“To appease the masses,” Abner said. “Besides, why can’t they all think for a night that we’re both young and innocent?”
“Because you and I have done that much here that it’s common knowledge,” Lois said. “Are you going to undress me or not?” She wriggled her hips to get his attention.
“Right of course,” he said. “You distracted me.”
Lois laughed. “You distracted yourself.” She lifted her hands above her head. “It’ll be nice to have a proper bed of our own soon.”
Abner tore the veil off her head, then attacked her with his lips. He turned her head to the side, kissing along her neck, tracing her jawline to her chin, before returning to her mouth again. Lois fumbled with his belt, quickly finding it undone, and his pants fell to his ankles. He kicked them off, leaving them in a heap on the floor.
Lois fell back onto the bed, her legs up above her head. Abner stripped her pants off in a single motion and cast them aside as well. He grabbed her hips and shuffled her backwards, creating more room for himself. She pulled his top over his head and threw it to the back of the room along with the rest of the clothes.
Abner kissed down her chest, swirling each nipple with his tongue as he passed. Lois dug her nails into his shoulders as he entered her, urging him on into the early hours of the morning.
33
End of the Road
Crix had put the Lotu to work on Malvrok’s and Zarazenih’s new lodgings. It had been several days since the wedding and the newly finished cabin was almost an exact replica of the house that Malvrok had owned back at the fortress. In addition to the house, a stable had been erected several meters away, housing one of the horses that Malvrok had chosen from the Huntrey’s stock.
“Bit small, isn’t it, guys?” Malvrok asked as they rode towards the cabin. He sat on the back of Abner’s horse with Lois riding by their side.
“It’s only you and Zarazenih here,” Lois said. “I think you’ll find it quite roomy.”
“Yeah and have you seen the size of him?” Malvrok asked.
“Yes, I have,” Crix said. He emerged from inside the cabin. He tapped his walking stick on the patio that wrapped around the entire cabin. “We built it just to your specifications and gave you a bit more room. You’ll find it more than sufficient.”
“What are you doing here, Crix?” Malvrok asked. “Was meant to be just me and the kids.”
“Wanted to surprise you,” the old Hunter said. “And I’ve got a job offer for you.”
“A job? I’m retired,” Malvrok said. He tried shouldering past Crix to get into his new home. He saw Zarazenih making coffee in the kitchen. “Actually, now that I think about it I might go mad here with the kid, what is it?”
“You didn’t lose your mind in the Lock, did you?” Crix asked.
“I did, but I am recovering,” Malvrok said. “Being here has helped bring me back into the fold.”
“Glad to hear it. Duval is retiring from the Board and we can’t think of anyone better equipped to take his place,” Crix said.
Malvrok raised his eyebrows. “Shit he’s leaving? He’s been on the Board since I was a kid in Sauria.”
“That’s what I mean, you’ve got just as much experience in the field as he had on the Board, we want a fresh face and considering your imprisonment in the Lock, we thought this would be the best way to utilize your talents,” Crix said.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity, Crix. I’ll accept,” Malvrok said. “When do I start?”
“Next week, whenever you’re ready. There’s no rush,” Crix said. “Anyway good day to you Toldar. I’ve got a meeting I need to attend to.”
“Mal, congratulations!” Lois said. She ran over to him and squeezed.
“Well that was a surprise to be sure. But it was a welcome one,” Malvrok said. “Head of the Board coming to give me the job personally. What a time to be alive.”
“Got any ideas on what you’ll try bring into the Huntrey?” Abner asked.
“Wouldn’t have a clue, I’ll learn as I go along,” Malvrok said. “But I’ll do whatever I can to help you two achieve as much as possible. Not at all in sighting favoritism at all am I?” He laughed. “Looks like Zarazenih has made some tea. You two should come inside.”
“I don’t think there’s a need for that.” A familiar voice echoed around the house.
“Who’s that?” Lois asked. She grabbed her sword by the hilt and held her hand over it.
