“Where are we going?” Asher asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“Hunting.”
“Where to, Granddaughter?”
I loved how my grandfather didn’t second guess my decision. I was the hunter, and he had been training me for months to fulfill my duty. I saw the pride in his eyes as he waited for my answer. “I’m not sure. Somewhere past Angel’s Pass. Something is pushing me in that direction, and we need to leave soon.”
His eyes lighting with knowledge, Grandfather nodded, “Your abilities are growing, Blayke. There is danger near. Danger that you must go find before someone gets hurt.”
“Or dies,” Eben said, grabbing a water sitting near the wall. Taking a drink, he looked at me and grinned. “Gear up?”
“I heard it in a movie once. It sounded cool.”
“Yes,” Asher agreed, his eyes dancing with laughter as he walked past me to the stairs, “it does.”
Dahlia rose from where she sat in one corner reading her spell book. Clutching the book tightly against her chest, she came over to stand in front of me. “You’re leaving again? All of you?”
“Not all of us,” I said, smiling down at her. “My grandfather and father will be here this time, and Alyiah and Grandmother too.”
“Blayke…”
“You have to remove the training wheels at some point, Dad,” I pointed out.
“It’s too soon.”
“No,” Grandfather interrupted, “she’s right, Daniel. They are the hunters, we are just here to train and guide them.”
“What if they need us, Gavin?”
“They need to learn how to stand on their own.”
“That’s my daughter!”
My grandfather rested a hand lightly on his arm, “And she is my granddaughter, but this is her destiny. You know as well as I do that we cannot interfere in a hunter’s destiny. It is not allowed.”
My dad stiffened, but before he could respond I asked, “What does that mean? That you can’t interfere in our destiny?”
“You are one of the chosen,” Grandfather said, “which means the Goddess above claims you as hers. It is your choice, and your choice only, if you accept and follow her. We are not allowed to interfere.”
“Isn’t that what Alyiah did when she sent me away?”
“It’s different when you are younger, before you are actually chosen and come into your powers. Once you receive your gifts, we are not allowed to intervene in any way.”
“We get a choice on whether or not we accept this life?” No one had told me that before. I thought it was set in stone that I was a hunter. As far as I knew, Alyiah was still considered a hunter even though she refused to fight.
“You are allowed to make your own decisions,” my father said, running a hand through his hair, “but there are consequences if you choose to leave this life entirely.”
“Just for the chosen hunters?” I clarified.
“Correct. All others can leave whenever they want, but the hunters chosen by the Goddess above will…” my father paused before continuing, “they will suffer more if they choose to leave.”
“How?” Asher asked, looking back at us, one foot on the first step.
“You didn’t know this, either?” I asked, surprised that no one had told him in his training when he was younger.
He shook his head, his eyes on my grandfather. “What exactly are the consequences if one of the chosen were to want to get out?”
Get out was a good way to put it. Leave this life behind, and the fear with it. Could I do that knowing that others would die because I refused to honor my duty as a huntress? The answer to that question was an easy one for me. I would never leave innocents in danger, no matter what that meant for me and my life.
“They would be stripped of all of their powers,” my grandfather finally said. “They would be placed in a town far from the one they live in, with no memories of the past, no idea how they got there. They would be alone, forced to start over.”
“Not only that,” my father cut in, “but memories of the hunter would be removed from all family and friends that they left behind. They would know something was missing, but would have no idea what, or who, it was.”
I gasped, looking around the room in horror. “Why would they do that? Why would they remove not only the hunter’s memories, but also their families’?”
“It would be the only way to keep them safe in their new life,” Chandler said quietly, “because I can guarantee that I would move heaven and earth to find you, Blayke, if I knew you were out there.”
“Which would be a bad thing,” Brielle whispered, “because she would lead demons to you that you would know nothing about. You would no longer be a hunter, just a human with no knowledge of the undead, and no skills to fight them. You would die.”
“Alyiah?” I didn’t have to say more. I knew they would understand my question.
“Leaving you was not an option.” Alyiah’s voice was loud and clear, and I turned to see her coming down the stairs. “I love you, Blayke, and even though I will never see my sweet Bellame again, my heart will always belong to her as well. I may choose not to fight, but I will never choose to leave this world and forget about the ones who hold my heart.”
I felt a small hand slip into mine, and I looked down to see Dahlia’s eyes wide with fear. “I hope you don’t leave us,” she whispered. “I don’t ever want you to forget me.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I held her close. “I will never leave, Dahlia. Not if I have a choice. You are my family, and family sticks together.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” I said, before raising my head to meet Alyiah’s gaze. “We are going hunting.”
“I know,” she replied quietly.
“I understand why you choose not to fight with us, Alyiah,” I said, straightening and stepping away from Dahlia, “but you are still a huntress. A slayer.”
Alyiah nodded, dropping her gaze to Dahlia. “I will protect her while you are gone.”
“I know you will.” There was no doubt in my mind that she would. A change had come over her in the past few days. She was more open with everyone, more determined to help around The Manor and with training, even going so far as to spar with Eben and Brielle a couple of times. She may not hunt, but if pushed, she would fight.
