Wicked After Dark: 20 Steamy Paranormal Tales of Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Shifters, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Mina Carter

  She heard everything he said. He put her into a place in nature. A happy place. Somewhere she could enjoy the scenery and answer any questions he had.

  “Tell me, Max. Tell me what happened that night.”

  “I can’t.” Max responded.

  “Why?”

  “Because I can’t… remember.”

  “The information you seek is hidden away in your mind. Think of it like a treasure hunt or a game of hide and seek. Go deeper and search for the information.” Hypnos turned his attention to Red. “Red, tell me about the night you thought your friend Olivia was in trouble.”

  “They came to me in a dream and said Olivia was in danger.”

  “Good. Keep going.” He urged her onward.

  “I attacked them. She is my team member and we always protect each other… no wait, I thought I was attacking them, but it was her. They made me believe I was hurting them, but it was her.” Tears snuck out past her closed eye lids.

  “It’s okay, Red. I want you to float up out of your body, keeping soul connected to your physical self by a golden tether. And as you float and watch the scene play out in your mind, you become unattached to the emotions. It’s like you’re watching a movie in your mind. You will find yourself with a remote in your hands and you can stop, press play, even rewind the movie. Are you there yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Very good. Tell me what your attacker looks like.”

  “There are two of them. Both are dressed in black. One stands off to the side watching while the other one does the dirty work.”

  “One is a puppet master. He controlled my body with his thoughts.” Max spoke up. “He made me do it. I didn’t want to do it, but he made me stab my best friend.” Tears moistened his cheeks as he relived that moment.

  “It’s going to be all right, Max. This was in the past, and you’re here with me now in the present. I want you to disconnect yourself from the emotions. Free yourself from this experience, and put yourself in a movie theater where you can watch this play out in front of you, detached.” Hypnos asked, “What does the killer look like?”

  “His name is Craig.” Max offered.

  “Dark hair and dark eyes.” Red said.

  Olivia jumped up from her seat and drew her sword. Chaos broke out in the room as Fang stepped in front of the weapon just as Olivia swung downward.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Your killers are psychics. One is a telepath. He’s the dangerous one named Craig, and the other is Davis.” Hypnos told Devon and Karma, who were standing over Fang’s body that was in the midst of healing after taking the brunt of Olivia’s attack.

  The attack was short-lived, but brutally precise. Dr. Trojan, a horse shifter was seeing to Fang’s care, and had high hopes he’d recover, but the healing process would take time. The sword was silver and the metal that killed shifters with the right target was filtering through his body, wreaking havoc on his system.

  Karma nodded. “Thank you, uncle.”

  “I wish I could do more to help you, but these psychics are human and I can’t involve myself in human affairs. Perhaps Morpheus can send some dream weavers your way, but he can’t meddle either. You’re lucky enough to be half human so you’re safe from the No Human Interference law.”

  “You’ve done more than enough.” Karma smiled graciously. Sometime after the attack she had changed to her vengeance form.

  “The girl who attacked was being controlled by the telepath. From what I could tell, the other guy was the transporter.” He disappeared and left Devon and Karma alone with Fang.

  “Are you ready to go talk to the psychic military project with me?”

  “Of course.” He replied.

  She took his hand and they both disappeared.

  Frankie watched from outside the room and quickly entered after they left. He’d stepped in front of her and took the sword, protecting her from Olivia’s attack. Once again, this man put her needs before his own. Either he had a death wish or he really did care for her. Both were difficult to believe.

  If you die, he dies, but if he dies, you live the voice in her head reminded her. It didn’t change anything. She was starting to care for the big oaf. She realized if he died protecting her, in this moment, she’d have far too many regrets. Her anger at the man for saving her life and binding them together was getting harder and harder to reinforce even in her own mind. It meant she needed to forgive him and give them a chance. It scared her. She wasn’t’ ready to seal the deal and commit herself to him for as long as they lived, but she was ready to give him a chance at winning her over.

  She placed a shaky hand on Fang’s large, still one. It was odd seeing him like this. His body beaten, unconscious as he fought to live. The idea that a man so big and powerful could be brought down by a metal seemed preposterous, and at the same time, somewhat poetically just. He had so many advantages over humans that there needed to be something to even out the scales.

  “Fang,… Levi. I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I need you to get better,” she told him, her voice weak and wobbly, but her touch was strong. She leaned down and kissed his cold, chapped lips. He didn’t respond to her caress, but it didn’t matter. As long as he survived, she’d get her second, or maybe this was her third chance.

  “I’ve got your key and a promise to you that I’ll use it, but I need you to wake up.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Davis was the first to awaken from the astral projection trip to the Paranormal Bureau headquarters. He jumped out of his seat and rushed to his closet. After searching through some boxes, he emerged from the tiny room with a gun in his hands and pointed it at the awakening Craig. “Damn it, Craig! You said the gods gave us this mission!”

  Craig rubbed his eyes and stretched his body. “They did.” He seemed unaffected by the gun aimed at his head.

  “Liar! Why was there a god helping the PBI solve the case?”

