The Hybrid Series | Book 4 | Damned Read online

  “What the hell?” the vet nurse said as she stepped back into the room. “What the fuck is that crazy animal doing now?”

  I heard her close the door, at which point her eyes must have fallen on the unmistakable human remains swimming in bile. She started to scream.

  More footsteps came running towards us while I crouched there, trying to decide my next move. The police must have entered the clinic already because I detected two separate pairs of footfalls, though it seemed odd that they’d only sent the one officer (who may or may not also be a Slayer). Then again, I’d never taken much interest in the authorities so my knowledge of the way the police worked wasn’t great. Perhaps they felt it only warranted the attention of one officer when I was allegedly helpless and at death’s door, and I supposed there wouldn’t be many to spare in such a sparsely populated area. It would make my escape easier if I only had the one to deal with, at any rate.

  “Michelle?” the surgeon called out. I heard her skid to a stop beside her colleague, asking “Are you okay?”

  But what answered next was not the other woman’s voice. A gun cracked, firing two shots in quick succession. Two bodies fell to the floor a moment later, limp and lifeless. Through the ringing in my ears, I could just make out the sole heartbeat of the man posing as a police officer, pumping a little quicker than normal from the short run. Then I caught his scent, and my lips twisted into a snarl of recognition.

  “You can come out now, Nick. I’m not here to kill you.”

  That puzzled me. I hesitated, thinking he might simply be trying to lure me into a false sense of security to make for an easier kill. But then again, he’d had plenty of opportunities in the dungeon to finish what he’d started that cold winter’s day out on the moors, when I’d lain dying from a bullet in my heart. So I rose to my feet and looked him in his grey eyes, this older man who showed none of the fear of his fellows, and who was all the more dangerous for it.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  New Ally or Another False Friend?

  Dozens of questions flooded my brain, but it was another snarl that thundered through my throat. Both upper and lower canines were already lengthening into lupine fangs, and nails were sharpening into claws, my weariness forgotten in the face of an enemy. Those eyes were as cold as I remembered them, while mine burned amber once again.

  “Easy, wolf. I’m not here to kill you,” he repeated, holding up both hands. But he still held his gun.

  “Why?”

  “Because I am bound to a greater power than the Slayers, and He does not want you dead.”

  “You seemed happy enough to kill me before, so why the sudden change of heart? How come you turned on your allies and helped me escape David’s dungeon?”

  He shook his head. “There’s no time for this now. We have more important matters to discuss.”

  “Make time,” I growled. “If that last question’s too complicated, how about we start with this one: who are you?”

  “You can call me Will.”

  I waited for him to elaborate but Will just stood there, confident as any apex predator. His heart rate was already returning to normal and there was a calculating look in his eyes, as though he were weighing up his various options if it came to a fight.

  “Uh-huh,” I said. “That still doesn’t tell me anything.”

  “The rest is unimportant, for now. I am here because I need your help.”

  My fingers tensed with the urge to lash out. “No. Whatever you’re about to ask, you can forget it. We will never be allies, so we can either fight to the death now and get it over with, or you can let me go, and delay the killing until we next meet.”

  The hint of a smile played across Will’s lips. It failed to reach his eyes. “This is bigger than petty rivalries between humans and undead. There’s a demon on the loose; a terror demon you freed and unleashed on the Earth, where it can torment and slaughter to its heart’s content. If it’s not killed or sent back to Hell it will claim millions, dooming their bodies to slow, agonising deaths and their souls to an eternity of torture. Someone has to stop it.”

  “And this is my problem how? Maybe it’s what we need to beat humanity into submission and rise back up to the top of the food chain. I might not have been around to see those days but the older vampires still tell tales of ages past. I know the story of my ancestors and the golden era under Lycaon.”

  “Is your family not still human? Do you really think the demon will spare them, just because you helped each other escape?”

  “What do you know of my family?” I snarled, taking a step towards him. Most men would probably have backed away, but Will stood his ground, calm as ever. He did lower the gun to point at my newly healed leg though. Not a killing shot, but it would likely maim me for long enough to allow him to escape, and we both knew it.

  “I know your mother and sister mean a great deal to you, and that they are in as much danger as every other poor defenceless soul on the planet. But together we have a chance at stopping the terror demon before it hurts someone you care about. Come with me. This is not a fight I can win on my own, but together I believe we can defeat it.”

  The threat to my family was enough to make me listen, but I wasn’t even close to trusting him. Will seemed to switch allegiances as easily as others might switch jobs. Maybe it was all a job to him. Maybe he was a mercenary, sworn to fight only for the highest bidder, and only until someone made him a better offer. And how could I trust a man like that?

  “Why me? There are plenty of vampires out there with far more power than a werewolf. Why not ally with one of them?”

  He snorted. “We both know the vampires wouldn’t listen. The hatred runs too deep in the older ones and besides, all their loved ones are long gone. They have even less reason to join with me than you do. But I think you’re smart enough to see sense. You’re smart enough to realise what has to be done, and put personal hatred aside for as long as it takes to do it.”

