Marcus: A Black Lily Club Story (11 page)

Chapter 20

“Marcus, Jasmine isn’t at her house.” Sam’s voice rouses me out of my sulking.

“What do you mean she isn’t at her house?”

“Well I went over to check on her and I can’t get any answer at her door. There isn’t any trace of a heartbeat in there either.”

“Shit, Sam. Do you think she ran?” I stare out the window into the starless night. Jasmine wouldn’t take off like that, or would she?

The elevator door dings open and Jake steps into the room. I turn to him, rage pouring off his body in waves.

“Jake what is it?”

“Marcus, we have a problem. The limo driver was found out in the alley unconscious tonight. The limo is still missing. It was the driver who was supposed to take Jasmine home.”

Fear and rage vie for dominance in my soul. The suite takes on a red haze, as anger wins the battle. The sound in heightens as my beast takes full reign of my system.

I turn to Sam. Her eyes glow red with her own rage.

“Gather the others, we are going hunting for my bride.” The sound of my voice echo’s unnaturally as the beast speaks.

“Jake, gather the pack. Call Anthony, everyone is going on this hunt,” Sam growls.

Jake exits the room, to gather the shifters. Sam heads down to gather the remaining vampires in the club. Tonight we hunt for blood and love.

We look like an army heading to war. I guess we are, in a way. Thomas is here, if we find Mia. He is going to try to save her. I’m going to rip my way through bodies, not stopping until I find my love. I’ve waited to long for her to slip away now, by the hands of a hunter. Allya has come, to help. She has grown fond of Jasmine in the short time she has been here. The pack is ready we are starting the search at Jasmine’s house.

I smell the lingering scent of a man outside her windows. Someone has been here watching her.

“Sam, someone has been in the bushes. I am going around back. Get the shifters over here to see if they can single out a fresh trail.” Not waiting to see if Sam does what I ask, I head to the back. The flowers out here have been trampled down too. Someone has been here frequently.

“Marcus!” Sam yells around the house.

I swoop to her side. “What is it Sam?”

“There’s a male scent mixed with Jasmine’s down by the rode and fresh tracks from a car heading out of town. We aren’t sure we can track the car once the scent mixes with the others on the road.”

“Damn it Sam! We have to find her.”

“If the same people that took her have Mia, we need to go back to the dock and see if we can pick up that trail.”

That’s what I love about Sam. Even in the middle of a crisis her mind functions like a master hunter.

“Gather everyone up then, let’s head to the docks.”

Thomas picks up Mia’s scent as soon as we get to the shore. “She was taken from here. The scent of her blood still stains the grounds.” The pain of loss etched clearly in his eyes.

“Can you follow it?”

“I can Marcus, hopefully we are not too late.” Thomas shifts into his wolf and sprints off into the direction of the woods.

The rest of us follow him quickly through the streets of town, nothing more than blurs to the humans mingling on the streets.

Thomas tracks as far as the edge of the woods near the back edge of the wolf retreat. A shiver races up my spine, this close to our haven. Anthony’s eyes bore in to me, his anger palpable in the night air. This is his home, his land, and it has been infiltrated.

“I can’t believe they have been under my fucking nose so long.” Anthony stalks along the edge scenting the air.

“Anthony, I live on this land too and yet I had no idea either.” I walk into the edge of the tree line, straining to hear any sounds not of the night. I don’t understand how Mia’s scent could just leave off at the edge of the woods. There isn’t a road here that any of us know of.

“Thomas, are you sure you can’t scent anything further?” The air around him cracks and pops. The human Thomas stands before me.

“It’s strange she just disappears right here. Not even a trace left.”

“Can you smell any humans or anything out of the ordinary?” I scent the air and smell the faintest trace of diesel fuel.

“I smell fuel and oil.” His eyes glint and he shifts to wolf, taking off into the woods.

“Anthony, it’s time for the hunt.” I take to the air sensing Sam beside me. The other vamps fall in line behind us.

On the ground below the shifters take to the woods. The call of their animals ringing throughout the silent night. The cool night air whispers in my ears, songs of lost souls. The hunt tonight, important to our entire community. Not only for the return of my love, but in the hopes that Mia can be saved or find peace. The scent of Jasmine rakes across my senses. My body tumbles out of the night sky.

