by Shen Hart
I stepped out from beneath the willow’s protection and looked around me. I’d landed in a small park with immaculately trimmed grass and elegantly planted flowerbeds. Not a single petal was out of place. The buildings were all metal and glass. The soft blue-ish light trailed along the strong black lines of the metal between the oversized windows on the apartment building before me. It stood in stark contrast to the secure confidence of the cream stone in the old quarter. The glass grabbed at the viewer’s attention, desperately seeking reassurance for everything that it was. I’d rather have stone any day. No one was nearby, so I stepped out and casually walked along the pitch-black path with its simple streetlamps. They had put the bulbs in delicately designed black cages that looked like a modern take on the old gas-lamps. No doubt trying to add some extra personality and class to the area. It didn’t fit.
I couldn’t help but be reminded of the first scene of the siren’s death as I walked by the twisted building, which appeared to be spiralling upwards towards the sky. Not a thing was out of place. Every bush was trimmed to an exact standard. There wasn’t even a leaf out of place on the box hedges running along side the path. Every flower was a shining beacon of health with its striking colours. It was too perfect. It felt… fake.
A dog-walker gave me a polite smile as he wandered past with his sedate black lab. No words were exchanged. I doubted that was the done thing there. He blended in perfectly, though, just another human, nothing worth pinning down and interrogating. I was becoming anxious again. I hadn’t heard from Alex or the boys, and the longer he was away from us, the worse our chances at tracking him down became. My pace increased without realising it as I looked down the wide alleys, each of them lit with the increasingly eerie blueish-white light. Nothing was out of place, and it was beginning to make me nervous.
I’d covered some nine blocks when I sat down on a bench to pause and think things through. I hadn’t felt a single non-human energy since I’d landed under the willow tree. The rest of the city had been packed with various creatures. If anything, humans were the minority in some areas. It was very odd that there wasn’t a single one (that I had felt) in that area. It niggled at me and added to my nervousness and anxiety. I found myself looking around, inspecting every little shadow, almost jumping at the slightest movements. My muscles were incredibly tense, and my breathing had become too shallow again. I took a deep breath. I was fine. I had to focus.
28
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I leapt on it in the knowledge that it could well be the essential news I was desperately waiting for. It was Dan, and he was sure he’d seen the killer. I told him to stay put. We couldn’t risk losing him. I tried to keep my appearance as calm as possible as I ducked behind the closest hedge and shifted back into my raven form. I didn’t have time to worry about what the humans thought. He was only a couple of minutes’ flight away from where I had been. The cool breeze running through my feathers brought back the feeling of calm and bliss that I associated so strongly with the raven. I landed at Dan’s feet and shifted back into human form. Nik and Ryan arrived at a jog as I was brushing myself down, and Alex appeared behind me in his dog form.
We all looked to Dan, who was slightly flustered. “He went south, towards the outskirts.”
I didn’t like the slight waver to his voice, but there was no time to waste. We all jogged down the road with the short industrial buildings on either side of us. They grew into the vast expanses of the warehouses interspersed with rickety brick buildings that I had to assume were offices of some form. After a block, we stopped and split up.
It didn’t take long.
A scream cut through the air. The high-pitched sound was coated in the familiar honeyed tones of a siren. I took off in the direction it was coming from. The scream was cut short just as I rounded the corner. I was immediately struck by the cool, clean feel of the area. It carried none of the usual markers. There were no energy traces at all and not a single sound. I rushed forwards while the boys appeared behind me from various directions. They covered my back and looked for any other signs.
Her body was crumpled on the pavement, the body still warm and her eyes wide open staring down the alley. I ignored her and hunted around for some sign of the killer.
Away from the body, there was nothing out of the place. The grass remained defiant in the cracks where the tree roots had dislodged the tarmac. The trees were untouched and held no one, their thin branches far too weak to hold a man's weight. There were no doors, no nooks, nowhere for him to hide. Yet we had heard no footsteps, there were no scents, no energies. It must have been him.
I ran to the other end of the alley, hoping to catch sight of someone or something fleeing. There was nothing. Not a trace of life. I growled and twisted on my heel to march back to the body. The boys were arguing again, but at least someone had closed her eyes.
"Quiet!"
I glared at them all. "He was right under our nose, how is this possibly acceptable?"
Anger bubbled up and consumed my thoughts. Had the killer known we were nearby and changed his plans? I paced around in a small circle while the boys continued to inspect the surrounding area.
Ryan called out, "Here!"
We crowded around him and looked up at where he was pointing. A small scrap of blue cotton fabric was caught on the wire fence where it had been pulled back to form a small hole. It was suspicious; there had been nothing left behind previously. We had to take what we had and run with it; what choice did we have? Alex nodded to Ryan who scrambled up the wall and carefully retrieved the fabric. He held it between thumb and forefinger, careful to keep his energies from touching it. Alex leaned in and looked at it. There was a tiny mark of blood, just enough to catch a scent and the energy. It meant that we could compare it back to the man Nik and Ryan had followed earlier. That wasn't ideal, but it was something.
Nik reached out. "May I?"
