“I was afraid of that.” I pull the girls into a squish hug. “It becoming addictive, I mean.”
Sierra bounces on her toes. “It worked. So awesome!” Her enthusiasm fades to seriousness. “I was scared. Like, really scared. She fixed it.”
“Hey, nothing wrong with being scared. Everyone gets scared.” I pat her on the back, then relax the hug.
“I was super, super careful. Coralie said nothing bad would happen to her because of the magic.” Sophia slouches, relieved she no longer has to keep what she did a secret.
“You haven’t told Sierra the rest of what she said.” I wink at her.
Sierra stares at her. “Spill.”
Sophia lets out a long, slow breath. “Coralie said because I used Sarah’s hair in the spell and based the effect on a boost from a vampire, it, umm… might take you a little longer to grow up.”
Sierra’s eyebrows become a flat line. “Uhh, what?”
“Sorry.” Sophia winces. “It’s from the protection part. Apparently, the spell considers growing up an ‘attack’ on your body. There’s a chance you might grow up slow. You’re not stuck like a vampire at twelve… but you might take like five years to turn thirteen.”
Sierra gives me this ‘help’ look.
“It’s also just a chance. Might not even do it.” Sophia bites her lip. “We won’t really know for a while until it’s obvious you should be taller and aren’t.”
“Hey, not the end of the world.” I press my knuckles into Sierra’s shoulder and give a little shove. “Every class has a runt. This kid Lee I graduated with was eighteen but looked younger than you are. He was really small. You could pass for a short high school student, except for the obvious.”
“What obvious?” Sierra resumes glaring.
“No curves. You have the shape of a tween. Nothing baggy clothes can’t fix if you’re stuck like this in high school.”
Sierra’s expression goes mixed. “Does it mean I’m gonna live longer than I ought to?”
“Maybe.” Sophia shrugs. “Coralie didn’t say you’re definitely aging slow. Just a chance. But, yeah if you are, you’ll live a long time.”
Sierra fidgets at her shirt. “Whatever. Boys can wait. Easy trade for getting a couple more decades to live.”
“Umm, if it worked, it’s like a five to one thing.” Sophia whistles innocently. “You might live to 400.”
Sierra grabs Sophia by the collar in both hands. “No way. If that’s gonna happen, you better enchant yourself, too. Don’t wanna watch you die and still have over 300 years left to miss you.”
Aww. I tear up.
“Working on it,” rasps Sophia. “Need air.”
Sierra lets go. “What about Sam?”
“Oh, he’s already gonna live as long as he wants. I dunno the details, but he made a deal with Olmaz because he didn’t want Sarah to be lonely.”
Sierra and I gawk at her.
“He’s going to grow up.” Sophia shrugs. “Like I said, I don’t know all the details.”
“Umm.” Sierra looks at me. “So, if this really happens, how am I going to deal with it at school?”
I pat her on the shoulder. “Nothing will be noticeable until at least mid to late high school. Just be the short kid. If anyone gives you grief, I’ll mind-zap them to leave you alone.”
Sierra folds her arms. “You won’t have to. No one’s going to bully me.”
“At least be diplomatic, okay? Mom will be mad if you get expelled for breaking too many arms.”
She laughs.
The doorbell rings.
“Okay. Good meeting. Just…” I poke Sophia in the side. “Mind the grand larceny, okay?”
“Totally.” She traces an X over her chest. “Only did it ’cause Sierra’s life.”
I nod.
The girls return to their friends. I get the door. It’s Hunter. Ooh, yeah. Date time.
37
The Last Boyfriend
We’re in Hunter’s old Buick, driving to our backup date plan, a haunted mansion tour.
It’s freakin’ pouring, so going for a nature hike is off the table. Talk about ambiance, taking a tour of a giant haunted house out in the countryside during a gloomy monsoon of a rainstorm. Maybe I could get a ‘job’ as a spirit medium or a debunker of supposedly-but-not-really haunted places. Nah. Who would pay for that?
There’s something about driving in a pounding rainstorm. It’s not at all soothing, but at least I’m not terrified. It’s dark enough for me to temporarily redirect power from my sun resistance to general vampire toughness in the event of a crash and not burn. My only worry is Hunter getting hurt. Fortunately, he’s driving like my Dad. Then again, this is a twelve-year-old Buick. Even if he wanted to drive like a typical guy his age, he couldn’t. Most gas pedals tell the car to go. This gas pedal asks nicely.
