Dark Desires (The Hunter Chronicles Book 2)

by Claire Marta

  It only took moments for the garment to become shredded. They hung from her body in thick messy chunks. The flesh beneath was gaping open and soaked in red. In a blur Simon was on her. Bending Carly backwards over his arm, he sank his fangs savagely into her throat.

  Her struggles were desperate, but already she was weakened. Jasmine sat watching in horror. She couldn’t look away. Thunder boom overhead, so loud it shook the room. The rain was a torrent outside, continuing to beat down in heavy merciless waves, but she didn’t notice any of it.

  Carly was gurgling now. Swiftly it turned into a rattling wheeze, which emanated from her mutilated chest. Simon drank greedily. His slurping and gulping merged with the woman’s dying moans. Carly’s struggle eventually ceased. Limp in his arms she hung like a broken doll, eyes glassy and unblinking.

  With a growl Simon tore his fangs from the curve of her neck. The damage he left was ragged and messy.

  “You killed her.” Jasmine could barely whisper the words.

  Snarling, the vampire dumped the corpse on the floor. Blood soaked through his clothing, but he didn’t seem to care. Slowly he turned Jasmine’s way. Hunger still shone feverishly in his gaze. Although he had fed, she could see it was far from sated.

  Yanking on the ropes that held her, she struggled until her ankles and wrists bled. Yet still she couldn’t get free. Throat convulsing, Simon’s chest suddenly began to violently heave. A moment later blood spewed from his mouth as he vomited. Falling forwards onto his hands and knees, his body shook uncontrollably with the action as a crimson puddle splattered across the wooden floor.

  With a small distressed wail, he sat back on his heels. As he began to weep, he rocked slowly back and forth in his distress, his head in his hands. Jasmine stared at him, her mouth bone dry. Carly had said he couldn’t feed. No wonder he was starving if this kept happening.

  Without warning Simon began to crawl towards her, shuffling his way across the space between them. Fear spilled down Jasmine’s spine. She could do nothing. There was no way to escape with her binding so tight. He was going to rip out her throat.

  Bracing herself she waited for the plunge of his fangs into her flesh, but it never came.

  Gently Simon laid his head on her lap. Strangely childlike, it was something she had not been expecting. Jasmine wasn’t quite sure what to do. Was he going to turn on her or not? What the fuck could she say to him? She’s wasn’t even sure if she should. Would it trigger him to attack? Should she risk it?

  In silence she sat stiffly staring at his blonde hair. He sniffled a few times, trying to regain control of his composure and then after a while he quietened.

  Licking her dry lips, Jasmine tried to think of something to say. Could she convince him to let her go? From the state he was in, the urge to feed would be back and overwhelming.

  When his cheek rubbed against her jean clad thigh affectionately, Jasmine jumped in surprise. The hands that touched her hips were gentle. Slowly the vampire raised his head. Blood was smeared in a slash of red across his mouth and chin. Still wet, it continued to dribble from his parted lips.

  “It’s alright my darling Margaret. We’re together again now.” Simon petted her lovingly. “I won’t let them take you from me again.”

  A smile spread across his face, like he was trying to put her at ease. His face no longer seemed made for it though and the resulting expression was horrific. A sinking sensation started in the pit of Jasmine’s stomach. He was becoming delusional. This had to be the slide into madness Eric had told her about.

  “Simon you’re sick, let me help you.” It was a small plea. If any thread of his sanity was left, she was hoping to reach it. “We can go back to the nest. My friend’s there can help you.”

  “Yes, yes my darling you will help me, you always do.” His fingers fumbled, as he untied her feet and wrists. If he freed her, she was not going to hang around. All she needed was a distraction. She was not even sure she could trust him long enough to get back to the others in one piece.

  Before she could blink, Jasmine found herself pinned against the damp hard cold floor. Simon lay half over her, his weight crushing.

  “Wh...what are you doing?” Panicking, she shoved at his shoulders, but he was far too strong.

  Grasping the fabric of her long armed t-shirt, he ripped it apart down the middle with a frightening ease. Jasmine whimpered. The sting of his power clawed against her bra clad chest.

