Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles (31 page)

“Get your stuff and get out of here.”
 
Chris glared at him but put on his shoes, stuffed his boxers and socks in his pockets and then put his shirt on as he headed out the door with his hands up.

Then, the doors to the stairwells slammed open on either side and several vampires dressed in black burst through and surrounded them.
 
Without warning one of the vampires slammed his sword into Victor’s chest spraying blood all over.
 
Alec watched helplessly as the man crumpled to the ground.
 
So much for their escape.

Alec looked around and saw that five vampires all in black, with masks covering their faces surrounded him and Steven.
 
Their suits were so tight that Alec could tell all five of them were male and built as well as, if not better, than he.

“Whoa guys,” Alec said putting his hands up.
 
He was still holding the vest with the explosives attached.
 
Probably not his brightest moment.
 

“Easy now.
 
I’ve got things under control.”
 
Steven had backed up right behind Alec.
 
He was staring wide eyed at the five black masked figures that had just appeared around them.
 
Alec could hear Steven’s heart pounding behind him.
 
Alec wasn’t sure what happened to Marcus, but he hadn’t heard anything more from his friend.

The five black clad figures each had short, sharp looking blades in their hands, one of which was covered in gore where it had struck Victor down.
 
The blades were katana-like but looked more like something the military might use.
 
Alec knew that Victor was dead but leaned down like he was checking the man’s pulse.
 
Quickly he grabbed the detonator for the vest.

“What are you, ninjas?” Alec asked nervously.
 

One of the men, the one closest to his left said, “The Devil sends his regards.”

Alec was stunned for a moment, but then all five of the vampires moved in to attack.
 
Time slowed again for Alec and he burst into motion.
 
From where he was on the ground, he reached over to Victor’s body and grabbed a handful of silver crosses and threw them at the vampires like a handful of glittering confetti.
 
The crosses arced toward the five vampires and flew end over end but Alec didn’t wait to see if they did anything major.
 
He stuffed a handful of the crosses into his front pocket.
 
The vampires attempted to dodge the silver projectiles but Alec had thrown them too quickly.
 

Steven had moved backwards outside of the circle of violence and stood panting in fear.
 
Alec grabbed the gun hanging forgotten from Victor’s shoulder and in an instant he was standing again.
 
The crosses had all found their marks, though none had really done a lot of damage, Alec had just been trying to buy some time.
 
He turned slamming the handle of the gun into the face of the vampire nearest him.
 
He whirled in place and caught another in the throat.
 
Both vampires staggered backwards grabbing their injuries but remained standing.
   

Two of the other vampires swung their blades at Alec but he dodged one and jumped over the other, catching the vampire around the throat with his legs and using his momentum to throw one vampire into the other.
 
They both bounced off the wall several feet away.
 
When he came down he landed in a crouch, ready for the fifth to attack him as well.

Instead, Alec looked over to see the remaining vampire was aiming for Steven, his blade moving in a slow deadly arc directly towards the young man’s throat.
 
Alec jumped over the vampire’s head and into the path of the slashing weapon.
 
He used the edge of his hand to hit the flat of the blade and knock it away from doing any damage to himself or Steven.
 
Before the vampire could recover Alec took a step back, pushing Steven behind him and kicked the vampire square in the chest, slamming the vampire backwards onto the floor.
 

Alec continued to push Steven behind him as he pointed the semi-automatic weapon in his hands at the nearest vampire and pulled the trigger.
 
Nothing happened. Damn.
 
The safety was on.
 
The vampires were recovering far quicker than what Alec had anticipated.
 
He quickly flipped the safety and squeezed the trigger.
 
Bullets blazed out of the end of the gun tearing through the air and towards their targets.
 
The vampire in the line of fire jumped and dodged to keep from being hit.
 

Behind him, Steven was in shock.
 
Alec turned, pushing Steven, but continued firing at the five vampires that had attacked them.
 
The vampires were between them and the front exit so Alec grabbed Steven and ran towards the back of the hotel.
 
Alec briefly thought about forcing his way out the front but was afraid that Steven might get hit in their exodus.
 

The vampires had all flipped up in the air, off of walls or onto the floor to land in the nooks and crannies of the hotel lobby to avoid the flying missiles.
 
Alec had the gun looped around his shoulder so he dropped it to swing freely.
 
He grabbed the detonation switch he’d stuffed in his pocket, pressed the red button and flipped it to the ON position.
 
Then he hurled the vest at the oncoming vampires, turned to run with Steven pushed in front of him and released the button.

A loud boom sounded behind the fleeing men and Alec felt the ground lurch and heat wash over his back.
 
It brought back uncomfortable memories of the night he had been ‘turned’.
 
Steven headed towards the back of the hotel and the exit that would be located there.
 
Alec grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“There will be cops back there.
 
They might shoot first and ask questions later.
 
Besides these vampires could tear through them easily.
 
I don’t want that on my conscious.”

Instead Alec found a stairwell that led up and they entered.
 
He looked around and found something that he could use, then closed the door and placed the metal bar in the handle of the door and easily bent the metal so that it prevented the door from opening.
 
He knew it wouldn’t hold but it might buy them some time.
 
He and Steven quickly climbed the stairs and went up several levels.
 
It was nothing to Alec but poor Steven was sweating and breathing heavy.
 
