3
Depths
The streets of Etia became full just after dawn as the Alilletians believed that their sun god recognized any activity undertaken in the first and last hours of daylight as worship. It was the only god the Alilletians believed in and his name was kept very secret to anyone that was not one of them. The true time of dawn was difficult to tell this deep in Alilletia, the snows and mountains blocked out half of the daylight.
Like in the days past, Abner felt dwarfed by the huge men and women around him. With Lois and Gunthos by his side, he felt more secure. A lot had changed in the past eight years with Abner finally becoming a Hunter in his own right. They had chased the wolves all across Taagras, from Alilletia to Sauria. Just when it appeared they had vanished they reappeared in another part of the land.
“I tire of these cities,” Lois said. “I want to be free like we used to be, out in the country. I don’t know why we’ve got to keep coming back to these places.”
“We need the gold, remember? As soon as we’ve destroyed this lot in Etia we will leave,” Abner said.
“We were tasked with hunting down the wolves and destroying them,” Gunthos said remembering the first they had encountered which had killed his brother, Havoc. “It should be our main priority.”
“And we will complete that task, Gunthos. You know there are at least another five parties out there searching for them,” said Abner. “Both us and the Huntrey requires funding in order to survive. If we shut down this group inside Etia the profits are bound to keep us fed for another couple of months at least.”
“The wolf plague is a greater threat to society,” Gunthos said. “You said it yourself, it has to be done.”
“It will be, once we see ourselves fed and looked after. Now enough of this and let us turn our thoughts to the present. Lois, have you located any Vampires yet?” Abner asked.
“I think there’s one up ahead. Keep going into the crowd and we will come across him,” Lois said. Her eyes were red, effects of the Vampire blood she used to help track their foes.
“What does he look like?” Abner asked.
“Black hair, not an Alilletian, short.” Lois took a deep breath and giggled, becoming excited at the prospect of a new kill. Over the past few years, the Vampire blood had become like a drug to her and sent her off on random highs.
The description Lois gave was not detailed but here it would be enough. Alilletians were not known for black hair and finding their target would be easy. Gunthos would have passed for an Alilletian save for his skin color.
“Gunthos, I want you to take him. Make sure he knows exactly what you are. We’ll cover you from the outskirts of the crowd to make sure nobody follows you,” Abner said.
“Want us to go back to the tavern?” he asked.
“Indeed, I want to question him and be one hundred percent sure of where the Vampires are located tonight. I have a rough idea, but we need to know for certain,” Abner said.
“It will be done Toldar,” Gunthos said. He bowed and turned on his heel before being swallowed by the crowd of Alilletians.
“I hope you’re watching, Gareth,” Abner said. He pulled his hat over his face more and leant back against a wall. The sun continued to creep higher, closer to eclipsing the mountains. “You might learn a thing or two.
“I can’t see Gunthos,” Gareth said.
“Look closer,” Lois said. “I don’t know about you but I can see him from here.”
“You will learn,” Abner said.
Gunthos emerged from the crowd moments later with the Vampire clasped by the left shoulder. The Hunter didn’t look very happy with the Vampire. He was nothing to look at aside from his flat nose that looked freshly broken. The Vampire looked up at Gunthos and raised a nail to his face to bite at it.
“Hello, I am Abner Toldar. You might have heard of me?”
The Vampire shook it’s head. “Vars Lin. No I haven’t.”
“Vars, we have a few questions we wish to ask you. As I’m sure you are aware from my friend there, we are Hunters and we have a duty to kill any Vampire we come across. Resist and your death will be painful,” Abner said.
“I don’t want to die,” Vars said.
“I can tell you’re a brand-new Vampire. You’re probably unaware of your powers. Cooperate and you will not be harmed. This way,” Abner said.
