Hounds of Light: An Urban Fantasy Series (Cursed Night Book 2)

by Justin Sloan

  Matthew glanced at the notes, then nodded. “From my understanding, yes. There are those that would bring light into this world, and those that would bring darkness. I embraced darkness in my quest for revenge, and it corrupted me. Had I gone all the way, I would thirst for blood, I would burn when the sunlight touched my skin, and… I wouldn’t be here helping like I am right now.”

  “That last part’s still up for debate.” Katherine folded her arms across her chest, fingers caressing the leather of her jacket as she rocked from one foot to the next. All this talk was bringing her mind back to places it didn’t want to go—she’d rather have the conversation over, but she needed to know the full story. “If it’s this man you say it is, why’s he here?”

  “If he’s here, which I now believe one hundred percent,” Matthew said, “then that means he’s finally come for his revenge. He’ll use lesser beings, members of the Dark World not as powerful as himself, and control them so that they can carry out his revenge for him.”

  “Yes, hatred, revenge, we get it,” Katherine said, her anxiousness growing. “But who is he after? Revenge for what?”

  Matthew sighed, looking her in the eye with sorrow as he said, “His revenge isn’t simply against one person, but for everyone he blames for what happened to his wife when she was killed overseas. She was a doctor, and….”

  “A bombing,” Mauro said, closing his book. “Misplaced, naturally. Civilian casualties, to include this man’s wife.”

  “You’ve done your research, old man.”

  Mauro shook his head. “That’s my job. And yours—the two of you and everyone else we can find to defy this man, Grundy—is to find him and stop him before it’s too late.”

  “Hello?” Katherine held up a hand. “Am I missing something? Who does he blame? Who’s his target?”

  “Not just one who,” Mauro said, his eyes taking on a distant look. “Am I right, Matthew?”

  Matthew nodded. “Grundy means to see all of America burn.”

  Katherine’s chest heaved, her ears ringing with the news. She’d hoped they were done with madmen when they’d defeated Aldrick, but now it was only getting worse. Someone with the power to control not only werewolves, but maybe other forms of dark beings… Maybe even spirits and demons? And to make it worse, he was some sort of twisted vampire.

  She put her head in her hand, focusing, and then said, “What do we do?”

  “Get some rest,” Mauro said. “Matthew and I will figure out what we can, and tomorrow we set off to put a stop to this.”

  ***

  Triston had started falling asleep, waiting for Katherine to come back up to the room they were sharing.

  When she finally came stumbling in and sat down at the foot of the bed, head in the palms of her hands, he knew something was wrong. Wiping the sleepiness away, he sat up and put an arm around her.

  “We’ll figure this out,” he said.

  She turned to him and, after a moment of hesitation, started telling him all about Matthew and his journey to the temple in the mountains of Central Asia, how he’d met this Grundy person, and what sort of threat he presented for America.

  Triston’s eyes grew wider with each word, until any lingering drowsiness was long gone.

  “First I become the one thing I hate,” he said, grimacing as he remembered the werewolf that had killed his family, the same sort of creature he was now, “and now I find out that we’re fighting mind-controlling, dark-magic-practicing, freaking VAMPIRES?”

  She stared at him, and then said, “There’s no reason to lose it. We can’t afford to right now.”

  A quick breath escaped his nose, and he said, “If there was ever a reason to lose it, I’d say this about does it.”

  She took his hand and squeezed. “We’ll fight it together, right? You and me, taking on the world.”

  “Saving the world, you mean.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” She leaned her head on his chest. “Though, sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.”

  “Come on,” he said, pulling her up to the pillows with him, so they were lying together, her head still on his chest. “We need to close our eyes and forget about this, until tomorrow when we’re rested and ready.”

  “Is that how you forget about it?” she asked, and he felt her hand on his chest, caressing, then moving to his abs, pulling up his shirt so her warm touch sent tingles through his body. “I feel like there’re better ways to take our minds off of it.”

