Luke rolled up the large family tree. “Chloe, think about it. Angels, demi-gods and for you, the power of vampire blood: How could you not be a powerful woman?”
“But I’m not even strong or anything. I don’t have anything that could be even close to a special power.”
“Not yet, you don’t. Most hunters acquire their gifts when they’re about sixteen. Not sure about vampires though. You might want to do some research on vampire children.”
I had already planned on researching vampires, mostly to know their strengths and weaknesses. “So, I’m probably going to end up getting some kind of superpower.”
Luke laughed. “Well, I don’t know about superpower. Most hunters have something they are just exceedingly good at, so we call them gifts.”
I nodded vigorously. “Like how I’m really good at shooting!”
“Exactly, but some hunters do come into a little more than just gifts. A rare few do have what could be a ‘superpower,’ as you called it.”
As interesting as it all was, I wasn’t sure having to deal with some abnormal and untrained power was something I really wanted. Really, my whole life had been turned upside down, and I had enough problems as it was.
“Now help me get dinner started.”
Luke opened the fridge, as though our conversation had been as normal as the weather. I guess even demi-god, angel, vampire mutants had to eat dinner.
The next morning I woke and opened the curtains to look outside. Just as I suspected: Snow had covered everything. It was pretty, though. The moon was almost full, and the white winter wonderland glittered in the moonlight. The trees had all lost their leaves, and the snow that had settled on their branches appeared crystallized.
I sighed and found my pink velvety jogging suit. After tying my hair up and putting on a headband that would also cover my ears, I set off into the woods for my run. Running the trails on the snow could probably be listed as my least favorite thing to do, aside from getting my butt kicked.
My run was actually closer to a walk. I did so much slipping and sliding that, by the time I made it back to the house, I was soaking wet and running late for school.
School in the vampire hunter community was no different from regular school, except that it was smaller. So far, I hadn’t made any friends, but I hadn’t really tried to make friends either. It had become habit. At my old school, I usually just kept to myself. I guess I’ve always been a loner. At lunch, I would grab my food and sit on the stairs in the hallway with my eyes closed and my iPod blaring into my ears, blocking out reality.
After walking to school in the snow, I ended up with soaked feet. My quest for making friends didn’t go any better. I sloshed into the school and wanted to cry. Was I going to have to spend the whole day like this? Why couldn’t I have looked for a pair of boots in my mother's stuff? Things worsened when Christina Livingston—who was considered the school bitch-slash-slut—slid in the puddle that had formed at my locker. Just as she was going down, my reflexes kicked in and my hands flew out to catch her. Well, I caught her all right. Right in the nose with the back of my hand.
“You stupid bitch!” she screamed at me in a nasal voice. She lay on the floor in a puddle of melted snow and held her nose, which was dripping blood all over.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
I bent to help her up.
“Get away from me. Just get away from me.”
She moaned. Suddenly there was a huge circle of kids around us. She reached up with her other hand and moved her black hair out of her eyes. Her little skirt was hiked up so far that we could all see her lacey pink panties, surprisingly, not a thong. She rolled over onto all fours and slowly managed to stand. We all stood there watching her. I wasn’t going to try to help her again, but I sure wasn’t going to leave either.
“I’m really sorry,” I said, trying again.
Her bleeding nose had slowed, but there were blood spatter marks all over her tight white shirt.
“Shut up!” she snarled and then lunged at me.
She slammed me up against the lockers and rammed her fist into my stomach. I felt like I was going to throw up. Distantly, I could hear the commotion of all the other students in the background. Most were hollering “fight, fight,” and I could hear a few others yelling to get someone.
As soon as she backed off, I slapped her. The return I got was another hit to the gut and then another with the other fist. Before I could recover, she threw an uppercut to my jaw.
“Ow, shit!” she screamed. “My hand!”
That hit hurt… bad! We hadn’t moved to hitting each other in the face during training yet. Drew said we would do that once I was better at blocking.
“My face!” I screamed back at her. It made me mad that she was kicking my ass in front of everyone. It was one thing in training where I was learning, but this was just plain embarrassing. I felt heat rise in me all the way down from my cold wet toes.
She wasn’t expecting it right then because she was jumping around holding her hand, and I was bent over in pain. I lashed out as quickly as I could and grabbed two handfuls of her long black hair. I pulled her whole head down and lifted my knee at the same time. My knee connected with her face. A loud cracking noise echoed through the hallway.
She fell, crying and yelling about her nose.
