'Hunter!' I cry out breathlessly in shock. 'Oh my god!' yanking my phone from my pocket I punch in Rinny's number, fear gripping my heart in a way it has not done for almost five hundred years and breathlessly cradle it to my face, the blood draining and leaving me feeling cold inside. I’m not one to fear anything in this world, but this isn’t just some random man being scarred for life.
'Hey up, what's wrong? Two calls in one day must be a record!' Rinny's cheerful tone suggests she has carried out her own moon ritual and is back in the sunny mood of a demon who has once again caged her darkness. I don’t do small talk and cut right to the chase.
'I had a vision and then a talisman was left on my alter.' My voice is trembling, my hands shaking, as I turn over the tiny silver charm in my hand scrutinising it over and over. So not me in this moment, where my emotions are getting the better of me. I’m shaken and worried, two things I forgot I could even experience.
'Whoa, busy night...You sound freaked though, so tell me, really. What's wrong Leyanne? You’re weirding me out right now. What did you see that has you sounding like this?' Rinny's happiness drops, and concern floods her normally upbeat voice. She knows me better than anyone, that if I’m afraid, then it means something is really wrong.
'A hunter! .... I saw one, he was standing facing away from me and this, this charm, it's a sun symbol like the ones they have emblazoned on their skin when they awaken their inner powers.' I take a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions and sound normal. My mind wild with scenarios and memories and outright fear. I have lived long enough to remember clearly the last of their kind and had a hand in wiping out their existence for the good of all immortals.
'That's not possible, Leyanne! The hunters that survived the cleanse were all made dormant, they have no memories of what they are and even still. Most of them are dead! You and the council made sure of it. They can’t reproduce.' Rinny sounds unsure, maybe even afraid like she should be. The weight of this heavy on both of our minds. There is a moment of pause, a silence that sinks down with sparking atmosphere between us before I break the tension once more.
'If there is even one..... The devastation he could cause! All he needs are his powers unleashed. He has only one purpose and that is to wipe out all immortals and cleanse the earth in the way we subdued them. One could produce more. That's why the higher powers disabled them.' My voice cracks, and I swallow hard. My throat dry and my brain firing at a thousand miles an hour.
'Good or bad, he won't see a difference between us. He will destroy dark and light equally. This is bad. Why are you scared, Leyanne? You're super immortal. Nothing can kill you, it's the rest of us who should run screaming to the shadows and fear this rising assassin.' Rinny tries to make light of it, but her joke doesn’t match the fear in her tone.
'A hunter can!' I close my eyes, breathing slowly to centre myself. For the first time in so long, knowing something exists that can end my life, and actually wants to, it’s surreal. 'Hence my part in helping the council remove the threat. It was my magic combined with all present which silenced them and ended their reign of terror over us.' My chest feels like it’s caving in, unfamiliar with these kinds of feelings and I’m overwhelmed.
Why would the gods allow a hunter back into our world and why would they let my see the intention? It’s almost like a warning.
One of my gods, Khonsu, ruler of the moon is where I draw the majority of my power and as strong as I am, I have only one major flaw. My only weakness is that of the ones who draw the power from the elements, of all the immortals, there is only one kind who draw from the sun, and they are my Achilles heel. The sun trumps the moon in all ways.
The hunters!
I know because I almost perished at their hands in my youth. As a ten year old child with my own growing power, I barley got out alive when they came to strip our lands of my kind.
Once a strong race of Aztec warriors, whose only purpose was to wipe out those who defied nature's laws by being immortal. Humans were gifted a power greater than any of ours, and one purpose – to kill. Almost like the sun god despised those who dared to create species greater than his mortal playthings. The gods are a fickle breed who give and take life like playing a game of chess. Always at war with one another, a game of one up, and using this planet as a board game full of pawns.
The Aztec's killed thousands in their wake, wiping out beings from the earth until the higher powers intervened. Annoyed by the heavy hand dealt our way. A strong leader from each species was banded together to fight back and we created the council of gifted to save us from them.
I was the most powerful witch among many powerful beings, and it had taken all of our strength combined to defeat them. Even elves from the alternate realm and all their magic. We brought down the empire five hundred years ago and weeded out those with the superhuman strength and skills of the hunters. We killed most and those out of reach were laid dormant from afar. They either lost all memory and connection to their home and purpose or they fell into a deep sleep never to awaken. We thought the task was done and went about our lives in peace and security once more.
Why now? Why one raised hunter? What does this mean?
As far as I know, the Hunters do not have immortality, so any left straying should have died long ago. The blood lines considerably weaker if flaws happened and any reproduced. It would or should not hold the same effect.
Is this why I have come here? That gut feeling inside. Is there a hunter awakening in the midst of the people of Newark? Some distant relative with abilities about to make himself known? Is this the dawning of his coming of age, when his inner soul will erupt and ignite all those murderous gifts that come with a thirsting rage against immprtals.
If anything united a fear from both sides of dark and light it is the hunters. They were soulless creatures with no humanity and no empathy for those they killed. Like mindless beings who could only still when everything in their path was decimated. They could not be swayed from their purpose by any means or cries or begs. They had only the purpose of death. Grim reapers to immortals like me and Rinny.
'What does this mean, Leyanne?' Rinny has the same tremble of fear in her voice as I have in my stomach. Genuinely scared for what’s to come.
'It means I have to find him before he knows what he is and kills us all one by one.'
