Changed (The Hunters #1) (46 page)

I’m a
bad brother
, he thought, sighing
deeply.

“
It was nice,” Philip
replied. He eyed Milena skeptically. Milena was aware that Philip
didn’t trust her. She looked at Jason.

“
Have you got a
plan?”

His plan was to get Rosa out of his
head and really concentrate on his task. He was so close to freeing
his sister! Jason could not be influenced by his
emotions.

But damn it was hard to forget Rosa.
With her striking dark red hair, ice blue eyes and her body full of
fire and grace...

No, Rosa definitely wasn’t a girl that
you could easily forget.

He couldn’t believe that he was in
love with her.

Jason was in love with Rosa! He never
would have expected to be able to love again, when his heart died
three years ago. He never would have thought that he would make the
same mistake again.

His heart hadn’t learned from his
first mistake, but this time he wouldn’t make the exact same
mistake. He would not put Rosa’s life in danger.

Not like the first time.

“
No, I don’t have a plan,”
Jason admitted, looking at Milena. Her bruises healed and she
seemed healthier and stronger than at their first
encounter.

“
Do you know the huntress
named Rosa Petrova?” Jason asked her.

Philip looked surprised at him. Jason
hadn’t told him that Rosa was a huntress, and he could feel
Philip’s rage.

Milena nodded. “Yes, I know. She’s the
best hunter that the hunter clan ever had. She has killed more
shadow creatures then every hunter before her. I think her first
Nephilim will follow quickly.”

It
already has
, Jason thought, but he didn’t
say it out loud.

Milena looked at him. “Why do you ask?
Do you know her?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, I know
her.”

Her eyes went wide in disbelief. “You
know her, and you’re still alive? Why hasn’t she killed
you?”

Jason shrugged. “Perhaps she was
dazzled by my beauty, and she realized that no one can kill
anything as beautiful as me.”

Milena smiled. “Rosa isn’t the type
that can be blinded by beauty.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Of
course, he’d noticed it himself.

“
She’s like ice. Strong
and cold. She never shows any emotion, and she’ll kill you without
any hesitation. Because of that everybody calls her Ice
Princess.”

Since the beginning, Jason had known
that Rosa was dangerous, but he didn’t know that this danger would
attract him to her.

“
Do you think she would
help me?” Jason asked.

Milena snorted. “Rosa helping a
Nephilim? Never in a life-time! She would rather kill
you.”

Jason frowned. Where did her hatred
for angels come from? At that moment, he realized how little he
knew about Rosa, and yet he was in love with her.

“
Why does she hate angels
so much?”

Milena sat back and watched him for a
while in silence.

“
All hunters hate angels,”
she said slowly. “But her hatred is deeper than any
hunter.”

“
Why?”

Jason leaned forward. He wanted to
know all about Rosa.

She shrugged one shoulder.

“
No one knows. She hasn’t
told anyone. If you asked her about it she changes the
topic.”

Jason slumped disappointedly against
the couch. He’d hoped to learn something about her.

She hated all the angels?

Him, too?

No.

Or?

Jason had seen the sparkle in her eyes
when he gave her a compliment. He had felt the powerful attraction
between them.

She didn’t push him away, when he
wanted to kiss her.

That had to mean something, didn’t it?
Rosa didn’t hate him. Why else would she let him kiss her? He clung
to this thought.

“
But we could try,” said
Jason.

Philip who had been silent the whole
time, asked, “Do you trust a huntress, or what?” His voice was
filled with anger and distrust.

Jason looked at his friend.
“Yes … No. I don’t know.” He sighed again. He trusted Rosa, but he
also knew that she was a hunter, and had already betrayed
him.

She could do it again.

He stood up. “I’ll try. Let’s hope
that she will help us.”

“
And if she won’t?” Philip
asked as he and Melina looked to Jason.

All decisions were with him. The
burden of doing the right thing lay heavy on his shoulders. The
load oppressed him; didn’t let him forget what his obligations
were.

On Philip’s question, he had no
answer.

“
You’re late, Rosa,” said
Lord Constantine, when Rosa entered the room. Her eyes fell
immediately on the unknown faces that sat around Lord
Constantine.

The faces belonged to a young girl and
an older woman. Both looked similar and Rosa concluded that it was
mother and daughter.

Who are they? And what are
they doing here?

“
I’m sorry, Lord
Constantine,” Rosa replied and closed the door. “I was held
up.”

He nodded. “I see, and have you found
the talisman?”

Rosa took out a small box, in which
she had put the talisman. She went to Lord Constantine, handing him
the box.

Lord Constantine took the box. His
eyes sparkled as he opened it. Almost tenderly, he took the little
talisman in his hand, which glistened in a very intensive
red.

“
Very well done, Rosa.
Very good.” He stared at the talisman as if he was
possessed.

Rosa nodded. His praise let her cool,
even though she really should be happy as a hunter.

