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

  The sun would be setting any moment so he opened the shutters in the all rooms. Looking out to sea, he could see a storm growing in the far distance.

  He toyed with the idea of going out to eat but then realised that his “guest” would arrive sometime tonight. Much as he didn’t want to be saddled with some kid, he wouldn’t like him to turn up and find no one home.

  He checked there were towels and linens for one of the spare bedrooms downstairs then walked out to see if his container had turned up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there so Anthan left the garage unlocked and went back upstairs. He fired up his laptop and spent some time reading police reports about all the deaths he was interested in. He had an old stereo and put a few records on to play.

  It was around two in the morning when there was a knock on the door. Answering it, Anthan discovered Martin Blackbird standing there, looking rather embarrassed.

  “Martin?”

  “Live şi lupta cu onoarea, Anthan. Er...hi, Anthan. Viorel asked me to come out and help you search. Said you had a large area to cover.”

  Anthan roared with laughter.

  “Live şi lupta cu onoarea, Martin. You, you’re the young Hunter?”

  “I think Viorel meant it as a joke. But he did say it was a damn large area you needed to cover.”

  “I’ll murder him next time we meet. Anyway, come in and, you’re right, it’s big.”

  Martin followed Anthan inside. Between Hunters there was no need to formally ask for permission to enter as was necessary with mortals. Anthan led them into the family room and gestured for Martin to sit. Fortunately for Martin, Anthan was still chuckling as he headed into the kitchen. Martin could hear him and still see him. The wall between the kitchen and family room had been knocked down to make a large welcoming room.

  Anthan held up a mug.

  “Coffee or tea?”

  “Tea thanks.”

  “I have to admit I’m glad it’s you and not some green kid. I wasn’t looking forward to sharing my home with a child.”

  “I’m glad. When Viorel told me what he’d said I was worried you may send me packing.”

  Anthan carried in two mugs and handed one to Martin before settling himself on a couch.

  “So how are you parents?”

  “They’re both well.”

  “Saw your mother about fifty years ago. She’s a formidable Hunter.”

  “I’ll say. Used to scare the hell out of me when I was a kid.”

  “Have you been out here before?”

  “No, Viorel said if I like it here I can stay for my next assignment. I’ve always wanted to come. How many times have you been here Anthan?”

  “Mm... not sure really. Maybe three times over the years. I bought this house last time I was here in the 1800s or was it the 1900s?” He shook his head in confusion.

  “Anyway, I was living in it for about fifty years, I think. Called in about five years ago to arrange for the renovations and the solar power before heading to another assignment. Always liked it here.”

  Martin looked out across the sea, it was beautiful. At the moment there was another storm brewing and it looked wild. Lightning was flashing out to sea and they could hear the sound of thunder. It was not far away and the sea was a mass of roiling white caps whipped up by the wind. Music that Anthan had playing in the background was adding to the atmosphere.

  “I can see the attraction. It looks wild and untamed from here.”

  Anthan nodded his head and walked out onto the deck. Martin followed him. They could both smell the ozone in the air. The storm was getting closer and here, outside, they could feel the force of the wind as it was blowing their hair about.

  “I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere this morning.”

  Anthan had to shout above the roar of the surf and the wind. They could feel the spray from the surf hitting the rocks below even though it was a good forty metres to the top of the cliff, where the house was perched.

  Martin just nodded his agreement.

  The two watched the ferocity of the storm increased as it got closer to land. Martin usually wore his straight black waist-length hair loose and the wind had turned it into a halo around his head. The leather thong that pulled back Anthan’s hair was fighting a losing battle with the strong wind.

  Martin felt so alive and free at that moment.

  They both stayed outside until the rain and wind were just too strong. Walking back inside both men shook, redressed in dry clothes, then calmed their wind-wild hair. Tchaikovsky’s “1812” was just building to its final movement. The canon and the thunder complemented each other to create a vivid scene in their minds.

  “Makes one feel insignificant when you feel the power of nature.”

  Martin agreed. “When I see a storm like this, I wonder how on earth Matei managed to control the forces when he invoked the ritual.”

  “Amazing! That man must have such strength. I doubt any will ever be able to do it again. I know I’d never even try, even now knowing it’s possible.”

  “Neither would I.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  “Not food, I did top up with a jogger near the airport.”

  “Okay, neither have I. There’s fresh fruit here, biscuits in the pantry.”

  “Thanks.”

  “My laptop’s open. Have a look at the police reports and see where you think we should start.”

  Anthan put a bowl of fruit for each of them to choose on the table. Martin walked over and sat. Anthan had a map of the area so Martin spent the next twenty minutes marking each death on the map. Anthan looked at Martin’s work.

  “Doesn’t seem any sort of localised pattern.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. It just seems rather random. I think there’s more than one.”

  “Yes, that’s my impression, too. It’s going to take us a while to try to find the lairs. I suggest we grid the map up and each take one area to search each night.”

  “Good idea.”

