by Zara Novak
The group was turning in on themselves, which was good, but it still didn’t give us a way past, and Rachel still had a gun pressed against her head. I had no idea how to get past Chase and Harkin’s men, but the answer presented itself. The unexpected solution came screaming down the hallway in the form of a rocket-propelled grenade.
The missile exploded in the middle of the group, filling the corridor with fire, debris, and bodies. I grabbed hold of Rachel and pulled her around the corner just in time to avoid the wall of fire, throwing my body over hers as a human shield.
Fragments of tile and concrete rained down on my back. After a few seconds I sat up and snatched the handgun from her. “What the fuck were you thinking?!”
“I was distracting them; I wasn’t really going to shoot myself. Davian was behind them, didn’t you see?”
I pulled Rachel up and kept tight hold of her hand as I looked back around the corner. A charred crater now stood where the group had been. The explosion had wiped them out completely. Davian was jogging down the corridor with an RPG on his shoulder. Charge and Zero were with him.
“You motherfuckers all right?” Davian said to me and Rachel.
“Yeah, I owe you one,” I said. “Rocky’s plotted us an escape route. We’re getting out. We know were Nalinth is.”
“Good. I’ve got to take the boys and head to the pod. Caleb wasn’t the only one to turn, his whole fucking unit went south. They’ve launched synchronized attacks across all of HQ.”
“Scatter attack? It’s a distraction,” I said.
A classic battle tactic. Hit your enemy with lots of small attacks to confuse them. It suggested there was more than one target.
But what?
“Saydra,” Davian said. “Rachel and the amulet weren’t the only target. They’re going for her too.”
That made a lot of sense. If Harkin got his hands on our psychic witch that could put him at a massive advantage.
Another explosion rumbled somewhere in the belly of HQ, followed by showers of distant gunfire. The action was coming back towards us, whatever direction it was coming from.
“Go!” Davian screamed at us as he started down the hallway. “Get out of here and solve this thing, Hunter! If you guys fuck this up the whole world is over!”
“Like I need reminding!” I growled.
We went our separate ways, me hoisting Rachel over my shoulder again as I went down to maintenance and followed the signs for sanitation. In a few minutes we were tearing down dark tunnelways that ran underneath the complex, listening to the sounds of warfare overhead.
The tunnel came to an end at an abandoned delivery dock which backed onto an old lake. The dock itself was a wide concrete shelf cut into the building’s exterior. Rocky’s ship was hidden underneath a large tarp. It was an Xexos-4, a small experimental ship used by the guardians. The sleek black ship was glassy and smooth, and just big enough for two people.
Rachel and I quickly jumped in and I started up the controls. Her seat was directly behind mine.
“Don’t we need a runway?!” she shouted.
“No need!” I shouted back, hitting the vertical thrusters to lift the jet off the ground. The engines roared all around us, amplified by the small concrete shelf the jet had been hiding on. As soon as the engines had reached full capacity, I thrust them forward and the ship took off like a rocket across the lake. I brought her up into the air and on the rear-image I saw HQ quickly slip into the distance.
The many buildings were hidden amongst trees and hills, and as we flew towards the clouds, I saw fire covering the land. Harkin had hit us with everything he had, and the attack was devastating.
Once we reached cruising altitude the ship’s navigations systems turned on properly.
“Welcome,” a female voice said across the cabin. “Please state your destination.”
“Louisiana. HQ approved landing strips only.”
The guardians had private hangars hidden all across the country, so we always had somewhere to stash our state-of-the-art jets when moving across state lines.
“One hangar found in Louisiana. Estimated flight time of two hours. Engage auto-pilot?”
“Confirmed,” I said, loosening my grip as the controls took on a life of their own. With my hands free I turned my chair around to face Rachel. “Pulling a gun on yourself, seriously?”
“It worked didn’t it?” she shrugged.
“Your safety is the number one priority, and you directly disobeyed that. I have to admit it though… we wouldn’t have got out of there without your quick thinking.”
She smiled back at me knowingly. “So, I’m off the hook then?”
I laughed. “Oh, far from it. As soon as we land, we’re finding a safehouse. You’ve got a bad streak in you, and I need to set the record straight. That little behind of yours will be sore for days.”
Rachel just tongued her cheek. “Bring it big boy.”
11
Rachel
It was just after midday when we landed in Louisiana, but thanks to the ever dark it still looked like the middle of the night. The jet’s autopilot handled most of the flight, only requiring Hunter to take the controls again when it came to the landing.
We came down on an abandoned plot of tarmac somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The runway looked like it hadn’t been used in years, a small private airstrip probably set aside for millionaires and sports stars that had moved to the country to get away from the city.
A long row of deserted hangers sat at the top of the strip. The jet took back control and steered itself into a black hangar, the broad doors opening automatically as we approached. Hunter informed me the guardians had secret supply caches all over the country, and this small hanger was one of them.
There was already another jet inside, several flashy sports cars and some bigger off-road vehicles too. Hunter and I climbed out of the jet. He helped me down and I followed him into a small office set in the rear corner of the hangar. A large map of the area filled the wall over a commanding corner desk. To our right were floor-to-ceiling lockers.
