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Chapter 1 Spanish Harlem, New York City T he saints’ eyes followed him as he worked, scolding him for using them for his lie. Mocking him for denying the truth about what he was. Ricardo Fernandez paused and laid his hands on the altar that embodied the fraud that was his life. All around him the statues of the saints condemned him. But he was used to such censure from those who refused to believe in his powers. Those whose fears forced him to hide behind the guise of a santero. He looked down at his hands and, as he had countless times in his thirty years of life, considered why he had been chosen to carry this burden. Why these hands, which looked just like those of any other man, possessed the power to give life or take it away. If he was a lesser man, he might have fallen into the trap of considering himself almost godlike. He might have opted to sell his abilities to those who paid the highest price to be saved. He could have even made a perfect assassin, able to kill without leav
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 T he shiny chrome hubcap held a place of honor much like his Winslow Homer landscape had at one time. Illuminated by a bare bulb hanging precariously from an electrical wire running through the sewer, the gleaming surface of the hubcap reflected back the beast’s image as he stood before it. Stroking a hand along his head, the creature imagined how his wayward strands of jet-black hair fell into place. In reality, his long talons, filthy with the gore of thousands of kills, slicked back the razor-sharp quills that began at the crown of his head and continued downward along his spine. They ended in a heavy tail-like knot of spikes that he prized now the way he had once treasured the manhood that had long ago receded into his lizardlike body. The keen-edged barbs on that knot provided an effective weapon, not that the demon had many enemies. Few people believed he existed, much less came after him. He had little need for self-defense, except against the bite of a large dog, or w
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 F rustration and hunger clawed at his innards. Frustration because he had been searching for days for the source of the power that had touched the cat he’d feasted on the other night. He had traveled throughout the neighborhood, up above, where the humans lived, trying to identify a trace of the unusual energy. Something that could leave such a potent trace on an animal had to be readily discernable, much like the energies the beast could sense from creatures like his vampire cousins. But he had found nothing. Not even another stray with that same lingering power. For that matter, not another stray, period. It had been days since his last meal. Few animals remained free in the neighborhood above, and he had already decimated the rat population in this section of the sewer. He had to concentrate on getting some food, and then he could resume his search for the special human, he decided, slipping off the manhole cover just enough to slink out and quickly duck into the narrow sp
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 H er lips felt chilly beneath his, probably from her walk in the cold. They were hesitant at first, but as the chill slowly left them, so did that uncertainty. He moved his mouth to savor her welcome, to relish the touch. It had been so long since he had allowed himself something even as simple as a kiss. Sara parted her lips, allowing him entrance, and he took the kiss deeper. But danger lurked on the smooth, sweet recess of her mouth. As she matched his intensity, the energy built between them, grew and melded their two similar forces in a stunning palpable surge. As if burned, Sara suddenly withdrew. “What was that?” Confusion and fear were clear on her face. He chastised himself for once again failing to control his power. He should have realized from their touch the other day that Sara could discern his energy, and that any kind of intimacy with her could be difficult, if not downright impossible. Around her, he lost his self-control. He remembered the first time such a
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 R icardo reared away, falling onto his backside as an unknown force touched his. Leaning on his hands, breathing heavily, he fought to shake off the sensation covering him, heavy and thick like an oil slick, polluting his energy and lingering beyond his control. He shot up off the floor and whirled, examining every part of the room for the source of the other being. Nothing. Rushing to his door, he examined the street once again, as he had the last time he had encountered the strange sensation. Or maybe it was safer to say the alien life force, for with this contact, he knew that was what it had been. Outside on the street, however, things were the same as always. It didn’t surprise him when a few minutes later the phone rang and the caller ID indicated it was Samantha. “Buenos dias, amiga.” “You felt it again, too, didn’t you?” she asked. “I can hear it in your voice.” The noises of the women and children in the shelter as they prepared for the day filtered over the line. He
