Changed (The Hunters #1)

by Rose J. Bell

Rosa nodded. “Okay, Sir.”

  Then all got into the car, getting themselves back on track.

  “Yikes! What have you done?” Valerie burst out when Rosa entered the infirmary of the academy.

  Rosa didn’t live in the academy any more. She had her own flat in the middle of Boston. She visited the academy only for her training, or if the Master called her in.

  Rosa locked the door behind her. “What do you think I’ve done?” she asked as she sat down on the bed.

  Valerie wasn’t a hunter; she worked as just a normal nurse. She was small and had short, pink colored hair. Valerie was often happy. Rosa had seldom seen her in a bad mood. Valerie was one of Rosa’s only girlfriends. Most of Rosa’s friends were boys, because girls at her age were simply too childishly and immature. They had not seen how life could be. Rosa, with her only nineteen-years-old, had seen it. She had experienced it already when she was seven-years-old.

  “Today was my final exam, and I had to fight against two half-demons,” Rosa reported to Valerie. Valerie sighed and came with her association suitcases to Rosa.

  “Ah, Rosa, someday you’re going to kill yourself,” she said. Valerie was just like Colin, always worried about her.

  “Valerie, you don’t have to worry. Nothing will happen to me,” Rosa answered and took off her ripped top. Three long, deep cuts stretched around her breast, and down to her belly. The injury had destroyed her tattoo, to her dismay. What had once been, “Just Live¸” was now to be read as “st Live”— the J and the U had been scratched away by the claws of the half-demons.

  Rose sighed sadly. She had loved that tattoo. Her love of tattoos was so huge that she already had ten tattoos on her skin.

  Now, with one of her tattoos destroyed by one of these damned half demons, it only strengthened her hatred for the shadow creatures.

  Valerie took a cloth and disinfected it. “Many hunters have said that, Rosa. Look what happened to them; half of them lie in a grace,” she said as she led a cloth to her wounds.

  “Now this will burn a little,” she warned Rosa.

  It did burn. Rose clenched her teeth as it felt as if Valerie held fire on her skin.

  “You know that I’m better than the others,” Rosa gasped out in pain. She bit violently on her lower lip until the taste of blood filled her mouth.

  “Yes, I know. However, this doesn’t change the fact that you could be killed,” Valerie answered.

  “I don’t care! I will kill them, nevertheless.”

  Valerie stopped trying to disinfect the wounds, and looked Rosa in the face, allowing Rosa to recognize the worry clearly visible in her eyes.

  “It is because of what had happened, right? Because of that, you’re obsessed with killing them.”

  Rosa never spoke of the day that had changed her life—the day that made her into the person she is now, that engraved in her brain, and that always reminded her of what her job was—the day when an archangel had murdered her father right before her eyes.

  Except Valerie, Colin and the master, nobody knew about this day. Not even her mentor, Christian.

  The master had housed her and raised her. She knew she was not only his student. She was more than that. She was his niece. However, he didn’t difference her from the others. He treated all his students equal. It was only sometimes that he would show her affection as her uncle.

  Rosa owed him a lot.

  “Yes, it because of that day,” Rosa answered annoyed.

  Valerie laid her hand on her kneel. “Rosa, revenge isn’t good.”

  She groaned, “Valerie, stop. I cannot hear it anymore.”

  Valerie sighed, “Yes, okay. No one can teach you anything anymore.” Then she returned to her supplies to continue cleaning Rosa’s wounds. There was a knock on the door and Colin came in.

  “Hey, Val,” Colin welcomed her and sat down beside Rosa on the treatment table.

  “Hi, Colin,” she answered as she kept busy with her work. She started to sew the wounds, and every time piercing pain gripped Rosa, she bit down on her lip to hide it.

  Colin looked at her breast. Rosa didn’t pay him any mind—she wasn’t ashamed that Colin saw her in her bra, because she knew that Colin was not interested in her or her body. He was gay. With his blond hair, ocean-blue eyes, and brown skin, he didn’t look gay at all.

