Changed (The Hunters #1) (24 page)

Shane laughed. “Petrova,
you can’t ignore me. My authority is too overwhelming.” Jason had
also said the same thing.

Why do I
have to spend my time with arrogant, self-loving boys?
Rosa wondered, and went to
Andrea.

She had a smile on her lips.
Obviously, she found this very amusing.

“
You’re just imagining
this, Stewart. The authority you have is no greater than a mouse.”
Andrea laughed.

“
And Andrea agrees with
me, don’t you?” Rosa turned to her. She lifted her hands and took a
step back.

“
I agree with nothing, but
do continue. It is very amusing to watch you two arguing,” she said
smiling.

Rosa gave her a dirty look. “I came
here for the spell, Andrea. I need another small bottle of it, and
you have to heal my leg, if at all possible.”

Andrea nodded and went to work. Rosa
could feel Shane’s gaze on her.

“
What?” she asked,
annoyed.

He shook his head.
“Nothing.”

“
Then why are you staring.
You know I don’t like it.”

He smiled. “I’m just so fascinated by
your beauty that I have to look at you.”

“
And I am so fascinated by
your lack of beauty. I mean really, how such a troll could be so
popular, I will never understand.”

“
You know, Ice Princess.
Sometimes your sarcasm really hurts,” he said with an offended
expression, but Rosa knew he was faking it.

“
Well, my sarcasm isn’t
like the others. It hurts.”

“
But they’re beautiful
pains.”

Rosa ground her teeth together.
“Shane, shut up. You’re getting on my nerves.”

Andrea turned around. “Shane, I have
to heal Rosa’s leg. Would you go, please?”

He looked at her. “I’d have
liked to stay, but I fear Rosa would throw me out. So I prefer to
go on my own.”

“
Exactly. Rosa would do
that,” Rosa said in reference to herself.

Shane smiled as he left.

Rosa sighed deeply. “Man, I
can’t stand him.”

Andrea smiled. “There is a love-hate
relationship between you.”

Rosa shook her head. “Between us there
is nothing that has anything to do with love. Only
hate.”

Andrea smiled and pointed to her bed.
“Take off your pants and sit down on the bed so I can have a look
at the wound.”

Rosa did as she was asked. Andrea
knelt in front of her and began to loosen the bandage. Rosa leaned
forward and kissed Andrea on the cheek.

She looked up in surprise. “What was
that for?” she asked.

Rosa smiled. “This is for the spell
you have mixed. It has helped me.”

“
That pleases me,” said
Andrea.

As Andrea finished removing the
bandage, Rosa could see her wound. It was about four inches long,
she guessed. It was sewn up. The skin was still red and
thick.

“
That’s a bad injury,”
Andrea determined. “I don’t know if my magic will help.”

“
Just try it. I have to be
able to fight with the leg.”

She looked at her. “Why?”

“
I need to go to Vancouver
and find the talisman. And if a Nephilim attacks me I have to be
able defend myself. That just won’t work with an injured thigh,”
Rosa explained.

“
Sometimes I don’t
understand the hunter clan. Why do they send you to a mission if
you are hurt?”

Rosa shrugged. “I don’t think that
interests them, if I’m injured or not.”

Andrea nodded and stood up. “I’ll try
the powder, but I don’t think it will disappear.”

“
The main thing will be if
I can walk without crutches, and can use my leg.”

“
Okay.” Andrea was
standing in front of her shelf where countless bottles were filled
with many liquids and powders. She dragged her fingers along the
shelf until she stopped at the middle of it and picked up a bottle.
Then she came back to Rosa and sat down before her on the
floor.

“
I’m going to use a little
of this. It can burn, though,” Andrea warned Rosa.

Rosa nodded. “I’m accustomed to pain.
You can do anything.”

She nodded, and opened the bottle. It
was liquid and smelled very strong, like vinegar.

Andrea let three drops fall on the
wound. Immediately her leg began to burn like someone was holding
fire to her skin.

Rosa bit her lip as her wound began to
glow. Blinding white rays emitted from the wound as it healed,
making Rosa and Andrea look away.

The pain disappeared, followed by a
tingling feeling spreading over her leg.

Then the light went out, and the
tingling disappeared gradually.

Rosa felt nothing.

She and Andrea inspected her leg.
Where a wound had been seconds ago, was now nothing now, but soft,
unmarked skin.

Rosa looked at Andrea. “Your powder is
probably stronger than you had thought,” she said and
smiled.

Andrea looked at her as her brown eyes
sparkled. “Yes, I think you may be right,” she assented.

“
Try to get up,” Andrea
said.

Rosa stood up and stepped on her right
leg. She felt no pain. She took a few steps, and still no
pain.

She smiled. “Andrea, you’re a perfect
healer. I love you.” Rosa hugged her.

Andrea laughed. “I didn’t do much. It
was all the powder.”

Rosa broke away from Andrea and pulled
on her pants.

“
Then I thank you and your
powder.” She buttoned up her pants.

“
Should I heal your face,
too?” Andrea asked.

She shook her head. “No, you don’t
need to. They don’t bother me.

“
They interfere with your
beauty,” Andrea argued

Rosa snorted. “I don’t need to look
beautiful in a fight.”

“
Come on. Let me heal
them, too,” Andrea said excited.

Rosa sighed. “Whatever.”

In seconds, her injuries on her face
were cured, and she looked in the mirror. Her face looked fresh and
healthy.

“
Thanks, Andrea,” Rosa
said, smiling. “I got to go now. It’s late.” She walked to the
door

“
Wait! Your bottle!”
Andrea called, and handed her the bottle with the spell. Rosa
thanked her and said goodbye to Andrea.

