The Bounty
Chapter 1
Tonight night didn't seem any different than any other night he experienced on the Western Frontier. It was cold, dark and a slight breeze accompanied the quiet of the night. The moon shone brightly through patches of dark clouds and there he sat, atop his cybernetic horse taking in the sights and sounds. He sat silently scanning the horizon with eyes of such a pale blue that they were almost silver and skin so pale that once the moonlight touched his beautiful visage he seemed to glow. It wasn't very often that he would stop and take a moment for himself to enjoy such an unappreciated beauty that the night time world held. As he sat there taking in all that was around him a voice rang up from his reins.
(It's been awhile since you have taken some time to yourself, you should do it more often, you were becoming such a stick in the mud.)
"Quiet, you're ruining it for me"
(Damn…see, you are doing it again. Why are we taking this anyway, you know this DeWinter guy is nuts and so is the damn things he has working for him.)
"We need the money."
(Your doing it for another reason aren't you…come on, you can tell me)
"Quiet'
The thing made a pained cry as he closed his left fist tight enough for his fingernails to dig into flesh. That was his hands hint to leave him alone.
He turned his black steed towards the town and sighed. The wall that was around this town was supposed to be their protection, though it seemed as if it wasn't working. It was a brick wall, about 25 feet or so with gun towers and large wooden gates that was reinforced with metal studs and spikes. The gun towers were something you would see in a prison, though it fit this rough landscape. The person standing guard in these towers reeked of fear. He could smell it on them as he approached. Slowly he descended the hill towards the gates. The moon was setting at his back. Today was going to be a long day, he could tell already. He could hear the hurried footsteps of the townsfolk behind those gates. One of the men in the towers shouted "HE'S HERE! GET THE MAYOR!"
(So much for a quiet morning.) Those words seemed to be coming from his left hand.
"Sir, the Hunter you hired is here. He is approaching the main gates as we speak." a farmhand said as he bowed slightly to the Mayor.
"Thank you Finch, go rally the men in the town, we want to make sure nothing is going to happen. I will be at the gates shortly" said the mayor. He was a short man, no more than five foot five inches tall and on the heavy side. He had thinning brown hair and dark brown eyes. His clothes were worn, but not tattered. He always had his crossbow on his right hip and his quiver on this back. He didn't wear a hat like most men in the town did; without one he felt he was more noticeable. Though he was on the short and heavy side he made up for it with his commandeering voice and that crossbow. He never missed when he aimed it. He was hoping he wouldn't have to aim at this hunter whilst he walked out to the main gates to meet this man. He was nervous, never has his town had any problems with Count DeWinter until last year, when the summer nights turned harsh and the days stayed warm is when something happened…she was taken. He knew she was turned all because he watched but deep down some part of him hoped otherwise. She was his wife after all. Maybe the hunter could save her from her fate.
He motioned for the guard to open the gate. He obeyed reaching down to the lever that operated the chains that pulled the gates open; they were too heavy for a normal man to do it alone. With all the men in the town holding whatever they could use for weapons behind him he spoke up as the man on horseback entered his town.
"You must be the Vampire Hunter, D. Welcome to Skersgard. I am Mayor Charlie Keanen."
The hunter stopped his horse just three feet shy of the Mayor and dismounted. He could tell how uneasy this made him as well as the rest of the men. He glanced around to weigh his options in case something happened and things didn't go as planned. Then he spoke, "I am" in a strong but quiet voice that backed the Mayor up 5 paces. The guard had already begun to close the gates to this peaceful little town.
"We weren't expecting you this soon, hence all the precautions." He said as he waved his hand around.
"Thank you for getting here fast." He then added thinking that would get a reaction out of the hunter. But it didn't, he stood there still as a statue looking at the ground at the mayors feet. He was handsome, very handsome and seemed as if he was only in his early 20's. He was tall too, much taller than the mayor of course most of the men were. The sheriff was standing to his right and the hunter stood taller than he. He was dressed in black from head to toe with a black cloak and some menacing shoulder pads. He wore a wide brimmed traveler's hat, a very cruel looking sword strapped to his back and a sapphire the size of a persons fist hung from his neck. He shivered in his boots when the hunter raised his head to look the Mayor in the eyes. Those eyes were as cold and hard as ice.
He realized he was starring at this beautiful person in front of him and shook his head.
"We usually ask for all weapons at the gate…but it doesn't seem like you would willingly give them up." Mayor Keanen said with somewhat of a disappointed voice.
"We should take them anyway!" The Sheriff shouted as he stepped forward. D glanced in his direction. He was tall and thin. Under his hat he had short blonde hair and green eyes. He was tall, and well built. He was a person who one wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. His clothes were stained and tattered, torn in places and his boots were well worn. He carried a mean looking plasma pistol on his left hip that made it obvious he was a lefty. He bore his sheriff badge on his right breast pocket that caught a glint of the now rising sun.
