A Hunter's Challenge [The Hunters 3] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Suzy Shearer

  “Anyway, most of your thoughts I hear.” He laughed. “So does Anthan.”

  “What?” She blushed.

  “It’s okay. Just you think loudly and we can both hear unless you’re doing that Fibonacci thing. I know how well you block, most people don’t, especially when they meet their One. Until they become a Hunter, any immortal nearby can hear everything they think.”

  Amy said she was mortified recalling some of the things she had thought about.

  “Nîcimos, don’t worry. It’s natural. At least you’re better at blocking than most. You should have heard my friend Tomas’s mate when he met her. Her thoughts were always X-rated.”

  “Does that mean you can hear Erica’s, too, now she is with Anthan?”

  “Funny no.” He looked thoughtful as he continued. “We couldn’t before and I still can’t. She must be a strong psychic. I’ve never picked up anything except that one time when she had thought about you when we rescued her. And now I hear that she can speak to other Hunters. It’s unheard of.”

  “She is very strong, she’s amazing. We can feel each other’s emotions. I can feel hers, but only a little and not all the time. But she always knows mine and sometimes I can’t ‘hear’ her unless she really concentrates to me even when I’m there alongside her. She taught me that math thing to block. She doesn’t need to do anything, she is so good.”

  “Wow! That’s really strong, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of it before. She will make a formidable immortal with that kind of strength. Maybe that’s the reason the gods chose her. I imagine that’s why she’s mated to Anthan, he is our strongest and most experienced Hunter. It makes sense that he would be mated to a strong psychic. Still it’s just amazing that she can speak with us already.”

  He thought about Anthan, how many people depended on him and his strength. Every Hunter respected and loved him.

  “You love him don’t you.”

  “Yes and he is actually revered by everyone.”

  “Oh. You make him sound like royalty.”

  “I guess he is in a way, he is like our king. Before he was transformed, he headed all the hunters. He’s fought against the strigoi since he was eleven. He was ten when he father was killed. There isn’t a Hunter alive that knows more than he does. He writes books for us on hunting strigoi and he has researched so much about them.

  “Which is all the more reason why everyone is so happy that at last he had found his mate. Especially now, when he was so close to walking into the sun.”

  “Are all of the first Hunters mated now?”

  “Those that are still alive, yes. Anthan was the last.”

  “Did any of them go a long time like him?”

  “I guess it’s all relative. I know one before him went almost 3000 years. The others were luckier.”

  “I still have trouble accepting all those years. I...it’s hard to imagine how anyone could be alive that long alone and stay sane.”

  “I know.”

  He was thoughtful for a while until Amy kissed him gently. He kissed her back. She snuggled into his arms, smothering a yawn.

  “Come my love, you must sleep.”

  “I know. I’m really tired but I want to make love to you.”

  “I know, as do I but I doubt either of us could.” He gave a laugh. “Let me hold you instead.”

  “I know you’re right, I feel so tired.”

  “Tonight when I rise, Anthan and I will hunt. We’ve a couple of lairs to check. Hopefully we can find the strigoi tonight and destroy it.”

  She gave a shiver.

  “Sleep now, nîcimos, and I’ll watch over you.”

  He kissed her and she settled in the crook of his arm to sleep.

  * * * *

  By the time Amy woke, Martin had fallen into the sleep of all Hunters. She was glad Anthan had explained the other day about the decreased heartbeat and breathing, she would have thought him dead if he hadn’t. She watched him for a while, marvelling at him. With every passing day, she was falling deeper and deeper in love with this man.

  She thought about Erica and Anthan, in awe of the bond between them. She was surprised at how readily Erica had made a blood exchange. It made perfect sense now she was so deeply in love with Martin. The next time they made love she intended to tell him she wanted to make their first exchange.

  Amy decided to talk to Erica. She needed to see if her sister was considering all five exchanges. There was no way she would be able to live forever without Erica in her life. She had always been Amy’s protector. Even now, now she had Martin, she knew Erica would always watch out for her.

