Hunted

by Matt Mememaro

  “I will kill you, old man,” Gareth said.

  “Treason!” Crix leapt to his feet once again. “First this Hunter murders six, one in this very room, before turning his back on us and fleeing to a country we know is no real friend of the Hunters.”

  “I’ve told you, I was under the effect of the Bloodrush! I had no control over my actions!”

  “Yet the first Hunter we found was killed by a stab wound, inflicted by a sword, not from a claw or tooth. What were you doing?” Crix asked.

  “Crix, I may have an answer to your enquiry. I investigated where Gareth was staying during our time with us, and I found books on the Bloodrush loaned from the library. I believe he was trying to find a way to sustain it once the initial phases had passed,” Gunthos said. He parted the crowd on either side of him. “From what I can gather the texts were suggesting one could use their rage to control it. They said it often killed users due to their recklessness.”

  “Did you succeed? Crix asked Gareth.

  Gareth’s eyes rolled forwards in his head, the red angry eyes of the Bloodrush replacing his own. “Of course I succeeded. I sustained it from here all the way until I reached Etia. Thought it was quite an achievement.”

  “Whilst we are for innovation and new ways to fight the Vampire plague, the Board and I feel as if this is a violation of our order. As you caused the deaths of six of our own, that crime is punishable by death,” Crix said.

  “I understand,” Gareth said. “If you wish to execute me that is your problem to deal with when my powerful friends in Etia bring the might of Alilletia to bear on your Huntrey!”

  “Furthermore!” Crix said. He ignored the young Hunter. “You have been accused with sentencing Abner Toldar to a life sentence, for the murder of your father. How do you plea?”

  “Guilty as charged.” Gareth lifted his head again and smiled. “He murdered my father, I decided to make his life a hell on earth. I put the bastard into the Lock and that’s where he’s going to stay for the rest of his life!”

  A murmur swept over the Hunters. The Lock was used to break men and in its history next to nobody had managed to escape intact. Some prisoners had armies try to conquer the island, but it was more of an impenetrable force than the Huntrey due to the sheer number of men that guarded it. Cannons lined each wall, capable of sinking any ship that came within range.

  The island it was situated along could even take days to traverse if travelling unencumbered, let alone avoiding guards and trying to find the correct prisoner you were after would be near impossible. They changed rotations every week to keep would be rescuers guessing and the underground tunnels were endless.

  “You threw him into the darkness? There we have it, a confession. My fellow Board members, what verdict do you pass on the defendant. All those in favor of a guilty verdict please rise,” Crix said.

  Each of the Hunters on the Board rose to have their vote counted, including Razal. Crix suppressed his surprise and nodded at the Board, letting them take their seats once again.

  “Crix, if I could make a suggestion,” one of the women on the board said.

  “Of course, Sorcha,” Crix said. “I always appreciate your input.”

  “Instead of executing the traitor, perhaps we could imprison him, much like Abner has been in the Lock. Justice would be better served in my opinion.”

  Crix nodded again and cast his gaze around the room. “All in favor of the proposed imprisonment, raise your hands.” All but a handful of Hunters throughout the room raised their hand. “Those in favor of beheading, raise your hands.” Crix did a quick hand count before turning back to Gareth. “Duly noted.”

  “So you’re imprisoning me now?” Gareth asked. “Those cells won’t hold me forever.”

  “No those ones in our upper levels won’t, they weren’t supposed to. But downstairs in the dark? I have a good feeling the mountain will hold you until we want you to come up.”

  “Do your worst, Crix,” Gareth said.

  “I intend to,” Crix said with a smile. “Take him.”

  Gareth was frog marched out of the room, each Hunter throwing a glare in his direction, praying for his suffering. Crix filed out after them, instead of heading downstairs to the dungeon he walked outside onto the plateau.

  “Crix! I need to talk to you!” Lois said. She came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “I could use Gareth down in the Lock, if I’m going after Abner. He’s skilled and if we leave him there, it won’t matter if he lives or dies.”