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 R icardo had called and asked her out to dinner, despite their consensus that it was unwise to mix business and pleasure. He had sounded conflicted, as if he really didn’t believe he was inviting her, and she had probably sounded just as troubled when she accepted. Was she insane? The question rang like a litany in her brain. Ricardo Fernandez was trouble in a multitude of ways, and she was best off avoiding him. Except she couldn’t forget what had happened the other day, from his surprise kiss to the touch afterward. A touch that had somehow communicated to her that he was a man of honor and truth. How she knew those things defied logic, but with the passage of a few days and his call, she had decided not to run away from discovering more about him. A simple dinner date seemed like just the thing to do. The restaurant Ricardo had picked out wasn’t anything fancy. She preferred that, not liking pretentious places that catered to pretentious people. Give her a place like this
Chapter 6
Chapter 7 T he cat food sat untouched. It had been a few days now since Bob had come by for a meal. Louis had similarly vanished. Ricardo walked to the front window of the shop and gazed out at another sunny spring day that promised winter was at an end. Across the street, Mr. Rivera’s cat paced on the sill, anxiously shifting back and forth along that narrow perch, its tail twitching, in constant motion. Ricardo focused on the Siamese and opened himself up to perceive its energy. Angry whirls of red swam around it, and its ears quivered nervously. The anxiety of the animal called out to him. Maybe another cat was bothering it? Ricardo looked down to the ground, where the Siamese’s feral friend usually lounged in the sun. Today, the spot was empty. Another missing feline? Ricardo wondered, and decided it was time to do something about that and the unsettling sensation that still loitered around the neighborhood. The shadow of evil he had encountered remained, a strong presence, worryin
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 T heir patrols of the past two evenings had provided them little besides sleepless nights and, for him, sore feet. While Samantha had explored the rooftops, he had pounded the pavement, examining the alleyways and other hidey-holes in search of whatever had intruded into both their psyches. Nothing. Nada, nada, nada, he thought, and slammed the book he held on to the glass display counter, which rattled from the force of the blow. It reminded him that he had to get control. Distractions diminished his abilities. He had to focus his energies in the right direction, because later that day he had to make a house call. Sara’s mom wasn’t up to coming to the store. That she was so weak warned him that her time might come soon. He had hoped it would be otherwise. His meditations that morning were laborious. It took him a long time to lose his fears about the intrusive presence. Besides, this wasn’t just any client who was suffering. It was Sara’s mami, and when she was in pain, Sara
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 I t didn’t take him long to reach the Artemis Shelter. But once there, he lingered on the steps, uncertain whether this exercise with Samantha would yield anything of value. Ricardo suspected that whatever force had been bothering him wouldn’t be easy to locate. He got the sense from their few distant contacts that it was something old. Not as old as Samantha, but certainly longer lived than the average human. That would make finding it more difficult. One didn’t survive for that long without knowing how to avoid discovery. The door to the shelter opened and Samantha stood there. She had obviously been waiting for him. “I felt you. Why didn’t you knock?” When he didn’t answer, her brows furrowed together above her crystal-blue eyes. “What is it, Ricardo? What’s wrong?” Everything, he wanted to say. For so long he had avoided getting entangled in other people’s lives because that made him want so many things, things out of his reach because of who he was and what he could do.
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 T he light. The light was on the street. The power emanating from it was familiar. No, not an it. The power came from a human; the light was human. A h-huuuman just like me. The beast waited until the man and woman had calmed, no doubt thought him gone. He had only moved a few rooftops away. With his keen hearing, he heard them speaking, then listened as they walked away to the man’s shop. A shopkeeper. He had dealt with more than his share of shopkeepers in his former life, haggled with them for the best prices and merchandise. He had been in the process of haggling, squeezing the last penny from the creepy traveling tinker, when the man had offered to give him something like nothing he had ever seen before. He was intrigued, especially when the man mentioned it would cost him something of little value. He had followed the man to the back of his cart, his curiosity aroused by a thick wooden door with a small window barred with fat iron rods. “What is this?” he’d asked the t
Chapter 10
