“We’re definitely dealing with a sept,” muses Beste.
“Six I’d say, based on the scents I’m picking up. Not counting the decomposing bodies,” I say solemnly. Sanguidae scents are much like everyone else’s, but theirs has a distinct metallic undertone that defines them from other species. We’ve only been in Auckland for thirty minutes, and we’ve already stumbled on another pile of bodies. There has been no attempt to hide the bodies from the public, they’ve just been mutilated and discarded. Left here to rot like trash. I know a blood craze can rob a sanguidae of their humanity, but I’m starting to believe that’s not the case. If even one, let alone all six were in the middle of a craze the body count would be much higher, and given how close we are to people, we’d more than likely hear screaming and a city fleeing in fear.
“There’s something else I’m noticing,” says Beste.
“What’s that?”
“I can see why the authorities assumed an animal did this. These poor humans were savagely attacked. I can pick up six distinct bite sizes, but the bite on the neck of each victim was made by the same sanguidae,” she says thoughtfully.
“You think one in their sept has declared themself the leader. They take the first bite and let the others fight over the rest of the body,” I say, following her train of thought.
“That’s certainly how it looks.”
“Do you think this leader eats the hearts too?” I quiz.
“Hard to tell,” she sighs.
“The scent is still fresh; they couldn’t have been here more than an hour ago. We should be able to track them easily.”
“Let’s get going then,” she says affirmatively.
We take off at a sprint through the streets of Auckland too fast for any human to see, following the scent of our targets. We’ve made it a good distance when far off to the left I can hear the yelping of a wolf which quickly turns into the sobs of a young man. Beste hears it too, so we come to a stop and listen carefully.
“Please, I’ve never hurt anyone,” the young man’s voice begs.
“You creatures are all abominations. You should be exterminated,” hisses a strong Peruvian accent.
“A venator?” I say in surprise.
“Potentially with a member of the Haere Pack, they’re the closest pack in the area,” says Beste with concern.
“Or a cur. Either way, they need help. You go and handle that. I can handle the sanguidaes,” I encourage.
“Are you sure?” Beste asks with uncertainty.
“I can handle a few sanguidae on my own, and if you don’t hurry that mutolupus might not be alive much longer. Go, before he ends up mounted on someone’s wall,” I say strongly.
Beste gives me a nod and squeezes my shoulder, “Be careful,” she says, then takes off in the direction of the voices.
It’s not easy for me to loathe anyone or anything. I do, however, loathe people who take pleasure in hurting other living beings, and venators and venatrixes are very high on that list. A select group of humans, completely ignorant of their own beginnings, who have taken it upon themselves to eradicate all supernaturals from the face of the earth. It sickens me. In all the cases I’ve come across of a venator or venatrix attack, rarely have I seen one where the victim wasn’t innocent. It angers and disgusts me to my core. I wonder how Beste will handle the situation given we don’t go around killing humans, but she can fill me in on that later, right now I have sanguidaes to find.
I take off, continuing to follow the trail and it’s not long before the scents begin to get stronger. As the scents get stronger I begin to pick up the sound of people conversing. I slow down my approach as their words become clearer, and it becomes obvious I’ve found the people I’m looking for. I sniff around, assessing my surroundings; smelling the trees around me. I click my tongue to discern how far away they are and walk over to what sounds like the nearest tree. It feels large and sturdy. I make quick work climbing up high into the tree top calculating how high I am as I climb so I can calculate how far the drop will be, then perch myself on a branch. From here I can easily spot the group of sanguidae I’m after. They’re a short distance away, all six of them. Each one illuminated by their different coloured auras, but each aura is outlined by a hue of blood red – common in the auras of sanguidaes. They’re laughing and enjoying themselves despite the fact they just murdered innoce
My body has become a livewire, every synapse firing at hyperspeed sending my senses into overdrive. My body feels hot and flushed as if I’ve been basking in the sun for hours. My heart has picked up speed and my mouth is salivating. My body is in such a state of overload I can’t move. I’m completely frozen, as a thousand questions race through my mind. Now that I am in close proximity to his scent, I can pick up the metallic undertone in his scent, but far more intense than what I’ve scented before.My animai is a sanguidae?! Why is he here? Why did he stop me? And how in the name of the Gods did his body shatter my sword?! I might have killed him! I have so much I want to ask I don’t know where to begin.“Not her,” comes his deep and warm voice that elicits a shiver from me.“What?” I whisper, trying to process that fact I’ve finally heard his voice and what he meant by what he said. I take what’s left of my katana and place it back in its scabbard.“I can’t let you hurt her, and as
