Inside, the tavern was rowdy, as was the custom for Alilletians who began drinking well before most other people in Taagras, even at this early hour. Gareth approached the bar and sat down at the last remaining wooden stool. It was just in time as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen came into sight. She was wearing a simple serving gown that marked her as the bartender.
The woman wore her silky blonde hair long, swaying down well past her shoulders. She could have been no older than her mid-twenties as her soft angelic face was slightly matured and showed signs of several hard years.
“May I take your order?”
Gareth jumped, startled. It had been several seconds before he realized he had been staring at her.
“Umm, yes of course. One Highlander rum on ice.”
“Certainly.” The girl smiled at him. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“A warm bed and a hot meal would be delightful,” Gareth said. “If I could have it bought to my room? That is, if you have any to spare.”
“Yes, we have two rooms left. Room seven and eight, but I’ll put you in lucky number seven.” The girl winked at him.
“Any chance of me getting lucky later on?” Gareth asked.
The serving girl looked him up and down. “If you’re lucky. You’re pretty.”
They both grinned and went their separate ways. Gareth took the key to his room and gently unlocked the creaking wooden door. Nothing in Alilletia was elegant as everything always had a rough finish to it. Even the bed wasn’t soft. Gareth felt his back crack as he flopped upon it. The ride had been tiring and now he needed to rest.
Gareth had barely closed his eyes when the door to his room creaked slightly open. Something knocked against the wooden frame, quickly followed by a blonde head. It was the serving girl bringing his meal.
“Ouch, sorry. Should I just leave this in here,” she said holding out a wooden tray.
“Yes, of course anywhere will be fine,” Gareth said.
“I was also hoping I could steal five minutes of your time.” She smiled warmly opening the door fully and walking in.
“I don’t see why not.” Gareth moved over on the bed. “I could use the company. It’s been a hard road.”
“I wonder if something else is just as hard. I’ve always wanted to see wanted to see what wonders a Hunter could perform on a woman,” she said.
“In my home country it is tradition that we at least learn the woman’s name before performing any wonders,” Gareth said.
“This is Alilletia, Hunter. Your Renori traditions don’t work on me here. If I want to fuck without knowing your name, I will fuck you,” she said.
“All the same I’d like your name, sweetheart,” Gareth said.
“It’s Selena,” she said.
“Aren’t you meant to be working, Selena?” Gareth asked.
“If you’re paying, I’m working.” She rolled back on top of him with a smile.
“How much?” Gareth asked. His armor was getting uncomfortably in the way between him and this beautiful woman.
“Depends what you want, what I feel like and how long you last for, pretty boy.” Selena bit her lip in anticipation.
Gareth let out a low growl and began tugging away at Selena’s serving dress trying to rip it off her as quickly as possible. Nobody had shut the door and it was still wide open.
“Yeah you want to fuck me, don’t you?” Selena asked, trying to tear off Gareth’s armor.
“Come here,” he said. He flipped the serving girl over onto her back.
Selena let out a small cry of delight. “You Hunters are strong.” She giggled as Gareth began running his lips across her neck, taking in her sweet unusual fruity scent.
Gareth’s paused, briefly lingering over it before moving on. Selena noticed the pause and frowned. “What is the matter, Hunter?”
“Nothing, you smell exquisite,” Gareth said. He leaned forwards to bite her neck.
Selena let out a low growl that sounded different from how she had before. Gareth paused again, his hands rested on her shoulders. Something wasn’t right, Selena wasn’t a human.
2
Dangers of Etia
“Mandel!” Gareth screamed at the top of his lungs.
Selena was completing her transformation from Human to Vampire, but her hands were still wrapped around Gareth. He tried to break free, however the Vampire held his hands in its iron grip.
“Let go of me, bitch,” Gareth said still trying to wriggle away. “Mandel!”
He could hear the Dire wolf growling from the stable but he wasn’t getting any closer. Someone must have locked him in, which meant there was more than one Vampire within this establishment. Selena had finished her transformation and roared in Gareth’s face covering him in spittle.
