Phantoms of the Otherworld (In Spiritu Et Veritate)

by Reed, Zoe

  “Jesus, Kyla,” Abby mumbled while she wiped the blood off my back with gauze, causing me to recoil as she neared the wound. “It stopped bleeding already, but you might need stitches. I most definitely cannot do stitches.”

  I eyed the first aid kit that she’d set on the floor beside us. “Is there any tape in there?” She nodded. “Could you just tape it closed and I’ll get it taken care of later.”

  “Okay,” she agreed unsurely, reaching into the box despite the concern on her face.

  “Did you guys get everyone?” I asked, grimacing in pain as she pulled my wound closed. “All the vampires?”

  “No,” she answered, pressing the first piece of tape against my shoulder. “Most ran away, including the leader. We were too distracted to go after any of them.”

  I didn’t get to respond because Camille finished getting dressed and came over, standing in front of me and awkwardly surveying the way Abby was touching me. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  I shrugged it off, but the way guilt riddled Camille’s face I wished Abby would hurry so I could pull the girl into a hug. “It’s alright. Why were you so freaked out?”

  At my question Camille’s eyes welled with tears. “It had me, Kyla. When you got out the portal opened and it came back. I hid, but it was so sick of looking for us that it just started smashing all the boulders. It found me. It had me, but Greg came back and tried to fight it off.” She sniffled and wiped away a defiant tear. “It got him, and it had me too. If you guys didn’t pull me out when you did…” Her voice broke off as tears started streaming down her face. They were fearful tears, relieved tears.

  I checked behind me as I felt Abby stop touching my back, and when she nodded that she was done I pulled my shirt back on and rushed forward, pulling Camille into a hug. Her arms wrapped tight around my waist and I rubbed her back as comfortingly as I could, trying to make her feel at ease. It was over, and we’d both made it out, just like we promised.

  Feeling Abby’s presence depart, I glanced over my shoulder to see that she was making her way to the entrance of the warehouse. Even her father was swiftly packing up his occult supplies, and I could tell by their restlessness that this night wasn’t over. I gave Camille’s back another rub before pulling away. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” I tenderly wiped the tears off her cheeks, waiting for her to say something.

  She raised her own hands to her face to removed the final drips of moisture and finish what I’d started, and then she looked at me, wonderfully brown eyes still watery. “Everything that happened in there was real, right?”

  At first I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant, then I realized that she wasn’t asking about the length of time, or the desolation, or the monster. She was asking about us, and with the frightened, worried way she asked me, I couldn’t help but giggle. “It was real,” I assured her, resisting the powerful urge to tease, and when I pecked her on the cheek she grinned.

  The warehouse door opened and Abby came back in, followed by Eli, David, Wes, Richard, and Will, all of who smiled happily when they saw that Camille and I were awake. For the first time, as the werewolves entered, I noticed there were two other people in the building. Rook had been leaning in a corner the whole time, and the psychic stood a few feet away from him. Both of them had been quiet and still, but now they made their way over to where everyone else was collecting.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Eli grabbed Camille in a sad hug, and in an odd show of affection he hugged me as well. “You too, Kyla.”

  The warlock waited just long enough for Eli to let me go, and then cleared his throat impatiently. “We still have two phantom-possessed werewolves on the loose.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught Abby glare at his insensitivity, but Eli nodded in agreement. “We’d appreciate it if the Council let us handle it. They were our own.”

  We all looked to the Council’s director, who considered it for a moment before giving a half-nod. “You’ll have to take myself and Lahni with you. You can’t just kill a phantom.”

  At the semi-approval, Eli wasted no time in delegating. “Wes and Richard, you go with Camille and Kyla to get Nathan. David, Will, we’ll go after,” and he almost choked on the word, “Lacey.”

  “Wait,” I stopped him, my tone careful so as not to disrespect his authority, and I made my way to Rook, whispering in the vampire’s ear that way nobody else could hear. When I was done talking he nodded, and so I turned back to the rest of them. “I’d like Camille and I to go with Rook.”

