Kaitlyn Strong Books 1-3: The Complete First Trilogy

by Art DeForest

  Deacon nodded his head in agreement. “There are very few things more dangerous to humans, or our anonymity, than a young rogue.”

  Fanning out, Deacon and I tried to find the vampire’s scent. Marcus used his penlight to search for anything the forensic people might have missed. In his human form he didn’t have the nose to track by scent.

  It wasn’t long before I picked up the smell of blood leading away from the scene. “I’ve got something headed this direction.” I said as I started following the scent trail north. We were in a fairly good sized park called Del Mar Park. It had an aquatic center, softball fields and tennis courts. Kinda your average suburban park in that way. The trail seemed to head north, roughly paralleling a bike path that made it’s way between the aquatic center and some softball fields to the east. Eventually it came to a stop at a large four lane street. The combination of the wind from passing cars and the heavy foot traffic up and down the sidewalk obliterated the scent. Looking across the street, I could see a couple of old shopping centers across the street that seemed to do a good business.

  Taking out my phone I brought up a map of the area. “Crap.” I thought. “This is one target rich environment.” Within a mile of where I stood were multiple parks, several schools and and thousands of single family homes. It was an old neighborhood by the looks of things, so I was betting a lot of them had basements in them that would be just perfect for hiding from the light. Widening out the map to take in more of the area, I could see that I was on one of the larger east west thoroughfares, Sixth Avenue. Just nine blocks further north appeared to be the main east west thoroughfare, Colfax Avenue. There were so many places for a vampire to wait in ambush, I wasn’t sure what to do next.

  Deacon and Marcus came up beside me as I stood contemplating the map on my phone. “We’re going to need some help.” I said.

  Marcus looked around briefly. “I’ve got contacts in Aurora PD. I’ll see if anything unusual has happened this evening.” He said as he pulled out a cell phone of his own.

  Looking over at Deacon I said, “If it’s brand new like we think, Then it might come back here to hunt again.” If the police haven’t heard anything, I think we should patrol this park and see if we can find anything.”

  Deacon looked at me thoughtfully for a minute before nodding in agreement. “That’s as good a guess as any.” Looking out at the surrounding area, he continued. “Do you think this new vamp and Darius are connected?”

  “They almost have to be.” I said. “It's not like there are a lot of vampires in this city. It almost has to be related somehow.” I flashed back to my past with Darius once again. “Maybe he had another one escape. Either that or he let it go on purpose. Maybe he was trying to throw off suspicion.”

  “That is my thought as well.” Said Deacon. “Either way we need to find it quickly.” His eyes were dark with concern and anger.

  Marcus got off his phone then. “APD has no unusual activity.” My contact did warn me that this isn’t the safest area in town and that we should watch ourselves.

  “Okay” I said, Why don’t we split up and make a patrol of the park. We can meet back at the vehicles in an hour and decide what to do from there. We decided that Deacon and I would take opposite sides of Del Mar Circle, the street that went completely around the park, walking the perimeter of the park to the east and west. Marcus would head straight south along the path we had just come up.

  Waving toward the other direction, I started walking east up Sixth Avenue until I came to Del Mar Circle then headed south along the edge of the park. I was maybe a quarter of the way around when I picked up the dusty, old blood smell of a vampire. I was a little confused as I looked around. The new vamp hadn’t acquired that smell yet. That could only mean…

  “Hello Chew Toy” said a shadow as it separated itself from the darkness surrounding a nearby tree. Moving into the open, Gino Abandonado grinned at me viciously. “No big bad protector around to save you now.” He chuckled.

  I snorted in response. “I see you managed to grow your leg back.” I said with derision. “You should probably use it to run away while you have a chance. If it had been me you fought when we last met, I’d have just dusted your ass.”

  Gino sneered his disdain as his stake and dagger slid out of his jacket sleeves. “You will not find me as easy to handle as my minions back at the plane. I don’t see your kitty cat protector either. I do hope he’s alright.

  I shrugged indifferently and sniffed. “He’s fine. He did get a little banged up helping me dust your sire, but it wasn’t really a big deal.” I lied.

  Gino’s mouth dropped open in shock at my words before his eyes narrowed in hate. “You lie, you baseborn harlot!” He growled out.

  “Oh really?” I said with a raised eyebrow. “Seen dear old dad since you hit town? If you had, I don’t imagine you’d be out here all alone.” Continuing to stare at him quizzically, I asked. “Why are you out here Gino? Lose something? Or should I say, someone?”

  Gino snarled his hate and frustration. “That is none of your concern. Time to die Chew Toy.”

  His eyes turned crimson and his fangs dropped as he flew across the intervening space between us. I used a crescent step with my left foot, to take me back and to the side as my right hand unsheathed the kukri at my hip. Ducking under the swipe of his dagger, my hips torqued and I slashed at his midsection as he flew past. He hissed in pain as the blade cut deeply into his side. I continued on around in a spin that brought me back to face him, taking my stake out of my belt in a reverse grip. I took a quick defensive stance. My left foot was forward, the stake in my left hand was pointed at the ground. The kukri was enclosed in my right fist up by my right shoulder. The blade angling up by my right ear.

