Night of the Hunter 1/3
PART ONE
Fuck. This. Fuck it all! The world was fucked. There was no point in fighting anymore. All of his work, all of his sacrifices were in vain. There was nothing there worth saving. Nothing at all. Civilization had already gone to shit, and there was no redemption for it. He may as well pack up his things and fly to Mars. Why the hell not? Interplanetary travel made more fucking sense that this reality, and he dealt with some pretty crazy shit on a daily basis. This, however, took the cake.
Seriously, what kind of half-assed pub didn’t allow a man to have a smoke indoors? What kind of PC-new wave bullshit was that? Who thought that shit was good idea? Fucking, limp-dick bureaucrats with nothing better to do than muck up the working-man’s right to have a ciggy indoors, that’s who. Fuckers.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he petulantly snubbed his cigarette against the No Smoking sign on the pub’s entrance. It didn’t do much damage-only rippled the plastic. Fucking figures. Not even smoldering hole to make him feel better. Not that he expected it to burn through; it was late November in England. That meant the night air was crisp and frigid with just enough bite to make being outside undoubtedly miserable.
The night was still young, and if all went as plan (as it never did), Daniel would partake of enough liquor to get good and sloshed before returning to his room and passing out fully clothed. It would be a nice, relaxing evening; one free of pesky incidents such as virgin sacrifices, decapitations, exsanguinations, haunting, possessions, etc.
You know, the usual.
For the first time in a long time, no bodies had been found missing vital parts; no mysterious disappearances had been reported; and no one had reported seeing any paranormal creatures or entities. Life was normal… As one could probably guess, Daniel didn’t deal with normal very well, and Liverpool had been experiencing a prolonged period of normal. Well as normal as Liverpool could get-those scousers were genuine freaks of nature if you asked him, which raised the question of why he hadn’t left? Daniel only stayed in a town for as long as he was needed, and he finished his assigned exorcism two days ago. Besides, he hated the place. The people were crazy, the weather sucked, and he could barely understand word that came out of the locals’ mouths. Yeah, Liverpool was veritable hellhole, but for some reason he couldn’t leave. He was on a short vacation that consisted of him holing up in a dingy hotel while waiting for the other cosmic shoe to drop. And when it dropped, shit would get real. Daniel was certain of it. Something had been urging him to stay since he arrived in the town a week ago, and while Daniel didn’t trust much in life, he trusted his intuition.
With an irritated sigh, Daniel stepped over the threshold and nearly choked. He took a moment to catch his breath. Sometimes it sucked being sensitive to the preternatural. The atmosphere was heavy and dark with malevolent energy. Something evil was lurking about, which meant his mini-vacay had just come to an end. Yippee. His fingers itched for another cigarette; sometimes he hated his job. No, that wasn’t true. He always hated his job, but, as the saying goes, someone had to do it.
He took a seat in a vacant booth with his back to the wall and glared at the patrons who moved around freely as if nothing was wrong. Bastards. The pub was packed with what appeared to be university students. Their innocent and carefree nature was jarring to his senses. How could they be so oblivious of the danger they were in, of the monster that was lurking just beyond the shadows? They were almost cute in their ignorance, like lambs to the slaughter. As tempting as it was to sit back and watch the chips fall where they may, if these little lambs died, Daniel would be in a lot of trouble. He was there to do a job, and he would do it, even if it killed him. He knew that declaration made him seem dedicated, but the threat of death wasn’t as fearsome when you had nothing live for.
God, his life was depressing. Pulling off his worn leather coat, Daniel reached for the menu. Hunt after hunt, night after night. He was only twenty-five, but he felt much older. Maybe it was the oncoming winter making him into a candy-assed nancy, or maybe he was bitter over what might have been and consequently never was. If things were different, he could have been one of those uni students. Maybe instead of spending another winter alone, he could have spent it with a nice girl who knew how to knit, loved to bake, and liked football…
Daniel grimaced. He hadn’t thought about his prematurely ended footie career in a while, but the memory came to him clear as day. A younger Daniel all suited up in his little boots and kit, eagerly chasing after the football and tacking boys much larger than he was. He could vividly remember the smell of the fresh cut grass of his hometown pitch and hear the local manager raving about his talent as a center back, building his confidence, and telling him that he would go far. Daniel snorted as flipped over the menu. Yeah, he went far-so far that he hadn’t stepped foot in his home country, Demark, for nearly fourteen years. His already sour mood was becoming darker. Memories of Denmark were always followed by memories of his family, and he wasn’t going to go there. Not tonight, and if he had his choice, not ever.
Daniel shook off the morose thoughts as a server approached from his right.
“Hello. My name’s Alicia; I’ll be your waitress for the evening.” Her voice was high pitched and bubbly. It matched perfectly with her blonde pigtails and perky tits. How did Daniel know her tits were perky? Because they were all but shoved into his face. “Are you ready to order?”
Daniel blinked and took a moment to regroup his thoughts. “I’ll have a hamburger and a bottle of water.” How he would love to have added hard liquor to that order, but in his line of work, drinking on a job was a good way to end up dead.
The waitress scribbled his order onto her notepad. “Would you like chips with that?”
“Sure.”
She fluttered her fake eyelashes at him. “Your order will be ready in just a moment.”
