Hunter (6 page)

Nova's eyes
stung and she had to battle to pull herself out of unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered was going down the steps with Corvus.
Now she was hung up in a dark room. A guttering candle cast an
insubstantial light over the room. Her arms and shoulders ached
from the pull of the rope which held her a foot above the ground.
Her head pounded and her stomach rolled.

"Well then
you won't mind if I feed second will you, Laticia?"

"That's not
what I meant, Pamielle."

"Too bad,
it's my turn to feed," Pamielle said.

"You're
despicable. You are so low you should be feeding after Selene!"
Laticia waved at a woman with hunched shoulders who huddled at the
back of the group. "As Corvus's prime female it is my right to feed
second."

"Who said
you're Corvus's prime? Haven't you heard he prefers younger
women?"

Nova forced
her eyes open just a slit so she could see the scene beyond. Many
women were gathered not far from her. Two were facing each other
with their fists clasped at their sides. A pile of furniture was
piled against the wall. Standing at the edge of the dim room were a
few young men who watched the argument with mild disinterest.
Corvus sat as still as a statue. His eyes glazed over as he glared
into the distance.

There were at
least twenty lecheons, although it was difficult to tell in the
semi-darkness and with her head pounding in agony.

Nova's
stomach fluttered when she looked at Corvus but it soon passed, a
left-over of Corvus's pheromones, which at least at that moment
were not in action. Her stomach dropped as she remembered how
easily he had held her in his sway. She would have done anything he
had asked of her; there was no way that she could let him do that
again.

"How dare
you!" Laticia said. She lifted her hand and slapped Pamielle across
her face.

"You struck
me!" Pamielle raised her balled fist and went to smash it into
Laticia's nose.

"Stop!"
Corvus's voice echoed through the small room and everyone stopped
what they were doing.

Pamielle's
fist froze mid-air and Laticia's mouth was left half
open.

Nova used the
distraction to work a small knife up her sleeve and cut at the
ropes tying her wrist. Her head pounded harder. Every movement of
her arms as she sawed through the rope sent another wave of pain
through her. Her stomach rolled with nausea and a seed of panic was
beginning to bloom deep down in her gut. Her eyes refused to do
what she wanted; they kept sliding from side to side or moving to
look at Corvus. Her lids were especially heavy and she had to
struggle to stay awake even in the midst of mortal
danger.

"Nova, what's
going on? You've been blacked out for ages and now I'm getting
abnormal brain activity," Cal murmured in her mind. Nova didn't pay
him any attention. His voice faded into nothing as she focused on
the lecheons.

"What have
you become? Animals?" Corvus asked. "Five years I have been gone
and you're squabbling like children."

"She needs to
learn—"

"No,
Laticia!
You
need
to learn. I lead this coven and you will eat in the order I allow."
Corvus stood and gazed out over his people. He cast an imposing
figure and his fellow lecheons drew back.

"Your
behaviour is disgraceful, both of you," Corvus said. He took a step
closer to the two women. They dropped their hands to their sides
and their eyes to the ground. Both of them kneeled in front of
Corvus.

"Laticia, I
expected more from you. As my prime female everything you do
reflects on me. You dishonour me."

"I'm sorry,
my lord," Laticia whispered.

"And you. You
should know your place," he spat at Pamielle. "Did this whole coven
go to a cosmic craphole without me? Does respect mean nothing
now?"

The two women
stared at the ground, their faces flushing.

Corvus
reached the two women and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Apologise to each other. As punishment for your behaviour neither
of you will feed."

Laticia and
Pamielle's eyes flew open but they said nothing.

"Good. I
believe our snack is awake, so it's time for another
feast!"

Corvus swung
around to face Nova and a grin spread across his face. Nova's heart
raced so hard she could hear her own heartbeat. The lecheons formed
a circle behind Corvus; a few licking their lips.

Nova smiled
back at them and in that instant the ropes holding her to the
rafters broke and she dropped to the floor. As she fell she threw a
small sphere at the ground. It exploded in a bright flash of light
which filled every corner of the dim room.

The lecheons
screamed and drew back. They covered their faces with their hands
and cowered away from her. She didn't wait a second before rolling
to her feet and sprinting as hard as she could to a wooden chair
leaning against the far wall.

Her arms
ached and her head pounded as she ran but she ignored them. The
worst thing was her vision. Why did her eyes refuse to stay open?
It was as if fatigue had caught up with her whole body. She was
sure that if she stopped running for even a second that she would
fall asleep instantly.

The vampires
stumbled, half-blind. They blinked furiously before locking their
eyes on her. It took a few seconds but eventually they shook
themselves free of their surprise and chased her. They were far
faster than Nova and gained on her as every second passed. Corvus
was in front; his long black coat trailing out behind him as he
sprinted towards Nova. The rest of his coven was right
behind.

They ran
after Nova like predators, springing from foot to foot with
incredible speed. Their teeth were bared and they howled at Nova as
they ran.

The light
grenade flickered behind her, casting just enough light for her to
see by.

Nova's
head-start was just enough, she made it to the chair and as she got
close she swung her foot down onto one of the legs. The leg
shattered away from the rest of the chair. If it hadn't been for
the light grenade she would never have made it. The lecheons were
still recovering and every few steps they stumbled or jostled into
each other.

Nova bent
down, picked up the leg and turned. She hurled the sharpened piece
of wood at the lecheon coven. It soared through the air like a
javelin and pierced straight through Laticia's chest. Nova didn't
stop to admire her work; she just kept running.

