Dark Hunter

by Shannan Albright

  She prayed someone would see what was happening and open their damn mouth and yell, but as usual, fate dealt her a losing hand all the way around. Now she could only pray for a quick death.

  Chapter Eight

  “Where have you not looked, Navar?” Adrian asked, his voice devoid of urgency, which only angered Navar more. “Calm down and think. He wouldn’t go far, it’s only been a half hour, and I believe our killer is the type who would prefer to remain close by, feeding off your reaction.” Navar could feel the seconds slipping away. Were they too late? Gods, he couldn’t think of that. He would surely have felt her pain, wouldn’t he? Why couldn’t he find her as he normally did? Not having her in his head made him feel strangely bereft and far too alone. Where the hell did he take her? So many questions and no answers to be found.

  They grilled every customer in the bar. Only one had seen her carted off toward the back rooms. Adrian got a description of the man while he checked each room. No go. No one had heard anything in the hallway. Navar wanted to kill something, anything, tear the doors from hinges and beat on the walls until only rubble remained of The Asp. The desolation of losing the only woman who mattered above all else shattered him. Where else could he look? She didn’t go to any special spots, just the bar…

  His gaze snapped onto Adrian’s with sudden clarity. “Her apartment.”

  Navar sped out the bar on a stream of curses. He’d promised to keep her safe and he’d failed. Failed her every time she needed him. Taking the stairs two at a time, he was reassured at the sound of Adrian’s boots behind him the entire way, keeping the beat to his prayers to any god who would listen.

  Let her live, let her live, let her live. Let. Her. Live!

  He came to a sudden halt at the half-open door. A narrow slice of blackness beckoned with promises of blood and death. He reached into his boot and withdrew a long dagger, gripping it firmly in his hand. He heard a hiss of metal against a scabbard and knew Adrian had just drawn his weapon as well. Where he kept it would be a question for another time. At the moment, Navar could only feel an ever-growing rage.

  With his booted foot, he kicked the door open wide and rushed inside. Adrian took position against the wall of the small patio jutting out to the left of the stairs, out of sight, yet able to hear if he needed back up. A dim light made the shadows around him shift and writhe. Cautious, knowing he walked into a trap, Navar moved toward the faint glow coming from the bedroom down the narrow hallway.

  “Took you long enough. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to put down a trail of bread crumbs to get you up here,” a female said, her voice sharp as the edge of his dagger, from the bedroom.

  “So help me, if you touched one hair on her head—” he ground out from between clenched teeth.

  “You’ll do what?” the woman interrupted, her tone icy. “The bitch is breathing for now. Although Gerald may have pumped a bit too much poison in when his sank his fangs into her, so who knows how long she has.”

  “You fucking cunt, I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands,” he roared as he stormed down the hall. When he noticed the still form lying on the bed, he came to a sudden standstill. Mari! Her skin held a waxy beige cast, and her chest rose and fell in shuddering gasps.

  By all the gods, no!

  His soul screamed in denial as he stood there struck mute by her struggle to live. His body shook with rage and grief. He’d failed her. He’d promised to protect her and he'd failed! There must be a way to cure her, an antidote of some kind. With only a small thread of hope, he turned his attention to the woman standing by Mari.

  He shook his head in denial as she walked into the pool of light, giving him a clear view of her face. Stunned for a moment he could only stare. She was so different from how he remembered her.

  “Anya, why?”

  “Why? Why?” she sneered, her voice rising into a high-pitched screech. Sharp fangs flashed, a telltale greenish ooze covering them, brought about by her perversion. She had partaken of her victims’ blood after death already stopped the heart. A foolish pursuit, which invariably led to madness and death.

  “Everything was going as planned. We infiltrated The Asp to get information on those meddling enforcers. It was so easy since those arrogant bastards enjoy this establishment. We’ve been able to keep them busy all over the city while we made plans to be rid of the lot of them once and for all. Then you arrived. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you would become a complication. The way you watch her, like some loyal guard dog. Always asking questions, snooping around where you aren’t wanted. Mari is now paying for your interference.”

  He frowned at the fanatical gleam in Anya’s eyes. “I have not found anything out of place, nor found anything suspicious within The Asp. You played your hand unnecessarily. What is the true reason for such hate? You despise Mari and seek to destroy her. Why?”

  “I don’t owe you any answer,” she bit out, gazing down at Mari with such animosity the air chilled. “She only had to help my sister, but no. She turned Paula away, said she couldn’t help someone who didn’t want it. The next week Paula was dead. Murdered by her boyfriend. Paula was helpless, and Mari didn’t lift a finger to help.”

  He heard a distant scuffle, followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground. His muscles quivered from tension, stomach clenched against the sinking sensation pressing heavily against his chest. He could only hope Adrian was alive. Right now, he needed to keep Anya talking long enough for him to get closer to Mari. He forced himself to keep his tone conversational as he inched his way closer and prayed she didn’t have someone creeping up on him from behind. “And the poor woman you killed? Don’t you think she had family, loved ones who will grieve her loss as you grieve your sister?”

