House of Wolves: (A Paranormal Urban Fantasy) (The Vampire Project Book 1)

by Jonathan Yanez

  The animal was down, there was no doubt about that, but its giant chest still heaved in and out. A dark primal eye full of pain and anger followed them as they moved closer.

  “I’m sorry, friend.” Marcus raised his staff and aimed it at the animal’s head.

  The beam entered the creature’s skull and penetrated brain matter, allowing the beast to finally find rest. Its chest quivered, then ultimately ceased to move. Jack looked at his father, who he knew hated to kill such an amazing animal.

  “Do you think this is the creature that has been attacking Burrow Den?” Aareth wondered out loud. “I mean, we’re only a day or two journey from the city now.”

  “The descriptions we read of the animal responsible for the killings in Burrow Den and the paw prints that were recorded weren’t from a mutated unicorn,” Jack took a long look at the unicorns paws comparing them to the sketch he remembered seeing at the palace.

  “Jack, take a look at this,” Marcus crouched examining the unicorn further.

  Jack maneuvered around a still shocked Aareth and knelt by his father, who was examining the unicorn’ paws. Each paw had six toes, and even more disconcerting was the long white hair covering the animal. As Jack got closer, he saw the unicorn’s coat very closely resembled feathers.

  “What does it mean?” Jack asked as his mind struggled to find an answer to the unnatural riddle in front of him.

  “I don’t know,” Marcus clenched his jaw, “but this is not what nature intended.”

  “What are you saying?” Sloan was examining the unicorn’s body over Jack’s shoulder.

  “I’m saying,” Marcus stood up with a look in his eyes that Jack had never seen before, “that we need to get to Burrow Den now and stop whatever is happening there.”

  Jack

  Like most meals, breakfast was rushed. The mage-powered machines were topped off with fuel and the four travelers were on the move again. It was slow going at first. Jack took the lead and maneuvered through the thick forest at a careful speed. The machine hummed underneath him at a much different rate than he used while traversing the desert floor.

  Marcus rode behind him, his posture straight and rigid, searching their new terrain. Soon they found the main road that would lead them to Burrow Den, and both Jack and Sloan pressed down hard on the pedals, urged the machines forward.

  Whenever they passed travelers, either walking or on horseback, the looks they received were the same. First the response was fear and wonder, then distrust and anger. Jack could only guess what they looked like to the passersby.

  Magic fueled machines moving forward under their own power with steam rising in the air behind them wasn’t something that was seen every day, let alone in these parts of the Outland.

  Burrow Den was one of the most remote cities in the Outland. This wasn’t only because it was further away from New Hope than most cities, but also due to the land that had to be traversed to arrive at the town.

  Even after passing through the desert, the city was another two to three days journey by horse through the forests and the rolling mountains. It was only due to the steam bicycles and Jack and his father’s extensive knowledge of the territory that they made such great time.

  A midday meal was eaten while traveling. Jack was able to show off how much he already learned about steering the machine as he rested one hand on the handlebars and casually supported a sandwich in his free hand.

  “If your mother could see you now, she’d be so proud, Jack.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Sure you don’t want to give it a try?” Jack turned his head slightly and smiled through a mouthful of meat and bread.

  “No, I think I’m just fine here.” Marcus looked down on the bumpy dirt lane that led to Burrow Den and the forest and mountains on either side that greeted him if he fell off the path.

  “Did you hear that unicorn when it attacked? It didn’t neigh, it shrieked—like a bird, and the hair it was more like—like—”

  “It looked more like feathers than hair, and the hooves…” Marcus took a long pause and Jack imagined what his face looked like. His brow would be furrowed, lips pursed to the side of his mouth, a look Jack had grown accustomed to when he misbehaved as a child.

  “Jack, it’s important that when we do reach the town, we’re prepared. Remember our instincts and intuition are the best tools we have. Mage powered machines and weapons can only do so much. We have to stay on point.”

  Jack nodded as he gulped another bite. The going was made easy by the machines and just as the sun flirted with the tops of the mountains on its descent, the road sloped up and opened into Burrow Den’s main road.

  Burrow Den was a city of only a few hundred inhabitants. Most people there were friendly when Jack and his father passed through before. The main source of work was farming and livestock.

  The city couldn’t have been more different than New Hope. Instead of steel structures and iron towers climbing the heavens, simple one-story houses and buildings made of wood were scattered throughout the city.

  Where New Hope was bustling with activity and noises rang out in every corner, Burrow Den was quiet and still.

  “Let’s park these machines just outside town, Jack,” his father advised. “There’s no need bringing more attention to us and what we’re doing than we have to. At least until we introduce ourselves.”

  Jack knew exactly what his father meant. They had no idea what they were in for. The last thing they needed was to be looked at with fear and wonder like they had been earlier that day.

  Jack parked the machine just outside the city in a grove of tall, bright green trees. Sloan pulled up next to him. Aareth jumped off the bike and grimaced as he stretched. “Boy, you’d think after riding a horse for so many years I’d be used to it, but my butt is as numb as—”

  “Good idea parking the machines outside the city,” Sloan interrupted, giving Aareth an amused roll of her eyes. “We need to gain the town’s trust, not scare them off with inventions they don’t understand. When we get into the city, let me do the talking.”