  When Rosa saw him for the first time, his beauty had impressed her; however, she never wanted anything from him. Rosa never wanted to start a relationship with a boy. Many boys were interested in her, but she was not interested in them. Rosa was glad she didn’t need to worry about the possibility of ever being more than friends.

  Nobody except for Rosa and Valerie knew that Colin was gay. If the master found out it, he would throw Colin out of the clan.

  To the master, gay boys were weak. Rosa didn’t see it the same way as he did, of course. She had nothing against gays. Rosa found them better than she found straight boys. Gays were much more sensitive and nicer.

  “Does it hurt?” Colin asked her.

  Rosa shook her head, “No, it doesn’t hurt.”

  “Don’t believe her, Colin. She would say that even if she were burned alive. Right, Ice Princess?” Valerie replied. Rosa had to smile.

  “I don’t believe her,” Colin said as he pinched Rosa. She winced.

  “Hey! That hurt,” she said, slapping him on the arm

  “Ouch! And that also hurt.” He rubbed his arm.

  “Rosa,” Valerie warned and threw her a look. “Stay still. Otherwise, I can’t sew your wound.”

  “Oh, now Doc is angry,” said Colin. Rosa smiled broadly.

  Valerie threw them another dirty look, but said nothing.

  “When will you be finished?” Rosa asked Valerie.

  “In a moment,” Valerie answered.

  “So, now you must kill only one of the Nephilim, and you are a full member,” said Colin. Rosa nodded.

  She had passed her test, while she had killed the shadow creatures. Now she had to kill a Nephilim to become a full member. She was ready for her next task. Every time she thought about it, her adrenalin would rise.

  “I am very excited that I get to kill a Nephilim. I can’t wait,” Rosa said.

  Valerie looked at her with a furrowed brow. “You are the first girl that I ever met who found it exciting to kill a person.”

  Rosa shrugged. “I won’t kill a person. I will kill a Nephilim. They are not humans. Besides, I have to clear something personal with them.”

  Valerie did the last stitches and put the needle in the reservoir to disinfect it later.

  “Finished,” she said. Rosa glanced down at her breast, noticing the three ugly wounds.

  “Will I have scars?” Rosa asked.

  “I think so. But if you don’t move so often and don’t open the stitches, there won’t be any extremely visible scars,” Valerie answered.

  “But there will be scars?”

  Valerie looked at her with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but yes.”

  As her anger rose, she hastily put on her ripped shirt.

  “Rosa, is everything all right?” Colin asked her.

  “Yes,” she returned irritated. Colin and Valerie knew that they shouldn´t press further. They had done it once, and it had not ended well. Rosa had let her fury run free and shouted at them both. Since then, both would leave Rosa alone when she was irritated.

  “Rosa ...” Colin said.

  Rosa shook her head. “Not now Colin,” she answered and disappeared from the space.

  Colin looked at Valerie worried. “What should we do with her?” Colin asked.

  Valerie sighed. “I wish I knew, Colin.”

  Rosa walked through the old-fashioned hall of the academy. The hall was large and had many doors on every side, which were the rooms of the hunters. As Rosa passed the door, her anger snapped, and she kicked a door. She was furious. If the half demon had lived, Rosa would have killed him twice.

  “Well, what do we have here? Our
Ice Princess,” said a voice behind her. Rosa stopped. She didn’t need to turn round to know to whom the voice with the mocking undertone belonged. She would recognize it anywhere.

  Rosa sighed and then turned round. “What do you want, Stewart?” she asked annoyed.

  Shane Stewart stood before her with his arms crossed and a mocking grin on his face. Shane was in Rosa’s group, and also had his final examination completed. He too still had to kill a Nephilim. Furthermore, he was the heart breaker of the whole hunter clan.

