Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  “It seems many siblings have unusual ways to communicate,” I grumbled. “Did you know Lucas has a twin brother?”

  “What? There’s two of him?” She made a sympathetic noise. “Considering how you get along with Lucas, I can only imagine how miserable you are right now.”

  “I’m taking Motrin every day to keep the headaches down. For some reason they are both determined to be overprotective of me while still pushing me to get this job done. It’s frustrating.”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know what to tell you on that one. Lucas has always acted strange around you. I’d still find him easier to put off than Yarrow, though.”

  “Yeah, well, hang in there,” I said. “How is Emily doing?”

  “Oh, she’s doing fine. We went shopping yesterday with the pre-paid Visa card Lucas gave her.”

  I dropped my pencil. “What Visa card?”

  “He didn’t tell you? Emily didn’t want him taking you away, but he offered her a thousand dollar Visa card and swore he’d protect you. That was enough for her to give in.”

  “That asshole bribed my kid!”

  “Language, Melena. She got new make-up and clothes she needed anyway. Does it really hurt anything?”

  What hurt was that I wasn’t the one to buy those things for her. I’d been scrimping and saving to take her on a shopping trip before summer. She wouldn’t have gotten a thousand dollars worth of stuff, but she could have picked up a few nice things.

  Now Lucas went behind my back. I wanted Emily to be happy, but didn’t know how to handle someone else interfering. Was it worth my pride to make her go without the things she wanted? I couldn’t make her take it all back. That would just make me look like the bad guy.

  “Okay, fine.” I rubbed my face. “I’ll let it go this time, but don’t tell her you told me. That way I can at least pretend I didn’t know about it.”

  She laughed. “Maybe there is hope for that stubbornness of yours yet.”

  “Don’t count on it,” I muttered.

  We chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. I started working on the next symbol around the circle when my senses lit up. Not a demon this time, but something far more unexpected.

  It had never occurred to me another sensor might be in the city. He must not have noticed me yet because he moved along the nearby highway at a sedate pace until he got closer. Then his speed picked up and he made straight for me. I closed the sketchpad and put it in my backpack between two books.

  Moments later he entered the mall parking lot. I had no doubt sensing me on his own radar had him moving fast. In all my travels I’d never ran into any men like me. Would he be any different? Should I text Lucas and tell him? No, the nephilim would probably kill him the moment he found out. I had to pray he wouldn’t check in on me until I could get rid of the guy. He was already entering the mall. There would be no running off to avoid him now.

  Down the hall a young man appeared. He had shaggy brown hair and looked to be in his early twenties. As he came closer I could see he had the same blue eyes as the other two sensors I’d known—the one thing we all had in common regardless of ethnicity. He didn’t have a very large build, though the heavy jacket he wore made him look bigger.

  Our gazes met after he moved around an older couple who’d blocked his way. A look of excitement filled his eyes. I wanted to feel the same, but something held me back. This wasn’t the best time to meeting others of my kind. Fear of what Lucas might do if he found out kept me reserved. I’d play it nice and get rid of him before anything bad could happen.

  He sat down next to me on the bench. “I hadn’t expected to find you here,” he said, looking me over. “I’m Elden.”

  “Melena,” I said, shaking his hand and looking him over just as thoroughly. Two could play that game.

  “Do you live here?” he asked.

  “In the mall?” I raised my brows. “No.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I meant here in Juneau.”

  How to answer that? I wasn’t ready to give too much information away, but I couldn’t lie to him either. “I just relocated here recently.”

  “Any particular reason you’re sitting here?” he asked and nodded at the circle. Of course he could see and feel it too.

  I shrugged. “It has me curious. I’ve never seen anything like it until I saw this one.”

  He didn’t need to know I knew what it did yet. I wanted to test the waters. Plus there could be a lot more to it than what I’d discovered.

  “You haven’t had much training, have you?”

  He didn’t ask it in a condescending way. More like a statement of fact. Maybe I could learn a few things from him while he was here.

  “I had a mentor,” I said, “but a sup killed her before she could finish teaching me everything. Do you know what this is?” I pointed at the circle.

  Elden kept his eyes averted. “I have a pretty good idea.”

  He’d just told a half-truth and he knew it. Either he knew exactly what it was or didn’t know much about it at all. “Then what is it?” I asked.

  “The best thing for you to do is stay away from it until me and the other guys can get rid of it.”

  My jaw dropped. “There are more of you?”

  He nodded. “Five of us came up to handle this. It’s what we do. Kill off supernatural threats wherever we find them.”

  So there was still a group of my kind out there doing the job of our ancestors. I’d always thought we were all in hiding. “Why is it I’ve never run into you all before? I’ve traveled a lot and never sensed any of you.”

  “We’re based in Idaho and only leave when we have a mission. Ever been there?”

  “Um, no. Never had a reason to visit.”

  “My leader would be very interested in meeting you,” he said. “Maybe we could work it out. This city isn’t a safe place for us, but there’s protection in numbers. Plus we could use another woman in our group.”

