Changed (The Hunters #1)

by Rose J. Bell

  Madeleine pointed at Philip to follow her. “Come on, we’re looking for a cream,” she said. He nodded and followed her into the house.

  “Philip says he cannot stand Madeleine, but does what she says. I don’t understand,” said Marco confused, and looked at Jason.

  Jason smiled. “Philip is a complicated character, Marco. Sometimes he is angry, sometimes not.”

  Marco nodded. “Weird boy.”

  The door was opened and Gabriel came out. Jason’s mood fell immediately. His father had a grim expression.

  “Do you have the fire user?” he asked. Gabriel somehow always knew when something did not go as planned.

  Marco nodded. “Yes, we’ve got him.”

  “Good. I need to talk to you,” said Gabriel and turned away.

  Jason and Marco followed the archangel.

  Rosa looked at her drawing. A girl stood in a large landscape. She had stretched out her hands and turned to face the sun, but from behind, a thunderstorm was seen, and a black fog crept around her legs.

  Rosa put the brush and the tablet with the colors away. She was satisfied with her drawing. The pictures involved many of her. It was clear that Rosa was that girl who longed for freedom. Longing for a life without the people who ordered her around, planning her entire life. She longed for a life where she could make her own decisions, where she could follow her desires and—most importantly—a life where she was free. The storm was the end to those wishes. The storm stood for her Uncle Sergei and Lord Constantine.

  They both owned Rosa and did what they wanted with her.

  She could not do anything but obey them. She owed the hunter clan too much.

  Sighing, she looked at the clock. It was seven. Only one hour left until she had to be at the academy.

  She got up and went to her bedroom where she undressed her paint-stained clothes, and dressed in clean black clothes. She tied her hair into a French braid.

  Rosa didn’t know what she should take with her, so she packed a water bottle and her mobile phone.

  Her stomach growled, reminding Rosa she hadn’t had anything to eat yet. She was so engrossed in her painting that she had forgotten to eat. She went into the kitchen and stuffed two cinnamon buns in her mouth. It wasn’t a lot, but at least she had something in her stomach.

  Then she shouldered her bag, and took the car keys from the counter, as she left her safe apartment.

  The closer she came to the academy, the stronger her fear and tension. She tried to suppress her fear, but it didn’t work. The question of what her punishment would be circled in her mind like a carrousel

  You will know it when you are there, Rosa, she said to herself.

  Rosa arrived at the academy a little before eight o’clock. She parked her car and climbed out. Dusk had taken over the sky, but Rosa knew that it would not be long until dark.

  Taking a deep breath, Rosa walked to the door. A girl, with black hair that made her face look pale, was standing in front of the door.

  “Are you Rosa Petrova?” she asked. Her voice sounded as young as she looked.

  “Yes,” said Rosa. Meanwhile, her heart beat wildly in her chest.

  “Follow me,” the girl said and walked around the academy into the forest. Frowning, Rosa followed her. They walked through the little path. The girl didn’t speak and didn’t look at Rosa.

  Then they stopped at a clearing and although the sun had not set yet, it was very dark in the forest.

  Rosa immediately saw Lord Constantine. He was not a person you would miss. He wore a suit, as always, and his face was a mask. Five other young hunters were standing behind him. Rosa guessed them to be around her age. There were two girls and three boys, but she had no time to scrutinize them, because Lord Constantine smiled and said,

  “Ah, there is our last traitor.” He smiled coldly. “Stand by the others.”

  The girl that had brought Rosa to Lord Constantine disappeared in the woods. Rosa grabbed her purse and walked toward the others. Rosa wondered which betrayal they had committed.

  Lord Constantine cleared his throat. “You six are here, because you are traitors, and you know that it it’s punishable by death, but this time we will be doing something different,” he said while looking at them with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

  “We will play a game,” he continued.

  Rose frowned. A game? What kind of game?

