The Huntress' Name (sequel to The Huntress)

Chapter 32

Double update again today! If you haven't read chapter 31 yet, which I just posted before this one, then head on back there and read it!! Enjoy

As we walked in front of the crowd, Ian's hand loosened slightly and he stopped pulling as hard. I wondered if he wasn't supposed to be as rough with me as he'd been. We made our way to a bar about as high up as my head. There was a tarp on the ground. 

Of course, they didn't want to get things too messy.

Ian and Renaldi each took an arm and moved them up. They were positioned where the blood would still run down, but they weren't directly above my head so it wouldn't be as difficult for the heart to pump the blood to them. Everything with the hunters was calculated. When I was secured, they went off the side and down the stairs to join the crowd. 

Klarke stepped forward and anger swam in my stomach. If I was going to die, couldn't it be someone else who gave the speeches?

"It's always hard to say goodbye to a fellow hunter, but even harder yet, when we must be the ones to lay them to rest."

You mean kill, right?

Klarke held an arm out as if welcoming a guest, and my father stepped forward, deliberately not looking my way. He wore a black suit with a red tie. As I looked at the others, I noticed almost everyone was wearing something dark accented with red. It reminded me of my mother's funeral. Our father had picked our clothes out, each one having something red. 

Red. We hadn't talked about it, but it suddenly made sense. The color we bleed, what we shed, life and death. Red was the color of mourning for the hunters. 

"I've come to ask you all to allow my..." He cleared his throat. "Daughter... to be cleansed." 

Taking ownership of me. Asking on my behalf, well isn't that sweet of you.

"Electra was a good daughter, and an even better hunter. I had the privilege to watch her take down any beast she came across. Hell, she even took down an Alpha." He spoke as if I were already dead. 

"Yah!" The hunters from The Torch in London cheered. They'd fought along side me just days ago. They had seen what I was capable of. 

"She had the tenacity and the passion of a hunter, but sadly had been led astray by a werewolf. So I stand here and ask in front of you all to honor the hunter within and grant her peace and safety within our bond."

Klarke nodded her head and my father stepped back beside Sarah and Josh. No doubt they'd been forced into going.

"You have heard his confession and his plea. It is time to answer together with one voice our decision."

The hall filled with a cry I couldn't understand, but Klarke nodded. "So shall it be." She turned to me, making her way slowly. "Do you have anything to say to those gathered here, Electra?"

I was surprised she was giving me the opportunity to speak. Going from talking about me as if I'm already dead to addressing the people in front of me. It was no doubt to repent for the "crime" I'd committed against them, but if she was going to give me a platform, then I was sure as hell going to use it. 

"I was a good hunter, in fact I was a great hunter." No sense in being modest at my funeral. "At least I was to the eyes of my home organization. I followed blindly what they taught. My father couldn't possibly lie to me, right? Of course what they taught us had to be true, they wouldn't teach it otherwise, right?" My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a single familiar face to focus on, and coming up empty. 

"I was given a job, and I completed it. I even went out looking for jobs without being assigned. I enjoyed doing it. It kept me going after my mother died. Then I met Jared. Something about him just caught my eye. The more I talked to him, the more I wanted to keep talking. He knew things few people knew about me." I had to take a deep breath to keep the tears from falling. 

"I didn't meet him as a werewolf, I met him as a classmate, as someone who could make me laugh and talk for hours; as someone who I could actually feel comfortable around. When I found out what he was, I struggled with you. You bet your ass I did. It went against everything I knew. They weren't supposed to be happy people who wanted to get to know you and spend time with you. They were supposed to rip your throat out or turn you. That's what I was told.

"Not once did he try to turn me into what he was. It happened to him, and he didn't wish that fate on anyone. We're taught that all supernatural creatures are evil, and I believed that. I killed every single one of them I came across because I thought it was the right thing to do. But what I've learned is that they are more human that we are as hunters of The Organization."

People had started to murmur. Not everyone believed the way The Organization did, and I wanted to point that out. There was a reason we didn't have contact with the other branches unless we were in dire need. There was a reason I had lasted so long in London despite their Klarke. 

I had to make sure they saw that if it was the last thing I did. If anything, I could start a feud between the groups. Alienate The Organization more than they already were. Alienate them on foreign soil. They were in the home of The Torch, surrounded by nearly a thousand members who believed them to be radical. 

I had a small sliver of hope that it would start something then and there, that it would somehow keep me from dying. 

No one said anything, and Klarke looked at me with loathing in her eyes. 

"That is more than enough for you," she spat. "You should be so lucky we agreed to do this for you."

Lucky?! You're murdering me. Yes, I'm oh so lucky!

She turned on her heels and went to the small table to the side, picking something up. It was when she brought it back, standing just a couple feet in front of me that I realized it was my dagger. The E and the J attracted the light into their carved crevices, and the blade shone bright. It had been ages since I'd seen it, held it in my hand. 

"I use this to free your spirit, Electra Jaeger. With the spilling of your blood, the darkness in you shall vanish, and as it turns your robes red, your soul shall rest with your fellow hunters."

She turned once more to face the people. "Please, stand and send prayer to your deity until the last drop spills and her soul reaches for eternal peace."

There were creaks and shuffling as everyone stood, and Klarke turned back toward me. She lifted the blade toward my arm to make the first cut. 

"Don't worry, we made sure to sharpen it first. It shouldn't be too difficult."

I wanted to have a witty comeback, but I didn't have anything left. I was empty. 

A crack pierced my ears and pain flared in my arm. I thought Klarke made the first cut, but when my eyes opened, she was staring at the ground holding her hand.

Someone had shot the dagger and the bullet had ricocheted into my arm. The blood soaked the robe and the people started to panic. I had a feeling this was about to be a bloodbath; there was no way these hunters had gathered unarmed. I was most likely the only one without a weapon, and I was a sitting duck.

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Here we are again, another cliffhanger for you all! It's about to go down! We will have to see what the outcome is.

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Yours truly

Red Assassin