Token Huntress

by Kia Carrington-Russell

  “I take it you have never danced,” Chase said loudly over the pounding music. I looked up at where I had once hid. I was staring at the exact same lights once, only now realizing their purpose as an array of green blinded my sight for a moment. “What do you do in celebration for things, like if you just want to have an enjoyable time?”

  I looked at him scornfully. I did not have to hide my agitation of being in here. Someone’s hips bumped into mine. Chase tugged me into his arms before I could release some of my tension on the woman who did. She looked at me in disinterest before looking at Chase, who held me tightly in his arms. It was more like he was strapping me in. I tried to use my full strength to get out of his grip. I resisted the urge to smack the back of my head into his just to be free. It was natural for me to do so when he held me in such a way and I had to fight away the urge to defend myself. It was just reflexes. Despite this, I pooled into his arms very quickly, the tension releasing.

  “Chase,” the dark-haired vampire said with a velvet voice. She was very attractive and tall. “Is this a pet you now have? Was my blood not sufficient for you or was the sex not fragile enough?”

  “Oh Tanya, I didn’t even recognize you with a shirt on,” Chase said with a laugh. “And yeah, she is my pet,” he said, stroking the top of my head. His hard chest was tight against my back as his one hand pinned me harder to him, locking in my resistance. He turned me around, leading me further into the dancers, dismissing the vampire.

  “Oh, a bit of a tease for the ladies, are we?” I said, trying to provoke him enough so he would let me go. The room made me uncomfortable and every bang of the music seemed to rattle the floor. The darkness within me seemed to stir to the erotic and distasteful music.

  “Hey!” someone shouted angrily. I looked to my left where a human lay dead on the floor. The vampire who had drained her completely was spotlighted instantly by the lights. Chase and I stopped walking and he put a hand in front of me protectively, assessing what would happen next. Gardar pushed aside the crowds of vampires.

  “You know the rules!” Gardar said. The other vampire pleaded for his life but within moments, Gardar had bitten into his jugular, ripping out his throat. He plunged his hand into the younger vampire’s chest and reefed his heart out. The young vampire slumped, the smell instantly filling the room. Everyone cheered as the vampire and dead human were dragged away.

  Chase grabbed my hand, hurrying me toward Fier, who sat in his large wooden chair. Finally we reached the end of the crowd. Everyone began dancing again and the lights were streaking through the room randomly.

  In front of Fier two female vampires with very little clothing on were on the ground kissing one another. “Now bite her neck,” Fier called, aroused. The darker vampire bit the blonde-haired vampire’s neck. She gave out a moan in pleasure. Fier watched intently, enjoying what they did. “Now slide your fingers…”

  “Fier!” Chase yelled over the music, grabbing his attention before he could proceed with his commandment.

  With his head rested on his hand, Fier looked up, his eyebrows raised. “Ah, there you are, would you care to join me?” he asked. As Chase said nothing, Fier’s green eyes rolled over to me. “How about you?”

  “She won’t be involved in any of that. I have only come to assert my ownership of this human,” he said seriously. I wanted to drop him on the spot for claiming me as his. But looking around I now understood that I would be in far more trouble. I also knew that although I didn’t like someone claiming me as their property, much like James did, Chase only did it to dispel other vampires’ interests toward me.

  “No. I am fond of your human,” Fier said, staring at me intently. “She is so supple and she smells delicious.”

  “Have respect for my mother. I won’t let you. She is mine,” Chase said, tightening his grip around my hand. I felt tension rise between the two.

  “You dare bring your mother into this,” Fier said angrily. “For what, a human?” He paused for a moment, staring at Chase’s hand, which was strongly bound over mine. He now raised a sceptical eyebrow. “You have got to be joking me… this cannot be your familiar?” Fier said seriously. He began to laugh. “A human, truly? My heavens, it is like a second Tythian all over again. Fine, I will accept this, but you have two weeks to turn her or I will claim her as my own.”

  Chase and Fier stared at one another. A small breeze blew between Chase and I. Suddenly a harsh wind howled past Chase’s cheek, slicing his cheekbone. A small trickle of blood began to bleed before the wound healed instantly.

  “Get out of my sight before I change my mind,” Fier said, waving us away.

  Chase took me through the crowd of vampires. My steps staggered over a body on the ground. It was a human who had numerous bite marks all over his body. He must have only been thirty and there would be no justice for him. He was already dead.

  Finally we were out of the disgusting room, and Chase slammed the doors behind us. I felt as if I could breathe again. Before I could finally release my rage at him, he spoke. “I won’t let anyone hurt you and I will not turn you against your will.”

  “I do not like being spoken for. I demand that you let me go.”

  “Give me three more days to convince you to stay. I will show you the way out now and in three days if you do not want to stay by my side, I will escort you out. But you can only go with me, if you go alone you will be chased down,” Chase said seriously. “I want to take you to the large bridge that is still standing. I can show you the way out.”

  I stared at him for a moment, trying to guess his trickery. Why would he offer me such things? If he wanted to trap me then why would he show me the way out… unless it was a trap. I was sceptical, but when I looked into his beautiful gray eyes, I only saw sincerity.

