Huntress

by Taft, J L

  There were other things in there but the sword that was on the bottom caught her eye. She lifted it out and stood, pulling it from the sheath in one smooth movement.

  The silver blade curved just a little and the morning sun shining through the attic windows glinted off it. It felt…right.

  She held it as if she had been holding it all her life. She twirled and slashed it through the air. She knew how to use it. Her use of the blade surprised her but it made her feel better.

  She spun again and stepped sideways, bringing the sword dangerously close to her hair as she sliced it back and forth around her. It gave her an empowering sense of justice as she did so.

  “Looks like you found what you were looking for.” Fiona jumped when Trent spoke behind her. He was standing at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed and his gaze was intent.

  “How long have you been there?” she asked as she slid the sword safely back in the sheath.

  “Long enough.” He stalked his way across the room and she held up a hand to stop him.

  “I need to go home, Trent.”

  Chapter Ten

  Trent took her home in Granny’s jeep since she wanted to take the trunk and its entire contents with her. Granny had helped them get it down the stairs with her special talent. Fiona could have done it herself but Granny had been too worried about her walls getting smashed into to let her.

  The look on Fiona’s face had been more awe than surprise. After that she had gone quiet and closed herself off. He had tried to get her talking a couple times while he drove but she had hardly paid any attention to him and only gave him one-word answers.

  Granny had whispered to him before they left that he needed to come clean with Fiona and tell her about their fate. Well, their fate as Granny saw it.

  It wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t sure if he believed it himself or not. There was definitely something there between them but he doubted it was fate.

  She wasn’t going to fall for a washed-up, wounded ex-military man who had enough of his own problems. Even if he was afraid he had gone and fallen for her.

  He wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do this. She didn’t have to be a hunter and put herself in danger. The thought of her facing some vampire monster alone in the middle of the night made his stomach turn.

  They pulled up in front of her house and he got out quickly. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to let him stay. He helped her wrestle the trunk into the garage since she didn’t want to explain a floating trunk to her neighbors.

  She stood staring at him for a second and then seemed to come to a decision.

  “Thanks for all the help, Trent,” she said quietly.

  “So it’s going to be like that, is it?”

  Her eyes widened but she didn’t say anything.

  “Listen, I don’t like this. You don’t have to do it. Someone else can take the spot and be the hunter.”

  Her eyes narrowed and he knew immediately he had said the wrong thing.

  “This is a little more than a job position, Trent. It’s something I have to do and I don’t think it’s your place to say anything one way or the other.”

  It cut deeper than he ever thought it would. Later he would realize he had wanted to cut her just as deep.

  He stalked to her and pulled her against his chest, hard. He used one hand to hold her head still and with the other he gripped her ass. He plundered her mouth before she could protest.

  She pushed at his chest uselessly. He tightened his hold but softened his kiss. She melted against him and he slid his tongue along her teeth.

  He ended the kiss abruptly, gripped her shoulders to steady her and then growled down at her, “I think whatever is between us damn sure gives me a say. Did you know that we met as children? That our grandmothers kept us apart all these years because we are fated to be together and they didn’t want you to feel the pain that they had?”

  The haze of desire cleared from her eyes quickly. “It can’t be true. We aren’t meant to be together. We had fun but it’s over now.” She turned away and he saw her shoulders shaking.

  He came up behind her and tried to offer her comfort. She jerked away from his touch. “Damn you, Trent. Damn you for even bringing it up. Just get out,” she told him.

  He had expected her to be pissed but he hadn’t expected her to just throw him out on his ear.

  “Fine, I’m going. But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

  Fiona heard the slam of the jeep door and then the engine starting. She didn’t turn around until she heard him pull away.

  It hurt. Because no matter what he said it was over between them. She wasn’t going to let him get in the way of doing what needed to be done. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him get himself killed for her.

  Closing the garage door, she then was able to use her telekinesis to get her trunk inside. She didn’t have the control Eve had and it made her determined to practice and get better at it.

  The trunk came to a sudden drop in the living room and she sighed. What she needed was a strong cup of coffee. Then she would decide what to do with the rest of her day.

  Grabbing the journal she had found in the storage unit, she sat and started to read while she sipped her coffee. After a few pages Fiona realized this was her grandmother’s last journal. It had a few encounters with vamps that Fiona had never heard.

  It was written a little differently from the others. In this journal Grandma had written more about what she was feeling than ever before. She had several close calls all within a short time period and Grandma had written she was getting too old and slow to keep up with the hunting.

  She wrote about her regrets with her daughter and how alone she felt after her husband had died.

  The last passage was written to Fiona. She read it with bated breath.

  Fiona,

  I can’t tell you how sorry I am that we didn’t have the time to talk about this in person. I know now that you suffered as a child living with me. I was unprepared to raise another baby, especially since I was living another life as a hunter.