  Going into the kitchen, Amy went to make herself some breakfast but discovered the milk had soured. She realised she had been living at Erica’s for almost two weeks. She cleaned out the fridge of dried-out vegetables and the milk. She’d drive to the local supermarket and stock up. She would need to cook for Martin as well now.

  Going through the aisle at the supermarket, she wondered what sort of things she could cook that contained no meat. She bought tofu and lots of vegetables. She found some pastas and added more couscous, rice and pulses. Wandering through she almost forgot the milk, added that and some cheeses.

  Recalling that Martin had a sweet tooth, Amy threw a few packets of biscuits in her trolley as well as some cake and slice mixes. That reminded her she would need eggs. She threw in some fruit juices as well, remembering that Erica had found a few containers in Anthan’s fridge.

  Her shopping completed, she drove home and unloaded. Once everything was packed away, Amy prepared a vegetarian quiche for tonight’s meal, as well as one of the cake mixes.

  The remainder of the day, she cleaned up the house and did some washing.

  Martin wandered out to find Amy relaxing with a book on a couch around 4:40. He sat alongside her and kissed her.

  “Hi, nîcimos.”

  “Martin! Hi. I’ve made something for us to eat later.”

  “Great! I’m hungry.” His voice turned husky. “Hungry for you.”

  Amy caught her breath. She leaned into him. She was about to tell him she had decided to make and exchange when he groaned.

  “Ready to go?”

  “No.”

  “Too bad. It’s close to five. I want to get to those lairs. We may be able to get there before the sun sets.”

  “Damn, okay.”

  He felt Anthan laugh.

  “We’ll just check them, then come back to eat. While the girls sleep we can continue our searches.”

  “Alright. Which one do we head for?”

  “The one furthest way.”

  “Right. I’ll meet you in that large crevasse above it.”

  “Anthan?”

  “Yeah. We have to check on two lairs. If we leave now, there’s a slight chance we can get there before sunset and catch the beast. Anyway, we’ll check then come back and eat. While you’re asleep, we’ll continue our searches.”

  “Oh.” Amy knew she sounded disappointed but understood the men must find the vampire and destroy it. “I understand.”

  Martin stood and pulled Amy up. He wrapped his arms around her.

  “Have I told you I love you, nîcimos.”

  “You do? Wow, I’m surprised.”

  He laughed at her and kissed her. They walked outside and Martin gave her one more kiss before transforming and taking to the air.

  * * * *

  “Martin is meeting me at one of the lairs. I’ll let you know if we have any luck.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I will, dragostea mea. It will take us about an hour and half to get there. The guy downstairs is okay. I’m letting him sleep longer. The facial bones are nearly all healed. Some of those wounds needed extra attention, and so did his liver. He seems to be breathing a lot easier. I’ll check him again in the morning and decide whether to wake him or not.”

  “Okay. There must be people missing him surely,” Erica wondered.

  “I imagine so. Anyway,
once we check the lairs, I’ll be back to eat then continue searching later tonight.”

  Erica kissed him and watched as he transformed and spread his wings, launching himself off the deck.

  He flew toward to furthest lair, keeping one eye on the sun. Unfortunately, there was no chance of them making it before it set. Both he and Martin had slept longer than they intended. Still they obviously needed the rest after expending so much energy on healing their mystery guest.

  He met up with Martin and they continued on to the first lair. It was obvious when they arrived that the strigoi had not been back to it. It still had the same musty unused smell. Anthan was disappointed. He had hoped they would have found it active and then would be able to destroy the monster when it returned to sleep.

  “Okay, let’s head off to the other lair.

  * * * *

  “Anthan! Help! It’s Amy, something’s happen.”

  “Hush calm down. Tell me.”

