Enchanting Wilder (9 page)

“That scared the shit out of me,” I breathe. “I don’t know what to think of it. If you were there, that can only mean something bad might happen.”

McKenna crosses one of her arms over her stomach. “It scared me, too. And I genuinely don’t know what I was supposed to warn you of. I think your path is leading you to this demon.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, my eyes squinting. “How do I stay away from it?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Everything is about good and evil, right? Make good choices and don’t let the evil in. Honestly, I’m just as confused as you are.”

I was afraid of that. She’s a witch, not psychic.

Pointing my thumb over my shoulder, I say, “I better get going.”

McKenna, her honey eyes so kind, smiles one more time. “Be well, Declan.” Tilting her head, she once again grabs hold of my arm with her hand.

I look down to where we’re connected and then search her eyes. Cheeks fully blushed crimson red, I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. Her mind must finally click because she releases me and rubs her hand as if she’s feeling the same sort of current I’m feeling in my arm. “You too, McKenna.”

I turn and continue my way down the stairs.

She stands on the porch and waves when I pull my car away from the curb. As I look in my rearview mirror, I catch a glimpse of her as she steps out onto the lawn to watch me drive away. She casually tucks her hands in her jeans as she waits. Eventually, she’s just a tiny blip I can hardly decipher, and I turn the corner toward my hotel.

“Dude.” Wood looks up from his computer, taking the eraser of a pencil out of his mouth. “Where have you been? I’ve been stuck in this bedbug-infested rathole all day doing research.”

I slam the paint chipped door and remove my leather jacket, tossing it across the back of a chair. Looking around at the dull hideously patterned bedspread and the dismal sitting area, I’d say he’s right. A smile creeps on my face. “When is this job going to start paying?”

Wood levels his stare, sitting up straighter. He clears his throat, attempting his best dad voice. “In a world on the brink of extinction, we have to do what’s right, not what pays.”

I swat my hand. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Really, where were you? I text and called.”

Instead of looking him in the eye, because I know for a fact he’ll see I’m lying, I make my way to the bathroom. When I’m done, I heave my body on the bed and shut my eyes. I need a couple hours sleep.

“Dude.” Wood throws a pillow at my face. “What the hell?”

I turn to him and try hard not to look vulnerable. “I saw her.”

His eyebrows crinkle. “Who?”

“Her. The woman. The woman from my dreams. I saw her at the store and I confronted her.”

Wood raises his hand. “Wait. You saw her. As in you
saw
her
saw her? Like, you talked to her.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Obviously.

“Yep.”

“And? What happened?”

I huff and fold my arms across my chest. “And I made an ass of myself.”

He groans. “That’s not surprising. God, why is getting you to talk like pulling teeth? What happened? Did she freak out when you approached her?” He shakes his head. “Poor woman. She had no idea.”

“Yeah—well—about that, she isn’t just some random woman or an angel. You were right. She is a Strix.”

He stands, the shock in his reaction apparent. “What? An actual Strix? Holy shit, Declan. I was more likely to believe she was an angel.”

My mouth thins and I nod. An angel would have probably been easier to handle. “Pretty much, man.”

“Damn. So that’s it? Nothing else happened?”

My eyes narrow and I will the TV to turn on so I don’t have to let him in on everything that transpired. “More happened.”

I turn to him and he tilts his head with a look of annoyance on his face. “I swear if you scared that woman, I’m going to beat your ass myself. This whole fire a shot and ask questions later, is crap.”

“All right, all right, calm down.” I know I’m a hot head, he doesn’t need to bang me over the head with it. “It got a little heated, I’ll admit, but it’s fine now. I’m not going to see her again and she’s already warned me of the red-eyed demon. That’s it.”

Wood stares hard at me but doesn’t say anything more.

“What’s going on with the case?” I ask, changing gears. For as hectic as this morning was with McKenna, I need a little normal to balance it out.

Wood huffs. “Something’s terrorizing families here in town. I just don’t know what it is.”

“Details?”

“Scratching on the window. They see dark shadows at night. They claim to smell rotten eggs.”

“Demons?” I ask. It’s not uncommon to smell sulfur when they’re around. But lately, other monsters are getting smarter—they’re catching on to Pursuers’ methods. To try to lead us astray, they plant things out of the norm.

“Or vamps. They like to play those games.”

I check my watch. “Stakeout?”

Wood nods. “That’s probably a good idea.”

