Hunter Mourned (Wild Hunt Book 3) (30 page)

She opened herself to her hound stationed outside the pizza place. The dog showed her an image of Trevor entering the apartment building. He hadn’t emerged yet. Her gut twisted.

Rhys fell into step beside her. “The redcap planned this.”

Rage radiated off her brother. She felt it simmering within her also. Only concern for Trevor kept it at bay.

“Craig wanted to die.” She cut a quick glance at Rhys. “At first.”

“Now, he’s running.” Rhys scanned the buildings. “He could’ve gone into any of these. The redcap knows he’s hidden from us.”

“No. He’s gone after Trevor.” The hounds she’d had stationed outside the hotel were following him, running down the alley parallel to them. “The redcap knows by now that Trevor is with its sluagh. Craig will want to finish what he started.” And if Trevor died, it would be her fault. She’d sent him off alone.

“Trevor can handle himself. Redcap or not, Craig isn’t a match for him.”

Pride welled. She couldn’t have stopped it if she tried. Trevor had wanted to win her brothers’ respect. He was going to be thrilled once he found out he’d garnered Rhys’s.

“I’ve seen Trevor working with Ian.” Rhys went on. “He’s quick, and all he needs to do is aim for the redcap’s heart.”

The elation plummeted. She’d told Trevor she had to take the redcap’s head, freeing his soul. Otherwise, he’d wind up in the very lowest level of Hell with the fairies. Nobody ever left those chambers. Arawn had designed them to be a one-way barrier. Freeing Craig’s soul landed him in Arawn’s hands.

If her father dealt with the redcap the same way he had Craig’s brother Raul, then Craig would be committed to the level right above the fairies. It was still a horrendous place, but for those incarcerated sinners, there was a chance to earn redemption. For Jen’s sake, Rowan wanted to offer Craig that. It was a long shot, one Rowan didn’t think would ever meet success, but it was better than none. Trevor knew that was what Rowan wanted. If he hesitated taking the blow that would end Craig’s life, he might die instead.

She ran harder.

A hound slammed an image into her head—Craig barreling down the street toward the pizza place. Rowan was still a block away. No. She had to get there before Craig entered that apartment building. She opened herself to the power of the Hunt, drawing the shadows to her. The shroud that had protected the Huntsmen for ages slid around her body. She was taking a huge risk. If any humans had been looking at her, they would’ve seen her form fading before disappearing altogether.

Rhys did the same, forming a veil around his body. There were no shouts or screams from the humans. The lack of a response didn’t mean they’d escaped detection, but it offered a small comfort.

Within moments, she turned the corner. Craig skidded into the alley. Her hound leapt at him, teeth bared. Craig toppled under the weight of the massive dog. The distraction gave Rowan the seconds she needed to close the distance between them.

Rhys called forth his sword. “Seek retaliation for your lover. I’m going after the sluagh.”

She wanted to tell him she would go to Trevor, but Rhys disappeared into the building before she got the words out. She focused on Craig. The sooner the redcap met its fate at the end of her blade, the sooner the threat to Trevor would be eliminated. The cloud of dust the sluagh would become once its master was killed wouldn’t harm him.

With a small wave of her hand, the veil surrounding her swept outward, enclosing Craig. She rushed him before he could run through the edges of the cloud. Craig turned and bared a mouthful of fangs. Black eyes zeroed in on her. No spark of humanity hovered in those orbs. He was crazed, corrupted by the Chaos that had eaten away at his mind.

Her blade connected with Craig’s chest, scoring a deep gash across his pecs. The wound didn’t even faze the redcap. It slashed at her with its extended claws. His sharpened nails connected with her arm, ripping muscle. She raised her good arm, aiming for the redcap’s head, and swung.

Craig ducked and rammed his head into her stomach. Her breath rushed out. She hunched, and the blade fell from her hand, disappearing before hitting the ground. The redcap took advantage of the automatic response, gripping her upper arms, but she tucked her legs and flipped them, knocking them to the hard pavement, Craig beneath her.

The sound of bone shattering reached her ears, and pain contorted Craig’s features. His grasp on her biceps eased. She threw his hold off and grabbed his shoulders.

