Mystic Vice - Hunter's Moon

Something appeared in the road.

It was standing near streetlight, watching us intently, less than a hundred yards away. My heart froze when I saw it and a flutter of fear ran up my spine. It was the size and shape of a lean dog, but that's where the comparisons ended. Its body looked like it was made from solid shadow, with two pale and bright grey orbs for eyes. All I could see, was the front half of its body. Its back half was under the direct light, making it completely invisible. I could just barely make it out.

"Shadow hound," I whispered.

"What?!" blurted Hector, following my gaze. "Oh shit..."

The shadow hound took off in a flash, running straight for us, wailing a creepy parody of a canine's howl. Hector and I flashed each other a quick look, then looked down at Jin. He was looking pale.

"Jin, how are you feeling?" I asked insistently.

"So... hungry," he moaned, grabbing his stomach.

"Good enough. C'mon, we need to make a break for it,"

"Wha...?"

"Now!" I said, getting underneath him and holding him up by his shoulder. Hector mirrored me. Jin whipped his head around in the direction of the howl.

"Fuochi D'artificio!"cried Hector, pointing his wand into the road. A bright commit of energy flew from the tip and slammed into the ground, not far from the shadow hound. There was a colorful explosion that lit up the night in a kaleidoscope of sound and color. More comets flew from the wand, each explosion sent a shower of sparks into the air and I could feel the deep "whumps" of each one as Jin and I trotted through the empty streets, trying to find somewhere to hide.

I looked over my shoulder. The shadow hound was barely visible amongst all of the chaos, looking disoriented and confused. The spell had done the trick. It couldn't find us in the cacophony of light and sound that was coming from Hector's fireworks spell. Best part of it was, if people didn't take notice of the crash, they definitely would with the fireworks. It bought us some time.

Hector caught up with us a moment later, just as I found exactly what we needed. On the corner of the next street was a twenty-four hour greasy spoon. I nodded my head towards it and the three of us made our way over to it as quickly as we could.

A bout a thousand years later we made it to the front door of Duke's Pitstop. Once inside, we all breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't realized just how tense I really was until we made it to safety. It felt like a vice grip was finally letting go of my heart. Hector gave Jin his jacket. It covered up the torn shirt and dried blood, making sure we didn't have to deal with any awkward questions. He was still looking pretty worse for wear. We needed to get him some food.

The place had a small crowd of truckers and travelers tiredly sipping coffee and eating gravy soaked diner food. No one paid us any real attention after we walked in. We quickly went over to one of the booths in the back, one that gave us a pretty good view of the surrounding area. I cast one final look outside before sitting down.

There was a man out there, watching us, just outside the light coming from the diner. I couldn't make out what he looked like, but his body language screamed danger and patience to me. The shadow hound padded up to him and the two of them melted away into the night. A chill ran down my spine. I didn't like this.

"What'll it be?" asked the waiter, an exhausted looking kid in his early twenties.

"Three cups of coffee and three burgers," I ordered, not even bothering to look at the menu. He jotted it down and walked away.

"... Yeah, right off highway six. Duke's, back booth. See you in ten," said Hector, hanging up.

"Deacon?" I asked. Hector nodded.

"He'll be here soon."

"Thank the goddess."

The food came and Hector and I pushed our plates over to Jin. As soon as the plates hit the tabletop, he dug straight into it, "wolfing" it all down. Heh.

The next ten minutes passed like ten years, but finally Deacon arrived. He looked cold and tense, checking every window as he walked through the greasy spoon. Typically he was a rock and not like this. That didn't bode well. He slid into the booth next to Hector, still watching the outside.

"Deacon, what happened?" whispered Hector. "Where's Marissa?"

"With Dr. Fairweather," he explained, finally turning towards them.

"What happened man?" asked Hector, trying to keep his voice down.

"It was a trap," explained Deacon. "We followed the trail through the woods and it lead us to a small clearing. Before we realized what was going on, there was another explosion. I got lucky, Marissa didn't."

"Is she alright?" I asked. There was a lump in my throat when I said it.

"Sprained wrist and some cuts and bruises. She'll be alright, but she's out of commission for tonight," he finished, looking upset. I knew Deacon pretty well. He was worried about our colleague and he was beating himself up pretty bad about her getting hurt on his watch.

