The Huntress

Chapter 12

"How are we supposed to get to know people if we don't get involved with them?" I pulled one of the Neco handguns out and examined it, double-checking it was the one with wood tips. I put the clip back in and ran my hand over the metal, keeping it firmly in my right.

"Carefully." He closed the back of the Jeep and we made our way to the house where the creatures were supposed to be living. We used the trees around to hide as best we could. There may not be any neighbors around, but we didn't want to chance the targets seeing us. As we got closer I reached around, touching the hilt of the dagger.

My first weapon of choice. It calmed what little nerves I had. My family called me crazy for preferring a close-range weapon over a gun, but it was what I liked. I like being up close for the kill, actually getting up there and working to get the target. It was more satisfying than standing back as far as possible and pulling a trigger.

"Remember to stay away from the teeth and claws," my dad whispered, knowing what I was about to do.

He was right. I needed to be careful. Close combat would be a last resort tonight. Just a scratch from the wolf and the chances of turning were up to ninety percent. I couldn't risk that.

"If you go after the wolf, try to keep it from turning. Empty as many silver bullets into it as you can. Did you grab the ones with the powder?"

"They're in my pocket."

"I'd switch out. You're going to want them. The powder will go into the system and act like a poison."

I popped out the bullets already in the gun and reloaded it with the hollowed out tips filled with silver powder. We stepped up to the back door. My father motioned for me to go to the front. I inched my way around, keeping low and quiet. I let out a low whistle letting him know I was in position and waited for a response. When he called back, we both counted to five before opening the doors.

The house was silent. There was a chance they wouldn't be in. It was night. The vampire could be out hunting, and the werewolf could be out in the woods for the full moon doing a full shift.

I met my father at the center of the house. We hadn't seen or heard anything on the bottom floor. I could tell my father was thinking the same thing I was. I was about to suggest we check the woods when we heard a thump above our heads.

I made my way to the stairs, going up first. I stepped on the first step gently, testing it for any creaks. It seemed good, so I started making my way up. About half way up, one of the boards creaked and we both paused. I listened for any movement, but there was no sign of them coming to check on the noise. There's no possible way they didn't hear that, not with their abilities. When we started moving again, my dad skipped that step on the way up.

We started checking the rooms. My father saw where one of them was immediately. I continued to check the rest of the rooms, making sure the other wasn't somewhere else. The rest of them were empty. I joined my father near the room where one of them sat. It was the vampire. He still hadn't looked our way. Either he was completely oblivious to our existence there, or he was pretending not to know. I wouldn't put it past him.

We moved in quickly, keeping our backs close to the wall so nothing could sneak up behind us. The vampire would be fast, and the last thing we needed as for him to be able to attack from behind. We wanted to keep him where we could see him.

A door opened and a woman stepped into the room. She looked up from the file in her hand. The vampire looked up, his level gaze on us. My father and I stood perfectly still, weapons at the ready.

Neither of them looked alarmed in the least, in fact, they seemed perfectly at ease. I never understood how creatures were able to stay so calm when faced by hunters. They had to know how many of their kind hunters killed. It wasn't like we kept it a secret. We covered the kills up from the human world, but when so many supernaturals went missing, where did these guys think they went?