by LJ Swallow
"How could hunters keep you constrained for five years?"
The second man breaks his silence, voice barely audible. "Logan. Shut up."
"He's about to kill us!" Logan staggers back as Vince releases him. "We need to tell them."
"They won't believe us," he mumbles.
"Don't you remember?" Logan pleads with Vince. "They did shit to you. We want to help."
"Bullshit. You're not talking your way out of this." He glances down at the second guy. "Get up."
He scrambles up, supporting himself on the wall.
Vince has his back to me, and I step up to him. "Vince. Don't. Do. This."
Slowly, he turns and crosses his arms. "You wanna know what these hunters do to people? What I've seen? Hell, Ash, they almost got you once. You went on a fucking hunting trip with your vamp and witch buddies. The vamp killed a hunter."
Bile rises in my throat. "Andrei?"
"Yeah. Nobody's hauled his arse off to Ravenhold yet. I bet if he was a shifter, the authorities would've taken him there before he could blink."
No. He didn't. I'd know. Maeve would know.
Does she?
We need to break ties with Andrei. Now.
"We didn't plan to kill them. That was self-defence."
"Liar," sneers Vince. "The animal is inside you. Self-defence comes at a cost."
I shake my head. "Like vamps, we need to control our dangerous side. Vince. Please listen."
Vince leans forward, face in mine. "Aren't you listening? We're not vamps. They're nothing like us."
"But this solves nothing. You're talking about hunting defenceless men. What happens when you catch them?"
Vince looks at me like I'm an imbecile and I swallow down my anger.
The other Gilgamesh guys remain silent and I tug at Clive's sleeve. "We can't get involved in this shit."
"Vince is kinda right, though," puts in Remi. "They do hold us back."
"Hunters?"
"Nah, vamps. Witches." Remi nods at my brother. "We should listen to him."
"At least some of you see sense." Vince's smile grows. "If you're with us, you can join the sport."
My mouth parches. Sport?
He crosses his arms. "I'm letting these guys go. Give them half an hour, then we hunt."
One of the hunters makes a strangled sound and I shake my head in despair. "Vince. No."
"Seriously, Ash, your whining is beginning to piss me off. Don't you care what they did to me? What they want to do to us? All of us?"
I turn away and rub my hands down my face. This is insane. Dangerous. My brother could end up in Ravenhold—any one of us could.
"The first to catch one of the three gets the cash. I hope you all put your cash in the pot."
Three? I turn in a circle and peer into the dark but can't see anybody else.
Vince's broad back blocks the view as he walks behind a thick wooden beam and drags somebody from behind.
He's a slight guy who looks like he'd lose in any fight—not just against an assailant Vince's size. He's injured, because he's cradling his arm, and winces as Vince knocks into him.
This one isn't human. I sense straight away what he is. Witch.
I can't step back and allow this. I shove at my brother. "Don't be so fucking stupid! I don't want to lose you again."
"The Confederacy will blame the hunters if the witch dies."
"No. Let them go. All of them."
Vince purses his lips. "I said I'd let them go, didn't I?"
"To hunt and kill them." I hold my temples with both hands. "I can't let you do this."
I land on my arse as Vince shoves at me. "Tough. This is happening. And anybody who betrays us will pay. I chose the five of you because I thought you'd be with me on this."
My heart pounds blood into my ears. I'm listening to Vince, but I can't see my brother here. "This isn't you, Vince. Yeah, you're proud of being a shifter. Always were. But you wanted a quiet life, not to start a war."
"Sometimes shit changes a person. Like years locked up by these fuckers." He jabs a finger at the hunters. "Because of people like him." Vince shoves the witch who stumbles.
"Who is he? What's a witch done to you that would make you kill one?"
"Because I'm a traitor," croaks out the witch. "Because I've information they don't want sharing."
"They?" I ask.
"The—" Vince punches him square in the face and the witch cries out. In a reflex action, fire appears at the witch's fingertips on his injured hand, interrupted by Vince snapping his wrist.