  She lifted her head and kissed him, then adjusted her body so she was on top of him, her hips pressed against his.

  “You know,” he said between kisses, “I think I like,” another kiss, “your way more.”

  She smiled, then sat back to pull off her shirt. He was glad to see she was right, as the moonlight shone in from the blinds and highlighted her nude torso. He was already starting to forget what they’d been so worried about.

  By the time they were done and she was asleep at his side, his eyes closing slowly, he’d totally forgotten.

  Chapter 5

  Dawn came with a pounding on their door. “It’s time to go!”

  Katherine rolled out of bed, found a shirt and panties, and put them on before going to the door. When she opened it, Mauro frowned at her appearance.

  “Really?” he said, already dressed and prepared. “Just so you know, I don’t exactly approve of this situation you have going on.”

  “And what situation is that?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn. She noticed him looking pointedly past her.

  “Oh… Oh!” She turned to look at Triston, who was propping himself up on his elbows with a sleepy look. “It’s a good thing you’re not my father then,” she said before turning to close the door.

  “Katherine, it’s time.”

  She sighed, pausing. “Where exactly are we going?”

  “Matthew’s out searching for a trail, seeing if he can get a lead on where Grundy could be, or where the other Werewolves might be congregating, in case they’re under Grundy’s control.” Mauro hesitated, eyeing her as if he wasn’t sure she was ready. “I have some people I want you to meet.”

  “Are you being cryptic to piss me off?” she said, hand on her hip, forgetting that she wasn’t fully dressed. She reached behind the door and found some pants to slip on. “Or is this just your way of actually trying to communicate?”

  He turned so as not to watch her dressing, and said, “It really is easier if I just show you.”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, we’ll be down in a minute,” before closing the door and pulling off her nightshirt to find something more presentable. She had no idea what this was all about, and didn’t want to show up looking like crap.

  “You heard all that?” she asked Triston.

  “Did it sound like I’m invited?” he asked, standing from the bed, not bothering to cover himself.

  “Not if you don’t put on some clothes,” she said with a laugh. She stifled another yawn and tossed him his underwear and pants, which had ended up hanging on the back of the desk chair. “Have you seen my bra?”

  He reached under the sheets and held it up, and she snatched it away. Although he had his lips out for her to kiss, she bit her lip and turned away, fastening the bra.

  “Is something up?” he asked. “Last night—”

  “Last night was great.”

  “It wasn’t our first time….” he said slowly, trying to feel her out. “So…?”

  She grabbed her shirt and pulled it on. Then, deciding it was best to be open with him, said, “It was our first time since Danny’s death.”

  “Oh, damn.” He nodded and finally slipped on his boxer-briefs, then started dressing in silence.

  She went to the attached bathroom and nearly walked right back out when she saw her face in the mirror. Her normally silky-smooth wavy hair was all over the place. She didn’t wear makeup, and right now, with the bags under her eyes, she kind of wished she did.

  A creaking
of floorboards pulled her attention to Triston in the doorway. How the hell he got ready so fast bothered her, especially since he looked completely alert and ready to go.

  “We can back off,” he said, hands on the doorframe. “If you need to take it slow. I mean, this all kind of just happened, right? So I get it.”

  “And all the time we’ll be spending together, you can just go along with it and ignore all this?” She gestured at her body, trying to be playful. But her heart wasn’t in it. She wanted to tell him that, no, there was no reason to take it slow, but her forced smile vanished as her lower lip started quivering.

  He came to her and wrapped her in his arms, one hand on the back of her head as she buried her face in his chest.

  “I’ll be here for you in any way you need me,” he said. “And when you’re ready, no, there will be no ignoring you in the slightest.”

  She pulled away and wanted to punch herself for showing weakness, but was able to manage a real smile this time. “Thank you.”

  He went in to kiss her, but stopped himself and just rested his forehead against hers.