An animai. A fucking animai. Has Zarseti lost her fucking mind?! How is that even remotely possible? This was meant to be a simple retrieval; how did this all happen? I had sensed the newly made sanguidae as soon as they turned. As the first, I am connected to each and every one, so I can feel when another comes into being. A fact that shames and disgusts me to my core. They had someone guiding them, so I didn’t interfere right away, but once I knew their supposed leader was as dumb as a doornail with the traits of a serial killer, I knew I had to step in. For thousands of years, I’ve managed to get to them before the Delegation could, but for once they beat me to it, but I never could have expected things to turn out this way. The moment I appeared; her scent overtook me. It nearly threw thousands of years of self-control out the window. Her scent was the most glorious thing I’ve ever smelt in my entire existence. She smelled of warm vanilla and orchids fresh on the vine at the pea
I disappear only to reappear in front of a large white double door. With no effort on my part, I push my arms in front of me blasting the doors open as my hands connect with the wood. I storm through the pristine 14,000 sqft villa of all white, turquoise, and deep blue accents with marble floors. I pass the living area, pass the kitchen and storm right out to the backyard. I step out into the oceanfront oasis seeking my target. I make my way through the white stone paths that divide the many swimming areas, proceed past the palm trees and up the stone steps until I get to the pool at the far end. As I reach the top platform, I look down into the clear turquoise waters at the woman I seek, her 7’1” curvaceous frame lazily floating on the water’s surface. Her fuchsia hair sprawled out around her and her white bikini clinging to her bronze skin. “Is there a reason why someone who can pop in wherever he likes, felt the need to break down my front door?” she casually asks, her eyes remain
After Beste and I returned to the Kartheca we debriefed our sisters on what had happened regarding the venator and sanguidae. I was sure to explain to my sisters about meeting the very first sanguidae and how he has been the one behind the disappearances all these years. That definitely got them all hyped up. I left out the part about him being my animai though. Omitting the truth is as close as we can get to lying and I am giving it my all these days. As soon as the formalities of the job are out of the way, I excuse myself and return my weapons to the armoury, being sure to clean them before putting them away. Except for the katana which is now just a handle with the remnants of a broken blade protruding from the handle. I then rush to my room, close the door, and take in a deep breath. “MOTHER! Mother, please. I need to speak to you. I don’t wish to question the gift you’ve given me, but I need to understand what’s going on. I need your help,” I beg as I sit down on my bed. I los
It’s taken a couple of days, but I’ve finally gotten the newborns settled at the safe house. It’s a 36,000-square-foot house I acquired in Sweden, so they’ve got plenty of room to wander and avoid each other if they have to. They’re struggling with their hunger but it’s to be expected. They’re at least willing to learn control. Either way, taking care of them is definitely keeping me distracted from thinking about a certain gold-glittery mocha-skinned beauty. For thousands of years taking care of newborns was an obligation, now it’s a welcome interference. While the newborns are doing well, the only person not adjusting – or trying to adjust – is Simon. He picks a fight with everyone and tries to act dominant. Which might go over better if it weren’t for how clueless he is. I’ve been meaning to have a chat with his maker and find out just what the fuck happened, but none of them were in a state for me to leave. They can’t kill each other, but they sure can inflict a lot of injuries on
I toss for the umpteenth time as sleep continues to elude me. Every time I close my eyes all I see are those liquid golden orbs staring back at me with so much disappointment. As if one God cursing me wasn’t enough, now another has cursed me in some belief she’s helping me. Is it a wonder so many on earth cuss out the Gods on the regular? It’s been two agonisingly torturous weeks since I met Yildiz. I thought each day I kept distance between us it would get easier, but boy was I fucking wrong. Her scent plagues my memories and at night I swear I can still hear the rhythm of her heart beating in my ears. Her blood still calls out to me like a siren’s song and I’m this close to shoving wax in my ears and tying myself to something to stop myself from being lured to it. I turn onto my back and stare at the ceiling hating where my thoughts are going. I told myself I would stay away, I intended to keep that promise, but I’m going out of my mind. Maybe if I could just see her for a moment o
As I begin to wake up, I can feel the warmth of the morning sun streaming into my room. I’ve only ever seen the sunrise once and that was with the aid of a makkari long ago. I wonder if each sunrise is different. Each morning is a new day so I imagine there must be some difference in the light it shines upon the earth. If it weren’t for feeling its rays on my skin I wouldn’t even be aware it was morning at all as I open my eyes and stare up into nothingness.The moment I’m fully awake the ache in my chest returns and I crave to return to the oblivion sleep brings. There’s been no word or contact with Osiah in two weeks and the pain it causes me each day only grows. I imagine it would be a thousand times worse if we sealed our bond, so I suppose I can take some solace in knowing that’s not the case, but I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this.Aulen has tried to help me to no avail, and I’ve screamed out to my mother every single day and again come up empty. As much as I yea