by Devon Ashley
“Oh, come on,” he groaned, finally turning to Moore. “With everything you guys have done to her, I think a little restitution is in order.”
Moore’s face cocked backwards in disbelief. He and his associates never neglected any of their charges and to be compared with those before him upset him. “We are not the ones that trained her. Those methods were never used again.”
“Oh no?” he rebutted. “What about Valerie?”
Valerie had it best around here by far. Never having to train or maintain outrageous working hours. She came and went as she pleased, at least within the manor walls. He sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with Valerie,” Moore said dully.
“You know, that is exactly the right word to describe her. Nothing. She says nothing, feels nothing, does nothing. You’ve isolated her just as your predecessors did Abby. And look what it got them.”
Realizing he wandered directly into the path of Noel’s web, Moore returned the conversation back to his desired subject matter. “I cannot risk Abigail hurting anyone in the manor. If she continues to prove unstable-”
“Don’t patronize me!” Noel grasped the edge of the table, shaking it with a force of power Moore never expected him to have. “You think I’m not on to the little games the Order plays? I know exactly why you gave me Abby. You didn’t want to kill her cause you spent too much time and effort creating her and she was beneficial in a fight. But you couldn’t release her into the world alone cause there was always the chance haunting you in the back of your little minds that she may just think, ‘screw the vampires, I’m going after the bastards that made my entire existence a living hell’!”
Noel leaned over the desk until he was only a foot away. Moore felt the blood rush to his face, certainly reddening it.
“You needed me by her side, to tame her and to keep her the hell away from you. So don’t lecture me about keeping her under control. You created the wrath, deal with it.”
Moore felt a lump swell from his chest and rise to his throat, hindering his ability to respond.
Noel was drawn to the two books on the desk before him. Moore, too, realized they were there - he had neglected to lock them away earlier. Noel swiped them up and turned to exit.
Weakly, Moore stated, “Those are my books.”
“Well, now they’re mine,” he claimed, waving them teasingly in the air. He left the room, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
Moore was not fooling himself; this feeling of intimidation was new for him. He didn’t like feeling this way in the presence of Noel and Abigail. They clearly knew how to get their way and had no scruples about using physical means to obtain them.
Unfortunately, Emily seemed to be right behind them. Her behavior had clearly changed. She was once subservient and respectful. Ever since her association began with the others, she too had become independent of thought and action. He feared he may lose her before the battle with Morphus even began.
Hunters were in limited supply. Few had been born since Eraticus was defeated. He had two that were of age, beyond sixteen, but not instated; too few, he feared. There had always been ten active hunters in the world. No more, no less. Given the current situation, he couldn’t afford to lose any.
But given the choice, he’d rather Emily die than be left to do Abigail’s bidding.
Chapter Eighteen
Abby had settled down about five minutes ago. Hunters and advisors slowly returned to their rooms, expecting the night to return to normal. All were too afraid to peek into the room while Abby was still in it.
Emily carried a water bottle and towel with her as she entered the gym. The room was in utter shambles. The view from the balcony hadn’t done it justice. Wall length mirrors were smashed throughout. Free weights had been flung in every direction. The single filing cabinet containing exercise and training logs was dented and tipped over, its contents flown across the room. Even large chips of concrete floor had been dislodged. A tornado couldn’t have done better.
Abby was sitting against the wall on the far side, finally calm. At least she seemed so.
“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Emily stated sarcastically.
Abby wasn’t amused. If looks could kill.
Emily passed the water bottle and towel to her. She then picked up the chair across the room, pushed off the wall and rolled back toward Abby. Glass and mirror shards popped as she roughly traveled the concrete floor.
“Feel better?” Emily asked, avoiding sarcasm this time.
“I figured you were Noel coming to lecture me about controlling my temper,” she said matter-of-factly, drinking the cold, clear liquid.
“Not likely. I think he’s been waiting for this outburst since the day he picked you up and took you away.”
“That was the only good day I had here,” Abby said bitterly.
“I believe you,” said Emily softly. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
Refusing a brush off, Emily said, “You. Ordained huntress.”
“Oh.” Abby looked to the entrance. “Shut the doors.”
She smiled. “I can’t. You broke them.”
It only took a few minutes to silently relocate to the conservatory. The rain had ceased but the clouds still filled the sky, so no moon shined brightly this night. Instead, the glass house was randomly lit with flashes of lightning. Emily increased the dimmer for the electric lights enough to give them a soft glow. Together they lost themselves in the dense foliage and camped out on the ground next to a loud fountain.
“So what exactly are you?” Emily urged, wasting no time to get her answers.
“I know my memory is a little selective but didn’t we already have this conversation?”
“Apparently we didn’t finish. You neglected to mention a few things. Your destiny, your parents.”
Abby rubbed her face and eyes a few times. She looked wiped out. “I’m a hunter born from a witch and a warlock later turned pure vampire. And since my life wasn’t complicated enough, you can add ordained huntress to the list,” Abby said indifferently.
