The Darkness Within 1c2g2x

The Darkness Within

Jessica Major

Copyright © 2016 by Jessica Major.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016910661 ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-5245-1432-7 Softcover 978-1-5245-1431-0 eBook 978-1-5245-1430-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 06/28/2016

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 1

T hough the midmorning sun was blazing hot in the cloudless sky, a shiver ran down my spine. They had barely briefed me over the phone, leaving me with only a vague idea what to expect as I got out of my car. They were always secretive over the phone. I should be used to it by now, but it still irked me sometimes. I liked knowing what I was walking into. Oh well. Shutting my door, I walked to the back of my black ’69 Impala and popped the trunk. Sure, it wasn’t new or one of the more modern cars that most people nowadays liked to drive, but I sure as hell felt badass driving it. Definitely something those people couldn’t say. Rummaging around in my trunk, I searched through all the essentials I carried with me. By essentials I mean my two Glocks both loaded with blessed silver bullets, a sawed-off shotgun, an assortment of blessed silver knives, a handful of silver stakes dipped in holy water—hey, silver works the best in my line of work —multiple pairs of latex gloves, and a pair of leather ones. I pulled a pair of the latex gloves out and shoved them in my jeans pocket. One of the Glocks went into the holster in back of my pants before slamming the trunk shut. What, you can never be too safe. The air was eerily still. Only the faint murmur of voices wafted through the open front door. A man in an officer’s uniform stood guard outside alone with a blank look on his face. He must have drawn the short straw to get this duty. I was glad I never had the lousy job of standing guard. Recognizing me, he lifted the yellow police tape to let me through. I wonder where they got the tape from this time, probably stole it. As I ducked under, I caught a glimpse of his face close up. There was something upsetting about his expression. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it made me wonder what I was about to encounter inside. These guys were normally tough. From the outside, it looked like a regular house. Anyone could have lived there. Except for the police tape around the perimeter, it looked like every other house on the block. Quiet, as if the person living there had yet to wake up and grab the newspaper. The newspaper, which had been thrown carelessly by the paper boy,

lay off the walkway and on the lawn where the morning dew was slowly seeping into it. I immediately picked up a chill as I walked through the doorway. Something had happened here—something bad. The voices grew louder as I followed them through the house. The inside of the house mimicked the normality of the outside. Everything seemed in order, nothing out of place, not even a speck of dust anywhere. I always wondered how some people could keep their houses this clean; mine wasn’t a pigsty, but it definitely wouldn’t be mistaken for Martha Stewart’s. The closer I drew to the voices, the stronger the chill got until my flesh was covered in goose bumps. Something bad had definitely happened here last night. Taking a left from the kitchen, I finally reached my destination. Three men in suits stood, staring down at something that was blocked from my view. The air popped with a sort of dark electricity, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Not a good sign. Clearing my throat, I drew the men’s focus away from the object and toward me. Looking at me were three familiar faces with whom I had worked with many times before. Brad Ross was the odd man out, standing far taller than Paul Reyes and Derek Brown. Where he was lean, the other two were a little more on the husky side. Brad preferred to go by his last name, Ross, and was pretty much the opposite of the two in every way. Paul and Derek, on the other hand, had many similarities, most likely because they were cousins. Ross, the one the Organization usually sent to investigate cases like this, had been the one who had phoned me. He stepped aside silently, unblocking my view of what looked like a bunch of pillows underneath a blanket. I knew there were no pillows underneath it. There were never pillows underneath it. I just always hoped. I always hoped that when I drew back the blanket, the face of death wasn’t going to be staring back at me. Ross’s height made me feel tiny as I walked by. Even Paul’s and Derek’s five feet eleven inches made me feel small, but I couldn’t help it if I was five feet five inches. It wasn’t my fault that I hadn’t grown since I was in high school. I took the gloves from my back pocket and slipped them on as I squatted down beside the blanket. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the blanket and lifted it. It came off without sticking to the body at all, which was good and bad altogether.

Good was that there was no blood and gore to look at but bad because that meant something had drained the body clean. The body underneath was a young woman—average height, average looks, average everything. She was the type of girl you walked by on the streets and never had a second thought about, the type that blended in with the background. Absolutely perfect to work for the Organization. No one noticed her when she followed them. I had always ired how well she could tail someone. Now as I looked at her, her skin was as white as the sheet that had covered her. As I turned her head to the side, I saw two perfect puncture marks. It was sad to see one of our own lying cold, all privacy lost in death. I couldn’t mull over it now. I had a job to do. We all knew the risks that came with the job, which gave us the drive to work harder just in case we wound up in Samantha’s position. Well, it did for me anyways. Poor, poor Samantha. Something felt off, though. I could normally tell right away as soon as I got to the murder scene that it was a vampire, but this time it had been blurry, almost as if something had been missing. I sat back on my heels and concentrated on what it could be. “Sage? Sage, are you there?” Ross’s voice brought me back to the present. “Sorry, I must have zoned out.” “So it’s a safe bet to say you haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying to you?” An edge of irritation in his voice was noticeable, but I knew he couldn’t stay mad at me. I gave him a lopsided smile, and he sighed. “It sure hits home when it’s one of ours, doesn’t it? Chief said to get our best on the case. You go after one of us, you get us all—that sort of enlightening speech that he so loves to give. That’s where you come in. Since you’re one of the best specialist we have. This is your new assignment. Do you recognize who did this?” Ted Walters, a.k.a. Chief, was the head of the Organization. It was an honor that he’d pick me to handle this delicate case. We don’t take kindly to our own being killed, and I was looking forward to killing the son of a bitch who had done this. One could say I was a specialist, I suppose. I don’t deal with the everyday killers and psychopaths that run rampant throughout the world. No, I deal with things that are a little weirder and a lot more terrifying. Anything from vampires to

werewolves and everything in between is my speciality. Most find it odd that I know as much as I do about the supernatural, but that is mostly because I am mistaken for a pure-blooded human. I’m not a shape shifter, a witch, or anything like that. It’s not necessarily what I am, so much as what I can do. Ever since I was a child, I have been able to enter the Otherworld. Humans know about creatures that go bump in the night, whether they like to it it or not, but most are completely unaware of there being another plane of existence. Supernatural beings, also referred to as others, are able to hide their natural appearances; but when I enter the Otherworld, I can see them for what they really are. It’s not like the Otherworld is a place full of monsters, more along the lines of just different-looking people. While I am there, I not only see what someone truly is but I am able to see their aura. This is the main reason they call me a specialist and why I could do my job so well. I am a tracker. Using the aura, I can mentally copy it; and most of the time, I recognize it when I see it again. In cases where the trail is fresh, I can follow it straight to the perpetrator. In cases where the trail is old, I have to do a little oldschool tracking and find clues based on my knowledge. I work alone, which doesn’t always come in handy when I’m going into the bad part of the vampire district. It’s not that I can’t take care of myself because I am fully capable of it. It’s just that sometimes it’s nice to have a little backup. “Off the top of my head, I don’t recognize who killed her. But something feels wrong about this. Give me a minute.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

When I was a child, you could say I stumbled into my ability. One night my family was having a party and invited all their friends. I was with the other children when one of the adults had come over and asked if we wanted to hear a scary story. We all eagerly sat down in a semi-circle around the man and waited. He told us all to close our eyes and use our imagination to bring the story alive. Little did he know who he was talking to. My eyes closed, I sat patiently awaiting the next part. As he began the story, I concentrated hard on entering a made-up realm of ghosts and monsters; but when I opened my eyes, the room didn’t go back to normal like it was supposed

to. The room was tinged a darker shade, and the air felt different—almost heavier. There was an odd mist swirling over the floor. Looking around, I took a second look at the guests. Where there had been normal human beings before now stood things I had only heard of in books. At first I was okay with it until I realized that it was real. Not everybody in the room was entirely human. There were people with fangs, ones that were a little hairier than before with sharp teeth. Where a tall man had once stood, he was now replaced by a tiny man with elf ears. Everyone’s eyes had changed to a different color as well. All around the room flew things that looked like fireflies until one came close enough for me to see that it was in reality a little person with wings, which I later found out was a pixie. I shut my eyes with all my might, counted to ten before I opened them. I screamed when I saw a werewolf staring at me with at that time I had assumed were hungry eyes. The man telling the story stopped, and everyone at the party looked at me. My mother came over and asked me what the problem was. I tried to explain to her the best I could what was happening, but she just didn’t understand. A woman with a glow all around her came over and laid a soothing hand on my head. In a kind voice, she told me to shut my eyes, relax, and imagine that I was back in the room with humans again. The air rushed out of me, leaving me slightly breathless. Breathing in, I realized, without opening my eyes, that the room was warmer and somehow brighter through my eyelids. I opened my eyes a crack, scared of what I was going to see; but to my amazement, everything was back to normal. I looked from my mother to the woman for a type of explanation. The woman explained my ability to me and my family, leaving me the most shocked. Of course, my mother and father knew about the existence of vampires and such, but I had never been privy to that knowledge. A whole new world had been opened to me that day, and I had made it my goal to learn everything there was about it and my gift.

I released my breath as I opened my eyes. Years of practice had made the transition into the Otherworld second nature for me. Smiling, I looked over at the guys. I knew when I did this, it freaked them all out, but they stayed and

watched anyway. They can’t see what I see. They can just see me. I’ve been told that when I am in the Otherworld, my expression goes blank and my eyes glow an eerie blue, a shade lighter than their regular color. Moving away from them, I focused my attention on the body. At first, I didn’t know what was wrong. I couldn’t see anything coming from the body—no aura, no presence whatsoever. Most think that when you die, every part of you leaves this earth. It is somewhat true. In actuality, you leave a sort of footprint where your soul once resided. The strange thing was that there was nothing left attached to Samantha. This had never happened to me before. I had always been able to see everything, and then it hit me. Shit, I swore under my breath. Leaving that train of thought, I went back to my task. After looking over the body, I moved my search onto the killer’s tracks. I ignored all the other agents’ auras and pushed them to the back of my mind. Around the body were two clear imprints. Auras are like fingerprints: no two are the same. I could feel the power emanating from both of them as I reached out to feel them. Touching them gives me a better sense as to what and whom I am dealing with. The first one I touched was a deep black with cold silver streaks running through it like veins. It definitely belonged to a vampire, one of the strongest I had ever felt. Burning it into my mind, I filed it away before moving onto the second one. This one was pitch black with blood red dashed through it. I recoiled as pure ancient power washed over me. I had never come across anything like this before, and I had seen a lot of things. It was definitely from a vampire, but one so powerful had to be incredibly old. The older a vampire got, usually the more demented they became as the thirst overcame them. I had yet to meet a thousand-year-old sane vampire. Then again, I had yet to meet a vampire even close to that age. The copy of that aura went next to the first one as I did one last scan of the room. Finding nothing useful, I shut my eyes once more. Within the blink of my eye, I was back in the bright, colorfully painted room with three sets of eyes boring a hole in the back of my head.

Quickly, I did another once-over of the body. There had been traces of two vampires, but I had only found one bite mark. I gently pulled her legs apart and found it. Right on the inner thigh was a second bite mark. I braced myself for the news I was going to have to give them. Slowly I stood and turned away from the body, looking each of them in the eyes. “We have a problem.” Immediately Derek panicked. “Why did you say it like that? What kind of problem? Is it big? How—” “Shut up,” Ross commanded, taking control of the moment just like he always did. He’s one of those people that seize control of the situation right away without a second thought. It was one of the reasons I liked working with him. “Taylor, what is going on?” Damnit, I hate when it gets to the point where he calls me by my last name. That always means he’s having a hard time keeping it together, which was odd considering he had seen a lot of dead bodies. It had to be the fact that it was Samantha. Might as well get it over with. “It was a vampire who did this but—” “We already know that. Give us something new. Something we can use!” Paul was ten. There was something in the air here that was pushing the panic button in people’s heads. It was starting to play on my nerves, but I knew I couldn’t let it get to me. That would just make everything peachy keen to have me start freaking out and snapping at people, and I was about to if they didn’t let me tell them what I had found. With a look from Ross, both of them zipped it, and I continued, “What I was saying was it is a vampire killing, but I don’t recognize them. There were two of them here, and both of them were powerful. I can’t tell if both of them took part in this killing or just one. I have never felt anything close to this amount of power. “That’s not even the worst part, though. I knew there was something missing here when I saw the body, but I couldn’t pinpoint it right away. Then I realized what it was. She has no essence left.” All three of them gave me a look to keep going. “That means that we aren’t looking for just any vampire. No, this one doesn’t just leave after exsanguinating

its victim. It sucks the human’s very essence out. All that is left of what used to be the Samantha we knew lying at your feet is an empty shell.” I let that sink in and watched their expressions change from horror to complete abomination. I don’t know about them, but I felt slightly sick to my stomach. Just the thought that there was a creature running loose out there that could actually do this to people. I was definitely going to be having nightmares, and that was saying a lot after some of the things I had seen. “So what do we do from here?” Ross asked. Taking control must be a way of coping for him. I was just glad that at least one person in the room was keeping a cool head, at least in appearance. “I mean this thing could be anywhere. It could look like anyone.” That definitely was not helping my nightmare situation. “I have an idea where to start looking.” “You need backup? I know you can handle yourself, but this shit is messed up. In all the years I’ve been with the Organization, I’ve never seen anything close to this.” Good ol’ Ross, always looking out for others. He should be looking out for the other two detectives who looked like they were about to wet their pants. “I’ll be fine.” I’ll only be going to one of the most dangerous spots in the vampire district, but whatever, I’ve been to worse. He hesitated. He could either start an argument he would never win, or he could deal with Paul and Derek. Both of whom seemed to need a lot of help right now. It was like I had told them that as soon as they fall asleep tonight, the bogeyman was going to crawl out of the closet and eat them. Then again, there was a possibility, but they had both probably been up against him before. The thought of them fighting a slobbering monster in their PJs brought out a smile in me. What I would do to see that. Unfortunately, out of the four of us, I was the monster hunter. They just looked over the body and made sure everything was cleaned up so there was no need for police to get in my way. Ross was the best cleaner I had ever met. He had seen things that would make normal people curl up in a ball and cry, but this soulsucking vampire seemed to scare the shit out of him. To be honest, I wasn’t too

pleased at the thought either. “I say let her go find this thing and get it off the streets,” Brown piped in. Of course, he would want me to do it—anything to save his own butt. I let out an exasperated breath. All I wanted to do now was leave and get ready for the long night ahead of me. I gave Ross a look that told him I was not going to back down on the matter, and I watched his face as his will crumbled. “Fine,” he submitted. “But watch your back out there and call if you need anything.” “I always do. Thanks, Mom,” I said, turning to leave. With one last glance back, I called, “Phone me if any more bodies turn up, okay?” The response was muffled as I walked out the front door. The glare of the sun felt like it was burning the retinas out of my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much darker inside the house had been. As I blinked, my eyes adjusted to the light as I walked down the steps. Nobody had bothered to pick up the newspaper I noted as the guard lifted the tape for me. I gave the house one final look-over and shivered. Something horrible had happened here last night inside the brightly painted, well-kept house. The same color that the rest of the houses on the block were painted. I shivered. I didn’t even want to begin to think about what was behind those walls. I popped the trunk and threw my used gloves in a plastic garbage bag. The sun had certainly gotten hotter while I had been inside. The sky was clear, promising a beautiful day. Too bad I was going to be spending it getting ready for the night ahead. It was insufferably muggy and hot in my car as I rolled down all the windows to air it out. I had the keys in the ignition when I heard Robert Plant belting out the lyrics to “The Immigrant Song.” Reaching over the enger seat, I opened my glove box and grabbed my cell. I rarely brought it with me to a murder unless I was expecting an update from someone. It normally just got in the way. I flipped it open just as the song was dying down. “Hello,” I answered in a brisk tone. I hated answering my phone that way, but it was the most neutral, best way when you didn’t know who to expect on the other end.

“Hey, Sage, it’s me, Annie.” “Oh hey!” It was always nice to hear a friend’s voice after you discover there’s a horrible evil out there sucking humans dry. “What’s up?” I have known Annie for about six years now and been friends just as long. We got along right off the bat when we met. She is a quiet person, one who helps everybody no matter what. That was always one of the things I loved about her. Plus when she found out about my gift, she was completely fine with it. By then, it was a different age than the one I had grown up in. Now pretty much everyone was aware of the things that went bump in the night. She was the only friend I had. It sounds sad—believe me, I know—but with the occupation I held, you’re not even supposed to have any friends. The problem with friends is that they make you weak. You get too close to someone, and then their name comes up on your next assignment, and it all goes downhill. How are you supposed to kill a friend? Luckily, it hadn’t happened to me yet; but by being an assassin, I never knew when it would come up. I honestly don’t think I could do it. “Listen, I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping in touch, but I’ve been so caught up with Darrel’s disappearance. You understand, don’t you?” When I met her, Darrel was only four. He was a bright kid, always helpful just like his mother. He had grown up a lot in the last six years, and you could already tell he was going to be a ladies’ man. Darrel was kidnapped about a week ago. The police had thought they had a strong lead until it turned into a dead end. They didn’t call me in because they had no reason to believe that the kidnapper was anything but human. For my friend’s sake, I had been trying to keep up with the progress, but I had been so busy lately it had slipped my mind. “Of course I do. How’s the search going?” I heard a sniffle over the phone as it turned into unintelligible words mixed with heavy sobs. I tried to calm her, but in the end, I just waited it out. “They-they stopped.” “What do you mean they stopped?” She couldn’t mean they stopped the

investigation. It had only been over a week. “They say that there is nowhere for them left to look, and they have other more important cases that are hot right now. How could they say that? He’s only ten, and they’re just giving up!” She broke off into more sobs. My mind reeled as I thought of any plausible reason for the police to do anything like this. I came up empty-handed. “Is there anything I can do?” I asked, hoping that I could ease her pain. “I know you’re busy, but if you could find the time … is there any way you could look into the case?” The hope in her voice was heart wrenching. I already had a lot on my plate with the whole soul-sucking creature running loose, but I just couldn’t say no to her. She had been there for me in all my times of need, holding an extra large tub of Haagen-Dazs in one hand and two spoons in the other to help mend a broken heart, so it was only fair I be there for her in her time of need. Hoping I could handle everything, I sighed and said yes. “I don’t even know how I can thank you for this.” Her tone immediately brightened, and it sounded like her hopes went through the roof. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I had no idea how much I could come up with on her son’s case. Instead, I told her before hanging up, “I’ll be sure to tell you right away when I come up with anything, okay?” I tossed my phone onto the enger seat and leaned back into my seat. The sun had heated my seats up to the point that wherever my skin touched it scorched, but I barely noticed. My mind was so set on the task of planning out how I was going to fit in Annie’s case with the hot one I was on now. I always seemed to get in the way over my head, but this time couldn’t be any worse than all the others, could it? Donning a pair of sunglasses that went with the car, I saw that I still had enough time to stop by the police station and pick up the files on the way home. I had helped out the police a couple of times, saving their asses when they were up against the monsters, so I had some favors I hadn’t called in yet. This seemed like the perfect time to use one.

CHAPTER 2

M y engine roared to life as I left the suburban life behind for the fast lanes of the highway. There was still no sight of clouds to be found, and even with my windows rolled down, I was beginning to overheat. I arrived at the station faster than I had expected because it was still too early for there to be any heavy traffic on the highway. A dented, rusty metal sign signaled the visitor parking area. It must have been a slow day for complaints because the parking lot was pitifully empty. Or maybe they were all still asleep, eagerly awaiting waking up to complain. I opted out from parking under the only tree that barely even provided shade. It was a lanky, miserable excuse for a tree and looked like it was on its last limb, about to fall over. Hey, if a tree falls in a parking when nobody is around, does it make a sound? If it hits one of the cars, especially mine, someone will definitely hear something. Getting out of my car, which was nowhere near the accident-bound-to-happen, I locked it and headed to the main building. I knew I wasn’t going to get a welcome mat put out for me or anything. Most of the detectives here refused to acknowledge my participation in any of the investigations. They saw me more of a freak or someone who dealt in mumbo-jumbo. No, seriously, I have actually heard the detectives say those words behind my back. Just because I’m not human, they make it clear that I don’t belong with them, which is all the better for me. I would hate to have a desk job and worry about what type of donut I was going to eat today. The cool air-conditioned room instantly gave me goose bumps, stopping the bead of sweat that I had felt running down my spine. I walked up to Jeanette, ignoring her glare. She was one of the secretaries that were employed at the police station; I have no idea why she was still working there, though. All day long, she sat in her swivel chair, smacking her gum and talking on the phone. Everyone called her Jeannie because of her striking resemblance to I Dream of

Jeannie without the brain. Also, instead of making life better by granting wishes, she made life a living hell in any way she could. At least that’s what she did to me every time I had to deal with her, which was thankfully on rare occasions. She didn’t know it, but she should be thankful for the limited time we spent together. It would be bad for her health to interact for a longer period. She twirled the phone cord around her blood-red acrylic nails as she laughed in such a tone that I would have rather listen to nails scraping on a chalkboard for all eternity. My hand reflexively reached for Misery, which I normally had in the small of my back. What? You don’t have pet names for your guns? Weird. Misery’s partner, whose home was normally in a holster on my hip, was Pain. I sighed. Guess I was going to have to deal with her civilly. I never got to have any fun. I desperately hoped that someone—anyone—who could access the files I needed would pop up. Once again, my luck had run dry. Impatiently tapping my foot, I waited for the most useless person I had ever met in my entire life to help me. Smirking, she continued her conversation, which I didn’t even bother listening to just in case my brain melted from the lack of intelligence, for at least four more minutes before hanging up and looking at me. This was going to be a long day. “What do you want?” she asked as she smacked her gum. “I need to get a case file, one that was recently closed.” “And what do you want me to do about it?” Another smack. I was amazed how much self-control I had. It could be that I didn’t have any weapons on me, though I could just use the hands-on approach. Take a deep breath. “Could you grab them for me?” “I can’t give them to just anyone. I am the only person who is allowed to use the set of keys up here to open the case files.” “Then could you use them to get what I need? I’m calling in one of my favors, so could you, you know, get to it?” I could feel my patience slowly slipping. I wonder what she’d do if I grabbed the hunk of gum she was smacking on and mashed it into her pretty blonde hair. The thought of it brought the glimmer of a smile to my lips. It would almost be worth getting in trouble for just to see the look on her pretty little face.

An emphasized sigh and an exaggerated eye roll later, she had the keys and I was following her down the hallway. She walked aggravatingly slowly, most likely because she could barely walk in her four-inch heels. Focusing on them, I willed one of them to snap. I have to it I was a little disappointed when nothing happened. She opened the drawer, and before she could ask me what I needed, I grabbed the file with Annie’s last name on it. “Thank you so much for your efforts.” Smiling, I could feel her glare burning the back of my head as I left the room. My mind was filled with horrible yet funny things that might happen to her while I got back into my car. I was incredibly glad that was over. Maybe the soul-stealing monster on the loose would get her tonight. The thought amused me, especially the fact that I didn’t know if she actually had a soul or if any undead would ever go near her. A bogeyman definitely would. They are like garbage disposals. They’ll eat anything that they can get their claws into. With the files in my possession, I cranked my music and made my way home. The neighborhood I lived in wasn’t really a close community. With my hours, I rarely saw any neighbors, but that wasn’t a bad thing in my books. Luckily, I had gotten the townhouse at the end of the street, so I only had one neighbor and not two to deal with. I waved to Mrs. Dries, an old woman who lived next door to me, as she tended her precious garden. Normal people’s gardens may look nice, but they were nothing compared to hers. Then again, she wasn’t a normal person: she was a witch. When people compliment her and say that she must have a green thumb, they don’t realize that she actually does. The things you learn about your neighbors. My house was silent, but I knew somewhere there was a black cat lounging in the sun. Ramses was the laziest cat I had ever met, but he was also the most affectionate, especially when a treat and promise of a possible belly rub were involved. Calling him, I hung my keys up on the hook near the door, kicked off my shoes, and freed my hair from the constrictions of the elastic. Shaking my hair out with my free hand I let the long rivulets or red run down my back. I always had to put it up in a pony tail at work. It wasn’t a rule or dress code or anything like that,

but I mean who wants their hair trailing through blood. It is not fun to try to wash clumps of blood out of your hair, trust me it’s just not. Ramses came sauntering into the kitchen at the sound of the fridge door opening. Typical of him, when he was in his moods he will have nothing to do with you until there is food presented. Always thinking with his stomach first, not too far from some of the men I’ve run into. I tore off a piece of deli meat from my sandwich-in-progress and offered it to him. He delicately took it from me then wolfed it down without chewing. His ocean blue eyes, the same colour as mine, stared up at me in a plea for more food. I was a sucker for that look and couldn’t help but grab a slice of meat from the fridge at give it to him. Sandwich and files in hand I moved from the kitchen to the living room all the while trying not to trip over an attention-hog of a cat. My living room takes up about three quarters of the first floor of my townhouse. The other quarter was reserved for the kitchen which sounds small but it’s a nice size considering most of my meals take thirty minutes or less to make. My living room was furnished with a chocolate brown couch with a matching armchair that colour coded with the tan coloured walls. The floor was hardwood just like the rest of the house except my bedroom; I hated getting out of bed and having cold feet. A glass door that led to my small backyard was an emergency exit I liked to have in case I couldn’t get out my front door. Not that I had ever had to use it, I just liked having that reassurance. The only other piece of furniture in the living room was a wooden table between the couch and the chair. Upstairs was home to two bedrooms, the master and the guest, and a bathroom. Due to lack of guests I had staying over I had changed the guest bedroom into an office type space. I welcomed the comfort of the couch as I sat down and took a bite out of my lunch. Ramses eyed it up but was content with a head scratch. Which was good, because that was all he was getting. Licking the last few crumbs off my lips I got down to business. It was coming up on two o’clock. My time was running out before I had to get ready for tonight. As I spread the police files out across the table, I ed how much I hated them. They were consistently boring and never gave the information you needed

right away. It was like a treasure hunt, but instead of jewels and gold, all you get is information that can help or be completely useless. Yet another reason I was an assassin and not a police officer: less paperwork, more guns. I had a vague recollection of Ramses’s departure from the couch, most likely to find the last glimpse of the sun’s rays, but I was too engrossed in the files to take much notice. It wasn’t that they were exciting. Boy, were they anything but that. It was the fact that I needed to know every detail there was to know about the case. I had a hard time working a case if I didn’t know all the facts. It was like walking into a dark room without knowing who or what was lurking, waiting for you. I especially despised that. Unlike Frank Sinatra, luck was not my lady tonight. I had gone through all the files twice already and come up with zilch. Not even the tiniest piece of information that would have gotten me a pity gold star from the teacher. A brick wall had popped up in front of me, and I had run head-on into it. The only solution I could come up with was to bang my head against it until I broke through or got a concussion. Picking up the files, I started from the top.

CHAPTER 3

T he next thing I knew, I was lying half off the couch with papers scattered all over the table. I guess my brain had had enough head smacking and turned off. Or it could be that police files really are that boring. Either way, I had ed out on the couch. As I regained myself, I sat up and wiped the drool off the side of my face. It wasn’t one of my more charming habits, but who doesn’t drool in their sleep every now and then? The room was considerably darker than before my unexpected nap. The clock told me I still had a few hours before it was dark. Good, that gave me enough time to go for a relaxing run. I had an abundance of energy stockpiled inside of me, and I needed a release. Running had many good qualities: keeps you fit, releases unspent energy, and most of all aids in the ability to catch the bad guy or get away from him, depending on whichever situation you happen to find yourself in. I raced upstairs, nearly falling over Ramses as he made a frantic dash from my bedroom as I startled him. Making a mental note to give him some extra food for dinner as an apology, I stripped down and quickly changed into a pair of running shorts and a tank top. A pair of socks that still had that new fuzzy feel to them covered my feet as I slipped my runners on. With my keys in my pocket, I shut my door and took off in a brisk job down the sidewalk. It was about three blocks down my street then two blocks left until I came to the entrance to the public park. The park was stunning. It was at least five hundred acres in mostly a rectangular shape. A large creek ran through it, leading into a small lake near the bottom of the grounds. Birds chirped, leaves rustled in trees, dogs barked, and people socialized; but the only thing that held my attention was the beating of my heart and the rhythm of my breath. My feet pounded down the gravel pathway, knowing the familiar way by heart. Running always cleared my mind—just me and nature, one-on-one. Dusk had taken over the sky as the sun slowly set. People had begun to disperse, leaving me alone with my thoughts. What was I missing with Annie’s case?

There had to be something I had overlooked, but I couldn’t think of where or what. I had gone over the files, forward and backward. I had turned them upside down. Thump, thump, thump. My feet beat along the trodden pathway. Gravel giving way to my momentum. Where was Darrel? Little boys didn’t just up and leave, especially not ones like him. I had never known a detective on the squad to give up without leaving every rock turned over. There was one small clue that would be the breaking point, and I just couldn’t figure it out. Thump, thump, thump. Another few kilometers left behind me. The little voice in my head whispered something I couldn’t understand. My brain was trying to tell me something—something that would help—but the words and images just weren’t making sense. It might have had something to do with repeatedly striking my proverbial head against a wall. Nah. Maybe if I didn’t think about it for a minute the answer would become clear. Kind of like when you are working on a piece of artwork but something just seems off so you take a break without looking at it and when you come back you can see where you went wrong. I let my mind become numb with the sound of my footsteps, and that’s when I heard it. Normally, I can sense when I’m not alone, but there are occasions, such as this moment, in which I am too engrossed in my own thoughts to even notice the world around me. The sound of another pair of footsteps echoed faintly but still noticeable to me, off to my right. Doing a quick mental check, I knew I hadn’t ed any humans in the last five or ten minutes. That only left the option that I was being followed by something that fit more into the category of nonhuman. Great, just what I needed right now. It was too small to be a werewolf, still too light out to be a vampire. Witches don’t normally go out jogging—well, at least not the ones I knew of. They were more into potion brewing and spell casting. You never know, there very well could be a health-conscious witch. I was putting money on it, though, that what was running with me was not a witch. I slowed my pace, not wanting to stop full out and alert it—whatever it was that I knew it was there. It didn’t take notice as it kept the same speed. Finally, in my peripheral sight, I caught a glimpse.

From what I could see, it was about the size of a German shepherd and had an incredibly grotesque shape. It was bent over while running, giving it a hunchback. Barbed lumps ran down its spine, leading to a stocky tail that whipped behind it. It seemed to use it to balance like a cat did. Shoot, that meant this thing was going to be agile, lucky me. It was an off-black color, and I would have said it had scales, but a thick layer of what I could only describe as goo covered its entire body. Four gnarled fingers and toes were at the end of each sinewy limb. To say it had an underbite would be the overstatement of the year. Crooked, saliva-soaked fangs grew this way and that out of its mouth. That wasn’t even the end of the ugliness that was this creature. Instead of a nose, there was a gaping hole, with matching holes that formed the eyes. In the deepest parts of the pits that were eyes, fiery embers burned. If you can believe it, the appearance was not the nastiest part of it. Getting over the way, it looked was no feat compared to getting over the way it smelled. The rotting-egg stench of sulfur burned the hairs in my nose as the smell of decaying flesh followed it. There was only one creature I knew of that even came close to that foulness. A demon. Why couldn’t it have just been a friendly witch out on a stroll? I might have a peaceful moment tonight. That just wasn’t about to happen. The demon took little notice of me and kept running. That teeny voice that had been at the very corner of my mind just minutes ago now came barging forward and demanded my full attention. Like an unexpected slap on the face, it hit me, the piece of the puzzle that made the whole picture clear. The reason the police had had to give up on the search for Darrel was because they didn’t know how to deal with the supernatural. No matter what they thought, they knew they still didn’t know jack compared to a nonhuman. Demons were well known to take people, especially children, because they were easy prey. And the fact that this one was in a well-populated area without camouflage gave me the impression it was hunting. I just hope I get to Darrel in time. It irked me to no extent that I hadn’t been brought onto the case, but I would stew over it later. Right now, I had a more important priority. This thing could give me answers, maybe not verbal ones. I had no idea how something could speak with a jaw like that, but then again, I have seen miracles. Great, so now all I had to do was catch it. That’s not so hard. Yeah, and swimming across the English Channel was a lap around the public pool.

Keeping a steady stride, I slowly edged closer to it. Just as I was in leaping distance, it seemed to see me for the first time. My quads tensed, and I launched myself through the air. I it I did not think it through much—okay, not at all —but at the time, it seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. I was on a collision course with the demon when it turned its head, snarled, and opened its gaping jaws. The self-preservation side of my mind kicked in, and I felt my body twist midleap. I skimmed the top of the demon’s back, coming to a rolling stop on the other side of it. On my feet again, I brushed myself off and looked down at the slime that covered the front of my shirt and now my hand. Gross, demon jelly. That was definitely not going to come out in the wash. A crash from the bushes brought my attention back to my situation. Something in my gut told me that demon was the key to finding Darrel, but when I looked up, it was gone. Damn, I lost it! I ran into the bushes where the sound had come from, but they were too thick and condensed that it must have been impossible for anything, especially a demon that size, to get through. Taking my anger out on the closest thing I could find, I lashed out at the bush. Its response was to whip back and smack against my bare leg. Oh yeah, today was just not my day. The way the day was going, I was beginning to dread tonight. Speaking of tonight, I glanced at my watch. I had to get ready. With one last wishful look at the bush, I tore myself away and high-tailed it home. Sweat and slime drenched my shirt, sticking it to my body. I called out a hello to Ramses on the way upstairs. Stripping off my clothes, I flung my soiled shirt in the garbage. On the way home, I had inspected it closer to find rips and tears along with dirt and goo. There was no way to salvage it. The rest of my clothes landed in the laundry bin as I turned the shower on. Plumes of steam overflowed from the shower. Just the sight of that glorious steam made my muscles relax. I stepped in, letting the blistering heat scorch all the grime away and loosen every aching muscle I had. My skin was raw and pink by the time I was done scrubbing away the demon’s repulsive scent. By the time I was done, the water had gone lukewarm; and I felt squeaky clean, ready for the night ahead of me. With a towel wrapped around me, I walked to my closet. A once-through of my selection, I grabbed a pair of tight dark jeans and a tank top the color of a ripe plum. I towel dried my hair with one hand and

grabbed a pair of heels with the other. Wasn’t multitasking just great? The heels were high enough to elongate my legs, making my five-feet-five-inch stature look at least five feet seven inches. Hey, I like every inch I can get but not too high so that if the need to run arose I would still be able to. I hung the towel up and headed downstairs. I would need a quick bite to eat before I left. The pangs of hunger were already edging on the border of starving. I fixed myself a salad full of veggies and some fruit. As I wolfed it down, I filled up Ramses’s food bowl. I hadn’t seen him since I’d been back, but that didn’t mean anything. He had probably found a nice, comfy place to curl up and sleep for the next ten hours or so—exactly what I wished I could do right now. That just meant I would enjoy the sleep even more once I finally got to bed. Ah, bed— what a vague image right now. One last call to Ramses announcing my departure and I was on my way. The best place I could think of to get information on a vampire was the Blissful Fang, the biggest and most popular vampire nightclub in the eastern half of America. It was a massive tourist attraction for those who wanted to feel the thrill of being near a vampire. Though most of them got more than they bargain for and wake up with a sore neck and that’s on a good night. They are referred to as undead heads. I never will understand people and their obsession with the undead. I prefer something warm with a pulse. The good thing about vampires is that they are predictable in some ways. Because they enjoy fresh blood, which is only legal with the donor’s permission, they tend to go to the big clubs where the undead heads hang out. The Blissful Fang tended to attract the more powerful vampires, which was lucky for me because I was dealing with one helluva vampire. My engine purred to life as I tore off down the street. The club was in what people call the vampire district. Vampires lived in places out of the district but spent most of their time there. The vamp district was close to the wrong side of the town but just far enough away that it added to the thrill of going down there. It was on the other side of town from where I lived, and if traffic was good, it normally takes me about twenty minutes on the highway. I was so lost in my thoughts I almost missed the turnoff. Maybe this time I had too much on my plate. Acknowledging it wouldn’t change it, I just had to stop

complaining and finish what I started. By the time I found a parking spot, one that I could barely squeeze into but was my only option if I wanted to be even considerably close to the club, it was about ten thirty. Checking myself in the rearview mirror, I tucked a silver cross about the size of my palm that hung around my neck into my shirt. I doubt they’d let me into a vampire club if they saw the old-school cross. For extra protection, I had gotten symbols from a variety of cultures engraved on it. It would take one strong vamp to get to my neck. I got out of my car and checked the bumper of the car in front and behind me. Making a mental picture of their license plates just in case I came back to my car to find it smashed from both ends, I popped open my trunk. As I rummaged through a mess of everything, my hands finally closed around what I needed. Twirling my hair up into a messy bun, I stuck two silver stakes through it to hold it in place. Misery slipped into my back holster, just in case. Eyeing the two cars up one last time, I was satisfied enough to leave. The nightlife thrived around me. It wasn’t like in the human part of town where the clubs were. No, this place had noticeable electricity that buzzed through the cool air. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t human or what, but I could feel all the different energies around me. All my senses turned on, and I was in full awareness mode. Shadows in alleys beside clubs moved. I ignored them as I walked past. On the corner of the street across from me, a female vampire wearing clothes that barely concealed anything stood, awaiting some fool who would let her suck him dry. It was like the vampire’s version of a prostitute. Instead of money, though, all they needed in return was blood. Shivering as her eyes raked over me, I straightened my back and made it to the front doors of the Blissful Fang. A mammoth neon sign covered the front of the club, making sure you couldn’t miss it. Beside the words and just as large was a pair of lush red lips wearing a seductive smile, bearing a hint of fang. It drew the attention away from everything else on the whole block. That had got to be incredibly annoying for other business owners. The bouncer looked me over, leaving me with the biggest urge to whip out my gun, point it directly into his chest, and demand entrance. Knowing that wouldn’t

exactly be the best move on my part, I held my ground and gave the most girly smile I could produce paired with a vacant look that I had seen on Jeannette multiple times, bending over a little so a little cleavage showed. It worked like a charm. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by sweating, dancing bodies. I was so going to need another shower after this. It took me a moment to get oriented. The music was blaring at a couple decibels over ear splitting, but no one seemed bothered by it. Everyone was focused on their own agenda. Accompanied by the music was a blood-pumping, bodygrinding beat. The air was moist and thick with sweat and a hint of something I didn’t want to think about. The coppery taste that the scent of fresh blood left in the back of my throat always made me gag a little. Unlike some of the supernatural clubs I’ve been in, the Blissful Fang only catered to vampires, making my job a little easier. I sensed the cocktail server before she made herself known. There was something about vampires that stole the heat from the air around them, leaving a cool kiss on my skin. It probably had to do with the whole undead thing. “Hey, hon, can I getcha a drink?” Her voice had a faint drawl to it that I noticed as I turned to meet her. She was wearing a tight silver minidress that clung in all the right places. Her dark-brown hair stood out against the snowy paleness of her skin. Gray eyes, close to the color of the dress, ran over me in a way that made me wonder if she’d eaten tonight. The night was still early, so my guess was no. “Uh, no thanks,” I said, not having to yell over the music. She was so close. With a smile that showcased her fangs, she moved on to the next customer. As soon as she was gone, my body temperature returned to normal. Enough dillydallying, I told myself and got down to business. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and crossed through to the Otherworld. Instead of having to sort through the whole spectrum of different auras, there were only two main colors here: white and black. I had had a lot of practice at blocking out the white color that human auras were, mainly because they were weaker and I never had cause to follow them. Because I myself was a supernatural being, I had a stronger tie to other supernatural creatures. As the white faded from my sight to a dull glowing in the background, I focused my attention on the black auras. Every aura is different no matter what species

you are. The base colors change for the type of being, but each one was specialized just for the person, like a fingerprint. I concentrated and recalled the two auras I had come across this morning. I instantly knew that the ancient one with the red streaked through it was not present. I would have been able to feel him as soon as I entered the club. The silver-streaked one, on the other hand, was here, mixed among the others but still clearly here. Your aura stays with you at all times like a protective blanket, but when you move, it leaves a trail behind. The farther you go, the fainter the trail becomes. Right now I had to separate the trails that were mingling all throughout the room. Sounds easy. Well, if I didn’t have any practice, it would have taken me all night. Slowly I began to peel away the strands like a Twizzler until I was left with a piece of black with a dazzling silver streak dashing through it. Power emanated from it like I had never felt before. It was definitely the same one that had covered Samantha at the murder scene. A distinct frostiness was woven into the aura, covering my body from head to toe with goose bumps. I made my way through the crowd, muttering apologies to those that I shoved past. My ears adjusted to the music, leaving a heavy thumping in the back of my mind. Sounds were sometimes distorted in the Otherworld, but then again, so were tons of other things. The appearances of the vampires around me had altered slightly. Now that I was in this plane, their true features stood out more noticeably. Their faces seemed to grow longer to accommodate their incisors, which had grown to protrude from their lips. Human-looking eyes now had an animalistic glint to them, the pupils growing larger to envelop the colors of the irises. The only time a person saw this side of a vampire was when they were about to become food. Finally, the grinding mass of people that had become like a single-cell organism released me. A sudden pang of loneliness washed over me as I stood alone from the crowd. It freaked me out a little to realize just how fast you can be sucked into a group mentality. Shaking the thought, I gazed around and saw that I had emerged about ten feet

from where the aura trail ended. Glad that I didn’t have to go back into the writhing bodies, I straightened my clothes and followed the trail into what had to be the darkest corner of a club I had seen. It was if it had been shrouded by magic. When I was close enough to see the occupants of the table, I did a quick check. There were four people sitting in a booth surrounding a round table: three females, one male. Instantly I could tell that the three women were human. I put money on it that they were undead heads too, the way they were fawning and practically throwing themselves at the vampire. Actually, I watched one of them did throw herself at him—okay, so it was more of a crawl but close enough— and wound up on his lap. All three of them were wearing clothes that would make their mothers feign ignorance that they were their children. They all had the same build, like a toothpaste tube squeezed to the top. The only difference was their hair: blonde, brunette, and black. They looked like a variety pack: vanilla, chocolate, and dark chocolate. Mmmm, yummy. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. The vampire probably saw them exactly like that—yummy. He, on the other hand, looked like he was carved from stone. His pale complexion was set off by his shaggy black hair. Gorgeous cheekbones melted down into plump lips that held an air of seductiveness all on their own. The black shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned partway down, showing part of his smooth, rock-hard chest, leaving the question of what the rest of it looked like hanging in your mind. The strongest feature was his eyes: completely pitch black. Though they weren’t focused on me, I could still feel the strength they held. Even in the Otherworld where his true features shone through, he was the best-looking vampire I had ever seen. In the blink of an eye, I was back to the human world, the colors returning to normal. The rush of power I exuded leaving the Otherworld must have triggered something in the vampire because the next thing I knew his eyes were on me, holding me down like a butterfly pinned to a board. His eyes hadn’t changed like other vampire eyes do in the human world. They were still onyx. The rest of his features had smoothed back to a more human look.

