appeared around her body. Her frame began to tremor slightly, then she stood up and pointed to our left.
“It’s Rahuman. Plus about twenty Hiveminds. They’re down there, about quarter of a mile.” She ran over to Midnight who gave her a hi-five.
“Brilliant. Okay, so does everyone have at least two boosters?”
The team nodded — all except for Rachel. I looked around blankly. Midnight gestured towards me. “New kid got dosed about twenty minutes ago. It’ll cover him for now.”
Gabriella frowned. “Well I don’t want Alex getting involved.” She slid an injection pen out of a pouch at the back of her belt and held it towards me. “But…take this anyway.”
I warily deposited the booster into my free back pocket, careful to avoid any unwanted injections. One of the Golems swung around to face Gabriella and cocked its head, questioning her with its glowing red eyes.
“As I said doughboy, I want my team sharp…whether they’re fighting or not,” she said flatly.
“What are boosters exactly?” I asked.
Everyone apart from Rachel and the Golems pulled the medical pens out of their pouches and injected themselves with the green liquid, their faces showing the faintest signs of discomfort. I noticed their arms didn’t swell. Must be a first time thing. Gabriella put the empty injector back in her pouch before answering.
“We heal about five times faster than a normal human. Boosters will help you heal twice as fast as that. It’s a liquid compound refined from Luminar blood.”
I remembered what Faru had told me about the Fae being required to donate blood if they joined the HASEA. Now I knew why Rachel didn’t need one.
We made our way through the forest. Everyone was as silent as shadows. The only sound I could hear as we crept over tree roots and moss patches was the nervous beating of my own heart.
The air was thick. Small particles floated in what remained of the daylight. Gabriella led the way. At the back of the group I was still part of the Golem sandwich. One inched forward ahead of me whist the other edged backwards. Their humming crosiers swished from side to side as they surveyed the area.
After a few minutes, the trees began to thin. Ahead many had fallen over, creating a clearing. As we heaved ourselves over the carcass of a fir tree and into the opening, a rustling sound from the trees beyond made us all freeze. It was met with another from further to our right. A twig snapped. The Golems shoved me behind them and stamped their staffs on the ground, igniting the tips. I had to peek through the narrow space between their arms to see what was happening.
The most horrifying scream I’d ever heard ripped through the trees. My blood crystallised. The sound echoed all the way around the forest, repeating itself over and over. Birds took off in fright.
Then came the steady snap of twigs in the near distance. It grew louder and my skin crawled as a pack of Vampires stalked their way into the opening. Unprepared for how they looked, I struggled not to let fear overwhelm me.
Their skin was dark grey and scaled. They walked on all fours, sharp claws digging into the ground. Black marble eyes stared at us, shimmering with hatred. When they blinked, grey lids twitched sideways across the slick surfaces. Their noses were singular horizontal slits, which flared wide like a gaping wound. Slick black hair protruded from their heads, some spilling over their hunched shoulders, the rest tapering into a mane which ran the length of their backs. They growled in unison, exposing yellowing fangs. These weren’t lords of darkness and seduction, these were creatures.
More dropped out of the trees, their feet padding softly on the ground as they landed. I felt the fear rise from my stomach all the way into my throat, thick and burning. “Stay back,” whispered Gabriella. She didn’t need to ask twice. I counted ten in total. They all stood in a line. As still as death. Just watching us.
What are they waiting for?
As if answering my question, their bat like ears began to twitch as they heard something before we did.
The trees parted. A man stepped into the opening. He wore a long cape which he clutched around his body with a clawed hand. His skin was sallow, cheekbones protruding from his face at sharp angles. His ears were only slightly pointed and his eyes looked far more human than the feral beasts in front of him. His greasy hair had been combed backwards. The excess flowed down the sides of the cape.
He stepped forward and stroked the faces of two Hiveminds. They pushed their heads into his hands like adoring pets, making guttural sounds of happiness. He continued forward until he was between the pack and us. His lips peeled back across yellowing dagger teeth. The canines were curved like viper fangs. He wrapped a tongue around them as he took in each person, one by one.
There was no doubt this was the Bloodseeker.
“Ah, the Alliance,” he spoke at last. His voice sounded like stone scraping against gravel. “It seems you’ve located us before we had an opportunity to reach you.” He clapped his sinewy hands together in a drawn out dramatic way. “Bravo.”
“Rahuman,” breathed Gabriella. She clenched her hands into fists. The sound of crunching leather filled the tense silence.
“Nevertheless, the location of our meeting is irrelevant, for the same result will occur…lots of dead Alliance.” The Vampire lifted his hands up and the creatures behind him coiled back onto their hind legs, ready to pounce.
Metal clicked. Half a dozen guns were pointed at Rahuman. All except Delagio, who dug into his pouch and retrieved a selection of wooden marbles like the one I’d seen him playing with earlier. He held them out in his palm and they lifted into the air — about six inches from his hand, spiralling around each other like atoms. Despite our situation, my mouth dropped open in awe.
“You even brought the kinesist with you. Oh I am honoured,” Rahuman mocked. The Golems drew in even tighter to me. I had to put my hand on one to stop it pushing me over. The skin underneath its coat was cold and hard. Just like a statue.
“Rahuman,” said Gabriella, her voice thick with tension, “you are a traitor to the HASEA. As a valued member of the Alliance you were treated with trust and respect. In return you betrayed that trust by leaking vital information to the SOS. In addition since escaping, your pack has spilled both human and Chosen blood. However, as stated in the HASEA treaty because of previous service to the Alliance, surrender now and we will allow you to bypass the death penalty in favour of permanent deportation to Pandemonia.” She stopped speaking. A heavy silence hung in the air. Under his breath, I could hear Midnight chanting over and over. “Don’t surrender, don’t surrender…” The Bloodseeker laughed. The entire pack cackled with him. My insides crawled. The sound was so far removed from human it was indescribable.
“I think I would rather let my brothers and sisters suck the skin from your bones if it’s all the same to you,” Rahuman said with a poisonous glare. He raked a long fingernail across his chin. “Do you remember the previous leader of your team?” He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Forgive me, I forget his name. Chopper or something.”
“Cooper,” corrected Gabriella in a biting tone.
“Ah yes that was it. Now I don’t know if I ever told you this, but did you know that before I snapped his spine in half he pissed his pants? Pissed his pants like a little girl.” He sniggered like he’d been told a dirty joke. I felt close to losing my lunch.
“You disgusting creature!” snarled Rachel, her gun trained on his forehead. “I should end you right now.”
Rahuman seemed amused at her outburst. “Me…disgusting? At least I know what I am.” Quick as a flash he drew back a sleeve, exposing a tattoo of what looked like a primitive eye on his forearm. “A true Pandemonian and proud Soldier of Sorrow! What are you, some kind of tamed pet to these mutant bloodsacks? Where’s your dignity?” As his tone grew more aggressive, the pack started snarling and baying. Yet still they didn’t attack. It was as if they were tethered in place by their leader. My heart smashed against my chest. A thousand snakes writhed inside my guts. We were vastly outnumbered and they looked raged.
“And you!” he hissed, thrusting a spiked finger at Gabriella, “you are an abomination!” He spat the words, flicking yellow spittle onto his pale chin. He wiped it with the back of his sleeve.
I shot my head up to look at Gabriella. Abomination? What’s he talking about?
The only reaction she made was to unsheathe the sword from its scabbard on her back. It had an ornate silver handle, with red grips spiralling to the top. The blade was carved entirely from wood. Rotating her hand, she
