Uniquely Unwelcome (The Shadow World)

by Brandy Nacole

  “Not now, we can discuss it later.” I gesture toward the two Vampires in front of us, who were likely told to report everything we said back to Aldrick. Then Lynna’s plans might not happen because Aldrick would definitely take out any risk against his life and leadership.

  Danika nods in understanding as we continue to follow Fulton and Alton back down the twisty hallways. Once we reach the halls where the humans live, I can see the elevator. My adrenaline starts pumping at the thought of freedom. I’m ready to tear down the hallway at a dead run.

  Our walk down the hall is halted, my freedom put on hold. We hear screaming and fighting coming from the lounge down the small hallway. Fulton and Alton tell us to stay put as they head toward the commotion. As I watch them walk down the hall, I notice another figure walking toward us from the main hall.

  My first instinct is to prepare for a fight. Then I notice the boys’ hands are in the air, showing he means no harm. He’s walking briskly but cautiously as he looks toward the lounge.

  He hurries to explain what he wants. “My name is Coy. You don’t know me but I need your help and I need it fast. My brother is one of the humans who are missing. I need to get out of here so I can find him.” He searches our faces and then settles on mine. “I heard what you’re doing and I want to go with you.”

  At first I’m stumped. Why did he choose me to plead with? He probably would have had more luck with Danika. No amount of pleading in this world would persuade me to drag a human along with us, especially out of this place.

  I shake my head, sternly saying, “No.”

  He looks shocked for a moment. Did he honestly believe that I would say yes? Determination sets in on his face. This boy is not going down easy, that I can tell.

  “I’m coming with you and you only have a few minutes to realize that before those two come back. My friends can only distract them for so long.”

  Wow. He’s bold. “Do you honestly think I’m going to take the risk of breaking you out of here? Not to mention taking a vulnerable human with us to face god knows what?” The conversation had been quiet but my voice is rising to try and make him understand there’s no freaking way he’s coming.

  “Look this is something I have to do. He’s the only family I have left and you know these vamps aren’t going to do shit to find him. You’re my only hope at finding him.” His voice cracks toward the end, becoming a raspy whisper.

  I sigh heavily as I try making him understand. “Then why don’t you let me find him and I’ll bring him back to you?”

  I mean that makes sense, right? Why would he want to take a risk of getting caught escaping and then take another chance of getting killed? I seriously have no idea what we are going to have to go through to find these people but I’m sure it’s not going to be easy or delicate.

  Then a light bulb comes on, “You want to escape so you can find your brother and you can be free. You don’t ever plan on returning here do you?”

  Coy looks down like he’s ashamed and says, “No.” He regains his momentum and lifts his head so he can look me in the eye. His warm brown eyes bore into mine. “Would you?”

  I don’t even have to think that one over. There’s no way in hell I would come back. I couldn’t even imagine being a slave let alone a Vampire slave. All the disrespect and neck chomping, no thank you.

  Still, if I take him then the vamps will know I did. What will Felton and Alton do when they come back and we’re not here?

  I begin to explain but Danika butts in. “Whatever we do, we must do it quickly. They seem to be settling things in there.” She’s anxiously looking down the hallway at the lounge. I can hear Felton threatening whoever was arguing and promising they will regret it later.

  I look over to her, “Well what do you think we should do?” I figure she’ll say no. That it’s too dangerous to be dragging a human around. Her thoughts are probably mirroring my own.

  “I say we take him with us.”

  I try catching my jaw but I miss and it hits the floor. Did she really just say that? Danika continues to watch down the hallway for Fulton and Alton as I try picking up the pieces to the mirror she just shattered.

  Before I can object, she’s grabbing us both by the arm and dragging us down the hall.

  “Have you lost your mind?” I ask her, still in disbelief that she’s dragging this human boy along with us.

  “No apparently not, I’m still thinking and speaking which requires a mind.” She urges us along, picking up the pace and her grip on my arm.

  “Yeah but apparently not a very good one,” I mutter.

