by E. J. King
“Why didn’t the police find that?”
“Because they weren’t searching this area. Her body was found on the opposite edge of the woods.”
I stepped closer to the tree, squinting at something floating in the branch above us. “What is that?”
“Looks like a napkin?” Rafe pointed up. “Give you a boost?”
He laced his fingers together and I stepped into them, balancing against the tree trunk as he hoisted me into the air.
“You probably should’ve stopped at the fourth taco last night,” he said, grunting dramatically.
“Ethan wouldn’t be complaining right now. Guess he must be stronger than you.” I stretched the last few inches and my fingers closed around the object. “Got it.”
He lowered me slowly and I jumped the last foot to the ground.
“It’s a dirty rag,” he said, disappointed.
“This isn’t dirt, it’s blood.” I lifted it closer to my nose and sniffed. “Chemicals.”
“Chloroform?” Rafe frowned when I nodded. “That is an interesting twist.”
I spun in a slow circle, looking for any evidence we might have missed. “I don’t think she was killed in these woods, Rafe.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I think it’s pretty clear she was abducted here. Then she went missing for several days before being found in a completely different location. Whatever took her didn’t kill her right away.” I folded the rag carefully and tucked it into my pocket. Ethan would want to see it for himself.
Rafe stared at the bloody spot on the tree a long time before saying, “I really don’t know what this could be, Kaylie.”
I could tell that he hated feeling so clueless. Hunters prided themselves on solving the unsolvable crimes. We saw some of the craziest, bloodiest attacks and quickly figured out what was responsible. But this one was stumping us both.
“We need to do some more research. Let’s check in with Ethan,” I said.
We had left Ethan with the Hunter Chronicles, hoping he might find a reference, however small, to a creature that killed with a single puncture. So far, he hadn’t had any luck, but our odds increased with more eyes in the diaries.
On the way back to the house, I took our time alone in the car as an opportunity to ask Rafe something personal.
“How have you been feeling?”
Rafe was a Lost Soul- he was infected by Soul blood, but had refused to drink human blood to complete the transition. The result was that if he didn’t drink soon, he would die. Being Rafe, he never mentioned his condition.
“Just peachy.” He stared straight ahead.
“You aren’t feeling sick?”
His jaw clenched, but otherwise he didn’t react. “I don’t want to talk about my health, Kaylie.”
“You never want to talk about anything personal. All you ever do is make snarky comments about hooking up with girls or brag about being a Hunter. Nothing about you is real, Rafe.”
He glanced at me, surprised. “Do you really think that?”
“I do.” I wasn’t trying to hurt him, I just wanted him to open up a little.
“I’ve been a little more tired than usual. But so far, that’s it.” He turned back to the road. “Happy?”
“Every moment with you is a moment of utter joy,” I muttered.
We both paused, then burst into laughter. The rest of our ride was more relaxed and resulted in us both singing along obnoxiously to the radio.
When we returned home, Ethan was just as perplexed as us by the tainted rag. Souls had superhuman strength and never resorted to such rudimentary ways to immobilize their victims. Most of the other creatures we hunted were too animalistic to have left behind such an intact corpse. Souls ravaged the bodies, Shifters rarely left any meat behind, and Dhampir always left bloody trails.
“Maybe this isn’t a creature in the strictest sense of the word,” Ethan suggested as we went over the possible options for the tenth time.
“What are you thinking?” I was open to just about anything at this point.
“Ritual sacrifice?”
Rafe looked up suddenly from the book he was reading. “Like a cult?”
“Like a witch or warlock,” Ethan clarified. “Some spells require vast amounts of human blood.”
“But witches and warlocks aren’t evil. They wouldn’t kill a human being for a stupid spell,” I protested.
In fact, my parents had actually been close friends with several people that dabbled in the dark arts. Some of them were even Hunters.
“It’s called the dark arts for a reason,” Ethan said. “Some of them are evil, just like how some humans are evil.”
“But to drain a human’s blood? That seems extreme.” I plopped next to Rafe on the bed. “I think you are grasping at straws.”
“You got a better idea?” Ethan gave me a taunting look.
I jumped as Rafe tossed his heavy book to the floor with a loud thud. “A Harvester.”
“Harvester?” I couldn’t place the term.
“Souls that like to have a steady stream of blood available at all times,” Ethan said, smacking his forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. It’s so obvious now.”
“That’s just a myth though, right?” I said. “I remember my parents talking about them, but we never came across one. Souls don’t have the will power to stop feeding before they kill the human.”
Rafe lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. “They can control themselves when it’s to their benefit to do so. If they want an endless blood buffet, they have to exercise some restraint.”
“What do you think?” I asked Ethan.
“I think that wound looked an awful lot like a fat needle puncture.” Ethan stared hard at me. “You yourself said that the girl was probably held for a few days before she died.”
“So you think a Soul has set up shop slowly draining blood from humans?” A scary thought crossed my mind. “Breanna is dead now.”
“So?”
“So who’s the next victim?”
Rafe opened an eye slowly. “Good question.”
