A Hunter's Challenge [The Hunters 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) Read online

  “My nîcimos.”

  He groaned.

  Chapter Eleven

  Hand in hand they walked into the dining room. Martin sat Amy down, kissed her cheek, and then centring himself entered Erica’s body. He carefully checked for any poison they may have missed then looked at the two breaks. The break in her arm was almost impossible to see. The one in her leg would be fully healed overnight. Anthan had somehow managed to repair or restore all the crushed areas. Martin knew he would never have been able to do such a precise healing.

  Carefully Martin checked all her organs then he removed himself from her and carefully examined all the visible wounds. A couple looked as if they may scar and he gently licked them but knew he couldn’t prevent some of them. Sadly Erica would have to bare a few physical reminders of her horror.

  She was so badly bruised but all the cuts and wounds had healed from the work the Hunters had done. The bruises, too, would be gone soon, much quicker than if left to heal alone.

  “She’ll be fine, nîcimos. By tomorrow her leg will have healed completely. Until then I don’t want her putting any weight on it. I’m going to wake her now. Can you please stand where she’ll see you when she opens her eyes?”

  Amy nodded and stood, leaning slightly so Erica would see her better.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Erica, wake. You’re safe now, wake!”

  Martin could feel her thoughts start to stir from the depths he had sent her mind. Softly he kept calling to her, reassuring her she was safe. He “heard” Amy adding her voice to his through the link the sisters had.

  As he watched, her eyelids fluttered and opened. She stared uncomprehendingly at her sister. Her face showed her puzzlement.

  “Hi. You’re safe now, sis.”

  Erica looked past her sister, seeing familiar surroundings. She turned her eyes to the right and spied Martin. Her confusion flooded Martin’s mind as she tried to grasp what had happened, who he was and where she was.

  Then he felt it flood back into her mind as her eyes widened and a silent scream tore its way upward from the very depths of her soul.

  “Erica, you’re safe. You’re so safe and you’re home.”

  Amy grabbed her sister’s hand, trying to reassure her.

  The scream suddenly found its voice and rent the air. Amy grabbed her sister and pulled her into her arms, rocking her as if she was a baby.

  “Hush, it’s okay, shh.”

  She crooned as Erica burst into tears. Amy let her cry herself out then Martin spoke softly.

  “Hi, Erica. I’m Martin.”

  She gave a weak teary grin as she pushed herself out of Amy’s arms. Looking down she saw she was naked under the blanket that had fallen down to her waist. Grabbing it quickly, she looked at Martin then carefully looked at her down body again.

  She pulled the blanket back up and looked at Martin.

  “How long?” Her voice sounded rough to everyone. “How long have I been home?”

  “We found you this morning. It’s about seven in the evening now.”

  “We?”

  “My partner and I.”

  She took Amy’s hand and squeezed it.

  “How long did...was I?” she stammered. “That thing, how long?”

  “This morning was the fourth day since it took you.”

  Erica started to shiver. Then cry. She was hyperventilating. Martin took her hand. He put a hand under her chin and made her look at him.

  “Breathe with me, Erica. Slowly, breathe in, now out.”

  She watched his face and slowly matched his breaths. Martin could see the horror in her mind as she began to relive what had happened. Another scream was making its way outward from her mind.

  “I can’t take the memory away, Erica, but I can ease it back into your mind so it won’t be quite as hard to look at when you need to.”

  She nodded her head. The full enormity of what happened would need looking at but Martin could sense her acceptance.

  He quickly entered her mind and pushed the horrors deeper to where they were less painful. She started sobbing again. Amy quickly hugged her.

  “He hurt me, Amy.” She sobbed again. “So bad, it hurt so bad.”

  “I’m so sorry, Erica. It should’ve been me. I was the one it’s been chasing.”

  “Don’t be silly, Amy. It didn’t care who it took. At least I’m alive, thanks to your friends.”