  The three men followed Sloan as she walked out of the grove of trees into the city. Not much had changed since Jack had last seen Burrow Den. The houses still looked the same. The one wide road that led to the heart of the small city was still intact and well kept. The only thing Jack noticed that was different was the lack of people.

  Jack’s father caught on to the subtle clue as well, his staff was already in his hand. No magic coursing over the wood just yet. To everyone else it would look like Marcus was just an older man using a staff to assist his stride but Jack knew better. He could tell when his father’s hand was a quick second away from drawing magic.

  “Well, I guess that answers our question about whether the messenger the Queen sent made it here or not. Not a very warm welcome for people who are sent by the Crown to help,” Aareth mused out loud.

  It was eerily quiet as Jack and his three companions made their way through the city.

  “If I remember right, the town hall, church, and police station are all down the next block,” Jack instructed the group. “Maybe we’ll find someone there.”

  Empty porches were passed, and boarded up houses with locked doors and barred windows seemed to come every few feet.

  Jack was starting to get the feeling that he was being watched as the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. A wave of goosebumps slowly washed over his entire body.

  His eyes were constantly darting back and forth as he walked down the middle of town. He knew someone was watching him yet there was no one around. A young female voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

  “Strangers to the experiment ground? But are they safe or are they like the ones before?”

  Jack turned to his left, his right hand already on the hilt of his wand. The voice came from a girl who stood on a porch he had just seen empty a second before. She was slender with bright red hair and a sad smile.

  “We’re here in the name of Queen El
eanor Eckert. We’re here to help,” Sloan stepped forward.

  Sloan must have seen the porch empty only a moment before as well, her hand was resting lightly on the hilt of her mage sword.

  “Oh, no. No, they’re not like the ones before.” The girl cocked her head to the side like she was listening to someone. “No, silly, look at them. How do I know? Shhhhhh… they’ll hear you.”

  Jack was about to ask who she was and where all the people of Burrow Den had gone but he thought better of interrupting the girl as she continued to carry on a conversation with herself.

  “They said they’re from New Hope, but the evil men came from New Hope, too.”

  “Excuse me,” Aareth spoke, unable to hold his tongue any longer. “Who are you and where are all the people?”

  “You’re tall and handsome.” The girl looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. A shy smile crossed her face as she straightened out her dirty grey jacket and shifted in her boots.

  “Ummm… thanks.”

  “My name is Elizabeth.”

  “Elizabeth, where is everyone?” Sloan took another step toward the girl. This time her hand was off the hilt of her sword.

  “They are here and there.” Elizabeth tore her eyes away from Aareth and looked Sloan up and down.

  “Elizabeth, that’s not very helpful. Where has everyone gone?”

  Jack could tell Sloan wasn’t used to having to exercise patience as her gloved hands crossed over her chest.

  “Oh, Captain, my Captain. Be serious, no more fun time. You’re not a very nice soldier lady.” Elizabeth crossed her own arms and stuck out her chest.

  Sloan’s eyes widened at the audacity of the girl and Jack thought she might reach for her sword again, he stepped forward with a smile. “Hi, Elizabeth. I’m Jack, and this is Sloan, Aareth, and Marcus. We’re here to help and need to find where all the people are. Can you please help us?”

  “Yes,” Elizabeth turned and fixed Jack with a penetrating stare. “He’s handsome, too, but in a different way. In an innocent way. Yes, Jack, we’ll help you. But before you follow me, the captain has to be disciplined for being so rude.”

  The girl, who had to be a few years younger than Jack, walked down the wooden steps from her porch and stood directly in front of Sloan with a scorned look. She was shorter than Sloan but she didn’t let that intimidate her as she addressed the captain. “Give me your hand.”

  “What?” Sloan didn’t move her hands from the sides of her body.

  “Give me your hand, you have to be disciplined. You’re so rude.”

  Jack didn’t see any weapons on the redheaded girl, regardless, he kept his hand on his wand. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father readjusted his staff. Sloan was tense but she slowly extended her left hand.

  “Bad Sloan, bad.” Elizabeth gently took it in her right hand and softly slapped the back of Sloan’s wrist with her own left hand. “You have to be nicer to strangers. Or how are you going to make any friends?”

  Jack’s eyes widened as he witnessed the toughest soldier he had ever known literally get her wrist slapped.

  Aareth stifled a chuckle as Sloan withdrew her hand and turned her head, giving him a murderous stare.

  “What?” Aareth shrugged. “She has a point.”

  Elizabeth seemed content that Sloan had learned her lessen and skipped along the dirt road deeper into the town.

  “Well, hurry up,” Elizabeth looked over her shoulder as her red hair swung in line behind her. “Before the puppy comes. We can’t wait forever.”

  Jack

  Jack exchanged looks with the rest of the group as they followed the girl into Burrow Den. Jack didn’t think that Elizabeth was dangerous, still he kept a wary eye on every building they passed. Soon Elizabeth led them to the center of the city that opened up into a large circular space with a fountain placed dead center. Water splashed from the top of the fountain shaped like a spitting fish.

