He was like her now. He didn’t have a family either.
The moment was interrupted by a whirl of movement. A dark-haired pixie of a woman spun into the room, energy sparking around her. She flung a long, hockey-like stick toward the practice mat, yelling, “Catch, Ben!” as she did. Baojia zipped toward the incoming projectile, grabbing it before it hit anything, then he glared at the newcomer. As if by magic, she was sitting next to Beatrice and bumping her shoulder. “Hey, there. Miss me?”
Beatrice said, “Incoming.”
Natalie barely caught her breath before the woman was standing again, one hand held out toward Baojia, who was baring his teeth and already had a sword in his hand. Flames burst into the strange vampire’s hand and Natalie let out a yelp as a sheet of water appeared out of nowhere to flank Baojia. Carina wiggled and laughed in her lap, clapping at the sudden special effects show that had appeared before her.
“Hello,” the stranger said with a smile. “Friend. Sorry, thought they would have warned you.”
Baojia said nothing, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he remained in a ready stance, his eyes never leaving the fire vampire.
“Brigid,” Beatrice said, “you might want to move away from the redhead with the baby.”
Dez was obviously trying not to panic, even though Carina was delighted by the action. “Yeah, guys. Baby here. Teeny, tiny human.”
“Oh, is that how it is? She’s his?” The woman shrugged and took a step back. “Understandable, then. Sorry about that.”
Natalie scooted farther away from the woman, and every foot that separated them seemed to put Baojia more at ease. Eventually, the sword was lowered and the water returned to the fountains, though his fangs remained visible in his mouth. He made no effort to hide them as he walked toward her and leaned down, rubbing his cheek along hers in a quick movement before he turned and stomped back to the practice mat where Ben had been standing and staring silently. Eventually, Ben lifted the long stick the woman had thrown.
“Is this the hurling thing?”
“Yep,” Brigid called. “Also handy for bashing idiotic husbands across the back of the head, should the need arise.” Everyone looked at her. “What?”
Ben said, “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” Then he and Baojia returned to the training dummy, with Baojia keeping one eye on Brigid the whole time.
Natalie finally breathed out. “So… That was interesting.”
Dez whispered, “And hot.” Beatrice was just beaming at her.
“What?” Natalie’s face was red again.
Brigid smiled. “I’m Brigid, by the way. I’d shake your hand, but he’d likely amputate it at the elbow, so I’ll just wave.”
Natalie waved back. “I’m Natalie. And I’m not really sure what just happened.”
“That’s one highly possessive vampire you have,” Brigid said in an amused voice, her accent obviously marking her as the Irish vampire Tenzin had sent the plane for. “He’s young, eh?”
Beatrice shook her head. “Not as young as you. But she’s new. Or rather, they’re new.”
“Fun.” Brigid leaned back and surveyed the studio. “B, is he the one who taught you to use those crazy hook-swords I want?”
“Yep, that’s Baojia. And please. You’d never give up your guns.”
The vampire grinned, fangs fully on display. Like Beatrice, she had black hair and a slim figure, but Brigid was a tiny ball of pure energy. She had shockingly pale skin, even for a vampire, and close-cropped hair that suited her delicate features. Like Giovanni, heat radiated off her. Natalie could feel her from yards away. And her eyes were startlingly inhuman, brown around the pupil feathering out to a deep ash gray. Though Dez had told her the fire vampire was young, Natalie guessed she would have a hard time passing as human to a careful observer.
The baby was dozing off, no doubt a vampire schedule wreaked havoc on normal bedtime. Carina had nestled into Natalie’s chest, her soft pink cheek warm against the skin of her neck and her little hand still clutching a lock of her red hair. “Hey Dez…”
“She asleep? I’d better get her home.”
Reluctantly, Natalie handed over the little girl, feeling the loss of the baby’s warmth as she sat back on the bench.
“Good to see yGopan>Natou.” Beatrice stood and hugged her friend goodbye. “Tomorrow night?”
“I promised Matt a human night,” Dez said with a wink. “Bedtime by eleven and a real breakfast the next day.”
“Daywalker,” Beatrice muttered. “Fine. At least I have new friends to keep me busy.” She threw an arm around Brigid.
“And cause trouble. Speaking of that…” Brigid looked around the studio and lowered her voice. “What are we waiting around here for?”
Brigid might have been lighthearted upon first meeting, but the woman was all business once they got in the car. Natalie, being the only human, was the designated driver.
“Jeez, I miss driving,” Brigid moaned as they caught the 5 going south toward the border.
“I miss my bike,” Beatrice added. “I need to buy an older one so I can just ride, but I miss my Triumph. By the way, where’s your husband?”
They had returned to the house an hour before, Beatrice assuring Baojia that Natalie would be carefully guarded. She might have left out the current plan to drive to the border to check with one of Natalie’s contacts at the Otay Mesa border crossing.