The Lion's Den

by D N Simmons

  A few of the others chuckled in spite of themselves and the grim situation.

  “So, are you going to Dekalb?” Tony asked his Master.

  Darian nodded. “Yes.” He rose, leaving the room.

  Xavier followed him, pressing a hand on his back, gaining his attention. “Darian, what are you thinking?”

  “Come with me.”

  “To the crime scene?”

  “Yes, we can also talk in private.”

  Once they were standing outside of the mansion, Darian took hold of Xavier, pulling him closely. Seconds later, they were speeding faster than Xavier could have flown, toward the fourth crime scene. Once they reached their destination, they surveyed the number of media reporters, police and spectators surrounding the area.

  “Too bad we can’t get closer without having to do a lot of ‘mental mojo’, as Natasha calls it,” Xavier said, wishing he could get a better inspection of the body. In the darkness, his vision was perfect. Unfortunately, he couldn’t zoom in and out.

  “If I need a closer inspection, I can go to the S.U.I.T. precinct with Warren. I don’t need to get a better look to know that the same coven committed this murder. I can smell their scent on the body from here.” Darian’s eyes narrowed, conveying both predatory prowl and menace.

  “Back to my original question, what are you thinking?” Xavier asked him, watching his lover with a keen interest.

  “Right now, I have my suspicions, but I’m going to reserve them until I know more. There isn’t a pattern to these killings, the shifter might have just been a murder done to prove that there isn’t a pattern, that no one is safe.”

  “It’s a Challenge of Authority.”

  “Oh, I have no doubt that it’s a challenge. What I don’t know is if they want my territory,” Darian replied.

  Xavier didn’t say anything, only turned to look at the body. They saw when Warren and Matthew finally arrived. Both of the shifters looked haggard, having been robbed of a good night’s rest. From their bird’s eye view, they watched the two detectives walk toward the crime scene, dipping under the S.U.I.T. tape. The two detectives began speaking to the coroner Darian had met earlier about this new victim.

  ***

  “Same killers, Galen?” Warren asked, rubbing his hands over his face.

  “I’m just getting here, guys, give me a minute to converse with my team.” Galen leaned over to hear what Janet had gathered, since she was the first of his team to arrive. He nodded every few minutes as more details were given. Once he’d gathered all that he could, he turned back to the detectives. “Okay, this person has been dead for approximately an hour and a half before it was discovered. Some kids leaving a keg party stumbled upon itWatch your step,” Marshall warned, pointing to a puddle of vomit near the corpse.

  Warren looked down just in time for his supernatural reflexes to save him from a minor disaster. “Shit, I knew I smelt something foul. I must be dead on my feet. My senses are completely off, just like my concentration.”

  Matthew looked at him, remembering his early request for help, but didn’t say anything ashe knelt close to the body. He fought his hunger, using breathing and concentration techniques his Alpha had taught him. He was relieved to know that they were working. “So, would your expert opinion put this DB in the same pool as the others, killed by he same group?” he asked Marshall.

  “I’m positive. The bite marks are identical. I’ve looked at enough of them in one day to know,” Marshall confirmed. “Besides, Janet measured them already.

  “Shit!” Warren hissed under his breath.

  “That makes four,” Matthew said, giving his partner a total body count.

  “And that’s four too many. We have to find out who these motherfuckers are, Matt.” Warren looked down at the body of an adult Caucasian female, lying naked and cold on the pavement.

  “Galen, have you found anything that can point us in any direction?” Matthew asked the medical examiner.

  Marshall pushed his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. “I’m beyond tired and I’ve looked at every detail on every corpse so much so, I’m seeing doubles. I’ll look over this one more thoroughly, but as of right now, there’s nothing that I can tell you that would lead you to this coven, Detectives. If I find”

  “Yeah, we got it. You’ll let us know,” Warren interjected. His tone wasn’t angry, just disappointed.

  They walked toward the group of young adults who had found the body. Both men flashed their S.U.I.T. IDs and badges at the group that consisted of three men and two women.

