Heart of the Hunted (Infernal Hearts Book 1) Read online

  "Bossy much?" she asked.

  "No, I just don't want to waste any more time. Especially not cooped up in a tin can," he said, looking around the room. "If you’re worried about not being able to see in the dark, then don't because I can see clearly enough for the both of us. Now let’s go."

  "Fine!" She snapped. "Can I at least get my stuff together first?"

  The Demon looked around the bare room, then looked at her as if she had gone mad.

  "What stuff?" he asked. "The place is empty."

  "Well, I couldn't leave everything lying around for you to find, could I?" she asked. "I was hiding from you after all."

  Seriously, how dumb could this Demon be?

  "That's true,” he agreed.

  "How did you know I was here?" she asked, intrigued to know the answer.

  "I heard you," he said blatantly.

  "Seriously? I didn't make any noise, I didn't even move,” she told him.

  "Yes, seriously. I know you didn't move," he said. "I heard you exhale."

  What the fuck?

  Natalia filed that bit of information away for future reference. From now on, she knew not to breath too loudly, otherwise she was going to get caught again. That's if she managed to get away from him in the first place.

  "Fine," he relented. "Get your stuff together, but be quick about it."

  "Thanks," she said, rolling her eyes as she walked back into the bedroom. When she realized he was following her, she asked: "Where are you going?"

  "With you, of course."

  "Why? It's not like there's anywhere for me to go in here," Natalia said.

  "How would I know?" he said, looking around the room. "There could be a secret passageway somewhere in here."

  "Well, for starters, I wouldn't have been hiding under the bed if there was," she told him.

  "You might have thought I wouldn't find you there," he said.

  She wasn't about to tell him that she had hoped he wouldn't have looked under the bed. So instead, she said: "Yeah right, because who wouldn't think to look under the bed?"

  From the look on his face, it was clear he had planned to look under the bed, but she gave away her location before he had the chance to.

  "I'm not that stupid, you know," she told him. "It's not as if I'm spoilt for choice when it comes to hiding places."

  Natalia grabbed her coat and satchel from under the bed where she had been hiding. She put her coat on and then draped the strap of the satchel over her shoulder before turning to face the Demon again.

  "Is that it?" he asked, looking at her meager belongings.

  "Well, yeah," she said. "This kind of life doesn't make it easy for carrying around a load of shit, you know. Everything I own needs to be easy to move at a moment’s notice, and it has to be easy enough to run with if need be."

  "I understand."

  "I don't think you do," she said, shaking her head. "How could you when you've never been hunted like I have?"

  "Just because I'm a Demon, doesn't mean I've never been hunted before."

  "Yeah, right," she said, rolling her eyes.

  "Believe what you want,” he said. “But it's the truth."

  "If it's the truth, then why do you hunt down and murder my kind?" When he didn't reply, she added: "Yeah, I didn't think so."

  "Come on," he said after a moment. "We need to get going now."

  "I still don't understand why we can't wait until morning," she said, but then it finally twigged on her. "You want to leave now so that your friend has less chance of winning the bet, don't you?"

  "I've already won the bet," he said adamantly.

  "How do you know?" she asked. "He could have captured one of us and you wouldn't even know about it because you're here with me."

  "There's no way Arun has caught a Human already," he said, shaking his head.

  "Why not? You have." It was the first time he's mentioned a name, but it still wasn't his.

  "Because he's not that good of a hunter, that's why."

  "But you are?" she asked sceptically.

  "Yes," he stated.

  "Because you're a Demon?" she asked.

  "Partly, but mostly because I am just a better hunter than him."

  "Okay then, whatever you say, Demon,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  "My name isn't Demon," he told her.

  "And?"

  "I would rather you call me by my name than refer to me as Demon all the time."

  "Would you like me to just guess your name?" she asked sarcastically. "Because you certainly haven't told me what it is."

  "I could say the same to you," he said pointedly.

  "So?" she said, glaring at him.

  At the end of the day, why would she be willing to tell him her name when he’d intended on killing her? She wouldn’t. It didn’t matter that he’d changed his mind and was now kidnapping her instead. The jury was still out on whether that was a good thing or not.

  "Fine, I'll go first. My name is Taredd, and your name is?" He raised an eyebrow at her expectantly.

  "Natalia,” she said reluctantly.

  "It's nice to meet you, Natalia,” he said, then smiled at her.

  The way her name rolled of his tongue sent shivers down her spine. Never before had she had such an effect just from someone saying her name, and she didn't like it one bit. Well, she did, but she certainly wasn't going to admit it aloud - ever.

  "I would say it's nice to meet you, but, you know,” she said, shrugging her shoulder. “That would be lying and my mom always taught me not to lie."

  "Well, the pleasure is all mine then,” he said, flashing that wicked smile at her again.

  "Great, you can keep all the pleasure,” she told him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at the same time.

  There was no way in hell she was going to show how he affected her, and she certainly wasn't going to tell him that this was the most entertainment she's had in a long time. Nope, those things she was going to keep to herself.

