Hunter Moon (The Moon Series)

by Jeanette Battista

  A shot rang out, spraying up dirt right in front of her. Kess snorted, shaking her head to free it of the dust that had gone up her sensitive nose. She juked to the side, changing direction. This was fine; she intended to circle back around anyway. She continued on, going nowhere in particular as she tried to make him give up his location.

  Another gunshot, with this one sounding closer than the last. Kess didn’t even bother changing direction, just pushed farther into the older growth. Another bullet, this one hitting even closer than the last. She didn’t worry too much about it; soon, the huntsman would need to leave the security of his perch to come find her. That was the plan anyway.

  Kess took off as soon as she hit clear ground, her powerful shoulders and legs pushing her across the swamp. She knew exactly where she was going; she just hoped that Lukas could keep up.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Laila lay in the thick brush, trying not to think of how many mosquitoes were using her for a late night snack. She could almost think she was back in New Orleans, running the swamps outside the city with her brother. Except that she was lying against the earth preparing to avenge his death, and not waiting for him to catch up with her.

  She’d been out here since early evening. She knew that Kess was meeting with Lukas tonight. Laila couldn’t be sure that he’d try to hunt the wereleopard tonight, but it was his best chance. Time was running out for him, and Kess had piled on more pressure by arranging a trip out of town. It would have to be tonight if Lukas wanted to hunt Kess.

  Laila knew that Lukas might choose to hunt a different wereleopard. That was always a possibility, although she didn’t think it likely. Time was the factor here, and he didn’t have enough of it left to find another wereleopard. Laila wondered how he’d figured out Kess was a leopard in the first place. Laila grimaced—Zamiel probably had something to do with that.

  Zamiel. Laila frowned at the thought of the dealmaking demon. Master Toshi had warned her to be wary of the demon—not that Laila had needed that reminder. She didn’t trust Zamiel any farther than she could spit.

  She stilled as a rifle shot interrupted the sounds of the swamp. Laila opened up all of her senses as far as they could go and still be fully human. There was a faint scent of sweat and fear that carried on the breeze. Birds and night insects had grown quiet. It was like the swamp was a living organism, holding its breath for what came next.

  Another shot sounded, this time closer. Laila grinned. Kess was coming, it had to be her. And she was bringing Lukas with her.

  Laila lifted her head slightly, feeling the hafts of the two Chinese broadswords she wore strapped to her back. At her left hip was a Ruger .40 caliber, while a .45 rested in the shoulder holster on her right side. At the base of her spine, attached to her belt, were extra clips for each gun. She felt comfortable that she could handle whatever surprises Lukas might have in store for her, demon or no demon.

  From her spot on the ground Laila could feel the pounding of paws and feet heading her way. Sounds followed, as the dry cracking of branches, leaves, and bracken notified Laila of incoming position and distance.

  A shot sounded, very close, and Laila heard a strangled roar, almost like a girl’s cry of pain. She smiled. Very close indeed. She bit her lip to taste the blood that would put her in a kind of elevated fighting state.

  A large, black cat stumbled past Laila’s position in the underbrush, staggering slightly. Laila smelled blood and realized that the last shot had connected. The leopard was still moving, though not as gracefully or fast as it once did.

  Now she could hear the pursuer. He wasn’t quiet or deft now, choosing instead to prize speed over finesse. He hove into view with two rifles—one in hand and one across his back. The leopard was still moving, but cautious now. Laila watched as Lukas switched out rifles, the one on his back now in his hands while the one he’d been holding was held in straps across his back. He sighted on the big cat and Laila was moving.

  She rolled from her hiding place, swords out, even as he fired. It was the old rifle that Laila had been so curious about before—that was the one he was using now. The taste of blood had always done strange things to Laila and this time was no different. The bullet’s progress seemed slow to her, as if she could pluck it out of the air with her bare fingers.

  Her blades slashed down in an arc, intercepting the bullet in its path toward Kess. One of her blades broke at the impact, but Laila saw the bullet fall to the ground. She dropped the ruined blade and pulled out the .45, aiming it at Lukas’ head.

