I follow Blade into a garage filled with armored vehicles. A group of three hunters stand by a black armored van, all of them staring. The one that spoke has his arms folded and a sour look on his face. A woman stands behind him, equally reluctant. Donovan is here too, though he greets me with a grin.
“This is Rynne,” Blade says, jerking her hand out to indicate me.
The same man who initially spoke speaks again. “Why is he wearing our armor? I’ve never even seen him before.” He has a slight Spanish accent, brown hair styled into a mullet, and tattoos depicting all kinds of supernatural monsters. He lives this life and he’s proud of it.
“I’m testing him in an unconventional way, Miguel,” Blade explains, unwavering. “He’s experienced and knows a thing or two about the supernatural, maybe even more than you. I want to see if he’s good enough to become Gold Team’s new member.”
Miguel works his jaw like he wants to add to that thought, but he doesn’t.
“He looks young.” The woman standing behind Miguel reveals herself. Her voice is soft, but her features look even softer. She’s short and petite, hardly what you’d call hunter material.
“He’s just like the rest of us. No home to go to and a monster to blame for that.”
Donovan laughs. “More than a monster. A demon.”
Miguel and the woman exchange doubtful glances.
“A demon?” Miguel asks. “No one’s seen or hunted a demon before.”
“Times change,” Blade replies. “Even in my lifetime of hunting, I’ve noticed a rise in dark supernatural activity. Perhaps it’s a sign.” She turns to me. “Rynne, you’ve already met Donovan. The guy with a bad attitude is Miguel.” She jabs a finger at the scowling hunter. “And this is Sherri.” She gestures to the small woman.
“Nice to meet you both,” I say.
“Nice to meet us?” Miguel sneers.
Blade snaps, “Put a muzzle on it. We have work to do. Figure out your differences later.”
Miguel shrugs and climbs into the van, Sherri right behind him.
“Welcome to the team, kid.” Donovan’s still grinning as he comes up to me and places a large hand on my shoulder.
I climb into the van when Blade orders me to. I end up sitting next to Sherri. She doesn’t acknowledge or even look at me, but that’s fine.
On the drive to Quakertown, Blade gives us all the information there is on our target. One of the EEA’s scouts has been following a string of activities all pointing to a siren, and he’s managed to tail that siren to her new life in Quakertown. The siren changes names each time she changes lovers. Her current identity is Sarah Lang. She has a human man, Ben Sullivan, who she’s taken as her lover. They live on an alpaca farm on the outskirts of Quakertown. She’s taking him for all he’s worth, and then she’ll kill him like she’s killed a list of past lovers.
It takes about an hour to get to the outskirts of Quakertown, but when we arrive there’s still plenty of daylight. Donovan drives our van out of sight, within some tall trees, almost completely bare without their leaves, where we meet up with the scout supplying us information.
“She’s out with Mr. Sullivan,” the scout explains. “In town doing some shopping.”
“Thanks,” Blade replies. “You did good work.”
“Good luck.”
The scout doesn’t stick around. His part of the job is over. I watch as he disappears into the bushes. His footsteps are quiet. He’s a skilled hunter, no doubt, but it seems the scouts are rarely expected to fight. The EEA prefers hunters to work in team units like the team Blade assembled; it’s safer that way.
“So, what’s the plan, Boss?” Donovan speaks up.
Blade takes out a mirror from the van. “We expose the siren for what she really is, and then we kill her.” She smirks. “Stay strong, guys. Don’t fall for her charms.”
Blade assigns herself as my partner. We break into the house without any problems. No one is around to witness our deeds out here except for the alpacas. We hide inside the house while the other three are stationed outside. We have a few mirrors planted near us just in case, but the plan is to have the three outside capture and bind the siren while Blade and I force her to look into the mirror Blade handed me. We have to get the siren to make eye contact with her own reflection, otherwise this won’t work.
“You’ll be the one to kill her,” Blade tells me. “Do well on all of this, successfully kill her, and you’ll become an official member of the EEA.”
