by Cheree Alsop
I stared at the top of his salt and pepper head. His ponytail rested on his bowed neck as he wrote.
“You heard me, right? I said I need a million dollars to get in.”
“Yes,” the Captain replied. He finished writing and slid the paper across the desk. “Justine will see that the money is ready along with everything else.”
“Just like that? How much does this place get paid for paranormal control?” I asked in surprise.
He smiled at me. “Nobody told you, did they?”
“Told me what?” I asked in confusion.
He set his hands on the desk in front of him. “This is a job. You get paid for the missions you accomplish.”
I nodded. “I figured that meant a little left with the room and board.”
The hint of a smile touched the corners of the Captain’s lips. “Your account has four million dollars in it. Virgo’s is at three million because you had to rescue him at the last mission.”
I forgot to breathe. “Excuse me? Did you say four million dollars?”
A true smile spread across the Captain’s face. “The government takes care of those who save the world, Zev, and you’ve done so a few times. Consider that the gratitude of all of us.”
I sat back in my chair. My mouth opened and then closed again of its own accord. I couldn’t think of how to respond to that.
Captain Roarsh seemed to understand. His expression was kind when he said, “It’ll help with this new life you’re so eager to start.” His voice took on its professional tone once more. “Now take that note to Justine. You’ll be alerted when everything is ready.”
“Yes, Captain,” I replied.
A strange urge came over me. I rose gingerly to my feet and snapped him a salute. It was the only way I could think of to honor him for all he had done for me and for the world.
“Thank you, Captain.”
He rose and gave me a salute in return. It was another first. I had never, ever seen the Captain salute anyone at the Division. He outranked every member except for the General whom we never saw. The man’s salute carried a respect that would dumbfound kings. I felt unworthy of it.
When he lowered his hand, he said, “Take care of yourself, Zev. It’s been a real pleasure working with you. I really regret that we have to disband you from the Division.”
“I would say I also regret it, but I don’t,” I replied honestly.
He chuckled. “Now don’t get cocky on me.”
That brought a smile to my face. “Yes, Captain.”
I limped toward the door.
“Zev?” he said when I reached for the doorknob.
I turned back.
“If you get bored of life out there, you could always come back and teach,” he offered.
I gave him the answer I knew he was waiting for.
“I would rather be shot by tranquilizer darts, thank you very much.”
He grinned. “That can be arranged.”
I grinned in return. “No, thank you, Captain. I’ve had my fair share.”
I opened the door and limped through it fully aware of the guards who stared after me. I doubted anyone ever came out of the Captain’s office smiling, let alone to the sound of the Captain’s laughter ringing down the hall.
An hour later found me flying in an unmarked jet south at speeds far faster than I was used to moving. I felt strange in my brown camouflage jacket over a red and black fleece shirt, with thick canvas pants and one steel-toed hiking boot next to my walking brace. Sutter had reassured me that it was exactly the attire of the Hunters I would meet. I felt ridiculous but knew better than to press my luck. I needed every ounce of it on my side if I was going to see Fray again.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on where her voice had been. It felt empty without her contact.
Fray? I thought.
There was no answer. I tried again.
Fray, can you hear me?
I was about to give up when a soft voice answered, Zev?
Relief filled me.
Fray, are you alright?
It was a moment before she said, I’ve taken care of things. The Hunters will go down. It’s good enough.
No! I replied with force. It’s not good enough. You showed the Division where the Hunters are, but they are outside of their jurisdiction. They can’t touch them, and I think the Hunters know that. That’s why they were so bold as to steal you from under the Division’s nose.
Silence followed my words.
So this is for nothing? Her weak chuckle let me know just how bad she was.
Not for nothing, I reassured her. I’m coming to rescue you. We can shut the Hunters down together.
Zev, don’t come here! Her response was immediate. If they find out what you are, they’ll put you into the hunt as well!
I was counting on that, but I didn’t say the words aloud. Instead, I told her, I can’t phase because of my leg. They won’t know. I have the buy-in money. They’ll think I’m one of them.
They’re too smart. They’ll figure it out. You’ll think you’re safe, but you won’t be, she replied. Zev, please promise me you won’t try it. I’m not worth it.
You’re worth everything. The truth of the words burned in my chest when I said them. I swallowed past the tightness in my throat and said, Don’t give up, Fray. I will find you. I promise.
The silence was longer this time. I was afraid she was upset that I was coming after her. If I was in her situation, I would feel the same way. But she was dying and in a hostile environment where Hunters paid money to shoot dhampirs and other paranormal for sport. There was no way I would leave her there.
Zev?
Yes, Fray?
You’re too stubborn for your own good.
That brought a smile to my face. That’s probably true.
Her voice faded away. I felt it leave and let it go because I could feel how weak she was. I didn’t want to push her strength any further. I clung to the feeling of her voice and the care she used when speaking. She had once spoken in my mind when we first met at the Division and I had been so angry that I threw a table through a wall. It hadn’t been my best moment.
