by AJ Jarrett
Will wiped his hands over his eyes and turned to stare at the dead corpses on the ground. He growled and reached for the dead Dark Warrior closest to him when out of nowhere it just disappeared. Will jerked his head to the side to look toward the other ones and they too had vanished. The only sign that they’d been there was the abandoned black SUV and Will’s body.
Backup arrived a minute later followed by an ambulance. They loaded up Will’s dead body and took him to the hospital. The captain left to go to Will’s house personally to tell his widow what had happened. Will was never coming home, and the life they had planned together was over. Wes’s heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine having to carry on without the love of his life.
Wes gave a report to his fellow police officers then headed to the hospital. He had a message to give Maggie.
* * * *
The sun was coming up when Wes finally got home. His captain gave him a few weeks off work. He thought it best that Wes take some time to get his head back on straight. The funny thing was, death wasn’t something that was new to him. He’d lost friends before, but this was different. Will didn’t know what he was up against and Will was only trying to help him. And for that, he died.
Wes had been living as a human for the past ten years. He knew it was naïve to think that the war between good and evil had somehow magically ended, but it hadn’t and tonight was a reminder of that.
Wes reached for his phone and dialed the one person he always turned to in times of need, Garrett.
“Damn, Wes.” He could hear Garrett as he yawned into the phone. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Yeah, man. I’m sorry.” Wes stood and paced the living room of his small house. “I just needed to talk to someone.” That was an understatement. Wes thought his head was going to explode. “Something bad happened last night.”
“Wes, what happened?” Garrett’s tone changed from happy and friendly to serious in two seconds flat.
In all the ten years since Wes left Texas he hadn’t seen one Dark Warrior, but now in less than twenty-four hours, he had come up against three. What were the odds of that? Could it just be a coincidence or was something happening that the Warriors of the Light needed to be aware of? Was a war about to begin or had it already started?
“I was attacked by three Warriors of the Dark.” Wes raised his hand to rub his eyes. “One of my friends on the force was murdered.”
“Holy shit. Do you think it was a planned attack?” Garrett asked.
Wes plopped down on his couch. He clenched his eyes closed but quickly opened them. Every time he shut them he saw Will lying there dead. His ears were still ringing from the screaming sobs that Will’s wife Maggie made when she saw his body. It wasn’t fair to her or to Will. A life snuffed out way too soon.
“I’m not sure. I was sitting under an overpass when a large black SUV sped down the road. I went after it. I was led to an abandoned warehouse district.” Wes punched his fist into the air, cursing himself for even calling for backup in the first place. He should have known something was off. “Fuck!” he shouted.
“Wes, calm down. It’s not your fault.” Garrett used his alpha calming voice, but it wan’t working.
Guilt weighed heavily on Wes’s shoulders. He kept replaying what happened in his mind to see if there was a way to have prevented Will from dying, but the outcome was always the same.
“But it is, Garrett.” Wes’s throat grew tight, and he could barely swallow.
“No it’s not,” Garrett shouted. In a softer tone, he said, “Think about it, man. Had you not been a paranormal being or a Warrior of the Light, you’d be dead right along with your friend. You took those motherfuckers out and stopped them from hurting someone else.” Garrett sighed. “It sucks but we can’t control everything in the world. People die, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”
“It’s just not fair.” Once again Wes thought of Will’s wife.
“It’s not but you have to move on. Remember the good times and keep his memory alive so that he didn’t die in vain.”
“You’re right.” Wes nodded even though Garrett couldn’t see him. His best friend was always spot on with his advice.
“Not to be insensitive but how did you explain the bodies?”
“That’s a very interesting question, my friend.” Wes still wasn’t sure what happened to the dead Dark Warriors. “I killed them all.”
“Obviously.”
“But while I was trying to save Will, the bodies just vanished.”
“Vanished?” Garrett asked, skepticism in his tone.
“Yeah.” Wes snapped his fingers. “In the blink of an eye, they were just gone. That was how I was able to walk away without answering a ton of questions or being locked up for ripping three grown-ass men apart.” Wes stood back up to pace the worn-out path in his carpet. “There was something else. One of them said something to me that I found rather odd.” Now that Wes was at home and away from all the death of the night he kept replaying what the Dark Warrior had said to him. What did that mean?
The child of the light was Colby, but he’d been living a quiet life in the Midwest with his dads. All the Warriors of the Light were operating under the radar in order to stay hidden. They were living ordinary lives. Hale, the child born of darkness, was the fated mate to Colby and together they had the power to stop the evil in the world from growing. But it was Hale who had helped save them ten years ago. Hale knew the danger if he were to seek out Colby. From the last time he saw him, that young man would never intentionally hurt Colby or allow his crazy mother Athena to, for that matter. Something wasn’t right.
“What did he say?”
“That they were looking for him, the child of the light.” Wes’s stomach twisted in knots. “He said once they found him we’d all die.”
“We have to contact Ben and Miles. We have to let them know this. Colby could be in danger.”
“I agree with you on that. But why search for him after all these years? What’s changed in Hale to go after the one good thing in his life and destroy it?” Wes was puzzled.
