Table of Contents
Dream Walker
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue
About Elise Hennessy
Also by Elise Hennessy
Copyright © 2020 by Elise Hennessy
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book may not be redistributed to others for commercial or noncommercial purposes.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Flutterbye Trail Press
797 Sam Bass Road #2541
Round Rock, TX 78681
First edition
Editing by Red Loop Editing
Cover Design by FrostAlexis Arts
Typeset by C.P. Smith
Published by Flutterbye Trail Press
ISBN: 978-1-7345137-1-4 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-7345137-3-8 (Print)
LCCN: 2020907437
Chapter 1
Alex
ALEXANDER TAMERIN REHNQUIST, vampire coven master and shapeshifter, was used to escaping tight situations with the grace of his favored animal, a lion. But being stuck in a box and stuck as a lion was the most literal “tight situation” he’d ever faced.
His vision swam, ghostly doubles dancing around what he could spy through ragged holes in his box prison. The two goons who’d been tasked with removing him from New York were having a party up in the front seats. They blared heavy metal tunes on the loudest setting to further disorient him, shaking their car with blown-out, struggling speakers. He couldn’t see either of them, as they’d unceremoniously stuffed his bleeding body in a shipping box more suitable to transporting grandma’s care packages rather than a living, breathing lion shapeshifter who was even larger than the average animal. Then they’d shoved that box into another which had clicked with metal.
They were Haveners, serving Alex’s longtime enemy, but they weren’t quite so stupid as to rely on tape and cardboard to keep him contained. Instead, whatever contraption they’d put him in was lined with silver barbs, causing wounds that wouldn’t heal easily with every bump and jostle of his cage.
At least it had breathing holes. He took labored breaths as he wrestled with his inner beast, a panicking, feral part of him doing its best “beast at bay” impression. Escape. Escape! it called.
Such a genius idea, but panicking didn’t help him. He didn’t know how long he’d been in this vehicle and was loathed to put his eye to one of the holes torn by his barbed cage for fear of an errant jostle. If he angled his head just right…
There! An interstate sign loomed ahead. Cincinnati Zoo. One mile.
He was far from home, and his mouth was parchment dry as his body struggled to heal its wounds. A hot flush came over his pelt as someone rapped their knuckles against his cage. “‘Ey, you ready for your new home?” an unfamiliar voice crooned, nearly drowned out by the screaming echoing from the speakers.
There was no way he’d hear Alex, but he tried anyway on a dry cough. His voice was little more than a gruff rumble, fighting the utterance of syllables while in animal form. “Ready to kill you for this,” he muttered.
He could barely move, so tightly packed in the cage that he felt silver barbs scraping his side with a turn of the vehicle off the interstate. Escape! his inner beast repeated. It thought to claw their way to safety in the blind panic of a caged animal.
Alex grunted with frustration. His inner beast wasn’t usually so insistent, instead a hum of instinct whispering at the back of his mind. But ever since he’d been poisoned, it was taking more and more control, full of rash thoughts that wouldn’t help him escape with his pelt intact. He tried to ignore it as he studied his enemies’ plans.
They’d hit him with a dart full of some unknown drug, trapping him in this form, his magic numb. He could no more be a man than a mouse. So, a lion it was.
Next, they were taking him to a zoo far from the rest of his coven to hamper an easy rescue. But he was driven there by two vampires he’d never met before, likely new recruits who were eager to please the leader of Haven, Bryant Collins, and expendable should things go wrong.
“How many bodies do you think it will take?” one of them asked. Alex strained to hear.
“As many as we can find,” the other responded as the vehicle came to a shuddering stop. “Who works late at night at a dump like this?”
Bodies? Alex thought, a thrill of horror passing through his fur. There was only one reason for their discussion. What need did they have to kill innocent people except to frame him for the murder?
His inner beast’s mood shifted to a deep fear. It lashed and clawed within the confines of his head, helpless to change anything while stuck in this cage. Despite his age and experience, he was trapped perfectly. A mind that knew him well had designed this setup, manipulating events to this devastating moment.
Collins was one of Alex’s oldest enemies. After centuries of fighting between their covens, he’d come to one conclusion.
Collins didn’t just want to see him die. He wanted him humiliated, and thus this plan had to lead there. What would be more humiliating than to die as a beast instead of a man?
The music blessedly went silent as they prepped to leave. “You take him,” one of them insisted.
“Hell no, man. You do it.”
“I need my hands free.”
“So do I!”
Alex rolled his eyes despite himself as they played rock-paper-scissors over the duty. One of them cursed and punched the dash when he lost while the other laughed at his expense.
