Blood of a Huntsman: After Darkness Falls Book Two

by Sage, May

  In her six months here, Cat had become a regular. She liked binding her documents and using nice, heavy-grained paper.

  "Oh, hello there!"

  "Mrs. Lowery. I hope I didn’t catch you at an inconvenient time."

  The owner of Thin Tree was a plump sixty-year-old with long white hair. The store looked a lot like a cozy living room, with a foyer and an armchair close to the fireplace where she liked to knit.

  Mrs. Lowery's sister taught spells to post-grads. She also liked to knit, but her knitting involved needles crossing in mid-air in the corner of the classroom while she taught. Cat had heard a rumor that in the winter, the woman distributed scarves, gloves, and sweaters to everyone in town.

  "Oh, shush. You could never disturb me. Let me just get that knot right, and then I'll be with you shortly. You want to pick your binding while I work? I got new colors in."

  "Oh, I'm not here to print a lesson. Don't mind me, I'll just look at your displays for a minute."

  She paged through the printer's catalogue and chose a thick pink paper. Cat pulled out her computer and adapted the design she'd been working on to fit the paper’s circular shape.

  She'd kept things simple: the doodle of a teapot and a cup in one corner, then a short, "You're convivially invited for afternoon tea at Number Three, Night Hill, on Sunday at four. RSVP by Friday."

  She'd signed the invitation by hand to make it look a little more personal. Having the tea this Sunday didn’t leave much notice, but the term ended tomorrow. They had a six-week summer break after that. Cat, always the overachiever, wanted to get the ball rolling before most of Oldcrest returned home for the summer.

  "Oh! Afternoon tea. And on the hill, too. How delightful, dear. In my day, I would have squealed for something quite as exciting."

  "You studied here?" Cat asked, somewhat surprised.

  The older woman laughed. "No, I think not. I was never the studious one. But I was born here. My mother used to own this shop, and her father, and his mother before that, back since the days when we would be copying the speeches the lords of the hill gave us. I went away for high school, and then came right back. There's something about this place. It's impossible to leave. The rest of the world feels wild. And dirty."

  Cat understood what she meant. The air was clear here—they barely used cars, and no factories were near.

  Oldcrest might have been a little quiet if not for the company of many young sups. And hot teachers. And the occasional attack. Plus the underlying threats from many sides.

  Come to think of it, Oldcrest wasn't quiet at all.

  "But I've never been on the hill. Not once. I would have been so very excited if this had happened back when I was young."

  "Well, you should join us, then. When do you think the invites will be ready?"

  "It depends on how many you would like."

  Cat thought for a moment. The house wasn't as grand as Levi's home, but a few of the rooms were large enough to fit four dozen people. The weather was kind this time of the year, and if she set up a tent in the garden, she could house the entire Institute, the staff, all of Adairford, and even the shifters in the Wolvswoods. Which wasn't saying much. Overall, perhaps five hundred people lived here. Less than three hundred students, a hundred staff, two dozen teachers…

  She doubted everyone would take the invitation, but she could plan for a big event and scale down as needed.

  "Five hundred, if you would."

  “Oh my! Well, I'll get started right now. They will be ready by morning, latest. I could rush them if you needed me to…”

  "Morning is soon enough."

  She paid for the invitations, and added a generous tip, before heading back to the dorm. She had a couple of hours until she needed to head over to the pub. Maybe she should take a nice bubble bath.

  Cat opened the door to the dorm’s right wing and found herself face to face with Jack.

  "I was waiting for you," he said.

  Cat stiffened. She didn't know what this was about, but she didn't like it.

  "What for?"

  He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his suit and shrugged.

  "You were right. I don't train myself. Because no one I've ever been sent to fight is a challenge. I don't need to. I didn't need to."

  Cat waited for him to get to the point.

  "If your brother comes here to attack us, I'll have to do something about it. I'd rather not die in the process."

  "Not dying is always a good thing. What do you want from me?"