  “I was talking to her on the phone and she heard a bang outside. She said it sounded like someone was at her car. She put the phone down. Anthan, I heard her! She was screaming! Something’s happened.”

  “We’re on our way to her house.”

  “Hurry! Please, Anthan, hurry!”

  “Damn! Why the hell hasn’t Martin done an exchange?”

  “Amy was frightened.”

  “It’s okay, Iubită, we’ll be there and help her.”

  Erica stopped pacing and sat down. She felt so helpless. As soon as she’d heard Amy screaming, she had panicked. Thank goodness she could reach Anthan and Martin.

  Where was Amy?

  What had happened?

  Should she drive over to the house?

  “Where are you?”

  “We were on our way to the other lair but now we’ll fly to Amy’s. It will take us about an hour to get back.”

  “Okay. Anthan, I’m scared, should I drive there and make sure she isn’t lying hurt? Will I ring the police?”

  “I know you’re scared, my love, but don’t leave the house. We should be at Amy’s soon so hang off calling the police until we know what happened. I’ll be with you soon.”

  Suddenly she realised in her fear she was forgetting her link to Amy. She dropped onto the floor and sat cross-legged. Concentrating on her sister, she closed her eyes.

  At first she was too tense, too frightened, but she shook herself and started again. She caught a hint of absolute terror. It unsettled her and she had to centre herself again. She hoped it was just a car thief that Amy was tackling.

  Once again, she thought of Amy, thought of her mind. Thought of how when they were kids they would practice touching each other’s minds. This time she was prepared for the terror. She tried to ignore it, move past it. Tried to get an idea of what was frightening her sister.

  She screamed.

  “Anthan! Martin! It’s a vampire! It’s got her! Anthan!”

  “Slow. Tell me.”

  “I touched Amy. It’s a vampire. It’s got her. They were in the air. Help her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, yes I’m sure.”

  “Right. We’ll go to that other lair instead of going to her house. If it has her, the lair has to be within range and that one is closest to her house. We are about half an hour away from it.”

  “I’ll keep in contact with her, please hurry.”

  Anthan sent her a phantom kiss and hugged her.

  * * * *

  Martin was beside himself. It was only Anthan’s voice in his head that was keeping him under control.

  “Listen, we go to the other abandoned lair. If she isn’t there then we go to her house to try and find traces.”

  “Hurry!”

  They changed direction. Ever since Martin had heard Erica’s scared message he’d had been flying on automatic. He couldn’t think straight.

  What if they couldn’t find her?

  What if she died?

  His thoughts were grim. Anthan spoke to him again. “Erica still has contact. She said Amy is now in a cave. Can you hear Erica?”

  “Yes, I can hear her, too.”

  Martin was angry. It should have been him. It should’ve been him in contact with Amy. At least they would know exactly where she was, not like this. Although there was a chance Erica could direct them, if this lair wasn’t the cave Amy was held in.

  It felt like the longest half hour Martin had ever known. When they were close, Anthan spoke again.

  “We’re about a kilometre away. Keep your thoughts on the task, Martin. Don’t give away our arrival.”

  “I won’t. Just fly.”

  “Listen. Listen to me.”

  “Okay.”

  “We do the same as last time if it’s there. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, let’s fly, carefully now. We need to find out if it’s there first.”

  “I do the surprise rush again if it’s there.”

  “Good. Can you reach out and feel her when we get closer without letting her know we are here? I don’t want the strigoi to know.”

  “Another twenty metres and I’ll know.”

  They flew silently toward to old lair.

  “Fuck! She’s there!”

  “Relax. Good. We can save her easily. Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  They landed quietly outside the lair, just behind the closest trees. Anthan would dematerialise then reappear in the lair at the same time as Martin rushed in. They counted down.

  “Go!”

  Martin raced in screaming the loudest war cry he could. The strigoi had Amy by the throat and turned to face him without letting her go. Her eyes were pleading with Martin but he steeled himself to face the beast.