As she walked off, hips swaying with every step, Daniel leaned back into his booth and watched the pub’s patrons. Most of the people were lumped into groups with a few loners languishing at the bar. Among the smiling faces and general cheer, one group stood out.
There were five men surrounding a billiard table near the back of the pub. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about three of the men, so Daniel dismissed them without as much as a second thought and turned his eyes onto a happily, laughing bald man. There was a weird aura surrounding him, but Daniel sensed no malevolence and let the matter drop. More than likely, it was the effect of a protective ward-maybe a medallion or a tattoo; it was nothing to be worked up about.
A flash of gold caught his attention, and Daniel leaned forward to get a better look at the second man. Fuck his life. He was one of the prettiest men Daniel had ever seen.
His golden hair was cut into short, choppy layers that fell around his attractive face. With large doe-like eyes; a thin, straight nose; and soft lips, his features were fair and delicate, like those of a woman. However, that’s where the femininity ended. The man was tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Daniel was, and just as strongly built. He was beautiful, splendid, and the apparent reason why whatever nasty prowling the city, chose the pub as detour.
To the inexperienced observer of the supernatural, that deduction may have seemed like ridiculously huge leap in logic, but Daniel had been in the business long enough to know the score. He didn’t know why, but evil kept a constant hard on for beautiful mortals. It must have seen the blonde man outside and followed him there…unless Daniel had missed some vital point and had unwitting stumbled into an ambush. He pondered the thought for a moment. No, he couldn’t sense anything other than the overlying evil. The bastard wasn’t even trying to mask its presence. Any sensitive hunter within a fifty-yard radius would be able to feel it. The atmosphere was so harsh, so raw that the even the pub’s patrons should be feeling it. Yet they gave no indication that they sensed any danger. They all went about their business merrily as if they didn’t have a care it the world.
Daniel could feel his brow furrow in frustration. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t sense anything while he was outside of the pub. Something was blocking it from being felt…which would have explained the lack of effort to cover its tracks. The little beastie had found a way to it mask its presence from non-hunter born. Lovely. Maybe the pub outing wasn’t as spontaneous as he earlier believed to be. His guess was that it had been planning a feeding and had chosen the club as a headquarters. It probably was in league with the owner, offering power for sustenance. He sighed. Humans were so stupid sometimes.
Wiping his palms against his pants, Daniel once again turned his gaze onto the blonde man. He was the perfect bait; it wouldn’t let such beauty and vitality remain untouched. All Daniel had to do was sit back and wait for the strike. The lad was practically begging to be violated… Daniel took a moment to appreciate the images of debauchery his last thought brought and grinned.
As if he could feel Daniel’s gaze, the man turned to look in him in the eye. Still feeling cheeky from his last thought, Daniel didn’t turn away. His grin settled into a smirk when the lad’s previously neutral expression morphed into one of confusion. Daniel knew he was probably freaking him out, but he didn’t care. He usually worked alone; he had to get his kicks out of something. Daniel could have stared at the poor bastard all evening, but Alicia with the perky tits returned with his order. His little impromptu staring contest would have to resume later-preferably when they were both alone…and naked.
“Is there anything else I could do for you?” She asked. The invite for a bit of extracurricular fun was clearly there; he just chose to ignore it.
Daniel stared at his food; his burger was slightly burnt, and his chips were soggy . “No.” He was sure that if he looked up, he would become reacquainted with her cleavage.
“Are you sure?” She leaned over the table until she practically hovered over his meal. If any of her bottle-blonde hair got into his mayonnaise, there would be hell to pay.
Now irritated, he slid his gaze from his food to give her the coldest stare he could muster. “I said no.”
He should have felt bad about the shifty-eyed nervousness he evoked from her, but he didn’t. He could only feel a mild sense of relief as she walked away. He’d met an Alicia in nearly every town he’d hunted. They were always the same: perky, busty, and willing to fuck any leather-clad bastard that walked through the door. It was a novelty when he first began hunting. To a gangly teen with abandonment issues and questionable English, any form of attention (sexual or otherwise) was eagerly welcomed. However, over the years, the appeal wore off, and the Alicias of the world became less charming.
Shaking his head in an effort to clear his thoughts, Daniel focused on his food. He was paying for it; he may as well enjoy it. Besides, it wasn’t wise to hunt on an empty stomach. After chipping the charred parts of his burger away and drowning his chips in mayonnaise, Daniel finished his meal in record time. It was a lesson he learned in his earlier days as a hunter; his prey could strike at any moment; he had to be alert.
With nothing to distract him, Daniel once again found his gaze returning to the blonde man in the corner. He was still conversing with the bald guy, hardly anything remarkable, yet Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off of him. It wasn’t until a tall, dark haired female approached the lad, that Daniel realized that he’d zoned out. So much for staying alert. He was getting sloppy, and a sloppy hunter was a dead hunter. He took a small satisfaction in the fact that his inattentiveness wasn’t enough to keep him from noticing how the woman seemingly appeared from thin air.
She wasn’t in the club earlier. He’d people watched enough to know that there were twenty people (including the bartender, the two servers, and himself) in the room and that she wasn’t one of the initial twenty. So where did she come from? Daniel took note of the marked door behind her. The women’s restroom? That had to be it.
