The Hunters

Chapter 1

In the forest of Bexna, a young girl was on the run. Her white hair was loose, blowing across her face as she ran, her eyes a steel cold green, focused on her mission. Her clothes were made from cloth as the armour she wore was made of leather so that she can move quickly and quietly. The trees were blowing by her as she ran, not missing a beat or tripping. Her breath came out in steady breaths. Then as she came to a small clearing, she slowed down to a stop and looked around, her eyes scanning the trees, looking for any sign of movement. Not seeing any signs of movement, she closed her eyes, listening for any sounds of movement. And at the slightest movement of a leaf and she turned quickly, her sword drawn and the tip was pressing into a pale white neck. “Trying to sneak up on me now?” Naji raised a brow at the vampire. The vampire smirked at her, “Now why would I do that lass?” The vampire stepped back and whistled, others slowly came out from the trees, looking over Naji with hunger,licking their lips. Naji kept her eyes on them, seeing as how they were circling her. “I want you to leave the village of ArrowLight.They have asked me to take care of a little problem they've been having.” As she said this, she got in a defensive stance, watching the vampires around, ready to doge if they were ready to lunge. And what she thinks the leader of the vampires laughed and stepped forward once again. “And should we do that lassie? We are hungry and just want to eat.” Naji looked at the vampire in its dark red eyes, “Because they want to be left in peace. Now you either leave them alone or I will leave you in pieces.” The Leader thought this over, knowing that Naji would hold herself to her word of what she would do. But he also wanted to have a little fun with her as well. “Alright, we will leave. But next time, we won't be leaving so easily.” He turned and then he was gone, the others doing the same. Naji let out a breath of relief, glad to know that she won't have to be spilling any blood today. But as Naji starts walking back towards the village, happy to give the village what they want, something flies by her face, landing in the tree next to her. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to find the area where the weapon came from but didn't see anything. Naji continued her walk back to the village but before she could make it out of the woods, something grabbed her arm and threw her back against a tree. She cried out in pain, the impact knocking the breath out of her. She heard a dark chuckle and saw the vampire stepping forward, a smug grin across his face. “Well well well, did you really think that we would leave just a prime hunting spot? The humans here taste so good.” Naji gritted her teeth, struggling to stand up. “I'm going to kill you, do you understand me?” she said as she used the tree to support her weight for the time being. The vampire laughed, the sound echoing through the night and sending chills down Najis spine, “Oh please. Lassie, you can hardly stand on your own. What makes you think you can kill us?” Naji started to chuckle, a small coming across her face. “Because I know I can. You guys throwing me against a tree? I've had much worse training to kill you lot.” Naji stood straighter, and drew her sword once more. “I hope that you're all ready to die tonight.” And she lunged at the leader but before she could swing, he jumped back in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to make such a quick recovery. But before he could think anymore, Naji turned suddenly and cut him across his chest, causing him to fall backwards. She walked over to the vampire and bent down to his level, a little blood splattered on her face. The vampire hissed and bared his teeth but that only lasted for a moment before she grabbed him by his neck and lifted him high off the ground. As she looked at the other vampires who were around her, fear showing in their eyes as they knew that their leader was as good as dead. “I warned you to leave this place and that if you didn't, I would kill you. You did not heed my warning and now you shall pay. With your blood.” She says quietly, her eyes narrowing as she looked among the vampires then looked up at the leader. “I hope that you're ready to die.” Before the vampire could say anything, she dropped him to the ground and cut off his head before he could try to get away. The blood splattered all over Naji as the body went limp, the head rolling towards the other vampires. Naji pulled a cloth out of the pocket from her vest and said, “I would leave here if I were you. And never return. Unless you would like to join your leader in Hell.” Before anything else could be said or done, the vampires were gone in a flash. Naji sighed and continued to wipe the blood off of her. As she finished cleaning the blood off, she turned and started her walk towards the village once again. As she exited the woods, she saw the gates of the village standing high and proud. And at the gates of the village stood the village chief. His gray hair pulled back tightly into a low ponytail, his bright blue eyes that sparkled and always have a story to share and the smile that showed across his face as she walked up to him showed that he was relieved. Naji walked to the chief, feeling the pressure leave her body some, knowing that the children of this village will be safe. “The vampires are gone. Now where is what you said you would pay me with?” Naji asked. The chief nodded and said, “Follow me, but after I give you your gold, there is someone who would like to speak with you. I do not know why he wishes to speak with you. I told him that it was your choice.” Naji nodded and followed the chief back in his village. She could see the women and children looking at her, some with disgust and fear, others with shock and awe. She knew that vampire hunting was supposed to be a man's job but she wanted to prove them wrong and she did. She is one of the best vampire hunters in the land of Imura, but since she is a woman, she isn't as sought after as the men. When they made it to the Chiefs house, he walked inside and Naji waited outside, leaning against the side of the house. But a person walked up to Naji, seemingly almost taller than her. “Excuse me?” Naji looked up and seen the man standing in front of her, “May I help you?” The man seemed anxious, fidgeting and looking over his shoulder. “Are you Naji, The Vampire Hunter?” Naji raised a brow, her hand wanting to inch towards her sword on her hip. “And what's it to you?” The man let out a breath of relief. “Oh thank the gods. We must hurry. There is very little time to explain what is going on.” The man went to grab Najis hand and to pull her somewhere but she quickly pulled her hand back, her hand on the hilt of her sword, slowly drawing it out. “Who do you think you are? Laying your hands on me?” The man looked surprised but shook off whatever shock he had. “No, you don't underst-” Whatever else the man had to say was suddenly cut off as a strong gust of wind blew by. Najis covered her face, her hair blowing wildly. She dug her feet into the ground, trying to stay where she was. She opened eye slightly, seeing the man in the same position as her. His golden brown hair was blowing wildly, his eyes closed shut. Soon, the wind stopped but only for lightning to start striking the ground at random. Naji dodged a bolt of lightning, rolling across the ground. She got up on one knee and saw the people of the village running, trying to avoid the lightning. Naji got up off the ground and ran around, grabbing the people who couldn't dodge as well and put them safely in their houses. She saw a blur go by her and turned her head, seeing the man doing the very same thing. Then she looked up in the sky, a dark cloud floating over everything, the lightning shooting from it. The man looked up and his eyes widened with surprise, “Renzac! Stop! Why are you doing this!?” His dark blue eyes showed fear as he was looking up at the person on the dark cloud. Naji finally noticed that there was someone standing on the dark cloud, covered in a cloak, hiding everything but their hands. Renzac didn't say anything but two words, “Power Magius.” And held his hands up, the sleeves of his cloak going up a little, showing black markings along his hands and arms. Naji tried to run to the one called Magius but before she could even get close to him, the wind started to swirl around him, almost making a force field of sorts. Magius looked at Naji, feeling the sharpness of the wind cutting into him. “You have to gather the others! Gather the others and come find me! Yo-” Before he could say anything else, he suddenly disappeared. Naji looked up and the man, scowling. “Bring him back! NOW!” She drew her sword, ran towards the man and jumped high in the air, wanting to knock him down to her leve, on the ground. But before she could even get close, the man flicked his wrist and she flew to the side of a building, the walls crumbling around her from the force of the impact. Naji struggled to stay awake, reaching out to the man. But he was already floating away from her, causing havoc around him. The last thing she sees is fire everywhere, people running to safety wherever they could, only to drop dead before her as her visions blurs. The last thing she hears is the ringing in her ears, wondering why it wouldn't stop. And the last thing she smells is the scent of burning flesh and wood, wanting to make her gag and choke. But only a few seconds later, she blacked out.