  She was terrified that if she fought back, then the vampire would turn on her. Watching Carly being shredded before her eyes was a fate she didn’t want to share. Yet doing nothing could be just as worse. She had no idea what Simon planned for her. He thought she was his dead companion. When he worked out this wasn’t true, she couldn’t imagine his rage.

  Teeth brushed the skin of her inner arm and she recoiled at the touch. Fuck. He was still going to bite her.

  “Please, Simon just let me go.” Her half sobbed words were ignored. Tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, they began to stream down her trembling cheeks.

  Her mind had descended into in a storm of chaos. Breaths coming out in short sharp pants, she began to hyperventilate.

  In a flash Simon’s fangs sank into her arm. Then the pain started. This was a million times worse than Jakul’s bite had been. The sensation obliterated everything else. Like liquid acid being poured into her very veins, it seared spreading like wildfire through her flesh.

  Jasmine screamed.

  ***

  Conall’s energy throbbed around them. This was not the first time Eric had used it alone. Yet it was the first time he had used it blindly. With Twitch’s directions, he and Asier had taken the gamble. He just prayed it had worked.

  As the grave like stillness crept from their forms, they found themselves in a room. Clusters of candles provided light, casting long dancing shadows up the bare walls.

  The few pieces of furniture that lay within were neglected and forlorn. Dust was layered thick. Rain was pouring in through the broken panes of some of the windows and Carly’s corpse laid an empty husk in one corner of the room.

  Eric spotted Jasmine lying on the stone floor. The little female was withering half naked, her skin almost paper white. Bite marks marred her left forearm, close to the crease of her elbow. The veins appeared to be turning black, as poison from the wounds began to spread. He could see them pulsing, growing with every beat of the girl’s heart.

  Jasmine screeched. Her back arched off the floor, as her body went ridged with pain. She had not been bitten as much as the last victim, yet he did not know the extent of the damage it could still do.

  Asier made a sudden move towards her. This was a mistake. They had missed Simon crouched in a corner ready to attack. Eyes wild, he was like a mad thing.

  “She is MINE!” He roared, the sound snapping their attention his way.

  Eric had never seen eyes so soulless and black on a vampire before. Saliva was hanging from Simon’s fangs and dribbling off his chin, as the crazed vampire uncoiled from his hiding place.

  Power sliced through the air like the whisper of a knife blade, the blow sending Asier and Eric backwards. Pain ripped through Eric’s body with the long clean gash that tore across his chest. Rivulets of crimson escaped spilling through his shirt soaking the material.

  Another cut opening on his cheek, the wetness washed down his neck. Knitting back together, the flesh though took only seconds to heal. Asier’s forearm was also gaping open, blood gushing from the wound. The Italian showed no sign of noticing it, while his own injury healed just as rapidly.

  Beneath them the stone floor was already stained darkly with the splatter of their mingled blood. Eric recovered his senses quickly. With inhuman speed, he darted over the floor towards his target. As he moved, a blade whizzed past his ear. So close he could feel it whoosh inches from his cheek, before it plunged into Simon’s shoulder.

  ***

  Jasmine’s eyes locked on the scene. She could feel Eric’s pow
er building around him, an icy, freezing chill sweeping into the room. He was trading blows with Simon, their fists a flurry of deadly punches.

  His eyes gleamed abnormally blue, Eric’s lips were tinged almost the same colour and his skin had become starkly white. Ice began to form on the floor around their feet. Glittering white shards snaked like a growing frozen lake across the stone.

  Jasmine’s breath left her lips in tiny white puffs. Agony was searing through her nerve endings. The pain was crippling. Blood welled in her mouth, as she bit her inner cheek in an attempt to stop herself from screaming.

  She knew she couldn’t distract them. Simon had to be stopped. The lives of the other women were at stake. He wouldn’t stop now; his mind was twisted with what Carly had done to him. If he escaped, more deaths would follow, and this could not be allowed.

  Forcing her eyes to stay open, she kept watching the vampires. Passing out was not an option. She couldn’t give in to the darkness that was hovering. No matter how much she wanted to.