Next thing he knew, his cage was being hefted with a labored grunt. Even a vampire’s preternatural strength would be taxed lifting a shapeshift lion in a metal box, but that meant an extra unpleasant ride as the cage tipped forward. He hissed as a shard of metal pierced cardboard, scoring a bleeding cut over his forehead.
“C’mon,” the other goon hissed. His cage jostled as they hustled him into the zoo. At this time of night, he hoped no one was still around. A sick feeling settled in his stomach as he imagined what lengths these two lackeys would go to to impress their ruthless boss.
Chapter 2
Violet
VIOLET REYNOLDS TOOK another sip of burnt coffee and wished she were home instead of waiting in the pitch black of night for an evening delivery that was four hours late. And counting. She checked her phone with a sigh, imagining putting her feet up and watching the news rather than listening to a tinny voice reporting from Stephen’s antique of a crank radio.
They awaited the arrival of the zoo’s newest resident, a male lion to be socialized with the pride of lionesses before he became an attraction for guests to see. The next days would be labor-intensive for Violet and the rest of the team as they made sure the transition went smoothly.
Violet loved her job and the animals she worked with but longed for the long hours to return to normal. Her bosses had capitalized on the passing of their last lion to engage community interest, though. Who better to be the face of their campaign than the youngest zookeeper on the team?
So, Violet was the one recording advertisements in the new enclosure and inviting kids to vote on the new lion’s name. He would be Enzi, meaning “powerful” in Swahili. Young and strong, he was part of an animal swap with a neighboring zoo. Even if things went well with a quarantine period and the introduction to the lionesses, his debut was still weeks away.
She turned a weary look Stephen’s way. He was in his late fifties and had exhausted tales of his grandchildren about an hour ago. At some point during her introspection, he’d laid the brim of his ball cap over his eyes. Faint snores drifted from him.
Sipping her coffee again, she debated shaking him awake. They were out here together to ensure Enzi was given an initial inspection before retiring him to quarantine for further testing at a reasonable hour. Between them, Stephen was running the show while she was there to observe and document the animal’s behavior and temperament. Deciding he needed to be the better rested one, she instead turned the radio toward her and inched up its volume.
“…recovery efforts continue in the wake of the largest geological event of our lifetimes,” a firm male voice narrated over the sounds of buildings toppling, the earth shaking, and water rushing.
“Scientists are scrambling to explain the rise of an entire island from the Pacific Ocean. With us today to review the newest footage from this mysterious island is Dr. Collin Peters.”
Violet sat up straighter as the other man introduced himself verbally. Her imagination filled with what they watched and discussed. Hailed as the rising of Atlantis, the island had captured the fancy of many while ruining the lives of many more. Its sudden and violent rise from the ocean a couple of weeks ago had triggered earthquakes, tsunamis, and other major disasters around the world.
Lucky to live in a place that was safe, she was full of wonder for what the island was and how it worked. Unfortunately, it seemed there was some electromagnetic interference for equipment. No camera could capture an image of the island without it getting scrambled to static. For those waiting for news of what was going on, visual depictions were reduced to sketches of a grand, kelp-covered palace with spires that stabbed into the sky. Most hints of civilization were reduced to rubble as the land sloped down to a sandy beach.
“…We’ve gotten our first shipment of stone from this place,” the expert, Dr. Peters, was saying. “This is an exciting time for us because the rocks are a complete unknown. It’s like we’ve been handed an ancient secret to explore.”
“Would you say it’s possible this is Atlantis?” the news anchor asked.
“I would say anything’s possible at this point. We are just scratching the surface of this place…”
Violet turned down the radio, spotting flashlights bouncing down the path. As soon as the voices were silenced, complete quiet surrounded her. The hair on the back of her neck lifted as she heard no warble or hoot from the animals further inside the zoo, nor the singing of night insects.
Rubbing the goosebumps prickling up her arms, she turned to nudge Stephen awake. “Wha—huh?” He snorted at the end of a snore, whipping the cap from his face.
“I think they’re here,” she whispered, wetting her lips and repeating herself when he turned his ear her way. Why was she whispering anyway? Something about the night was too still, too quiet, as if the world held its breath.
Maybe it was the lion scaring the few animals that would call once the sun set. She got to her feet, hoping this wasn’t a false alarm as one of the bat handlers, Margaret, stepped into view on the path, holding the flashlight. A second person, one of the cleaning staff, flanked her, his expression curiously blank. They were a motley crew and not needed for this particular task.
“They didn’t call ahead?” Stephen asked, looked as confused as she felt.
For following after them was a pair of men wearing all black. One carried a cage nearly as long as he was tall with obvious effort while the other barked orders to the zoo staff.
“This is quarantine, sir,” Margaret said, her voice more monotone than Violet had ever heard from her. Usually quite passionate about her little charges, she bore a face as passive as a granite statue’s as she gestured toward the building half-hidden in a display of tropical greenery.
