Meanwhile, at the motel, a vampire made a comment. "The shapeshifters are so quiet. I thought they'd have done something by now."
He asked the woman at the table about it.
She took a drag on her cigarette and said it confidently. "The protective ward is active. Anyone who comes into this motel, I'll know."
And then, in the same room, a portal began to open. In the next moment something struck her head with such force that the damage was massive.
The rest of the vampires reeled. What is happening? They immediately assumed shapeshifters. But how had they done this? They did not understand it.
Callum stood there in the purple aura, weapon in hand. One down.
He recalled how he had worked it out. Portals, teleportation and mana sense, combined into one — I'll use it in the way the Guild has never used it. Spatial magic has no offensive application. That is what they say. But Callum knew that could not be true. He wanted one way to defend himself, and he had been figuring it out. How to use portals together with other weapons. Throw a knife in front of you, and the portal should make it fly out several metres away. Hold the pencil in your hand. Then he had imagined a better option than either of those. Use a firearm.
Back in the present. He used the weapon and held the portal open in front of it.
Next targets. A blusterer of a vampire yelled at the room. "Everybody, it's an invasion—" and immediately he took a direct hit.
His partner was terrified. He tried to call for help. Before the sentence completed, he was down too.
Callum realised it had taken only a few seconds. Now he had to teleport Clara out.
Doing it from that distance was difficult. But the spatial awareness made it possible.
He proceeded carefully. Locking on to Clara's energy was complicated. Her signature was slippery. The visibility was there. A moment of intense concentration, and finally a portal opened behind the girl. Purple energy enveloped Clara, and instantly she went through the portal and arrived safely in the soundproof room.
Callum quickly exited.
A wave of relief. The plan worked. Especially since he had no experience whatsoever with long-distance human teleportation. First time out, and it was impressive in itself.
Then in the motel room another vampire appeared. "What is happening?"
He did not notice the small portal behind him. By then another shot had rung out. He saw the bodies lying on the ground.
Callum had started to fatigue. But I can't stop.
And he came running into the vampires' room.
One of them shouted, "It's an attack! Search the area!"
Confused as they were, Callum's speed did not matter. He was breathing hard but he was determined. Not one of them is going out of here. One more shot, one more target down.
One of the last remaining vampires was sitting on the floor in panic, staring at his fallen comrade. Cursing, he finally noticed the portal next to him. Right next to his head. And a final shot echoed.
Outside the cell, the sheriff was counting the seconds. Jessica was hoping for the best. Then a strange sound came from inside, and Jessica threw the door open.
Chase announced it. "The work is over. Clara's safe."
Jessica ran to Clara. "Are you okay?"
Clara was still confused. "What is happening?"
The old man noted it. The complete rescue had taken forty-five seconds. He was genuinely struggling to process that. "The vampires. What happened?"
Callum simply said, "All dealt with." Then he added, "You'll have to send firefighters to the motel. Flames must have started in the building during the fight."
The sheriff gave him a strange look. "You're talking about the motel? That's weird. I'm not feeling any magic off you at all."
He was about to ask something else. Then the circle at Callum's neck began to glow with purple energy. Callum's stomach sank. Have to hurry.
He had gotten a great deal out of dealing with the vampires before the fire spread through the neighbourhood. But now he had to get home. Everything had to be sorted out.
He had just moved toward the car when somebody said his name. It was Jessica.
"Shouldn't you be with Clara?" Callum asked.
"I just wanted to thank you first," Jessica said.
Before Callum could say anything, Jessica planted a kiss on his cheek.
Callum was completely surprised. His face turned bright red. The embarrassment was clearly visible.
Jessica smiled. "Clara needs help." And she had to go, and she went.
Callum stood there. Weapon in one hand, the other hand on his cheek, face red. This was a man who had single-handedly handled a nest of vampires today. And one kiss on the cheek had completely short-circuited him.
He was still flustered. He stuttered, "Everything's fine. It's all right, never mind."
The wolves gathered there, and the sheriff informed Alpha Chester. The vampire problem had been resolved.
The Alpha asked, "What did you do?"
The old man assured him. "There was no involvement from our group."
Chester said on the phone, "Explain it clearly."
The sheriff recounted it. A man had offered help. He said not to ask questions. We do not even know his real name.
Chester asked whether he was a shapeshifter or a wizard.
Arthur replied, "I saw a wizard's tattoo. But there was no sign of magic."
The braided Alpha fell silent. Maybe a fae, he thought. But he did not seem to fit that either.
The two of them discussed it. The rest of the vampires were absolutely not going to like this.
At that same moment, in front of the burning motel, a figure appeared. A man with sharp teeth and a furious expression.
On the phone, Chester concluded. If somebody knows nothing, then nothing can be done.
The sheriff looked over at Jessica and Clara and told the Alpha that this mysterious man had done them an enormous favour.
Chester asked, "Who is he?" Then he gave his instructions. Keep an eye on him. It would not do to trust wizards.
And Callum sat in the car with that same expression on his face and drove away. Absolutely as though nothing at all had happened.