After Sunset

by Nicole Renee

  Before he turned away from the window he heard a voice whispering through the room.

  “It has begun. Bring me the girl before the next full moon and the world will be yours.”

  Davien swallowed at the subtle hint at the timeline. He had a month to bring the daughter of sunrise to Lord Raven. Or his soul was forfeit.

  Can you believe that? This boy is using my shop to pick up girls. This is the third girl I’ve had come by and ask me if Vincent was working today. I don’t know if hiring him was a good idea. -W

  Zahir chuckled at Winny’s text message. Ever since he went over to her apartment, the two had kept in some semblance of contact. If it wasn’t a physical conversation, it was through text. He used to tease Akachi about his face always being buried in a phone, but he found himself unable to judge because he was doing the same thing.

  Instead of facing a smug Akachi, his brother was nowhere to be found. After Akachi prevented him from taking his night further with Winny, he came home only to find him gone. When his brother had finally decided to come back home, he had locked himself away in his room. Unable to see his brother physically, he called his phone, only to be brushed off.

  He thought it was strange, but he chalked it up to Akachi being his usual weird self and called it a night. Besides, it was hard to be mad at his brother when all he could think about was Winny. That other night was one of the best he’d ever had. The easy conversation, the company.

  Winny was special. Yes, she was beautiful, but it was more than her looks and personality. There was something else. Something under the surface that was calling to him. He couldn’t stay away if he tried. Even being busy with his work was annoying him. All he wanted to do was sit in her shop and watch her talk about whatever, and whoever. He wanted to see her smile.

  What am I a teenage girl now?

  He was equal parts disgusted and impressed with himself. Even now, just thinking about her was causing a grin to stretch his face. He typed out a reply.

  Can you blame the boy? Most of the smartest prettiest girls are found in libraries and bookstores. The prettiest one I know owns the store. -Z

  Zahir didn’t have to wait long for a response.

  You’re making me blush. And you’re distracting me. I have to go and work now. -W

  You’re the one who texted me first. Bye. -Z

  “Really Z? You’re texting like a girl now?” Akachi asked laughter in his voice.

  Zahir’s head snapped up before he hissed at his brother and locked the phone. He hadn’t heard him enter his office or lean over his chair to read his messages.

  “Why are you here? And why are you reading over my shoulder? I don’t read your personal messages,” he said covering up his embarrassment with a gruff exterior.

  His brother’s eyes danced as he walked over and plopped on the chair four feet away from his desk. “I called your name several times, but you didn’t hear me. Then I saw you grinning into your phone like an idiot and I had to see for myself what had you so preoccupied. I’m guessing you’re talking to a woman. Do I know her?” he questioned.

  Zahir glanced at his brother for a second before picking up his papers and shuffling them about. “Actually, yes. You remember I was having a bit of a disagreement with Winter Frame.”

  “Mmhm,” he said waiting for Zahir to continue.

  “Well, I met with her a couple of days ago at T’s joint-”

  “You agreed to meet her there?”

  “No. I mean, she was there, and I was up late that night and saw her. So I went over to make amends. She forgave, and we started talking. We left together to get some dessert and I walked her back to her bookshop.”

  “Wow. Was that was the only time you met up with her?” Akachi asked.

  Zahir shook his head. “Last night was the second time. We, uh, talked. It was nice. That was about three days ago. And we’ve been talking since then,” he finished lamely.

  Akachi knew there was more to the story than what his brother was telling him, but he decided to leave it for the time being.

  “Well I’m glad,” Akachi said before crossing his arms over his chest.

  Zahir’s eyebrow rose as he studied his brother. “You’re glad?”

  “Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?”

  Shrugging, Zahir stood. “I don’t know. I just didn’t expect that reaction.”

  Akachi glanced around the room. “Look, you’ve been there for me through all the crappy times, like when mom and dad were killed. I know I gave you some grief, but I still appreciate everything, and you deserve to be happy.” It was completely silent, and when Akachi turned his gaze on his brother he narrowed his eyes at him.

  Clutching his chest, Zahir kept blinking his eyes as if he couldn’t process what Akachi just said. “Praise God. I never thought I’d be around to see the day my brother would actually show some gratitude for the-”

  “Oh shove it, Z,” he said annoyed at Zahir’s dramatics. “I’m always gracious,” he said defensively.

  Zahir only stared at him as if he was growing a second head.

  “I take back everything I said to you.”

  “No, you don’t,” Zahir said chuckling. “And I appreciate it. I wanted to thank you, actually. For suggesting I make amends with her. She is a special woman,” he said stopping himself.

  Akachi was surprised. Just last week she irritated him, and now his brother looked as if he was-

  In love?

  “Yeah, don’t mention it,” he said clearing his throat. He suddenly felt guilty about keeping Winny’s true identity a secret from his brother. But he kept reminding himself of the story Amara had told him, and knew that it was all for his good. Akachi had been trying to get in contact with Amara but found that she wasn’t at her store.

  Zahir studied his brother for a moment, sensing that there was something on his mind, and moved to sit beside him. “What’s going on?”

