Tainted Hunter (The Huntress Bane Book 1)

by Derek Shupert

  Mathesis.

  “Dear child, you’re always so tense. You need to relax more.” The red hue of his eyes slowly materializes from the ether of darkness. They move across the room, seemingly floating in the abyss of blackness without a body. “If I do remember correctly, you were never this stressed and tense when you were with me.”

  Anger and contempt blisters inside my gut. I try to regain my focus. Losing my shit right now would only benefit him.

  I glance to the left, then to the right of the defunct space and realize that this is nothing more than one of his parlor tricks. Although he is brash and cocky, he still remains alert and vigilant with his body poised for battle, especially with me. He must be inside my head.

  “I was always tense with you. Or have you forgotten the many times that I tried to escape and even kill you.”

  The darkness ebbs as he walks toward me. The hint of light slowly brings to life the drab interior, and grows to a dim hue of yellow. More of his features come into view as he subtly chuckles. His fangs rest against his bottom lips. He adjusts his coat as I catch sight of his neck. The blow I landed during our last encounter is no longer visible.

  I stand up and prepare to fight—an automatic response that I do even though I know he isn’t really here. He has my body conditioned to act in such a way in his presence. Real or not.

  “I see the beauty mark I left you with during our last encounter has healed. Too bad,” I prod. “I’m oh-for-two. I guarantee, though, that the next time we meet, you will not escape as unblemished.”

  The smug smile remains on his face. It’s hard to dig under his skin like he does mine. For once, I’d like to garner a reaction from Mathesis. One that doesn’t involve him smiling and dismissing me as nothing more than a mere human who is beneath his concern—an amusement that poses no real threat.

  I know he truly doesn’t think of me that way, considering the lengths he goes to in tracking me down. It’s just another way for him to burrow under my skin. It’s like a itch that I can’t get rid of.

  “I see that you have recovered expediently as well,” he says. “Seems as though my venom has not only heightened your reflexes and increased your strength, but it also has aided you in healing much faster. Consider it a gift for what is to come.”

  My hand brushes over my stomach. The feeling of his razor-sharp claws slicing me open with ease fresh on my mind. The flesh has healed, but the moment still lingers.

  “And what exactly are you planning, Mathesis?” I hiss. “Why are you aligning with the raiders? What’s your end game?”

  The smile remains on his face, wide and unflinching against the anger seething deep within the pit of my gut. He turns toward the back of the space and glances down. Lucian’s body appears, shimmering into existence as he towers over him.

  “Such a fragile species the humans are. Prone to disease and such violent tendencies that wreak havoc on this planet. Your kind was meant to be cattle, servants to the higher beings. This whole crusade that you wage against the vampires is futile at best. What’s meant to be is going to come to fruition. Regardless of what you do, it will happen.”

  Mathesis kneels down, and reaches out for Lucian’s shoulder.

  “Don’t you fucking touch him,” I bark.

  Mathesis’s clawed fingers slip through his body. He’s an illusion.

  “You know deep down inside you that he is going to die. They are all going to fall, Amanda.”

  Mathesis cocks his head to the side. His gaze sneaks over his shoulder at me.

  “We’ll see about that,” I counter. “Regardless of how many of your demons you send after me, it will not be enough. I will plow through them all until they are all vanquished from this world.”

  Mathesis stands back up, wielding the kukri in his right hand. He trains his head toward the wall, and places his pale hand close to his ear.

  “Sounds like you have company coming.”

  I snicker from the remark.

  “They can’t enter without being invited in. You know that. Besides, they don’t know where we are.”

  Mathesis nods. He brings the kukri up and glances over the broad steel blade.