  As we approach the elevator doors a problem strikes me. “Uh, you do know there is a guard in the elevator. He’ll probably notice the flesh over there.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll cloak him long enough to get us out of here.” Danika says still concentrating ahead.

  When the elevator doors open, I get ready to fight our way out. Surely the vamp will notice the human we have with us. I would bet good money that not many of those leave. Plenty probably ride the elevator down but never back up.

  As luck would have it, the guard doesn’t seem to notice a thing. We all step into the elevator and the doors shut behind us. The vamp addresses Coy, “Where’s Fulton?” O Jeez! My heart races as I hold my breath, dizziness threatening to spin me out of control.

  “There was a scuffle in the humans’ common room. He went to take care of it. I told him I would escort these two out.” Coy says. His voice sounds uncomfortably like Alton’s. Creepy.

  The elevator stops, the door opens, and I am back into freedom. I can practically hear the angels rejoicing.

  “I’ll escort them to their vehicle and then I’m going for a walk. Like to see what’s on the morning menu.” Coy says to the guard.

  Do they really say stuff like that or is Coy over doing it? Morning menu seems kind of harsh but apparently it’s common vamp lingo. The guard says, “Bring me back an appetizer.” Yuck.

  The elevator doors close and I let out a huge breath. We made it out! Now all we have to do is get out of this town and I will feel one hundred percent better.

  I turn toward the car, ready to sit down and breath, but am stopped dead in my tracks. I only thought I was home free. Thought all I would have to do is get back in the car, drive to the airport, get in the air, and take a nice nap. But yet again I was wrong.

  Our car is covered in mutant creatures, things I have never seen before. Some have fangs and tails, some have wings and snake skin, some have talons and green skin. And they’re tearing our car apart.

  Chapter Nine

  I start running for the car ready for the fight, although fighting these monsters could be tricky. I’ve never seen creatures so gross and disfigured. I see Coy start to follow me so I yell at him to stay back. Coy stops in his tracks, backing up behind a pillar. Danika is already in the action. I would yell at her to stay back but I actually doubt she would listen.

  I’m almost to the car when it explodes. Shards of metal go flying everywhere. I shield my face with my arms, turning my back to the oncoming debris. I turn around as Ethan lands on top of the wreckage, his ears tucked, and his jaw snapping as a growl seeps from deep in his chest. He’d busted through what was left of the car, shifting into his wolf form in the process.

  I quickly get in on the fight, grabbing a freaky looking creature with snake eyes and a dog tail. I throw him across the street into the side of a brick building. He gets up shaking his head, momentarily stunned.

  There are four other creatures circling around the car. I have enough time to yank another creature off Ethan before the snake-dog is back. He tries to grab me but I do a round house kick and knock him back. I don’t have time to react physically to the creature coming at me. I know I can’t hold him back physically because that would require concentration and right now I have none, so I push at him with my mind and send him sailing across the street.

  Danika has one creature writhing in pain on the ground. She’s
not touching him but you can clearly see the pain she’s causing him. She squeezes her fist then makes a twisting motion as the creature screams out in pain.

  Ethan has one of the creatures pinned to the ground while another one clings to his back. He snaps ineffectively at the one on his back as he tries to keep the other pinned to the ground with his paws.

  I grab hold of the one on Ethan’s back and toss him to the side. But I don’t have time to help him further. My two attackers are back, one on the left and one on the right.

  I crouch into a defensive position and get ready to block and strike. Snake eyes goes to grab my neck but I block and grab his forearm while spinning around to knock the other one in the chest. The fangy freak goes flying into the brick building across the street. From the looks of it, Fangy and Snaky are causing some major damage to the brick building.

  Snaky attacks while I’m temporarily distracted. He throws himself back, smashing me into the wreckage of the car. I try getting a grip on him but he’s fast. He spins around and back hands me across the face. My head snaps to the side from the impact. I try breathing through the rage I’m feeling to no avail.

