Hunter's Curse

by Ginna Moran

  I nod and slide over. “Yeah, I’m cool. Just thinking about my future.”

  “It’s going to be awesome. I bet you’ll do big things—change the world.” Agent Chris gets behind the wheel and reverses.

  I lean back in the seat. “I hope so.”

  JACQUELINE

  I sit behind the wheel of the Mustang and stare out over the small cemetery. I watch Jazmin pull away in her green Mini Cooper and I’m sure this is the last time I’ll ever see her. When I woke up this morning, she handed me a piece of paper with a few phone numbers I memorized, and then she had me follow her here.

  Jazmin called in a few favors and used her ability to have Dominic buried here at sunrise in a small service with just me and her. I’m grateful that she used her influence to help me. As an enchantress, Jazmin’s power runs deep in her blood and she can manipulate and influence people to an extent. She can enchant them to stop doing a particular behavior like moving and talking, and can sway them to make a decision where they were previously uncertain, but she can’t force a person to do something they wouldn’t naturally do. Enchantresses are innately good and their powers work through good intention. Without a pure heart, an enchantress’ power weakens. I’m not sure why, but that’s what Dominic always told me.

  A tear slips on my cheek, thinking about my brother. He’ll now rest in the Evergreen Lawns Cemetery far away from my grandmother’s resting place. I’m not sure I’ll ever come here again and the thought squeezes my chest, threatening to suffocate me.

  I turn off the engine and get back out of the car. I can’t leave him yet. I’m not ready to say goodbye even though Jazmin warned me not to stay long. I’m supposed to ditch the Mustang at the train station and move on with my life, leaving everything that reminded me of Dominic behind.

  I kneel down at Dominic’s fresh grave and cry into my hands. Sobs rake through me and I fall over and pull my knees to my chest. I’ve never felt so alone and confused in my life. Even with the plan Jazmin came up with, I still feel the heavy burden of navigating this dangerous world on my own. How am I supposed to get through this? What do I even have to live for? I’ve lost everything. I’m truly alone.

  I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees. Maybe If I stay here long enough, I can just disappear.

  HUNTER

  “Got a call that a black Mustang with a damaged fender was heading south on Sycamore and turned into the cemetery.” Agent Janie says, peeking her head through the window in the divider between the cargo area and cabin. “Think it’s our super?”

  “Guess we’ll find out. Buckle up.” Agent Chris accelerates and U-turns at a signal.

  I shift in the front seat to look back at the two other agents, Rosaline and Rob, as they latch their seatbelts. Agent Janie touches my elbow and I stiffen my shoulders. I didn’t actually think we’d come across the super and now that there’s a possibility we might, I’m more nervous than I care to admit.

  “You’re not to leave the car, Hunter. Understand?”

  I meet her gaze. “Absolutely. I saw the video of what this monster can do.”

  “Think you can identify her? We only have a blurry snapshot,” Agent Rosaline says from the cargo area.

  I nod. “I think so. Just don’t let her touch you.”

  “The memo was pretty clear about that,” Agent Chris says.

  I tap my fingers on the dashboard. “Good. I hope you guys get her.”

  6. DEAD BEFORE DARK

  JACQUELINE

  It takes everything in me, but I manage to pull myself together. My eyes feel heavy with unshed tears and I inhale a long breath to push all my grief and uncertainty away. I’ll never survive in this world on my own like this and I refuse to let Dominic’s death mean nothing. I’ll live for him, just like he’d want me to.

  The only thing left for me to care about now is myself, so I guess that’s how it’ll always be. I push to my feet and dust off the fresh soil from my knees. Just keep running, I imagine him say. Keep going and don’t look back, Jackie. Don’t let anyone in and protect yourself first. You always come first.

  I stare down at his fresh grave. “You were supposed to always take care of me. You promised you’d never leave me.”

  I’m answered by silence.

