The Hunted (6 page)

“What...what was that? What just happened?” My breath came in ragged gasps as I struggled to speak.

Exerting a gentle pressure on my shoulders, Drake helped me to my feet. “I have a hard time believing you have never experienced this before? How long have you existed as a vampire?” he asked.

“I think I know what you are referring to,” I replied. “Although I have existed for eons, my powers have never quite been this enhanced. I felt and heard these creatures. Hannah’s brood?”

I already knew the answer but Drake affirmed it by nodding his head.

“Here? All of them?” A shiver ran through me.
Could it be as easy as this? Could this all end tonight?
I wondered inwardly.

“Think of it as a new beginning. You...we both have given up so much for others. It is time for reclamation and for life to go forward,” Drake said as he helped me to my feet.

I stood and stared at him. It was almost inconceivable to me now that he was once a priest. We now had to work together to end what my error in judgment had caused.

An image of fair-haired Marie, Andrew’s distant relative flashed in my mind’s eye. She was a former nun who, through circumstance and necessity, I had turned into a fledgling vampire. She, in the end, had served justice on Hannah and killed her.

I now knew why this place was so familiar. Marie had taken me here once, to this blood bank, in order to save my life when my thirst threatened to destroy me. It was here that Hannah had revealed her treacherous plan and her minions to me.

“Perfect isn’t it?” Drake asked. His dark eyes glittered like diamonds in the moonlight. I kept forgetting he could read my every thought.

I nodded in agreement and shifted back and forth, tossing my bejeweled dagger from left to right hand. I was restless and I could feel the anticipation making my pulse hurried and my breathing labored.

“Silver, you need to keep your emotions in check. These are creatures; animals and nothing more. They are no longer human and not vampires in the truest sense.”

I nodded my head once in agreement with Drake.
Ironic, coming from you.

If he sensed my sarcasm, he said nothing and motioned for me to move with him to the back doorway of the blood bank. I could also smell fear. The fledglings feared living without Hannah and they feared dying without her as well. They were smarter than I imagined.

Drake smiled down at me and then with a powerful kick, he shattered the door handle and the door itself sprang open with a loud twanging noise and a thud.

We rushed into the darkness, anticipating a hoard of new vampires at our heels.

Nothing.

“Where are they? I’ve lost touch with them,” I whispered, concerned that my mind had gone quiet and blank.

At that moment, Drake’s face appeared to go blank and his eyes became devoid of any further expression. His jaw set and he was so still I could not tell if he was even breathing.

“Drake? What is it? Is something wrong?” I asked as quietly as I could but still wanted him to hear me.

He remained that way for only a moment but the time that passed felt like hours. “Damn him!” Drake’s voice was hoarse and angry as he spoke. “How could I have been so stupid as to trust him?”

I reached out, grasped Drake’s sleeve and drew him close to me. “What the hell is going on Drake? You need to tell me now!”

“You want the truth?” He roared so loudly it caused me to bend backward and seek safety in the wall behind me. As suddenly as his temper appeared, it abated and he wrung his hands in front of his chest. “I’m sorry, Silver. This was not supposed to happen like this. It is not time and now it’s a wretched interference with our plans.”

I was confused but tried to maintain calm as I straightened up and took a step toward him. “Whose plans Drake? Enough lies or misinformation. I deserve to know what is going on here. Hannah’s brood did not just suddenly disappear into thin air! Does this have to do with the person I overheard you chastising earlier?”

I could tell by the change in Drake’s posture and body language that I was correct in my assumption. Now I had to press onward and find out who or what we were dealing with.

“Set,” he said quietly. “It’s Set and his followers who have done this. This was not what I intended, Silver. You must believe me.”

“Set!” I shrieked. “How is that even possible?”

Set was a myth within the Vampire Clans. Set’s followers were distantly related to the Toltec or Mayan vampire race. They thought themselves superior and wore snake tattoos on their wrists to identify themselves and warn others in the Clans. They were creatures more than vampires who bought and sold Clan secrets to the highest bidder.

The Clans thought that Set himself was long destroyed or dead, or as happened to some of the Ancient vampires, mad with age and hiding in self exile from the general vampire population. Set was once a much feared and lauded Prince rumored to have murdered an ancient fertility God in front of his family. His gall was renowned and despised.

Drake raised his hand in an effort to quiet my rising voice. “Are you insane Drake? Even for you this is unexpected. If, and I mean
if
, Set is indeed alive and even capable of intelligent thought at his advanced age why would he be here? What were you trying to accomplish?”

I could tell Drake was struggling to answer. For the first time, he actually looked uncomfortable.

“Drake,” I said. “There is no time to think about what to say or not to say. Out with it so we can get on with finding these hateful abominations.”

“He is alive. Yaqui convinced him and his remaining followers to join her in taking over the Vampire Clans. With Yaqui gone, I had hoped, with your help, to convince him to join them rather than conquering. Instead, it seems he’s decided to take over control of Hannah’s brood.”

I tried to make sense of what Drake was telling me. My stomach felt oily and I could feel hot bile rising in my throat.

“How did you possibly presume to think Set could be controlled by anyone? Yaqui could have had some hold on him at one point, as she was an Ancient like him, but now with his age and dementia, control will be impossible. His followers are brutal and dangerous. Hannah’s fledglings are young and weak; they will never be able to defend themselves or stop Set from taking them over. They will breed uncontrollably now!” My voice shook with anger and disappointment. I had started to trust Drake and even admittedly developed feelings for him. I betrayed Andrew just as Hannah had betrayed me. What did I have left?

