Vampire Hunter’s Revenge

Chapter Four

Eva awoke for the second time in as many months to the feel of a thin cot separating her from a solid iron bunk. Her entire body ached, and a groan of discomfort left her lips as she rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes. She was back in Sanctuary, lying on one of the bunks that was lowered from the wall when needed.

There were no restraints securing her to the bunk, so she released a sigh of relief and carefully pushed herself into a sitting position. No restraints meant she'd made it through the twenty-four hour quarantine without any symptoms of turning. As she swung her feet to the floor, she noticed she was wearing a soft robe rather than her usual pants and shirt. It was likely to make tending to her injuries easier for Kristin, but that wasn't necessary anymore.

It was a brief struggle to stand, as her body was still weak from the severe blood loss. Her head spun and her vision swam, causing her to grab hold of the edge of the bunk to keep herself from collapsing. Thankfully, the dizzy spell passed in a few moments, and Eva began to slowly and carefully make her way back towards the bedroom.

As she crossed the living room, she noticed a couple of other bunks had been lowered from the wall, though they were currently empty. Her stomach twisted as she remembered Jayce and Ransford in the cage with her. If they had turned, she was grateful that she had been unconscious during it.

The door pushed open behind her, and Eva spun around with a start, the sudden movement causing her to lose her balance. After stumbling a couple steps, she was able to catch herself on the back of the recliner, and looked up to see Kristin pushing a tray of medical supplies into the room.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Her friend declared, and Eva relaxed just a little when the woman crossed the salt line without hesitation. "You need a salt bath, and I really didn't want to have to bring one of the men down here to carry you."

Eva groaned and leaned against the chair. "You don't think I've been drained enough?" Not only did the salt burn her open wounds, but it didn't discriminate about which energy it drew from a body. Those baths always left her feeling exhausted and weak for at least a day. She was already exhausted and weak.

Kristin didn't let the question phase her and pushed the tray towards the bathroom. "That's the only reason I waited this long to do it. You needed to regain some of your strength in order for it to be safe." The redheaded woman disappeared into the bathroom as she spoke, the last of her sentence becoming muffled.

It was the first part of her statement that had Eva's brow furrowing in confusion. "How long have I been out?" she called to her friend. Straightening away from the chair, she slowly started to follow her into the next room.

Turning on the faucet in the tub and checking the temperature, Kristin didn't turn to look at the other woman as she answered the question. "Four days." It had been twice as long as last time... but Damian had also drained her more than he had last time.

No one said it, but they all knew he had been preparing her to turn. Drain her to the brink of death... then offer her a lifeline of exactly what her body craved, what would bind her to him forever. It wouldn't be enough for him to force her to drink. He'd want her to take it for herself, to be desperate for it.

As Kristin began to pour the salt into the gradually-filling tub, Eva resigned herself to her fate and removed her robe. Modesty around Kristin was pointless, as she was the one who always treated their injuries whenever they came back from a Hunt. To them it was no different than being bare around a nurse in a hospital. She hesitated briefly before turning her arms to inspect the new wounds on the inside of her wrists. They were ugly and deep, but healing.

When the tub was full and the salt completely dissolved, she carefully stepped into the water and slowly submerged herself. Ragged gasps and whimpers escaped her as the water slid over the open wounds. She kept going though, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before lying back completely.

The familiar buoyant feeling of the salt bath was soothing, in spite of the pain. She could feel her hair floating around her like a halo, the ceramic of the tub barely touching her body. Eva stayed fully submerged until her lungs burned for oxygen, then she lifted her head just enough for her face to break the surface so she could breathe. The water slid across her skin with every breath, a gentle ebb and flow like a tide.

The shift she felt in her aura was also familiar and comforting. She felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted from her spirit. She felt cleaner, like taking a shower after getting covered in mud. It was these sensations she paid the most attention to. Once that feeling of freedom had completely filled her, she slowly pushed herself up out of the water.

