Broken

by Zara Novak

  I stared down at the amulet. The very same trinket had captivated and entranced me only hours before, now I didn’t want to touch the thing.

  I was terrified.

  How could such a small object have such a large impact?

  “You said your part of some paranormal crime fighting agency, right?” I said to Hunter.

  He nodded. “The Guardians. Yeah, why?”

  “Hunter this job is too big for me on my own. I think we need backup here, like this stuff is crazy serious. Is there a HQ? A vampire pentagon we can take refuge in?”

  He shifted in his seat, bristling at the suggestion. “Guardian HQ isn’t safe right now. Every guardian now knows that I have the amulet and it’s keeper in my possession.”

  “So?” I asked. “Isn’t that a good thing? We need a whole team of burly vampire psychopaths.”

  Hunter shook his head. “No. You don’t understand the draw of the amulet. Its power is far too tempting for most. The guardians are my brothers, but even I can’t trust them now we have the Halo Amulet in our possession. That little trinket has a way of warping people. Even the most honorable men will cut off their own hand to hold the power it possesses.”

  “But let me guess, you’re different? You could very easily leave me for dead and take the amulet for yourself.”

  “It’s different between me and you,” he said cryptically.

  “What? Why? How would that be different?”

  “Because you mean more to me than the amulet does.”

  A strange silence eclipsed the table. I stared into Hunter’s bright red eyes, wondering what he could have possibly meant by that. How could I mean more to him than the promise of anything else? We’d only just met, and I’m sure a man like him could get any woman he wanted.

  “Look perhaps I should clear something up,” I said. “Last night was fun and all—”

  “Fun is the word you’re using?”

  “Okay… how about mind-blowingly fabulous?”

  “A little closer to home,” Hunter said.

  “It was great, but I think it’s best it was just a one off. I guess we’re sort of working together now to return this amulet, and it’s going to be difficult keeping a clear head if we’re running around fucking one another at the same time.”

  Hunter sat up in his chair. “You mean the thought of my huge cock stretching your tight pussy is distracting for you? The idea of me slamming you up against a wall, ripping your clothes and taking your body… that would make it hard to focus?”

  My throat suddenly felt very dry.

  I swallowed and took a sip of water.

  His words had painted very vivid images in my mind, images that I wanted to indulge greatly.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, I just think we need to be professional. The entire planet is potentially at stake here and we’ve got a limited amount of time, I think—” I paused, Hunter was staring off into the distance, not even paying attention to me. “See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you and you’re away with the fairies.”

  “When was the last time you saw the waiter. Bram?” he said without looking back at me or taking heed of my complaining at all.

  “I don’t know, whenever he last came to our table.”

  “No,” Hunter said, shaking his head lightly. “That’s not right. He’s been across the room a few times since then, but he’s not at his station now. It’s been about ten minutes.”

  “You’re keeping track of the waitstaff?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’re not one of those people that finds any excuse to get out of a tip.”

  “I’m a guardian,” Hunter said, putting extra emphasis on the latter word. “I guard, and I’m working right now, guarding your ass, believe it or not.”

  “Guarding me from some vampire waiter that weighs maybe a few more pounds than me? Are you serious right now?”

  “I’m seriously thinking I made a mistake in coming here. And it’s a mistake to have that thing out in public,” he said referring to the amulet. “Put it away. Now.”

  I kind of wanted to carry on pushing Hunter’s buttons but the tone of his voice put the fear of god in me and I complied straight away. He definitely had a powerful aura about him, a leadership quality that could make people move mountains. He was a big fucking guy and I got the impression he was used to being in charge, so hearing his concern made me take notice.

  “You are serious. You think we’re in danger?”

  “Until we return that amulet, we’re in danger all the time. I assumed the waiter wouldn’t know anything about the amulet, but if he does then this was a big fuck up. My intuition—”

  I stopped him. “You’re going off intuition right now?”

