"Have you been to Coast City recently?" I asked Lance.
He chuckled. "No way. People who go there haven't been coming out. At least that's what I hear. I'd rather not take my chances."
"What about Wildemoor?” Roman asked, his voice louder than usual because of his headphones.
"It's not as bad, but crime is on the rise there also. I think a lot of the violence from Coast City has spilled over to there."
I had only been to Wildemoor a few times, and that had been several years ago. It was slightly smaller than Coast City, but because it was our closest neighbor, we shared many similarities. I had learned recently that it was one of the biggest homes to shifters. Maybe that's why the city held a distinct odor, almost sage-y. I had never liked it.
It took a few hours to reach Coast City. The dark sky was beginning to gray, the promise of a spectacular sunrise. I would need to find shelter soon. Before I turned, the sun would just irritate my skin, but since becoming a vampire, its light literally made my flesh burn within a few seconds. I avoided it as much as possible, even confining myself to the darkest, tightest spot I could find during the day. I understood now why vampires preferred to sleep in coffins.
Lance drove the airplane into a hangar and whistled low. "Looks like your rides here. I wouldn't mind having her drive me around."
I attempted to look out the small window, but couldn't see who he was referring to until I opened the door and stepped out. A tall, thin woman stood in front of a black Sedan. Her wavy red hair spilled across her bare shoulders, and the green tank top she was wearing made the auburn color pop. She was gorgeous, but something else stood out far more than her beauty—her body odor. It accosted my nose, and I grimaced. Not because it was unpleasant, but because the aroma irritated my nostrils much the same way a potent chemical would. She smelled like brown sugar that had been overcooked too long in butter. Pungent, yet sweet. A shifter smell.
She walked up to us and noticed my expression. "You stink too so get over it. We only have to tolerate each other for a short time, I hope."
"You must be Rebecca," Roman said. "Nice to meet you. I’m Roman, and this is Aris.”
“What’s with your eyes?” she asked him.
“I’m blind.”
“That sucks.”
I couldn’t tell if her bluntness was rude or refreshing. Time would tell. "What kind of shifter are you?"
“Wolf.” She nodded toward the sedan. "Get in. We can talk in the car, but if you’re a dick about anything, I’ll make you walk the rest of the way to Coast City. I don’t care if the sun is about to rise.”
4
I decided her bluntness was rude. A surge of anger flared inside me, but I pushed it down remembering Samira’s warning about Rebecca. Samira had probably known Rebecca would irritate me.
I dug my fingernails into my palm and glanced out the window. The pain in my flesh was biting, but it helped me to focus on something other than the shifter so close to me. Her scent was nauseating.
As we drove toward the city center, everything looked the same as I remembered. Dirty streets and tall buildings all absorbing the moon’s full light. Soon the streets would be filled with people heading to work. Street vendors would arrive with them and set up their kiosks. My favorite had always been the ones that sold candied almonds. As a child, I often played in the tunnels directly beneath one because I loved the smell so much. I wish I could smell that same scent now.
While I focused on anything but the aroma in the car, Roman engaged Rebecca in small talk. "Has your stay in Coast City been pleasant?"
She snorted. "That's not the word I would use." She shrugged. "But the accommodations could be worse. I like what Oz has done with the place."
My head snapped her direction. "You've been living in Ironwood?"
She glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "And where do you suggest I stay in a city full of vampires?"
I looked at Roman and then back at her. "Why come here at all then?"
"Rebecca has been trying to keep things under control in your absence," Roman explained. "She comes from Wildemoor. It’s currently under a relative state of peace, which was fortunate for us."
"How do you know her?" I asked him.
She answered before he could. "He doesn’t. I'm only doing this as a favor to Samira. I’m in her debt. Believe me, Coast City is the last place I would ever want to go."
"Then as soon as we get back, you can leave,” I said. “Your presence is no longer required."
She swiveled around in her seat, even though she was still driving and said, “I'll leave when Roman wants me to, not you. Those are my orders."
"Orders from who?" I demanded.
She faced the road. "The Ames de la Terre."
"Why was I not told any of this?"
Roman sighed as if he was losing his patience. "Because you have one focus: manage your vampirism. We all know whose blood courses through your veins. The last thing you need is to lose control. Don’t worry about anything else."
“So your real job is to babysit me.” I shook my head and stared out the window, grinding my teeth together.
Rebecca didn't respond, and neither did Roman. Hadn't I passed Samira's test? I hadn't drunk the blood of the boy she’d basically served on a platter in front of me even though I was starving. Wasn’t that enough to prove I wasn’t going to harm humans?
The city landscape began to change. I sat up straighter in my seat and leaned toward the window. Normally this part of town was somewhat clean, but not anymore. Garbage had collected on the sidewalks, some in piles as big as me. Steel bars covered the windows of many of the businesses, and most of the buildings and signs were tagged with spray paint. I glanced up and down the street when we stopped at a stop sign. I couldn’t see a single human. Even though it was almost five in the morning, there should be someone out—morning runners, dog walkers, early commuters.
