Beautiful Monster: The Hunt (Book 2) (3 page)

Chapter Seven

Once safely back in the heart of the city, with minutes to spare before sunrise, Alina and ZoZo settled into a small hotel room in midtown Manhattan. Alina pulled the drapes shut before tucking ZoZo into bed. The child who would ordinarily be awake while Alina slept was so exhausted, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She needed a good long sleep. She’d earned it, Alina thought, smoothing the girl’s hair. She wouldn’t dare feed from poor ZoZo, not tonight, not after what she’d just done for her. She’d wait for dusk when the girl would be stronger.

Her task to kill Alexei was proving more of a challenge than she’d initially thought, but she’d ponder her dilemma when evening came as well as take a good look through the
Book of Spells
.

Alina had never worried about failure since her recruitment. She was a confident and efficient killer. Worry was a foreign and uncomfortable visitor, twisting her gut and adding to her troubles though there was something more perplexing running through her mind—Alexei was
different
. She’d never had trouble getting his engines roaring before despite his predilection for men. She was the one woman he could not resist. But tonight, when they’d kissed, he’d tried to kill her! Why? She’d felt his repulsion pounding at her like ocean waves, strong enough to knock the breath from her. No man or woman had ever rejected her. It was her greatest strength.

Alina settled onto the other bed in the small room and wrapped an arm around her newfound treasure—
Libro Facinis
. Although she would have much preferred to be nestled in earth, the place where she could best recoup needed energy, safe from her enemy, daylight, and close to the heartbeat of the planet, the bed would do in a pinch. Her hunger would be a nagging ache, making her sleep a restless one. Somehow, she managed to file her troubles away, at least for a while. Like it or not, it was time for sleep.

Alina awoke to a light flutter of a fingertip down the bridge of her aquiline nose and then across her lips. It wasn’t the least bit unpleasant and even coaxed a groan of pleasure from her. She opened her eyes to see Alexei looking down at her, smiling. Quickly, she turned to check on ZoZo, who was thankfully still snoring in the bed beside her.

“She’s safe. Not to worry,” Alexei whispered then switched tacks. He began to claw through her mind, to send thoughts. Maybe she’d let down her guard and he’d get into her head. Maybe he could find out who the hell she was and what she wanted.

Why are you here?
He thought to her, a benign question that didn’t give away the fact he had no idea who she was.

Don’t hurt her
. Alina thought back and shot a glance in ZoZo’s direction.

He shook his head and replied.
I won’t, if you answer me
. His eyes found the tome beside her; brows smashing together in puzzlement. Alina pulled it closer, ready to spring into action if she had to.

I was in town. I missed you
. She said to his mind.

Alexei smiled his brightest and best.
I missed you too, but I do wish you would have called. I’ve been ... busy.

Doing what?

A bark of laughter erupted from him and he quickly covered his mouth with the back of his hand to stifle it.
Have you not come for that very reason? To see what has been keeping me so busy? I had time to think last night and it seems we’ve been apart a very long time. Showing up now seems odd, to say the least.
He’d taken a chance with that supposition. But he’d surmised it from what she’d already told him.

A long silence stretched between them. Electric tendrils fingered through Alina’s brain as if he were thumbing through a filing cabinet in search of answers. But what was it he was looking for? Alexei had known her for decades and knew her well. There would be no need to search for things he should already know. He continued tugging, trying to pull up her memories of their shared past.

Alexei smiled and bit his lip like a schoolboy who’d just been caught cheating on a test.

Who are you!?
Alina screamed in his head.

Alexei flinched and took a step backward, hands cupped over his ears. Gone was his schoolboy grin, now replaced with something more sinister.

Who. Are. You?
She asked again.

He moved closer. But Alina was standing now. In a flash, she was on the side of the bed farthest from him, gripping the
Book of Spells
to her chest. This beast was not Alexei. Now she was certain. How had she not realized it as soon as she’d kissed him?

Her eyes narrowed and her fangs fell into place.
Leave now and I won’t harm you.

Alexei’s eyes slid to the sleeping girl but Alina was now inches from him, blocking his way to the imp’s bed, having abandoned the book on the night table. He was wondering which was more important, she knew—the book or the girl. Yet underneath it all, he wondered if either was worth the fight; she knew that too.

I will leave but you’re not strong enough to harm me. It would be wise if you took that to heart, comrade
. He gave her a wicked smile.
I could take the girl if I wanted her badly enough, and that book of yours, too. I’m stronger than you imagine me to be.

He was telling the truth. She kept her walls in place. Showing fear or apprehension would give him the upper hand.

Now he looked genuinely amused.
You’re right to be afraid
.