But now I regretted the time we had lost conversing in such a way. It was personal on so many levels and involved a great deal of trust. I hoped she understood what it meant for me to trust her like that, just as I could appreciate the fact that she let me in. There was no one else I would willingly allow in my thoughts. I missed Fray’s voice already.
The memory of it surfaced in my mind.
“There’s something in you that completes me, Zev. My life is full of holes. I’m a monster, a bloodsucker with no family and a demon-slaying team for friends. And here you come, a damaged werewolf whose loneliness shines through your eyes.” Her own loneliness had shown in her voice when she said, “Something in your soul draws mine like a magnet. I tried to fight it. I tried to pretend you were the enemy so I wouldn’t lose myself to something that wasn’t real.”
The pilot’s voice jarred me back to the present. “We’ll be landing in five minutes. Your car will be waiting for you on the tarmac as the Captain instructed.”
That caught my attention. “My car? I, uh, don’t know how to drive,” I admitted.
The pilot turned to look at me. “Zev, I’ve seen you stop demons with your bare hands. I think you can figure out a car.”
That made me chuckle. “I guess so, but I’m supposed to be competent, right? If I drive through a wall or run into one of the other Hunters’ vehicles, it’ll undermine what I’m trying to do.”
The pilot smiled at that. “I’m pretty sure the Captain has it under control.”
I found myself in the driver’s seat of a car whose value was probably at least the price of my admission into the Hunters’ compound. I watched the jet leave in a rush of wind and debris, then set my hands on the wheel.
“I’ve got this,” I said in an effort to give myself some confidence.
“Actually, I’ve got this,
” a voice replied.
“Sutter?” I asked in amazement.
“At your service,” he replied over the car’s speakers. “I will be your personal driver for the duration of the evening. Just sit back and enjoy.”
I let out a sigh of relief and watched as the car rumbled to life, then steered itself off the tarmac and onto a lonely road. It was interesting to watch the wheel turn. The gas and brake pedals depressed at the appropriate times, and the car shifted by itself. I took mental notes in case we got out of reach of Sutter’s control. If the car was Fray’s only means of escape, I needed to be able to rely on myself to get us out of there.
“Want some tunes?” the info tech asked.
“Why not,” I replied.
“Anything in particular?”
I shook my head, then wasn’t sure if he could see it. “I haven’t listened to a lot of music in my life.”
“You haven’t?” he replied. “If I asked you what your favorite tune was, what you say?”
I could hear the incredulity in his voice. Music had been entirely absent at the Lair, and my exposure to it at the mall and at times in Virgo’s truck had been random at best. I had no idea what we listened to, and Virgo’s singing had made me unsure I wanted to know.
“I don’t really know,” I said.
Sutter gave a low whistle. “Well, my friend, this is where your music education begins.”
He put on something that began mellow. The singer had a growling voice I could appreciate, and the guitars complimented it. When the next song came, there was a female singer whose voice was so beautiful I felt tears prickle in my eyes until I chided myself that werewolves don’t cry about music.
The following song began with a lone violin. Whatever the voices sang about was in a language I didn’t know. I decided I liked the not knowing because I could appreciate the music for its tones instead of its words, and I listened to it the way I would to the howl of a wolf, taking it apart to understand the notes on a deeper level.
As I listened, I watched the paved road turn into a dirt one. Sutter bemoaned the fact that this car wasn’t made for such a medieval path of transportation. After a few more miles through a mountain pass, the road reached a fork. One path had a huge gate in front and was paved in finely-laid cement. The other continued on through the trees and into the darkness beyond.
“This is it,” Sutter said. “Hold onto your britches. We’re going to need a bit of luck at this part and hope my documents made it through in time.”
“What are britches?” I asked.
“Great. We’re all lost,” he muttered in reply.
The window rolled down and a face appeared on the monitor beside the car.
“Do you have an invitation?”
I waited for Sutter to reply. When he didn’t say anything, and when the guard started to show signs of concern, I said, “Yes.”
“Show your document,” the guard said in an annoyed tone as though it should have been obvious.
I looked around the car. There was no place I could see to hide any sort of document. I wondered if Sutter had forgotten to put it inside and was beginning to panic when a strange thing happened. The screen that had previously showed the name of the singer and the song that was playing over the speakers slid slowly down to reveal a tiny compartment. I reached inside and took out a small, gold-embossed card.
I held it out to the monitor.
“Very well,” the guard replied.
A beep sounded and the gate swung majestically inward. The window of the car rolled up and the vehicle drove inside.
“Took you long enough to say something,” Sutter said dryly.
“You didn’t mention anything about an invitation,” I replied with my heartbeat pounding loud in my ears. “Care to fill me in on what happens next?”
“Yes, what happens next is I have no idea what happens next. Once you leave this car, you’re on your own,” he said.
I digested that in silence for a moment. Since leaving the Lair, I had acted with Virgo, James, Alia, or several of my other friends at my side. But the only way to rescue Fray was to cut myself off from all of them. Nobody, least of all me, knew what to expect at the end of the winding road I traveled between the trees. It was an intimidating thought.