  “You know, I have always admired your skill with this weapon. It has been many centuries since I have seen a hunter, such as yourself, who was so capable of wielding it with flawless precision. The humans have grown lazy and accustomed to their firearms. Just one of the many reasons they have lost and teeter on the edge of antihalation. But don’t worry, my sweet Amanda. You shall be by my side in the end, and witness the dawn of a new era. The age of the vampire will be complete, and the human race will be under our rule for eternity.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  I narrow my eyes at the smug demon. My hands remain clenched tightly as the attenuate tromping of boots in the hallway snags my attention.

  “Here. You’re going to need this.” Mathesis hurls the blade at me, which slams into the wall just to the right of my head. Strands of my hair flutter to the ground as I reach for the handle. “See you soon, my love.”

  I yank the kukri free, and twirl the weighted blade in my hand as I turn to face Mathesis. He is all gone, vanished, as the light ceases and darkness consumes my eyes.

  The clatter gradually rises. A deep, thundering cacophony of splintered wood jolts my body, and rips me from my tormented slumber.

  A restrictive hand presses firmly onto my shoulder. My fingers wrap around the handle of the kukri that’s on the floor next to me. Lucian kneels by my side with his finger pressed to his lips. He glances toward the other room, then back to me.

  “They found us.”

  SIXTEEN

  Lucian stands up. He glances toward the main living space as low voices speak softly but sternly. He reaches out his hand, and pulls me up from the folded blankets.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  Wielding his sword, Lucian peers out into the other room briefly.

  “Sounds like the vampires are searching each apartment for us.”

  “It doesn’t matter if they are or not. They can’t enter even if they know we are here. Besides, I imagine it’ll be daylight soon, and they’ll crawl back to whatever rock they came out from under.”

  Lucian shrugs.

  “They are up to something. It’s been going on for about the last hour or more. We’ve been listening and staying silent.”

  My free hand runs over my face, then through my hair as I ponder on what the demons are up too.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  Lucian leans in close and whispers.

  “I tried, but you wouldn’t wake up. It was as if you were unconscious or something. I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

  Mathesis.

  “It’s fine. We just need to remain calm and wait them out,” I groggily retort.

  Cindy enters the space, and motions for us to quietly follow her into the other room.

  We stay silent and move into the main area of the apartment. Alex is positioned to the left of the entrance with his shoulder and head pressed firmly to the crumbling drywall. He motions with his hand for us to remain still without removing his attention from the surface.

  He cocks his head slightly, and smushes his face against the wall. His fingers fidget and reposition over the stock of the shotgun he’s wielding as the clatter from the hallway continues.

  Cindy clutches her crossbow tightly. Her right foot gently thumps the floor. Her right arm trembles slightly, causing the crossbow to fidget within her grasp.

  “Fuck,” Alex growls in a low, angry tone. He glances back over his right shoulder at us. “It’s not just the vampires out there. Looks like they have more thralls, and raiders as well.”

  Cindy’s breath increases with the tromping of the demons beyond the haven of the derelict walls.

  “What are we going to do?”

  Alex presses his face back to the wall. He expels a sigh of frustration.

  “We’ll be fine. We jus
t need to remain calm.”

  I cut my gaze over to Lucian who is poised and ready. His dimly lit face doesn’t move, but his sword trembles slightly.

  “How’s your leg?”

  He glances down to his upper thigh, then back up.

  “Sore, but better.”

  “How much time do we have till sunrise?” Cindy inquires.

  “Maybe an hour or so.” Alex shifts his body to the right. Another thundering crash from the hallway fills the air. Voices seep through the walls. “They’re in the apartment across the hall to our left. Looks like the thralls are going inside.”

  I glance around the space. My mind crunches every alternative to standing our ground with our backs literally to the wall.

  The kukri stays taut in my hand as any viable solution avoids me. I glance to Cindy, then to Lucian, and then her brother as a sense of dread coats the air. I’m not so much concerned with myself, as I am with them being killed by the demon horde.

  “Whatever happens, we stick together and fight,” Alex says softly without removing his attention from the wall.

  “Seems like a suicide plan. We’re sitting ducks in here,” Lucian barks softly.

