Hunter Maximus

I decide to ignore him and his determination to turn me back into a vampire. I already had a solution forming in mind; which involved finding Luke... and a couple of other steps along the way.

For now I simply watch Maximus. I am highly entertained at the scene playing out before me.

Maximus is screwing up his face making very strange expressions as he tastes food again for the first time. He got soup and bread, something light to start off with. I go for the sandwiches while I see him slowly drink up his pumpkin soup.

“I thought I use to like pumpkin,” he says, “I’m not sure if I do or not anymore.”

“What is that supposed to mean? You either like it or you don’t,” I tease, sitting opposite him on the bed. I watch him, trying not to laugh while he now attempts a first bite of buttered bread after dipping it in the soup. He chews slowly and swallows – and starts coughing and choking.

I don’t know how he managed to fail at swallowing bread but seeing him swallow his first solid piece of food was painful to watch. He quickly drinks more soup to help it down and I put a hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh at his discomfort.

He glares at me.

“I didn’t realise you’d fail so quickly at being a human, Maximus,” I explain with a smirk, chowing down on my sandwich and swallowing proudly in front of him, showing off.

“I think my throat tightened up over the centuries,” he says, with a raised eyebrow, “Liquid blood was the only thing going down my throat for all that time, give me a break.”

“You know, you ask me to be easy on you but you have no respect for me. You turned me against my will, kidnapped me, tried to enslave me,” I accuse, narrowing my eyes at him, “I think you need to go to school again, where they teach us how to respect each other regardless of gender... did you even go to school –” I’m interrupted by a loud crackling coming from the corners of the room.

I see Maximus freeze, eyes worried.

“The emergency speaker system was just turned on, this never happens unless there is a dire emergency,” he snaps, ”Don’t speak.”

So much for trying to give him a talk on what respect meant in the twenty-first century.

“Ladies and gentlemanly vampires...” The King’s voice booms out of the speakers, “Sorry to interrupt and use the emergency speaker system but it has come to my attention that all humans in this palace are spies! Every single one of them must be killed – as of this very moment. This is a direct order from your King – do as you are told, anyone who defies me will be decapitated on sight. Oh and... kill them slowly –” The King chuckles insanely afterwards.

I look to Maximus with a raised eyebrow.

He looks just as confused as me.

“Did he just say, kill all the humans?” I ask, rhetorically.

“I don’t understand why...” Maximus trails off, he has dropped the spoon and bread back into the soup as he considers what this all means.

“Will people take him seriously?” I ask, “What about vampires who have relationships with humans?”

“The speaker system is only used when direct orders must be handed out immediately or an emergency needs to be brought to everyone’s attention. I need to go see what the hell is happening,” Maximus climbs off the bed, putting his soup on the bedside table.

I quickly follow him, standing in front of him to block his way.

"Do you want to die?" I ask.

“I’ll be fine, everyone knows me –”

“Some people hate you,” I snap harshly, but it was the only way to make him realise how stupid he was being, “There are vampires in this palace, who I bet you’ve pissed off over the centuries. It’s just in your nature to be an annoying prick. You’re a human now, you’re an easy target. They’ll be able to sense you’ve changed. Let Darrius and Xavier handle this.”

Maximus hesitates and considers what I’ve said. Before he can reply there are faint footsteps running towards our door and loud knocking soon follows.

“Maximus, Isobel, it’s me, Jennifer!” Jennifer calls out from the other side, sounding nervous. I try to keep my cool as I go to answer the door. I open it and Caitlin and Jennifer rush inside. Caitlin’s holding a weapon.

“Do you know why the announcement was made?” Maximus asks them, looking a little nervous himself.

“We have no idea,” Jennifer explains, “But we need to leave, we are all in danger – and Caitlin needs our help urgently. We only have forty minutes left to save her sister. Eddrick is going to kill her.”

“Wait, slow down,” I snap, “What does Eddrick want with her?"

Caitlin looks offended by my slightly rude question, but it was fair enough considering she had nothing to do with the prophecy.

“I’m being blackmailed,” Caitlin explains quickly, “If I don’t kill Jennifer, he’ll kill my sister. He is residing at my house with my parents – Clyde and Rose Drysdale, heard of them?”

“Oh shit,” I say, no way. They were the richest couple in the whole city and it was publicly known they had a missing daughter, the other daughter had drowned to her death... “But your sister...?”

“Eddrick brought her back to life,” Caitlin holds onto the hilt of her short sword even tighter, “We don’t have much time. We’re going to save my sister and kill Eddrick. Staying here isn’t safe. There is no time to discuss this. Are you both in or out?”

“Alright,” Maximus suddenly sparks to life, but he doesn’t look happy about the situation, “We’re coming to help you. Have you told Darrius or Xavier about this?” he directs this to both Caitlin and Jennifer, scolding them.

“We don’t have time, I don’t even know where they are,” Jennifer snaps, her cheeks going red in anger, “This isn’t the time to get all disciplined on us, you don’t even have that right anymore. You’re a weak human, like us. Suck it up, Maximus.”

Maximus opens his mouth to snap back some quick witty reply, no doubt... but he hesitates. He clenches his fists, holding back.

“Don’t rub it in, princess. I’ll get some weapons, we’ll take a car from the garage,” he glares at Jennifer with a hurt ego, but we don’t have time to deliberate anymore.

We were now going on a spontaneous rescue mission and an assassination attempt.

I hadn’t met Eddrick in the flesh, all I knew is he was one evil bastard. I was secretly scared about meeting him, yet alone trying to kill him. However that was a fear I could deal with later.

Now we had to get out of the palace...

...without getting killed first.

After Maximus hands out some weapons he has stored in his room, he directs Jennifer and Caitlin that we are going to go through the secret entrance just outside his room to make it to the garage. He hoists them up quickly into the celling and when he turns to me I see a dark look in his eye.

“What?” I ask, confused by his suspicious glare my way.

“Hurry up,” Jennifer hurries us from up in the hole. There was no commotion yet in the palace, but any second vampires would realise they couldn’t disobey a direct order unless they wanted to lose their own lives as punishment...

However Maximus ignores Jennifer’s rushing and leans down to whisper in my ear instead.

“If you even try to use this opportunity to try and run back to Luke and his vampire hunter friends,” he whispers threateningly, “I will spank your ass until it is so red you’ll never be able to walk, let alone run from me or this palace ever again.”

I step back from him, shocked.

“Just hoist me up into the damn ceiling, you idiot, we don’t have time to argue,” I snap, feeling a little rattled that he now knew me so well he had caught on to my thoughts.

Maximus stares right into my bloody soul as I try to glare defiantly back at him but I can’t hide the fact that he had caught me off guard.

“Come here so I can hoist you up then,” he growls slowly.

I go to him grudgingly and I place my foot on his cupped hands and place my hands on his shoulders. He hoists me up into the hole and Jennifer and Caitlin grab my hands, helping me in all the way.

Maximus is so tall he jumps up and simply pulls himself through, struggling only a little.

Maximus might know me well enough to know I wanted to see Luke again now that I was human. But he couldn’t guess the rest of the plan, surely.

If Luke helped me go through the vampire hunter ritual, I could become a fully-fledged vampire hunter...

...the only being on this earth that couldn’t be transformed into a vampire.

Maximus wouldn’t be able to turn me, enslave me or even have me reside in the palace. I would be a free woman.

And if he wanted to be with me?

He could court me properly and learn to treat me with the respect I deserved.