Tainted Hunter (The Huntress Bane Book 1) Read online

  Copyright

  Tainted Hunter

  Copyright © 2019 by Derek Shupert

  Cover design by Katzilla Designs

  Cover art by Katzilla Designs

  Katzilla Designs - http://katzilladesigns.wordpress.com

  Cover Copyright © 2019 by Derek Shupert

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictionally and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For information contact :

  Derek Shupert

  www.derekshupert.com

  First Edition

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  ONE

  Author Notes

  Enjoy the book? Spread the word…

  The Huntress Bane Series

  Dead State Series

  Afflicted Series

  Ballistic Mech Series

  Also by Derek Shupert

  About the Author

  Dedication

  I wouldn’t be able to write without those who support me. I thank you for your encouragement and being there for me.

  To those that read my books, I thank you for your support.

  Tainted Hunter

  Beta Readers – My deepest gratitude for your help !

  Patti Holycross

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  PROLOGUE

  Once more, I’m all alone to face the wretched vampires.

  With each new soul the demons of the night claim, humanity inches closer to the brink of extinction.

  Our options are simple.

  Survive or die.

  Even if we somehow manage to thwart the devils plans, the risk of becoming a feeding bag for the fanged fiends still remains. A lifetime of being drained for our most valuable resource.

  Blood.

  They’re led by their master, the arrogant and pompous sack of dead flesh himself, Mathesis. I was once his personal blood bag, someone whom he milked slowly and regularly. He said my blood was like no other—a drug he couldn’t stop from using.

  The essence of the dark, red mixture called to him. No other vampire was allowed to touch me. If one dared to draw a single drop from my body, Mathesis was quick to dispatch the demon without prejudice.

  Since I was a little girl, that was the life I knew.

  Horror.

  Loss.

  Contempt.

  Hate.

  A smorgasbord of emotions that boiled in the pit of my gut each time he sank his fangs into my olive-toned flesh. Helpless to fend off his lust-filled wants, I sat ready to quench his hunger. When I became older, stronger, I fought back. I had enough of that life.

  I had managed to escape captivity after piercing what I thought was his heart. He didn’t die, though.

  Since then, I’ve been on the run from the demons, trying to forge some sort of existence out of this forsaken world. Eventually, I found a purpose, a goal in this life, aside from slaying as many of the vampires as I could.

  I’ve become a beacon of hope to some. A shimmer in what is otherwise a grim, dark future. The one thing that Mathesis craves is also the one thing that could save us all from the creature’s deadly bite. Something inside my blood could be the key to finally stopping this pestilence from completely snuffing out mankind.

  Before I can continue on my quest, though, I must stand once more to face my mortal enemy. The demon who robbed me of my soul and the many lives that have been taken by his hands.

  ONE

  They’re all dead. Every last fucking one of them.

  Bryce, Bill, and Bethany.

  Fighters.

  Survivors of this hostile planet that seeks to destroy humanity. They’re nothing more now than names of souls that have departed this world.

  On our way to Black Fields, we fled to this shithole of a house that eventually became their final resting place.

  I had hoped that the cure that Preston, one of Black Fields most trusted scientists and all-around vampire aficionado, and myself had been working on, would stop the demon’s venom, and keep Bethany from changing into a soulless fiend of Mathesis’s brood.

  She still succumbed to the thirst, though. Piercing her heart, and releasing her from that burden, was hard to do, but necessary.

  Both Bryce and Bill met similar fates in this drab fucking house as well. Mathesis’s horde of vampires made sure of that. And now, they’re going to pay with their lives.

  “Your fucking head will be mine, Mathesis.”

  A bold statement from a mere human who is outmanned in the depths of the demons’ hunting grounds.

  Standing on the porch, of the ramshackle house, my gaze stays locked on Mathesis’s shadowy silhouette.

  The clear skies overhead allow the radiance of the moon to splash over the vapid lands. It isn’t much, but enough for me to work with.

  “Then come claim your prize, my sweet Amanda.”

  His red eyes linger in the darkness. His voice taunts me, and whispers softly in my ears, trying to distract my thoughts, so I succumb to his devilish desires.

  His minions growl and taunt me as well. Pairs of distant red eyes shift within the veil of night on my left and right.

  I twirl the Kukri machete in my hand. If I have to plow through his legion of dead to have my blade taste Mathesis’s flesh once more, then I shall do it without pause.

  They advance.

  “Stop!”

  Mathesis’s softly spoken tone twists to a thundering growl that halts his horde of bloodsuckers. They do not dare test his patience.

  I raise my blade, and point the tip in Mathesis’s direction.

  “Don’t worry, boys. Once I take his head, you’ll be dealt a similar fate.”

