The trio kept squabbling. Like siblings they mixed in playful banter and punching equally. Thomas had me and Kahina load into the back of his truck. Three wolves crowded into the front. Corey tried hitting Thomas hard enough to cause the truck to swerve into the other lane for a moment. Thankfully there was little traffic.
My mind was trying to figure out how to handle this mess. Too bad there wasn't a place I could safely leave her for an hour. Anything would be better than walking around with her body. I once saw a vampire security alarm company called Fangtastic Day Care. It was for the poorer would-be vampires. Success was not guaranteed.
Bickering from the front seat distracted me every time my thoughts came up with half a plan. It wasn't like I could ask the wolves to watch Kahina. Could I? Could they even be trusted for five minutes? Finding Shaggy shouldn't take that long if I had something of hers.
Maybe. Asking them would require a huge leap of trust. I pondered the risks of letting Daniel down versus entrusting anyone else with Kahina.
We swung by the bar and dropped off Stacy and Corey. They hopped out, still arguing, and left Thomas to finish driving me. Once they unloaded he yanked open a little window that divided the front cab and camper shell. This felt sort of familiar.
"Don't think this means we're buddies," He said.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I promised.
"I told the others, after..." He paused. "Kahina took care of the one who killed Julianne, maybe she wasn't so bad."
"Neither of us wanted it to happen." I wasn't going to say her name again. Not in front of Thomas anyway.
"It'd take a pretty fucked up individual to honestly wish death on another person," He said.
There was no good way for me to respond to that. In the last few days I had nearly doubled the number of people I murdered, justified or not. Not once had a feeling of guilt or remorse nagged at me. Putting Kahina in danger had established where my morals drew the line. I was willing to kill anyone, wolves, humans, or elves for her. Willing to give her up forever. Willing to do what it took to keep her spirit alive in that other realm.
"We're here. How long do you need?" Thomas pointed to a street sign.
"Not sure," I answered him.
The truck had stopped short of 9th and Svelte. We were parked on one side of the road. I peered out the tailgate and saw fresh skid marks from where a car had peeled out. They trailed off into an alley. That would be a good place to start.
"Well, Princess, I'm in for the long haul. I'll do what I can to help, pops will have to suck it up." There was something about Thomas that irritated me. It wasn't that he set off my trust alarms. Maybe it was the way he assumed everyone would accept his mocking tone of voice. Whatever it was had become easier to notice now that Corey and Stacy were gone.
I hopped out and left Kahina in the back. She was covered up so it wouldn't be obvious a body was laying there. Maybe Thomas could be convinced to keep her safe. Talking would be easier through the driver's side window anyway. He rolled it down for me.
"Just going to leave her?" Thomas frowned then smiled like the whole thing was a joke. The action reaffirmed my annoyance despite his willingness to help.
"Listen. The people that invaded your pack grounds, they're called the Order of Merlin. Julianne was shot with one of their guns."
"Okay..." His normally joking demeanor had shifted a little bit. Hopefully, he was taking this seriously.
"I don't know a lot, but they want Kahina dead," I said.
"Good enough reason to keep your ball and chain alive right, Princess?" Thomas nodded like the conclusion was easy. He didn’t understand how difficult the idea of trusting anyone with Kahina was right now. I had no other option, though, and there might be a number of dangers down the alley.
"Can you give me ten minutes?" I asked him.
"Sure. I'll go grab some food and circle the block a few times. Meet me back here when you're ready for a pickup. I'm sure Corey will report me if I stay down here much longer, though."
I looked at Thomas for a moment. It wouldn't be too hard to yank him out of the car and take the truck for my own use. Part of me honestly debated doing that and stashing Kahina inside an actual car or closet. There were no nearby super security vaults to my knowledge.
"Alright," I muttered. Kahina had said it, we needed to trust someone. Taking a chance and liking a person were completely different, though.
"See you in a bit. Good luck finding whoever it is." Thomas rolled the window up and shifted the truck back into gear.
All sorts of horrible thoughts passed through my brain as he left. Would he kidnap Kahina to exact his revenge? Would they hurt her? Kill her? Maybe Stacy and Corey had been dropped off earlier in order to round up additional pack members. Thomas could be driving off to an abandoned warehouse.
I closed my eyes and tracked Kahina. It was a relief when Thomas did indeed pull into the nearest drive through for food. My senses vibrated with the words passed between him and the fast food intercom.
Okay. Now it was time to find Shaggy, fast, and hope she was alright. She was a trooper and had taken on groups of attackers with a frightening calm. My money would be on her sitting calmly on a pile of dead bodies and then chewing me out for leaving Kahina in someone else's care.
