Hellhound (11 page)

His eyes turned completely black, and he looked as
though he was mentally gone, overrun with visions as if he were nothing more
than a man-shaped television. On those small, dark screens, I saw the murder
unfurl as Lydia experienced it. There was little sound outside of Lydia’s steps
and breathing, mainly fast moving images.

She walked out of the room and meandered down the
corridor, looking around the halls and walls as if admiring the carved statues.
She stopped when she heard something.

What was that? Mumbled talking? The ventilation system
churning on? I couldn’t quite tell.

Turning, she glanced around in the dim passage.
Nothing. She hurried toward the throne room and peered through the tiny crack
of the opened door.

I wondered why he left the door open at all. Demetrius
had better sense than that.

Through the small slit, Lydia stared as a man slashed
Father’s chest.

My own heart almost stopped beating. I shook as Father
dropped to the floor. Rage and sorrow consumed, freezing me in place.

Father cried out as he fell and hit the floor. Blood
gushed from his wounds and surrounded him.

Lydia jerked her head and slid down, pushing open the
heavy door just a little more.

The killer turned. He looked a lot like Demetrius, but
there was something off. What was it?

Nathanial stepped forward, grabbed Demetrius’s
shoulder, and turned him around. Nathanial spoke in an undertone. His words
were mumbles at this distance. Nathanial looked anxious, but not scared or
surprised.

Demetrius held the murder weapon. The dagger dripped
dark fluid onto the floor, staining the pearl marble. He muttered something.

Nathanial held his hands up and backed away. Now his
face and body language appeared alarmed. Demetrius lunged at Nathanial and
stabbed him three times, impossibly quick. Then he dropped the dagger and
stared down at the writhing body. He didn’t seem horrified, regretful, or
alarmed. He seemed...relieved.

Did he think doing this allowed us to be together or
that this rid us of our problems?

I trembled, my mouth dropped. I felt sick, nauseated.

Demetrius turned to look around. His gaze ran over the
entryway and moved on.

Lydia ran to the elevator, stopped, and turned. I half
expected to see Demetrius emerge and chase after her, but he didn’t. She took
the elevator and hurried to her apartment, where she locked the front door and
slid to the ground.

Danther removed his hands after his eyes returned to
normal. He went back to his post in the corner.

I quivered and needed a moment to settle on the truth,
deal with my new purpose.

Serph said, “Demetrius is the killer. Can we count on
you to hunt him?”

“Yes.” I gulped, stared at his feet. There weren’t
words to describe this treachery or my heated anger.

Serph dismissed me.

I’d forgotten to request another tracker for aide, but
I felt too numb to turn back and ask.

As I walked through the halls, everything and everyone
blurred. Noise became buzz. I was light-headed, nauseas, lost.

I took the elevator while Claudius gave the speech
that reached all of us associated with the clan through synapses. His voice
drowned in the back of my mind. I just needed a moment to clean up the mess I’d
become.

Father’s face flashed in my thoughts. The visions of
Demetrius stabbing him haunted me.

I collapsed on my bed face down. Wrapping my fingers
around the pillow beneath me, I rubbed my face against fabric moist with tears.
“I’m so sorry, Father,” I wept.

This was my fault. I should’ve cut Demetrius off from
the beginning, and his infatuation would never have traveled this far, to this
extent to be with me.

My father could never come back, but I would bring
Demetrius back. I would take his essence. In fact, he was lucky if I didn’t
slaughter him on first sight.

Chapter Nine

During my shower that night, seeing that I was still
pretty vexed, the steam rose around me from water so hot that it could have
scorched my flesh. The mist turned gray, consumed by the darkening essence that
seeped from my pores. My body knew the sun had set outside, and itched to be
released beneath a full moon.

I couldn’t unleash it here in this confined space for
no real reason other than venting anger. There wasn’t a worthy soul to lash out
at or a despicable object to crush. My power wanted to annihilate something, or
rather, someone. For now, it would have to suffer in wretched silence and wait
patiently until Demetrius was within my grasp.

I must’ve fallen asleep, exhausted from the emotional
turmoil and crying. My eyes were sore and puffy, as if sand grains lodged
themselves under my lids.

How long had I been out? A few hours? All night? A day
and a half?

All right, get to work.

With messy hair pulled back in a low ponytail, clean
clothes, my crescent strapped to my belt, I left my apartment and went to see
Mother.

I was surprised and somewhat disconcerted to find
Claudius leaving her apartment late in the evening. He closed the door behind
him and looked up, doing a double take when I appeared from around the corner.
I stared at him.

He cleared his throat, his face a sullen shade of pink
against white hair and blue eyes.

I severely hoped that he didn’t do what I thought he did.

“How are you, my dear?” he asked, his voice deep and
his posture royal.

“As vexed as I’m allowed to be, and yourself?”

“Very sad over our losses, especially my personal
loss.”

“I’m sure.”

I waited, half expecting him to offer me the Council
seat. When he didn’t, despite the fact that I didn’t really want it, he piqued
my concern. That seat was rightfully mine, and it wouldn’t go empty for long. A
strong Council made for a strong clan, and this unforeseen break in the link
could shatter us.

I cut through the barely friendly banter. “Who will
take my father’s place?”

“As the Elder leader, I will.”

“And who will take the empty throne?”

He paused, as if carefully arranging his words. “Once
the renounced tracker is returned, the seat will rightfully be yours.”

“Why not now?”

