Blood Witch (3 page)

Leslie woke with a throbbing headache to the smell of breakfast. She had no memory
of how she got into bed. Looking around and down, she saw her arms. Not only was she
clean, but she had on her pajamas. Sleepy eyed and yawning, she made her way to the
communal kitchen, as they called it. She took a seat at the small table as Patrick
placed a plate full of breakfast food in front of her. She looked over at the clock,
2PM. Seemed about right. They had to be in the office around six thirty.

Collin dragged himself to the table, hitting his coffee cup before the food. “I would
have slept in, but damn, breakfast smells so good,” he said, eyeing the heap of food
on his plate.

Wereanimals had to eat more than their weight in food, since their metabolisms were
faster than Normals. Collin had got the most of the wolf side, which included the
super duper metabolism. His mom had been camping with some friends, when they were
attacked by a fresh rogue; Colleen had been cut up and raped. At the time, the Supervisors
had been just starting in the area, and they had no time to deal with the only survivor,
a werewolf. His grandmother, half-Indian, knew of the possible consequences. Colleen
had died in birth; Grandmother Ines named the baby Collin, after her, and raised the
boy. She never once hid what he was. She, Patrick and Leslie had accepted him for
what he was even if he or the other Opposites couldn’t.

Collin had natural brown hair he kept dyed black, and pale blue eyes. He stood as
tall as Leslie, and even in his all black clothes he looked small, but by his arms,
you would see that they were toned, and so was his chest. Leslie had seen him plenty
of times with his shirt off, and she could vouch that he was no scrawny little thing.
From his mother’s side he got the super were metabolism, speed, and wolf sight. From
his father’s side, he got the vampire disease which tainted his blood and slowed his
heart, the fangs without the venom sacks, and every so often the need for blood.

“Lab work should be in by the time we get in tonight,” Patrick said, between mouthfuls
of egg and bacon.

“So what do we know?” Leslie asked as she sipped her hot black tea.

“The rogue we found was not the killer, and he had been drawn to the blood. He wasn’t
there when Simms and his team checked out the house. I think whoever did it, took
their time, almost playing with them,” Collin said.

“That would explain why they blocked the windows,” Patrick said.

Leslie shivered, thinking of all the blood. “What could make the blood smell the way
it did?”

The two men looked at her. “We don’t know.”

“I have a theory,” Patrick said. “It is blood, but there was some other blood there.”

“Okay, what kind?” she said, getting back to the subject at hand.

He shrugged. “All we know about is that there were drugs, but what if it was some
kind of disease?” Patrick said.

Her gray eyes got large. “Are you saying that I could have been coated in blood with
a STD or something? Eww!”

“Don’t worry; you know we can’t catch human diseases anyway. Now, if it was an Opposite
disease...” Collin said.

“Let's not talk about this around the food,” Patrick said. His phone chirped, and
he answered, listening to it.

“Drugs,” Leslie whispered.

Collin nodded, his hair stood out in all directions from sleep. “Most likely.”

Patrick said a quick okay, and hung up. They looked at him. “Nathan is going to be
over in thirty minutes.”

“Crap,” Leslie got to her feet. “I need a shower.”

“So, what is up with you and my brother?” he asked then shoveled the rest of his food
in his mouth. He grabbed her plate to devour the rest of her food. She could never
finish the heap he put before her.

She paused before going into the hallway. “Nothing.”

“You two should just get it over with,” Collin said and Patrick nodded.

“You two should mind your own business.”

“But you are half our business,” Patrick said, taking the empty plates to the dishwasher.

“Or at least one-third our business,” Collin said as she disappeared from sight.

****

Finished with her shower and dressed, Leslie found Collin on the Supervisor’s database.
She slid a chair over next to him. He looked over the stats of recent vampire attacks.
She expected to see a rise over the year, but it wasn’t the case. Instead, the vampire
attacks have been reclining.

“I guess we are doing our job.”

“Could be, or maybe they are moving somewhere else. I heard the bigger cities are
being hit like crazy,” he replied.

Leslie tensed in her seat. She could feel Nathan before the others; she frowned wondering
why she could.

Collin eyes slid to her. “I take it Nathan is here?” A knock on the door sounded.
“Go get it,” he whispered.

“No,” she whispered back she tried hard to control her heartbeat, as butterflies tickled
her stomach. She felt nervous and excited all at the same time.

“I got it,” Patrick said as he came from the hallway out of his room, “wimp.” He gave
her a small smile.

