“He does have his uses, I’ll admit,” Gabi acknowledged before spinning to the three behind them. “Ready to go?”
The others were dressed similarly to Julius, and though Gabi was wearing her Hunter uniform of leather pants, long-sleeve shirt and body-armour vest, she was sans coat. Too much clothing hampered her preferred fighting style, something that apparently didn’t worry the Vampires. He nodded a greeting to the others. Charlie, for once, wasn’t wearing his Stetson; things were grim when Charlie’s Stetson wasn’t allowed to come on a hunt. Dart guns were conspicuously absent, and both Mac and Charlie carried the same McChoppers that he and his wolves had chosen. They would all have backup weapons, but the pneumatic axes should do the job required. Butch had a flame-thrower slung across his back, just in case they got separated from Julius. It paid not to be caught wanting in a situation like this one.
Kyle tapped his commlink to life and was relieved to hear Trish’s voice on the other end.
Ten minutes later they were all following the Magi Tracker down the dark streets. Stewart held up a hand, and the whole team stopped in unison, even the Red Shadow Pack. The strange scent they had picked up as they closed in was unsettling all the wolves, and the closer they got, the more tense they became.
“These things don’t smell right,” Natalie growled in a low voice, distaste colouring her words. She was two steps behind Stewart, with Harrison flanking her left and two other wolves directly behind her, forming something of a shield between her and Kyle’s team.
“They’ve stopped moving. They’re in that building, near the back of it somewhere,” Stewart whispered, pointing at a glass-fronted shop, whose interior was obscured by shadows and the grubby state of the windows. The sign above the door said ‘Used Furniture and Bric-A-Brac. Donations Welcome’.
“Stewart,” Julius said quietly, “stay here. Fergus, you’re with him.”
The broad-shouldered Scotsman growled acknowledgement but seemed less put out at being left behind than Mac had on the previous hunt. Julius’s few words felt as though they conveyed far more meaning than what he’d said. It hadn’t escaped any of them that something felt awfully wrong here.
“Trish,” Kyle said quietly into the commlink, “lock this area down. We’re going in.”
“Give me sixty seconds,” she told him, the familiar sharpness of concern tingeing her voice. “Be careful.”
“Always,” he replied and turned off the link.
“There’ll be a rear entrance,” Gabi said to Harrison. “We need to split up and cover both.” She left the sentence hanging, giving him the illusion of control over the situation.
“We’ll cover the front,” Harrison said after a moment’s hesitation and a quick glance at his mate. Good, Kyle thought; the man had come to his senses, and his mate was finally a little scared. Cocky would get someone killed tonight.
“Give us two minutes to get into position,” Gabi said, checking her watch, as others followed suit. After quick nods all around, they split into two groups and moved off, silent shadows rippling through the dark.
CHAPTER 8
The strange smell the hunting party had been following down the street had condensed into a truly awful stench, a miasma of freshly rotting meat laced with the even more unpleasant stink of emptied bowels and days-old urine, and something else Kyle couldn’t identify. His eyes were practically watering, and even Gabi, with the least sensitive nose of them all, had pulled the collar of her shirt up over her nose and mouth for a modicum of protection.
A skinny cat hissed in warning from the top of an overly full dumpster as they closed in on the rear door of the store. An answering growl from Razor sent it scurrying away, leaping onto the top of a brick wall and disappearing into the night.
Gabi reached out to try the door handle. It gave way, but the door didn’t budge; locked from the inside. Her eyes, just visible above the dark fabric of her shirt, flicked to his face. He nodded—no quiet surprise attack, then. She moved off to one side as he checked his watch and glanced around at the rest of the team. Getting a nod of readiness from each, he readied his McChopper before lifting a leg and kicking the door in with one sharp blow.
It flew inward; the door jamb splintered, though the rest of the door hung mostly intact.
Nothing rushed out at them. Beyond the door was a dark corridor, so narrow that they would have to traverse it in single file. Gabi resettled Nex in her right hand and took a determined step forward. Before Kyle could react, Mac had grabbed her shoulder, halting her. The look she threw him could’ve melted steel, but he ignored her warning.