December 2ndLeyanne’s journalIt's been a few days since the moon ritual, and I figured out my purpose for being here all along. There is a hunter awakening somewhere in this state and I have been drawn here repeatedly through the decades in anticipation for him. I guess Khonsu wants me to intervene in some way and has been trying to guide me all along. Not that I even know how to do that right now.I do not know what a single Hunter could do to the beings of our world, but my gut tells me that it's not good. For a creation five hundred years after the extinction of his kind I assume Ra the sun god has some major plans for this one and it wouldn't surprise me if he rewrites all the rules of what a Hunter is. I shouldn’t relax with expectation and my previous knowledge and expect something worse to prepare myself.We are so far from the origin of the Aztec's that I do not even know what I'm looking for
'Cora, I see you brought a guest.' I flick my eyes over the handsome stranger with tell-tale poreless skin in a flawless beautiful face. Ethereal and definitely not human in his handsome perfection. He has fair hair and I know even in darkness his eyes will be red. Normally they should glow in this dull light, but I sense something off about him.'He’s been assisting me, Leyanne. This is Cornel Gabor, he is from the ancestral line of Romanian vampires and has been my companion for a while.' Cora seems shy and although darkness conceals it, I can sense her blushing. A coy young girl feel to her vibe and I immediately assume she has a crush on her Vampire sidekick.I smile politely, not surprised by this revelation and already sensing what he was from afar. I deal with vampires a lot in recent decades, given they are still an organised and rather charming breed who often require assistance in the mundane. Not being able to conceal what they are among humans means t
'How do we do that?' Cornel finally quips in, no hint of confusion on his face, suggesting he also knows what hunters are and it's then I notice the sway in his movements and his trembling hands, possible dizziness as he’s sat fire gazing quietly. Vampires have impeccably steady hands and almost steel postures normally; this one is fading fast and not in a good condition.'When did you last feed on human blood?' I ignore his question with one of my own. “Don’t you have your tribute travel with you?” I frown at him, unsure why an ancestral would leave home without their gifted human that meets their feeding needs. It’s unheard of not to have access to human blood regularly. Tributes dedicate their life to serving Vampiric masters treating it as a great honour.Cora flashes a look at Cornel in minor surprise and a fleeting look of concern once more graces her face. A hint of guilt and a high blush forming on her cheekbones which sugges
8I chant out loudly, the candles going out one by one in succession around us as though a puff is wafted in succession, followed by the fire. A second of darkness before all explode back to light with a combustive boom that creates tiny sparkles around the room. Like pouring lighter fuel onto a tiny ember of a flame and igniting a volcano eruption of light.Cornel jumps to his feet in alarm, crying out in anguished pain like a dying animal, his body stiffening and twisting as he fights the internal agony. He grasps his heart with both hands, clutching at his chest as though to claw out what it is I am causing, before falling to the ground in a heap. Slumping down in a heavy unceremonious clatter into a deadweight of non-motion. I watch, undeterred and unaffected as he lays groaning and writhing, just as Cora returns, cradling the vial and bloodied dagger against her bosom, eyes wide as though she’s still reeling from what I made her do.She gasps at the s
The darkness in my head clears away to a sunny cloudless blue sky, as though I’m lying down and gazing up into the warmest of tropical summer days. I can make out tall grasses on either side of my line of sight, the type from wild meadows. Luscious and thick, greens and earthy tones mixed pleasingly, scattered with tiny pastel flowers, and savour the baking sun on my face. Voices in the distance are calling and yelling, hard to fathom as it’s so far so they are gentle murmurs in the air and not really coherent.Sitting up in my mind's eye I face towards a group of men and young women across the field playing ball, they are playing a radio on low and drinking beer, surrounded by forests as a back drop to this entire scene as though we are encircled by it at a distance. They have a blanket and picnic hamper set further aback and see like they have bene here for a while. Oblivious to my presence as I am viewing someone else’s memory.It&rsq
The day begins with the morning sun breaking through the dusty drapes of my room. The ancient large four poster bed creaking as I emerge and slide from the layers of sheets and blankets onto the cold wooden floorboards. Accustomed to the morning cold and dampness of the air since I have stayed in this state a while now.Today I’m going to begin looking through the endless public records of births in the city library for any reference to a child named Dante. Even though his accent seemed off it is still worth a try. Hopefully Cora will secure a meeting with the young seer from the coven she connected herself to, giving us a better chance at locating this elusive male. As for the rest of the coven witches, they may yet be useful if they harness any kind of skills and it’s always handy having a brood of sister witches nearby should I require assistance or minions.The girl, the seer, has no clue of the power and gifts she holds within herself if
Some are spells that need to remain constant with my power to continue working, so I never remove them. Some are talismans, some I draw power from and some for protection. I guess even with my own gifts, I still always like to have a little backup to hand. My bangles clink as I walk the few miles to town, merrily enjoying the fine weather and scenic beauty of mother earth.Even this early in the day, the sun is hot and the road dusty. I never saw much need for a car when travelling, I like the time to walk and take in my new surroundings to familiarise myself with it all. If needs be I’m very good at persuasive spells to get people to drive me where I need to go. Vampires are not the only beings with tricks like that.There seems to be some sort of weather disruption in these parts lately as it should be cold here right now. It’s winter! Yet since my arrival nothing but summer weather and soaring temperatures every second of every day. The locals are
I get myself to the local library as the doors are opening. It’s almost deserted due to the early hour, quiet, and gloomy among the rows of old books and musty smelling paper. The little old librarian with white curly hair, rimmed spectacles, and flowery dress smiles at me warmly across the tables when I pass her by and leaves me to browse.I must admit, I love the smell and aura of ancient books, the feeling of being surrounded by old, treasured pages. Back home my own library is my favourite place to spend time. Books retain some sort of presence from past readers, and it can be felt in the air all around me because I’m sensitive to energy vibrations in all things, be they living or not. A warm familiar sensation comes from books, like a gentle breeze on a hot day, or a soothing hug when you need it most, and that relaxes me. It’s because books are beloved things, often cherished with affectionate possessiveness and bring so many emotions by opening them.