PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Breathe, Gabby.

  I leaned forward and let my black curtain of hair obscure my face. The lid of the salt shaker twisted off in my empty hand and I knocked it over, allowing the grains to spill on the floor. The salt should cover my scent. I slid closer to the group at the next table until I looked like I belonged with them.

  One of the men grinned at me, his aura a happy yellow orange. “Hey babe.”

  I nodded and raised my glass, but kept my gaze on the hellhound. He paused at a man at the bar who had caught my attention, or more his aura did. A ghostly image of a woman leaned over him, whispering in his ear. My hand tightened around the beer mug, but the mutt moved on. I relaxed. The colors around the people in the bar faded, as did the ghost woman when my sight returned to normal. The haze remained, more from cigarette smoke. I turned my head to the front of the bar. One window and one door were not much of an escape route. Fifty feet of inebriated patrons stood between me and freedom.

  Two of the three men I had been waiting for walked through the door. A familiar tingle ran down my spine. For a moment, I flashed back to a dressing room, staring down another Romanian hunter. We’d come across the same prey, though he thought it was a vampire. I inhaled, bringing myself back to the present. This wasn’t the twenties, I wasn’t in Paris, and these brothers weren’t Dimitri.

  Both had his chiseled features and his straight nose, though their hair was more of a burnt sienna. The one in front wore his cut short and had a tuft on his chin. He towered over his brother, which meant he would be a mountain compared to my small height. The other kept his hair tucked behind his ears. He stood with his arms crossed, wearing a smirk to let the world know he knew everything.

  They cast their eyes over the room. The tall one adjusted the glasses on his face and approached the man sitting at the bar. Several women watched them as they passed. A smile touched my lips. The boys knew how to dress to make an impression. Their leather coats and slacks spoke of sophistication yet still provided enough flexibility to move if needed.

  I stood and nodded at the boys who’d been trying to talk to me. Rude, but it was time to work. Besides, they were too young for me. I straightened my red tank top and brushed any wrinkles from my jeans. I couldn’t approach them looking like a guttersnipe. A stool opened up on the other side of them. I took the seat and tried to look casual while listening in on the brothers’ conversation. The bartender stood in front of me, waiting for an order.

  I pointed to a beer and leaned back to get a better look at the third man. His back remained mostly to me, giving me a glimpse of his bearded cheek and a ponytail a shade darker in color than the other two. Brother number three. I inched forward to hear better over someone’s bad rendition of “Bad Moon Rising.”

  “Ader.” The tall man spoke in Romanian. “Your prison sentence hasn’t ended yet.”

  “I got out for being brilliant,” the man at the bar said without turning around.

  “Does the warden know that?” the third one asked.

  If I remembered correctly, this generation of Van Helsings had four boys. Adam, the oldest, had passed away ten years ago. So that left Esais, Adrian, and Tres. The smirking boy had to be Tres he looked the youngest. Was Ader short for Adrian?

  Ader chuckled. “The warden didn’t have much of a say.”

  Esais, the tall one, pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He shook his head, letting out a long sigh as he looked at his brothers.

  “Honestly,” he said. “First you end up in jail, and now you’re breaking out. You haven’t changed.”

  “You expected me to?” Adrian asked.

  "Why are you here?” Esais asked.

  “Same reason as you. Revenge.”

  Tres crossed his arms. “Why do you even care? You were never around when we needed you.”

  Adrian turned to face his brothers, causing both of them to gasp. A patch covered his right eye while the other stared hard at Tres. Esais reached out to touch Adrian’s arm, but he pulled away.

  “What happened?” Esais asked.

  “Not important.” Adrian turned back to the bar. “Who were you told to meet?”

  “A woman named Gabriella Di Luca.”

  “Any idea what this woman looks like?”

  Esais glanced in my direction with hesitation and opened his mouth.

  I cleared my throat, raising my hand in a small wave. “Buna seara.”

