Out of the Shadows

by Raven Darkwing

  “Shift,” Blaze said softly as he quickly removed his clothes from the backpack he carried. It didn’t take long before all of them were dressed and ready for their next instructions. Artemus crawled back toward them. “Anything?” Blaze asked while he kept his focus on the meadow.

  “I’m not sure exactly what that thing is, but it can’t be any paranormal being I’ve seen,” Artemus said softly. The magi glanced back over his shoulder before he continued, “Whatever it is, it’s not alive.”

  “Whoa, you mean like undead? As in Zombie, I’ll eat your brains dead?” Sparky whispered.

  “Well, then you have nothing to worry about do you?” Dove chuckled.

  “Fine, but just remember if he starts chasing us all I have to do is run faster than you,” the mechanic muttered.

  “Zip it!” Blaze ordered as he glared at the two men. “How do you know it’s not alive?” The leader asked as he turned back to Artemus.

  “He has no aura; all living beings have an aura. I’m not sure what we’re facing for sure, but I do know it’s not alive.” Artemus turned as Jake yelled out in pain.

  Shadow started forward but was stopped by a strong arm on his shoulder. “Wait, he’s still okay. We need to have time to surround them before we move in.” Shadow looked over to see Jake was cradling the same arm he’d broken while they were running from Alpha Clifton. The yell had been because Drake had grabbed him by his injured arm.

  Blaze looked at Falcon, “Since he’s already dead then we should just go ahead and kill him again. Can you get a bead on him and take him out with a head shot?” Shadow watched as Falcon pulled out his long rifle and walked to a slightly higher area of ground. It didn’t take more than a minute for him to set up and get ready to shoot.

  “The rest of you surround him in case this doesn’t work. Dove, you and Shadow stay with me.” He glanced at Shadow. “I know you want to protect Jake…”

  “Don’t worry, boss, I know what to do,” Shadow said quietly.

  “I know you do. We’ll get him back,” the leader replied as he clasped Shadow’s shoulder. “Move out!” He gave Falcon the hand signal for three minutes. Shadow followed Blaze as they got into position.

  Jake glared at the bastard he’d come to hate. His arm and side were killing him, and he still had a headache from the gas Oreo released. In short, he was having one hell of a bad day. Drake glanced around the clearing they’d stopped in before he moved toward him again.

  “Either move or I’ll break something else,” Drake warned.

  “Look, we both know I’m not going to help you get to Sammy. So, what are you trying to do, huh?” Jake glanced around the clearing, but he didn’t see anything. He put his nose in the air, but all he smelled were the flowers that seemed to fill the meadow. If this was some kind of trap, then he couldn’t figure it out.

  “Come on out, Sammy! We both know you won’t see your twin get hurt!” Drake yelled toward the forest.

  “Dude, I told you she didn’t come,” Jake purposely didn’t gaze around the clearing. If there was anyone out there, it had to be Shadow and the rest of the team. All he had to do was stall the bastard a little longer. “Is this why you insist we walk?”

  Drake shrugged. “I know you came alone; no warriors were seen leaving with you. I also know that Sammy is the real brains and brawn. There’s no way she’d let you come alone without her.”

  “Boy, you are delusional. She told me when she thought you had died that maybe it was for the best.”

  “Liar!” Drake yelled at him.

  Jake took a couple more steps back. “She’s already found someone new—where do you think the pups came from?”

  The imposter shook his head and laughed, “I know that’s not true. The alpha told me once I got the pups back, I could have Sammy. They don’t belong to her. They’re just bastard children from some she-wolf who died.”

  “The alpha lied to you. Besides I happen to know he wasn’t anywhere near here, so how could he have talked to you?”

  “I saw him yesterday when I made the call to Sammy. She’s my mate—mine!” Drake yelled. Jake didn’t know what to think. This was the most emotion he’d seen from the imposter. And yet, it still felt as if it wasn’t real. The fact that Alpha Clifton had to be close by also wasn’t a pleasant thought.