He blinked and her image flickered. How interesting. That wasn’t her original form. Shapeshifters didn’t flicker; she was using glamour. That narrowed it down to the work of either a demon or a witch. Witches were generally ranged between benevolent and neutral. Some went bad, but it wasn’t a common occurrence. Only a succubus would be as vain and arrogant as to hunt in a crowded bar.
Demon it was.
Daniel slapped down two-twenty pound notes onto the table and sat up. It was too much for his food, but he didn’t exactly have enough time to wait for a check and change. The-she devil was making its move.
Feeling the familiar calm that came with the hunt wash over him, Daniel finished his water as he dispassionately watched as the woman approached and tapped the blonde on the shoulder. The man turned to her, and Daniel could pinpoint the exact moment the lad fell under her thrall-his body tensed when he looked her in the eye. Under the demon’s control, he turned to his bald friend, bid him goodnight, and followed his new mistress to the exit.
Timing their movement, Daniel stood just in time to crash into the man. “Watch where you going, you fucking douche.” Daniel shoved the lad backwards, slipping a paper ward on him in the process. Upon contact, the ward disappeared is a fizzle of smoke, making it undetectable to the demon. It wouldn’t break her victim’s enthrallment, but it would paralyze the demon the moment she consumed his blood.
As expected, the blonde didn’t respond to Daniel’s insult. He only blinked those enormous brown eyes of his and walked away. The succubus, however, stared at Daniel, for longer than he found comfortable.
“What are you doing with that queer?” He threw her a salacious grin. “How about you leave with me instead?” The succubus sneered, but said nothing as she made her exit. Daniel heaved a sigh of relief, and after counting to thirty, he followed them into the cold, dark night.
---
Daniel first realized that something was wrong when instead of dragging her prey to the nearest alley, the she-demon drove for twelve minutes to a nearby nature reserve. He really, really hate nature, and prayed to every deity he could think of that she wouldn’t go into the forest, but they weren’t listening. Daniel watched in resignation as his quarry disappeared into the forest.
Following them in his stolen car was risky. Unlike the demon, he couldn’t see in the dark, and there was the off chance that the demon would notice him before his ward went into effect. He could take her out without its aid, but it would be rather difficult. Daniel knew for certain that couldn’t follow them on foot. It was too cold and there’s no way he would be able to keep up with their car. Still, trailing them with headlights beaming was out of the question, so he would have to make do with following their taillights and hope that he didn’t crash into a deer or a tree or a goblin...those little buggers could really fuck up a fender.
Five miles into the forest, the succubus’s brake lights flashed signaling the end to his extremely low speed car chase. Silently, he killed his engine and watched as the demon and her victim exited the vehicle and walked farther into the forest. Daniel really, really didn’t want to leave the warmth and comfort of his car, but he had a life to save. Reluctantly, he grabbed his knapsack full of weapons and wards and continued the chase on foot. He’d been walking for at least ten minutes before he stumbled upon a seemingly abandoned cabin.
It was an old, dilapidated eyesore that barely looked like it could survive a strong wind let alone a demon infestation. Lucky for Daniel, the weather was predicted to stay relatively clear throughout the night. Not that he put much faith into weather forecasts or science for that matter. His life revolved around the unexplained-things that science deemed inconceivable, illogical, folklore and fairytales.
Still hidden behind the trees, Daniel watched the two enter the dwelling. After few moments, he checked his gun’s safety, took a deep breath, and followed. Inside, there was no electricity; instead, there were several candles lit. In the middle of the room, the demon had dropped her glamour and sat straddling the blonde’s waist as he helplessly looked on. Without the aid of magic, the creature lost all semblance of humanity. Her once healthy, glowing skin vanished to reveal skin that was violet and leathery. Her once clear blue eyes were now an empty black like those of a shark, and they locked on him the moment he walked into room.
“I was wondering when you would arrive, little hunter.” She rasped through her jagged teeth.
So, she knew he was following her. He wished he known that earlier. It would have saved him a lot of time and headache. “Get away from him?”
She ran a talon down her victim’s chest, ripping his shirt and drawing blood. The blonde man’s eye’s reflected pain, but he remained immobile and silent. “This one belongs to me.”
“I’m thinking the opposite.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, mirth evident in her face. “I saw you watching him hunter. I could taste your lust.” She laughed a series of high-pitched wheezes, her disfigured form bowing and shaking with glee. “If you play nice, I might let you fuck him before I suck the soul form his body.”
“Thanks for the offer, but unlike you, I don’t need magic to lure someone to my bed. And you might want to work on your glamour; it kinda sucks.”
“Ooh, sassy.” She cackled. “Tell me your name, boy.”
“How about you tell me yours?” Daniel knew she wouldn’t answer. To give him her name, was to give him power over her, but Daniel needed to distract her from the man beneath her.
“Why? So that you may scream it as I rip your heart from your chest and feast on your marrow?”
“Cute,” Daniel rolled his eyes. “It’s only polite to know the name of the hell-bitch I plan to decapitate.”
She scoffed. “Once I devour the pretty blonde,” for obvious dramatic flair, she leaned forward and licked the drying blood from the shallow wound on his chest, “your soul is next.”
