For me to say that I held no fear or nervousness would have been an outright lie. Apprehension tapped at my mind, tightened my chest, and turned my stomach, as I wasn’t certain what I’d run into first—Dominus or a vampire. Upon such a first meeting, I didn’t know which of the two might be worse.
Roy had given few details about this hunter, other than Dominus was sullen with dark eyes and a scarred face. Although he was a fellow hunter, there was no guarantee he’d even speak with me alone, and much less the chance since I was accompanied by my father and a werewolf. No success came without first deploying the proper action though. By arriving, it showed great initiative on my part, or at least I thought so.
Father had seldom spoken a word since Momma’s death, but this night he had let me know that he was coming to the cemetery with us. The dead set determination in his eyes meant there wasn’t any reason to argue the point with him. He wasn’t accepting debate on the matter, and I never offered to say otherwise. I simply looked into his cold gaze and nodded. I understood, and I didn’t blame him. He had lost his one true love in life, something I didn’t expect to find for myself, and he’d never rest until his vengeance was satisfied.
I continually thought about Rose; worried about her actually. I couldn’t help it. I liked her immensely and couldn’t shake my feelings for her. Momma had always mentioned that love comes from the heart. I supposed so, since that’s where the stirring ache came from whenever I thought about Rose. And there had been something about the endearing way she had looked into my eyes upon our first meeting that led me to believe she liked me. She hadn’t been shy about it, but not overly energetic, either. While she had predicted that I was a loner, and I kept insisting to myself that I was as well, she lingered in my mind and made my heart ache, but in a good way.
But seeing how my mother was murdered to incite my father and I, I needed to sweep all of my thoughts about Rose from my mind. I never wanted her to die in such a way. As long as she or any other person remained close to me, they were never safe.
Baron Randolph had not only killed my mother, but he had killed Rose’s mother as well. As I reflected about that, I realized I must dismiss Rose from my thoughts. A master vampire possessed the power to read the minds of his servants, and I wondered if he might be capable of doing that with me as well. I didn’t know, but I refused to risk it.
“You okay?” Jacques whispered.
I nodded.
“You seem deep in thought.”
“Wouldn’t you be in my situation?”
“I suppose so.”
I pointed toward a massive flat gravestone that looked more like a table than a marker. “Let’s wait there.”
“Out in the open?”
“I’m not trying to hide from him.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about.”
“The baron?”
Jacques nodded. “Yes. Exposing yourself so readily isn’t a good strategy.”
“I doubt he’ll be here.”
“A cemetery is his territory. It’s where he obtains fresh recruits.”
“They have to be buried in a graveyard first?” I asked.
“No, but the majority of them are.”
“Why do you think that’s the case? Why not take the body to the lair and wait?”
“Not sure. Could be that there’s a fine line between the killing and turning point.”
I frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“A vampire feasts on a victim’s blood, but sometimes they take too much and drain the victim, killing him or her before the person can ingest the vampire’s blood. When that occurs the victim won’t rise as a vampire and remains a corpse.”
“I see. Let’s position ourselves at the stone anyway. It puts us nearly dead center of the cemetery where we can watch in all directions. We certainly cannot be cornered. Honestly I’d rather be exposed than cornered.”
“I agree.”
“Besides,” I said, “I can set my hunter box at waist level to access its contents without having to stoop or squat. I never thought this box would be so damned heavy.”
Jacques grinned.
We walked to the large stone and I set my hunter box upon it. I had only brought the box for one purpose. Well, two reasons actually. One, I figured since Roy had crafted Dominus’ box and mine that there’d be no doubt we were on the same side. And two, easy access to the tools should we encounter any vampires.
After my mother’s burial, I took my hunter box outside of our cottage and found a private place where I could inspect all of its contents. Like my father’s box, mine contained holy water, blessed salt, a bible, a cross, and several stakes. Mine also had rosary beads, dried herbs of some sort, and a wooden mallet. There were some cloves of garlic and two dark glassed bottles containing liquid, but I didn’t know their actual contents. One other tool that I rather liked was a small iron ax. On the back part of the ax blade was a metal claw like some hammers had, which was excellent for prying open wooden coffins should the task ever become necessary.
Several compartments inside the box were empty, but looked to be places to add weapons later. Roy had mentioned that I’d eventually have need of other weapons after I had matured as a hunter.
The cold night air was silent, other than the occasional whispering breeze. My father remained quiet and stationary. He held a stake tightly in his right hand. From a distance it was unnoticeable. Jacques sniffed the air in long deep breaths as his eyes studied the shadows and his ears altered slightly, listening for sounds undetectable by my father or me. I wondered if Dominus had chosen not to come to the cemetery on this particular night. It was feasible that a vampire hunter might be needed elsewhere or perhaps someone had hired him.
Jacques’ eyebrows rose. “We have company.”
“Where?”
He nodded toward a massive evergreen cedar at the edge of the cemetery. If someone was hidden within its massive shadow, I couldn’t see the person.
Father turned in the direction we were facing. He squinted.
“I don’t see anyone,” I replied.
“He sees us.”
“Is it the hunter or a vampire? Or can you discern from here?”