  Natalia had to admit, it was kind of nice not having anyone come running to her with problems to resolve, or constantly worrying about everyone else. And it only took getting caught by a Demon for that to finally happen.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Taredd

  Taredd didn't have a clue why he promised Natalia that she wasn't going to die, ultimately all Humans did, it was just a fact of life. As much as he didn't understand his reasons, he couldn't deny the fact that she was entertaining. He didn't know if all Humans were this entertaining, because he'd never spoken to one before. Let alone bantered with one like he was with her.

  To be honest, it was a welcome relief to know that she wasn't some blubbering idiot that was going to cry their eyes out the whole time. He quite enjoyed her sass, and for a Human, she was extremely attractive. So, he was finding it really easy to keep his promise to her.

  Taredd didn't think it would be the same way with any of the other Humans, but then again, he could be wrong. Especially since he had been so completely wrong about this one.

  For starters, he hadn't thought she would have put up such a fight when he had her pinned face down on the floor. But she wasn't giving up without a fight, even though she must have known she didn't stand a chance of overpowering him. Yet, she still tried to break free. He couldn't' help but admire her for that.

  Not many Humans would have done the same thing, and definitely not any of the females that he'd come across. Most of them seemed to accept their fate willingly, but not Natalia. No, if given the chance, he could imagine her fighting tooth and nail to stay alive, and he couldn't blame her. Taredd wouldn't go quietly either.

  "So, how far do you think we have to go?" she asked as she headed towards the ladder.

  "I'm not sure."

  "You're not even going to guess?" she asked.

  He could, but there was no point. Arun and Dain could be absolutely anywhere by now, and since he didn't think she would like that answer, he said: "No."


  "Why not?" she persisted.

  "Because it doesn't matter where they are,” he told her. “It'll take as long as it takes."

  Stopping at the bottom of the ladder, she turned to him and asked: "How long has it been since you saw them last?"

  "A couple of days."

  "Is that it?" she asked.

  "Yes, that's it," he said. Then, stopping her as she reached for the ladder, he told her: "I'll go first."

  "Why? Don't you trust me?" she asked.

  "No, I don't," he told her honestly.

  "But I already told you I wouldn't run off."

  Yeah, right, he thought before he said aloud:"That doesn't mean you won't try though."

  "So, you expect me to trust your word that you won't kill me, yet you’re not willing to trust that I won't run off? That seems a bit unfair, don't you think?" she said.

  "It doesn't matter if it's fair or not,” he said. “That's the way it is."

  "Fine!" she snapped, stepping out of the way. Holding her hand out towards the ladder, she added: "By all means, go first."

  "Thank you," Taredd said as he took the lead.

  "So, what are you going to do with me when you need to sleep?" she asked as she followed him. "Are you going to tie me to a tree or something?"

  Taredd couldn't deny the thought had crossed his mind. "No, I don't need much sleep, so that will not be a problem."

  "What about when I sleep?" she asked.

  "I'm sure I can keep an eye on you while you're asleep," he said confidently.

  "So, you're not going to sleep at the same time as me then?"

  "I already told you, I don't need a lot of sleep," he said, holding his hand out to help her when she reached the top, but just like before, she batted it away. "We will more than likely find my friends before I need to sleep next."

  "Seriously?" she asked, looking surprised by his answer as she closed the lid on the underground hovel.

  "Yes, seriously."

  Once she was ready, they started walking in the direction he had last seen Arun and Dain.

  "But you said you don't know where your friends are, so it could take days to find them for all you know."

  "That's very true," he agreed. "But that doesn't change my answer. I can go long periods of time without any sleep."

  "Wow! I need sleep every night,” she said. “At least six hours’ worth, or I'm like a zombie all day."

  "What's a zombie?" he asked, confused.

  "It's like a dead person walking around."

  "Really? Like a Vampire?" he asked, raising both eyebrows.

  "Yeah, really," she told him. "But nothing like a Vampire. Zombies come back to life and eat people."

  "That I'd like to see,” Taredd said. “I've never seen a dead person get up once they're dead."

  "I bet you've seen a lot of dead people," she said.

  "Yes, I have," he said.

  "I bet you also killed most of them, didn't you?" she said.

  "I've killed my fair share, yes, I don't deny that," he told her honestly, but added defensively: "But did I kill them all? No, I didn't."

  "Okay, then,” she dragged out the words before she added: "No need to get your knickers in a twist."

  "I don't wear knickers," he said, disgusted at the idea of wearing female underwear.

  "For fuck sake, it's only a saying." She laughed.

  "Well, how was I supposed to know? It's just like your zombie comment," he told her. "Where the hell did that come from anyway?"

  "Oh, I read it in a book once," she said.

  "Really? You can read?"

  Natalia punched him in the arm. Taredd didn't know if she intended on hurting him, but it didn't come anywhere close.

  "What was that for?" he asked.

  "Yes, I can read,” she told him angrily.

  "I'm sorry if I offended you, but I didn't think any of your kind could still read after all these years," he said sincerely.