Vars grunted as Gunthos threw him into one of the chairs in the tavern. The Vampire was weak and made Abner wonder if he had drunk his first drops of blood yet. He seemed to be very in control of his human emotions. Mandel greeted the Hunters, rising from a sleep and growled when he smelled Vars. The Hunters took position around Vars, all but Abner ready with their crossbows in hand, should the Vampire decide to escape.
“Why is there a wolf in here?” Vars asked. His eyes were wide, filled with terror.
“He is not a wolf, Vampire,” Gareth said. “He is a dire wolf, bred for the sole purpose of hunting Vampires. In other words, he was bred for hunting you.”
“What do you want from me?” Vars asked.
“Information, quite simply,” Abner said. He set his foot down on the closest table. He kicked out a chair and rested one foot upon it. “Tell us what you know, and you can walk out.”
“I don’t know what information you want from me!” Vars said.
“Let me take this Ab,” Lois said.
Abner shrugged. “Be my guest.”
“Mr. Lin, have you ever had the displeasure of being cut by Fyndfire in your seemingly short, yet miserable life as the lowest of all shit in this land?” Lois asked. She stepped forward and drew one of her long knives.
“No I wouldn’t know what that is.” Vars appeared to squirm as Lois drew closer with her knife outstretched.
“How about I gut you like a fish right now unless you tell us where the Vampires in this city hide!” Lois said. Her voice cut like the dagger, cold and sharp.
“Listen! I don’t know anything about Vampires in Etia!” Vars said. Tears began to form in his eyes. “A man approached me no more than a day ago, when I met him I fell asleep then I woke up not long after. And then you found me!”
“Why do we always manage to find the idiots of the pack?” Lois rolled her eyes and she mimed the Vampire’s movements. Abner smiled. “Where the fuck are they, you piece of shit!”
Lois etched the knife closer towards Vars, pointing it at his stomach. The Vampire tried throwing her off, but with the Vampire blood inside her, Lois was too strong. A lifetime of training had seen to that. The knife pierced his belly, forcing a scream from the Vampire.
“Alright fine, fuck! I submit!” Vars said. “They’re underneath the Citadel. You can take one of the sewers and it’ll lead you straight to them. It’s a vast tunnel network but you can find your way out of there.”
“Not so useless after all,” Gunthos said. He chuckled, and a grin spread across his face.
“I had my suspicions about the Citadel. Ever since I killed Graytooth something hasn’t been right about this country and the Citadel is the heart of it. We’ll destroy these Vampires and report it to the Huntrey. Maybe they can lend us some insight,” Abner said.
“What about me? Am I free to go?” Vars asked.
Abner snorted at the Vampire. “It is our mission in life to kill you and your kind. The only way you are now free is through death. Gareth come here.”
“What do you want me to do Abner?” he asked.
“Take my sword. I want you to kill Vars,” Abner said.
“Of course,” Gareth said. Abner passed him the hilt which he grabbed.
“You said I would not be harmed!” Vars started to scream as Gareth held the sword to his throat. The Vampire didn’t move, fearful of the Fyndfire’s touch once more upon him.
“I lied. You’re a Vampire. No harm comes to you. You’re already dead,” said Abner. “Gareth, finish him!”
The young Hunter took one quick look at Vars, seated helplessly in the chair. He then looked
at the sword, hungry for blood. The sword flashed up above him and a moment later the sword swung down, cutting straight through Vars, severing head from torso. The Vampire didn’t have time to utter a cry and died silently.
“A fine cut,” Gunthos said. He nodded his approval.
“He will earn his place beside us Gunthos. This is the start,” Abner said.
“Aye, impressive to remove a head like that in a single blow at his age.”
“Are you two going to stand around and talk all day? I’d rather hunt these bastards during the day. I know it’s underground but at least we have a fallback point,” Lois said.
“Alright, let’s get moving. Find an entrance and we’ll head down it,” Abner said. “Bring your wolf, Gareth. We’ll need him.”
