by Mazhar, S
“You’ll hear anyone with the same sign as you.” She pointed to his necklace. “When they talk to Scott, you’ll hear their conversation.”
Kyran held out a hand, gesturing for them to stop. His narrowed green eyes were staring at something in the distance. The other three Hunters went still, painfully alert. Guns in hand, they waited for Kyran’s instructions. Aaron craned his neck to see past the huts but he couldn’t see what had halted Kyran.
“What is it?” he whispered.
“Shut up, Aaron!” Kyran hissed. “Listen.”
Aaron fell silent but he couldn’t see or hear anything.
“Bloody hell,” Ryan gasped, eyes widening. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Aaron whispered. “What is it?”
“You don’t hear that?” the blonde asked, her pointed face seemed even longer with annoyance. “The music?”
Aaron frowned. He couldn’t hear anything but the whistling wind.
“Listen,” the brunette instructed. “Really, listen.”
“Forget it, Danielle,” the blonde said. “Don’t even bother with him.”
“Give him a break, Jean,” Ryan called over his shoulder. “It’s his first hunt.”
Aaron concentrated, straining his hearing, but all he could pick up was the wind. Kyran and Ryan led the way further down the road. It was another three minutes before Aaron heard the faint beat of a drum and the sound of bells ringing. They turned a corner and went into a thick cluster of trees. The sound of the drums was getting louder the further they went into the forest. Aaron could even make out clapping. When Aaron followed Kyran out of the trees, he found the strangest sight before him.
It seemed like the whole village of Danwan had gathered in this small clearing. Men, women and children alike were sitting around a fire, laughing and clapping as others played strange instruments – what looked like a cross between drums and tambourines. But Aaron’s gaze quickly went from the villagers and their hybrid instruments to the dancing girls.
They were the most exotic, beautiful girls Aaron had ever seen. Tall, around six feet at least, with wild, dark hair that cascaded down to curl at the small of their backs. They had big, expressive eyes, encased by long, thick black lashes, which they fluttered unashamedly. The villagers laughed joyfully, beating the drums, making the girls sway their tiny hips. Small bells attached to the hems of their skirts gave a tiny jingle. The cropped tops bared their midriffs, exposing flawlessly smooth, tanned skin.
Ryan shook his head, chuckling. “Damn, Danwans,” he muttered. “Always ready for a party.”
The villagers turned to the five newcomers and smiled, nodding at them in greeting, but turned back to the dance show almost instantly. The dancing girls, all ten of them, looked around at the Hunters with bewitching smiles.
Kyran’s gaze was fixed on the girl at the forefront, the one who was staring back at him with big hazel eyes.
“Jean, Dani,” Kyran murmured.
That was all it took for the two Hunters to push Aaron down, forcing him to sit. They took their places on either side of him.
“What–?” Aaron exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
“Joining the party,” Jean said dryly.
Ryan took a seat next to them. Kyran strode forward with a wide grin, green eyes shining with a hunger Aaron had never seen before. The girl eyed him just as intently. As soon as Kyran reached her, he wrapped a hand around the girl’s tiny waist and pulled her forward into his embrace. Aaron’s mouth popped open. He hadn’t expected that.
“Damn, you’re beautiful,” Kyran said to the girl. “Where have you been hiding?”
The girl smiled back, showing her line of perfect, glistening teeth. She eased herself from Kyran’s arms but didn’t move far from him. She swayed her hips in time to the drumbeat, her smoky gaze fixed on Kyran the whole time.
Two girls moved towards Ryan. They took a hand each and pulled him up, leading him away to dance. One by one, the dancing girls pulled up partners from the sitting crowd. A girl moved towards Aaron, but before she could hold out a long-fingered hand, Danielle and Jean crossed their arms over Aaron.
“No!” both spat at once.
The girl stopped, big brown eyes wide with hurt. She looked at Aaron, smiled apologetically and moved away, pulling up another boy.
Aaron turned to the two girls with disappointment. “What was that for?”
“Trust us,” Danielle said, glaring at the dancing girls. “You’re better off here.”
