Read Face the Dark (Hunters of the Dark #3) Page 24

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  Cameron had waited for Brett and the others to disappear down the sewer tunnel a little ways before turning around and heading back the way they’d come. He gathered his strength, trying to dismiss the terror that was working its way into his stomach and chest, tightening them like a rubber band, ready to snap. Images of the monster hurling the car flooded his mind, but he couldn’t back down. He had to do this. This was all his fault and he had to make it right somehow. He had to confront his demons.

  And so he stopped. And waited.

  His palms were sweaty by the time he heard the werewolves nearby. Their claws echoed along the walls as they clicked against the concrete. Their panting could be heard softly, as well as low growls in the backs of their throats.

  But Cameron stood his ground, confident in Tessa’s abilities to keep him safe from the creatures. Even though they weren’t even demons, as she’d told him they would be. But he tried not to think about that as he squared his shoulders and faced down what was barreling up the tunnel toward him.

  He got a good look this time around, especially as the beasts noticed him and slowed their approach, wary of some trick perhaps. There were three in all, as they’d suspected. The one in front was midnight black, its yellow eyes blazing out from pits as deep as the wells of Hell. Behind him were two werewolves with light brown hair, one smaller than the other, but still menacing and intimidating as could be.

  They didn’t seem natural, with their long legs and arms, the sharp talons that grew from their hands and feet, the needle-like teeth that pushed out through their muzzles. They looked too much like alien animals to possibly live in the same place as human beings. But here they were, in front of him. And as he watched, they stood up from all fours to walk on their hind legs like human beings. It was surreal. And somehow, they looked even more intimidating this way, like a bear drawing itself up to look bigger, although the werewolves’ claws looked more threatening now than ever, and able to kill him with little effort. And they were getting closer.

  Cameron had to ignore every instinct in his body as they approached him, the lead werewolf sniffing the air cautiously. Before it got too close, he cleared his throat. “You can’t kill me until you kill your other marks,” he said nervously, wondering if they could understand him.

  The lead werewolf seemed to snort at the comment and approached him still, putting his muzzle in his face, forcing Cameron to turn his head to the side. He felt the monster’s hot breath against his skin, as if it were tasting the air.

  Cameron fumbled with the front of his shirt and unbuttoned it completely to show the mark that Tessa had left. Although long since invisible to the naked eye, the werewolves seemed able to sense it somehow. The lead werewolf growled and pushed past him, as if he were of no consequence anymore, and continued to follow the scent of the other hunters.

  “Wait!” Cameron cried out. “You need to stop.”

  Another werewolf darted past him, and Cameron threw out his arms desperately against the final one. “I won’t let you pass. You can’t hurt me, and I won’t let you hurt them!”

  The werewolf growled and snapped its jaws in Cameron’s direction, causing him to flinch. Then it was shoving past him, making a sound in its throat like laughter.

  “I said stop!” he yelled, pulling out his nightstick. “I’m not afraid of you!”

  The last werewolf looked back at him, as if curious, then dashed along after its comrades.

  Cameron heard his heart beat loud in his ears as he dropped to his knees, and wondered just what he’d gotten himself into. The blood of any friends that died tonight would be on his hands forever.