacket was heavy and warm. A gun pressed against her ribs, slung tight in a new shoulder holster.

Joseph sat beside her on a motorcycle. It was a Russian model, lightweight, but sturdy enough for two. Good for cross-country riding, unless they decided to buy horses. Unlikely. The animals did not seem to like Six. She blamed the poison still in her blood.

"Life is good," Joseph said.

"Yes," Six said. "Do you think Ying has been able to use the information that was on the recording?"

"I would think so." He hesitated. "Regrets about leaving your old life?"

"Not really," she said. "I am making a new one."

"In a spectacular way, I might add."

"For a vampire."

Joseph shrugged, but she could feel concern on the edge of his thoughts. "You're only part of those creatures."

"Enough, I think."