He smiled. “As if you had a choice in the matter.”
The female raised her wrist and pointed to her comlink. “But I do. I still have all of my pods.”
“You’re lying.”
“N-no, I’m not.”
He squinted at her. “Then leave.”
Instead of calling for a pod, she pulled the machete that was attached to a bag secured around her waist. “Why run when I can stab you in the gut and walk away? At least that way I won’t have to use my pods.”
Fanian lifted his eyebrow. “So you’re a fighter, eh?”
He liked fighters—one in particular. The female raised her chin. Fanian sighed. “I thought this would be an easy job. I had planned to be on my way with a human in tow by now. But here I remain.”
The female thrust the machete in his direction with one hand and reached into her bag with another. “If you come any closer, I’ll make sure to alleviate you of all your worries.”
“A threat?” He laughed. “Well, at least you’re taking the time to tell me what you’ll do to me. The other female, the mother, she’s all action.” He fingered the scar on his neck. He’d hoped it would be gone by now. “She tried to decapitate me.”
The female opened her eyes wide, then narrowed them. “I’ll succeed where she failed.”
“You’re not as dangerous as her. She’s my first choice. My employer wanted a human to produce offspring. She’s perfect. But I underestimated her will to protect her children. It has been…painful.”
“What? And you don’t think I’ll be just as hard or harder to capture?”
“The stakes are different. Maybe I should keep pursuing her. My employer would appreciate someone as fierce and protective as she is. Or my employer may end up dead on the other side of her temper. He might also decide her temper is not worth the trouble and kill her or the children.” He shrugged the sad thought away. Why should he care what Az’ud did to Miranda once he had her? “I’m only responsible for capture and delivery. What happens afterward isn’t my concern.” The last words were a reminder to himself.
“I just might do Miranda a favor and get you off her back,” she seethed and stepped toward him.
He glanced at the machete. It was a good weapon, but he knew how to take care of himself. Besides, if she came to him, claiming her would be easier. “Are you going to prick me, human?” he taunted.
The human trudged through the snow in his direction. Determination seemed to be rooted in every step she took.
At her approach, an odd scent caught his nose. It came from the small thing she held. “What’s that in your hand? The smell is very unpleasant.” He wrinkled his nose. He didn’t like the scent of it at all.
One side of the human’s mouth lifted. “How about you take a closer look?” She used her thumb to do something to the offensive smelling device.
Crunching sounded. Louder and louder and faster and faster. The hunter finally made it. Fanian hoped whatever the female had planned, she would take it out on the new hunter instead. He didn’t need any more injuries. Yes, he would survive, but he wanted one day where he wasn’t lying across his bed or on the floor in a painful state of regeneration.
“Mine!” roared the new hunter as he ran towards them.
The female nodded toward Fanian. “You better leave now. He’s into ripping arms off and disemboweling folks.”
Fanian turned to watch the new hunter’s approach. “Eh, I’ll stay. I’m always up for a good fight.” He didn’t need another fight and mainly didn’t want to get his limbs ripped off, but he could at least fight back and maybe release some of his frustration in this round.
The new hunter ran past Fanian and tackled the female instead. They flew through the air before hitting the snow, tumbling away.
“What the hell?” the female yelled.
The new hunter held the female tight and glared at Fanian. “She’s mine. I claim her.”
Fanian was unmoved by the new hunter. “The rules state—”
“I don’t care about the rules. This one is mine. I’m willing to die for her. Are you?”
He hadn’t lied. He was up for a good fight, but there was nothing worth fighting for here. These two belonged to each other. They reeked of each other. “You can have her. I have a mother and her children to go after.”
The female fought against the new hunter. “Let me go! I have to kill him. I can’t let him get to Miranda or the kids.”
Fanian turned on his heels and ran, making his way to Miranda. He was running out of time to claim her. Even though there was now one less hunter in Level Two, there were still too many for his comfort.
* * *
Miranda stood on a slippery rock and watched a fat black fish swim.
