Kara was still working for the police force, but Sherriff Morel had cut her hours back after hearing about the tragic events she’d had to endure in his absence. She fought the kindness, but he had insisted.
Kara thought of Morel as she sat on her porch steps on a crisp September afternoon. She had no wine with her this time, although there was a Rolling Rock calling her name from the fridge. She had just come back from a six-mile run and was now resting, stretching her muscles and enjoying the thrum of activity in her body.
Kara had always had an okay body but now, she felt new muscles surfacing. In the last three weeks alone she had lost fourteen pounds, burning the fat through her boxing and kickboxing lessons. She loved looking at herself in the mirror.
But it wasn’t her figure that she pondered at the moment. Instead, she thought of Sheriff Morel and the news from earlier this morning. He’d been found dead at the area known as Filth Camp. As if that wasn’t bad enough, his injuries had brought up some spectral memories.
Poor guy, his throat had been mostly torn out and he was deathly pale. While the coroner’s report wasn’t in yet, rumor had it that he’d lost an insane amount of blood.
Sitting on the porch, Kara felt her heart tugged between the need to weep and the need to scream. Part of her wanted to head over to her trainer’s and demand some alone time in his small gym. They had been developing something of a relationship although it hadn’t quite broken into the physical just yet. He knew her needs and she also suspected he knew the real reasons behind her sudden urge to train. Were there more vampires now? Was there something else of the supernatural variety going down in Red Creek? Or did Morel simply show up at the heralded Filth Camp and meet some savage and potentially crazy resident?
She’d find out soon enough. The police were all over this case, even bringing in some folks from the FBI. They’d soon know what had happened to Morel and justice of the judicial kind would be served.
That almost angered Kara. Vampire or random psychopath, she didn’t care—she wanted violence to beget violence. That was her new-found sense of justice.
Ha, she thought as she stood up to step inside and calm herself with a beer and a bath. With this sort of bloodlust, I’m no better than a vampire after all.
Kara wondered how Saul, Jill, and Nikki were doing. She had purposefully kept her distance since the battle with the Greelys. Nikki came by her place twice but on both occasions, Kara didn’t answer the door. She had nothing against the girl, but she still felt that she needed to distance herself from that madness for a while.
But now she wondered. If Morel had been killed by a vampire or some form of monster that she was unaware of, Saul Benton was the person that might know. She considered this for a moment as she ran her bath.
In the end, Kara let even that thought slide away. She uncapped her beer, stepped into the tub, and let the water wash the day away. She nodded off for a moment and this time when she awoke with a start and feared that there was a threat nearby, she didn’t care.
Let it come. This time, she’d be ready to kick some ass.
2
Saul didn’t get cheesy and sentimental over many things, but he couldn’t deny the sense of belonging—the absolute sense of home—he felt whenever he returned to the cabin after a long absence. Knowing that his sister was now residing there as well made the emotion even stronger.
He hadn’t had plenty of time to investigate these sentimental feelings over the last three months or so. The Guard kept him on the move, sending him all over the world to keep tabs on certain issues. They wanted to be over-informed rather than under-informed, and he was the right being to do so. Nikki accompanied him on a few of these expeditions but there were other times when she remained with Jill, helping to take care of Jason.
As Saul pulled his car down the driveway and the cabin came into view, he reached over and took Nikki’s hand. Small romantic gestures like this kept springing up on him out of nowhere and he wasn’t quite used to it.
“Does this feel like home yet?” he asked.
Nikki looked genuinely confused at the question. She cocked her head, looked from the cabin, then to Saul and back to the cabin and made a hmmm noise. “You know, I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought of this place like that yet. I think maybe, in a small way, it has.”
Saul wasn’t even sure why he had asked the question in the first place. Furthermore, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about her answer. He hoped she felt safe with him and, as an extension, thought of his place of refuge as a home of sorts.
They parked, hauled their luggage out of the trunk, and walked up to the porch. Jill met them at the door, hugging them both. Saul could tell that she was worried about something. When she embraced him, she sent him one of her little mental snapshots. It was an image of Jason Eastman in good health. Behind him, a comical question mark danced with an exclamation mark. Both images pulsed in red. Jason was better…but there was something dangerous about him. At least, that’s what Saul took away from.
Since Jill sent him the image telepathically, Saul assumed that she didn’t want to let Nikki in on her concerns. He respected that and thought that it might be for the best.
When they stepped inside, Saul was surprised to see Jason sitting on the couch. He was reading a book and seemed to be in much better health as compared to when they had left for Ireland. Nikki saw him too, and when she did she dropped her bags and ran to him. She gave him a huge hug that put a wide grin on his face.
Saul couldn’t remember the last time he’d been jealous. He didn’t like it at all. Jealousy and envy were among the top things he did not miss about being a human. Still, he busied himself with pulling their luggage farther into the living room as Nikki hugged her old friend.
“I’m so glad to see you up and about,” Nikki said, finally breaking their hug.
“I’m not so sure about the and about part,” Jason joked. “I still feel pretty weak. But I think I slept so much that the idea of going back to bed is depressing.”
“Any new-found abilities to speak of?” Saul inquired.