  The life of a hunter is a dark and lonely road to walk. But it is necessary. My only hope is that you will take your place in the long line of hunters and keep the balance between the humans and the world of blood-drinking monsters.

  The path before you will demand many sacrifices but I can’t tell you how important it is for you to walk it. No one else can take your place and have the skill that you will.

  Always remember that I love you and no matter your decision, I am proud of you and the woman that you have become.

  Grandma

  When Fiona was done she closed the journal and laid it in her lap. It had been insightful and she knew now what she had to do.

  After the coffee was gone, the whole pot, and she had showered, all she could think about was the sword in the bottom of the trunk. She took it out and moved furniture out of the way in the living room. She pushed everything to the walls and it gave her a decent-sized area she could practice in.

  This time she took a few minutes to look it over better. The handle was long. Long enough for her to hold it with both hands and it was black with silver rings around it. The blade had a slight curve to it and extended into a lethal-looking point.

  It was a katana sword passed down through many generations of hunters.

  It felt so good to hold it and to go through the motions that in her mind’s eye she could see her grandmother doing.

  Before she knew it the shadows were getting long and she was starving. She also needed another shower. She had worked her body to the breaking point trying to get used to the motions of moving the sword.

  She cooked a dinner for one and tried not to think about Trent as she got around for bed. The shower was warm and heated her skin, reminding her of him. It seemed everything did.

  Climbing in her big bed all alone was disappointing. The sheets were cold and took a few minutes to warm up. She wouldn’t have that
problem if he were here.

  She wanted his hot body warming her bed and a hard chest to cuddle against. The hair there would tickle her nose and his smell would take over. She liked the way he smelled, dark and dangerous.

  He didn’t fuck like a man who was holding anything back but she knew he was. She knew his confidence had been shaken by whatever had happened to him.

  His scars told a tale she could only guess at. Now she would never know what had caused them.

  She knew so little about him and so much. It was a strange situation and one she couldn’t help thinking about even though he was gone from her life.

  She didn’t imagine he opened up easily or took many women home to his granny.

  Sleep didn’t come easily and when she finally did doze off her dreams were disturbed.

  First she dreamed of Trent. His hard body above her, giving her pleasure beyond anything she had felt before. Little things stuck out. The smoothness of his back when she trailed her nails across it and the hardness of his cock as he moved within her.

  They came together, hard and deep. It was unrealistic. She felt it in a place she had never touched before.

  After that there was darkness. Long, consuming darkness.

  Then she felt it. She jerked in her sleep and moaned but the sight gripped her tight.

  A vampire. One she had never seen before. He had dark hair that was cut in a punk style to stick out all over his head artfully.

  She saw him leave the bar with her, a young girl who had too much to drink. She leaned into him and he held her easily. He led her down the street and Fiona woke with a start.

  She sat up in bed, knowing her dream for what it was—a warning. There was no time to waste.

  She raced down the stairs and grabbed the shiny leather outfit. She worried for half a second that it wasn’t going to fit right and then brushed it aside. No time to worry about it now.

  The leather was special, strong, meant to give her body some protection from a bite. It was also tight enough to not get in the way of her sword. Since she didn’t have anything else that was even remotely close to it, it would have to do.

  She shoved her legs into the bodysuit, pulling and jerking it into place. She hadn’t noticed before but it zipped in the front and not in the back, eliminating the need for help. How convenient.

  Once she had her arms in and stretched into the outfit, she pulled the zipper up. Her grandmother had been a little fuller in one area but that problem didn’t last.

  She watched as the leather took on a mind of its own and tightened and loosened in all the right places. It was magic and she had seen too much in her life to doubt it. Probably some sort of spell that had been put on the leather.

  It cemented the idea that this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

  Grabbing her sword and shoving it in the built-in leather holder on her back, she then stuffed a couple of Grandmother’s stars in the belt at her hip.

  Fiona loaded the four silver stakes on the thigh belt that was in the trunk and threw it over her shoulder. She would put it on when she got there.

  She was ready.

  She knew where they were. The dream had been very detailed on that point. They had left a bar that was on the end of one of the major streets in town.

  But instead of steering her into the lighted area he had taken her the other way. Toward the space that was dark and screamed danger to most. He had his arm around her and was easily leading her into the darkness. He was going to kill her.

  Fiona headed for the front door without a backward thought. She closed it and then locked it—all very deliberately. Her hands only shook a little but she brushed it aside and took a steadying breath.

  She removed her sword and laid it on the passenger seat before climbing in and closing the door. Her car started and the buzz of the engine struck her as odd. It would never do. It didn’t have that tough, grumbly feeling that came with Trent’s motorcycle.