Malvrok closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Barros, I haven’t heard your voice in over a decade.”
“Father!” Zarazenih dropped the china cup he held in his hand and stormed outside. He began transforming into the wolf.
“My brother and my sons, gathered in one place. What a lovely family reunion,” Barros said. “And congratulations are in order for the newlyweds. Finally, after so many years.”
“Barros, show yourself!” Zarazenih continued to transform, dropping to all fours, his fur now spread across his body.
“My son, I have transcended. I am no longer Barros. With the amulets of Tal’davin that have fallen into my possession, thanks to my agent, I have now become my true self.”
“Ab, I smell Vampires,” Lois said. “How did they get past the wall?”
“Brothers?” Zarazenih pinned.
From the wood just inside the Huntrey wall, four figures began to emerge. Two men the size of Zarazenih flanked two smaller men. All the Hunters except for Abner drew their crossbows and Lois moved to take position behind him.
“We’ve got this,” she said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
The four men approached, two with red eyes marking them as Vampires, their claws extended out. With a blink of an eye they vanished from sight becoming invisible.
“Shades!” Crix turned on his horse but was torn down a moment later.
A Shade leapt upon Malvrok, taking out his knee and there was a gargle from Crix as his throat was slashed open. There was no turning him into a Vampire, just brutality. Malvrok fought back against his Shade, an elbow catching it in the side of the head, making it visible. Lois shot it clean through the head causing it to burst into flames.
Zarazenih walked out in front of the group. “Brothers, stand down, we don’t fight with the Hunters anymore. I have made peace.”
“You sold out brother, our quarrel isn’t with them, it’s with you,” one said.
“Fight me if you’re strong enough,” Zarazenih said. He completed his transformation and turned on his heel, racing to the wall behind Malvrok’s cabin. The two wolves transformed and began to chase him.
In the confusion two more men had appeared from the wood. They both walked up to the cabin with an Alilletian robes wrapped around their shoulders. Gareth and Tal’davin stood before them.
“Lois, shoot them,” Abner said. She remained frozen. “Lois!”
“Ab, I can’t do it.”
He turned to see what was holding her back. Tears were streaming down her face. She’d thrown her crossbow on the ground and had a Dreyth dagger in her fist. Malvrok had been knocked to the ground, the last Shade on top of him, claws pressed against his throat.
“What in the fuck are you doing, Lois!” Malvrok screamed at her. “Kill them!”
“I’m so sorry, my love,” Lois said.
She stepped forward, stabbing the dagger into Abner’s heart. Once, twice, three times. Then a fourth into his shoulder were the dagger stayed. Fire erupted inside him, the pain unbearable and Abner sunk to his knees.
“Lois, why?” Tears streamed down Abner’s face. “What have you done to me!”
“Traitor!” Malvrok screamed again.
He struggled against the Vampire, throwing it off him and rose to take down Lois. Lois looked down at her former teacher and kicked the crossbow up into her hands. Without hesitation she sent a crossbow bolt straight into Malvrok’s forehead. The bolt burst through the skin and his head dropped immediately to the ground.
“No!�
��
Abner tried to stand, he felt his blood surging through him and his claws shot out of his fingers. Lois ripped the knife from his shoulder and stabbed him again. Three short sharp jabs added to the pain and he doubled over, falling to the floor.
Tal’davin stepped forward. Through the red, Abner could still see his father’s face, but his eyes had turned a mangled yellow and orange colour. Gareth stood by his side, smirking and sent a kick into Abner’s ribs. The pain was nothing compared to what the Dreyth blade had inflicted upon him. Lois moved to stand by Gareth. He wrapped his hand around her waist.
“Kill me. You’ve taken everything from me. You’ve taken my life, you’ve taken my family and my woman!”
“No, that’s not part of the plan, my son. There is still more yet that we can take from you before you die,” Tal’davin said.
