Infernal Hunt Complete Set

by Holly Evans

  She frowned at me before she took a sharp right turn. "There is boat waiting for me."

  I didn't think anyone travelled down the river in the modern age, but I had to admit it seemed a quick and easy route out of the city.

  A shadow lurched forward from the base of a building, tendrils reaching out to wrap around the woman's ankles. I drew my blades and slashed at the darkened air. It felt wrong, as though I were shadow boxing, but the shadow let out a warbling moan and pulled back. A thrill ran through me. It was working. I pushed forwards, slashing and plunging the blades into the shadow. It groaned and shrank away from me before we were left with nothing but a sliver of darkness at the very base of the large stone. The woman mumbled something and walked past me without further acknowledgement. I ignored her and embraced the feeling of happiness; I was beginning to see why magic fascinated Quin so much.

  Apparitions formed all around us. The witch barely even acknowledged them. A simple wave of the hand was all it took; she shook her head and mumbled again. I was beginning to wish that she spoke up or not at all. The satchel rattled as it bumped against my hip. She hadn't told me how volatile the orbs were, or if she had, I hadn't understood it. I hoped that they were reasonably sturdy as I broke into a jog once more. The river was just coming into view when a pack of the shadow hounds came out from the crossroads ahead of us. Their heavily muscled forms were the same size as a Shetland pony, their fur (for lack of a better term for the oil-slick substance covering them) entirely devoid of light. The witch stopped dead in her tracks. She began to slowly walk backwards. I put myself between her and them. The one directly in front of me rippled as it lowered its hind quarters, ready to pounce. I thrust my hand into the satchel and pulled out the first orb that my fingers wrapped around. I threw it at the hounds and hoped.

  The small blue ball, the size of a large sprout, sailed through the air. I feared that it was going to do nothing, or that I needed to shout some magic words, before it exploded outwards and emitted a high-pitched scream that deafened me. The hounds howled and bayed, one clawed at its ears while others threw themselves to the ground. I took the chance and threw one of my throwing knives at the leader. It sank deep into the chest and clattered to the ground when the hound disintegrated around it. Its fellows snarled and looked at me as one. The witch was chanting something behind me; I grabbed another orb and hoped that it would be as useful as its friend. The smaller red ball dropped to the ground a few feet in front of me and rolled towards the hounds of its own volition. The hound to the left edge ignored it and ran at me, its thick black lips pulled back revealing deep red fangs. I threw a throwing knife between the closest’s eyes and wondered what the fuck the orb was doing. A cloud of noxious green gas billowed from it, causing the remaining hounds to cough and choke before the one approaching me snapped at my leg.

  I slashed at the back of its neck with my dagger; it dodged away from me and went to attack the witch. I kicked it hard in its surprisingly solid ribs, bringing its attention back to me. Its friends were remembering how to breathe again; one of them exploded, sending its packmates flying. The witch smiled. I slashed at the beast trying to savage my legs. After three attempts, my blade connected and severed what would have been its spine on a normal dog. The remaining three hounds were standing and shaking off the effects of the orb. I threw a knife at one of them. It landed directly between its eyes, causing it to fade into nothingness while the two remaining hounds charged at me.

  I braced for impact. They were approaching too quickly to risk using an orb. They approached me as a pair. One launched himself at my chest, but the other changed course at the very last second and shot around me. I shifted my weight to the side, allowing me to side-step and slash the hound's stomach, but the witch cried out. I turned, took a couple of long strides and plunged my dagger deep into the hound's back. It screamed and snarled. I stabbed it again in its chest. A searing pain cut through my hip. I glanced down to see the other hound's teeth sunk deep into my hip. I finished the original hound and kicked at the one attached to me. The pain blurred the edge of my vision; I felt as though my entire body were on fire.

  There was no time for careful planning. I rushed at the hound and swiped at it. I caught its cheek, enough to make it stay still. My left hand came down and sank my blade down into its skull, and it vanished. They were gone. I looked back at the witch to see her smoothing out her skirt.

