Changed (The Hunters #1)

by Rose J. Bell

  She gave him an arrogant glance. “Well, I’m not like other girls, and I do not like it when someone kisses me without permission. By the way, why did you kiss me?”

  His face was serious for a moment, but the usual grin appeared shortly after.

  “You’re just a toy for me, girl. I wanted to play around with my little toy,” he replied coolly and winked at her.

  Anger rose in her. “I’m not your toy, and will never be! I won’t let you treat me like you treat other people.”

  “I would like to see that,” he said.

  She smiled wicked. “I’d like to see you dead on the ground with my dagger in your heart.”

  In a second, he was in front of her, his face inches away from hers.

  “And I would like to see you under me. On my bed. Naked,” he whispered and his eyes darkened.

  Rosa laughed, even though she got goose bumps. “So you can play with me and throw me in a corner like a used toy?”

  Jason shook his head. “No. So I can hold you—like last night.”

  Her breath caught, and she looked him in the eyes. There was no teasing glimmer telling her he was making fun of her. Suddenly she felt a tingle in her stomach.

  Jason lifted his hand and it seemed like he wanted to touch her, but then he shook his hand and took a step back.

  He looked at her. “Did you really want to kill me?” His voice was serious.

  “Of course not, you idiot. I just wanted to make sure that you stay away from me,” Rosa replied.

  “You could say that to me instead of beating me up.”

  Rosa snorted. “As if you would have listened to me.”

  Jason nodded. “You’re right. I wouldn’t listen to you.”

  “How did your leg heal so fast?” he asked as an afterthought.

  Rosa wrapped her bathrobe tightly around her body again. “A witch healed me,” she replied.

  He looked at her skeptically. “For a non-hunter, you know many things about the shadow creatures.”

  “Ellen’s a witch and she’s in my class. I’ve asked her if she could do it and she said yes.”

  Jason nodded and looked at his watch.

  “I’ve got to go,” Jason said and turned around.

  “Wait!” Rosa grabbed his arm.

  He turned toward her. “What?”

  “Where do you live, Jason?”

  He smiled. “Why do you want to know?”

  “You owe me a bottle of vodka, and I’d like to collect sometime.”

  “Nothing is given for free?”

  She shook her head. “Nope.”

  “I thought so. India Street No. 2. I look forward to your visit, Ice Princess.”

  “Don’t be too happy about it.”

  “Will you try to kill me again?” he smiled, amused.

  She returned his smile. “Jason, you’re such an idiot.”

  Jason winked at her then left the room. Rosa heard the door close and she was alone in her home again.

  Jason walked down the stairs and opened the door to the outside.

  It was another beautiful, warm morning. He put his glasses on and walked to his car. He didn’t actually plan to spend the night with Rosa, but he hadn’t wanted to spend the night in his apartment where he would think about Jasmine. He needed distraction.

  Jason did not know why he had chosen to go to Rosa. He had never thought she would let him into her apartment, let alone allow him to sleep there.

  Rosa was very different from the other girls he had met over the years. Yes, he had met girls who did not fall for his charm and wanted to chase him off, but Rosa was different.

  She had something in her that made him attracted to her.

  Until now, Jason never wanted more from her than her body and the information, but now his attitude had changed towards her.

  Rosa was a girl with pride and dignity, who would never let anyone treat her bad.

  He was not sure if he should believe that she wasn’t a huntress, however. She gave him good arguments that she was not one of his enemy’s, but he still had his suspicions.

  This wasn’t the right time to think about it. He’d to finish the job his father had given him. Jason climbed into his car and drove off.

  Yesterday, the rebels weren’t killed, but sent to prison. Today, they would be killed.

  Jason had to kill the rebels, though he did not want to.

  After he had passed Boston, he parked his car near a forest and climbed out. He walked deeper into the forest and summoned his wings.

  He flew the over four hundred miles to San Diego with ease.

  The forest lay out of town and was huge. No one came into this forest; the perfect place to torture and kill people.

