Hunter Trials (The Vampire Legacy Book 2)

by Rita Stradling

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The roar of the crowd echoed through the stadium tunnel. The cement passageway was dark, with only a few halogen lights illuminating the faces of the other Senior Hunt competitors in a greenish glow. No one looked nervous, and I had to wonder if the anxiety spiking in my chest was evident on my face or if I was managing to look as impassive as everyone else here.

  Lucas had thrown an arm over both Mia and my shoulders, and we leaned against one wall. The three other contestants stood near the front of the hallway where a metal door waited open. Amber looked bored, playing with her phone. Mark shot a couple smiles my way, which I pretended not to see.

  I laid my head against Lucas' arm, soaking in his comfort. The guy really was a gentle giant, and it was hard for me to fathom why he’d want to be part of something so violent as what we were about to do. I knew that Lucas truly believed in the honor of his Academy and their mission. He’d told me more than once that Blackburn was the best place on Earth. But, could any glasses be so rosy as to obscure the depravity in what we were doing here today? We were competing to end lives. Yes, they were immortal murderers, but taking a life under any circumstance shouldn’t be a spectator sport.

  Then again, I was here—going through with it even though I witnessed the corruption at the heart of the Hawthorn Group and, by extension, Blackburn Academy.

  "All right, students, just a couple more minutes," Professor Whitney said. She was flanked by the other two physical education teachers. I'd only met the large men once before when they held me down through my Character Trial. Tonight, they had greeted the other students warmly and introduced themselves to me as if they didn't remember who I was. I shook their hands and bared my teeth.

  Mia leaned out to look at me and crossed her arms over her chest. "Who are you going to the Hunter's Ball with, January? We were talking about going as a group, and I'm assuming that's still happening."

  “I don't see any reason why the BBC can't go together. We've never turned our back on one another before, and it would be just plain ridiculous to start with this. Zack can handle it.” Lucas squeezed me to his side. “And we’d love it if you came with us if you don’t have other plans.”

  "Thanks, but I don't have a ball gown," I said.

  Mia leaned forward. "I'm sure Susie has something ..." She broke off in a wince. "Well, she probably does. I think it's supposed to be a requirement for us hunters to go to honor the Senior Hunt winner unless we're in the fucking hospital or something."

  Lucas' eyes smiled as he leaned out and looked over. "You know that Zack and I are fantastic dancers. Do you really want to miss that?"

  "Mitch would have to come too and be grumpy about it," I warned.

  Lucas' brow furrowed. "As long as grumpy isn't another word for violent, then we can make it work. I mean, the guy is terrifying, but he's never attacked anyone from the BBC."

  "Amber has," Mia said. “Most of them tried last year. They didn't do it to me but messed with Zack, Braiden, and Patrick. Mitch likes to beat up legacy kids and other Elites, mostly. You should come, January.”

  As much as I wanted to spend time with these guys, there was no way that I was going to a Ball while Sebastian still held Justin captive … or worse.

  The crowd outside roared with applause.

  “That’s your cue, hunters,” Professor Whitney yelled over the thundering ovation as she made a shooing motion toward the doorway to the stadium pit. “In the order you were nominated now!”

  I took my place at the end of the line behind Mia and Lucas, and we all jogged up into the stadium. Bright white lights blinded me from seeing the crowd, but their roar increased in volume as we headed into the center of the pit. Around the elevator where the vampire had been transported up from underground in the video, the metal structures spread out, creating a small open area. We stopped there, our feet sending up red clouds of fine dust. 

  Professor Titus' voice called over the speaker system, "We give you our Senior Hunt Competitors! Mark Yates ..."

  Applause rose along with a few people chanting Mark’s name.

  Professor Titus called down the line, getting a loud cheer for each new competitor, but when he called out Mia's name, the applause was so thunderous, my ears started ringing. Everyone in the stadium pounded their feet and clapped. 

  Mia beamed and waved out at the crowd that clearly adored her.

