Chapter 48

-Dante-

The call ended. I stared at Chase, and he stared back at me, but only for a brief second.

“Roe!” he yelled, and his master appeared in a hasty cloud.

“I need her location!” Roe spoke fast.

“She didn’t say,” Chase gasped, staring at his phone.

“I need something of hers! A hair or something!” Roe said, speaking now with a demanding voice, most likely because Chase was still staring at the phone.

“She’s been here,” I breathed out and dashed out the door.

I ran down the stairs and into the living room area, trying to remember where she had been. Roe and Chase both followed me as I started frantically searching for a dark, curly hair. If there would ever be a moment when my superior senses of smell and sight would get handy, it was now.

And I found it!

“I found one!” I shouted, leaning down to pick up a long hair under the couch. “This has to be hers!”

It had to, because no one else that had been in the house had hair like hers. Roe took it from me, and with a wave of his hand, the table between the couches was filled with small boxes, a bowl, and a mortar. Chase and I watched as he started making a spell, hastily piling up the ingredients into the mortar, then turning it all to dust. He moved them all into the bowl, added more stuff in it, and then half a vial of that pixie pee concoction.

And then the hair.

And then he drank it.

I was barely even breathing as I waited for him to move. For a second, he just stared in front of him, looking like he’d died on the spot. I jumped when he suddenly looked at us.

“Found her,” he said, and vanished.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked Chase just when Ben hurried up the stairs.

“She’s under attack,” Chase muttered, looking scared and angry at the same time. “She didn’t say who was hunting her, but she was scared…”

“Killian?” I whispered.

The look on his face when he glanced at me shortly nearly froze my heart. How could it be…?

“It can’t be!” I said, and when he opened his mouth to speak, I shook my head. “How on earth could he possibly know who Aaliyah is or what she has to do with us? With me?!”

“Who else could it be, huh? We don’t have enemies like that! He must have… He…” Chase trailed off, and now it was he who stared into nothingness. “Roe found them…”

And as on cue, Roe appeared into the living room, holding Aaliyah in his arms. He let her down before vanishing again.

“Aaliyah! Are you all right!” Chase hurried to her. She looked awful. Her clothes were torn, her face was dirty and covered in blood… in her own blood – I could smell it.

“It was him,” Aaliyah said, her voice shivering as Chase helped her to sit down. “They have Denzel!”

“Who attacked you?”

“Killian! He was there! They chased us out of the–”

She was interrupted when Roe appeared again, holding Roscoe up on his feet. I helped them to get to the couch, and when Roscoe fell on it, a small amount of blood spilled out of his side. He looked even worse than Aaliyah.

“Did you find Denzel?” Aaliyah asked with a scared voice.

“I saw the car, but it was shielded against magic,” Roe said apologetically. “I couldn’t even teleport to it.”

“We need to save him!” Aaliyah begged.

“We will,” Chase promised, and turned to look at Roe with a question in his eyes.

“I can follow the car,” Roe said, and vanished yet again.

“What happened,” Chase asked calmly, though his expression was far from calm.

“I don’t know how they found us, but he came into my bar,” Aaliyah spoke hastily. “And a second later we were under attack! There were dozens of them! We tried to fight back. Some escaped. Some were captured, but they were clearly after us three… After me.”

“How did they know?” I breathed out, almost in panic.

“They must’ve seen us,” Aaliyah told Chase. “When we tried to find that place…”

I was about to get angry at Chase, but snapped my mouth shut. I knew exactly what place she was talking about. Another lie… Another secret…

“This is bad,” Chase said and turned to look at Ben. “How easily can they find this place?”

“Not easily, but you have a portal in Aaliyah’s home,” Ben said, looking extremely worried. “They can use it.”

“I’ll lock it,” Chase said and rushed to the fake doorway where we opened the portals. He opened the one leading to Aaliyah’s, mumbled something while he draw new lines over the ones that were active. Then the portal turned purple and vanished. “There. It’s locked from this side.”

“They can make a new one to a different spot,” I said, remembering the things Chase once said about the runes – the coordinates.

“I got that covered a while ago,” Ben said, taking in a deep breath. “No one can make portals around here unless I turn off the protections. We are safe here – for now.”

“They have my brother,” Roscoe spoke, trying to push himself up, but he was greatly injured. Ben hurried to take a look at his wounds.

“Roe?” Chase called, and the way he was staring into nothingness told me he was listening to what the demon was saying. “We need to act fast.”

“Do we know where they are taking Denzel?” I asked.

“Roe is following them,” Chase murmured. “It should be easy to find their location.”

“Too easy,” Aaliyah said, turning to look at me. “This smells like a trap. Killian doesn’t care about us. He’s doing this to lure you out.”

“You’re right,” Chase said. “But we’re not leaving your family in their hands.”

“What are we going to do?” Aaliyah asked.

“We find them,” I said. “And we take care of everyone who gets in our way.”

“We need to stop them before they can leave that car,” Chase said, and opened another portal. “But we need more firepower.”