  I had to admit it sounded tempting. Maybe with their help I could keep Lucas away, but my instincts told me to play it cautious. Just because he was from my race didn’t make him trustworthy. I’d have to tread carefully. “How about you give me your number and I’ll give you a call soon?” I suggested.

  “Got a pen and paper?” he asked.

  I grabbed both from the side pocket of my backpack. He took them and jotted a number down with an area code I didn’t recognize. Definitely not Alaska. I’d check it out online later. “Don’t wait too long. We don’t plan to be here more than a couple of weeks if all goes according to plan.”

  “What plan is that? How will you get rid of the demons?” I asked.

  He squeezed my shoulder. “We have our ways. Call and maybe you’ll get a chance to find out.”

  I put the notebook back in my pack. It might come in handy. This guy’s group had to know more than me about how to stop the demon infestation. “Maybe I will.”

  “Good. I’ll be expecting it.” He stood up. “In the meantime, stay away from the circle. It’s too dangerous for the inexperienced to mess with.”

  I kept myself in check from making a sarcastic reply…barely. It couldn’t be that hard to disable, but maybe he knew something I didn’t. I’d broken some magic spells in the past without realizing the consequences until too late.

  “You take care too,” I said.

  He nodded and walked away. I saw he got on his cell phone before getting out of my sight. Time to get the heck out of here. I’d have to leave it up to them to break the circle. There was no point in pissing them off before I even got to know them.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lucas and I were spending an awkward day riding in his car to see if my senses could pick anything up while on the road. Neither of us talked except when necessary. I’d put on headphones to try and drown out his presence, but the tension grew. No matter how beautiful the area around Juneau was, it could only hold my attention for so long with an irritated nephilim by my side. He wasn’t masking his emotions
as much as he normally did.

  I set the iPod aside. “Why don’t we fly over the city and you can use your ‘look away’ ability?” I asked. “That would be so much easier than driving.”

  He grunted. “Nephilim can’t fly.”

  “What do you mean they can’t? If vampires can fly, shouldn’t they have inherited that ability from your kind?” The first vamp had been born from a nephilim couple—despite the infertility issues of their race. Lucas had told me that much during one of his rare moments of sharing information.

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “For one, witchcraft was involved to make that birth possible. It warped their genetics in ways no one expected. For two, contrary to your beliefs, there are some things even I don’t understand…or bother to try.”

  “Well, that’s disappointing.”

  He let out a snort. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”

  I looked away. “No, you’re never sorry for much of anything.”

  He remained quiet. Probably just as well he couldn’t fly. Spending hours with him holding me in his arms while soaring over the city would drive us to the edge. We’d either kill each other or end up doing something we’d both regret later.

  “So where are we headed next?” I asked.

  We’d combed through Mendenhall Valley, but all I’d picked up was less than a dozen sups. Six months ago, that many would have given me a headache. Now it didn’t even faze me. I could sense twice that number in Fairbanks for an equally populated area. Juneau had more sups than an average city this size, but not by a lot. I estimated about a hundred and fifty or so lived here.

  “We’re going back to check downtown again,” Lucas replied. “It’s almost dusk. The demons should be coming out now.”

  We’d started our drive early in the day hoping to catch demons in their homes, but it wasn’t easy with my range so short with them. Something had to give, though. There had been two more attacks—one at a restaurant and another at the alpha werewolf’s house. Bryan hadn’t taken the extra step of protecting his home with the salt. I’d assumed he would have thought of that. It almost cost him his wife and two kids.

  For reasons we’d yet to determine, the demons wanted to take him down. It couldn’t have been a coincidence both his house and business were hit. Luckily for him and his family, half a dozen of his pack members were there for a meeting and helped him fend off the four demons who showed up. Only one had been left alive for us to interrogate, but Lucas kept me on the sidelines again. He still didn’t trust me to handle them on my own.

  I could feel my temper rising at the memory of our fight over that and forced myself to focus on my surroundings. As we moved south we came up on Aurora Harbor. Small buildings that must have been used to house fishing supplies and other cargo dotted the marina. Numerous boats of all sizes and types were docked along the wooden walkways. Beyond the Gastineau Channel I could see the mountains rising from Douglas Island. They were beautiful.

  My senses lit up as soon as we moved toward the next harbor. I’d yet to detect any of the sensors Elden said were here, but now all five of them were gathered to the east of us. I pulled out my map to get an idea of where they stood. A quick scan told me they had to be at Cope Park. What would they be doing there? More importantly—how soon would they pick up on me being with Lucas?

  “Stop the car,” I said.

  The urgency in my voice must have penetrated his normally thick skull because he pulled off at the next harbor parking lot. I clutched the map in my hands and tried to think of what to tell him. The male sensors didn’t seem to be reacting to our presence so far, but with them in a park their lack of movement didn’t mean much. Not to mention my ability to pick on emotions was confined to a much smaller range—usually twenty to thirty feet unless I pushed really hard. Then it might get to a hundred feet, but we were still too far away for that.