"We've got to call in the other Benandantis then," I whispered.

"Can't. They're busy mopping up all the partygoers. Apparently the ones that got away have been causing a fair amount of chaos. Fires, violence, you name it. This whole thing stinks," snarled Deacon.

"This sounds..." began Hector.

"... planned. This whole thing is one big operation," I finished, thinking to myself. The pieces all fit. The party, the explosions, the traps. Everything.

"Who do you think is behind it?" asked Hector.

"I know exactly who's behind it," declared Deacon. "Edgar Blackwell."

Hector let out a long whistle and leaned back against the booth, looking more worried. I was confused.

"Who is this guy?" I asked.

"Edgar Blackwell is a supernatural big game and bounty hunter. He's a vanilla human; no supernatural abilities or magic. He does seem to possess an extensive knowledge of all things that go bump in the night and uses all sorts of pacts, talismans and magical gadgets to score his targets. Once he gets fixated on something, he doesn't let up. Real nasty piece of work. Deacon's thrown down with him a few times," explained Hector, pointing his chin at Deacon. Deacon's only response was an annoyed snort.

"Was he after girl then and just wanted us out of the way?" asked Hector more to himself.

"Maybe, but he had the chance to take Marissa and I out permanently if he wanted to do that," stated Deacon, rubbing his chin.

"Big game..." I said, thinking. "How big are we talking?"

"Vampire elders, shapeshifters, think he bagged a lamia once. Anything really dangerous," muttered Deacon, sipping Jin's coffee.

I pondered what he said and looked over at Jin. A horrible realization came to me and my heart started pounding.

"He wasn't after Gloria, she was just a tool," I whispered. We all looked at Jin. He was watching the three of us with a haunted look in his eyes.

"He's hunting me," he said, going pale. "He wants to kill me."

I put my hand on Jin's and he squeezed my fingers gently. He was scared. We all were.

"What was your name again?" asked Deacon.

"Jin. Jin Ookami."

"Jin, I need you to be completely honest with us. Did you have any contact from Blackwell before tonight? Talk to him? See him following you around?" asked Deacon.

"No!" answered Jin, shaking his head. "I've never even heard of him."

"Have you noticed anything strange going on?"

"Not really."

"Ok, this is very important that you answer us honestly. What were you doing at that party?"

"Umm... well," Jin mumbled before trailing off.

"It's alright Jin, we're here to help. We'll be lenient if you tell us anything illegal," I explained.

"Promise?" he asked, looking sheepish. I nodded.

"I was there to pick up some Morpheus strips. My sister is a practitioner and she gave me some a few weeks ago. I asked around and someone told me I could get some at the party. As soon as I showed up, that Gloria woman started flirting with me and one thing lead to another..."

"Ok," said Deacon. "He must be after you because of the bite then," said Deacon thoughtfully.

"She was a werewolf, wasn't she?" asked Jin. His hands were shaking.

"Yes, Gloria Stern was a werewolf," I answered. "She passed that onto you now, and we're going to take you somewhere to get some help."

"Exactly. We need to get out of here," said Hector, scanning the windows.

"Can't go to the chapter house," said Deacon.

"Why not?" I asked, turning towards him.

"Too far away. Blackwell will be all over us by then. We've already spent too much time in here as it is. We'll have to go to the safe house on Rose Ave. That's about twenty minutes away," he explained.

The Benandantis have a number of safe houses in the city for just such an emergency. They're stocked with food, supplies both magical and mundane and are covered with enchantments. From the outside, it seems to all but the most powerful practitioners and mythological creatures like a normal house. On the inside though, it can keep a team of Benandantis in fighting shape for a week before needing to restock.

"We've got to make a break for your car then," stated Hector, leaving a handful of bills on the table.

"He has probably already set a trap," said Deacon, getting anxious. I looked around the room, trying to figure out someway of getting us out of here safely. My eyes finally settled on a small red box attached to the wall. Perfect.

"Do any of you have a disguise potion?" I asked. My colleagues just shook their heads.

"My potion bag was in my car," said Hector with a wry grin.

"Fresh out of everything. Used the last of my stash dealing with a couple of gargoyles yesterday," explained Deacon.