The look in his eyes wasn’t anger at my presence. No, it was far worse. The vampire’s eyes held the shine of curiosity. Why me? Why couldn’t he have any other look in his eyes? A curious vampire is the most cunning because they will do anything to understand what is unknown to them, and right now, I seemed pretty interesting I guess. Great. Well, now that my cover was blown, I might as well do what I came here to do. I took a step toward the table, and the blonde was shoved off his lap. The other two seemed to disapprove of my presence, but the blonde gave me full-out death glare. Some childish part of me wanted to smile and stick my tongue out at her. I held back—barely. “Can I help you with something?” Silk washed over my skin as he spoke. Crap, I hadn’t thought this far in advance. I cleared my throat, and with my best fake police voice, I said, “If I can have a moment of your time, I have a few questions pertaining to an ongoing police investigation.” That wasn’t so bad. You could barely hear my voice waver. “My love, I’m sure you are mistaken. There is no possible way that I have anything to do with your investigation. I’m sorry if you have made a long trip here to wind up empty-handed, but I’m afraid I have no answers for you.” The look in his eyes changed, sending shivers down my body. “But if you would like to us … perhaps for a meal.” I refused to let his act shake me or at least let him know it did. I knew I wouldn’t get anything out of him at the moment, “No, I’ve already eaten. Thank you for your time.” His laughter echoed like it was rebounding inside my skull as I walked away. I had to figure out a way to get him to talk. There was no way I was mistaken in his identity. I knew 100 percent he had been at the murder scene. Maybe I could pull Misery out on him and beat him up a little, you know, to get the information juices running. Hah, I had no chance at hand-to-hand combat with as strong a vampire as him. I stalked out of the club, shoving people aside, ignoring the profanities directed at me. The cool night air hit me like a brick wall, refreshing but a little painful at first. Sweat that had coated my body instantly dried up, leaving my skin with the crinkly feeling. Eww.

Upset with how the night had gone and upset with myself, I needed to get my frustration out. How could I have just let the killer, or at least witness, walk away? I had no information to confirm or deny his involvement in the actual killing part, so I couldn’t legally kill him. Life sure liked to kick me when I was lying in the gutter. I was psyching myself up, getting ready to go back into the club, when I walked into him. He had stepped out of the shadows of the alley right in front of me. I hadn’t even sensed him. It took a lot of power to hide that well, or I had just mistaken the chill for the night air. Yeah, let’s go with that one. I jumped back out of his reach, my necklace flying out of my shirt, the street lamp light reflecting off the silver. My hand was on its way up to grab Misery, but I stopped. It was there if I needed it, and I didn’t, not yet anyway. I straightened up and stared at the vampire. He smiled, stifling laughter. “A little jumpy, are we?” His eyes brushed over the cross. Wariness crossed through his expression but was gone just as fast, replaced by confidence. I couldn’t tell if it had actually been there or if it was just wishful thinking on my behalf. “What are you doing here?” I snapped, peeved that he had snuck up on me. “My, my, did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed? I’m out here soaking in the beauty of the moonlit night. Is there a law against that?” He raised a questioning eyebrow. It was amazing how some people could pull a look like that off. When I did it, I looked like a goof. Yet another reason not to like him. “Bullshit. You can’t even see the stars tonight. The city lights are blocking them.” “You are as perceptive as you are beautiful.” “What are you doing out here?” I asked again. “And don’t try to talk sweet with me.” “Why, my love, you are quite a stunning creature. You deny yourself the truth when you shouldn’t.” “Whatever. Just answer the damn question.” I was rapidly going from peeved to

full-blown pissed off. “I came to look for you.” “Why?” Some little voice in my head was screaming a warning. “To explain my actions inside, my love.” As long as he kept talking eful things, I’d ignore his advances. For now. “I am a very important vampire, and in our society, image is everything. To be questioned by police in front of witnesses is just, well, unacceptable for someone of my position. By no means do I wish to obstruct a police investigation. I would be happy to answer your questions in a more appropriate setting, though.” I guess my police imitation had been good enough to fool him, not that I was going to let him in on the fact that I wasn’t. Now he had gotten my interest. “Where would that be?” “Say, drinks tomorrow night at the bar on the corner of Fifth and Wellington?” There go those eyebrows again. “I didn’t think that was really your type of place to be seen.” The bar on Fifth and Wellington was not run-down per se, but it definitely wasn’t going to be mistaken for extravagant. “Au contraire, my love, it is the perfect place. No vampire who runs in the highsociety crowd that I do will ever be caught dead, or should I say undead there.” Great, now he cracks jokes and bad ones at that. “All right, what time?” “You keep right down to business, don’t you?” And you talk too much. “Let’s say just after dark.” It wasn’t a question. There was no room for negotiation. Before I could move, he had closed the distance between us and had my hand in his. Bringing it to his lips, he left a lingering kiss. “Good night, my beautiful

one.” And he was gone, becoming a shadow in the night. Stupid vampire, I muttered under my breath. Not that I didn’t like to be complimented, it had just been a long time and never by someone that didn’t need to breathe. I had never been so thrown off by a vampire before I didn’t know what to think. He moved with speed that seemed even unnatural for one of the undead. There went the most powerful vampire I had ever met, and I had a date with him tomorrow night. I didn’t bother to tuck my cross back into my shirt. Who cares if every vampire on the street saw it? Good, less of a bother to me. My car was in sight when it struck me. I didn’t even know his name. If he was trying to be the tall-dark-andhandsome, mysterious type, it wasn’t working for me. The whole mysterious thing wasn’t a turn-on for me. I preferred to know who I was associating with. Another reason I didn’t have a boyfriend. People can’t be trusted. Someone always gets hurt. The nightlife was still pumping but had died down ever so slightly as the early hours of dawn approached. The sky was still mostly black, but on the horizon, you could see that it was navy blue. Whoopee, I might even get home for dawn. Both fenders were okay on my car, and there was not a scratch anywhere to be found. I was happy that my baby was okay and that the night wasn’t a total ruin. Once I was safe and sound in the protection of my car, I pulled out the stakes and shook out my hair. Misery was uncomfortable in the holster while I sat in my car, so I placed it in the glove box, no need for a cop to pull me over and see it. Tossing the stakes on the enger seat, I started up my car, and it rumbled to life. I eased my way out from between the cars, more worried about damaging mine than theirs. What can I say? I loved my car. Traffic at this hour was pretty minimal. The ride back lasted about half of the time it took me to get to the club. The smell of morning dew wafted over my senses when I stepped out of my car. At least I had made it home before dawn, which meant I’d at least get some sleep before I had to get up in the morning. I shut the front door behind me as quietly as I could. It was a habit I had from my younger years of sneaking out of my parents’ house in the middle of the

night. I had perfected it to an art. My keys made it as far as the table by the door. My shoes came off somewhere between the door and my bedroom. I don’t exactly , but there was a good chance I’d find them in the morning by tripping over them. In the safety of my house, I realized just how exhausted I was. I couldn’t reach my bed fast enough. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

CHAPTER 4

M y alarm clock went off at 9:03 a.m. Think that’s a weird time to set the alarm for? Well, I didn’t really have a choice. My alarm clock had a mind of its own— literally. By alarm clock, I mean Ramses had decided it was time he was fed. I felt his pressure shift from the bed onto my chest. Maybe if I ignore him for another minute. Ri-ight. The pressure on my chest wasn’t enough to limit my breathing, but it was getting annoying. I’ll give it one more minute. The weight on my chest began to move, and I had the naive thought that I may have possibly won. Nope. Warm breath tickled my cheek. A whisker brushed my ear. My alarm clock went off again, right in my ear. I decided it was better to get up than to test my patience and eardrums against my cat. As I rolled over, Ramses fell off my chest with a protesting growl. All I saw when I opened my eyes were bright-blue eyes shining back. I knew the look of determination in those eyes. I would never win. “All right, all right, I’m awake. Are you happy now?” I said, throwing the covers back while swinging my legs around to the edge of the bed. Knowledge that he’d beaten me flashed through his pearly blues, giving the illusion of a smirk. Great, I owned the freaking Cheshire cat. I stared at him for a second, waiting for his body to disappear, leaving only his taunting eyes and glowing white smile. Instead, he rubbed against my leg, purring. Now that I was awake, I was his best friend with opposable thumbs. All the better to use the can opener with. As I stood up, I looked down, realizing that I was still in my clothes from last night. There was no point in changing now until after my shower. But first and most importantly, I went downstairs, trying not to fall face first down a flight of stairs. Why do cats see the need to walk under and between your feet at the most perilous of times? I opened the cupboard door and scooped a heaping cupful into Ramses’s silver bowl. Making sure his water was topped up, I returned upstairs, almost falling on

my face again. Oops, there were my shoes. I had plenty on my plate today, and I was damned if I wasn’t going to finish it all. Each stair I took, I added to my mental list of to-dos. Okay, so I only made it a quarter of the way up the stairs before I had planned everything. So sue me. First, I had to check out Annie’s house to see if I could pick up any trace of a demon. If I did find something, there was a little shop I needed to stop by to pick up supplies for my hunt. After that, I had to try to track the demon again and see if I could get Darrel back. All this counted for the first thing on my list, though, so I hope I hadn’t just planned my day away for no reason at all. Not that I had anything else to do. Then came my favorite part of it all: my “date” with an incredibly powerful vampire. Whoopee! I couldn’t contain my excitement. Yeah, that was it— excitement. Well, if I was going to get going, I should probably give myself a kick in the ass. The shower was brief followed by an excursion into my closet. What to wear, what to wear? Choices, choices, so many choices. What a hard decision I had ahead of me. Ri-ight. If only that were the biggest thing I was facing today. I could always dream. A pair of faded denim jeans, a black AC/DC shirt, and a pair of tan runners made up my ensemble of the day. I grabbed a sweater just in case. Though the weather looked beautiful and mild out, you can never be too careful. That’s what my mother always taught me. Pain lanced through me, and I winced at the memory of her. My stomach distracted my train of thought with a grumble. At least I could put reminiscing off for another time. I went through my fridge, looking for something—anything—sate my hunger pains. I added grocery shopping to my mental list in hopes that I wouldn’t forget to do it, which I normally do. A lot of the times, my dinners are frozen just because I do most of my work at night; so if I do happen to be home, which is rare at times, I don’t feel like cooking. I grabbed an apple and headed out. First on my list of the day was to check out Annie’s place. Something in my gut told me there had to be something that would help me find Darrel. If the police didn’t think it had anything to do with others, then they could have missed a very vital clue. Ignorant humans.

Annie’s place was only a couple blocks from the park that I normally jogged through, so the commute didn’t take me very long. Her house stood out like a sore thumb kinda like she did—another reason I liked her. The outside was painted terracotta opposed to the stark white of the houses on either side. Instead of the slate-colored cement walkways everyone had, hers was painted bright seafoam green. Surrounding her lush green yard was a white picket fence, giving her some resemblance of unity with her neighbors, some not much. Smiling, I walked up to the two-story house and rang the doorbell. We were opposites but meshed so well together. I guess it’s true what they say: opposites attract. Where her personality was loud and fun, mine was quiet and reserved. It’s not like I didn’t like having fun or anything. Annie and I have had some wild girls’ nights. It’s just that in my line of work, it was best if I stayed a faceless person in the crowd. Annie answered the door in a stunning jewel-toned purple sundress that hit her just above her knees. Her curvy figure could pull the look off no sweat. Long bouncy brown curls tickled her shoulders and cascaded down her back. Lightgreen eyes that looked tired after countless hours of crying were rimmed with a puffy redness. She tried to muster a smile when she saw me, but it cracked, and tears began to fall. “Thank you so much. I didn’t know if you’d come …” Hiccups made her speech broken and finally gave way to incomprehensible babbling. I wrapped my arms around her sagging shoulders and pulled her into me. I hushed her, “Why wouldn’t I come?” Taking a deep ragged breath, she calmed down a fraction. “B-because the police gave up and—” “And I’m not the police. I will find Darrel all right. That’s a promise. Come on, where’s that woman I met who could get through anything?” I gave one last reassuring squeeze and let go. Swiping away the last tear on her face, she looked at me, and the hope I saw in her eyes solidified my promise. One way or another, I was going to find him no matter what I had to do. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been such a wreck since the police told me the bad news.”

“It’s completely understandable, but I need you to be strong right now, okay?” With a nod from her, I continued, “Where was he taken from again?” Her eyes brimmed with tears, I hated to ask the hard questions that would just pick at the wound that was trying to heal but I had to know. “His room,” her voice was almost a whisper. “All right, why don’t you go make yourself some tea or something to relax you and rest on the couch? I’m going to go upstairs and look around.” I headed up the stairs before she could protest. At the top of the stairs, I paused. Downstairs, I could hear her rummaging around. Good, at least it will keep her mind off Darrel for a moment. I had been to Annie’s house many times before, so I knew my way around the place. Darrel’s room was the second to last door on the right. I opened the door, and a wave of sadness washed over me. The last time I had been in his room was a couple days before he was kidnapped. He had been so excited by the racetrack he had finally finished in his room that before I had even sat down he was tugging on my arm, leading upstairs. It had been really impressive. There were so many loops and twists that I couldn’t believe he had done it all by himself. Grabbing his favorite race car, a little black one with yellow stripes down the middle that made me think of a bumblebee, he placed it carefully at the beginning of his creation and let it go. I can still see his lopsided grin as he laughed and shouted as the car raced this way and that. Now the car lay beside the abandoned racetrack, alone and forgotten. I pushed aside my emotions and slowed my breathing. Without my emotions running wild, I was able to pick up on things that would otherwise have been overlooked. Immediately I sensed another presence that wasn’t human. Shutting the door quietly behind me, I switched over into the Otherworld. At first glance, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The room was coated with Darrel’s aura. With some effort, I peeled away all his layers and took another look around. It was on the second sweep that I noticed it. It was faint as if the demon had tried to mask his aura with Darrel’s. The trail led from the window to the bed and back out the window. Opening the window, I

inspected the sill. A tiny pile of dust, almost blown away by the wind, had been preserved when the window had been shut. The dust had a sickly yellow tinge to it. I retrieved a little on my finger and brought it to my nose. My gag reflex kicked in almost instantly as I thrust my hand away from my face. The smell of rotten eggs burned the hairs in my nose. Sulfur. The faint sickly yellow aura had been a demon’s just like I had suspected, and the presence of sulfur at the scene only strengthened my confidence that I had been right. Luckily for me, there was a piece of paper handy that I was able to fold into an envelope. I scooped what remained of the sulfur pile into the makeshift envelope and slipped it into my pocket. One last sweep of the room revealed nothing else that I could use. The deserted toys scattered across the room haunted me as I left them behind me. Everything returned to normal as I left the Otherworld and headed back down to Annie. She was curled up on the couch, clutching a steaming mug, her gaze vacant. When she heard me, she nodded an acknowledgment as if any more movement would cause her calm facade to shatter. Slowly, the mug made its way to her lips, and she took a small sip before returning it to her lap. I noticed her knuckles were going white; her grip so tight I thought for sure the mug would shatter. All of Annie’s willpower was in effect as she refused to break down again. I took a seat on the black couch beside her, resting my hand on her shoulder. “I have to go now. I found something that might be a clue and need to go see someone about it. Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Finally, she moved. Annie leaned over and placed her tea on the table before turning to face me. “I will be fine. I just want my son back.” Subconsciously, she wiped a single tear that had rolled down her cheek with the back of her hand. “I’ll keep you up-to-date on anything I find, and I’ll get him back. I know how hard it is to lose someone, and I won’t stop till I get him back in your arms.” “Your parents” barely escaped her lips. With those two words, my throat tightened up. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Instead, I nodded and suppressed my feelings. The urge to leave was

overwhelming, not that I wanted to get away from Annie I just needed air. Standing, I forced my words, “I have to go now, you know, crazy, busy life.” My smile was strained, and Annie knew it just like she also knew I had to leave. What a good friend. The cool breeze felt like heaven against my skin that had been set on fire. Clips of memories rushed through my mind, images flashing before my eyes. The bright, sunny day was replaced with a snowy, winter night. The scene dimmed replaced by blood—lots of blood. Flesh, ghostly white. Dead eyes staring up at me. A lost scream on cold lips. I closed my eyes, blocking out the images. I reached into my pocket for a coin that’s always there. Focusing on it, I rolled it over my fingers effortlessly. It took a lot of practice to do it so smoothly, but it was the only thing I found that helped me deal with stress. Feel the weight of the coin roll over and over and over. A bead of sweat dripped off my nose as my eyes opened. My heartbeat returned to normal, my body relaxing. I hadn’t even realized I had been tensed up. My limbs felt tired and sore as I made my way to my car. Resting my head on my steering wheel, I took one last deep breath and stuck the key in the ignition.

CHAPTER 5

M y next stop was a little shop in the witch district called Hocus-Pocus. Not very original but it got the message across. Now, the city wasn’t actually split up into different districts like you’re thinking. I just called them that. Generally, in the witch district, there was the heaviest population of witches and warlocks and anything else that dabbled in the art of magic. I could feel the air grow heavier throughout the next couple blocks. Heavy use of magic does that to the air. It gives it its own special feel. Most people don’t realize what causes it and just play it off as a weather abnormality, but once you know what to look for, you can sense it right away. I had actually met Mrs. Dries at the shop I was heading to. It’s also where she told me a house had opened up in her neighborhood and that she’d put in a good word for me. That old lady was amazing. The parking wasn’t as bad near Hocus-Pocus. It was one of the smaller shops that catered more to specialities unlike the bigger ones, which were like magic Superstores. Wind chimes tinkled, announcing my arrival. The thick smell of redwood, spices, and wax assaulted my nostrils, my hand instinctively gravitating toward my nose; but I stopped it. At first, the barrage of smells always throws me off; but after a minute, I become accustomed to it and even tend to enjoy it. In small doses, that is. I took a quick inventory of my surroundings, just as an instinct. Redwood dowels that were used to make amulets, already premade amulets; candles of all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes; herbs and spices that I didn’t even recognize; and a few items that I could not have identified if my life depended on it were on shelves, racks, and some were in baskets. I loved staring at the intricately designed talismans. They were gorgeous. The fact that someone had created them with their own two hands always amazed me. The store was bare except for a tall elderly black woman sitting behind the counter. A smile warmed her smooth face when she saw me. She never told me her age, but I guessed she was over one hundred. What baffled me was that no wrinkles touched her face and not one single gray hair intertwined with her jet-

black hair. It had to be magic, but it took a lot of effort to keep the facade up. She had to be incredibly powerful. I made a mental note not to get on her bad side, not that I thought she had one. Besides Mrs. Dries, Tamara was the nicest, gentlest person I had ever met. “Sage! What a wonderful surprise. To what do I owe the occasion?” Her brown eyes, full of knowledge from decades, glinted with happiness. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the paper containing the sulfur dust. “I need your expertise on something.” Her hand reached for the paper envelope but drew back just before she touched it as if someone had burned her. She eyed it warily and gave me a quizzical look. Slowly and carefully, she unwrapped the paper and stared at the powdered contents. Closing her eyes, she brought her hand up and over the contents, almost touching it. When her gaze returned to me, I began to explain, “My friend’s son was kidnapped, and when I took a look around, I found this by the window and inside the room. I know it’s from a demon, but I can’t tell what I’m dealing with. You were the only person I could turn to who would have even the slightest clue as to what this came from.” “You were correct that it was a demon, a very strong demon at that, but you felt that, didn’t you?” I nodded, and she continued, “It is a unique demon, one that does not normally roam so close to people. Most often, this demon lives secluded away in the deepest pits of the earth, scavenging on anything it can find. It is almost unheard of for it to be poaching children. But there have been cases where they find an opening to the surface and prey on humans. And in all the cases, it has been the weak and small, things that they can take with little resistance or fight. Usually the old, the sick, and the young.” “So this thing took Darrel?” “If he is gone and this was left where he was last seen, I am almost positive that this is what abducted that poor child.” Relief and fear mixed together, leaving me queasy. On the one hand, I had gotten a lead on what had taken him; but on the other hand, it is a creature that feeds on human flesh. “What is this demon called?” “Daelarr is what the ancients called them,” she said thoughtfully.

“Do you know anything else about them that could help me track it down and save Darrel? Or is there any hope that he’s still alive?” My stomach knotted in fear of the answer. “Oh no, there is still hope. Here, let me go get one of my books.” She stood, towering at least five inches over me, disappearing behind the velvet curtains behind her. A moment later, she returned with a massive book in her hands that made even her look frail and tiny. Dust flew off it when it hit the table, making me have a sneezing fit. While I recovered from my series of sneezes, Tamara leafed through the book. The pages looked incredibly thin and delicate, like an ancient book that’s been thumbed through over centuries. “Aha!” she exclaimed and turned the book around to face me. Daelarr was printed in bold letters at the top of the page, and a picture of it was on the adjacent page. My jaw went slack as I stared dumbfounded at the picture. Even though it was an old picture done in ink, it was still an exact match to the creature I had run into at the park yesterday. “You look like you recognize it.” “Um, yeah … yeah, I ran into a creature that looked exactly like that last night at the park.” Facing the book so she could read it, Tamara put a finger to her lips as she concentrated. I waited anxiously to hear what she had in plan to help me. Just as I was about to start strumming my fingers along the hardwood desk in boredom, my attention was brought back to her. “All right, there isn’t a whole lot to go on from here, but there are key points that will help you out.” “Sweet, now let’s get huntin’.” I grinned, ready to track the sucker down. “Where do we start?” “Well, first of all, the Daelarr only comes out during the twilight hours of dusk and dawn, so the fact that you saw it during your run, which was around—” She motioned with her hand for me to finish the thought.

“Dusk.” “Right, then that means its den cannot be far from where you saw it. It would not risk its safety and stray far from the protection of its den as the night approached. So I would suggest the park you jog in would be a great place to start looking for it. “Now you don’t have that much time to find it. The book says that they hibernate through most of the year like a bear does during the winter. And while a bear eats its fill of berries and fish, the Daelarr scavenge for anything they can find. A human child would have been seen as a great find for it, what with the tenderness of the meat at an age so young.” “Spare the details please.” The knot grew tighter at the thought of how tender Darrel would be. I did not want to think about that. “Of course, sorry sometimes I just forget and go off into my own little conversation. Anyways, the good news is that they do not consume all their food right away. First they find something to fill their empty stomach. Then they hunt to procure more nourishment for later. “It would be safe to say that a hungry demon would not choose something alive for its first meal, too hard to catch if they cannot concentrate and are distracted by their stomachs rumbling. The boy is probably stored away somewhere in the Daelarr’s den for a snack before it goes into another round of hibernation.” “So if I can get to this thing and find out where its home is, there’s still a chance that I can find Darrel alive?” “Yes.” “Okay, so I have the what and the where of this thing. Now all I need is the how. How do I kill it? Does the book say anything about that?” I was so eager to leave that I was nearly leaning over the counter in my excitement. What a breakthrough. I could save Darrel from being eaten and Annie from heartbreak. “Let me see here. I know! I have the perfect weapon for you.” Once again, I stared at the back of Tamara’s thick lush hair as she disappeared into the other room. I wonder what was back there. Maybe one day I’d ask, but

right now I had more important things on my plate. The sound of rummaging from behind the curtains filled the silence; and with a swirl, they parted, and Tamara walked through. In her hands was an object about as long as my forearm wrapped in purple silk. Gently, she moved the book aside and placed the mysterious object down in its place. The silk fell away, and glinting in the overhead light was a long doubleedged knife. For a second, I couldn’t place the color of it. Then I caught on that it was made of copper. “A copper knife, not a silver one?” “Silver does nothing to this creature. That is what makes it so rare, the fact that unlike the majority of demons, silver cannot harm it. Only copper can.” “So I have to get up close and personal with this thing?” Great, just great. “Unfortunately the only way to kill it is to drive a copper knife through its heart.” Sighing, I picked up the knife and tested it in my hands. It was lighter than it looked, which would help in hand-to-hand combat, but the length might be a problem. “Do you have anything shorter?” Necklaces rattled together as she shook her head. “Okay, I can handle this. Is there anything else I need?” Smiling, she ducked under the counter. What was that look she had in her eyes? I did not like it whatever it was. I could’ve sworn I saw mischief written on her forehead. Popping back up, she had a small vial in her hand. The liquid was swirling multiple colors like a rainbow trapped in a glass. “Uh, what’s that?” Worry was beginning to edge its way into my voice. “Well, there was this really cute boy in the other day, about your age now, that I come to think about it.” Yeah, not like she didn’t realize it as soon as she laid eyes on him. “He seemed incredibly nice, and I think you two should take a chance and see if

anything happens. I showed him a picture of you. He really liked it.” There was that meddling look again. Ever since I had met her, she has been on me to get a boyfriend. She doesn’t think that it’s right to be alone at my age. Yeah, wonder how old she thought I was. On countless times, she has tried to set me up with clients of hers that she deemed suitable for me. One time she even pulled the fire alarm while I was helping her move some things in the store. Doesn’t sound that bad, does it? Well, when the firefighters arrived, she scanned them and waved the cutest one over. After she told them it was an accident that the alarm got pulled, she introduced him to me. Yeah, that was awkward. I’ve never gone on any of her hunches and dated any of her setups, but she just doesn’t get the hint. Even now as I stood there about to go track down a dangerous and rare demon, she was trying to hook me up with someone. And now she had a picture of me. What! How did she even get one? I would definitely have to look into that later. “A picture! Since when do you have a picture of me? And why are you showing it to random guys?” I felt my cheeks begin to burn. That guy must think I was the most desperate person ever. “Now, now, calm down. I only show it to the ones I think would be right for you.” Her smile was contagious. No matter how much I wanted to scowl at her, a grin broke through. “Okay, well, I don’t need you showing people my picture is all.” My eyes fell on the vial. I had almost forgotten about it. “What does that have to do with the vial of sparkling liquid?” I was beginning to get annoyed with the look she gave me. “Well, that cute boy loved your picture so much that he agreed to sit down and have tea with me while we discussed you.” “Wait! First, you show my picture to men. Then you sit down and have tea while talking about me? I still don’t see what that has to do with the vial.” Then it dawned on me. “You drugged him!”

“Drugged is such a harsh word. I prefer slipped a little something special into his tea.” This lady was diabolical. I thought back to all the times I had had tea with her. Oh yeah, definitely had to not to get on her bad side. “What kind of something special?” “Oh, nothing much, just a little love potion.” “Nothing … love …” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Are you serious, a love potion? Okay, okay, I know I haven’t dated in a while, but I don’t need magic to get me a date.” “Well, if it makes you feel any better, the spell won’t kick in until you drink the other half of it.” She pushed the vial toward me. “No.” “Maybe next time.” Laughter glinted in her eyes. “But he was cute.” “No.” Shrugging, she grabbed the bottle and put it away then reached for the knife. Wrapping it up again in the silk cloth, she slipped it into a brown paper bag and handed it to me. “How much do I owe you?” I asked, reaching for my wallet. “Nothing, it’s on the house.” A solemn look filled her eyes, making them seem a shade darker. “Just save that boy and get him back to his mother.” A silent understanding flashed between us in a look that lasted no longer than a couple of seconds but said all that needed to be said. I waved good-bye as I pushed the door open with my butt. The bag went safely in my glove box next to Pain. Misery was on me like always. Me paranoid? Nah.

CHAPTER 6

I t was already getting pretty late into the afternoon when I left the shop. The sun was well past its peak in the sky. I didn’t want to miss my chance with the demon, so I skipped my house and drove directly to the park. I had everything I needed with me anyways. Finding a parking spot at this time of the day wasn’t that hard. Normal people would be having dinner at this time. The few stragglers that were having a late dinner were still in the park, corralling their children off the jungle gym and other apparatuses that had multicolored paint flaking away because of the years of fun and memories it had lasted through. With Misery in its holster in the small of my back, I carefully unwrapped the knife. That’s when it hit me. I had no place to conceal a knife this long. Then a lightbulb went off above my head, illuminating my way to my trunk. After rummaging around for a few minutes, I came out with my sought-after prize in hand: a knife holster that fit around my forearm. It wasn’t the perfect size for the large copper knife, but it would have to do. I threw on a light jacket to cover the knife. Once I had everything fastened on me for protection, I made my way down the park pathway. It was still early for the Daelarr to make its appearance, the sun’s rays still gracing the sky. A delicious, greasy aroma wafted through the air in my direction. My feet made their way over to the vendor on their own will. A portly man with hair almost as greasy as the hot dogs he was selling stood behind his brightly labeled cart in an apron that had started out life as white but was now a color that I couldn’t identify, with a matching hat. Mmm, yummy. My rumbling stomach overrode the little voice that said I could live without a chili cheese dog with the works, and before I knew it, I was forking over $4.50 and reaching out to take hold of my dinner. Funny how that works. A gob of chili gushed over the side of the bun, rolling down my chin as I took my first bite and tasted the glorious flavor that can only accompany that of a chili cheese dog. Balancing the dog in one hand so none of the contents spilled

over and were wasted, I used the back of the other hand to swipe away the food on my face. I found a bench near the playground, close enough to watch everything going on but far enough away that I wasn’t mistaken for a creeper. That would be just what I needed, the cops called on me. Just imagine how that could be explained. What me? Oh no, I’m not peeping on the little ones. I’m waiting for a demon to show up because it likes the kiddies, so this is the best spot I could find to keep an eye out. Yeah, right. At least, I’d probably get the loony bin instead of actual jail. There was still too much light for the Daelarr to show its ugly face, so I focused all my attention on eating. It is an art to eat chili cheese dogs and keep the majority of it in your mouth, not on you. An art that I it to having practice at. I licked the last remnants of food off my fingers and wiped my face with the clean spots I could find on my napkin. Messy but satisfying, just the way I liked it. Finally, I took in my surroundings. Crunching gravel warned me of a jogger coming around the corner before I saw them. Other than them, the only other people present were restricted to the kiddie part of the park. Two kids played tag, running as fast as their little legs would carry them all over the playground, leaping and miraculously finding a bar to hold on to before they hit the ground. One would catch the other, turn, run, and the game would begin anew. A father was playing on the seesaw with his daughter. Her giggles rang through the air like wind chimes. Golden curls bobbed up and down as her father sat back, sending her up into the air and then down as he stood fast enough for her to have the thrill of the fall but not fast enough to cause pain. A sad smile grew across my face as I watched the innocence of the people around me, wishing I could go back to being like them. Their lives never touched by huge tragedies. Death never made a daily thing for them to see but a vague image that everyone carries of it. Okay, self-pity time was over. I had work to do. One last lingering gaze at true, pure happiness, and I was ready. With a deep breath, I felt the temperature drop and an electrical tingle run over my skin. In the Otherworld, it was easier to pick up on magic since there were no barriers such as the one separating the real world from the Otherworld. The lighting changed to give a more purple hue.

Though I hadn’t felt the presence of any others, I did a double-take to make certain that I was surrounded by humans in case something got out of hand and I had to deal with a witch or werewolf. I would rather be prepared. A shiver ran up my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake. Completely alert, I scanned once again. This time I knew something was here; I just had to figure out where it was. It stepped out from behind an ancient oak tree, slowly stalking closer to the screaming, giggling children. If only they could see it, then they would be wise enough to run away in a screaming frenzy that would save their lives. The fact that it thought it could not be seen would work to my advantage, give me the element of surprise I may need to kill it. It was just as ugly as it had been the first time I had seen it. Actually, as I was able to observe it in slow motion, I could see that though it was grotesque to the eyes, it moved with a grace that surprised me. Like when you look at the massive football players that are as nimble as a ballerina. I didn’t want to lose my element of surprise, but when it started to lope over to the playground, I instinctively jumped up before I could stop myself. Luckily, it was too focused on its prey that I went unnoticed. Taking a deep breath, I quickly mapped out a plan in my mind. First of all, I couldn’t just run up to it wielding a knife for multiple reasons. One, it might get away from me and, seeing all the people scattering, go on a killing rampage. Or whether I killed it or not, I’m sure someone would report a crazedlooking woman brandishing a large knife. I snickered to myself as I thought about Crocodile Dundee jumping out from one of the bushes, taking one look at my weapon, declaring, “That’s not a knife. This is a knife!” and whipping a mother of a knife out from nowhere. Focus. This is the last place I need to be distracted by thoughts of crazy Aussies. Okay, so rushing it was not the best plan. Scrap that. Next, I could warn the people and see if I could get them to a safer place. Yeah, what’s better than a crazed woman with a knife? A crazed woman talking about demons who when the police search her will be carrying a knife the size of her forearm. Scrap that. As I watched the Daelarr hunt its prey, an idea popped into my head. I could turn the hunter into the hunted. I know, cliché, but it could work. It wasn’t like I was going to come up with something better before it had a chance to maul some

innocents. Keeping all my weapons hidden, I stood casually, straightened my shirt, and smoothed my pants. As if I was just a bystander out for an evening stroll, I made my over to the bush where the Daelarr had taken cover. If I could just make it to the demon before it was in view of the people, there was a chance of killing it without making a scene. Lucky for me, the bush it was hiding in was large enough to hide it as well as me if I crouched down low. Treading softly on the balls of my feet, I crept up to the place where I had seen it enter. Brushing a branch out of the way, I yanked my hand back. Slime coated my palm where I had grabbed the bush. Great, at least I knew I was heading in the right direction. Using my jeans as a towel, I wiped my hand clean. I hate slime. I looked up just in time to see a dark blur as a colossal weight connected with my chest, sending me flying through the air. The ground broke my fall after a flight of about four feet. I tried to stand up right away but buckled from the lack of air in my lungs. The Daelarr looked at me with fiery pits of rage, examining me, sizing me up to see if I was a worthwhile opponent. With a quick glance to confirm that the people on the playground were still unaware of what was going on, I gulped down a mouthful of air and stood. Its attention wandered over to the playground then snapped back to me. The demon took a step toward its intended kill. It hesitated as if to see what I would do. Bad move. I took the opportunity. I knew I wasn’t likely to get another and launched myself at it. Not expecting a full-on assault, I caught it off guard, and we both hit the ground. A vicious snarl ripped from its lips matched with an equally hateful glare. Great, now I had its attention. Just what I wanted for Christmas. The urge for Misery in my hand overwhelmed me, but the realization that a gunshot would surely alert everyone in the vicinity stayed the urge. Before I could unsheathe the dagger, the Daelarr was in midair. I barely had time to get out of the way. Rolling to the side, I was on my feet in time to see the demon regain its composure and turn back to me. Huge gobs of saliva ran down its grotesque chin, dripping down onto the ground

at its feet. This time I was ready when the low growl came and it shot into the air. I sank my fingernails deep into its sides, ignoring the bodily fluid that oozed between my fingers and, using its momentum, rolled backward, sending it flying over my head with me following right behind it. When we came to a stop, I was on top of the demon, its thrashing body trying to relieve me from my position. I kept hold of it with my left hand, letting go with my right to strike at its face. The first couple landed but didn’t seem to do any damage. They just made it angrier. On the fourth punch, the demon turned its head and opened its mouth. I snatched my hand away before the gnashing jaws took hold. A searing pain tore up my arm as jagged teeth took hold, shredding the flesh of my forearm. I bit back a scream and tried to regain my balance, but it was too late. The Daelarr thrived on my mistake. Thrusting its back legs into my abdomen, it kicked with all its might, tossing me away like a rag doll, which, by the way, felt like it had kicked right through me and my guts should be lying all across the park. I noticed that as I stood up, it didn’t get up as fast as it had before. I must have done some damage. Point for me! Now if I could just keep it up, I might be able to take this thing down. No such luck for me tonight. The demon glared at me with fiery hate one last time before it turned tail and ran. I took off after it but lost it when it ran behind a tree and into a bush. I waited for a minute in silence, just listening for some sign as to its whereabouts. Nothing. Not a snap of a twig or an intake of breath. Damn! How could I have lost something that big? The sun had set, leaving vague kisses of light on the horizon. I heard footsteps coming toward me. Double damn! I was not going to get caught like this. “Miss … miss? Are you all right?” a young man probably from the playground called over to me. I was going to have to drop the pursuit now. I hate when I have to stop in the middle of something. My back toward him, I started to walk away at a fast pace. “Miss! Are you all right? I heard a noise—” “Daddy, Daddy! Come watch what I can do,” an eager voice called to her father. If he knows what’s best for himself, he’ll go to his daughter.

