Authors: M. R. Merrick
“Come on, Chase.”
I kept my eyes on the vampires and could see Vincent’s amusement.
“Chase, I said let’s go.” Rayna’s green feline eyes were pleading with me, and I did something I never thought I’d do. I turned my back on a group of vampires and walked away.
Rayna’s hand was warm and soft. The sensation was strange, but welcoming at the same time. We climbed up the stairs to the alley, where she stopped and turned to me.
“You can’t be like that with these people. It’s dangerous. Vincent can be an asshole, but if you’re going to come to places like this, you have to control yourself. If that had gone bad, we’d be dead, or barely alive and no closer to finding what we need,” she said.
“Well, it would have been helpful to know how strong he is, and that he might try that mind control crap on me. At least you could have mentioned that he’s a centuries old vampire, so I could have figured out the rest,” I said.
Rayna sighed. “You’re right.”
I was all ready to argue, but those words took the wind out of my sails. “I’m right?”
“I should have told you, but I didn’t think he’d react like such a child, or that you would, for that matter. His full name is Vincent Taryk.”
“Taryk? As in the most powerful vampire family in the city? Wow, yeah, that information would have been really helpful,” I said. I was starting to get angry, but we were interrupted by a stuttering voice.
“Cha- Chase?” Willy stood behind us.
“Willy? I didn’t even hear you coming down the alley,” I said, a little disappointed in myself.
Willy shrugged. “It’s what I do: try to go unnoticed. What are you doing here?”
“Seeing if we could dig anything up on the hunters, trying to find out what they’re looking for,” I said.
“Any luck?”
“No, but that guy Vincent is a real piece of work.”
Willy shuddered at the name and held his palms up. “I’m not go- go- going in if he’s in th- th- there.” He turned and started back up the alley.
“Willy, wait up!” I said, jogging to catch up to him. “What’s wrong?”
“That guy is insane, that’s what.”
I laughed. “I figured as much.”
“No you don’t un- un- understand Chase. He’s worse than any hunter or demon I’ve ever met. He’s dangerous.”
“You know from experience?”
“All the Underworlders are afraid of him. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”
“I think I just got a taste of it,” I said.
“Do you go around making friends everywhere? You’re lucky you’re not a vegetable.”
“Okay, now I think you’re being dramatic. I can hold my own.”
“Well, I saw him shatter the mind of a warlock without breaking a sweat, and you ain’t got that kind of magic,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow at that. “No offense taken.”
“Look, I gotta go. Good luck in your search, but I’d stay away from Vincent if I were you,” Willy said and disappeared around the corner of the alley.
Rayna stared at me, a kind of smile I didn’t recognize playing on her lips.
“What?”
“You made a friend. A demon friend. It’s kind of cute,” she laughed.
“We’re not friends, we’re acquaintances at best.”
“Uh-huh.” She let another giggle slip out but I ignored it.
“So, any truth to what Willy said? Is Vincent that powerful?” I asked.
Rayna shrugged. “I’ve heard the rumors, but he’s never tried anything aggressive with me, so I wouldn’t know.”
“So you know him well?”
“Hardly. The guy’s helped me out a few times, that’s all.”
“And what’s the cost of that help, usually?”
She shrugged. “He has some strange obsession with me, so it’s usually not much. If he charges me anything, it’s a few hundred bucks or some blood.”
I let my face show the revulsion I felt. “Yuck! You let that thing drink from you? What’s the matter with you?”
Rayna rolled her eyes. “I gave him blood. I didn’t say it was mine. Nothing could convince me to let him suck on me.” She shivered and wrinkled her nose.
We started back as the sky was starting to show hints of pink and red. The silence between us started to get uncomfortable so I tried to make conversation.
“How did you meet Marcus?”
Rayna stayed quiet for a moment before responding. “I don’t know when we actually met. He’s just always been there. He knew my mother before I was born,” she said.
“What happened to her?” I asked. I regretted the question the moment I said it. Rayna stared at me and I thought she might hit me again.
“She died.”
It wasn’t the answer I expected, but it was better than a punch in the face.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I just don’t like to think about it,” she said. “What about you? What’s your story?”
I didn’t know where to start, but we had a long walk ahead of us, so I figured the beginning was a good place.
“Well, I started training in the Circle to be a hunter the first day I could walk. My dad wanted to get a head start. But when I didn’t get an elemental power at my ceremony, the Circle didn’t know what to do with me. That had never happened before, so they just exiled me. From then until I met Marcus and your fist, I’ve been trying to survive,” I said.
Rayna smiled. “Sorry, but you kind of deserved it. My fist, that is. But why does the Underworld hate you so much? I’ve never known the Underworld to go after anyone the way they’ve gone after you.”
“I don’t think it’s really me they hate; it’s my father. He’s one of the most powerful hunters the Circle has ever had. I think the demons believe that if they kill me, they’ll be getting some sort of revenge against my father. Too bad none of them realize that if they did kill me it’d be a weight off my father’s shoulders.”
“That’s not true, Chase,” Rayna said.
