The Preternatural Chronicles: Books 0-3

by Hunter Blain

  “I suppose you are right, John,” Da admitted with a sigh.

  “But know this, my friend; if it appears that Ulric is about to kill me, then I will do everything in my power to strike him down first. At least if the gates of Hell and Heaven spill open while I still walk this flat Frisbee they call Earth, then I’ll take as many demons and angels down as I can. Maybe there will be something left of the planet after. Who knows?”

  “That’s a foolhardy notion.”

  “I’m just kidding,” I said with a wry smile. “The Earth is totally a sphere.”

  “John!” Da barked, frustration dripping from his words. “This is no time to joke. For once in your unlife, can you please take things seriously?”

  Changing my posture and tone, I said, “I am serious, and this isn’t a joke to me. But you knew what you were getting into when you said ‘I do,’ so I don’t know why you are so mad at me.”

  “Follow the plan. Save the world. Don’t bring the gun because I know you. You will find an excuse to use it,” Da instructed as he floated up to be eye to eye with me. “Think about Father Thomes, about Depweg, about the boy.”

  Something the size of a baseball got lodged in my throat at the mention of the boy. I tried to swallow but couldn’t as I swayed at the impact of his words. He had known just where to hit, and it was a home fucking run.

  “Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. I was angry, not at the fact that he was right but at the method he had used to make his point. I unstrapped the holster that held the Glock and let it drop down on the bed. “But I’m keeping the knife.”

  “Agreed,” Da said. “Now, they are waiting for you.”

  I followed Da into the living room, where I saw the twins had changed into…the exact same thing they had been wearing. I pointed at them in confusion and then palmed my head, “Right, man-suits. Okay, we ready?”

  “Bet,” Dawson said with a mischievous smile and a nod of his head.

  “Yup,” said the more even-keeled Joey.

  “Alright, Da, remember what I always say; if I die, bury me with my things because you know they are mine.”

  “Go get them, tiger,” Locke said, prompting everyone in the room to slowly turn toward him in awkward consternation.

  “Dude…” I said, mouth hanging open.

  “Sorry, sorry, everyone. I am new to this whole positive reinforcement thing,” Locke said, only slightly embarrassed.

  “Eh, I’ll give it to ya anyway,” I said to Locke with a wink. “Okay then. Autobots, Assemble!”

  “Those are two completely different franchises,” Joey whispered to Dawson.

  “Dude, right?” Dawson responded.

  “Keep your hands and feet inside the murder train at all times; and please, don’t feed the trolls,” I said in an amusement park announcer’s voice.

  As we stepped through the door and into the stairwell, reality snuck in and sat heavily on our minds like a two-ton elephant. This was going to happen, and it was going to happen right now. We all knew the risks and the severe consequences of our likely failure. But what choice did we have?

  We stopped at the sliding marble door of the mausoleum, and I turned to the twins and said, “Thank you, guys, for coming. With you, we have a fighting chance to save Depweg and maybe even the whole world.”

  “Bet,” Dawson said while Joey just nodded.

  “That word is incredibly versatile, isn’t it?”

  “Bet,” Dawson said again, that stupid smile of his never fading.

  “Are you guys ready for this?” I asked them.

  “We got your back, bro,” Joey said. “Now let’s stop holding each other’s dicks and go save the world.”

  The night was humid, and the moon tried to sneak around black clouds only to be overwhelmed after only a moment of success. I closed my eyes, feeling the night, and inhaled deeply. After holding my breath, I let it out in a long stream of air to calm my nerves, and then opened my eyes to see the night again. My eyes had shifted, and the scene was now as clear as day to me.

  I extended my arms to either side of me and said to the twins, “Hold on.”

  Without hesitation, which was kind of touching, they grabbed onto my arms. I squatted down until my knees were at 90 degrees, then leaped into the night. We flew through the air for about thirty feet before landing. Well, I did anyway. The twins had lost their grip and fallen after only a few feet in the air. They hit the ground and tumbled toward me, stopping a few yards away, moaning.

