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Okay, I did let out a little scream there. More like an 'Eeek!”

God, I was getting so girly it was getting really embarrassing at times.

Dani just grinned at me and gave my shoulder a comforting pat. “I was impressed. You did real good for a noobie at sneaking around.”

“I'm a teenager.” I managed to get out, then let out a sigh of relief. “We learn to sneak around when we're like twelve. And with my aunt and uncle, I had to learn a lot of stuff.”

“Impressed me.” Dani shrugged then gave me a really hard look. “So wanna tell my just why you did that when you're grounded?”

“How did you know I was grounded?”

“No one sneaks better than me, babe.” She chuckled and moved back to take a little bow. “I've even snuck up on Carmilla once or twice and trust me, that isn't easy. I was listening to your family conference of course.”

“I can't get away with anything.” I muttered much to Dani's delight.

“So what makes ya think I'm gonna send you back to your room?” She giggled this time.

“But you told me you'd be watching over me.”

“Doesn't mean I'm going to keep you from making your own mistake while you learn, kiddo.” She laughed. “I'll just try and make sure none of those mistakes are fatal, you know?”

“You mean you aren't going to just send me back?” I asked.

“Nah.” She shrugged then gave me another infectious grin. “It was really entertaining watching you jimmy that window, figure out how to get to the ground, then sneak through your family compound. The security there is really good, by the way.

“All I want to know is just what you're trying to do here.”

I need to know where the Hunters are hiding.” I answered and just then realized that was what I wanted to do since up to then my motives had been kind of obscure even to me.

“Dangerous.” Dani shook her head.

“I have to.” I answered without telling her why. Nuts, even I wasn't sure of the why other than I didn't want that baby to cry any longer.

Dani looked at me and nodded. “Okay. Check out that KOA campground northwest of town. Just don't get into too much trouble when you do.”

“You know where they are already?”

“They're Hunters, honey.” She answered. “Of course we've checked them out. But some of them are in another place. That we haven't found yet. ”Which is also why Carmilla hasn't lowered 'the fist of vengence' on them yet. We need to find out where the rest of them are hiding.”

“If you guys can't find out, what makes you think I could?” I asked.

“Baby girl,” Dani answered while giving me a really serious look. “Aside from me, you're already better at sneaking around than any of my sisters or Mother. Which is saying a lot. You find where they are, we'll take care of the rest.”

Without a lot of care for 'collateral' damage when they did, was the impression I got there. Anyone the Hunters held when the vampires found those jerks was just as likely to be dead in the aftermath as not.

Okay I already knew they weren't good people even if they could be nice.

If you haven't been able to make that distinction with people you meet already, I feel kind of sorry for you. You're going to have a lot of pain.

“I'll find them.” I just told her without hinting at what I'd just seen.

“She noticed and shrugged again. “We aren't super good people, Cindy, we know that. We try most of the time but our nature keeps getting in the way. We're killers on a short leash here in Ravencrest.

She wasn't apologizing for that. Just telling me.

“I know.”

“You are special, you know that?” The killing machine in human form actually hugged me as she said that. “You see things that others don't. Find these bastards before they do what they came here for.”

“And turn you and your sisters loose on them?” I asked.

Whatever you think is right.” she quietly answered. “Your own family has the same problems we do, and the other weres in town are the same. Find those Hunters and they won't last a minute. No matter who goes after them.”

That one I had to think about. But I did know that my family were predators. Come to think of it so were the other families that were prominent in town. I already knew that the Lockes were wolves. How many others like us were here?

“There are wolves, bears, foxes, cougars, and of course, coyotes.” Dani answered my unasked question.

“Well, time to go.” she grinned, kissed my cheek and just — vanished.

And there I was. All alone with my thoughts and uncertainties.

I only briefly wondered how she could do that before other things started demanding attention in my kind of muddled mind.

Getting into and through town was really easy. Especially compared to getting out of the house. Sheesh, the happy Harper home was actually kind of a fortress. Okay, not kind of, it was a fortress.

But what was it defending against?

I had the feeling that I was going to find out at least part of the answer to that question in a very short time as I moved northwest to the campground Dani had told me to check.

Once I got there, and looked the place over, it just looked like a nicely filled up campground. You know, SUVs, trailers, tents, campfires all that.

But everything in the place had that sickening, hurtful feeling my second dream had given me.

I mean it looked normal. People around fires, sharing food and talk.

But all of them also gave me that not at all nice feeling I'd had in aforementioned dream.

