Hunter's Curse

by Ginna Moran

  “Mom’s right, man. It’s not all fun and games. This is serious business.” I smirk as I say it, but wipe my mouth with my napkin so my mom doesn’t see it.

  Mason steps on my foot under the table. “And I’m being serious. I want to save the world.”

  My mom offers a bright smile as she looks between us. “I know you’ll both have a lot to contribute.”

  The house phone rings and I jump up to get it. The rule is never let the phone go to voicemail. The board calls at all hours of the day and who knows how important it might be. My dad used to say my mom was married to the HPA and not him, and after a few years, I discovered he was right.

  “Dr. Sullivan’s residence,” I say.

  “Hey, Hunter. It’s Phillip.” The termination facility’s office manager doesn’t sound like his personable self. “Your mom home?”

  “Yeah, man, let me bring the phone to her.”

  “Thanks.”

  I pad from the kitchen and into the dining room and hold up the cordless phone to my mom. She takes it from me and presses it to her ear and both Mason and I watch her quietly and eavesdrop.

  “You’re kidding me,” my mom says into the phone. “Oh, how frightening.” She glances at us and frowns. “Who’s on the scene?”

  I shift in my seat and look at Mason. “Sounds important.”

  He waves his hand at me. “Shhh.”

  “Okay, Phillip, thanks. I’ll be in shortly.” My mom hangs up the phone and sets it down on the table next to her plate. She sucks in a deep breath with her eyes closed, and then snaps them open to look at us. “There’s an emergency I need to attend to. Would you like to join me, Hunter?”

  I shrug. “I guess.”

  She turns to Mason. “Will you be okay?”

  He waves his hand. “Go.”

  JACQUELINE

  The woman strolls closer and taps on my window. I swallow the lump in my throat and meet her brown eyes. Fear creeps through my chest and squeezes my heart. It hurts to breathe and the edges of my vision darken.

  Dominic stiffens next to me. “Jackie, go.” His voice is low, commanding me to drive, but I can’t look away from the woman.

  “She needs me,” I whisper.

  “No, I need you. I need you to drive.”

  The woman taps her nail on the glass again before waving. I shake my head and blink a few times before cranking down the window an inch. She tilts her head to the side, touching the handle of a gun on her belt, and then takes a step back.

  The woman straightens her shoulders. “If you step from the car, I won’t hurt you.”

  I bare my teeth in a fake smile. “You’re lying.”

  “I have back up on the way,” she says.

  “They won’t be the ones to save you.”

  The woman rips her gun from its holster and jams the barrel into the crack of the window. She pulls the trigger and I cry out when a metal dart whizzes past, an inch from my face, and sinks into Dominic’s leg.

  He curses under his breath. “Jackie, go! Now! You can’t save her.”

  He’s wrong. You can.

  I clench my fingers into a fist and thrust the door open. The woman pulls the trigger on her tranquilizer gun again, but I duck, expecting it. I charge at her and she unsheathes her knife. I grab her wrist and dig my fingers into her skin.

  The world fogs around me and the woman’s life flashes through my mind.

  “Come on, Becca!” A boy with golden blond hair grabs Becca’s hand and pulls her down a cement corridor.

  The two children stop at the first metal door on the right and peer through a glass window. They watch as two men and a woman in white lab coats stick a long needle into the neck of a man.

  “Get him, Daddy!” Becca says.

  A shiver rolls down my back at the excitement the girl feels watching these doctors torture the poor pixie. Becca and the boy laugh when the man explodes into a cloud of glittering dust and they high-five each other.

  The vision shifts and I see Becca just a few years younger than she is now. Her red hair is braided into a bun and she wipes blood off her knife on her black pants.

  “Awesome job on your first kill,” a man says, patting her shoulder. He pushes his dark blond hair from his forehead. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I want to kill ‘em all.”

