by E. J. King
“Hart?” Chase’s eyes narrowed, first at me and then at Rafe when she noticed his hand on my shoulder. “The Kaylie Hart?”
“The one and only,” I said grimly.
CHAPTER TWO
Even after all these years it was still unsettling to have strangers recognize me based on my name alone.
Rafe’s arm grew heavier around my shoulders. “What brought you to town, Chase?”
“We just finished a hunt nearby and heard about some strange things happening here. Thought we should stop by.” Chase’s demeanor had changed. Gone were the breathy voice and flirty looks. She pointed to each of the guys in her hunting pack. “Maddox, Court, and Rick.”
They each took turns grunting and bobbing their heads. I wouldn’t count on any of them for a meaningful conversation.
“What kind of strange things?” Ethan asked.
“What do you know about the Immortui?” Chase said, her voice faint in the loud bar. She twirled her beer and then took a long drink.
“Immortui?” I nearly laughed out loud. “Like zombies? They don’t exist.”
If looks could kill, I would’ve dropped dead at the glance she gave me. “The Immortui are nothing like the zombies you see in movies. They are very real, and they are very deadly.”
My parents had hunted a lot of supernatural creatures, as had their parents before them. So on through the decades, generations of Harts hunting monsters. But none of them had ever hunted a zombie.
“Can someone catch me up?” Hope asked in an annoyed voice. She didn’t like being left out during story time.
“The Immortui, or the Undead, have existed since the beginning of time, just like all other monsters and demons. We all know that when a Soul is created, they must drink human blood to complete the transition,” Chase said, leaning her elbows on the table. “Have you ever wondered what happens if they drink Soul blood instead?”
Honestly, no, I had never wondered that. But now I did. “They become Undead?” I guessed.
“Ding ding ding,” she replied flatly. “Now, who can tell me what being Undead means?”
Rafe sighed. “Chase, just tell us. We aren’t in the mood for games.”
“That’s not the J.R. I remember,” she said with a wink. “Undead Souls are a lot like Dark Souls. They have supernatural strength and speed, they crave human blood, they lack a human soul, and they are generally nasty creatures. But Undead Souls have one key difference- they are much harder to kill. A knife in the heart isn’t going to work on them.”
“So how do you kill them?” Hope asked.
“Aim for the brain stem.” She made a gesture like stabbing herself in the back of the neck. “Zombie movies always get it wrong. It’s not the actual brain that you want to hit. It’s the brain stem. A nice beheading will do the trick.”
I never thought I would hear the words “nice” and “beheading” in the same sentence. I said, “You know a lot about the Undead.”
“I’ve spent my life hunting them.” She finished her beer in a big gulp. “This town is overrun with them. We think they’ve built a nest here. It’s too late to go looking for it tonight.”
“We were planning to stay overnight anyway. We’ll help you find the nest tomorrow.” Rafe didn’t look at the rest of us as he made his offer.
“Just like old times,” Chase said, sharing an intimate smile with Rafe that turned my stomach. Her eyes again went to the arm he had around me. “Well, not exactly like old times.”
A few minutes and several awkward goodbyes later, we left Chase and her buddies at the table with a promise to meet them first thing in the morning. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of hunting with a group of people we didn’t know, but I couldn’t deny that it was probably a better idea than taking on a nest by ourselves. In this case, more Hunters was definitely better.
“Alone at last,” Rafe said the minute the motel room door swung shut behind us. I was in his arms before I knew what was happening.
“Whoa. Settle down, Rafferty,” I said without much conviction. It had been a long time since we’d had any privacy. Rafe was already busy undressing me. “Well, okay then.”
I wasn’t about to turn down great sex with my hot boyfriend. Especially not when he was kissing me like that, so passionately that my head was spinning. If he hadn’t been supporting my weight by crushing me against his body, my legs would’ve buckled beneath me. As it was, I was glad when he carried me to the bed.
It wasn’t until much later, once we finally ran out of energy and fell into a post-coital bliss, that I had time think about what Chase had told us. Rafe lay beneath me, hovering on the brink of sleep. My head was on his chest, every inch of my body still pressed against his.
“Tell me about Chase,” I said suddenly, lifting my head.
Rafe’s eyes fluttered open. “What?”
“Chase. Tell me what you know about her.”
“I don’t really want to talk about Chase right now,” he said, his voice deeper than usual because it was heavy with sleep. “Can’t this wait until morning when we aren’t naked?”
He had a point. It was a little weird to talk about his ex while we were still coming down from our sexcapades. “We’ll be meeting her in the morning,” I reminded him.
“Fine.” He sighed deeply. “Chase comes from a long line of Hunters, almost as old as your family’s lineage. Her father’s side of the family specialized in the Undead. When Chase was just seven, both of her parents were killed and she was raised by a foster family outside the Hunter world. They thought she had mental problems because she kept warning them about vampires and zombies.”
“Poor kid,” I said, meaning it. “Being a Hunter is hard enough at that age. I can’t imagine being one while living with a normal family.”
“That’s why Chase ran away when she was eleven,” he said. “She found an old friend of her dad’s and she lived with him until she was sixteen. She’s been on her own since then. Kind of like you,” he added.