“
I have something to
report, Lord Constantine,” she said politely.

He looked up from the talisman and
frowned. “What?”

“
I killed my first
Nephilim.”

Rosa felt contentment when Lord
Constantine looked at her in surprise. Obviously, he hadn’t
expected it.

He laid the talisman aside, and
stretched out his hand.

“
Show the proof, Rosa,” he
said. She pulled out a small vial with the blood of the Nephilim
and the feather, holding it before his eyes.

“
Here’s the
proof.”

Lord Constantine nodded impressed.
“I’m quite surprised, Rosa. You have found the talisman, and killed
a Nephilim. You were obviously quite active in
Vancouver.”

What does that mean now?
Was she not active here?

She didn’t understand him—didn’t want
to understand him.

Silently, she nodded again.

“
You’re now a full member.
You will get your license soon.”

Every hunter, who became a full member
got a certificate, which showed that the hunter was now a full
member, and would be paid for his job as a hunter.

Lord Constantine clapped his hands.
“So now I have something to report.”

He turned toward the two people. He
pointed to the girl with long brown hair and green eyes. Rosa’s
hair was also brown, until she had decided to color it dark
red.

“
This is Tamara, and she
is our new huntress,” said Lord Constantine to her.

Rosa doubted that the
girl—Tamara—could be a hunter. She was small and thin, and wore an
anxious expression on her face.

“
Uh-huh,” Rosa replied
uninterested as her gaze flickered toward the woman who stared at
her intently.

Rosa frowned. It bothered her that the
woman was staring at her as if she hadn’t seen anything like
Rosa.

Rosa averted her eyes.

“
And you will train her,”
Lord Constantine continued.

She stared at him. “What?” she
exclaimed in disbelief.

He smiled coolly. “You heard me right,
Rosa. You will train her.”

She shook her head vigorously. “No, I
won’t. I have to do other duties.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Such
as?”

“
I need to find out the
plan of the Nephilim.”

Lord Constantine waved his hand. “That
isn’t your job anymore. Other hunters will take your
job.”

“
What?” Another shock for
her “But why?”

His eyes darkened. “You did not give
me any results, and I will not tolerate any more enemies in my
town.” His voice was strong, resolute.

Rosa sighed, annoyed. “But I don’t
want to work as a mentor. Couldn’t someone else do it?”

Lord Constantine shook his head. “It’s
an order, and you will follow this order. End of
discussion.”

She glared at him. The urge to
continue arguing with him, really giving him her opinion was huge,
but she bit her tongue and kept her mouth shut.

He turned to Tamara and the woman.
“Would you please let me alone with Rosa? I have something to
discuss with her.”

They nodded and stood. The woman never
took her eyes off Rosa as she left. Rosa was just about to ask why
she was looking at her, but then they were already gone.

“
Why does the woman look
at me like that?” Rosa asked.

A shadow flitted over Lord
Constantine’s face. He went to his chair by the fireplace and sat
down.

“
I do not know,” he said,
and struck his legs.

She narrowed her eyes. Something told
Rosa that he lied. He knew something, but was not going to tell
her. But she didn’t care. She had other problems to worry
about.

“
So, what do you want to
talk to me about, Lord Constantine?” She crossed her arms over her
chest.

He took his time before he answered.
“I want to talk to you about what happened in the dungeon,” he
said. “Tell me what happened.”

Rosa nodded and told him about the
screams, the explosions, and the man with the red eyes. A shiver
ran through her as she thought back to those red eyes. Quickly, she
threw away the thought.

Lord Constantine was silent for a long
time when she had finished. He stared at the small fire burning in
fireplace.

“
What do you think?” Rosa
said.

Finally, he looked up. “I think it was
an angel of death.”

She frowned. “An angel of
death?”

He nodded. “Yes. These are the angels
who bring the death, but I cannot explain why it has left you
alive.” He gave her a suspicious look.

She raised her hands. “I’ve told you
everything I know. Besides, I wouldn’t lie about this.”

Rosa had heard about the angel of
death. They were good-natured angels and helped lead people to
their death. She couldn’t understand why an angel of death would
kill so many humans.

“
Well, we have to get to
the bottom of it. Apparently, something new and dangerous is
looming.”

Something new and dangerous?
It
didn’t sound very good.

“
Should I look for it?”
Rosa asked.

After all, she was involved. The angel
of death was looking for her.

Lord Constantine tilted his head and
stared at her.

“
I do not know if I can
trust you anymore, Rosa. You have disappointed me often. I had to
give someone else the task to look after the Nephilim. How do I
know that you will not fail in this task again? “

“
Failed?” Rosa was at the
end of her patience. Angrily, she glared at him.

“
I have not failed! It’s
hard to figure out something, and have other
obligations.”

He looked at her. “That’s not my
problem, Rosa,” he said calmly.

Rosa
grunted and clenched her hands. “I have
not
failed.”

He smiled smugly. “Of course you did,
my dear.”