A Hunters Promise (2 page)

She watched him, marveling at the fact that she wasn’t afraid. She should be. The man was huge, not just in height but breadth. He stood well over six feet, towering above her modest five-seven, with massive shoulders and a heavily-muscle packed body. His hair was short, but beyond that, he was shadow. She wasn’t sure why he was there or even why he kept coming back, but she was glad he did. Even in this bizarre situation, he was the most real, most honest connection she’d ever made. He didn’t treat her as if she had a screw loose or, even worse, had lost all her screws and would never get them back. He didn’t talk to her with that annoying sing-song voice the nurses used as they tried to give her pills. She, of course, pretended to take them; it was easier for everyone involved.

Aislinn broke the silence. “Okay, Bob, what’s the agenda tonight?”

“Bob?” He turned to face her. “Do I look like a Bob?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen your face, so I don’t know. Besides, what does a Bob look like?”

He was silent for a long moment, as if he was thinking on her query. “I don’t know any one named Bob, so I have no idea.”

“Me neither.” She watched him as he shrugged out of his coat.

In a blink, he was on her. She dropped to the ground and swung the blade of the
naginata
at his legs. He easily evaded and came at her again. She rolled to her feet and blocked his punch with the handle of her weapon as she dropped to land a solid kick to his knee. If her foot had connected, she would have broken his knee, but once again, he wasn’t where he’d been. After the months of training, she anticipated how quickly he moved so adjusted to make sure he didn’t catch her unaware.

“You’re getting faster, Irish,” he said from behind her.

She swung the poled-weapon and moved out of his reach. “Maybe, you’re slowing down.”

He laughed. “Not possible, but your rhythm and use of the weapon has improved.”

She’d learned not to be taken in by his compliments. As soon as she did, he’d have her on the floor weaponless. She’d acquired that lesson the hard way and refused to fall for it again.

As she positioned the weapon in front of her, she constantly searched the shadows for movement. He was so daggone fast. She didn’t know how he did it, but she’d forced herself to practice endlessly. She wanted to make it almost impossible for him to take her. Aislinn figured, the longer she could stay on her feet with Bob, the better chance she had against the creatures that walked the hallways of the hospital.

He leaped out of the dark at her, and she dropped to the ground. Rolling, she pulled her weapon back up and swung it at his legs. A chirping noise made him hesitate, but he still managed to leap up. It wasn’t graceful, but he cleared her blade. Barely.

With a curse, he pulled a phone from his pocket. “What?” He barked into it. He listened briefly, scowling. “Where I am isn’t any of your business, but where do you need me? Yeah, I know where it is. Okay, I’ll be there in about fifteen. Yeah, fuck you, too.” He snapped the phone shut and turned to Aislinn. “I have to go; something has come up.”

Aislinn nodded as disappointment washed through her. She quickly clamped down on the emotion. Unlike her, the man had a life outside. He had family and friends and responsibilities. She was nothing more than a diversion for him.

He dug in his pocket and pulled out the pouch she’d seen earlier. He held it out to her. “Take it. If you run into anything, you’ll need to get rid of the evidence. This will do it.”

She accepted the bag. “Thanks.”

She followed him out of the room and up a different set of stairs. They came out near where they had originally met up that evening. She wasn’t sure how he knew the building as well as he did, but she wasn’t going to ask. Their relationship, as it were, didn’t revolve around the give and take of information. In fact, the less he knew about her the better.

“I’ll see you later,” he said.

Aislinn nodded, “Okay.”

Without another the word, they turned and each walked in separate directions. Aislinn didn’t know how he entered or exited the building because he certainly wasn’t a patient like she was. No matter, she didn’t need him to walk the building with her. She’d been patrolling before he showed up and would continue if he never came again.

Charon materialized in a dark alley. Fuck, Grimm chose all the best places to meet. He picked his way through the garbage and filth that littered the ground, wondering why he was supposed to meet anyone here. If this was some kind of joke, somebody’s ass was going to get a beating. He rounded the corner to find Grimm leaning against the side of a building. The blond was staring intently across the street at a bar.