“Understood,” I say.
My attention is drawn to the window when I hear a truck pulling up into the driveway. I make sure to stay out of sight as I peek out the living room window. The siren’s prey gets out of the vehicle first. I see why she’s stooped to this unglamorous life now. The man is rugged, a real mountain man, wearing a tight-fitting, long-sleeved shirt to show off his muscles—probably the siren’s idea. Sarah, the siren, reveals herself next. She outshines him in a way only the supernatural can. Her allure is concentrated, more intense than any human’s allure could ever be—even with her layers of clothing to stave off the cold. It’s how they work. They release intoxicating pheromones that blind the senses and leave only carnal desires.
The siren can’t keep her arms off the man, Ben, making it hard for him to carry the groceries. Once they reach the porch, she starts kissing him deeper and deeper until he puts down the groceries to reciprocate fervently. Donovan, Miguel, and Sherri jump into action. Miguel goes for Ben, while Donovan and Sherri go for the siren. As expected, the siren is fast. She slips out of Donovan’s grasp and crashes into Sherri.
I don’t wait. I shove the mirror into Blade’s hands, and I fly out of the house. I rip the siren off of Sherri before she can dig into her with her nails. Then I pin her to the ground. I’m hit by a barrage of her charm, dulling my mind and begging my body to act on her behalf, whatever it takes to get her too—I shake my head. She’s repulsive, a dark aura that makes my stomach clench. Her allure dissipates, and I hold her fast, just as she was about to wiggle out of my grasp.
“Help me bind her!” I shout.
She screeches and struggles underneath me, trying to cut me with her manicured nails, but I manage to restrain her. Sherri hurries over to help me tie the siren up with a zip tie.
“What are you doing?!” Ben Sullivan cries, utterly lost in his infatuation.
He rushes at Blade, causing her to drop the mirror. It shatters as it hits pavement. Blade fights back as she lets out a growl of frustration. Miguel and Donovan come to assist her, but it looks as if the men are about to break. They’re both distracted by the siren. She’s calling out to them.
“Why aren’t you affected by me?” she hisses as I finish tying her up.
Sherri and I bring the siren to her knees.
“Watch out!” Sherri shouts as a fist comes swinging at us from behind.
It’s Miguel. His eyes are glazed. He’s given in to the siren. I yank the siren back with me, narrowly avoiding Miguel’s fist. I glance over and see Donovan is on the ground, trying to fight the siren’s allure, while Blade is holding on desperately to a man much larger than her. I need to end this now.
“Sherri, a mirror! Any mirror!” Blade shouts.
But there is no need for her instruction. Sherri is already scrambling for one we hid in the tall grass nearby.
“Nooooo!” the Siren shrieks.
The men enraptured by her act as if on command, lurching at her shriek. All of them go for Sherri in the same instant. Blade leaps in just before them. She manages to shove Sherri out of the way, and Sherri passes the mirror off to me as I continue holding the siren with one hand.
“Do it, Rynne!” Blade demands as she and Sherri fight off the men.
“You’re stronger than a human,” the siren gasps as I squeeze her arm. “You don’t feel like a human.”
I shove the mirror in her face before she can say anything else. She tries to look away, but I move my hand to her hair and hold her in place.
Her willpower seems to vanish into the air. She meets her gaze in the reflection and she can’t look away. She opens her mouth into a soundless scream. Her body turns brittle and she becomes dust in my hands. The dust is whisked away in the wind and leaves behind only the zip tie I used to bind her with.
Those caught in the siren’s trance grovel on the floor, holding their heads. Blade and Sherri breathe heavily, but there’s a grin on Blade’s face.
“And that, boys, is how you deal with a siren,” she says.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t feel her call, too,” I say simply.
She shrugs. “It’s true. The gender of a siren doesn’t matter. The allure is all the same. It seems Miguel and Donovan need to practice fortifying their minds more. Isn’t that right, guys?”
Donovan scratches the back of his bald head while sitting in the grass. Miguel won’t even look up as he holds his forehead, probably ashamed.
