Token Huntress (27 page)

              “Esmore,” Dillian’s voice interrupted me. He looked badly battered as he stood behind me holding Julia. I had no words, my mouth was parched. I was so drained and exhausted that I could not will anything. I felt limp. The further I was wounded, the hungrier I was. Yet right now I was incapable of moving. I was so hungry that I even preyed on my best friend. It was joy in the immobility I felt that lessened my temptation. I needed blood to replenish.

              “Oi, Tythian!” Cesar shouted from nearby as he ran up the hill toward us. “You couldn’t even give me a lift?”

              “You are the oldest vampire I know. I knew it would not take you long to return to us,” Tythian said, bored of Cesar’s theatrics. We all continued to watch the flames as the sabers’ squeals pierced all of our ears. Tythian continued, “You know it was the Council who lead that large pack of sabers to the Guild. They have been living within the city for some time now. Fier wasn’t fooled by you at all, Esmore. You led them to the Guild. This was Fier’s first attack on the Hunters’ Guild.”

              Neither Chase nor I could say anything. It made sense, the blood which was spread all around the Guild. That was the Council. How had we not known we were followed? How did we not know we triggered this battle?

              “It looks like Fier is being clever and conserving his army. Is the world leadership Council soon to be held?” Cesar asked of Tythian.

              “In a few months now. It looks as if Fier is serious about trying to outmatch the other Councils and take further leadership of more land and countries. As you suspected,” Tythian praised.

              I let that information sink in. So Fier planned to overpower the Council?

              “I suspect they already know,” Cesar responded as we watched the crashing flames in the distance. “This next Council meeting will destroy many of our kind. They are no different to the human wars. There are always men who want more.”

              I tried to numb the mounting questions. For today I only wanted to rest, and then worry about it in the new dawn.

              “How do you two know one another?” my mother asked.

              “Well, Tythian is my first son of course,” Cesar said with a proud smile as he pulled Tythian in for an embrace which then turned into a headlock. “Well so to speak, he was the first I turned into a vampire.”

              I wanted to feel shocked or overwhelmed, but I was far too tired. Even as my body tried to rejuvenate, it struggled. So Tythian was the vampire Cesar spoke of placing in the Council. And I now understood why: because a secret war had been brewing. The Hunter’s Guild knew nothing. But that was no longer a battle for me to fight. Or was it? Right now all I was concerned with was that my team would stay safe.

              “Esmore,” Chase coughed. Slowly I watched the burn marks on him heal. He now had the energy to fully lift himself and hold me in a tight embrace. He almost pushed me over onto my back he held me so firmly. He kissed my lips hungrily. “Thank god, I thought I had lost you,” he whispered into my ear, holding my hair tightly to him. He kissed my ear again. I wanted to be sad for the hunters who would be killed tonight. But we were a diligent breed; I knew some, if not most, would survive. I could not be sad as they so quickly turned on me and left me for dead. I wasn’t sure who I was battling for any longer. I was where I was meant to be and that was by the side of my familiar, my mother, and my best friend.

              “So what do we do now?” Tythian asked. My mother looked at Cesar worriedly.

              “Perhaps her heart isn’t as safely hidden as we first thought,” my mother said. “Word of her ability will spread and her gift will be highly sought out. They will want to use her as a weapon against one another.”

              “First we get them out of here, we need to retreat,” Cesar said, placing his hand on Tythian’s shoulder. Cesar was directing him to teleport us all to a different place. Tythian held his hand out to Dillian and Julia, waiting for their permission before transporting them. After they accepted, they vanished into a black hole.

              “Esmore, you are literally the definition of an immortal,” Chase teased with a smile. I gave a faint and uncertain smile in response. Chase had not changed at all; it was me who had changed entirely. And with the knowledge I now held, I wondered how long it would be until the next smile would spread along my lips.

              “Others will come looking for me now. I don’t think I could survive a beheading,” I said, now understanding the war I was now in the middle of. I would be the token item vampires and hunters would search for. After all, we were all creatures who grew to survive. They would come for me, all of them.

