by E. J. King
“What did you do?” I asked when I got in the car. Rafe was smirking as he watched a team of officers rush from the station.
He looked at me with innocent eyes. “Can you believe there’s been a bank robbery on the other side of town?”
“No, I can’t.” I looked over my shoulder at Ethan. “Aren’t you worried that Rafe is going to get us all thrown in jail?”
Ethan held up an unfamiliar phone. “Disposable. We always keep a few handy for situations like these.”
“Did you get the dirt on the murders?” Rafe look at me expectantly.
I fished the file out of my bag. “Find us somewhere less conspicuous to look at this illegally obtained police file.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We ended up at a roadside diner on the outskirts of town. Rafe was hungry, and when Rafe got hungry he also got crabby.
“You need to work on your flirting skills,” he said after we were seated in a booth by the window.
I was seated across from him, next to Ethan. “You weren’t even in the station. How could you possibly know that I was flirting with Officer Meeks?”
“Well you’re not clever enough to have come up with a legitimate plan. So it’s reasonable to assume that you relied on your pretty face to seduce the young Officer Meeks.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” I kicked his leg under the table. “Besides, even if I was flirting with him, there’s no proof that I was doing it poorly.”
Hope interjected. “Actually, based on how long you were inside, it’s safe to assume that you were sucking it up big time.”
“Hey!”
“I’m sorry. I know I’m your best friend and I’m supposed to have your back, but I’ve seen you flirt. It’s not pretty.” She gave me a smile that was too bright.
“I got the file, didn’t I?” I held it up for emphasis.
Ethan grabbed it and hid it on the seat next to us just as the waitress arrived. We ordered a round of burgers and fries and sent her away.
I let the guys handle examining the file. While I wasn’t exactly squeamish, it didn’t seem like a good idea to scan grisly murder scene photos right before chowing down on a burger.
“Missing liver,” Ethan confirmed.
“It’s got to be an Aswang.” I gave them all a smug look. “Admit it- I’m good.”
“Be more specific,” Rafe said, lips twitching into a crooked smile. He was wearing his shades, so I couldn’t see his eyes. His foot nudged mine in a purposeful manner and my heart jumped.
The waitress came back with our beverages and her hand shook as she set them on the table, spilling water all over in the process.
“I’m sorry,” she hurried to wipe up the mess. “I’m a bit frazzled.”
“Is everything okay?” Hope asked.
“No. Everything is not okay.” The waitress looked at us with eyes that were full of fear. “Another body was just found. It was a young man and all his blood had been drained.”
We all exchanged a look of confusion. Aswang didn’t drink blood, they ate organs. Now we had three bodies, but two monsters responsible for the killings.
CHAPTER THREE
Plymouth was a different town when the sun went down. Stores closed early and children were ushered inside by anxious parents. No one was going to take a chance tempting the monsters that lurked in the dark. Though these people didn’t realize that we were dealing with literal monsters.
“Is there any possibility that the Aswang is working with a Soul?” Ethan asked as we walked through the center of Plymouth Park.
Rafe and Hope were driving around town, looking for anything that might be amiss. It didn’t seem like a good idea to have Hope on the streets considering this was her first time ever hunting supernatural creatures. I figured she would be safe with Rafe, assuming he kept his hands to himself.
“Supernatural beings don’t usually play for other teams.” Then again, it seemed like every day I was learning something new about the supernatural world that I had previously believed to be impossible. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
“No.” Ethan kept scanning the park, but it was merely out of habit. So far, we hadn’t seen any signs of an Aswang or a Soul. “Do you really think we’re going to find your brother in Canton?”
“No, I don’t.” Lincoln was a better Hunter than me. If he didn’t want to be found, he would stay hidden. “I’m not even sure that I really believe he is alive.”
“But you got that text.”
I shrugged. “It could’ve been from anyone. It seems like a strange text for Lincoln to send. If he really wanted me to know that he’s alive, why didn’t he just come to me? Clearly I’m not that hard to find.”
