The Claimed (Sin Hunters)

by Caridad Piñeiro

  Sammie glanced around at all the destruction to the home and property. “Party get a little out of hand?”

  Victoria shook her head, amazed at how blasé Sammie could still be considering all that she had seen in the last hour. “I think we both know it wasn’t a party, Sammie. People were hurt here. People died here.”

  Sammie nodded and once again examined the damage.

  “They hurt Ryan badly. Do you think he’ll die?” Sammie asked, peering back toward the house.

  “He’s strong and Christopher and I can help him heal.”

  “Because you’re like him? Like the men who were hurting him?” Sammie asked, narrowing her eyes and examining Victoria as if she expected to see something different.

  “Not all Shadow Hunters play nice,” Victoria answered, knowing that after all that Sammie had seen and heard an explanation was long overdue.

  “Are you a Shadow Hunter?” Sammie questioned, for the first time looking at Victoria as if she was something other than human, but then again, so was Sammie.

  “I’m a Light Hunter. Kind of like a Shadow, but not quite.”

  Sammie wiggled her index finger, prompting Victoria for more information as she said, “And I’m…”

  “I’m not sure, but I would guess that you’re a Hybrid, a Hunter/human mix.”

  Sammie wagged her head back and forth, obviously befuddled. “I don’t get it. So you’re not human?”

  “Maybe we were, and still are,” Victoria confessed, because in all the time the Hunters had existed, no one had ever determined if they were or weren’t human in some part. At Sammie’s continued confusion, she explained, “We may have all originated from the same species, but somewhere along the way Hunters developed the ability to gather energy from the nature around them. It made them more powerful than everyday humans.”

  “And the Light and Shadow thing? Is it like good and evil?” Sammie asked, and glanced back in the direction of the house as Christopher stepped in from a back room. Through the balcony doors the bed holding Ryan was visible. It had been moved close to the windows so that the bright rays of the sun bathed Ryan’s body.

  “Not all Shadows are evil. Christopher is a Shadow Hunter. A good one,” Victoria stressed, but Sammie just shook her head again.

  “That must be sitting well with the family.”

  Victoria had to chuckle and rolled her eyes. “Actually, not, but, Sammie… You need to ask your dad about your family. Where you came from so that we can help you.”

  Sammie laughed harshly. “Help me? I’ve been helping myself for years.”

  Victoria reached over and tenderly grasped her friend’s hand. “You’ve been alone for years, Sammie, but now it’s not just about you being my best friend. We’re your people. Your family.”

  Continuing to wiggle her head, Sammie replied, “Family? It’s just my dad and me—”

  “And your mom. You need to know more about your mom. Maybe then you’ll find some kind of peace about her,” Victoria urged as Christopher finally reached them and sat down next to Victoria.

  “How is he?” Sammie asked, staring back up at the room anxiously.

  “Unconscious, but holding on,” he advised.

  With an abrupt nod, Sammie slapped her thighs and rose from the chair. “I should go, but…” She looked toward Ryan’s room once more. “Would you mind if I checked in on him before I leave?”

  “Not at all,” Christopher said. “When you’re done, I’ll have Matt drive you home.”

  Smiling tightly, Sammie walked away in the direction of the compound and Christopher asked, “Did you tell her?”

  “I did. She’s in a bit of disbelief, but I asked her to speak to her dad about her mom. Sammie told me she died young. That she was sickly,” Victoria advised him, while trying to guard her friend’s secrets as well.

  “Sickly like a Hunter deprived of gathering energy?” he offered up for consideration.

  Victoria dipped her head. “Maybe. Sammie will come to us once she knows more.”

  “Or to visit Ryan. She seems to have been taken with him,” Christopher said.

  “Sammie has always been a sucker for injured things,” Victoria advised.

  “And you? Are you okay with us? With all that’s happening?” he asked, clearly aware that with his father getting away, a peaceful existence might not be theirs for some time.