“And she was never your woman,” Gareth said. “This was all part of your downfall, Toldar. “Once again the Graytooth family will rule over Alilletia without you meddling in our affairs. You and your uncle are were you belong, under my boot.”
Tal’davin waved Gareth off and knelt down beside Abner. “I apologize for all of this my son, but it is necessary. One day soon you will understand, but now that I have all of my amulets returned to me, I can now begin to further Vampires across Taagras. You’re a means to an end. So thank you my son, and I will see you soon.”
“I hate you!” Abner said.
“In time that will pass,” Tal’davin said. He waved his hand over Abner’s face. “Now let sleep take you.”
“I won’t let you control me,” Abner said.
“Yes you will,” Tal’davin said. “It’s already too late.”
Abner’s eyes grew heavy and he tried to fight back, but the power of the Vampire overlord was too much. Abner succumbed to sleep, Lois’ face the last thing he saw before he passed out.
TO BE CONTINUED...
The Final Hunt
Book 4
462 YEARS LATER
Following the events of Hunted
1
A New World
Tal’davin sat in silence and looked out on the world he had created. It had been over four hundred years since the capture of Barros’ son, Abner Toldar and the fall of the Tyrain Huntrey. In all that time Abner had continued to sleep, contained in an underground facility locked far away, his body being used to advance the civilization that he had built.
Tal’davin sat in a leather high back chair, facing the window of the sixty seventh story of the his corporation’s main office. He looked over a modernized Conser, the beautiful city still remained as Tyrain’s capital, a place where Tal’davin had felt at home. From here he could almost see where he had suffered his first defeat at the hands of Lars Hunter, something that played in his mind over and over again, even if it had happened almost two millennia ago.
In the distance he could see the Red Sky he had created, over the ruins of the Huntrey, the blood colored red contrasting heavily against the blue of the normal sky.
His hand and his mind shifted to the glass of whiskey beside him and he raised the glass to his lips before pausing. The ant like figures on the ground had caught his eye. He looked down seeing a figure dressed in black firing into a crowd. He saw the flames from Vampires as they were lit on fire by the Fyndfire used in the Hunter’s weapons.
Moments later the Hunter was surrounded and taken to the ground, unable to avoid the semi-automatic rifle fire from the soldiers that came his way. Tal’davin smiled as the Hunter fell, his troops taking the body away off the street. He took a sip from the iced whiskey and put it down again, his gaze returning to the view of the world.
Hundreds of other high rises rose around him, other companies and empires he had built to create wealth beyond anyone else’s imagination. Yes, he had made people rich, gold lining their beds at night, but the true power he wielded over the economy of Taagras was enormous. Nobody else could crash markets and drive prices through the roof like he could in this time of peace.
The world had become his, the hard work of decades finally paying off more than three hundred years ago. Tal’davin had a major stake in at least fifty percent of corporations throughout Taagras, indirectly owning at least thirty different subsidiaries of Tal Corp. They made weapons and specialized in exploration, sending ships across the seas to uncover if any new life would be found. So far only three ships had returned from their voyages in the past two hundred years.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, the silence broken. Tal’davin blinked twice and turned his head, his Vampire sight allowing him to see who had interrupted him. His lieutenant, Aldo, stood at the door, a Vampire newly appointed to the role with a pistol pressed against his forehead. A Hunter stood behind him, a punch dagger hidden in his hand.
Tal’davin sighed and stood up from the armchair and walked over to his desk. Rogue Hunters like this were becoming increasingly more common. Unhappy with the direction that their order was taking them, they lashed out at the biggest thread they could find. No doubt his accomplice downstairs had served as the distraction he’d needed to get into the building.
He had grabbed the old silver revolver sitting on the desk, the first one ever to be produced in Taagras, close to two hundred years ago. Tal’davin flicked out the barrel to make sure it was loaded. All six shots were chambered.
“Enter,” Tal’davin said. He raised the gun to where he expected the Hunter to be.
