Hunter (4 page)

"Of course
not, I know what your sense of time is like," Tanguin said,
smiling.

They both
chuckled. Tanguin was more than aware of Nova's obsessive need to
know the time, and be on time, all the time.

"Good, I'll
talk to you tomorrow then."

"Talk to you
then. And, Nova, be careful," Tanguin said. Her pale eyes stared
straight at Nova through the screen, not a hint of humour in them.
It was clearly a warning.

CHAPTER FIVE

Corvus stood on top of the building and relished
in the wind rushing against his skin. He hadn't felt this powerful
since being locked in the wooden cell. The whole universe was
spread out before him, ready to be drained dry.

Humans walked
about on the streets below. Stupid cattle.

He couldn't
wait to feast. The synthetic blood he'd been forced to eat for the
last five years made his stomach churn. It was foul; he may as well
have licked the rust off the walls to survive.

"Where shall
we hunt tonight?" Laticia asked.

Corvus felt
her step up behind him. Her voice was shaky, scared. Good. She
deserved to be scared. The whole coven had betrayed him. It was
unthinkable, unprecedented. A coven was more than family, more than
blood. To be part of a coven was to be a part of something bigger.
Any lecheon worth the air they breathed would give their life for
their coven, and give it twice for their coven's
leaders.

So why had he
been left alone to be captured?

Coven spat at
the ground. He would get his answers, but first he had to feed. The
yearning for blood was so strong that he couldn't
concentrate.

Laticia's
perfume was heady. He licked his lips and looked over his shoulder
at her.

"After all
this time I think I should treat myself," he said.

"A young girl
it is then," Laticia smiled. Her open mouth revealed the leach
moving back and forth behind her teeth.

"With me,"
Corvus called out louder so that the rest of the coven scattered
across the roof would hear. In an instant they were standing by his
side.

"Before we go
we need to settle something," Corvus said, looking over his coven.
They were small and pitiful. They stared up at him with the
hopeful, expectant eyes of children.

"Whatever you
wish master," Laticia spoke on behalf of them all.

"Where were
you?" Corvus asked quietly.

"Master?"
Laticia's face fell and her brows drew together.

"On that
night, five years ago, when I was taken. Where were
you?"

"We were too
far away to hear you; we were hunting," Laticia
responded.

"Why?" Corvus
glared at his coven. "Why would you be that far away when you
should have been with me?"

"Master,
we're sorry for what happened. We went to hunt in a different
direction that night."

"Am I not
leader of this coven?" Corvus asked. He looked at each of his coven
in turn. He glared into their eyes and his gaze pierced straight
through to their souls.

His heart
beat faster, and the anger which had built up inside him during his
five years of captivity bubbled to the surface. He'd spent hundreds
of sleepless nights running over what had happened and wondering
where they'd been. He'd been forced to endure more pain and
humiliation than he'd ever thought possible. It was their fault he
had lost five years of his life.

"Of course,
Master," Laticia said, her head hanging low.

"Then why
weren't you hunting with ME!" Corvus spat the last word and pounded
his fist down onto his chest.

"We're sorry,
Master. It won't happen again."

"You're right
it won't happen again. And if I get even a whiff of one of you
betraying me or undermining my authority in any way," Corvus paused
for emphasis. "You'll wish you were born human."

"Yes master,"
Laticia whispered.

"Am I
understood?" Corvus yelled to the rest of the coven.

"Yes master,"
they replied.

"Good. Then
tonight we hunt."

He would let
the matter lie for now, but he wouldn't forget. They should have
been with him and he would find out why they weren't, if it was the
last thing he ever did. For the moment though he was hungry. Now
was the time to feed.

He began a
mad dash down the stairs. He leapt from one landing to the next
with the agility of a hunting cat. His nostrils flared and he
caught the individual scent of every beating heart for a mile
around. He could almost taste them and the very thought pumped
saliva into his mouth.

He sniffed
again, sorting through the different flavours. Some blood was
hinted with spice, others were sweet. Some blood was so filled with
grease and fat that even the smell made Corvus turn up his nose.
There was one particular scent he was looking for. All lecheons had
their favourite taste. Corvus's was so mainstream it was
practically a stereotype. He liked the flavour of young
women.

Young ladies
always had the same flavour. It was a heady mix of flowers and
candy with just a hint of apple. To Corvus, it was delicious and
he
loved
it.

"There it
is." Corvus whipped his head to the left and started down the road.
His coven kept close behind. "I can practically feel
it!"

The coven
sprinted down the street. Corvus led them left, then right, then
right again. They ran down dark alleys, concealed by the shadows.
Corvus leapt over a large rubbish bin and kept running. One by one
his coven followed.

"So close!"
Corvus panted.

The wind
rushed past his hair and made his long cloak fan out behind him. It
was a calf-length leather jacket which was made to fit. It clung
closely to his skin but allowed him free movement. The exposed skin
registered the cool breeze, a welcome change from the stale air of
his cell.

His boots
slapped against the pavement. These concrete jungles were perfect
for hunting. So many places to hide and so much food. The cattle
walked around day after day, just begging to be feasted upon.
Corvus relished in the stretch of his legs and arms as he pelted
down the street. His muscles would soon recover from his time of
incarceration and then he would be truly powerful once
more.

