Token Vampire (Token Huntress Book 2) (5 page)

              I leapt at Thomas, grabbing his wrist and wrapping it around his back to break it. But he was fast and strong. With the same arm, he threw me back and leapt for me. I kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away, and lunging for him again. My muscles didn’t contract as quickly, and there was a moment of pause from my body as its tiredness tried to keep up with my next sought out ambition and movement. I was weak, and had exhausted myself already. The sensation of the Descendant knocked at my blood, but I knew I was too weak to call it forth. Instead I prepared myself for his pounce, ready to take a wound to trap him again. Would he dive for my heart, or try to behead me?

              Thomas’s feet dragged along the dirt from my kick. His calves flexed as he went to pounce. A shadow flickered behind him, and much to Thomas’s surprise, he turned and tried to elbow his new opponent. But Chase was too quick and dodged him. Chase wrapped his hands around Thomas’s neck and snapped it. Thomas’s body dropped to the ground. Lydia pounced on Chase. He grabbed her arms and flung her into the ceiling. By the time she had dropped onto the ground, Chase snarled and sized up the room of vampires, who were now excited by the fight and wanted to join. His fangs were so large, in comparison to mine. His fingers were all bent and ready to fight to protect me.

              Four vampires leapt towards Chase. I gathered my footing to help him. But he did not need help; he was capable of looking after himself. He plunged his hand into one of their chests and ripped their heart out, dropping it at his feet and prepared for the next attacker. The vampires’ body dropped to the ground, decaying into a black tinge, as its corpse began to rot.

              Balzar and Tythian pushed another two back, and stood beside Chase in a protective circle.

              “Enough!” Cesar roared. The last vampire halted his steps, but it was too late, and he was too close to Cesar. With one swift movement, Cesar, flattened his hand and swept it forcefully across the vampires’ neck, instantly beheading him. The vampires head flew into a crowd of the vampires. The body of the vampire, blackened as it froze on its balanced legs. Cesar kicked the decomposing body into the rocky wall, where it spluttered against and dropped to the ground.

              “I hope I have made myself very clear! No one touches our guests! And above all commandments, you protect Esmore or I will hunt for you personally. I have kept you safe and alive for this long, trust my judgement. I do not take kindly to treachery. Now go!” Cesar roared. The vampire’s scuttled throughout many tunnels. Within seconds, it was only us five and Lydia that remained. Lydia helped her brother, Thomas up. He swiveled his head uncomfortably. Chase hadn’t killed him, and I was embarrassed that Chase had to come to my rescue because I had ignored my weakened state. I was now worse and barely had the energy to move.

              Thomas starred at Chase with disgust. “And so now the foreign coven leader has killed our own. How do you expect to cover that Cesar,” Thomas said still rubbing his neck.

              “Be quiet,” Lydia hissed. “Cesar, I am sorry. I apologize on behalf of my brother for his actions. Please forgive him.”

              “You and I are going out for a chat,” Cesar growled to Thomas.

With swift movement, Chase picked me up from my weakened stand. He held me close to his chest, with a fiery anger in his eyes as he continued to stare at Thomas.

              “Fine,” Thomas growled. He and Cesar made haste and exited the room. Lydia looked over all of us before she vanished into one of the tunnels.

              “Well that was exciting. Nothing like killing your own coven members to protect some prick,” Balzar said sarcastically, and gave Chase a lingering stare.

              “You failed,” Tythian said to me, intending that my killing of Thomas was unsuccessful. But I would have never presumed my body was so weak. A snarl came from Chase’s lips.

              “If I find out the reason why she was hurt today was because of some bargain. . .-”

              Tythian’s presence vanished into midair as a black hole consumed him and he teleported out of the room.

              “I didn’t need your help,” I defied. Chase took a very long breath, before looking down at me.

              “You are weak Esmore. And you are my familiar. For how long will you be on a suicide mission, before you realize that when you put yourself in danger, you put me in danger as well? I will always come and protect you; which is exactly why you are going to feast. Stop being so selfish and risking my life as well. You are no use to Dillian in this state.”

              I went to argue, but his sudden fierce demeanor, forced me to stay quiet. It was no longer the goofy Chase that held me.

              “I refuse to feast off Dillian or Julia,” I grumpily said in defeat. I was so ravished.