  “I am, although I’m worried about the future,” she confessed.

  “As am I, but we will find our way,” he replied, leaning back in his chair to soak up some of the sun as well. Silent, they considered what would come later and not just with his father. Later that day they would decide the fate of the captured Shadow Hunters as the rules of their world demanded.

  As their Añaru the choice would be up to Christopher, and she hoped he could be merciful while safeguarding the future of their people and of something else.

  She passed her hand over her abdomen and experienced the stirring again. It had come just after the battle with the Zero Point Reaver, and she had attributed it to a disruption caused by her contact with the assassin. But it had come again on the drive home and then just moments before when she had sat down with Sammie.

  She’d heard Hunter women say they knew exactly when it had happened, and although Victoria could guess at the when, it was only now that she finally recognized the stirring for what it was.

  A child, already growing within her as the result of her Equinox binding with Christopher. A hybrid of Light and Shadow Hunter who would one day lead their people.

  But lead them to where? she wondered, lightly stroking her hand over her belly as she shot a glance at her beloved from the corner of her eye. When he roused and shot her a loving smile, hope blossomed once more.

  To peace and a better life, she thought, taking hold of his hand and experiencing the connection between them grow stronger as love filled her core and cradled the newfound life within her in its embrace.

  A dozen of Alexander’s people stood before the gathered crowd of Shadow and Light Hunters from Christopher and Victoria’s clan. He had insisted on her people being there as they, too, had been injured by the actions of the group standing before them.

  In the world of the Dark Ones there were only a few choices as to what to do with captive enemies. But this was not the old world, Christopher thought.

  He stepped from Victoria’s side and flung one arm wide in the direction of the captured warriors. “Today we have few possibilities for these Hunters. Death or banishment. But in the past, before the pox came, we might have spared them. Allowed them to pledge allegiance to a new clan.”

  Like an attorney pleading his case, he walked back and forth along the line of warriors, pausing to look each one in the eye. Gauging the risk of permitting his father’s people to stay as part of his clan. Not his clan. Their people now that Victoria and he had bonded.

  Speaking to Alexander’s people, he said, “You know my father’s ways. His true nature. Do you choose that life over one of possible peace and purity?”

  As he stepped from one to another, they dropped to their knees, saluting him, until he got to the last man. He recognized him well. He had been his father’s second-in-command. “And what of you, Simon? Do you choose to return to my father?”

  Simon looked straight ahead, never meeting Christopher’s gaze, but he slowly brought his right hand up to his chest and looked Christopher full in the eye. There was relief there when the man said, “No, Añaru. I wish for peace. I wish to stay.” Then he bowed his head to complete his salute.

  Christopher turned to where his and Victoria’s people were gathered. “Do you accept their surrender and their vow to join our clan?”

  Murmurs rose as their people looked at one another, but then each of them voiced their acceptance.

  He glanced at Victoria and held out his hand to her, waiting for her to come to his side. She pushed forward and slipped her hand into his.

  “Do you and your clan accept their su
rrender and vow?”

  Victoria faced the clan members standing before her, well aware of the sacrifice they had made to come fight beside her. Well aware of what Christopher was asking.

  They had joined their energies and now it was time to rejoice in the joining of their hearts and hope that their people would join them. She no longer had any hesitation about his true character. His actions over the last several days and his benevolence to his father’s warriors had proved his honor. But she was uncertain whether her cadre would take the next step and follow her to a new and unexpected future.

  “I accept their surrender and commitment to our new clan,” she clarified to Christopher, who grinned broadly at her words. She then faced her people. “I ask you to accept their vow, but I also ask you to pledge yourselves to this new clan. Those who do not wish to join are free to return to my parents’ protection.”

  An even louder murmur passed among her people and Christopher’s as awareness seeped in that tonight the world would change drastically. That their lives and those of the other Hunter clans might not ever be the same.

