Page 41 of The Secret of Pain

A short while later, Colt pulls off of the road and I see dim lights, not too far off. We pull up to the gates of the complex and stop.

"Ready or not," Colt says softly, and I climb from the truck and come round to the gates where they're both waiting for me.

"Okay, so we're going to stick together tonight, and if anything happens, please don't jump in the deep end, Remy. It’s your first night back, and you are not back to your old self yet," Colt pleads with me, and I sigh.

"Sure thing, Dad."

Creek shakes his head at me, but doesn’t respond. He signals to be quiet, then to his ears. I focus on my hearing, pushing the Hunter gifts to reach out around me. I don't hear much, other than the scurrying of animals in the fields behind us.

A crow catches my attention, because it flies and lands just beside us with almost no sound, and I thought only owls did that… It’s almost like it’s following us. Watching us. It looks almost…

Nope. Not going there.

I shake myself, pushing the crazy thought away. Apparently my imagination is running rampant tonight. The crow is not stalking us.

Colt scales the gate first, heaving himself over the top and dropping down almost silently on the other side. He waits a second, checking to make sure it’s clear before motioning for me to climb over. Taking a deep breath, I step up to the gate and Creek's hands find my waist, helping to hoist me over. I swing my leg over the top, and then hang down the other side, landing as quietly as I can manage. Creek follows quickly and silently—how two guys as big as they are can move that quietly baffles me, but I guess it’s all part of the Hunter toolkit.

A woman's laugh twinkles out in the distance as a breeze tears past and a man appears before us.

Dracul.

"Oh yay, dinner is here. It's been so long since I tasted Hunter," he says, his head tilted, his eyes manic.

"You guys talk too much," Colt says and pulls his gun, aiming straight for the Dracul’s heart.

"Maybe that's because I'm just the distraction," the man cackles, and I duck on instinct as a blade flies over my head and lands in the heart of the Dracul before us. I spin, Creek and Colt along with me, to find three more Dracul.

"Oh goodie," Colt says. "And I thought tonight would be quiet."

He steps forward at the same time as Creek so they both cover me slightly. I turn my back to them and focus on the Dracul that appeared first, the blade in his chest removed and his grin gleeful.

"Pretty little Hunter, I think you'll taste good. Maybe I'll hurt you just enough that I get to keep you for a while," he says, and Creek growls from behind me.

"Oh, aren't you just a big ball of crazy?" I smile at the Dracul. "We'll see which one of us is bleeding at the end of this, shall we?"

A calm sweeps over me. It feels familiar and comfortable. A killing calm. Instinct rides me as I pull my sword, shutting out the other two and focusing on the creature before me. I smile at him and lunge forward at the same time he does.

The motherfucker is fast!

I swing the sword and glance a blow on his arm, and I laugh as I hear him hiss.

"Not so pretty anymore, am I? And you thought this would be easy," I taunt, the sound of the fight behind me threatens to distract me, but I focus, knowing that Creek and Colt will look after themselves and each other.

"You little bitch. You'll pay for that," he says and throws the blade he took earlier at me. I dodge it, but not quickly enough, and it embeds itself in my shoulder, rather than my throat where it was headed.

Holy crap that hurts.

I sheathe my sword on my back, knowing I'll be useless with it now that my shoulder is fucked up, and grab my gun. In a blink, the Dracul becomes frenzied. I dare a glance at Creek and Colt, and their Dracul are distracted by the scent of my blood.

"I was right, such a tasty little Hunter. So sweet. You don't smell like the rest. What a treat, what a treat indeed!"

He rushes at me, and I lift my gun to shoot him, but he crashes into me before I can get the shot off. Fuck, I am rusty. His claws tear into my arms where he holds me against the ground, and I feel the blood spill.

His saliva drops down onto my chest as he stares down at the blood. I wrestle to get him off of me, but even with my Hunter strength, this Dracul is beyond strong. He releases one arm and licks the blood from his claw.

"Such a tasty little Hunter," he says, his teeth elongated and making him lisp his words.

I try to reach for my other gun, but I am pinned. That’s when I notice the silence, then wetness rains down on my face.

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