  “Okay…” Eli said uncertainly, mirroring the confusion I could see on Camille’s face. “Why?”

  I took in a deep breath and met Camille’s eyes with my own. “We’re going after the son-of-a-bitch who started this whole thing.”

  I watched as half the Pack members and the psychic drove away from the warehouse to finish the nightmare that had began earlier tonight. A few of the Council members had worked some kind of locator spell and discovered the phantoms were heading for Portland, the nearest major city with an abundant supply of souls to feed on. When the car disappeared my eyes fell to the snow beneath my feet, and I tightened my grip on Kyla’s hand. I couldn’t have been more grateful for her volunteering us to go after the vampire who’d started this. If I’d had to go after one of my own kind I knew I wouldn’t have been able to finish the job.

  “You sure you guys don’t want any help?” Abby asked, coming up to stand beside us.

  “It’s safer without you,” I told her, my statement coming out harsher than I’d meant it to as I tried to adjust to a different dynamic than the jealousy of a strained acquaintance, but I gave the girl a grateful smile, and my thoughts were much gentler. The way I saw it, even though I’d never particularly liked Abby in the past, I owed her. Not only for helping come to my rescue, but also for getting Kyla back to me. It wasn’t just that we’d be able to focus more if she wasn’t around, but she really would be safer if she went with the others.

  She nodded her understanding, gave Kyla a hug, and then, much to my surprise, gave me a hug too. “Be safe,” she said, and then her lips set in a hard line as she clenched her jaw. “And uh, kill that no good vamp, will you?”

  Both Kyla and I nodded readily. After that Abby left with her father and the rest of the Pack, leaving me behind with Kyla and Rook. Rook had agreed to help us find the vampire he identified as Benjamin and to see our task through to the end. I didn’t quite understand it when I considered his motives for even siding with us in the first place. If anything I’d have thought he’d want to go after the Phantoms. Maybe he just felt like he owed it to us.

  The first place he wanted us to look was the bar that the other werewolves and I had gone to find information. He said Benjamin was too arrogant to go into full-blown hiding, but he’d be paranoid enough to surround himself with other vampires.

  A sudden burning heat at my back caused me to turn. Rook had materialized a can of lighter fluid, and apparently after squirting it throughout the warehouse he’d just touched a lighter to it.

  “We should probably go now,” he told us, calmly putting the lighter back into his pocket and making his way to his car.

  We followed, and when I got into the passenger seat I turned to him curiously. “Won’t there still be evidence?”

  I was talking about bodies, vampire bodies. I hadn’t paid much attention to whether or not there were any lying around when we left, and from what little I knew, flames didn’t do the trick with normal corpses. But Rook shook his head. “They’re already dust. Fire’s for the rest of the evidence.”

  “What’s the plan?” Kyla asked, leaning forward from the back seat.

  “I’m almost positive Benjamin is at this bar in town. On any given night there’re roughly five or six vampires in there, plus the owner. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not looking to make this any harder than it needs to be.” He paused while both Kyla and I nodded our agreement. “I’ll go in alone and see i
f I can draw him out. Hopefully it’s as simple as that, and we can just take care of him right then and there. You guys should Change though. We’re fast, and if he gets away I don’t think you could keep up like this.” As he finished he eyed me up and down so I’d know by ‘this’ he meant human.

  “You sure we won’t draw attention?” I asked thoughtfully as I tried to picture what was around the bar. All I could remember was that it was dark.

  “Yeah,” he answered, and looked back at Kyla through the rearview mirror. “It’s pretty dead around there. Lots of buildings, but they’re all businesses and it’s a Sunday night. Stick to the shadows just in case and I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  We drove the rest of the way to the bar in silence. The more I sat there, tensely waiting to arrive, the more and more the anticipation grew. I’d have liked to say that this wasn’t about revenge. That Benjamin was dangerous, and we had to get rid of him because eventually he’d hurt more people. It was true, but even truer was that he’d almost killed Kyla and I, and he killed Nathan and Lacey. That alone was enough.

