Red Hood: The Hunt (17 page)

There was a knock at the door and I heard Prue's frightened voice calling out, “Daria are you ok?  I heard screaming.”  I hopped out of bed onto all fours and stretched, I sighed at the fact that it felt good, damn good, then trotted to the door as Mari covered up on the bed.  I looked at the doorknob then my paws. 
Fucking thumb problem again!
  I scratched lightly at the door and Prue opened it.

Her eyes went wide at the sight of me and she lowered her eyes in submission.  I growled at that and she looked back up hesitantly.  Fucking Marcus had done a number on her.  I seethed with renewed hate for the man.  I snuffled my muzzle under her hand and I could smell her fear receding.

She squatted in front of me and asked, “Daria?”  I nodded and shrugged.  She smiled then and started scratching my ears. 
Good lord, that actually feels good.
  She said under her breath, “You're beautiful.  Can you change back and forth whenever you want?”

I whined in answer and Red said from behind me, “She is bound to the lunar cycle, only it seems to be in reverse.  Her amazing wolf owns the day, and most likely the nights not commanded by the full moon.”

Prue looked to be tearing up again.  I almost thought that she seemed awfully emotional but realized I could even smell it, she still had the hormones of a teenager raging in her body.  I smiled internally, at least now she can finally grow up now that her curse is broken.

I looked back at Mari, who was looking at me with love in her eyes.  She seemed to know what was going through my head as she voiced my thoughts, “But mark my words.  It is only temporary until we can hunt down the other brothers Marcus and free us all from the lupus curse forever.”  I chuffed in agreement.

Prue looked at us then her eyes narrowed for a second then shot wide.  “Are you two...”

Red finished for her. “Mated.  Oh yes.”  She had a dreamy look on her face.  “I made her my...”  I pulled my teeth back to bare my fangs and growled, daring her to say 'bitch.'  She giggled and I rolled my eyes and chuffed in amusement.

Prue leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my neck for a quick hug, then stood.  “When are your men coming?  Most of the pack left last night when they couldn't get into the lodge.  But there are still some stragglers out there who were loyal to Slater, they have weapons.”

Mari was up and getting dressed, she didn't have any modesty as she let the blanket drop.  Then I realized it wouldn't be anything shocking to Prue, she lived with and as the wolves for years.  With a predatory smile Mari said, “We have weapons too.”  I curled my lips too as she added, “We'll just have to make sure that the officers coming have a safe place to arrive then.”

Prue looked at me and asked her, “What... what do we tell them about Daria.”

I growled and whimpered but my girl came to the same conclusion as I had as she said, “Daria died here on the mountain with the mayor, and her partner, Detective O'Neil.  We saw her being pulled off into the woods by wolves that first night.  Otherwise, they will take her and dissect her, trying to find out what makes her tick.”

I nodded and chuffed in agreement.  Then Mari said, “We can't call her Daria, at least around here, it would raise too many questions.  So this beautiful 'dog' here...”  She indicated me with her eyes. “Is my half Irish Wolfhound, half tundra timber wolf...”  Her lips quirked up into that deliciously crooked half smile as she finished, “...Fluffy.”

I snarled and growled at her, snapping my fangs. 
No way, I call bullshit!  She better not call me Fluffy or I'll pee on her shoes!  Hey why are the two evil women laughing?  For fuck's sake!

She was done gearing up with her red cloak on and she started out the door. “Come along 'Fluffy', we have a mining compound to secure.”

I sighed in resignation as the excitement of the hunt raged through me and trotted out after that beautiful, magnificent woman.

I stood at the main gates of the walled city of London, a conscripted female soldier like most of the men and women over twenty-one.  It had been sixteen months since what was revealed to be an Alpha wolf in the Americas was killed and twenty percent of the infected were freed from the curse.  The other Alphas had declared war on us Clean Bloods in retaliation.  With their ability to compel the infected, we were under siege night and day by infected humans and by the wolves on the full moon.