Stephen stepped forward, hand outstretched. “You must have our lion. I’m—”
Holding up his own hand, the stranger took a good look at Stephen. “Open the door,” he replied in a voice that allowed for no argument. “You, girl. Help him.” He barked at Violet, hooking a thumb toward his partner.
Trepidation growing, she walked toward him and inspected the cage. It listed in the back, as if something heavy was weighing it down. “I could get a dolly,” she offered.
Her gaze met his, and she forgot the words the moment they were uttered. “Support the backside,” he said, and she did, her mind blank of any other thought. Suddenly, supporting this cage was the most important thing she’d ever done. Wrapping her fingers around the underside, she hefted some of its heavy weight.
Together, they walked to quarantine, Stephen unlocking the building. They’d cleared out the pens for now, wanting nothing getting in the way of Enzi the lion’s stay being as fast as possible. Violet remembered that as a stab of pain sliced her thumb.
Glancing down, she nearly dropped the end of the cage as she realized the very tip of a hooked lion claw pierced her skin. “Shhh,” came from inside as the claw retreated. She noticed the man carrying the cage glance back at her, but it was a fleeting look.
“Let’s do this nice and easy,” the other man said, pointing to a corner of the first clean pen. “You, kneel there.” Though he hadn’t specified Margaret, she moved to do as he said.
Under the cadence of his loud voice, another whispered up toward Violet in a rasp of dry sandpaper. “I need your help. Please.” Did that come from the cage? She looked to the man holding it, who just watched his partner with a grin.
This isn’t right, she said to herself, unable to fight her unease any longer. These two men were hours late and now came to boss them about. But worse than that, they were going along with it instead of questioning how the lion was transported or why these other zoo employees hadn’t called ahead for them to prepare a proper welcome.
And now, inexplicably, she was hearing things. “I need you to open the cage,” the whisper continued while Stephen was relocated next.
“You can let the cage go,” said the man holding it, giving her a pointed look as she stood there, face creased with confusion. He was lowering it to the ground and gesturing for her to stand next to him. As she looked up, their gazes met, and her worries faded as if they flowed away on a stream of consciousness.
Standing there with a dopey expression, she heard but didn’t register what the two men talked about. It was like she existed with no thoughts or feelings of her own. “I brought in the cage. You do the rest.”
“Gladly. This is the fun part.” The man full of orders drew a hunting knife and grabbed Margaret by the hair. He slit her throat, and she died with barely a burble of air or struggle. “Too easy, my man. You sure you don’t want some of this?�
�� He laughed, tossing the knife to the man by Violet’s side.
“Yeah, I’ll take one,” he said, turning to inspect Violet for a moment. “Not this one, though. She’s too pretty.”
The other man gave an impatient wave. “We’ll have fun with her later. Boss wants a setup, so we’re not done.”
As he moved into the pen, another stab of pain jolted Violet with a gasp, this time feeling like a scratch over her ankle. “If you want to live, open the cage,” the same voice whispered. But this time, her good sense caught up with her a moment before the reality of her situation did.
These men where murderers—and she was next if she didn’t do something. A cry passed from her lips as she fumbled the cage door open, releasing something that knocked its metal edge into her calf. A blur missed her as she stumbled backward.
The blood-soaked dagger quivered from where it was embedded in the cinderblock wall, tossed at her in haste. A true scream rose from her throat, and she crab-walked backward, away from the sounds of struggle and flesh tearing. “Oh my god, oh my god…”
She needed to call the authorities, zoo personnel—anyone. Maybe a stray soul would hear the gunshots erupting from the pen, quickly silenced.
Or maybe they’d simply hear her scream as the largest lion she’d ever seen limped away from the fight. He looked to have three paws already in the grave, pelt ripped in multiple places and flank soaked with blood. Eyeing the container he’d been carried in, she was shocked he’d been compressed in such a small space and still emerged the apparent victor.
“Don’t worry,” said the lion. “I won’t hurt you.”
Chapter 3
Alex
THE MORTAL WOMAN cowered a few feet away, starting to hyperventilate. A thrill of frustration ran through Alex as he imagined how much easier it would be to comfort her if he were a man rather than stuck as his lion form.
She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but somehow, that’d led to her saving both of their lives. The two Haven goons had been careless, or simply ignorant of the fact that their mental influence only stayed on a human so long as their thrall didn’t experience even a prick of physical pain. He’d been lucky, so lucky, to have this person stand so close to his cage. But now, with her panic and disbelief paralyzing her on the spot, it felt like his luck was running out.
Dream Walker: Blood Legacy Series Book 1 Page 1