by LJ Swallow
"At least I saw something and stopped you..." She pauses.
"Dying? Yes, Maeve. The herb would've killed me." Her eyes well with tears. "You said that you saw me outside too?"
"Yes, but we don’t need to worry about that. I’ve stopped what happened next because I interrupted you drinking the beer."
I wrap my fingers around my sore hand. “But you saw someone nearby. He might still be there. I'm going out in case the guy still arrives, and is the hunter expecting to find me."
I glance at where the bin overflows with food wrappers and vegetable peelings. I need to imitate Maeve's vision.
"No, the guy in the pub ran, because he knows we're aware. Tobias and Andrei chased him. I doubt he’d come back.”
“We’re looking for two hunters, Maeve, not one.”
Her shaking starts again, and I hold her cheeks in both palms. "This could be a way to find them. To end this."
Maeve attempts to shake her head. "No, Ash."
The red spreading across my skin isn't the only thing growing angry. Someone tried to kill me. Could've killed my parents.
These hunters could be the ones responsible for Vincent's death.
I'm not discussing or thinking about this. Grabbing the top of the white bag, I drag the rubbish towards the back door.
My hand throbs as I step into the cold. My boots leave footprints in the melting snow and my breath mists in front of my face as I wait.
Come on out. I'm here.
Nobody.
I lift the lid on the small skip and drop the bag inside.
No footsteps. Nobody arrives.
Swearing, I rub my head.
An idea strikes, and I drop to my hands and knees, head bowed. The hard tarmac is jarring, and I grit my teeth, but if someone is close by, he'll expect me to collapse. I'll force the hunter to reveal himself if he's here.
With each breath, more fury courses through me, and eats up my logic. One day soon, I'll shift, and the fuckers will regret hurting anybody I care about.
The tarmac is cold beneath my hands and knees as I wait, straining to hear and hoping Maeve stays seated inside.
The wooden gate which is set into the high wall surrounding the pub's yard creaks. I deliberately labour my breathing, listening out for footsteps, trying to gauge the person's size. Male. Average build. Scared.
Yeah, you should be bloody scared.
Light footsteps tread towards me, and I jump to my feet. Without looking, I charge at the figure and knock him backwards with enough force that he hits the wall.
I stare at him. Not the guy I served in the pub, but I know him.
This bastard cable tied my arms. Did the hunter think he could poison me with wolfsbane and succeed in killing me?
I slam my body into his and hold my forearm against his neck, fist clenched, as I meet the hunter's eyes terrified eyes.
"What the hell?" he chokes out.
"Where's the other hunter?" I snarl.
He doesn't respond. I push my arm tighter against his neck.
"I don't know," he rasps. "He was supposed to-"
"To poison me and then you drag my body away?"
His bulging eyes grow. "Who told you?"
"I should snap your neck right here, right now."
The power surges through me, blackening my thoughts until I'm overwhelmed by hatred and the need to destroy him. "Did you know Vincent?" I spit out.
His pause is enough of an answer for me. I grab his jacket and hold him high against the wall, slamming his back until the air is pushed from him.
"You can't kill a human," he chokes out.
"And you can't kill a shifter," I snarl back.
"Ash."
The voice is distant as if behind a wall, as the blood swooshing in my ears dulls my hearing.
"Ash!" repeats an urgent voice.
Vincent. The man in my grasp killed Vincent. The anger engulfs me, and I yell, a guttural sound bouncing around me, and the guy struggles for the first time. I focus and see him more sharply - every small mark on his face, every strand of hair.
"Ash!" A different voice.
Hands tear mine from the guy's jacket, and somebody jumps on my back. An arm appears around my neck and squeezes until I drop the guy to the floor to pull at my assailant's tightening grip. Legs hook around my waist, and I stumble.
I've fought vamps before, and the steel strength in this one's arms has to be a vamp. I stagger again and try to shake whoever this is off, but the legs around my waist clamp harder.