The sun was gone and the moon was peeking over the mountains. What were they even still doing out here at this time of the night? Sometimes I wondered if people’s lives would be better if they just knew that there were things that went bump in the night. Nah, then there would just be panic, and panic sucked. I couldn’t think of a single time in which panic achieved something useful. People tend to lose their minds when a panic starts. With a disappointed glance back at where the demon disappeared, I headed back home. The good news was at least I now had some idea where to find it and when. Guess my next evening had been booked for me. With any luck, people would listen to the little primal voice in the back of their minds, warning them about staying out after dark, and I would be able to deal with the Daelarr alone with no interruptions. I pushed the thought aside and focused on tonight. Hopefully, I was going to be able to get some useful information out of my mysterious vampire; and hopefully, it wasn’t going to cost me anything. Shivers ran down my spine at the thought of being on someone’s dinner menu. Yuck!

CHAPTER 7

I pushed open my front door, glad I had no neighbors that frowned upon me getting in at this time of the night, and flung my shoes carelessly in the corner. Hell, some of my neighbors didn’t go out until this time of the night. Time to get cleaned up for my big night, whoopee. My hand slid on the stairway railing, throwing me off balance. I cringed at the shooting pain that flowed up and down my arm. Oh yeah, that. I couldn’t see the full damage to my arm because of the large amount of blood pouring down it, but I hoped it wasn’t as bad as it felt. In a futile attempt to get as little blood on everything as possible, I rushed the rest of the way up the stairs and into the bathroom. Adrenaline is a funny thing. You don’t feel a thing with it coursing through your veins, but as soon as it runs out, you’re hit with wave after wave of pain. My adrenaline rush unfortunately didn’t last me long enough as warm water washed over my arm, turning it to pins and needles. Scratch that. It was more like spears and daggers. Bright red faded to pink, which soon turned to a faint pink as my blood ran down the bathtub drain. The cuts weren’t as bad as I had thought they were going to be. Patching them up would be no problem at all. There were four ragged cuts, not drastically deep, just deep enough to make a mess, running from my wrist to three quarters of the way up my forearm. I’ve had worse. On the bright side, I still had my arm. Point for me. I almost blacked out at the magnitude of pain as it rushed over me. Why did rubbing alcohol have to burn so damn much? I mean, come on, if they can make a mouthwash that doesn’t burn but still does the same job, why can’t they do the same thing to rubbing alcohol? I know the market for rubbing alcohol is smaller than mouthwash, but I’d sure appreciate the effort. When the gashes on my forearm were disinfected, and I could see straight again. I wrapped it up with gauze and taped it into place. There, good as new. Now to deal with the bloody mess I had left in my wake.

When every last drop of blood cleaned up, I checked the time. Crap! I wasn’t going to make it to my meeting on time. There was no set time for the meeting, but I had still wanted to get there just after dark. I still had to change out of the slime- and blood-covered clothes I was in. Tossing my ruined clothes into the bathtub, I glanced at myself in the mirror. Staring back at me was a wreck. With no time to do a lot, I ran a brush through my hair, getting rid of all the twigs and leaves; splashed some water on my face; and headed off in search of clothes. I slapped on a pair of jeans, a silky black wrap top with long sleeves to hide my bandage, and a pair of leather boots with a place for one of my knives. I was going to be late no matter what I did. The least I could do was be close to on time. Calling out a good-bye to Ramses, I headed out. Parking was easy enough to find. The bar on Fifth and Wellington was normally inhabited by people who didn’t have enough money to own cars but just enough to drown their sorrows with hard liquor. I wonder if they ever got to a point where they were numb, just let go, and forgot their problems. If they did, I envied them. To be able to be lost in a dream, forget your monsters, and be at peace just once even for a fleeting moment. Without warning, the blackout hit. Snow—pure white, almost as pure as my innocence had been up until the moments ensuing—fell from the sky. It softened the harsh lines of my house, giving it a welcoming feeling. The first thing I noticed was the lack of light coming from it. I had stayed out past my curfew, not by much but enough that I was expecting a stern face sitting, waiting for me in the living room. But nothing, no smoke coming from the chimney, no lights lit up any of the windows, not even a single candle seemed to burn. All there was, was darkness. Empty, cold, soul-sucking darkness. My feet ploughed through the snow, shuffling toward to door. That’s when I noticed the second thing. A cold evening breeze laced with smells I didn’t even want to think about trying to identify hit me smack in the face, waking me from my memories. I closed my eyes and reached into my pocket for a coin. By the time I was calmed down by the movement of the coin over my fingers, the trickle of sweat that had run down the side of my face had dried up.

Someone had told me once that finding even a small mindless task was the best way to get your mind off anything. All it did was give me time to painfully push my memories back into the corner of my brain I tried to keep locked up at all times. Damn memories must know how to pick a lock or something. I was hoping that as the coin rolled from one finger to the next, I would be able to rid myself of my past, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Oh well, it was the best I had for now. With Misery comfortably on me and two silver stakes holding up my hair, I did a once-over of my surroundings. I hated to leave my car alone in a neighborhood like this, but I was pretty sure if someone did do something they would be pretty easy to track down. Plus it wasn’t like this was the worst part of town I’d ever left my baby in before. Using the reflection from my car, I straightened my clothes out, smoothed any loose hairs, and, with all senses on alert, made my way over to the entrance. The streets were deserted except for the few stragglers not knowing where they were going, either too drunk or too hopped up on something to really seem to care. The night itself was calm, peaceful, almost lulling me to drop my guard. Snap out of it, I mentally slapped myself. The faint sound of cars whizzing by could be heard in the distance. Street lamps lit the way, making the shadows seem all that much deeper. Almost as if you were to fall into one, you would be pulled out of this world and never see the light of day again. The scratching of claws echoed in the alley as rats scurried back and forth, foraging for their next meal. Yuck. Put me up against vampires, ghouls, witches, werewolves, even slobbering demon monsters that see me as their next meal and I’m fine. But put me up against something that crawls around my feet unseen, and I get the willies like you wouldn’t believe. What can I say? We all have our weaknesses. Stale hot air thick with smoke gave the dingy little bar a smoggy atmosphere. There was a musty scent hovering in the air. It smelled like old beer mixed with nuts. Appetizing. I guess the people who come here, though, don’t really notice it for a couple of reasons. One, they are too drunk to notice, or two, they are used to it by now or both. Probably both. My eyes adjusted to the smog, and I took a look around.

It was going to be too hard to find anyone in this place. Closing my eyes, I inhaled sharply and entered the Otherworld. When I opened my eyes, it was clear that he was in the bar. I wouldn’t mistake his aura anywhere. Following through the mass of people, I saw a man sitting on a barstool turn to face me. He raised his hand and motioned for me to come closer. I didn’t know if it was the smoke or what, but the man I was looking at wasn’t the same man I had arranged a meeting with. His aura was right, but something about his appearance was different. The closer I got to him, the better I was able to make out his features. The handsome cheekbones and luscious lips were there, but there are many men with these features. The hair was wrong, though. The shaggy black mass had been cut and replaced by a short bed-head hairstyle. The man I was heading toward could not be mistaken for a drunk hoping to get lucky tonight. I knew he was definitely the right man, not just because of his aura but because of his eyes. Those bottomless onyx pits that held a raw beauty and a fearful strength all at the same time. Those eyes that held me in place, studying me without being intrusive, just inquisitive. Those eyes were the ones that I was now staring directly into. “Good evening, my love,” he said with a silken-smooth voice that washed over me like a comforting blanket. Something in his voice was slightly different. “Hello” was the only response I could force out. Damn, I never got all shy and quiet around guys. What was so different now? Oh yeah, could it have anything to do with the fact that he was the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on. That probably had something to do with it. He didn’t seem to notice, though; or if he did, he didn’t let on. “Let us go to a quieter place, more suitable for our … conversation.” Before I could answer, he stood with a preternatural grace, drink in one hand and the other reaching for mine. I stepped back out of his reach. He smiled and made his way over to the far corner without looking back to see if I was following. Completely dumbfounded by this strange man, I followed silently like the good little sheep I was, being herded into the corner booth. Like a gentleman, he waited at the table until I sat down before he made a move to sit. He must have noticed me tense when he went to sit beside me because he seemed to change his mind and sit across from me. For a moment, he just sat

there, studying me. I felt heat run along my skin following his eyes. Meeting his gaze as it slid up to my eyes, I held it there. Goose bumps covered my skin as the heat faded. His eyes had the quality that I’m sure if you looked in them for long enough you would get lost and never be able to find your way out. With a smile that showed a hint of pearly white teeth but no fang, he asked casually, “Would you like anything to drink, my love?” “What are you drinking?” I knew it was beer, but I was still on the small-talk level until I could work my way up to an actual conversation that lasted more than a few simple words. “Whatever beer they had on tap. I don’t what they said. It isn’t actually too bad. Would you like me to order you one?” “No, that’s okay. I can get it myself.” I started to stand. “I wouldn’t hear of it. You sit. Relax. I will be right back. One beer coming up.” A dashing smile and he was gone. Relax, yeah right. That’s like telling a lion tamer not to sweat the grumpy sixhundred-pound cat eyeing him up like a sirloin steak. At least, it gave me a minute to regroup from high-school-girl-at-her-first-dance level to a maturewoman-that-could handle-one-man level, hopefully without making a fool of herself. As I looked around, I realized that the color was off. I was still in the Otherworld. I couldn’t a time when I had forgotten to come back to the present world. I did that now and felt the pressure of the powers in the Otherworld release. Looking up, I watched him walk over to the bar. Tonight he was sporting a plain white shirt that went incredibly well with a pair of jeans that seemed made for him. He wore no jewelry or any other adornments. His new haircut suited his facial features, but that was no surprise. Something told me this man could pull off anything. “What do you find so fascinating, my love?” “Huh? Oh, you got a haircut,” I stammered. Damnit, get it under control, Sage. Focus on something. “And stop calling me your love.” That could work.

“Oh yes, this,” he said, touching his hair. A brief look of uncertainty crossed his face but was gone almost as fast. “Do you like it? I decided I needed a change. I was continuously being mistaken for someone else and got tired of it, so I fixed the problem,” he told me matter-of-factly. Okay, I guess that made sense; but still, why had he hesitated? He placed my drink in front of me, not even spilling a bit of the foam. “Now, where shall we start, my love?” The beer wasn’t the best beer I’d ever had—it was decent enough, though—but that wasn’t why I had come here. “What do I have to do to get you to stop calling me that?” “Give me something else to call you. Tell me your name.” He seemed to want to play a game. Well, as long as I got the information I needed, I would play his little game. “Sage Taylor.” “Sage.” No one had ever said my name like he did. It sent shivers down my spine. “That is a beautiful name. My name is Ash Roland.” Ash Roland—at least now I could put a name to his face and that magnificent ass of his. Come on Sage, focus. “I have a few questions for you pertaining to a police case,” I said in a strict tone that the police officers used so often on TV. All I needed was a pair of aviators. “Hmm, still a down to business kind of woman are we?” he stated more than asked. “Well, I did say that I wasn’t going to inhibit a police investigation. I have a deal for you.” When I didn’t respond, he continued, “For every question you ask me, I get to ask you one.” I took a minute to think it over. I did need information from him that could prove to be crucial in catching Samantha’s killer. What harm could it do? Riiight. “All right, deal. I get to start.” With a nod from Ash, I started, “Do you know Samantha Ring?” “Yes.” An answer that curt had to be true.

“How—” I began to say. “Uh-uh, my turn. What happened to your arm?” I looked down at my arm. My sleeve was still fully covering the bandages. “How did you know?” “I can smell your dried blood on the bandages.” He pointed at his perfect nose. “That counts as your next question, and you still haven’t answered mine.” He acted so normal, so human, that I had almost forgotten he was a vampire. Of course, he could smell my blood. Vampire noses were better than a bloodhound’s. I suddenly hoped that my deodorant was working. “I had a run-in with a demon and got a little too close to it.” Hey, if he told the truth, I might as well. “A demon? My, my, you live an interesting life. Why were you chasing a demon, Sage?” A spark of curiosity flared up in his eyes. Once again, I didn’t know if I wanted to have a vampire this interested in me. “Searching for a lead in a child abduction case.” Hopefully, that would satisfy him. “What were you doing at Samantha’s house the night of her death?” “I was there on personal business.” I waited for a minute before I realized that was all I was going to get. All right, two could play at this game. “How were you able to find me in the club? You aren’t a werewolf or a vampire, so you couldn’t have gotten my scent.” How could I explain it? How much should I tell him about me? “It’s complicated.” Yeah, like that was going to appease him. Ash’s cell phone chose that moment to go off, taking me out from underneath the spotlight, at least for the moment at hand. He whipped it out and answered with a curt hello. After a minute of silence, he looked at me and held up his index finger. Mouthing sorry, I watched him walk to the front of the bar and out the doors.

Great, now I had a couple of minutes to ponder how I was going to answer his question because I knew when he got back he was going to ask for more detail. I could straight out lie and tell him he left evidence behind that pointed to him, and it was through good old elbow grease that I had figured out where he was. Or I could tell him the truth that I was a tracker and explain how I was able to see everyone’s auras. What had I gotten myself into? I was watching the droplets of condensation race each other down the side of my glass when I felt a presence beside me. Standing beside my table was a goodlooking man. His facial features were strong as if they were made out of marble, but on him, it didn’t seem cold. He brushed strands of wavy blonde hair out of his sterling-gray eyes and gave me a smile that I’m sure swept all the girls off their feet. “Why, hello, there, I haven’t seen you around these parts before.” A slight accent I couldn’t quite place coated his words. He must have taken my silence for interest instead of the fact that I was still thinking about Ash. Whatever he thought, he took it for a cue to continue, “I was wondering if I could interest you in a night out on the town, perhaps a bite to eat?” That’s when the shivers ran down my spine. He met my eyes. The look he gave me was deep, almost penetrating. The look a hypnotist would give their patient. He was a vampire and not a very strong one at that. I was so distracted by the question Ash had posed that this vampire had been able to stroll right up to me. Damnit. One of these days, I was going to be in deep shit if I didn’t keep my senses straight. Now that I knew what he was, I felt him out. He was less than a five hundred years old, and even with that age, he had not gained very much power. Most likely he was made by a weak vampire, possibly the vampire’s first turn. My hand instinctively twitched for Misery, but I knew better than to pull a gun even in a run-down place like this one. Besides, I was pretty confident that if it came down to it, I could take him in hand-to-hand combat. The weight of Misery did have a comforting effect, though. Breaking the silence that had engulfed us, I kept his gaze and slathered on the honey. “Well, the offer sure does sound exciting, but I think I’m just going to have to on it tonight.”

I could see the agitation behind his eyes as he realized his little hypnotist act wasn’t measuring up, leaving me with my own mind instead of a helpless, drooling little drone of his. Oh, the benefits of being a tracker. The look on his face was kind of humorous. He had no idea what to do to get me out into the night. He definitely had to work on his people skills. “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” He tried to keep his voice calm as he reached out and cupped my chin. Man, I had to give it to him. He sure didn’t give up easily. This also meant I was going to have to beat him over his thick skull until he took the hint. This could be fun. His smile had started to show more fang as he grew more eager to sink them into my neck. I was just about to break his fingers when Ash placed a hand on the mystery man’s shoulder. “Is there a problem here, pumpkin?” He looked past the vampire and directly at me. There go those eyebrows again. The hand holding my face dropped like a rock. I didn’t know it was possible, but I could have sworn that the vampire’s face went even whiter. “No, I believe my friend here was just about to leave,” I said as sweetly as I could muster. I could have given someone tooth decay. Ash’s hand had left the vampire’s shoulder casually and moved onto mine smoothly during the entire exchange of words. “Well, if there is nothing left here, I suppose you should be on your way.” His eyes had gone steely as he stared the vampire down. I could feel his power expand like a man puffing out his chest. The power played over my skin like electricity. “Sorry to disturb your night,” he mumbled to his shoes. With lightning speed, he turned and was gone before I could come up with some witty farewell remark. Oh well, there would be other times. It took me a moment to realize that Ash was still standing behind me with his hand possessively on my shoulder even after the other vampire had left. Why had he left so fast? I knew I wasn’t that intimidating. What had Ash done? Maybe the vampire was just a coward, and as soon as he realized some of the power that Ash had, he had wanted to stay in one piece and fled.

Clearing my throat, I looked at Ash. His facial features were still hard with traces of anger—no, not anger. It looked almost like outrage. This night was creating more questions than answers. “Umm, Ash?” That seemed to break through his reverie. His face warmed up, a smile playing on the edge of his lips. He looked at his hand and hesitantly removed it. “Sorry about that.” “It’s not your fault.” Why would it be? He sat and took a large drink of his beer. “I left you alone.” “I can take care of myself thank you very much.” Okay, so he either knew how to push my buttons or he was getting lucky. Let’s see what happens next. “My apologies, my—” he paused. “Sage.” “It’s okay, but what exactly was that whole showdown about? He seemed completely terrified of you.” Terrified was the light way of putting it. The guy had looked like he was about to shit his pants. “And what is this pumpkin crap? I think I preferred my love.” I regretted the words as soon as it came out of my mouth. “I’m glad we agree my love works so much better for me. And I didn’t really do anything to him. I just had to assert myself and show him who you belonged to,” he said in a nonchalant way as if the fact that he had practically said he owned me in his eyes was nothing new to him. Well, it was sure as hell new to me. “Who do you think you are? You don’t own me!” I was on the verge of forgetting about the entire case and walking away. “I’m sorry, you misunderstand me. If I had done nothing, he would have seen it as a weakness and tried to forcefully take you away or at least challenge me for you.” He must have seen the look on my face because he was about to continue when I interrupted him. “So you marked me like a dog marks his favorite tree?” Oh yeah, the rage meter was rising; and like Bruce Banner says, “You won’t like me when I’m angry.” He sighed as if he was dealing with a child about to have a tantrum. I’d show

him a tantrum. “I really did not mean to offend you in any way. It … it is just hard to explain.” “Try.” The look on his face said that I had won. “Do you know anything about the vampiric rules of etiquette?” “Yeah, a little. But what has that got to do with what just happened?” I tried racking my brain for any information, but I kept coming up a blank. Maybe this is why everyone’s always so worried about me in the vampire district. In my line of work, though, etiquette wasn’t high up on the to-do list. “Please excuse the way I word things. Normally, humans don’t take too kindly to being called food. When a vampire chooses a human that they wish to feed off, it is not like ordering a hamburger where you know that you will definitely receive what you ordered. It is more like—how shall I put this?—it is more like a buffet. “Yes, I believe that will work. If you were to go to a buffet and were looking forward to eating your favorite almond chicken, and when you get there, there is only one piece left. Now just because it is your favorite and you always get it doesn’t mean no one else can have it. You watch as someone else begins to make their way to it. If you both get there at the same time and both want the chicken equally as much, you will have a stare down before someone grabs it. Once it is on your plate, it is yours. “Now for a vampire, our almond chicken is humans. If two vampires have interest in the same one, they will have to determine one way or another who gets it. Most of the time, it is like at the buffet where all that occurs is an exchange of looks before one of them backs down. If looks just don’t cut it, then the next step is exerting pressure, which allows the vampires to feel each other’s powers and weigh the options as to whether or not to give up or take it to the last step. If the last step is the only option left, then the vampires will fight over the right to the meal. Like I said, though, most of the time it never goes past a look.” Ash took a drink of his beer and studied my reaction over the bottle rim. “Okay, ignoring the fact that humans are a buffet to vampires because that’s just creepy to think about, I understand where you’re coming from. But that vampire didn’t back down right away, did he? He took it to the next step.” That seemed to catch Ash’s attention.

“How do you know it escalated?” His casual demeanor dropped, and he was all business. “I felt your power. At first I felt his. It wasn’t very strong at all, and then it felt like there was electricity running along my skin. It was coming mainly from your hand on my shoulder, but I felt it in the air too.” His reaction was starting to make me uncomfortable. “Why does it matter so much?” “Humans are not able to feel us, but then again, I know you are not human. Still, others do not normally feel it as strongly as you did. I was not exerting that much power.” He leaned back in his chair and seemed to wander off into his own world for a moment before he murmured, “You are an interesting one, my love.” The twinkle in his eye stopped me from correcting him. That was what he wanted from me, to play his game. “As interesting as all that was, it isn’t what you came here to talk about.” I had almost forgotten the reason I was here. Mental head smack! “Yes, I have a few more questions for you, and then I’ll be out of your way.” His smile crept up into his eyes. “Now I wouldn’t say that you are in my way. And besides, it is still my turn.” Damn, I had been praying that I wouldn’t have to come up with an answer tonight. Was it safe to tell him what I was? What the hell. “I’m a tracker. Basically, I can travel into the Otherworld and use everyone’s auras to follow them.” “What color is mine?” So casual, as if it had been on the tip of his tongue all night. “Black with a sliver streak.” Equally as smooth answer, point for me. “Interesting. Now that you have quenched my curiosity for the night, I have no more questions.” His eyes blurred as if he went to his own dreamland for a moment. I wonder what vampires daydream about. Lollipops and rainbows— riiight. “All right, I might as well ask you the question that brought me to you. When I

examined Samantha’s corpse, there were two trails around it: yours and someone else’s. I’m assuming you know who I am talking about. All I know is whoever it is, they are a very strong vampire, an ancient one. I was hoping that you would be able to tell me who it was.” This was my one chance. If he was able to answer my question, it would make my work that much easier. Ash leaned over the table until he was close enough that I could smell the faint scent of lemon fresh body soap. He looked good and smelled good. Focus, Sage, focus. “I know who you are talking about, but it will be dangerous for you to get involved in his world.” It won’t be dangerous for long after I kill him. “I’ll be fine.” He smiled like he was laughing at an inside joke that I would never be privy to. “You are a brave one, Sage. The aura that you saw belongs to Raiden Anermeire, and you are correct when you believe he is ancient. From my recollection, I believe he is about one and a half millennia old, give or take a few hundred years.” I knew vampires had eternal life but one millennium—wow! My shock must have shown because he felt a need to explain, “The thought of thousands of years may shock you. There are very few vampires as old as Raiden, but it is average for one to live for hundreds of years, especially nowadays since there are no hunts organized to kill us. I myself was born in the eighteenth century—” he paused, reminiscing about his past it seemed. “Now since Raiden is that old, in vampire society, he is held with a high prestige. He has many loyal servants both vampire and other species, including humans. Their loyalty comes mostly from the promises of power that he makes for them, but there are some who are just faithful to the bone. Not only is he extremely powerful, his followers also contribute to the danger around him.” “How do you know so much about him?” “Every vampire makes sure they know the ancients. That’s all I’m going to tell you. I do need to keep up some level of mystery.” My brain was going into overdrive. All this information was way too much to handle in one sitting. Especially because I thought I would have had to bust out the pliers and torture the information out of him. Something was wrong, though,

the way he told me all this so openly. Vampires normally protect one another over another species, kind of like the bro code. Bros before hoes turns into vamps before everyone else. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked slowly, unsure of what he was going to say. “You asked me.” Blunt. “I know, but what I don’t understand is why you are being so helpful and not resisting?” He looked around cautiously. No one seemed to notice we were even here, but then again, some people make it their job to be sneaky and make sure their prey doesn’t know they are being watched. I’m not paranoid, I swear. Ash sat back in the booth and smiled. A shiver ran down my spine. It wasn’t a hey-how’s-it-going-buddy smile, not with that type of shine in his eyes. No, this was not one of those. What intentions it gave away I couldn’t tell, but I don’t think I liked it. “Why? It is because of your beauty and charm, my darling Sage.” Smooth like a baby’s butt. Yeah right, more like smooth like a car salesman on bonus day. His eyes rested on mine, and I could feel the raw power they held. “Before I start picking apart what is wrong with that sentence, can I ask you for one more thing?” A slight nod from him and that was good enough for me. “Please stop looking at me like that. It won’t work. No matter how strong you are, I can’t be hypnotized.” “I can see that. I will just have to try harder in other ways it seems. I do like a challenge.” Can you say innocent smile with a sprinkle of devilish intent?

CHAPTER 8

W hen I was little, I had been playing out in my backyard alone like I had done hundreds of times before. Both my parents were inside but could see me through the windows. Every now and then, I would look up to see one of them watching me and wave to them. With a loving smile, they would wave back. I had a circle drawn out in the dirt with a dozen or so marbles scattered within the ring. Practicing marbles was one of my hobbies, and I was getting pretty good at it. At school I was one of the top players. My lucky cats-eye marble felt warm between my fingers. Eyeing the perfect, shot I let it fly. Lucky ol’ cats-eye hit the target dead on, sending multiple marbles shooting out of the circle. I sat back, pleased with myself, and I watched the marbles go in all directions. A polished black leather shoe stopped my rainbow one beneath its sole. I followed the shoe, up the well-pressed black pants, over the denim jacket, and into a pair of dangerous onyx eyes. I had looked up at him with the innocence of a child and welcomed him to my backyard. I had even gone so far as to ask if he wanted to challenge me to a thrilling game of marbles. That was about the same time as my parents chose to look up and check on me. Of course, seeing me alone with a stranger startled them, and they came rushing out of the house. The strange man didn’t seem too concerned about them. He coolly turned around to face them. To my surprise, my parents didn’t start yelling or demanding that he leave. No, they just stood there, staring at him. I watched as their jaws slackened and their eyes glazed over. My attention was still focused on them when he turned back to me. I glanced back and forth between my parents and this strange man until my eyes finally came to a halt on him. Something was different about him. I could feel it. With a defiant look, I stared directly into his eyes. Later, I found out that had I been any other child, he would have hypnotized, killed, and drank my blood right then and there. Luckily, for me, Bertha, the

woman that had realized what I was when I had first encountered my powers, showed up. Since that day at the party, my parents had made her my godmother since she was also a tracker and had the ability to teach me. When no one had answered the door, she had decided to go around the back and see if we were out there. That’s when she walked in on my parents standing frozen and me staring directly into the eyes of a vampire. Oh yeah, did I mention that staring into the eyes of a vampire is like the number one no-no in the vampire survival guide? She called out to the vampire who angrily drew his attention from me to glare at her. She reached into her pocket, whipped out a glass vial with preternatural speed, and before the vampire knew what was happening, the vial smashed into his face, exploding. The contents of it coated his face, sending him into convulsions. His face began to burn away in spots as the holy water ate at his skin. Animalistic howls of pain ripped from his throat, his mouth muffled as he tore at his face. He collapsed on the ground with a whimper, all this happening in a mere moment. Bertha rushed over to my side and wrapped her arms protectively around me. I couldn’t understand the frantic words she whispered in my ear, her voice too thick with worry. I was just about to ask her what she was saying when, suddenly, she was gone. The vampire grabbed Bertha by the back of her shirt and flung her across the yard. The last I saw of her was a limp form crumpled in a heap beside the house before my view was blocked. I could smell his putrid breath on my cheek, distracting me as his cold fingers wrapped around my face, turning it to the side. My neck was exposed to his fangs, and I felt them brush my skin. Trying with all my might, I couldn’t move a muscle; so instead I closed my eyes and steadied myself for the pain. The pain never came. Wet gurgling sounds brought my eyes open to see the vampire take a steady step back, clutching his chest. Dark thick liquid ran down over his fingers, and a stain grew steadily down his shirt. A slightly comical expression of disbelief crossed his face as realization hit him. Flames began to erupt from the point of entrance, and before you could say “Where’s the marshmallows?” he had been engulfed in white-hot fire. When it was over, all that was left was a pile of ashes that blew away as I watched.

Blood was slowly trickling down Bertha’s forehead where she had connected with the house, her hand reflexively wiping at it before it ran into her eye. As she sat down beside me, I listened to her ragged breathing, still in a state of shock from the whole event. Bertha put her arm protectively around me, holding me tight while we watched my parents gradually wake up from the hypnotic spell they were under. First they blinked and then came the head shaking and finally the realization of what had just occurred. Panic painted their faces before they saw me and Bertha sitting in front of them, a depleting pile of ashes between us. Rushing over, they threw their arms around us, crying apologies. Inside the house, we all got settled down with drinks in hand, me with hot chocolate and everyone else with coffee, and Bertha explained what had happened mostly for my benefit. The vampire wasn’t anyone special, just a junkie out for his next hit, which he had planned on being me. Not the best choice he could have made I suppose. Anyways, it would have gone smoothly except for the fact that unlike my parents I was immune to the hypnotic powers of vampires because of my abilities. After that day, Bertha began to train me in how to recognize a vampire and any others before it was too late and I was put in that situation again, possibly alone.

“Sage? I asked if you would like another drink.” Ash’s voice broke through my dream, pulling me back to the present. “Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking.” Smooth. “No, thank you, I’m good. I should actually get going. Thank you very much for your information. It was extremely helpful.” I started to stand, and he was out of his seat, helping me before I could protest. “Will you allow me to at least walk you to your car? You don’t know all the weird things that go bump in the night out there.” Boy, would he be surprised if he knew just how many things I knew went bump in the night. I was just about to correct him when my phone started to vibrate, causing me to jump. Yeah, that was going to make me look tough enough to leave on my own. The caller ID lit up, showing Ross’s name and number. That could only mean bad things.

“Sorry, I really have to take this. I’ll come find you if I can think of any more questions. Thank you again for all the help you have been.” “Good night, Sage” was all he said as I turned and left the bar. I could feel his eyes watching me as I walked away. The fresh air felt nice as opposed to the dank, musty air I had been breathing in for the past little while. Flipping open the phone, I answered, “Taylor.” I could still feel his eyes on me as I got into my car. “Are you sitting down?” Well, hello to you too. “Yeah.” “Well, then get off your ass and get down here pronto. We have another one sucked dry.” The thing you have to about Ross is that he’s not mean or rude. He’s just the type of guy who likes to get down to business. Turning the inside of my car upside down, I found a pen and scribbled the address down on my hand. Shortly after I had hung up my phone, I was on the road, heading toward yet another cold, uninviting scene of death. Yippee, I have all the fun. This time the address didn’t lead me to a homely subdivision but instead to the edge of one of the smaller parks in the city. The parking lot was empty save for two other cars, one of which I recognized. I pulled up next to Ross’s silver Civic and cut the engine. Silence engulfed me as I stepped out of my car and scanned my surroundings. Ross was nowhere to be found, and I smiled to myself. So he wanted to play games, did he? I did a quick once-over of the other car, a dark blue Toyota Camry, and decided it wasn’t worth my time to investigate further. I could feel Ross’s aura all over the car. He had most likely done a thorough search of it and would fill me in when I found him. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, switching over into the Otherworld. I flipped through the library of auras in my mind and honed in on Ross’s. Grabbing hold of it, I dismissed all the other auras that surrounded and intertwined with it, leaving me a clear path to follow.

I made sure to study my surroundings just in case anything happened. With the way my luck was going, it wouldn’t have surprised me. The air in the Otherworld is chillier than regular air, and with the cooler temperature in the real world already, the Otherworld carried an extra bite to it tonight. His aura led me across the parking lot in the direction of the woods. There were only a few dimly lit areas. Most of the lights had been broken or burned out. The park was a smaller less-used one, so the city didn’t see it as high priority to do anything about it. All the better for drug dealers, junkies, and murderers to go on about their business. And all the more shadows for vampires to hide in. Sounds just peachy, doesn’t it? My boots echoed on the cement in the near stillness of the night. I looked up at the sky, but the clouds in the Otherworld were blocking out the real sky. The farthest remaining remnants of light cast down by the last working street lamp in the row barely made it five feet off the parking lot cement. As soon as I stepped out of its boundary, I was engulfed in the murkiness of the night. A bonus point for me was that the Otherworld’s preternatural glow lit up the night, and I was able to maneuver my way through the trees without falling. That was always an upside for being a tracker. My night vision was a lot better than humans, witches, and any other creature that is a less human other, like vampires or werewolves. Most demons have perfect night vision for hunting. Others that hunted during the day didn’t need to have that good of sight in the dark. I wonder how well the Daelarr can see at night. The thought made me shiver, and the rustling in the bushes didn’t help my paranoia at all. For all I knew, it could be a squirrel or another little woodland creature, or it could be a flesh-eating demon waiting for me to turn my back. Think happy, fuzzy thoughts. Ross’s aura grew brighter, making me hold off on drawing Misery. If a creature hadn’t eaten him yet, there was a pretty good chance I would just end up shooting a cute little animal. Still, the more twists and turns I took through the trees, the more I brushed up against bushes that reached out to grab me, the more my hand burned for Misery’s comfort. Even with the glow from the Otherworld, the trees grew tight enough to give off the feeling of everything closing in on you. Ross’s trail was glowing warmer, which meant that he couldn’t be that far away anymore. Good, another human

being with a pulse would calm my nerves a little. I saw a light flash in front of me, but it was gone just as fast. Ross must have a flashlight out. I started to make my way toward the light when something scurried across my foot. Letting out a small shriek, I burst through the bushes, running right into Ross’s back. Everything turned back to normal as I jumped out of the Otherworld. I couldn’t get the feeling off my foot. The thing had been heavy enough to feel through my boot. Gross. Pit me up against any beastie you can think of, and I would still rather do it than hear and feel something scurrying around my feet and not see it. I tried to calm myself and keep my composure, you know, all businesslike and such. The look on Ross’s face told me it wasn’t working. “Everything okay there, Taylor?” Laughter was at the edge of his voice. “Shut up. Something startled me, okay?” I smoothed my jacket and glared at him. “I didn’t see it, but who knows, it felt like a pretty good-sized rat.” Even in the crappy light, I watched his face drain to a paler color. I knew it was mean to say, but hey, a wounded ego lashes out. Ross always acted like a big tough guy, but when it came to rats, he was a little baby. Mice were okay— barely—but when he saw a rat, with its long hairless tail and its beady eyes, he lost it. I had once seen him leap onto a chair to get to the top of the table just because a rat ran by him. I had been the only one there to witness it, and if I told anyone, I wouldn’t doubt that he’d kill me. It was his turn to smooth his suit out as if the motions would soothe his ego. “What took you so long? And what in god’s name were you doing in there?” he asked, motioning toward the trees I had all but fallen out of. Ignoring his first question, I explained, “Well, you didn’t really tell me where in the park you were, so I had to follow your aura. And it so happens that that is the way you took.” My smugness was slapped in the face with his response. “I only went through the forest to see if you had gotten lost. I followed the trail the first time, so I made the assumption that you would take the smart route, but then I thought about who was coming and realized you would probably take the most difficult way you could find. Hence my trail leading through the forest.”

Damn, I had followed his fresh trail and missed his other one completely when I got distracted by my own thoughts. One of these days, that was going to get me in a load of trouble. I could reminisce about my mistakes later. Right now, I had a dead body to look at. “What’s with the getup?” He gave me a once-over. I had totally forgotten I was dressed for a date, not the kind of clothes I normally examine victims in. “I was on a date,” came out of my mouth before I could stop it. The look on his face made me glad it was just him with me at the moment. He looked at me inquisitively. “Who is this special guy? Come on, spill the beans.” I knew he was joking around, but I also knew by the slight difference in his tone he was about to turn all fatherly on me, and I definitely was not going to have a conversation about meeting a vampire for a drink with him. “No one you know” was the only thing I could come up with to fix what my big mouth had started. He opened his mouth to say something but a look from me and it snapped shut. Good man. “Where’s the victim?” Time to quit kidding around and get straight to business. At least I could keep up some aspects of professionalism. “Over there, under that tree.” He pointed to his left, and I saw a shadowy lump. I pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of my pocket and snapped them on. The dampness of the grass had begun to try to soak through my leather boots, but they were an excellent quality, so my feet stayed nice and dry. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for my pants as I knelt down beside the body. The body belonged to a male in his midtwenties. From the first glance, he appeared to have a frail body figure; but as I motioned for Ross to me his flashlight, I saw that it was just an illusion. His head was tilted away from me, and the shadows that played across his face made it look like it had been deflated. Another once-over and I realized his whole body looked slightly deflated.

What had once looked like a frail body lying limply in the dark had most likely been a healthy, supple body when there had been blood pumping through his veins. With the flashlight firmly between my teeth, I reached over his body and turned his head to face me. It flopped over and landed on his chest with a sick thump. Dead eyes glazed over with death stared into nothingness. A permanent scream was plastered on his lips. Damnit, whatever had done this had reveled in his screams, had drunken his fear like a good wine. I hate dealing with the sick bastards. He had shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair, matted with twigs and sweat. With both hands, I studied his face, looking through his hair for any visible clues left behind. A hard knot in my gut told me my procedures of studying the body wouldn’t be needed, but I shoved it down and tried to ignore what it meant. Next I moved down to examine his neck. There were two perfect puncture marks right in line with his carotid artery. There wasn’t even enough blood left in the body to leave any marks or bruises around the holes. That was a sure sign that the vampire was old and knew how to properly drain a human. “I don’t think it’s our vamp,” Ross said, startling me. I had completely forgotten about him, and he was right behind me. “And what makes you so sure?” I hadn’t meant for it to come out as harshly as it did. Ross didn’t seem to take notice of my tone. “I gave him a quick look-over before you got here. There wasn’t anything else to do while I waited.” That was fair enough. I deserved it. “There are more bite marks on his arm, in the crease of his elbow. But I wasn’t sure if vampires drink from different spots on the body. That’s why I called you. Plus, if there is a chance that it’s our vamp, then I don’t want to hand this body to any authorities.” I pulled out his arm and inspected the supposed “bite marks.” That’s the problem with people who don’t know very much about others and are expected to deal with cases that involve them. They miss things or think too much into other things. I shook my head and looked up at Ross. “Vampire’s won’t drink from multiple spots on a victim unless they are trying to turn them. Even then, they prefer to stay near the larger arteries. Vampires also don’t normally kill someone they are trying to turn into one of the undeads. This guy right here doesn’t even have enough blood to make the smallest of bruises around the puncture marks.

