Were: The Chronicles of Sari X

By Aminah Iman

Sari is a hunter of preternatural beings. She inherited this life from her mother and loves every minute of it. There is a new type of Vampire hunting her city and she is determined to stop them. With the help of fellow hunter, Dominic Salvador, and a pack of Were-leopards, Sari is about to face the battle of her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aminah Iman
• Release date: Mar 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466092051

Aminah Iman

In true tradition of Madame C.J. Walker, Aminah Iman is blazing a path for entrepreneurs and authors. Born and raised in Indianapolis Indiana, she is living proof that women are doing it for themselves.Not only is she an author, but Aminah Iman is also the CEO of UnspokenWords Publishing, founded in 2009. Since then she has gone on to release titles such as 30 Pieces of Silver, Lillith: My Genesis, and Were: The Chronicles of Sari X. When asked where she see's her company in five years, Aminah replied, "Everywhere. I built it, put it in God's hands, and He is omnipresent."

Book preview

Also By: Aminah Iman

Lillith: My Genesis

30 Pieces of Silver: The Soul Collector

30 Pieces of Silver: The Betrayer

Whisper

WERE

The Chronicles of Sari X

She will keep her families legacy,

Even if it kills her

Aminah Iman

UnSpoken Words Publication

Copyright 2011 by Aminah Iman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may

be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passage in a review.

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This book is dedicated to Frank James Goodman. Thank you for believing in me from day one.

CHAPTER ONE

I was tired, hungry, and dirty. In my line of work that’s pretty common, but tonight I was off, no reason for me to be any of the above. My date started off nice, I even dressed up for the occasion. I wore a black dress, with the back out, a pair of high heeled sandals, and silver jewelry. When you’re a hunter, you can never go anywhere without silver, and lucky for me I had some on. Jeremy, my date, seemed normal. He gave off no tell tale signs of being a shape shifter, and usually my instincts are better, but I was fooled by a pretty face and the fact that he was seasoned. In my defense, it’s hard to spot a seasoned shifter, the older they are, the harder it is to spot one, no matter how long you’ve been a hunter, but truthfully I wasn’t looking hard enough. He was six foot seven and handsome as sin. His dark chocolate face looked as if the God’s sculpted it themselves and man could he move. At least I got the chance to go dancing first. Then on the way to dinner he attacked me. All grabby, feely. That should have been the first red flag, but no, I just thought he found me attractive, then his hand turned into a paw and all hell broke loose. And that’s when the water and silver mixture came out of my purse and into his face. His skin reacted to it immediately. I almost felt sorry for him, almost. Needless to say the date ended with him dead and me, you guessed it, hungry, dirty, and tired. Next time I will be more selective in who I date, or at least do a back ground check on him first.

My name is Sari X, yes X as in ‘marks the spot’, and I kill monsters. And yes, monsters are real. There are all kinds, shape shifters, vampires, ghost, ghouls, you name it. And I get the privilege of killing the bad ones, not that there are many good ones. I work for myself, if you have a preternatural problem, call me, I’m your girl. It’s a family thing dating back to my great, great, great, you get the picture. It’s not a pretty job, but someone’s got to do it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but when I want to go out on a date, damn it, I want to go on a date.

To the untrained eye I look like your average person. I’m five foot two inches tall and one-hundred and thirty pounds. I work out a lot, but I’m not buffed, just fit, plus when you kill monsters for a living you have to be in great shape, otherwise you can kiss your ass goodbye. The best part of being a hunter is the fact that we heal fast, I mean really fast. I’m not sure if it’s hereditary or if God felt sorry for us and decided to give us an extra boost. I wear black a lot because my job is messy and you will hardly ever see me without my black timberlands on, unless I’m working out. I keep my hair short, because monsters fight dirty and they will pull your hair, plus I like to look stylish. My skin is the color of red clay, and my eyes are green. All and all I’m not that bad to look at even with all of my scars, but if I must be honest, my attitude could use some adjusting. Not that I’m mean I just don’t trust people right away, which is not a bad thing, case in point, my date. That was me giving someone the benefit of the doubt and it almost cost me my life, or at worst, turning furry and having four legs.

I finally made it home, thank God I drove, and headed straight to the kitchen. I pulled out some turkey lunch meat, lettuce, tomato, and mirclewhip. I was making the ultimate turkey sandwich. As soon as I took my first bite my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but answered it anyway.

Yes?

Is this Sari?

Yes it is. I said around a bite of sandwich.

My name is Gilbert Manor and Lonnie gave me your number.

Good old Lonnie, he is the chief of police in Marion County and I helped him with a hunting a few years back.

What can I do for you Gilbert?

Well, I have a problem.