“What just happened?” Ben Sullivan asks.
“You’ve been under a spell,” Blade says, “but you’re safe now.”
He shakes his head as if trying to reconcile everything that happened. “She wasn’t human.”
“No. She wasn’t.”
Ben Sullivan isn’t interested in hearing any of our explanations. He wants us to leave and to forget everything that happened since he met the siren. I can’t say I blame him. There’s no point in keeping him around or trying to explain things to him if he doesn’t want to know, so we leave. Miguel refuses to look at me on our way back to the van, and Donovan won’t stop complimenting me.
“Damn, kid!” he exclaims. “You really showed us up.”
“Yes,” Blade agrees, “Rynne did very well. That’s why I’m making him an A-class hunter.”
“A-class?” I ask.
“It means you’re versatile and can go on whatever mission the EEA might throw at us.”
“I see.”
“And he’s so humble, too,” Miguel mutters. “Learn to express a little excitement or something. What are you, some kind of robot?”
Donovan folds his arms and gives Miguel a disapproving look.
Blade ignores the exchange and says, “For now you’ll only be going on missions with Gold Team. Some A-class hunters aren’t assigned an actual team. They’re given temporary teams depending on their assignment, but I want you to get used to these jokers before you’d have to worry about anything like that.”
“Whatever you feel is best,” I reply.
Donovan grins. “Glad to have you on the team.”
He extends his hairy hand and we shake. Sherri nods her head, but her facial expression remains neutral. Miguel refuses to look at me. But Blade gives me the strangest look of all. She looks at me as if she’s constantly trying to appraise me.
“When we get back to the base, tell me everything you know about these demons,” she says. “And tell me everything you know about Arsen. If there are patterns to who or how he kills, I need to know.”
“I will tell you everything I know,” I lie.
CHAPTER 17
Tasia
THE BLANK CEILING ABOVE stares down at me. It’s a brazen white. It has no personality. No comfort. Just like this ceiling, my life’s been washed away. This room is nothing like my old room, painted purple with the stars and the moon projected onto the dark backdrop. It’s like I’ve started my life over—even down to my personality.
My parents didn’t have a funeral. They were burned badly in our house anyway. I was going to go with them. I don’t remember much from when I blacked out after discarding my black diamond back then, but I know I started that fire. I must not have been able to contact my parents because cremating a body discourages that body’s spirit from remaining here. More than anything, I want to talk to my parents. I wouldn’t have started that fire if I had connected to them. My parents never wanted a funeral, and so Fiona had the rest of their remains cremated when the police got all the information they could out of their burned remains. I keep holding on to hope. I keep hoping they’re still here. It’s possible, but even if they are, I don’t know how to contact them. I don’t know how to control this connection I have with the dead.
Didi and Connor have been texting and calling regularly since I left Reverie over two weeks ago. At first, I answered them, but as time went on, and Fiona kept dodging my questions, I stopped. She still won’t be straight with me. She doesn’t want me to think about my parents’ death or the monster that killed them, but her ignoring me isn’t helping the situation.
She got me set up with online classes, but I haven’t even bothered to look at them, and I spend most of my time in bed. Fiona’s never around because she’s always off working in some office. I’m never alone in the apartment, though. It seems my godmother doesn’t trust me enough for that or something. Her peculiar friend and possible roommate, Divya, stays with me whenever Fiona isn’t around—which is basically all the time. She’s tried talking to me, but I’m not interested in making small talk about energies, yoga, or meditation.
Unless she plans on filling me in on all the things Fiona won’t, I have nothing to say to her. I’d rather be alone. I do what I do, and Divya does what she does. She’s always meditating and burning incense. She’s always serene. I envy her for that. She’s offered over and over to help me find peace of mind, but I know there’s no way a little meditation or incense burning is going to bring me that. Not even my black diamond can give me peace of mind.
