Page 42 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

Murder Without Malicious Intent

K yle plopped on the couch with a beer, preparing to sit around and veg the female-less evening away with some form of visual entertainment. He was flipping through his options when there was a knock on his door.

With his face scrunched in an expression of displeasure, he then stood to answer the door.

He expected to see one of Hayley’s siblings looking for their sister.

There were a lot of them, and they all stopped over unannounced from time to time.

“Hayley’s not here,” he said as he pulled the door open.

“I know,” Luca said. “We’ve been cast out.” He and the new kid stood in the doorway.

“Women,” Kyle chuckled.

“You want to go for a run?” Luca asked.

“How about pizza?” Kyle never passed up an opportunity to let the wolf out to play, but his stomach wanted food.

“Run, then pizza?” Luca suggested.

“Let’s do it,” Kyle said, stepping back inside to grab his phone and keys. He locked the door and the three of them headed back down the stairs. “Are we dropping the minor off at the Den or…”

The teenager opened his mouth to speak but Luca answered instead. “Nope. He's going with us.”

“Great,” Kyle said but added, “since when do we willingly babysit?”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Ricky said.

At the same moment, Luca responded, “Kyle!” He said this in Hayley’s favorite tone of voice.

“You watch out,” Ricky continued. “I may just run you into the ground old man.”

All three of them chuckled at this as they climbed into Luca’s Jeep.

In just a few minutes, Luca pulled up to the rusty gates and the woods in which they freely ran. Luca and Kyle took a running start and launched themselves over the fence in wide leaps. When they landed on the other side they turned back toward the teenager, who was standing, staring at them.

“Well, you coming?” Kyle asked, panting a little.

Ricky rolled his eyes and walked several feet to the gate. He pushed it open slowly, but deliberately, as if to make the point that launching oneself over a fence ceremonially when one could use the obviously provided entrance was simply ridiculous.

Once the boy had joined them, they walked into the cover of the woods together. Each one of them began to strip off their clothes to their own desired degree.

“Ready?” Luca asked.

“I was born ready,” Ricky said with a wicked smile.

With a howl provided by Kyle, the three of them took off at top speed.

After only a few strides, they shifted simultaneously.

Luca turned into a majestic silver wolf, Ricky a solid black one, and Kyle the standard gray.

Kyle tripped on the landing, his muzzle connecting with the mud under his paws.

He stood on all fours and shook off his fumble.

Luca howled playfully, and the wolves ran further into the woods, escaping the human world and all that was happening in it.

Jules was worried that she would soon be cleaning both human and werewolf vomit off of her carpet. Monica and Hayley were both three glasses of wine in. Monica had gone from perpetually depressed and crying, to her happier self by glass one and a half.

“So, what are we watching after this?” Hayley asked, her head lolled back on the sofa, utterly relaxed.

“I’m up for anything, as long as it’s not a romance,” Monica answered.

“Of course not,” Hayley exclaimed dramatically, sounding a bit like her husband. “A nice action movie where there is a lot of running, screaming, and explosions is much more appropriate at a time like this.”

“Maybe one where the guy dies,” Monica said, sounding playfully sulky.

Monica smiled and they both laughed just as Jules’s phone rang.

“Your man beckons,” Hayley said as she picked up Jules’s phone and handed it to her.

“Sorry Monica,” she said after smiling down at the screen of her phone for a second too long.

Monica shrugged as if to say, ‘it’s fine' and said, “I’m going to find us a movie.” She stood and plopped onto the floor closer to the television, using the remote to flip through her list.

“By the way,” Hayley put her hand on Jules’s before she could answer Luca’s call. “I’ve known Luca for a while now and I have never seen him this happy. Be good to him Jules the vampire.”

“Okay,” she said laughing a little and finally answering the call. “Hi,” she greeted him, leaving off any endearing terms for Monica’s sake.

“Are you near a TV?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Just turn to channel nine.” His voice sounded rushed and was hard to hear. She guessed he was at a loud restaurant or something.

“Okay. Monica switch to channel nine for a second.”

“The news?” Monica groaned but did so.

Once the appropriate channel had been found, Jules saw a newscaster talking about the string of murders that continued to occur all over Fort Miles.

Cause of death was blood drained through two small holes on each body.

“What is this? Some psychotic, practical joke? And who is this man caught fleeing the scene?” the newsman’s voice asked.

Jules cursed outright. The screen had flashed a security camera capture of Gabriel.

