I recline my seat and press my back against it, relying on the darkness and his driving buddy to distract him just enough to not notice the car that passed him less than five minutes ago. Once they pass, I lift my seat and text Roc that I’ve got movement and there’s another person. I give him a second to respond, but there’s nothing on his side.
I shift my car into drive and begin to tail Trevor until he pulls up to the place I expected him to be at.
What are the chances that his friend goes by Darius, the missing link?
They park on one side of the establishment and I circle around and find a spot less than a block away, ducked off, and out of plain sight. There’re other cars nearby, which causes me to instinctively draw my gun. It’s impossible to tell who they belong to; normies or other witches. Abandoned cars are all too common in the warehouse district… I have enough ammo on me to take out about a dozen of them if I play my cards right and have near-perfect accuracy. If they’re as strong as Woodrow, I don’t think it’ll go nearly as well. I hope Roc’s doing better than me, whatever he’s dealing with.
I sneak closer to the warehouse and search along the perimeter for a viable entrance. Along the west wall, I find a padlocked door next to a chained fence with some machinery on the other side. I’m tempted to go at it with a nearby brick, or just shoot it for speed’s sake, but that’ll be too loud.
I’m already behind, but it isn’t worth wasting the element of surprise.
I reach into the pocket of my jacket, pull out a pick, and get to work. Picking locks was one of the first things that Joel and Sailor taught me back in the day. He told me it would probably be among the most valuable things he could teach me. He wasn’t wrong.
The lock releases and I carefully unhinge it from the door and step inside, my gun leading the way.
The interior’s dimly lit, barely enough to navigate through with the light the glass ceiling provides from above.
I cautiously step, painstakingly monitoring my movements to make sure I don’t bring unnecessary attention my way. Luckily for me, Trevor and co. don’t have the same hang-ups. They’re talking. I can’t make out what they’re saying yet, but it serves as a beacon as to where I’m supposed to go.
I weave around the machinery and stick to the background until what I’m hearing comes into focus.
“Damn it. Woodrow was supposed to be here by now!” Trevor fumes as he paces to-and-fro. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea. She’s going to tell Darius, and then, ah! Fuck, man. It’s going to be over for us.” Trevor rubs the side of his gun against his head, almost as if he’s scratching an itch. “We can’t take him.”
“Calm down,” his friend says. Just because she’s late doesn’t mean she’s defected. We agreed to go dark for this. Her not answering her phone is just her being safe. If Darius or any one of his goons show, we just blast them and seal the deal.”
“There’s only two of us, Matt. One, two,” he says after pointing to himself and his partner. “This was a mistake. I knew it. And all for some stupid bracelet.”
The bracelet.
“How many vampires do you think he has at his disposal? The bastard is probably two centuries old or some shit. I will not turn into one of those things, you hear me?!”
“Trevor.” His friend grabs him and steadies him, completely stopping his pace. “Trevor, listen to me. We cross him before he crosses us, just like we planned.”
“Exactly,” a foreign voice calls. Trevor directs his gun towards the origin of the sound, while his friend Matt positions his hands in front of him. I’m guessing he’s another telekinetic. “We stick to the plan, as agreed.”
“Tara,” Trevor snarls. Both men seem to relax. “Where’s Woodrow?” The sound of boots clicking against the concrete grow louder until I’m able to match the sound with a person; Woodrow’s accomplice, if I have to make a guess.
“Dead. Hunters.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t anything else?” Trevor asks.
“Positive,” Tara responds with the upmost confidence. She nestles her elbows against her ribcage and shifts her weight onto her right side. “Would you like to know how I know, Trevor? You seem tense.”
“No bite marks, for starters…and besides the recent killings in our community, this one was done with knowledge of the ritual at hand. It was interrupted, which means it was more than Woodrow having a bit of bad luck. The pact she established with the victim was severed, meaning the requirements weren’t fulfilled.”