  She sniffed and said, "Here. Bite down on this."

  She handed me a small green ball with the texture of putty. "It will heal, before you burn."

  The pain of the fire was already starting to fade, but I couldn't afford to be injured out in the city by myself. The putty texture was awful in my mouth, but I dutifully bit down. The taste of rose and pepper filled my mouth; a cooling sensation flooded my body. All the aches and pains I'd been experiencing evaporated. I felt better than I'd done in days. Kadrix needed to work on his damn ointments.

  The witch had strolled down to the river while the healing putty did its thing. She gave me a cursory wave before she got on the small boat that was tied up to the jetty, apparently waiting for her. A feeling of satisfaction swelled within me; I'd done something of use, and I had a way to take some power from the witches.

  I hadn't received word from Quin or the others, not that I was happy about waiting around for them to give me further instructions, so I called Matyas and his friends. We stood near the river where Viktor muttered to himself while I handed a handful of orbs to Dimitri and Matyas.

  "We have been given an opportunity to help his city. I do not know what these orbs do, exactly, but they will harm the witches' beasts. We are going to take this city back, and weaken the witches in the process," I said in what I hoped was a confident, rousing tone.

  Dimitri rolled the orbs around the palm of his hand, watching the colours swirl within each of them. After a moment of contemplation, he delicately put them in his jacket pocket. Matyas, however, had shoved them in the pouch on his belt without consideration.

  "Where do we start?" Matyas asked.

  "You're with me, we're going to clear out Smíchov. Viktor and Dimitri, you start with Malá Strana and work your way to Vinohrady."

  "That's a big area," Viktor said gruffly.

  I smiled sweetly and said, “Best get moving then, hadn't you?"

  Matyas and I set off at a light jog to the closest tram stop. We were going to destroy every witch-born creature, apparition, and shadow-thing that we could find. The witch had said that would remove some of their power; hopefully it'd hold back the hound's plans and give us a chance.

  The tram was almost empty. People were still cowering in their homes, and I couldn't blame them. I glanced at Matyas and realised that I missed Lysander's presence. The bond must have been settling and edging past my misgiving of his species. I wondered if Elise could fix that for me. We jumped off the tram at Bertramka, which stood in contrast to the previous stop of Anděl. The old buildings looked well-worn and ready to eject their occupants. Faded mustard-yellow paint covered the patchy plasterwork of the upper half of one building; the deep-red window frame surrounded a grimy cracked window. The classic lines that filled the city were etched into the buildings, although far simpler in their designs. The road away from the main was steep, with the pavement cracking in places. A potraviny peeked out from under ornate faux stonework and brightly coloured plaster. The further we walked from the main road, the further into disrepair the buildings fell. The colours of the plaster became more muted as they hid beneath thicker layers of dirt and pollution. Exposed brickwork sat next to pock-marked and crumbling facades, all surrounding cracked and peeling window frames. The area was a world apart from Vinohrady where I called home; it wasn't somewhere many people felt comfortable after dark. We paused at the crossroads and quickly came face to face with our first foe.

  A wraith glided along the cracked tarmac and ushered the dense shadows buried under the windows of the blue-grey building forwards, towards us. Matyas
pulled out a golden orb. I looked around us trying to pinpoint the rest of the group; it wasn't likely that the wraith was alone. Its fellows soon appeared from behind a dark-red car on the opposite side of the building. The chill in the air sent shivers down my spine; I wasn't going to deal with that again. Matyas threw the orb directly at the wraith. It went through the shadowy mass, but left a gaping hole that weak sunlight filtered through. I threw a large grey orb at the three wraiths that approached us from the other side of the road. The golden orb hissed and rattled before a great burst of blinding light burst from it. I covered my eyes, fearing long-term damage. The wraiths screamed, but not for long.

  I opened my eyes to find the street clear. The shadows were gone. Matyas flashed me a grin; I gave him a stern nod and walked down the road deeper into Smíchov. We had a lot of work left to do.

