After Sundown: Illumination Read online

  “About what?” Jason had asked, sensing what this was about.

  “About your ability to focus on the case you’re handling.”

  “Which aspect of it are we talking about, Vlad?”

  Jason hadn’t been able to stop the edge from creeping into his voice. He didn’t like to be questioned about his ability to do his job. He had always handled himself. That hadn’t changed. Why would Vlad question that now?

  “No offense meant, Jason. I’m just concerned about what’s happening with your missing mother. From everything I’ve heard your clan is starting to get more and more concerned about her disappearance.”

  “I’m taking care of that,” he’d said defensively. Vlad had been hitting a little too close to home. He could take care of his family without the vamp’s help.

  “I’m sure you are. My worry is not in your ability to handle family and clan matters, it’s in your ability to protect our client at the same time.”

  “I see,” Jason had said thoughtfully.

  He had thought this had something to do with Rebecca, but hadn’t expected Vlad to bring his mother’s situation into it. As much as he hadn’t wanted to explain himself, he’d known he needed to reassure his boss.

  “Several clan members besides me are looking into the case. I’ve spoken with them and they’re actively seeking information. I’ve also asked those I know outside of the clan to help me with the matter. Despite the fact that my mother may have left of her own accord and I could be on a goose chase, I’m concerned. So I’m doing everything in my power to locate her, Vlad. However, my ability to protect Rebecca in the meantime is not and will not be affected by that. I’m a professional.”

  Vlad had nodded.

  “That’s good to hear. I hope you understand why I felt obligated to check in with you about this. If you feel confident in your ability to handle this case, as well as your clan business, I’ll trust your judgment.”

  “Thanks,” Jason had said with a curt nod. “Anything else you want to discuss?”

  Vlad had suddenly looked uncomfortable. “About the other night, at Twice Charmed. I was having a tough time and uh…”

  Jason dismissed his boss’s words with a wave of his hand. “No problem, man. I understand. It happens to the best of us. Females are confusing and often don’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense. Been there, done that. Don’t worry about it, Vlad. What happens at Twice Charmed stays at Twice Charmed.”

  Jason had grinned.

  Vlad had looked relieved. “I appreciate that, Jason.”

  “No problem. Is that everything?”

  Vlad had nodded. “I think that’s about it. Let me know if anything new comes up with Rebecca’s amnesia. Once she starts to regain certain memories, her situation can’t remain the same. She’ll have to be moved out of that facility.”

  “I understand. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Just one more thing,” Vlad had said as Jason rose to leave. He waited for his boss to continue. “About your mother, I’ll put the word out, discreetly of course, to some people I know, and if I hear anything I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Vlad. I’d appreciate all the help I can get.”

  Sitting in the atrium, thinking back on his conversation with Vlad earlier that evening, Jason wondered about the people the vamp knew. The guy was an ancient. He had to have some pretty strong connections. It was nice to know his boss would try to help him with this. One thing about Vlad, he was hard, and he was damn strict, but he was also fair. And he went out of his way for the specialists who worked for him.

  That suited Jason just fine. Working for Sundown had been a perfect choice for him, and not just because of the offbeat hours. His work also let him fulfill his life quest, his Chailo, with each and every case he took. His quest was to protect life. And as a personal security specialist for Sundown Security he was a full-time protector.

  Now if he could just protect his own mother.

  That is, if she needed protection. His mother was a free spirit, as was the way of her clan. But she was also a good mother and responsible member of the gargoyle community. It wasn’t like her to just disappear for this period of time. He needed to find her, and soon. He had a feeling, an instinct, that she was trying to reach him.

  He had people on it. They were searching for her. The word was out. Clan security was alerted and in action. He was practically getting updates on the hour. There wasn’t much more he could do. Yet he knew he wanted to do more. If he weren’t needed here, to protect Rebecca, he’d be the one out in the night visiting each clan, asking questions, searching and finding out who knew what. Instead he had others doing it. And he couldn’t help but wonder what, if anything, they were missing. If only he could take the time off to handle everything himself.