Almost. Almost. Come closer, fish.
As soon as the fish swam close, she thrust the spear hard and deep into the stream. After all the rippling stopped, she saw her aim had been right. “Yes!”
She covered her mouth with her free hand, stifling the maniacal giggle from erupting and stopping herself from any more outbursts.
Adam had been asking for fish for three days, ever since they’d left Esme. Miranda had to admit that she’d been craving one too but had to wait until they’d found a cozy shelter to make the attempt.
Her new place had room for relaxing and enjoying a cooked meal without having to worry about the bessen or an arrancar smelling the food and coming to get them to have a meal too. Her place wasn’t as big and didn’t come with the amenities Esme’s had, but it was well hidden. She toyed with the idea of staying there until she couldn’t anymore.
She lifted the spear from the water and, smiling from ear-to-ear, turned to show Adam their dinner for the night.
It wasn’t just Adam and Lexi that she saw. Her worst nightmare stood right in front of her.
Fanian.
* * *
Miranda dropped the spear. Fanian could see her calculating the distance between them in her head. By the panicked look in her eyes, she knew she would never reach them in time.
I have her.
Fanian sprinted towards the kids. If he got them, he had her.
As he ran, Miranda threw her knife at him, followed by her machete. He ducked the blade, but the machete caught him in the side of the head, taking him down. As he rolled across the snow, she ran to her kids.
Determined not to let her get away again, Fanian sprung to his feet. He ignored the sharp object impaled in his head and ignored the pain firing across his scalp. Blood dripped into his eyes. Barely able to see, he kept his gaze on the prize. He was faster than her.
Terror leached the color from her face. She knew it too.
Once he drew close, he dropped to his knees, sliding the rest of the distance. Just as he was about to scoop the children into his arms, Miranda’s boot connected with the side of his face, knocking him away. She grabbed her children and pressed her comlink.
Not again!
Fanian lunged toward her with a snarl and gripped her neck. She fell forward into the waiting pod below, taking him with her. They hit the bottom of the pod together in one large tangle.
Silence pulsed as they stared at each other. Confusion flickered across her face, mirroring his own jumbled thoughts. Could hunters ride in transportation pods with the prey?
The pod lurched into motion, racing along a track and answering his question. Miranda clutched her children tight to her chest. “Did…did you call a pod too?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Fanian shook his head. He hadn’t had time.
Relief washed over her face. “So, you didn’t claim me.”
“But I will as soon as we’re out of here,” he promised.
“Sadistic, asshole,” she spat.
“Sadistic, asshole who will finally get to leave this awful place,” he corrected.
She unstrapped his crossbow that she’d stolen from her back. She held it awkwardly in one arm while simultaneously gripping her children in the other. Luckily the
re wasn’t enough room for her to properly use it.
Fanian leaned over and plucked the cross-bow from her hand, then broke it in half. He wouldn’t need it, not when he was about to claim her. For good measure, he broke the remaining arrows in half. All she could do was glare at him.
The pod stopped. As the roof opened, another knife appeared in her hand. She thrust forward. The pod was too cramped for him to defend himself or maneuver out of the way. He turned to his side, giving her his non-dominant arm. Her knife sunk deep, hitting the bone. The air pushed them out, and Fanian landed on a hard surface, the knife sinking deeper into his arm.
Fanian yelled and cursed. Miranda’s hands were tight on her children’s arms. She scrambled to her knees, dragging them with her. She slipped across the ice they’d landed and whimpered. Tears streamed down her eyes. “Adam, come on, we have to get away.”
The boy couldn’t gain his footing either. Fanian pulled the machete from his head, tossed it far away, and then did the same with the knife in his arm. Then he crawled in her direction. The feat was difficult. Not only was the ice slippery, but the blood gushing from his wounds didn’t help.
Miranda glanced over her shoulder and yelped when she saw him closing the distance. Fanian grabbed her foot. She kicked at him. Despite the many painful kicks to the head, he held steady.
