Changed (The Hunters #1)

by Rose J. Bell

  Suddenly Rosa heard footsteps behind her. Quick footsteps. The catcher.

  She ran faster. Although she knew he would not kill her, Rosa wanted to get away from him.

  “Ah!” Her cry shattered the quiet darkness of the night. Rosa’s foot had slipped out from under her, and she slid down a steep slope, with nothing to grab hold.

  She hit her shoulder more than once on the ground, which increased the throbbing in her shoulder. However, she succeeded to keep a hold of her dagger.

  Rosa arrived below in a pool of water. She struggled, but finally managed to get herself up. She stumbled after taking a few steps and promptly fell back into the water.

  Confused, Rosa looked around. The moon gave enough light that she could see a large area of black, fast-flowing water masses, surrounded by the forest.

  When she looked behind her, she saw the catcher at the top of the steep slope. Unlike her, he hadn’t fallen down the slope.

  He began to move, quickly and carefully down the steep slope. Rosa turned to her left and saw a dark outline on the water.

  A bridge? Maybe. She had to try.

  Rosa ran, looking along the shore. The bridge was fast approaching.

  The splashing came nearer. Rosa’s breath came in gasps and her legs were trembling with the effort. She had to reach the bridge.

  When she finally arrived at the bridge, she grabbed the railing and hoisted herself up. Her weakened arms trembled as she pulled herself up and over the railing.

  Rosa stumbled onto the wooden bridge and ran straight forward on shaky legs—but she did not get far. She collapsed in the middle of the bridge. Her legs could not carry her any longer.

  Panting, Rosa tried to get up. Her leather jacket fell from her shoulder and new, warm blood flowed from the open wound.

  She tried to crawl on all fours, but a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her back on her feet.

  “Fight!” the catcher hissed in her ear and hit her in the stomach.

  Rosa gasped, not knowing what to do. She was too surprised.

  “He’s watching us.”

  She was aware of who he had meant by “he.” Lord Constantine. This confirmed her suspicion, that the catcher would not kill her.

  “Come on, fight now!” A powerful punch in her face tore Rosa from her surprise. She tasted blood in her mouth and looked at the catcher. The moonlight shone on his face. He had to be her age with short hair and green eyes that sparkled. His features were harsh.

  “Why are you doing this?” Rosa asked, as she dodged his blow.

  “I have to,” was all he said. She understood that Lord Constantine had forced him to this, as he did to everyone else.

  Without further questioning, Rosa growled and beat him. They exchanged blows until finally the catcher said, “You have to stab the knife into my leg to make it look like you have defeated me,” he gasped. “You’re almost there. Always go to the West.”

  “I won’t stab you with the dagger,” she said and dropped her hands.

  “You must!” His voice was firm and insistent. “Go now!”

  He pressed a dagger in his hand and looked into her eyes.

  Rosa hesitated before she followed his orders. She stuck the dagger into his leg. He groaned and fell to the ground.

  “Go!” He shooed her away with a little gesture.

  At this moment, Rosa hated Lord Constantine, the game—and herself—so much that it hurt

  She had committed the betrayal. If it weren’t for her, the others would not be in this situation.

  “Go now, damn it!” the catcher hissed.

  With one last look at him, Rosa crossed the bridge. Every step was a pain as she stumbled and fell several times, but she struggled to her feet and ran further.

  He had said that she was almost there and that she had to go west

  Rosa ran through the trees, always looking for the damn flag, until she finally saw something flicker in the wind.

  The flag!

  As fast as her legs would allow her, she ran to the flag. Rosa came closer and closer until she realized that she wasn’t the only one who had found the flag.

  A girl stood in front of Rosa, staring at her.

  Rosa clutched her dagger, ready to defend herself if the girl wanted to attack her. But she didn’t move or say anything. She stood in the shade, so Rosa couldn’t see her face. She was the same size as the shadow Rosa had seen before the catcher had attacked her.