  I turn on my heels and strut back to the Mustang and climb behind the wheel. With one more look at the cemetery, I reverse and drive down the small road that leads to the street. My mouth is dry from crying so much and my heart is heavy despite my efforts to forget yesterday happened. Because it did happen and you’ll never forget it.

  I merge onto the street and idle at the stop sign to look at the map on the front seat where Dominic should be. The train station is ten miles from here, and then from there, I’ll be meeting with a shifter in a town two hours from here who’ll get me in touch with the Creature Council. I just hope they let me in. Jazmin made it clear that I’m to lie about what I am, so from now on, I’m not a sin-eater. I’ll claim to be a necromancer—they’re rare and it would be unlikely to run into one. I won’t have to worry about the council asking me to demonstrate an ability either. Jazmin said the council considers it rude unless a creature offers.

  I set the map down and stare at the road in front of me before glancing in the rearview mirror. Terror chills my blood and my heart stops for a second. At the end of the block is a familiar white van—just like the one that rear-ended me yesterday—and it’s speeding right for me.

  Go! The memory of my brother’s voice rings in my ears. I stomp the gas pedal and accelerate, spinning the tires before jerking forward. I grip the steering wheel, my knuckles white, and I fly through a stop sign. I’ll be dead like my brother if the van catches up to me. The HPA would never understand that I saved their agents—that I let them find peace.

  I rake my teeth over my bottom lip and pant through my fear. I jerk the wheel and make a sharp right, fishtailing the back of the Mustang, and accelerate well past the residential speed limit. I wind through the neighborhood that should bring me to the main road that leads to the interstate. If I can just get there, I can lose them.

  Sweat beads on the back of my neck and I clench my teeth as I prepare to make a left at the end of the road. I slow without touching the brake and turn the wheel. The sound of metal crushing metal rips through my eardrums and I jerk forward, hitting my face to the steering wheel. Pain bursts in my head and blood trickles into my eyes. I scream, struggling to unlatch the seatbelt, and after a moment it finally releases me and I bolt from the totaled car.

  “Don’t move,” a masculine voice calls out. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then just let me go!” I yell.

  I press my hand to my throbbing forehead, putting pressure on my cut, and turn on my heels. I have to get out of here. I sprint in the opposite direction of the van, leaving behind everything that was left from my life with Dominic. My ballet flats slap the pavement and I force my legs to move faster.

  Footsteps sound out behind me, but I don’t look over my shoulder at the agents determined to kill me. I gasp, my lungs burning from the sudden exertion, and I focus on quickening my pace. I cut across the yard of a small wood framed house and run toward the gate to the backyard. I can cut through to the next street over and maybe the agents will stop pursuing me if I get on a busier street where bystanders can see me.

  As I unlatch the gate, a small pop rings through the air and my shoulder stings. I jerk my hand back and touch my fingers to a cold metal dart. My heart sinks into my stomach and dizziness washes over me. I spin on my heels and dash toward a tall, well-built agent with emerald eyes.

  Shadows cloud my vision, and before I can grab onto him, the world fades and darkness consumes me.

  HUNTER

  I rub the side of my head where I hit it on the window. Adrenaline courses through my veins after the car chase with the soul snatcher. Agent Chris knew these streets better than the super, and we managed to cut her off before
she reached the main road. She didn’t even see us coming.

  Agent Rob punches my shoulder. “I bet you weren’t expecting that on your first ride-along.”

  I grin. “Is it always this crazy?”

  He chuckles. “With me it is.”

  His partner, Agent Rosaline, comes up beside him. She runs her hand through her brown hair, shorter than mine, and she bumps his shoulder. “The cleanup crew is here. Chris and Janie are transporting Creature 1156 with Dr. Cole. We’re free for the rest of the day after we take Hunter home.”