  Finally we arrived at the bar, and Rook parked in the street to the side of it instead of the parking lot so no one would see us coming. We got out and he leaned against the hood, waiting to make sure Kyla and I were ready before he tried to lure Benjamin out.

  “After you guys Change, sneak around back and wait in that alley on the side so no one sees you.” He peered toward the blacked-out windows of the building, trying to see in. “Don’t worry about me if anything comes up, you just get Benjamin.”

  We both nodded, and before we began to pull off our clothing in preparation for the Change I turned to Kyla, placing my hands on the girl’s shoulders and looking her seriously in the eye. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? I’ve had training and years of play fighting. Are you sure you can handle it?”

  She gave a bold, confident smile. “Yeah, I’m sure, and you’ll be right here with me.”

  “I will,” I agreed reassuringly, even though it was more to reassure myself. “Just promise me you won’t bite off more than you can chew. He’s not worth you getting hurt.”

  “I promise,” she told me, leaning forward and kissing me to seal the vow.

  I grinned that irrepressible grin I got every time she kissed me. After not having her for what felt like much too long, even though I knew it was really a short time, I was sure I’d never get over the feel of her lips. I tried to wipe the smile off my face and nodded, then took off the men’s basketball shorts I was wearing and threw them into the back seat.

  It took less than a minute for both of us to strip and Phase, and when we were done Rook glanced from us to the bar. “You guys ready?”

  I huffed the affirmative, and when he began to stride toward the bar Kyla and I made our way around the back. I crouched on the side of the bar with my head out just enough that I could see when anyone came through the door. Kyla was right beside me, in the same position so she could see too. We heard Rook open the front door, and the second it closed behind him all chatter and what little clink of glasses there had been inside stopped. The interior of the bar fell dead silent, and if every vampire in there knew about Benjamin’s plans, I could only assume Rook was highly unwelcome.

  “Benjamin,” I heard Rook say in greeting, and every muscle in my body tensed at just knowing he was inside.

  “You shouldn’t be here, friend.” A familiar voice – the bartender? – said in response to Rook’s greeting.

  “That’s fine, I’ll leave,” Rook told him calmly. “I’m just here to settle a little score with Benjamin. But you don’t look so happy to see me, Benny.” The sarcastic and teasing tone of Rook’s voice was like music to my ears. I didn’t know who Benjamin was, but I could only imagine the anger that kind of sarcasm could muster.

  “Boys.” At the sound of the unfamiliar voice there was the scraping of chairs, and three pairs of heavy footsteps sounded against the wood floor of the bar.

  Then the front door opened, and I peeked around to see Rook being carried out by three men. “Come on, guys,” Rook laughed fearlessly. “You know I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was just talking shit or if he really was that confident, but as I was about to lunge forward to come to his rescue a door opened and closed at the back of the bar. Then a light pair of footsteps picked up speed as they retreated from the scene. Turning on all fours I nipped Kyla in the neck to get her attention, and then took off toward the footsteps, hearing the other wolf right behind me. I barely saw our prey as he turned a corner to head down a different alley, but not before I caught a glimpse of his face. Based on what Rook had described earlier, that was definitely Benjamin.

  I rounded the corner of the alley, nearly sliding out in the slippery snow as I did, and continued forward. As we sprinted after him he knocked over every trashcan he could, trying to create obstacles for us. He looked back, eyes wide with fear as we easily dodged or hurled over each hindrance, and then his face brightened up as he thought of an idea. When he turned down another alley he tried the first door he could, and when that didn’t open with a single twist he moved to the next one. I came around the corner just in time to see him disappear into a building, slamming the door shut behind him.

