His Luna Warrior

Chapter Five: Addictive Souls

Jadea

I hadn’t meant to be so cold towards Adam. I was just frustrated. I’d left the house around midnight to investigate the three sites where the vampire had killed and left his victims.

There wasn’t much left at each of the sites. Not only had the investigative teams trampled all over the scenes, gathering ‘evidence’, the first two areas had also been hot spots for the public after they’d been cleared by the authorities. The vampire’s scent was nearly destroyed because of it all. And what I could pick up on hadn’t been enough to track.

From what I could tell, though, this was the same vampire we had been tracking for the last two years.

Valdis.

He had been a vampire half breed at one point in time. And then he’d turned. That was the thing about half breeds. If they failed to find their mate, their days were numbered. It was sad, really, what had happened to Valdis… what happens to all half breeds when they run out of time.

Valdis had successfully avoided us at every turn. Learning and adapting.

From what we had learned from our previous attempts at stopping him, he preferred young adults and children. They were easier to take control of and easier to manipulate. He marked them in specific ways and left them to bleed out. From what I had read up on in the general reports from the three killings that had happened in Stanislaus County, they were indeed his markings. The only difference was where he left his victims that had changed. At one point in time, he did it in more daring places. In alleyways. At schools. Even in the very homes the victims resided in.

It had been during this phase in his killing spree when we almost caught him and nearly destroyed him. He had been so severely injured when he’d escaped us the last time, he probably felt safer now out in the open, where it was harder to find him and catch him in the act.

The last time Valdis and I had met, he’d been so severely injured we thought his wounds would kill him. But we hadn’t been sure. We had tried following him, to find his body but he had effectively disappeared.

And then the first child in Stanislaus County had been found…

For a brief moment, while Valdis was in hiding, my pack and I were able to decompress and deal with the deaths we had witnessed. The innocence he had stolen from all those children. It was bad enough when we were hunting someone who murdered adults. It was entirely different with children.

Because of their innocence, there was a different aura with their death. One which affected all beings alike. It wasn’t just the unnecessary loss of life. It was the young soul, filled with so much potential, filled with so much happiness and life. Untainted. Which was why our monsters—vampire, demons, werewolves and the like—were drawn to them. The high they got from such a soul was euphoric. But it came at a price.

The aftermath of killing a soul so pure was devastating to all involved. The killer. The investigators. Even trackers like us. You see, the purer the soul, the longer its magical potency lingered, even after death. That aura tended to latch onto the living souls that came close enough to it, and it would start sucking the light from those it claimed in order to try and survive. This was the reason many beings suffered mental breakdowns, PTSD, etc. and why it tended to linger for so long.

For us immortals, however, the killing of an innocent and the remnants of the soul which were deflected onto the nearest living thing, could be compared to a drug. The hunt was the addicting part, the kill the peak of the high, and the aftermath, when the deflected part of the soul latched on, was what brought one down from that high.

The more kills, the faster that high went away. And so, to keep on that high, the murderer had to kill more.

Valdis had learned from his past mistakes, though. He was picking places where it would take time for the victims to be found. Orchards and heavily overgrown riparian vegetation areas were becoming a trend. The children taken spanned across three counties, but the vampire had brought them all back here to Stanislaus County. Which was why we had chosen to take up residence here in the same county in hopes we would be able to track him down easier and finish this.

“Any luck?” Blade asked when we were all safely inside and Adam was gone.

“No,” I snarled softly. “I’m going back out tonight though. I picked up a second vampire scent at one of the locations. I’m not sure if it is an accomplice or a scavenger. I was able to track him into town and have an idea where he hangs out at.” The second vampire had been careless, which was why it hadn’t been hard to track him. He wasn’t a killer, which made me believe he was a scavenger. But I had to make sure.

“We will go with you,” Garret responded.

“I want to keep as low of a profile as possible.” Which meant I didn’t want them to go with me at all. If this vampire was in cahoots with Valdis, I didn’t want him to get tipped off that we were on his tail again.

“Jadea, it’s too dangerous. Valdis is too powerful.”

“I’m not planning on engaging him. I’m just wanting to glean some information from the possible accomplice. For all we know he’s simply a scavenger.” Someone who had been drawn by the smell of blood and had feasted on the leftovers…

“I don’t like it,” Blade announced.