“You know, if you wanted a drink, you didn’t need me to go with you,” Charon said.

“I get lonely,” the other man replied.

After waiting a moment, Charon nudged Grimm. “What the fuck’s going on? Why’d you call me? I was busy.”

Grimm finally looked at him. “You weren’t getting laid, so what do you care?”

“Fuck you.” Charon turned to leave. He didn’t need or want Grimm’s piss poor attitude. Hell, he had one of his own, and didn’t want to put up with someone else’s.

“I keep scenting that rotten garbage smell,” Grimm said. “You know, how Tomas’s brother smelled? Not as strong, but it’s still there. Or here. Somewhere.”

Charon stopped and turned around. He remembered all too well how Tomas’s brother Juan stunk. He also remembered how desperate Tomas had become. Desperate enough to kidnap Joelle to feed Juan her blood. Luckily, for everyone involved, he hadn’t, because Talon wouldn’t have let anyone, but Joelle, leave the house alive. Charon supposed that’s what happened when an Ancient found his human Liaison and bonded like they did.

Charon leaned against the wall next to Grimm. “You think it’s coming from the bar?”

“I’m not sure,” Grimm said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “It’s like, when I move from this area, I can’t locate it. The wind is coming from the direction of the bar, but if one of those things is in there, how do the humans not smell it?”

Charon nodded, “I feel you. Because it’s not like Juan could toss on some cologne or some shit to cover that stink.”

“Right, so I’m thinking it’s hiding around here. But I don’t really know why or where.”

“Possibly looking for an easy human to grab?” Charon suggested.

“Maybe, but from Joelle said, Juan wasn’t all there when he came hunting her.”

“And what if someone else is with it?” Charon said as he searched the dark. “Controlling it, keeping it in check.”

Grimm nodded, and the two men continued to search the darkness. Charon closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to catch what Grimm was scenting. Kenshin said Ancients often developed extra abilities, and obviously, a keener sense of smell was Grimm’s deal. Slowly, Charon began to pick out individual aromas and discard them. He turned his head, and for a moment, just a brief second, he smelled the rotten garbage smell and something else. It was the something else he concentrated on. He couldn’t tell where it came from, but knew it was important.

“What is it?” Grimm asked.

“It’s a scent that’s riding with the garbage, but I don’t know what it is.”

“I caught that,” Grimm said with a nod. “It’s familiar to me, too. And it’s like trying to mask the other scent, but not get noticed.” Grimm rubbed his face, “Fuck, I don’t know. I’ve been at this so long I don’t even know what scent I’m catching anymore.”

“How long have you been standing here?” Charon asked.

The other man shrugged. “I’m not sure. A few hours, maybe.”

“That’s crazy,” Charon muttered. “Let’s walk and see what we can find since standing here isn’t getting us anywhere but pissed.”

Grimm didn’t reply, but fell into step as Charon pushed off the wall and started walking. The neighborhood wasn’t a bad one since it was made up of working families, a grocery, and a number of bar/restaurants. All in all, for a weekday night, it was quiet. Too quiet, really, for vamps to hunt humans. The lack of a crowd would make hunting incredibly difficult, especially since a regular vampire didn’t have the skills or abilities an Ancient had. Of course, the smell wouldn’t help either. Hard to hide in a crowd when you smelled like week-old rotten meat.

They hunted the block for the elusive scent, but nothing turned up. Frustrated, Charon stopped and stared into the darkness surrounding them. Fuck, he’s rather be back at the hospital with Irish. For a human, she was a quick study and, more importantly, never asked any questions. She also believed in things most humans chose to ignore or overlook. She never asked where the things he taught her to hunt came from. She just wanted to know how to kill them. He liked that in a person. She also never hesitated. He’d seen Paranormal Investigative Agency agents die because they overthought a situation. Irish just whipped out the blade and hit hard.

