The Hunter Chronicles

Chapter 19

The moment I stepped off the plane in Germany I was swept away by a tide of confusion. All of the signs were in German, all of the people were only speaking in German, and no one seemed to be going in the same direction. I was looking around hopelessly when someone came up next to me, “I take it you are new here?” I turn and look at a very human, very cute German boy. He smiles at me as I nod, “Well, where are you staying?” His accent is thick, but manageable.

I bite my lip, “I don’t have a place to stay, yet at least. But I’m trying to find someone.” The boy motions for me to follow him to what I am assuming is an exit, “What’s his name?” I smile as I say, “Maximilian Dresner.” There is no way that some regular human boy has heard of him. But he turns to look at me with wary eyes, “You are looking for Mr. Dresner?” I nod slowly, not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that Dresner is a popular name on the street. The boy frowns slightly, “And what business do you have with him.”

I laugh, as if it is his decision whether or not I can talk to Dresner, “It’s not of your concern.” The boy smiles, “Yes it is, I’m one of his students, and he doesn’t like strangers coming to see him unless they have good reason.” I study the boy’s face harder and that’s when I notice his enticing gold eyes. He is like me, “You’re a hunter.” I say with surprise. His eyes go from wary to confused until recognition fills his eyes, “You must be one too then. I thought you were just some regular vampire. My apologizes. I was just out looking for a snack before I went back to Mr. Dresner.”

I adjust the bag on my shoulders before looking away from the hunter boy to the public transportation line. I sigh and raise my eyebrows, “Well are you coming with me or not?” He asks turning away from the line. I watch him, “Well we need to get on a bus or something.” The boy laughs and turns away from me, “I live here sweetheart, I have my own car.” I shrug and follow him, although I’m not overly thrilled that he called me sweetheart, at least I have found someone who is willing to help me.

It’s nice to be around another hunter. Someone who finally understands my problem. The boy walks up to a very nice yellow convertible and hops in without even opening the door, “Hurry up.” He calls. I run over to his car, throw my bag in the back seat and climb in. He speeds off, clearly not caring about the plethora of confused tourists that are milling about, “So, how’d you hear about Mr. Dresner.” I look at him, “Before I answer any questions can I at least know your name?” He smiles slightly and shakes his head, “You Americans are so demanding. Oh and it’s Sebastian.” He looks at me expectantly, “Julie.” I finally reply, “Alright, now you will answer whatever I ask you. How’d you hear about Mr. Dresner?”

I sigh and look away from him, it’s not like I can tell him that my vampire friends back in America found him so that I could try to find a way to become a normal vampire, “I just did my research.” I reply, trying to be as evasive as possible. Sebastian rolls his eyes and makes a sharp turn, causing the tires of his car to screech, “Meaning.” I look at him in annoyance, “Why does it matter.” He slams on the breaks, causing cars behind him to swerve to avoid us. The sound of horns blares over the regular city traffic, “I already to you, I ask and you answer. If you can’t do that then I won’t take you to Mr. Desner.” He growls. I cross my arms over my chest, “Then I’ll find another way to find him.

Sebastian smiles, revealing his sharp fangs, “I’ll kill you first. I’ve never tasted the blood of another hunter before. But it would never hurt to try.” I look away from him, this is the first time I have actually feared someone in a long time. Sebastian is nothing like Darius. Darius was calm, he never threatened anybody unless they deserved it. And most of all he was level headed. Sebastian was dangerous and animalistic. I could see as much in his glowing gold eyes, “Fine. I tortured some older vampires. Ones who knew about our kind. They told me about Maximilian, he has quite the reputation.”

Sebastian starts driving again, clearly satisfied for the time being, “And how did you get yourself turned into a hunter? Some vamps testing to see if it really worked or not?” I laugh, “Hardly. You could say it was the bitter end to one relationship, and the bright beginning to another.” Sebastian looks at me curiously, “So you broke it off with one vamp who bit you and gave you his blood, then you started it with another vamp who gave you his blood as well.” I sigh and look out at the buildings that we are speeding past, “You could say that. It’s complicated really.”

He smiles, “Isn’t it always.” The sky is dreary, a few drops of rain splatter down onto my head as we drive further into the heart of Berlin. Finally Sebastian pulls into a dark alley and drives his car into a rather large garage. The garage is filled with more nice cars than I have ever seen in one place, “Question, who’s cars are these?” I ask before looking back at Sebastian. He smiles, “Mr. Dresner’s of course.” I snort, “Of course.” Sebastian leads me to a dingy looking door and ushers me inside, looking behind us before he closes the door. The apartment that lies beyond is lavish, filled with things that are highly unnecessary. I look around, almost astonished at how many artifacts and other priceless objects there are. This guy must be loaded.

Sebastian leads me up a flight of stairs and into a massive library before calling out, “Mr. Dresner, you have a visitor.” I hear footsteps rapidly approaching from one of the aisles of books, then a man rounds the corner. He is wearing a very expensive looking suit, and his golden blonde hair is slicked back. He smiles at me, revealing his sharp teeth as his gold eyes flash, “Ah Julie, I’ve been expecting you.”