Sleep surrounded him anyway. His eyes got heavy and he fell asleep.
The next morning a car came speeding down the road and stopped in front of the house. Callum woke up irritated. So much for the long night.
Then Jessica came running in. "Mr. Hall. Something happened."
Callum felt it immediately. "What happened?" I should have been more careful about how much I was using, he thought.
Jessica grabbed his shirt. Her hands were desperate and trembling. "Please. I need help."
"What happened?"
Jessica said that somebody had taken Clara. There had been several menacing men, smiling maliciously. They were vampires. They had taken Clara while she was on night watch in her hood on an empty street. Their eyes were glowing red. They called her the sheriff's little pup.
Jessica described it. Clara's blonde hair flew in the air as she braced herself, arms raised against the gust. One vampire approached with a red aura and gave a not-so-innocent wave. Let's go somewhere.
In the vision Clara's own eyes began to glow red, and dark veins began to swell across her face.
Jessica came back to the present. The vampires had walked Clara away and then taken her to their nest.
She screamed it out desperately. "You promised you would help."
Callum was at a loss for words. What can I do about this? In his mind flashed the books full of strange writing and symbols.
Jessica had already caught his Vis. Before he had learned to hide it. He was never going to convince her that he was not a wizard.
Callum put his hand on Jessica's shoulder and tried to work while he kept it there. "Let's go inside first."
And he realised there was no escape from it.
Then he noticed what she had actually said. The vampires had taken Clara. They had not taken her life.
Jessica confirmed it. Her expression was genuinely worried. Against a group of supernatural beings at that level, you could not win a fair fight.
Jessica grabbed him again. "Please."
Callum's expression became serious. He held Jessica's hand and promised in a comforting tone. "I'll do whatever is possible."
He picked up the weapon. "I need information."
He took a deep breath. Hope this isn't a terrible mistake.
Getting into the car and heading toward the motel, Callum got the same strange feeling again. There was something in the air. He looked toward the motel. It's supernatural.
A woman was standing outside it, smoking a cigarette. Interesting.
As the car pulled into the parking lot Jessica said, "Family can help."
Callum looked around with a worried expression, and then his eyes widened in shock. Everyone in the parking lot was a shapeshifter. Different kinds of creatures, all on her side.
Then the sheriff came at them desperately and took Jessica by the shoulders. "What are you doing here? Don't involve the Guild."
Callum noticed the sharp teeth. And he understood, as well, that they were all thinking that Callum belonged to the Guild.
Callum said quickly, "I never saw any of you."
A grey-bearded shapeshifter looked him over with suspicious eyes. Then his eyes suddenly lit up, and an incredibly loud sound came out of his mouth and sent powerful waves through the air. Everyone there heard it.
A little while later, Callum was sitting on a bench and somebody was asking him how he could help.
A canine-looking being said, "Not too many questions. Just give me an idea. Who are we fighting?"
The sheriff explained. Vampires from the other end of the street had taken over the motel. Our territory is on their target list too.
He continued. "They have a wizard with them as well. Nobody felt the presence all week. She looks like a woman standing there smoking."
He confirmed the rest of it. The vampires of that nest had taken two lives so far.
Callum asked, "If you knew who the murderers were, why didn't you do anything?"
The bearded man explained. The Vignette gang was not strong enough to challenge the vampires. And there was a treaty. Other supernatural beings could not get involved without direct evidence. He added that shapeshifter groups were often the vulnerable ones — the blame for every incident fell on them. And whoever was responsible for keeping the peace between organisations had not been doing anything at all.
Callum was surprised to hear about the treaty. The frustration of it was that vampires take lives, and because of the Guild's ridiculous rules, nothing can happen.
His eyes lowered, and his mind drifted to Clara, who was in that motel right now, among the vampires.
Callum extended his spatial sense. He could reach Clara. After a moment of concentration he finally found the girl and located her presence.
He remembered the audacity of the vampire, claiming that Clara was there of her own free will. The sheriff had dismissed that furiously. "This is nonsense."
Callum asked, "After I bring Clara back, what happens?"
The old man explained. Once Clara was safe, Alpha Chester would make contact. The rest of the wolf pack would come. With reinforcements, they would finally have the strength to pull the bloodsuckers out of Vignette.
Callum asked curiously, "How do you permanently eliminate vampires?"
The sheriff said they used weapons made from mordite minerals. It cut off their regenerative abilities. "But we don't have that right now." He assured him that a direct stab to the heart or the brain also worked.
Callum asked about firearms.
The sheriff noted that these parasites were incredibly fast. Placing precise shots in exactly the right place was very difficult.
Callum simply said, "No. I'll figure it out."
The old man was genuinely surprised.
Jessica asked doubtfully, "Can you really do something?"
Callum held the weapon in his hand with a determined expression. "I'll bring Clara back home," he said. "But I need a few things first."
A little while later Callum found himself in a cell-like room. The sheriff explained that this was the only soundproof room they had. The pillows he had asked for were ready.
The man he had met was impatient. "Time is essential. Hurry up."
Callum assured him it would be done in ten minutes.
Leaving, the wolfman said, "You'll get five." And he left him alone.
Callum looked back for a moment. A wave of nervousness engulfed him. What am I stuck in?
If he failed, the Guild was right there behind it. He would be making enemies of the vampires as well. He would be disappointing the shapeshifters too. And how capable was an enemy mage? No idea.
But then Clara's image flashed in front of him. Chained, completely alone.
His resolve became stronger. I can't just stand here.