Hunter

by Joanna White

  I lunged toward him, swinging my blade. I shouldn’t have done something that stupid, but he got to me and I reacted, just like he wanted. He easily met it and I backed off when I saw in his thoughts that he was going to use his tattoos against me. I tried jumping to the right, but he was too fast. His tattoos came alive, the ends still attached to his arms, the other ones grabbing me. I felt pain course through me and I grunted and tried walking forward, but the pain intensified, and my knees gave out.

  Suddenly, I heard yelling and through my blurred vision, I saw Sine and Lehlax burst through the trees. They surprised Hindah and his tattoos released me. I grabbed a dagger and threw it at Hindah to distract him.

  “Go,” I told them.

  They took off back the way they came, and I dashed toward the right. Once I was far enough away, I hid behind a tree. I looked through the trees, searching for the others, and I saw Averella hiding behind a different one. I quickly got her attention, and she looked relieved to see me.

  We snuck away and met up with a bunch of other prisoners and then went back to the lake.

  That was when they talked about what they missed about their homes. I envied them in a way because this prison and being a Hunter were all I knew. They started talking about things I didn’t understand, quoting words that clawed at the edges of my memory.

  I struggled to remember but couldn’t. The words meant something, but it seemed to cause my mind to shut down and I couldn’t make sense of them.

  I couldn’t believe that the horrible things I had done could be forgiven. It was a wild idea, but it stirred my thoughts and made me want to know more. All the men I had killed flashed in my mind at once and I thought, that man can forgive this? Is there hope for someone like me? Is there?

  We were all eating and most of us had finished the meat when Sine started humming lightly. Pretty soon others joined him. I watched them with curiosity and I couldn’t shake that feeling that had come back: the words dancing around the edges of my closed-off mind, teasing me. I thought I knew them, I thought all this seemed like something I could believe in, hope in, something that could be real. God… Forgiveness. Hope.

  Some of us were tired, so we discussed who would sleep and who would keep the first watch. Once all the watches had been decided, Averella’s head drooped, her eyelids heavy. She tried leaning against the post, but she couldn’t get comfortable. Wes and Lehlax had the first watch, then it was Sine and Quinn, Axe and Runx, Ierea and Duncan, and last, Averella and me.

  “Here,” I murmured to her, leaning against the post. I slipped my right arm around her and she put her head against my chest and curled up. Within a couple of minutes, she was asleep. It took me a little longer than that to fall asleep, my mind swimming around with too many thoughts to shut down.

  Eventually, I did fall into a peaceful sleep.

  Averella was sleeping peacefully when it was our turn to keep watch, so I left her there and walked out of the tent, stretching out my tired muscles. I strolled closer to the tree line and the rapids, leaning up against a tree to keep a better eye out.

  The water rushed loudly, but outside of that, the woods themselves were quiet. I closed my eyes as I took a drink, feeling the cool water restore my energy and strength. Stretching out with my senses, I knew I was alone. The others were all safe.

  Suddenly, a feeling of warmth consumed me. Before I even had a chance to react, a white flash of light burst in front of my eyes. I winced and looked away, but whatever it was sent me tumbling to my knees.

  Flames licked up the trunk of a tree in front of me. I stood, unsheathing my Inquiri blade, and tried to sense for Gurnarch.

  No Hunters were around.

  That was when I noticed what was unusual about the fire. It was white—pure and bright. To see it in such a dark place sent my mind reeling. “What…?”

  It was as if I could see a face in the fire. There was some sort of presence—that warmth—and it was all I could feel. The man’s face looked ageless, and yet wise and powerful all at the same time.

  “Jared.”

  I swallowed. “Yeah... Who are you?”

  “I am called Radon.” His voice brought a calming peace to my chest, a feeling I had never known before, something that was completely foreign here in Zagerah. As he spoke, the flames danced and flickered.

  “What do you want? Are you another Hunter?” Maybe they had made another one and hadn’t told me about him.

  “No. I am not a Hunter.”