“Screw this,” I said. I grabbed my backpack and sloshed my way by the group of students and out the front door.
By the time I made it home, Luke had already heard about the incident and sat in the living room in his rocking chair, waiting for me.
I dropped my backpack on the floor and pulled off my dripping tennis shoes. “So, you heard?”
He nodded sternly and pointed to the chair next to him. “Tell me what happened.”
I sighed and plopped down in the recliner. “My shoes were wet, and Christina slipped on the puddle my shoes made. When I tried to catch her, I accidentally hit her in the nose, and then she attacked me.”
“That’s all?” He raised his eyebrows.
“After she hit me a few times, I decided I wasn’t just going to let her beat the snot out of me, and I fought back.”
“You do know you broke her nose, right?”
I nodded. I didn’t know for sure, but I had figured as much. “I’m sorry, Luke. I just couldn’t stand there and let her beat on me for no reason.”
“And I would never expect you to. You defended yourself and nothing more.”
The relief I felt at not being in trouble was immense. I had been so afraid Luke would be totally irate over the whole thing.
“This is the problem with raising so many hunter children all in one place. You are all trained well and could actually kill someone without even trying very hard. When the typical teenage fights break out, it’s never a good thing. This could have been far worse.”
I shrugged. “I’ve seen worse fights in my old school. Once, I even saw a kid get stabbed.”
Luke closed his eyes and shook his head like the thought saddened him. “Chloe, I know you were only defending yourself, but you must try to stay away from situations like this one.”
There was nothing else to say about it. He could be damned sure I would try and avoid stuff like this. I wasn’t sure what I could really do to avoid it. I already kept to myself most of the time. “okay. Can I go to my room now?”
“Yes. We have to be at the school in the morning. You are going to be suspended for a week because you were involved in the fight. There is a zero tolerance rule, so no matter if it was your fault or not, you and Christina will both be suspended.”
“Wonderful,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I headed out of the room. I paused a moment and then turned back to Luke. “Can I go to the library?”
He nodded his agreement and clicked on the television.
When I told Drew about Christina, his eyes narrowed. I wondered what was up with that.
“You know her?” I asked.
“Yeah, she was my girl
friend for a year.”
I choked on my carrot juice.
“Your girlfriend?” I blurted when my throat cleared. “Isn’t she my age?”
“Chloe, I’m only three years older than you, for one, and I just turned eighteen.” He sighed. “Christina is a senior this year, so she was only one year behind me in school.”
Oh, that made more sense. On the upside though, I was in a fight with a senior, and I didn’t lose.
Sweet.
“Well, why the heck would you date her anyway? She’s mean and a slut, too.”
He laughed. “She’s not a slut. She just wants everyone to think she is.”
“That’s stupid. Why would anyone do that?”
“Christina is one of those girls who just wants attention. She wants attention because it makes her feel loved and wanted. Her family isn’t exactly the best family in the world.”
When I raised my eyebrows in question he said, “Christina’s father had to be banished from the community. One night, he got so drunk he beat Christina’s mother so badly she died. Christina was ten years old at the time. She had been hiding under her bed in the other room and heard the whole thing.”
“Oh, my gosh!”
“So, when he came after her, she ran for her life. She ran to the nearest neighbor. It took four other hunters to subdue him. Turns out he was a cocaine addict, but no one knew it.”
“How come her mother didn’t fight back?”
“Her mother wasn’t a hunter. Not everyone here has two hunters for parents. You don’t.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
As much as I really didn’t want to feel sorry for Christina, I couldn’t help it. We had both seen our mothers murdered, and in a way, both by our fathers. “That’s still no reason for her to go around being mean and slutty.”
He turned his eyes away, and I thought for a minute I saw a bit of sadness in them.
“I know,” he told me.
I saw in his eyes that he had cared about her. While I should have felt bad for him, or something like that, I felt something else instead. I’m pretty sure it was jealousy.
Two days after that talk with Drew, he obtained permission to take me into the city so I could buy new winter clothes and boots. Oh, how I longed for the busy shops of the mall!
Before we left, Luke gave me a debit card for my new checking account. He told me how much had been deposited and how much would be deposited each month. Luke explained that he was on the account with me because I was a minor. He told me he would teach me about balancing my accounts when I returned from my trip.
I thanked him and tucked the card into my wallet. If it hadn’t been so icy on the walkway, I would have run to Drew’s truck.
