Rachel craned her head back and turned round, taking in the arched ceiling of the chapel. It sported the figures of Romania's greatest leaders. Vlad was one of them. The mosaic face stared back at her with bulging brown eyes. She shuddered.
"We keep forgetting it's not actually him, don't we?" Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets. "Let's go downstairs and see the bones. Might as well do something fun."
She smiled and followed him down some narrow steps toward the underground part of the chapel. The room was tiny. Two neon lights buzzed, casting a flickering light on the stone floor. The walls were filled with marble slabs engraved with the names of those who had died in battle on that hill.
"So many of them," Rachel whispered, hugging herself.
Daniel rubbed her back as though trying to warm her up. He then led her to the other end of the room. A low archway and forged iron gates led to a glass container filled with bones, covered by the Romanian flag. They stopped in front of the gates.
"Check out all the nifty skulls." He sounded indecently excited.
"You're so insensitive sometimes."
I'm just trying to cheer you up, babe.
"Well, it's not working. These people died for their country." Rachel moved closer to the forged doors and tried to see inside the room, past the bone container. The annoyance she'd felt before returned and there was still no rational reason for it. Daniel was only kidding.
A man's hopeful face popped out of thin air in front of her, on the other side of the gate. She screamed and jumped back, heart beating wildly. In a split second, Daniel was next to her, his dart gun out and pointing.
"No, wait." The man raised his hands. "I won't harm you. I need your help."
Daniel lowered his gun, but kept a firm grip on it.
Catching her breath, Rachel squinted at the curly, dirty blond hair and big blue eyes of the slightly transparent man before her. "Justin Timberlake?" she asked in disbelief. He felt like noxious fumes and almost made her cough.
He grinned and did a pirouette. "That's what I'm talking about. Recognition."
"Don't be fooled, Rach. It's a wraith." Daniel pulled her back and holstered his gun. "How the hell did you get in here?"
"Funny you should mention that." The wraith pulled at his collar. "I'll tell you the whole story if you let me out."
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. "How about, you tell us or we walk away and leave you to the skulls?"
The wraith stared from him to Rachel, his eyes wide. Daniel turned to leave.
"No, wait, okay. Vlad had me locked in here."
Rachel tilted her head. "What do you mean, locked? You're transparent. Can't you pass through walls?" Though he did look solid enough to actually touch things.
"This is Holy Ground, Rach," Daniel said. "Wraiths are forlorn spirits. They can't enter or leave Holy Grounds unless accompanied. So he can't get out." His eyes narrowed. "Why did Vlad lock you in here?"
"I-I... um, I refused to pass him some information..." The wraith's eyes shifted from one of his sneakers to the other.
Daniel watched him through half-closed lids. "Let's go. There's no use talking to a liar."
She nodded. Her old idea of getting a wraith persisted, but this one obviously worked for Vlad.
"No, wait! You can't leave me here! Who knows when and if anyone able to see me will show up?" He rattled the forged iron gates. "I'm claustrophobic."
"No info, no outsie," Rachel said, walking on.
"Fine! Vlad locked me up because I gave him some information he didn't want anyone else knowing. And he thought it funny to lock me up at the scene of the crime."
"What information?" Daniel asked, his eyes once again narrowed. Rachel could tell he suspected the same thing she did. Scene of the crime – this was the wraith who'd turned them over to Vlad.
The faux Justin trembled. "I told him where two Hunters were." He shut his eyes and recoiled as if expecting a shovel to the head.
"And you want us to set you free?" Rachel put her hands on her hips. "After you sold us to Vlad?" She felt like slapping the idiot spirit.
"Oh, it was you two?" He laughed nervously. "I had no—"
Daniel punched the gate, almost tearing it down. "Shut the fuck up!" It clattered, sending an eerie echo through the marble room. "You almost got us both killed. You can bet we'll leave you here to rot."
"No, wait! I'll-I'll do anything. Don't leave me here!"
He could be useful, Rachel thought as she and Daniel headed for the stairs, ignoring the cries of the desperate wraith. We could use a messenger of our own.
What exactly do you have in mind? Daniel asked.
Well, Vlad knows this guy is a weasel. He spied for him once. We can send him back there and he can tell Vlad we let him out, but he's loyal to him and all that crap. I don't think Vlad would ask too many questions. He'd be too happy to know where we are. Her brain worked faster and faster, trying to glue all the pieces together. And maybe we could give out some false information to draw the other vampires away from him and give us a chance to finish him off.