  Akachi put his head down, swallowing back his response. It was on the tip of his tongue to reveal the truth about Winny, but he also trusted Amara. “Just haven’t been getting enough sleep.”

  Zahir noticed the guilty expression marring Akachi’s features and clasped his shoulder. “You sure there wasn’t something else?” he asked, seeing if he would reveal what was bothering him.

  Akachi only shook his head before standing. “That was it... I’ve got to head out… Call me if you need me.”

  “I will,” Zahir said as he watched his brother leave the room. When he could no longer hear his footsteps in the house, he called his head of security.

  “Sir?” he answered on the first ring.

  “Clayton. Have some men follow Akachi. But make sure they remain undetectable.”

  “Understood.”

  “Report to me his whereabouts or who he’s meeting. I want to make sure he’s not getting into anything dangerous.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you, Clayton. Oh, and did you find the men who were chasing Akachi?”

  “Yes, sir. In fact, I was calling to give you an update when my phone rang. It was Juan and Asher. They work for-”

  “Davien, I know,” he hissed out. “Do you know where they’ll be tonight?”

  “I do. I have men following them as we speak. They’ve been seen entering one of the abandoned buildings of Gallatin Street.”

  “You mean the French Market Place,” Zahir corrected with disdain in his voice. He never understood humans and their incessant need to continually change the name of places just because time had passed.

  “I’m sorry, sir. French Market Place. Based on our surveillance, the two are setting something up. I just have no idea what it is.”

  “Have your men gotten close enough to scent it? Anything suspicious?”

  “They haven’t been able to get close enough. We are trying to be cautious. It’s suspected that they might have other duals staking out the location.”

  What are you up to Davien?

  If Davien was beh
ind Akachi’s attack, it meant that Davien was looking for his brother. It wasn’t just some guys getting into a brawl. It was something more sinister. Was it a warning? But for what? Zahir was annoyed that rebellion was happening under his rule. He would soon fix that problem.

  “Clayton. Make sure the French Market is cleared for the night. Fill Javier in on the details, but tell him to go about business as usual. I need to handle this,” he said before striding out of his office. Zahir ascended to his room and changed. It’d been a while since his dual nature came out to play. Now was as good a time as any.

  Javier was sick of dealing with incompetence.

  He’d had his men out searching for anything that would be amiss within the quarter. They couldn’t find anything until about thirty minutes ago.

  “Javi, we have a problem.” The man looked up from the boring inventory checklist he had to do in his back office.

  His two guards and hired muscle Alexei and Dash were staring at him with a bit of fear in their eyes. Usually, men who stood over six feet tall and were packed with muscle, weren’t easily frightened. Especially with them both being duals- one a snow leopard and the other a bald eagle. Fear didn’t seem to be in their vocabulary. Both had been with him for a long time, over a century to be exact, so he was able to read them quickly.

  “What is it?” he asked impatiently, not beating around the bush.

  “Someone has called on Raven,” Dash, the leaner of the two answered, running a hand through his chestnut colored hair, fear in the eagle’s voice. “His minions are out in the streets wreaking havoc.”

  “Apparently,” Alexei continued, picking up the conversation, “There was a meeting amongst the coven leaders and someone else. We don’t know who it was. Their scent was covered and they weren’t meeting in a typical place.”

  “How do you know this? How do you know Raven was called?” Javier asked, putting down his clipboard.

  “Because we heard one of them,” Dash answered. “It was only a group of four. We heard someone talking about how crazy the last meeting was, and how they wanted to see if anyone was going to go along with the plan or not.”

  Javier ran a hand over his face. This was definitely a big problem. If this was true, then Raven must have a way to overthrow Zahir.

  “Did you see anything else?”

  “No. But we heard some screams not too far from Talon’s bar and when we got over there, we found her fighting off some creature we have never seen before. We helped her, but it took a lot to kill him. It was like he was some sort of demon.”

  Suddenly the three men heard a noise coming from the back of the bar. They instantly fell into a fighting stance before speaking to Javier.

  “When we go out the back door, lock it behind us,” Alexei said before pulling out his thick machete.

  “Wait ten minutes and then call for a seer. We need the place sealed and protected until we know what the threat is exactly,” Dash added before pulling out his guns. Not waiting for an answer the two left and Javier immediately locked it behind them.

  He swore under his breath before dialing for Amara.

  “Hello?”

  “Amara, I need you over here at my bar. We are having a huge problem.”

  12

  Zahir had been watching the two men in the warehouse for over an hour. He tried to listen in on what they were saying, but the men didn’t speak much. He had walked the perimeter of the place before slipping inside, successfully concealing his scent by emitting his snake venom. It was another secret kept by his kind.

  After about twenty minutes he was able to figure out that they were building some type of throne and shrine. He saw a table that looked to be where sacrifices would be made. What pissed Zahir off the most was the letter R and D carved into most of the chairs, tables, and even the throne seat. It confirmed that Davien must be working under Raven.