  Gino came in with a more cautious attack this time. The cut on his side having had very little effect overall. I was a bit surprised when he led with a front kick that streaked up towards my jaw. I was just barely able to jump back out of the way without being able to offer a counter attack. He continued with his combination as the dagger came in low and shot towards my chest. My left arm swept down and out. The stake, held back along my forearm connected with the edge of his blade.

  It was his turn to jump back defensively then as my blade came out and around with a vicious slash at his throat. He landed in a crouch, ten feet away and smiled. “Is that all you’ve got Chew Toy?” He said with an evil chuckle, no doubt hoping rage would cause a mistake. Well, two could play that game.

  I grinned mischievously, “It was enough for your boy Altheas.” I said slyly. “Seen him lately?” I asked innocently as I batted my eyelashes at him. “You seem to be losing a lot of people close to you lately, don’t you Gino?”

  Gino’s eye almost rolled back in his head as he screamed in rage at me. “Way to keep it quiet and not wake the neighborhood dude.” I thought to myself as he rushed me in a frenzy. Gino is quite a bit larger than I am. Being two inches over six feet and somewhere in the one hundred ninety five pound range, so there was no way I was going to meet him head on.

  As he came within arm’s reach, his dagger came around in a blurringly fast arch, headed for my neck. I ducked under the strike, bending at the knees. His momentum carried the blow on past, pulling him off balance. I smiled to myself. The smart move would have been to carry on through and step out of my range in order to recover, but Gino was all about rage and attack at this point. I knew he was going to do the stupid thing and bring the dagger across with a backhand. It was the only offensive move available.

  The dagger started to fly back at my neck once more as I brought the kukri up in a chest block motion. His wrist contacted the razor sharp inward curving edge of my knife with all the power that Gino had put into his swing. All I had to do was keep my block strong and allow Gino to cut his own hand off on the heavy blade of my kukri.

  Gino’s hand turned to ash as it separated itself from the rest of his arm. The dagger it had held went flying off into the night behind me.
Gino came to a complete stop, staring in horror at where his hand used to be. He did have enough survival instinct to jump backwards a good ten feet when I drew the kukri back to try a finishing strike to his neck.

  He crouched in his own defensive stance as he prepared to continue the fight, but something over my shoulder drew his attention. “This isn’t over Chew Toy!” He screamed, as he turned and streaked off into the night.

  I spun quickly in a defensive stance, weapons at the ready for whatever was coming up behind me. Black fur, long teeth and yellow eyes greeted me as Marcus, in battle form, came to a stop in front of me. His sides bellowed in and out with each breath and drool dripped from his fangs. His pants hung in tatters around his hips as he looked back the way Gino had fled. “Dude!” I said, getting his attention. “How much do you spend on clothes each month?” He just looked down at me and growled as I winked at him.

  Deacon showed up seconds later. “What has happened?” He asked, eyes searching the night. “I heard a scream.”

  “Gino’s in town.” I said. “He didn’t appreciate it when I cut off his hand.” I smirked a bit. “His limbs are having a hard week.”

  Deacon looked at me quizzically. “Why was he here, in this park, I wonder?”

  “I suspect he’s doing the same thing we are.” I said, thinking out loud. “He couldn’t have known we’d be here. I think he and the rest of his family are probably trying to clean up after Darius.”

  Deacon’s eyes narrowed and he put his hand to his chin in thought. “Possibly” he said. “Do you think they know of his death?”

  “They do now.” I smirked. “Gino wasn’t very happy to hear about it.”

  “What now?” Came the gruff voice of Marcus as the last vestiges of his battle form faded away.

  “I think we need to regroup.” I said. “If the new vamp was here, I’m sure the commotion drove it away. I looked at Marcus speculatively. “Will the Pack help out with patrols?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem like they’re exactly united in their approval of our being here.”

  Marcus scowled a bit at that, recalling the confrontation earlier. “That was politics.” He said. “Every organization has it’s cliques and subgroups looking to make a power play. That little group was one of them. The wolf I had to….chastise was Evan Connor. He and his group of youngsters think that we’re strong enough to take over the Other community. He believes we should be killing vampires, not working with them.”

  “Chastise?” I snorted. “You snapped his neck. That’s quite the drastic chastisement isn’t it?”

  “He’ll live” said Quinn with a shrug. “As the Pack beta, It’s my job to keep the youngsters in line.” He thought for a minute before continuing. “Dawn is coming soon. No doubt our quarry is going to ground. We should head back to Pack headquarters. I’ll set up patrols and you can check on your companion.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I said. Deacon simply nodded in agreement.

