Amongst the Order (Watchers of the Veil #1)

Chapter 18

Ecstatic, Pete called over his dad and the other hunter's families. After brief greetings and introductions with the hunters, all of whom were overjoyed to meet another surviving family, we were led further into the cliffside towards an area unfamiliar to me.

The lower chambers dug down into the cliff, winding through corridors and doors carved to look like walls. The air grew colder and colder with every step as we wandered down further into Oblivion's Watch and the crashing of the waves escalated, echoing through the stone. At the lowest of point of the structure, you reached beneath the water where the dungeons lurked, still remaining in rare use.

Alfie asked questions while we walked, all about the history, the building, the chambers. I answered some, Alex others, while Pete chuckled to himself.
"Still haven't lost that curiosity have you, Mullein?"
Alfie straightened himself up, cheeks blushing. "I like to know what I'm getting myself into."
"Well we're safe here, don't worry. With the barrier, the Sentinels and these hidden tunnels, this is the safest place for hunters. Perhaps the safest place full stop. No witches can get down here."

Pete led us into a side room and our group filed in first, followed by Wyatt and the other hunters. It was small compared to the assembly hall, but large enough for a meeting, although the air down there was brisk. I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered, eyeing the three stone archways at the opposite side of the room acting as windows but offering not heat whatsoever. My footsteps echoed as I entered and circled the long, stone table in the centre.

"It's so cold." Alex shivered from behind me.
"This was one of the first rooms built in Oblivion's Watch. Before the witches and the vampires... before it got its name," said Pete.
"We hunters used to be forced into hiding," said Wyatt, staring longingly out at the waves passed the arches. "Every species wanted to kill us. That's why we lived in dreadful places such as this throughout the war. They never expected humans to live in conditions so harsh."
"And then they built us a new home," Pete added with a smile. "Now we're united."
"In theory," I replied. "I mean, look at us now. We're being hunted by witches."

"Shouldn't we contact the coven leaders?" A hunter asked, black-haired and blue-eyed and perhaps only a few years older than myself. I remembered her name to be Vanessa from the introductions. Her mother had been taken.
"It might be more dangerous to do that," I explained. "We've been betrayed by our own kind — who knows which of the Lords may be working with the cult."
"Are you saying we don't report this?" Another hunter asked; mid-thirties with blonde-haired and stone-faced. Kaleb, I believed he was called. "If there's a risk of one of the Lords working with the cult, the others should be made aware of it."
"Like Erika said," Pete went on, "it might be more dangerous to do that."
"And it'll slow us down for sure," Alex added.
Wyatt cleared his throat. "Then it's decided. We keep this to ourselves. And the Council."

The Council had to give the all-clear for any drastic action we took. Defending ourselves was one thing, but going on the offence could have struck a diplomatic incident.

"Now," said Pete, gesturing to the hunters one by one, all crowded in this small stone room, "all we need is a plan."
I snorted. That wasn't so simple. "Is that all?"
"The witches need one hunter from each bloodline to complete the ritual. According to Erika, they have all but my own bloodline."
Alex spoke up, "That sacrifice breaks the entrapment spell on the clearing, which will allow the Witch-Queen to actually leave the area. The Queen herself can only be brought back by blood magic."

"It's not all they need for the ritual." I reached into my bag, rummaged around the ammo and journals, and pulled out Horizon's Edge. There were a few gasps in the room but the majority of the hunters —namely, the younger ones — furrowed their brows, looking to the elders for clarification.