The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

  “My turn.” Amun was in my head again. I spun around to see him smiling. He was having fun with this! I had just enough time to grab the steering wheel before he was out of the seat. As quickly as I could I scrabbled into the driver’s seat. On a normal occasion, I’d say I moved damn well, but after watching Amun materialize there a few moments ago, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. In the rearview, I saw Amun crouching on the rear deck of the car. He was only watching, as the truck got further away. Then, in a superman like leap he was off our car and through the windshield of the SUV.

  I was still attached to his mind. I could feel the fear in the driver. The sensation was beyond a feeling; I could taste it. Through Amun’s mind I could hear his heart racing trying to grasp what the hell was going on. A small part of me felt badly for the guy. A small part, definitely not enough to stop his now sealed fate. I could feel Amun’s teeth sink into the side of his neck. The bitter, metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. The thought made my stomach turn. I don’t know what happened next inside the truck, but it suddenly took a nosedive and began flipping end over end into the ditch on the side of the road. I assume the sudden realization that a vampire was feeding on you might make you jerk the steering wheel a bit. The connection to Amun’s mind was still wide open. I felt his body being tossed around like a rag doll, his flesh was ripping and bones were snapping. I didn’t so much feel the pain as sensed it. It was so distracting I nearly lost control of the car. My foot found the brake pedal. The tires barked against the pavement as I came to a sudden stop. I felt Amun lying in the grass motionless. Deep down I knew he wasn’t dead, but that didn’t stop my human nature from kicking in.

  I spun the car around and headed back toward the SUV, now sitting on its roof, wheels still spinning in the air. “AMUN!” I cried out with all the mental power I could muster.

  Nothing came from him.

  When I was close, I came to another screeching halt. I left the car running as I made my way down the steep slope of the ditch. One gun was away, the other I held in a teacup grip. The driver must have been wearing his safety belt. He was still hanging upside down in the truck alive, and I wasn’t taking chances. I wanted one of my guns ready.

  Amun would live. I hoped. So I checked on the driver first. He was alive, seemingly unhurt, but unconscious. I took his guns and left him hanging.

  Amun had flown out of the front window and was dead to the world some fifteen yards from the truck. “Amun.” My mind called to him again as I ran toward him. Still nothing came from him. He was face down in the grass. When I knelt next to his still body, I had to stop myself from taking his pulse. Habit, sue me! I rolled him over, his eyes were closed. I had to tell myself that if he was dead he’d have turned to ash by now. His face was covered in hundreds of gashes. Some of them small nicks, others were full open and deep, exposing muscles and bone. Before my eyes, they began to sew themselves closed. It was amazing to watch but completely disgusting all at once. I placed my hand on the side of his now healing face. “Amun.” I said again. I don’t think it was me talking to him, or my touch, but a moment later a violent spasm ran through his body. I heard the bones in his neck cracking. The sound sent a shiver up my spine. His head jerked sideways and his eyes shot open.

  “Well?”

  “Well?” I stood up. “Well, what?” I knew he didn’t need it but I offered my hand.

  He took it. As he stood, I saw that one of his arms hung limp to his side. He noticed me looking at it. “It’s nothing.” He did a quick roll of his shoulder making the same blood churning cracking his neck had made. Again I shuddered at the sound. As quickly as that, motion was restored to his arm.

  “Okay that was just gross.”

  He smiled that smile I hated to love. “Well, what of our newfound friend?”

  I pointed my gun toward the overturned truck. “He’s just hanging out.”

  “Shouldn’t we have a chat with him?”

  We began to walk toward the truck.

  “Think we should cut him loose?” I asked, as we stood there staring at him. Only half joking.

  “I think,” he said, standing with his hands grasped together behind his back, “it would be best not to let all the blood rush to his head. We do, after all, want him to wake up.”

  “Point taken.” Amun stepped forward, and with the gentle grace that he always carried, he ripped the door off its frame. “How did you do that?”