She didn’t ingest much, but it was enough to activate the ward. Now all he had to do was stall until the magic kicked in. “Hmm, while that may be fun for you, I couldn’t see myself enjoying it.”
“Don’t mock me mortal.” She stood and faced him.
“You mad?” He asked in a singsong voice.
“What a bothersome little insect!” She said with a haughty glower. “I changed my mind. I will kill you first.” The demon attempted to lung at him only find her movements restricted.
“Fucking finally.” Daniel knew he should have stuck with that Japanese brand his colleague, Lucas, used. Americans were notorious for skimping on the goods; a few seconds could be the difference between life and death.
“What did you do?” She screeched.
“I didn’t do anything. You, however, decided to be disgusting and drink blondie’s blood. I placed a ward on him at the pub. It’s blood activated and wouldn’t have worked if your kind wasn’t so predictable.” Daniel frowned as she continued to struggle against her invisible constraints. With a more powerful demon, the ward would have only served as a temporary annoyance. But, she was a lower level demon who relied on the essence of others to stay alive. The ward was supposed to induce paralysis that could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, not that he would ever find out.
“You coward!” She yelled in frustration. “Are you scared to face me without your tricks?”
Daniel pulled a silver bladed machete from beneath his coat. “Was that supposed to rile me up? Get me bothered so that I’d do something monumentally stupid like break the ward to uphold my honor.” He approached paralyzed form. “As old as you are, I would think you’d have more to spew than tired clichés.” He lifted his blade for the strike; Daniel could he the panic in her eyes.
“Even if you dispose of me, you’ll never escape him.”
That gave him pause. “The hell are you on about?”
“This is his forest. The blonde was to be sacrificed to him.”
“Fat chance that’ll happen.”
“You are a trespasser. He will demand penance; he will have his pound of flesh.”
“If you’re going to be cryptic and sprout horse shit, then allow me to politely ask you to shut the fuck up.”
“Pride cometh before the fall, boy.” She sneered, her lipless mouth stretched over jagged teeth. “He is your end. No mortal can stop him. Not even you, hunter.”
Daniel snorted. “You read the Bible. Seriously, I know Christians who won’t even crack open the good book. I admire you dedication.”
“And, still you joke. So arrogant. Confident in our abilities are we?”
“Those abilities were enough to trap your ugly ass, and they’ll be enough to vanquish you from this plane.”
Her smiled dropped and her slitted pupils contracted as she glared at Daniel. “You’re abilities had nothing to do with this...” Again, she tried to move, but her body was locked in place-standing over her victim, one foot at either side. “Release me, boy.”
“No, and stop trying to enthrall me. I’m hunter-born, that shit won’t work on me.”
Frustration darkened her features. “Release me now, human, and I’ll see to it that you life is spared.”
“How are you going to do that? You can’t even save yourself from a lowly mortal?”
The angry shriek she emitted was enough to rattle the windows.
Daniel sniffed. “Lovely.” His ears were still ringing.
“Know this, boy,” she laughed; the sound was really starting to annoy him, “I die with the knowledge that you will soon follow. He is coming, and you will not escape him.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
“I would love to watch the life drain from your eyes.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Having had enough of the conversation, Daniel pushed the blade through her heart. Her thin, spindly body fell backwards onto the unconscious man, but she wasn’t dead. Only a decapitation would kill her. After kicking her off the poor soul, Daniel lifted his blade once more and severed her head from her body in one clean sweep. When he first started in the business, he had to hack and hack until the head fell off which was both vomit-inducing and very messy. Completing the feat in one try made Daniel feel oddly accomplished. He grinned at the absurdity of his thoughts as he watched her body turn to ash.
She was gone. Once the dust settled, the demon’s oppressive aura disappeared along with her control of the blonde. Warily, Daniel watched the lad struggle to sit up. It was never easy explaining these things to civilians.
“Uh, are you okay?”
“Do, I look like I’m okay?” He spoke with a heavy Spanish accent, and his voice was a lot deeper than Daniel imagined it would be.
Daniel grinned at his snark. “Yes, and can I get a little gratitude for saving your soul?” Daniel moved to help him stand.
He glared at Daniel through those ridiculously long lashes. “Thank you.” He finally found his balance and was able to stand on his own.
“You’re welcome.” Daniel smiled cheerily, earning himself an eye roll. “What’s your name? Referring to you as blondie in my head is getting a bit tedious.”
“Fernando Torres.” He offered his hand in greeting.
He took Fernando’s offered hand in a firm grasp, and he may have held on just a little bit longer than necessary, but only a little bit. “Daniel Agger.”
Fernando eyed him speculatively. “Daniel?”
Daniel had to bite his cheek to stop himself from grinning at the way the other man pronounced his name. He pronounced in the same way an English speaker would pronounce ‘Danielle’. “Yes, Fernando?”
“Would you mind telling me what the hell just happened?”
“It’s like this,” he lugged his weapons bag onto his shoulder. “You were enthralled by a succubus who planned to have sex with you and subsequently suck your soul from your body.”
Fernando stared at him for a moment then blinked once. “I see.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
Daniel laughed. “We need to get out of here. I’ll explain on the way to the car.” He paused and eyed Fernando’s bared chest…in a purely clinical way, of course. “You may want to zip up. It’s a bit nippy out.”
