Page 9 of Huntress Unleashed
“Has he tried to contact you? Force you to do anything yet?”
“No, but I figure it’s only a matter of time.”
That’s what he was worried about. And being a rogue, he could very well force her to kill someone and then she would be on a terminal list.
3
“Here we are,” Dane said, pulling into the parking lot of one of the city’s libraries. He was glad Jacqueline had located a place that Axel went to regularly. Axel often had lots of people at his house, so if they could get him after he left the library, they would have a better chance at taking him down without any collateral damage. “So what is he doing in there?”
“Reading?”
Dane smiled at Jacqueline. She gave him a smart-ass smirk back. He chuckled. “I probably shouldn’t ask but do you know what he is reading?”
“He reads everything he can get his hands on regarding swordsmanship and how to use a sword. He trains out with other vampires on his acreage. Once I got his name, because he had turned six humans against their will, I started researching him and watching the house from the acreage around his properties. A lot of woods surround the place so it was easy to observe from there without being seen. The vampires practice fighting in the evenings, blood bonds come and go, and then the vampires leave. Often, Axel goes with a few of the vampires and they’re out the rest of the night. Sometimes he doesn’t return at all.
“But then I found he goes to the library from nine to ten before they close on Wednesday and Friday nights regularly. I’ve been watching his movements for three weeks. It’s important to make sure that you know as much as you can about the rogue before you take him or her down, unless they’re about to murder someone and then it’s time to step in and eliminate him.”
“I agree,” Dane said. “I’m always diligent too on trying to figure out their routines and who they’re with and when. Recluses are often easier to take down. That’s what Mabon is. I’ve watched him for about three weeks also. He rarely has anyone over to his house except for blood bonds, no vampires, and he is a vampire that is considered a hitman—an assassin for hire. As far as the police could determine, he has assassinated ten people and had been hired to do so by the victims’ partners.”
“Brutal. I hope the partners are up on charges for the scheme of a murder by hire.”
“They are. The police just couldn’t go after Mabon safely so I got the call to take him down.”
“How many hunters have been assigned to take down Mabon?”
“Just me, as far as I know.”
They saw Axel leave the library dressed all in black, wearing a long black leather trench coat as if trying to embrace the whole vampire persona—as books and movies portrayed them to be—when in truth, they often dressed just like any ordinary citizen so they would blend in with the general population.
Hunters didn’t like taking a vampire down in a public place unless the rogue had targeted someone, and they needed to rescue the person before he or she became a victim.
“Oh, oh, he’s not going to his car,” Jacqueline said.
“Right, he’s on his way down the path through the woods right there.”
“And there’s a thirtyish-year-old woman, wearing blue jeans and a floral shirt walking on the path into the woods. She’s carrying a book. He appears to be headed straight for her,” Jacqueline said.
Dane watched the scenario, and he agreed it could be that the vampire had found his mark. “Come on. We have work to do.” Dane got out of his truck but before he could walk toward the woods, Jacqueline left the truck and vanished. “Holy shit.” He was already behind the eight ball on this. Vanishing as a vampire and reappearing somewhere else wasn’t something he’d practiced at much. It appeared Jacqueline had this down. He hoped he didn’t screw this up. He vanished and reappeared on the walkway, but Jacqueline rushed out of the woods, seized his arm, and pulled him into them to cloak them from view. He was usually a hell of a lot stealthier than this, but he just wasn’t used to teleporting like a vampire would. But he couldn’t have run on the path to catch up to Jacqueline either and he hadn’t wanted her to have to fight the vampire on her own. One fatal stab on the vampire’s part and she could be dead.
“They’re up ahead on the path. He hasn’t approached her yet. She’s headed for that bench, I think,” Jacqueline whispered.
Jacqueline might be right that Axel could be after the woman. It was isolated right here and no one else was around to witness anything.
They moved closer to where the woman was sitting on the bench, reading the book she had in her hand. Axel had walked past the bench, not even glancing at her as though he wasn’t interested in her.
Dane figured it was a bust, but Jacqueline and he were watching the vampire, making sure he wasn’t just pretending he didn’t have anything sinister in mind. Rogue vampires could be deviously sneaky.
Then the vampire suddenly turned and with a flying leap he was at the woman’s throat. Just as quickly, Jacqueline grabbed his shoulders from behind and threw him onto his back into the holly shrubs. The woman ran off toward the safety of the library screaming and Dane rushed in to kill the vampire. Jacquelin had the same idea and the two of them used their swords on him, hitting his heart at the same time. Axel disintegrated into a wizened body, leaving his clothes perfectly intact.
Dane said to Jacqueline, “Do you want to call the police?”
“Yeah.” She called them and let them know that she and Dane had eliminated Axel so they would get paid. Also the notification would go out to other hunters to remove him from their lists if anyone had recently picked him up to terminate.
Dane was just a little surprised that she had told the police that they both did the job. The police arrived in short order and took their statements and would dispose of what was left of the body. The would-be victim had also called it in, the officer said. Jacqueline grabbed the book the woman had dropped on the cement path and offered it to the officer so he could return it to the lady. But he shook his head and wouldn’t take it. He motioned in the direction of the library. “She’s back that way. The bounty will be paid to…?”
“Split between us,” Jacqueline said, motioning to Dane.
“Okay, we’ve got your information. You’re free to go.”