Her Dark Destiny (Hunters of the Dark #1)

by Dave Ferraro

Rachel was completely unaware of the smile that was threatening to split her face as she gazed, wide-eyed, at The Crimson Rope ballroom. It was teeming with the bustling life that she was used to at the balls thrown in her surrounding area of Mississippi. The only thing missing were her parents. But she didn’t want to think about that. She couldn’t think about that. She had a mission to carry out and she needed that to be at the forefront of her thoughts. Vampires were her thing; She needed to be in the here and now. A quick glance to the left informed her that Brett was getting along quite nicely with some hussy or another. The tramp. The buffoon. She couldn’t have paired them up better herself.

  A waiter walked by carrying a tray of wine glasses, one of which she impulsively took. She stared at her hand after the deed was done and shook her head. What was she doing? She needed to focus. She hated alcohol. Setting it down quickly, Rachel blinked with renewed focus and settled into the hunt.

  She was to be the first hunter to venture upstairs and release her glamour when she reached the second story. If anyone intercepted her before she reached her destination, she was to claim ignorance, that she’d been searching for a restroom. Innocent enough.

  “This kind of sucks,” Jade muttered beside her. “Hey, are rich people always this boring?” She looked over at Rachel expectantly.

  Rachel rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear her.

  “I don’t know,” Cameron answered her, “But these little pastry things are great. Have you tried one?” He held half a pastry out to Jade, who merely looked at it with disdain. Cameron shrugged and finished it off himself.

  “I have a bad feeling about tonight,” Rachel announced suddenly, looking at the staircase timidly. She imagined her ascension upon them, as if to Heaven, never to be seen again. A chill ran up her spine and she hugged her arms closer to her body in response.

  “Don’t tell me the princess is getting cold feet,” Jade said in mock disbelief.

  Rachel glared at Jade. “Hey, just be happy your little carpet-munching ass isn’t going up those stairs first.”

  Jade smiled tightly in response. “You know, you say the sweetest things to me.” She looked back at Cameron with a gesture and together, they walked away, leaving Rachel to her task.

  God, why was she trying so hard to get people not to like her here? Was that her defense mechanism? Hadn’t she been lonely enough throughout her life? She scanned the party quickly from where she stood and realized that they couldn’t postpone this any longer. They didn’t know when the meeting would begin. It was time to get up there now.

  Swallowing a breath of air, Rachel turned and ascended the stairs, hyper conscious of her movements as she proceeded. She felt as if everyone were eyeing her, ready to call out for the guards to seize her, a spotlight ensnaring her in its luminous clutches. However, she passed the bend in the stairs at the first landing without incident. No one frantically scrambled up the stairs after her, screaming for her to put her hands in the air.

  Settle down, Rach, she ordered herself. No need to imagine the worst.

  She watched the gap between herself and the second story slowly close as she propelled herself up the stairs at a pace that demonstrated great restraint, given how fast her heart was beating within her chest. She was rather proud of herself thus far.

  Only ten steps to go and Rachel gave pause, hesitating. Maybe she should be less concerned about leaving the first floor and more bothered by what lay ahead of her on the second. They’d discovered from Natalia that the meeting was to be held in the library on the third floor, but that left an entire level where anything could be lurking, waiting for anyone to step off of the staircase. Walking up the stairs again with renewed determination, Rachel scolded herself. This wasn’t setting an example for the others. She had to do this. This was easy compared to other things she’d done and there was no reason to feel so apprehensive. Yet she did. She had a horrible feeling that something was going to go wrong here.

  Upon setting foot on the second floor, she glanced back over her shoulder to verify that no one was approaching. She then pulled the gel-lined pill out of her purse and pierced it with her fingernails, releasing a glamour. It shimmered as it engulfed her body, placing its moss-green scales and buttery eyes over her own. She gazed down upon another’s body, startled to see a small tail at her feet. She hadn’t been expecting that. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t really there. It would just look and feel as if it was. One had to be awed at the power of such magick and its ability to manipulate the mind. But God, she felt gross. Why did she work so hard to get all dressed up if she was just going to lurk about all disgusting?

  “Sick of the party?” a voice asked.

  Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as she swiveled toward the shadows of a nearby staircase leading up to yet another floor. She saw the red, angry butt of a cigarette and the slithering smoke expunged from it. The figure that had spoken remained bathed in darkness, a bodiless phantom.

  Swallowing hard, Rachel ventured over to the figure. If he’d been startled by what he’d just seen, if he’d even witnessed it, he gave no indication. He sat calmly and only shifted to extinguish his cigarette as she drew close enough to take him in.

  He was a demon boasting red scales and small horns that grew out from his blonde hair. A tail - a real tail - wagged to and fro beneath his legs, in time to Rachel’s heartbeat. He had only four digits per hand, with fat fingers ending in black scabby nails. Although, she decided, with a little work, they could be all shiny and new and almost…handsome. She smiled at the thought. Manicures for demons. It could work. Despite all of his shortcomings, the demon had a sort of disarming quality that Rachel imagined might stem from his eyes. They were blue - bluer than any eyes she’d seen before. They seemed so human that Rachel nearly forgot what he was for a moment. The ordinary jeans and t-shirt he wore probably didn’t hurt either.

  “I’m sick of it too,” the demon announced. “Sick of all the bullshit. Sick of wearing a glamour so I can fit in with the humans. It’s so lame. Feels good to just take it off for awhile.”

  Rachel nodded slowly and sat down beside him, leaning her elbows back to prop herself up casually. She smiled. “I know what you mean. It’s awkward.”

  “Extremely awkward. I’m Cheitan, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you, Cheitan. I’m Rachel.”

  “Rachel, huh? Pretty name.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Yeah. So, you looking forward to seeing these new things?”

  Hesitating, Rachel was unsure of what to say. Of course, she should know what he was talking about if she was who she pretended to be. A simple yes or no would probably suffice, but she dreaded him asking more open-ended questions. She should probably try to get away as quickly as possible. The next hunter would probably be venturing up the stairs any moment anyway. She didn’t want to be too close when that happened. However...she should probably get Cheitan away from the area for the same reason. He’d witnessed enough already. “Yes, I am. Where is the library anyway? This place is huge.”

  Cheitan pulled a cigarette case out from his jeans and hesitated before putting it back and smiling. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Rachel returned the smile gratefully and was a little startled as he took her by the arm, leading her up the stairs to the third floor. His touch was very warm, feverish. And for some reason, it incited some sort of passion within her. She ignored the feeling and went with Cheitan, giving one last look backward as another figure reached the top of the staircase.

  “You twenty?” Cheitan guessed.

  “Twenty? Oh, no. I’m Twenty-five.”

  “Heritage?”

  “Oh, I’m...I’m uh...”

  “No need to be shy. My father’s Marduk.”

  She knew she had a startled look on her face. She had no idea what to say. She wasn’t used to undercover assignments and was completely unprepared for this sort of a run-in.

  “You know,” Cheit
an clarified, “King of the fire demons. Real big-wig. He’s coming with some La Faer Noir cronies. Hate him. Wish he’d fucking die. Such a pompous asshole, so full of himself.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Always wants to overthrow this group or that. Real dick.”

  “That’s...interesting.”

  “Not interesting, just fucked. What’s interesting is The Crimson Rope. What are these creatures they’re harboring? What are their intentions? Father…” he paused as he shuddered, “Father says they’re probably planning to take over La Faer Noir. Such a paranoid ass. It’s because that’s what he’d do with these things.”

