Prologue
I stood in front of Dan’s desk as he read my file. The black leather of my jacket creaked and nervousness crept in as I wondered whether or not I would be accepted. Most applicants are recent high school graduates who choose to believe the rumors about the secret wing of the government. I only found out about it myself by stumbling upon a case involving the murder of a family made to look accidental. A car crash caused by a drunk driver.
In the streetlight’s glow, I could see that the Tracer on one of the Shade Shifters team faintly picked up my signature and broke out in hives. The Shifters found me staring at the scene from the top of a tree. Don’t ask what I was doing up there, it would probably leave you with nightmares. Two different teams, I could tell. The way they seemed to stand apart from one another indicated that they’d much rather not be sharing the same space. I watched as they searched everywhere to find the source of their companion’s reaction.
They caught sight of me when I shifted my foot to better balance myself. I rested too much weight on a weak part of the branch. I felt it snap before I registered the loud cracking. Everyone on the ground had glanced up at where I was. A few had primal hunger twitching the muscles in their faces.
I barely had time to react before I had felt cold metal on the back of my head. I didn’t move and had followed the man’s instructions as I slowly descended from the tree.
I hadn’t felt like having a hole in my skull.
Dan had been called to the scene to decide what to do with me.
He took one look at me and asked, “You feel like joining up with the Shade Shifters?”
I don’t know why he asked me, but here I was, watching him read my application form with a critical eye. He looked up at me over the top of his thin framed glasses and spoke suddenly. “So, Kenyon, you think you’d be cut out for this job? To have to hide from society what you really do for a living?”
“I’m sure I am. I already do. I’m used to it.”
Dan took a moment to close my file and set it down neatly on his wooden desk. “Ah yes. A half vampire roaming about in society unchecked would scare most normal people enough that they would never leave their homes unless it was in a casket.” He paused for a moment, pondering a question. “Do you still drink blood?”
“I don’t need it to survive, but it helps keep my head clear.”
“Well then, we’ll add another order to the blood bank as to keep our new employee happy. I’ll set you up with Pread. Maybe he’ll give you one of his new guns. I think he calls them Vipers. They’re supposed to be the most powerful-”
I butted in, “I got the job?”
He blinked once and kept speaking. “… Guns he’s ever produced. Yes, you have the job. As you said, there isn’t much else you can do with your heritage being the way it is.”
I would have smiled if I thought my face might not crack. “Thanks Dan, but I have one more question for you before I begin my career as a Shifter.”
He blinked again, only this time he seemed surprised. “What could an eighty-one year old half vamp need to ask? Don’t answer that, but whatever it is, I can deliver.”
“Will I work alone or in a team?”
His mouth looked like an O. I was pretty sure he had never considered that option. “That’s up to you. Do you want to start a new team, in which case I’ll need a name for it and I’ll call you when rookies show up, or do you want to be a soloist like Rick?”
I considered both. Rick was a loner already. He had never liked working with anyone. He barely even wanted to talk to anyone. If I was going to be isolated from mainstream society already, I was going to do it with others. “I’ll take the team option. Solo work is a little edgy for me.”
Dan pulled out a sheet of paper with a small table on it. “Since the other teams have already decided not to take anymore rookies in, not that you’re inexperienced, you’ll be making your own team. Name?”
“Essance.”
Gender:
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