I closed my eyes as I fired at another man trying to climb over the gate from the London Bridge to get into the city proper. Bloody hell I hated killing humans.  Most were innocents, not in control of themselves, being forced to attack us against their own will.  So it was necessary, but I still didn't have to like it.

My partner was yelling at me, “Sarah!  Get with it woman!   They are battering the gates again.”  I opened my eyes again and checked my riot gear and slammed my shield against the buckling gates with hundreds of other men and women.

We had a reprieve a few months ago, when the States airlifted tons of silver into London, from the cache of two hundred thousand metric tons of silver bullion they found Slater Mining had squirreled away in their warehouses.  We were able to manufacture more of the much-needed silver rounds for our weapons.

But today, even that doesn't look like it will win the day.  Tens of thousands joined the pack today.  The gates were failing.  I have heard what happened in Dublin last month when their wall fell, they didn't kill anyone, they just restrained them until the full moon.  Then the pack ran wild, killing most and infecting the rest, who were enslaved by the Alpha's compulsions.  That is probably where the extra enemies at our gates had come from.  That was to be our fate as well I thought, as I heard the heavy silver plated steel gates starting to bend as they bulged inward.  I didn't want to be a mindless wolf, nor a slave to anyone.

There was another push from outside and the top hinges buckled on the gates, one more and they would be through.  I looked at my sidearm.  I could end myself now so I wouldn't be a meal for them next full moon or worse, a slave. This was the end.  I started reaching for my weapon when a howl rang out from the outside.

It carried power and rolled through the air and crashed down upon us in a wave.  I snapped my eyes up and saw a woman in a red cloak jump off of one of the bridge main cables, into the ocean of bodies, silver blades flashing in the sunlight.  A huge grey wolf followed her off the cable into battle.  I could hear the growls and snarling from here.  Bodies were flying everywhere as they moved like a wave through the enemy, toward the gates.

I yelled in disbelief, “Bloody hell!  It's the Red Hood and her hellhound!”  We at the gates were re-energized with something powerful... with hope.  We pushed back on the gates moving them slowly back into place as that great wolf's howl echoed through the city with the answering roar and cheers from us at the gates and the wall.  Maybe, just maybe, this day would not see the fall of London after all!

Books in the Urban Fairytales series...

Red Hood: The Hunt

Snow: The White Crow
(Coming summer of 2015)

Books in the Drakon series...

Awakening

Dragonfall

Books in the Bridge series...

Trolls

Traitor

Books I collaborated with in the Bridge ~ Inner City series...

Gargoyles

Books in the Valkyrie Chronicles series...

Return of the Asgard

Bloodlines

Folkvangr

Seventy Two Hours

Titans

Books in the Fracture series...

Divergence

Books in the Music of the Soul universe...

(All books are standalone and can be read in any order)

Music of the Soul

A Deafening Whisper

Dating Game

Karaoke Queen

Silent Bob

Five Feet or Less

Broken Song

Syncopated Rhythm

Progeny

Girl Next Door

Lightning Strikes Twice

June

Dead Shot

Short Stories in the Music of the Soul universe...

Misadventures of Victoria Davenport: Operation Matchmaker

Books in the London Harmony series...

Water Gypsy

Feel the Beat
(Coming spring of 2015)

Sample Chapter from London Harmony: Feel the Beat...

Chapter 1 – Waking up

I woke up to the sun on my face, and a warm body pressed against mine.  I grinned and stretched then wrapped my arms around the golden retriever and made a silly satisfied sound, “Ahhhhhhh.”  Then smiled as I released him.  “Come on Sir Percival, you know you're not supposed to be up here,”  I teased.  I felt him wriggle and turn then lick my face.

He made a little whimpering sound that left me seeing a violet burst in my vision and the warm ripples pulse in my head.  I prodded his ribs and wiggled my fingers in his long velvety fur.  “Out, out, out you silly boy.  It's Saturday!”  I could hear my own excitement in my voice as bright purple and blue waves swam in front of me and it felt a little charged and spiky.  I couldn't help it, I was so bloody excited, so I gave my service dog one last hug before he hopped off my bed.

