H.U.M.A.N.S (The Veiled World Book 1) Read online

  Though the stranger managed to come upon us virtually undetected, he didn’t seem to be looking for a fight. When his gaze fell on me, I took note that he didn’t seem interested in my fresh and exposed blood at all.

  Now that was really bizarre.

  Cole was six foot three and about 220 pounds of solid muscle. By comparison, and from what I could make out, this Nocturna was pretty close to his height and build. Rain pattered rhythmically on the top of his hat, dripping steadily over the edge of the brim to further conceal his features, and his long, dark, glistening wet duster flapped in the rain-filled breeze.

  Instantly, he reminded me of a bounty hunter.

  Hostile or not, he was a Nocturna and we weren’t taking any chances.

  Chapter 2

  Cole was all but ready to fire and blow this mysterious Nocturna away but since he appeared at ease, not even attempting to go for his guns, he hesitated. Out of Guardian Hunter code, we didn’t believe in shooting or attacking an unarmed and non-threatening being without justifiable cause.

  Nocturnas were the exceptions though because they were never without malicious intent by virtue of their diets.

  “Who the hell are you?” Cole demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter. I said that I would take him off your hands and I appreciate the assistance.” He smiled handsomely, flashing perfect, way too white— normal teeth.

  Assistance?

  I tried hard to get a glimpse of his eyes but I couldn’t really see them. I was too fixated on his sexy lips when he spoke.

  He still hadn’t so much as glanced down at my wound that I could tell. Hmm.

  “Thanks but we’re not asking you to take him off of our hands. We handle our own intruders and you’re surrounded right now, so unless you want to end up like him, I suggest you go back to wherever it is you spawned from.” Cole warned him.

  That was just it. Where had he come from? Where had they both come from? I wondered.

  The Nocturna on the ground had long since slipped into unconsciousness when the last few darts struck him. I think we may have overdone it and killed him unintentionally.

  I had spoken way too soon. He suddenly began to rouse, groaning as his head slowly lolled from side to side stopping short when he faced the other Nocturna.

  His eyes nearly bugged from their sockets.

  I stiffened and both Jax and I watched his movements, ready to shoot him again if he did anything stupid. I was still pissed that he had managed to injure me but that second of carelessness and misjudgment had been my fault.

  To our shock, the dazed Nocturna came to life and began to panic. Writhing wildly in an attempt to slither away from the stranger, he began to shout and cower. “No! Not him!”

  Both Jax and I looked at each other with puzzlement and then Jax trained his rifle back on him in warning.

  “What the fuck is your problem you parasitic freak? You wanna die now?” Jax threatened in disgust.

  “Yes! Go ahead and pull the trigger, right here, I’m begging you! It would be more humane!” the Nocturna pleaded, stretching his mouth wide, flashing fangs and all while emphatically pointing inside the dark, gaping, cavernous opening.

  “I’m not challenging any of you. I have no reason or desire to fight and I promise to make sure that you aren’t troubled with any more of his kind as well.” The stranger explained, remaining cool and patient as the tilt of his head fell and rested on the Nocturna on the ground.

  “His kind? You mean any of your kind, don’t you?” I corrected him rudely.

  He smiled slightly, I could see that much even in the darkness and rain.

  “Not quite.”

  “Bullshit! You guys are all the same and subject to the same complimentary execution as the next one.” Jax clarified.

  The stranger was nonchalant to Jax’s insult and threat as well as the Nocturnas sudden bizarre request for us to aid with his suicide.

  “No two beings are the same, even those belonging to the same class.” The stranger replied.

  The cold, needle-like raindrops were illuminated by a quick flash of lightning. My hair was soaked as was the rest of me, and water annoyingly continued to trickle down into my eyes from my bangs.

  Cole huffed with impatience before any of us could respond. “We don’t debate anything with Nocturna and we’ve definitely got this situation under control. Now I did ask who you were and how you got here though. If you don’t want to answer that then you best be on your way.” Cole stated imperiously.

  Armed with bad-ass revolvers or not, we weren’t backing down. It was three against one anyway.

  It wasn’t like us to engage in any kind of civil conversation or reasoning with Nocturna at all, then again, most of them were not as engaging or as calm as this one either.

  Though he carefully scoped out each of our faces, either for memory or comparison before responding, the direction of his gaze seemed to linger and rest a bit longer on me than with Cole and Jax.

  I could tell that Cole noticed the same thing and he was none too pleased about it too.

  “Who I am and how I got here is irrelevant, though I can’t say the same for him. I haven’t taken count since arriving but you know as well as I do that where there is one, many more will follow. It never dawned on me that I’d find more than one hunter in one place at the same time…and twins at that.” He smiled at me and then tilted his head up slightly to pan the night, rain-filled sky.

  He was even more intriguing and tempting to me now that I could see more of his lips and the chiseled shape of his strong jawline, both slick with rain.

  “Of course, the air user, well, they’re pretty common. It’s surprising yet refreshing to find you both in the same company though.” He commented matter-of-factly.

  He’s already spotted Isis? I hoped that she was alright. I could tell that Cole was thinking the same thing when we looked at each other in the momentary silence.

