Token Vampire (Token Huntress Book 2)

by Kia Carrington-Russell

  The deformed male vampire clicked his tongue. “Not yet Spungee,” the woman purred. “You can’t eat them yet.”

  “Who are you?” I demanded. I could sense that Teary and Tori were on their way. I doubt that they knew it was me. But, upon seeing me in my circumstance, they would summarize the situation.

  “You are very daring for a weak little girl aren’t you? Don’t you fear vampires child?” She began to laugh. “Of course not. I can smell your familiar all over you. That vampire certainly has his way with you, doesn’t he? I wonder if he’s ever hurt you, while he forces you to please him.”

  I shot an arrow at her, being the only way I could release my anger. I held in my other instincts, the ones that urged me to kill her. The ones that savored in the thought of ripping her head from her body.

  “I’ve come to collect you. Do you know how long it has been since we first started hunting for our leader? He is very good at hiding. It was much to our surprise, when we smelt his scent amongst the assassination of Tracey’s Council and then, poof, that scent suddenly vanished.”

  Tythian had mentioned he had encountered Chase’s coven that day. So they were there, close by.

  “You are Chase’s coven?” I confirmed.

  “Ahh, she is cluey too,” she said, and clasped her frail hands together. “Did you see that Spungee? Clever. So, you can only imagine our surprise, when coven leader’s scent, continued to pop up here, on the outskirts of this Human Compound. And just like magic his scent disappears, what a greater treasure to know that it is you, instead. I am sure we can use you as bait, very nicely. We are taking you now child as bait. He will face what he abandoned those many years ago.”

  “What do you want with him?!” I asked, bored of her theatrics. Vampires always acted in a way of superiority, as if they were toying with their prey. This had always happened to me, after my eighteenth birthday and my Hunter eyes vanished. It was an insult knowing I had the strength to kill them instantly. I found it harder to act weak and restrain myself from proving her wrong.

  “That is not for us to discuss. Spungee, grab her,” she said and clicked her fingers. The timing of Teary and Tori’s arrival was exceptional. Flames swept between the two vampires and me. I grabbed Sydney’s body, fed up with my fake façade of being human.

  “Are ye still playing that game Esmore, of being human?” she said between the crackles of the flames. The two vampires, who had spoken so confidently, vanished within the mist. They must have only been weak vampires, to have fled so quickly. Tori came and grabbed Sydney with no strain. He was a large and heavy man, but his weight was nothing for us Hunters.

  “Thank you for coming. I have organized an escape plan for Kora and Kasey. I do not trust the person that is breaking them out. Make sure you are on the lookout for their escape. Tonight Dillian, Julia, my mother and I will be investigating the human camp near our old Guild. I need to find somewhere safe for them. If not, I am considering breaking out of our location and bringing them to you. I think in numbers we will be safe, even if exposed out in the open.”

  “And that?” Teary asked in her thick accent, and pointed to where the vampires of Chase’s coven once stood.

  “That is Chase’s coven. They left on bad terms. They are trying to take me and think of me as human bait. I need to keep up this pretense of being human, until this role serves me no purpose any longer.”

  “Ye got a lot happening don’t ye, Esmore,” Teary said, and put her hands on her hips.

  “If I am entirely honest with you Teary, this is the least of it right now,” I said. I looked at Tori who held Sydney and back at Teary expectantly. “Do you think you can carry me and take me back to the border wall? Just don’t get caught.” I had to fake human as well and pretend to have been rescued by the Hunters also.

  Teary’s eyebrows rose. Tori began to snicker under his breath. “Would ye like to get on my back, for a piggy back little miss?” Teary teased.

  I walked up to her doing so, with eyes of amusement. I jumped onto her back swiftly avoiding the large, tight bun of red hair. “Ye gained a bit of weight, Esmore.”

  I slapped her back, most comfortable in the warmth of her back. This contact was nice. Months ago, I never thought I would have asked my own comrade to do this for me. As I commanded, they quickly dropped us at the wall. Guards saw, but I only acted concerned for Sydney. I told them that two vampires had attacked and the Hunters who chased and killed them, brought us back to safety. I acted as surprised as they did when I informed them. Teary knew better then to come closer now. They would have scouts in search for them. They would want to experiment on them, like they had Kora and Kasey.

