"It was still torture," she confessed.
"And fun," Anton pointed out.
Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him in contempt, Anton simply smiled back.
Soon they reached the main gate. On the other side, another set of paramedics waited with an ambulance. Everybody around them was human, all except for the three of them. Rebecca didn't have a need for their help; instead, she begged for a change of clothes. As if summoned, a paramedic ran to her with a duffle bag.
"What's this?" She opened the zipper to find a fresh set of clothes for her to change into.
"I thought you would appreciate that," Dylan said. It had been his idea. Rebecca turned to look at him with gratitude. "You can change in one of the rooms inside the main building. We'll wait here."
Rebecca left them to go change. The terror of the test behind her.
The two men waited until she disappeared through the building doors.
"You chose well, my friend," Anton suggested. "Who would have thought?"
"She still needs to train," Dylan stated. "She's not ready for the job."
"Oh, but she will be, I've no doubt. She will make a decent partner." Dylan nodded. "But tell me, Dylan, how ever did you convince her to turn into a vampire?"
Dylan scoffed. "I can be very persuasive."
"I see. Most importantly, does she have any idea why you chose her? Does she know why it had to be her?"
Dylan faced Anton. "No, and we will keep it that way for now."
Anton looked taken aback, "Surely you plan to tell her the truth."
"Stop, Anton. She could be listening."
"But, Dylan, you must see why you need to-"
"We are done talking about this," Dylan insisted.
Anton sighed, his own clothes tattered and stained with blood. He looked like a lunatic freshly escaped from a mental institution. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, my friend, but suit yourself. Remember, she is a vampire now."
For a moment Dylan wanted to say more. He wanted to tell his friend and mentor what Rebecca really meant to him. He wanted to tell him what she made him feel. Right then, Rebecca stepped out of the building looking refreshed, the duffle bag hanging from one shoulder.
"Well, there she is," Anton announced. "Come now, I am dying to get out of these filthy clothes."
“There is no way he’s riding with us,” Rebecca raised her voice as she saw Anton get in the car. “Not after what he did.”
“I did not try to kill you. Don’t be so melodramatic,” Anton said. “Tell her, Dylan.”
Dylan walked around the car and opened the passenger door. He leaned in to reach the glove compartment from where he took out two pairs of sunglasses. He threw one to Anton, who was quick to put them on; he gave the other pair to Rebecca. “Get in, Becca.”
“You have no idea what he did to me in there,” Rebecca insisted while taking the sunglasses and realizing her eyes had been bothering her ever since the cloudy skies had parted.
“It was just a test,” Dylan stated. He then repeated, “Get in the car, Becca.”
She wouldn’t; she was sure she would see Anton in her nightmares for a long time, she did not want him in the car. It hadn't been the way to introduce her to one of Dylan's friends. Anton, who was already in the car, opened the window, taking his head out, “I did not try to kill you. If anything, we had fun,” he insisted. “And I am not walking home. If you haven’t noticed, the helicopter flew away a few minutes ago and I'm not riding the ambulance. It’s beneath me.”
Rebecca turned to see an amused Dylan get in the car, starting the engine. A reluctant Rebecca got in the passenger seat. It would be unnerving having that psycho in the back seat, but she knew wouldn't be able to get rid of him.
“I’m not talking to you,” she informed Anton as she buckled her seatbelt.
Anton laughed from the back seat. “I bet you can’t wait for those hormones to get disconnected,” he addressed Dylan. No one answered him. “Am I right?”
“Shut up, Anton.”
He did. They rode in silence for almost half an hour before Rebecca felt at ease, swallowed her pride, and gathered the courage to ask something she was curious to find out. “How do you two know each other?” Dylan looked at Rebecca, but turned to concentrate on the road without answering. “Well?”
Anton leaned over between them to reply. “I made him,” Anton revealed. Rebecca’s eyes widened and Dylan looked away. With a huge grin, he added, “And he was delicious.”
“Will you just stop?” Dylan asked one more time.
Anton leaned back laughing. “You take life too seriously.”
Rebecca turned to look at Dylan. “Is it true?” She tried to ignore the man laughing in the back seat. Before Dylan could answer, she thought of something else. “He’s the one who found you, isn’t he? In New York? With the werewolf?”
“Glad to hear at least she knows about that one,” Anton said from behind.
Rebecca turned to the back seat to face him, not understanding what that had meant. “I thought you were a vampire hunter.”
“I am.”
“But, if Dylan was attacked by a werewolf, then why-?”
“Ms. Sawyer, I have been alive for hundreds of years; in that time, I’ve done a lot of things for this agency. Not just hunt vampires.”
It took Rebecca a while to digest what she was learning. Another thought came to her, then. “He bit you?” she asked Dylan, making a face of disgust.
“He had to,” Dylan said. “Back then, there wasn’t a magic pill like the one you took. Right after he drank my blood, I had to drink his.”