  “No, she had no one. I befriended her, you see, and found out no one would miss her.” Her gaze took on a fanatic gleam as she gloated. “I only take those no one misses. The city is full of homeless so it’s so easy, she was so easy, full of such desperation she stank with it. All it took was a little cash and she did anything I wanted.” She tilted her head, studying him, a manic light in her gaze. “Humans are a pathetic lot, so easily lead when given the slightest hint of hope.” She laughed shrilly. “The perfect food source, don’t you agree?” He inched in closer as she spoke, painfully aware of how little time he had left to save Mari. He needed to keep her distracted. Just. A little. Longer…

  “So you decided to join up with the ferals for what? To rule the world? How cliché. Come on, at least be honest. You enjoy killing and you could care less if they had family or not.”

  Insanity glowed in her reddening eyes, her face contorting into a mask of pure hatred. “Yes, I love killing. It didn’t start out that way, but gods… the high, the power, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Just as satisfying as it will be to kill you.”

  “Good luck with that,” he snarled, closing the distance in one large stride, dagger upraised to plunge into her heart.

  With a scream of rage, she twisted at the last moment, the knife scraping only a glancing blow on her shoulder. She went for his throat, jerking away as her teeth snapped on air. His dagger swept between them, plunging into her abdomen and slicing up her torso, but not deep enough to get make it past her rib cage to the heart beyond.

  Black blood spilled as she jumped back against the wall, a hand clutching her abdomen. The black substance hissed and boiled, burning holes in the wood floor. He hated these abominations who had taken everything from him. His home, his people. The very reason he’d made a blood vow and became a vampire was to hunt and kill these perverted creatures. That they’d found a safe haven here repulsed and enraged him.

  Well, they would all die by his hand, starting with the twisted creature before him. With a battle cry he lunged, this time his dagger striking true, cutting through flesh and breaking bone to pierce the heart that beat beneath.

  Anya keened, desperation and shock registering on her pale face as she struggled agai
nst impending death. “Gerald, help me!”

  “He is in no position to help anyone.” Adrian’s voice carried into the room, his steps moving closer.

  Jerking his dagger out of the dying feral, he looked over his shoulder at the tall enforcer. “Took you long enough.”

  A blond brow arched. “Our friend Gerald had objections to meeting his end. It took more time than I anticipated to convince him otherwise.” His smile was cold, never reaching his eyes as he held out his sword.

  Navar took it from him with a grateful nod and quickly dispatched Anya’s head from her body, the only way to ensure a vampire, feral or not, met a true death before handing the weapon back. “Mari is poisoned and near death. Is there anything to stop it?” he asked, reaching for her cold, clammy hand.

  Navar met Adrian’s eyes with determination. “If you cannot save her, then I die with her.”

  Adrian rolled his eyes and gave a deep sigh. “Are all consorts so melodramatic? Of course I can save her.” He reached into his back pocket for a vial of white powder. “This is usually given in an injection, but since I am without a way to inject it into her system, we will have to do it the hard way. Open a vein, if you please, and I’ll mix it within the vial.”

  It took only a matter of moments for Navar to make a small cut in Mari’s wrist with his dagger. With a deft flick of his wrist, Adrian opened the vial and held it to the cut, mixing her blood with the contents. The mixture bubbled, turning to a ruby red. Quickly he emptied the vial in the cut. They watched in silence as the antidote foamed on the surface of the wound before the skin began sealing shut once more. The seconds bled into minutes as Navar watched for any sign of improvement. Did her coloring seem better, her breath not so labored? His heart hammered so hard in his chest he knew it would leave a bruise. Never could he remember such agony as he waited for some sign, any sign, she would survive.

  “Come back to me, akasha, for if you leave, I will surely join you. We are one and cannot live without the other.” His whispered plea met with nothing. He wanted to rant to the gods, the suffocating weight of guilt and helplessness crushing him into the ground.

  Without warning her eyelids fluttered open on a wheezing gasp, and he was caught in those dark brandy-colored depths. A shuddering breath left him as he pulled her into his arms, raining kisses over her face.

  “Oh, Navar, it’s Anya. I don’t know how or why, but she is behind it all,” she rasped out, her voice weak and wobbly from the poison.

  “I know, akasha. She will harm you no more. I am here and will never let you out of my sight again.”

  “Then she’s dead?”

  Adrian spoke his tone dry with a touch of wry humor. “Yes, as a matter of fact, she’s dead and decomposing on your bedroom floor as we speak. Can’t you smell the stench or has your sense of smell not returned yet?”

  Navar turned and looked at him in complete shock. “Is that humor I hear coming from you?”

  “I do have a sense of humor. If something is amusing, that is.” Adrian shrugged his wide shoulders. “My job is done here. I’ll send for a clean-up crew. You might want to find another place to stay until the damage to your floor is repaired and the room is aired out. It’s positively toxic in here.”

  Alone with his woman finally in his arms, Navar held Mari tightly to his chest and closed his eyes, sending his thanks to every deity he could think of. He memorized her beautiful face even as he saw the questions in her eyes, questions he had all the time in the world the answer.

