by May Dawson
I headed toward the source of the strange sound. I had to go somewhere.
The sound led me through the forest to a hard, wide, black path. A road. The name followed for the path a few seconds too late. Constant noise rose and ebbed, coming with the cars that raced up and down the road. I knew what they were, but they still felt unfamiliar. Dangerous.
I glanced to both sides along the road. Maybe I should walk down it until I found…what? What was I even looking for?
No one ever found their path by standing still. I didn’t remember whoever said that to me, but I had a feeling I’d heard those words plenty of times. I started down the road. Where the hell could I go for help? What could I do?
My Converse sneakers rubbed my heels raw before the forest gave way to houses. Cars whizzed past me, and even though I walked in the grass on the side of the road, they made my heart beat fast when they came so close.
I was limping as I passed a building with several cars parked in front. Two men watched me from the front porch.
“Hey,” one of them called. “Where are you going, girl? It looks like your feet hurt.”
I didn’t know where I was going, but I didn’t like the way those men looked at me.
I ignored them, but from the corner of my eye, I saw the two of them exchange glances. Then the second man leaped over the porch railing and crossed toward me.
“Hey,” he said. His voice sounded gentler than the first man’s had. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. Never show weakness. There was that voice from the past again.
“You need a ride?”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” I’d been through worse things in my life than a few blisters. I didn’t know what. But getting into one of those cars with a strange male might lead to something worse than blood-stained sneakers.
“Call you a cab?” he asked.
Cab. Right. That was how people got around with no car of their own, if their destination was too far to walk. I’d forgotten they existed until I heard the word.
I hesitated. “Yes, that would be helpful.”
He nodded as he put his cell phone to his ear and took a step back, leading me toward the bar. “Have a drink with me while you wait?”
He wasn’t much taller than I was, and his frame looked weak, his shoulders slumped in his white t-shirt. I had a feeling I could kill him if I had to. I just needed to be cautious; any warrior can die if their guard slips or their luck runs out, no matter how weak their opponent.
“Sure,” I said.
My shoes crunched across the gritty parking lot. I followed him up the stairs, passing a few peeling rocking chairs and a tin can full of cigarette butts.
He pushed the door open with his back, then stopped, holding it open for me. I made sure I didn’t touch him as I walked in.
Faces in the dimly lit bar turned toward me. The scent of stale beer rose to my nostrils, along with a whiff of the man beside me. I’d expected him to smell bad, because his shirt was yellowed at the armpits and his dark hair was greasy, but he smelled like something both pungent and clean. Bleach.
I followed him to a table where his friend was already waiting.
“Cab should be here in about fifteen,” the first guy said, slipping his cell phone into his pocket before he held out his hand. “I’m Steve.”
I didn’t like touching people—how did strangers touching each other ever become the normal person thing to do? But I committed, offering him a grin as I shook his hand. “Alisa.”
“And I’m Roger,” the other guy said. He was bigger than Steve, wearing a flannel shirt and a trucker hat pulled down low; escaping brown hair curled around his ears.
“Nice to meet you both,” I said. One of them signaled for the waitress, who came over glancing at me skeptically. “Water, please.”
Neither of them complained I wasn’t drinking, so that was a point in their favor. My throat was dry from the long walk.
How the hell had I ended up in the middle of the woods? With no memories?
Did I have a home? A car of my own?
A last name?
The two of them were staring at me, and I knew I’d better let go of my questions about the past for now. Staying alive in the present kept me busy enough.
That note had warned me I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t think I’d suddenly found some.
I drank my water. The men asked me a lot of questions about my life that I didn’t answer. I couldn’t answer them, but let’s be honest, I wouldn’t have told them even if I could.
When Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee weren’t distracting me, I looked around the bar curiously, taking in the bartender that leaned on the bartop to gossip with a cute young blond guy, and a couple of tables of aging good old boys who kept the noise level elevated.
An older woman was drinking by herself at one end of the bar. She slowly sipped a glass of wine. Her posture was perfect and dignified, and even though her hair was gray-streaked in a ponytail, her jeans and halter top clung to her fit frame. One of the good old boys swaggered over and tried to buy her a drink, and from what I overheard, she very politely told him to fuck off.
Okay, okay, she said she was waiting for her boyfriend. But it was obvious what she meant.
It was an interesting cast of characters. I drained the last of my water and set it on the table just as Steven’s phone buzzed against the table. “There’s your ride,” he said, holding up the cell.
“Thanks.” Then I lied, “It was nice meeting you both.”
Out in the parking lot, a yellow cab was idling. The car looked like it had been through a lot; mud was splattered all across the back of the car, obscuring the license plate.
Steve opened the door for me, which was a little more gallant than I needed, and I slid across the ripped black vinyl of the back seat.
“Where to, little lady?” The driver asked. He might have been looking at me in the rearview mirror, but he was wearing sunglasses and a hat and I couldn’t see much of his face.
The passenger door opened just as Steve slid in beside me. I slid over, glimpsing Roger settling into the passenger seat, then I kept moving. Instinct took over. I grabbed the handle and tried to open the door, but the door was locked. I yanked harder on the handle as I heard the doors slamming shut on the passenger side.
