The neon "Open" sign flickered in the window of Manny's Diner as Helena wiped down the last of the chrome-edged tables. The scent of fried potatoes and burned coffee hung in the air. Manny had poked his balding head out from the kitchen twenty minutes ago, jangling his car keys and telling her to lock up before midnight.
Now, her uniform apron untied and hanging loose around her waist, she leaned against the counter where Priya sat perched on a red vinyl stool, both of them laughing until tears gathered in the corners of their eyes.
"Remember when we first met in biology?" Helena said, twirling a strand of her dark hair. "You dropped your frog dissection tray all over my new shoes, and I was too terrified to even look at you."
Priya also laughed. "Well, talk about first impressions."
They then remembered their other best friend Ray and how he was closeted when they met him. Luckily, he confided in them and they gave him in the confidence to come out.
The bell on the front door rang as someone entered. Helena didn't expect a customer this late in the night.
"Hello, ladies." Elliot greeted them.
Helena raised her fists and Priya followed her movements. Both were standing up and ready to attack.
"Wait." Elliot said.
But it was to no avail as Priya launched a beam from her palms which made Eliot fly threw the door, breaking the glass as a result.
He was on his knees outside trying to get up as the girls slowly made their way towards him.
Elliot held out a hand. "I'm not here to fight."
Priya was abou to launch another attack when Helena stopped her.
"What do you want?" Helena asked.
"I have a peace offering." Elliot said.
"What?!" Both friends said in unison.
"Yes." Elliot now fully stood up dusting off his clothes. "You helped me resurrect Kyle. Now help me put some sense into him."
"Why should we trust you?" Priya questioned.
"I'm not foolish enough to lure you all into a trap." Elliot smired. "Besides this truce will allow us to stop the war."
"War?" Helena was flabbergasted.
**
Kyle stood among the skeletal remains of rusted roller coasters, their once-vibrant paint now peeling like dead skin. The two vampire clan leaders of the Enchanted Ones gathered in a semicircle before him, their pale faces glowing eerily in the suspended twilight. The evening hung frozen in time, neither advancing into night nor retreating to day, while tendrils of pewter-colored smoke curled between them, carrying the scent of decay and something metallic—like old pennies or fresh blood.
Behind the leaders stood their witch who was among the most powerful witches in the town. The Enchanted knew they were dealing with a fellow vampire, but he was an outsider, and outsider couldn't be trusted.
"Mr. Kyle." The female clan leader said.
She was at least sixty but moved with the lithe grace of a dancer, her body taut as a bowstring beneath her crimson velvet cloak. Deep lines carved into her alabaster skin like ancient runes, each one a testament to centuries of survival.
Her hood—embroidered with silver thread that caught the moonlight—shrouded all but the sharp angles of her cheekbones and the glint of her amber eyes. Beside her stood the male clan leader, his arm possessively brushing against hers. Though appearing younger—perhaps forty by human standards—his eyes held the weary knowledge of someone who had watched empires rise and fall, his salt-and-pepper hair swept back from a face that remained unnervingly handsome despite the cruelty etched into its features.
Kyle stood up and the clan leaders did so as well removing their hoods.
Kyle smirked. "I'm not here to fight."
The witch sneered.
"I'm here to make you an offer." Kyle continued. "An offer of war."
**
Helena was sitting on a table in front of Elliot. She was cautious while Priya fixed the front door with her magical powers.
"I could pay for that." Elliot said pointing towards the door which was almost done being remade.
"I could accept your money but I would have no explanation to give to the owner." Helena said with a forced smile.
"Done." Priya approached them and sat down beside her best friend.
The three of them sat in silence for a while until Elliot broke it, "Kyle is enlisting the help of the Enchanted Ones."
"Who?" Helena asked.
"They are a formidable clan of vampires." Elliot explained. "One of the oldest clans in existence. And they have one goal. To wipe out werewolves from the face of the earth."
Helena and Priya shuddered at the same time.
"I know." Elliot said. "It's all so melodramatic."
"But isn't yours and Kyle's goal also to eliminate werewolves?" Priya asked.
"No." Elliot scoffed. "We wanted revenge on all of you for the killing of Jenna."
"Killing?" Helena was taken aback. "She killed herself."
Elliot raised an eyebrow. "So, that's not a rumor."
"It's not."
"Kyle and I thought you hid her stake-driven body somewhere. But a witch did tell us she killed herself. Guess she was right."
"You couldn't have asked us before killing a quarter of the Moonwalker pack?"
Elliot scoffed. "Maybe I should have."
There was an awkward silence again.
"Now, I don't want a war." Elliot declared. "We already have humans who secretly or openly hate us. Witches who despise us."
Helena and Priya exchanged confused glances.
"What I'm trying to save is, werewolves are not the enemy." Elliot said.
On that, they all could agree.
**
"And we start with the Moonwalker pack." Kyle announced.
The Enchanted Ones' leaders, Dave and Nancy exchanged uncertain glances.
"Their Alpha could kill us all in his sleep." Nancy told Kyle.
Kyle started laughing maniacally. "Yes, he could have. But I have an ace up my sleeve."
Dave and Nancy were busy deciding if Kyle was thinking clearly or crazy. Shadows lengthened across the abandoned amusement park, swallowing the last copper glow at the horizon until only the silver gleam of moonlight remained, catching on the vampire leaders' pale skin like frost on marble. Kyle now stared at the witch who was thinking of slaughtering him there and then.
Dave outstretched a hand. "Let's do this."