“We’re still in South Dakota.” It wasn’t a question, she knew. She’d lived in this area all her life, running into the forests for as long as she could remember. Quietly she thought that they were even still in the Black Hill Ranges. The Black Hill Ranges were a vast landscape covering as far as Wyoming but this thought made Lexia feel a little better. She was still in the same state, Lincoln wasn’t as far as she’d thought.
“Yes, we are.”
“What’s going on, Derrick? How did you convince my mother to let me out?”
“It wasn’t easy but it helped that you’ve had experience with this problem before.”
“What problem?”
“Vampires. Vampires that have gotten a taste for our blood, it’s made them strong. There is a small group of maybe 3 or 4 that have been picking off Hunters.”
“Why would you think I have experience with vampires hooked on Hunter blood?”
“Well, you killed some, right?”
“Yes, but Derrick I had no idea what I was doing then and I have no idea if they were after me because I’m a Hunter... I had no powers until they attacked, I just... just snapped.”
“No one else wanted to go. Like I said, you’ve killed off most of our good fighters.”
“Okay... What makes you think I won’t just kill you and take the car and escape?”
“I’m choosing to trust you.”
“Silly move.”
“Really? I don’t think so. In fact, I think getting close to you will keep me alive when this war starts.”
“War?”
“Yes, the war between you and Lucy.”
Lexia laughed a bitter empty laugh. “I’m not sure who you think I am, Derrick, but one person can’t win a war against hundreds. I’ve given up fighting. She won, remember? I’m here, a prisoner.”
“Something tells me you won’t be down for long.”
Lexia said nothing. Leaning her head against the cold glass, she looked out the window at the early morning, imagining her panther chasing alongside her. So it’s a war you want, Derrick.
Chapter 36
Lexia crouched in the snow, her eyes scanning the horizon. The sun had started to rise but had not yet cast its orange glow over the world. The morning was hazy and grey.
“I’m sure this is it,” Derrick whispered at her side. “I was hoping to get here before they settled for the day.”
Lexia looked at the entrance to what must be a cave before her. She had no idea what made Derrick think this was the pace, she couldn’t see any footprints in the snow, no sign of life at all.
“Maybe we should wait until nightfall and attack when they come out?” he said.
Hell no! I’m not freezing my ass off here all day! I have vampires to kill and a Hunter to ditch.
She let her gift come to the surface, stretched it out searching in her mind’s eye for the vampires. There! They were a fair way from them. She guessed the entrance before her led into a warren of caves, perfect to keep the vampires away from the harmful sunlight.
“Don’t be a wimp, Derrick, we’ll wait for sunrise and go in,” she laughed, hitting him on his back.
Derrick flinched at her touch. He managed to keep the gasp of pain from leaving him but Lexia saw how his face hardened, how his body tensed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing, Lexia. Leave it.”
“Like hell!” Lexia pinned him and dragged up his coat and shirt. “Fuck! What the hell did she do to you?”
“It’s nothing, Lexia, really. Like I said, Lucy’s mad and she doesn’t like to be disobeyed.”
“So she whipped you? This is my fault.”
“No, it’s not. We’ll kill off these vampires and prove to Lucy what an asset you are, everything will be fine.”
Lexia shook her head, she couldn’t just ditch him now. “She’ll kill you if I don’t go back.”
“No, she’ll kill my family.”
Lexia stood, gripping her ruby knife tightly. This wasn’t supposed to happen, she wasn’t supposed to feel sorry for the Hunters, she wasn’t supposed to feel obligated to help. “God damn it!” she muttered. “Come on,” she snapped, stomping off.
“Wait, Lexia, the sunrise.”
“Screw the fucking sun, I need to kill something.”
“Why?”
“Why? Are you fucking kidding? Because you’ve used the only defense you had against me so I’d never leave! Well done, Derrick, your plan worked. You played to my weakness and now there is no way I can just knock you out and leave.”
“Shush, the vampires.”
“Screw the fucking vampires, screw fucking everything!” Lexia screamed.
Blood rushed through her, anger fuelling the raging fire inside her. She heard the whisper of movement behind her and spun her knife straight and true. She let go of the hold she kept on the power within her and sliced into bodies feeling the rush of the kill. Every swipe of her arm released a little of the dark emotions she’d been keeping locked inside of her, she’d known it was only a matter of time before she lost it. Before the Hunter within her used all the agony she felt as a means of escape, sharp teeth ripped at her skin, wild cries from inhuman creatures stirred the morning.
The sun peaked over the horizon casting orange beams over the snowy landscape. The last vampire attempted to retreat into the cave.
“Where are you going?” Lexia laughed, throwing the vampire against a tree.
She ran to him before he could rise to his feet and slammed her foot over his throat. Lexia laughed and the beams of light touched him. As if cast down from heaven the beams set him on fire. He screamed and thrashed and Lexia only laughed more. By the time she lifted her boot, the vampire was already covered in flames and lay trapped until he turned into a blackened charred corpse.
Breathing ragged breaths, she looked around her at the death and destruction she’d created, looked at Derrick still standing on the side lines. She’d killed them all and she’d enjoyed it. Sinking to her knees, the darkness inside of her was replaced with torment, crushing any hope she’d had of escape.
