Shifting Heroes

by Francheska Fifield

  Charlotte had seemed as sharp as a whip when we talked. Despite being so old she keeps up with the times so well.

  "I wonder if my mom had thought of it if she wouldn't have faded so quickly."

  She is not dead yet, but I know it is only a matter of time. She is on the way out. She has been fading for a bit, but progression had picked up and she likely won’t last a month. It is like watching someone with cancer die. Of course I am not watching because when Beth and I moved in together mother disowned me. I hear from Jessica once a month…maybe. Updates are far and few and I am displeased, but I am not changing my love life to suit their prejudices.

  Ahh the life of a nomadic vampire.

  Chapter Three

  Once in Vermont we set up camp in a rented field not too far from where the slaughter took place. The farmer is so grateful for my help in reimbursing him for his losses he lends us the use of some of his land. I make sure I go there with my contact so he knows it is me that had done it. We have our base of operations.

  I tell him that we would be setting up camp and hunting the thing that killed his livestock to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else again. So, at the far edge of his field, we have a little military operation.

  We are hoping Beth stays in Vermont where there are more animals and less people. It will be easier to keep under control and if she hunts in an urban environment where it is all people we won't be able to save her. If she kills a person the councils will demand her death and they will oversee it themselves.

  We have to make sure to capture her before they send hunters for her. Hunters like her, hunters that know how she works, how she thinks, hunters that deal with crazy vampires and moonstruck werewolves and all manner of murderous beings.

  Beth is the only hunter I know that tries to bring in her prey alive, she doesn't know what the councils do to them afterward and sometimes it does keep her up at night, but she always makes sure to bring them in alive and let the families know she has done so. She figures if she can give them some hope, the fact that they know their relative is back even if they are crazed might stay the councils hand from completely slaughtering them,

  Of course we also know that it could just cause anger and resentment with the council because the hunter brought in their loved one safely and they slaughtered them without even trying to help. That is the councils problem, at least that's how Beth looks at it, that's how I look at it too. They need a new way to deal with things and join the 21st century.

  When a mass murderer is found to be mentally ill they are treated for their illness rather than thrown into prison. If someone is not in their right mind you cannot entirely blame them for what they do. Being a moonstruck werewolf or blood crazed vampire is like that. It is like having another personality take over your mind and do something with your body that you are unaware of.

  Ninety-nine percent of all vampires and werewolves wouldn't hurt anyone, they are not truly psychotic, they are survivalists. They survive, it's what they do and they have found a way to blend in so that they will not be noticed. Deep down is a deeply buried personality, it is no holds bar, they have no control over their own actions and the Council hunts them for it.

  I can’t say I don't understand it is paramount that we keep our identity secret. If people think that the inquisitions were bad they should see nuclear bombing. Being burn at the stake suck, but having a country pissed off at you is much worse, more widespread, and much larger scale. An extinction none of us would escape. We can't slip through the cracks if that were the case. Not like we have all the times before.

  "Brian we're trying to set up a way to track Beth. You have any ideas?"

  I stop and think about it. Alpha is right we have to find a way to track her, to get ahead of her. So far we've been following her slaughters, she has massacred other herds, I have of course reimbursed them this time going personally with my associate to interview the witnesses. To keep my associate and Charlotte's associates separate. I don't want them to know each other's faces, names, anything, I know the weres will likely be able to smell them on me, and if they smell him again they'd be able to identify them.

  But that is not my main concern, it is unlikely that most of them get up in this area and will personally run into my friend, so for now I just have to focus on keeping things as separate as possible. If there is a problem in the future I will deal with it then. No use worrying when it hasn't happened yet. We are already close to worst-case scenario anyway.

  "Tracking spells. The Fae…try asking Brisa if we can get a hold of an earth Fae, a powerful one. Between and earth Fae and an air Fae combining their powers with a piece of Beth's clothing or something that still smells like her they should be able to track her. She can walk on the earth and fly in the air so we need both. It should help us get a lock on her. Brisa will help, or should, if she doesn't want the Fae's dirty little secret out."

  "Are you saying we should blackmail her?"

  "If need be do it." I nod and take off towards Brisa's tent, she won't be happy with me for sending her back into the hornets' nest that is the Fae right now, but we need an earth Fae. I am not sure how one will feel about cooperating since the last co-op hadn't exactly gone well…the last time we cooperated the air clan had almost been wiped out. Of course that is more their doing. Fae arrogance, it is always their downfall.

  I wander around checking out the supplies, equipment, and personnel making sure everything goes smooth. I expect there to be more fights among the personnel, the supernatural's they have gathered don't seem like they'd be happy-go-lucky get along great typse. But these men and women have been battle hardened, they been through thick and thin together. They have saved each other's asses more than once.

  So the problems in camp have very little to do with species and everything to do with them boasting on which one of them is better. Not which one of their species is better, but which one of them individually is more kick ass. As a result there are often black eyes, sprained wrists, and small things like that. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but with Beth's life on the line it makes me more and more short tempered.

  Our first run in with her ends with two injuries. We catch up to her as she is fleeing the scene of her latest massacre.

