by Justin Sloan
"This battle is bigger than any of us, or our squabbles," she said. "The CEOs of Old Manhattan have already begun their first strikes--scouting trips, it seems--to test the city. With your help, we could hold them off."
"Funny, you saying you need my help," he said. "Thing is, I’ve been hearing stories about you."
Several more Weres appeared out of the darkness. Cammie cursed, knowing she’d smelled more Weres, but just assumed them to be servants or more of his warriors—not Rico and the others who’d left Old Manhattan and abandoned Valerie.
Rico glared at her, his eyes glinting in the near darkness.
"Lies, I assume," she said.
"Rico tells me you serve a vampire now." Adrien’s voice was full of malice.
Damn. Not lies, which meant this wasn’t going to be easy.
"Hear us out," Diego said, stepping forward. "This bastard, Strake, he was using Weres to hunt the vampires, and—"
"Let me save you some breath, little puss," Adrien stood up, his eyes furious. "You do not speak until addressed, but since you have and since you have spoken untrue, let me educate you. My Weres fight the vampires; they hunt the vampires, and they will always be enemies of the vampires."
Cammie couldn’t believe it. She knew the Weres were helping, especially the Bloodhounds, but had figured they were all forced, like slaves, as she had been. And with that knowledge, she knew this was useless.
"Come on, Diego," she said as she spun on her heels and began walking for the door. "We’re needed back home."
"Not so fast," Adrien’s voice said from behind, so she slowed. "You still need to face your punishment."
A line of Weres formed at the doorway.
"But don’t worry," Adrien said, stepping down from his throne and walking over to them. Each step thudded through the chamber. "I plan on giving you a fighting chance. Welcome, Cammie, to the hunt."
She spun, about to shout for Diego to run while she transformed, but Adrien had already leaped forward and brought the stone of his stick to connect with her temple, and she fell, the warning lost.
Capital Square
Valerie didn’t know where else to take Jackson Mercer, so she returned to his uncle’s shop, with the red door. She was glad to see the old man wasn’t there.
She dropped Jackson into the corner and went to the window, glaring out at the darkening sky and looking around to ensure they weren’t followed. The team of Weres that had come out to protect her meant well, but if they got their hands on Jackson and knew who he was, she’d never get his side of the story.
"So, this whole vampire thing…?" he said, playfully, though she could hear the nervousness in his voice. "I imagine that happened after we last met, or you woulda told me."
"Shut up," she said, turning back to him and allowing her eyes to glow red. "This whole killing your fellow citizens and leading a gang, is that something new? Must be, or you would’ve told me, right?"
His face had morphed to terror at her glowing eyes, but, to his credit, he attempted a smile and didn’t completely freeze. "Okay, deal. From now on, full and open honesty if we’re going to make this relationship work."
Was this jackass really joking, or worse, flirting, with her at a time like this? She let the fangs grow too, taking a menacing step toward him. "I’ll start, then. Honesty moment—you don’t stop acting like an idiot, I’m going to suck the blood out of your stupid fucking neck."
"Honesty time, that’s fucking terrifying." He held up both hands in surrender, smile fading. "And my turn again… you’re on the wrong side here."
"You established that back there," she said, turning off the glow and letting her fangs retract. "So keep explaining, because we need to figure out how to stop this fighting, and the sooner, the better."
"It’s been ongoing for some time now, but on the down-low." He was regaining his composure again, now that she was in normal non-killer mode. "Commander Strake and the others didn’t give a damn, so long as we stayed out of their way. Rumor among the tops was that it was so they could hunt vampires, but many of us didn’t believe it. I was skeptical—never saw one, until you. Guess you took my big V-card, huh?"
At her glare, he took a step back. "Right, no joking, stupid Jackson, sorry. So yeah, there was the occasional hit on each other’s people, on innocents, especially from that Alligator prick, and worse. They didn’t care.
"But now that Strake’s out of the picture?" He shook his head. "It’s gone from bad to shit-fucked. Pardon, my language—"
"No need." She waved her hand. "Way I hear it, some of the best women in recent history swore like sailors."
He nodded. "Thing is, the riots aren’t riots at all, though they’re made to look that way. They’re making a move to take over the city, and that includes taking you out." He chuckled.
"Something funny?"
"If I’d known you were her when we first met, I mean... damn." He shook his head, looking her over. "Like I said, I thought I saw something that night, but it wasn’t because I was working the docks or whatever. A lot of the leaders were told something was going down, but I was the only one to respond—lost some good fighters out there, and heard some crazy stories. Some about a bald guy and lightning, others about Enforcer vehicles delivering werewolves and vampires. When you hear these things enough times, you have to start wondering if it’s true, even if everything in your body tells you it can’t be."
"One’s gotta wonder how many of the world’s myths were myths or fact, to begin with," she said. "Magic is still one I’m waiting to see—and doesn’t seem so far off from what I’ve seen lately."
He nodded. "So… where does that leave us?"
"I still don’t know if you’re one of the bad guys, or good guys." She put her head in her hands, then looked back up at him, not bothering to hide her frustration. "I want to trust you. You were nice to me, and you’re hot." She ignored him blushing. "But, both of those could be clouding my judgment. So until further notice, the gangs are shut down."