  His hair was brown and he had deep green eyes—he got every girl that he wanted. He also came from a rich family, which only made him more attractive to the girls. If they were honest with themselves, they would recognize that Shane was an asshole. Rosa didn’t know how he had become a hunter. Shane only had parties, girls and alcohol in the head—nothing else. Certainly, he had become a hunter because his family had money and taken him there.

  Rosa simply didn’t understand girls. They knew that Shane was an asshole, and still got involved with him—and this was the reason she didn’t have many girlfriends.

  Shane took a step closer to her. “And how was your final exam, Petrova?” he asked.

  “Why do you care?” Rosa asked.

  Shane grinned wide. “Our Ice Princess is bitchy today.”

  Most in the academy called Rosa “Ice Princess,” because she never showed her feelings or interest for anyone. She had repeatedly rebuffed everyone.

  Rosa felt her anger only continue to increase. She could not, and did not want to talk to Shane.

  “What do you want, Shane. I need to go home,” Rosa said.

  He took another step toward her. “I just wanted to ask how you feel, and how your final exam was.”

  She gave him a cool look. “Shane, you just want me wrapped around your finger so you can kiss me—just like you do to every other girl.”

  Shane looked at her as if he was shocked, but she knew that he was not serious. “You’re always ascribing bad things to me, Rosa. That’s not very nice.” The mocking smile he had worn when he first started talking to her grew. “And would it be so bad to kiss me, Rosa?” He let his eyes wandered over her body.

  Shane’s gaze stopped at her breast. As her top was torn, he could see a part of her chest and her bra.

  “Rosa, you make me wild,” he said, staring at her with a look that clearly lusted after more than a kiss.

  That was too much for her.

  Rosa grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He groaned in pain as Rosa slammed him against the wall, pushing her knee into the hollow of his back.

  Instead of defending himself, Shane smirked.

  “Rosa, you are more and more attractive every day, you know?”

  She snorted. “You know, Shane, what I hate even more than our enemies?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “You.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Shane, just leave me alone. I am not like the others bitches here. I have no interest in you, or your mouth. Just leave me in alone,” she said.

  He laughed. “Rosa, you’re just a hot bride.”

  Rosa sighed. You could tell an idiot whatever you wanted until you were blue in the face, and they would still never understand. Shane was an idiot.

  She let go of his arm.

  “Shane, you are an idiot,” she said as she walked past him.

  “Yes, an idiot that finds you hot!” he shouted after her.

  Rosa felt happier as she emerged into the fresh air, leaving the jerk and everyone else behind her. The academy was far from any town, in the middle of a forest. Unlike some of the others, Rosa no longer lived in the academy. Her apartment was in the middle of the city, a little over a half an hour away.

  She looked at her watch and saw that it was already eleven at night. She had to hurry if she wanted to be able to get home, take a quick shower, and go to bed. Tomorrow, Rosa had to go to school like any other teenager in order for her to integrate into society, and not to draw attention to herself.

  Rosa jumped in her car and drove off. There was little traffic in the usually busy streets of Boston, so she was able to arrive home quickly. She parked her car outside of her apartment and got out. She jogged up the stairs to the second floor and opened her apartment door.

  Rosa lived in a three-bedroom apartment. The hunter clan funded the apartment, so she was equipped with all technological innovations, like a modern kitchen and television.

  Rosa kept the apartment in black and white. The walls were white and the curtains were black. Colin and Valerie found her apartment naked, but she felt at home here. She did not need colorful furnishings.

  In her apartment, there were no flowers or photographs, only self-painted images. Rosa loved to paint pictures and was very good at it.

  She’d discovered her artistic talent in kindergarten. She’d always painted better pictures than her peers had; and when Rosa got older, the pictures became more beautiful, and more realistic. At school, she was the best in her art class. Her art teacher, Mrs. Doran, had offered a scholarship to her to attend a high art school, but Rosa graciously refused. Rosa knew her future had already been planned, and it did not include art studies.

  Rosa headed straight to the bathroom. After she had showered thoroughly, she slipped into her pajamas that Colin had once bought her. It was made of cotton and there were little princesses on it. Rosa loved the pajamas.

