by J. C. Diem
“The exit is just over there,” I told her, pointing at the tracks that led to the metal door that I’d left standing open. “You should be able to make the call once we’re outside.” The kids were holding it together pretty well, but they were both shaking and in shock. Once it sank in that they were safe, then they would fall apart. I wanted to be long gone before then. I was many things, but a therapist wasn’t on my list of qualifications.
Supporting the boyfriend so he could walk, I led the way through the exit and down the tunnel. Night had just fallen and the air smelled blessedly sweet after being inside the rank mine. Sleepy birds called to each other and crickets sang their summer song. “Which car is yours?” I asked.
“The yellow one,” the girl replied, pointing at a small sedan. She checked her cell phone again. “I have reception now,” she reported in profound relief.
I couldn’t let her make the call just yet. “Help me get your boyfriend over to your car,” I requested. She obediently moved to his other side and slung his arm around her shoulder. She was a lot shorter than he was, making his gait uneven. We walked him to the yellow car, which was already unlocked. She opened the door to the passenger seat and we sat him down. He was a big guy, a couple of inches shorter than my six-foot-two, but he was slightly pudgy rather than fit.
Before the girl could dial nine-one-one, I put a hand on her arm and reached over to touch her boyfriend on the shoulder. “You never saw me,” I said, letting a small amount of my power wash over them. Their faces went blank as they fell beneath my spell. “Your shackles broke and you found the family of cannibals dead when you tried to escape. You think they had an argument and killed each other.”
“We never saw you,” the boyfriend repeated woodenly.
“The cannibals killed each other,” the girl said in agreement. “We heard them having an argument.”
“Good,” I said in approval. “Don’t let this experience ruin your lives. Put it behind you and take care of each other.” From the strength of the gold threads that bound them together, I hadn’t really needed to give them that command. They cared for each other deeply.
Leaving them dazed and bedazzled, I walked over to my truck, then climbed inside and drove away. The last thing I needed was to come to the attention of the authorities and end up on the news. I’d been with my last team of hunters for almost a decade, and it had been time to move on. It was time to start over and find somewhere else to call home.
My fairy nature ensured that I would be forgotten after six months if I didn’t have any contact with the people I’d left behind. The only exception I’d made was with my foster daughter, Arienna Austin, and the team she worked with. There was always a chance they might need my help again one day. Or I might come across something that might require their special talents. None of the Hunter Elite team members were human. They were all supernatural creatures of some kind.
Catching a flicker of movement in the passenger seat an hour or so later, I pulled my Colt and aimed it at the being that had just teleported himself next to me. As always, I’d moved so fast it was just a blur.
“Don’t shoot, lad!” the tiny red-headed, red-bearded man said in a mock terrified voice, holding his hands up. His accent was thick and decidedly Irish. He wore a green velvet suit and matching tall hat that was cocked at a rakish angle. Only two feet tall, he was even smaller than a midget.
“Damn it, Rudy!” I said in annoyance. “You shouldn’t sneak up on a man like that.”
“Someone’s grumpy,” the leprechaun said slyly. “I suppose almost becoming dinner will do that to a person.”
I wasn’t surprised my small sidekick had known exactly where I was and what I’d been up to. “Thanks for your help, by the way,” I said dryly, holstering my gun again. He’d probably been hiding and watching me from the shadows as only his kind could. It had no doubt amused him to watch me in action as I’d taken on seven human cannibals.
“You didn’t need me to step in and save you like a damsel in distress,” Rudy said, waving my complaint away. “You had things well under control.” That confirmed my hunch that he’d been watching me. He didn’t always appear on my senses and had a way of hiding himself from me. He possessed abilities that were even stranger than mine.
“Where have you been for the past six months?” I asked.
“Trying to repair relations with my, er, relations.”
