Hybrid (Book 2): Hunted

by Stead, Nick

  “This is foolish! Your actions will only lead to more deaths.”

  When I didn’t respond she studied me as if searching for an answer, her expression softening.

  “There is something different about you. Am I right in thinking you have finally seen sense? You have fully embraced your wolf side now?”

  I nodded, before changing the subject. “Why did you come back this time? And if Leon was the killer, what were you doing crouched over that dead vampire? And come to think of it, why the hell did you just suddenly stop helping me when Ulfarr put me on trial, and all these times since then when I’ve needed you. Why wouldn’t you even offer to help clear my name when it looked like the witch might be behind the killings?”

  “I told you before, there is much you do not understand. But I suppose you deserve the truth.

  “The first thing you should know is that Ulfarr is not just an Elder to me, and it is not the mere respect for an Elder that binds me to him and commands my obedience. You see, Ulfarr is the vampire who made me.”

  “What? But you told me you never knew the name of the vampire that turned you, which kinda sounded like you never even saw him again.”

  “I was not completely honest with you. It was some time before our paths crossed again but perhaps it was inevitable, with the blood ties that bind us, even as those same ties bound me to Vince.

  “Given Ulfarr’s attitude towards werewolves, I had hoped to keep you away from my allegiance to him and thus I deemed it safer to lie about this aspect of my past. But it is not within my power to go against his wishes, so I had to obey whenever he ordered you to be brought before him, and his hold over me meant I was forced to hold my tongue while you were subjected to his cruelty.

  “I did try to help where I could, making sure you had some comforts while imprisoned, no matter how small. Ulfarr wouldn’t allow you the luxury of fresh meat but I convinced him to at least provide you with some water and the bucket to keep the floor clean.”

  As she spoke, I heard someone else approaching and I caught the scent of the witch, Selina. I growled in alarm, but she came into view with her arms raised in a gesture of peace.

  Lady Sarah eyed the witch, before continuing “And the other thing you should know – this is my younger sister. When you came to me before, you never gave me the name of the witch you suspected and I was not yet aware that the two of you had met. But just as eternal youth was granted to me through vampirism, so she gained power through her witchcraft to halt the ravages of time.”

  “But then that would make her the next in line to the throne after you had to fake your death, right? How does a queen end up turning to witchcraft?”

  Lady Sarah glanced at Selina, who remained quiet, before answering me. “Her story will have to wait. Ulfarr still believes you to be the killer and there may still be Slayers on the hunt in this area. We should not linger here too long.”

  “Okay but answer me one more thing. I ask again, why did you come back? Why did you even choose to help me in the first place, during my first full moon and since then, before your ties to Ulfarr got in the way?”

  Selina answered this time. “I told you before, you have a great destiny, should you choose to embrace it. The future is not set in stone, but I have seen many things – enough to convince me that the last werewolf must not die so young and full of unfulfilled potential. And I shared the nature of my visions with my sister, who agreed to await your coming and watch over you where possible while you adapted to your lycanthropy.”

  “So all those times you go off on your own, have you been meeting with Selina?” I growled at the vampire. “After letting me give up everything from my old life, you get to see your sister? How is that fair?”

  “Whoever said life was fair?” Selina asked.

  “So you two what, meet up in that cottage on the moors?” I continued, ignoring the witch.

  “Sometimes,” Selina answered. “But that place isn’t my home. I go there when I need to perform rituals away from the prying eyes of mortals, but the rest of the time I’m free to live among them. There was a time when I had to isolate myself from the rest of humanity of course, just like you undead, back when the Church had people in a panic and the witch hunts began. But once mortals turned to science and forgot about the existence of the supernatural, there was nothing stopping us witches from living among them again, since we are technically still human. I’m not known to the Slayers, and there are spells that can cause illusions which allow me to ‘age’ over the years, then I simply fake my death and move on. I’m currently living on the outskirts of a town not far from where you grew up, and I’ve invited my sister over a few times to keep her updated on the modern world she refuses to be a part of. Films seem to be going down well though.”

  I hadn’t really paid attention to how the witch dressed before but I noted that night she was wearing a modern top and jeans, which fit with her story.

  “All this time struggling in a world with no place for us, when there was somewhere we could have gone to shelter after all?” I snarled at Lady Sarah, unable to believe what I was hearing. “You let me give up everything I’d ever known, when I could have at least carried on in a human lifestyle?”