  “Hello, I’m Detective Davis … ” He pointed to Matthew, “ … This is Detective Eric. We’d like to ask you a few questions. Is that all right with you?” Warren waited for their response before letting loose.

  “Yeah, sure, I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability, shoot.” One of the men said, the others nodded.

  “We really appreciate your cooperation,” Warren said, “Let’s make this less complicated, what are your names?”

  They began introducing themselves. The young man pointed to each person as they gave the two detectives their names. “I’m William Townsend,” he said, being the last.

  Warren nodded, jotting down everyone’s names. “Excellent. Nice to meet you all,” he said then he continued. “All right, at what time did you discover the body?”

  “About two hours ago. We were leaving a keg party … we’re all twenty-one and over, Officer, so it was legal,” William lied, hoping to keep them out of trouble.

  “Underage drinking isn’t our jurisdiction and the least of our concerns, continue please,” Warren said.

  William continued. “Okay, that’s good, cause I’ll be twenty-one in two months,” he confessed.

  Warren smiled, he remembered those wild nights when he and Adrian, completely under-aged, would party hard at arious bashes often coming home completely intoxicated, sometimes, even high from smoking marijuana. Xander had disapproved and put an end to their heavy partying, restricting them from drinking until they were old enough to handle it responsibly.

  Warren listened as William recounted his tale. “So like, we were all pretty fucked up, ya know? And we kind of started playing tag and shit, you know, just being playful, havin’ fun. And Melissa kind of like, tripped on something. I came over to help her up and that’s when we saw the legs sticking out from behind the bushes.”

  “It was totally gross and disgusting,” Melissa said. “I mean, ewww, I actually touched it,” she shivered, showing her revulsion.

  Warren refrained from reminding her that “it” used to breathe, laugh and cry just like her only a few hours before. He wanted to tell her to show some respect for the dead, then decided getting the information was more important than a sermon.

  “Well, that’s when Brian totally puked,” William said, pointing to another male, who lowered his head, face reddening.

  Warren was willing to bet his buzz was long gone. “Understandable, not every day one stumbles onto a corpse. Is this when you called the police? Did you touch the body?”

  Collectively, they shook their heads. “No. Well, except for Melissa when she tripped over it, but we didn’t move it. We’ve all seen enough movies to know that would just be stupid, drunk or not. We just called the police and waited for you guys to arrive. That’s it,” William said, still visibly shaken by the entire experience.

  Warren nodded, both he and Matthew still jotting down information. “Okay, that’s about all I’m going to need from you right now. Can you give Detective Eric your telephone numbers and addresses just in case we need to get in contact with you in the future?” It was more of a demand than a request.

  “Sure,” they said in unison, offering their information to Matthew as he wrote it all down. Warren went back to the body to chat with Marshall. On his way, he happened to look up and see Darian and Xavier perched on the rooftop of a nearby building. Bypassing Marshall, he approached the building. In the blink of an eye, bot
h vampires were standing in the alleyway beside the building where the curious crowd couldn’t see.

  “Please tell me you know something I don’t?” Warren pleaded.

  “I wish I did, unfortunately, I don’t,” Darian said, leaning against the side of the brick wall.

  “We overheard your conversation with those who found the body,” Xavier said.

  Warren nodded. “We know she was killed a couple hours ago, maybe three or four. The other victim died in the afternoon.” He told the two vampires his and Matthew’s speculation. “I personally think it was blood loss that killed him, but we won’t know for certain if the drugs in his system had any play in his death.”

  “This coven could have a human servant assisting them, planting their victims in public locations in broad daylight. The other killings have taken place at night,” Darian said. “That one corpse could have been drained by the human then left for dead to throw you off any patterns.”

  “That’s as good a theory as any,” Warren agreed, with a long, audible yawn.

  Both Darian and Xavier eyed Warren’s ragged condition. They’d never really seen the wolf appear so worn out.

  “Are you okay, Warren?” Xavier asked.

  Warren sighed deeply. “Ah, yeah … just fucking exhausted, ya know? I’ve been on my feet for damn near forty-eight hours.” Right then, his cellular began ringing. Warren looked down at the number, recognizing it as his captain’s. “Fucking hell!” He answered his cell. “Yeah Captain?”

