The Hunter's Den: Dead of Midnight Book 1

by Byron Thorne

  Morgan was silent as he climbed in the sedan. “Don’t do a lot of car travel, huh? I thought you said the rooftop stuff was only on weekends,” Jules laughed.

  “I just take taxis,” Morgan said.

  “Taxis? Those are too dangerous.”

  “More dangerous than stepping into a complete stranger’s car? Who knows what this Brandon is capable of.”

  Brandon turned up the radio.

  “You’re joking, right?” Jules watched Morgan’s eyes intently focused on the rear view mirror.

  “Mostly,” he said.

  “You’re not funny.”

  “I know.”

  Jules attempted to keep the silence to a minimum by spouting the first responses that came to her head. The longer she spent with Morgan, the more she felt like she was going to lose control of her body. He was doing something to her, and whether or not it was on purpose, she just wanted more. She felt like if she kept talking- even with inane, elementary school insults- than she could retain control of herself. It wasn’t just his looks, although he was a stunning specimen- did his hair freeze like that when he turned, or did he still have to get it cut? It was also his aura, despite the fact that she could no longer see it, she could feel it, and she wanted it to be a part of her as well.

  “This is good right here, you can stop, thanks,” Jules told the driver. She opened the door and hurried out. “So, what do you think,” she asked Morgan as they walked towards the diner. “Know any vamps that like to hang out around here?”

  “You mean besides me.”

  “Obviously.”

  Morgan looked around casually. “Looks alright.”

  “Don’t you have some kind of vampire sixth sense?”

  “Yeah, and as far as I can tell everyone’s a human.”

  The server’s eyes were so fixated on Morgan that she literally ran into the table that she sat them at. Conversely, he gave her no recognition whatsoever and instead kept staring at Jules. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of herself, sitting with this gorgeous creature. Then her pride turned to a feeling of internal embarrassment. Sure, he was beautiful, and seemed smart and was certainly mysterious. Behind that mystery, though, was probably a legacy of blood and murder and probably everything else that she didn’t stand for. Looking at him just made her want to forget all that, and she tried to, at least for the moment.

  “I like that color on you,” Morgan said.

  “Which one?” Jules struck a pose in her seat, mostly joking. “The black, or the black?”

  “The black, I suppose.”

  “You want anything?” Jules asked as the server took their order.

  “No thank you,” Morgan remarked. Still, he didn’t take his eyes off of her, like he was trying to read her thoughts.

  “Suit yourself,” she said and handed over her menu. The server brought some coffee and walked away. Jules had so many questions she didn’t know where to start. “Two days ago, I wanted nothing more than to kill you. Then, you basically swoop in on a chandelier and save my life. So, how did we end up here?”

  22

  Answers

  “Then why didn’t you?” Morgan asked. “Kill me, I mean.”

  Aside from the Coven gatherings that he wanted nothing to do with, Morgan had spent so many nights in solitude. There were people everywhere, all the time, but not like this. Everything about the moment was novel to him. He literally couldn’t remember the last time he set foot in a diner. He had never sat across from a woman who knew what he was. He never cared for the other vampires of the Coven, but now he had very likely turned them into enemies. The strangest part of it was that he didn’t care.

  He needed to get Jules in front of him, in the flesh, to make sure what he felt wasn’t just the result of drinking blood straight from the source again. Now he knew for certain. The blood that he shared with Victoria at the club was nothing but sustenance. He felt nothing for any of them. Whatever he felt for the frisky hunter that sat before him was real, and it was mildly terrifying. Now that he had Jules, he only wanted more- even if the locale wasn’t the one he had planned on.

  “Because you put some kind of spell on me,” Jules said. “And I’d like you to take it off. Why can’t I get you out of my head?”

  “We’re not meeting by accident, at least not since the first time, when I saw you and that boyfriend of yours in the parking garage, accosting that drunken girl.”