---
PART TWO, PART THREE
Fuck. This. Fuck it all! The world was fucked. There was no point in fighting anymore. All of his work, all of his sacrifices were in vain. There was nothing there worth saving. Nothing at all. Civilization had already gone to shit, and there was no redemption for it. He may as well pack up his things and fly to Mars. Why the hell not? Interplanetary travel made more fucking sense that this reality, and he dealt with some pretty crazy shit on a daily basis. This, however, took the cake.
Seriously, what kind of half-assed pub didn’t allow a man to have a smoke indoors? What kind of PC-new wave bullshit was that? Who thought that shit was good idea? Fucking, limp-dick bureaucrats with nothing better to do than muck up the working-man’s right to have a ciggy indoors, that’s who. Fuckers.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he petulantly snubbed his cigarette against the No Smoking sign on the pub’s entrance. It didn’t do much damage-only rippled the plastic. Fucking figures. Not even smoldering hole to make him feel better. Not that he expected it to burn through; it was late November in England. That meant the night air was crisp and frigid with just enough bite to make being outside undoubtedly miserable.
The night was still young, and if all went as plan (as it never did), Daniel would partake of enough liquor to get good and sloshed before returning to his room and passing out fully clothed. It would be a nice, relaxing evening; one free of pesky incidents such as virgin sacrifices, decapitations, exsanguinations, haunting, possessions, etc.
You know, the usual.
For the first time in a long time, no bodies had been found missing vital parts; no mysterious disappearances had been reported; and no one had reported seeing any paranormal creatures or entities. Life was normal… As one could probably guess, Daniel didn’t deal with normal very well, and Liverpool had been experiencing a prolonged period of normal. Well as normal as Liverpool could get-those scousers were genuine freaks of nature if you asked him, which raised the question of why he hadn’t left? Daniel only stayed in a town for as long as he was needed, and he finished his assigned exorcism two days ago. Besides, he hated the place. The people were crazy, the weather sucked, and he could barely understand word that came out of the locals’ mouths. Yeah, Liverpool was veritable hellhole, but for some reason he couldn’t leave. He was on a short vacation that consisted of him holing up in a dingy hotel while waiting for the other cosmic shoe to drop. And when it dropped, shit would get real. Daniel was certain of it. Something had been urging him to stay since he arrived in the town a week ago, and while Daniel didn’t trust much in life, he trusted his intuition.
With an irritated sigh, Daniel stepped over the threshold and nearly choked. He took a moment to catch his breath. Sometimes it sucked being sensitive to the preternatural. The atmosphere was heavy and dark with malevolent energy. Something evil was lurking about, which meant his mini-vacay had just come to an end. Yippee. His fingers itched for another cigarette; sometimes he hated his job. No, that wasn’t true. He always hated his job, but, as the saying goes, someone had to do it.
He took a seat in a vacant booth with his back to the wall and glared at the patrons who moved around freely as if nothing was wrong. Bastards. The pub was packed with what appeared to be university students. Their innocent and carefree nature was jarring to his senses. How could they be so oblivious of the danger they were in, of the monster that was lurking just beyond the shadows? They were almost cute in their ignorance, like lambs to the slaughter. As tempting as it was to sit back and watch the chips fall where they may, if these little lambs died, Daniel would be in a lot of trouble. He was there to do a job, and he would do it, even if it killed him. He knew that declaration made him seem dedicated, but the threat of death wasn’t as fearsome when you had nothing live for.
God, his life was depressing. Pulling off his worn leather coat, Daniel reached for the menu. Hunt after hunt, night after night. He was only twenty-five, but he felt much older. Maybe it was the oncoming winter making him into a candy-assed nancy, or maybe he was bitter over what might have been and consequently never was. If things were different, he could have been one of those uni students. Maybe instead of spending another winter alone, he could have spent it with a nice girl who knew how to knit, loved to bake, and liked football…
Daniel grimaced. He hadn’t thought about his prematurely ended footie career in a while, but the memory came to him clear as day. A younger Daniel all suited up in his little boots and kit, eagerly chasing after the football and tacking boys much larger than he was. He could vividly remember the smell of the fresh cut grass of his hometown pitch and hear the local manager raving about his talent as a center back, building his confidence, and telling him that he would go far. Daniel snorted as flipped over the menu. Yeah, he went far-so far that he hadn’t stepped foot in his home country, Demark, for nearly fourteen years. His already sour mood was becoming darker. Memories of Denmark were always followed by memories of his family, and he wasn’t going to go there. Not tonight, and if he had his choice, not ever.
Daniel shook off the morose thoughts as a server approached from his right.
“Hello. My name’s Alicia; I’ll be your waitress for the evening.” Her voice was high pitched and bubbly. It matched perfectly with her blonde pigtails and perky tits. How did Daniel know her tits were perky? Because they were all but shoved into his face. “Are you ready to order?”
Daniel blinked and took a moment to regroup his thoughts. “I’ll have a hamburger and a bottle of water.” How he would love to have added hard liquor to that order, but in his line of work, drinking on a job was a good way to end up dead.
The waitress scribbled his order onto her notepad. “Would you like chips with that?”
“Sure.”
She fluttered her fake eyelashes at him. “Your order will be ready in just a moment.”
