“Run!” he roared, growling as claws scraped along his right side.
She shook her head, fiery strands of hair flying around her pale face. “No way. I’m not leaving you!”
“Get the hell out of here!” He shouted the warning as he whipped around, determined to take out whatever was after them before the fool woman got herself killed. The air ahead of him blurred, as if something moving at high speed was coming at him again, and then a lethal set of claws slashed across the top of his right thigh, ripping through the denim and flesh, cutting all the way down to the bone. He snarled, lashing out with a hard side kick that should have knocked whatever was attacking him on its ass, but his foot went right through it. Wondering what the hell he was up against, Aiden tried to punch the thing as it sped past, but it was like shoving his fist through a thick, sticky mist.
The air filled with a high, demonic sound of laughter, and then something began to take shape about five feet in front of him, hovering just above the ground, the figure hazy…but visible, as if the creature were pulling itself into a tangible form. It stood as tall as Aiden, with pale white skin like a cadaver, every inch of its skeletal form covered with what appeared to be vicious bite marks, chunks of skin actually missing in some places, though the wounds no longer bled. Its head was smooth, hairless, with only two small horns protruding from its temples, its eyes burning within its white face like two gleaming yellow orbs, its mouth filled with sharp, jagged fangs.
Leaning its head back, it sniffed at the morning air. “You don’t smell as good as a Kenly, but you’ll do, Watchman. You’ll do.”
A Kenly? They were one of the ancient clans that had been hunted nearly to extinction by a rival clan known as the Regan. Aiden had come into contact with a few Regan over the years, but he knew they didn’t look like this son of a bitch. And yet he could see traces of the Regan’s characteristics in the creature’s grisly face. Pointed ears. Long nose. Deeply dimpled chin.
His fingers itched with the impulse to release his lethal claws, but he held back, unsure how Olivia would react.
Stupid to worry about it. She’s going to see you go “animal” sooner or later. Might as well be now.
Popping his jaw, he flexed his fingers at his sides, his eyes narrowed as he searched for its weakness…a way he could take it apart. Just off to its right he spotted Olivia creeping up behind it, a fallen tree limb that the wind had blown into the parking lot clutched tight in her grasp. Fury welled within him like a volcanic blast, mixing dangerously with his fear for her safety, the thunderous roar of his heart banging inside his head. She thought she was sneaking up on the creature, but Aiden could tell from the look in its yellow eyes that it knew she was there.
“Goddamn it, I said to get your ass out of here!” he snarled, but the bastard was already whipping toward her, cracking her against the side of her head with the flat of its palm. She hit the ground hard, going down on her side, and Aiden exploded with rage, his claws instantly spearing through the tips of his fingers as he charged. But it was on the move again, rushing through the air like a bullet, nearly impossible to track.
Groaning, Olivia managed to get herself up on her hands and knees. Aiden made a move toward her, but the thing cut him off, hovering in front of him like a specter. It hit him with a backhanded smack that snapped his head to the side, busting his lip, then kicked him dead center in his chest again, knocking him back on his ass. “I shouldn’t be here,” it hissed in a soft, lisping voice as it floated close to his face, its rank breath making him gag. “Not strong enough yet to do what needs to be done. But I just wanted to get close. See for myself what the Watchmen are like now.”
“Why me?” he snarled, hoping that if he could keep its attention focused on him, then Olivia would wise up and finally get herself out of there.
“I’ve been looking for you. Looking and looking and looking,” it sang in that eerie voice that made chills break out over his skin. “See, I’ve been assigned to your breed. Which means that you and I are going to have a little fun together.”
“I doubt that.” Aiden gave it a mocking smile. “I make it a point not to screw around with things that smell like you.”
Hatred hardened its expression, its yellow eyes slitting like a serpent’s. “You think you know so much, but you know nothing. Nothing at all about what’s going to happen to you.”
“Yeah?” He slowly moved to his feet. “Then explain it to me. I’m dying of curiosity over here.”