  “Intuition is a very powerful force,” Hunter said, still scanning the room. “My proverbial hackles are raised, Doctor Stone. I have the feeling something very serious is about to go down.”

  I thought he was being a little stupid, but the way Hunter was acting had me fucking spooked. “Should we get out of here then—” I began, but his eyes finally returned to mine, and I shut my lips straight away.

  He spoke under his breath, barely moving his lips at all. “Look over your shoulder, by the door. I’ve found our friend. It looks like he was out getting company.”

  I glanced back at the entrance and saw ‘Bram’ standing with a dozen men in riding leathers. The group looked completely out of place in this high-end restaurant. They were bikers, better suited to a meth-riddled trailer park. Not only were they all incredibly pale, but a figure at the front—presumably the leader—was talking with Bram in hushed tones and looking our way.

  “Hunter?” I said nervously as I looked back at him. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m guessing Bram has a cousin in a biker gang, and he definitely does know about the amulet. Are you good in stressful situations?”

  “I don’t know—!” I said, screaming the last word as Hunter jumped up from the table and pulled two enormous handguns out of his long black duster. He started firing at the entrance. “Get up and get behind me!” he shouted. I did so immediately.

  Hunter raised his leg into the air and kicked the table over. The whole restaurant was now full of screaming and chaos. Patrons had either ducked under tables or gone running for the nearest exit. Hunter pulled me down behind the over-turned table and a smattering of gunfire returned from the other side of the room.

  He put himself right next to the table, acting as an additional wall between me and any of the gunfire. Bullets peppered through the wood and I could hear them thudding into his body. He was taking direct hits to protect me. I knew he was a vampire, but how could he take so much punishment?

  “What do we do now?!” I shouted over the din.

  Hunter answered but his head was turned to the side like he was listening for something. “I killed about five with that initial burst, not including our friend Bram. I slammed that son of a bitch too. There are seven of the fuckers left, and that includes the leader.” He lifted his guns and two clips slipped out of the bottom. He pulled two more from his jacket and re-loaded.

  “Seven against one!” I shouted as gunfire continued around us. “We’re screwed!”

  Hunter just laughed. “Oh darling. Those are rookie numbers.” He glanced up. “Nice chandelier, huh?”

  It seemed like a strange fucking time to take in décor, but things were a little clearer once he grabbed me and sprung up to the ceiling like a jackrabbit on coke. Hunter kept one arm tight around my body while his feet somehow planted on the ceiling. With his freehand he fired at the bikers below, who were now filing deeper into the restaurant as they re-loaded their own weapons. I saw sawn-off shotguns, sub-machine guns, and even automatic rifles.

  These guys weren’t fucking around.

  As soon as Hunter’s gun clicked empty his hand moved in a blur and then he was holding a long silver blade. He slashed it across the chandelier’s main cable and the fitti
ng dropped through the air like a meteor from space. The huge chandelier crushed two more of the vampires. Both of them promptly went up in flame. I wish I had more time to appreciate how strange the spontaneous immolation was, but there was no time.

  “Hunter!” I screamed, delirious as he sprung off in another direction, running from a new tide of gunfire. Everywhere we went the wayward whistle of bullets exploded the scenery around us. We crashed behind the bar for cover and he quickly jumped back up to his feet.

  “Stay here a sec, I’ll finish this.”

  He was gone before I could protest. To my left I saw a middle-aged woman shaking on the floor next to me. She was one of the waiters from the restaurant. “It’s going to be okay!” I said to her in reassurance.

  I popped my head up over the bar to see what was happening with Hunter, but I could only see strange shadows flashing through the air. I realized it was Hunter and the other vampires fighting, all moving far too fast for my mortal eyes.

  They all slowed to a more normal speed at once. Three of the bikers were left now and Hunter had somehow disarmed all of them. He was currently tangled in a three-way martial arts fight against the bikers, who didn’t look as proficient in combat as he did.