  “All of you are probably familiar with the old game, tag, and have played it, when you were little; our game is like that, yet still different. There will be a catcher, but none of you six will be the catcher, it will be someone else that you cannot see. The catcher will chase you and if he catches you, you will die. Then you have to find a dagger, which is hidden deep in the forest. A red flag will show you where the dagger is located. Whoever finds it first,” he looked at Rosa, “is going to win and won’t die.”

  Rosa pressed her lips together and tried not to show her anger. She could not believe that Lord Constantine was serious with this game. He played with their lives as if they were not worth anything.

  The boy next to Rosa swore under his breath.

  “There will be only one winner,” Lord Constantine said, his gaze never leaving Rosa. If he didn’t want Rosa to die, then why play in a game where she could be killed?

  “Lord Constantine, to be sure I got this right,” said Rosa. “You want us to find the dagger, while being chased by a ‘catcher’ who is trying to kill us?”

  He nodded. “You learn quickly, Rosa.”

  “Why play this game? Why don’t you just put a bullet in our head?”

  The answer lay in his eyes. It was because of her, as he said in his letter. He wanted to see her suffer, and survive. What would he do if she did not win the game? What would happen then?

  The questions were burning on her tongue, but Rosa didn’t ask him. She didn’t want that the others to know that this game was because of her.

  “If you look to the west, you see a white flag,” said Lord Constantine, gesturing with his right hand. Rosa looked where he was pointing and saw something white that was blowing in the wind. Rosa noticed that Lord Constantine had put stress on the word “West”, but maybe she’d only imagined it.

  “There is a compass on the ground and two daggers. Whoever first gets there gets the tool that will allow them to defend themselves. The others get nothing,” he continued. “So, my hunters, get in the starting position.”

  Rosa was afraid, but she took a deep breath. She would survive this.

  “Jennifer,” Lord Constantine called. The black-haired girl appeared and stood beside him. Rosa wondered if the girl had waited the whole time behind the trees.

  “Jennifer will give the starting shot,” said Lord Constantine, smiling. “I want that the game should take only a few hours. I don’t want to spend my entire evening in this forest, waiting for the winner.” He looked back to Rosa.

  “One more thing. The bags stay here. Rosa and Lisa put your bags away.” Rosa looked at the girl. She was small but had a tough look. She dropped her bag. Rosa did the same.

  Lord Constantine clapped his hands. “Perfect. Then start the game, Jennifer.”

  Rosa tensed every muscle in her body and prayed to God. Then the starting shot was heard and the six hunters started to run. Rosa quickly overtook all, but the boy who had cursed was just as fast as she was. They both reached the white flag at the same time. Rosa grabbed the dagger. The boy took the other dagger. Then they both reached for the compass. Rosa tried to shove the boy aside, but the boy was strong and punched her hand away from the compass.

  Suddenly, the boy went still and coughed. Blood splashed on Rosa’s face. She winced. The boy coughed more then he collapsed on the floor. Rosa saw a knife stuck in his back. The others stopped and looked horrified at the boy.

  Rosa frowned. Where did the knife come from? Then she saw a shadow standing high on the tree. The catcher! He began to throw all the knives in his hand.

  Grabbing the c
ompass, Rosa started to run towards the east. She heard screams, which told her that the catcher had caught a couple of others. Suddenly she heard steps behind her. Immediately she knew that it was the catcher. She swore. Why does he hunt me now?

  If he’d throw a knife at her now, he would certainly hit her. Rosa quickened her pace. The catcher came dangerously close. A knife flew right past her head and landed in a tree. Rosa instinctively ducked her head. Another knife flew over her head into the floor. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She ran as fast as she could. Her feet drummed on the forest floor. Rosa had to put distance between herself and the catcher; otherwise, she would not survive the persecution.

  Rosa didn’t know how long she was running, but she was no longer hearing steps behind her. Carefully she looked over her shoulder. When she saw nobody behind her, she stopped. Due to her already heavy breathing, and the rustle of her blood in her ears, Rosa couldn’t hear anything.

