The Blood of the Soul

Uncharted Territory

A/N: This was by far my favorite chapter to write so far, so enjoy!

Theo threw himself into work. He scheduled longer hours, leaving the house at sundown and only returning just before sunrise to avoid as many interactions with the Dread Doctors as possible. They had a few new play things to entertain themselves with, anyway. Mari left him a few pints in the fridge each night, and Theo kept to his room otherwise.

Other than a few passes in the hallway and a handful of almost-elevator rides that turned into Theo climbing ten flights of stairs, he'd successfully dodged Dunbar at the hospital, too. He didn't know how he was supposed to face him after their stand down in the alley a few weeks ago. After the slayer had given him a goddamn pass.

Tonight, though, he hadn't seen him at all, and ordinarily, Theo wouldn't care. Except that Doug had organized a hunting party. He'd nearly wrangled Theo into joining them, but he wasn't ready for that kind of temptation. It was one thing to avoid drinking directly from humans when he was by himself, but the bloodlust magnified in a group full of hungry vampires.

The charge nurse, Melissa, swatted at Theo's feet where they were resting on the counter as he leaned back in his chair, finishing up his charts before leaving for the night.

"Is it just me, or is it qu—"

She gasped and leveled him with a murderous glare before he could finish the word "quiet."

"Don't you dare, Raeken," she said. "You might get to leave in a few minutes, but I'm stuck here for another hour."

Theo raised his hands in surrender and turned back to his charts. "Just seemed like we were understaffed tonight, that's all."

"Technically, we are," Melissa admitted. "A bunch of people have been switching their schedules around."

"Like who?"

"Tómas, Ellen, oh, and that new kid Liam."

Theo's cut his gaze to her out of the corner of his eye. "Dunbar changed his schedule?"

Melissa's gaze narrowed in suspicion. Theo wasn't one to usually care about his coworker's schedules as long as they did their jobs. "Yeah," she said slowly. "He asked for tonight off."

Alarm bells rang in Theo's mind. He finished scribbling in the last of his charts before bolting off to the locker room while he called Mari, the phone jammed between his ear and his shoulder as he wrenched his bag out.

When she didn't answer, he tried Caitlin. It went straight to voicemail, and his nerves reverberated with an unsettled tension that he couldn't quite place.

In theory, the Dread Doctors were probably home by now. They didn't like to spend too long hunting, even in groups. Theo wouldn't even mind if the slayer staked Doug—so why were his hands shaking?

With a few hours left before sunrise, Theo started home, but as he passed an entrance to Central Park, the scent of blood slammed into him like a freight train. He tracked the scent, following it like a trail until he came across a dozen vampire bodies scattered amongst the undergrowth.

The slayer had been busy tonight, apparently.

Except—the scent of blood he'd been following had been distinctly human. He kept walking along the nonexistent path until he found a beaten and bloody body leaning against a nearby tree.

Theo's entire body locked up at the sight.

But then he heard the distant beat of a heart and the head lifted.

Grimy, dirty loose curls framed the slayer's face, and barely visible beneath the flickering lamplight, his blue eyes were dim and broken, just like his body. Bruises webbed across his cheeks and down his neck, across the pale skin visible under the shreds of his shirt.