by Justin Sloan
To defeat the werewolves, his one and only goal at the time, anything had seemed worth it.
Anything, that is, except for hurting innocents. They weren’t part of his war, so would not suffer as casualties.
Reaching into the dark powers at the time had seemed more mystic than dangerous. He didn’t know it would corrupt the mind, leave its users in states of pure power at nights, but forced to live off of human blood and unable to face the sunlight.
Luckily for him, being half meant he was somewhere in between the two worlds—caught in the shadows, bordering the line between light and dark.
Grundy, however, had stepped into the darkness long ago, and embraced it.
“Show yourself!” Matthew called out, growing frustrated with these games.
He stood still in the darkness, waiting, but nothing changed. Finally, with a heavy heart, he pushed on. On his third step, however, he felt a wave of energy pour over him as a door appeared ahead and to the right.
He sprinted forward, turning into the door to see another balcony, this one the size of a large house all by itself.
Grundy stood there, hands on the railing, staring out over the mountains. Rays of sunlight fell around him, but he stuck to the shadows.
“How…?” Matthew asked, stumbling out onto the balcony and catching himself as the sudden light threw him off balance.
“It’s beautiful, don’t you think?” Grundy kept his back to Matthew and motioned to the point in the distance where the mountains faded into hazy shades of blue and white. “All these lands, unblemished by the corrupt human souls.”
“You can’t fight all of humanity,” Matthew said, standing tall. “All that’s good in this world exists through them.”
“And yet, they allowed my family to die.” Grundy spun, eyes furious. “You stand by that werewolf’s side and talk to me about what’s right?”
“I’ve played this game, I’ve had my revenge. It’s time to go home.”
Matthew turned back to the temple door, and for a split second he saw the burnt skeleton of the place, remnants of his handiwork, and then it was restored in all its glory—red and yellow adorned with fancy jewels, jewels Matthew knew served a higher purpose than simple decorations.
These were the accolades of the vampire Grundy, symbols of the magic he had learned during the years since Matthew’s departure. Many of them still glimmered, meaning he had used the magic recently.
A yearning came over Matthew and he closed his eyes, pushing aside the memories of his first exposure to the jewels and their powers, how he had craved them, and the voice inside his head that said he still did.
They operated to channel one’s dark magic, each one to be mastered in turn. Matthew had only ever practiced with a handful of them, including the one that gave him the ability to track and hunt, to see the silver mist or and other signs left in the wake of werewolves.
“I’ve brought you back for a second chance,” Grundy said. “You must be the one to kill your new friends. Forget the random innocent, it’s time you paid your dues.”
“It won’t happen,” Matthew said, spinning on him. “You cannot keep me here!”
Grundy smiled. “We shall see.”
Matthew turned and returned to the dark passageway within the temple, sprinting away even as he heard the chanting begin and felt the shooting lights from the stones piercing him.
A dark form appeared next to him as he ran, gliding along, almost taunting him, and then the passage was gone and he was falling into nothingness, falling… falling… falling.
The shadow caught him, and he realized his eyes were closed. When he looked up, he saw a face he never expected to see again—his mother. That same woman his father had slaughtered, who he knew for a fact couldn’t really be here. It was for her that his quest for vengeance had started. It was for her that he had come to this temple to begin with. But…
“You’re not real,” he said.
“I’m as real as you want me to be,” she said, and then he was standing in her embrace as she held him close. “I’ve missed you, son.”
Pain shot through his chest, aching as if he were being pulled apart, right down the middle. “YOU’RE NOT REAL!”
He pushed back, stumbled, and fell.
The image of his mother corrupted, morphing until it was Grundy, standing before him and laughing. Long fangs showing, eyes glowing red, he held out a hand and said, “Come to me, son, let mommy take care of you.”
No more running. Matthew charged, pulling on everything he had learned for the attack, but Grundy vanished in a cloud of purple and black and then reappeared behind him.
More forms began to appear in the darkness, every werewolf he had ever killed, and in their center, walking forward wearing nothing but the moon necklace he had seen around her neck so many times—Katherine.
He staggered back, refusing to believe this, but unable to take his eyes off of her nude form. Shadows accentuated her curves in a way that made him feel like his hands were those shadows, caressing the line of her hip bone, cupping her breast. And then he could actually feel it, as if the shadows were his fingers, and she was smiling, her yellow eyes shining like the purest gold.
“Don’t fight it, Matthew,” she said, stepping forward, running her hands across her body now, eyeing him and knowing he was loving every second of it. “You are what you are, nothing can change that.”
“None of you are real,” Matthew said, almost a whisper, but even as he said it he was stepping forward, removing his shirt. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily as he felt the surrounding shadows engulf him, caressing him like Katherine’s hands, her lips, and then her tongue.
None of it… was… real.
But that didn’t matter, none of it mattered. He was in bliss, all the pain of his life floating away into the darkness, leaving him complete, whole again.
But it wasn’t real.
And they needed him. His friends needed him!