  I clear my throat. “Actually, can you guys take me back to the facility?” Even though I’m exhausted from getting up so early, I want to find out about the soul snatcher. I’m sure the board will do a quick evaluation, take some blood samples, and ask a few questions. If she doesn’t answer them, she’ll be dead before dark. I don’t want to miss it. I hate to say it, but it’ll make me feel better about the two agents we lost to her yesterday. It might also discourage your enrollment in the agent training program.

  Agent Rosaline smiles. “Of course. You know, Hunter, the board really admires your kind of dedication. You’re going to excel at being an agent. I’m surprised they haven’t offered you a spot now. There have been cases in the past where they accepted people under eighteen.”

  My brows knit together. “Really?”

  She nods. “I can put in a good word.”

  Agent Rob smacks my back and I follow behind him and Agent Rosaline to the wrecked van. I don’t know what I’d do if the board accepted me into the training program now. I’ve seen enough death to last me a lifetime, but I also hate seeing how horrible supers are. It’s a lot to think about. I don’t see myself as a killer—even if they’re supers—and I think the thought alone has me at a disadvantage. Stop thinking crazy. You’re going to be an agent. What else would you do with your life?

  I push the thought away and climb into the back of the van. I’ll have months to decide what I’m going to do with my future. I can be anything and do anything. I can be somebody.

  I will be somebody.

  7. NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE

  JACQUELINE

  I snap my eyes open and stare at the bright light fixtures on the ceiling of a white, sterile room. Monitors beep behind me and I try to sit up, but I’m restrained to the bed. Not only are my wrists bound, but my hands are covered in leather gloves. My palms sweat in the hot fabric and I jerk my hands and struggle to break free, but it’s pointless.

  I hold my head up and look around. I’m restrained to a hospital bed in a plain room that looks like a doctor’s office. There’s nothing telling on the walls to indicate where I am, and the cabinets against the adjacent wall are closed and probably locked.

  A beeping noise rings out from the door and I shift my gaze to it. The door swings open and in walks a man and a woman, both wearing white lab coats over their clothes. The woman grabs a clipboard from the end of my bed and the man peers at it over her shoulder.

  They glance at each other in a silent thought shared between them.

  “What are you doing to me?” I ask.

  The woman, with brown hair, hazel eyes, and gold-rimmed glasses, taps her pen against her lips before turning to the man. “I’ll take it from here, Dr. Harvey.”

  The man exits without saying a word and the woman draws her eyes to mine. “You murdered two of my agents.”

  Anger rolls through me. “Well, they shouldn’t have provoked me and killed my brother.”

  The woman raises her eyebrows. “You have a lot of nerve.”

  I narrow my eyes. “So do you.” I’m not going to sit around and let this doctor intimidate me. While I don’t sense anything evil about her, I know the reason. She has her agents do everything for her. Evil is just waiting under the surface to break free.

  The woman studies me for a second and then touches a button on the wall. “Please send Agent Chris to the blue zone. I need an escort to interrogation.”

  I lean my head back, my neck aching from the awkward position. “What? I’m not telling you anything.”

  The woman presses her lips together. “Then I guess I have no use for you.”

  Fear slices through my heart. “I don’t understand.”

  The woman crosses her arms. “Do you really think you’re ever getting out of here after killing two of my best agents? If you’re not going to answer a few questions, then the Human Preservation Agency is done with you. Unless...” She turns to look at the door. “You have something else to offer.”

  I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t know what she’s expecting from me. I don’t have anything anymore. What could I do to keep myself alive? She wants to interrogate you. That means she wants information. I swallow the lump in my throat. “Please, I don’t want to die. Can we work something out? I’ll do anything.”

  HUNTER

  The door to my mom’s office opens and she struts in with a huge smile on her face. Her eyes widen when she sees me, but then soften, and she crosses the room and gives me a hug. I tilt my head to the side when she pulls away and I stare at her.

  “What was that for?” I ask.

  “Creature 1156 is willing to talk. I just need to gather a few documents before heading over to interrogation. Would you like to join me?” My mom leans over me and opens a few files on her computer before printing them off and clipping them to a clipboard.

