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  Covered with leaves and vines, a set of bars gave us the entrance we needed. “Come on,” I whispered. My thin, muscular frame quickly slipped through with the leather I wore. Eddie had a bit tougher time. Luckily for him, Malcolm had come back and easily separated the iron bars.

  Moss and cobwebs covered the insides, along with who knew what else.

  “Where’s Hamish?” I asked him.

  “Guarding the entrance.” My eyes easily adjusted to the darkness inside the tunnel.

  Malcolm chuckled. “I thought you said this chick was a naïve, little witch. You said we were supposed to come to Salem, do the job, and head back. Easy as pie.”

  I continued to look straight in front of me. “She’s a lot more than I bargained for.”

  The tunnel forked into two directions.

  “Let’s split up again.”

  “Fine. Eddie, head back to the entrance to cover it with Hamish.” I headed down the tubing where my gut told me Blair would have gone. Malcolm headed the other way. I sped my pace up and soon heard the sloshing of boots.

  Blair slipped once, but the distinctive sploosh never followed. She must have caught herself. I knew I had her when I rounded a corner. She stood, her back to me and her chest heaving. She slowly turned around.

  “Going somewhere?” My eyes burned with the thought of being this close to finishing the job. I ran my tongue over my pointed incisors and pulled my crossbow and arrow out, just in case she decided to try and make a run for it.

  Blair’s lilac eyes stared at the ground, her hands clenched and unclenched. Her eyes lost focus and her breathing grew ragged again. She was wearing a friggin’ cocktail dress!

  “Tsk. Tsk. Did your magic run out of steam?” The girl definitely had fight in her. “I thought you might be a bit of a challenge when I saw you sporting your fancy powers, but you’re nothing more than an easy mark.”

  Blair glared at me, her nostrils flaring. Little bits of smoke and fire erupted from her fingers, and then fizzled out.

  I laughed, setting my bow behind me again. “So predictable. You don’t know how to use it, or pace out your energy.” I shook my head and came closer. “You had one lousy teacher. You see, it’s kind of like a marathon. You need to pace yourself, but instead, you put everything into that one tiny sprint. Any runner knows you can’t win a marathon like that.”

  I jumped and grabbed her, throwing her hard against the wall. Chunks of algae and wall exploded everywhere. Blair barely landed when I was at her again. With one hand, I grabbed her fancy jacket collar and held her high in the air, her back against the jagged edge of the now-broken sewage tunnel.

  She trembled beneath my hand. “You reek of vampire.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. I’m full blooded. You, on the other hand, are a bloody inbred mix. Who activated you?”

  “What?”

  I tightened my grip on her throat. “I want to know who activated you because I wasn’t filled in on this little, very critical detail. I hate walking blind into any situation.”

  “You studied me?”

  I had to admit I admired this girl. Her life was moments from being snuffed and she spoke as if she were royalty. “That’s what case files are for, chickie. I need to know my mark so I can think before he, or she, does.”

  She clenched her fists. “Why haven’t you killed me?”

  I huffed. My mistake, maybe she was dumb. “Haven’t you been listening? I need to know who activated you.”

  “If I tell you, you’ll k-kill m-me.” Her voice wavered.

  I shrugged, still holding her shirt collar. “You’re dying one way or another. At least by me, I’ll make it quick.”

  “You’re the second person to promise me that tonight.”

  “Know one thing about me, I always keep my promises, and I always deliver. Now answer my question.” I pulled my gun and pointed it at her heart. “I can start here, or here.” I dropped the gun to her stomach.

  “The witches ‘activated’ me.”

  “Your own clan?”

  She nodded and a tear ran down her cheek.

  “That’s fucked.”

  “Tell me about it.” She blew out a long breath. “My fiancé led me there.”

  Really? Her life has been severely jacked up. I didn’t hold pity for anyone, but this girl? There was a fight in her, she just didn’t know it yet. “Listen, I kinda like you. You’re different than the others. Maybe it’s the half vamp in you... I don’t know.” Her heart sped under my hand.

