CHAPTER 209

Tristan wondered if he should go to Allison's place to break the news to her and Chris but decided against it knowing that Deaton would have told Chris something as important as this, probably before even administering the lichen.

Giving Malia the benefit of the doubt, he went back home to make sure that the newborn vampire at home hadn't wrecked his house yet.

"You're back early. Allison okay?"

"I don't know. I didn't go after them." He said casually, gaining an exasperated look from Boyd as he did so.

"So what is it this time?" Boyd couldn't help but feel a bit skittish for some reason, as if something bad was going to happen based on Tristan's expression.

Tristan went into the kitchen to mix himself some red brew, pausing and sighing when he remembered he would now have to share his stash until Boyd got his.

"No doubt Noshike will try to kill the Nogitsune tonight. Her daughter almost got killed so she won't take anymore chances."

"Sooo?"

"So it's ghost samurais and Hunters, with us in the crossfire. And by us, I mean me and Malia." He said squinting one eye at Boyd and like he expected Boyd was shocked at the end of his sentence.

"Huh? What about me then? You benching me out? I expect that from anyone else but not you dude." Boyd was very not pleased to here that his best friend was booting him to the sidelines when he finally had the power to help.

Boyd folded his hands and mildly glared at Tristan who was just calmly sipping his ambrosia with his eyes closed.

"You think I'm being overly protective?"

"Isn't that exactly what you are being?"

One of his eyes opened to squint at Boyd who didn't back down and returned the gesture.

"Let's get this straight; I am only 'overly' protective of Malia and you don't see me policing what she can and can't do, do you?" His squinted eye was still on Boyd who was now looking unsure but still nodded his head.

"With that thought, tell me who you can beat as a two-day old vampire in the three-way brawl. First of all, obviously, not me and Malia. The Hunters? Please. You might be able to surprise Allison given she's still unaware of your change, but that won't be enough as she'll quickly neutralize you if she has to. That leaves the Onis, and honestly speaking, I'd prefer McCall and Kira over you if I had to choose, which thankfully I don't."

It was an interesting scene seeing Boyd's dark skin pale as Tristan described what would happen to him in detail if he blindly joined the fight hotheadedly. He couldn't even keep his emotions in check under stress and pain.

The Onis themselves weren't exactly weak apparitions when summoned, and they could even grow greater in individual strength depending on how many tails Noshiko sacrificed, which would definitely not be a single one if she considered this as her last resort to kill the damned fox spirit.

"B-but I can't just sit around and let you guys do everything on your own-"

"Yes you can. You've been doing it since the beginning." Tristan said, his words so direct that it caused Boyd to flinch. Seeing that, Tristan sighed to himself. "Don't worry, it's not that serious – beating the Nogitsune and Oni, that is. With me and Malia, it'll be light work. The only thing is how to get the Nogitsune out of her without trying to kill her first."

He didn't say that just to reassure Boyd but instead as what it was; beating the Nogitsune was an easy thing for him to do, as well as the Onis, empowered or not.

"Enough of this for now, Boyd. Instead let's help you get a good grasp of your emotions. The faster the better." He downed the last content of his cup with one big gulp and licked his bloodstained lips to savor its last taste.

"Well shit." Boyd cursed.

"'Well shit' indeed."

...

Night came and with it drew Tristan towards the Argent House. He traveled alone because Malia didn't bother coming back and stayed the whole day with Allison. Well he guessed that in itself was good news, since Chris didn't call that he had killed or restrained Malia, he guessed she didn't flip out in a house full of the veteran Hunters.

As for Boyd, the dark skinned boy knew he was over his head when he finally calmed down and thought about it clearly.

Pushing stray thoughts out of his mind, Tristan perched atop the branches of a tree adjacent to Allison's window and stayed there under the shadows of the night and hid his presence, not announcing his arrival to anyone.

He could hear Chris and Victoria arguing about the best course of action to take in order to protect Allison from the Oni.

The house was their best bet as it was their household and was recently lined with mountain ash. It was a winning bet as it would keep the Oni out for as long as it could as long as no new development occurred.

Except when Tristan had closed his eyes and focused more on his other senses, he started picking up a group of men surrounding the Argent House in a wide and inconspicuous perimeter.

He would have written it off as them being normal people in the surrounding neighborhood but the way they were all positioned near a road path and how similarly calm their heartbeat was to the Argents clued him in on who they were.

Hunters.

'Something isn't right. Chris rarely ever calls them in and if he did, shouldn't he position them around his house to ward off the Oni?' Tristan thought grimly.

Stealthily dropping himself off the tree, Tristan moved silently and quickly and cut an arc travel path to the nearest Hunter while approaching from behind.

"Who are you, and who sent you?"

The man who tried struggling immediately calmed down under Tristan's questioning with a glazed look over his eyes.

"Joao, no last name. We are from the Calavera Family, a family of Hunters…"

Tristan's frown deepened as he heard what the man was saying and couldn't help but feel something was wrong.

"Who informed you? What orders were you given?"

"I-I don't know. All I know is that the Argent went against the code and the heir is now a werebeast and so she must die, if the Argent refuse to honor the code. She's not the only one as we were also ordered to kill the Daywalker and the Coyote who have allied with the Argent. A grave dishonor to family name of Argent–"

Tristan didn't let the man speak anymore and just slit his throat and left him to drown in his own blood.

The Nogitsune truly was a crafty spirit.

A blood thread slithered out of the man's pocket and drew out a bloodstained card with a skull on it – the crest of the Calavera Hunting Family.

He went back to Allison's house, landing on the tree but making sure he did in a way that his shadow through the windows alerted the people inside.

He successfully got Allison and Chris' attention and threw the card at them, which Chris caught, and watched as their faces changed.

As if to add to their worries, 5 shadows emerged at different parts surrounding the house and with their swords stabbed forward in an effort to pierce through the mountain ash barrier.

"The Calaveras are coming. I'll take care of the Oni first, before going for the Hunters. Keep an eye on Allison at all times."

He had hardly finished speaking when a shadow spawned behind him, possibly trying to get the drop on Allison who was near the window, but Tristan grabbed its hands and flung it over his shoulder towards the ground.

The other Oni turned to his direction and broke in a sprint with swords drawn.

"Seriously Noshiko? You're not taking any chances are you?" His voice went lower and thicker until it became no more than a grumbling whisper.

Half of his body was encased in threads of blood that wiggled and crawled over his body like living worms, turning him into a half-monster and half-beast. [A/N: Think Carnage form Venom]

He landed in their midst and brought with him a torrent of blood and savagery only a vampire could display.

He could feel that these Oni were stronger than the ones he had come across before but that meant little to nothing in the current scenario.

Freezing one of the Oni who tried to cut through his blood carapace, his senses immediately locked in into what was flickering inside the Oni. It was a sensation that told him that whatever it was both physical and not.

A normal human could do what he was about to do and nothing would happen – he understood. In the blink of an eye, his armored hand speared into the chest of the Oni and pulled out, causing the Oni to fall back to the shadows.

"I've finally got it."

The last time it happened, he wasn't exactly focusing on it and his body just did it, but now he clearly remembered the sensation.

He opened his hands and in his palms was a dead firefly.

Death to the shadows.