I stuck my hand into my Bag of Tricks and pulled out a disguise potion. With four people using the bottle, there would only be enough to make a minor change in each of us. It would have to do.

"Here, everyone take a sip," I whispered, taking a sip and handing the bottle to Jin. In the corner of my eye, I could see my black hair changing to red. "I'm going to pull the fire alarm and we'll rush out with everyone else." Everyone did as they were told.

With my heart pounding already, I stood up and padded over to the fire alarm trying my hardest to look nonchalant. I grabbed the lever and pulled down swiftly. The alarm blared throughout the diner, making the other patrons look up in confusion. Some of them made a mad dash for the door and we followed suit.

It was eerily still when we got outside. The other people jogged off to their vehicles, grumbling, and we slowly made our way over to Deacon's sedan, trying to look inconspicuous. I tried to keep my eyes everywhere; watching every shadow, checking every corner. This place was primarily a truck stop and there were a lot of semis parked here over night. There were a hundred places Blackwell could be hiding. It was then that I noticed the camera.

There was a security camera mounted to the wall of the diner. Well, I say mounted, but currently it was dangling off the side of the building, holding on by a single wire. I turned and looked around again. There was another one mounted not too far away, also smashed. If they were fine, both would have been pointing in the direction of Deacon's car.

Oh no.

"Guys-"

Something lunged out of the light and sank its fangs into Deacon's shoulder. He screamed in pain and tried to pull the creature off himself, but his hands just pressed into it like it was made of sand. Deacon fell hard onto the concrete and the shadow hound rode the fall down with him, fangs locked on his shoulder.

Nearby patrons screamed and dashed for their cars, fearing an attack.

"NO!" cried Hector, whipping out his wand."Anima Stiletto!"

A thin blade of ivory light sprang from Hector's wand and imbedded itself into the creature's side. It howled in pain, a strange, undulating sound, then tore the blade out with its teeth.

Hector whipped his wand up, raising the dagger from the ground and the shadow hound quickly retreated into the light. I pulled out my wand, waiting for it to make its move again.

"Deacon," I quietly called out. "Are you al-"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something the size of a soda can sail through the air.

"Ballando Vento!"I cried, whipping my wand around. The gust of wind sent the object back behind a Semi. There was a loud bang and a flash of light and a moment later I heard a man cursing. It had to be Blackwell.

I ran up to a semi close by, waiting to make my move. Hector joined me a second later.

"Deacon alright?" I whispered, not looking at him.

"Yeah. He's got that massive gun of his out. If that thing show's up again, it'll regret it."

"That's a relief," I said, letting my breath out slowly. My hands were shaking. "How do you-"

"Ah! Hsssss!"

The two of us whipped our heads around. Jin was sitting against Deacon's car, holding his chest. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"You take him, I'll see if I can get Blackwell," offered Hector. I nodded my head and dashed across the parking lot to Jin's side.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, once I had gotten behind cover.

"Urrggghh! It hurts! It hurts!" he winced. I pulled out his collar and took a look. Veins were bulging out all around the bite. As I watched, his muscles swelled tightly against his skin. Hair was blossoming out slowly across his chest. I swallowed loudly, the change was starting.

"Here," I said, grabbing a potion out of my bag of tricks. "Drink this. It'll slow down the change down and ease the pain a bit."

Jin snatched the thumb-sized bottle out of my hand and downed it in one gulp. The swelling slowed and his breathing evened out. I wasn't going to kid myself though, this was a temporary fix. We needed to end this quick.

Hector disappeared behind a row of semis just as I heard the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. Keeping an eye on the lights, I crab walked over to Deacon.

"Let me see it," I said.

"Don't worry about me," wheezed Deacon. He had his hand over a blood stain on his chest.

"Give me the keys to your car. I need to get you and Jin in there now," I said, frantically digging through his pockets.

"Leave me here. The fire department will be here any minute. They know me at this point," he chuckled. It sounded pained.

"I've got to get everyone out of here," I declared, pulling the keys out of his coat pocket.

"Leave me and get the kid to safety," said Deacon, his voice deathly serious. He fixed me with a hard look.

"If he changes now, who knows how many people will get hurt. Get him to the safe house Fitzgerald," he ordered, reloading his revolver. I gave his good shoulder a tight squeeze and then hurried back to Jin.

