Stalking Darkness (8 page)

Through
a nearby glass, Cadence watched his distorted reflection dismiss Julie with a
quick peck on the lips, regaining her composure, Cadence spun back around to
shoot him an amused look.

“Your
girlfriend is pretty.”

“That’s
not my girlfriend, sweets. Julie is my sister. She goes to school here at the
college.”

****

Gavin
moved along the far wall of the large block warehouse. It still amazed him how
a man dressed in military fatigues and carrying an automatic weapon seemed not
to draw the least bit of curiosity. Hell, he could have been moving through
with a bright red beacon light flashing on top his head and no one would have
batted an eyelash. It was obvious his quarry had become too comfortable in
their deadly game. Taking a spot behind a thick metal support column, Gavin
watched as Anton approached Cadence. His nerves were on edge and he could feel
the twitch in his jaw as the vampire leaned down to say something into her ear.
He hated the idea of that bastard being anywhere near her, and it took every
ounce of self-restraint to avoid blowing their advantage.

Drake
and Raven were on the opposite side of the room, and Hugh set up between him
and the entry. It allowed them the option in covering such a large area overfilled
with college students. Drake already had eyes on Nigel and a few of his
cohorts, which left Anton and any other remaining of the horde to him and Hugh.
The only problem was how to get all the partygoers out before the fangs came
out.

He
watched Cadence twist around to face Anton, her radiant smile illuminating the
immediate area like a flashlight in a dark room. Gavin wondered if she’d always
been as confident as she currently seemed or if the assured sexuality oozing
from her every pour was a product of the change, allowing her to lure pray in
with the batting of an eyelash.
 
One
thing for certain was she’d hooked him and the rest of the crew without any
effort.
 
He wondered if it was all simply
a sexual attraction or was something deeper developing. Gavin knew they each
already felt possessive of Cadence. She was the anchor they each had
desperately needed to save them from themselves. Over the last weeks, he’d
watched her settle into that role, each laugh, smile, and coy jab imbedded her
deep into his soul.

A small
square box affixed to the wall on his right caught his attention. Since this
bunch obviously turned the electricity on for the lighting and sound system,
which currently flooded the building with music, Gavin figured the fire alarm
system had been reset with the reintroduction of power.
 
With a quick hand-signal to the others, he
moved stealthily to his immediate target. With a tug down on the small red handle,
the atmosphere changed. The high-pitched shriek of the fire alarm cut through the
building, bouncing off the concrete block walls and sending partygoers
scattering for exits.
 
That was
definitely one way to clear a room. And he’d always wanted to pull one, he
mused to himself while attempting to regain sight of Cadence among the rush of
people fleeing.

Gavin
was still searching for her when he saw one of Nigel and Anton’s flunkies
snatch a husky looking girl in a blue mini shirt and tank top backward by the
hair, ripping at her throat. The girls screamed and struggled to escape, blood
spraying in a wide arch onto those rushing past in horror. Panic changed to
mass hysteria, leaving Gavin no choice but to takeout this
bloodsucker
fast. He hoped one of the others had eyes on Cadence.

Reaching
the rogue vampire, his teeth still sunk deep into the neck and shoulder of the
girl who now slumped limply in his grasp, Gavin used the butt of his weapon to
slam against the creatures back. The body of his victim now crumpled lifeless
at his feet, the vamp turned to face him, baring its bloody fangs in rage. Not
knowing the location of the rest of his team or the remainder of the targets,
Gavin pointed the barrel of his AK47 at the bastards face and held the trigger
until there was a hole big enough to put his entire first all the way through.
There was no coming back from missing sixty percent of your head, regardless of
whom or what you were.

****

Cadence
felt a hand grab her arm, pulling her around to face its owner just as the
ear-splitting screech of the fire alarm sounded. Both she and Anton looked up
at the speakers set high in the metal beamed ceiling, then back at one another.