  The two ate their fruit in silence, listening to the rain lashing against the house. By four forty-five they had finished and the storm was slowly abating. Anthan showed Martin the bedroom he had arranged for him.

  “If you don’t want to stay down here, there’s a self-contained flat alongside.”

  “No, this is fine. I’ve a chest coming. I think it should be here sometime today.”

  “Okay, I’m waiting on a container so they will probably come together.” Anthan went to walk out the room. “Give me a yell if there’s anything you need. Plenty of water here. I’ve two water tanks and they’ll both be full after that storm.”

  “Thanks. What time’s sunrise?”

  “About another thirty minutes I would say. Sunset’s around six.”

  Anthan went back upstairs and sat on the deck, Martin followed him. They sat talking for a couple of hours.

  “Tonight I suggest we eat out then begin our separate searches. If either finds anything of interest we can meet and check it out.”

  “Good idea. You knew the hunt I was on with Tomas Lupei and Mihăiță Petran turned out to be a strigoaică?”

  “Yes I heard that. Heard she got away.”

  “Yeah, would have rather got her especially as she was pregnant. Still seven less strigoi in the world is good.”

  “She has to be old to be able to control that many suitors. Usually they only have three or four.”

  “Guess we’ll have to wait until she surfaces again, wherever that may be.”

  “From all my research, they tend to stay in the area so I doubt she would have gone too far. Hardly move to another country, especially being pregnant. She’ll probably still be somewhere in the same country holed up.”

  “Time will tell.”

  “From my studies I believe they are breeding more often, maybe as quickly as every ten years.”

  “What! That’s scary to think about.”

  “I know. We have enough on our plates trying to keep them under contr
ol when they were breeding less often. Add in the fact that they are mature by eight, it means there are a lot more around. I’ve even discovered that there are more females being born.”

  “Damn, Anthan, that means a lot more trouble for the world.”

  “Tell me about it!”

  Martin sat quietly thinking about what Anthan had just told him. How on earth would they manage if there were even more strigoi to deal with?

  He tried to push it from his mind and looked around. “This is restful here.”

  “It is. Think that’s why I like coming here.”

  “Do you like this age? I mean, if you had a choice which would you like to stay in?”

  “Never thought about is really. I enjoyed the Babylonians, the Ancient Greeks of course, and also the Middle Kingdoms of India. Hated the Middle Ages although, some of the Renaissance period I did enjoy. Absolutely hated the first hundred centuries of the Common Era. So much fighting and arguing.”

  “There’s been a lot of fighting through the eons. I sometimes think that the old gods must have included a protective spell when they made Hunters. How else could we have survived some of those dark periods.”

  “I’d say you’re right, Martin. I know how many times I’d wondered how I escaped with my life, seemed miraculous.”

  “I don’t mind this period. So many new discoveries being made although I hate this reliance on technology.”

  Anthan laughed. “True but that technology has made it easy for us to find patterns in deaths. So no more flying around the country side hoping to stumble on something.”

  “Ah don’t remind me!” Martin groaned. “Months searching for an elusive trace. You’re right it’s much easier.”

  By now the sun had risen. Martin was about to leave and go to bed when he noticed Anthan had moved his chair out into the sunlight.

  “Trying to get a tan?”

  “Very funny. No.”

  Anthan didn’t say anything else and Martin sat watching as he seemed to purposely move his arms to get maximum exposure in the light.

  After ten minutes, Anthan sighed and stood.

  “Well I guess we should get some sleep. I’ll see you tonight. “

  “Night.”

  The two men left to go to their respective bedrooms. Martin lay thinking about what he had seen. Anthan seemed to welcome the pain from the sun on his arms. He would watch him from now on and see if there was more to it.

  Chapter Four

  When Martin rose that evening, Anthan was already up. It was just after five.

  “Your crate arrived, I put it in the hallway. Mine turned up as well.”

  “That’s good. Just has some books in it and spare knives.”

  “Sounds like mine.” Anthan gave a laugh. “Ready to go? There’s a large city about fifteen minutes flying from here, if you follow me.”

  The two men walked out to the front deck. Anthan told Martin not to worry about locking the door, saying the only way to reach the deck was either to fly in or to scale the sheer cliffs. They transformed into owls and flew off. Martin flew behind Anthan and landed alongside him when he saw him land. Anthan “spoke” to him.

  “There are a number of restaurants two streets across. Thought it might be a good idea to just overfly the area to get a feel for the place.”

  “Okay. Lead the way.”

  The two took off again. Anthan lead Martin across the town, pointing out various places. They were heading back to a small park near the food precinct when Martin “heard” someone broadcasting. It sounded like a mortal female and she was loudly reciting the Fibonacci sequence in her mind.

  “Listen Anthan. Hear her?”

  “That’s weird. Let’s get closer.”

  The two flew lower. There were a great deal of people milling about and it was almost impossible to pinpoint which one was broadcasting.

  “Friday night. So many people. Can you find her?”

  “I think she is in that group waiting to cross the road.”

