Rise Of The Hunters: A Seven Sons Novel (The Immortal Huntress Book 5)

by Kelly Hall

  She could tell she needed to explain fast. “I want to fool them. After the Fellowship sees that I’m victorious, I will have my Fellowship complete again. The Huntress Star will return to the academies, and I will be the Hunters’ only leader once again. The Church will back down. They’d have to. And then when they stand there gloating, you could vanish. But by then, I’d have already completed my task in their eyes. They gave me that humiliating task, knowing that I can’t hold you. Help me do this.”

  “You ask too much,” he said with regret. “Go, Rebekah. While you still can.” He turned and walked to the window, turning his back on her.

  “I’ll have your child,” she said desperately.

  Kayne glanced over his shoulder. “Somehow, buying you with my humility just doesn’t sound appealing.”

  As Rebekah stepped away, he cleared his throat. “The original bargain is still on, Rebekah. You owe me, and I still intend to collect.”

  She hurried out of there, unable to fight off the tears anymore. She couldn’t believe she’d pushed things so far.

  Chapter 20

  Lulu stepped out into the courtyard to shake out her favorite rug. The food she had ordered the day before after hearing about the impending arrival of their guests had been delivered at the crack of dawn, and the two bumbling fools who’d unloaded the truck had also managed to spill one sack of flour as they carried it along with the others across the kitchen floor to the storeroom.

  She walked over to a metal pole that stuck out of the ground and didn’t seem to have much of a purpose, other than to fill her needs, and she began striking the rug against it. The flour billowed out and made a cloud in the air around her, but she managed to stay upwind as it slowly carried the dust away.

  Movement just beyond the castle’s main entrance caught her eye, and she looked up to see two vans approaching, one a deep green, the other black. Both were worn-out older models, and the green one had a nasty dent in the front. They weren’t official Fellowship for sure, most likely Jarreth’s father and his band of idiots.

  No one else in the castle was awake at that hour, and she didn’t know if the Huntress had ever returned from her late-night outing. She left the dust to finish settling as she went back inside and nearly leapt out of her skin as she ran right into the Immortal Huntress.

  “Piss-wilted petunias, you scared the life out of me!” Lulu held her heart.

  Rebekah gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, Lulu. I was just coming to see if you got the delivery, and I heard the men coming up the road.”

  “You’ve got better hearing than me,” said the old woman. “I should have gotten marked for that reason alone. You move like a stealthy cat walking up on its prey.”

  “That wasn’t my intention. I’m very sorry.” Rebekah had only been home for an hour, and while it hadn’t given her time to rest, it would allow her to greet Brock and his men upon their arrival.

  “Well, don’t just stand there gawking at me. Go out and tell those barbarians to wipe their feet. I won’t have their muddy boots tracking up my kitchen floor.”

  “They arrived in cars right from the airport. I’m fairly sure there will be no muddy boots.”

  “They’re 2K rogues. They always have muddy boots.” Lulu’s nose scrunched up as if she smelled something bad.

  Rebekah couldn’t help but wonder if the old woman had a problem with the group, some kind of history. “Be nice, okay?” She realized who she was asking. “At least try. They are here to help us.”

  Lulu waved her hand. “Eh, I’ll be as nice as they are, and I’ll keep them fed. But that doesn’t mean I have to like them.”

  Rebekah knew it did no good to argue with the woman. “Try.”

  She walked out of the kitchen door and passed by the pole, where the ground was covered with a fine dusting of flour that had already clumped with the morning dew. She shook her head and continued on across to the driveway near the front entrance where the men had stopped.

  As she waited for them to get out, Jarreth and Delilah rushed out behind her from the castle’s front door. They were both still sleepy eyed, and Jarreth’s hair was sticking up like a rooster’s comb. Delilah couldn’t stop yawning and was wrapped up in a light blanket that she was using like a shawl. They walked out and joined Rebekah as Brock opened the passenger door of the large green van and stepped out.