  She had escaped the catcher. Sighing in relief, she looked for a place where she could hide. Rosa found a bush that was huge, and would give her a good cover. After she sat down, she took a deep breath.

  Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest, and she was tired and sweaty. However, her hunting instincts were awake. Everywhere danger could lurk. She would to be vigilant, something she had learned in her hunter education.

  Rosa’s heart gradually calmed down, and she could breathe normally again, but it was something vaguely weird with this game. Earlier, as the catcher had chased her, she wasn’t hit by his knife, which was odd. Not that she would have wanted the knife to hit her, but she had to wonder why it appeared as though the catcher had missed. The catcher had hit the boy from a tree—so why was he unable to hit her, when he was so close?

  Rosa mentally slapped herself for not realizing it earlier—she was supposed to win the game.

  She was sure that this was Lord Constantine’s plan, and the reason why he put her in this deadly game. She would not die, and she would win this game. But it shouldn’t be easy for her to win.

  Sighing deeply, Rosa massaged her temple. To understand him and his motives, you had to be a mind reader. Lord Constantine would do anything to achieve his goal.

  Rosa sighed again and lay down on the forest floor. She knew she should go on, but she was tired and hungry; a little break wouldn’t hurt.

  While lying on the ground, her mind drifted to the incidents that had happened.

  Her life was completely out of line. She wouldn’t have dreamed of committing an act of treason, but since Jason was in her life, she had nothing but trouble. He stepped in her life like a hurricane.

  Rosa threw the thought away and stood up. Time to find the damn dagger, she thought, and wiped off the earth from her black pants. She put the compass in her pants pocket when she suddenly heard something behind her.

  Rosa paused in her movement and listened. There were footsteps coming closer followed by a few snorts.

  An animal.

  Rosa firmly clutched her dagger and turned slowly around. She had been right. It was an animal. A wolf. It came toward her with its teeth bared. His sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight. Slowly and quietly, she walked away from the animal. However, it came toward her.

  “You’re a good doggie,” Rosa said, holding up her hands. “You’re not going to attack me.”

  The wolf tilted his head to one side, and it seemed like he was watching her with a quizzical look. But something was not right with this animal. His eyes were glowing and his face was angry, although Rosa didn’t do anything to make the animal angry.

  I hope he does not attack me, she thought, and walked further. When the wolf didn’t move, Rosa slowly turned around and quickened her pace.

  But then she heard a hiss just as the wolf attacked her.

  Jason and Marco entered the room. Jason’s father was sitting on a chair and his shoulders were tense.

  Without saying anything, Jason and Marco sat on the couch in front of Gabriel. The two boys looked at him expectantly.

  “So, Father. What do you want?” Jason said. His leg began to burn again.

  Gabriel looked at them. “I’m assuming you figured it out that the three rebels are fire users.”

  “You think so?” Jason replied, folding his arms across his chest. Gabriel gave him a warning look.

  “Yes, Archangel Gabriel. We have,” Marco replied politely. Jason rolled his eyes.

  The archangel nodded. “And two of them have died, right?”

  Marco nodded.

  Gabriel sighed and leaned against his chair. “This is not good. Not good.”

  Jason frowned. “And why is that not good?”

  Gabriel looked at him. “We wanted to sign a contract with the Fire Lord. Do you think, Jason, that after this action, he will?”

  “Why do you want to sign a contract with the Fire Lord? In addition, we couldn’t have known they were fire users.”

  Gabriel leaned forward. “Jason, think about it.”

  He did not want to think about it. He was tired and wanted a salve for his leg. “I’m too tired for that. Just say it.”

  “They could help us destroy the hunters,” Gabriel replied. “Didn’t you read the book I gave you?”

  Jason looked with tired eyes at his father. “Did I ever read a book?”

  Gabriel growled. “Jason, this is serious. After all, you have killed the fire users.”

  Jason gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. This was his father; always pushing the blame on his son.

  “I didn’t know they were fire users,” he said between clenched teeth. “And you had given me the order to kill them.”

