by Shen Hart
Alex said, "And we don't know how reliable Keiran is. He could be involved in all of this."
Ryan coughed and said, "What about the sirens?" I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "Well, we have an idea of his hunting territory right? And the siren he's likely to go after next?"
"That's assuming that Keiran isn't playing us." Dan couldn't help himself. He hadn’t forgiven Kit from his meeting with him earlier, and the little game with the information didn’t make it any better.
Dan pressed, "But what other option do we have? We have no other information, no other leads? Are we supposed to just run around the city in the vain hope that we find him?"
I lay back on the dirt and looked up at the canopy overhead, trying to pull the threads together. We could return to the fae club, but if the fae were involved they'd all stick together, and we'd never get anywhere in time. The humans were entirely useless. They didn't know sirens existed, let alone were being killed. The Sisters wouldn't give us any information. I wondered if it was some twisted game to them.
Alex sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I can't think of another option. When is the next one supposed to be?"
Ryan said, "Tomorrow. The abandoned warehouse out on the edge of the city."
I looked at him. "There's only one option for tomorrow?"
He shrugged. "I guess Keiran was pretty sure on that one."
That was suspicious in and of itself. I was beginning to doubt Kit and the fae. The pixie girl could easily have set us up, but it wasn't going to do us any good pacing around trying to see if they were for or against us. I chose to believe they were on our side. The fae had never done anything wrong by me before. They were notorious for their games and malicious intent, but they’d never done me any harm.
I'd entirely forgotten that the shadows were entangled in my hair and glanced over to Alex. He gave me a clear look of "don't."
I curled my lip and looked away. It had to be Dan who asked though, didn't it?
I stood, and he said, "I love what you did with your hair. Did you somehow bring forward your raven in a new way or...?"
I shrugged and turned away from him. "When you’re as old as I am, you know all the tricks."
I hoped that he believed I was just maintaining an odd trick with the raven side, given he’d suggested the idea. Given I was far older and more experienced than him, I could have done it, in theory. Shadow has a very distinctive look and feel to it, but most people don’t know that. It was a hidden talent, and I cursed myself for being stupid enough to keep it up around the cubs. I should have removed it the moment we entered the alley.
Ryan spoke up with, “Can you explain how you did it? I know I can’t control fire, but maybe it’d help me figure out something else that I can do. Ya know?”
I tried to keep a polite smile on my face, rather than the snarl I wanted. He didn’t mean any harm. It was me who had fucked up. “It’s much like the bit of darkness Dan formed in his hand. I twist the light from the fire, which I wrap around my hair, so that rather than putting light out the fire consumed the energy around it. It’s very difficult, as Dan demonstrated. A handy trick, though.”
Ryan didn't ask any more questions, and Dan seemed reasonably satisfied with my answer. I kept the shadows in their place until I had a quiet moment to send them back on their way. There was too much in allowing them to slip away where Dan or one of the others could feel them brush past them. They were good enough to vanish quickly, and as much as I felt bad, I knew they would forgive me. The boys and I were all exhausted, and the sun was beginning to rise, yet none of us would be able to sleep. We found our way to a cheap cafe that served greasy breakfasts in large portions and refillable coffee. That was exactly what we needed.
No one said a word while we ate. The dark mood hung over us like a black cloud. The burning sensation in my muscles had reduced to a dull ache which was passing quickly enough. I sighed softly. I was staring into my black coffee when Alex's hand found its way to brush over mine. I couldn't hold back the flicker of a smile. Not everything was lost.
I looked up to see the boys were beginning to look a little brighter. Smiles were starting to form on their faces, and they ordered more food. Wolves were happy when they were eating and hunting. Jaguars, however, being feline, preferred nice, long naps on luxurious bedding. I stretched and yawned. The idea that we wouldn't be able to sleep was fading fast. A nice long nap in a comfortable nest sounded like exactly what I needed in that moment. I caught the scent of something mildly acrid, soil mixed in with sweat, and I put down my coffee in horror. That awful smell was me and the boys.
Alex laughed quietly to himself before saying, "Good to see you returning to yourself."
I grinned at him. "I'm having the shower first."
Nik jumped in and called shotgun on the boys' bathroom. Everything felt normal and happy in that moment. The stress and concern over the killer faded away, and the important things in life took over. Being clean and having a comfortable bed to nap in the sun on.
30
The shower eased all of my muscles and washed away the vile dirt and sweat that had accumulated. It also gave me the time and space to think. I didn't know why, but I trusted Kit. That alone should have made alarm bells ring. Never trust someone whom you trust quickly. They will harm you, as I knew from past experiences. As a predator, I was very good at lulling people into that calm, happy, trusting state that allowed me to get what I wanted and kill them that much quicker and easier. I couldn't shake the feeling that Kit wasn't that, though. I'd dealt with fae, predators, traders, murderers, and more for far longer than I wished to remember. He seemed like a good contact, an ally.
