by Resca Rojas
The men nodded and one of them took out a master keycard from his pocket. “Here, you will need to insert it inside the keypad before pressing the Penthouse button in order to gain access. We will stay here and guard the lobby.” He handed the card to Nero.
“Let’s go.” Klayton said.
They entered the elevator. Nero inserted the plastic key inside the keyhole and then punched the fifteenth floor.
They looked at each other. Klayton said, “Dude, you look like shit.”
“Jerk.”
“Bitch.”
“You know what’s funny?” Nero asked.
“What?”
“I’ve been shot so many times, yet never in the crotch.”
“You’re a Ken doll huh? No junk down there or something.” He laughed as they passed the tenth floor. “Aw, man. You know, Dante got shot in the nipple one time. It healed, but it never went back to normal, it’s messed up but always made me laugh.”
“Wait, is that why he refused to take off his shirt when we were all living in the yacht?” They passed the thirteenth floor.
“Yeah, rest in peace brother.” Klayton looked up at the roof, as if he was looking up at his brother who was in Heaven.
The elevator’s door slid open, and a voice operator said, “Fifteenth floor.”
“That’s us.” Klayton said. They stepped outside and noticed that at the front of the room suite that they were headed to, there was a man standing in their way, twenty feet from them. “Who is that?”
“Has to be Alistair.”
“Jarchael’s brother?”
“Yeah.”
“God damn it. How are we going to kill him?” Nero had prepared for him, but had wished that he was not here.
Klayton took off his shirt. “I’ll tire him out, you find a way to get to Nicholas. Then all three of us will overpower him.”
“No. I want Nero.” Alistair growled at them after hearing perfectly clear what their plan was. “He ended my brother. He answers to me.”
Without hesitating, Nero unloaded a whole clip on Alistair; nothing happened. He stood where he had been. “Those won’t work on me. I’ve been upgraded. Courtesy of Ezekiel.”
“Alright. First fight it is!” Nero said as he dropped his gun. “Let’s go!” He sprinted towards Alistair, but a strong shadow passed him and jumped onto Alistair. It was Klayton in his wolf form.
Nero had never seen him this fast before. He saw that Klayton did not want to waste any time as he tackled him to the floor. He swung his claws and scratched Alistair’s face and chest.
Irritated, he grabbed Klayton’s paw and then bit his wrist with his fangs. Alistair then wrapped his fingers around Klayton’s neck, and pulled him closer, then he gave him a head-butt. He followed his attack by punching Klayton on his nose and then pushed him off to the side.
Nero shot the hybrid on his back as he was about to hurt Klayton.
As the bullets kept piercing his skin he turned around and glared at Nero. The impact of the bullets had zero effect on him. He was not slowing down or being injured.
Alistair leaned against the wall as he began to transform into his werewolf form. He had not trained his body like Klayton had, and he was in pain as his bones began to stretch out. His fingers were hurting as his nails were growing out of his skin.
His shape was more savage and animalistic. His hair covered all of his body, and it was more thick and rugged compared to Klayton’s. His teeth were sharper and crooked like a shark’s. As he finished his transformation he looked directly at Nero. With his eyes not moving from his target.
Well, shit. Nero said to himself.
He began to charged on all four legs towards Nero, who had just finished reloading his gun. He began to shoot at the wolf without causing any damage. Alistair growled and swung his claw at Nero, who stopped the attack by shielding himself with the gun.
Irritated, the wolf bit the rifle in the middle, and then broke it in half. Nero was pushed back with the impact, but then he began to swing and hit Alistair with the piece of the gun that he was still holding on.
Alistair was pissed off that a vampire like Nero was able to match up to him, thus, he attacked faster, with more strength added to each hit. Nero dropped the broken piece of the gun onto the floor. He tried to keep his elbows up for as long as he could, but he was growing weaker. Alistair kept scratching and hitting him everywhere, forcing him to get fatigued and lower his guard.
The pain was becoming too much to bare. Nero gave up as Alistair returned to his human form and grabbed him by his shoulders. He then continued to hit the unconscious Nero.
As Alistair grew his index finger’s nail long enough to pierce Nero in the heart, Klayton called him.
“Hey, Asslistair!”
He turned to look at Klayton. He knew that he was trying to distract him from killing Nero. “Wait your return, Kordovah. You will pay too.”
“Pay for what? Killing your brother? Did you know that he cried?”
Alistair stared at him.
“Yeah, seconds before we killed him, he whimpered like a bitch. He is better off dead.”
Alistair let go of Nero and stood up. He turned back into his werewolf form and charged at Klayton.
Klayton charged at him as Amber appeared next to Nero with Ethan. She placed her index and middle fingers on his forehead and healed him. Blood dripped down from her nostrils and she moaned. Ethan grabbed her as she fainted.
Ethan was now on the floor with Amber on her lap. He kicked Nero on his leg. “Hey, wake up. Let’s go.”
Nero opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “Shit, what happened?”