  Jenn was less than impressed, by my very well performed dramatics. By the time I had left the Human Compound, Sydney still had not woken up from his head injury. Jenn was fuming on the walk home, skeptical of my involvement with the Hunters.

  T ythian waited impatiently for us, apparently we were a few minutes late. He seemed slightly on edge. I had a suspicion that he could feel the presence of Chase’s coven. But, I could sense none within viewing range. I continued my façade of being a weak pathetic human. Tythian teleported us back into the underground tunnels of the Coven. It felt like a punch to my stomach, as we drifted from one space to another within seconds.

  Jenn reformed into the shirtless Yolo. He brushed through his long blonde hair with relief. The smell of blood consumed us all. It came from the direction of Cesar’s room; where the others rested. I ran at vampire speed. I could hear through the tunnels that Cesar and my mother followed not far behind me.

  I stopped, unsure of what I just witnessed. Twenty-two vampires gasped on their knees. They all clutched their head’s as blood oozed from their noses and ears. Connor stood in front of the open door. Balzar and Chase stood behind him, unalarmed. Connor’s outstretched hand, somehow, had a connection to these vampires that screamed for mercy. What was Connor’s gift?

  “You dare defy the direct order of Cesar?” He simply said. “The penalty is death.”

  “Please Connor,” one of the vampires gasped as they choked on their own blood. “It’s not right to have them here. But we won’t try again. We swear.” Cesar and my mother now stood behind us, and watched Connor’s face contort into a fierce rage.

  “You are a traitor and a monster. You cannot live,” Connor said. He scrunched his hand together. All the vampires screamed. A pop noise simultaneously echoed out of them. The burst of their heart seeped through their chest. All twenty-two vampires decomposed onto the ground. Their bodies darkened as they sagged further as a corpse. Connor stared at their corpses for a while in disgust, before he looked up at us all, with his usual unaffected eyes.

  “You didn’t wait for my order son?” Cesar said being witness to the death of twenty-two of his coven members. Though, he did not object to it when he saw the intent in Connors eyes.

  “It was by your commandment that if they were to attack, I was to kill them. How foolish of them to think that because they had a bulk number, they would get past me,” Connor said with little emotion. Cesar wasn’t upset with him and only nodded in gratitude.

  “Those were my words son, thank you for obeying,” Cesar said simply. “Balzar, please clean this mess.” My mother looked from the corpses to Connor. Like me, she was assessing him. What was it that Connor could do? To be able to take out twenty-two vampires without moving himself was an intimidating gift. I knew of Tythian’s and Yolo’s gift, but for Connor to kill so many vampires in one clean movement, he was a vampire that I had to be wary of.

  “That’s why Connor is our first line of defense. Most don’t make it past him,” Yolo said. He walked past me, to help Balzar discard the bodies. Lydia ran behind us in a panic, as she looked over the corpses.

  Without looking at her, Tythian spoke. “Thomas is not here. I wonder if he had a part to play in this, and used them as puppets.”

  A sigh of relief escaped Lydia as she found her brother was not dead. I tu
rned savage at the thought and accusation. Thomas could have been behind this, he told me himself, that he would come after them. He threatened them; he had to be behind this.

  I sped past Tythian, I was now on the hunt for Thomas. Tythian was instigating, I knew he wanted me to kill Thomas. But I wasn’t being played, I wanted him dead too.

  I focused my sensitive hearing into the direction of the tunnels and searched for his voice. There were many vampires talking, some fed and laughed; others moaning and making love. I heard his distinguished voice, in a large room, which cluttered with weapons. He was amongst other voices I recognized. It was the elite team that I had only few days ago led for the assassination of Tracey’s Council.

  I had not yet explored these tunnels, but I was led by Thomas’s voice. He tried to kill those who I vowed to protect. I would kill him. My eyes hazed with their purple and my fangs slipped out fiercely. It was a darkly lit room, but I didn’t need the light, I saw perfectly fine.

