The Claimed (Sin Hunters)

by Caridad Piñeiro

  Sadly, that would not happen this time. Alexander could no more give himself up than he could allow Christopher’s warped vision to come to fruition. There was no way to end the contamination in their bodies and uniting with the Light Ones would only weaken their people.

  His son had to die, and Alexander had to have the Light Hunter Quinchu. If she somehow carried Christopher’s child, that heir would ensure the City clan would continue. He would teach that child the true ways of the Dark Ones and maybe when the time was right, he would do as his father had done and sacrifice himself to his grandchild.

  Maybe. It was only a thought, since that possibility was a long time away. Absent challenges to their life forces, Hunters could easily live for over a hundred years.

  Summoning his cadre, he waited impatiently for them to arrive and when they did, he gave them the news.

  “Tonight we wage war on a traitor,” he began.

  CHAPTER

  27

  Victoria braced her arms on the railing of her deck, lifting her face up to the crescent of moon present tonight. Its dim glow matched the minimal vitality she drew into her body.

  No wonder those with a lunar affinity were so fickle with their power. The moon was too inconstant to provide consistency, unlike the marvelous ocean before her, no matter that the waters ebbed and flowed to the moon’s command.

  A sound came from beneath her and she realized Christopher had finally arrived. He looked up at her, his face partially in shadow, but even without additional light she saw his fear and felt it through the connection between them.

  “What’s wrong?” she called down, but he was already in motion, moving up the stairs to come to her side.

  He grasped her arms gently. “We must talk.”

  Her gut tightened, such was the apprehension she sensed in him.

  A sad smile came to his face then and he splayed his big hand over hers. “Do you sense your Equinox?” he asked.

  She did. There was no denying she felt different, but even though they had made love, she did not perceive the bonding that had to occur to truly boost her power and create an irrevocable connection to Christopher. Power that would also produce a child if the bonding occurred.

  “I do, but I’m not sure the time is right for us to unite,” she confessed, and wondered at his sigh of disappointment.

  “What’s wrong, Christopher?” she pressed, worry in every cell of her body.

  “Come inside,” he said, and took hold of her hand, walking into her bedroom and locking the balcony doors behind him.

  “You’re scaring me,” she admitted.

  “Maybe because I am scared, warmi,” he acknowledged. He walked to her and took her into his arms. “Maya passed a message to someone tonight. Probably one of my father’s men.”

  Which could only mean trouble, she realized. “What will he do?”

  “If he knows what we plan, he will attack to kill since he cannot accept a union of our clans.”

  Of all the things she had expected to happen, she had not counted on this possibility, maybe because her own Light Hunters would not react in this way. Clearly her clan’s concerns about the Dark Ones had not been so far off.

  She pushed away from him, needing distance and clearly surprising him with her action.

  “You still have hesitation? When I’ve possibly sacrificed myself and my people?” he challenged.

  She could not deny her fears. If what Christopher said was true, it would mean outright war with his father. Light versus dark with a body count she could not even begin to imagine. But to not go through with their plan likewise brought the specter of death. Slow death for her people as their energies faded. Possible extinction for the Light Hunters and maybe even for the Dark Ones. Eventually they, too, would run out of people to drain so they could control the pox in their bodies.

  And then another vision came to her, more powerful than all the others. One of Christopher dead and her alone, her heart empty. Somehow in the course of just several days, he had come to matter to her and she could not imagine being without him.

  Taking a step toward him, she took hold of his hands and with conviction said, “I want to explore what is possible between us. I want to help our people have a better future. What do you need me to do now?”

  He smiled at the strength in her tone and her avowal of faith in him. “I need you to stay safe so that in case I fall tonight—”

  “I do not want to lose you, Christopher.” She wrapped her arms around him and urged him close.

  “I hope you won’t,” he said, trapping her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. “I have to go. I wish I could stay with you, but I cannot leave those who followed me to fight my father alone,” he said, moving from her side.

  Victoria grabbed his hand to keep him with her for just a moment longer, unwilling to let him fight by himself. “You will not be alone. My cadre and I will be there for you.”

  “You cannot help me. You must stay safe. If anything happens to me, you are the future.” He hugged her hard and then, before she could protest, he was flying out the door, leaving a glimmering trail of light as a reminder that he’d been there. That and the pain in her heart at the thought that she might lose him before they really got to explore what was happening between them.

  But no matter what Christopher wanted, she could not leave him alone in this fight.

  Picking up her cell phone, she called Rafael to have him round up her cadre, but his phone just rang.

  Worry spiked through her again at Rafael’s absence. It was unlike her cadre captain to be missing, and once again she wondered if maybe he was the one within her fold who was assisting Maya.

  Reluctantly she left him a message and then dialed her second-in-command.

  “Penn, I can’t reach Rafael. I need you to gather the cadre immediately. Have everyone meet me at the shop within the half hour.”