  Crix shook his head. “Not this time, Lois. You’re going into that shithole of a country, if you can even call it that, and you’ll have limited support. Wouldn’t trust him to not stab or shoot you in the back.”

  “He didn’t when we were coming back here,” Lois said.

  “He had a point to make, and to be honest I’m not surprised there isn’t some army two days from our door. We’ll hold him here and use him as leverage if needs be,” Crix said. “I’m sorry Lois, but my decision is final and you’ll need others to fill out your team.”

  “Have you ever done it?” Lois asked.

  “What? Broken into the Lock? God no. But I’d personally take five Hunters with me. A diversion and distraction team, if I was to do it. Gunthos and Tori need something to do, I’m sure you won’t have a lack of volunteers. Good luck to you though, Lois. You’ll need it.”

  26

  Drenched

  The Lock came into sight a week later, the towering walls rising far above the tree line. Lois had five other Hunters at her back, all riding in formation towards the end of their journey. They rode two abreast on the cobblestones, a frequent path for carriages to transport the most heinous prisoners from all across Taagras.

  The Saurian winter was warmer than most and a light breeze followed the Hunters the further they travelled south. The smell of seawater made its way into their nostrils as the blockade came into view. Behind a smaller wall, the first of the Lock’s guards made residence, keeping watch over who hired ferries to get to and from the prison.

  “We need to get off the road,” Gunthos said.

  “Agreed, we can make camp for the night,” Tori said.

  “Are we looking to attack at dawn then?” Memphis asked. He was the young Hunter that had come through the Huntrey a few years after Abner and Lois had made the move to Tyrain. “Surely it’d be better to go in during the dead of the night.”

  Lois turned around in her saddle to address him. “Of course, Memphis. Jarral can wait here with the horses. The rest of us are going to swim across the channel. Then if we’re not back in a day assume the worst.”

  “I want some of the action,” Jarral said. He had trained with Memphis but still had not completed the blood ritual to become a Hunter in full.

  “It’s too dangerous, but Crix insisted we take you,” Gunthos said. “Here you’ll be able to get back to the Huntrey with news if we’re to fail.”

  Their camp was situated several hundred meters from the road, obstructed by a nestle of ferns, also well out of sight. The Hunters started pitching their tents and Lois set off into the shrub in search of some firewood. She was only meters from the camp when in the brush ahead of her, twigs snapped underneath something heavy.

  “Show yourself,” she said. Her crossbow found it’s way into her hands.

  A streak of white flash through the gap in the trees, more kindling and leaves, being crushed underfoot. Lois readied the trigger and sent off a bolt into the shrub.

  “There’s no need to be so aggravated, Lois,” Zarazenih said. The Ghost revealed himself with the bolt grasped firmly in his hand. He wore his loincloth and his white hair was now shaved close to his skull. “I didn’t want the other Hunters to know I was here until you were ready to introduce me.”

  “Why are you here, what happened to Barros?” Lois asked.

  “I couldn’t kill him, he was too strong.” He touched his side and stomach. “These scars were given to me by him. He said it work
ed and I had something to give you,” Zarazenih said. He reached behind his back and revealed the dagger, holding it outstretched towards Lois. “Take it, he said you’ll know when to use it.”

  “This is a Dreyth blade. The only other one I’ve ever seen was Abner’s. How did Barros come by this?” Lois asked with a slack jaw. She ran her hand along the runes.

  “I’m not sure, but as far as I know he intends to kill Abner, you can’t use it,” Zarazenih said. “If anything we need to see if it will do anything to Barros.”

  “No, we’ll do as we have been instructed to. If it was too dangerous you would have used it then and there. Abner will taste this blade, one way or another.”

  “Lois, who are you -”

  Lois rammed the dagger into her overcoat, beside the other, not wanting to raise any suspicious. She turned around and saw Gunthos stepping through the brush to meet them.

