A quick warning that there will be violence in this chapter that may be unsuitable for young people. It's not too bad though.
Quick Disclaimer: Twilight doesn't belong to me, but Morgana, her Cult, Baits, Witches, Hunters all do – these ones at least...and the storyline. So I own most of it. WINNING!
Also, Underworld, Viktor and Bill Nighy don't belong to me either, sadly.
Anyway, enjoy!
...
Chapter Ten
The man I recognized as my father strode forward. Even as a witch, he still looked like a human would at two hundred. I remember once watching the (technically forbidden -apparently the vampires aren't portrayed accurately enough) film Underworld with Nicholas, and secretly commenting on how he reminded me of Bill Nighy's character, Viktor. The pale, sunken skin on his face, his eyes glazed with age, and his hair - the colour of a deceased human's skin – that ran poker straight down his back all resembled the fictional vampire. However, if he'd heard me say such a thing, I would have been lucky to escape alive. His violet eyes were dead, expressionless, as he strode forward. When he saw me, he stopped, his black robes making it evident that he wasn't planning on much of a fight. Behind him, I saw a scrawny boy who stood out from the rest of Hunters, and from the quill and parchment grasped in his thin knuckles, and his bag covered in ink and bulging with bottles od the stuff, I figured it out. My father was dressed in his most regal clothing because he had a painter here to record his defeat of the Yellow Eyes. The thought sent anger raging through me, but before my crimson eyes could give me away, and let out a deep breath, and moved away from the trap.
"Father," I bowed my head a little in respect. His medallion, a gold pentagram – the symbol of our Cult – that hung to his chest was at eye level, and the symbol which used to bring me pride, only brought me disgust. Everything about him, his appearance, his voice which began to rattle from his throat, even his smell, reeked of death.
"Morgana. Where are the Yellow Eyes? I trust that you have not led us into a wild goose chase," His voice, cracked and spiteful, was so condescending that I had to struggle not to lash out at him.
"They ran when they saw you were here." I said, my head still ducked,
I felt his anger radiate from him, but all he said was, "I am very disappointed in you, child. You have a duty as a Bait. You are no Hunter."
"Yes, father," I said, straightening up but keeping my head down.
He swept around to face the Hunters, "Spread out. Find the creatures and kill them. You boy, stay with me and record every moment of the defeat."
They moved out of the room, leaving me behind. To my anger, a tear escaped down my cheek. I hated him. I hated how he made me feel. An explosion broke my concentration, and I looked up to see dust drift up from the staircase.
The chase had begun.
...
I unsheathed Iris, cursing my weakened wrist, and started back up the stairs. I could start where I'd left the vampires, and work my way around. There was no one around on the way to the room, but I could hear distant cries and bangs as the vampires led them through the traps. At least, I hoped that it was the witches who were setting them off. With such a short amount of time to work in, there was no full-proof way of working. When I reached the room, I caught one of the Hunters in the throat with Iris, as he stood at the end of the room with two others, before they knew what was going on. I used the surprise to my advantage, and let loose two normal arrows (I'd made them last night to accompany my explosive ones) straight into their chests. I retrieved Iris from the Hunter's neck, and slit the throats of the two others, before grabbing my arrows, cleaning my blade and continuing. I briefly considered taking their weapons, but with my bow, arrows and dagger, I doubted more weapons now would be anything other than a hindrance. I ran through the door at the other side of the room, and was about to cross the small hallway to the next door when the floor beneath me collapsed. I managed to grab the door handle and stop myself from falling into the rubble, where I saw three either unconscious or dead Hunters. That meant that I was getting closer, which also meant that I had no choice but to drop down onto the debris below. Avoiding the metal sticking out from the concrete, I scooted down the pile of rubble and took in my surroundings. There were no vampires in sight, but I could smell a fresh trail leading away from me. I jogged along it, shooting an arrow through an unfortunate Hunter who fell through a door to my left. I abandoned the arrow, deciding to keep up with whichever vampire I was following instead. The double doors, cracked and grey with age, burst open from the end of the room, and I just had time to duck behind a pillar before a group of Hunters came storming in. I knocked an explosive arrow, and aimed from around the pillar, turning it to point at the ceiling above them. The leader of the group saw me, but he didn't even have time to raise his lethal looking axe before I let the arrow loose. It struck the ceiling, and an ear-splitting bang sent me reeling backwards. I covered my head as stone and rubble landed around me. Before the dust had settled, I was back on my feet, checking for survivors. When I was satisfied there were none, I kicked the stone away until I found the axe that had been close to ending my life. I felt its weight carefully, before sliding it into my quiver, letting it take the place of the two missing arrows. I ran from the room, certain that the explosion was going to draw attention from the wrong people.
