Chapter 4 Heart #4
"You’re encroaching on Hunter territory again.
" Rin was on edge. Something about this man… She couldn’t explain what he was doing to her.
Maybe it was the simple fact of him being a Soul Searcher—they were blessed beings.
Chosen Souls who died and went to the Stars, gifted immortality and capable of many great feats, then tasked with reaping Souls.
But it was hard to even stare at him for too long. As if she were staring straight into the sun. Blinding.
Her arm was steady as she held the Echogun, uncaring that it was a grave offense to harm a blessed Soul Searcher.
"Soul Searchers do not abide by the laws of your government, Hunter.
There is no place we cannot go." He walked closer to her, boots silent. The muzzle of her gun was a breath away from his chest. He seemed not to care. In fact, if Rin had to guess, she’d say he was amused by her. "Nothing is hidden from us."
Rin’s eyes narrowed, and she dared to cross the scant space between them, pressing the tip of her gun against his chest. The side of his lip twitched.
"I do not want you on my assignment, Soul Searcher." If he were to view her as nothing more than a faceless Hunter, then he would be nothing more than a Soul Searcher. "I want to do this alone. I work better on my own, anyway."
He hummed again, blue eyes sparkling with mirth. His gloved hand raised, pressing on the top of her gun as he lowered it from his chest. She felt the force he used, a quiet sort of strength—a sort she was no match against.
He stepped to the side, and she followed, Echogun trailing after him, even though she knew the bullets within it were perfectly curated to kill Rogues.
They could be deadly to humans and other creatures, yes, but each bullet was engineered in a specific way to be the deadliest to Rogues.
Laced with chemicals that reacted with Rogue blood and dissolved into their bloodstream on impact, just as Echoswords had blades designed in the same fashion.
But still, a bullet would hurt. Even for an immortal.
The Soul Searcher started to circle her, the end of the scythe barely brushing against the ground as he held it lowered, non-threatening.
"You are quick. Nimble," he commented. "And clearly well-trained. Does the Hunter’s Guild enjoy your obedience? Are you a good guard dog for them?"
Rin swung around to face him, dropping her arm slightly in her anger. "I am no one’s dog, Soul Searcher. What about you? Are you a good little bitch for the Celestials?"
Her tone was sardonic, dripping acid. Everyone knew the Celestials had long since abandoned them, and in the process, conjured up other religions to keep them from spiraling and wondering what the point of it all was.
Rin believed in nothing but herself and the Stars—they had never abandoned her. Even now, they shone up above.
"Careful, you do not know the beings with which you play."
Her mouth opened to fire back a retort, but she was stopped by a beep from her watch.
"Nova warning," Rin said aloud.
And just as she did so, the Soul Searcher stiffened, dragging his scythe before him in a strong, crossed line, feet planted firmly on the ground and eyes scouring the darkness of the trees.
"We have company."
There was a baying sound first, alerting them to the Rogues, then, through the thick trees, at least a dozen emerged. Their bodies were crafted of black rock laced with blue veins, pointed heads tipped down as they surveyed their newest meals.
"Shit, shit," Rin chanted. "We’re surrounded."
As she scoured the Rogues, she realized, once again, they were all midlevel. Some the size of a lion, others a small bear.
They were fucked.
"Do not worry, Hunter. I thought you worked well alone?" The Soul Searcher’s tone was at ease, even as he took up guard on her right side, leaving her to deal with the left.
It was smooth and easy, like a dance honed with decades of practice. Rin found her back skimming his, and they slowly circled, never stopping their quiet, sure steps as they prepared to face the Rogues.
"I do when there’s not a dozen Rogues ready to make me their dinner.
" Rin raised her Echogun, quickly checking the chamber to find the cartridge mostly full. Good, she’d need all the bullets she could get.
Five spares lined the sides of her corset-style harness, so she wasn’t worried about running out.
"The one on your left—with the forepaw extended—that one will attack first," the Soul Searcher said lowly.
Rin aimed her Echogun at the Rogue he had indicated, and the monster’s nostrils flared, the only warning right before it charged.
She didn’t even have time to pull the trigger.
The Soul Searcher swept his scythe forward in a perfect arc, quick as a blur, as it cut straight through the Rogue at an angle.