Hunter sat in a swivel-chair and logged into a laptop sitting on the table.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he scrolled through complicated looking screens.
“Gearing up. We need accommodation, a vehicle, weapons and provisions. I’m checking out the inventory.”
“Just make sure we get a motel with AC,” I groaned. I couldn’t bear the thought of Louisiana heat without AC.
Hunter laughed and got up from the table as one of the lockers opened behind us. He pulled out an automatic rifle, a large black duffle bag and a set of keys.
“Motels? Come on. We’re past that now,” he said, quickly walking out of the office and back into the hangar.
I ran after him.
“What does that mean?!” I shouted. One of the flashy black sports cars in front of us unlocked and Hunter threw the stuff into the trunk. He looked at me.
“The guardians have safe houses and supply caches all over the country. It ensures our agents are always well supplied, regardless of our location. I’ve booked us into a nice little cabin just a few miles from here. Once we’ve unpacked our things, we’ll go find my contact.” He opened the driver door and smiled. “Hop in. Let’s go for a spin.”
I climbed in the car and buckled up as the vampire turned the engine on. It sounded like a lion had just walked in.
“What is this thing anyway?” I shouted over the roaring engine. “It’s loud!”
“Bugatti Veyron!” Hunter shouted back over the din. He pressed the pedal down and let the engine roar again. “Top speed of 250mph!”
I laughed nervously.
“Well, we’re obviously not driving that fast,” I said.
“Oh, Rachel,” Hunter said as he shifted the car into gear. “You haven’t seen me drive yet.”
We burst out of the hangar like a bullet from a gun, the car screaming across the tarmac as Hunter pulled into a long skid. I
threw my hands out and grabbed hold of anything I could, wailing as he gunned it into the night.
I shot daggers at the vampire, who simply beamed back at me as he laughed. The car pulled off the airstrip and onto proper roads. Hunter put his foot down and sped up.
“Come on!” he shouted. “It’s fun!”
“Oh, for sure!” I had to admit it was a little fun. “My mind is just preoccupied with other things.”
“Like what?!”
“I’m wondering if Halo would send another guardian to protect me if I kill you.”
“Very funny,” Hunter said.
“Who said anything about joking?”
We bolted down country roads, zooming across the bayou until Hunter finally pulled off the main road and turned onto a more desolate track. Rows of silver birches bordered a long and winding gravel drive, which led up to a contemporary looking estate that wouldn’t be out of a place in a modern architecture magazine.
My mouth dropped as I got out of the car and gawped at the building.
“Are you fucking serious?” I said.
“Were you expecting something else?” Hunter said, smirking as he pulled our things out of the car.
“I don’t know, a little wooden shack or something. That’s what comes to mind when I think ‘cabin’.”
“We do have properties like that in our catalog,” he said. We ascended tall stairs that led up to the property front. Once there he scanned his wrist over a keypad and the doors swung open. “I prefer the fancier stuff though. Got to keep little miss princess happy.”
“I’m the princess?” We stepped inside and I found myself in an elaborate hallway with a grand staircase. “You guardians run around acting like super-mutant jocks but then you sneak back to the lap of luxury. Spritzing yourself with fine colognes, racing around in sportscars, drying yourself with fine Egyptian cotton.”
“More often than not our work requires infiltration of high society. A lot of scrupulous paranormal activity takes place there.” Hunter set the bags down and started up the stairs, gesturing for me to follow him. “Take Harkin for example, he’s been under our eye for a long time.”
“Who is he?” I said. “In my world he was just some pompous asshole from a rich family.”
“He’s pretty much the same in my world, but he’s dangerous too. The Harkins are an old and powerful vampire family. Once upon a time they ruled everything. Over the years their innate strength naturally dwindled—”
“Why?”
“Inbreeding mostly. They wanted to keep the bloodlines pure, but it ended up making them weaker.”
“Harkin is the product of inbreeding?”
Hunter smiled. “Kind of makes sense when you look at his face. They’re not the strongest vampires anymore, but they still have a lot of money and influence. Harkin is desperate to get back on top, he can’t stand the idea there are others out there that are more powerful than him.”
“Having the amulet would tick that problem off.”
“The amulet is powerful, and incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands, but there are lots of dangerous artifacts out there. Quite a few have gone missing recently, and we suspect Harkin’s estate has something to do with it, though we haven’t been able to prove it.”
“You think he’s hoarding these artifacts?”
“Most likely. The guardians have never found any evidence though. The working theory is that he’s hoarding powerful items to help when the amulet is discovered again. Like now.”
We had been walking through the house all the while, finally stopping in a grand master bedroom as our conversation came to a close. Hunter set our things down and stretched out his body.
“Where’s your contact?” I asked.
“About a twenty-minute drive from here. His name is Juan and he runs a paranormal pawnshop, but it won’t be open for a few more hours. We’ve got a little time to ourselves until then.”
Hunter turned around to face me. Electricity crackled through the air.
“Oh,” I said. “Have you got anything planned?”
