The Dark Hunter

  Mr Daniel Blood is the Dark Hunter.

  People call him to fight evil demons,

  vampires and ghosts.

  Edgar and Mary help Mr Blood

  with his work.

  The three hunters need to be strong and

  clever to survive...

  Contents

  Chapter 1 The Old House

  Chapter 2 Memories

  Chapter 3 Arak

  Chapter 4 The Truth

  Chapter 5 Trapped

  Chapter 6 Spider

  Chapter 7 Later

  Chapter 1

  The Old House

  The old house in the woods was falling apart. Twisted trees grew all around it. The roof was almost hidden by brown moss. The door hung off the door frame. It had cobwebs all over it.

  The house was rotting away.

  Edgar, Mary and Mr Blood stood in front of the house. Edgar wasn’t happy.

  “Mr Blood, why are you leaving us on our own again?” Edgar said. “How long are you going to be away this time?”

  “I’ll be back in the morning,” Mr Blood said. “I need to go alone.”

  “But why can’t we come with you?” asked Mary. “Are you trying to keep us safe from something?”

  “Yes, that’s it,” said Mr Blood. “I don’t want to drag you into danger.”

  “But you’ve often put us in danger before!” said Edgar.

  “You will have lots to think about while you wait for me,” said Mr Blood. “I know that you don’t remember anything from when you were little children. Why don’t you try to remember where you got those tattoos?”

  Mary looked at the small spider tattoo on the back of her left hand. It was itchy. She scratched it.

  Edgar stared at his spider tattoo and a chill ran down his spine.

  “Have we been to this house before?” he asked.

  “Of course not!” said Mr Blood. But Edgar didn’t believe him.

  “I’ll go now,” Mr Blood said. “There’s food in the bag. When it gets dark, stay inside. And, whatever you do…”

  Mary knew what he was going to say. “Don’t let anyone in!”

  “Good,” said Mr Blood. “I’ll be back by dawn.”

  Mr Blood waved goodbye, turned, and walked away, into the woods.

  Edgar and Mary stood in front of the house. This time it was Mary who shivered. She was scared too.

  “I think we have been here before,” she said. She reached out to touch the door. It creaked open.

  Chapter 2

  Memories

  It was dark inside the house.

  Edgar lit his torch. There was just one big room, with a roof on top. Its floor was bare earth. There were thick cobwebs on the walls.

  “It’s lucky we don’t mind spiders!” said Edgar.

  “I’m not scared of spiders. But this is horrid. Let’s clean up a bit,” Mary said.

  She grabbed a broom that was lying on the ground. They both swept away the cobwebs.

  “That’s odd,” Mary said. “There are lots of cobwebs, but I can’t see any spiders. I wonder where they are.”

  Edgar said, “I’m glad they aren’t in here. Don’t go looking for them.”

  Mary scratched her hand again.

  “And stop doing that,” Edgar said. “You’re making my tattoo itch too.” He rubbed the tattoo on his hand.

  “Come on, let’s sit down and have some of our food,” he said.

  There was a small table and three chairs next to the single tiny window. Mary and Edgar sat down and looked at one another.

  “I feel very odd,” Edgar said.

  “So do I,” said Mary. “I feel like I can almost remember something. From when we were little. A bad thing.”

  “Me too,” Edgar said.

  “We have been in this house before. I’m sure of it,” said Mary.

  “So am I,” Edgar said. “But I don’t know when.”

  The two of them sat, both thinking hard. Outside, it was very dark.

  On the roof of the house, something as black as the night began to crawl down the chimney.

  Chapter 3

  Arak

  Mary looked up. She saw a very old woman standing in the middle of the room.

  Mary gave a loud scream.

  Edgar turned to look. He felt the hairs on his neck stand on end.

  The old woman didn’t say anything.

  Then Edgar and Mary both spoke at the same time.

  “Who are you?” said Edgar.

  “What do you want?” said Mary.

  The woman stepped forward. She had long white hairs hanging over her face. Just like cobwebs, thought Edgar.

  The old woman smiled. She had cracked lips and broken, rotting teeth.

  “My name is Arak,” the old woman said. “It’s nice to see you, my dears. I don’t get many visitors. I live here.”

  Mary said, “You weren’t here when we came in. Where were you?”

  “Outside,” said Arak. “You didn’t hear me come in. I don’t make much noise. It’s easier to live in the forest if you keep quiet.”

  “It’s easier to creep up on people, too!” said Mary.

  “And what about you?” asked the old woman. “Why are you two lovely children alone in the forest?”

  “Oh, we’re not alone…” began Edgar. Mary stamped on his foot to make him stop talking. “Ow!” he said.

  “We just like to explore,” said Mary. “We should go now.”

  The old woman’s eyes went narrow.

  “Oh, my dears, you must not go into the forest at night,” she said. “That’s not a good idea. You must stay here with me. We have so much to talk about.”

  Chapter 4

  The Truth

  Mary felt scared. “We have to go,” she said. “We don’t know you.”

  “Don’t you?” said Arak. “I think you do.”

  She turned to Edgar. “Edgar, you said there was someone with you. Who is he?”

  Mary stared at her. “Edgar didn’t say it was a man. And how do you know Edgar’s name?”

  Arak didn’t answer that. She said, “Do you remember this house, my dears?”

  “We think we have been here before. But we don’t know when,” Edgar said.

  “I’m glad you remember,” said Arak. “Now, tell me about the man who left you here.”

  “He didn’t leave us!” Mary shouted.

  “Yes, he did. We’re here, and he’s not,” Edgar said.

  Arak said, “Is this man Mr Blood, the Dark Hunter?”

  Edgar nodded.

  “I thought so,” said Arak. “Listen, my dears. Mr Blood is not what you think. He says he is a good man. But as long as you are with him, you are in danger.”