“It’s not a vampire. I sense power, so it’s possible he might be the hunter you seek.”
The man stepped outside of the tree’s shadow, forming a unique shadow of his own. From the distance between us, I didn’t know his height, but he wore a tall hat and a ragged overcoat that hung to his knees. In his right hand he held what appeared to be a crossbow, but it could have been a large handgun. The shadow of a long cross was in his left.
Apparently Jacques noticed the cross when I had. He whispered, “Hunter.”
While I quietly questioned whether or not I should make my approach, the man headed directly toward us. Not quickly, but at a steady, slow gait with both hands at his sides. His boots clicked softly upon the cobblestone walkway.
I slid my hand into my coat pocket and wrapped my fingers around a stake. Realizing my foolishness, I left the stake in favor of my dagger strapped to my belt. But neither weapon I possessed quick access to was good against a man who held a ranged weapon.
When he came to within ten yards of our proximity, he stopped coming toward us. My eyes had adjusted to the pale moonlight enough for me to partially make out his face. His face was scarred with a scraggly thin beard. One thin line ran down his left cheek. Another near his right eye. An inch over, and he’d probably have lost the eye. Two parallel scars ran at a diagonal angle on his brow. His left jaw was bulged with something he held in his mouth.
“Who’s the wolf?” he asked with a tight stare on Jacques.
“Are you Dominus?” I asked, stepping in front of Jacques. I wasn’t certain if this hunter only killed vampires, and since Jacques seemed his first interest, I wasn’t taking any chance that he killed werewolves as well.
“Depends,” he replied, noticing how I had become a body shield for Jacques.
“On
what exactly?” I asked.
“Your reason for bringing a werewolf to a cemetery hunt.”
“I came as his ally,” Jacques said.
“And the old man?” the hunter asked.
“My father.”
He remained silent, his eyes studying us. The longer he did, the more uncomfortable I became. I never realized how intimidating silence could be. Loud boisterous people tended to try to frighten and bully others into fear or submission, but their success was nothing compared to a man who spoke little and kept a solemn uncertain stare. It was impossible to detect his intentions, and whether or not he sought peace or was bent on killing us without ever muttering another word.
“Why are you three here?” he finally asked in his hoarse voice. His accent held a long drawn out drawl, unlike anything I’d heard before. He chewed on the lump in his mouth a couple of times.
“I wished to speak to you.”
“About what exactly?” The coldness never eased in his eyes or expression. I imagined his soul was frigid.
“Training. That is, if you’re Dominus.”
He chuckled. His voice rolled deeply. “And if I’m not?”
“Then we’re wasting one another’s time, aren’t we?” I stated with a tinge of anger looming in my voice. My impatience was getting the best of me. Standing in the center of a cemetery where possible vampires lurked, discussing whom he might or might not be was a complete waste of my time.
“I am Dominus, but who told you I’d be here?”
“A mutual friend.”
“I have no friends,” he replied, coldly. “And neither will you, if you’re a true hunter.”
“Roy, the woodcrafter, told me I could find you here.”
His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. He seemed angered about where I’d gotten my information. “I’m a hunter, not a trainer.”
“Did you not have a trainer at one time?” Jacques asked. Aggravation rose in his tone as well.
“Who yanked the wolf’s leash?” Dominus asked with a tightened brow. “It wasn’t I.”
Jacques hands formed into fists, and he started to walk around me. I placed a firm hand against his chest and shook my head. “Ignore him.”
Dominus seemed determined to draw Jacques into a fight. His dislike toward werewolves was obvious. I wondered why and what his motive was. The silver tips of his arrow gleamed in the moonlight.
Jacques eyes narrowed. His teeth ground audibly. At least I hoped that was what I had heard. It might have been his jawbones starting to widen.
“Easy,” I whispered. “He has silver on the arrow.”
“He has to actually hit me for it to be effective,” Jacques replied.
Dominus took two steps closer. His hand tightened on the loaded crossbow and his finger edged toward the trigger. He spit brown juice onto the cobblestone. “You have odd company, boy. I’ve never encountered another hunter who brings his Poppa along, and certainly never one who has partied himself to a werewolf. I think it best that you find yourself another hunter who doesn’t mind training a young’un who won’t step outside of his father’s shadow.”
I kept trying to ignore his crass insults, and each time that he spoke, it was getting harder. I tried to suppress my festering anger, as I was the least experienced fighter in the cemetery, but I found myself about ready to charge at this man. “I know of no other hunters. There might not be another for hundreds of miles.”
“Dozens of ‘em here in Romania and Transylvania, boy, which isn’t many given the number of vampires we have. But the vampire hunters are around, if you know where to look.”
“I don’t have the time to search.”
Dominus laughed. He extended both of his arms out at shoulder height. His crossbow was still in his right hand and the cross in the other. “Take a long hard look at me, boy. Is this what you want to be twenty years from now? Cause this is what you’ll become. A body riddled with scars, a heart colder than ice, and a life without friends or family. You won’t know love, as that will only be a myth. A hunter leads a solitary life.”