At least that's what I thought until rounding the alley’s corner.
It was the vehicle Shaggy had been driving yesterday. Somehow she backed the car down the alley. Headlights had nearly expired and bullet holes could be seen in the windshield. Never mind that the windshield was near the entryway of the alley and the SUV was much further down. Shaggy must have kicked it out while driving backward, and possibly shooting at someone.
Daniel was right to be distressed. Especially if my guess was anywhere close to what had happened. If she was a Sector Agent, undercover, it wasn't beyond reason. Driving like that was an insane stunt. The television said it took timing and practice, but it required guts beyond what I had. Or lots of desperation.
Damage had been done to all sides of the stolen SUV. There were scrapes along the doors, unnatural dents and a busted bumper. A dead body sprawled through the window and across the passenger side desperately reaching. It was male. Blood pooled across the passenger seat. Not completely dried. Not fresh either. I scanned past the body looking for anything of Shaggy's that could be used to track her.
There was nothing apparent. No torn clothing. No favorite gun. Her PDA might have been useful too, Shaggy carried it everywhere for the last few months.
No, there was something in the man's hand. I leaned in closer to try and see what the object was. A golden cross. It was tiny and hard to pick out. Did this belong to Shaggy? Downright dirty to wear one while employed in a vampire household. He had died recently enough that his joints weren't all locked up and the cross came out easily.
What was rigor mortis at? Just under three hours depending on conditions? I think it was close to that. It was one of those odd facts that stuck from documentaries. Under three hours ago this man had died. That meant Shaggy could be holed up anywhere nearby. The cross had to be hers or there would be no way to find her. I closed my eyes and tried the connection.
Wood down the alley is rotten and weak. Dried blood litters the area. Recent, old, everywhere in between. I pull on the cord that connects somewhere. Fuzzy, hard to grasp, one layer over another layer. Brown over blonde. Dyed wool.
Pulls towards an apartment complex. Feel grainy stairs going up. Fresh blood stains travel downward. So do I. Bullet holes riddle the walls like open wounds.
Why did no one call the police about these gunshots? Was Daniel suppressing the report or Candy? The female elf had been watching over Shaggy.
I hustled to the doorway and down a flight of stairs. It was a basement level apartment, maintenance, plumbing, heating ducts, the whole works. It might even lead to an underground level that ran along the sewers. There were things like that all over the downtown areas.
Shaggy was down there somewhere, but my link didn't feel solid. The connection flickered in and out, alternating between active then nothing. Being unable to completely track her was a bad sign.
Twists and turns passed by. A slightly bloodily handprint here, a drying drop on the ground, damage on the walls from gunfire. Two bodies laid on the ground that must have been chasing her. Pools of liquid had formed recently. Neither body was moving even after I rolled them over with a foot.
There were further bodies scattered down the hall. All human so far. Probably Order members. The connection to Shaggy, when it worked, lead somewhere nearby. This latest room was mostly empty. A few boxes lined one wall, looking like printer paper that had been stored from an office upstairs. Chunks were missing from where bullets had torn into the reams. Heat absorbed by the paper poured across my senses.
"Shaggy?" I said to a still room.
The connection swam in and out of focus. She was close, yes, but barely alive.
"Ann?" I tried again. There was nothing behind the stack of boxes. Nothing in any part of the room. The door opposite where I came in led to nothing. Cubbyholes on either side of the room had no one in them. Even the caged area that probably passed for security in someone's world was empty.
"Hell, Shaggy. Daniel's going to kill me." I muttered while looking around. This whole search had me going in circles.
There was a brief reflection of light out of the corner of my eye. One moment Shaggy wasn't in the room, the next a very obvious body was huddled in a corner near the boxes. Her body lay still. I scrambled over.
"Ann, come on, I've got you." My senses gave me tiny snips of detail.
Little Hunter's pulse wavers. Thready. Each breath hitches. Clothes torn. Tender flesh lines her neck. She has tears. Killed those hunting her. Did well. I approve of her fangs.
Hands clench an empty gun. Her vest warps with dense patches. Little Hunter’s chest struggles to raise. One pocket heavier than the other. A phone.
I unfastened her vest and pulled out the PDA then hit speed dial twelve. Daniel answered before the phone even rang.
"Sweetie?" His voice was instantly choked up. I checked over his fiancée's body for wounds. Gunshots and one of the boxes had fallen over onto her during the fight. Her entire ribcage showed damage from where bullets had slammed into the vest. It wasn't deep, but the impact can't have helped.
"It's Jay," I said.