"What makes him so special? Just cause he we hired him to help us doesn't mean he shouldn't obey our laws! Hell he's a fricken Dhampir for shits sake!" He shouted again as he turned and faced the growing crowd behind them. He could hear gasps from the women that came out of their homes to see this hunter.
"Look…Hunter D" the mayor began to say
"You will not succeed." D interrupted. He was looking down again. The sun was up now and it was getting warmer, he could feel himself getting weak. He needed to rest.
"Mayor?" the sheriff questioned
"Are we gonna uphold our law or what?" as the sheriff stood there looking at the mayor with probing eyes.
"No, he can keep his weapons; I don't want any bloodshed in these walls. D, will you come with me so we can talk about our situation in private?" the mayor turned and started walking towards his house. D grabbed his horse's reins and willingly followed.
The Sheriff stood there in silence as the rest of the crowd dispersed. He was embarrassed in front of his deputies and friends, he didn't like that hunter. Something had to be done. He began to walk back to the jail. He noticed that hunter didn't talk a lot, and knowing that he is a dhampir and that quiet made him angry. He knew what he was in for when he agreed to let the mayor hire him for this job. But it still irked him, especially since he was allowed to keep his weapons. All he saw was the sword, but knowing he was a hunter he had to have other weapons hidden. It bothered him when he said that he wouldn't succeed in taking them either, he would prove him wrong soon. He has to sleep sometime the thought to himself. He opened his office door and walked in. Before closing it he looked at his second in command who stayed behind not to bother him. Then he shut and locked the door, he had to think. It didn't take him long to decided he would go to the tavern where D would be staying.
D tied his horse outside the Mayors house. He walked in and noticed an increase in the temperature; it was warm in here, too warm for the summer weather outside. That was odd to him. The mayor pulled out a chair for D to sit on. D declined and stood, back to the wall and waited for the mayor to tell him why he had come all this way.
The mayor knew he wouldn't sit but he figured he would make the offer anyway. He sat though, kicked his legs up on his desk and reclined back in his chair. He exhaled loudly and D caught a slight waiver in it. Almost as if he was scarred.
"Well I supposed you would like to know why you are here?" the mayor spoke to D as he shifted his legs some.
"Yes" the hunter replied.
"Well, Count DeWinter always kept to himself. He never bothered us and even saved our town from a nasty bunch of were hounds. But last summer something changed. He started to make nightly visits to the town. One house in particular." He paused a moment to take a breath.
D took advantage of that and asked "whose house did he visit?"
"Mine. I didn't think anything of it at first, but then my wife started acting all strange. Like she was bored here, she would sneak out at night. Well one night I watched her from our bedroom window. She went to the gates and met him there. He wasn't alone though…there were others there too. They were his guardians. He had said something to her then bent down and …and" he sighed heavily. Tears glistened in his eyes as he continued his story "he bit her. She became the Countess DeWinter that night. They were denied the chance to come back into town when this happened. I couldn't allow it. That must have angered them. But the reason why you were called is because of what the sheriff did. I had agreed to let her in here one night so she could see her daughter, Crystal. I wouldn't let her take her when she tried, then that's when a shot rang out. It was the Sheriff, Monty Stone. He shot my little girl and killed her. The Countess went mad with rage and tried to go after him. Instead she got a little bar maid. Ever since then they have been terrorizing the town. Sheriff Stone was stupid in his actions. He claimed that she was evil. My daughter that is, and she needed to be stopped. There wasn't anything wrong with her. But he killed her." His breathing was rapid and shallow. He choked out a small whimper that no one could hear but D.
D stood there in silence taking in what he had just heard. He was surprised that this mans wife would still love their daughter after being turned even though it wasn't unusual. But what was unusual was this Sheriff Stone. If he really had shot his daughter, why was he still walking free? D could sense he didn't like him from the start: that was obvious. Half the town would agree with Stone if he had given the command to kill him. But there was something about this man that didn't add up. D could sense the mayor wasn't telling him the truth either but he didn't bring it up only because he had a feeling he would soon find out the real truth.
"So, I am offering 30million dalas to get rid of the assassins that he sends to us. They are vampires too, but not all of them are what they seem." He said to D as he was wiping away a tear. This brought D out of his thoughts.
"I require half up front, food and lodging for the time I am here." D spoke in his usually cold tone.
"Done, Lodging is at the Gilded Rose. It is north of here but still in these walls. It's not great, but they will feed you and put you up. Please, understand that I can't have you staying at the in here in town with you being what you are. The towns folk would hang me." He said as he sat up and opened a drawer to get D part of his request.
"I understand. Thank you" D said coolly as he took his payment and turned towards the door to leave.
"D?" Mayor Keanen chided. "When will you start?" in a worried voice.
"Once I am rested." D said as he opened the door.
Thank god, maybe we can be rid of this Count and my wife. . The mayor thought as he rounded his desk to the small bar next to the door. He needed a drink. Faking emotion like that was hard for him to do. He only hoped that D couldn't see right through him.