  “What do you want then?” I tried to keep the harshness out of my tone, but I was wary.

  “My people here are suffering. They are prisoners of darkness… slaves to the Hunters. I have called you to set my people free.”

  It should have been almost impossible to believe him. I had no words to describe the feelings pulsing through my veins; too many for me to decipher. All I knew was that his warmth went hand-in-hand with truth.

  I had no idea why, but I believed him. “Me?” I laughed mirthlessly. “I am a Hunter. Why would you choose me to help free them?”

  The face in the fire smiled. “You are no longer a Hunter. If we look at who we used to be, and worry about what we will become, then we will miss who we are.”

  The words reached a deeper part of me, a part that only the warmth of his presence could reach. “How? How am I supposed to set them free? I can’t fight all of the Hunters—not alone,” I protested.

  “You are never alone.”

  I sighed, and shook my head, gesturing beside me. “Do you see any other Hunters willing to turn on them? No. They’re all completely loyal to Hindah. I don’t stand a chance. I—I can’t even keep all the prisoners alive, much less set them free! This place is inescapable—"

  “Who is really in control? These Hunters? Or God above? Did you not hear anything that your friends spoke of? Did that not rekindle something you felt inside yourself, something you had been missing for quite some time? Never forget who is truly in charge. It is not the Hunters.”

  The voice rose, reverberating around the entire woods. The force of the warming presence overwhelmed me, and I fell face-first into the ground.

  I trembled.

  “Now go, Jared. Set my people free.”

  As I looked up and watched the flames extinguish, I realized the one thing that shocked me more than the man’s words.

  The tree hadn’t been burned.

  Chapter 14

  JARED

  I had fallen asleep shortly after that, holding Averella back in my arms again. No matter what I did though, I couldn’t keep the man’s words out of my mind.

  When I woke, I woke to shouts and yelling, and could hear people scrambling around.

  “Wake up.” I lightly elbowed Averella.

  Her eyes opened, but she was still groggy. “What’s going on?” she muttered.

  Unsheathing my Inquiri blade, I crawled out of the tent with Averella right behind me. Flying high in the sky over the lake was Malik, with a bow and quiver of arrows in both his hands. Down closer to the bank, Lehlax and Duncan knelt over someone. I looked through them to see that it was Runx, and from Lehlax’s thoughts, he wasn’t in good condition. Ierea, Quinn, Axe, and Sine all stood with their weapons in hand, ready for Malik to swoop down and attack.

  There you are, Jared, Malik said in our thoughts.

  What are you doing here? I kept my face impassive as I mentally spoke to him.

  I can’t believe this is where you’ve been hiding. Hindah will be surprised how bold you are to try to stay at the lake to evade us.

  How did you find us? I asked him.

  Malik flapped his wings, glaring down at all of us. I didn’t. We knew you were hiding somewhere, so I was just going to do a fly-by. Why betray your own people? And all for what, some woman who was foolish enough to come here?

  I frowned, gritting my teeth. You wouldn’t understand, Malik.

  Why? Because you think you feel something that you shouldn’t? Sympathy for these people? We’re not
made to feel, Jared! It’s not in our blood, he hissed at me.

  Yet I did feel. I felt that strong urge to protect Averella, that pull for her, yes, but I felt close to all the prisoners, the way they felt close with each other. I helped them all because I wanted to, because there was more to life than killing, because they had friendship and loyalty, and true courage, things I had only just now begun to understand. How could I ever explain this in a way Malik or any of the Hunters could understand? I couldn’t…

  “Someone’s hurt! Jared!” a voice called, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was Averella.

  “I think it’s Runx,” I told her.

  “What if he attacks?” She nodded toward Malik.

  “There’s too many of us, even for him. I don’t think he would.” I narrowed my eyes on him, daring him to attack.

  Averella pursed her lips, but said nothing. Still, she clenched a sword and dagger just in case.

  “Our leader is willing to make a trade.” Malik cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted.