He was gone, disappearing in the blink of a human eye.

Chapter Eight

Alina stood by the window as ZoZo slept. Her nostrils flared with her growing hunger, picking up the scent of blood flowing in the veins and arteries of the passersby on the street below.

She’d have to wake the child soon or risk losing control. ZoZo, too, must be hungry. Forgetting about the needs of her human charge was easy. Alina padded to the door, cracked it open and spotted a vending machine at the end of the hallway. She set out toward it and was back in an instant with an armful of goodies. When she entered the room, ZoZo greeted her with a sleepy smile and a stretch.

“ZoZo feel better.” The girl rubbed her tummy, her grin growing wider when she saw what Alina held. “Eat now?”

Alina deposited the bags of chips, packages of cookies, and chocolate bars on the bed in front of the girl, then put a can of soda on the night table. “All for you, sweetness.” She patted Zo’s unruly head of hair, trying without success to finger comb her wild locks into submission.

The girl ate and while she did, Alina changed out of her dirty dress and into something practical; jeans and a pullover. She hated to dress down. It wasn’t her style but there was no need to dress to impress now that she knew the beast she was dealing with was definitely not Alexei. She’d be better suited for the dirty work ahead of her in more practical clothing.

She settled beside the imp and watched the artery in the girl’s neck pulse with each sugar-fueled heartbeat. Gently Alina swept the hair away from Zo’s neck and moved her lips close. The girl was too busy stuffing her face with junk food to notice or care.

“Can I feed now, sweetness? Do you feel strong enough?” Alina asked. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to keep from plunging her fangs into the girl’s jugular without waiting for an answer.

ZoZo nodded heartily and even tilted her head for her mistress to gain access. Alina gave the girl a peck on the cheek before drinking her fill and when she was done, she contemplated her next move. This time, Alexei, or whoever he was, would know she was coming for him. She’d have to be careful. She’d felt the strength of that beast. He was no ordinary creature of the night.

Then an idea struck her.

Alina picked up the giant pink tome from the night table and placed it on her bed. She sat cross-legged in front of it and carefully turned the age-brittled pages.

Some of the spells were familiar; some more complex and unusual but she could find nothing helpful, until she turned to the last pages. There she recognized Alexei’s familiar neat script.

Excitement rose as she began to read. It looked as if it were a diary of sorts! As she read, her mood changed from excitement to caution to outright fear. Alexei had left careful and in-depth instructions on how to end the life of a creature of the night, stating that he wrote them down in case he needed or wanted to end his own existence.

Why on earth would he do that? As far as she knew, Alexei was happy. He was handsome, fun-loving and seemed to adore his place in their world of death and destruction. She couldn’t fathom Alexei ever wanting to end his life.

Alina read slower, running a finger along the lines as she went, trying to process every word. A tendril of dread ran down her spine when she came to a name—
Boris
. It wasn’t one she knew. Alexei had never mentioned this man to her, yet there was something frighteningly familiar. She said the name aloud over and over, drawing ZoZo’s attention—“
Boris, Boris, Boris
.” The girl began to speak, but Alina dismissed her with a shush. Intuition told her this man, this Boris, was important; that she should pay attention to what Alexei had to say about him. In the paragraphs that followed, Alexei had written a description of Boris:

Boris is a vile, hideous being. The ugliest creature I have ever set eyes upon. His breath is retched, his bulbous nose veined with blue lines. He is obese and foul. Sadly, since he is my maker, I am forever tied to him. If only I were still able to pray to God, to ask for help to hide me away from this vilest of creatures. He craves not just my company but my very essence. Boris does not want to possess me, he wants to be me!

I have remained hidden for centuries in the best way I know how—by staying close to the beast. I rest easier knowing where Boris is and in the fact he does not yet know of my whereabouts. I feel his hunger for me as well as his pull. They say a maker can always find his children but with the help of a spell from this very book, I have managed to remain out of his reach.

The instructions I’ve recorded here, ways to end my unnatural life, are not a complete secret. They are known by some. For me, they are a safeguard; a contingency plan. I do not want to end my existence because I know there will be nothing but oblivion waiting for me. A soulless creature cannot hope for eternal life, but nothingness is better than the torture I’m certain Boris would mete out to gain my physical body. His decrepitude is my bane; my good looks too are a curse, but I will do the unthinkable if need be.

I fear too for my brother, Lev. He was my biggest mistake. I never should have turned him. Lev was a good man. He deserved a normal mortal life, not the life of a monster that I foisted upon him. The life of a blood-sucking killer is a hard one for Lev.