“You got your ass kicked, but Amber saved you. She used too much power and fainted. She is still a new magic user. I’m staying here with her. Go help Klay. Here.” He handed him the curved dagger. “Use this. Instant kill.”
Nero stood up and grabbed the dagger. “Where did you get this?”
“Just use it. I’ll explain later. It’s a one hit kill. Go!”
Nero unsheathed the dagger and sprinted towards Alistair who was fighting with Klayton. He stopped a few feet from them.
Klayton cut Alistair on the chest, then Nero punched the hybrid’s spine. Alistair turned around to kill Nero, but Klayton jumped on him and bit the side of his neck. He pressed his teeth as hard as he could, forcing blood out of the Hybrid’s thick skin.
Nero then saw an opening and charged with the blade and stabbed the beast on his heart. Alistair stopped, instantly turning into his human form. Klayton let go and also shifted back to his human shape.
Alistair’s eyes began to bleed, and his veins were visible, with an black ink-like color running thru them. His skin began to decay, and every single wound that he had ever healed from was beginning to reappear.
He spat out black ink. He felt to his knees and threw up blood.
The hybrid looked at both of them, almost as if he was crying for help. Nero and Klayton stepped back as he dropped dead in front of them.
Klayton looked at Nero. “What the hell is that blade?”
“I don’t know. But, I want one.”
37
Kayla was in the living room sitting on a sofa next to Annabelle while they watched the kids play.
“What is it like, to be a mother?” Kayla was excited to be one.
“It is the most rewarding feeling that I have ever experienced. It is something that I struggle to put into words.”
“Is it,” she hesitated for a moment, “difficult?”
“It is not easy or hard. You just put your needs to the side automatically, and trust me, you will develop an instinct to know exactly what to do, so stop worrying.”
She smiled and then looked outside at the yard where Klayton and Nicholas were sitting down on and talking.
Klayton was drinking an energy drink, while Nicholas drank a can of beer.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I still have to think about it. It goes against what we were
raised to believe. How could I lead an organization that their main purpose is to kill the paranormal, if I become one myself?”
“It’s fine.” Klayton shrugged it off as he finished his energy drink.
“So, what is the plan?”
“I’m going to lay low. Take care of Kayla and the baby until she gives birth. I’m going to have my warlocks shield her and the baby from the Celestials. When I have peace with leaving her behind, I am going after them. I guess you could say between ten months to a year from now.”
“Is that why you are here? Just to tell me that?”
“I also came to ask you for a favor.”
Nicholas looked at him. “Which is what?”
“There is still another player in the chess board that we have to take out.”
“Alaina.”
“She betrayed Kayla, and killed her brother Markham. She is on the loose and dangerous. I want to put a bounty on her head. Five hundred thousand alive, two-fifty dead.”
“That’s great. How am I supposed to reach you when it’s done? Since you are going into hiding, I’m assuming.”
Klayton smiled. “As a gesture of good faith, I want Nero to stay behind with you. He can’t stand still. He needs to be out there. He is a great soldier to have for dangerous missions.”
“Okay. The people that I lead now looked the other way for a lot of Zeke’s shady dealings. Nero shouldn’t be an issue with them.”
●●●
Klayton and Kayla had left Nicholas’ home. He was driving his Hummer while holding the hand of the woman whom he loved and that was going to give birth to his unborn child. “Hey, are you okay? I can’t read your heartbeat.”
“Yeah. Just, talking to Annabelle about motherhood put a lot of things into perspective for me. I want to give our baby nothing but the best.”
“The baby has you. It will get the best out of everything.” He kept his eyes on the road but smiled for her.
He entered the parking lot of a courthouse. “Need to get some documents for the safe house?”
“No. I need to marry you.”
38
Klayton had taken Kayla to Big Bear in California for their honeymoon. He was in the room, standing in front of a window looking out at the forest. He turned around to check on Kayla
A blanket was covering her naked body. He saw that her leg was sticking out of the edge of the bed, so he walked to her and lifted it back on to the mattress.
Klayton gently kissed her forehead and then lightly placed his lips on the little bump on her stomach and kissed his unborn baby through the blanket.
After making sure that she was okay, he stepped outside of the room and called Nero. When he answered, he asked, “Hey, how is everything?”
“Good. Can’t complain. They have a crazy amount of books on the paranormal. Some things that I never heard of. I actually just came back from a hunting trip with them. I’m enjoying myself, making friends.”
“How many friends have you slept with?”
“That’s not important.”
“Right. Right. Any lead on Alaina?”
“No. I’m turning over every stone until I find her.”
“What about the dagger? Any info on that?”
“Those are going to be a problem for us. Everyone keeps talking about it. How they finally have a weapon that can kill anything. I don’t know how, and I don’t like it. I’ll snoop around, see how we many they have and if we can even destroy it.”
“Okay. I’ll call you later.”
“No. Dude, spend time with your wife. If I find anything worth calling you about, then I will. You got to realize that when we get back and start the war, you won’t have any downtime like this.”
Klayton agreed. “Thanks, dude.”
“Take care.”
