MOONSHINE-The Coven of Huntresses

CHAPTER 1

I looked around a little as I walked down the long corridor leading to the throne room.
A few days ago, as soon as I heard of my imminent departure, I had requested an audience with King Avor, the ruler of Irvin, the town where I was sent by the Coven.
For whatever reason the rector sent me here, she must have thought it was really important, otherwise I was sure she would not bother to send me. She would have let another of the other slayers come. I stormed my nose at the thought of the speed with which I had to leave. I had to gather the few clothes I had in a large lump of cloth, better than I could run here, with the horse that I had to buy from my own pocket. It took me a little time. On the other hand, what I had chosen and for which I had spent an eye of the head was of good breed, strong and fast. Just thinking about it I got a feeling of annoyance. The seller who had sold me it had really screwed me.
With that sum of money I could have bought a dozen hot meals at the first tavern I found around. Unfortunately, I had no alternative. So I had to let it go.
I could have given him a good head so he would lose the desire to cheat his buyers, but it would have been useless. As I walked, I got lost in observing the interiors of the castle very lavish and elegant.
I looked up at the sky «Typical of the courts of the North» slipped from my voice. This corridor seemed enless. In that narrow space, between one wall and the another, beyond me, there was silence. There was no sound, not even the echo or the cold drafts of air that penetrated through the cracks of the large windows of the castle.
The only thing that could be heard was the rhythmic ticking, costantly caused by the heels of the leather boots I was wearing. On my back I had my two katanas tied in cross, with very sturdy that went all the way across, along my entire back, almost reaching my chest.

The slightly curved blades pointed downwards.
This way I could grab both handles quickly, when I needed to, in case of attack.
Callista's dagger rested on my life, also tight, enclosed in its sheath, with her initials burned. That piece of her I had never separated, so I chose for him the place of honour.
On my side, where she should have always been.
On the side where it was placed I could feel a cold almost reassuring for the whole length of the blade. I knew that he had always been there, and had always been for years to come.
So far I had only used it on a couple of exceptional occasions, but for the rest of the time it was always enclosed in its sheath.
Two other twin daggers made of lupus bone, earned at the Moonshine, were hidden inside boots a size larger than mine, while the rest of the hunter's gear I kept in a small purse tied to the thigh instead.
I watched the mist of condensation coming out of my nostrils, a sign that winter was coming ever faster, the time most feared by both farmers and ordinary people.
At that time the nocturnes, especially the wampyr  were partying.
They were freer to go anywhere, as the hours of darkness were longer than those of sunshine.
You barely repressed a shiver at the thought of what they would do.
I continued to walk briskly towards the meeting room, where the king was waiting for me.
The long braid I had made from above and whose tip reached the dimples of venas slammed at every step on the back.
It was the only trait of femininity that I held close, because everything else...my life, my very existence could be compared to that of a man, or rather of an èlite soldier.
The only trait that could distinguish us was the more graceful and longline figure.
With all the training we had to face the curves of the hips or breasts were the last of our thoughts. Our focus was completely on surviving the trials, and then again trying not to get killed in the missions we were given, so... Yes, my hair and my braid I wanted them to stay as they were and attached to my head.
Immediately after leaving the Institute for a few years I never thought that this moment would ever come. My first real mission.
The task I would have to face and complete here in Irvin, possibly alive. I had never been summoned for something so big.
At one point, as I was distractedly rethinking the letter that the instructor had sent me, I came to the highest gate I had ever seen, which opened almost as if someone could see me from across the solid wood.
A spark of stupor passed me from head to toe, just the time to return to drop the mask of coldness that I had been used to wear.
«The Huntress, Majesty, has arrived» announced the valet who stepped aside to let me in, opening the door more than a sinister squeak. It was to have its years, as the rest of the castle «Welcome to the Court of North Tessandra» welcomed me the sovereign.
I stared at King Avor for a few seconds, long enough to understand that despite his title, he was a crude man and not inclined to good manners.
I watched him rise from the throne strictly inlaid, with the crown shining so much in the sunlight that I had to squint for a few seconds.
As he approached, the long furs that covered him crept across the marble floor, raising specks of dust that were rarely swept by the few maids left after the queen died a couple of winters ago. Poor woman. 
I wondered how she could have lived life by him side.
It must have been a nightmare.
He was a few steps away and looked at me with eyes, almost greedy. I could not describe them any other way. For a king he was very unregal. Tall little more than a cave elf, and that said it already. His face was rough and masculine, almost aged. It seemed that he carried the weight of millennia on his shoulders.
«I sent a noctua to your rector as soon as possible, but I did not expect your presence. I thought she was sending one of your companions».
He looked at me with a slightly confused air «As soon as I knew you would come, I had the servants prepare one of the best rooms in the palace» he said. «Thank you» I said a little bow with my head. He was still a king.
Even for us huntresses, the law of the court was worth it.
«Lately the city outside the fortress is suffering losses. Many are dying. We suspect that some nocturnal has managed to penetrate the lookouts and have entered the citadel. So I asked the Coven if they could send someone to help my soldiers».