  “They’re that strong?” Rachel asked, startled.

  Cheitan looked over and smiled. “They’re strong. Probably a stretch to say they could overwhelm La Faer Noir, but you know, The Werewolf Rebellions and whatnot.” He paused as they reached the top of the stairs, before he led her down a long, dark hallway. He kept sending her sideways glances, like he was checking her out. Rachel was a little disturbed, given her appearance, but it hardly mattered in the end. They soon stopped before a large ominous door halfway down the hall. “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. These things won’t attack us here. Not if they know who is on the guest list.”

  Rachel smiled while her insides fluttered anxiously. He was right, of course. They themselves had no idea who was on that list. The hunters had gone into this thing blind. It could end up being a suicide mission for all they knew.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, the door before them screamed of foreboding. Rachel wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away screaming herself, but she was frozen to the spot. Frozen in this demonic image. She had to play her part, she knew. And she had better play it well.

  ***

  Amelia quickly made her way up to the third floor and watched from the shadows as Rachel entered the library with the red demon. As the door closed behind them, she ventured forth to follow, hesitating only as she spotted a door that was ajar just two doors down the hallway. She took a quick peek before she ducked inside, rationalizing that she could kind of watch the hallway for any suspicious activities until the others arrived. Maybe she could take note of who entered the room so they had a clearer idea of what to expect.

  Shivering suddenly, Amelia turned around to examine her surroundings. She was in some sort of lab. There were beakers and bunson burners at tables, as well as plenty of freezers and test tubes. A curtain halfway down the room caused her to give pause. Maybe she’d been a little impulsive bolting in here. What if she wasn’t alone?

  Only one way to find out, Amelia decided, skulking across the room on tip-toe. She hesitated upon reaching the curtain, wondering if she should pull it aside or just peek beneath it. It would probably be safer to merely peek underneath, in case someone was on the other side.

  A sudden noise from the door, however, forced her to hastily duck behind the curtain, risking another’s presence behind it.

  “You left the door open,” someone hissed as the door closed.

  “Well, they are in cages,” was the grunted reply.

  Amelia blinked. Cages? She turned around and had to appeal to her sense of self-preservation to keep a scream in check, for she saw four people in a cage, naked, gagged and bound to the ceiling of the cage by wire. The cage was set on a wheeled platform, like a big wooden version of a wagon children would pull friends around in. It smelled of urine, the source probably being the brunette woman with a pool of liquid at her feet. They seemed to all notice her at once, trying to speak despite the material shoved hastily into their mouths. She still looked like a demon because of her glamour, so she had no clue as to what they could be trying to say to her.

  Amelia shook her head and waved at them.

  “You shouldn’t have left them,” the first voice spoke up again. “You’ve gotten them all excited and hopeful.”

  “I needed someone to help me prepare them.”

  Amelia ducked down behind a metal cart that held several painful looking tools atop it. Knives, hooks, needles. The outlook wasn’t so promising here.

  She could hear the curtain parting suddenly and two figures entered, closing the partition behind them once more.

  “Ah, one of them peed.”

  Amelia dared to look out from her hiding place. Vamps. Of course. Although one of them was of particular interest, for her stomach bulged, as if with child. It was a chilling sight to behold. She could only wonder at what was within her belly.

  “Clean that up, Mary,” a black woman commanded the pregnant one. “That’s quite disgusting.”

  “Ah, come on, Donna. Can’t we just hose them down at the same time?”

  Donna shook her head and pointed at the prisoners determinedly. “After you’re done cleaning that up, and only then, we’ll hose them down and rub grease over their bodies. Understand?”

  Mary nodded begrudgingly, making for a mop on the other side of the room.

  “Oh, and Mary?”

  “Yeah?” she grunted.

  “The red-headed boy...shave him of all body hair. Scarlet likes them smooth.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  The woman left, leaving the pregnant vampire to stare begrudgingly at the mop in her hand. “Scarlet likes them smooth,” Mary mocked Donna, slopping the mop over the floor of the cage half-heartedly.

  Amelia sat and watched, horrified, as for the next half an hour the prisoners were cleaned and primped, their bodies rubbed until they glistened, while the prisoners cried and moaned in protest. After all of this was done, the prisoners were carted away, leaving Amelia to herself. She wondered if she should have intervened, compromised the mission to save them. But they might still have a chance to rescue them yet. And if it meant the lives of dozens of hunters and humans alike, weren’t their losses worth it in the end? She’d preached to Cameron the other day about the sanctity of all life, yet she’d sat there and watched them get...cleaned and basted like turkeys on Thanksgiving Day, not so much as lifting a finger.

  They were for the meeting though, Amelia reasoned. Their absence would have been noticed.

  However, that didn’t make her feel much better in the end.

 

  Chapter Twenty-Two

   

  Brett couldn’t wipe the vulgar grin from his face. He’d struck gold. The girl he was following into the darkened kitchen area was hot. No doubt about it. Hair spun from Midas’ hands, skin as soft as feathers and down. And her outfit - Brett wasn’t usually one to get worked up over what a girl was wearing, but, wow. White boots made from rabbit fur, a white leather skirt that went a quarter of the way down her thighs, trimmed in matching fur, as well as a sleeveless top that went along with her skirt and ended just above her navel. She was the hottest thing at this ball, probably in the whole city. And she’d chosen him. He was the luckiest man in the world, not that he’d expected less, being a fine specimen, after all. The girls should be lining up to get a piece of his action. This just went to show that this girl knew what she was doing and was used to getting what she wanted - the best.

  “Mmmm,” Lupe purred, hopping up onto a countertop and biting her lower lip seductively. “I’m in a wild mood, Surfer Boy. Care to take me for a ride?”

  Brett opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say, so he just leaned in and kissed her on the mouth aggressively. That had to be the answer she was looking for because she returned his kiss with as much fervor. Her tongue slid into his mouth and her hands began to fumble with the front of his pants. Rachel’s face flashed into his mind suddenly, causing him to give pause. She’d really gotten to him more than he’d realized with her crappy attitude. Not that it mattered much in the end. When it came down to it, he had plenty of options; Look at what he had in front of him now.

  Lupe pulled back and looked up at him. “What?”

  “Nothing,” Brett answered, moving to kiss her again.

  “No, no. Y
ou hesitated. Why the hell did you just hesitate?”

  Brett looked at her, dumbfounded. “I...I just thought we might be moving fast, but I don’t care, you know?”

  “Are you calling me a slut, Surfer Boy?” Lupe demanded. She shoved him away from her and jumped off of the countertop, glaring at him. “I am not a slut. Do you hear me? I fuck who I want to fuck when I want to fuck them.”

  “I’m not saying you’re a slut,” Brett insisted. “You’re just hot and I can’t believe I had your tight little body against mine.”

  “Little body? Little? Oh, so I’m a defenseless fucking little girl now?”

  Brett couldn’t believe the turn of events. She seemed to be a little off or schizo or something. If he could only pacify her...he couldn’t wait to see what was underneath her outfit. “Oh, you’re all woman, all right. I just want to run my hands all over those curves.”

  That seemed to do the trick. Lupe smiled again and leaned back against the counter. “Alright, Surfer Boy. You wanna eat some pussy? Come and get it.” She spread her legs open a little wider, invitingly.

  Brett approached her slowly, cautiously. When he was before her, he paused before lowering his head, but Lupe grabbed his ear and yanked him up to her face painfully.