  Cindy’s face lights up as she turns toward me.

  “Wait! There may be another way out of here.”

  “Where?” I reply.

  “The room you slept in. There is a closet that has an opening to the apartment adjacent to this one.” She looks over to Alex. “What if we slip into the other apartment?”

  “Then wait?” Alex says. “What do we do then? Can’t really make a run for it.”

  Cindy shrugs.

  “I don’t know, but we can’t stay here. We have to do something.”

  Alex lowers his head. He runs his hand up and down his face as he sighs. A hoarse growl escapes his lips. Angered, he balls his hand into a fist and acts as though he wants to punch the wall.

  The creaking of the boards before the entrance severs any further discussion. Alex brings the shotgun to bear, and trains the double-barreled weapon at the tattered door.

  Cindy creeps toward the room. She takes cover behind the jamb of the door as she trains her crossbow at the entrance to the apartment.

  Lucian and I offer each other a brief glimpse, and nod before turning our attention back to the door.

  Then silence befalls our ears, as if the world around has been muted. No clamor or boots moving over the defunct wooden hallway floor. No muttered words. No visible indicators that anyone is out in the hall.

  We carefully listen to the deafening silence. No way have they given up. This has to be a ruse. The demons are toying with us, keeping their location hidden from our attentive ears.

  Tension swarms the room. Our panting is the only sound that can be heard in the dead stillness.

  The darkness of the space morphs to a dimly lit luminescence as our eyesight adjusts to the environment.

  Alex swipes his arm across his brow, and flicks the sweat free from his skin. The shotgun stays trained at the entrance as we patiently wait for the vampire’s servants to make their move.

  “What are they waiting for?” Lucian whispers to me.

  “I don’t know. Just stay-”

  The wall near Alex shakes as something pounds the drywall. He takes a few steps back, and trains the shotgun in the direction of the disturbance. Dust and debris hover in the air. The cracking of the aged wallboard snaps from the punishing blows.

  A shallow breath escapes from his lips.

  Blow after blow, the inside of the wall cracks and gives way. The barrels of Alex’s shotgun light up and spit fire from their ends.

  The deafening crescendo of the weapon reverberates within the enclosed space. A loud, painful ringing rises in my ears as the palms of my hands cup each.

  The buckshot tears through the damaged wall with little effort, and exits out the other side. The thud of a body hitting the floor follows shortly thereafter.

  Alex keeps the shotgun trained at the wall as smoke plumes from both barrels. He lowers it and empties out both spent shells. They clatter on the ground as he buries his hand into his pant pocket.

  “I think I got one of them.”

  Lucian opens his mouth wide and rubs his ears. A look of discomfort washes over his face.

  I give my head a good shake, trying to erase the dull ringing noise festering inside my head.

  Alex reloads the shotgun and turns toward us. The door bursts open and smacks into the wall with an obstreperous crash.

  A handful of thralls and raiders flood into the space. Alex brings the shotgun to bear once more. He opens fire just as the undead servants of the vampires lunge at him.

  The shotgun belches its hoarse growl. The brief flash from the barrels captures the creatures’ ravenous, enraged faces. Buckshot tears through the thrall and raider’s chests, penetrating deep into their bodies. They stumble forward, and collide with Alex, knocking him hard to the ground with a dull thud. The shotgun escapes his grasp. He rolls over the floor and hits the wall. The crumbling drywall crunches, and gives way to Alex’s bulk.

  Lucian and I head for Alex who is prone on his back. We engage the creatures and raiders, slashing with our weapons that cleave through the intruder’s flesh.

  The kukri severs limbs and slices through the living and undead servants as I make for Alex. Blood spills from the missing limbs and opened gashes of the wicked fiends as chaos ensues in the cramped space.

  The number of thralls and raiders funneling into the space lessens, but they still continue to push inside. We continue to fight, killing the wicked fiends without mercy or hesitation.

