by Kim Faulks
“It’s fucking crazy out there,” he answered with a shake of his head.
Vampire.
The word resounded inside my head as I stared at the bloody fangs and pale skin. I’d seen creatures like him before…but at a distance.
“You want to take a picture, human?” the Vamp snarled. “It’d last longer.”
I flinched. “Sorry. I’ve never seen a Vampire, not up close. I’m really sorry this happened to you.”
His brow arched as he turned toward me. “You’re sorry? That’s a change for the books. Sorry for snapping. Just, last time…”
He didn’t need to explain…not a damn thing, and definitely not to me. “It’s all good. You’re the one hurting. Is there anything I can do, anything you need?”
He looked toward Alma. “She for real?”
Alma only smiled and shook her head. “Fortunately for us, yes, she is.”
The young doctor yanked the last of the wooden fragments out of the exposed wound and straightened. “There, that should do it. You’ll be able to heal on your own now without holy-water-soaked shards embedded in your skin.”
He slid from the table, nodded to Alma, and glanced at Melkor. “Thanks, Doc. Hunter,” he lowered his head toward Alma, more of a sign of respect than anything.
“Hunter,” she acknowledged.
There was a softness about her tone, a sense of pride.
They both had it in spades. I wanted it for myself, to be not just a solitary person, but to belong in a way fighting for peace and protecting can only have. I wanted to be a hunter…more than anything.
He gave me a slow nod and made for the door as the young female doctor turned to the sink and hit the faucets. “Next!” she called, and then shook her head.
“It’s a bit like that, is it?” Alma murmured.
“It’s very much like that,” the doctor snapped. “Sorry. It’s just never ending, you know?”
I stepped closer, helping Melkor as he unbuttoned his shirt and slipped the torn fabric from his body. The gash looked deeper than I expected, flesh shredded, muscles torn. My stomach clenched with the sight before I looked away.
Hard muscles along his stomach flexed as he twisted, throwing the shirt behind him onto the bed. I froze, heart pounding…mouth dry, following the ridges of his stomach to the swell of his chest.
Until he turned back and caught my gaze.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and the rest of my body caught fire.
“You okay?” he murmured, and then glanced at the wound. “You’re not gonna faint of anything, are you?”
“Maybe,” my answer was a breathless whisper. I dragged my gaze from his chest to his flame-filled brown eyes, and it was as though a spotlight moved over a crowd to settle on him.
He was everything for me…my best friend. The guy I wanted to kiss…and never stop.
“Purity!” Alma snapped. “Get with it, girl, anyone’d think you’d never seen a man with his shirt off before.”
The fire in my cheeks burned hotter. Sparks flared in the brown, there was a furrowing of his brow before the slow curl of his lips.
“Dear God,” Alma muttered. “There’s no cure, is there?”
“Not for what they have, that’s for sure,” the doctor chuckled.
I wrenched my gaze toward them, and then tried to focus on the bloody, gruesome gash in his shoulder—anything but his fixed gaze on my eyes, searching for a path into my soul.
He still smiled, even when the doctor pressed her fingers into the gash.
Even when his skin paled.
Even when he looked away, and searched the floor.
“You want to grab that tray over there?” The doctor glanced toward a steel tray filled with forceps and scalpels.
My knees trembled, but I forced myself to move, grasped the tray, and came back to the bed.
“Soulless bites aren’t like others,” the doctor said, then lifted her gaze to me. “The teeth are different. They can pierce skin and flesh without leaving a mark, to destroy the organ underneath. So out here,” she pressed against savaged tendons, “might be just a gash…but underneath,” she bent and lifted his hand to peer at the underside of his arm, “might be torn to shreds. Not saying Hellhounds aren’t tough, but a Soulless bite to, say…his chest, could be fatal.”
She straightened, reached over, grasped a set of forceps, and then picked off a wad of white swabs from a pile on the tray and dabbed the gauze into the wound. “He’s lucky…this time.”
