When Darkness Hungers: A Shadow Keepers Novel (Shadow Keepers 5) (22 page)

Alexis poked her way through the subway service tunnels beneath Hollywood Boulevard. She wasn’t cursing, but the temptation was there; so far she’d seen nothing but trash and the homeless, and she desperately wished that Leena’s skills had GPS precision.

She heard a moan and hurried forward, only to find herself facing a mini porn show: two junkies going at it on a mattress that had to have seen more rats than humans.
Cringing, she turned away and noticed a break in the cement wall. She climbed through it, careful not to snag her clothes on the rough edges of the rebar. Dim yellow light from the work lamps mounted along the walls fought the dark to illuminate the space, mostly failing and leaving sprawling shadows that seemed to writhe and move in the corners. Gamely, Alexis eased forward, feeling like that girl in every horror movie, the one who went into the dark, scary place even though everyone in the audience was yelling for her to go back, go back, go back.

But she couldn’t go back. Because she wasn’t the virginal heroine or even the slutty best friend. She was the monster hunter, and this was what she did.

A faint rustling in the distance caught her attention, and she hurried that way, picking her way over rubble. After a moment, she came to another break and saw motion ahead of her. She eased behind a pillar and peered around, then sucked in air as she saw the scene in front of her.
It was him
. Sergius. He looked out of place in neat jeans and a button-down shirt. More like a businessman than a vampire. As she watched, though, the image was destroyed. He took a piece of rebar and quickly decapitated a vampire while a strung-out female gaped nearby.

She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, but her eyes never left him. He was a hunter, just like her, except he hunted his own kind.

The realization had barely fired in her mind when he lunged and was at the girl’s side so quickly that Alexis hadn’t even been able to follow his movements. Her mind screamed in protest—
no, no, not him
—even as she raised the gun to fire one of her wooden bullets.

But then he’d pushed the girl away, his body bent over as if in pain, his fangs bared, and he’d growled at her to go, to leave, to get the hell out of there.

The girl went, but not Alexis. She remained, gun raised, watching the vampire named Sergius with dread mixed with fascination. Had he done the same with the teen from the beach? Come close to feeding off her and then let her go? Or had he succumbed, drawing in her blood and letting her languish in his arms?

She stayed that way for an eternity—watching him, her finger on the trigger, unmoving, but ready to fire. His face was subtly illuminated by the dim light. And he looked so overwhelmed with sadness, it made her heart twist and she had to fight the inexplicable urge to go to him. To hold him and comfort him.

No
. What the hell was she thinking? He was a
vampire
. According to Edgar, he was damn dangerous. And even if he had let the girl go—even if he had saved the teenager—she had no business pitying him. Resolved, she gripped the gun more firmly, as if it were the physical manifestation of her determination.

“Do it, then.” His voice, rough and anguished, filled the space between them. To her horror, she realized that she’d moved out from behind the pillar, and that she stood directly in his line of sight. “Go ahead,” he repeated, pushing himself to his feet and spreading his arms wide, baring his chest like a target. “Dammit, Alexis,
do it
.”

She dropped her gun arm. For a moment, he only stared at her. Then his lip curled into a sneer that didn’t quite meet those warm, gray eyes. “You’re a fool,” he said, then turned his back to her.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she was
certain he could hear it. But despite her fear, she wasn’t about to let this be over. She took a step toward him, then another. She paused about five feet away, knowing damn well he could close the distance between them in the blink of an eye. “I probably am,” she admitted.

“You call yourself a hunter? A noble human who takes out the vampires who scurry in the dark?” He turned to face her, and what she saw in his eyes this time scared her. But it wasn’t fear for herself, it was for him, and once again she found herself fighting the urge to reach out to him. “Well, I’m a vampire. I’ve killed. I’ve destroyed. I’ve walked the earth for longer than you can imagine, and I’ve left my dark mark upon it. I am death,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I am Legion. And I am your enemy.”

He grabbed her hand and the gun, forcing a gasp from her as he pressed the muzzle against his chest, directly over his heart. “Do it,” he demanded as the air seemed to shimmer between them. “You’re a hunter, damn you,
hunt
.”

For what seemed like an eternity, they stood like that. Her holding the gun, him demanding with his eyes that she fire. Then she took a step backward, yanking the gun away and aiming its muzzle toward the ground.

“I’m a killer,” he said, but there was defeat in his voice.

“Prove it, and I’ll take you out in a heartbeat. But you pushed that girl away just now—did you think I didn’t see? You saved me. And you promised you were going to save the girl on the beach.”

“CeeCee,” he said, and she smiled at the name. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the teen, but somehow, the name suited her.

“Then it’s true? You didn’t harm her?”

The sound he made was full of contempt. “What is harm?”

She lifted the gun again. “Tell me where she is.”

“Is that supposed to frighten me into cooperation?”

“Please, Sergius—that’s your name, right? Please, I have to know.”

“It’s Serge,” he said. “Not Sergius, not that. Not from you.”

“From me?”

But he didn’t explain. Instead, all he said was, “She’s safe,” but there was such regret in his voice that she immediately went on alert.

“Where?”

“Safe,” he repeated.

“Show me.”

“What?”

She gestured with her gun, indicating the way out. “I said, show me.”

“Now?”

“Hell yes.” She met his eyes. “Move.”

