Free Why These Two by Jackie Ivie Page B

seven.”
    “I’m a Hunter. And a damn good one. See these patches here?” The guy pointed to a large, sewn-on, blend of color just above his chest pocket. It resembled a full-bird colonel’s patch collection.
    “Yeah.”
    “These on top are rare. They’re given for pair kills. I have four. You know what that means?”
    Darryl’s heart reacted with a thump that hurt. He tensed slightly, even as he worked to staunch it. He narrowed his eyes. Forced his body to endure what was turning into real pain and suffering. Finally got it subdued. Damn everything! He didn’t love Reika! He didn’t. He couldn’t. It wouldn’t work. He was a heartless soldier. To the bone. All he wanted was his freedom.
    “Well? Cat got your tongue?”
    Of course he knew. They were using him to bait Reika, and then – if he was unwilling to join up – well. He was going to be the reason one of them got a fresh pair patch.
    “Why don’t you tell me?” he asked finally.
    “Vampires kill easy. If you know where to hit. And what to use.”
    “A wooden stake through the heart. Let me guess,” Darryl replied.
    “Yeah,” the kid at his right side spoke up. “Only if you use consecrated wood made from a cross, it’s even more devastating.”
    “There’s something more devastating than death?” Darryl asked.
    “No. I meant, you don’t even have to hit the heart. Or…where they used to have a heart. Any hit with one of our special arrows will disable a vampire. That makes it easier to get close for the kill.”
    “That why you carry crossbows?”
    “Not all of us. Hans over there? He’s got a longbow. Gets great distance and accuracy. And Geoff prefers a Hunic backward curving bow. Don’t know why.”
    “Because it’s quicker, dumbass. More power at any range.”
    Darryl looked at the guy opposite and to the farthest right. Hans. He didn’t look like a Hans. He looked part African. He had a long bow all right. It topped his head by a foot. It was probably over five feet long. It was held against his left leg, the one closest to the cab wall. The fellow named Geoff was on their side of the truck, far left, at the rear. Darryl couldn’t see him, and didn’t bother looking. Scoping for weapons was in his plan. Getting caught doing it, wasn’t.
    “I’m rather partial to knives,” he told them.
    “You’ll like ours, then,” the young kid replied.
    “Why?”
    Young Kid pulled a combat knife from his belt on the far side, where Darryl couldn’t see. It took him some time to unlatch it. Over two seconds. And he had to look. The blade was double-edged and eight inches in length. Highly polished. Rarely used.
    “They’re special-made. They use Holy Water in the quenching process, while a vial of it is hidden in the hilt. Right…here.”
    The kid unscrewed the compass at the top and tipped it, revealing a vial of innocuous-looking liquid. Put it back. Screwed the top back on. It took him another three seconds to get it back in its scabbard and secured. And he had to look as he did it.
    “Knives aren’t much use against a vampire. Only for the kill. And severing a head, if it comes to that. Beheading will kill a vampire just as much as a stake through the heart. It takes longer though. And there’s a bit more blood to it. Charlie really likes doing that, though. Don’t you, Charlie? “
    “You know it, kid.”
    Charlie was the guy exactly opposite Darryl. He had a wicked-looking blade, the match to Stephen’s, only it was in his hand within a blink’s time of speaking up. And he didn’t have to look.
    “Charlie’s specialty is the blood eagle. Do you know what that is?”
    “Uh…no.”
    He did. He just had to gain some time to halt the reaction. A rush of pain radiated through his chest, before getting chased away by something close to anger. Then rage. His body was probably showing it, and if they had his vision capability, they’d know it. None of it seemed to stop his narrator. The kid was oblivious to