Ordained (2 page)

“Daniel’s the strongest in the group,” Lincoln reminded them.

Jonesy shook his head in disagreement. “It’s going to be Emily. The last hunter was female, even in a time when hunters were mostly male. Why would that change now that they’ve become the dominating sex?”

“Which is why you can’t count Daniel out. He too is the minority and the strongest in the bunch.”

The segregated groups turned abruptly as the doors opened, dropping their conversations mid-sentence. Their questions and guestimates were about to be answered.

Chancellor Moore flipped though a manuscript as he proceeded toward the head of the table. He was ancient in years with slick silvery hair and perfect posture.

“Chancellor Moore,” Jayden said kindly as he pulled the chair.

“Thank you, Jayden,” he answered, sitting down and laying the manuscript on the table before him.

“Well?” asked Jonesy impatiently, drumming his fingers on the table.

He scanned their pleading and worrisome eyes. Dismally, he informed them, “None of the hunters have developed the mark.”

The advisors sank lower in their seats. This is not what they were expecting. But Jayden was.
I knew none of these were good enough
. It was difficult, but he withheld the urge to curl his lips.

“That’s impossible. One of them must have the mark,” Roger whined, one small shift from completely falling out of his chair.

“No. I’m afraid this leaves only one answer.”

“She’s already dead,” answered Lincoln miserably.

“Which means we must deviate to our contingency plan. Emily and Daniel are both undefeated in competition. I suggest we choose one of them to fill the void.”

Lincoln huffed. “Won’t matter which one you choose. There’s not a hunter here that won’t be butchered to death within seconds of meeting Morphus. They don’t possess the necessary skills.”

So true
, thought Jayden.

Chapter Three

The tunnel was long and dark, lit occasionally by the smallest torch. Emily headed toward the end of the dirt-covered tunnel, toward the pulsating light. She passed from darkness into light into darkness again, her sword drawn. Shadows crept along the rocky walls, growing larger as she neared the mouth of the tunnel. Fiery torches lit the cavern throughout, giving the atmosphere a soft glow. Water trickled down the cavern walls, each drop echoing as it hit the ground. Emily silently moved toward the center, seeking. She seemed alone but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

A soft grumble widened her eyes. Before she could even spin around there was a painful rush to her right side. Her body was thrust across the room and slammed into the water-soaked wall. She screamed, cutting herself more as she slipped roughly down the rocks. Blood seeped from a hole in her right side, painting the crystal clear droplets pink.

Fear engulfed her face as the brooding monster neared, his shadow suffocating her with darkness. She was frozen, couldn’t move. She yelled internally at herself to get up, to run, but her body remained still. The brooding monster was upon her now. She released a blood-curdling scream.

Darby jumped from her bed in panic as Emily shot up and gasped for air.

As she caught her breath, Emily lifted her shirt up with a shaking hand. A jagged scar lined the skin where she was pierced. Frustrated, she threw the sticky covers off her sweat-soaked body.

“That’s it. I am so outta here.” Emily jumped out of bed, changed into fresh clothes and began stuffing her possessions into her bag.

Darby slipped back in bed. The two had been roommates for as long as Emily could remember. Best friends, they had kept close through the years and contacted each other weekly to confirm the other had not fallen. Darby was one of only two playmates that Emily worried about losing. Mira was the other, located in a room down the hall.

“Changing locations won’t make the nightmares go away,” Darby preached as she tucked herself tightly in the blankets to squeeze out the cold air.

“No kidding. But this place makes me feel like I’m a sitting duck waiting to be shot.”

“This manor is one of the most protective establishments from evil in all the world. Where you gonna go?”

Emily grabbed her bag. “Sometimes it’s not where you are but who you’re with.”

“So you leave the place containing all the active hunters? You know of something better?” Darby mocked.

“Actually, I do,” Emily said. As she left the room she added, “I’ll call you later Darbs.”

The nightmare had plagued Emily every night since returning to the school. Darby was right though. Leaving wouldn’t make the nightmare go away. Nothing would. In fact, she expected it this time of the year. It was unfortunate the anniversary fell at the same time the Order requested her to return here.

The Order
. Just the thought irritated her. They were the true cause of her nightmare. Sure the demon that haunted her was the horrific subject painstakingly seared into her memory, but the Order was the reason she stumbled upon that monster in the first place.

Two years ago she was stationed outside Portland, Oregon. After coming across a vampire nest in the woods, death scattered. She was chasing one through the forest when it ran into the tunnel leading to that god-awful cavern. She should have trusted her instincts. The vampire may have run into that lair but it seemed a little archaic even for his needs. Vampires had become accustomed to the twenty-first century too. Electricity usually topped everyone’s list of must-haves. Well, almost everyone…

The most desired luxury for Eraticus was the aura of a hunter. Particularly one that just turned twenty-five. The exact age a hunter’s aura reached its greatest strength. And the more powerful the aura he devoured, the longer he could go without needing the strength from the next. Eraticus was drawn to it and there was no outrunning him. For five hundred years he never failed to find the one celebrating that cursed birthday, whether he needed the nourishment or not. And no hunter was ever known to survive his vicious attack - until Emily.

