Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 80

Xun took his skinning knife from his belt, and handed it back to his father, without looking away from the vampire.

His dad took it, and flung it at Mary, too fast for any of her guards to react.

Achak disappeared from in front of them, and appeared holding Mary, catching the blade in the air. His bloody hand was wrapped around her neck, holding her at an awkward angle.

“There’s no reason to waste more life.”

She gasped as he sniffed along her cheek, very sensually, stopping to look away as his fangs descended and his eyes began to glow red. Then, as the guards finally clued in to her danger, he disappeared, and reappeared near the dead werewolves, still holding her in his arms.

Xun took a step towards him, not sure what to do.

“So, you claim to be the leader. A little young, don’t you think? Does anyone else object?”

Those who hadn’t snuck away, looked away from his piercing gaze, or weakly shook their heads no. The guards looked upset, and scared at the same time, yet none spoke up.

“Alright, then we’ll talk, little leader. I shall return tomorrow evening, as I have much to do still this night.” With those words, he disappeared. A swirl of drifting snow leading through the gates, the only sign that he had run that way. Mary was gone as well.

Joe approached him from the guards. He rubbed the back of his neck as he walked. Once he arrived, he fell to his knees.

“I am the one who convinced the other guards to follow her. If you are going to punish anyone, it should be me. Don’t take it out on my men, please, sir.”

Xun looked down on him, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. It was late, he was hurt, and there was a vampire on the loose. Looking around at the dead bodies in the street, and the people who were watching him from the sidelines. Guards stood on one side, and the others watched on the other. His dad’s presence behind him, helped.

“I won’t hurt you, Joe. Stand up so we can talk face to face.”

Joe looked at him for a moment, then slowly stood up. Xun couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t tall enough to look him in the face standing up. It felt good to laugh, but he knew it probably wasn’t appropriate at the moment.

“Get that doctor that fixed my ribs here, so I can get my arm seen to. Have your men close those gates as best they can, then get these bodies cleared from the street. We don’t need the memory of tonight staring us in the face when the sun rises. I’ll be in Bob’s bar. We’ll talk there.” His voice was tired, but held strength that they all needed to hear.

Xun knew that if he seemed too weak, they would all crumble. He had to be strong for them.

His father escorted him as he headed towards the bar, hoping he could also get something hot to drink.

Surprisingly, Bob was there. He came from around the bar, personally, since all the women were back at the warehouse, to deliver the hot tea to him. He had it finished before the doctor arrived. Joe got there as the doctor was finishing. He didn’t have anything permanent to place on his arm, so he made a temporary splint.

“The bodies will be gone before morning, but there will still be a mess. We can’t get the blood up without more light to see by. The gate hinges are completely destroyed. It will take the craftsmen days to replace them.” Joe hesitated to sit in the offered chair, but Bob brought him a drink and he crumpled into it, cradling the drink like it was his only link to sanity.

Xun watched him as the doctor finished wrapping his arm with gauze. He wasn’t sure what was in the tea, but he wasn’t about to pass out from exhaustion anymore.

“That vampire’s name is Dr. Achak. I’ve learned a little about him, and none of it’s good. The fact that he knows where we are, is close enough to travel by foot to visit, and Slavers have been here, makes things look grim. We need to make a few decisions, but first you are going to tell me everything you know about what Mary was planning. I know that there isn’t a settlement within a day’s march, unless…” His words faded as he remembered the ruins, where he had met Willow.

“Yes, it’s as you think. The ruins just over the ridge was the location Mary was thinking of sending people to.”

“What was she thinking? That place is far too close to the compound to offer any greater defense?” exclaimed Xun in horror.

“She had wanted to lower the number of people to an easier number to manage.” Joe stared at his drink as he stated this.

Xun looked at him. “You mean she intended to have the Slavers…”

It was too absurd. There was no way it could be true. After every time he had found a somewhat safe place to live, and it was snatched away by Slavers, and then to find this place, untainted ever, to have a person in a position of power, intentionally contact the Slavers…but how?

“How did she contact them?” he asked him. Joe looked up blankly, then away.

“Tell me, Joe. I would hate to see what the people would do to you, if they knew you were in on this.”

He paused, terror spawning on his face. “She has a computer. I can show you.”

Xun nodded. Rubbing his face, he stood up. They stopped long enough to grab Gerald and Craig, before continuing on to this computer. It was connected to a large mainframe, that had all the men whistling in amazement.

“This may take a moment, or two to crack,” said Craig, cracking his fingers as he sat down.