I yell, the sound almost a roar and charge backwards. We fall to the ground, the stacked up crates behind crashing to the ground as I fall. My assailant lets go and rolls away from me, groaning.
"Calm the fuck down, Ash," snarls Andrei from the ground. "Killing someone in your backyard isn't smart. Ravenhold, dude. Think about Ravenhold."
I turn my head to look at him, and he shrinks back.
"Whoa." Andrei's pale face fills with horror as he scrambles to his feet and backs off. I glimpse Maeve standing in the doorway arms wrapped around herself.
Nearby, Tobias holds the man's cheeks in one hand, forcing him to look into his eyes as he speaks softly.
My breath comes in ragged pants, as I will myself to calm down. Maeve watches but doesn't approach me, and the light from the kitchen highlights the mask of fear.
Andrei's right. I can't kill. What the hell am I doing?
"Shit." I walk over to Maeve, and she steps back as she covers her mouth with her hand.
"Your eyes, Ash. They look... wrong." Her voice is muffled and eyes the size of saucers.
"What do you mean?"
"He means you have a dragon's eyes," says Andrei from behind me.
I hold both palms against my closed eyes and a sickening feeling deep inside my soul consumes the fury.
No.
Hell, no.
Chapter Thirty-Three
MAEVE
Ash sits on a chair, leaning forward with his arms dangling between his legs as he stares at the floor.
Walking outside to find Ash with a man in a death grip scared me, but when he approached with eyes bronzed and with his pupils slit like a reptile, I would've run screaming in terror if Andrei and Tobias hadn't been with me.
Tobias rests against the kitchen counter, hands in his pockets, pale and quiet. Andrei still stands in the open doorway as if ready to run.
"When is your nineteenth birthday?" Tobias asks Ash.
"Spring," he mumbles.
"You are likely to shift very soon after your birthday."
"You think?" he asks sarcastically.
Tobias pulls himself away from the counter. "This is serious, Ash. You cannot allow yourself to experience this level of anger until you're of age. Control yourself, or you'll end life as a Mid."
"What's that?" Every day, something new, I swear.
"Shifters can't change into their animal form until they're nineteen, but some children's genes begin to morph early. The problem is, they're too young to shift successfully, and end up midway between shifter and human. Stuck." Tobias nods at Ash. "Depending on how inhuman this form is, Mids are either killed or sent away from humans. It's impossible for Mids to return to normal and be part of the shifter community."
My stomach lurches. "You can control your anger, can't you, Ash?"
He puts his head in his hands. "I hope."
"I did not realise you were at this point, or I would never have brought you with me." Tobias takes a deep breath and sighs. "I'm sorry."
"He lost his shit on Halloween," puts in Andrei.
"Someone tried to kill him," I say. "That's enough to piss anybody off."
"That's simplistic of you, Maeve. But then I wouldn't expect any different," Tobias replies.
"You patronising jerk," I snap.
"Watch your mouth," he retorts.
"Hey!" Andrei clicks his fingers at us. "We're all stressed here. Calm it down."
I shake my head in amusement at Andrei ta
king control.
Tobias drags a hand down his face and turns to look out the window. "You need to stay here, Ash."
"Why? Where are we going?" asks Andrei.
"I asked the hunter in the yard where he was staying and told him to return to the address. We will follow."
"Why didn't you just wipe his mind?" I ask.
Tobias turns and again looks at me with the disdain that pisses me off. "Because if I did, we wouldn't find the other hunter who poisoned Ash's drink. The hunter outside won’t remember the attack, and I’ve told him to go back to where he’s staying.”
"Right," I mumble.
Tobias moves to Ash. "I'm worried that your shifter energy is running too high for you to accompany us."
He nods again, not looking up.
"What happened to the guy who tried to poison Ash?" I asked.
"We followed too late, and he drove away. Rather than follow, I memorised his licence plate. I'd rather find them both together than spend all night hunting for them.”
"They're definitely connected?" asks Ash.
"The hunter told me only two are in the area. Wait here. Help Diane in the bar. Whatever. Just stay occupied. We'll return when we've dealt with the hunters correctly."
