by Rain Oxford
“So he knew the person,” Henry surmised.
“Or the demon possessed someone he knew. We were warned that they can do that now that they’re here. But why would a demon attack a random human? I can see them taking out entire cities at once, but not like this.” I looked up at him when I realized what this meant. We had heard two explosions.
We left the room and checked one of the other two doors in the weapon’s room. It revealed a practice room, judging by the mats on the floor, weapons on a rack by the door, lockers on the east wall, and shooting range along the north wall.
There were also ten humans on the ground, most of them with burn marks on their clothes. I took a step into the room to check the bodies, but Henry grabbed my arm. “They’re dead. There’s not a heartbeat in the room.” He pointed to the third room. “I hear something in there, though.”
I shut the door to the room full of dead bodies and Henry opened the last door. Even with the lights out, I recognized the room from the surveillance videos. Every inch of the walls were lined with cages. A row also took up the middle of the room. In each cage was a vampire.
Movies depicted vampires in every light, from humans with funky teeth to bat-creatures that wore flesh masks. The vampires in these cages, however, were just victims. They looked so malnourished, mistreated, and terrified. Some of them were very young, but most were adults. Of course, their actual ages were indeterminable.
Without moving from the doorway, I scanned the room with my penlight. I couldn’t make out the exact number, but it was bright enough to make the vampires, at least the ones still conscious, shield their eyes.
Henry turned to me and waited for me to give him a nod before he reached for the lock of the nearest cage. “No!” the terrified little boy shouted. Other vampires also warned him not to touch the cage.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Henry said.
The boy swallowed. His eyes were sunken and his skin had an oily, grayish quality. “The cages are electrified. If a certain number of us touch the bars in a set period of hours, the lights come on and we die,” he said, pointing to the ceiling. It looked like solar panels on the ceiling, but when I aimed my light up, I saw there were wires in the glass panels.
“Ultraviolet?” I asked.
“Something,” another vampire said. “They discovered something in our blood that is affected by a special light. It burns us faster than sunlight, but the humans are fine.”
“Maybe I can shoot them out. Or… there should be a power box down here.”
“I already got it,” a woman said with a thick Russian accent, entering through the door behind me.
Henry immediately growled and pushed me back so he could get between me and the stranger. My instincts warned me of her power, but not that we were in danger. “She’s one of them,” Henry said.
I nodded, already having figured it out. She didn’t look like a demon. She had short, strawberry blond hair and wore a steam-punk corset with gold chains, a very short black leather skirt that was covered in what looked like thin chainmail, and black leather boots.
The woman just rolled her eyes. “I thought I was going to have to do everything myself. The power is out, but we only have a few minutes to get them out before the backup power starts up.” She reached for the boy’s cage and ripped the door open before he could protest.
Realizing that she was right, several of the stronger vampires broke out of their cages. Henry and I got to work helping those who were too weak or unconscious. None of the cages were hard to break into, since no one was willing to damn the lot of them by trying to break out. The young boy who had stopped Henry from freeing him, who I learned was named Cesar, followed me around and tried to help despite being so weak he could barely stand.
A couple of the vampires found some blankets, but what they all needed was blood. “Did they ever feed you?” I asked, trying to rouse an older vampire.
Since converted vampires stopped aging after they were turned, and those who were born vampires aged very slowly, I knew this unconscious vampire had been a middle aged human when she was turned. Cesar could have been a thousand years old or ten.
“Only when they were testing poisons and drugs,” Cesar said. “She’s dead.”
“She has a pulse.”
He laid his head on her chest to hear her heart. “We call that a dry beat. The heart doesn’t know she’s dead yet. Her life is gone.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re a wizard, right? Aren’t you supposed to be experts in souls and life forces?”
Actually, I was supposed to learn about that in my fifth semester, but I decided not to tell him that. Fortunately, he wasn’t expecting an answer.
“When we starve to death, they drain our blood and use it in their experiments.”
“Are you all from Stephen’s coven?”
“No. Some of us are rogues. Four of the vampires had human spouses, which the hunters used to track the vampires down.”
“Oh, shit,” Henry said suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching for my gun.
Half the vampires ducked, probably out of reflex. Henry, however, was checking his phone. “No service,” he said. “I need to check on Scott.”
“Now? We’re kind of in the middle of something.”
“My cub comes first, always. You have your instincts to warn you of danger, but my instincts are telling me Scott needs me.” He walked out without another word and I sighed. I couldn’t really blame him, though.
“Keep trying to get her to wake up,” I said, standing.
Cesar frowned. “She’s gone.”
“Don’t give up on her. Never give up on people.” Still frowning, he started trying to wake the woman, albeit a little less gently than I had. Since everyone else was being taken care of, I found the demon, who just rolled her eyes again when I approached. “Why are you helping these people?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Well, if I had left it up to you, they would have rotted in here while you and your kitty were outside hiding in the trees. I guess this is your first time dealing with hunters, because you have to move a lot faster than that or they will multiply like rats. I have been culling this group for months just to keep them from taking out the whole coven.”