Roy had said Dominus seldom spoke, but maybe the hunter simply didn’t like Roy. Dominus certainly had said far more than I expected and seemed quite theatrical while doing so.
“I have no choice in what I am,” I replied. “But, without the proper training, I probably won’t be here twenty years from now.”
“Harsh as it may sound, but I’m going to send you on your way. I hope you can find another hunter. I don’t have the time.”
“My time is greatly limited for even considering a search for another hunter.”
“What’s your rush, boy?” he asked. “You can’t learn the mastery to kill vampires in a few days’ time. Nothing I know will simply rub off on you. It takes years of fighting these undead bloodthirsty mongrels before you get the proper knack for it. No offense intended to your werewolf companion.”
Jacques jaw flexed. “A lot taken actually, since I’m not the same thing.”
Dominus grinned. “It’s too easy to rile up a werewolf, and this one’s no exception. I figure it’s because werewolves tend to suffer from emotional insecurities.”
“I have no insecurities,” Jacques replied.
“Starting to get a bit antsy? About ready to sprout fur and fangs?”
“Again, I’m not a vampire. I don’t have fangs.”
Dominus chuckled and then his narrowed eyes peered toward me.
“I appreciate you at least listening to my request,” I said, trying to remain cordial, in spite of Dominus trying to antagonize Jacques. I wasn’t certain Dominus really wished for Jacques to attack. Even though his arrow tip was silver, I had seen how fast Jacques moved. I doubted Dominus could hit Jacques before the werewolf ripped his throat out. But still, I didn’t want to see such an event unfold, especially since I had been the one that brought us all together. “Since it seems I cannot persuade you to train me, may I ask you a question?”
“You may ask, but it won’t guarantee I have an answer.”
Through gritted teeth, I asked, “Have you seen a child vampire in this cemetery?”
His eyes widened momentarily with surprise, and then he nodded. “Once. Why? How do you know of him?”
“His name is Bodi. He was a schoolmate of mine.”
Dominus gazed at me with solemn eyes. He put his crossbow into its holster on his back. “The little scamp caught me off guard. I never suspected he was a vampire.”
“Do you know the vampire who turned him?”
“No. I’m not inclined to keep track of vampire pedigrees,” he replied.
“Would it not be beneficial to know?” Jacques asked. “Considering that if you kill a master, you kill everything he or she has sired as well.”
Dominus gave Jacques a long intense stare and finally acquiesced a nod while he chewed what I assumed was tobacco. “You’re right, wolf. I tend to await the stragglers when they first rise from the grave. I kill them before they have a chance to find their lair. That was why the child had caught me unaware. I thought he was lost because that’s how he appeared to be . . . lost. But the little boy was a vampire. Hell, who’d turn a child? When I approached, his disorientation vanished, and the vicious little fiend attempted to bite me. Had it not been for my cross, he’d have probably been successful. But, I’ve never followed a new vampire into its master’s lair. So no, I know not who has sired this child into the world of darkness. Vampires are already damned in the eyes of our Lord, but I’d think an even greater damnation should befall any vampire that chose to defile a child in such a way.”
“Agreed. What are the chances that he might have been turned by Baron Randolph?” I asked. “The master vampire.”
He cocked a brow as he studied me. “You know of the baron?”
I nodded, as did Jacques and my father.
“Few even know he is a master vampire. And you, a new member of the hunters’ regime, how is it that you know already?”
“It’s personal,�
�� I replied.
“How so?” he asked. His eyes held keen interest.
“He nearly killed my father over a month ago, and he had one of his human servants kill my mother yesterday, which is the reason I sought to have you train me.”
“You wish to go after a master?” he asked, shaking his head. For a few moments he eyes held genuine concern.
“Not immediately,” I replied. “But I will kill him for his transgressions against my family.”
“That’s a bold statement, young hunter.”
“I intend to fulfill it without fail.”
Dominus studied my eyes for a long minute. A smile curled his lips. “I sense the courage within you. Perhaps I acted in haste in discarding your request.”
“The four of us share a common enemy,” I said.
He nodded. “We do. But I don’t know that what I can teach you is much different than what anyone else could teach you.”
“Perhaps not. But what about the premonitions I have?”
Dominus gave me an odd stare. “Premonitions? You have those?”
“On occasion, but I suppose sudden impulses are much stronger.”
“What kind of impulses?”
I walked to the massive stone where my hunter box set. “Before Roy constructed this box and the tools for me, I studied my father’s tools while he lay near death. Each thing I touched beckoned me.”
Dominus frowned. “In what way?”
“For me to take the stakes and rush out into the night to find the vampires and turn them into dust, even though I had never been trained.”
“How long have you known you were a hunter?” he asked.
“Less than two months,” I replied.
“Damn.” He rubbed his chin. “How old are you?”
“Eight.”
Dominus grinned. “So you’re one of those kind of hunters?”
“What kind?”
“One of the Chosen. In other words, you were born to be a hunter with the wisdom of a former hunter.”
I nodded. “And you’re not?”
He released a harsh grunt of a laugh. “I suppose I am, but I was born in the wrong part of the world.”
Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter [Book One] Page 14