THE HUNT

One

BOOK ONE

   "Wake up." A sharp pain cuts across my face, and I lift my eyelids with a groan. "There she is." He grabs ahold of my chin, squeezing hard. I glare up at him, vision spinning. "I was beginning to think we'd lost you, Hunter." Immediately, my heart drops to my feet. He must see the expression on my face. "Casius told me everything I wanted to know." His touch turns so gentle that it's mocking. I curl my lip, meeting his gaze. His eyes and skin are the same pale shade as mine. We could be twins. I see myself in him, which makes the torture worse. The only difference is that where I have a head of dirty brown hair, a trait I inherited from my mother, he has stark black locks cut close around his face.

    "My name isn't hunter." I grit my teeth, voice raw from disuse.

    "Ah, there's that beautiful voice of yours." He draws back. "It's been what, three months since we caught you infiltrating our ranks?" I say nothing, looking away. He clears his throat. "Hunter Horne." I snap my gaze back to him. He only smirks as dread crumples around my heart. "You know more than he does." I say nothing, though words push against my tongue, begging to spit at him. "So I'll need you to fill the gaps, yes?" I say nothing, and his face twists. He sighs. "I thought we were past this, Hunter." He reaches to the side, and I follow his gesture with my gaze, seeing his long fingers drift over an ugly, yet extensive collection of knives.

    A sob forces itself past my lips, and I curse myself, biting my tongue. He smirks, choosing a tool that resembles a scalpel. He holds it in front of my face tauntingly, knowing it's one of the most painful.

    A gasp from me fills the silence between us as he traces my bare collarbone with the sharp edge. He says nothing, only meeting my gaze as he chooses a spot. He sinks the blade into my skin and drags it down, pressing harder and digging deeper with every inch. I shut my eyes, pressing my lips together as pain splinters through me.

"Maeve." The pressure stops, and I feel warm all over.

"Mitaka, what do you want?" I crack my eyes open, seeing a man in a lieutenant's uniform standing stiffly in the doorway. The man who's been torturing me for, what he's just confirmed to be three months, turns around.

"You're taking too long. The Supreme Leader wants that information now."

The world silences, and the breath leaves my lungs.

Supreme Leader.

Terror wraps its scaly fingers around my neck, but I don't let it show as he, Maeve, turns back to me. Finally a name to the face I dread.

"Maybe the Supreme Leader would like to try." He scoffs. I shift in my restraints, and he turns his bright eyes to me. "Oh, you don't want to meet him?" He crows, stepping away from the lieutenant and towards me. "I can promise that I am much, much friendlier than he is." He tosses a glance back to the door. "But if you continue to be rude," He tosses the scalpel on the tray, and I flinch. "I'm sure I could arrange a meeting."

    "No need." The lieutenant averts his gaze. "He's called for you first thing tomorrow morning." My blood chills, and Maeve curses. "If you want this to end well for you, get that information."

    "I'm making progress, Mitaka." He says quietly. The man turns, and the door slides open.

    "No. You're not."

—

    "I know your name, and I know your mission." Maeve hisses, breath mixed with mine. His hand around my throat tightens as I stay silent. "Where are your bases, Hunter?" He growls. Then he pulls back, and I cough, gasping for air. He strikes me across the face, and a sob rips from the throat.

The slow, methodical torture, I was able to hold steady to what I was taught. This torture, this renewed desperation he has makes it harder to withstand.

I force myself to crack a smile, which I know will infuriate him. As expected, he strikes me again.

And again.

And again.

"You're running low on time, Maeve." I say, breaking my silence. "What do you think he'll do to you when he finds out that you've failed?" I hiss.

"What he'll do to me?" He laughs. "No, Hunter." He grabs a container, using a needle to extract the liquid inside. I shrink back. "I won't be the one at his mercy." He steps up to my side. "It's in your best interest to tell me what you know now."  I press my lips together. He sighs, inserting the needle into my arm. I cry out as there's a familiar pinch, one I know will end in fire.

Sure enough, magma races through my veins before he even removes the tool. Another sob bubbles from my lips.

"No." My voice trembles. "I won't tell you anything."

"Your good friend Casius only knows the location of half of the bases." He tells me, taking another vial. "If you tell me the rest, I can take your pain away." He leans down so he's at my eye level, holding the one thing that will stop the agony blazing through me.

"I'm not telling you anything." I hiss. He shrugs, then lets the glass vial slip from his hands, shattering against the tile floor.

"Oops." He growls, turning on his heel. The door slides open. "You can boil in here, and in hell." He snaps, leaving.

All I can do is try to hold in my sobs and try not to beg.

Because my mission is more important than my life.