  “We are much stronger than humans.”

  “That I know.” Thank you Captain Obvious. “I wanted to know how you ripped a door off a truck with class.”

  He just shrugged.

  We leaned in to free the man from his predicament. Amun took the weight of his body, which was nothing to him, and I unlatched the seat belt. Amun carried him to the front of the truck so I would have the headlights. When he came into the light, I saw two fang marks on his neck. I think I figured out what made the truck flip.

  “Hungry?” I asked.

  “Not anymore. I don’t need much to slake the bloodlust.”

  The bite drew my line of sight to his face. I recognized him. His call name was Banshee. He was another hit man. We’d been hired to work on the same job years ago. He was a damn good hitter. But as a person I loathed him. There was little to nothing he wouldn’t do for money. Now here he was, and I was his mark.

  “I know him.”

  “A Guild member?” Amun asked.

  “No, he’s a hit man.” I explained the situation to Amun. I told him everything I knew about the man, which wasn’t much. I didn’t know his real name or where he was from. I only knew his reputation and that he was either from Ireland or lived there long enough to have picked up the accent.

  “I could just enter his mind and take what we need. Or you could try.”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to be in his head. Just the thought of knowing some of the twisted shit he’d done made me feel ill. “No, I’d go crazy if I had that man’s memories.” I looked down at him. He still lay there out of it, though he had begun to stir and grunt. “I want to talk to him. But as I do, take what you think we need. I doubt he knows, but try to find out who hired him. Make sure he doesn’t lie to me.”

  “Very well.”

  We stood there until he woke. The only sounds were the two engines still running and those of the night. I didn’t shoot him in the truck, that made me a bit sad. His eyes slowly opened. He looked at Amun with utter fear. “Blackjack,” my call name in the hitter world, “what the fuck is he?!”

  “He is a vampire.” I stayed standing. The horror that filled his eyes let us know he didn’t doubt it. He made no motion to stand. Point for him. “However, that was your only question. It’s our turn now.” I knew Amun was already deep in his mind as he stood there saying nothing. “You know how this works, right? I’m sure you’ve done it a time or two. Me, I don’t like torture. Don’t have the stomach for it. But for a sick bastard like you, I might be able to make an exception. Now number one. Who hired you?” He was still looking at Amun with fear. I was starting to feel ignored. “B, are you listening to me?” I kicked him just hard enough to get his attention. “Who hired you?”

  This time he shook his head. “Took the job off the network.” The network was the very secret untraceable internet location where we received job offers and made the business transactions. It kept everything nice and anonymous. “You know we never have the clients' names.” I did know that, but I was hoping this would be an exception.

  “Fine. How much is my head worth?”

  He eyes were darting between me and Amun. He was ignoring me again. Dammit, I hated that. I pulled out a gun and placed a bullet in his kneecap. The shot, and his scream, reverberated through the country night.

  “You fucking shot me!”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Fucking Christ that hurts!” he spat through his clenched teeth.

  “You know I’ve heard that. I’ve been shot twice myself, once in the thigh the other
in the side of my abdomen. Those fucking hurt. But, from what I’ve heard, the knee is much worse.

  “You weren’t paying attention to me. It made me feel a bit unwanted.” I moved the gun barrel to his other knee. “Are you going to listen now? Cause let me tell you this; if anyone here is a threat to you, it’s me. Now… my answer, please?” I felt bad about being rude during interrogations.

  “Two point five.”

  “Two point five?” I smiled with pride. I pissed someone off so much that they were willing to pay two point five million to see me dead. “Well that helps a bit.” Not too many people could or would drop that much money on a hit. For someone like a politician or a mob boss that was one thing, to drop that on a hit man, not bloody likely. In that thought another came to me. “What are your access codes?” We, those of us on the network, had two sets of numbers to log on. I wanted his. I wanted all the information I could get.

  He relayed all his information.

  “The second number was a lie.”

