Dragon's Fire Read Free Page B

anymore. While there are hundreds of sub-species, the entire group had been deemed the more politically correct 'Paranormal Beings.'
     
    I wiped my hands on my pant-legs and fished my phone out of my pocket. I dialled the direct number for Agent Ass-Hat, taking pleasure in the fact that I was waking him at two in the morning. His greeting was surly, but I didn't let it bother me as I quickly explained what happened. “I was approached by a young vampire coven on the path from the ranger's cabin to the town. The leader threatened me. I gave him a total of three warnings but he charged me. I moved out of the way and he came after me again. I killed him, removed the heart and scattered the pieces. The four other vampires did not behave in any aggressive manner so I didn't pursue them.”
     
    “How did you kill him?” Agent Ass-Hat sounded more awake now.
     
    I grinned, thankful he couldn't see me. “As I am a Paranormal Being investigator, hunter and executioner, I am not required to answer questions unless there is proof that I have attacked a Paranormal Being without provocation.” I had to admit, I took a bit of perverse delight in quoting the guidelines to him. He'd been spouting that book of rules at me ever since I'd arrived. “And since I am licensed to carry any form of weapon that can be used on a Paranormal Being, unless it is used on a human, I cannot be asked to reveal, provide or even describe what was used to carry out a method of execution unless it is determined that the aforementioned execution was carried out in bad faith.”
     
    “You're a real bitch, you know that?”
     
    “Yeah, well, you're an ass,” I hung up the phone. I'd done my duty and reported the fact that there was a dead – well, more dead – vampire. Since there was no way he was going to get back up, I didn't have to wait around for the Disposal Squad to come get him. They'd run his prints, get a name, notify next of kin, if there was any who cared, and dispose of the body. Agent Ass-Hat, however, would have to come to the scene to officially declare the deceased was a Paranormal Being. He would be in charge of chain of evidence and typing up my statement. The job fell to whatever law enforcement officer that I, acting in my capacity as executioner, contacted. I could've called Alex or the local police, but it was a lot more fun to annoy Ass-Hat.
     
    I continued on my way, hoping I wouldn't run into anyone before I reached my hotel. Pretty much the entire town knew what I was, but I didn't think that meant I'd get to walk through town with blood hands and clothes without getting some questions. There had been a time when people like me had been required to work in secret. If law enforcement knew about us, sometimes they would help, but often, we spent as much time trying to avoid them as we did trying to do our job. Then came The Revealing, and everything changed.
     
    Maybe I should back up a bit.
     
    Unlike most of the world, I grew up knowing that the creatures who went bump in the night actually existed. They're all real. The virtually human ones like witches and warlocks who had just a little something extra that made them straddle the line between the paranormal and the normal. Then there were the ones like the werewolves and were-leopards – pretty much any type of Were you could think of – who passed down the ability to change into their particular animal through their bloodline; they weren't entirely human, but close enough to maintain a nearly human life. Ghosts had been human once, but they rarely retained anything that made them human. It was always kinder for them to be sent on. Vampires, djinn, necromancers, shape-shifters, rougarou and aswangs may have looked human but they danced much closer to the darkness and were more likely to go rogue and kill people, especially since three of them consumed human blood or flesh.  Then there were the ones who may have once been human or spent time in human form, but they