He threaded his hands together, cracked his fingers and a dark smile crept over his face. “As it happens, I know a girl that’s overdue a round of punishment or two.” He took a step towards me and gently ran his hand down my face. I held my breath in anticipation, my body burning to feel his touch again.
“Really? It’s hard to imagine a big strong man like you couldn’t keep a small girl in check.”
He smiled and kissed me, his tongue pushing against mine. Our mouths rolled together, locked in a long and deep embrace that left me floating.
“You’d be surprised,” he said as he pulled away. “She’s quite headstrong. Unlike anyone I’ve ever met before.”
“Sounds like someone to keep hold of.”
“Oh, I’m never letting go, if that’s what she wants.”
“She’s definitely considering it.”
The next second we were all over each other.
Our lips found one another again, coming together in a clash of passionate fury. My hands worked quickly, stripping him free of his cumbersome clothes until his flesh was pressed against mine.
In a matter of moments, I was down to my underwear and Hunter was too. He took me by the hand and led me over to the bed, my eyes unable to focus on anything else other than his hulking and muscular frame. He dwarfed me in every aspect, making me look like a doll in the hands of a minotaur.
He scooped me up off the floor and I wrapped my legs around his muscular waist, my pussy pressing up against his washboard abs. I held his face in my hands, kissing him deeply as he climbed onto the fourposter bed. He dropped forward and we crashed against the mattress, my body yielding into his as his weight surrounded me.
I could feel his huge cock burning against my dripping panties, his shaft digging forward as his hips tugged into mine.
“I want you…” I whispered in his ear, gasping as his lips moved over my neck. My fingers clawed against his broad and muscular back, pulling him closer, longing to be one.
A playful darkness glinted in his bright red eyes. He pulled back and pinned my arms above my head with one of his hands. “You have a lot to make up for, kitten,” he growled.
“Show me,” I pleaded, my breath trembling in anticipation.
Hunter pulled me up into a sitting position and used a belt to tie my arms behind my back. With one hand on my jaw he guided me into a crouching position on the floor by the bed. Then he inched forward and opened his legs. His mammoth erection pointed into the air.
“Good little slaves prove themselves,” he said. “Show your master how much you care.”
“Yes, sir,” I whimpered, moving forward and opening my lips around the fat head of his bulbous cock. I took him in my mouth and inched forward, moving as far down his thick shaft as I could.
I couldn’t quite make it all the way to the base, he was far too long for that, but I managed to get about halfway. Once I did, I looked up at him and saw him staring down at me. I drew my head back and started bobbing up and down his length, wiggling my tongue along the bottom of his shaft and picking up my pace.
Hunter slipped his fingers through my hair, applying pressure gently so his hands could follow my movement, not so much that he was moving me.
My hands were still bound behind my back, so I couldn’t reach up and touch him, or myself, as much as I wanted to.
I pulled all the way back to his tip, letting my tongue kiss the end of his cock. For a moment I left him hanging there in the air, his cock throbbing with the want of my touch.
“You like this?” I said to him under lust-laden eyes. I could see his great barrel chest rising and falling quickly. His fingers pressed gently against my temples.
“Are you teasing me, slave?” he said.
I just shrugged my shoulders. “What are you going to do, punish me for it?”
Without waiting I thrust his cock back into my mouth, trying to go a little further this time, reaching for t
he thick base that eluded me. I’d never actually done anything like this with a man before, I guess my love life had always been a little vanilla before Hunter.
I was glad I was doing this with him though. He had a way of making me feel special and naughty, like I was the sexiest woman alive by teasing him in this way.
“God you’re amazing…” he gasped above me. I could see his stomach start to tense. His legs trembled a little.
He was getting close.
“I love the taste of your cock, daddy,” I teased.
If you’d told me I’d be talking dirty a week ago I would have called you a liar.
Hunter just had that effect on me.
The taste of sweet and salty precum came on my tongue, signaling that Hunter was close. I drew back and rolled my tongue slowly around his head, taking my movement to a deliberate crawl so to tease him one last time before release.
“Fuck…” he said, the word stretching over several aching syllables.
With that I pushed forward once more, taking his cock into my mouth as far as I possibly could. I felt his girth and length swell as his orgasm broke. I held my mouth around him, clamping my lips down as his cum exploded onto my tongue.
“Rachel!” he gasped, his hands now clasping down firmly on my head. He held me in place, his whole body shaking and his hot breath racing out in short and fiery bursts. I was so fucking turned on at the sound of his breath and the way he filled my mouth.
After several pumps he finally finished coming. I swallowed every drop down and pulled back, taking a huge breath of air as I looked up at Hunter. He dropped back to a lying position on the bed, his chest racing from his orgasm. I stood up and looked down at him.
“Did your little slave perform well?” I teased.
“Where the… how the… who the hell taught you that? That was amazing!”
“First time amigo,” I said with a wink. “Maybe it was beginner’s luck.”
“Well you are very lucky,” Hunter sat and pushed his weight back onto his elbows. His hungry eyes poured over my naked body. “I’ll have a hard time following that.”