I pushed the thoughts from my head and focused on the evening to come. I hoped that the killer would give away his presence by removing the energies from the area as he approached. The sudden shift would give us adequate notice. From there, we'd do what all good packs do: hunt and kill. It felt good to be coming to an end to it all. I was ready to lounge out on my own bed and listen to the soft songs of the woods. I caught myself thinking about the quiet mornings I could share with the boys and the possibility of relaxing under the stars with Alex.
I snarled and pushed the latter one firmly away in some box. The boys I would accept. They were learning and starting to prove themselves. I wouldn't have chosen them, but they had potential. Nik surprised me that night with his tracking skills. That was something I planned on working with and encouraging. I stepped out of the shower and dried myself thoroughly before claiming the bed. Alex would have to find somewhere else to rest, I was making myself a nest and that was that. It took me a few minutes to make the blankets and pillows just so, but it was worth it.
** **
The morning came around quite quickly. Some would no doubt wonder how I’d slept so soundly when I was so close to the end, to the hunt. The boys certainly didn't, they paced around and Alex remained awake to keep an eye on them. I, however, had slept quite well. Felines are very good at sleeping, most of them, and a tired assassin is a worthless one. I stretched and pulled on black shorts and a simple shirt. I needed complete freedom of movement without standing out. The boys had showered, at least, and were all in practical jeans and shirts of varying dark colours. They all stood eagerly, awaiting the coming night.
I smiled and drank my coffee slowly. There was no point in wasting energy, after all. I didn't keep them waiting too long. Alex was growing tense. His muscles tightened, and he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. The anticipation and the energy building in the room was quickly becoming unbearable. We all went to the warehouse separately. I’d been tempted to drive. If nothing else, I was missing the sensation of driving. I didn’t want to risk being seen, though. My car was quite distinctive, given the surroundings. That meant that we all travelled on foot.
I kept to my human form, just in case. The raven would have been far quicker, but given we didn't know exactly what we were dealing with I didn't take that r
isk. My anticipation built as I walked calmly, casually, to the warehouse. I looked idly at the buildings around me as they moved from modern metal-and-glass monstrosities into simple warehouses with tightly packed apartments packed between them. Finally, even that gave way to open scrub, with short, yellowed grass determinedly growing on the hard packed sand that was broken up by ancient concrete.
‘Warehouse’ wasn't quite an accurate description for the collection of buildings before me, but it worked as a marker. Each building was only two stories tall with shallowly pitched rooves formed of corrugated iron. Rust tinged their edges and trickled down the shallow dips and hollows. Some of the buildings were open on three sides, their heavy metal girders exposed to the elements. The interior walls formed of cheap concrete blocks remained, adding yet another level of grey to the area. The concrete walls must have given space for offices and small storage areas. Although, I couldn’t see how they were anything short of direly depressing. Dark-leaved, short, squat, gnarled trees formed the perimeter. Most of them were thorny and aggressive in their defences over their small patch of territory.
The buildings were all sitting on an old concrete pad, which was cracked and broken in places. Determined patches of wiry yellow grass poked through some patches while scraggly twigs claimed dominion over some of the smaller holes. They would no doubt some day grow to become thorn bushes, much like those surrounding the entire area. The whole place was dismal in its obsession with grey. The only splashes of colour were the dark green leaves on the bushes and their small collection of bright pink flowers. Even they seemed more like a token gesture.
Somehow, it felt like a fitting end for our killer. The way in which he removed all of the energies from the scenes almost took the colour from the area. To kill him and spill his blood in this grey, soulless place made sense in my head.
The boys were all positioned in the woods just out of sight on the far side of the complex. Alex had taken up position near the main entrance, by the tall metal posts that had most likely held a heavy metal gate when the place was active and in use. I stooped down near the rear entrance. At some point long ago there must have been a small road coming down to the entrance I had huddled up near. A narrow dirt track could just about be made out through the undergrowth. Broken lumps of concrete pushed between the aggressive bushes and the tired old grasses. I tucked myself up behind a dense little bush with sweetly scented pink flowers. A taller bush covered in thorns and little else was at my back. It was an odd sensation, being back in that position again. Waiting, hoping that this would finally be over. I was happy to be preparing for the hunt, to end the killer’s life, but that meant that I would have to return to the big house. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that. The boys were coming on as were the bonds with them, and Alex wasn’t as unbearable as I’d feared. Yet, I wouldn’t be moving around, I wouldn’t have the freedom to go where I pleased. I had to wonder if I had ever had that, or if the Sisters just gave me the illusion of it while I was running from them. All part of their twisted game.
I brushed aside any worries and concerns about what would come once it was over and focused on the task at hand. I wanted to end his life. I had no shame about my instincts, my drives; I had worked hard to reach that moment, and I was ready for it. I wondered how the boys would react when it finally happened, if it would even be one of them who took his life. Were they ready for such a thing? Had they killed before? I had to think that Dan had taken at least one life. He had a heavy past weighing on his shoulders. He was more like me than I wanted to admit, and I hoped he never ended up trapped like I had been.