  “Yeah, we’re well aware of that fact. You showed up, didn’t you?” Jax cut him off with a deadly glare.

  “As I said, we aren’t of the same class or breed.”

  Cole scrutinized him suspiciously, trying to see past the veneer of his words and the physical facade.

  “What the hell do you mean, not of the same class or breed?” Cole retorted.

  “I greatly admire you guys. Believe it or not, you and I have a lot in common. Give him to me and I can guarantee that you’ll never see him or another Nocturna in this area again.” The stranger completely disregarded his question, which was really pissing Cole off now.

  Then he gauged me for a moment.

  “I can tend to your injury so that it heals quickly without infection— if you’d like.” His tone was half- soothing and half-seductive, enough to stir up a frenzy of my curious lust. Infection?

  “I don’t think so.” I quickly declined.

  We were all undecided. This interaction didn’t make any sense.

  “What’s the status? I lost connection and now I’m hearing a lot of commotion.” Pierce’s voice ushered in through the static of the earpiece.

  “Standby.” Jax acknowledged him.

  “He’s alone.” Isis’ voice suddenly affirmed aloud and into our ear-pieces as she landed silently beside me.

  I felt a rush of instant relief seeing that she was alright.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Cole asked.

  “Doing what you asked…thoroughly. Mile radius is all clear. Why’s he still alive?” She nodded at the downed Nocturna in disgust.

  “Thank you! I’ve been waiting for it myself! I was hungry but I wasn’t trying to kill anyone!” He pled again, clawing the ground and sliding towards me, only to be halted by the crushing weight of Jax’s heavy-booted foot on his neck.

  “Who is he?” Cole decided to ask the insane, poor-excuse for a Nocturna pinned under Jax’s foot instead.

  That’s what I’m waiting to know. Who was this Nocturna, that this land shark would rather us kill him than b
e taken away or dealt with by him? A cruel master? Someone seeking revenge on him? Or was he really a fellow bounty hunter after all?

  “Vishinkatura!” the Nocturna hissed in foreboding fear.

  “What?” Jax snapped.

  “Translate.” Cole ordered the Nocturna.

  “It means hunter. I told you, we have much in common.” The stranger cut in impatiently.

  We all looked at him questioningly. I somehow didn’t believe that but at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to get out of the soaking rain and start tending to my throbbing and now burning wound.

  Cole paused in thought, looking at me, Jax, and then Isis. Grumbling under his breath, he sighed heavily.

  “Fine. Do what you want with him as long as I don’t see either one of you around here again.” Cole warned as he knelt down beside the Nocturna. Jax removed his foot, allowing Cole to hoist him roughly to his feet by his neck.

  “No! I’m begging you…”

  Cole covertly jammed a tracking transmitter down his throat just as he began to protest, and forced him to swallow it by jabbing an elbow into his sternum.

  He gagged and swallowed hard with a grimace. Despite the rain, there were still small traces of my blood smeared across his mouth and chin.

  Grabbing at his throat and gagging, he tried to speak, “What? No! Please!” he tried futilely to resist even after the other Nocturna grasped a firm hold of the back of his collar and lifted him as if he were a lifeless skeleton.

  With a tip of his hat he nodded and flashed another dazzling, toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile.

  “Not a problem.”

  “I meant what I said about seeing you around here again.” Cole stated firmly as he straightened to stand again.

  The stranger regarded each one of us again as if taking notes.

  “Understood.” He politely replied.

  The doomed Nocturna in his grip began to freak out again, struggling and trying uselessly to escape. Why was he so terrified of him?

  “Don’t believe him! Vishinkatura means ca..!”

  He was abruptly cut off and I flinched when his head was jerked and twisted, hard. He broke his neck without effort, turning it all the way around as if he were simply unscrewing the cap on a water bottle. The unfortunate undead hung limp with his head twisted nearly backwards on his shoulders and facing us with a frozen, pleading expression.

  We all gaped at the stranger suspiciously in reaction to his abrupt and callous method of silencing. He examined his captive nonchalantly as if he were simply carrying a dummy or a bag of laundry under his arm.

  “A little overkill, don’t you think? You may want to rethink and revamp the effectiveness of your ammunition. No pun intended.” The stranger commented on all of the darts sticking out of the Nocturna’s back, head, and neck.

  “There’s more than one way to kill and we know them all, always remember that.” Cole promised him.

  “I agree. Duly noted.” He replied politely and then turned to leave.

  Once he was out of range Jax spoke, “I wonder why he didn’t even bother to pull those bad boys out.”

  “Should we follow him? Where’s he gonna go?” Isis asked.

  “I’m gonna assume that he’s leaving the same way he arrived.” Cole said as we all watched his form disappear in the distance behind the sheeting rain.

  “He didn’t really arrive, he just…appeared. I didn’t know Nocturna could do that.” I said.

  “Yeah, I know. There’s apparently a lot we don’t know but I’m gonna bank on a possible gateway somewhere on the island. New mission in effect as of now.” Cole replied in deep thought.

