The Forbidden: A Huntress Novel (The Huntress Series Book 1) (16 page)

“How did you know where I was?”    

“I followed you. I figured you were sneaking out when you went on your hunts alone, so I waited for you. You are one difficult person to keep up with though.”

“What was in that arrow?”

She pulled out an arrow and showed me the plastic piece filled with purple liquid that sat in the middle of the triangular arrowhead. “Your Uncle Nolan and Livi put a formula in my arrows so I could test run them to see if they had any effect on the vampires. The liquid that’s inside is poison to their blood and it eats away their flesh. Once the arrow pierces the skin, the plastic melts and releases the liquid in the vampire’s bloodstream.”

“How is it that you get a hold of all the cool stuff?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Well, his intentions were to give the arrows to you, but you haven’t been around lately. You’ve been avoiding any interaction with anyone.”

“Okay, that’s fair enough.” I couldn’t deny it because she was so right.

“Come on, we have to get you home to see doc.”

I winced as she helped me to my feet and put my arm around her shoulder, helping relieve some of the weight off my injured leg. Chelsea should have left me to die, death seems so much sweeter than living a life feeling suffocated by pain.

Chapter Seventeen

The door to the manor was open as Chelsea and I walked up the driveway. My stomach knotted as nausea crept upon me. It was unusual for the manor door to be left open, so I knew immediately that Chelsea and I were about to walk into a manor filled with blood. No commotion came from the manor so I knew the fight was long over, thank goodness for that, I don’t know how well I would’ve handled a chaotic battle with a bloody, injured leg.

“This isn’t good.” Chelsea said.

We cautiously stepped into the foyer where dozens of dead vampires laid in puddles of blood on the floor. The dining area was destroyed as bodies laid on top of the broken tables and blood spilled from the ceiling.

“How did this happen? We have a damn security system.” Chelsea said.

“Someone must have let them in.”  I think I know who that person is.

“Come on, we have to go see doc.”

Even the elevator was stained with blood, there was blood smeared on the walls and a puddle soaking the carpet. The lab was filled with injured hunters and huntresses, and body bags laid on the floor. The hospital wing was packed and all of the beds were occupied.

Chelsea gasped as Taylor all bruised and bloody limped as he walked toward us. He grabbed Chelsea and held her in his arms.

“You’re okay. I was worried; I didn’t know where you were.”   

She turned her head and scowled at me. “I was out with Athena making sure she didn’t get herself killed.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What else is new…Someone let a bunch of vampires inside, your father is livid.”

“Where was Aubrey?” I asked.

His brows pulled together. “Why?”

“It’s important. I need to know if she was here.”

“She’s been gone all day.”

“Just as I thought.”

I knew she was the one who let the vampires inside, she’s been acting weird for months now. She even said that I was next on her list. I can’t just go to my dad with this information without proof.

I turned around, wincing from the pain in my leg as I walked back to the elevator.

“Where are you going? You need a doctor, you’re bleeding.” Chelsea said.

“My leg isn’t important at the moment, I have to stop her.” I stepped inside and held the door open. “Are you coming?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Fine, but after you are done with your little investigation, you are coming straight to the doctors.” She grabbed Taylor and pulled him into the elevator, she was so frustrated with me that she forgot he had a bad leg also.

She kneeled down on the floor and observed my leg. “The cloth is soaked. You need to get your wound taken care of soon.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, mother.”

She pursed her lips and stood. “Well, someone has to act as your mother, you have been too out of control lately.”

“Who do you need to stop?” Taylor asked.

“Aubrey, she is not who everyone thinks she is. She has been acting suspicious lately and I need to find out what she is up to? I know she is the cause of the blood-bath I just walked into.”

“Athena, she can’t be the cause of this mess, she is so sweet and quiet. I don’t think she would be able to pull this off, besides she isn’t even a vampire, why would she try to help her enemy?”

