Tonight, he could tell that Grim wasn’t happy about staying behind in London. He had become more of a Lucious’ bodyguard than a hound over the past month. Grim was eager to protect his master, even though Lucious was not the one who had sired him. Based on the records salvaged from the fire at the Council’s Archives, Grim was the third son of a poor family. His parents sold off their children to cover their debts, but they didn’t know that those children were then resold to a rogue vampire lord who resided in Spain. When Eliza and the other members of the Council discovered that lord was turning vampires without permission to start his own militia, she intervened. Instead of killing the vampires, most of them were invited to become hounds. Those who were loyal to that lord were wiped out. As far as Hans recalled, two of Grim’s brothers were presumed to be dead in the massacre.
The others present today were sent by the European delegates who still wished to maintain a relationship with the new Council. But, as Lucious and Hans had noticed, many were discontent with Eliza’s final decisions. There were two challenges issued to which Lucious responded to defend his seat. If they continued coming, the rest of the Council’s reach would fade, and they would be left with nothing more than titles and a fancy building to maintain. Or, if worse came to worst, they would die during one of the duels.
The possibility of a challenge being directed at him worried Hans the most. Unlike Lucious, he didn’t possess any abilities. He had to rely on normal weapons and his skills as a warrior. A careless mistake or miscalculation would cost him his life, leaving Perri to fend for herself. In such an event, he asked Lotte and Helena to protect her. Both women promised to keep his woman safe, but his fear had not faded.
Hans checked the time on his watch. “We are heading to the site near which the latest spree of killings had taken place. The possessed are reaching the outskirts of London faster than we can keep up, so I would like to continue these hunts daily until we contain the situation. Our contacts in the police are beginning to struggle to cover these attacks up.”
The hounds nodded in unison, and Andrea raised her hand. “I have contacted our weapons dealer, Master Hans. We will be able to receive a shipment next week. In the meantime, he has provided us with semiautomatics.”
Hans shook his head. “The noise from the weapons will draw too much attention. We cannot allow humans to find out about our existence. Like before, use swords and close-range weapons.”
“But the previous party was badly wounded by the possessed!” Andrea protested. “They are getting harder to kill the longer they stay in this realm.”
Hans recalled that her lover was part of the previous hunt. He met her eyes with a stern expression. “Our wounds will heal in time and my order stands. Is that understood?”
She pursed her lips and lowered her head. “Yes, Master Hans.”
“Very good. Prepare to leave. Based on Lotte’s scouting report, there are four possessed nesting together this time. Be careful and watch each other’s backs.”
“Yes, Master Hans,” they responded at once.
Hans made his way to one of the SUVs the hounds had prepared. He climbed into the back seat.
Grim and Andrea occupied the front. Christos and Daniel got into the second car and followed close behind them on the road.
In the back, Hans checked his phone for messages and emails. It appeared that Lucious and Helena had arrived safely and were going to begin their investigation in the morning. Hans reclined in his seat, his tense shoulders relaxing. In the beginning, he found it odd that the two delegates from Italy asked Lucious to personally look into the odd deaths of vampires in that region. After all, an investigation through the hounds would usually suffice. Yet, Lucious was convinced by the delegate that it was in the Council’s best interests to see this situation through.
“Master Hans,” Grim called from the driver’s seat, gaining Hans’ attention. “It may not be my place to say this, but what do you intend to do with that human you are keeping by your side? There is some concern among the hounds that she should not be involved in the important matters involving our race.”
Hans glared at the rear-view mirror that reflected Grim’s dull eyes. “Perri is not involved in our politics in any way. Those ‘hounds’ have nothing to worry about.”
“But she is your concubine, is she not?” Andrea inquired.
“Would you dare to ask Mistress Eliza or Master Vincent such a question?” Hans countered.
The two hounds went quiet, and Hans massaged his tired eyes with his thumb and index finger. “I am grateful you two act as intermediaries between the hounds and the Council but certain subjects should not be touched. Perri is someone important to me. Any harm to her is harm to me. Do I make myself clear?”
“We will try to silence the baseless fears of our friends,” Grim said.
Andrea turned her head and raised a brow. “Why choose a human without any connections or powers? She will become a hindrance to you the longer you keep her by your side.”
“She is a good person,” Hans retorted.
“She may be the nicest person in the world, Master Hans, but she is a weak mortal. You could turn her into one of us, although doing that would make her a nuisance to deal with for the first year or two.”
Hans dismissed her words by returning to his work on his phone. He knew that Perri would be in danger if she stayed close to him. Sending her back to Scotland had crossed his mind many a time. The reason he hadn’t done that until now was because she would hate him for it. She wished to be by his side. It warmed his heart that she wanted to be with him. Fear for her safety plagued his every other thought regardless.
Andrea turned back in her seat and kept staring out the window as they drove on in silence. Tonight’s hunt would be full of tension, Hans had already accepted that.
The car stopped outside of a closed train station. The street lights blinked on and off, giving the area an eerie atmosphere. Hans climbed out of the car, followed by the other hounds. They all took out silver swords and daggers out of the boot of the car and marched to the station’s stairs.
