Blood for blood

by Tobi Grim

  Fair Light sounded like a cow. But Lupa didn’t say so, she just smiled and nodded.

  Grey snorted, “But she’s found someone now. A man, I mean. And it looks like she might not come back. She wants to have kids and go live up in the ‘bustle of real life’… aka, she wants her white picket fence and to be done with us all. Her man is a dick. Rich family. Thinks he can save her from all this so-called ‘horror’.”

  While most of population appreciated The Organization’s work, a lot of people who had money thought that it was dirty work. Shit, probably everyone with money did. But some thought it more so than others; they looked down on them like they were cleaning sewage with their bare hands. Which in a way they were, but it was shit that could fucking kill them all. But those whom are unaffected by it on a regular basis didn’t see things like that. They had been mostly safe when the wolfbloods had attacked; the poorer cities made easy targets. Kids on the streets at night, old men and women who couldn’t afford to fix the locks on their doors again, drugged up teenagers trying to escape their shitty lives... yeah, rich people had no idea, hiding safely behind their big brick walls. Soft and pudgy. Sure some of them had made a good meal, but the majority of them didn’t even understand the threat that these beasts posed had on their perfect fucking lives.

  “So, what are you going to do?” She asked him, not wanting her mind to wander down that road.

  He took a long drag of his smoke and looked out at the ever darkening sky. “I dunno, Little Red, I really fucking don’t. I can’t put my name in to look for a new Hunter until she officially resigns. And I can’t go on any hunts even as a backup or a lookout while she’s ‘on break’. And she won’t listen to me none. She’s ready for a new life, but she won’t fucking admit it. She thinks she’s just taking a break. Taking time to build a family. But she’s not. She’s leaving. He will make sure of it too.”

  “Sounds like a pretty shitty situation to be in.” She lowered her eyes, “Have you thought about applying for you two to be separated?”

  Sometimes, not very fucking often, one or the other applied to have their bond severed with their partner. It was very hard to do, The Organization didn’t like to do it without a very good reason. But if Grey couldn’t do anything, maybe they would.

  “Nah. Couldn’t do that to her, hey. She’d take it personal. She’d think... she’d wonder if that’s what Jim, her last Protector, had wanted to do too. She’d blame herself again... And I dunno if she could cope with that to be honest.”

  Lupa nodded and drank more of her beer. She couldn’t imagine how she would have felt if Karl had wanted to leave her. It was hard enough coping with his death from the wolfbloods, let alone if he had fucking killed himself or applied to have their bond severed. No. She didn’t think she would cope very well either.

  “But anyway. Be nice to them boys hey?” Grey gave her a cheeky grin.

  “Of course. So long as they are nice to me. Isn’t easy being on the other side either you know. I struggle with trying not to compare everyone to Karl too. But... these two aren’t really anything like him. Which is good. At least, I think it is. Means I’m not trying to replace him, right?”

  “Sounds like you got it right,” he smiled at her, “So, who are they?”

  “Dameon and Kacela. You know them?”

  She supposed he did, seeing as he had been a lone for three years before being bonded with Fair Light, and was probably hanging around headquarters with the other un-partnered Protectors by himself with his Hunter out of the picture.

  “Yeah. They are both nice dudes. I bet you’ll pick Dameon though. Kacela is too soft for the shit you wanna get your blades into. Hell, I think everyone is too soft for your plans of world domination” He grinned at her wider.

  “Fuck you.” She playfully smiled back, “We’ll see.”

  ⃝

  After four more beers, and steady chatter, Lupa decided she wanted to go home. It had been nice having someone to bitch about work with. She couldn’t really do it with Slasher, and Karl wasn’t around to talk to anymore. She stood to leave and he took her hand as he stood with her.

  “Red... thank you. I didn’t realise how much I needed someone to talk to. And... thanks for accepting my apology. I am sorry, really.”

  “Yeah, that’s ok. I guess I needed someone to talk to too. Catch you round?” she frowned at his hand as he dropped it.