  Rosa took a deep breath and stepped back. “You take the dagger,” she said.

  Why she left the girl the victory, Rosa didn’t know. All she knew was that she felt responsible for the game, for everything, and she didn’t want to obey Lord Constantine, even if it meant, that she rebelled against him, again.

  “Why?” the girl asked and took a step forward. Standing in the moonlight now, Rosa could see her face. It was the girl who had a bag at the beginning of the game. Lisa.

  She had short blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked delicate, but Rosa knew that it could be misleading.

  “You were here before me,” she replied to Lisa’s question.

  “But you know you’ll be killed if you lose?”

  Rosa nodded. “Yes, I know that.” And maybe I deserve the death, since we played this perverted game because of me.

  “And yet you want me to win?”

  She nodded again. “Yeah.”

  Lisa frowned and didn’t seem to know what to do next. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. For a while, the two girls only looked at each other, until Lisa broke the silence.

  “Which rule did you break?” she asked.

  “I saved the life of a Nephilim,” Rosa replied. She would not say more.

  Lisa’s eyes widened. “Wow. That’s gross.”

  “And you?”

  Lisa’s face darkened. “I’ve refused to kill my mother, after she’d been turned into a shadow creature.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rosa said and pressed her lips together.

  Lisa didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t betray the hunter clan. Who could kill their own mother? Rosa would have done the same.

  “I would have done the same,” said Rosa.

  “Well, look where it led me!” Lisa said and laughed bitterly. “My refusal was for nothing. They’ve killed her in front of my eyes and now I’ll die, too.”

  “The hunter clan is cruel,” Rosa said. Sometimes she could not understand why the hunter clan was so cruel against their hunters. The hunters helped the hunter clan and still they were punished, because they broke a simple rule.

  Sighing deeply, Lisa replied, “Oh yeah. They’re cruel.”

  “So, take the dagger and make it worth something that you’ve broken the rule,” Rosa said, pointing to the flag.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Lisa looked at her for a few seconds before she went to the flag and dug out the dagger.

  Rosa had no idea why they were looking for a dagger, but she thought the reason was the dagger was the actual emblem of every hunter. A hunter without a dagger could never be found.

  “What’s your name?” Lisa asked as she held the dagger in her hand.

  “Rosa.”

  “I’m Lisa.” She stretched out her hand and Rosa shook it.

  “I would have liked to meet you under other circumstances, you know,” Rosa said.

  Lisa smiled weakly. “Me too.” Her eyes went to Rosa’s injured shoulder.

  “You’re hurt,” She noted and looked at her anxiously.

  “It’s not that bad,” Rosa put her off, although she was feeling slightly dizzy and her shoulder pounded like her heart was in her shoulder.

  “Let’s go back.”

  Rosa nodded and they started walking. Rosa wondered what Lord Constantine would do after Lisa had won the game.

  Suddenly dizziness seized her. She stumbled and almost fell, if Lisa hadn’t caught her wrist.

  “Are you okay?” she asked worried.


  Rosa nodded and blinked a few times, but her world was still turning.

  “You’re awfully pale.” Lisa placed her arm over Rosa’s shoulder and embraced her waist with her arm.

  “Let go back quickly.”

  Rosa only nodded, because she could not do anything else. She felt the dizziness increased as her legs threatened to give away beneath her.

  All the way back, Lisa supported her. Without her, Rosa wouldn’t have made it back safely.

  When they arrived at the clearing, Lord Constantine was waiting for them. His face betrayed nothing as he watched Lisa and Rosa.

  They stopped before him. Rosa tried to stand upright without Lisa’s help. She did not want to show any weakness in front of Lord Constantine. Lisa’s hand let her go after she was sure that Rosa could stand on her own.

  “She has found the dagger,” Rosa said Lord Constantine, her voice husky.

  He nodded and stepped forward to Lisa. “You will die anyway,” he replied to Lisa, and his eyes fixed with her eyes. She held his gaze and showed no fear.