"Is she?" He couldn't finish the sentence. I ran my hand over Shaggy's head to try and feel for a lump, it came up wet with blood. The box had probably done more damage than the bullet.
"Alive? Barely." I took a lungful of air and tried to prepare Daniel for the worst. "I'm not sure how long she has." One moment she was there in my senses, the next she vanished then came staggering back.
"What? Jesus, man. No, no, no." I could hear him hold the phone tightly. "Listen, you can save her." Desperation lined his words.
"I'll get her to a hospital."
"No. No, no." He cut me off. "Right now, you can help her." A car door slammed on Daniel's side and the background noise quieted down considerably.
"What?" I didn't have the power to heal someone. If I had I would've used it to save Julianne.
"You can and you can save her. Man, you've got to try." He was muttering to himself. Trying to spark a foggy memory.
"How?" I asked.
"Blood." He snapped. "The answer's always been your blood."
"I don't understand, Crummy!"
"You used to but had to forget," Daniel said.
"What?!" This was absurd. My mind got stuck on the word forget. I couldn’t remember something? How the hell could anyone make me do that?
"Listen. Put some of her blood to your lips, and some of yours on her wound. Then command it to heal her."
"It won't work."
"It has to." He sounded even more desperate than before.
"It won't." I protested. The creature in the back of my head nagged at me. Saying that this was a bad idea. What had Evan said? Awareness was the key, being aware of what I could do would reveal what I was.
"If she dies, Jay, that'll be the end of it. I'll fucking reveal all the shit you've done. Your name will end up on every watch list across the globe. I will personally hand your name to the Order."
"Don't threaten me, Agent." That other voice took over in an instant and my words echoed throughout the room. Whatever it was that laid inside my body had given Daniel an order. That action took balls that I never noticed between my legs. Hell.
"I'm sorry, Jay. Just, please, please help her." Daniel's voice was broken.
That other voice responded again. Like before a portion of the words were censored. Some of the meaning bled through, though. It, that being inside of me, was telling Daniel to do something. Bargain?
"Of course. I know you don't remember why, but-" Daniel's words faded out again. Nothing made sense. The rest of the conversation shut off and the last idea I picked up was one of time. Like time was growing short.
The man on the phone. Deluded. Not a threat to me. Not now. No longer holds my life in his hands. His idea is still sound. Should interfere. Little Hunter is valuable. Helps keep Dangerous Mate alive. Owe compensation. Life for life. Will be pleased.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
I do what he says. This once. Take Little Hunter's blood. Taste it. Feel the differences between mine and hers. Roll it around. Thin, but stubborn.
Crack one hand against the wall. Skin barely healed, now broken open again. Smear the hand against Little Hunter's wound.
Remembering too much. Must forget what is happening.
Suddenly I blacked out. One moment Shaggy was unconscious, near death. When things came back together she was sitting up and slowly putting on her jacket. The sudden loss of time made me jump.
"You're okay?" I asked.
"I guess it wasn't that bad. I thought for sure that was the end." Her voice was rough and her skin showed bruises from where the vest had protected some of the damage.
"You were nearly dead."
"That potion you saved worked. News to me that elves could store their healing magic. I feel way better." She was standing and one hand rested on her gun.
"Yeah." I tried not to seem puzzled.
"Anyway, sir, if that wolf Thomas is able to give us a ride we should get going. We also need to make sure Lady Rhodes is alright." She said. Her words were slow but didn't overly slur.
Her phone was in my free hand and displaying the time. Ten minutes had passed without an ounce of consciousness from me.
Somewhere during my blackout the other presence in my head had explained about Thomas and our current situation. It had also come up with a clever lie about how I fixed her.
I waited for the other presence inside me to keep things moving. Another minute passed before it was obvious that I was in control again. It, the being, was sleeping somewhere in a dark corner of my mind. My head felt leaden, but that could have been the newest wound on top of all the others.
The first attempt at standing failed.
"Come on." Shaggy was exhausted, gun in one hand, and looking at me expectantly. If she could stand then so could I.
"Where do we go now?"
"To someone that can help."
Once both legs were firmly under me we started off down the hallways. It was slow going. The fresh damage to my hand had clotted, but anything more than that was a stretch. Moving it hurt.
"Did you call Daniel?"
"You heard me call him." Her eyes were red like she had been crying and barely managed to bottle it back up.
"Oh, right." During my blackout moment. "Still recovering." From everything.
"Did they get you too?"
My response started with a nod. I tried to explain what had happened at my abode. A lot of the details were left out or glossed over, because there was no way to explain them without sounding crazy. Little things like my strange sword and shield were left out. Some of the graphic details of decapitating humans to throw at the female wolf from Fifty Five were also skipped. Shaggy sounded happy that the mercenary pack had pulled out of the conflict.