So? I was sent to Irvin just to fulfill this purpose?
Something did not suit me, send me and not one of the other... There was something she didn't tell me, I had no doubt. But I had a strong feeling that I would soon find out. It seemed that even King Avor was quite astonished by my presence here.
I knew I was the best huntress, not that it was something to brag about. This title I had earned with sweat, sacrifice and blood.
But being sent here by the rector in a hurry to fight a couple of night creatures was a little too strange and especially not from her. Was there anything you didn't want the king to know?
I watched him carefully as he came a little closer to me.
This man did not know the sense of distance?.
There was a hint of arrogance and bravado in his behavior that made me twist my guts.
Because despite the fear, the tense and rigid body came closer than it should.
Even he feared my presence, but after all was a king and show security for them was the order of the day «But now that you are here, I have another request to make» pronounced aloud, apparently safely, but the slight trembling of his fingers said otherwise.
«I need you to find the rebel leader, we will reward you properly once you have completed your task» he said.
Wait what? The leader of the rebels? «Who are you talking about?» I asked.
«There is a group of men who are gathering for something I suspect has to do with the crown. I believe they want to take over the palace and the riches that are inside».
I tried to be cool and not make any grimaces, even though his face was making it really hard for me. He seemed more worried about losing his gold than anything else. Almost smiled, almost... I thought.
I needed money urgently, because I had spent almost everything to buy that horse.
«How much?» I asked without ever taking my eyes off him, I wanted to see if he was as brave as he wanted to prove himself.
As I imagined in a blink of an eye he lowered his gaze «ten thousand gold crowns is all I can offer you» he said. My eyes were almost out of my sockets.
It was a disproportionate number «I accept» I answered satisfied.
I could have asked for more if I wanted to, but it would have been enough... Gods would have been enough for years.
I knew that in any case this kingdom could not afford to spend more money, given the conditions of poverty I had noticed in the village before crossing the gates of the walls. Something told me that the tithe money was being misused by the king to decorate his palace.
«I am flattered» he mutters gratefully.
I would have told him that I was not a supervisor or that he hired one, if he had the need.
Who did he take me for?
One of the guards came to hand me the bag of coins.
I didn't even bother to check. All I needed was to feel his weight in my hands.
«You were lucky, this morning the guards at the border caught a man. He wore the mark of rebellion. At the moment he is in a cell in the castle's basement».
Great, at least I could have worked on something already.
«Take me to him» my voice echoed in the room. Even my limbs vibrated at the sharp sound that I emitted.
«D-don't you think before resting? You will be tired from the journey» he muttered with a thread of voice. No one dared to speak. «I prefer to have a starting point, but I appreciate your concern» I said, carefully placing the money in the bag tied to the thigh «As you wish» he said nodding with his head «my guards will escort you» pointed with his hand some of them who immediately stood by me «They will accompany me and that's all, then I want to be alone together with the prisoner» claimed, I would not have needed an escort for what I should have done there below, It might have been better if they had not attended the interrogation.
After a while, between the corridors, we came to a door set on the floor, which led to the cells.
«It's down here» said one of the soldiers.
I looked at the hatch from which a steep spiral staircase without handle came out.
Who knows how many died in the fall, running through it. You couldn't even see the end. It was completely submerged in darkness. If it wasn't for the torches that had access all along the way we would have fallen all. I took a breath of fresh air, and then leaned against the wall.
Rely on touch. Her image accompanied by her voice rang in my head, like a warning.
I tried to drive it away. I didn't want company at this time.
In the dungeons it was a bitter cold, to clench your teeth, fortunately during the years of training I had learned that the more you fixed on a thought the more it seemed to become real, so I had to eliminate the cold from my head with something that compensated, Something warm and warm.
Too bad I had nothing like that to make me think of all this.
The thin suit I was wearing didn't keep the low temperature of the basement at all.
I had to get something more suitable. Now was not the time to think about changing wardrobe.
I would have thought of that at another time. Perhaps tomorrow down at the market I would have picked up a cloak that would have been better suited to protect me from the weather.
With that I could have easily gone out at night, to do the usual rounds of patrol without anyone recognizing me and without trembling at every step like a leaf.
«We have arrived, the prisoner is here» said one of the soldiers «Leave us alone», exclaimed, parting the men who immediately left silently. They did not have it repeated twice.
If these were the guards to protect the castle, I thought the rebels had found a way to revolt against the king.
Once I was alone, I approached the cell, one step after another, until I found myself face to face with the silhouette of a man, curled in the dark.
He was not very old, given his build. I stared at him again. The light below was really low, so I didn't see much of his face. When I tried to approach again he moved. It was him who approached. The thick metal chains that sprang from his wrists held him firmly anchored like a beast to the wall.
The chains were heard to flicker on the floor. Then suddenly they stopped.
If I hadn't had even a shred of self-control at that moment, I would have done something really stupid.
