Chapter 10: Broken Glass

Luke hid a grimace as John gestured for them to be quiet, did his signature deep breath to get into killing mode, and warned the café owner to go back downstairs in case she got disturbed by what she may hear in the attic.

The woman scurried back downstairs without needing to be told twice.

"Me and Rob first and then you, Dillon. Luke, stand guard. We don't know how many we're dealing with here and they might try to bolt," John said, and then turned on his heel to creep up the stairs as silently as possible on the creaky wood.

They listened at the door, knuckles white around the wooden stakes they held at their waists.

Luke's attention drifted away, looking at the kitchen, where the zebra theme carried through the print on the window drapes, the dishtowel hung from the oven handle, and figures stood on every horizontal surface. He didn't notice Dillon starting up the stairs, or the other two pushing open the small attic door to stoop inside.

Luke leaned against the wall and thought about how big of a waste it was for him to be here; each vampire hunting group had to have four people according to The Faith's safety rules, and Luke knew fully well that he was just here to fill a number.

Ideally, the vampire would be asleep, they could stake it in the heart, and it'd be finished within a matter of minutes. Luke heard quiet squeaks of the floor above him as the group moved around and he absentmindedly twirled his stake in his hand.

"No—!" came from above him, Rob's muffled voice, and Luke flinched in shock.

A loud THUD sounded, and the creaking footsteps grew frantic.

Luke's heart pounded in his chest and his eyes darted around the ceiling to try to place the three in the attic.

Something clattered next to him, and Luke's head whipped around to see the door get ripped off its hinges. He jumped sideways just in time to miss it flying down the steep stairs and punching a hole in the drywall next to him.

"Luke, grab it!"

The words were unclear as if through water as an unnaturally fast figure dashed past Luke.

Luke chased after the all-black afterimage and futilely reached out to grab the edge of a black wool cloak as it busted through the window.

Shards of glass bit into his hands as he looked down to the alleyway behind the café, wincing as the vampire hit the pavement. It clambered to its feet, and Luke watched it until it disappeared into the distant shadows.

Footsteps hammered down the stairs as Luke stood in a pool of broken glass and stared after the shadow.

"Did you get it?" John shot out.

Luke turned to him, rattled, and said, "No, it jumped out the window."

"Did you see where it went?" he asked, rushing to the window, glass crunching under his boots.

"Just that way," Luke said, pointing towards the darkest area of the shadowy alley. With his hand in front of him, he saw a piece of glass stuck in his skin and blood dripping down his fingers. The world swayed under his feet. He shut his eyes and leaned back against the wall, willing a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth.

John groaned. "So, it got away."

"What, you just stood there and watched it?" Rob asked, voice thick with anger.

"It jumped out of the window, what was I supposed to do?" Luke countered, opening his eyes and forcing himself not to look at his bloody hand.

"Grab it before it got to the window, you moron!"

Luke's vision flashed red. "There were three of you upstairs, why couldn't any of y'all catch it if it's that simple?"

"Dillon almost got bit up there. It was hiding behind a box," Rob said, voice raising even louder.

"Okay, so what does that have to do with you screwing up your job?" Luke snapped, gesturing angrily. His peripheral vision caught blood droplets flung through the air, and his knees buckled. He shut his eyes and slid down the wall behind him, exhaling deeply to stay conscious.

"See, and what's with this?" Rob asked. "Why do we even bring him if he's just going to do this?"

"Hush, Rob," John said sharply.

"Hold out your hand," Dillon said near Luke.

Weak and woozy, Luke complied. He felt Dillion pluck out the piece of glass, his skin stinging across the entire top of his hand.

"What kind of vampire hunter faints at the sight of blood like this?" Rob asked, voice lowered but no less contentious than before. "This is so f—this is pathetic."

"Shut up, Rob," Luke said through barely-moving lips. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Dillion stick a bandage to his hand, pressing none-too-gracefully against his tender wound.

"Okay," Dillion said with quiet finality.

"Thanks," Luke mumbled, and took Dillion's hand to help him stand up again.

Luke barely got his footing when he saw Rob stomping towards him. "What—?"

Rob interrupted him with his fist in his shirt, yanking him close and staring at him with pure hatred in his eyes. "You're useless, do you know that?"

"Sure, Rob, just let me go," Luke said, grasping for his hand to pry it away from his shirt. He surprised himself with the clarity of his voice despite the blood pumping in his ears.

"Rob, stop it," John said, his hand clawing into Rob's shoulder. "Calm down."

Rob's eyes burned with contempt for one more second, his jaw muscles flexing and his fist tightening, and then he shoved Luke backward.

Luke stumbled, but he maintained his footing and the flat expression that made Rob hate him even more. He smoothed down the crumpled fabric of his sweatshirt.

Rob stomped away, not breaking his stride until he was back inside the van. He ignored the café owner's frantic questions about what all the commotion was, and John hung back to calmly tell her what'd happened.

After he passed his unused stake back to Dillon, Luke pressed himself against the car door as much as he could to avoid Rob in the car. He looked out the window, and the quiet, tense ride back was torture.

Luke's placid face and his slumped posture gave nothing away, but inside, he buzzed with nerves. In all their years, Rob had never grabbed him like that, had never looked at him with such unreserved loathing. He felt chilled, unsafe to be in such close quarters with him. He didn't want to go home again knowing that Rob was there.

John parked in the church parking lot, and wordlessly, Luke set off to Eventide.

The scenery around him blurred as he walked in the muggy dusk air, but his eyes cleared as he stepped into the bar and saw a familiar buzzed head.