Page 6 of Heart of the Cursed
Those that were lucky enough to survive on their own were either killed trying to escape other hunters, or were caught and enslaved. Human children were even more likely to be kept or sold as slaves than the adults, and they were treated far worse, as well.
“No, they’re all adults,” Dain said. “Two females and three males.”
Arun breathed a sigh of relief. None of them liked dealing with children. Arun wasn’t the only one that refused to kill a child. Taredd and Dain refused to, as well. But they didn’t like handing them over to slavers, either.
Arun hadn’t told anyone, but he often pretended not to see children when out hunting. A couple of times he’d even told Taredd and Dain that he’d seen them run off in a different direction.
He had a feeling Dain knew about it because there was no way he hadn’t picked up on their scent, but he never called Arun out on it. Never revealed his secret to Taredd, or anyone else.
“Let’s get this over with,” Arun said. “I need a drink.”
“Yeah, me too,” Dain said. “Plus, I’m starving.”
“When aren’t you?” Taredd quipped.
Dain punched Taredd in the arm before shifting into a squirrel again. He raced up the closest tree and then jumped from branch to branch as he headed back towards the group.
While Dain made his way to the other side of the group, Arun and Taredd fanned out as they closed in on them. There was less chance of the Humans slipping past them that way.
When they were all in position, they remained hidden until the last vestiges of light disappeared from the sky. Thankfully, they didn’t have long to wait, as dusk was already upon them.
He knew exactly what Taredd and Dain were doing as they waited. Taredd would be coming up with ideas on where they could search for Humans next, while Dain would be relaxing against a tree as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Arun still found it weird sometimes that he wasn’t just travelling with a Demon and a Shapeshifter, but they were closer than brothers to him. He would lay down his life for either of them, and he knew they would do the same for him. Not even his own brothers would do that for him.
Long before the Great War between the supernatural species broke out in the Human realm, they had banded together. When the war broke out, they were all called home. Their families wanted them to join the fight, but that meant fighting against each other. Each of them had refused, opting to stay together and out of the fight that they wanted no part of.
By refusing to fight each other, they had knowingly painted targets on their backs. Friends and enemies alike, tried their hand at destroying the three of them, but they all found out pretty quickly that they weren’t going down without a fight.
Thankfully, those days were long gone. They were no longer hunted or attacked every two minutes. Instead, they had become the hunters. The Humans, their prey.
Arun wouldn’t need his magic against the Humans, but he still called to it, anyway. It surrounded him like a warm blanket, sending tingles along his skin. Unlike most Fae, Arun used his magic very rarely. He preferred to do things the Human way.
When it came to killing Humans, he used his magic for a quick and clean kill. After all, there was no point making them suffer if he could avoid it.
He sat with his legs crossed and placed both hands on the ground, so his palms were touching the soil. His magic instantly reached out to the magic of the realm. It pulsed through his hands and up his arms before spreading throughout his body.
Arun let his eyes close and his head fall back as a calming peace settled over him. He didn’t want to move from his position, but all too soon, darkness descended as the last rays of the sun vanished from the sky.
He took a deep breath before opening his eyes and climbing to his feet. Slowly, he made his way towards the campsite, making sure to stay as quiet as possible.
As he closed in on the group of Humans, he could see Taredd and Dain doing exactly the same. At some point, Dain had shifted back into his Human form.
As usual, the Humans didn’t notice them until they were right on top of them. By that time, it was too late for them to do anything. They were sat around a small fire talking quietly. Arun paid no attention to the conversation. If anything of interest was spoken among them, he was sure Taredd would let him know after they were dead.
The first Human to catch sight of them was a female. She screamed when she noticed Taredd walking towards her, but it was short-lived. She was too caught up with watching the Demon approach her from the front to realise there was a Shapeshifter right behind her. Before she knew what was happening, Dain snapped her neck, instantly silencing her.
The female next to her had been busy looking at the food that was cooking over the fire. She didn’t get a chance to make a sound before Dain ended her life, as well. Just as she looked up, he grabbed her head and twisted, snapping her neck. Both females were dead before their bodies hit the floor.
The three males in the group jumped up ready to fight, but they didn’t stand a chance. Taredd took care of the two closest to him. He grabbed hold of both of the male’s by their heads and then bashed them together. Before their unconscious bodies fell to the ground, he slammed his fist through their chests and ripped out their hearts.
As soon as he removed his hands from their chests, their lifeless bodies slumped to the ground, landing inches away from the fire.
Arun blasted the third male with magic. Before he knew what had hit him, he was dead. His lifeless body slumped to the ground next to one of the females.
Within a matter of seconds, all five Humans were dead. It had taken a hell of a lot longer to find the group in the first place than it had to kill them, but that was the way of it.
None of them wanted to drag out the inevitable, and they didn’t want to cause the Humans any unnecessary pain. So, they did their best to make the deaths as quick and clean as possible.
