by J. Armand
“What about the undead that William is so obsessed with?” I asked once the scene was over.
“What’s there to say? They aren’t much fun, if you ask me, with their mind games and such. There isn’t much of a hunt to it either if you know how to get in close enough to stake one. When Amy hunted, the undead were her fancy. Didn’t require much sport.
“Some of the other chapters in England that don’t have wolves near will use undead to fluff their points.”
“Points?”
“We keep score. Just like any other sport. Brother against brother, chapter against chapter. It’s all in fun,” Micah explained. It was all fun for them, not the poor victims. This whole operation was so much bigger than me, but if I could change the mind of even one of them it would be a success. If I could get them to focus on only fighting evil… “Damn Willy would put us back on top if he’d stop chasing the goose to help his wife and go after bigger marks with us again.”
“Wait, what? Willy, er, William is married?”
Micah stopped talking as though he shouldn’t have let that slip. Why was being married such a big secret for a good Catholic boy?
“Ah, bad metaphor. They get a bit sloppy this late. He’s married to his crusade, I mean.”
“You’re lying.” I called Micah out. He took out a pack of cigarettes and offered me one. “Tell me. When I ask him about it and he wants to know who told me it’s going to come back to you anyway.”
“Blackmail on your first night? Cheeky little bastard,” Micah snickered, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. “All right, then. Willy joined us when he was sixteen. He was thrown out when he shagged his girlfriend, at Bible camp no less, and got her pregnant. She was from England and convinced him to stay with her. She was cast away too. They don’t believe in abortion and all that nonsense.”
“William?! I can’t picture him defying his religion like that. How did he end up here? Where’s his wife?”
“Emily got him to marry her so their baby wouldn’t be a bastard. The marriage didn’t last long. They were living on the streets, Willy doing whatever it took to get by and provide for his happy family. He came back to whatever shitter they were staying in one night to find her on the ground and a man at her neck. When he ran in to save her the neckbiter disappeared. She was dead, along with their unborn child.”
“That’s horrible. No wonder he’s so adamant they’re evil.”
“Carter found him and took him in, even officially adopted him on the down low. Kiddies are a great tax write-off. Willy was worth his weight in gold for years, killing everything in his path. Best hunter this house had seen in years, Carter said. But now it’s just preaching ‘monster this’ and ‘evil that.’ He’s got no off switch and is driving himself bonkers.”
“How is that helping his wife if she’s dead? You said he’s chasing the goose to help her.”
“I don’t know, mate. Avenging the fallen soul of a loved one? The boy’s missing a few upstairs if you ask me.”
“You’re lying to me again. I think you know.”
“You like to play it rough, don’t you?” Micah took a long drag off his cigarette and looked at me slyly through the corner of his eye. “That’s all I’ve got for now. You’ll know the rest tomorrow; you have my word. Just keep this to yourself until then. Willy gets a bit sensitive.”
“Another drink, sir?” The waitress stopped by our table. I didn’t realize her question was directed at me until I noticed my glass was empty.
“No, thanks.” I excused myself so I could go to the bathroom and decompress. Micah grabbed one of the lingerie girls passing by and sat her on his lap for company after I got up.
The bathroom door was half open and the lights were on, but there was so much noise from the party I couldn’t hear whether anyone was inside. I walked in to see Amy and a few guests having their own private party. Each of them was taking turns cleaning white powder off the counter with their nose.
“Sorry,” I said and backed out just in time for Amy to push the door closed in my face. There had to be another bathroom in a house this size. I went through a back hallway, around the perimeter of the first floor, and past several sitting rooms filled with people who wanted to chat away from the congestion in the casino area. In the last room I walked by, Owen had found a more comfortable place than the blackjack table to continue entertaining his two lady friends for the evening. Eyes closed, head back, pants down, Owen was in heaven on the couch. One girl knelt over him; the other straddled him. He had pretty much all the bases covered and, like any gracious host, was making sure no one was left out by keeping a good rotation going. I couldn’t imagine what he would want a partner for. He didn’t look like he needed any help or encouragement. It was time to return to the other house.
I had to climb over several alcohol-saturated socialites to reach the front door. To my surprise, William was standing by the entrance dressed in his hunting armor.
“Are you okay?” I asked. Up close I could see he looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his face was even more drawn than usual. He looked me over, but didn’t show how he felt either way. I expected him to preach against luxury and falling to temptation.
“I just came to see if you were here,” he said, dodging my question as usual. He was so uneasy here I could see it written across his face.
“I was on my way out. I came to say hi and meet Micah so they wouldn’t think I was being rude.”
William nodded and left. For some reason I felt guilty for being at the party, even though I had no reason to. I followed William out and walked with him back to his house, but there wasn’t much conversation.
“The twins must like you,” were the first words out of his mouth after five minutes of silence.
“Twins?”
“Micah and Owen. We all take the same surname upon joining the Brotherhood. I call them the twins. They look and act the same, and they’re inseparable. Micah is even Owen’s manager as of last year. The two of them brought in more money for this chapter than it’s seen in decades.”