  “Did you hear me, Sammy? You’ve got ten seconds, or I’m going to snap your brother’s neck!” Drake yelled as he grabbed Jake by the arm. For the third time today, he yelped as pain shot through his body. Damn it—the bastard kept going for his injured limb. At this rate, it would never heal.

  Jake was getting ready to give the shifter a piece of his mind when he heard a shot. Drake’s head slammed backward. He pulled his arm free and watched as the imposter fell to the ground, a perfect hole in the middle of his forehead. Jake took a step back and began to turn to call out to the team when he caught movement from the corner of his eye.

  His mouth dropped open as the imposter slowly began to get to his feet. The hole in the middle of his forehead looked like a third eye. Once again, there was no blood from the wound. Jake turned to run, but a hand grabbed his leg and pulled him off balance. He fell to the ground and screamed as he landed on his injured arm. “Damn, what the hell do we have to do to kill your ass,” Jake managed through clenched teeth.

  But this time Drake didn’t answer, he simply pulled Jake up by his neck and began to strangle him.

  Chapter 14

  Shadow couldn’t believe the being that was posing as Drake had survived the kill shot from Falcon. But worse, Jake was in danger. Screw giving into emotions, this warrior was going to save the man who was going to be his mate. He shifted and headed toward the bastard who was trying to choke the life from Jake.

  He saw Jake struggle for a moment before he used his clawed hand to reach into Drake’s chest and pull out his heart. But instead of dropping to the ground, the being threw the shifter clear across the meadow. Jake hit a tree and was out for the count; his hand still clenched the bloodless heart.

  Shadow paused, unsure if he should attack Drake or go to Jake. Before Shadow could decide, he heard Blaze in his comlink. “Damn it, Shadow, get between Jake and that bastard but don’t engage. Sparky, you’re closest to Jake, I need you to get to him and get him out of there. Dove, launch plan D—now!”

  Shadow wanted to attack Drake, but he also trusted Blaze. He moved so that he was halfway between where Jake was laying and the imposter. The gaping hole in the being’s chest and the bullet hole in the forehead were something from his worst nightmare. It was surreal, even with the damage there was no blood. Artemus was right; this had to be some kind of undead monster. He hoped that Blaze had a way to kill the bastard.

  Blaze walked into the meadow and began talking to Drake, “Who sent you?”

  Drake blinked as he turned away from Shadow and faced Blaze. For a moment he said nothing, but then he tilted his head and answered, “I have to see Sammy. She is my mate.” Even Shadow could tell the answer was too stilted. It was almost as if the being had memorized a script.

  “You know, I’ve had better conversations with one of those virtual assistants online. At least when they read from the script, it might come closer to answering my question.” Blaze paused about five feet from the imposter. “If I slap the side of your head, will you reboot and answer what we asked you?”

  Shadow heard a couple of chuckles over the comlink. It was obvious Blaze was trying to goad the imposter. He just hoped whatever plan D was, it would finally kill Drake or whatever he was. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sparky leaning over Jake. At least he would get the injured shifter to safety before the shit hit the fan.

  “Look, Jakey. I’ll help you out of here, but you have to let go of the—oh Goddess! It’s still beating. Blaze the damn heart is pulling an Indiana Jones moment, and we all know how that ended. I didn’t sign up to become some freaking sacrifice to a long-dead god.”

  “It’s not really beating, that’s just an i
llusion,” Artemus assured the shifter over the comlink. “We’re dealing with dark magic—whoever reanimated our friend here had to be a bokor.” Shadow saw Artemus walk into the meadow along with Falcon and Tank. They had the zombie surrounded but to what end.

  “Will your magic work on him?” Dove asked over the comlink. Shadow noticed that they still hid the final member of the team from view. He saw Artemus shake his head. “Okay, then plan D it is!” Shadow didn’t like the gleeful sound of his teammate’s voice.

  Drake looked at all the shifters surrounding him and seemed confused as to who to attack first. Shadow and the others began to circle the imposter, but none of them attacked or got closer. It seemed whoever was controlling the zombie hadn’t programed it to handle multiple targets.

  “Why do you try to keep me from my mate?” Drake almost whined as he took a step toward Blaze. Apparently, the thing had finally decided to focus on one of them. But it wasn’t attacking. It was still trying to act as if he was the shifter, Drake.