  He leaned towards her. Fuck, she went to take a step back so he wouldn’t kiss her but he already had his hand on her face. He stared down into her eyes, he looked like he was searching for something. She blinked and slid her foot back to try move away.

  “Grey, I...”

  He pressed his mouth to hers, cutting off her protests, with both hands on her face now. She hated how intimate that gesture was. How it felt like she was special to him. She didn’t want to be. She kept her arms at her side, but couldn’t help kissing him back.

  He pulled away and stepped back, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Sorry...”

  “That’s... Ok” she stammered, switching her bag to her other shoulder, “I have to go. Umm... thanks. For tonight. See you round.”

  She abruptly turned and started practically running back to her street. Fuck. What was that? Did he think maybe they could be more... hell no. She never would. She didn’t want or need that sort of shit in her life. Friends, sure. One nights stands? Hell yes. But nothing more. Fuck that.

  Chapter Five

  “No Hunter is to fight alone…”

  Grey had been right, she had chosen Dameon. And they had bonded together as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Dameon had scored high in all his magickal abilities. Shit, had he just been a point better in his wolfblood sensing and his ability to use physical magick, he would have been a Hunter and not a Protector.

  According to The Organization, the two most important traits of a Protector were his/her ability to take in their surroundings; a Protector needed to be able to know where all the exits were instantly, where all the wolfbloods lay or hid, and any other information that would keep his/her Hunter alive. The second most important trait was his/her herbal magick abilities; each Protector put their own spin on how they used magickal herbs, but they all made different ‘sticks’ to burn for different situations. They knew how make spells to torture, kill or knock out the beasts-depending on what the order was. But they were difficult and could only be used on one wolfblood at a time, and purebloods rarely were affected. Sometimes they needed to capture wolfbloods as opposed to killing them, for information or… whatever. Lupa never did those runs if she could help it.

  Dameon and Lupa had blitzed through their bonding tests. It was as though they had been friends for years as opposed to a few days. She saw through Dameon’s eyes as if they were her own; he knew her moves and was right next to her through every combat test no matter how hard they tried to split them up. They had been able to connect, without the tea, from opposite ends of the building. Lupa was both excited and a little sad at just how easy they had moved through each test. It had been easier than with Karl, but then, teenagers had a harder time connecting with anyone, right? At least that’s what she told herself.

  Their bonding ceremony was to take place on the Sunday at sunset. So they decided to go for a celebration drink that Saturday night. She stuffed the customary bonding gift into her bag and headed for Frenchy’s. It was only nine o’clock, she sure hoped it wouldn’t be too busy yet. Dameon arrived just as she did, he looked just as casual as always; band shirt and jeans, but it looked like he had had his hair cut into a slightly less horrible style. Short sides, but top still long, his fringe hanging over his face. Fucking ridiculous.

  “Hey there, Knuckles!” She said brightly. He raised his heavy eyebrows at her. She had been trying to come up with a nickname for him, Karl had never wanted one. “No good?” she asked, sitting down next to him at wobbly, ash covered table.

  “Why Knuckles? It’s better than Bruiser, and Crooked Nos
e, but… why?”

  Ok, she could admit she wasn’t very good at nicknames. Luckily she hadn’t offended him yet. She’d never given someone one before. She pointed to the scars running down his knuckles with a half-smile.

  “Yeah? No... Ok, I’ll keep trying, hey?”

  Dameon just smiled and ran his thumb down his chin, she noticed he did that when there seemed to be something more he wanted to say but wasn’t sure if he should, or maybe even if he could. “Gotta let it come natural like, Little Red. How’d you get yours?”

  She frowned. Slasher had given her that nickname when she was four. On the day she found Lupa crying on the outskirts of town, in a red dress and knitted pixie hat. Covered in blood from head to toe.

  “Slasher gave it to me as a kid, when she found me. When... when she adopted me really,” Lupa confessed slowly.