“I’ve been trying to figure out if I should do something for our dating anniversary,” says Hunter.
“It’s fine. I’m not one of those neurotic girls who makes a big deal out of one-month, three-month, and six-month dating anniversaries. If you ask me, girls who do that are deeply insecure… or shocked a relationship lasted that long.”
He laughs.
“It’s sweet if you want to do something special. Not going to complain, but don’t worry about me being upset if you don’t.”
“Okay. Figured I’d take you somewhere like a ballet or theater production, but you’re not really into either one of those.”
“Neither are you.”
“True. What I’m into doesn’t matter when trying to do something nice for you. If you like something, I’ll like it—or at least tolerate it.”
My turn to laugh. “If you do something for me, I adore it no matter what day of the year it is.”
He takes my hand.
“I love holding hands with you, but we’re driving in a downpour. Might want to keep it on the wheel.”
“We’re at a red light.”
I blink. “Oh. So we are.”
He chuckles. “You are so cute when you’re confused.”
“I’m not confused. I’m in deep thought.”
“Oh?” He leans over to kiss me. The light goes green the instant our lips touch. He keeps kissing me for a few seconds until the people behind us honk. “What are you thinking about?”
I stay quiet for a moment as we start driving again. It’s been on my mind for a while. Never quite got around to saying it to him. Probably should. “No matter what happened, you were going to be my last boyfriend, anyway.”
“Uhh, what do you mean?”
“Well, after Scott, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to take the chance again.”
Hunter nods. “Understandable.”
“Stupid right? Not like I could be murdered a second time.” I puff at a strand of hair over my face.
He emits a forced chuckle. My being a vampire doesn’t bother him at all. The idea of me almost dying is what bothers him.
“I mean, after we met in the admissions office, I pretty much made up my mind you’d be the last boyfriend. It would either work or not. If things with you went bad, I’d probably never bother with boys again. Things with you are not bad, so we probably would’ve ended up spending the rest of our lives together, which also means no more boyfriends for me.”
“But… you’re gonna live longer than me. Like, forever.”
“Yep.” I lean against him. “When I lose you, I’m not going to want to go through it all again. Not sure I will ever get over the loss. I’m never going to have with anyone else what I have with you.”
He’s quiet for a while. The drumming of rain on the car feels like a military march at a state funeral. The moment’s gone from romantic to maudlin. My head fills with images of me pretending to be a surprise granddaughter at Hunter’s funeral, surrounded by… well, no one. We wouldn’t have kids. Maybe an old man version of Ronan would be there. The Littles, too. My brain turns Sophia and Sierra into a pair of eternal twelve-year-ol
ds, creepy like those kids in The Shining. Sam’s a dapper twenty-something with Blix perched on his shoulder. Heh. Ugh, my life.
“Do you think I should become a vampire?” asks Hunter.
I shrug one shoulder. “Can’t make that decision for you. It’s all you.”
“But how do you feel about it?”
“Umm. Both options suck in their own way. Either you get old and die, or you die and don’t get old.”
“Hah.” He wags his eyebrows attempting to drive faster, but the car kinda shrugs in response. “What’s that thing about live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse?”
“Ugh. Pretentious douchebaggery. Besides, haven’t you seen vampire movies? If a vampire falls in love with a mortal, the one who isn’t a vampire always gets turned into a vampire, too. Feels cliché.”
“Oh. Well, that’s it then. I’d so hate to be a cliché.” He snickers. “Gotta avoid that at all costs.”
I flash a sly grin. “Do you really want to put your mother and Ronan through the wringer?”
“Would they have to know? Who says we need to tell them anything or fake a public death?”
“You want to do the same thing I did.” I cringe. “It’s pretty hard to hide. Don’t you want kids?”
“I dunno. Ronan could carry on the family. And honestly… if our dad is any judge of who we are genetically, maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world for our line to stop.”
“Hunter, you are nothing like him. And neither is Ronan.”
“Sorry.” He looks down.
“Hey. Eyes on the road. And what are you apologizing for?”
“Heh.” He leans back, clicking the wipers up a notch to go faster. “Sorry for making you think about this stuff. It’s obviously upsetting you.”
“Eh. It’s okay. Both choices, like I said, suck.”
Hunter wags his eyebrows at me. “Vampirism sucks more.”
I groan. “You have been spending entirely too much time around my dad.”
He laughs.
I point at the road ahead. “Drive.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
fin
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading Vampire Innocent book 12! Sarah and the Littles will return in book 13.
