Midnight Shadows

Chapter 1
The moonlight shined across the large pond, making it look like a large silver pool. Thank god it wasn’t a full moon; all kinds of humanoid animals would be sniffing around searching for a midnight snack. Ever since 1988 the world has known and accepted their existence. There was a faint smell in the air, it smelled like blood, the sweet coppery scent lilted through the air, and danced on my skin. I looked down at the small white rose in my hand. I gripped the rose so tight that if I were human I would have been bleeding.
         I heard the rustle of jeans against the bark of a tree, and the faint noise of a whisper. I pulled myself up against the tree. I sniffed the air for a minute, the smell of blood, flesh, and graveyard dirt filled my nostrils. A vampire was drawing closer to me. You could always tell a vampire by their smell they always either smell of dirt or death. Of course you can’t smell death unless you’re a supernatural.
         The rustling drew closer and closer. I whipped around the tree and struck the vampire with the back of my hand. The force of it lifted him into the air and sent him flying into the closest tree. The vampire was crumpled at base of the tree; bark and twigs lightly covered the vampire. I walked a little closer to see the vampire was a guy. He was dressed in jeans, a blue shirt, and brown leather jacket. He began to shake and I began to pull myself into an attack stance, then he threw his head up and began to laugh. I straightened myself out and walked over to him. I extended a hand out and he took it. I pulled him up, and he stood there laughing.
         His sharp defined features shined in the moonlight. Yep, definitely a vampire. His black curly hair was matted, and his hazel eyes were glistening, but fierce. He was ball of ferocious energy in the body of a teenage body. He finally stopped laughing long enough to notice I was staring at him. If vampires could blush, he most definitely was. He began to close the small space between us, and I took a defensive step back.
         “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you” he said as his lips began to twist upwards.
         “Of course the guy who just attacked me is definitely not going to hurt me.” I said as I turned to leave, but before I could take another step he was already in front of me. I hate supernatural speed when it was used against me.
         “Now why are you leaving so soon?” he said as he showed me a brilliant smile, with lots of fang.
         “What were you laughing about before?” I asked annoyance lined my voice.
“It’s been sixteen years since someone has hit me that hard.” He said and began to laugh. Funny thing was I didn’t even try.
“What did some little beastie hit you too hard?” I asked ready to get home and under my warm comforter. Even though it’s early April, Texas nights still had a light chill to it.
“No, not sense my dad punched me so hard he cracked my ribs, it was also the night I became a vampire. Anyways you must be a harpy or a very strong demon.” He said it as if it was normal conversation.
“Sorry, but I’m not either of those, and don’t follow me I’m a licensed slayer.” I said as I fished out my badge case. I flipped it open and let him gape at it. He finally closed his mouth and pulled out a paper and pen. He scribbled something on it, and then carefully held it out to me. I grabbed it and turned on my heel. I looked down at the white rose in my hand, and placed it at the base of the large oak I just rested against. Then I turned and walked back towards my house.
The way to my house is made by a dirt path that wines through the trees. I lived in Allen for pretty much all my life, and now I’ve grown to like my small slice of the world. I’m eighteen, and I own my own company. I have a nice home, with lots of space. My biological father died when I was four and left me his home and two thousand dollars when I turned eighteen. My biological father and my adopted father were great friends; they even lived next to each other. My adopted mother now lives right next to me.
I pulled the keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door. I glanced at the digital clock on my kitchen counter, midnight; I could get a shower and be in bed by 12:30. I walked upstairs to my room and shrugged off my funeral clothes it’s been a month since my dad died, well my adopted dad, he was murdered on the job. He was the owner and operator of Hunters Inc. it’s a slayers business. Slayers are executioners of supernatural creatures who have proven to be a danger to humans. Of course we can’t go around killing things we think are dangerous, we have to go through procedure and get warrants from the government.
