by Suzy Shearer
“I think we should start our search where you were injured. There is a chance there may be traces left on the trees, it hasn’t rained since then.”
Tomas took Julie’s hand and pulled her down onto his lap. He must have noticed her puzzled expression.
“When a strigoi is cut, the blood leaves traces that we can follow if it does not stop the bleeding. Some are smart and will stop it immediately but some forget.”
“How can it stop bleeding?”
“It saliva contains an agent that seals the wound. The same as we can. Look.”
He lengthened a nail and slashed it across his arm. Julie gasped but Tomas lowered his head and licked it twice. The wound was sealed, then he licked it a few more times and it was almost impossible to see where it was.
“Our bodies also heal fast, but if we can use the saliva as well it is much quicker.”
Julie was turning his arm this way and that. These Hunters were certainly amazing! Each day she was learning new things that stunned her. She realised he had done this on her wrist, that first morning when he had taken her blood. He must have done it to the slashes on his body as well.
“So if I have this right, you will fly over the trees and look for the drips that any blood leaves.”
“Yes, that’s right. If we start where the fight was, there is a chance we may find something. Tomas said the vampire dematerialised so hopefully, it didn’t bother to heal itself until it arrived at its lair.”
Tomas added, “Strigoi also leave traces of themselves, they have rotting flesh and often we can detect it and follow.”
Julie gave a shiver at the thought.
Michael and Tomas discussed tactics while the girls listened. When there was a lull in the conversation, Julie spoke.
“Louisa, do you hunt like they do?”
“Rarely. I do know how to defend myself, it’s essential to learn, but very few partners hunt as well. We’d be too much of a distraction. Our partner wouldn’t be fully focused on destroying the strigoi, they would be worrying we may get hurt.”
“That’s very true. I wouldn’t give the strigoi all my attention and that can be very dangerous. Mind you, my Louisa is a demon. I have seen her fight.”
He looked proudly at his mate, his eyes full of love.
Julie realised what Tomas meant when he said that the love and desire keeps getting stronger. These two had been together for over two hundred years and they still acted like newlyweds.
“You should see my parents, iubită, they can’t keep their hands off each other and they have been together almost two and half thousand years!”
“Two and half thousand years? Two and half thousand years! Oh…”
Michael and Tomas laughed at her shock.
“I’m over two thousand two hundred years old.” Michael grinned at her.
“Yep, this is my ancient old man.” Louisa kissed him.
Julie could only shake her head, she just found it difficult to get her head around their ages.
“But you all look like you haven’t seen thirty yet!”
“There’s a reason for that. When we were first made, the Gods felt that a human body reached peaked performance and mental maturity between twenty-five and thirty. And all the Hunters that they changed were between those ages. So now all Hunters are that age. When a human is converted, no matter their age, they will become fit and perfect for their body shape and look between those ages.”
“Tomas said you can have children. It must be hard for a child to not play in the sunshine, or go to school like a normal child.”
“When our children are young they are indistinguishable from a mortal. They eat as a mortal, except no meat. They play in the sun, they sleep at night. It is only when they are around twenty-five that they must make a decision that will affect them forever. They must decide if they will stay human and live a normal human life with a normal life span or if they will become an immortal Hunter. They have until their thirtieth birthday to decide. If they decide to become a Hunter, then they must make two blood exchanges, preferably with blood kin. Then they become immortal.”
“What happens if they haven’t decided and they turn thirty?”
“It is too late. Once your thirtieth birthday goes, you are forever a mortal.”
“That is why our children have those five years to make their decision. They are also taught from a young age what it means to be a Hunter. They are taught to develop skills. Even if they don’t convert, those skills are always useful.”
“I can see that would make sense. It would be a very hard decision to make.”
Julie stood and went out to the kitchen, Louisa following her. Julie put the food in two large serving bowls and directed Louisa to get bowls and silverware. She carried everything into the dining room. Louisa grabbed the bread and everyone settled down to eat.
The meal was a happy one, Michael and Tomas telling Julie stories of great Hunters. The mightiest Hunter was a man named Anthanasius Vaduva. He was the leader of the original hunters before they were transformed and was now looked on as something akin to their King. It also seemed that Tomas’s brother was now very famous. He had become a hero recently when he rescued his One and called down some ancient ritual. Julie didn’t quite understand it all but the others spoke of it with awe.
When the meal was finished, Tomas and Michael carried the dishes out to the kitchen, then came back to the women.
Tomas took Julie’s hands. “It’s time for us to search. Remember, if you are frightened, Louisa is here, but also you can speak to me. I’ll be with you always.”
He searched her face. Julie understood what he was saying, she felt safe and loved.
“May I come back here to you again?”
“I’d like that.”
“Will you allow me to stay with you again?”
“Yes. I want you with me.”
He hugged her and kissed her passionately. Michael kissed Louisa and the two men vanished.
“I doubt I’ll ever get used to that!”