  "Beta left, Ralph right. I am going straight after her."

  I watch as Alpha dispatchs the team. Alpha and Beta are the wolves, Ralph the vamp (weirdest vamp name ever), Kristoona the Fae and medic. The whole group is a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, they are not ready to hunt a crazed hunter.

  "Ralph behind you!"

  Before they can catch her Beth has circled around and gets Ralph down. Vamps are hardy which is lucky because Beth grabs him and uses him like a ragdoll as a bear. I can see scratches from Ralph but they are healing so fast. Likely because Beth has part of him in her mouth and the blood is almost instantly healing her.

  "Dammit. I told them not to fuck around."

  I run out leaping over Alpha as he runs to intercept Beth and save Ralph. I am not sure why she is a bear. Since we lost her in the field she had been sticking to animals it is logical to see in these parts. It gave me hope her sanity was still in there somewhere.

  "Hey Winnie the pooh!"

  Beth turns and glares at me. A roar later, which leaves my ear drums ringing so bad I can't hear a word Alpha yells to me, she has tossed Ralph. I see our human medic running over, walking fresh blood bag and as weak as Ralph is he will be easily subdued right now.

  She changes into vamp mode, humanoid, and charges me. Well I am a vampire too. A weakened one, but I am going for it. They need time to regroup. So I charge her as well. She bites my neck but I get her in the shoulder. I drink as fast as she does. Our blood rushes through one another and I try so hard to call her. Mentally pushing my mind to hers wishing against all logic that telepathic communication was possible for vamps. It is not and before I can make a difference a bullet rips into her and the impact sends us both flying. A magically enhanced bullet. It doesn
’t slow her down.

  She is back in wolf form running, a slight limp, but still running. We on the other hand are torn up and in need of healing. There is no way we can follow her tonight. We drag our asses back to the camp.

  The second event is just as horrifying. Maybe more so because she comes for us. After us tracking and hunting her she finally turns the tables. It is less than twenty hours after our run in with her. We are sore. We are broken. Only Jason and his demon are fully aware.

  Everyone else is incapacitated or exhausted from trying to save those of us that were destroyed before. The vamps are down and out. The wolves have even donated blood to keep Ralph and me from kicking it. Granted he is worse off than I am, but neither of us are doing jumping jacks anytime soon.

  So it is dark, we are all asleep and all of a sudden there is screaming and growling. The screams are from the employees that take care of the camp and clean up after treatments. Not humans, but low level supernatural's. They don’t stand a chance.

  I hear all kind of movement and smell blood. I try to drag myself up but I’ve mostly had blood bags so they can focus on Ralph and to be honest, my shoulder is so bad it is not healing the way it should. I know it is permanent.

  All I can do is sit there and hear the wailing, yelling, and violence. Smell the blood and smoke as they use fire to scare her away. Singed fur floats through the air mixed with ashes from the fires we had going. I try so hard to move, to get up, to help I push too hard and know nothing but blackness.

  Chapter Four

  We have been in Vermont for over three weeks without incident, at first no one wanted any after her attack on the camp, but now the longer they go without getting any action the more rowdy they get with one another. I can’t imagine capturing Beth will be easier than their normal catches and since they have seen her in action they assume they are ready. That they know what to expect and can change things up so that we will come out on top next time. Little do they know.

  It is, in fact, Jason that keeps the men in line. When things start to go too far a burst of power from him will separate the fighters sending everybody flying into their own corners, suspended in midair, his power radiating out of his eyes as he glares them into submission. Once they are properly chastised he lets them drop to the ground and walks away.

  I had started out yelling at them that they needed to be in top form, which got me nowhere. I have to admit I am not as much of a threat as a vamp normally is, as I would like to think, but the demon Jason he doesn't even register on the scale of power, it is not really comprehensible. He is an alpha, I am not even a beta. There is no term for what he is. He doesn't even belong to our world so when he speaks, when he uses his actions to speak, everyone including Alpha listens. Luckily he is always in my corner because I want Beth back and so does he.

  I often sit up wondering why. Sometimes I wonder what he has to gain. In all likelihood he will stayed bonded with Jason so that Jason can continue his job and not lose out on everything he worked for. However, the demon seems to have different ideas. He misses his old host, Beth. He misses her spunk, her tenacity, her perseverance, and her self-sacrificing behavior. I am not sure I understand entirely so I try to converse with him about it. I leave both understanding more and less than before. Our conversation goes like this.

  "Why is it that you like Beth so much as a host? I mean she kept getting hurt, kept having to use your power to heal her. Didn’t you find it annoying?"

  The demon cocks his head at me looking at me as if thinking, trying to find the right words to explain it. He is careful about what he says, at least when it matters. I appreciate and respect that.

  "The first host, she was different. She loved her family and friends. She was scared of the world but pushed past fear to save it. She had been hurt much by people in this world, human and nonhuman. It did not matter; she still wanted to save it at any cost, even her own life. She didn't hate her brother for what he did to her; she accepted that it was necessary. She reminded us all, even the ones not inside of her, the ones that could communicate up here."