Though supernatural beings are the second biggest killer in America, vampires are now not the biggest supernatural killers, goblins are. Most vamps like to mainstream, they register with their city’s town hall as if they were cars. They receive a vampire ID card; with it they can buy bottled blood at pharmacies and grocery stores. If you don’t have a vampire ID you can’t get blood. Some vampires still aren’t happy that they were granted citizenship back in 1975. So they refuse to register with the town, so then they begin to hunt humans, and that’s were slayers come into play. We get to hunt down the rouges and kill them permanently.
After I got out of my clothes I walked into the shower and turned on the water. I winced when the cold water hit my chest, but relaxed once it started to warm up. I took my time in the shower letting the water caress and roll over my body. I dried off and walked back into my room and slipped on boxers and pajama bottoms. I picked up the funeral clothes, and tossed the white dress shirt in the laundry basket. I hung up the jacket, and tie, and just as I slipped the slacks onto the hanger the small folded piece of paper slipped out of the pocket. I put up the slacks up then grabbed the small piece of paper.
I settled into the large bed and turned on the small lamp on the nightstand. I carefully unfolded the small note, and read the single line written on it. It said “I need a job, call me if you have any openings.” Down at the bottom was his number, and next to it was his name, Travis. Well Travis if you need job I’ve got only eight employees and we have to have ten by the end of the month. I placed the note on my nightstand and clicked off the lamp.
I was in a large concrete room, sitting in a metal chair, across the room my dad was leaning against the wall. “Do you remember what I told you to never do.” He asked, his was coarse and rough like it hurt to talk.
“Yes, you told me to never let emotions get the better of me, and to never use full strength against anything but my kind.” I said, he had told me thousands of times when we would hunt. Only once had I used my full strength, I brought the building down along with the vampire cult.
“Good, remember those words.” His body began to fade black, and there was a loud shrieking noise. The next thing I knew I was awake and the alarm clock was going off.
I turned over and clicked off the alarm. I got up and changed into a pair of blue jeans and a red polo shirt. I went down stairs into the midsize kitchen and made some coffee.  I sat on the couch and sipped the coffee as I watched the local news. I finished the cup, and put the cup in the sink. I grabbed the keys to my KIA sportage and walked out into cool morning.
I parked my car in the employee parking lot behind the big white building. Hunters Inc. is a small building surrounded by a dense woodland area. When I walked around to the front of the building I noticed a small gray sedan, well we have our first customer of the day. I walked in and saw a tall thin woman lean over Connor Maysters small desk. Connor is our secretary and is a very cheerful little man. Right now he was a little flustered by the thin woman.
I walked over and tapped the thin woman on the shoulder. She turned around with a quizzical look on her narrow face. “Hi, I’m Daivian, I own and manage this business.” I said, and her eyes began to become wide.
“Hello my name is Celena Hine, I was trying to get a chance to speak with you, but you weren’t here.” She explained. She looked me up and down, so she was sizing me up. I started sense the small waves of power she was exerting. So she was a witch.
“I’m sorry, but I told you he was booked for today.” Connor said exasperation lined his tone.
“Okay I can come back tomorrow, if you would please schedule a time for me.” She said, I guess my being here is beginning to wear her out.
“Okay, you have an appointment tomorrow at 3:00.” Connor said with a happier tone to his voice.
“Sounds good.” And with that she turned and left with the door jingling behind her.
Connor handed me the schedule for today, and he wasn’t lying I was booked for the entire day. I walked into the back and stepped into my office. The walls were painted light blue; my dad said it was calming. I sat down in the black computer chair and checked to see my who my first client was. My first client was Allegro Sandora; his father was killed and made into a vampire. Problem was in his will it said if he was made a vampire he wanted to be staked. So I had to send someone to stake him.
I heard the door jingle, and Connor opened the door and led Allegro in. Allegro sat in the seat opposite mine. “Hello Mr. Sandora, I’ve read through your request and I can send some either tonight or tomorrow morning.” I said, his eyes began to brighten.
