Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

A Few More

It was a little over a mile from Abby's house to mine and I hoped that I could keep just ahead of Zane until I reached my destination. It wasn't until I was in front of my house with him merely feet behind me that I realized I had covered the distance in a matter of seconds. If I'd known I could do that before I wouldn't have made Phoebe teleport us.

The sun above beat down on the concrete driveway and reflected off the steel surface of my car. I saw Zane's face contort with pain and my immediate instinct was to reach out and help him inside, but I refrained. I had to keep my heart steeled for the moment because the creature before me was not Zane. Aside from the pain I saw on his face I glimpsed no recognition; he didn't know who I was; I was nothing but a meal to him right now. I wasn't Lorelei, his girlfriend. I was a nameless face that's only real purpose was to satisfy his hunger. Or worse, I was a Hunter, the enemy.

He took a step towards me and I saw his legs shake. He reached his arm out towards me and clawed the empty air in what seemed to be a last attempt at trying to attack me then his knees buckled beneath him and he fell forward, his body seized once more by a vicious fit of drenched coughs.

I stood there staring at him, watching his whole body tremble from the violence of the coughs. I saw saliva mixed with dark red blood drip from his open mouth and onto the driveway and it felt like my heart was being stabbed. I had to do something before he coughed up all the blood in his body, but how was I supposed to get him through the door without getting attacked?

Suddenly Zane's body lurched forward and he began advancing towards me on all fours, his head down, a line of bloody spit hanging from his lower lip. I stepped backwards not believing what I was seeing. The coughs still wrenched through his body and his pale, naked arms were quivering but still he was coming. It seems like no amount of pain mattered to a vampire when it came to survival.

There was a pop like a fire cracker going off and suddenly Phoebe was standing a few yards behind Zane.

"Oh thank God you're here! I thought you might've—" She broke off and her eyes fell to Zane on the ground. Like any normal person confronted with a rabid animal she opened her mouth and screamed bloody murder. A snarl of rage erupted from Zane's hunched form and he turned his head to look at her which only made her scream more. He was distracted! This was my chance! It was now or never. I had a plan and I wouldn't know if it would work unless I tried.

I jumped up the front steps and flung open my door. I leaped back to the driveway and bent down over Zane. I wrapped my arms around his mid-section and tugged him up onto his feet. A sound came from his mouth the likes of which I had never heard before; it was loud enough to block out every other sound I heard including Phoebe's scream and the noise of my own thoughts. It was like a mix between a scream, a howl, and a roar and it made me want to crawl under my bed and never leave. It was anguish, ferocity and yearning crashing together in great calamitous waves that were nearly palpable in the air. It was as if the very contact my skin was making with his was causing him immeasurable pain.

I started towards the open door pulling Zane along with me. He turned his head and I saw his razor-edged teeth snap shut less than a centimeter from my face. The sound he had made cut off and I could hear nothing but a ringing in my ears. I drug him over the threshold and I noticed his skin becoming blistered. I had never seen that before. Was it the sun? No we were inside. He screamed again and I knew what the problem was.

"Come in Zane," I managed to whisper and the blisters faded away. This is when the real race began. I figured I had about a minute before the effects of the sunlight wore off. I could feel the muscles of his upper body tensing and flexing as he tried to work his way out of my grip but miraculously I kept a hold of him. His body folded and he tried to sink his teeth into one of my arms that was twined around his waist. Sensing his intention almost before he moved, my knee came up to jab him in the back and he straightened with a snarl. Just a few more feet! I thought to myself as I hauled him through the kitchen towards the basement door. It was then that his legs began thrashing about savagely and his bare foot connected powerfully with my shin. An explosion of pain in my right leg but I couldn't cry out.

"Phoebe!" I shouted. She ran into the kitchen in a frenzy. "The door!" I cried. She gave a short nod and then rushed over to open the thick wooden door that led into the basement. Zane's shoulders twisted against my chest and his eyes met mine. I had to fight the gasp that came to my lips and the tears that came to my eyes. They were completely black; there was no white or red, but there were trails of blood on his cheeks that had leaked from the corners of his eyes like tears and his own blood was smeared across his chin. He had been taken over completely by the monstrous animal inside of him. There was still nothing in his face that said he knew who I was, but there was something else besides the pain, anger, and hunger; there was hatred. It wasn't like the hatred I had sometimes seen on his face before, it wasn't self-loathing this time. This hatred was directed at me. Zane hated me.

I let go of him and using nearly all of my weight I forced him through the doorway. He tumbled down the flight of stone stairs leading into the darkness of the basement. I slammed the door shut and leaned up against it.