  “I am not tricking you, Esmore,” he said patiently. His gray eyes were sincere as he dropped my hand and placed his hand on his chest. My eyes followed his movement to his hard chest. I was instantly angry with myself again for being so easily distracted.

  “C’mon,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the hallways. Obediently I followed him, mostly because I was trying to flush out my hotness. There should not be sexual tension. The moral dilemmas of being attracted to Chase were excruciating. But my mind could not justify it; my body wanted action.

  We walked past Chase’s room, continuing straight. We then came to an intersection and he pulled me right. He opened a silver door which had very little light in the room. It was dark and secretive. But I realized that was because there was metal stairs in front of us. Two vampire guards were on either side of the door.

  “I am taking my human out for a little,” Chase reported to them. They permitted this. Chase walked me up the spiral metal stairs. If I were human I would have not been able to see where I was stepping. Maybe that was why this room was so dark, because only vampires would use this. The darkness for me, however, was no issue. I was not human and could see very clearly.

  After a short walk up the spiral stairs, we came across a small ramp connected to a door. It was a very small ramp with no side bars. Humans would fall to their death if they misplaced their feet before even making it to the door. Still holding my hand, Chase pulled me steadily toward the door, as if I couldn’t see where I was going. In front of the guards I had to pretend to be clumsy, helpless, and very human. When he opened it, the wind of the night brushed over my skin, like a breath of fresh air. It was refreshing and intoxicating to be outside once again. So this was how I would escape.

  “None of that,” Chase said with a smile. “Please, give me three days. And let me take you to the bridge. I know you have always wanted to see it up close.”

  It was then Chase revealed to me that he could obviously hear my thoughts. I had never told anyone of my curiosity over the bridge within the city. I felt myself building in anger, but he only smiled sheepishly, rubbing his thumb over my hand. His touch ceased my rage quickly. It scared me how much his touch alone could exti
nguish my flames. It frightened me that I felt emotional over his touch. What tormented me most was that I had not yet pulled away or fled.

  “C’mon Esmore, the night will be ours together,” Chase said sweetly as he stood by my side, his hand over mine. He began walking me into the direction of the large bridge.

  W e walked past where I had been once shredded apart by the grenade. The after effects of that were very obvious as a large hole was now in the ground, and everything surrounding was shattered. The rusty light posts were thrown meters away and were in pieces. The water fountain, where I had first met Whitney, was no longer there. It was nothing but an abundance of shattered cement.

  The moon which fought against the gray clouds presented itself finally. Tonight it was very beautiful and bold, capturing my attention as I stared up at it. I wondered if I had died on this spot would I have spent the afterlife here? As a hunter it was not something we often questioned as we were programmed to not fear death.

  “Come along, Esmore,” Chase said softly, offering his hand to me. Without realizing I had been fiddling with his necklace around my throat. Slowly he grabbed one of my hands, still watching me in case I did not take kindly to the action. But I did. As soon as his fingers intertwined with mine, it was like taking a breath I had needed for so long. I could not describe the sensation. When he touched me, I actually felt. It was as if I had been incapable of feeling for the past few years. It was something I often thought after my mother’s death. Not even James helped me feel. Although he had tried in many ways, I was repulsed by his lingering neediness. Whereas here, right now with Chase, these feelings came to me like a wave of refreshing water. And it was a very hard slap to the face indeed. These were unexpected feelings, ones that I could not understand.

  In the moon’s glow, with his hand holding mine, I was torn by confusion. His chest looked so pale, yet beautiful at the same time. He was angelic in every way. For all his oddness, quirkiness, intensity, and cockiness, I was drawn to him in ways I could not describe.

  “This was once the world’s most known bridge; it was called the ‘Golden Gate Bridge.’ Thousands used to travel over it every day in the technology era,” Chase informed me. A lot of things had lost their titles many years ago when the world changed so horrifically. I think humans gave up on the chance of restoring everything that once was.

  “This part of the bridge is still very stable. When the bombings happened the bridge was unaffected, and three hundred years later it still stands. It goes to show the strength of the foundations the humans used,” he said in admiration.

  We came to the end of the bridge. There were cracks along the road, and it was littered with rusty objects like cars and other vehicles. My eyelids batted a few times in awe. I tried to imagine a different world entirely. As Token Huntress, there was not time to discover such things. My kind had very little curiosity at all, but with Chase it was as if the world had opened up to me, and I wanted to learn of its beauty. Chase made it feel like time had stopped and I had a brief moment to breathe properly. I could consider the endless possibilities of the world and what they once may have been.

  “Chase, you were once a part of this era, weren’t you?” I asked. I recalled him saying he was four hundred and thirty-one years old. It seemed so unnatural considering he looked to be no older than his mid-twenties. He slowly pulled me down to sit next to him on the edge of the bridge’s road. I stared beneath us where very little water streamed through. Although murky, the moon’s shine made it seem beautiful. The fog hovered over it, adding to the surreal, mystical atmosphere. I could only imagine that once it was glorious. Did the humans of that day regularly admire it or had they forgotten its glory because they were so accustomed to it?

