“Two demons,” Colt Summers corrected. “The vampire, remember? Alcander Owen. New York didn’t have any files on him, not so much as a picture.”
“So what?” Stefan wasn’t interested in the vampire. They were commonplace, everywhere (never mind that he’d never fought one). You couldn’t go one block in New York City without running into one (never mind that he’d never been to New York). “He’s a nobody. The werespider, Crimson Apocalypse”—he said the name like it belonged to the front man of the coolest, hardest metal band ever—“he’s going to be fun. He’s like five hundred years old, at least, dude. And werespiders, they can use superpowerful, like, hypnosis. Persuasions. Stronger than a vamp’s. They’re basically psychic.”
“They aren’t psychic.” Constance Singer was a psychic, able to sense and read auras across and through buildings. It was a gift and she had worked hard to hone it, pushing herself greater distances, trying to read the intentions of the targets, find out what they were about to do, almost like mind reading. “It’s their pheromones. It’s chemical. Fucks with your brain, makes you stupid, and that makes them convincing. It’s different.”
“Same results,” Holly Alder put in softly. It didn’t matter much what you called it, hypnosis or mind control, it all was a sort of magic, and every kind of magic had a reaction, a foil. She’d had some time to work on something to make their team immune to the spider’s powers, but as for the other Hunter…
“It’s hard to tell what Craig’s going to be like.” Selena had dealt with a few vampires and familiars in her career. The vamps were spooky—so quick that if you blinked at the wrong time, they could kill you, with those pointed fangs and eyes that glowed red in the dark, and that horrible hissing—but familiars always scared her more. They were still human, but they didn’t think like humans anymore. Any human in their right mind would want nothing to do with those life-sucking monsters, but familiars were always completely enamored with their vampires, caring more about them than they did their own lives.
She’d seen a female familiar, around her own age, physically attack a Hunter who had just dusted her vampire, screaming this awful scream like she was being ripped apart as she tore at his face with her nails, grappling a knife from his belt to stab him over and over in the chest and throat. There was no choice other than to shoot her dead before she could attack someone else. But Selena had seen the opposite too, familiars who were dried husks of people, who stared unseeing with glossy eyes, skin pale and sunken, ashy as if they were turning to dust. Familiars whose hearts still beat and whose blood still flowed but were otherwise gone forever.
Stefan was partially right, werespiders often did have stronger hypnotic powers than vampires. Selena wasn’t able to find any documentation on prolonged exposure to a werespider’s presence but could imagine what the results could be. “Hopefully he can still be reasoned with. If he’ll come to our side, that’s great, but if the demon has him too far under, we’ll have to take him out of the fight—dose him with something, knock him out. Hopefully they can bring him back after.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced.
The computer beeped, and Ryan set aside the Rubik’s Cube, kicked his feet down off the desk, and scooted the rolling chair closer as he reached for the wireless computer mouse. “Hey, check it out. Looks like we got a match.”
Selena leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen as Ryan slowed the footage down to normal speed. The others clustered around his chair.
The hotel lobby was modern and open, done in bright whites and sharp blacks, showing a cluster of black sofas and chairs by the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room, and a large black piano next to the in-house bar on the other. The camera view showed part of the reception desk and the main entryway, through which two figures came in. The glass to the outside was dark, and the time stamp indicated it was very late, past four in the morning. Based on the pair’s less than steady steps, it appeared as if they’d been drinking. There was no audio, but the darker of the two figures had his head thrown back as if in laughter. The second figure—a young man with reddish-brown hair—was grinning, his face turned towards the other, completely captivated by him. He wasn’t looking towards the camera. Selena leaned forward to get a closer look, and a moment later the second figure turned, pointing to something off-screen, and she saw that it was him. Jasper Craig.
“When is this footage from?” she asked.
“Two nights ago.” Ryan was typing furiously on one of the keyboards while the video continued to play on the screen. Jasper and the other figure, who could only be the werespider, walked past the reception desk and through a doorway that led to the stairs. “They’re at the Larchmont. I’m scanning the more recent footage, see if I can find them again. I don’t know the name they’re under, but”—he turned a second screen towards them, showing footage from the same night but a different camera, this one on one of the floors, showing the pair of them entering a room—“they’re on the thirty-third floor. Room… 3317.” More typing, Ryan’s fingers running smoothly over the keys. “Under the name Andrews. Looks like they’re still checked in.”
“Make sure they’re still there.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned the screen back and jumped quickly through the feed, speeding through much of the day until the door opened again, showing Jasper leaving, this time alone, and returning with large paper cups of coffee and a white paper bag from a deli or coffee shop. Later he and the werespider left together and returned several hours later. They never saw the vampire leave at all. It was currently midafternoon, and the most recent footage placed them inside the hotel room.
“Unless they left through the window, that’s where they are now.”
“We should kick down the door and blow them the fuck away.” Stefan was the second youngest member of the team at twenty-one, though he often seemed younger due to his hotheaded temper and crude language. He was an excellent warrior though, his results inarguable. If it came to a fight, which Selena suspected it would, she wanted him there, but if it were up to Stefan, they’d go in guns blazing.
