Finally, we arrived in a small town situated in the middle of nowhere. The skies had opened and rain crashed down on us, pouring with a vengeance. Marshall parked his Honda outside of a small cottage. To me, it didn’t look as though anyone was home. Every window was pitch black. Marshall turned off the engine anyway and climbed out.
“You haven’t told me who lives here,” I said, closing the car door behind me. “Or anything about him.”
“All you need to know is that he can be trusted, and he’ll help us if he knows how. We’re here to find out if he knows why you have a bounty on that pretty head of yours.”
I shrugged out of my blazer and held it above my head, protecting the rest of me from getting wet.
The closer we got to the cottage, the more I convinced myself that Marshall had somehow gotten the address wrong. No one lived here. The grass had overgrown and neared my waist. Newspapers and trash lined the front step of the house, and none of it looked disturbed.
“Marshall,” I started. “Are you sure?”
He held a finger up to silence me. Then he reached forward and tapped on the door in some kind of rhythm. Kind of like tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, tap. Weird. Yet, no more than a couple minutes later, the door swung open revealing an extremely old man.
“Marshall,” he greeted warmly.
Marshall stepped over the litter and hugged the man tightly. “Albert. It’s been a while.”
“Come in, come in!” Albert stepped back, allowing us the room to walk past him. It was only once we were standing inside that I realized why all the windows were pitch black. Thick black curtains covered each window, which were pulled tightly closed.
Muttering something about tea, Albert led us into a small kitchen where a roaring fire gave off a lovely heat. I dumped my blazer on the chair in front of it, hoping the fire would help it dry.
“Tea? Coffee?” Albert offered. He turned from the stove where he’d just set a kettle and stared at me. One of his eyes was brown, but the other was a brilliant blue. He was bald in the middle of his head but still had tufts of white hair just above his ears.
“Albert, this is Amerie.” Marshall stepped towards me. “The Hunter I was telling you about.”
Albert nodded. “I know who she is.” He smiled at me. “You’re very pretty. Tell me, sweetheart, what is your advantage?”
“My advantage?” I repeated.
“Strength,” Marshall answered. “Her skill needs working on, but she’s got a lot of power behind her hits.”
Albert grinned a toothless grin. “Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.” He turned back to the kettle, which was now whistling. “Sorry, did you want tea or coffee?”
“Tea,” I said. “Milk, two sugars.”
“Just the way I like mine,” Albert said with a chuckle. He grabbed a tea towel and lifted the kettle off the stove. Then he set about making our drinks.
“You okay?” Marshall asked, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Fine,” I lied. Really, this old man intimidated me, and I didn’t know why. How did he know about Hunters? And, what was he so paranoid about that he made it look as though no one lived in his house? I watched him warily, my whole body tense.
“Here you go,” Albert said, turning around and handing me a small, china mug. “Sit down, please. And let me know if you need anything else.”
I took the tea, and sat down on the chair on which my blazer hung. The heat on my back was incredible, easing the tension in my muscles almost instantly.
“Albert,” Marshall said, taking his tea and sitting next to me, “you know why we’re here. You got anything you want to tell us?”
The old man sat opposite us, gently setting his tea down on the wooden table. His eyes flashed towards me, and he grinned again.
“You have quite the bounty on your head. Even if I didn’t owe Marshall a favor, I’d still be inclined to find out why. It’s not often the Damned go out of their way like this for just one, new Hunter.”
I gulped, the mug trembling in my hands.
“I was able to find out, from a very reliable source I might add, why there is a bounty.” He slowly picked up his mug and took a long sip. “This tea is marvelous, if I do say so myself.”
“Albert,” Marshall warned.
“Oh, sorry. Sometimes I drift off topic – don’t I, Marshall?” When Marshall didn’t say anything, Albert continued. “I take it that you’ve heard of Seal?”
I nodded. “Yes. The Damned that keep coming after me always mention that name. Seal is the one who offered the bounty, right?”
“Correct. And Marshall has also told me that you know Seal was the one who killed your mother.”
I tried not to wince at how casually he spoke of my mother’s death. Afraid my voice would crack if I spoke, I nodded again.
“Your mother’s death was no ordinary attack,” Albert said. “Do you remember what the doctors told you her cause of death was?”
I remembered everything the doctors told us, word for word. “Yes.”
“Blood loss,” Albert said for me. “Extreme blood loss.”
I gaped at him. “How...how did you?”
“Her blood loss wasn’t a result of her injuries, per se. She was actually drained of blood. They needed Hunter blood, and, unfortunately, Seal had a huge vendetta against your mother.”
I stared at the old man for a few moments, trying to get my head around his words. The doctors had told us that they couldn’t save her because the blood loss had been too severe. They never told me that she was drained of blood. Then, I realized what else he’d said. Seal knew my mother – had a vendetta against her. Why?
Like a fish gasping for water, I opened and closed my mouth a few times, words failing me. Marshall’s hand closed around mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Why did they drain her?” he asked.