Sewage drains were everywhere throughout Etia, it was only a matter of finding one they could all squeeze down. After half an hour of searching, Gunthos pulled back a steel grate that led to the underbelly of the city. As each Hunter dropped into the depths, the stench of death and decay barraged their nostrils.
In these tunnels there was no light, buried deep underneath the streets of Etia. Each of the Hunters, save Gunthos drunk Vampire blood deeply from different vials. It allowed them to see in the dark. While Abner didn’t need the blood, it had been a long time since he had last fed and the boost was more than welcome in his system.
“Which way? We could be lost down here for days,” Abner said.
“They’re Vampires, Abner,” Gunthos said. “They’d want the grandest setting available. They’ll be directly underneath the center of the Citadel.”
“To the north then?” Gareth asked.
“Yes, from here, the Citadel is to the north east, so we go right and then try follow it north,” Lois said. “Getting out closer to the Citadel shouldn’t be a problem. They hate having shit beneath their feet.”
“It’s all they’ve had for the past eight years, since I killed Graytooth. Alilletia has fallen so far thanks to a single act I committed.”
“Ab, I’ve told you a hundred times. You did what you thought was right at the time. Nobody could have foreseen your actions sending an entire country into anarchy. He was the man that killed Malvrok and he wanted to kill you as well. It’s all you could have done,” Lois said.
“Sometimes I wonder if I should have let him live,” Abner said. The sewer around him fell silent.
“If you had done that, he’d be still hunting you to this day, Abner,” Gunthos said. His voice echoed off the sewer walls breaking the silence.
“Graytooth would have died either way, Ab and you know it,” Lois said. “Either by the hand of one of the Hunters or from me. I had as much reason to want him dead as you.”
“All I’m saying is that maybe his heir could have been found before he died,” Abner said. “Alilletia is slowing wasting away. What remains of their government is still in tatters without a Graytooth leading it.”
“No Graytooth heir would allow someone that killed their own to live,” Gareth said. “The Alilletians are a vengeful people by nature, as I’m sure you are aware the Renori are also.”
Abner nodded. Gareth spoke the truth. Hunters had become a rare breed inside Renor and it was there the Vampires had flourished with next to nobody to oppose them. The Hunters that remained in Renor had taken it upon themselves to change their appearance and weapons in order to survive. It was where Hunters now travelled to prove their mettle, however reports came back each week claiming another had fallen.
Gareth was one such example, however while he remained inside the Huntrey he was safe from the dangers of the outside world.
“You definitely didn’t make life easy for us,” Gareth said.
Lois darted ahead and raised her fist up in the air, making the group come to a stop. “I hear something up ahead.”
“What?” Abner asked
“Voices, moaning,” Lois said. She swung her crossbow off her shoulder and held it out in front of her chest.
The first thing Abner heard was the moaning as they rounded another bend in the sewer. There before them, a man and woman stood pressed against the wall, the woman raised in the air, her legs wrapped around his waist. He was thrusting gently into her, throwing her breasts spilling out of her top, her hair a black, tangled mess.
They stopped when they heard the Gunthos run his sword along a rusted steel pipe that ran overhead. The man was the first to howl. His skin began to decay into that of a Vampire. Dropping the woman, who also began to change, the Vampire howled again called to his brethren that were no doubt hidden further along in the sewer.
Abner didn’t hesitate and without breaking a stride, drew his crossbow in one motion, shooting three bolts into the skull of the fiend. Each bolt landed within an inch of each other. The Vampire had disintegrated before what remained of its ashes had come into contact with the cold floor. Lois dropped to one knee and fired two bolts at the female. One buried itself with her throat, igniting the Fyndfire, while the other found the soft spot between its eyes.
“One to dust, one corpse,” Lois said. She ripped the parchment out of her pocket and scribbled on it.
“We’ll have to add more to that once we get out of here.” Gunthos smiled, ready to go to work.
Gareth watched the three Hunters in awe as they strode into the Vampire sanctum. His job was to assist, picking off any Vampires that tried to escape or blindsided the Hunters. With his wolf by his side, Gareth knew he would be protected.