Nobody argues, but the way he says the word 'correctly' rings in my ears.
Chapter Thirty-Four
MAEVE
Tobias follows Andrei’s directions to the address the hunter gave him, while I sit silently in the back of his car. The farmhouse is positioned at the end of a dirt lane and the metal gate is open. A small sign attached to the fence indicates this is ‘Briary Farm’—an AirBNB, perfect for short term stays to kill shifters.
We park by the side of the narrow road that runs through this part of the countryside, outside the gates, and Tobias kills the headlights.
"What's the plan?" I ask.
Tobias looks in the rear-view mirror, his face obscured in the car's darkness. What is his plan? “We wipe the hunters’ memories of Halloween. And tonight.”
“And you’re sure these are the same people?” I ask.
He meets my eyes. “I’m positive. Out of the car, both of you.”
My stomach flutters with nerves as I climb out to join Tobias and Andrei as we huddle around the car bonnet. The two-storey farmhouse is surrounded by tall privet hedges and a barn with the door half open is set behind the building. They’ve parked a car in front of the barn.
“That’s the correct car,” says Andrei.”
“Good. I’ll scout out the cottage for the best way inside without being noticed, and we’ll go from there.” Tobias points at a nearby copse. “Wait by there.”
We do as Tobias instructs, as he moves towards the house and blends into the shadows. A breeze interrupts the still night and I shiver, wishing there were leaves on the trees to give us cover.
"Do you usually burst into houses and surprise people?" I ask Andrei teasingly.
"What else do you expect us to do? Wait until we're invited into their home for a cup of tea and a slice of death?"
I sigh. "I was teasing."
He's hunched over and face half-hidden by his hood. "This isn't a funny situation."
Andrei's tension worries me as much as what could happen in the cottage. An owl screeches further in the woods, and I startle and grab Andrei's arm. He smiles down at where I hold him. "Looking for my protection again, Maeve?"
I pull my hand away and dig them both into my pockets. Andrei scuffs the dirt beneath the tree, complaining he's bored, but his snarky bravado hasn't fooled me. How does he feel? The night he hurt Sally, I watched as he and Tobias dealt with the situation and saw fear behind his cockiness.
A few minutes later, Tobias startles me as he steps from the dark. "The two men are here. They're watching TV in the room at the front and there’re no other lights on in the house. We wait until one leaves the room and then step in."
"If there are only two of them, we can walk in and take them now," protests Andrei.
Tobias looks down at him. "You're the student. I'm the professor. You do as I say."
Andrei drops into silence. The longer we're with him away from academy, the easier it is to forget the gap between us and Tobias. I tuck my cold nose into my coat and my feet numb as we wait behind a tree out of sight. What's Tobias's real plan here? The word 'assassin' won't leave me when I look at him.
Time passes slowly and quietly, until a soft light appears behind a curtain in an upstairs window. Tobias straightens and nods in the direction. "Somebody's up there. Time to get this over with. Maeve—call at the house and tell the men that your car broke down. Andrei— hang behind Maeve for when they ask her in. I'll walk around the back and deal with the hunter upstairs."
Tobias disappears again and I’m at the point I do want Andrei’s protection. Why don’t we burst in and take them on? I glance at the lit window on the second floor.
Because Tobias wants time alone.
“Okay?” whispers Andrei. Mouth dry, I nod. He sighs, takes my hand and squeezes. I don’t pull away—I’m glad for the comfort. “If you don’t feel confident in taking one on, I’ll take over.”
And show failure in front of Tobias?
“I’ll be fine,” I say with a weak smile
He releases my hand and with my heart thumping in my ears I walk up the path, with Andrei retreating into the shadows away from the porch light. I lift my hand to rap on the wooden door. Voices and music from a TV show drown out the sound, so I knock louder.
The door opens and I squint at the bright light. A man with a buzz cut, dressed in black trousers and a green combat jacket with boots to match Tobias's, stares at me.
