by Dave Ferraro
Chapter One
Present Day
Shanna stared up at the ceiling and sighed as she heard a bang at the door to her rooms. “Not again,” she mumbled, putting a hand to her forehead. She turned over on her bed and watched the bedroom door as it opened a crack.
“Do I really need to come get you again?” Quinn asked, sticking his head into the room.
“You could just leave me alone,” she suggested, her voice hoarse. She cleared it. It wasn’t hoarse because she’d just woken up, but rather from screaming into her pillow, something she’d found to be therapeutic over the past few weeks since her boyfriend and fellow hunter Cameron had betrayed her, trying to drag her to her enemy’s front door against her will. Before willingly being changed into a vampire himself. She still felt sick whenever she thought about it, which was almost constantly. She was equally upset at herself for not seeing the downward spiral he’d been caught in since his glamour had fallen away, revealing a disfiguring scar. But she never could have expected that he would try to hurt her for his own personal gain, let alone kill one of his friends, even if it had been accidental.
She sat up and glared at Quinn. “I was sleeping.”
“Liar.”
Shanna scowled. Quinn had this uncanny knack for knowing when she was lying. The truth was that she hardly slept at all these days. Sleep only found her for a few hours each night, because whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Cameron chasing her through a muddy field, madness clouding his eyes, screaming for her. She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I’m really not in the mood for this this morning,” she told Quinn, trying to sound reasonable.
“Which is exactly why you need to do it,” Quinn said, stepping into her room and roughly opening the blinds, causing Shanna to shield her eyes against the sunshine and groan. “Because you never feel like it. But you have to get up and get out of bed, Shanna.”
She nodded absently and loosed another loud sigh, to let him know how annoying he was. “Alright. Give me five minutes.”
He grinned triumphantly. “I’ll be in the hallway.”
Shanna watched him leave, then let her head fall back against the pillow. Every day since she’d returned from New York, where she had met with the elders of La Faer Noir, Quinn had been hovering, trying to coax her out of her depression. She doubted she would ever fully recover from what Cameron had done to her, but Quinn was never discouraged, no matter how rude she was to him to try to get him to leave her alone with her thoughts. He woke her up every morning to work out with him, found her if she was lying out by the stream behind the mansion, looking wistful, called her out if she was staring at a book without reading it. It was annoying. But for some reason, she kind of liked the attention too, the feeling that he was looking out for her. It made her feel…safe.
She sat up and rolled out of bed before she could talk herself out of it, and rushed to the shower to rinse off quickly before throwing on shorts and a t-shirt. She knew that Quinn was trying to repay her for how she’d helped him when she’d first found him, covered in blood and left for dead. She’d doted on him too, made sure that he was adjusting well to his new life. Now he was returning the favor, and trying to snap her out of her stupor, but it was hard. So hard. When her parents had died when she’d been a little girl, she’d been swept up in the aftermath and had been too young to really understand her emotions and reflect on things. Now that she was older, and she could see life for how it really was, how ugly and unfair it was, it seemed that those horrible events were harder to shake. She’d basically been attacked by someone she’d loved. Someone she’d trusted. How could she ever trust someone completely ever again? If Cameron could snap like that, it was surely in everyone’s nature.
She stepped out of her room to find Quinn stretching in the hallway. She joined him, meeting his smiling face with a pale imitation. “I never did ask: Did Valor give you the key to my room?”
Quinn shrugged and ignored the question. “Feels good to get up early and do this, doesn’t it? Get your heart pounding first thing?”
She rolled her eyes as she followed him down the hall and to the first floor, where the exercise room was. “Yeah, great.”
She knew that she should be thankful for what she had. She was truly blessed to be doing what she wanted to do, namely killing monsters, and getting paid for it handsomely, living in a mansion decked out with everything she could ever need. It was truly wonderful, something she was reminded of once more as she walked into the exercise room filled with all of the equipment she could ever need. Fellow hunters Rachel and Natalia were already there. Rachel sent them a hasty wave as she looked up from the elliptical machine, looking blonde and beautiful even when she was sweating. She was in her mid-twenties, a little older than the other hunters, but she was easily the prettiest of them.
Natalia was balancing on a beam on the far side of the room, easily performing cartwheels and standing on her hands on the little ledge, chalk coming up in small clouds each time her palms came into contact with anything. Natalia certainly wasn’t the most friendly and outgoing of the hunters, preferring to keep her distance, but she was skilled. She seemed to have a knack for everything. Shanna had seen her practicing archery, fencing, shooting a gun – it was all second nature to the hunter. It was little wonder that she’d never been touched by an opponent in battle before. How could someone that skilled be beaten?
Quinn immediately made for the treadmills, and Shanna followed, matching his pace as they started at a light run. She felt the tension leave her shoulders as they continued at a faster speed, loving how her muscles burned and pulled, concentrating on her breathing all the while. By the time they were done, she had to admit that she felt good. Physically and mentally, like a cloud had lifted from her mind. But she knew that it would be short-lived. It always was. When the adrenaline left her system, she would want to curl up in bed again and cry. She was determined not to give in, though. She would keep moving. If she acted like nothing was wrong, maybe her mind would believe it. She just wished that she could have something to focus on. A mission. A few of the other hunters had been sent out for various tasks over the past few weeks, but never Shanna. Poor broken Shanna had to stay at home and recover from her traumatic experience. And while she couldn’t really argue with them, she resented it nonetheless. She wanted to get out there and do something. She needed to.