“Maybe Hale isn’t the man he used to be, Wes. Evil can change a person and make them do things they wouldn’t normally do.” Wes could hear Garrett moving around his house. “When are you flying out of there?”
“Excuse me?” Wes asked. “Flying out of here?”
“Wes, you can’t stay there. They know where to find you. It’s not safe.”
That had been a thought in the back of his mind that he was fearing to put a voice to. Wes knew he had to leave this place he’d called home for the past eight years, but it didn’t make it any easier. He was enjoying the quiet life, but that was all in the past now.
“I’ll be on a plane later today.” Wes sighed. He thought his life as a Warrior of the Light was over, but he had to assume that part of his life would never truly be over. As long as the light and dark were at odds, then the Warriors of the Light were never truly free from their destiny.
Chapter Six
Matt very slowly pushed open the door from the locker room out into the hallway. He was being ridiculous, but he was on edge. Over the past week, he could swear he was seeing that guy, Hale, all over campus. Once even in his dormitory. Matt was starting to think he was losing his mind.
No matter where Matt went, he felt eyes on him. Like a moron, he’d turn and look, but every time no one was there. There were other students and professors roaming around campus, but their stares were different, friendly, but not this one. It was like a shroud of darkness was hovering over him and it was really freaking Matt out. He knew it sounded crazy, but it was like a living, breathing entity following him around. He was too nervous to tell anyone because he didn’t want to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. He was even afraid to say anything to Colby.
The hallway was empty. It was Saturday afternoon, and they had a bye that week. The coach scheduled an early practice giving the players the rest of the day do as they wi
shed. Matt was talking with the offensive line coach and lost track of time so when he went to shower, the majority of the team had already left. Matt showered and changed as fast as he could then headed out.
The hallway leading out of the locker room area to the outer doors was long. The bright lights overhead guiding the way, keeping the hall lit up. It made Matt less afraid.
As he was walking, he heard a buzzing and looked up. The light overhead started to flicker then faded and went out. Matt didn’t pay it much attention and continued to walk. Another light went out, then another. The hallway was growing darker. It was early October, and the sun was out, shining down with its golden rays but there were no windows in the hallway. The overhead lights were the only illumination given.
Matt reached up to tighten his hands around the shoulder straps of his backpack. He took a deep breath and started to walk. He raised his foot, and the next light flickered, and as he moved forward, it went out.
“Shit.” Matt pulled his phone from his back pocket and hit the button for the flashlight. He shined it down the part of the hall he had already come from and saw nothing. It was eerily quiet just like that night he met Hale. It was as if the world was void of all sound.
A chill rippled over his back, and Matt’s hands started to shake, causing the light from his phone to do so, as well. He turned to look up the hallway to where he needed to go and saw that all the remainder of the lights had started to flicker.
“Fuck this.” Matt started to run, and the hallway went completely black. He ignored the need to fall into the fetal position and scream for help. He may be a tall and muscular man, but he was still scared of the shit that went bump in the night like most people were. Had this happened two weeks ago he wouldn’t be as scared, but there was something about that Hale guy that freaked him out, and Matt couldn’t explain why.
Matt was almost to the end of the hall. He could see the glow of the light coming through the doors leading out of the stadium when he tripped. It was as if something reached up from the floor and grabbed his calf, dragging him down.
Matt went down hard on his side and lost his phone in the fall. He sat up and rubbed at his elbow. Matt looked to his right and saw the glow of his phone and reached over to pick it up. Just as he grabbed it and flashed it down the hallway, he saw movement and the shine of eyes looking back at him. Panic exploded inside his chest, and Matt climbed to his feet and took off at a mad dash for the front doors. Once he was outside under the bright sun, he took a deep breath. His hands were shaking, and his palms were wet. He was bent over taking big gulps of cool autumn air into his lungs. He turned his head to stare at the doors.
It wasn’t a minute later when one of the trainers for the soccer team walked out the door. Matt had seen him in the weight room before. He was on his phone laughing to whoever was on the other end.
“Excuse me.” Matt walked on wobbly legs toward the man. He couldn’t think of his name off the top of his head.
“Yeah?” The man pulled the phone away from his ear. “Whatcha need, kid?”
“Did the lights come back on in the hallway?”
“What?” The older man looked from Matt back toward the double doors. “Son, the lights are on.”
“Are you sure?” Matt asked as he glanced toward the doors.
“Positive.” The man laughed. “Otherwise I’d ran into the wall and broke my damn glasses.” He patted Matt on the arm. “See you later, kid.”
“Bye.” Matt slowly walked toward the door and pulled it open. He leaned inside, too scared to walk all the way in, and looked down the hallway. Like the man had said, the lights were all on. “What the fuck?”
“Hey, Matty!” The sound of Colby’s cheerful voice had him jumping back.
“Damn it.” Matt clasped a hand to his chest. “Don’t do that. Geez!” Matt forced out a chuckle. “You nearly scared the life right out of me.”
“You all right?” Colby walked over and put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “You seem overly freaked out. You feeling okay?”