“Changed my mind,” I said, trying to stay calm. I’d ask them nicely…once. “I’d like to get out here.”
“Oh, you’re going to have to pay the fare, little lady,” the driver said with a smile. The car was already rolling, and he turned onto the road.
Steve laughed.
I rolled with my back against the window and kicked Steve hard in the chest. He slammed into the window.
Steve wasn’t laughing anymore. I kicked him in the face, my heel catching his nose, which spurted blood. I was already moving, getting my arm around the driver’s neck. I yanked him hard against the headrest as he made a choked, shocked noise.
“You’re going to want to open that door before I lose my sense of humor,” I warned him.
The passenger window exploded open. Steve looked at me with wide, blank eyes. Then he slumped toward me, red suddenly blossoming across his t-shirt like a flower unfurling. Roger let out a strangled scream just before the second sound of a gunshot went off. His blood splattered across the car.
The older woman from the bar gripped her gun in one hand, and she made a hurry-up gesture at the driver. “I think the girl told you she’d like to get out,” she said, her voice courteous.
The driver fumbled frantically with the locks. They popped open. I couldn’t get out of that bloodied car, full of glass shards and bodies, fast enough.
“Five girls,” she said, her voice calm but loud in the quiet air. “She would have been the sixth you stole the life from, wouldn’t she? I usually hunt real monsters, but you certainly did your best to give the monsters a run for their money.”
I knew she was going to pull the trigger. T
he roar of the gunshot was no surprise.
She wiped the gun down and tossed it into the car with them. “You’ve got some moves, honey. But it’s time to get out of here.”
I stared at her. “I think I’d rather go with you, actually.”
She scoffed.
“You said you hunt monsters, right?” I said. “I’m great with a sword.”
“Why bother being great with a sword when we have guns?” she asked.
A long, sleek black car pulled up just then. I tensed, but she just raised her hand in a wave. “If I were you, I’d get out of here. People don’t call the cops for gunfire out in the country, but sooner or later, someone’s going to notice the car full of corpses.”
The driver’s side door opened, and a tall, good looking guy unfolded from the driver’s seat. “Hey,” he said, in a rough, sexy voice. “You all right?”
She shot him a look. “First of all, you are so late. Second of all, please don’t hit on the victim.”
“I’m not a victim,” I promised her.
She swung into the passenger seat. He shrugged at me—he didn’t look sorry—then ducked back into the driver’s seat.
I dove for the back door to their car. I managed to get the door open and slid into the leather interior.
She twisted in her seat and gave me an exasperated look. “You just watched me shoot three people and I can guarantee you, I didn’t have any heartache about it. Why the hell would you invite yourself into my car?”
I flashed her a smile. “I just want to be friends. We should get out of here before the cops show up.”
Fuck whoever left me that note. I could make friends.
For some reason, I wanted to know this icy-eyed old woman with steady hands.
She gave me a look, then said, “Drive, Carter.”
He grinned as he pressed down on the accelerator pedal. “Come on, Elly. You’re always recruiting.”
“Not like this,” she told him sharply. Then she said to me, “We’ll drop you off somewhere safe. Where were you trying to go?”
I took a deep breath.
This time, I’d have to tell the truth.
“I don’t know.”
Chapter One
Alisa
I was having a perfectly lovely morning, chasing down a vampire, until the damned strange male ruined everything.
“Excuse me, coming through!” I called as I pushed through the morning commuter crowd heading into the D.C. metro, trying to keep my gaze on the vamp racing ahead.
Some people parted to let him through, but no one answered me with anything but a glare. Sexism. That’s what that was. I hoped they got bitten.
I chased him down the street and into an alleyway, where he finally turned to face me. He’d greased his jet-black hair back, as if he’d watched too many movies before he’d been turned, and now he was trying to live up to the stereotype of a vampire.
His lip peeled back in contempt when he looked me over, and I grinned back at him. That’s right, you sentient stiff tube sock; only one of us is walking out of this alley.
It was a hot summer day already, even though the sun hadn’t been up long. The alley stunk of wet cardboard, piss and the coppery tang of blood coming from the vamp.
He licked his lips as he took a step toward me, those dark eyes gleaming. “Aren’t you the hero? I hope you already had your coffee, so I can get my caffeine buzz and my iron all in one.”
“No coffee yet. I’m pretty sure I’m still drunk from last night.” I flashed him a smile.
He grinned. “You’ve got a death wish, little girl.”
“Not exactly.” I disagreed.
I only had a fraction of a death wish.
I had a lot more of a killing wish.
I reached back and gripped my sword’s hilt, drawing it over my shoulder in one smooth motion.
“This is usually the part where your kind run,” I said.
“This is usually the part where my kind dine,” he corrected.
There was the crunch of a footfall close behind me.
“Trap?” I cocked an eyebrow at him.
His grin widened. “Trap.”
“I’m glad you finally realized it,” I said.