I heard three loud whumps and Hector came dashing around the side of one of the semis with the shadow hound half a step behind him.

"C'mon, c'mon!" I called out to him, helping Jin get into the back seat. I jumped into the front seat and threw open the passenger side door. Hector jumped in, and quickly closed the door. The shadow hound slammed into the glass, thrashing at the window and snarling at us. Its pale moon-like eyes were wild and furious. I got the car moving and quickly peeled out of the parking lot, tires screeching on the pavement.

I looked in the mirror and watched as the fire department pulled in. A figure stepped out from behind the row of semis. A second later the glass of the driver side mirror exploded apart and there was a jagged hole in the plastic.

"He won't be able to do any real damage with a pistol at this range," said Hector, panting heavily. He had his head turned back, watching the scene. "Too far now. We're in the clear."

"Not yet," I said and Hector knew exactly what I was talking about. In the back, Jin was lying across the seats, rolling back and forth in pain. I could see beads of sweat run down his forehead and his muscles beginning to become more defined.

The two of us drove in silence, the only noise in the car was the occasional groans from Jin and the sound of the tires on the road. My mind was racing with second guesses and possibilities. Did we do everything right? Was Deacon ok? Was Marissa? Were we going to make it? Can we stop this monster in time?

We drove past an industrial park into a small residential area. I was about to turn onto rose street when Hector stopped me.

"Don't make the turn. Pull over here," said Hector, breaking the silence.

"Why?" I asked, slowing the car.

"Blackwell is probably following us, fucking somehow. I don't want him to know where the safe house is. Pull over here," he said, pointing.

I pulled the car over and kept it running.

"What do you think we should do? I don't want to sit here for too long," I explained.

"Here's what we'll do," he said looking tense. "You're going to grab Jin and make a break for the safe house. I'm going to create a distraction and make sure you guys get there safely."

"What?! Hector, are you nuts?! You could be killed!" I yelled. I was white knuckled from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

"Look, if Blackwell finds out where the safe house is, he'll do everything he can to destroy it. It can handle some punishment, but not from a lot of mundane things. He sees us heading in there, its game over. Plus we need to get Jin in there and in restraints as soon as possible or a lot of people are going to get hurt. I'll get his attention and then circle back to the house when I can."

"Hector, don't try to be some idiot hero," I pleaded.

Hector opened the door and sprinted out of the car.

"Hector!" I yelled. "Asshole! Jin! Get up, we need to make a run for it right now!"

"Ugh!" he groaned sitting up. I hopped out of the car and helped him get out before we took off through the backyards of the sleeping neighborhood. Behind me, I could see a big red circle of magical energy glowed to life and various creatures began appearing inside of it. I knew they were an illusion from the start. Hector's good, but not that good. It might just work on Blackwell though. Hopefully.

We snuck through the yards as quietly as we could, keeping a look out for anything strange. My heart was thundering in my ears. I felt so exposed out in the open like this, especially with my colleagues gone. Jin had no problem keeping up with me, but he was still panting hard. His eyes had a strange light to them, like a part of him was enjoying the chase. His wolf instincts were starting to show. I was running out of time.

Finally we made it to the safe house. It was a modest two story home and on the outside it looked like nothing special. We hurried up to the back door and I waved my wand in front of the door knob and said the password: "Walpurgisnacht."

The door unlocked with a soft click and once we were inside, I slammed the door. Locking it was the besting feeling I had all night. I pressed my head against the door, taking a moment to get control over myself. Some of the tension eased out of me, but I knew this wasn't over. I tried to tell myself that Hector would be fine, but I just couldn't believe it, not with the night we've been having. I turned to face my next problem.

"C'mon Jin, we need to get you secured," I said, hurrying him along. I walked him to the backroom where we kept the occasional prisoner. Benandantis don't often keep prisoners, typically we transfer them over to the Majin, but once in a while someone or something comes into our custody that needs to be restrained or kept prisoner for a while, so we have places like this.

The room was painted a rich scarlet and there were silver magic circles inlayed into every surface including the floor and ceiling. A series of chains ending with shackles hung down from the walls. I had never had to use them before. I knew they were strong enough to hold a regular werewolf, but I didn't know if it could hold one going through their first change. I sincerely hoped it did.