by Taft, J L
Trent cleared his throat and reached for Fiona’s hand. “We had a run-in with a vamp last night and he called her ‘hunter’,” he told his granny.
Fiona was starting to understand. She realized this had been coming. She already knew her grandmother was a hunter and Fiona understood she was going to be somehow involved in this.
Eve heaved a sigh. “This is worse than I first suspected. I’m sorry, Fiona. Eleanor and I both thought that we would have time to ease you into this. But time it seems isn’t going to wait. You are the next hunter and it’s time for you to take your place.”
Chapter Nine
“You are the next hunter. The world will not survive without you. Since the birth of the first vampire there has always been a hunter to keep the peace and to dole out justice. Some vamps are not evil, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But others take joy in killing and would turn the human population into cattle if left with no consequences. It’s your job to make sure they have those consequences.”
Fiona took a deep breath. It was so much to think about all at once but she knew this was what she was meant to do.
She reached for Trent’s hand before she could stop herself. He laced their fingers and gave her a smile and she immediately felt better.
“Meeting a vamp from the dark side last night was dangerous,” Eve went on. “You are both lucky to be alive. Few have had an encounter like that and survived to talk about it.”
Trent raised her hand and kissed her fingers, offering her his silent strength. Their gazes caught and held for a brief second before she turned back to Eve.
“Okay, what do we do next?” Fiona asked.
Fiona reflected later that Trent’s “Granny” was more of a drill sergeant than a grandmother. As soon as she had asked what was next, the little woman had become a force to be reckoned with.
She had insisted they stay with her for the next few days while they got things in order. Trent had been sent off to get clothing for both of them. She had even sent him to the grocery store and he hadn’t complained.
She had giggled when he rolled his eyes behind Granny’s back and winked at her. It still felt strange to her to have such a deep connection with a man. But it wasn’t a bad feeling.
While he was gone Eve had explained her dreams to her a little better. They were a warning she would have to learn to use.
“My grandmother had these same dreams?” Fiona asked as Eve rummaged in a cupboard for something.
“Yes, my dear, she did. Once she stepped in line and completed the ceremony, she used them as an early-warning system. Sometimes she would get a vision only an hour before it happened but sometimes that was all she needed. Someday you will be able to call upon them at will. Ah! Here it is!”
Eve pulled a long, dark-purple, almost-sheer robe out and held it up to Fiona. “This was your great-grandmother’s and now it is yours.” She handed Fiona the robe and Fiona ran her fingers over the material. It gave her a sense of heritage that she wasn’t alone and this was meant to be.
They heard Eve’s old truck pull up the drive and Fiona hurried to meet Trent outside.
He jumped from the truck and swung her into his arms, kissing her as if he hadn’t seen her for days instead of a few hours.
“Trent! Stop it, what if your grandmother sees us?” Fiona said as she giggled and pushed uselessly against his hard chest.
“Too late,” he said as he nodded and Fiona turned to see Granny on the porch.
She was smiling at them and then turned to go back inside.
Trent dug the bags out of the back and Fiona grabbed her backpack that he had thrown clothes in for her. “Trent?”
“Yeah?”
“What was the warning your grandmother was talking about earlier?”
“Can we talk about it later? I’ve gotta get this stuff inside.”
“I guess so.” Fiona couldn’t escape the feeling he didn’t want her to know. But she vowed to drag it out of him sooner or later.
Granny made them an early dinner and Fiona absorbed the feeling of having this small family accept her. She lived a lonely life and she suddenly realized how much she had been missing.
It was also amazing to her that Eve used her talent in front of them without any worry. As she cooked she had utensils float into her hand and Fiona was in awe that this woman didn’t fear sharing her secrets.
After dinner was cleaned up Eve told her to go and take a shower and change into the robe.
She knew she had to do the ceremony but she was getting nervous. Her hands shook when she put on the robe, and when she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror she knew she couldn’t leave the bathroom looking like this.
She was naked under the purple fabric and it showed more than it covered. Taking a deep, calming breath, she bent to dig into the bag Trent had brought with her clothes in it.
She was just about to change when someone knocked on the door.
“Fiona? Are you ready?” came Eve’s voice form the other side.
“No! I’m not ready,” Fiona called out.
“Do you need help?” Eve didn’t wait for a reply and let herself into the small bathroom. “You are ready! Come along, there is no time to waste.”
Grabbing Fiona by the wrist, she tugged her to the living room. The room was cast in shadow and at first Fiona didn’t see Trent as he stood by the window. He turned and she heard him suck in a breath.
“Granny, are you sure this is necessary?” he asked.
“Of course. Some things cannot be changed. Stay in here, Trent, and I’ll help Fiona get set up.”
She took calming breaths as Eve led her outside and down a narrow garden path. Darkness had fallen and the stars twinkled overhead. The sweet scent of Eve’s flowers filled the air and soothed Fiona.
The garden opened up to a center circle. It was made of natural rocks that had been painstakingly placed in a smooth, swirling design.
