"So, you wish to know about Vlad." With shaking hands, the woman placed two mugs of tea on the wooden table. "Half of his legend has been forgotten." She sat and rested her walking stick against the bench. "Vlad is not really Vlad."
Rachel put her free hand around one of the mugs and leaned forward in her seat. Oh boy, here it comes.
"You see, the ruler Vlad Ţepeş was not an only child. He had one brother that history neglects to mention. And this Vlad, the vampire lord, is that brother."
"But the picture. He looks just like the real Vlad." Rachel turned to Daniel.
"Twins?" he asked.
The old nun shook her head. "No. But they were closest in age and appearance. These portraits aren't like modern photographs. Not that accurate. Many features have been lost, and since this impostor did his best to replace his brother, history forgot his existence."
The candle flickered, casting moving shadows on the woman's face. "Back then, people were scared of the paranormal. Today, they just don't believe. Rumors spread quickly about Vlad not dying in battle. People feared he had come back as a vampire. They weren't completely wrong. Vlad's brother really is a vampire."
"But why replace his brother?" Daniel asked.
"He believed he could save the country his brother loved so much. You see, Vlad was the only one who didn't judge his vampire brother, who didn't see him as a monster. His own mother tried to lock him up, forbid him to leave the castle. Little did she know she could not keep a vampire caged."
How did fake Vlad become a vampire? Rachel asked.
"Oh, we believe he was born that way. The first born, not made, vampire in centuries. He has terrible powers, this Vlad. That's how he gained control over all other vampires in the world. They all report to him now." The woman gave a scratchy laugh. "Before Vlad, vampires were an unorganized mass. But you youngsters wouldn't know about that."
This old nun talked about vampires as though they were nothing special. What was she? The woman façade suddenly looked like a feeble disguise.
She leaned her elbows on the table, a steely light creeping behind her milky eyes. "Ever since the vampires organized, they've become more dangerous. And Max was the first to realize this. He knew that without Vlad, the danger would diminish considerably."
Rachel's mouth fell open. What about the legend? That bringing Vlad down would put an end to the vampire plight? Max found out about it and—
The nun cut her off with a shake of her head. "No. There is no such legend. Max made it up to convince others. Your Hunter High Council didn't think Vlad was worth the trouble. He laid low for a century or so after he became ruler." The woman's lips curled upward. "Stupid, stupid people. They needed to believe in something mystical. Yet, they didn't believe Max, who saw the future."
Daniel's hand flinched. "Max never mentioned this to me."
"You never really knew Max." She tilted her head. "He was the original Hunter, the only person who survived a vampire attack."
"He was what?" Daniel dropped the mug he'd just raised to his lips. It shattered and splattered tea all over him.
The woman acted as if she hadn't noticed any of this. "He came back from the verge of death, turned their poison into his strengths. He founded the High Council, the orders, and devised the method of organizing Hunters in a way that made them stronger and able to cope with their need for affection.
"And the Hunters loved and respected him for it. But he knew he would be overthrown. He foresaw the loss of the last two wars and tried to warn the others against starting them. Drunk with victory, no one believed him. Seers have always been a controversial subject. The Hunters blamed their failures on Max. He was revoked as Head Hunter and turned renegade.
"But he knew you would come, that you would continue his work." She rubbed her hands. "I have been waiting for you for many, many years."
Rachel looked from the nun to Daniel who still had his mouth hanging open. Her brain felt like a ball of yarn after a kitten had its way with it. She didn't know what else to ask, though she was sure this woman had more useful information.
"Did Max leave any information for us?" Daniel's voice shook. "A prediction?"
"Max knew that Vlad is unusual. Being born a vampire, he is much stronger than the made ones. You must seek the shadows. Yet, before this is over, a new war will begin. Many lives will be lost and the innocent will lose their innocence. Blood will flow once more and ignorance will exterminate the future."
The prediction didn't sound good at all. The seeking the shadows and lives being lost thing was as ominous as it gets. Not to mention the blood and extermination. Any information on how to kill Vlad? Rachel held her breath.