I frowned and looked at him. He looked a little sheepish. "I'm a good tracker, and I'd like to be the one to do this."
I glanced at Alex. His lips tightened, but he said, "Do not fail us."
Nik smiled weakly and took the fabric from Ryan. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, taking in the scent. I had no doubt that it wasn't much, but I hoped it was enough. He kept his eyes closed for a moment before taking off into the night.
I looked to Ryan and said, "Get and follow him! This is your chance to redeem yourself."
Ryan ran off after him. I didn't trust them to act alone. If they were in a pair, then they had a better chance of handling any trouble, and if Nik lost the trail then hopefully Ryan would be able to pick it up again. I didn't trust either Nik's skills or the twist of luck enough to have the entire pack go after the trail. We went over every inch of the alley and covered the siren's face out of respect. She appeared to at least have been given a quick death. Her neck was twisted and broken, and there were no other marks on her.
I was ready to end the killer's life and move on. The game was growing tedious and wearisome. I didn't appreciate the idea that he or Kit was playing us. I sat down on the half-wall at the farthest end of the alley and put my head in my hands trying to pull all of the pieces together. Fae and pixies had the best chance of being able to wipe the place clean like that, but Ryan and Nik had said the man was just a human. It would also take a group of fae or similar quite some time to completely wipe all traces like that. The creature that did that only had a minute at most; we had moved quickly.
I growled to myself and looked up at Alex. His face was dark, half hidden in the shadows, but his ice blue eyes still carried the sharp spark of the predator. Dan gritted his teeth and seemed lost in his thoughts.
Finally he broke and said, "Is Keiran playing us? What about the pixie girl? Could it be the entire fucking fae clan here in the city?"
I curled my lip, but Alex answered, "Fae have nothing to gain from this, and it doesn't fit in with their sadistic M.O. It lacks their twisted sense of humour. I'm suspicious of the
information Kit gave, but he wasn't involved."
Dan growled quietly. His cougar aspect slunk forward, and he climbed up to sit in the tree.
Our phones all vibrated. Ryan had sent a text, "Nik confirmed. The scent matches the man. No sign of him."
I took a deep breath and replied, "Any trail?"
Alex looked down to me. "What are you thinking?"
"We take him tonight."
If there was any sign of a trail to follow, then we would hunt him down and rip his throat out. I was fed up of this ridiculous game.
Ryan texted back, "No trail."
I snarled and told them to return to the apartment then, we had to plan our next move. Dan brought his wolf forward and kept sniffing the air while Alex and I kept our ears pricked and checked for any trace of the man as we took the long way back to the apartment. If we caught anything, we planned on hunting him down. There was nothing, not that we'd expected it. By the time we reached the apartment, our mood was sullen, frustrated, and melancholy. We had been so close. He was taunting us, and we only had half the puzzle pieces. I slumped on the sofa and cursed the Sisters. They should have given us more information. They were allowing the sirens to be slaughtered, for what? I wasn't particularly fond of the parasites, but even I had my limits.
Nik dropped the rag on the table and collapsed into an arm chair. Dan sat with Alex and me on one sofa while Ryan sprawled out on the other. I didn't like the distinction being made within the pack. It was not the three of us versus the two of them. We were a united force. We went back over everything we knew and tried to form a plan of attack. If the man had a routine as Kit had said he did, then he would be easy to catch. That being said, he also clearly knew that we were thinking that way and would very likely be trying to evade us. There was also the strong possibility that that man was being set up by the real killer.
I wasn't against the prospect of killing one innocent if it meant we got closer to our goal. He was involved in the sirens one way or another, and therefore he was a fitting target. We got some sleep and prepared ourselves for the hunt that night.
29
He already knew Nik and Ryan's faces, so they were held back and stayed at our flanks while Alex and I took point. The man lived in a plain, red brick house with a tidy little garden and cream curtains. It matched the other drab, monotonous houses on the road. No car sat in the driveway, but that wasn't that unusual in the city. I remained in the shadows, tucked up in the tree watching intently in my raven form. Alex had shifted into his dog form. It wasn't perfect, but he could pass as an escaped pet in his sleek black and tan Doberman-cross shape. I watched him with a small smile as he wandered around the road, sniffing at bushes before he lay out on a patch of grass a few doors down from the target's house. There was something comforting in the familiarity of this part of it all. The thrill of knowing the target was right there, hunting him down, and the best part, of course - the kill.
He was only a human, or so we thought, but we couldn't be sure of that. There were many creatures and beings we hadn't come up against yet, so I didn't really acknowledge him as truly a human. I wondered if part of that was morality trying to step in. There was something less pleasurable about killing humans. They were weaker, and they often had no idea what was going on around them. It was like killing a cub. I shrugged and focused on the house. There was movement within it, but the door hadn't opened yet. We didn't want to barge into his house. That would arouse far too much suspicion. Instead we planned on following him, controlling his movements, and taking him out into the woods. People had the natural instinct to move away from creatures that threatened them. We intended on using that to push him in the directions we wanted. I didn't care much about what the humans would think about it all. I was ready for it to be done with.