  The huntsman grinned.

  "Levi sent you with us to protect Chloe. That tells me you can hold your own."

  "His slayers were out of the territory. But yes. I'm not terrible at self-defense."

  "Good. Train with me, then."

  "Aren't you racing with everyone?"

  Jack shook his head. "Tris can manage them for a night."

  Dammit. So much for her bath.

  By training, Jack meant that he would relentlessly launch himself at her and knock her down, hard.

  Fuck, the guy was strong.

  But strength wouldn't be enough.

  She spat blood on the floor and straightened her spine, climbing to her feet.

  "All right. You can obviously kick my ass." There was no denying that. "But Seth will wipe the floor with your face."

  "Do you have a brother complex or something?" Jack asked.

  She had a feeling the man had something against her.

  "I'm just saying it like it is. You're not fast enough, and I've seen no magic from you."

  "I don't use magic."

  Cat kept talking to buy herself some time, all the while gathering her strength. "Well, then, you'd better try to work out how to deal with this."

  She extended her hands, and a lightning bolt flashed through the sky, hitting him right on his boots.

  She grinned, happy with her aim, although she'd technically intended to hit the ground.

  Jack glared at her, eyes narrowed.

  "This was weak. And slow. Seth will be a lot faster, aim it properly, and fry your brain. Any mortal would die on impact. Some vampires could potentially survive. You? The first one might not kill you. But he'll summon ten more before you can recover."

  Jack looked pissed, but he nodded. "All right. I can be faster."

  "Faster is a start."

  Promises

  She just had time for a quick shower before running to the pub.

  "Cat! What will it be?" Chloe greeted her.

  "Wine. Wet and white or red." She tilted her head toward Jack, who was sitting around a large table with his cousin, a beautiful brown-skinned witch Cat didn't know well, Gwen, and two other huntsmen. "On him."

  After knocking her about for an hour, he totally owed her a drink. Jack nodded.

  Cat had only entered the pub a couple of times, but it had always been packed. That Friday was no exception. She was surprised to spot Fin Varra in one corner, seated with Alexius and drinking something that smelled like well-aged spiced rum. He wasn't one to show his face much outside of class.

  "Hey."

  Bash. She recognized his scent as soon as the door opened. The man circled her shoulders with his arms, pulling her close, and the entire pub came to a complete standstill. Not so much as a fly moved anywhere.

  Chloe cleared her throat. "All right, then. Nothing to see. Back to your brew, everyone."

  The crowd attempted to resume their conversations, but Cat felt eyes on her as she advanced.

  "Did you need to do that?" she whispered to Bash, who shrugged, entirely unabashed.

  "I mean, I didn't need to, but I wanted to hug you. And I give nice hugs."

  He did.

  "Whatever," she replied, giving up. What was done was done, and short of erasing the memory, or killing everyone in the room, there was no undoing it.

  Thankfully, the waitress, one of the Campbell daughters, soon arrived with a large glass of red.

  "Anything for you, Bash?" the
girl asked, batting her eyelashes like she couldn't see his arm around Cat's waist.

  Cat did consider gouging her eyes out, but she quickly reined in her vampire instincts.

  "A lager on tap, please, Mel."

  He smiled at the waitress, and now Cat wanted to scratch his eyes instead.

  What was wrong with her? She'd never been half that catty or possessive.

  "Since when has this been going on?" Tris asked as soon as they reached the table.

  Cat was quick to reply. "Nothing is going on."

  Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Yesterday. Catherine is a goddamn ice queen about it, though. Somewhat predictably."

  "Good luck, man," Jack said with a wince. "Better you than me."

  Cat flipped him the finger before looking around the room.

  "Searching for anyone specifically?"

  "Yeah, Blair," Cat replied, without specifying why.

  They occasionally spent time together; there was nothing conspicuous about wondering if one of her friends was around.

  Sebastian did catch her eye, nodding knowingly.

  "She tutors until eight-thirty, so she won't be long."