This was our morning ritual.  I know I'm not supposed to let him sleep on the bed with me, but he's more than simply my helper, he's my best and most loyal mate.  I slipped out of bed and stretched again. Then proceeded to trip over my bag on the floor, where I had dropped it the prevois night, instead of hanging it in its proper place when I dragged my exhausted butt to bed too darn late.

I landed with a thud and a red burst that felt like a crinkled ball of paper being suddenly crushed in my head.  The gift of my synesthesia, most of my senses are cross-wired in my head centered around my hearing.  Though I'm mostly blind thanks the fight I had with ocular cancer when I was ten, I see sounds, and to some extent feel and taste them too.

I grabbed my bag and heard Percy whimper.  I grinned in his direction and quipped, “Nice, you could at least have warned me.”  I stood with my bag and stepped to the left, I could make out a bright greenish blur in the sea of other blurs with my one good eye.  It was my lime green coat hook on the wall by the door.  I hung up the bag and scratched my side idly.

The soft purple pink of my mother's voice rippled up the stairs, “Abigail, are you right?”

I rolled my eyes, she's so overprotective. “Yes mum, just tripped.  Be down in two shakes.”  I was going to be glad to get out on my own in a couple months.  A girl of twenty-three shouldn't still be living at home.  My income from busking had turned a corner the past couple years and was enough to support myself comfortably.

I was thinking about sending out some demos this year to various studios.  Maybe one may take a shine to my unorthodox music, then I wouldn't have to depend on public performances and the odd jobs singing backup for the local bands.  I just know that no matter where I go or what I do, it will be in music.  I have a completely unique experience when it comes to singing.  I can see, feel, taste the music and it always caresses me like a lover, letting me block out the sounds of the world around me that are always chipping away at my psyche.

I started walking toward my loo and Sir Percival was suddenly there, leaning against my leg, guiding me.  I grinned and dropped a hand to his head and scrubbed his ears.  “I think I got this silly boy.  Go downstairs for breakfast, I'll be down soon.  I pushed him a bit and he took off, padding across the floor, the sound feeling like drops of water in a still pond as the blue ripples spread out in my vision.  I grinned, he's my knight in shining armor.

I grabbed some clean knickers and bra from my bureau on the way to the loo. Then I showered, letting the sound of the falling water envelop me, I caught the beat, I couldn't help it, it is there in the world around us every day at all times.  Most people don't make the effort to hear the music that surrounds us.

The tapping of the water on the floor of the tub, the hiss of the shower-head, the sharp sound of the water streams hitting my body.  I started adding in some purples. “Bop bop bop, ooo ooo ooo, huuu unh mmm.” I drummed on my thighs.  The combination feeling like ocean waves crashing onto the rocks of a secluded beach.  I started swaying and dancing in the shower and I sang.  Humming between lines of a chorus I ad-libbed to my impromptu song.

My body and soul getting swept away in the torrent of feeling and color.  I opened my eyes and the perpetual foggy blur of the world swayed when I did and bounced as I hopped on my toes.  Satisfied with what I created, I shut off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off and put on my knickers and bra.

I stepped up to the mirror a bright spot in the haze.  Then I reached up and pulled down my lower eyelid on my left eye and gently prodded the base of my prosthetic eye and it lifted and I took it out.  It was feeling a little scratchy in my socket.

I ran it under the tap for a minute gently wiping it to get any sediment off of it.  I'd have to get it in to be polished next week.  I dropped it into a little paper cup and squeezed some saline solution into the cup from the bottle next to my glasses, then swirled the cup gently.  I let it soak as I dried my hair and combed it out.