I knew without any kind of extra sense, that me just walking down into that campground would not be a good thing. For me.

So I watched. And listened.

I have mentioned my better hearing, right?

Nothing, nada, zilch, zero. They weren't talking about anything other than the beautiful country, the nice weather and things like that.

Damn.

Why did spying on people have to be so hard? In the books I'd read the bad guys gave themselves away all the time.

I should have it so easy.

So I got closer.

Still no joy.

Until I spotted a black SUV with a quiet group around it.

A black SUV? Come on now. I mean SUVs were common where I lived being in the mountains and all, but most of the inhabitants of Ravencrest went for color. Sure there were a few black ones around, but not that many. If these guys had been going for blending in they should have bought a bright red one.

But it was the conversation that interested me.

“The child has been born.”

“Brother Sebastion has found it, and the family.”

“We will deal with that.”

“What of the inhabitants here? They have repulsed or destroyed any of us sent here before. Even when we damaged the werewolves so badly.”

“Those didn't have the Grail.”

The rest went silent at that and just nodded.

What? I wondered just what this Grail could be that would give these people enough confidence to come into a place where their asses had been kicked so many times even the residents had stopped counting.

This was not good.

But mention of 'The child' had really gotten my attention.

If I had anything to say about it, or to do with it, Grail or not, these people were going to get their butts kicked again.

But I had to find out just what that 'Grail' was first.

Which got interrupted when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder.

Damn it, how had I not noticed that guy?

“What do you think you're doing here little girl?” The guy had forcibly turned me around so I had to look at him and he was big. It was the quiet thing about his approach that really bothered me more than his size. Along with that 'little girl' thing.

“I'm lost?”

“Then you would have just walked down into the campground.” The big quiet moving guy shook his head and really looked at me.

“Ahh. You're one of them.”

“One of what?”

“The inhuman demons.”

“Demons?” I managed to squirm out of his grasp as I asked that and got ready to run for all I was worth.

“Die.” was all the answer he had as he pulled a really nasty thing out of a scabbard at his waist.

It was a long dagger, or maybe dirk if you wanted to get technical, but it glowed with that sickly light that blade on the floor surrounded with blood had in my dream. Only this time the thing wasn't a dream.

And he was lunging at me with it.

I twisted, used my skills to just 'not be there' when his strike hit, and kicked out with all the force I had on my return from the dodge.

My heel, with all the force I could put behind it hit him in the lower ribs.

And he just grunted.

And swept that nasty blade in an arc that caught my own ribs.

I can't describe the pain from that.

Like a paper cut that was lots deeper that had acid on whatever had cut me. And was eating into me.

I knew that another hit like that was going to kill me, too.

“Little girls shouldn't play with the adults.” He smirked as he aimed the horrible thing at my heart.

I redirected that strike, broke his arm, taking the nasty thing from his hand much to his shock, and drove the thing, painful as that was when I grabbed it from him, into his heart. I also had to really keep myself from screaming at the pain just holding the thing had caused me.

I was bleeding, with a badly burned hand, but I was alive.

I looked at his body and just had to smirk. “Some little girls are more than adults can handle.”

Then I fell down and kind of lost what was going on.

“Wake up.” I heard while feeling some annoying things on my cheeks.

Those were slaps, as I noted when I opened my eyes and reached out to catch the hand that was doing it. “I'm awake.”

“Niiice.” The slapper grinned and I noted that it was Dani. “You're fast.”

“What happened?”

“You got wounded by silver.” She answered calmly. “But you did kill the guy who wounded you.”

“I suppose that's good?” I groaned as just how much in pain I was in started coming through.

“Oh, yeah.” Dani grinned as she kept wrapping bandages around my ribs. “You're alive, he's dead. Always a win in my books.”

“Doesn't feel like that from here.” I grumbled and winced as the bandages hit a really sensitive spot.

“Oh it was, girl.” Dani told me as she finished wrapping up my middle and took my burned hand. “Not many of us could actually handle one of those things at all, let alone kill someone with it.”

“I don't feel all that good about it, to be honest .” I winced as she smoothed some kind of salve that burned as badly as the burn on my hand had to that injury. “I killed someone.”

“Who was trying to kill you.” She calmly answered. “You survived, you're not a wimp, and all that. You defended yourself and you did good.”

“So why do I feel so bad?”

“Duh, girlfriend.” She laughed and shook her head. While avoiding the really personal part of that question deftly. “You've been cut with silver and handled silver all in the same day! enchanted silver at that! Hell, half of us would be dead already after that.”