"Hi. Sorry to bother you but my car broke down and my phone is out of charge," I say, attempting a tone that doesn't sound like I'm terrified.
On Halloween, I only saw the man whose arm I bandaged, and this isn't him. Even if it were him, the guy was delirious and semi-conscious, and Tobias already blanked his mind. The guy I bandaged isn’t one we’re looking for.
"Where?" he asks, his sharp features drawn into suspicion.
"Not far." I gesture vaguely to my right. "Could I borrow a phone? Just to call a breakdown service to pick up me and the car."
With a curt nod, the guy opens the door wider and I sidle past him but remain close to the entrance. The door opens into a large room where a TV continues to blare in the corner. Beer bottles litter the table amongst half-eaten pizza and two packed rucksacks rest to the left of the door.
I look at the sour-faced guy expectantly, waiting for him to hand me his phone.
"I hope your magic skills are better than your acting," he says with a rough laugh.
"I'm sorry? I don't understand?" Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Are you following us, sweetheart? No way would you be on your own. Where are the others?”
"Following?" I ask in a soft voice. "Nobody's following you."
"Adam," calls the man. “You were right, they saw you. Now we’ve unwanted company. Get moving.”
There's a thud upstairs and no response from Adam.
"Maybe I should leave," I say.
He rubs his lips together. "I've been looking for a blonde girl."
"Pardon?" I edge backwards and his eyes shine, as his mouth tips into a smile. “He brought you straight to us, didn’t he?"
For a split second, the idea Tobias's treachery reaches further than I realised, and that he’s about to get us killed, crosses my mind. In this split second I’m distracted, the hunter grabs my arm.
I cry out for Andrei as the hunter pushes at me, and I trip before my backside lands on the armchair behind. A figure blurs into the room, and Andrei knocks the guy to the floor.
“Deal with me, not her,” he snarls. Andrei drags the man to his feet and slams him against the wall. He pulls his hood down and the man's eyes widen as they meet Andrei's.
"Ha! Two for the price of one. You're the Tepes kid from the academy, right? You're top of our list." The h
unter sneers.
"You have no idea who I am." Andrei's terse tone has switched to the smooth cajoling I've heard from him and Tobias before. "You don't know who any of us are."
“Yeah, I do, mate. You’re not smart if you leave a trail of corpses around the country, are you?"
He swears and winces as Andrei shifts to hold the man tighter, gripping his shoulders. "I've enough shit to deal with. I might hurt you, but I don’t kill.”
The man sneers. “Wrong. You killed my friend, vampire.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
MAEVE
Killed?
Andrei doesn't reply, but his grip on the man drops, as does Andrei’s influence on his mind. The hunter laughs. "Not so cocky now, are you?"
"I didn't kill anybody," says Andrei. He's speaking to himself, and not trying to influence the man's thoughts. "Maeve, he didn't die."
"I don't know. Andrei, we need to deal with the hunter."
But Andrei's retreated, and is locked in his own fear. Is he picturing his future? Because he's no longer in the present. Andrei drags a hand down his face. How the hell has he frozen like this?
The hunter snatches his chance and lunges at Andrei. He knocks his legs from under him, and Andrei falls to the floor and smacks the back of his head on the edge of a stone fireplace.
Andrei isn't the only one frozen. What the hell do I do? "Tobias," I yell. "Help us."
"Do you like my open fire?" he chuckles at Andrei who woozily tries to sit. "Makes the place very cosy."
The flames crackle in the fireplace and the hunter snatches Tobias's hand, dragging him towards the fire.
"Tobias!" I scream again and break free of the shock rooting me to the carpet.
I slam my shoulder into the guy, but he's broader and stronger than me, so barely moves. "Leave him alone," I plead. "Please."
"Didn't you hear? He fucking killed my friend."
Finally, the hunter's eyes meet mine, and I seize my moment. "He didn't." With everything I have, I project my mental energy in his direction, praying that he stays locked in my magic. "Tobias didn't kill your friend."