  4

  The first subtle grey light of predawn could be seen off to the east as we pulled back into the parking lot of the pack headquarters. I could feel the yellow orb of pain drawing ever closer to piercing me with it’s hateful rays. Okay, maybe I was being a bit of a drama queen there, but it hurts dammit! This whole, forcing myself to become a daywalker thing was really going to suck, but there was no way I was going to allow that vulnerability to continue. I spent my whole unlife in an attempt to make myself powerful enough to not be abused again. I know logically that there would always be someone better, but I knew if I put in the work that the list of those people would become smaller and smaller. Becoming a daywalker would shrink that list significantly.

  I looked over at Deacon as he pulled the Suburban into the mostly empty parking lot of Pack headquarters. I knew he felt the same pain as I did, but he hid it well. “How old are you?” I asked on impulse.

  He turned his head to look at me in slight shock at the out of the blue question. Shaking his head and taking a breath he said, “I’m one hundred ninety three. Why do you ask?”

  Glancing down at my hands as they rested in my lap I said tentatively “I was curious. How long have you been able to walk the day?”

  He stared off into the distance as he considered my question. “Almost seventy years.” He looked back at me once again. “Why?” He asked curiously. Are you seeking to make the attempt?”

  I nodded to him firmly. “I was weak back in the hotel. If I’d been awake, I might have been on to Darius earlier. I might have been able to save that bellhop’s life.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over that Kaitlyn. I’ve been able to walk the day for many years, but I still rest during the day if I have no specific task to accomplish.” He sighed then. “It was my fault that Darius got to us. I misjudged how quickly he could find us and let down my guard. I knew you weren’t a daywalker. I should have stayed up and kept watch.” He said, casting his eyes to the floorboards as he turned off the vehicle and pulled the keys from the ignition.

  I shook my head at his self recrimination. “Neither of us expected him to come at us. All I could think about was tracking him down. It further proves how closely the Abandonados have been in contact with him.” I scowled in anger. “That whole family needs put down if we’re ever going to see peace.”

  “Easier said than done.” he replied with a scowl that matched my own. “They still have much support in the Council. Banishment of a whole family has never been done and I don’t believe we’ll ever get a majority to take such action.

  “I don’t need Council approval to take action.” I said with a growl in my voice. Deacon looked at me apprehensively, but said nothing.

  There was a sudden tap on the driver’s window. Marcus stood outside with a questioning look on his face. “Are you guys coming in or what?” he said. Coming back to the here and now, Deacon and I got out of the Suburban and followed Marcus inside.

  The place was all but empty inside. Not surprising since it was almost 5 am. Sitting at the bar however, was Sara. There was a large man standing behind the bar close to her. Just from the sense of presence I was getting off the man, I was guessing he was the alpha for the local pack.

  “Jake, Sara.” said Marcus, nodding to the pair as we approached them. Motioning to Deacon and me, he made eye contact with the guy behind the bar. “Jake, this is Kaitlyn and Deacon, from the Vampire Council.

  Jake held out a beefy callused hand to shake with both of us “Good to meet you.” Looking back over at Marcus he said, “I heard you had to have a discussion with Evan last night.”

  Marcus shrugged, downplaying the incident. “He’s young and starting to feel his power. Hopefully, spending a day paralyzed while he regenerates will give him some perspective.”

  “Here’s hoping.” Said Jake. Turning his attention to Deacon and I he asked, “So, you folks have taken care of one of our problems, I understand.”

  Deacon spoke up. “Darius is dust. However it appears that we weren’t in time to prevent another problem from plaguing your territory.”

  “You believe we have another vampire making kills here?” He asked, his face becoming stearn.

  “The kill in Del Mar Park was definitely a vampire kill.” I said. “From the evidence we’ve seen, it appears to be a newly turned vampire without supervision.”

  Jake looked at us consideringly for a moment. “You believe this has something to do with Darius?’

  “That is our working hypothesis.” Said Deacon gravely. “We must find the youngster as soon as possible or the body count will rise quickly.

  Marcus cleared his throat. “Deacon and Kaitlyn have requested our aid in patrolling the area.

  Jake nodded his head. “We can do that.” He said. “What do you want done in the event that one of mine finds it before you do. Should it be put down?”

  I piped up quickly at that. “We’d like to take it alive if possible.” I said, throwing a quelling glance at Deacon. “Young rogues are redeemable if they are caught early en
ough. If this young vampire was one that Darius caught and turned by force, then I would like to give it every chance to survive.

  Jake nodded, but looked at us quizzically. “Is that a likely outcome or are you grasping at straws?”

  Sara spoke up at that point. “Given the resources we have available, I think it could be quite likely.” She said.

  “What resources are those, exactly” asked Jake.

  “Not many know this but young Kaitlyn here was exactly one of those that was captured by Darius. She managed to escape, but spent some time as a rogue before she was taken in by a worthy vampire and taught manners.” Said Sara, smiling kindly in my direction.