True, I haven’t done my duty as his maker or as his brother. I neglected to teach him the ways of beings like me. Though I will try to pass on the ways of our kind to my brother, I doubt Lev will ever take to this life completely. Goodness still lives in him. It’s almost as if a heart still beats in his chest. He is the only good thing I have left.

Alina lifted her head from the pages. Funny, but she’d never given a thought to Alexei’s turning. It hadn’t really mattered. Those things didn’t mean much after a century or two. However, Alexei was obviously obsessed with knowing the whereabouts of Boris. Along with the description of his maker, and his perceived failings with his brother, Lev, Alexei had kept a list of dates and times he’d spied on Boris—keeping the devil he knew close. Alina’s head spun with questions.

She remembered now how Alexei and Lev resembled each other. Two possibilities came to mind. One, could it be that it was the brother and not Alexei whom she’d first encountered and who’d recently visited her? She shook her head. No, it couldn’t have been. Alexei described Lev as still possessing some goodness. There was no good in the creature who’d just terrorized her. Nor would Lev have the strength of that beast.

There was only one explanation, Boris had finally gotten his wish and had taken over Alexei’s body. Alina read the last passage on the page. It was dated a mere three months prior, just before the killing spree began and she’d been called to duty.

It is my nature to be selfish. If I am to defeat Boris, then I will need help. Perhaps together, Lev and I will be able to overpower that devil and then I will finally be free to live my life without looking over my shoulder.

Lev, forgive me, but I am about to deceive you.

Chapter Nine

Alina had to find Lev. But how? She had no idea where to begin. He could be anywhere in the world. The last she’d heard was that Alexei was living with his brother. That was obviously not the case now. Perhaps Boris had killed him too? She needed more information. She needed to know who she was dealing with if she was going to finish her job, but going to Those on High was out of the question. They’d sent her on a mission to find and dispose of Alexei. Nothing would change even though the spree killer wasn’t Alexei. Her mission was to stop the killing, no matter who was doing it.

She needed to strike fast and leave town but the element of surprise was gone now.

Alina leafed through the
Book of Spells
once again. Checking Alexei’s entries over and over, maybe there was something she’d missed. She’d come across a spell to summon up spirits but creatures of the night had no souls. It would do her no good. Yet, intuition told her to keep the book close and so she tucked into her large handbag and looked over at ZoZo, who’d turned on the TV and was watching a reality show.

A sigh of frustration escaped Alina. She’d have to assume the worst, that both Alexei and Lev were dead and gone.

“ZoZo, Alina has to go out for a while. Will you be okay to be alone for a bit?”

The girl absently put a chip into her mouth and nodded without taking her eyes off the television.

ZoZo would probably doze off at some point, Alina thought. It was safer to leave her in the hotel room, at least, she prayed that was the case. Alexei had been onto something and he’d been smart to keep tabs on Boris.

Alina blew ZoZo a kiss before leaving. Boris was a mystery she intended to solve.

* * * * *

The boys, there were two of them, exited the bar hand-in-hand giggling and kissing their way to a small VW bug that sat alone in the dark parking lot. Boris watched as one of the young men opened the passenger side door for the other. In appreciation, the driver was given a kiss and a caress.

The youths resembled each other, slender and tall, both wearing T-shirts and skinny jeans. One had light brown hair and the other was blond, but they wore their hair in a similar fashion, long on the top and shorn almost to the scalp at the sides; gel held the longer locks in place. They were cute, Boris thought, though not as handsome as he was. The young men were scrawny, too. Boris felt his muscles tighten beneath his shirt, making it cling to his biceps. He was a mass of solid muscle. It was laughable how easy it would be to take the boys; to have his fun and to ... well, to kill them.

The driver walked around to the front of the car, smiling all the while at his boyfriend. It was now or never Boris knew and so he made his move, swooping down from the rooftop where he’d been observing them.

Their screams rang out in unison, making Boris smile. Soon they’d be headlines, he thought and almost said as much. He liked the power that unbridled fear instilled in him. It was
almost
as much fun as the killing itself.

“What the fuck, man?” The brown-haired boy said. “Where the hell did you come from?” His voice shook as his fingers fumbled with the handle of the car door. The blond boy inside stared wide-eyed, one hand on his chest and the other across his mouth.

Boris’s smile widened. “No need for alarm, comrades. I’ve come to say how beautiful I think the both of you are and to invite you to my humble abode.”

“But...but... you came out of nowhere. Like you jumped down from the building or something. We don’t want any part of this—”

Boris caught the boy’s wrist just as his hand finally found purchase on the handle.

“Yes, you do.” He nodded and looked deep into the young man’s hazel eyes.

The boy nodded slowly and a smile blossomed on his pretty pink lips.