  “Press against Runx’s wound,” Lehlax murmured to Duncan. He lifted his head and stood, keeping his eyes on Malik the entire time. “What trade, Hunter?”

  “We have the old one. The one you call Municx. We know how you look up to him. We’re willing to give him back to you, alive…” Malik let his voice trail off.

  “If we give you who? Let me guess, you want Averella?” Lehlax’s hands doubled into fists.

  “You’re smarter than you look. Yes. We want the woman, along with the one who protects her.” Malik smirked.

  All eyes shifted to Averella and I.

  “You have one hour to decide before we kill the old man. When that happens, we will attack you. We will kill any we find, and any who get in our way!” Malik shouted.

  “You just can’t stand that a woman has managed to evade you Hunters! So, you won’t stop until I’m killed!” Averella screamed at him, her fists gripping her sword and dagger so hard her knuckles turned white.

  I placed a hand on her arm and she looked at me, her eyes furious.

  Sensing what Malik was going to do, I pushed Averella down at a human pace, just as the arrow Malik released pierced my skin. I let the blow knock me down to the ground and I could sense Malik flying off. I grabbed the arrow, which was just under my right ribs, and yanked it out. I grunted and clenched my jaw.

  “Jared!” Averella’s voice cracked as she knelt by me.

  “You stupid woman! You should have known better than to test a Hunter!” Wes slammed his hand against the trunk of a tree behind her.

  She looked up at him, fighting back tears.

  I gently grabbed her arm, about to tell her to ignore him, when Lehlax knelt beside us.

  “Sine, I need you to sew up Runx, while I sew up Jared’s wound,” Lehlax said. Sine nodded, and he and Duncan returned to Runx.

  Lehlax bent closer to me and ripped my shirt open, revealing a gaping hole where the arrow had torn through the flesh. “Someone get me a hot stick from the fire!” Lehlax yelled. “Averella, apply pressure to try to stop the bleeding. We have to seal the wound with fire, so the bleeding will stop.”

  Averella nodded, still holding back tears.

  “It’s not your fault,” I murmured to her.

  “Here,” someone said, handing Lehlax a stick that was on fire. Taking it, he placed another stick in my mouth for me to bite on. He looked at me and I nodded, and he pressed the fire to the wound. I tensed but showed no other signs of pain—mostly because I didn’t feel any.

  Lehlax handed the stick to someone else and then quickly sewed up the wound. I tensed again, but relaxed when Averella put a canteen to my mouth to let me drink. I let the water go through me, strengthening me, and then I sat up, letting Averella help me at first to keep up appearances.

  As I took another drink, I stood.

  “Whoa, take it easy there, Jared. You need a little time.” Lehlax reached out a hand to steady me, despite that I didn’t need it.

  “We don’t have time. I’m going to the Hunters and I’m going to get Municx,” I replied.

  “You’re not going alone!” Averella stepped forward so that we were face to face.

  Infuriated at the Hunters for this, and at her for even hinting at coming with me, I shook my head vehemently at her. “I’m not letting you give yourself to them.”

  “We all care about and look up to Municx, but we can’t sacrifice two people for one,” Lehlax murmured.

  “But it’s the right thing to do.” Averella blinked back tears.

  “Last time they captured you, Averella, they almost killed you,” I snapped, harsher than I intended. The images of the way they had beat her were branded into my mind.

  Her eyes flashed hurt but she said nothing.

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t want that to happen.” I clenched my jaw, glaring through the trees.

  “Go ahead and let them have ‘em!” Wes shouted, barging over to us. “They’re the reason that winged one was even here in the first place, and they’re to blame for Runx and the condition he’s in now!” Wes eyed me and unsheathed his sword.

  I clenched mine tighter in case he tried anything.

  “Stop! We have to focus on getting away from the lake before the Hunters attack,” Lehlax said.

  Wes glared at him.

  “Runx is passed out, but his wound is taken care of.” Sine stood up, wiping blood from his hands.

  Lehlax nodded to him curtly.

