- 21 -

No matter how much fear lurked in a heart, the body will eventually stop reacting. Lilith wasn't sure how long it had been since Pandora had left, abandoned her in the dark cabin, but a calm had set in. She had long since turned the lights on, the shaking in her arms had ceased, and her heartbeat had slowed. Even her deathgrip on the handgun had loosened.

In this passing moment, Lilith felt Fennel's demeanor echo through her. Was this what she felt each time she went out to hunt? Where fear has no grasp on your body, but leaves a keen awareness in your senses? Almost like a heightened calm.

My chance of survival goes way up if I can learn how to stay in this mind space.

Lilith considered different possible techniques. Of course, she had no experience with them; all her knowledge came from books. She would have to experiment to find out if they worked.

Lilith decided to start with controlled breathing. It was advice that appeared regularly in fiction. Closing her eyes, she began to slow her respiration, counting along with each exhale.

Lilith's eyelids grew heavy. It dawned on her that Pandora had woken her from barely an hour's sleep and now she was trying to relax. What had possessed her to try this when she was already relaxed? Now fatigue threatened to take her entirely. She couldn't let that happen. She felt safe enough in the room, but Pandora wouldn't have given her a gun and told her not to let anyone inside unless something was wrong.

Lilith jumped at a knock from the door. She couldn't remember falling asleep but the haze in her vision and the fog over her thoughts proved it happened. She blamed that breathing exercise. It had calmed her mind instead of her body. The opposite of what she wanted.

How long had she been out? Should she worry that Pandora wasn't back yet? The knock sounded again and Lilith tried pull at the feeling she remembered. Yet, she couldn't bring the calm back. Instead, she found comfort in the handgun. She pulled it to her chest and called out, "Who's there?"

"Pandora. Can I open the door now?"

Why would Pandora ask to open the door? Why would she announce her return at all? This was her room too, and she had the key. Lilith ran her thumb along the pistol's textured grip, then deflated at the simplicity of the answer.

"The gun's away."

The lock clicked and the door swung open. Pandora stood at the entrance leaning against her gun like it was a cane. Blood streamed down her arms and chest and her face had drawn into a tight grimace.

Lilith sprang from the bed to meet her at the door. "Pandora! What happened?"

She let out a weak chuckle. "You think this is bad? You should have seen the other guy."

"This is no time for jokes," said a large man behind Pandora.

The sight of the half-dead hunter dominated Lilith's attention to the point she hadn't even noticed his presence. A shiver ran her spine. That primal fear had returned, not because she was afraid of him, but because he wasn't hiding. If something so obvious had eluded her, what else could be lurking in the dark?

"Who are you?

"This is Albert."

"Allister, actually. I'm trying to get this stubborn woman to the infirmary. She refused to go without coming here first."

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Pandora curled her lips into a satisfied grin. "But I needed to put my gun back."

Lilith sighed. "Please tell me you're joking?"

"Only half joking." Pandora pressed the shotgun into Lilith's hands, then shifted her weight to lean against the door frame. "Inside my suitcase, there's a silver container filled with blood vials. Can you lean the gun in the corner and bring me that case."

Pain overtook Pandora's expression with the loss of the weapon. An obvious cause and effect. But why? Curiosity drew Lilith's attention down. Pandora had left a red trail the length of the hallway leading to her blood-soaked feet. Instead of laying them flat against the floor, Pandora tried to support her weight on the sides. Blood seeped out of dozens of little cuts to collect in a pool below her. Then Lilith noticed straight edges in the puddle.

Is that glass?

Lilith lifted her gaze back up. "I'm sorry you have to deal with her, Allister. I'll be quick."

Lilith squeezed around the bed considering what she had seen. A childhood spent with dashing Lunden investigators and closed-room mysteries had taught her that assumptions should be avoided, but if that was glass she had a good idea of what happened. Everything fit into place. Well, almost everything.

"Pandora, why did you really come here first?"

Lilith leaned the gun in the corner, then began to dig for the suitcase. Her bag sat on top of the pile, with Pandora's in the middle and the suitcase at the bottom. Lilith grabbed her bag and moved it to the bed, careful not to spill the contents since the top was flipped open.

"For the healing blood in my bag. Nothing's life-threatening but I can hardly walk."

"Liar," Lilith said, pulling the silver case free.

She wasn't sure why she had blurted it out, let alone with confidence. There was at least half a chance Pandora was being truthful, but something told her to speak up. Maybe the details bothered her. Or maybe she couldn't pass up the chance to get ahead for once. From the beginning, she felt like she was always playing defense around Pandora.

Whatever the reason, she couldn't take it back now so she continued. Lilith handed the case over and said, "You didn't need to come here for blood. The ship is sure to have some among its medical supplies. It's expensive, but it's commonly used. I know because my religion forbade the use of modern medicine. It was against their doctrine for anyone but hunters to drink blood."

Allister was leaning against the far wall of the hallway, waiting. Without looking over he said, "I told her that, but she wouldn't listen."

Not listening definitely sounded like Pandora.

"The room was closer. Drinking mine will make it easier to walk to the infirmary."

Lilith shook her head. "You need to pick all the glass out of your feet before you drink or the skin will heal over it. You should have gone straight to the infirmary."

Pandora's face dropped away. "I... I didn't want you to worry."

Suddenly, Lilith wished she hadn't pushed. She had caught Pandora's lie, but it felt like she was the one who lost.

"I scared you bad enough when I woke you up and shoved a gun in your hand. How were you going to feel sitting here alone waiting for someone who wasn't coming back? I didn't want to do that to you."

Pandora's voice lost its usual confidence, the same as it had the night before; when she spoke about Renna. She had sounded sincere then, and she sounded sincere now. Lilith's heart ached. She got the impression that Pandora didn't like to let her true feelings show and at least twice now she had pushed her too far.

"Thank you," Lilith said, her voice just above a whisper.

Pandora placed a hand on Lilith's head and jostled her hair. "You're welcome."

"I told you not to do that." Lilith tried to sound firm, but the words mixed with laughter. She figured she deserved it anyway. She had pushed Pandora to be vulnerable and this was the hunter's way of trying to shift the power balance back.

"Try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Allister stepped forward and took a spot beside Pandora. "Does that mean you'll go to the infirmary now?"

Before Pandora could answer the man leaned down to offer his shoulder which she wrapped an arm across. Lilith watched them struggle down the hall. She felt bad for the man. She thought of Pandora as tall but this man towered over her. Now he was hunched forward trying to support her as she hobbled along.

Lilith started to close the door when she heard Pandora say, "There's one more thing I need but I promise this is the last stop." Lilith pressed the door shut and smiled.

That poor man.

Lilith decided to follow Pandora's advice and get some sleep. She turned back to the bed and noticed her father's satchel sitting at the foot. She hadn't thought about it earlier, but looking at it now the bag seemed out of place. Why was it open? She didn't remember leaving it that way. Maybe Pandora knocked it around reaching for her shotgun. That was possible, but the knot forming in her stomach wasn't satisfied by that explanation.

Lilith emptied the bag onto the bed and took note of its contents. When she checked again in the morning, there was an extra book.