As she walked off, hips swaying with every step, Daniel leaned back into his booth and watched the pub’s patrons. Most of the people were lumped into groups with a few loners languishing at the bar. Among the smiling faces and general cheer, one group stood out.
There were five men surrounding a billiard table near the back of the pub. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about three of the men, so Daniel dismissed them without as much as a second thought and turned his eyes onto a happily, laughing bald man. There was a weird aura surrounding him, but Daniel sensed no malevolence and let the matter drop. More than likely, it was the effect of a protective ward-maybe a medallion or a tattoo; it was nothing to be worked up about.
A flash of gold caught his attention, and Daniel leaned forward to get a better look at the second man. Fuck his life. He was one of the prettiest men Daniel had ever seen.
His golden hair was cut into short, choppy layers that fell around his attractive face. With large doe-like eyes; a thin, straight nose; and soft lips, his features were fair and delicate, like those of a woman. However, that’s where the femininity ended. The man was tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Daniel was, and just as strongly built. He was beautiful, splendid, and the apparent reason why whatever nasty prowling the city, chose the pub as detour.
To the inexperienced observer of the supernatural, that deduction may have seemed like ridiculously huge leap in logic, but Daniel had been in the business long enough to know the score. He didn’t know why, but evil kept a constant hard on for beautiful mortals. It must have seen the blonde man outside and followed him there…unless Daniel had missed some vital point and had unwitting stumbled into an ambush. He pondered the thought for a moment. No, he couldn’t sense anything other than the overlying evil. The bastard wasn’t even trying to mask its presence. Any sensitive hunter within a fifty-yard radius would be able to feel it. The atmosphere was so harsh, so raw that the even the pub’s patrons should be feeling it. Yet they gave no indication that they sensed any danger. They all went about their business merrily as if they didn’t have a care it the world.
Daniel could feel his brow furrow in frustration. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t sense anything while he was outside of the pub. Something was blocking it from being felt…which would have explained the lack of effort to cover its tracks. The little beastie had found a way to it mask its presence from non-hunter born. Lovely. Maybe the pub outing wasn’t as spontaneous as he earlier believed to be. His guess was that it had been planning a feeding and had chosen the club as a headquarters. It probably was in league with the owner, offering power for sustenance. He sighed. Humans were so stupid sometimes.
Wiping his palms against his pants, Daniel once again turned his gaze onto the blonde man. He was the perfect bait; it wouldn’t let such beauty and vitality remain untouched. All Daniel had to do was sit back and wait for the strike. The lad was practically begging to be violated… Daniel took a moment to appreciate the images of debauchery his last thought brought and grinned.
As if he could feel Daniel’s gaze, the man turned to look in him in the eye. Still feeling cheeky from his last thought, Daniel didn’t turn away. His grin settled into a smirk when the lad’s previously neutral expression morphed into one of confusion. Daniel knew he was probably freaking him out, but he didn’t care. He usually worked alone; he had to get his kicks out of something. Daniel could have stared at the poor bastard all evening, but Alicia with the perky tits returned with his order. His little impromptu staring contest would have to resume later-preferably when they were both alone…and naked.
“Is there anything else I could do for you?” She asked. The invite for a bit of extracurricular fun was clearly there; he just chose to ignore it.
Daniel stared at his food; his burger was slightly burnt, and his chips were soggy . “No.” He was sure that if he looked up, he would become reacquainted with her cleavage.
“Are you sure?” She leaned over the table until she practically hovered over his meal. If any of her bottle-blonde hair got into his mayonnaise, there would be hell to pay.
Now irritated, he slid his gaze from his food to give her the coldest stare he could muster. “I said no.”
He should have felt bad about the shifty-eyed nervousness he evoked from her, but he didn’t. He could only feel a mild sense of relief as she walked away. He’d met an Alicia in nearly every town he’d hunted. They were always the same: perky, busty, and willing to fuck any leather-clad bastard that walked through the door. It was a novelty when he first began hunting. To a gangly teen with abandonment issues and questionable English, any form of attention (sexual or otherwise) was eagerly welcomed. However, over the years, the appeal wore off, and the Alicias of the world became less charming.
Shaking his head in an effort to clear his thoughts, Daniel focused on his food. He was paying for it; he may as well enjoy it. Besides, it wasn’t wise to hunt on an empty stomach. After chipping the charred parts of his burger away and drowning his chips in mayonnaise, Daniel finished his meal in record time. It was a lesson he learned in his earlier days as a hunter; his prey could strike at any moment; he had to be alert.
With nothing to distract him, Daniel once again found his gaze returning to the blonde man in the corner. He was still conversing with the bald guy, hardly anything remarkable, yet Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off of him. It wasn’t until a tall, dark haired female approached the lad, that Daniel realized that he’d zoned out. So much for staying alert. He was getting sloppy, and a sloppy hunter was a dead hunter. He took a small satisfaction in the fact that his inattentiveness wasn’t enough to keep him from noticing how the woman seemingly appeared from thin air.
She wasn’t in the club earlier. He’d people watched enough to know that there were twenty people (including the bartender, the two servers, and himself) in the room and that she wasn’t one of the initial twenty. So where did she come from? Daniel took note of the marked door behind her. The women’s restroom? That had to be it.
