“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because he’s a vampire. If it were you, would you show a vampire how to kill humans?” I stared intensely at him as a wintry wind whipped around us, expecting him to at least shiver or get goosebumps, but the brisk air didn’t seem to even phase him. I guessed it was his constant worrisome nature that kept his blood boiling and his body warmer—which I definitely enjoyed. I wasn’t cold, either, but for very different reasons. I was obviously attracted to him, at least physically. I just wasn’t sure where I stood on an emotional level.
“That’s not the same thing, Ava. Aldric’s just as eager for you to be human again as you are.” Even though I wanted to believe that, I couldn’t—not completely. There was something eating away at me about Aldric. Something that was telling me not to trust him completely.
“You can’t know that for sure, Chance. That’s all I’m trying to say. If Aldric is keeping something from me, something I need to know to survive, I want to make sure I learn it from somewhere. And where better than from real-life vampire hunters?”
“Just be careful, okay? That’s all I’m trying to say. Be careful. If something was to happen to you, I—”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, stepping around him to follow Kayla inside. “And besides, you’ll be there with me tomorrow, so you can see for yourself exactly what they might be up to.”
“I can’t,” Chance said, surprising me. I stopped just short of opening the gym door, worry spreading over my face. I hadn’t really thought much about it, I had just assumed that Chance would be there.
“Why not?” I asked, trying not to sound disappointed. He picked up on it anyway.
“I’m sorry,” he said, moving closer to me. With each step he took, I felt the tiniest jolt of fiery electricity course through me. It made me feel uncomfortable and nice at the same time. “I have to help clean up around the football field tomorrow.” Chance smiled at the confused look I was giving him. “I picked that instead of detention. I’d rather be outside doing something than stuck in a classroom on a Saturday.”
“Why did you get detention?”
“It was before you got here.” He stopped moving toward me and stepped back. His eyes fell to the ground and I could see he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Sorry,” I said, “it’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s fine. I got in a fight, big deal. Point is, I won’t be around tomorrow, so you have to be careful. Okay?” I wanted to ask him more about the fight he was in, but decided it was probably best to let it go. He didn’t really seem to be in the talking mood, and it truly was none of my business.
“I’ll be careful, I promise.” I had a sudden and overpowering urge to hug him, to feel his warm, strong arms wrapping around me and squeezing me close. The desire came out of nowhere and totally caught me off guard. I fumbled a bit as I tried to open the door. “Okay,” I said awkwardly, “go play.” He smiled that beautiful smile of his and ran off to join the jumble of muscles and testosterone out on the field. I watched him catch a football and run to the other end, cheering and high-fiving the other guys when he scored, tufts of dirt and snow tossed into the air by their horse-playing. He was enjoying being a teenager, and I immediately became worried that I would be the one to take that away from him.
1
8. ACCEPTANCE
I was actually kind of nervous when I woke up the next morning, and I wasn’t exactly sure why. I knew it wasn’t Kayla; I was totally comfortable being around her now. And even though I didn’t know Erik and Lila that well, I figured that they had to be somewhat normal for Kayla to like them. And that’s when I realized that I wasn’t just nervous about being around Erik and Lila. I was nervous about being a vampire around them. Of course they knew I was a vampire from what happened at the mall, but they had never seen me as one. They hadn’t witnessed my exposed fangs, or my crazy eyes, or the fact that I could run as fast as a speeding car. What if they freaked out when they saw me like that and decided to kill me instead of train me? I tried to ignore that nagging inner voice telling me to forget about going to train and just stay in bed, focusing instead on being open to learning all I could from Kayla and her friends.
