Page 16 of Castings & Curses

Fighting monsters was better than the alternative: losing a loved one or your own life to them.

In this case, Mikaela’s life was at risk. And even if, technically, Hanne was a monster as well, Fabian was convinced she deserved love as much as any of them.

“So, who’s this Aricin guy?” he asked as they power-walked through the streets of Greenvalley. The address he’d given them belonged to a warehouse at the docks.

Hanne had recovered a little, spurred on by the impending rescue. “He’s a Verenimijä like me, a little younger. The community must have picked him to hunt and execute me. Probably to make up for the fact I never gave him the promised children.”

“Promised children?” Lucille asked.

“The community is very concerned with keeping our race alive. Aricin and I were selected for a union, but I had already fallen in love.”

“With Aleksi,” Fabian mused.

Meanwhile, Lucille pulled a face. “Just because you don’t want to be their brood mare, you need to die?”

Hanne sighed. “No, there’s no enforcement other than they expect you to do your part. What is against the law, though, is leaving the community and living among humans. I broke the law when I searched out Mikaela, and then every day I chose to stay at her side. It’s ridiculous. Mika would never rat me out.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Jan muttered.

But Hanne adamantly shook her head. “I am. That’s not the kind of person she is. Which is why I should’ve told her years ago.” Her voice broke at the end.

Lucille reached out, giving Hanne’s shoulders a quick rub. “We’ve got this. Aricin only expects you, not three experienced monster hunters. We’ve defeated an archdemon. We can deal with one vampire.”

The odds certainly sounded in their favour. In fact, Fabian believed the odds were better than ever before. Lucille was an amazing witch, his control over water had become a lot better, and Jan was not just well-versed in martial arts, but a healer. Add in a Verenimijä on their side, and this Arician wouldn’t know what hit him. “We’ll deal with him. Then you and Mikaela can keep travelling. Perhaps it’s time to go overseas.” Surely, Hanne’s community would give up then.

“That’s might be the best we can hope for,” Hanne said without much enthusiasm.

Fabian felt for her. If he were forced to leave Greenvalley behind, he would be beside himself. But to keep the love of his life safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

“We’re here,” Jan announced, pointing at the old warehouse that was sometimes used by the loggers upstream.

Hanne took a deep breath. “I will try and talk him out of this. No one needs to get hurt.”

Behind her back, the three of them shared a glance. People who left severed heads behind usually weren’t big on talking.

“Are you for real?” The voice from the telephone was even sharper in reality. “How many more infractions are you going for?”

Stepping into the warehouse from outside had left them temporarily blind. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust and discover the speaker: a tall, muscular man with light blond hair and smooth, ageless features. Next to him, Mikaela sat bound to a chair. Blood had dried on her head, her eyes wide with panic.

“Does it matter?” Hanne replied, her voice devoid of emotion. “You’ve already judged me anyway.”

“Besides, it isn’t Hanne’s fault.” Fabian would have been happy to let Hanne control the conversation, but Lucille couldn’t keep her mouth shut when there was an injustice happening in front of her. It was one of her better qualities. “We already knew about the existence of vampires and demons.”

“Yeah, and we usually kill them,” Jan boasted.

Aricin sneered at them. “Is that supposed to frighten me? Hanne will pay for her crimes, whether she has ensnared one or four humans. If anything, confiding in monster hunters makes this even worse.”

“Look, we have no interest in travelling up to Finland to take it up with a bunch of daywalking vampires,” Fabian said. Saving Mikaela, yes. Looking for trouble, no. “We just want you to reconsider. Hanne did nothing to hurt you.”

“The law is the law. Hanne has to die.” Suddenly, Aricin turned to Mikaela, smiling sweetly. “That’s your opinion too, isn’t it?” To their surprise, Mikaela avoided everybody’s gazes. “I told her how you killed Aleksi,” he announced to Hanne.

While Lucille gasped, Fabian closed his eyes. After everything, Jan had been right. It appeared to have been nothing but an act. They had been too trusting of the vampire woman.

“You did what?” Lucille asked, her voice shaky.

Tears filled Hanne’s eyes. “It was an accident. I wanted to be good for him. I wanted to be…” Her voice broke. “Human. I didn’t drink a single drop of blood for months. I ate food and I drank water, but nothing that sustained me. I was so very hungry.” She wiped the tears from her face. “It came over me suddenly. Mika, I’m so sorry. I never wanted that to happen!”

Mikaela kept staring to the side. Then suddenly, her shoulders bunched and her head whipped around, eyes glaring. “You should’ve told me. You should’ve told me everything! From the moment we met!”

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