“The Larchmont is right downtown, and it’s a pretty popular place this time of year,” Colt explained, and Selena was thankful to have a second that was so in tune with her own thoughts. She cast a grateful look at him and he smiled her way. “It’s too dangerous to try to do anything at the hotel. Maybe if we could somehow draw them out?”
Ryan was still cycling through the footage of the hotel, going backwards in time at a speed that was hard to follow. “It looks like the Hunter and the spider go out every night. Sometimes all night, sometimes for just a few hours. Usually together, but sometimes not. The only footage I can find of the vampire is from check-in, three weeks ago.” He slowed the feed down, showing the Hunter talking to the receptionist and sliding some papers over to the vampire, who signed them, holding the pen with a tissue pulled from a box on the counter. He was smaller than the Hunter, with long dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Ryan switched to the hallway footage to show him entering the room. “Doesn’t look like he goes anywhere.”
“We could get the other two first,” suggested Constance. “Follow them when they go out, take care of them somewhere less populated. Come back for him. Six of us and one vampire? Simple.”
“We can do it tonight,” Stefan said eagerly.
“Tonight,” said Selena, “we’ll do surveillance. Follow them, see where they go. And we’ll have someone check on the vampire too.” She checked her watch. “Everyone, go rest up. We’ll meet back here at 1600 and go over the plan.”
#
Judging by the way they usually stumbled in in the early morning, they suspected the Hunter and the spider spent most of their nights drinking. Holly was only twenty, which left her out of this particular surveillance duty. She and Colton would go with Ryan to the hotel; Selena, Constance, and Stefan would trail the others.
A restaurant was directly across the street from the hotel, an expensive Italian plac
e called El Cielo. The patio was full when they arrived at sunset. Selena bribed the maître d’ to seat them there anyway. They ordered dinner and ate slowly, watching the hotel across the street, but after an hour there was no sign of them. They ordered dessert, picking over it for as long as possible. The wait staff was growing impatient with them, there were other customers who wanted the chairs, but they remained, ordering a round of drinks though they only drank water.
“Where the fuck are they?” Stefan demanded, annoyed by the inaction. He took a drink of his beer, which had gone flat and warm, and pulled a face.
“Maybe they’re staying in tonight?” offered Constance, though she didn’t sound very happy about this idea either.
Selena checked the time. Based on the footage, the two of them usually left the hotel between seven and ten p.m. It was just after ten now. They’d wait for a little while longer, but if they needed to, they would come back the next night and wait again.
They were just about to call it a night when Ryan’s voice spoke via an earpiece. “We got Craig in the lobby.” A pink motorcycle came roaring up to the hotel, and she covered her other ear, homing in on the sound of his voice. “And the werespider.” The woman riding the motorcycle parked it along the curb, then pulled her matching pink helmet off, revealing short blond locks that stuck up unevenly. She had an athletic build, without much in the way of curves. If not for the color of her motorcycle and helmet, Selena might have easily mistaken her for an attractive young man. The woman flipped her cell phone open and pulled off one leather glove with her teeth so she could type more easily.
Moments later, Jasper Craig appeared. He waved at the woman, then held up one finger with an apologetic look, and leaned back through the held door, presumably to call out to someone in the lobby. The music on the patio and the traffic on the street was too loud for Selena to make out words, but Ryan told her he was talking to the werespider, who had just shown up in the lobby. When the message was communicated, he jogged down the steps and gave the woman a quick peck on the lips. While this was happening, Crimson strolled outside. He waved at the woman as she and Craig parted, then cupped his hands around his mouth to yell over the traffic, “I’ll catch up with you guys in a little bit.”
“Sure thing!” Craig yelled back.
The woman hung her helmet from the handlebar of the motorcycle, then, with a quick farewell wave towards Crimson, grabbed Craig’s hand. The two of them started down the street and Selena swore under her breath. Should they follow Craig or stick with the werespider? Crimson was still standing in front of the doors, watching the other two go as he tapped ash from the end of his cigarette. Selena had a split second to decide and she picked accordingly.
“Square away the bill,” she told Constance. “Then come after us right away.”
She and Stefan both rose casually and made for the gated exit while Constance subtly gestured to their waiter for the check.
The Hunter and the human were in no great hurry, and he was thankfully tall enough that they could spot him even over the crowd of tourists and civilians who milled about. The two Hunters walked together, several meters behind their prey and on the opposite side of the road, taking turns pausing in front of storefronts and pretending to look at the merchandise while the other kept watch.
A dark-haired woman in a red tube top with a short black miniskirt and matching stiletto heels was waiting in front of the club. When she saw the other two, she upturned her hands in a “what the fuck?” sort of gesture, then stood on tiptoe to try to see over them. Craig said something to her as they approached, and she rolled her eyes, huffing, but followed them both into the bar.
“Pretty sure the werespider just stood that girl up,” said Stefan into the mic. He whistled long and low right into the microphone. “Girl who looks like that—he really must be evil.”
