The Lion's Den (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles)

by D N Simmons

  “Looks like. Besides if we leave to escort and aide Adan and his Pride, who’s to say Marcus won’t take the opportunity to slaughter Darian and his coven while they rest?“ Tatiana stated, breaking her long silence.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re right, bad idea, baaad idea,” John said, nodding in agreement. He did not like the possibility of being killed in his resting state, once was enough as far as he was concerned.

  Shannon began to cry. “What are we going to do?” she sobbed.

  Adan rose from his seat making his way toward her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, urging her to look up at him. She did.

  “Shannon, I know you’re scared, and it’s okay. However, none of us can afford to have you breaking down right now. The time has come for us to fight. I need you strong, do you understand?” Adan’s eyes were locked on hers.

  Shannon wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She nodded slowly. “All right”

  “Good.” Adan nodded, inhaled, exhaled then turned toward the others. “We can’t keep running, I won’t keep running. Tomorrow we’ll make our stand. We’ll go to an area where we won’t be in the public eye, if he chooses to attack us there, then so be it.”

  “That’s practically suicide!” Justin exclaimed.

  “It’s a challenge, not suicide. It’s something I should have done before instead of brining you and many others into this,” Adan said, feeling guilty about his role in the deaths of so many.

  “This isn’t your fault, Adan. Your Pride wasn’t the first community this coven attacked and if we don’t find a way to stop them, it won’t be the last. I mean, who’s to say we wouldn’t be next after he had killed you in India?” Nicole said, putting in her opinion. “Although, I do sympathize with those who wish this wasn’t happening, I don’t think it’s fair for us to blame you because it is.”

  “That’s true. They were in L.A. two years ago, so who’s to say we weren’t next. All right, if we do this, it’s got to be as a team,” Daniel said.

  “Adan, why don’t you and your Pride go on with your plan? Elise, Xander and Richard, you should send members to accompany them, in case Marcus does attack. Others should stay here, jhe same. That way, all of our bases will be covered. Like Darian, I don’t believe that he will attack you, he seems to like to do so when his coven is with him, but let’s just see where this takes us,” Xavier suggested.

  “My Pride is in,” Elise said.

  “Likewise,” Xander agreed.

  “Very well.” Darian rose. “It’s decided then.”

  The others sat around, looking from one person to the next. Each person was wondering what was on the other person’s mind. The silence of the room was broken by the loud musical rap ringtone on Adrian’s cell phone.

  Adrian answered his phone. “Yeah, Warren, what’s up?”

  “Tell Xander the bodies were in the same fashion as the others. These guys are really showboating, rubbing all their shit in our faces.”

  “Yeah, we figured that much. Listen, you and Matt need to get to Darian’s mansion as soon as possible.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We came up with a plan, you may not like it, but it’s the plan.”

  “We’ll get there as soon as we can. We’re still trying to wrap up this crime scene.”

  “Just get here,” Adrian said before ending the call. The others began discussing fighting strategies for the best way to take out an ancient vampire.

  “Darian, any ideas?” Sergio asked.

  “The most effective way would be decapitation,” Darian answered.

  “What about fire? We might can get some blowtorches,” Justin suggested.

  “If he’s as old as I think he is, fire won’t have much effect on him, at least not from a blowtorch,” Darian said.

  “What about a rocket launcher?” Sergio asked.

  “Do you even have a rocket launcher?” Adrian asked him.

  “No, but maybe Warren might have access to one. He and Matt are S.U.I.T., don’t they have access to all kinds of weaponry?”

  “And what if you miss and blow up somebody’s house?” Adrian asked, looking at Sergio sideways.

  “Then their house is going to be all fucked up and I hope they aren’t home. You know what? I’m tired of all the ‘what ifs’ being so negative. What if I hit his ass with it, then what?” Sergio looked at Adrian, then Darian questioningly.

  All the others turned toward Darian, awaiting an answer.