  Blaze didn’t back away but continued to engage the zombie. “Tell you what, Drake is it?” The zombie actually nodded before their leader continued, “Well Drake, I’ve met Sammy, and she doesn’t have a mating mark. How is it you have a mate, but she doesn’t carry your mark?”

  While Blaze was trying to talk to the zombie, Shadow noticed a bird fly into the clearing. It circled a few times, each time getting a little closer to Drake. He recognized it as a Dove, which could only mean one thing—no wonder they were supposed to hit the dirt. The bird made a final pass before pausing directly above the zombie.

  “Did that bird just crap on the zombie?” Sparky’s voice sounded over the comlink.

  Shadow watched as the imposter looked up for a moment to watch the dove fly off. It didn’t even bother to wipe off the large deposit that had landed on his hair and shoulder. Before he could think any more about what he’d just seen; he heard Dove yell over the comlink, “DOWN!”

  Without thinking all the shifters and Artemus fell to the ground. Shadow noticed that Sparky covered Jake with his own body but not before he knocked the heart from the injured shifter’s hand. A loud explosion roared through the meadow followed by a shower of bits and pieces of what had to be the zombie. For a moment, Shadow stayed near the ground, but after a few seconds, he stood and gazed where the imposter had been standing just a few moments before. All that was left was a black hole.

  Blaze stood. “Everyone in one piece?”

  “What the hell was that?” Falcon asked as he stood and began to walk toward where Sparky and Jake were still lying on the ground. Shadow was concerned until Sparky stood and helped Jake to his feet. They all met near the hole where the zombie had last stood.

  “Are you okay?” Shadow asked Jake as he moved to stand next to the shifter.

  Jake nodded, “Nothing a shift and a little TLC from a certain shifter can’t mend.” Shadow glanced over and saw Jake wink at him. He stood a little closer and took the man’s hand into his own. He was still unsure how Jake wanted to handle being out in public. But Jake surprised him by leaning in and kissing him.

  Before Shadow could deepen the kiss, he heard Sparky sing, “Jake and Shadow sittin’ in a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g.—first comes love,” he paused and stepped back as Jake took a swipe at him, “then comes marriage and then comes Jakey pushing a baby carriage.”

  “How old are you?” Shadow growled when he saw Jake’s blush. The man was finally taking a step out of the closet, and the mechanic was trying to send him right back in. He began to move toward the laughing shifter, but Jake put a hand on his arm.

  “Hey, Sparky?” Jake asked as he stepped closer to the chuckling shifter.

  “I’m sorry, Jake, but man you have to admit when you come out—you come out with a bang!” Sparky was still laughing as Jake reached up and plucked something from the man’s purple spiked hair.

  “You seem to have a bit of zombie brain stuck in your hair,” Jake said calmly as he dropped the grayish blob to the ground. It was Shadow’s turn to laugh when Sparky began wiping furiously at his hair and over his clothes.

  “Oh, goddess! I’ve got zombie bits all over me! Someone help me get it out!” But no one seemed sympathetic to the flamboyant shifter’s plight. Shadow knew that Sparky was out and proud with a personality to match. But he’d never seen him this upset about his hair.

  He watched as the mechanic put his hands on his hips, “I just had my hair dyed, and she finally got just the right shade of purple. You all just don’t appreciate what I have to go through to look this perfect!”

  Blaze shook his head and turned to Artemus. “I know that a bokor is like a voodoo priest but is there a way we can track this back to the magi responsible?”

  “The practice of necromancy is the darkest of magic. This isn’t just a voodoo priest gone bad but a powerful magi who is willing to give some of his power to reanimate the corpse. I haven’t heard of a magi practicing this art, but then I’m not that connected to the covens because of my brother.” Artemus picked up the piece of brain matter that Jake had dropped and closed his eyes. He seemed to meditate for a moment before he shook his head. “I’m not getting a magical signature, which means whoever did this is good. He’s hidden himself, well.”

  “So, you mean we might have a bunch of zombies walking around?” Falcon asked as he slowly checked his weapon before putting it back into the case on his back.

