Stalking Darkness (9 page)

****

Raven felt
a sense of relief, seeing Cadence standing overtop the dead body of a female
vamp, and the fact Phynix served as her backup was a bonus. He would definitely
credit both of them with eliminating members of this clan, even though he’d
assisted some in regards to the large male. Walking over, he gave her a grin of
approval and rewarded Phynix with a well-earned scratch behind his ears.

“What
do you say we go find the rest of the guys and get the hell out of here?” Raven
said
,
wrapping an arm about her shoulder as the two of
them walked toward the rear of the building where he’d last seen Gavin and
Hugh. The building was pretty well vacant by now, with the exception of the
debris left behind in the mad rush to escape. No doubt, the building owner
would have the cops crawling all over this place and the campus once he or she
discovered the damage.

A quick
glance at the woman walking at his side made him smile. She’d done very well
tonight, regardless of the fact she’d been forced to take down the girl who’d
she previously considered her friend. It was never an easy thing to eliminate
someone you’d cared about. He should know. It was close to three years to the
date since he himself ended the man he’d called brother his entire life. Still,
Cadence gave him confidence that they were all on the right path and their
lives, though changed,
still
held value in this world.

Near
the back garage doors, one of which hung rather precariously from its mounts,
sitting on a large overturned speaker, they found Hugh, a nasty cut on his
forehead and pulling on his clothing. He must have changed into his beast,
Raven decided as the man nodded to the pair and continued to button his shirt.

Gavin
and Drake stepped under the half open garage door, both looking a little tired
and dirty but no worse for wear. The pair obviously chased the fleeing vampires
as far as possible, hoping to ensure none escaped.

“Two
underlings and Nigel managed to slip away with the crowd,” Gavin said as though
he’d picked up on his thoughts.

It was
disappointing to think they failed to wipeout this entire rogue group, however
tonight was the closest they’d been to success in that endeavor since starting
this particular mission well over a year earlier. Raven knew they would find
those who’d escaped and send them to join the ash that now danced in the air
around them. Raven could see the image in his mind, a hazy dream of events yet
to play out.

“So is
everyone alright?” Gavin asked, his voice scattering the images away like fog
dissipating with the morning sun.

****

Cadence
heard him speak the words as though they’d been meant for the entire unit,
however his eyes focused solely on her, and she smiled and nodded in response.

“Nothing a hot shower cannot cure,”
she added as once again she
attempted to get some of the now dry blood from her hands.

“You
can grab one while we pack up and Raven tries to get a beat on which direction
our friends fled in,” the grinning team leader said, his sudden cheeriness
making her think he might have plans on joining her. “Let’s get out of here
before we stuck answering questions in some little police station.”

“I’ll
go grab the vehicle and meet you all in three minutes,” Hugh said. He jumped to
his feet and darted out the door.

Once
the entire group was back safe in the SUV, headed for the house, Cadence
reflected on what she’d just witnessed and done. Julie being part of the group
stalking the college campuses was unexpected, but in the back of her mind,
something else ate at her. The vampire’s mention of Brad being turned caused
her pause.
 
Cadence never caught sight of
him among the crowds of college students. Had one of the others ended him, or
was he still out there somewhere? The kind and gentle soul he’d been made it
hard for her to picture him as something else, corrupted by the black hearts
and intentions of his maker.

Cadence
was still silently mulling over Brad when the SUV pulled up the long drive to
the house. They would be packed and back on the road to who knows where first
thing in the morning, attempting to catch up to Nigel and the others who’d
managed to escape tonight.

“You
know we haven’t even touched the pool. What do you say we all do a bit of skinny
dipping before breaking everything down?” Drake suggested, opening her door and
offering his hand in assistance.

“Now
that is the best plan you have ever offered,” Gavin commented, reaching past
his second to scoop Cadence out of the vehicle, tossing her over his shoulder
and heading toward the back patio at a full run with the rest of the crew following
them.

Laughing
as she bounced across his broad shoulder, Cadence could not help but be
engulfed by the feelings of acceptance and passion from her men. It was
something that went beyond companionship, and though she was not ready to
examine it much closer than that, it felt amazing. She knew this was where she
belonged. Perhaps she felt something more for her crew, but until she made
certain what remained of the rogue troop of vampires who had brought this all
to her feet were eliminated, there were no plans to scrutinize it further.
Cadence planned to abide by the old cliché, which suggested she “live for the
moment.”

Epilogue

Billy
Barton moved swiftly along the stone path, which twisted through Wooddale
Cemetery. The frat party at the Omega house was already in full swing and he
was certain not to make it past pledge if he didn’t manage to get the ice back
before it melted away to nothing more than a bag of water. The only problem was
he was as bad at remembering short cuts as he was with calculus.
 
For the life of him, he could not remember
his way around the five-acre necropolis, every grouping of tall stones and
statues looking the same as the last. He stopped to try and regain his
bearings, when a sharp crack sounded to his right causing him to jump.

“Whose
there? Josh, Glen is that you? Come on, buds, this ain’t cool.”

Darting
his eyes all about, Billy looked for his frat brother he felt certain had
wondered out here to put a scare into him. Instead, he found the shadowy
silhouette of a tall slender man watching him from against a nearby tree.

“Who… Who
are you?” He found himself wanting to run but too scared to move. The man now moved
slowly toward him.

As the
stranger grew closer, Billy could make out his features in the twilight. Sandy
hair, deep sunken eyes, which seemed to glow a strange blue color, and a grisly
smile of bloodstained teeth: fanged teeth.

“Oh my god!”

“Not
even close.” A sultry female voice said from behind him, and Billy spun to find
himself caught between the monster and a shapely female dressed in camo pants
and a tank top, the business end of a AK47 pointing his direction. Her brown
hair dancing about her shoulders in the evening breeze.

“Why don’t
you get on to your party?” she suggested, pointing off to his left down one of
the paths. “Your friends are waiting and Brad and I have a bit of catching up
to do.”

Billy
wasted no time high-tailing it the hell away from there, the sound of gunfire
ushering him on in a full run. The half-melted bag of ice lay forgotten on the
ground.

The End

About the Author

JL Oiler
lives in the mountains of West Virginia with her husband, two children, and
boxer. She began writing stories at a young age, but didn't begin sharing them
until she was in her late teens. When not writing, JL enjoys the outdoors and
teaching shop to unruly middle schoolers.
 
JL joined forces with fellow authors BethAnn Buehler, Lila Munro, and
Carl Franklin to form Wicked Muses in June 2010. JL has releases with Silver
Publishing which include To Kiss a Demon, Claiming Night, and Have Yourself a
Rotten Little Christmas. Her Rebel Ink releases include Kinship Trinity,
Salvation,
Force
Recon: Beacon Bayou, Were Menage,
Force Recon Somalia and the upcoming Ecliptic Hearts and Midnight Menage as
well as the final installment in the Force Recon series. JL can be found on
frequently chatting on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

Readers
can find JL at her author site:
http://www.joiler.weebly.com