Vampire Hunters, #1

by Trudie Collins

  “And please, please, please, don’t tell the others. I called you because you’re the only one I trust to keep your mouth shut.”

  “I won’t say a word to them,” she said. “However, I can’t guarantee I won’t tell Jason if he asks.”

  Simon wasn’t happy, but he would say the same were the situations reversed.

  Sarah found a backpack in Simon’s room and raided his wardrobe. She then selected trousers, a t-shirt and underwear from her own room and ran down the stairs.

  “What are you up to Sarah?” JD’s voice rang out as she passed his office.

  “Shit,” she said under her breath, then walked in and closed the door.

  “Why were you in Simon’s room?” he asked. “It’s directly above my office so I heard you.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ll be satisfied with me telling you it was at his request will you?” It was pointless, but she had to try.

  “I don’t suppose I will. Now spill.”

  She told him everything and could see he was doing his best not to laugh. “Can I go now?” she asked when she had finished.

  “No,” he said. “I’ll go. The others won’t question me going out, but they might you.”

  He took the backpack off her, then sent her back to the TV room, where she lied and said the call had been from work.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “That should be Sarah,” Simon told Jane as he saw car headlights turn into the clearing. Then he recognised the car. “Oh shit. It’s JD.”

  He felt Jane tense beside him. “I thought you said Sarah could be trusted.”

  “She can, in regard to keeping this from the others. JD is a different matter. Don’t worry. He isn’t as bad as you have been led to believe.”

  JD parked the car, got out, closed the door then leaned against it. He left the backpack full of clothes inside.

  “Anything you care to tell me?” he asked.

  “Not really,” Simon said, not that he believed he was going to get away with that.

  “I can wait all day.” Jane couldn’t. She was shivering.

  “Jane, you’ve met JD before. JD, this is Jane from 5. I don’t know if you remember her. We have hunted together a few times.”

  JD nodded his head. He did recognise her. “Carry on.”

  “We’ve been seeing each other for a few months.” He sounded nervous as he spoke and JD could understand why. Trainers were supposed to be kept informed of all of their student’s serious relationships.

  “I know,” JD said. “Someone had the decency to inform me.” Simon flinched at his tone. He was in trouble. “Is it serious?”

  Simon took Jane in his arms. “Yes, I think it is.” Jane’s face lit up when she heard the words. It was the first time Simon had admitted to her that she was more than just a fling.

  “Then you should have told me,” JD said as he opened his back door and retrieved the backpack.

  “I know,” Simon said. “But until today I wasn’t sure Jane wanted anything more than just a casual relationship.”

  “Not a good enough excuse,” JD said as he threw across the bag. “Now you two have some thinking to do. There’s no way I’m going to release Simon from 14, so if you want to live together, let me know and I’ll make the formal request to have Jane moved across. I don’t need an answer right away. Just give it some thought and let me know if you want me to do anything.”

  “I think it’s a little soon for that,” Simon said hastily and Jane nodded her agreement. “But we will let you know when we change our minds.”

  JD noted he said ‘when’ not ‘if’.

  “And don’t worry about the others,” JD said. “They don’t know I’m here.”

  “Thank you,” Simon said. JD got back in his car and left the two alone to get dressed in private.

  “Well that went better than I expected,” Simon said as he watched the car drive out of sight.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  The next day, Doc asked to see JD in his office. “I want to talk about Sarah,” he said.

  “I figured as much.”

  “I’ve been reading your reports on her closely and it sounds like she’s going really well. Is she ready for assessment? And don’t let your feelings for her cloud your judgement.”

  The comment surprised him. “What are you talking about?”

  Doc smiled at him. “I know you like her. A lot. The way you look at her makes it obvious. And the way you treat her.”

  “What do you mean the way I treat her? She’s an outsider. Of course I treat her differently.”

  “That’s not the reason and you know it. Also I’ve seen some of your training sessions with her. You are pushing her a lot harder than you ever did the others.”

  “That’s because she needs it.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re trying to get her good enough to keep up with you and you know it.”

  JD glared at Doc, then for the first time since he had become a trainer, he let go of his rigid self-control and sank into the chair. He sighed, then sat forward, nervously running his fingers through his hair. “This is one conversation I hoped we would never have.”

  “Go on.”

  “I don’t ‘like her a lot’, as you put it. I wish that was all it was. I’m in love with her.”

  “I see. And what do you plan on doing about it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “What can I do? I can’t become involved with one of my students. It just wouldn’t work. I would have to find her another trainer and, without meaning to sound egotistical, I’m the best there is, in this area at least, and I don’t trust anyone else to train her properly.”

  “Is it a rule that you can’t train your girlfriend?”

  “No. There’s no actual rule against it, but common sense says it’s not a good idea.”