  “You’re fucking hesitating again,” she said through her teeth, then paused herself, sniffing loudly. She shoved her nose into Brett’s hair and inhaled deeply. “You smell like vampires.” She pushed him back and stared him in the face.

  Brett swallowed hard when he saw that her eyes were no longer glittering green, but were a very pale blue, very inhuman. There was no humor in those eyes.

  “You wreak of them,” she repeated. “And...you...” She smiled. “You have her scent on you too.” Without warning, she smashed his head down onto the countertop, releasing a river of blood from his nose.

  Brett cursed, putting his hands up to his face in disbelief. “What are...you’re fucking nuts!”

  He realized he’d said the wrong thing when she got a furious look in her eyes.

  She slammed his head down hard against the countertop four times, once for each word as she proclaimed “I! Am! Not! Nuts!” She bared her teeth, which were suddenly sharper than Brett had remembered previously. She hissed at him. “I am very, very sane. You hear me, Motherfucker? I am fucking sane.”

  Brett nodded, his head starting to grow a little swimmy. He thought he might have a concussion.

  Lupe seemed to calm down again. She touched his head tenderly with her free hand and smiled. “Now, Surfer Boy. I don’t want to do anything we’ll both regret, so let’s just be honest for a moment. You’re a hunter. I know you are, so don’t try to deny it. I’ll only get angry if you do.”

  Brett froze for a moment, but nodded.

  “Good boy. Now, tell me, where is the one called...Natalia?”

  Brett’s eyes widened.

  “So you know who I’m speaking of?” Lupe acknowledged smugly. “Good. Now, tell me, Surfer Boy, where the fuck that God-damn cunt is.”

  Swallowing hard, Brett indicated the party with a nod of his head.

  Lupe brightened. “She’s...here? How absolutely....ravishing. I’d best welcome her, don’t you think?” She glanced down at Brett with a look of pity before knocking his head down quickly onto the countertop again. “Nighty-night, Surfer Boy.”

  She grinned happily as she kicked Brett out of her way and walked into the adjoining room with a bounce in her step. When she caught sight of the guards in the room, she nodded toward the room she’d just come out of. “Would you be nice little mice and go clean up my mess?” She suddenly noticed two others bound and gagged on the floor before the guards, guns fastened upon them by the dozen men. “Well,” she breathed, “I’m sure he’ll be happy to have some company, at least.”

  “They were out in a van,” one guard informed her. “It was easy enough to take them out, but they had surveillance equipment. There are others here.”

  “Well, if they aren’t sniffed out by the time the ceremony rolls around,” Lupe dared say, “They’ll wish they had been.”

 

  Chapter Twenty-Three

   

  “Well, tell me this at least,” Damien insisted, walking Shanna down the long hallway on the third floor to where they were to meet the party in the library. “You aren’t planning on actually blowing this building up, now, are you? Because I would appreciate a fair warning, for my sake.”

  Shanna smiled. “No, Damien. You can put your mind at ease for the moment.”

  Nodding, Damien hesitated as they approached the library door. “I noticed the wall you’ve put up in your mind.”

  “Have you now?”

  “I wasn’t planning to pry. I just...noticed. It kind of hurts me to see it there.”

  “Well, maybe you’ll think twice before intruding into someone’s mind in the future.”

  “You wanted me to.”

  “I did not.”

  “Subconsciously.”

  Shanna shook her head. “You are incorrigible.”

  “But adorable. Tell me, do you still desire my body?”

  Shanna’s mouth fell open. “That is...none...absolutely none of your business.”

  “Well, it does concern me.”

  Anticipating the unbecoming blood flow to her face, Shanna tried her best to slough off her embarrassment as they walked through the library double doors, earning a chill down her spine as she crossed the threshold. Into the spider’s parlor.

  The scene before her was nothing like she’d ever seen before. There were monsters everywhere in the huge library that rivaled the exquisite library at the mansion, although she believed that the Lime Bay library was more expansive and impressive in the end. This room was nearly another ballroom entirely, filled with books and desks, globes dotting the tables here and there among archaeological charts trapped beneath glass shelves, like insects in amber. But she barely registered much beyond the variety of creatures present. There were dozens of human-looking creatures, several of which she could tell were vampires, but others she had no idea about whatsoever. There were women in cloaks, men she could see through, a woman with an eye on her forehead, an ogre, a woman with pure white skin and eight arms. The list went on and on.

  “Not uncomfortable, are you?” Damien whispered, escorting her to a nearby table where Jordan and Noel sat beside Scarlet Fever. Jordan had definitely realized who the vampire was, for he kept sending her furtive glances. He was, however, behaving for the moment, not letting the fact that he’d sought her for so long compromise the current mission. But he had to be considering that with her death, The Crimson Rope would unravel. Shanna just wasn’t sure that it was that simple. She recalled how Jordan had looked, ready to rush back into Styx like a force of nature, machete slung over his shoulder. It made her wince, the damage he could create here, the trouble that could spring from his brash actions. She would have to trust he carried a high level of restraint within him.

  “So glad you could join us,” Scarlet greeted them, sucking seductively on a long, black cigarette holder. “I was afraid you were going to miss the main event.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Damien announced, taking a seat and leaving the only available chair immediately beside Scarlet.

  Shanna sat down reluctantly and smiled sheepishly over at the red-headed, intimidating vampire.

  “I won’t bite,” Scarlet quipped with a wink. She sat forward and pointed her cigarette across the room. “See those demons over there? Now those you should worry about.” She paused. “Demons are your specialty, aren’t they, Dear?”

  Shanna looked surprised. “I...yes.”

  “Well, you’re in for a treat then. Some prominent figures are in the room right at this very moment. You just have to promise you won’t get star-struck now.” She glanced over at Damien and frowned when she realized he wasn’t listening. “Well, then, the woman with the eight arms? That’s Lolth, de
mon queen of spiders. Nasty one to have on your tail. I detest bugs. So unsanitary. And beside her? That’s Vepar...”

  Shanna followed her direction to see a large glass aquarium with two creatures that reminded her of the Creature From the Black Lagoon movies standing guard. Inside of the glass box was a woman with blue hair. A mermaid. She splashed about playfully as if she were on vacation at the beach.

  “Vepar is worse than Lolth, if you can believe it,” Scarlet informed her. “She may appear to be a Disney creation, but in reality, she takes her time killing people. Three days of infecting their wounds with worms and it’s...well...it’s a painful sight, you might say. Worms, parasites, much worse than spiders.”

  Shanna was close to reminding Scarlet that she was a parasite herself when two women walked into the room. She quickly scanned the rest of the audience for Amelia and Rachel, finding them across the room, glamours in full force. She was a little concerned that Rachel was in the company of a red-skinned demon who seemed quite taken with her.

  “Who is that?” Shanna asked Scarlet, pointing out the young demon.

  Scarlet smiled, clearly pleased to be asked. “That’s Cheitan. One of Marduk’s children. Marduk is king of the fire demons. We call him the fire eater just to get a reaction out of him, he’s quite a hard case, what with being made out of rock. He eats his children. The small ones from every litter. The runts. Demons have strange customs, wouldn’t you agree, Darling?”

  Shanna stared at the figure Scarlet referred to. He was a massive figure of rock, two huge black horns spiraling out from the side of his head, which seemed to sport a permanent scowl. His head was literally on fire, as was the black fan he waved in his face.

  “That’s the firefan,” Scarlet said, indicating the fiery fan he wielded. “The flames of Hell supposedly escape through that medieval thing. Rubbish, if you ask me.”