Selena’s claws dug into Gareth’s exposed skin, keeping him close as the Vampire tried to bite his neck. The young Hunter screamed, yet nobody ventured up or down the hallway to investigate the disturbance. Gareth had taken part in the Blood Ceremony like all novices did, giving him extra strength to combat Vampires, however this one was stronger.
“Submit to me little Hunter. Your life is worth nothing to me,” Selena said.
“Your life is what gives mine purpose, Vampire. You will die as the others I have killed,” Gareth said.
“What three of my kind? All minors? You couldn’t kill me even if you wanted to boy,” the Vampire said.
Gareth continued to struggle, reaching for a weapon as Selena toyed with him. She now had both of his hands gripped in one behind his back while the other controlled his head.
“He couldn’t, but I could,” came a booming voice from the doorway.
Selena’s head snapped to the newcomer. No sooner than she had opened her mouth and begun to scream, a silver crossbow bolt appeared between her eyes. The Vampire instantly vanished from sight.
“Lois!” the older Hunter called out down the hall. “There’s one vanisher in here!” He was a bulky man, no older than his mid-twenties at the latest. He wore a long-armored trench coat of Tyrainian design, with a leather ten-gallon hat that made him look even bigger.
“Three more out here,” called a woman that sounded very similar to Selena.
“You alright, mate?” the Hunter asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine thanks,” Gareth said.
“You’re young. From Renor by the looks of your uniform. You’ve done well to keep yourself alive there especially after what I did there a few years back,” the Hunter said. “What’s your name?”
“Gareth. What’d you do in Renor?”
“Killed a couple of Councilors.”
Gareth gasped. “You’re Abner Toldar?”
“Yep, that’d be me. And you’d know why we are in Alilletia,” Abner said.
Gareth nodded. “The White Ghosts.”
“And why is a Hunter alone in Etia, I wonder? Nobody came on your hunt with you?” Abner frowned looking Gareth up and down.
“Tracking down a religious cult run by Vampires somewhere in the city. I’ve been looking for them for months. I’ve lost my partner,” Gareth said.
“I have a proposition for you. Hunt with my people and not only will we destroy this cult in Etia, I will take you on as one of my own. Do you want a chance at the big stuff?” Abner asked.
“Absolutely,” Gareth said.
“Who’s this you’ve got?” Lois asked looking Gareth up and down with a smirk. “He looks no older than you did when we left the Huntrey.”
“Desire tried to kill him, it looked just like you, Lois,” Abner said.
“Your wolf was locked in the stables and that’s why it couldn’t help you. There was more than one Vampire here. You walked into a hornet’s nest. Even if you killed that Desire in there, you wouldn’t have come out alive,” Lois said.
At her feet were dozens of Vampires, either burned or without their head. The barkeeper was among them.
“How did you know they were all Vampires?” Ga
reth asked. “Nothing about them raised suspicion.”
“We know how to look, and Lois is a seeker. That’s where you’ve gone wrong,” Abner said. “It was a basic error you made. Never walk into somewhere without your Seeker, unless you’ve got the sight. Geez, you Renori Hunters have really gone to shit in the last few years.”
“They demanded Mandel remain in the stables. I had to comply, or be evicted from the city,” Gareth said.
“You’re a Hunter, you make the rules,” Abner said.
“Hunters in Renor have been chased and imprisoned ever since your exploits there, Toldar. Nobody trusts us anymore and it seems that’s beginning to spread throughout the rest of Taagras. Those that know of us don’t trust us because of how you turned on the Councilors,” Gareth said. “Unlike you I haven’t been living with my head under a rock, things are starting to change.”
“Watch your tone boy,” came a deep voice from the corner of the tavern, next to the bar. “You’re talking to Abner Toldar, of the Tyrainian Huntrey. He’s the one that’s saved your miserable life just now, and mine on more than one occasion. I believe you owe him an apology and you need to show him some respect. He’s done more in the last year than you’ll ever do in a lifetime, boy.”