  “God,” she said with a laugh. “We don’t have to slow down that much.” She grabbed him by the lapels of the plaid shirt he’d put on and pulled him in for a kiss.

  “What was that?” he asked, perplexed.

  “I said take it slow. Not break up.”

  His smile spread wide and his relief was evident in his eyes. “Great!” He laughed, then kissed her again. “I can do that even easier.”

  “You thought I was telling you I didn’t want to be romantic at all, and you were okay with that?”

  “Not in the slightest,” he said, grabbing a toothbrush and putting some toothpaste on it. “But like I said, I’m here for you however you want me.”

  As he started brushing his teeth, she said, “Wow, you’re a bit of a cheeseball,” then laughed and jumped out of the way as he tried to slap her butt. She went into the other room, found her leather jacket with the bullet hole in the shoulder, and slid it on.

  “Any day, you two,” Mauro yelled from down the hall.

  Triston came out, slipped on his tan jacket, and the two of them exited to meet Mauro in the living room.

  “This is just going to get depressing,” Mauro said, glancing over at them.

  “Don’t worry,” Triston said. “We’ve agreed to take it slow.”

  “Triston!” Katherine glared at him. “Do we have to advertise that to the whole world?”

  Mauro laughed, shaking his head. “I wish you two could’ve decided to take it slow yesterday. Maybe I could’ve gotten some sleep.”

  Katherine felt the heat of her cheeks turning red as she wondered how noisy they had been. “Can we just go?”

  Mauro went to the front door and opened it for them, gesturing for her to go first. She gave him a fake curtsy, rolled her eyes, and went out to find a new Toyota waiting for them.

  “What happened to the other car?” she asked.

  As they piled in, Mauro at the wheel, he explained that one of his contacts had left it for them, so that Matthew could go do his thing. Katherine suspected part of this whole arrangement was so that she could get a breather away from Matthew, in addition to everything else going on, so she didn’t complain.

  She watched the houses, just starting to glow with the early light of sunrise. After they’d made a few turns she asked, “So, who are these contacts? This guy who brought the car?”

  “Guardians, they call themselves.” He glanced her way in the rearview mirror. “Everything I’m going to tell you two today, you have to keep amongst us. It’ll change the way you view our world.”

  “We have other friends?” she asked, sarcastically. “Who would we tell?”

  He shrugged. “Very well. These Guardians, there’s a whole network of them. Many were out looking for you, along with Triston.”

  Triston gave her an apologetic smile.

  “You’re one of them?” she asked him.

  “It’s why we think the werewolf attacked my family,” Triston said. “I left it all behind then, allowing dark thoughts into my mind. Mauro found me in my moment of grief and despair, and told me about this other side of our world. Helped me see that hatred and revenge weren’t the only answer. So, I joined him.”

  “He was more like an honorary Guardian,” Mauro interjected. “The main Guardians, they’re part of a network that trains new fighters against evil. So they knew about Grundy and his followers, and wanted to stop him, but didn’t know how to find him. They thought you’d be the answer, but didn’t realize Matthew could be swayed to join their side, as he has now.”

  “But if they have fighters of their own, I’m not seeing why they’d need me.”

  “They have some of the best,” he said, pulling into a church parking lot. “One I’m about to introduce you to. But she’s fighting her own battles, on a spiritual level. She’ll be able to help us when the time comes, I imagine, but you… you’re unique for your own battle.”

  “Because you say so.”

  Mauro hesitated, clearly not feeling comfortable about what he was about to say. With a deep breath, he said, “Because of who your parents were.”

  Katherine leaned forward at that. “My parents were just normal… just my parents.”

  Triston and Mauro shared a glance, and now it was Triston’s turn to have that look in his eyes as he said, “I met them once, back when I was in training to be a Guardian. They were taking on mentees, and considering entering you into the school to become one yourself. If they hadn’t died….”

  “Enough!” Katherine said, sitting back and folding her arms. She stared out the window at the church, frowning. She wasn’t sure what to think about all this, wasn’t sure she believed there was good and evil. If there was, she certainly wanted to work on the side of good, but whether it was part of some higher purpose or not, she wasn’t ready to consider.