4
Ascent
The sewer opened out onto a drainage area that the Vampires had cleared for their own purposes. They had been busy digging out other avenues for the waste to run down. What they had turned into a home was well lit, a large round table, stained with blood stood in the center. Gareth peered out of the sewer to find a horde of hungry Vampires staring up at him.
He took notice of the other pipes leading out of this area into other parts of the city. There would be no way they could stop every Vampire from leaving. There was too many.
“Hunters!” The Vampires gathered below looked up at Gareth, their angry red eyes tracking his movements. “We know you are here. Our brother called to us before you killed him. Come out into the light so that we may see you.”
“You ready?” Abner asked. He checked his crossbow.
Gareth double checked his weapon and nodded.
“If any escape it’s your job to chase them down, Lois. Leave some alive!” Abner said. “Go!”
Abner was the first Hunter to step into the trap; two Vampires attacked him from either side, trying to pin him down. He shot one through the skull while he held the other back. A bolt from Gunthos dropped the fiend. Abner tossed his hat, landing on one of the unlit braziers. More Vampires kept coming as he stepped down to meet them, dagger in hand as many came close.
Gunthos took the high path, running adjacent to the other large pipe leading out of the area as he rained fire down upon the Vampires at the back of the horde. Lois smashed into them, great sword spinning in a flurry, causing many of their foes to scatter. Gareth remained just inside the sewer pipe lip shooting at whatever he could see moving.
The Vampires quickly realized they were outmatched. Abner and his Hunters had cut down or shot dozens of their kind within seconds, and the Hunters weren’t stopping. Vampires leapt to the ceiling forcing Gareth to train his crossbow on them. One by one the Vampires fell, crushing their kin underneath their heavy bodies.
“Lois!” Abner said. “They’re escaping into the tunnel. Get after them!”
Lois darted around another Vampire, slicing it’s back open and looked up to where Abner was pointing. She slid the broadsword back onto her back and drew her crossbow again, disappearing down the tunnel seconds later.
“Gunthos, Gareth, we need to finish this now!”
Abner dove into the Vampires again, while Gunthos and Gareth continued shooting every Vampire in their sights, stopping only to reload. Mandel surged forward assisting Abner in
the melee. The sewer was full of death, burning bodies and ashes of dead Vampires. There was nothing fancy about the slaughter. Staying alive was the only thing that the Hunters needed. At last there were three Vampires left, too cowardly to face the Hunters. They fell to their knees, begging for surrender.
“Why did you do this? You’ve clearly sacrificed humans here. Why?” Abner asked.
“It is more than you could know, Toldar. Yes, we know you. The only half-Vampire in existence, you need to control yourself more if you don’t wish to give away your identity so easily. We saw the glint in your eyes,” the nearest Vampire said.
Abner turned angrily to him. “Tell me what you have done this for and I may ease your suffering.”
“You Hunters are all liars when it comes to us. But I will tell you, Toldar. We bought humans here to sacrifice for Tal’davin,” another said. “He requires sacrifice to return to power. Tal’davin requires the purest blood that humans can offer.”
“Have you all gone mad? Tal’davin was slain by Lars Hunter during the first war,” Gunthos said. “Anything you do for him is a lost cause. He has not returned. Abner holds the last two amulets right here on his chest.”
The Vampires chuckled in unison, a dark and rich tone. “Tal’davin returns to us. He has been biding his time. The last few years have seen events thrown into place that are preparing this world for his glorious revival.”
“Who is he?” Abner asked. The closest Vampire was struck with a fist.
“The same as he was before, in a different vassal. You will know it when you find him. He is willing to reveal himself to you, Toldar. You are not ready yet.”
“Abner!” Lois stuck her head out from the sewer. “This leads up to the Citadel! A few Vampires made it out. We need to get after them now!”
The Toldar Series Box Set Page 44