See?” I motioned for him to come closer. He held up his hand and didn’t budge. “I’m good where I am. I’ll take your word for it.” “If the marks on his arm had come from a vampire, then that would mean we have a group of vampires feeding together on our hands, which, as you know, doesn’t happen too often. Now that’s if the marks on his arm had come from a vampire.” “But they did, didn’t they?” At least he had the sense to realize his mistake and would it it. “No. This poor guy was a junkie and a new one at that. If you look closely, you can see that the needle marks are sporadic, and no two line up like they would on a jaw.” Bringing the arm closer to my face, I said, “By the look of the marks, I would say he hasn’t been hooked for long. A lot of the needle marks are still scabbing. Poor bastard was probably out here looking to score when he was attacked. Probably didn’t put up much of a fight either. He would be weak with withdrawals.” “How can you tell that from looking at some needle holes?” “I can’t, but I do know that vampires hate the taste of anything in the blood, so if this kid had pumped himself full of any drugs, the vampire wouldn’t have attacked him.” “I don’t even want to know how you could possibly know that.” Smiling, I stood up and brushed off my knees, which were now completely soaked through. “Yeah, probably not.” “So is it our killer?” He was eager to finish up. I could feel it. “Give me a minute, and I can tell you.” I shivered as the cold air of the Otherworld licked at my skin. The silence struck me first. Normally, the Otherworld is alive with noises. I don’t necessarily always want to know what is making the noises, but now there was nothing but silence. Before I even opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong. I took a

moment to feel my surroundings. If the other creatures could pick it up, I was certain that I would be able to as well. At first, I almost looked right over it because I was expecting there to be something present that was upsetting the balance. When I couldn’t find anything, I was about to give up when I realized it wasn’t that something new had been introduced. It was because there was something missing, the sort of energy that the Otherworld was normally alive with. The tight knot that had formed in my stomach after I had examined the last victim came rushing back with such force it nearly doubled me over. My eyes opened, and I found myself staring at nothing, and it terrified me. The victim’s dead eyes held no spark, no sign he had ever been alive. Even zombies and vampires had a light in their eyes that animated them, but no, this man had nothing left. His body had been exsanguinated; his aura, his very essence, had been violated in the worst way possible. It had been consumed. I tore my eyes away from the victim. If I thought of him as anything other than a body now, I wouldn’t be able to cope. I tried in vain to shake his lifeless face out of my mind’s eye. Distancing myself from the body, both by walking away and by leaving the Otherworld, I couldn’t look Ross in the eye—not just yet. Taking a deep breath to calm the thoughts of soul-eating monsters that were swirling through my mind, I reached into my pocket. The familiar shape and feel of the coin instantly began soothing my nerves. Holding it where Ross wouldn’t see my hand, he knew all about my stress reliever, and he didn’t need to know how badly I needed it right now. I began the continuous motion of rolling the coin from one finger to the next. When it reached the end of my fingers, I started all over again until my nerves had finally calmed down enough to face Ross. My heart rate slowed down. My mind was in a more peaceful state, and I turned to face Ross. I let my surroundings come back to me, the sounds of nature in the night, the sound of my own breath, and the sound of Ross swearing like a sailor. He had understood that my silence meant what we had both been dreading. Despite the heavy atmosphere of the situation, I felt a smile creep across my face. “Where did you learn to swear like that? I thought I had heard everything, but I guess you proved me wrong.”

The swearing stopped, and even he couldn’t stop from smirking a little. “You don’t want to know.” That got a laugh out of me. I found the only way to get through hard times is to find some type of fun. No matter how wrong it may seem to laugh at the time, it truly does help. It will at least ease the mood from curling in a ball and crying in the corner to being able to talk about it rationally. And just like that, we were back to business. “I take from your reaction it was our vampire?” Nodding, “Yeah, but the thing that is different now than before is I have a lead on who he is.” “He?” “Sorry, can’t tell you any more than that. You know I keep all the information to myself at the beginning. Just trust me that I have a direction to go on and a reliable informant”—hopefully—“And when I feel like the time is right, I will let you guys in on it. I don’t like to jump the gun.” I could see he wanted to press me for information, but he was knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t budge. Smart move. A defeated look shone in his eyes, and he sighed, “All right, but make sure to get hold of me the minute you know something more or need anything, okay?” “Deal.” I took one last look toward the body. “Need help dealing with him?” He never did, but I always asked. “No, it’s fine. You know I’m one of the best people the Organization has at getting rid of bodies. Besides, it looks like you need to get some sleep.” “Thanks, Mom,” I responded sarcastically. “I’ll see you later.” Ross turned his back to me and began dealing with the victim’s remains. I had never actually watched what he did with the body. I don’t think he let anyone watch. My curiosity itched to know, but I knew better than to push Ross. He was just as stubborn as I was.

I looked around for the trail that Ross had mentioned and found it with ease. How could I have missed it so completely before? Maybe I needed sleep more than I had thought. All of a sudden, my body made it clear that if I didn’t sleep soon it was just going to give out on me. My arms felt like they couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than hang limply at my sides, and my legs felt like I had weights attached to my ankles. My weary legs started to carry me away from the nightmarish scene when I heard Ross turn around. “Be safe, Sage.” I turned my head, nodding to acknowledge him. That was about the extent of movement that I was capable of at the moment. The look in his eyes made me wish I had just kept walking. The amount of pain and caring in his eyes made me want to wrap myself in Bubble Wrap and never leave my house. I knew he had lost someone close to him, but none of us at the Organization talked much about our past. Hell, we barely learned anything about each other for the sole reason that it made it easier when one of us died. Sure, we felt the pain and anger of knowing someone who died, but it ed much faster and did much less damage to your psyche than if you had been close friends or more. Yeah, I lived the glamorous life. The look he gave me stopped me dead in my tracks. I just wanted to walk over to him and ask what had happened. I wanted to make everything better for him, but I knew that was never going to happen. Even if I were to scrounge up the courage to do something as stupid as ask Ross about his personal life, and even if he were stupid enough to tell me what had happened, which he wasn’t, it wouldn’t solve anything. All it would do was create an awkward moment between us that may never go away, and I preferred that didn’t happen. It wasn’t like I had a ton of fun working with him—whoopee, dead people! But that didn’t mean I wanted to change anything. He turned away from me, releasing me from his spell. Glad that the moment had ed without any catastrophic ending, I left him to his business without another word.

CHAPTER 9

T he night seemed to be darker than before. I hoped there was a reason for it that didn’t consist of it being because of the sleep I so desperately needed. The streetlights in the parking lot had either burned out or their timer had shut them off. Either one was a good bet, leaving the parking lot full of shadows. I didn’t even want to think about what could be hiding in those shadows. Just as a precaution, though. I did keep my senses alert, feeling out for anything supernatural that might be intent on harming me. Nothing set my alarm system off, and I made it safely to my car. The seats were so comforting that I almost curled up right there and fell asleep. I started up my car, thinking that the roar of it coming to life would wake me up a little. It didn’t. I pinched my arm and my leg and slapped my cheeks until the fuzzy edges of unconsciousness receded. There was no way I was going to make it home in one piece. I could hope, but tonight I felt like playing on the safe side. What I needed was caffeine. I pulled out of the parking lot, grateful that at this time of night no one was out on the road, mainly because my speedometer wasn’t even hitting thirty-five kilometers. I didn’t trust myself to have even the slightest bit of reaction time to swerve if a car cut in front of me. Yeah, I knew that it would have been safest if I had pulled over and taken a fast nap, but I had stuff to do. Hired assassins have a busy schedule. I had slowed down to about twenty-five when I saw it. Not even a block away, neon lights flashed at me, letting me know I was going to make it. The diner d they were the only one within the greater mainland that was open twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. The sign’s lights flashed harshly, ripping through the secrets the dark held dear. Old grease, lemon-fresh sanitized tables, fried bacon—all these smells were nothing compared to the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee as it overwhelmed me. I swear I floated across the diner and onto a stool, probably with a dribble of drool running down my chin, to get as close as I could to coffee. Without asking any questions, a homely-looking older woman dressed in

a faded red-and-yellow striped uniform that didn’t quite fit properly poured me a large cup of black coffee. I must have looked worse off than I felt. Great. I didn’t even have the energy to care right now. As the liquid rushed past my lips and down my throat, scorching everything in its path, my head started to clear. The diner wasn’t as run-down as I would have thought a place like it would have been. It was definitely along the lines of the seventies diner, even down to the checker print tile floors and the napkin dispensers. Right now I couldn’t have cared less if I was sitting in a complete dump of a place as long as I had my coffee. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating. Give me a break. I did have some standards. As I nursed the rest of my coffee, I tried to sort everything out in my head. I had only seen Raiden’s aura at the second murder scene, which meant that I had to rethink Ash’s involvement. The kill had been fresh. It had happened last night. I was a witness to Ash’s whereabouts, so he was off the hook for this one, but did that prove he had nothing to do with Sam’s murder? Was he holding anything back from me about Raiden? It sure felt like it. My best bet was to research Raiden, ask around about him. Would other vampires talk to me? Probably not. Slow down. I was getting ahead of myself. First thing is first, I had to look into Raiden. Everything else would come after. Now I had a plan of action. Good, baby steps. I took a sip of coffee and couldn’t figure out why nothing was coming out. I had already finished my entire cup. It was phenomenal coffee. It amazed me that a diner would have coffee that tasted so rich and full. “Can I get ya another cup, darlin’?” a soft Southern voice drawled. Color blossomed in my cheeks. I had been staring at the bottom of my empty cup like a zombie. “Um, yes please. Is there any way I can get it to go?” A smile that could melt the entire Arctic was focused on me. I glanced at her name tag. Betty looked like the type of person to go to when you got hurt, both physically and emotionally, and there would be a batch of freshly made chocolate chip cookies and a hug waiting for you. “Of course.” I never understood how such nice people could work in places where they interacted with numbskulls all day long. I knew I sure as hell couldn’t handle it. My senses prickled and came to life, letting me know I wasn’t the only other in the building. I couldn’t feel any malevolent intent, so I wasn’t too worried. That

didn’t mean I let down my guard completely though. I felt Betty behind me before she put a steaming Styrofoam cup full of coffee on the counter in front of me. Her arm brushed my shoulder, and I almost jumped at the current that ran between us. It had been more than static electricity. I was sure of it. “There ya go, sweetie. That should perk ya right up.” Something ed behind her eyes so fast for a moment. I didn’t believe I had seen anything. “Thanks.” My hands wrapped around the warmth. “Having a rough night?” She had her hip cocked to one side with her hand resting on it and still managed to look graceful. Weird. “Does it show that badly?” I must look like a wreck. “Nah, I’m just good at reading people. Can I getcha anythin’ else?” She pulled out her notepad, ready to take my order. “No, thank you. How much do I owe you for the coffees?” I started reaching into my pocket for my wallet. “It’s on the house.” An innocent smile couldn’t wipe the worry from her eyes. Why was I getting that look so much lately? “Especially what you’ve been through tonight. Watch your back out there.” Another customer hailed her with a rude whistle before I could ask her what she had meant. With my hands still wrapped around my cup, I let the Otherworld take over. Ignoring everything else, I focused on Betty, telling myself that it hadn’t been her who had set off my alarms. From behind, she looked the same; but when she looked back at me to see if I had left yet, I noticed the difference and immediately knew what she was. Her eyes glowed a deep, earthy green erasing all signs of the whites of her eyes as well as the pupils. Everything else was close to the same as her human disguise except her ears. They stood up through her hair in neat pointy peaks. I had always wondered how elves hid their ears. In the real world, would I feel her ears if she was in her human figure? She smiled, and I saw the hint of longer canines.

She walked away from the obnoxious man as her name was called for an order up. The cook said something to her under his breath. I couldn’t make it out. His eyes glowed the same deep green as Betty’s. With her body blocking the view of the food from the man sitting in the booth, she muttered something, and energy started to build up at her fingertips. It fell gently, almost like glitter, from her fingers and mixed in with the food. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen to the guy. I was betting a rash or horrible diarrhea. I was leaning toward the latter. No wonder she stayed so cheery. I would too in her situation. Elves weren’t rare, but there weren’t a ton of them, and it was a real treat to see one. What she said made sense now. Because of their magic, elves are capable of reading a person, which is exactly what she had done to me. She knew I had needed coffee and seen in my eyes the night I had been through. Hopefully, she didn’t get nightmares from it. I stood and switched back over to the real world. I placed a ten underneath my first coffee cup and left the diner. Little bells announced my departure. Funny, I hadn’t noticed them when I had come in. I must have really been out of it. The neon sign lit up the parking lot in bursts as it blinked on then off. Snickering to myself, I felt bad for any of the diner’s competitors. They would never be able to compete with the twenty-four-hour service like this place unless they were elves as well I guess. They didn’t need sleep, so there was no need to shut down at night. The business probably did great at night with all the people who were having a major case of the munchies and didn’t know any other place open. The cup was an odd fit in my car’s cup holder, but I managed without spilling any of the delicious liquid. Now I was fueled and ready to go hunt down some vampires. That’s when I noticed a faint light shining off my side mirror. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. I couldn’t have possibly let time get away from me that badly. Could I? Yup, it was almost dawn. The faint light had been the sun slowly rising over the mountains. There would be no vampire hunting for me tonight. Too bad because the coffee had given me a jolt of energy that would have kept me going all through the night, tracking down clues. Oh well, what are you going to do?

It was too late to look for vampires and still too early for Tamara’s shop to be open, so I was completely shut out of luck and on my own for the morning hours. I hesitated to pull out of the diner’s parking lot. Maybe I could go have a nice chat with the wonderful Betty while relaxing and drinking my coffee. The memory of her glowing pupil-less eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Even though she had been nice to me and I’m sure if you didn’t get on her bad side, she was a riot to be around. Something about the ancientness of elves gave me the willies. Home sounded like a good idea. Actually, it sounded like the best thing that had happened to me in what felt like such a long time. It’s funny how even one night of missed sleep makes time seem like it is going in slow mo. Slipping my car into gear, I took one more sip of coffee and left. My mind was alert and swarming around, trying to organize thoughts and events. I wondered what Ross was doing at that moment and then thought better of it. He has his secrets of the trade, and I have mine, best to keep them that way. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I drove home in such a dream state that it surprised me when I looked up to find myself pulling into my parking spot. It always freaked me out a little when I would zone out without realizing it while I was doing things. Wonder if I ran any red lights. Ramses was on me before I could drop my keys in the jar and kick my boots off. He was either hungry or genuinely happy to see me, I couldn’t tell yet. He licked my hands and rubbed between my legs. Deep rumbling purrs echoed through his chest. “Hello, my friend, how are you doing?” Yeah, I know, kind of weird to talk to your pets but it kept me sane. Ramses turned his head and looked me right in the eyes with his brilliant blues and let out a loud yell. I knew that yell. It was the hello-how-was-your-day-feedme-now yell. There was always hope that one day he would greet me because he actually missed me; for now, I headed to the kitchen where I kept his food. It was trickier than it sounded. Not only did I have to balance myself as Ramses weaved in and out of my legs, but I had to balance my coffee cup as well. I made it there without spilling so much as a drop. Filling up the cup I always kept in his food bag, I poured it into his bowl. Some of it spilled when he stuck

his head in the bowl, eager to start eating. I stared at it as if just by looking at it, it would clean itself up. Nope, not about to happen. Oh well, he would finish all the kibble in the bowl and go searching for more, hopefully. I stood there in my kitchen, leaning against the island, and just stared into nothingness. I was wired from the coffee I couldn’t stop drinking. The rational side of my mind told me to stop drinking it so I would get some sleep before the morning. Yeah, like the rational side ever wins. Wandering aimlessly through my house, coffee in hand, I came to a stop in front of my living room table. Scattered messily all over it were the case files I had requested. I had gone over and over and over them, looked at them forward, backward, and upside down—all to no avail. Had I not found the sulfur in Darrel’s room, I would probably still be slaving over those files. That gave me an idea. Chugging the last bit of coffee, I tossed the cup in the trash in the kitchen on my way to my room. Ramses was still hungrily gulping down his dinner when I checked in on him. Upstairs in my room, I stood facing my bookshelf. I ran my fingers over the bindings of all the books. The different textures of leather and paper, as well as old and new books, gave each one a distinct personality. I had books from 1001 Uses of Herbs to How to Exorcise Your Demons, and no, it didn’t mean personal demons. My hand stopped over a group of my oldest books. They had every other I had ever come in with and lots that I was glad to never have had to pleasure of meeting. The books were divided into four volumes alphabetically, each about four inches thick, and contained all the information ever needed on any supernatural being. There was even a little excerpt on trackers. They were very similar to the ones that Tamara had but not exactly. I was hoping to find anything else at all that could help me. I grabbed the first one and returned downstairs. I neatly placed all the files on Darrel back into the folder they had come in. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as neat as the police would probably have liked—I more or less shoved them in—but they weren’t here now, were they? I tossed it onto the little table beside the couch before placing my book on the now-empty table. A satisfying thump reverberated through the table with the weight of it.

I opened the book up and flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for. Tamara had given me quite a good profile of the Daelarr, but information is power, and I couldn’t get enough of it right now. Somewhere between the time I started reading and the next time I looked up, Ramses had jumped up onto the couch and curled into a position that looked like something only a contortionist could even come close to doing. The information was pretty similar to what Tamara had given me. They don’t normally reach the surface, but when they do, they only come out in the twilight hours of either dusk or dawn. When they aren’t hibernating, they are scavenging and gorging themselves before another onslaught of hibernation. Once they get a taste for the other white meat, they lose all control and crave it until their body slows down and they are drawn back to their lair where they sleep. My book had a little more information than Tamara’s, but I wasn’t surprised. They had been handed down to me by Bertha who had said that the books had been in her family for more generations that could be traced back. The first thing I wanted answered was why had it traveled so far from the park to Annie’s house just for one little boy? That question had been burning in my mind for a while now. As I read more in depth about the creature, I came across what I was looking for and read it over carefully, making sure not to miss anything. It read, “A Daelarr will scavenge for food in most cases. But when an occasion should arise that there is no food to scavenge and only live food present, it will pick out the most suitable prey. This entails either old, sick, frail, or young— anything that is easily attacked and overcome. Once it has chosen its prey, it will hunt it until it has succeeded. The Daelarr do not give up on a hunt. Even if the prey escapes continuously, it will not give up until it either consumes the prey or it is killed.” That was a perfect answer to my question. It must have chosen Darrel while he was at the playground with his mom, and when they left, it had followed them back to their house. Okay, so that meant not only did I have to find Darrel before he became demon chow, I definitely had to kill the demon. Else, it would never stop. That was helpful. Hopefully, the rest of the article would give up some more clues.

The Daelarr had a specific hibernation pattern that used a time pattern that I had only heard of a couple of times. Bookmarking the Daelarr page just in case the book was closed, I ran upstairs to my bedroom. I returned to my spot, Ramses now in a new acrobatic position with his body twisted in a weird way that couldn’t possibly be comfy, and opened the book I had brought with me. It held an assortment of magical information. In order to cast some spells or summon some creatures, you had to do it at a certain time; or else, it either wouldn’t work or it would go horribly wrong. Either way, it never turned out well. Since there was no single source of spells, the book ranged from different parts of the world to different times of the world’s existence. This was helpful because it converted time. Back when people didn’t go by the three hundred and sixtyfive day year, they went by a multitude of different measurements in time. With any luck, I would be able to use the information to figure out when the hibernation cycle of the demon was. I don’t know how long I sat there, completely motionless except for the flipping of pages, before I came across what I was looking for. The other book had set the time measurement in kaens. Fortunately, for me, there were many examples of spells that used kaens in my book, which meant there was also a formula for how to change the time. It turned out that for every kaen, about one hundred and twenty-two days went by of our time. So that meant there were about three kaens in one of our years. With that figured out, I turned back to the article on the Daelarr. Their cycle was not the same every time, which worried me because if the cycle was about to end and I missed my shot at killing it and getting Darrel back, there would be no hope in getting him home. Couldn’t think about that right now. I had to focus on the facts in front of me and come up with a plan of action. The cycle did have a pattern, though. It rotated from awake one kaen and asleep two to awake two kaen and asleep one. It did this because the demon’s metabolism went through strange fluxes in which it had to consume more food in order to live through the hibernation period. The flux itself seemed to be unexplainable. The only idea that someone had come up with was that it had to do with the environment in which they lived beneath the earth’s surface. Now the next step was to figure out where exactly in the cycle this Daelarr was in. Assuming that the beginning of the cycle began around the same time as our

year began, I started there. That meant that because of the time of the year, the cycle was in the second phase, where it was awake for two kaen, and it was about to end in a couple of weeks. That did not leave a happy, warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach. Instead, the tight knot that had formed in my stomach recently just tightened another notch. Well, at least I got two very helpful facts that were necessary for rescuing Darrel. With any luck, there would be some more in the rest of the write-up. I shifted myself into a comfier position and dove into my task once more. I didn’t even feel myself doze off.

CHAPTER 10

I barely felt the cold air as it bit at my skin. The falling snow that dampened my hair and soaked deep into my skin went unnoticed. My whole attention was captured by the strange sight of my front door left slightly ajar. It blocked any view of the inside. The only sliver I could see was a deep pit of black nothingness. I had never seen my house as anything but inviting and warm—a safe haven I could always run to no matter what. Now, though, as I stood in front of it, the door within my reach, I felt a chill that slowed my blood. Something had happened here, something that was horrible. Some hideous act had taken place within the confines of my haven, and I had to find out what. As I pushed the door gently, it opened wide, and a burst of cold air rolled over me. It wasn’t so much air as it was a cold energy that sent every hair shooting into an upright position. I stood in the doorway, afraid to go any farther, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the impenetrable darkness. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into my house and immediately felt violated. Pushing the feeling down, I looked around. The layout of my house was pretty standard: living room to the right, dining room to the left, both connected in the back with the kitchen. There was a stairway that led from the front door up to the bathrooms and bedrooms of the upstairs. The living room looked like a hurricane had gone through it. The couch was upturned, coffee table smashed into pieces. Glass from the lamp lay shattered in shards, all across the carpet. I flipped the light switch to get a better look, but it didn’t respond. The power was out. I was so focused on trying to figure out what had happened that I didn’t even find it curious that the streetlights were still on outside, full of power. The power couldn’t have been out, or it would have affected more than just the house. A quick sweep of downstairs turned up nothing, and dread coiled around my heart at the thought of where I had to go next: upstairs into the darkness. Going back to the living room, I grabbed the first available weapon I could find—a

jagged piece of wood from what was left of the table—and slowly began to creep up the stairs. The rug that lay on the hardwood floor at the top of the stairs was crumpled to the side as if a struggle had occurred on it. Like someone who had tried to get away and taken the corner too fast, slipping on the rug. A sick smell of salt and copper mixed together, coating the back of my throat. My stomach turned. The darkness spilled out of every room on the second floor except one: my parents’ room. From that room shone a dull, flickering light. The house was filled with overwhelming silence. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. That’s when I realized I was holding my breath and relaxed my lungs by letting out a huge breath. My makeshift weapon was held so tightly in one hand that my knuckles were white. My other hand felt out my surroundings. My night vision had become a little clearer, but it was nothing like some of the creatures that prowled the nights. I nearly jumped out of my skin several times as I ed by each empty room. I didn’t know how I could tell they were empty. I just felt it. I had a feeling in my gut that told me there was nothing left in the house that could physically cause me harm, yet I couldn’t release the vice grip I had on the stake. As I got closer to my parents’ room, I tried to calm my heart. The blood pumping in my ears was making it hard to listen for anything. A faint sound made its way over the thumping to my ears. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it was coming from the direction I was headed in. I stood just outside of the bedroom, feet firmly planted on the ground. Holding my breath, I steadied my heart rate and listened. There it was again. It was definitely coming from somewhere in the room. It almost sounded like a faint moaning. My cautious side was almost taken over by the need to see what was making that noise, but my legs still would not move forward. That’s when I noticed the door. It was hanging at an odd angle, barely attached by the hinges. Wood splinters near the hinges shot out this way and that. The splinters were the only thing that looked wrong with the door, so I almost overlooked it. The door was blocking most of the view of the room. The parts I could see looked fairly normal, almost as if they had been left untouched just to

get my hopes up that nothing was wrong on the other side. The smell was stronger now, almost choking me. Tears began to well in my eyes, my mind already made up with what had happened. I fought them back and took a step into the room. The carpet gushed underneath my socks, soaking them to my skin almost instantaneously. I refused to look down at what color my socks were now. I refused to open my eyes at all. I tasted bile rising in the back of my throat. I knew I had to look. I knew there was no getting around it. It was my responsibility. No one was going to hold my hand through this. I decided to count to ten and then open them no matter what when I heard the sound again. It was definitely a very human-sounding moan. Without thinking, my eyes shot open, taking in my surroundings. There was a broken night lamp flickering in the corner of the room. With each flash of light, it illuminated the room for a brief moment. All I saw was red.

I woke up soaked in cold sweat. Sitting up, I reflexively wiped the drool off my face. I wondered what the guy Tamara had given the love potion to thought of women covered in drool. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t looking for a guy anyway, not that I could every make Tamara believe me. Some people found solace in their dreams. I, on the other hand, wished I never had them. There were times when my dreams were warm and fluffy, reliving parts of my childhood that didn’t involve death in any way, though the majority of my dreams weren’t so nice. If I had a choice of the matter at all, I would give them up forever. The dream clung to the edge of my subconscious like an unwanted guest that could just not take the hint to leave. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, hoping that would erase the lingering aftermath of the dream. It didn’t, but I was able to distract my mind long enough with my surroundings that the images faded away to the background of my mind, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the next time I closed my eyes. My books were strewn all over the table. Some had fallen from the couch to the floor while I had been napping. I carefully picked them up and placed everything

in a neat pile, which I took upstairs and put away. Checking the time, I tossed my clothing into the hamper and did a once-through in my closet. I didn’t know where the day would lead me, but I was certain that I wanted to be able to carry Misery around without anyone freaking out, so that cancelled a few of my options. Nothing too tight or anything that would impede my ability to defend myself and grab my weapon. I settled on a tank top that was tight on my chest and then flowed loosely down to about midbutt. The deep sapphire color at the top bled into black by the bottom. It was long enough that I could hide my gun but also loose enough that at a moment’s notice I could draw it. Black skinny jeans and my soft flat boots finished the ensemble. I let my hair hang down, not needing the security of silver stakes during the daylight hours. By the time I was ready to go, I knew that Hocus-Pocus would be open. Tamara kept her ears and eyes open to the world around her whether she conducted any business in it or not, which always came in handy for me when I needed the latest of the supernatural rumours. With any luck, I would be able to find out more about one Raiden Anermeire. The mild discomfort the sun’s heat had caused the last couple days had died down to a comfortable temperature. The air still had the faint aroma of morning dew because the sun had yet to touch my front yard through the trees above, leaving a refreshing cool spot. Mrs. Dries was already up to her elbows in dirt, tending to every plant she could get her hands on. Lilies, tulips, rhododendrons, and anything else that flowered grew to unnatural size in her garden. Her garden looked like a paradise from the urban world around her house. One day I was going to work the nerve up and look at her true form. I rarely looked at people I knew well through the eyes of the Otherworld. There’s always the chance you’re not going to like what you see. And once you see, there’s no taking it back. Kind of like if you open Pandora’s box even just the tiniest of cracks you’re still never going to be able to put the horrors you let loose back in. Sometimes I saw people accidentally for who they really were, but with Mrs. Dries, it was different. I worked all day and night tracking and killing others, and I tried damn hard not to bring my work home with me. Even if I wasn’t fully

human myself, I could still live in the illusion of having a normal life, and that involved having normal neighbors. Not that I condemned or thought any differently of her—I knew she was a witch —but there was something different about her than other witches. Something powerful and ancient. So what if I preferred to see her as the little old lady that she portrayed for everyone around her? I was allowed to pretend in some cases. I waved and called good morning to her. She looked up from her work and wiped a loose hair from her face, leaving a huge trail of dirt across her cheek as she waved at me. I smiled. I sometimes wished the things that got smeared on my face were nice things like dirt, not so much blood and gore. But then again, I did love my job. There were lots of free parking spaces outside of the shop. The only times I ever had to worry about really were Valentine’s Day and Halloween. Yes, that’s right —Valentine’s Day. That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you go on a first date with someone on this love-filled day is not always natural. Quite a few people sneak into the shop like it is full of the world’s most forbidden items and ask Tamara for her special blend of love potion. The very same one that she tries to pawn off on me every time I visit her. Halloween is pretty obvious as to why it is busy. The line between the two worlds is the weakest, giving people the hope that they may make or even just have a glimpse of a long-lost loved one. Other than those days, Hocus-Pocus isn’t the busiest of spots. Tamara has her regulars that come in, me being one of them, and that is enough for her. All she wants to do is help people. She tells me all the time she doesn’t do it for the money, though it is nice to have. She just simply loves doing what she does. Everyone has their thing I guess. But who am I to be the judge? Mrs. Dries has her gardening, Tamara has her shop, and I track down and kill otherworldy creatures. Just another day at the office. The sound of wind chimes welcomed me with a reassuring tinkle of security. Most people just think that they were there to either alert Tamara of a new customer or merely to make a pretty sound. What they didn’t know was that if you looked carefully inside of the metal chimes, you would see small little symbols engraved into them. When they strike one another as you walk in, the

spell is activated, and it banishes any evil spirits or ill will that accompanies you into the store. Tamara was speaking with a man that you could only describe as tall, dark, and handsome. His long dark hair was neatly tied back, showing off his masculine face to perfection. A plaid shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots made him stick out like a sore thumb in a store like this; but hey, who am I to say what people should look like? I gave him another once-over. Yup, that boy could stick out at my place anytime he wanted. God, maybe Tamara was right, and I did need a guy. I mean, come on, even in my head, that sounded horrible and cheesy. With perfect timing as always, Tamara motioned him with a nod in my direction. I was already beet red from the cheesy line in my head, and now all I could think about was this was probably just a setup from her. But did I really care? He was really good-looking, and she wouldn’t choose a guy that was a jerk. Things seemed to be looking up for me. That is until he turned and I met his gaze. His eyes were endless pools of dark chestnuty goodness. Almost as dark as Ash’s. Ash’s eyes had been endless pits that I could be swallowed up into with ease. Ash … Damnit! Now for the life of me, I could not look this man in the eyes and see him. All I could see was Ash. Must mean I need more sleep. I was starting to lose it. “Sage! What perfect timing on your part. I was just telling Quinn here all about you,” Tamara said all too eagerly. Well, now that they had me in their sights and had spoken, there was no way I could get out of there without talking to either of them. Unless—nope can’t think of an excuse for the life of me. Plus there was no use. Tamara could read me like a book. Oh well, here goes nothing. “Hi, nice to meet you.” I stuck my hand out awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. “With all the wonderful things she has told me about you, I am so glad I was able to meet you right away,” Quinn said, taking my hand in his.

His hands weren’t as soft as Ash’s, more like a man who uses his hands to work. Crap, I did it again. Why the hell was Ash suddenly popping to mind? He didn’t make that big of an impression on me, did he? Maybe he was more powerful than he was letting on and had actually been able to manipulate my mind. Double crap. “Well?” Tamara looked at me inquisitively. “Sorry … what?” “I was just saying how delicious this tea was that Tamara brewed. It has an aftertaste that I just can’t place. Well, whatever it is, it’s really good. You should have a cup,” Quinn said, handing me a cup that Tamara had so generously placed beside of him. I wondered how he would react if I told him the delightful aftertaste was a love potion. If this was the best trick Tamara had, she had better start building a better repertoire. “No, thank you. I just had like a bazillion cups of coffee, and they went right through me.” Let’s see her come up with something for that. “Can I run in the back and use the little girls’ room?” “Go ahead. You know where it is,” she said with an almost-inaudible sigh— almost. “Thanks. It was fun meeting you.” I shook Quinn’s hand. “Maybe we’ll run into each other.” A hopeful puppy-dog smile crossed his lips. “Maybe.” I made a beeline dash for the back before anything else could be said by anybody. When I heard the chimes go off, I breathed a sigh of relief. Tamara walked into the back room, her dress swaying with her hips. I always envied how some women could pull that off effortlessly. She wore a single large unrecognizable pendant of a stone that was the size of my fist hanging around her neck and a few silver rings. She pushed her hair behind her ears, revealing large dangles in her ears.

“What was wrong with that one? I thought you two would be so cute together.” “Everything just caught me so off guard. I didn’t know how to react. Plus it might be nice to meet a guy that isn’t drugged.” “He wasn’t drugged … more like easily susceptible to the chemistry between you two.” “Yeah.” We stared at each other over the small table. Neither of us wanted to break the stare. My lips twitched first, and we both burst out laughing. Laughing was always such a soul cleanser. It felt extra nice in times like these. When I was able to catch my breath, I wiped the tears out of the corner of my eyes. “What brings you to my side of the woods today? Any news on the Daelarr yet?” She shifted into a more comfortable seated position, resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her palms. “Actually, yes, I ran into it at the same spot I had seen it before. You know the park I like to jog in? Well, we had a little altercation, and he got the better of me this time.” “Oh my god, let me see. Are you hurt?” I took off the bandages I had wrapped around my arm. “It’s not that bad.” “I beg to differ. Don’t move. I have something for your arm.” Before I could tell her any different, she had left and returned carrying a small container of ointment. “Rub this on your arm. It will speed up the healing process. Then I’ll bandage it up for you again.” I sighed and rubbed it on the cuts. It burned for a minute then cooled down to a nice, soothing, dull sensation. As she started wrapping up my arm, I took the opportunity to do what I had come here to do. “I actually came here to ask you about someone.”

When she had finished patching me up, she looked at me. “Sure, who are we talking about here?” “Raiden Anermeire.” As soon as his name crossed my lips, I watched the color drain from her face. That’s never a good sign. Great. She regained her composure quickly, but her body language wasn’t relaxed anymore. Her shoulder and neck muscles were tensed as she sat straight as a board. She placed her hands on her lap and fidgeted with her rings. The playfulness in her eyes disappeared, giving me the shivers at how fast she could change moods. “You do not need to know anything about him.” “But I do. I am pretty sure that he is involved in one of my cases at work.” Tamara didn’t know exactly what I did for a living, but I would assume she would be pretty darn close if she took a swing at it. “I would advise you to drop the case, give it to someone else, and move on.” “I can’t do that, Tamara. What’s wrong? You’ve never been this insistent on anything, not even that I need a man.” “Raiden is no man, not anymore. He is pure evil and hatred.” “So you do know who I am talking about.” “Yes, but I really think you should back away now before you alert him to your presence. He is someone that you don’t want acknowledging you.” “I felt his power when the trail was old. I know the dangers—” “You cannot begin to realize the danger you would place yourself in if you are even just asking questions.” “I’m sorry, I can’t drop this one. I’m pretty sure he is behind the killings that have been happening recently, and I am the only one that is even close to qualified at dealing with things like this. I am the best there is.”

“That might not be enough.” Just the pep talk I needed. I pleaded with my eyes, and she finally broke down. “I don’t know much about him. Like I said, it is best that way, but what I do know is not good. He is a very old extremely powerful vampire who sees life as nothing more than something he can toy with and amuse himself with. “There are rumours that when he was a human, he was comionate and kind, but that all changed over the years of being a vampire. He lost his humanity, leaving a cold, dark shell of a being. “You cannot reason with him in any way. He is the ultimate predator. No emotions except for the kill. He is ruthless and holds nothing close to himself. “I’m sorry I cannot give you more, but—” No, don’t stop now. “But what?” “But,” she sighed, “I can tell you where you can acquire some more information. It’s in your best interest to not go to this place, but knowing you, you will get it out of me one way or another. First, you have to promise me something.” “What?” I was so close to getting the info that I wanted that I would promise anything. “Be as careful as you possibly can, do not trust anyone, and watch your back at all times. If you stick out too much and are asking too many questions, he may want to look into you, and that is the last thing you want to happen.” A soul-sucking, heartless creature that would probably eat his own mother as a boredom snack coming after me—oh joy. Just the thought made me wince inside. “I promise.” Let’s just hope I could keep my promise. “Have you heard of the underground vampire nightclubs?” “The ones that are connected through the tunnels underneath the city? Yeah. It’s

where vampires can do their business during daylight hours without the whole burn-into-a-crispy-fry problem. I wouldn’t have thought a vampire with his kind of power would bother going down there.” “You’re right about that. He sees himself as too above places like that, just like most powerful vampires. But rumors and bits of information sprout up like weeds down there. If there’s one place to go to find info on Raiden, that is definitely the place to go,” she said with a defeated sigh. “I really, really don’t like the thought of you going down there. It’ll be dangerous. You know it’s a hunting ground for the vampires as well.” “I still can’t believe people in their right mind would go out of their way to find a vampire just so they can get a neckful of fangs. The good thing is I won’t stick out like a sore thumb with all the other humans there. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be—” “Fine?” She jumped in. “You always say that, and yes, you can handle yourself. I know that. But it just seems that you always end up having to go into the lion’s den blasting an air horn.” I took a moment to picture what that would actually look like and smiled. I was touched by how much she cared. “How about I leave the air horn at home this time?” She gave me a hard look for a minute before a smile erupted across both our faces and a giggling fit commenced. “Don’t worry,” I said, patting her on the knee, “I’ve been down there before. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m walking into.” The chimes made a musical chorus as a customer entered the store. Tamara looked like she wanted to say something but stood up instead and gave me a quick hug before she went out front to help the customer. I knew she was worried about me, but I’d been up against worse things that a rogue soul-sucking creature. Haven’t I? I slipped out of the store as Tamara was helping a young woman put together a pouch for good luck, or at least that’s what I thought it was for from the ingredients I could make out. The sun felt nice on my skin as I stood outside for a moment, taking in its beauty and warmth.

With my luck, I wouldn’t be seeing much of the sun today. A sigh escaped at the thought. I was beginning to lose my tan from all these night jobs. Not that I had had much of one before, my work was always all hours of the day. That’s the hours of an assassin I suppose, especially when some of your clientele can only come out to play at night.