The door to the room opened suddenly and Hunter walked in, taking them in as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was part of Visum et Repertum, the scholars who had gathered to watch the monsters of the world and study them. They had been the ones to bring together a group of hunters, each specializing in different monsters, to battle the darkness in numbers. The hunters were an offshoot of Visum et Repertum, headed by a woman named Valor, with the generic name of The Agency. They were funded by the government, but with a name like that, they could have been an insurance company for all the suits in Washington would be able to tell from their files.
“Ah, good,” Hunter said, nodding to himself. “I was hoping the rest of you would be here.”
Shanna accepted the bottle of water that Quinn offered her and guzzled it as Natalia and Rachel put an end to their routines to join them.
“Is everything alright?” Shanna asked, wiping her mouth as she handed the bottle back to Quinn. She was wondering when Cameron would show his face again. Perhaps he’d finally done something to warrant their attention.
“Yes, everything’s fine, fine,” Hunter assured them in a British accent. “It seems that Valor would like to see everyone in meeting room B.”
Shanna and Quinn exchanged looks. “What does she want?” she asked.
“It seems that she has a mission for you.”
Shanna brightened and looked up to the ceiling, as if thanking the gods for answering her prayers. Finally something to do. She grabbed Quinn’s hand. “Well, what are we waiting for?” She practically pulled
him out of the room in her haste to get to the meeting room, a real smile lighting up her face for the first time in weeks.
“You really like your work,” Quinn said softly, raising an eyebrow.
“You have no idea.”
“She’s weird,” Rachel offered as she followed them. “There’s no getting around it.”
“We’re all weird,” Quinn shrugged, glancing back at her. “It’s why we work so well together.”
When they reached the meeting room, the other hunters were all assembled already, save Jordan, who was currently out on another mission.
Valor looked up expectantly as they entered and took their usual places around the long table, computers at each seat. She’d been growing out her hair as of late, and it was nearly to her shoulders, although it still covered one of her eyes if she didn’t push it back and out of the way. And for once, she didn’t have a cigarette in her hand. But the ashtray at her elbow told Shanna that it would only be a matter of time.
Shanna sat down next to Jade, Jordan’s twin sister, whose dark hair was pulled back in its usual long braid. She was the techie of the group, always experimenting with weapons and helping out in the laboratory when she wasn’t in the field.
On the other side of her sat Amelia, a red headed sorceress who hunted witches. It was a toss-up between her and Natalia for the team’s power house. While Natalia was skilled at every sort of weapon she could get her hands on, as well as her undercover spy work and martial arts skills, Amelia had a talent with magick that was unrivaled. It was scary how powerful her spells were.
Brett was the final hunter in the room, a total jock who liked to keep trophies of his conquests like a freaky serial killer. But he was also Quinn’s best friend, so Shanna had learned to play nice and tolerate him these past few weeks, even when he was staring at her chest for long uncomfortable moments.
Krystal was also in the room. She was a necromancer, too young to really be a hunter at fourteen-years-old, but Hunter had taken her under his wing to train her. It seemed that most necromancers (or every other necromancer, actually) turned to the dark side, so having one on the side of the good guys was a big plus for them, provided she stayed that way. Shanna had seen first-hand how powerful the girl was, having raised an undead army in Greece to battle the sirens, allowing for them to escape. She could be a little creepy at times, but for the most part, Shanna saw Krystal as the team’s little sister. She was helpful and a nice addition to the mansion’s atmosphere.
“Now that we’re all here,” Valor said, sitting up straight, “please turn to your computer monitors.”
Shanna reached forward and pushed the power button on her monitor, bringing it to life. She stared at the pictures of six teenagers who appeared before her, most likely high school yearbook photos from the looks of them, three boys and three girls.
“For the past month, teenagers have been disappearing from a private school in New Orleans. There has been no trace of them, but there are several supernatural goings-on in the area that could have led to their disappearances, and we’re going to tackle this on all fronts to put a stop to this.”
Hunter sat forward in his seat. “New Orleans is traditionally an area that attracts supernatural creatures. It is a very haunted place, with deep roots in voodoo magick.”
“That’s right,” Valor agreed. “It seems that the atmosphere draws creatures of the night to its streets.”
Shanna turned to her left to snicker, then froze when she recalled that Cameron no longer sat beside her. She swallowed hard as she took in Quinn’s profile, his attention fixed at the head of the table. It was hard getting used to this new dynamic. It was like Cameron’s presence still haunted her.
“The boarding school that the students attend sits on land that borders a mansion known to be haunted,” Valor continued. “The headmaster admits that some of the students have been known to enter the premises on dares and whatnot, so that is one location we will be observing.”