He blinked and her image flickered. How interesting. That wasn’t her original form. Shapeshifters didn’t flicker; she was using glamour. That narrowed it down to the work of either a demon or a witch. Witches were generally ranged between benevolent and neutral. Some went bad, but it wasn’t a common occurrence. Only a succubus would be as vain and arrogant as to hunt in a crowded bar.
Demon it was.
Daniel slapped down two-twenty pound notes onto the table and sat up. It was too much for his food, but he didn’t exactly have enough time to wait for a check and change. The-she devil was making its move.
Feeling the familiar calm that came with the hunt wash over him, Daniel finished his water as he dispassionately watched as the woman approached and tapped the blonde on the shoulder. The man turned to her, and Daniel could pinpoint the exact moment the lad fell under her thrall-his body tensed when he looked her in the eye. Under the demon’s control, he turned to his bald friend, bid him goodnight, and followed his new mistress to the exit.
Timing their movement, Daniel stood just in time to crash into the man. “Watch where you going, you fucking douche.” Daniel shoved the lad backwards, slipping a paper ward on him in the process. Upon contact, the ward disappeared is a fizzle of smoke, making it undetectable to the demon. It wouldn’t break her victim’s enthrallment, but it would paralyze the demon the moment she consumed his blood.
As expected, the blonde didn’t respond to Daniel’s insult. He only blinked those enormous brown eyes of his and walked away. The succubus, however, stared at Daniel, for longer than he found comfortable.
“What are you doing with that queer?” He threw her a salacious grin. “How about you leave with me instead?” The succubus sneered, but said nothing as she made her exit. Daniel heaved a sigh of relief, and after counting to thirty, he followed them into the cold, dark night.
---
Daniel first realized that something was wrong when instead of dragging her prey to the nearest alley, the she-demon drove for twelve minutes to a nearby nature reserve. He really, really hate nature, and prayed to every deity he could think of that she wouldn’t go into the forest, but they weren’t listening. Daniel watched in resignation as his quarry disappeared into the forest.
Following them in his stolen car was risky. Unlike the demon, he couldn’t see in the dark, and there was the off chance that the demon would notice him before his ward went into effect. He could take her out without its aid, but it would be rather difficult. Daniel knew for certain that couldn’t follow them on foot. It was too cold and there’s no way he would be able to keep up with their car. Still, trailing them with headlights beaming was out of the question, so he would have to make do with following their taillights and hope that he didn’t crash into a deer or a tree or a goblin...those little buggers could really fuck up a fender.
Five miles into the forest, the succubus’s brake lights flashed signaling the end to his extremely low speed car chase. Silently, he killed his engine and watched as the demon and her victim exited the vehicle and walked farther into the forest. Daniel really, really didn’t want to leave the warmth and comfort of his car, but he had a life to save. Reluctantly, he grabbed his knapsack full of weapons and wards and continued the chase on foot. He’d been walking for at least ten minutes before he stumbled upon a seemingly abandoned cabin.
It was an old, dilapidated eyesore that barely looked like it could survive a strong wind let alone a demon infestation. Lucky for Daniel, the weather was predicted to stay relatively clear throughout the night. Not that he put much faith into weather forecasts or science for that matter. His life revolved around the unexplained-things that science deemed inconceivable, illogical, folklore and fairytales.
Still hidden behind the trees, Daniel watched the two enter the dwelling. After few moments, he checked his gun’s safety, took a deep breath, and followed. Inside, there was no electricity; instead, there were several candles lit. In the middle of the room, the demon had dropped her glamour and sat straddling the blonde’s waist as he helplessly looked on. Without the aid of magic, the creature lost all semblance of humanity. Her once healthy, glowing skin vanished to reveal skin that was violet and leathery. Her once clear blue eyes were now an empty black like those of a shark, and they locked on him the moment he walked into room.
“I was wondering when you would arrive, little hunter.” She rasped through her jagged teeth.
So, she knew he was following her. He wished he known that earlier. It would have saved him a lot of time and headache. “Get away from him?”
She ran a talon down her victim’s chest, ripping his shirt and drawing blood. The blonde man’s eye’s reflected pain, but he remained immobile and silent. “This one belongs to me.”
“I’m thinking the opposite.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, mirth evident in her face. “I saw you watching him hunter. I could taste your lust.” She laughed a series of high-pitched wheezes, her disfigured form bowing and shaking with glee. “If you play nice, I might let you fuck him before I suck the soul form his body.”
“Thanks for the offer, but unlike you, I don’t need magic to lure someone to my bed. And you might want to work on your glamour; it kinda sucks.”
“Ooh, sassy.” She cackled. “Tell me your name, boy.”
“How about you tell me yours?” Daniel knew she wouldn’t answer. To give him her name, was to give him power over her, but Daniel needed to distract her from the man beneath her.
“Why? So that you may scream it as I rip your heart from your chest and feast on your marrow?”
“Cute,” Daniel rolled his eyes. “It’s only polite to know the name of the hell-bitch I plan to decapitate.”
She scoffed. “Once I devour the pretty blonde,” for obvious dramatic flair, she leaned forward and licked the drying blood from the shallow wound on his chest, “your soul is next.”