  Jason walked deep in the forest. The trees were tall and stood close together, only allowing small rays of sunlight to shine onto the forest floor.

  A little wooden hut appeared between the trees. The building was made of gray stone, and only had four windows. The door was made of solid metal. Even Jason, with his Nephilim forces, had problems opening the heavy door. For a human it was impossible. Jason opened the door with much effort, and then entered the house.

  It had only one floor. The staircase, which was in the kitchen led into the basement, where the prisoners were kept.

  He closed the door behind him. He could already hear voices coming from the kitchen—apparently, the others were already there.

  The house smelled musty and the air was full of dust. It had only three rooms: Living room, bedroom, and kitchen. Nobody had ever lived there, except the prisoners. Jason went into the kitchen, the old wooden floor creaking under his feet.

  Marco, Philip, and Madeleine were in the kitchen. Madeleine was sitting on one of the wooden chairs. The two boys were standing.

  “Hey, guys,” Jason said. He could feel the thick air between Madeleine and Philip. Jason was upset with Madeleine, too, because she did not tell him how she knew his secret.

  “Where were you last night?” Philip asked.

  “Away,” Jason answered shortly. He wanted to get this over with quickly. “Can we start now?”

  Madeleine stood up from her chair as the group approached the basement door. They descended the narrow stairs into a small room that contained ten stone cells with sliding iron doors. All the cells were empty, except for one where the rebels were confined.

  Jason went to the last cell where they had kept the men detained as Madeleine, Marco, and Philip followed him in silence. Jason stopped in front of the cell. It was dark in the cellar, with only two shapeless light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Their feeble light was enough to see the silhouettes of the three rebels as they sat huddled in the corners.

  “Well, how are the bad guys today?” Jason asked.

  “You can guess,” said the blond boy. He was the only one of the three, who was speaking.

  Jason smiled. “Oh, now we’re playing a game?”

  He couldn’t see his face, but he was sure the blond boy had rolled his eyes.

  “If you see it as a game, then that’s your opinion,” the blond boy answered.

  “What’s your name?” Jason asked.

  “What’s your name?” he asked and raised his eyebrows.

  Jason smirked. “I asked first.”

  “Nick,” he replied.

  “Nick, my name’s Jason.”

  “Are we here for a tea party, or what?” Philip asked annoyed.

  “Calm down. I’m only chatting a little bit.” Then Jason sighed. “But Philip is right. We need to bring that to an end.”

  “Finally,” Philip muttered.

  “Can it be that you like to kill humans?” Madeleine asked Philip. He shot her a dark look.

  “I’d love to kill you,” he replied dangerously.

  Madeleine laughed. “The feeling is mutual, buddy.”

  “Can you stop fighting now?” Jason interrupted them. They both kept their mouths shut. He took the key to the cell from his pocket and opened the ce
ll door.

  “Come out,” Jason ordered.

  The three rebels obeyed. They went out from the cell and remained in front of the four Nephilim. They looked so fragile Jason was afraid if he touched them, they would simply collapse.

  Philip stepped forward. He had three handcuffs in his hand.

  “Stretch out your hands,” he demanded. The rebels did what they were told. Philip handcuffed the two other boys. Then he stepped in front of Nick. Nick looked at him with a great hostility. Philip didn’t pay attention to him as he put the handcuffs on his wrists.

  Jason turned around and started to leave, when suddenly Philip cried out. Jason turned around, startled. He saw flames.

  Philip’s hands were on fire.

  He screamed, trying to douse the fire on his hands. Madeleine took off her jacket and tried to extinguish the flames.

  Jason paused for a few seconds in terror. He tried to understand what had just happened.

  Then he understood.

  Nick was a Fire user.

  Nick had melted his handcuffs and set Philip’s hands on fire. Marco jumped on Nick, but he dodged.

  “Grab the others! I’ll take care of Nick!” Jason called to Marco.

  Then chaos broke out.

  Nick began to throw fire wildly around him. Jason lunged at Nick, but he threw a fireball at Jason. Jason dodged, and the fireball landed behind him. Another fireball was coming toward him.

