The Hunted Read Online Free Page B

its mark in many a heart and throat.
    Hot, thick blood sprayed everywhere and on everyone within arm’s length. In short order, a blanket of mangled, torn limbs and heads lay at our feet. It was a horrific sight, even for one as old as I. The loss of life was incredible, and so shameful to the Vampire Code I held so dear for so long.
    The fact that Drake and I had destroyed the entire vampire nest in such a short period of time took me by surprise. I was thankful that the night covered most of what we had done with a dense, gray coat. The morning would reveal our bloody deeds to the human world. We...I had to get away from this place. My heart started to pound and my ears rang.
    I fell to my knees as a thick stream of bloody vomit escaped my throat and spewed from my lips onto the ground below me.
    I could feel a presence hovering over me as I continued to wretch. “What the hell do you want now, Drake? Haven’t you seen enough blood for one day?”
    “Get up.” He growled.
    I looked up expecting to see a fist but instead was surprised to see the giant man’s hand extended to grasp mine and help me to my feet. He was covered, head to toe, in dense, pungent vampire blood.
    Silently, I accepted his hand and rose up slowly, looking at the wreckage around us. I took a deep breath to settle myself and wiped my dagger clean on my pant leg.
    “We did what needed doing. There are more but I think it would be foolish to continue tonight. I need to rest.” Drake looked tired and suddenly very old as he shuffled off into the dark forest.
    “Where are you going?” I asked.
    “We need wood. We need to burn and scatter these bodies so the rest of Hannah’s brood cannot reclaim them.”
    I was startled to hear that he knew the ways of the vampire cleansing ritual. I shook my head and realized that Yaqui would have certainly told him of this. Her kind had chosen this manner so that the undead could not reanimate into something far worse than death could ever be.
    Thankfully, only a few reanimated vampires existed and The Clans had strict orders to put the wretched creatures out of their misery. Once the undead reanimated, they craved more than just blood for the sustenance they desired. They needed flesh and they inflicted as much pain as possible on both human and vampire alike in order to get it. Their impaired minds pushed all reason and judgment aside, driven by raw, animal instinct. It was horrible to watch anyone die at the hand of a reanimated vampire. I shuddered at the thought of Hannah’s bastards coming back in any form.
    Looking down at my clothes, I could see cracks in the rivers of blood that had poured down my chest and pant legs during the slaughter. It was now cracking and flaking with every movement; like old, dried paint.
    It wasn’t long before Drake had dragged out enough dry, weathered wood to start a large fire. We stacked the bodies like cords of lumber until even faces and body parts were indistinguishable from the burning timber.
    I clasped my arms close to my chest in a vain attempt to stop from shivering. My heart ached for the lost souls whose ashes would soon be scattered into the wind.
    “You are too sensitive,” Drake whispered. I felt his presence behind me and the weight of his large hand as it tenderly grasped my shoulder.
    “Somebody has to be.” The bitterness in my voice was evident and Drake recoiled as if I had struck him. He quickly withdrew his hand and pulled away.
    “I understand you may think me a greedy, self-centered monster but I am not. I have lived many years in anger and misguided faith. With the Toltecs, I thought I had found a place I belonged. I am just as alone as I ever was, except now I’ll live forever.” The anguish in Drake’s voice caught me off guard. In that moment, he seemed more human than he had when I first met him those hundreds of years earlier. He felt loss and sadness and he hurt just as much as anyone. I watched helplessly as he stared intently into