I wanted to say duh, but I’m working on my attitude. What kind of problem?

I think I’m being stalked by a vampire.

You think you’re being stalked or you think the thing stalking you is a vampire?

I think the thing stalking me is a vampire, I am definitely being stalked. He said.

I swallowed my food and sat at my dining room table. Why do you think it’s a vampire?

Because I only see her at night and last night she was at my bedroom window.

And that seems strange why?

My bedroom is on the second floor of my house.

Why he didn’t say that at first is beyond me. Well, that explains the preternatural part, but she can be a ghost not necessarily a vampire and vampires can go out in sunlight, they’re just not as strong. I explained.

I suppose that’s true, but I’m not the expert, hence me calling you.

I know he wasn’t catching an attitude with me, hence my ass. Look Mr. Manor, yes I switched to his last name, he was starting to piss me off, I understand your frustration, but if you want my help, kill the sarcasm.

My apologies Sari. I’m a little nervous. You must understand, the knowledge of preternatural beings has only been available to the general public for a short time. I still can’t fully wrap my brain around it.

He was right so I decided to cut him some slack. I understand Mr. Manor. What I can do is come by and see what I can see. Hopefully she left some clue behind, if she is a ghost it will definitely be some residuals left in the spot she was in, if not we may be dealing with a vampire. See I can be forgiving.

Can you come by tonight?

Not that forgiving, tonight doesn’t work well for me. I can be there around ten in the morning, what’s your address?

He told me his address and I saved it to memory, I’m good like that.

What do I do for tonight. He sounded a bit put out with me, but oh well.

If you have any silver, keep it on your person and do not invite anyone in. Stay put until I get there even if it means calling into work tomorrow.

That is not a problem, I will see you in the morning. Thank you Sari.

No problem Gilbert. I hung up the phone and finished my sandwich. Not how I planned to end my evening, but it would have to do.

I went to see Gilbert Manor at ten as promised. He lived in Fishers, a nice little suburb, in Indianapolis. His house was a two-story brick, with red shutters and a red door. Can you say Nightmare on Elm Street? I knocked once and announced myself. I heard a series of clicks and finally, the door opened. He looked pretty much how I pictured him. Short, thinning hair, and glasses. Although I could feel that he had his air conditioner blasting, he was sweating profusely. Fear will do that to a person.

Thank you for being so prompt Sari. He stepped back, allowing me entrance into his house.

No problem Gilbert. I stood in by the door waiting for him to move forward, but he just stood there staring at me.

Is there a problem Gilbert?

I’m sorry, no there is no problem. You just look, well, different than what I expected.

I get that a lot. A person says preternatural hunter and someone bigger pops in your head. Yes, I suppose I do. Would you like to sit down and explain to me all that has happened?

He nodded and led the way to his living room. It was nice and homey, no clutter. His couch and loveseat faced one another, so I sat on the loveseat facing the door. I never sit where I can’t see the comings and goings of a room. I waited for Gilbert to take his seat on the couch before I started.

So, when did this all begin?

It started about a week ago. At first it was just the feeling that someone was following me. Then it was as if someone was watching me all over the house, I would look out the window and see a shadow or someone moving very quickly. And finally last night, I saw her outside my bedroom window.

I nodded, letting him know I was following his story. Did you recognize the person? Gilbert averted his eyes quickly, then settled on my face. Umm.

Yes, it’s my old lab assistant Becka.

Now we’re working with something, When did Becka stop being your lab assistant?

Is all of this really necessary?

Yes it is Gilbert. Although you seem to be being stalked, I have a problem with killing things simply because they annoy people.

There are no laws that say you can’t Sari.

I realize that Mr. Manor, but when it comes to hunting, I follow my own laws. I stood up, feel free to look for help elsewhere. I rounded the couch and headed for the door.

Wait, please.

I stopped.

I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just a little rattled.

I turned and looked at Gilbert, his cheeks were red and flushed. His shinny head turned a nice pink color.

Please sit back down. I’ll tell you everything I know.

I walked back to the loveseat and sat down, not saying a word.

Okay. He cleared his throat. Becka and I were working on a new project, which I am not at liberty to discuss, and about a month ago she didn’t show up for work. I called her apartment and didn’t get an answer. Later that evening I went by her house but she didn’t answer the door.

Is it normal for you to go by your employees home when they don’t show up for work? I saw a nerve jump on his face.

Well no, not normally, but as I said, we were working on a new project, a very important project.

I see. Not really, but I needed him to continue.

Her being there was very crucial. Anyway, after a few day’s I reported her missing.

Does she not have any family that you could have called first?

"Not that I am aware of, so I called Lonnie and he checked it out for me. He said that her