The Last Hunt

by T. L. Cerepaka

  Lucius nodded, but said nothing. I wanted to rip his stoic expression off his face or maybe just stab him with my sword, because at the moment I was more upset with him than with Hisara. I made a mental note to jab Domination down his throat as soon as I got out of this mess.

  “But because you have managed to impress me—which isn’t easy to do, especially for a human, given how I am Vampire Lord and all—I will reward you by telling you about my plan,” said Hisara. “I won’t give you all the details, of course, but I won’t omit anything important, either.”

  “Lady Hisara,” said the smaller vampire suddenly. “Not to question your wisdom, but do you think it wise to divulge the plan to the Hunter? We have put so much effort into making this plan—”

  Lady Hisara whirled around and slapped the vampire across the face. He fell flat on his back on the floor, a stunned look on his face. I couldn’t blame him, mostly because I had barely followed her quick movements myself.

  “Silence, worm,” said Lady Hisara. The seductiveness in her voice was gone, replaced by the anger of a tyrant dealing with a disobedient subject. “Newborns like you know nothing. Do only what you are told and don’t you dare second guess or question my decisions, no matter how foolish they may appear to you. Understood?”

  The Newborn sat up, rubbing his cheek where Hisara had slapped him. “Yes, Lady Hisara, I understand. I won’t do it again.”

  Hisara huffed and turned around to face me again. “Newborns. What are you going to do with them? Not strong enough to pose a threat to most sorcerers, but not humble enough to bow to their superiors. So frustrating, unlike older vampires like Lucius, of course.”

  I saw the Newborn shoot Lucius a quick glare of hatred and realized that the Newborn was jealous of Lucius. Lucius, to his credit, didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he considered the Newborn beneath his notice, like Hisara. Either way, it was yet another example of the dysfunction inherent in vampire society.

  “Where was I? Oh, yes, the plan,” said Hisara. She looked at me and clasped her hands together. “Tell me, Hunter, have you heard of the Vampire Sword?”

  I thought about it for a second. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t quite know what it is. It’s supposed to be a powerful sword, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, the Vampire Sword is more than just a powerful sword,” said Hisara. “Legend says that it was forged over ten thousand years ago by Lord Nizara, the first Vampire Lord. He crafted it by his own blood, imbuing it with magical power beyond any other magical item. It was, sadly, lost not long after Lord Nizara created it, but I have located it.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t the Vampire Sword just a legend, though? There’s no proof it exists.”

  “That’s what the Vampire Council says,” said Hisara. “But as it turned out, they were wrong. The Vampire Sword not only exists, but it is easily attainable to those who wish to use it.”

  “Easily attainable?” I repeated. I smirked. “You don’t mean you can just go down to the grocery store and pick it up, can you?”

  “Don’t be stupid,” said Hisara. “The Vampire Sword is available, but only to those who are willing to pay the ultimate price. Or force others to pay it for them.”

  “You mean a sacrifice?” I said.

  “Not just a sacrifice, Hunter,” said Hisara. She looked me straight in the eyes. “Multiple sacrifices. Over a thousand. And I intend to sacrifice every single man, woman, and child in this town in order to do it.”

  ***

  CHAPTER FIVE

  My heart fell into my stomach. “You’re going to sacrifice the entire population of Paths in order to get the Vampire Sword?”

  Hisara nodded. “You’ve got it. You catch on quick.”

  “That’s insane,” I said. “I know vampires are the very incarnation of evil and that you Vampire Lords make even Satan blush with your evil, but in all my years vampire hunting, I’ve never run into a vampire who planned to slaughter an entire town of innocent people before.”

  “I’m not going to kill everyone myself,” said Hisara, rolling her eyes. “That would be impractical. I’m simply preparing a ritual in the graveyard next to this mansion which will do all of the hard work for me. I believe in working smart, not working hard.”

  “It doesn’t matter how you’re going to do it,” I said. “What matters is that you’re going to do it at all. How do you know this will even work?”