“Come on Gunner, he’s young. Let it slide,” Abner said.
“I like having your back, you know that,” Gunthos said.
“He’s the reason why the Huntrey is falling apart at the seams. We all know it was parents that started all this,” Gareth said.
“Not my fault,” Abner said. “I’m trying to correct whatever wrongs my mother did with the Red Sky. And I’m trying to track down Tal’davin as well. What more do you want me to do?”
“Pay for what you’ve done,” Gareth said. “That way the rest of us wouldn’t be at risk of being prosecuted.”
“If that’s your opinion, Gareth, I’ll let you hold it,” Lois said. “I was there too, but Abner has done more than enough to repent. What do you want to do with Abner?”
“I offered to take him with us,” Abner said.
“Just what I need. Someone to carry the bags as I get older,” Gunthos said. In recent months Abner noticed that the olive-skinned Hunter did appear to be getting older. His hair was beginning to thin and gray.
“You’re getting fat as well,” Lois said. The group laughed.
“Said the one looking like she’s carrying a child!” Gunthos said.
“Gunthos, come on, I’m working on it,” Abner said.
“Sorry, Ab. I was just trying to have some fun. You know me.”
“I know, I know,” Abner said. “Right, now you said your name was Gareth yes?”
“That’s me,” Gareth said. “What do you want to know?”
“What’s your last name?” Lois asked. She pulled out a long piece of parchment that held all the names of Hunters she knew of.
“No last name, I never knew my parents,” Gareth said.
“You’re not on this list,” Lois said. “How long have you been with the Huntrey for?”
“Three years last week. I trained under the Alderley family at Renor.”
“Alright, well I’ll add you down here as Gareth Hunter,” Lois said.
Every bastard inside the order was automatically given the name Hunter as a representation of their dedication to follow Lars Hunter’s cause. It was both title and name to those that had no family.
“Very well,” Gareth said. “I expected nothing else. The Renori don’t care much for your names. What is our next course of action?”
“We rest for the night, take in our surroundings. Maybe even a Vampire or two will attempt to find out what has occurred here,” Abner said. “In the morning we try and find this nest of Vampires that you’ve been looking for.”
The darkness was lonely, but Abner constantly flicked his night vision on and off at will. He had embraced his Vampire qualities in the last eight years and everything about his heritage seemed so natural. Over the past eight years he had bitten Lois numerous times, however the bites did not seem to faze her or change her in anyway. In fact, she seemed to enjoy every bite Abner gave her accidentally.
Abner took the first watch of the night, straight after the Hunters had eaten. He sat by the hallway down into the rooms in which his companions slept. The dire wolf, Mandel was resting at the back of the tavern, tucked away in the corner. In case of an attack, the wolf was the first thing Abner would rely upon, apart from his own skills.
Abner sat with a throwing knife in hand, taking a break from the crossbow. The weapon was heavy and would drain his strength holding it at the ready for hours on end. It didn’t take long for the tavern door to open once again.
A hooded man walked in, breathing deeply taking in the warmth of inside. He stood frozen for several seconds, noticing that no light was inside. Abner then saw the tiny round objects that were his eyes turn red. He was a Vampire.
The bodies of his kin still lay strewn across the floorboards. The Vampire hadn’t seen or smelt Abner yet. He snarled, still sniffing the air. Mandel stirred, and Abner moved his arm slightly higher. Abner saw the Vampire turn slowly around the room taking in every detail, the broken rum bottles, shattered arrowheads strewn throughout the bar.
“Come out Hunter,” it said. “I know you’re in here.”
Mandel rose, his hackles along with him. The wolf took a step forward, catching the Vampire’s attention.
“A wolf would not have done this,” the fiend said, bearing his teeth at Mandel.
“He did not,” Abner spoke from the shadows. “I did.”
“A lone Hunter could not have done this,” the Vampire said. “There is too many of my kin here.”