Chapter 11 S ara’s presence lingered for days in his apartment, even in his shop, just as her kiss lingered on his lips. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Consulting his calendar, he saw he had three appointments for later that afternoon. If he timed them just right, and if Sara wasn’t tired from another unexpected double shift after her day off, he might be able to convince her to go to dinner, then come back to his place. Maybe they could pick up where they’d left off the other— A scream rent the air, shattering his romantic images. The appointment book fell from Ricardo’s hand and he ran to the front door. Another scream, longer and louder than before, greeted him as he yanked the door open. Mrs. Lopez stood there, tugging Lucy, her frankfurter-like beagle, away from his shop. “Lucy didn’t do it. She didn’t,” she said, shaking her head so vehemently, her thick double chin wagged from side to side with the movement. He tracked her gaze down to the sidewalk, where the mangled body of
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 H e should have known better. How could he ever deny Sara, or her help? That was why she sat at his kitchen table now, listening to Peter brief the unlikely foursome. “I checked the blotter and found an incident involving a dog. A woman complained that her—” Peter consulted his notebook “—bichon frise was kidnapped while she was walking it.” He stuck his notebook back into his suit jacket and continued with his report. “Something stinks about the facts of the attack, but the officers who logged it in weren’t on duty today.” Impatient, Ricardo asked, “So what do we do in the meantime?” Samantha obviously shared his desire for action. “This thing—whatever it is—will kill again. Any small animal it can find.” “But not humans, as far as we know,” Peter advised. “I don’t have any reports of unusual attacks against people.” Samantha leaned into his side and he slipped his arm over her shoulder. Worry marred her face as she said, “Maybe because no human has chased it, until now.” “
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Chapter 13 N eeding some privacy, Sara had borrowed her friend Melissa’s office and computer during her lunch hour at work. She was still pounding at the keys, searching the Internet for “monsters,” when Melissa returned from having lunch at home with her husband and new baby. As Melissa rounded the corner of her desk and noted the keyword, she hitched her hips on the edge of her desk and said, “This is getting too weird, amiga.” It was, wasn’t it? Sara thought. But if she couldn’t tell her best friend, who could she tell? “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy. Promise?” Melissa nodded. “I feel something with Ricardo. When he touches you to heal, there’s warmth and this…sizzle.” She shrugged as words failed her, then plowed onward. “He can perceive power in others, or at least he says he can.” Maintaining a calm countenance, Melissa adopted a professional demeanor. She began to explain, “There’s been literature in the journals about faith healers. Psychic healers, as well. What you’re d
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 W ith his mouth moving slowly, sensuously, against hers, Sara knew there was nothing she wouldn’t do, nothing she wouldn’t give this man. His lips were warm and pliant, his tongue hard and wet as she took it in, frolicked with it in anticipation of another, more intimate dance. He lowered his hands to her waist and, at her murmured invitation, moved them to her breasts. He caressed them, found the hardened tips of her nipples and tugged. Each pinch echoed between her legs, creating intense need. She mewled in pleasure, and he broke away from her and tugged off the black knit sweater she wore, exposing the lacy black bra beneath. He reached behind, un-snapped it and eased it off. Her breasts spilled free and she moved, bringing one nipple close to his mouth. He cupped her breast, and kissed it, drawing a pleased gasp from her. When he took it into his mouth, she held the back of his head, urging him on. She moved her hips, straddling him. The strands of his hair were thick an
Chapter 14
Chapter 15 H e remained inside her, the length of him still hard and driven deep into her. Even now, moments after their climax, Sara found pleasure, comfort in the weight of him on her, the thickness of him in her. She brushed back his long hair, needing to see his face. She wasn’t prepared for what she discovered. Peace. Contentment. Desire, banked but waiting to be awoken again. “Can you stay the night?” he asked. Sara glanced upward, past his shoulder to the skylight above them. There had been little moonlight tonight, but the stars were out and bright, visible through the clean glass. She’d had little time to appreciate it, but could imagine lying with him beneath the star-sprinkled night, making love with him again as moonlight bathed their bodies. But not tonight, she realized sadly. “I’m sorry. But with mami…” “Lo comprendo,” he said, and he kissed her. Although he said he understood, she wasn’t sure that he did, mainly because she wasn’t sure she did. Yes, she felt concerned a
Chapter 15
Chapter 16 B loodsucker and animal. After typing those words into the search engine, she looked at the first dozen or so hits and found a word with which she was vaguely familiar. Chupacabra. The stuff of legend and myth. Only nothing legendary or mythical had killed that cat and sucked on poor Lucy, Sara thought. Something real had done that, and as she skimmed the information on one Web site, she decided it merited more detailed research. She typed “chupacabra” into the search engine and pored over the various hits, trying to see if what she and Ricardo had experienced matched any of the assertions at the assorted Web pages. The first site purported a UFO theory that the animal was the result of some kind of alien experiment, or possibly one of their pets. It described the creature as being tailless, with a long nose and a strong sulfuric stench. Sara wrinkled her nose as she recalled the odor from last night—nothing sulfuric, just the smell of rot and decay. The notes also indicated