I laughed. “You don’t know my father. He thinks I’m a disgrace. He actually accused my mom of cheating on him because he couldn’t believe his own son didn’t have an element.”
“That’s terrible.”
I shrugged. “You play the hand you’re dealt, I guess.”
Even though the topic should’ve had me boiling with anger, I found talking to Rayna somewhat calming. The more we talked, the more I realized we had more in common than I could have guessed. We both loved the same music and horror movies, but I couldn’t help but laugh when she complained about Marcus. Considering the things he’d seen in his life, who would have thought a big bad hunter the size of a house would get scared during horror movies?
After chatting with Rayna, and having spent some time with Willy, I was starting to feel like I had more in common with the Underworld than the Circle. I wasn’t anything like the hunters involved in beating up Willy, but even the Circle I remembered from growing up seemed distant and irrelevant to my current life.
I felt a little disappointment as we approached the condo. This was the first pleasant hour I’d had in a long time. Mom was right; we were more alike than I ever would’ve guessed. Rayna had surprised me.
~~~~~~
The sky changed from red and pink to shades of orange, with streaks of yellow that lit up the condo strikingly. The living room table was now also covered with open books, and Marcus and Mom were both asleep on the couch. Mom’s head was on Marcus’s shoulder, and Marcus’s neck looked to be on a painful angle against the back of the sofa.
Rayna led me to the second floor to show me the room I could stay in. Oddly, I wasn’t tired, so I went back up to the library. If half of what Willy said was true about Vincent, then I was praying for another source to find what the Circle was up to.
I skimmed through more books, but nothing jumped out at me. Marcus had an impressive collection, and although I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d managed to get it, so far none of it was helping.
I scanned the shelves again before I ended up at Marcus’s desk. The bottom drawer hung half open and I could see some books inside. I grabbed one black notebook and read the date
March/06
written on the spine. A few pages in, I found a passage about Rayna and realized it was Marcus’s journal.
Rayna is showing signs of telekinetic abilities and can move small objects with her mind. The power is weak now, but it shows her progression. Although she is an earth elemental, and telepathy is a trait of air, I believe this pulls more on her abilities as a witch than a hunter.
She is developing the ability to draw power from the earth, in both a healing and destructive manner. Although inconsistent, it’s piqued my interest.
Earth and air elementals are strange compared to the others; they have a wider range of abilities that can develop.
Rayna has shown signs of psychic potential
was one of the other notes written on that same page. I flipped through some more, reading a line or two on each page until one passage caught my eye.
Rayna’s exhibiting more of her demonic background. There are nights I’ve found her screaming in her room. When I entered, she was sweating, tense, and running a blisteringly high temperature, like a shifter in the beginning stages of its first change. She has yet to exhibit any other signs of the change.
After a few days, the symptoms of the shift disappear. I haven’t seen this behavior from her in many years (see entries January 5 – 10, 2001). I’d hoped they were something she’d grown out of, however, I fear their return and what it means. We still don’t know where the shifter bloodline comes from. I’ve found nothing of it in her mother’s lineage, and her father could not have carried the disease because of his hunter heritage. If her body continues to attempt a shift, I worry she will suffer permanent damage, or worse…
My pulse sped as I finished the passage and I looked back into the drawer, searching the spine of each book until I found January/01.
January 7th, 2001
The attacks started a few days ago. Her muscles have taken on an abnormal strength and tension, and her body temperature has risen to over 108 degrees. So far, the morning after the attacks she’s fine, showing no signs of pain or memory of the previous night, until last night.
Rayna showed the first sign of a true change: her eyes shifted into full werecat form. I was expecting the rest of her to change, but she did not fully shift. When she awoke this morning, her eyes had not shifted back. The bright blues of her childhood are gone, and now all that remain are the bright green eyes of a cat. I fear they will not change back.
I have never heard of a shifter having experienced this phenomenon. I will have to confer with others to see if there are any other recorded cases. I have not told Rayna yet. I worked a small spell to ensure she will not notice the change, for her peace of mind. I will continue to work with her, but until puberty when her magic starts to develop, it will be unwise to assume anything.
“Anything interesting?” The deep voice cut through the silence and I jumped. I slammed the book shut and looked up to find Marcus staring down at me.
“I, uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop, it’s just, well, the drawer was open and…” I stumbled over my words. It was true I hadn’t gone up to the library to snoop. Perhaps once I saw the notebook I could have resisted, but I hadn’t. I had a sudden, unmistakable feeling of déjà vu which I couldn’t quite place.
Marcus stepped towards me and my stomach clenched. My nerves rattled as he neared, but calmed when he extended a large dark hand towards me, palm up.
“Sorry,” I repeated, handing him the book.
Marcus shook his head. “Most of what’s in here isn’t anything I wouldn’t be willing to share, but there are some private notes I’ve made. I’d prefer to keep them private, for now.” He slipped the book back into the bottom drawer of his desk.
“Of course. I never meant to invade your privacy.”
“No harm done,” he said. He turned his invariable neutral expression into a half smile that looked forced.
“You really don’t know why Rayna is part shifter?” I said before realizing, given the circumstances, maybe I shouldn’t have been asking. “Sorry,” I added.