  She felt rather than heard the leopard stepping beside her. Laila kept her eyes on Lukas though; he was the one she was here for. He stared at her, the rifle held loosely in his hands. It was definitely old, the wood stock dark with age. It certainly wasn’t anything manufactured in this century.

  A soft implosion of air announced Zamiel’s arrival. Laila still didn’t take her eyes off of Lukas. A shift in the wind made Laila’s nostrils flare at the scent of the cavalry approaching: Finn, Cormac, and Rafe were heading their way. It was turning into a veritable party out here. She hoped Lukas was enjoying it, since she planned on it being his last.

  “You might want to drop that,” she said, waving her sword hand at Lukas and his rifle.

  “Laila,” Zamiel broke in. “A pleasure, as always.”

  Both Kess and Lukas both stared at her in stunned surprise. Kess’ question was evident: How do you know him? But Laila wasn’t inclined to reply.

  Meanwhile, Lukas was having his own surprised outburst. “Zamiel!” He turned to look at Laila, then back at his demon in confusion. “You know her?”

  “We’ve met.” The demon’s smile never wavered. He never took his eyes from Laila’s face.

  She ignored the demon and Kess, focusing only on Lukas. He was still holding that damn gun. “Drop it or I drop you,” she warned, in no mood to play around.

  The sounds of someone coming through the brush made her lose focus for a moment. Laila’s eyes flicked to Kess, who didn’t appear concerned about the newcomers. Laila figured it must be the cavalry, otherwise Kess would have probably been far more keyed up. Kess too watched Lukas warily. Rightly so, considering she was the one whose head Lukas wanted to see mounted on his wall.

  Finn, Cormac, and Rafe stopped abruptly when they saw the standoff. Laila’s eyes briefly met Finn’s, but she quickly turned her attention back to the hunter. She would worry about Finn and the rest later. So long as none of them interfered, they’d be fine.

  She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Zamiel, pointing at his wrist, almost as if he were wearing a watch. Laila narrowed her eyes. It was a goad—what the hell was the demon playing at here? She fired, winging Lukas, forcing him to drop the gun.

  “That’s better,” she said, eyes locked on the hunter’s. Let’s see how good he really is.

  “Laila?” Finn said, taking a step forward. Laila saw Cormac pull him back. Smart guy. Finn didn’t want to get in the way of this, much as he might think otherwise right now.

  “You like hunting?” Lukas didn’t answer her question. He just stood there, staring at her. He was balanced on the balls of his feet, like he was ready to run at the first opportunity. “I’ll give you a minute’s head start.” She waved her gun at him.

  Zamiel barked out a laugh, his enjoyment of his master’s predicament obvious. Lukas gave the demon a significant look before taking off deeper into the swamp.

  Finn stalked up to her, but he was careful not to touch her. “What are you doing?”

  Laila looked up at him. “Justice.”

  “Looks a whole lot like revenge to me.”

  “Same diff.” Laila checked her clips and sheathed her remaining dao sword.

  “You said you’d give him a minute’s start.” Finn’s voice was disappointed.

  “I lied.” She took off, following in Lukas’ footsteps.

  She risked a look back. Finn had tried to follow after her, but Kess—of all people—had i
ntercepted him, blocking his way. The black leopard shook her head. Laila gave one more look back, this time for Zamiel, but the demon had disappeared in all of the commotion. She’d have to keep an eye out for him.

  Then there was nothing left but the chase.

  * * * * *

  Laila felt alive for the first time since she’d gotten the news of Mebis’ death. Not even the run-in with Sebastian had made her feel this exhilarated. She let the hunter gain a bit of a lead, not worried about tracking him. He was leaving enough of a trail that she could find him blindfolded with one nostril tied behind her back. Aside from the racket he was making, his scent was actually spiking with a pretty good top-note of fear.

  She held no weapons. Instead she ran, overjoyed in the exertion of her muscles. She’d be faster as a jackal, but also far more vulnerable, and she would lose her weapons. She had no doubt she could take this hunter down bare-handed, but she didn’t want to. He didn’t deserve that privilege. No, she’d shoot him, just as she would a rabid dog.

  Just as he’d shot Mebis.