We had no time to prepare, so we acted in a hurry. As soon as Roscoe’s injuries had healed enough for him to walk, he left to find those who had escaped the raid. Only ten minutes later, Roe informed us that the car he was following had gotten company, and was now escorted by five heavily equipped vehicles. By the time Frank had joined us, the convoy had left the main roads and was heading towards absolute nowhere.

“I’m here,” Zane said, dropping his bags on the floor once he’d gotten through his portal. “We’re leaving right away?”

“My family is coming too,” Aaliyah said with a dark voice. “We need a few moments.”

“I have bad news,” Chase said. “They have a base, and they’re almost there. Roe says he can feel a whole army in there.”

“Fuck,” Frank breathed out. “This is definitely a trap.”

“We know, but we’re not letting him get away now that he’s right within our grasp. We need him,” Chase said almost angrily.

“And we’re not letting him get any new test subjects,” I added. “I don’t care if I die, but he’s not getting away with this.”

Everyone agreed.

“Roe will send me the coordinates once they stop,” Chase said and grabbed his bag. Eru appeared by his feet, looking sharp and ready to kill. “Everyone, get ready, we’ll leave any minute now.”

“Can Roe tell us more about the base?” Frank asked as the rest of us geared up.

“Thick walls. Big building. Lot’s of people with lots of guns,” Chase said shortly. “Nothing we can’t… What?” he looked behind his shoulder as if there was someone there. “Are you serious?” he asked.

“What is it?” I asked.

Chase let out a deep sigh. “Roe can’t get any closer – the whole place is obviously shielded from magic.”

“No surprise there,” Frank said. “If he’s the heir of the most famous hunter of our time, he’s bound to know a trick or two.”

“He’s a hunter too,” I reminded them. “I already told you not to underestimate him.”

“Doesn’t matter. All we need is to find the source of the protection and get rid of it. Then we can use our magic freely.”

“It’s going to be heavily protected,” Frank told him.

“I don’t care,” Chase said, and turned to look into nothingness again. “Roe is sending the coordinates.”

He pushed past us to the portal and started drawing new runes. I could feel my heart starting to pump faster as we waited, but I was still able to keep myself under control. I had a syringe full of adrenalin ready if the beast wouldn’t show up this time either. I had been turning into it so many times in such a short time I was sure I’d need it.

The portal was soon ready, and Chase turned to look at us. “This will take us close to the base, but where we won’t get spotted. It’s just outside the magic barrier. We group up, see what we’re up against, and make plans for how to proceed. They already are inside the base, so this isn’t going to be an easy mission. Now we just wait for Aaliyah’s family.”

We all nodded. I could feel the tense atmosphere as we waited for Roscoe’s return. After a small eternity, the portal opened, and Roscoe stepped in with five other vampires.

Very pissed vampires.

“I will fucking rip his head off!” one of them, a tall man with an impressive frame, growled.

“We need Killian alive, but trust me, he will get treated the way he deserves,” Chase promised, and turned to glance over us. “Ready?”

“As ready as we can be,” Frank sighed.

Following Chase through the portal made me even more anxious. Roe was waiting for us right outside, keeping an eye on the surroundings. I stepped away from the portal to give room for the others, and I could immediately smell the base close by. Guns, vehicles, soldiers.

Once we all stood in the middle of a small clearing between the trees, Roe started talking.

“The place isn’t big, but they have strong walls and a lot of firepower guarding it. I couldn’t see where the core of their magical shield is, but we need to find it as soon as possible.”

“Probably underground,” I said, and they glanced at me. “The base where they kept me at was deep underground, under some kind of meat processing facility. That’s probably what they’ve done here as well.”

“The area of their base seemed empty. Only one big building. I have no idea what’s hidden inside,” Roe said.

“Let’s get closer,” Chase said in his impatient manner. “I need to see it for myself.”

“Careful. They are watching the surroundings like a hawk,” Roe warned him.

“There’s no point in staying here,” Chase told him, and started marching through the forest.

Only a few minutes later, I could hear the base ahead of us. We slowed down and continued making our way closer in silence. The vampires were not making any sounds as they sneaked through the shrubbery, but our human companions weren’t much louder either.

Then we stopped. I could see the walls in the distance. I could tell even maximum-security prisons would find new inspiration just by looking at the walls. They were tall, thick, and both the top and the ground on our side were bombarded with spikes and barbed wire. Every corner had tall watchtowers that were occupied with dozens of men with protective gear and machine guns.

“They’re going to spot us any second now,” I said.

And as I finished my sentence, we could hear a loud screech of a loudspeaker coming from the fortress when it was turned on.

“Welcome!”

I nearly transformed then and there. Even with the metallic sound of the loudspeaker, I recognized his voice.

“I must admit I didn’t expect you right away, but no matter,” Killian spoke, taking a short, taunting break. I could tell he was smiling widely. “But we did expect you.”

All eyes were on us. I could hear the clicks of dozens of safeties as the soldiers on top of the walls readied their guns, aiming at us.

“Hold your fire,” Killian said, sounding almost bored. “I want the beast and the warlock alive.”

“That’s him,” I managed to mutter. “Killian.”