  “What?” Rosa exclaimed. “You cannot do that! She has found the dagger!”

  Lord Constantine smiled smugly. “She found it, as did you. You’ve let her win, although I have said you should win.”

  Quick as a flash, he stood behind Rosa and pressed his heavy hands one her shoulder. He squeezed her injury.

  Rosa moaned and writhed in pain.

  “Again you rebel against me,” he said. His voice was low and dangerous. A shiver ran down her spine. “I always thought you were a good hunter, Rosa. Well, I was wrong.”

  He let go of her shoulder. Rosa gasped and touched her shoulder, which had begun to bleed again.

  “I’m a good hunter,” Rosa replied firmly and glared at him.

  His hand that was smeared with her blood, grabbed her roughly by the chin, forcing her to look into his dark, deep eyes.

  Anger flickered through them. “You are not a good hunter!” he growled. “A good hunter doesn’t refuse the orders of the Master and doesn’t break the rules.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes.”

  He laughed. “And especially you.” He released her chin and walked over to Lisa.

  “Give me the dagger,” he ordered, holding out his hand.

  Lisa looked over at Rosa before she handed him the dagger. Lord Constantine grabbed her arm and dragged her in front of Rosa.

  “Watch how they died,” he said, smiling wicked.

  “No!” Rosa yelled and wanted to run to Lisa, but two strong hands grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back. She struggled against the person who held her, but she was too weak to free herself.

  Lord Constantine grabbed Lisa by the hair and held a dagger to her throat.

  “Would you like to say something before you die?” he asked. Lisa shook her head and looked at Rosa.

  I am so sorry, Rosa said with her eyes.

  Lisa smiled faintly and closed her eyes. Rosa’s heart pounded in her chest. She hated to feel powerless.

  “Isn’t it exciting to watch a person give up their life?” he asked.

  She stared at him incredulously. “You’re crazy,” it slipped out of her.

  He shook his head. “No respect and no manners. Sergei did not teach you well.”

  “I have respect and manners, but not toward people who kill other people senselessly,” Rosa said. She was conscious that her behavior only increased the tension between her and Lord Constantine.

  At this moment, she didn’t care.

  Lord Constantine snorted. “Really, Rosa? Then you do not have any respect towards yourself. You kill people senselessly. Every day.”

  Her mouth fell open. “What? That is not true! I do not kill people senselessly. I—”

  He arched his brows. “Yes, Rosa? You do not kill people senselessly?”

  Oh my god! Rosa realized that she did kill people senselessly. The shadow creatures had never done anything to her. She just followed hunter clan’s instructions.

  As if Lord Constantine knew what was going through her mind, he said smiling, “You are an evil girl, Rosa. No better than me.”

  Then in a quick movement, he cut Lisa’s throat with the dagger. Lisa cried out and fell lifeless on the floor. Rosa stared open-mouthed at Lisa’s lifeless body. She could not say anything or do anything. Even if she had known Lisa only for a few minutes, Rosa had liked her. They both shared the same fate. Pain spread through her chest. Guilt welled up in her.

  She should have done something to rescue Lisa.

  Dizziness captured her, this time stronger.

  Then blackness enveloped her.

  Jason walked silently through the deserted streets. It was past midnight and he was on his way to the hunter clan.

  After Gabriel had dismissed him, Jason had immediately started looking for the hunter clan in Boston. He had to know if it was true that Jasmine was in Boston.

  The hunter clan resided on the outskirts of town, which was surrounded by a huge forest. It was a gloomy place and fit perfectly with Jason’s mood.

  He stopped before the high lattice and searched the area for hunters. When he assured himself that no hunter was watching him, Jason summoned his wings and flew over the lattice.

  Quietly, he landed on the ground and his wings disappeared. Lights were burning in the building, so he had to be careful that no one could see him from the window. Once more, he looked around before he approached the building.