              “No, of course you won’t, you are beyond that now. You will most likely kill the person you feed off of, because you are so beyond thirst,” Chase raged.

              “But I don’t want to kill anyone,” I argued.

              “This is the state you have left yourself in. I warned you,” Chase growled. With vampire speed, Chase took me to a solitary room. “You can’t be around the others right now; you are a risk to them. More so now, than before.” A light tap on the door startled me. My hearing pounded and my blood burned. Yolo opened the door and carried on a tray, five bottles of blood.

              “Here,” he said, offering it to Chase. “I can’t be long. The whole coven is in a frenzy right now. I best be protecting them, while Cesar and Thomas are gone. Tythian is posted close by for the moment. As soon as she is stable, you both best be coming back. We are best in numbers here, in case the coven rally against Cesar’s command.”

              “Thank you,” Chase nodded and closed the door behind Yolo. He sat the tray in front of me. Without hesitation, I swept the first bottle and divulged in the taste. My fangs pounded in delight at the soothing serum it felt to have been down my throat.

              “If Tythian had you attack one of those vampires as part of your bargain, you were tricked, Esmore. He knew in your weakened state you couldn’t have a fair fight. Being exhausted as a vampire is far different to being exhausted as human or hunter. If you exhaust yourself too much, some vampires drop into a coma like state, until others can help rejuvenate and feed them blood. He knew I would have come to protect you. It was a political statement. Because I am technically the leader of a foreign coven; I will most certainly be targeted from the inside now.” Chase didn’t sound upset or mad, just factual. I stared at him, infuriated that I had been tricked in such a way, and I had endangered the person I most wanted to protect.

              Chase pushed back a part of my hair, with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. I will be fine. What I am saying is, from now on, you tell me everything. I am the only one here who you can trust, and I do not have another agenda that puts your life in danger. I am your familiar, Esmore, trust me.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now hurry and drink, so we can get to the others.”

              I stared at him, wanting to feel guilty or displeased with my actions; but the sensations and feelings I once knew as a child, did not come. The removal of my heart, was the result. I truly struggled to feel emotion like a normal hunter, no matter how limited it might have been. But getting back to the others was the smartest tactic and I engulfed the bitter cold blood, which I so much wished was fresh. How my body ached for its very nutrients, and for it to quench my undying thirst.

W
ith vampire speed that didn’t make my blood feel like sandpaper scraping within me now that I was rejuvenated, I was already in the room with the others. Tythian guarded the door. He didn’t even bother a side glance at us. With such speed, I aimed to ram my elbow into his throat, infuriated by his trickery. But already, his gift consumed me, as he grabbed firmly onto me. We had vanished and now reappeared in a foreign area. Before Chase could stop me making physical contact with Tythian, he had teleported us elsewhere. I coughed hysterically still not used to it, and this time I was unable to brace myself for it. Tythian dusted off his well-groomed shirt.

              “You lied to me!” I snarled. Although, I had drank five bottles I was still thirsty and every heartbeat within the woods that we spoke in, pounded in my ear. I wanted to hunt, and I wanted to feast. I kept my attention on Tythian so I wouldn’t dare allow that side of me take over.

              “No. I gave you the facts. Your opponent was a strong vampire and you were weak. It was because of your arrogance that you still accepted. It’s a political statement; don’t take it so personally, no harm would have ever come to you.”

              “I do not care about the result of myself, you put Chase in danger!” I snarled. I tried to hold back my rage, which urged me to pounce on Tythian, and rip his throat out.

              “No, I simply started moving the pieces in this chess game. And, Chase is a large piece. What he has done, has made a direct attack on one of our own coven members. That won’t sit well, and it is questionable. We don’t own the vampires like the council, nor monitor their freedom. So something like this, such gossip will be spread eventually to the very ears I want them to. You see, sometimes Cesar’s hands are tied in the movement of this rebellion. So, I will always step in and do what is required to be done.” After a silent moment, I straightened my back.

              “Whose ears are you expecting it to reach?” I asked. I needed to know, who it was that Tythian so badly wanted to know of Chase’s rebellion.

              “His coven of course; whether Chase will claim his leadership, is not a choice of his any longer. I have seen his coven since he told me of them. I have seen their size, which is the only reason why they have survived this long, leaderless. We need those numbers. We have many covens that have aligned with Cesar, but Chase’s coven, has many numbers and at our disposal-“

              I cut Tythian off, mortified at the betrayal he laid on his friend. “You are forcing him to take a position he has refused for years, he never wanted it!”