“Not that I can tell,” Jason said.
“I’ve been looking him over,” Jill put in. “And I can’t see anything out of the ordinary about him. I mean…well, other than the obvious. He’s a vampire for sure. The only question is whether he’s like you and me or like Nikki—with just the basic traits. Or he might be something totally different. I just can’t tell.”
Saul nodded, not sure how he liked this bit of news. He was very much aware of the fact that none of this current drama would be occurring if Nikki had not so suddenly come into his life a little over three months ago. He didn’t care, though; she was well worth it. Saul just didn’t know if Jill felt the same, however.
“We’ll take it as it comes,” Jill continued, displaying her uncanny ability to avoid awkward topics. “I want to hear about Ireland.”
“I would too,” Saul joked. “I was doing work for the Guard the entire time I was there.”
“Whatever,” Jill jeered. “At least you weren’t stuck in Red Creek.”
“Says the Benton family member that ran away from Red Creek,” Saul joked. “Leaving her brother to stand post for countless years.”
“Ouch,” Jill said, giving him a mock bow. “You win.”
“Of course.”
Jason laughed at them. It was an eerie sound, like the unexpected howling of a wind that has come out of nowhere. All three of them turned towards him, slightly spooked.
“Are they always like that?” Jason asked, looking at Nikki.
“No. Sometimes it’s worse.”
Saul wrapped his arm around her and gave her a playful shake.
“Dinner?” Jill suggested. “Food and wine out on the back porch. Jason, do you think you could eat? I got you that steak you were wanting yesterday.”
Jason gave a nervous grin and looked at his stomach just as before as if waiting for a response. “You know, I think I could.”
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br /> “Great,” Jill said, and set about to make dinner. Nikki joined her as Saul carried their luggage into the back of the cabin to start unpacking.
And just like that, the Bentons and Nikki settled back into what was slowly becoming a very homey sort of life. Meanwhile, Jason sat on the couch like a stray cat without a comfortable place within the house to stay warm.
3
Dinner was a makeshift chicken alfredo, a simple tossed salad, and a bottle of red wine. The four of them ate on the back porch, looking out into the drab late summer woods of Red Creek.
It was odd for Nikki. She hated the view but loved to be out here. Even when Saul and Jill weren’t with her, there was something about being isolated within the confines of the forest. As she became more and more accustomed to her supernatural abilities, she found that she could almost communicate with nature. She could feel the life within the trees, all mingling together into a sort of entity. It reminded her of her years as a practicing Wiccan—but this was different. Now she sensed the energy within the world around her but she knew it was nothing more than some benign sixth sense.
They ate their dinner casually and Nikki was once again reminded of just how normal their lives really were. It was like the fact that they were vampires was secondary. This was especially true of Saul and Jill. They were brother and sister first…and vampires second. While she was more than happy with her relationship with Saul, she envied what Saul and Jill had. Nikki had never been that close with anyone and she wondered what it would be like.
“So,” Jill started, suddenly giving Saul an inquisitive look across the rather elegant patio table. “Am I allowed to ask what The Guard had you doing in Ireland?”
Saul shrugged. “It’s not like they’re asking me to keep everything hush-hush,” he responded. “Of course, they have their secrets that they aren’t telling me, but any task they give me is nothing secret.”
“Like what?” Jill asked, clearly very interested.
“Well, in Ireland, there’s a small clan with just eight members. They actually live in this underground network of caves. As of late, they have been trying to sneak out at night and feed on the sheep along the countryside. One or two here and there is really no big deal as far as The Guard is concerned, but we’re talking half a herd every night.”
“That’s a lot of sheep,” Jill said.
“Yeah. So The Guard had me go talk to them. Sort of like a representative of our kind. Apparently, word about what we did to the Greelys traveled fast. The Benton clan is perceived as something like royalty among these smaller clans now. The way they see it, we thwarted a conspiracy that would have eventually come for them as well.”
“So what?” Jill asked. “You just roll up in there and say, ‘Hey guys, cut it out or The Guard is going to come down on you,’ and they listen to you because they respect you now?”
“Basically.”
“Wow,” Jill said. “My brother, the enforcer.”
“I’m sorry,” Jason interrupted, picking at his salad. “But I’m new to all of this. Who—or what, exactly, is The Guard?”
Nikki nodded at him, letting him know that she had been there, done that, and got the tee shirt. She grinned at him as Jill began to explain.
“The Guard has been around forever. They’re sort of like the supernatural police. They always keep things in check. If there are too many vampires being sighted by mortals, they step in. If the werewolves are getting a little too friendly with the locals out in Romania, The Guard steps in and stops it.”
“Werewolves?” Jason asked. “They’re real?”
“Of course,” Saul confirmed. “You’d be surprised how much easier it is to accept these kinds of things now that you’re a vampire.”
“Anyway,” Jill went on, “the nasty business we had with the Greelys was all designed by Benali, a member of The Guard.”
“Yes, it appears he went rogue on them,” Saul said. “But as of right now, Benali is being held in some place that even I can’t even begin to imagine. It’s some sort of ethereal prison. When I asked Moorcheh about it, he asked me if I had ever read Dante’s Inferno. When I answered yes, Moorcheh just sort of smiled.”
