A Memory of Starfires

09

As Taren's consciousness became one with the very air around him, he almost recoiled at the all too-familiar scent of malevolence that followed the girl relentlessly.

Hunters. From all external appearances they looked like ordinary men. But they have evolved through the centuries, leaving their humanity behind as they gained in power-- power obtained from every Kindred they killed. One Hunter was more than enough to overwhelm a strong human. Sending two against a defenseless, teenage girl was a bit-- over the top.

Taren's thoughts raced. 'How did they find her? Had they known all along?' But there was no time to think.

Cloaked in shadows, unseen by normal eyes, they closed in on Kari.

A memory of being trapped in suffocating darkness, in a cage that barely had room to stretch his limbs, fire coursing through his veins, stopped him momentarily in his tracks. Not from fear, he realized, for he was done with being afraid-- but a hatred so deep that he gasped at the intensity of it. His eyes burned with fury as he seized the air with his will.

Ten meters away from Kari, the Hunter to her left dropped to his knees, clutching at his chest as the air surrounding him abruptly vanished, transforming into something that was very like the vacuum of space. His eyes bulged, mouth moving in a silent scream. Knowing he would be dead within seconds, Taren faced the other Hunter, whose face betrayed surprise at sight of the most wanted Kindred in history.

The Hunter's black eyes lit up with a feral light. Twin daggers with obsidian blades flashed in his hands as he rushed at Taren with inhuman speed.

The youth knew very well those daggers could cut through almost anything, even the "vacuum bubble" he had used on the Hunter's unprepared companion. Moreover, the slightest wound inflicted by those blades can incapacitate a strong Kindred-– and kill any man it touched, instantly.

Taren moved, matching the Hunter's speed, drawing him away from the busy street teeming with pedestrians, into a deserted alley. Near the end of the alley, he turned, waiting for the Hunter as a predator waits patiently for its prey.

The Hunter wasted no time, quickly closing the gap between them. But those few seconds were enough. The temperature in the alley plummeted, so rapidly that the atmosphere crackled, the small puddles of water on the ground solidifying instantly. Taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, Taren's form blurred, stepping into the Hunter's right side.

The assassin's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared down at the ice-blue blade that pierced his right lung, straight into his heart.

Taren watched coldly as the Hunter's body fell to the ground. Within seconds it seemed to shrivel on itself, burning from the inside out, finally disintegrating into ashes. All that was left was a piece of the ice blade, slowly melting as the temperature in the alley rose to normal.

'So convenient.' Taren thought. No body, no evidence-- of them ever existing. The Hunter Society made sure of that, for well over a thousand years.

Suddenly, his hands started shaking and his legs wobbled. He sank to the ground before he toppled over, wrapping his arms around his body. 'Shit.'  Breathing in, he waited for the shaking to subside.

He hadn't killed a Hunter before, let alone two, in cold blood. Well, that wasn't entirely true; he did dispose several of them just a year ago, but not consciously like this-- deliberately using the power that was his birthright-- to kill.

Taren knew he had to get out of here, fast. This much power just unleashed wouldn't go unnoticed, luring more Hunters to this area.

Kari—

He cursed again, completely forgetting that she might still be in danger.

* * * * * * * *

To his great relief, Taren finally caught up with the girl. It looked like they were in a less populated, residential area.

'Finally, I get to see where she actually lives!' He thought, brightening up. Then it dawned on him what that meant--

Yes, he really had turned into a veritable, legit, genuine stalker!

Feeling morose at what he had been reduced to, but at the same time relieved that nothing unthinkable had happened to her (thanks to her savior!), Taren didn't notice the solitary road they were in until he was standing on it.

'Wait a minute ...this looks familiar." He squinted, trying to focus with his useless eyes.

At the end of the road, Kari stood before a pair of wrought iron gates, and beyond those gates loomed the old Elburke estate with its Victorian towers—his house!