  “If this isn’t a fine welcome home,” he said, looking the three up and down one at a time. “You all look tired. I guess time away from your academy is getting the best of you. Haven’t you been keeping up your daily training?”

  “Yes, it’s just been an adjustment with the time difference,” said Jarreth, walking up to greet his father with a handshake as the other men filed out of the first van, making their way to the other.

  Delilah was on his heels, waiting for the two of her favorite men to hug. “Lulu usually wakes us with the morning bells,” she said. “She chimes them when it’s time to gather in the dining hall.”

  “Well, at least we haven’t missed a meal.” Brock laughed, moving away from Jarreth to take her in his welcoming embrace.

  Delilah patted his middle. “You don’t look like you’ve missed any, old man.” Brock was still the picture of health, but she liked to tease him.

  “Oh, I see you’re still full of sass.” He turned as the other men in his party busied themselves by gathering their packs from the vans. Before he had a chance to comment on his posse, Rebekah finally walked up and shook his hand. “Huntress, I see you’re taking up my kid’s bad habits. You look like you’d rather be in bed yourself.”

  She waited for him to make a remark about bringing her there, but he didn’t. She knew better than to reveal the reason why she looked tired. “I’ve been up all night, preparing for your arrival,” she lied.

  Jarreth and Delilah exchanged a look as the Immortal Huntress and Brock stared into each other’s eyes. It wasn’t a look of any particular sort, so Jarreth ignored it. He had his own problems.

  “Hey, what’s he doing here?” He nodded toward the vans, where the other men hefted on their packs and checked their weapons.

  Kyle Cross stood in the middle of the others, taking a canteen and a bedroll that was handed to him. Brock had known it might be a problem. “He pledged in. I can’t turn my back on him now.”

  “But he was with Grady.”

  “Originally, but now he’s with us.”

  “It’s not honorable,” snapped Jarreth.

  Rebekah stepped in. “Let it go, Jarreth. I’ll have a talk with him later.”

  “I’m sure you’ll see he’s more than cooperative,” Brock said. “He understands that his friends were out of control.”

  “Fine,” said Jarreth. “But I’m going to be watching him.”

  “He’s my man. I’ll keep an eye on him, and you worry about the Huntress.” Brock clapped Jarreth on the back, and at that time, Kyle turned and glanced over at Jarreth as if he knew there would be a problem too.

  Brock turned back toward Rebekah. “Where do you want us?”

  Rebekah pointed toward the east tower. “Your kids have prepared the tower for you. At least the bottom two levels. It’s clean, functional, and should suit your needs to make the men comfortable. You’ll dine in our hall. It will make things easier on Lulu to have us all in one place.”

  “Thank you, Rebekah. It will be our honor to dine at your table.”

  “I’ll leave you to get settled in, and I’ll greet your men at breakfast,” she said. “If you will excuse me, I have a few calls to make.” She nodded as he gave her a standing salute, and she turned and went inside.

  Heading toward the library, she heard Frankie and Timms up the stairs laughing, making their way down.

  “Good morning, Huntress,” said Timms. “I heard the guests arrive. I’ll go and see if they need help getting settled in.”

  “Good morning,” said Frankie, giving Rebekah a nod as she made her way down. “I’ll help Lulu in the kitchen and
ask Mace to help.”

  “Thank you,” said Rebekah. “I’ll be in my office on the phone if you need me.” She hoped that she wouldn’t find bad news in London but had a bad feeling. She should have checked on Cooper much sooner, but being in prison had her mind in other places. Then there was the awful issue she’d been avoiding with Merik’s ashes. They seemed to have gotten lost somewhere between the mortuary and the Nevada Academy.

  After making a few more pleasantries with the two, she went along to her office and shut the door. Then she went to her desk and picked up the phone. After dialing the London Academy, she waited for an answer.

  “Fellowship Academy, London. This is Gemma. How may I direct your call?”

  “Gemma, this is Rebekah Ward. Please put me through to your commander.”

  There was an audible gasp and then the sound of shuffling, as if papers were moving around on her desk. “Yes, Huntress. One moment.”