After replacing my eye and dripping my medicated eye drops in my right, I grabbed my glasses that I was so embarrassed to let people see.  There are times I have thought of not wearing them and just letting Percy be my eyes.  The spectacles felt so heavy, the glass was as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle.  I pulled them on and the world became clear around me.

I tried to remember if what I saw through my one eye was as clear as I saw before my cancer.  I think it isn't as bright and things farther than ten meters or so are blurry still.  But the vibrant colors of the sounds around me make up for any differences there may be.

It wasn't until just before my diagnosis when I was nine, that I realized that not everyone saw and felt sounds like I did.  The doctors that had determined I had synesthesia had, by a stroke of luck, noticed something not right with my normal vision.

They caught the ocular cancer by pure happenstance, it was an aggressive form and the chemo and other treatments fought it off, but not before they had to take my left eye.  My right eye has cataracts that they don't want to operate on until the pressure in my eye decreases, that's what the eye drops are for.  That hasn't happened in over ten years so I'm not holding my breath.  In a matter of months, I went from seeing the world as a normal girl to being virtually blind.

The Magoo jokes and endless teasing I went through in secondary school after that, left me a bit cynical that there were actually kind people in the world.  Children can be the cruelest.  But I found music.  Music makes everything else seem inconsequential.  My mum enrolled me in every music program she could find.  She was happy I found something that made me happy.

She enrolled me in the McClellan Music Conservatory program for two years when I graduated.  I never knew there was so much more to music than I had already experienced.  I here tell that that phenomenal songstress, Tabby Cat, hailed from there last year.  That woman has some lungs on her.

I took the time to look myself over.  I thought I was cute except for the tonne of glass perched on my nose.  I liked to keep my chestnut hair bobbed at my shoulders and my hazel eye looked like it took its highlights from those locks.

Not many notice my left eye, but I do, I see it like a beacon because I can see the size difference in the pupil.  They size it for the most common light environment.  But anywhere else, when my pupil dilates or constricts the left one remains constant.  Giving me what I call my goofy eye look, one pupil is larger than the other not to mention it is not cloudy like my right.  But as I said, most people don't notice, they don't seem to see past my glasses, which they try to ignore.

I apprised myself.  Tall and sassy, and unfortunately just about as flat as a board.  I saw splashes of sharp blue color around myself and realized I had started tapping my fingers on the counter, finding a beat.  I smiled and started humming to it as I got ready for the day.  It was supposed to be an average spring day so I'd need my jacket if I were going to be standing outside all day.

I snagged my studded leather jacket. Hey don't look at me like that, it's sort of girly, not all punk, and grabbed the handle of my rolling equipment case.  I thudded down the steps, red spikes and deep thrums in my head from the racket. Percy was at the bottom wagging his tail.  Now that I had my eyes on, I smiled at my beautiful boy.  His golden coat almost sparkled in the sunlight streaming in from the window of the front door.

I left the equipment by the door and ruffled his ears, and he darted off to the kitchen with me.  I followed the smell of eggs, sausage, and coffee.  I stepped next to my mother at the stove and kissed the offered cheek.  “Good morning Mum.  It smells great in here.”

With the kiss she said, “Mwah!” Then pulled the skillet off the heat.  “Morning love.”  She took in the clothes I had picked out today, grunge chic and nodded.  “Going out there today I see.”

I nodded with a grin and made a silly sliding dance move. I said over dramatically as I laid the back of my hand across my forehead, “It can't be helped, the music is trying to break out of me.  I need to set it free.”

She chuckled and motioned toward our little kitchen table where she already had place settings out.  “Well sit so I can feed that music.  I swear you get your drama from your father's side of the family.”

I crinkled my nose at her and sat with a smile.  I've always wondered what sort of bloke my dad was.  He was military and died in Afghanistan before I was three and I don't remember a bloody thing about him.  Mum always has a good word to say about him, and she says it with such love, I just know he would be the sort of man I'd be happy to have as a father.

We sat and discussed our plans for the weekend as we ate.  I just knew it was going to be spectacular, weekends always were.