  A thrall drops down and mounts Alex. It leans in close and tries to take a bite out of the side of his neck. I strike the thrall in the side of its head. Its skull bounces off the drywall. Dazed, it lingers on top of Alex as he struggles to push the creature’s bulk off of him.

  The tip of the kukri sinks into the creature’s upper back at an angle. I push down and drive the rest of the broad blade in to the hilt. The demon squeals before falling silent.

  Grabbing its tattered collar, I yank it off Alex. I grab his hand and pull him free of the floor. Blood is splattered across his face. His wide eyes look about aimlessly as his lips tremble.

  He’s rattled. He sways from side to side.

  I snap my fingers in front of his face to try and focus him as the floor vibrates under my feet. “You good?”

  Alex nods.

  Lucian grunts and pants as he impales the raiders and thralls through their stomachs with his sword.

  Alex looks down to the floor. He moves about in a circular pattern as he searching for something through the dimness and turmoil.

  Another body slams the ground directly behind us. I spin on my heels to find the floor covered with thralls and raiders. Out in the hall, the red hue of the vampire’s eyes loom from the opened door and the gaping hole in the wall.

  “Cindy. You ok?” Alex calls out.

  “Yeah. I’m good,” a frightened voice responds from the bleakness.

  Standing among the slayed bodies, Lucian glances my way.

  “You know, the sun could just hurry the hell up.”

  I bolt toward the covered window and peel back the barrier. The hint of dawn peaks through the clouds as the forsaken city slowly comes back to the land of the living. My fingers grip the dense cloth. I jerk my arm down and rip it free from the wall.

  The darkness of the apartment lightens up slightly and brings into focus the mayhem of our current situation. Blood is splattered over the scuffed wood floors and painted in longs streaks of red across the walls.

  “We just need to hold out for a bit longer,” I advise. I turn back toward the vampires seething at the entryway as they toe the threshold of the apartment. “They can stand there all they want and look menacing, but they’ll have to retreat soon.”

  Cindy screeches as a hand covers her mouth from behind and drags her into the other room. Her crossbow drops from her grasp
as she claws at the figure’s arm.

  “Cindy!” Alex springs past me. His arms are outstretched in front of him as he rushes headlong into the other room.

  A handful of raiders rush into the apartment through the main entryway with their weapons drawn. They’re wielding bats, crowbars, and anything blunt.

  “Go help Alex!” I order. “I got this.”

  Lucian brings the edge of his sword down at an angle, slashing one of the raiders across his face. A thin stream of blood sprays the floor as his body drops to its knees.

  Lucian shuffles in place as he strikes at one of the raiders coming for me. I pivot on my heel and kick the man square in the chest. He flies backward, and smashes into the wall.

  Lucian drifts back and ducks into the other room as I continue to slice my way through the rush of masked raiders invading the apartment.

  My body moves with lethal intent as the raiders surround me on all fronts. They attack, swinging their weapons above their heads.

  I deflect each blow. The kukri tears open their flesh.

  One by one, they succumb to my blade. My chest heaves as I take stock of my handiwork. I’m encased inside a pile of broken bodies that’s stacked in bloody, bespattered rags.

  My eyes cut toward the demons toeing the boundary. They hiss and bear their fangs at me as more light grows within the ravaged space.

  Something slams into the wall of the other room.

  “Cindy!” Alex yells at the top of his lungs.

  I step over the fallen and dash into the adjoining room. The body of a thrall lays flat on his back near the door.

  Lucian stands before the creature, grumbling and muttering under his breath.

  “Thralls took Cindy through there,” he says, pointing toward the closet that has the enlarged hole punched through the wall. “Alex took off after them.”

  Vile creatures.

  I slip through the massive hole and enter the apartment next to this one. I pause briefly. The clamor of discord and fighting snags my ears. Heavy footsteps tromp the floor as Alex yells and screams.