Shaniah darted down the alley, the black cloak billowing behind her. Her way was hidden by shade and shadow now in the late morning, so she threw back the hood, hoping it would make her less noticeable. Walking quickly, she kept an eye and ear cocked for anyone following her, cursing her laziness and lack of caution.
She had drawn close enough to her quarry to hear that the soldier who had fought Malachi was named Hollister. She did not know if it was his first name or his last, but it was useful. The man Chee was the problem. He had noticed her. He was protecting Hollister and at first she didn’t pay attention, but she realized he smelled different from a typical human. The Archaics had lived for many thousands of years, and had outlived species from the earliest times. She knew that there were other races, like her own people, other beings outside the realm of humanity. The wolf people, for example. The Gnazy of the Eastern European lowlands, the ones the humans called gypsies, who could conjure powerful spells, magic that could prevent even an Archaic from killing or destroying them if they were adept enough.
All of these races and beings existed on the fringes of the human world. Humans, though physically weak in comparison to some of these other races, had grown clever and prospered, coming together and forming tribes and societies and civilizations, while the others mostly hunted and fought amongst themselves and with others. Now the humans were far too many. And unlike Malachi, she did not believe they could be destroyed. Terrorized, killed in large volume perhaps, but it was a simple question of numbers. With the weapons they had invented, and their mastery of the elementals, human society was too advanced to conquer. For the Archaics to survive, she had to find Malachi and stop him before he caused the utter destruction of her people.
Discovering the soldier here in Denver last night had raised her hopes. If he was here, knowing the way he had fought for his life and his men those years before, then he was a determined man. And she hoped his determination would lead her to Malachi. But because of this man Chee, he knew of her existence now. He would be watching and it would become more difficult to shadow Hollister.
Finally she reached the corner where she had taken a room at a small hotel on a quiet street far from the center of town. It was near the train station but far enough away that it did not attract a “higher class” of clientele. Her advantage was that near the train station, people were constantly coming and going, leaving and departing every time a train arrived. It made it easier for her to blend in and less likely to be noticed.
Shaniah entered through the side door and hurried up the stairs to her room, closing and latching the door. Chee had unnerved her. It had been hundreds of years since any human had made her feel cautious. Like he might have an advantage over her that she had yet to discover. He had studied her for a long time and she had found when most humans looked at her for too long, they grew restless and ultimately fearful. Instinct kicked in and in some part of their brain, they recognized her as a predator. But Chee had not behaved this way.
She tried to recall his scent, the way he stood in the street outside the hotel, guarding Hollister, silent and unmoving but obviously observing everything around him. Was he Gnazy? Was he a witch? The faintest scent of power had drifted off him.
She went to the window and pulled the curtains back just enough to peek out to the street below. In this part of town, only a few pedestrians passed by, this time of day. Two horses were tied in front of a saloon, three blocks up. When Chee stepped around the corner by the saloon and started walking toward the hotel, she nearly shrieked, dodging back out of sight and letting the curtain fall into place.
Her back against the wall, she peered out again, and saw Chee standing in the street, looking at the buildings on each side, his eyes covering every inch of the sidewalks, windows, doors, even the roofs. He stood there a few seconds more, then disappeared down a side street. She watched for several more minutes but he never reappeared.
She sat on the bed, her mind racing. This man Hollister had found a witch. There was a legend among the Archaics-a story so old most discounted it as a myth. From a time long ago, it was said a small group of humans had known about the Archaics, the wolf people, and the Gnazy. They had learned the secrets of the elementals and passed down this knowledge from generation to generation. Was Chee one of these men? Did he know about the things that could kill or injure one of her kind: silver, wood, and holy water?
Hollister was Shaniah’s best hope of finding Malachi before it was too late. Though she avoided taking human lives, this man Chee was a complication. She could not allow complications.
He would have to be dealt with.
Michael P. Spradlin
Blood Riders