  “I thought I’d lost you.” His whispered words broke as his vision wavered, a tear sliding unbidden down his cheek. “You are my life, my world. I love you as I could love no other for all time.”

  Mari stroked the side of his face with a graceful hand. “And I you, my love. Until the sands of Egypt cease to be, I am yours.”

  He bent his head, capturing her soft lips in a chaste kiss filled with all the love and promise he held in his heart. He knew there would be no other place in the world he would rather be than with this woman. Forever, bound as one.

  Epilogue

  August

  The old air-conditioning unit rattled in protest, but thankfully, cool air blasted through the vents in a steady stream cooling the bar to a tolerable level. Las Vegas in the middle of summer when the temperature topped out at 115 could be a bitch. The door opened and a blast of heated air engulfed Mari in a stifling blanket. Perspiration immediately formed on her body and she glared at the blonde woman who brought the heat with her.

  Her nose picked up her subtle scent. Vaguely familiar it sparked a distant memory, which swirled tantalizingly out of reach. Where had she smelled it before? Her eyes narrowed as she studied the woman, noting she was tall, around five foot eight, her pale hair pulled away from a pretty face. Dressed in a tank top and faded jeans, her body was long and lean. Athletic came to mind, and from the pinched look on her face, she didn’t seem too pleased to be here.

  The woman looked around the room and stopped on Mari. Her eyes narrowed as she made her way toward the bar. Whatever the woman wanted, she would bet her last dollar it wouldn’t be good. Hopefully she’d get her out of her bar and divert any trouble. She could tell by the deliberate way she moved, with a single-minded purpose, the woman was a warrior.

  Fan-fucking-tastic.

  Just what she needed was more trouble. Perhaps she would talk to Navar about selling the bar and finding some small town to live. They could grow vegetables. The closer the woman got to her, the better the notion sounded.

  Mari squared her shoulders and gave the woman her complete attention along with a don’t-fuck-with-me stare. The woman read the message loud and clear and raised one golden brow in response. Stopping in front of her, with only the bar between them, she gave Mari a smile that never reached her eyes.

  “Can I help you?” Mari couldn’t help the touch of ice coating her words. Something about the woman’s scent made her uncomfortable.

  “Um…just passing through is all. I’m looking for a man about this tall.” She held her hand a few inches higher than her head. “With light hair about to his shoulders, kind of a twitchy sort of guy. Like he was up to something?”

  Mari slowly nodded. “I remember someone who matched that description, but he left a while ago.”

  The woman blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, I should be going. Do you happen to know what direction he took?”

  As her breath hit her, Mari gasped with recognition. “You’re a pure blood, aren’t you?”

  Unease flickered in her gray eyes and fear sparked for a brief second of time before a wall crashed down, her expression guarded. “Yes, what about it?” The unmistakable note of challenge rang in her voice.

  Mari studied the lycan for a moment, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the woman. Being a female pure blood lycan was not something any woman would want. Lycan females were slaves to their males, used as breeding stock. It came as no surprise the females were in hiding. Who in their right mind would want to live like that? “I’m Mari, by the way, and it’s not any of my business, but you really should know there is a certain lycan male in town.”

  “I know,” the woman cut her off. “I’m Cassie, but please forget you saw me, all right? I just need to figure out which way my bounty went, and I’ll be out of here.”

  “Cassie?” Shock layered her tone. “My consort speaks of you very fondly. He just stepped out, but I’m sure he would love to see you again.”

  Cassie frowned, her body going tense. “You have to be mistaken.”

  Beads clacked together as Mari shook her head. “Navar is rarely mistaken. You are Cassie, who hunted with him.”

  Cassie blinked in surprise. “Navar, here? Oh gods, you are the Mari?”

  “Guilty as charged.” She chuckled.

  A large grin transformed Cassie’s face, erasing the wariness that haunted her eyes moments before. “Navar deserves whatever happiness he finds. I wish I could stay but I don’t think it would be too smart a mo
ve on my part. It won’t be long before I attract the wrong kind of attention. Perhaps another time. Just tell Navar I am happy for him.”

  She turned to leave, but Mari’s hand on her arm kept her from leaving.

  “I cannot stay, even though I wish it. Too much is at stake for me to be here for long.”

  Cassie’s voice sounded strained. And Mari wondered if she led the same isolated life Navar had. Did she also have the same dark spell over her? “I know what Navar went through to leave. I know just what kind of woman your queen is.”

  “My circumstances are different and so is my arrangement,” Cassie answered, her voice so low Mari had to strain to hear her words. “Is that all? I really need to go before the trail gets too cold.”

  “You need to know you’re in Temple Fox’s territory here and he is not just any Pure Blood. He’s powerful with a long reach. His desperation makes him not only dangerous, but unpredictable.”

  A cold smile formed on Cassie’s lips. “I’ve heard about Temple Fox and you’re right. The man is dangerous for all pure-blooded lycan females.”

  “If you need anything, Navar and I are here, all right?”

  Cassie’s eye’s narrowed. “Why would you do something like that for me, a stranger?”