Pulling the plug on the drain, she sat there, feeling the water slowly pull away from her body. Kristin didn't say anything, but waited patiently for the water to finish draining before pulling the medical supplies closer. The wounded Hunter laid back against the wall of the tub, resting her head and arms along the edges to expose her wounds.

Not a word passed between the two women as Kristin set to work examining and sterilizing the punctures. The bleeding had stopped a couple days ago and the infection was under control, so there wasn't a need to bandage them at the moment. "They're looking good," she told Eva quietly as she straightened away and set the tube of saline on the tray. "Just be careful how you move, and go ahead and put some gauze over it if any of them start bleeding again."

Eva nodded, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. Kristin assisted with a hand on her back, and once she was steady she handed her a towel. "You might want to go ahead and get dressed, too. Zack has been dying to come check on you." Her voice carried a playfully teasing tone, and Eva rolled her eyes as she wrapped the towel around her body.

"Thanks for the heads up," she replied dryly. Kristin chuckled and started to push the tray out of the bathroom, when Eva's hesitant voice stopped her. "How... how are the others?"

"They're fine," she reassured her with a smile. "We found several victims that had been drained completely, but Jayce and Ransford had only been fed on by the ones that captured them. My guess is they were being saved for something Damian has planned."

Knowing her friends were safe drew a breath of relief from her lungs, but the possibility of Damian having something big planned for them concerned her. She noted the present tense way her friend spoke about him, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. "I take it they weren't able to kill him?"

Kristin sighed, pausing for a moment before answering carefully. "No. He was gone by the time they were able to go back in."

Eva nodded slowly as she processed the information, and the possibilities it involved. "I'd like to stay in Sanctuary until he's gone," she finally whispered quietly.

Understanding dawned on her friend's face, and the woman nodded. "Of course. I'll keep you updated."

Another nod and a whisper of thanks, then Eva started drying herself off while her friend left the bunker. There had been a time that she would refuse to spend her days hiding, but things had changed. Once a vampire had your scent, they could track you to the ends of the earth. Damian's obsession with claiming her was strong enough that no one would be safe if he found her. Situations such as this were exactly the reason Sanctuary existed in the first place.

It wasn't used often, but every now and then a Hunter got in over their heads and needed a safe place to lay low until they could get the upper hand again. That was all Eva was doing, she told herself as she toweled her hair dry. She wasn't hiding, she was lying low until she could get the upper hand. The fact that she doubted she'd ever be able to get the upper hand over Damian was a thought that she didn't allow herself to entertain.

***

When Eva opened the door to let Zack in, he immediately noticed that she looked to be in better shape than he had expected. The bite marks on her body weren't covered, and there weren't as many stitches on her chest as there had been last time. Her skin was a much healthier shade of bronze, her brown hair hung loose around her shoulders, hiding the marks on her neck and making it easier not to think about what had happened to her.

Without a word, she stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him. Zack held up the bags he'd brought with him. "Hope you like Thai and whiskey."

That brought a smile to her face, and she gestured for him to set it on the coffee table while she went to the small kitchen area to grab a couple glasses. "I'm probably going to hate myself tomorrow, but after four days of being tube fed I'm hungry enough to not care." It wasn't like she had anywhere she had to be the next day, anyway.

Zack set up the containers and plasticware where she'd be able to reach them easily from the couch. "I did think about that," he reassured her. "I had them make it without the usual spice." The solid food, and certainly the alcohol, might still be rough on her... but at least it wouldn't be as bad as if the food was spicy also.

"I appreciate that," she told him with a genuine smile as she carried the ice-filled glasses over and set them on the coffee table.

He poured the drinks, and she started eating, the aroma and taste of the delicious food causing her stomach to rumble, reminding her of just how long it had been since she'd actually eaten. Rather than trying to converse with her immediately, Zack let her eat, content for the moment with just being there and having the reassurance that she would be alright.