Free Stalking Darkness by J.L. Oiler Page A

driving the man off course as the animal
ripped at the arm holding the makeshift weapon.   The surprise intervention caused the vampires
full attention to shift away from her and onto the need to escape the angry canine,
providing Raven time to emerge from somewhere unknown and empty a dozen rounds
of hot lead into the vampire’s head. She watched as his body twitched before combusting
and he fading into ash just as Julie moments earlier.
    ****
    Raven felt
a sense of relief, seeing Cadence standing overtop the dead body of a female
vamp, and the fact Phynix served as her backup was a bonus. He would definitely
credit both of them with eliminating members of this clan, even though he’d
assisted some in regards to the large male. Walking over, he gave her a grin of
approval and rewarded Phynix with a well-earned scratch behind his ears.
    “What
do you say we go find the rest of the guys and get the hell out of here?” Raven
said , wrapping an arm about her shoulder as the two of
them walked toward the rear of the building where he’d last seen Gavin and
Hugh. The building was pretty well vacant by now, with the exception of the
debris left behind in the mad rush to escape. No doubt, the building owner
would have the cops crawling all over this place and the campus once he or she
discovered the damage.
    A quick
glance at the woman walking at his side made him smile. She’d done very well
tonight, regardless of the fact she’d been forced to take down the girl who’d
she previously considered her friend. It was never an easy thing to eliminate
someone you’d cared about. He should know. It was close to three years to the
date since he himself ended the man he’d called brother his entire life. Still,
Cadence gave him confidence that they were all on the right path and their
lives, though changed, still held value in this world.
    Near
the back garage doors, one of which hung rather precariously from its mounts,
sitting on a large overturned speaker, they found Hugh, a nasty cut on his
forehead and pulling on his clothing. He must have changed into his beast,
Raven decided as the man nodded to the pair and continued to button his shirt.
    Gavin
and Drake stepped under the half open garage door, both looking a little tired
and dirty but no worse for wear. The pair obviously chased the fleeing vampires
as far as possible, hoping to ensure none escaped.
    “Two
underlings and Nigel managed to slip away with the crowd,” Gavin said as though
he’d picked up on his thoughts.
    It was
disappointing to think they failed to wipeout this entire rogue group, however
tonight was the closest they’d been to success in that endeavor since starting
this particular mission well over a year earlier. Raven knew they would find
those who’d escaped and send them to join the ash that now danced in the air
around them. Raven could see the image in his mind, a hazy dream of events yet
to play out.
    “So is
everyone alright?” Gavin asked, his voice scattering the images away like fog
dissipating with the morning sun.
    ****
    Cadence
heard him speak the words as though they’d been meant for the entire unit,
however his eyes focused solely on her, and she smiled and nodded in response.
    “Nothing a hot shower cannot cure,” she added as once again she
attempted to get some of the now dry blood from her hands.
    “You
can grab one while we pack up and Raven tries to get a beat on which direction
our friends fled in,” the grinning team leader said, his sudden cheeriness
making her think he might have plans on joining her. “Let’s get out of here
before we stuck answering questions in some little police station.”
    “I’ll
go grab the vehicle and meet you all in three minutes,” Hugh said. He jumped to
his feet and darted out the door.
    Once
the entire group was back safe in the SUV, headed for the house, Cadence
reflected on what she’d just witnessed and done. Julie being part of the group
stalking the college campuses was