Chapter Ten
Michael and Tomas materialised three kilometres from the front gate, they then transformed into large owls and flew off into the mountains. Tomas led the way and landed in a large tree overlooking the area where he had fought with the two strigoi. Michael flew down, searched the ground while Tomas stayed in the tree top watching, alert for any sign of strigoi.
“I have found traces of your blood and two strigoi. One leads off through the trees. I’ll fly to the top this tree and see if there are any traces.”
Michael walked to the tree where the trail stopped, then flew above the tops. He flew in circles, gradually increasing the size.
“Found a trace!”
Tomas flew to him and they both slowly followed the tiny traces left by the strigoi’s blood. It was painstakingly slow, sometimes they lost the trace and would have to make ever-increasing circles until they located it again.
They were at an area that had a number of small caves. The scent of strigoi hung in the area, as well as foul and rotting flesh. Tomas and Michael landed in the branches of a nearby tree that overlooked a larger cave. The smell seemed to be emanating from it.
“Watch my back.”
Michael flew to the ground and materialised as a tiny mouse. He scurried into the cave. Tomas scanned the area steadily until Michael came out and transformed into his usual human form.
“We need to stake out this place. There are a couple of rotting bodies in there. I would say the strigoi is hunting. If we wait until it returns we can finally destroy this one. Hopefully that will be the last.”
Tomas flew down and joined Michael. They searched around the area and found a good spot to hide but still keep watch on the cave entrance.
* * * *
Louisa looked at Julie. “Come on, let’s make some tea and relax. You can ask me anything you’re worried about or just want to know.”
Julie was grateful to her, but where to start?
They
made tea, then settled on couches, Milly curled up alongside Julie, snoring softly almost immediately.
“I’m not sure where to start or what to ask?”
Louisa grinned. “It’s a big learning curve. At least you have someone who was once like you to ask. When I met Michael, there was no one. I have to admit I was terrified, but I was more terrified of losing Michael. Of course I know he would never have gone if I didn’t convert, but the knowledge that when I died he would probably enter the sun made me so despondent. He is such a strong and mighty Hunter.”
“What does that mean exactly? ‘Enter the sun’. Tomas used that expression.”
“It means they purposefully stay in the sunlight. It will kill them, most painfully, in a few hours.”
“I don’t understand. Why would they do that?”
“You have to understand what it means to them to find their ‘One’. As well as roaming the earth hunting down vampires, they search for that one perfect person just for them. Some are lucky and find them after a short time, like Tomas. Others search through the millennia, like Michael and Tomas’s brother Matei.”
“Sadly, some may never find them, like Anthanasius Vaduva. It is like finding a needle in a haystack, being in the right place at the right time.”
“So it’s possible that the right person for a Hunter could have been in another country and lived their life then died. Does that mean that Hunter would then never have a mate?”
“That’s sadly correct, Julie. So when they do meet someone, you have to imagine how it would feel to them. They have spent their entire life alone, dealing with horror and more horror. They are wired that when they do meet their ‘One’ they are instantly in love. There is no slowly falling, none of that. No getting to know you, instead it is instantaneous.”
Julie had to laugh. “I guess that is why they seem so dominant and sure. They know, we just have to learn to love them.”
“It is easy to love someone who worships you.” Louisa laughed. “Still, there is something in their makeup that once they find their mate, he or she will quickly fall in love with the Hunter they are destined for. I imagine you are surprised at the feelings you have for Tomas, how strong they had become over just a few hours of contact with him.”
Julie blushed. “I guess so. I mean, I thought I was going crazy or it was just lust. That’s why I ran when I met him, I couldn’t think straight with him around.” She muttered, “I still can’t.”
“They do tend to be overpowering, but it does get easier once you convert. Mind you the desire, the passion, the love keeps getting stronger if that is possible.” She grinned at Julie.
“Anyway, if the mate decides they can’t convert for whatever reason, then the Hunter will stay with them until they pass from this world. Once that happens their grief is inconsolable. They can’t think straight, they either go crazy and other Hunters are forced to hunt them down, or they enter the sun.”
“Go crazy?”
“Yes.” Louisa shivered, a look of horror passed over her face. “It almost happened with Matei, Tomas’s brother. Michael and I were there. It was terrifying. I thought we were going to be killed.”
“But I thought he was married?”
“Thankfully it worked out okay, but for a while it was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced and I have fought with the strigoi!”
She took a sip of her tea and composed herself.
“Charlotte, Matei’s wife, was kidnapped. It happened before they married and she converted. I was with her. Michael and Matei were chasing a strigoi. What none of us knew was it had a laid a false trail for the Hunters just so it could take Charlotte. I had no chance to stop it. It took us all by surprise.”
Tears were falling from Louisa’s eyes unheeded as she continued.
“When Michael and Matei found her she was badly injured, in fact her heart had been punctured by the claws of the vampire. We all heard her, all the Hunters in the world who were awake.” Her voice quavered, “She…she called out to Matei that she loved him and then all was black as her heart stopped beating.”
Julie saw that Louisa was now sobbing. She went to her and took her hands.
