Dark Hunt

by Richardson, Kim

  Damn. The Council should have sent the ugly one.

  Pam shifted next to me, and together we watched Jax. “Tell me exactly what happened,” commanded Pam, a tremor of anger reflected in her voice.

  I let out a long sigh through my nose and recounted the events that led us to the vampire club. “We were only there to collect Cindy, but then things went really bad, really fast.” I swallowed. “Cindy refused to come with us. Apparently, she’s Danto’s mate. Don’t ask. And when it was time to leave, Jax went crazy. He couldn’t accept that Cindy didn’t want to come with us. And then he went ahead and did something really stupid.” I sighed again. “He stabbed one of the vampires.”

  Pam hung her head. “Oh, Jax.” She sighed.

  “All hell broke loose after that,” I said, remembering the onslaught of vamps. “It was a vampire feast fest. We almost didn’t make it. If it hadn’t been for Danto holding off his vamps, we’d both be dead.” I searched Jax’s face. “I don’t get it. It was like a switch went off in his head. He went into kill-all-vamps mode. All he wanted to do was slaughter the vampires. He drew first blood, Pam, and there was no reason for it. The vamps had every right to kill us.”

  “Thank the souls they didn’t,” said Pam, her voice muffled. “He wasn’t always like that, you know. He changed after his sister was killed.” She hesitated, taking a ragged breath. “His twin sister.”

  My lips parted in surprise. A twin sister.

  Sorrow flashed before settling into a churning burn in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t have siblings of my own, but I had heard stories and seen with my own eyes how close twins were. They were two of the same. They practically shared the same soul. Remove one, and you were left with half of yourself.

  “Jax and I grew up together,” said Pam, “until his parents moved away after the incident. Jax and Gillian were inseparable. Always together. Always laughing at some secret joke that only they knew. Both Jax and Gillian had always been nice to me when the others teased me because of my weight. Gillian was the one who untied me when Stuart and Tim had tied me to a tree for two hours.” Pam’s face shifted in a mask of pain. “She didn’t deserve to die like that.”

  My insides twisted, and I saw fresh tears spill down her face. “What happened to her?” I clutched my arms around myself.

  She inhaled quickly and held it for a moment. “She was killed by a demon when she was thirteen.” More tears fell freely. “There wasn’t much left of her. After the demon had taken her soul, it had ripped her apart and taken her heart. They found her remains two days after she went missing. They never found the demon that did it.”

  “A rakshasa demon,” I blurted. Seeing her questioning brow, I added, “They’re a class of shape-changing demons whose specialty is feeding on the souls of the young and then offering their victims’ hearts as a sacrifice to their master. It’s one of the only demons I know that takes the heart of its victims.”

  Pam pressed her lips together. A shadow crossed her features as she looked over to Jax, who was still unconscious. “Well, whatever it was, it practically killed Jax. He didn’t say a word for a year after they’d found his sister. His parents took him to Europe for a while to stay with his grandparents, hoping to get him to talk. When he came back, he was… different. Not with me,” she added quickly, and the smallest of smiles pulled on her lips. “He’s always been good to me. But different in the sense that there was a darkness in him that hadn’t been there before. All he wanted to do was destroy any demon he could find. He became obsessed with finding his sister’s killer and has been ever since.”

  My eyes burned as I looked at Jax’s face, only now understanding his mistrust and hatred for demons. It all made sense—his apprehension when he first met Tyrius, which was still an ongoing issue, and his violent outbreak with the vampires. He was more screwed up than I was.

  “Is that why he asked for this job?” I asked, as the pieces all started to fall into place. “Does he think there’s a connection with his sister’s killer?”

  Pam nodded, looking solemn. “Knowing Jax, I’m sure he does,” she said with a sigh. “One of these days, this crusade he’s on is going to get him killed… if it hasn’t already.”

  “Don’t say that,” I said, my throat tight. “He’s going to pull through because he deserves some serious ass whooping from me when he does.”