  For a giant motherfucker he moved with a startling grace and speed, twisting, turning, dodging and ducking as he delivered his dangerous blows. His silver blade danced through the air as a trail of death.

  He plunged the point into the chest of one of the bikers. The vampire went up in a spout of flame. The fire barely died out before Hunter staked the other two. He finally came to a stop, his great chest hulking as he tried to reclaim his breath. He found me and let out a sigh.

  “I think we’re done,” he said. But as soon as he muttered the words another group of bikers appeared in the doorway. They all had guns pointed at him. The vampire at the front of the group cautiously stepped forward.

  “All right big guy, you’ve proved you can fight, but there’s plenty more of us. Give up the trinket and no one else gets hurt.”

  Hunter turned toward the leader. There was no way he was finished fighting, but I had a bad feeling his luck wasn’t going to stretch this far. I really wished I could help somehow. I had no idea how until a voice whispered through my mind. It was female and strangely ethereal, the words carrying a brilliant warmth that flowed through my entire body.

  “Give it to them,” it said. “Now.”

  Giving away the amulet was the last thing I wanted to do, but I realized then the warmth flowing through my body was coming from the amulet. The heat grew rapidly hotter. I pulled the amulet out and through the cloth I could see the stone glowing bright red.

  “Now!” the voice shouted. “Throw it! Now!”

  I was a mere spectator in my own mind. I stood up, held the cloth-wrapped amulet in my hand and hurled it towards the biker group like a grenade. I think Hunter was the only one to see me stand, but the bikers took notice of something flying towards them.

  Why the hell was I acting so stupidly? I had just taken our most prized possession and thrown it right at the ‘bad guys’.

  “Rachel!” Hunter shouted in disbelief, wondering why I had just given away our trump card. I couldn’t blame him; I was wondering the same thing myself.

  The wrapped amulet hit the thick carpet like a lead weight and stopped at the feet of the lead vampire. He glanced at me then looked down at the glowing package. “Is this…?” he said, before crouching down to pick it up. “Good girl,” he said to me. The amulet was glowing so brightly now it projected warm orange light through the cloth and onto his face. “Unfortunately, we’ll still have to kill you bo—”

  The rest of his threat went unheard as a tremendous ball of blinding light exploded through the restaurant. I had to shield my eyes from the light, hearing the screams of the vampire bikers echoing through the room as I turned away from the blast.

  This explosion wasn’t one of fire and force.

  I was a historian, so I’d never actually witnessed an explosion—they don’t happen that often in my line of work—but I knew something was off here. The blast was more like an extremely condensed burst of sunlight. For a few seconds I could see the insides of my own eyelids, before darkness came back again.

  As I felt the warmth recede, I opened my eyes again and saw that the biker gang were gone, presumably burnt to a crisp. The amulet was back on the floor where I had thrown it. A surge of panic suddenly swept through me as I remembered Hunter.

  “Hunter!” I shouted. I vaulted over the bar and ran to the last place I saw him standing. He was crouched down on the floor with his long black duster thrown over him like a cloak. A light curtain of smoke wafted up from his back, streaming from the various bullet holes within the leather. For a second I wondered if he was alive, then his huge figure shifted. He placed his hand on a chair and slowly stood up while letting out a very weary groan.

  “Hunter,” I gasped upon seeing his face. The left side of his face was unharmed, but the right side was almost charred black. “Are you… okay?” I asked, but even as I said the words, I saw his face was rapidly returning to its normal color. His ability to heal was outstanding.

  “Nothing a bit of after-sun won’t help,” he joked. “How did you know the amulet would do that?”

  “Do what? I don’t even know what happened. The amulet got really hot in my pocket and there was a voice in my head telling me to throw it.”

  “Looks like Halo might have offered you a little guiding advice. That was an explosion of raw sunlight. It vaporized our vampire friends immediately. My tolerance for sunlight is much higher because of my Guardian modifications, but that was tough even for me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of hurting Hunter. “I didn’t know what was happening.”