“Maybe he can’t. Maybe the Souls are watching him and he’s trying to keep you safe.” Ethan stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm. “Do you hear that?”
I sucked in a breath and held it, making the air around me completely silent. The faintest growl could be heard in the distance and it was getting closer. Ethan’s eyes sparkled and he grinned.
“Time to hunt.” He reached for the gun tucked into his waistband.
It was rare to use a gun when hunting the supernatural, but according to the Monsterary, the only way to kill and Aswang was with a silver bullet to the heart. We had only packed one gun, so I hoped Ethan was a good shot.
The growling got louder and louder as it moved toward us. I braced myself in a fighting stance, staring in the direction of the noise. When it was almost upon us, it stopped abruptly.
“Where is it?” I hissed, searching through the darkness for a glimmer of the creature.
“Did it pass us?” Ethan was just as perplexed.
I whirled in a circle. “I don’t know. I don’t see anything.”
A loud growl echoed above us and Ethan raised the gun. The creature crashed into him before he get off a shot. It raised a clawed hand and knocked the gun away. I took a step toward the gun, but then I saw that the Aswang was about to slice into Ethan.
Moving faster than I had ever moved, I threw myself at the creature. It was like crashing into a slimy, brick wall. My momentum gave me enough force to knock it sideways, but it was able to swing its arm at me as it fell away. I felt a sharp, blinding pain in my side as its claws pierced my skin. It bent over me, about to strike again.
“Kaylie!” Ethan rolled away in the direction of the gun, scooping it and firing in one fluid motion.
The force of the bullet knocked the monster back a few feet. It let out a loud snarl and then began to writhe. The monster’s appearance changed before my eyes, first a scaly green monster and then it changed into the faces of its victims. I remembered that Aswang spend their days in human form and was impressed by the ease at which it changed. I was less impressed when it changed into me, then let out a scream and dissolved into a pile of black goo.
I grabbed my side and slowly climbed to my knees. “That was suitably disgusting.”
“You okay?” Ethan rushed over and knelt next to me. “Let me see.”
I removed my hands, revealing a nasty gash. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
“Let’s get you to Rafe. He’s a wizard with a needle and thread.”
Hunters never went to the hospital unless a limb was hanging from their body or their intestines were spilling to the ground. Hospital visits led to police questioning and that was never a good thing.
Ethan pulled off his shirt and handed it to me. “Put that over the wound. It will help stop the bleeding.”
I did as I was told, but not before also getting a good look at shirtless Ethan. Yes, I was a Hunter, but I was also a human.
Ethan called ahead to Rafe who was checking into a nearby motel with Hope. They hadn’t had any luck on their patrol and Hope was starting to whine about being tired. We met them there and I had to brush Hope away as she fretted about my injury.
“You could be infected with monster goo.” Her nose wrinkled. “Would that mean you will turn into
a monster?”
“No,” I said in a hurry, but then I briefly wondered if that was possible.
Rafe pulled out a first aid kit and ordered me to sit on the bed. “You might want to look away,” he told Hope.
“I’ll be fine.” She stuck out her chin stubbornly.
“Take off your shirt,” Rafe said, busying himself with laying out supplies.
“Excuse you?”
He rolled his eyes. “If I’m going to dress the wound properly, I need to be able to see it. Now isn’t a time to be shy. Especially considering we all saw your goods when you had that hooker costume on yesterday.”
“Fine.” I pulled my shirt off quickly. He had a point. The bra I was wearing had almost as much fabric as that stupid corset I’d paraded around in at the party. Ethan and Hope both turned away to give me a small amount of privacy.
“This is going to sting,” Rafe warned.
He poured a healthy dose of rubbing alcohol onto a hand towel. Starting at the upper end of the gash, he cleaned it thoroughly.