Albert lifted a finger. “Ah ha! Now that is the question. They needed Hunter blood for a ritual they’re carrying out. But guess what? Your mother was smart, sweetheart. Somehow, she got away before they could get all the blood they needed. She stopped the ritual.”
I sucked in a deep breath. My mum was incredible. Even dying, she put the world first.
“Is the ritual stopped for good?” I asked.
Albert frowned. “I’m afraid not. I guess you can say it’s on pause. They can’t complete it without a full body’s worth of blood, which is why he has put the bounty on your head.”
“I don’t get it...”
“They need more blood. The only way they’ll get more blood to add to what they’ve collected, and, therefore, complete the ritual is by finding a matching donor. And who would match better than her child?”
I gaped at him. “They want to bleed me out?”
“She might not be a match,” Marshall pointed out.
“She will be. Hunters within a bloodline all share the same blood. You should know this, Marshall.”
“What happens if they get my blood?” I asked.
Albert stood up so quickly, I jumped in my chair, knocking over my tea. “Marshall got me something that I could probably find that information out from it. It has been...most helpful.” He stared down at my tea. “Please go into the bathroom and get something to clean this up with, Marshall? And put some arnica on your bruises while you’re in there.”
Marshall hesitated.
“Go on, now,” Albert snapped. “I’m not going to hurt her. I doubt that I could, even if I tried.”
With a heavy sigh, Marshall stood and stalked out of the room, dipping his head slightly to fit through the doorway. I turned to apologize for spilling the tea, and fell back. Albert was standing right next to me, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
“No, no it’s fine. I’m a little jumpy. New information and all that.”
He nodded, resting his hand on the back of my chair. “He’s very protective over you.” Albert gestured in Marshall’s dir
ection. “He either doesn’t want you to be alone with me, or me to be alone with you. I’m not sure which one it is.”
I scoffed. “Well, I hardly know anything about him that would be an interest to you.”
Albert nodded in contemplation. “Marshall is a lovely boy. I only wish my own son was as good to me as Marshall is.” He sighed. “If only he would quit that ridiculous hobby of his. I mean cage fighting? It’s vulgar. But I guess it’s a good way of making money if you can fight.”
“Your son cage fights?”
Albert’s eyebrows narrowed. “My son? No. Marshall, dear.”
“Marshall cage fights? That’s where his injuries come from?”
“Oh.” Albert’s face dropped. “He didn’t tell you. Well, I guess it was me Marshall was wary of.”
“Why does he fight?” I demanded, unable to move past it.
“Money, of course. The root of all evil. By the look on your face, I take it that you’re unhappy with this hobby too?”
I nodded. “Well, yeah! He’s fighting dirty! Of course, he would win. Humans wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Albert turned to grab a packet of cookies from the counter before sitting back in his seat. He offered me one, which I quickly refused.
“He doesn’t fight humans, dear. You misunderstand. It’s an underground fighting ring full of Damned. They all flock there and pay money to watch each other fight. Winner gets the money. Loser doesn’t.”
Though it made the situation only marginally better, I was still angry. That was the kind of hobby you kept a secret because you knew it was wrong. He had a right to feel ashamed.
“There was this cloth in there. Will it do?” Marshall called from the doorway, changing the atmosphere. I stared up at his bruises and cuts, wishing I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about it.
“Thank you,” Albert said, as Marshall handed it to him. “Now sit down so I can tell you both what the ritual is for. You’re going to want to concentrate.”
Marshall sat with a heavy thud next to me, and subtly, I edged away from him.
“A long time ago, I translated a book that spoke of a ceremony that allowed souls from Hell to come up to Earth without having to find a human host. It didn’t say much more than that and I looked into it for a few years, fretting that it was indeed true, and the world would change forever. You both know that not even half the souls that make it up here ever find a permanent host because they can’t find someone genetically suitable. This is why this ritual would mean so much for them.” Albert sucked in a breath, his hands gently cleaning the spill without him really paying attention to it. “But I couldn’t find a single concrete detail, and I gave up looking. I determined it to be a myth and sold the original book. But I was wrong.”
My eyes widened in fear.
“You have every right to look afraid,” Albert confirmed. “Up until recently, I still thought it was a myth, but when Marshall came to me, asking me to look into your bounty, I stumbled across the truth. Seal has uncovered the lost ceremony, and he is set upon bringing Hell on Earth.”
“This is bullshit,” Marshall hissed. “How can that even be possible?”
“The ritual allows the soul to manifest a body upon coming to Earth, and not a human body either, but a Damned form. It’ll look as menacing and evil as the soul actually is. Deformed, awful looking monsters. Nothing that human eyes should ever have to see. Human limitations won't hinder them, either. They’ll be unstoppable. Imagine a scenario where the Damned would surpass all humans and Hunters. It would be the destruction of your Hunter bloodline as we know it.”
“And my blood is the only thing stopping this ritual? They couldn’t just find another Hunter?” I asked.
“They’ve already started it, so they need your blood to finish it, and I don’t know for sure, if your blood is the only thing stopping it. I know it’s a significant factor. I do think they’re missing one other key factor, though. They’re not trying as hard as they could, to drain you, Amerie.”
