A Hunter By Any Name (8 page)

I was sitting uncomfortably deep within a raspberry patch and getting restless. I eyed the thorns of the raspberries all around me thankful for their presence. They were motivating me to remain absolutely still. I had already gotten a few deep scratches on my legs from them as I had crept into their midst to wait. But the only alternative hiding place I had seen had been covered in poison ivy vines. I will take the scratches over an itch rash any day.

I had been sitting here for a long time, much longer than I had anticipated. I knew from the position of the moon that it was almost midnight and my prey had not shown up yet. I was getting a little anxious. Okay, fine, I am just plain scared.

This hunt had spooked me in a way that I had not been in a long time. All the rules seemed to be changing on me. First the wizard I hunted was an unusually powerful one. Second, he did not hunt along the oceans or other large bodies of waters like all the other wizards had. Third, there were the Arihants that should be the ones killing Wizards but instead were hunting me. How long had they been following me? How much did they know? Were they still hunting me?

The whole evening from the time I cast the finding spell gave me déjà vu and reminded me of the evening when I found the last girls body. The night I had started the hunt for this wizard. I didn’t know if it was a foreboding that this night would end badly. Or was it a sign that I was circling back around to the start of my hunt and therefore I was drawing to the end of it? The Goddess loved circles so I hoped it was the latter.

But sitting here in the dark, all alone I was scared I had done something wrong. I had not actual gone inside or even close to the barn I was staking out. I had not seen or heard Stephanie. I was trusting the little arrow I had drawn onto a magnet and I had not even done a very good job at drawing it. The arrow had remained pointed in the direction of the barn as I had circled it. I had not dared to approach it because I knew that the wizard had more than likely cast spells on the barn to alert him if someone had been near it. Not to mention that there were defiantly at least one protection spell on the barn aimed at incapacitating or killing anyone that approached.

It would not have been a problem for me to disarm the spells although with this strong of a wizard they would have left me drained. No, the tricky part would have been recasting them. If the Wizard that cast them was any indication they would be truly evil spells and my heart would not have felt the spell. For a spell to work well your heart had to feel it. Therefore, I would not be able to recast the spells sufficiently to fool the wizard I hunted. When he returned he would have instantly known someone had been here.

So I was left sitting outside the barn in the raspberry thorns scared that I had done something wrong, filled with “What If’s”.

What if I had cast the spell wrong? What if it had not actually been Stephanie’s hair on her pillow? What if the wizard had accidently killed her and dumped her body in the barn? What if I am sitting outside a barn with a rotting corpse inside? What if the wizard is right this very second sacrificing a different poor girl in a different barn somewhere?

That was when an owl screeched a warning near me that sent chills over my skin. I heard the change in the night sounds. The comforting chirp of the crickets turned shriller. A breeze came up and washed over the plants and animals. I felt its warning that evil was approaching and paid attention to it.

Seconds later an ostentatious large four wheeled drive blue truck with oversized tires pulled into the overgrown drive of the abandoned barn. The wizard that was the focus of my hunt got out. He looked around and I instinctively held my breath as he inspected the surroundings of the barn. I knew I had been careful and he would not find a trace of me but I was so close to the end of my hunt that I was filled with fear that one small slip would have disastrous consequences.

The wizard found nothing alarming and strode confidently toward the barn. He swept his whole arm grandly in front of him three times as he walked toward the barn, disarming his spells. At the end of the last sweep of his arm he flicked his wrist and the barn door swung open with deep moan in protest from the hinges. There was a loud dull thump as the door hit the side of the barn with force. As he disappeared through the barn doors out of my sight I saw a soft glow of candle light immediately light up the vertical gaps between the barn boards that made up the outside of the barn.

The ritual had begun.

I crept from my hiding spot slowly and carefully as to not disturb the earth’s night time rhythm. But the thorns of the raspberry bushes demanded a price for hiding me and that price was my flesh as they gouged deep scratches in my legs and arms. I payed the price without protest and kept moving silently toward the barn. As I glided toward the barn I drew my blade out of its leather holder. I slipped the holder off my neck and let it slide down my arm dropping it on the ground indiscriminately as I stalked toward the barn. I did not want it to hinder or tangle up in anything during the fierce battle that was imminent. I would either be successful and able to come back for it or have no need for it in the future.

I paused outside the door and listened to the wizard chanting inside the barn. When I heard a muffled cry coming from inside the barn I knew the wizard was using a knife to draw Stephanie’s blood. It took all of my discipline to remain frozen outside the barn door. But it had to be done. I had to allow him to cause her pain. I had to allow that pain to draw out the lust for power this wizard felt. That lust would impassion his focus on his spell.

Only when he was truly focused on his spell would I have a chance of defeating this wizard. He was vastly more powerful than I could ever hope to be. No, ever wanted to be. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying to kill him. He needed to be stopped and the only way he would stop is if he was dead. If I had to die in order to stop him then I would. But I hoped beyond all hope that The Goddess saw fit to let me live.

I glanced in the door of the barn for a split second and then ducked behind the door with my back against it to process what I had seen. The Wizard was painting a pentagram on the floor with the girl’s blood. He was bent over on the floor facing me and could have easily seen me. However, his face was hardened with concentration on the ritual he was performing. I could hear his rhythmic chanting from where I stood.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and centered my thoughts on the energy in my body. I felt my energy flowing through my body and focused on its power. I then opened my eyes, turned and walked through the door with my sword raised ready for combat.