Using the power of the Hunt to strengthen her muscles, she slammed him against the ground, cracking his skull with a sharp whack. His eyes rolled back in his head; mouth opened on a soundless groan.

The precious seconds while his body healed gave her the opportunity she needed to finish this. She impaled the claws of one hand into his chest, cracking his ribs and holding him in place while she recalled her sword.

“I will earn my redemption.”

Craig’s sloshy words yanked her attention to his face. Hazel eyes stared back at her, not black or crazed. Intelligence and determination shone in them. The male staring back at her was the one Alana had loved, not the creature Dar had turned him into. The sight didn’t sway Rowan, though. He would die.

“For some sins, there is no redemption.”

Craig’s lips curved into a small, albeit pained, smile. “You’re right, but Alana’s gift guarantees mine.”

“What gift?”

His grin widened. He jerked, arching his back and impaling himself on her clawed hand. The sharpened tips on her fingers sunk into his heart. It beat once, twice, then stuttered. She brought her sword down and severed Craig’s head from his body before his heart took its final beat.

His soul slipped free.

The dark gray orb hovered inches from her, waiting to be collected by her. She stared at the murky colors and sighed. Craig had never given the answer as to what Alana had given him. Whatever it had been, Rowan hoped Craig appreciated it. No sacrifice came without a price.

****

A puff of dust surrounded Trevor before he completed the arc. His blade met the hard floor, impaling the vinyl the same way the sluagh’s claws had done.

The sluagh was dead. Its soul was released. Rowan had succeeded.

A wave of relief swept over him. He might not have struck the blow that ended Craig, but Rowan had. It meant the same. Rowan was his other half. He didn’t need a mate bond to tell him that. Rowan’s victory against Craig was also Trevor’s. He felt the truth in that statement. He didn’t want it any other way. They would meet their battles together. Celebrate together. Love together. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.

“You’re alive.”

Rhys’s voice jerked Trevor’s head to look at the Huntsman. “Yes. Where’s Rowan?”

“In the alley outside, fighting Craig.”

Trevor motioned to the dust scattered around him. “She won.”

Rhys nodded, respect in his expression. “So she did.”

Trevor stood, ignoring the blood running down his arm, and headed for the door. He needed to see Rowan, hold her. He had to tell her what he’d decided—that he would accept the Huntsman’s mark. Today. No more waiting.

He might be able to sense the redcaps and their sluaghs as a human, but he couldn’t free their souls the way a Huntsman’s blade could. That left him in a tough situation, always fighting to incapacitate, not kill. Doing so left him vulnerable, and he’d promised Rowan he wouldn’t die on her.

Rowan stood at the mouth of the alley. She hefted Craig’s headless body onto the back of her horse. Unlike sluaghs, redcaps never disappeared upon death. Using the Hunt’s horses to transport the evidence of their hunting was a necessity.

With a small caress to the horse’s mane, the mare and her load disappeared. She would have to travel with Grief to the Underworld. Craig’s soul couldn’t be released into the resting fields. It would go to Arawn’s doorstep.

“Rowan.” Trevor ran to her and enclosed her in his arms. Blood soaked her clothes and matted her hair. She’d been hurt. “What happened?”

“I fell off the hotel’s roof.” She grinned. “It’s a good thing I’m immortal.” Her smile drooped a second later. Her gaze landed on his injured bicep. She touched the skin around it with gentle fingers. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s okay. Doesn’t even hurt.” He raised her chin and stared deeply into her eyes. So many words bounced around in his head. Rowan covered his cheek before he could tell her that he loved her or that he was going to accept the mark.

“We won.”

He covered her hands. “Of course. Did you have any doubt? We make a great te—”

Smashing glass drew his gaze across the street. A man went flying through the window of a rental store. Alarms sounded, followed by a siren. A cop car skidded to a stop in front of the building. Two officers leapt out.

Trevor stepped in front of Rowan, blocking her from the sight of the cops. With the blood covering her, she’d draw the wrong kind of attention.

A man peered over the broken shards of the window and waved a gun. The officers hunkered down, using the doors of their cruiser to cover them. They shouted for the guy to give himself up. The armed robber aimed at the cops. Fired.

Trevor’s body jerked. White hot pain exploded in his chest. He fell backward, unable to stop himself, and collided with Rowan.