  The noise subsided some when they called out Lucas' name, but his smile never wavered. When Professor Titus called out my name, the applause petered out even more.

  Professor Titus announced that we were going to do things differently this year before he gave us the signal to go back underground.

  My lungs felt winded as we arrived back in the tunnel, and I tried not to hyperventilate. Seriously? How I was going to face down a vampire when running three hundred feet across flat ground defeated me, I had no idea. In the tunnel, a rack of swords and stakes waited for us next to a ready stretcher. Six men and women wearing purple shirts with Blackburn Academy Medics emblazoned on their breast pocket stood at the ready by the stretcher.

  "Mark, pick your poison," Professor Whitney said with a nod to the rack of weapons.

  Mark stepped forward and selected a long machete and an equally long light wood stake. He fisted the handle on both and turned with a smile. "Good luck, everyone."

  Only Lucas, Mia, and I returned the wish for Mark's luck, and then he headed out the metal doors, and Professor Whitney closed them after him.

  "Can we watch the other competitors?" Lucas asked as he stepped up beside me.

  Professor Whitney tapped her foot. "Yeah, that’s fine. But if you're not here for your turn, you're out."

  Lucas twisted and lifted his dark brows. "You want to head up?"

  "Not even a little bit." I pushed my back into the cement wall and slid down onto my butt. "But, would you mind texting me updates if anyone gets injured—like as soon as it happens?"

  Lucas grinned. "Everything will be fine, January. But yeah, I'll text you the moment something happens."

  Only Amber and the muscular guy I didn’t know stayed, but their concentrations were deep in their phones. My phone buzzed, and a series of texts arrived from Lucas.

  Lucas: I just got up here. They’re letting out the vampire.

  Lucas: They just announced that it was one of the vampires that attacked the school.

  A loud cheer rose up, and I could hear the thunder of feet stomping from directly above.

  Lucas: That was quick. He killed it.

  I couldn’t help but stare at the word it in Lucas’ text. Would they consider me an it if they knew the truth, or would I gain some sort of special status like the Blackburn Academy teachers hinted? I couldn’t help but think that Bernard, the now-deceased fifth-floor guard, had treated me a lot like an it because of what I was. Sebastian definitely treated me like an it. I was a valued possession, like an expensive car. The other professors at the academy acted like I was a special human. They were definitely going out of their way to help me. And yet, I didn’t want or deserve contempt or special treatment.

  Only two people knew what I was and treated me like I was any other person, and that was Justin, and if I was honest, Mitch. When I told Mitch what I was, he had just walked over to get more beer, but otherwise, he didn’t act like I might burst into a murderous rage or do some special trick at any moment.

  A pounding came on the metal door, and Professor Whitney pushed it open. The lights of the stadium blasted in, blinding me. When my vision cleared, the hallway was again low lit, and Mark stood just inside, beaming like he’d already snatched the hunter trophy.

  Was there a trophy?

  I had no idea.

  “One minute, forty-eight seconds and not a scratch on me.” Mark held out his arms, and I couldn’t help but notice a splatter of dark crimson blood across his running shoes. As we all wore black on black, there could be blood spray all over him that I couldn’t see in the low li
ght.

  Professor Whitney clapped Mark on the back. “Good job, Markus.”

  “The record is actually one minute and twenty seconds—made by my brother,” Amber said as she tucked her phone into her back pocket. “I’m aiming to beat him, not you.”

  Mark nodded, and his smile visibly dimmed. “Well, best of luck, Amber.”

  The other professors and medics clapped Mark on the back, and when he drew level with me, I gave him two thumbs up. “One-minute forty-eight sounds pretty unbelievable to me. Congrats.”

  He breathed a laugh. “Thanks. Good luck with yours. I’ll be watching from above.”

  I could see Mark glance back at me a few times as he walked away in the tunnels, but I focused on the muscular guy who was stepping up to the metal doors.

  Lucas texted sporadic updates on the next fight, which was over in three minutes and twenty seconds before the guy returned and stalked out of the tunnel without a word.