  “I lived in a few eras,” he announced. “But yes, in the time of technology and such, I was there, amongst them. In the time that I was turned it was not like this; life was valued. People had a sense of purpose that they valued above their ego.”

  “Who turned you?” I asked inquisitively. Was he turned against his own will or was it something he sought out?

  He gave a shy smile, looking at me and then back to the water’s edge. It was when he looked to the water that I could see the true depth of his pain. Like he always did to dispel a serious topic, he tried to make the situation humorous. But already that fake humor had vanished from his eyes.

  “My mother, actually,” he said quietly. He grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it into the water. His other hand was still holding mine, and when he continued he held it tighter. “She was turned against her own will when I was younger; my father had died in war before that. So my mother and I were left to fend for ourselves. My mother was very beautiful — it is obvious who I got my good looks from!” he laughed, trying to dispel the intensity. “You know I haven’t always been in this country? I have been spread over many because of that one grotesque vampire. I was born in the United Kingdom, and in the end, this is where we fled to.

  A vampire broke into our home and after the vampire had his way with her against her will, he decided he enjoyed it so much that he turned her. Of course she didn’t want that, but he threatened my life, so she agreed to it if I was unharmed. The vampire was a very sick and evil man. He was an example of the vampires who had gone rogue and violent... who lacked control over their cravings and slowly would turn into sabers when they gave into that savageness. It is just too compelling for most to refuse.

  During this era vampires could only walk during the night, so I became useful in his eyes to ‘fetch’ women for him to feast from. Eventually my mother was able to control her vampire ways and stayed true to herself for my sake. A rarity. I now understand how lucky I was she hadn’t ripped my throat out the moment she was turned. I have seen it happen far too many times to those who thought they could control their impulses. But that is in a sense the curse. It is because of one’s arrogance and internal weakness that they cannot control themselves. Usually after that they don’t last very long and spiral. They go on a rampage and quickly become sabers themselves.”

  His black hair was lightly swaying in the breeze as he continued to speak. He was looking intently into the water as he brought all the memories back. “Eventually my mother became strong, very strong for a young vampire. The vampire who tormented her tried to create some false family-like scenario. But when his mind began to alter, he slowly started resembling a saber. My mother wanted to protect me from him, but you cannot raise a hand to the vampire who turned you, it simply cannot happen, you are to be faithful and loyal to them. So when I was fifteen and he rested one night, I silently crept up on him. Most vampires would’ve been alerted by someone creeping on them, but when they turn into a saber their heightened senses are lacking. I had tried it for many nights prior to see if I could creep up on him. Eighteen days straight I did so, just to make sure I could do it without myself or my mother being killed in consequence. And on the nineteenth night I crept up on him and like always he did not move. So I pierced a stick straight through his chest. I killed him.

  I thought my mother would have been overjoyed but instead she cried. Apparently that ghastly vampire had many followers. He was the leader to a coven. There are still a few around these days; a lot of them have been around for as long as the Council. They are ruthless and are the stepping stone between sabers and vampires. Their ways are like a drug to them, and they enjoy torturing... they enjoy the hunt. We Council vampires are more civilized and structured. When I killed their leader, his death smelled of me. To become a leader of the coven you have to kill the current leader. And by killing him I was now the leader, but very easy prey. And so they hunted us in an attempt to kill me and take leadership. Until this day, that coven is leaderless. They cannot claim a leader; it is by death alone that any will be pushed through the ranks. My mother fled with me and for years we ran away from followers. We had many close calls, but my mother protected me fiercely.” His thumb began trailing over my hand absentmindedly. I could tell by the
way his shoulders now hunched that he was becoming angry at the thought. I placed my other hand on his, grabbing his attention. He gave a weary smile and continued.

  “My mother would not turn me until she thought I was of an appropriate age. She said she wanted me to have time on my own to think if eternal life was something I truly wanted. And also if it was a risk I was willing to take. My mother had not turned someone before and there are rules when it comes to such things. But at the age of twenty-three, five days after my birthday, she did.

  Still for many years we ran and there were many near death encounters. It still surprised us, the ripple effect after killing that horrid creature. I would have been a far weaker master for them to challenge. So somewhere out there I imagine they still might be in search of me, if they haven’t yet all died. You see, in a sense, they are trapped in that group. No one allowing them to leave, it truly is an unhealthy group. They mostly feed off one another, which is sickening. Vampires can feed off one another but only to a certain extent. Our blood is like synthesized blood. After drinking too much of our own kind, we become sick, even delusional. At this point, it puts us at further risk of becoming a saber. It only takes one slip to become an inhumane creature.”

  I nodded in encouragement. He looked into my eyes then down at the ground before continuing. “In the early years of the twenty-first century, my mother stumbled upon a young vampire. Although so young, only ten years in vampire years, he was my mother’s familiar.” He gave me an arched eyebrow, knowing what I was about to ask. “I will explain shortly. That vampire was Fier—”