  Chapter 3

  My intense internet search for Vishinkatura brought up many unclear results, so I wasn’t sure what to believe or put together. Even asking around our circle of friends ended with varied interpretations and meanings, though we all already knew that it had something to do with the Nocturna. We all made plans to scour the island for any possible gateways that would explain both of their arrivals first thing in the wee hours of the morning, when we had more eyes to help. Until then, we were taking shifts to watch for any more stray undead around the island. This hunt detail didn’t include me this time though. I was busy being treated and patched up.

  This was the first time that I’ve ever been bitten by anything, including a Nocturna. I had no idea that the lingering pain long after would be worse than a man-o-war sting. Though the venomous creatures of the human world didn’t affect us in the same way as it would a human, it still hurt like a bitch just the same.

  Isis and Noemi stayed for as long as I could tolerate the gossip and chatter. I don’t even remember when I had finally succumbed to sleep with much relief. I was out like a light once the medicine that Erian, Isis’ Mage beau, concocted to help ease my discomfort and promote faster healing, took full effect.

  I overslept, waking up still a bit groggy and under the power of the herbal medicine. I was usually up early to ready the bar for the magic show and the craft projects that we prepared for the kids but from the sound of the music downstairs, my friends had already taken care of all that this morning without me.

  I yawned and stretched, wincing at the soreness still fresh in my side. I dreaded seeing it again because it certainly didn’t feel any better.

  Last nights’ encounter was nothing totally out of the ordinary but it was definitely something that continued to replay in the back of my mind.

  Could have, should have, would have but didn’t. My getting hurt was not part of the plan, and I wished that I could put together a face for memory to match the slick and cavalier voice of that other Nocturna.

  It bothered me not knowing who he was and more importantly, how mysteriously he appeared and disappeared without detection.

  What were the odds of two Nocturnas showing up so close to the location of the bar? Had we finally been discovered? I didn’t want to have to move again. Staking out a new and discreet location that was nearly forgotten by the civilization of humans was painstakingly difficult not to mention having to start over.

  It was cowardly to continue running just like we had done from our homeland and letting them win. Even though Cole and I had been just kids then, it didn’t matter.

  The Ascendants were like a cancerous plague and the Nocturnas were a major part of their regime. They managed to overpower and wipe out several classes of Hybrid Hunters, including ours, and drive them from their homelands. Then, they moved onto the Sylphs, the Mages, the Animators, and many of the other elemental beings that used to occupy our supernatural universe. It wasn’t that they were that powerful, it was more because we all lacked unification. We cared more about separating ourselves from each other by class, powers, abilities, and wealth status than banding together.

  Some groups have been totally wiped out altogether, extinct and gone as if never to have existed at all. That was the worst fate that I could ever wish on any race of beings.

  Our parents and people sacrificed their lives to make sure that their children kept theirs in order to continue the bloodlines. All of that history was the main reason that my brother Cole and I decided to open the bar in the first place.

  We decided on using the word HUMANS as an acronym. The intent was to create a sanctuary that would welcome and give whatever peace-loving fellow elementals that still existed, a place to go and hang out safely without fear of being discovered by both the Ascendants and normal humans of this world.

  Its success helped to not just encourage and strengthen bonds and friendships but a new generation…in case the inevitable ever came to pass —and we all knew that it would one day.

  War with the Ascendants.

  I live in a loft style apartment at the top level on the other side of the bar and Cole lives on the mainland with his girlfriend, Clee. It was more for convenience sake than anything. Though we loved interacting with and among humans, the potential for any accidental mishaps served better if we were way outside of any ma
ss populations like on this island. It was one of the many hidden beaches among the Marieta Islands off the coast of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.

  Reminding me of our homeland, I fell in love with the structure and serenity of the island. A private beach hidden inside an open crater was the perfect undercover spot for all of us, even allowing easy access for our Undine friends. The language barrier wasn’t hard to overcome and many of us quickly learned to speak both English and Spanish. We had long ago decided on using English as a universal language among each other in order to avoid confusion.

  A soft knock sounded at the door.

  “Who is it?” I called out as I padded into the living room to open a window. Pushing the curtains aside, I welcomed the golden warmth of the sun on my face. It was always more vibrantly golden to me after a rainstorm.

  “It’s me, Isis, open up.” She knocked again.

  After opening the window halfway, I answered the door.

  Isis was cheerful and illuminating as always.

  “Hey, how’s the war wound?” She teased, toting a tray filled with mouth-watering pastries, tea, and juice.

  I smiled wanly. “I just got up and I haven’t checked it yet but it definitely feels the same.”

  She peered at me inquisitively with concern as she set the tray down on the dining table.

  “The ointment didn’t help? Did you take the elixir?”

  “Not yet. It can’t taste any better than it smells.” I groaned, heading into the bathroom.

  “Doesn’t matter, suck it up and drink the damned thing. There’s no telling what kind of infection a Nocturna bite can cause.” Isis scolded me.

  “Absolutely nothing. Hunters are immune, remember?” I leaned back out of the door to remind her while tying my hair into a pony tail.

  “Then you should be feeling better by now. Let me see it.” Isis demanded, meeting me in the open doorway of the bathroom.