HELLSPAWN HUNTER

Chapter 5

# HELLSPAWN HUNTER

## Chapter 5: The Underground

The entrance to Vespera's hideout was through the basement of what used to be Tony's Pizza—a place Kael had worked at for exactly three days before getting fired for "attitude problems." Now it was a smoking crater, and they were climbing down through a hidden passage that definitely hadn't been there when he was making terrible pepperoni pizzas.

"This is surreal," Kael muttered, following Vespera down a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever. "Two days ago my biggest worry was whether I'd pass Ms. Rodriguez's history test."

*You wouldn't have,* Vex'thul observed. *Your knowledge of the Byzantine Empire is embarrassingly shallow.*

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

*Don't mention it.*

"History tests," Vespera said over her shoulder. "How wonderfully normal. Tell me, half-breed, what were you planning to do with your life before the world ended?"

"I don't know. College, maybe. My dad always said I should study engineering, but I was thinking more like... I don't know, maybe teaching. Something that actually mattered."

*Teaching is a waste of time. You can't educate people who don't want to learn.*

"That's a terrible attitude."

*It's a realistic attitude.*

"You two are adorable," Vespera said. "Like watching someone argue with their own conscience."

"He's not my conscience. He's more like... a really unpleasant roommate who never pays rent."

*I pay rent in the form of keeping you alive.*

"Debatable."

They'd been walking for what felt like hours, though Kael's enhanced senses suggested it had only been about ten minutes. The tunnel was carved from solid rock, lit by what looked like phosphorescent moss growing along the walls.

"So," Kael said, trying to fill the awkward silence, "are you actually a vampire, or is that just the aesthetic you're going for?"

"Half-vampire," Vespera corrected. "My father was human. My mother was... not."

"Is that why you're helping me? The whole 'hybrid solidarity' thing?"

"Partially. Also because you're interesting." She glanced back at him with those disconcerting black eyes. "Most humans who bond with demons either die immediately or become mindless puppets. You're still arguing with yours."

*I'm not a puppet master. I'm a survival consultant.*

"He says he's a survival consultant," Kael relayed.

"He's lying. Demons don't consult—they dominate. The fact that you're still yourself means either you're remarkably strong-willed, or he's remarkably weak."

*I prefer 'strategically patient.'*

"He's offended."

"Good. Offended demons make mistakes."

They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, emerging into a vast underground chamber that looked like someone had crossed a medieval castle with a modern nightclub. Stone archways supported a ceiling that disappeared into darkness, while neon lights traced patterns along the walls that hurt to look at directly.

"Welcome to the Underground," Vespera said. "Home to everyone who doesn't fit in the world above."

The place was packed with people, though "people" was a generous term. Kael spotted at least three individuals who were clearly not entirely human—one had skin that looked like tree bark, another had eyes that glowed like a cat's, and a third was floating about six inches off the ground.

"This is a lot," Kael said.

*Stay alert. Half these creatures would eat you for sport.*

"And the other half?"

*Would eat you for the challenge.*

"You're really not helping my confidence here."

*Confidence without caution is just another word for stupidity.*

"Kael?" A familiar voice made him turn around. Standing by what looked like a makeshift bar was Jake Morrison, a guy from his chemistry class. Except Jake's eyes were now glowing amber, and when he smiled, Kael could see fangs.

"Jake? What the hell happened to you?"

"Werewolf bite," Jake said, like he was discussing the weather. "Happened during the first wave of attacks. Hurt like hell for about an hour, then... this." He gestured at himself. "Can't say I'm complaining. Enhanced strength, enhanced senses, and I actually understand Mr. Peterson's physics lectures now."

*Enhanced intelligence is common with lycanthrope transformation,* Vex'thul noted. *The virus reorganizes neural pathways.*

"Vex says it's the virus rewiring your brain."

"Vex?" Jake raised an eyebrow. "You named your demon?"

"He came pre-named. I just shortened it."

*I hate being called Vex.*

"He hates being called Vex."

"Even better," Jake grinned. "So what's your story? Last I heard, you were working at that gas station on Fifth Street."

"The gas station got eaten by something with tentacles. I got possessed by a demon. Now I'm apparently some kind of supernatural vigilante."

"Cool. Want a drink?"

The casual way Jake accepted this information was almost more disturbing than the fangs. It was like the entire world had shifted into a new reality, and everyone was just... adapting.

"I'm seventeen," Kael pointed out.

"You're also half-demon. I think the normal rules don't apply anymore."

*He has a point.*

"Don't encourage him."

Vespera appeared at Kael's elbow, moving with that unsettling vampire grace. "Come on, half-breed. Time to meet the management."

She led him through the crowd toward a raised platform where several figures were seated around a table that looked like it had been carved from a single piece of obsidian. As they got closer, Kael realized these weren't just supernatural beings—they were old. Not physically old, but old in the way that suggested they'd seen civilizations rise and fall.

"Council of Misfits," Vespera explained. "They run things down here."

*This is a terrible idea,* Vex'thul warned. *Ancient beings don't help younger creatures out of kindness.*

"What do they want in return?" Kael asked.

"That's what we're about to find out."

The figure in the center of the table was tall and thin, with skin that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. When it spoke, its voice sounded like wind through dead leaves.

"Kael Draven," it said. "Son of Marcus. Bonded to Vex'thul the Unbound. You're either the most dangerous person in this room, or the most naive."

"I'm hoping for naive," Kael said.

"Hope is for the living," the figure replied. "You're something else now."

*I really don't like where this is going.*

"What do you want from me?" Kael asked.

"Simple," the figure said. "We want you to go back to school."

"What?"

"Millbrook High is reopening tomorrow. Emergency session, they're calling it. Grief counseling, community rebuilding, all very touching." The figure's expression didn't change, but Kael got the impression it was smiling. "Of course, what they're really doing is screening for supernatural contamination."

*It's a trap.*

"Every student will be tested. Those who show signs of... change... will be quietly removed."

"Removed?"

"Disappeared. Studied. Dissected, if necessary."

Kael felt something cold settle in his stomach. "And you want me to what, exactly?"

"Protect them. The ones who've been changed. Get them out before the tests begin."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who can pass for human long enough to get inside. And because," the figure leaned forward, "you're the only one naive enough to try."

*I told you this was a trap.*

"It's not a trap," Kael said. "It's a suicide mission."

"Probably," the figure agreed. "But it's your suicide mission. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to let your classmates die?"

Kael looked around the room—at Jake with his amber eyes, at the other changed teenagers scattered throughout the crowd, at the ancient beings watching him with expressions that ranged from curious to predatory.

"When do I start?" he asked.

*You're an idiot.*

"Yeah," Kael said. "But I'm an idiot with a plan."

*What plan?*

"I'm working on it."