I have a major asshole idea. Daniel stopped walking, a wide grin on his face. I bet some vampires on a wild goose chase will get those Hunters off our butts too.
Rachel stared at him, her heart in overdrive. Max's prediction. Seek the shadows. Before this was over, a new war would begin. And they would be the ones to trigger it. It was the only way.
You want to get them fighting each other, don't you? Even her thoughts trembled with nerves.
Yeah. I'm guessing that simply drawing away the vampires won't give us enough time to attack Vlad. He shrugged. What do you think? Angus does deserve a challenge as leader.
Rachel swallowed. It felt like trying to push a boulder down her throat. She had no doubt this was the right path to take.
The two of them turned back to the whining wraith.
"Here's the deal, Justin." Daniel walked to the low arch, hands clasped behind his back. "We're going to let you out. On one condition."
The wraith nodded, his head bobbing up and down with excitement. "Sure. Anything!"
"I'm letting you out only if you take an oath of loyalty to us."
The wraith's face became slightly more transparent. "A- An oath?"
"Yes. You know what it does," Daniel said pleasantly. "If you break it, you dissolve into nothingness, your soul lost forever."
Rachel raised her eyebrows at him. It can't be that easy.
It's not. The trick is to get him to take the oath. He will try to escape.
"I...well..." Justin stammered.
Shouldn't he take the oath while he's still in there, so that he can't escape?
Nope. Daniel stared Justin down as he babbled. He won't be loyal if we take advantage of him while he's locked up. We have to let him out. Then he'll be a little more honest.
Do you think he'll do it, once he's free?
Daniel gave an almost imperceptible nod. Leave that to me.
"Let's go, Daniel." Rachel called. "We're wasting our time here."
Justin grasped the iron gates. "No. Okay. I'll do it!"
Daniel grinned and reached out his hand. The wraith grabbed it through the fence and Daniel pulled him to the other side. The moment he was out, Justin whirled around the room and stretched his limbs, a self-satisfied grin on his face. With every second, his body became more and more transparent.
Daniel shook his head. "That's not going to work."
Once he was barely visible, Justin wiggled his fingers as a goodbye and made a mad dash toward the exit. Though she was sure Justin would pass through her, Rachel bent her knees and reached out her arms to stop him. Before he could get to her, Daniel pressed the tips of his fingers together and the wraith bumped into some invisible barrier.
Daniel raised and lowered his hands and the wraith bounced around the room in what appeared to be an invisible ball. Finally, Daniel pushed his hands toward the floor and the bubble holding the wraith burst, leaving him sprawled on the ground.
"You can guess by now that there's no escape for you, foul rat," Daniel said cheerfully. "So take the damn oath unless you want me to squish you into oblivion."
Justin stared at them with wide eyes. "What the hell kind of Hunters are you?"
Rachel smiled. "The special, don't-take-shit-from-anyone kind."
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"How long does it take wraiths to deliver messages?" Rachel asked, swinging her legs in the air as she sat on the terrace of the mausoleum.
The lights of Câmpulung brightened the horizon. Stars twinkled on the dark blue sky. The light showering the mausoleum gave everything a surreal feel.
"I think he's there already. He's been gone a couple of hours. Vlad's probably messing him up a bit. Smokey has to sound convincing in his lies." Daniel wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
"What lies? All he has to do is tell the truth, leave out that he took that oath and give out a tiny peace of misinformation." Rachel rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish he'd get here faster. If this doesn't work..."
"What we're doing is insane, anyway."
"But kinda fun at the same time." She smiled up at him. The stars shone in his dark blue eyes. That and the wind rustling through the trees made her mind go back to the vision of her and Daniel standing on top of this hill, huddled up together, sharing a special moment.
"Why are you blocking me out?" he asked, and Rachel snapped out of her reverie.
"I'm not blocking you out."
"Now you're not."
"I don't even know how to block you out."
Daniel took her face in his hands. "Don't hide your feelings from me. Don't try to protect me."
"Knock it off. I already told you I wasn't blocking you out. At least, not on purpose." She stood and walked toward the stairs leading to the chapel.
But you are hiding something from me. I can tell.
Rachel wheeled toward him, her fists clenched. "Well, you seem to know more than I do, so you tell me? What am I hiding?"
"I don't know." He stood and sank his hands in his pockets.
She sighed. He only wanted to protect her, and it was sweet. But he should know by now that she could handle the drama.
"Believe it or not, I'm still alive." Justin materialized out of thin air in front of her. "Don't get mad at your boyfriend, gorgeous." He lowered his voice. "Or if you do, maybe you'd like a handsome pop star as your next date."