  “Want my advice?” JD nodded. “Tell her how you feel. Let her decide what she wants to do.”

  He shook his head. “She doesn’t feel the same. If I tell her I love her she won’t feel comfortable training with me anymore. I can’t take that risk.”

  “So you’re just going to let yourself suffer?”

  “It’s what trainers do to keep their students alive.”

  Doc had no answer to that. “Do you ever wish you weren’t a trainer?”

  JD didn’t need to think about his answer. “No. Every time the team comes back alive it reminds me of why I do what I do.”

  JD was being completely open and honest with him, so Doc decided to be the same with him.

  “By the way, I thought you should know that I’m not the only one who knows about your feelings for Sarah.”

  JD stiffened. “What do you mean?”

  “Everyone knows. They’re taking bets on when and how you’re going to mess up and reveal how much you care about her. They’re expecting you to let her get away with something that they would be punished for. They’re all very impressed with the way you have been handling things so far.”

  JD slumped down in the chair. “Shit.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.”

  “How did I not know about this? How have they managed to discuss it without me or Sarah finding out?” If Sarah knew, she would have told him.

  “They only ever talk when Sarah is not around and you are in the arena or out of the house. Apparently they’ve also developed some sort of hand signalling system to let each other know how much they’re betting. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed, but I guess your mind has been on other things. Or should I say other people.” JD was not happy that Doc was finding the situation amusing.

  “And it never occurred to you to tell me?”

  “What? And ruin their fun? You have been keeping them very entertained. But don’t worry, none of them thin
k Sarah has any idea that you like her. They’ve been making sure she doesn’t find out.”

  “Well that’s a comfort,” he said sarcastically.

  “So, back to Sarah. Is she ready?”

  “Yes. Unfortunately she is.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  At dinner that night, Doc made the announcement. “Can everyone make themselves available next Saturday afternoon?” he asked.

  They all confirmed they could, so he continued. “Good, because at 2pm Sarah will be assessed.”

  Nobody had been expecting it, least of all Sarah. “What? So soon? Whatever happened to a decent amount of notice?”

  “One week is enough,” Doc said.

  “But I’m not ready,” she protested.

  “Yes, you are,” JD said. His words silenced any argument she could have made. JD had made his decision so there was nothing anyone could do about it. “Has anyone told you what you need to do?” he asked.

  She shook her head. He turned to Craig. “Why do you never tell her anything important?”

  “I thought I had plenty of time. I’ll tell her later.”

  “No, we’ll explain it all to her now.”

  Craig started. “The assessment is very simple. All you have to do is fight any two hunters, one at a time. The fight is to first blood so we use live swords.” He paused and looked across at JD. “Are you sure she’s ready for this? Has she ever even used a live sword?”

  “Many times.” He neglected to mention that it was usually his that she used. “Continue.”

  “You get to wear a hunting suit, we don’t so you have the advantage.” He paused again. “Does she have a suit?”

  “Yes,” Silvia said. “I finished sewing it last week. Doc isn’t the only one who has been monitoring JD’s reports.”

  “Wait a minute. Isn’t that dangerous for the person I am fighting?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes, but it’s a risk we are all prepared to take,” Katie said.

  “So who do I have to fight?”

  “I choose one,” Doc said. “You choose the other.”

  “Come to my office later and we can discuss tactics,” JD said. “As your trainer, I can advise you who to choose, but you don’t have to listen to me.”

  “That makes a change,” Sarah muttered. “So what happens if I fail?”

  “You continue training and try again at a later date.” That made her feel a little better. She wasn’t sure she was ready for this, so knowing it didn’t matter if she didn’t succeed first time took away a lot of her nerves.

  As soon as dinner was over, JD led her to his office and shut the door. “Do you have any questions?”

  “No, other than are you really sure I’m ready?”

  “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I wasn’t. Now, you need to give some thought as to who you want to fight.”

  She didn’t want to fight any of them, especially not with a live sword. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she injured anyone. “Who would you recommend?”

  “I suggest you don’t choose Craig,” he surprised her by saying. “Don’t tell him this, but I believe he’s better than the others. Also, I don’t think he really wants you to become a hunter so he might not go as easy on you as the rest. He does not want you risking your life the way he does, no matter what he tells you.”

  Sarah thought about this for a moment and decided he was right. While Craig approved of her training to become a hunter and even helped her out, actually going on a hunt was another matter. Would he go as far as preventing her from passing her assessment? She didn’t think so, but it was best not to take the risk.

  “Agreed,” she finally said. “So who should I choose?”

  “Jonathon. He’s cocky and over-sure of himself. He doesn’t believe a woman could ever beat him so he won’t try as hard. But he does not know how good you are. You can beat him. Especially if you use your brains as well as your skills. String him along. Defend but don’t make your attacks too aggressive. He’ll become overconfident. That’s when you strike.”