  Edgar thought about all the evil beasts and monsters that Mr Blood had fought. It was true. He and Mary were always in danger.

  “You still haven’t told us how you know about us,” said Mary.

  The old woman gave her a kind look. “Sit down, my dear. I will tell you the truth about you and Mr Blood now. But it will be hard for you to hear it.”

  Mary did not sit. “I don’t want to listen to you,” she said. “Mr Blood is like our father.”

  Edgar said, “Let’s hear what she has to say. What harm can it do?”

  “Edgar, this doesn’t feel right,” Mary said. “Something bad is going on. We should leave.”

  Edgar was angry. “I want to know what Arak has to say! I’m staying.”

  “If Mary wants to leave, we must let her,” said Arak. “I don’t want to keep her here against her will.”

  Then Arak gave a shrill laugh. “Not that I could do that, of course. I’m only a poor old woman.”

  Mary ran to the door and pulled it open. Then she screamed.

  Chapter 5

  Trapped

  Mr Blood stood a few steps away from the house.

  He was still as a stone. It was as if he had frozen as he ran towards the house. Mary knew he was under a spell.

  “What have you done to him?” Mary turned to Arak. “It was you, wasn’t it? You put a spell on him. Who are you? What do you want from us?”

  Arak said nothing. She began to walk in slow circles around Edgar’s chair.

  Edgar tried to get up. But his legs and arms would not move. He could only sit still and stare at her.

  It must be a spell! He felt like a fly in a spider’s web.

  As she walked, Arak began to talk.

  “Years ago, I took care of two small children. You two children. I fed you, and I loved you, and I taught you. I taught you to be strong. You were very strong,” she said, looking at Mary.

  “And I taught you to listen to your feelings. That was your gift, my dear.” She touched Edgar’s cheek.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Mary said.

  “Look at my hand,” said Arak.

  On the back of Arak’s left hand was a small tattoo of a spider. It was just the same as the tattoos on Edgar and Mary’s hands.

  The old woman kept talking. “One day a wicked man called Mr Blood stole my two dear children from me. At last I have got you back.”

  “No!” Mary shouted. She ran out of the door, towards Mr Blood.

  “He can’t help you, my dear. I’ve made sure of that!” Arak smiled at Edgar. She looked very evil. “Did you know, some spiders eat their own children?”

  Outside the house, Mary shook Mr Blood. He didn’t move. She didn’t know how to

break the spell.

  Mr Blood was holding a sack in his hand. Mary took a closer look at it. Something in the sack moved.

  She pulled Mr Blood’s fingers open and took the sack.

  “He can’t help you. Edgar can’t help you either,” Arak called to Mary. “Don’t you think it’s time you came back inside?”

  Mary walked back into the house. Edgar sat frozen in his chair.

  It looked like Arak had gone. Mary looked round. She could not see her anywhere.

  But she saw something else.

  Mary’s blood ran cold, and she dropped the sack onto Edgar’s lap.

  Something huge was coming out of a dark corner.

  Chapter 6

  Spider

  The thing was very big. It had long, thin legs like broomsticks. Its body looked like a mass of black bristles. It had small red eyes and two long, curved, black fangs.

  It was a giant spider.

  The spider came towards Mary. Its hairy legs scraped on the floor as it moved.

  “I’m glad you came back, my dear!” The monster spoke with Arak’s voice. Arak was not a person – she was a spider demon!

  Mary couldn’t speak. Just like Edgar and Mr Blood, she was under Arak’s spell. They were all trapped like flies in the spider’s web.

  Arak the spider came to the table. Edgar’s eyes were wide with fear.

  The spider laughed. “Who shall I eat first?” she asked. Neither of the children could speak. “I think I will begin with Edgar.”

  Mary began to cry.

  Arak’s two front legs reached out until they scraped against the table. Her sharp fangs were very close to Edgar’s face.

  “You two are mine!” Arak hissed.

  Something hissed back at her.

  Mr Blood’s sack was still on Edgar’s lap. Something shot out of it, like an arrow. It was a snake.

  Arak had no time to move away. The snake hit her in the head. It sunk its fangs between her eyes.

  She screamed. Her legs thrashed around, knocking Edgar over.

  The snake kept biting. Arak began to slow down. The snake’s bite was killing her.

  Arak’s spell broke as she died. Edgar and Mary could move again.

  The door opened. Mr Blood was outside. The spell on him was broken too.

  Edgar and Mary ran past him, out of the door and out into the night.

  Chapter 7

  Later

  Mary and Edgar waited in the wood for Mr Blood.

  Some time later, Mr Blood came out of the house. He went up to the children. For a long while they stood still, without saying anything.

  Mr Blood spoke first. “Arak lied to you. She wasn’t like a mother to you. She had a spell on you both. She wanted to make you her slaves. I broke the spell and took you away. She hated me for that.”

  “Why did you bring us back here?” Edgar asked.

  “She still had power over you both,” said Mr Blood. “Now you are free.”

  “I know this was hard for you,” Mr Blood told them. “But we all have to face our own demons one day. I thought you were ready to face Arak.”

  Edgar and Mary looked up at the Dark Hunter. He smiled at them.

  “And I was right,” he said.

  Copyright © 2013 A & C Black

  This electronic edition published in April 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing

  Text copyright © 2013 Benjamin Hulme-Cross

  Illustrations copyright © 2013 Nelson Evergreen

  First published 2013 by

  A & C Black

  Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  50 Bedford Square,

  London, WC1B 3DP

  www.bloomsbury.com

  The right of Benjamin Hulme-Cross and Nelson Evergreen to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved

  You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

  A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

  eISBN 978-1-4081-8053-2 (e-book)

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