  Hisara brushed back some of her dark hair. “How do I know? I don’t. I have, however, done a lot of in-depth research on this subject, using my contacts in the Vampire Council Library to access ancient or forgotten texts that normal vampires don’t have access to. It’s how I learned the truth about the Vampire Sword. It’s also how Lucius got involved.”

  I looked at Lucius. “You? How?”

  “I used to work for the Vampire Council,” said Lucius. “I had access to the Library, so when I went to work for Hisara, I got her the necessary texts about the Vampire Sword that she needed in order to make her plan. Some of them were very ancient, but no one at the Council was aware of what I did. I got the texts in and out of the Library without anyone noticing.”

  “Ah, now I see,” I said. “Once a traitor, always a traitor, eh? You betrayed the Vampire Council and then me. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Only because the Vampire Council is corrupt,” said Lucius. “They are too narrow in their vision of how vampires should interact with humans. When I first heard Lady Hisara’s vision, I supported it immediately.”

  “And what is Lady Hisara’s vision?” I said. I looked at her. “What are you trying to do?”

  “That’s easy,” said Lady Hisara. She spread her arms. “I intend to use the Vampire Sword to conquer humanity in the name of the vampires. No longer will we need to hide in the shadows, striking when our enemies aren’t looking and being forced to feed quickly lest we be discovered. A day will soon come when, under my benevolent rule, the vampires will march on the world and turn humans into our slaves and cattle.”

  My eyes widened. “And you think you can do that with the Vampire Sword?”

  “I don’t merely think that, Hunter,” said Hisara. “I know that. Legend states that the Vampire Sword has the ability to turn humans it cuts into vampires who will mindlessly serve whoever wields the Sword. Not only that, but the Vampire Sword can lay waste to whole armies, so even the strongest human armies in the world will be unable to stand before its might.”

  “That’s still crazy,” I said. “And you have no idea what you’re doing. What if you’re wrong and sacrificing the people of Paths won’t get you the Vampire Sword?”

  Hisara shrugged. “What do I care? If I’m wrong, there will be fewer humans in the world than there were before. If I’m right, however, then unlimited power will soon be mine, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Either way, it’s no skin off my nose.”

  My heart beat rapidly and my forehead started sweating, but again, I hid my fear. It was difficult, however, because I could not help but think about how terrible Hisara’s plan was. If her plan worked, then the entire planet would be at her mercy, not just me or the other sorcerers. If her plan didn’t work, tons of innocent people would die anyway. While most Vampire Lords had dreams of glory and conquest, Lady Hisara was the first whose plan actually seemed possible to me.

  More importantly, however, was the knowledge that my failure to stop Hisara would mean creating a future hell for my newborn daughter, Tara. She was still with her mother, my wife, back home, barely a month old, but she was one of the most important people in the world to me. The thought that my inability to stop Hisara here and now would mean that my daughter would have to grow up in a world where vampires ruled filled me with even more fear—and anger—than anything else.

  “You’ll never get away with this,” I said. “The Sorcerer Parliament will stop you, even if I can’t, and the Vampire Hunters Guild as well.”

  Hisara smirked. “Didn’t you just say that you weren’t w
ith the Sorcerer Parliament? And I also thought you said you were alone, not working with the Guild. By the time they find out what I’ve done, it will be too late for any of them to stop me.”

  I cursed under my breath. Hisara had a point. My own lone ranger ways had come back to bite me in the ass at the worst possible time. It was times like this that I wished I hadn’t rejected the Vampire Hunters Guild’s membership offer when I first started hunting vampires five years ago. At least I wouldn’t have been alone like I was now.

  “Threaten me all you like, but you’re just too late,” said Hisara. “Even as we speak, my faithful servants are putting the finishing touches on the sacrificial ritual which will kill all the humans in this town. Then the portal to the Vampire Sword will open and I will take it and begin a new golden age for vampires. It will be glorious.”

  I struggled against my ropes once again, but they were as tight as ever. So I looked at Hisara again and said, “I’m not going to let you get away with this. As long as I continue to draw even one breath, I will do everything in my power to stop you. I promise.”