31
I kept my muscles tense enough to be prepared to move at a second's notice, without keeping them tense enough for fatigue. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long, not for the first presence at least. The clicking of her black stilettos gave her away long before the musk and rose perfume hit my nostrils. I didn’t know what it was with sirens and their stilettos and heavily floral perfumes. She flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder and tugged her tightly fitted blue dress down, no doubt in an attempt to look a little more classy. She looked around the place a little hopefully, but seemed disappointed when no one appeared out of the shadows to greet her. She carried no bag, no purse, nothing. I didn't know what was wrong with the stupid things, but she was the youngest yet, looked to be in her early twenties, at best. I wondered if perhaps she hadn't been out of her home colony long; maybe she didn't know how the city worked. The choice of location was very odd, but I had to assume that the killer had contacted her and told her to go out there, or maybe she was stupid enough to believe she was luring him out there, much like the group had tried to do with me and my pack.
She stood in the middle of the open yard, seemingly quite nonplussed by the entire situation. She checked her nails and tidied her hair a little, but there was no tension about her, no concern. I wondered what on Earth they were taught in the colonies to be so foolish and naïve. I almost felt sorry for her.
My thoughts snapped back to attention when he arrived. He made no attempts to hide in the shadows. He walked straight through the front gate directly to her. He looked like a normal man at first glance. Simple black chinos and a hideous cream and blue plaid shirt. His black hair was beginning to thin, and he was no better than average to look at. He blended in with any crowd. We waited a few heartbeats, just to make sure he wasn't going to turn and flee before we all burst out of our places. Nothing else existed in those agonisingly long seconds. I watched his every step, which were as casual as though he were taking a walk around the park.
I ran across the broken concrete, the sharp stalks of the dry grass biting at my bare legs. It was far too hot to wear trousers or jeans. I also wanted the freedom of movement. I couldn’t afford restriction. He stood and looked at me for a brief moment. His lips tightened slightly and his hands began to clench, but he looked more curious than anything. There was no real surprise or confusion. His eyes were pitch black. There was no way that he was just a human, not that I knew quite what he was. I missed my footing and almost stumbled as my focus was drawn entirely to him. The stories couldn't be true. That was absurd. There was no such thing as a Puppet Master. They were tales told to cubs to keep them quiet and well-behaved. Yet, there he was. The siren screamed and ran towards the buildings. It had taken her a few seconds but she’d finally snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. She wasn’t particularly successful at running in her stilettos. It was closer to a fast-paced totter.
Alex was almost on the target when he twisted and ran. No human should have been able to move that quickly. I focused. I stretched my energies out to try and feel him. I needed some idea of what the fuck he was. The more information I could garner, the better chance I’d have of taking him down and keeping my pack safe.
My pack… that was a term I didn’t think I’d be attached to again. It took longer than I wanted, but once I’d managed to reach him with my energies he was entirely devoid of anything. He was like a black hole, a moving gap in the surroundings. I had no ideas. I had to assume that any form of energy manipulation would fail on him, given his entire lack of energies. I couldn’t discern anything useful, I just knew that he was moving far too quickly for a human and we needed to put an end to it.
The siren screamed again, but she had just fallen. No doubt she caught those precious stiletto heels on a crack in the concrete. She wasn’t my focus or concern. The target knew we were there. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill her with us so close at hand. I stopped dead and looked around. The boys had emerged from behind the buildings and were looking too. He'd vanished. Gone. I growled to myself. How the fuck did he do that? I went to search with my energies while I looked all around me, but he beat me to it.
Deep growling laughter came from the building on the west side of the complex. We ran towards it as a collective. The siren was entirely forgotten. She would have to look after herself. I had far bigger concerns than one siren. She had been past fo
olish to go out to such a place, entirely alone no less. She screeched and whimpered as we ran past her towards the building. We burst into the building and stopped, looking around us, trying to see where he was. Three walls of thin corrugated iron surrounded the thick, grey concrete floor with two small rooms formed of concrete blocks up each corner. Both of the rooms had been painted a bright white at some point, but now they were more of a grubby greyish-brown covered in bird shit, cobwebs, and years of dirt. The once-large open space was now filled with piles of debris and bullshit, which left plenty of places for him to hide.
I nodded to Nik and pointed to the small room on the east; Ryan was sent directly ahead of us to search around the piles of wooden crates and pallets while Dan went west to cover the other two rooms. Alex and I split up to cover the nooks and crannies between the piles of old bricks and collapsed section of the roof. My heart rate was surprisingly slow as I moved quickly but quietly, keeping my upper body low while I searched every shadow looking for a glimpse of movement.
A yelp came from what must once have been the office. It was quickly followed by a deep growl. I twisted on my heel, jumping over the small mound of bricks and barged past the green door with its peeling paint. Even before I crashed through it, it was hanging half off its hinges with one of the large panels broken and bent inwards. I stopped just inside the doorway when I saw Ryan had a trickle of blood running down his temple over his cheek. He was looking skyward, searching for something.
“The bastard threw something at me! Who does that?"
I looked up into the darkness with the exposed metal girders and couldn't see anything outside of some long-abandoned bird's nests. The shallow pitch of the roof extended many feet up above the girders, giving even a tall man plenty of room to run along them. Once more, there was no trace of him. I looked at Ryan, who was growling as he slowly spun around, scouring the wide-open space above us, looking for the target.