Token Huntress (5 page)

“Finally Dillian, we may have found a lead to the Council,” I replied breathlessly. This was what I had been waiting for since becoming Token Huntress. The fangs there were as good as dead.

W
hen the sun began to rise, I was quick to change into my black leather pants and a sleeveless leather shirt. I strapped my crossbow to my back, adjusting the straps between my breasts. I adjusted my garter on my waist, which held four small knives. I slipped a smaller one around my ankle, underneath my leather boots.

The crisp air of dawn greeted me as I left my home. I was on my way to meet with my inspection team in the weapons room. James was sitting outside my door, waiting for me. When I emerged he stood upright, his proper raid attire on — full leather — with a few weapons on him. “I was on my way to the weapons room as well,” he said quietly in consideration for the other, sleeping hunters. I ignored him, still angry over the argument we had had last night. I stormed toward the weapons room, with James following in silence. It was easier for me to avoid the subject and wait for time to stretch over it than to confront the mixed emotions and relationship talk.

But James only ever wanted to talk of our relationship. Right on cue, he interrupted the silence. We had just reached the stairs to the tunnels, which were dimly lit by flames on the wall. “We need to talk about last night,” he said, sure of himself. It was always the same thing. I wasn’t ready to settle for children or marriage. I was only eighteen. I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t anything I would consider until older, if ever.

I walked down the narrow hallway, titling my head as I heard a few of the hunters within the walls, already decorating themselves with weaponry. They looked up as I entered. This room was one of the ones which was cleaned daily, and the floor, ceiling, and walls were very white and clean. There was a silver bench, where weapons were placed now and then if a hunter was deciding on a weapon. If anyone left a weapon out they were locked up for two days without water or food. We were forced to show respect for the weapons room from a young age, after all, the room was our everything, our first line of defense. On my left were numerous swords, knives, and blades on display, these were the weapons that weren’t often claimed. Most were held up by a few well-positioned nails. In the left corner of the room was a tall wooden box. It had many separators in it where the swords were usually hung, but they were already claimed. My sword was there, as it was off-limits to any other hunter. In front of me was a large mirror where hunters could have a quick assessment of their apparel.

The twins, Kora and Kasey, were already prepared for battle, both cleaning beneath their nails as they leant against the wall. Directly across from me, Teary, the eldest of the group, was assessing her arrows. Pac was pacing in the corner. There were usually eight hunters per raid team, including the Token Hunter.

Teary, a huntress in her mid-thirties, had many daggers strapped across her body, with her bow and arrows on her back. She was a rather large woman, very muscular and tall. Her muscular arms were larger than James’. She had long red hair that was tied into a bun at the back. Her orange eyes were a symbolic reflection of her invaluable gift. Teary was able to manipulate fire, although she could not create it. If it was around her she could lift it and use it. The closer the flames were to her body, the easier it was for her to control. When the flames were hundreds of meters away, far more concentration was required from her, and at times it left her open to oncoming attacks. Teary tried not to rely heavily on her gift alone, so she incorporated it with her weapons as much as possible. She carried around numerous lighters with her, and all her wooden weaponry was pre-dipped in oil. The common lighter had been replicated by one of our hunters, Reece, who had a knack for manipulating gases, and understanding the reinvention of archaic objects from the technology age. The greater the explosion, the quicker she could claim the flames as hers, instead of merely enhancing a small flame.

Teary was one of the older women I didn’t have issues with. Some of the older hunters felt resentment over my authority. I found her gift and her attitude very useful when ambushing vampires. I often had her cover the back of the group as the rest of us swooped in. However, before I became Token Huntress, Drue was in charge, and he did not use this structure. Most of the time he forced her to be a part of the attacking team.

“Was Reece able to bottle you some more gas, Teary?” I asked.

She had an unfamiliar accent, it was very thick, and her voice was quite masculine when she spoke. “I hav’ al ten in my packet,’” she said, gesturing to the carry-case at the front of her stomach.

“Tested and range-approved?” I asked. We had to test the repercussions of the explosions because other hunters would be surrounding. We couldn’t allow for any of the others to be swept in by the flames.

“Te range is about forty meters for the largest one, but that is only in case of an emergency. The others are standard, within a five meter radius,” she answered.
              I placed a hand on Pac’s shoulder as he paced past me again, attempting to slow him for one moment. He simply nodded, confirming that he was ready to depart. His skin was tanned and he had very small eyes. He had short spiked black hair that was dyed blue. He was slightly smaller than me, but his size did not reflect his strength or ability. Unfortunately for Pac, when his gift of speed was activated, the constant shakes never stopped. As our ‘run in man,’ he was fast — extremely fast. For about two years straight I challenged him almost every afternoon, but I could not keep with his speed. We often had him race through areas we were unsure of or had him quickly gather humans out of dire situations. But the speed contained in his body forced him to fidget as he tried to contain his ability. Not all of us had such issues, but some did. Because of it, he hardly spoke, and when he did, it was too fast to really understand him. Despite this, Pac had married. He had three children now. Unfortunately one of which came out as human. It was rare for such a thing to happen, usually with two hunter parents the child would be born hunter as well. But his second child was not. That child was his only son, and his green eyes were a dimmer shade of Pac’s. Within a few days of the child’s birth, they were forced to transport him to the human camp. Although they did not cry, I could only imagine their resistance toward it, but it was one of the many rules within the Guild.

