by Erin Hayes
“Stop staring,” Kaleb mutters under his breath. “You already look like you’re out of place.”
“How so?”
“The cloak,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “You look like you’re trying not to blend in.”
I tighten the hood of the cloak around me. I don’t feel comfortable showing off my tail or my ears to anyone here. It’s one thing to be present here amongst everyone in the underbelly of the Complex. It’s entirely another to be a fox in a wolves’ den. Or, as I noticed, a dragon-shifter’s den. A dragon shifter walked by, giving me a predatory glare, like he could sense I was fresh meat.
What’s even more surprising to me is how many Humans there are here, just milling about, mingling with the different Metas as if this is completely normal for them. Maybe whoever thought the Complex would work out in the end thought that at least the less desirables would get along.
They seem to be doing that just fine here.
I watch as a duo of Humans openly have sex with a vampire against the wall between a dumpster and stairwell, moaning as he sinks his fangs into each of their necks. Prostitutes hail us as we walk by.
“How often do you come here?” I ask Kaleb, running to catch up with his longer stride. He looks down at me, giving me a sardonic smile.
“What, a little unsettled by all this, Serena?” He twirls his finger, indicating the scenes around us. I try to not look embarrassed. “I come here at least once a week.”
“For what?” I side-step around a wendigo, who glares at me as I pass.
“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” Kaleb’s face darkens. “I come here to feed,” he says. “And to make some deals.”
I watch as an ogre growls at a pair of poltergeists, and hide my shudder. “So, do you find some poor soul that’s been misled here?”
He stops and gives me a strange look. “I’m not sure how to take that,” he says. “I think we’ve all been misled to end up here.”
Including me, I want to add, but I fight back the rising panic in my throat. I thought I was badass at one point. That I could protect my siblings from anything the Complex could throw at my family. I see now that I was wrong. So damn wrong. And this shtrigu seems to be right at home here.
I shouldn’t be here.
I take a steadying breath and remind myself of Ken. I just have to get to the bottom of this and then everything will be all right.
I hope.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” I tell Kaleb as he turns to continue walking.
“What question is that?” he asks.
“So where do you find these people to feed off of?” And please them to where they’re okay with dying a little bit at a time.
I see the knot in his throat bob up and down. Nervous? Surely not.
We stop at a darkened alley, and I see a different kind of shadow pass over Kaleb’s face. “Here.”
Before I can ask what he means, he turns down the alley, and it looks like one of those streets that you’d never ever want to be caught alone in. I stop momentarily and give one last baleful glance behind me.
And I follow him.
My eyes adjust to this new, darkened alley where I see Kaleb walking with deliberate purpose ahead of me. I slow as I see him make an immediate right, like he’s been here so many times before.
He stops at a storefront where a woman hangs out front. A prostitute of some sort, maybe? Only she’s not the kind of destitute prostitute I’d assume. She’s stunning, with her teal hair pulled up into an updo on her head, her makeup immaculate. Her breasts are firm, and she’s curvy in a classical way.
If she is a prostitute, then unlike many of the others, she is in complete control of her lifestyle and her clients.
She’s also Human.
“Hey, Kaleb,” she purrs as the shtrigu comes up to her. She puffs a long drag on her cigarette and exhales a plume of smoke to the side. “Are you back for more?”
I clench the fist holding my hood tighter. Her familiarity with Kaleb triggers something deep inside me that makes my stomach churn. Jealousy? No, of course not.
I can’t be jealous of someone that I care nothing about.
Still though, I lick my lips and stay back, hoping that I blend into the shadows enough for her to not take notice of me.
“Not this time, San,” Kaleb says. His long gait gets a bit more swagger to it, and I want to roll my eyes at how cool he’s trying to play it with this woman. Of course he’ll try to be suave, she’s absolutely gorgeous. Unlike me with my fox ears on top of my head and my three fluffy tails.
Stop it, Serena.
“Oh?” San asks, with a sly grin. “Then why come around these parts?” To my utter shock, her gaze flicks to me. “Does your little fox want to come play?”
I blanch as Kaleb chuckles, looking back at me. “No, I don’t think she does.”
“Aw, pity,” San says, striding up with those long, long legs of hers. “She’s very cute. Almost like a little soft toy.”
She towers over me as well, and it’s not just because of the seven-inch stilettos she’s wearing. She’s tall; maybe not as tall as Kaleb, but still Amazonian. She reaches out and runs her finger down the side of my cheek. I have to concentrate very hard on not flinching. A normal Human shouldn’t scare a Meta like me.
Then again, I guess she’s not a normal Human if she’s able to navigate all these different Metas.
“Actually, the kitsune is why I’m here,” Kaleb says, clearing his throat. “Someone’s been kidnapping Meta children.”
San doesn’t seem very fussed by this, as she raises an eyebrow towards him. “I didn’t take you for the fatherly type, Kaleb. Especially with your eating habits.”
I’m not sure if she means feasting off kids or feasting off people in general.
He bares his teeth at her. “It’s not my kid.”
“Hers, then?” She peers curiously as me.