  I jump to my feet. “You don’t even have to ask. I’ve been waiting all day for this.”

  She smiles at me and pats my shoulder. “I have a good feeling about this. Creature 1156 seems naïve about everything unlike the usual creatures we bring in. I think she’ll be easily persuaded to tell us everything about her and what she knows of the Creature Council.”

  I furrow my brows. I’ve heard about the Creature Council a few times from my mom over the years, but she’s never gone over the council in depth with me. What I know is that the supers are controlled by a powerful group of beings and if we can discover the Creature Council’s whereabouts, the HPA might be able to slowly eradicate all creatures from the world, ultimately saving humanity from every possible monster.

  “This is huge,” I say.

  My mom nods. “Creature 1156 could be the key to guiding us in the right direction to save humanity. She doesn’t know it, but what she tells us could give us the upper hand in this fight. I’ll do anything to get answers from her.”

  “Even let her go?”

  “You know, Hunter, even if we let her go, she’d never be free from us.”

  JACQUELINE

  “Sit on the couch and don’t move.” A blond agent with green eyes, the one that shot me with a dart after I fled from the Mustang, points at an olive colored couch stationed across from another couch with a coffee table in between them.

  My hands are bound and gloved behind me so even if I wanted to try to fight my way out of here, I couldn’t. My ability only works through the touch of my hands because I use them to manipulate souls from the body and bring them into me.

  I ease onto the couch and shift as the restraints bite into my wrists. My head pounds and my body still feels heavy from whatever drugs the HPA pumped into me, but I have my fear under control. As long as I stay calm with a clear head, I can figure out how to get out of here. Tell them whatever they want to hear. Bargain for your life. Everyone always wants something.

  I straighten my shoulders and keep my head up. It’s what Dominic would want me to do. What I’ve learned from all the souls I’ve saved is that people love to play on other’s weaknesses. It’s how they exert their power.

  I have nothing left to lose except for my life. That’s the only thing these monsters have control over. I have to make my life as valuable to them as it is to me. And I will. I’m not going to die today—not by the hands of the HPA.

  The door beeps and the agent steps aside and lets the doctor from the exam room in. Following on her heels is a boy around my age with dark brown hair that curls at the ends and pretty hazel eyes. Th
ey have a puppy-like quality, round and wide, and he looks more nervous than I am. He hovers by the closed door and crosses his arms over his chest, and doesn’t meet my eyes.

  The doctor sits on the couch across from me and crosses her legs. “Creature 1156, I’m happy you agreed to cooperate.”

  I purse my lips and stare at the doctor for a second. “You may call me Jacqueline.”

  The doctor smiles and writes on her clipboard. She turns to the agent. “Agent Chris, will you unbind Jacqueline please.”

  The agent frowns. “Are you sure, Dr. Sullivan? You know what she’s capable of.”

  Dr. Sullivan presses her lips into a tight line before turning to me. “Jacqueline, dear, you’re not planning to attack me are you? I’m only here to help you.”

  I lift and drop my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

  Agent Chris steps closer, touching his weaponry belt, and the boy by the door looks ready to run. Dr. Sullivan lifts an eyebrow and offers a fake smile. She holds up her hand to Agent Chris and he stops in his tracks.

  She leans forward. “Let’s try that again, Jacqueline. You will not move from that spot on the couch unless told otherwise or you will face fatal consequences. Do you understand?”

  I clench my jaw and nod, forcing my fear to stay buried deep in my mind. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Agent Chris bends behind me, careful not to touch my skin, and unlocks the handcuffs. I slowly bring my arms in front of me and rest them on my lap without taking off the gloves. I glance at the agent, then to the boy, and lastly Dr. Sullivan. It’d be tough to try to fight them all and I’d probably fail anyways. I don’t know the way out of this place or even where I am. I don’t know how long I’ve been out.