  The hounds had been more difficult to defeat than the shadows; Matyas walked with a slight limp as we returned to Anděl. We'd made good progress, though; the orbs were incredibly useful and had saved us more than once. I put some aside to give to Kadrix in the hopes that he'd be able to replicate them for us. As much as I didn't like magic, I had to admit that it had some uses. Quin's smug face swam into my mind; I smiled to myself and glanced up at the sky. Sunset was coming, and I still hadn't heard from him. I reminded myself that he was helping Elise and the others.

  The mall stood proud with its modern architecture and collection of shops within. It was a stark contrast to the poorer parts of Smíchov. Unfortunately, it was also something of a hub for shadows and their ilk. They slithered along the floor, the hounds emerging from behind small bushes and parked cars as wraiths slid down the walls of buildings. A group larger than anything we'd faced before formed all around us. Matyas put his shoulders back; I pulled my blades. Losing was not an option.

  We stood close on back to back. Each of us threw an orb into the writhing black mass of varying shapes and forms around us. An explosion of white light came from behind me; a soft pink cloud engulfed a good portion of the black in front of me. Screams and snarls cut through the air. A hound flew from the smoke, its front paws extended, ready to maul me. I thrust my blade into its chest; it dropped near my feet and landed hard on its side. The distraction almost worked; another hound's teeth snapped at my ribs while I stamped down on the first hound's skull. More darkness and shadows filled the gaps that the orbs had created. It closed in on us at an almost leisurely pace. It was teasing and taunting us; we had nowhere to go.

  I wasn't going to go down without a good fight. I strode forwards and launched a full-fledged attack, slashing and hacking at everything within reach. I threw orbs into the darkness at every possible interval, ignoring the pain that seared my skin and threatened to slow my moves. The blades sliced through the darkness, slowly forming gaps and drawing screams of agony. The shadows moved as one large unit, despite the mix of shapes and creatures within it. A hound came at my side, drawing my eyes for a wraith to go for my throat. I ducked under the dark arm and lashed out at its hand with my left hand while slicing upwards with my right into the wraith.

  Matyas let out a war cry. I didn't dare look to see what was happening. Sweat dripped down my brow when I was down to two wraiths. They slipped away from my increasingly slow attacks. I refused to back away, but they circled around me, trying to get behind me. Little did they know that I was drawing them in. The slightly larger of the pair lunged at me, its mouth wide open and aiming for my neck. I slashed across its face, stopping it dead in its tracks. My other blade was already buried in its stomach. The final wraith tried to run; I ran after it and pounced on it, digging my blades into its back before I landed on the road with a grunt.

  There were no trams, no cars. No one to witness our bravery. I pushed myself up to my feet and looked around for Matyas. He stood bent over double panting, blood trickling over his cheek.

  He looked over and grinned at me. "We did it."

  I opened the door to the flat to see a pale-blue hilted dagger hanging from the small hook at the end of the wooden dresser. A small smile formed on my lips, pale blue meant that Quin would be home at a reasonable hour and would make a nice meal. It was a way of apologising for being sharp or pissy with the other, and a promise of good food. I kicked off my boots and flopped down on the sofa; it had been a long day, but satisfying. I felt like I'd really made a difference for the first time in months. The sun hadn't long set, and I hadn't bothered to switch on the light. It was my home; we had three locks on the front door. With a heavy sigh, I stretched out on the sofa and allowed my eyes to close. I deserved a nap while I waited for Quin's return.

  The niggling sensation that I missed Lysander's presence ate at the back of my mind. I consoled myself by saying that I'd miss a pet dog in the same way, and that was all he was, really. A large, sexy guard dog. The last thought that filled my conscious mind was the image of his delightfully infuriating smirk and stunning blue eyes.

  My chest tightened. My lungs couldn't expand. The darkness was growing deeper. My fingers dug down into something firm, warm. It wasn't right. Why couldn't I breathe? I struggled against invisible bindings, trying to force my mind to wakefulness. My limbs were growing heavy. I fought harder, thrashing around, trying to open my eyes. A noise edged into the silence that thundered in my ears. My heartbeat. It was racing. There was something else. Something more important. A voice. I latched onto it like a lifesaver.