“Looks can be deceiving. Before I went out on the dinner date with my dad, I saw Aubrey yelling at Brody in the hallway. She was angry because he was going out with me and she told him that I was next on her list. That’s suspicious, isn’t it?”

“What list?” Taylor asked.   

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

“So what are you planning to do?” Chelsea asked.

“I am going to snoop around in her room and see what I can find.”

“And you plan on accomplishing that with a hurt leg? How are you going to defend yourself against her if she catches you?” Chelsea said.

“Catches
us
, you two are here to help me.”

I limped out of the elevator and turned the corner making my way down the west wing.

“She left earlier. She could come back any time.” Taylor said.

I chuckled. “Afraid of a girl?”

He scoffed “Absolutely not.”

“Then there won’t be a problem if she does come home. If you are left no choice, kill her. It’s as simple as that.” I stopped outside of her door and turned the knob. “It’s locked.”

“Move out of the way, I’m the only one with the leg power at the moment.” Chelsea said.

Pressing her lips together, she kicked the doorknob once and the door came flying open. The room was plain and barely had anything in it. The walls were bare and the only furniture she had in the room was her bed and nightstands.

“She isn’t planning on staying here for long, that’s for sure. I’ll go look in the closet.” Taylor said.

“She keeps her door locked, so she must have something to hide.” I said.

“Or she likes to keep her door locked because she doesn’t want anyone coming into her room and messing with her stuff. Totally normal.” Chelsea said.

“Oh, stop taking up for her and help me snoop around.”

“Fine,” She mumbled.

Chelsea kneeled on the floor and searched under the bed, while I opened the nightstand. Stacks of manila files filled the drawer.

“I found this in one of her coat pockets, I don’t know what these ingredients are for.” Taylor said as he handed me the paper.

I ran my finger over the ripped edge. It must have been ripped from a book. I read the ingredients and half of them seemed like they could be herbs. “I am not sure what it is for, but it should be harmless.”

Chelsea pulled out dozens of files from underneath the bed and opened one. “These files are filled with information about every reaper in the manor.

She must have taken them from the training facility desk.”    

“What, no way,” I said in disbelief as I grabbed the files form the nightstand and opened them.

Eli’s file was here and so was Julie’s. Julie had a checkmark by her name. Both of these hunters were injured, Julie died because of her injuries but Eli was still in a coma. I gasped, figuring out what it was that she was doing here. She is a traitor, she is for the enemy and she’s killing us off slowly and cautiously so no one will suspect anything. 

“She’s killing us.” I said.

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked as his brows pinched together as he grabbed the file from my hand.

“This is Julie’s file…she’s dead.”

“The files in this nightstand are of all the hunters that are dead. She has Eli’s in here also, he’s not dead yet, but she must have been planning to wait it out and then kill him in the hospital wing.” I explained.

Chelsea shook her head. “We’re all here. The files she had under the bed are of the hunters she has yet to kill.” She slammed a file down on the floor.

“I can’t believe this, I want her dead!”

“Why would she do this? Who in the hell is she?” Taylor asked as he looked over the files.

If she is working for the vampires then maybe Lucas will know…then again I no longer am involved with him.

“I don’t know, but she is as good as dead now. We are going to end her little plan here and rip her into shreds.”

“Are you going to your father? You have all of the proof you need to have her killed.” Chelsea said.

“No, we’re going to do it on our own. She made it very, very personal when she went after Eli. She pretended she was his friend for crying out loud. If I don’t do it myself then I will not have the satisfaction I need.”

“We need a plan then.” Taylor said.

I placed the files back in her nightstand and put the paper Taylor had found in my back pocket. She more than likely forgot it was there so it must not be that important. She won’t even know it’s missing.

“Put everything back where she had it. We don’t need her becoming suspicious if something is out of place.”

I stood up and grabbed my head as I fell under a dizzy spell. Taylor grabbed my arm to prevent me from falling.

“Are you okay?”

I took in a breath. “I’m fine.”