I rolled off of Rafe and onto the bed until I was lying on my back next to him. “You have a thing for damaged girls,” I said.
“I do,” he agreed with a soft chuckle.
“So those guys she was with… you know them?”
“No, I don’t.” His voice had grown hard. “I don’t like the way Court was looking at you. He seemed a little too interested.”
I knew that Rafe wasn’t just being a jealous boyfriend. Court had not been eyeing me in a sexual way. He had been watching me like someone that was plotting something evil.
“We’ll have to keep an eye on him tomorrow,” I said. “Can we trust Chase?”
He hesitated before answering. “Yes. Chase is a lot of things, but she’s a loyal friend and a good Hunter.”
“And disgustingly beautiful,” I muttered.
“Yet another thing the two of you have in common.” His hand slid from my arm to my waist, and then over my hip and pelvis.
“Again?” I asked, raising a surprised eyebrow. “You’re insatiable.”
“I could never get enough of you. Ever.” His lips closed over mine and I knew exactly what he meant because I felt the same about him. I craved James Rafferty the same way a vampire craved blood.
Our sleepless night did not go unnoticed the next morning. We waited for Chase and her friends in the parking lot, each of us holding a large coffee. Rafe and I were leaning against the hood of the car while Ethan and Hope sat on the curb.
“You both look like death,” Ethan observed candidly. “I take it you didn’t sleep well?”
“No complaints from me,” Rafe said, sliding me a wink. I squeezed his thigh quickly and took a sip of coffee to hide a smile.
Hope caught the exchange. “So you were the ones making all that noise!”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, this time not bothering to hide my smile. My cheeks flushed a brilliant pink.
“Well done,” Ethan said to Rafe, faking applause.
Rafe was just taking a bow whe
n an old van screeched into the lot blaring its horn. We all turned to watch it scream in our direction before the driver slammed on the brakes, pulling up just two inches short of hitting the building.
“Mornin’, kids!” Chase bounded from the passenger seat with more energy than I had ever felt in my life. She looked picture perfect with her flowing blond hair, tight leather pants and sweater. I felt like I was looking at a fictional comic book character. “Geez, J.R. What happened to you last night?”
Rafe surprised us all when he said, “Kaylie.”
“Oh.” Chase’s perfectly arched eyebrow shot up. “Good for you. Hopefully your friends at least got some rest. We need to be sharp today.”
“We’ll be fine,” Rafe said confidently. “This isn’t our first time at the rodeo.”
“No,” Chase agreed, studying me carefully, “I don’t suppose it is.”
Ethan had stood while the van careened in our direction and now he whispered to me, “This is awkward.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I replied. To everyone, I said, “We should split up to cover more ground. We’re looking for a nest, so let’s not spread ourselves too thin.”
“What do ya say? Wanna be my hunting buddy again?” Chase said to Rafe with a flirtatious bat of her eyes. She caught him glancing at me and added, “Don’t worry. Your girlfriend can come, too.”
“I wasn’t looking for your permission,” I snapped. Hope stifled a giggle. “Ethan, take Hope and one of the other guys with you.”
Hope might have supernatural blood in her veins, but she was still learning how to be a Hunter. I wanted them to have backup.
Chase took over dividing up the town between the three groups. Ethan, Hope, and Court would take the town center. Maddox and Rick would take the eastern edge, and I was accompanying Chase and Rafe around the western border.
Everyone checked their weapons, Chase bending over right in front of Rafe as she adjusted the knife tucked into her boot. I contemplated whether I should tip her over.
Ethan was still standing at my elbow and he nudged me. “Play nice, Hart.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said innocently, giving him a sly smile.
“Meet back here at sundown. If you find the nest sooner, send a message to the other groups.” Chase was a natural leader. She had no problem ordering everyone around.
I found myself the third wheel of our group. Rafe and Chase fell into step together in front of me, reminiscing over some hunt in their past. I didn’t really mind. At least I didn’t have to fake interest. Instead, I took a good look around the town.
Most of the residences were around the center. After just a few blocks we reached the rural part, corn fields and large farm houses with dilapidated barns. If I was a vampire, that is where I would set up my lair.
“I’ll run up and check that barn,” Rafe said quickly. He couldn’t get away fast enough.
Chase caught me staring at him as he darted away. “How long have you been together?” she asked.
“Huh?” I blinked and turned to her. “Oh. A few months I guess.”
She nodded slowly. “You make a cute couple.”
“Thanks.” I looked down at my feet, suddenly fascinated by an oddly shaped rock. “He seems pretty fond of you.”
“We went through some rough times together,” she said carefully. “But it wasn’t anything like what you have with him.”
“How can you tell?” I asked, looking up. I hadn’t expected her to be so nice to me.
She smiled sadly. “I can tell in the way he looks at you. He loves you.”
“He didn’t love you?” I wondered if she would answer the same way Rafe had answered that question.
“I think maybe he thought he did at the time. But it wasn’t the real thing.” She flipped a strand of blond hair over her shoulder. “It was more like two friends desperately needing to feel wanted.”