“My little brother,” I cut in. “He was kidnapped from my home last night. I thought it was Kaleb at first, but…” He watches me curiously as I say this, and I swallow reflexively. “He didn’t do it.”
San titters with laughter. “Of course not,” she says. “Kaleb is a lot of things—but he’s not a killer. He’s always hungry this one, though, and I’m more than willing to give it to him. He’s very persuasive at convincing me to chip minutes off my life.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, blinking confusedly.
Kaleb clears his throat and embarrassedly scratches behind his ear. San tinkles with condescending laughter and the pieces click together for me.
She gives it to him willingly. Because he’s that good.
I feel my heart twist in my chest.
What is this I’m feeling? Jealousy again? Galaxies, I hope not.
“And he’s a kitsune like you?” San asks, tearing my attention back to her. I have to take a moment to remember what she is referring to before I swallow and nod.
“Yeah. Ken’s a kitsune, too. Three tails and everything like that.”
San sighs, and her eyes crinkle at the corners as she gives me an empathetic frown. “I’m so sorry to hear that he’s missing, darling.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?” I plead.
She regards me for a long moment before taking a drag on her cigarette. “There have been a lot of reports of missing Meta children,” she says, addressing Kaleb instead of me.
“I know,” he says.
She nods absently, considering her next words. I find that I’m watching her, the way she holds herself. This is a woman who knows everything that happens in her corner of the Complex. What has she seen that we haven’t?
“Have you heard of Humans First?” she asks us.
I narrow my eyes. “You mean that group of Humans that think that our races should never live peacefully?”
“Terrorists, more like it,” San says. “They’ve stirred up some trouble in the past and there are…rumors that something’s afoot here. Th
ey want to create distrust among the Metas and Humans. To make it so that this grand experiment doesn’t work out. To sabotage this whole experiment.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re afraid of Metas,” she says nonchalantly. “And they think other Humans should be too.”
“Are you one of them?” My question comes out a bit harsher than I would have liked. But seriously, how would she know about it?
But she brushes it off with a snicker. “No, darling. Why would I want to alienate over half of my customer base?” She gives Kaleb a knowing look. “Especially when they make my job so wonderful. And easy.”
My cheeks are burning again. I don’t know if I can take this anymore. And I hate the fact that I can’t.
“Thank you for your help,” I say quickly, turning to leave. “Humans First. Got it.”
“You can’t just go around asking for them,” San calls after me, “if that’s what you were thinking.”
That’s exactly what I had been thinking, but her words make me stop in my tracks and look back at her. “Then what do we do?”
Her smile is almost predatory. “You have to find them on their own turf. There are lower levels to the Complex that you haven’t even been on, little fox. Away from the Eye in the Sky and the maneuvers of the Intra. Your best bet is to go there. Start at the tunnels.”
“I figured as much,” Kaleb says with a smirk. “Just wanted confirmation.” Our eyes meet, his golden gaze turning my own insides to molten metal. “Looks like we’re going to go deep.”
Oh galaxies.
“When are you coming back, Kaleb?” San pouts. “I haven’t seen you in a week or so.”
He has a half smile as he passes me. “I had a snack last night.”
I could smack him for that, but San chuckles. “And kitsune,” she says, “if you ever want to have some fun, I’m willing to give you a free trial.” She licks her lips seductively. “I’ve never had a kitsune before.”
Her offer catches me off guard and I find myself nodding dumbly. “If I want to have fun, San, you’re the first person I’ll go to.”
Her laughter follows us through the night.
Chapter 6
“Stop acting like you’re jealous.” Kaleb can’t keep the smirk from his face as he glances back to look at me. “One would think you’re in love with me.”
We’re walking towards the edge of the dome, towards the water-purifying smokers and tunnels underneath the Complex. Exactly the place I’d been heading when Kaleb caught me off guard.
But I know now that I wouldn’t have been prepared to face a conspiracy like that of Humans First. I just want my brother back.
My cheeks burn as I hurry to keep up with his long stride. “I am not.”
“You’re not what?” Damn, those gold eyes glint seductively as he gives me a sly smile again. “Jealous? Or in love?”
“Neither.” I lower my hood, and my ears flick in annoyance. “I’m just learning more about this whole Complex than I ever thought I would. I mean, I’m a cook, for galaxies’ sake.”
“You’re trying to track down a kidnapper in a dome filled with one hundred thousand people,” he says blithely. “Surely you didn’t think that you’d find a garden filled with rainbows or something.”
“Well, no…”
“This is our reality, Serena,” he says. “Everyone wants to believe that everything is perfect. Metas and Humans living in harmony, this great big olive branch after such a horrible war. That’s the façade. But you can’t stop nature. Or two races from killing each other.”
I frown, remembering everyone who came into our restaurant, both Humans and Metas dining together and coexisting, even if it were just for a meal. There are so many things that are similar about us, we just have to overcome those differences.
That’s what the Complex was about. While I was originally skeptical about the whole ordeal—I really don’t want to be stuck here for two years—it’s mainly because I have my own life to live and I need to get away from the pressures of my family.
Suddenly, hearing those words from him, I feel very defensive about this whole operation.