  “Wait! If you originally planned on killing me, then how did you plan on getting my powers in the first place? And now that I have them, how will you get them?”

  “That’s my boss’s problem.” I tightened the grip on her shirt, knowing the girl had nothing more to share. My finger ran over an odd indentation on the skin of her neck. I pulled her collar to the side and gasped. “Where did that come from?” My voice thundered against the inside of the tunnel. I would need to act fast, Malcolm would soon be here.

  “What?”

  I brought her head close to mine. “The burn on the side of your neck.”

  She hesitated, so I bared my teeth and hissed at her, my incisors begging to bite her skin. “This could mean the difference between life and death for you. I’m not playing any games. Answer my question, damn it.”

  “N-Nobody knows. It must’ve happened when I was little. Why all the vamp drama?”

  “Because I have the same mark!” I dropped her to the ground and pulled my leather collar aside. We stared at each other for a long moment. I inhaled and let the breath slowly out. “Who are your parents?”

  Blair straightened her rumpled shirt. “I thought you read my case file.”

  “I know your mom got knocked up by an unknown vampire who dumped you after his precious wife died. He took you back to the witches so they could raise you. However, there were no names. I’m wondering if your father’s name was left out intentionally. So I’m asking you nicely, who is your daddy?” My gut clenched in fear.

  “Vlad Montour.”

  Everything froze. I stepped back and nearly stumbled on a wet rock. “That’s my father, too.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Does that mean we’re...”

  “Son of a bitch,” I whispered. “Half-sisters. I was sent to kill my own damn sister.”

  “Tori, who ordered this?”

  I shook my head. There was no time to think. Malcolm would be here any moment, Eddie and Hamish were covering the main entrance. “It doesn’t matter. You need to get away from here as fast as you can. As far away as possible. Don’t ever try to reconnect with me. If you do, it’ll be both our funerals.” I could hear the panic in my own voice.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Every single supernatural creature is looking for you. I was told to take your dead body back so we could harness all the power you have. It’s not like anything any immortal has ever seen. You hold unbelievable power that people will kill for.”

  “Where do I go?”

  Anywhere! Just run! “You can’t go back home. Your old life is in the past. You need to create a new identity and go into hiding. Don’t even try to go back home to get precious belongings. Go!”

  “I’ve never been alone before.”

  This girl needed to find herself and fast. She wouldn’t make the week. “There’s a first time for everything.” I grinned sheepishly. “I’m letting you go. I’ve never lost a fight before.” I pointed to the cracked opening in the tunnel. “Go through there. Malcolm’s going to be here and I can’t betray my own. I track down and kill your kind.”

  She made her way to the jagged opening.

  “By the way, Blair?”

  She turned to look at me, one leg already through the space. “Yeah?”

  “Get a pair of sunglasses. Those purple eyes are going to mark you anywhere.”

  “I have brown eyes.”

  “Not anymore. The magic brewing inside you changed them.”

&nbs
p; “Unbelievable.” She sighed, her eyes welling up. “I’m scared.”

  “You can do this.”

  “But I’m so complicated and flawed.”

  “Aren’t we all?” I pointed to the opening. “Go! You’re a survivor.”

  “Where?”

  “Head to North Brother Island.”

  “Where’s that?”

  A growl echoed through the tunnel toward us. “New York. It’s located in the East River just off the southeast end of the Bronx. Tell Wayne that Tori sent you. He owes me a favor.”

  * * *

  Chapter 3

  As Blair disappeared, I shot my gun down the corridor I knew was empty. I threw myself into the wall and fired again. Eddie barked wildly and soon appeared at my side, Malcolm right behind him.