Aaron looked over to Kyran and Ryan’s – there were no better words for it – indecent proximity to the dancing girls. Kyran was holding the girl so close their fronts were pressed together, as both swayed to the drumbeat. Aaron couldn’t help but stare. It seemed so strange for Kyran to just go up to a seemingly random girl and start dancing with her. Weren’t they here to hunt? Shouldn’t they be looking for the Ichadaris?
Aaron glanced over at the villagers still seated around the fire, playing the drum-tambourine things. The fire was rather unnecessary. It was still daytime and the sun was scorching above them. In fact, he was already feeling the burn on the back of his neck.
Aaron’s gaze studied the man playing the drums. He was sweating. His face was covered in fat droplets of perspiration, his face and neck flushed pink. Yet he didn’t move away from the roaring fire. His fingers continued to beat on the drums. A closer look revealed awfully pink fingers, as if he had been playing for hours.
Aaron felt a cold prickle of dread run down his spine. He looked back over at the dancing girls, at their beautiful faces, their wild, tangled locks and the way those smiles lifted up their thin lips, almost in hidden glee.
“Danielle,” Aaron whispered. “What exactly are Ichadaris?”
Danielle’s hand was sneaking up into her coat, while her eyes stayed on Kyran, Ryan and their dancing partners.
“Demons,” she murmured back. “They devour mages, or humans if they slither into their realm.” She glowered at the dancing girls. “Disgusting things Ichadaris are.” She began sliding something out of her pocket. “Time to send them back to hell.”
What she brought out was the weirdest instrument Aaron had ever seen. It was small, no bigger than his hand. It looked like a flute but instead of being a long, thin stick, it was broader and had a round bulge near the top. It reminded Aaron of the flutes he’d seen in books about snake charmers in India.
Danielle paused, the strange flute thing still half hidden in her pocket. Her other hand closed around her silver spiral pendant.
“It’s on,” she said. “Come if you don’t want to miss the party.”
“Be careful.” Aaron heard Scott’s voice.
Danielle pulled the flute out, just as Jean took an identical instrument out of her pocket. No sooner were the wooden flutes out than Danielle and Jean put them to their mouths and started playing. Their tune, a spine-tingling melody, cut through the drums and tambourines. The dancing girls came to a sudden standstill, their expressive eyes widened with horror. With an unearthly hiss, the girls pulled back and, as one, they turned to Jean and Danielle.
Before Aaron’s very eyes, the dancer girls started to change. The deep brown of their eyes lightened to yellow. Their pupils slitted. The previously smooth, unblemished skin started to develop a strange rash: small brown and black boxes appeared across their cheeks, travelling down their neck to their arms, stomach and legs.
The villagers stopped playing the drums, seemingly coming out of a trance and gasping in horror at the sight of the changing girls. The boys who had been dancing with them scrambled to get away, crying out in fear. The only exception was Kyran and Ryan, who were smirking openly. The rapidly transforming girls backed away, forming a tight circle in the middle of the stunned crowd.
The girl who was dancing with Kyran tried to step away, but Kyran’s firm grip on her arm pulled her back again.
“Where are you going?” he asked with a grin as the girl struggled. “You kno
w, I don’t understand why girls feel the need to change. Be proud and just be yourself.”
The girl hissed at him – actually hissed. Aaron recoiled in absolute horror when the girl’s eyes narrowed in rage, and she opened her mouth. Gone were the perfect, white teeth. Instead, she had fangs – two sharp, curved fangs that threatened to sink into Kyran’s flesh if he didn’t let go of her. Kyran’s hand closed around her throat, holding her still.
“Don’t get hissy with me,” Kyran teased.
Jean and Danielle were still playing their strange flutes in a continuous tune – no breaks, no stops. Their cheeks were bulged out, a sign of their circular breathing.
Every single dancing girl was focusing on Jean and Danielle. Terrifying black-slitted yellow gazes were fixed on the flutes playing that tune. The girls shivered, sticking out long, black-forked tongues. Their hissing got louder, fiercer, until fangs bared, the girls came at them at once.
A sudden pandemonium broke out as the villagers leapt to their feet, screaming and crying, running in every direction to get out of the way. A wave of Danielle’s hand had the girls flying backwards. The only exception was the girl in Kyran’s grip.