  So he thought we couldn’t open doors? I skidded to a halt in front of the entrance and felt Kyla almost barrel into me from behind. I stood in front of it, backing up as far as I could in the fifteen-foot wide alley. Once I had my back against the building on the opposite side I used it to push off of, and with all the speed I could muster in that short distance sent myself vaulting toward the door. When I got close I jumped sideways into the air, crashing into the door with my shoulder, breaking it from its hinges and sending it flying open.

  It slammed to the ground with a thunderous boom, and then everything went quiet. The way what little moonlight there was shone into the building and onto the white walls created a ghostly glow, and the soft wind whistled smoothly through the now empty doorway. It had opened up to large cubicle-filled office, with stairs directly to our right leading to the second floor. Impatient to catch him, Kyla began to tread upstairs, evoking an instant growl from me that let her know she wasn’t going anywhere alone. She stopped, and with a displeased huff waited patiently for me to decide what to do.

  I cropped my ears forward, listening closely for any type of sound. When none came I lifted my nose to the still air. There was definitely the faint scent that let me know a vampire had been here, but for some reason their scent never stuck to anything they touched. It just hovered, floating and migrating through the air like dust so you could never pinpoint a location. I crept carefully forward, leaning back on the pads of my feet so my nails wouldn’t clip the hard ground as I walked, and kept my ears alert for any sound. Still, all I could hear was Kyla’s quiet breathing, following close behind me.

  We padded silently past the first set of opposite cubicles, peering under the computer desks as we went. It was a row of five on each side, and we searched every one, finding nothing. At the end we veered right to go down another identical stretch. There was only this and one more, and if we didn’t find Benjamin here then he had to be upstairs. Kyla walked close to my side, our shoulders pressed together as we each checked the small offices. There was nothing in this row either. We turned down the next row, checking the first set, then the second and the third. Even the fourth set of cubicles was clear, but as I came perpendicular with the fifth cubicle there was a swift movement.

  I turned my head at the flash of action and just in time for a computer keyboard to shatter across the side of my face instead of my nose, and I reared up, tumbling backwards from shock more than pain. I was scrambling to get up, but Kyla recovered from the surprise faster and let out a roaring growl as she took off to chase Benjamin, who’d disappeared through the cubicles. As she vanished there was a crash from the farthest corner of offices that sounded like a computer had been knocked to the floor. I forced my
self off the ground and took off after Kyla, shaking away the bright spots in my eyes. As I rounded the corner I saw her, nose in a cubicle and unable to see Benjamin sneaking up behind her.

  I let out a warning bark just a second too late, and watched Benjamin’s foot connect hard with her ribs. He kicked hard enough to send her flying into the edge of the cubicle wall, and she fell to the floor with a winded yelp. Then he took off back through the cubicles. I galloped over, worriedly nudging the fallen wolf with my nose, and Kyla instantly pushed herself off the ground with an angry snarl. It took a few breaths and an impatient stretch for her to recover from the pain, and then we started forward, once again in search of the vampire.

  It was only a few more seconds before we heard the light sound of footsteps running across the floor above us. At the noise we took off toward the stairs, only slowing when we came to the top. It was much like the lower floor – open space filled with cubicles. This time we tried a different approach, and sticking to the walls of the building we maneuvered around the outside of the room. As we crept through the narrow hall I could smell the stench of vanilla and decay getting stronger, though I couldn’t tell exactly where it was coming from. We were nearing the last row of cubicles, and because of the strength of the smell I assumed that Benjamin was down this last row.

  I passed the fourth section and was making my way past a metal storage cabinet, about to turn down the final row, when I felt Kyla collide with me, knocking me forward and out of the way just as the heavy metal cabinet at my side came crashing down. We rolled ahead, and the instant Benjamin started his escape from the scene I saw Kyla make a reach for his ankle, catching it between her teeth. She clamped down, bringing him to the ground with us as we all tumbled. She maintained her toothy hold on him as long as she could while she waited for me to scramble up, until his other foot connected hard with her chest, and the force of it made her let go.