“How long have you known?”
“Always, I suppose. I knew the mark on my hip meant something.”
Excited, Emily asked, “Can I see it?”
Abby looked at her suspiciously but eventually stood and pulled back the fold of her pants and exposed her left hipbone. Emily had never seen a birthmark like that before. It was a circle with a blurry interior, hard to define.
“That just looks like a big ol’ mess. Fuzzy. Sure it actually means something?”
“Oh, it’s a birthmark all right. And it’s not fuzzy, it’s an illusion.”
“A what?”
“Keep watching,” Abby said mundanely.
As she did, Emily understood what she meant. From different angles the birthmark seemed to move, but no single picture seemed to come through. And then she realized the picture didn’t change when viewed from different angles, it was changing on its own. The pigment on Abby’s skin continually faded in and out, slowly creating one picture after another.
Not sure of what to make of it, all she could muster was a simple, “Um…”
Sensing her confusion, Abby explained, “It’s the mark related to Morphus. I guess a single picture wouldn’t suffice. Instead, the picture continually morphs from one thing to the next.”
Emily watched in awe. “Try putting a picture like that in a book.”
“They did. Not even close to getting it right.”
“Not surprising.”
Currently the birthmark was completing a depiction of what seemed to be an unknown demon to Emily, with beady eyes, sharp teeth and curled horns protruding from its forehead.
“How many pictures are there?” she asked as the picture began to change once more.
“I don’t know. I stopped looking a long time ago. I suppose the possibilities are endless.”
“Uber-cool,” said Emil
y.
Abby cocked her eyebrows at Emily and released the hold on her clothing. “Except for the destiny attached to it, yes, it’s uber-cool.”
“The Order of your time never knew?”
Abby resumed her spot on the ground across from Emily. “They’ve always checked hunters at infancy. It never occurred to them to check me when I arrived. Besides, my body was always so bruised and beaten they wouldn’t have been able to tell anyway.” Bitterly, she added, “Not that they ever cared to check my injuries.”
Emily flashed back to images from Noel’s story. Even at the age of four, the Order had brutally attacked and beaten Abby. No wonder the advisors feared her. Had she been an advisor, she wouldn’t be able to shut her eyes at night either.
“Noel mentioned your inner evil problem. What the hell’s that about?”
She blew a strong burst of air through almost closed lips. “Yeah, that. When I use my mother’s powers I’m fine. And those are the ones that involve elemental manipulation or healing. But when I use the pyrokinesis, something inside of me comes alive.” Abby rubbed her chest absentmindedly. “Some type of entity. I feel it burning, like using the power actually makes it stronger. It’s like it’s alive and really wants me to let it out.
“And I just realized tonight that my first memory of that entity was not after I left the school, but my last night here. I never realized I had powers as a child. I mean, I did things accidentally, like send things flying across the room, but I tried not to let the Order see that. I didn’t know what it was and I really didn’t want them to know about it.”
“Can’t say I blame ya,” Emily replied, shifting her legs to a more comfortable position out of range of the splashing fountain.
“That first time, the entity didn’t take over my body. But I could still feel the burning inside me, like I had awakened something. I still had control but I was doing things I didn’t even know I could do. Like create fire. Still, I had no conscience over what I was doing. All the anger and neglect I had felt for so long just made me snap.” She hesitated, but looked Emily straight in the eye. “I killed five members of the Order that night.”
Emily felt her eyes stretch to the maximum. She knew Abby had killed before, but not this. Shouldn’t her heart be racing? Shouldn’t she feel uncomfortable sitting next to her, knowing she could blow again at any time? Just like Noel had warned – if she snaps, be somewhere else.
“No wonder they’re freaking out about you being here.”
“You think? They know all too well what I’m capable of.” Abby leaned over the fountain pool and gazed into it. “I’ve realized that the more I use the darker power, the stronger the burn becomes. If I use it enough in a close period of time or if I use it for really nasty purposes, I lose control of myself. It literally stuffs me into the back of my body.”
Her eyes seemed locked with the eyes in her reflection. Was she looking for that inner demon? Could she see a hint of it in her eyes?
“Well, you’re here now. How do you win?”
She poked at her reflection, sending ripples through the pool. “I honestly have no idea. Luckily there’s only been one instance where it got to stay and play for awhile. And I didn’t get rid of it. Noel did.”
Movement within the foliage interrupted Emily’s next question. She looked to Abby, who was calm as could be.
“It’s just Noel.”
He came into sight a few seconds later with two books within his grasp.
“What did you find?” asked Abby.
“Chancellor’s own personal collection on Morphus,” he said, passing one each to Abby and Emily. “Problem is, one of them has yet to be translated from a really old dead language,” he added, pointing to the book in Abby’s hands.
“How old?” asked Emily.
"Hieroglyphics old. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Abby looked to him warily. “Nothing you say could possibly be defined as good news.”