“Sorry, Ichi,” Kyran said to the girl, “it was never going to work out.”
He pushed her towards her crowd of girls. Ryan held out both of his hands, palms facing up. Hovering above both hands were two small fireballs. Transfixed to the spot, Aaron watched in horrid fascination as Ryan sent the fireballs at the girls, one after the other, forcing them to stay back and huddled in a tight group.
The girls kept trying to come for Jean and Danielle in an effort to stop them from playing, as it was clear the longer they played the strange, eerie music, the more of an effect it had on them. The brown and black rash spread across their skin, forming scales. Their bodies began to get tighter, thinner and longer.
“Keep going, keep going,” Ryan encouraged Jean and Danielle, as he threw more fireballs at the girls to keep them back. “Almost got ’em.”
Jean and Danielle’s continuous playing did its work and before Aaron’s eyes, the girls changed completely. Their long, wild hair disappeared. Their faces and necks elongated until they merged with their bodies. Their long limbs fused together until, for a terrifying moment, they were no more than tall, thin poles, before they all collapsed to the ground. Gasping in utter horror, Aaron realised where the ten girls had stood there were now ten hissing snakes.
Jean and Danielle stopped playing.
“Finally.” Kyran grinned, pulling out his gun. “Now we can really dance.”
One of the sandy-coloured snakes leapt towards him, fangs bared. Kyran moved out of the way. Jean and Danielle rushed to their feet, guns drawn and came to Ryan and Kyran’s side.
The snakes raised their heads, spitting and hissing at the Hunters. Aaron watched as the Hunters darted out of the way of the attacks. Aaron found himself watching Kyran, almost breathless with fear as he dodged the snakes’ fangs. The further Kyran backed up, the closer one snake came to him. Kyran held out a hand and the snake was pushed flat against the ground. It twitched, its pointed tail flapped this way and that, trying to get free from the invisible hold. Kyran stepped forward and pinned the snake under his foot before sliding the rack on his gun back. A single resounding shot and the snake fell still, then turned to ash.
The sound of the first shot sent the other nine snakes into a panic. Their attacks increased in vigour. All four Hunters managed to avoid getting bitten by keeping low, their backs curved as they darted out of the way of deadly fangs.
Again, Aaron could only watch Kyran as he pinned the snakes to the ground with either his power or his foot, and shot each one in the head. From the sound of it, Ryan, Jean and Danielle were doing the same. The last of the ten snakes was shot by Danielle and silence fell around them. Aaron released his breath, unaware he’d been holding it. Kyran looked up at him and waved the hand that was still clutched around his gun, gesturing for him to come over.
Aaron moved forward, his legs shaky under him.
“Keep close,” Kyran told him. “It’s about to get messy.”
Aaron turned to him with an open mouth. “What?” he asked. “Didn’t you just kill all of them?”
Kyran turned to look at him incredulously. “Did you think the whole of Danwan was being terrorised by only ten Ichis?”
Cold sweat broke out over Aaron. “How many are there?” he asked.
Kyran pulled out his second gun and grinned. “Enough for all of us.”
At first, Aaron didn’t notice it. Then he picked up the faint hissing, which got louder with each passing moment. With a sickening lurch in his stomach, he realised what it was: the angry cries of at least a hundred snakes as they slithered out from all directions, coming right at them. The four Hunters stood in a circle, with Aaron in the middle. All four had their guns drawn and aimed.
“Where are the rest?” Jean said.
“Who cares?” Kyran grinned. “More for us.”
“Too much for us.” Danielle pointed out and held onto her spiral pendant. “Skyler! Get down here!”
“Relax,” Kyran drawled in a perfect imitation of the blond-haired Elemental. “He’ll get to the party. You know how much he loves his big entrances.”
Ryan chuckled, his gaze fixed on the sea of serpents heading their way.
“That’s true,” he said, “but you’re just as guilty of big entrances. Remember the last Lycan hunt?”
Kyran laughed, highly amused. “I choose my moments.”
Ryan let out a grunt. “Yeah, but you–”
“Guys,” Aaron interrupted. “Poisonous snakes, around the clock!”