  Craig yawned. “Correction, alien, and not all of them are onboard with the plan. Apparently, Hypnos is one of those on the other side.”

  “What do you mean alien?”

  “Put the gun down.”

  “No.”

  “Put. It. Down.”

  Davis felt the push on his mind and then lowered the gun without sending the command to his hand. The bastard was using mind control on him. “I’m not one of your puppets!” Davis snarled.

  Craig laughed. “You’ve been one of my puppets since the beginning.” He took the gun from Davis’ hand. “You see, I learned long ago that damaged individuals, particularly those looking for approval from a parental figure, are easy to manipulate.”

  “Not anymore.” Davis spat.

  “No?” Craig placed the gun in Davis’ left hand, then lifted the gun to his temple. “Shall we test your ability to override my mind control?”

  Davis felt the cold steel of the barrel against his head. His finger betrayed him as he hovered over the trigger. “Stop it!” He tried desperately to lower the gun from his own head, but it wouldn’t move.

  Craig smiled wickedly. In that moment, he looked like the devil to Davis. “I wonder, is the safety on or off? I can’t remember.” Craig started circling Davis, pacing the room.

  “You won’t kill me. You still need me.” Davis knew he was grasping at straws, but it didn’t matter. He needed to break free of the telepathic connection Craig had on him.

  “You value yourself far more than I ever did. How did that change?” Craig tapped his lips as he wondered out loud. “No matter. Good bye, Davis.” He walked out of the room.

  Davis fought the urge planted in his mind. He tried to remove the gun from his head, but was unable to take control of his mind. Beads of sweet dotted his forehead and started to slide down the side of his face. It was a strange feeling knowing that perspiration was going to be the last thing he felt. Moments before he pulled the trigger, Davis astral-jumped out of his body. He didn’t feel the bullet penetrate as he watched his brains splatter agai
nst the off-white walls of his military dormitory, and his life didn’t pass before his eyes as his legs crumbled and his dead body fell to the ground. His human form died, but his spirit astral projected moments before. His human body was dead, but he was energized for revenge.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Karma and Devon exited the Psy Project which was located in a top secret military base in Florida under heavy guard. They were warned to leave and never come back.

  “Great inter-departmental cooperation!” Karma snapped at Commander Dirk after he tossed her outside the electrified fence.

  “Dismissed.” Dirk, dressed in full military camouflage, commanded. The five armed guards that accompanied them outside the perimeter saluted and marched back into the fenced area. “And you two, if I ever see you back here again, the order is to shoot on sight.” He stated loud enough that the retreating men heard his words.

  Karma spit at him. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with!”

  Dirk narrowed his green eyes and took four daunting steps toward her, his massive size towering over her slender, shorter frame. “Overkill, don’t you think?” He asked with a smile as he placed a flash drive in her hand.

  “Hardly!” She shot back, loud enough that the guards could hear. “I have to make it look convincing.” She smiled, resisting the urge to kiss his lips as she whispered. “Thank you, Greg. I’ll pay you back.”

  He grabbed her collar and pulled her closer to him, yelling, “I don’t care who you are. This is a top secret facility and I’ll follow those orders without question!” In a whisper, “I’ll expect payment in goods.” His eyes roamed her body greedily, “and I’ll be looking for you this weekend at our usual place.”

  She slapped him. “Deal,” she whispered as she spun on her heel and began the long trek to the road ahead. Devon followed her without a word.

  “You could’ve told me you knew Commander Dirk.” Devon said when they were out of ear shot.

  “What would be the fun in that?” She pulled him into the tree line. When they were hidden from view, she transported them back to the PBI base. “I didn’t know he was assigned to the Psy Project facility,” she told him when they rematerialized in her office. “We met on a retreat a couple years back and have spent some time together since.” She grinned knowing Devon got her meaning.

  “And thanks to your unusual booty call, we have a flash drive containing what exactly?” He asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.” Then placed the flash drive into the computer port and clicked on the projector with her remote.

  Computer file folders appeared on the screen on the wall. She zoomed in on the file titled, ‘Test Subjects’ and opened it. The screen popped up the file box with thousands of photos; men, women, children. “Bingo. Let’s get Max, Red, and Olivia over here to see if they can identify the suspects.”

  Devon nodded, “on it,” and left.

  It only took the witnesses an hour to identify Craig Denton and Davis Lockhart as the perps. Both of them were removed from the program because of psychological issues. Devon put an APB out for both of them.

  Two hours later, Jasmine got the first hit. Davis Lockhart was discovered in Mason Hills Morgue. The preliminary cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Dead at the tender age of twenty-eight. Craig Denton was covering his tracks.

  Chapter Twenty

  Davis watched as his stern, heartless father identified his body in the morgue. The man held a stone façade, but then surprised him when he asked to be alone with the body. The two staffers nodded and left the room. What happened next shook Davis to the core.

  Davis watched as the man who never showed him a single moment of kindness, who berated him since his mother died, beat him at times, and destroyed him emotionally, burst into shoulder shaking sobs. Briefly, he wondered if he was in an alternate universe, but looking down at his dead body, blue from the chill in the room, his human shell reminded him where he was.