  “Good luck,” I called to Amber as she stepped up to the doors.

  “I don’t really need that,” she said. As if she remembered something, she spun back and looked at me. “You know that you can call for them to stop the vampire. Charlotte would be devastated if you got hurt. She keeps texting me about you.” Amber rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Don’t die, please, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  I almost wanted to laugh. Was this Amber’s fucked-up version of good luck? But I managed a shrug. “I’ll be all right.”

  It was probably the biggest lie I’d ever told. Whichever way I came out of this stadium, no part of me was going to be all right with what was happening here. A cheer rose up, and Professor Whitney opened the metal doors again. This time I was ready and shaded my eyes against the glare.

  A foot gently kicked my shoe, and I looked up to find Mia standing over me. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I just wanted to make sure to tell you that you're one tough bitch."

  I laughed, and the sound echoed through the tunnel. "Thanks, but I'm the only one here sitting on the floor on the verge of a panic attack."

  She tilted her head. "I overheard what you said in the chapel. You're also the only one here who's doing this for someone other than themselves. Which makes you one tough bitch in my book.”

  "Thanks ... hey, Mia," I said.

  She held up a hand. "I know what you're going to say, and I'm not quite ready to hear it. I will tell you that you might be right that part of the reason I kicked Susie off my team was that I didn't want her in the arena. I realized that it was true when they announced that the support team wouldn’t be in the arena anyway, and a fuckload of guilt hit me." She touched her chest over her heart. "But I'm also angry, and it's hard to be around Susie while I'm feeling that way because she's so sensitive to other people's feelings, and ... I'm not sure I'm in the right, but I can't help that I feel deceived."

  "Maybe you just need some distance?"

  “Yeah. I do.” She adjusted her gold nose ring and used the motion to flick a tear from her cheek. "The friendships we make at this school, shit ... We're all planning to live and die together. It feels deeper than family. Lines get blurry." Mia nodded back out of the passageway. "You sure you don't want to watch?"

  “I’m sorry, Mia. I want to support you, and I hope you’re not offended. But no.” Mia had opened up to me, in a small way, but I had a feeling that, to Mia, it had been big. I wanted to reciprocate in kind, so I admitted, "I don't want to kill vampires or watch them die. I like the idea of rescuing vampire victims, but the killing part still doesn't sit right with me."

  "Yeah. It takes time to forget the rules of the human world and what's supposed to be right and wrong. They look and feel human until they don’t. It didn't sit right with me for a long time either, and my family is part of this world." She patted my shoulder. "It will come more naturally than you think. Trust me."

  Damn, I hoped not.

  My phone buzzed with a text.

  Lucas: They’re bringing out the vampire.

  I held up the phone for Mia to read.

  Mia sighed and lifted a shoulder. “Well, this will probably go fast. Amber is a soulless bitch, but she’s the best in the school.”

  “So, is bitch a good thing or a bad thing with you? Because bad bitch and soulless bitch sound pretty similar.”

  Mia smirked. “They’re at complete opposite ends of the bitch-spectrum. Bad bitch is like equivalent to a queen where soulless bitch is more like a demon spawn—actually half-demons are saints compared to Amber. Full-demon, all the way.”

  My phone buzzed, and a series of short texts popped up on my screen.

  Lucas: Amber leaped from behind.

  Landed wrong.

  The vampire got her.

  She’s bleeding.

  “Shit.” I held up the phone.

  Lucas: The Professors are trying to get Charlotte to stop the vampire, but Amber gave Charlotte the order not to buzz under any circumstance.

  No wonder Amber wanted Char as her support team. Char was obeying Amber instead of the professors’ orders.

  “Out of the way!”

  I jumped up, and both Mia and I flattened ourselves against the wall as the paramedics and stretcher moved past. They charged toward the metal door but squeaked to a halt as Professor Whitney raised a hand. She listened to the crackling feed of a two-way radio. “We have to wait until the vampire is down.”