  “It’s okay princess,” he said. “Let’s just add it to your list of things to be punished for. You saved our bacon anyway, there’s only so many grunts I can take on at once.” Sirens blared in the distance outside, Hunter looked back at the entrance. “We better get a move on before more trouble arrives. It won’t be long before the police are here. Grab the amulet, quickly.”

  I ran over and scooped the amulet back into my jacket. The cloth surrounding the metal was still hot to the touch from the explosion of light. The restaurant was now a complete and utter wreck. Chairs and tables were overturned, shattered glass covered the floor and the intricate molded ceilings had been destroyed by gunfire.

  I walked past the downed chandelier. The staff and customers had long since left. It looked like no civilians had been hurt during the firefight, which was great.

  “We take the rear exit,” Hunter said as he scanned the room. Something told me he had mapped out an escape route before we’d even sat down. I’d only seen a glimpse of his abilities so far, but I got the impression his guardian training was very extensive in all aspects of survival.

  Without another word we left through the back. The kitchens were deserted, and I followed Hunter through a maze of service corridors. He walked with strict confidence, looking like he’d taken this route a hundred times before.

  Fire doors led into an alleyway behind the building, where rain continued to sprinkle down. It was still dark outside—naturally—and I found myself thrown off by the lack of sunlight. It had to be close to midday right now, but it was dark as midnight.

  “Where to now?” I asked.

  “Back to the safehouse,” Hunter answered. Without warning he threw me over his shoulder and vaulted straight into the air. He moved so fast I didn’t even have time to scream. I wondered what was wrong with walking back the way we’d come, but the sirens outside the front of the restaurant were answer enough.

  The single jump took us up ten stories, and the massive vampire landed on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the Four Seasons. Up here the world was a forest of air-conditioning units and large ventilation pipes. Every building looked the same.

  Hunter broke
into a sprint and a cold wind rushed over me. I was still hoisted over his shoulder with my ass in the air, looking like a cavewoman being captured by a caveman.

  He does have some caveman-like qualities.

  With another mammoth jump we ascended to an even higher rooftop. He set me down and sent his foot through the door of a stairwell. Inside of a minute we were back in the corridor that led to the suite.

  “Talk about a lousy breakfast,” he joked as he shut the door behind us. He pulled off his jacket and made his way into the apartment. I felt a strange sense of relief at being alone with him again. Danger was far behind us and we were alone together once more. Hunter headed for the bathroom, leaving me to collapse on the couch and contemplate the craziness of our brief outing.

  I pulled the amulet out again, unwrapped it from the cloth and studied it. I really wish we could just wait the week out and let this thing disappear, but as things stood, we didn’t have a choice. If we didn’t find Halo before the end of the week then the goddess would blot out the sun permanently.

  “This is too much,” I whispered to myself. We’d gone out for breakfast and nearly ended up dying. Hunter didn’t want to call for backup, but I couldn’t help feeling we were out of our depth here. There had to be some way I could convince him. But how?

  Then I heard a faint buzzing sound in the apartment. It was coming from Hunter’s jacket. A phone! Of course. His superiors were probably contacting him again. I could take the call and tell them where we were!

  With a quick glance toward the bathroom I got up and ran over to his jacket. The thing was huge and just from handling it I could feel its immense weight. How did he walk around in this thing? I found the phone and pulled it out. There was no ID on the screen, but I answered, nonetheless.

  “Hunter, it’s Commander Davian. Rumor has it some vampire prick just started a firefight in the fucking Four Seasons, of all places. Why does something tell me this has your name all over it?”

  I breathed back down the line, wondering if I should have taken this call.

  “Are you listening to me dumbass?! Did they shoot your fucking tongue out?! Tell me where the fuck you are, and this can all be over. You need backup!”