  “I’m okay.” I pretended to be dazed. “The witch did some magic thing and threw me. She took off down that way.” I faked a weak hand to point the opposite direction Blair had gone. Eddie sniffed the air, glanced at the jagged opening and back to me. He came over and nudged my shoulder. I sat up in the cold, shallow water. He looked at me again, as if in question, and nodding toward the entrance I pointed at, he finally understood. As if on cue he took off down the corridor barking. Malcolm was right after him running. I sat there dazed.

  Unfortunately my dazed and confused state wasn’t due to the magic I blamed it on, but rather the witch. She was my half-sister. Now I knew who she was, but so did someone else. Who would send me to kill my own sister? I had no idea why, but I planned on finding out who it was and why they deemed me the person to kill her.

  I was a damn good hunter. I never missed my mark, but there were others who were good too. Why me? I slowly stood on my feet and brushed off my legs. I began the slow trot down the tunnel after Eddie and Malcolm. They were going to come back empty handed. I just hoped that I had played it out enough so they presumed she got away. It would be hard for Malcolm to believe I had lost her. I just had to use the surprise route. She had surprised me, and in more ways than one.

  I finally caught up to a cursing Malcolm. “She’s gone. Damn it! I knew I should’ve followed you. She wouldn’t have been able to get the scoop on both of us. We’d have gotten her.” He scuffed the tip of his boot on the dirt.

  Turning, I followed him back to the entrance where Hamish now stood leaning against a tree. Idiot. Someone could have easily got the drop on him the way he was nonchalantly standing and gazing at the sky. It wasn’t a Sunday afternoon picnic, for Pete’s sake. We were on a witch hunt. That just showed how useless Hamish really was, but he made Malcolm happy, which in turn, made us happy.

  Eddie came up beside me and rubbed against my leg. I would need to talk to him later. He would keep my secret no matter what. He owed me his life, and I knew he would do anything for me. He was more of a father figure to me than my dear ol’ nut-job father.

  There was no way I could lie to Eddie about what had happened back there. He knew which way the girl had really gone but had played it off for me. His nose was never wrong. I scratched behind his ear as he almost purred with delight. I laughed thinking that sometimes he was more of a lapdog or cat the way he went on when I caressed him.

  Finally deeming it a lost cause, we decided to head back to the council. Besides, the sewer line that she had run into would branch out and come out at any one of fifteen locations in the city. Eddie was good but I convinced Malcolm that the hunt would take us a lot longer than we thought and we would be traveling throughout the whole city before we found her. Of course, I knew exactly where to go, seeing as I pointed her in the direction of Wayne. If he could keep his hands to himself, he would take care of her, or at least hide her and help get her out of there. Of course, deep down I knew that no matter what, she was doomed. She could get out of the city tomorrow and it wouldn’t be good enough.

  My dear little sister didn’t know that once you had a target on your back it stayed there. It never went away, but rather grew with you. There was no way to get rid of it either, until the day you faced the maker.

  Unless you could fight your way out of it. I saw firsthand the power she had inside of her and I could only hope that she had it in her to survive. There was nothing else I could do for her now. Yes. The rest of her life would be a fight. There was no way to stop that. I sighed as we began the trek home.

  ––––––––

  I paced by the window of my room, flipping my leather long cape behind me each time I turned. What would the council want now? It had been a week since the witch had gotten away and they hadn’t given me another subject to hunt. It was unlike them, and it made me restless. Normally I had another assignment the next day. I was that good. This had been the first missed mark in over a decade.

  They probably wanted me to stew on the failure. The council always got what they wanted. I swung toward the door as it opened.

  Eddie, in human form, stood just outside the door. He always changed into his true form right before we arrived at the council if he went with me, which was very seldom. Although he was my wolf, he was still an outsider. The vampire coven decided long ago, when the random killings started, that the supernatural world was one that we would need to control.

  The werewolves were a messy sort, along with the other different breeds of supernatural creatures. Werewolves are born into their breed. There is no bite or curse. The only way one can be a wolf is through blood. At least with the pack we’d been hunting for the last half century. We found out by trial (and many errors) the gene couldn’t pass by a bite or through saliva. In order to trigger the curse they are born into, they must kill. After the age of sixteen the gene goes into effect, but stays dormant until their first kill.

