by Kody Boye
Jackson rises just in time for the door to open, and Zachariah to step in.
“Oaklynn,” Mister Meadows says, “Jackson. I’d like you to meet the agents who will be helping investigate the threat.”
The Asian man appears first. Tall, light-skinned, and with stark black irises, he narrows his eyes behind a pair of transparent eyeglass frames and nods at the two of us.
“My name is Shadow,” the Asian man says, then steps aside to introduce his companion. “And this is Scarlet Jane. Your Hunter.”
Jackson gawks openly.
“Told ya,” I say.
The young black woman smirks and says, “If only I had a dollar for every time someone looked at me like that.”
“Suh-Sorry,” Jackson manages. “I… I didn’t mean—“
Scarlet shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. An unassuming Hunter is a better Hunter.”
“Scarlet and Shadow are here to investigate what the Agency is calling an exposure event.”
“An exposure event?” I ask, turning my head to face the young black woman. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” the tall Asian man says, “that we must track down, isolate, and interrogate the individual responsible for discovering your identity. Then we will wipe his memories and be done with this.”
“Are you… a… well…” I pause. “A magical being?”
“I am a Wiper—someone who is capable of making memories disappear.”
“He can also tamper with electronics simply by being near them,” Scarlet adds. “That way if he took pictures or video, he can destroy them without thinking twice.”
“I see,” I say, and turn my head back to Jackson, who has simply started to frown.
“I mean… I know you just got here and all,” Jackson begins, “but do you have any idea where you might start?”
“Shadow will be the one to listen to the thoughts of those around us,” Scarlet begins. “He is better suited to the sleuthing that must be done. I, meanwhile, am better equipped to fight off any threats that may be present.”
“Do you… know how to use a gun?” I ask.
“Scarlet is trained to fight with all manners of weapons and in hand-to-hand combat,” Zachariah Meadows says. “She will protect those of us who have potentially been exposed.”
“But… they don’t know if we have,” I say, “do they?”
Scarlet shakes her head. “Unfortunately, we do not.”
“Which is always a problem when it comes to accidental exposure events,” Shadow then explains. “It’s like someone witnessing a Sanguine feeding, or a Banshee materializing in an old building, or a Howler—“
“Howler?” Jackson frowns.
“—a werewolf in mid-transformation,” Shadow continues. “These type of events are classified as ‘accidental exposures.’ If we are able to track them down before news of them spread, we can usually eliminate the event in the individual’s brain entirely. Otherwise, we are able to sow discord among those who have known by altering the person’s experience of what he or she saw.”
“Makes sense.”
I offer a slow but hesitant nod.
Scarlet nods in response and says, “I’ll be communicating with my partner here via an encrypted cell phone line. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“But first,” Shadow says, “I need to know the name of the individual who is likely to have been in contact with whomever discovered you.”
“You mean Paxton Wells?” I frown.
“We were briefed,” Scarlet says.
“I’ll act as an agent to you and your parents,” Shadow says, “and say that you dispatched me to collect your father’s belongings and last paycheck.”
“Okay,” I say, and sigh before crossing my arms over my chest.
Scarlet’s eyes—though hard as diamonds—seem to soften as she looks at me. She holds my gaze only for a moment before saying, “I’ll be in the RV if you need me.”
“And I will head into town,” Shadow says.
The two of them turn and depart out the front door.
“You really think this will work?” Jackson asks as Scarlet and Shadow make their way to the RV.
“It has to,” Zachariah offers. “They’re our last hope for keeping our clan safe.”
A nod is all Jackson and I can offer.
Though there is no telling what will happen in the next few hours, one thing is for certain:
We at least have professionals on the case.
Chapter Fifteen
A part of me is tempted to sit in my room and wait for something to happen. That seems to be the most plausible, and necessary, option, considering I cannot leave the Meadows family home without risking my safety. However—the more I sit here, in the living room, staring blankly at a reality television screen, the more I feel a need to go speak to the Hunter who came all the way from Louisiana to help us.
To help me.
Was it something in her eyes, I think, that made me feel this way? Or was it something else?
The woman named Scarlet Jane had considered me finely, and with eyes cautious and doubtful. But just because she seemed to be able to peer into my soul doesn’t mean that she could.
But you don’t know that for certain, a part of me says.
Of course I don’t. I’ve just had the rug pulled out from under me once again, and am now at the mercy of my cruel and undeniable emotions.
As I listen to the sound of Jackson’s video game system stream down from his room, and hear through the walls Mister Meadows’ breathing, I find myself at more of a loss than I have been since this whole thing began.
Which is why I rise and make my way toward the door.
It would seem as though Jackson had heard me, because no sooner have I undone the lock and bolt does he step into the hallway. “Going somewhere?” he asks.
“To the Hunter’s RV,” I reply. “I… I want to talk to her.”
“About what?” Jackson asks.
“About… about what’s happened in my life.”
He frowns. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Isn’t she… yannow… busy?”
“I think she’ll spare a moment for someone like me,” I reply.