"What's left?" She asked.
"Burnouts, and Order members. Though..." I eyed some of the dead bodies as we went down the hallway.
"Yeah. The paperwork will be hell after this assignment."
"I'm sure." I said.
"It's worth it, though. If she lives-" The woman’s head shook back and forth rapidly as it casting away some terrible idea.
"She will." Everyone seemed certain that the change itself wouldn't kill her. It was in their wording. "Who is this person that will help?" I shifted back to our earlier topic.
"A Sector asset. She handles some weird cases. Daniel said she was stationed close to you."
"Oh?" I tried to picture the people I knew. None of them were any stranger than the others. It felt like everyone around me had some sort of quirk or strange situation going on. I was willing to bet that even the drunk plaid wearing man back at Julianne's bar had a secret story.
"And Daniel didn't outright say it, but you're probably her weird case."
"You're odd yourself, Shaggy." I deflected.
There was a pause while she stopped and smiled. After a moment of quiet amusement and a short nod, she kept going. We exited the sub-basement and looked around.
Finding Thomas was easy and didn't require tracking Kahina. The connection was solid so she was still alive. The twenty minutes or so I left her in the wolf's care hadn't backfired on me. He was parked at the end of the alley and stood near the tailgate of his truck. The time we were apart had done wonders for him. Maybe it was the food.
"Thomas!" I shouted and jogged over. Shaggy moved a lot slower behind me. It was clear her body still hurt in a lot of places. Mine did too, but there was no way it would slow me down.
"Thanks," I said.
"Sure. Thought you died down there with the rest of them. The stink coming out of there is intense."
There was a rush of exhaustion that swept over me, signaling my abilities being overtaxed. Only a few hours and things were bad already. Even though my senses were still hypersensitive from whatever had happened with Shaggy.
Little Hunter releases the gun from its rough holster. Clicks off safety in same motion. Aims over Angry Wolf's shoulder. Feet rub against dirty asphalt. Twists around. Looks for something. Angry Wolf looks confused. Ears perk.
"I don't know." I turned around and looked at Shaggy.
"Something's wrong," She said.
Thomas sniffed a few times and turned his head to try and listen.
"That's odd," He said then looked up sharply.
Following his gaze didn't help as sudden fear overtook me. Like the screaming voices in that other place, only I was awake. Past the fear I could almost make out the shape of a man standing perfectly still on top of the building.
"Shades?" I nearly whimpered the word. The name didn't fit, not completely. That creature in the back of my mind had another name for them, but it was just out of reach.
Shaggy and Thomas weren't cringing like I was. This man wasn't the same as the things from my dreams. It wore pajamas and stood there as sunlight poured from behind him. Garbled screaming echoed down the alley bouncing off of walls, trash, and vehicles. A shadow hung unnaturally along the wall below him. The same red eyes peeked out at us from the depths of that shadow. Darker than black.
Not quite vampires.
"They're after Kahina." I tried to say.
Screaming echoed around the alley. I turned sharply and looked behind me. Another one stood at the far end. Shaggy pointed and fired, only her gun came up empty. She cursed and dove for the SUV she had been driving in.
"The Lady!" She yelled.
I had to move, but my legs felt leaden. Like walking through the dream landscape. Thomas had no such problems and ran for the truck. There was a click of noise as the creature from above us leapt down three floors into the alley. A snarl and hiss that was vampiric in semblance.
Thomas body checked one of the creatures that was reaching into the car. Two hundred pounds of wolf won out against the thinner frame. Shaggy limped by me firing bullets that caused my senses to ring. She turned and yelled something that I couldn't hear past the Shade's gibbering. Her hand motions obvious, demanding that I move.
I shook and tried to get to my feet. A pair of hands dug into my clothes and pulled. Shaggy fired over me and the bullets knocked me out of its grip. I turned onto my back and started kicking into the man's face. The Shade hiding in his shadow split with glowing redness where a mouth should be.
My foot slammed into shadowy face and the look changed to one of surprise followed by anger. The Shade tried to move and dodge but couldn't get far without the body casting it.
Thomas yelled something behind me. More bullets blazed across the distance. Shaggy was pulling at one of my arms trying to get me back to the car.
For just a moment, my vision slipped into that other world of pillars and flaming sun. Feeling it rather than seeing. Mentally I spun away on a thread connecting the vampire's body to the world where those shades lived.
Two columns stand in front. Short. My heart races from the terror. Their very nature destroys the calm.
