Hunter's Quest: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (Rebel, Supernatural Bounty Hunter Book 1)

by Nicole Zoltack

  "Amarok's blood. I don't know how she has access to it, but it changes us, makes us stronger, makes it so that human flesh and blood increase our strength too." Frank's grin grows wider, but it's broken when he coughs, blood spraying from his lips.

  “She must have found the stash only recently,” I guess.

  Frank scowls. “I’m done talking.”

  “Is there more? Where is it?” I demand.

  Frank doesn’t answer. He comes at me again, trying to kill me.

  Darius trips me. I go down hard, and Frank jumps on top of me. I’m ready to scream at the witch as I struggle to keep Frank back, but Darius finally releases the magic. The blast hits Frank, knocking him off me, causing him to almost fly. His back slams into a pine tree, and he falls to the ground.

  Gripping the angel blade, I stagger over to him. I can’t move my one arm still, even with the blades removed, so my gait is off. I end up tripping, landing on Frank, and I stab him through the ear to make certain he’s dead.

  Darius helps me up, and I reach into my pouch. I only have a few more healing draughts, but I drink one. Unfortunately, I don’t feel immediately better, but I can roll that shoulder at least.

  “Amarok.” Darius shakes his head. “You went up against a pack of Amarok’s followers by yourself. You really are insane.”

  “Maybe. But then I think a human bounty hunter of the supernatural has to be a little insane, don’t you?”

  He just shakes his head.

  Chapter 26

  I head back over to Frank’s fingers and the vial. “Besides, you knew that they had ties to him before you helped me,” I remind him.

  “Yes, but that was before we knew they were drinking his blood!”

  “We have to destroy it.”

  He hesitates and then nods.

  I narrow my eyes. “Why the reluctance?”

  “Force of old habits. HEX U would want to study it.”

  “Nuh uh. No way.”

  “You don’t trust organizations, do you?”

  “What makes you say that?” I ask as I pick up the vial. I have to pry the fingers off. Normally, I make certain humans can’t find the remains of the paranormal creatures I’m supposed to kill, but I can’t bring myself to care this time around.

  “You’re such a loner. You don’t do anything by the book. You have your own rules, your own code.”

  I shrug and turn the vial upside down. The blood is almost black. “Can you use this to track and see where the rest of the stash is?”

  He nods. I hand him the vial, and we walk back to my vehicle, where he spreads his map on the hood of my nearly ruined car. As before, he dumps a vial onto it and then adds a drop of Amarok's blood.

  The blob doesn’t move.

  "Well, that makes things easy." Darius heads to the middle of the street, places the vial down, and blasts it with his arcane magic until there's nothing left.

  “That’s all that was left?” I ask skeptically.

  “You saw the locationer magic. It didn’t move. That was the last vial of his blood. Trust me.”

  “Hmm.” I guess I have no choice but to trust him.

  I climb into my car.

  “So that’s it?” he asks. “We just go our separate ways?”

  "What else would we do?" I turn the key. The ignition doesn't start, so I try again.

  “I don’t know. Eat. Celebrate our win because it’s a massive one. Get you a new car.”

  “I can get myself a new car, and you should return to Harrisburg.” The second and third attempts fail. The car just won’t start.

  Darius just grins.

  “I’ll walk.”

  "It's a two-hour drive from Pittsburgh," he reminds me. If you walk, it will take you three days."

  “I can use the exercise.”

  “Rebel, be realistic.”

  “That’s not really my go-to.”

  He grins. “So I gather, but…”

  He hands me his second helmet.

  I ignore it and glance at the car. It served me well enough, but…

  “Toast it,” I say.

  “Are you… I guess that’s best.

  He uses his arcane magic to waste the car. Soon, it’s barely anything at all. At least the license plate is intact enough, I discover as I shift through the rubble.

  I hate having to hold onto Darius, but I have to admit that riding on a bike is actually a lot of fun. The wind blows through my hair, but we don't get far before he stops in front of a clothing store. We go inside, and I slip into the bathroom to wash up. Every minute that passes has the healing draught working more and more. I'm hungry and tired, but I'll survive, and that's all that matters.

  We both buy new clothes, and the woman who rings us up eyes us skeptically. “Rough night?”

  “You can say that,” I mutter.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you two had been chased by an axe-wielding murderer.” She giggles.

  “Because that’s funny,” Darius mumbles.

  “Oh, yeah. Twisted humor. Are you two from out of town? You have to be, or else you would’ve gotten my joke. Anyhow, behind Thomas Road is woods. A guy committed all kinds of murders back there with his axe. The spot is called Axe Murder Hollow, and it’s haunted. People have seen a woman running around screaming. I saw her! It looked as if she had been getting chased!”

  “A ghost of one of his victims?” I ask even though I don’t buy it for one second.

  She nods. “You should check it out if you get the chance. The place always gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  Darius and I stare at each other. That’s where we attacked the werewolves.

  We go to the changing rooms after we finishing paying and put on our new clothes. I keep my pouch and weapons, of course, but I throw away my bloodstain and torn clothes.