“Yeah.” The concerned look on Colby’s sweet face made Matt feel terrible. He was letting his imagination run wild, and the last thing he wanted was his friend to worry about him. “I watched a horror movie on Netflix last night.” He winced and made a face. “I guess I was more spooked than I thought. Don’t tell anyone. I’d lose my man card for sure.”
“I can do that.” Colby started to laugh. “And I won’t tell everyone how you screamed like a girl just then either.”
“Watch it, Colbster.” Matt reached out and tickled Colby’s right side right under his armpit. It had the desired effect. Colby was squealing like a pig.
“Okay, enough.” Colby smacked Matt’s hands away. “Keep it up, and I’ll pee my pants.”
“Can’t have that.” Matt gave one more hard tickle then took a step back. “What are you doing over here? It’s a little far from your dorm.”
“I was coming to see if you wanted to go study for the chemistry test. I tried calling and texting you, but you never answered.” Colby rolled his eyes. “What’s the point of having a phone if you don’t intend on answering the dang thing?”
“You sound just like my mother right now.” Matt pulled his phone from his pocket to check for missed calls or texts. “Hmm.” Matt pursed his lips. When he had his phone out earlier, he hadn’t noticed any missed calls. He had the ringer on so he wasn’t sure why he never received the calls from Colby. “I didn’t get them.”
“Well, that’s weird.” Colby snatched the phone from Matt’s hand. “That’s really strange. Here look.” Colby handed Matt back his phone then handed over his own cell phone. “See look.” Colby tapped on the screen.
Like Colby had said, there were two calls to his phone then there were five texts from Colby to Matt. Matt never got a single one.
“Maybe there’s a bad signal in the locker room.” Matt shrugged. He didn’t have an answer for why he hadn’t gotten the messages.
“So do you want to hit the library with me?” Colby smiled really wide, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I even brought snacks.” He reached out to thump the bottom his backpack. “What do you say?”
“You had me at snacks.”
Matt walked beside Colby as they made their way across campus to the library. With each step he took, Matt had the weird feeling that he was being watched. He didn’t like it, and every time he looked to the left, right, or behind him, there was no one there.
Once at the library they headed up to the third floor where they had closed off small rooms where people could study and talk without bothering anyone else. Colby pulled out his chemistry book and his binder with his notes inside. He handed Matt a few pieces of paper and a pen.
Matt didn’t bother going back to his room to get his notes because he and Colby had the class together and all their notes were the same. They were each other’s study buddy. It came in handy when either of them had to miss a class.
For two hours they worked on their latest chemistry assignment and discussed possible questions that might be on the test. This was something that he and Colby had done since freshman year. Matt was convinced he was doing so well because of his best friend. Without Colby there to ride his ass about getting good grades and studying, he’d probably have failed a class or two.
“Dude,” Colby groaned. “I just wished we had some idea of what Professor Hanks will put on the test.”
“Ah know, Cole man.” Matt chuckled. He reached for the bag of chips Colby had brought with him. “That would be too easy. I’m pretty sure Hanks wants us all to fail.” Matt scrunched up his face. “He’s old and bitter, and he hates us all.” Matt laughed.
“At the beginning of the semester I’d thought that statement was full of shit, but now I’m not so sure.” Colby rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I swear that man hates young people.”
“Remember that time I asked if he was related to Tom Hanks?” Matt nudged Colby with his shoulder.
“Yeah
.” Colby smirked. “I thought his head was going to explode.” Matt and Colby both started to laugh. “Then when you said that a sense of humor must not run in the family.” Colby was wheezing as he gasped for air.
“I know right.” Matt leaned back in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “I’d never seen a person’s face get that red before.”
“That might be why he doesn’t feel the need to tell us what to study because it’ll be on the test.” Colby reached out to flip a page in his book and yanked his hand back with a hiss. “Motherfucker.” He started shaking his hand.
“What happened?” Matt sat up and reached for Colby’s hand. Blood beaded up on the pad of his pointer finger. Without thinking, Matt brought the finger up this mouth to wipe the blood off with his tongue. A habit he’d learned from his mother.
“Uh, Matt.” Colby cocked his head to the side. “What the hell are you doing?”
Matt pulled Colby’s finger from his mouth and was now blowing on it. “My mom does this to Kevin and I all the time. I promise we’re not vampires or anything like that.” Matt raised his upper lip to flash his blunt teeth.
“Trust me I know,” Colby whispered so low that Matt barely heard what he’d said.
“See, all better.” Matt smacked a kiss to the finger that had stopped bleeding and let go of Colby’s hand. Matt grabbed his water and took a drink to wash down the copper taste of Colby’s blood.
“Dude, you’re so weird.” Colby shook his head and laughed. “If we weren’t such good friends I’d think you were hitting on me.”
“Yeah don’t flatter yourself, big guy.” Matt set his water down and picked up his pen to tap the table. He liked Colby but that like had grown more into a brotherly-type like versus love interest. Sure there were times Matt wished he and Colby had gotten together only because they got along so well. But the thought of kissing or having sex with Colby really didn’t do anything for him. It just didn’t seem right. “I love you like a brother and brothers don’t fuck.”