  He nodded. “See? Natural. Yelling nicknames at me won’t make them stick. Just see how we go. Here, got you something.” He pulled out a large box and placed it on the table. She blushed a little and pulled out the smaller one she had for him. They both silently tore their gifts open.

  “Fuck yeah, nice one, Red!”

  He pulled out the silver infused jacket she had got him. Black, long and hooded. Lupa knew he already had one when he became a member, but she wanted him to have something new signify the new chapter he would be embarking on with her. She had got The Organization’s dress department to make it up for him with her specifications. She knew Dameon liked long thin blades; that he liked to keep his herbs near his chest, and that he didn’t like to be noticed. She asked for all the pockets to represent the way he liked to fight, and the weapons he liked to use. She grinned as he put it on and stood up admiring himself.

  “You’re fucking awesome. Much better than that shitty thing I got. Cheers, Little Red, what you think of yours?”

  She pulled out the long blade. It sent a shiver up her fingers, traveling up her arms and into her chest. It was made with bone. Wolfblood bone. Carved beautifully with moon glyphs that were filled with silver.

  “I don’t know if I can use it,” she blurted. Instantly regretting it as his face fell. “Shit. It’s fucking beautiful Dameon, but... I am part wolfblood... I don’t know if it will... You know.”

  Wolfbloods of any strength were burnt by silver, but when parts of a dead wolfblood were used against the purebloods, or strong wolfbloods, it caused them so much agony that they usually lost most of their power and their transformation, only for a moment, but that could be long enough. Make them easier to kill. A lot of Protectors used the blood of dead wolfbloods in their magick, some Hunters had bone blades, but they were rare. Very fucking rare. Mostly the bones were sold by The Organization to rich people, it helped with funding, and made the upper class assholes feel like their status was elevated, like the bones were some kind of art piece to show off to their friends. And now Dameon had just given her a beautiful blade she didn’t know if she could even use.

  “Sorry, Little Red, I... I didn’t even think about it... fuck. Sorry.” She looked at him running that thumb down his unshaven chin and felt pretty fucking shitty. Lupa took a deep breath and lay her own delicate thumb against the sharp edge. “Shit! Don’t do that! What if-“ Too late, she sliced her thumb open and gave a loud yelp. “Oh shit! Shit, are you ok?” He grabbed her hand away from the blade to check it.

  “I’m ok... fuck, I’m ok! Hell yeah! I can fucking use it. Fucking sharp as though. Nice one, Cutter.”

  Dameon raised his eyebrows in mild amusement. Ah well, she’d tried. But it was amazing to know her filthy blood wasn’t affected by the dead beast’s bone. That had to mean something, right? Was it because her magickal blood was stronger, or had her father been weaker than she had always thought? The Organization had never tested the effectiveness of the blood against her, but they had tested hers. They had informed her that her father must have been only a generation or two removed from pure, could they have been wrong? Probably not... but what then?

  “Thank you. It’s beautiful. Where did you find it?”

  Dameon blushed a little as he pulled out a smoke. “I made it actually. My family had the bone for generations, my great, great grandmother had been a very powerful witch. She had killed a pureblood on her own and de-boned him. She made weapons out of some of the bones and passed them through the family. Most of them lost now. I have a tiny dagger made of bone. But this piece she never did anything with. I asked my Dad if I could have it, to make something for you. He gave it to me with his blessing, he knew... he knew I could give it the respect it deserved, and that if I had someone to give it to, I must really trust them.”

  She smiled. She felt so lucky to have found such a talented Protector. She knew that together they would avenge Karl, with their combined power and strength, together, almost anything was possible.

  “I love it. Your great, great gran must have been an amazing person. I will treasure this for the rest of my life. Thank you... thank you for trusting me with this.” She reached out and gave his hand a quick pat.

  With a quick grin, Dameon stood up announcing, “First round is on me!”

