*Detective Kathleen "Angel" Hyatt*
The fourth body was different. Still a dealer, still drained of blood, but this time the killer had left a message. Kathleen crouched next to the corpse, reading the words carved into its chest with surgical precision: "ANGEL SEES BUT DOESN'T OBSERVE."
"Pretentious fucker," Morrison muttered behind her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kathleen didn't answer. She was too busy cataloging what she saw versus what she observed. Marcus Volkov, vampire, known dealer. Killed in an alley, blood drained. Those were the facts everyone saw.
But she observed more. The angle of the cuts had changed—deeper, more aggressive. The killer was either getting stronger or more emotional. A single amber drop near the body, almost like tree sap but with an oily sheen. And the victim's phone, unlocked and placed carefully on his chest, showing a text conversation about "new strains" and "enhanced formulas."
"Bag the phone," she ordered. "And get me a sample of that amber substance."
Her own phone buzzed. Unknown number again.
*You're learning, Angel. But too slowly. Check the boyfriend's apartment. - A Friend*
The boyfriend. She scrolled through the victim's texts. Someone named Derek, lots of hearts and promises to "get clean together." Derek Chen, nineteen, registered lycanthrope, address in Riverside.
"Morrison, I need to check a lead."
"Take backup."
"It's just an interview."
He gave her the look that said he wasn't buying it. "Fine. But check in every hour."
The drive to Riverside took twenty minutes. Kathleen used the time to review what she knew. Four dead dealers, all supernatural. A killer who wanted to be caught but not stopped. Dr. Dergors, whose research had been stolen and who was now unreachable. And Chance—a drug that promised to level the playing field but might tear it apart instead.
Derek's apartment building was the kind where dreams went to die—water stains on the ceiling, hallways that smelled like cabbage and despair. She knocked on 4B.
"Police. Derek Chen?"
Sobbing from inside. Young, male, broken.
"Please," the voice called. "Please, I don't know anything."
She tried the handle. Unlocked. Inside, she found Derek Chen crouched in the corner of a studio apartment, clutching a photo of Marcus Volkov. The kid looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"Derek? I'm Detective Hyatt. I'm sorry about Marcus."
"He said he was getting out." Derek's words came in hiccupping bursts. "Said he had one last big score, then we could leave the city. Start fresh. But then he started taking it."
"Taking what?"
"Chance. The new strain. Strain C, he called it." Derek looked up, and his eyes were bloodshot yellow. "Made from vampire blood. Made him stronger than any vamp, but also... hungry. He'd look at me sometimes like he wanted to tear me apart."
Kathleen knelt beside him, keeping her voice gentle. "Do you know who his supplier was?"
"Some human. Called himself Neptune. Marcus was supposed to meet him last night, but..."
But he'd met the killer instead.
"Derek, this is important. Did Marcus ever mention who was making the new strains?"
The kid shook his head. "Just said it was going to change everything. That humans wouldn't be weak anymore. I told him it sounded like trouble, but he said—" His voice broke. "He said I didn't understand because I was born strong."
Kathleen's radio crackled. "All units, we have a 10-54 at Riverside Community Center. Enhanced human attacking civilians. Requesting supernatural backup."
Riverside Community Center was three blocks away.
"Stay here," she told Derek. "Lock the door."
She ran down the stairs, hand on her weapon. Enhanced human. Someone on Chance, losing control. As she burst onto the street, she could hear screaming in the distance.
The war wasn't coming.
It was here.