  Penn confirmed her instructions and hung up. She considered her next steps, worried about the number of warriors that Christopher’s father would bring if he attacked. She needed every one of her cadre members and tried Rafael again, but the phone went unanswered for a second time. Frustrated, she dialed the only other person who could make a difference if a battle should occur.

  “Adam. I need your help.”

  CHAPTER

  28

  Christopher didn’t hesitate to morph to his most elemental level since every second was precious. He literally walked across the water, leaping across the ions in the sea spray until he reached his compound miles away.

  The trip took him less than a minute, and as he arrived, he noted that his cadre had already taken up their defensive positions along the outside of the house. As he neared, he noted Ryan walking the perimeter, making sure everything was in order.

  With another burst of power, he sped until he was yards away, his people sensing the approach of Shadow power. Immediately they were there, energy orbs at the ready. As he materialized before them and was recognized, they relaxed their guard to let him pass.

  He walked up to them, laying his hands on each of them along the edge of the lawn to offer the kiss of his energy to provide them greater strength. Murmuring his thanks and a prayer for their well-being. Striding around the perimeter of the compound, he did the same for each of his cadre and their family members who had come to fight, a dozen men and woman in all.

  As he made his rounds, he passed by the doors to Maya’s room and noted how Ryan had dealt with her. Thick bands of energy bound her to the bedpost while a much thinner grounding tether plunged into the earth beside her.

  Ryan had been kind. A line that thin would take days to drain Maya of her life forces. He would not have been so generous, but then again, maybe such a slow, lingering death was greater punishment than a swift end.

  He turned the corner and Ryan was there, offering a final command to another of his cadre members. Ryan looked toward him and offered up a weak smile, then came over, embraced Christopher in a hug.
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  “It has been an honor to serve you,” he said, a fatalistic tone in his voice.

  “Have faith, Ry. We are stronger and will prevail,” he said, gifting his friend with an even greater part of his power.

  Ryan started, surprised by the gift. “I am honored, Christopher.”

  “It is I who am honored to be your friend. To live and fight by your side.” He bit back his fear that he would die by Ryan’s side as well.

  Ryan clapped him on the back and gestured in the direction of the house. “Go inside with the others, Christopher. Let us keep you safe as we were charged to do.”

  He knew better than to protest. That would only keep Ryan from completing the protection for their clan, especially the children of the cadre members secreted within the compound. With a final hug, he hurried indoors, getting a lay of the land so that he could protect those within should the perimeter be breached.

  The children and remaining family members of his cadre were secured in his library, and some of their more powerful parents were at its entrances, guarding the room. As he had with his cadre members, he bestowed upon each of the parents a bit of his power to strengthen them until he was almost light-headed from the exercise.

  With his father and his men likely speeding their way toward the compound, he had little time to waste. Hurrying to his room, he stripped and headed to the spa in his bathroom. It was fed from the tide table beneath his home and the liquid was alive with energy. But that alone was not enough.

  As he sat in the waters, he stretched out his arms and pulled in the free-floating energies in the air around him, soaking up every bit of vitality from the charged particles in the air surrounding him. Little by little his core warmed and became heavy with the forces of life until he felt restored.

  Exiting the waters, he dried off and dressed in black from head to toe to camouflage himself in the dark night until he made his appearance. One which he hoped would disorient his father’s warriors long enough for him to take some of them out of commission and improve the odds.

  Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and dispatched what he hoped would not be one last good-bye.

  “I love you, Victoria.”

  She had just finished explaining to her cadre when she felt it, passing over her like a summer breeze. The kiss of his energy, alive and powerful even with the distance separating them.

  It distracted her for a moment, prompting her newest cadre member Catalina to ask, “Is everything all right, Quinchu?”

  Bracing a hand against the flutters in her core, she continued with her request. “I need Hunters who will fight beside me. Beside Christopher and his people.”

  The half-a-dozen warriors gathered before her exchanged worried glances, clearly undecided, but then Catalina stepped up.

  “I will fight, Quinchu,” she said, dipping her head and saluting.

  Of all of them, she had not expected Mike’s widow to be the first to volunteer. She more than most had reason to hate the Dark Ones.

  She laid her hand on Catalina’s shoulder. “I am honored by your loyalty.”

  “If it will keep anyone else from losing a loved one as I did, it is worth the sacrifice,” Catalina said, rising notches in Victoria’s esteem.

  A second later, another of her cadre stepped forward. Billy, the youngest of all her warriors. Just twenty, he had only just discovered his true affinity, but his powers were strong due to his youth.

  After he stepped shoulder to shoulder with Catalina, she likewise thanked him and immediately thereafter, the remainder of her cadre took up positions beside their two comrades and offered to call their mates to assist.

  Victoria wasn’t sure if it was shame or honor that drove the rest, and at that point, didn’t much care. With their help they might not only save Christopher and his people, but also secure her clan’s future.

  She started at the far end and was about to gift each of them with a portion of her power when a knock came at the door. She sensed their energies even before she opened it to let them in.