“What does he want with me?” Chase asked, completely ignoring the fact that there were several dozens of machine guns pointed at us.

“Let’s hope we won’t find out,” I said, and started walking to the road.

“Dante!” Chase hissed after me, but I ignored him.

“Killian!” I yelled at the top of my lungs when I stepped onto the road. “Come and get me, you coward!”

“There’s my mutt!” Killian laughed. “Do I have a bone to pick with you!”

“Let the vampires go! I’m the one you want!”

“Dante! What are you doing!” Chase hissed when he joined me on the road.

“Go back, he’s not going to kill me here,” I told him.

“Last time I saw you, you were too afraid to even look at me!” Killian taunted. “But look at you now, all brave and shit!”

“Let the vampires go!” I demanded again as more people joined me and Chase. I didn’t look, but I could tell by the smell that everyone else was with us now, except for Ben and Frank, who were in charge of the sniper rifles.

“I’m going to enjoy beating all that bravery out of you,” Killian said. “Yell as much as you want, but as you can see, we’ve prepared the place for your arrival. You can’t use magic here and our guns are designed to kill all sorts of supernaturals – including you.”

“I’m telling you one more time, let the vampires go!” I yelled back at him, the beast already waking up inside me.

“What are you going to do?” Killian laughed. “You have no hope against us! You can’t even get in! Without your magic, you can’t get through the door, and if you come too close, we will kill all your little friends. Except for that little murderer. I have a bone to pick with him, too.”

“The barrier starts here,” Chase told me, and we all stopped.

“Not so brave without your magical friends, huh?” Killian sneered. “Why don’t you come a little closer? Just a few more steps.”

“I warned you,” I replied to him. “I’ll give you ten seconds before we bust through that door, and I can tell you, it’s your little army that has no hope against us.”

Killian was silent for a moment. I knew the cogs in his head were whirring as he tried to understand why I was being so confident.

“Five, four…” I counted.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Killian spat, clearly getting worried.

As he should.

“Three…”

I guess it was when Zane stepped forward that Killian finally realized his mistake.

“Two…”

“Oh, you son of a bitch,” Killian growled at me.

“One.”

His hatred towards us supernaturals was so great that he never could’ve thought that one of his kind, a human, would help us.

A human with a bazooka.

The blast took parts of the tall walls and several of Killian’s men with it. And even better, it took down the magical shield as well. Chase laughed, and Roe vanished.

And I turned. The beast let me stay for a moment, most likely because its full attention was on the men who had started firing at us as soon as they got back up on their feet. The vehicles behind the destroyed gate were burning with the corpses. And the smell… Oh, the smell of blood. It filled my senses.

There were so many people to kill… Our heart fluttered at the sight of all those delicious little rats. We couldn’t even feel their bullets when we dashed through the crumbling hole in the walls. I barely even noticed we already tasted blood.

There were so many! We couldn’t even choose! Most of them were wearing black uniforms that annoyed our teeth. It didn’t stop us, of course, but getting through to the tasty bits was agitating. We saw short flashes of people we recognized, all fighting against the men in black, heavy uniforms. The most delicious one was also there, again taunting us with his incredible scent. He wasn’t wearing that annoying uniform…

No! No, no, no! That’s Chase!

I tried to shake myself awake and distance myself from the beast. It had gained control so swiftly it scared me, although my friends were able to keep their distance to us. To me, not us.

Find Killian.

I had almost forgotten what I was supposed to do. I tried my hardest to convince the beast to go after the man who had hurt us. The man who wanted to enslave us. The beast understood the concept of that, and it was suddenly filled with such fury I nearly lost myself again.

I tried to spot Killian in the chaos. Was he such a coward he’d run away?

No… He couldn’t be… Not the person who had chased me with his guts spilling everywhere after I took a good swipe at him.

I could smell him close by. I’d never forget his scent. I’d never forget anything about him. The beast turned around, trying to catch that smell in the smoke and blood and sweat and gunpowder. The noise was hurting our ears, making our hearing almost useless. The gunshots, explosions, the screams and yells, and the fuming fire made it damn near impossible to hear him. Or anyone, for that matter.

Suddenly, we caught his scent. It came from somewhere above us. The beast turned around, lifting our eyes up to the partly destroyed tower. Killian stood there, glaring down at us with an old shotgun in his hands.

“You’re not getting away from here,” he said, his expression mad with anger.

And when he shot us… It hurt. He hit us twice on our back, and the pain was excruciating. It was so bad that we couldn’t even move, only yell in agony.

“I’ll make you pay for everything you did!”

We tried to look up at our worst enemy, but the pain had made us immobile. When we tried to take a step, our feet gave in and we collapsed onto the ground. Our whole body was turning stiff… And not from the pain. The beast was angry, but I was scared. What could do this to us? Even the machine guns couldn’t get past our fur! What kind of gun was that?

Suddenly, the noises around us started quieting down, and our vision turned blurry. We couldn’t even move a toe anymore. Did we die…?

No… He wanted us alive, so this had to be a tranquilizer.

But a scary one.