The sound of
pursuit slowed behind her as she reached the stairs. She bounded up
two at a time and made it to the door at the top. She barged
through with her shoulder and the door swung open into the
sunlight. The streaming light shone back down the staircase and
elicited cries of pain from the lecheons below.

Nova ran as
fast as she could down the street, away from dark staircase and the
creatures at its base.

CHAPTER NINE

"Laticia!" Corvus knelt by the fallen
body.

He grabbed
hold of Laticia's hand and squeezed. There was no response.
Laticia's body had collapsed and yet still maintained its regal
dignity. Protruding out from her chest was the sharpened chair leg.
It had pierced through her internal organs and blood seeped out
around its edges.

She never
stood a chance. The bright light from the grenade was too much,
even Corvus hadn't seen the stake until it was too late. All of
their eyes were blinded by the sudden flash. The stake had
approached like death through the darkness.

"Don't touch
it!" Pamielle said, snatching at Corvus's extended hand.

Corvus pushed
Pamielle out of the way. He clasped hold of the wooden stake and
ripped it out of Laticia's stomach. He hurled the wood away from
the coven with a cry of pain. Corvus turned his hand over to reveal
his blistered palm.

"Why is there
a wooden chair in our home?" Corvus ground out. Even kneeling on
the floor with his hands covered in blisters and tears streaming
down his face he was an imposing figure.

"I- I- don't
know my lord. We didn't think—" Pamielle said, stepping smoothly
into Laticia's role.

"No, you
didn't think. I want that thing out of here now!" Corvus yelled.
Two of the younger men leapt into action. They gathered pieces of
material and approached the deadly chair.

"My poor
Laticia," Corvus said, leaning over her body, holding her
close.

The pain in
his hand faded in light of the pain in his chest. There was a ball
of agony in his throat. He ached to hear Laticia's voice; it was
always calm, dignified. She was a lady in the old sense of the
word, classy. They had been together as leaders of their coven for
decades. She'd been his childhood sweetheart and together they'd
grown up. They were so much more together than they were apart.
They had a love far more powerful than any most people experienced
over their whole lives. So much history, so many stories together.
Now there was only a corpse.

"I'm sorry, I
didn't mean to hurt you or be rude to you in those last moments. My
dear, sweet Laticia; please come back," Corvus sobbed.

His only
reply was silence.

The rest of
the coven stood back from their commander.

"I will
avenge your death," Corvus whispered into Laticia's cold ear. "That
bitch will pay for what she's done."

Corvus drew
in a ragged breath and laid Laticia on the floor.

"Did you get
her scent?" Corvus asked, turning to his coven. His eyes were dark
and his expression grim.

"Yes my lord,
of course," Pamielle said, stepping forward.

"I want her
hunted down and killed. I want her to suffer so much pain that she
begs for death. And then I want to kill every man, woman, and child
in this city. It's time the human cattle learnt their
place!"

"Of course my
lord," Pamielle said, stepping closer. "If there is anything I can
do for you, I'm right here, for whatever you need."

Pamielle
looked down at Corvus with wide eyes and pouted lips.

"Don't you
dare try to take her place!" Corvus whirled to his feet and towered
over Pamielle.

"My lord. I
would never, I wasn't—"

"You aren't
even half the woman she was. If you hadn't been arguing with her we
would have noticed the prisoner escaping." Corvus's eyes grew
wilder with each sentence. "It's your fault she's dead!"

Corvus's hand
whipped out and grabbed hold of Pamielle's neck. The blisters on
his palm burst and the open wounds stuck to Pamielle's throat, but
he didn't feel the pain. His entire being swelled with rage and he
glared at Pamielle. He saw in her all of the betrayal and hatred
he'd felt during his years of captivity. It would be so easy to
snap her neck, so easy to just squeeze and be done with her. He
couldn't, he needed his entire coven if he was going to wreak his
vengeance on the human scourge.

"I will never
take you as my female, you are nothing. From this moment on you are
the lowest member of this coven. You will feed last, and you will
pay for what you've done," Corvus whispered into Pamielle's ear
loud enough so that the rest of the coven would hear.

"No, my
lord!"

"I'm done
with you." Corvus tossed Pamielle to the side. She fell to the
ground in a crumpled heap, sobbing softly, but Corvus had no time
for the pathetic creature.

"Selene."

"Yes, my
lord?"

"You will be
second in command," Corvus said. "For now."

"Thank you my
lord," Selene said, astonished. Her eyes were wide open. Until that
moment she had been far down the ranks in Corvus's coven. Perhaps
that will teach them to fight like animals, Corvus
thought.

"Whoever
brings me the killer's bloody corpse will be rewarded beyond any of
your imaginings," Corvus said. "Stop at nothing. Leave no stone
unturned. Kill whoever you have to. It's nearly
nightfall."

"Yes my
lord," said Selene, echoed by the rest of the coven. They ran in
different directions from the underground basement and into the
tunnels which wound under the city. They would scan the entire
planet if they had to.

Corvus
remained behind with Laticia's body. He knelt beside her and stared
at her face. Even in death she managed to look aloof. He patted
down her rumpled shirt. While his coven was out he would bury her.
But first there was something else he had to do.

Decades ago,
before they'd come to Boullion Five they'd made a promise to each
other. They would leave something for the other in case they died.
Anything that had gone unsaid or undone; a tell-all. Now was
Laticia's time for confession.

Corvus
grabbed hold of the locket at Laticia's neck. It was shaped like a
heart, a human symbol which Laticia had chosen because of the
irony. After all, she did enjoy human hearts; they pumped delicious
blood around their owner's bodies.