  Laila heard the sounds of pursuit. Why couldn’t Finn just stay out of it like she’d asked? She didn’t want to hurt him, but this was between her, Lukas, and maybe Zamiel. Finn, Kess, and the others had no place in it, despite however much they may want to help her.

  A clearing was coming up; Laila had the whole area mapped both in her head and in her nose. She might not smell as well in this form as in her jackal one, but her nose was good enough. She fully expected some interesting shenanigans coming up. She let her jackal senses come a bit closer to the fore, scenting the air.

  She came through the clearing in a diving roll between the vegetation that made it hard to see. She rolled forward, avoiding the bullet that had been meant to take her in the throat or maybe the head. Instead, it flew harmlessly past her as she tucked herself into a ball. She hit the ground, letting her momentum carry her forward, so that she regained her feet right in front of him, her hand already grabbing the rifle’s stock and yanking it from his hand.

  She pitched it off to the side, pulling out her own automatic. Laila smiled grimly. Too easy. She backed away from Lukas a few steps, not liking being so close to him. If he got any ideas about tussling for her gun, it would end badly, and probably before she got the answers she wanted.

  “Why my brother?” she asked quickly, as the sounds of pursuit came closer.

  He looked confused. Laila realized that Zamiel had told him nothing about her or Mebis. She couldn’t decide whether to be grateful for his silence or suspicious of such a thing.

  “Your brother?” He stared at her. “I don’t understand.”

  “Mebis. That was his name. He was the jackal you hunted and had stuffed and mounted in that ridiculous trophy room of yours.” She spat out the last sentence as if it had personally insulted her.

  Comprehension dawned in those magnetic blue eyes. “Ah, I see. He was your brother?” He seemed to bow a little from the waist. “My apologies. I did not know.” He looked around, almost like he was waiting for something. “He died well. He almost got me.”

  “Almost only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and the odd atomic bomb.” Almost didn’t bring Mebis back. She slid her finger over the trigger.

  He looked up, past Laila. She didn’t take her eyes off of him, even as he spoke, “I’ve been wondering when you’d show up, Zamiel.”

  A tall dark form stepped out of the trailhead. The demon. She thought it had been the others that had been behind her. Well, bullets wouldn’t hurt a demon, at least not the ones she was carrying right now, so she kept her gun-hand pointed at Lukas.

  “My weapon!” the hunter cried, and the rifle appeared in his hand.

  How the hell had he managed that? Her eyes flicked over to the demon, who was smiling wickedly. Damn.

  Laila fired three shots, all aimed for the hunter’s center mass. Each bullet bounced off some kind of force field or something. Terrific. He had the demon protecting him too. She saw Lukas bring the rifle, the flintlock one, up to his eye and sight along it. At her. And if what Master Toshi said was true, his bullets never missed.

  A black blur roared in her ear as it plowed into her, knocking her out of the clearing entirely, her gun flying from her hand. Laila tried to keep her eyes on the trajectory, tracking the special bullet. As she watched, everything slowed; she must have bitten her lip when Kess plowed into her. The bullet arced towards them, seeming to zero in on Laila.

  And just as suddenly, it arced away, flying back towards the one who fired it. The bullet slammed into Lukas, the force sending the hunter staggering backwards just as Finn, Cormac, and Rafe ran into the clearing. They skidded to a halt, clearly unsure of where to go first.

  Laila pushed the bulk that was Kess off of her. The leopard looked at her inquiringly, but moved away when it appeared Laila was mostly uninjured. Laila walked over to Lukas, who leaned against a tree, his arm held awkwardly across his chest, coughing up blood.

  Zamiel was standing next to the boy suddenly; it surprised Laila how much like a boy Lukas looked now that he was dying. The demon spoke softly, so that only the three of them could hear. “Time’s up, Lukas.” He pointed at the watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist. Twelve o’clock straight up. Midnight. “Happy birthday.”

  Lukas’ eyes were bright with pain, but they focused on the demon’s face. A look of confusion crossed his ashen face. “That last bullet…” he trailed off with a bloody cough.