She glanced at the counter, pointed to a plastic bottle of clear liquid. Medical antiseptic was written on the sticker at the front. I made for the counter, grabbed the bottle, and came back.
“Just a splash, right there,” she pointed.
The more I worked, the more I started to forget about the near miss and focused on the cleaning…and the healing.
“Now, Alma told me you guys are going to be out on your own. You’re going to need to learn how to clean and dress a wound and, most importantly, when you need to get help.”
She squeezed the bottle over his shoulder. The sickening snarl was instant, his jaw clenched and his muscles bulged as he glared at a spot on the floor. “Don’t you worry about me,” he snarled. “Just her…just Purity.”
“You get yourself torn to pieces out there, Hound, and you may as well hand her over on a silver platter. Hunter or not…connection to the Nephilim or not…there’s only so much a mortal body can take,” Alma answered.
“And it’s not much, believe me.” The doctor placed the bottle on the tray and followed with the soaked, bloody swabs. “We may as well be made of paper when it comes to these things.”
“They’re gonna need a kit,” Alma said, turning to the rows and rows of equipment. “Stocked to the brim.”
“Already on it.” The doctor rose and nodded to a black and red bag in the corner of the room. “Redemption packed it himself. That man is all kinds of cagey.”
Alma just gave a nod. “He is.”
“You know it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back, right?” The deep, husky growl came from behind me.
I flinched as the bright room dimmed. Darkness swallowed the light, consuming it like a ravenous beast. Midnight hair, midnight eyes, darker than any I’d seen before. A shudder raced down my back, gnashing my bones, and a pathetic sound fought for life in the back of my throat.
And in that moment, I forgot about everything.
Forgot how to breathe.
Forgot where I was.
As the towering immortal turned his head.
And found me, words echoed.
It’s him…the one they were frightened of…the Unseelie…Redemption.
Chapter Four
Melkor
The smell of sickness filled the room.
A cold, haunting thing…a disease of the soul.
And an emptiness echoed in his eyes as he nodded toward the older woman.
“Redemption.” Alma murmured.
Purity paled in an instant. Her gaze wandering from his gaze to the swell of the brute’s chest.
Alma glanced my way. “These are the hunters I told you about. Melkor and Purity.”
Feral, empty eyes found mine, and in them I saw the echo of his kind.
Whispers of a cruel Queen, malicious and malevolent.
A realm drenched in the blood of their own. Queen Mab was a Queen to be feared…as were her warriors. Dad once told me about a warrior who had dared defy her, and his name resounded as I lifted my gaze…Redemption.
“Who do we have here?” He turned those soulless eyes on Purity.
No…not her…don’t let him…
And in an instant, my Hound rose to the threat.
Thud…thud…thud…a hunt…a chase…a kill. I grasped the edge of the bed and shoved. My boots hit the floor. In that moment, there was no pain, no weakness…nothing but pure adrenaline. “She’s my mate.”
Hard, unflinching eyes glinted, portals to an empty soul.
He was hollow, way down…there was no spark of life…there was no spark of anything.
“And I’m his,” shell-shocked words slipped from Purity’s lips.
The Unseelie glanced at me, and I fought the need to cower.
Trembling fingers found mine, giving me strength. Purity held his stony gaze with a defiant thrust of her chin.
“I wanted to see if you’d stand together in the face of an enemy,” Alma murmured.
“Is he our enemy?” Purity murmured.
And even though her fingers jumped and twitched in my grip, her other hand slowly sank to the waistband of her jeans.
She thought she was careful.
She was wrong.
There was a twitch at the corner of the Unseelie’s lips as he held her gaze. “Nice blade,” he murmured, never once taking his eyes from hers. “Nephilim, if I'm correct.”
Purity’s hand stilled, fingers hovering millimeters from her target.
The Unseelie shifted. There was a twitch at the corner of his tight lips. “You weren’t kidding about her, were you?”