  Pam made a choking sound that was a laugh. “Well, at least now he has someone looking after him. That makes me feel a little better knowing you’re with him.” She looked at me and gave me a half smile. But then her smile disappeared into a frown, and her brows fell to the top of her nose.

  “You’re hurt.” Her fingers brushed my neck as she pulled down my T-shirt’s collar. “You’re bleeding—”

  She let out a screech and fell back, eyes wide and finger pointing. “You’ve been bitten! You’re a vampire!”

  My hand whipped to my neck. I could feel the tiny bite marks, two tiny holes each about the size of a small pea. The flesh was sore and tender where the dumbass had bitten me. Crap. I’d forgotten. How the hell does one forget they were bitten by a vampire?

  I stood in silent shock. I was still me. I was sure of it. I’d seen a human bitten by a vamp once, and it took a matter of minutes before he had turned. Kind of like with zombies, as soon as you were bitten, and the virus was in your bloodstream, aided by the pumping of your heart, you turned in a matter of minutes.

  Vampires that fed on humans were destroyed, and that’s when the Vampire Courts were formed. They protected the half-breeds but also protected humans from bite-happy vamps. Vampires had their own set of rules to follow.

  Newborn vampires had to be supervised until they had the Hunger under control. Otherwise you’d have newborn vampires on a killing spree in New York. Not pretty. Humans turned vampire by bite were rare because once a vampire got the taste of human blood, they usually didn’t let go until their prey was completely drained of blood. The victim almost always died.

  But I hadn’t turned.

  Pam grabbed a surgical knife and waved it at me. “Don’t come any closer! I know how to use this thing! Don’t underestimate my skills with a blade! I was trained to cut things up!”

  “I’m not a vampire,” I said, mostly to myself. “I haven’t turned. See?” I opened my mouth and showed her my teeth. “No fangs. Just regular human teeth.”

  “But you’ve been bitten!” she screeched. “Those are bite marks! And don’t you try to convince me that’s a hickey because I know it’s not!”

  “It’s not a hickey.” I shook my head. “Do people still do those? I thought only kids did that,” I said, hearing the thread of fear in my own voice. “Pam, listen to me. I’m not a vamp. I’m the exact same person you met yesterday. Nothing’s changed.”

  Pam’s face was flushed. Her hand trembled, and I could see that her mind was working a million miles a minute. “You were bitten a least an hour ago. I know the vampire virus works fast. You should have been turned by now.” She seemed to relax a little as she lowered the knife. “How—how is it that you’re not a vampire?”

  The fact that I hadn’t turned was more disturbing to me than if I had turned. Something was definitely not right with me.

  I dropped my hand. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

  “Is it because you’re… you’re… you know…” Pam waved the knife in my direction and made an outline of my body in the air.

  “Unmarked?” I answered for her. “Probably.”

  “What are you?”

  “Hell if I know.” I pressed my lips together to keep them from trembling. I felt cold and hot all at once and that had nothing to do with the vampire bite. I wish I knew what I was. I knew I could heal faster than the average Sensitive, and that I could sense demon energies like an angel. So what was I?

  I could feel my angry tears burning at the backs of my eyes. I will not cry in front of this woman.

  I was a Hunter. Hunters didn’t cry. They killed things.

&nb
sp; I took a slow breath, watching her pretend not to notice my disquiet. It was more than not wanting to lose the only partner I’d had in the past five years or the possibility of a real friend. It was the fear of not knowing who or what I was.

  How was I supposed to keep on going when I didn’t know what I was capable of?

  If Cindy didn’t want our help, that was her problem. But I was going to find out why we were being hunted.

  And I knew just where to start.

  I don’t know how long we stood there watching Jax breathe, his handsome face perfect even close to death, but the next thing I knew, Pam reached out and touched Jax’s forehead. “Oh, thank the souls,” she breathed. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me. “His fever’s broken. He’s going to be okay.”

  I looked away so she wouldn’t see the almost-tears that were threatening to leak out of my eyeballs. I mustered every bit of strength to keep them at bay, and it hurt. Why am I even like this?

  “What are you going to do now?” asked Pam after she’d calmed herself and saw that I wasn’t going to spontaneously transform into a vampire and rip out her throat.

