Betrayal's Gift

Chapter Three

Hunter walked into the main hall with an easy feline grace. His long wavy blonde hair flowed around his tanned aristocratic features. His eyes scanned the dark building. It was empty of the usual vampiric residents. They were hunting for the evening.

They were assuming he was as well. Even if they came back suspicious as always, he would inform them that if he wasn't trusted, he would just go elsewhere. That always shut them up in a hurry.

He was the only thing keeping Delphi off their backs and they knew it. Their personal guard cat. There were only two cats for hire and his only competitor Jammin turned on his employers frequently. Hunter considered that sloppy.

Hunter on the other hand had built a reputation for being the best at what he did. In his mind, the best cover for a job was to have the best genuine qualifications, no matter the cost. He walked over to the temple room and opened the door with a cautious hand. There was no telling what guardian they left here to guard this place. It was the first chance he'd had in two years to set foot here. They guarded the temple door closely at night. But all was quiet now. He stepped inside and realized why.

A golden statue of a male god sat on a pedestal made of ivory. Gold adorned the walls with solar designs and motifs. A sunroof with dozens of light catchers hanging from it let the moonlight from outside in.

No vampire worth the fangs in his mouth would set foot into a temple of Apollo even if he was desperate for sanctuary. They hated the sun god with good reason. He killed them on sight with great relish. Then why did they have a temple dedicated to him deep inside their lair? Power hummed from the altar. And why did he honor it? Damn gods.

He heard a scream from three miles off and shook his head resigned.

Poor human. Still, it was better for one to die than to lose his work. If that happened more would die or worse. He heard riotous laughter approaching and swiftly jumped out onto the window ledge to see why. They seen him leap onto the window and paused, their laughter dying away. He smiled at their show of intimidation. Cowards unless they were together. Usually even when they were. They were back early. Apparently, they had decided to eat in tonight. Damn. Change of plans. He breathed in deeply and his gaze sharpened.

They had captured a witch. A young female witch. The Order was going to love this. Just the excuse they needed to legitimize their research. Research. Another name for a witch hunt.

Witches were popping up everywhere in the past few decades and now the underworld's vampire leader had taken notice of one. Given that vampires had been making a comeback recently, the leaders he worked for would want to know if witches were involved.

Did she know what she had just tossed her kind into? Witches were a wild card in this game of survival they all played. Vampires had their way, shifters had theirs, and even the mixed breeds had their own code. But witches were widespread and unpredictable. Mortal, but powerful. Their council had fallen apart nearly half a century before when their most powerful couple had decided to elope. There had been some big scandal about it and they disappeared one night. Most thought they were dead. No one had tried to revitalize their old way of life and errant witches were running rampant. It was all the Order could do to keep them out of the news.

Things were beginning to change anyway. He thought that it would take two years at most and the nice tidy way of things would fall apart. The laws of the jungle would rule once more.

He was looking forward to it.

He heard cursing in Gaelic and looked down. He could see the long red hair as she struggled. She couldn't have been more than thirteen, fourteen at best. They had taken a kit. He bared his white teeth in a silent snarl. That was one reason he had no respect for this group. They always preyed on the undeserving. They seemed to have forgotten their own mortal roots. Led by a born vampire, it wasn't much of a surprise. He looked forward to the day when he ate them.