“Hush, Stefan,” Selena said sternly, but not unkindly. Crimson said he would be along later, meaning he could show up at any moment. They needed to get inside and out of sight before he came trotting up right behind them. Maybe if they were lucky, they could even get ahold of Craig and try to talk (or force) some sense into him before the other could interfere.
Like most clubs, it was loud inside. It was a bare-bones sort of place, the floors made of concrete that was already drenched and sticky with spilled beer. There were high-top tables near the entrance, but very few people were sitting at them, and since there was no official dance floor, people were also dancing in between and around them, with the greater number of patrons clustered in the big open space not far from the bar. The trio was at the bar, ordering drinks.
Stefan and Selena climbed up a staircase that led to a second level, overlooking the rest of the club, and stood close to (but not quite against) the railing.
Constance showed up not long after and casually danced her way onto the floor, blending into the crowd and flowing with the energy of the room in a way that only an empath could.
Craig and the girls fought their way to an empty corner of the room, where they stood in a small circle, drinking, occasionally swaying to the music, yelling in the direction of one another to be heard. After about half an hour, when they were all three starting to get good and drunk, they moved out with the rest of the crowd, though Craig didn’t seem exactly thrilled about it. He wasn’t there long before he excused himself back to his corner and left the girls to dance together.
Selena looked towards Constance, who looked directly back at her almost at the same moment. She playfully slapped the chest of her current dance partner and then moved away from him, losing him in the crowd. She kept the rhythm all the way over to where Craig was standing and texting.
#
Constance wouldn’t have been able to lose Craig if she wanted to. His aura stood out from the crowd, a vibrant and almost glaring white among the pale pinks and blues and greens of the other club-goers. She’d never seen anything so bright before.
She danced her way closer to him, her 24-karat-gold-capped heels keeping easy balance, even on the sticky concrete. He didn’t look up from his phone until she was nearly touching him. “Hey,” she said.
“Um, hi.” Craig looked at her, his phone still held in his hands. His eyes went over her shoulder, scanning the crowd.
“Not crazy about dancing, huh?” Even with her high heels, she was still several inches shorter than him, though underneath her pink sweater, her arms were strong and sinewy, and the long legs below were just the same. He watched her from the corner of his eye and didn’t reply. She felt his reluctance holding him back. She mimicked his stance, leaning her back against the wall, and pulled her long black ponytail over her shoulder, twisting the end around the tip of her finger. “What are you doing over here all by yourself?”
“I’m waiting for someone,” he said, leaning a little closer so she could hear him but just as quickly leaned back. She knew she wasn’t exactly a supermodel, but the disinterested vibes coming from him still surprised her. Maybe she wasn’t his type.
“Your girlfriend?”
Another wave of hesitation. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said after a moment. “I’m waiting for my friend.” He went back to his phone, frowning at whatever he found there. She tried to angle her head so she could read it, but he flipped it closed and slipped it into the front pocket of his jeans.
“I’m Constance,” she offered.
“Jasper.”
She couldn’t get him to budge and was thinking about giving it over as a lost cause when a cold, dissonant feeling sank down through her. She and the Hunter looked up at the same time. The werespider was just emerging from the short hallway that led to the club proper. Like most demons, his aura was shadowy black and seemed to wisp around him in smoky tendrils. Near the center of him, close to his heart, was a flicker of red. She felt strength and age, but great pain also, and perhaps even madness. She drew her mind quickly back, afraid he would notice her Seeing.
His gaze went in her direction, but it pas
sed over her, settling instead on the man beside her. She wasn’t trying to Look, but sometimes the sight had a will of its own, and she felt the changing waves of energy. Interest. Excitement. Warmth. Beside her, the feelings of anxiety softened.
Crimson came right up to them. “Hey, Jazz.” He clapped him on the shoulder, and where the two met, their auras blended and shifted to gray. Red wisps of light raced through the black like pulses of a heartbeat. “What’re you doin’ over here? Decorating the wall?”
“I was worried about you,” said Craig. The guilt showed only in his mind.
Holy shit, thought Constance.
“I’ll catch you later,” she told Jasper. “Glad you found your friend.” She slipped between him and the werespider, waited until they had both looked away, and then ascended the stairs to the landing.
Stefan was pouting in a crummy-looking booth that looked as if no one should ever have eaten in it at any point. Selena was still standing near the railing, holding an unsipped glass of whiskey.
Constance kept her arms firmly at her sides and kept her step very even and casual. She walked up to Selena, tugged on her sleeve, and the two of them excused themselves out onto the fire escape, which was designated for smoking, while Stefan kept an eye on the other two.
“What is it?” asked Selena. The music could still be heard, but it was somewhat quieter with a door between them.
“The werespider is in love,” said Constance flatly.
Selena’s eyebrow went up.
“Okay, yeah, I might be exaggerating a little, but he pretty clearly likes him. A lot.”
“What about Craig?”
Strangers in the Night Page 19
