Face the Dark (Hunters of the Dark #3)

by Dave Ferraro

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brett bent over to catch his breath and wiped at the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. He was definitely getting a workout tonight. He’d run laps around a track at a park on the outskirts of town for nearly an hour now, and his muscles were beginning to burn from the exertion. He loved that feeling, really pushing himself to the limit. And it gave him some time to clear his head and think too.

  He hadn’t hung out with Jordan yet since Jordan had announced his sexual preference, instead bonding with Quinn, whom he seemed to have a lot more in common with, but was still getting to know. Brett really liked Jordan, and just hoped that things wouldn’t be awkward between them now. He’d never really known a gay person before. It was weird, and he caught himself watching Jordan for signs of…he didn’t know what. He just didn’t know what to make of it all. Sure, he’d seen gay people on TV, but when it was somebody you knew, it was different. It was real. And he’d grown up in an environment where people that were different in the way that Jordan was, were shunned. Brett found it hard to wrap his head around the fact that Jordan would willingly put himself in the situation where he would stand out…like that.

  Brett shook his head. He knew that Jordan couldn’t help it. It was how he was born. But…it kind of felt like a betrayal in a small way. Jordan hadn’t told him. He’d kept that part of himself hidden. Was it because he was afraid of how Brett would react? And would he have been wrong? Look at him now, all confused and hiding from any sort of confrontation.

  Sighing, Brett took a long drink from the water bottle he’d set by a bench near the parking lot. He wanted things to be good between Jordan and himself, but Jordan hadn’t said anything else to him either. No mention of playing tennis again, no talk of hanging out…maybe Jordan was just as nervous as he was.

  Get over it, Brett told himself with a disgusted grunt. He’s the same guy you knew before.

  He heard a snap to his left and looked sharply up at the trees surrounding the track. Night had fallen quickly, taking him by surprise. But it felt kind of nice, with the cool air against his skin, no one around to distract him. When he glanced up during his run, he could see the stars shimmering into view overhead. It was invigorating, like he was the only one around for miles. But was he? His eyes narrowed as he stared at the treeline, but he could make out nothing in the darkness.

  Just past the bench was a playground, eerily quiet in the darkness, one swing blowing in the breeze with a creek, as if a ghost child were playing on it. Brett eyed the coiled horses, low to the sand, and the jungle gym towering over everything else, recalling happy childhood memories that brought a slight smile to his lips, before the lonely darkness veiled his memories and returned it to a haunted place.

  Shrugging to himself, he took off at a light trot again, looping around the track loosely before really getting into the swing of things. And then he was pushing himself, despite his body’s weariness. His muscles felt sore, his lungs were on fire, but it felt good. He felt so alive.

  Maybe I can hang out with Jordan and Quinn together, Brett thought suddenly. Then nodded to himself as the idea became more and more appealing. Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of it before? They could just hang out, play pool or video games or something, and talk BS. It would be just like before. It wouldn’t be awkward with that other presence in the room, and then Brett could get used to this new Jordan and put it behind him.

  He rounded a corner of the track and suddenly skidded to a stop, cursing, as a lumbering dark figure charged him from the nearby trees. The moonlight reflected its yellow eyes sharply, as it descended upon him.

  As Brett turned and began to run toward the grassy field beyond the track, he noted two other werewolves hot on its heels, growling deep in their chests, as if they weren’t threatening enough.

  “Damn it,” he muttered to himself as he sprinted all-out over the grass, looking left and right, into the trees. “Come on already.”

  He could hear the werewolves growing closer, the panting of their huge muzzles ringing in his ears, when he heard the first shot. A sharp yelp behind him told Brett that the shooter had hit its mark.

  He suddenly didn’t hear the panting of the monsters in his ears anymore, and glanced over his shoulder as he slowed to a jog.

  The big black wolf was lying on its side, eyes closed, a fat tranquilizer with red feathers flowing from the end, embedded in its neck. It looked asleep, much less menacing that a few seconds before.

  As he looked on, another of the wolves went down with the ringing of another rifle shot. The third wolf didn’t even look back at its fallen comrades as it leapt for the safety of the woods and disappeared from sight.

  Brett let out a breath and smiled happily at the scene as he approached the two fallen animals.

  “Good job, Brett,” Jade told him, walking up to him with a smile. She clapped him on the back as Jordan and Natalia joined them, rifles strapped over their shoulders. “You’ve got some brass balls there.”

  Snorting, Brett lowered himself to his knees to examine the black werewolf. He hesitated for a moment before running his hand through its fur. It felt just like a dog. His eyes wandered down to its talons, and he shuddered.

  “It was kind of fun being bait,” Brett admitted with a shrug as he stood up. “I’m glad it worked.”

  “And you got to be right up close and personal with the monsters,” Jordan nodded. “I bet you liked that.”

  “It was cool.” He offered Jordan a smile. “I’m happy you hit the target.”

  Jordan bit his lip. “I didn’t actually. Missed my shot. Natalia shot the two that went down.”

  Brett blinked as he processed this. “Well, I’m glad Natalia tagged along then.”

  Jade leaned forward to get a look at the werewolf in front of them and smiled. “I just can’t wait to get a good look at this beasty in the lab.”

  “After Amelia performs her spell,” Natalia reminded her, with a look.

  Jade stepped back and smiled. “Of course. That was the whole reason for this, right?”

  A black van suddenly pulled into the field and came to a stop nearby, Hunter rushing out to examine their work. “Good, good,” he murmured. “Looks like they’ll be out for a few hours at least.”

  “One got away,” Jordan told him.

  Hunter nodded. “Yes, well, we really only needed one to perform the spell, so it hardly matters. We’ll just have to continue to be careful when we’re out until this is resolved. Hopefully, we can break the spell that this warlock placed on the wolves, and we’ll never have to see him again.”

  Jordan frowned. “But then it can just make more werewolves. We have to stop it. It’s a menace.”

  “Right,” Hunter considered. “A bite is all it takes to transfer the curse for a Common Australian Lycanthrope. It could create a new pack with little effort, really.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Is that what you think it is?” Jade suddenly asked as she watched a few scholars load one of the werewolves into the van on a stretcher. “A curse?”

  Hunter glanced over at her and shrugged. “Of course the myths would indicate that it’s a curse. But myths are often just ways for people to explain the unexplainable. Even with extraordinary creatures such as this.”

  “It’s more likely a virus.”

  “Perhaps, if you don’t take into account the silver, full moon and wolfsbane. The transformation in itself would suggest magick is somehow involved. And the fast healing.”

  “But magick is just science we don’t understand,” Natalia said through a half-smile. “Wouldn’t you say, Hunter?”

  Hunter blinked. “I would like to believe that statement.”

  “But you don’t?” Jade asked him.

  “When you’ve seen some of the things I’ve seen, it makes one question everything.”