“No.”

The bori growled at me and glided slightly closer, but I held my ground. “I’m asking politely, Danaus. Do not make me force your hand. Those you care for could suffer a horrible fate because of your failure to cooperate.”

“I will not be your puppet.” I raised my sword and plunged it through the center of the creature, but it was like puncturing open air.

With a wave of its hand, a force slammed against my chest, throwing me backward several feet until I hit the side of a car. My body dented the door before I slid to the ground. “Sadly, I expected this from you,” it said with a shake of its head. “Expect my first gift shortly for your lack of cooperation. More will follow. I’ll destroy your world until you finally agree to bend to my will. I’m done waiting for you.”

And then he disappeared, leaving me sitting on the cold pavement surrounded by the dead bodies of the nightwalker and the naturi. The bori that possessed half of my soul waited out in the darkness like a living nightmare, ready to take what little of my soul I still owned. Blood was going to wash over the world as I fought him for my freedom and I didn’t know if it was even possible for me to win.

I knelt before the fountain and ran my blood-covered hands through the icy water until my fingers grew stiff and numb. In the darkness, the water looked black, but by morning it would carry a slight pinkish tone. The four bodies had been crammed into a nearby car, but I hadn’t yet set the explosive charge attached to the fuel tank. All evidence of nightwalker and naturi existence had to be wiped clean—the secret of their world had to be maintained if order was to be kept in the human world.

On my knees, I sent my powers out of my body before finally breathing in a sigh of relief. There was nothing supernatural close to me: not nightwalker, naturi, bori, or even lycanthrope. I closed my eyes and bowed my head, but the words would not come. It had been more than two centuries since I had last spoken to God. And even after tonight’s encounter, when I was sure my soul was on the line, I could not bring myself to be the first to break the endless silence.

In the beginning, after finally leaving the Roman legion, I had fought vampires as a way of avenging the death of a friend’s child. I fought them as a way of fighting the strange emotions that I felt whenever they were close. It wasn’t until I had wandered the earth for nearly five centuries before I finally found a sense of peace and purpose while living with some monks. They said I would only regain my soul through fighting against the darkness that surrounded mankind. They spoke of salvation and giving order to the chaos that seemed to be constantly swirling about in my brain. They even seemed to forgive me for being born.

But I couldn’t remain with the monks, no matter how I wished it. Vampires needed to be slain and I had more questions than they had answers. So I traveled the earth searching for answers that matched with the God I was fighting for and the soul I was desperate to reclaim. Yet, after more than a millennium of fighting, I discovered that there were no answers to be found. I painted most of Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in blood, and yet there was no answer from God signaling that I was at least on the right course; that I was one soulless nightwalker away from reclaiming my own soul. There was only silence.

It was only when I had grown too tired to continue on alone that I found a new purpose. Themis was barely thirty members strong huddled in a rundown house in Paris, but they were determined to understand the dark paranormal world that surrounded them. They watched nightwalkers from afar as they lured their prey into dark alleyways. They ventured into the woods during a full moon and listened to the werewolves baying at the moon as they prepared to hunt. Their lives were short but determined. They carefully cataloged all their findings in these great volumes for others to read and understand. Briefly, I thought that I might find my answers among them.

Sadly, Themis had offered only more questions with no answers. However, they needed a hunter, a dark hunter who could take on the vampires and the lycanthropes. I filled that role and was content to train others to follow in my footsteps, those who would carry on the knowledge I had accumulated over the long centuries.

Ryan, on the other hand, seemed to twist the early intentions of the research group. The white-haired warlock quickly assumed the lead of the group when his awesome powers and superior knowledge became apparent. Themis had been confident that he could lead them further into the world of the paranormal than ever before. Instead, nightwalkers seemed to die at a faster pace and old knowledge was restudied. Fewer researchers were released into the field, for their own safety, and the number of hunters that I trained steadily grew. Through the centuries, I never questioned his motives. I only saw that he was helping me to build an army that would protect the world from nightwalkers. But kneeling beside the fountain now, I wondered not for the first time in recent months if he was simply building an army.

The annoying jingle from my cell phone shattered the night’s silence, causing me to cringe as I quickly reached inside my jacket. The little glowing LCD screen revealed that it was my assistant, James. Perfect timing.

“I’m impressed,” I said after flipping open the phone.

“Excuse me?” James stumbled, obviously surprised by my rare compliment.

“Your timing. I’m ready to come in. I’m finished here,” I replied, pushing back to my feet. I wiped my free hand on the leg of my pants, drying it as best as I could before reaching into my pocket to find the remote detonator. I needed to be at least a few yards away before setting off the miniature bomb. The car would be destroyed along with the nearest storefront, but no one would be harmed in the explosion, and the remains of the nightwalker and three naturi would be incinerated. It wasn’t the prettiest way of disposing of bodies, but I didn’t have Mira’s flare or ability to simply set the bodies on fire at will while cloaking the entire event from the view of the public.

“Nightwalkers?” James inquired.

“A total of six throughout the area the past couple nights. Apparently, this used to be part of Sadira’s domain. With her gone, they decided to play. Things should be quiet now.” Turning a corner and heading back down the alley. I hit the switch, detonating the miniature bomb. The explosion rattled windows and set off car alarms.

“What was that?”

“Disposal,” I replied.

“Oh.”

“I also encountered three naturi while I was here,” I admitted, but kept the appearance of the bori to myself. I had never told Ryan the origins of my abilities and I didn’t want him to be able to use this newest development against me.

“Did you have any problems?” James asked, jolting my thoughts back.

“No, none. The area appears to be clear now. When can you have a flight ready for me to come in?”

James was silent for several seconds, causing me to stop in the middle of the dark alley. Off in the distance, the sound of a fire engine and police sirens could be heard echoing through the streets. I frowned and leaned my shoulder against the brick wall while rubbing my eyes with my free hand. This wasn’t a good sign.

“You can’t come in yet,” James said softly.

“What are you talking about?” I snapped. “I’ve been going nonstop for nearly three months now. I want to come in. Clean clothes, a soft bed. Sleep for a couple days before the next round of slaughter.”

“I know.”

“What could Ryan possibly need from me?”

“He needs you to go to Savannah.”

“That’s Mira’s domain. She can take care of her own problems. She doesn’t need me in her area,” I argued, pushing off the wall to continue to walk down the alley toward the hotel I was staying at. It was a small place with the lumpiest mattress I had ever had the displeasure of sleeping on. I had hoped that tonight I would be on a plane headed back toward my own bed, but it seemed it wasn’t to be.