“Touché. Since you’re the ordained huntress, you won’t have to seek Morphus out. You’ll both be magically transported to another dimension for the fight. Only the winner gets to come back out.”
Confused, Emily asked, “Was that the good or the bad news?”
“Both, actually.”
“Is it still the first day of spring?” Abby inquired.
“Yes, however there is a clause. Should one of you find the other and try to engage in a fight you’ll immediately be transferred to the other dimension.”
“What’s the point of that?” asked Emily.
“So no one can interfere. The outcome of this battle is legitimate. For keeps.”
“So much for the Chancellor’s plan of having an all-out hunter battle.” Emily laughed to herself. She always knew Abby would get her way in terms of the battle. More than ever, her way was being solidified.
“It says here I’ll be transported to a chamber outside his lair.” Abby read through the pictures, tracing them in a snake-like pattern with her finger.
Surprised, Noel asked, “You can read that?”
“Crystal clear to me. But it isn’t written left to right or up to down. It seems to travel randomly across the page.”
“Weird,” commented Emily, “But, if it’s Abby’s destiny, maybe it’s meant for her eyes only.”
From the way his eyebrows tightened, Emily had the slightest inclination her statement did not bode well with him.
Chapter Nineteen
The only hunter to have an actual suite to herself, Valerie’s room was warm and cozy, filled to capacity with jewel-toned linens and accessories. Although her room was updated with electricity, she preferred the room lit by candlelight. Numerous candles bathed the room with a soft golden glow. A smooth and calming song reverberated through her speakers.
The Order learned of her clairvoyancy when she was seven years old. Never again was she allowed to participate in training activities with the other hunters. Although grateful to end the long, enduring workouts, her absence led to solitude. She was no longer on friendly terms with her fellow hunters. They exchanged nothing but pleasantries, if even that. And now that the hunters she grew up with had moved beyond the school’s borders, she was particularly quiet to those left within the manor.
From the day every hunter was brought to the school, they began accruing a monetary amount. Normally, the hunter would not be given access to this money until they were cast out into the world. Sensing her depression, and fearful she would commit suicide and deny them visions of the future, the Order allowed her access to her bank account at the age of eighteen. They also granted her permission to visit the town of Wellas at the edge of the mountain one weekend a month.
Her first purchase was a supply of sugary sweets from the local candy shop. Several years later, when internet access cards became available for her area, she got herself a laptop computer. Even if she was confined to the manor and the local town, she would not be denied her chance to see the world - at least from a World Wide Web point of view.
Valerie was lounging on her bed, playing on her computer. She had become a fan of chatting and online games which allowed her to interact with others.
Her eye was now a dark shade of black and it really ached. So much that it limited the time she could spend in front of the bright glare of the screen.
She was annoyed to hear a knock at her door, but she reluctantly opened it anyway.
“I know,” she said to Abby. “You’ve come bearing cookies and apologies. But to be honest, I’m only interested in the cookies.” Valerie snatched the chocolate mint cookies from Abby’s hand and returned to bed. She had been craving them since she saw them in her vision.
“Short and to the point. I like that,” replied Abby. “But I’m gonna need a moment anyway.”
“Whatever,” said Valerie, breaking into the bag of cookies.
Abby entered, closed the door behind her and took in the atmosphere.
“Nice. You have a lot more luxuries
than I ever had. I was allowed one color. Dingy white.”
“God bless the internet. I’d have no worldly interactions without it.”
“How do you pay for it all?” asked Abby. “Emily was practically living in hostiles to make ends meet.”
“Online gambling. I’m really good at blackjack.” Valerie raised her eyebrows suspiciously at Abby. “How do you afford your lavish lifestyle?”
Abby didn’t immediately answer. Instead, she studied Valerie. “Why do I think you already know the answer to that question?”
“Just curious to see if you would confirm it, is all.”
Valerie hadn’t expected her to. Her visions had always pertained to the current active hunters. It was only recently that she began to see images of another, unknown female. She didn’t know who this person was until the night she saw Abby standing in the hallway reviewing the pictures upstairs. One of her many visions of Abby involved her using magic to produce a large sum of money.
“You heal really fast,” Valerie observed.
“Tricks of the trade.”
“Wish I knew them,” Valerie said, her eye throbbing. It hurt like hell.
“You’re a human crystal ball. You seriously didn’t see that coming?”
God, she wished she had. “I have no control over my visions. I can’t will them.”
“Please tell me you’re at least mindful of what you say to the Order.”
Valerie had never fully trusted the Order. Though she never had visions of any of them, she simply did not trust their long-term motives. She watched hunter after hunter die against the monstrous Eraticus, told the Order and witnessed them do nothing to protect their hunters. Sadly, the one thing she didn’t recognize in the visions was that they all died on their twenty-fifth birthday. Had she known, she would have warned each and every one of them of what was to come. Perhaps a group of them together could have defeated him. Had she only realized…
“I only tell them enough to keep them off my back. And only what’s happening to their current charges.”