I tensed. “Well, whatever it is, we have to get it before they do. We can’t just rely on them not getting my blood. I’m too accessible. Too easily killable. But if we get this other thing, then that’s two points for us.”
Marshall nodded in agreement. “What’s the other thing that’s missing, do you think? A talisman? A kind of Blessed weapon? More blood?”
“Unfortunately, that’s as much as I know. I’m still working on finding out the rest. You’ll have to give me another few days at least.”
I let out a breath. “About my mother...” I paused, trying to figure out how to word it. “Why her? Why does Seal have a vendetta against her?”
Albert stared at me with kind eyes. “I couldn’t find that out. All I know is that Seal wanted her dead in a big way, and two birds – one stone.”
Disappointment flooded through me. “Thanks anyway. Out of curiosity, how did you get all this information now, when before you searched for years and found nothing?”
Marshall and Albert exchanged glances that I didn’t like.
“Marshall got me something better than any book,” Albert said slowly.
“Which was...?”
“A Damned,” Marshall answered curtly. “One of Seal’s right hand men. He was roaming around your street the other night. I caught him, saw the mark of Seal on his head – that’s three stars, by the way - and brought him here.”
“He’s been very helpful. With a little persuasion,” Albert added.
In my shock, I didn’t know which point to address first. The fact that one of the Damned had been so close to my house, or that it was being tortured a few feet below me. The walls began to close in, and I swayed towards the floor. A pair of strong hands had grabbed me before I fell, pulling me back to a sitting position.
“I think that’s enough for one night,” Marshall decided. “Better get her home to Daddy. Thanks, Albert. You’ll ring me once you find out what the ritual needs?”
“Of course,” Albert said. “Once she’s feeling better, you tell her that it was a pleasure.”
“I will,” Marshall promised. He helped me to my feet and steered me out of the kitchen and towards the front door. My mind swam with the new information. The end of the world. How could my blood be a catalyst for it? Mercy was right. My life was one giant soap opera.
The rain still poured, and once huddled back under my blazer, Marshall helped me into the car, buckling me in before heading to his own seat. We were back on the motorway in no time.
“Do you need some air?” Marshall finally asked.
I shook my head, everything still a blur. “No. I need time, Marshall.”
“Well, don’t throw up. You’ve gone all pasty and horrible.”
“I won’t throw up.”
“Good.”
“What’s so great about Seal, anyway? Why does he get right-hand men and rituals? He’s just another Damned. No different to the rest of them.”
“It’s like gang leaders,” Marshall started. “You get to the top by doing a lot of bad things. He scares other Damned, not because he’s stronger, but because he knows more than the rest. He’s aligned himself with the right kind of creatures, and he’s offering other Damned a world with no Hunters. It’s a huge incentive to get people to follow him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s ruthless. He has no friends, only allies.”
“The more I learn about him, the more I love him,” I muttered sarcastically.
Marshall gave me a sympathetic smile. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Because The Sisterhood will kick your ass?” I half joked.
He rolled his eyes playfully. “They could try. You have to trust me. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. Seal can go suck something. He won’t be the Damned that gets your blood. I promise.” His gaze was so intense, so serious that I believed him. I nodded, and my hand twitched in my lap, wanting desperately to clasp his, but nowhere near brave enough.
/> We lapsed into silence again. Albert’s words flitted through my head, giving me the same kind of headache that someone blowing a foghorn into my ear would have. I wrung my hands together, finding nothing in the pitch black outside to distract me.
“You cage fight.”
He kept his eyes fixed to the road. “Yeah, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll be something to help me win Miss World when I apply next year,” he said.
I bit back a rude remark. “Whatever, Marshall. I can’t work with someone who thinks it’s okay to beat Damned to a bloody pulp to win cash. And while we’re at it, I don’t think kidnapping Damned is the way forward either. You can’t hide things from me. We’re supposed to be a team.”
His jaw clenched, and his fists gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. “When I tell you how to live your life, then you can have a say in mine. My methods might not be conventional, but let’s not forget the information it got us.” His voice was level. Deadly. “And as for my method of making money. It’s none of your business. Stay out of it.”
My mouth dropped. Why was he being so defensive about all of this? “None of my business?” I repeated. “You make it my business by doing something so...so reckless! You’re supposed to be helping me get revenge, Marshall. And now to save the world, as cliché as that sounds.”
“And that’s all we’re doing,” he snapped, finally looking at me. There was a fiery glare in Marshall’s eyes that made me wish that he’d continued facing the window. “You’re not my mother. You’re not my girlfriend. We’re barely even friends. As long as I get the job done, what the hell does it matter what I do in my free time?”
His words were so callous, so cruel, I was momentarily speechless. It didn’t make sense. Not five minutes ago, he was promising me that he’d never let anyone hurt me, and now it seemed he’d changed his mind and had to convince himself of that. Jerk! My face burned. He didn’t even think of me as a friend. How blind was I? I was a job, just a favor the Sisterhood had claimed from him. I’d obviously been reading into his words earlier.
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