  My head spins as the scene changes and Becca looks like what she does now. She pants and looks at the same man from the last vision. He tenses next to her and a low, guttural noise echoes through my mind. Becca’s gaze darts from her partner to the noise and I see a shifter standing ten feet away. The shifter pounds his fists together and stomps closer.

  He swings his thick, muscular arm at Becca and she jumps back, dropping her knife. Fear, anger, and guilt rush through me as Becca draws her tranquilizer and shoots the shifter, but he doesn’t go down.

  Her partner swipes his knife at the shifter and blood sprays from a wound on his shoulder. Her partner jumps back, but the shifter follows the movement and rips the knife from her partner’s grip. He yells at Becca, but she just stands there.

  “If you let me go, I won’t hurt him,” the shifter says.

  Becca shakes her head. “Never.”

  The shifter lifts the man by his head and twists, snapping her partner’s neck. Becca shoots another dart into the shifter and he slows down, dropping to his knees, and then he passes out.

  The pain and disbelief Becca’s partner felt moments before he died washes through me. She could’ve saved him, but didn’t, and she didn’t even think twice about it. Becca’s soul swirls inside of me and I absorb all her wrong-doings, taking in the torment and evil that tarnishes her essence, and then I release my breath and her soul dissipates, free from everything that sullied it.

  I open my eyes.

  Becca collapses to the ground and I breathe deep in and out of my mouth. My vision clears and I turn to look at Dominic in the Mustang, but his door is wide open.

  “Keep your hands up where I can see them,” a masculine voice says.

  The deep sound pierces through my chest and I draw my gaze to a man dressed in the same uniform as Becca. He stands over Dominic, who moans and blinks on the ground, but waves a knife at me. The evil radiating from the agent is the darkest I’ve ever felt on a human.

  “Let him go,” I say.

  “And if I don’t?” he asks.

  I dash the distance between us and open my arms. Just as fast, the man runs his knife along my brother’s throat and blood pools on the dirty pavement.

  “No!” I scream. Rage consumes me and I lock my fingers around the agent’s neck and rip his soul free. Hot tears brand my cheeks as my vision darkens and I’m left to endure the pain, fear, and disappointment my brother felt as the agent took his life.

  4. SURVIVING IS THE ONLY OPTION

  HUNTER

  “Wait in the car,” my mom says.

  I sit forward in my seat and peer through the windshield. An agent redirect traffics while a tow truck idles across the road to collect the van while hiding the two sheet-covered bodies lying on the concrete.

  My stomach churns when I watch my mom lift the sheet and uncover a red-haired woman. I can’t see her face from where I’m sitting, so I open my door and step from the Mercedes. I come up behind my mom and stare into the chalky white face of an agent I never met. Her eyes are wide open, but they stare right through me at nothing.

  I touch my mom’s shoulder. “What happened?”

  She jerks to look at me. “Oh, Hunter, I asked you to wait in the car. I didn’t want you to see Agent Rebecca like this.”

  “So, what happened?” I repeat.

  She sighs. “We’re still trying to figure that out. Agent Rebecca called in some suspicious activity on the highway and was fine when I received the call at dinner. We sent someone to investigate when neither she nor her back up Agent Kenneth checked in.”

  Agent Rebecca’s dead eyes burn into me and I shift my gaze away to blood splatter on the gro
und near the other body. “What did this?”

  My mom lifts and drops her shoulders. “Something powerful. There are no signs of physical trauma at all.”

  I frown. “What about the blood?”

  “Doesn’t belong to either Agent Rebecca or Agent Kenneth.”

  A door slams and I look over my shoulder as Dr. Cole, a woman my mom’s age with long, dark brown hair with gray streaks, adjusts a lap top in her arms. “The camera didn’t get much because it shifted during the impact, but watch this, Dr. Sullivan.”