  “Hold on tight?” I said with the pitch of the last word going up in question.

  “We aren’t that strong in our man-suits, dude,” Joey groaned as he pushed up to his knees.

  “Oh, right. Okay then, let’s try this,” I said as I walked over to where they were still trying to stand, grabbed them each around the waist, and hooked my fingers into their belts and/or fanny packs. I crouched again and leaped toward the place Ulric had told me. This time, the twins came with. I could feel their bodies tense, but they remained in control enough to not scream as we rocketed through the night at less than blinding speed. I did keep the g-force down to a minimum for the weres. They were stronger than any mortal, but were still susceptible to things like physics.

  Several minutes later, we arrived at the location. It was an empty field that had a burned-out home sitting at the edge closest to the street. The house looked like it had been hand built in the early 1900s. The land was mostly knee-high grass, with a clearing in the middle that was about the full length of a football field.

  I walked, alone, toward the field, the twins having been dropped off several hundred yards back to flank this position. My hands opened and the grass grazed and tickled my fingers, oblivious to what was about to unfold. Facing death, I thought of Lily. I bet she could have been helpful right about now. Then again, it was characteristic of the Fae to let others do their fighting. Plus, she was more of a lover than a fighter, or so I tried to convince myself. Actually, it was better she wasn’t here because that would just be another potential distraction that I couldn’t afford.

  As I cleared the field and entered the clearing, I called out, “Ulric, come out and face me.”

  From behind me came my response, “Always so dramatic, John.”

  I spun in surprise as Ulric open-palm struck me in the forehead, sending me tumbling backward for several yards. Luckily, I was stunned and panicked, because it didn’t hurt that much. Either that or it was really bad and my body hadn’t been able to tell me the full extent of the pain and damage yet.

  With shaking hands, I pushed on the ground and stood to face my maker. My voice trembled as I yelled, “Where is Depweg?”

  “Dead,” Ulric said coldly. An evil smile graced his face as my pain manifested on its own. The surrounding field and Ulric started to blur as tears welled in my eyes. I went to wipe them and a foot crashed into my face. As I flew back, stunned and dismayed at the loss of my best friend, Ulric grabbed my feet as they became even with the rest of my flying body and then turned me round and round in a circle until the world melted around me like a fresh painting being spun on a finger by a professional plate spinner.

  I felt him release my feet as I flew through the night toward the burned-out house, which rushed greedily to meet me. I smashed through the side, blackened wood turning into splinters from the force of impact, and slid on the floor to come to a stop in the living room. I lay on my back in pure agony at the thought of my best friend being killed because of me. I could see the moon piercing the clouds through a hole in the roof. It shone on me, illuminating the home and the man who was walking through the hole I had made.

  A giant black wolf with a white patch on his right eye slammed into Ulric. They tumbled into the field, with the were gnawing at Ulric’s arm. In pure rage and disgust, Ulric threw the black wolf away with ease just as a white wolf with a black patch on his left eye crashed into him from the opposite side, tearing at his other arm. Ulric cried out in pain as he grabbed the white wolf by th
e scruff and threw it into the house. It hit and rolled until it landed next to me, whimpering slightly. Then an aggressive growl rumbled in its throat as it got up on all fours and lowered its head closer to the ground, protecting its neck. A piece of lumber flew through the hole at the white wolf, who narrowly dodged out of the way. The lumber struck me right in the forehead as I was trying to get up, knocking me back down. I was numb from what Ulric had done to Depweg. Which was good because that probably hurt like hell. Wait, no—that did hurt like hell, damn it.

  I raised my head again as I heard a howl from outside. Ulric darted impossibly fast to the side as the black wolf leaped through the hole where Ulric had just been. He skidded on the ground, tearing chunks out of the wood floor. The twins weren’t as massive as Depweg, but they were still over three hundred pounds each.

  Depweg. Dead. Anger began to smolder in my guts like white-hot coals.