  If Nick kept it up, he would burn the entire hut down.

  Jason’s whole body was tense and full of adrenaline. His heart beat wildly in his chest. Nick’s hands were on fire. Jason didn’t know how he could stop a fire user without getting burn.

  “Nick, listen to me! You will burn us all alive, if you throw more fireballs!” Jason yelled. He hadn’t expected Nick would be a fire user.

  Nick laughed mockingly and formed another fireball.

  “I’ll die either way! So you can die with me!”

  Suddenly a shrill scream tore through their conversation. It was a cry from a rebel who had suffered severe pain. Jason and Nick turned around.

  Nick´s friends were also fire users and had thrown fireballs. The cells were ablaze. The other Nephilim were barely visible through the smoke.

  Philip shoved the black-haired boy into the flames. His clothes caught fire immediately, and he was ablaze.

  Jason, who used Nick’s distraction against him, threw himself on Nick. They both landed on the hot floor, which felt like a frying pan. The increased heat in the basement was horrific, but the heat wasn’t as bad as the smoke that threatened to suffocate. Jason could still hear the desperate cries of the rebels.

  Jason couldn’t breathe. His throat and nose were hot. They had to get out of there, but first he had to make Nick unable to produce more fireballs.

  Jason punched Nick in the face. He managed to get a hold of Nick’s hands, but Nick immediately kicked Jason in the stomach, releasing his hands. He shoved Jason hard and threw another fireball.

  Jason heard the hiss of the fireball, but reacted too late. The fireball grazed his right calf, landing next to him on the floor.

  An overwhelming pain shot through his calf. Panicked, he looked at his burning leg. Without hesitation, he rolled his leg over on the floor back and forth and smothered the flames. Then he ripped off the rest of the smoldering material with his bare hands.

  Jason thought he heard his name, but wasn’t sure. He was trembling and his lungs felt like they were cooking. He was sure he was going to pass out. He felt a roaring pain in his leg and his hands were covered with red blisters. The entire cell was filled with smoke.

  Jason began to cough, vomiting on the floor. He threw up everything in his stomach, until nothing was left.

  A shadowy figure ran next to him out of the cell, towards the stairs.

  Nick! Jason thought. The little bastard who had set everything on fire was fleeing.

  In the beginning, Jason did not want to kill him, but now he wanted it badly.

  He stood up, even his leg was still burning like hell, but he ignored the pain. He knew that his leg would heal quickly.

  Breathing heavily, Jason ran after Nick. A sharp pain shot through his chest when he inhaled. He hoped that his friends would get out of the flaming cell alive.

  Jason rushed through the kitchen then ran outside. He could see Nick disappearing into the woods.

  Jason inhaled the fresh air, which was like a healing salve for his lungs. Then he took up the chase. His leg screamed in pain, but Jason told his legs to run faster.

  Although his leg was injured, he was fast and came closer to Nick in just a few seconds. Nick had apparently heard Jason following him because he began to throw fireballs at him again. They landed in front of Jason, but he dodged them easily.

  He was still confronted with the problem that he couldn´t overwhelm Nick with his bare hands because he would just set him on fire. He had to think of something else.

  Jason dodged a burning branch. He took his pocketknife out, as he was close enough to hit Nick with the knife

  Jason threw it toward Nick, hitting him directly at the shoulder, where Jason had aimed.

  Crying out in pain, Nick stopped abruptly, falling to the ground. Jason stopped next him, a contented smile on his face.

  “It’s not easy to get me out of the way, Nick. You have to do more than burn me,” Jason growled, and took the knife from Nick’s shoulder.

  Nick could not speak. His eyes were wide and his face pale. He tried to summon fire but failed.

  Suddenly anger rose in Jason. How dare Nick to hurt him or his friends?

  He was a Nephilim and Nick was only a little pet.

  Jason kicked him in the stomach. Nick groaned and slumped to the floor.

