The night air was crisp. The wind blew through my crimson locks as I ran through the night, jumping between rooftops. I stopped for a moment on the top of a building to stare out at the city line. Bright lights flashed, and cars buzzed by on the streets below. The twinkling lights illuminated the nightlife. The waning moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by a sea of stars.
I heard movement to the East, so I moved in that direction. Finally, I came to an alley in the bad part of the city. In the shadows I saw a slithering, red eyes glowed in the darkness. I jumped down into the alley. The immense claws of the creature were the first thing I noticed as it turned to face me. Its jaws were houndlike, its grotesquely twisted body covered in tufts of fur. Wolf Demon. I hissed, flipping my daggers in my hands.
The demon launched at me; saliva flew at me from its immense jaws. I dodged to the side and spun, landing a kick to its spine. It fell to the ground. I lunged forward, throwing my dagger. It lodged in his throat. He sputtered and fell to the ground. I reached forward and yanked my dagger across its throat. It exploded into dust in the air. I sighed and wiped the saliva and demon blood off of me.
"Bad time?" A voice chimed from behind me. I jumped and turned, baring my fangs. I stopped when I saw who it was.
His ruby red locks hung in his face, fluttering in the wind. His piercing blue eyes were as hard as they were before, his lips set in a grim line. He still hadn't shaved the 5 o'clock shadow from under his chin. He held my dagger in his hand, played with the tip against his finger. Standing in an intimidating stance, he had ditched the usual camo gear and dressed in all black. I could see knives and stakes strapped to his waist.
"Come to finish the job?" I hissed. He shook his head and pointed the dagger at me.
"You caused quite the commotion leaving, you know. And we had a deal. I unlocked the door." He raised a brow. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
"So, what exactly do you want from me?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. He scoffed and tossed my dagger. I caught it in the air. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I want to be rid of your kind, but more than that, I want to find out who killed my mother." He said in a clipped tone. I waited for him to continue. When he was silent, I prodded.
"I need more information than that. We don't all know each other, you know." I cleaned the knife off and placed it on my belt. He sighed and leaned against the alley wall.
"A group of Athena's descendants infiltrated our manor when we were out on a hunt." He grunted.
"We came back, and they had decimated the place. Things had been destroyed. My mother had been in the house alone. All we found was blood on the floor…" He clenched his fists at his sides. I nodded and wiped my hands on my pants.
"My powers work through blood. I need to sample blood to witness and dissect memories. I'm going to have to ingest some of yours in order to see what happened that night." Answering him clinically, his face paled, his lip curled in disgust. Letting a vampire feed from them was the ultimate form of humiliation for a hunter. How badly did he want this? He chewed on his lower lip and looked down at the ground.
"We can come back to that later. I came here to warn you." His gaze was serious. I raised a brow.
"Warn me about what?" I asked innocently. He scoffed at my attitude and shifted his weight.
"The awakening ceremony. They're planning something big. Do not be inside that building on awakening day." He said firmly. I shrugged my shoulders.
"We know they must have planned something, but I have to be there." I said honestly. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm trying to keep you alive at least long enough to help me. Trust me, don't be there." He ran his fingers through his medium length hair. The scar on his face was more prominent with his frustrated expression.
"What are they planning?" I asked. He looked around the alley.
"I've said enough — "A sound crashed from around the corner, hisses filled the dark alleyway. I saw copper red eyes glow from the darkness. Vampires. They approached from the mouth of the alley.
"Hunter, we've found you." A feminine voice chimed. A brunette with long, curly hair sauntered forward. She They strapped her daggers into her waist. Two men crowded behind her, both stocky and strong. They hissed and bared their fangs. The hunter stood at attention and pulled a stake from his vest. I sighed and nudged him, nodding to the fire escape ladder close by. Baring my fangs and hissing, I reached into my pocket and grabbed some of the silver powder I had nabbed from the hunter warehouse. I threw it in front of me and they hissed and covered their eyes.
"Go!" I prodded him and we scrambled away up the fire escape. Keeping pace with me, he leapt from building to building, rolling to brace his body on impact. We jumped over a few buildings, and I stopped to listen. It didn't sound like they were following us. The silver had disabled them momentarily. Breathing heavily, I turned to stare at the hunter beside me.
"Make some friends?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders, and a smirk quirked his lips.
"You may have been my second stop tonight." He mused. I rolled my eyes and stood gazing over the night cityscape.
"Maybe I need to worry about keeping you alive?" I questioned. He shrugged his shoulders again.
"You owe me, but what do you get out of me living?" He answered honestly. I raised my brow.
"Good point. Remind me why I don't kill you now?" He seemed to think about the question seriously.
"I don't know. I would have expected you to pick my bones clean by now." He muttered. I snorted.
"Do you really believe that?" I looked into his piercing eyes. He stared back without blinking and nodded. I turned to face him fully.
"Contrary to what you've been raised to believe, we are descendants of the gods. The love of humanity is instilled in us still. Some have forgotten the ways, but there is bad in all races." I answered. He snorted.
"Descended of gods who betrayed humanity, chained them and enslaved them. Descendants cursed by the rulers to roam the Earth, ever thirsty and powerless for their crimes."
"Then don't you believe we are punished enough?" I asked.
"You are abominations. You kill to survive." He said, incredulously. I shook my head and sighed. There was no point in arguing with him. Hunters had been raised from birth to hate my kind, descendants of the heroes of old who were tricked and betrayed by the gods, sent on errands by them and thankless tasks. The heroes whose descendants they now charged with keeping us in control.
I reached to my belt and adjusted my daggers; wiping my hands on my black leather pants, I turned away from him.
"Well, your warning has been noted. Thanks, I guess. I'd better get back before they notice I'm gone." I said. He nodded and straightened, looking over the side of the building.
"You'll start looking into the Atheneides?" He asked, hopefully. I sighed and nodded.
"Till next time." I shot over my shoulder and leapt from the roof.