  “Maybe. I need time to think and to talk it over with my friends.”

  “Time is the one resource we do not have.”

  “Well it’s tough, I’m not wandering off with you on some quest that may well get me killed, without at least talking to the others. Maybe I can even convince them to join us. Surely we stand a better chance with numbers on our side than we do with just the two of us.”

  “Very well. But do not take too long, for your family’s sake.”

  “Understood,” I growled, turning my attention to the two bodies still leaking blood across the floor. There was a time when I would have thought it unfair that fate had dealt them each an early death, especially considering how they’d been trying to save my life. But those days were long gone and I felt only hunger as I looked upon those blank faces, their eyes staring into the abyss and their mouths slack with unspoken surprise. Twin holes gaped in their foreheads like a third eye, except this was no window to the soul but rather a bloody glimpse through the veil. And that glimpse promised only the emptiness of oblivion.

  “You should go, before the real police show up,” Will said.

  “When I’ve eaten. Never good to let deaths go to waste, and I need the energy. Prove to me you’re really my ally and keep watch till I’ve had my fill.”

  He scowled but walked out of the operating theatre, presumably to take up position in the reception area where he could intercept anyone who came in before I’d had chance to run. My ears detected sirens approaching but they were some way off yet. Satisfied I was in no immediate danger, I knelt beside the two corpses and eyed up their clothes. The uniforms looked to be unisex and clean enough for my needs. Some blood had started to soak into the top of their shirts, but I didn’t think it’d be too obvious to anyone driving past on the walk back to Selina and the vampires. And it went without saying that I’d attract far less attention wearing the uniforms than I would naked and covered in blood. The only other option was to return to wolf form, but I didn’t really feel like changing again so soon.
r />   I fumbled with the buttons of the nurse’s top, fingers clumsy and out of practice. Buttoning and unbuttoning a shirt had once been second nature, but I’d grown so out of touch with the human world that it proved a much greater challenge than it should have. My claws weren’t really helping either. Despite the care I took not to rip the fabric to shreds, a small tear appeared towards the bottom.

  Her trousers slid off much easier. I placed the clothes to one side, where they weren’t likely to get any more stained. Then I lowered my face to her corpse, breathing in the scent of the fresh kill as I bit into her abdomen. Blood oozed between my lips and spilled across my chin, rich and flavoursome to my lupine palate.

  My fangs made short work of her belly and the tastier organs within. I gulped down her heart and moved on to her arms and legs, ripping off chunks of meat like there was no tomorrow. There was ample enough to turn the rumbling in my stomach from hungry demands to contented purrs, and when I rose to my feet I felt like I wouldn’t need to eat again for several days, I was that full.

  I washed down the blood and flesh with tap water from the sink, cleaning my face and hands as best I could before pulling on the dead woman’s clothes. Both wore decidedly feminine shoes but I decided to don a pair of their socks as well, thinking it would at least make it less obvious I had no shoes of my own than being completely barefoot. It should be enough to fool anyone glancing at me from a car window at least, and I hoped there’d be few pedestrians about in so rural an area. Finding my way back to the others was going to be easiest following the road I reckoned, and it would be quicker going if I could just walk normally instead of having to worry about creeping through whatever cover the roadside had to offer.

  The sirens were getting closer. Will came running back into the room, gun in his hand.

  “Time to go,” he said.

  “I’m going,” I growled. I briefly considered asking him if he could point me in the right direction to the old abbey, but my suspicions stayed my tongue. If he decided the truce was over, I didn’t want him knowing the whereabouts of my friends, especially while it was daylight and the vampires were helpless. “How will I find you again, if we do choose to join forces?”

  “I’ll find you. Go!”

  I nodded to him and punched a hole in the window. Glass teeth tore at my skin, but I ignored the stinging and struck it again and again, until there was a wide enough gap for me to jump through, out into the carpark. The road stretched long and winding in both directions, with no other buildings visible in either direction. But I could hear the sound of people going about their daily lives somewhere relatively close, and it was from there I guessed the police were coming.

  I stood listening for a moment, scenting the air and trying to get my bearings. Had the couple who’d picked me up driven through that nearby village on the way to the vets? I’d been so out of it, I’d not really taken any note of anything happening beyond the boot of the car. I didn’t remember any of the conversation between the couple or hearing them refer to any places by name, so road signs weren’t going to help me. Heading away from the sirens was probably my best bet and I’d just have to hope it was the right direction for getting back to the scene of my accident. From there I should be able to find my way to the others easily enough.

  The irritating cry of the real police cars grew louder still, near enough drowning out everything else. I broke into a run, ignoring the urge to drop to all fours. My two human legs felt slower than my four lupine ones, but at least I was moving considerably faster than I’d been with the bullet wound. Soon the sirens were no more than a background annoyance and the vets had disappeared from sight.

  A crossroads brought me to another stop. Cursing, I tried again to detect any hints as to which way I should be travelling. Still there was nothing for any of my senses to pick up. I’d hoped the road would just continue straight on through the countryside, so I could follow it back to where I’d been run over. I should have known I wouldn’t get that lucky. How the hell was I supposed to find Selina now?