  Adrian and Tres turned their heads with near identical expressions of distrust. They didn’t expect someone to speak their native language here. I was a stranger invading their family circle.

  “Who are you?” Adrian asked.

  “Gabriella.”

  “Convenient.” The word dripped with sarcasm.

  We didn’t have time for this. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. My gaze traveled to the table-filled area further in the room. The hellhound’s wiry form had disappeared through a large door to the right. The atrocious singing wafted through there. This would be a perfect time to exit.

  “We need to speak, but not here,” I said.

  “We’re not going anywhere with you.”

  “Ader,” Esais said.

  Adrian looked back at his brother. “We have no proof she is who she claims to be.”

  “He’s right. You could be a demon,” Tres said.

  “Then you already revealed yourselves with your conversation,” I said. “Look, how much do you know of demons?”

  “I’ve read several books on the subject,” Esais said. “That question doesn’t answer our doubts.”

  “Do I fit the description you were given?”

  Esais adjusted his glasses before nodding.

  “Then, can we leave? I may not be one, but there is a demon here.”

  Two turned their heads, their muscles tensing as they scanned the bar while Adrian kept his eye on me. The hellhound stepped back into the room and turned his head in my direction. His gaze locked on me, and he began shoving his way through the crowded tables and chairs.

  I stood. “Too late.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  I picked up my beer, testing its weight in my hand. “Get outside.”

  “We aren’t going to fight?” Tres clenched his fists; the muscles in his back tensed.

  I nodded to the five feet of space between the full tables and the bar. “This isn’t the best place. Besides, he’s not after you.”

  “What about you?” Esais’s forehead wrinkled as he followed my line of vision.

  “I’ll be along very shortly.”

  He sighed and pushed his younger brother towards the door. Tres’s jaw tightened, and he squared his shoulders so the push bounced off with no effect. Adrian snorted and moved ahead of the other two.

  “Come on. Let’s see what waits for us outside,” he said.

  My eye twitched at his words, but I focused on my approaching prey. He wasn’t thick, but the skin around his arms stretched across muscle. It didn’t matter. The demon added unnatural strength and reflexes without all the mass. I sat up straighter, with my heart running a marathon in my chest.

  When he moved between two round tables full of people, I hurled the mug at him. He saw it coming, of course. His hand batted it away. The drink bounced off the back of the head of a man sitting at the table to the hellhound’s right. Golden liquid dripped out of the man’s hair and down his neck. Perfect.

  He hefted his bulk out of his seat and caught the demon by the shoulder. The mutt’s head turned to the offending hand and its owner. The music drowned out the words exchanged and the man’s fist slammed into the hellhound’s face.

  The mutt’s head snapped back from the force of the punch. He tossed the local over his shoulder with one hand. The man soared past me and landed on a table full of men. Wood broke, glasses shattered, and fists flew. The cacophony of yells and flesh hitting flesh replaced the music. Predictable. Esais pushed his brother through the front door before the fight could reach them. My heart kept racing as I climb
ed on top of the bar. The bartenders moved to break up the brawl that had spread throughout the room.

  The man’s friends gathered around the hellhound. He swung his arm out, and two were tossed into the table they got up from. Spittle flew from his mouth as he bared his yellow teeth at me. I gave him a wave and ran down the length of the bar, scooping up several salt shakers as I passed. A group of brawlers looked up in surprise as I leapt over their heads. I landed in a roll only a few feet from the door. It swung closed behind me as I departed.

  The gravel crunched beneath my feet in the parking lot. I lifted my head, letting the breeze cool the perspiration on my face. The tightness dissipated from my shoulders as I breathed in the night air. Ah, freedom.

  The brothers stood at their car watching me as I approached. Esais took three of the salt shakers from me. I twisted the top off of the fourth and spread salt on the ground.

  “Forgive me. We don’t have time for introductions. Could someone start the car?” I asked.

  “We’re just going to run?” Tres asked.

  “Get in the car,” Esais said.