“So The Guard,” Jill continued “have their hands in all sorts of nasty business. They have the ability to keep tabs on just about any supernatural creature. No one is sure where The Guard came from. They’ve just always been there. I don’t even know if they know their origins.”
“No, I believe they do know,” Saul interjected. “In fact, I am beginning to think they know much more than we or anyone else suspects.”
“Like?” Jill asked.
“Well, you know that they lured me to help them with offering me information about why our father was killed. I have been doing some digging on my own and when they caught wind of it, they were not very happy.”
“And that pisses me off,” Nikki added. “They’re using your dad like a carrot in front of a horse—just leading you on and on. When will they decide the time is right for you to know? And who the hell are they to decide?”
“She has a point,” Jill said.
“I know. And it’s one I have been thinking about more and more. Eventually, I think I may have to either have a frank discussion with them or just continue digging for information on my own.”
“You think The Guard is up to something?” Jill asked. “Something sort of under-handed?”
“I don’t know,” Saul sighed. “I certainly don’t get that sort of feeling from them when I speak with them. If anything, they seem legitimately happy to have me working for them. But when it comes down to matters of our father, they seem to get very defensive.”
The table fell silent, aside from the sound of Jason’s fork pinging against his salad bowl.
“There’s something else,” Saul said. “I have also been asking the other clans that I have met with about their thoughts on the Greelys. I asked them if they had heard any rumors about the plans that they had against us. No one seems to know. But, like us, they are very curious to understand why Benali decided to help the Greelys. He risked his stature with The Guard in doing so, and we see how that ended for him.”
“And no one had any ideas?” Nikki puzzled. “No one from the other small clans heard anything?”
“Nothing. And, quite frankly, they’re afraid to ask. That’s another thing I’ve had to do. I have to assure the other clans that Benali’s involvement does not in any way reflect the intentions of The Guard.”
“Fun stuff,” Jill said.
They finished their dinner and went back inside. As Saul did the dishes, he kept peeking over his shoulder, watching how Nikki and Jason interacted. There was a joy and relief in Nikki that Saul understood. Before, she thought her old friend had been designated to a comatose state due to her actions. Now to see him back to normal—better than normal, actually, if he was going to get any semblance of vampire powers—she was overjoyed.
Still, Saul knew that Jason had fostered a huge crush on Nikki before Leibald Greely had transformed him. And the idea that Leibald was responsible for the turnings of both Nikki and Jason didn’t sit well with Saul.
You’re thinking like a sixteen-year-old mortal, he told himself. Jealousy is not something you want to delve into, is it?
No, of course it wasn’t. But it was there all the same.
Saul turned his back to the two friends and did his best to tune out.
4
Larry Dennison sat under a half-full moon, naked and with his eyes closed. He could feel the night around him, pressing softly against him like an eager yet shy lover. It had been a very long time since Larry had felt anything like that and he smiled as the gentle night breeze crept across his bare skin.
All around him, the sounds of the night were as crisp and as clear as anything he had ever heard in his life. He wondered way back in the recesses of a mind if he had ever truly experienced nature in such a way. He heard an owl hooting from somewhere in the distance, the chirruping
of crickets and, if he guessed correctly, the faint footfalls of a fox further away.
He stood up and opened his eyes. In front of him he could see the train tracks that ran through the outskirt woods of Red Creek. The moonlight gleamed from them in brilliant light. He had pissed himself in this field, not the worst thing that could happen to a blacked-out drunk, but he had the feeling that he’d no longer be suffering such indignities.
He walked to the tracks, climbing the hill that separated them from the field of Filth Camp. He stood on the tracks and then knelt down. He placed his hand to the steel support track and waited. Then he felt it—the slightest of vibrations. But the train was very far away. How far? He couldn’t tell, he couldn’t—
But then he heard a voice in his head. It was like someone speaking into a tin can, softly whispering into right beside his ear. Concentrate, it said. It was a strong, confident voice. If Larry was a religious man, he would have assumed it was the voice of God.
You have the ability, the voice was saying. Give it time. Wait.
Larry did as he was asked. He kept his hand on the track and focused on the vibrations. He then got a sense of distance and space like he had never fathomed. It was as if he could suddenly slice open time and space and peer inside. And when he did, he knew that the nearest train was thirty-six miles away and it was carrying a heavy load near its backside.
Good, the voice said. Now explore. Adapt.
Larry Dennison then turned back around and stared out, at Filth Camp. The police car was still there, as was the body of the policeman. Larry still tasted the man’s blood in his mouth and it left an intense urge for more. But there was something in his head that told him that he would need to wait. His time to feed would come soon, but not quite yet.
He walked through the field and to the forest beyond. He cast his eyes upward, to the trees. The hooting owl was closer now. Not because he cared for the owl at all, but just to test—to adapt, as the ghostlike voice had told him—he tried to locate the bird. With the aid of its telltale voice and the musty scent of its feathers, Larry instantly picked up the trail.
VEILED Complete Boxed Set Page 24