Then she went to her car. As the sun
begins to set, turning the sky a beautiful golden red color, a
fresh breeze blew across Rosa’s freshly healed face. She was so
happy to be going home, because this day had certainly been
stressful.

First, Matt didn’t want to see her any
more, than the meeting with Lord Constantine. Rosa still couldn’t
explain how he had known that she had saved Jason’s life.
Furthermore, her thoughts were more about the punishment, than the
how.

What could the punishment
be?

Rosa took a deep breath. She longed
for a shower and she felt the desire to paint. She wanted to smell
the acrylic paint, and wanted to immerse herself in her own
carefree world.

Rosa climbed into her car and drove
off. After half an hour, she parked in front of her apartment and
got out. Even in the evening, the weather was still
warm.

Maybe I
will sit a little on the balcony
, Rosa was
thinking as she walked up the cobbled road to the entrance. She
jogged up the stairs to her apartment and stopped as she reached
the top.

Jason was sitting on the stairs, his
chin resting in his hand. He looked exhausted. His hair was
disheveled and his T-shirt didn’t look clean.

Rosa frowned. “Jason?” she said. “What
are you doing here?”

He looked at her with his weary eyes.
“I thought I should visit you,” he said. His voice sounded tired.
Rosa took the bottle and drank a sip of safety.

Jason looked at her, but his eyes were
somehow distant. She put the bottle in her pocket, crossing her
arms.

“
Come on, Jason. Why are
you really here?” she asked.

The shower and paint have
to wait.

“
Does there have to be a
reason to visit a friend?” Jason said.

“
I didn’t know we were
friends,” Rosa replied.

Jason shrugged. “You saved my life.
That makes us automatically friends, whether you like it or
not.”

Rosa sighed and then walked up the
stairs.

“
Jason, I don’t want to
have you in my house. So can you please go now?” Rosa asked, being
friendly.

He looked at her. No arrogance lay in
his eyes. They just looked tired.

“
Come in,” Rosa said
finally as she walked past him.

He stood up, caught her by
the arm, looking in her eyes.

“
Is it really okay that I
come in? You know I don’t want to disturb you.”

Rosa withdrew her arm. “You’ve
disturbed me when you showed up in Boston, Jason. This doesn’t
change anything.”

Jason smiled. “You can be very mean,
but I like that about you.”

Rosa opened the door and went inside.
Jason closed the door behind him and looked around her apartment.
He whistled through his teeth.

“
Wow, Ice Princess. Your
apartment is really cool,” he said.

Rosa walked into the kitchen and threw
the keys on the counter. “I know,” she said. “Want something to
drink?”

Jason followed her to kitchen and
leaned against the counter. “You got something strong?”

Rosa
arched an eyebrow. “You want to
drink
?”

“
Why not?”

“
Are you here because of
that, to drink my alcoholic beverages?”

Jason laughed. “Maybe. Maybe not.
“

Rosa had to smile. “You want
vodka?”

“
You mean Russian
vodka.”

“
Of course. What
else?”

Jason grinned. “Then I’ll take
one.”

Rosa nodded, taking the bottle from on
top the fridge. Then she took two small glasses from the cupboard,
and filled them with vodka, handing Jason a glass.

“
Spasiba
,” Jason thanked her in
Russian, and chugged his drink.

Rosa frowned. “You can speak
Russian?”

He pushed out his glass, so
she could replenish it. “We, Nephilim, can speak all languages.
It’s a gift.”

Rosa
nodded. “
Paschálußta.
”

Jason smiled, and took the bottle and
his glass and went to the couch.

“
Okay. Make yourself at
home,” Rosa muttered, and sat facing him on the couch.

He filled his glass again. Rosa
emptied her glass. She felt that familiar burning sensation in her
throat. She grimaced.

“
There’s nothing better
than Russian vodka, honey, is there?” Jason asked, and drank his
next glass.

“
I’d be careful with that,
Jason. After all, this is just vodka,” Rosa warned him.

Jason laid down, letting his legs
dangle over the backrest.

“
I’ll be all right, Ice
Princess. I am a man. I can bear a lot already.” He filled his
glass again with vodka and drank it, too. Rosa gave up another
glass. She knew what vodka did to a person. She had too much to
drink once before, and couldn’t remember a thing that had happened
that night.

Jason looked at her. “Why aren’t you
drinking?” he asked.

Rosa sat her feet on the table. “One
of us must have a clear head.”

He nodded. “You’re right. This time I
get drunk. The next time you will.” He drained another
glass.

“
So, Jason. What’s
bothering you so much that you came to me?” said Rosa.

Even on the stairs, she had noticed
something was wrong with him. He had a strange facial expression,
and his drinking was only confirming it.

Jason looked at her very tired and a
bit sad. To her surprise, she really wanted to know what was
bothering him.

“
Has anyone shellacked
your arrogance?” she asked.

He laughed. It was not a happy
laughter, but a desperate laugh.

“
Yes, someone has. My
dad,” he replied and took another sip.

“
Your father?”

He nodded. “Yes, my oh-so-caring
father blackmailed me, forcing me to do things I didn’t want to
do.”

Rosa leaned forward. “And what are
these tasks?” Maybe she could find out what the plan
was.

“
He wants me to kill
people who rebel against the government. For months I wouldn’t
hesitate to kill humans, but now—” He stopped and his gaze drifted
away from her.

“
But now?” Rosa asked
softly.

Jason’s blue eyes met hers. They were
unreadable.