Chapter 5: The Chase

The sun was just coming up when Elara left Thorne's house in the woods. After fleeing the vampires last night, they had hidden at his secret place where the Shadowwalkers couldn't find them.

"I have to go to work," Elara had told Thorne. "I can't just disappear. People will wonder where I am."

"It's not safe," Thorne had growled, his gold-flecked eyes serious. "Those creatures are hunting you. And now the vampires too."

But Elara wouldn't listen. She needed normal in her crazy new world of monsters and magic. So Thorne gave her his phone number—a real one this time—and made her promise to call if anything strange happened.

Now, walking from the bus stop to the hospital, Elara kept looking over her shoulder. Every shadow made her jump. Every person who walked too close made her heart beat faster.

"Get it together," she whispered to herself. "You're just a normal person going to work."

But Thorne's words from last night echoed in her mind: "You're not normal. And now every supernatural creature in Ravenshadow City will be hunting you."

Elara turned down the route through Bell Park. The morning was quiet except for a few runners and people walking their dogs. Birds sang in the trees. Everything seemed peaceful.

Then she felt it—a prickling feeling on the back of her neck, like someone was watching her.

Elara walked faster, hugging her bag to her chest. The hospital was just on the other side of the park. She could make it.

A twig snapped behind her.

Elara spun around. A man in a dark hoodie stood on the road, about twenty feet away. His face was covered in shadow, but Elara could feel his eyes on her.

"Can I help you?" she called, trying to sound brave.

The man tilted his head, like a curious animal. Then he smiled, showing teeth that were too long and too sharp.

Fangs.

"You smell delicious," the man said, his voice soft but carrying through the morning air. "Sebastian wants you alive, but he didn't say I couldn't have a little taste."

Elara's blood went cold. Sebastian? The vampire that Thorne had mentioned last night?

The man took a step forward. "Don't run. It will only make it more fun for me."

Elara ran.

She raced down the path, her feet pounding on the pavement. The hospital was close. If she could just get there, with all its people and lights...

The man laughed behind her, a sound like ice cracking. "Yes! Run, little witch!"

Witch? What was he talking about?

Elara pushed herself harder, running faster than she ever had before. Trees and seats blurred as she passed. Something was strange—she was going too fast, faster than a normal person should be able to run. Her legs didn't feel tired. Her lungs didn't burn.

This wasn't normal. This wasn't human.

The thought scared her more than the vampire behind her.

"What's happening to me?" she gasped.

She could hear the man behind her, closing in despite her impossible speed. His feet barely made a sound as he chased her, like a cat stalking its prey.

The end of the park was just ahead. Elara could see the hospital's glass doors sparkling in the morning light. So close!

Suddenly, a dark shape dropped from a tree right in front of her. Elara slid to a stop, nearly falling over.

It was another man, this one in an expensive-looking black suit. His skin was pale white, his eyes a deep, burning red. When he smiled, she saw fangs just like the first man's.

"Going somewhere?" he asked nicely, as if they were meeting at a coffee shop.

Elara backed away, looking anxiously from one vampire to the other. She was stuck.

"Sebastian wants to meet you," the vampire in the suit said. "He's very interested in your... unique qualities."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elara said, her voice shaking. "I'm just a doctor."

The vampire laughed. "A doctor who wakes the dead. A doctor with witch blood."

There was that word again. Witch.

"Please," Elara said, backing up until she hit a tree. "I don't know any Sebastian. I'm not who you think I am."

"Oh, but you are," the vampire said, moving closer. "You're exactly who we think you are. The lost daughter of the witch queen."

Elara's head spun. None of this made sense. Witch queen? Lost daughter? She was just Elara Nightingale, a forensic pathologist with strange dreams.

The vampire reached for her. "Come quietly and—"

A growl ripped through the morning air, so loud it made the birds fly from the trees. The vampire in the suit froze.

"Wolf," he hissed, turning around.

Thorne burst from the bushes, moving so fast he was almost a blur. His eyes were totally gold now, glowing with inner light. His hands had changed into claws, long and sharp.

He slammed into the vampire, sending both of them crashing into a nearby bench. The wood broke under the force.

"Run, Elara!" Thorne roared, his voice deeper than usual, almost animal-like.

The first vampire, the one in the hoodie, lunged at Elara. She ducked, feeling his fingers brush her hair as he missed. Without thinking, she grabbed a broken piece of the bench—a sharp wooden stake—and swung it at him.

The vampire hissed as the wood cut his face. "You'll pay for that!"

Thorne was fighting the vampire in the suit, their moves too fast for Elara to follow. Claws slashed, fangs snapped, both of them growling like animals.

Elara backed away, still holding her homemade stake. She needed to run, to get away while Thorne kept them busy. But her legs wouldn't move. She couldn't leave him.

The hooded vampire came at her again. This time, Elara felt something new bubble up inside her—a strange, tingly energy. Without knowing how, she threw her hand up.

A blast of blue light shot from her hand, hitting the vampire square in the chest. He flew backward, crashing into a tree twenty feet away.

Elara stared at her hand in shock. "What did I just do?"

The vampire stumbled to his feet, his face twisted with rage and fear. "She's awakening! We need to take her now!"

Thorne had the dressed vampire pinned to the ground, his claws at the creature's throat. "You tell Sebastian to stay away from her," he growled. "She's under my protection."

The vampire laughed, blood bubbling from his lips. "The wolf thinks he can claim the witch queen's daughter. How adorable."

Thorne's eyes flashed. "She's not a piece in your games. She's a person."

"She's prophecy," the vampire whispered. "And you can't stop what's coming."

With surprising strength, the vampire pushed Thorne off and scrambled away. The hooded one followed, both of them disappearing into the trees with inhuman speed.

Thorne stood up, his chest heaving. Slowly, his eyes faded back to normal, the gold dimming to just bits. His claws shrank back into regular hands.

Elara couldn't move. Her mind was racing with too many questions. The blue light. The vampires. Witch queen's daughter. Prophecy.

"How did you find me?" she finally asked.

"I followed you," Thorne admitted. "I knew they'd come for you."

"They called me a witch," Elara whispered. "They said I'm the daughter of the witch queen. What does that mean?"

Before Thorne could answer, the world started to spin around Elara. The strange energy that had surged through her drained away suddenly, leaving her empty and weak. Her knees buckled.

"Elara!" Thorne rushed forward, catching her before she hit the ground.

Her view darkened at the edges. The last thing she saw was Thorne's worried face and a strange mark glowing on her wrist—a crescent moon circled by stars that hadn't been there before.

Then everything went black.