“They’re not rats; they’re people. How many humans have you killed?”
She sneered. “Less than the number of vampires they have killed. Are you saying human life is greater than a vampire’s?” A couple of vampires were listening in. “Your soul is not clean, either. How many paranormals have you killed? Or were they human?”
Despite having powers that he stole by killing paranormals with a magic amulet, Gale was human. John had killed numerous humans and paranormals. What right did I have to tell her killing murderers was wrong? In the human world, arresting someone was always the answer. When paranormals were involved, everything was more complicated.
“So why does this matter to the shadow man?” I asked. Since most of Krechea’s followers apparently didn’t know his name and those who did refused to say it, I didn’t bother. Surprisingly, her eyes narrowed with anger.
“I am not doing this under his orders. I have never followed the Shadow Master. I serve the true master.”
That was unexpected. Langril was once the most powerful wizard of Dothra with a whole collection of followers. Dothra was such a desolate and violent place that not even the natives wanted to be there. Thus, Langril taught his followers to “ghost” to Earth and convince human wizards to make deals with them. Once a wizard made a deal with them, they could live on Earth and were called soul guards. They were free once they completed their end of the deal, but no matter what the deal was for, the wizard’s soul would go to Dothra when they died.
Krechea tried to kill Langril’s daughter, Heather, who was half human and had no idea of her darker roots. To protect her, Langril gave up his followers and used his key to stay here with her. Krechea took over Dothra an
d killed all of Langril’s followers who wouldn’t change their allegiance. Since the Dothra wizards were able to appear anywhere through shadows, just like the key allowed me to do, Krechea’s followers were called shadow walkers.
“You’re a soul guard then?”
“Yes. I am Zinaida, and my human died long before the Shadow Master plagued Dothra. He has no power over me. Or at least he didn’t. Now that he is free, we are all dead.”
I opened my mouth to tell her it was Langril who let him escape in the first place, when my instincts stopped me cold. Then a dull hum started from somewhere in the compound.
“The power is kicking back on. We need to get them upstairs now,” Zinaida said. The vampires who could stand helped those who couldn’t and they all headed for the door.
“It’s daylight.”
“This place is designed to prevent vampires from escaping. They are safer out there than down here.” She took the unconscious vampire from Cesar and carried her out. Getting to the shack was slow, but overall fairly easy. Getting everyone up the ladder was not.
We got all but three vampires into the shack when the rows of lights flickered on. Instead of the standard white or yellow, these were like blue halogen. Two of the remaining vampires were unconscious and one couldn’t stand, so there was no way we could get them up before the light spilled over us.
I let my instincts take over my magic and focused on the symbol of my door, which was also branded into my hand. Although it was invisible, I could feel the ache of it in my palm often. As the image blocked out all other sensations, it began to sting my skin.
I grabbed the wrists of the two unconscious vampires in one hand and the arm of the last with my other just as darkness closed around me. The instant the final row of lights flashed on, the shadow engulfed the vampires. The vampires didn’t scream and I didn’t feel heat.
Instead of focusing on anyone or the tower itself, I pulled back. Acid-light or not, the shadow pass was filled with monsters, and there was no way I could protect the three vampires when I couldn’t even see the threat. Besides, I had a pretty good theory on what those horrible creatures were, and death by cremation was a better fate.
Then I felt a cold, heavy force and heard glass shattering. The shadows dispersed, but the lights were also out. Zinaida and I got the remaining vampires upstairs, where everyone was huddled around, avoiding the sunlit spots. When I turned to Zinaida to thank her for her help, she was staring at me with shock.
“What?”
“You have the same magic as the master.”
“I thought all Dothra wizards could do that.”
“Only the shadow walkers and the true master’s followers, and we can’t control the darkness like that; we can only use it to travel between places. Not even the Shadow Master can control it.”
I figured she must not have known about the tower. Since the tower on Dothra’s world was built in the middle of a major city, that was surprising. “I need to go see that Stephen’s coven is okay. Are you able to get these people home?”
She frowned. “No. I am not a humanitarian. I helped out more than I needed to because Stephen was nice to my human. As far as I am concerned, I have done enough to help the vampires.”
I pulled my cellphone out of its holster and called Maseré, since it was still too early to call Stephen. The frustrated alpha just sighed when he picked up. “So, I have a group of vampires here who need food and help getting home.”
“And the hunters?”
“Dead.” Silence. “I didn’t kill them. We had inside help. How’s it going at the coven?”
“I have rounded up all of the Canada pack members, but so far it is only Veronica to blame. I’ve had a chat with the alpha of the week, whose son apparently went missing a couple of weeks ago. Canada suspects vampires are to blame, particularly Stephen because the alpha’s son was in Stephen’s territory. Nevertheless, they swear they had no idea what Veronica was doing.”
“So it’s Veronica’s brother who’s missing?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think they even know who the guy’s father is.”