Shanna stared at the photo of a large white colonial mansion that appeared on her screen, and couldn’t help but compare it to the mansion that she now resided in, with its front steps framed by pillars. Although the photograph showed a mansion in decay, in desperate need of repair.
“There is also concern about vampire attacks in the area,” Valor said, pulling a cigarette from a pack of menthols and lighting it quickly. Shanna grinned. She knew that the woman wouldn’t have been able to go long without indulging in her vice. “Some of the attacks are alarmingly near the school, although none of the bodies that have been found, three in all, have been students. This is a threat we will have to put an end to whether it’s related to the disappearances or not.”
The computer screens winked off and Shanna looked up at Valor expectantly.
“So, what’s the game plan?” Rachel asked.
Valor blew out a stream of blue smoke and flicked cigarette ash into the tray before answering. “Rachel, you will obviously be going to oversee the investigation into the vampire attacks, which the others will assist you in.”
Rachel nodded, trying to hide a grin, but Shanna could see the twitch of a smile at the corners of the girl’s mouth.
“I have also decided that it would be best to get the viewpoint of the students in this matter, since there are any number of other reasons they could be disappearing in haunted New Orleans,” Valor continued. “The students are surely aware of each other’s activities. I think they may be too afraid of something to speak up, which is why I’m sending a handful of you in undercover, as students during the day, to try to gather information and coax things out, as peers.” She turned to Natalia. “Your skills will obviously be put to use here, and Shanna is the youngest of the hunters, so she will blend in well too.”
Shanna blinked. Undercover? She’d never done anything like that before. When she’d been in school, she hadn’t been very popular either. It didn’t seem like the best fit for her.
“What about me?” Krystal piped up. “I can do it. I’m from near New Orleans. One note of my accent and they would accept me.”
“I’ve made my decision,” Valor shook her head. “And I think that we can use Quinn here as well.”
“Me?” Quinn looked up, surprised.
“We need an in with the boys too.”
Quinn nodded slowly, then turned to smile at Shanna. “Looks like we’re going to be classmates.”
“Great,” Shanna murmured, a frown drawing over her face.
“And finally,” Valor drew in a breath of smoke. “We need to investigate the haunted mansion, so Jade and Hunter will oversee the equipment as we try to capture the paranormal activities that take place there.” She paused. “And Krystal will go along as well, as her necromancer abilities may come in use here.”
“Yes!” Krystal brightened.
“But your inclusion will be limited,” Valor warned. “And you’ll listen to Hunter the entire time.”
Krystal nodded enthusiastically, earning a smile from Shanna.
“If it’s alright,” Amelia spoke up, “There is an occult bookstore in New Orleans I would like to explore. My magick might be of use to the team while I’m there as well.”
Valor nodded. “That’s doable. If I need to pull any of you out for other missions, you’ll be the first.”
“What about me?” Brett asked, looking around.
“You’ll stay here and keep me company,” Valor said, a grin slowly spreading over her face.
“Great,” he murmured.
Valor turned to look up the table. “You leave in an hour. Good luck.”
Everyone began to get to their feet, but Shanna frowned at her dark computer screen, unsure about her assignment.
“You coming?” Quinn asked, looking down at her with concern from where he was standing.
“Yeah,” she nodded and stood up to appease him, and watched him leave the room along with the others. She glanced up at Valor hesitantl
y and was about to say something, but a man and a woman entered just then. The man wore a military uniform and was looking back at the hunters with a pinched face. The woman at his side was in a gray suit, with fashionable glasses, sparse makeup and her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. But despite the stiff, restrained appearance, she was also quite beautiful.
“General Kagan,” Valor stood up, suddenly tense. “This is an unexpected…surprise.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is,” the man smiled tightly. “Valor, this is Agent Ross.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Valor said, reaching out to shake her hand before turning to the general again. “I didn’t expect you for another few months at least.”
“Yes, well, we are putting a lot of money into this little effort of yours and I’ve come to inspect the results a little ahead of schedule.” He smiled then as he suddenly noticed Shanna in the room. “Hello, young lady. You must be one of the hunters I’ve heard so much about.”
“Shanna Hunt, if memory serves,” Agent Ross said, adjusting her glasses and looking at her as if she were looking through a microscope.
Shanna offered a polite smile. “Nice to meet you. I was just…going.” She nodded to the two strangers as she passed them, and paused in the doorway as Valor called her name.
Shanna turned to look back at Valor and was taken aback by the plea she saw in her face. “Make sure no one dawdles now,” she said. “The people of New Orleans are counting on you.”
Shanna nodded, glancing at General Kagan to see him studying her, then Agent Ross, who seemed to be boring a hole in her head with her laser-like eyes.
“And Shanna?” Valor added.
Shanna’s eyes snapped back to hers, which seemed almost desperate at this point.
“Take Serene on this mission as well. I think her expertise will be invaluable.”
Serene’s expertise? Shanna frowned, wondering what that could mean, but upon seeing the reinforced plea in Valor’s eyes, Shanna could hardly argue. She didn’t know what was going on, but she would do what was asked of her. She would bring a monster with them on their mission.