I whirled, my blade a flash of silver arching through the air. There were two vampires behind me, and my sword sliced deep through the neck of the first one. Almost all the way. Fuck. A smooth vamp beheading was a matter of pride to me, but everyone has an off day sometimes.
My head reeled as I spun. Should’ve taken it easy at the bar last night, Alisa.
And by last night, I meant three hours ago. Elly was going to kill me if she heard about this. But once I saw the vamp, what was I supposed to do? Walk away? We’d been trying to track this ugly monster for weeks.
I ducked as the second vampire sprang at me, throwing up one arm defensively as I tried to jerk my sword free. He slammed into me, but my sword pulled loose just before he managed to propel us both into the opposing brick wall. My head and shoulder drove into the brick, leaving a jolt of pain in their wake.
We were too close now for a good sword blow, and I grabbed for the knife on my belt.
The vamp got an arm across my chest to pin me and reared back. His eyes dilated as his fangs ripped through his gums. The effect was always gruesome, and I winced as flecks of spit and blood splattered across my face.
“Should’ve brought a better weapon than some big ol’ yellow teeth,” I said, just before I slammed my dagger into his guts.
He fell to his knees in front of me, his eyes wide with shock.
I kicked him in the chest, knocking him backward on his ass before he sprawled out across the ground. There was no one else in the alley. My biggest prey had run.
I cursed as I flipped my sword around in my hand, preparing my grip. I ran my knife across the thigh of my jeans, cleaning his blood off the blade, before I slipped it back into the sheath.
Wrapping both hands around the hilt of my sword, I cleaved it down at his throat, striking his head from his body. This time, the sword sliced cleanly through and the blade struck the cement beneath. Blood splattered across my sneakers.
That was why I always wore black. That, and Elly always told me black is classy and sophisticated.
Lord knew I could use any help I could get with being classy and sophisticated.
My skin prickled down my neck. Someone was watching me. I kept my grip tight on my sword.
When I looked up, my prey was dangling from the top of the brick building. His wind-milling legs slammed frantically into the brick wall over and over.
A dark-haired man gripped the collar of the vampire who’d escaped me. He crouched easily at the edge of the roof, his face relaxed as he dangled my vampire from five stories up. The vamp bucked hard to escape his grip, despite the distance between him and the concrete.
“Did you lose something?” he called. Even at a distance, he sounded mocking.
“I was about to hunt him down again.” What the hell was he? No human would be that comfortable on the edge of a roof like that, gripping a kicking burden. For some reason, the vampire wasn’t screaming. “But thanks for the help?”
“No problem. Want me to toss him down?”
“Sure.”
The vampire didn’t scream as he plummeted to the ground. The fall wouldn’t kill something like him, but both his legs shattered when he landed.
I studied the fallen vampire. He couldn’t seem to open his mouth to scream, even though his eyes were wide with desperation.
“You look as scared as your victims must have felt,” I told him.
I don’t love vampires on a good day, but ones like this? Who preyed exclusively on kids? When I was tracking him, I’d found one of the bodies, twisted and broken and so goddamn small it would haunt me at night.
I’d make this vamp’s death slow, if I were inclined to be inefficient.
But it was his lucky day; I never wasted my time. There were always more monsters to kill
.
I whirled with the sword and cleaved his head from his shoulders. The head bounced across the pavement.
The man on the rooftop started to clap slowly.
I looked back up at him. He stood comfortably at the edge of the rooftop, his toes hanging over the side as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
He stopped clapping and put his hands in his pockets. Just the way he stood suggested he was an arrogant bastard, with his broad shoulders and tall, powerfully muscled frame.
“Who are you?” I shouted. We could start there, even though I was also very curious about my follow-on question, which was a toss-up between what the hell do you want and why the hell are you talking to me?
“Duncan.” There was an edge in his voice, as if I were a bit stupid.
Had I met this clown before? I was losing sight of him in the glare of the morning sun, so I cupped my hand over my eyes. I groaned at the light. Maybe I was crossing from drunk to hungover rather rapidly.
Police sirens blared in the distance.
He lifted his hand, beckoning me onto the rooftop, and I stared at him like he was a lunatic. No one beckoned me anywhere. He said, “Let’s take this conversation somewhere that your arrest isn’t imminent.”
“I don’t know that I want to talk to you.” But curiosity had driven me for the past five years; first I’d been desperate to understand where I’d come from, and then I’d thrown myself into making sense of a world I didn’t remember. I sheathed my sword.
“You do,” he said. “I know you, Alisa.”
Did he know me or know me? Did Duncan know the old Alisa, the one I didn’t?
I’d tried to let go of my need to make sense of my past. The depth of my need to understand who I was, where I’d come from, felt dangerous. In so many ways, I was reckless with my life, but I needed to be careful with this random man who was trying to entice me into…something.
I backed across the alley, gauging the distance to the bottom of the fire ladder mounted on the building where he stood. I took a deep breath and exhaled.
Then I raced as fast I could, jumping against the brick wall, before propelling myself toward the bottom of the ladder. I caught it with both hands and swung myself up, then climbed quickly until I reached the rooftop.