Even though Tara is the smallest out of the three, there seems to be a presence attached to her words, like she’s well-established in the community. A person’s size has nothing to do with their magical fortitude, but to see those two virtually cower like how they are makes me think that Tara is a lot stronger than Matt and Trevor. Maybe combined.
“And what of the victim?” Matt asks.
“What about her? In the wind, I imagine.”
Good.
“In order to make up for lost time and then some, I managed to get three of my own. Darius’ll be pleased, for sure.” She chuckles. “More suicides. No trail. And more than enough of what we need to activate the bracelet. I even added a little extra on top.” Tara pulls out an orb from her satchel, no larger than a crystal ball. It radiates in alternate flashes of pink, purple, and blue, occasionally mixing the three colors together. “Woodrow will be missed, but we have what we need. She played her part and she played it well. How can a psychic as strong as her not see her own death coming?” Tara chortles. “Trips the fuck out of me…you man enough to fill her shoes?”
Trevor nods. “Yeah. I’m plugged in, too.” He’s calmer now, but even from where I’m crouching, I can still tell that he’s ripe with fear.
“Good, because you’re all we’ve got.”
Woodrow was a powerhouse to their operation. While it’s better than her being in with Darius, losing her altogether caused them to take a hit.
From what I gathered, Woodrow was telekinetic as well as psychic. Trevor, as far as I know, is like a Woodrow lite; not as strong, but can be a substitute. He and Woodrow both deal with blood magic and his friend, Matt, is an accomplice. He isn’t psychic, but he can do something with his hands. Probably another telekinetic, but I can’t be sure.
Trevor mentioned that he was plugged in, which means he probably draws from the same source that Woodrow draws from. Matt, doesn’t seem to have the same prowess because Tara didn’t offer to use them both. Tara opted out, herself, as well, making her a wild card, but still a notable threat due to how the others respect her. Three witches with different abilities. That’s what I’m up against…and Roc’s in vampire country right about now if he’s at Darius’s true meeting spot. Shit. Looks like we both have our hands full.
“Fuck, man,” Trevor growls. “What the fuck are we even doing? We’re in over our heads.”
“The bracelet does have a particular set of powers; ones that could be rather destructive in the hands of a vampire…but the cost of us using it as mortals is too high, hence Woodrow’s decision. Does that scare you, Trevor? You do know that the option to actually go through with the arrangement still exists…but do know that means going against us and forever being under the thumb of Darius. Which is the exact thing we’re trying to avoid,” Tara says. “The longer the relationship, the more chances he has to turn, or kill you. I say, we do what we plan to do and kill him after. That’s the only way the bracelet’ll be fully in our control, as a unit. The three of us…well, four once the plan works. It will be ours for safekeeping.”
Four? I only see three, and Darius isn’t part of their endgame. There’s someone I’m not accounting for.
“Don’t worry, Tara, he’s in,” Matt answers for his friend. “We have everything we need, we just need to deliver everything to Darius and perform the link. It’s the only way to make sure he doesn’t cross us before we cross him.”
“Everyone remembers their part of the spell?”
“Yeah,” Matt answ
ers. “And I have the tome as well.”
“Why do—never mind, it’ll come in handy. We need it now that we’re down one.”
“Told you it was a good idea not to burn it.” Matt smirks as he reveals an ancient grimoire that was hidden inside the fold of his jacket.
“Don’t be an idiot.” Tara’s right hand ignites with a ghastly flame that begins to swirl in her palm. “We’ll burn it when the time comes. It’s too powerful.”
“We need it…and I doubt you have enough juice to do it, anyway. Besides, Vernon’ll appreciate it once we bring him back. The old bastard can even help us with the rest of it and show us what other goodies we’re missing out on,” Matt fires back. “I’ve been studying it. More than just the spell for the bracelet. A lot more. There’s a lot more we can do with its power. I just need someone to help me put together the missing pieces. Some of the text—it’s like—”
“Trevor, got anything to say about this? Talk your friend back down to earth, yeah?” Tara asks, her gaze still focused on Matt and the book. “He’s getting too far ahead of himself.”