“We have a couple hours before sundown. I’m going to try and catch an hour of sleep. Wake me up when we have to leave.”

Wood begins tapping on his computer without a word and I fall into the darkness the moment my head hits the pillow.

“Maybe it’s nothing?” Wood says, as he removes his binoculars from his face.

I take another bite of my truck-stop burrito and shrug a shoulder. “I don’t know. The house looks too quiet. Did you see any movement before?”

“I saw them getting ready for bed. And they turned off the lights and went to bed about three hours ago.”

I’m not convinced. “Let’s go check it out.”

Wood stashes his things under the seat and we make our way to the house. Ringing the doorbell, we anxiously wait for someone to answer. After a few minutes no movement, I turn to Wood. “I’m going to go look around. Stay here. Don’t die.”

“Not funny, Declan.”

Hiding my smile, I pull out my flashlight from the inside of my jacket pocket and turn it on. Squinting my eyes, I search to find a window without blinds or at least sheer curtains, but come up short. Taking my chances, I flash my light into the window, hoping to see something.

It must be the master bedroom. Two sets of feet, a woman and a man, are lying in bed. Stepping closer to the window, I scan the room, my light panning over a dresser and a television mounted on the wall. Nothing seems suspicious. It’s not until I move my light to the other side of the room, near the top of the headboard of the bed, that I realize we stumbled upon someone truly gruesome. Shocked by the scene before me, I run to the front of the house for Wood.

“Wood. Blood. We have to get in there,” I urge, clicking my flashlight off.

Wood, quick to jump into action, breaks out his lock pick kit and bends down to open the door.

“Hurry up,” I tell him, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

He gruffs. “I’m trying.”

When the door swings open, we pull out our guns full of wooden bullets, turn on our flashlights and make our way into the house. I signal for Wood to take the guest bedrooms on the left while I take the master.

A wave of unpleasant sulfur odor smacks me in the face as I enter the bedroom and I try not to cough. My eyes sting.

Stepping lightly around the clothes on the carpet, my eyes find the couple in their bed, mouths open, throats ripped out. “Shit,” I mutter to myself, examining their wounds, taking note of the blatant savagery of it. “Wood!”

When he walks in, he slaps his arm around his nose and, simultaneously, his eyes go wide as he takes in the scene. “Vampires.”

“Looks like,” I agree.

“But what’s with the sulfur smell?”

I look at the couple, again. “I don’t know. Dad did say they were getting clever. Bastards. No kids, right?”

“None. The guest rooms were empty, too. No pictures of children, either.”

“Thank God for that.”

A crash from the living room stirs us and we briskly rush out of the bedroom, guns ready. We step into the hallway, the coast clear. Wood walks ahead of me toward the noise and a flash of something circles us. I catch a glimpse of it and shoot, but the bullet ricochets off the wall. The window to our right explodes as the vamp escapes.

“Dammit!” I yell, punching the air.

“There has to be a nest here in town.”

I blow air out of my nose and pull out my phone. “Let’s get out of there. I need to call this in.”

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“There’s been an accident,” I say, giving them the address.

“And who am I speaking to?” the operator asks as I pull the door to The Sting open.

“Yeah, my name is…” I hang up the phone before answering and slide in behind the wheel. “We have to find this nest before they hurt anyone else.”

“I know. We will. I’ll get to work on it.” He pulls out his laptop and starts clicking away.

My muscles rigid with anger and anxiety, I will myself to believe this is what we’re good at. And no matter what, we’ll find the bastards causing so much destruction.

“Why don’t you go out for a bit?” Wood suggests the next night.

My eyes have begun to cross, and I’m starting to feel like my brain might leak out of my ear. Thoughts of McKenna have been haunting my subconscious since I left her yesterday. It’s definitely not helping my ability to solve our vamp problem. Any time I allow myself to think about something other than the case, she creeps in. I’m beginning to think I’m losing it.

We’ve been researching all day and I don’t see a pattern anywhere that will lead us to the nest of vampires.

“I saw a pub down the street. Go get a drink and I’ll keep chipping away.”

I rub my eyes and yawn, wrestling with the idea. “I can stay here.”

“No,” Wood quips. “Go. I’m close to finding something. Just call me if you need anything.”

I get up from my place at the desk and pick up my jacket, shoving my phone in my front pocket. “Okay, thanks, brother. Want anything?” I don’t think I’ll be too long, and he’ll be up way past closing anyway.

He jots something down on his notebook. “A burger. Thanks.”