“Oh, that would be wonderful, do you need any information.” He asked, you could see the cheerfulness a mile away.
“Yes, his resting place, and is he a registered vampire.” I asked taking out a pen and notepad.
“No, he’s not registered he raised last night, and he sleeps behind the retirement home.” He swept a hand across his cheeks wiping away newly formed tears.
“Okay, that’s all I need, thanks for coming down.” I said with in a monotonous voice.
“No, thank you for helping us with our troubling problem.” He said in a choked voice.
After that he left and I had Connor call in Marcus Bane. Marcus is our resident fairy in both definitions of the word. He’s about average height, pretty thin, and very open about his sexual preference. I’m not saying he’s a bad person; it’s just that he’s not my type. I like my guys about my height, which is very hard cause I’m 6’6, and lean but still muscular. Marcus showed up about twenty minutes later. He wore a yellow tank top and blue athletic shorts. His long blond hair was feathered across his forehead; it drifted just above his dazzling blue eyes.
“ I have a job for you tonight.” I told him as he sat in the chair. One of his eyebrows rose. “It’s a staking, the vamp had a will saying he wanted to die rather than be a vamp.” I gave him directions and Allegro’s number.
“Ok I’ll be there just after full dark.” He said as he rose to a stand. He walked out, and not a second later my next client was being ushered in by Connor.
I looked at the schedule, and the woman that sat across from me was Katherine Simmons. Katherine laid a large manila folder in front of me. I opened the folder and leafed through a couple of photos of a midlevel demon. It was shorter than most demons it’s caliber. It had one massive horn in the middle of its head, and small spikes lined down the back of its head and down its back. It’s body was black as night, it’s eyes were bright yellow. It was a Fanchen demon. They, like all demons feed on humans, but they prefer young girls.
I laid the picture back down in the folder and closed it. “So what’s the story on this.” I asked already knowing the answer.
“My daughter was abducted two weeks ago. When they finally found where she was, there was nothing left but the pendent I gave her.  They also found small pools of black liquid. I read online that demon blood is black,” which is true, but it depends on what class it is, “so I took these pictures behind the high school. I wanted to ask hat you destroy this demon before it kills again.” Tears streaked her face in long black lines. I handed her a tissue from the box on the edge of the desk. She took it and wiped away the dark lines.
“I will deal with this creature personally, I can’t go after it tonight but I will deal with it very soon.” I said, and I meant it. I would call Sara in a minute and set up a time.
“Thank you so very much, I left a number with your receptionist, please call me and tell me when it’s been done.” She said, and with that she was gone. Many people come here for different reasons, like Katherine it was to avenge the death of her daughter. Hey, who am I to tell people how to spend their money.
I checked the clock on the computer it was ten past noon. I opened my desk draw and got out my folder that held the warrants of execution. I walked out of the office and told Connor I was going on lunch break. I heard the faint noises of Marcus making arrangements for the staking, and Keller and Iris talking quietly. Keller and Iris’s conversation stopped abruptly as I stepped in. they turned and sat down at the small round table, I sat too. I unfolded the warrant folder. I grabbed one of the two warrants in the folder and handed it to Iris.
“Yes, I knew this one was mine.” She screamed, she rubbed the warrant in Keller’s face, literally.
“Don’t worry Keller your assisting me on a execution tonight, three vampires, they kidnapped, tortured, and killed a whole family. Only the youngest boy escaped, but he was turned into a vampire. They thought it would make up for the killings.” I said, and the color ran out of his face. He looked paler than a vampire.
“How old is the kid?” He asked his voice was shaky.
“Sixteen, forever he’s frozen at sixteen, the worst of it is he likes it, he probably won’t like having to get a job, but that’s life.” I said with a shrug, sometimes that’s all you can do.
