Page 32 of Tainted Blood

“With a frying pan,” I answered, boldly meeting his stare. His eyes narrowed before he gave me a smile, his fangs on full display.

“I like women not afraid to kill with whatever they can get their hands on.”

I resisted the urge to take a step back. Dago wasn’t studying me like a potential foe anymore. No, he was definitely considering if it was worth an effort to get in my pants, and I was never the best equipped for that sort of attention.

“I invited the Athenians as well, but they both declined,” Jamal said, interjecting. He gave me a wink while he spoke. “So, this should be the entire group.”

“Fantastic. That means we can get started,” Isaiah said, stepping in between us. “There’s a good number of deer on my property, and there’s been no sign of human activity for several weeks other than that of my staff, who are not currently out there. You have my entire property, and you’ll know when you’ve gone outside of it by orange markers placed on trees every fifty feet. You know how this goes. There are two criteria. Who is the fastest, and who has the best catch. It’s too early in the year to do the point game, so my staff has the scale out for weight. Stags only.”

They were all nodding, even Alexius, who stepped away from Isaiah and me, stretching his arms over his head.

“We’ll do two groups. Who is participating, and who is only here for the show?”

Each gave their answer. Like me, Isis only intended to watch, saying she had come to stretch her legs and get outside. She moved closer to Isaiah and me but still stayed fairly distant from the group.

“The first group shall be Alexius, Caturix, Jamal, and Kamose. Once all four have returned, we’ll let the forest settle for thirty minutes while we do the weighing. After that, I will be hunting in the second group, along with Dago, Sucaria, and Conall. If the first group would like to find your starting positions, we’ll get this going.”

Alexius looked at me, and I could only nod, wanting him to go have fun, if that’s what this was. I knew he was wary of leaving me alone, but while I didn’t really like Isaiah, I knew I could trust him to keep me safe for however long this took. I didn’t see myself getting killed in the short period while he was out chasing a deer around.

“Stay close to him,” Alexius said softly, pointing at Isaiah.

“That was my plan.”

He walked away, stretching his arms over his head as he went. Caturix chuckled, shaking his head.

“If you coddle them, they never get stronger.”

“If you abandon them to a pack of wolves, they get eaten,” Alexius retorted. Caturix’s snarl in return told me that had been a jab I didn't understand. “If I need input on how I train her, I will ask for it.”

“The Macedonian proves to be as arrogant as ever. Not even Jacob’s death can change that, it seems.” Caturix gave a low growl. “Maybe it should have.”

My jaw dropped, but Alexius didn’t react, continuing his measured pace to the edge of the trees.

“That was low of your Master,” Isis said from her distant lookout spot.

“It was honest,” Sucaria snapped viciously. “And deserved. Alexius brought up the death of his son first.”

“Jacob was murdered in his own home by enemies who are too cowardly to reveal themselves. He was a well-loved and respected member of our community. Valis was reputable in the sense we all knew he would stab us in the back in the search for power to live up to his father’s expectations. Maybe he should have kept his daggers to himself instead of trying to play his tricks on a pack of werewolves.”

Sucaria snarled, turning toward Isis. Isaiah was there in a second, getting between them.

“Enough,” he growled, revealing that even the put-together politician could be a monster, just as feral as any of the vampires on the property. “Both of you. If you have to, take a walk, but this will not devolve into a fight.”

“Isis, don’t antagonize the Gaul,” Kamose said from his position at the tree line, just loud enough to be heard by those of us not going on the hunt. “I’m not in the mood for a war.”

“I’m not either,” Caturix muttered.

“You’re always in the mood for a war,” Isaiah muttered, glaring at Caturix’s back.

“The Gauls always are,” Conall agreed with a dramatic sigh.

Once the four hunters were in their positions, spaced twenty feet apart at the tree line fifty yards from us, Isaiah whistled just once, sharp enough to hurt my ears. The vampires disappeared so quickly that if I had blinked, I would have missed it.

“How long do hunts normally take?” I asked Isaiah once everyone was gone.

“No longer than twenty minutes on a normal night when the game is plentiful, but sometimes it can take longer if the game is scarce.”

“When the game is scarce, the challenge isn’t just finding the prey and bringing it back. It’s a fight against the others on the hunt,” Conall continued for Isaiah. “For example, if everyone is going after the same bear, they have to not only race but potentially fight each other for the kill. Once the beast is dead, though, it ends. Most of the time, no one dies. No one will die tonight unless someone picks a fight they shouldn’t.”

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