The Vampire's Apprentice

Sam skidded to a stop on the porch and stood growling.

Clancy glanced back. "Kitty, are you here?" he asked, keeping his voice low and calm. Slowly and carefully he walked toward Norville to pick up the gun. Norville looked like he was going to pass out, throw up, or completely lose it at the wrong sound. "Check on EJ, Kitty."
EJ moaned softly and shifted.
 
She inhaled silently at the sight of everything and swallowed the knot in her throat⁠—twice. Trying unbelievably hard not to dwell on any of it, Kitty crept warily past Sam and knelt by the fallen EJ. Frankly, she didn't know more than the household basics of first aid, but since he was at least breathing, she figured that to be a good sign.
 
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"Ooowwww," EJ moaned, weakly waving a hand as if to shoo a fly. "Wha happn'?"
"Yes. What happened?" Clancy looked around. No takers. He stepped over to Mrs. Mooney and took her by the arms, guiding her to the kitchen. "Sit down. You need to focus." He looked into her eyes, studying her, trying to reach past the shock. "Focus."
She swallowed hard, turning greenish.
"Kitty, get the twins in here. See if you can get EJ to hold a cloth against his head then bring them in here where they can't see anything," Clancy said, still focused on Mrs. Mooney. He'd pushed the gun aside with his foot, taking great pains not to touch it.
 
Kitty did as she had been told, and nothing more. Only the needed words were exchanged to move the twins away from the scene, and she offered (what was hopefully) a spare rag to EJ. Just breathe. She was telling herself. Don't look at it. Don't think. Just breathe. Push away the fear; the panic, and breathe.
 
"Now, Mrs. Mooney, what happened?" Clancy asked in a firm tone.
"I shot him," Norville said in a blank tone. "I just... I wanted him to stop... I didn't want to..."
"Not now, Norville. Dorothy?"
"He..." Her eyes darted toward the door. "He found us. My Ex. I don't know how. But he did. And he burst in with the gun... EJ was closest, but he didn't have a chance. Arther hit him then... he came after the... he hurt..." She was breaking down.
Clancy glanced around. JC's bloody nose, JP's injured arm, the crack in the cast and the bloody lip Norville sported, and the black eye slowly developing on Mrs. Mooney... "He started attacking you all, didn't he?"
She nodded, swallowing. "He came after me last. I couldn't get to him fast enough. I wasn't fast enough to help them! He put his gun down and he had his hands around my throat... I heard Norville screaming at him to stop..."
"And then the gun went off?"
She nodded, blinking back tears.
Clancy assessed the situation once more then stood. "Right. Mrs. Mooney, JP, JC, Kitty and I were never here. You understand me? We left right before this happened." He turned to Kitty. "Kitty, make certain that dog did not leave a trace and get back to the house. Clean up your coffee and the kitchen and wait for me at the car." He waited for only a breath. "Go, hurry!"
 
If she had been in his place, she would not have left. Kitty did not see the reason to abandon the neighbors—her friends, if not his—in this moment of shock and in their need.

But she trusted Clancy. And beyond trust, it was her duty to do what he bid of her, wether she understood it or not. For those reasons alone, did she take Sam and go.

That said, Kitty did look back, as the one right thing she felt she could do.

There wasn't much of a spill to clean since most of the coffee was still in the cup. Even still, she made certain there wouldn't be anything that might dry sticky before clipping a leash on Sam and going to wait beside the car.
 
Sam whined as he followed Kitty and helped her clean up. By licking random spots as she wiped.


Clancy, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Mrs. Mooney. "Give him to me," he said simply.
"What?" she asked, startled out of her shock.
"Norville. Give him to me," Clancy repeated. "Call the police and tell them exactly what happened. Your son killed his father in an effort to protect his family. It was self-defense all the way, and he would not see much punishment, but..." he glanced over to where Norville stood half listening, mostly whimpering, "we both know he would not survive any jail time and come out your little boy. Give him to me. Tell them he ran away in shock and fear, and we were never here. I'll look after him and Kitty, and he'll work for his place."
"I... I don't..."
"Decide now, Dorothy! You're out of time."
Her lips thinned, and she nodded. "Take him."
Clancy marched over to Norville and took him by the shoulders. "Norville!"
"S-sir!" he yelped, snapping to attention.
"Will you obey me, my every command, and do your best to protect my interest and secrets to the point of your own death, giving up of your personal life, and becoming whoever and whatever I desire?"
"-" He glanced at his mother then back to Clancy's penetrating gaze. "Yes, sir!"
"Good enough for now, we'll finalize it later." Clancy grabbed his good arm and dragged him out the door.
"Bye!" Norville managed to call to his family. "Love you!"
Mrs. Mooney nodded grimly, struggling to hold back tears as the twins finally started crying.