“Patience, Lea.” Julius’s voice was a quiet ripple through the air. “We’re the guests here.”
A tense silence fell for a breath; then Gabi gave a brief nod, shrugging off Mac’s hand. Kyle hastily took the lead, shouldering his way through the broken door.
As at the abandoned railway station, the place was deathly still. The team emerged out of the corridor into a large open storeroom. The floor was aged linoleum covering bare cement, and there were four small barred windows near the ceiling on one side. Wordlessly they fanned out, searching the dark room. Even with his keen night vision, Kyle was finding it difficult to make anything out amid the scattering of boxes, old furniture and racks of clothing.
“They’re up—” Gabi’s sharp words were cut off by large, heavy things dropping from above their heads.
Kyle lunged backward, narrowly avoiding the body that fell to the floor with a sickening sound of breaking bones. Gabi grunted as another of them landed close enough to knock her off balance. Kyle lunged in her direction, grabbing at the dark shape that launched itself at her prone form, even as Razor appeared between Gabi and the creature, a ball of hissing teeth and claws. As Kyle yanked the Ghoul backwards away from her, Nex glinted off the tiny sliver of moonlight that suddenly sliced through a skylight window, and she was back on her feet a half second later, flipping her sword to an underhand grip and spinning to plunge Nex into the creature’s chest.
“Ahh.” The sound tore from Kyle’s own throat as a vicious pain flared in his right calf. He released Gabi’s attacker and swung his axe downward at the source of the pain. The one that had missed landing on him, the one that had broken its legs in the fall, was biting into his lower leg.
A bright, pale yellow light flared to life, illuminating the storeroom. Julius. Kyle’s axe severed the head completely off the body of the Ghoul munching on his calf as Gabi kicked her one backwards, off of Nex. Despite beheading his attacker, the pain in his leg intensified. Kyle was forced to bend down and use the corner of the axe to pry the thing’s teeth away from his flesh. He looked up from his grisly task to see Gabi standing above him, protecting his back, Razor at their feet. Julius stood with one hand outstretched, two dark shapes clawing the air wildly in a vain attempt to reach him. Butch and Charlie were back to back as a trio of Ghouls circled them; Mac was hacking at the neck of the Ghoul that had landed on Gabi. Over near the doorway leading to the corridor, Callum was grappling with another form on the ground. The smell of death had intensified to the point that it obliterated all other smells. Kyle’s wolf howled in challenge, surging forward and demanding to be given control.
Kicking the offending head aside, Kyle calmed his wolf and quickly dismembered the rest of the body as Gabi held back one of the three that had been closing in on Butch and Charlie. Something about the scene didn’t seem right, but as Kyle retook his defensive stance, yet another shape dropped from above him, driving the concern from his mind.
The fight had been nothing but a vicious, disorderly brawl. The Ghouls had next to no coordination, but they just kept coming. They had no reaction to pain, and losing a limb, or even their intestines, didn’t seem to bother them. As contraindicative as it seemed, it was harder to fight attackers with no skill. Their ungainly and unpredictable assault made fighting them, especially in close quarters, chaotic and dangerous.
Kyle spun around, his axe reset, the pain from
half a dozen wounds forgotten, but all those left standing were Hunters. A quick headcount told him that everyone was accounted for, though Callum’s left arm was hanging limp at his side, and blood oozed from Gabi’s nose as well as a cut above her left eye, and one sleeve was ripped to the shoulder. Bits of bodies, entrails and decapitated heads littered the floor of the storeroom, entangled in crumpled boxes, broken bits of furniture and bloodied clothing. At some point he’d forgotten about the smell. The pale orb of flame still hung near the rafters of the room, the same rafters that the Ghouls had been perched on, waiting for them to walk into the trap.
“Everyone out. Lock the place down,” Julius ordered. His face was a cold mask as he took in every part of the scene.