“Come
with me I can get you to safety,” he lied, pulling at her arm in an attempt to
force her to accompany him and looking rather startled when he could not.

“I
don’t think so,” Cadence said.
 
She planted
her feet and turned to face him.

“I said
come with me,” Anton growled, making sure she saw the flash of his descended
fangs.

Her
heart pounded in her ears. This was the moment she’d trained for and feared,
but she refused to back up or back down. Gathering her strength, she allowed
her darker side to rise up and take control.

“Cute,”
she said shooting him her own toothy smile. “But I have my own set.”

Releasing
her as though she were on fire and taking a step backward, Anton stared at
Cadence in confusion.

“You
know, you’re really beginning to hurt my feelings. I suppose you leave a lot of
girls for dead on hotel suite floors. Of course you should probably make
certain they’re dead before taking off.”

Chapter Eight

Drake
moved in quickly when he saw Cadence square off with Anton. Cannon might think
she was ready to jump headlong into this fight; he, however, had no plans to
allow her first fight to be with a killer like one of the two leaders of this
group of bloodthirsty rogues.
 
Stepping
between the two before it turned to
blows,
he glared
at the male who’d been ready to lay his hands, yet again, on Cadence.

“Sorry,
is this a private party or can anyone
join
in?” he
asked, dropping his head and raising his eyes to meet those of the glaring
monster in front of him. “How about we dance, asshole?”

“Well
if you insist on cutting in, I do see another partner I can’t neglect,” she
said, placing one hand on her shoulder and pointing to a slender woman moving toward
one of the front exits.

He held
his position ready as she stepped from behind him and walked past them without
so much as a backward glance. Drake loved the indifference she showed Anton,
knowing it was a slap in the face to the arrogant bastard.

“Gorgeous and deadly.
You should be thanking us,” Anton said with a glance
her way.

“Yes
that’s right; I should thank you for stealing her life and dreams of a human
future.” The time for talk was over and Drake was tired of looking at the vamp’s
pretty boy face. Six shots scattered across the room as Anton anticipated his
move and attempted to twist the weapon from his hands. Moments later his
automatic weapon skidded across the floor, coming to rest against the far wall.
Allowing his military training to kick in, Drake reached forward, wrapping one
hand to the back of Anton’s neck and stiffened the fingers of the opposite
hand. In a fast solid jab, he struck the windpipe. It wasn’t enough to kill, especially
not a vampire. Hell, it was all just an involuntary reaction left over from
when they were human. The strike did however cause the man to sputter and
struggle for breath he did not need.

Drawing
the combat blade from the back of his belt, Drake used the momentary
preoccupation to his advantage. He drove the blade through the sternum until
the thick bone prevented him from pushing it any further; then he stepped back.
Anton gripped the protruding section, blood seeping around the impalement and
soaking his shirt until the blue fabric appeared black.
 
A single roundhouse kick to the butt end of
his blade shoved it the remaining distance, dropping the vampire to the floor
with a final scream before bursting into flames.

“Gotta
love that spontaneous combustion,” Drake said, turning to retrieve his rifle.

****

Cadence
moved across the dirt concrete warehouse floor with new resolve, anger and
realization of whom and what her former friend truly was. Around her a mixture of
odd screams, music, and gunfire sounded, reminding her of a concert she’d had the
misfortune of attending several years ago during her first year of college. The
police raided backstage during the concert after discovered the roadies were
dealing ecstasy. In the end, she’d paid thirty dollars for a ten-minute concert
and the opportunity to be grouped in the rush to leave.
 
Her thoughts returning back to the task at
hand, Cadence closed the distance to her target.

Julie
was part of the group they’d come to take out, the inside player. Her job had
been to get into the colleges as a student, make up cozy and lead them to the
slaughter. Cadence had to admit the bitch was good at it.

“You
know I’ll admit your performance was flawless. You truly fooled me with all the
best friend trash you spewed,” she called out to the vampire who, at the sound
of her voice, froze in her tracks.