  “Promises are cheap,” said Hisara. “Besides, soon you won’t be in any position to keep your promise. Newborn, come here.”

  The Newborn—who I guess didn’t have a name—stepped forward, a cautious look on his face. “Yes, Lady Hisara?”

  “Lucius and I are leaving for the graveyard,” said Hisara without looking at the Newborn. “I want you to torture the Hunter while we’re away. Don’t kill him, at least not yet, and don’t bite him, either. Just make him hurt so much that he won’t be able to think about anything else.”

  “But I wanted to be there in the graveyard to see the ritual completed …” said the Newborn in a disappointed tone.

  Lady Hisara shot a death glare at the Newborn. “Do what I say or else you will be the one being tortured.”

  “Yes, Lady Hisara,” said the Newborn, bowing again. “I will do as you say.”

  But I could tell that the Newborn’s feelings about being left out hadn’t changed in the slightest. Even as he stood up, he glared at Lucius, who again did not seem to notice. I was sure at this point that Lucius was deliberately ignoring the Newborn. It was common for older vampires to treat Newborns as basically invisible for the first few decades of their life, especially male vampires. No doubt it was Lucius’ way of letting the Newborn know just how beneath his notice he was.

  “Good,” said Hisara. She looked at Lucius. “Ready to go, Lucius, dear? I know you are just as interested in seeing the Vampire Sword as I am.”

  Lucius nodded. He stepped forward and held an arm out toward her. “Of course. Allow me to take you there, my lady.”

  Hisara giggled. “Such a gentleman. You truly are a prince, Lucius.”

  Hisara took his arm and held on tight. She looked up at Lucius admiringly, but Lucius pretty much ignored her. He stepped backwards into the shadows, pulling Hisara with him, and then the two vanished completely, leaving me alone with the Newborn.

  As soon as Lucius and Hisara left, the Newborn spat on the ground. “‘Such a gentleman.’ What garbage. Stupid Lucius.”

  “I take it you’re not his biggest fan?” I said.

  The Newborn glared at me. “Shut up, Hunter. I may hate Lucius and how he bewitched Lady Hisara with his deceitfulness, but that doesn’t mean I like you any better. Actually, I hate you even more, because you would behead me if you had a chance.”

  I shrugged. “Can’t say I disagree with that assessment. I probably would behead you, but I’d also behead Lucius.”

  The Newborn waved a finger at me warningly. “I may be a Newborn, but that doesn’t mean I was born yesterday. I know how tricky you vampire hunters can be. I will not let you trick me into letting you go just so you can kill Lucius.”

  This Newborn was smarter than he looked. “All right. You got me. I was trying to manipulate you into letting me go so I could kill Lady Hisara, too. You’re pretty smart for a Newborn, especially one that doesn’t even seem to have a name yet.”

  “Lady Hisara doesn’t name her Newborns,” said the Newborn sullenly. “She just feeds us and we, in turn, obey her every whim. I have no need of a name, anyway. I am going to torture you, just as Lady Hisara commanded me.”

  I frowned. “You don’t sound very excited about it.”

  “Because I’d rather be at the ritual than down here with you,” said the Newborn in annoyance. He growled softly. “But no. Instead, Lucius—that johnny come lately—Lucius gets to see it and, by extension, the Vampire Sword.”

  “Lucius wasn’t there from the beginning, I assume?”

  “No, he wasn’t,” the Newborn snapped. “Came along after Lady Hisara put the plan in motion, after I was converted. She became smitten with him and his big biceps immediately. She doesn’t even seem to remember me or any of her other servants, unless we get underfoot, then she has nothing but a slap in the face for us.”

  The Newborn rubbed his cheek again where Lady Hisara had hit him. “But not Lucius. She never gets angry at Lucius, even when he messes up. He’s got her under a spell, I know it. It’s the only explanation for why Lady Hisara is so crazy about him.”

