Stalking Darkness (4 page)

“So,
have you told her?” asked a large red head seated to Cadence’s left; his black
biker boots were propped up on the edge of the table.

Gavin
as he took the seat next to her. “No, I thought we could all do that together,
since the commander said Cadence would be staying with us until the next compound,”
he responded, his hand patting her knee in reassurance under the table.

“You’re
dumping me off somewhere?”

“You’re
not ready to be out in the world,” said the man sitting directly across from
her, raising one eyebrow with his condescending tone. He was large like Gavin,
but with a rough shadowy beard and air about him which made the hair on the
back of her neck stand up. He sat dressed in a faded olive green t-shirt,
staring at her with a look of annoyed arrogance.
 

“Not
ready for what?” Anxiety overwhelmed Cadence. Who were these people? Where was
she, and what did they have to do with what happened to her?
 
Pushing Gavin’s hand away, she began bouncing
her leg up and down. It was her telltale when her patience was fried.
 
She’d had enough. “Who the fuck are you, and
what the fuck is going on?” Cadence growled loudly through her clenched jaw.

“Well
it’s nice to see she does have some fire,” the man across the table said with a
chuckle. “You went partying with a bunch of blood suckers, sweet cheeks, and
now you get to be one. The only question we need answered if you’re going to be
part of the solution to that problem, or just another bit of worm bait.”

“Fucking liar!”
Cadence hissed.

“Think
so?” His eyes
glowed
a bright aquamarine, the lines of
his jaw and brow became sharp and defined and a pair of deadly looking fangs
protruded from his mouth.

Cadence
scrambled backward in sheer panic, tumbling out of her chair onto the floor
where she scooted into the corner. Wide-eyed, lips trembling, she stared at the
man who’d changed before her eyes as he’d spoken.

“Real
smooth, Drake,” Gavin said, rubbing his eyes before turning in his chair to
reach a hand toward her. “Uncouth as my friend might be, he did not lie. You
are a vampire just as he is, just as I am. But we’re not like those who used
you so badly and left you for dead, Cadence. Now come up here, and please allow
us to explain better.”

Slowly and
with much uncertainty, she climbed back to her feet, pulled the chair upright
and sat down. Her eyes never left the male called Drake as she moved despite
the fact his features were again those she remembered upon entering the room. Cadence
wanted to run from this place screaming, denying all they claimed. However,
inside she knew this was something she could not simply run from.

“If
you’re a vampire, how did I see you walking around in daylight?” she asked once
she’d regained a modicum of composure.

“Myth,”
the last of the men from the table said. His long dark hair hung across one
shoulder in a tight braid.
“More of a bedtime story to ease
the mind of man.
Think of the reaction if they knew the creatures of the
dark were not confined to it.”

Cadence
took in the rugged attractiveness, dark hair and eyes, toasty skin tone and a
solemn air that set him apart from the others.

“Here’s
the run down,” the red head interjected setting a half full bottle of beer back
onto the table. “You can walk in sunlight and sleep is not something we require
a whole lot of. Blood is more like an illicit drug—you don’t need it, but it
gives a high you’ll want. Most times these guys eat the same stuff that they
enjoyed when they were human. Therefore, steak and potatoes are still on the
menu. Now a bad guy, like those who changed you, enjoys the high and would
rather go about pretending to be like those vamps in the old horror movies.”

Cadence
nearly laughed as he did some old B movie mockery, his hands outstretched and
curled like claws as he attempted a Transylvanian accent, mimicking the cliché
of wanting to suck her blood.

“We are
stronger, faster, and harder to kill,” Gavin interrupted with a roll of his
eyes. “Our life span as far as I know has no expiration date unless we meet
some unnatural end.”

“A
stake through the heart?” she asked, wondering if that was also myth.

“That
will work, but so will most massive trauma. You put enough holes in anything’s
head, it’s going down,” Drake said as he grabbed a bottle from the table in
front of him and downed the remainder in several large gulps.

Cadence
decided that despite her higher education, she still had a lot to learn,
whether she wanted to or not.

****

Drake
found himself once again glancing over at the woman fidgeting about in the rear
passenger seat, and Gavin’s hand resting on her knee as he sat between them.
Cadence seemed indifferent to their presence, her eyes focused on something intangible
in the scenic landscape they passed. She’d said only a dozen words since the
start of the trip, and even those were short one-word answers to questions
about unimportant things. He would admit she handled all the things they’d told
her better than he’d expected. Even the part about how all of their kind
developed an unquenchable desire for hard sex garnished no more than a pinch at
the bridge of her nose as she tightly closed her eyes and sighed. No denials or
‘what can I do to change back’ comments.
Only a silent, sad
acceptance.
He wondered if she’d already felt the animalist desires, the
beast side of each of them to force their claim.

He
found himself wondering and hoping she would be able to handle the time ahead.
Drake remembered the weeks he’d spent learning to come to grips with what he’d
become and discovering the means to harness to abilities and appetites that
came with it. Only one in ten who entered those places made it back into the
world of man. The rest were put down or were confined to dark prisons because
they posed too great a danger. Drake could still hear the cries and screams
that echoed from the pit all those years ago. Would Cadence be like those poor
lost souls, begging for a humanity long gone? Worrying his lower lip, he looked
at her once more, wishing he could help protect her from the self-hatred and
guilt he felt radiating from her.

A whimper
from the rear of the vehicle caused Cadence to turn in her seat and look over at
Phynix. The animal licked her fingers as she reached back and stuck the digits
through the wire. Drake smiled; the woman had won their most distrusting member
over with a cuddle and rub of his ears. The dog had gone as far as to sleep
curled in the bend of Cadence’s legs last night. Now Phynix acted as though he
knew she would be leaving them, and he begged her not to go.