He ran around
the final corner and the small alley opened up onto a bigger
street. Dozens of people were walking along the footpath, but his
vision narrowed on the one he wanted. Corvus drew a deep breath
through his nostrils and savoured the flavour. It wafted over to
him on the night air, teasing him.

The lecheons
hid in the shadows of the alley. Their prey drew closer. She was a
young woman wearing a strapless black dress. Her brown hair was
held high on her head, with small wisps floating down to frame her
face. She walked in heels with practiced ease and hummed to
herself. Her eyes were large, larger than most humans, probably the
result of a mod. That was unfortunate; the mods always left a
slightly metallic taste in the bloodstream.

When the
woman stepped past the alley Corvus's hand shot out and grabbed
hold of her wrist. He whipped her into the darkness of the
backstreet and away from any witnesses. He wrapped her close to his
body. He drew in deeply through his nostrils with his face buried
in her neck. The smell of her blood was too much. It begged him to
feed on her, to suck her dry.

The humans
brought it on themselves. If they didn't taste so darn good he
might have been satisfied with the synthetic stuff. But the
synthetic stuff could never compare to this; this heaven of
aromas.

Before the
woman could cry out for help, Corvus's hands wrapped around her
mouth. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. His long leach
tongue extended out from between his teeth. He drew it slowly up
the woman's neck, leaving a trail of saliva.

She shivered
and squirmed against him. Tears trickled down her cheeks and pooled
against Corvus's hand. He took his time to feel her warmth, to
taste her. The heady flavour soared over his tongue and down his
throat.

His coven
stood back and watched. They waited with barely controlled
anticipation. Corvus could smell their desire. He could feel their
eyes watching him, filled with jealousy. He smiled.

He couldn't
stand the wait any longer. Her drew back and lunged for the woman's
neck. His teeth tore into her throat, sending blood dribbling down
her neck. A stray spurt splattered the alley like crude
graffiti.

His hand
muffled her screams as he latched onto her and refused to let go.
He kept his eyes open. Usually he would have closed them and
allowed himself to become completely lost in the flavour. But at
that moment he couldn't risk it. He had no idea what his coven were
planning. It wasn't worth it.

His eyes
flicked between each member of his coven. They stared at him with
envy but they daren't move. A few of their tongues lolled out and
the leaches at the ends opened their own mouths and gnashed their
teeth.

The corners
of Corvus's mouth turned up. Let them stare. Let them remember who
their leader was. It was his right to feed and if they were lucky
enough to get some leftovers then it was only because of his
generosity. Let them see and let them learn.

The woman's
blood was warm. The strapless dress and lifted up hair made it
especially easy for him to reach her neck. It was like she'd gone
out that night dressed especially for him. Her pale, creamy neck
shone in the limited moonlight and begged to be feasted upon.
Corvus was only too happy to oblige.

The warm
liquid slid down his throat. It coated his mouth and his teeth and
flowed down to his stomach leaving his whole body feeling warm and
whole. The flowery, candy smell transformed into taste. His entire
mouth was filled with the sensation. It was so good after his years
of captivity, years of having to survive on synthetic blood, that
he barely noticed the metallic tang of her mod. This was
heaven.

As he
continued to feed, he felt her losing strength. She stopped
struggling against his arms, and then she stopped trying to scream.
In the end, her legs gave out and Corvus lowered both her and
himself onto the pavement. He bent over her and continued to suck
at her neck. Her face and body was even paler now that she was
drained of blood. Her eyes were wide and unseeing.

Corvus kept
his senses alert, ready in case one of his coven should decide to
attack him. Even though his coven had gone out of their way to save
him, he couldn't trust them. Even as he enjoyed the feast he kept
his muscles tense and his ears strained. If he was attacked he
would be ready.

He sucked
until the very end. Until there wasn't a single drop of blood left
in the young woman. She looked shrunken now that she was empty of
all fluids. It was a stark difference to the lively girl who had
been bouncing down the street, humming, only a few minutes
earlier.

Corvus
reluctantly pulled back his tongue and lifted his mouth from the
girl's neck. He stared down at her, her face locked in his memory.
How had his species survived so long feeding on animals when there
was this heaven only a few solar systems over? He licked his lips.
The heady fragrance still filled his nose and mouth. If he was
lucky it would stay with him for a few days, then he could really
enjoy it.

"We're done
here," he said. He didn't bother to look at his coven as he backed
away from the woman and ran down the alley, back to their
hideout.

CHAPTER SIX

"What happened?" Nova asked.

She stood
inside a circle of yellow tape with Inspector Briggles. The alley
was spattered with blood and lying on the cold ground was a pale,
white corpse.

"The victim,
a Miss Ruby Bellows, was expected home at eleven pm. When she
didn't show her boyfriend called her work, but they said she'd left
hours ago. The body was found at six this morning by a man on his
way to work."

"And you're
sure it was the same lecheon coven?"

"No doubt
about it. She's been completely drained just like the
others."

Nova nodded
and strode to the woman's body. She had a single set of teeth marks
on her neck.

"Why was she
only bitten once?" Nova asked.

"Perhaps I
can answer that." An older man stepped forward. His eyes were a
startling blue and he carried a tattered book under his
arm.

"Is that an
actual book?" Nova's eyebrows shot straight up.

"Yes, I've
been investigating lecheon ancient history. Some of it isn't on the
Cloud, or if it is it's classified."

"I see. And
who are you?" Nova asked.