My boots crunched against the gravel as I stepped into the abandoned alley, my gun drawn. Sam was still back at the car, checking for any signs of our target—a supernatural killer that had drained its victims of life. My instincts were on high alert. The air was heavy, thick with the kind of stillness that always preceded something bad.

Out of the shadows, a figure appeared. Not the creature I was looking for but instinctively, I raised the gun.

“Who the hell are you?” I demanded, my voice gruff.

The figure didn’t flinch, their movements slow and deliberate. “I’m not your enemy,” the voice in the dark said softly, her tone calm but layered with something darker. “But you won’t believe that yet.”

I narrowed my eyes, finger on the trigger. “You’re a long way from convincing me.”