Dark of Night: Beautiful Monsters: Ashwood Red

by Lane, Jex

  When she focused, the air distorted. She moved forward, and an unexplained panic rose within her. As if her brain was telling her nothing to see here, move along.

  But she didn’t move along. Determined, she kept walking forward until she passed through…something. It felt like a blast of warm air combined with a million spiders running across her skin. A shiver ran down her spine, and Lock appeared in front of her.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “A veil. Like I said, we’re good at hiding.” Lock pulled a small glass bottle full of black liquid from his belt and held it out to Kat, his gloved thumb rubbing over the cap. “Wanna learn more?”

  “What I want is to kill the vampire that took my family from me.”

  Lock shook his head. “I can’t guarantee that’ll happen. But it’s too risky for us to leave some untrained girl, fueled by vengeance, running around burning down houses.”

  “How did you know I—”

  “This is my county. No one drops a vampire in it without me knowing, let alone a teenager that I’m responsible for.”

  Kat narrowed her eyes. The hunter was hardly responsible for her. She had spent the last few years healing her own broken self while taking care of a senile grandmother. “You’ve been watching me.”

  “Yep. Wanted to see how far you’d go. Which is why I’m offering you this now.” He held up the bottle. “You have a choice. Join us, learn to hunt vampires, or have your memories wiped. And I’ll be sure it sticks this time.”

  “How do you wipe memories?” she asked, not expecting him to tell her but she wanted to know all the same.

  He looked at her for a moment and tapped a different bottle on his belt, one with blue liquid. “What I gave you two years ago is a secretion from a creature called a billowog. Normally it takes away the past few hours of memories, but some humans are resistant to it. This time around I’ll take you to one of our prisoner vampires and have them suppress your memories—it won’t be so bad though, you’ll be able to move on with your life.”

  “Vampires can do that? And you keep prisoners?”

  “Yes and yes. Vampire blood can heal humans”—with his free hand he tapped a red bottle on his belt—“we have to get it from somewhere. Come on, Kathleen, we both know the choice you’re going to make here.”

  Kat’s eyes fell to the black liquid. He was right. She had made her choice the moment he’d appeared. Hell, she would have begged him to let her join them if she could have. But she didn’t want to make it easy for him, not if she could get more information first.

  “Billowogs, witches, vampires, what else is out there?”

  Lock’s eyes flicked to the bottle he held out.

  She snatched it from his hand and popped open the top. “You said you couldn't guarantee I’ll be killing the Pale Man—but I promise you that I will. He’s mine.” She knocked back the liquid. It was sweeter than she expected and almost at once darkness started to press in around her.

  Her legs gave out, and Lock was at her side, catching her. “There’s a long line of people that want him dead. You’ll have to cut in front if you want him.”

  “No.” Her words slurred. “They’ll be moving out of my way.”

  Lock chuckled. “I believe it, brave Kathleen.”

  3

  Darius

  Darius leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. For the last three hours, he had done nothing but put in orders for garments. Shopping online for tuxedos and designer dresses was, without a doubt, the least favorite of his duties. If he had time to go out to the stores or interact with the designer directly, he wouldn’t have minded, but he found entering measurements into forms monotonous and boring.

  Still, it was a task assigned to him by the High Lord General, and he took it seriously. ‘Too seriously’ according to Tane. But Tane could go blow a harpy for all Darius cared.

  He stood to stretch and adjusted his suit pants as hunger stabbed at him. He briefly considered calling for a feeder, but since he was going out to a club tonight anyways, he’d wait.

  There was a knock on his door.

  Darius looked at the time. He had no appointments or scheduled meetings right now and wasn’t expecting anyone.

  Slipping on his suit jacket, he crossed his room and opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw who was standing there: Hunter Commander Lock.