He screamed in agony and pushed the darkness from his mind, felt hands pulling at his now bare flesh, scratching at him and drawing blood. A flash of pain toppled him over and he felt cold, hard stone on his bare skin.
When he opened his eyes, Grundy stood over him, glaring, a circle of vampires surrounding them.
“Get him up,” Grundy said, disgust heavy on his voice. “Let’s see how a few days in the Realm of Shadows affects his decision.”
“No,” Matthew said, eyes wide. The Realm of Shadows was a place he had only heard of, a realm outside of this one, where all manner of evil played with you until you lost your sanity, then spat you out, chewed up and nothing more than an empty shell.
They converged on him as he struggled, but there was no escaping it. He bit his lip to stop the screams from coming, closed his eyes, and mentally prepared himself for the worst.
He had to stay strong, for his friends. For Katherine.
Chapter 9
Katherine had her fair share of training when she had lived under Aldrick’s roof, and had kept up the sparring over the years with Danny. Learning to fight and maneuver around obstacles was nothing new, so pardon her if everything this Merriam lady was saying failed to worry her.
“This is the elite of the elite here, Katherine,” Merriam said, pointing out men and women practicing swordplay in a clearing among the trees. Their swords glowed a golden hue. As they kept walking, they came across a small hut with a circle of sand out front, where a woman had a man in an arm lock on the ground. They watched as he tapped out with a grunt. “Think of this as your new training ground, a place to come and learn, and never be bothered by outside forces.”
“This place has never been attacked?” Katherine asked.
Gabe and Merriam shared a nervous look, and then Gabe said, “Just once, and only because they had someone on the inside. We do our best to avoid that now.”
“You didn’t do your best then?”
“We did, but didn’t know what to look out for.”
“I see.” Katherine watched another pair, both women this time, step into the sand pit and start to spar. “But you think that letting a couple of werewolves in here is perfectly safe?”
“We trust Mauro,” Gabe said. “So, implicitly, we trust you.”
Katherine dismissed that with a nod, but frowned. “I’m missing something here. All those werewolves are out there, ready to strike at any minute, and worse. Why are we here?” She turned to Mauro. “I’m not exactly seeing the connection here. I can fight, you’ve seen that. I took down Aldrick, for heaven’s sake. I don’t need more training.”
“You did,” he said. “But you said so yourself, those werewolves are everywhere. And with this vampire threat, whatever that turns out to be, don’t you think you can use all the help you can get? Don’t you think having friends and teammates will help?”
She frowned, but before she could answer, Merriam interrupted.
“You didn’t mention a vampire.”
“New occurrence,” he said, gravely. “We’re not sure of the extent we should be concerned.”
“Mauro,” Gabe shook his head, brow furrowed in concern, “when vampires are involved, you should always be very concerned.”
“Not all vampires,” Katherine said, thinking of the new side of Matthew they had been seeing lately.
“Excuse me?” Gabe turned his eyes on her and laughed. “Perhaps you don’t truly understand the nature of vampires in our world. Let me help you there, child. Call them what you will, vampires, demon possessed, or warlocks. It’s all the same—people who have turned to dark magic for answers. It corrupts them, destroys them, so that they become creatures of the night.”
“And if one were only a half vampire?” she demanded.
He shook his head, eyes full of pity, the smile gone. “It would only be a matter of time until darkness takes him completely.”
“You’re wrong.” She glared at him, then turned and walked away, heading for the sand pit to watch. Really, she just wasn’t ready for these conversations. She wasn’t sure how they should be tracking down other werewolves. Most of all, she wasn’t convinced these regular people could stand a chance with their swords and sand play pit.
A cool breeze blew across her, bringing with it the scent of cherry blossoms after a spring rain. It was welcome, but at the same time just one more reason to frustrate her—it had been night outside, clearly, and now they were… what, on the other side of the world? Some other plane or dimension or something?
It might have been enough to make someone else lose their sanity, but the way she saw it, there were werewolves, and, she had learned more recently, magic-wielding vampires.
So yeah, why not a bit of portal magic and whatever the hell else they were going to show her here.
A hand took hers, but she didn’t startle, knowing it had to be Triston.
Without bothering to look over, she said, “You knew about all this and didn’t tell me.”
“Did I know there were portals? Yes,” He stepped in front of her, holding the one hand in both of his, his right thumb gently caressing her knuckles. “It was how we were able to track you, that day when I first found you. They could find the general area where you were, then open a portal for us. It wasn’t exact, which is why we had so many out there looking for you. I was just fortunate enough to be the one that found you.”
She wasn’t sure if she had ever asked it, but had to know, so she said, “And the seduction? Swear that wasn’t all part of it.”
He scoffed. “Me seduce you? I’m pretty sure it was the other way around, if I remember correctly.”
“You’re not getting off that easily.”
He frowned as if trying to decide if she was serious, then said, “No, that wasn’t part of it. I swear.” Cocking his head with a playful smile, he said, “But come on, you totally seduced me.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t ignore his charm. “You walking around showing off abs like these,” her free hand traced his abs, “and a smile like this,” her hand moved up and her thumb caressed his lower lip, “and I don’t think I was left with much of a choice.”