  Eddie was different. He didn’t have the tendencies most werewolves had. I had never met another who could control the urges like he did. The urge to kill was more powerful in a werewolf, or other shape shifters, more than any other supernatural, or human. I’d trained Eddie, but his control was his alone to covet.

  Many people didn’t know werewolves were not the only shifters. There were many species. The list went on and on including snakes, lions and I had even heard of a group of crocodiles being shape shifters. I guess it made sense though. One animal was the same as the next. All a bunch of beasts to control.

  I moved through the door he held open and made my way through the large building that housed the council meetings. Outside, it looked like a regular building. Inside, however, it looked like a medieval castle. The long hallway I walked down was simple, with cinderblock walls on both sides and old lanterns to light the way. The floor lay tiled with marble, the doors to each room made of solid antique wood. The old thick wood came from oak that at one time had been massive trees in some ancient forest.

  I stared down, my short leather skirt showing more skin than most of the other vamps ever dared. I rather like my slight tan. It looked good against red, blood red. Except, of course, if that blood red was coming from a stake through the heart, or a beheading. That was just ugly... and dead. It also hurt like hell. So I’d heard, I never really got the chance to ask because all the vamps turned to ash and blew away before I could.

  I came to the end of my hall and stood in the grand entrance that opened to other hallways and also the grand meeting room.

  Lifting my chin, I pushed both doors open and stepped inside. I had no idea what was going on, but I did know the council wasn’t happy. There had been something different about this hunt from the get-go. Why had the order been given to bring her back instead of kill her? It was a first for me, and I suddenly wanted to know why.

  I forcefully pushed the door open and walked in. The council room reminded me of an old Louisiana courtroom. Supreme Court style. Eight men and women sat on the council, and all were present tonight. In front of where they sat were two desks with chairs behind them. The long bench where the council sat looked like judges for a case.

  Staring into each one of the blue eyes, I strode across the long room tow
ard the desks. Malcolm and Hamish sat behind a desk with their backs turned to me. Making sure my tall boots clicked loudly on the floor, I headed to the vacant desk with Eddie at my side.

  “What’s going on?” I asked and ignored the furious glares the council sent me.

  “Victoria Montour and Malcolm Wilson, you’ve failed in your mission.”

  The head coven’s words rang true. We had failed. I glanced over at Malcolm and knew he felt horribly disappointed. We never failed. I redirected my attention to the one speaking. One of the men directly below my father. He might as well have been a prince in line for the throne. Whatever he said went straight to my father and no one dared cross him.

  “The mark was human. An easy target.” He gestured to Eddie beside me. “Could the beast not catch her scent?”

  “We lost it in water. I—”

  “I’m not finished speaking!” Albert cut me off. Furious, he stared as his chest rose and fell. It was an old human habit, the man hadn’t taken a proper breath in decades. “I’m not asking for clarification or an explanation.”

  His eyes bore into mine, skirting at the others in quick glances.

  Instantly I understood why he didn’t want to hear us out. He had known who she was. He had known from the start. Why? Why did he send me after my own sister? The knowledge forced me to leave my expression emotionless and unreadable.

  “I always believed you to be competent. I don’t know what is causing you to become lax.” Albert held up his slender hand, not wanting her to reply. “You’ve failed. It’s unacceptable.”

  I could not hold back from answering. It had never been my strong point. “This is ridiculous! One mark gets away and you refuse to let me out. For a week! Now there’s no chance of catching her!” My arms crossed over my chest and my right toe did the insistent tapping it liked to do when I was frustrated.

  Albert frowned and purposely stared at my foot. “More than ample time to contemplate your mistakes before you return to the field. This was not acceptable.” He glared at Malcolm and Hamish who quickly looked down. “You will not fail again.” He turned back to me.