Page 5 of The Stone Initiation
Stone steps led down to basement level and weak lights flickered as we descended. There were apartments down here too, cheaper than the ones above, but the nest would be clustered together.
Yep, coffins in a row in the entranceway. Doors to the flats all open.
Fred covered his nose. “It stinks.”
“Decaying bodies do that.” Teri pointed to the pile of body parts in the far corner of the room.
But alarm bells were going off in my head because despite what I had said outside about hoping they were still sleeping, it was way past sundown, and suckers didn’t waste moonlight.
“Six coffins. All closed,” Levi muttered. “Either these fuckers like to lie in or—
“Welcome to our humble abode.” A male vampire dressed in a Halloween Dracula cape, dark hair slicked back, emerged from one of the rooms. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
The coffins all creaked open at the same time, and six ratty looking vampires sat up. The males wore capes and nineteenth century ruffled shirts, and the women were dressed in corsets and ankle length dresses. Which fancy dress store had these fuckers raided?
I shook my head. “Like hell did you know we were coming.”
He lifted his chin, attempting to look enigmatic. “I have my sources.”
“Security camera,” Fred said, peering past the vamp.
The leader growled. “You will pay for your trespass onto our territory.”
“Pretty sure you’re squatting mate,” Levi said.
“We do not squat. We conquer,” he replied. “We are undead creatures of the night.”
“Soon to be dead.” Teri held up her stake. “Stand still and take it like a champ, will ya.”
That was our cue.
We rushed into the den, keeping to our assigned pairs. Teri and Levi, Fred and me following the usual routine.
Slam them down and punch a hole in them.
The first two went down easy, but then they fought back. Attacking with claws and fangs. Leaping and screaming. Messy stuff that might work on a regular human to shock them into submission or make them freeze in horror.
Not a seasoned hunter though.
Three minutes later, six vamps were down, and the leader was running up the steps.
I tucked my stake into my belt. “Wait for it.”
“Unggg.”Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
Dracula wannabe’s head landed at the bottom of the steps and stared at us accusingly.
“I’m hungry.” Fred stepped over the head. “Anyone fancy pizza?”
I bit back a smile and followed the crew back up the steps. We’d log this with the guardians now because like fuck was I doing clean up.
CHAPTER3
Pizza Delight did the best pizza in Old Town. The décor was cozy with leather booths, wooden tables, and soft, warm lighting. It was our go to place after a hunt, and the owner, Keryanne, always threw in some extra garlic bread with our order. She knew what we did to help keep the streets safe. There wasn’t an official hunter team allocated to Old Town, and small teams like us were all that the town had to rely on.
Huddled in a booth with three humans, it was easy to pretend that I was one of them. That I was normal. That these people I hung out with regularly were my friends. It was easy to push aside the truth while we sat stuffing our faces with delicious cheesy pizza.
But the reality was, that I’d never have real friends while I was forced to lie to them.