Eve told her to sit in the center with her legs crossed. The rocks were cool under her ass and she shivered. Fiona blinked in surprise when Eve waved her hands and dozens of tall, white candles sputtered to life on the edge of the circle.
“The white light is to provide you with some protection,” Eve told her.
“Protection from what?”
“Come now, Fiona. You must realize that there are many things in this world that we don’t understand. And not all of them are good. You will be vulnerable while you receive the memories. But I’ll be close by and so will Trent. So just relax and find the place that makes you centered.”
“But…” Fiona began but Eve had already disappeared into the darkness. Fiona heaved a sigh. That woman was annoyingly demanding.
She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but she slowed her breathing anyway. She relaxed her muscles one by one and imagined the same garden she always did.
It came easier than she expected and she glanced overhead, making sure there were no dark clouds rolling in. She didn’t want to be caught unaware as she had last time. Logically she knew it was nighttime but she always imagined her special place with sunshine and this time was no different.
Even though the sun was shining, it wasn’t her usual garden. It was Eve’s. There was a strange sense that Fiona was no longer in control of this place and what was about to happen.
She sat in the same place Eve put her, afraid to wander out of the circle of protective light. An eagle flew overhead and Fiona shielded her eyes to watch it soar closer. She held her breath as it circled and then landed a few feet away from her within the circle.
Its wings stirred the wind and made the candle flames flicker and sway but they didn’t go out.
Fiona stared at it, thinking how beautiful it was. But as she watched, the shape of the predatory bird faded and shimmered. A blinding blast of white light and wind hit her in the face, blowing her hair back and rocking her body.
She blinked away the spots the light had caused and when her eyes finally focus
ed she stared in shock.
“Grandma?” she whispered.
Eleanor was sitting across from her and it looked as though she was wearing the same purple robe Fiona had on. But that was impossible.
“It’s time, Fiona. I’m sorry I wasn’t around long enough to explain everything that I wanted to.”
“How is it possible that you are here?” Fiona was having a hard time understanding what was going on.
“Relax, my child, and know that I love you and I’ll always be with you.”
Her words calmed Fiona and her eyelids grew heavy. Her body went limp and then the memories started. At first they were just little glimpses but they got stronger with every passing second.
The smell of the spilled blood hit her nose and the screams of the human victims reached her ears. But always Eleanor was there, fighting with a lethal-looking katana sword. The steel of the blade glinted as she slashed at her vampire victims with it.
The memories poured in faster and faster, so quickly they started to blur together. There was so much blood.
Fiona could see the kills her grandmother had made, the vamps who had crossed the line and drank too deeply, killing the human.
But the blood of the vamps brought a feeling of satisfaction. Especially when the images took on a dreamlike quality and Fiona knew she was seeing the deaths of the humans who had been used like pieces of meat.
They were tossed aside with no regard for their lives and the people who would miss them. The images kept coming, filling her mind with the screams of loss and the desperation of the last few minutes of their existences.
Then she felt the pain of losing a mate. It had happened several times in the course of her family history and it was almost more than she could bear. But she understood. A hunter was meant to be alone.
When it finally stopped she was so exhausted she couldn’t lift herself from the cold stone underneath her. Every limb felt weighted down with lead and she was helpless to move them. Her eyes closed and she was lost before her body slumped forward.
Trent paced back and forth along the small confines of Granny’s kitchen. He could see the shape of Fiona through the window but it didn’t make him feel any better.
Granny seemed to be a little on edge herself and it only made matters worse.
“For goodness sake, Trent! Sit down before you wear a hole through my floor!” Granny demanded.
Trent sprawled in a kitchen chair and watched her calmly stir her tea.
“Aren’t you worried?” he asked. His fingers unconsciously went to his face and rubbed the still-strange-feeling skin there.
She looked up at him and set her spoon down. “Some things can’t be altered. This is an experience that Fiona must go through herself and we can’t interfere.” She reached for his hand and gripped it tightly. “This is why I warned you, Trent. You can’t help her. The life of a hunter is a dangerous and lonely road.”
A crack of thunder rumbled in the distance and they both jumped in surprise. Trent went to the window and the light from the candles was gone. He could no longer see the shape of Fiona’s back in the garden.
He barreled out the back door, ignoring his grandmother shouting for him to wait behind him. He reached Fiona’s side in seconds.
She was slumped into a heap on the cold rocks. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her inside the house.
He laid her on the couch and tried to wake her. She mumbled incoherently and when she did open her eyes they were unfocused. He began to worry and glanced up at Granny, who was hovering close to his shoulder.
“Let me try, Trent,” she said as she prodded him out of the way. She sat next to Fiona and held her hands in her own as she said some quietly whispered words.
Fiona jerked awake and called out, “Trent!”
He was by her side in an instant and leaned down close to her beautiful face. She was pale and her eyes were huge. It took her a second to focus on him but when she did he knew in that moment there was no one else for him.