“Alright,” I said.
“Wow,” he replied. “If someone told me I was going alone into a compound of people able to sneak into the Division and back out again with one of our most dangerous members, I would be terrified. But you accept it without batting an eye. How is that?”
His amazed tone made me smile despite my nerves. “I guess it’s the werewolf way,” I told him. “Don’t fret about things you can’t change. Focus on what you can control. And never stop fighting.”
Sutter was silent for a moment before he said, “I’m posting that on my wall.”
I had no idea what that meant. The mansion loomed up before me like a cement castle. Incredibly tall walls branched away on either side to no doubt house the hunting arena. Razor wire and signs with bold warnings told trespassers that they would be shot. I had no doubt that would also apply to a werewolf who pretended to be a Hunter.
I took a calming breath and watched the steering wheel guide me around the courtyard to the front door.
The car stopped. Sutter turned off the vehicle, but didn’t unlock the doors.
“Zev, take care of yourself. You know Fray wouldn’t want you to get killed on her behalf. According to the Captain, she chose to go because she knew she was running out of time. This is a life mission of hers.”
“I know,” I said quietly.
“Good luck,” the info tech said. When I moved to open the door, he said, “Oh, and one more thing. Check in the glove box.”
I looked around. “What glove box?”
He sighed. “The thing on the dash in front of the passenger’s seat. You really do need to learn how to operate a car if you want to survive in this world.”
That brought a wry smile to my face. “You don’t want to be my personal driver forever?”
He chuckled at that. “While I’m having a blast and it’s giving me something to do while I get over the irritatingly lasting effects of being poisoned by that swamp demon, I will have better things to do with my time eventually.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I opened the dash and found a little box inside. Flipping the lid up revealed an earpiece like those I had worn in the Demon Crew, but much smaller.
“Put that in your ear; that way if you need help or get into too much trouble, you won’t be entirely alone.”
“I thought I was supposed to go by myself.”
He gave a dramatic sigh. “Call me a sucker for breaking the rules, but I can’t leave a team member to go off on his own if I can help it.”
“And if they search for bugs?” I asked.
“Throw it somewhere inconspicuous and walk away, but be sure to destroy it first. If they trace the signal back to the Division, we’re all in trouble.”
I put the earpiece in my ear.
“Testing, testing,” Sutter said. “You can whisper to reply. The earpiece can pick up the smallest of sounds.” He paused, then said, “Sort of like being a werewolf, I guess.”
“I guess so,” I replied. “Wish me luck.”
“You’re going to need a lot more than luck,” the info tech told me.
“Thanks for that,” I muttered.
“Anytime,” he replied cheerily.
Chapter Eight
The locks clicked and I opened the door. It swung up so I could climb out. I rose to my feet and shut the door, pushing down the rush of anxiety as I did so. I turned to face the white marble stairs that led to the front of the mansion. Two women with white gloves opened both doors to allow me entrance. I took a calming breath and started up the steps.
Neither woman met my eyes when I reached the doors. I stepped inside and paused in the massive corridor.
“Welcome,” a voice called out.
I looked up to see a man dressed all in black standing at the top of the sweeping stairs. He studied me with a hand on the railing. I felt his gaze taking my outfit apart, seeing the fraud that I was. I shoved the uncertainty aside and met his eyes.
“Thank you. It’s an honor to be here.”
His eyes continued to roam over me. “Is this a joke?”
“Is what a joke?” Sutter asked in my ear. “What did you do?”
“I think he means my clothes,” I whispered while trying to look as though I said nothing.
Doubt and a hint of fear filled me. The sound of the massive doors locking behind me echoed against the high ceiling and back. A subtle glance over my shoulder showed guns in the holsters at both women’s hips. By their stance, they knew how to use them.
“Your clothes are spot on for the occasion,” Sutter replied. “Own it.”
“I look ridiculous,” I whispered. I met the man’s gaze. “What do you think?”
His expression was unreadable, then a smile twitched at the corners of his lips, lifting his dark mustache. A chuckle burst out of his mouth. “You’re gutsy, I’ll give you that. This is definitely a first. You’re just lucky I have a sense of humor.” He motioned. “Come on up. I’ll introduce you to the regulars.”
Relief prickled across my skin even though I had no idea what he was talking about. I hoped it was because I was new and dared to join their group. I crossed to the stairs and climbed up. I took the steps slowly, exaggerating my limp with the help of my cane. The less they thought I was a threat, the better.
The pictures on my right that followed the sweeping steps showed various men and women holding a variety weapons and standing in heroic poses beside slain animals. The one at the top of the stairs had his foot on a massive black wolf. Its lips were pulled back in a snarl of death, and blood dripped from the side of its mouth. I averted my eyes.
“Right this way,” the man said. He held out his hand as I walked beside him down the hall. “I’m Godnik. You can call me God.” He chuckled and waved to indicate the gold-leafed hallway. “It’s a little joke we have around here because this is my place. I inherited it from my father when he passed five years ago, and I’ve worked hard to live up to the Hunter name he started.”