“No...I wasn’t.” Alma answered.
“Easy, kid,” Redemption reached over and lightly punched my good shoulder. “I’m just testing.”
Call me kid one more time. “I’m not a pup. I’m not a kid. I’m not unworthy to stand here, and neither is Purity. We might need training, but don’t mistake that as weakness.”
Purity’s eyes widened, her finger sneaked out, sliding around mine. Wherever we were headed…we were headed together.
The Dark Fae stilled. “You’re right…it was condescending and rude. Forgive me.”
Alma’s brow rose before she shoved away from the counter. “We need help training for the darker arts, swords, spears, dark magic. Your kind of magic.”
“That I can do.” He shifted his gaze to Purity when he spoke. “We start tomorrow. Be here at eight am sharp.”
We’d been staying with Alma at her house outside the city limits, driving with her out to the forest for training. Redemption lifted his hand, and metal glinted under the overhead lights. “I take it you can drive?”
I jerked my gaze toward Purity. She just stared wide-eyed at the Unseelie, like she’d forgotten how to speak.
Jealously made my stomach clench. I ground my teeth and straightened my spine. “Yeah, I can drive.”
The Unseelie just looked from me to Purity and tried to smother a smile. “I’ve set you up with an account. You’ll have money direct-deposited to this account. You’re both on the payroll now, only you’ll be hunting your own prey…you feel me?”
Payroll? A surge of pride washed through me. I glanced at the keys dangling from his finger and tried to make sense of this all. “Wait, are you saying you’re giving us a car and paying us to do all this?”
He just shook his head, gave Alma a smirk, and turned to me once more. “And there’s this.”
He reached around, dragged two leather wallets from the back pocket of his jeans, and handed them to us. Purity took the one angled toward her, I reached for the other.
I flipped open the leather flap to a photo ID for The Circle. Hunter ID. Origin: Hellhound. I stared at the words, and then glanced at Purity’s. Origin: Mortal.
“You’re a hunter now,” Redemption muttered. “Purity’s a hunter. Regardless of who we were before, we are one now. From this moment on, you’re paid to do exactly what you’ve been tasked to do, hunt the Soulless and send them back to Hell. You have no jurisdiction. You have no laws other than the Code of the Circle, we protect the innocent, both immortal and mortal. Twenty thousand dollars has been deposited to this account, it’ll get you started. If you require anything more, then all you’ll need to do is…” he reached into his pocket and pulled out two smaller devices. “These are state-of-the-art pagers, better coverage than a cell phone. One charge will last for a month. There’re four numbers pre-programmed. One for me, another for Alma, the next is the hunter hotline for the Circle, in case one of us doesn’t answer.”
He handed them over, one to me and the other to Purity.
“The last number?” I grasped the small device and stared at the small screen.
“What?” Redemption muttered.
I met his gaze, lifting the pager. “You said there were four numbers programmed, and you gave us details on three.”
He shifted uncomfortably and Alma looked away. “The Lord of Hell. He insisted.”
I flinched and looked to Purity as her eyes widened. “We’re going to carry around Lucifer’s number in our back pockets?”
Redemption just gave a shrug and handed over the shiny car keys. “Carry it around in your front one, for all I care. Seems like you guys have all the backing you’ll ever need and I’m just about done with being Santa for the day. Being nice all the time gives me the fucking creeps. Tomorrow at eight. Don’t make me wait.”
He gave the doctor a nod of his head and then glanced at Alma. “Hunter.”
She answered just the same before he made for the door.
The doctor and Alma just stared at us before the old woman reached into her pocket and pulled out another set of keys. “It’s not much, but it’s furnished and stocked with food and ammunition. The Circle has a number of hunter’s houses across the city, and I’m sure you two are sick of seeing my ugly face from sunup to sundown. So, this is yours to use, for as long as you want. The address is printed on the back of the keys, make yourself at home. There’s a woman who comes around twice a week, restocks, refreshes, you tell her if you need anything else. I’m getting these old bones into a hot bath and enjoying a glass of wine. You were lucky today, ki…hunter,” she corrected herself. “I don’t ever want to have to look your mother in the eye and tell her I failed you, so next time…shoot first and ask questions later.”