CHAPTER 11

M y engine came alive, and I was off heading north before I could second-guess myself. I’d been to the underground clubs a couple of times for work, and I ed a few of the different entrances. There was one only a fifteenminute drive from Hocus-Pocus. The entrance was inside of a tattoo parlor but not the type you would go to if you wanted to get a cutesy little butterfly tattooed on your ankle. No, you would come to this place for a grim reaper tattooed on the back of your head. When you walked into this place, all you saw are huge guys covered from head to toe in tattoos literally. Outside of the shop was a mass of decked-out Harleys lined up side by side. I found a parking spot a block away from the shop. Oh, there were other closer parking spots, but they were also right beside those motorcycles. And I did not want any pissed-off bikers in my life. I already had my plate overflowing with trouble I could barely contain. The air buzzed with the sound of tattoo needles and heavy metal music blasted out of the stereo system. The shop itself was pretty small with only enough room for about three tattoo chairs, two of which were occupied. The walls were covered with pictures of skulls and other images of death that you could pick from. Other than the tattoo chairs, there was a brown stained very worn couch to the one side and a cash to the other. The hardwood floor would’ve looked nice had it not been scuffed up from years of dragging furniture and probably more than a few brawls. But I wasn’t interested in any of these things. What I was interested in was the door at the very back of the shop, the one with two huge men sitting on either side of it. I’m not talking about the big guys who are tall with some weight on them. I’m talking about the sheer massiveness that dwarfed the very chairs they were sitting in. No one stood up or even really looked up as I walked across the room. Without looking at either of the men guarding the door, which was hard

considering the fact that the closer I got the more ridiculous their size seemed to get, I strolled right past them and through the door. Neither of them even flinched. I found the more confident you acted in places like this, the fewer people question whether you belong there or not. As the door shut behind me, I was engulfed by silence. The door led straight to a set of stairs, giving me no other option but to head down. As I descended, I wished I had brought my silver stakes, but that would have caused too much attention. My cross was tucked under my shirt because there was no way they were letting me into the club with it on, and there was no way I was about to take it off especially while heading straight into a vampire hunting ground. Dull florescent lights flickered, casting eerie shadows on the stairs and walls. One of the lights was broken, leaving a section of blackness. The last time I had been there, the same light had been broken. They really didn’t put much upkeep in the entrances. A dull thumping came from behind the door at the bottom of the stairs. Another large man covered in tattoos, skull covered and all, with a bull piercing and large plugs in his ears sat in yet another extremely tiny chair at the bottom. The tiny chair would have probably been perfect size for me. Unlike the other two giants upstairs, he stood up at my presence. He made the already small space feel incredibly claustrophobic with his mass. A black muscle shirt was stretched tightly over his weightlifter-size chest. I doubted they even made shirts that wouldn’t be on the verge of tearing off him. I looked up at him as he towered over me. If I had to stay like this looking up at his six-feet-fiveinch or six-feet-six-inch stature, I would have a huge kink in my neck within several minutes. “Arms straight out to the sides. Turn in a slow circle,” he demanded in a gruff voice. “What? No drink first?” I smiled until I saw the look on his face. Oookay, not the right guy to joke with, noted. Following his instructions, I prayed I looked innocent enough to not get a pat down or he would find Misery instantly. Luckily for me, I guess I didn’t look intimidating at all because all he did was look. I felt his gaze linger a little longer than it should on my ass, but as long as I wasn’t getting frisked, he could look all he wanted as far as I was concerned. If I had put some black makeup on, I

probably could’ve ed as one of the many dead heads that frequent the club. With a grunt, he sat down in his chair, letting me through to the door. I gave him a once-over quickly as I walked by and noticed the sawed-off shotgun hidden between the wall and his chair. The door was incredibly heavy, made of what looked like a very strong mixture of metals. The doorknob itself looked heavy duty, same as the four deadbolts above it. I didn’t security being this tight the last time I was here. There must have been some trouble recently. The door opened with a woosh of hot sweaty air with an aftertaste of something coppery I didn’t want to think about. As the door shut behind me with a heavy thud, the roar of the music engulfed me. I closed my eyes and let my other senses sort out my surroundings first. The heat of the air set fire to my skin, and the smell of bodies mingled with alcohol and cigarettes. When my senses were dulled a little to the point that I could ignore them, I opened my eyes and took the rest of it all in. Red strobe lights cut the scene before me into a slideshow of bodies sweating, grinding, and dancing. The lights tried to trigger my nightmare memories, but I was able to supress the thoughts before they could gain momentum and take root. The last thing I needed right now was to have to deal with my past. The music was almost so loud it had become just blaring noise with no words or rhythm except for the base line. You could feel it in the air, through the floor, and in your blood, calling you to it. Hypnotizing you into its dance, tempting you to lose yourself. I noticed right away that there was no set theme for clothing. I saw one woman making her way through the mob of people with an unnatural grace, wearing a full-length navy-blue silk evening gown. When I looked in another direction, I saw a group of men and women who wore nothing but leather and chains. I don’t know if I could even begin to categorize what they wore as outfits. There just didn’t seem to be enough material. Hairstyles ranged from long luscious curls to short blue and pink spikes on both women and men. But they all mingled on equal grounds on the dance floor. Walking along the walls, I kept my eyes open for anything that could help me. There were several rooms off to the side of the dance floor, separated by thick blood-red curtains. One hung slightly open, and before I could look away, I saw

way too much. Reminder to self—do not look in the rooms where the dead heads get their deepest darkest fantasies brought to life and vampires get what they always want: a fresh supply of blood. A shiver ran down my spine. Stay away from the curtained rooms, got it. The lights lit everyone’s faces up eerily as it shone on one-half the shadows engulfing the other half. The bass changed beat, which was about the only way I could tell the song had changed. I had been so mesmerized by this place I had no idea how long I had been standing there, entranced by its primal magic. Come on, Sage, it’s time to do your job! Okay, but where to start? I was contemplating this when I caught the eye of a young man with spiky hair. The color was hard to tell in the red light. All I could make out was it was dark, which contrasted with his snow-white skin. He fixed me with a look a lion might give a gazelle: eyes full of hunger. I knew even before he was within ten feet of me what he was. Young vampires always have that newly turned cockiness about them, kind of like how teenage boys get once they’ve grown their first chest hair. They don’t even try to mask what they are like the older ones, and for that reason, there aren’t a lot of older vampires. Since the young ones like to show off what they are, they are easy pickings for vampire hunters. Or were anyways. In this day and age, people don’t go out on vampire and witch hunts like they used to. It’s not made a public display. Now they hire people like me to do their dirty work, but they have to have a pretty damn good case in order for me to take a life even if it’s an undead one. The surprise was clear in his eyes as I walked toward him, and he realized he hadn’t turned me into a zombie full of lust, ready to do anything he asked. I always found it a little more than slightly comical how easily a vampire’s game can be thrown off when they realize their mind tricks don’t work on me. They had a look that says, “Oh shit, now what?” for an instance before they cover it up. I had to give it to him, though. He was a bold one. Not even skipping a beat as he moved in closer to me, much closer than I would have liked. “So, baby, you here for some fun?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Well, he tried to anyways because like I said, some people had a talent for making that

work. Unfortunately, this guy was not one of them. Instead of being instantly drawn in to his suggestion, I had to stifle a giggle. “Definitely. Know anyone who wants to play?” I said in my best airhead tone. I hated myself a little at that moment. “I’m right here.” Oh my god, I wasn’t going to be able to put up with him much longer. Did he just puff out his chest a little? Wow. I might as well start getting some useful information and get this over with before the overwhelming urge to hurt him won. “I was thinking of someone a little … older? I’ve heard of this one guy—what was his name? Oh yeah, Raiden! I heard he likes to party.” His face immediately changed. The lust and showmanship was replaced by anger at being turned down, and if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of fear. Great, even the monsters themselves were scared of this guy. To give the guy credit, he did attempt to save face. “Nah, you don’t want him. I’m all you need.” But his heart just wasn’t in it anymore. “Oh well, do you know how I can meet him?” I asked, running my finger down the side of his arm. Maybe a little flirting could get some information flowing. His eyes darkened. He looked like he wanted to say something but instead stepped back into the crowd, becoming just another face. Weird, this might be harder than I had initially thought, especially if no one was going to cough up any information. Screw it, the only way I was going to get anything was if I just jumped right on in. I was already sweating from the hot air when I entered the dance floor. Bodies grinded against mine, and the only thing that stopped me from smacking people was the fact that I’d probably get kicked out with no more information than I already had. And I sure hoped that nobody bumped the safety off Misery because getting shot in the ass by my own gun would not only hurt physically but it would bruise the hell out of my ego. Still, I felt much safer being here with a weapon. Worse comes to worst, most people just run away at the sound of a gunshot.

I don’t know how long I spent dancing or attempting to before I needed a break. I had no idea how these people did it for the entire night. No one wanted to answer my questions. Sure, they were all friendly at first; but as soon as I dropped Raiden’s name, they blended back into the crowd like the first guy. It was getting really frustrating, and I didn’t want to even begin to consider what kind of creature had every single person too terrified to even talk about him. Plus, my ass had been grabbed so many times I might have a bruise tomorrow morning in the shape of a hand. Making my way to the edge of the dance floor, I looked around to see where I had come out. The exit in which I had first come through was nowhere to be seen; the curtained rooms, on the other hand, were still visible. Taking a guess, I figured where the door I wanted should be. Once I was away from the crowd, my skin started to cool off a little, and I realized just how gross I felt. To my left, I saw a sign for the bathroom. I had to shove my way past some people and heard a few curses in my direction, but I made it to the bathroom in one piece. The bathroom door didn’t look anything like the soundproof door guarding entrance to this place, but once inside, the loud thumping of the bass was the only thing I could hear. That or I may have gone slightly deaf from the sheer volume out there. Seriously, I had no idea how people didn’t leave places like this with bleeding ears, especially vampires with their intense enhanced hearing. The bathroom was fairly clean for the place it was in. Several sinks lined up against a large mirror with about five stalls against the other wall. The walls were an ugly gray color, and the floors probably used to have been black, but it was so worn looking that I couldn’t be sure. My reflection in the mirror was not the most flattering I had seen it. Hair strands were plastered to my face. The rest of it was a frizzy mess that stuck out in all directions. Considering where I had just been, though, I suppose I could’ve looked worse. I mean I could have ended up with twin puncture marks in my neck. Ugh, scary thought. The tap sputtered to life at first but then began to flow freely. The water looked clean enough to me as I splashed it over my face. Cool water was a wonderful contrast to the heat burning across my skin. Grabbing a handful of paper towels,

I started to dry my face off when the door opened. A young woman, probably in her early twenties, with waves upon waves of platinum-blonde hair strolled in. I watched out of the corner of my eye as she discreetly scanned the bathroom. She was wearing a tight black minidress that gave the illusion of impossibly long legs, and I have no idea what kind of bra she was wearing, but it was definitely doing her wonders. I resisted the urge to look at my own reflection again. She walked up to the mirror and began to touch up her perfectly applied makeup, which I thought would be a daunting task considering she had no reflection. The myth that vampires do not have a reflection is only half true. Young vampires don’t have a reflection while the older more powerful vampires can muster up enough mojo in order to give themselves one. It helps them blend into society more. I felt the weight of Misery at my lower back, and boy did it ever feel reassuring. But even if she was young, she could still cross the couple feet between us before I could get a good shot off and I had a fast trigger hand. She looked at me from the corner of her eye. “So I hear you’re asking about Raiden,” she said, shattering the silence with a voice like honey. A lot of vampires can use glamour to make their voices more seductive or appealing, but most of that stuff rarely worked on me. That meant it was her natural voice. It was probably a voice that had talked her way into tons of old millionaire’s checkbooks. “Yeah, you know anything that could help?” I turned to fully face her, my hands behind me resting on the sink within easy grabbing distance of my gun. “Depends.” She stopped fixing her makeup and stood still like only the undead can manage. I hated when they played statue. “On what?” I challenged. I was feeling ballsy. Plus, I had no other leads. “On what exactly you’re looking to find and whether or not you know what you’re getting yourself into.” She faced me in one fluid motion, black eyes shining in the fluorescent light. The eyes of a predator.

Luckily, I had come prepared and had a backup story for this situation. Always be prepared—that’s what my mom always taught me. She probably wasn’t thinking of a situation like this, but oh well, it worked. “I’ve been searching out certain vampires, seeing who’s the right fit for me. I mean you only get turned once in your life, and for me, it’s got to be perfect. And yeah, I’ve done my homework. I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.” I hope anyway. At first, I didn’t think she was going to buy it, that she might even call me out on it. Her gaze didn’t waver until suddenly a smile showing inch-long canines broke out across her face. “My, my, someone has good tastes. Extravagant to go for Raiden, but I like it!” I loosened my grip on the sink. My fingers were stiff, and I didn’t holding on to it that tightly. “Well …” She looked around again and lowered her voice. “Between you and me, he’s having this big bash tonight. I hear it’s celebrating his return, though I have no idea where he was. There’s so many rumors about that. You know how things are.” She gave me a sidelong look. “Anyway, it’s a pretty high-profile event. Only a select amount of vampires were invited. “Technically I wasn’t. My maker was, and I was supposed to be his date, but he turned this one bimbo last week, and now I’m treated like chopped liver. What a bitch, right?” “Yeah, huge bitch.” I nodded. It kinda reminded me of a soap opera I had watched once when there was absolutely nothing on TV. I bet this would be a hit: Days of our Undead Lives. I could see it now. The whole no-reflection thing may pose a problem and the fact that some crew would probably get eaten. Then I’d have to come in and kick some vampire ass, and I already had a full schedule as it was without some stupid soap opera vampire drama to deal with. Yeah, on second thought, that would just be far too much effort. “I know, like really. One minute he can’t get enough of me, hounding me like some horn dog, professing his undying love, and then the next he can’t

my name! I mean come on!” She threw her hands up in disgust. “Men!” I had to get her train of thought back on track. I couldn’t handle much more of this nonsense. “About that party, though?” “What? Oh right. So he’s having this party at his house. You know where that is, right?” “No, where is it?” “I thought you said you looked into him.” Oh shit, think of something, Sage, and fast. “I did, but I never got as far as his address. It’s hard to come by.” “He is a bit of a recluse,” Thank god she bought that. “It’s up past the abandoned warehouse district. There’s a road. What was it called again? E something … Elmer Lane. Just drive to the end of that, and you’ll be there. Man, it was lucky you found out about the party in time.” Yeah, just my luck. I get to spend the night partying with monsters, every girl’s dream! “It really is.” “Good luck with getting him to turn you. I when I was turned …” She got a glazed-over, dreamy look in her eyes. I took that as my cue to leave. The loud music and sweat-filled air assaulted my senses anew. Keeping my back to the wall, I slowly made my way back to the exit. For the most part, it seemed as long as I kept out of people’s way and my head down, I wasn’t bothered by anyone. A door that looked familiar was almost within reach when an idea crossed my mind. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and switched to the Otherworld. With any luck, the vampires will be too distracted to notice the shift in power. Concentrating, I slowly began to unravel the different auras. My first step was to block out the white strands that belonged to humans and any other colors that didn’t coincide with vampires. The next part was a little more difficult.

There were two specific vampire auras that I had stamped into my memory that were relevant at the moment. Calling them up wasn’t the hard part. No, the hard part was trying to find a match to someone in the area. Most of the black strands had no added color. There were a few here and there that had that kind of power, but they didn’t match who I was looking for. A couple had flairs of color but nothing as strong and vibrant as Raiden or Ash. Oh well, I guess I just wasn’t lucky enough to have the pleasure of meeting Raiden face-to-face in what was essentially a vampire nest. Leaving the Otherworld, I noticed a few glances my way, but none that were brave enough to satisfy their curiosity and actually confront me. Fine by me, it was long past due the time I was leaving. A tiny woman with jet-black hair that made her already pale skin ghostly was just slipping through the door as I reached it. The fact that her paleness was most likely not from lack of sun but rather lack of a full blood supply, her attire which was a little black dress, and how she purposefully moved into the crowd made it obvious she was a regular. I shook my head at the thought. So many lives ruined because of their addiction to the feeling of ecstasy vampires gave. It gets to a point where all they can think about is the next time they can have their body pierced with fangs. I’ve seen some bad cases where they even go into withdrawal if they try to make it through the day alone. It’s sad really. The door shut with a heavy thud behind me, blocking out the world beneath the city that few humans even knew existed. It’s better that way, though, less unsuspecting prey walking straight into the slaughterhouse. A lot of those people down there had no idea what they were getting into. They thought it would be a fun new experience; and then they got hooked, or worse, they became dinner. The same gorilla of a man was still sitting in his chair, gun tucked underneath him, giving him quick access if the need arose but also being discreet enough as to not scare the customers away. I wonder what kind of ammunition he had in the gun. Who was he here to protect: humans or vampires? Cool air wafted down from the top of the stairs. One of the men upstairs was uned for, but I was more than sure the remaining one was capable of holding down the fort. The other guy was probably outside on a smoke break.

This time I did get a fleeting glance from the man but nothing more than a check to see who, or possibly what, was coming up from downstairs. The tattoo equipment was all packed away. It was probably too late for any more customers. A sigh escaped my lips as brisk night air kissed my sweat-soaked skin. Goose bumps rippled over my skin at the sudden temperature change. The street lamps were humming away, lighting patches of the night yet leaving plenty of room for anything that preferred the darkness. The sun had set, and the moon was just following it up. I had been down there for the remainder of the day, damn it. It was too late to hunt for the Daelarr now. One of the street lamps flickered as if all it needed was for someone to twist the bulb in a little more snugly. The light barely illuminated the sidewalk. I wouldn’t be surprised if the vampires had set it up this way. My nerves were on edge, and every rustle and faint footstep I heard made me want to grab Misery. Even we assassins find a case that gets to us. Mine just happened to be one superevil vampire. A plastic bag fluttered across the street, carried by the breeze. My car was in sight when I felt the presence behind me. My muscles tensed, ready for anything. My hearing enhanced to beyond straining as I tried to listen over my heartbeat. A change of air right behind me tipped me off as to the direction the assailant was coming from. In one swift motion, I reached behind me, grabbed Misery, and spun to face whoever was behind me.

CHAPTER 12

C onfusion and amazement sparkled in the endless pits of darkness that were my assailant’s eyes. “How did you know I was there?” I lowered my gun as he lowered his hands, which had shot up in an instant sign of surrender. I didn’t holster it, though, just kept it by my side, nice and handy. “I felt you,” I told him honestly. “Impressive.” He smiled, his words filled with sincerity. “Any more tricks up your sleeve I don’t know about? Because you seem to keep dazzling me.” “Plenty, and it’s going to stay that way. What do you want, Ash?” I didn’t have time for games right now. “I kind of have somewhere to be at the moment.” “Oh, I know all about your plans, and hopefully, you are planning on changing before you go.” His eyes roamed over my body, making heat follow his gaze. I didn’t understand. Normally, vampire tricks had no effect on me, but something about him did. Possibly, he wasn’t using any tricks, and that in itself was a little scary. Damnit, what was wrong with me? I was acting like a horny teenager. “How do you know about where I’m going? And there’s nothing wrong with my outfit.” Yeah, nice comeback, reeeeal smooth. “There is if you intend to meet with one of the most prominent and powerful vampires.” “How—” He held up his hand. “Rumors fly quicker than you expect, especially when it’s about a human asking strange questions about Raiden. And what’s this about getting him to mark you? I have to say I am hurt—deeply. I mean you have me, one word, and I would have been there and done it for you. There is really no

need to go through all this trouble. I am a simple solution.” He wiggled his eyebrows. He had me. I was taken aback for a moment without a response. I’d always gotten intel easily on other vampires using a similar method and never heard anything about it. What the hell was so different about Raiden? “You’re not my type. Too much of a pretty boy.” He was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that both fit him perfectly. Though he was well groomed, he exuded a type of ruggedness. He was anything but a pretty boy, but that had been the only comeback I could think of. “Ouch, that stings”—he held his chest as if in pain—“especially coming from someone who looks like they’ve spent the whole day in a rave.” Using every ounce of willpower, I didn’t touch or try to fix my hair or clothes. I just stood perfectly still and glared at him. Point for me. The corner of his mouth twitched, and laughter sparkled in his eyes. “Cat got your tongue?” He chuckled. “If it does, it’s sure one lucky cat.” Heat rushed to my face, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Come on, focus on anything but him and get through this with minimal humiliation. I knew that even in this dim lighting, he saw what color my face was. “Why are you following me?” There we go, change the subject. He seemed to become a little more serious. “You can’t go to that party alone.” “Try to stop me.” I put my hand on my hip, challenging him. “Oh, believe me, I could, but even if I don’t, there is no way you are getting past his security. Your little story will fall through, and then you’ll be up shit creek with no paddle. “You didn’t really think this plan through much, did you? For one thing, they generally don’t let unmarked humans into these types of parties unless they are brought by another vampire as a present. Another thing is they will check you all over—and I mean all over—so there is no way you could talk them into letting you keep your cross.”

Damn. “And how would you know all this?” “I’ve been to these types of get-togethers, and I know how it works.” I hate it when there’s a glitch in my plans. Feeling Defeated, I let my hand fall away from my hip. “What do you suggest?” “Be my date.” “What?” That was one of the last things I had expected to come out of his mouth. “I don’t think I heard you properly.” “I can get you in and work as protection for you against the other vampires.” His plan was better than my nonexistent one, but still. “What’s in it for you?” I asked stubbornly. “Why does there have to be something?” “Because you’ve been helping me and now it seems like you’re following me. For what reason? I can’t seem to figure that part out yet.” I gave him one of my patented you’d-better-answer-’cause-I’m-not-giving-up stares. He sighed. “Fine, you’re right. There is something in it for me, but I can’t tell you what it is.” The suspicion must have been clear on my face because he continued, “I know you don’t like the sound of that and you don’t trust vampires. From what I’ve seen of you, you probably don’t trust anyone.” Ouch. “I do so trust people … some people.” Sometimes. No, not really, but he sure didn’t need to know he was right. “No, you don’t and you know it, but I can get you in and help you. If it helps, I won’t hold it against you if you pull a gun on me … again.” His smile was one brimming with charm, the kind that takes practice to achieve. “You make it seem like you are any type of threat to me, and I’m counting you as one of the bad guys on my kill list.” “Deal.” As we shook hands to seal the deal, I felt a jolt of heat shoot up my arm from his touch. I tried to ignore it the best I could, but I couldn’t help but wonder

if that heat would follow every time he touched me. It wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Get your head straight, Sage! “Now that we have that all settled, it’s time to spruce you up.” “Excuse me? What am I, an old car?” His mouth opened, I held up my hand. “Don’t answer that.” “All right, but we do have to get you in something more appropriate for this party. This.” he motioned up and down me with his hand. “This may be good for slumming in a club like the one you just left, but it’s nowhere near good enough for Raiden’s group. We have just enough time before the party. I know some shops we could go to that are still open—” “No.” I turned on my heel and began walking to my car. “I can dress myself in my own clothes thank you very much.” He took a step toward me—very ballsy—with his hands in the air. “Okay, okay, I was just offering. The party isn’t for a couple of hours, so how about you go home, get cleaned up, and I’ll pick you up in, let’s say, two hours?” “Why can’t we just”—I looked up from unlocking my car, and he was gone —“meet somewhere?” Vampires. Stupid shadows—it always unnerved me how the undead could move in and out of them. I listened to the night but couldn’t pick up any sound that gave him away. Fine, he could just stay standing in the shadows all night for all I cared. I had to get home and shower anyway. I hadn’t realized how sticky the outside air had made my skin. Thinking back to the club, I shuddered—gross. The drive home wasn’t long, and when I opened the door, Ramses was all over me. I dropped my keys on the side table with everything else but Pain, which I had grabbed from my glove box, and Misery. They came with me to the kitchen to get Ramses food. Me, paranoid? Never. With him fed, I went upstairs for a shower. Pain and Misery lay on the bathroom counter as I stripped and turned on the water. Before I got in, I unwrapped the bandages on my arm. The wound was healing very nicely thanks to the ointment Tamara had given me. I might not even need to wear a bandage on it tonight.

The water scorched my skin, washing away the sweat and grime of the day. It would’ve felt incredible to just stand there, underneath the water, for the rest of the night or until the water went cold and then go to bed. But I still had a long night ahead of me; so I just rinsed the sweat and grime off, shampooed quickly, and got out. My arm was in good shape, so I didn’t bother with another bandage. The cream that Tamara had given me had really done wonders. I towel dried my hair as I walked into my bedroom. I rarely went undercover into high-level parties. Normally, there was no need. But tonight I had to see who I was dealing with and get answers, and then I could finish my job. With any luck, tonight would be the last night that soul sucker was alive—undead, whatever. My wardrobe was lacking in the fancy clothing section. I never went out. Hell, I didn’t have any type of life outside of my job. Unfortunately, that was the way it had to be, and I had known that right off the bat and kept with it. Tossing the towel in a heap in the corner, I sorted through my options. I had a feeling jeans would be a no-no in Ash’s eyes, not that I really cared, but I suppose I should try to fit in tonight. It’ll probably make my life easier in the long run. Once I had combed through my closet twice, I looked at my selections that I had laid out on the bed. I had three choices, not much but better than nothing. The first was a long evening gown that was a deep shade of burgundy, which I, for the life of me, could not recall ever having seen before. Option two was a black corset, with tiny metal studs entwined into it, worn over a white billowy shirt that left my shoulders slightly bare, matched with a pair of soft black leather pants. And finally, my last option was short cocktail dress that I had used undercover before. I hadn’t liked it then, and I’m pretty sure my feelings toward it weren’t about to change. Hands down, it was option two. I still had excellent mobility to move around and fight, I could easily hide several weapons, and my cross stayed hidden underneath the shirt. Once I had slipped into my outfit and tied my hair up with twin stakes, I gave myself a once-over in the mirror. It ended up being a kind of a vampire cross with pirate look, but hey, it looked sexy. Ramses meowed in agreement. Hopefully, Ash would be happy with my choice because listening to him complain could make the car ride a long one. A knock came from the door just as I was reaching the bottom of the stairs. I

looked at the clock and realized it had already been two hours. At least he was punctual, good to know. Without realizing it, I checked myself over one last time before answering the door. I opened it, and my jaw almost dropped. Ash stood there in a pair of dark pants with a deep maroon shirt that contrasted his white skin perfectly. The top two buttons were undone, giving glimpses of his marble chest. And to top it off, he had a cape. Seriously, a cape. I saw a mischievous grin cross his face before he was able to control himself. Guess I did a good job. “Nice cape,” I said, leaning against the door frame. “Thanks. I hear it’s all the rage with pretty boys these days.” He gave it a little twirl. “I always hate wearing it, but it helps me fit in with the crowd. You cleaned up nicely.” Heat rushed to my face. “I just need to grab a few things. Then I’ll be ready to go.” “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked. “Nope, but good try.” I didn’t shut the door on him, just left it open. What, I’m not rude. I just make it a habit not to let vampires into my house. I slipped on a pair of my work boots, and I say work boots because they were specially designed with a type of soft leather so they barely whisper when you walk in them. Plus, they were waterproof and could deliver a mean kick. All this comes in handy in my line of work. I was slipping on a holster for my guns when Ash cleared his throat. “Yes?” “You can’t bring any guns with you.” “And why would that be?” I asked, one hand on my hip, a gun in the other. “Vampires can smell gunpowder. I thought you would know this already.” “I knew that. So what? You guys can smell a lot of things.”

“Security will know instantly that you are carrying a weapon, and we will both be thrown out before we even get into the party,” he said matter-of-factly. “Oh.” Way to think that through, Sage. “And the cross has to go.” He pointed to my neck. “No one goes to anything related to vampires while wearing a cross, especially if you are pretending to be a gift to Raiden. Did you think this was going to be easy, that you would fool a bunch of idiots?” “I’m not taking off the cross. The guns, as much as I don’t want to, I can live without for a night. Especially if you are my backup. But if you double-cross me, you better make sure I’m dead or I will find you.” I stood my ground, not that he could do anything to me while I was inside. “But the cross is the one thing I absolutely refuse to take off.” He sighed. “Fine. And I am not going to double-cross you. You don’t have to worry about that. I suppose I can think of an excuse for why you are wearing a cross. It’s just—” “It’s just what?” “Bringing someone as a date to one of these things who is wearing a cross is embarrassing.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “So the problem here is I might embarrass you? You know what, I think I can live with that. Let’s go.” I grabbed my keys and locked the door behind me. As I walked in the direction of my car, Ash touched my arm. “Where are you going?” “To my car, you know, the thing that provides me transportation to my destination,” I said all too sarcastically. “I brought a ride, don’t worry. Plus, it probably will look better if we show up together. I mean we are supposed to be on a date.” Suggestion dripped in his voice. “Don’t get any ideas. All right, where is this ride of yours?” I looked around. The only car that seemed out of place was a sleek silver sports car.

Ash followed where I was looking. “Yup, that would be your ride for this evening.” “Do vampires always have expensive shiny things?” He didn’t answer as he reached to open the door for me, but I beat him to it. “I was just trying to be a gentleman. I mean this is our first date.” “Please tell me you are not going to do this all night.” He just smiled. The seats in the car were lined with leather. Everything inside looked pristine and high-tech. I could tell he had had some modifications done to it, but I couldn’t quite tell what they were for. The engine purred to life, and he slid out onto the road silently. The world slipped by in a blur as he sped down the roads that led to the abandoned warehouse district. There was no music playing in the car, and I didn’t really want to ask or try to fiddle around with any of the numerous knobs. We drove in silence. At least it wasn’t an awkward silence. We were both caught up in our own little worlds. I couldn’t help but glance his way a couple of times. The streetlights flashed across his face, seeming to mar the marble perfection, giving it a harsh feel. I wondered what he was thinking about. His facial features seemed harder than normal. I probably didn’t want to know what was going on up there. He turned to look at me and found me staring at him. God, I hope there wasn’t any drool running down my face. His face immediately warmed, and all traces of darkness were washed away. “You ready for this?” “Yeah.” I hope. “Good ’cause we’re almost there.” He looked back to the road.

CHAPTER 13

H e slowed the car as we took a corner, and I was able to distinguish the buildings on either side of the road now that we weren’t driving at a breakneck speed. They were all worn-down warehouses that rarely got used for anything anymore other than college parties and a place for the homeless to come together to get high. The nice, smooth pavement of the city began to deteriorate halfway through the district, turning into potholes and cracks. Little side roads branched off the main street, but from what I could see as we drove past them, they were all just dead ends. The headlights of the car were the only source of light, barely penetrating the inky darkness that surrounded us on every side. The buildings began to thin out around the same time the road turned from cracked pavement to gravel. Ash turned left on a side road that would have been all but invisible to anyone driving by that didn’t know about it. A sign declared that it was a no-through road then about ten yards later another warning of private property and that tresers would be dealt with. I did not like the sound of that. A vampire’s lair would probably be about the worst place to disregard a sign like that. The road gradually turned from gravel to dirt, making the ride a lot smoother. There was nothing but open fields on either side lit up by the moon. I wondered how many door-to-door salesmen made it this far. My guess is not many. Ash slowed down to a crawl as the road widened into a mini parking lot. There must have been at least twenty incredibly expensive cars parked outside. Without hesitation, Ash parked his car in the closest open spot. As I got out of the car, the fresh night air whipped around me. Massive oak trees boxed in the house but also gave it an air of privacy. A large fountain with a man and woman carved in marble, entwined in each other’s grasps, was the centerpiece of the front yard. A walkway led from the fountain up toward the house. Now, describing it as a house didn’t give this place enough justice. It was a palace. It was Roman-style architecture, with giant stone pillars leading up to the

second floor, which, from what I could see from where I was standing, was one solid balcony. Ivy crept up the pillars, giving it a more natural feel. The whole place was done in white. Ash broke me out of my trance when he grabbed my elbow and began to lead me toward the house. Shaking my head, I stopped walking and looked up. “It’s so big.” “If you’re impressed by the outside, just wait till we get inside. Now come on, and , you’re with me.” He pulled me in closer. “I know you think you can handle this, but when we get inside, all those vampires in there will want a piece of you. I can stop them all as long as you stay close to me. If you stray too far from me, I might not be able to make it to you in time.” “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this under control.” Okay, deep breath in and try not to get killed by the end of the night. I reached for a coin in my pocket only to I didn’t have any pockets. All right, just focus, and it’ll be okay. Standing in front of the main entrance was a man that at first glance was not in the least bit intimidating. He stepped forward to meet us, which gave me a better look at him. He was short for a guy and not that muscular, but if you looked close enough, you could see the ropy muscles that covered his body. The way he held himself told me that he had experience being a bouncer and could handle pretty near anything that was thrown at him. A scar ran from the outside of his right eye all the way down to his ear, probably from a bar fight. His short silver hair was swept back, accentuating his long regal-looking nose. Eyes the color of his hair took in every part of his surroundings. I knew from his posture and the way he was acting that he had some sort of military training, probably another bonus as to why Raiden chose him. His suit jacket moved, exposing a bit of his neck as he searched Ash. The patch of skin I could see had several bit marks, some quite recent. My guess was unlike most of the dead heads you find at clubs who just get off on the pleasure, this man was a human servant. A human servant is a person who is handpicked by their master to be their right hand during daylight hours. Vampires don’t normally use their servants to feed from, but they will bite them in order to transfer some of their power to them.

They have the choice as to how their bite affects humans. Normally, they just go with the pleasure receptor since it helps them get the blood they want much faster. Most of the time the power that is given is minimal, just enough to help the servant protect their master in the day. If the servant proves themselves as being faithful, their master may wish to give them a greater gift. They will share some of their blood with the human, which binds them together. The servant has a far greater level of power, not as much as a vampire, but it would still be considered superhuman. The exchange of bodily fluids does not guarantee the servant will the league of the undead when they die, though. In order for this to happen, the master has to be the one to take the last breath of life from them. His movements were the thing that betrayed him, though. They were too fluid to be fully human. He was definitely sharing blood with Raiden. As soon as Ash was given the okay, the man moved toward me. Boy was I glad I didn’t try to sneak another weapon in. He did quite the thorough inspection. When he came across my necklace, he pulled it out and let it fall against my shirt. For human servants, crosses don’t burn as much as they would for a vampire, but they are still an irritant. “What do you think you’re doing with that?” he asked gruffly. “You can’t go inside while wearing that. Who the hell do you think you are?” Ash stepped between us. “Listen, I tried to tell her, but she just wouldn’t listen. She said it would be fun if we brought the excitement out of the bedroom and to the party, if you know what I mean.” The man just stared blankly at him. Ash leaned in closer, lowering his voice, “It’s this kinky Catholic-schoolgirl thing I like. She thought that if I liked it so much, Raiden might enjoy her company as well.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I was going to smack him so hard his head flew off. “Fine, but if I hear about any trouble coming from either of you two, you’re out of here.” He stepped past us to the next couple before he could check my hair. At least I got to keep my stakes.

“Where the hell did you come up with that?” I whispered so that only Ash could hear. “Completely off the top of my head. Impressed?” “Hardly.” Ash was right. The outside of the house looked like something you would find in the slums compared to the interior. It exuded vast wealth. The floors were white marble streaked with grays, laid out in a checkerboard fashion. The walls were painted in neutral beige and held paintings that would have been too big to fit in any museum I had been to. They all depicted some scene in which there was a massacre occurring or a woman being drawn in by the hypnotic gaze of a vampire. Interesting choice of art. To each their own I guess. For me, these paintings creeped me out. Ash led me through the main foyer and up a grand set of stairs lined with red velvet carpet. A few guests were talking on the stairs to the side, some of them glancing our way as we walked by, but looking away just as fast, seemingly uninterested. At the top of the stairs was a tremendous stained glass window. It had been created so carefully. Every detail of the man in the glass seemed to be perfect. “Who is that?” I asked. Ash looked up. “That would be Raiden’s father. It’s quite accurate from what I hear. It even looks a bit like Raiden himself.” “Why would he have this made up of his father?” Normally, when a vampire is made, they dropped all ties with humans. “His father was his master as well. The story goes that when Raiden was a young boy, his father traveled the world. No one knows the reason, some say looking for treasures long forgotten by man, others say looking for better trading prospects. It doesn’t actually matter for the story’s sake, though. “On his arrival home from one of his trips, he locked himself away in his room, where he continued to be a recluse, allowing no one entry. Not even his own wife. During the time he stayed in his room, there were several reports of missing staff from the house, but everyone just assumed they had run away. That

was common enough in those times. “He stayed at home for less than a week before he declared he must leave once again. Raiden’s father left late at night when he thought no one was watching, but he overlooked one tiny set of eyes. “Raiden had been lying in wait to try to catch his father. He saw his father jump from the second floor of their house and float down gently to the ground. Knowing that something like that was impossible, he crept slightly closer to get a better look. Before his father flew away into the night at a speed no human man could run at, he looked back at the house one last time, and Raiden saw his father’s face was deathly white. “Years ed. Raiden grew up into a fine young man, and there were no more visits from his father. Letters were sent to Raiden, explaining all the work his father was doing and how one day soon he would be able to return to his family. Then his mother’s health took a turn for the worse. It was completely unexpected. She had lived her entire life in the best of health. “When she finally ed away, Raiden had no way to get in touch with his father to tell him the news. Within the week, though, his father showed up at his doorstep in the middle of the night. He had people keeping tabs on everyone, and when he learned of his wife’s death, he came as fast as he could. “Raiden allowed him into the house, and as the father stepped into the light, Raiden realized that he had not aged a day. Immediately he thought witchcraft and ran out of the room, but his father was too fast for him. His father explained that years ago he had been traveling along a deserted road when he had come across a house. He went to seek refuge in it only to find it empty. During the night, he was awoken by a woman holding him down with the strength of twenty men. “That night she felt pity for him, so instead of killing him, she gave him the gift of immortality. The next night, when he rose, she was nowhere to be found. He wandered aimlessly for weeks, each morning taking refuge in a cave or abandoned house. Every stray traveler he came across would become his next meal. Finally, he got enough sense in him to return home, but at the sight of his family, his hunger became almost uncontrollable. “He had never lived in the same house with a living person, listening to their

heartbeats for hours on end. He did not want to harm his family, so he had locked himself in his room, feeding on the staff that he could catch at night. “He couldn’t live with the thought that one day he may hurt someone he cared about, so he fled into the night. Over the years, he learned to control his hunger and live among humans. “Raiden calmed down as he listened to his father spin the tale of his life. At the end, his father asked him if he wanted the gift of immortality, and Raiden said yes. And here we are today.” He threw his hands up and motioned all around us. Clapping startled me as a man walked up from behind us. “Giving a history lesson, Asher? Why would you want to bore such a beautiful specimen here?” Asher? I thought it was just Ash. I was definitely going to have to ask about that later. I knew he was a vampire the moment I was aware of his presence. He towered over me at probably well over six feet five inches. Not only was he incredibly tall, he reminded me of a tree: he was so thin. I didn’t let the lack of muscle mislead me. He could probably bench five hundred and not even break a sweat. His jet-black hair was tied back with a satin ribbon, but one curl had escaped and was dangling to the side of his face. He brushed it behind his ear absentmindedly. His facial features were soft, almost to the point of being feminine. You could almost mistake him for anything but a predator until you got to his eyes. They were jet black and had a hypnotizing quality about them. He reached out and took my hand in his, his soft lips brushing the back of it. I looked him in the eyes the entire time, never once forgetting that he wasn’t human. “My, my, what a magnificent one you are. My name is Dominic, and it is beyond my pleasure to meet you.” Did he actually think this kind of crap was going to work? “Sage.” “A beautiful name to match a beautiful woman. Now if you are done with history lessons, I can show you a good night.” His grip tightened ever so slightly

on my wrist. Unlike last time, I was completely ready for it when electricity ran over my skin as Ash let some of his power seep out as a warning. “That won’t be necessary, Dominic,” he spat out his name. “We were just on our way to the main area, but it was nice seeing you as always.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, guiding me away from Dominic and toward yet another set of giant doors. “What was that about? And why did he call you Asher?” He hesitated in his step. “That’s my full name, but I don’t go by it anymore and never will. And about how he acted? Well, let’s just say you better get used to that because it’s going to be a long night.” “Why don’t you go by Asher?” That stopped him in his tracks. He spun me face-to-face, our noses almost touching. “Never ever call me that.” His pupils were gone, and for a split second, I wondered how I was going to get to the stakes in my hair. He let go of me, and his entire facial expression changed. Sadness seeped into his eyes, removing the last traces of animal. “Sage, I’m … I’m sorry about that. I—” I faked a smile and tried to shrug it off. Right now would not be the best time or place to lose my biggest protection. “Don’t worry about it. Now show me around and let’s see if we can get a glimpse of Raiden.” He stood rooted to the ground, looking like he wanted to say something more, but I pulled at his arm gently. He nodded and took the lead. I just wanted this night to be over. I was really missing the comfort of Pain and Misery. Through the doors was the patio I had gotten a glimpse of from the ground. It was as if someone had taken the top floor of the house and cut in in half, leaving one side alone and turning the other side into a deck. Gorgeous furniture was scattered all about, all of it looking incredibly expensive. Definitely above my pay grade. There were chaise lounges, couches, and loveseats, most occupied by guests. This area would probably be magnificent

during the day, but I guess Raiden didn’t really have that option. I could see waiters walking around with fine crystal champagne flutes on silver platters. My first thought was that they were serving red wine, but when one of them came up to offer us a drink, I quickly realized my mistake. Definitely wasn’t wine and definitely wasn’t something I wanted to drink. Ash, on the other hand, took one with a smile and thanks. I tried but couldn’t fully hide my look of disgust and he saw it. “What?” “I can’t believe you are actually going to drink that. I just forgot there for a moment what you are.” I winced as soon as the words came out of my mouth. “What I am? Is it really that bad for me to be a vampire?” “Well, for one thing, you are drinking someone’s blood.” “For your information, this came from a willing donor as does most of the blood I drink. There is a sector of the blood donation society in which vampires may procure their blood if they do not wish to go out hunting. Plus, how can you judge me like that? I bet you enjoy your piece of steak or burger or really any of the meat you eat. How is that different?” “They aren’t the same species I am. It’s different.” Damn, that sounded weak even to me. “Yes, well, if you must know, I don’t normally accept drinks at parties anymore. I just thought it would be a good idea for me to have some extra energy in case things got out of hand tonight.” He took a sip of blood while looking me right in the eye. Fine, if he wanted to play games, then I wouldn’t ruin his fun. “How is it?” “Excellent. I do believe it’s a younger vintage, and if I’m not mistaken, AB positive,” he said, licking his lips like a wine connoisseur. “There is no way you can tell that.” He had to be pulling my leg, or was he?