  Leader of Lord Reval’s hunters in Southern California…one of the only strongholds their people had on the West Coast. Lock’s team, the Day Breakers, were some of the toughest hunters around but he was also a member of the Argonauts—a team of the six best hunters in the entire corps—only called together in extreme circumstances or on the rare occasion the High King needed his body guards.

  Behind Lock, two young hunters stood guard in the hallway. Darius could feel the awe coming from them as they tried not to stare too hard at the commander.

  Darius had no idea why a man he had exchanged maybe two words with would be at his door. Straightening his suit sleeve, he didn’t let any sign of his surprise show. “Commander Lock, may I help you?”

  Lock nodded. “Lord Darius, might I have a word in private?”

  “Of course.” He took a step back and motioned into his room, which was really more of an extensive suite within the manor. Unlike the rest of the old stone estate, he kept his area modern and minimalist. It always surprised people who assumed he’d decorate with the same heavy colors and old furniture the general favored. But that wasn’t his style.

  Lock sauntered into Darius’ living quarters and scanned the area, a habit of any skilled hunter. They were always looking for possible dangers and threats. And a hunter didn’t get as old as Lock without constant vigilance.

  Satisfied with his sweep of the room, Lock rested his hands on his hips. “Three years ago, my team ran into Mont,” he said without preamble.

  Darius ground his back teeth. “Three years ago? Why am I just hearing about this now?”

  “Apologies, my lord, but he got away that night, and I assume the Lord General didn’t feel the need to pass that information on to you.”

  “Then why are you here, Commander? I assume it’s for another reason besides listing your failures.” Darius knew he was being impolite, but any mention of that vampire lord always put him in a terrible mood.

  “Mont sired a man. And before the fledgling was turned, he had a child. A girl. We saved her. She’s a strong candidate for the corps, but I ain’t got time to hold her hand. I was hopin’ maybe you could help me. Or rather, help her.”

  “I’m not a warrior. Recruiters are supposed to handle the onboarding for new hunters.”

  “Mont’s the reason she no longer has a family. Thought maybe you’d be better suited for the job.”

  That gave Darius pause. Maybe he could help her. But the idea faded when he began to run through all the responsibilities he had on his plate. Today alone he had to attend to Lady Rosaline who was visiting from New York, finalize the transfer of funds for three pieces of jewelry he’d custom ordered for the estate, oversee the room preparations for the half-dozen warriors expected to arrive soon, make sure Lord Odarim’s new armor would be completed on time…

  When Darius didn’t respond right away, Lock shrugged slowly. “The Lord General thinks it’d be a good idea.”

  Darius narrowed his eyes as he fought to keep his emotions in check. He wanted to kick Lock out for being underhanded. No one dared disobey the general. Even his suggestions were commands to be followed. And for Darius, it was especially so. He owed the general more than he could ever repay. “Alright, fine. Will she be brought here or will I be traveling?”

  “She’s already here. Should be wakin’ soon. It’d be best if we were both there when she did. Unless you’re busy.”

  Darius went to his door. “Does it matter if I am?”

  “I reckon not.” Lock meandered from the room, his silver spurs clanking. Forced to follow, Darius wasn’t too happy he had babysittin
g duty for who knows how long.

  Neither talked as they passed through the stone hallways adorned with rich tapestries and statues. Guards saluted them, and servants darted out of the way, making themselves as unnoticeable as possible.

  Down a level, Lock paused outside the door to a guest room. Darius could hear some sound coming from the hunter’s earpiece but couldn’t make out what dispatch was telling him.

  “She’s in here, I gotta handle this call real quick,” Lock said, and without any other explanation, he disappeared with a green glow.

  A low growl escaped Darius. What the heck was so important that Lock couldn’t stay around for a few moments?

  Darius sighed, pushed open the door, and came face to face with the most exquisite creature he had ever seen in his entire life. Dark hair framed her face with wild abandon; her light brown eyes were flecked with gold, her expression fierce and determined.

  She was strength and beauty and fire unmatched.