  What she did know, though, was that all this talk of her parents was bringing the pain in her chest back. Considering the fact that she was still brimming over with the pain of Danny’s death, she was afraid she’d explode if she allowed any more in.

  Then again, with werewolves in hiding everywhere and this new vampire on the prowl, she knew she had to suck it up and kick some butt before everything got out of control.

  She frowned at the glowing cross at the top of the church, then allowed her eyes to wander to the dark windows. “We’re meeting this person in a church?”

  Mauro smiled, knowingly. “I am a priest, after all. But no, not exactly.” He got out of the car and leaned back in to say, “Just follow me.”

  Chapter 6

  Matthew felt his holster to ensure the pistol was there, pausing to stare at the closed gates of Tilden Park, a steep hill on the other side, and the purple mist hovering nearby. It was just like hunting werewolves, but this time he was hunting a vampire—if you could call him that.

  The term had always bothered Matthew, ever since he had learned what he’d become. Half-vampire, or half-warlock, the point was that he had looked to the dark arts for answers, and it had corrupted him. As soon as he’d rejected their ways, they’d cast him out, tried to kill him. But at least he wasn’t lost to his quest for revenge. He was no longer the one they’d called Hunter, because he could now see the difference between revenge and what he sought—a simple end to the evil of werewolves. Not all werewolves, such as Katherine, Mauro, and Triston, but he’d bring judgment to the rest and decide their fate.

  He hadn’t understood at the time that there were so many forms of evil in the world, and he had been in the process of becoming one.

  Meanwhile, Grundy had gone all in. He’d sacrificed an innocent, a young teenage boy, while everyone watched. Matthew had tried to stop it, but the others held him with strength beyond his comprehension, and he’d been forced to watch as Grundy drank from the boy, consumed his life-force.

  When Grundy had stood and dropped the lifeless corpse at his feet, t
he energy within him flowed strong, his eyes glowing red and his fangs long.

  It was a dark magic that had existed for centuries, one that meant great power but came with weaknesses, such as being vulnerable to sunlight. The origin to what stories nowadays referred to as vampires.

  Matthew exited the car and stood at the edge of the gated hill that led into the park, watching as the purple mist swirled, then formed dark before him.

  This was the difference between hunting a vampire and hunting a werewolf—the vampire could hunt him back.

  “You’ve been gone too long,” a deep voice said from the mist, and a moment later the face of his old friend appeared, followed by his body as he materialized. “You come to me seeking death, or to rejoin the old ways?”

  Matthew stared, still in shock at seeing this man after so long. Finally, he said, “Whatever you’re up to, we will stop you.”

  “Ah, so you come to die then,” Grundy said, and surged forward, mist engulfing Matthew and cutting into his skin as the vampire’s claws pulled at his flesh, circling him again and again for the attack.

  But Matthew had been ready, and on the third attack he performed an old kata, sweeping the knife in broad strokes that cut through the purple mist, driving Grundy back.

  While not as lethal to a vampire as to werewolves, silver still caused damage. It was the one advantage Matthew had over Grundy—he hadn’t fully embraced the darkness, so could therefore wield silver.

  And that made all the difference, for now. The purple mist pulled back and Grundy formed again, hands out with claws, fangs bared as he snarled at Matthew with frustration.

  “This is bigger than you,” Grundy said, and then he was gone.

  Matthew spun, searching for any sign of the purple mist, but it too had vanished. He closed his eyes, focusing, hoping to gather a sense of where the vampire had gone—and then it hit him, like thunder rippling through the air, and he sensed a presence moving toward the bay, then across it and into the city.

  San Francisco.

  A city Matthew had visited as a child when his mother took him for a work trip. All he remembered were the homeless people sleeping on the streets, over street vents for warmth, and the human feces that he’d almost stepped in.