  It really wasn't his intention to offend her by his questions, he just didn't realize the Humans still taught their young how to read. It wasn't as if it was something that could save their lives if it came to it. So, he just assumed it had died out like most things they used to do.

  They walked in silence for a while before he finally asked: "If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn? Is it something you taught yourself?"

  "No, my mother taught me when I was young."

  Now he seemed to have upset her, yet he didn't know how. All he did was ask a question. It didn't seem to matter what he did or said, Taredd was always be putting his foot in it with her. She was either pissed off with him, or upset over something he said.

  "I'm sorry if I've upset you," he told her.

  "You haven't."

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  Why the hell did I ask that?

  Natalia captivated him in a way no other Human ever had, and it confused the hell out of him. Normally he wouldn’t give a shit about their feelings, but with Natalia it was different…he was different.

  One thing was for sure, he really didn't like seeing her upset. He would rather her be pissed off and giving him grief, than quiet and withdrawn.

  "What? Talk to you about my personal life? I don't think so," she said.

  "Why not me?"

  "Because you're probably the reason my mother isn't here anymore, that's why," she said angrily.

  "She was killed?"

  "Yes, Sherlock, she was. Now can you drop it?"

  "I'm sorry for your loss," he said sincerely.

  Natalia turned to look at him. He didn't know what she was looking for, but whatever it was she must have found it because she said: "Thank you."

  "I'm not the only hunter around, you know." He didn't know why he needed her to know that, but he did. "So, it's quite possible someone else killed her."

  "Really? You're not going to drop it, are you?"

  That did seem to be the case. For some reason, he wanted to learn more about her. Plus, he was enjoying their conversation. It was completely different from the ones he had with Arun and Dain.

  "No, I'm not," he admitted.

  "Fine," she said, giving in to him. "One day she went out looking for food and she never came back."

  "So, how do you know she's dead?” he asked. “She could have just left."

  "No, she wouldn't have just left me," she said adamantly.

  "Why not?"

  "Because she loved me, that's why," she told him. "You don't leave the people you love."

  "I understand," Taredd had a feeling she wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't question her more about it.

  "Do you?" she asked sceptically.

  "Yes."

  "What about you?" she asked after a moment's silence.

  "What about me?"

  "Do you have a mother?"

  "Of course." Taredd laughed, he couldn't help it. "Everyone has a mother at one point in their lives. How else do you think I was born?"

  "From an egg?”

  "What? Did you think that an egg just fell out of the sky and I popped out of it?" he asked.

  "Well, no," she said, looking at her feet. “I just thought you were created a different way.”

  The blush that crept up Natalia's face told him that she was embarrassed by her comment.

  "What other way is there to create life?" he asked.

  "I don't know. To be honest, I can't say I've really thought too much about it. After all, it wasn't a priority to know where you came from," she said. "We were too busy trying to stay away from you so we could stay alive longer."

  "You keep saying we,” he pointed out. “Were there more people with you other than just your mother?"

  "Wouldn't you like to know," she said. "I'm not going to tell you anything you can use against my kind. So, you might as well save your breath."

  "I wasn't trying to pry," he said innocently. "I was just curious, that's all."

  "Yeah, I know why you're curious,” she told
him. “But I'm telling you now, I'm not going to give away anything about my kind, so you can just forget about it."

  "That's not what I was after. I was just trying to get to know you a little better." Which was true.

  Taredd didn’t have a clue why he wanted to learn all about her when he’d never wanted to know anything about the Humans he’d come across before, but he did. There was something about her that intrigued him.

  "Why?" she asked, tilting her head to one side as she looked up at him.

  In that pose, she looked rather cute. Taredd didn't think she would appreciate him telling her that though, so he kept it to himself.

  "Because I do."

  "That's not an answer," she told him.

  "Yes, it is."

  "No, it's not," she countered.

  "Well, it's the truth whether you believe it or not."

  "Well, I don't."

  "That's your choice. There's nothing I can say, or do, that will change your mind, is there?" he asked, knowing what the answer was going to be before she answered.

  "Not really, no," she said.

  Which was exactly what he thought she was going to say.

  "See?” he said. “So why should I bother trying to prove to you that I don't have an ulterior motive?"

  Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own. "Are you like this with all of my kind?"

  "No."

  "So, why the interest in me?"

  "I don't know," he said honestly. "You just intrigue me and I want to know more about you, is that so hard for you to believe?"

  "Yes."

  It was his turn to ask "Why?"

  "Because, I'm nothing special,” she was pensive. “So, why me?"

  "I already told you,” he said. “But you didn't accept my answer."

  Taredd didn’t know what more she wanted from him. He already told her he didn't know why she intrigued him, she just did. He felt compelled to learn all he could about her, and each moment that passed in her company, made him want to know even more.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Natalia

  Natalia really didn't understand this Demon. Why was he so interested in her? He admitted that he wasn't like it with any others of her kind, so why her? What made her so different from the rest of her kind?