  Lucas parked the car and studied our surroundings, eyes alert. “Want to tell me why we’ve stopped?”

  I exhaled a breath. This could go badly, but I had to tell him or we’d get too close and give ourselves away. “Um, what if I told you I’m not the only sensor in this town right now?”

  He cursed. “Where?”

  I pointed at the map. “They’re gathered at this park right now. I don’t think they’ve sensed us yet.”

  He took the map from me and ran his finger across it. I could see him mentally calculating the distance. “How many of them are there?”

  “Five,” I said, “but you can’t kill them.”

  Lucas gave me a disgruntled look. “They’re all men?”

  “Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

  “They’ve been known to turn up before.” His eyes narrowed. “What I’m more concerned about is that you don’t look nearly as surprised as you should be that they’re here.”

  I cleared my throat and looked out the window. “One of them may have showed up at the mall the other day.”

  “And you failed to tell me this because…?” His voice might have come out even and calm, but his emotions didn’t match.

  “I’ve never met any men from my race before and didn’t want you running off to kill them.” I gave him an accusing glare. “It’s not like you have the best track record with that.”

  We stared at each other, waging a battle with our eyes. Keeping up with the intensity in his almost drained me.

  “Have I ever harmed Emily?” he finally asked.

  “No, but even you wouldn’t stoop so low as to hurt an innocent kid. At least—I’d hope not.” I lifted my brows.

  A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You have a very low opinion of me, sensor.”

  I crossed my arms. “Are you saying you haven’t earned it?”

  Lucas looked away this time. “Very well. We’ll discuss your lack of communication later. We’ve still got a quarter of a mile before they notice us.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “If you studied your kind better, you’d know the males of your race sense things at half the distance of the females. No.” He held up his hand when I started to interrupt. “I don’t know why, but it has always been that way.”

  “So what do we do?” I asked.

  “I don’t want them to know we’re together yet. They’re more likely to reveal information if they think you’re on your own, but…” he paused and gripped my chin, “I’ll be watching you the entire time. One wrong move on their part, or yours, and I will step in. These are not good men. Do not trust them.” He let me go and I rubbed my jaw.

  “I’m surprised they’re still alive if you are so familiar with them,” I said.

  “I don’t know if I’ve met these particular sensors, but I’m well aware of their group’s activities and taken down a few of them in the past—when they got in my way. These men are the primary reason you continue to be harassed for what you are. They keep themselves well hidden, but their presence here can’t be ignored.”

  I cocked my head. “I’m sure there are some interesting stories behind that. You’re really going to have to tell me about them later.”

  His shoulders stiffened. “Sensor, I don’t have to tell you anything. You should be thankful I tell you as much as I do.”

  A sigh escaped me. Maybe I could work it out of him eventually, but not while tensions between us were still so high. “Fine, tell me how you want to handle this.”

  We spent the next few minutes detailing the plan before he flashed away. I’d be on my own for the next part, aside from him watching—however he did that.

  Chapter Twenty

  I followed a narrow road to get to Cope Park. It had rails on one side to separate it from the drop off into Gold Creek. The city did their best to keep the snow clear for drivers, but there were still some rough spots that made the going slow.

  Mount Roberts loomed above and numerous trees closed in the area so it was darker than the colorful neighborhood I’d passed through to get here. At the end it opened into a park
ing lot with snow packed around the edges. I parked in a reasonably cleared spot and headed toward a set of tennis courts. The main group of sensors were somewhere beyond that, but two of them had already begun heading toward me. I met them on a snow-covered path. Somewhere beyond the trees I knew there was another circle like the one at the mall, only bigger.

  Elden gave me a weak smile. I wasn’t surprised he’d come since he’d have recognized my signature right away. A bulky man with a weather-worn face stood next to him. Grey streaked his auburn beard and what I could see of his hair underneath a black knit cap. Two sets of blue eyes stared back at me.

  “Melena.” Elden nodded at me and gestured to the man beside him. “This is our group leader, Jerome.”

  There was a subtle tension as we shook hands. Both guys were doing their best to keep their emotions in check, but I sensed a trace of annoyance coming from Jerome. His hard gaze and close study of me didn’t help the mood either.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

  I crossed my arms. “Why not? I sense the circle. It seems we both have a common interest in stopping this demon problem. There’s a chance I could help.”

  “I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Our guys have the training to handle this. It’d be too dangerous for you, but I’d be willing to meet with you later. I’m curious as to how you’ve stayed off our radar for so long.”

  Like I was hiding or something. No point in telling him I’d spent years hoping to run into more of my kind. Now I had to hope the others were more like Elden. This guy wasn’t giving the group a good impression.

  “Maybe I’ll consider meeting with you if you let me check out the circle. I’d like to see if it’s similar to the one at the mall.”

  Both men stiffened. I could feel the tension ratcheting up a couple of notches.

  “I told you it’s too dangerous,” Jerome said. Then he pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to me. “We got our hands full at the moment, but you can call us soon so we can set up a meet. Maybe we can work something out.”