Hunter Maximus

I walk stonily in silence, seething underneath with unexpressed rage. I couldn’t believe I was being kidnapped by such an annoying prick of a vampire. Maximus walks beside me with a hand on the small of my back, humming a tune to himself happily.

It was starting to get on my nerves.

Just before the alleyway ends, Maximus grabs my arm to halt me in my tracks and I watch as he leans down, tugging me down with him, to open the top of a manhole. We both squat beside it.

“Um, what the hell are you doing?” I ask him, looking from the manhole to the street just a couple of metres in front of me. It was a side street, deserted and quiet. Most people were on the main street on the opposite end of this alleyway. Maybe I could still try to escape?

Maximus motions for me to enter the manhole first, a smile on his face.

“Come on, darling, ladies first,” he says happily. I stand up and try and take a step back but he quickly tugs me back towards him and the manhole.

“No,” I say, “No way in hell am I going down there. I get claustrophobic,” I curse inwardly for saying the last part, he wouldn’t care if I was afraid of small places.

“Once you climb down,” Maximus says, “I’ll have to cover your eyes anyway, as it’s a secret entrance to the Vampire Palace located underneath this city. It’s not a long way to walk.”

“You can’t make me go down there,” I snap. Maximus sighs and his eyes darken, the humour fades from his expression for a moment as he gives me a disapproving look.

“What’s your name?” he asks sternly.

“Isobel,” I say.

“Look, Isobel,” Maximus stands and I do too. He comes over and holds both my arms at the elbow, looking down into my eyes with serious intent, “I told you that if you’re good and sweet, and do as I say, I might let you live by the time I’m done with you. You won’t be able to run away from me, sweetie, when I was a human I was also a vampire hunter. My sole job at the palace is to hunt vampire hunters down,” he raises a hand up to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing lightly over my right cheekbone. I stay still, wondering how the hell I could escape from this arrogant, annoying vampire.

“You hunt what you use to be?” I ask with disgust, jerking my head back, away from his touch. Maximus smirks.

“Well, I was a potential vampire hunter, I hadn’t gone through the ritual to make me one fully when I was turned. Official vampire hunters can’t be turned,” Maximus explains, and I remember my own ritual I had to go through tomorrow night, “It’s much better being what I am now,” he says delightfully, “I’m much stronger than you, darling. I can kill you easily, so I suggest you do what I say without question. Understood, little one?”

“Go to hell,” I hiss, hating his egotism coupled with his easy-going attitude. I still didn’t know why he wanted me to make a bloody wedding dress for a friend. Or why I was being taken to the Vampire Palace –

Oh my god.

I look from Maximus’ displeased frown from my response, to the manhole just next to me.

I knew what to do!

“I – I guess there is no point arguing…. I’ll do it,” I grumble quietly. He spins me around and undoes the bindings on my wrists. I lean down and put my legs into the manhole.

“Good girl. Hmmm…” Maximus mumbles to himself as I figure out a plan of my own, “Slowly, Isobel,” he says, almost protectively as I start to climb down the manhole, trying to ignore the fact that small enclosed spaces freaked me the hell out.

I slowly climb down, my mind formulating an escape plan.

I knew that at the Vampire Palace, there was going to be a wedding between the human girl, Jennifer, and the vampire Prince, Darrius. Jennifer was the bride, hence Maximus’ friend needed a wedding dress.

My ritual was going to take place at the Vampire Palace… or just above it at least. There was a plan that vampire hunters would enter the palace, silently and skilfully, to grab Jennifer and make a run for it before the wedding began. Jennifer’s parents, Ian and Natalie, both well-known vampire hunters, had organised the whole event.

They wanted their daughter back.

I had met them once or twice when my trainer, Luke, introduced me to them at a vampire hunter gathering.

When the wedding began tomorrow night, I would escape with the vampire hunters when they stormed the Vampire Palace. There were only going to be four vampire hunters doing the job, as last time they had tried to save Jennifer, many had died.

Luke had wanted me to complete the ritual after he came out with an alive and weak vampire. Luke didn’t want to risk me going into the palace so I had to wait above, for them to finish the job of simply retrieving Jennifer. Assuming they got her out, I’d then kill the vampire they brought with them.

That’s all the ritual was.

I had to kill a vampire.

Considering I’d be at the palace before the wedding began, and hoping Maximus didn’t want to kill me after I made the wedding dress… I’d may as well kill a vampire at the palace while I escaped with Luke and the three other hunters accompanying him.

When I reach the bottom of the man hole, I stand on concrete, looking at the flow of sewerage. Gross. Maximus quickly jumps down next to me and smiles widely.

“Wasn’t so hard now, was it, Isobel?” he asks, coming over with the cloth he had tied on my wrists, “I need to blindfold you now, darling,” he says, coming to stand behind me, I stay still so he can do his thing.

“Fine,” I snap out, as he gently rests the blue material over my eyes and ties it quickly at the back. He puts a hand on the small of my back, to guide me.

“Oh, Isobel, there are so many things I want to do with you…” he whispers seductively into my ear as we walk down through the tunnel. I grit my teeth, bloody bastard.

A pleasing thought quickly comes to mind, however!

Maximus!

I’d kill Maximus for the ritual.

Yep, that was what I’d do.

If he got in my way to try and stop me escaping, then he’d get a stake right through his heart!

“There is only one thing I want to do to you,” I counter, taking slow steps forward, as I’m bloody blind now.

“Darling,” he growls, “You’ll never be able to kill me.”

We’d see about that.