  “I’d like to think we are your friends, too, Erica,” Martin spoke softly. “I’m sorry, too, sorry we didn’t find you sooner.”

  “But you found me, that’s what’s important.” She nodded. Suddenly she gasped. “My leg! My arm! It broke them.” She started crying again not realising that she had been using her arm.

  “It’s okay, sis. They’re all better. Look!”

  Erica lifted the blanket again and looked at her leg. It looked okay but Martin knew it still hurt a little. She glanced down at her arm. He “heard” her realise there was no pain and it was working perfectly.

  “Erica, you can’t stand on your left leg yet. You know it was broken, badly. But by tomorrow it will be okay.” Martin looked at her.

  She gave another shiver and raised a hand to run through her hair. It got caught in the mess that her hair had become. She pulled some forward and looked at the bloodstain tangle.

  “Would you like a shower?” Amy asked her. She looked at Martin. “Can she?”

  He nodded as Erica answered Amy.

  “Hell yes, I feel so dirty, I can feel his hands all over me.” The tears began falling again. “I have to wash him away!”

  “Just sit there for a moment and then Amy can help you wash.”

  Martin quickly left the room, he had an idea. Going out to the covered deck beside the pool, he picked up a plastic pool chair and carried it into the bathroom. He set it in the shower then returned to the women.

  He gathered Erica in his arms, ensuring the blanket was around her then carried her in, depositing her on the chair. As Amy entered, he gave her a kiss and left the two women to bathe. He stopped for a moment outside the door, listening as Erica spoke haltingly.

  “I was so scared, Amy. I wanted to die. I begged it to let me die, begged it to kill me.”

  Martin could hear her sobs, feel her pain.

  “Hush, sweetheart. You’re safe now. It’s gone, they killed it.”

  He could hear Amy crying with her sister, knew they both needed the release that tears could bring and togetherness could bring.

  “I don’t know what I would have done if Martin hadn’t left his number. I don’t know how I would have found you.”

  Martin could feel Amy’s distress. He wanted to rush into the room and hold her tight.

  “Maybe it was fate. Maybe that’s why you met him when you did.”

  “Maybe. Erica, he’s been wonderful...and I’ve been horrid to him.”

  “Wow. I gather you’ve changed your mind.”

  “I couldn’t fight it any longer, sis. Part of me wants to believe everything Gram told us but…” She took a breath. “I think she lied, Erica.”

  “Martin certainly doesn’t seem like to sort to take advantage of a woman but that doesn’t mean Gram was lying.”

  “You haven’t met Anthan yet. He’s Martin’s partner. He is...he is so...Hell it’s hard to explain. He’s scary but he is so pure, so honourable. He’s like some foreign prince, so regal but at the same time he seems so alone, he feels like he has nothing left.”

  Martin could hear her confusion as she tried to explain what she felt to Erica.

  “Oh, you’ll see what I mean when you meet him.”

  “Okay, but I’m not convinced about Gram. But I’ll admit I’m intrigued by this other Hunter, though.”

  Martin walked away to leave the girls in private. He walked out into the kitchen. Amy had a large lasagne in the oven and he opened the fridge and looked inside. Rummaging around he found the ingredients to make a salad and made himsel
f useful. He found he couldn’t stop smiling. Half an hour later Amy called him.

  He walked back to the bathroom. Erica was dressed in pyjamas and Amy had washed and dried her hair for her.

  “Can you carry Erica inside please?”

  “Sure. How ’bout I set you in the family room then we can all eat.”

  He picked her up and Amy led the way, clearing off a book from one of the chairs so Martin could settle Erica.

  “Thank you.”

  He gave a little bow and grinned. He and Amy organised the food. Amy had certainly given up the fight. She would give him a kiss whenever she was close to him and he found ways to touch her as much as possible. They carried the salad and fresh bread out to the family room and put it on a large coffee table. Amy dished out a plate of lasagne for each. They took one and settled down to eat.