The sound of the spitting and hissing snakes was terrifying in itself but to see them sit up, heads raised and fangs bared, was truly frightening. Aaron couldn’t look away, even though it was all he wanted to do.
“Come on.” Kyran raised both hands, guns cocked and aimed. “Time for the big finish.”
His first two shots were the signal and the other three joined in. The sound of gunshots tore through the forest, reverberating throughout Danwan. Aaron covered his ears but it was hardly worth it; he was too close to the guns. His ears were ringing painfully.
The Hunters fired continuously, taking out snake after snake. Standing back to back in a circle, they managed to protect themselves and each other from the surrounding Ichadaris. When Kyran’s first gun emptied, he pocketed it and held out his hand, sweeping it back. At least thirty snakes were thrown up into the air. Ryan pulled back his hand and threw out a line of fire right under them. There was nothing to stop the snakes from falling into the flames.
“That’ll keep them busy for a while.” Ryan grinned. He leant back to speak to Aaron. “The only way to kill an Ichadaris is to crush its head.”
“Or make a hole in it,” Kyran added and then did exactly that to two snakes.
“Lovely.” Aaron grimaced.
“And only when they’re in their true forms,” Danielle said, pausing to click another magazine into her pistol. “Hence the Bean.” She started shooting again.
“Bean?” Aaron asked, then realised she was talking about the strange flute she and Jean had been playing. It was obviously what forced the Ichadaris to turn back to their true snake form. “Not that I don’t appreciate it,” he started, “but the lesson can wait till after.”
“On the field learning,” Kyran laughed. “Nothing beats it, Ace.”
Aaron saw a stream of snakes, still aflame, come thundering out of the fire, hissing horribly, twisting and turning on the ground. Even with their shooting, burning and using their powers, the Hunters couldn’t keep the snakes back for long. A few slippery serpents found their way close enough to try to bite. Aaron understood the need for heavy boots now. Kyran and Danielle made sweeping gestures with their hands and the snakes were blasted away.
Aaron spotted one snake amongst others, coiling itself tightly, rearing back. Aaron knew what it was about to do, even
though the idea seems ludicrous. But to his horror, he found the snake launched itself into the air, coming straight at them with an open mouth, its glistening fangs ready. Kyran caught it, as easily as one would catch a ball. He threw the snake down and pinned it under his shoe before shooting it in the head. Following that one snake’s example, others started throwing themselves into the air, attacking the Hunters.
Ryan reached for his sword, pulling Abigail out of her sheath. He sliced the serpents that came flying towards them, swinging the sharp blade this way and that. The other three kept shooting, catching the Ichadaris with gloved hands and throwing them back down.
Aaron caught sight of one snake from the corner of his eye, cutting through the air, coming right at him. Aaron didn’t turn but ducked instead. The snake landed next to him, having passed through the gap between Jean and Ryan’s shoulders to get into the middle of Aaron’s protective circle. Aaron could barely breathe, staring at the enraged snake as it reared its head up and looked right at him with its yellow eyes. The snake coiled tight and leapt upwards, fangs ready to sink into Aaron’s flesh.
“Ky–!” was all Aaron managed to get out.
It was all that was needed.
Kyran turned and grabbed the snake, before it could get near Aaron. He turned to slam the snake back onto the ground and shot it three times.
Voices, several of them, pierced their way through the ominous hissing and Aaron looked around to see the other Hunters had finally arrived. He caught sight of Ella and Skyler, Julian, Omar and the rest as they came with their guns blazing. Skyler tore his way across the grounds, gun in one hand and sword in the other. A mighty gust blew around him, pulling the snakes up into the air for him to shoot or slice.
“What’d I tell ya?” Kyran smiled. “Big entrances.”
***
The battle didn’t last long after the rest of the Hunters arrived. The Ichadaris didn’t stand a chance.
“How do you know that’s all of them?” Aaron asked Ryan as they walked back to their bikes in the bright sunlight. “There might be some left.”
“Nah.” Ryan smiled. “The Ichadaris attack together. You kill one of theirs, they’ll all come as one to kill you.”