  I only turned once I had my almost-tears in check. “Now? Nothing. But I’ll come back in a few hours to check on him,” I said. And then added, “If that’s okay with you?”

  Pam smiled. “I think he’d really like that.”

  My face flushed. I wasn’t sure I liked the way she said that. “Okay, then,” I said as I moved away from Jax. “See you in a bit.”

  I spun around and left her staring at my back. The cool air hit me as I stepped outside, making me shiver, and I realized how tired I was. I hadn’t slept. But sleep would have to wait.

  There was something I needed to do first.

  13

  “You do realize this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done,” said Tyrius as he sat on the floor next to me. “And you’ve done your share of stupid.”

  “Thanks for the support,” I grumbled and then took a healthy gulp of coffee and winced. It was cold. I set my mug on the floor. “What are you doing at my place anyway? I thought you were staying with Grandma tonight.”

  “I wanted details about Cindy and to see if you’d gotten any closer to finding out what demon’s after you.” Tyrius’s tail lashed anxiously behind him. “And by the looks of what you’re about to do… you’re no closer in your investigation.”

  I sat on my heels, knees pressed against my living room floor. I reached out and took a piece of chalk. “Don’t start with me, Tyrius. It’s been a rough night.” I reached over and flipped the pages of an old book, using two hands to manage the unwieldy tome. The binding had been torn off the spine, and the smell of dust and leather rose to my nose as I searched the page for the next instructions.

  Tyrius got up and padded over to the book. He took one sniff and jumped back. His hair stood on end like he’d been electrocuted.

  “Rowyn!” Tyrius shrilled, tawny fur sifting from him. “Are you out of your angel-born mind! I recognize this book! It’s a dark witch’s grimoire. Are you crazy? This is really, really stupid, Rowyn. Do you know how dangerous they are? I should have stayed with Granny. You’re going to get us killed!”

  “You can’t die. You’re immortal.”

  “I can still feel pain.” His blue eyes danced with fear. “How did you manage to get your hands on it?”

  “I stole it from a dark witch.”

  Tyrius froze and then keeled over on the ground with a loud thump.

  “Can you stop with your hysterics,” I breathed. “It’s perfectly safe.”

  “Says the girl with a dark magic book as old as dirt!” said Tyrius. He rolled over and sat. “Well, it was a pleasure knowing you.”

  “Leave or stop talking, Tyrius. I’m serious,” I said, drawing my attention back to the book. “I need to concentrate.” It was hard to read the Latin on the pages. Some of the words had worn off, and it was crucial that I read the spell right. Too many times I’d heard the stories of humans trying to summon demons and other creatures, and too many times the humans disappeared.

  “Do you even know what you’re doing?” quipped the cat. “Witches summon demons to draw powers from demonic forces, not angel-born. I know what I’m talking about. I’m a baal demon. Witches have used us for thousands of years as their familiars. You don’t know the spells.”

  “If witches can do it, so can I.”

  “News flash,” said Tyrius. “You’re not a witch.”

  “No, I’m not.” I’m something else, I wanted to say. With the chalk in my hand, I turned to him and said, “Okay. I’m going to draw a seven-point star. Inside each point, I’ll draw one of the seven archangel sigils. Stay where you are. Don’t walk over it, okay?” At the annoyance on Tyrius’s face, I added, “I’m not sure what would happen if you did, but I’d rather not take that chance. Just stay put. Got it?”

  Looking skeptical, he nodded. “Yes, master.”

  I made a face. I kind of liked seeing him so overprotective. It was nice to have someone other than my grandmother care about me. I drew the seven-point star, making it large enough to fit a person in the middle. And then I drew the archangel sigils inside each point.

  I leaned back, admiring my handiwork. I also had to make sure there were no gaps. All the lines had to be connected. Otherwise it wouldn’t work. I went over the star twice, no gaps. It was perfect.