  I looked at Amun, then back at the man lying on the ground. His eyes grew in fear. “You lied?” Dumb bastard. I stomped on the bullet hole in his leg and dug my heel in. I didn’t take any pleasure in what I was doing. But sometimes you have to do what is necessary to get the job done. Even if in doing so you are sickened with yourself.

  After I released my foot and his screaming subsided, he gave a new set of numbers. I looked at Amun, who nodded. He’d told the truth.

  “Better,” I said.

  “No problem,” He grunted.

  “Did the client tell you where I was staying?”

  “Yes.” His teeth were grinding against the pain as he clutched his bleeding leg.

  “And how did you find me tonight? I know you haven’t been trailing me.” I would have picked up on that.

  I think he tried to grin through the pain. “Pure luck.”

  “Oh yes, how on earth could I forget the luck of the Irish? Details dumb ass! Unless you’d like another in your other leg.”

  “We just arrived in town tonight. One of my boys was checking out your car and I saw you smoking, talking with your friend.”

  Ah shit, they saw me talking with Johnny that evening.

  “Think we have the information we need,” Amun spoke. His voice was flat, divulging no emotions.

  “I think you are right.”

  “You’re gonna kill me now aren’t you?” He was trying so hard to hide the fear in his voice. However, he could do nothing about the tear that welled in the corner of his eye.

  My phone rang. Carmen. I answered. I didn’t wait for her to speak. “Sorry, Babe, I can’t talk right now. Killing people.” I tossed the phone to Amun.

  “I’m sorry,” Amun continued the phone conversation, “Miss Piper, Mr. Black is currently detained. Could I take a message?” I stopped paying attention after that. He began to walk away still talking with Carmen.

  “Yeah, B. I am.”

  “Tell me your name.” His voice was slipping. “Give me that. I don’t want to die feeling alone.”

  “We all die alone.” Three shots rang out, echoing through the otherwise still night. Two in his chest, one in his head, he wasn’t getting up. I stood there frozen in thought. The engines were mute to me. I was again alone with a body at my feet. Too many times I’d been just like this. There was a difference this time. I felt him go. Whatever it is that makes us live, I felt it fade from him. It was snuffed out like a candle and he was dead.

  He asked me for my name. It would be little comfort in his last moment. I denied him that. He was trying to kill me! What the fuck did I owe him? Not a goddamn thing, that’s what!

  I rejoined Amun at my car. He was still on the phone, updating Carmen on the events of the evening. He handed me the phone a moment later. “Hello,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood to talk, something about killing two men and torturing one, had put a sour note on the night.

  “I hear you had an interesting night.”

  “Interesting, that’s one way to put it.” I was trying not to sound mad. I let my voice relax as much as I could. The bad guy was dead and I was talking with a friend. There was no need to be an ass.

  “Are you doing okay?” I was glad she was concerned but hated it at the same time.

  I didn’t answer.

  “Any plans?”

  “A few ideas. Did Amun catch you up on everything?” I still sounded very cold.

  “Yeah, a perfect gentlemen that one.” It didn’t sound like she was being sarcastic. That kinda tossed me off guard. “Are you coming back soon?”

  “I’m still a ways out, but I’ll be on my way soon.”

  “I’ll talk to you when you get here then.”

  “You don’t need to wait up.” I was wondering at that point if I’d make it back before the sun was up. I didn’t want to put her out.

  “It’s not an issue. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Alright.”

  “Be safe, please.” The concern she showed me, still was odd. “Bye.” Then she hung up.

  “Was he telling the truth?” I asked Amun after replacing the phone in my coat pocket.

  “Yes.”

  I Pulled out my cigarettes and lit up. Ah the smoke was so relaxing. “Bother you?”

  “No. But I hear they cause cancer.”

  I had to laugh. “Yeah, the rest of my life is so damn safe. I should really watch out for something like that.”

  He made a gesture that showed he understood my point. “So what are your thoughts on the information we gathered?”