  My phone buzzed with another text.

  Lucas: she killed it.

  “Now!” The PE teachers shoved open the doors, and the paramedics rushed through. Their footfalls echoed around the hallway even as they emerged into the bright arena. Before they’d neared the closest structure, a figure blurred past them, and then Amber was suddenly before us.

  Blood dripped in long streams down her arm, dripping to the floor.

  “I’m fine. Just give me a clean towel,” Amber demanded.

  As soon as the first paramedic reached her, Amber grabbed some plastic-wrapped supplies from the stretcher and headed out of the tunnel with a scowl on her face. A couple of paramedics followed her, but they returned a minute later.

  Mia shot me a grin as she grabbed up a sword and stake from the weapons rack. “You going to wish me luck even though this isn’t your thing?”

  “It might not be my thing, but I still want you or Lucas to kick ass.” I tried to give her a smile, but nerves were riding me so hard, it probably came out closer to a wince.

  Light and thunderous applause blasted into the tunnel, and Mia shot a smile back at me as she headed out the metal doors. My heart pounded against my rib cage as the door swung closed behind her. All three Athletics professors closed their eyes and bowed their heads, and I was pretty sure they were praying. Professor Whitney had fingers crossed on both hands.

  My phone screen lit up with a text.

  Lucas: they’re letting out the vampire.

  Me: Please tell me as much as possible. Thank you. I love you. I owe you.

  Lucas: Mia looks confident.

  She has this.

  The vampire is crawling out in mist form.

  She kicked it, got it in the side of the head.

  The vampire lunged. Mia dodged and sliced his leg.

  She got him with the stake, but it’s still moving.

  It’s down.

  Head is off.

  And … one minute thirty-eight seconds. She beat Markus.

  A sound very like thunder erupted over us, and everyone in the tunnel started cheering before they quickly quieted.

  “Now we don’t pick favorites, January,” Professor Whitney called over as she beamed.

  I motioned zipping my lips and throwing out the key.

  Feet came thundering down the tunnel from the other side, and both Baldwin brothers and Patrick rushed toward us. At the same moment, the doors to the amphitheater opened, and Mia strolled inside, dripping blood. No one seemed to notice as the physical education teachers, Baldwin brothers, and Patrick all competed to con
gratulate and hug Mia.

  “I haven’t even fucking won yet, guys,” she said with a laugh. When Lucas hugged and congratulated her, Mia smacked him in the arm. “Don’t you congratulate me. Go out there and try to beat me.”

  Lucas held up his hands and grinned. “I’m going to go out there, but I don’t have a chance to beat what you just did, and I am completely okay with that.”

  They hugged each other tight again, and then Mia wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me quick before she leaned up against the wall and tried to catch her breath.

  Lucas held out his arms. “Wish me luck?”

  “All the luck in the world.” I squeezed him tight around the middle and whispered, “Be safe.”

  The moment Lucas stepped out of the wide metal doors, Professor Whitney kicked out everyone who wasn’t in the hunt. Mia offered to stay with me, but I told her that I was fine, and they should all head out to watch Lucas. As Zack hugged me and wished me luck, he said into my ear, “Sorry for dragging you into my stupid problems the other day.”

  “You’re not mad at me for keeping their secret?” I asked.

  He leaned back and shook his head. “Nah. I’m not mad at them either. Just …” He shrugged a shoulder. “You know.”

  He didn’t need to say it out loud; I could see it in his expression. Zack was hurt and a little heartbroken.

  He pointed two fingers at me as he walked backward up the tunnel. “I’ll text you a blow-by-blow of what’s going on with Lucas.”

  I sighed. “Thank you.”

  “It’s going to be fine, Blondie!”

  The next two minutes were agonizing. My stomach felt like it was literally twisted in a knot, and I held my waist and stared at my phone screen. I’d only been friends with Lucas Baldwin for a little over a month now, but already the idea of Lucas getting hurt was too painful even to consider.