Kyle’s own assessment couldn’t tell him exactly how many Ghouls there’d been; just too many body parts lay strewn around, many of them still twitching or writhing as though with a life of their own. The ones nearest Julius looked as though they’d been torn apart rather than chopped. Butch loped over to close the internal door that sealed off the room from the corridor beyond and tipped over a warped melamine cupboard in front of it. He was limping slightly. The rest of them trooped towards the opposite door, one that would open into the front of the shop. Kyle could recall hearing fighting on the other side, but it had since fallen quiet, filling him with apprehension.
“Get the others out. Clear the place,” Kyle heard Julius tell Gabi. “Tell me when.”
Kyle could count at least four dismembered bodies scattered amongst the rows of crockery, small appliances and sports gear. Three large wolf forms milled about restlessly, lips drawn back to reveal glistening fangs, wild amber eyes glowing in the semi-dark. Harrison spun at their entrance, two Pack members still in human form flanked him, but Natalie wasn’t one of them. The breath caught in Kyle’s throat as a chill iced his veins. But then a fourth wolf appeared from behind the cashier’s counter, the slimness of her body giving away her identity. She dropped a shoe, with what looked like a mangled foot inside, and lifted her lips in a silent snarl. Kyle paused, waiting until he was sure she could distinguish friend from foe before turning back to Harrison.
“Everyone okay?” he asked. His voice came out more growl than human. Beside him Gabi kicked at a hand with two missing fingers that was edging closer to them as Razor growled at it.
“More or less,” Harrison responded, his eyes doing another quick check of his people. One of the wolves was holding up a front paw; it was a bloodied mess of mangled fur and bone. One of those in human form had his hand clamped to his thigh; Kyle could smell the blood. “You guys?”
“Same,” he responded. They would need Jonathon tonight; their injuries were more than bush-medic Butch could handle.
“Where’s the Master Vampire?” Harrison asked, having done his own headcount.
“Waiting for us to get the hell out of here so he can burn the remains,” Gabi answered. “The quicker, the better.”
“Fine with me.” The other Alpha finally lowered the axe he’d been holding protectively across his body. Shock had given his eyes a glazed look. “Natalie, we need to go.”
The slender grey wolf turned towards a scratching noise behind her and emitted a low, whining growl.
“Natalie,” Harrison repeated.
She looked up at him but didn’t move.
“The rest of you go. I’ll talk her down.” The Alpha tucked the axe into a ring at his hip.
“We don’t have time for this,” Gabi growled. “Take the others. I’ll get her.”
Kyle saw Harrison glance at her in confusion. Kyle himself was torn, he knew Gabi could force the Alpha female to move, but so could he. The trouble was, if he did it, the cat would truly be out of the bag; the rest would know the extent of his Alpha strength. It certainly wouldn’t improve the already tense air between Natalie and his Pack.
“Go,” Gabi snapped. “Trish will be struggling to keep norms away by this point. We’ve taken all the time we can spare.” Her words spurred Kyle into action.
“Go,” he barked, putting every ounce of authority he could into the word. All the wolves, including those in human form, flinched and then sprang to do his bidding. The front doors had been forced open, but the glass was still intact. The two teams tumbled out onto the street and automatically melted into the shadows. Kyle and Harrison stationed themselves at the doors, waiting for Gabi and Natalie.
When he hit the count of twenty in his head, Kyle began wondering if he should go back for them. And then the grey wolf jogged out the door, her ears flattened against her head, her tail held low and her eyes dangerous. She snapped warningly at both Kyle and Harrison before slinking away into the shadows near the others in wolf form. Gabi stalked out with her jaw set and her eyes glittering with annoyance. It was then that Kyle noticed her left eye was almost swollen shut from a blow she’d taken during the scrappy fight. Kyle knew her warning signs, knew that she was running on empty, but he also knew better than to offer assistance right now, not in front of Natalie and Harrison—she’d likely stab him.
With a final look back into the store, Gabi took a step away from the door. Kyle could swear he felt the air crackle like it did with an approaching storm. Gabi sheathed Nex and pushed Kyle away from the entrance as a whoosh of hot air blasted through the door. A moment later Julius strode out of the darkness, the store behind him already turning orange with unnatural flames.
In the pale light of the moon Kyle saw Julius run an assessing eye over Gabi and come to the same conclusion he had.