Alec quietly opened the door to the fourth floor.
 
He didn’t hear anything but he stuck his head out and checked to make sure. They quickly ran down the quiet, deserted hallway. Alec needed a way to get out of this building and to get to Marcus and Silas.
 

He wasn’t sure what Marcus and Silas were doing at the moment but Alec hoped they were calling off their attackers or calling in reinforcements.
 
Occasionally, Steven would turn to look at him oddly.
 
He probably had a million questions but knew now was not the time to ask them.

Alec spotted a window that said FIRE ESCAPE and headed towards it.
 
He quickly flipped the latch on the top, opened the window and let Steven pass through first.
 
Then Alec climbed through, checked to make sure there was no pursuit and closed the window.
 
He held the gun ready just in case he needed it but hoped he wouldn’t.
 
He scanned the ground for cops but thankfully there were none in sight.
 
They were in some sort of alleyway with service trucks parked nearby and a security fence blocking the building behind it.
 
Alec grabbed the sliding ladder, pushed it down and told Steven to climb.

Steven was having trouble with his backpack swinging around so Alec took it from him.
 
He unzipped it and stuffed the gun inside.
 
He probably should have ditched it but was afraid they might need it again.
 
Alec had never done anything like this in his life.
 
A part of him felt really guilty for destroying someone else’s property but he hadn’t really had a choice at the time.
 
Steven climbed down the rungs of the ladder as quickly as he could from level to level.
 
Alec scanned the hallway one more time for pursuit and then jumped to the ground.

As Steven was climbing, he saw Alec hurtle towards the ground and almost yelled in fright.
 
Alec landed on his feet and motioned for Steven to hurry.
 
He looked up but there was no one on the small landing they had just vacated.
 
Steven finally reached the ground and Alec tried to get the ladder back in place as quietly as possible.
 
The vampires would probably still hear it, but he didn’t want to attract the attention of any passers-by or the police.

The two young men quickly made their way down the small alley between the hotel and the security fence, Alec scanning ahead for cops and behind for the vampires pursuing them.
 
The two of them stopped before they reached the street.

“Here, put these in your pockets in case you need them,” Alec said handing Steven the silver crosses he had pulled off of Victor’s body.
 
Steven stuffed them in his front pocket.
 

“Get rid of the tactical vest too.”

Steven didn’t like the idea of removing his sole source of protection but realized it was necessary.
 
Underneath he had on a black Under Armor t-shirt that clung to his body from his sweat.
 
He felt exposed.
 
Most of the time he wore loose baggy clothes to hide his body.
 
He didn’t like the way he looked. Alec quickly took his vest off as well.
 
When he pulled it up over his head, the T-shirt he was wearing came with it part of the way and he had to pull it back down.
 
The cold breeze on his exposed skin gave him goose bumps.

Alec thought about making his way through the alleyway beside the hotel to the front of the building but there was a brick wall between this building and the one beside it, cutting them off.
 
Not a good place to be stuck if they were ambushed.
 
Instead he decided that they should circumvent the buildings and come out on the other side a street or two away from the feds and Silas.
 
They peered around the corner to see if anyone was coming and then quickly exited the alleyway.
 
Had they lost the vampires?
 
They should have been in pursuit but Alec didn’t see them.
 
Not that he was complaining or that it was a bad thing they weren’t pursuing, but it made him nervous.
 

The Devil sends his regards
.
 
So much for incognito.
 
Who was the Devil?
 
Why was he after Alec?
 
Why in the world had he sent five vampires after him?
 
Alec briefly considered ditching Steven.
 
He could move faster without him and maybe Steven would be safe.
 
Well, as safe as someone could be in a situation like this, he guessed.
 
But Steven seemed to know some things about the Senator and his son, and the vampires.
 
And what sort of files had he and Victor found on the Senator’s computer?
 
Something unusual was going on and he knew that Marcus and Silas would want to know.
 
Maybe they’d get their answers from Chris, the arrogant little shit.

The two men had been lucky so far and hadn’t run into anyone.
 
Alec assumed the police barricade had cleared out everyone and hadn’t let people back through yet.
 
He wasn’t sure how they were going to get through that one.
 
He thought about it and decided once they reached the barricade he’d have Steven wait in the shadows.
 
Then he’d approach the cops, tell them who he was and he’d wait for Silas and Marcus to pick them up.
 
Surely they would know what to do.

Alec outlined his plan to Steven who looked reluctant but considering the alternatives agreed that was their best option.
 
Finally, Alec saw blue lights flashing, lighting up an area ahead.
 
He peered carefully around a corner and saw several cop cars were blocking the roadway and five or six cops monitoring the area.
 
Alec found a place for Steven to hide and then carefully stepped around the corner with his hands up in the air.

Instantly a spot light was turned on, blinding him and lighting up the surrounding area.
 
Several male voices started yelling orders at once.
 
He walked a little further and then a deep male voice yelled, “Get on the ground.”
 
This phrase was yelled multiple times so he did as requested.
 
Several cops rushed over, pinned him down roughly and cuffed his hands behind his back.
 
He was bodily picked up by two offers and led over to the cars.

“What’s your name?” one of the officers, a black man with a small mustache asked while searching his pockets.

“Alec Carson.”

“No ID,” the officer said to another.