“Whatever you say,” Jackson replies, then slips back into his room.
With a sigh, I slip out the front door and begin to cross the street.
Halfway there, I stop.
Eyes, I think.
But where are they peering from?
I look around—first once, then twice, up the road and then down, behind me and then toward the copse of trees in front. When I inhale a deep breath of air and can find nothing to indicate that anything human is around, I lift my eyes to look into the RV—
And see Scarlet Jane looking back at me.
She lifts a hand and beckons me forward with two fingers; and I, so dumbstruck that I’ve been caught out in the open, can only nod and do as asked.
I have just approached the sleek motorized home when the door opens, and the woman says, “Come in.”
I step inside, careful to pull the door shut behind me, and ascend into the spacious vehicle, which is twice the size of Bernard’s, and accented with cream-colored furniture.
“Is this… where you live?” I ask, a bit dumbfounded at how large it is.
“When on missions,” the woman replies, a bit abruptly at that. “Can I do something for you, honey?”
“I—“ I say, then trail off when I find the courage seeping from my veins, and evaporating into the air in front of me.
Scarlet reaches up to push a strand of lengthening baby hair from her temple and considers me with her dark eyes.
“I just… wanted to know why you’re here,” I say. “And why you were the one who came.”
“You expected someone else,” she offers. “Someone who fit the character of a Hunter more than I did.”
“Yeah. Some… something like that
.”
“The other Hunter who operates in these jurisdictions is on leave at the moment,” Scarlet says. “Which means I’m the one who gets to pick up whatever is happening in my territory.”
“You mean, here in Texas?”
“Texas and Louisiana,” Scarlet replies with a nod.
“How… how long have you been a Hunter?”
“Nearly thirty years now.”
I scoff.
Scarlet raises a single brow.
I say, “That’s impossible.”
And Scarlet asks, “Why?”
“You don’t look a day over twenty-five.”
“Oh. That.” She smiles for the first time since I’ve met her. “I’d give credit to my mother’s genetics, but my appearance is the result of a serum that gave me the powers I have at present.”
“Which are?”
“Heightened strength. Amplified senses. The ability to keep from being infected by werewolf or vampire or Kaldr DNA.”
“Kaldr?”
“Ice people. They’re more like vampires than you’re used to seeing.”
“I… I see.”
Scarlet turns to look at the cell phone that has been placed on the passenger’s-side seat and says, “I’m sure this whole there’s more to life than wolf Shifters thing is new to you, but I need you to remember that things are going to work out. They always do, one way or another.”
“I… I guess,” I reply, a bit morosely at that.
Scarlet lifts her eyes to the scarred land at our side. “That was your home… wasn’t it?”
“Yes ma’am. It is. Was. Before… before the fire.”
“I’m sorry,” she replies. “I lost my mother, too, when I was around your age. A damn Sanguine drunk for blood broke into the home I grew up in and killed her.”
“I’m sorry,” I reply.
“You don’t have to be sorry. What’s happened happened. What hasn’t is what I’m striving to prevent.”
“Do you ever get over it?” I ask. “I mean… the grief of not being able to do anything?”
“It eventually gets easier,” Scarlet says, “but you never get completely over it. Getting over grief is like asking you to completely heal from a traumatic injury. You’ll scar, yeah, and you might eventually not feel pain, but a part of you has been damaged. You can never take that back.”
“I… I guess,” I say.
Scarlet turns her head to look at me once more. “I know you’re hurting,” she says. “And I know, if I could’ve killed every damn vampire in existence at that point in my life, that I would’ve, too. But I want you to remember that your actions have consequences. You cannot afford to lose control again. Understand?”
“I—“ I start, then stop and frown before saying, “I understand.”
“Good.” Scarlet picks up her phone.
“Has something happened?” I ask.
“I’m… not sure,” Scarlet replies, narrowing her eyes at the touchscreen device. “Let me check in with him.”
I take a step back to give her her space.
“Shadow?” she asks as she lifts the phone to her ear. “Yeah. I’m here. What’s going on? Okay… okay… yeah, she’s still here. She’s safe with me. Why? What’re you—“
The sound of something impacting with, then shattering the glass at our side enters our ears.
Scarlet swears.
I scream.
Adrenaline courses through my veins.
Jackson calls, “What the hell just happened?”
And Scarlet yells, “Get down!”
Chapter Sixteen
The Hunter bursts into action almost immediately. Body moving, arm swinging, she pushes me back to the floor with one hand and draws a gun from the other before saying, “Come out, coward!”
A second shot is fired, causing the opposite windowpane to explode upon impact.
“Who is shooting at us!” I reply.
“I don’t know,” Scarlet replies. “Shadow! Shadow! Are you still there?”
“I—“ I hear a voice come through the phone. “I’m—“
A third shot is fired.
The sound of Bernard’s RV revving to life enters our ears.
Scarlet asks, “What the hell is that man doing?”
