From the Shadows (Hunters #1)

Chapter 8

It seemed that Diego’s frustrations were worming their way through the rest of the team too. All of them were edgy, quick to snap. Even Jeremy, normally a ray of sunshine, was churlish when it came to his shifter training, going so far as to tell Shay he sucked. Then his eyes widened and he hugged Shay, begging forgiveness.

Shay didn’t blame Diego, though. This vampire coven, or whatever they were, had been wreaking havoc and the teams’ nerves were fraying. In the past month, there were two more parties that had been slaughtered, their bodies ripped apart and drained of blood. This last one had been more graphic and debased than the others. Heads of the victims were found bobbing in punch bowls, with the deep-red liquid mixing with the fruity beverage. Cups had been filled with the mixture, and it seemed as though they’d drank them. Worse still, their bodies had been defiled by being stripped down and arranged in a variety of sexual poses. They’d tried to keep Shay from seeing the pictures, but he’d insisted.

And instantly regretted it.

Shay thought he was ready to be part of the team. To help them out, even if it was only in a supporting role. He’d never been so wrong. He’d rushed for the nearest bathroom, where he promptly expelled his breakfast. Diego and Borne tracked him down and helped to clean up the mess, and then Diego had lifted Shay as if he was nothing and took him to his bed with orders to rest. He’d been drifting off when his door cracked opened, then closed. A few seconds later, the soft hiss of a snake occupied the pillow next to Shay’s.

“Thank you, Jeremy,” he whispered before drifting off to sleep.

When he woke up several hours later, Jeremy was still in snake form, laying atop Shay’s head, while Diego sat by his bedside, his chin touching his slowly rising and falling chest. Shame flooded Shay at the memory of what he’d done and how foolish he now felt. The team saw the gore firsthand on a regular basis, and he couldn’t handle the photographs. They protected Jeremy, and now they were doing the same for Shay.

He wished he had listened. Those images were seared into his mind and would never go away. He flashed back to his own trauma with Mick. His body wracked with pain while his erstwhile lover brought the bat down again and again, the thudding sound filling Shay’s ears. The scream that could only be in his head, because no one could have ignored it, right? How Mick had been yelling, telling Shay how fucking useless he was, how he should be goddamn grateful that he even looked at Shay’s scrawny ass.

How one more swing smashed into Shay’s face, driving him into darkness.

Shay thought Mick was a monster—and he was—but what Diego and the team dealt with? They were the real creatures of the night. He couldn’t hold back the whimper, and Diego’s head snapped up, his eyes locked on Shay.

“You’re awake,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”

What word would fit in there? He wouldn’t say he was okay, because he wasn’t. That one face—a young girl, maybe eight or so—kept surging in his memories, her headless corpse showing in full color that Shay wasn’t ready for this life.

“Guess you were right,” Shay whispered, clenching his hands into fists. “This isn’t a place for me.”

Diego reached for Shay and squeezed his hand. “Nah, I was wrong. This place is a lot… friendlier since you arrived. You took this ragtag group and actually helped solidify it into a family.” He leaned closer. “Before you, we didn’t really do anything together beyond missions. Each of us had our own things, and that’s what we did. Then you came along, and we all sat down to a meal together nearly every day. We found projects to do that had us working together. That snake house in the back? That’s because of you. It gives Jerm a chance to see what living as a wild snake is like, but still keeps him within a safe distance of the house.”

It was nice that Diego was saying these things, but for fuck sake, Shay had lost it over a few pictures.

“Do you know why we didn’t want you to look at the photos?” Diego asked, sneaking a peek at Jeremy, who still appeared to be sleeping. “Not because we thought you were weak or that you needed to prove yourself. You do that every damn day here, Shay. I can’t think of anyone I know—human or paranormal—who could bind different types of beings into a cohesive group. It’s your attitude, your charm, and your grace. We’re all humbled by you and love having you working with us.”

Was that the truth? Did Diego and the rest like having Shay here?

“Then I should stay in my lane and?—”

Diego’s hand went up quickly, stopping Shay from finishing his thought. “No. We were wrong. It’s not up to us to decide what you are or aren’t ready for. That’s something only you can figure out. I’ll tell you the truth, your input is invaluable, because it comes from a place that none of us really know—or remember, in my case. Being human gives you a unique perspective on life, and we welcome your input. Remember Empatia said you’d be working with us, not for us. Well, if that’s the case, we have to trust each other, right?”

It was true enough, but Shay wasn’t sure how much he trusted himself anymore.