  “You were in there? I was so close. Also, boyfriend? No, no, you got it all wrong.”

  Even though Morgan wasn’t the least bit concerned about her hunter companion- whether he was her lover or not- Jules’ negative reaction to the idea of it unwittingly lifted his spirits.

  “He’s not your lover, then?” Morgan asked, not really expecting a detailed answer.

  “Who, Daniel? No way. We just hunt vampires together. Or at least, we’re supposed to. I’m doing a pretty bad job of it.”

  “Certainly seems that way, although why he sent you into that den by yourself I don’t quite understand.”

  Jules looked uneasy and sipped awkwardly from her coffee as if she was trying to hide something. Morgan had become adept at reading emotions. Even though he typically didn’t maintain relationships with humans, it was an important survival skill. He needed to be able to judge how social interactions were going; both in an effort to conceal his identity as a vampire and to ensure that he could get humans to do what he wished. He had a difficult time figuring out what Jules had on her mind, but what he figured out quickly was that she was not a good liar.

  “Why did you come to Solstice, Jules? I can’t imagine it was simply to find me.”

  “You’re doing that thing again, aren’t you?” Jules asked, and she refused to look directly at Morgan. “If I don’t look into your eyes, it won’t work. Right? Why is it still working?”

  “All I did was ask a question,” Morgan said. “I don’t feel the need to charm you at all. In fact, I find the conversation much more interesting the way that it is.”

  “Alright, some higher ups in the hunter community- I can’t say who- basically figured out about the vampire club and that you’re the head vampire so I agreed to dress up like a vampire and then sneak into the club so I could find you and shoot you in the heart, thereby ending the vampire plague across Los Angeles. However, I knew that you weren’t the head vampire, so I was taking a risk that you might be willing to help me find this so-called head vamp.”

  Morgan burst out in laughter. It was such an incredible story, he couldn’t help himself. It was stories like this one that made him fear hunters less. Sure, a silver bullet to the chest hurt more than anything but most hunters were way more likely to shoot themselves in the foot literally than to actually do any real damage.

  “Jules, your desire for danger is incredible. I mean that. And you were right in thinking that I would have helped you to locate the head vampire…except that there is no head vampire. He doesn’t exist. There is no eliminating all of the vampires in Los Angeles, unless you want to do it one at a time.”

  “How can I believe you? And how do I know you weren’t lying the other night, either? I don’t even remember anything after shooting you…” Jules stammered, and Morgan could tell she was wracking her brain.

  “You kissed me, first. Then, I tasted you. It can have a disorienting effect. In truth, it could be why you feel so connected to me now.”

  “So I can’t believe anything you say. You’ve filled my head with visions of whatever you want.”

  “On the other hand, I did save you in there, and for what reason? Your very essence is irresistible to me. I don’t wish you any harm. I only want the opposite.”

  Jules put her head in her hands and rested it on the table. “What am I even doing here? I can’t believe you. Everything was so simple before I met you. I didn’t even think vampires could talk, let alone have feelings. I thought they were just heartless killing machines. I wanted them all dead; I wanted them to feel the pai
n that I felt.”

  “The vampires of this city don’t get any sympathy from me, Jules. I remember what you said the other night, about having the one thing you loved ripped away by them. They took everything from me, a long time ago. I can still help you get what you want. But trust me. Revenge will not make the pain go away.”

  Jules lifted her head from the table again and sighed. She was silent for a moment, contemplating. Then she said, “You didn’t kill Sam. I guess I can believe that, now that I’ve seen how many other vamps there are in this city. But you know who did?”

  “I don’t know for certain, but there is a good chance I will be able to help you figure it out,” Morgan said.

  “Why, though? Why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?”

  “I can’t really explain it,” Morgan said, thinking that he couldn’t even explain it inside his own mind. “Meeting someone like you…tasting someone like you…it’s not something that normally happens to me. Or, has ever happened. I want to help you.”

