Chapter 1
I wiped the blood from my blade on the dead vampire’s loose white shirt. Vampires share a penchant for fine fabrics and lace, don’t ask me why. I’m not a scholar, I have no interest in studying the undead. My only purpose is to kill them.
I stood, taking in the stone walls mostly covered with tapestries, the heavy wooden furniture, and the sconces casting firelight across the dead vampire’s body. I sheathed my sword across my back, wincing at the protesting bruising lining my shoulder blades. Even through a tough leather cuirass, getting thrown into a wall by a thousand-year-old being took its toll.
I froze at the sound of footsteps behind me, then relaxed as I caught his scent. “Hello Steifan, you’re late.” This was only our second hunt together, but it didn’t take me long to memorize a scent.
“Alright Lyssandra, how do you do that?” He stepped into the room, then stood at my side, looking down at the corpse. His armor matched mine, bearing the flaming crossed-swords insignia of the Helius Order. His jet black hair, hanging loose to his chin, framed questioning hazel eyes.
“Do what? Kill vampires?”
“Know it’s me approaching when I haven’t spoken a word.”
I shrugged as I unbraided my fiery red hair. “Trade secret.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell him I could recognize his scent. It would lead to other questions, the answers to which would guarantee excommunication from the very order to which I’d sworn fealty. The red hair, an uncommon trait in the Ebon Province, had already caused me enough trouble within the Order. Lesser hunters thought me a witch. They were wrong, but the accusation was better than the truth.
“Did you cut out the heart?”
I smiled. “No, that’s your punishment for being late.” Cut out the heart and burn it. Just to be sure. I turned and strode out of the chamber, leaving Steifan cursing behind me.
I hated cutting out the hearts, though there was one vampire for whom I’d make an exception. I’d hoped tonight’s hunt would lead me to him, but it seemed I’d been wrong again. Years of hunting across the continent, and still he eluded me.
Sometimes I could swear he watched me from the shadows, laughing at my ineptitude. Or maybe all that haunted me were the memories of what he’d done. Maybe he no longer cared at all.
I walked through the quiet estate, wondering what had happened to its true owners, though my imagination didn’t have to stretch far. The vampire I’d just slain had likely killed them. The blood-drained bodies were probably buried in the wilting gardens.
I pushed open the heavy oak and iron door, taking a deep inhale of cool night air, tinged with the scent of swamp water. I wrinkled my nose at the after-scent. I hated hunting in the mires.
I waited outside until Steifan joined me. We untethered our horses and began our long ride. We wouldn’t reach Castle Helius until the following night, if we were lucky and did not run afoul of any beasts. Or the dead vampire’s flock.
I was an experienced hunter, and Steifan had made it far enough to be my trainee, but facing an entire flock would be the death of us.
We rode on through the night until morning’s light graced us. The dawn was always a sigh of relief for a hunter. During daylight we could rest easy.
Steifan dismounted first. We weren’t far from the road, but in these parts, bandits were less of a worry than the creatures which dwelt deep in the mires. Still atop my mount, I searched for a flat area to sleep for the first time in three nights. Yet another thing I couldn’t tell Steifan. Going so long without sleep was . . . unnatural.
Finding a suitable spot, I dismounted, unfurling a rough woolen blanket from my saddlebag. The covering was more to keep out the light than for warmth. I hated sleeping in daylight.
With our horses tethered to a nearby tree, we both lay down to rest. Steifan was too close to me, but I didn’t chastise him. It was only his second hunt, after all. Though most hunters trained from birth, actually going on a hunt was always unnerving. We came from family lines resistant to vampire trickery, not from lines impervious to the emotional effects of cutting out someone’s heart.
“Lyssandra?”
“Call me Lyss,” I sighed, hoping whatever he needed to say would be brief. I was desperately in need of sleep.
“What if something sneaks up on us while we rest? Shouldn’t one of us stand guard?”
“I’m a light sleeper.”
This seemed to comfort him, for soon he snored as loud as a bear.
I sighed, tugging my blanket further over my face, willing myself to rest. I focused my senses on our surroundings. The horses gently grazing. A stream running somewhere far off. Birds carrying on a conversation in the oaks overhead.
I had almost drifted off when a new sound joined the cadence. Soft steps. Human. More than one.
If I woke Steifan I’d give myself away. I moved my fingers toward the sword at my side, under the blanket. I had just sealed my grip around the hilt when they charged.
I leapt from the ground, striking at a man who’d been ready to plunge a dagger into my chest. He jumped back out of reach. I knew instantly what he was, what they all were. I could sense them, just like I could sense vampires.