“I thought I could handle it. I honestly thought nothing could shock me after what happened to me.” He peered up at Diego. “I was wrong. How do you guys do this?”

Diego reached out and patted Shay’s shoulder. “By being there for each other. By listening to our hurts and pains. By going to therapy with Empatia. You’re not alone here, Shay. Never again. This is your family, and we need you. I hope you get that.”

Family. Shay hadn’t had one since his parents died. Maybe that’s why he was so desperate. He loved working with these people. Loved being part of something. The thought of losing it made his stomach churn.

Movement above him had Shay twisting his head. Jeremy slithered down toward Shay’s hand and rested his head there.

“Hey, Jeremy,” he whispered, stroking fingers of the shiny scales. He peered at Diego. “Can he hear me?”

Jeremy nudged his hand, encouraging Shay to continue his ministrations.

“Snakes hear, but not like the rest of us. The good thing about being a snake shifter is Jeremy’s ears are like a snakes, but he has the capacity to differentiate between sounds.” He reached over and tapped Jeremy on the nose. “He does like to pretend he can’t hear you when you ask why his room isn’t clean, but that isn’t because he’s a snake. He develops the same problem when he’s a pain in the ass kid too.”

Jeremy hissed, but it didn’t sound aggressive. “He’s laughing, isn’t he?”

Diego reached over, lifted Jeremy up, and slung him over the broad shoulders. “He is.” He glanced down at Shay. “Listen, we ordered pizza for dinner.”

Shit! Shay hadn’t made food. He lurched up. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured. Thankfully he was dressed, so that saved a few moments.

“No, don’t worry about it. We wanted pizza, so that’s what we got. Do you feel up to eating? What about you, Jerm?” In a flash, Jeremy was back to his human form, sitting astride Diego’s shoulders. That caused Diego to scowl as he lowered the nude Jeremy to the floor. “Dude, why you rubbing your junk on my neck?”

Shay bit back a laugh as Jeremy snickered, then rushed for the door, shouting, “Don’t touch my pizza! ”

Diego laughed, and it wasn’t like anything Shay had heard from him. It was pure and sweet and…. “Wow.”

A quick blink. “What?”

“Jeremy. He has a good effect on you. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you so… relaxed.”

Even though he knew it was impossible, Shay thought he saw a blush creep up Diego’s cheeks. “Well, a wise human talked with me a while back and told me I needed to work on letting my past go and look to the future. I’ve been having daily counseling sessions with Empatia, and she’s helping me a lot.” He swallowed hard. “This smile? This caring? It’s thanks to you, Shay. I hope you realize the impact you have on all of us, but especially me. This job? It’s like a role you were born into.”

That was always how Shay had felt. Like it was a calling for him to care for others. “I love working here. The library is amazing, and I get to sit there, cup of coffee or tea in hand, and read until it’s time to do work. Even when I know I need to get things done, I still look forward to it. It does my heart good to see your faces light up when you find out what’s for dinner, or that I patched a hole in your favorite shirt, or that I went grocery shopping and picked up those cookies that everyone seems to snarf down.”

Diego’s face went flat, a solemn look as he narrowed his eyes. “I like Oreos. Sue me.” He winked. Actually winked . “And don’t think I can’t smell the stash you have in here.”

“Those are for Jeremy,” Shay insisted, then chuckled. “Okay, I might partake of one… or five on occasion.”

Diego smiled and opened his mouth to say something when a voice rang out in their heads.

We have a sighting of a cadre entering a hotel ballroom where a birthday celebration is taking place.

Where?

Empatia rattled off the address, and Diego prepared to mist away.

“We have to go,” he told Shay. “I’m not sure when we’ll be back, but hopefully it’ll be okay and we’ll be home quickly.”

“I understand. Go. Make sure you stay safe. ”

He smirked. “We’ll do our best. Don’t let that little ass eat all of our pizza.”

He melted into the shadows as he mentally told the rest of the team to hit the bricks.

Shay had given up belief in a higher power after Mick had nearly killed him, but that didn’t stop him from sending a wish to the universe to bring the team home safely.

Then he headed for the kitchen to check on Jeremy. Shay was glad he’d bought that tub of cookie dough ice cream. It was going to be a long night.

As soon as he entered the perimeter of the hotel, Diego could sense other vampires. There were at least a dozen, maybe more. They moved quickly, in and out of the range of Diego’s senses. Worse, he could already smell blood, and a lot of it. Whoever they were, they hit hard and fast and were in the process of ripping into the humans.