“We can’t leave the fire for long, the other buildings are too close,” the Vampire said to Kyle. “If we don’t want the entire block to go, Trish had better get the human authorities here fast. The fire is hot enough to destroy anything that might confuse them.”
Kyle took the hint and activated his commlink as Julius turned his attention to Harrison, telling him to take his injured wolves to the Estate for treatment. As Kyle debriefed a relieved-sounding Trish, Fergus ghosted in from the dark and surreptitiously put himself within reach of Gabi. She swayed a little as she shook her head in an attempt to focus. Kyle hoped she wasn’t concussed.
He signed off from Trish just as Stewart was collected by another Magus in a small hatchback. Harrison, Natalie and the rest of the Red Shadows had taken their leave and were heading back towards the convoy, at a much slower pace than they’d arrived. After a quick consultation, Charlie and Fergus went to fetch the vehicles from the rendezvous point, deciding it would get them away quicker. Jonathon was going to have a busy night; Callum’s arm would heal quickly enough but needed to be reset before the Lycanthropy virus began its work, and Butch’s wounds needed stitching if they weren’t to form ugly scars. Kyle had yet to check his own wounds, the pain of which was setting in as the adrenalin receded, but he didn’t think any of them were serious enough to need the Vamp doc.
A siren sounded in the distance, and Kyle caught Gabi’s eye. “Debrief at the Hive? Unless you need to see Jonathon…”
“Oh, shut it. I’m fine,” she grumbled, wiping away a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. “Just make sure there’s food on the other side.”
“Isn’t there always?” Kyle gave Fergus a furtive nod, and the Vampire moved aside so that he could limp over and wrap an arm around her waist, pretending he needed help while offering her support as they waited for the vehicles.
“What part of ‘I’m fine’ do you not understand?” she groused, not fooled by his ploy, but not pulling away either. Controlling animals was one thing, she could do it all day and go home a little tired, but controlling Werewolves, especially aggressive ones, was something else entirely. Something that never failed to exhaust her. And the injuries wouldn’t be helping. She didn’t naturally heal as quickly as Vampires and Werewolves, but taking some blood from Julius would heal her within hours. He just knew she would never do that in front of others if she could help it. He hadn’t seen her take a blow to the face, and as he searched his memories o
f the fight, he remembered something else.
“Nothing about these things seems right, but there is something really niggling at me about this one compared to the battle with Dantè’s army. I just can’t put my finger on it,” he muttered.
“It’s the amount of blood, or more precisely the lack of it,” Gabi replied with distaste in her voice.
“Yes, that’s it.” Kyle knew she’d called it, as his mind took him back to the scene he’d run into when it was all but over, the ground had been slick with blood. “The Ghouls bled out like humans. I remember slipping on it.”
“Aye,” Fergus agreed, “it was a problem fer us—” He was interrupted by the shout of surprised distress from their left. They all froze for a split second, adrenalin flowing once more. Kyle immediately knew that Callum was no longer with the group. A pained voice intermingled with some kind of snarling growl had them all in a dead run.
Razor beat them to the alleyway. The heat from the fire bursting out the windows was intense, so hot that they all instinctively held their arms up to shield their faces. Gabi moved to put herself between the burning building and Julius. Callum was near the dumpsters they had passed earlier; he was holding his injured arm as though trying to staunch bleeding. How on earth had one of them escaped?
“Gabi,” the young Werewolf called in relief at their hurried approach, “help me. He’s going to get singed.” It was then that Kyle saw what was actually making all the noise.
It was a puppy, not even half-grown, skinny and slightly mangy looking, standing in a defensive pose, teeth bared and hackles raised.
CHAPTER 9
The wolf pup wriggled in Gabi’s hold, and she adjusted her grip, turning it to catch its gaze. It stared back at her with intense green eyes, not cowed in the slightest.
They’d left the burning building just seconds before the first emergency crews made it to the scene, Mac, Gabi and the puppy ending up in the van with Kyle heading for Haven, while Julius and Charlie took Butch and Callum back to the Estate for patching up.
Raising Hell: A Hellcat World Novel (Hellcat Series Book 7) Page 11