  Cat killed time, nursing her wine and listening to the huntsmen's banter. As the minutes passed, she felt more and more nervous. She turned to the door every time it opened, although she would have identified Blair’s scent before she walked in.

  Finally, the bubbly, dark-haired witch arrived. She'd changed her hair color over the last couple of days, dyeing her bright red curls and black tips purple.

  Cat rushed to her feet, waving her hand.

  "Hey! Can we talk for a minute?"

  Blair blinked, visibly confused.

  They weren't really close. Blair was more Greer’s friend, so their relationship was linked by proxy. Cat didn't even think she had her phone number, and they'd never spent time together without Greer. But Blair soon smiled and nodded.

  "Absolutely." Cat doubted Blair was capable of refusing anyone.

  She followed her out the door without asking why they were walking away from the pub.

  Too many shifters and immortals with an acute sense of hearing had a tendency to hinder private plans.

  "So, I heard you specialized in charms, is that right?"

  There were various facets of magic. Elemental was the most common practice, and the one most witches concentrated on, because charms, hexes, potions, and spells didn't affect the powerful creatures in the world. Besides, technology and science could replace all potions and charms, so why use up tons of energy to knock someone out or increase the speed of a horse when you could take sleeping pills or a car?

  Some potion masters, such as Greer and Alexius, were strong enough to brew potions suitable for immortals. Otherwise, the craft was considered useless.

  "Hardly. I specialize in people skills. And teaching. You know what they say: those who can't do teach."

  Cat sincerely hoped she was underrating herself.

  "Look, I need to ask for a favor. I thought about going to Greer first, but she has her plate full with her classes, Maddy, and everything else. Plus, she isn't into charms."

  That Cat knew of. The previous day had proved she didn't know her friend as well as she'd thought.

  "All right, spill. I'll let you know if I can do it."

  "I'd like to contact my siblings."

  Blair blinked. "There are phones for that, you know?"

  "In a way that can't be tracked, intercepted, or spied on."

  The witch laughed. "That's more like it. Who doesn't like a challenge?"

  Cat looked up hopefully. "So, it's possible?"

  "It's not impossible," Blair corrected. "Normally, we'd need a link, like an object spelled just for that purpose. But with siblings, that shouldn't be necessary. You are bound by blood. I can draw them to you during their sleep. That's the tricky part. You'd all need to be asleep at the same time. And there's a chance that they'd believe it was just a dream when they woke up."

  That was better than nothing. "Okay, sounds good. What would you need? I'll pay you, of course."

  Blair shrugged. "As long as I can write a report on it, I'll use it for a paper, so don't worry about payment. I'll need something else from you, though."

  Cat winced internally. She preferred a clear exchange of funds to the prospect of owing anyone a favor. "What would that be?"

  "Your word."

  She turned to Blair.

  "Just because the rest of us aren't allowed in secret councils on the hill doesn't mean that we don't get that something's happening. Something big. So, sure. I'll help you get in touch with your family, or whatever. I won't even ask why you can't just text them like the rest of us. But I want your word. Tell me you're not an enemy of our Institute. Because this place means everything to me."

  Watching her closely, Cat realized something.

  The huntsmen and a few vampires weren’t alone against any upcoming threat. When the time came, the whole of Oldcrest would be by their side. If they trusted them.

  The genius of Levi's plan was becoming clear.

  "I give you my word."

  "Good. I need to put a spell together. I'll send you a raven when I’m ready."

  Mind Tricks

  Seth was eating with his least favorite people in the world when he felt it. Her.

  He was glad for the distraction.

  He tugged on the pull at the edge of his mind, and felt the witch trying to bridge his consciousness startle. He grinned. She hadn't expected a response.

  "Who are you?"

  She said nothing, hoping he couldn't identify her. Trying to find an out. But she'd started this. He'd finish it.

  "You will not return to your body again until I allow it, witch. Who are you? What fool would attempt to control the mind of a nephilim?"