  “We just took down the tent and put out the fire.” Quinn gestured to where the tent and fire had been moments ago.

  We split up the rest of the meat among each of the prisoners and placed it in our individual packs.

  “Use the hides to make a stretcher to carry Runx in,” I told Lehlax. “I’ll go ahead to the Hunters, which will distract them long enough for the rest of you to get away.”

  “Jared, no.” Averella started toward me.

  “It’s the only chance Municx or anyone else has. Averella, you need to go with Lehlax and Sine.” I met her gaze with my unwavering one, willing her to go.

  “Now go, Jared. Set my people free,” the voice had said. Maybe I couldn’t set them free, but I could still protect them; protect all of them.

  Averella shook her head. “They’ll kill you.” She stuck out her chin in stubborn defiance.

  I narrowed my eyes at her but kept my gaze soft and pleading. “Please, do this for me,” I begged, desperate. She had to listen to me.

  She swallowed deeply. “Jared, please. Let me go with you. I can take care of myself.”

  I looked at Lehlax. “Please make sure nothing happens to her.” As I spoke to him, I eyed Wes, who was over by Duncan staring at us.

  Lehlax nodded, understanding what I meant.

  “Jared!” Averella called as I walked away, my back turned to her. She cried out my name once again, and I winced but rushed forward. When her hand gripped mine, I whirled around to finally face her. Without saying a word, I pulled her into my arms and squeezed her tightly, hoping I would see her again, but knowing that probably wouldn’t be the case.

  No Hunter had ever betrayed them before. Forgiveness was something I had learned here; but out there, it didn’t exist.

  I kissed her forehead softly, then her temple, her jaw, and finally reached her lips.

  With bruising force, I kissed her deeper, hard and desperate, knowing this would probably be the last time I held her. It didn’t seem fair that the second time we kissed would probably be our last. As my eyes met hers, I hoped my gaze was a reassuring one, and then I turned and headed toward the rapids.

  Looking through the trees, I picked up on Hindah’s camp five miles down the river, where he and the other Hunters were. I stopped, looking at Lehlax, and motioned him over where I stood on the bank of the rapids. He jogged over.

  “You should probably head east,” I told him.

  He shot me a look but quietly nodded. I watched as he jogged back to help the others with R
unx. Averella stood where the tent used to be, arms hugging herself, tears spilling over her face.

  I turned away from her, painfully so, and trekked on down the river. It took me about a minute to reach the outskirts of the Hunters’ camp. Holding my sword in front of me, ready in case they attacked, I sensed for Municx and knew that they had him in chains connected to the trunk of a tree beside a fire, so he couldn’t run away.

  The moon was high in the sky and it was quiet except for the Hunters’ voices. Municx was about a yard or two from where Hindah stood. I would come through the trees behind Hindah, who faced Municx.

  I walked through the trees and stood there. “I came,” I snapped at him.

  Hindah turned and glared at me with a smirk playing on his lips. “So glad you should join us, Jared. Where’s your little girlfriend?” He spit on the ground.

  “Safe.” I didn’t care how harsh my tone sounded.

  “I’m sure she is.” I looked into his mind, prying deeper. He smiled inwardly to himself, obviously proud of something he had done. He was trying hard to block me. I didn’t know how he was doing it, but someone grabbed Municx. I had to focus on that rather than Hindah’s thoughts and the concentration it would take to pull down his block.

  “Are you going to let him go as Malik said?” I asked, in a tone that suggested I didn’t believe him.

  “Of course. He is nothing, merely a tool to use to get to you and the girl.” He waved his hand.

  My body tensed, sensing for anything they might try. All they did, however, was unlock Municx’s chains and push him toward the trees.

  “Get out of here, before we change our mind, old man!” Kehlarch shoved him forward.

  Municx met my eyes once and I thought back to how he knew what my weakness was and how he had insisted Averella and Sine use that on me, rather than kill me. He thought of that moment as well and felt something… a pang of sorrow, but it was brief, and he pushed it back before I could catch what it was.

  He nodded once.