Vision snapped back to reality. The man Shaggy had shot and I kicked was getting back up. She fired into a knee cap and limited its movement. I tried to pump my leaden legs to get away faster.
The twin pillars look down. No longer jester smiles. Now scowls peer towards me. Near the pillar’s base, in the deepest shadow, a creature of darkness rests. Small red orbs peering between slits in my direction. The other column houses a second creature. Feel it shift uncomfortably. Knows I see it here. Here and in the other world.
Will destroy it. Will fight. Arms feel heavy. This is not my world. Forced my way across the boundaries for Dangerous Mate.
I stretch my legs and stand tall. Reach the top of the pillar. Limbs balance against each other. Difficult motion. Forgotten motion. Limbs feel asleep.
Reality blinked back into existence. Thomas was still yelling and fighting. I heard the clang of metal on metal. The two-day walking vampires with shades in their shadows were moving. The one Shaggy had been shooting was crawling after us. I kicked in spastic jerks, but both legs felt useless. My body was trying to shut down on me during the middle of a battle. The last few days had placed repeated strain on my abilities and I would be lucky to survive.
I stand in the world of grey scale pillars. No strength to do more. Barely any strength to keep standing. Will fall down soon.
Must use that fall.
Fall towards pillars. Limbs spread wide. Catch both. Bring all weight to bare on the creature's hideaway. Fiery sky rages above. Nothing will protect it. Ash soon. Their red eyes widen. Both shades know death becomes.
Kahina was in danger. My eyes opened to the normal world. The screaming had gotten worse, inducing terror. I tried to ignore the fear and summon my strength to stand up. Both legs threatened to buckle, but I made it upright. Shaggy tucked under one shoulder and helped me along. My mind swam in between reality and the alternate world of pillars and flame.
Columns crumble. Fire and light pour across the pitiful creatures. Should not have attacked. Should not have threatened what is mine.
Behind us, the creature could be heard weakly scraping along. Vampiric healing would get him back on two feet soon. Thomas fought the other one. It looked like he had slammed the vampire, repeatedly, with a broken truck door. Wolves had the reactions but not the speed.
A second face existed in that one's shadow as well. Only this one was fading slowly. Almost in time with the pillar crumbling under my weight. Whatever was happening hurt me in real life as well. My chest felt the pressure of granite tearing it. Every moment was a triumph of courage over the strange fear.
Shades in the other world scream silently. Burn under the sky of fire. Ash flakes. Job done. Must rest.
Eyes returned to the normal world and things were strangely quiet. I turned to look at the attacking vampire behind us and noticed that pajama-clad figure was motionless. Exactly like a vampire should be during the day. The jeering face was gone from its shadow. Absurdly the vampire started flaking apart. Melting into ash from the sunlight and completely unaware.
Turning back to the car revealed that the second attacker was much the same. Transforming to ash and battered from where Thomas had beaten him with the truck door. The shade creature was absent and hopefully dead. It was so relieving that I closed my eyes for just a moment. Exhaustion made my body feel leaden. Nothing moved right. The energy use from my abilities demanded repayment.
I nearly missed a new person creeping into Thomas' blind spot. Shaggy didn't and yelled a warning while raising her gun. Almost absently I identified the new figure as Anthony. His face was no longer conflicted, muscles surged in perfect unison and brought a curved sword across.
Thomas could hear and react quickly, but his speed wasn’t fast enough. Anthony gutted him as the wolf turned around in surprise. Shaggy tried to fire her gun but couldn't get any solid shots. Bullets zoomed by in slow motion. Part of my mind could feel the trails they left while boring through air.
I tried to run for Anthony. The vampire looked at me. His expression lacked that normal smarmy presence. Whatever he saw wasn't worth pausing for long. When he turned away it became clear that I was harmless in his mind.
Hell. I would meld his face with the nearest wall and show the vampire how worthless I was. Neither leg responded correctly. Head met the dirty alley ground again. Even my neck barely reacted in time to look up at the day walking vampire. Anthony calmly strolled up to the back of Thomas' truck and pulled Kahina out. He didn't spare a glance in my direction and ran off with her over one shoulder. The blur of speed as Anthony vanished was maddening.
She was mine. Mine and none of my normal abilities were responding to the demands being issued. I could barely move, felt worn to the bone and on the verge of passing out.
Shaggy stood in the alley with a concerned look on her face, panting, both hands on the gun. She slowly traveled up to Thomas to check on him, then the two piles of ash that had been our attacking vampires. It was all I could do to watch the wolf press a hand to his wounded side. He frowned and studied his blood stained fingers.