  But he had a mission. And he would handle it professionally, just as he’d promised Vlad. He would use other methods to locate his mother. Those looking for her were very capable of visiting other clans and of traveling to other places, places his mother may have gone to on a jaunt, or as part of her own personal mission. Shaina took her Chailo very seriously. She was a healer, and strove to help those in need. In fact, in the human world she was a doctor, and as such she got to perform her Chailo daily.

  Looking back down the hall, he saw that Rebecca’s door was closed. What was she doing in there? What was she thinking about? Was she awake or asleep? He wanted to go see, wanted to find out exactly what she was up to. And he wanted to know why she had run away. That wasn’t like the woman he was getting to know. Rebecca had courage, and she seemed to face things head-on.

  Turning back to the window, he stared out into the garden once more and thought about her project. Who would have attempted something like that after waking up with amnesia? How many people would rise above the fear of the unknown and initiate something like that? No, Rebecca didn’t run away from life. She faced it with eyes wide open, lit with excitement and that little smile on her face.

  Rebecca felt like running away. She stared at her room door. She hadn’t known she was going to walk away from Jason like that until she stood up and did it. She just didn’t want to play games. She needed to know where he was coming from, and to do that she needed him to be honest, not play the “me Tarzan, you Jane” game. She felt instinctively that she had never liked that game and she didn’t know quite how to handle it. This time was no exception. Yet at the same time, she enjoyed his company so much. She liked talking with him, looking at him and yes, touching him.

  Her eyes strayed to the door. She wanted to go back out and talk with him. She knew she was not a coward, so why was she being one now? The doorknob jiggled. She sat up straighter, waiting. Was that him? Had he come to talk to her? Had he realized he had been acting like an ass and come to apologize?

  The knob jiggled again, but this time it also turned. She watched it in fascination, all her attention on that twisting knob. Getting to her feet, she stared at it, waiting and hoping it was Jason. The door slowly opened. She smiled in anticipation. Yes, he had come to talk with her and—

  The smile dropped to shocked recognition as two figures slipped into her room and closed the door behind them. Horrible memories flooded into her, causing her heart to speed out of control. Fear replaced anticipation as they slowly approached, both of them leering at her menacingly. She looked around, desperately trying to find a way out.

  “It’s no use, princess. We’re back, and there’s no escape this time,” the bigger of the two jeered. “Are you ready to play with us again? You know how much we like to play.”

  Rebecca opened her mouth to scream. As the sound ripped from her, the memories came crashing back, slamming painfully inside her head. These men, no, these things, had attacked her once before. She recoiled in horror as she recalled them changing shape, transforming into grotesque creatures with tails and horns as they loomed over her and began to beat her.

  She tried to scream again but the larger one had reached her. Grabbing her by
the back of the neck, he pulled her to him and clamped his other hand over her mouth.

  “No more noise now. Your time for making noise is done, bitch. Now it’s time for you to die,” he said.

  “Hey, what about me, Talon?” the smaller man asked.

  “What about you, Azkar?” Talon asked without turning his gaze from Rebecca. “You guard the door while I have some fun then I’ll let you have a turn before we kill her. Got it?”

  Before Azkar could answer Rebecca’s door swung open, slamming against the wall.

  “I don’t think that’s going to work for me,” Jason said, standing in the doorway.

  His voice was calm and nonchalant but Rebecca noticed that his face was anything but that. It was a mask of fury and his eyes promised complete and unforgiving retribution.

  Talon seemed unaffected by the sight of her protector. He swung around to face Jason, bringing Rebecca with him and slamming her back against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her neck.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the enforcer’s son,” Talon said calmly. “Are you taking up Jonah’s profession now, Jason?”

  Rebecca realized with a shock that Jason knew one of her attackers. But how was that possible? What did that mean?