"I heard that, Smokey." Daniel stood and walked to them. "How'd it go?"
"Awful! That damn Vlad doesn't have a way with people at all. He thanked me for telling him where you are and about the supposed attack of the Hunters, didn't pay me, and told me to return and keep an eye on you. I stuck around as much as possible. He will send his armies to meet you."
"Great." Daniel waved his hand dismissively. "Now go tell the Hunters where we are and what we're up to."
"All the way to Vatican? I'm tired. I've had enough for one night."
Daniel raised his hands and moved them slowly together, to close a ball.
Justin recoiled. "Sheesh, you're just as charming as Vlad. I'm going, just keep your damn hands in your pockets." He turned more transparent, then stopped. "So, I have to find that Angus guy and tell him that you have a renegade group of Hunters here and you're going for Vlad's place."
"Exactly. And don't worry. I'll free you and pay you when you're done."
Justin tilted his head and raised a questioning brow at Daniel before dissolving into thin air.
"You could be nicer," Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You could quit nagging me," he snapped and sat back on the stairs. He bit his lip and looked up at her. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm just nervous. If this doesn't work, I'm officially out of ideas."
"You're right. It would suck." She sat next to him. She didn't want to fight. Not when they needed each other more than ever. "What did you mean, pay him?"
Daniel slapped his forehead. "I'm an idiot. I forgot to tell you about wraiths."
She raised her eyebrows. "You forget to tell me a lot of things."
"I know, sorry. Selfish, egotistic bastard." He pointed at himself. "Wraiths are basically cowards, people who screwed up really bad in their lives and were too scared to move on. In order to cross over, they have to do enough good deeds to buy their ticket to the other side. And that's what Underworld currency is apparently used for."
Rachel stared at him with wide eyes. "Wow, that actually makes sense. But serving vampires isn't exactly a good deed."
Daniel laughed. "Vampires never pay wraiths. It's not in their nature to help anyone. The best wraiths get is change. But they're desperate enough to keep taking jobs from them and hope they get enough money to move on."
Rachel stared at the bright lights of the cement factory. She kinda felt sorry for Justin. He was only trying to get home. Well, sort of.
Daniel slid his arms around her waist. "Justin might be a while. Wanna go back to the hotel?" He kissed her cheek.
She could tell the question wasn't innocent. The idea caused a shiver to run through her body, especially since it came out of the blue and at such an inappropriate time. She put her arms around him and let him kiss her neck. His yearning transmitted to her, lighting the fuse to her own barrel of craving. Damn, he could turn her on fast. They couldn't get to the hotel quickly enough.
Maybe we don't have to. He pulled her in his lap and kissed her. The parking lot's empty.
She pulled back. "Daniel, we're in a public place!" God, why did the idea turn her on that much?
I was thinking you could help me move the car. He nodded to his left, toward the hills on the other side of the parking lot. It's dark and secluded.
The idea was appealing, though a part of her still longed to do the decent thing and drive back. But if they did, Daniel's wild side would be silenced. And she sure as hell didn't want that. Not when her whole body blazed.
It wasn't supposed to, not like that.
She looked at the sky. Something didn't add up. Amongst the stars, the half moon shone brightly. She had another few days until she would need blood. Yet, the familiar burning sensation made its way down her throat.
Hungry much, Rach? Daniel grinned at her, his fangs glinting in the moonlight.
Rachel's mouth fell open. "Wait. Don't you need to feed when the moon is full?"
"I'm guessing the massive blood transfer had some effects on our feeding schedule. We're apparently both set for the same day now."
She stared at him as he caressed her cheek. As much as she hated vampires and wanted all of them dead, this was the exact opposite. Even if Daniel looked more like a vampire than ever, this was the hottest he'd ever looked to her. His flawless skin glowed, his eyes were as vivid as she'd ever seen them, and his messy hair was so black, it had a blue sheen which contrasted perfectly against his paler face.
With every passing second, the ache spread throughout her body and her fangs slid down. Bloodlust took over her mind, but, for the first time since becoming a Hunter and needing to feed, blood was not the only thing she lusted for. She remembered what Daniel said to her before Cheryl got killed. Doing it while you're starving is awesome. She wanted to test that theory out for herself. And not in the narrow backseat of a car.
"You know what? Screw the car." She waved to her right. "There's a thick forest ripe for the taking."
Daniel got to his feet, holding her wrapped around him. "I like the way you think, babe."
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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!