Something on the screen caught her eye. “Look,” she said, pointing. “There was a scene
like the last two in Fresno over six months ago.”

“Hold on.” Collin brought up the case file. The info on it wasn’t much. He got up,
cell phone already in hand. “I’m calling the Fresno Branch.”

She nodded and slid into the computer chair reading the rest. Body parts; torn apart.
In that case, it had been only two bodies. Their first case had been three, but they
could identify the body parts, unlike last night. They could barely understand what
was what. She read about what she could on the toxicology test when she overheard
Patrick talking to Nathan.

“Leslie got a bit wild last night,” he said, making her turn away from the computer
screen.

“Everyone felt it,” Nathan said, giving her a small nod hello. She nodded back. “It
felt like the pull of the moon. Some of the younger ones changed in a rush.”

“Sorry, it was the blood. If I had let it do as it wanted, you all would have changed.”

He laughed, eyes narrowing. “You can’t do that, can you?”

She shrugged. “It wanted death and destruction.”

Her eyes went back to the screen as she shivered, thinking of the magic. “It wanted
mayhem, and it knew by changing all the wereanimals it could cause havoc.”

“You can’t really do that?” Nathan asked, and then looked at his brother. “Can she?”

“We don’t know. She can mostly control it. We have to carry a tranquilizer with us
at all time just in case—”

“Next subject,” she said, voice low, almost nervous and certainly feeling a little
ashamed.

“I actually wanted to know if you wanted to come over and help with some yardwork,”
Nathan asked Patrick. It was an understandable request; his yard was huge. “I would
throw in a barbequed steak.”

“I’m in,” he said.

“Me too,” she said, giving Patrick a knowing look. He gave her his best shut up look.

“In for what?” Collin asked, walking back into the room as he closed his phone.

“Nathan needs help with his yard, and Patrick said he would. So I thought I would
tag along.”

“Patrick doesn’t,” he looked at the two men and shut up.

Patrick shot them all a warning glance.

“Am I missing something?” Nathan asked.

“No,” they all said at once.

“I got a hold of someone in Fresno. They won’t let me have the file but said I can
come look at it. So I will see you guys tonight at the office.” Collin grabbed his
car keys from the entrance table beside the door. “You three be good now.

****

A good day’s work of physical labor helped get rid of thoughts of the nasty crime
scene. Leslie already tired of the hazard of being a Supervisor this job was her life,
and sometimes all she could do was think of the bad. They had done a lot in just a
few hours and now sat eating dinner, or rather lunch, on the ancient porch. The steak
was a bit bloodier then Leslie would have liked, but she was used to it since she
lived with two men who liked their meat rare.

“Let me refill your glass,” Nathan said, taking her cup and going inside his ancient,
four bedroom, Victorian house. It had been his family's when the werebears had claimed
the town back in the mid-1930s. The house was almost a historical landmark, and would
be if the family let it, but they were solitary creatures. The house was mostly surrounded
by a large, chain link fence covered thickly with ivy and some other climbing plants.

Patrick’s phone chirped. “Hello,” he said. He looked at Leslie and mouthed that he’d
be right back. She nodded, watching him walk away to get some privacy.

“Booty call?” Nathan said surprising her as he slid the cup in front of her, taking
his seat. She had to try not to stare at him and his impressive, massive chest, although
at one time earlier he had taken off his shirt as he mowed. She had thought her heart
would stop or she would have a stroke. She thought over her options; maybe the guys
were right. She was no prude when it came to sex, but she had only slept with one
wereanimal before, and it had been kinkier than anything she had ever experienced,
and there was blood, pain, dark magic.

She laughed, “Yeah,” but he really had no idea how right he was.

Nathan brushed her arm, and electricity ran through her at the slight touch. Their
eyes locked. “Could you really have made us change?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. My magic sure wanted it to happen.”

“How much do you know about what you are?”

She looked away, thinking back to her family.

She had once sat beside her great grandmother. “Who is that?” she asked pointing her
seven-year-old finger at a man who was standing away from the rest of the family in
the group. His eyes were different.

“He is my great uncle, on my father’s side. Rupert Grant,” she had said.

“He has dark eyes.” It was a black and white photo, but you could tell the difference
from his and everyone else’s.

“My Gran said they were always dark, and he was a very unhappy man.”

The sun had started to make its descent and the air was cooling down. The scent of
freshly cut grass almost overwhelmed her.

