002- Battle

Zane somersaulted and landed in a crouch, his dagger clasped in his right hand, his left hand spread with splayed fingers in the dirt they were fighting on.

He spun, kicking out a leg to bring his opponent down, and dropped on top of him, then he slammed his dagger into his enemy’s throat with a double handed grip.  The blade slid through the downed vampire’s throat like a plasma torch through metal, incapacitating the creature. 

Zane spared a quick glance in Poe’s direction.  His fellow outsider was finishing off his opponent.  He decapitated his foe and bent to wipe his blade on the dead vampire’s clothes. 

Around them, the dirt was littered with the corpses of vampires.  A rogue team, that had been planning the assassination of the crown prince of the vampires.

“What are we doing here again?”  Zane straightened and moved away from the unconscious vampire on the ground.  “I mean besides saving your licentious hide?”

Poe laughed, “I’m willing to bet my crown they didn’t think the crown prince would come after them himself.”  He kicked the body at his feet, and then looked over to Zane’s opponent.  Poe sighed eloquently.  He walked over to the vampire and in a smooth motion, decapitated it as well. 

“Never leave an enemy alive Zane.  How many times do I have to tell you that? Especially if the enemy is after me.”  He cleaned the blade again then stood, sliding the sword into the sheath at his back.

“We fundamentally disagree on that score Poe.”  Zane’s expression was dark. 

“Your compassion will catch up to you one day Zane, probably when I’m not around to save your ass.”

Zane snorted. “Stop evading my question.” 

“Evade...” Poe started, but Zane’s flat expression stopped him. 

He sighed again.  “I was bored.”

Zane frowned and stepped over a corpse to walk towards the car.  He was dirty, covered in vampire blood and in need of a shower.  The smell of the blood was making him hungry and cranky.  He had to get to his supply of butcher-bought blood in the refrigerator at Outsiders Inc.  So it took him a moment to process what Poe meant. 

Zane stopped dead and pivoted to face Poe.  “You went to Evi!”  

Poe had the grace to drop his head and look embarrassed. 

“Oh my gods, you are an idiot.  No one, rubs Evi up the wrong way, faster than you Poe.” 

“It’s because she wants me.”  Poe straightened his shoulders and flashed a cheeky grin.

Zane was not impressed.  He reached up and pushed his blond fringe out his eyes.  “You had to go bug Evi, and now we are standing in a field in the middle of nowhere, with vampire corpses scattered all over the place, and dawn only an hour away.  When will you learn?”

“She finished the edit didn’t she?” Poe defended himself, walking past Zane towards the Impala. 

“If you were that desperate for action you should have asked me to go talk to her.”  Zane caught up with Poe.

“She did say that.” Poe nodded.

“She did?” A smile curled Zane’s lips.

“Yeah, you are her favorite, we all know it.”  Poe reached the car and pulled the driver’s side door open.  “Will you go visit her?”

Zane reached the passenger side and got in, sliding long legs into the car.

“Why?” Zane knew what Poe was trying to say, but he chose to be obtuse. 

“Don’t be an ass,” Poe pierced Zane with a stare as he turned the engine on the Impala, “I might find myself in the middle of the gators in a bayou before she’s done being pissed at me.”

Zane laughed, a warm sound that came from his belly.

“I’ll go see her.” 

Poe nodded his thanks, and pulled off onto the dirt road.  Dawn would take care of the mess they’d left in the clearing, and Zane would take care of Evi’s pique.