A smile broke out across his face. “Nah, I’m completely messing with you. Listen, I’m not like most vampires, especially not the ones you normally are sent out to deal with. I just want you to give me a chance.” Damn, his deep, dark beautiful eyes. I sighed. “Fine. Now what exactly goes on at these parties?” “Oh, there’s a little mingling of the different master vampires, making sure all districts are running in order, a little personal socializing, giving chances to other vampires to sample their wares, some human sacrifice, then possibly drinks.” “Human sacrifice?” There is no way I heard him right. “Yeah, we start the bonfire up and toss random people we find in them unless they do what we say. Normally, they go along with clucking like chickens, but as soon as the tar and feathers come out, they start singing a different tune.” I stared at him. It was the only thing I could do. He stared right back, completely straight face, like it was normal to be having a conversation about killing off humans for not going along with ridiculous requests. I don’t know what was running through my head, but I mentally smacked my forehead when I saw him crack. It started in his eyes but then moved down to a full-blown smile. “I hate you,” I said but couldn’t help but smile. He had gotten me fair and square. “Enough fooling around. I have work to do.” I did a quick sweep of the guests then felt incredibly stupid. I have never seen Raiden before, so I had no way of telling which one he was. I began to concentrate to see if I could feel his aura without actually crossing over to see it. I didn’t know how these vampires would react to the power flux, whether they would notice and think it was something they should investigate or maybe just someone trying to assert their dominance with a little power show. Whichever it was, I wasn’t quite ready to take that chance. It was weak, but I was able to feel him enough to know that he showed up to his own party. I was pretty sure he wasn’t outside, but without looking, I wasn’t 100 percent certain. Ash was talking to a man who looked to be in his early forties and was a little overweight. I had been concentrating so hard I hadn’t noticed the man come up

to us. Seeing a good opportunity, though, I quietly slipped away from them mumbling something about the bathroom. When I was back inside, I took a deep breath and switched over to the Otherworld. Opening my eyes, I looked around casually, but no one seemed to notice or care. There were so many black auras criss-crossing over each other that it took me a moment to find the one with blood streaks running through it. But sure enough, there it was mingled in with all the others: the aura that I had first seen at Samantha’s. Grabbing hold of it mentally, I determined which direction it was going and followed it across the hall to a set of doors. These doors weren’t as fancy as the ones were that had led outside, but I could still tell there was wealth put into them. They looked like they were made out of mahogany and had brass handles with fine details in them. No other aura led into this room. Raiden had to be in there. I inhaled to calm my nerves or at least tried to and switched out of the Otherworld. Grasping the handles in both hands, I pulled at the doors. They opened smoothly without so much as a squeak.

CHAPTER 14

T he first thing I noticed was that the room was filled to the brim with books and they all looked old. I had never seen anything like it before. It caught me completely off guard. Why not, though? If you had all eternity, why not read? Bookcases filled up most of the wall space from floor to ceiling, and books filled every inch of them. And they weren’t just new books. You could tell that most of them had been read more than once over the ages. The next thing I noticed was there were no windows in the room. I guess Raiden spent a lot of his time in this room, and the sun would be kind of a hamper on that lifestyle. Instead, there was an oversized crystal chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling that cast enough light to rival the sun. A figure moved at the far side of the room, and I ed why I had come in here. Raiden had been standing so still that I hadn’t even seen him. He turned around, placing the book in his hand on a coffee table. Standing in front of me was one of the most unimaginably horrible monsters I had ever had the pleasure to encounter, and he looked like he could in everyday society. He was tall and fit, dressed in a gray, from what I could tell, expensive designer suit with a scarlet-red shirt underneath. It was a stark contrast against his snow-white skin. A mass of curly blonde hair was tied back with a black ribbon. His face was all angles, but it worked on him. Full pale lips smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach his shocking silver eyes. “May I help you?” a deep rich voice resonated through the room, sending goose bumps across my skin. You can do this, Sage. It’s not like you haven’t been up against some scary things and lived to tell about it. Granted, I had had a lot more firepower with me in those situations. All right, time for a show. “Raiden? Raiden Anermeire?” “Yes? Who wants to know?” He hadn’t moved a muscle yet.

“My name is Jennifer, and I have been searching for you for a long time.” I tried to sound flirty. It’s harder than you think when you’re facing a man who sucks the very essence of human life from people. “I have thought about this long and hard, and I wanted to ask you something.” When he didn’t respond, I continued, “Will you mark me?” He slowly gave me a once-over, and I strained not to flinch. I always hated faceto-face with my targets. For me, I prefer to get business over and done with fast. “Interesting. Follow me then, and let’s see if we can work something out.” That was easy enough. Motioning for me to follow, he walked through a side door that had been hidden from my view. The next room was a lot smaller than the library had been. From the looks of it, it was a study room. The room was scarcely furnished, the only things being an oak desk in the far corner, two small bookshelves to the side of it, and a matching set of chairs on the other side of the desk. Raiden took a casual position, leaning on the corner of the desk. “Now what made you come to your final decision?” “Well, I just spend so much time around vampires, and I mean I’m even dating one. So I thought why not start the process of becoming one?” “Then why don’t you get him to mark you?” “I know that getting marked is a big thing. It’s not something you should do halfassed. And I mean, if I were to be marked by someone as”—horrible—“amazing as you, I just think it would make the rest of eternity that much better.” Hah, chew on that. “Why are you really here?” What? “That’s the real reason.” “No, it’s not. Don’t lie to me. I don’t appreciate liars.” I wonder how he felt about assassins with his number. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“You are wearing a cross, and no one that wants to be marked would wear one. That’s just ludicrous. Plus, I assume you always wear this cross. Vampires would not associate with you because of that reason.” His eyes darkened a shade. “Now tell me why did you come here tonight?” Oh crap. Why did Ash have to be right about the cross? The room suddenly got smaller, and my hand itched for a gun that wasn’t present. All right, plan B, Sage. Talk yourself out of the room then get the hell out of the party. Before I could even utter a syllable, he was across the room with a hand wrapped around my neck. I had never seen a vampire move that fast before, and I had come across high-level masters before. How the hell could he move like that? I could worry about that later—if there was a later in my future. Right now it wasn’t looking too good. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I—” Wrong thing to say. His hand tightened, cutting off half of my air supply. “Enough games. Tell me the truth now, or I will snap this pretty little neck of yours and enjoy every moment of it.” “I’m sure you will.” In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the best thing to say, but what can I say? Sometimes I have a way with words. Anger filled his eyes, turning them a solid black. I could see this wasn’t going to get any better. As I started to see stars, I reached up to my hair and pulled a stake loose. With all my strength, I brought it down, piercing his forearm. Because it was silver dipped in holy water, not only did it slide all the way through to the other side with ease, it made a satisfying sizzling noise as it burned his flesh. The hand on my throat instantly released. My legs didn’t catch me, and I fell to the floor in a heap. Instead of checking my throat, I jumped up, ready to fight. “You want the truth, you evil son of a bitch?” I yelled hoarsely at him. “I know you’ve been killing innocent people, and if that wasn’t bad enough, you don’t just drink their blood, do you? No, you’re a whole new league of messed-up monster. You suck them dry, even taking their souls. I don’t know how the hell you can do it, but I know it’s you, and I’m here to stop you.” He was bent over, holding his injured arm, his eyes hidden by locks of hair that

had come loose. I tensed, ready for anything—well, almost anything. His form began to shake, and a deep laugh rumbled from his gut bursting from his lips. It made me feel slightly sick to my stomach. Slowly, he rose to his full height, brushing the hair behind his ears with his good arm. In one quick jerk, he pulled my stake from his arm, a stream of blood following the stake as it flew across the room. That was not what I was expecting. My hair flowed loosely in my face and over my shoulders without the stake to hold it up. The moment was so tense that it seemed any movement to brush the hair out of the way would send everything spiraling into motion. Raiden clenched and unclenched his hand, testing out his arm, which, with my luck, had already healed. Only extremely high-level vampires can heal from a silver-inflicted wound like that, and I don’t know why I thought he would be any different. Probably just hope of an easy out. He looked from his hand to me with slow precise movements. The gleam in his eyes chilled me to the bone. Before I could flinch, he was across the room, and a punch came flying at my face. At the last second, I dodged, the punch barely clipping my shoulder but still with enough power to send me wheeling. I was just getting my balance back when another punch came out of nowhere. This time I dodged to the other side and threw a knee with all the momentum I could muster. It landed with a solid thud followed by a loud exhale. I didn’t have time to revel in the nice hit. He was already recovering. Rushing in, I let a roundhouse kick go, but he caught it before it landed and threw me to the ground. I tucked into a roll and came up on my knees as an uppercut landed square on my chin and sent me tumbling backward. I felt hot blood trickle down my chin and ran my tongue over the split in my lip. The sight and smell of blood lit a fire in Raiden’s eyes. Crap, this was about to get so much worse. I launched from my squat and caught him off guard, knocking him down. I scored a straight right into his cheek before he tossed me off him. We both stood, breathing a little heavily, and stared at each other. My punch had split open his cheek. As I watched, the blood slowed to a stop and the skin around it knit together. How the hell do you beat something like this?

We paced around each other, circling, waiting to catch sight of a weak spot. Raiden lunged, and I tried to time a left hook, but he saw it coming. Ducking around it with such speed that all I saw was a blur, he hugged my body into him and delivered a devastating knee to my abdomen. I didn’t even have time to try to absorb the blow, leaving me with the full brunt of the blow. It dropped me to my knees, knocking the wind out of me. I was on my hands and knees—wheezing, trying to catch my breath—when a pair of hands grabbed me around the waist in an iron grasp and threw me. A plan to escape didn’t even get the chance to formulate in my mind before the room was rushing past me. I reached out, trying frantically to grab hold of anything that would slow me down. Suddenly the room stopped, and my back collided with a shelf. Oh goody, at least there was a shelf there to break my fall and not something hard. The wood shattered upon my impact, sending splinters flying in all directions. For a second, I couldn’t breathe, and panicked gripped me. The winded feeling slowly started to dissipate, and I drew in a haggard breath. I spit out a mouthful of blood and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, smearing blood across my face and hand. Something glinted just to my right. It was my stake just out of reach. I tensed my leg muscles and was pleasantly rewarded with feeling. That’s always a good sign. I didn’t know where Raiden was, and at the moment I couldn’t care less. If I could get to my stake, it would give me a weapon and a slightly better chance of surviving through the night. I dove from my hands and knees in the direction of the stake, my fingers brushing it before a shoe came down hard on my hand. “Tsk, tsk, now why would I let you have that?” He reached down with one hand and hauled me up by a fistful of hair. I spat blood in his face. Using his free hand, he wiped his face clean with the back of his sleeve. “You must know you are about to die, and yet you fight on. Fascinating creatures you humans are.” He licked some of my blood off his lips and frowned. “But you aren’t fully human, are you? Sadly, it means nothing to me what you are. Nothing will help you escape this room alive. What do you have to say to that?” “Screw you.” A backhand lashed out and struck me full force in the face. My vision began to

blur, and I saw stars. Come on, Sage, stay awake. If you out now, you aren’t going to wake up. I tried to blink the darkness back. I bit down on my lip where it was already cut and felt the hot rush of fresh blood running into my mouth and down my chin. Focus on the pain. It was all I could do not to out. The bitter taste of copper overwhelmed my senses. I stood, more like hung, there limply held up by his grip in my hair. I was going to die if I didn’t do something fast. I needed to pull a miracle from my ass and pronto. What were his weaknesses, or did he even have any? I had never imagined a vampire, even a master, could possess the powers Raiden had. Gathering all my strength up, I clenched my fist and threw a right hook that hit him square in the jaw. Now I don’t want to brag, but that punch will normally drop or at least knock down most of the things I have ever come across. All it did was make him angrier. His grip on my hair didn’t even loosen slightly. “I’m done playing,” he told me, his voice laced with ice. Well, I’d sure hate to see what he was like when he wasn’t playing and actually meant it. Lucky for me, I had a feeling I was about to find out what it was like. He pulled me up a little higher by my hair then let go. With speed that was superhuman and faster than anything I had seen in the Otherworld, his leg lashed out and connected with my abdomen full force. Then the room was flying by me again. This time, though, nothing stopped my flight except the wall. My body jarred as I connected with plaster and wood, leaving a nice indentation of myself. I didn’t even have the strength to break my fall as I bounced from the indent in the wall to the floor. I landed with a thud, my pain receptors going crazy. Blood trickled down my forehead from tiny cuts running into my eye. I couldn’t even muster up the power to wipe it away. Flashes of bodies, all discarded like garbage in the corner out of mind, rolled around in my head. All the victims Raiden had taken without so much as blinking an eye. Sucking them dry, then taking their every essence, and throwing them to the side before looking for the next meal. They were all helpless. They had no idea what kind of monsters existed, especially not the ones on Raiden’s level. Hell, I didn’t think I knew of any other monsters playing at his level. All their dead, glassy eyes staring out into nothing, their mouths open in one

final silent scream. They had become prey to this predator, but I wouldn’t. I refused to be just another body. Slow footsteps began to make their way in my direction from the other side of the room. Come on, Sage, don’t just lie there. With all the effort I could find in my body, I put both hands underneath my shoulders and pushed. Just a little more. My knees found their way under my hips. I was panting from exertion by the time I had made it to my hands and knees. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, coming at a leisurely pace like he had all the time in the world. Asshole. Thoughts of how I was going to escape were running through my mind when the door opened. My first thought was Oh my god, I can’t fight off more than one vampire. I looked in the direction of the door, straining my bruised and battered body. I never thought I’d see the day when I was overjoyed to see a vampire when I was defenseless. Ash stood in the doorway. The confusion on his face was quickly erased and replaced with anger. Raiden stopped walking toward me and looked at him. “This is a private meeting. Please leave now,” Raiden said casually as if I wasn’t lying on the floor dying but rather a business partner of some sort trying to hash out a deal. Without looking at me, Ash stepped into the room, leaving the door ajar. Keeping his eyes on Raiden, he walked over to me but didn’t reach down or really acknowledge me in any way. When he was completely between Raiden and me, he stopped. “Don’t you dare come another step closer to her,” Ash said tensely. Laughter filled the room. “And who are you to order me like a common slave?” “Ash Roland.” “Ah yes, Ash or better known as Asher, the procurer.” A twisted smile marred his face. “I don’t go by that name anymore, and you know it.”

“It matters not to me. Besides, do you think you are the only one with your skill in certain services? I found a replacement the night you quit.” “Good for you.” I couldn’t see Ash’s face, but his back was tensed. He wasn’t too happy right now. “And what do you expect to get out of this evening?” “I expect you to step aside while I take her out of here, and I expect there will be no one trying to stop us once we leave this room. And no one will follow us once we get into my car.” Both his hands were at his sides, ready if Raiden came at him. Silence filled the room, broken by the only audible sound of my ragged breathing. The only thing I could do was watch and hope that the outcome of this benefited me. “What is this creature to you? She’s not even fully human. Why would you risk so much for her?” He seemed actually stumped. Why would you go through so much trouble for food when it wasn’t even grade A human? It stung a little, but I’d let it slide if it meant getting out of here. “She is mine and holds my protection. That’s all you need to know, Raiden.” He spat out his name as if just saying made his mouth taste bad. As I lay there on my hands and knees, blood dripping from me in multiple places, making pools on the ground, the silence returned. Neither of them moved a muscle. They became stone figures forever stuck in a face-off like cobras ready to strike. The room’s temperature dropped several degrees to the point where I could see my breath in short plumes of smoke. The air seemed to come alive with electricity that made the little hairs on my arms and back of my neck rise on end. It was like the time in the bar when Ash scared off the other vampire but times ten. He was unleashing far more of his power than I had even known was there. The fact that he had been able to hide so much power from me startled me. I was normally very accurate. Raiden met him on each new level of power. I wasn’t getting my hopes up for an escape. The power washed over me in waves of fire and ice, making me drunk

on their power. It seemed nothing in the world could stop the power from growing until it consumed all of us. Then, as if the very air around us could no longer handle the burden they were placing on it, a deafening crack exploded from all around; and one final power jolt filled the room. I had no idea who the last jolt had come from. The only thing I could tell for certain was the energy immediately died down. I tensed, waiting for the outcome to be made clear. Neither of them seemed to relax noticeably, yet Ash slowly turned his back on Raiden to face me. He bent down and reached underneath my armpits, helping me to my feet. I tried to shove him away and mumbled I didn’t need the help, but he kept a firm grasp on me. We took a couple steps before I stumbled, Ash’s the only thing keeping me from falling. The blackness started to creep back into my vision as I stumbled again. When my legs finally gave out completely, Ash picked me up and cradled me in his arms like a child. Raiden never moved an inch, but I could feel his hatred from across the room. The power show must have been bigger than I realized because when we left the study, there were vampires lined up outside in the hallway. All with eager looks on their faces, wondering what had just happened. When they saw me in Ash’s arms, whispers began to fill the silence. I couldn’t make out a single word of them; but at that moment, I couldn’t care less. The thought that we might actually make it out of this alive was something I still couldn’t quite comprehend. To have come so close to death and then to walk out unimpeded, I guess my luck had come back. I closed my eyes and let my head rest on his shoulder. He smelled like aftershave and earth. It was wonderful. The fresh night air caressing my blood-soaked skin alerted me that we had made it out of the building without any problem. I concentrated on the sound of Ash’s footsteps in the gravel to keep me awake. He was able to balance me in his arms and open the enger-side door of his car like I was a mere child. He placed me in the seat carefully since I wasn’t quite able to do it on my own and buckled me in before shutting the door. I heard his door open and shut, and then the engine came to life.

I felt when the car finally made it back onto paved roads. We were safe. The thought made me giddy for some reason. I had escaped death—hooray, go, me! A laugh burst out of me that sounded more like a cough. The car slowed down then came to a stop. I heard Ash sigh, then heard the leather of his seat creak as he leaned over to me. I tried to move my head to face him, but I had nothing left in me. He brushed stray pieces of hair out of the way and cupped my face gently. “Sage …” He couldn’t seem to find the words he wanted. He sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m just … just so sorry. Everything will be all right now. You just stay with me here, okay? You hear me?” I grunted. It was about the only thing I could do. “Ash …” Blackness enveloped me, and Ash’s face disappeared.

CHAPTER 15

I was in and out of consciousness throughout the ride. I’d come to and notice we were still driving, or we’d be stopped and I would wonder if we were home; but before I could check, I’d slip back into unconsciousness. Then the next time I woke up, we would still be driving. My forehead was pressed against the cold hard glass of the window. Either Ash drove smoothly so I didn’t bump my head, or I was out cold for the parts that I did. The next thing I knew, I was in his arms again and we were outside. I opened my eyes a crack and recognized my neighborhood and my walkway. So far so good. We seemed to have made it home all right. I was too out of it to wonder if anyone had followed us back to my place. Suddenly Ash stopped. “The”—I cleared my throat, which felt like I swallowed a cheese grater—“the keys are—” “Don’t worry, I have them right here.” I heard the jingle of my key ring. How did he? Whatever, it wasn’t a top priority right now. He readjusted me in his arms so that all my weight was pretty much on his left arm. I wrapped my arms around his neck to try to help with the weight, but as soon as they were around his neck, I didn’t have the strength to hold any of my own weight. They just hung limply around his shoulders. With his right hand, he found the right key, which shouldn’t have been too hard. There were only two, and the other was for my car. The lock released, and my door swung open. Ash moved to go inside but stopped abruptly. I was using all my focus to remain awake that it took me a minute to notice we weren’t moving anymore. “What’s the matter, Ash?” I said in a haze. This whole after-fight business sucked. I couldn’t keep any of my thoughts straight. All I wanted was sleep, and I wasn’t sure if that was the best thing for me.

“I can’t enter your house without being invited in, and you are in no condition to be alone right now.” For some reason, most likely from the fact I probably had a concussion for the least part, I found this to be the most hilarious thing in the world. I started giggling like a maniac. If I had been able to move, I probably would have slapped my knee. But seeing as how I could barely move anything, I was left with just giggling hysterically against his shoulder. “Ash, it would be my pleasure if you would come into my house,” I said between giggle fits. The door shut behind us. I couldn’t seem to stop laughing, which was unfortunate because it was quite painful. The last thing I ed was the feel of my bed underneath my body before sleep overtook me.

The lights in the room were flickering, giving the room an eerie feel. The carpet squished underneath my feet, and some unknown liquid seeped into my sock. I had a feeling what the liquid was, but I couldn’t bring myself to check. I opened my eyes, and Raiden was standing in the middle of the room. But I didn’t recognize the room anymore. It was like a cave. There were no windows, and when I turned around, I found that the door I had come in had disappeared. The only light came from a naked florescent lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I looked at Raiden again and realized that there was a pile of bodies discarded behind him. They were tossed carelessly in a heap. When I looked closer at the pile, I realized I knew all of them. Tamara’s eyes, glazed over from death, stared at me, pleading for me to do something. Samantha’s body was tossed at an odd angle over the others so that her body was facing up but her head was bent back at in a wrong way, leaving her face as the only visible part. Her mouth was open, ready to scream a scream that could never escape. Annie was at the very bottom of the pile sprawled out, her belly facing the floor. Her head lifted up, and she reached out toward me. I stepped toward her, but her head lolled to the floor, and her arm dropped like a dead weight.

How could this have happened? Tears filled my eyes. I wiped them away to glare at Raiden. He stood there staring right back at me with a smile of pure evil plastered across his face. I reached to draw my gun but understood my mistake too slow. There was no gun there for me to grab. I was completely unarmed. Before I could recover, Raiden was standing directly in front of me. His cold hands wrapped themselves around my arm and in my hair. Holding me in place with strength that was like fighting a statue, he yanked my head to the side, exposing my soft fleshy neck. His laughter engulfed me as his fangs plunged deep into my neck.

“No,” I yelled into a dark empty room. I blinked away the sleep. It had only been a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare that had felt all too real. I saw my clock on the nightstand and knew I was in my room. The clock said ten in the morning, but something wasn’t right. My room was pitch black. I glanced around, and the first thing I noticed was Ash sitting in a chair in the corner of my room. He was staring at me, his cape tossed over the window to block out every bit of sunshine. I shifted to get a better look at him, and that’s when I noticed the second thing. I wasn’t wearing my corset. I still have everything else on, though. His eyes shone with possibilities. “I had to take it off and make sure that you weren’t injured badly. If I could have felt your ribs through it, it would have stayed on.” Damn him for having an excuse that actually made sense and for caring that much. “Why are you still here? It’s daytime. Shouldn’t you be back at your house?” “I was merely concerned for your health. And I am very glad to see you are awake and your normal self. It was my fault you were almost killed. If it hadn’t been for me—” “If it hadn’t been for you, I would have been killed. You saved my life. I never thought I would say this to a vampire, but thank you.”

He looked away from me, toward the wall like he was embarrassed. “You’re welcome. Plus, I did get to watch you while you slept, which I have to say is one of the best pastimes I have ever partaken in. You look so at peace, especially when you start to drool.” Why do they always have to ruin the moment? I sat up fast in order to whip a pillow at his face but was stopped instantly as pain ripped through my body. It was so intense I couldn’t breathe for a half a minute. He was at my side before I could blink an eye. Worry ran across his face as he reached over to touch me but stopped just before he did. Instead, he just told me, “You should really lie back down.” As much as I hated to do what he said, my body agreed with him. He sat down on the edge of the bed as close to me as he dared to. “What do you about last night?” My nightmare flashed into my mind. “Raiden … I confronted him, and I got my ass handed to me. Then everything is a blur. I kind of leaving and being in your car. Then we got to my place, and you couldn’t get in so I—oh my god! I invited you into my house.” The last part came out as a whisper. How could I have been so careless as to invite him in? “Calm down.” “No, there is no good reason to calm down! I have to move.” “Aren’t you being just a little melodramatic here?” “No, well, maybe. I don’t know! I’ve never been put in this situation before.” “Listen, take a breath and trust me. You know deep down I am nothing like other vampires you’ve met. I will only come back if you invite me. I wouldn’t have even asked to be invited in if I hadn’t thought you were seriously injured.” His eyes were full of sincerity. Fine for now. I’d have to live with what I had done and see where it took me. “What happened to me exactly?” “Raiden beat you almost to the point of death. Your cuts should be healed by

now. I put a special ointment I have on them. And other than that, you have a black eye and lots of bruises. Your worst injury is your ribs. Be thankful they aren’t broken, only bruised. They will still hurt a ridiculous amount, but there’s no serious damage, and you can work through the pain if you want. I assumed you would because you are one of the most stubborn people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.” “Why, thank you.” Since when is being stubborn a bad trait? “And what ointment did you use? My cuts are healing really fast.” “Uhh …” He suddenly found the floor before his chair very interesting. “What was the ointment, Ash?” I stared at him until he looked back at me. By the look on his face, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know; but at the same time, I really did. “Ash?” “Well, the ointment was …” he mumbled some words I couldn’t catch. “Speak up. I didn’t quite catch that.” “It was my spit.” “Sorry I don’t think I heard you right. Did you just say your spit?” He nodded and gave me I’ve-done-something-bad-but-I’m-really-really-sorry puppy-dog eyes. And damnit if it didn’t work a little. “You licked me!” “In my defense, it’s one of the best coagulants you can find. It’s not like I planned out this whole night where you’d get the crap beaten out of you just to lick you. I’m not some kind of pervert,” he said, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms across his chest. He knew he was right. Vampire saliva comes in handy when they are drinking blood from a victim they don’t want to die. Because they are piercing the carotid artery, if they didn’t have a way to stop the bleeding, their victim would die in a minute, life spurting from their neck. When a vampire is done feeding, they will lick the puncture holes, and the wounds will instantly close.

“Eww.” I was covered in vampire saliva. I really needed a shower. “I can’t believe you would do something like that. I swear that when I get full mobility back, I’m going to—” I heard my phone beep. Very few people knew my cell phone number, and all of them were from work with the exception of Annie. Painfully, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Before I could stand, Ash had grabbed my phone and was standing in front of me, holding it out. “Show-off,” I mumbled under my breath. I snatched it out of his hands. It said I had four missed calls and three voicemails. Crap. For them to call me so many times, it had to be something important. “Why did you let me sleep through all these phone calls!” I couldn’t help but shout at him and then feel bad instantly. He had just helped me out by not only saving my life but nursing me back to health even if it was a gross way to do it. “Sorry.” “No problem. You just looked so peaceful, lying there snoring and drooling.” “You’re never going to drop that, are you?” “Not until it stops being funny, which probably will never happen.” He took a step back out of range of my swing. My legs were a little wobbly as I stood up, and Ash rushed over. “You really need to lie down.” I brushed his arms away. “I’m fine.” I felt like I needed to move, to warm up my muscles, which felt incredibly stiff. Way worse than after any workout I had ever done. I checked the numbers that had called me, and they all belonged to the same person: Ross. My first voicemail was brief, telling me to phone back. The second was pretty much the same thing but with a hint of urgency in his voice and an added, “We need you down here pronto.” The final message told me to get my ass down there as fast as I could. They needed me and didn’t care what I was doing. Ross always had a way with words.

I dialed the number I knew by heart and listened to the rings. On the second ring, a gruff voice answered, “What took you so long?” “Nice talking to you too. Listen, I’m sorry I missed your calls. I’ve had a ridiculously crazy night. It’s a long story.” I began pacing the room. “We don’t know how much longer we can keep this under wraps. Soon someone is going to notice something is going on, and they are going to start asking questions. And you know how much I hate when innocents come up and start asking stupid questions.” “I know. Believe me, I know.” I had been on a case with Ross once where someone didn’t do their job properly and an innocent person had gotten into the crime scene. I thought Ross was going to burst a blood vessel when the bystander wouldn’t stop asking meaningless questions that you knew they only asked so they could go back home and start spreading juicy gossip. I had thought it was amusing until I saw him reach for his gun. I got that person out of there before they had to be carried out in a body bag. “What’s the problem?” “It’s another victim, but it’s different than the other two. You’d better just see it for yourself when you get here. And you should really get a move on.” I took down the address on a little notepad I had on my nightstand and hung up. I wonder what he meant by different. Guess there was only one way to find out. “I have to go. You are welcome to stay here until nightfall. Then I want you out.” He sat back down in the chair, “Not like I have much choice.” He pointed to his cape blocking out the sun. “Good point.” “I still think it would be in your best interest to stay here and rest,” he said, giving it one last shot. “Probably, but I have a job to do.” I grabbed the first T-shirt I could find. Since Ash didn’t really have the option of leaving my bedroom and I didn’t particularly want to change in front of him, I opted for the bathroom. With more

pain than I would have liked, I took my shirt off and looked at my reflection. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. My skin was discolored from so many layers of bruising I looked like a human punching bag. At least none of my ribs were jutting out from the skin. I had a nice handprint around my neck that was so detailed you could actually pick out all the fingers and everything. My lip was swollen, and I could see a nice shiner coming along. I wouldn’t be entering any beauty pageants anytime soon. Hell, I’d stick out if I left my house. Oh well, I wasn’t planning on going into heavily populated places today anyways, just to wherever the address Ross had given me led to. I threw the T-shirt on and went to tie my hair back in a ponytail but stopped when it hurt. My whole scalp felt bruised from where Raiden had held me up by my hair. Maybe long hair wasn’t such a good idea in my line of work. I decided to do it up in a loose messy bun that didn’t hurt my head instead of a tight ponytail that would have caused a migraine after about five minutes. I headed down the stairs, stopping halfway down. Did I trust Ash in my bedroom for an entire day? Did I really have a choice? I wanted to go back and tell him not to touch anything, but my inner voice said that it was a bad idea. Knowing him, he would probably just take that as a challenge and root through every possible drawer there was. By the time I made it out of my front door, my muscles had warmed up enough to not be in excruciating pain each time I moved. Mrs. Dries looked up from her gardening when I shut the door behind me. I knew she could see my bruises from where she was kneeling, but she made no move to let me know. She waved and called out good morning as if I didn’t look like I had been run over by a truck. Smiling, I waved back and returned her greeting. We seemed to have this unspoken part of our relationship in which there were no questions asked. And that worked just fine for me. Sitting in my car took effort as pain fired across a whole new set of muscles. I could already tell this was going to be a long day. Reaching over, I grabbed a map out of my glove box and checked the address Ross had given me. It was on the other side of town. Just great. Luckily for me, at this hour in the morning, traffic was reasonable, so it only

took me about forty-five minutes to get there. I turned off the main street and saw cruisers in the distance. I drove by slowly, acting like a looky-loo and parked my car about a block away. It looked a little suspicious when pedestrians were parking their cars right along with the cruisers. Plus, as I drove by, I was able to double-check that it was still Ross and his crew. How embarrassing would it be if I walked onto a crime scene and found that there were actual police there? Paul greeted me at the entrance to the children’s park. His face was an off shade of green, and he hadn’t quite wiped off all the vomit on his jacket. Oh god, please don’t be a child. Those were always the worst for me. But for some reason, I couldn’t see Raiden going for children. Maybe all monsters did have a line that could be crossed. Maybe not. He pointed toward the playground where I could see Ross and some of the cleanup guys. Normally, Ross would do it himself unless it was a messy one. I couldn’t seem to make my feet move very fast as I tried to stall at every possible thing. Such as stopping to look at a bench to the left of me that was painted pink. Who paints a bench pink? Sadly, my dillydallying ended when Ross noticed I was there. “Over here.” Damn. I walked through the swing set, gently bumping one of the swings. The rusty chain that held it up squealed as it swung back and forth. I was looking everywhere I could that wasn’t at Ross’s feet. There was a single blue spring animal sitting there all alone. You know, those toys on playgrounds that are the metal animals on giant springs that you can get moving back and forth so fast you want to puke? This one was in the shape of a cartoon horse with large eyes and a painted-on smile. There was something disturbing about this horse in particular. I leaned in and saw on its blue paint were streaks of red, a red that no paint could ever replicate in color or viscosity. Its cold dead eyes were staring straight ahead, almost daring me to look at the horror behind me. It couldn’t be that bad. I mean whatever it was looking at hadn’t wiped the painted smile off its face. Yeah riiight. I could do this—maybe. I took a deep reassuring breath and turned around to

look past Ross at the playground. It looked like an ordinary playground at first. It had several ways to climb up to the top: a rope ladder, a pole, and a tire ladder. There were monkey bars leading away from it on the other side that I could barely see. It was the type of playground that had wooden floors and metal railings and two giant plastic slides. I could see the top of a blue slide and unfortunately the entire yellow slide. The yellow slide was one of those spiral plastic slides that always made you a little dizzy after riding but you always wanted to go on again. From my angle, I could see splashes of red riding down the slide as if someone had sat in red paint and slid down. If only it could be paint. I couldn’t see the bottom of the slide, and I knew I really didn’t want to. I slowly walked over and stood beside Ross, who had a great vantage point of the bottom of the slide. Yup, definitely wasn’t paint. I like to believe I have a tough stomach, but what was lying at my feet definitely turned it. No wonder Paul was a lovely shade of green. I was probably close to matching him. I tried to focus on little parts instead of the whole all at once, which in this circumstance was easier than normal. There really wasn’t a “whole” to look at.

CHAPTER 16

R oss said nothing. He just let me take it all in. This was definitely different than the other kills. It wasn’t a clean kill. It was a mutilation. Pieces of the body had been ripped from the torso, and from the spray of blood covering the metal posts of the playground, it had been while they were still alive. An arm torn from the socket was tossed a foot or two away from the body. One of the legs looked a little longer than the other, which I realized was because it was torn slightly from the socket, but some sinews of ligaments still held it on. Chunks of flesh had been ripped from different parts of the body, making it look like an animal attack except nothing had been eaten. This was purely just to kill and nothing more. The gender wasn’t clear at first to me until I took a closer look at the mess. The tight jeans were ripped and covered in blood, and the light-blue tank top was no longer light blue except in a few small patches. That’s when I noticed the head wasn’t attached to the neck. Someone had used superhuman strength to completely sever it from the rest of the body. As I stared down at the broken body lying in a giant puddle of coagulated blood, the nagging sensation that had been bothering me this entire time smashed through into my consciousness. The decapitated head had long red hair, and her facial features kind of resembled someone I knew. Oh shit! She looked like me. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to kill this woman and had taken their time. Now that I had overcome the initial shock of the scene, I looked over it again with fresh eyes. It had all started near the horse where the first blow had drawn blood. She had been herded up to the top of the playground where her attacker had cut her deep to her stomach, sending more blood flying. Bits of entrails had dried to the top of the yellow slide. She had tried to go down the slide only to have her arm grabbed and torn off before she slid down in what was probably excruciating pain. Her assailant must have had a partner waiting at the bottom and ambushed her

when she thought she had a chance. Most likely to stop her from having any chance of escape, they had torn her leg out of the socket. Either that or the things responsible were just sick, twisted creatures. As she lay rapidly dying from massive blood loss at the base of the yellow slide, they had torn at her with hands and teeth, taking hunks of flesh. And finally, when she thought that they would leave her to her death, they had ended her life with one quick pull. My first thought would have been a creature of some sort, but they would have eaten her or at least some of her organs, but the torso was intact save a few slashes. Dread filled my stomach like a lead weight as it sank in what had happened here. The sick mutilation, the fact that she looked similar to me, and the timing—I had to know for sure. I close my eyes, stilled my mind, and switched over to the Otherworld. All around her body were black auras. And not strong ones either. They were all lower-level vampires, some of whom I recognized vaguely from the party. Raiden had been so furious he had sent his little posse out into the night. I don’t know whether I had been the intended victim and they had just screwed up or they had purposefully hunted for someone with similarities to me in order to send a message. Whichever reason it was, I got the message loud and clear. It was either me or him. Ross cleared his throat, breaking through my thoughts. “Well? I wasn’t sure if it was connected at all. I mean it doesn’t look like it. But it clearly wasn’t human, and the timing with the other attacks was so close together that I just thought I’d pick your brain about it.” “Your gut was right. They are connected.” He looked shocked, which I rarely saw from him. “Really? How?” “Because of me” was what I wanted to say, but instead I told him, “Trust me it is.” He gave me “the look.” Damn, how I hated the look. “If you have information pertaining to this case, you’d tell me, right? I know you normally don’t have a partner, but this is technically my case. You were just brought in for your special skills.” I sighed. If I didn’t tell him anything, he would keep me here all day and

probably into the night, and I had things to do. “I got a lead on the vampire who’s been eating souls, so I checked it out.” “Alone? What if something had happened to you? Then we would have no leads whatsoever.” Good to know they cared about me as a person. “No, I didn’t go alone.” I went with a vampire. “What did you find out? Does it have anything to do with why you look like shit?” “How nice of you to notice,” I said sarcastically. Here was the dilemma. If I were to tell him everything that had happened, he would notify our superiors, and they would bring hell down on Raiden’s house. The bad thing about that is he was such a powerful vampire he probably had his hands in someone’s pocket and would be long gone before the team even got to his place. Then I would have to start from the beginning because there was no way I was letting this evil bastard go. It would be difficult because he would probably go underground for years, and it would take resources I just didn’t have to locate him. And if I told him nothing, he would keep me here until he got the answers out of me. I knew he would never go as far as to try to torture them out of me, but I really had to get out of here before the Daelarr came up for hunting time. My time was running out to catch it, and I don’t think I could face Annie if I failed. Now if I told him part of what had happened, then I could get out of here now and he wouldn’t have enough to tell anyone else that mattered. Excellent, now what information should I give him? “I got a lead on who the vampire is. No name. They were really secretive about that. Last night I found someone who could get me an in for a special vampire event that was exclusive. I found his aura, but before I could trace it back to the vampire in question, his posse stopped me. And that is where this came from.” I motioned to my face. Please, please believe this. “Anyway, those vampires that attacked me were the ones that did this.” I couldn’t bring myself to look down at the gore of blood and bones.