  “Would a rocket launcher work?” Sergio asked.

  “I really don’t know. A rocket is supposed to be extreme don’t kowerful, it may be able to dismember him … I don’t know … I doubt it.” Darian was curious to see if modern technology would have that kind of effect on a vampire as powerful as this one.

  “Well, that’s an option. Call Warren up, tell him about it, see what he says,” Tatiana said.

  Adrian decided to make the call.

  ***

  Warren felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and he answered it. “Rocket launchers? What the hell do you need with rocket launchers?” he asked Adrian.

  “We’re trying to get whatever weapons we can to kill these vampires. See if you can get your hands on some flamethrowers, too.”

  “Shit, I’ll see, but I can’t make any promises.”

  “That’s good enough for me. See you when you get here.”

  They ended their call.

  “Was that Adrian?” Matthew asked. He and Brian had finished their investigation and had decided to join Warren and Colin at their scene.

  “Yeah, they need us to go to Darian’s home after we’re done here,” Warren said. “Sounds like they’re planning to take on a bunch of terrorists.”

  “Yeah, I heard the list of weapons they wanted. Do they have a plan?”

  “Yeah, but they said we’re not going to like it.” Warren scratched his eyebrow. “Listen, we need to see if we can get our hands on some weapons.”

  “I see.” Matthew was standing beside Warren when his cell phone began ringing. “Yeah, Captain, what’s up?”

  Their Captain sighed. “We have another body, multiple vampire bites, partially mutilated. Marlon’s there now, says the victim’s been dead for about half an hour. I need someone there on the scene. How’s your investigation coming along?”

  Matthew was saddened to hear about another murder. This whole situation was far too out of control for his taste. “To be honest with you, Captain. We’re no closer to solving this case than we were forty-eight hours ago.”

  “Damnit. I’m giving you all of the resources I can. I don’t know … ” She was beyond frustrated. Her superiors had been pestering her to remain quiet regarding the facts in the case. She had been told to keep a lid on how many bodies were found if possible, as to not alarm the public. It was important to her superiors that the S.U.I.T. was to keep up appearances that they were in control. She however cared very little about the bureaucratic red tape and more about saving lives. However, she did do what she could to keep the media frenzy down. “ … Maybe I can petition for more S.U.I.T. officers from other precincts, see if anyone can spare some teams. Missoula, Montana may be able to send help over. They’re always outsourcing their officers.”

  “I don’t think it would matter, Captain.

  “So are you telling me we should give up trying?” she asked, agitated.

  “No, of course not. I’m just saying that it may take some time closing this case no matter how many people you put on it.” Matthew suspected adding more S.U.I.T. officers to the case may be what their murderers wanted. The extra attention seemed to be fueling their killing spree.

  “All right, we’ll play this your way. I won’t bring in anymore officers for the next twenty-four hours, but if you’re still shooting blanks, I’m going to do what I have to do.”

  “That’s fair.”

  “Get to that other crime scene.”

  “We’re on our way,” Matthew said, ending his call.

&nbs
p; “I heard everything.”

  “We need to tell them.” Matthew gestured to the four men coming their way.

  Brian, Colin, Gabriel and Barry approached them, each man looked physically drained, frustrated and angry. Like Matthew and Brian, Gabriel and Barry had decided to rejoin Warren and Colin when they had wrapped up their crime scene investigation. Having all of the detectives who were on the case in one spot made it easy to go over new developments and strategies.

  Gabriel stopped in front of Matthew and Warren. “I’m about ready to get a few raids going. You know, shake down a few supernatural joints,” he suggested.

  “That’s a plan, you should do that. Meanwhile, Matthew and Colin, you need to get to our newest crime scene,” Warren said.

  “Another fucking one?” Gabriel asked, his face contorting in outrage.

  “Yeah,” Matthew answered, telling them the address. He turned to Colin. “We should get going, come on.” The two detectives left.