  From previous searches, Jason knew exactly where he had to look. The dungeons—where he wanted to go—were in the basement. These dungeons were dark and there were many hunters. Jason had searched every single prisoner and discovered the prisoners looked as if they were more dead than alive. He hoped that Jasmine did not look like them.

  Protected in the shade of the trees, Jason moved to the back door. He quickly reached the wall and crept on quietly.

  Suddenly he heard something. Instinctively, he crawled deeper into the shadows. The noise was like a growl that came from the street.

  Jason pressed himself flat against the stone wall and held perfectly still. His eyes darted across the area and he cursed inwardly when he could not see the road.

  The sound came closer and he could now identify it—the hum of an engine. Hunters appeared on the railing, opening the lattice to let in the car. Jason pushed himself deeper into the shadows. If they would find him, they would thwart his plan to search for Jasmine.

  It was a normal car. Jason couldn’t tell what brand, but it didn’t really matter. The two hunters, who had opened the lattice, ran to the car and opened the car door. Jason had expected that the hunters awaited a high visit, but what he saw there was far from it.

  A hunter pulled a girl roughly out of the car and beat her when she resisted. One other hunter got out of the car and turned around.

  “Bring her into the dungeon,” he ordered, and disappeared into the building. The two hunters grabbed the girl and dragged her to the building.

  Jason knew he had to help her somehow, but he couldn’t risk being discovered.

  The girl did not resist at first, but then suddenly she tore herself away and punched the face of the first hunter. He screamed and staggered back. The girl kicked the other hunter in the stomach, quickly defeating him.

  The first hunter grabbed her by the arm and struck her in the stomach. The girl delivered a good fight.

  Finally, she succeeded and the hunter let go of her as he fell to the pavement groaning. At the same time, the alarm of the hunter clan rang.

  Jason flinched. What was happening?

  The girl looked around and then ran straight toward Jason.

  Rosa woke up in pain. Her body was burning and her eyes didn’t open, no matter how hard she tried.

  Only after several attempts, she could open her eyelids and stare into darkness. She blinked, but the darkness did not disappear.

  Am I blind now?

  Or dead?

  At that moment, s
he realized that she was lying on something hard and cold. Rosa sat up and moving her hands along the rough surface.

  Where am I?

  She rubbed her eyes, but still saw nothing but darkness.

  Panic rose in her. What is going on here? Why can I not see anything?

  Rosa tried to remember what had happened. The memory of the game, Lisa and her death hit her like a bomb.

  Lisa.

  Lord Constantine had killed her.

  The pain came back. How much Rosa had wanted to be able to protect Lisa from the death, but she had failed.

  Rosa sighed again and was aware of the pain that had awakened her.

  When she lifted her hand to her shoulder, she heard a rustling, and felt something cold on her wrist. She lifted her arms and attempted to feel at her wrists—handcuffs.

  Then she understood where she was.

  In the dungeons of the hunter clan.

  The place where traitors were captured, imprisoned and tortured.

  “Shit!” she swore, and she put her face in her hands.

  Rosa had never thought that she would ever end up down here. She had never thought that she would rank among the traitors.

  How easy it was to be fooled!

  Rosa knew the dungeons; she had been down there several times. She knew the cells had a floor made of large stone slabs, and three of the walls were built of hewn stone blocks while the fourth side consisted of a tight grid with solid bars deeply embedded in the masonry, and had a door on the right side. She also knew that the chains were attached to a metal rail, enabling her to move a little in the cell.

  How long had she been sitting there? Was it already the next day? Rosa didn’t know. Her sense of time had left her.

  After all, they had doctored her before they put her in this hole. Her shoulder was wrapped with a thick bandage.

  Rosa sat up slowly. In these dungeons, the darkness was complete, so she could not even see her hand before her eyes.

  The darkness wrapped heavy upon her, like a wet coat. She didn’t fear the dark—she even sometimes preferred the darkness, but this darkness was different in the dungeon.

  It seemed as if the darkness was alive and watching her.