              Chase kissed my lips, pinning back a piece of my golden hair behind my ear. “I will not let them touch you. We weren’t prepared this time. But the next, we will be.”

              Suddenly Tythian was standing behind us. “Little vampire,” he antagonized. “Do not forget your promise to me either.”

Darkness consumed us as I waited patiently for the place of where he next transported us. A smile spread across my lips. I thought I would be hungry and vengeful after all that had happened. The hunter was now the hunted. But I was relieved to find that, because of Chase, I would fight for the
right
reasons. Instead of killing vampires and finding humans to protect, I would now selfishly fight for my own individuality and existence. Chase was my awakening to that, and I would not let him go. He was my only connection to emotion and love until I found my heart. And when I did, I would no doubt give it to him entirely. He gave me a reason to live.

W
hat hit me first was the damp air. I sat in the dark and the stone flooring beneath  us cooled my fingers when I brushed my fingers along it. Goosebumps pricked at my skin. I was used to being underground in the Hunter Guild but this was far deeper into the network of tunnels than I had ever been. Tythian had teleported us, and his hands still rested on our shoulders now as we all struggled to regain our composure. Only seconds before we were watching the hellish scene of the Guild burning to the ground. My fellow hunters who had turned on me were screaming in the distance. I didn’t know how many survived. I couldn’t even feel guilty for not caring. My emotions remained stagnant, like they always did.

Chase and I clung to one another for support as we tried to get our bearings. We were both absolutely exhausted. My mouth was parched and dry as I inhaled the scent of blood, imagining the warmth of it filling my mouth. I knew it would restore the energy that was stolen from us during the ordeal with James and Campture. A burst of relief rushed through me as Chase’s fingers trailed over my cheek, grabbing my attention. It was only at his touch, or my mother’s, that I could truly feel. And it was overwhelming. One thing screamed out at me and that was the fact that everyone I loved was now safe. I looked to Chase with simple relief; my Chase, my familiar, whom I would die for. He brushed my cheek with a smile, a wicked glow in his eyes.
I need to drink some blood
, I confessed to him in my mind.

His smile widened.
I know Esmore, I will find us something
, he replied.

The vampire lifestyle was not one I could get used to anytime soon. My body screamed for blood, but the other thing that was heightened, despite my exhaustion, was the torture of not being able to ravish Chase then and there. We had both almost died today. I had my chest blown out and yet I had survived. I had watched the man I love be tortured. All I wanted was to shred the clothes from his body and devour him. Another smile spread across Chase’s lips. He knew it, he could sense it from me.

              “Are you both going to just sit there all day?” Tythian interrupted with his hands behind his back as he looked at us impatiently.

We were interrupted by a sound. I heard Dillian’s voice in the distance and then a scream. It was enough to startle me out of my stupor and I immediately ran into a narrow dark hall. When I turned the corner, I came to a rocky circular room, which was lit by candlelight. Wooden chairs and tables were spread about. Above was a small chandelier with candles. I quickly scanned the room, accessing the occupants.

My mother and biological father, Cesar, watched me from the corner, alongside two foreign male vampires. One had black hair and blue eyes. He eyed me coolly as he leaned back in his chair so far that the front chair legs balanced mid-air. The male beside him watched on with a childish smile on his face. He beamed as if toys were being presented in front of him. His hair was long and blonde. He wore no shirt, but there was a large wooden cross around his chest. His eyes were the same color as the wood, which contrasted nicely against the light tan of his skin. His body was covered in various black tattoos.

              To my right, huddled in the corner, was a larger male vampire who stood over Dillian baring his fangs. Dillian stood in front of Julia protectively. The hood had fallen from her head, revealing her sheer terror. She huddled behind Dillian.

              “Just one taste, eh boy?” the vampire mocked. He was Dillian’s height, if not taller. His black hair was cut short and his green eyes shone like a snake’s.