  Burning lungs reminded Darius that he needed to breathe, but before he could suck in air, she punched him in the eye.

  4

  Kat

  Kat woke to strange surroundings. She was in a lavish room. The owners were clearly wealthy; the wood bed frame was custom carved and the art that hung on the stone—yes, stone—walls looked expensive. The room felt like a modern high-class hotel and 18th-century castle all at once. It was weird, but it worked.

  Out the beveled windows, a snow-covered forest stretched for miles and miles. Where was she? It sure as heck wasn’t California.

  She pushed the covers off. She had on leggings and a loose shirt. They were her clothes but not the ones she had worn hunting. She wondered who had changed her clothes. Lock? She hoped not. And had he gone through all her personal stuff?

  Alone for a long time, she explored. The rest of the room was kind of boring. There was a TV, some old books with lots of thees and thous, and not really anything else that kept her interest. She was about to try the door when it swung open.

  Standing there was a perfect man. No, seriously. His skin was flawless; he filled his suit in all the right ways, his dark hair parted and kept in such a way not a single strand was loose. When his coffee-colored eyes set upon her, his strong jaw went slack.

  He looked like a movie star.

  And he felt wrong. Too flawless. A vampire, maybe?

  Adrenaline spiked in her, and before she even realized what she was doing, she punched him in one of his gorgeous eyes.

  The creature reeled back, clutching his face. “Ow. Gods. Why?”

  Before she could punch him again, a green glow filled the air and Lock was beside her. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “Whoa, darlin’.”

  Kat tried to break away from Lock’s iron grip without success. “It’s not human!”

  “Oh for Ilertha’s sake, Lock didn’t you tell her anything?” the creature scowled.

  “Not yet, no. Apologies, Lord Darius.”

  “What is he?” Kat demanded, still struggling to get free. “And where am I? And—”

  Lock raised his free hand. “Hold up, one thing at a time.”

  Spotting a dagger on his belt, she made a grab for it, but before her fingers wrapped around the hilt, her body became heavy and the will to fight dissolved.

  “I had her handled,” Lock said to Darius, releasing Kat’s wrist.

  Darius dropped his hand from his eye, a bruise forming there. “This seemed easier, and I’d rather not be punched again.”

  Kat brought her hand up and looked at it. She felt like she was floating, free of life’s burdens. “What are you doing to me?”

  “You can feel that?” Darius asked.

  “Yeah, this is all wrong.”

  Darius glanced at Lock. “She hasn’t had any training?”

  One corner of Lock’s mouth curled up. “Not yet. She’s somethin’, ain’t she?”

  “Yeah.” Darius put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the bedside. Offering no resistance, she sat on the mattress and the creature-that-looked-human-but-wasn’t took a seat on the bed beside her. “I’ll release you, but you need to promise not to punch me again.”

  She looked up at him, and her eyes settled upon his shapely lips. They were full but not overly so. She needed to feel them against her. “If you kiss me, I won’t punch you again.”

  He chuckled, deep and sensual. “I’d like to kiss you, but if I did it right now, while you were under my hold, you most certainly would punch me again once I released you.”

  “Are you a prude or something?” Kat asked. She laughed at herself. She was the prude. Changing schools as a sophomore, and spending the past three years dealing with her parents’ death while trying to find the monster that ripped her family apart hadn’t left much time for a love life.

  Or friends.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she had a meaningful conversation with someone. It was her own fault though. At first, she kept herself closed off, but after a while, she couldn’t remember how to be normal around others.

  Now, it felt as if all the walls she kept up were completely gone. She hated whatever this guy was doing to her, and yet didn’t know how to do anything but surrender to it.

  Lock, who was standing next to the bed, tried to hold back his laughter but failed. Even Darius let out a stifled chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being a prude before. I’m going to release you now. Please resist the urge to punch me.”

  And like that, she was free. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the man sitting in front of her. He was lucky she didn’t bruise his other eye. “What the hell did you do to me?”