  “Ready?” Darius asks after I leave the dressing room.

  “Sure.”

  “You know, ghosts are real,” he tells me as I climb behind him on his bike.

  “I wondered if that’s the case. How can you kill one?”

  “Is that your default?”

  “Knowledge is power,” I remind him.

  “Hmm.”

  He doesn’t answer my question but takes off, driving fast. His body is so warm even if he is hard and muscular, and I lay my head on his back. In no time at all, I’m asleep.

  When I wake, I’m in my house, in my bed. I head to the living room and spy take out on my coffee table. Darius isn’t here, though. I scarf down the cheeseburger and fries. Bacon on the burger would’ve been nice, but I’m not complaining.

  I lick salt off my fingers as my phone rings. It’s Mirella.

  “I’m so sorry for not calling sooner,” she says, breathless. “I was working on a case and—”

  “Everything is handled,” I assure her.

  “But you sounded so anxious.”

  “Someone else was able to help me,” I grumble.

  She laughs. “Don’t make the same mistakes I did. When you need help, ask. Who came to your aid?”

  “Darius.”

  She says nothing, but I get the feeling she’s smiling.

  “I…” I have no words.

  “You don’t know what to think of him, huh?”

  “He seems nice enough,” I mumble.

  “But…”

  “I don’t do people.”

  “We’re friends,” she points out.

  “Yes, but… I don’t know.”

  “Well, I have some news. In between working my case, I discovered what that mystery potion of yours does.”

  “And?”

  “Rebel, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

  “What does it do?”

  “It will turn someone into a paranormal being or at least allow that person to gain paranormal abilities.”

  Chapter 27

  I’m speechless. “It’ll do what?”

  “Turn you into a paranormal being.”

  I s
hake my head. “That’s insane.”

  “Are you tempted?”

  “I… I never thought it possible.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t either. The witch who made it is very powerful.”

  “Was,” I correct.

  Powerful and untrustworthy.

  “Thank you, Mirella.”

  “Do you want the potion now?”

  There’s a knock at the door.

  “You’re busy. We can talk later. Let me know when you want the potion, okay?”

  “Will do. Thanks again.”

  I hang up and open the door. It’s Amad, but he doesn’t look right.

  “I did it,” I tell him as I gesture for him to come in.

  He barely picks up his feet, more shuffling than walking, and he drops onto my couch. I’ve laid out the bullets, the stakes, and the angel blade that he provided on the coffee table, but he doesn’t even look at them.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, worried.

  The genie ignores me. “I know you did it, and I’m glad. They posed a serious threat to the entire world.”

  “Did you know they had access to Amarok’s blood?” I ask. I’m too concerned about his appearance to even bother to sound frustrated.

  “I did.”

  “Is it really all gone?”

  “Yes. They only had a small supply to begin with, and it was like a drug to them. They did not ration well.”

  “Okay, good.” I swallow hard. Amad is scaring me.

  “You don’t have to be a mercenary, Rebel. You have become so strong and capable. You can help to better the world. Shine like a beacon of hope.”

  “I’m not a symbol. I’m no beacon. I’m just a human who is twisted and dark and messed up inside.”

  “Revenge is poison,” he whispers. “Your poison. It will taint you and hold you back.”

  “I can’t stop now. I’ve come too far.”

  “You have not yet reached the point of no return. You can still spread light.”

  “Spread light. Is that what you want me to do? How? How exactly is killing evil paranormal creatures spreading light?”

  “By banishing darkness.”

  I nod several times, even though I don't agree with him. "You want me to be more than I am."

  “No. I want you to realize that you have the potential to be so much more.”

  “And you care about this, about me, why? You act like you are humanity’s guardian or something.”

  “Genies live for centuries. I have watched the destruction and devastation both paranormal beings and humans have wrought over the years. Along the way, I have tried to help all of those I observe who can make changes for the better.”

  “Yeah? What about those who made changes for the worst? Why didn’t you convince someone to go after and kill Hitler?”

  The genie closes his eyes. “I convinced no fewer than three to go up against him. All three were killed and failed. Hitler… He was not exactly human.”

  I gape at Amad. “What was he?”

  “That does not matter. His evil has passed, but the shadow of other evils still plague the world. For your second wish, you could become a witch or a berserker or any kind of paranormal being to help you save the world.”

  How funny he should offer this when I have a potion that will grant this for me. Is the universe trying to tell me something?

  “A berserker.” I smirk. “Is that how you see me?”

  "You cannot tell me that does not fit." His eyes are kind. He's so very different than when he insulted and verbally attacked me after I killed the vampire for him. "Would I rather you pick another being? Perhaps, but only you can decide who or what you become, and you can be so much more than a person of revenge."

  “The person or creature… whatever killed my brother and his wife… My family deserves justice and their killer death. I can increase the light of the world by ending that person’s darkness.”

  “Nothing will dissuade you.”

  “You know the answer to that.”

  Amad hangs his head. After a moment, he murmurs, “Make your wish.”

  “I wish that this wish and all others granted to me by any genie will not kill me.”