It stung like hell, but I clenched my jaw and didn’t make a sound. When he was done disinfecting it, he made another pass with a clean towel to wipe away the blood.
“You heal fast,” he said. His hand made a soft stroke over my skin.
“Do you need to stitch it up?” I tried not to sound nervous.
He looked me in the eye and somberly said, “It’s too late for that. There’s nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands now.”
“What?” My jaw dropped in horror.
Rafe began to laugh, a deep, unstoppable laugh. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“I hate you!” I punched him in the arm as hard as I could, but it didn’t even register with him. Ethan and Hope joined in on the laughter. “I hate all of you.”
“Calm down. It was just a joke.” Rafe began to unroll a section of gauze. “You must have some miracle blood because the wound is healing itself. By tomorrow, you’ll be back to normal.”
I looked down and was shocked at how clean the cut looked. Part of that was the thorough job that Rafe had done, but the signs that it was already healing couldn’t be explained away by proper medical care. He taped the gauze over the cut and handed me one of his t-shirts.
“Make yourself decent for once,” he said with a smile.
“We should go back out. The Soul, or whatever drained that victim’s blood, is still out there. If we don’t go tonight, we’ll have to stay here another day.” I pulled on the shirt and slowly stretched, testing my side. It wasn’t terribly painful.
“I think you should take it easy tonight,” Ethan said. “The Aswang hit you pretty good. Your body needs time to recover.”
“I’m fine.” I reached for my bag, checking to make sure that my knife was still there. “Now isn’t the time for rest.”
Rafe grabbed his keys. “I’ll go with Kaylie. The two of you should stay here.”
Ethan looked like he wanted to protest, but he knew that someone needed to stay back with Hope. “Call me if you need help.”
“We’ve got this, bro. You just get some sleep. Or whatever.” He winked at Ethan and held the door open for me. “Ladies first.”
Once we got outside, we both realized that we had no idea where to look for the Soul. It was unlikely that it would’ve been hunting on the same ground as the Aswang, so the park could be scratched off our list.
“Maybe we should just walk around town for a bit? See if we can bait it?” I didn’t really have a plan.
“Sure.” Rafe shoved his hands in his pocket and we fell into a comfortable pace as we strolled through town.
“Thanks for the shirt,” I said, tugging at its hem. It was a little too big on me, but it was comfortable. It didn’t hurt that it also smelled like Rafe.
He gave me a small smile. “It looks better on you.”
“I was expecting you to say something like, it would look better not on me.”
Rafe laughed softly, but it sounded strained. “Do you really think I’m a jerk?”
“Huh?” His question confounded me. “Rafe, we always joke around like this.”
“I know.” He looked off into the distance and sighed. “Sometime I just get tired of playing the role of asshole.”
“You’re not an asshole, Rafe.”
Sure, he could sometimes be obnoxious and he made a lot of inappropriate jokes. But that was all part of his charm. I knew he didn’t mean most of it.
“Sometimes I wonder.”
“What do you wonder?”
He was quiet for a while and then he stopped walking, turning to look at me. “I wonder what my legacy will be when I’m gone. Who will miss me and what will they remember about me? Could I have helped more people? Could I have been a better man?”
Just when I thought I was beginning to understand Rafe, he came up with something deep and unexpected.
“You’re a good man, Rafe. I’ve seen it for myself.” I took his hand without thinking. “But you don’t have to worry about your legacy. At least, not yet. I’m going to find a cure. I won’t give up until I do.”
Rafe swallowed hard, looking me dead in the eyes. He gripped my hand tightly and pulled me close to him. His other hand grazed my cheek before cupping my chin. When his lips closed over mine, it was even better than I had dreamed.
He kissed passionately, but tenderly. His lips were the perfect blend of warmth and softness and I gave into them completely. My mouth opened expectantly, allowing his tongue access. My body moved involuntarily against his, as if drawn by a magnetic force. Just as his hand moved down my neck, a loud cough sounded in the air.