Boris turned to see the blond escape the car and begin to run back toward the bar.

“Sit in the car and don’t move. I must go and fetch your friend,” Boris said. The boy, no longer in charge of his own free will, did as he was told.

Boris snatched up the blond like a bird of prey swooping down on a sparrow. He was as easy to compel as his brown-haired companion. And soon, the three of them were cozied up in the small car. Boris drank from one and then the other, not bothering to ask their names; not caring enough to want to know.

They tasted of vodka and tequila. They tasted of youth and vigor. The boys oohed and aahed as Boris pulled from their jugulars in long slurps. He drank until he was sated, then ripped out their throats to savor the flesh beneath.

Of course, he’d leave them in the car to be found in the morning, perhaps taking the time to arrange a macabre tableau. It was part of the fun. Yet as powerful and content as he felt, a shiv of worry slipped under his skin—it was that damn woman and her imp. There was no doubt in his mind she’d been sent to stop him. Those on High didn’t like a show and what a show he was putting on! Of course, they’d send someone after him. It was a matter of time. He had to deal with the woman or she’d be back to deal with him.

* * * * *

Alina surrounded herself with a cloaking spell, one she’d used a million times before. It was precarious at best and if anyone caught on to even the slightest hint of her presence, all it would take was a concentrated stare for the spell to melt away like a pat of butter on a skillet. As unreliable as it was, the spell was necessary if she was going to keep watch on Boris.

Not willing to take any chances despite the fact she knew she was imperceptible for the moment, Alina watched from a distance as Boris was busy having his fun. She was now positive this killing machine was not Alexei and that Boris had in fact stolen Alexei’s essence and was now living his eternal life as the handsome Baranovsky brother.

A mix of emotions flooded her then. Although she’d prepared herself and hardened what was left of her heart in the anticipation of having to kill a creature/man she’d once cared for, she was relieved, even happy, that the being was not Alexei. Though she knew now that killing Boris would be more difficult because he was a powerful being, she was ready for the task.

Alexei was no more—the thought was sudden and harsh. One solitary tear rolled down her cheek. She was also certain, Lev, had more than likely met the same fate as his brother. Judging by what Alexei had written in the
Book of Spells
, about how he was going to need his brother’s help but that he would also deceive him, told Alina all she needed about the fate of the Baronovsky brothers.

How then would she handle this demon, Boris? He was out of control and an out of control creature of the night was almost impossible to stop. The strength he was gaining through his kills was giving him a tremendous advantage over her.

It was time to leave the barren darkness of the parking lot. Surely, the cloaking spell had worn off by now and Alina couldn’t risk being seen next to the scene of this horrific crime. As she turned to leave, she was met with a steel grip on her upper arm and a hand across her mouth. Boris! Could it be? She’d seen him leave but he could have circled back around.

Her nostrils flared, as she caught a scent and her eyes widened when she realized it wasn’t Boris. Although somewhat relieved, alarm bells rang loud in her head and her fangs fell into place. She bit her assailant’s hand and he quickly pulled away, giving it a good shake. Crimson droplets sprayed, catching the wall behind her and freckling her face and neck. She licked her lips and tasted his youth.

“What the hell. You didn’t have to do that,” the young man said. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.” He looked to be twenty at the most, but there was no mistaking he was one of her kind. His fangs retracted into his gums and he ran a tongue across them until they disappeared completely.

Alina shot out a hand, grabbing him by the throat. She didn’t grip too hard. She needed him to be able to speak. “Who are you?”

“Jack...I’m Jack.” He yanked at her hand but she was stronger than he was. She could finish him off with little effort but he’d said he was there to help and that had caught her attention.

“Who sent you?” Alina gave a little squeeze for effect then loosened her grip.

Jack looked down at her hand with pleading eyes but she wasn’t about to release him; not just yet.

“I’m a friend of Alexei’s.
Was
a friend, that is until what happened to the poor bastard,” he rasped still trying to pry her hand away.

She let go. He massaged his windpipe and coughed, eyes bulging. “Look, I’m not like you. I mean, I’m ... well, I’m new at this. Alexei was the one who turned me. He and I were lovers and one night, he went a little too far. Next thing I know, this is what I am...some kind of monster.” He looked skyward and held up his hands as if in prayer. “God help me, but I want to...to hurt people. I need to feed on them and once I get started, I lose control.”

Alina placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned his gaze to her. “Been there, done that, kid.” She took in her surroundings. “I guess you realize there’s a car just over there with two dead men in it. We’d better go somewhere more private to have a little chat. Have you fed tonight?”

He gave a sheepish nod.

Alina grabbed Jack by the wrist. “Come on, let’s go.”