  Shanna nodded, suddenly distracted as she noticed the table in the center of the room with four nude people bound and gagged, clearly terrified by the crowd around them. Her heart went out to them, but she didn’t feel there was much she could do for them at the moment, not with so many creatures around.

  A general murmur suddenly washed over the crowd as one of two new arrivals took her place at a podium at the head of the room. She looked around calmly before nodding to the blonde woman at her side and lowering her head to a microphone.

  “Thank you all for coming to The Crimson Rope’s fundraising gala tonight,” she said with a warm smile. “It’s always a pleasure to attend these festivities, and La Faer Noir is once again honored by Scarlet’s invitation.” She nodded toward the red-head and allowed a small round of applause before continuing. “For those of you who haven’t had the privilege, I am Samantha Cummings, director of the New York branch of La Faer Noir, representing the elders from the motherhouse. And with your support and the backing of such generous organizations as The Crimson Rope, we will, of course, own this world one day, and under La Faer Noir’s new leadership, it looks as if that world will come to pass sooner rather than later.“ She smiled brightly and waited for the obligatory burst of applause to subside. “Now, while I love a party as much as the next creature, I would like to get down to business immediately, so that we all may return to the ball as soon as possible. So, I now turn the podium over to our host, the always-lovely Miss Scarlet Fever.”

  Scarlet stood up amid looks of adoration and headed to the podium with the finesse of a ballerina, nearly floating over the carpet. With a small bow to Samantha, she turned toward the gathered monsters and grinned. “Greetings. I am Scarlet Fever, leader of The Crimson Rope. If I may be so bold, I will pass on the customary niceties and proceed, as Samantha suggested, to what we’re really here for.” She paused and pushed back a lock of hair that fell into her face, marring the milky porcelain with its presence. She looked around the room slowly, as if drinking the audience in, pulling them under her thrall. She then continued, nearly startling Shanna, as she’d barely registered the woman’s lips move. “I have called you all here today to bear witness to a request. A request in the form of a new partnership, a new alliance, under La Faer Noir’s banner. These new creatures that I will shortly introduce you to ask for a seat at the table of this future world. Indeed, they have come to ask for your assistance in increasing their numbers to strengthen our cause.” She paused. “Before we get to that, however, I must interject a word on another matter, given how much each and every one of you have invested in our cause. For millenia, some of the bravest demons and witches, vampires and wraiths, have met their end at the hands of humans, at the hands of self-proclaimed hunters of darkness; But even now, the vendetta we have recently undertaken in the name of those brave whose blood has been spilled, has reaped staggering results. But it would not have been possible without our new alliance.”

  Shanna looked over at Jordan sharply, worry written deep in both of their faces.

  Scarlet gazed out over the crowd, excitement lighting her eyes as she communicated further. “Not since the golden age have we seen such promise, such communication between our clans. Nearly three hundred hunters have been killed at the hands of The Crimson Rope. Through the means we have been practicing for centuries, to indulge in what is only natural for us, supplying blood bars with enough crop to last years, we have added the benefit of watching for hunters. Not only to decrease their numbers, but to supply the only means available to expand an army of truly unique creatures, creatures whose strength is staggering in the face of the diluted bloodlines many of our clans give birth to today.” Scarlet lowered her head and shook it slowly. “I will end your suspense for the moment however. Without further adieu, I present a new breed of creature, a new form of vampire that has come to pass under accidental circumstances not one year ago in this great city. We shall call them mora, at their request. Their fate will be decided in this room, this night, by the privileged few currently in attendance, and but by the grace of the great La Faer Noir. Now, let us lock the doors until a decision has been reached.”

  Shanna felt a flutter of apprehension as she watched several men race to cover the two sets of double doors. Her blood ran cold when she recognized one such red-headed figure as Redd, the man from Styx who’d transformed into a giant red bear and had set this new life of Shanna’s into motion with a guttural roar. She watched with mounting fear as the men bolted the doors and turned expectantly on the surprised audience. It was very much like the locking of Styx back in Minnesota. Damien seemed to have noted her altered state and, taking the opportunity to seize her hand and bring it up to his lips, bestowed her with a small kiss to negate her trembling. He winked at her and smiled, making her feel at ease once more, in the face of that which she feared most. A monster to soothe her fear of monsters. Similar things are cured by similar things.

  She knew she shouldn’t give in to Damien’s charm so easily, but he was quite hard to resist. He made her feel so oddly safe. Safer, she was sure, than she would ever feel beside Cameron. She hated herself for thinking such a thought.

  Jordan’s vampire companion surprised Shanna at that moment by taking Jordan’s hand as well and mimicking Damien’s actions. Jordan met her look with a tight smile. She returned it with a nod. They would talk later, although the confused questions were already accumulating in her mind, despite herself.

  From out of a back door came the aforementioned creatures, the mora. And indeed, they were like the photo Rachel took amidst their fight - tall, grotesque creatures of the foulest dispositions. There were four of them in all, the one in front obviously leading the others, a scythe in his bony hands, as if proclaiming himself to be Death itself in his tattered rags. The last one of them to enter the room escorted a disoriented pregnant vampire who eyed the humans on the center table with more than a little interest. She was obviously just recently made.

  Shanna straightened up at the sight of the pregnant female, as they were obviously about to get a reason for the rise in vampire activity among th
e pregnant.

  “Thank you, Scarlet,” the mora in front said in a sniveling voice, drawing out each word as if savoring them falling from his mouth. “I am Upir. I speak for my clan. We do seek a place among the power, a place beside the fire.” He paused and looked about him, as if sizing up the audience.

  A poignant silence had filled the room at their appearance, a silence that seemed filled with a certain amount of fear, as opposed to the curiosity one might expect.

  The pregnant vampire behind Upir groaned and to Shanna’s astonishment, one of the mora stabbed her quickly in the heart with a wooden stake.

  Few in the crowd gasped at this, which made Shanna stick out, as she was among the ones that did. However, it had come as a great shock to her. The vampire quickly transformed to ash.

  “This is how we are born,” Upir announced. “We are not born at all. We are taken from our mothers’ wombs, stolen from her comfort.”

  A baby was pulled up out of the ashen body of the vampire, sending disintegrating limbs over the floor soundlessly, the creature it had previously been of no consequence. The baby’s veins stood out dark against its paper-thin skin, quietly dispelling its candor of delicacy and innocence. But...this was one of the creatures that stood before them now? Shanna watched in amazement as the baby was laid back into its mother’s ashes, kicking its feet like any normal baby would, wondering at the transformations it would be forced to endure.

  “In a mere week, this infant will grow to my size,” Upir said as he watched the child with affection. “Another week and his skin will become dense enough to deflect most damage, with the exception of sharp, hard objects. The flesh can still rip. However, flimsy wood and dull weapons will produce not even a scratch.”

  “Impressive,” an elderly translucent man admitted. “Perhaps these creatures can stand in for the troops we have sacrificed to La Faer Noir’s cause. If they are completely new and the hunters won’t expect them-”

  “What help are you asking us for exactly?” a blue-skinned woman interrupted from nearby, earning a glare from the man.

  Upir held out his hands. “A few things, in truth. First, to lure pregnant females to us, or supply us with information to collect them ourselves. It matters not how, we just need more pregnant females to incubate our shells.”

  “Shells?” the same woman scoffed. “Yes? And what else do you require? Something about the hunters?”

  “Mmm. Blood.”

  “Blood?” Samantha repeated.