"What?" He stared at her blankly. "I’m not following."
"You and the other leaders, you’ll each have a chance to defend yourselves, but for now, I’m taking over."
"How do you plan on doing that, exactly?"
She let her eyes glow again and said, "By being very persuasive, and if that doesn’t work, by tossing people over the walls, heads optional."
***
Sandra had just reached the edge of Capitol Square, amazed at how it had cleared out at the sound of all the gunfire over by Enforcer HQ. It had died off now, but people were apparently used to going into lockdown mode when the fighting broke out.
A streak of color moved in the distance—a purple coat like the one Valerie wore, moving outside of a red door, but too fast.
"Shit!" Sandra said, then ran. "Valerie!"
The others were with her too, and suddenly Ella was firing in the direction they’d seen Valerie go.
"What the hell?!" Sandra said, knocking the rifle aside with a shove. In a split second, Ella had the rifle aimed at Sandra, and Sandra returned the favor. "Are you shitting me right now?"
The others backed up, but Akio swooped down from the building above where he’d been following, taking both of their guns before either had a chance to act.
"Explain," Yuko said.
"It was either you or that vampire bitch who killed our cousin!" Ella shouted at Akio. "I've hunted your kind. You’re all the same!"
"Whoa, whoa," Peterson said, taking a step back and lowering his rifle.
"Shoot her, you coward!" Ella shouted at him. "Do it!"
Peterson shook his head and stepped over to his partner, Wallace. He looked at him for confirmation, then shook his head. "It wasn’t Valerie."
"You trust her?" Ella looked like she was about to explode, her face was turning red. "They’re fucking evil, do you not comprehend that? They might pretend to do good, but it’s against their nature."
"You said that meant nothing to you," Wallace said
, taking a step toward Ella.
She put her hands on his chest, and shoved him. "The fuck? You take their side, you're not better than them! Of course I fucking said that. But they can't go unpunished!"
Akio looked about to say something, but then--BRRRT! Gunfire sounded, and then again--BRRRT!
A series of explosions rocked the ground, and then more gunfire.
"That’s heavy warfare," Wallace said. "It’s from the outside."
"GO!" Akio shouted, and they all turned to run.
Sandra was about to take off, when she saw Akio pull Ella aside. The vampire's grip was too strong for Ella to break free, and he leaned in a whispered, "Because you're with Valerie, you may live. But this outburst? It will be explained."
Akio let go, and Ella stumbled away, glaring back at him, and then took off in a run.
Sandra ran to catch up, and heard Wallace ask Ella if she was going to be okay.
"I'm actually kinda glad he's dead," Ella said, running up next to them. "Matter of fact, I'm kinda pissed I didn't get to do it myself. Not that I would've, but, you know. Major asshole type. What I'm pissed about is vampires running around killing as they see fit."
"Let’s kill some of these assholes," Peterson said, and the two ran off to shoot some more, leaving Wallace to shrug, then run after them.
The explosions kept coming and a rocket-propelled grenade flew past and hit the building nearby before exploding, sending rubble down around them.
Akio appeared a moment later, flashed ahead, and then came back. "Not that way, it’s not clear." She saw the look in Peterson’s eyes and then nodded. "I’ll clear the path ahead, and be at the building."
With that, he disappeared in a flash, drawing his sword as he went.
Dead fighters lay along the path, all wearing the black military gear that could only mean they belonged to the corporation’s mercenaries. Sandra realized it was a bad omen if this many of the enemy had infiltrated the city.
At the entrance to Enforcer HQ, they stopped to fire on a new wave of attackers, then retreated inside as a flash that was Yuko joining them, pistols glowing in the red of sunset, blasting the attackers to bits.
"Inside!" Sandra commanded the others. Once they were in, she followed.
Akio turned and said, "Go, we’ll handle this."
"Not without my help," Valerie said, coming to a stop at the stairs beside them. She held a man over her shoulders, and now let him down. "Sandra, I’m going to need some of those vials of blood the cops donated."
"Of course," Sandra managed. "Care to introduce us to your new friend?"
"This," Valerie gestured to him as if showing off a trophy, "is Mercer. Jackson Mercer."
She was about to turn to join the fight, and even pulled out her sword, when she paused and added. "By the way, don’t kill him, and maybe put the other leaders in chains until we have this all sorted out."
Sandra stared at her, trying to make sense of that, but then just nodded. "Vials of blood, and… what you just said. Got it."
And then Valerie was off with Yuko and Akio to kill those outside, so Sandra turned into the building to follow orders.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Fallen Lands
Cammie awoke in a field of tall grass, still in the dusk air. Patches of red like a sea of blood lingered and then vanished as night came.
"Diego?" she said, sitting up and then instantly wanting to lie back down. Her head was pounding, particularly on the left side, and the grassy field seemed to spin.
Unless the pain was so bad it was blocking her hearing; there was no response. Still, she couldn’t rule that out as an option, because it hurt.