              Neither Dillian nor Julia had weapons to protect themselves. Dillian could hardly stand after being so badly beaten. I took only four steps forward at my most heightened speed, but the vampire seemed to have vanished. Already he was behind me, his rough hands brushing over my plaited golden hair.

              “Mm, you smell yummy,” he said from behind me. Before I realized it I had already turned and grabbed the vampire around the throat, lifting him from the ground. Growls swept past us, but the loudest was my own. I could sense Chase behind me. I kept my eyes on the vampire savagely.

“They are mine!” I said, remembering how Chase had to objectify me in such a way within the Council. “And if you ever touch me again, I will break your spine into small shards and feed it to you.”

              I dropped him onto the ground and he slithered toward the other men angrily. Chase walked around the vampire with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. It was both he and Cesar who had growled.
Shards of spine, really?
he spoke to me within my mind. I felt the touch of a smirk on my face as well. My aggressive instincts shattered when Chase looked at me in such a way. Chase obviously realized I didn’t need him to protect me.

              “Be good to your sister, the lot of you!” Cesar bellowed, kicking his boot into the vampire who had threatened Dillian. Dillian was still on guard as he hugged Julia protectively.

              “Their what?” I hissed. The thought of being connected to these vampires in such a way sickened me. My mother also looked around somewhat shocked.

              “Oh, so you are the little sister we have heard so much about,” the blonde-haired male with the wooden cross on his chest said, standing and stretching his hand out to shake mine. “Call me Yolo.”

              Yolo obviously sensed my disdain because he pointed his outstretched hand at Chase. Chase looked down at his hand, his hands still in his pockets. He raised an eyebrow at the gesture and looked at him tiredly. “Yolo.
Seriously
?”

              “Hey man, when I turned vamp I could choose whichever name I desired. I was a new me, thanks to Cesar. So, Yolo, right. You Only Live Once.” He said it with a cheesy grin, but the smile faltered somewhat when he realized Chase wasn’t going to shake his hand. He withdrew it hastily.

              I looked back at Tythian, who still stood in the doorway. His expression mirrored my contempt. I turned to Yolo and couldn’t help but glance in confusion at the cross that rested against his many tattoos.

              He smiled again, as if my gaze alone was all he needed to initiate conversation. “My parents were catholic, you see. So I keep to that. I love my mom and dad, even after their passing. I never had the chance to see them again after I got turned. It took over one hundred years to be able to contain my thirst, so Cesar didn’t let me near any humans or civilization.”

              “One hundred years?” I choked, thinking of my own burning desires. I was struggling to keep myself from indulging in Dillian’s and Julia’s neck right now. If it weren’t for my exhaustion and determination not to get any closer, I shuddered to think what might happen.

              “Connor took the longest,” he pointed to the dark-haired male who had been balancing on his chair. He seemed timid and he looked at Tythian for reassurance. It forced me to question if he was mute. “Connor was found in 1936, during Hitler’s rein. He had the blue eyes but not the blonde hair,” Tythian said as he walked over to him. He spoke affectionately of Connor. They were both very introverted men, but you could see the respect they held for one another. “His family was murdered. Connor was almost killed as well, except Cesar turned him. But Connor never forgave any human after that. He got a little twisted and saw the vampires as a more heroic race and the humans as parasites and beasts. It took a while to dilute that hatred.”

              I looked at Connor as he leaned shyly forward, assessing us. His blue eyes were piercing and held so much sadness. He continued to stare even when our eyes met.

              “And that’s Balzar!” Cesar bellowed with a monstrous laugh, pointing at the vampire who had threatened Dillian. “My daughter is only eighteen years of age, and you are over one hundred and fifty, yet you still get your catoot handed to you!”

              “Yeah, would someone like to explain that?” he tisked under his breath. “She doesn’t even smell like a vampire.” I looked at my mother, who seemed just as unsure of what was happening as the others. At first I thought she might have been here a few times, but with her tense body language I knew that she hadn’t.