She pushed Lexi’s comlink. He didn’t worry. This time he knew he would drop with her. The ground rumbled, but nothing happened. Her pod hadn’t worked. He thanked the Ancients for the malfunction and pulled her to him. She slid across the ice with a yell. He wrapped his arm around her and pushed the claiming icon on his comlink. The ground did the same as hers and rumbled.
“What’s going on?” he asked aloud.
Miranda slammed her head into his face, hitting his nose. His vision went black. When it cleared, she was crawling to the hole in the ground where her pod had finally burst through the ice. Fanian grabbed for her foot again and missed. He dove at her, angling them away from her pod. They slid and kept sliding down a sharp decline.
Instinct had him wrapping his arms around Miranda and the children as they picked up speed. Dead prey wouldn’t do him any good. He wasn’t trying to protect her and the children for any other reason, he told himself.
There was a moment of weightlessness, then an even sharper drop. They rocked back abruptly only to slide down again. They shifted back and forth until finally, they came to a stop.
“I got you, Mishka,” he whispered in her ear. He pressed his comlink, calling for a pod. He’d won. Finally.
She struggled against him. “The first chance I get, I’ll kill you for real.”
“As you’ve learned, I don’t die easily.”
He kept his grip on her, waiting. Nothing happened. No rumbling noise as the pod system worked to breach the ice—no movement beneath them. Nothing.
She elbowed him in the stomach and wiggled her arms free to press her comlink.
Nothing happened for her either.
She pressed Adam’s comlink. Nothing. She reached for the baby’s comlink. Nothing.
He glanced around. They’d fallen into a pit. One look at the ground, and he knew it was years and years of built-up ice. They weren’t going anywhere while in here. “Don’t bother with it. The ice might be too thick. A regular pod isn’t going to get through.”
She glared at him as she pressed the baby’s comlink again. Fanian shrugged. If she wanted to use all her pods on a useless escape attempt, it didn’t matter to him. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should let her use all her pods to guarantee when they escaped, she was as good as his.
He released his hold in her. She wasn’t going anywhere without his help. He pushed himself to one of the walls. Thick, just like the ground. He guessed water use to travel through this small space at some point, but wherever the water had come from, it had been cut off, leaving an icy cavern formation. He glanced up, glad they’d slid and hadn’t fallen over the edge. He would’ve survived, but Miranda and her children wouldn’t have.
How would they get out? He could jump, but not that high. Unless he found a weak spot in the ground, they were stuck until the evening alarm sounded, and the game attendants sent a pod for him.
He took ten steps in each direction before reaching the walls. At least they weren’t on top of each other. By his calculation, the evening alarm would sound soon, and when the pod came, he would have to grab them fast.
Hunters weren’t allowed to claim prey after the evening alarm sounded, but technically he had claimed her before falling into the ice hole. The pod system had malfunctioned due to no fault of him. He would explain this to Bradliix once they reached the lodge.
He smiled. “I won, Mishka.”
A knife whizzed through the air and embedded in his head. “Daughter of a Draqk whore!” He pulled the knife from his skull and glared at her. “How many of these did they give you?!”
She had another one in her hand. This time he ducked to the side. It hit the wall behind him with a thud before falling at his feet in a series of clangs. He picked it up. Since she didn’t produce another, he guessed that was the last of her sharp weapons. “All done?”
Miranda scrambled toward the opposite wall, holding Lexi possessively and pushed Adam behind her.
Adam pushed away from his mother and sister to lurch toward him. “Leave my mommy alone! Don’t hurt her!”
Miranda grabbed him back by a fistful of his shirt to pull him back.
Fanian glared at the impudent child. Brave. But impudent. “Tell your mother to stop hurting me.”
“Come near my children or me, and I’ll do more than hurt you,” she growled.
He huffed and stuffed her knives at the back of his waistband. “You can’t kill me, but you keep trying. I hope Az’ud likes his females persistent.”