Klayton returned to the room and laid down on the bed. Kayla was up and they were both laying on their sides, facing each other. “Where did you go?”
“Called Nero to see how things are going with the Huntsmen.”
“And?”
“He is bonding with them. Reading their books and journals. No solid lead on Alaina or the dagger. I was going to tell you in the morning. I stepped out because I did not want to wake you up.”
She loved hearing that. She then ran her hand under the blanket and grabbed it. “Are you up?” She moved closer to him.
He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her. She climbed on top of him and then leaned down and kissed him.
As he began to love her body and then tenderly caressing her, he began to think of how he had never felt this happy. His heart was beating rapidly as he remembered that they had the ability to live forever. As long as he was vigilant and protected her and their child, he was going to be the happiest man in the world forever.
Just have to win the war first.
39
Nicholas was having dinner with Annabelle. “I’m surprised that you were able to convince everyone about your alliance with Kordovah. Since they killed a lot of your men and women.”
“We killed his brother, and many more vampires and werewolves compared to them. I would like to think that we are even now.”
“For how long do you plan on having this alliance with them?”
“For as long as I need to. I knew that they were going to kill Ezekiel. There was no point in me siding with the losing team. I did what was best for our family.”
“Not the Hunting Party?”
“You and the babies first. Everyone else is second to me.”
“What will we do after we kill the Celestials?”
Nicholas thought about it for a moment. He still had some doubts, but a part of him told him that it was the right thing to do. “After that, we kill Kordovah and his team.”
“Not that I don’t believe that we can do it, but they are a powerful team, babe. A King Lycan, a Vampire Queen, an Elite, three magic users, and one vampire. Is it possible?”
“We have the daggers of David, and I already have people looking for other similar weapons around the world. I made sure that Nero will not aware of that plan yet. But if he keeps snooping around like he has been doing then he may have an accident during one of our hunting missions.”
Annabelle was overcome with pride. Her husband has adapted and gotten comfortable in his new position as an authority figure, and he spoke with confidence and conviction. For years she had ached for a better life for them. She hated that her husband had not been in charged of the organization as she believed that he was a better fit than Ezekiel.
Now with him dead, she became royalty with Nicholas. Annabelle was brought into this world of monsters versus men when Nicholas had saved her when a vampire had kidnapped her.
She felt safe with him as he had promised her that he was going to protect her from any harm for as long as he lived. Annabelle hoped that no part of her husband was already turning into Ezekiel.
He was leading men and woman into an underworld war, and if they made it through it all, she had a feeling that they were not going to come back the same.
40
Fay woke up from the bed in which he was resting. His body had spent the last seven months hibernating so as to heal his wounds and recharge the magic that was flowing inside of him.
He sat up from the bed and removed the bandages from his arms and palm where the magic had burned him after he had used more than his body could handle.
He scratched his chin and felt that he now had a thick beard. His ears tickled and when he touched his head he realized that his hair had grown to his ears.
There was a knock on his door and then it opened. Antonio entered, ‘I sensed that you had woken up.”
“How long has it been?”
“About seven months.”
Fay was not surprised. He felt it in his body that time had passed. “Did we win? Is Dante okay?”
“Dante died before we got there.” He paused to give him a moment to react, but then he noticed that Fay was calmed.
>
“I suspected it before the explosion. I could not sense his energy. But I didn’t want to believe it. I had hoped that maybe I was already too weakened to feel him, and maybe that was why I could not pick up his energy.”
“Nero and Klay killed the guy who tortured and murdered Dante.”
Fay’s stomach turned into a knot and he felt nauseous. He had accepted that Dante had died, but he was saddened to know that he was tortured before he was killed. ”What about the rest?”
“Let’s get you some fresh air.”
They walked outside. Antonio sat on a rocking chair and Fay stood close by as he looked around his surroundings. They were in the country. Where are we?”
“Ontario, California. This farm was abandoned. I had seen it before one time. Figured it was best to bring you here while you healed.”
“Where are Klay and Kayla?”
“I don’t know. We keep in touch every two weeks ever since they got married.”
“Why every two weeks?”
“We need to be careful as we prepare to make our next move.”
Fay put the palm of his hands on his face. “Klayton married the Queen, who in some way was responsible for his mom’s death.”
“Well, he did make a valid point when we told him that. She turned the vampire, but she did not sent him out to kill Layla. The only thing that she could be blame for is turning Garrett into a vampire.”
“Anything else that I should know about?” Fay asked.
“Yes. We are also in an alliance with the people who tortured Dante, and blew up our car that sent you into a comatose.”
Fay scratched his beard again. He looked up at the stars. He always did when he felt stressed out. The stars reminded him that he was just one person, in an insignificant world, and should not be as anxious out as he felt. “Let’s go see them.”
“In a week. I think that we should head back to Oakhaven first and meet up the Amber and Ethan.”
“Okay,”
41
The outside of an abandoned asylum looked as if it was rotting to the ground, but with a few spells, the inside of it was luxurious. It was warded against humans and warlocks who may try to gain access to it.