  After long minutes of quiet discussion, a number of her people kneeled and saluted, but at least half a dozen remained standing.

  “I understand. You’re free to return to the Ocean clan,” she said, and they hesitated, clearly torn. Expectant, almost.

  Christopher turned to his clan members and solicited their allegiance. “Do you pledge yourself to this new clan?”

  As with Victoria’s people, there was some initial talk, but then they all kneeled and saluted. In response, those members of her clan who had been uncertain looked at each other. While three of the six abandoned them, the remainder genuflected and saluted.

  Together Victoria and Christopher raised their joined hands, urging their new members to rise. “Tomorrow we will honor our dead,” Victoria advised, her tone solemn.

  “But soon after we will celebrate our joyous bonding and the union of our people,” Christopher said, but as she met Christopher’s gaze, she knew there was still one item of unfinished business.

  Maya.

  They had decided that he alone would decide her fate, and Victoria was hoping that his actions would not be dictated by the rage she had sensed in him earlier.

  “Go rest. There is food in the ballroom and extra beds in the east wing for those who wish to stay,” Christopher said, and then bent his finger in the direction of his second-in-command. Victoria motioned to Rafael, inviting him over as well.

  Christopher scrutinized each of them, gauging if they were ready. Although hesitation remained about Rafael, this was not the time for more strife. “Work out a watch schedule. It’s likely too soon for my father to attack again, but we cannot risk it.”

  The two men saluted and then marched away together, discussing security.

  “What about Maya?” Victoria said, worried about Christopher’s plans for her. He had left her bound with energy and a grounding line in her former room. The line had been thick and visibly pulsing with the power being drawn from her body.

  “I wish to see Ryan first,” he said, and hurried toward his friend’s room.

  The cadre member who had been standing guard over Ryan rose and saluted as they entered. “Could you leave us for a bit?” Christopher asked, and sat down beside his friend.

  Ryan was pale, almost lifeless-looking despite the hours of sun that had touched his body that afternoon. Christopher gripped Ryan’s hand in his, but there was no movement and his skin remained chilled. Despite his almost death-like appearance, however, a weak pulse of power hummed beneath his skin. But the hum was erratic and fractured.

  With a sidelong glance at Victoria, he asked, “Can we try to heal him some more?”

  Nodding, she walked around the bed and took a spot opposite him. She joined her hands with his and together they called up some of the sun-kissed power they had absorbed earlier. They focused on the worst of the Zero Point Reaver’s wounds along Ryan’s midsection.

  As they trailed their hands upward, to just above the uppermost energy strike, something seemed to pop beneath their hands. It made an immediate difference in Ryan, whose skin took on a bit more color. They focused on that spot, pouring healing energy down into him, and his color gradually increased. Seconds later, his eyelids fluttered and then he opened unfocused eyes.

  Victoria and Christopher carefully broke the healing connection, not wanting to undo whatever block they had freed with their actions. Leaning over his friend, he was rewarded as Ryan’s eyes fixed on his face.

  “Am I alive?” Ryan whispered, clearly still confused.

  “You are, Ry. And you’re safe,” Christopher said, and grasped Ryan’s hand again. This time his friend grabbed hold weakly.

  “I can’t feel my legs.” Ryan said, but then pressed his head back and moaned, obviously beginning to experience pain.

  “Where does it hurt, Ryan?” Victoria asked.

  With a rough breath, he said, “Everywhere. Nowhere.”

  Victoria shot him a quick look and raised her hands, moving them toward Ryan’s head. Sometimes it was better to block all consciousness and allow the body to heal.

  “You need to rest, Ry. Get stronger,” Christopher pleaded, but as Ryan noticed Victoria’s actions and realized her intent, he grew agitated.

  “Need… to… tell. Maya,” he began, but stopped as another wave of pain rolled over his body, making his eyes roll back into his head.

  “I know she betrayed us. I’ll deal with her.”