“We’re not exactly in private here,” he reminded her, and she realized she was staring into his eyes with longing. “Yeah, wow.”
She turned, blushing. “It’s just that all this, on top of what happened to Danny.”
“I imagine it’s overwhelming,” he said. “But that’s what I’m here for, to be your anchor in the storm, when you need me.”
She smiled and hugged him, then pulled back and glanced over to see Merriam waiting for them with the others.
“What do you think this place really is?” she asked Triston as they walked back over.
“A new beginning.” He squeezed her hand and laughed, but she could tell he wasn’t joking.
“For both of us, then,” she said. “So much for the normal life, huh?”
“Didn’t we kind of give up on that the moment we signed up with a golden werewolf and agreed to allow a half-vampire join the team?”
She laughed. “Yes, I guess that’s true. Damn.”
He kissed her cheek as they walked, and said, “I promise to try and make it as normal as possible.”
With a smile, her mind clearer, and at as much ease as she could muster, she stopped in front of Merriam and Gabe and nodded.
“Shall we?” she asked.
Merriam nodded, only allowing a hint of irritation to flash across her face, and then started walking.
Mauro caught up with her and Triston and motioned ahead where, in the distance, she could just make out a building that looked to be made of white marble. “You can decide how you want to work with the Guardians, or not, after we’ve put something in your stomach.”
“That sounds like an amazing idea,” she said. But as they walked, a thought clicked. “Mauro, if you all were tracking me, doesn’t it make sense that we would be able to also track anyone we wanted, albeit not with perfect accuracy?”
Mauro nodded. “You had someone in mind?”
She scrunched her nose in thought and then said, “I’m just thinking. If we find certain Weres we want to keep an eye on, or… this vampire we came across?”
“We would need to know more about him,” Mauro said. “And have someone with Merriam and Gabe who can visualize him, but yeah.”
“Who did you have for me?”
Mauro’s face reddened.
“Wait, you?” she asked. “But you never… Oh. From when you changed me.”
He nodded. “It was so long ago, the connection was weak. Another reason we had to send more than just Triston here after you.”
That made sense, or at least as much sense as anything was going to make here. She considered what she had learned as they approached the marble building, but when they stepped inside all she could think about was the tantalizing scent of mint-crusted lamb that pulled at her cravings. The tables were set, and several men and women, even a few older teens, sat around them, waiting patiently.
“Thank you,” Merriam said to the room as she entered behind Katherine. With a wave she said, “Dig in, no use waiting for us any further.”
Most of them started eating, though several kept staring at Katherine and Triston, especially a boy with shaggy brown hair who sat next to a taller, blonde boy. They couldn’t have been older than seventeen or eighteen.
Unfortunately, the only free chairs were just opposite them, and so Katherine found her spot, per Merriam’s guidance, and started cutting into a beautiful piece of meat that lay before her. She took a bite, then glanced around the room. The dining hall was massive, now that she took the time to look it over. Other tables, all circular, filled the room and held an assortment of men and women, along with the older teens, eating and drinking. Some were very somber, while others cheered and laughed as if they’d just returned from some great success.
Chandeliers hung with sparkling diamonds, and the walls were covered in old paintings depicting good versus evil, often
in the form of a knight against a serpent, though a more modern looking one had a girl in full armor, holding a flaming sword and surrounded by hooded figures in black with red, glowing eyes.
“Daniel,” Merriam said, walking past the table and seeing how the brown-haired boy was staring at Katherine. “She’s not here to replace anyone.”
Daniel watched Merriam approach a table in the room’s center, then he turned back to Katherine, unsure. “Why is it all I hear is talk about you, lately?”
Katherine paused mid-chew, stared back at him, and then swallowed. “What are they saying?”
He shrugged, but the blonde boy jumped in and said, “Nothing much, honestly. Just that there’s a bit of talk about some woman who fits your description, saying she’s meant to basically save the world or something like that.”
“Usually that’s Allie’s job,” Daniel said, again glaring at her.
Katherine leaned back, assessing these guys. They were only a bit younger than her, and the blonde one could almost be Triston’s brother, she thought. Then she noticed the look Triston was giving him.
“Wait a minute.” She did a double take to make sure. “You two are brothers!”
Triston shrugged like he’d been caught stealing gum from his mom’s purse.
“Guilty,” the blonde boy said. “I’m Troy, and it looks like you landed the lesser of the two.”
Triston picked up a dinner roll as if he were going to throw it, but Troy laughed and said, “Kidding, kidding.”
“Troy and Triston,” Katherine said, shaking her head. “Funny parents.”
“What? Why?” Troy said, and Triston was looking at her weird now too.
“I just… I don’t know. Both names starting with the letter ‘T.’”
Neither smiled, but looking like they were trying to get the joke.
“Nevermind,” she said.
“You’re avoiding the topic,” Daniel said.
She frowned. “Which was…?”
“How do you plan on saving the world, exactly?”
“I don’t. There are bad creatures out there that I plan on stopping, but that’s it.”