  Rebekah heard footsteps, and then a click silenced the sound. The line went dead, and then there was a dial tone. Before she could get angry about them hanging up, her phone rang. She answered it. “Hello?”

  “Huntress?” said a low voice with almost a whisper. “This is Commander Oliver.”

  “Hello, Commander. It’s Rebekah. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time, but I wanted to speak to you about my transfer, Cooper Carter.”

  There was a breath on the other end of the phone that was too much like a sound of disappointment. “Yes, Huntress, about that.” There was a long pause from Oliver, and Rebekah grew uneasy as he cleared his throat, bringing his voice to a much softer whisper. “I’m afraid I have bad news.”

  “Please tell me you know where he is.” She got a sinking feeling that told her the rumors just might be true.

  “I wish I could honestly tell you that, my Huntress. But he went out and never returned.”

  Went out? Was he allowed to leave the academy freely? She didn’t understand. “How long ago?”

  “It happened while I was gone to your trial. I came back, and he was reported missing. I didn’t want to burden you with it at first. I’d hoped that we’d find him.”

  “But you didn’t?” She swelled with anger and worry as he continued.

  “There are times that a big change could trigger issues in some of our young hunters, and it’s not unlikely that someone going through a change like young Cooper would be anything out of the ordinary. Cadets run away at times, go out and party too much, then feel too humiliated to come back for fear of punishment.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. He is new there. Has anyone tried his phone? His house?”

  “I’m afraid that the only person who had his number, other than my secretary from our files, couldn’t reach him. I even called his father. He’s not seen him. He’s very worried about him.”

  “Great,” said Rebekah. “So, now what? Have you even tried looking for him?”

  “We’ve had so much going on around here that I just couldn’t devote time to an AWOL hunter. I’m sorry, Huntress.”

  “What do you mean? What’s going on that you can’t deal with protocol?”

  “I had to call you back on my private phone. And even now, I fear that the line is not secure. We’ve had visitors from the Church. Elder Dove.”

  “Let me guess. He’s there to implement changes that are forcing me out?”

  “It would seem so. The damned place looks like a cemetery with all of these crosses. Not that I mean to be disrespectful, Huntress. But they have taken over. No sign of the Star anywhere.”

  “It’s the same way at other academies, I’m afraid. Have they asked you to do a ceremony?”

  “No, but I’ve heard that there will be one in New Orleans.”

  “Yes. There will be.”

  “Would you like me to send a party after Cooper?”

  “No, don’t bother for now. I’ll check into it.” Rebekah didn’t want to sound any alarms just yet, and she knew if they found Cooper turned after being marked, then there would be a panic, especially with the Church in the mix making problems. “I appreciate your loyalty, Charles.”

  “You’ll have it always, Huntress. Even if it doesn’t appear so. Please, remember that.”

  “I will.” She knew that the commanders were all doing what they could. If they made a stand of loyalty, then she wouldn’t have anyone inside the academies. “You do what you have to for the good of the Fellowship. There will be a time I’ll call. I’ll expect you to answer.”

  “Always, Huntress. I hear someone coming.” The line went dead, and Rebekah slowly put down the phone.

  “Dammit.” With two enemies at her door, she didn’t know which one was worse, but she had never felt so weak.

  There was a knock on the door, and she looked up just as Ignis stuck his head in. “There you are,” he said. “I’ve worked all night in the west tower, moving your things out of the way. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m taking it for the library.”

  “You did all of that work by yourself?”

  Ignis smiled. “Actually, no. I had a lot of help. Turns out, Canter doesn’t hate me after all. I have to say, although I wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest, I’m glad he doesn’t want to kill me.”

  “That’s always a plus, right?” She let out a breath and eased back in her chair.

  Ignis had seen the hard look in her eyes before, only it had been many years ago. “What burdens you, Rebekah? Something has happened.” He walked over to the desk.

  “I was going to ask you about it anyway, so you may as well sit.” She gestured toward the chair in front of her desk.

  “If it requires me to sit, then it must be bad news.”

  “I’m afraid I need more information that you might have withheld.”