  “This is Zarazenih, Gunner. He’s the Ghost I told you about. He helped us tracking Gareth.”

  Zarazenih took a long bow to show he was not a threat. “Gunthos, finally we get to converse at last. This meeting is long overdue. We have both had losses to each other’s side in the past and I hope we can put that behind us.”

  “Your family killed my brother, I responded in kind. What do you want with us, wolf?” Gunthos asked. “This isn’t an ambush is it, Lois?”

  “No, he’s here to help get Abner out of the Lock. We could use the extra manpower,” Lois said. “He’s a big target.”

  “You trust him already? We’ve been hunting him for years.”

  “Gunthos, your quarrel is no longer with me. I was engineered to hunt you, but I now have a new purpose. Freeing Abner is the first step towards that purpose. I am his biological brother,” Zarazenih said.

  “You what? Barros Toldar only fathered one child and that child we’re trying to get out of the most impregnatable prison in the known world,” Gunthos said.

  “And like I have told you, I am here for the same reason you are. Should we get started now or wait around until he dies of starvation or torture?” Zarazenih asked.

  The Hunters and Zarazenih were gathered under the cover of night up the coast from the guardhouse and jetty. It could be seen in the distance out towards the open ocean. The moon illuminated the open passage between the main land and the Lock, the dark water swirling and raging out towards the open ocean.

  Sharks were notorious in these parts at this time of year, but the currents would be more of a concern. The distance between the two land masses was also a worry. From here the Lock’s walls were shrouded by the darkness, even with the moon shining on them. They wore no overcoat, the weight would be too much, and every Hunter carried the bare essentials, their swords, crossbow and their climbing knives, leaving the rest at the camp with Jarral.

  “Hope we’re all strong swimmers,” Gunthos said. The Islander was at ease in the water. “Might need to grab a ferry to do the trek back.”

  “It’s a long way out to the island,” Tori said. “We’re fucking crazy.”

  “We need Abner back. I need Abner back,” Lois said. She waded out into the shallows with her hand on her sword hilt. “Are you all coming or are you just going to stand there?”

  Memphis was the first to dip his toe into cold, dark waters of the channel and join Lois paddling out past the small break. The other Hunters and Zarazenih joined them moments later, out past the break and continued out into the darkness.

  The hours passed at an exhaustingly slow pace and slowly the island loomed closer. A shark had circled as the shoreline came into view, Zarazenih chasing it off, transforming back into his wolf form. The cannons on the walls stuck out from the ramparts like sore thumbs. At this range it would be next to impossible to miss the Hunters if someone began firing.

  Zarazenih was the first to shore, pulling his massive frame onto the rocks, panting from exhaustion. The party had let the current take them some of the way, and they were now situated on the north western side of the island.

  “We need to rest,” Tori said. She sat down beside Zarazenih wringing out her leggings. “That was a long swim.”

  Gunthos stood alone, looking out over the channel. The swim hadn’t tired him, and the Islander was now planning their next move. The pre-dawn sunlight was beginning to wash over it, turning the water into an odd yellow, brown color.

  “Are you lot ready to go yet? We need to get up and inside the Lock sooner rather than later. This island smells like shit as it is.”

  “Apologies we’re all not ironmen like yourself, Gunner. Tori, I don’t know how you do it,” Lois said. She winked in the couple’s direction.

  “You just have to take it as it comes,” Tori said. “Right what are we doing?”

  “I’m going to go into the prison and find Abner,” Lois said. “Gunner, Tahilia, Maxton, I want you three doing whatever you can to draw the guards away from our positions. There’s no way that I am swimming back across the channel, so we’re going to need a clean path to the pier. The cannons will be your first priority so we don’t get sunk crossing back.”

  “Got it. They’ll be out of commission in five minutes time,” Gunthos said. He pulled two climbing knives from his belt. “Time to impregnate this bitch.”

  “Oy,” Tori said.