Trevor says nothing. With the loss of Woodrow, he’s shaken up. With her, their odds most have been worth the risk. Not so much now.
“Am I? He’s the one who told me to do it. You have no idea what this book is capable of manifesting,” Matt fires back.
With them being down a member, their dynamic’s falling apart.
“Fine.” Tara powers down. “We’ll discuss this later. After we deal with tonight.” Tara glances at the watch on her arm and I do the same from behind cover. “It’s almost time. We don’t want to keep Darius waiting.”
“Waiting?” A set of footsteps slowly echoes throughout the warehouse, causing my blood to run cold.
No way…
“What is there to wait for? I’m already here.”
Chapter 11: Burning Betrayal
Darius inches closer to the trio of witches, an arrogant smirk lining his lips. The black, draping coat he wears, flowing behind him like a cape. “Oh, am I interrupting something? Don’t stop now. It was just getting good.” He chuckles. The vampire wipes away a trail of blood from his lips with thumb and pointer finger and then licks up the remains. He’s a little over six feet tall, and boasts a lean, muscular build. He looks to be in his early thirties, but in all actuality, he’s probably at least a hundred more. The way he moves reminds me of nobility; calm, concise, confident. His dress code reflects that as well. A confident, modern gentleman with more than a few tricks up his sleeve. “Sorry I’m late. I thought we were meeting elsewhere, so you can’t blame me for being a few minutes behind. I figured I was already late, so I even stopped for a snack.”
Damn it…don’t tell me. Roc? No, no way. He’s too good for that. There’s a chance he made it, but there’s also a chance he was Darius’s latest meal. Knowing how my luck has been these past couple of weeks, I don’t want to think about it. I can’t. Not right now. If Roc’s dead, I know he went down swinging…the only problem with that is that Darius looks unscathed, which means he’s strong.
“How did you find us?” Tara’s hand ignites with her flames, and she directs it at Darius. She slides her feet slowly across the concrete floor, backing away as she tucks away the orb for the ritual into her satchel.
“Don’t be afraid now. Go on. Tell her.” Darius smiles, not intimidated in the least by the flame she commands. Tara readies another ball of fire and points it at Trevor and Matt, but Trevor seems to be scared shitless either way; afraid to do anything other than be a puppet in the bigger scheme of things, leaving only one.
With my gun ready, I scoot a little closer to the gap in the crates I’m looking between to get a better view.
“Matt, what did you do?” Tara asks, her voice shaky, but resolute. She’s ready to fight. All of them, if it means getting out alive.
“What I had to.”
“Absolute power corrupts, absolutely,” Darius chimes in.
“You didn’t have to do anything. You wanted to do this. Siding with a vampire?”
“The old rules are dead. Bringing back Vernon is irrelevant. Don’t act like you weren’t going to betray us eventually. I know how you think, T. You’re a menace. Isn’t that right, Trevor? There’s room for you in all of this, you know? We link with Darius; just the two of us, after we waste this bitch. We walk out, free from harm, and the ritual in place.”
“If you think you can pair up with them and walk out of this, you’re just as delusional as your friend. He’s using you, Trevor.” Tara tenses up and Matt raises his arms in front of him. “They want to keep the circle small…keep the power on a leash. You’re just a pawn. They just need someone for the spell.”
“Darius knows you were going to betray him, but doing this can make things right. I told him to spare you as long as you work with us. What do ya say, pal? Ride or die? I gave you an out, you just have to be smart enough to take it.”
Trevor’s still speechless, petrified by the sudden turn of events, but the decision’s been made. He’s the bargaining chip, it seems, so the situation is that much more surreal. He hates vampires, from what I gathered. Fears them, too. Terrified is a more accurate term. Working directly for one wasn’t something he had in the cards, but if he wants to live, that may be his only option.
“As interesting as it is to admire the honor system among witches, I do feel the need to remind you that there is work to be done. Relinquish the orb from your possession, and we’ll let you live.”
“Tch. Doubtful.” Tara’s flames grow brighter, illuminating the floor amidst their faceoff. “I probably wouldn’t even make it out the door.”