“I think there was someone with something, don’t know for sure, but a great-great-great
uncle who could have been either a blood witch or something more.”

“A bear?” He touched her again, this time intentionally. The electricity of the touch
brought a small gasp from both their lips. It didn’t hurt. No, it felt good, very
good. She placed her hand palm up on the table.

“I dunno. Let’s experiment.”

He placed his large hand on hers. The electricity that hit ran through her head to
toe, raising the hairs along their bodies. She knew her eyes had gone dark; she closed
them, focusing on the feeling. It excited her and scared her all at the same time.
She could tell by his breathing that it did the same for him. His hand moved over
her hand and gently slid up past her wrist until it stopped on the bend of her arm.
She could feel the lingering touch where his hand had been. The longer his hand touched
her, the more she wanted him to keep it moving, to touch her everywhere. She wanted
more, so much more.

“Look at me,” he said, his voice huskier than normal.

She looked into his greenish gold eyes; they were now more gold and bigger than normal.
“Your monster eyes are peeking out,” she whispered.

“What is this?” he asked.

Before she could say anything, Patrick came walking around the corner and Nathan pulled
his arm away, balling his hand into a giant fist. “Sorry to eat and run—” He stopped
looking from one to the other. Both were staring at each other. “Something happen?”

“No,” Leslie said, looking down at her arm on the table. Nathan’s touch lingered.
It almost felt like his hand was still there as her hand ran up it.

“We have to go; the dispatcher called, said there is a body at the morgue that might
rise as a vampire.”

“A turnee, we haven’t had one in a while. What about our other case?”

“I dunno, they want us on this one now.”

Nathan walked them to the door, gave his brother one of those manly half hugs, and
reached out to touch her, but stopped. “We should do this again,” he said, rubbing
his hands together.

“Sure, if you’re offering to cook, we’re here,” Patrick said.

“Be careful.”

“Always,” Leslie and Patrick said at the same time.

“I’m glad you and Nathan are getting along. I know he wasn’t very happy about me working
or living with a blood witch. You guys are the equivalent of the bogeyman to the werechildren.”
He swiveled toward her in the chair. They sat on two, old, wheeled stools. Bored,
they were twisting and turning on them, waiting for the new vampire to rise. Sometimes
they didn’t at all. If the other vampire had been weak, the body would just die.

“Sheesh, thanks for sharing. I already feel bad about what I am, but I get reminded
daily on what a monster I am. So maybe I get a bit wild once in a while. It’s not
like I go all furry once a month and crave fresh meat.” She sat in her swivel chair,
arms crossed, pouting. Earlier they had raced around the room. Now they were just
bored, after getting caught making gloved balloon animals.

“Les, you know I don’t mean anything by it. I was just telling you.”

“Sure,” she said, making a paper airplane with a discarded piece of paper she had
found on the counter. She finished and let it glide. It dropped near the door, crumpling
on the floor. The mortuary assistant walked in, followed by two men who looked at
each other, startled. Leslie felt her chest lurch as her eyes fixed upon the shortest
of the men.

“I’m sorry, I must have gotten the rooms mixed up,” the assistant said to the two
men.

“Leslie,” Rich said, trying not to sound as surprised as his brown eyes were letting
on. She noticed his dark brown hair not only had some gray, but was also thinning.
He pushed his glasses up on his nose, a sign of nervousness, his weakness in the wereworld.
Jonathan hated when Richard showed his nervousness around the wolves. He was seen
scolding the witch every so often about it like he was a naughty child.

She said nothing as the assistant led them away. The door closed. “Well, that was
awkward,” Patrick said as Leslie got to her feet and went to the body.

“Patrick, why hasn’t the vampire risen yet?” She grabbed the sheet covering the body
and pulled it off. “I’m sure it would have already.”

Patrick came to stand beside her and they looked over the body. “It’s rather old to
be vampire bait, don’t you think?”

“Where are the vampire bites?” She moved the head looking at the neck. She then pulled
the sheet fully off the body, scanning every inch of the body.

Everyone turned their attention to the door when a scream erupted in the hall. They
pulled out their guns as they ran from the room. They had gotten to the next room
where all the commotion was coming from. The assistant, Rich and the other man where
all standing at the door. The assistant was screaming loud and girly, and Leslie wondered
how a big man like him could scream such a horror queen scream.

They looked in the room. A body lay torn to shreds on the floor, not much blood. New
vampires were very hungry, and usually killed anything in sight for the first night.