  I smiled as I took the other shakers from him, and he moved to the passenger door. At least one of them believed I knew what I was talking about. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  “You owe us an explanation soon though,” he said.

  “Soon.”

  Adrian watched me, not bothering to move to the car. “What are you doing?”

  “The salt should confuse his smell so he can’t follow us, which will be pointless if we are still here.”

  He muttered but got in the car. I climbed in the backseat beside him and opened the remaining shakers. The salt drifted on the air as we exited the parking lot. Hopefully, this would screw the hellhound’s sinuses so much he wouldn’t be able to smell straight for a week.

  “I can’t believe we're running,” Tres said. “What kind of hunter are you?”

  “A smart one. Never start a fight if you are at a disadvantage.”

  He pressed his lips together and glared at me through the rearview mirror. Adrian sat with his arms crossed and shoulders hunched, but a smirk formed on his lips. Esais remained quiet, as if waiting for the right moment. The bar disappeared from the back windows as we drove away. Darkened buildings passed, closed hours ago.

  “Turn in here and head around back.” I pointed to a motel we were approaching after several minutes of driving.

  The motel had the doors on the outside, with metal stairs leading up to the second floor. A chain-link fence divided the back of the parking lot from the forest. We parked, and I headed to the door of my room. I stepped over the line of salt and held the door open for the brothers. Adrian paused after the others had entered.

  “Salt again,” he said.

  “It deters demons.”

  “Hmph.” He stepped inside and scanned the room with his eye narrowed.

  Esais moved in front of me and held his hand out. “Esais Van Helsing.”

  I took his hand and squinted until I could see the shades of color surrounding him. A gold and white light flooded my vision. I moved my eyes to the floor, blinking before returning to him. The light extended to a winged figure and obscured any details. The being’s hands rested on Esais’s temples. A gift of the mind.

  While I inspected him, he did the same. It started as an itch on the inside of my brain, and I resisted the urge to lift my hand to my head. It would do no good since this wasn’t physical. I gasped as my time in Paris with Dimitri flashed through my mind. We’d spent weeks searching for that demon. I almost felt his arms around me when I’d revealed my past to him. Then we’d . . .

  No, Esais had seen enough. That was private. I imagined a steel wall surrounding me, blocking all entrance. The digging stopped, and Esais’s eyes widened.

  “Buna seara,” I tried to keep the surprise off my face.

  I turned my attention to Tres as he followed his brother’s lead. This one had issues. The emerald green of his core shifted into a muddy forest hue. It mixed with a dark pink. He had the potential to be a healer, but he stunted it by his own immaturity and jealousy. Three shadowed females surrounded him. Their hands were joined while the two on the sides held each of Tres’s arms.

  I nodded as we shook hands and turned to Adrian. He remained in his position by the door. His aura ranged from a deep red to an orange-yellow but mixed with dark yellow and brown. He was intelligent, with a scientific mind, but I could see a lot of disbelief and distrust in him. The woman resting her hands on his shoulders smiled at me, and she whispered in his ear. Her golden hair flowed from its elaborate design at the top of her head into small curls. Her skin gave off a pale glow. My heart beat faster by just looking at her beauty.

  Tragedy tinged all of them with a muddy red of anger. Like me, each had been touched by a spirit. However, none had the blackish red lines denoting demon taint. These boys had their issues, but they were human, for the most part.

  I waved to the chairs and the bed. Esais and Tres took the two seats at the small table beside the television. Adrian remained standing, his hands in his pockets. I walked to the window and looked at the perfect line of salt on the sill. We were safe for now. I picked up the sword from the bed and let my fingers play along the etched designs of the sheath. The muscles in my shoulders relaxed, and I let out a long breath. All I had to do was touch it and close my eyes and I could see Dimitri’s face the day he gave it to me. He’d been the one to offer a trade to the collector who’d owned it. Dimitri had gone out of his way to help me and continued to do so while we were with each other.