              “You do not get to make that decision. I know the reasons why he is a coward, and hides in shadows from them. I have seen what they did to him, as a young boy and his mother,” Tythian turned on me in rage. “When Chase first received the gift of his mind, he couldn’t so easily control it and he transferred images and memories of his time as human to me. I know of his peril, but he can no longer escape it. He is a coven leader. You will soon learn that the world you have been living in as a hunter is very different in the world of vampire. Justice does not apply to our rules. You are either the strongest or dead. Thomas was the second vampire Cesar took in, after me. He is old and powerful and your pathetic attempt of an assassination on him will not be the death of him. Despite him launching himself at you, Cesar will not behead him. I won’t take you and your friends to the old Guild.”

              “I did as you asked and promised,” I snarled, infuriated that he would lie and go back on his word.

              “No. You failed. You, of all people should understand the consequence of a failure’s result. Before you take up such challenges, I employ you to start understanding your new bearings, and understand how being a vampire works and is.”

              “I will tell Cesar of your lies, and have him force you to take me,” I snapped, thinking of the devotion that he spoke of and of my protection. Tythian’s blue eyes narrowed on me. A gust of light wind not able to break his slick blonde hair swept through us, in our moment of silence.

              “Cesar will not let you leave his sight. With everything you are and represent; he won’t have me teleport you anywhere. That was our own bargain, and me risking myself to have you satisfied. He will never allow it, which means without me, you are stuck there. So think of another solution that aids me and pleases me, so greatly that I will re-offer this bargain to you.” I stretched my fingers out back and forth, struggling against my rage. It was so heightened and fierce. I wanted to attack Tythian, where had all my self-control vanished to? I refocused on my father’s teachings, and began to count backwards from ten.

              “What must I do for that?” I hissed under my breath. I knew he was right. Cesar would not let me out of his sight now, even though I was not his to claim. Especially if my mother, agreed that my protection was best under his wing. Protection: a stupid vision. I could more than anyone, protect myself.

“Something will arise. We are in the time of war, opportunities always arise. But I want you to fixate on a more personal task for me.” After much silence and the image of Tythian looking away to hide his sudden rage, he spoke. “I want you to go into the human compound with Yolo. There is a possibility, that on their scanner, you will appear as human. Neither your hunter nor vampire self is evident, if you don’t use any of your abilities. I want you to find Whitney’s brother. I want you to relay the image of his face and every fine detail you learn of him, to me. And then, I want you to bait him out and I will torture him, for as long as his pathetic human life lasts for, just as he had done to my own familiar. To Whitney, he took that lifetime away from her, and he took both of our happiness,” Tythian hissed, in his most exposed expression.

I wanted to kill Whitney’s brother, just as much as he did; for what he had done to the precious and joyful Whitney, but it was Tythian’s right above everyone else’s. It infuriated me that I was lied to, and he stole the memory and truth from Whitney. But, I could not pass that judgement any longer in this deformed world. He did what he thought to be best for Whitney. And her brother certainly deserved a lifetime of torture. While Tythian focused on him alone, I could kill all those that practiced on humans in such a way, to try and create new Hunters. I did not care for the humans. But I cared for one in particular, and that moment with Whitney, was what would propel me into fixating on the human facilities. If not for Tythian’s and my own alignment- but for my own sought out justice and blood thirst. I wanted those humans dead.

“For all the time in the world you stand here and debate with me, you have left your friends exposed without both of our protection. We should be heading back for the tunnels.” Tythian held out his hand and looked away, as if my touch revolted him.

“I will go with Yolo. I can do that,” I agreed. This was something that we both wanted. For a moment, I thought I saw a streak of relief pass over the usually so composed Tythian. I grabbed his forearm and was instantly thrown back into the tunnels, and in front of the door. Chase now guarded the front, his arms crossed over. I detested that he was left to guard the door when he himself was at risk of being overthrown by the vampires of this coven.

             
Stop doing that,
Chase growled at me internally. He had no connection with me when Tythian and I went elsewhere. He opened the door. Connor and Yolo were impartial to his entrance.