It went without saying, but we all knew that we would have a better chance of tracking the Soul responsible once there was another victim Higher body counts would make it easier to determine where the Soul might have located his lair.
“We should probably go hunting tonight,” Ethan said, stating the obvious. “The Soul will be looking for an easy target.”
“Drunk college kids are easy targets,” Rafe said, both eyes closed again. “I volunteer to check out the sorority houses.”
“Speaking of vultures looking for easy prey…” I muttered.
“I’m right here!” Rafe protested, nudging me with his foot.
My eyes rolled and I looked at Ethan. “I have to work tonight. You’ll have to deal with him on your own.”
“Again, right here!” This time Rafe sat up. “You should quit your job. Hunting is more important than bartending.”
“Money is important for buying things like food and coffee. You know, the things you are always stealing from my kitchen.”
“Fine, but wear something slutty tonight so you get good tips. I’d like some steak for dinner tomorrow night.” He pointed to my chest. “Make those things work for you.”
I punched him in the arm. “You are the worst neighbor ever.”
“We’ll start the hunt without you,” Ethan said, ignoring our childish fighting as he stood. “You can meet up with us after you’re done contributing to the delinquency of Jackson’s youth.”
“I have so much to look forward to tonight,” I said with a dramatic sigh.
“That’s what all the ladies say when they get the chance to spend their evening with me.” Rafe winked at me and I cringed. He got up and moved next to his brother.
Ethan shook his head at him in disapproval. “Maybe I would be better off hunting alone tonight.”
“What, and miss the chance for brotherly bond
ing?” Rafe loped an arm around Ethan’s shoulders. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
Ethan mouthed the words save me. I couldn’t help but laugh. As much as I denied it in front of them, I was starting to enjoy being around the brothers. If nothing else, it was better than being alone all the time.
I didn’t have a moment alone the rest of the night. The Lucky Lady was even more crowded than usual because the majority of campus had decided to use Breanna’s murder as an excuse to drink excessively. By the time I was able to get away, it was well-past midnight.
Rafe and Ethan were prowling around close to the bar when I caught up with them. The park between the bar and campus seemed like an ideal abduction spot for a Soul looking for an easy target. Many drunk college students stumbled through the park on the way back to their dorm room.
“Any luck?” I asked, smiling slightly at the sight of them hunkering in the shadows of an old picnic area. For experienced Hunters, they weren’t doing a very good job of staying hidden.
“Rafe needed to use the bathroom,” Ethan explained. “So I stopped here to wait for him. Then he decided we should take a break and plan our next move.”
“Admit it- you’re bored,” I accused, glaring pointedly at Rafe just as he started to yawn. “Hunting loses its excitement when the bad guys won’t come out to play.”
“Plus, Ethan won’t let me patrol Greek row.” He tossed his brother an annoyed look.
I looked down one of the dark paths. “How much ground have you covered so far?”
“You’re standing on it.” Ethan frowned. “We just got here a couple of minutes ago. The alleys behind the bars on Broadway are quite extensive.”
“You haven’t seen anything at all?” I couldn’t help but wonder if our Soul had already left town, moving onto another city filled with unsuspecting victims. It wasn’t uncommon for them to take off once they caught wind of a Hunter on their tail.
Ethan bounced on his feet. “You and I should finish checking the park. Rafe can do a pass through campus.”
“Don’t wait up for me,” Rafe said, smoothing his shirt and running a hand through his hair. “I plan to hit up a party afterward.”
“Of course you do.” I reached into my bag and pulled out my trusty knife. “Let’s do this.”
Ethan and I strolled comfortably through the park, walking silently. Our parents had trained us well, and our feet whispered over the ground. We made it completely through the park without encountering a single person or Soul. I wasn’t exactly surprised. My Soul-radar had been a little off recently, but generally I had always been pretty good at spotting them before they ever spotted me.
“Rafe and I encountered a Harvester once,” Ethan told me on our way back to the house. “It was one of the creepier things I’ve ever seen.”
“Why’s that?”
Creepy didn’t really exist in a Hunter’s vocabulary- everything we saw fit that definition.
“Souls usually kill with brutality. Recklessness. They are feeding an uncontrollable hunger, and nothing else matters to them when they feed.” His arm brushed against mine and I remembered our kiss, and how it had felt like I was feeding an uncontrollable hunger when my mouth closed over his.
“But Harvesters impose order on their feeding cycle. Everything is so methodical, so planned. I think it’s like the difference between a murder committed in rage and one committed by a serial killer.” He smiled sheepishly. “That probably doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
“No. It actually makes perfect sense.” Souls were hard enough to understand, but crimes of passion were easier to accept than premeditated, methodical murder. “I’m wondering if we’re going about this all wrong.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, rather than waiting for the Harvester to find another victim, maybe we should spend more time trying to find his lair.”
Ethan nodded slowly as we turned onto our street. “That sounds like a reasonable plan. We’ll start there tomorrow.”
“I have class,” I reminded him. Not to mention all of the studying and reports that kept getting put off.
“Right. Rafe and I will start without you and you can join us when you’re free.”