I stood on the front porch of Chance’s house, watching him leave for his Saturday detention. I was still a little curious about what had happened to get him in trouble, but I let it go, hoping he would want to talk about it one day. I really wanted him to be with me the first time Erik and Lila were around. Tiny fears of what might happen kept gnawing at me like rats. I was a novice at best when it came to using my new super-strength, and I had no clue if I would win in a fight against two experienced vampire killers. I didn’t plan on anything going wrong, but lately my plans hadn’t been working out too well. But Chance couldn’t be there. I’m sure he wanted to be, he told me as much, but he couldn’t. So I was on my own, with only the little bit of training Aldric had given me to defend myself if the need arose. As Chance backed down the driveway and Kayla pulled in, I said a prayer that I wouldn’t need any of it.
“Excited?” Kayla asked with a smile and squeaky inflection in her voice as I hopped into her Volvo. Well, I’m sure it was her mom’s Volvo, but nice nonetheless.
“I don’t know if excited is the word I’d use.” I tried to be as honest as possible, figuring that was the best way to handle the day. I definitely didn’t want Erik or Lila—especially Lila—to catch me in some sort of lie and lose any trust they might have for me.
“Scared?” It was like she read my mind.
“That obvious, huh?” I was practically sweating I was so nervous. I was busily wringing my hands, my left leg was trying to leap from the car it was shaking so fast. Kayla just gave me an ‘I understand’ look and smiled.
“Try not to get too nervous,” she said as we pulled up to her house. “They’re cool.” I knew she was referring to Erik and Lila, and as far as Erik went, I was prone to agree. But for Lila, the jury was still out.
“I’m taking your word for it,” I said as I reluctantly climbed from the car and followed Kayla inside. I had guessed from the tiny black compact car parked at the curb out front that Erik and Lila were already there. Noises from the kitchen and the sound of laughter confirmed it.
“Hey guys,” Kayla quipped as we joined them in the kitchen. Lila was snacking on a bowl of potato chips while Erik was waist deep in the refrigerator. He pulled himself and some lunch meat and mayo out when Kayla spoke, smiling and looking directly at me. Wanting to look happy to be there, I smiled back. Without the hype of vampire hunting and the harsh lighting of the mall corridor, Erik was actually good-looking. I mean, he wasn’t Chance, but no one was. Chance was in a league of his own when it came to hotness. But Erik definitely wasn’t far behind. His features were striking, perfectly proportioned for his face. I kept looking from him to Lila, and Erik’s good looks were copied on his sister’s face. I could tell they looked alike in the mall that day, but seeing them in clear daylight showed how much alike they appeared. Their personalities, however, couldn’t have been more different. Lila proved that when she caught me staring.
“I have my cell phone handy if you wanna snap a picture,” she quipped. “That way you can stare at me any time you want.” She was steadily dipping chips into a small bowl of creamy dip, but she never took her eyes off my face. I could see the venom swirling behind them.
“Sorry,” I said, breaking my gaze. “I was just noticing how much you and your brother look alike.” I stared at Erik, who was busy building a massive sandwich at the other end of the counter. He looked up at me and smiled. I wished his sister was as cordial.
“You’ve never seen twins before?” Lila asked through a mouth-full of chips. She chewed her food the same way she spoke, fast and nasty. Tiny crumbs dropped onto her black cashmere sweater, and she quickly brushed them into the floor.
“Um, I think once,” I answered. I originally said it just so I wouldn’t look like a total moron, but my mind quickly recalled an
image of a set of totally annoying twin boys, Parker and Riley Stewart. I had no clue where that memory came from, but it was there. “They were both boys, though. And they didn’t look as much alike as you two.” Lila glanced at Erik before turning back to me.
“So you’re saying you’ve only seen twins once?” I nodded in agreement and she slumped back in her chair. “Wow,” she added. “Weird.”
“It’s not weird,” Kayla interjected. “She just hasn’t seen as much as most people, that’s all.” She stepped next to me as she spoke, patting me on the back like I was a little kid. I was grateful for her being there, though. I couldn’t have handled the twins on my own.
“No problem,” Erik said between giant bites of his sandwich. The muscles in his face and neck flexed as he chewed, causing the veins running down his neck to bulge. I felt my mouth twitch as I watched. After a few seconds, Erik must have sensed what I was looking at, because he quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and set his sandwich back on its plate.