  “I don’t need to take up my father’s profession to handle you, Talon. There’s no challenge there. There never has been,” Jason replied with an arrogant smile.

  Rebecca felt Talon’s body tighten. He was growing angry.

  Yet her captor laughed tauntingly, as if he hadn’t been affected by Jason’s words.

  “Then perhaps you’re taking after that bitch mother of yours. So full of spirit. Too bad that spirit had to be snuffed out,” Talon said with a snicker.

  Jason’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He slowly stalked forward.

  Rebecca sensed Azkar getting ready to make his move.

  “Jason, watch out for the other—”

  Talon tightened his hold around her neck painfully, cutting off her air supply. She struggled against him but it was no use. Clawing at his arm, she watched as Azkar jumped forward, attacking Jason. His response was immediate. Without any effort whatsoever Jason did two successive moves that landed Azkar on the ground. The first move flipped the smaller man over Jason’s back and the second, a chopping move to Azkar’s neck, left him very, very still on the floor. He didn’t get back up.

  Rebecca started to see stars and everything around her began to fade. She struggled to get air, twisting in Talon’s arms, but he only tightened his hold on her neck. She tried to elbow him in the stomach but that did nothing more than exhaust her remaining energy.

  She was going to die. She didn’t want to die this way, not now. Not when she had finally remembered so much more about her past. Not now that she had found someone like Jason.

  That was the last thought Rebecca had before everything went dark.

  Jason was going to kill Talon. There was no way around it. The gargoyle was hurting Rebecca, and he knew something about his mother’s disappearance and possibly something about her well-being. Yes, Talon was going to die, but first he would tell him everything he knew.

  Talon and he went way back. They were both members of the Jutaka clan but for as long as he could remember Talon had always operated in the outer fringe of the clan. Not quite part of it, yet not completely out. And he was not known for being the most upstanding guy around.

  “You’re going to let her go now, Talon. And then you’re going to tell me all about what happened to my mother,” Jason told him, continuing forward without hesitation.

  Talon threw Rebecca to the side. She was unconscious and hit the ground hard. Jason winced, knowing she would hurt when she woke up.

  “I will let the human bitch go, Jason. But only long enough for me to kick your sorry half-breed ass.”

  Half-breed.

  How many times had Jason heard that growing up? He was from two clans. Although not unheard of, it was unusual for clans to interbreed. Some people had a problem with that. Talon was obviously one of them.

  “And then I’m going to have some fun with this little female. Hard, fast and rough. Gargoyle fun. I’m not sure how long she’ll last but don’t worry, Jason. I won’t let her die that way. As soon as I’ve used her up every way I can think of I’ll kill her with my bow, just like I killed your stupid bitch of a mother.”

  Rage engulfed Jason. The red haze of it filled the air in front of him. His fingers itched to wrap around Talon’s neck and squeeze until the other gargoyle grew limp and lifeless in his arms.

  Jason struggled for control.

  Talon would never lay another finger on Rebecca.

  And Talon couldn’t have killed his mother. It was impossible. Jason hadn’t felt his mother’s death and he knew he would, if that time came. His mother was still alive. He could feel it. And Jason needed to find out where she was.

  He calmed down. He knew what Talon was trying to do. He was taunting him, trying to get him to attack out of anger. It wasn’t going to work. Jason had been trained better than that. As they warily circled each other, Jason took his time. Rebecca was unconscious but alive. So he had some time. What he needed was information. But once Talon told him what he needed to know he would kill the sick bastard for all that he had done.

  He thought about pulling his bow. He saw Talon’s slung low on his back. The other gargoyle had probably already thought about it then had come to the same conclusion Jason had. The room was just too small. Pulling out a bow and using it before your opponent reached you was not an option in that space.

  “So are you ready to dance, Jason?” Talon asked tauntingly, pulling a long knife out of his jacket. “I have something for you. I think you’re going to like it.”