“How can you tell they liked me?” I asked. “Owen was a little preoccupied. Did you speak to Micah?”
“No, but if they didn’t, you wouldn’t be here right now. It takes a majority of the house to officially vouch for new membership. Carter and Amy won’t vouch for anyone younger than they are.”
“What would have happened if none of them liked me?”
“You’d be bound, gagged, and drugged, then left in the middle of the woods for the wolves.”
I wasn’t shocked by how close I had come to dying; the joke was on them. But how could William be okay with it?
“That doesn’t sound very pious,” I pointed out.
“It’s a tradition I don’t participate in.” William brushed me off. “It was started generations ago so that new recruits wouldn’t speak of what they saw in their time with us if they weren’t accepted.”
“I didn’t know I had to be officially accepted. I guess I’m glad that’s over.”
“It’s not,” William stated as he flipped through a photo album on his dresser. “Not until you clear a hunt with us tomorrow night.”
“Great. I can’t wait.” That meant I had less than twenty-four hours to ‘fess up about what I really was… or run.
Chapter Seven
It was late afternoon when Owen finally dragged himself in his underwear to our meeting to discuss the night’s hunt. I had spent a good part of the day with William; we’d chatted about everything except what I really wanted to know. I noticed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. There was no way I could ask him about his wife.
“Good morning, princess,” Micah jabbed at Owen, even though he had only joined us an hour earlier.
“Sod off.” Owen collapsed on the bed and covered his face with a pillow.
“You’re getting old. You don’t bounce back as quick after getting pissed anymore. You’ll be in bed by eight and trading those boxe
rs for a nappy in no time.” Owen received Micah’s continued digs by throwing the TV remote at his head.
“I’m going to knock your bloody teeth out as soon as the room stops spinning,” Owen groaned from under the pillow.
“New York is in bad shape.” William tried yet again to pitch his plan. “There are dozens of the undead crawling the streets and their leader has taken notice of Dorian.”
“How’d you manage that?” Micah asked, twirling a dagger between his fingers.
“Wrong place at the wrong time,” was the best I could come up with.
“He killed at least one of them in a building where the homeless take shelter,” William interjected. It was pointless to keep trying to deny what he thought he’d seen. I’d be better off taking credit for it and trying to get them to see that not all supernaturals were evil or simple beasts to be hunted.
“I was defending myself,” I added.
“No one’s judging you, mate. You lived, it died, that’s what counts,” Micah told me.
“How many of those things have you ashed, Dorian?” Owen asked from under his pillow.
“One,” I answered.
“Brilliant! He should take point tonight. Don’t you think, Willy?” Owen’s comment seemed to get under William’s skin based on the twisted expression he got in response.
“You’re not the first Willy has brought on a hunt without much experience,” Micah whispered to me while the other two bickered. “They’re buried a few miles from here now. Real nice funeral. Willy gives a good service, very respectful.”
That was not reassuring.
“Are you dim? If you would just shut up,” Owen yelled at William. “Micah, tell this arse what we found so he’ll stop his yapping.”
If there was this much dissent in the Brotherhood already I was scared to see how they’d fare on the battlefield together. They must be amazing to have stayed alive this long.
“I found the lord’s manor,” Micah explained. “It’s been right under our noses this whole time.”
William’s eyes lit up. “Where? How?”
“Let’s not get on about the details. What you need to know is the neckbiter is here in Somerset. We haven’t seen anything during day recons because the manor only appears in moonlight.”
“Of course! It figures the monster would use wicked magic to hide in plain sight,” William exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Right. Whatever.” Micah rolled his eyes. “The manor is between Wells and here. I’ll mark the location on GPS.”
“So close to the cathedral. The ungodly arrogance of these creatures is disgusting,” William declared angrily. “Is there nothing they won’t try to spread their corruption to?”
“I need a drink.” Owen sat up and looked around William’s room. “Never mind, I forgot where I was.”
“I’ll drive,” Micah announced. “We’ll take the Lamb.”
“The hell you will,” Owen protested. “You’re not laying a hand on her. I just need a few drinks in me and I’ll be good to go. I drive better drunk.”
How were any of them still alive? There must be a God.
“What if he’s not evil?” I asked. “What if he’s just hiding because he wants to be left alone and isn’t hurting anyone?”
The three of them stopped what they were doing and stared at me, then each other.
“They’re all evil,” William answered. “Hiding or not, they are cursed by God. They feed on the blood of regular men like you and me for sustenance. What part of that could be considered good?”
“Have you ever asked any of them or gotten to know one? Maybe some of them are just regular people that fell victim to someone passing on the curse.”
“Don’t go soft on them or they’ll have your throat. Your heart has to be as cold as their bodies if you want to keep the blood in your veins,” Owen cautioned me.
“You can’t talk to them without their mind games playing with your head,” Micah added.
“If we kill the lord in this area, then the curse on all of his offspring will be lifted.” William was getting frustrated with my stalling. That wasn’t how it worked though, I was sure of it. Noah hadn’t changed after Aurelia was killed, and neither had Vance after Minerva died and was sent to Hell.