“You don’t have to talk about this, Louisa.”
“Actually I think I do. I need to.”
Julie nodded her head as Louisa took a breath and continued.
“Matei went crazy. We all believed Charlotte was dead. He was inconsolable in his grief. At the time he was fighting the strigoi. He began an invocation, a ritual of destruction. No other Hunter in all their history has ever done it. We all thought it was a folk tale until Matei called it down. He…it…it calls down the elements. The lightning, the wind, the rain, and all is destroyed. He had almost completed the ritual. He had destroyed the vampire with it and then was about to complete the final invocation which would destroy him and everything around.”
Julie and Louisa were both crying now. Louisa’s voice went flat with emotion as she recalled the horror of that night.
“Michael had raced into the cave and was trying to save Charlotte, I was with him. He managed to pump her heart and he made her call to Matei even thought it was agony for her.”
“We had all tried to tell him she was still alive, you see, but he ignored us. Charlotte’s voice was the only one that would save him, even if it meant her death.”
Louisa shook her head, the pain of seeing Charlotte dying was beginning to overwhelm her, but still she continued.
“It was her voice that got through to him. He stopped the ritual and came into the cave and saw her.” She looked into Julie’s face, the grief etched deep in her eyes. “Oh Julie, she was a mess, blood everywhere, her leg was broken. Michael was pumping her heart, she…her heart and lungs were punctured. We still weren’t sure if she could be saved. It took the three of us all night and so much blood before we finally knew she would live.
“I don’t know if Tomas has told you, but we can enter a person’s body and heal them from the inside. We can repair breaks and tears but she was so hurt.” The anguish in Louisa’s voice almost broke Julie’s heart.
She felt Tomas in her head, “Iubită? Are you hurt?”
“Tomas! No, I’m fine. Louisa is upset, she is telling me about your brother and Charlotte.”
“Ah. It was a terrible thing.”
Louisa looked at Julie. “Tell him to look after my man.”
Louisa laughed, she felt better for having finally talked to someone other than Hunters about what had happened. It had cleansed her heart.
“Tomas, Louisa says to look after Michael for her.”
Louisa giggled and Julie realised not only could she hear her side of the conversation, she would be talking to Michael herself. He would have known she was upset too and would have been in her mind all the time she had been telling Julie of that horrid night. Comforting her.
Julie blushed as she told Tomas she missed him, she felt a phantom kiss on her cheek. She touched the spot. “How did you do that?”
“Ah, iubită, I told you, we Hunters can do many things.” She could hear the laughter in his voice.
“Can I?”
“Of course, we’ve made an exchange, so it’s just part of the telepathy.”
Julie screwed her eyes up and concentrated on kissing his lips.
“Mm…iubită, it tastes almost as good as you.”
She felt her temperature rise and decided to stop this game before she embarrassed herself even more in front of Louisa. Louisa was struggling not to laugh when Julie looked at her. Julie could feel laughter bubbling up and it erupted. The two women dissolved into a fit of giggles.
“You’ll be able to block once you have fully converted, in the meantime you need to get Tomas to teach you. I know how embarrassing it is, believe me, I have done the same things as you around Hunters. Even now I blush to think of some of the things I thought.”
“Louisa, if Charlotte hadn’t been able to get through to Matei, what would have happened to you a
ll?”
“We would have been killed. Everything would have been flattened. It would have been as if a large bomb had gone off in the area. We were so lucky.”
“You said that was the first time that had happened, what normally happens if they go crazy in their grief?”
“Hunter will track them down and are forced to destroy them. The grieving Hunter can no longer tell who is friend and who is foe. If they are not stopped, it is dangerous to all living things. It is a terrible day when Hunter is forced to kill Hunter.”
They sat together in silence. Finally Julie spoke.
“Are you happy?”
“Happy? I’m more than happy. I have an amazing man for a partner, we have great friends. My life is full. We have a beautiful daughter.”
“You have daughter? Where is she?”
“She’s in Italy at the moment, studying. She actually lives with relatives, descendants of my sister. It is wonderful. She is twenty-four and soon she must begin to seriously think about her future choice, whether to stay human or become immortal.”
“Tomas said his brothers are over thousands of year old yet he is only three hundred. Does that mean you can always have children?”
“Yes. It is just up to us to decide if we want one. We don’t have monthlies anymore, which is wonderful! We actually come into season once every seventy-five to one hundred years. Then if we want to get pregnant, we can. Tomas’s mother swore she was not having any more, then after a thousand or so years she changed her mind and Tomas arrived. Radu, one of Tomas’s brothers, has a child and his mate Eliza is pregnant again at the moment. We are all excited. All Hunters love children and they all celebrate when a child is born.”
“I never thought I would have a child, I mean, I never met anyone I liked enough.”
“That’s because you were meant for a Hunter. For some reason we can never find happiness with a mortal. Some try but it never works.”
“Charlotte was married but it was only for a short while. She has a grown-up son. He has two children who are both psychic. There is a very good chance they may be the ‘One’ for some Hunter in the world.”