Drake met my eyes and my heart fluttered. In those dark eyes, I saw sadness and regret. “Believe it or not I thought I was doing what was best. My intention was to prevent war. Do you have any idea what could have happened if Yaqui had followed through with her takeover of the Clans?”

I winced at the bloodshed and violence between the vampire factions and the possible dethroning and murder of my beloved Andrew.

“You forget who you are talking to, Drake. I was Queen for eons. Please don’t think I am unfamiliar with war.” It took all my will to control the anger in my voice.

“I have not forgotten anything, Silver,” Drake’s gaze was intense as he spoke and I had to turn away in order to compose myself. He was referring to so much more than my former reign as Vampire Queen.

“Where is Set now? Can you feel him at all? Is he close by?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“Right, back to business,” he said uncomfortably. “It’s hard to tell. You know how well some of the Ancients can hide their minds.”

I nodded. “True. It is not a gift I have yet mastered, but with Yaqui’s blood inside me, I can tell they are either hiding or have moved very quickly from here. I felt their presence very strongly before now.”

“They have gone. I remain.”

Drake and I jumped and turned toward the slick-sounding, arrogant voice that spoke from within the shadows. I held my dagger so tight that the hilt bit into the palm of my hand. I could feel Drake tense and clench his own blade as he moved in close to my side.

“Set,” we answered in unison.

“Indeed, Ms. Devries, and what a distinct pleasure to see you again, Father Von Brugel. I did not think our paths would cross again quite this quickly.”

We watched as Set revealed his hiding place and walked from within the shadowy corridor. He was taller than I imagined and walked with a confident swagger. His auburn-colored haired was cropped close to the scalp and his eyes were as dark as pitch. This was not the appearance of a frail, demented elder. Set was whole and strong and unpredictable.

As I quickly scanned his hands and body for weapons, I heard Drake hiss quietly. “He doesn’t require psychical weapons. Keep that in mind.”

Set stopped and grinned broadly, revealing a mouth full of needle sharp fangs. “Very good Father...oh, it’s just Drake now isn’t it? Forgive me, as my mind is not what it used to be. I have been away for much too long.”

As he spoke, I felt a warmth spread from the centre of my body to my limbs and then my face. It was as if my brain was on fire. The intense heat lasted for only a moment but it was enough to let me know that Set was in full control in this situation and he could have killed me if he had wanted to do so. He could likely kill us both with nothing more than a thought.

“I find the psychic part of my abilities the most rewarding these days. Although I will say, I have developed a taste for modern human blood. It is so much more nutrient rich than those hateful, dirty creatures I had to depend on in the past. Humans have romanticized our kind for so long that they give themselves almost willingly...almost.”

Set’s voice was low and menacing but he still had not moved. He seemed content to watch and see if Drake or I would make the first move. I was amazed Drake had kept decidedly silent for this long.

I had enough of the silence and decided to speak. “What have you done with Hannah’s fledglings, Set? You have nothing to gain by dealing with them.”

“On the contrary,” he replied. “They pave the way to the future.”

“The future does not include half-bred mongrels. We made a deal.” Drake growled as he lunged forward only for Set to throw him back with nothing more than a flick of his wrist. A loud crackling sound filled my ears as Drake’s large body hit the staircase. I envisioned cracked ribs and a broken spine. I also knew that it would not keep Drake down or quiet for very long.

“I find it quite ironic for you to be talking about mongrels, Drake. Silver is the closest thing to a pure blood outside of Yaqui and myself that you have ever come in contact with. You should be bowing before her.” Set’s voice was calm and steady as he spoke.

“The future,” I started, “will be ensured by keeping the vampire line as close to pure as possible. By indiscriminately adding any and all humans, we will all become extinct just as the Toltecs. You of all must realize that!”

The last word barely left my lips before I felt a pair of strong hands on my shoulders and a set of fangs dangerously close to my jugular. Bloody sweat beaded my forehead with the effort to keep control over my instinct to lash out and kill this creature. My life was literally in Set’s hands.

“I realize now that you are a disappointment, Silver,” he said as spittle flung from his lips and trailed its way down my neck and chest. I cringed, waiting for the deathblow. “Have you spent so long in the security of the Clans that you fail to see what is going on in the world around you? Humans are a failed race at best. They kill, maim and spew hatred at one another for no other reason but financial gain. We could put them out of their misery.”

Set’s hands tightened to a point where I was certain my clavicle would soon be shattered. “If all the humans are all turned or killed then vampires will die as well. We can’t feed on one another for long and without human blood we descend into madness. A leader of your capabilities should worry about his people!” I hissed as he slowly cut off the breath from my throat. I knew it was a desperate effort to save myself or at least hold off long enough until Drake could recover.

Surprisingly, Set drew back and released me. I collapsed in a heap to the floor, but at least I was alive. A quick glance up revealed that something other than my plea was affecting Set’s frame of mind.

Set clutched his head and reeled backward. “Not possible, not possible,” he muttered. He retreated into the darkness until finally only silence filled the room.

“Drake?” I whispered. “Set is gone, but I don’t know for how long. Can you move?”

Silence greeted my concern.

I stood up and cautiously walked toward Drake’s body. I kept a hand on my dagger and kept looking back to the shadows. There was no way I was going to be caught unaware again by Set or anyone else.

A low moan indicated that at least Drake was alive. How much time had passed since we entered the building? My thoughts were scattered between concern for Drake and trying to figure out what power had distracted Set long enough to save my life.

Andrew.
Drake’s voice once again invaded my brain. If not mobile, he was certainly well enough to know my thoughts.

“How?” I asked. “I know Andrew has power that can rival even the Ancients—but to control one such as Set?” I shook my head in disbelief.