The nun let out the unearthly, screeching laugh again. "If Max knew, he would have done it himself. No, this is all I have for you. Until next time..." She held to her cane and eased her feeble body off the bench.
Daniel and Rachel stared at her. She nudged them with the stick until they got up and walked to the door. The two exited the house without another word. The nun slammed the door behind them with more force than she seemed capable of.
The smothering feeling returned. Rachel glanced around, even warier, knowing that invisible creatures floated nearby. Daniel seemed feel the same. He scooped her up and ran down the hill. The wind blew Rachel's hair back and the houses were nothing but a blur. He was going at Hunter speed. If anyone saw them, they'd be in so much trouble.
They reached the car, and Daniel put her in the passenger seat. Even before she fastened her seatbelt, he was behind the wheel, starting the car.
"Sorry, but I want out of here. That thing creeped me out." He turned the car around and drove off with the usual screeching tires.
"Thing? You mean the nun?" Rachel scratched the back of her head. "Wait, go left," she said as soon as they reached the intersection.
Daniel squinted at the cement factory. "Why?"
"I wanna go to that mausoleum thing." Rachel hugged her knees. "And what was that nun? I felt she wasn't a woman."
Daniel followed her directions. "That was a Banshee if I ever saw one. She's what's been producing that aura we find so intolerable. Wraith aura my ass."
Rachel gulped. "Okay. Banshees are real. If she's so horrible to be around, can we trust anything she says?"
"Banshees are neutral creatures, just like wraiths. Only Banshees are really rare. And they don't take kindly to vampires. Brides usually steal their prey."
A freezing sensation seemed to penetrate her very bones. "Banshees feed off humans? Shouldn't we be hunting them too, then?"
"They feed off human feelings. They prefer men's feelings. Hunters never had conflicts with the spirit creatures of the undead." Daniel banged his fist against the steering wheel. "Why didn't Max tell me any of this?"
Rachel watched his scowl, wishing there was something she could do about it. She understood perfectly. Being kept in the dark sucked. Especially concerning something as life changing and important as this.
"Maybe he was afraid you wouldn't believe him," she whispered.
"He knew I would've believed anything he told me. I worshipped the man. His death is right up there with Cheryl—" His voice broke and he focused on the road, his hands still strangling the wheel.
Rachel tightened her hold on her knees and stared out the window. The mention of Cheryl's name still bothered her. She had to get used to hearing it. Cheryl had been an important part of Daniel's life, whether she liked it or not. She'd been an important part of Rachel's own life, the only girlfriend she'd had as a Hunter. It had been nice to have someone to giggle and go shopping with.
She glanced side-ways at Daniel. He frowned and a muscle in his jaw twitched, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. Whether it was because of Max's death or his lies, she couldn't tell. She could relate. Max had been like a father to Daniel. She'd be pissed too if she found out her parents had lied to her about something as important as this.
"This is odd," Daniel said, his tone flat. "The air is much lighter around here. As if we've stepped into another dimension."
Rachel sat up in her seat. He was right. It was as if someone had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. The closer they got to the hilltop, the more relaxed she felt. It was amazing. She knew there was something special about that hill.
The winding road led into a small parking lot in front of the mausoleum. Rachel jumped out of the car and took in a deep breath. The blessed air filled her lungs and brought back the image of Daniel holding her. Though she tried to fight it, her whole body tingled in anticipation.
"This is nice." Daniel stretched and went to the outskirts of the parking lot, staring at the city beyond. The lights shone like falling stars beyond the cement factory. The mausoleum itself was enveloped in a golden glow.
"Do you have any idea why we feel safe here?" Rachel asked, joining him. She shivered as a gust of wind swept past them. She hugged herself.
Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. "It's probably the souls of the fallen warriors protecting this place."
"I never thought you believed in that spiritual crap."
Believe? It's not a matter of believing. I know it's real. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
She ached to ask him if he could explain his behavior now, but gave up on the idea. She didn't want him to let her go.
"I don't want to let you go, either. Especially not here. For some reason, I feel the need to keep you as close as possible." He turned her to face him. "This feeling is a bit bossy and controlling. And I don't like being controlled."