  Lacerations ripped cleanly open across Eric’s body of their own accord. Blood was flowing freely. Each time he healed, more would appear to join the crimson spread already saturating his clothes yet still he continued to fight.

  Asier was stalking towards them. Blood coated one of his arms, yet she could see no wound. What looked like leather belts were looped over his shoulders and crossways over his shirt covered chest. The hilts of knives were poking out of each attached sheath. Boldly the Italian drew one. Head tipped to one side, he seemed to be waiting for an opening.

  Pain cleaved through Jasmine’s chest. Unprepared for its intensity her back bowed, every muscle in her body screaming. She could feel her heart pounding fiercely against her ribs and she feared it was about to burst.

  The brush of gentle fingers caressed her cheek, leaving something wet smearing her skin.

  “Come bella, let me take you from here. I will take care of you.”

  Jasmine opened her eyes, she hadn’t realised she had closed. They were narrowed as tears shimmered, blurring her vision. Bright violet pools of concern stared down at her from above. Asier. He was knelt beside her. The knife now lay beside him on the hard stone floor. His blood covered hand was stroking her face.

  “No. Go help Eric…please Asier.” Jasmine hissed the words out through clenched teeth. “Simon can’t escape. He’s gone mad.”

  The agony was now increasing in waves. Small lulls gave her a moment to gulp in air. Then it would peak, stealing her ability to speak and breathe. Withering, once more a whimper left Jasmine’s lips. The very blood in her veins felt as if it was eating through her limbs, her bones. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and rolled down her bloodied cheek.

  Asier’s hand moved to stroke her hair. “Jasmine…I can’t leave you like this.”

  Reaching up she grasped his hand. His fingers calmly curled around her own. Her grip was bruising, nails digging into his skin hard enough to draw blood.

  “Please.” The plea was a tiny wail. Her pain filled gaze never wavered from his. More tears began to stream down her face.

  Asier stared at her in disbelief. Then slowly he nodded. “As you wish brave piccola.”

  Lips pressed against her forehead in a tender kiss and then he pulled his hand free. Instead of taking the knife with him, he pressed it into her hand. Asier then rose to his feet. Jasmine curled her fingers tightly around the hilt. She was grateful for it. This was something to cling to when the pain swelled higher.

  Simon wasn’t healing. His wounds though did not seem to be slowing him down. Blood covered every inch of him. He was battered and broken, but he continued on like he didn’t feel a thing. The crazed vamp’s skin was almost opaque. The veins beneath were dark blue as his blood froze, frost crusted his eyelashes and hair as Eric’s wintry power engulfed him.

  A layer of thick ice now encased Eric’s chest. In the flickering candle light it glistened frozen and white as he used it as amour against Simon’s blows. The lash of his ripper energy kept carving chunks away, as he unleashed in a frenzy.

  Eric’s fist slammed into his opponent’s face. Something snapped in Simon’s nose. He roared in anger. Then suddenly Eric was sailing through the air, until his body hit the wall with a sickening crack.

  Gracefully moving across the room, Asier smoothly pulled a dagger from its sheath, the tip glinting for a moment in the light. Jasmine watched as the metal began to glow white hot. Asier muttered something in Italian and then in a blur of movement, he hurled the dagger. The blade perfectly met its mark.

  Simon screamed as the hilt buried deep in his right thigh. Sizzling, it began burning. Asier’s smile was triumphant. The smell of burning flesh filled the room making Jasmine almost gag.

  Simon’s discordant power sung abruptly through the air. Whipping sideways, the Italian barely missed the slice of his retaliation. Instead it hit the wall behind him in an explosion, sending a shower of plaster and dust from the brick work across the room.

  Asier was already slipping another dagger from its sheath. Holding it back over his shoulder, he let it fly. This time it missed. Simon had been ready. With unnatural swiftness, he swivelled away and the blade instead imbedded itself in the wall.

  Eric had regained his feet. Dodging in one fluid move, he missed the slash of energy directed into his path as the crazed vamp spotted him. Now Eric and Asier stood apart. They were on either side of the other vampire.