I detected something in her eyes that said it wasn’t the complete truth. “You loved him.”
She stared hard at me, her face unreadable. Finally, she said, “I did. But that was a long time ago. We’ve both moved on.”
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing, but it felt like the right thing to do.
“Don’t be.” She forced a smile. “He’s better with you. Happier. That’s a good thing.”
Rafe was on his way back, moving at a slow jog. We watched him in silence, both of us lost in thought.
“Nada,” he said, quickly looking at both of us. He noticed that we were both looking at him strangely. “What? Did I miss something?”
“No.” I gave him a big smile. “Just a little girl talk.”
His eyes widened. “Why do I have the feeling that this is going to work against me in some way?”
“Don’t be such a coward,” I teased. “You don’t need to be afraid unless you’ve done something wrong.”
“And that is the last time I leave the two of you alone.” He pointed up the road. “We should keep moving. There is a lot of ground to cover.”
This time Rafe and I took the lead with Chase following just a couple of steps behind. She hummed a happy tune as we walked.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, noticing that I was walking in a zigzag pattern.
I might have been walking next to Rafe, but my mind was somewhere far away. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been to Normal at some point in my past and I was busy remembering every previous hunt to see if I could dig up the memory.
“I know I’ve been here before, Rafe,” I said quietly. “I can’t remember it, but I can feel it inside me.”
“If you had been here, why wouldn’t you remember it?” Rafe looked doubtful. “It was probably just another town that looks a lot like this one.”
I shook my head. “I’m not crazy. I’m not remembering some other town.”
Rafe just shrugged. “Okay. Maybe you were here as a kid. So what?”
It was possible. I had moved around every few months with my parents. We never stayed in any town for very long. Or we could have stopped in Normal during one of our many moves. But there had to be a reason that this town in particular was refusing to be forgotten.
We took turns running across the fields to check out the farm houses and barns. Luckily, the fields had been harvested months ago when the weather was just beginning to turn. That made it easier for us to take short cuts, though we had to watch our steps over the uneven ground.
“You’re sure about there being zombies in town, right?” I asked Chase after the tenth empty barn.
“I’m never wrong about anything,” she replied easily. I admired her confidence.
The next barn up was mine, and I approached it with low expectations. Barns aren’t exactly known for their large glass windows, so I had to find a spot where I could see between the rotting boards. Fortunately, this barn had a lot of spots like that. I picked the most obvious one and stuck my eye to it.
After a few seconds, my vision adjusted to the dark inside. I expected to find yet another empty barn, or maybe some farm equipment. I didn’t expect to find two dozen sleeping people. Or actually, not people- Immortui.
With a wave of my hand, I signaled for Rafe and Chase to join me. They were both good Hunters and I never even heard them approach, but I sensed them at my back. After a quick count, I turned to them and flashed two fingers twice. 22 Immortui that were visible. It was possible others were hidden in the shadows.
Rafe and Chase moved around the barn in opposite directions, giving us three different angles inside. I made mental notes of as many things as possible- potential weapons, possible exits, and blind spots. All of those things were important if we decided to rush the barn.
We traded notes back on the other side of the field. All Souls had super-hearing and we didn’t want to risk waking a nest of them.
“I spotted 22 of them as well,” Chase said. “It’s a manageable number with eight Hunters.”
“We’ve faced worse,” I sa
id. “We should let the others know they can stop searching.”
It took well over an hour for us to get back to the parking lot. For the most part, we walked in silence in a straight line. Occasionally Rafe would make a random comment to fill the silence. His obvious discomfort was actually quite adorable. I made a mental note to tease him about it later.
“What did you do to the other guys?” Rafe asked, looking around the parking lot. Only Ethan and Hope were waiting for us.
“They took off. Said they wanted to rest up before the hunt tonight.” Ethan looked at each of us. “Good to see you made it back unscathed.”
I didn’t know if he was referencing the Immortui or our little love triangle. Judging from the look of humor on his face, I would guess it was the latter.
“I’ll go fill them in on what we found in the barn,” Chase said. “We’ll be back an hour after dark.”
The van was gone now, so she left on foot. I wasn’t sorry to see her go.
“Food,” Ethan said.
“Yeah, alright,” Rafe agreed.
My stomach had been twisting in knots for the last half hour and I couldn’t imagine eating anything at that moment.
“You go ahead. I’m not feeling great so I’m going to lay down.” I winced as my stomach did a flip.
“Are you okay?” Rafe was more than a little concerned. I rarely felt sick and even when I did, I never told anyone else.
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile. “Bring me back something, okay?”
Rafe insisted on walking with me to the room and after another round of assurances, he left with the others.
I immediately ran to the toilet and threw up. Then I crawled into bed and willed sleep to come. A few minutes later, it did.
My sleep was restless and haunted by monsters. But unlike the nightmares I usually had, this one wasn’t set in the present time. It centered on a ten-year-old Kaylie Hart.
I was sitting in a dark room, a small ray of light filtering through a small gap in a window that had been boarded over. In that dim light I could see the silver tape binding my hands together. My head was foggy and my vision came and went in waves. After a few deep breaths, my head started to clear.