  Rafael entered, followed by Adam and Bobbie Bruno. Behind them were several of the mates her cadre members had summoned with mental entreaties.

  “Forgive me, Quinchu. I was not available when you called,” Rafael said, not that it really explained why he had been off the grid for so long. A frisson of unease traveled through her yet again, but she contained her hesitation and inclined her head in the direction of the cadre.

  His lips thinned into a tight slash at her near dismissal, but she had more to worry about than his pique.

  Facing Adam and Bobbie, she shook their hands and thanked them for coming.

  “Don’t thank me yet, Victoria. I do not know how I can help someone like Christopher,” he said, but that earned an elbow from his wife.

  “Adam seems to forget that I was a ‘someone’ once and not so readily accepted by the Light Ones either,” Bobbie reminded.

  “You were at least a Hybrid,” he challenged, earning him another forceful poke.

  “It did not take you long to develop Hunter arrogance, did it?” Bobbie warned, and despite the teasing tone of her voice, there was no doubt his wife would not put up with such self-importance in her husband.

  To his credit, Adam chuckled and shook his head. He circled his arm around his wife’s waist. “I’m sorry. I’ve been hanging around the other Quinchus too much. Present company excluded.”

  With a dip of her head, she acknowledged the compliment, but then had to press forward as time was growing short. “Christopher believes his father will attack tonight to stop us from uniting our clans and energies.”

  Bobbie and Adam shared a worried look. “I don’t know how we can help. We don’t have a cadre and my parents—”

  “Will not send their people. Neither would mine, so I have not asked. But there is a way you can help—with your energy.”

  At his confused look, she urged them to walk back with her toward her cadre and the mates who had lined up beside them. She demonstrated, laying her hands on her first cadre member and gifting him with a little of her life force.

  Understanding her request, he copied her actions, charging each of her people with additional power until they arrived at Catalina. There Victoria paused and peered at the other woman intently.

  Misinterpreting, Catalina said, “Have I displeased, Quinchu?”

  Victoria quickly reassured her. “Not at all, Catalina. But I need something special from you.”

  A furrow formed between her brown-blonde brows as Catalina considered her request. “What can I provide that is special?”

  Victoria explained. “We are of a like height and general build and coloring. I would like to borrow a bit of your life force. I need to become you so that Christopher will not be distracted when I fight by his side.”

  With a quick inclination of her head, Catalina replied, “I would be honored to share my life force with you.”

  Turning to Adam, Victoria asked, “Will you gift me afterward so that I may maintain Catalina’s form for as long as possible?”

  “I will,” he confirmed.

  Returning her attention to Catalina, she took hold of the other woman’s hands. “Relax. Open your core to me.”

  Catalina closed her eyes and little by little the tension left her body and Victoria reached in, sending a seeking probe of energy until she connected with the heart of Catalina’s life force and sipped a soupçon of it. She returned her power with that taste and concentrated it, holding it in her own center before she discharged it out along the pathways in her body.

  Because of their physical similarities, it took little energy to assume Catalina’s form, although there was some discomfort from the shift of muscle and bone as well as an expansion of her density since Catalina was a little broader through the shoulders and hips.

  As the pain of the morphing fled, she faced Adam in her new form. He peered at her intently, as if searching for any signs of Victoria, but finding none. Shaking his head, he lai
d his hands on her shoulders. Heat and an intense vibration erupted at that spot as their life forces clashed for a moment, fighting for dominance, before she let down her guard. Only a heartbeat passed before the stream of his power flowed through her, refilling her center, continuing to fuel her until her head was swimming, nearly drunk on his power. It was so pure and strong, it was almost overwhelming.

  “Adam,” she cried out, and he broke the connection and stumbled back, virtually falling into his wife’s arms.

  “Should I be jealous?” Bobbie said with an arch of her brow as she supported Adam.

  Victoria shook her head, righting herself. “No, not at all. It was just more energy than I expected. Thank you, Adam.”

  He nodded weakly and said, “I hope you are right about Christopher and his people.” Shooting a glance at her cadre members and their mates, he added, “I would not want to lose so many lives for nothing.”

  “I hope so, too, Adam,” Victoria agreed.

  CHAPTER

  29

  Christopher stood by Ryan, finalizing their plans. From low on the beach came the sudden drone of immense power. They both looked down and watched as at least three dozen bodies materialized along the shoreline. The warriors lined up in a neat phalanx, their red and blue auras stained with murkiness from the pox, identifying them as Shadow Hunters.

  A brighter blur of light sped to their side and took shape beside them with a flash. The form’s aura was brighter, a testament to its power, but deeply contaminated by the darkling threads of the pox.

  Alexander. Even in the faint moonlight he recognized his father’s energy.

  “I’m surprised he came himself,” Ryan muttered from beside him.

  “As am I,” Christopher confirmed. He had not expected his father to sully his hands in battle. His presence there could mean only one thing.