Chapter 3

Jake poured himself another drink then went out and stood on the balcony of his fourth floor flat. The hot summer night was muggy but the breeze coming from the delta cooled his soul like no other place in the world. Leaning against the railing, he took a sip of his bourbon on the rocks watching the city come alive across the river with lights sparkling like stars across the midnight sky. No wonder he loved this city so much. No matter what time of day or night, he could actually feel it breathing life as if it were a real living entity.
Thoughts of Serena Keller pushed forward into his mind. Groaning with a heavy sigh, Jake sat down in a chair and stretched out his long legs. Gods, but she was a looker, he breathed softly, trying to deny the attraction for her but failing miserably. He was growing hard as a rock just remembering what she looked like. Damn good thing he had refused her or he would be breaking one of his foremost rules of engagement: Never! Ever! Sleep with a client. But could he actually say she was a client? She was, after all, a Night Stalker like himself.
Now that was another thing that bothered him. Usually he could tell what bred or clan a night stalker was from, but she hadn’t emitted any kind of pheromones. That’s why he did not pick up her scent when she’d entered his office. Not only did it baffle him, but it intrigued him as well. If she could have stuck around he would have loved to find out more about her and her brother. There was definitely there than she was letting on. But he loved the skin he was in and knowing the reputation Dimitri had, he wanted to keep it in one piece.
Messing with the gods of the underworld was not a fun thing he would choose to do on a Saturday night that’s for sure. Taking a drink of his bourbon, he started to set his class down on the table next to him when he caught a whiff of something in the air.
Slowly he rose from his chair and leaned over the balcony to look down at the street. There didn’t seem to be much going on down there. People walking on the wharf, stopping at the shrimp boats along the way to grab a bite to eat. He sniffed the air again. There it was. A slight metallic taste that registered on his tongue. Blood. There was no mistaking the smell now. Only thing that usually drew blood were Vamps.
Quickly he went to his bedroom and armed himself with a myriad assortment of daggers and a few guns. Never knew what kind of problem you would find when you went hunting Vamps along the wharf. He checked his supply of bullets and put each gun in its holster. One behind his back and the other on his left ankle beneath his trousers. He made sure they were always full of silver bullets. They couldn’t kill Vamps but they sure as hell could make them wish they were even deader than they normally were. One never knew when he would come face to face with a rogue wolf or an Alusian either. Yeah, silver was bad for Alusian’s also. He found that out quite by accident not that long ago.
Strapping his knives to his chest, he threw on a black shirt and headed for the door. The smell of death was heavy in the air tonight.

~

Jake kept to the shadows, walking briskly down the wharf, following the scent to the warehouse district. What few people were out this time of night just ignored him and went on their way. Most of these people knew when to keep their mouths shut and feigned ignorance. You lived longer that way.
Rounding a dark corner, Jake suddenly stopped and pressed himself against the building. There must have been ten bodies surrounding something or someone that was in the middle of them but he couldn’t get a good look. Peering slowly, carefully, around the corner, he was thankful they were congregated beneath one of the lamps that lit the docks on this side of the district giving him a better view of what was going on.
It looked like it was a person the vamps held between them while the others poked and prodded with their daggers and claws. They were crowded so closely together it was hard to make out the interior of the circle they hard formed. The struggle from the center caught his attention when one of the vamps went flying backward. That’s when he saw it. An Alusian. Looked like a female from his hiding spot but he couldn’t be sure from this distance. Looked like she was cut and bleeding pretty badly but she kept up a good struggle.
Wonder why they are toying with her instead of feeding from her, Jake speculated to himself. Well, he wasn’t going to waste his time rescuing an Alusian that was for sure. They usually got what they deserved. He started to turn and leave when a blinding flash of light caught his attention once again. Four large demons materialized there on the docks and the vamps made a semi-circle opening for them to enter through. Now that caught his attention. What were demons wasting their time with minor vamps and an Alusian female for?
He was too far away to hear what they were saying so he eased from one side of the shadows to the other until he was within earshot behind some wooden crates that were stacked on the dock waiting for transport. He now had a better view of what was going on as well as being able to hear them. One of the demons walked up to the Alusian female and slapped her hard across the face, busting her lip and leaving a bruised hand print along her cheek. Jake didn’t like Alusian’s any more than the next guy but he at least gave them a fighting chance to defend themselves when he was on the hunt.
“Dimitri isn’t happy with you night stalker!” The demon with the heavy fist boomed in the silence of the night. Jake’s ears twitched as he listened intently.
“Who gives a damn what Dimitri wants.” the Alusian hissed between swollen lips.
“He wants the map.”
“No.”
The demon back handed her from the other side, spraying blood and spit across hungry vamps.
“Why don’t you make it easier on yourself Alusian and tell me what I want to know.”
“You can go bite yourself, demon.” she stated with ferocity as she struggled to free herself from the vampires that were holding her in place.
This time the demon fisted his hand and hit her in the midsection knocking the breath from her lungs then came around with an upper cut to the jaw and knocked her smooth out. She went limp between her captors.
“Damn it, you hit her too hard!” one of the other demons stated, growing angry.
“Shut up and get me some water to wake her with. You can have a go at her next.”
The second demon took off toward the water but Jake was more interested in the site before him. The Alusian, when she had been knocked out, had changed back into her human form. Jake cursed beneath his breath.
It was Serena.