“Would that be why she looks so similar to you?” Damn, why was he so good at his job? “You know what, now that you say that, I can totally see it.” I could tell that my answer didn’t cut it for him, but he knew better than to push me. There was a reason I was good at my job. There was no way people could get information out of me that I didn’t want them to know even if it came down to torture. “I’ve got this under control,” I assured him. He looked from me to the wreckage of a body and back. “Yeah, I can see that.” Before I could come up with a tart response, my phone started ringing. If I was here with Ross, then who was calling me? I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the caller ID. “Trust me, Ross, I always get the job done. I have to take this.” With a brisk walk, I got out of hearing distance before my phone went to voicemail. “What’s wrong, Annie? Is everything okay?” Please tell me I didn’t have another body to see. “Thank god you are okay! I thought something had happened to you.” “Why?” There was no way she could have known anything about what had happened last night. “Well, it’s just … I haven’t heard anything from you. I didn’t know if something had happened to you while you were looking for Darrel. Oh god, did you find him and not want to tell me? Where is my baby boy, Sage?” Her voice hit a new octave as she began to break down. She hiccupped, trying to keep it together, but she couldn’t seem to do it. “Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Annie. Take a deep breath, all right? Nothing bad has happened to me or Darrel.” At least I hope nothing has. “I haven’t been able to phone you lately because I’ve been tracking the thing that took him, and I have a case at work that is high priority.”

I filled her in on what had been going on in my life for that past twenty-four or so, leaving out anything that could get her involved. No names, no places, no vampire staying in my house while I was away, just general information that anyone could hear through the grapevine. In my line of work, knowledge really was worth killing for. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to Annie or, for that matter, Darrel. I couldn’t think about those things at the moment. The hiccups turned into sniffles, which meant she was calming down. “Why do you put yourself through that?” I smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “I love the job. But don’t worry, I’ve almost figured out the exact spot of the demon’s lair, and then it’s just a matter of storming in there and kicking some ass.” “There’s something wrong with you. You know that, right?” She chuckled, and even over the phone, I knew she was smiling. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t change a thing.” “Not one.” “Listen to me, okay, Annie? For the next little while, I am going to be very busy and focusing on some hard stuff, so I won’t be thinking about updating you on my progress. I will let you know what happens when I catch the demon and get Darrel back. Until then, you just have to trust that I have everything under control.” There was a long pause on her end of the phone. I know I sounded cruel, but sometimes you just need to get your point across without any chance of miscommunication or them taking it the wrong way. I couldn’t have her phoning me all the time, or someone would get curious as to why some random innocent was so interested in me. Plus, I rarely brought my phone with me on a job, and I knew that if she kept phoning and I kept missing her calls, she would keep panicking and do something stupid. “I understand. Sorry, you know how I get,” she apologized. “Don’t worry about it. I just want to make sure you’re doing fine. I have to go now, though. I’ll get back to you when I can.”

I hung up and stared at my phone. Did I really have everything under control like I kept telling people I do? For the sake of a lot of people, I sure hoped so. I got into my car and looked at the time. Perfect, I could still make one stop before I headed home and got ready to hunt. Traffic slowed me down a little, but I was still able to make it with plenty of time to spare.

CHAPTER 17

T he doors chimed as I entered the store. My nose was assaulted right away with a spicy, earthy smell. The air was thick and alive with magic. Tamara must be cooking up some powerful stuff for the store to feel like this. I stood at the front counter, thinking of everything she could be making, when the curtains to the back room were drawn aside and she stepped out. Her hair was tied back, and most of her jewelry was gone. She looked tired or more like drained. But when she saw me, her eyes lit up, and a smile lit up her face until she saw my injuries. “Oh my god, what happened to you? I told you not to get involved with Raiden.” She rushed around the counter and began looking me over like an overprotective mother. “I’m fine, Tamara. I just got roughed up a little bit.” “A little bit, my fine little brown ass! You look like—” “I know, I know. I do own a mirror, you know.” “How did you make it out of a confrontation with Raiden alive?” “Let’s say I have a guardian angel.” “Took his sweet time getting to you.” She sighed. “I’m just glad you’re alive and walking around.” She hugged me tight, and I winced. “Easy there. I’m still not 100 percent.” “One day I am going to sit you down and make you tell me what happened. But for now, you probably came here for a better reason than having me worry about you.” “You’re right. I am here for another reason, but first, I need to know what you’re

cooking up back there. It feels like some strong, scary stuff.” She waved it off like it was no big deal. “It’s nothing really. I have a client who is in a … special predicament.” “Special predicament?” She’s never played games with me before. This must be a weird request or something. “Well, since I know you won’t tell anyone, because I do have a certain client confidentiality in some cases”—she paused—“this one guy came in, and he got involved in some stuff that even I don’t fully understand how he did it. Just know that it’s bad stuff. Pretty much it boils down to the fact that he pissed off a necromancer. He might have cheated on her with her sister. “Anyways, this guy is stupid enough to make a necromancer angry, which, personally, I don’t understand how anyone could be that stupid. So now he has a zombie problem. She sent them to follow him around and generally mess with his life until who knows when. “And that would be where I come in. I am currently cooking up a zombie repellent charm. From what I know of her, she’s pretty powerful. But luckily for him, I’m better. Unfortunately, it takes a lot out of me to do potions and charms this strong. That would be why he’s paying an arm and a leg for it. Well, that and I kind of think he’s a creep.” I just stared at her for a minute before bursting out in laughter. She ed in, and before I knew it, tears were rolling down both of our cheeks. “Only you, Tamara, only you,” I said when I had stopped laughing enough to speak. With each laugh, a spasm shot through my ribs, but it was just so funny. “Hopefully, he learns his lesson from this. But you came here for more than checking up on me. What do you need?” “Back to business I guess. I need any more information you can spare on the Daelarr. Or if you have anything to help me kill it other than that knife that would be a huge help too,” I told her, seriousness edging into my voice. “Sorry to tell you but you know everything I know. Since I last saw you, I’ve been poring over every book I own, and I can’t seem to find any new

information. They really aren’t well-known demons. There have been very few people brave enough to study them, and half of the ones that do have the courage end up as dinner.” “Great pep talk,” I said grimly. Why couldn’t my life be easy just this once? “Listen, you know I’m not trying to scare you or make it seem like I don’t think you can do it because out of anyone I know, you would be my best bet for killing this thing. I just want to make sure you are wary and completely understand this demon. “It isn’t a smart creature. It doesn’t plan out its moves in advance. It’s a predator, pure and simple. All it knows is hunting and killing. I don’t know what else I can do to help you unless—wait here for a minute.” Before I could respond, she disappeared into the back room. I was pretty confident that when I faced this demon again, I could beat it. I had already taken it on once; and yes, it may have gotten the best of me, but I knew how it fought now. Just when I was starting to get worried that Tamara had gotten sidetracked, which she sometimes does, she stepped out with a tiny glass vial in her hands. As she held it up to the light, the liquid contents shifted from blue to green and back. “This should give you a little more of an advantage when you come across the Daelarr again.” She smiled, all proud of herself. I reached out and took it. Studying it closer, I asked, “What exactly is this? Do I drink it?” “I wouldn’t advise that. It’s a paralysis potion. Normally, you get the person to ingest it, and it instantly paralyzes them. But in your case, you probably won’t get the opportunity to pour it on its dinner. This potion works especially well on all sorts of demons to the point where you just pour it directly on their skin and it will slow them down. It won’t immobilize them completely, but it will constrict the muscles.” “That could definitely come in handy tonight.”

“It’s the best I have to offer you. Wait, you’re doing this tonight? In the condition you’re in, do you really think that’s the best idea?” Her eyebrows knitted together with concern. “I know it’s never good to go into a fight all battered up already, but Darrel might,” I hesitated. “He might not have more than a night, and I can’t risk that just because I couldn’t overcome some pain. Plus, you gave me this magic stuff that gives me the upper hand.” I tried to smile but fell short. I don’t know what would happen if I couldn’t find him or worse if I found him and the Daelarr had decided he couldn’t wait any longer for his midnight snack. How would I ever be able to face Annie? How would I be able to face myself? Tamara reached across the counter and covered my hand with hers reassuringly. “You’ll get there in time. You always do. Be careful with that vial. It’s not the thick glass I keep my other potions in. I put it in a special vial for you so that you could throw it at the Daelarr, and it will shatter upon impact. Oh, one more thing, I’ll be right back.” She ed through the curtains one more time and was gone for several minutes. I heard her rummaging around in the back, through what sounded like pots and pans and dishes. When she came back, she was holding a small carved wooden cup. She placed it on the counter in front of me. “Drink this.” “Listen, I know you mean well, Tamara, but right now isn’t the time for getting a date.” “It’s not for that. It’s a potion that should help speed along your healing process.” She smiled as I took it in my hands. It smelled horrible, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to taste any better. But Tamara had never given me a bad potion, and if she said it would help, then it would help. In one quick motion, I tipped the cup and swallowed its contents in one gulp. The liquid seared my throat and tasted like rotten vegetables. I started coughing immediately, which sent ripples of agony across my rib cage.

I doubled over, trying to stop the fit. A warm hand touched my back and made soothing circular motions. The coughing subsided as did the pain. When I stood up, the pain was already a little less in my ribs than when I had gotten here. “Thanks. Whatever that was tasted like crap, but thanks. I can feel it helping already. It definitely is getting more bearable. Well, I should probably get going. Don’t want to miss prime hunting time. I’ll see you later. Good luck on that antizombie potion.” I heard her call out be safe as the door chimes jingled. I held out the vial again, watching the way the sunlight played with the colors. It almost seemed alive inside the glass. You may just be my savior, I whispered to the vial. Getting into my car, I pulled out onto the highway and headed home. By the time I got there, the sun was getting closer to the horizon, elongating all the shadows. I still had time to get to the park, but I would have to hurry. My street was totally empty of all life-forms. I couldn’t even hear any birds singing. That was never a good sign, but I didn’t look too into it. Mrs. Dries’s garden was looking exceptional, growing much faster than all the other gardens on the block. I wonder what other people thought her secret was. As my key entered the lock on the door, a thought ed through my mind. It was still light out. Ash had no chance to leave my house. There was a vampire somewhere in my house. Great. I really didn’t want to deal with this right now. Maybe I could get in and out before he noticed I was there. Or I could be a jerk and stand in the light. I might as well just get this over with. Shutting the door behind me, I headed upstairs and noticed my bedroom door was shut. I never shut my bedroom door. He was definitely still here. Slowly, I opened the door a crack just to make sure I wasn’t going to let any light in. The last thing I wanted right now was for my room to go up in flames because I set Ash on fire. When it seemed like the coast was clear, I tiptoed into my room. Ash was nowhere to be seen until I rounded my bed and saw a pair of feet sticking out from underneath it. He had a blanket covering almost all his body. The part that had been on his feet must have slipped off when he ed out.

Being the nice person I was raised to be, I bent down to tuck his feet back in, just in case. I mean I didn’t want my house to burn down. Yeah, keep telling yourself that’s the reason, Sage. Under the bed I saw Ramses curled up with Ash, which was incredibly weird considering he hated being in the same room with most new people. He even had his days where he didn’t like Annie. But here he was getting all cozy with a dead man. Glancing up at my clock, I realized I was running out of time. I changed into another pair of work pants, still-soft leather, and a black tank top with a leather jacket. The jacket had zippers up the sleeves to make it easier to conceal and access my knives. I reached up on the top shelf in my closet and brought down the copper knife Tamara had given me. It fit pretty well in my arm sheath with some slight modifications. This time I was going to use the knife, and this time I was going to kill it. I grabbed a hair elastic and pulled my hair back in a very loose ponytail that didn’t hurt my scalp. Tamara’s potion was working. I barely had any pain while I was changing. Shutting the door behind me, I flew down the stairs and out into my car. I parked a block away from the park. No one needed to see me get out of my car in full leather especially if something went wrong and they could ID me in any way. I left Pain and Misery in the car. They wouldn’t have any effect on the Daelarr other than to piss it off and get in the way. Plus, this was the kind of neighborhood that people would report gunshots. With my knife up my sleeve and my car locked, I jogged up to the park. The sun was just setting—perfect timing. Most demons I’ve hunted were tricky because they hunted in different areas, or if they kept to a single hunting ground, the exact place still varied. With the Daelarr, though, that wasn’t the case. From my research, I knew he would follow the same path to the same place, which would be the playground. My problem was I didn’t know the exact direction it would be coming from, so I found a hiding place behind a bush that was hidden from every angle. But it still gave me a good vantage point of the playground. Luckily for me, there was no one at or near the playground. Everyone was thankfully home, having dinner instead of a predinner romp in the park. That made my job that much easier. And boy do I ever like when my job gets easier.

I was in a crouched position, ready to jump up at any given time. The only problem about that was my legs were getting cramped. It didn’t help that they were still sore from the beating I took last night. Thinking about it, I was still sore all over. I pulled the vial out from my jacket pocket and examined it again. The colors moved around one another sort of like a lava lamp. It was very pretty to look at, but I had to why I was here. Slipping the vial back into my pocket, I returned to my watch. Just as my legs were about to protest past the point I could handle, I saw motion about ten feet to my right. It was either a very ugly dog or my demon had shown up as expected. It kept to the shadows of the bushes while making its way to the edge of the playground.

CHAPTER 18

S lime mixed with drool dripped from its partially opened mouth as it raised its head and inhaled so deeply I could hear it. Crap, I hadn’t even thought to sit downwind of it, but it didn’t notice me or at least it didn’t seem like it did. It took one more minute to look left and right before it turned around and headed back the way it had come from. As quietly as I could, I moved in the direction it was headed, all the while making sure there were bushes between us to hide me. I stepped onto a lightly trodden side path that was made up of dirt, which made movement easier to keep quiet. Its footsteps were faint but still audible as it lumbered through the underbrush. I made the mistake of ing behind a tree and when I came up on the other side the Daelarr was nowhere in sight. I cursed out loud as I frantically searched the area for any trace of it. I took a minute to calm myself down, nothing good ever came out of panicking. Calm down and think this through Sage. The little light bulb in my head turned on. Closing my eyes I switched over to the Otherworld. The demons sickly yellow aura was instantly visible against the natural surroundings. After making sure there was still no one around I followed the trail. Even in the Otherworld, I almost walked past the cave entrance. It was that well hidden. There was no way I would ever have found it if I hadn’t switched over. It looked like a cavity in the bush where an animal had hollowed it out a little to make a nest. But as I examined it closer, I realized there was a large hole about a foot into the bush that was big enough for a large dog or a hungry demon. I could already tell this was not going to be one of my better nights. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled into the bush. The entrance led directly into a tunnel that was tall enough for me to crouch walk, but I made faster progress staying how I was. The walls felt like they had been recently expanded. Some of the gouges were quite fresh. I didn’t want to think of what the claws that could gouge chunks out of the hard-packed earth were capable of doing to my soft

fleshy skin. My hand came away from the wall covered in a layer of slime—gross. This was without a doubt the right spot. I was curious about what kind of animal had dug this tunnel originally. Whatever it was, if it had been home when the Daelarr came knocking, there was a good chance that it was dead. The tunnel began to expand and slope down at a rapid rate. Soon I was able to walk upright with my head bent to the side. Not too long after I had entered the tunnel, I walked out into a pretty good-sized cave. The first thing I noticed was the floor was covered in a thick layer of mist obscuring any view of the ground. I heard a faint slithering sound as something brushed up against my foot. Everyone has their one thing that terrifies them. No matter who you are, you have it. Mine was the fact that I didn’t like not being able to see what’s on the ground. Something could easily sneak up on you, grab you, and take you down to the ground with it before you even ed it was there. Me jumpy? Nah. Goose bumps rippled over every inch of my skin as I bit back a yelp. There were definitely things crawling around my feet. I can handle this. I can keep myself together. I stood perfectly still and listened. The slithering seemed to have stopped, and I didn’t feel anything on my feet anymore. Hopefully, whatever it had been was long gone. I made my way across the large room, walking slowly, making sure not to trip on anything. Last thing I needed was to fall on my face at the same moment I came across the Daelarr. I unzipped my sleeve, exposing the knife. I really hope Tamara was right and they lived alone. A chill ran up my spine at the thought of a whole pack of these demons. As good as I was if I was faced with that many demons, there was a good chance I wouldn’t make it out. All right, time to think happy thoughts. Riiight. Rainbow and lollipops. Night vision in the Otherworld is almost as good as daylight, which was another bonus of my gift. If a normal human had been able to find their way into these caves, it would have been so pitch black that they wouldn’t have been able to see their hand right in front of their face. But in the Otherworld, everything had an eerie glow to it that gave enough illumination to see my surroundings. At the far end of the cave was an opening to another tunnel. Though the Daelarr’s aura was everywhere in these caves, the freshest trail led into the

tunnel. The mist covering the ground subsided as I rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a very angry-looking demon. For what felt like an eternity, we stood staring at each other completely dumbfounded. I think it was shocked to see that someone had actually made it into its lair. It might have even been more shocked than I was to have happened upon it so quickly. Our eyes locked, and a low growl started deep in its chest, slowly growing louder and louder. “Shit.” I cursed out loud and threw my back against the wall, the creature’s claws barely missing me as it flew by. It stumbled before whipping back around to face me. I fumbled in my pocket for the vial and prayed that Tamara was right about its effectiveness. My hand closed around the cool glass as I pulled it out of my jacket. The Daelarr dug its feet into the ground, claws finding purchase in the dirt, and flung itself through the air at me. With quick reflexes, I flung the vial at it while it was in midair. With quicker reflexes, it contorted its body midleap, barely escaping the potion. The glass shattered uselessly against the cave wall. “Well, there goes my backup plan,” I muttered to myself. “Guess I’m going to have to take you out the old-fashioned way then.” The demon landed and studied the contents of the vial as they tricked helplessly down the rock. I have no idea if it recognized what the potion was or not, but it took a big whiff of it, and the fire in its eyes seemed to ignite even more. Its muscular jaws gnashed at thin air, flinging spit in all directions. All right, so not only did I waste the one potion that was probably the only thing giving me an advantage of any sort, but in that attempt, I made the man-eating demon even more furious. That had to be a new record for me. Before I could pat myself on the back, I rolled to the side, narrowly missing a full head-on collision with a mouth full of knives. I jumped to my feet, time to turn this fight around. As it scrambled to turn around in the narrow tunnel, I lashed out with a powerful roundhouse right to its abdomen. I felt bone give as it air rushed forcefully out of the Daelarr’s lungs. It bounced off the wall and landed with a thud on the ground, sending up a dust

cloud. Seeing my chance, I jumped on top of it before it could stand up and started punching it in the throat. I wasn’t going to chance my hands anywhere near its mouth. In a flash, my hands would be gone. It let out a deafening roar that shook the walls as it bucked me off it, sending me rolling to a crouch a couple feet away. It staggered to its feet and shook out its head side to side. Hatred burned in its eyes. That and the need to kill. Without any buildup, it jumped at me again, closing the distance in an instant. I heard the air rush by my ear as its massive claws grazed my head, catching on some hair. An ear-splitting scraping noise echoed through the enclosed area as its claws gouged the solid rock walls. I spun and boxed the ear closest to me. It howled in pain and went down. This time I didn’t rush in foolishly. It took a moment to stand back up, maybe hoping I would rush in. Huge gobs of drool fell to the ground as it licked its lips. A forked tongue resembling a snake’s flickered out of its mouth as if tasting the air. Hunger and the predatory urge were the only driving factors in this creature’s mind. I watched its body movements carefully. The muscles in its back legs tensed. I was ready for the attack before it had even launched itself into the air. My hand wrapped around the hilt of copper knife, unsheathing it as I took a step back. With all my force and against better judgment, I shot forward into the attacking Daelarr. I drove the copper knife up through the soft spot just underneath the sternum, piercing its heart. The demon’s momentum shoved me backward, tangling our limbs together. I fought, kicking and punching, until I was free from it. I jumped to my feet, ready for the next attack. The Daelarr lay motionless in front of me. I took a step toward it before I noticed it was still breathing. Its cold eyes opened a slit to stare at me. Struggling, it lifted itself up onto its front legs. Its back legs didn’t seem to be working properly. While it took its time to stand, there was nothing I could do. My only weapon was lodged in the demon’s breastbone, and I wasn’t about to go and get it. Blood dripped from the corner of its mouth, and a thin stream of liquid was gushing from its underside.

What was it going to take to kill this thing? It let loose a pathetic attempt at a growl before it tried to jump at me. The jump ended before it even began. Its legs gave out, and it fell onto its stomach, driving the knife even deeper into its heart. It let out one last sigh, and I was left with a pair of cold, dead eyes staring up at me. Well, that went better than I could have ever expected. I remained where I stood for a couple minutes just to make sure it was completely dead. When it didn’t move and its chest remained still, I worked up the courage to roll the body over. For all I knew, there could be something else dangerous down here and I needed my knife back. Plus, it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good knife just because I was too chicken to get it back. It came out with a sickening squishing sound and a trail of blood. I wiped the knife clean on my pants but didn’t put it back in its sheath. I didn’t want anything sneaking up on me and getting the upper hand while I was fumbling like a fool to get my knife. Taking a minute to catch my breath, I sat down and leaned my head against the cold wall. So far, so good. I actually killed the Daelarr, which, to be honest, I hadn’t had complete faith in myself. Now all that was left was to find Darrel. And I had no idea how large these caves were much less where to even begin to start looking.

CHAPTER 19

W ith an effort I wish wasn’t there, I stood up and looked at my options. I was pretty sure this was the only exit out of the large room I had come from, so the only option I could see was to continue to follow the path and see where it headed. Knife in hand, I continued my search. The mist slowly returned; but thankfully, the slithering sounds did not, though that didn’t stop me from expecting to feel something crawl over my feet. The tunnel took a sharp turn to the left before spreading out into a cave the size of a regular living room. Even with the light of the Otherworld, I couldn’t see through the mist flowing around my feet that mixed with the mist in the Otherworld, making it twice as hard to see. As careful as I was trying to step, it didn’t work; and I nearly fell on my face, tripping over an object. I reached down and felt around for the culprit. My hand brushed over a round smooth object. It was too big to grab with one hand, so I reached down with the other. Bad idea I know and pulled the thing that tripped me up into my view and nearly dropped it. In my hands was a human skull. And not an old dirt-stained skull. No, it was a fresh, gleaming white skull that had been picked clean except for a few scraps of cartilage around the nose part. I dropped it and heard it clatter against something more than just dirt floor. Leaning over, I waved my hands back and forth to try to disperse the mist a little. Thinking back on it, I really wish I hadn’t. I uncovered not just a skull but the rest of the body that went with it, all the bones gnawed clean. Some bits and pieces of clothing still hung to the unlucky victim. I stepped away from the body, and my foot crunched through a brittle substance, which felt vaguely like old bones. Then it hit me. I was in a graveyard. The Daelarr had had this lair for years, maybe even longer, and I was in the room it took its prey for slaughter, which meant …

“Darrel. Darrel!” I called out. The sight of the bones hit my panic button. I needed to find Darrel fast, and I didn’t care what I alerted. I would deal with them as they came at me. At the far right of the room, I heard a muffled cry. I rushed over to the sound as gracefully as I could, considering my every step was littered with fragments of the demon’s past victims. Please, oh please, do not let Darrel be one of them. In the corner, the mist was swirling differently than other places. The muffled cries were coming from that area, but I couldn’t figure where exactly. My movement caused the mist to shift slightly, revealing a hole in the ground. Against my better judgment, I got down on my knees and leaned over the hole. “Darrel, are you down there? It’s me, Auntie Sage.” My voice was filling with hysteria, and I couldn’t help it. I had no idea what I was going to do if his voice didn’t respond. “I’m scared,” a tiny weak voice answered. Relief flooded through my body so fast that my head spun. I had to sit back on my heels until the world stopped spinning. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be all right now. I’m here to take you home. Are you hurt? Can you stand?” “I think I can stand.” “Okay, honey, you stand up and stretch your arms above your head as high as you can and don’t be afraid.” I heard shoes shuffling against the dirt floor then silence. For a second, fear made my heart race. What was taking him so long? Was this hole deeper than I thought? Then tiny little hands appeared through the fog. I placed the knife safely back in its sheath and reached down to grasp his hands. After I hoisted him out of the hole, I held him as close to me as I could, probably smothering him a little. At the moment, I didn’t care. All that mattered was he was safe and in my arms. I gave a final squeeze before I held him out at arm’s length, both my hands on either side of his face. His face was covered in dirt. Tear stains ran down his cheeks. Snot bubbles caked his nostrils, and his face was swollen from crying. How did such an

innocent child learn to live through something like this? I only hoped he would turn out fine. “You’re such a brave boy, Darrel. I want you to always that, okay?” He nodded his head, eyes wide with terror still. I could only imagine the horrible things he had seen and heard. “Now, you have to do something for me right now, and before you know it, you’ll be with your mom again. I need you to close your eyes really tight and hold on to me as firmly as you can.” He didn’t need to see any of the carnage that littered the floor or the body of the demon for that matter. Without saying a word, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around my neck. I hoisted him up into my arms and made my way carefully as to not trip again out of the skeleton filled room. Retracing my steps, I ed by the Daelarr’s body, lying exactly where I left it and just as dead. As I looked down at its body, I started to see red. It angered me so much. What gave this demonic creature any right to harm innocent people? I tried to push these thoughts out of my mind and focused on getting the hell out of here. I hurried through the first cavernous room, attempting and failing not to notice the scuffling sounds of creatures running along the thin blanket of fog. When we got to the part of the tunnel that started to narrow, I let Darrel down. “I can’t carry you through this part, but I’ll be right behind you the whole way up there. Just don’t look back.” Before I knew it, the cool breeze of fresh air was tousling my hair. Darrel broke free from the bush at the entrance, plopping down on the ground several feet away from it. He looked around, taking in the world through the eyes of someone who never thought they would see it ever again. I couldn’t stand to see that look in his eyes. His innocence had been taken, but hopefully, he could turn this experience into something good. Maybe he would always see the good in things after having them almost taken away from him forever. I could only hope. He stood up as I walked over to him and took my outstretched hand. In silence, I

led him to my car and buckled him in safely. There was no way I worked this hard to save him just to have him taken away for a stupid reason like a car accident in which I could have prevented. The streetlights were just turning on, piercing the oncoming darkness of the evening. My dashboard clock read nine fourteen. Good. I was still going to have time to go out and hunt another type of monster tonight. Lucky me! As I drove, I kept glancing at him out of the corner of my eyes. He didn’t seem to be physically injured. I was just hoping that he wasn’t psychologically injured past repair. He caught me looking at him and smiled at me. Not the dead-looking smile that someone fakes but a true, heartfelt smile. He was going to be just fine. Children had a much better time bouncing back from tragedies. His face lit up as I pulled into his driveway. Annie’s blue Volvo was parked out front. All the houselights were out. With luck, that meant she was just asleep and not out somewhere. With her general mood lately, I couldn’t see her leaving the house at all. Before I could even undo my seatbelt, Darrel bolted out of the car and was racing up to the front door. I raced up behind him as he was ringing the doorbell again and again, the chime echoing through the house. The light in the foyer came on, and the sound of bolts unlocking filled the silence that had fallen over Darrel as he waited. Annie looked completely disheveled, hair going in all directions, bright-pink robe held tightly against her, bags under her eyes. At first she only saw me, and horror pained her face as she assumed the worst. But then, a bundle of joy ran into her arms, burying his face in her stomach. Pain washed away to disbelief and raw uncontained happiness. She fell to her knees, engulfing Darrel in her arms. Tears rolled down both their faces as they sat there in each other’s arms. Annie held him close to her again, running her fingers through his tangled hair. They just sat there like that, rocking back and forth in silence for several minutes. At last, Annie looked up at me, her eyes glistening with a new onslaught of tears. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice cracking. I smiled at her. It was an amazing feeling knowing that you were the one that

caused that much happiness. I slipped away to my car while they were still focused on each other. It was their moment, not mine. Plus, I had somewhere I needed to be.

CHAPTER 20

T he drive home went by before I knew it. It’s funny how that always seems to happen. The first thing I noticed when I walked into my house was something felt different. Ramses was nowhere to be found, which was odd considering he should be starving by now and I was his meal ticket. That wasn’t the only thing that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I felt another presence in my house. I placed my keys down as quietly as I could and unsheathed my knife. Silently, I crept through my house and into the kitchen. The kitchen was clear. I made my way to the living room. A little bit of moonlight shone in the living room from the window, giving everything odd shadows. I took one step into the room and felt the air shift to my left. I spun, knife in hand, and came face-to-face with Ash. I stared him right in the eyes and didn’t make a move to remove my knife from his throat. What was he doing here? He should have been gone by now. I was pretty sure I made that very clear to him. I could have killed him, and it would have been his fault. “Whoa, there, I always forget how good you are. Want to move that thing away from me?” His hands were up beside his head as he motioned the knife with his striking onyx eyes. “Not particularly.” He continued to look at me. I sighed, defeated. “Fine.” I placed the knife on the living room table and sat down on the couch. Ramses walked over to me from behind Ash’s legs. “He’s taken quite a liking to you.” “Yeah, well, some animals love me, others not so much.” He shrugged as he sat on a chair facing me. “Why are you still here? I told you that you could stay until it was dark out. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s a ways into the night.”

He rubbed the back of his neck before leaning forward. “Yeah, see, here’s the thing about that. I was just about to leave, like I said I would, when I stopped to think.” “There’s the problem right there.” He gave me a sarcastic smile. “Nice. Anyways, here I am thinking to myself. What is going to be the first thing Sage does when night falls? Knowing you as well as I do—” “Which is not at all,” I mumbled. “Listen, do you want me to answer your question or not?” “Sorry, continue.” “I knew that you wouldn’t take last night too lightly, and you were probably already plotting your next moves against Raiden. Now, what kind of person would I be if I let you hunt him down and run in there all willy-nilly?” I bit back a sarcastic comment, which was pretty hard for me. I mean willynilly? Who said that anymore? “The kind of person who doesn’t like to interfere with other people’s lives maybe,” I answered. “But see, I am the type of person who likes to interfere in other people’s lives, especially yours and especially when you’re planning another dumbass thing like going after Raiden the night after he beat the crap out of you.” “I figure who would expect that? It’ll be a complete surprise attack.” I stood up. I needed to get things ready for the night, so if he wanted to continue this conversation, he could follow me if he wanted. Unfortunately, it seemed that he wanted to because without hesitation he was right behind me up the stairs. “True, he may not expect it. I mean it is the type of stupid thing most people deem way too stupid to attempt, but what if he is prepared that you’re coming? What will you do then?”

He was sitting on the corner of my bed, watching me rummage through my closet. I brought down a large brown chest that was on the top shelf above all my clothes, almost out of sight. I placed it on the ground and opened it up as I thought of an answer. He had a point, unfortunately. I normally took time to plan out my next move, make sure I’ve thought out all the escape routes or possibilities for things to go wrong. But this time, it was different. It was stupid because the reason that changed everything wasn’t even that Raiden almost killed me. No, it was because he had found a way to get under my skin, which was not an easy task. It probably was a mixture of what he did to people, how he treated them like nothing more than food, how he just wasted a woman’s life because she looked like me, and yeah, I guess a little of it had to do with the fact that he had tried to kill me. That did make it slightly personal. Grabbing two extra clips for my guns, I placed them on the top of the chest. “This is what I’ll do if there’s any sort of resistance. How’s that?” His raised eyebrow in surprise then shook his head. “You know those won’t stop him. He’s too strong for that.” “Oh, I know firsthand how strong he is. These aren’t for him. These are for anyone that tries to stop me from getting to him. Anyone.” I looked right into his eyes as I said that. His smile widened. “I’m sure you would.” “Good, as long as we’re clear.” “Crystal.” I picked out a silver stake from the chest and twisted it up in my hair and put another one in a hidden pocket in my boot. The extra clips went into specialized pockets in my jacket where they wouldn’t fall out but were easily accessible when needed. Pain and Misery were already in their holsters, ready for action. Mentally, I went through my checklist. Silver stake, check. Extra ammunition, check. Guns, check. It seemed like I was good to go. Now I just had to work up the courage to go face the evil son of a bitch that almost killed me less than twenty-four hours ago.

“If I may ask, do you even know where you are going?” He leaned back and studied me, his eyes lingering longer than they should. I felt heat rush to my face. How the hell could he do that? “You may think I have no clue what I’m doing, but don’t worry, I do. This isn’t my first time, you know.” I turned away from him, so I wouldn’t have to look into those deep jet-black eyes. I was halfway down the stairs when he called out, “I wasn’t doubting your ability to do anything. I know you are quite competent at your work. There is no question about that. I simply wanted to know if you knew where you were going.” “Even at the speed you were driving, which was lunatic speed by the way, I can how to get to Raiden’s house.” At the bottom of the stairs, I turned around to look up at him, but he was gone. Next thing I knew, he was standing right beside me. What a show-off. “That’s what I thought you were going to say.” “Then why did you ask?” Probably a little bit too much sarcasm in my tone but he was starting to get on my nerves. “Whoa there.” He held up his hands and stepped away. Okay, probably way too much sarcasm, bordering on bitchy. “I just wanted to make sure so I could tell you that he won’t be there.” Hands on hips, I said, “Oh, and why not?” “That’s not his resting place. If you think about it, it makes sense.” “He wouldn’t invite all those upper-level vampires to his resting place. It would be stupid. Anyone could send their servants to kill him during the day.” My head really wasn’t in this game. Maybe I had a concussion I didn’t know about. Yeah, that must be it. “There you go—” My glare cut the rest of the sentence short. “So where is his resting place, Mr. Know-It-All?” I asked, all sarcasm gone. I

really wanted to know. Well, more like I needed to know. “See, there’s a catch.” I groaned and rolled my eyes. Of course, there was a catch. When was anything in my life easy? “It’s very hard to describe. There’s not so much roads as there are landmarks, and I’m not sure if you would be able to follow the directions. Not because you’re incapable but because they are quite confusing and most of the stuff you need to see for landmarks can only be seen by heightened eyesight, like that of a vampire,” he added in before I could argue. “Well then, why would you even bother to tell me about it? Do you even know where it is?” I was getting slightly skeptical. “Of course I know where it is.” “So if you know where it is and I don’t, and you don’t think I can follow the directions, how do we solve this?” All I wanted to do was get this night started. “I’ll take you.” “No. Completely out of the question!” I headed toward the door. I’m sure I could find this place on my own. How hard could it be? Ash grabbed my arm to stop me. I spun around and in one swift motion had Pain from my shoulder holster pressed underneath Ash’s chin. “Don’t mistake my kindness of letting you stay here for anything else. To me, you’re still one of them, and they are all the same in the end. Some can just put on a better play face than others.” Icicles could’ve formed from my voice. The blackness of his irises leaked into the whites of his eyes until I was staring at two orbs covered in perfect darkness. “I don’t mean you any disrespect, but if you don’t take that gun away right now, I will take it myself. You’re good, but you have a lot to learn if you think you are ready to try me.” He growled at me.

I had almost forgotten how powerful he was. If I hadn’t been immune to vampire powers, that tone would’ve had me curled in a corner, sucking my thumb. But instead, I let the power of it wash over me. I put the gun back in the holster, never once taking my eyes off him. Gradually, the whites of his eyes returned. “I’m sorry I had to do that.” When I said nothing, he continued, “You need my help whether you can it that to yourself or not. It will make this go a lot faster if you just accept my help right now and get it over with.” “I’m driving.” You could cut the tension in the car with a knife. I kept glancing at Ash. The power that had washed over me back at my house had been more than I thought was capable for a vampire of Ash’s age. How powerful was he? I tried to focus on the road, following the direction Ash gave, which was about the only time he spoke on the drive. To my surprise, we headed in a similar direction as we had to Raiden’s house the previous night. Instead of turning on the gravel road with the No Tresing sign, we continued to go straight. I guess it would be convenient to have your resting place close to your house but still safe from people who knew where your house was. I calmed my mind and began to set it to the task at hand. If I went into this fight without a clear mind, I wouldn’t make it through the morning, and I knew it. That was a sobering thought. “Slow down,” Ash’s voice broke the silence, surprising me. Through the windshield, I couldn’t see anything but grass and sky, maybe a couple trees. Why would I be slowing down in the middle of nowhere? I wasn’t about to start questioning him out loud, though. He had brought me this far, so I might as well follow everything through. After about five minutes of driving under twenty kilometers, I saw Ash tense up out of the corner of my eye. “Pull over here.” He motioned to the right side of the road, and I obliged.

When he got out of the car, I followed him, taking a minute to put all my weapons in place. Wouldn’t want to forget something crucial at this point. I tried to see what had caught Ash’s eye, but since I didn’t know what kind of landmarks he was looking for, I was out of luck. Without looking back to see if I was following him, he started walking down a beaten path. There was no way I was going any farther with him acting like such a child. All it would accomplish was nothing good. “Ash, wait up a minute.” His shoulders tensed, but he ceased walking. Since it didn’t seem like he was going to turn to look at me, I decided to be the bigger person, and I walked around to face him. I was glad when he didn’t turn away from me in a childish fashion. “What’s going on with you?” He sighed. “This is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard in my life, and I’ve had a long life.” “That can’t just be it.” I waited for him to answer. The silence was just beginning to drag on when he looked me right in the eyes and said, “If I let you go after Raiden alone, you are going to die.” “Why does that matter so much to you?” “You’re an intriguing person.” A mischievous smile flashed through his eyes. He wasn’t telling me the whole truth. His body posture softened. “I just don’t think more innocent people need to die because of Raiden, but I know you are one of the most qualified to handle this. I also know you will need my help. He’s … different from other vampires.” “Different? How?” And how did he know I was one of the most qualified unless he had looked into me, which I don’t know how he could? Those files were sealed up as tight as clam who didn’t want to give up its pearl. “It’s hard to explain, but it wouldn’t make a difference if you knew. Are we

okay?” “Yeah, why not?” I smiled at him. “Now, back to the task at hand. Raiden’s resting spot isn’t far from here. And it’s not going to be guarded.” “Why wouldn’t he put guards?” I have never heard of a vampire not posting a servant to watch them while they slept. “It would draw to much attention to the place. You’ll know what I mean when we get there. Plus, he doesn’t think anyone would ever try to rise up against him.” “That’s pretty cocky of him. Why do you think he’s going to be here of all places tonight?” It was a question that had been nagging at me for a while now. “He spends most of his time in this place lately. He usually only spends time in his house to entertain people. Most people would use the word crazy instead of cocky in his situation.” “Great, so not only is he a soul-sucking monster that most vampires seem to be scared of, he’s also crazy. What else could make this night any better?” I should learn to not question these things. I walked at Ash’s side as we made our way down the beaten pathway. It seemed to be leading to nowhere in particular. There were no mountains or anything I could see that could be used for a cave or a shelter of any sort. Wherever his hiding spot was, it was a really good one. I had to give him that. The night was unnervingly silent. I couldn’t hear any birds or bugs. The wind itself even seemed to have died down to nothing. My hand itched to be holding Pain or Misery. Hell, even a knife right now would make me feel better. From what I could tell, we seemed to be heading toward a tree, which seemed odd to me, but it was the way Ash was heading so it had to be right. He came to a stop about fifty meters from a tall oak tree that appeared to have popped out of nowhere. From what I could see, there weren’t any other trees for quite a distance. Why would a vampire choose a tree? It was strange choice to me, but it’s not like I’ve had a lot of experience with these types of vampires,

though. Ash leaned in to whisper, “We have to be very quiet if we want any chance of a surprise attack. The entrance is on the other side of that tree. They’ve hollowed out a part of it and created a tunnel that leads deep into the earth. At the end of the tunnel, there will be several doors. You want the farthest one of the left.” “What are in the other ones?” He paused, “You don’t want to know.” Shit. “Why are you telling me all this? I thought you said you were coming with me.” “Just in case we get separated, I want you to be able to get to him.” He looked away from me, hiding his face. “What aren’t you telling me?” I didn’t like this secrecy. I also didn’t like walking into something I knew nothing about. I was about to go underground with no means of escape that I knew about, and it didn’t sit right with me. “I just don’t know exactly what we are going to come across when we get in there. Are you ready?” He looked me right in the eyes and seemed to be looking deep inside of me. I could do this. In no time, I’d be walking out with the job done. No more harm left to happen, right? I hoped. “Yeah, let’s do this,” I said, putting my macho face on. “Follow me closely.” And I did. When we got to the tree, I expected him to put his back up to it and creep around it like a spy with the way he was acting. But he just took cautious steps around to the other side. I couldn’t see anything. Maybe he had the wrong tree. He pushed away some branches of a small shrub growing at the foot of the tree to reveal a metal-plated door. The door reminded me of the ones they had at the

nightclub. I could see the muscles in his arm straining as he grabbed one of the handles and pulled. If it took that much strength for a vampire to lift, there was no chance that any human could manage it. The door opened into pitch-black darkness. There were steps leading down, but I couldn’t see past the first three. Ash stepped down onto the first step and held out his hand for me. His eyes said, “Trust me,” or maybe that’s just what I wanted to read in them. For whichever reason, I took his hand and let him guide me into the darkness. He held me steady enough that I didn’t fall on my butt going down the stairs while giving me enough room to myself so I didn’t feel like he was babying me. My eyes were just adjusting to the lack of light when I saw a faint glow in the distance. Ash released my hand and moved in front of me. As we followed the glow, it took us around a corner into a larger tunnel. Torches were blazing on either side of the tunnel every five feet spaced out evenly. They lit the tunnel quite well. I could see everything. The walls were the same hardpacked earth as the ground. The ceiling was curved with a few stalactites forming here and there, their matching stalagmites littering the ground. You could see where someone had cleared away any that had formed in the middle of the walkway. Someone took a lot of time to maintain this place. I almost ran right into Ash’s back. He stopped so suddenly. I could see his neck muscles tense. He stood on guard, and I strained to hear or see what had him on edge. I didn’t have to look very hard before the cause walked right out from around the corner.