  Upir looked over at her sharply and cocked his head, as if studying her. “The blood of the hunters. The pregnant female must consume some before she is destroyed.”

  “I…don’t understand,” a woman in a black hood confessed. “Hunters are like any humans. Their blood isn’t special.”

  “Oh, but it is,” Scarlet announced, leaning over the podium eagerly. “We have been mistaken all this time. As have the hunters themselves. Their blood is different.”

  “But we’ve run tests…”

  “So have we,” Scarlet interrupted. “When a pregnant woman ingests hunter blood before being killed, she leaves behind a child that quickly turns into mora. When she ingests any other blood, the child also becomes ash.”

  “There must be a mistake.”

  Shanna was amazed that all eyes in the room were suddenly upon her, before she realized that she had been the one who’d just spoken.

  Scarlet smiled slowly as she watched Shanna’s face. “No, my dear. It is as I have just related.” She turned to the other creatures of the room and began to pace. “Haven’t you all wondered at one time or another why the hunters are courageous enough to hunt us down in the first place? We can terrorize a young man ten times over and he will forget our faces, our tricks, each time. A woman will imagine a mugger killing her lover in place of a werewolf. Because their minds can not cope with what they see.”

  Shanna felt Damien’s hand tighten on her hand. She looked over at him to meet a smile of pity. She appreciated that he felt for her through this, but she did not wish for his pity just then.

  “Hunters possess an uncanny ability to see the things in shadows, to seek us out and truly bear witness to our actions when so many of the humans turn away and either ignore things or create things in our stead. It’s this strength of mind, this strength of character, that fortifies the young within the pregnant vampires. Without their strength, they do not exist, just as we do not exist for the humans that pretend we are not out there. But with the hunters’ very beliefs, they have created the very creature that will be their undoing.”

  Shanna took a deep shuddering breath as she listened to Scarlet’s speech. She thought back to that experience in Styx. She recalled that night out, about how she’d seen Kelly as so vulnerable to the monsters that lived among them, about how she herself could never choose to live a normal life after seeing what was truly out there. It was that very quality that made her special, set her apart from others, distanced her from normal society. She chose to open her eyes. And that was where the loneliness stemmed from. It was what made her unique. And it was what made her hunted now.

  “We need you to bring the hunters to us,” Upir spoke up. “Provide us with the very ones who diminish your numbers anyway. With this offering, we will take your places at the frontlines of La Faer Noir’s cause. But as it is, we are lonely, we are few. This is our only way to breed. We can not sire like a normal vampire can.”

  “These are mutants of vampires,” a demon suddenly spoke up. “They are abominations. They do not belong among us.”

  Scarlet’s face darkened as she looked over at the speaker.

  “They destroy our kind,” a vampire added, traipsing up to the mora crossly. As her entire figure came into view, Shanna was amazed to find her thin frame flawed by the hump at her stomach. She seemed to be pregnant, but had certainly died and risen as a vampire long ago. Was she carrying dead weight around with her or…or was the child transformed as well, but in a different way than the mora? “They are as much a threat as hunters, creating us only to destroy us.”

  Upir examined the woman with interest for a moment, moving so boldly as to hold his hands over her belly, not quite touching it. “Ah. It calls to me. What it could have become, aches. But what it is, matters not now.”

  “This…thing would have killed me for my child,” the woman growled, but quickly quieted as Samantha barked “Mary,” with reproach from her seat.

  “I agree with Mary,” a black woman stepped forward. “Their way is perverse, treating vampires as incubators. If there is another way to create these creatures, I would be willing to cooperate, but this…this goes too far.”

  Murmurs began to rise around the room upon this statement, to which Scarlet looked completely appalled. The noise was all put to rest as Samantha demanded it with a commanding clap. But the next moment, chaos ensued again, as one of the mora had one of the naked humans in his arms, free of chains, and quite dead.

  “What is…” Damien murmured, standing up along with several guests, for the mora had its sharp, red tongue embedded in the human’s chest, near his heart, where blood drained freely from the wound. The mora retracted its ten inch tongue and sneered its toothless mouth at the crowd, wiping a hand across its split lips, its nails completely nonexistent in comparison to Upir, with his long, intimidating talons.

  “This is how we feed,” Upir explained. “Though we need not kill the humans,” he added with a glare at the reckless mora, “We have no teeth to guide us as smoothly as our fathers. We must resort to more…unpleasant methods.”

  “Outrageous,” Mary murmured. “Absolutely outrageous and disrespectful.”

  “Come now, let’s not squabble,” a new voice entered the room amid a thunderous crack that decidedly destroyed the set of double doors closest to Shanna.

  A woman stepped in among a cloud of dust and splintered wood, just ahead of another cage wheeled in, atop a wagon, by two guards. “We have more pressi
ng matters to attend to just now. Such as these three hunters, part of the hunter group that has been long-rumored. They are here, tonight, among us. These are just the first of what promises to be many among our guests.”

  Shanna grabbed Damien’s arm as she recognized the figures in the cage. Brett looked badly beaten, Valor and Felicia unconscious. But where was Becca?

  Damien looked over at her, then at the cage she was staring at. He nodded to her, understanding that they were her friends. He glanced across the table at Noel and nodded to him as well.

  “What do you propose, Lupe?” Samantha asked, intrigued, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Lupe grinned. “A hunt. A lock-down of the third floor. An experience to solidify the mora as part of our cohesive whole. We should see if they are able to fight side-by-side with their supposed equals, if they are worthy of joining our ranks.”

  “Yes,” the black woman added. “Let them prove themselves sound before we vote on blind faith.”

  “A hunt is in order,” Scarlet concurred most readily. “Let us scour these floors and soak the halls with the blood of our natural enemies. We end tonight on a high note and fight in the name of the elders, to feed the black fire.”

 

  Chapter Twenty-Four

   

  “I request immunity for this human,” Damien said with authority as the other creatures slowly filed out of the room. It was to be a feast. Some creatures were making alliances, some sought to hunt on their own. Either way, the end result would be the same: a blood bath. No humans would survive. Shanna had felt the eyes of all in the room upon her as the game was announced. She would be dinner. Unless Damien had his way.

  “This one too,” Noel spoke up, gesturing toward Jordan. “They are already claimed.”

  Samantha nodded. “Under normal circumstances, I would agree.”

  “What do you want with these humans anyway?” Lupe demanded loudly, looking over Shanna and Jordan with disgust. “You can find better.”

  “Look closer,” Damien urged.

  Lupe looked Shanna full in the face and suddenly looked visibly startled. “She’s....”

  “Immunity granted,” Samantha spoke up. “But get them out of here quickly. If they’re still on the third floor in five minutes, they will be considered fair game.”

  “Thank you,” Damien smiled, bowing to Samantha, who was watching Shanna with sparkling green eyes and a grin.

  Noel bowed slightly as well and ushered them out of the room quickly before any objections were brought to attention.

  “That’s it?” Jordan asked. “We’re free to go?”

  “You are free to go,” Noel echoed. He eyed the end of the hall warily, as ominous shadows had appeared in the corners, boasting spindly hands.

  “What about Jade?” Jordan asked suddenly. He stopped stubbornly in the middle of the hallway. “I can’t leave without my sister. She might be on this floor.”

  Shanna nodded slowly. “All of our friends are probably on this floor. And some of them are in that cage and...and there are humans chained to tables. We can’t leave now. We have to help them.”

  Noel’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.” He turned to Damien. “They can’t be serious.”

  Sighing, Damien looked at Shanna. “I’m afraid they are.” He looked over at the staircase that led down to the second floor. “You realize you will most likely die if you stay to help these people.”