              “Well, baby sis looks a bit healthier,” Yolo said, with a gleam in his eyes. I looked at my mother, still foreign to the ideal of an extended family. She stood against the wall, finely narrowing a piece of wood with her knife.

              “What is your plan of attack?” She asked. It was very different to see my mother as she is now. We were never within the same group, even within the Guild. We didn’t so often fight together. So to now have her by my side and instead initiating her own plan and to wait for mine; was both an honor, but also a precautionary on her behalf- Because I was the ticking time bomb. She had to follow my movement as she knew she couldn’t restrain me. My mother fought by my side, but only because of her own purpose; which for all Hunters within the Guild, it was to protect humans, we no longer had that. All of us Hunters here; had no purpose, and to follow someone, who thought they knew what they were doing, seemed easier. I had no idea what the right path was, but I never doubted my steps. The first and foremost was getting the Hunters out of here and finding a safe place for all of them, including Chase.

              “I want to go to the human facility with you,” I said to Yolo. “My first priority is finding somewhere safe for Julia and Dillian. If they can live amongst humans, then I would like to find out if that place is safe for them.”

              “A place where they experiment on humans and are trying to create new hunters; what makes you think they won’t experiment on a pair of hunters?” Connor said distastefully. Connor’s hatred and distrust in the humans was obvious, even if I hadn’t been informed of it, the hiss that came of the word ‘human’ when he spoke was blatant. His worst assumption of the humans was one I had already considered myself. I had no intent on leaving Dillian and Julia with humans who were already so cruel to their own kind. But I had to make it look convincing. If I handed Whitney’s brother over to Tythian, he would then, keep his end of the deal and I could go anywhere in the world to protect the others. That was my purpose now.

              “That may be true, but for the time being, it wouldn’t hurt to scope out our resources. If it is an option, then I would like to have considered it thoroughly.” After a long silence and exchange between Connor and Yolo; Yolo uncomfortably shifted in his chair.

              “I’m really flattered that you want to spend some sister brother bonding time, but Cesar would never allow it. There is no guarantee you will scan as a human for start. If you trigger an alarm, it makes it harder for me to angle an excuse as well. I can’t guarantee your safety in there. Not while I am in my human form, I can’t break my own identity in case something goes wrong.”
              “Cesar does not own me. If you won’t aid me in this task, I will simply leave and find my own solution,” I crossed my arms in agitation. I had never been babysat in such a way in my life. I was a Token Huntress for goodness sake. I exchanged a glance with Dillian, who stayed quiet in the room. He and Julia out of everyone must have seemed most displaced here.

              “Well good luck on leaving the tunnels. You obviously have no idea where we are located. Taking your little buddies and surviving might be an issue,” Connor said and side glanced me. He was not rude or held sarcasm in his tone. Much like Tythian, his tone was dry and factual.

              “Then show me why,” I counteracted. Without hesitation, Connor sat up from his chair and began walking towards us.

              “I don’t like playing games. Follow me,” he murmured as he walked past us.

              “Connor you can’t be serious!” Yolo gasped behind us.

              “I tire of riddles and debates. We won’t be too long, but perhaps this will give princess here, an understanding of her current position. Maybe she will realize that she isn’t the one to be throwing demands around here.” Connor sized me up as he walked past us and then Chase indifferent. Tythian nodded his approval to Connor as he led us out of the room.

              “If any movement happens, I will bring you all back straight away,” Tythian said as he still stood outside the door.

              “That goes without saying,” Connor remarked as he lurked further into the shadows. At vampire speed, we followed him through many corridors and on an elevation that went up. I still had to manage and get used to my vampire speed. Although as a Huntress I was fast, it was like discovering a new level of speed entirely, and I clumsily used it to keep at their pace. Within me, deeper, I knew this was not the fastest I could go.

              Connor halted raising his fingers to Chase and me. There was a small crevasse, where only one person at a time could barely fit. I heard scuttling noises and heavy breathing. There was a light pouring noise of water, like a fountain. I went to step closer, but Connor grabbed my shoulder. Instantly Chase’s hand was on Connor. Connor gave him a direct look. He wasn’t being threatening, but Chase was overcautious.

              “I wouldn’t step out past the crevasse if I were you,” Connor urged. I held eye contact with his beautiful blue eyes for a moment longer, before pushing past him so I could look further out through the crevasse, without stepping through.