  My mom drops the sheet and I follow on her heels as she saunters to Dr. Cole. I peer over my mom’s shoulder at the screen and watch as the video shakes as it films the roof of a black car and the sliver of sky above it. Nothing happens and I wonder if I’m just not seeing what they’re seeing, but then I see the top of Agent Kenneth’s head pop into view. He waves his knife out and then ducks out of view. Suddenly, a girl with wild, dark curls rushes in his direction. She yanks him back into view and wraps her fingers around Agent Kenneth’s neck, but doesn’t do anything I can see that would kill him.

  “What’s she doing?” I ask.

  “Shhh, Hunter,” my mom says.

  The girl pulls her hands away and Agent Kenneth collapses. My mouth falls open and I glance from my mom to Dr. Cole and study their serious expressions.

  A million questions whirl through my mind. What kind of creature can kill someone from just touching them? What a horrible abomination. The girl looked so innocent and young, but her power—I shudder thinking about how easily she killed Agent Rebecca and Agent Kenneth. She probably murders people all the time. She’s the worst monster I’ve ever laid eyes on.

  Dr. Cole shuts the lap top after the video cuts off. “She can’t be far from here.”

  My mom puts her hands on her hips. “Track the license plate and put out a warning to all the agents to not let this super touch them. I want her tranquilized and transported to the termination facility. I want her alive.”

  “As soon as we find her, I’ll let you know.”

  My mom nods. “Good. I’ll be waiting.”

  JACQUELINE

  I bang on the door of a blue painted, two-story house. The sun set minutes ago and nightfall will be here shortly. Tears burn my eyes and I rest my hands on the cool wood and wait. The outside light flicks on, but no one opens the door.

  I pound my fists again. “Please, you have to open the door. Please, Dominic said we’d find refuge here.”

  The lock clicks and the door swings open. A woman with waist-length, black hair and startling blue eyes looks me up and down before crossing her arms. She glances over my shoulder at the Mustang idling at the curb.

  “What happened?” she asks without moving from the doorway.

  I close my eye as tears blur my vision. I suck in a breath. “Dom—” I point to the car as sobs rake my chest.

  The woman rushes past me and I drop to the ground and pull my knees to my chest. I can’t go on like this. It’s all my fault my brother’s dead. I should’ve just stayed behind and let the agents take me. I should’ve resisted the urge to save that woman from herself. If I had, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Dominic wouldn’t be dead. After today, I don’t think I’ll ever redeem another soul again. You can’t save them all anyway. People need to save themselves.

  I push the thought from my mind when I watch the enchantress tug my brother’s dead body from the backseat of the Mustang. For being only an inch over five feet, she has amazing strength.

  “Jacqueline,” the enchantress says. “I know you’re grieving and in shock, but I need you to help me with Dominic. We can’t leave him in the car.”

  I push to my feet and walk to the enchantress. With a heavy heart, I help carry my brother by his shoulders into the cluttered house. The woman yanks a throw blanket from her couch and sprawls it across her tan tiled floor. We gently lay Dominic on the blanket and I rest my head on his chest for a moment before wiping the tears from my eyes.

  “It was the HPA,” I say. “I didn’t think they were real. I thought my nana was only trying to scare me.”

  The woman kneels next to me and wraps her arms over my shoulders. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry you lost your brother. He was a good friend of mine.”

  “You knew him?”

  She nods. “He was someone special to me as a teenager.”

  My forehead crinkles and I lift my eyes to peer at the woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but I thought it was only because most enchantresses look alike with black hair and blue eyes. I study her narrow nose and full ruby lips. Her sharp cheekbones make her look more serious than sad, and her delicate jaw line twitches when she crinkles her nose.

  “You’re Jazmin,” I say. “I remember you.”

  Jazmin offers a small smile and touches my cheek. “You were so young.”

  I shrug. “My brother loved you.”

  She nods. “I loved him, too.”

  My chest tightens and my eyes shift to Dominic’s body. What am I supposed to do without him? I wanted to learn to take care of myself, but not like this. I never wanted him to die. I wanted him to live a life free from the burden of having to watch out for me, and now he doesn’t get to live a life at all.