CHAPTER 21

T wo wispy-thin full-busted women stood about twenty meters from us, blocking our path. One had long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. The other had her black hair tied up in a messy updo. They both barely had any clothes on. The blonde wore a little black lace negligee—leaving nothing to the imagination, if you know what I mean—while the brunette wore a skin-tight leather miniskirt with a matching Madonnaesque bra. Neither had shoes of any type. Both were clearly vampires. “What have we here, Daisy?” The blonde one smirked at us as if we wouldn’t be any trouble to deal with. “Looks like fun and a snack from what I can see, Tina,” Daisy remarked, licking her lips. Ash stood straight as a rail. “Ladies, ladies, we are only here to see your master, nothing else.” Tina’s bottom lip stuck out as she pouted. “I don’t think that’s going to be possible.” “We have specific orders not to let anyone see our master,” Daisy said. “And it’s generally in everyone’s best interest if we do as our master says.” Tina looked at her companion. “He doesn’t like disobedience,” Daisy informed us. “Are you sure you won’t make an exception for us this one time?” Ash asked. I had no idea where he was going with this. They looked at each other, sharing a moment, before they giggled and gave us their full attention. They both smiled in union. “No.” “I was hoping you would say that.” Ash smirked.

That wiped the smile right off their faces. Their faces morphed into grotesque shapes as they shrieked, mouths wide, baring their teeth. They stood with their arms ready at either side. I could see in the torchlight that their nails were as sharp as razors and about an inch and a half long. This was going to be fun. I reached behind me and felt the reassurance of Misery. I trained my gun right between the blonde’s pretty little eyes. “I got the one on the right,” I told Ash without taking my eyes off the vampires. “No, don’t waste any time or effort on these two. I can handle them. You need all your strength and ammo for Raiden. When I say go, you run to the door I told you to and don’t look back. Trust me.” He looked at me through the corner of his eye and smiled like this was about to be the most enjoyable thing of his night. “Go.” Damnit if I didn’t hate running from a fight, but I knew he was right. If I got hurt by one of these bimbos, then my chance at killing Raiden dropped. Changing my gun from two hands to one, I charged right at the blonde. She hissed and ran to meet me, her eyes sparkling wildly in the flames. I was almost ready to fire when Ash slammed into her side, sending her smashing against the wall, taking a torch down with her. I heard her scream as she was quickly engulfed in flames. Funny thing about vampires. I don’t know exactly why this happens, but when fire is introduced into the equation, they just go up like alcohol-soaked kindling. I paused before running around the corner and looked back. Ash seemed to be handling the other vampire easily enough on his own. The blonde stood up, completely black and scorched from head to toe. She still had a couple wisps of blonde hair here and there, but she wasn’t about to win a beauty contest anytime soon. I was just about to go help when Ash looked up from throwing Daisy into a wall. “GO!” “All right, all right,” I mumbled to myself even though with his hearing he could probably still hear me. I jogged to the end of the new corridor. Just like Ash had said, there were a row of doors on each side. And as much as my curiosity was itching to open one, I also ed the look on Ash’s face when he said I wouldn’t want to know. I

paused beside one of them and heard a faint scratching noise. Okay, I was done with my curiosity; for once, I would listen to the little voice telling me against going into danger. Tamara would have been so proud of me. The end of the corridor was a solid wall. There was no exit. I could see except the one I had come from. This was it. I grabbed the cool metal of the door handle and yanked it open. As I stepped inside, my eyes had to take a minute to adjust to the brightness. This room actually had electricity flowing to it. The room itself was sparsely filled. There was one massive marble coffin that looked to be hand carved in the likeness of its owner. Full of himself much? Beside it stood a small wooden table and a single wooden chair. The room was probably fifteen by twenty feet, and on the opposite wall to the coffin were two sets of manacles. Those were always a good sign—not. Raiden stepped out of the shadows as the door slammed shut behind me. He was dressed in gray slacks with a white shirt left untucked. In one hand, he held a glass goblet, which was filled to the brim with deep-red liquid. I had a gut feeling that the liquid was not wine. He took a languid sip, licking the few drops left on his lower lip. The whole time his eyes were plastered on me. “Welcome to my humble abode. Do you like it?” he said with a mocking tone while motioning around the room. When I didn’t answer, he laughed and continued, “I take that as a no. I suppose it does take some time to get used to, but once you’ve been here long enough, it grows on you. Unfortunately, as much as it would please me to keep you here longer, I don’t foresee much more time left in your life.” “That’s funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you.” I stood my ground but was ready to move in a flash. With a causal gait, he made his way over to the table beside his coffin. Taking one last sip of his drink, he placed the glass gently down. “Tsk, tsk, I honestly had thought more of you. I completely underestimated you. I did not think you would be quite foolish enough to come looking for me. Especially the night after I almost killed you.” He paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Keyword there: almost. You should’ve tried harder.” Man, I surprised myself sometimes at how well I could fake courage. That stopped him in his tracks. He spun, facing me with his eyebrows raised in surprise. That did bring me a little satisfaction that I could do something to catch him off guard. “Don’t you worry, your pretty little head. I will try much harder tonight.” He resumed his pacing, and I was content to stay where I was as long as he wasn’t coming right at me. “Especially now that I know it is useless to send my servants to do the job correctly.” His tone confirmed my theory about the dead girl from last night. It was a complete mistake that was meant to be for me. Maybe I could use that to distract him. “Yeah, I saw their mess. They did a bang-up job on that one.” “A little excessive for my taste, really. But I assume when you saw it, you did get the message.” “Oh, I got the message. I’m up against a bunch of idiots who can’t even find the right person to kill.” It was going to turn out to be either a good thing or a horribly bad thing to poke the bear like this. Crossing my fingers for the good thing. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find good help these days, which is why I’m going to deal with this problem myself.” He stopped pacing and stood deathly still. “That’s probably a good idea, saves me the time of killing all your little minions before I get to you.” I was done with this talking. I just wanted to get this over with, but he needed to make the first move. When he did, I almost missed it. He was so fast, almost being the operative word. He just grazed my side with his claws. He would’ve gutted me had I not jumped to the side. I came out of my roll on one knee, with both guns ready. It was time for Pain and Misery. Raiden stood facing the opposite direction of me as he smoothed his shirt. His laughter filled the room. “You know those can’t kill me.”

“No, but they’ll still hurt like a bitch!” I smiled. When he turned face me with what I assume was going to be a smartass remark, I unloaded both clips into his torso. I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty certain that if I shot him in the head, it wouldn’t drop him for good. Instead of try to aim at a smaller target with less chance of actually hitting him, I chose to shoot at the largest part of him, which just happened to be his torso. Guns forgotten, I ran at him ready to kick with all my might, but he disappeared into this air. All of a sudden, he was standing behind me in the motion of a backhand. I ducked but not soon enough, and it caught the top of my head, sending me flying back onto my butt. I scrambled to my feet only to be sent back down by rib spasms. Damnit! The potion had been working until I started exerting myself. I was just going to have to suck it up and finish what I started. Fighting against the pain, I stood up just in time to see Raiden’s left hook. This time I had no chance to move, and it hit with full force, landing like a freight train. I pushed myself up on my hands and knees. How the hell did he get this strong? No vampire has ever been able to cloud my mind, and here he is doing with two full clips of blessed silver bullets in his abdomen. I wiped the blood running out of my resplit lip. Raiden must have seen I was struggling a little to get up because he decided to help me. Unluckily for me, though, instead of grabbing me by the hands like a normal gentleman would do, he grabbed me by the throat, his fingers probably making a perfect match to the bruises left there last night. I scratched frantically at his fingers to no avail. There were like iron clasps. He held me close enough that if he were alive, I would have been able to feel his body heat radiating off him. Because he was already dead, he didn’t give off much heat at all. His cold silver eyes bore into mine with a twisted maniacal gleam in them. I stared right back into them, hoping it would throw him off his game a little. No such luck. His mouth twisted into a smile that looked more like a snarl than anything else. Raiden pulled me in closer so that his lips were touching my ear. “After I’m done with you, you are going to wish you were dead.”

Fear tied a tight knot in my stomach. I had to calm down and think straight. It was all talk. There was still a chance I could beat him. I had other weapons, and Ash was supposed to be out there somewhere. What if he couldn’t handle those vampires or, worse, more showed up and overpowered him? I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. There was no place for them right now. I flailed and kicked, but nothing seemed to faze him. It was as useless as fighting a marble statue. He placed me down enough to have my feet touching the ground before he grasped either side of my face with his hands. He stared directly into my eyes. I had seen many vampires try this and fail in my lifetime. When the room started becoming fuzzy, I began to worry that he might be able to do what no other vampire could do. If that was the case, I might just be screwed. I fought with all my willpower against his mind games. It didn’t stop the fuzziness from overpowering my vision. Soon the room was completely gone. There was a moment of endless darkness before I was hit with an icy chill. I found myself walking to the front door of my house, noting that it was open, which was really odd at this time of night, especially in the winter. I was aware of myself moving through my house, seeing everything upturned, feeling how wrong the house felt. I knew where this was going, but I couldn’t seem to wake myself up this time. Stake in hand, I followed the stairs to the upper landing. Completely ignoring every room but the one at the end of the hallway, I made my way there. Before I knew it, I was pushing open the door. The familiar squish of liquid that seeped from the carpet into my socks, the feeling that had played over and over in my mind for years, felt as real as the day it had happened. Squeezing my eyes shut, I refused to open them. The smell of copper hung heavy in the air, almost choking me. I clutched the stake so hard that I felt splinters break off and become embedded in my hand. The pain was nothing. The pain focused me. It was real. The rest of this wasn’t really happening. I hadn’t come home to this. I didn’t need to relive this. An unseen force in my head forced my eyes open. I couldn’t fight it. The

flickering lamp illuminated the dark stains on the carpet. The stains were splattered in such interesting shapes that I couldn’t look away. No, I wouldn’t look away, and I had the perfect excuse not to. The stains were just too damn interesting. If I looked away now, I might miss something that was a once-in-alifetime chance. I stood there for a good several minutes, staring at the shapes, not once wondering what caused them. If I knew that, it would just ruin the magic they created. The light flicked on. The light flicked off. On. Off. I didn’t move. A sound that seemed similar to a human moan came from the far corner of the room. It was just the wind, I told myself, nothing more. When it came again, I chalked it up to the creaky old house. But the third time I couldn’t ignore it. I was going to count to three and look. One, two, three—nope. I was a fixture in this room now. Never to move, only to live my life studying these magnificent patterns. I could live with that; sadly, the unseen force could not. He forced me to move my head and see. The light flicked on. Dead eyes. The light flicked off. The light flicked on. Blood everywhere. I tried to close my eyes, but the unseen force commanded, “Look!” and I obeyed. My will was in his hands. The nightstand had been thrown against the wall with such force it had shattered into millions of pieces. The mattress was torn to shreds, the bedspring overturned. Everything was tinted red. Streaks of red were flung across every surface as if someone had dipped their hands in a can of paint and flung their arms around wildly. I knew it wasn’t paint. A woman was slumped against the wall. Her hand was lying on the ground, palm up just like she always did when I wanted to hold her hand. Her head was hanging at an odd angle, her mouth slightly open. Cold, dead eyes stared at me where once-lively eyes full of love had been. A trickle of dried blood was caked on her chin. The front of her dress was so soaked in blood I couldn’t the original color. The source of the blood and reason for her oddly hanging head were because something had torn her throat out.

Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to fight them back. My sanity strained against its boundaries. Then I heard a tiny cough, more like a gurgle. Against my will, I moved around the wreckage that was once a bed and stared down at a body of a man. He was lying on his stomach, legs and arms stretched out as far as they would go. His hand went through spasms of opened and closed. It seemed to be in sync with the flickering of the light. The light flickered on. The hand stretched out. The light flickered off. The hand clenched shut. The light flickered on. I found myself staring into the eyes of the last remaining parent I had. They were full of sorrow—not pain, just sorrow. How he hid the pain so well I’ll never know. He tried to say something, but only a gurgle and a mouthful of blood came out. With his last bit of strength, he rolled onto his side. And that’s when I felt the bile rushing to the back of my throat. My father lay there with one hand uselessly trying to keep his intestines inside of his body cavity. Something had ripped his torso in ribbons and was cruel enough to leave him alive to endure it. A hiccup racked his chest, and he lay still. Bloodtinted foam dribbled down the corner of his mouth. Another dead pair of eyes stared up at me. I rushed from the room, leaving bloody footprints in my wake, only making it as far as the hallway before losing my stomach contents. Wrapping my arms around my legs, I rocked back and forth, covered in both my parents’ blood and my own vomit. I could feel the strain of my sanity. It was so close to breaking that it only seemed to need a little nudge. I heard laughter in the back of my mind, but it didn’t . Suddenly I was outside in the snow, looking at how the front door to my house stood open slightly. My legs started moving me toward the house. I dug my fingernails as hard as I could into my palms until I drew blood. This wasn’t happening, not again. With a giant mental shove, the haze cleared a little. It was enough for me to where I was and who was doing this to me. I would not relive this night again for his pleasure. He was stronger than me, though. My foot took

another step. A thunderous crash echoed through the snow. The snow dissolved as did the rest of the night until I was left in a room underneath the surface, with a vampire’s hands wrapped around my neck fangs, brushing the delicate layer of skin covering my carotid.

CHAPTER 22

R aiden’s head whipped around as Ash broke down the door, and without any hesitation, I took the opportunity to strike. I grabbed the stake from my hair just as he turned back to face me, ready to finish what he had started. He didn’t notice the weapon in my hand as he yanked my head back using a fistful of hair. I plunged the stake into his neck at the same time he reared his head back to strike. A disturbingly high-pitched scream ripped from his lips. He instantly released me and clawed at his neck where the silver was burning a nice hole. His face turned ugly with pain, which turned to anger when he finally removed the stake. Raiden threw it across the room—away from me—with rage. At least something hurt him. Good to know. I raced, more like limped, over to Ash but was stopped dead in my tracks when the screaming ceased. I turned to see Raiden’s eyes engulfed in blackness, glaring at me like a man. “Sage, are you hurt?” Ash called to me without looking away from Raiden. “I’m still alive.” At moments, the pain made me wish I wasn’t, but I was. “That’s good enough for me at the moment.” Raiden smoothed his hair down, ever needing to keep the well-put-together image he had about him. Condescension glittered in his eyes. His lips twisted up in a smirk that I wanted to wipe right off his face, “How touching. He actually cares about you. Whatever happened to you, Asher? You used to be so good at your job, and then you found you harbored feelings for these meat bags.” He spat the word as if just saying it filled his mouth with a vile taste. “Don’t call me that name. I stopped being him a long time ago.” Hatred blazed in his eyes. “It was such a shame to see you leave. Such natural talent you had.” Raiden

actually sounded genuinely disappointed. He seemed to be in the mood for talking, which suited me just fine. It gave me time to steady myself. The room had stopped spinning, but the few blows I’d taken were some of the hardest hits I’ve ever felt. Ash and Raiden looked like two wolves ready to pounce. My stake was too far across the room to reach before Raiden stopped me. My guns were a similar situation, but they didn’t matter as much. I already knew they did even less damage than I had expected. I needed something to defend myself with. The only thing that kept popping into my head was the stake across the room. But could I get to it before Raiden got to me? Before I had a chance to try to for the stake, the air in the room changed. Where the room had been thick with tension, the silence broken only by my breathing, it was now filled with a flurry of movements. Giving no warning signs that I could discern, Raiden charged at me with lightning speed. The only thing I had time to do was put my hands up and try to absorb some of the blow. Ash had other plans, though. With speed that I only thought Raiden possessed, Ash intercepted the charging vampire, sending them both spiraling out of control. Where was Ash getting all this power from? I was sure glad that at least one of these vampires was on my side. I’d be dead meat by now if I had to face both of them at once. My body was paralyzed by fascination as I watched in what felt like slow motion as Ash and Raiden rolled to a stop. They jumped to their feet, Ash ready for round two. At least he thought he was. I don’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what Raiden did next. It looked like he simply blinked out of existence for a second and reappeared in front of Ash with his hand wrapped around his neck. I don’t think Ash realized how potent Raiden was with his abilities. For a vampire as powerful as Ash to have a mind trick played on him was unthinkable. If we didn’t stop Raiden here tonight, there would be no chance to stop his evil from rampaging through the city. “I think I’m going to finish with you quickly so I can get back to your friend over there and take the time she deserves.” He raised Ash off the floor with one hand around his neck, which was an impressive feat considering they were very

similar in height. “How does that sound to you?” Instead if using words for his response, Ash bared his fangs and bit down into the soft flesh of Raiden’s forearm. He tore a piece of flesh off his arm and spat it out, a trail of blood running down his chin. Raiden shrieked in fury and threw Ash down to the ground. I had almost reached the discarded stake when a stunning backhand sent me reeling back. Stars danced in my vision. My peripheral began to go fuzzy. I bit the inside of my cheek. I was not going to out damnit! I crab walked backward in a futile attempt to put space between me and Raiden. All humor was gone from his eyes. All that was there was an endless pit of hatred and anger. “I think I’m going to enjoy myself.” His words chilled my blood. That’s when I noticed something glittering in his hand. I scanned the floor around us and became conscious that my stake was nowhere to be found. Raiden was going to use my own weapon against me. I hated when they did that. I was fully ready for the stake to descend. What I wasn’t ready for was the slap to the side of my face. My face was going to be a mess tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole half of it was swollen and discolored. That was if I made it to tomorrow. My mind was so foggy from the slap that when the stake finally made its way in a sweeping arc down toward me, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to prevent it from piercing right through my soft skin if Ash hadn’t stepped into its trajectory. I heard the solid thump of Raiden’s fist hitting Ash’s chest as the whole of the stake entered Ash’s chest. They both had a surprised look on their faces, Ash’s mouth open in an O shape. He looked down at the stake protruding from him and gingerly touched it. Engulfed in uncontrollable madness, Raiden grabbed Ash by the shoulders and threw him to the side like a rag doll. “You insolent fool! Don’t you understand you can do nothing to stop me!” he roared. Ash lay in a heap where Raiden had tossed him. He wasn’t moving. As badly as I wanted to run to his side to see if he was alive, I had a job to finish. ing the hidden stake in my boot, I wrapped my hand around it and

stood to face Raiden. I wasn’t playing anymore. Now I was angry. He was still distracted by Ash, and I took advantage of that. I sprang at him, ready to do to him what he had done to Ash. His hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. When he turned to look at me, I was dumbfounded how fast he had reacted. My hope of survival was coming to an end. How the hell was I expected to kill a creature who seemed to have all-seeing eyes, the reflexes of a cat on caffeine, and the strength of a silverback gorilla jacked up on steroids? “You will never kill me. You don’t have it in you. No one does. No matter how many times you try or how many times you try to plan it out in your head, it is always going to end up the same. And that would be how he ended up.” He motioned toward Ash. A sick excitement was creeping into his expression. I knew he was about to enjoy every minute of our time together. At least that’s what he thought. As I looked down at Ash’s motionless body, something in me snapped. All the anger I had walled up from my childhood, from having my parents taken away from me to every innocent dead body I have had to look at and every sick detail I have had to study in order to find the sick bastard that had done it, came free. At first, it was a crack. Then the crack turned into a crevice, which rapidly turned into a gushing torrent of pent-up anger, flooding through my body. It overpowered every other emotion until all I knew was anger. All I saw was red. Without thinking, I pushed forward into Raiden. Forgetting about the weapon in my hand, I brought my head back and then, crashing forward into Raiden’s skull. The headbutt caught him so unaware that he didn’t have time to defend. It hit him so hard he was knocked down to the ground. When he looked into my eyes, I saw for the first time a flash of genuine pissyour-pants fear. Good, that’s what he should feel when he saw me. Anger sent waves of heat washing over my skin, making me feel invincible. I stood over Raiden as he cowered like his victims did. There was panic edging on his voice even though he was clearly trying to be the big, strong, tough man still. “You may kill me, but it won’t end here. I’ll have my revenge even after I’m dead. They will make more like me. It’s only beginning!”

His hysterical laughter was cut short immediately after the stake byed his sternum and ribs, piercing his heart directly like I had practiced hundreds of times. I stood my ground, not moving a hair as I watched him die. Thoughts of all his victims, countless more than I had seen I knew for sure, flashed through my mind as I stared into his eyes. Smoke began to seep from the entry wound, which rapidly turned to flames. The fire spread out across his chest to his limbs. The smell of burning flesh singed my nose, yet still, I refused to move. After what he had put me through, I was certainly going to make sure he was fully dead. His mouth opened as he tried to scream. The only things that came out, though, were smoke and blood. Spasms racked his body. His eyes bulged out of the sockets before bursting from the pressure and heat. The viscous fluid ran down his cheeks into the holes that were slowly forming as he burned from the inside out. His body was still convulsing as it turned to ashes. I couldn’t move. The fact that I had killed him wouldn’t sink in. Even as I stood in his ashes, my mind simply could not wrap itself around it. Kicking the ashes, I spread them out just in case. I had never heard of a vampire coming back from that, but I wasn’t about to take my chance. When I was content with everything, I collapsed on the floor. The adrenaline from the fight left my body, leaving me sitting on the cold ground. As my mind cleared, I ed Ash. I looked around desperately for any sign of him. His body was gone from the spot where I had seen it fall, but when I crawled over to it, I saw no evidence of his death. There was no pile of burned ashes. That could only mean that he had survived. The stake probably missed his heart by mere centimeters. I hoped. I knew there had been instances where a vampire had been caught up in such a blaze that there were no ashes left to find. But I also didn’t see any burn marks. I didn’t know if I was looking at things properly or just trying to reassure myself. The one thing I did know for certain was that I needed to get out of here. I found my way out of the underground cavern without much problem. The torches that hadn’t been knocked down were still lit. I walked right past the charred remains of one of the vampires and the decapitated remains of the other

without so much as pausing. Light seeped in through the cracks of the hidden door, making it easy to find. I pushed the door open to see the sun cresting the horizon. I took a moment to just stare at the beauty as the oranges, reds, yellows, and pinks intertwined with one another. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I had seen in my life. I took extra care to commit every detail to memory, so I could the sunrise I never thought I would see. When the sun had risen past the horizon, I turned and walked in the direction of my car. I was still slightly in a state of shock from the whole event as I made it to my car in a daze. I opened the door and sat with my hands on the steering wheel, keys on the seat beside me. As I calmed down a little, I reached over in the glove box and pulled out my phone. My fingers dialed a number I knew in my sleep. I listened, counting the rings. On ring five, I was starting to get annoyed. Where was he? I’ve called him tons of times at this time of the day. Ring seven was just coming to an end, and I was just about to hang up and try again when he picked up.

CHAPTER 23

“H ello.” “Just a hello? I thought I’d get more of a greeting than that, especially with the news I have for you.” “I didn’t know it was you. I have a piece of crap phone with no caller ID. I honestly gave up on hearing from you tonight,” Ross said. “Ouch, that hurts. You didn’t think I was going to make it through the night alive?” That made two of us at least. A loud sigh filled my ear. “You know that’s not what I meant. You go for days without calling me with an update. It’s just something I’ve kind of come to expect.” He sounded so tired. “Did you have a long night?” “Yeah, a big cleanup to do. Really messy too.” I could just picture him rubbing his hand down his face like he does when he’s really run-down. “Anyways, what’s this news? Do you need backup? Did you find the son of a bitch?” I laughed. “When have I ever needed backup?” “Oh, you’ve needed backup plenty of times whether you called for it or not,” he said gruffly but with a light tone, so I knew he was joking. A lot of people make that mistake with him. “Fair enough, but I don’t need backup this time. I found the monster responsible for the murders, and I dealt with him.” “Dealt with him? Our line of work dealt with him?” The skepticism made its way through the phone. “Yeah, our line of work dealt with him. What else would I do, play cards with

him?” Sheesh, he was acting like it was unbelievable that I had handled it on my own. Well, he didn’t need to know that I had had help. That would just confuse things. Not everyone could work along the monsters. Hell, before tonight, I thought I was one of them. “Do you need my help with cleanup?” he asked. You could tell in his voice that he would do it if I asked, but he was really hoping for a no. “That won’t be necessary, went up like match in a haystack.” “You know you’re not very good at metaphors.” “Figure it’s not a necessity in my line of work.” “True, and you are good at what you actually need to do.” “Thank you.” We had a weird little bond between us that made banter like this easy. And I think it helped us both calm down and center ourselves a little. “So you finished everything?” “Yeah, I’ll give you the details later. Right now, I need to get home before I out.” Emotionally and physically. The echoes of my painful memories still burned in the peripheral of my mind. “Thanks for letting me know it’s over.” Before I could respond, the line went dead as he hung up. Tossing my phone on the enger seat, I ran my fingers through my hair. I needed to get home and into bed. I grabbed the keys, started the car, and headed back the way I had come. I hope Ash didn’t need a ride. My street was peaceful as I slowed down to park. No one was awake yet, not even the birds. Dew clung to everything, attempting to soak into my leather boots but failing since they were water resistant. The air smelled fresh and clean, giving me hope that I could forget what happened last night. It was good to know I had made the world that much safer even if the rest of the world would never know. Ramses ran up to me, yelling the entire time once I had the door open. I could be

agile enough to dodge a rampaging vampire, but when it came to maneuvering around my cat, it was a no-go. He seemed full of extra love this morning, which meant it was extra hard to walk. I decided my best bet to get to the kitchen without breaking my neck would be to just pick him up. That seemed to suit him just fine. My body protested at the added weight. His body rumbled against my chest as he purred with happiness, which made the little extra pain worth it. I put him on the kitchen floor when I thought I was close enough to feed him and not trip. The rest of my stuff, I put on the kitchen counter before I noticed the rose. It was a blood-red rose, the petals full and luscious looking as if it had been freshly picked. Leaning against it was a stark-white piece of paper. On the outside, there was no writing; but when I picked it up to examine it closer, I saw the writing on the inside. It was handwritten in script and read,

We need to talk. All your questions will be answered.

Ash

On the back was a phone number. It was a relief to know that he was alive, but I was done with this. Today was a new day, and I was just going to go back to my regular job, and that was that. All Ash had brought me were painful memories. Okay, that probably was out of line to blame that on him, considering he had helped me out and saved my life. I just wanted to forget this job, and even though I did have some questions for him, they weren’t important enough. Plus, he was still a vampire, and I didn’t enjoy socializing with them even if they did have a nice butt. I’ll chalk that thought up to sleep deprivation. Crumpling up the note, I tossed it in the garbage along with the rose. I didn’t

need any reminders of him left in my house. Maybe I should think of moving. That way, there would be no chance a vampire could get into my house anytime they wanted. In the back of my mind, a little voice reasoned that even though Ash could, he would never come unannounced or stay when he was unwelcome. I could contemplate everything later in the day. For now, I needed my sleep. My body ached from the previous nights. I felt every stair I had to climb. Either Tamara’s potion was wearing off, or I had just done that much more damage to myself than I was aware of. I put my weapons on my nightstand. I was still on edge even though I had seen him burn right in front of my eyes. For all I know, he could have sent someone to kill me if anything were to happen to him. He seemed evil and crazy enough for that. Plus, what was he talking about when he said it was only the beginning? Whatever, I could put that on my list of things to think about later. My bed was so welcoming I didn’t bother to take off any clothes before ing out.

CHAPTER 24

I felt refreshed as consciousness slowly came back to me. Lying on my back, I stretched out but stopped when sharp pains shot through my entire body. Oh yeah, pain. I was going to have to stop by Hocus-Pocus later today and see if I could get any more of that healing potion. It had sure done wonders for me the night before, making the difference between killing Raiden or being killed myself. The sun was coming through my window at a funny angle. That’s when I looked at the time and realized I had almost slept the day away. It was probably for the best. My body needed that time to recuperate somewhat. Slipping out of my dirty clothes from last night, I ran a quick shower. After the filth of the previous battle was erased, I threw on a pair of jeans and a plain darkblue T-shirt. I found Ramses ed out in a fading sunbeam in the living room. He looked so peaceful I didn’t have the heart to disturb him. After several minutes of rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator, I found my only options were a slightly bruised apple, a half-eaten jar of peanut butter, and a takeout box that smelled so funky it went in the trash can without even checking what the contents were. That left an apple and peanut butter. I went with the apple. I really needed to go grocery shopping. It always felt like I said that but never did anything about that. Maybe this time will be different—maybe not. I took my apple with me to the living room and the couch. Just as I was sitting down, I heard my phone beep. I’ll find it later. It was probably Ross trying to get information out of me, which I would give him in due time. For now, it was my time to relax a little. By the time I was done with my apple, the beeping had driven me crazy. I was one of those people who were nosy and needed to know who had tried to get a hold of me. Normally, I could go for a while without checking, but today was just one of those days when the beeping was very attention grabbing.

It took me about fifteen minutes of cushion-turning, pillow-tossing, turning-thehouse-upside-down fun time to locate my phone. It had fallen in my heap of clothing from last night, which I had just strewn across my bedroom floor. The screen said one missed call. I flipped my phone open, and it told me Annie had tried to call and had left a voicemail when she couldn’t reach me. I dialed the number to get to my messages and listened. “Hey, Sage, I know it’s late at night and you are probably working or something, but I was wondering if you … Yes, I’m calling Auntie Sage … Sorry, Darrel just wanted to say hi. Anyways, I was wondering—we were wondering—if you would want to come over tomorrow for dinner to celebrate you finding him. Call me back when you get this.” I smiled as I listened to her hang up the phone. I was filled with such happiness I couldn’t find the words to describe it. The thought that I had reunited them and that they were safe gave me warm, fuzzy feelings inside. I dialed her number and got her voicemail. I tried her home number and got the same thing. That was weird. She was probably just outside or playing with Darrel and didn’t get to the phone in time. Oh well, she’ll call me back when she sees I phoned her. I decided I would just surprise them and show up. She probably would have everything set for me being there just because she was that organized. I left all my weapons but Pain and Misery. Those generally came with me everywhere. I had papers that said I could carry them, but I’d probably just leave them in my car tonight. No sense in worrying Annie. Plus, I didn’t think she’d want Darrel to be around weapons. Who blamed her? Ramses had left his spot that no longer had any sunlight, which was probably the leading reason he had left. His food bowl was full, so I just called out a good-bye to him and headed out. The drive to Annie’s was uneventful, which was nice to have every now and then in my life. The air had cooled, and I drove with the windows down to let the fresh air in. It blew through my hair, playing with it. It felt nice to relax and forget what I had just gone through. Tonight I could pretend to be a normal person.

I knew when I got there, Annie would begin to fuss about my injuries just like a mom. Like having one kid wasn’t enough for her. And I would let her because there was no stopping her. The sky was turning a pretty mixture of purple and red with a streak of orangish pink as I was turning into her driveway. Wow, a beautiful sunrise and a beautiful sunset all in one day. It must be my lucky day. I got out of my car and just took everything in. The fresh air, the clicking of my engine as it cooled—everything was perfect. Taking a deep breath of the night air, I walked up the pathway to her front door. The first thing I noticed was that all the lights were off. Strange. Maybe because I hadn’t answered, she had gone out for the night. But that didn’t sound like her at all. Maybe they had had a big day and gone to bed early. I had checked the time in my car when I arrived, and it was too early for that. When the doorbell went unanswered, I knocked on the door. It swung open. The house inside was filled with darkness. I took one step in, and my whole body was covered in goose bumps. A tight knot started to form in my stomach. Something was not right here. I had been to her house enough times to know where everything was. I reached out for the light switch, but nothing happened. All the light fixtures had been smashed to pieces beyond repair. I jiggled it like everyone does even though I knew it wasn’t going to work. You always have to do it just in case it’s just a false alarm and everything was really okay. My gut said this wasn’t one of those times. I reached back for my gun only to it was safely in my car. Should I go out to the car to get it? A sound came from upstairs. It was faint, but I was sure I heard it. Deciding against going back to the car, I continued farther into the house. Someone had done quite a number on the place. It looked like a classic breaking and entering; but the closer you looked, the more you saw the damage was done just to do damage and no other reason. Please, oh please, let them be safe, I repeated this in my mind as I moved from room to room, finding them all in a mess.

The stairs loomed ahead of me, the shadows moving, taunting me in a menacing dance. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and headed back to the stairs. I took them one at a time, all senses on full alert. The sound came again, fainter but definitely from upstairs. Memories flashed into my mind, flinging me back in time. I pushed them to the side with force. I didn’t need that here and now. At the top of the stairs were more signs of a struggle. Please be safe. It had now become a mantra in my mind. Slowly I walked down the hallway, knife ready for anything. All the doors were closed, even Darrel’s. All except the last one at the end of the hallway. All except Annie’s. Her door was open a crack. No light spilled out. As silently as I could, I crept up to the door and listened. Nothing. Then there it was: a small sound, almost too muffled to hear. I took a deep breath and was once again a tiny child scared out of my mind. I didn’t need to open this door. It wasn’t my responsibility. I knew that was wrong, though. I did need to open the door. It swung open noiselessly. The curtains had been drawn. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet. All I could see were shapes of furniture—furniture that shouldn’t be in those places or at those angles. I took one step into the room and almost lost it when the carpet squished. Oh god, no, this isn’t happening. I was just having a horrible nightmare. But I knew that the coppery smell that coated the back of my throat was no dream. It was all too real. I could do this. I could do this. I reached for the lamp at my right and flooded the room with bright fluorescent light. Bile rose in my throat, but I fought it down— not now, not here. Tears burned my eyes. The room had been completely trashed just like the rest of the house. The mattress was turned on its side and had long slashes through it. The nightstand was in pieces in the corner. Cold dead eyes stared at me. He looked like a porcelain doll. Sitting against the wall, mouth slightly agape, eyes glassy, and staring at me. His arms were at his

side, limp. A thin line of red from the corner of his mouth was the only thing that marred his sweet, innocent face. Someone had torn his throat out. The arterial spray had soaked the carpet I stood on. They had torn it out and left him propped up against the wall for everyone to see. No, not everyone, just for me to see. A single strand of hair had fallen over one of his eyes. All I wanted to do was brush it out of his face. All I wanted was to see life return to those glassy eyes. A sound to the left drew my attention away. Annie was propped against the ading wall at the perfect angle to see Darrel. One hand kept moving slightly, attempting to reach out to her son. The other was held tightly to her stomach. It was the only thing keeping her entrails from spilling onto the floor. She was wearing one of her pretty white dresses, now stained a dark red. Her green eyes were puffy from crying but still held a slight spark of life. Her mouth moving wordlessly as she stared at her dead son. Dried blood caked her nose where she had been struck. The knife fell to the floor, completely forgotten. I fell to my knees beside my friend and pulled her in close to me. The smell from where a part of her intestines had ruptured was nauseating, but I wasn’t about to let go. I felt her warm blood seep into my jeans. I held her head against mine and whispered in her ear, “Shh, it’s going to be all right. It’s … it’s going to be all right.” Tears streamed down my cheeks into her hair. I couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. What do you say to someone who just watched their only child die as they themselves are fading away? Nothing—there is just nothing you can say. “He—” Annie tried, remoistened her mouth. “He what? Darrel’s okay. He’s in a happy place. You get to go be with him soon. Don’t worry.” “He … he did this f-for you,” she finished. “Who? Who did this Annie? Annie?” I asked frantically.

Her body had gone limp, her head resting on my shoulder at an awkward angle. I grabbed her shoulders and held her in front of me. “Who did this? Annie, who did this?” I started shaking her before I realized what I was doing. I don’t know how long I stayed there. Both their bodies were long cold. Numb, I stood up and walked away. I got in my car and drove. After about an hour of aimless driving, I pulled over at a payphone. Making sure there were no cameras, I dialed 9-1-1. “Hello, this is the police. What is the emergency?” a female voice said over the line. I barely heard her. “There’s been a murder.” “Miss, where are you? I need you to tell me where you are and stay put until I can get an officer to you.” I told her Annie’s address and hung up as she was asking me what my name was. With my job, I couldn’t get involved with the police. I got back in my car and sat there, staring into nothingness. I could feel a heat building in my chest. When it reached the brink, I let it out. I screamed into my steering wheel. Cursing everything and everyone I could think of. Using so much profanity it would have made a sailor blush. When I was cried out, I turned my car on and drove. I finally found my way back to my house. On automatic, I walked to my house, unlocked my door, and collapsed in the corner. I don’t know how long I sat there hugging my knees to my chest, completely covered in my friend’s blood. It could have been minutes, probably hours. My body felt numb. My mind felt numb. Somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I knew I was in shock. I made no attempt to wash any blood off me. I just sat there—alone. Even Ramses seemed to know to keep his distance.

I finally stopped reeling. I had to know what had happened to her. It couldn’t be a coincidence that they died that way. Whoever had done it had set it up for me to be the audience. Raiden’s words echoed in my mind. Only a handful of people knew about my history, and I would track them all down until I found out who had done this, and I would make them pay. Or I could ask someone who had answers for me, said a little voice in my head. I crawled over to the trash can. Grabbing it, I dumped it onto the kitchen floor and began rooting through it. My hands found what they were looking for. As I uncrumpled the white piece of paper, I reached for my phone. I dialed the number that was written neatly on the back. It rang several times before going to voicemail. That wasn’t good enough for me. I phoned back. On the fourth ring, a familiar voice answered. “Yes,” he said. “We need to talk. Tonight.” I hung up the phone and leaned back against the wall. Hugging my knees back into my chest, I sat there and waited.