The top half of its body slid to the side with a grotesque wet sound.
He hadn’t even broken a sweat.
"Good hit," Rin commented, already raising her gun to fire at another Rogue, charging toward the Soul Searcher, while he pulled his scythe up and away from the dead one at his feet. It fell to the ground in a heap, her bullets ripping right through it.
He grunted, leaping to her exposed side and swiping down his scythe to cut through a smaller Rogue. "You, as well."
And so, they danced.
Twirling and spinning around each other in a perfectly choreographed routine. It was as though they had been fighting together for centuries.
Her heart was pounding, her breath was becoming labored, and sweat dotted her brow. She couldn’t give up. The Rogues kept coming. As soon as one was felled, another seemed to materialize out of thin air, taking its place as it emerged between the trees.
She unloaded the empty cartridge, throwing it over her shoulder as she reached for one of the full ones at her side, clicking it into the chamber of her Echogun within seconds. She fired, her shoulders aching from how long she had been holding her arms out.
The Soul Searcher spun, cutting through Rogue after Rogue, not seeming to realize that Rin was flagging.
Something in her chest spasmed.
Oh god, no.
She stumbled, hands tingling, as her Echogun slipped from her grip.
A nearby Rogue roared, its rancid breath blowing over her face hotly.
Its black eyes fixed on her, and she fumbled, reaching down to grasp for her gun.
Her chest ached, pain lancing through her as black spots crowded the edges of her vision.
She tumbled forward to the ground with a soft whimper, clutching at her chest.
Her heart rate was too erratic. Speeding up. Slowing down. She felt faint.
This was what Lucien had been worried about.
Rin groaned, reaching with weak fingers for her discarded Echogun.
Just as the Rogue thundered to a stop right above her, drool dripping from its maw and falling on her face.
She stared right into its mouth, down past the gleaming, serrated teeth, so sharp it could rend through her flesh like paper.
It was getting harder to breathe. Her hand stilled on the ground, unable to even muster enough energy to reach for her gun.
Rin always knew she was going to die, but she didn’t want to die like this.
She weakly kicked out with her legs, scrambling for purchase on the ground.
"Vesperin!" the Soul Searcher roared.
She gasped, bringing her foot up to shove against the Rogue’s belly.
It was like trying to move a mountain. Clicking hisses shivered over her skin.
A paw stomped by her head, claws digging into the dirt.
Its nostrils flared, smelling her. But it did not attack.
With a low, rumbling growl, it tore its head away from her, tipping its mouth upward to let loose a trilling cry.
Slowly, it retreated, pulling away from her, its pointed head lowering to the ground.
She couldn’t believe it.
With a sick thwacking sound, the gleaming blade of the Soul Searcher’s scythe cut right through it. Dead.
He appeared above her, light blonde hair disheveled and stray drops of blood on his pale cheeks. He held out a gloved hand. "Are you okay? Vesperin?" He sounded worried.
She tapped a weak hand against her chest. "I—no."
Her lids fluttered, and she was just aware enough to notice him kneeling by her side, bare hands pressing against her cheeks. "Vesperin." He shook her shoulders, making her groan. "Are you hurt anywhere? Please."
They weren’t safe. Far from it.
Behind him, with bleary eyes, Rin saw a flash of darkness as a Rogue charged. The Soul Searcher spun in a low arc, blade cutting right through the creature’s neck. More kept coming.
She was going to pass out.
She slapped a hand against the ground, drawing his attention to her. "Don’t worry… about me," she wheezed. "Kill… them." She could barely get a word out.
His eyes hardened, but he dipped his chin in a jerky nod, rising to face off the Rogues.
One fell, and then another, but more kept coming, and through the specks of darkness in her vision, she could see him start to tire, shouldering them alone.
Her heart slowed, then sped up, then slowed again. The Rogues ignored her, leaving a large, untouched circle around her.
It felt like her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest, the infected organ too big and too dangerous to be contained within its cage of flesh and bone.
She whimpered, eyes squeezing shut.
Make it stop. Please.
It hurts.
She didn’t know who she was praying to.
The air grew charged, filled with a thousand tiny sparkles, like electricity reacting with the very air.
And from within her chest, a blazing white light rushed out, filling the air with unimaginable power.