I eyed the twins as we waited for Dillian and Corso to arrive and complete the team. The last two hunters who cleaned beneath their nails were obviously ready. They were identical twins, Kora and Kasey. Both had cut their black hair short into a pixie style. It was often hard to tell the difference between them. If it wasn’t for my keen sight, I could not have told the difference. The only way I could was to identify the small scar on Kora’s chin. I still forced them to wear different colored chokers and bracelets so the team could effectively tell them apart. Kora wore blue and Kasey wore green. I had to enforce this because they liked to play immature tricks on the other hunters. They were easy to work with on the team, but outside of attacks, investigations, and raids, they were terrible. The separate colors were also necessary because of their gifts. Both
girls
— and I call them that because of their immature attitude, despite their age of twenty-two — had majestic coral-colored eyes. We used them as our perimeter trap. Kora had the ability to take mobility away from creatures. Kasey was able to project that ability further and increase it. Often we used their combined ability to entrap our prey.

They were still disgruntled about me becoming their Token Huntress because of my younger age. As well as that, they were both infatuated with James, even though we had now been dating for a couple of years. Their gift was commendable and had many times protected us from gory outcomes. But their attitude was something I often had to contend with. They were replacements for two of the older hunters who were a part of Drue’s team, and then mine. They were both in their thirties and when it was announced that I was to be Token Huntress, they forced Campture to move them onto another team. There were only four teams in total. Pride and arrogance was an interesting trait amongst the hunter kind. Most of us didn’t work well together because of that defect in our personality. When we worked together, we were a tremendous team. But outside of that focus, we all grew very tired of being around one another.

A shuffle behind me began as James made way for Corso to stride in. His red eyes were glowing as he tapped his fingers on the chainsaw which was strapped around his back. A buckle was secured on his stomach to help with the weight. My eyes narrowed on it, my rage boiling. “What is that?” I asked savagely.

“I approved it,” Miss. Campture said as she walked in with Kelf by her side. The black bags under her eyes indicated she hadn’t had much sleep. “We need to trial these things, Esmore, if we are to enhance our Guild. I will not
debate this further.”

The air stood still as James gave me a warning look to bite my tongue. I crossed my arms, holding in my savage words.
That thing is impractical,
I shouted loudly in my mind, watching her wince as my amplified voice echoed in her mind.

Dillian walked in behind Miss. Campture, stopping behind her and giving me a warning look. Behind him I noticed two young male apprentices. “What are they doing here?” I asked sharply.

“Esmore, I warn you of your tone. You seem to have forgotten your place. This here is Tori and Fam. Although they are only sixteen years old, their skill and speed are the best of the apprentices thus far. You will be taking them on their first raid.”

“But we are going in to see if we can find traces of the Council! I can’t take in two apprentices. What if we are confronted by a pack of them? It is another two lives I am responsible for.”

“We can look after ourselves!” One puffed his chest out at me. He had fluorescent brown eyes and blonde hair that was cut short. The other puffed his chest out as well; he had a similar style of black hair, with very pasty white skin and white eyes. My teeth clenched grittily together as I inhaled the boys’ scent of testosterone. They hadn’t even aged enough for their gifts to become present.

“They are good in combat,” Campture said after having read my thoughts. “And the point of this investigation is not for you to engage in battle, but for surveillance. Really, it is a superficial task which they can easily be a part of.”

“Did you really think that the Head Huntress would waste an important task on a newbie like you?” the apprentice with blonde hair said smugly. I recognized him to be the son of one of the older hunters who had been on my team before transferring because of my age. This apprentice thought he was far greater than he actually was and I wanted to quickly deflate that ego of his.

“Let me tell you two something, you little delinquents,” I said, pointing my finger at them angrily. “You are to stand down, and remove yourself from the high horse you are on. You will show respect to these hunters and huntresses before you,” I raised my eyebrows as they both quickly adjusted themselves. Neither could meet my eyes. “You
will
do everything you are forced to, and without complaint. More importantly, you will never speak back to me, your Token Huntress, ever again.”

“Yes, Mam,” the one closest to Dillian said.

“Esmore,” Campture growled. “You are to see me after this inspection. I have given you too many warnings about your intolerable behavior.”

Dillian interrupted the tension before Campture or I could argue any further. I remembered much harsher words being spoken to me when I was an apprentice, but too often now when I had something to say Campture would find a way to punish me for it. She truly hated me and her eyes were always so trained on me and everything I did.

“This here is Fam,” Dillian said, grabbing the young apprentice with the white eyes and nudging him forward. He was the one who was easily influenced by the other boy.

“And I am Tori,” the other boy with the blonde hair spoke up, slightly pushing his chest out again.

“You’ve given me children,” I said in annoyance.

“Do you forget so quickly that this was once your situation when Drue took you out on your first raid? You will take them, no matter what you think about it. This is an order,” Campture said dismissively.

Dillian gave me a fierce look which clearly said, ‘No more.’ It was hard to bite my words as I looked around to my team, agitation rising again as I stared at the chainsaw strapped to Corso. Having Corso on my team always caused me great displeasure, but his gift was commendable. His skin could excrete acid. He was the slowest on the team; his hunter senses never seemed to have developed as much as the others. His gift was easily used in situations of sudden torture if we needed to learn something quickly. It was also useful in preparing traps; if there was water in front of us and we needed to put some distance between us and the sabers, he could easily excrete acid into the water, burning the flesh of those who followed. I believed he was submitted to my team because of James’ preference. Although James had no huge say, he did have Campture’s interest if he needed something. He abided by the rules and regulations without fail.
Who could have asked for a better hunter?
I thought inwardly as I looked at him.