Hunting Shadows: Abyss of Shadows, #1

Chapter 1

A wolf fight was a minor issue in my world. In my bar, however, it was a problem. The only thing that could make it worse was—-

Human, Brandy whispered.

I groaned. I’ll deal with him in a minute, I said without looking. First, I had to find a hose for the wolves.

Cell phone! Brandy shouted.

I hopped over the bar, easily spotted the human, and snatched the phone from his hand before he even realized I was there. As I had expected, he was recording the wolf fight. Thus, I felt no remorse for tossing it to the floor and smashing it under my boot. How did you get in here? I asked.

He gaped for a moment before he dropped down and attempted to piece his phone back together. Why did you do that?

How did you get in?

The door wasn’t locked.

No, it wasn’t, but the building did have a ward around it. Magical wards were like invisible, intangible domes that protected against whatever the creator wanted it to protect against. They could be any size or intensity, depending on the strength of the wizard who cast it. I paid good money for mine, which was intended to make humans feel compelled to walk away.

Why did you come in? I asked.

I heard dogs fighting. I’m calling the police!

With what? Before I could deal with him, the snarling on the other side of the room increased in volume, and one of the wolves crashed into a chair. That’s it. Somebody watch him! I said. One of my regulars, a bear shifter named Theodor, grabbed the human by the arms. Don’t hurt him. Theodor nodded silently.

I turned my attention to the wolves again. As they were lunging at each other, I got between them and kicked the gray wolf, the aggressor, in the chest. He crashed into the wall behind him. While the second wolf, a younger arctic wolf, was still flying through the air, I grabbed him around the neck and slammed him into the ground.

A few floorboards broke, but that was my own fault.

Several of my patrons gathered around, whereas my regulars knew to stay out of the way. Two low growls from Deimos and Phobos informed me that I had backup if I needed it. I let go of the wolf when he whimpered. Both of you, shift.

Instantly, both wolves changed into men. The arctic wolf, Troy, was a muscular jock-type, high school drop-out who was barely legal and definitely shouldn’t have been driving, even sober. He wasn’t a troublemaker like his opponent, however. Melvin, an older gray wolf and unemployed biker, came in every weekend and tried to start shit whenever he and his girlfriend were out of sorts.

What have I told you about fighting in my bar? If you want to act like dogs, you stay outside like dogs. I ignored the protest behind me. Now, get out of here and cool your heads before I ban you.

Yes, mistress, Troy said, barely more than a whisper.

And don’t call me that, I said as they scurried away. I sighed and returned to the human, who was panicking now.

What the hell just happened? Those were werewolves!

No, they weren’t. As Theodor held him, I forced him to look me in the eyes. You were driving around and got lost, I said, putting power behind my words. His expression became blank as my words overwrote his memory. You heard some strange noises, checked out an empty warehouse, and saw a stray animal. It spooked you, but that’s all it was. You’re going to get in your car, drive home, and go to bed. When you discover your phone is missing, you’ll assume you lost it somewhere.

I stepped back and nodded to Theodor, who let him go. The human departed without another word. Theodor patted me on the shoulder. If I were human, that would have hurt. However, there were certain advantages to being a vampire.

It’s good, Theo. He’s not coming back. Theodor was mute and his throat was heavily scarred no matter how many times he shifted. Normally, when shifters were injured, their bodies repaired the damage as they changed between their animal and person forms. Although I didn’t know for sure how he got such a terrible injury, I assumed he had been attacked by another shifter.

I returned to the bar to grab a bottle of Sanguatine. It was a mixture of real and synthetic blood I bought from a scientist. He shared his recipe with covens all over the world, but those of us not affiliated with any coven had to get it directly from him. Most drugs were completely harmless to us unless they were mixed with synthetic blood. To keep myself and my patrons safe, I was happy to stick with my legitimate supplier. Plus, it came in a beer bottle, so the vampires didn’t feel like they were missing out.

You like being called mistress, Brandy accused quietly as I leaned over her to get the bottle.

She looked too young to be working in a bar. Her baby-face and large blue eyes made her appear innocent, but she had shown me that she could handle herself against any paranormal. Her hair was naturally white-blond with dark roots, and she kept it long. Her outfits alternated between renaissance, gothic, and steampunk. Even though she was human, I wouldn’t trust anyone else to manage my bar.