She also smells good.
He stopped the thought before it went any farther. Of course she smells good, he rationalized, she’s a human. She was food to him. The blood pumping in her veins sustained his kind. But she wasn’t a donor. She was too young, anyway. Charon liked the humans he fed from to be at least mid-thirties and all business. They weren’t getting together to create a relationship or even to fuck. They were employees of the Paranormal Investigative Agency and, as such, were carefully screened to ensure they would make good donors to the five Ancients. Four Ancients, he amended. Talon now had Joelle who he fed from exclusively since she was his Liaison. Charon never wanted to get entangled with another person. That kind of permanent relationship wasn’t for him. In fact, other than Talon and Joelle, he’d never seen a good relationship, and he really didn’t know about them. He wasn’t sure if they stayed together because they had to or wanted to. His parents had split as soon as they realized he carried the Ancient gene. He ended up with his mother only because his father had left first, and then, within the year, she was gone too.

At least she’d dropped him on the doorstep of a place that cared for vampire children. He’d heard stories of vamps growing up among humans, not realizing what they were, until it was too late. Very young, he’d realized that he didn’t need anyone, couldn’t depend on anyone, but himself.

Training the human was becoming a drag, he decided suddenly. He’d spent too much time on her anyway. Yeah, too much time on her, and not enough tracking down the blood cult. He was done. He’d just tell her he was cutting her lose and get on with his job. Fuck, why should he even have to tell her anything? He’d shown up and found her. The training was just something he did to pass the time. Now, it was over. When he didn’t show up, she’d know what it meant. The end. Decision made, he and Grimm disappeared back to home base.

Chapter Two

Patrick James Flaherty sat back in his chair and sipped expensive bourbon. Soon, he promised himself, soon he’d have enough money to bathe in the stuff if he wanted. Right now, with his parents controlling the purse-strings, he didn’t have the freedom he craved to go and do what he wanted. He would, though, as soon as he got what he wanted. The man sitting across from him guaranteed it.

“Your sister is Aislinn Flaherty?” the man asked again. “The one I read about in the old newspaper articles? The one who claimed a vampire came into her room and killed her roommate?”

Patrick stifled the urge to roll his eyes. Damn, the man was tedious. All he wanted to do was talk about Patrick’s crazy sister, Aislinn, as if Patrick cared. She was someone his parents had locked away to be forgotten. The rich and powerful Flaherty family didn’t do crazy and certainly not crazy big enough to get in the papers. He’d grown up being told over and over to never talk about her. To never mention her. To deny she was part of the family. And he had, until this man had come along flashing money and asking questions. So, now, Patrick would talk to get what he wanted. It was totally his parents’ fault. If they were more generous with what was rightfully his, he wouldn’t have to talk about crazy Aislinn.

He glanced around the small living room of his small home. Oh yes, he deserved bigger and better. “My family doesn’t like to speak of Aislinn. Her…condition is upsetting to us. My parents have spared no expense in her treatment, and it hasn’t done any good.” Patrick looked away and blinked quickly as he felt tears rise up in his eyes. Damn, he was good. The acting lessons were such an amazing investment.

“Where is she?” his companion asked. “Do your parents care for her at home?”

“No, there is no way they could manage that. She’s quite difficult. The private hospital makes sure she is well taken care of.” For what his parents paid, he thought bitterly, the place had better. Every year that crazy bitch sucked up more and more of what was his. If she would just die, things would be so much better.

“Of course, private hospital.” The man nodded. “What’s the name?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” Patrick said slowly. “Aislinn is quite ill. We work very hard to protect her.”
And, he thought, I’m certainly not giving you the information for free.
If the man wanted her, he’d have to pay and pay big.

“I understand,” the man said, pulling out a checkbook. “I’m quite sure I can compensate your family for the information. I imagine it’s quite expensive to keep her well cared for.”