Grinning at my friend’s explanation, I flicked him a look. “Have they forgiven you yet?” Rudy had pulled a prank on the witch who’d planned to make the Earth her playground a long time ago. The prank had resulted in his kin being rounded up and imprisoned for four thousand years. It was doubtful he would ever be able to live that mistake down.
“My kind can hold a grudge forever,” Rudy said with a scowl. “They don’t even care that I helped rescue them from their imprisonment. The ingrates.”
“They’ll come around,” I said. “Eventually.” Eyeing the creature, I ventured a question. “Is there a reason why you’re here, or did you just miss my pretty face?”
Rudy snorted out a laugh. “You’re a handsome bastard, Jake Everett, there’s no denying that. But no, I’m not here to ogle your dreamy blue eyes.” He turned serious, which was never a good sign. “I’m here because my gut tells me you’re going to need my help soon.”
“Try not to overwhelm me with information,” I said dryly. I didn’t pry for more details because I knew they wouldn’t be forthcoming. I felt the same thing Rudy did. Danger was coming. I just didn’t know when, or what form it would take.
I’d drifted all over the place since leaving my team behind in West Virginia. They were experienced hunters and they didn’t need me. I’d found a suitable foster family for a young boy I’d rescued, which had left me free to wander. Either by accident, or subconsciously, I’d been heading west. Now that I was only a few hours away from Texas, I had to admit the truth to myself; I was going home. I just hoped I wasn’t making a colossal mistake. Sometimes, the past was best left buried and forgotten.
Chapter Three
Things had changed last winter when the world had become aware that supernatural beings were real. Humans had watched the news reports of zombies, vampires, druids, hybrid monsters and shapeshifters doing battle with each other in disbelief. Creatures called Dread Wraiths had been drawn to Earth through a portal that led to another dimension. They’d been like a cross between ghosts and Grim Reapers and could kill with one touch.
While some people had accepted the werebeasts and true shapeshifters as being on our side, others were dead against them. They were afraid of what they didn’t understand. Others had taken it upon themselves to hunt them down. That decision never ended well for the humans. It wasn’t easy to sneak up and ambush creatures that possessed enhanced senses. Most shapeshifters chose to remain incognito, pretending they were just normal humans. For them, not much had changed. They just had to be even more careful that their true identities weren’t discovered now.
When I pulled into a motel parking lot just past midnight, the leprechaun grabbed hold of the dashboard and pulled himself up so he could peer over it. It was late, but a few people had congregated outside one of the rooms to talk. “This is my cue to leave, lad,” Rudy said. Snapping his fingers with his usual dramatic flair, he vanished back to his secret lair. I had no doubt he would turn up again soon. He’d played a part in saving the planet from being taken over, but he knew humans well. His kind were still largely a myth and he preferred to keep it that way.
I paid for a room for the night, making sure to get one away from the group that were still talking. My hearing had improved vastly, as had the rest of my senses. I didn’t want to have to listen to them chatting all night.
Stepping into my room, I found it to be bland, boring and generic, but at least the bed was comfortable when I tested it. Crossing back to the door again, I gathered my magic and erected an impenetrable barrier around it that would be invisible to most. To me, it was
a shimmering, almost transparent sheet of magic that covered the door and windows. I couldn’t cast spells like a witch could, but I’d learned to utilize my power to some extent. It had been much easier to use it when I’d made a brief visit to the fae realm. My human genes restricted what I could do in this dimension.
I took a shower, then turned in. Ever since my foster daughter had unlocked the barrier someone had put inside my mind when I’d presumably been a baby, my dreams had become more vivid. I saw fantastical places and creatures that I wasn’t sure were real or if they were just my imagination.
Waking from a nightmare about being pursued by unseen hulking monsters that could tear me apart with their bare hands, dawn light was shining through the thin drapes. I didn’t need as much sleep now and climbed out of bed. I dressed in worn jeans and a faded blue t-shirt, then headed to the reception desk to hand over my keycard.