“I was not alone. I was with two others, my Seeker and another companion. I could have done it alone.” Abner rose from his seat.
“You Hunters are too naive to believe you can kill me. I am a Count! I lead the Vampires that stalk the streets of Etia at night,” the Vampire said.
“You’ve walked into the arms of one of the few known Hunters to kill a Count. The only Counts killed within the last twenty years were destroyed by my family,” said Abner.
“Toldar.” The Vampire hissed his name. “You will die like your father at the hands of the Vampires!”
“My father made a mistake, being alone while on a hunt. I am greater than my father ever was as I am a half Vampire. You will not outmatch me, fiend,” Abner said.
“If only you knew,” the Vampire growled lunging forward, launching himself off a nearby table on all fours.
“Trust me, I know.”
Abner roared, flicking the knife up, into the head of the flying Vampire. Mandel leapt up following the knife as it neared the Count.
The knife struck first, taking the Count between the eyes, a perfect throw, and Mandel followed, knocking the Vampire to ground. Abner drew another knife and his sword, approaching the downed creature.
“Mandel! Stand down!” Gareth barked appearing from his room. He had his crossbow ready to fire at a moment’s notice. The wolf pinned at his master’s command, backing away slowly from the Count.
Abner approached the Vampire, wanting to end its existence with one swing from the sword he had inherited from Barros. The sword was still as keen as the first day he had received it and the runes glowed crimson, thirsty for the Count’s blood.
“You may have support, Toldar, but you can’t kill me. That sword of yours will not break me,” the Count said.
“This sword has killed a dozen of your rank when wielded by my hands. You will be no different. Where are your people?” Abner asked.
“I would not give them up to you. Their work here is too valuable for that,” the Vampire said, not caring in the slightest for Abner. “If you’re going to kill me be done with it!”
“Where are your people?” Abner asked. He rested the sword upon the Vampires neck. “Answer me and this will be as painless as possible.”
“You Hunters are all the same. Pieces of
shit!” the Vampire said
Abner struck down with the sword, hitting nothing but the wooden floorboards. The Vampire rolled out of the way and flipped himself up, heading for one of the back windows.
“Shoot him!”
Crossbow bolts filled the air and flew across the tavern at the fleeing Count, yet none found their mark in its dead skin. Abner watched as each silver bolt buried itself in another useless piece of wood. The Vampire was out of sight within seconds before Abner could begin the chase.
“Why didn’t you hit him, Gareth?” the older Hunter asked.
“He was too fast for me, Abner,” Gareth said.
“That’s no excuse, Gareth. You need to shoot where they’re going to be, not where they are. You know they’re faster than you are normally. You shoot ahead of them, not at them,” Abner said. “Now we’re going to have to find it in the daylight.”
“Ab, what happened? Is everything under control?” Lois asked from her room.
“A Count got away thanks to our young friend here,” Abner said
“Fucking novices!” Gunthos said. “Shouldn’t be allowed out of the Huntrey. Taking on something like this is far beyond his qualifications.”
“I invited him to join us Gunthos. The boy will learn from his mistakes. Give him time,” Abner said. “If I remember correctly, you weren’t fond of me either during my early years.”
“You proved yourself to me,” Gunthos said. It was clear he was ready to fall back to sleep.
“And Gareth will in time, you watch,” Abner said. “The boy has skills, they still need developing. I wasn’t a polished weapon straight off the back of my first hunt.”
“Whatever you say Ab, I’m going back to sleep. I want to find these bastards first thing,” Gunthos said.
“Will you be alright for watch, Gareth?” Abner asked.
“Of course,” Gareth said. His face lit up.
“Good, I need some alone time with my lover. Get us if it’s an emergency like the one just before,” Abner said. Gareth nodded his understanding before turning to take a seat. “Not that one, you’ve got too many blind spots. Use the one I was in. Wake Gunthos in an hour or two for the morning shift. We’ve got a hunt in the morning.”
The Toldar Series Box Set Page 43