Hunters

Chapter 22

Roz yawned. "Is that all?"

Angus's eyes bulged like they would soon pop out of his head. "Have you heard the charges against them? Genocide, Roz! They killed Gabriel!"

Rachel clenched her fists. "No, we didn't. You—"

Daniel grabbed her wrist and squeezed. He shook his head.

She frowned. Don't tell me you killed him.

Don't be stupid, of course I didn't. Just let them fight this out. We'll take it from there.

"The prosecution suggests the following punishment—"

"You can stop right there." Roz hit the desk with her walking stick. "I know what you clowns always suggest. Execution. Always with the execution. It's no wonder so few of us are left. More Hunters are killed off for breaking protocol than by vampires. I want to hear their side of the story. You first, girl."

Rachel's stomach did a somersault. "Um, well..."

"Name, age and division, girl," Roz thundered.

God, this lady was bipolar. Rachel had never seen someone change moods so fast. "Rachel Giuliani. Twenty-four in human years, eight in Hunter years. I don't belong to any division. I never have."

Roz waved her hand and Rachel took it as her cue to continue.

"Daniel turned me into a Hunter after saving me from a vampire attack. I've been his partner ever since. He'd heard a legend from his previous partner, Max. We wanted to see if the legend was true."

"What is this legend?" one of the Council members asked.

Rachel blinked. Daniel had told it to them a less then a month ago. "Well, it's said that if Vlad dies, the vampires would fall apart."

Vlad snorted. "You took that literally? You Hunters are bigger imbeciles than you appear. And that's saying something."

"Shut it, Vlad. What are your vampires doing now? Butchering each other over your throne?" Roz squinted at him and Vlad recoiled. "I know too well what your presence here means. There will never be another vampire leader like you. Their era has set."

Daniel looked to Rachel, an ecstatic smile on his face. We did it, Rach.

She half-smiled. Not much use if they kill us now.

"Well, be that as it may," Angus stuttered. "The costs have been—"

"Why did you cause that battle?" Roz asked.

"We used Justin to gather the Hunters in order to draw the vampires away from Vlad," Rachel answered. "We knew he was too strong to face if he had others around him. But it's not Justin's fault. Daniel made him take an oath."

Way to go, Rach. Blame me. Who needs prosecution when I've got you?

Rachel sunk her teeth into her lower lip. Even if Daniel sounded amused, she still felt like slapping herself. She should've lied.

"Why did you escape without carrying out your sentence?" the woman asked.

Rachel frowned. "I wasn't going to let them kill Daniel. They had no reason."

"They seem to have plenty of reasons." She leaned back in her chair. "Whose idea was it to start this war?"

"Mine," Rachel and Daniel said in unison.

"I see. You, Max's boy, why didn't you ever report?"

"Max never reported either. I knew I was supposed to, but didn't take it seriously." Daniel looked at the floor, rubbing his forehead. "It was pretty hard without Max. Fortunately, I found Rachel. I had no idea I wasn't allowed to turn humans."