It was hard to believe I was only a few miles from the place where I’d been born over eighty years ago. Nerves hit me as I reached the outskirts of Devil’s Peak. It was an ominous name for a town, but it was apt. It had been named after a mountain that hunched in the background. It had three outcroppings that looked like a pitchfork. When the sun was in the right spot in the afternoon, the tines of the pitchforks covered the town like the bars of a cage. Aerial photos of the phenomenon had been taken even when I’d been a boy.
A lot had changed since I’d last been here, which was to be expected. The town had grown and had become a blend of old and new buildings. I didn’t have to worry about running into anyone who might recognize me, since they were all probably dead by now. My fae glamour that made people forget me would make sure I was a new arrival even if any of them had still been alive. That was a good thing, because I didn’t look as if I’d aged a day since I’d left.
Spying a diner that was open for business, I pulled over. Nostalgia washed over me as I stepped through the doors. The décor was vastly different from how it had looked five decades ago, but the layout hadn’t changed at all. Tables with faux black leather bench seats lined the walls to the left and right of the door. A long counter stretched almost the entire length of the room dead ahead. Stainless steel, the counter gleamed beneath the fluorescent lights. Black bar stools were lined up neatly, waiting for customers to arrive.
A glance around showed only one other early bird. From her tan and brown uniform and the shiny silver badge pinned to her shirt, the occupant of the table to the left of the door was the sheriff. She looked up from her meal of scrambled eggs to give me a distracted glance before she continued eating.
The waitress looked up, saw me and her mouth opened slightly. Even before I approached the counter, I could feel her desire curling towards me. If I opened myself up to the signals she was sending, I would know exactly what she wanted from me. This particular talent was triggered every time someone found me to be attractive. It worked for both men and women, not that I’d ever been attracted to men or had tried it out with someone from my own gender.
“Are you new in town?” the waitress asked in a husky voice, unaware of the pheromones she was exuding. Barely out of her teens, she was pretty enough, but she was far too young for the likes of me. Her dyed black hair was held up in a tight ponytail and her pink uniform dress was spotless.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” I replied, perusing the menu that hung on the wall behind her. “I just arrived.”
“Will you be staying for long?” She bit her fingernail as she stared at me in fascination. My fae father had presumably passed on his good looks to me. My dark brown hair had only been cut a couple of weeks ago, but it wouldn’t take long for it to become unruly again. Tanned from spending a lot of time outdoors, my face was smooth, unlined and flawless. Ari had shaved a few years off my age by accident. I now looked about twenty-seven rather than the early-thirties I’d appeared to be for the past fifty years. My eyes were a dark, stormy blue color that a lot of women tended to become lost in. That wasn’t boasting, but pure fact.
Add my pretty face to a tall frame with a naturally muscular, athletic body and I was hard for many women to resist. Sometimes, my supernatural good looks were more of a problem than a boon. I’d been working on dampening my glamor down, but it took a lot of concentration to keep it up for an extended period of time.
“I might be staying for a while,” I said in answer to her question. I ordered a traditional hunter’s breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and hash browns.
“Would you like coffee to go with that?”
“Sure, darlin’,” I said with a smile that made her blush even harder.
“Take a seat and I’ll bring your order to you when it’s ready,” she said breathlessly.
Ambling over to a table on the far side of the room, I took a seat facing the sheriff. She flicked me a sardonic look, aware of the young girl’s reaction to me. In her mid-thirties, the sheriff was attractive, with auburn hair, green eyes and a spattering of freckles across her nose. Average height, she was sturdy rather than slender. The nametag on her shirt said she was ‘Sheriff Cindy Callahan’. My eyesight was sharp enough for me to be able to read it easily.
Our eyes met and I gave her a respectful nod. Even from a distance, she found it hard to resist my allure. She nodded in return, then tore her gaze away and went back to eating. The cell phone she’d placed on the table rang suddenly, making her jump a little. She snatched it up and answered it after checking the number. “What’s up, Kevin?”