Additional thanks to Lee Sheridan for editing and Alexandria Thompson for the cover and interior art.
About the Author
Originally from South Amboy NJ, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Since 1996, he has developed the “Divergent Fates” world, in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, The Awakened Series, The Harmony Paradox, and the Daughter of Mars series take place. Along with being an editor at Curiosity Quills press, he has worked in IT and technical support.
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom RPG systems, and a fan of anime, British humour, and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Visit me online at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewSCoxAuthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/matthewcox10420/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7712730.Matthew_S_Cox
Email: [email protected]
Other books by Matthew S. Cox
Divergent Fates Universe Novels
Division Zero series
Division Zero
Lex De Mortuis
Thrall
Guardian
Harbinger
The Shadow Fixer
The Awakened series
Prophet of the Badlands
Archon’s Queen
Grey Ronin
Daughter of Ash
Zero Rogue
Angel Descended
Daughter of Mars series
The Hand of Raziel
Araphel
Ghost Black
Virtual Immortality series
Virtual Immortality
The Harmony Paradox
Prophet of the Badlands Series
Prophet’s Journey
Divergent Fates Anthology
(Fiction Novels - Adult)
The Roadhouse Chronicles Series
One More Run
The Redeemed
Dead Man’s Number
Faded Skies series
Heir Ascendant
Ascendant Unrest
Ascendant Revolution
Temporal Armistice Series
Nascent Shadow
The Shadow Collector
The Gate to Oblivion
The Queen of Discord
Vampire Innocent series
A Nighttime of Forever
A Beginner’s Guide to Fangs
The Artist of Ruin
The Last Family Road Trip
The Phantom Oracle
How Not to Summon Demons
Ordinary Problems of a College Vampire
A Vampire’s Guide to Surviving Holidays
An Introduction to Paranormal Diplomacy
A Vampire’s Guide to Adulting
How to Stop a Vampire War in Six Easy Steps
Ancient Vampire Death Cults and Other Annoyances
Standalones
Wayfarer: AV494
Axillon99
Chiaroscuro: The Mouse and the Candle
The Spirits of Six Minstrel Run
Sophie’s Light
The Far Side of Promise anthology
Operation: Chimera (with Tony Healey)
The Dysfunctional Conspiracy (with Christopher Veltmann)
Of Myth and Shadow
The Girl Who Found the Sun
Winter Solstice series (with J.R. Rain)
Convergence
Containment
Catalyst
Catacombs
Alexis Silver series (with J.R. Rain)
Silver Light
Deep Silver
Silver Quarrel
Silver Crucible
Samantha Moon Origins series (with J.R. Rain)
New Moon Rising
Moon Mourning
Haunted Moon
Vampire For Hire series (with J.R. Rain)
Moon Master
Dead Moon
Lost Moon
Vampire Destiny
Infinite Moon
Vampire Empress
Maddy Wimsey series (with J.R. Rain)
The Devil’s Eye
The Drifting Gloom
Dark Mercy
Samantha Moon Case Files series (with J.R. Rain)
Blood Moon
Immortal Operative (with J.R. Rain)
Broken Ice
Four Elements series (with J.R. Rain)
The Elementalist
The Black Rose
The Wakefield Curse
Young Adult Novels
The Eldritch Heart Series
The Eldritch Heart
The Cursed Crown
The Sapphire Soul
Evergreen Series
Evergreen
The World That Remains
The Lucky Ones
Nuclear Summer
The Nuclear Frontier
Progenitor Series
Out of Sight
Out of Mind
Diary of a Teenage Fey
(Short story series)
Elder Horror
The Hag of Barrow Falls
Babysitter’s Nightmare
Lharakki
Bauble for a Soul
Simulacrum
Amorphous
Manticore
Standalones
Caller 107
The Summer the World Ended
Nine Candles of Deepest Black
The Forest Beyond the Earth
Middle Grade Novels
The Adventures of Ubergirl series
My Dad is a Mad Scientist
Aliens Ate My Homework
The End of all H
alloweens
Dr. Infinity and the Soul Smasher
Tales of Widowswood series
Emma and the Banderwigh
Emma and the Silk Thieves
Emma and the Silverbell Faeries
Emma and the Elixir of Madness
Emma and the Weeping Spirit
Standalones
Citadel: The Concordant Sequence
The Cursed Codex
The Menagerie of Jenkins Bailey
Vampire Innocent | Book 12 | Ancient Vampire Death Cults & Other Annoyances Page 31