He distinctly smelled the air «Huntress» whispered in a roaring and suffering voice.
It was at that moment that he felt it. He was not a human. He had recognized me, although it did not surprise me at all, the stramonium I had in my purse had an unmistakable smell for them. «You can kill me, I won't tell you anything» he said, shaking his chains.
I took a few seconds to think. I did not respond to his provocation, or at least not immediately. «Strange, I came here with the conviction that I would find a human» I said, looking again at the chains that held him still. At that moment I noticed the mark, which was nothing but the lycan mark, imprinted on his arm, black and perfectly healed.
Yet the nocturnes were unusually quick to heal from that kind of wounds, so it must have been done with something that did not allow them to heal. «I will tell you nothing» he exclaimed. «You keep saying it, yet I have the feeling that in a little while you will tell me» I answered him without haste unlacing the button that held closed the bag where I had the devil's grass.
I made sure that even with the flares he could see him. «Are you the ones who are causing death down in the village?» asked «No» simply replied «And what is it?» I asked him again. He did not answer. He remained silent. This was not good at all.
«How many are there?» I tried again more calmly «More than you can imagine and all your lineage, cursed» his spit reached me almost to the boots. Admit that we were a little offended by so much bravado. Even chained to the wall wanted to be bragging.
A gesture like this years ago would have had an immediate effect. I would have killed him immediately without thinking too much. But over time I had learned that what I got by acting in this way did not lead to anything.
My goal was to extract information, not lose it, so I let go of «Good well». It was time to move on to the hard ways. Remove the stramonium bag from the bag tied to the thigh.
Unfastening the button had been a small warning, now it was serious. For them, the smell alone, if they inhaled it at close range could burn their lungs. While the powder, finely ground, went to end in his eyes lacrimal, with hallucinogenic effect. If they drank it, on the other hand, it was death for them.
«I think you'll tell me something more now, don't you?» I asked him sarcastically and approached him. He started to spin like a worm «Enough» he screamed as soon as I took some more steps towards him «Tell me who is your leader».
It was unusually resistant, usually just start to get serious if they were done and confess almost immediately. This was a tough one. But I knew that everyone had a point of failure and I would do anything to get what I wanted. It was enough to tease him a little bit more and then surely he would confess.
So I did.
To my great astonishment he continued to resist, even with his lungs burning and the drops of sweat that came down from his temples.
«Very well. Let's make things easier» close the bag so that it takes a breath. I had no intention of wasting more devil's weed. «You only have to tell me and I will remove this from your face» I said, waving him in the air «Bastard» cried out moaning in the throes of pain. «So they told me more colorful» he murmured. But he had little inventiveness.
I waited, waiting for an answer as his breathing became more regular. Oh go on don't make things harder.
At this point there was only one option: open the bag again, losing more stramonio and reduce it to the limit of forces. More than I've ever done.
However, I decided to give it another try, since I had this precious opportunity in my hands, and I had no intention of wasting it. «Come on, you can tell me» I encouraged him «I don't know» he said. For a moment he seemed sincere, too bad the tone of his voice was a little too safe for someone who was about to die. «I don't know anything else» he replied.
I didn't believe him, not even for a second. I wasn't a novice.
«The next time I approach you this bag you will die» I said with a firm mind «Now tell me what you know. Everything. I'll let you live». He gasped for a few more seconds in search of air, under the effect of the residue of the poison.
Every single breath he took was with great difficulty «I will not say it». Gods was just stubborn, even at the edge of death. It gave me the creeps to think of all those who were part of this rebellion. If they were so resistant, it would be hard to put them down.
To confirm that my bluff was not a bluff, I slowly untied the strap from which immediately came out a purple cartoon. That dose would have been lethal so I should have played it very well.
As a result his spasms started worse than before «Okay, okay» mubled in the semi-consciousness «Speak» I said «There is a man at the head of the rebellion who calls himself the Spectre, nobody has ever seen him, nor knows his face. He simply exists and acts in the shadows. None of us knows who he is» he blames.
«More?» I asked him, stirring him a little with the poison grass. He cried so much that the walls shook «Our clan of the rebellion joins down to the village, in an inn, the only one of the village» confessed drawing his last breathless breaths before settling on the ground, unconscious.
As promised, I let him live. The king's soldiers would take care of it, though I doubted they would return here again.
In any case, it was not my task.
Satisfied I headed back to the spiral staircase and climbed one step at a time guided by the torchlight they had intelligently left on. Then I pushed the door of the hatch which opened with a deaf thud.
The king himself was waiting outside «Have you found something, Huntress?» he asked cautiously, as if he did not want to say something inappropriate «Not much sire, but enough for me» remained on the vague purpose, no one had to know more than it should «Very well, I guess you will be tired from the trip and especially after this.
I have prepared a room with hot water if you like to take a bath and rest for the night» he said «Thank you, your majesty» I answered leaving completely from the hatch. «Yveline will accompany you to the guest room».
With a gesture he indicated to the woman behind him to accompany me to my room.