  I puff air through my lips and open and close my mouth, but words are lost on me. I don’t know what to say.

  Jazmin touches my shoulder. “I’ll make a few phone calls and take care of your brother’s body. I want you to rest.”

  Tears blur my eyes. “I can’t stay here. I killed two agents. The HPA will come after me.”

  Shadows cloud Jazmin’s eyes. “I’ll make arrangements for you as well. You can find refuge with the Creature Council. They’ll protect you.”

  I shake my head. “Dominic’s been trying to get an appointment with the council for months. They won’t let someone like me in.”

  Jazmin takes my hands in hers. “That’s why you lie. I’ll vouch for you.”

  I sniffle. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive without him.”

  She smiles. “Because surviving is the only option. You’re strong and smart and powerful. I know you’ll be okay in the end.”

  5. TRULY ALONE

  HUNTER

  I prop my feet up on my mom’s desk and lace my fingers behind my head. She left me five hours ago to meet with the board and I’ve been stuck at the termination facility because I don’t want to miss out if they capture the monster from yesterday.

  The phone on her desks rings and I pick it up. “Dr. Sullivan’s office.”

  “Hey, Hunter, it’s Chris. Was wondering if you wanted to join me and a few other agents for a ride-along.” Agent Chris breathes into the phone. “I hear your mom’s been busy all night.”

  I jump from the chair. “Sure, awesome. I’m dying of boredom. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  Agent Chris chuckles. “Actually, I was hoping you could prep a van and we could meet in thirty.”

  “I can do that, too. See you out front in thirty.”

  I hang up the phone and scribble a note for my mom even though she probably knew Agent Chris was going to ask me to tag along on for one of their patrols. Considering the fact he said there would be a few agents, I’m guessing this is more than the standard keeping our eyes open for supers. Maybe we’ll come across the soul snatcher.

  I exit the office and stroll down the bright yellow hallway to the elevator. I hit the call button and step on when it opens, and then hit the button for the lobby. My mom’s office is on the top floor of the building, which is six levels, but only three are above ground.

  The elevator door dings open and I step into the lobby. It’s quiet apart from Phillip tapping on his keyboard. He glances up and smiles before holding up a key ring with a set of keys on it for me. His phone rings and he answers it, and I grab the keys without saying anything.

  I walk out of the building into warm morning sunlight, bringing my hand to my forehead to shade my eyes. The morning shift is well underway and most o
f the HPA vans are missing. I meander up to the one with the license plate that matches the number on the keychain and hop behind the wheel.

  I drive the van around to the back of the building to the equipment center and park it in the empty spot near the door. I grab the checklist off the hook near the door and stroll to the back of the van and swing the doors open.

  I cover my mouth, grimacing, as I jump back. “Are you kidding me?”

  The cargo area with bench seats connected to opposite walls, facing each other, is a disaster—and it reeks of death. The metal floor is covered in an unknown liquid and smells like rot and something I can’t put my finger on. Crumpled near the divider to the cabin lies a slimy tarp and a pile of discarded gloves and masks. Agents are usually in charge of cleaning their own vans, but I guess Agent Chris is taking advantage of my internship.

  I walk back to the building and put on gloves, a mask, and an apron before stretching the hose from the wall and pulling it toward the back of the van. I step inside and kick the tarp and trash out and then spray the floor clean. The water runs brown as it pours from the van and into the drainage grates.

  After restocking the van with fresh supplies, I get behind the wheel and sit for a minute. I imagine what it would be like wearing an agent’s all black uniform, carrying a belt full of weapons, and how it would feel to do this every day for the rest of my life.

  And I’m not sure I really want to do this. Maybe there’s another way for me to make the world safe.

  There’s a tap on the window.

  I turn to look at Agent Chris before rolling it down.

  He rests his hands on the doorframe. “You all right, man? The others are waiting out front.”