  The fact that Davien was confident enough to build a shrine to the dark lord and himself worried Zahir. He knew who he would have to talk to, but first, it was important to get this situation squared away. If Davien wanted his position, he would have to take it over his dead body.

  Which would never happen.

  “It’s almost completed,” Asher said into the phone. He and Juan had been working tirelessly for the past several days trying to get everything in order for their boss.

  “No one followed you?” Davien asked as he paced his office. He was pleased to see that his liege of demons was out terrorizing the city. Other than a couple of insignificant deaths, nothing major had been announced. At least not to him. He knew Zahir had gotten word of the recent attacks happening in his area.

  “No boss. We’ve covered our tracks. We haven’t scented anything other than the average human passing by in the daytime.”

  Davien grunted. “Alright. Well finish up, and then head back over to the quarter. We need to meet with the other covens. They should’ve made their decision by now.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Hanging up, Asher ran his hand over his face before calling out to Juan. “Hey, man, boss wants us to finish up as soon as possible. He needs help over on the other side of town.”

  Wiping his brow, he put down the drill before standing. He took a look at his work before stepping back. “This is all I’ll be able to do for tonight. I just need-” Juan’s head snapped in the direction of the large door inside of the abandoned building. It used to be a factory, but it was closed down years ago.

  “You hear that?” Juan said turning to Asher.

  The jackal rolled his eyes before walking to stand beside him. “Juan? You know this building is old. It makes all types of sounds. Don’t you think we would notice if someone or something was here?” he countered.

  Juan nodded his head but kept his eyes alert for any movement.

  “Now. I’m going to grab the rest of the supplies from the back room. I’ll only be ten minutes.”

  “Alright.”

  As soon as Asher left, Juan went to the sink located in the back corner of the room. He could tell it used to be some sort of break room for employees by the chairs and old refrigerator. As soon as he rinsed all the debris from his hands, he froze, feeling a presence behind him.

  “Turn around, Juan,” the deep cold voice said.

  The jackal gave an involuntary shiver before obeying the command. His eyes widened in shock at seeing the serpent king in front of him. His eyes were completely black, and skin which was normally smooth obsidian now glistened with the snake skin. He opened his mouth revealing a set of elongated teeth which were sharp as newly whetted knives.

  Quickly Zahir grabbed him by the throat holding him in the air. Asher gasped for breath, clawing at his skin, only to find it releasing some slick substance. It took a second for him to realize it was poisonous causing his movements to weaken with each swipe of his clawed fingers.

  He whimpered at the sudden mind-numbing pain that spread through his body like wildfire. “My king,” he said weakly, “I can explain.”

  “How can you explain the attack on my brother? And what are you doing with Davien?” Juan kept shaking in his arms and it irritated Zahir.

  “Speak!” he hissed out.

  Juan clawed at his Zahir’s slick skin which was dripping with venom, trying to get him to release the grip around his neck. “I can’t tell you anything,” he gasped out. “Davien made us visit a witch. I’m physically unable to tell you anything. Compulsion will not work on us. You can even ask Asher, he’ll tell you the same thing,” Juan gasped out.

  “He’s unable to speak anymore,” Zahir said.

  Juan’s eyes widened at that. “Please, my king, I-”

  “Will die a slow and painful death,” Zahir finished.

  Before the man could continue his futile pleas, Zahir cut open his arm with a sharpened claw-very few knew that dual serpents had claws- and allowed his poison to enter his bloodstream. He dropped the man before crouching over him.

  “For the next hour, you will fe
el your organs shutting down. They will try to expel the poison but will be unable to. After experiencing hot and cold body temperatures, you will lose feeling in your legs, and arms. You will foam at the mouth, and you will go blind. Then, right before you think it can’t get any worse your heart will explode in your chest. Because I am a pureblood you will then waste away quickly. There will be no remains to find because my venom breaks down every muscle and bone in your body.”

  Juan wanted to scream but found himself unable to. His eyes were wide and he started to suddenly feel hot. Zahir tapped him on his face before standing and walking away. He heard Clayton before he saw him and when the man nodded to him, Zahir tilted his head towards the back.

  “He’s dying as we speak. Do not touch him until he has completed disintegrated.”

  “What of Asher?

  At that, Zahir smirked. “I removed his tongue, but I’d like you to finish the job. I want his body parts sent to Davien along with a message. I will draft if for you when you have boxed him up properly.”

  Clayton offered an evil grin. “Yes, sir.”

  Zahir was walking out of the warehouse when he felt his phone vibrate. He frowned at seeing Javier’s number show up. “Yeah?”

  “We have a major problem.”

  Winny wasn’t one of those needy women, but she hadn’t heard from Zahir since the day before yesterday and she was starting to get worried. Ever since he came over to her apartment he only texted and called, but he hadn’t stopped by to see her? Honestly, it was sending mixed signals. Come to think of it, she also hadn’t seen Amara for a couple of days either.

  Winny was slightly irritated at the sudden disappearing acts from her friend and her sort of boyfriend. Was she too old to have a sort of boyfriend? Was suitor a more appropriate term?