He broke eye contact with her then crouched. He trailed his fingers on the ground and knocked on a few places, trying to guess where the evening pod would most likely breakthrough.
“What are you doing?”
“When the evening alarm sounds, a pod will come for me. One of the rules of The Hunt is that all hunters must leave the gaming arena. If they can’t retrieve me the first time, I’m sure they’ll keep trying until they do.”
“Good. Then after your pod breaks through the ice, I’ll call for ours.”
Not bothering to look at her Fanian laughed, and kept up his search. “You don’t honestly believe I’ll leave you behind, do you?”
“I won’t let you take us, I’ll—”
He glanced up to glare at her. “What? Bash my head in with a rock? Electrocute me with your small device. Try to cut off my head? Stab me? Cut off my fingers? Put arrows in my brain? Burn me?”
Out of everything she’d done to him, the burning had been the worst. He’d been awake for most of the regeneration. He’d had to lay on the floor of his shower and wait out the long process of healing. It had taken days. All the while, he seethed, thinking about all the ways Az’ud would abuse her.
She nodded. “I’ll do all that again and so much more to protect my kids.”
“You can do with me as you please, Mishka. Just as long as we’re in the same vicinity as you do it in.” She shrunk away from the smile he gave her. “And lucky for me, the odds of us being in the same vicinity are in my favor.”
Chapter Thirteen
Even in the tight space, Miranda kept her distance from him, pretending he didn’t exist. Fanian had expected her to beg and plead for him to let them go. Instead, she read the children a bedtime story from what Adam had said was a book. It was small, square, and hard with bright colored pictures. He’d never seen a book that wasn’t available via holographic from his comlink.
Fanian inched forward for a closer look. That finally earned him a stern glare. “Unless you want a punch to the face, keep your distance,” Miranda growled.
Adam and Lexi sat snuggled in her lap, eating protein bars and hanging on her every word. Well, that w
as until he had intruded their space.
Adam looked his way and placed a finger on his lips. “Shh, it’s story time. Don’t interrupt.”
“Do you dare silence your elders, child?” Fanian asked in a huff. He wasn’t upset with the child. He was more upset with Miranda for not letting him see what the book was all about.
Fanian scooted back to the spot he’d found where the ice was at its thinnest. He didn’t want Miranda to gain access to it. He guarded it well. He’d already tried to call a claiming pod, but it hadn’t been able to get through. When it was time for the evening alarm to sound—which was close—he would grab them and await the pod.
Adam angled his neck to glance at his mother. “What’s an elder?”
“Leave it be,” Miranda told Adam. “Just ignore it. It’ll be gone soon, and then we can leave this place.”
“But I don’t want to leave. We haven’t met Santa Claus, gone to his workshop, or seen any of his elves yet.”
Wait. Is she calling me an ‘it’?
“I didn’t mean we would leave the North Pole. I meant we would finally be able to get out of this hole.”
“This planet is called Turolois, not the North Pole. And who is Santa Claus, what kind of workshop does he have and what are elves?” Fanian asked.
Miranda snarled at Fanian. “No one is talking to you. Mind your business—”
“Santa Claus lives in the North Pole, and he comes around once a year to bring all the little boys and girls toys. But only if they’ve been good. He has a workshop where his elves make them. We’ve been on an adventure to see him!”
“Hush, now, and let me finish reading the book,” Miranda told Adam. Adam lowered his head to view the book, then Miranda continued reading her story to him.
None of what the boy said had made sense. It sounded like Miranda had lied to her son about where they were. That made sense. If he had children and ended up in such a place, he would’ve done the same. Lie. Kill—anything he could to keep his family alive.
It was a shame. If he’d met Miranda anywhere besides Turolois, he might’ve been interested in her. Maybe even romantically. He wouldn’t have done anything regarding that pursuit, though. Miranda had children to take care of and didn’t need the trouble that followed him.
Hunted by the Alien Vampire: An Alien Abduction Romance (The Hunt Book 4) Page 12