After that I ate lunch, saw the last of my clients, and went home. When I got home I changed into a pair of tan cargo shorts, a black t-shirt, and black tennis shoes. The usual attire I wear for an execution. I opened the large trunk that sits at the base of my bed. I grabbed four stakes, and my favorite dagger it’s an eleven inch gentlemen’s dagger, I pulled out the brown leather sheath that hooks onto my shorts, cause lets face facts they aren’t just going to sit there and let us stake them. I grabbed my gray fleece jacket and slid the stakes into the little loops I sewed in.
About ten minutes later I heard a knock at the door. I let Keller in; he was wearing a royal blue shirt, short and a long trench coat. Keller is a werecoyote he and my brother Jared are good friends. He seems like a squeamish guy, but really he doesn’t mind getting his hands, or paws dirty.
We left in my car; the vampires’ house was just twenty minutes south of mine. When we arrived at the house, Keller pulled out a small bottle of holy water. We walked up to the house, and Keller unscrewed the top of the bottle. I knocked twice, the door swung open, and Keller threw the holy water onto the vampire in the doorway. He screamed and fell to the floor face steaming.
We ran in, and a second vampire jumped onto Keller. I heard the third vampire running down the hallway across from the door. I slid a one of the stakes from my jacket and pushed it into his chest. His head slumped down; his long black hair fell over his face. I dropped him and turned around to help Keller. The second vampire had sunk his teeth into his arm. I walked over pulling my dagger out. I grabbed the second vampire by his shaggy brown hair; I pulled the vampires head up, the lower part of his mouth was stuck on Keller’s arm. I placed the dagger into his mouth, I pulled the dagger backwards, and it slid through the vampire’s head like a knife through warm butter.
I held a hand out to Keller, he took it. I pulled out a second stake,“ Would you like to finish it up.” I held out the stake.
“Hell yes.” He said, and he took the stake. He walked over and sat on the last vamps chest, his legs on the vamps arms. He plunged the stake into the vamps chest. The vamps eyes went dull and Keller pulled the stake out then stood up.
I called the local police station for the pick-ups. We drove back home, and when we arrived there were to people sitting on my porch swing. I got out of the car, and Keller began to follow me, I turned and said, “go home, whatever they want I can handle it.” He opened his mouth to protest the closed it, and turned got in his car and drove off.
I walked up the steps and saw Travis lounging in the swing next to another vampire I’d never seen before. He had long blond hair that came down in ringlets past his shoulders. His amber eyes had an excitement to them. He rose as I reached the last stair. Travis stood then too, he had a slight smile on his. I looked back to other vampire; he had begun to stretch his power out towards me, but stopped a couple inches away from me. He must be over five hundred because if he were any younger his power wouldn’t have been able to get a foot near me.
Shock flashed through his amber eyes. He began to search me with his eyes, looking for any reason that I could stop his power. He stepped forward closing the small space between us. “What are you?” He asked with curiosity, he had a thick Nordic accent. Travis grabbed the vampire’s hand and tried to pull him back.
“I’m a licensed slayer, I hunt supernaturals for a living, oh, and I’m a Einchen.” I said with a monotonous voice.
“What is a Einchen?” he asked with a curious tone to his voice.
“None of your damn business, now if you’ll excuse me I have work tomorrow.” I said and began to move passed him, he grabbed my left wrist, with my right arm I opened the brown leather sheath and pulled out the gentleman’s dagger. I broke the vampires grip and I flickered, and within a split second I was behind him. I had the dagger at his throat; a gasp escaped his mouth as he realized I was behind him. He moved just an inch and the blade bit into his flesh.
“Let him go, he won’t hurt you,” Travis said, I looked up from the vampires throat. Travis was staring at me trying to push his power towards me, but he was so young his power stopped an inch from his body.
I moved the dagger away, only because he was so desperate he tried to do what even this five hundred or plus year old vampire couldn’t do. “Tell me what you want before I start to get really annoyed.” I said with severity in my tone.
The vampire moved to stand with Travis, the vampire said, “we’re here on business from the Chieftain of the City of Dallas, Necandro the victorious, he has asked for a audience with you for tomorrow night.” He said, there was fear in his voice.