  “We’ve got another body, this one found floating in Wolf Lake. Listen, I’m going to assign you some help on this case, and I don’t want to hear, ‘we can handle it’, because you can’t. Detectives Johnson and Weinstein are already on their way to the fifth location. You four are going to work together on this.” Before Warren could respond, she continued. “And don’t think I didn’t get wind of your ‘my balls are bigger than your balls’ competition earlier. We’re a team, and this time, you two have two more partners. How’s it going there?”

  Warren sighed again, realizing he’d lost the fight. They were going to have to make nice with the other detectives if they wanted to solve this case as fast as possible. He gave her an update, which wasn’t much.

  “Whatever resources you need, they’re at your disposal, I don’t want this coven filling our morgue. You got that?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Good. Keep me in touch,” she hung up.

  Warren closed his cell phone. He looked at the two vampires. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “We’ve heard,” Darian said.

  “If this turns out to be a challenge against you, how do I keep our new partners away from this case? A vampire territory battle won’t be within their understanding.” Warren looked at Darian, awaiting his response.

  “Don’t worry about that now. Just do what you can,” Darian told him, not wanting to stress the already stressed out wolf any more than he needed to be.

  Warren nodded. He tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Look, I’ve got to get back, I’ll call, or Xander will.” He walked back to the crime scene, toward his partner.

  Darian looked at Xavier. “Let’s go to Wolf Lake, shall we?” He didn’t wait for a confirmation. Taking his lover and second-in-command into his arms, he flew toward the fifth crime scene.

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  Chapter Seven

  “Well it’s about time we got some damn help!” Matthew was practically shouting upon hearing the news they were going to have to partner up with two other detectives.

  “I didn’t want to have to partner up with anyone on this, Matt,” Warren said, frowning slightly.

  “Why? Is your ego bruised? Because I have to tell you, I’m relieved.”

  Warren stopped at a red light. “Why do you assume I have a hero complex? Jesus, Matt! It’s not about me!”

  Sensing his partner agitation, Matthew apologized. “Warren, I’m sorry. I don’t know… I guess you seemed kind of cocky talking with Johnson, earlier. I just assumed you enjoyed us being called the ‘Golden Boys’.”

  “Well I don’t … ,” Warren paused, smiling slightly. “Okay, in all honesty, I do. But that still isn’t the point. If this is a challenge to Darian’s coven, it’s going to be kind of difficult for us to steer the suspicions away from Darian. As a matter of fact, Johnson and Weinstein might try to make Darian a suspect. He is the Master vampire in Chicago. The S.U.I.T. for all its resources and knowledge knows nothing about our world. Supernatural Etiquette, Safe Passages, Challenges of Authorities, Sanctuaries, all of that, It’s foreign to them and they won’t understand.”

  “Give them and us some credit, Warren. Besides, we don’t have a choice,” Matthew said. He wanted to kiss his lover; he wanted to tell him everything was going to be fine. But he couldn’t, not out in the open. Pretenses were still important, even more so now than before.

  “I need to let Xander know about all of this, you call Richard.”

  Matthew pulled out his cell phone, doing as Warren suggested. Richard answered in a groggy voice. “I’m sorry, were you asleep?”

  “And enjoying it, what’s happening now?” Richard asked. He wasn’t annoyed, he simply wanted the updates.

  For a split second, Matthew was jealous that his Alpha was getting a good night’s sleep while he sat shotgun, exhausted with bloodshot eyes. He answered him. “We’re leaving the fourth crime scene now heading back to the precinct. Also, they’ve just found a fifth body. Warren and I have been paired up with two other detectives and we have to share everything we have in this case with them,”

  “I see. Make certain that both you and Warren are very careful about what kind of information you share, especially your sources. Make sure everything you share can be substantiated with solid facts,” Richard cautioned.

  “Yeah, Warren and I kind of touched on the trickiness of this pairing earlier. I’ll pass that along.”