“Well
Candy, I must admit you were the last person I expected to see again,” Julie
replied, turning to face her.

“Guess
you did a bit too much assuming.” Cadence took a few more steps toward the
woman, closing to within striking distance. “So tell me, did Claire or the
others know you betrayed them in the end?”

She
watched a smug grin turn Julie’s lips as she raised her sculpted brows, “Claire
cried for you, screaming at me to save you as I watched them rip her throat
out. The others were too drunk to care. They just laid there and waited to die.
You should have been smart enough to join them in that endeavor.
 
Only Brad begged to save himself and in the
end, Anton made him one of us. Of course, we use him like the little bitch he
is. Everyone needs lap dog.”

“You
should have made certain I was dead, Julie. I trusted you.”

“Foolish,
foolish girl”

“Once upon a time, not anymore.”
Cadence twisted her head to the
left, hearing the vertebra in her neck snap and crack in preparation. “So any
other surprises you want to share before I kick your sorry ass?”

Using
the woman’s stunned expression to her advantage, Cadence struck first with a
hard open hand slap that rocked Julie’s head to the side. It wasn’t a blow
meant for injury, but for insult. By the seething anger she saw coming from her
former friend, it worked.

Instantly
Julie launched herself forward, sending both of them rolling across the floor
among the broken plastic cups and spilt drinks. Arms flailed about as they
clawed, snapped and scratched at one another.

“You
fucking bitch, I’ll make certain your dead this time,” Julie screamed as she
sat astride Cadence’s waist. “I’m going to rip your heart out.”

“I…don’t…think…so!”
Allowing her own fangs to slip past her gums once again and the rage of the
monster she’d become to awaken, Cadence tossed the woman off and sprang
straight to her feet. Striking out hard, she smashed the heel of her hand into
her former
friends
nose, the cartilage cracking on
impact. Julie stumbled across the floor away from her, landing on her ass as
Cadence looked about for something to finish this fight.

Julie
stared at her, fear and tears shining in her eyes as she watched a chair
shatter against the floor and the woman she’d left for dead stroll toward her,
a jagged chair leg stake in her hand.
 
Cadence was tired of playing with the woman,
the time for retribution long past due.
  
Julie made one last effort to turn the tables, jumping up from her seat
on the floor, intent on scratching out the eyes of her enemy. Instead, she met
with a roundhouse kick, which sent the woman back to the floor. With an angry
scream, Julie jumped up and charged at her.

Using
her own momentum against her, Cadence jumped forward to meet her, gripping the
stake tight as she moved the sharp end just to the left of Julie’s sternum and felt
it penetrate the skin as the bones popped and snapped. When it was over,
Cadence leaned over the dead body of her former friend, blood coating her hands
where it sprang up around the crude object, which completely penetrated the
chest and stuck out from the other side. Jumping back as the body burst into
flames, she looked down at herself.

“Damn,
that was a lot messier than I expected,” she grumbled to herself as she used
the pant leg of her jeans to wipe some of the sticky red blood from her hands.

The
sound of a sharp angry roar from behind her caused Cadence to spin around. Her
mouth went dry as she watched one of the large males she recalled seeing the
night of her death barreling down on her. He streaked across the floor at her,
a broken beer bottle gripped in his hand, fangs dripping from any number of
victims who’d fallen to him. She knew this was not going to be good. He was far
too close, moving far too fast and she had no time to prepare. A few feet from
her, Cadence sucked in a deep breath in preparation to the attack, only to
catch a glimpse of movement to the bastard’s immediate right. Phynix struck a
split second before he reached her, driving the man off course as the animal
ripped at the arm holding the makeshift weapon.
 
The surprise intervention caused the vampires
full attention to shift away from her and onto the need to escape the angry canine,
providing Raven time to emerge from somewhere unknown and empty a dozen rounds
of hot lead into the vampire’s head. She watched as his body twitched before combusting
and
he
fading into ash just as Julie moments earlier.