It licked its lips, snickering softly under its breath. “Be careful, Watchman. You know what they say about how curiosity killed the cat.”
“I’m willing to take my chances,” he muttered, waiting for the moment to strike, the creature growing more solid with each second that passed. Aware of Olivia now standing a few feet behind him, Aiden accepted the fact that she obviously wasn’t going to run so long as she thought he was in danger. His only hope was to attack while the thing was in this semisolid form, and hope that he was able to hurt it.
Just a little more, he thought, flexing his long, razor-sharp claws at his sides, his muscles coiling for action. A little more…
Launching his assault, Aiden burst forward, his right arm swinging in a wide arc that tore his claws across the creature’s white stomach, drawing a spray of slick black ooze that seemed too thick to be blood, the noxious odor burning his nose. Its clawed hands pressed against the wound as it stumbled back, and Aiden was able to get in another strike across its pale chest before it levitated, settling onto one of the high branches of an ancient oak tree. Craning his neck, he watched with a raw, deadly rage as it curled its long body in on itself, a low, mewling sound scraping from its throat. Then, without warning, it shot from the branch, heading straight toward him.
Aiden braced his feet for the blow. He didn’t dare move, unwilling to take the risk that he might draw its attention back to Olivia. He flexed his claws again, planning to go for its throat the moment it struck, when Noah suddenly came out of nowhere and slammed into its side, taking it to the ground. It screeched like a wet cat as they tumbled across the gritty asphalt. Noah came out on top, pinning it beneath his body as the twin knives he always carried slashed toward its abdomen and chest. The human held the blades in his clenched fists, with his thumbs at the end of the hilts, slicing from one side to the other—though he had no better luck than Aiden in killing the thing. It snarled, then smashed its fist upward, punching Noah’s head back with a sharp crack to the jaw, stunning him. The next hit caught Noah in the chest, the blow so powerful it sent him flying through the air, until he crashed against the side of a nearby minivan, one of his knives skidding across the pavement.
From the corner of his eye Aiden could see Kellan cautiously approaching between two parked cars. The Lycan took hold of Olivia’s arm, jerking her behind the shelter of his body, while he clutched a pale-faced Jamie in his arms, the Marker still hanging around her neck, glinting in the morning sunlight.
As if sensing the focus of Aiden’s attention, the creature turned its pale head toward the group. At first it curled its lip, snarling at Kellan as he slowly backed away, but then it went silent, its eyes widening as it caught sight of the ornate cross. But it didn’t make a move to go toward it…or them. Instead, it cocked its head a little to the side, a sickening smile curling across the thin line of its mouth as it stared with a dazzled absorption. With its attention distracted by the Marker, Aiden retracted his claws, pulled his gun from behind his back and fired off a head shot just as a semi out on the highway conveniently blared its horn, covering the blast.
The bullet ripped straight into the creature’s temple.
But it still didn’t go down.
Instead, it slowly turned its head, its yellow eyes burning with hatred. It started toward him again, this time in a slow, weaving glide, more of that black liquid oozing from its temple, dripping like a dark river down its mutilated, cadaverous skin. “Get them out of here!” he roared at Kellan, while Noah staggered to
his side, ready to help him, though Aiden feared they were fighting a losing battle. No matter what they did, the son of a bitch just kept on coming. And it was only by the grace of God that no other hotel guests had wandered into the back parking lot during the fight. A fact he was all too aware could change at any moment.
“I’ll try to get hold of it, then you go for its throat,” he rasped, thinking that maybe between the two of them they could manage to decapitate the thing, and possibly even kill it. Noah nodded, his expression one of grim determination that Aiden knew matched his own.
“Get ready,” he muttered, tucking his gun behind his back to free up his hands, a murderous glint in the creature’s yellow eyes as it drew closer…closer. Then the loud revving of motorcycle engines stopped the thing in its tracks as two bikes pulled around the side of the hotel. Hissing, the creature whirled into the woods, hovering just inside the shadow of the trees. Three more bikes followed the first two, all of them gathering at the other end of the lot, and Aiden had never been so happy to see a group of humans in his life.
