Hunter (7 page)

He wrapped
his fingers around it and pulled. The delicate chain snapped and
came away in his hand. He pulled the locket close to his chest and
with trembling hands he clicked it open. The two halves popped
apart.

On one side
was a picture of him and Laticia, it was taken not long after they
first started their own coven. They were smiling at the camera,
wrapped in each other's arms. The picture brought new tears to
Corvus's eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his
hand.

The other
half contained a tiny data chip. Corvus delicately pressed it with
the tip of his index finger. He felt a jab of pain and then the
locket jumped out of his hand. It fell to the floor still open and
out of the centre extended a holographic image of Laticia. She
looked gorgeous, as always.

"Laticia,"
Corvus breathed. His heart ached to see this version of her, alive
and smiling, when her corpse lay not one metre away.

"Corvus," the
holographic Laticia said. "If you're watching this, then I can only
assume that the inevitable has come to pass and that I'm
dead."

Corvus
sniffed. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the apparition. She
looked just as she had earlier that day, full of strength and
arrogance. The hologram's hair was seamlessly arranged and her
clothes hung perfectly from her body.

"We have done
so much together," Laticia said. "And I've loved you for every day
of it. When we first made this pact I wanted to fill this message
with love poems and stories of how much I adore you. You might
still find those buried in the data. But my love, something else
happened and you have to know."

Corvus's eyes
went wide as he stared up at the hologram. What was she talking
about? The tone in her voice was serious and the hologram stared
straight at him. He felt a lump in his throat and his stomach
plunged towards his feet.

"The night
you were captured. We knew what was going to happen, someone
betrayed you, Corvus. Selwyn started a coven on Boullion Five. It
was all very secret, he didn't want you to find out, but he got
hold of us. He brought so many with him. He said that if we didn't
cooperate that he'd kill us all. He gave us the option of joining
his coven and helping to destroy you, or death. I had no choice.
There were so many of them, fifty at least, and they took us by
surprise. I would never have expected Selwyn to control such a
powerful coven, but he did. If there was anything that I could have
done to save you, I would have."

Corvus's
mouth hung open and his fists clenched at his sides. He stared up
at his long-time mate as if she was a complete stranger. He and
Selwyn had lived in the same town on their home-world. They were
competitors for everything, most importantly Laticia. Selwyn had
always resented him for taking Laticia's heart. There was no reason
for him to settle a coven on Boullion Five. There were so many
other human colonies.

"He wanted to
get rid of you," Laticia said, answering his unasked question. "I
thought that if I went along with him that I could find a way to
warn you but he knew me too well. He kept me locked up until you
were captured. There was nothing I could do."

The thought
of Selwyn keeping Laticia prisoner sent a shard of ice through
Corvus's chest. When he found that good-for-nothing sucker he would
rip his limbs off.

"It was
Pamielle who called in the tip which got you captured. You know
she's always wanted to be prime female. I think she thought Selwyn
would take her. She was right in a way, he did take her. But then,
he took all of us at one stage or another."

Corvus choked
on a gasp. This was low even for Selwyn. Humans were another
matter; they were cattle, animals, but his dear Laticia?

"And I know
you're probably already getting ready to rush off and kill Selwyn.
Don't bother. He's already dead. Five years I waited and finally I
got my chance. He woke up, or rather didn't wake up, with a wooden
stake through his heart. With him dead the rest of his coven fled
like cowards. That's why I'm recording this message; I'm coming to
find you. I've convinced our old coven to rescue you, now that
we're free. We want nothing more than to serve you again. If I die
in the attempt I want you to know the truth."

Corvus
lowered himself back onto his haunches. Selwyn dead? His coven had
willingly gone over and betrayed him?

"I hope I get
a chance to tell you this in person. Although I suppose if you're
watching this I never got the opportunity. You can't trust
Pamielle. She's been very careful to protect herself so far, and I
haven't been able to cut her loose. The rest are loyal; I got rid
of the ones who weren't. I'm sorry this isn't the message you were
hoping for, but I hope it's the message you need."

Laticia's
hologram stopped talking but stayed standing, staring down at
Corvus. Her large eyes blinked every few seconds, a perfect replica
of her real self.

Corvus stood
up. He reached out his hand to stroke her cheek but his fingers
passed straight through. He blinked back more tears and returned
his hands to fists. His heart rate slowed as the all-encompassing
rage reduced to simmering hatred. He would have his revenge, one
way or another. He trusted Laticia's judgement entirely, if she
said the rest of the coven was loyal then he believed her. Pamielle
must die. He should have done it thirty minutes ago when he had his
hands around her scrawny neck.

He picked up
the locket, snapping it closed, and the hologram disappeared. He
shoved it into one of his many pockets and took a deep breath. He
couldn't let his coven see him falter, even a little.

CHAPTER TEN

"Inspector Briggles," Nova said into her
communicator.

"Nova?" The
inspector's voice sounded surprised.

"Yes, I've
found the coven. They're currently at one hundred twenty-four Iris
Street but they have a set of underground tunnels. They could
travel almost anywhere and we wouldn't know."

"I'm
dispatching a force right now."

"I killed one
of them. They're going to come after me."

"Then get to
the safety of the station."

"I'm going as
fast as I can, I should be safe until nightfall at
least."