  Brian looked at Warren. “Do we have the authority to raid supernatural businesses?” he asked.

  “I’m sure we will,” Warren said, dialing their captain. When she answered he told her their plan, asked for permission.

  “I’ll call a judge and get the paperwork started. It shouldn’t be a problem,” Michelle said.

  “Thanks, Captain.” He closed his cell phone and waited. Several minutes passed before his captain called back. He answered. “Tell me something good.”

  “My pleasure, you have permission. Come and pick up the paperwork,” their Captain informed.

  “Excellent.” He ended the call and turned to Brian. “We’re all good. We need to swing by the precinct for the paperwork. Let’s go.”

  < />

  Chapter Fifteen

  At the eleventh crime scene, Matthew listened to the initial report from Marlon.

  “Wait a minute, are you fucking telling me that this may be a copy-cat killing?” Matthew asked, both eyebrows raised.

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. None of the fang or teeth marks match the ones from the other victims. You have another group of supernaturals trying to make a name for themselves. The good news is … they’re not half as sophisticated as the originals. They’ve left saliva, footprints and a host of other clues. CSI lifted several fingerprints off her car,” Marlon said, still stooping over the body finishing up his initial examination.

  “Shit, this is something we don’t need,” Colin said. Both his hands resting on his hips as he looked down at the mutilated body of a young African-American woman who looked to be in her early twenties.

  “Listen, Marlon, if you find anything else, let us know right away,” Matthew said. “Let’s go talk to some of these people, see if anyone saw anything.”

  The two detectives questioned everyone still standing around the crime scene. After a few minutes of somewhat gentle prodding of one of their witnesses, the man finally admitted to seeing the three men and one female drag the victim from her car and began feeding. Immediately, Matthew ushered the witness to their car. They drove back to the precinct to continue their line of questioning. Matthew sat the eighteen-year-old male at his desk, offered him a soda to keep him calm.

  “I understand how difficult this is for you, anything you can give us will be helpful. I hate to put you through this, but we need to know what happened, please start from the beginning,” Matthew said, gesturing for the teenager to give a recount of the attack he witnessed.

  “Yeah, dude, sure. I want to help. Man, I’ve got to tell ya, I’ve never seen anything like that shit before. They just jumped in front of her car, broke her window and dragged her out. She was kicking and screaming, begging them to let her go. I wanted to help her, I did.” The young man looked at the two detectives, his bottom lip trembled. He stared at them with wide eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and shame.

  “Please go on,” Colin urged.

  “You don’t believe me, do you? That I wanted to help her? I did, but I was just scared. I mean, they’re vampires … super strong and shit. What could I do against them?”

  “Were you the one who called the S.U.I.T.?” Matthew asked.

  The young man nodded.

  “Then you did allthing you could do and you have no reason to be ashamed,” Matthew said, hoping to ease the young man’s conscience.

  “I guess,” he said softly, not sure if that answer was enough to assuage the guilt he was feeling. “They killed her. The female with them was the shifter, when she started eating her legs … .” The young man’s voice trailed off. “I was so scared, I just ran. I ran so fast, I didn’t want to turn around to see if they were behind me. When I thought I was safe, I called you guys.”

  “Can you describe what they look like? We’re going to get a sketch artist in here, think you can give pretty good descriptions of her attackers?” Colin asked.

  “Yeah, I can. I’ll never forget their faces.”

  “Hold on,” Matthew said, holding up his right hand. “Going back to your story, you said there were four of them, right? Three vampires and a shape-shifter … the shifter was the female?”

  The man nodded. “Yeah, really pretty, too. It’s too bad she’s a killer. When I saw them standing their talking, I was trying to work up the courage to talk to her before they started attacking that woman.”

  “How old did she look?” Matthew asked.

  The man shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know, about twenty, no more than twenty-two.”