  “I’m sorry, Nick, but I couldn’t risk taking you to my sister whilst you were still so out of control. She’s the one witch still on our side, as far as I know, and if we are to fight the Slayers as you’ve been so desperate to do, her powers will prove invaluable. Taking you to Selina could have proven disastrous for all three of us, so I had to be sure you’d mastered your self-control first. Now please, there will be time for more of your questions later but for now we must move on, before we are discovered here.”

  I’d been curious for so long as to what the vampire did on a night besides feeding, but the truth only fed my anger. I wasn’t satisfied with her reasons for keeping me in the dark, and we would no doubt argue again, once we’d reached safer surroundings. But no sooner had we left the cover of the woods than a shot rang through the night, and the smell of blood came from a bullet wound in Lady Sarah’s chest. Before any of us could react, two more shots sounded, and two more bullets hit the vampire. Just as she collapsed, another bullet thudded into my own chest and my entire ribcage seared with pain. I was forced to my knees, struggling to breathe and trying to force the transformation to full wolf form to heal the damage quick enough before I was hit again. Selina was more vulnerable and she knew she’d never be able to invoke any incantations in time that might save her life, so she began to run. But moments later I heard another gunshot and saw her go down.

  Through the pain, I sensed the approach of a human and recognised the scent – it was the same Slayer I’d encountered before, come to ensure I died for real this time it seemed. I glared up at him, knowing he’d fire the killing shot before I could do anything. But he didn’t fire again, instead striking me across the head with the butt of his gun. I fell to the ground beside Lady Sarah, blackness closing in. I didn’t even know whether she was alive or dead, but I had to assume the witch had been killed, her body frailer without the help of witchcraft to combat the Slayer’s gun. It didn’t matter. There was nothing I could do for either of them as I slipped into unconsciousness, and I knew no more.

  Epilogue

  Dusk approaches and I fall silent again. The full moon has passed for another month but I haven’t eaten all day and I need to feed. And yes, I mean to kill again. Do you hate me for that? I can’t say I blame you: I think a part of me still hates myself. I might have found peace for a time when I accepted my lupine half and allowed my mind to become whole again, but it wouldn’t last or we wouldn’t be here, now. All those horrific acts I’ve committed still burden my conscience, what remains of it, and a part of me still longs for the life I could have had if it hadn’t been for my curse. Such is the nature of my wretched existence, yet I continue to kill and indulge my bloodlust.

  Footsteps crunch over the bed of fallen leaves and I slink towards them, i
ntent on my next prey. You might be giving me an accusatory glare now if you were still flesh and blood, but would you really prefer me to feed on your rotting corpse?

  How frustrating it must be to remain powerless to influence the events about to unfold. I’m about to take another life and you can do nothing to stop me, except attempt to appeal to my better nature, if only I still had one. But darkness rules me and it will claim another life, this person about to meet as equally a brutal end as the one I dealt you.

  A scent reaches me and I pause, listening intently. More humans, moving too stealthily for the general public. I’ve lingered here too long and now it seems my enemies have found me once again. My intended victim will live to see another day after all. If only the Slayers had turned up to disturb me last night, then perhaps you would have survived crossing paths with me as well.

  I retreat deeper into the woods, pausing to return to my wolf form. The Slayers are on my trail and there are too many of them to fight this time, but I feel confident I can outrun them. Come with me if you wish, and I will tell the next part of my story once I’ve lost them and satisfied my hunger once more. Perhaps we are bound to each other now, you and I, and we must see this tale through to its end. Or do you want the Slayers to succeed this time and end it now? No matter – that is not to be my fate this night, whether you want it to happen or not.

  Effortlessly I bound across the woodland floor, my enemies falling behind. I pass through the treeline and onto the streets you once called home. At least the Slayers will find your mortal remains and may grant you the dignity of a proper burial.

  Soon all ties to your life are far behind us, just as it was for me when the curse first forced me to move on. But I have long since grown used to this lifestyle, despite the struggle to adjust I initially faced all those years ago, and I will find more temporary shelter where I will continue my tale. Yes, we are bound to each other now, you and I, and I feel sure you will be with me to the end.

  Biography

  Nick Stead began writing at the age of fifteen. His love of horror and werewolves in particular led to the creation of Hybrid, following a brainstorming session with his cousin to get him started on the first three chapters. Twelve years later at twenty seven and after two major redrafts, his dream of seeing Hybrid published was finally realised. Now twenty eight, he lives with his two cats in Huddersfield, England, where he is hard at work on the next book in the Hybrid series.

  For more information about Nick, the Hybrid series, and other works visit: www.nick-stead.co.uk.