“Ok, I’ll go, do I need to get directions?” I asked, sliding the dagger back into its sheath.
The vampire laughed, the sound was deep and rich, “no we will send a car for you.” He walked down the steps and Travis followed after him wordlessly down the stairs. I turned and walked into the house, I walked up stairs and stripped down to my boxers and laid down into my bed and grabbed shedding the stone, by Lyserg Antoine, a gargoyle, and he’s a bitten gargoyle. Natural born gargoyles sleep during the day and come alive during the night, but bitten ones they grow stone wings and then there flesh is turned into stone. I read the book until exhaustion pulled me into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 2
         I sat behind my desk with my favorite coffee mug in my hand. Iris sat across from me she had a black eye and had a long cut from the side of her temple down to her chin. The vampire she executed was a hundred years older than what our client had told us. Iris is a good slayer and a powerful nymph, but even she can’t face a two hundred and eighty year old vampire by herself.
“Did you have to use any magic?” I asked because besides from the beating she received, she was drained, usually I can sense her magic, but now that was gone she must have had to do some heavy-duty damage to make her that drained.
         “I had to use a forest spell, I called Gaia’s guardians, the vine soldiers, and they entangled him and tore him apart,” She said, and she shivered.
I pulled the report out of her hand, “I’ll have Jerald do this report, you go home for the day.” I told her, she opened her mouth to protest, but she closed it and got up and left.
An hour later Connor knocked on my door and led Celena Hine in. I stood up and shook her hand, “so, what can I do for you today,” I asked with my best fake smile.
“Well, I need your services to destroy the werelion packleader. You see my brother and I are both werelions, and witches, but our packleader thinks that we’re too dangerous of a mix to keep alive, and he’s ordered a hit on us both.” She told me, terror showed in her eyes, at that moment I wished that I could help her, but I couldn’t.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you, werecreatures are humans that turn furry every full moon, they are legal citizens unless you have proof, or a court order of a execution, I can’t help you.” I dug into the top desk drawer where I keep my reference’s business cards. I pulled out Roxanne’s card and handed it to Celena, “this is Roxanne Anderson’s business card, she’s a professional bodyguard.”
“Will she be able to handle this level of a job,” she asked concern radiated from her.
“Roxy’s a Hoa-Jun, they’re like pyrotechnics except there born of fire and are as close to immortal as it gets,” well, except my race, but that’s a different story.
“Ok, thank you for your help, if I do get evidence that he is planning to kill me would you help us?”
“ I would do every thing within my power to help you.”
Her eyes were big and hopeful. “Thank you,” she stood up and walked out of the room.
I gathered my cell phone and wallet and walked out to the reception desk. Connor was leafing through a clients background check. I cleared my throat and he looked up at me. “I have to leave to meet the Chieftain of Dallas. Tomorrow is Saturday so don’t forget to set the machine when you leave today.” He nodded and I walked out to my car. When I got outside I saw Celena about to open her car door. Then I caught the scent of gunpowder and plastic. I flickered over to her grabbed her and turned so my back was to the explosion. The heat of the explosion burned away the entire back of my shirt. I looked down at Celena she was unconscious.
Marcus rushed out, he leaned down and told me to take off my shirt, get in my car, and drive home. I did, when I got home it was twilight, the air was still, and I could still see the smoke from the ruined car.
I walked inside, and took a quick shower. I walked out into the bedroom. I had laid out the clothes for tonight this morning. I put on the faded black jeans, a long sleeved purple button up shirt, and black tie and dress shoes. I added the long brown sheath with the gentleman’s dagger clipped to the back of my jeans. I got out my longest black leather jacket, and I began to think maybe should bring a little more power with me.
So I ran back and opened my big treasure chest of weaponry. I put on a inner pants holster and put a short stake into it, and I also slipped on a pair of black boots and slid in the two thin knives into place at the heel of the boots.