  “You little asshole,” Jason hissed and kicked him again. “Be glad that I can’t kill you now, otherwise I would have done it.” A wicked smile appeared on his face. “But I can do this.”

  Jason reached out and stuck the knife in Nick’s hand. Nick cried out in pain and tried to punch Jason, but the Nephilim only laughed and said, “It’s very amusing to watch a sheep trying to combat the lion.” Again, Jason stabbed the knife into Nick’s other hand.

  Nick’s mouth formed an “O” and his face was pale. Jason sat down on Nick and grabbed him by the throat.

  “You’re really rude against your ruler. This is the second time that you broke the rules. Which rule did you break this time?” Jason asked Nick. Nick did not answer, but looked at him with horrified and frightened eyes.

  “Answer me!” Jason growled and cut Nick’s cheek with his knife.

  He screamed again and began to whimper.

  “Let me tell you the answer, pet. Never hurt an archangel, or a Nephilim,” Jason said. “But you’ve done it. I should kill you right now, but be glad that I can’t.”

  “Jason, don’t do it. He isn’t worth it,” said a voice behind him. He turned around. Madeleine was standing behind him. Her face and clothes were covered in blood and soot. Part of her clothing was burned off and Jason could see that her skin was burned, though it was beginning to heal.

  Suddenly Jason noticed the pain in his calf as it increased by the second. Jason faced Nick. He looked as good as dead, but he wasn’t. He was still breathing.

  Jason straightened up. He still held the knife in his hand. You never know if the pet will attack.

  “How’s Philip?” Jason asked, shoving the knife in his belt.

  “His hands are burned, but they’ll heal again,” said Madeleine. Her eyes went to Jason’s calf. “That has to hurt very much.”

  “Um, yes.”

  “Come, let’s cool it, otherwise it will get worse.”

  Jason shook his head. “No, you don’t have to. I can take care of it myself.” He did not want Madeleine’s help. Even if he was talking to her, that did not mean he was not mad at her.

  Madeleine understood the real reason why he refused. “Jason, if you don’t cool your leg now, your
leg won’t heal as fast.”

  “What should we do with Nick?” Jason asked, looking at him.

  “I’ve informed Marco. He’ll come soon.” And as if Marco heard Madeleine, he paced the forest and stopped beside Madeleine. He was also smeared with blood and soot, but he was alive.

  “Go cool your leg, Jase. I will take care of him,” said Marco, pointing at Nick.

  “Where should I cool my leg? There’s no water here,” Jason replied and grimaced.

  A sizzling pain shot through his leg.

  Madeline smiled. Her smile made her beautiful, even though she was covered in blood.

  “There’s a little stream a little further into the forest,” she said.

  Jason’s leg screamed for water and he had no other choice but to agree.

  Rosa drove to India Street. She went to school this morning, but returned immediately, when she realized a memorial service was being held for Madison. Her feelings of guilt struck Rosa when she saw the crying girls, the sad faces of the boys, and the smiling photos of Madison everywhere.

  Rosa could not sit next to others and pretend it was not her fault, and, mourning with them.

  She could not do that.

  She did not want to meet Matt, either. She had called him yesterday, but he didn’t pick up his phone. Rosa wondered still why he had behaved so weird.

  Rosa had decided to go to Jason’s house, looking for clues for the plan. Perhaps, if she were lucky, she would find something. She hoped that he wasn’t at home.

  Rosa parked her car a block away from Jason’s apartment, so Jason could not see her, if he were home.

  She got out of the car and walked to his house. It was a modern apartment with five floors. A house for the rich, Rosa thought and looked at the names.

  Rosa didn’t know Jason surname, because angels didn’t usually have one. She pushed the outer door, but it was closed, so she pressed the bell for someone. The door was opened after a few second and Rosa went into the hall. An old lady was standing at the door and looked at Rosa. She put her friendly smile on.

  “I’m sorry I disturbed you, but do you happen to know where the two young guys live? Their names are Jason and Philip,” said Rosa.

  The old lady nodded, smiling “Yes. They are living on the fifth floor.”