She had been celebrated by the Order for her outstanding achievement. But learning they knew of the monster infuriated her. To leave her blindsided and unprepared was unforgivable. This made her own dishonesty that much sweeter, for only she knew what truly happened that night. Sure, Eraticus died, but Emily had nothing to do with it. And the true conqueror of the evening was one that the Order feared even more than Eraticus – a true evil in their eyes.

Emily smiled. The time had finally come. And she would get to make the introductions.

She knocked on a set of old-fashioned wooden doors. After a moment, Ethan sluggishly opened one. He was dressed in an old cotton t-shirt and shorts and in desperate need of his morning shave. Mouthwash wouldn’t have been a bad thing either.

“This reunion has been a lot of fun, but I’m cutting out now.”

Still half-asleep, Ethan confusedly asked, “What?”

“I have a life to get back to.”

“Emily, you’re a hunter. You don’t have a life, just a job.”

Emily felt her face drop in astonishment. He quickly stuttered, “I’m sorry Emily, I didn’t mean it like that. Could we have this conversation at a more appropriate time? Say daylight hours?” he added sarcastically, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes.

Emily smiled curtly. “Sure. Sun rises in twenty minutes. See you then.”

She had managed to not only make a full breakfast of eggs and bacon with fresh fruit, but eat it too by the time Ethan sluggishly entered the kitchen and slumped into a chair. She expected this. Dragging out the moment would allow others to wake and interfere and push back her departure time.

Ethan had been her advisor for almost twenty-seven years. Technically, she had been released into the world at eighteen so his responsibilities were limited these days. Like all hunters of age, she was free to go out and work on her own, provided she check in on a routine basis with her advisor.

She wanted desperately to dissolve all contact with the Order two years ago. Just drop off the face of the Earth and pretend she was another link in the chain of Eraticus’ rage. To her disappointment, she was unable to do so.

Emily was incredibly grateful for the interference that extended her life; she would have done anything towards repayment. But her savior would only accept two promises: to hide her identity and involvement in Eraticus’ death and to not sever ties with the Order. The latter was disheartening, but she had managed to endure silently over the years.

“You know, Sunday is the one day we get to sleep in around here. Would it kill you awfully to have this tiff on another day of the week? May I perhaps suggest Wednesday? It’ll give me time to prepare.” She figured he had. He certainly didn’t use the time to clean himself up for the day.

She huffed. “Come on Ethan, you won’t have a life to get to on that day either,” replied Emily as she handed him a cup of coffee.

“Fine. So what the hell are you going to blabber on about this time?” asked Ethan. He softly blew air over his coffee before tasting.

“No blabbering. Just leaving.”

“You can’t bloody leave,” he said, looking annoyed. “You’re in the middle of a competition, which you’re winning and which makes me look good.”

Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes into the back of her head. “Ethan, I left this school nine years ago. I don’t
bloody
care about competing with hunters I grew up training with. Who the hell cares who’s best? You’re not gonna fire any of the losers. We’re in limited supply. I believe the real world calls that job security.”

“You can’t leave. You’re here for a purpose.” Ethan reached for the cream in the center of the table and began stirring it into his coffee.

Emily sighed. She was tired, stressed and becoming more impatient with each passing day. “Let’s just cut the crap. I’m here for one reason.”

“Charm school?” Ethan interrupted. “I’m afraid you missed that class. It was last month.”

She looked him firmly in the eyes. “Has the containment spell surrounding Morphus worn off yet?” She had him at the name.

Dumbfounded, he slowly extended each word twice longer than necessary, “How the hell do you know about him?”

Chapter Four

C
hancellor Moore stared down the coffee pot in his office, commanding the dripping to stop. He needed his coffee. Contemplating the morning’s issues was going to require an attention span he no longer seemed to have.

He had spent forty-two years developing young children into full grown hunters, knowing full well that each and every one of them would perish on their twenty-fifth birthday. None of his pupils were any more remarkable than the others training in the school. Perhaps that was his fault. For forty-two years he taught them to defeat vampires but not the demon destined to kill them.

Long ago, after several years of death, the Order was simply upset. After ten years, they were desperate for help. After one hundred years, it had long been accepted that Eraticus was undefeatable and hunters were destined to die. Five hundred years later, death was absolute and hunters were automatically replaced after twenty-five years. Eight hunters had died under his direct expertise. Their memories were burned into his thoughts with no chance of relent. Robert, Lilley, Willis, Kierse, Irma, Bethany, Mallory, Amanda. For forty-two years he failed them. Then, something remarkable and unexpected happened.