I must have taken out about six more Hunters, before I finally found any vampires. Esme and Carlisle were back to back, battling off three or four Hunters each. I managed to kill three with arrows before they turned on me too. I dodged a dagger aimed at my face, before taking Iris to the group. I'd kill more at short range than long. I slashed at one, catching him off guard and leaving him blinded. He screamed, and tripped back into another, buying me some time. A looming Hunting, at least seven foot tall and all muscle, came at me with a giant, dual-blade axe that made mine look like a toy. His torso was a no-go zone as he swung the heavy weapon at my midriff. I jumped backwards, but the blade slid across the front of my stomach, leaving the area burning. I wasn't sure of the damage, but I could still move, which couldn't mean that it was too bad. He gripped the axe with one hand and tried to grab me with the other, but I had speed and agility on my side. I slipped out of his reach, and he growled angrily, losing him temper by the moment. He swung the heavy weapon at me again, but I ducked and slid beneath his legs, hacking away with Iris as I went. He roared and stumbled forward. I sliced the flesh behind his knees, making him buckle, before I leapt onto his back. I climbed to his shoulders, and as he dropped the axe and grabbed at my hair, I plunged Iris into his skull. He fell to the ground, but not before he'd pulled me from his shoulders by my hair, freeing it from its bounds and making me cry out as I landed, winded, on my back in front of him. Before I'd recovered, another Hunter was on me, pinning me down with knees presseing on my shoulders, his sword positioned above my chest. I reached for Iris, still embedded in the man's skull, but I couldn't reach. There was no way around the Hunter and the venomous glare he was giving me. He was above to plunge the sword into my ribs, when a blurred shape hit him from the side, knocking him away. Carlisle, with unexpected ferocity, broke the Hunter's neck and threw him to the ground, before helping me up. "Are you alright?" He asked, a streak of witch blood from another victim on his cheek.
"Yeah. Thanks," I said. He darted off to join Esme as she finished off the last of the Hunters. They were better fighters than I'd expected, I'll give them that. I put my foot on the giant Hunter's neck and tugged the dagger from his shaved head, before giving it a quick wipe on his shirt. Carlisle, Esme and I moved out of the room, into a corridor where I shot down three Hunters with my bow. Carlisle raised an eyebrow at my skill, obviously surprised by my easy violence, but I didn't have time for annoyance. Instead, I retrieved my arrows, abandoning one that had snapped on impact, and we moved along. "What happened?" I asked them as we jogged along the dust-filled corridors.
"After you left, we moved out of the back door and split up. Esme and I were with Rosalie to begin with, but she got separated when they came. From what I know, Emmett went with the others." He paused, before adding, "I heard someone get hurt, but I don't know who it was."
I thought about what he'd said about Rosalie. If she was alone, that wasn't very good for her chances, but I had no time for worrying. We found a huge room, obviously the main storage area from the containers creating a maze through the place. A commotion was coming from somewhere in the middle of the room – which meant that the other vampires were probably here, unless they got split up too. I spotted a room in the top corner, with a ladder leading to the ground. Some kind of control room probably. "I need to get up there," I said to the two vampires.
"Would you like me to carry you?" Carlisle asked,
I shook my head, "No, without defence, they'll kill us straight away. If you two join the fight, and try and keep them distracted, I'll go over."
They looked unhappy at my plan, especially the part about me going over the containers, but they nodded. I used the metal legs sticking out from one side of the container, and climbed up onto it. Keeping my head down, I sprinted and leapt over containers as far as I could before an arrow soared over my shoulder. I threw myself down as a hand axe joined it, just missing my back. I crawled forward on my stomach, until I could see the battle ensuing below me. There was an open area of concrete in the middle of the containers, with chains and hooks hanging precariously above the fighting immortals. I saw Edward, Emmett, and the blonde hair of Rosalie whip around as they tore apart the oncoming army of Hunters. I couldn' t help but notice how neither Jasper nor Alice were present. I was amazed, however, that the others had lasted so long. I couldn't use my explosive arrows on the Hunters – not with the vampires in the way – but as another group surged in from a path between two containers, I let one loose into the middle of them, blowing them apart before they even had a go at a vampire. As the explosion disorientated the fighters, I used my chance; I got up and began to run again, leaping from container to container as I made my way to the control room. Just before I reached it, a sharp pain in the back of my thigh made me buckle. I tripped, but I didn't stop as I jumped to the ladder, and scrambled up it before any other weapons found their target. Once I was in the safety of the small room, I inspected my wound. A dagger, a little smaller than Iris, has dug itself into the back of my thigh. I growled at the rising pain, and holding my leg tightly, pulled it out. I couldn't help but let out a cry. I unzipped my jacket and ripped a shred of fabric from it, before tying it around the top of my thigh, stemming the blood flowing from the wound. It wouldn't last, but for now, it was all I could do. Picking up the bow I'd dropped on the way in, I made sure that Iris was sheathed before I moved over to the windows facing the commotion. Using my other leg, I kicked the glass out, before readying my bow. I used regular arrows - that wouldn't kill vampires – and most hit the Hunters, but some occasionally bounced off of a battling vampire, not that they noticed. Eventually, the witches began to notice and a group was dispatched, heading straight for the ladder. I managed to kill a few on the way, but at least five were still going before they reached the ladder. Knocking an explosive arrow, I aimed it at the hatch. When the first Hunter appeared, he released an arrow at me as I released mine back. His arrow, thankfully a regular one, caught my shoulder, sending me falling backwards as my arrow detonated. The blast not only stopped the oncoming Hunters, it brought down the whole room. With me in it.
...
Merry Christmas to you all! And what a festive fanfiction...
Please review!
Thank you :)