The Hunter
Chapter 1 Shadows
The trees swayed in the slight breeze around the clearing, seeming to whisper. Whisper secrets of a forbidden power in the night. The only light came from a flickering fire in the middle of the clearing, illuminating the faces of the four Death Eaters gathered there. The shadows of the forest shifted and sighed almost as if they were alive. Nervous glances were cast about as if they were waiting for an attack. The unease and tension in the clearing was almost palpable.
A set of eyes smiled at their fear from one of the deepest shadows. Their nervousness amused him. The nerves were highstrung and they didn't even know he was there... yet. The whispers had proceeded him, this he knew. It was far from his first mark. He had started his career almost a year ago by picking off the lesser of the Death Eaters, the bottom of the food chain you could say. In recent months he had moved on to more... interesting prey. It was a rush when he took his first 'active' Death Eater. He thrived on the adrenaline rush that always came with the hunt and kill of his mark. He laughed at the fact that they had dubbed him 'The Hunter', and enjoyed the fear that the useless name struck into their hearts. This was what life was about for him. In the past year he had become the hunter that they feared. His old life was gone. The second he had his first kill had changed everything and there was no going back. Now he lived in the shadows and was the shadows. He had no identity, he had no name. He was merely death. He was the fear in the heart of evil. He was simply the hunter.
The unease had lessened in the clearing over the last hour that he had been waching them. He knew that he would have to wait another hour or maybe longer before they were as calm as he wanted. He crouched low in the deep shadows to wait. He watched as they made small talk about their cover careers and families. He waited while they laughed and shared firewhiskey. Then the moment came. One of the Death Eaters, Bulstrode, walked off into the forest to answer the 'call of nature' as he put it. Hunter quickly sneaked up behind him and snapped his neck before silently lowering his lifeless body to the ground. He enjoyed killing with his hands more than with his wand merely because of the closeness. Soon another Death Eater wandered off from the light only to be killed the same way. Hunter crept back to his shadow near the clearing. He finished the third off with a well thrown knife to the throat. The last man finally realized what had happened and began to panic as his companions blood spilt over his robes when the hunter stepped from his shadow. The firelight cast faint shadows on his face as though good and evil were fighting over his very countenance. The Death Eater gasped at the sight before him. "It's you!" he whispered as the face in front of him registered. The hunter's face split into a devilish smile. "Yes.", was all he whispered before finishing off his mission. He pulled the knife cleanly from Flint's throat and didn't even bother cleaning it before spinning sharply on his heel and throwing it at a nearby tree. The shining blade stuck easily into the bark and a single drop on Flint's blood dripped from it to the hard earth below. As he surveyed his work he whispered "Justice is served." before disappearing into the shadows once more.