  I ignored all the other vampires, and leapt for Thomas. I wrapped my hands around his neck. He had already caught my hands and flung me towards the wall. He patted over his shoulder, as if I were dirty to him.

  “Did you set an ambush up against my friends?!” I hissed. The other vampires around us were unsure as to what to do. Which leader were they to follow, their old or their new. They circled us, and left the fight between us.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Thomas smiled wickedly. I surveyed my surroundings. There were weapons on my left that I could pick up. The only noise I heard was the vampires around us, as they lightly stepped towards the walls, so they would not get in our way. I only focused on Thomas. I felt my eyes pinning him- he was my prey. Thomas toyed with the sword in his hand, egging me to attack.

  I snatched the razor like sword from the vampire beside me. Thomas leapt for me with glee. His blade smashed into mine as we challenged one another in strength. He head butted me. I scathed my blade against his sword, and flicked it away. I elbowed him in the ribs as I spun to his side. He twisted his blade towards my stomach, but I dodged using my own blade to stop him.

  The swords scraped against one another again, in a domineering strength. Cracks began in the metal of my sword and it shattered amongst his might. I discarded the broken weapon, and threw the handle away. He swung for my neck, but I lowered to the ground. The crunch of the metal beneath my feet was very distinct. I hit precisely two points in his arm with my fingers, which forced it to freeze for a moment. I knocked his blade out of his hand and smashed my palm into his jaw. He flipped backwards into the air. He was already prepared for me as I jumped on him. In one clean swift movement, he circled me and kicked me in the back and against the weapons stand. The items made a clashing noise as I crashed to the floor, embarrassing myself.

  Vampires began to hiss as Chase walked in, watching us as we fought. He would not intervene, not when he knew I could win this.

  “Stop!” Cesar roared. My mother, Tythian, and Lydia, walked in behind him. I snarled at Thomas again. I would not. I raised my fists and shuffled on my feet lightly. I would beat the truth out of him. Thomas smiled wickedly. He grabbed a dart from his inner jacket and threw it towards Chase’s chest. Chase raised his hand to catch it, but Lydia had intervened. The jarred edges of the dagger sliced her hand. She stared at her brother with fury. Her blood encompassed the smell of the room. With Thomas caught off guard, I punched him in the stomach. With my other fist, I intended to snap his neck with it. He had already grabbed it and spun me in the air.

  I landed on my feet, and hissed at him as I looked up. He was fast and strong. Four of the vampires within the room grabbed at him from behind. Thomas flung two of them against the wall. Sharon grabbed him from behind, her tiny form hardly seen. Another three vampires from the group grabbed hold of him.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? You are turning on me, for her?!” Thomas snapped angrily.

  “I’ve had enough!” Cesar bellowed. I looked at Chase who injected his thoughts into my own.

  “Calm,” he said, with that soothing effect he so easily glittered me with. “Let Cesar deal with him now. This is a coven matter. No harm has come to Dillian or Julia.”

  The other vampires from the elite team now stood by my side. Was this their show of support? Could they so quickly change the person whom they took command from and was led by? Cesar approached Thomas and stood in front of him, looking down at him with disgrace. Or was this the power of Cesar’s words? Were these vampires so dedicated to Cesar and this Coven, that they would cut all bonds and ties with a former friend and leader, if it were required of them?

  The vampires were unsettled by Chase and my mother now being in the room, but none looked into their direction. Only a few drops of blood from Lydia’s hand had reached the ground, before it had healed.

  “Please Cesar. He didn’t harm Esmore’s familiar. I will make him apologize,” Lydia begged.

  “Enough!” Cesar snapped. “I told you Thomas, I gave you one chance,” Cesar began.

  “She attacked me, how am I to defend myself. If I hadn’t, I would already be dead!” Thomas snapped.