“You don’t have to,” I snapped back, starting to ascend the stairs. I was exhausted and needed some rest before I went back out tonight.

“Jadea—

“Don’t make me go alpha on you, Garret,” I snarled over my shoulder, pausing on the stairs to glare over at him. I really didn’t want to lay down the law, but I would if I needed to.

Garret sighed heavily. “Fine, Jadea. Just as long as you keep your mind open to us. The moment we lose contact with you, we will come find you.”

It was reasonable, even if my annoyed, tired brain didn’t think so. Nodding, I trudged up the remaining stairs and fell into bed.

Adam

That evening I dropped my children off to spend some time with their aunt—my sister—Ava. It was the one night a month they got to spend with their aunt and it was the one and only night I was without them. The only night I could go out and meet with my friends and have a drink or do something I normally couldn’t with kids. Collectively as a group, we had agreed upon the first Friday of every month for our little get together.

Tonight, the guys and I were meeting up at our favorite local bar. We were supporting a local band who was playing there tonight. After the band had played, and we were several drinks in, did the real talk begin.

“So, I heard you landed that job,” Ralph lifted his glass in salute.

“I did. Thank you again.” I responded, taking a drink.

“Of course!”

“You were out a job again!?” Dan asked.

“When did this happen?” Nate followed.

I told them why I had been fired from my last job and how Ralph helped me land the one I had with the Knight Necromancers. Though, I was careful not to say or indicate them in any way, as that would violate our agreement. Thankfully Ralph went along with what I said and didn’t add anything. He must have done something like this before and knew the general rules.

“That’s really cool, man!”

“Hell! That’s the ultimate dream job there. Childcare paid for. Getting to plan and drive around the whole state of California. Going places even you haven’t been to. Basically getting an extended vacation with minimal work.”

“So, does this band have any sexy ladies?”

“If it doesn’t I’m sure you will be surrounded by them!”

“We all know how that goes,” Ralph winked.

Yes I did know quite well how all that went.

***Flashback***

We had just finished one of our largest performances as of yet.

Ralph, Eddy, Finch and I were high on adrenaline and life. We had finally done it. We were going to be signing with a major record label on Monday.

We celebrated a bit too hard that night. Drank a little too much. Partied a little too hard. There were so many fan girls, booze and drugs. It was hard to keep up with.

I vividly remember her parting the crowd, her gaze dead set on me. She sashayed so confidently over to me it was nearly intimidating. Leila. She had been a vision. Young. Full of vigor. Usually, it was Ralph or Finch the ladies were interested in. And then Eddy. Normally I was the odd man out.

But she had come to me…

She didn’t wait, didn’t hesitate. She just grabbed both sides of my face and started making out. I remember the guys whooping and hollering but I didn’t care. It was the first time I’d felt wanted. The first time I had outmatched them with the prettiest girl in the room.

Most of that night was foggy, the memories patchy. The gist of it: we banged. Slept. Banged some more. When I woke up sober and hungover, she’d left.

I didn’t think much about it until she came back several months later, claiming she was carrying our child…

And that had been the end of it. Of my life. Of doing the one thing I loved most…

Music.

*** End Flashback***

As I stayed lost in my thoughts, I hardly listened to or participated in the banter or lively conversations. With my mood severely dampened, I decided to call it a night. “You know, I think I’m going to go,” I said, my voice sounding distant even to myself.

“You feeling alright?”

“Yeah, just tired.” And I was. I was bone weary.

After paying for my drinks, I made my way out to the front where I waited for the Uber I’d called. I was still sporting a fairly good buzz. Leaning up against the building, I enjoyed the nice, cool July night air. I listened to the night life. I breathed in. Out. Trying to center myself, but every time I closed my eyes all I could see was her. Jadea.

Tall. Mysterious. Sexy. Dangerous…

That last word caught me off guard. Usually it wasn’t a word to describe a woman, but in this instance it fit.

As I continued to lose myself in my own thoughts and fantasies, I heard a woman’s muffled voice and some scuffling coming from between the buildings. Pushing myself away from the wall, I quickly went to investigate, even though I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do…