  Shanna looked over at Jordan, smiling. Just two days prior, she had been ready to throw her life away at Styx to similar words. It seemed that events were destined to repeat themselves here. Funny that she would be with Jordan once more at such a time. “We’ve beaten those odds once already.”

  Jordan returned her smile gratefully.

  “Then we shall fight at your side,” Damien conceded.

  “Are you mad?” Noel asked him. “You’re all mad! I’m with a bunch of madmen! Did you see that room we just left? We don’t have a prayer!”

  “A prayer wouldn’t have helped the likes of you anyhow,” Jordan told him. “But you don’t have to fight with us.”

  “I...” Noel looked at Jordan for a moment and sighed. “I want to. I need to.”

  Damien slapped him on the back. “Let’s give our brothers a run for their money, then.”

  Noel smirked, his eyes suddenly full of mischief. “Yes. That does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Let’s do this then.” He looked up the hall once more and saw the shadows shift menacingly. Time up. Five minutes had past and the game was about to commence. “Let’s do this now.”

  “I can’t believe what they were saying about hunter blood,” Jordan said as they slowly backtracked. “That there’s something special in it? It’s just…strange.”

  “It is,” Shanna agreed. “But I did wonder sometimes…my friend Kelly refused to see the truth when I was covered with demon blood. The authorities who found my parents basically ignored the…the evidence. I mean, I don’t feel special, but…I think Scarlet’s right. There is something there that allows for us to…be aware?”

  “Or to be stronger?” Damien mused.

  “But can a hunter be made?” Jordan wondered. “Like, if someone’s terrorized enough…or if the evidence is so overwhelmingly strong? It seems like it could happen. They would at least have to acknowledge it in the moment.”

  “But maybe they’d forget it later anyway,” Shanna suggested, “chalk it up to a hallucination, or like Scarlet said, imagine a mugger or something in its place? It’s such a foreign concept that-”

  “Shanna?”

  Shanna started at the whispered word and looked around her for a moment, before honing in on a face peeking out from a nearby door that was open but a few inches. She hesitated, but slowly moved forward until she realized who it was.

  “Becca!” she exclaimed, rushing to the door and throwing it open, the girl retreating a step or two. “I was wondering what happened to you. You weren’t with Valor and Felicia.”

  Nodding, Becca looked beyond Shanna to Damien and Noel. “I had to pee. I ducked into some bushes and I noticed some movement. I stayed. I…I hid, Shanna. I hid while those men raided the van.” She closed her eyes tightly and sighed.

  “It’s not your fault,” Jordan said gently, moving forward. “You probably would have just been captured along with them.”

  “I…suppose,” Becca agreed shyly. She turned to Shanna. “Why are you with vampires?”

  “Oh!” Shanna blinked and gestured toward the two men. “This is Damien and Noel. They’re helping us.” She smiled and shook her head. “It’s not as crazy as it sounds. I promise.”

  “Well…” Becca smiled sheepishly and nodded. “It was easy to get inside the back way, since Natalia took out the demons.”

  “Took them out?” Damien frowned.

  Shanna ignored the remark and continued to watch Becca. “You came to find us?”

  “And let you know what happened,” Becca explained. “Along the way, I ducked into this room to avoid a run-in with a few people who wheeled a cage by. And I kind of poked around and found something.”

  Jordan exchanged a look with Shanna and shrugged. “Well, let’s have a look, shall we?”

  They all filed into the room, carefully closing the door behind them. Noel stayed at the door to listen for possible intrusions as Becca led them to a big screen plasma TV against one wall. Beneath the TV was a DVD player with several DVDs scattered about.

  “I think they’re downloaded off of a computer or something,” Becca related as she put one DVD in. “They’re clips from, I assume, hidden video monitors.”

  The TV came to life to show them the hallway of a restaurant. Shanna could make out a “sponsored by the black flame” poster along the wall, behind a man who was smoking beside a trash can. He tapped the ashes into the garbage and yawned, showing off sharp canine teeth. A vampire.

  Suddenly, from the opposite end of the h
all, a figure appeared, all in black, and skulked along the walls toward the vampire. Within moments, a young man was seen burying a stake into the vampire’s chest with the confident strike of a mallet. Following the vampire’s swift transformation to ash, a close-up of the hunter was displayed with information about his habits and characteristics. The scene then displayed a ransacked room with the word “apprehended” splayed over it.

  “Clips,” Jordan breathed, “of hunters The Crimson Rope caught on video.” They watched another scene unfold of a girl beheading another vampire, after which was displayed her face and the words “$50,000 reward. Wanted alive.”

  “Very clever of Scarlet,” Damien muttered, switching DVDs. “Got right on top of this campaign, wouldn’t you say?”

  Shanna rifled through several of the DVDs, reading the words on the cases, names of towns, places, landmarks. Some were only dates, some had names. She looked over at Jordan when he hesitated, frowning down on a particular disc. She shuffled over to him and stared down at a date that was all too familiar with her. The night her world had turned upside-down, the night that Kelly had been killed. She swallowed hard as he placed the disc in Damien’s hands, who looked it over quickly before playing it with a backward glance in Shanna’s direction.

  The screen was dark for a long, torturous moment before it displayed the scene of a familiar club, lights bathing everything an eerie blood-red. A three-headed dog crashed through a deejay booth onto the dance floor…in front of Shanna herself.

  “It’s…it’s you,” Jordan shook his head incredulously.

  “I’ve seen it,” Shanna muttered, leaning forward to shut the DVD player off.

  “Seen it?” Jordan repeated, causing Shanna to pause, her finger an inch away from the power button.

  Shanna glanced over at him and felt her heart drop in her chest. Oops.

  Damien looked between them, a slow smile appearing over his lips.

  “You were marked?” Jordan asked. “You knew you were marked and you didn’t tell us?”

  Shanna opened her mouth and closed it. “I…I don’t know what to say, Jordan. Valor told me not to say anything.”

  Jordan watched her silently for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I suppose she would. Wouldn’t want to scare the rest of us off now, would she?” He sighed. “God. I mean, I knew it was going to happen to us. It did already, going into that vampire bar. No big deal. But…I don’t know. I just wish Valor would have said something at least. It’s more of a trust thing than anything. What the Hell else is she hiding from us?”

  “I’m really sorry,” Shanna muttered.

  Jordan shook his head. “Hey, you were following orders. Don’t sweat it. I’m angrier at Valor for keeping the lid on it than anything. But…promise me you’ll tell me these sorts of things from now on…whether you’re told to keep silent or not?”

  Shanna watched him for a moment and smiled. “I promise. And thanks for…not being angry with me.” She leaned forward and hugged him. “I was really worried about it. It was eating me up inside, keeping it to myself, that I could be putting you in danger.”

  “In danger? You kidding me? You heard Scarlet back there…danger’s in our blood.”

  Shanna laughed and looked over at Becca. “Are you…?”

  “Hey, I was marked a long time ago,” Becca said, holding up her hands. “Don’t worry about this piece.”

  “Oh,” Damien stiffened as the sound escaped him.

  Turning to him, Shanna saw his gaze fixed on the TV screen. She followed his line of vision along with the rest of them.

  At first, Shanna didn’t understand what she was seeing, but then she made out the late vampire Grant’s pompous grin as he shoved someone inside a room full of monitors. A man came forward and grabbed the girl by the arm, restraining her.

