Page 39 of Bloodhunter

I was calm, and I was confident. I’d killed the vampirebehind the bar. Sure, he’d kicked my ass, but I’d killed him. I’d won. I wasmeant to be a hunter and that knowledge lay like an impenetrable wall aroundme.

I was afraid, but that didn’t worry me. OfcourseIwas afraid.

But part of me knew with deep certainty, even if I wouldn’tadmit it aloud, that I had my supernats, I had my Silverlight, and I hadAmias—even if I didn’t want him. I wasn’t alone.

I glanced around as I put on my vest, wondering if hecrouched somewhere in the shadows, watching me.

The vampires were everywhere.

Despite my bravado, I began to shiver as I slammed shut thetrunk. Maybe because I felt that Amias was near. Maybe just because I wasscared. I knew what it was like to have a gang of infected vampires attackingme.

And now I had something new to add to the mix—the man who’dattacked me with the foam. I really, really didn’t want that stuff touching meagain.

I felt for Silverlight, holstered at my side, climbed intomy car, then drove toward the city.

I hadn’t been back to my apartment since the attack, butAngus had assured me they’d taken care of everything. My lease would have beenup in a month. The few pieces of furniture and clothing I had were carted to astorage unit.

They’d done it all, my supernatural friends. I hadn’t had toworry about a thing. Perhaps that was why they thought they had the right tomanage me. To take care of me. I was letting them. I was taking advantage ofthem, wasn’t I? So I couldn’t very well bitch and moan when they treated melike a six-year-old.

A cold, light rain began to fall as I drove into the city.The moon was a white crescent high above, but the stars were dimmed because ofthe many lights of the city.

I had no specific destination in mind, so I drove to the centerof Red Valley and parked in the lot of a 24 hour convenience store. The citywas alive, bustling with frenetic activity and discordant sounds of impatienttraffic, shrill sirens, and honking horns.

I donned a cap, pulled the bill low, and left my car. Whatfoot traffic there was ignored me as they hurried along, heads down, bundledagainst the brisk cold and steady rain. Once, a woman met my eyes, then droppedher gaze immediately and hurried by me, and I wondered what she saw. Did I looklike a hunter? Did I look like someone on the prowl, searching for vampires tokill?

Or did I look like just another lost soul in a dark city?

As I walked, the excitement began to take the lead over thefear. The fog trails, with their muted colors and swirling mists, grew heavierand brighter the deeper I walked into the city. They wafted gently, almostlazily, beckoning me on.

I’d never spotted the fog before the Thanksgiving DayMassacre, but afterward, I’d begun seeing the swirling mists everywhere. Butonly at night.

I pulled Silverlight from its sheath as I walked byalleyways and shops and clubs and entered that part of the city that held emptylots, abandoned row homes, and grim tenements. In minutes, I’d picked up atrail of three human men.

“What’re you doing out here?” one of them called. “You lost,lady?”

“Is that a sword?” another asked. “What are you doing with asword?”

I ignored them until their catcalls became too loud andtheir proximity too suffocating, and then I turned on them. Silverlight expandedwhen she was freed from her sheath, but she remained quiet and dark in my grip.

“Fuck off,” I said.

They didn’t laugh, didn’t look at each other, just tookanother step closer to me. “You shouldn’t be out here if you want left alone,”one of them said, and the others nodded in agreement.

I shot a glance into the empty street behind them. I hadn’texactly prepared for human predators.

“Hey,” one of them exclaimed, suddenly. “She’s the girl fromthe vampires.” The others looked at him. “Yeah, yeah,” he went on, “she’s thatgirl from the Thanksgiving Day Massacre.”

They peered at me. “Don’t look like her,” one of themmuttered.

“Just skinnier and older,” his friend said. “And maybe meaner.It’s her. Look at the scars.”

“Rumor is,” the guy who recognized me said, “you went crazy.Must be true, you being out here.”

“Go away,” I said gently. “Before you get hurt.”

They cackled and high-fived each other, and another mandrifted from the shadows to join them. They didn’t even glance at him.

A group of men was a dangerous animal.