She’d spoken firmly, and she held the gun. There could be no doubt that she was serious. And yet all he did was laugh.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“I’ll go with you if that’s what you really want, but it won’t do you any good. The second I hit the street, I’ll be dust. And good luck finding CeeCee then.”

Well, shit
. She’d forgotten what time it was.

“Come back tonight,” he said. “I’ll take you to her then.”

“Tonight,” she repeated. “You expect me to believe that you’ll just be here waiting for me? I don’t think so.”

“You have an alternative proposition?”

“We wait,” she said.

“It’s not yet noon.”

“You have an appointment?”

“I don’t,” he said. “I’m completely unencumbered.” He glanced around, then brushed some dust off a pile of rocks. He sat gingerly and looked at her with eyes lit with mirth. “So,” he said, “what do you want to talk about?”

Edgar got his key in and out of his back door as fast as possible, then ushered Frank into the kitchen, grateful that Frank had driven; right then, Edgar didn’t want to be alone.

The sun had been up for hours now—it had been a bitch fighting traffic all the way from San Pedro to his house in the Valley, and even the breakfast they’d grabbed at Du-par’s hadn’t soothed his mood. He was edgy. Anxious. Hell, why beat around the bush? He was fucking scared.

Once inside, he closed the door and locked it tight. The North Hollywood house was small, and although that sometimes bothered him, today it was a comfort. The walls didn’t feel claustrophobic, they felt reassuring. This was his place, and no matter what bad stuff was outside, he could always find sanctuary here.

He tapped in the alarm code, then drew in a deep breath. Frank, he saw, was eyeing him warily.

“What?” Edgar demanded.

“You look freaked.”

“I am. This vampire—this Sergius—sounds like he’s a serious badass. And I know damn well that Alexis isn’t going to back off just because of that. She’s going to go even more balls-to-the-wall. I shouldn’t have called her.
Shit
. I should have waited until I could talk to her in person.”

“Calm down, Ed. The girl used to be FBI, right? I think she probably knows how to handle herself. She’s not going to go rushing into a vampire’s lair, right? I mean, you said the girl was smart.”

“She is.” But Edgar knew she was also impulsive. Still, he felt somewhat better. Alexis was eager, but she wasn’t rash. And it wasn’t as if she knew where to find the vamp during the day, anyway. For that matter, she didn’t know where to find him at night.

“So, you okay?”

“Sure,” Edgar said, although it wasn’t entirely the truth. He’d hunted vampires, true. But strolling into a bar filled with them—talking to that one behemoth of a vampire—well, it had been a heady, terrifying experience.

“All right then. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Frank’s broad grin split his face. “Un-freaking-believable, isn’t it? What did I tell you? They’re right there, knee-to-knee with us humans, and most of us don’t even know it.”

“Damn straight,” Edgar said, shooting for bravado. Truth was, he figured he’d be just as happy without that knowledge.

He keyed off the alarm and let Frank out the door they’d come in, the one that opened onto the driveway at the back of the house. He closed the door again, then pressed his forehead against the cool wood and told himself not to call Alexis again. They’d talked. She’d said she wouldn’t go out. That was enough. He wasn’t going to hover like he was her father or some such shit.

Still …

It wasn’t that long a drive to Brentwood. He could pick up some bagels on the way. Tell her he figured she
might want a friendly ear. Not like he was checking in on her at all.

Resolved, he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter where he’d tossed them and pulled open the door. The gasp escaped his mouth before his mind even processed what he was seeing. The female vampire from the bar, holding Frank in her arms. Frank’s head lolled to the side, his body limp, his neck ripped open.

For a moment, they just stood there, her smiling at him, and him wondering how the hell she could be outside during the day. Wasn’t she a vampire? Didn’t they eschew the sun?

Then she dropped Frank on Edgar’s front porch and started to push her way inside.

“I don’t invite you in!” he yelled, but she just laughed and kept on coming.

“Now, is that any way to treat a guest?”

He turned and bolted toward the bedroom, moving faster than he had since his days in uniform. Didn’t matter. In what appeared to be a blink of the eye, she was right there in front of him.

“Sweet,” she said. “I always like to play with my food.”

Involuntarily, his eyes darted toward the door.

“Oh, him? He was just an appetizer.” She poked him in the stomach. “You’re the main dish.”

Think
. He had to act. Had to do something.

His Glock was on the bar separating the kitchen from the living room. He hadn’t taken it to the bar—Frank had suggested that would be a bad idea. And the truth was he knew damn well a bullet wouldn’t hurt a vampire. But the door was wood—could he break it and get a stake?

Or maybe a chair.

With speed born of fear, he practically dove under her outstretched arm and into his bedroom. A simple wooden chair sat in front of a card table where Edgar kept his bills and checkbook. He grabbed the chair up and swung it at the wall, ending up with a broken leg in one hand. A makeshift stake with a nice sharp point.

The vampire pouted. “And here I thought we were getting along so well.”

He lunged at her, the stake out, but all she did was grab him by the wrist and twist his arm around behind him so that he cried out in pain—then screamed in anguish when the bone actually snapped.

“That’s what happens when little boys don’t play nice,” she said. “And this,” she added, sinking her fangs deep into Edgar’s neck, “is how little boys get dead.”

Alexis
.