  Mathesis smiles. His grin is barely visible. His fingers motion for me to come to him.

  I leap from the porch, and make a mad dash for the demon. Each step is marked with a thump of my boots against the dirt.

  I’m swimming in adrenaline. Every muscle fiber throughout my body is poised for battle. My heart pounds like a snare drum inside my chest. My senses are honed and tuned into the environment around
me. It’s not fear that pushes me, though, but the thought of spilling the vampire’s blood. More so, Mathesis’s.

  I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the only way I shall rid humanity of this vile plague is by removing his head.

  He stays perfectly still with his arms placed behind his back. He continues smiling, as if my show of aggression is amusing to him. His unbridled confidence will ultimately be his downfall.

  My teeth clench together like a steel trap. A growl builds to a volcanic eruption of disdain for him and his kind. I lift the kukri in the air and slash downward.

  He moves to the left becoming nothing more than a blur that I barely capture. He snickers. The blade tastes nothing more than the slight chill in the air that is left in his wake.

  “You’re getting faster, my girl,” he taunts. “Perhaps having my venom inside you is increasing your reflexes.”

  The remark fuels my spirit. All he is doing is adding more accelerant to the fire in an already vengeful soul. I avoid his little game. I don’t need to lose focus. Not now.

  I spin on the heels of my boots, and strike with a slash of the blade. His calloused hand catches my forearm in midair. I release the blade, allowing it to fall. My free hand catches the Kukri and slashes across his mid-section.

  He vanishes into the air. A shred of his black shirt drifts to the dirt.

  I whip around to try and get eyes on him once more. I see nothing more than the crimson hue of his legion’s eyes narrowed at me within the ether of darkness.

  His fist connects with the side of my face.

  The impact knocks me hard to the ground. His hands feel like cinderblocks. The side of my face swells with a pulsating pain. I’m rattled, but not out.

  I spit a wad of blood from my mouth. His minions clamor at the hint of the tasteful liquid. They become engorged by the scent. They start to advance toward me, but they stop and refrain from acting upon their ravenous needs.

  “Man. Is that all you got?” The side of my right hand wipes away the blood from my red lips. “And here I thought I was the helpless girl.”

  My fingers dig into the loose dirt as he comes for me. I hold my position, and plot my moment to strike.

  He presents his fangs from the top of his mouth. The moon reflects off the saliva gleaming from their sharpened ends. His nails grow longer.

  I attack.

  I pelt his pale face with tiny grains of sand as I slash upward. He blows right past me, and manages to gash my mid-section with his claws. The sharp tips easily slice through my skin like a hot knife through butter. It’s not a fatal blow, but enough to momentarily stop my pursuit.

  I hunch over, cradling my mid-section. He turns to face me. Blood dribbles down my waist. The pain of the wound makes me wince. My gaze shifts to the Kukri‘s blade, which is laced with blood. His blood.

  “Guess you weren’t fast enough.” I snidely remark.

  Mathesis’s pale hand comes up to his throat. His fingers swipe over the blood running out from the gash I inflicted. His nails probe the exposed flesh. He looks at me with wide eyes. He appears more shocked than anything.

  I raise the Kukri, and take aim at him with the tip of the blade.

  “How does it feel to have your blood spilt, you sick piece of shit?”

  His tongue slithers out of his mouth, and tastes the blood that resides on the tips of his fingers. The brash and cocky smile that seemingly stays on his porcelain toned face is all but gone.

  His minions rush to his side, surrounding him in a barrier of rotted flesh and tattered rags. They huff and growl, waiting for their master to let them off their leash.

  “Bring her home to me. Alive.”

  Mathesis retreats in the darkness of the wastelands with a handful of his legion. They vanish into the blackness of night. Only four from his horde remain.

  I stand upright. The skin close to the wound stretches. I grimace from the searing bite. It feels like a hot poker is probing my flesh. I push the pain to a place that can be dealt with at another time.

  The vampires surround me, sealing off any sort of retreat. I don’t plan on leaving. There is work that still needs to be done.

  I glance to my left, then to my right. I keep the kukri in the air as I gauge their strength. There’s four. Mathesis should’ve left more.

  The two behind me engage first. Their heavy footsteps pound the ground. Each grunt that leaves their torn and cracked lips plays in my ears.

  I spin on my heels toward the incoming duo. The kukri slashes downward at the demon to my left first. The blade slices through the side of its pale face with ease. Its body crumbles to the dirt with a dull thud as half of its skull bounces off the earth.

  The other takes a swing at me with its claws. I lean back on the heels of my boots and dodge its frontal assault. It pursues me once more, narrowing its red eyes in my direction. I deflect more of its strikes with a quickness that keeps the creature from getting too close.