  Elizabeth stopped and pointed to a large building with a sloping roof. Jack could tell that the building was a church by the bell tower and crucifix that jutted from the top of the structure.

  “Most everyone’s inside. Town meeting, you know, a lot of blah, blah, blah and thinking deep thoughts,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

  “Thank you for your help, Elizabeth,” Jack said.

  “Of course, Jack, sure. Just don’t believe what he says. He’s a liar.”

  Jack was about to ask her who she was talking about and what she meant but Elizabeth turned and ran away.

  “What a weirdo,” Sloan dusted off her military jacket that showed the Queen’s emblem.

  “I don’t know,” Aareth winked at Jack. “I kind of liked her. She was a good disciplinarian.”

  This time Marcus stifled a chuckle.

  “If the city is gathered for a council meeting,” Sloan ignored them both and walked up the church’s wooden steps, “then this is as good a time as any to make our presence known. We need to formally offer our services on the Queen’s and the city of New Hope’s behalf.”

  Fearless as ever, Sloan grabbed one of the wooden handles to the double doors and swung it open, stepping inside. Jack followed close behind.

  The first thing that Jack noticed as they stepped into the large room and slid in near the back was the amount of people in attendance. The gigantic one roomed building looked large from the outside but the sheer number of people packed inside dwarfed the size of the structure.

  Long wooden pews were set up for attendees, and from what Jack could see, every seat was filled. It was standing room only and it seemed like even a few inches of space for one’s feet to rest was high demand real estate.

  Shoulder to shoulder, people craned their necks forward or tilted their heads to the front of the room, trying to catch what was being said. With the entire town in attendance, Jack was certain they would be spotted as outsiders. To his surprise, besides a few confused looks everyone was too busy trying to hear the debate taking place at the front of the building.

  Jack stood on his tiptoes and found a spot where he could see through black and brown coats and tall hats and goggles. There was a lanky man speaking at a podium on a raised platform in the front of the room. Jack couldn’t make out specific details but the man was fair skinned with thinning hair. He seemed like he was trying to calm the gathered people.

  “Yes, elections for the new mayor and sheriff will take place soon, but in the meantime I have taken it upon myself to act as the lead shepherd during this dark time of crisis. My position as a preacher has given me training on how to deal with serious situations in times of distress.”

  “This is more than a time of crisis, Elijah!” a timid voice said from somewhere from the front of the room. There was a murmur of agreement as the man continued. “We’ve lost over three dozen members of our community to these attacks. This is an extermination!”

  “Please, brothers,” The tall man called Elijah stretched out his long arms and waited till the crowd was silent. “Have reassurance that everything happens for a reason. We have to keep faith that there is an ultimate plan in place for us. The attacks, although still occurring, have decreased in the past few days. Perhaps whatever it is that is performing the acts is moving on.”

  “But how can we be sure?” the same man said. “I—We fear for our families, for our children. What we need to do is leave this cursed place.”

  Louder murmurs escaped the crowd as Jack listened in and caught what the people nearest to him were saying.

  “Leave Burrow Den? Should we?”

  “This is all we’ve known. Where would we go?”

  “Better alive and gone than buried here.”

  “Peace, peace,” Elijah crooned in a comforting voice. “There is no need to go anywhere. We have sent word to the Queen for assistance—”

  The man who was arguing with Elijah stepped onto the raised dais and turned to address the crowd. He was short compared to Elijah, with a rounded belly and
bald head.

  “The Queen? Please, the Queen of New Hope sits in her royal palace counting her treasure and sipping her wine. No help from the Queen is coming. They don’t care about us poor Outliers. We have only ourselves to rely on.”

  “That’s not true!”

  All eyes turned to Sloan as she returned each and every stare. A small opening was made for her, Jack, Aareth, and Marcus as everyone tried to remember seeing them walk into the room.

  “Queen Eleanor Eckert of New Hope has not abandoned her neighbors and friends. My companions and I have traveled hard and far to come to your assistance at her direct request.”

  Everyone stood stunned, trying to decide if they approved or disapproved of the strangers in their council meeting. Jack forced himself to stand by Sloan’s side and not shrink back. He could practically feel the eyes on him, looking him up and down and deciding his worth.

  “You were sent from New Hope?” The short man next to Elijah was first to find his voice. “From the Queen?”

  “That is correct. My name is Captain Sloan and I am head of the Queen’s personal guard. With me are the best sorcerers and trackers in the Outland. We’re here to help.”

  Jack

  People started to smile and clap as they looked on optimistically. Jack could practically see hope in their eyes as the city population examined their saviors. The room erupted in talk and speculation and Jack even received a few handshakes and claps on the back.

  “Order! Please, order!” Elijah yelled from the podium. The crowd quieted and looked to their leader. “It seems as though our prayers have been answered. Let us not forget who we have to thank for this blessing.”

  Heads nodded as the citizens of Burrow Den again turned to Jack and his companions. More hands were shook and smiles exchanged as people thanked him for coming. In seconds, Elijah was standing in front of the group himself. He was as tall as Aareth but not nearly as muscular. Distance had deceived Jack, Elijah was much older than he originally thought.