There are only three people on this world allowed to call me that, and it’s going to stay that way.

She smirked. Yes, mistress.

* * *

I went upstairs. My apartment was nothing special, but I couldn’t complain about the commute. I had let Brandy decorate the place since I didn’t have any interest in the color of my walls or if the furniture matched. As a result, the living room, kitchen, and bathroom looked like something out of a designer magazine, which made sense, because there were always such magazines on the glass coffee table. My own room was decorated with a second-hand twin bed, an antique writing desk, three floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and a rock waterfall on my nightstand. The only thing new was the laptop on my desk. I’d had it for a few months, but never took it out of the box, so I considered it new. The apartment had two bedrooms and one bathroom, which was plenty of space for Brandy and me. If only it weren’t for the boys.

Brandy was going to feed Deimos and Phobos, so I had some time to myself. I loved my wolf-dogs, but they needed a more active life. They were mostly wolf with some German Shepherd mixed in.

A friend of mine was investigating a group of humans who were doing experiments on animals and paranormals. Deimos and Phobos were the sole survivors of at least six pups who had been injected with wolf shifter blood in an attempt to turn them into paranormals.

Although they never showed any signs of magic in their blood, they were abnormally intelligent, freakishly large, as black as ink, and as quiet as a shadow. Phobos, the runt of his litter, topped off at a meager two hundred pounds. He also loved to snuggle and was addicted to cartoons. Deimos, roughly fifty pounds heavier than his brother, was constantly on guard.

I sat down in front of the television without turning it on. I need a hobby. I enjoyed owning a bar that catered to paranormals; it kept me entertained. There was always someone starting trouble, someone in trouble, and someone looking for a fresh start. Alas, Brandy was able to handle the day-to-day issues that arose without me.

Of course, I also had to defend my bar from those who believed I was trying to create an alliance of miscreant paranormals just because I was a vampire without a coven. Unfortunately, I didn’t know a single strip of land left in the Americas that wasn’t claimed by paranormals, and most of them didn’t approve of lone vampires.

There were four recognized factions of paranormals— vampires, wizards, fae, and shifters. Additionally, there were magical creatures and powerful beings. Labels became complicated when wizards were not considered humans, psychic humans were not considered paranormals, and paranormals were allowed to mix. Despite the modernization of human myth regarding the paranormal world, it remained the most well-kept secret on the planet.

Wizards and fae were magic-based paranormals; they had few physical traits that were different than humans. While wizards could do devastatingly powerful magic, they had to learn it. Fae, on the other hand, usually only had one or two supernatural abilities, but they came naturally to them. Fae looked just as human as the other paranormals. There were also different types of fae, like the forest fae (who had nature-based powers) and psychic fae (who had mental-based powers).

Vampires and shifters were physical-based paranormals; our magic manifested physically. It took magic for shifters to change from their person form to their animal form, yet they couldn’t do any other magic. Along with our superior strength and speed, vampires did have one magic skill; we could thrall humans. This ranged from simple suggestions to complete mind control, depending on the vampire’s power.

Vampires once specialized in blending in with our food source, which separated us from the rest of the paranormal community and made us outcasts. Consequently, having equal rights for vampires was a fairly new concept. Furthermore, those rights were primarily for vampires who lived in covens. I preferred to be a rogue.

Some shifters, like wolf shifters, lived in packs, while others, like most feline shifters, were solitary. If a shifter that would normally live in a pack chose to live alone, he was called a rogue. Similarly, vampires who were unaffiliated with a coven were called rogues. Most paranormals considered rogues to be dangerous and out of control. Wizards did not normally live in groups, but those in the United States and Canada were governed by a council of thirteen power-hungry men.

Many shifters could only blend in with humans for short periods of time because of their strong animal natures. Fae actively avoided humans as much as possible, preferring to live in habitats untouched by man. Then there were wizards. Although they resembled humans and could easily blend in with them, the more powerful ones were easy to spot because they tended to make electronics go wonky.

* * *

After a while, I heard a knock on the door. Rory, Cody’s here. I could hear the venom in Brandy’s tone. Cody and I had dated for four years before we ended it civilly. Although Brandy hated him, she was never outright rude to him.

Without a word, I opened the door, passed Brandy, and headed downstairs. Cody was standing in front of the bar, petting Deimos and Phobos. He was a tall, well-built man with medium brown hair and soft green eyes. He was also an ex-cop turned vampire and a member of the strongest coven in North America.

