Page 32 of Tainted Souls
I switch channels. “General, what’s your status?”
“Four locations cleared,” he responds. “Seven suspects in custody.”
Movement catches my eye—a flash of something way too fast to be human, darting between buildings about half a mile out.
I straighten, readying my bow.
“Nothing here yet,” I report, fitting an arrow to the string. Not true, but the rules are clear: no killing, which is exactly what I intend to do.
I start moving, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with preternatural tempo. The figure resolves into a tall, lean vampire moving with the desperate speed of prey, heading for the boundary line. Beyond that, Penn City’s jurisdiction ends, and the wild territories begin. If he crosses, I lose him. I draw my bow, sighting down the arrow. The distance is extreme, even for me, but I’ve made harder shots. I exhale slowly, compensating for wind and trajectory, then release. The arrow whistles through the air, a silver streak against the darkened sky. It catches the vampire in the shoulder, sending him sprawling across the dirt-strewn ground.
I’m on him before he can recover, another arrow nocked and aimed at his heart. “Don’t move,” I command, closing the distance between us.
He snarls, fangs extended, eyes blazing red. The arrow in his shoulder smokes slightly, the wound oozing vitae the same color as his spiky hair.
“Let’s start with something simple,” I say, keeping my aim steady. “What’s your name?”
He grimaces, his eyes darting toward the boundary. “Elijah.”
I drive my boot into his wounded shoulder, hard, pushing the arrow deeper. “Your real name.”
He pauses for a moment, digesting the fact that I know about his falsified documents.
“E-Egon,” he stutters, wincing as more vitae seeps from his wound.
A sudden shift in the air is my only warning. I do not turn, do not give any indication that I’ve noticed. Instead, I maintain eye contact with Egon, watching the flicker in his eyes as his companions approach.
The attack comes simultaneously from both sides, a coordinated ambush meant to overwhelm me. Without breaking my stance, I release the arrow at the vampire to my right, the lumen tip finding its throat. Then, I drop my bow and draw my dagger, driving it upward through the ribcage of the second attacker as his momentum carries him into me. The blade finds his heart, making his body go rigid, a strangled gasp escaping his lips before he crumples to the ground.
I speed over to the first attacker, pulling the arrow out of his throat, then correcting it into his heart where it was supposed to land. Both bodies hit the ground with dull thuds, their forms already beginning to decay and turn to dust. I return my attention to Egon, who stares at his fallen comrades with undisguised horror.
“Sorry about your friends,” I remark, fitting another arrow to my string and aiming it at his face. “Now, who do you work for?”
His mouth opens and closes, eyes darting sideways as if praying for backup, fright rendering him momentarily speechless.
“I won’t ask again,” I warn, drawing the bowstring tighter.
“C-Cain,” he finally gasps out, flinching as if the name itself might summon punishment. “His name is Cain.”
The name means nothing to me, but I commit it to memory. “And what does Cain want with me?”
Egon shakes his head frantically. “I-I don’t know.”
I shoot the arrow into his thigh, sending a jolt of pain through him. “Try again.”
“I’m telling the truth!” he wails, his vitae pooling beneath him. “We follow orders, that’s all!”
I study his face, looking for deception.
Finding none, I pull the arrow in his shoulder back slightly. “The women who led the attack, what’s her name and connection to Cain?”
“Clementine.” Egon shivers, whether from blood loss or fear, I can’t tell. “I’m not sure, but she’s the only one who can speak to him without permission.”
The name alone sounds soft, sunlit, something out of a pie recipe. Exactly the sort of name you’d stitch to the woman who makes terror look polite.
Well, it’s clear Whiteshades have high standings in vampire society.
I move on to the next, most important piece of information I need. “What do you know about the Ravens?”