As I stare up at the fresh canvas above my head, the ceiling with no personality, I accept that it’s just reflecting who I am and what I’ve become. I don’t feel anything anymore. It used to hurt a lot, and I used to cry a lot. But nothing seems to matter anymore. It’s the third day of November. Halloween came and went, and life in Reverie has gone back to normal—except for one thing. The twins told me that Rynne hasn’t returned their calls since yesterday. He called to talk to me briefly yesterday, but he seemed busy.
I’ve tried to tell myself that it’s nothing to worry about, but it seems I don’t know how not to be worried. I’ve been trying to call him all morning. He hasn’t answered. What if he’s in danger? What if Arsen decided my parents weren’t enough? I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as I consider the possibilities.
I check my phone again for any messages, but there are none.
There’s a knock at my door. “I’m going to work,” Fiona calls. “Divya’s here.”
I don’t say anything. Fiona knows I’m angry about all of this, so she doesn’t wait for a response. I hear her footsteps as they creak away.
I stay in my room. My mind is swimming in images of the vampire who killed my parents. He’s always there, whether my eyes are opened or closed. I said I don’t feel anything, but that’s not entirely true. I feel something when I see that monster in my mind’s eye. I feel things I shouldn’t feel, proof that he’s marked me and has a hold on me. There’s only one thing that matters to me anymore, and that’s not letting this evil consume me. It’s too confusing. I should feel nothing but hate for him, but there’s some other emotion that always accompanies my thoughts of him. Pain. Longing.
I won’t become a tool for evil. There is nothing I want from that monster. Whatever I was feeling that night, whatever I was searching for in his eyes, none of it was me. This is why monsters are so dangerous. They promote darkness. They can make you think, feel, and even do things you never thought you’d do. That’s evil. It corrupts.
Feeling some strength return to my body, some purpose, I roll out of my bed and pack what little belongings I have into a backpack. I’m leaving tonight. If Fiona won’t help me, I’ll do this myself. I’ll find Arsen and put an end to this. How am I supposed to move on when he’s all I can think about? How am I supposed to move on knowing the monster who killed my parents is still out there?
I nervously play with the heart-shaped black diamond around my neck. It’s a powerful crystal. It’s the only one that’s been able to protect me from the spirits
that always tried to bombard me as a kid. Did it protect me from that vampire, too? Is that why he staggered like that? Or was it all some kind of show? Maybe he just decided he didn’t want to kill me yet.
I bite down on my tongue, disgusted with the word “kill.” I’ve never felt so angry before. I’ve never hated anyone like I hate Arsen. Maybe my black diamond isn’t working anymore. It seems not even my black diamond can protect me from these toxic thoughts. What’s happening to me? I don’t feel like myself anymore. I’m not a hateful person. I’m not… but a vampire doesn’t deserve anything but my hatred. Any feelings I have for him that stray from hate are lies. Anything I think I want for him is a lie.
Lies.
Another knock at my door. Divya’s slightly accented voice sounds through the door, muffled, “Tasia? Shall we try meditating together today? If you’re diligent in your practice, I promise it will make you feel better.”
“The only thing that’s going to make me feel better is if that vampire dies,” I mutter.
Divya opens my door, wearing an intricately patterned kurti. Her eyes rest on my backpack. “Going somewhere?”
“I’m leaving,” I say bitterly.
“To do what?”
I shrug. “Slay a vampire?”
“Fiona would be upset to find you gone.”
I sit on my bed, my backpack at my side. I’m fully aware Divya isn’t going to let me just walk out of here.
“You’re not going to let this go, right?” Divya asks. The way she’s asking makes me think she already knows the answer to that question.
I reply, “No. I’m not.”
“I told Fiona to just tell you, but she insisted on trying to deter you from this kind of life.”
“I was born into this kind of life. My parents taught me about the supernatural since I was born. Spirits came to me.”
“Taught you and sheltered you.”
“Maybe they shouldn’t have sheltered me then. Maybe they’d still be alive! Just what kind of life do you people live? Why didn’t anyone ever tell me just how real monsters are?”
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