Tell me you’re here because Stephen found Astrid.

He shook his head. She’s still missing.

Then why are you here?

Someone is friendly today.

I rolled my eyes. Astrid, my friend who had given me Deimos and Phobos, had gone missing a few months previously. The last anyone had heard of her, she was working with a wizard who was also a known killer, yet nobody suspected him of causing her disappearance.

That’s not what I’m here for. Since Astrid is no longer able to do her work, I need you to take a case.

A case? I’m not a cop. I have a job.

A job which I know your girlfriend can do. It’s important.

Cody was very responsible, which was one of the reasons we had broken up. He often sacrificed his own happiness for complete strangers. He was also ready to settle down. Since the very thought of nailing down a coffin for the rest of eternity made my skin crawl, we were bound to fail eventually. Not surprisingly, the one who initiated the beginning of the end was a pretty vampire who changed her hair color more often than her clothes, slept with anything that consented, and happened to be the daughter of the most powerful vampire in the continent.

Give it to someone who can do the job. Don’t you have other friends who do that sort of thing?

Not any who are available. I wouldn’t ask for your help if there was anyone else on Earth who could do it.

Ouch.

He ignored my sarcasm, as usual. There’s a small town in Oklahoma where some kids have gone missing.

Talk to the cops.

This isn’t something humans can take care of. This was meant for Astrid, he said, handing me a letter. I took it without looking at it.

Then you do it, or get someone from Stephen’s coven.

We are having major issues with the wizard council right now, and anything we do could make things worse. You’re unaffiliated with Stephen, so the council isn’t watching you. Besides, you owe Astrid.

Why can’t humans handle it? When he just pointed to the letter, I unfolded it.

––––––––

Dear Astrid,

I need help, and I heard you were the person to ask. Four of my friends have gone missing. I don’t know who’s behind it, but I know it has to do with magic. In the envelope, I’ve included a recording of the last phone call I had with Rome Phelps. All of my friends knew there was someone after them, but they couldn’t figure out who it was. Now he’s after me. Please come.

Sincerely,

Lilly Hartwell

––––––––

At the end of the message was her address. Where is the recording? I asked.

It was on a flashdrive, which I downloaded to my phone. He retrieved his cell phone from his pocket, started the message, and handed it to me.

I heard a girl whimpering, but I couldn’t tell her age or what she was doing. Lilly, he’s here, a girl’s voice whispered. The reception crackled with interference.

Do you know who he is? What’s his name? What does he look like? another young girl asked. This one, who I assumed was Lilly, didn’t sound afraid.

I don’t know. I’m hiding. I can hear him.

Is your mom there?

She doesn’t believe me. She doesn’t hear him.

Can you reach your—- The rest of Lilly’s question was drowned out by the other girl’s screams. Between Lilly calling the girl’s name, Rome screaming, and the static, I couldn’t make out what was going on, except that something made of metal and wood smashed. Then, an instant before the call cut out, I heard another familiar sound— the sound of bones crunching.

I handed his phone back to Cody. Astrid wouldn’t have hesitated; she worked hard to protect people from paranormal threats. I don’t know the first thing about investigations.

You’re tenacious and resourceful. I’m sure you can use your thrall to get answers.

And I’m supposed to leave my bar unattended? I asked. Brandy cleared her throat loudly. I sighed. Fine. I’ll go.

* * *

The drive took three days, because I had to stop in the mornings and get in my trunk. My black, 1993 Thunderbird was plenty large enough when the boys were pups, but at two years old, they had trouble getting into the car. It also wasn’t easy to find a place to park for the day where someone wouldn’t call animal control on the dogs.

When we finally arrived at the dinky little town, I wasn’t surprised. It had a few stores, diners, and fast food joints, but not much else. It was the exact type of town I would expect a wayward paranormal to make his hunting ground.

I stopped at a motel and got a room for a week, hoping it wouldn’t take any longer than that. Since I didn’t do this for a living, I wasn’t sure where to start.

The motel room was not as bad as I had expected; the walls were tan, the floor was dark brown, and the décor was tasteful and subtle. There was a large bed with dark green covers, a table next to the window, a television on top of a dresser, and a mini-fridge. On the far side of the room was a sink and blow