  Now, I had his descendants to worry about. It was bad enough I had let Andrei, Dimitri’s grandson, and his wife die to a demon attack, but Adam as well. This would not happen to the remaining brothers.

  “That sword,” Esais said. “It looks familiar.”

  “A gift,” I said, “from your great-grandfather.”

  “Then you are that Gabriella,” he said.

  He knew from searching my memories. What was he playing at?

  “Wait,” Tres said. “You knew my great-grandfather? Honey, you must be the mother of all cougars.”

  A laugh spilled from my lips. Something about this brother made it easy to smile. Maybe this hunt wouldn’t be so hard.

  “So, what are you?” Adrian asked.

  I stiffened. “I'm human, just cursed.”

  “Really,” he said, “humans don’t live this long.”

  “We should listen to what she has to say. Our great-grandfather trusted her, and she helped him many times,” Esais interjected.

  “We’re not him. That was decades ago, she could have fallen by now,” Adrian said.

  “She stepped over the salt.”

  “Which is something she introduced.”

  Esais shook his head. “In the books I read, salt is a pure material that protects against evil, including demons.”

  Adrian turned his gaze in my direction. “How did you even know there was a demon in the bar?”

  “I have the ability to see them,” I said.

  “Yes, that’s real normal.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.

  I tightened my grip on my sword and counted to ten. If I had been in his position, I would have suspected me. I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and cut off the coming headache. There had to be a way to solve this.

  “Do you have holy water?” I asked. “It will burn a demon.”

  Esais pulled a flask from his belt. Adrian took it and poured the water over my head. I pushed my hair back and flicked the droplets off of my hand.

  “Satisfied?” I asked.

  “We’ll trust you,” Esais said.

  “You can’t be serious,” Adrian said.

  “What more do you want, Ader? She’s been accommodating, but this is getting ridiculous.”

  “But she’s—”

  “That’s an order, Ader,” Esais said.

  “Order? We’re a family, not the military.”

&
nbsp; “Stop being a prick for a few minutes so we can hear what she has to say?” Tres broke in.

  Adrian shook his head, throwing his hands up.

  “This is insane.” He looked to me. “Well, what great information do you have for us?”

  I tried to keep the smug look from my face. “Ose has resurfaced.”

  The boys’ shoulders straightened, and their bodies leaned forward. Tres gripped the armrests until his fingers turned white. I had them now.

  “Where?” he asked.

  “Here in town, as is his daughter Malantha. She’s the seer who killed Adam.”

  “Seer?” Adrian asked.

  “She uses fortune-telling powers to eliminate her enemies and further her goals. From what I understand, she was the one who led Ose to your parents.”

  “All because Papa wanted to create a network of hunters?” Esais ran a hand through his hair.

  “Ose saw it as a threat to his plans.”

  “He failed to get the rest of us,” Esais said.

  Malantha had tried to get to the remaining brothers, but thanks to Lucy Harker, they remained hidden. Of course, that would change now. Lucy and her father, Jonah, had worked to keep Andrei’s dream of a network of hunters alive. They’d enlisted me when Malantha started killing hunters when she couldn’t get to the Van Helsings. Jonah planned to hand the organization to the brothers when they were ready. Ose was their test.

  Tres stood up and moved to the door. “Why are we waiting, then?”

  Esais touched him on the shoulder. “We need a plan first.”

  “And more information,” I said. “They probably sent the hellhound.”

  The boy’s shoulders slumped, but he sat back down. I relaxed. The last thing I needed was for him to go running around without a clue of what he was looking for.

  “Hellhound?” Esais asked.

  “The demon at the bar. They’re used as guardians, sometimes trackers. They like to possess werewolves,” I said.

  “So, what’s the deal?” Tres asked. “You’re a demon hunter, why didn’t you kill it?”

  “My sword can kill a demon, but the werewolf’s healing prevents me from making a fatal wound. And a demon can still control the body it possesses even if it’s dead, so killing the werewolf won’t help,” I said. “Have any of you fought a werewolf?”