He called my bluff, knowing that I had little desire
for the throne. “It would be too much at once. Once becoming an Elder, your
duty is here, no longer as a hunter or in the mortal world. We need you to
return the tracker to us first, child.”

Claudius was a man of sound reason, and he played
games well. I didn’t even get into it with him about not wanting to take the
seat. What would happen to me then? Would they force me?

It didn’t seem likely that they could try to compel me
because free will still reigned in my mind. Or, would they renounce me as well?
Would they just let me be?

“What were you doing in my mother’s apartment?”

His eyes widened at my tactless audacity. He almost
stuttered. “We were consoling one another. We’ve each faced a huge loss today.”

“Hmm. Comforting one another physically? Were you
alone?”

“How dare you question me in this manner? I am not
only an elder by age, but an Elder in the hierarchy of things, young lady.
Watch your tongue.”

Claudius seldom lost his temper, and perhaps I pushed
the button too hard so shortly after the death of his son, but my mother was
off limits if he thought otherwise.

“She’s my mother. If I find out that you’ve touched
her, I’ll—”

“You’ll what, Selene?”

I turned to find that Danther had approached our
conversation. The last thing I wanted was a witness to a verbal threat.

“None of your concern, Danther.”

“Anything that concerns my patron, concerns me,
Selene.”

Of course it did. Danther was a scummy little personal
assistant in the guise of a Council underling.

“Minion, Claudius is of great concern for all of us,
not just you. But he’s not your master, so back down, puppy.”

Claudius grunted, and clenched his teeth. “Have fun,
children. I’m off to bed now.”

I intended to claw the Elder back into the
conversation, but Danther held my attention.

“Your mate has fled, and your intended husband is
dead. That leaves you without a man, Selene.”

“Watch your words.” My eyes flickered over him.

He smiled wickedly. “I suspect that you will soon
begin looking for a new mate. After all, a female Elder cannot be without a
man.”

“When I find a man, it won’t be you.”

“I could be that man.”

My former lover and I hadn’t been separated for a day
and this scum already sniffed around me. My essence wasn’t compatible with his,
his was too weak. I felt mine writhe, burning to escape and lash out at him for
his insolence.

“Whatever you do, minion, don’t forget that I can and
will rip your throat out,” I growled. I was sure my fangs showed because I felt
them press into my bottom lip. The audacity! And so soon after Father’s death
made him a suspect in my book.

He backed away, somewhat amused, and left. Brushing
off the incident, I went to my mother’s apartment. She opened the door as soon
as I knocked, but the expression on her face changed when she saw me. She
appeared disappointed. Admittedly, that stung quite a bit.

“May I come in?” I walked past her as she closed the
door behind me. I turned at the sofa to face her. “Were you expecting someone
else?” The words were as bitter as my predicament.

“I didn’t know who it could be.”

“Why was Claudius here?”

She seemed tense, averting her eyes the same way
Damares had.

“Are you even upset about Father’s death?” I hissed.

Her eyes widened with surprise, her mouth agape with a
deep gasp. “How could you even ask that? Child, don’t you realize how much I
loved your father?”

The waterworks started.

“What was he doing here?” I wasn’t a sucker for tears,
even if they came from my very own mother.

“He wanted to talk,” she finally responded with a
deflation in her chest. She crashed on the couch, and I took a seat next to
her.

“About what? I can’t imagine he just wanted to talk
about the deaths.”

She shook her head and stared straight ahead. I knew
when people were lying, and right about now, I felt very tempted to throw the
crescent against her wrists and get answers. But, that would be unfair, and she
would loathe me for using my weapon against her.

Mother wouldn’t speak after that. She practically
ignored me. I wondered if she’d forgotten that I was still in the room with
her. I grunted, annoyed and agitated, and left. She was lost in her own world,
consumed by her thoughts.

Not only did I leave her apartment, but I packed up
the few articles which I’d brought with me and left the domicile in the middle
of the night. I couldn’t stand it here—the lies, betrayals, and scandals. I
didn’t know who to trust, not that many gained my trust over the years in the
first place.

In the lobby below, Serph caught up to me, floating to
meet me in his pearly white robe and glittering golden threads. He took me by
the elbow with a light touch.

“I know that this must be difficult for you, Selene.”

“Yes,” I replied in a dull tone.

“Having to hunt a renounced lover can’t be easy, but
we have full confidence in both your loyalty and your ability.”

I snapped out of my foggy mental trance and gaped at
him. “You think that I’m more distraught over a fugitive former lover than the
murder of my father?”

He patted my shoulder, and we parted ways without
another word. A slither of indignation cut through me.

With my backpack straddling my shoulders, I nodded at
the sentries who stood guard at the front entrance. They opened the doors for
me, and I exited without another look at them.

I marched down the steps, and once my foot hit the
forest bed, the building behind me moved in restless waves back and forth, then
shimmered into nothingness. I glanced behind and saw a thick and endless
forest.

Sentinels in the shape of various animals remained on
guard, silent but there watching.

Demetrius’s car was still here, so I took it back to
the apartment. Everything seemed in place, as we’d left it.

We lived on the top floor, and I half hoped to catch Demetrius
here. Chances were not. Chances were that he fled long ago, perhaps not even
returning to our nest before fleeing the city, the state. He could run and fly,
but he couldn’t hide from me forever.

After locking the door, I tossed my backpack to the
couch as I passed. Stripping off my trench coat, then bending over to unlace
and remove my boots, I wiggled my toes and glanced around. Everything appeared
normal. Still, I didn’t hesitate to check every closet and room, and even beneath
the bed.