Bile pushes upwards again as the witch lets out an inhuman sound and I look desperately to Clive and Remi. Why aren't they affected by this the way I am?
My heart thunders in my chest. I need to leave. Now. I'll walk back to the academy if I have to. But if I ran, how far would I get? I'd be hunted too.
Chapter Three
ASH
I slump against the barn wall. How could I have been so wrong about Vince and defend him for so long? Whatever happened to him has screwed with his mind. Big-style.
Vince shepherds the two hunters from the barn, past the shifters, who barely leave a gap for them to get through.
"Listen to me," stammers out Logan. "We weren't involved in his disappearance. Hunters took him, yeah, but the witches killed him."
I blink rapidly but Des beside me laughs. "You're full of shit. Does Vince look dead to you? If you're gonna come up with an excuse, at least find a believable one."
The hunter grabs my sleeve. "The witches. The Dominion. They're doing this. It's the start."
"Of what?"
A shifter beside me sighs, draws back a hand, and knocks the hunter around the head. He reels, barely staying upright. "We hate the Dominion as much as we hate the Confederacy. They have no place for us in their plans," Logan stammers.
"Why are you still here?" growls Vince as he appears with the witch. "Your time already started."
Logan's eyes are that of someone condemned to die. Maybe he has killed shifters in the past, but we've no proof. Fights should be fairer than this. I'm sickened by what I've been dragged into.
If I had the car keys, I'd be out of here.
"Regan," breathes out the witch. "I'm Regan. Tell somebody you saw me."
"Go, you fucking idiot!" shouts Vince.
The others around me jeer as the three stumble into the night. Turning my back on Vince, I grab Clive by the collar and force him to look at me. The other Gilgamesh guys are hyped, pacing from foot to foot, muscles tensed as if about to run a marathon.
"Clive. We need to leave."
"Why?" Clive looks into the dark the three men limped into and smacks his fist against his palm. "We fucking do this."
Clive's arrogant and sometimes violent, but I could never imagine him killing. There's something in his eyes, pupils dilated, jittery like a drug addict.
I snap my head around to look at the others who are chattering, egging each other on for the oncoming hunt.
Something isn't normal.
"Did you take something?" I ask Clive. "Drugs?"
"Nope, just the beers, dude." He smiles. "I can grab another bottle if we have to wait half an hour."
"You'd seriously kill the guy?"
The glassy-eyed Clive looks back to me. "Nah, they won't kill 'em. This is all a bit of fun."
"Uh. Not for the people they're chasing. Did you see the state they were in?"
Clive shakes his head and gives me a rueful look. "I'm surprised at you, mate. These guys hunt and kill us. Scaring the shit out of them sounds like a good plan to me. Nobody will die. C'mon. Get a beer."
Does Clive seriously believe nobody will die?
I run a hand across my hair and take in my surroundings to plan my escape. I don't have the car keys, but I can run. Vince jokes with his friends while Remi and Damian lap up the atmosphere. Des tells them they're honoured to get an invite and their grins grow wider.
Snatching my chance, I back away and run.
; I'm barely halfway along the driveway before Vince tackles me to the ground. I land on my face and he sits on my back, grabbing my head between his broad palms and pulling my neck back. I'm immobile beneath him, breath knocked from me.
"Where are you going?" he snarls, hot breath against my ear.
"Back to the academy."
"Why aren't you joining in? You're supposed to want this. You fucking hate hunters."
"I don't want to take part. Vince, get off me."
He smacks my head on the ground and gravel sticks into my face, shock coursing through my veins.
"Only if you do as you're told." His hands push against my skull, forcing my face further down, and for a horrible moment I think he's about to seriously hurt me. "Will you?"
"Yes." I relax my body in submission and Vince climbs off me. Rolling over, I groan and look up. "Vince. If you don't stop this, I will."