"Kitty! Time to go!" Clancy called when he reached the car. Thankfully, the car blocked the sight from Mrs. Pugglesworth's house for the most part, and he forced Norville to stay low as he shoved him into the floor of the backseat. "I have everything packed, and the neighbors are told goodbye. Let's go."
 
"What the heck is happening, exactly?" Kitty hissed, letting Sam into the car with Norville before closing the door.
 
"We are leaving on our long-planned move," CLancy said firmly as he got into the driver's seat. "Norville, keep your head down and your mouth shut until I say otherwise."
"It smells like road tar down here," Norville complained weekly.
"Better than how the inside of a jail cell would smell," Clancy said, starting the car. "Are you buckled, Kitty?"
 
Kitty hopped into the passenger's side and made sure her seatbelt was on, then nodded. She could get further explanation out of him later, but too much was happening to make sense of it all at once. It felt like there was a tiny person hammering at the inside of her skull.
 
Clancy backed the car out of the driveway and calmly steered down the road. They had only reached the first intersection when two police cars careened around, siren's blaring as they raced to the Mooney house.
"Kitty," Clancy said, watching the police cars in his review mirror, "you trusted Norville enough to tell him a certain secret. Do you still trust him that much? Do you trust him to be loyal?"
 
Kitty bit gently at her scalded tongue, dangerously close to saying something irrational. "I– yes, I do." She replied.
 
Clancy glanced at her, catching her eyes briefly, then nodded. "Okay, then." He started the car forward. "Familiar One, meet Familiar Two. I hope you get along."
Norville had closed his eyes and huddled miserably in the cramped space on the floor. His two casts were not making it easy for him.
 
The girl shrank back into her seat, generally uncomfortable and mostly wishing she were alone at the moment. There was too much to think about—too much she did not want to think about—and somehow this didn't feel like luck. Yet what it was, she couldn't say.
 
Clancy glanced at Kitty then kept his eyes on the road and said nothing as they got on the road. Not exactly the cheerful departure he'd hoped for, and he certainly hadn't intended to saddle himself with another Familiar, but this did solve a different problem. He gave a soft sigh and allowed silence to fall for the next ten minutes or so. Nothing but the sound of the quiet city at night, the hum of the tires, and the occasional other car on the road. Night driving had always been peaceful to him.

Then blue and red lights lit up the interior of the car. He glanced in the rearview mirror and spotted the cop car. No sirens, just lights. That was good. He politely signaled and pulled over to a stop.
 
Kitty stared blankly at the cup in her hands. It took a moment to notice the colored lights tinting it, and she looked up when he pulled over.
 
"Don't worry," Clancy assured her. "Norville, not a sound. No matter if they are looking straight at you, not a word, not a wiggle."
"Yes, sir," he squeaked.
Clancy waited patiently until the policeman came up to the window. "Good evening officer. How may I help you? Do I have a light out?"
"You're Clancy McCleary, next-door neighbor to the Mooney family?" the cop asked gruffly, glancing at Kitty. He was suspicious, but not accusing them of anything. Yet.
"Yes, though 'former' would be more accurate. We are moving," Clancy explained.
"There was a shooting at their house, and we think the perpetrator may have hidden in your car," the policeman stated.
Clancy noted the second policeman standing at a distance, hand on his weapon, watching and waiting. "Oh my. Well, of course, you must look, then, but-" he caught the cop's eyes and layered his words with Power, "you will not see him here." Then he let the control drop. "Would you like for us to step out?"
The cop blinked, only the faintest of sways showing that anything had happened. "Uh... no, you stay right there," he said. He opened the back door and looked over the packed seats, his light shining right over Norville's prone body. He closed the door and moved to the back. He did not open the door this time as Sam was laying watching him curiously, his newest rope toy in his mouth. "What's in the trunk?" the cop asked, moving back to the front.
"Odds and ends. You are welcome to look inside if you feel it necessary, but no one would be able to fit inside without taking things out, and that would show," Clancy said.
The cop grunted and looked over everything once again. "Night is an odd time to leave for a move. Most go first thing in the morning."
"Indeed, it is strange," Clancy sighed as if he'd had to explain this hundreds of times. "I have a rare allergy to sunlight."
The cop grunted then stepped back. "Alright. Carry on."
Clancy gave him a salute and waited until he was certain the cop was out of the way before pulling back onto the road.
 
"It's no wonder you've lived for so long," Kitty mumbled after they had begun to drive again. She settled her head against the passenger window, feeling the cool glass on her temple. "Maybe a little bit too long."
 
Clancy glanced at her sharply. "What does that mean?" he asked in a neutral tone. "I should think you'd be happy I'm saving your friend."
 
She returned the glance, but didn't move her head so she could see him. "It doesn't mean anything." Which was a lie; it definitely meant something. She simply wasn't wanting to discuss it at the current time. "And I am happy. I'm just also stressed and tired and confused and a whole bunch of other things–" Kitty paused for a second before her voice rose, lowering it to a whisper, "–and don't feel like thinking about any of it even though I am."
 
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