  “Thanks.” Matthew called the sketch artist, requesting his services. “David will be here in a few minutes to make the sketches. I’m going to the bathroom.” He rose from his chair and left. When he was alone, he called Warren’s cell. When his partner answered, he told him what was going on. “Warren, the DB we found on North Ave., was a copy-cat killing and I think I know who might have done this one.”

  “Who?”

  “Remember that little gang of vamps and their female shifter we busted last year for vandalizing the Slayer’s Lair nightclub?”

  “Yeah, think they’ve beefed up their criminal acts?”

  “To the highest level. They’ve taken the recent killings as inspiration. We have a witness that said he saw three vamps and one female shifter attack and kill a woman. They fit that description, they’re always hanging out together. We need to find them and fast. They should be in custody while we wait for forensics to prove them guilty or innocent. Right now, the witness is giving David their descriptions.”

  “Good, you keep to that. We don’t need any second rate hacks fucking up this investigation. Right now, I’m on my way to shake down a few supernatural businesses, see if anybody knows anything. If I see them, I’ll bring them in personally.”

  “Okay, we’ll be here.” Matthew ended the call. He called Richard, giving him an update. Once he was done with that, he returned back to their witness.

  ***

  HYA copy-cat killer!” Brian stated, surprised. “You know, at least have the damn decency to wait until after the original killer is caught or dead before you start treading on their territory. They might actually piss off the real coven.”

  “Not before pissing me off first. Matt and I have an idea who did the killing. If I see this gang in one of these clubs, I’ve got a good mind to bypass their ‘legal rights’,” Warren said, speeding toward Desires Unleashed. He reached into his pocket, removing his cell phone. “I need to make a call.” He called Darian.

  “Hello Warren,” Darian greeted.

  “Darian, I just thought I’d call and let you know, we have to do a sweep of supernatural-owned businesses. I’m heading to yours right now.”

  “I understand. I’ll call my staff and inform them to assist you upon your arrival.”

  “Thanks.” Warren ended his call.

  “Who’s that?” Brian asked.

  Warren tossed him a look. “The Master vampire of the city.”

  “And you have his personal number?”

  “We
have history.”

  “I see. If I’m not too out of line for asking, I’m sure he’s aware of what’s going on in his city … what’s he doing about it?”

  “Whatever he can. Listen, I’m going to tell you something only because you’re one of us. Can I trust you?”

  “We’ve just met, so I hope you can. I won’t tell anyone, I swear,” Brian replied.

  “Okay. Darian’s already had a run in with the Master vampire of the coven.” Warren felt he could be honest with Brian.

  “I feel like there’s more to that.”

  “I don’t want to use the word, damn-near ‘indestructible’, but that’s the vibe I got when they told me of the encounter he had. The Master vampire’s name is Marcus and we already know he’s a powerful son-of-a-bitch, but even the shifter in his group is stronger than Matthew’s Alpha, who is over three-hundred years old, and that’s a brand new bag of trouble.”

  “Holy shit! The S.U.I.T. really doesn’t have what it takes to take out that kind of power.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? Fuck! I feel like I’m just out here keeping track of their kills. I feel fucking helpless. Our ultraviolet bullets can’t do shit to this vampire,” Warren said, slamming his fist on his steering wheel.

  “But our silver-nitrate bullets can take out the shifter.”

  “If we can get him into the position for a straight shot, yeah.”

  “Do your leaders have a plan?” Brian asked, suddenly wishing he were back in Californiaand not anywhere near this “super coven”.

  “They do. I’ve been trying to get home for hours now to see what it is, but I just haven’t had the opportunity.” Warren pulled the car in front of the club. Several S.U.I.T. squad cars pulled in behind him. All of the officers climbed out of their cars. Warren stood in front of them, one hand raised high, while the other held tightly to his automatic handgun loaded with ultra-violet bullets.

  “Remember, we just want to pull in our regular rule breakers. Let’s spread out and search the clubs along this strip. Brian and I have this one. Move out.” Warren led the way.