They arrived at the agency about one hour later. The sun was up in the sky and Rebecca was grateful when they started down the ramp to the underground parking lot. Home sweet home. She took the sunglasses off and put them back in the glove compartment. Dylan had several extra pairs in it. For emergencies, she thought.
“I would invite you out for a glass of wine, but I leave tomorrow morning and I would rather use my time with you-know-who, if you know what I mean,” Anton’s words were meant to confused Rebecca. “I know it breaks your heart,” Anton added when Dylan said nothing, “We can catch up some other time.”
Once they were all in the elevator Dylan turned to face his friend. “We really should talk, Anton,” Dylan told him. “Maybe next time.”
Anton agreed and both men shook hands.
“It truly was a pleasure, Rebecca Sawyer.” Anton offered his hand to her, which she shook. Then, as he had done earlier, he bowed to her with one hand behind his back. “And please know that I am looking forward to working with you soon.”
Working with him? Rebecca wasn’t sure she was ready to hunt vampires, let alone with him.
“Thank you for everything, Anton,” Dylan added.
“You are very welcome,” he told him. Then, to Rebecca: “Welcome to the agency, Ms. Sawyer.”
When the elevator stopped on the first sublevel, they watched him exit before the doors closed again.
“What an interesting man,” Rebecca said.
Dylan nodded. “Yes. He is interesting. And he’s also right.” He turned to look at her, “Welcome to N.A.V.S.A., Agent Sawyer.”
Rebecca smiled when she heard that. She had done it. She had become a secret agent. Life was about to get way more interesting.
NEWSLETTER AND MORE
Building a relationship with my readers is the very best thing about writing. I send a monthly newsletter with details on new releases, special offers, and other news.
Get the FREE prequel (only available to subscribers), a novelette describing the events prior to “The Recruit” when you join my mailing list: Here.
Enjoy this book? You can make a big difference
Reviews are the most powerful tools when it comes to getting attention for my books. As much as I’d like to, I don’t have the financial potential of a major publishing house.
But, I do have something much more powerful an
d effective than that: A committed and loyal group of readers.
Honest reviews of my books help bring them to the attention of other readers.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, I would be very grateful if you could spend five minutes leaving a review on the book’s Amazon page. You can go to the page by clicking below:
AMAZON
Thank you very much.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claudia Silva is the author of the North American Vampire Secret Agency series and other dark fantasy tales. You can find her online home at www.claudia-silva.com.
You can also connect with Claudia on Twitter @csilvaauthor, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/claudiasilvaauthor and you can always email her at [email protected].
ALSO BY CLAUDIA SILVA
Have you read the North American Vampire Secret Agency Series?
The North American Vampire Secret Agency (NAVSA) series follows the adventures of Rebecca Sawyer as she joins werewolf hunter Dylan Torrence in battling werewolves and other supernatural threats that terrorize mankind.
Book 1: The Recruit
Book 2: Werewolf Pbenomenon
Book 3: The Fall of Witchcraft
Book 4 - 6 to be released soon
Find the series on Amazon
You may also enjoy these short stories:
Rivals
There's a reason Detective Erik Peterson likes working alone... he has a dark secret.
When there is a new and strange case to be solved, will he be able to hunt down the killer everybody calls The Vampire after he gets assigned a new and inexperienced partner? How will he be able to keep his secret with a nosy new detective on his heels?
Find it on Amazon
Why Can’t I Be Here?
One day, Kerri walked down the street to The House. At first, everything feels right. She is happy.
She is warned her welcome won't last by a mysterious girl and she begins to understand there is a secret The House is hiding. Something that won't let her stay... but, what is it? Why won't they let her stay?
Find it on Amazon
Magma Girl
For superhero, Magma Girl, life isn't a fairy tale at all. One day she decides to tell her best friend her secret and what she really thinks of the life she leads.
Things will never be the same.
Find it on Amazon
Vocation
Jeremy is cursed. He knows what his dream is. He knows what he was born to do. Will the curse stop him from following his vocation.
Find it on Amazon
SNEAK PEEK: WEREWOLF PHENOMENON
“WHERE AM I?” Rebecca asked an empty room she had no memory of entering. Shaking her head and narrowing her eyes to focus on what surrounded her, she found she could not get rid of the blurriness in her vision. There was something wrong. Something didn’t make sense. She knew her senses were supposed to be enhanced, perfect - they were far from it. She had gotten used to seeing better and farther, hearing clearer and louder and even catching the scent of things she didn’t need to smell. Now, everything felt muffled and mixed together; as if she were inside a bubble that made it all seem messy, dirty and dark.
The walls looked like shadows of black and blue. The room seemed to have no way in or out, it didn't seem to have an end. Everything, while so clear before, was confusing and behind shadows now.
For all she knew, she was alone; and yet, he answered her question.