“Come on, Tara. This is your best option. Woodrow’s dead. I’m throwing you a bone, here. Hand it over.”
The flames hovering over the hand closest to Tara’s satchel fizzes out and she reaches into her bag. She puts some distance between herself and Darius, aligning herself closer to Matt, but he keeps a respectable space. The maneuver was more about getting a better view of the vamp now that she has one hand at her disposal and not two. From the bag, she pulls out the orb. Its gloomy array of purple, pink, and blues give off a haunting glow that lights the ground.
“Good job. Now hand it over to Trevor.” Trevor doesn’t move, but I don’t think the ball was in his court to begin with.
“Pass.” Tara drops the orb to the floor but Matt juts out his hand to save it with his telekinetic powers. The orb stops in its descent, but it serves its purpose; a distraction. Matt retracts the orb towards himself, but is instantly blasted with a stream of fire. The concussive force pins him to the ground, but he manages to stay alive; a force field of his will stopping the barrage of flames. Tara whips her neck towards Darius and fires off another blast from her opposite hand. It hits Darius flush, and he recoils backwards onto the floor. Tara redirects her hand towards Matt and adds it to the equation, amplifying the force of the flames. “You never should have crossed me, Matt. Now you’re gonna burn.”
There’s a common saying: the enemy of my enemy, is my friend. I’m not too sure that it’s applicable to my situation. I can help, but all I have going for me in a battle royale between two telekinetics, a pyrokinetic, and dusted vampire is the element of surprise.
“I’m going to have fun charring your insides,” Tara grunts and expends more of her energy. From where I’m hiding, I can feel the heat radiating off of his barrier. I move towards the edge of my cover, just to catch a glimpse at a different angle, and I see Matt struggling to defend himself. He’s on the floor, pinned, one hand embracing the orb, while the other is in front of him, manifesting his invisible barrier. He’s holding his own, but it looks like it’s a losing battle. “And once I’m done, I’m gonna—”
Tara’s body jerks across the room from a sudden force. Trevor. He finally got the balls to make a choice, although it was hardly the right one.
“Good job, buddy, now let’s finish the job,” Matt rasps. With Matt free from Tara’s flames, he’
s able to tap into his own power to launch an offensive strike. I shift behind my cover, back to my previous viewing point. Trevor still looks mortified, his hand still frozen in time from when he pushed Tara with his telekinetic abilities.
“No. Leave her to me.” Darius reenters the fray, his face charred and clothing seared. Tara really got him good. His strut is jarred; unsteady, but his vampire regeneration seems to be helping him get through the bulk of his predicament.
Darius approaches Tara just as she shakes off being stunned. It looks like she’s trying to move, but she can barely manage to lift her head from the wall she was slung into—and she’s bleeding profusely from the back of her head. Damn.
Matt grunts at Darius’s proposal and uses his power to bash the back of her skull against the wall her slumped body rests against. The dull thud of bone meeting brick registers in my ear and I cringe. He does it again out of spite.
It’s painful to watch.
“Fine. She’s all yours.”
Darius picks her up by the throat and punches her in the gut. Tara groans in pain, but he does it again with no remorse. “What a sight to see, the witch who chose to betray me, now at my mercy. I can feel your life slipping between my grasp. Beg me to make this quick so you can die with what little decency you have left.”
“N…ev—”
Darius squeezes harder and she croaks. “Well, you’re no fun at all…restrain her.”
“Already am,” Matt testifies. “Do what you’re going to do. She’s barely hanging on.” The way he says it makes it almost seem like he actually feels sorry for her.
Darius slowly retracts the arm he’s holding her with to his chest, drawing her near. He’s going to bite her.
“Rah!”
Or maybe not.
Using the last of her strength, Tara pushes through Matt’s psychic hold and manages to grab onto Darius’s forearm, and with that, an intense burst of fire quickly consumes him.
Blaze Monroe and the Shattered Heart: A Supernatural Thriller (The Hunter Who Lost His Way Book 2) Page 7