Chapter Four

“So are
you ready?” Cannon asked as he took a seat beside Cadence to watch the sun
disappear behind the mountains in the distance.

The
older man in his long robes, dreadlocks and Jesus sandals had been her only
real companion and her guide over the past four months since arriving at the
abandoned military compound. There’d been two others to arrive during her stay,
one dying the same night of his arrival and the other Cadence actually killed
when he’d attacked her and Cannon during a training session.
 
The sight of him snarling, snapping and
promising pain and death was a turning point for her. Up until than she’d
simply gone through the motions of what she was being taught and told. Now she
was ready to rejoin Gavin and the others and track down those creatures whose
goal was murder and mayhem.

Cannon
was a master in combat, both with and without weapons. He’d schooled Cadence
for sixteen hours a day nearly every single day since her arrival. He also
taught her to channel her anger and realize that as a human, she’d been unable
to protect herself or her friends from the monsters who’d changed her, but as a
vampire and part of Gavin’s team she had the opportunity to make certain it did
not happen to others. Lucky for them both, Cadences’ five years of karate and
self-defense classes had given her at least a basic foundation to begin.
 
In a short period of several months the master
had converted her from an uncertain girl to a lethal weapon with a taste for up
close and personal combat.

He’d
also used the time to drill the idea that there is no shame in filling her
sexual needs. It was simply part of what she’d become, a part Cadence needed to
keep satisfied to maintain control.
 
To
that end she had a few individuals in mind. She’d used the memory of Gavin and
his team in her ritual nightly self-release. She hoped they were up to the task
of taking care of her not only as a team member but also as a woman.

She
watched him run his hand along the wooden beads that circled his waist as a
belt. It reminded her of one of the earliest combat sessions they’d shared.

“You
can’t always count on guns and blades to do the job,” Cannon had said as they
circled one another. “You must be ready to use what is available.” He grabbed
the small table where Cadence normally dropped her stuff before beginning
training, slamming it against the wall. It shattered.

She
looked at him with a spark of amusement, “Stakes?
Van Helsing
much?”

“All
myth contains a bit of truth and this…” He pointed the jagged edge of one table
leg her direction, “works just as good as any bullet or blade.”

It was
the first of many training sessions they would have using ordinary items
instead of common weapons. With each Cadence became stronger and more confident
in the person she’d been. She was capable of great speed, strength, and healing
ability. On top of that, she found her ability to think on her feet and recall
information also improved with each passing day.
 

****

“I’m
packed and ready,” she told Cannon, standing and brushing the dirt from the
seat of her jeans. Cadence felt a bit nervous at seeing them again but had no
intention of admitting to it.

“You
are smart, strong, and beautiful Cadence,” Cannon told her with his intuitive
grin as he stood up and began walking back to the compound’s main aboveground
structure. “Come help me set the table for dinner. Your team will be here
within the hour and they will be hungry.”

She followed,
rubbing at the newly inked skin of her back and hips. The deep colors and
intricately shaded images hid the scars left behind by her attack and
symbolized her step from mortality to hunter. The entire process took the
master a dozen hours over three days. It was the first step in her
transformation from student to hunter. Next was the selection of attire to
allow her free movement, yet not be easy to grab or hold. It also needed to be
functional, and Cannon insisted it be sexy to distract her primarily male
opponents. Of all the shopping trips and impromptu fashion shows Cadence
experienced with her college girlfriends, the day spent netsurfing with someone
else’s money surpassed it. Each time one of the packages arrived felt like
Christmas as she tore open the paper and tried each on for the man she’d come
to see as a father figure. Though she doubted any father wanted their daughter
prancing around in vinyl laced tops and matching body-hugging pants.
 

Then
came
the accessories, all of which were dual-purposed.
Belts, which held a set of throwing daggers, knee boots with metal spikes for
heels and hidden knife sheaths. Even the spiked choker and matching cuffs were
designed as weapons and protection.
  
Cadence
guessed from a weapon and possession standpoint, she was ready to rejoin Gavin
and the others. If the butterflies in her stomach cooperated, it would be
perfect.

****

Raven
stepped from the SUV and took a deep breath. He loved the smell of the fresh
air that surrounded this area. He thought perhaps if time allowed he would
shift and run free across the acres of open land the area occupied. Opening the
hatch at the rear of the vehicle, he unlocked the pen and watched as Phynix hopped
out and ran as fast as his canine legs could carry him to the structure where
Raven knew Cadence and Cannon awaited them. The hound had whined and howled
every night since they’d left the woman here.
 
The animal was not the only one who’d missed her presence. Raven had not
admitted it, but she often walked in his dreams and visions.
 
The other did not know yet what his gift revealed,
but Cadence was a critical part of their team, the one who could heal them all.

Following
the other inside, they discovered Cadence and Cannon already seated at a table
heavily laid with variety of meat and other items, which their bodies could
digest. It was a rare treat to have their fill without it costing someone’s
life. The question of how they’d come up with such a buffet crossed Raven’s
mind, but he thought better than to ask. One should never look a gift horse in
the mouth, and he was far too hungry to debate morality.

“God
this looks good,” Gavin said as the appointed leader took the chair closest to
Cadence, as they’d all expected.

Raven
could not help wonder if the man referred to the food or the woman who smiled
at them all. Taking his seat alongside Cannon, he noted the wag of a tail just
over the table at Cadence’s side. Evidently, Phynix had found who he’d been
looking for.