  “Maybe if I just keep going straight, and if nothing starts to look familiar after a few miles I’ll turn back and try one of the other roads. I can’t have been in the car that long,” I muttered to myself.

  I’m not sure how many miles I actually jogged before I was forced to accept I hadn’t picked the right road, but it felt like a dozen or more. The sun had climbed high overhead when I started to turn back, so I guessed it was already around noon. That meant I had what, maybe seven or eight hours left before nightfall? With my supernatural speed and stamina I was confident I could find my way back by then, but there was just enough doubt to make me consider what would happen if I didn’t. Would my friends find me? Or would my enemies find me first, in wolf form once more and called back to the hunt? For the moon was still full enough to force the transformation, I could feel it, and even with my hard-won self-control, I would still be fighting the urge to hunt the humans I would always crave. And for the Slayers, that presented the perfect opportunity to set another trap.

  At least they weren’t back on my trail that morning, or should that be afternoon? I hadn’t encountered anyone yet, Slayer or otherwise, and I wondered if that was partly down to Will keeping them busy elsewhere. But could we trust him? I didn’t really want to fight alongside the man who had almost killed me, yet I found I couldn’t just dismiss his offer to team up and take down the demon, not when my family might be in danger. Leaving them a second time had in no way diminished the bonds of blood and the love I still bear for them to this day, and I couldn’t simply walk away from a potential threat to their safety.

  My thoughts turned to the demon as I walked. We’d only survived the last time we’d gone up against the thing because it had let us go, and if two powerful vampires couldn’t stop it, what chance did a werewolf and a human have? Just thinking about doing battle with it seemed like madness, yet think about it I did.

  I found myself at the crossroads again. The countryside seemed to have melted away on the walk back, until there was only the walls of the dungeon we’d been trapped in and that dread thing. The memory of its eyes had followed me the entire way, and for a moment it seemed those eyes were really watching me in the here and now. With a jolt, I looked across into the sinister red glow. A mouth filled with snake’s teeth hissed words of malice and promises of pain, the creature rearing up in my imagination and preparing to strike. Then my brain registered what I was actually seeing and I recognised the twin red lights as Varin’s gaze.

  The barghest was a welcome sight. He’d led me to Selina when we’d been in the dungeon and it seemed he had come to show me the way once again, turning away and padding down the road the moment he was sure I was following. It was as well I had his guidance. The walk back to the abbey ruins wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped, and I doubted I’d have found my way alone. Not before dusk, at any rate.

  Selina seemed to be waiting for me when we reached the ruins, utterly confident in her familiar’s ability to find and lead me back to her. She looked happy to see me in one piece, though I couldn’t really say I felt the same.

  “Nick, thank God you’re okay! I would have come myself but I knew Varin would find you quicker than I could.”

  “And where were you when I got hit? Where were you when I lay there, bleeding out and fighting just to stay awake? How come you let the humans take me away?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and it seemed genuine, her face filled with regret. “It all happened so fast. By the time I realised what was going on, the couple were already arguing about what to do with you and the farmer was on his way back out of the house.”

  “Not good enough,” I growled, pulling off the stolen shirt. I’d grown much more comfortable in my natural skin than an artificial one. “What if they’d been Slayers? What if the vets they’d taken me to had been full of Slayers? I’d be dead now.”

  She couldn’t hold my gaze, her eyes shifting to the floor. “I’m sorry. If the
farmer hadn’t reappeared, I’d have told them you were my pet dog and insisted they take us both to the vets, but he did and there wasn’t much more I could do. He was already suspicious and I didn’t want to risk him recognising you as a wolf. Luckily he was as anxious to see the back of me as I was to leave, or I might have been held up longer. I sent Varin as soon as I could, but I needed to get back to Lady Sarah and Zee first so they weren’t left completely unguarded.”

  I studied her features for a moment but could see nothing that might hint at an ulterior motive or any ill will. “I suppose you did risk your life to save Amy so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. But it’s hard to be trusting when I still don’t know much about you.”

  She met my gaze again, and I felt like there was more honesty in that pretty face than all of the undead put together. “I understand. It’s not surprising after all you’ve been through.”

  “Then maybe we should use this time to get to know each other a little better, before the vampires rise.”

  “We really ought to rest while we have the chance, but I suppose we can chat for a little first. What do you want to know?”

  “How about you start with how you became a witch?”

  “Okay. How much has Sarah told you about our human life?”

  “Not a lot. She gave me the story of how she was turned and I remember her saying she became queen and ruled over her kingdom for a time, before she was forced to fake her death and move on. She never mentioned she had a sister though.”

  Selina gave a rueful smile. “We never saw eye to eye back then, but she’s still my sister and I’ll always love her.” Her gaze slid to the darkened chamber and her smile slipped, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Losing my parents was devastating as I’m sure you can imagine, and then I lost Sarah as well and suddenly everyone was looking at me to take over as ruler. I was still young when it happened – we might look roughly the same age now but our parents had me when they were much older, and there’s more years between us than you’d realise.