  “How did ya know he wasn’t human?” Lock asked, motioning his chin at Darius.

  “He’s too perfect.”

  Darius flashed a pearly white smile at her. “Most humans enjoy that about me.”

  Kat felt her cheeks heating. She wasn’t blind…he was like a walking sex stick, and she was painfully aware that his knees were nearly touching hers.

  She balled a hand into a fist. “Answer me. What are you?”

  “I’m an incubus.”

  “Uh…” She looked to Lock, hoping he’d explain.

  “They’re creatures that feed off sex,” Lock said. He was staying close, presumably to protect the incubus.

  “I’ve heard of a succubus before…some sort of demon thing…”

  “Please, don’t call us demons, it’s highly offensive.” Darius looked down at himself. “And no one’s ever confused me for one of the females of our species before but yes, like a succubus. Although, ‘incubi’ refers to both genders. And as the commander said, we feed off sex.”

  He winked at her, and she looked back over to Lock, hoping he’d step in and maybe give her some direction on how to act. He gave her nothing.

  Looking back, she flushed when she noticed the sheer size of the bulge between his legs. It didn’t help this was the first time she ever had a man—and not a boy—flirt with her…not that any of this should be on her mind right now.

  She decided she didn’t like how cocky and smug he acted.

  “What did you do to me?”

  “My people can redirect emotions. In your case, I simply lessened your anger and increased your desire to trust me. We call it a ‘hold’.” Her eyes drifted back to his crotch. Oh god, she couldn’t help it. Look somewhere else. Anywhere else. She heard him chuckle, then he said, “Lock didn’t tell me your name.”

  “Kat. You’re Darius?”

  “My full name and title is ‘Lord Darius of House Tarrick’ but ‘Darius’ is fine.”

  “What kind of strange-ass name is that?”

  His cocky smile dropped. “One of high standing and influence.”

  Kat scoffed. “Sure. Do you own this place, Lord Darius of House Tarrick? Where am I even?”

  “No, I don’t own this estate. I work for the one who does. And we’re in Pennsylvania.”

  Lock, seemingly satisfied she wasn’t goin
g to punch the lord, went over to the wood-carved wall and leaned on it, crossing his arms. “We’re at Ashwood. You’re in the estate half, but the Vampire Hunter Academy is nearby. It’s where you’ll train. The war you’ve been sucked into is an old one between vampires and incubi. For a while, the incubi were losing, so they started the Hunter Corps. We work for them. Might feel a little strange working for creatures that ain’t human but you’ll get used to it.”

  ‘Strange’ was an understatement. But if working for incubi helped Kat get what she wanted, she’d do it.

  Something on Lock’s wrist beeped. “Apologies, I need to make a phone call.” He grabbed a phone out of his pocket and walked out the door, closing it behind him, but not before Kat overheard him saying, “Hey, baby. Yes, I should be home for dinner…”

  “I think you’re the first person Lock has ever sponsored.”

  She looked up to find Darius’ dark eyes pinned on her. Her skin prickled under his gaze and she wasn’t sure why. “Sponsored?”

  “There’s a handful of ways a hunter can join the corps. But when a hunter as old and respected as the commander wants someone in, they’re in.”

  “He’s not that old. Thirty-eight?”

  Darius chuckled. “He was born in the 1800s. I wouldn’t exactly call the guy young, though I suppose around here he is.”

  Kat looked back at the shut door and blinked. “The 1800s…you’re kidding.”

  “I take it he didn’t tell you about some of the perks you get for being a hunter of good standing? Besides extending your lifespan, we also pay you a substantial amount.”

  “Oh.” She wanted to ask how much money she’d be making but became distracted by how intensely the incubus studied her—his eyes tracing her form. For the briefest of moments, she allowed herself to imagine what it’d feel like to have his hands mapping her skin. Heat welled within her, and she immediately stopped that line of thinking, averting her gaze.