  “Kelly!” Shanna bellowed involuntarily, she was so shocked by her friend’s appearance.

  Jordan looked from her to the screen, pity glossing over his features.

  Shanna wasn’t sure she wanted to see Grant kill her best friend, but she forced herself to watch as Kelly was held fast, her head shoved aside roughly to expose her slender neck.

  She looks so scared, Shanna thought sadly. I’d give anything to have been there to stop it… My best friend…

  The tears spilled down Shanna’s cheeks before she could keep them in check, and a figure suddenly rose up before Kelly and bent over her neck. Kelly thrashed wildly for a few moments before her limbs slowed and she went limp altogether. In the shadows, it was a little hard to see, but Shanna was partly grateful for that small favor. She was about to turn from the screen, not ready to see her friend’s neck slashed open, when she noticed that something was wrong. Grant was off to the side, watching the scene unfold with unrestrained glee on his face. But he wasn’t killing her friend like he should have been.

  Shanna gasped as Kelly was shoved aside, to the floor like a piece of crumpled paper, scraps which Grant was eager to devour, to drink what remained of her friend’s life blood.

  And then the figure who’d killed her friend turned around and looked into the camera, as if she knew Shanna was watching. And then Scarlet Fever smiled.

 

  Chapter Twenty-Five

   

  “This is so lame,” Cheitan murmured as he strode into a lounging area with Rachel. “This is just the sort of thing my father loves. It’s so...primitive - don’t you think?”

  “Primitive’s one word for it.” Rachel murmured as she looked down at the tail her glamour had induced upon her. She sighed. “I have a dozen more.”

  Cheitan began packing a cigarette carton against the palm of his left hand as Rachel returned her attention to him. “You really don’t like your father, do you?”

  He glowered. “Let’s just say he would have eaten me if my mother hadn’t been nearly dead from giving birth. She happened to be weaker at the time. That’s all he sees: the weak and the strong. The powerful and the helpless. He thinks that because he pisses lava, he can piss over everyone else. He’s such an ass.”

  Rachel blinked. “I have issues with my parents too. Believe me.” Pausing, she sent him a sidelong glance. He really hated his father. She furrowed her brow. Did he…did he really, or was it just that note of rebellious contempt that every teenager held for their parents in one form or another? Could she take a chance here?

  Cheitan stopped packing his cigarettes. “Look, Rachel, I know something’s obviously going on here that you’re not telling me. I wish you’d…I mean, please trust me here. I can help if you want.” He hesitated and looked away. “Does…does this have to do with the hunters?”

  Biting her lower lip, Rachel yanked a silver necklace full of Celtic knots up over her head, out from under her glamour. She quickly wound it around her knuckles and swung her fist into Cheitan’s head as he turned around to look back at her.

  Cheitan didn’t even let out a cry as he fell to the ground with a timid thump.

  “I’m sorry,” Rachel said as she bent down and turned him over, making sure she could feel a solid heartbeat. She touched his chest and sighed. Rock hard. Why did he have to be a demon? Finding a faint heartbeat, she sat up and smiled down at him. “Forgive me, Cheitan, but…I can’t trust a demon so easily.” She stood and let out a shaky breath, guilt-stricken. Then she noticed the blood seeping from his forehead, bubbling up and over his red flesh, spilling onto the carpet. But it wasn’t normal blood. It was on fire. It was lava. A steady stream of it oozed onto the ground and ate at it until the carpeting fell away. A hole, still on fire along its perimeter, was left in its place as more blood slipped in through the hole. “Shit,” Rachel murmured, standing over the hole and looking down through it to the second floor. “Shit.” She looked up and suddenly gasped, but refrained from cussing again.

  One of the mora stared in at her dimly from the doorway, the one who’d demonstrated little restraint in the library. He sniffed the air crudely as the
black woman beside him smiled, placing a slim hand on her hip. Cheitan was hidden from view behind a couch, but he wouldn’t remain undiscovered for long.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” the black woman called out in a sing-song voice as they stepped into the room. She glanced at the mora, who nodded at her. Her grin deepened.

  “Oh, thank God you’re here,” Rachel spoke up suddenly. “Cheitan…I found him out cold. Who could have done such a thing?”

  The mora opened its fist in a quick flick, showcasing its tattered hands, missing its nails, blood still smeared upon them from the human it had overtaken in the library.

  “Yeah, didn’t think you’d buy it,” Rachel shrugged, pulling a small collapsible crossbow out from behind her back. She threw up her arm and shot a bolt into the light overhead. The bulb popped audibly and sent the other lights on the floor out almost instantaneously. Soft blue lights in the walls flashed on, but Rachel had already begun running toward the opposite side of the lounge and another exit, sneaking out under guise of chaos.

  ***

  “Well, that certainly doesn’t bode well,” Becca murmured as the lights snapped off and the emergency lights kicked in.

  Natalia, who had run into the girl after Shanna and the other three had moved on, frowned at the cell phone she was holding and quickly snapped the face plate back on. She clicked it on to make sure that it was still working. She got a dial tone. “We’ve nearly finished here. We should catch up to the others. Are you strong enough to proceed?”

  Nodding, Becca walked over to the door.

  “Wait,” Natalia ordered.

  Becca stepped back obediently as Natalia put her ear to the door. “What is it?”

  A finger loomed overhead, demanding silence as Natalia nodded toward the curtains that were pulled back from the windows.

  As stealthy as she was able, Becca skulked over to the curtains and drew one over herself.

  Natalia simply moved to stand behind the door as it opened a few seconds later.

  Something sighed from the hallway.

  “Yes, it does wreak of humans in here,” a familiar voice agreed. “Someone must be ordering food in.”

  Closing her eyes, Natalia sighed silently. Lupe. Of all creatures...

  “I smell one human in particular,” Lupe suddenly announced. “Natalia, Love, do come out and play, for old times’ sake.” She walked into the room a little ways with her companion. “You know I’ll find you anyways.”

  Natalia slammed the door shut and smiled at Lupe and the shadow that accompanied her, a shadow that had previously been attached to one of the mora, but was somehow animated of its own volition. She wondered vaguely if it was still being controlled by the mora when unattached, or if it was something of a zombie with limited intelligence, only stirring to carry out its master’s commands. Either way, it didn’t matter. It had to be incapacitated.

  Lupe sucked in a deep breath, as if savoring the air. “I’ve waited for this moment for so long. I’ve been so patient. Very unlike me, but you gave me little choice. You seem to be smoke and mirrors. A shadow. There was a time when I doubted that you even existed. Yet, here you stand.“ She cocked her head. “I’ve dreamed of bathing in your blood and tonight, I may just get my wish.”

  Natalia smirked. “You forget yourself easily.”

  “And you are as cocky as ever,” Lupe growled.

  The shadow sighed.

  “Yes, Love. Retrieve your sustenance.” Lupe seemed to brighten. “Natalia, you know, I am positively surprised by you. I thought good spies left all of their...liabilities... at home.” She looked beyond Natalia, where the shadow extended over the floor, spilling like oil toward the curtain covering Becca.

  “There’s no liability if there’s no threat,” Natalia informed her.

  Lupe smiled at this.

  “And you still talk too much,” Natalia said, kicking Lupe in the face.

  Licking the blood from the corner of her mouth, Lupe laughed. “And you’re still spunky. I like that.” She whipped out her hand and it was suddenly a black-nailed claw covered in brown fur. Her eyes became inhuman, yellow, as her ears began to lengthen, following suit.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Natalia saw the shadow timidly draw the curtain from Becca’s hiding place and grip the girl’s forearm. The exposed skin was instantly raw and red, as if she’d held an ice pack to it for too long. The hunter clenched her teeth.