  The genie bows his head. A faint smoke billows, swirling around me from my feet up to my head and dissipates.

  “Done,” he whispers, his voice hardly audible.

  I sit beside him. “What’s going on?” I repeat.

  “I have been cursed.”

  “Cursed?” I gape at him.

  “I will die and soon if the curse is not lifted. You were very wise to have your wish be that any genie’s wish will not kill you.”

  “Well, that makes things simple enough,” I say, referring to my desire for a second wish.

  His smile is so faint the corners of his lips barely move. “Yes, I suppose it does. I will grant you any wish at all if you can heal me.”

  “I will,” I promise. “What cursed you?”

  “A gremlin name Zorn.”

  I shudder. “Gremlins are real?”

  “Terrible, nasty creatures. They’re dark, twisted beings that exist only to cause destruction. Few live as paranormal executioners have sought them out over the years, but Zorn has been alive for at least a century.”

  “So they aren’t tricksters like pixies and brownies?”

  “Oh, not at all. They like to pretend to be that way so that people won’t hate them, but they are deserving of hate. They stick to the shadows and use their claws to rip out hearts. They are the ones responsible for the saying cat got your tongue because they used to dare each other to cut out people’s tongues while meowing.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, I suppose maybe they are tricksters after all, but dark, evil ones.”

  “And they can curse people.”

  “They do have magic, yes. The extent of their powers I do not know.”

  “Why did Zorn curse you?”

  "Because I refused to give him a wish. He said that if I did not grant him a wish, I would not grant a wish for anyone else. He doesn't have the ability to kill me outright, but you… you he could kill easily. You must be wary, Rebel."

  “I will be. I assume silver hurts him?”

  “Hurts, yes. Will it kill him? I cannot say.”

  “Did you fight him?”

  “No. Some genies have been able to overcome and rise up against those who enslaved us to be able to cause harm outside of killing the wisher, but others like myself cannot.”

  “You’re powerful but still handicapped.”

  “Yes.”

  He looks so very feeble that I have to ask this next question.

  “How much time…”

  “Not much at all.”

  I rub my forehead. I don’t know how long I slept for, but I’m still wiped from taking on the werewolves.

  “You have time to sleep and plan,” Amad says. “I will not die in the next hour or day. I do not think I have a week, though.”

  I nod solemnly. Rushing into battle against a creature I know very little about wouldn't be smart, especially considering my life isn't the only one on the line.

  “Do I need to kill him? How can the curse be lifted?”

  “He created a talisman to bestow the curse. Bring the talisman to me.”

  “Can’t I just break it? Won’t that free you from the curse?”

  “Not this particular curse. He imbued my blood into it.”

  “I thought you didn’t fight him.” I’m confused.

  “I didn’t fight him, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t fight me.”

  I eye him, and he turns over his left wrist. The scab is black and looks painful.

  “The poison in his blade is not helping me any,” he says dryly.

  “I have a healing draught. It might help.”

  “No. The poison has nearly left my body, and I fear what may happen in regards to the curse if I were to take something. It is better this way.”

  “Where can I find
Zorn?”

  “Jacob’s Creek Bridge had been the first iron-chain suspension bridge in the country. I was friends with the designer. I sought the bridge to see how it dared only to learn that it had been damaged in 1825 and replaced by a wooden bridge in 1833. The gremlin had been lying in wait beneath the bridge.”

  “They’re almost like a cross between witches and trolls,” I murmur.

  “I suppose. They are fierce and strong and capable of nearly anything. Do not let your guard down.”

  “I won’t,” I promise. “Oh, and your weapons…”

  His gaze finally falls on them. “Keep them.”

  “For this quest?”

  Amad doesn’t answer and tries to stand and falls back onto the couch.

  “Stay here,” I urge.

  “But… As you command.”

  “It’s not a command,” I protest.

  He gives his near-smile again. “I know.”

  Amad lies down and promptly falls asleep.

  A gremlin. As intriguing as the creature sounds, I am more than willing to find it and steal away the talisman. I wonder if I would do it even if Amad wasn’t going to give me a wish in return.

  Chapter 28

  I stand, debating whether to go back to bed or do some research on gremlins when I realize two things.

  My door is still open.

  Darius is standing there.

  He's leaning against the frame, arms crossed. He's still wearing his new clothes—tight jeans and a blue golf shirt—but he's clearly had a shower and looks completely refreshed and put together. Compared to me, who just rolled out of bed and desperately needs a shower and more sleep.

  “How much did you overhear?” I ask, crossing my arms.

  “Let me help you.”

  “I work alone.”

  “You let me help with the werewolves,” he protests. He enters my house and closes the door quietly behind him.

  “Werewolves. Multiple. I can handle a gremlin.”

  “You’ve never gone up against one before.”

  “And you have? Wait. Have you?”

  “Yes, actually.”

  Ugh. It probably would be better to have someone to help, especially since this mission is time-sensitive. I don't want Amad to die and not just because of the wish. It's nice to have someone believe in me like he does even if I think he's a bit crazy to think I can help to change the world to be a better place. What can I do? I'm just one person. A human.