“So you think the Complex is a futile effort?” I ask, feeling my hopes deflate. “That Humans and Metas can’t live together?”
His jaw sets. “Humans may have kidnapped your brother, and you’re asking that?”
“What do you think will happen if this doesn’t work out, then?”
“Another war?” He shrugs. “Who knows?”
“I remember the P-Extinction,” I say softly, naming the war where Humans and Metas first clashed. “I was pretty young when it started—seven or eight, I think? But I remember there being a time before. When we were searching for a planet to live on. My dad fought in the war and he was gone for long periods at a time. Twelve years is a long time for a war.”
I close my eyes, remembering the long days with my mother as we waited for word as to whether or not he was still alive. Mom had this haunted look about her the entire time he was gone. I remember the time before the war, and I remember her smiles and her laughter. When Dad was gone, there was no laughter.
Then, six years into the war, Dad came home for a brief reprieve. It only lasted a few days, but when he left, Mom had this glow about her. I didn’t know that she was expecting my eleven siblings at that point—I don’t think she did either.
Then we got the news that Dad died in an attack, about the same time that Mom found out she was pregnant.
And that knocked our planets out of orbit.
“Serena?” Kaleb asks softly, and I refocus my gaze on him.
I blink quickly and shake my head softly. “Sorry. Just…memories.” I bite my bottom lip, feeling my sharp canines. “If the Complex doesn’t work out, I don’t want to go back to war.”
War tore my mother apart. And I think if we have to go back into it, it’ll do more than that.
Kaleb regards me silently before giving a slow nod. “I’m sorry the P-Extinction was so rough on you.”
“It was horrible for everyone.”
He lets out a breath. “Yes, it was. Which is why finding your brother is a big deal. Because if Humans First are trying to stop this…” His voice trails off and I nod.
“Yes.”
“Good thing we’re here then.” He nods to a door in the wall, much like the one that I was at yesterday, but we’re in the Desert Dome. “Ready to go underground?”
I bare my teeth, feeling my inner fox wake up in response.
“Yes.”
Fortunately, my fox-eyes can see fairly well in pitch black. I’m not sure if Kaleb is nocturnal, but he stays ahead of me and navigates the darkness as well as I do.
We’re running in the dark without a flashlight to keep us from being discovered. Even with my superior hearing, I barely hear our own footsteps—if Ken’s kidnappers are truly Human, then they’ll have no idea that we’re coming.
I sniff the air, smelling the mixture of the smokers purifying the water and the dry air from the Desert Dome above. Could the Humans have shielded themselves from most Metas by concealing their scent? Are they truly that smart?
Ken, please be all right.
“What? That siren has been impregnated by a Human? What’s next, a Human and a ghost have a puppy together?”
The male Human’s voice echoes throughout the walls of the tunnel, and my ears flick at the sound. Maybe fifty yards ahead of us, around some turns. Two, maybe three Humans. I sniff the air again, barely picking up on their scent. They must have masked it with a deodorizer, which explains why I couldn’t find anything when they kidnapped Ken.
These Humans know what they’re doing. Even if they’re talking loudly and stupidly in these tunnels. It’s amazing what the veneer of safety will do to someone.
Kaleb looks back at me, his golden eyes glowing in the dark. He signals for me to hug the wall and sneak up. I give him a curt nod and sidle up to it, double-checking that my footsteps are even quieter.
>
I can’t stop the pounding of my heart, though, or my shallow breath.
I may have thought I was a badass before, protecting my siblings and mother from harm. I realize now that I knew nothing.
“Yeah,” another Human male says. “Disgusting. Interbreeding like fucking animals.”
“That bastard child won’t feel at home anywhere,” the first male snickers. “Humans won’t want it.”
“And Metas sure as hell won’t either,” a third voice says.
So there are three of them.
I feel the pit in my stomach drop at their cold, heartless words, and an overwhelming feeling of disgust comes over me. They’re talking about people’s lives like they’re…things. Less than things. I can’t even comprehend the amount of hate that they are feeling. But I’m feeling something rising in me. I have to bite back a growl from rumbling in my throat, although it feels like my fox is trying to claw its way out.
I grip the concrete wall, feeling my heart pound in my chest. I’m about to lose control of my metaphysical being. Stay calm, Serena.
Kaleb watches me silently across the hallway, imploring with his eyes to stay quiet. I’m trying, I’m really trying, but it’s hard.
“Poor thing is better off dead.”
That one sentence is the final straw. A roar rips its way out of my mouth, and my robes dissolve around me as I leap forth, my fox form taking over my body. I land on all fours as I sprint towards their voices, ready to rip out their throats.
How dare they?
Kaleb doesn’t shout after me, possibly to keep my attack a secret, even though I’m rushing headlong into danger. As it is, despite my roar, I catch the three Humans by surprise.
“What the fuck?” he shouts in terror.
They weren’t expecting to be ambushed here in their safe place. Nor were they expecting to see a kitsune with bloodlust in her eyes as she growls at them.
I’m going to fucking kill them. It may take some time for Kaleb to catch up to me after my full-out run, but there may not be any Humans left after I’m done with them.
“A Meta!” one Human cries breathlessly, his shocked face watching me.