“Marcus, what they hell?” Sam lands beside me, pulling me to my feet.

“Do you smell that? Jasmine is around here.”

“I smell her, Marcus stay here wait for the shifters. We need a plan.” Sam yanked my arm stopping me from heading in the direction of the scent.

“Damn it Sam.”

“Damn it nothing. Marcus you will do this right. I know you love her, but no sense in getting us all killed.”

Thomas breaks into the clearing first. His hackles raised, lips curled back in a snarl. The air sizzles, he walks over to me human once again.

“We need a plan?”

“So Sam tells me.”

Anthony leads the rest of the shifters into the clearing. The crack and pop of the air, sounds like a firing squad, as everyone shifts back to human. We huddle around an area assigning signals and forest area to cover now that we have a fresh scent to follow. Anthony, Sam, Thomas and I team up to head to the West side. Michael, Allya, and Jake head for the North end. Jenny, a female wolf shifter, takes a group of shifters and young vamps back towards the South, to check for Mia’s scent. Micah, the young vamp Sam had taken on in the club, take Steve and his friends to the Eastern quarter. With or without the girls we all agree to meet back at my house an hour before sunrise.

“Let’s go people. I’m tired of waiting. I need to find her.” I stalk off into the woods, Sam and Thomas right behind me.

The scent of stale blood and death assault my senses as we head deeper into the woods. The moon hides behind the clouds, afraid to look upon the death that will come tonight. The nocturnal animals have taken to hiding. The hunt is on, even the predators of nature hide in the wake of the supernatural beings.

The screams of torture rake across my skin, sending shivers in their wake. The wails of agony echo through the night, bouncing off the trees and reverberating into my soul. We stalk the edge of the clearing, spying the run down shack. The screams are coming from the barn out back. There are two distinct sounds of terror coming from the barn.

Jake and his group slip in behind us. “ We will circle around the back. I will signal you when we are in position.”

“We will wait for you, signal the others, I want no hunter left alive.” I turn my back on him, concentrating on the piercing cries from the barn.

Chapter 21

The cloying scent of decay and stale blood wafts through the dusky dank air. James leads me into the barn, slivers of moonlight wink through the slatted roof. The rotted wood creaks and groans. The banshee wails and agonizing screams, slithers along my spine. My legs frozen in terror, shuffling along as James drags me in to see.

“Look at the monsters you hang around with at that club.” James jerks my face to stare into the corner of the barn.

Chained to the wall, a petite form cowers in the corner. Her dress, filthy and ragged. The once white material now streaked with grime, her hair matted in tangles.

“James what they hell, you are torturing women in here?” I jerk from him, trying to get the women in the corner.

She levels glowing eyes on me, lit with the fires of hell. She snarls, revealing yellowed fangs, dripping with saliva. Her ashen skin peeling from her face, congealed blood dripping from her chin. The woman lunges at me, faster than I can register with my eyes. I fall banging my head into the hard floor of the barn. The stars swim in my vision. The sounds of hissing and screeching ringing in my ears. I shuffle backwards on my ass, towards the doorway. The petite frame in the corner, yanking against a silver collar around her neck. The smell of burning flesh bombards my senses, turning I heave, spewing forth the soup from dinner. My body wracked with tremors, the violent shudders seize my soul as the vile stench surrounds me.

“James what did you do?” I crawl towards he door.

“I didn’t do this.” He waves a hand at the creature in the corner. “It is a monster, I am only showing you what they hide from you.”

He picks up a dead rat, flinging it at the woman in the corner. She snatches it out of the air, ripping chunks of flesh and hair out of it, sinking fangs into it consuming the dead flesh. Her growls of rage, elicit shivers in my bones. Her eyes bore into me, licking her lips. She sways back and forth, a mesmerizing cadence.

“Come here my little one.” Her tongue darts out catching the dribble of old blood running across her lips. “You smell so sweet, your fear a tantalizing bouquet.” Her voice a sweet melody, draws me towards her.

“Jasmine, what they hell.” James jerks me back against him.

“What?” I turn to him.

“Why would you walk over there like that?”

“I wasn’t, what are you talking about?”