  Morgan spent his nights in a shroud of mystery. It was a defense mechanism in every sense. The less that humans, or the other vampires, knew about him, the better. He had always kept a safe distance from everyone. Although he had grown used to it, simply being in the presence of Jules made him realize how lonely of a life he led. This was the first time he really put himself out there- maybe it was the first time that the gamble seemed worth the risk.

  Maybe Jules had somehow rediscovered a part of him that was almost long gone- or maybe she caused Morgan to feel it himself. That was the most human scenario, and clutching onto his humanity was the biggest part of what kept him going. What scared Morgan was if this whole situation was just the opposite. Everything he had done for Jules, and everything he would continue to do, was a direct result of answering to the beastly desire within him. He had long since convinced himself that the monster inside of him was quiet. Only recently had it woken up, right around the same time that he tasted Jules.

  Morgan had never tasted anything sweeter. Nothing even came close. That had to have at least something to do with it. He would have to keep the urge in check- although there was nothing new about that in particular.

  “Alright,” Jules relented, “this is probably an insane idea. But, I guess you already saved me once tonight.” She got up out of the seat and left some cash on the table for the server. “And I’m sorry for shooting you.”

  “I probably would have shot me too. I can only imagine the ghost stories they’re feeding you down at the Den.” Morgan laughed.

  Jules’ eyes got wide. “You know about the Den?”

  “Yes, and it’s a shame that hunters took over. The place across the street had great bands. Let’s go. Would you like to call the car, or should I hail one?”

  “Hail one. Jeez. I’ll just do it, if you tell me where we’re going,” she said and pulled out her phone. Jules didn’t seem to be on the device quite as much as the rest of the humans, but she was rapidly hitting it with her thumbs at the moment. The thought that she could be setting up some kind of elaborate hunter trap briefly crossed Morgan’s mind. Of course, that was a possibility. She didn’t seem like that type of person, though, and even if she was, he was about to provide her with the knowledge that she was desperate for.

  “I’m not texting hunters about you, don’t worry. Daniel would kill me faster than you if he knew what I was doing,” Jules said, her face still buried in the phone. Morgan didn’t realize that he was staring at her so obviously. “Anyways, where are we going?”

  “That depends. Where was he buried?”

  Jules’ phone fell out of her hands and crashed on the cement. He could see her fingers trembling as she reached down to pick it up. “Sorry, I thought you just said something weird,” she said, any trace of joy gone from her voice.

  Morgan realized he was being blunt, but there was really no other way to put it. “Where was he buried? Or, interred.”

  “Oh my God. You…you can’t be serious right now,” Jules said.

  “If you want to know what happened to him, we need to visit his final resting place,” Morgan said calmly.

  “I haven’t even been there. I couldn’t go then, and I still don’t think I can. Especially with you,” Jules turned her back to him for a moment, and he let her contemplate. “Isn’t there some other way? What will it even do?”

  “Vampires don’t exactly keep physical records of their kills, hunter or otherwise. However, the record still exists sometimes, in the aether.”

  “Oh God,” Jules cried out. Morgan decided not to do anything other than giving her space. It was her decision to make. They stood there in the quiet night, and Morgan did his best to avoid contemplating how he would react in Jules’ shoes. He’d lived it already, and spent the majority of his nights trying to forget. Maybe it got easier. More likely, the pain was still there, and he just got used to it. In her situation, there were likely no words of comfort for him to offer. If they existed, he didn’t know what they were.

  “Alright. Let’s go. Hollywood Forever Cemetery,” Jules said as she turned back around to Morgan. Her face was full of resolve instead of sadness. “If this is some messed up game that you’re playing, I really will shoot you again.”

  “That seems fair,” Morgan said.

  Jules called another car and the two of them stood side by side, waiting for it to arrive.