Chapter 16
Chapter 17 W hile Peter and Samantha waited for the arrival of Diana and Ryder, Sara and Ricardo slipped upstairs for some private time. He had no sooner closed the door at the top of the stairs when Sara asked, “Isn’t this weirding you out?” She stood in the middle of his living room, her arms still wrapped around her midsection, the lines of her body tight. He walked over, placed his hands on her shoulders and slipped a bit of his energy into hers, seeking to calm her. Beneath his palms, the rigidity of her muscles gradually loosened, and with a satisfied little sigh, she confirmed that the caress had helped. “That feels…amazing.” She was amazing, he thought, recalling the other night and the touch of her body against his. All those delicious Dominican curves and that smooth skin. His body flared to painful life, and she must have sensed the change in him. “Seems to me you need to relax, as well,” she said. She raised her hands to his shoulders and gently massaged his muscles. Her fi
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 R icardo stood beside Sara at her mother’s bedside, sensing her pain and desperation as she implored, “Mami, you need to go the hospital.” But Evita shook her head and forced a smile to her face. “I’ll be fine, mi’ja. I just need to rest a bit.” After she said it, she looked past her daughter and up to Ricardo. It had been nearly midnight when Eduardo Martinez’s phone call had summoned them to his wife’s bedside. Ricardo had been there that morning, had given as much of himself as he could. But now, faced with her pleading gaze, he couldn’t just stand there. “Sara, would you—” “No, I won’t go. Not this time.” She lifted her teary gaze to him and shook her head, her hair swaying against her shoulders as she did so. He knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t leave and because he was tired of hiding his true self from her, he relented. Pulling up a chair, he sat beside the bed, took Sara’s hand in one of his, then her mother’s in the other. “Evita, you know what t
Chapter 18
Chapter 19 I t took both Diana and Peter to get Ricardo to his feet and to help him walk back the short distance to his shop. Sara followed silently, but her anger vibrated against his battered psyche, adding even more discomfort to that left behind by the creature. Once they were in the shop, Peter and Diana excused themselves on the pretense of making some coffee for all of them. Ricardo slumped against the back of the couch, but Sara refused to sit. She stood before him, her hands shoved into her jacket pockets, her facial expression taut. “What are you?” she blurted. “What are your friends?” The undue emphasis on the last word left little doubt as to her feelings about Samantha and Ryder. “What do you think they are?” She dragged one hand through her hair, wincing as she did so. He remembered her smashing into the wall. Was she hurt? “Let me look—” “Don’t touch me. Come to think of it, don’t touch my mami again, either, until you’re ready to tell me.” “I’m a healer.” He sat up, bra
Chapter 19
Chapter 20 T he chupacabra stomped back and forth angrily, muttering to himself. The chirps and furious clatter of his teeth echoed off the walls of the sewer. His hands flailed through the air as he sought a rationale for his failure of a few nights ago. He had truly tried to communicate, but the puny humans were too dense to understand. After the touch, however, the human knew. That simple contact had opened a floodgate between the two of them. The human’s energy, his healing strength, had surged into him, along with something else. Images. Memories. As the mortal’s force filled his core, the beast’s humanity had come to life and his own recollections had returned. Images of the man he had been. Of the things he had done. Hateful visions. Too easily came the recollection of the whip in his hand as he beat his slaves. Of his women, crying beneath him as he took them with no regard. Finally, of his family as they turned him away from his father’s funeral. Unfulfilled dreams. The woman
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Chapter 21 T he barred wooden door rattled against its hinges, shook with the force of whatever was imprisoned within. The clanging reverberated in the night, growing louder with each echo. Curious, he approached the door, laid his hand on one of the thick iron bars. Sharp teeth sank deep into his hand, latching on and not letting go. He cried out in pain. Ricardo bolted upright in bed, shaking uncontrollably. He checked his hand, which seemed to throb from the bite he’d imagined. It was only a dream, he told himself. A nightmare. It had come to him every night since the chupacabra had touched him. Contaminated him with its hurtful thoughts and negative energies. He had been meditating twice daily in the hope of containing those energies and driving them from his psyche. So far, it had been a difficult battle. Like the bite in the dream, it seemed as if the chupacabra had sunk its fangs deep into his soul. Ricardo rose and shook his body, visualizing that as he did so he was shaking of