  “Ah yes. The bullet. You see it did as I said it would—my bullets always strike everything they are aimed at.” Zamiel smiled his switchblade smile. “You may have forgotten that the last bullet was mine to aim.” He brushed a bit of dirt from the lapel of his suit. “Sorry about that.”

  Laila watched as Lukas sank to the ground. His face was bloodless, the moonlight making him look like a cadaver in the shadows of the tree. Then he smiled, the blood in and around his teeth making it a gruesome sight. The hunter began to laugh softly, even though it obviously pained him. He choked on it, then caught his breath and laughed some more.

  “What’s so funny?” Laila asked, putting a hand on her hip. She wasn’t sure what she felt right now. She’d wanted to be the one to kill Lukas, but to do so now just didn’t seem right.

  Lukas bombardier blue eyes met hers and he grinned wider. “It’s a shame it had to end.” He took a gasping breath. “I should have enjoyed hunting you.” His smile faded. “You would have been the ultimate trophy.”

  “Son of a bitch,” she hissed. Laila wished for her gun, but she’d lost it when Kess plowed into her and she didn’t plan to go searching the underbrush for it right now. She pulled her sword from its sheath. “You’re so hot for demons? Why don’t you join them?” She raised the sword above her head.

  And then Finn was there, placing himself directly between Laila’s sword and Lukas’ body. “Enough, Laila.”

  Laila glared at him. Who was he to tell her when it was enough? It wasn’t his brother, not even his packmate who’d been hunted down, killed, and then stuffed like some kind of museum exhibit. How could he possibly know when enough had been reached? As far as Laila was concerned, they still weren’t even in spitting distance of enough.

  “He’s right, Laila,” Cormac said.

  “On the contrary, my dear,” Zamiel whispered in her ear, “I don’t think vengeance for your brother has been reached. Yet.” His breath was surprisingly sweet against her cheek. Laila wondered if anyone else could see the compelling demon at her shoulder. From the looks on their faces, she doubted it. But Lukas seemed to know Zamiel was there. He appeared to be listening to their conversation, if the look on his face was any indication.

  Laila felt her control on the sword slipping. It dropped towards Finn’s unprotected head an inch, maybe two. She gritted her teeth. Something wasn’t right.

  “Stop it,” she whispered, in a voice as quiet as snowfall. She wasn’t sure if she was speaking to Finn or Zamiel.

  “Lai
la?” Finn asked tentatively.

  “Put. It. Down!” A booming voice came from seemingly out of nowhere.

  Everyone froze. Laila recognized the voice: Sebastian. He’d finally caught up with her.

  Zamiel smiled at her, all teeth and no soul. “Say the word, Laila. Just say the word and I’ll take care of all of them. Then you and Lukas can take all night.”

  “And then you can take my soul?” she murmured, staring at the demon’s teeth. Laila idly wondered if he popped the souls he collected between them like a grape.

  “Not at all. Consider this one a freebie.” His smile grew wider, until it took up her entire world.

  Laila heard the sounds of voices, but they sounded so very far away. She knew they were talking about her somehow, but she couldn’t explain the disconnect she felt from the here and now. All she knew was that something wasn’t right. She couldn’t think straight, not with that smile looming next to her, not with everything it promised.

  “Think of everything I could offer you, Laila,” came the honeyed words pouring into her mind. “The world, power, money, status. Everything you could ever possibly want. All there for the taking. Just say the word.”

  What did she want? She wasn’t sure anymore. She’d always wanted to be a Keeper, but she had that now. As a little girl, she’d dreamed of being inducted into the Anubis Knights, one of the elite, like Sebastian. She wasn’t sure if that would happen now, especially after she’d gone rogue. Her whole life had been about service to the Keepers and, through them, the jackal-god Anubis. Now what?

  Laila wished her brother were here. She closed her eyes. More than anything that’s what she wanted. Anubis, she prayed silently, help me.

  “Hey pest.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Laila opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing on a dock jutting into a sea of dark water. A black flat-bottomed barge floated at the end of dock, two ornate eyes painted in gold on either side at the front of it. The eyes of Osiris. A funeral barge. The sky above was grey, with no stars, and almost blended into the dark sea.