  I took just a moment to organize my thoughts. “Well, that I know of, only The Guild, your vamps, and Michael’s wolves know I’m here. That narrows it down some. That, along with the attached price tag, should cut the list down even more.”

  “I know that none of mine would have done such a thing. They cannot go against me.” I’d question him about that one later. We had other things to talk about. “The wolves, I don’t know of any of them that could afford such a cost. Leaving—”

  “Leaving The Guild.” I finished his thought. “There are plenty of people that have the money. I know I’ve pissed off a few of them. And there is still the mole.”

  “Any ideas on their identity?” he asked.

  I shook my head. I hadn't a single clue who the mole might be. I hoped Terry and Carmen had come up with something. Here’s to hoping, I thought. “No clue.”

  His head turned from me to look again at the sky. “I do not have long to return to the safety of the keep. Before I go, do you have any plans on how to find the people responsible for hiring this man to kill you?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got one but it may take some time. Besides I’ve got other things to worry about now. Once we get William back, I’ll worry about the list of people that want me dead.”

  He nodded. “Perhaps you are overlooking that the two situations might be linked. After all, you are the one who pointed out that the only ones with the knowledge of your stay in Britain are involved in the abduction of Sir Piper.”

  Holy fuck! I did overlook that. I knew I was distracted, but come on? Was I getting dumber? The thought that I’d totally missed that swiftly made me angry with myself.

  “Vincent, are your feelings toward Miss Piper clouding your vision?”

  I didn’t think so. But maybe he was right. I had to have faith that they weren’t. “No,” I answered. So it was a lie. I was sure he would know it, but if he did catch it, he let it go and didn’t push the issue. After a moment of surprisingly comfortable silence, I said,“You need a ride?”

  “No, thank you. I can fly much faster than your German piece of art can take us. Go to Miss Piper. I will be in contact. If you have anything you wish to talk about, I am here to listen.” He was gone.

  I sat down in the car trying so hard to organize my mind. I let out a long sigh. Amun was right, whoever had contracted my head had something to do with the situation at hand. I felt him return. “Forget something?” I asked, not l
ooking at him.

  “Only a piece of advice.”

  My head rolled to one side. “And that is?”

  “To know where you are going you must know where you come from, or you will always feel lost.”

  “I know where I come from.”

  “Do you?” He didn’t wait for a response. He was gone again.

  He was wrong, I knew who I was. Didn’t I?

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Everyone, save the patrolling guards, was asleep when I got back to The Guild. Even Carmen was curled up on my bed asleep. Her reading glasses lay next to an open book beside her. Well she tried, I thought to myself. I retrieved a cleaning case from one of my bags and set out my guns on a towel I’d laid out on the desk.

  There I sat, alone in my thoughts, cleaning the guns. There was a puzzle in front of me, and it wasn’t the disassembled guns. The puzzle of my life was laughing at me. I knew there was a piece I was missing. No matter how I racked my head, I could not place it. Who could have or would have taken such a contract out on me? Amun and I figured it was someone in The Guild. With the money being so high, it could only be The Guild or the vampires. They were the only two groups with the cash to afford such a bid.

  Amun had said that he couldn’t be betrayed. Not, that he wouldn’t be betrayed, but he couldn’t be. I wasn’t sure what that meant. And to be honest it didn’t deter me much from suspecting them. I knew a lot of them didn’t like me being around. So what was to stop them from going behind Amun’s back? Yet another mystery to the vampires that I was sure at some point I would understand. What did lessen my suspicions was the thought that vampires could come after me alone with little trouble. Why would they hire humans to take care of something, someone, they could easily handle?

  When it came to The Guild, the only name I could think of was Edward. But the same thought crossed my mind. Why hire outside The Guild? He had the power to turn them all against me. But I was still welcome with open arms to the compound. If he wanted me dead so badly, it would not be an issue for him to take me out within the company.