  I turn back to Snaky with my fangs fully extended. If he had just punched me or kicked me, I could have handled that a little better. Slapping me invoked a rage so raw I didn’t know if I could control it. I jab Snaky in the throat, hearing the unmistakable sound of muscles tearing and bones cracking. Not pausing, I give him a liver shot and then do a round house kick, connecting with his chest. Snaky goes flying to the ground sprawled out like a deep sleep has taken him under. I nudge him with my foot, checking to make sure he’s out of the picture.

  Suddenly I’m grabbed from behind. My attacker puts me in a choke hold. His grips tight and firm, making it hard to find a release. He’s dragging me backwards toward the pillars that surround the museum. Do these creatures work for the vamps? Where in the crap did they find such beings?

  I try stomping on his foot to get a little slack but it’s no good. I try knocking him off balance by throwing myself sideways but his grip holds. I continue thrashing as I try devising a plane for escape. There is no way I’m facing Aldrick for taking the human.

  Danika’s to my right combating a slimy winged creature. She’s no longer using her magic and is now fighting in hand-to-hand combat. She seems to be holding up but I can see blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Ethan has ripped the other creature to bits and is now moving to help Danika.

  The creature’s talon-like hands slices me as he throws me up against a pillar. My head slams into the concrete pillar with such force that my vision swims in darkness. When my vision returns, I’m face to face with the creature I had thrown away from Ethan. His foul breath makes me gag as he leans in closer.

  He extends fangs that are jagged and rough instead of smooth points. As he comes in closer I try to head butt him but he tightens his grip on my neck, forcing my head back. He comes in closer again, is he going to bite me?

  Just as I’m about to close my eyes, a long piece of steel catches my eye. The discarded piece of metal no doubt had come from the demolished car. I know I can reach it if I can just get enough leverage between me and my attacker. I shove the slimy creature back with as much force as I can but my head’s still swimming with disorientation so it’s not much.

  The creature doesn’t even take a step back from my wasted effort of escape. Instead, he slams my head into the pillar again, causing my vision to crackle once again. Blood starts trickling down my neck and back.

  The creature leans in once again. His lips brushing my ear, “Heed this warning. Forget this nonsense and go back home. For next time, you will not come out alive.”

  The creature then throws me to the ground and lets out an ear splitting scream. The other creatures retreat after him so fast they’re nothing but a blur. I try to stand and pursue them but the world is spinning way too fast for me to find my feet. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  “What the hell was that?” I hear Ethan shout. He must have shifted back to his human form.

  “I don’t know. Have you ever heard of creatures like that before?” Ethan doesn’t answer Danika’s question but I’m sure I see him shake his head. I am glad to note that I can distinguish voices. That’s a good sign right?

  “I thought I was a goner. I held out inside the car as long as I could but once they started tearing open the roof I knew I had to escape. Lucky for me that’s when you guys arrived.” Ethan’s looking down at his side. He’s only wearing shredded up pants. He slowly walks toward Danika. Their images are still blurred.

  “Are you alright?” I have to squint to make out the figure standing over me. Coy crouches down and brushes my hair aside. “Looks like you got a nasty gash. You may need a few stitches.”

  I brush his hand away, “I’m fine.” I try to stand to show I’m fine, and lose my balance mid-rise. Luckily, Coy catches me before I warp the ground again. “Easy there. Maybe you should sit back down.”

  “No, we need to get out of here. We don’t know if those creatures are really gone or who they are working for.” With the warning the slimy creature gave me, I’m thinking they’re not connected with the vamps. “Plus, we can’t risk the vamps catching you. If they do, well you know what will happen.”

  His blurry image is starting to clear. He looks skeptical, probably thinking I won’t even make it two steps let alone running for my life.

  “I heal fast. I’ll be fine.”

  Before he can protest further, I stand -without a wobble-and walk over to Danika and Ethan. Coy’s hot on my tail, ready to catch me if I fall.

  “You guys okay?” I ask.