  Martin was confused. “Why on earth is she doing that sequence in her head? I can’t get past it to ‘see’ who she is.”

  “Good question. She is damn loud whatever the reason. Look, they’re crossing now.”

  Martin flew to the top of corner building where he could see the people as they passed underneath after crossing. He scanned each one, trying to detect which was the woman.

  “Anthan I think it is that woman in red.”

  Anthan flew slightly ahead and then dipped down over the heads of the people.

  “Yes, it’s her. Let’s follow. If she is broadcasting this loud, she has to be psychic, she’d created a strong block with that damn sequence she keeps thinking. Wish we could ‘enter’ her mind and see who she is.”

  The two men flew between buildings watching the woman until she walked into a large building.

  “Damn that’s blocked her. Anywhere we can land around here?”

  “Let’s try that alley opposite. If we’re quick we should be able to transform and follow.”

  The two flew down in the growing darkness, transformed then raced across the road. Anthan let out a groan. He looked over at Martin.

  “That leads across the road to the railway station. If she’s caught the train we’ve no idea where she went.”

  Martin groaned. “What? You’re joking. Hell she’ll be a beacon for damn strigoi, broadcasting like that.”

  “Come on, let’s see if the train has arrived and gone or if people are still waiting.”

  They raced through the people walking at the station. They ran up the stairs and looked down at the platforms. Both were empty except for odd stragglers.

  Martin stopped a man who was passing.

  “Do you know which train just left?”

  “Do you mean the Sydney one or the Kiama one?”

  “It would have only just left.”

  “They both did, mate. You missed ‘em.”

  “Oh thanks.”

  Martin looked ruefully at Anthan.

  “We’ve no idea which one she took. Wonder if she works somewhere here and catches the train home?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Want to fly out and see if we can find her on one of the trains?”

  “No. It’s possible she could have already got off. We’d been flying around blindly.”

  “I guess we just hope we pick her mind up another day. Maybe Monday we hang out around here about this time.”

  “Nothing else we can do. We do need to find her but it’s impossible to break into her mind while she was doing that.”

  “Wonder she hadn’t been taken already by a strigoi, guess she’d just been lucky none’s found her.”

  “True. Okay, let’s get something to eat then start our searches.”

  Martin agreed and the two retraced their steps to the restaurant quarter. Anthan led him to the same Indian restaurant he had eaten in the night before. He ordered a vegetable Bhaji with rice while Martin settled on a spicy Dahl and rice. They also ordered a serving of naan.

  Anthan looked thoughtfully at Martin. “I think we really need to find that woman. If there is a strigoi in the area, it will find her, especially how strong she was. There was something about her.”

  “True. Of course, one may already have and it’s toying with her. It may have left a marker and will be trying to torment her.”

  Anthan said he wondered if perhaps she had been visited at some time by a strigoi. “Maybe she’s discovered it was a way of keeping them at bay, a way of resisting them. Could be why she is reciting that damn sequence.”

  “Never thought of that. But then that means she knows about strigoi.”

  “Hell that’d be a first. Okay, Monday we make a concerted effort to find her.”

  They finished off the last of their meal, paid and left to find a secluded place to transform.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Right. If I find anything I let you know.”

  Earlier
in the evening before Martin has woke, Anthan had gridded up the map and assigned an area for each to scan. They both transformed and flew off to begin their searches. Both knew it would be foolish to think they would find traces immediately but they had to start somewhere.

  As Martin flew, he thought about the woman they had “overheard.” It seemed really strange for her to be calculating a sequence in her head continually. It was as if she was trying to block someone or something. Maybe she did know about strigoi. The more he thought about it, the more determined he was to find her. He couldn’t get her out of his mind for some reason. If Anthan was right, and she did work nearby, they stood a good chance to find her on Monday.

  Somehow, he managed to push thoughts of her from his head and concentrated on the search.

  Around four, Anthan contacted him and suggested they call it a night. They would meet back at the start of the search area for a meal before they went to sleep. When Martin landed, Anthan was only about five minutes behind him.

  “Did you finish your grid?”

  “Yeah, nothing. You?”

  Anthan shook his head. “Same here.”

  “I’m hungry,” Martin said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  The two men walked through the streets and Anthan started laughing when he saw where Martin was heading.

  “McDonalds?”

  “What? I saw it from the air and, besides, I like McDonalds.”

  Anthan was still laughing when they entered the restaurant. They ordered their meal then Anthan grabbed a table. He was grinning madly as Martin sat with a loaded tray.

  “You sampling everything they have?”

  Martin shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t tell me you don’t eat junk food.”

  “Oh I’m as bad as just about every other Hunter,” he agreed. “But I can’t remember eating everything on the menu in one sitting.”

  Anthan grinned over at Martin as the two tucked into their breakfasts, ensuring the staff had removed the bacon and sausages. It was around 6:15 and the place was starting to get busy. An occasional diner came in but most used the drive-through on their way to work. The men ate in silence for a while until Martin asked.