"How you gonna do that?" he asks. "You're not stronger than me. Not like this. Like a human."
I take shallow breaths. "Someone's making you do this crazy shit. Who told you to?"
"I make my own decisions, Ash."
Struggling to my feet, I meet him nose to nose. "And I do too. What have you done?"
"I'm starting a war," he whispers.
I meet the hardened eyes of the guy I once loved and respected, and my heart tears as I finally admit to myself something I've denied for too long. "Who are you?" I yell and shove him in the chest. "You're not my brother."
"Why? Because I want to save my race?"
"Listen to yourself!" I brush gravel from my bleeding forehead. "Vincent wouldn't do this. He's not capable."
"How do you know I wouldn't?" he sneers. "I've always hunted the hunters."
"Hand them over to the shifter authorities."
"And what will the authorities do with them? Grow up, Ash. Open your eyes."
"This isn't only hunters, either. One of these people is a witch. Why torture them too?"
"Why? Are you worried yours will be next?"
"Don't threaten Maeve," I spit.
He leans in and whispers. "But once the war starts, she'll be fair game. Perhaps the guys could have some fun with her first. Have you had a go? Any good?"
Something in my head snaps. I yell at him, the guttural sound echoing through the air, a sound I've never heard come from my mouth before. I lift my fist to uppercut him. His face, covered with the sardonic smile, sharpens into focus, and everything around me brightens as if a torch illuminates the dark.
Vince laughs and calls out more disgusting things he'd do to Maeve, and the worst thing is, I believe he would. I believe this man could start something there's no turning back from.
My head pounds and pain wracks my body as if someone injected acid into my veins, as Vince's taunting words continue. He's sick. The things he's saying. Hell, even vamps wouldn't do that to a person. A girl.
"Looking angry there, Ash," he says with a grating laugh. "Your eyes look lovely, by the way."
Eyes. I touch my face, but my cheeks are numb and I catch sight of my hands. They're bigger, my fingers elongating and skin on the back of my hands shining in the dark.
Not my skin.
They're fucking scales.
"No!" I shout and desperately grab at the corners of my human side, trying to wrap this around the Ash I can control and protect him from the darker instincts. "You don't do this to me!" I yell out. "Vincent would never do this to me!"
I've one and only way to escape this situation and keep myself safe—to keep my friends safe—it's to run.
I don't know how far I'll get, or what bullshit Vince will use to hurt me or frame me, but I refuse to let go of who I am and shift.
I might never come back from that.
Which I swear is what Vincent wants.
Chapter Four
ASH
I'm an hour into running from whatever the hell Vincent is doing before I slow. I've never been more grateful for my shifter speed and endurance, able to cover ground quickly, but I'm terrified to look at my hands in case my fingers still look strange—or if I've scales on the back of my hands. The environment lost the sudden brightness around us when I fought Vincent, something else related to shifting? Heart thumping and sick with fear, I pause and pull my hands from my hoodie pockets to look.
Normal.
But I can't let the relief slow me down, and I plunge onwards, listening for anybody following me. Once I reach the main road that passes across the moors, I pause to locate myself. The lights from a town shine upwards from the valley as the road begins to descend from the moors towards civilisation. I'm close enough to reach the safety of human lives in the next ten minutes, but I'm still a good hour from the academy.
I once laughed at the fact we lived near moors, the perfect place for mysterious creatures to roam at night. Well, apart from dragons. That shifting happened well away from any population, most commonly in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
Dragons are rare. Almost as ostracised as Mids, but stronger than any other shifter.
My brother is strong enough to take down anybody who stands against him. Any race.
I stick to the road's uneven edge but there's little cover, and I warily walk against the traffic, able to see any car coming from a distance.
Not one car passed me in the last half hour.
My head pounds from Vincent's assault and I'm spaced out, convinced I'm in a surreal dream. I must be. I'll never forget the terror on the men's faces and can't think what might happen to them next.
Vincent wouldn't kill.