“Human servants!” I shouted, hoping Steifan was already awake behind me.
I glanced back to see him standing with his sword out. The three human servants, two males and a female, circled us. Their clothing was little more than rags, their forms thin, but appearances could be deceiving. Servants were almost as strong as vampires, and almost as fast, though they lacked vampire mind tricks and a thirst for blood.
“Watch my back,” I growled to Steifan. I hefted my sword, looking at the man who’d tried to impale me in my sleep. “Well, are you going to avenge your fallen master, or are we going to stare at each other all day?”
They attacked. The man with the dagger fell easily to my blade. The second man went for Steifan, and I could only hope he’d be alright. The woman wielded her blade like she knew how to use it, and her rage-filled eyes were on me. Her brown hair hung limp and loose down to her waist, adding to the feral appearance provided by her tattered clothing.
We charged as one, our blades meeting with a deafening clang. Her eyes widened at my strength. I sensed what she was, but it was clear she did not share such gifts.
She let out a guttural cry and charged again. I could hear Steifan fighting the other man behind us, but couldn’t look. I had to quickly disable my opponent so I could help him. The woman sliced her sword toward my belly. I spun away, then rammed my blade’s tip into her back. I shoved the blade upward, then pulled it out. Before she could drop, I turned toward Steifan.
The man had him on the ground. Steifan’s hands patted about him for his sword, lost somewhere in the yellow grass. They were ten paces away, too far for me to reach him in time. But I couldn’t let Steifan die so young.
I threw my heavy sword, aimed with precision, and it thunked into the remaining man’s back. He toppled over, dead.
Human servants weren’t nearly as hardy as their masters, though these had not belonged to the vampire we killed. Servants died with their masters. Kill a vampire, kill its servants. These belonged to someone else in the dead vampire’s flock.
With a final glance around to ensure no one else approached, I walked toward Steifan and retrieved my blade.
Steifan stared up at me, his hazel eyes wide. “How did you do that?” he panted.
I knelt to wipe my blade on the man’s grimy clothing. “I’ve been with the Order a long time.”
“No.” He was still sitting in the grass, looking at me all horrified. “No, I’ve seen the greatest fighters perform, none move as fast as you. None could throw a heavy sword like that. A dagger, maybe, but not a sword.”
I grimaced, rising as I sheathed my clean blade. It would need to be oiled later to prevent rust. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”
Finally, he stood, his eyes scanning the grass for his sword. “I want you to tell me the truth.”
I looked down at the three dead servants, debating my options. What would he say if I told him the truth? Would he tell the Order? My cynicism set in. That would be some way to thank me for saving his life. But if I didn’t tell him, would he speak of what happened here today? Would he tell others I moved too fast for a human? Would they begin to question what I was?
The Potentate had made it very clear Steifan was to be my trainee until he was ready to hunt on his own. It would take at least a year. Could I really keep my secret from him when our lives might depend on my skills?
I sighed heavily. Better to catch him off guard and know his reaction now. If he seemed too horrified, I could always kill him. I didn’t like the idea, but if I thought it necessary, I’d do it to protect myself.
I met his waiting gaze. “I will tell you this, and your secrecy will be my payment for saving your life.”
My gut churned. Maybe I should just let him talk, let him tell others his suspicions about me. Then again, if he told them what I was about to divulge, would they even believe it? Not likely, but . . .
“I am a vampire’s human servant,” I breathed. “Every hunt, I hope he will be my quarry.”
Steifan blinked at me for several heartbeats, then burst out laughing, sounding a bit shrill and hysterical, probably because of the three dead bodies at our feet. It took him a moment to calm himself. “Thanks for that, I needed a laugh, and thanks for saving my life.”
He searched around, finally finding his sword. He picked it up and sheathed it, then turned back toward me. “Perhaps we’ll find better rest at an inn.”
I nodded hesitantly, schooling my expression to not give too much away. It was probably for the best that he didn’t believe me. He now seemed to have dismissed my speed as a trick of his frantic mind.
I took one last look at the bodies before we moved toward our battle-hardened horses. Poor sots. Most human servants were entirely devout to their masters, they would die for them. But not me. I wasn’t sure if it was because hunter blood ran through my veins, or some other trick of fate, but I hadn’t been besotted with my master. He’d been the one besotted with me.
Though neither of us would die for each other, we’d eventually die together. Taking his life would in effect take my own. I quite literally couldn’t live without him.
What price, freedom? ...
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