Wiping hot tears from her cheeks, she rose and walked away from the scene that reminded her what she really was, reminded her that she couldn’t outrun this problem. The problem was inside of her, rushing through her blood. Maybe she was better off away from normal life, what would happen if she lost control in a public place? How many would she kill then?
“Mission complete,” she said in a cold defeated tone.
Derrick said nothing to her on the way back. Lexia put the sack over her head when he handed it to her and said nothing to him as he locked her back in her room. She didn’t come out of her room that day, she didn’t eat; she just lay in bed, staring at the small crack in the ceiling wondering if the evil that lived inside of her would one day take over her soul and destroy her humanity.
Lincoln pushed his panther body to skim faster through the deep snow; the leopard behind him struggled to keep up with his relentless pace. But Lincoln couldn’t slow down, this had been the first clue in weeks, the first clue that the Hunters were still somewhere in South Dakota. He’d gone ballistic when Caden told him how long he’d been sedated for. He’d not been able to control the beast within him and Caden now had a new scar across his chest because of it. Of course the second he’d ripped open his best friend’s chest all the anger had left him. He’d dropped to the floor, a mess, consumed with the sorrow and utter hopelessness within him but the feelings he felt weren’t just his; wherever Lexia was, she felt just like he did. Only he thought she’d still carry on, Lexia had always been stronger than him. She may be dead on the inside, barely surviving the grief, but she’d put on a show for the Hunters he was sure. Lexia had a natural survival instinct, one he was sure she never realized she had, but he knew she’d survive. Whatever they threw at her she’d survive. Lincoln clung onto this belief, it was the only thing he had to get him through the day; she’d survive and he’d find her. It may take h
im years, but one day he’d find her and when he did, he’d unleash the suffering he kept inside of himself and anyone in his way would wish they’d never set eyes on him.
He shifted, his feet instantly going numb as they sunk naked into the snow. He looked around him at the three bodies of dead vampires. Scenting the air, he searched beneath the decaying vampires and sighed as Lexia’s scent wrapped around him.
“Was she here?” Caden asked, his teeth chattering with cold.
“Yes.” Lincoln walked into the center and studied the footsteps. “She killed them, see she was here, someone stood on the sidelines watching... There, see? I don’t understand why would they let her out with just one guard? She could have easily gotten away. Why vampires? Can you make sense of this, Caden?”
Lincoln looked at the corpse near the tree, it had rotted like the others but this one had a distinct burnt smell and the base of the tree was charred, too. “This one, this one was burned, why would she just watch it burn? That’s not like her.”
“Unless she’d lost control? You know as well as I she says she feels like it’s slowly taking over her... Maybe all the emotional stress is making her grip slip?”
Lincoln shook his head, he knew her, she’d get through this, she had to. He couldn’t think of the alternative, if for just a second he let his mind wander into that dark territory... He pressed his hands into his eyes, already his control was crumbling. Lincoln started to pace.
“Why wouldn’t she just leave? One person, one, Cade... Why?”
Caden placed his hand on Lincoln’s shoulder pausing his pacing. “Maybe she couldn’t. Maybe they have used her weakness to their benefit?”
“Like what?”
“Lexia’s humanity is what makes her different. If someone was in trouble, if her leaving put someone else’s life in danger, then she’d sacrifice herself for them, wouldn’t she? Just like she did to save you.”
Lincoln looked at Caden, his eyes wild and mad. “We have to find her.”
“I know, but it’s the dead of winter, Linc. How long can we live out here?”
Lincoln’s eyes hardened as he locked his emotions away. “For as long as it takes, are you going soft on me, my friend?”
“Not at all. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, you know that.”
Lincoln shifted and took off. He couldn’t stay human, too many thoughts pulled at him as a man. He had to stay strong, he’d find her. He would, he had no other choice because the alternative was so horrifying that even the briefest thought of it caused Lincoln such pain he feared his heart may stop.
I’m coming for you, my Wildcat, I’m coming...
Lexia was a ghost, a hollow shell of the girl she used to be. After what happened with the vampires, Lexia chose to distance herself from the Hunters around her. She no longer sat with Derrick when she ate and she spoke to him as little as possible but he was still a shadow at her back, watching from a distance. She wondered if he watched her to make sure she was okay or maybe he was making sure she didn’t go off the handle again, maybe he watched her for everyone else’s protection? After all, he’d seen what happened when she lost control, he’d seen what Lucy had really created, and the worst thing of all was Lexia could feel it getting worse.
It seemed the more misery she felt, the further she slipped from the person she used to be. She’d not done anything yet, but inside of her where no one else could see, Lexia felt it growing, just waiting below the surface for its chance to be free.
The new recruits she trained were improving. She thought they’d even stopped fearing her, but that only made it worse because the more she got to know these people, some of them younger than herself, the more she realized some of these people were as trapped as she was. Some of them had the smallest of flickers, the last remaining threads of their souls, clinging on against all hope and as the weeks went on and winter set in Lexia began to see not fear in their eyes but hope. But how could these people expect her to save them? She was just one person, just a sad lonely girl, who spent most of her days wishing she just had the guts to end it all.