“You were just staring at her, then you were walking towards her. Hell I yelled at you three times, but you wouldn’t answer.”

“She was talking to me, didn’t you hear her?”

“She has never talked Jasmine. She is a monster. Watch.” James walks towards the stall on the right. He returns with a handful of items I can’t discern.

The hiss and growl from the woman in the corner draw my attention to her. No longer worrying about what James is doing, I study her. Her once long dark hair matted to her head, the scalp showing in places where it has been ripped out. Her body covered in open seeping sores. Her nails long and sharp like claws of a bear. She stares at James, pacing back and forth on the end of the chain.

James flicks his wrist, something glints in the peeking moonlight. The woman recoils, screeching and holding her shoulder. Blood oozes across the tainted shift, her eyes blaze red. The wail of despair breaks from her lips, raising the hairs on my neck.

“James stop! You’re hurting her.” I jerk the remaining sliver spikes from his hands.

“What is wrong with you? It is a fucking monster, it will devour you while you sleep. Yet you want to protect it.” He strides towards me, pushing me into the wall. James grabs my arms, pinning me to the worn wood. “ These are not humans. They have no feelings. These creatures are killing machines, we need to know their weaknesses.”

“I still think it’s cruel. You are torturing her.” I jerk from his grasp, heading back to the edge of the chain length.

I kneel down, out of reach of the woman in the chains. She peers at me, her head turning from side to side in confusion.

“Do you have a name?”

She claws at the skin on her arms, leaving rakes of bloody welts. She yanks at her hair, pulling clumps of it from the roots. Her voice, shrill as she screams in frustration. She rakes her nails along her face, peeling the ashen skin away in slivers. I reach for her hand to stop her. She grabs me and pulls me into the circle. Her arms encircle my throat as my feet kick uselessly on the floor. She pulls me into the corner, her vile breath bathing across my cheek. The sticky drool of her saliva rolling down my neck and into my shirt. She licks at my neck, my pulse hammering in my head. My life flashes before my eyes, as stinging fangs plunge into my neck. The first pull of her mouth burns fire through my veins, my only thought, is death.

For a moment the screams that envelope my ears, I believe belong to me. My body is ripped from the grips of the woman and strong, warm arms surround me. My body relaxes into the safe feeling poured into it, a warm tongue trails over the burning pain in my neck. My eyes flutter open to stare into the whiskey glowing gaze of Marcus.

“Jasmine, are you okay?” He strokes a hand through my hair.

“I’m fine.” I struggle from his grasp, backing into the corner away from him and the monster on the chain.

My eyes flit around the barn seeking a way out. A growl of rage bubbles out of Marcus’s mouth as James throws a silver spike into his shoulder. I cower back, watching the ensuing battle unfold. Sam is dangling Larry by the neck, blood pouring from where his arm should have been. His eyes glazed over with shock, she sinks her fangs into his neck, as a scream gurgles from his throat. A wolf burst into the barn, running to the woman in the corner. It pulls her chains loose and drags her out of the barn. Marcus has James by the throat, the empty look in his eyes, stokes a shiver of fear up my spine. I turn and run out of the barn, leaving the monsters and the hunters behind. The echoing screams chase, me into he night. I run. The forest swallows me, refusing me safe passage. The branches reach for me tearing at my skin, raising welts of blood. The branches behind me snap and crack. Someone is coming, they aren’t going to let me go. I’ve seen too much. Arms wrap around my waist, halting my escape. Screaming, I kick and jerk, trying to free my body.

“Jasmine.” The arms around me loosen and Sam turns me to face her.

“S...Sam?” I back away from her. She looks just like the same I knew. No glowing eyes, no long sharp fangs, but I’m so confused.

I drop to my knees, sinking into the muddy dank ground. The tears pour freely from my eyes. The sobs wrack shudders in my body. My stomach turns as the vile memories of death and blood, swamp my senses. The visions invade my mind, and I lose my grip on reality. Screaming and sobbing, I pound my fists in the ground.

“I just want to go home.” I look up at Sam, her own eyes glisten with tears. She nods her head and picks me up. The last thing I see are the tops of the trees as we head over them, then my mind gives out and the world goes black.