  Ulric strode into the building baring his teeth, prompting the twins to attack. The black wolf feigned a leap while the white one went low. Ulric was still too fast for them, and swatted the white wolf away with a heavy thud just as the black wolf made its attack. Ulric slammed his elbow downward, smashing into the black wolf’s skull. It landed with a sickening crunch on the ground, where it lay and whined.

  The fire in my gut became all-consuming as I let my grip slide from the wheel. Both PS and I were blinded with rage as he took control. One moment we were on the ground, beaten, the next we were upright and screaming incoherently as we lunged forward.

  Ulric saw me coming and willed a bloodrapier out of his hand. I didn’t care. He had taken too much from me, and I was beyond rational thinking. Either I died right now, or he would. Hell, maybe I would get lucky and we would both die. That would cancel the prophecy, wouldn’t it?

  As I charged, arms outstretched, he stabbed me right through the heart. Or he would have, had I not been wearing my iron-infused body armor. Ulric cried out in pain and surprise as the blood manifestation’s energy was canceled and taken away from him. I finished my charge and took advantage of his stunned state by wrapping my arms around him and tackling him to the ground. While on top of him, I began wildly pounding my fists. Most of my hammer blows missed and shattered holes in the rotted wood floor, but the few that hit home really did damage. Ulric had been starting to recover when the first fist slammed into his forehead.

  For an instant, the image of the soldier whose face I’d caved in when my family was taken shot through my mind in rapid flashes.

  Each hit stunned him while I continued my onslaught. The white wolf padded up to me and whined loudly. We both knew that if I somehow managed to kill Ulric, the end of times would begin, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “He is not dead!” Ulric cried out between fists. I wasn’t letting him get full control of his faculties because I knew he would easily overtake me. I had to keep him dazed, or dead.

  Then his words sunk in and I slowed. “What did you say?!” I cried out, spittle flying in my rage. I didn’t stop the onslaught; I kept smashing his head with blows whenever I felt his body start to regain its composure. With each blow, his chest and arms relaxed under me, unable to receive a strong signal from the brain that was being rattled.

  Dawson barked right in my face and then leaned down to grasp one of Ulric’s arms as Joey wobbled over to grab the other. They pierced flesh, and blood trickled out of their jaws, staining their fur as they held Ulric in a death grip that even he wouldn’t be able to break. A werewolf’s jaws were a terrifying weapon to come up against, even for a vampire as old as my maker. The twins pulled the arms out to each side as Ulric grunted in pain and weakly struggled.

  “I lied to make you emotional. Just like you were in London,” Ulric panted, his eyes rolling in his head. “I still have him as an insurance policy.”

  I stopped pounding and reached for my kukri. It slid out, hungry for flesh, while humming with raw power. I brought the blade next to his face, pressed it into his flesh so he knew I meant business, and said, “Talk, right now.”

  “No,” Ulric spoke calmly but fully understanding the situation. “If I do, you will kill me.”

  “I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t,” I said with a tone that frightened even me. I moved the blade down to his ear and slid it under the skin like a white-hot knife through warm butter. It fell to the ground and Ulric screamed through a closed mouth, refusing to give me the full pleasure. “Where is he?” I asked as I moved to his other ear, slicing it clean off before he could even breathe in for a response. I was going to disassemble him, piece by fucking piece.

  The white wolf whined at me, eyes pleading. I knew I should take control back from PS, but I just didn’t care what happened to Ulric. He deserved to die.

  Joey barked through a full mouth at me and growled. Blood was streaming down his forehead where he had been struck by Ulric. The droplets in his fur glinted like rubies in the moonlight.

  “He needs to die,” I said with a shaky voice.

  Both twins whined at me, their eyes shifting from one another to me.

  I knew they were right, but I just couldn’t take the control back from PS. It felt too good to punish Ulric, and this was my only chance to hurt the much more powerful vampire.

  “No,” I said to the pleading twins as I sat upright on Ulric’s chest and grabbed the handle of the kukri with both hands, blade pointing downward. “I want his heart.” I brought the blade down with all my might.