  Gabriel looked at him coolly. “Don’t put the blame on me, Jason.”

  “But it’s true!”

  “Get out! I do not want to see you anymore.” His father turned his gaze away. Jason angrily walked out of the room.

  “Jason,” Marco called after him, but Jason didn’t turn around.

  Angry and frustrated, he left the house.

  Rosa had no time to react. The wolf was too quick. He lunged at her and they landed on the floor. The wolf pressed Rosa with its heavy weight on the ground. Without hesitation, the animal dug its sharp claws into her right shoulder.

  The pain exploded. Rosa tried to push the animal away, but it was just too strong. Saliva dripped onto her face. She watched as the sharp teeth approached directly for her face. Panic captured her.

  Without hesitation, Rosa lunged and punched her fist in the face of the wolf. It drew back his head and howled. She struck again. With her other hand, she scanned the ground for her dagger. It had fallen from her hand, as the wolf had fallen on her.

  The animal hissed angrily and dug his teeth into her right shoulder. Rosa screamed in pain and turned to the left and right so the wolf would roll from her, but it just kept biting her. The pain was so intense that Rosa was on the verge of losing consciousness.

  Where is that damn dagger?

  Panicked, she sought the ground until her hand touched something metal. The pain was ghastly, and the wolf tore at her shoulder.

  Rosa clutched the grip of the dagger and swung it. With all her power, she thrust the knife into the neck of the wolf. It released her shoulder immediately, and yelped. She stabbed him repeatedly.

  Rosa felt the warm blood of the wolf on her face. It soaked her clothes. The animal gave one last anguished howl then it fell lifeless on her. Disgusted, she pushed the animal away from her and crawled away from the dead animal.

  “Oh od,” Rosa gasped. She breathed in short breaths as sweat ran down her face. Her right shoulder screamed in pain and blood flowed continuously from the wound.

  Rosa had to stop the bleeding; otherwise, she would die here because of blood loss. She looked at her wound, but could not see anything because of all the blood. And her leather jacket was in tatters.

  Wincing, she pulled her left arm from the leather jacket, then very carefully her right arm. Every movement let a sharp
pain flash through her arm.

  When Rosa took off her leather jacket, she wrapped it around her shoulder. With her left hand, she made a knot, and then pulled it with her hand and her teeth together in a tight knot. Then she made another knot.

  So, that should lessen or stop the bleeding.

  Rosa leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. For some minutes, she just sat and breathed, but she needed to find the dagger.

  Opening her eyes again, Rosa grimaced as she touched her shoulder. After the pain subsided, she took out her compass.

  Rosa had decided to go towards the west, as she had noticed Lord Constantine had stressed it. Perhaps this was an indication to where the dagger could be. She looked at her compass. The arrow points to the north, so she had to go to the right.

  Rosa set off without any idea where the catcher was, or the other hunters. She wondered how many of them were still alive, and how many the catcher had killed.

  Rosa walked along a narrow path. Branches crossed her road. She came upon a creek. Rosa jumped over it. She went to look at her compass, when she suddenly saw a shadow between the trees.

  It was further away from her and it was moving. She clutched her dagger. With her injured shoulder, she was an easy prey to anyone. The shadow was small, so it could not be the catcher. Rosa assumed that the shadow had to be one of the two girls, but which of them, she did not know.

  Rosa wanted to hide herself behind a tree when someone landed smoothly on the ground before her. She knew immediately that it was the catcher.

  Without hesitation, she took out her dagger and pointed it at the chest of the catcher, but he was skillful and caught her left hand. Her right arm was useless. She could not move it without excruciating pain. So she did the only thing she could do—Rosa defended herself with her feet.

  She managed a kick in his stomach and he let out a muffled groan. Rosa got her hand free and struck his face. He groaned and stumbled back. Grabbing her dagger, she began to run.

  Rosa couldn’t run as fast as before. She was hungry, thirsty, tired, and probably still losing blood. The shadow that she had seen before was gone.