Sliding around the edge of what looked like an abandoned warehouse, I held up a hand. The mark on the back of my neck was burning, and I knew what we were hunting was inside that building. Closing my eyes, I concentrated as I opened all of my senses like my grandfather taught me. I shivered when their thoughts slipped into my mind, slithering in and out, laced with evil and corruption.
It’s time to eliminate them. They have served their purpose. We need to finish them off and dispose of the bodies.
Elrich is getting too sure of himself. If we keep these humans much longer, we will draw attention to ourselves.
No one will take what is mine from me. I will kill them all first.
I shuddered in revulsion when the thoughts were replaced by visions of cages along one wall. Three people huddled together inside one of them, clinging tightly to one another; a father, a mother, and their child, a young girl who couldn’t be more than fifteen. The father was angry, his eyes flashing with rage as small sparks flew from his fingertips, before quickly dying out. The mother appeared terrified, but she was trying to figure out the best way to escape. The only thought on her mind was protecting her family. The girl was hunched in on herself, casting small, furtive glances at the vampires. There was fear in her eyes, but also something else. Determination. She knew exactly who, and what, held her. She had known the moment they were taken, even before the one drank from her.
“Talk to us, Blayke,” Asher whispered, coming up behind me, followed by the others. “What’s going on?”
“Vampires,” I said softly. “Three of them.”
“I feel them,” he replied, and I knew his mark had to be burning like
mine.
“What’s the plan?” Eben asked, pulling his sword free.
“They have prisoners.”
“Live prisoners?” Chandler asked in surprise.
“For now,” I whispered. “They are holding them in a cage on the other side of the building. One of the vampires wants to keep them, the others want them dead.”
“Why would he want to keep them?” Brielle asked in confusion. “Vampires don’t keep their prey, unless they turn them.”
“He doesn’t want to turn them,” I murmured, “he just likes to drink from them. He likes the way their blood tastes, especially the girl.”
“I don’t understand,” Chandler whispered. “Why?”
“Because they have magic.”
Chandler gasped in shock. “Witches were captured by vampires?”
“The parents aren’t very powerful, but the girl is. Or she will be, once she has more training.”
“What are we going to do?” Eben growled, his eyes darkening in anger.
“We were brought here for a reason,” I said, glancing back at him. “Those innocents are that reason. We are going to rescue them.”
Pointing to the window above me, I crouched down, and then sprang into the air. Grasping the window sill, I pulled myself through the opening, landing lightly on the other side. Soon the others were beside me. Removing one of my daggers from my boot, and slipping my sword from its scabbard, I quickly left the room and made my way across the warehouse. My team fanned out behind me, sticking to the shadows as much as possible, weapons drawn and ready.
We had almost made it to where the captives were being held, when the first vampire scented us. “Hunters!” he screeched loudly, giving our presence away to the others.
“There are no hunters in this area!” a female voice rang out.
“Guess again,” I said, stepping into the room they were in.
“No! It’s not possible.”
“Smell her,” the third vampire snarled, from where he stood by the cage with the witches locked inside it. “She is a hunter!” I knew by the possessive way he stood near the family that he must be Elrich. The other two didn’t seem worried about the captives, but he would not leave them.
“Thank the Goddess!” I heard the mother cry, but I refused to look her way. I was not going to allow myself to be distracted in any way this time.
“Kill her,” Elrich ordered coldly, his eyes glowing a bright red in the darkness.
Cocking my head to the side, I looked at the two vampires in front of me and let a small smile cross my lips as I asked, “You don’t mind that I brought some friends with me, do you?”
Chandler appeared beside me, a large, white ball of magical energy swirling in her hand. “Awe, Sis, you waited for me,” she said, her eyes never leaving the enemy in front of us.
“I couldn’t have all the fun, now could I?”
“I hope not,” Asher muttered, moving into the room, quickly followed by Eben and Brielle. “We want to play too.”
“Two hunters, a witch, and a couple of wannabe slayers,” the female vampire snarled. “You think you can take us?”
“That wasn’t very nice,” I responded, keeping an eye on Elrich, while watching the two in front of me closely.
“I don’t play nice,” the vamp snarled, launching herself at me.
“Neither does this wannabe,” Eben growled, letting his dagger fly. It sank into the woman’s chest, close to her heart. Her lips peeled back from her fangs, a loud hiss emerging.
Before she could retaliate, I twisted around, slicing my blade along her neck, watching unemotionally as her head fell from her shoulders. Where it would have upset me just weeks before, now it didn’t faze me after seeing the innocent family being held like animals, knowing they were fed on daily. These vampires were evil, definitely rogue, and they were all going to die. One down, two to go.
Elrich howled in rage, taking a step in my direction. “I will have your head for that!”