  Balzar interrupted as he walked into the room. “Perhaps when you convince twenty-three vampires to attack the very room Cesar forbade anyone to go towards, or the very guests he housed and protected; you should make sure all are loyal to that endeavor.” Balzar crossed the room and stood beside Cesar. “The death count after Connor killed them within seconds was twenty-two. The last one reported your treachery.”

  “It’s a lie!” Thomas snarled. I hovered my mind over his and wanted to confirm his treachery for myself. His eyes went into a frenzy as he snapped and snarled at me. “Get the fuck out of my head!”

  “Some men develop into leadership and they gain respect and power. Others are consumed by it and become greedy. They sacrifice their men for their own gain and tower over the weakest of the coven. You are no leader, if you would misuse your own comrades in such a way,” Cesar said, angrily. “I will not have you a part of this Coven any longer.”

  “Tythian set me up!” Thomas roared, desperately. Lydia watched between everyone, uncertain.

  “But I was not here, Thomas,” Tythian purred with satisfaction. “A desperate man turns sloppy in his endeavors. What did you really think would happen? You have, for so many years stood by my father’s side. Faithfully you were one of the best and a great leader. I wonder if your sanity is finally coming undone. Am I to guess you are slowly disintegrating into a saber?”

  “That’s bullshit, you slimy dog!” Thomas crooned. “Cesar look at this Coven. You are destroying it! Every form of abomination is in this room. Having another Coven’s leader as guest, don’t make me sick.” Thomas spat towards Chases feet. Cesar looked down unfazed by it. “You loved my sister once, Cesar! And then you trade her in for a Huntress?!” Thomas snarled. Lydia instantly diverted her eyes to the ground. Cesar and Lydia were. . . Cesar grabbed Thomas by the throat and lifted him so that his feet could not touch the ground. All other vampires stepped away. “You have an abomination for a daughter!” Thomas continued. “And Hunters to be protected, you are the one who is losing your sanity!” Thomas spat on Cesar’s leather jacket.

  Cesar looked at the spit on his jacket. His eyes were stone cold when he looked back at Thomas. It was like watching a beast ensnare small prey. I had never seen Cesar like this, his look was deadly. This was the form I had never seen of him, and now understood why everyone followed his command. He was an old, deadly, and dark vampire.

  “I will enjoy watching you be torn to shreds,” Cesar said slowly in his thick accent. With vampire speed he breezed through the tunnels. Everyone followed. Cesar stopped at the entrance of the tunnels. The sabers which began to wake on the brink of night were moving. “We have fought for many years. But you have been the maker of your own death.”

  Cesar threw Thomas through the crack. The sabers reacted, their snarls and pace slammed into a pile towards Thomas. Ly
dia ran past me, but Cesar grabbed her wrist before she passed through the barrier.

  “You don’t have to watch. And you don’t have to die because of your brothers action,” Cesar said, calmly as he continued to watch. Lydia looked up at him wide eyed and at her brother who was being mounted by a pack of sabers. He was fighting them off, but for every saber he killed, another two jumped on him.

  Lydia looked at me, unable to process what she had done. She probably thought she contributed to the decision in his death, by catching the dagger that was thrown at Chase. Her eyes blurred with tears. I had never seen a vampire cry before. But this was her brother. How many lifetimes had they lived together? She pushed past all the vampires who acknowledged her pain, but let her pass by with vampire speed in silence.

  Cesar turned to all of us. He looked at the team who he considered to be his elite. He had just killed their leader. Chase held my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. He wasn’t meant to be outside his room, and was at risk right now for being here.

  “Let this be a lesson to the lot of you and make sure the message passes through,” Cesar announced. I looked past Cesar, where I could see the drag marks of blood and still a loud commotion. I could sense that Thomas was still fighting; he was an old vampire after all. Cesar turned his back and walked past all of us, my mother not far behind him. My mother slipped a note into my hand. Only Chase and Tythian had seemed to notice the exchange. I too followed them and continued through the tunnels, so I could check on Dillian and Julia myself. And to thank Connor for what he had done.

  Chase held my hand firmly, to help me conceal the note that my mother had given me. I heard whispers amongst the tunnels, as word already began to spread into the coven of vampires.