He had to bite his cheek to keep from hissing his rage. He tapped Borne on the shoulder and pointed in the direction he believed they were heading. Borne nodded, then flashed away in a sulfuric cloud as he traveled through hell dimensions, hoping, as always, not to get caught.

Em?

Go ahead, Diego.

They’re here and it smells as though they’ve killed people already. Borne is checking out where I think they’re headed.

Good. Keep me informed. I have a link established with your group.

He always appreciated Em’s powers. No chance of being out of range when you had her linking your minds.

Ranna, are you up for a little frontal assault?

Just tell me where. He could hear the smile in her voice. Even as vegetarians, Ranna’s people were consummate warriors who had no problem spilling blood in the name of revenge or justice.

It’ll be you and me through the front door. When we get in, you go left, I’ll take right. Check every room until you find them. Keep an eye out for Borne. He’s trying to locate someone in charge.

Can’t we just follow the scent of blood?

If only it could be that easy. A vampire could smell the subtle differences in blood. More iron, deficiencies, variances in blood type, etc. For a vampire, these markers would be akin to a fingerprint. Diego could scent at least two dozen victims already, the smell nearly overpowering. If Shay hadn’t procured something for Diego to eat, he would have gone crazy being here. Why was there a change in tactics? In their last attacks, the coven had drugged the people and had kept the deaths to one event, held in a single room. This time it seemed like they were spreading out and killing as many as they could.

Could there be more than one coven? Could this be an attempt to bring the humans to heel, like back in the old days, when there wasn’t a pact between the paranormal races that said people were off the menu?

There’s already been a lot spilled blood.

Understood. A pause. Can we kill these bastards?

If we can find the coven leader, I want them alive. Beyond that, tear the fuckers apart.

Now that’s what I’m talking about! Martin doesn’t know what he’s missing out on. This would give him a perfect opportunity to roast killer’s asses. He doesn’t get to let loose nearly often enough.

Martin would have been perfect for this assignment. Most vampires, unless they were exceptionally ancient, had a weakness against fire, and even though it wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been in the past, Martin’s flames were still a force to be reckoned with.

Borne? Anything?

Diego, I…. It’s bad. I’ve already counted thirty-eight dead bodies, many of them killed in the last few minutes. There are still other people running around, parents trying to hide their children, but the vampires are tracking them down. They killed the adults while the kids screamed, then dragged them out and slaughtered them. They’re not even draining them this time. It’s like they just want carnage.

White-hot anger seared through Diego at the news. More children who would never see another birthday. When he was young—well, three hundred years ago—he’d wanted a family. He often fantasized about being normal , finding a wife, and having children with her. Kids they could raise, instill values of helping your neighbor in, loving your brothers and sisters—even when you wanted to lose them in the forest—and being all-around good, decent people.

And these sons of bitches were destroying that dream for everyone.

Okay, Ranna and I are on our way in. Your assignment has changed. Protect the humans at all costs.

Understood.

And Borne? Don’t hold back.

A sigh echoed in Diego’s mind. Thank you for that. I need to make them bleed.

At the doors to the hotel, Diego tried to open them but found them locked. He was certain the others were sealed or guarded as well, which would explain why no one had fled. He put his hands on the doors and pushed with all his might, causing them to buckle, then crack and shatter. He and Ranna rushed in, her veering off to the left while Diego hurried to the right.

The place was thick with vampires. They would grab a human, then tear off limbs or heads, before dumping them and moving on to the next victim. One male grabbed a woman and she screamed. Diego flashed to her side and gripped the vampire’s hair and yanked.

“Oh, Daddy’s home and he’s angry,” the vampire jeered.

He wanted to keep this one for information in case no one was left when they were done. Instead, he jerked upward, the sound of ripping tendons and flesh sharp as the head separated from the body. Diego dropped it on the floor, then spun around.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She wouldn’t stop screaming, which Diego could understand. The sheer number of bodies had to have screwed with her mind.

“Run. I want you to get as far away as you can. Don’t stop for anything. Let us deal with this. ”

Eyes wide, she ran away, crying. She didn’t even make it to the door before another vampire attacked her from behind and sank his fangs into her spine. Her scream was yet another that would haunt Diego, especially knowing he was too slow to stop it as the beast tore the backbone through her skin and muscle. A red haze fell over Diego’s vision as he watched the woman slump to the white tile, now stained a horrifying red, an expression of horror forever frozen on her face. These bastards had to pay, and Diego would make sure they did.

It was the last coherent thought he had as blackness engulfed him.