The Scent Of Vampires (Book 1)

Chapter 35: Vampire Hunters

Amelie felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Zoe behind. But what else could she do? Zoe was in danger because of her and as long as she stayed with Amelie, she would always have a target on her back. She didn't know what role Rafael played in all of this, other than he had been ordered track Amelie down. Zoe's welfare was another matter. He cared for her and for a vampire to care was no small feet. Call it a hunch, but she felt certain he would keep her safe.

After all Zoe had done, the least she could do would be to keep her own enemies as far from Zoe as possible. To do that, she had to lead them away. They were tracking her and even then she could sense she was being followed. Now all she had to do was be smarter than her pursuers and stay alive.

She didn't know how, but she found that she knew exactly where the garden was and from there a sort of wilderness spread beyond that. She made her way down one path, then back tracked and then went another direction. She had learned this technique of miss direction from Draedyn. She hoped setting false trails would confuse her pursuers.

She sensed she was nearing the edge of Micklaus' land. The feeling of some underlying magical curtain all around became more apparent, and the farther she went the stronger it weighed down on her. If she were human, it would have been almost unbearable.

Amelie sensed movement up ahead and slowed her pace. Finding a sturdy tree, she swung up on the branch and then climbed upward and till she was not visible from the ground. She settled in close to the trunk and waited to see who was coming. It didn't take long, before more than one figure emerged from the dark forested path beyond. At first she wasn't sure how many there were but as they moved closer, she counted four.

They weren't vampires she could already tell that much. She honestly couldn't tell what they were. Somehow they had masked their scent. The strong oder of something that smelled like a combination of tar and pine, reached her nose. There was something about the odor that was familiar, but she couldn't seem to pin point from where. Whoever they were they didn't want to be discovered.

"We should destroy them all." One of the men from group said.

"That would be suicide. Besides, this is too public of an event. We only have one objective. We must get the girl before they learn who she is." Another man said. From the authoritative way he spoke made Amelie assume he was in charge.

"What if they already have? Or worse, what if this is a trap? How can we trust that pony tailed vampire? Why would he want to help a human?" The same man that first spoke questioned.

"Those are all situations you have been trained to deal with and I expect you to make adjustments accordingly." The leader insisted with authority in his voice.

"He has a point Kaleb. How can we trust that vampire? After all, we hunt his kind. Why would he want our help?" A female in the group asked.

The leader, who someone called Kaleb, stopped moving and turned to face the others. "Now listen up. We have had to make compromises on occasion in order to stop bigger threats. Draedyn may be a vampire, but he is not the threat here. We are talking about a neck biter verses one of the most deadly killing vamps in existence. Micklaus has risen to power through lies, deceit and murder, while declaring deplomacy. He also happens to be an enemy of Draedyn and that is why I know the daughter of Jack Wynter is here tonight. She is the daughter of one of our own."

Amelie's mind was reeling from all that she was hearing. Draedyn sent these people. Hunters! They were vampire hunters. That is were she had recognized the scent from. Hunters had found a way to mask their human scent. She wasn't all that surprised to learn Draedyn had recruited their help. She knew he had been in some sort of negotiations with them. From what it sounded like, they weren't here to fight or kill Micklaus. They were here to rescue a human girl. The daughter of a hunter. Could it be? She wanted to believe otherwise, but she knew it must be true. What was she to do now?