She didn’t ingest much, but it was enough to activate the ward. Now all he had to do was stall until the magic kicked in. “Hmm, while that may be fun for you, I couldn’t see myself enjoying it.”
“Don’t mock me mortal.” She stood and faced him.
“You mad?” He asked in a singsong voice.
“What a bothersome little insect!” She said with a haughty glower. “I changed my mind. I will kill you first.” The demon attempted to lung at him only find her movements restricted.
“Fucking finally.” Daniel knew he should have stuck with that Japanese brand his colleague, Lucas, used. Americans were notorious for skimping on the goods; a few seconds could be the difference between life and death.
“What did you do?” She screeched.
“I didn’t do anything. You, however, decided to be disgusting and drink blondie’s blood. I placed a ward on him at the pub. It’s blood activated and wouldn’t have worked if your kind wasn’t so predictable.” Daniel frowned as she continued to struggle against her invisible constraints. With a more powerful demon, the ward would have only served as a temporary annoyance. But, she was a lower level demon who relied on the essence of others to stay alive. The ward was supposed to induce paralysis that could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, not that he would ever find out.
“You coward!” She yelled in frustration. “Are you scared to face me without your tricks?”
Daniel pulled a silver bladed machete from beneath his coat. “Was that supposed to rile me up? Get me bothered so that I’d do something monumentally stupid like break the ward to uphold my honor.” He approached paralyzed form. “As old as you are, I would think you’d have more to spew than tired clichés.” He lifted his blade for the strike; Daniel could he the panic in her eyes.
“Even if you dispose of me, you’ll never escape him.”
That gave him pause. “The hell are you on about?”
“This is his forest. The blonde was to be sacrificed to him.”
“Fat chance that’ll happen.”
“You are a trespasser. He will demand penance; he will have his pound of flesh.”
“If you’re going to be cryptic and sprout horse shit, then allow me to politely ask you to shut the fuck up.”
“Pride cometh before the fall, boy.” She sneered, her lipless mouth stretched over jagged teeth. “He is your end. No mortal can stop him. Not even you, hunter.”
Daniel snorted. “You read the Bible. Seriously, I know Christians who won’t even crack open the good book. I admire you dedication.”
“And, still you joke. So arrogant. Confident in our abilities are we?”
“Those abilities were enough to trap your ugly ass, and they’ll be enough to vanquish you from this plane.”
Her smiled dropped and her slitted pupils contracted as she glared at Daniel. “You’re abilities had nothing to do with this...” Again, she tried to move, but her body was locked in place-standing over her victim, one foot at either side. “Release me, boy.”
“No, and stop trying to enthrall me. I’m hunter-born, that shit won’t work on me.”
Frustration darkened her features. “Release me now, human, and I’ll see to it that you life is spared.”
“How are you going to do that? You can’t even save yourself from a lowly mortal?”
The angry shriek she emitted was enough to rattle the windows.
Daniel sniffed. “Lovely.” His ears were still ringing.
“Know this, boy,” she laughed; the sound was really starting to annoy him, “I die with the knowledge that you will soon follow. He is coming, and you will not escape him.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
“I would love to watch the life drain from your eyes.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Having had enough of the conversation, Daniel pushed the blade through her heart. Her thin, spindly body fell backwards onto the unconscious man, but she wasn’t dead. Only a decapitation would kill her. After kicking her off the poor soul, Daniel lifted his blade once more and severed her head from her body in one clean sweep. When he first started in the business, he had to hack and hack until the head fell off which was both vomit-inducing and very messy. Completing the feat in one try made Daniel feel oddly accomplished. He grinned at the absurdity of his thoughts as he watched her body turn to ash.
She was gone. Once the dust settled, the demon’s oppressive aura disappeared along with her control of the blonde. Warily, Daniel watched the lad struggle to sit up. It was never easy explaining these things to civilians.
“Uh, are you okay?”
“Do, I look like I’m okay?” He spoke with a heavy Spanish accent, and his voice was a lot deeper than Daniel imagined it would be.
Daniel grinned at his snark. “Yes, and can I get a little gratitude for saving your soul?” Daniel moved to help him stand.
He glared at Daniel through those ridiculously long lashes. “Thank you.” He finally found his balance and was able to stand on his own.
“You’re welcome.” Daniel smiled cheerily, earning himself an eye roll. “What’s your name? Referring to you as blondie in my head is getting a bit tedious.”
“Fernando Torres.” He offered his hand in greeting.
He took Fernando’s offered hand in a firm grasp, and he may have held on just a little bit longer than necessary, but only a little bit. “Daniel Agger.”
Fernando eyed him speculatively. “Daniel?”
Daniel had to bite his cheek to stop himself from grinning at the way the other man pronounced his name. He pronounced in the same way an English speaker would pronounce ‘Danielle’. “Yes, Fernando?”
“Would you mind telling me what the hell just happened?”
“It’s like this,” he lugged his weapons bag onto his shoulder. “You were enthralled by a succubus who planned to have sex with you and subsequently suck your soul from your body.”
Fernando stared at him for a moment then blinked once. “I see.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
Daniel laughed. “We need to get out of here. I’ll explain on the way to the car.” He paused and eyed Fernando’s bared chest…in a purely clinical way, of course. “You may want to zip up. It’s a bit nippy out.”
---
PART TWO, PART THREE