"Yes, your craziness. Let me go, then. Don't want you to feel forced." She wanted to pull away, but he tightened his grip.
It's not powerful enough to force me to do anything I don't already want to do. It just makes it harder to control myself.
"Control yourself?" Her heart picked up the pace. He could surely hear it. She only hoped the bossy feeling wouldn't allow him to change the subject with a joke.
"To control myself from... jumping on you, like I wanna, like I wanna, wanna."
Rachel pulled back and slapped his chest. "You did not just randomly start singing!"
Daniel laughed. "Oh, yes I did. Told you the feeling wasn't that controlling. And the look on your face is priceless."
Rachel was stuck somewhere between a scowl and full blown laughter. "I thought you meant it." She pivoted on the spot and crossed her arms over her chest. Typical of him. He couldn't take anything seriously. But, to be honest, neither could she. She still felt like giggling.
"Maybe I did. But you'll never know." He sat on the low stone fence that separated the parking lot from the tumble down the hill.
Oh, yes I will. Sooner or later. She joined him and dangled her legs, looking down. "So, what now? Vlad hunting in Bran?"
"I've been thinking about that, too. I don't think it's a good idea. We're lucky we didn't find him. You heard what the Banshee said. Vlad is the almighty lord. He's probably heavily guarded. We can't take down a castle-full of vampires on our own."
A smile spread across her lips. "We could try. It would be one hell of a party."
Daniel stared at her for a second then laughed. "God, I lo— Fuck!"
"What happened?"
"I bit my tongue." He stuck his tongue out. "Serves me right."
Rachel giggled and turned back to admiring the view. "Maybe we should get out of here. If there are wraiths around, one of them could decide to rat us to Vlad." She watched her dangling feet. "Couldn't we get a wraith to spy for us?"
"Great idea. Only I have no idea how to get one since we can't see them. We'll need to do some research. Max surely anticipated this and knew I'd be an idiot."
"Teamed up with an idiot partner."
Daniel wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "I'm the idiot on this team. You're the smart one, remember?" He stared into the distance. "I wonder if Max saw you in his visions. If he knew all this would happen."
"All of what?" She batted her eyelashes. Even if she didn't want to discuss their supposed relationship now, she found it exceptionally hard to stop hinting and prodding.
"Me turning you. All the stuff we went through together. Vlad coming after us. That sort of thing." Daniel hung his head. "I just wish he would have told me."
"Knowing the future would have made your life hell. Imagine always wondering if you made the right choice to make the prediction come true."
"That's not what I meant. I wish he would've told me more about himself. Like the fact that he was the original Hunter, that he led the rest of us, fought in all those wars and was shunned from the order he himself had created."
"Are there any other orders?"
"Yeah, four more, I think. Something with a cougar, a snake and... maybe some bird? I completely forgot what the fourth might be. I wasn't very interested when Max told me. But the Silver Wolf was like— you were someone. You were kinda like royalty." He gave a half-hearted smile.
"Oh, I had no idea I was hanging out with a prince."
He gave her a light shove. "Shut up. I didn't even know I was in the order, seeing as Max himself was thrown out way before I was born."
"Good point. I keep forgetting you're not that much older than me." Rachel stood and stretched. "So, what now?"
"We'll go back to Bucharest. I'll try to contact Gabriel and see if he can help. We need a damn good plan to bring Vlad down." Daniel hopped off the fence and headed for the car.
Rachel followed. "Couldn't we ask the Banshee more about wraiths?"
"Sorry, Rach, but if we go back, I'll puke my guts out."
She stopped in the process of opening the door. "I know it was nasty, but it didn't seem that bad to me."
"That's because you're a woman. A Banshee would never suck the soul out of you the way it does out of a man. And that old crone loved feeding off my feelings."
Rachel smirked and got in the car. She wondered what feelings the Banshee had fed from, but she didn't ask. If he started singing again, it would completely ruin the moment.
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Alas, some information! Thanks for reading another chapter of Hunters. Hope you had fun! Leave a comment or vote in case you enjoyed it. And thank you for your support!