He motioned for Christos and Daniel to take the left, Andrea and Grim to split off to the right while he took the stairs to the platforms below. Slowly, he made his way down. Each step he made sounded heavy. He had to act as the main target to draw the possessed out. They often went after the weakest prey or those who were isolated for better chances of success. In this mission, he wanted to avoid endangering any of his hounds as they were running low on manpower with so many of them getting injured during these hunts. It was his duty to try and limit the casualties the best he could, even if that meant he had to be the one who acted as bait.
At the same time, he couldn’t allow the hounds to see him as someone weak. They only served the Council out of respect for its strength. Without powerful leaders, nothing could be done and chaos would soon consume the continent, or another Council would intervene and try to claim new territory.
Dark shadows swallowed the platform he arrived on. The train tracks were empty of carriages. No humans were heard anywhere in the vicinity of the possessed vampires’ nest. At the back of his mind, Hans wondered if he would come across someone he once considered to be a friend. He knew that Lucious had killed Phil almost two months ago. That informant had been consumed by a demon without any chance of return to his former self. It worried Hans how easily Lucious had disposed of him. It was as if Phil meant little to Lucious after decades of being friends.
Would I, too, one day be unimportant to such a Councilman?
It was a peculiar thought. Lucious became a different man around Helena. She buried that man’s darkness and forced him to become someone with a softer expression on his typically emotionless face.
To his right, a twig snapped, and Hans’ head turned in that direction. He bent his knees a little and spread his legs out, waiting for an impending attack from the shadows. Nothing happened. He concentrated on the shifting darkness. His enhanced vision didn
’t show him anything other than the empty rusting train tracks.
Hans gripped the sword tighter in his hand and advanced to the location he heard the sound coming from. He stopped at the edge of the platform and looked down. As he did so, a possessed vampire leapt upwards and grabbed him by the legs. Its fingers dug into the back of Hans’ knees, which forced them to give way, and he fell forwards.
The sword in his hand clattered against the wooden beams. He reached out towards it.
The possessed vampire hopped onto his back and sank its sharp teeth into his shoulder like a savage beast.
Hans groaned when he smelled his blood perfuming the air. Using his strength, he pushed away from the ground and attempted to turn around.
The possessed clawed at his shoulders and back, pushing him further down. It bit into his neck next, ripping and tearing at his flesh.
Once Hans reached the sword’s handle, he flipped it in his hand and stabbed the possessed vampire in the side. He quickly separated from the beast. It whined and hissed at him, so he swung his sword again and cut its head clean off.
Its red eyes were the only thing that glowed in the dark. That light faded as the head rolled along the wooden ties. The body collapsed and soon started to cave in on itself until it turned to dust at Hans’ feet.
This vampire was an old one.
Hans had attempted to gather the names of the vampires who were considered missing during the time when Eliza had opened the Demon Gate. The list spanned seventy names. So far, they had eliminated over thirty-three possessed. Some were killed in action during the initial fight. Many were also slaughtered by the hunters in the main Council building, but their remains were not enough to give them clues as to who they were. The brief glimpse at this man’s face told Hans that he was one of the merchants Eliza contacted for particular wares that could not be obtained through the usual channels. It was a pity to lose someone so skilled and valuable to a lesser demon spawn.
The pain in his neck spread to his shoulder. Hans covered the wound with his hand. Bites from these monsters healed slower than normal wounds. They were almost as slow as those created by silver weapons. The hounds were unable to figure out why their bite was so different to that of a normal vampire. It was as if the possession of the spirit was not the only thing that had occurred. The being the demon possessed also underwent physiological changes. Had he been attacked by more than one, he would be unable to hold his ground.
Grim fleeted to Hans’ side with a worried look on his face. Andrea was not far behind.
“You’re wounded, Master Hans,” Grim whispered the obvious.
Hans wiped his bloody hand on his trousers and ignored the pain. “It will heal. Do not worry about me and focus on finding and killing the rest of the possessed here.”
Andrea took a step closer to him and assessed his wounded shoulder. “Grim, I will stay and protect Master Hans. You go on and join the others in the search.”
“Good idea,” Grim replied.
Hans stepped aside, brushing Andrea’s reaching hand away. “There is no need for concern or to protect me. I am not weak enough to be unable to withstand being on my own.” His green eyes flared, and he released his contained energy from within his mental shields. He knew that displaying power here was somewhat childish of him, but he had to get them to respect him and stop fussing as if he were a newborn vampire. “Stick to the plan and return to your side of the station.”
“But, sir—” Andrea began.
Hans glared at her. “Are you openly defying an order of a Councilman?”
She cast her gaze downward and shook her head.
“Good. Do as you are bid and go back.” Hans dismissed them and climbed back onto the platform. He heard the hounds fleeting away a second later. If they believed him to be so weak, what stopped the delegates from issuing a challenge his way? Perhaps the time was nearing where he had to consider suggesting someone more suitable and more powerful for his seat on the Council. That was the only way he could avoid a fight to the death with the future challengers. Doing so would also allow him to be with Perri and not worry about her day and night.