I rolled down my window. A new smell, one I hadn’t smelled before in Coast City, revealed why there were no humans. They had been replaced by vampires. I could smell them in the air as much as I could smell Rebecca.
“Not used to seeing this, are you?” she said, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror again.
“How did it get so bad?”
“Like it always does—little by little. It started with your father, Jonas and Wildemoor.”
I tensed at the mention of my father. “What do you mean?”
“Wildemoor used to be in a similar position as this, but we eventually pushed out the vampires. They found sanctuary through Jonas who saw them as a solution to Coast City’s poverty problem caused by the previous mob boss. Bastian agreed to give Jonas lots of money in exchange for quietly and peacefully being allowed to live here with his kind. But you know the old song and dance. Money corrupts. It wasn’t long before Jonas’ views on right and wrong got all twisted.”
I hated thinking about what my father had become, the people he had harmed. How could he have changed so drastically?
"What happened in Wildemoor after you got rid of the vampires?" Roman asked her.
“There was peace for a while, but then, like usual, someone got all power-hungry. You see, each different breed of shifter runs a portion of the city, but a particular big bad wolf decided he wanted to rule the whole city. We managed to stop him,” her voice faltered. She cleared her throat and continued. “That was about five years ago. Things were pretty good until you guys started having all these problems with vampires.” She nodded toward the city streets. "I’ve never seen a beast like this before."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The Principes Noctis have hooked their claws into your city, far deeper than they ever have in any other city. The police force is a cover only, the court system is a joke, and the mayor has as much power as a doorman.”
"Victor caused this,” I spat, drawing blood on my palm.
She shook her head. “Actually, things were better when Victor was in control. Ever since you l
eft, something shifted, and Victor’s not near as powerful. He’s more like a puppet to a big, evil puppet master."
I leaned back in my seat thinking of Bastian, the leader of the Principes Noctis in Coast City. Both Roman and I had tried to uncover information about him, but we came up empty-handed. I had only met him once on the docks where I had faced Victor and lost my human life. I had sensed his power then, far greater than anything I had felt with Victor. I hoped my own strength could match his.
"How do we beat them?" I asked.
"That's what we're trying to figure out,” Rebecca said. “I'd start by using your brain more than your vampire power. All of them will be relying on that, but you must think differently than them."
I thought about her words as she drove across to the south side of town where businesses no longer remained. Only warehouses, half of them abandoned. Think differently from them. I wasn’t even sure who them was exactly.
Rebecca pulled into the garage and parked next to my Mustang. The restored car was a welcome sight. Even though I didn't drive it much, it was one of the few material possessions I cherished.
No one said much as we made our way through the secret entrance into the tunnels beneath the city. I knew every one having grown up in them since I was a child. They looked and smelled the same, a rich earthiness mingled with iron. I stretched my fingers and scraped them alongside the dirt walls held together only by old wooden beams. The best-kept secret of Coast City was right here.
The closer we came to Ironwood, I detected a distinct aroma like nothing I'd ever smelled before down here. "What is that smell?"
Rebecca inhaled deeply. "To me, it smells like Oz. But you're probably detecting steel and copper wiring."
"Why would I smell those things?"
Roman glanced at me sideways. "Oz has made some changes."
"What kind of changes?" I growled. Knowing what I knew of Oz, he probably turned Ironwood into a mini dance club with a bar and spinning disco ball hanging from the ceiling.
Nobody answered me, and the smell grew stronger. So did faint buzzing sounds of several electronics. This part didn't surprise me. Oz was a computer genius and had helped me on many occasions break into different security systems. He’d probably installed a gaming or computer system to occupy his time while I was away.
Just up head, as we were about to enter Ironwood, a steel door blocked our entrance, one that hadn’t been there before.
“What’s this about?” I asked.
Rebecca typed a code into a nearby keypad. “One of the many changes Oz made.”
I looked at Roman. “Did you know about this?”
He reached in front of him and ran his hands across the door. “All Oz told me was that he was adding a security system to Ironwood. This isn’t what I had in mind.”
“It’s smart, is what it is,” Rebecca said and opened the door. “One day, this place will be discovered. Best to have it as protected as possible.”
We walked onto the main street of Ironwood. On each side of us, a long boardwalk Roman had made years ago stretched long. Old buildings, some partially collapsed, sat just on the other side of the boardwalks. My ‘home’ was one of them. An old post office building Roman had repaired just for me.
I headed toward it when I heard a familiar squeal. I turned my head just in time to see Amy, Oz’s younger sister, sprinting toward me, her dark, curly hair bouncing high. She grinned big. It was infectious, and I smiled back, something I rarely did anymore. She jumped into my arms and embraced me in a tight hug. I held her back, grateful in that moment for having ingested a blood bag in the car. The smell of her blood was sweet like she'd eaten a giant lollipop recently. It made me slightly dizzy. I would hate for her to see who I have become.
She was small in my arms even though she had to be eleven now. I set her down and stared at her, my eyes wide. "You have so much energy!"
"My surgery worked! I'm almost all better." She wrapped her arms around my forearm and squeezed. "I'm so glad you're back!"