Derrick watched them improve, he watched the fear in their eyes being replaced with hope and Lexia watched the satisfaction light his eyes. She saw the path Derrick wanted her to take, the path he’d been guiding her along. But I can’t be what you need Derrick, I’m fading. I’m not strong enough the lead you all into the light...
“Hey Lexia, wake up.”
“Go away, Derrick,” Lexia moaned, pulling her pillow over her head.
“No, get up! We leave in five,” he growled, pulling the pillow off her head and ripping the duvet off her, sending a billow of cold air over her half-naked body.
“Jeez, Derrick, do you have no morals? You’re practically old enough to be my father, I don’t think you should be eyeing me up.”
“Please! I’d have had to be sixteen years old when I’d had you, now get up!”
Groaning Lexia rolled off the bed noting the time. 5 am. Dressing, she glanced at him in his usual spot by the door, back to her. “What makes you think I won’t pummel you for waking me so early?”
He laughed at her, his shoulders bobbing up and down. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“And here I thought you were smart.”
“Just full of insults this morning, aren’t you.”
Lexia stomped out of the bathroom. “Ready.”
After being blindfolded and led to the car, Lexia sat and listened to Derrick trying to have a quiet argument with whoever manned the gates but after 2 minutes the SUV started to move and soon Lexia was pulling off her blindfold, looking at the white world around her.
“What month is it?”
“December, the twentieth, I believe.”
“Really?” she slumped in her seat. “Five days until Christmas,” she whispered.
Derrick glanced at her but said nothing. Lexia could feel the gnawing ache start in her stomach, making her feel sick, making her feel like her head may just explode at any moment.
“So what are we doing?” she asked, grasping at anything to take her mind off her feelings.
“Just picking up some supplies.”
“So I didn’t need to come along at all?”
“I needed company, plus there may be heavy boxes.”
“Derrick! You disobeyed Lucy so I could lift boxes?”
He glanced at her briefly and his eyes filled with sadness. “No, I disobeyed her because you needed to get out the compound before you went mad.”
“I’m fine! I’ve done nothing wrong, I follow every instruction, what more do you want?”
“What more do I want?! I want the old Lexia back, the one with a fire so bright, people can’t help but stand and stare! I want you to stop walking around the compound living a half- life. You’re right, you follow every order, every rule, but I hate it. I hate watching you barely get by, I hate that you’re slowly dying on the inside the longer you’re with us.”
Derrick slammed the SUV to a stop. The tires locked and skidded until they bumped to a stop in the deep snow bank on the side of the roads.
“What are you doing?” Lexia snapped, her hand braced on the dash board.
“Go!”
“What?”
“Go on, get out, GO LEXIA, GO!”
Lexia’s hand went to the handle, her heart started to hammer in her ears, blood rushing so fast through her brain, she felt dizzy. The door handle clicked, a gust of cold air and snowflakes whipped into the car and an image tumbled through Lexia’s confused mind.
A young recruit, just seventeen years old with a timid smile that lit her freckled face when Lexia gave her praise…
“No!” she screamed, slamming the door closed.
“What?” he asked, stunned.
“If I go, you’ll die.”
“So?”
“So? So what about your family, the reason you stay here and put up with my mother!”
“It doesn’t matter. Just go, Lexia, go and get far away
from here. So far away she can never find you. Don’t let her destroy you as well.”
“She won’t, I’m strong! I have already destroyed enough lives, I won’t damn anyone else’s.”
“She’ll find a way, Lexia; somehow she’ll find a way.”
“Then I’ll kill her.”
“Do you really think it would be that easy? If that’s all it took, to simply kill her, I’d have done it a long time ago! It takes more than one person to do what Lucy’s done.”
“Then who do I need to kill? Who?”
“I don’t know, Lucy trusts no one.”
“I’m her daughter; I’ll make her trust me.”
“Lexia, she’ll never trust you, not while you walk around full of feeling and humanity.”
“Then I’ll stop caring. I can pretend to be heartless if that’s what it takes.”
“You can pretend all you want, honey, but all she has to do is look into your eyes and see everything she is not.”
Lexia slammed her head back against the seat. He was right and she fucking hated it.
“Just go,” he whispered.
“No, Derrick, I’ll find a way.”
“Will you? How will you do that when you have distanced yourself from anyone who cares? You are a ghost, Lex. I gave you the chance and it was working, the recruits follow you.”
“So that was your goal all along? To create an army loyal to me and not Lucy?”
“Maybe... I’m not sure, I just... I saw you and thought maybe we had a chance of finally being free.”
He started the SUV again and they drove on in silence. Lexia said nothing to him on the two hour round trip to fetch supplies. Her head spun with all the things he’d said to her and she had no idea what to tell him. Was she the Hunters’ freedom? Could she really save them?
As Derrick pulled the SUV to a stop she fought past the crawling feeling to escape and let him slip the blindfold over her head.
“Thank you for giving me a few hours freedom,” she whispered softly as the vehicle pulled away.
Whispers of Darkness (The Deadwood Hunter Series) Page 25