“How can you be sure?” I debated. “Maybe the lord is innocent and that’s why he’s hiding. If he’s good and can help us find the bad ones we’d be doing something better than just killing indiscriminately.”
“You’re taking all the fun out of it. That sounds like so much more work,” Micah objected. “You know this is a hunters’ group, right? We hunt things. It’s what we do.”
“Can’t we just hunt the bad ones? I’m sure there are enough of them. At least you can talk to them more easily than you could a werewolf.”
“He has a point there,” Owen agreed. William stared at him.
“What would happen if one of you got turned?” I asked. “Would you kill each other?”
Micah and Owen exchanged a sideways glance. “We don’t have many rules, but we don’t hunt our own,” Micah explained.
“I would put Micah in the ground for a gin and tonic about now.” Owen grabbed Micah and put him in a headlock.
“Get off me, you drunkard!” Micah shouted and punched him in the stomach to break free.
“So we agree then? No killing unless evil?” This was probably too easy, but there was hope.
“Whatever, let’s just get on with it,” Micah shrugged. “We’ll let you do the talking, so when he’s ripping your throat out we’ll know it’s okay to attack.”
“We should have a safe word,” Owen commented. “Micah, what’s one of yours?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grinned.
“I wonder what it would be like to bang one of them.” Owen always seemed to have his mind in one of two places: sex or alcohol.
“It’s quite cold, but the lads have the birds beat if you like them feisty,” Micah divulged on our way out.
“And how would you know that?” Owen asked.
“Interrogation is my specialty. I had to get the info about the manor out of them somehow. I thought I was being rather creative,” Micah boasted. My eyes nearly popped out of my head at Micah’s sudden candidness about his fluid sexuality. William could be heard whispering prayers to God as he pulled away from the group to go on ahead.
“Did you save one for me?” Owen asked Micah, amused by William’s discomfort with the topic. “Female, of course.”
“No, didn’t you see the ashes in Willy’s bed? I couldn’t let them give us away after I finished, could I?”
William spun around, giving Micah the most menacing glare possible for a human.
“I’m just having a bit of fun, Willy.” Micah put his hands up innocently. “You know I take them to Amy’s room if it’s going to be dirty. It’s not like she would notice.”
“Micah and I have to get suited up,” Owen said. “Wait for us by the gate.”
“What about me? I don’t have any way to defend myself.” If I had no weapon it would look awfully suspicious if I escaped any violence unharmed. The undead could still sense me differently so I had to hope it wouldn’t come up. I wasn’t ready to say anything yet.
“I thought you were going to hug them all to death with the power of love?” Micah teased. “Here.” He tossed his dagger to me a little faster than necessary. I caught it in one hand with ease.
“Did they teach you that on the street?” Micah asked. He and Owen looked impressed.
“I’m, uh, used to having things thrown at me.” By Noah, I thought.
“Good thing too. The pointy end’s a bitch if you miss.” Owen laughed and flashed me a thumbs-up over his shoulder. “I knew I liked this one.”
---
“How much for the night, pretty?” Micah came screeching around the corner in the latest silver Lamborghini with Owen in the passenger seat. The both of them were dressed in matching black leather armor.
No wonder William called them the twins. Except for Owen’s slightly larger build, the two were indistinguishable with their hoods and masks up.
“I don’t come cheap,” I laughed and got into the backseat with William.
“Doubt that, but it was Willy I was talking to.” Micah puckered up in the rearview mirror, much to William’s chagrin, and toyed with the GPS. “Hm, must have already put the address in.”
“When were you in my little Lamb?” Owen asked defensively.
“She’s cheating on you, mate. She loves how I make her purr.” Micah leaned into the steering wheel and revved the engine. “I must have been pissed the other night and put it in ahead of time.”
“Are you guys normally this carefree before going to face certain doom?” I asked as we flew down the driveway and swerved onto the road.
“What’s to be all serious about? After we stop at the market we’ll have enough garlic to take care of a full house of neckbiters and make my famous sauce for dinner.” If Owen wasn’t joking, we were screwed.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t picture you cooking.”
“I love it. It soothes the beast within,” Owen answered dramatically. ”You shouldn’t judge like that. Only God can judge me. Isn’t that right, Willy?”
“I wish you would take this more seriously when my wife is at stake,” William snapped.
“Wife?” I asked. Finally, time for some answers.
“Life. I said life,” William whispered. It was a poor cover-up. The twins remained quiet, so I’d have to try a different approach.
“So, how did you guys become hunters?”
Micah gave me a subtle smile in the mirror.
“Carter took me in when I was sixteen.” Owen spoke up. “I had just emancipated myself from my parents. Boxing was my life growing up, but none of the universities they wanted me to apply to offered boxing scholarships.”
“You left your family for boxing?” I asked after his silence.
“His dad was an angry lush.” Micah picked up for Owen. “Their money came from an inheritance when his mum’s parents died. He pissed away Owen’s tuition money and expected Owen to make it back by winning prize fights against people twice his age when he couldn’t get a scholarship.”