"Me too." I patted her on the head, remembering that it wasn’t too long ago when her tiny body could barely move. A brain tumor had nearly killed her, but Oz had graciously accepted my money so she could have surgery over in Wildemoor.
She stepped away from me suddenly and frowned. "Are you a vampire now?"
"I am but don’t be scared. I would never hurt you."
She punched my arm. "Of course, you wouldn't. You’re a superhero."
I flinched at her words. I felt, anything but. "Where is your brother?"
"He's getting command ready for you. He wants to make sure it's perfect."
"Command?”
She laughed. "I know. It's a stupid name, but Oz came up with it. Figures." She took hold of my hand and pulled me along. "Come on. You're going to love it."
"Let me put my bags up first," I said and stepped into my old home. It looked the same, but there was one noticeable difference. The photos and newspaper clippings of my father were gone from the wall. I stared at it, feeling a mixture of resentment, anger, and sadness. Jonas Crow had not been who I thought he had. My whole life I had idolized him and had wanted to become just like him. Not anymore.
Roman stuck his head on the door. “We’ll talk soon?”
“I’ll be there.” I set my bags down. He was probably going to rest in his hyperbaric chamber. Even though he’d gotten better at enduring the pain noise caused him, traveling must have been excruciating.
“Come on!” Amy tugged on my arm again.
I let her drag me down the boardwalk, passing several old shops. A few of them had been repaired since I’d been here last. At least Oz had kept busy in my absence.
I expected Amy to keep going, but she turned sharply toward what used to be a printing shop over a hundred years ago. At least it used to. I was about to find out what changes Oz had made to it besides the outside, which had been repaired and painted a ghastly blue and orange.
"Interesting color choice," I said.
"You like it?" she asked. "It's the colors of my favorite football team."
"Then I like it.”
She pushed open the door and let me pass. My eyebrows lifted at the stark difference. There wasn’t a hint of the old printing shop. The walls and ceiling had been repaired and painted black. A small table and four chairs were on one end, and on the other was a long desk. Above it, hanging on the walls, were at least a dozen TV screens all lit up. I stepped closer and realized they were showing different camera views of the city.
A tall chair swiveled around. Oz sat with his hands clasped together, his pointer fingers in a steeple pointed at his chin.
"Welcome to command, Master," he said in a deep, exaggerated voice.
"Call me that again, and I'll kill you," I answered, but I said it with a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
"Good thing you still have that awesome sense of humor of yours." He stood and opened his arms as if to hug me. I shook my head.
"What? You let Amy hug you." He swiped dark hair from his eyes. It had grown longer on top. He also looked fitter. His t-shirt pulled tight over new pectoral muscles, and the sleeves around his biceps were snug.
"That's because she's cute,” I said. “You're not."
"That’s not what all the ladies say." He glanced over my shoulder at Rebecca who had just come into the room. "Right?"
"No." Rebecca dropped into another chair and turned to face the video feed.
"Serious though," Oz said. "It's good to have you back."
"How did you pay for all of this?” I asked. “You haven't been stealing again, have you?"
He cleared his throat. "It wasn't me who paid for all of this. It was you."
I lifted an eyebrow while he continued to speak.
"Remember how before you left you said I could have money for not only Amy's surgery, thank you again for that, but also to use for renovations on Ironwood?"
"I remember giving you permission for small upgrades, yes."
He gave me a sheepish grin. "Well, these are those small upgrades. Aren't they awesome?"
"I wasn't expecting something so… grand."
He dropped back into his chair. "Listen, if you plan on taking out the Principes Noctis and Victor, then you're going to need to step up your game. Those vamps up there have eyes everywhere. The only way we're going to have a fighting chance is if we have eyes everywhere too. It’s taken me months to get all these cameras set up in the right places. I've moved them several times just to make sure we have the best locations covered."
I stared at him, surprisingly impressed. His words made sense.
“Smart,” I said and stepped closer to inspect the views on the screens.
Night’s darkness was slowly retreating. Within thirty minutes, the city would be bathed in light. There were still a few vampires out on the streets, daring sunlight to come.
I turned to Rebecca. "Have you found many vampire nests?"
"A few of them, but I'm sure there are dozens more. I've marked their locations on the map against the back wall. Most of them like to sleep in groups, but not all of them.
I looked at each of the screens, recognizing every location. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed a familiar one. "Why are you watching Emma's house? Is she in trouble?"
"No,” Oz said, his voice hesitating. "She’s been well cared for. After what happened with you, her house was the first camera I set up. I was afraid Victor would try and hurt her somehow just for knowing you, but that isn't what happened at all."
I reached out and lightly touched the screen on the image of her door. It was hard to ignore the rush of emotion that filled me with warmth. "She has been well?"
"Better than most," Oz said, but there was a strange tone to his voice like he needed to say a lot more.
I looked at him. "Spill.”
He lowered his gaze to the floor and dug his foot into a rug. "I'm not sure how to tell you this, and I'm not even sure why, but— “
A Monster’s Birth: Aris Crow Vampire Legend Page 3