And I, so scared out of my mind that I can barely think, crane my head up just in time to see Bernard’s RV slam into reverse. “He’s moving the RV,” I say.
“Why?” Scarlet growls.
“I don’t—“
A trail of black mist appears at my side. Shortly thereafter, it explodes in a cloud of dust, revealing Shadow, a gun in his hand. He fires several shots out the window in rapid succession before he bursts into a cloud of vapor once more.
“How did he do that?” I ask.
“Don’t ask,” Scarlet replies. “Just stay down!”
I do as asked and lower my head as Scarlet rises and aims her gun out the window.
A short moment later, the sound of a gun firing, then of someone crying out enters my ears.
Within moments, Scarlet is saying, “He has him.”
We stand in the secret room under the Meadows family living room. Shadow on one side of my assailant, Scarlet on the other, we watch and wait for the interrogation to begin.
“Do you know him?” Jackson whispers as Scarlet steps forward.
“No,” I reply. “I don’t.”
The man—who, though blindfolded, is nondescript in that he resembles anyone you could pass on the street—coughs and turns his head to spit blood out of his swollen mouth. “The hell is going on?” he croaks.
“You know what’s going on,” Scarlet replies.
“Who the hell are you?”
“That’s none of your concern.” She steps forward and rams her fingers through the man’s hair. She then jerks his head back and leans close before saying, “You’re going to tell me everything you know. If you do, you’ll get out of here with little more than a hangover. But if you don’t…”
Scarlet lifts her eyes.
“Shadow?” she asks.
“Yes?” he replies.
“Is it there?”
“Is what there?” the assailant asks.
Shadow opens a box and withdraws a drill from within it.
“Woah woah,” Jackson says, lifting his eyes a sip to stop Shadow from advancing. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna torture him?”
“Torture?” Scarlet laughs. “That’s putting it lightly.”
“What in the—“ the assailant starts.
Scarlet slaps the man across the face with enough force to turn his head. “Shut up,” she says, then spins to point at Jackson. “And you: keep your mouth shut.”
Jackson moves to argue.
I take hold of his hand to stop him.
The Hunter returns her gaze to the bound man and says, in a slow and chilling voice, “Now listen to me, because I’m not going to say this twice: you’re going to tell me who knows what you do, and what they plan on doing about it. If you don’t tell me, I’m going to take this drill—“
Shadow applies pressure to the drill’s trigger to spur it to life.
“—and shove it into your eardrum. It will be an excruciating pain, because it won’t pass through your skull at first. It’ll burst your eardrum, then go into your head, before entering your brain.”
“Okay! Okay!” the man cries. “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Just please—don’t hurt me.”
Scarlet nods.
Shadow stops the drill.
The woman turns her head back to the man and says, “How many are you?”
“There’s six of us—seven and eight if you count the bastard and his stupid wife.”
“Which bastard are you referring to?”
“Is it—“ I start to mumble.
“Paxton Wells!” the man says, physically trembling under Scarlet Jane’s scrutiny. “It was him who went to the Lillock Brotherhood after he saw her change.”
“Wait. Paxton Wells saw
me change?”
Scarlet growls.
Shadow waves a hand over the man’s head.
The man shudders violently for a moment before shaking his head to and fro and asking, “Where am I? And—what the hell? Why am I blindfolded?”
“You need to learn to keep quiet,” Scarlet says, turning her eyes to face me.
“Who is that? Who’s done this? I swear to God if you don’t let me go, I’m gonna—“
Shadow waves his hand over the man’s head once more. This time, however, he shudders, then goes limp in the chair.
I swallow. “Is he… dead?”
“He’s not dead,” Shadow replies. “Just sleeping is all.”
“We’re going to haul him out of here,” Scarlet says, “and dump him in the woods outside of the area known as Wolf Creek. We’ll put the taste of alcohol on his mouth and make him believe he drank one too many while out investigating this wolf encounter. He won’t even remember he was trying to kill you.”
“Was that what he was trying to do?” I ask.
Scarlet blinks. “You don’t think he was shooting at me, do you?”
“I—“
“The trajectory of the bullet indicated that he was aiming at you. But since he’s a stupid idiot who doesn’t know how to use a rifle, he missed. Be thankful that he did.”
I nod, and draw back a step before turning to look at the others, who merely nod and watch as Scarlet and Shadow move to dismantle the man’s bonds.
“What should we do now?” Zachariah asks, speaking up for the first time since this whole thing began.
“You’ll stay here,” Scarlet replies, “and wait for me to offer you further information. I don’t like the idea of the Brotherhood being involved in this.”
“Who are they?” I frown.
Scarlet sighs, and says, “I’ll tell you later.” Then she hoists one of the man’s arms under her body and drags him upright. “Shadow, if you would.”
“Yes, Scarlet,” the Wiper says.
The two disappear up the flight of stairs before any of us can question them further.
With a frown, I cross my arms over my chest, then turn my head to consider the plastic zip ties lying on the floor.
To think that I could’ve been shot, I muse, then shiver and brush my hands along my arms.