Chelsea scowled. “I knew this was going to happen. You are not fine, you’re losing way too much blood. We need to get you to the doctors.”

“No, I need to lie down and the hospital wing is full.”

Taylor winced as he scooped me up into his arms. “Go get the doctors and bring them to her room.”

I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes. I was beginning to feel nauseous and all I wanted to do was sleep.

“You’re looking pale there.”    

“I don’t feel good.”

He sighed as he limped to my room. “You honestly have no intentions on taking care of yourself. You should have seen the doctors before you went off on a mission to bring Aubrey down.”

“Did you not see the hospital wing, it was packed with people, I wasn’t going to see a doctor right away anyway. Besides, finding out what Aubrey was up to was obviously more important.”

He shook his head. “Taking care of yourself should always come first. You must stay healthy if you want to survive when you hunt.”

I groaned. “No lecture, Taylor…at least not right now.”

“Fine, I’ll cut you some slack because you already have to deal with one angry best friend.”

He opened my door, and placed me on my bed. He turned the bedside light on and grabbed my leg.

I kicked him in the chest with my free foot and he fell on his back.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

Honestly, it was an automatic reaction. I didn’t want him hurting my leg more than it already was.

“What was that for?”

“You’re going to hurt my leg.”

He smirked as he grasped my leg. “Athena, don’t be a baby.”

“Don’t touch it a whole lot, it really hurts.”

He gently pulled my pant leg up and I jerked my leg from his grasp.

“Ouch!”

He tightened his hold on my ankle as he chuckled. “I barely touched you.

I’m not going to touch your wound I just want to see what it looks like.”

“It’s sensitive.”

“I noticed,” He said dryly.

“Your blood is dripping everywhere.”

He ripped my pant leg all the way up to my thigh and untied the blood filled cloth.  “Those bastards sure did a number on you.”

I laid back on the bed feeling the world spin as my eyesight blurred. I was so incredibly tired I could barely manage to keep my eyes open.

“Taylor, I’m so tired,” I whispered.

I grabbed my head, closing my eyes as black spots took over my vision.

****

I awoke to a throbbing leg and a pitch-black room. I reached for my bedside lamp and turned it on. I had a gauze taped to my arm. The doctors must have given me blood. Pulling the covers off of me I looked down at the white bandages that wrapped around my aching leg. I must have blacked out because the last thing I remembered was Taylor looking at my leg.

I sighed and shook my head. I really messed up this time. How could I be so idiotic and follow a group of vampires without my group. I know I don’t care about dying and that made me even more courageous than I have ever been. And because I had no fear of dying it made the decision to hunt alone that much easier. Well, I have learned my lesson, if I am going to hunt alone I will not follow a group of them.

The French doors to my room opened. Panicking, I reached into my bedside table and took out my mace. I didn’t know how well I would do in a fight with my hurt leg, but I would fight to my death.

Lucas walked in holding a white box with a blue silk ribbon wrapped around it. My heart sped up as butterflies swarmed through my stomach. The magnetic pull couldn’t go unnoticed as a longing to be in his arms filled my heart. My love for him was still there…and it always will remain, even if we are separated until the day that I die.

“What are you doing here?”

“News travels fast in my world. A bunch of vampires came back telling everyone that Athena Bram had a death wish and that she had been hurt…I came to see if you were okay.”

“You can’t be here the hunters will feel your presence.”

He sat down beside me and ran his fingers over the bandage. “You don’t want me here because you are uncomfortable being around me after what I did.”    

“If I said I was uncomfortable would you leave?”

“Is that what you want?”

Of course not, after months of making myself sick over ending what we had and not being able to get him out of my head, I didn’t want him to leave.

I was paranoid that he was in the manor filled with hunters who could pick up on his presence here and if saying I was uncomfortable around him would make him leave, then I would lie.

“Maybe.”

He smirked. “That’s not an answer.”

“Fine, I am uncomfortable having you here.”