“You’re in a training room inside the agency.”
Dylan’s voice sounded as if he had been standing right next to her, close to her. The way he had stated what she knew all along made her think she had missed when she had arrived at this particular room. That moment did not exist in her mind and she doubted it had ever happened.
Although, the room looked familiar, somehow. It seemed to follow the same architecture the training rooms on sublevels 12 and 13 had in common. The four plain walls, the low ceiling height. It was only missing a door.
Straining to see what was beyond the darkness, she asked, “What’s on the other side?” She was asking Dylan, wherever he may be. She was sure she had heard him speak, but when she turned around, she couldn't see anyone else there with her. Right then, something in front of her moved. It had been just for a second, and as her vision became more refined, she was sure whatever was trapped in the darkness with her, had woken up.
Dylan’s voice faded away with his last answer, “You know what to do.”
She turned to his voice only to find more emptiness; it made her heart quicken. She was alone with no memory of how she’d gotten there or why. If it had been Dylan who had spoken, she couldn’t remember now. Dylan, the vampire who had convinced her to become like him was now leaving her there, alone, to die. No. It couldn't be. Dylan loved her. They had fallen in love somehow and she had become a vampire to be with him. He wouldn’t leave her to die. There had to be a rational explanation for what was happening. And yet, everything she remembered now felt like a dream, almost like it had happened decades ago – or like it had never happened at all. What if she had made it all up? What if her desire to find someone who understood her was so great she had created a fantasy world to replace the emptiness she felt? Maybe vampires didn't really exist and she hadn't turned into one.
Wait. That couldn’t be right. Dylan Torrence was a vampire. He was a member of the North American Vampire Secret agency. And he was real. It was all real. Rebecca focused her energy on her memories, ignoring the threat in front of her. Yes, she had come to the vampire agency. She was a vampire. Dylan had made her, trained her, loved her. He still did. He couldn't have abandoned her when she was about to help him fight the supernatural monsters that threatened mankind. They would protect the world together.
If she was so close to becoming his partner in the field, it couldn't make sense to trap her in a room with no way out. There had a reason this was happening. Perhaps she had gone there freely. Perhaps she had agreed to another test. She doubted someone had forced her in, she was too powerful to be controlled like that. Although, there was something that... no, it couldn't be. She was always careful to keep the best inside under control.
There was no time to over think things, whatever lurked in the darkness had awakened.
“Wait,” she called to the empty room. It was useless, she was alone.
No, she wasn’t. Not alone.
Rebecca heard something that sounded like a switch. The click echoed in the room, followed by a mechanical whirring too low for a human being to hear. Rebecca wasn’t just human, not anymore, she could hear it loud and clear. The surrounding air moved; her hair floating near her face, brushing against her cold skin. Something was about to happen, but what? She looked around again, trying to get a clue of where she was or what would happen. One thing she knew - she had to get out of there. She ran to one wall, then the next. It was useless. She was trapped. Her anxiety level grew.
Suddenly, she stopped, noticing something she had paid little attention to before. How could she have ignored it?
The glass wall was crystal clear, something easily missed. But it was there, she could see it now separating her from whatever hid in the darkness before her, blocking its scent from her.
She then noticed the glass wall was moving. It was disappearing into the floor below it. As it was being consumed, she knew whatever waited on the other side would join her.
With the glass gone, the familiar stench coming from the other end of the room made it to her nostrils. The repulsive scent could only mean a werewolf was on the other side of the room. Her vampire side awoke, becoming overwhelmed with a plethora of thoughts and emotions.
The creature she feared meeting was trapped in that room with her. But, how? It was impossible. How had she gotten to the room in the first place? How had it? There must be a way out, a door she had failed to find. Perhaps it waited on the other side of the room where the werewolf would soon react to the scent of her vampire blood.
The soft guttural growl fro
ze her. The glass had almost disappeared under the floor. If it wanted, the wolf could attack her now, crossing the invisible threshold that separated them.
Danger, her instinct warned.
Rebecca remembered the scent far too well, by now it was too familiar; Dylan had helped her control the impulses that jumped out of her when she was close to it. She should have been able to fight it, to resist its effect, yet all she kept hearing inside her brain was one word: Danger. She covered her ears with both hands, gritting her teeth as if that would stop the warning inside her own mind. It was no use, her vampiric side was already taking control of her thoughts; soon it would take hold of her body. She could feel the electricity running through her as her power focused on one thing: destroy.
From the darkness, what she knew had been waiting breathed louder; the growls now more frequent. Rebecca’s last drop of consciousness could make out a silhouette walking towards her right before the vampire in her took over. Before she lost all control of herself she saw it, the werewolf. The huge beast was coming to destroy her, its two bright yellow eyes lit up like lanterns joined by a terrifying guttural sound coming from inside the beast’s core.
The Recruit Page 26