I could hear the disapproval in the alpha’s voice. “Alright, well, can you arrange for a lot of blood to be brought over?”
“Just give me the address.”
“Um… okay. I’ll send a guide.” As if he knew exactly what my plan was, Rocky appeared right in front of me. Several of the vampires shrieked.
“Who are you sending?”
“You’ll know him when you see him.”
* * *
After sending Rocky to bring back Maseré, I looked for Henry. Since Henry wasn’t at the shack, I returned to the truck, only to find that he and his pickup were gone. I called him and it went to voicemail, so I called him again. “Scott went missing last night,” he said when he finally picked up.
“So you decided to drive for hundreds of miles instead of asking me to use the shadow pass?”
“You said you haven’t figured out how to use it yet. Also, I didn’t think about it.”
I sighed. “I’ll call you when I find him.” I hung up. Next, I focused on Alpha Flagstone’s mind, knowing full well I was probably going to get punched.
I barely sensed his mind before the air grew cold, shadows darkened in the shade of the trees, and Flagstone appeared, too far out of reach to hit me. He was, however, glaring. “What have I told you about trying to mess with my mind?”
“I know it’s taboo, but I don’t know how else to get ahold of anyone with a key. Henry’s son is missing and I need to find him.” Since the shifter was Hunt’s familiar, he was able to use the powerful wizard’s magic and the shadow pass.
He showed a frustrating lack of concern. “Missing? Is that all?”
“Scott is only five.” The shifter opened his mouth to interrupt. “And his jaguar form includes saber fangs and wings.”
His expression finally changed. “Raduma,” he said, more to himself than me.
I nodded. “I thought you knew what Henry was.”
“I knew from the first moment I saw him. I just didn’t think his child would develop those traits. I thought Henry didn’t have wings.”
“He doesn’t, but I’ve seen Scott with them when he was in danger.”
“Why didn’t you use the shadow pass to find him?”
“I haven’t been able to get anywhere but the tower.”
Without wasting any more time, he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the shadows. “Picture the child,” he said. The shadows swarmed us, blocking all light, and the air changed. The gravity was heavier, the air was stale, and it was pitch black.
I visualized Scott in my mind. Not knowing which form he was in, I pictured him in his person form. I didn’t even have a guess at how long we were in the shadow pass. Hands reached for me, but I knew to keep my mouth shut. My instincts warned me that I was surrounded.
Finally, the light returned and the gravity let up. We were in an alley. The first thing I saw when I looked out on the street was the animal control truck. “Shit.” There were three men in uniform with tranquilizer guns and a crowd of people gathered in front of a bakery. A dozen plans formed in my head in the first few seconds, before I disregarded all of them and strolled right out onto the street.
Flagstone tried to stop me, but I was already acting. I let my magic overpower the minds of all the people in the crowd and made them sleep. When I first learned to control minds, it required pushing thoughts, images, and my mood into their mind. To make them sleep, I would have to recall the feeling of sleep from my own mind. The more I used my power, however, the easier it became. This time, my magic pulled it from them. They all dropped to the ground without resistance. Only then did I realize I was overreacting.
Still, I was already inside before Flagstone could reprimand me. “What the hell were you thinking?! That’s the kind of thing that would get you a death sentence if the council were still running!”
I ignored him, looking around and un
der the tables and counter for Scott.
With a speed I thought over vampires possessed, Flagstone slammed me against the wall. “Answer me! Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you for that!”
“They’re asleep, not dead.”
“That’s not the point! That’s exactly the kind of thing John Cross would have done!”
I felt Rocky’s presence press against my mind and sent him a dismissive thought. I tried to shove Flagstone off, but that just made the wolf growl. “John would have killed them.”
“Some of them could have busted their heads open on the pavement! What were you---”
“I wasn’t thinking!” I interrupted. “I just acted and I know it was stupid!”
He let me go. “Then find the cub, because Logan wants to talk to you.” Although his voice was much lower in volume, there was still anger boiling behind it.
I continued my search for Scott in the kitchen, where I found an old, thin man instead. When I walked in, he stepped in front of something and put his hands up. “Don’t shoot him,” he said.
I immediately put my hands out to show him I wasn’t armed, which didn’t help because my jacket flapped open to reveal my gun. “I’m not here to hurt him; I’m here to keep him from getting captured.” After a moment of hesitation, the man moved aside and I saw the small, saber-tooth jaguar cub huddled under a counter with a huge bread roll in his mouth.
“He came in here last night because he was hungry, but he ran out there when the customers made noise because he was curious. Someone called animal control. I knew he wasn’t wild because he’s too accustomed to being indoors.”
I squatted down and studied the cat. Scott should have run out instantly when he recognized me, but he was shaking instead. His beast side was in full control of him. After all the experimentation done on him, I was afraid I would just scare him worse if I tried to use my magic to coerce him out. “Hey, buddy. Are you going to come out or stay in there all day?” I asked.