The Hunter walked in behind Aldo, and he looked straight at Tal’davin bringing the gun to bear on his target. His face was covered by a hood, reminiscent of the Hunters attire all those years ago, something Barros would have worn. He dwarfed Aldo, who by no means had a small stature. “Tal’davin, for crimes against humanity I sentence you to death.”
“Is that it?” Tal’davin asked. He raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Pathetic.”
The gun in his hand exploded and a bullet raced away down the barrel and into the Hunter’s head. The bullet caught the Hunter in the side of the head, clipping the top of his ear. Tal’davin fired again and this time the Hunter rolled forward, closing the gap between him and the Vampire overlord. Tal’davin emptied his other four shots in a waste, scattering around the Hunter.
He flung himself on Tal’davin, thinking he’d caught the Vampire off guard, knocking him back. Tal’davin rolled with the Hunter and when he was at an angle on his back, he kicked the Hunter with both legs, sending him through the glassed windows and falling to the street below. Tal’davin picked himself up and dusted off his suit.
“They’re getting easier to kill as the years go by. It’s almost as if none of these Hunters are made to the caliber that they once used to be.”
“Perhaps you are getting stronger, sir,” Aldo said. “The amulets do protect you after all and I have noticed a certain change in your fighting style over the last four hundred years. You seem to leave yourself open to attack more.”
“I grow tired, Aldo,” Tal’davin said. “The Hunters stand no chance against me, and they know it. Yet they still try to defeat me and tear down the new world I have built for them. The world has shrunk through the technology I created, yet they still want to go riding through the countryside on horseback, shooting Vampires with those ridiculous crossbows I built for them.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, sir,” Aldo said.
“Do you Aldo?” Tal’davin asked. “Do you really understand? You’ve been near and at my side this entire time, ever since I was reborn, but have you dealt with what I have had to endure. I don’t need to remind you what happened to Lux do I?”
Aldo shook his head. “Of course not, I’ll investigate the body and leave you in peace.” He bowed and exited the room.
“Thank you, my friend,” Tal’davin said.
He sat down at the desk and ran his fingers along the desktop. It was an old wooden piece, an original from his time in Alilletia. His holodisk waited for activation but before he could press i
t, the phone beside it rang. Tal’davin picked it up and held it to his ear.
“What?”
“Sir, I have some bad news and some good news.” The voice belonged to Doctor Krare. “Your son has escaped the containment facility we had him locked in.”
“Zarazenih has escaped again?” Tal’davin asked. He let a smile slip across his face. “That won’t be a problem. He will come for me again, and I will send him straight back to you. He is becoming nothing but a tiresome problem. One day we will understand his full potential.”
“Of course, sir. Do I send out containment units for his immediate retrieval?” Doctor Krare asked.
“Yes, send them to me and I will dispatch them as I see fit. Did you make any progress with him?” Tal’davin asked.
“A little, we finally examined the cranium and the frontal lobe, but it appears that the electrical charge we put through him made him stronger,” Krare said.
“Hmm, interesting. Perhaps you should attempt another method of sedation and another way to activate his brain function without waking him up,” Tal’davin said. “Please begin experimenting on our other subjects.”
“At once, sir. Did you wish to hear the good news?” Krare asked.
“Of course,” Tal’davin said. “Have you found a way to weaponize our blood past the extent that the Hunters of old did?”
“No sir, if it is in relation to the virus you’re asking about. I speak about your other son you’ve had me babysit for the last four hundred and sixty two years,” Krare said.
“What’s happened to him?” Tal’davin asked.
“Nothing sir, but this morning our vital signals in his coolant tank began to register on our monitoring systems.”
“What? He’s been asleep for all this time, drugged even. What changed?” Tal’davin asked. “It isn’t time yet! He shouldn’t be ready!”
“No sir, you’re right,” Krare said. “I have done nothing to change his conditions. No food, no water, nothing!”
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