  “Don’t let it touch you,” Natalia told Becca calmly, keeping her eyes on Lupe.

  Becca cried out and managed to break free of its hold.

  Natalia was relieved. She could focus on her current problem, as the transformation had progressed. Lupe’s entire body was suddenly covered in brown fur and slightly bulkier than before, her clothes ripped asunder and at her feet. The classic nose was now black and glistening atop a small muzzle, her sensuous mouth lying where it had previously, below the mound that was her nose, but furry and opened to reveal sharp, menacing teeth. Hair jutted out from her elbows and thickened the soft hair that trailed down her back. Despite all of this, she still managed to look beautiful. She looked as elegant and womanly as before, but in an alien, unfamiliar way. And Natalia knew that she was still intelligent, still cunning and wildly unpredictable, as loup-garous, unlike regular werewolves, were. And this one had a touch of insanity thrown in for good measure.

  “Care to dance?” Lupe purred.

  ***

  “Shit,” Jade cursed as the computer before her blinked off, then back on with the eerie emergency lights. “Shit, shit, shit. I was close to something big. Damn it.”

  “Settle down, “ Cameron said. “I think we’ve got bigger problems.”

  Jade nodded distractedly and began typing on the laptop keyboard furiously.

  “I think we should go,” Cameron suggested, grabbing the papers she’d printed and shoving them into a bag.

  “No, no. I think I remember how to get back to it.”

  Cameron looked around at the lights, the shadows they created. He began tapping his foot nervously.

  “Jesus, this is slow,” Jade muttered. “Load already.” She looked over at Cameron. “And stop tapping your foot. You’re making me nervous.”

  “Sorry.”

  There was a thud from outside the door. Cameron’s eyes widened.

  “Okay,” Jade said. “Got it. Hey, ever heard of a chimera?”

  The printer hummed.

  The door flew open.

  “Someone’s being very naughty,” a stern voice claimed.

  “Oh, God,” Cameron whispered. “Shanna. They must know we’re here. We have to help the others.”

  Jade snatched the last paper from the printer and tucked it into her pocket. She looked around wildly.

  “No need to worry about them,” a voice informed them from the doorway. “You only need concern yourself with me.”

  Jade turned to see a vampire nearly panting with glee and very pregnant-looking. “And the answers materialize.”

  “No answers, only death,” the vampire, Mary, promised.

  “We’ll see,” Jade stated boldly. She shifted her head toward Cameron as the woman walked halfway across the room. “Go. Help Shanna.”

  “Wh-what?” Cameron gasped.

  “Go. I got this.”

  Cameron hesitated, but nodded. He cautiously stepped around the vampire, who watched him with interest.

  A small knife suddenly caught Mary in the shoulder, thrown from Jade’s quick hand. The vampire shrieked, more out of surprise than pain, and pulled the knife out of her flesh quickly.

  While Mary had been distracted, Cameron had managed to slip out of the room. A fact that both women realized at the same time.

  Mary shrugged.

  Jade grinned. “Just us girls now, just the way I like it. No need to hold back.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Mary snarled, licking her lips.

  ***
/>
  Amelia stared out from under the table she’d sought refuge beneath. It appeared that everyone from the meeting had taken off to hunt the humans. Which suited Amelia just fine. She glanced warily out from the one-inch space she could see out from, and discovered one of the humans from the table’s arms lying limply over the side. It twitched every so often, letting her know that they were still alive. They wouldn’t be for long, however, if she didn’t act, expose herself to the room to get to them, whether everyone had left or not.

  Taking a deep breath, Amelia pushed away the chair in front of her and edged out, peering around her as she proceeded. The lights had gone off a few minutes earlier, but she’d had plenty of time to let her eyes adjust. She saw nothing in the darkness. That didn’t mean nothing was there.

  Closing her eyes, she let the air feel around her. Air was her chosen element, her chosen guide. It would reveal...

  The double doors at the head of the room slowly opened with an audible groan.

  Amelia ducked back down and pulled the chair before her. Then the wind brought a sound to her ear from the other side of the room. A very light sound. Water lazily lapping against the sides of a glass cell. The mermaid was still in the room. And so, presumably, were her fish-men guards. She would have to do something. She couldn’t sit and wait forever. Her best opportunity would be when few were around. Now.

  “I don’t see anyone,” a masculine voice announced from the doors.

  Amelia heard the doors shut soon after, and several sets of feet cautiously crossed the crimson carpeting.

  “First we free these people, then our friends,” Shanna’s voice whispered.

  “Then we find my sister,” Jordan added.

  Amelia felt relief wash over her. She pushed out her chair...then paused. The wind was telling her things again. They brought another sound to her ear. The slightest of rustles. The slightest pressure of previously occupied space filling with air, of free air parting.

  The others wouldn’t be able to hear such a noise.

  Drawing a deep breath, Amelia stood up quickly, startling Shanna, Jordan and their two vampire companions, who were nearly upon her. She let the air out of her lungs with a voluminous whoosh.

  Across the room, dark figures were shoved against the wall by an unseen force, by the air she’d exhaled. The blue lights overhead revealed them to be three of the mora. They looked more curious than angry or annoyed at their predicament. That made Amelia a little uncomfortable.

  “I assume this is a friend,” Damien questioned Shanna.

  Shanna nodded. “Hello, Amelia.”

  Amelia nodded back and told the air to disperse her glamour, which it obliged to do. She looked over at the cage that held her friends. She approached it slowly. The others followed her.

  “Where’s the key for the lock?” Shanna asked.

  Damien shrugged.

  “No idea,” Noel answered her.

  “We don’t need one,” Amelia said. She kneeled before the cage and blew into the lock. It fell limp and opened almost immediately.

  Suddenly, Amelia gasped and crumpled to the floor, in obvious pain, clasping her head.

  “A psychic attack,” Damien revealed.

  “Well, she was no fun,” a voice informed them.

  Damien sighed as they all turned to see Samantha and Tessa materialize from out of the darkness.

  “I like a fair fight,” Samantha said. “It makes life interesting, wouldn’t you agree?” She paused and narrowed her eyes. “I explained my terms to you. The humans’ lives are now forfeit. Even given the...circumstances.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that, Darling,” Scarlet Fever stepped out from behind the cage that held their friends captive. “Jordan was watching me all through the meeting. He must be the hunter who’s been asking so many perturbing questions about The Crimson Rope.”

  “That’s the least of your worries,” Jordan grumbled, with an anxious look over at Shanna, who’d stiffened at her appearance.

  Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “But then again, what good is information in the hands of a dead man?”

  “Enough squabbling,” Samantha snapped. She smiled and looked back at Tessa. “The sorceress?”

  “She was nearly at her limit when I stopped her, my liege.”

  “Then release her. This may have an interesting conclusion, after all.”

  Tessa nodded and stepped back into the shadows.

  Amelia was on her feet instantly, glaring at Samantha, sweat on her brow. Despite the pain she’d been in, she’d managed to keep the mora back, just not pinned. She knew she couldn’t keep it up forever though, so with a small nod to Shanna, she released her power over the air and the mora looked eager to engage the enemy. Scarlet looked just as ready to battle Jordan. Amelia, meanwhile, had her sights on Samantha herself. Even without much power left, she didn’t doubt she could take down the succubus. After all, she was a hunter first and foremost. And her blood sung for the fight.