              “Well, when a daddy vampire and mummy hunter love each other very much…,” Cesar continued, rustling his hand through Balzar’s short hair. “They create a vampire-hunter baby girl who is stronger in everything because of that. The end.”

              “You suck!” Yolo laughed, and pointed at Balzar. Balzar grunted under his breath at the insult before pouncing on Yolo. Both of them ran down a hall childishly.

              “And you also forgot to mention that she carries the Descendant gift within her. Perhaps the biggest cause for concern,” Tythian said, now standing with his hands strapped across his chest.

              “Why have you brought us here?” I asked, not wanting to waste my time with stupid introductions any longer.

              “Because you are safe here, and you can build your energy back up. You will need it,” Cesar said, resting a hand on my mother’s lower back.

              “In the next few months a war will begin. And this time we, our own coven, will not step aside and let the humans or Council rule,” Tythian began.

              “You’re a coven?” I narrowed my eyes on them judgementally. They were at times no better than the sabers. Yolo and Balzar returned after hearing my raised voice.

              “Not all covens are bad, Esmore,” Tythian brushed me off.

              “We have just chosen to live more freely from the start,” Connor’s rough voice interjected, surprising me.

              “Cesar turned all four of us, so we were automatically a part of his coven. But we would have stayed even if we had the choice to leave. We are family here. And there are many other covens around the world we are aligned with that think the same way. Of course, not all agree or care,” Yolo said, shrugging his shoulders.

              “So why attack the Council?” I asked.

              “It’s not just the Council, my beautiful daughter,” Cesar stated quickly. “The humans too have been gathering power. We cannot live in a world where there is a war, where the Council takes further control and power. They demand one ruler. If all are combined under one Council, it could be a free-for-all hunt on the covens. We hit them from the side before they gather that power. Which is why I had Tythian infiltrate Fier’s Council. They have been gathering numbers for a while now, and Arab’s displeasure with covens has been known since the day they tried to rally us all against the humans.”

              “You met Arab?” Chase asked.

              “I did,” Cesar agreed hesitantly. “And your mother as well. Who was far nicer than you, might I add, pipsqueak.”

Chase growled under his breath, enraging Cesar. When Cesar’s demeanor changed, both Yolo and Connor growled in support.

              “Stop with the macho dance,” my mother interjected. “Cesar, tell her about the humans.”

              “I…” He dissolved his attitude quickly at the request of my mother. “The humans have been hiding. You hunters lost contact with them, but the government of the humans has been functioning. They are trying to create a new form of hunters. Stronger ones to overcome the humans.”

              “I don’t know why they don’t let it go. I mean the world has already turned to shit. It won’t be like the good old days of the early 2000s,” Yolo said, stretching back on his chair.

              “How do you know this; do you have proof?” I asked.

              “Yes,” Tythian interjected angrily. His jaw was quivering and his hands were still across his chest. “Whitney was one of their victims. When I found her, she was left for dead.”

              I shivered at his words and I felt Chase straighten beside me.

              “But Whitney died of cancer. You saved her from a pack of sabers when her father was killed,” I said, repeating what they had told me. Chase’s fingers brushed past mine, but I couldn’t accept his hand. Somehow I sensed betrayal.

Tythian exchanged a look with him before continuing. “It’s what we made her believe,” he said under his breath.

              “I don’t understand,” I said. Slowly it clicked together. I stared at Chase accusingly. “You tricked her mind?” I demanded.

              “Only because Tythian asked me to. Esmore, with enough suggestive thoughts people can forget their darkest nightmares. I spared her that pain. It was Tythian’s familiar, and his call,” Chase gushed. He was trying to smile and I could sense that his mind was thinking of something funny to say, like he always did to dispel serious situations. I felt the rumble of darkness within me tap lightly in my stomach, like butterflies were trying to escape. But I was too weak for rage to sweep through. I hated how close I stood to him. I was able to feel the betrayal, lies, and pain he had caused.