Clive and the guys wouldn't blindly join in.
Would they?
I want to believe that something altered Clive and the others' minds and created this vicious streak, but if I'm honest I know violence lies inside all of us, looking for an excuse to come out. Vince gave them the excuse they need—a cause to champion. Enemies to fight in a war. Clive and Remi often instigate fights with other houses, claiming practical jokes, but they're closer to their darker natures. I've seen this violence on the rugby pitch and on other people. They resent being told to settle down and behave—the strongest shifters never want to toe the line.
Now they've found somebody who speaks to them, on their level.
A new hero, a man who survived impossible odds, who wants to teach them how to be as strong.
What a fucking disaster.
Headlights dazzle as a truck speeds along the road in my direction. I step further onto the road verge and break into a run again, mind whirling with what to do. Obviously, I need to tell somebody—Theodora or Tobias, rather than Professor O'Reilly—but say what? I'll sound insane. I've no proof and the others will deny the truth.
Fuck, the world is a mess.
I glance over my shoulder as a car approaches from the opposite direction, and step as far into the shadows as I can. My tension drops a little as the headlights fade into the distance as the car speeds by.
A few minutes later, the same car approaches from the opposite direction and I pause, heart rate ticking up in suspicion.
The car stops and I increase my pace. This isn't Vincent's car. I'm paranoid.
The nearby village would take ten minutes to reach at a shifter sprint, and I set off sprinting. To hell with it if humans in the car watch me move at inhuman speeds; I'm not slowing down and risking what could happen if they're not human.
But I'm no match for the speeding car behind me. Wind pushes hair across my face as the car roars by and tyres screech as the driver turns sharply to block my path. Immediately I sidestep off the road and head into the trees lining the route.
A car door slams and whoever pursues me matches my speed, their footsteps faster and closer than I'd hoped.
Not human.
Somebody large jumps onto my back and I lose my footing, landing spread-eagled on the ground beneath my assailant. I wait for Vincent's gruff voice from the figure on top of me, but he doesn't speak. I lie in the dirt, the earthy smell ti
ckling my nostrils as I summon up the energy to retaliate.
Shiny black boots appear in my line of vision and I turn my head to one side with a stick embedded in my face. A torch shines in my eyes, blinding me from taking in any more of the person's appearance
"That's the boy. Get him out of here. Make him forget." The female voice is soft, her tone verging on bored, and she ends the sentence with a sigh. "Fucking Vincent—I told them he was out of control, but did they listen? Of course not."
The weight lifts from my back and the guy who pinned me down pulls me to his feet. He wears a balaclava—something I've seen from hunters in the past because they're cowards. He's stocky and a big guy, but I can't tell if he's a shifter or not. Sometimes I sense them, other times not.
"Fight back and I'll knock you out," he says, his deep voice muffled. Not Vincent.
The woman's figure retreats across the leaves ahead of me, her tall figure resplendent in a long black coat edged with what looks like black fur. She's hooded and facing away from me; I've no chance of noting anything else about her.
I bow my head, pretending to be compliant, as the guy leads me away.
As if I'd let him take me.
The moment the woman blends into the shadows, I lash out, throwing my fist upwards to knock the guy's head back.
The man barely moves, as if my touch was from the breeze around us. I hold my fist—his face was fucking hard and my knuckles hurt. What is he?
"Tut, tut, tut," he growls, drawing his hand back. On the third tut, he slams his hand into my face.
I sink backwards and my neck jars as my head hits the ground. Are the stars above real, or part of the dizzy world I've been thrust into tonight? The night claims me.
Chapter Five
MAEVE
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Tobias promised we'd leave the academy before anything else happens, but with the academy overrun by Confederacy police authorities, we can't leave yet. If he smuggles us away now, we'll draw more attention to our group.
I made Tobias promise he'll find an excuse to get us out of the academy and he nodded. He never replied when I asked if he'd bring Andrei too.