  He points to his head I can only assume he means they have some kind of telepathic connection to one another.

  "The ones that connected to us, to see how we were doing on our quest to free us, to send us home. They admired her; she was much like Solomon before his downfall. He listened to our counsel knowing we were ancient and wise. Then when he listened to mortals he tried too much too fast, he tried to make too many females. He got greedy. She was like Solomon before greed."

  With that he is gone, walks over to the food that is being served, fills up his plate sits down to eat, and then goes straight to the tent. I can only assume he slept. Of course what the hell go I know about the demons? Then again after seeing Solomon fall I don't understand why they would want to chance going through that again. So I am both enlightened and confused.

  The next day I get a call from our farmer friend who says that someone called him saying that the animal has been sighted again. The same one that destroyed his flock is after his friend's sheep. We high-tail it there; Brisa uses her air power to make us faster. She is much more powerful now; the wind can carry us all and drop us where we need to be.

  Sure enough we get to the field and there is Beth trying to escape. Alpha sends one of his men, the most human of us all (the medic) to the family. They are there with guns trying to chase her down. Little do they know that she is trying to lure them into a trap, a place where they can not easily escape where she can break them apart, ambush, and destroy them.

  Beth is pure predator right now. Her eyes glow red full of blood and hate. Her fur stands up full of sweat, her head swinging in anticipation of the kill. I can't see anything of Beth in them, and that scares me more than seeing a demon inside of her.

  We split up, one of us has to be bait and I volunteer. I tare my shirt off and she looks at my wound. It is almost like she remembers doing it and is glad.

  "That's right girl. You did this, still hurts like hell. Sometimes I remember what it felt like when you ripped the chunk out of me. Want to come and get some more?"

  She doesn't hesitate. Beth would've hesitated. She would've thought carefully about what I was planning, she would've thought carefully about how to escape if she were caught. But this, whatever it is, is not rational. Not thinking she barrels straight into me, landing on my chest and taking me down. I manage to get my hands on her muzzle and squeeze keeping her away from my throat.

  The others comes as close as they dare keeping her attention on me and not them. They go to dart her but instead they find themselves facing a giant Eagle, its wings blast the darts back. One of them even goes so far as to land on the medic. He drops unconscious, asleep. I hope he wasn't human. The dosage we use could take an elephant out. If he is human he is dead.

  Normally I would've been able to smell who is what but they all spend so much time around each other everybody smells a little like human, a little like vampire, a little like a werewolf, and a little Fae. It is too much. If I’d ever had to protect myself from them I would die. I have been told the core of the group, but I am not sure about all twelve that are with me. My senses wareere overloaded right now. My worry and concern dampening my ability to survive.

  That is not a problem right now however. It is all I can do to keep Beth from destroying me. She is going for the face. For anywhere that has a major artery. Even as a bird she is purely predator. She flies up and out of the way of the darts and as they reload she comes back down at me her beak piercing my flesh. I scream until I see Jason.

  There must've been enough rationale in her, just enough instinct left to recognize a superior predator when she see one because she stops attacking me and glares him down instantly transforming into a bear. I am now stuck underneath the freaking bear as Jason with his glowing demon eyes stares down Beth. He lifts a hand and power shoots out as she tries to turn into an eagle again and fly away.

  But there is no escape, it catches her
, in fact it catches all of us. Everyone goes flying backwards; I start to roll on the ground like a brick and bouncy ball all in one. I know I have to protect my head and neck and try to twist and turn with the force so I can get out of it as unscathed as possible.

  It doesn't seem to stop Beth. I know the demon is dampening his power trying to capture rather than kill but I donn't think it is going to work. He is going to have to go all out, half kill her. At least I am not underneath her anymore because the eagle has turned into a black bear and it is ready for a fight. She is on its hind legs, claws out, growling, and roaring at the top of her lungs. A beast of massive size, strength, and anger. Alpha comes over and checks my pulse

  "Are you okay?"

  "I'm a little shaken up, a little sore, but I'll live. I'll just take a blood bag later no problem."

  It is not entirely a lie, where she bit me throbs like a bastard and I am not sure the arm will stop hurting when I move it even after getting some blood. I am going to have to get use to the fact that it will never fully heal and it will always pain me. Of course if I chose this as a career after this mission is over I will be a liability, though from Alpha's conversation with me before it seems more like they want me for informational purposes than a fighter. Thank God for that.

  "I don't think the tranqs are gonna work. You need to give the order to take her down."

  He is right, not that we have to kill her, but we do have to take her down a notch or two. We will have to get her close to death to bring her in. I nod. "No final death, but if get her half dead to bring her in alive do it."

  I pull myself behind a tree as alpha shouts commands. The demon looks to me and I nod once. Yes I am giving the order. He nods, I can feel the ozone in the air, and it gets heavy and light at the same time. Alpha and his team makes sure to get behind trees as well. The sky darkens, electricity buzzes everywhere, everything scatters…every animal. They don't even bother to hide from us they just run for the hills determined to get the fuck away from here. When the team is safe and the animals gone power swirls.