The Were part of her would see that it healed in no time, which, as her head cleared, she realized was an indicator of how long she’d been out here—not long. The way her arms were shaking told her she was cold, but her aching head hadn’t processed it yet.
For some reason, she was nude. It didn’t make sense. She’d been in the Golden City, speaking with Adrien, when he’d said…
Oh, SHIT!
She leaped up now, eyes searching the darkness of her surroundings, knowing what she’d find, if she spotted them—reflecting eyes, the eyes of wolves.
But she heard them first… howls, filling the night.
So they’d given her a head start, she realized. Left her somewhere and unleashed Weres on her, not telling them where she’d be.
The hunt was nothing new to her; only she’d never partaken—especially not as the prey.
Her only chance was to run, and to run faster and farther than she’d ever ran before.
If she could somehow make it back to Old Manhattan, she’d be safe. Problem there being she had no idea which direction to go, and there was still the head hurting thing.
Again the howls came, so she transformed, sniffed the air, and ran in the direction that smelled least like Were.
The complication was, if she could smell them, those in the right position could damn sure smell her, too.
Her wolf legs carried her fast, and soon the healing ability did its job, so her head stopped throbbing, but that didn’t help her find her direction any better.
She saw rolling hills in the distance, so made for those with the hope that, at the top, she’d be able to see around and figure out where the hell she was, or which direction was north.
The heavy blanket of clouds blocked out any chance she had of using the stars to point herself in the right direction.
Howls sounded, closer this time. She ran on, nearly running right into a small pond. Metal glinted in the grass and she leaped sideways. Based on how this was going so far, it was definitely a trap.
These bastards were going all out in the hunt.
She proceeded on, if with a bit more caution. But the howls were growing too close, and at one point she was certain she’d seen a large shape running in the distance, coming her way.
If she didn’t figure out something, and soon, she could be in some real trouble.
***
Diego pounded the door to the small box of a room he’d been locked in. This was complete horseshit! How could they have gotten this so wrong—and how could Cammie not have seen this coming, or at least warned him?
He’d been there when Adrien clocked her with his stick that had the stone attached to it. Immediately Diego transformed and leaped for the attack, but the others had been ready. They pinned him down, ready to kill if needed, but Adrien had said he’d be next, so to be sure to keep him alive.
Next for what, Diego had no idea.
He paced the room, contemplating his next move. They’d taken his clothes, ensuring he had nothing secret stashed away for an escape. There weren’t any openings big enough for him to escape as a puma, because, of course, they’d thought of that too.
So what’d that leave him? His brains.
Well, fuck.
He saw a shadow pass the door and looked over to see the man who’d awkwardly winked at him more than once, the one he imagined was a Were horse, the way he was hung. He was pretty sure that wasn’t possible—being a Were horse. But how else could you explain that thing hanging off of him?
Damn.
Wait a minute, he thought. He had his brains and, as much as the idea made him cringe at the moment, he had something else—his charm.
He went to the door and gave a soft whistle, causing the Were to glance his way. The look on the Were’s face was hesitant at first, but he held up a finger, looked around a corner, and then approached.
"Hey there, big guy," Diego said, putting on his sexy voice by dropping it three octaves. "How’s it going?"
The guy looked at him, not being shy about a quick glance across Diego’s body, and then rolled his eyes. "Cut the act, buddy."
"I—"
"No, stop." The big guy reached into the pocket of his brown leather jacket, and then started fumbling with a key in the lock.
"What’s happening right now?" Diego asked, growing suddenly worried
.
"Relax," the big guy said. "I was coming to find you… I mean, before you two showed up, and not you specifically, but anyone in the city." He glanced up, looking ashamed to admit this. "I want to join you all, to get out of this place. Way I see it now, you’re my ticket."
"Me and Cammie," Diego corrected him, but didn’t bother to explain that he probably didn’t need either of them to be admitted in Old Manhattan. As far as Diego knew, there could’ve been some wild rules under Commander Strake, but not so with Valerie. "The two of us are your ticket, Mr. …?"
"The name’s Felix," the man said. "And sorry to say it, buster, but that wolf friend of yours is long gone."
"Gone?"
"Some of the best hunters in the town lined up to have a chance at taking her down. She’s a bit of a legend around here. But maybe we can talk as we go?" He tossed Diego a robe. "It’s not exactly clothes, but it’ll do until we get out of here and you can transform. Then it can stay with you while you run, unless you’d rather go without."
That playful grin returned, and Diego put on the robe with a grunt.
"Suit yourself," Felix said, and then led them out of the building.
For a moment, Diego hesitated, wondering if this could be some sort of trap. But, it was this or stay locked up for whatever his fate would be, so he figured he might as well take the risk with this guy.
Immediately Felix pulled Diego around a corner, pinning him to the wall. It was looking more and more like this was a mistake. The guy’s meaty hand covered Diego’s mouth and smelled of burnt steaks and mushrooms. It was almost tantalizing, given how hungry Diego realized he was.
But that was the wrong thought to have at this moment, he reminded himself, and he moved to break free.
"Shh," Felix said, nodding back the way they had come.
The shadow of a man appeared, and then another, walking past. Felix had simply moved him out of the way so they wouldn’t be caught.