  Artemus shook his head. “I doubt it. To make an army would require a large amount of magical energy. The bokor would have to give a piece of his magic to reanimate and then control the zombie. It’s one of the reasons not many are willing to practice this dark magic.”

  “How does Alpha Clifton figure into this?” Blaze asked.

  “Drake told me that the alpha told him where to find Sammy,” Jake volunteered.

  “Either the zombie was meant to infiltrate the pack or was meant to lure out Sammy—or maybe a bit of both. If Sammy had come here, she would have either been taken or fooled to bring the enemy inside. We must discuss further security measures to guard against this new form of attack,” Tank said softly.

  The shortest member of the team; Shadow knew better than to underestimate the man. He always gathered his long dark in a hairband, and his slightly slanted eyes were dark. He spoke less than Shadow, but when he did it usually was important. The shifter was deadly with his martial arts—most never saw him coming.

  “We should continue this conversation back at the alpha’s house. Let’s load up and get out of here,” Blaze ordered as he headed back toward the SUV’s. Shadow limped slightly as he followed the others. The doc was going to be upset for sure. The shifter was pretty sure chasing Zombies was not on his physical therapy list.

  He glanced at Jake. “Your arm?”

  “The bastard broke it again,” Jake replied. “Not to mention the scratches from Pinocchio. From his stench, I’m betting they’ll get infected. At this rate, Doc is going to tie us to our beds.”

  Shadow smiled, “Well, perhaps we could convince him to tie us both to the same bed?” He loved to see the slow blush creep over his soon-to-be mate’s face. He glanced down and noticed the slight tenting in Jake’s jeans—interesting.

  “Oh, my Goddess! Get a room already!” Dove cried before he turned to the van and began loading up the dove with the other critters.

  The shifter couldn’t contain his chuckle as he glanced inside the back of the SUV. “Hey, please tell me you didn’t blow the zombie up with bird poop,” Shadow said as moved closer to Dove. He saw the bird sitting in the small cage with Who, the barn owl. Oreo was sitting outside the cage blinking at them.

  Dove shrugged. “It was either that or Mack would revoke my probation. Besides, you have to admit it was kind of cool! It was Mack’s special recipe of liquid nitrogen. Sixty seconds after it’s exposed to air and boom! The guy’s a genius when it comes to this kind of stuff.”

  “Or twisted,” Jake chuckled as he struggled to get into the b
ack seat. Shadow helped him being careful not to touch the shifter’s injured limb.

  “I’m never going to get all the zombie bits out of these clothes! Do you know how hard it is to find camo gear with purple in it?” Sparky grumbled as he climbed into the second SUV.

  “I can always get you a purple marking pen. You could just color in regular camo gear with it,” Falcon snickered as he stowed his gear and got into the SUV. Shadow could still hear them arguing when the door closed. He was glad they weren’t in the same vehicle.

  Blaze got into the driver’s seat, and Dove hopped into the front seat. Shadow sighed as he sat next to Jake. He pulled him gently into his arms and was surprised again when Jake snuggled next to him before he slowly closed his eyes. He glanced up and saw Dove wink at him before turning back to talk to Blaze. For the first time in days, he felt like they may have a real chance at making this work.

  Alpha Clifton paced in the hallway outside the playrooms at the BDSM club owned by the coven. He could hear the wonderful sounds of suffering from those who were participating in the scenes. Usually, he would have taken one of the house subs into a room to release some tension. There was nothing like hearing the screams he could pull from a person using a whip. But he wasn’t in the mood. Drake was supposed to have brought Sammy to him by now.

  Once again, something had to have gone wrong. He growled as the coven’s high priest motioned for him to join him at one of the private tables. The alpha was getting tired of always being the face of their secret group. It didn’t miss his notice that it meant all the heat was coming his way while the others, including the high priest, remained in the shadows. If things didn’t start changing soon, he’d make sure he forced some of them into the light.

  “Have a seat.” Ashton motioned to a chair at his special table. From up here, the man could see everything that was happening below. Clifton snorted; it was just another way for the man to look down on those he found to be less than him.