Chapter 21
Chapter 22 I n answer, she reached down and unzipped his jeans. She dragged them down, exposing the length of him. As she stroked him, she watched his face, saw the way his eyes darkened and grew heavy-lidded. He licked his lips and she kissed him, running her tongue along his lips afterward. “Sara, this is crazy. I don’t know what I want.” “Liar,” she said, and took him into her mouth. He jerked as she sucked him, moaned when she circled the head of his penis with her tongue. Ricardo closed his eyes, nearly overwhelmed by the sensations she was creating. His hands were fisted on his thighs, resisting the urge to touch her, because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He wouldn’t be able to let her walk out the door again. But then suddenly, she moved away, kicked off her jeans. She was naked beneath, and when she straddled his lap again, he couldn’t resist. As she stroked him, her hands slipping up and down with the wetness from her earlier kiss, he found the center of her, easing
Chapter 22
Chapter 23 R icardo examined the tagging devices that Diana had placed in the center of the coffee table. They were similar in shape to the tranquilizer darts, but with something that looked like a small transmitter or antenna at one end. “Sebastian selected these because they are highly reliable and powerful,” Diana advised the group that had assembled in the shop that night. “We should be able to pick up the signal for quite some distance. He’s already got the frequencies for these tags ID’d, and is monitoring their transmissions on his computer.” Peter picked up one of the devices. “Do they fit into the tranq guns?” “They do,” she confirmed, but then shot an uneasy glance at Ryder as he sat beside her. “This creature is faster and more powerful than we expected. Not to mention intelligent. If we see it, all we want to do is tag it and run. We don’t want to confront it at this time.” “And once it’s tagged, we’ll regroup and follow it back to its lair. We’ll have strength together,” R
Chapter 23
Chapter 24 S ara shivered as the chupacabra ran a razor-sharp nail down her cheek. “Ssso soft. Ssso p-preet-ty,” the beast repeated, moving closer until all Sara could see was her own pale and bloodied reflection in the lenses of its huge red eyes. Her fear was apparent, riling her. She refused to be afraid. Ricardo would find her. She had to believe that. Then the beast trailed that hideously lethal hand down her neck and under the collar of her jacket. As it moved across the tops of her breasts, she fought back her revulsion, closed her eyes and thought, Ricardo will get here soon. The human’s female was so pretty, he thought, remembering how her caramel skin had glistened when he’d seen them together through the skylight. How long had it been since a woman had looked at him? Since he had savored a female the way the human had enjoyed this one? Soon he would… Why soon? he thought. Now might be just the right time. With one sharp talon, he sliced the shoulders and sleeves of the jac
Chapter 24
Chapter 25 T he light was here. From where it rested a few feet from the woman, the creature sensed a sudden surge of energy. Unmistakable energy. With an explosion of speed, he placed himself between the woman and the human. He confirmed his earlier observations of the man—that he was youngish and powerfully built. Not that the human would be any match for him in his current state, but once he was human… Once he was human! the beast thought with glee, and raised his taloned paws, holding them outstretched to the human with the wondrous powers. “H-h-human,” he said, and took a step toward the man, who surprisingly held his ground, as if unafraid. It puzzled the creature for a moment, but then he realized that the man was putting up a front, trying to appear brave when all around him was the smell of fear. “You want to be human again?” the man asked calmly. Joy surged through the creature as he realized that the man finally understood. Hopping from foot to foot and clapping his hands, h
Chapter 25
Chapter 26 T he contact with Diana had left Ricardo shaken, but the battle before him immediately commanded his full attention. Time and time again, the chupacabra charged Ryder and Samantha, trying to break past them and get to him. He knew that without a doubt, for in the midst of its angry squeals and cackles, he could hear its plea. Make me human. Make me human. It came in his head, over and over again, pummeling him mentally. Only he couldn’t heed its plea, and the demon would never accept that as an answer. That was clear as the chupacabra repeatedly attacked, landing blow after blow on the two vampires. Blood flew from the wounds it inflicted. Spittle dripped from the beast’s mouth as it tried to bite its two assailants. It opened its mouth wide and vented its frustration with an ear-piercing scream. But the two vampires kept up their defense. As the chupacabra’s desperation grew, so did the force of its attack, until it was clear that Ryder and Samantha had no choice. They had
Chapter 26
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