I just stared at her, having no idea what to say.
“Thank you,” Purity murmured. “We won’t let you down.”
She knew the right words to say. My throat thickened, the words trapped inside. Alma pressed the keys onto my hand alongside the pager.
This was real…this was all real.
Metal warmed in my palm as Alma murmured, “Doc, thanks again for all your work.”
“Hunter,” she murmured and our mentor made for the open door and slipped into the darkness once more.
Only this time, she left us behind.
Two kids…no, two hunters.
“Well, if that’s all you need, I have rounds to do. Get familiar with your med kit, it’ll literally save your life.”
She made a motion toward the door and then stepped to the side. Purity glanced at me and then nodded. “Sure, okay…we got this.”
I went over to the packed-out duffel bag, grasped the handle, and heaved it into the air. Purity was the first through the door, leading the way…and I had a glimpse of my future.
I winced with the stab of agony in my shoulder. But I could already feel the bite starting to heal, tendons pulling, muscles soft and warm, reaching out with tiny filaments to knit together.
I followed her out into the darkness of the basement and toward the elevators. Lights flared red above the doors. Purity just turned to me, her lips curling at the edges, eyes sparkling with excitement. “It’s just us, Mel. Think about this for a moment…it’s just us.”
A tremor raced through her body. I was aware of her every twitch and every glance. I was aware of her when I didn’t even know it…every catch of her breath…and every heartbeat.
“I’m a little weirded out,” she murmured, lifting her gaze.
And in a rush of breath, I smiled and nodded. “Me, too.”
The elevator lights blinked, illuminating from the ground floor to the basement…and then to the sub. Purity reached out, grabbed my hand, and smiled. “At least we have kick-ass pagers. It’s not often I get to walk around with Lucifer’s number in my back pocket.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. It was just like her to make me laugh. The doors to the elevator op
ened and I followed her inside. The keys jangled in my grip as she punched the button and waited for us to rise.
“Raptor,” she murmured, and motioned toward my hand. “Kick-ass pagers and a kick-ass car.”
I looked at the sets of keys in my grasp, catching the glint of the car’s keyring as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.
The foyer was packed to overfilling. Hunters and humans mingled in a way that was almost chilling. Cries for justice and demands of war filled the air.
There were placards and banners, there were painted shirts and faces streaming tears. They swarmed toward us as we strode from the elevator, hands clawing for a hold. I gripped the medical pack and pushed ahead, stopping them from reaching Purity.
But it didn’t matter. Not even if I was a six-foot wall of stone. Every cry, every scream, pierced her like a blade. She swayed under the sheer volume of panicked faces.
Reflex lifted her hand toward them. But I reached out instead, grasped her fingers in mine, and pulled her with me. “Make way… please, give us room to pass. Get back from her…I said, get back!”
Desperation mingled with panic. I focused on the front doors and lifted the medical bag as a barrier. Snarling and growling, ignoring the jabs of elbows in my side, I pushed us through, driving us closer to salvation one step at a time, and in front of me, the wave of the lost and broken parted.
“I’m so sorry,” Purity murmured. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could help you. I don’t know what to do.”
Her voice was strained, choked with remorse. I knew she’d be crying by the time we got out of here.
I knew that spark of excitement she’d had a second ago had been snuffed out like a candlelight.
As I lifted my head and caught movement beyond the door, I knew what we were in for. My steps slowed. I turned at the last moment, finding the crowd of people closing in behind us.
There was no way out behind us, not without driving her through the swarm of desperation again. Purity pushed me forward. I flung out a hand, and shoved.
Hinges squealed and I was through before I knew it, taking in the blue skies of the mortal realm as the door swung shut behind her.