  23

  View From Below

  If Daniel could have kicked himself, he would have. Instead, he just sat in the Nova, useless. A very large part of him wanted to go in with Jules when she got out of the car- he still wanted to run in after her now. The other part of him knew it would be fruitless. If he ran in there, he was liable to get them both killed even more quickly.

  It wasn’t just the unknown that was driving him crazy. It was the fact that he had let it happen. He somehow agreed to let her go inside the vampire den, all alone. He could tell himself that he really didn’t have any control over her, but that was little consolation. Jules was still his responsibility, and here he was, driving her to the most dangerous place in the whole city. It was because letting her go was the right move for everyone else. But how could he let hunting become more of a priority than Jules, the most important thing in his entire life?

  Daniel didn’t have much of a view from where he was stationed. He could, however, hear the low beat of the music escape from the club every time the door was opened. All he could do from his vantage point was to try and gauge each entrant as they moved down the alley. It was nearly impossible to tell the difference between the vampires and the humans, although he supposed that was probably the point. If he had gone in, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

  It was the only thing excuse he could come up with to at least give the mission some semblance of credibility. Sure, it was risky. It was also the only way. Daniel had trained Jules himself, and she was an incredible student. She had even more of a fighting spirit than he did, and she really was a good shot to boot. Even so, Daniel had always planned to be the one to put a bullet in the heart of the head vamp. Instead, he was left on the sidelines while Jules took on all the danger for herself.

  He couldn’t just sit there any longer. There were only two guards at the front. He’d spent enough time watching them to determine they were almost certainly vampires. There’s no way they would let him inside. Even if they did, they would check him for weapons first. On the other hand, the alleyway that the entrance resided in was remote. If his aim was good enough he could potentially take them both down without anyone else noticing. The music blaring from inside the place was loud enough to mask the gunshots, too. If anyone saw, the plan was a bust, and the place would go on lockdown- it might ruin any shot that Jules might have at the head vamp.

  Maybe a full-on assault was a bad idea. After all, the only reason the plan had any chance of working at all was the surprise factor that Jules would be able to bring. Maybe if he could sneak inside the place, it wou
ld be dark enough for him to move around undetected. Daniel began to search for another way in, but the whole place was solid brick. Nothing on the front, so he fired up the engine and drove around to the back.

  There were no other vamps around. That couldn’t have been the only way in and out of the place, though. Even though they couldn’t have been too concerned with fire safety regulations, it’s not like the building was some custom vamp fortification. It was just a warehouse they were squatting in.

  Daniel rolled around to the backside of the building and parked. He stared at the fire escape leading to the roof. Most of the windows had been boarded up. Still, there had to be some kind of roof access. Maybe his best bet was to simply climb the thing and figure the rest out later.

  He reached into the glove box, pulled out his pistol and checked the rounds. Climbing on the roof of a vampire club seemed like a crazy idea. Letting Jules walk in the front door seemed even crazier. Sitting in the car and doing nothing while she was in there all alone was even worse.

  He turned to watch the side of the building one more time, just to make sure there weren’t any vamps patrolling on the roof. Everything looked clear…until a sliver of the wall appeared to open up. It got wider and wider until Daniel realized it was a window that had been painted over. He was ecstatic- that was his way in.

  As quickly as his hopes had raised, they sank even lower. At first glance it was difficult to tell, but he soon recognized the girl climbing out of the window as Jules. Right behind her came the lithe, pale body of a man dressed in black, only he didn’t follow her down the stairs. Instead, he went up to the roof. He called out to her, and Jules turned and began running up the stairs after him.

  Daniel scrambled out of the car, gun in hand. He aimed the gun but couldn’t get a clear shot at the vamp on the fire escape. The ladder didn’t extend all the way to the ground, and it was way too high for him to reach. His adrenaline pumped, and he used it to try and shove the nearby dumpster closer to the ladder. It wasn’t happening. All he could do was try and stick with them- it looked like they were on the run, and not headed for some kind of showdown on the rooftop.