  But she could fix that later. She backed out of the driveway, quick but quiet, and headed swiftly to her destination.

  She had a rush. The kind that came to her more and more sporadically in life. But it zinged in her veins now and she used it. She drove down the street with cool efficiency, taking the curves at high speed without a blink.

  Time was of the essence. Vampires could seduce their victims within seconds. Victims who would never scream, never fight for their lives.

  He would simply take her. Everything. All she was and all the life that was unlived inside her.

  Then he would leave her to breathe the few breaths she had left on some cold and dirty ground. He didn’t give a thought to her parents, siblings or any other family she might be leaving forever.

  He would take what he wanted with no remorse and no shame.

  Once a vamp had intent to kill, that was where she came in. Young vamps tended to inject their venom into their prey by accident but it didn’t do much good if the humans were drained. They still died. Most older vamps took changing humans very seriously and didn’t do it often. They believed humans were the lower species and not worthy to be vampires.

  She had to get there. She was ready. The bar they left came into view and she pushed on the brakes. It was brightly lit and there were scantily clad people hanging about out front.

  The light extended three streetlights down and then all was dark. It was obvious now that she knew what to look for.

  She stopped the car two lengths out of the light and killed the headlights and engine. As she opened the door and got out she grabbed the long, deadly sword from the passenger seat and slid it into the sheath at her back.

  She took a quick scan around her and headed in the direction she knew the vamp was hiding. She was definitely going to need a glass of wine after this.

  Trent paced the span of his little-used apartment. She was in danger. He could feel it better than a broken bone.

  He could see some of it. He was getting better at tapping into the flood that was inside him. Sometimes it came so quickly he was helpless to stop it or even slow it down.

  It ended up a jumble of images in his brain that he couldn’t sort. He had no sense of a timeframe and it all just ran together. It was worse when he was around groups of people.

  It had been torture getting groceries over the weekend. Once he realized the strange sense was there it was incredibly hard to turn it off. Especially where Fiona was concerned.

  He felt her fear when the nightmare invaded her in her sleep. The next glimpse he got was when she had pulled up the front zipper on her black leather bodysuit. He saw the leather squeeze her tits together tightly.

  His cock had sprung to life as if she were in the room with him. He smelled her sweet, musky scent and heard her labored breaths. She reached for her sword and then the image was gone.

  Trent grabbed the edge of his sink and squeezed in frustration.

  Damn it all to hell!

  He took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles one by one. Where was she now?

  It came quickly then. She was in a dark place. The distance was too far for him to know where. There were no distinguishing markers around her.

  He caught a glimpse of her in the light from the other end of the alley. He almost lost his concentration then. She was killing him quickly with that outfit of hers. He held on for a few seconds more and the last thing that touched him was that she had decided to have wine instead of coffee when she got home.

  She wasn’t afraid. He had to admire her for that, and she was armed.

  But he was unsure of what he should do. If he went to her she would know he loved her. No man would be able to deny it and it would tip his hand forever. There was also the fact that she would be royally pissed at him for interfering.

  He wasn’t the man he once was and knowing it held him back. But only for a second. He wished it had worked out differently but he wasn’t the type of guy to sit on the sidelines.

  Especially when there was a woman involved.
<
br />   The woman he loved.

  Fiona moved slowly as she stalked her prey. Once she got to the entrance of the alley she could hear their heavy breathing echoing off the narrow walls. They were halfway down the pitch-black alley.

  The vamp had the advantage. He would be able to see better in the dark than her. But she had the element of surprise. She moved in closer, her steps making no noise.

  She had to hurry. She could suddenly smell the metallic scent of blood and she knew he had bitten into his victim.

  A door opened farther down the way and light spilled out on the three of them. She was still ten feet away and the vamp was too caught up in bloodlust to turn around. A drunken man stumbled from the open doorway and moved the opposite way with halting steps.

  Fiona pulled her sword out, the sound of the grating metal finally catching the attention of the vamp.

  He turned to her, his fangs bared and bloody.

  “Release the woman or die,” Fiona growled.

  He stared at her for a second and then had the nerve to laugh wildly at her. He released the woman and she slid boneless to the ground in a heap.

  She only had seconds to react as the vamp lunged at her. Her sword sliced through the air silently and when she stood back in her original position the head of the vamp rolled away as his body fell to the ground.

  It only took seconds for the body to turn to black ash and disintegrate into unrecognizable dirt under her boots. Fiona quickly made her way to the woman.

  “Hey! Can you hear me?” Fiona asked as she slapped her cheeks.

  Her eyes fluttered open and connected with Fiona’s for a brief second before she went limp again.

  Fiona desperately felt for a pulse but there was nothing. The woman was dead. She had failed.

  She drove straight home. When she pulled into her garage she rested her forehead on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths before getting out of the car.