  ⃝

  For the second time in as many weeks, Lupa dressed in her formal Hunter's garb, pinning back the front of her hair with the silver arrow clips Slasher had given her at her first bonding ceremony. She put on the smallest amount of makeup and surveyed herself in the long mirror in her room. Her naked, tattooed arms hung at her sides, her waist looked so small with the silver clincher around it. She felt a stab of sadness looking at her reflection. No longer would she be known as Little Red and Karl. She was taking that step to continue her work, but it felt like she was letting another piece of him go. Closing her eyes, she reassured herself that she was doing the right thing, but still… the guilt was in her conscience. Would Karl be upset with how close she had become to Dameon? Or would he be happy she wasn’t wallowing in despair? Fuck it.

  The Ceremony Hall was full, all The Organization employees that could, would attend. Lupa noticed that Darwin was sitting in the front row, smiling that teeth filled smile of his. Lupa and Dameon were the last bonding couple of the night; there had been two others before them that were still in school.

  Slasher was standing in front of them with a kind, proud smile on her face, her skin looked brilliant against her Hunter’s dress, the sleeves were long unlike Lupa’s, a sign of her position. Dameon looked uncomfortable in his red formal suit, he wore a black tie with a small silver arrow pin. He may have looked uncomfortable, sure, but Lupa thought that he looked quite handsome in it too. She reached out and gave his hand a little squeeze.

  “People of the Organization,” Slasher’s voice carried through the silent room, “We welcome you here for the bonding of Little Red, and Dameon Shoal. We thank you for your attendance. Noted be your blood.”

  “And may your blood be true” the people responded.

  “Little Red, Dameon. Please step forward and give me your hands.” They stepped forward and placed their right hands in each of Slashers. “You have proven that your bond is strong. The tests have proven your connection is true. You will now be joined together to fight as one. Dameon, you will protect Lupa with your life. You will never abandon her, you will use your power to assist her and fight by her side. Lupa, you will trust Dameon with your life. You will trust his eyes and his mind and you will hunt by his side; protecting him also. And together, you will trust each other through mind and through blood.” She nodded to her assistant who handed her the blade while Lupa and Dameon continued to hold their hands out. “Do you both enter this bonding with trust?”

  “We do,” came their confident reply.

  “Then I bind you.” She sliced across both their hands. “I bind you in blood. I bind you in the presence of your fellow beings. I bind you, and may that bond never be broken.”

  They placed their hands together and exchanged nervous smiles. They had done it. It was real. Lupa felt a small lump in her throat, pushing it
away as best she could. She was ready for this. Ready to punish the creatures that had inadvertently stolen Karl. Ready to embark on the new step with her new Protector. And she trusted him, maybe even more than she was ready to admit to herself.

  “Noted be your blood,” Slasher kissed them both on the cheek, ending the ceremony.

  “And may your blood be true!” the crowd cheered.

  As the crowd began to file out, Dameon and Lupa had to ‘sign’ the paperwork with their bloody hand prints. Proof for The Organization that their blood had combined, and that they took their commitment seriously.

  “It’s done,” Lupa said, turning to Dameon. “Now we can start kicking ass, hey?”

  “You betcha.” He wrapped his arms around her and put his mouth to her ear, “Now can we get the fuck out of here before that crowd gets us?”

  She laughed. Looking over to Slasher to check if their presence was still required, shaking her head they received the response they were hoping for. Smiling, they waved and stealthily went out the side door to avoid the crowd that would be milling around hoping to poke and prod them and the others.

  The cool night air hit Lupa's happy face. “Ah, we did it,” she breathed as they reached the street. “How are you feeling?”

  He looked as exhilarated as she felt. “Shit... I don’t even know how to put it into words. I can’t believe I was ever worried about bonding with someone.”

  She smiled as they headed towards her car. She was so pleased that he felt the same. But then, if he didn’t they surely wouldn’t have bonded so well in the first place.

  “Hey, Little Red... thanks for this. I mean... I know it must have been hard tonight. But we’re in this together now. If... if you ever need to talk or... not talk... just let me know. I've never lost a best friend but... Well, I’ve lost people. I have some understanding...”