  Sarah listened carefully to every word he said. It was valuable information that would serve her well. “You can beat any of them if you really put your mind to it,” he continued, “but Jonathon is definitely the one I would recommend.”

  “Alright. I’ll think about it. When do I have to make my decision by?”

  “You will have to see Doc Saturday morning. That will give him some time to make his own decision.”

  “Who will he choose?”

  “I’m not sure. Given your close friendship, it’s highly unlikely that it will be Craig, but I have no idea which of the others it will be. All four of them want you to pass so will go easy on you.”

  “Thank you for your advice. Now I just have a week to worry about it.”

  “Don’t. You will pass this. Have confidence in yourself; I know I do.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Saturday arrived all too soon for Sarah. She was visibly shaking when she was called into Doc’s office to let him know who she had chosen. As soon as she left, JD went in.

  “Who did you suggest she should pick?” Doc asked before JD could speak.

  “Jonathon. So who did she choose?”

  Doc looked thoughtfully at him for a moment. “I don’t think I’m going to tell you that.” It was the first time he had ever refused to do so. JD suspected he knew the reason why.

  “And who are you going to choose?”

  “I’m not going to tell you that either.”

  “You don’t trust me,” JD said. It was a statement not a question. “You think I will tell Sarah.”

  “Something like that.”

  It was a very unhappy JD that left Doc’s office.

  First blood

  JD stood alone in the arena, staring at the swords on the wall. The others had already collected theirs and he was there to pick the one Sarah would use.

  He took down the one she usually trained with, then looked up at his own. For the first time since becoming a trainer, he was filled with indecision.

  “What the hell,” he said to himself as he replaced her sword and grabbed his own. “According to Doc everyone knows how I feel about her anyway.” She handled it better than the other one and it would give her more confidence.

  Before leaving the arena, he pressed the button to slide the concealing panels into place. No other weapons were allowed to be readily available during the assessment; it was just too dangerous.

  He knocked on her door and was given permission to enter. He walked in, closing the door behind him, and almost gasped. He knew Sarah would be wearing a hunting suit, and that she would look good in it, but he hadn’t been expecting her to look that good. She was captivating. For a moment he couldn’t breathe.

  She twirled around, showing it off. The black leather clung to her body in all the right places, emphasising her figure. “What do you think?”

  There was no way he was going to say out loud what he was thinking. “You look like a hunter,” he said. She took it as a compliment, as he had intended.

  “Just one thing.” He walked up to her, ran his hand down her leg and removed a knife from where it was hidden in its specially designed pouch. “You can’t take that in with you.”

  “I didn’t even know it was there.”

  “I know.”

  He then pulled his sword from its scabbard and handed it to her, hilt first. “You can, however, take this in with you.”

  She hesitated before accepting it. “Are you sure?” Nobody else was aware that she had been using it and she could guess what their reaction was going to be.

  He nodded. “You handle it better than you do the one you have been using.”

  “Thank you.” The words were inadequate for the gratitude she was feeling, but she didn’t know what else to say. “But what are you going to say to the others?
You know they’ll give you a hard time over this.”

  “I can handle the others,” he said. “How are you feeling?” he asked as she slipped his sword into the scabbard on her back. It was the first time she had done the movement and it felt a little awkward, but she was sure she would soon get used to it.

  “Nervous,” she admitted.

  “Don’t be. Just remember everything I have told you. Relax and let it all come naturally. You will be fine.”

  “Did Doc tell you who he has chosen?”

  JD shook his head. “No. And this is the first time he has refused to do so. He does not trust me to keep the information from you.”

  Sarah smiled. “Would you have told me?”

  JD thought about the question for a moment. “Probably.”

  “Why?”

  ‘Because I love you,’ he thought, but he couldn’t say the words out loud. “Because I want you to pass this assessment and having forehand knowledge about who you’re going to be up against would help you.” Only then did he realise that he wasn’t being completely honest. He did want her to pass her assessment, but not yet. It would mean he had no excuse to spend so much time with her.

  He forced his selfish feelings away and glanced at his watch. “I should be going. Well, you certainly look the part. Now go and show us all you can act the part. Good luck.”

  “Jason,” she called out and he turned to look at her. She clearly wanted to say something, but seemed unsure of herself. Then she shook her head. “Never mind. It can wait.”

  JD was tempted not to leave, to give her chance to say what she wanted to, but he couldn’t risk her being late, so he gave her a reassuring smile, then left the room.

  Everyone else was already on the balcony when he arrived. “How is she?” Craig asked.

  “Nervous.”

  They heard the doors of the arena open, then close again. Sarah locked them, then walked into the centre of the room. She was shaking slightly as her nerves got the better of her. Everyone on the balcony immediately noticed she had JD’s sword on her back and all eyes turned to him.