  “You sound exhausted, when was the last time you’ve slept… or eaten?”

  “I haven’t seen a pillow in two days and the last meal I had was a few hours ago.”

  “Matthew, you’re not old or strong enough to test your nature. You need rest and real food if you plan on maintaining any amount of control,” Richard’s tone was measured but serious.

  “I know, as a matter of fact, we’re pulling into a Nickey G’s right now.”

  Richard sighed. “I said real food, Matthew. You need a steak, preferably rare in order to sate your hunger, not a reprocessed burger.”

  “Oookaaay, we are currently pulling away from the Nickey G’s, empty handed,” Matthew informed.

  Warren started chuckling in spite of his own fatigue. He was certain that Richard could hear him, and he didn’t mind. It was funny to him.

  “Tell Warren I said he should have known better than to take you there,” Richard said, smiling at the foolishness of the two pups. At over three hundred years, almost every shifter he knew was a pup to him, especially those less than half a century old like Warren and Matthew.

  “Tell him we’re going back home to eat a real meal and get some real sleep. Shit, I’m fucking tired,” Warren passed along.

  Matthew pulled the cell from his ear. “I thought we were going back to the precinct?”

  “We were, I changed my mind.”

  “Well damn, do I get a say in this?”

  “What the hell, Matt? You want to try to solve this case as a zombie? Shit, I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep my eyes open, we’re shape-shifters, not fucking superheroes! We need sleep, we need to eat, we need to go the fuck home and deal with what we can later.” Warren steered the car effortlessly along the highway heading home.

  Matthew looked at him. “I guess it’s good that our captain pulled in reinforcements, Mr. ‘We-Can-Handle-This-On-Our-Own’.”

  Silently, Warren tossed him a look that said, “Shut the hell up”.

  Richard listened to the two men argue. He wondered if they remembered
he was still on the cell phone.

  Remembering that his Alpha had been rudely put on hold, Matthew put the cell phone back to his ear. “Richard? I’m sorry about that,” he apologized.

  “He’s right, you know. Call me once you’ve had a good rest and a real meal. Goodbye.” Richard ended the call. p>

  Matthew slipped his cell back into his pocket. He looked at Warren, who was smiling slyly. “Oh, wipe that smug-ass grin off your face.”

  “Don’t be mad because he agreed with me.”

  “Getting help was my idea.”

  “Yeah, but going home was mine. Besides, your stomach’s growling so loud, I think it might attack us.” Warren laughed at his own sleep-deprived joke.

  Matthew chuckled. “Yeah, you really do need to go to sleep. Whenever you come up with stupid shit like that, I know you’re beyond tired.”

  Warren decided not to muster a comeback. Truth was, he was too exhausted. They drove home for a nice meal and a long sleep, not necessarily in that order.

  ***

  Darian and Xavier hid in the trees as they watched the fifth body being dragged out from the Lake. The coroner’s team consisted of two fresh members and a very worn-out one; Galen, the leader. The man looked as if he was going to fall over at any second. He made a quick inspection of the body and left the rest up to his team. Darian read his mind as he walked away. Galen’s suspicions were the same as Warren’s; that the vampire was at least strong enough to stay awake during the day, if not strong enough to come out into the sunlight. It was perplexing to Galen because it was also impossible. All of the information given to them from the Council as well as what they’d gathered from the failed lab experiments years ago didn’t reveal vampires had that kind of ability.

  Galen was beginning to learn a truth he’d rather not been exposed to. Darian admired the human for his intelligence and loyalty. He did, however wonder how far it would go. Would he be able to handle the truth? And what would he do with that kind of information? Would he have to do anything at all? Darian believed that the S.U.I.T. would began to put the pieces of this puzzle together on their own if any more bodies were found murdered during the daylight hours. He and Xavier surveyed the investigation for as long as they could. They watched the two new detectives question the police helicopter crew who discovered the body of an African-American male floating face down in the lake. After two hours of observing the investigation, the approaching sun forced Darian and Xavier to retreat to their home. Darian decided he’d go out again, at sunset.