“Too weak to take on all of you,” it seethed, pulling farther into the shadows. “But not for long. I’ll be back…and next time I won’t be alone. You’re going to have your hands full, Watchman.”
Aiden shot it a cocky smile. “Keep ’em coming.”
“Oh, we will. Thanks to you and your friends.” Then it was gone as quickly as it had come, the air clearing of its rank stench as the wind swept through the parking lot.
Scraping his bloodied fingers through his hair, Aiden surveyed the damage. Noah was rubbing his right shoulder, a grimace twisting his features, though Aiden could tell he wasn’t seriously injured. Just banged up, and no doubt bruised as hell. Jerking his chin toward the human, he thanked him for his help.
Noah reached down for his other knife, grunting, “Any time.”
“Okay. Anyone else weirded out by Mr. Creepy, or is it just me?” Kellan muttered, moving to join them, Jamie’s arms still wound tightly around his neck.
Not trusting himself to look at Olivia without bending her over his knee for refusing to listen to a single word that he’d said, Aiden kept his gaze on his fellow Watchman. “I think it was a Regan. Or at least it used to be.”
“I thought they’d all but died out.”
“Yeah, well, that thing smelled like it’s been dead for a while now,” Noah offered with a gritty laugh.
Kellan’s odd-colored eyes darkened as he stared into the woods. “Do you think this was what Kierland was talking about when he told us to be ready?”
“With our luck? I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“What do you think that ‘thanks to you and your friends’ was about?” Noah asked.
Aiden shrugged, his voice tight with frustration. “I guess it could have been nonsense, considering that thing seemed whacked out of its skull. But my gut tells me that it was trying to tell us something.”
“Did it make a go for Liv?” This question came from Kellan, his arms still wrapped around Jamie in a strong, protective hold.
“I don’t think it was here for either of the girls.” His mouth was still bleeding from one of the hits he’d taken, and he turned his head, spitting out a mouthful of blood that joined the small, dark pool collecting beneath his right leg. Though he could feel the wound already beginning to heal, it still hurt like a bitch, and he knew he’d have to bind it before they headed out. Looking back at Kellan, he added, “It only seemed interested in coming after me.”
“I’d feel a hell of a lot better if we knew what it was.” Noah wiped the back of his wrist over his own battered mouth. “And what it was after.”
“Did you see the way it looked at the Marker?” Olivia asked, speaking up for the first time since the creature had disappeared. “It knew what it was.”
“And it didn’t look afraid of it,” Kellan murmured. “Its look was almost greedy. As if it wanted it.”
“But it didn’t even try to take it,” she pointed out, and Aiden couldn’t resist looking at her any longer. She had one hand raised, stroking Jamie’s back in a soothing rhythm, her big eyes staring right back at him, filled with concern. He could tell from her expression that she expected him to be furious with her. And he was. But even more than that, he was nearly staggered by his relief that she was okay…that she hadn’t been hurt by that psychotic asshole.
He cleared his throat. Shoved his hands into his pockets. Fought to make sense of the strange warmth in his chest as their gazes held. “What brought you guys out here anyway?” he asked, finally tearing away from those violet eyes as he looked toward Kellan again.
“We got a call from Molly saying you were in trouble,” the Lycan explained, the corner of Kell’s mouth kicking up in a smart-ass grin. “I was worried we’d be breaking up something hot and heavy, but she was right. You were getting your ass kicked.”
Aiden ignored the taunt, more interested in how Molly had known he needed help. “She hear from the source?” he asked, his look warning Kellan not to say anything about Monica. Last thing in the world he wanted to do was upset Jamie right now, her little face still buried in Kellan’s shoulder.
Kellan nodded, all traces of humor vanishing from his expression, the look in his eyes warning Aiden that he wasn’t going to like the answer. “Yeah, she heard from her.”
“And?” he bit out, the single word thick with frustration as well as dread. “What did she say?”