Ethan and I stopped in front of my door. I reached into my bag for my keys and instantly dropped them. We bent down at the same time, our hands brushing as we reached for the keys.
“Sorry.” I glanced at him, hoping he couldn’t see me blushing in the moonlight.
It was one of those ridiculously cheesy romantic moments that only ever happened in movies. I half-expected to hear a love song playing in the background.
“Here.” He snatched the keys and handed them to me.
We both stood slowly, embracing the awkward silence. Ethan continued to stand at my door even after I opened it and I wondered if he expected me to invite him in. My heart started to race.
“It’s late,” I said, exaggerating a yawn.
“Yeah.” He glanced toward his own door. “I’ll let you get some sleep. See you in the morning.”
“Good night.”
I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. My palms were sweaty and I felt slightly breathless. For a second, I wondered if I was having a panic attack. But after a few deep breaths, my equilibrium was restored.
It wasn’t until I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and willing sleep to come, that I realized what had actually happened. I hadn’t been suffering from any kind of health condition. My ailment had been a matter of the heart- I had a crush on Ethan Night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I had lived my entire childhood on the road. My family and I had never stayed in one location for more than a few months at a time. Because of our nomadic lifestyle, I had missed out on the things other girls my age got to experience- sleepovers, school dances, lifelong friendships, and- most obviously lately- boys.
It had never occurred to me to be shy around boys. I had never felt self-conscious, or worried whether they thought I was pretty. I had never put on an outfit in the morning wondering if it would catch the eye of a suitable mate. None of that had mattered, because I had been too busy fighting evil monsters and trying not to die. But with two attractive males living just one floor above me, that was changing.
As I got ready to start my day, I spent a little extra time taming my wild hair. When I stepped outside, I glanced around nervously hoping that I might run into Ethan, or even Rafe. It was a strange experience and I wasn’t sure I was happy about it. I didn’t like the way my stomach twisted in knots when I didn’t see either of them before heading off to class.
At least a dozen times, I remembered the thrill when Ethan’s hand had brushed against mine when we reached for my keys. Then I would remember our kiss in the morgue and my cheeks would grow hot. The urgency with which I had returned his kiss hadn’t been a mistake- I had given into my body’s urges.
When I thought about that, I remembered the night that Rafe and I had shared a bed. What had started out as a chaste arrangement had quickly become something more. And even though Rafe had apologized the next morning, promising that it would never happen again, I still felt a delicious thrill at the memory of his hand softly grazing over my skin.
“Kaylie!”
Hope caught up with me after class, running across the quad at full speed.
“Hey. How are you?” I was surprised at the wild look in her eyes.
“Didn’t you hear?”
Those words caused my heart to thud in my chest. “Hear what?”
“Another student has gone missing.” She sucked in a deep breath. “This girl was walking home from the bar last night and she never showed up at her sorority house.”
“Who is she?” Instantly, I wondered if it was someone I knew, and if we had done a proper job patrolling the area the night before.
“Meggie Walters. She’s a Kappa.” Hope said it as though she expected me to know what that meant.
I racked my brain to remember Meggie, bu
t I came up blank. “Did you know her?”
“She was at the party that night when Breanna went missing. But we weren’t exactly friends.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “Who could be doing this?”
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling fury burning in my chest. But I intend to find out, I finished internally. “Just promise me you’ll be safe, Hope. Don’t go out after dark, okay?”
“Do you know something about what’s happening?” Hope looked worried.
“Not exactly. I just have a bad feeling.” I hated lying to her, but it was for her own good. People who hadn’t grown up in the Hunter world had a hard time accepting that monsters were real.
I hurried home to drop off my books before meeting up with Rafe and Ethan. A few texts from Ethan earlier said that they hadn’t had any luck yet. But now that we had a second victim, we had a shot of narrowing our hunting zone.
Rafe’s car was missing from the driveway, so it was safe to assume that he and Ethan were still prowling aimlessly around town. I sent off a quick text to let them know about Meggie’s abduction and then pulled up a map of Jackson on my laptop.
The woods where Breanna had been found were about a mile from campus. In between campus and the woods was the Lucky Lady, the very place where Meggie had last been seen by some of her friends. If I had to guess, I would bet that the Harvester’s lair was somewhere in between those two locations.
“Honey, I’m home!”
My front door slammed open and Rafe burst into the room with a dramatic flair. His brother came in more quietly, shaking his head apologetically.
“Well, my day just got more annoying,” I said, turning back to the computer.
“Where’s my lunch, woman?” Rafe flopped next to me on the couch, throwing his arm along the back of it. He was sitting close enough that I could feel his body heat.
Trying to ignore my new, scandalous feelings toward the guys, I said, “Try upstairs in your own kitchen.”
Rafe was undeterred. “We’ve been working hard all day. The least you could do is throw together some sandwiches.”
“According to an article in the paper, Meggie went missing shortly after midnight last night. She was last seen just outside the bar, which means she probably never made it to the park where we were patrolling.” I tapped a finger at the approximate location. “I think we should scout this area first, then expand our search to a three block radius around the bar. It’s a fairly abandoned part of town which makes it a prime creepy lair location.”