  “Anyway, that leaves Memphis and Zarazenih to come with me. Any prisoners we can free, the better and more chaos it’ll be for the guards to clean up when we’re getting out of here,” Lois said. “Any questions?”

  “Yeah, can we go now?” Gunthos asked.

  Tori hit him. “Shut up, smartass.”

  Lois nodded and drew her own climbing knives from her belt. “Let’s go.”

  27

  Impregnation

  Lois was the first to reach the top of the wall, the other Hunters spread out over the course of several hundred meters for maximum effect. Zarazenih was the closet to her, thirty meters to her right. The wolf climbed in his human form, claws acting as his knives to find the flaws in the stonework.

  Lois had now reached the ramparts, to her right a guard stood idol with a longbow in hand. He looked out over Sauuria, watching the sun turn the land into a beautiful orange grassland. Seconds later, Lois leapt up in front of him and before he could usher a scream she had turned his vision red as he dropped to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

  The other Hunters were now attacking their prey. Zarazenih ran straight into a group of guards convening on the ramparts, sending them flying over the edge. Gunthos targeted the cannons, both of his knives almost causing a red mist in front of him. Other guards from along the ramparts saw what was happening and raced to aid their comrades.

  “Zarazenih, Memphis! We need to go now!”

  Lois was joined by the wolf and the younger Hunter and the three made their way down the stairs. The Lock looked different from the inside. Now looking up at the walls around them, this it was easy to see how escape was made almost impossible. Prisoners, a collection of naked men worked around them, pickaxes in their hands, digging into the dirt.

  “I can free those men,” Zarazenih said.

  “Do it then!” Lois said. “We need to find the registry and find where Abner is on this island. Can you track us?”

  “Of course, now move.” Zarazenih bounded over to the prisoners and began hacking at the communal pike set in the ground to keep them all chained. After two strikes from his powerful claws the shackles broke free and each man looked up at the giant wolf man, shocked. “Don’t just stand there! Take the fight to them!”

  Thirty prisoners were on the loose, members of the first group running to others, smashing their pickaxes into the shared pikes to free multiple men at once. Soon thirty became a hundred and their numbers continued to grow. With the other Hunters on the wall, most of the Lock’s guards were caught surprised by those kept under lock and key for so long rising up against them.

  Finally, an alarm began to sound, coming from a bell tower that stood above the town. Lois lo
oked to the ramparts to see Gunthos flipping a cannon around before proceeding to load and fire it at the bell tower. Three shots from the cannon tore through the structure and began to collapse falling on other buildings around it, burying both prisoners and guards in the rubble.

  “Fuck yeah! Get that into you boys!”

  “Where are we going to find the records of the prisoners?” Lois asked.

  “Biggest building ought to be where they keep the records,” Memphis said. “Looks like that over there beside the bell tower.”

  Lois blinked and brought her Seeker vision forward. “There’s too many people in there for it to be an archive. Are you sure?”

  “One way to find out,” Memphis said. He opened the door and was met with the faces of fifty now armed and armored guards. “Think it’s the barracks. Zarazenih, want to handle this one?”

  Zarazenih was already half way changing into his wolf form. He stepped between the Hunters and the guards, growling, bearing his teeth his hackles raised. The first guard turned but found himself packed against his comrades. Zarazenih leapt forward and tore him to pieces.

  “Think we’ll leave him to it,” Lois said.

  “Truth be told I just wanted to see what he could do,” Memphis said.

  “It’s nice not being on the receiving end of it for once. The archive is behind the barracks. Let’s move.”

  The two Hunters raced alongside the barracks, listening to the screams of the men inside being torn apart by Zarazenih. Gunthos continued to fire the cannon overhead, destroying key parts of the Lock, including the gates that held the prisoners working in the underground tunnels.

  Lois barged her way into the archive to find a frail, graying man with a torch setting fire to the records. She stormed over to him and snatched the torch from his hand, pressing her hand against his throat. His wrinkled barely seemed to stay on his bones and his face reddened with her grip.