She wrapped her arms around him. “Trevor!”

He wanted to tell her he was okay. No words came out of his mouth. The darkness took everything away.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
S
EVEN

Blood covered Rowan’s hands. The sight triggered a memory she’d relived countless times. Kai had died in her arms the same way. She’d held him while he’d bled to death. Rocked his lifeless body while she’d cried. Her brothers had pulled her away from Kai. She’d fought them. She hadn’t wanted to let him go. Kai had died because of her. She’d left him vulnerable, then hadn’t been able to help him when he’d needed her. The light had faded from his eyes. While she watched. She hadn’t been able to follow him. He’d met death alone.

Because of me. I should’ve let Kai ride in the Hunt.
Tears filled her eyes. Blinking made them worse. Past and present merged. Failure choked her.
I should’ve insisted that Trevor accept the mark. How could I think I could protect him? I’ve already failed him twice.

Her stubbornness had caused Kai’s death. Her memories had triggered Trevor’s suffering in the fairy realm. And her slow response was the reason Trevor was lying on the ground, bleeding. She should’ve shoved him out of the way. Taken the bullet for him. No. She’d misjudged the situation. Didn’t understand that bullets could ricochet like that. She’d heard the cops talking. They’d said Trevor was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Because of her. He’d stepped in front of her. She could guess why too. Not only did Craig’s blood cover her, but so did her own.

Trevor had been trying to protect
her
.

She pressed her palms more firmly to Trevor’s chest, but blood still seeped between her fingers. She leaned close to him. “Trevor! Don’t die on me!”

She wanted to shake him, to make him wake up and respond to her. Fear stopped her from doing so. She didn’t want to hurt him more. She’d done so once already. The night she’d tugged him out of the fairy ring, she’d aggravated his injuries. The human doctors had told her that. They’d had to repair those wounds surgically.

“They’ll save you.” Tears distorted her words. She choked on the tightness in her throat. “Just hold on. Okay? Just hold on.”

“An ambulance is on its way.” Rhys draped his jacket over her back. “They’re going to rush him to the hospital.”

She nodded absently and kept pressure on the wound in Trevor’s chest, the one that was inches from his heart. Each beat seemed to push more blood out of the hole left behind by the bullet. She yanked her gaze to Rhys. His blurred face came into focus. “The shooter?”

“Police have him.” Rhys’s features hardened. “But we will soon, and once Arawn gets his hands on him, he’ll suffer.”

As much as Kai’s killers did. They still paid the price for their sin.

The blaring of the ambulance’s siren grew louder. The sound of doors slamming and people shouting orders reached her. She blocked it out and watched Trevor. Listened to him. Each breath he took reassured her. He was strong, a fighter. He wouldn’t give up on life or her.

Somebody rested a hand on her arm. “You need to move, ma’am.”

She glanced from Trevor’s too-still face to the human who’d spoken. A man in his early twenties stared back at her. He looked too young to be saving lives, but confidence and a sense of calm determination hovered in his hazel eyes.

“I can’t stop the bleeding.” Her voice cracked on a sob. The helplessness gripping her was too intense to hide.

He swept his gaze over Trevor, then met her eyes. “We’ll do everything we can.”

Another human grasped her arms and pulled her back. Four males in matching medic uniforms descended around Trevor. They moved quickly, cutting Trevor’s shirt and packing the wound. One of them stuck a needle in his arm, another in his hand. They hooked stuff up to him. She couldn’t tell what. Their backs blocked him from her view.

She stepped closer, needing to see what they were doing. Rhys stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Give them room, sister. We are powerless here.”

They took lives. They didn’t save them. At least not directly. Their actions prevented tragedies. She understood that. She did. But… “I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

Rhys took a towel another human held out to him and rubbed at her hands, wiping the blood from them. “I know.”

She stood there helpless while Rhys tended to her and the humans worked at saving Trevor’s life. It was as if she were watching the world from behind the veil of her tears, unable to intervene. Pain squeezed her chest. Ice chilled her blood. She wanted to do something. Her tears weren’t helping.

“Why, Rhys?” She lowered her voice. “For all our abilities, why can’t we save them?”

Rhys folded the towel and wiped at her cheeks. “Because we were never meant to be all-powerful.”