“Death.” The low word echoed in his ears, and he looked toward Olivia, holding her terrified gaze as the Watchman continued. “That was the message, Ade. According to the source, Death was coming.”
CHAPTER TEN
Indiana
Saturday afternoon
“DO YOU HAVE THEM YET?”
Closing his eyes, Miles Crouch leaned back in the driver’s seat of his parked Jeep, his thick fingers clenching around the cell phone jammed against his ear. Despite his tension, his mouth curled in a slow smile while he fantasized about how good it would feel to rip Schecter’s heart from his chest, squeezing it in his fist like a sun-ripened peach. Though he’d always believed that it paid to be loyal to those who ruled, he was beginning to have his doubts. Wasn’t Schecter’s irritating presence in this world proof that some orders were better left ignored? He’d killed his Merrick, and had pulled Josef across, just as Westmore had told him to do—but now he wished he’d listened to the little voice in his head instead. The one that had warned him he was going to be sorry.
“I don’t have all day, Crouch. What the hell have you found?”
“Nothing yet,” he muttered, tuning out the sounds of the bustling strip mall where they’d stopped for lunch. The Kraven traveling with him had gone inside one of the fast-food restaurants—their vampire halves requiring them to take regular meals, as well as the occasional blood feeding—while Miles waited in his car at the far edge of the parking lot, having claimed he wasn’t hungry. “We’ve been one step behind them all afternoon,” he went on to say, “but they’re not stupid. They made a strange turn near Indianapolis and we lost them.”
Silence settled heavily over the line, then Schecter slowly exhaled. “How unfortunate.”
Working his jaw, Miles focused on the way the sunlight burned colors through his lowered eyelids, bright splashes of crimson and orange and yellow, doing his best to control his temper. “These Kraven are useless at tracking the human’s scent. And the child’s Merrick signal is almost too faint to follow. If you sent me some Casus, it would improve our chances of staying on their trail.”
Schecter’s tone was dry. “That would be easier to do if you hadn’t allowed the shifters to send half our unit back to Meridian. And that’s after the heavy losses we suffered in Washington, thanks to your incompetence.”
Frustration prickled beneath Miles’s skin, making him sweat despite the chill in the air. He wanted to argue, but what could he say? He was to blame for Gregory’s escape, damn it. Westmore had sent him to Washington to help track G
regory down, but when he’d found him, he hadn’t made the kill or even taken the Casus into custody. Like an idiot, Miles had hoped to appeal to the guy’s sense of reason, but unfortunately Gregory didn’t have any. The bastard had gone after Riley Buchanan anyway, and Miles had been left looking like an asshole.
Yeah, he knew he’d screwed up. But that didn’t mean he was going to sit there and take this crap from a prick like Schecter. “Look, you got anything important to say? ’Cause I gotta go.”
“Actually, I have news from Westmore.”
At the mention of the Kraven’s name, the man’s image filled Miles’s mind, making him shake his head. It still amazed him that Westmore had managed to pass for human when he’d first approached the Collective Generals. If you knew what you were looking for, it was easy to recognize a Kraven. But then, that was the problem. Very few knew what to look for…and those who did seldom revealed the secret. “And?” he muttered, his impatience getting the better of him when Schecter fell silent again.
“And it seems that you’re going to have some company.”
Opening his eyes, Miles glared at the sliver of pale gray sky visible through the Jeep’s sunroof. “What kind of company?”
“Nothing that should interfere with your hunt. But you’ll want to be careful all the same. It looks as if our suspicions about the Markers have proven true.”
His eyes went wide with shock. “Are you telling me that the Death-Walkers are here?”
“We haven’t made contact yet, but Westmore has men working on it. Just hurry up and get your hands on the girl. They seem to be targeting the Watchmen, which works into our plans perfectly. If our newest intel is correct, they’ve already taken one shifter down in Russia, and another’s been killed in New Zealand. They’ve shown no signs of going for the Merrick or the Markers, but if for some reason that were to change, you’ll be expected to deal with them.”
Miles snorted. “Yeah? And exactly how am I supposed to do that?”
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