  “Is that it?” Tyrius’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

  “Not quite.” I placed seven glasses filled with water—one above each of the sigils. Then I got to my feet and went over to the kitchen. I grabbed the two large metal buckets I’d found in Father Thomas’s shed and filled them with water. When they were both filled, I set the first one carefully inside the seven-point star, and the other one I placed about six feet from the star’s outline.

  Tyrius leaned back. “What are you doing with all that water? Please tell me you’re not about to try and trick me into taking a bath again. I’ll have you know that cats are meticulously clean. Why do you think we get hairballs all the time? We’re obsessive-compulsive about cleanliness.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t get hairballs. The water’s for the spell,” I said as I stood up. “Water’s important. It’s the key element for the transition, to crossover into different realms and planes. It’s the doorway to other dimensions.”

  Tyrius made a face. “I don’t recall ever seeing any of my witches use water.” He perked up. “I believe you have piqued my interest, you crazy mortal. What’s next?”

  “Blood.” I reached my weapons belt and pulled out my soul blade. I hated that part, but without blood of the summoner, the spell wouldn’t work. I took a deep breath and ran the blade along the inside of my left palm. Dark blood oozed out of a long cut. Quickly, before I spilled my blood all over the place, I held my left hand over the bucket of water inside the seven-point star and spilled seven equal drops of blood. Then I moved to the other bucket and did the same.

  My heart pounded against my chest. “All right, then…” I murmured and pulled the dark witch’s grimoire next to the bucket.

  “Rowyn, are you sure about this?” said Tyrius, and I recognized the fear in his voice. It had the same intonation I’d had when I was leaving town. “Maybe summoning a demon’s not the best solution. You know they won’t give any free information. There’s always a catch. They’ll want something in return… like a part of your soul or something. Which demon are you summoning?” His eyes widened. “Please tell me it’s a lesser demon and you’re not trying to summon a Greater demon? Rowyn?”

  My face went cold. “I’m not summoning a demon,” I said. My head throbbed as the adrenaline pulsed through me at what I was about to do. “I’m summoning an angel.”

  Tyrius hacked like he was about to cough up a lung. “You’re going to do what? Have you lost your mind? Wait a minute—is that even possible? No—I don’t even want to know… well, is it?”

  I pulled off my socks, rolled m
y yoga pants to my knees and stepped into the bucket of water I had placed in front of me. “We’re about to find out,” I said as I wiggled my toes. The water was calming around my feet.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” whined Tyrius. “Have you even done this before?”

  “No,” I answered, hoping he didn’t hear the faint tremor in my voice.

  “Who are you going to summon? Do you have a name? You need a name; that much I do know. Without a name it won’t work.”

  “I have a name.” I knew exactly who I wanted to summon, but I wouldn’t chance uttering his name out loud until I was ready. I didn’t know what would happen if I screwed this up.

  I took a slow breath, willing my mind to focus while I said the incantation. I looked down at the text and began reading. “Angelus enim ego voco super Vedriel, ut esse subiectum ad voluntatem animae meae. Placant, spatium ad angelum Vedriel, in conspectu oculorum meorum.”

  I call upon the angel Vedriel, to be subject to the will of my soul. I invoke the angel Vedriel, in the space in front of me.

  I felt a little foolish saying the incantation out loud in front of Tyrius. I’d never cast a spell before, and I’m sure he’d seen his share of witches casting spells.

  I stood in the bucket of water, taut and wired, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen. My head throbbed with the pressure of my blood, making me dizzy.

  “Nothing’s happening,” whispered Tyrius. “Maybe you did something wrong?”

  “Shhh,” I snapped. But that was exactly what I was thinking. I was an amateur. Maybe I’d misread one of the Latin words. What if I didn’t summon an angel… what if I’d summoned something else?

  Just as I began to second-guess my witch-casting abilities, a wind that came from inside my apartment, with all the windows closed, lifted strands of my hair. The light from the candles flickered, sending looming, twisted shadows to dance on the walls. My nose wrinkled at the smell of lemons and oranges—the scent of angels. Immediately I felt a pull in my chest all the way down into my toes. Panicked, I looked down to see the water swirling into a whirlpool around my ankles. The pull crushed my lungs. I couldn’t breathe.