  Simon’s eyes flickered between them. Even in his madness, fear shone for a moment in his gaze. Almost as one they moved. With agile motions, they were both suddenly on him. Simon became enraged. With strength, even more unbelievable than the vampires, he flung them away.

  Eric hit a windowpane with a smash, glass shattering around him. Breathing heavily, he sat on the stone floor stunned. Asier landed in a cluster of candles. The flames caught hold of his clothes and hungrily spread, as he muttered to himself in annoyance. A moment later the fire died down, smouldering away into nothing.

  Simon was on him then before he could blink. Wrapping Asier’s long hair around his hand, he yanked him upwards with a jerk. The Italian did not look fazed. Pain seemed to mean nothing to him. Using this to his advantage, he rammed his fist into his attacker’s side. Something cracked.

  Simon’s scream was filled with fury more than anything else. His power lashed out like a back handed blow, splitting Asier’s left cheek open. Blood gushed down from his chin, yet never once did he flinch.

  Discordant power hummed low and frenzied. Jasmine could feel it building against her senses. Instead of weakening, Simon seemed to only be growing stronger. Yanking a blade from one of his belts, the Italian shoved it through Simon’s wrist. He howled snatching his arm back, but the damage was already done. The blade was buried deep. Free, Asier’s movements were agile as he rolled clear.

  Jasmine swallowed down a wail of pained distress. Twisting silently, her eyes slid shut. This was all too much. Her chest was heaving forcefully with each of her ragged breaths and she was not sure how much more her body could take.

  PAIN SCREAMED THROUGH ERIC’S BODY, his tongue soaked with the taste of his own blood. Shards of glass were embedded in his back and he could feel wetness drenching his skin, although the wounds were healing.

  Head pounding, he knew that too much of his lifeblood was being lost. This was weakening him. The fight needed to end soon. He could not risk falling into blood-lust. Loss of control to that darkness could not be risked with Jasmine so close.

  “He should not be this strong.” Asier muttered loudly. “Not against us.” The Italian dropped elegantly to a crouch, missing a punch. He did not stay there long. Pushing up on the balls of his feet, he jabbed Simon in the face.

  “Carly was injecting him with something.” Jasmine’s voice was a whimper. “He’s an experiment of Doctor Dasyurus…”

  This was his nemesis’s doing? Simon was a guinea pig in some twisted experiment? Eric looked her way. Blood was smeared along one
of her cheeks. Lying on her side, he could see the spasms torturing her body. Her heart beat was becoming erratic to his sensitive ears. Muscles locking, her eyes snapped shut, as torment tightened her features.

  The pain she was suffering had to be immense. Her distress was clear. As he continued to watch, Jasmine’s neck arched back and the veins beneath her skin began to bulge.

  Asier’s body abruptly went soaring through the air, passing his line of vision in a blur. The hilt of one of his own blades was buried in his chest. He landed in a heap across the stone floor, half way out of the open door.

  The Italian lay still, Eric could hear the steady beat of his heart. Had he been rendered unconscious? A shadow loomed over him. Raising his chin defiantly, Eric met Simon’s black soulless eyes. Saliva trailed from the corners of his mouth. His face was a mess of blood and bruises. Skin deathly white, he truly looked like a walking corpse. A sinister smile slowly widened Simon’s lips.

  ***

  Jasmine’s eyes fluttered open with effort. She didn’t know how long they had been shut, but everything seemed to have changed. Asier was down. His feet were poking out from the doorway and he didn’t seem to be moving. Simon was busy pounding Eric’s head against the wall. Crimson smeared the stone work thickly in an ever dark growing stain.

  Eric was limp. Arm’s hanging at his sides he seemed to be unconscious or dead. With a hiss Simon discarded his prey. Eric’s upper body crumpled to the floor with the rest of him. The crazed vamp then ripped the dagger still embedded in his wrist free. Blood gushed continuously from the gaping hole, which did not start to heal.

  With ease he straddled Eric’s prone form, the dagger raised decisively in his hand. Panic blasted through the pain. Jasmine knew she could not let Simon stake him. Eric could not die. Gritting her teeth she tried to move, the pain though was almost blinding. Insides feeling like they were liquefying, she was sure her bones were turning to mush.