“What is it?” Hayley asked, looking up from her phone.

“Is Mr. Prentiss a killer?” Monica asked Jules.

“No. Of course not.” Jules was panic-stricken. It couldn’t be true.

“Then why do they think he is?” Monica said, pointing toward the television.

“I have to find out. Stay here, both of you. I’ll get you rides home.”

“I am not that drunk,” Hayley said, pointing to herself.

“Hayley.” Jules pointed at the inebriated werewolf girl. “Stay,” she commanded.

“Woof,” Hayley said, and both Hayley and Monica were swept away in a fit of giggles.

Without another word, Jules grabbed her keys and walked out the front door.

She reached the driveway, jumped into her car, and backed out quickly.

Weaving through traffic, all she could think about was getting to Gabriel and uncovering the truth.

The sound of her phone ringing pulled her out of her mind’s confusion.

“You hung up on me. What are you going to do?” It was Luca.

“I have to get to Gabriel. I have to get to the bottom of this.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No. I need you to take Hayley and Monica home.”

“You can’t go alone,” he said loudly.

“Yes, I can. If Gabriel really is doing this… even though I refuse to believe that… do you think he would hesitate before killing you?”

“Jules, but you…”

“Luca, I’m sorry but I’m not waiting. I love you,” she said before hanging up on him.

She punched the buttons on her steering wheel and told the system to call Gabriel. No answer. She tried Eileen. “It’s Jules. Of course I’m going to answer. We need her help.” Jules heard through the Bluetooth as Eileen answered.

“No we don’t.” Jules heard Gabriel’s voice in the background.

“I’m on my way.”

“I witnessed a vampire draining a human.” He sounded shaken, though he was trying to be steady. “I couldn’t save her.” His voice was strained as he got to the last word. “I can handle this myself.”

“No you can’t,” Eileen protested.

“Yes. I can!”

“Gabriel, they think you’re the Fort Miles Phantom,” Jules spat into the empty car.

“What?” This time it was Eileen who shouted.

“I don’t need you,” Gabriel spat back. “Don’t come here.”

“You are being ridiculous,” Eileen began. “She fell in love. There really is nothing to be mad about.” Eileen’s defense of Jules made her heart swell for her friend. She’d kept the woman at arm’s length for a long time, refusing to need anyone. This may have been a mistake.

“There is more than enough to be mad about Eileen,” he said, his voice lethal. “Not only did she let herself fall in love with a werewolf , but she also lied about it.” The hurt and anger in his voice stung. “How can you forgive her?”

“Guys, hello?” Jules must have said to her empty car, for all the good it did.

“Because I fell in love with you!” The anger in Eileen’s voice rose as well. Jules felt like she was intruding, and that they’d both forgotten she could hear them. “You are allowing hate to dictate your actions!”

“This conversation is over!” Gabriel snapped.

“Go fuck yourself,” Eileen shouted even louder.

Jules heard Gabriel’s footsteps getting farther away, a door slam, and then the sound of breaking wood. Jules guessed that Eileen had thrown something after Gabriel and hit the hotel room door.

Eileen’s anguished cry ripped Jules in two. “Jules?” Eileen questioned through tears.

“I’m here,” she said softly.

“I’ll send you the hotel details.” With that, Eileen hung up. Jules pushed the peddle to the floor and sped towards Fort Miles as fast as she could.

Nick was walking aimlessly around the city.

Chad’s co-workers still hadn’t come out to play.

The motel room had been scrubbed down leaving no trail to follow.

Antonio had even had a techy friend go through Chad’s phone with no results.

Nick was at square one and the staff of Incognito had all gone back to prepare for the evening’s influx of clientele.

Maybe it was time to ditch the quiet city.

Maybe if he could trick his location out of Cleo he would magically appear in proximity.

For now, he wandered the busy streets of Fort Miles.

Halfway to anywhere, he sensed her before he saw her, almost feeling her panic.

She was a young one. That was for sure. She was untrained in the ways of the world.

He could sense it. Standing in place on the sidewalk, humans skirted by him on either side.

Searching, he spotted her. Taller than average for a woman and strikingly beautiful.

The scars on her cheek only adding to her vampiric allure.

Dark haired, with the copper skin belonging to natives of this land, but it had not yet paled with extensive years out of the sun.

She pushed and shoved through the throng, seeming desperate to get away from the skin-covered blood temptations.