The Hunter Chronicles

Chapter 11

James stared intently into the trees. Coal black eyes boaring through the thin cover than had hid us from the human girl. A wry, knowing smile danced across his lips as he turned to sniff the wind. The girl released a low moan of pain. It was hard to ignore the scarlet red stain of blood that had soaked the front of her shirt. James frowned, probably thinking about how his lovely meal was going to waste. He glanced at where Darius and I crouched one more time before he returned to his dinner.

     Darius let out a tiny sigh, then grabbed my hand and we retreated into the forest. As soon as we were out of earshot, Darius scooped me up in his arms and took off deeper into the woods, “It wasn’t you.” I finally said. My voice mirrored the relief and happiness that was welling up inside of me. He held me tighter, “You shouldn’t have had to think it was me. I never should have gone off like that. No matter what the circumstances were.” I reached up and touched his cheek. Darius didn’t need to be so hard on himself, “You came back to save me before you had any blood. I know that you weren’t yourself. You don’t need to apologize for that.”

     He shook his head and slowed to a jog. Soon we ended in a little clearing. Fall winds were sweeping though the trees, beckoning for leaves to continue their lazy decent to the ground. I shivered and pulled my coat tight around myself, “I almost killed you Julie. I wanted to. All I cared about was the deep rich blood that flows through your veins. And you tell me that you understand. That you think it’s ok. How could you possibly understand if you have never been in my position.” He stepped forward so that we were only inches apart. Of course I had to look up a little to look him in the eyes. But what I did next took him by surprise. I stood on my toes and kissed him.

     Even though adrenaline and fear were coursing through my body, I only knew one thing, and that was that I was in love with Darius, no matter what he was. I was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame, and I found that in his absence, I was more afraid than I had ever been. I could feel his surprise as I pressed my lips against his, but then a tight smile formed across his mouth and he wrapped his arms around the small of my back. Somehow my arms ended up snaked around his neck, pulling him closer to me. Until there was the cracking of a branch behind me.

     Darius and I pulled apart abruptly, he looked around, hawk like eyes tearing through the forest, “We shouldn’t have stayed here for this long. He could be here by now.” Darius whispered to himself. I cautiously took his hand and peered into the forest without much success. From the outside, Darius and I probably just looked like a cute high school couple. But no one could feel the fear that radiated from me, or see the predatorily gaze that constantly haunted Darius’s eyes, “Should we leave?” The trees were relatively calm, but I knew not to be fooled. Darius didn’t reply. However he scooped me up again and took off in a jog through the forest.

     “Why are we running from him? There are plenty of other people he can hunt.” I pointed out, sounding slightly annoyed. Darius bit his lip, drawing blood, “You are the reason that he is the way he is now. He just wants to get even.” I shuddered at the thought, “Will he ever stop?” My voice shook, “It’s hard to say. If you evade his grasp for long enough, then he may. But we’ll never know.” He explained, “Unless he succeeds.” I pointed out bitterly. A low growl rumbled from deep in Darius’s chest, “That isn’t going to happen. Not while I’m still here.” And that’s when it struck me. I wasn’t James’s only target. Darius was too. Why only kill me when he could kill the vampire that changed him in the first place?

     “So why is he killing so many people right now then?” Darius sighed, bothered by the subject, “James is still figuring out what exactly he can do. And that requires strength, which means human blood. You can’t do anything without a good amount of human blood. So he is using that blood to come up with a plan to get you.” I shuddered more deeply. I was just on the dinner menu. Darius would be cause for an interesting fight, but in the end, who would win?

     That’s when a deeper, more horrifying realization hit me. James was going to use my blood to give him the energy he needed to kill Darius. And as afraid as I was of dying, I couldn’t let myself be used to murder the person I loved, “Darius stop!” I cried. He skidded to a halt and set me down, “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?” He started to check me for any sign of injuries, “You need to kill me.” I stated, tears were beginning to form in my eyes. I never had dreamed that I would ask for my death. But that was before I met Darius. He stared at me in disbelief, “What are you talking about?” I wiped at my eye, “He is going to use my blood to become more powerful than you.”

     Darius sighed and crouched down to look me in the eye, “I promise I will never let him touch you Julie. You are going to have to trust me, but this is definitely not a time to freak out and proclaim that I must kill you. That is not necessary.” He hugged me and picked me up when tears began to fall from my eyes, “Don’t worry. I’ll bring you home.” He whispered. A strange sensation overcame me and I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

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