“Something bad has happened, Cindy,” the panicked man said. He was almost gibbering in fear. I’d learned how to filter out other noise and focus on something I wanted to hear. Although they were both speaking quietly, I heard every word of their conversation.
“What is it?” the sheriff asked sharply, already pushing her mostly empty plate away and standing.
“It’s a slaughter, ma’am. Out at the old abandoned barn.”
Nodding at the waitress in thanks, Sheriff Callahan left some money on the table, then slid out of her seat and hurried for the door. She stepped outside, but I could still hear her when she walked a few yards away. “Who called it in?” she asked.
“It was an anonymous tip,” Kevin replied. “I thought I’d call you on your cell phone rather than using the radio. We don’t want word of this spreading. You know how hysterical folks got the last time something supernatural happened around here.”
“It’s monsters again, then?” Callahan asked in an admirably calm tone.
“So it would seem, Sheriff,” Kevin replied unhappily.
Heaving a sigh, his boss tilted her head back to look up at the cloudless sky. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” She hung up before her deputy could reply, then headed for her cruiser that was parked just down the street.
The waitress brought me my meal and I thanked her distractedly. Somehow, I wasn’t at all surprised that something bad had happened in Devil’s Peak just as I’d arrived. It seemed fitting that I would be welcomed back with death rather than with a smile and open arms. After all, it had been death that had driven me from my hometown so long ago in the first place.
Chapter Four
I was ready for Rudy’s arrival this time when he suddenly appeared in my passenger seat. “Did you hear, lad?” he asked without preamble.
“Hear what?” I asked, taking in his agitated state. Leprechauns were excitable creatures and Rudy was no exception. He squirmed in his seat as if he couldn’t sit still.
“Something killed a bunch of humans and left their remains in an old barn.”
“I heard one of the deputies call it in to his Sheriff,” I told him. “I didn’t hear the details, except that the deputy thinks it was monsters.”
“Aye, it was monsters, boyo,” my little sidekick confirmed. “They left an even bigger mess than the cannibals you dispatched yesterday.”
“You took a look inside the abandoned barn?”
“Did you really need to ask?” he replied dryly. “You know my kind. We c
an’t resist our curiosity.”
“What kind of monsters are we dealing with?” Although the sheriff seemed competent, this was my area of expertise.
Rudy shrugged his narrow shoulders. “I have no idea. All I saw was a pile of bloody bones all in a jumble.”
“You didn’t feel any residual magic? Nothing that could help identify the culprits?”
“Nope. There was nothing discernable that I could pick up on.” He kicked his legs straight out and slumped back against the seat. Lifting his hand, he clicked his fingers and a booster seat appeared beneath him. “That’s better,” he said in satisfaction, relaxing against the thick black cushions. He was now high enough to be able to see out through the windows. “I hate not being able to see where we’re going.” Looking around, he took in the main street. “Where are we going, by the way?” he asked.
“Nowhere in particular,” I admitted.
A red eyebrow arched. “Are we just going to drive around aimlessly until the monsters leap out in front of us?”
“I can’t exactly take a gander at the crime scene while the Sheriff and her people are still there,” I pointed out.
“While you’re waiting for them to process the scene, you should look for somewhere we can use as a base if we’re going to be here for a while,” he suggested. “You should choose somewhere secluded, but not too far from town. A house in the woods would be best.” This part of Texas tended to have open fields, hills and small forests rather than cacti and deserts.
“Thanks for the suggestions, Rudy,” I said wryly as I pulled over next to a real estate agency. “After only fifty short years of hunting, I need someone to tell me what sort of property I should use as a base.”
My sidekick snorted out a laugh. “Lad, you’re less than a baby to a creature as ancient as me. What are you? Barely eight decades old? Even by your unknown fae father’s standards, you’re an infant.” Leprechauns and fairies were all-but immortal. I knew he was thousands of years old, but he acted like a cranky child half the time, so it was easy to forget his advanced age.