I made it half way across the barn before the wizard even noticed me. I made it another quarter of the way before his eyes focused on me. He seemed unable to comprehend that there was a hunter coming for him. His disbelief instantly turned to anger when he finally accepted my presence He stood up from where he had been crouching next to the floor.

Between one of my foot falls and the next I felt the wizard gather his energy around him and focus it on me. When I felt his energy I would like to say it didn’t affect me. I would like to say that the little girl in me didn’t curl up in a ball and wet herself. But well you know…one shouldn’t lie…especially one as close to death as I am right now.

Instead, I stole a glance at Stephanie. It only took a fraction of a second to see her fear. Her fear reminded me of my fear when I had been in her position many years ago. Rage boiled up in me and I turned my attention back to the wizard just in the nick of time. He had already gathered a spell and was releasing it from his outstretched fingers in my direction.

I barely had enough time to swing my spelled sword to block the oncoming spell. I sighed at the newb mistake I had made and vowed not to repeat it again during this battle. I drew up my energy and used it to focus my concentration on the wizard. I took in his body, the stance he was in and waited for him to start to move again.

I didn’t have to wait long and I saw the slight shift in his weight onto his right foot that meant he would be stepping toward me with his left foot. I drew back my sword and prepared to counter the attack that was coming. As I had predicted he stepped forward with his left foot as he drew the sword that I could not see but years of experience told me he had. He then stepped with his right foot as he swung the sword down at me.

He had more height, weight, and power in his swing than I did. But I had years of experience and agility on my side. I swung my blade with greater speed that caused his blade swing to deflect. The power behind his swing carried the blade accost his body and back behind him under his left arm. I instantly followed up with a quick stab with my blade before I scurried away from him. I crouched slightly with my knees bent and my blade at the ready and waited for him to make the next move.

It took a split second for him to register what I had done and to process the pain he felt in his side. Unfortunately, I had not had enough time to do more than nick him a little with my blade. It was a well-placed nick and would cause him pain when he swung his blade again with his right hand. He smiled a sadistic twisted smile and I knew he was thinking of how much he would enjoy killing me. I remained emotionless. I was using all my energy focusing on his body waiting for the subtle clues that would tell me what he was going to do next.

He swung his blade back around to the right side of his body with ease and cocky arrogance not giving away any hint of pain my nick caused him. He took up a defensive stance similar to mine. I simply waited knowing the defensive stance was a rouse and a second later my belief was vindicated as he sprinted across the barn floor twirling his blade trying to confuse and distract me. I waited the fraction of the second it took for him to get to me. When he was taking the final step that would bring him to me it was with his left foot. I drew my blade into the defensive position to meet his left handed attack and deflected his blade once more. I used the moment of my swing to carry me under his left arm and behind him as his blade stabbed at the air where I had been moments before.

I traveled a safe distance away and was able to turn and face him in a defensive stance before he collected himself and turned toward me. He had expected me to stab at him again and had been prepared for my attack. However, I was too focused on the fight to make a newb mistake like that. I remained emotionless and waited.

The wizard face gave away all his emotions. He felt I was beneath him. I was a skinny weak female that was running away from him rather than standing my ground and having a real sword fight like a man. He was growing bored with the fight and with my
luck
at having evaded him thus far.

Now the real fight would start. Now he was serious about killing me. I was no longer a play thing to him.

He transferred his sword to his right hand and drew up his power into his left hand. He stalked across the barn floor at me and when he was only two steps away he set the spell he had gathered in his left hand at me while he swung his sword at me with his right hand.

There was no way I would be able to stop both the sword and the spell. In that split second I had a choice to make. Which did I think I could survive? The spell or the blade. I chose the blade and swung my sword to block the spell. I ducked and moved with the blade so the momentum from the swing would be countered by my movement. I felt the blade slice my left shoulder and winced from the pain. I did not let the pain effect my concentration as I drug my blade across his body when I fled past him. My blade was still raised from countering the spell and I had ducked to miss most of the force of his blade swing so my blade made a line from the center of his chest down under his left arm and around his side.

This time he let the pain distract him and he remained motionless for a few seconds. Or maybe it was the audacity I had to cut him, a powerful wizard. Either way we will never know because those few seconds were all I needed. I let my power drain from my body into my spelled sword. The sword hummed with the power I fed it and I planted my right foot slightly back behind me and raised my blade. I pushed off with all the power I could muster and stepped into my turn and converted the force of my turn into speed for my sword. I swung my blade not at his neck but through it and out the other side.

That was the key to cutting off a head. Most people would probably guess it was about the force of the swing and would have aimed forcefully for the neck itself. But no, it was all about the speed and you had to aim through the neck to the other side to get a good cut. Granted it helps if you have a spelled sword that converts power into sharpness to slice through bone. Yes, I know it is sadistic that I know these things. But I do use my sadism for good.

My knowledge and effort was rewarded by a dull thump as his head hit the rough wood of the barn floor

It always seems like it takes forever for the body to follow the head and crumple to the floor but in reality I suppose it is only a second. Maybe even a fraction of a second. But there is just something so creepy about a body standing without a head that makes time move in slow-mo. Yes, I know once again is sadistic that I have enough experience with headless bodies standing on their own to have an opinion on this. We already covered my sadism. Can we move on now?

Stephanie let out a whimper and the noise broke the trance the headless body held on me. I looked over at her. Her hands and feet were bound and then tied to each other so that she was sitting in a crouched position with her arms around her knees. She also had a hanky tied around her face holding a sock in her mouth. There was blood leaking from her arm and a large stain was on the barn floor where her blood had been soaking into the dried wood.