“We are underground, so Le—” Before he could finish, a ward sprang around the building.
He looked at her, and she motioned to Rich with a small twitch of her head and mouthed,
show off
.

“Need any help?” Rich asked as they came out of the room.

“No, this is our job,” Patrick said.

“I have a plan,” Leslie said.

“What?” he asked and saw her pull out a small knife. “No.” Knowing what was on her
mind, and after the night before, he didn’t want to risk her going all scary again.

“It's okay, and it might save the rest of the people here.”

Collin ran down the hall, gun in hand. “I almost didn’t make it through as the ward
came crashing around. What the fuck is going on?”

“The assistant got the rooms mixed up,” Patrick said as Leslie placed the blade against
the palm of her hand. She moved it down, her lips pinched in pain as the silver blade
slid easily into her flesh. The blood welled up fast. She rubbed the blade on her
jeans before putting it away, and walked to the middle of the hall, hand out in front
of her bleeding. She made a loose fist, and watched as the blood made a small puddle
on the very white, clean floor.

She reached for her magic. Closing her eyes, she chanted. “Blood calls to those who
want it.” Usually magic had very impressive sayings and words, but she thought it
was overkill. She just went for what she thought sounded good to her. Besides, it
worked easier than some of those sayings and words that Rich had tried to teach her.

She could feel it, as it came toward her. Its pure animal need. It busted through
the door at the end of the hall. The creature stopped, naked. Its skin still had a
human shade to it like most of the new dead. It was obviously female. One perfect
breast hung from its chest. The other had been eaten half away. Probably by the vampire
who had attacked her, and the carpet definitely matched the drapes.

Collin and Patrick stood against the walls across from each other, guns out and ready.
The vampire watched as another drop of Leslie’s blood fell in the small pool at her
feet. It growled something very inhuman, from a once pretty woman. It sat in a crouching
position before springing into an ape run, using its arms. Leslie had no fear; she
had two of her best men watching her. Before the creature could spring at her, two
shots echoed through the room. One bullet ripped through the thing’s heart, the other
hit the head.

Collin went over to the body with his long, silver blade. “Oh let me,” a thick Spanish
voice interrupted. It came from the tall man who had been with Rich.

“This is Fredrico, Jonathan’s new second.”

“We didn’t hear about a change in the wolves,” Patrick said.

Rich gave a curt smile. “It probably got lost in all that paperwork that you guys
have in your office.”

“We will be letting the office know about this.”

“Well, Freddy, you’re from Mexico?” Leslie watched as the new wolf carved through
the vampire’s neck easily, as if he had done it before.

He stood gracefully, his hand holding out what was left of the decapitated head. “Fredrico,
please.” He picked up the head by the hair. “No, I come from San Diego.” He stood
about six-feet towering over poor Rich who stood at five-five. She and Collin both
stood at five-ten, so it didn’t feel much like he was towering over them. He was slender,
with long arms and legs. His black hair was cut short in a very professional way;
his chestnut eyes watched her every move, studying her.

“In here,” Collin said opening the bio-bag he pulled from his pocket.

“Such a pity he lost you,” Fredrico said as he released the hair, dropping the head
in the bag, and walked close to her, pausing. “Nina, your power sings to me. Hasta
luego, I will be seeing you later.”

They all watched Rich and him leave. “Dude, he was so coming on to you,” Patrick said,
nudging her with his elbow.

“Wolves are all the same.” Collin rolled his eyes, “Bunch of dogs.”

They stared at each other, nodding before bursting out in laughter. Leslie laughed
hard enough to echo through the quiet hall. “I love you guys,” she said, tears in
her eyes. “You guys are like a bunch of girls.”

The morgue techs and others just stared at them. “Sorry,” Patrick was saying to them
as he walked off to fill out papers.

Leslie shook her head and thanked the stars for the morgue and hospitals knowing enough
of the Opposite Side. It made it easy so when they noticed something odd, the Supervisors
were the first to be called.

Their phones received a text message. “Dispatch,” Collin said, already on his cell
phone. They had dubbed him the phone guy. Both Patrick and Leslie weren’t very friendly
with dispatch. And dispatch wasn’t very friendly to people who weren’t friendly to
them.

He got off the phone and gave them a baffled look. “Dispatch says we have an appointment,
and they are waiting in our office.” Really it was Patrick’s office, since he was
the only one who kept everything clean and organized.

“Did anyone know of an appointment?” Leslie asked. They both shook their heads.