  Ryan mustered control and got out roughly, “Alexander wanted to kill me… Maya stopped him.”

  “And turned you over to a Zero Point Reaver,” he challenged, but Ryan shook his head.

  “I think she was trying to help me,” he answered, and his hand tightened on Christopher’s before he went limp as a melted candle.

  “Let me block his discomfort,” Victoria suggested, and Christopher allowed her to place her hands on Ryan’s temples. The gentle push of her power flared through Ryan, blocking the centers of pain so that he could rest peacefully and heal.

  When she was finished, she stepped away from his friend and said, “What do we do now?”

  Christopher surged to his feet.

  “We deal with Maya.”

  CHAPTER

  37

  Every breath she took was measured, guarding against any excess movement that would cause the grounding tether to react and draw yet more energy from her. As it was, each beat of her heart seemed to send a drop of power down along the line, bleeding away her life forces.

  Maya supposed she deserved as much. She had betrayed Christopher and in the end, she had likewise tricked Alexander. Although she had grabbed his arm, begging him to leave, her actions had really been intended to help Ryan.

  She hadn’t been able to allow them to kill Ryan. He had already suffered so much and had been as good as dead, but permitting Alexander to murder him would have dealt Christopher an almost mortal blow. As angry as she was with Christopher, Ryan had been good to her, even considering his recent actions.

  Maya supposed she had been deserving of that punishment as well, which pretty much had her resigned to her death. She had no doubt that was the edict Christopher would hand down, and in a way, death would be welcome since so far life had pretty much sucked.

  She didn’t even move as she heard the slight scrape of the door and the sound of footsteps approaching across the hardwood floor.

  “Is he alive?” she asked, hoping that Ryan had somehow survived the hideous torture the Reaver had inflicted on him.

  “Barely,” Christopher replied, his tone so cold that it chilled her core.

  “Tell him I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes glued to the ceiling, unwilling to acknowledge him or Victoria as she stood beside him. The other woman’s energy, so powerful and enticing, was flavored with the unique essence of Christopher’s life force.

  “He says you helped him,” Victoria said.

  Maya shrugge
d. A mistake, as more energy was pulled down the grounding line by the movement. “Ryan was good to me,” she admitted, her throat tight with emotion as a weird sensation tightened her gut. Guilt, possibly?

  “His mistake,” Christopher rumbled.

  Maya bit back tears at his condemnation, even if it was well-deserved. This was the man with whom she had hoped to bond. The man with whom she would have spent the rest of her life. She almost laughed out loud as she considered that the latter might actually happen.

  “You know that what you’ve done deserves punishment. You betrayed me, Ryan, and the clan,” Christopher said in that rich baritone that still managed to stir her.

  “Just do it already, Christopher. No speeches. No reading of my sins, I know them well,” she challenged, not so much prepared for death as tired of life. She wouldn’t even try to trade information for mercy. Let them learn the hard way that they could not trust Rafael.

  Christopher clenched his fists, visibly trying to rein in his rage, but losing the battle. His aura gleamed brightly as emotion took over and he approached the edge of the bed and glanced down at her.

  “I was prepared to put you to death. But now, I realize that would be too easy an end for you. You don’t deserve a painless death.”

  When he snapped the grounding line free and then released the energy bonds securing her to the bed, Maya reacted as she realized his intent.

  “No, Christopher. Not that,” she said, coming to her knees in the center of the bed. She glanced wildly at Victoria and reached out to her for support. “Please, Victoria. That is far worse than death.”

  “Nothing is worse than death. Just ask Mike. Or Jason. Or any of the other Hunters who lost their lives because of your treachery,” Victoria replied.

  “Give me your arms,” Christopher said, and Maya wrapped them around herself, not that it would help.

  He raised his hands and concentrating his power, jerked her arms away from her body until they were stretched out in his direction. He wrapped a hand around each wrist as Maya continued to plead.