Chapter 11- The Speed Leech.

 I bolted to the woods the old shack resided in as fast as my wings could carry me. I arrived in only thirty minutes, praying that whoever had Ember hadn't made it that far. I knew these woods all too well, and being back here brought back memories I wasn't too fond of. I rushed through them after landing, ducking under branches and jumping over fallen trees as I ran to the banks of Lake Greenstone. When I arrived at the cabin on the lake's shore, the water was still, and the sun was just beginning to set. I took a deep breath to control my panting and opened my ears to the sound of the forest. Begging for a twig to snap, footsteps to be heard, anything. Disappointed that I had come up empty, I started towards the cabin. I tried not to let the annoyance seep off my face as I knocked on the door. 

 I had come across this cabin a few years ago, mistakenly thinking it would be a good place to add to my rotation of hide outs. Boy had I been wrong, a very powerful cryptid lived here, and a severely egotistical and aggravating one at that. His name was Arvan Leech. His last name was extremely fitting. I never did find out his species, but he was extravagantly fast. When he started running you could barely see or hear him, he was like a blur. He fed on the blood of animals, grabbing them so fast they never knew what hit them. I never cared enough to know what he actually was. I knew he was a disgusting narcissistic prick, with a knack for making nasty jokes and not being able to take no for an answer. But his speed was needed here. There was no way I'd be able to scale the entirety of the woods around the cabin quickly enough to find Ember before something happened. 

 I bit my tongue and garnished a cheap smile before he opened the door. "Red! What a wonderful surprise. You must have missed me. Too many wet dreams to stay away, huh?" I scowled at his nickname and gross statement. "Cut the shit, Arvan. I need your help," I said, pushing past the door and making my way into the cabin. I couldn't stand him, even when I had tried to be his friend, he was always crossing boundaries and being a prude. He was one of the many reasons I had decided to stick to myself and stay alone. He chuckled a bit before shutting the door behind me. "And you know I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole regardless," I spat at him. He folded his arms over his chest before speaking again. "Come on. You know you want all of this," he said, and I rolled my eyes in response stifling a gag. "I don't have time for this, Arv," I said, letting my voice raise slightly. "What is it, Red? You let a meal get away from you or something?" He said coldly, seemingly disappearing and popping up in front of me and leaning on his kitchen table. I hated that he'd never call me by my name, instead choosing to call me by a nickname he had made up after finding out what I was, using it constantly after finding out I despised being this way. I hated the fact that I was desperate enough to ask him for help more though, and I bit my tongue as I formed my next sentence. Trying my best not to let the anger I felt seep into rudeness. "No." I said through gritted teeth. "I've lost a..." I trailed off for a moment before finding the right words, "friend." I finished, to which he let his jaw drop sarcastically. "The illusive vamp has made a friend?" He mocked and I clinched my fist together and pushed away the urge to knock him in his jaw. "Arvan, seriously cut the act. Have you seen a human girl anywhere? Or noticed anyone dragging a body through the woods?" I asked. "Oh, so you haven't made a friend. You've just lowered yourself to taking your food to go," he said and my face grew hot with anger. I snatched the door open, letting it slam into the wall and dent the wood behind it. "I knew it was a mistake coming here. I should've fucking known you'd be no help. You can't pull your head out of your ass for more than two seconds long enough to help yourself, much less anyone else." I spat before taking a step out of the door. He rushed over in a blur, moving me so quickly I couldn't even feel it and shutting the door before I could even blink my eyes. "Woah, slow down. I didn't know it was that serious. What's going on?" He asked and the tension in my shoulders lessened at the sincerity in his voice. 

 We sat on the loveseat in the living room as I told him everything about Ember, what I saw in Ayah's mirror and why I had come to him for help. I tried to ignore the cheap jokes he'd make during my retelling. "Why are you so invested in helping this girl, Red? It seems like she's only getting you- and other people, into more trouble than it's worth. What if the wolves had somehow gone after Ayah? What would you have done about her then?" He asked. I had tried not to think too much into the hypothetical. The truth is I don't know what I'd have done. I just knew I wanted them both to stay safe, and that was seeming to be more and more impossible with Em. "I don't know Arv, but Ayah is pretty much untraceable, and you know that. Regardless, I made a commitment to making sure this girl stayed alive long enough to get back on her feet. I need to see it through." I neglected to tell him about unexplainable pull I felt to this almost complete stranger. The almost addictive like urge I felt to get to know her that in a way almost made me seem selfish. It made my head reel, the fact that my first thought had been Ember and not the suspicion that Ayah may have been in danger. In the end we derived a plan on how to best scope out the banks of the lake and the wooded area surrounding it, coming up with signals we could use to alert each other if we found her or saw anything suspicious. "I can clap pretty loud because of my speed, if I see anything I can just do that, and you can listen out for it." He offered, and I nodded my head in response. That would work. I thought for a while before deciding what my signal would be. I decided I could use one of my more infrequently used powers. Similar to the echolocation's that bats used, I could bounce sounds I make off of solid structures. If I used this to bounce my voice off of rocks and trees in the woods, Arvan would be able to hear me call for him if he paid attention. 

 We stepped out on the cabin's porch with the moon now high in the sky and the waves of the lake lightly bouncing off of the mossy sand that sat against the shore. Arvan was gone in a flash, before I even saw his feet touch the faded wooden stairs of the porch. He would scope out the areas around the water, I would take the woods and the brush outside of them. I took the ripped sheet out of my pocket once again, catching Ember's scent one final time before I rushed off into the thicket of brush, trees and overgrown weed grass. My heart seeming to catch in my throat as I tried to push the thoughts of worst-case scenarios to the back of my mind.