  "I'm not trying to control you, all right!"

  The moment she spoke, he saw her clearly, as though she were standing right in front of him. The room where he was sitting disappeared, the food he ate became immaterial, irrelevant.

  He kept moving, even talking, splitting his mind in two so his actions wouldn't seem suspicious back in Stormhall.

  But his attention was on her.

  She wasn't what he'd expected. Only the strongest would have dared to enter his defenses, so he imagined an old, arrogant queen of some coven, at the head of a dozen witches. Instead, the intruder was just one girl. Woman. Something between a woman and a girl. She was in her twenties. Pretty. Her hair was ridiculous. To say nothing of her moss-green nails.

  He believed her. She hadn't meant to control his mind. She seemed shocked to have managed to reach it at all. For that reason alone, he decided not to fry her brain until she screamed in agony and begged for a quick death.

  Well, that and the fact that she was quite pretty. Despite the hair and nails. And the dreadful clothes. He'd always hated plain gear.

  His eyes narrowed on the object in her hands. He recognized it.

  "Ah. You're a friend of my sister, I see."

  "She asked me to connect you, okay? I was just supposed to link your minds so she could speak to you directly."

  That made sense.

  "Tell Catharina I'll get in touch with her shortly. We have matters to discuss."

  He should have let her go after that. He had nothing else to say to the witch. Instead, Seth retained her, keeping her tethered to his mind.

  "What is your name?"

  "Blair."

  That didn't sound right.

  “Blair the Witch?” he laughed.

  “Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

  “What's your true name, Blair?”

  She narrowed her eyes. "Right. Because that's the sort of thing one tells creepy strangers who keep your damn consciousness hostage."

  He grinned. She was frightened. Terrified, actually. But she had a backbone nonetheless.

  "But you do have one. A name hidden beneath the mortal flesh. A celestial being inside you."

/>   "Did anyone ever tell you that you're creepy?"

  Seth laughed.

  Only two women had ever dared. Claudia and Catharina. Blair made three.

  Back in Rome, outside of the immaterial subconscious realm he'd entered, Drusilla's gaze focused on him.

  He let go of the girl.

  No matter. He would be in Oldcrest soon enough.

  With most of the Stormhale warriors.

  "Never again!"

  Cat blinked. She'd just stepped out of the dorm, and now there was a very pissed-off witch, index finger extended, glaring at her threateningly.

  "Sorry?"

  "I will never go anywhere near that weird sicko's mind," Blair clarified, stuffing Cat’s diadem back into her hands.

  Oh. Seth had…well, he'd been Seth.

  Cat winced. "Oh God, what did he do?"

  She shook her head. "I won't speak of it. I won't acknowledge it. It never happened."

  Ouch. That bad. "Sorry. I didn't think he could affect you from a distance if you were just trying to connect us."

  "Well, he can. Oh, and he gave me a message for you. He said he'd get in touch shortly. But that will not be through me."

  On that note, Blair turned her heels and stormed toward the Institute.

  Cat didn't think she'd ever seen the bubbly witch so angry. She shouldn't have been surprised; Seth had a gift for infuriating people like no one else could.

  Cat made a mental note to ask her brother what he'd done to Blair. If they weren't on opposite sides of enemy lines the next time they met.

  She headed to the printer to pick up the invitations; Mrs. Lowery had sent a raven to let her know they were ready. Then she headed back to the academy, following the narrow path to the birdhouse managed by the unpleasant witch in charge of in-house mail.

  "What do you want?" Martie grumbled as she approached.

  "I need to send messages."

  The plump middle-aged man rolled his eyes. "No shit. How many, and to whom?"

  Cat shrugged. "Everyone." Martie's eyes widened. She specified, "The teachers, the staff, the students, the employees in the town, and the shifters in the Wolvswoods, too." She opened her bag, but before reaching for the many invitations, Cat pulled out a money clip with a few twenty-pound notes. She removed the pin and handed him the notes.