  Ethan nods, “Fine you?” Ethan has a deep gash on the right side of his forehead. Blood is running down his cheek and bare chest (gag). He also has a few deep cuts on his upper body that are already starting to heal. Soon to be nothing but a light scar or scab depending on how deep it is. Danika doesn’t look as bad. The only thing she’s sporting is a busted lip.

  I roll my shoulders and stretch my neck already feeling better. My healing power has to be the best gift in the world. With everything I have been through, if I hadn’t had my healing power I know I wouldn’t have made it through most of it.

  “Fine but we need to go.” I look over at the trashed limo. “Where is the driver?”

  “He ran off. As soon as the creatures started attacking the car he bailed.” Ethan explains.

  I throw my hands in the air. “How are we going to get back to the airport?”

  “Let’s just get a cab.” Danika gestures over toward the car. “We’re going to have to get our luggage out somehow, though.”

  The car is totally smashed. There’s a big dent in the trunk where our luggage is stored. Coy’s trying to be helpful but it’s doing no good. He’s got a piece of metal in his hand and is trying to pry the trunk open. After giving him a moment of trying, I gently push him out of the way. I get a good grip on the edges of the trunk, put one foot on the fender, throw my strength at it, and tear the trunk lid off its metal hinges. The hinges go flying as I toss the trunk door to the ground. Coy stands there in astonishment watching me as I toss Danika and Ethan’s bags to them, then grab my own.

  “A cab sounds good but I think we need to walk a few blocks up or something. It’s too dangerous just standing here.” I gesture toward the entrance pillar, where the Vampires could start exiting from any minute.

  Ethan’s hurriedly slips on new clothes, “I agree. Who agreed to let the human come along anyway?” I point an accusing finger at Danika. Ethan gives her a surprised look, not as dramatic as the one I gave her but still shocked nonetheless.

  “Look, it doesn’t matter why I agreed to it. Right now we need to worry about getting away from here. Come on, let’s go.” Danika heaves her bags as she heads away from the museum.

  As we walk away, I look over at the wreckage once more and notice the bodies that lay on the ground. “Wait. What are we going to do about t
hose?”

  As I speak the words the sun starts peaking over the horizon. From where we are standing, there are no structures blocking us from the rays. The bodies start to dissolve. Within a matter of seconds there is nothing left but a liquid puddle.

  “What the-” Ethan exclaims, puzzled like the rest of us.

  “They just dissolved.” I say, trying to come up with reason but unable to. “But how?”

  “When those other creatures ran off, I saw them throw something on the bodies. It must have been some kind of liquid that is infused by the sun’s rays.” Coy says.

  “Yeah, but what kind of liquid does that?” I ask still in shock.

  “It’s probably some sort of acid that was enhanced with a spell to be triggered by the sun.” Danika walks closer to the puddle and then shrugs.

  “How do you know the sun was the trigger?” I ask.

  “Well the big clue was the bodies dissolving as soon as the sun hit them,” she says.

  I guess whoever sent them really doesn’t want any evidence lying around. The Ruling Council would have definitely wanted the creatures for testing. I look down at the puddles where the bodies had just been. That’s not an option now.

  Danika and the others start to walk away. I pick up my bag and follow quickly behind. “What about the limo?”

  Danika raises her cell phone, “I have sent a message to the Elders. They are going to take care of it.”

  We walk four blocks up and then start trying to catch a cab. While we’re standing on the curb, Ethan walks over to me to have a hushed conversation. There aren’t that many people milling around but there’s enough.

  “We really need to start carrying some type of weapons with us.”

  “I had a whole duffle bag full of weapons but I left them in my car. I only grabbed a few things when we left that would fit in my bag.” I shrug my shoulder to indicate my backpack.

  “Anything good?” Ethan asks glancing around the area then at my bag.

  “The really good stuff was too big to fit. I have a few blades, a stake, and a silver thorn bomb.” I felt sheepish about the weapons I had. Out of all the weapons I had available, I grabbed the convenient one’s instead of the deadliest one’s.