The Hunter: Book Two In The Hunted Trilogy

Chapter Six

After Saddling and mounting Caramel, Domonic threw his saddlebags onto her rump. Josh sat on a gray horse with white spots, Marrium on a Bage, Luke on a white, and Ace on a brown horse that has a dark black spot on his right calf. They all began trotting toward the gate after Domonic told Eric to take over the pack well he was gone. Once outside of the city each one of them was on high alert. Small chatter would break out amongst them occasionally, but the ride was basically silent the whole time. As they grew closer to the road a thought occurred to him:

"Ace," Domonic began, "you heard Mandy die just as well as Sharren did, what if we are captured?"

"I owe your mother my life," Ace replied, "and so very much more. Both of them in fact."

"Why do you say that?" Domonic inquired.

"It's a long story," Ace said warningly, "and at the end you might be mad."

"You helped mom in the end," Domonic said as they trotted closer to the street, "That made up for all the wrong. It must of! All the things you did were done by a blind man! Sampson had you in the dark of the truth for years Ace, just like mom!"

"It's still long!" Ace insisted as they approached the boundary line of the woods and road.

"We have a long time!" Domonic laughed.

"Alright," Ace began to spin his story, "I was on guard the night your moms went to find Eric-"

The scene slowly unfolded right before Domonics eyes.

"Halt!" a younger Aces voice boomed.

"You guys have got to talk," Sally whispered, "He's the hunter that shot me with a fake!"

"He will know our voices," Mandy said, "I dated him when I was still human and he heard Sharren the night of the attack!"

"I don't think he'll notice my voice," Nichole said, "Let me try!"

"Hello lady's," young Ace said, looking over his shoulder at the forest.

"Good evening sir," Nichole said.

"Okay Sally I know its you'll," young Ace whispered. Sally cursed and pulled her head cover down.

"Ace," Sally begged, "you said yourself that last night I was in Bacau I was like a sister, please let us go!"

"Sally they'll kill me!" The young Aces expression was pained as he went for the rope to bind the girls.

"Keep your twos heads down," Sally whispered the first words low enough so only the others could hear, "I really don't want to do this!"

Sally kicked Ace in the gut then shoved the girls to the north woods when she heard Ace call out.

"He's at Sampsons Sally! You can't get him you know that," he said these words in a voice low enough so that the other hunters wouldn't hear him.

Sally nodded her thanks then shoved the girls on. They ran deep with in the northern forest.

"I don't see the problem Ace," Domonic began.

"Because," Ace began, "that's not where it stopped!"

Domonic was about to ask what Ace meant as the entered the forest when Ace continued.

"An older hunter saw me get punched," Ace watched the ground as he road, "he and I ran after the girls into the forest. But once we reached where they were only Nichole was there. The man wouldn't even give her a chance! And I didn't stop him, I didn't even flinch when the gun went off! The only reason I'm alive is because of Sally."

"Well," Domonic spoke, "if it weren't for the fact that you helped Sally, and that Sampson had blinded you with his lies, I would be mad. But I'm not."

"That was one of the hardest things for me to do," Ace admitted as they pulled to a halt on the forest edge, "shooting Sally. She was a sister to me!"

"I know," Domonic placed a hand on Aces shoulder and turned toward the forest, "Lilly! Domonic called, "Lilly witch!"

"Yes." A small see through child appeared before Domonic causing his steed to rear back.

"I have a question for you," Domonic spoke, unfazed by the fact that this girl was a ghost, "We want to know what is in Little Wolf that Sampson wants."

"A box," Lilly teased.

"Clearly!" Domonic retorted trying not to sound agitated, "What is inside it?"

"And why does Sampson want it?" Ace asked.

"A book full of magic spells, Why he wants it is self-explanatory." Lilly began, "I warn you, though, it has so much power in each word that one word can destroy whole races and kinds of every living thing!"

"We need to get back," Domonic barked taking in the seriousness of the situation, "Now!"