  “I have something for you too, Talon,” Jason replied, pulling his knife out of his boot. It wasn’t a bow and it wasn’t as long as Talon’s knife but the double-serrated edge and curved end more than made up for its length. “But I know you’re not going to like it. In fact, it’s going to make you scream like a girl.”

  Talon narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He was getting angry too. Good. That was just how Jason wanted him. Angry and careless.

  “Let’s make this more interesting, shall we?” Jason said with a grin.

  Jason let his form waver and change. For a few moments he lost the ability to see or hear. His body shifted and moved, grew and hardened. The power of his kind surged through him. The feeling was a combination of ecstasy and excruciating pain. It happened every time he transformed but the sensation was still one that left him breathless. When he could see and hear again, he was gargoyle.

  It took him a moment to adjust to the transformation.

  Talon charged into Jason while he recovered. Jason staggered back from the impact but stayed standing, pushing Talon to the side. They squared off, circling one another warily.

  As a gargoyle, Talon was intimidating. Full Jutaka, he was tall, slightly larger than Jason, yet both of them had the bulky muscular build so prevalent in gargoyles. Talon’s three head horns, two on each side and one in the top center of his forehead, were stone-gray against his slate-black skin. His silver eyes were little more than slits as they watched Jason with reptilian intensity and his slender, spiked tail swished back and forth along the floor as his wings spread out gracefully behind him.

  Although not as tall, Jason’s build was almost identical to Talon’s. The differences came from his mother’s clan. Instead of the typical Jutaka slate-black skin, Jason’s skin was the color of gray marble and his eyes, bright silver, flashed electric blue when he was angry. Right now sparks of blue lit his eyes to the point that they almost glowed. Other differences were that Jason’s facial features were less grotesque, more chiseled and defined. His tail was spiked, like Talon’s, but only at the end, whereas Talon’s was spiked halfway up. Other than their build, another similarity they shared was their wingspan. The Jutaka were known for having the widest and most effective wingspan of all the gar
goyle clans. Like Talon, Jason spread his wings behind him, letting them stretch across the room.

  “That was a lucky shot, Talon. And so like you to fight dirty. But it won’t happen again. So be prepared to die.”

  “The only ones dying will be you and the human female, Jason. Of course I’m going to kill you quickly, but I’m going to take my time with this troublesome bitch. I’ll take pleasure in her pleas for mercy as I rip her clothes off and hold her down. I’ll savor the way she’ll try to please me to stay alive, taking me any way I demand,” Talon explained with a snarling leer, his eyes glazed over with lust. “I’ll especially enjoy it when she tries to scream her agony to the world around her gagged mouth as I tear in to her fragile human flesh again and again. Of course she’ll eventually pass out, bleeding and weak from the pain. And the glorious ecstasy at the end will be when I wait until she wakes up to slit her throat, relishing the gurgling sound of air and blood seeping from her neck as she tries to breathe. I could almost come just thinking about it.”

  Jason struggled to control his fury as he pictured Talon touching and hurting Rebecca.

  Stay calm. Stay calm.

  He took a deep breath, letting the slow inhalation and exhalation soothe his body. He had to keep his focus. He needed information.

  “Is that what you did with my mother? Torture her before you killed her?”

  “Unfortunately I wasn’t permitted to do that. However I did get to hear her scream from the arrow I shot into her thigh before killing her. That was a rush, let me tell you. Too bad you weren’t there to see poor Mommy in such agony. It really was quite entertaining.”

  Jason gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tighter around his knife, but still managed to restrain himself.

  He’s dead. Talon is as good as dead.

  He gained some calm and comfort knowing that he was going to kill Talon as soon as he got the information he needed.

  “You weren’t permitted? I didn’t think you had a taskmaster, Talon. But I guess that makes sense. A wuss like you wouldn’t be able to handle all of this on your own.”