The lights went out behind the cream curtains. My focus intensified, as I knew that this was it. He was getting ready to move. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, but I couldn't wait. I slipped down from the tree and ducked into the shadows of a house a short distance away. I confirmed that no one was watching as I wrapped the shadows close around me, their cold kiss on my skin sending chills down my spine. I'd missed the shadows. I pulled away just a little, rejected their affections and focused on shifting back into my human form. The black jeans were a touch too warm in the humid weather, but a storm was coming and the dark red tank top blended in while still keeping up appearances. I looked like a perfectly normal woman out walking to meet friends or some such.
I held back a giggle as the shadows wove themselves around my legs and slipped over my fingers in affectionate dances. I didn't have time to spend enjoying their company. I took a deep breath and quietly asked them to thread their way through my hair. I couldn't hide my eyes, their predatory glint was something I'd never managed to keep from people, but I could hide my white-blonde hair. It was both a curse and a blessing, and at that point, it was a curse. The shadows slipped around my hair and nested themselves on top of my head making my hair appear to be pitch black. I smiled and ran my fingers over my head in thanks.
I casually walked out onto the pavement and glanced around before carrying on and following the man. Alex had stirred, but he was making a show of sniffing around the bushes. The man walked wide of him, but paid him no obvious attention. I tilted my head and watched our target. He blended in beautifully. His short hair was well kept but unadventurous; his clothes were the same shirt and jeans that hundreds of other men wore throughout the city. He was a no one. I felt a pang of guilt over taking his life, at the possibility of him being just a human. I shoved it away and reminded myself of the sirens he'd slaughtered for no reason.
He took the same route that he had the night before, exactly as Kit had said. His pace was slow and relaxed, his hands tucked into his pockets, and he paid no attention to much of anything around him. The tree-lined suburbs gave way to the older part of the city with its tall, imposing buildings. I was grateful that he hadn't chosen the modern part with all of the glass walls to quietly check for those around him. Instead, we were surrounded by large stone blocks and ancient, heavy wooden doors.
Once we were in the heart of the old town, we began to make our move. Alex had shifted into his human form to give him a better advantage and to make himself less obvious in his actions. He appeared out of the shadows on the other side of the road. His figure was much taller than the target's; broader, with clear muscles. Alex had opted to go without a shirt and wore faded blue jeans, better to add to the imposing image he was creating. The target did as we had hoped: He moved away from Alex. I smiled. It was good when things went to plan.
Alex moved closer and controlled the man's movements, pushing him down a narrow alley that would cut out into the woods. The man turned down into the alley to try and avoid Alex. We followed him, and he was gone. There was no sign of him. The alley was only just wide enough for Alex and me to stand side by side. It was straight, with no nooks or turning points. There were no doors or windows, just sheer walls that stretched more than six stories up above us. We ran.
He must have fled either in fear or because he knew who and what we were. The boys were close behind us when we emerged from the alley out into the woods. We stopped and listened. Even with my wolf ears shifted, I couldn't hear footsteps, breathing, or a heartbeat other than ours. I sniffed the air and caught something. Nik took off after something. I had to hope that was the right thing. He ran as fast as his long legs could carry him, twisting and turning, ducking under the bows of the trees. I struggled to keep up with my far shorter legs. The boys were all ahead of me as we followed the scent of the man through the woods. After what felt like an hour of hard running, we stopped. All of us lowered our heads and breathed deep, our hearts bounding in our chests while our lungs struggled to fill themselves. My muscles burned, but it felt good.
We looked at Nik. He said, "It stopped. Dead."
I growled and looked at him, he merely shrugged. "I thought maybe he was a bird shifter, but I can
’t pick up a trace of it in the vicinity. I checked up around the trees and such, but there’s nothing. It just vanished.”
How the hell had he managed to lose all of us? I focused on calming my breathing. He was clearly a far more formidable foe than I had given him credit for.
We sat down on the warm soil and rested. It had been a while since we had pushed ourselves so hard, and we needed to plan our next move.
Ryan looked to Alex and I and said, "How the fuck did he do it? Seriously, how did he manage to vanish into thin air like that?"
I rubbed my temples. I didn't have an answer for him. I didn't know of any one single creature that could do such a thing. There were a couple of gods that could have managed to hide their energies completely, but gods didn’t come down to that plane.
Alex simply said, "We don't know. We have no idea."
Dan lay out on his back and stretched while Nik leaned against the closest tree. He mumbled, "I'm sorry."
I offered him a half smile. "You did your best. It seems you're a better tracker than I'd given you credit for."
I needed to give him something positive. It wasn't his fault that the trail had gone dead. He'd done all he could, and he would make me proud as a tracker. I rubbed my face trying to run everything through my head.
Dan said, "Can we track Keiran down? He was the one who gave us information last time, maybe he’ll have something more? Maybe he couldn’t help screwing with things a little bit. Fae are known for their games, after all."
It took me a second to remember who Keiran was - Kit! I cursed the fae’s inability to give over their proper name. Keeping track of his various pseudonyms was a pain. "We could, but I don't see what good it would do it at this point. We need to move quickly. If he's still in the city, then he’s unlikely to stay that way for long."