  “Maybe he’s just more handsome than you,” I suggested. “I don’t know a whole lot about vampiric attraction, but women do like tall, dark, and handsome guys.”

  “You shut up,” said the Newborn, pointing a stick-like finger at me threateningly. “I’m tired of hearing your voice. Time to torture you. It will take my mind off Lucius’s stupid face.”

  The Newborn disappeared into the shadows briefly and then suddenly returned with what looked like a rusty old toolbox in hand. He put the toolbox on the floor, flipped open the lid, and began digging through its contents.

  “Let’s see,” said the Newborn in the voice of a chef preparing a meal. “What would make a good torture instrument … something that will make him scream … I like that one, but it takes too much time to set up … this one’s too rusty … this one might bring the whole mansion down if I use it …”

  The Newborn’s comments went along in that vein for a while. I tuned out his mutterings and focused on figuring out how to escape my ropes.

  I was tied to a chair with rope that negated my natural magic. Domination was a floor above me. I couldn’t move my hands or legs at all. And any second now, I was about to undergo horrible torture at the hands of a vampire with insecurity issues. I couldn’t count on anyone from the Sorcerer Parliament or Vampire Hunters Guild to show up and help me, either.

  By all accounts, I was stuck. I’d been in sticky situations before, but this was the first time I wasn’t sure I could get out by myself.

  So I did what I always did whenever I couldn’t save myself: I prayed to God.

  Most sorcerers and vampire hunters weren’t Christian or even particularly religious. This was mostly due to the fact that sorcerers had been persecuted by the Church throughout history for our magical abilities. There weren’t any atheists among sorcerers—the existence of magic made any sort of pure scientific rational worldview pretty much impossible—but most sorcerers tended to believe that God, if he does exist, takes a hands-off approach to the world and just sort of lets things work out on their own without any direct intervention on his behalf.

  Me, though, I believed God existed, that he was active in the world, and that he heard our prayers. I’d seen far too much examples of what could only be described as miracles in my life to dismiss it like most sorcerers did. And even if some Christians had persecuted us before, that didn’t change the truth of Christianity. It was another point of disagreement between me and my fellow vampire hunters, but luckily, I was so effective at killing vamps that most of my fellow vampire hunters didn’t care who I worshiped. It did put me at odds with the Sorcerer Parliament, though, but I didn’t care what those idiots thought anyway.

  Dear Heavenly Father, please deliver me from evil, I prayed silently. I acknowledge that I can’t get out of this situation by myself, th
at I need your help. I’ll even give up vampire hunting and become a pastor if that’s what you—

  “Ah ha!” The Newborn stood up, a sharp, ragged knife in his hand. “This ought to do the trick. I’ll slowly make cuts of increasing size and depth in your skin over the next hour or so. It’s simple, but sometimes the simplest way is the best way, don’t you agree?”

  I didn’t say anything. I just sat in my chair, watching as the Newborn approached me with his ragged knife in hand. I hoped that God had heard my prayers and would rescue me, because if he didn’t, I was completely and utterly screwed.

  ***

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Newborn stopped in front of me. He was even uglier up close and, like all vampires, smelled heavily of death. He smelled even worse than the vamp I killed in the entryway. Despite being a Newborn, it was obvious to me that he must have been converted several months ago. His blood red eyes looked over my body as if trying to decide the best place to start cutting me.

  “Let’s see, let’s see,” said the Newborn. “Where to start, where to start … ah, I know. Your face. Let’s see if Lady Hisara still thinks you’re handsome after I cut up your face a little.”

  The Newborn slashed the knife against my right cheek. It wasn’t a very deep cut—barely deeper than a paper cut—but I let out a small grunt of surprise anyway.

  The Newborn must have thought it was a grunt of pain, because he said, “Looks like the infamous Hunter isn’t as tough as he appears. A small cut and he’s grunting like I just stabbed him in the chest. Pathetic.”

  Another slash across my left cheek, this one deeper, though not to the bone. Still, my grunt was louder this time and I felt hot, warm blood leaking out of my cheek down the side of my face.