"I'll wait
for you here," Briggles said, before signing off.

Nova kept
running through the streets. It would still be some time before the
sun dipped over the horizon but she had a lot to do before then,
including leaving a scent trail for Corvus.

***

"You made
it," Inspector Briggles said. He was standing at the entrance of
the police station with a false smile plastered on his face and a
high-powered rifle in his hands.

"Yes, but we
don't have much time," Nova said.

"There's no
need to rush. There's plenty of lights here, the lecheons would be
blinded if they tried to get in."

"They'll turn
off the power," Nova said with certainty.

"The backup
generator—"

"Won't work."
Nova leant against the nearest wall, panting. She lifted her gun
from its holster and inspected it. It had been a big risk,
returning to the warehouse to collect her weapon but she'd be lost
without it. Not that it would do her much good against a lecheon.
"Do you have wooden bullets?"

"We have some
here at the station."

"Enough to
take out thirty lecheons? I'd say there are at least that
many."

Briggles
frowned. "There are fifty officers here but we don't usually stock
many wooden bullets. We've probably got twenty rounds."

"Not
enough."

"Not for the
whole coven," Briggles said, shaking his head.

"What about
the prison? Are there more there?"

"There used
to be. The lecheon bastards took them all when they took
Corvus."

"Clever
bastards," Nova said. "Hand the bullets out to your three best
shooters."

Briggles
nodded.

"What
businesses are nearby?"

"There are a
lot of antique shops in this area. A gym and a restaurant just
around the corner. Oh, and a bakery."

"Okay."
Nova's mind raced. There had to be a way to take down this coven.
They were so strong and as soon as night came they had the
advantage. "Alright, we'll set up here."

"There's no
way they'll come here. They know better than that."

"Trust me.
Corvus wants revenge. He won't let a police station stop him. Get
your people moving; if they don't they'll make a very tasty treat
for the incoming lecheon coven."

A bead of
sweat dribbled down Briggles's forehead as he rushed off to start
routing his officers. Nova looked around the station. It was much
like any other on this world. Everything was made of metal with not
a single scrap of wood to be seen.

"Send two of
your deputies to the restaurant. I want them to collect every scrap
of wood they can find. I especially want them to bring me every
single toothpick."

"Why?"
Briggles said.

"Because I've
got food stuck in my teeth," Nova said. "Just get on
it."

"You heard
her; toothpicks," Briggles barked, nodding to two of his nearby
officers.

They nodded
in response and jogged up the street towards the restaurant which
was spilling warm light into the road. Nova watched until they
disappeared inside and then turned to the rest of the
station.

She marched
inside, followed by. She took stock of the thin doorways and the
metal desks. It wasn't going to be easy but here was as good as any
place.

"Set up a
barricade near the door. We need a clean line of sight but we don't
want them getting in," Nova said. "Arrange your officers; make sure
the ones with wooden bullets are behind the counter and out of the
way. I want every one of you to have a gun in hand and be in
position within ten minutes."

"What will
you be doing?" Briggles asked.

"Plan B,"
Nova said, as the officers returned carrying handfuls of
toothpicks.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Oh, little killer. Come out, come out, wherever
you are," Corvus sang. His shadow and those of his coven were
outlined against the barricaded glass door.

Suddenly, the
lights cut out, plunging the police station into
darkness.

"Candles!"
Nova yelled.

Candles
flared up around the room. The power had been cut just as she'd
predicted.

"Hold
positions," Briggles said to his officers.

"If she comes
out we won't hurt her little police friends," Corvus
called.

He paced back
and forth outside the door. The rest of the coven stood like
statues behind him.

"I'll have to
kill you all if you don't come out. Surely at least one of you
officers wants to live? Just give the foreign woman to me and you
can go free."

"Don't listen
to him," Briggles said. "The lecheons are known liars."

Nova looked
around. Although their hands shook, the officers held their
positions. A few glanced in Nova's direction but turned their
sights straight back to the door when she caught their eyes. The
rasping quality of Corvus's voice was obviously getting into their
heads; a few of the officers were twitching.

"Fine. You
leave me no choice," Corvus said.

The main door
exploded in a shower of glass. The lecheons pushed past the
barricades as if they were made of paper instead of solid metal
tables. They roared as they broke the glass and burst into the
station.

Shards rained
down on the police officers. A piece cut into Nova's cheek leaving
a sudden sharp pain. She gasped as a trickle of blood ran down her
face and dropped to the floor.

Gunshots
echoed throughout the station. The standard rounds slammed into the
lecheons, but barely slowed them down. Lecheons darted through the
shattered glass door and surveyed the room. As they poured through
the door, two collapsed with screeches of agony.

Nova cheered
under her breath for the expert shots of the men with the wooden
bullets. But it wasn't enough. There were too few bullets and too
many lecheons. Nova's stomach clenched. There were so many of them,
they were like an unstoppable tide.

She swallowed
and pushed the thoughts from her head. All she could do now was
focus on the threat at hand.

Corvus and a
woman to his left leapt forward. They grabbed hold of the two
closest police officers and their thick black tongues extended out.
The lecheons locked their teeth onto the officer's necks and ripped
the flesh. Chunks of meat, muscle and blood splattered across the
room. The officers dropped to the floor with solid
thuds.