  “How do you feel, Erica?”

  Martin was concerned she may still be in shock.

  “Weird. I mean, I feel okay but it all seemed so surreal.”

  “So you want to talk about it, sis?”

  Erica looked at Amy, shook her head, paled, and then looked at Martin. “Not yet.” She gave a shiver. “Tell me about the other Hunter.”

  “Anthan? Gee where to start. I guess you both know the history of Hunters.”

  “I think we do. We can go over that later if we need to.”

  “Okay. Well. You know there were twenty men originally transformed by gods into Hunters?”

  “We didn’t know the number but Gram told us that men were turned into Hunters many years ago.”

  “Yes, well Anthan is one of those men.”

  “What!”

  “Fuck!”

  Both women shouted at once then looked at each other stunned.

  “Hell!” Erica was still looking stunned as she continued. “He must be about two thousand years old!”

  Martin started to laugh.

  “The first Hunters were made in 2504 BCE, so he has a few more years than that.”

  He could see the girls adding numbers in their head. Erica’s face went white.

  “My god! He is over four thousand years old! How can anyone be alive for that long?”

  Amy looked a little scared as she quickly glanced at Martin then she whispered, “How old are you?”

  He reached out and brushed his fingers across her hand. “Me? I’m a baby compared to him. I’m only 982.”

  Poor Erica had a mouthful of salad when he replied, she almost choked on it. Martin jumped to his feet and got a glass of water, while Amy patted her sister on the back. When she had recovered, she looked at them both and joked.

  “Damn! Escaped a vampire only to die choking on a lettuce leaf.” She grinned at Martin. “You don’t look too bad for an old guy.”

  He acknowledged her comment with a nod. Amy looked at him.

  “You looked like an Indian when you came this morning.”

  He grinned at her.

  “Probably scared the hell out of you more than anything I bet.” She grinned as he continued. “My father is of the Cree First Nation, they’re a tribe from Canada.”

  Erica looked relieved as she spoke. “Then I wasn’t hallucinating. I thought I saw a Native American this morning in the cave and was sure that was finally the end.”

  “No that was me.”

  “I thought I had finally gone mad or was about to die.”

  Amy cocked her head to the side. “Is your mother a Cree, too?”

  “No. My mother is Italian.”

  “Wow, that’s an interesting combination.”

  Erica was like a dog with a bone, she wanted to know more about Anthan. Before Amy could say anything else, she jumped in. “Your partner, so he is from Romania, I imagine?”

  “Anthan? Yes he’s from the area that is now known as Romania.”

  Martin couldn’t hold back his fears. He really thought Anthan would have been here, especially to check on Erica. Amy put her hand over his and sighed.

  “You’re worried about him aren’t you?”

  “We all are. You have to understand. We live our lives alone. We have contact with other Hunters, sometimes we partner them. But basically we are alone. We are unable to have a casual fling like a human can. Unable to share our lives with anyone other than our destined mate.”

  When he said this Erica gave a snort.

  “It’s true, Erica.” He blushed as he continued. “We are unable to get aroused by anyone. We...er we can’t get an erection, we can’t have sex. Even to kiss someone is, I can’t explain it. It’s just a kiss, there is nothing.”

  Erica sat open-mouthed. “Nothing? No, um, rising to the occasion?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. That was part of the deal the gods made. They gave us the chance to find that one person who would complete us, who would love us eternally. The catch was he or she would be the only one.”

  Erica put her fork down.

  “Then if what you say is true it means my Grandmother lied to us.”

  “I’m sorry, Erica, but yes. You’re psychic. Enter my mind, I give you permission. I open it to you. See for yourself if I speak truthfully.”

  She looked scared, frightened of what she may find but he saw she needed to know. He felt her enter and he opened his thoughts to her. He couldn’t hide his love and desire for Amy but he also couldn’t hide the truth of what and who he was. He felt her withdraw and looked across the table at her. She was shaken and pale.