  The noises became growls and grunts. My eyes finally opened, air flooded my aching lungs. I coughed and gasped, gulping down the cool air. The darkness only partially lifted; I was home. I wasn't alone. Lysander snapped at a dark figure's throat, his hands firmly wrapped around slender dark-clad arms. A flash of umber caught my eye. A flame-coloured silk mask covered the dark person's face. Lysander threw the person at the wall. The intruder grunted and slid down the wall; he lifted them up by the throat and pinned them against it. Their feet dangled. My limbs wouldn't listen to my commands; I was frozen and lost in my own body. Panic crashed against my mind, threatening to drown me.

  "Release her," Lysander snarled.

  The intruder yelped when he slammed it against the wall.

  "Release her," he snarled once more.

  Suddenly, I had complete control again. An invisible weight had been lifted; I kicked my legs and threw myself off the sofa.

  Lysander smashed the head of the intruder against the wall, a sickening crunch resulted. The intruder went limp in his hands. He dropped it with distaste, a crimson smear marked the pale wall. The hound rushed to me, his strong arms wrapping around me, his warm face nuzzling against my neck. I slipped into the embrace, allowing it to drive back the panic and returned me to my senses. His fingers slipped through my hair.

  "I was so worried,” he whispered.

  I breathed in his familiar scent, taking comfort in it.

  "It's harder than that to kill me," I whispered back.

  He squeezed me tight and carefully set me on the sofa.

  "I'll dispose of this." He gestured at the limp body.

  I frowned, my thoughts slow.

  "A witch assassin?" I asked.

  He nodded. "I'll only be a moment. Quin will be here soon."

  The situation replayed in my mind. The realisation and understanding wrapped itself around my thoughts. I'd have been killed had it not been for the hound. He'd saved my life. I watched him carry the body of the assassin out of my home. I tucked my knees up to my chest; it didn't feel quite so homey in the empty darkness.

  I jumped when Quin came into the flat with Lysander right behind him. The colour had drained from Quin's face. I scolded myself for the foolishness. I was an experienced hunter. He found me pacing around the living room. It shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have needed the hound.

  Quin pulled me into a light hug. "I'm so glad you're ok, Evie."

  I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

  Looking at Lysander, I said, "How did it get in? How did this happen?"

  He a
pproached slowly, keeping his hands in view and his shoulders slightly hunched. "I do not understand their magic. I can't answer that. I'm sorry."

  I squeezed my eyes tight and reached out to him, he smiled and brushed his cheek against my palm.

  "Thank you, Lysander," I said softly.

  The urge to call him hound had slipped away at the last second; whether I liked it or not he was becoming something more than an infuriating beast. Quin pulled Lysander into a hug, complete with a manly pat on the back.

  "Thanks, Lys, for looking after Evie."

  I gave his back a dark look for the phrase ‘looking after’, as though I were a neophyte. Quin gave me a big grin and set about turning on every light. I blinked and allowed my eyes to adjust before Quin began making a feast.

  Lysander slipped his arm around my shoulders and guided me back to the sofa. "How was your day, Evelyn?"

  His eyes lingered on mine for a moment too long. His concern wrapped around me like a familiar embrace; I sat and allowed him to keep his arm loosely around me. Truth be told, I was still shaken, and the contact gave me a feeling of security that I needed. I put on a brave face and told him about my adventures; the pride I'd felt early returned with relative ease.

  Quin's eyes lit up at the mention of the orbs. "Kadrix will be over the moon at such a find!"

  I laughed quietly; it was an odd pairing, but his eyes shone at the mention of Kadrix.

  Lysander brought me back to the moment, to him. "You weakened the witches, with your actions today?"

  I shrugged. "Supposedly; I can't say for sure. Maybe Kadrix or Elise can tell us. How did that go?"