He sighed and resumed his search down the platform towards the office and waiting area. He had not picked up on any noise, much like before with the first possessed. They were getting better at sneaking around and attacking when he least expected; like they were fighting against their primitive nature and gaining an understanding of their environment. Not only that, they used to be separated. Never once had he seen the possessed nesting together until two weeks ago. Their strength was most definitely in numbers, although the one he just killed had made the mistake of attacking alone. They hadn’t perfected team work, which was good news for Hans and the hounds.
At the end of the platform, he heard fighting. He picked up the pace and saw Christos and Daniel swinging their swords at the two possessed vampires—a young man and a dark-haired woman. He recognised them. They used to work in the blood banks and supply fresh blood to the Council when things needed to be kept on the down low. Master Vincent preferred to drink blood from a bag rather than sinking his fangs into a human. He had grown fond of mortals to subject them to such suffering. Hans, too, followed in his sire’s footsteps by trying to avoid drinking from the source.
He arrived by Daniel’s side with his sword drawn. The young possessed vampire the hound was fighting had managed to scratch Daniel’s arm that was bleeding through his grey blazer.
“Let’s surround it and attack from both sides,” Hans ordered.
Daniel circled the panting vampire. It was hunched over, with its arms hanging in front of it like useless limbs.
Hans readied himself by taking his stance when he heard a growl coming from behind him. Another possessed was ready to pounce on him. He ducked to one side and rolled on the gravel.
Getting back on his feet, Hans saw Andrea driving her sword through the possessed vampire’s chest, and Grim slicing its head off.
Daniel took on a defensive stance to fend off an attack coming from the vampire he was planning to strike with Hans.
About twenty metres down from them, Christos was holding two short swords and raining blade attacks on the possessed woman he was fighting. That man had great focus and seemed unharmed.
“Grim, help Christos. Andrea, Daniel, and I will take down this one,” Hans instructed.
Once Grim rushed off to help the other hound, Hans and his team surrounded the possessed and quickly finished it off. It released an agonised scream that sounded almost human, making Hans wonder if some part of this vampire was conscious when he died. He hoped that what they were doing was the correct course of action. Lucious had assured him that the possessed no longer had the soul of the original person. Only a demon lurked inside their empty vessel. Thinking that Lucious could be wrong made doubts gnaw at the back of his psyche. He sat on the platform’s edge and watched the hounds cleaning up the remains of the vampire that didn’t turn to dust.
Could we be wrong and there is a way to bring them back to normal?
He covered his face with his free hand. No. He could not think like that. He had to trust Lucious and Helena to rebuild the Council. His task was simple: help with the local issues while they dealt with the problems outside of the United Kingdom.
Am I placing too much trust in them and their capabilities?
“Master Hans, we should take a look at your wound,” Andrea’s voice came from his side.
Hans lowered his hand and studied her. Then, he glanced at the other hounds. Besides Daniel and him, the rest seemed unharmed. “We can take care of this when we return to the Council.”
She sheathed her sword and folded her arms across her chest. “Sir, I understand you need to seem strong, but you are not like Eliza or Vincent. You are like us—a normal vampire who is just trying to get by. If we don’t treat you with care, Master Lucious will be the only one left to lead the Council. Please reconsider burdening him further and take care of yourself.”
<
br /> Letting out a soft laugh, Hans said, “You are right, Andrea. I have not thought of my situation in that light.” He smiled. “I will heed your words, and we can take care of these bites in the car.”
She grinned back. “Yes, sir.”
3
HIDING HIS WEAKNESS
PERRI
Sleep didn’t come to her that night. Perri sat up on the bed, yawning. She had tried counting the sheep, the farmers, and their cottage pies. Nothing drew her into the land of relaxation and peace. Instead, she was unable to stop worrying about Hans for some reason. She knew that he went on a hunt with the hounds and would be fine. So far, he hadn’t been hurt once.
“I’m being silly…”
Down the hall, she heard Hans’ door closing. She shot out of bed and padded barefoot along the parquet to her door. Pressing her ear to the wood, she listened for anyone who could be on the other side. When she was satisfied that no one was around, she opened her door a crack and peeked out through the gap. It was dead quiet. Her breathing and heart rate were probably the loudest things in the entire building.
I’m just going to check on him.
She snuck down the hall to his room and licked her lips. He had to be tired after the hunt. If she kept disturbing him all the time with her baseless worries, he may grow tired of her. The unsettled feeling in her gut didn’t go away. She couldn’t take it anymore and knocked.
He didn’t answer her immediately, and she wondered if he had gone to sleep. It was getting close to 4 a.m. the last time she checked her phone.
The door opened enough for her to see his face. His smile was gentle and his green eyes reflected his exhaustion.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Perri furrowed her brows. See? He’s fine. You worried for nothing and caused trouble again. “I couldn’t sleep. Are you—are you okay?”
Cherished: A Perri & Hans Spin-off Novella (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4.5) Page 2