Rafe jerked away, shielding me with body while at the same time reaching for his knife. I grabbed his hand to stop him, seeing that we weren’t facing off against a Soul.
“Officer Meeks.” His name passed my lips breathlessly as I was still recovering.
“Sorry to interrupt.” He gave us one of his boyish smiles. Mike was holding a flashlight in one hand, and he pointed it away from us. “Good to see you again, Caroline.”
“You, too, Mike.”
Rafe relaxed slightly when he realized that were weren’t about to be attacked.
“You seem to be recovering from your shock quite well,” he said, studying Rafe carefully.
I leaned closer to Rafe and tried to look like a girl that was in love. “Yes, well, my boyfriend has been helping me deal with Katie’s death.”
“I’m sure he has.” Mike glared at Rafe, holding the stare longer than was necessary. “You should get her inside. It isn’t safe out here.”
“Right. That’s a good plan.” Rafe put an arm around me and smiled at Mike. “Thanks, Officer.”
“Is it true that another body was found today?” I asked, trying to look like I was mourning the death of my sister. It was hard to focus on that with Rafe’s body pressing so close to mine.
Mike looked down at his feet, scuffing a toe into the dirt. “Yeah, it’s true. That’s why it’s important for you to be extra careful.”
“Where was the body found?” Rafe tried to look anxious even though I knew nothing ever flustered him. “I mean, it wasn’t around here, was it?”
“No, no. It was on the edge of town. Over by the train tracks.” He caught himself when he realized that he had given us too much information. “You should run along now.”
“Yes, sir.” Rafe nodded abruptly and led me away.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mike head in the other direction, twirling the flashlight in his hand, letting it’s light cast creepy shadows on the ground. It made me smile as it reminded me of something my little brother, Jack, would do.
“Someone has a crush,” Rafe said, seeing my smile. “I didn’t peg you as a fan of the uniform.”
“He’s gone now. You can stop molesting me.” I ducked out from under his arm.
Whatever had happened between us just a couple of minutes ago was over. The real world had returned and we were back to our t
easing banter and overwhelming sexual tension.
He scoffed. “Me molesting you? That’s a perverted view of the truth.”
“That’s the actual truth. You kissed me, remember?” I flushed when I remembered how eagerly I had kissed him back.
“Lapse in judgment,” he said with flashing eyes. “It won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, right. You keep saying that and somehow your tongue still ended up in my mouth.” I felt myself growing inexplicably angry.
Rafe stepped toward me, preparing to argue, but a loud scream pierced the air.
“Mike!” I ran without thinking in the direction of the scream.
While Rafe and I had been caught up in our soap opera, the Soul had attacked Mike. If he died, it would be my fault.
“Kaylie, slow down.” Rafe easily caught up, falling into step alongside me. “This could be a trap.”
I knew that he was right, but I didn’t care.
It took five minutes of searching, but eventually we found Mike’s body in a dark alley. Rafe had a small flashlight on his keys and he handed it to me. His own eyes could see everything clearly, but I was going to need some help.
The first thing I saw was Mike’s lifeless eyes. They were open, staring blankly at nothing in particular. Then I saw his pale skin, speckled with dark blood. His neck was torn open, but only a small pool of blood had collected. That meant he had been drained.
“Shit.” I punched my fist into a dumpster and swore again when pain rushed through my hand.
“The Soul was watching us,” Rafe said. He looked around, but I could tell he wasn’t expecting to find anything. The Soul had gotten what it wanted. “It waited until it would have just enough time to drain him.”
I sat back on my heels and took a few deep breaths. “We need to call the police.”
“We will.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s put some distance between us and the crime scene first.”
It was hard to leave Mike alone in the alley, but we didn’t really have a choice. The police would be suspicious of two strangers walking around in town in the middle of the night and stumbling upon the mutilated body of a dead police officer in an alley. It sounded like the plot of a crime novel.