  He wasn’t going to do it, but something compelled him to find a way to work through unfinished business. He needed to do it. He materialized so his father could see him. He was faint, but he was there. “What are you doing, father?”

  His father, who looked like he’d aged twenty years overnight, looked at him. The dangerous spark he was used to seeing in the man’s eyes was gone, replaced by something he’d never seen from him before, sadness and possibly love. The ice wall around Davis’ heart melted.

  “Mourning your death, son.” His father knew he could astral project so seeing him in a ghost-like form wasn’t a shock to the man.

  “You disowned me, father.” The word tasted bitter on his lips.

  His father shook his head. “If you believe that, you’re denser than I thought.”

  “And here come the insults.” Davis nodded. It was only a matter of time.

  “I’m dying, Davis.

  The words made no sense to him initially. His father was always so strong. He never imagined he’d see the old man die. He knew it was everyone’s future, but fully expected the man to find a way to cheat death and outlive him, which he managed to do without even trying.

  “I cut you off and sent you to that project to make sure you learned to be strong. You’re my only heir. I needed to make sure I was leaving my legacy to someone who could do whatever it took to keep it.”

  Davis just stood there trying to process the words he was saying. It was difficult reconciling the broken man in front of him with the man he knew all his life. What a waste.

  “Why did you have to kill yourself?” His lower lip quivered as he pushed the words out past the lump in his throat that caused his words to croak.

  “I didn’t. The telepath forced me to pull the trigger.”

  “Telepath?”

  “Yes. The guy I told you about.”

  His father shook his head. “He was supposed to toughen you up and protect you. Why would he force you to kill yourself?”

  “Because I knew right from wrong, and he was tired of me telling him to stop.” Davis looked at the man with pure disgust. “You make me sick, father.” Realization hit him. This whole thing was orchestrated by his own flesh and blood.

  His father did have one thing right. He needed to man up, and he knew exactly how to do it.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Devon knew they were missing something. Now that they knew who the killers were, it would only be a matter of time before the remaining man was captured, but there was still a piece of the puzzle missing. Motive. Why would a human telepath and a psychic want to kill supernatural beings? What good would it do them? The two steered clear of each other.

  He read the dossier on Davis and Craig and found nothing that would motivate the killings let alone the viciousness of the murders. He suspected Craig was the leader, and he used Davis for his ability to get into places. Why Davis turned up dead was another unanswered question.

  Devon was a man who liked to be prepared. The idea that they were going up against a powerful telepath was a concern. The man could control their thoughts and actions. He placed a call to Trevor, who was a friend and powerful telepath in his own right, and got him to agree to come and help set the trap. He had compulsion, which may or may not help, and Karma was working on getting Morpheus to loan them some dream weavers who all had power over the mind at varying degrees. The last thing he wanted was to have his team destroyed because they took on a man who had power over their minds.

  “Hello.” The voice was barely above a whisper, male, but that wasn’t the peculiar part. The man it was attached to had no scent and made no sound until he was right up on Devon.

  Devon glanced up from the files and hid his surprise when he saw the recently deceased Davis standing in front of him in almost a solid state. Being a vampire, he had the sight of the dead, a connection to those that had passed on and remained on this physical plane. He was certain this was the ghost of the recently departed killer. “You’re supposed to be in hell.”
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  “Yes, and I’m sure I’ll wind up there, but for now, I’d like to see if there is any way I can help.”

  Devon laughed. “It’s a little late for good deeds now.” He closed the files on his desk and turned his full attention to the ghost that was sitting in the chair across from him. He took note of how good Davis was at manipulating physical matter. His astral form only sank a few inches into the plush fabric. Most would simply fall through.

  “It’s not a good deed I’m after. It’s vengeance. Craig killed me.”

  “You committed suicide.” Devon tapped a file on his desk.

  “Because Craig forced me to pull the trigger with his telepathy.”

  “So you want to help us kill him?” Devon asked as he leaned back in his chair.

  Davis shook his head. “No, I want to help you trap him in his own mind.”

  Now this was getting interesting. “And how do we do that?”

  “You’re a smart vampire, and you’ve done your homework on me.”

  “Some might argue the smart guy label, but yes, I did my homework.”

  “You saw what my father did for a living.”

  Devon shrugged. “He owns a video game design company.”

  “Which includes virtual reality, and my father also happens to have a Department of Defense project.”

  Devon’s brows furrowed, but he clicked open his computer and started searching the government funded defense projects. Right there, hidden in the midst of all the other contractors, was Lane Gaming, Davis’ father’s company.

  “I can take one of your agents there to pick up the headset, and once you trap Craig, you can use it to keep him imprisoned in the virtual reality.”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Devon didn’t trust Davis enough to send one of his team on the mission so he went with him instead. It could’ve been a stupid move being unable to defend himself, but it all worked out well. Then he gathered the team, including Trevor, Layla, and Gregorios, who were the weavers on loan from Morpheus, to introduce them to Davis.