When the other vampire tried to run from the room, I growled, “Asher, Brielle, he’s yours.” Knowing they would handle him, I turned my full attention to Elrich. “Your minions were right, Elrich. For the longest time, there were no hunters in this area. That’s changed.” Raising my hand, I pointed my sapphire ring in his direction. I heard him gasp, when he saw the Jackson emblem begin to glow brightly.
“She’s a Jackson, Father!” The girl in the cage cried. “She is the one we are looking for!”
“I am a Jackson,” I confirmed, my eyes never leaving Elrich’s. “A huntress sent by the Goddess above, slayer of all demons!” I heard the fight going on behind me, but I did not move my eyes from the vampire in front of me. “The hunters are back. When we are done, rogue vampires will be no more!”
Elrich let out a loud roar, taking another step towards me. “You are dead, huntress!”
“I don’t think so,” Chandler snapped, letting her magic fly.
It smacked into him, bringing him down to his knees. He let out another loud roar, trying to rise. “You are finished,” I growled, keeping my ring pointed at him, and narrowing my eyes in concentration. It was only the second time I had used it to kill a vampire, but the power exploded from my sapphire, and Elrich screamed as flames engulfed him. Soon there was just a pile of ash where he had stood.
“Wow, Blayke,” Chandler breathed, “I don’t know how you did that, but it seriously rocked!”
Not responding, I swung around to check on Asher and Brielle. The vampire was already dead at their feet. “Asher and Eben, pile the bodies together,” I said, moving quickly to the cage. “We need to incinerate them and get out of here in case anyone heard anything.”
“You’re the one,” the girl breathed, as I knelt in front of the bars to examine the lock that held them in.
“Who?” I asked absently, running my hand over the lock, knowing I wasn’t going to find a key among Elrich’s ashes.
“Our new leader,” she whispered.
Wrapping my hand around the lock, I closed my eyes and focused. I felt the metal become hot, seeming to burn in my hand, and then there was a click as the lock gave way. I had to admit, sometimes I did love being part witch, thanks to my grandmother.
“You’re a sorceress too?” the girl breathed, her eyes wide with wonder.
Standing, I removed the lock, throwing it across the room. Opening the door, I looked into the cage for the first time since I walked into the room. The girl had moved away from her parents, and was on her knees near the front door. Her mother had collapsed against her father, tears slipping down her cheeks. “You are safe now,” I promised softly, stepping back. “No one here will hurt you.”
The girl slipped out of the cage first, the mother close behind, her eyes skating around the room as if looking for danger.
“There were two more of them,” the man said, slowly following his wife and daughter out into the open.
“We took care of them already, sir,” Eben responded, from where he stood off to the side.
“They were the ones who led us this way,” I told him. “We ran into them on the other side of town, and followed them most of the way here.”
“Blayke, we’re ready for you and Chandler,” Asher said quietly.
“Stay here,” I ordered the family, before walking over to where the two vampire’s bodies were, along with their heads. I stood on one side, Chandler on the other. Raising our hands, we called up our magic, and the bodies in front of us were soon piles of ash.
“I want to learn to do that,” the girl breathed from behind me.
Please let us be safe. Please protect us. Protect my baby girl.
I turned back to look at the mother, taking in the fearful look in her eyes. “You are safe,” I told her softly. “All of you are. I promise.”
“We need to get out of here,” Chandler interrupted. “There could be others that know about this place.”
I nodded, glancing one more time around the room. “Let’s go.”
An hour later we were back at The Manor, along with the family. My grandparents and father met us when we all climbed out of the SUV. It had been a quiet ride home, the mother and daughter succumbing to their exhaustion and passing out just a few minutes into it. The father kept his eyes on the road, watching for danger, but I felt his relief at being with hunters. Now they were awake, and I could sense that their fear was once again making an appearance.
My grandmother rushed down the stairs as soon as she saw that we were not alone, her gaze full of concern and compassion. Looking at them, I cringed when I saw what she was seeing. They wore dirty, ragged clothes that looked like they hadn’t been changed in weeks. Their haggard faces were drawn, sagging with exhaustion. Filth covered their bodies, along with various bruises and puncture wounds that could only be caused by vampire teeth.
“Please, come inside. Let us help you,” Grandmother said, wrapping her arm gently around the girl’s waist. Looking back at the parents, she encouraged, “Come. You can bathe and change clothes while I fix you something to eat.”
“Gwen,” my grandfather interjected gruffly, “don’t you think we should find out who they are first?”
“They can be trusted,” I said quietly.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” I was positive. I had taken a trip inside their minds on the way home. Even with the mother and daughter sleeping, it was easy to see that they were no threat to us. “Let them eat and get some rest. We can all talk later in the morning.”
“Wait,” the man said, drawing back to look at all of us. “We need to talk now.”
“I’m listening,” my grandfather said.
“No, we came to talk to the huntress.”
I stiffened when all eyes turned toward me. Stepping forward, I waited silently.
“We are from Maryland,” he said, glancing down at his wife when she slipped her hand into his. “My name is Luke Castle. This is my wife, Holly, and our daughter, Trinity.”
“I’m Blayke Wynters,” I replied.
Blayke Page 16