  At least I thought I did. I was frozen in midair, unable to move. Tendons popped and drool shot through my clenched teeth as I fought with all my might to kill this bastard.

  I cried out as realization struck. “YOU FUCKING BITCH, LILY!”

  Ulric took advantage of the situation and put one foot flat on the ground before he pushed up and over to the side, toppling me to the ground. I was still frozen from Lily’s commands. The wolves braced themselves, but with Ulric gaining back full control of his mind, he ripped his arms out of the twin’s mouths, bringing most of their teeth with him. They yelped in both pain and surprise as Ulric was up and out of the house in the blink of an eye, leaving only kicked-up dust that slowly settled back to the ground behind.

  Once the threat, which had stopped being a threat, was gone, my body relaxed, free from Lily’s order. I was so pissed at her, even if I knew she had stopped me from doing something I couldn’t take back.

  “She fucking knew,” I panted as I sat up, bringing my knees to my chest. I went to pull my beanie off, forgetting it wasn’t there, and furiously ran my fingers through my hair.

  “Knew what?” Joey the Black Wolf asked after he transformed back. His human teeth grew in place of the ripped-out canines. It was a good thing werewolves lost their preternatural teeth when they changed back to human. He sat next to me with blood glistening off his naked body in the moonlight. Head wounds always bled the worst.

  “Nothing,” I said, embarrassed at being played and because I knew I needed to be played in that situation.

  “You had him, man, what happened?” Dawson the White Wolf asked as he finished reverting to his human skin. His face was heavily bruising on one side.

  “I froze,” I said.

  “No shit,” Dawson replied as he leaned on a wall. He looked down at the ground in contemplation before saying, “Fuck, he was strong, dude. Like, really, really strong.”

  “Tell me about it,” I agreed. “I was so close.”

  “Okay, let’s look at things from a constructive perspective,” Joey began. “We know the silver worked against him.”

  “And the armor,” I added, touching the chest plate that had saved my life.

  “And the armor,” Joey repeated in agreement.

  “But he still has Depweg,” I said, disappointment and dismay in my words.

  “Yeah, but now the dude is bleeding and shit,” Dawson remarked. “We can track his bitch ass.” He finished his statement by holding up his hands with his thumbs and pinkies outstretched and waggling t
hem back and forth.

  Excitement grew in my chest, lined with hope. “You can? Like right now?”

  “Yeah, bro. We just need to eat a deer or something along the way,” Joey said, leaning forward to get on all fours. Dawson took his cue and dropped to his hands and feet as they both began changing. Hair grew over their entire bodies and then thickened to fur. Their eyes turned yellow as their snouts extended from their face, bones popping like breaking twigs. Wrists extended until they basically became a second elbow as hands became paws. Teeth elongated into razor-sharp daggers while tails sprouted from lower backs. After a few moments the change was over, and both weres shook like wet dogs and chuffed to signal they were ready. I noticed their wolf teeth were back. That’s a neat trick to remember, though I knew it was extremely depleting to transform into their wolf skins.

  Both Joey the Black Were and Dawson the White Wolf padded outside, sniffing the ground in circles until they honed in on their target’s direction. Once locked, both wolves ran full sprint in the direction Ulric had retreated. I followed close behind, letting my senses flow all around us to keep on the lookout for a likely ambush.

  We made it almost to the end of an adjoining cornfield before I felt something entering my perimeter senses. Immediately after, Joey’s and Dawson’s heads shot up as a wave of spiders the size of car tires poured out of the tree line and into the cornfield. Each black mass had eight eyes that glowed red.

  “Ooooohhhh mmmmmyyyyy Lilith! That’s fucking horrifying! Don’t let them bite you!” I cried out to the weres.

  Green liquid gleamed and dripped off mandibles the size of steak knives. Lilith, there had to be hundreds.

  “Just smash and go. They can’t be that strong,” I said as I slid to a stop just outside the corn rows, in the space between the field and the trees. I willed two sledgehammers from my palms and into my fists and crouched low. Joey and Dawson lined up next to me in preparation, staying close to prevent flanking.