“So,” he said, crossing the kitchen to stand next to Lila. “Ready?” He was looking at me and semi-smiling, but I couldn’t smile back. The edgy nerves sitting just under my skin were beginning to claw their way to the surface, and the fear of what we were about to do settled into my spine.
“You okay?” I heard Kayla ask, only then realizing that I had been shivering.
“Oh, yeah, I’m good.” I lied. I was so far from good it wasn’t funny. I was nervous and scared that I was going to go all vampire during my training, and Erik or Lila or both of them would try and kill me. But, I put on a smile and stood up from the bar. “Let’s get started.”
“Well this is something we’ve never done before,” Lila said, staying put in her seat and continuing to plow through the bowl of chips.
“What is?” I asked.
“Teaching a vampire to kill a vampire,” Erik answered as he joined his twin sister and dunked a chip into the dip.
“It’s like feeding a cow hamburger meat,” Lila quipped. “It’s unnatural.” Kayla giggled, and I finally saw why they were friends. It had been puzzling me why someone as sweet as Kayla could stand someone like Lila, but now I got it. They had the same weird sense of humor in common. Well, that and the whole vampire hunter thing.
“I’m not a vampire,” I snapped back, boring holes into Lila’s face with my eyes. She threw one of her smart-assed smiles my way and crossed the kitchen to grab another soda from the fridge. I felt flames of anger lick at my neck.
“Ignore her,” Erik said, his voice soft and melodic. It was sweet like Chance’s, and made me flutter the same way. “And by the way,” he added, “you are a vampire. Better get used to it.” He smiled at me, too, but unlike his sister’s, his smile was genuine. The anger building in me eased a bit, replaced by jittery nerves and butterflies stirring in my stomach. Was I attracted to Erik? I mean, he was hot, no question about it. I liked his eyes, the way the sunlight made the blue sparkle. And his smile was pretty near perfect. But like him? I barely knew him. Of course, I barely knew Chance any better, and that didn’t stop me from liking him. Well, I thought I liked him. I honestly had no clue what was going on between Chance and me. Just one more frustrating thing in my life. I tried to throw the idea of Erik and me being together out of my head and get my mind focused on training.
“Okay, fine,” I said with a bit of attitude. “I’m a vampire. Whatever.” I stood up from my seat at the bar just as Lila popped the top of her soda can and took a huge gulp. “Are you guys going to teach me or what?” I kept looking from Lila to Erik to Kayla, trying to see if any of them were judging me for being a monster.
“Oh we’re gonna teach you.” I could barely make out Lila’s words through her mouthful of chips. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She washed it down with half a can of soda before adding, “One more vampire killer is a plus for our side.” I could feel a twitching in my fangs that was hard to ignore.
I saw Kayla roll her eyes. “We’d be glad to have you on our side, Ava,” she said with a smile. “And I think you’ll probably learn fast. I imagine having super powers will make it easier for you.”
“I don’t have superpowers, Kayla.”
“What would you call it?” Erik asked as he downed nearly an entire can of soda. “You can run faster than a car, reach the top of a building in one jump, and not die. Sounds superhuman to me.” He smiled as he tossed his empty can into the trash.
“That’s it Erik,” Lila chimed in. “Give her a big head, because the world doesn’t have enough vampires with huge egos.”
“Or smart-assed vampire hunters,” I added, shocked I actually said what I was thinking. Erik and Lila were surprised, too; the giant, identical bug eyes they had were very revealing.
“Touché.” Lila smiled at me again, though this time not quite as condescending. I smiled back, thankful I had finally shut her up.
“And I can die,” I said, regretting it immediately when I saw the wicked grin on Lila’s face.
“Well there’s some good news,” she snapped.
“Maybe I should just go,” I said, stepping toward the front door. “Obviously you don’t like me being here.” I was looking directly at Lila as I said it, hoping she knew I only meant her. She finished off her soda and stood up.