  Ignis’s face turned red. “Oh. Well, ask away.”

  “I’ve never had any of my hunters turn from being infected.”

  “You mean with vampirism? It’s not possible. Your hunters have an immunity.”

  “Would there be any way that information could be wrong? And I say this because there’s a chance Cooper Carter has recently been turned.”

  Ignis’s eyes widened. “He was marked, right?”

  “Yes. Do you know what this could mean for us? We’re already in a lurch with the Church, and if our men start growing fangs, that’s going to really mess things up.”

  Ignis thought a minute. “There were three kinds of blood used, and I suppose that some lines are weaker than others.”

  “Have you ever tested it?”

  “A long time ago, yes. I just assumed it wouldn’t change.”

  “But it’s possible? I mean, it could happen?” She pushed away from her desk to get to her feet. “I need you to work on this, Ignis. Maybe you and Canter should get with Mace and do some tests. Use Jarreth, Canter, and Delilah as starting points. Get their samples.”

  “We need vampire blood. Or at least a strong source of the virus.”

  “I think I know an easy way to get that,” said Rebekah. “Couldn’t you nail down the virus from my blood? Or maybe I could deliver my soul to Kayne and ask him for a pint.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.” Ignis’s tone was sharp. “I should be able to pull together what I need.”

  She nodded. Then her voice grew weary. “Is it possible the daggers you prepared have something to do with it?”

  “I’ll check, Bex. Don’t worry. You have enough on your plate, and I don’t need you distracted. I’ll go down into the lab and tell Mace we have a new mission. She’ll be all for it. She’s ready to step away from the latest blade she’s come up with.”

  “Sounds good. And I wanted to tell you before I told the others. I saw Liam.”

  “He’s vampire now?”

  “Yes. Kayne didn’t change him, though. He said that his blood was sacred. Instead, that redhead he has living with him is the one who helped him pull through. She makes him call her mother, and I’m afraid he’s inherited her tendencies to b
e a brat.”

  “Oh great. Just what we needed out in the world, another impulsive vampire with no self-control.”

  “Kayne’s not happy with him. He said he would have already killed him had it not been for me.”

  Ignis nodded. “I’m sure that’s true. Do I even want to ask what’s become of the agreement you made with him?”

  “No, and before you go thinking the worst, nothing happened.” She thought of the feverish kisses and the way his body had felt close to hers. It wasn’t exactly nothing, although Liam had seen enough to ruin her life. “He even had the chance and refused.” He wasn’t exactly the perfect gentleman she was making him out to be.

  “Ye-ugh-yuck,” said Ignis, making a face. He got to his feet and made his way across the room to the door. “That’s all I need to hear. You giving him the chance makes me want to murder things. I’m going to get started, and I’ll let you know what I find. I’ll have Canter with me, so if you need us, at least you’ll know where we are.”

  “I should go see Brock. I’ll see you at breakfast.” She walked out behind him, and as he turned toward the basement, she went to the front room, where Jarreth and Delilah were standing with Brock and Father Timms.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” said Brock to the older man.

  “Thanks,” said Father Timms as he shook Brock’s hand. The Huntress got his attention as she entered the room. “Hello, Rebekah. I was just welcoming your guest. Any news about Liam?”

  “I’ll address that over breakfast,” she said, knowing she couldn’t keep the news from him and the others much longer.

  “Is he alive?” asked Delilah.

  Rebekah nodded and gave a half-hearted smile. “Yes, Delilah, he’s alive.”

  Chapter 21

  Rebekah had spent more time in her library lately than she had since she took over the castle and had it renovated. It had taken many phone calls and leads to figure out what she needed to know, and now, she felt like her assumption was strong enough to act on.

  She sat at her desk, poring over the plans that Ignis had drawn up nearly a century before, and wondered if there had been any changes to the main layout, other than a few structural reinforcements. Most of what she had seen of Arcadius looked the same as the blueprints, and she felt confident that whatever records had been moved from the Great Cathedral would most likely lie deep in the depths of the old structure.