  It hisses and vanishes. Without pause, I spin back around and strike with the kukri just as it appears in front of me.

  The dense blade burrows into the demon’s upper right shoulder. It lets out a squelch of pain.

  I pull the blade downward, and across its chest. Spit flings from its gaping mouth. Its fangs stretch longer. I swing the kukri in a circular pattern before lopping off the demon’s head.

  Its body stutters in place for a few seconds before finally collapsing to the ground.

  Heaving, and trying to refill my lungs with oxygen, I grip the kukri’s handle tighter as I narrow my eyes at the remaining fiends.

  Their ghastly gray shapes meld with the darkness. Without the aid of the moon’s light, I’d be at a much greater disadvantage. I twirl the blade in my hand, and pay close attention to their movement.

  “Well, come on. What are you waiting for?” I bark.

  Lowered in a hunched over position, they hiss and growl. They look at one another briefly before coming for me. A handful of steps is all they can afford before coming to a grinding halt.

  Their eyes flash rapidly. No doubt Mathesis is calling them back to his lair. He has lost much here tonight. I imagine he doesn’t want to lose any more of his minions.

  “What’s the matter, Mathesis? Can your legion not handle a simple human?”

  The vampire to my left grins, then speaks.

  “Dear child, consider this your lucky day. We shall be reunited soon.” It’s Mathesis speaking through him.

  Both of the creatures back away, and slowly vanish into the chilled night air.

  I expel a breath of tension. Although there is much that has been lost this night, I have managed to gain the upper hand.

  The master of the night has had his life force drawn, and soon, I shall spill the rest.

  TWO

  Blood.

  They’re lured by its intoxicating scent.

  Their noses test the air, lips savoring the sweet nectar of the people they hunt and bleed dry. Or, depending on the delectable piquancy of their victim, they will drain them slowly.

  That’s how the vampires see us humans—a walking buffet to quench their thirst. Nothing more. They will either gourmandize themselves with gluttonous delight, or they will take their time. Sometimes, the blood is so stimulating that they don’t want to devour it all at once. Savor the flavor, if you will.

  That was my case with Mathesis. I thought for sure he’d open my throat and drink from the fountain of blood that’d gush from my neck like he did with my mom and dad. He didn’t.

  Instead, he ripped me from my house, from my family that he so violently dispatched in a ravenous rage of hunger and gratification. Till this day, the images of their horrifying end still haunt me.

  Speaking of the undead, I’m surprised they’re not following me. After all, I’m injured, and without a safe haven, I’m ripe for the picking. This would be the perfect time for them to strike.

  Then again, many of Mathesis’s legion have felt the business end of my kukri. Its b
lade has tasted their flesh. It wants more.

  The earth has been tainted with so much blood from the innocent that I’ve taken joy in tipping the scales of justice slightly. It’s by no means even, but I’m trying my hardest to rectify that. Finding a cure, that would combat the effects of the vampire’s bite, would be the ultimate fuck you to them.

  The open wound across my mid-section burns and stings with each laborious step I make. I grimace. My legs are coated with the drug that the vampires crave. My hand palms the gash. I stop.

  My eyes shift to the left, then the right. It’s silent. No noises of any kind come from the darkness that has swallowed the land. Still, I do not see any red dots within the ether of the night. No demons hunting me down.

  The fortified stronghold of Black Fields has kept the vampires at bay, and the humans inside safe and out of their reach for years. Hopefully, Preston is making some headway on finding a cure since our last attempt was a dismal failure.

  The city is just north of me. Having a vehicle would get me there in no time. Traveling on foot, though, and given my current state, I’m doubtful I’ll make it. I have no regrets of standing my ground and facing Mathesis and his demons. I only wish I could’ve succeeded in removing his head, and killing him once and for all.

  Each step becomes increasingly harder. It feels as though the soles of my boots have magnets attached to them, and the Earth’s magnetic field is pulling me down.

  My clothes are drenched in sweat and blood. The exposed flesh on my body shivers as the cool, crisp air kisses my skin. As much as I want to stop, I trudge on.

  The tips of my boots scrape along the loose dirt. A haze coats my eyes as I try to blink it away. It remains. I’m losing too much blood. Like fuel for a vehicle, I’m running low.

  Squeak.

  Crunch.

  Wait.

  What was that?

  My ears pick up the faint sound of footsteps trailing from behind me. I tilt my head to the right slightly, and listen.

  It stops.

  My hand reaches down to my waist. My fingers shakily remove the kukri, and take hold around its handle. I’m in no condition to ward off any vampires, or even nomads for that matter. Still, I shall exact a pound of flesh before they finish me off.