“Calm down, princess,” she said with her trademark aggressive tone. “I was just messing with you. I’m actually looking forward to this.” She walked over to me, coming to stop inches from my face. “I’ve wanted to fight with you since we first met.” The sly little smile she held on her face made me want to knock her teeth out. I actually had to fight back the urge.
“Ready when you are,” I snapped, the tips of my fangs breaking through my gums.
“Enough of that, you two.” Erik stepped over and pulled Lila away from me, replacing her petite frame with his much broader one; another difference between them. At such a close range, the smell of his blood was overwhelming. I could feel the venom in my fangs swirling with anticipation.
“You need to get away from me, Erik,” I said, trying my best not to let his scent invade my nostrils more than it already had. Erik didn’t move, standing his ground and smiling at me.
“I’m not worried,” he said. “You won’t hurt me.” I was amazed at his confidence. Had I been in his position, I don’t think I would have been so comfortable.
“How can you be so sure?” I had to force the question out through clenched teeth. The need for blood was trying to take control of my mind, trying to force me to sink my fangs into his neck. I was struggling to keep myself from doing it right there in Kayla’s kitchen.
“Because like you said, you’re not a vampire, so it’s not in you to kill an innocent person, right?” Even though his body language was calm and collected, I could tell by his tone that he was a little worried. That made two of us.
“And,” he continued as Lila stepped up beside him, “if you bite me, my sister will have a stake in your heart before you taste the first drop.”
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9. TWIN TESTED
I could feel the muscles in my back twitch with nervous energy. My fangs tingled and my head was swirling. The scent of Erik’s blood, mixed with my growing anger at he and Lila and the whole situation, was fighting for control. I knew that what Erik said was possible, if not true; Lila would do her best to kill me if I touched him. She might not succeed, but she would definitely fight me to the death. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want another innocent person’s death on my conscience. I already had enough of that from the girl in the woods that I didn’t save. I couldn’t handle any more guilt. So I forced myself to calm down, and after a few seconds of a very odd stand-off with the vampire-hunting twins, I stepped away.
“Wise choice,” Lila said, her voice tight in her throat. I hadn’t noticed when we were face-to-face that she had already pulled a stake from its holder on her back. I wondered if she always wore it. Probably, knowing her. She seemed like the type who went looking for a fi
ght. I looked from the stake in her hand to her face, which was frozen in a state of anger mixed with excitement. I knew she didn’t like me—probably wanted to kill me—and obviously didn’t care about hiding it.
“So,” Kayla said with mock enthusiasm, trying to diffuse the situation. “Why don’t we go out to the backyard, put our energy into something productive?” She had very bravely stepped in front of me, serving as a human shield for her friends. Her boldness surprised me, until I remembered that she was just like them. She was born a hunter and had probably spent most of her young life fighting.
“Ready when you are.” Lila pointed to the French doors behind me and smiled, though I knew it was not to be nice. I gave her the same fake smile back, thankful that my fangs had receded.
Kayla’s back yard was impressive. A large swimming pool took up one half, complete with diving board and lounge area, while the rest of the snow-covered lawn was dedicated to what looked like an adult jungle gym. Several different pieces of stark metal equipment sat at various angles along the length of the yard, eagerly awaiting human consumption. As we made our way past the pool, I imagined Kayla (and maybe her dad?) putting in hours upon hours of training on each machine, perfecting her defense and offense skills. I hoped to become at least half as good as she no doubt was.
“Where do we start?” I asked no one in particular, a little intimidated by the sea of equipment sprawled out before me.
“Up to you,” Erik answered, stepping up to a large, black bag hanging on a hook and giving it a few quick but strong punches. The bag swayed from the movement.
“Up to her?” Of course Lila didn’t agree with her brother’s strategy. I could practically hear the steam shooting from her ears. “She doesn’t have a clue what to do. Why would you let her pick?”
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