“Trent?” she breathed and smiled slightly at him.
“I’m right here,” he whispered.
“I know what I have to do now,” she told him.
“It’s okay,” he said as he squeezed her fingers and lifted them to his mouth to kiss her soft skin.
“So tired,” she mumbled as her eyelids closed and she slipped into sleep.
He watched over her throughout the night, pulling her into his lap on his granny’s lumpy couch when she thrashed in her sleep, holding her tight against him.
Dawn broke over the sky in a wide array of colors, deep purples and pinks then changing to yellow and gold before finally the bright blue of a new day.
Fiona woke in Trent’s lap, warm and safe. His strong arms held her close and his even breathing assured her he was asleep. She knew she would never be able to move without waking him up. Now that she was awake she remembered everything from the night before in vivid detail.
She didn’t even have to focus and the memories were there for her to call upon. Every kill. Every failure. Every face was there in her mind.
All of the training Grandma had picked up from her own grandmother was there in her brain. Almost as if it were her own. It was no match for real-life experience but it would certainly give her an advantage.
She knew now how important it was for her to take her place in line as a hunter. They kept the balance between the oblivious human world and the world that lay underneath.
Some of the vampires Grandma had hunted had been deserving of their fates on the end of her sword. But some of them had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had been swift to deal out her own brand of revenge in the name of justice.
Fiona could see now that Grandma Eleanor had hunted without discrimination. After her husband had been killed by a vamp she hadn’t looked twice at the ones she was killing.
She rubbed her hand against Trent’s chest as she sorted through all the new information available to her. His even breathing changed slowly and she glanced up at his face to see him looking down at her.
He had cared for her the night before and she realized she trusted him. She didn’t know when it had happened but as she stared into the clear green of his eyes she knew he would put her life before his.
She couldn’t let him. Somehow she was going to have to find a way to make him understand they couldn’t be together. It depressed her to know she had finally found someone she could open up to, only to have the possibility of a relationship ripped away before it even started.
“Morning,” he whispered, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“Morning,” she replied and tried to untangle her limbs from his lap.
His arms tightened and she stopped trying to get up.
“How do you feel?” he asked gently.
“I’m all right. Can you take me home?”
He hesitated and then said, “Let’s wait until Granny is awake before we go.”
Trent stared down at her and she felt that same shiver of awareness that had drawn her to him in the first place. His eyes dilated and changed into a darker green as his arms got tighter around her.
His mouth lowered and he brushed his warm lips against hers. Her tummy did a slow roll and her fingers went to his cheek. He groaned low in his throat and deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping into her.
He slid his arms out from under her and one hand went to the back of her head so he could tangle his fingers in her hair and pull her closer. His other hand suddenly cupped her breast and her nipple immediately hardened at his touch.
She noticed a couple things at once—the fact that she was still wearing the sheer purple robe and she could hear Eve chattering on to her cat as she came into the living room.
Fiona jerked back out of his arms and stood, hurrying out of the room to change. Closing the door to the bathroom tightly, she pulled on jeans and a shirt. She was so ready to go home.
When Trent was close she had a hard time thinking st
raight. Just his presence made her forget all the other details of her life. Details were what she lived for. They were what made her a good writer.
She needed time to process all that had happened in the last week. She hated that she had no control over any of it. But she was who she was and she would never disappoint her grandmother.
But Trent made everything difficult. Sure, she had dreamed of finding the perfect man someday, she just didn’t think it would happen last week.
Now she had a whole new life and she didn’t see how it could work between them, as much as she wanted it to.
Stomping her foot in frustration, she took a couple calming breaths before she went to join Granny and Trent in the kitchen.
She ate and made small talk. The whole time she was trying to find a way to bring up the fact that she wanted to go home without sounding rude.
She finally found an opening and it was on the tip of her tongue when Eve looked at her and said, “There is a trunk upstairs that was your grandmother’s. She left it here for you. But I want to speak to you alone for a second.” Eve looked pointedly at Trent.
“I’ll just go for a quick walk,” he replied as he got up and left the kitchen.
Eve stared at her for a long moment and Fiona wondered if she was going to tell her to stay away from her grandson.
But she didn’t say anything at all. She had a knowing look in her eye that put Fiona at ease.
“I just wanted to give you a few minutes to look through the trunk alone,” Eve told her.
Eve handed her an old-fashioned skeleton key and pointed to the stairs. Fiona didn’t hesitate. She headed for them without a word. She knew Eleanor had left her important stuff here to be guarded by her best friend.
Fiona found what she was looking for in the corner of the attic.
The trunk was large, covered in dust but still hard to miss. It was a battered brown with a curved top. Fiona got on her knees before it and inserted the key. It turned easily and she lifted the lid.
There was an outfit folded neatly and she pulled it out. It was full-body leather and it reminded her of Catwoman. Underneath were several weapons. The little silver stars she had seen last night in Grandmother’s memories. Silver stakes, which were heavier than she expected when she held one in her hand.