  As the strigoi turned, it took a step toward Martin, dragging Amy in the dirt, still with its hand around her neck.

  At the same instance, Anthan materialised behind it and swiftly stabbed upward between the ribs. The beast screamed its rage and dropped Amy. She crawled away as Martin stepped forward to thrust his blade into its chest. The creature fought hard but with two seasoned Hunters, it had no chance.

  Martin slashed across its neck while Anthan used two knives. With one he stabbed the back again while the other his slashed behind both knees. The strigoi went down.

  “Get Amy! I’ll finish it.”

  Martin needed no second invitation. He ran quickly to where she was huddled crying in terror against the back wall and, pulling her into his arms, they raced outside. A moment later Anthan dragged the screaming raging monster out into the open. He called down the lightning and before the strigoi had a chance to crawl away, it was pulverised into dust.

  By now Amy was crying hysterically as Martin held her tight. Anthan went back into the cave, pouring out the holy water as he went. He came back out and went to the pair.

  “Take her home. I’ll take these bodies back now we’ve destroyed it. Then I’ll do the same at the other lair and cleanse it.” Anthan touched Amy on the shoulder then turned back inside.

  “It’s over, nîcimos, it’s gone. Come let me take you home.”

  Amy was crying too much to make any sense of his words.

  He carefully examined her. There was a bruise to her neck and one on her forehead. She had a bite mark on her wrist but fortunately, that was all. He would heal her once they got home and also removed the marker.

  She started screaming louder as her ordeal sank in. He tried to comfort her but he needed to get her home now. He hoped she wouldn’t be frightened when he carried her as a bird but she solved the matter by fainting, so he sent command for her to stay unconscious until he woke her. He quickly transformed into a large eagle, grasped her gently in his talons and flew off.

  “Don’t forget the marker, Martin!”

  “I won’t.”

  The journey home seemed to take forever but finally he landed in Amy’s carport. He let out a groan thinking he would have to break the front door but when he got there, it wa
s open. He remembered that she had gone outside to check her car. That must have been how the strigoi lured her outside.

  Shutting the door behind himself, he carried Amy into her bedroom and then before he woke her, quickly removed the marker, the toxins from the bite, and dealt with her bruises and the puncture wound. He then sent her a command to wake.

  Holding her carefully, he watched as she drew a deep breath and opened her eyes.

  “You’re safe now, nîcimos, you’re home and safe.”

  “Martin? Martin!” she screamed and clung to him. “I thought I was going to die, I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “Hush, my love, it’s all over.”

  She started crying. “I should’ve let you take my blood. I should’ve.” She was wailing and Martin tried to reassure her.

  “It’s okay, nîcimos. Erica was able to keep a contact with you so we could find you.”

  “She knew where I was?”

  “No not exactly, but she could tell us you were with a strigoi then when you were flying. Then she could feel you in a cave. At least we had that tenuous link to find you.”

  Amy burrowed deeper into his arms, sobbing as he tried to comfort her. Her mind was in turmoil, she was scared and frightened by what had happened. She was angry with herself for not listening and doing at least one exchange. She was terrified that another strigoi would come. Martin groaned, trying to think of how to calm her and reassure her.

  “My dearest, you’re safe. I’m with you, now and always. Look at me.”

  She lifted her head from under the safety of his arm.

  “Everything is okay. You’re safe.”

  She nodded her head. Bravely she looked up him.

  “I was a fool.”

  “No never that.”

  “I thought you were just trying to get me to submit to you. Even though I knew it wasn’t true. I...I was scared. Then tonight I’d decided to accept an exchange but you had to leave early.”

  “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you’re safe.”

  She looked down at her wrist then lifted it up to his mouth.

  “Do it. Do it now, bite me.”

  He laughed and hugged her tight.

  “Not like this, my dearest. Not like this. Now you have given me permission we will, but we will do in the way all mates do. When I next make love to you.”