The Last Vampire Hunter

Chapter 29

I woke up early in the morning. The sky was still painted in pre-dawn colors. A brilliant red orange touched the mountains with darker shades of purple and blue reached up into the sky. Master had not returned last night. I'm not sure where he slept, but I'm relieved that wherever he was, it wasn't with me. I padded out of the room and into the hall.

The house was eerily quiet but I knew my father would be awake and in the barn, getting ready for the day's work. I pulled on a pair of rubber boots that were always by the door and headed to the barn. As I approached, Bailey came running over. He leapt into my arms. "Hey boy! I'm glad to see you too!" I rubbed my face in the dog's soft fur as I walked with him in my arms. I smiled at some of the guys and gave them a wave. They smiled and waved back. I looked for my dad's familiar features among them. Sure enough my dad was there, helping to load the feed onto the wagon to take to the fields where the cattle were.

When he saw me he hurried over. "Flower. I'm glad you're awake." I nodded and we headed into the barn and toward the pen with the goats. He slid the barn door shut. As we walked, my father waved his hand and a glow emitted from the palm. It arced and encompassed them in a shimmery bubble. I looked around in awe. "It's true then. You're a Mage." My father nodded. "This is a privacy bubble. It keeps noise inside the bubble and prevents Vampires from hearing what is said." I nodded.

"We don't have much time. It's true. I'm a Hunter. Or I was a Hunter. Your mother's story isn't too off. I did ask her to kill me. She refused. I killed her Vampire anyway. We disposed of his body and hid in the forest until we knew no one was looking for us. By the time I met your mother I had stopped practicing Magic for centuries. I'd stopped Hunting. I still possess some Magic, but most of my abilities as a Hunter have disappeared. I traded in that life to devote myself to a life with your mother and then with you."

I was stunned. He was right, we didn't have time for the thousands of questions I had. Instead I focused on the most urgent. "Am I a Hunter?" My father gave me a grim look. "I believe so. But if you are, you are the first female in centuries to inherit the gift. After the first war, Mages died out. The only ones left were the 100 Hunters that were protected from the side effects of the massive binding spell that trapped the Vampires in their underground prison. Since then the first born males have inherited the gift. My first born son died as an infant. When you were born I noticed certain abilities you exhibited as a child. Gifts that made me think you might be a Hunter." I nodded. "What gifts do Hunters have that distinguish them from Mages?"

My father sighed. "It will take longer than we have to fully explain. I can tell you Hunters are War Mages. As a result they tend to be strong. They tend to have a gift for strategy. They tend to be gifted in some way including with abilities like picking up new tasks quickly, memorizing maps and spells at a glance and able to use all parts of their brain for conjuring. They tend to be gifted in things like archery. They have nimble fingers...like a human who might be a gifted piano player or a gifted violinist."

"What do I do, father?" My father hugged me. "You live. You survive." I sighed. "What about the Mark?" He shrugged, "kill your Vampire and the bond is broken. Your mother only felt relief when her Mate died. Kill your Mate." That's what I was afraid of. "And if I can't?" My father gave me a worried look. "Alaric will protect you." Alaric. "Alaric is locked in a prison and for all intents and purposes, I'm a pet. Not just a pet but a Marked human in a castle full of Original Vampires." My father looked down. "The path to freedom is never easy, Flower." I nodded. One more question.

"Father, why did you quit Magic? Why did you stop Hunting?" My father sighed. "I lost my wife and newborn son. I left them unprotected to hunt a Vampire whose death didn't even affect the status quo. I put my duties as a Hunter above my duties as a husband and father. I loathed myself for what happened. The loss, it...broke me. I thought I would never be able to pull myself out of the dark hole I had fallen into. I thought I was lost. Until I met your mother. Her kindness and patience saved me. I wasn't...easy...to be around when she found me. Someone had told her I was a Hunter, but I hadn't been a Hunter in centuries. I was a drunk. Half mad. But there was something about her that made me want to help her. When she asked me to kill her Mate...I did. As a human. I never looked back. I use my Magic on occasion. To heal. Little spells. To protect my family. Never as a Hunter and never enough to draw attention." I nodded.