“Then I should feel good about hurting like this?” I grumped.

“Oh, yeah.” Dani answered and had a really serious look on her face. “There aren't all that many of us 'Unseen' that can handle silver at all. Mama-san was right, you are special.”

“Gonna be a bitch getting back into the house right now.” I sighed.

“I can take care of that, hon.” Dani told me then grinned. “How you explain your injuries once I get you there? That's your problem.”

“Oh, great.” I moaned. “Now I'm really going to be grounded.”

Dani chuckled, patted my cheek and grinned. “Not my problem sweet cakes. I just made sure you didn't get killed and now I'm going to get you home.”

“You didn't help.” I groused.

“You didn't need my help, girl.” She answered while picking me up in arms that had no business being that strong as slender as they looked. “Now let's get you home.”

I don't remember that trip home, or how I ended up in my own bed, or how the escape ladder got put away, or anything.

I woke up in pain, but not quite as bad as it had been earlier and noticed that the sun was shining and up high enough to be well past noon. Oh boy, I never slept that long. Someone was bound to notice, then notice other things, too.

Oops, they already had.

Aunt Cecily and Uncle Patrick were in my room looking both worried and a little angry.

“What are we going to do with you?” My aunt asked while gently touching my bandaged middle.

I winced at the lance of pain that brought on and she pulled her hand back with a look of apology. Then looked to my bandaged hand. “Want to tell us what happened?”

“Uhh...”

“You WILL tell us, you know.” My aunt told me with a certainty that made me sure I would be doing just that in a very short time.

That uncomfortable moment was interrupted when someone I recognized as one of our security people knocked on the door and spoke briefly with my uncle. He listened while giving me odd glances, then nodded as the other man left.

Uncle Patrick kept watching me, especially my bandaged middle and hand. Uh oh.

“It seems that the Hunters to the north of town are in an uproar just now.” He started. “One of them was killed last night. With his own weapon.

“Would you know anything about that?” He asked almost mildly while again looking at my bandaged hand.

“Well... Yeah?” I responded a little cautiously.

“Would you mind being a bit more specific here?” He asked while his eyes bored into me. “As in telling us what happened?”

They knew the Hunters were in the campground too? Man, was I the only one in town who hadn't known that?

“Well,” I took in a deep breath, then spilled my guts. I'd never do well if I got arrested and interrogated. Dang it.

Once I was finished the silence in the room was thick enough to cut with a spoon.

“So let me get this straight.” My uncle finally said quietly. “You sneaked out the house and grounds, found the hunters and were close enough to listen in on their conversations. Then you got caught and killed one of them with his own weapon? A magically enchanted silver weapon?”

“I think so?” I shrugged and winced at the pain that gesture caused me. “It hurt really bad when it cut me, and burned when I took it from him. I had to do something or he was going to kill me!”

“You got cut by a thing like that and even handled it after that?” Aunt Cecily questioned a bit incredulously.

“Yes.” I nodded. “He would have killed me if I hadn't taken it from him and he was just about to holler for help. I had to do something.”

My aunt just nodded without a word until she looked at me again. “If you were hurt as badly as it looks, just how did you get home and back into your bed? Not to mention how you ended up bandaged with a healing salve on your wounds?”

“I had help.” I admitted. At least to the bandaging and getting home part of things.

“Obviously.” Uncle Patrick put in then asked the question I really didn't want to answer. “Who helped you?”

“I'd really prefer not to answer that one.” I closed my eyes knowing that wasn't going to work.

“Cynthia Anne Harper!” My aunt didn't shout, but her voice had the same force as if she had, and using my full name was a sign that I wasn't going to get away with this one for a minute.

“It was Dani.” I sighed hating how quickly I'd caved in on that one. “One of Carmilla's girls.”

They weren't horrified, just thoughtful.

“Well, stranger alliances have been forged when the Hunters are around.” My aunt nodded, as did my uncle. “Now what, I wonder, do they want for this?”

“They haven't asked for anything from me.” I answered quite honestly.

“Well, having one of us who can actually handle silver and enchanted weapons around would be a pretty good reason for keeping you safe.” My uncle sighed.

Aunt Cecily had left for a minute but returned with pots, jars, and more bandages.

I need to look at how badly you're hurt and change the bandages.” She told me.

That was going to hurt, I just knew it. But nodded.

Oh, by the way.” I asked as she was unwinding the bandages from my middle, “what's a grail?”

Sheesh. You'd have thought I was announcing the end of world there from their reactions.