Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

Silent Scream

"You're not dead! Yea!" she exclaimed, hugging me tight.

"Did you think I would be?" I asked. She pulled away from me and cocked her head to the side.

"Well you have almost died multiple times today," she said. I was just about to reply to that when Anton muttered in a weary voice, "Unless you girls are gonna start making out would you please stop ignoring me." Phoebe turned on him with a sour expression.

"You'd like that wouldn't you," she said icily. He sighed and leaned back into the wall.

"Little bit actually," he replied. Phoebe shook her head in disgust.

"You're a pig," she said. He rolled his eyes at her.

"What's your point?"

"I hate you."

"Good for you."

"I-"

"Shut up!" I screamed. They both immediately shut their mouths and glared at each other. I shook my head furiously. "Zane-argh-Anton whatever! Why don't you remember reverting?" I asked impatiently.

"How the fuck should I know? It's not me so I don't remember. I don't remember half of what happened in the past eighteen years!" he shouted at me. I stared at him wide-eyed.

"What do you remember?" I asked. Something between a sigh and a snarl came from Anton's severely annoyed looked visage.

"I remember being ravenous, I remember the pain, and I remember you. I remember saving you from that lowlife vamp that ran your car off the bridge. I remember watching after you for four years always out of eye-shot. It seems everything to do with you I remember." He gripped the chains tightly and stood up. I felt Phoebe staring at me awestruck. I forgot that I had not told her that Zane was the reason I didn't drown the night my parents did. Anton walked forward and the chains pulled tight.

"And I remember every dirty little fantasy that sliced into Zane's mind while he followed you around after dark. Following your scent, making sure no big bad monsters ripped your pretty little face off. Try as he might to censor those thoughts they just kept getting more and more creative," he said in a dangerously soft voice. I wanted all of that to be a lie. I didn't want to think that when I was twelve years old Zane was constantly watching me trying not to think about the ways he could devour me, but I knew that Anton spoke the truth. He really had no reason to lie to me because the sooner we figured out exactly what was happening to him the sooner we would know how to fix it. Believe it or not I wanted to know these things. I knew I should be scared, repulsed by the things he's done and said but I wasn't. My skin was on fire with a feeling I had never really had before and I liked it.

"So you remember scents, thoughts, feelings but not really anything important?" I queried. He grimaced at me.

"What's important?" he asked much like a petulant teenager. I rolled my eyes and disregarded the question. I turned to Phoebe and asked, "What did your mom want?" Phoebe shrugged.

"I'm not sure exactly. Almost all the time I spent with her just now was trying to tell her I was okay without telling her I was bitten by a vampire," she said. I nodded.

"I'm just glad she didn't show up any earlier before we got him restrained," I said. She laughed nervously.

"Yeah that would've been very hard to explain," she said.

"Pheebs, do you ever wonder if you mom already knows about Hunters and vampires and stuff?" I asked. Her face became very thoughtful.

"I hadn't actually but now that you've brought it up it does seem like it could be possible," she said and I saw her hands move to her hips and she bit on the inside of her cheek. Suddenly she punched me in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" I cried rubbing my arm. She glared at me.

"Now I'm gonna be stuck with serious thoughts." I grinned at her.

"Oh dear no! Not serious thoughts!" I exclaimed sarcastically.

"Lori." I heard Anton say and his voice sounded a little strange, almost distant. I was about to turn away from Phoebe to ask what he needed to say when Phoebe said, "So rude! We're talking here!" I laughed out loud. Phoebe could be so cruel sometimes and I often found it hilarious.

"Lori," he said my name again and Phoebe groaned. There was something wrong with his voice but I could quite put my finger on what it was. Suddenly I saw him collapse out of the corner of my eye. I spun around and saw him on his knees, his arms hugging his torso, his mouth opened in a silent scream.