  “As you can see, Erica, I had my first and last sexual experience until last night 978 years ago, a few years before I became a Hunter.”

  Amy whispered, “Erica, I think she lied. I don’t understand why but she lied.”

  Erica looked puzzled. “But why?”

  Amy shrugged her shoulders.

  Martin took his plate and the girls, then put them in the kitchen. When he returned, he sat alongside Amy and drew her to him.

  Amy looked thoughtful. “Can you remember when we were at the hospital and Mum and Dad had that big argument with Gram?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  Amy quickly explained to Martin what had happened when they were younger.

  “Why didn’t we go to the funeral? Why didn’t Dad keep in contact?”

  “We were kids, Amy.”

  “You were eight. Why didn’t Gram go?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What about Dad? Surely he wouldn’t just let us go.”

  Erica looked at her sister.

  “You think she lied about them.”

  “Yes. Yes I do.”

  “Remember how she told us Dad wanted us to live with her, how quickly we went interstate then the next thing we moved out here.”

  “How would we ever know? I mean it was a long time ago.”

  Martin looked at Amy.

  “I can find out about your parents.”

  “How?”

  “I can access files, see when your parents died.”

  The girls looked at each other. Both had tears in their eyes. What if everything they knew was built on a lie?

  “Leave it now but think about it and talk together when I’m not here or asleep.”

  Erica nodded and looked over at Amy.

  “Tomorrow we can talk about it. Tell us more about your partner.”

  “Anthan, Anthan is a great Hunter, one of the best. To Hunters he is the most important Hunter of all. You’d like him I think, Erica, he’s smart and talented.”

  He felt so sad as he continued. “He is a gifted painter.”

  The girls could hear the sad note that crept into his voice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He kissed Amy’s hand, “He is losing a battle within himself, nîcimos.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “No one could. To live alone for so long, no one to share his pain. He is close to giving up, to walking into the sun.”

  Erica looked at him. She had a strange expression on her face. “What do you mean?”

&n
bsp; “He will walk into the sunlight and stay in it.”

  Amy looked horrified. “But that would kill him wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes and that’s what he wants.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “But I think I do,” Erica said. “I know it sounds weird but I can almost feel him. There is such pain.”

  Martin looked at her, puzzled.

  “He no longer wants to be alone, Erica. He’s long given up hope of meeting the One destined for him. He’s convinced his mate is dead and there is no chance for happiness. He’s eaten away inside by the pain of being alone, of continually killing. Of hunting. It’s consuming him and I’m frightened he no longer has the strength to fight his personal demons.”

  Martin tried to hide the pain he felt but he knew both women could feel it.

  Amy rested her head against his chest. “Maybe he has hidden reserves.”

  He just shrugged.

  “I think he used them up long ago.”

  They sat in silence until Erica began to yawn.

  “Sis, you should go to bed. It’s been a long night, so much for you to come to terms with.”

  “I’m tired but I don’t want to sleep.” She looked down at the floor. “I’m frightened of what I might dream.”

  Martin reached across the table and took her hand.

  “Erica. I would be honoured if you would allow me to give you a dreamless sleep.”

  She looked up hopefully. “No dreams?”

  “No dreams. I promise.” He smiled and she nodded.

  Martin stood and walked around the table. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into her bedroom. Amy helped her into bed and when she was lying comfortably, Martin rested a hand lightly on her forehead. Within a few seconds, she was asleep.

  “Thank you.”

  “She’ll sleep dreamlessly until morning and then she’ll wake normally.”

  Shyly Amy took his hand.

  “Do you have to go out tonight?”

  “Would you like me to stay, nîcimos?”

  In answer, she stood on tip-toe and kissed him. He swept her into his arms and carried her into the room she had been sleeping in. He lay her on the bed then lay beside her, held within his arms.

  “You must know how much I love you, nîcimos, you are my life.”