  She stepped in her large bedroom and lay on her bed. She snuggled into her warm blanket, and before her head touched the pillow, she was already asleep.

  “Where is my sister?”

  “I-I don’t know.” The young hunter trembled with fear. He had given up defending himself against Jason. He quickly understood that he had no chance against a Nephilim.

  “Don’t lie!” Jason grumbled as he tightened his grip around the throat of the hunter.

  The young hunter choked and whimpered under his grasp, tugging at his hand. “I really do not know!” he said, barely able to speak.

  Jason gritted his teeth as he leaned forward. His patience was running thin. In the dim glow of the lantern, he could see the anxious face of the young hunter.

  “Your friend told me you know where my sister is.” Jason released his grip a little.

  The hunter was breathing deeply. “Who said that?” he asked.

  Jason reinforced his hold. “Answer me!”

  “Okay, okay!” said the young hunter. “I just know that she was brought to Boston. Nothing more.”

  Jason’s heart beat faster. Finally, he had received useful information.

  “Where exactly in Boston?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me.” The young hunter looked at him pleadingly. “Please, let me go.”

  Anger welled up within Jason.

  “Shit,” he swore. He was glad to get this information, but the hunter’s statement destroyed all hopes of finding his sister’s whereabouts.

  He slammed the hunter against the wall and smiled sadistically as he heard bones break. The hunter did not have a chance to scream before Jason snapped his neck with one fast movement.

  He let his victim fall to the ground and stepped back. He could still feel the infinite rage and the pain that he had not found his sister. Jason took several deep breaths in and out.

  Get a rip, Jason.

  After he calmed down, he threw the corpse into a dumpster as he’d with the other hunters he had killed. Jason turned and left the alley. It was three o’clock in the morning and the streets were deserted. A light drizzle had started and the cool, wet conditions helped clear his head.

  With each unsuccessful day at locating his sister, his anxiety grew. He was afraid he would have to live with the guilt of never finding his sister.

  Jason sighed deeply. How long had he been searching for her? Five, six months? Or was it seven? He didn’t know. What he did know was he was running out of time. The longer the search took the less chance he had at seeing his
sister alive again.

  A sharp gust of wind drove a rush of cold drops into his face. The rain had become stronger and heavier. It would be an uncomfortable night again.

  Jason gritted his teeth and went on his way to his apartment.

  He was sure that the hunter had abducted his sister. Who else would kidnap her?

  The hunters—his enemies—used every means to fight the archangels. Jason hated the war that existed between the hunter and archangels.

  Both rulers wanted power and had been fighting for it for several years. No one knew who would win the war.

  Jason sighed in frustration. How had his sister been kidnapped?

  He just hoped that Jasmine—his twin sister—was alive. Would he notice when she was no longer alive? Twins did have a special connection to each other, but Jason did not know what to think. The only emotion he felt were pain and guilt as he thought of Jasmine.

  For months, heVd been attempting to make contact with his sister, but he had failed. It was like Jasmine’s ability to speak through their minds had disappeared, but Jason was sure that the hunters had done something to her that restricted her ability.

  Jason had failed as a brother. He was unable to protect her, and now Jasmine was gone.

  He would find her, though. He had promised his father and himself. Moreover, he had promised Jasmine.

  Dead or alive, Jason would find his sister.

  When he arrived at home and walked in, he was soaked. His father had gotten him the apartment after Jason had learned that there was a track in Boston.

  The apartment was luxuriously furnished, but Jason never felt comfortable without jasmine. A huge hole manifested in his life after Jasmine disappeared, and only she could fill it.

  His best friend, Philip, who supported him in his quest, slept soundly in his room.

  Jason quietly went to his room and closed the door behind him. He took off his wet clothes and went to bed wearing only his boxers. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes.

  He knew he would get no sleep again.

  Other than sleep, he could do nothing for the moment.

  Impenetrable darkness.