The mall was totally fun. I was astonished to learn that Drew had never had an Orange Julius, so I made him drink one. I also ate two hotdogs and a big thing of chili nachos.
“You’re going to get sick,” Drew told me from across the table.
“I don’t care.” To show him just how much I didn’t care, I used a big chip to scoop up some chili and shoved it in my mouth. He shook his head in disgust and took a bite of his healthy sub sandwich.
I managed to find two nice pair of snow boots. One pair would work for indoor and outdoor, the other was only for outside. I got a new jacket, several hats, and a bunch of those little gloves that cost a dollar.
Drew seemed to like the Orange Julius because he was slurping it down fast. “Do you want to go see a movie while we’re in town?”
“You bet I do!” I was having a hard time containing my excitement. I hadn’t had a great day since before my mother died. And to think, getting into a fight at school got me a shopping trip to town.
Not that I would do that again.
It was dark by the time the movie ended. The clouds had parted for the almost full moon that lit up the parking lot with a luminous glow. Snowflakes fell softly on everything. Instead of causing me worry, like when we were at home, the snow felt magical.
Halfway to the truck I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. Drew stopped in his tracks and gazed around at the other people leaving the theatre for their own cars.
“Let’s get to the truck,” he told me quietly. I sensed a ‘don’t argue’ tone in his voice.
We continued to the truck and climbed inside. I didn’t know what was going on, but what I did know was that we both sensed something. That couldn’t be good.
“What is it?” I whispered as soon as we were in the truck with the doors shut.
“Vampire,” he whispered back.
Oh, crap.
I knew having a good day was too much to ask. I had no idea what to do.
“Should we just go home?” I asked.
“No.” He looked away from the crowded parking lot long enough to glance at me, his green eyes flashing. “We have to kill it.”
okay, I was scared. The last time I had a run in with vampires, they murdered my mother and tried to kidnap me. It took a whole group of hunters to kill just one of them when they had come to my rescue. “How do we know there’s only one?”
“We don’t.”
Time passed with complete and utter slowness while the parking lot emptied. People chatted with each other and took their sweet time getting in their cars and driving away. Finally, there were only two people left in the parking lot: a couple who were making out against the door of an awesome bronze-colored Chevelle.
“It’s them. He is the victim,” Drew whispered.
I don’t think he was whispering to me; it was more like he was thinking out loud.
The woman had the guy pushed up against the door of the car. When she lifted her leg, he reached around and boosted her up. He then turned around so she was the one with her back against the door. Snow fell onto to them and stuck in their hair and on their clothes, but they were oblivious.
Drew reached behind him and pulled his gun out.
“You were carrying that around all day? In the mall!” I hissed. “We could have been arrested.”
“Shut up, Chloe.” He didn’t take his eyes off the couple, but I saw his hand reach up and turn off the dome light so it wouldn’t shine when he opened the door. He rested his hand on the door handle and pulled it up slowly, silently, so the door wasn't completely shut.
“Stay here,” he whispered, so quietly I could barely hear him.
I nodded acknowledgement and slid down in the seat a bit while he crept out of the truck and across the parking lot. I watched the couple making out and waited for Drew. After about a minute, clear as day, I saw the woman’s eyes lift and look at me.
Fear ripped through my body like a wave. While she looked at me, her eyes suddenly flashed and glowed a blinding red in the darkness and then she smiled. I saw teeth, white as the snow. In an instant her fangs appeared. She threw her head back and laughed, which that guy probably assumed was just a flirtatious giggle. She continued to stare at me while she snuggled back into his neck and bit him.
I knew I would be next if we didn’t kill her.
His scream filled the air. I watched, horrified while he tried to push her away. He clawed desperately at her hair and clothes, but soon all he could do was weakly flail his arms. Oh, where was Drew? I didn’t want to watch anymore. Finally, the guy's arms dropped down to his side and his stiffened body went slack.
She dropped his body onto the snow-covered parking lot and wiped her mouth with her arm. I realized I needed a weapon and searched the truck for something I could use to defend myself. I glanced up and couldn’t believe what I saw: She stole that guy's wallet. Damn it, not one thing in Drew’s truck was even remotely close to being considered a weapon. Some vampire hunter he was; he didn’t even carry a wooden stake or two around.
Damn, damn, damn.
Frantically, I fumbled and sifted through everything in the truck and found nothing.
And then she was there.
I looked up, and when I saw her, every ounce of fear I had rushed out in
a blood-curdling scream. She stood in front of the truck, her red eyes boring into me, her arms folded across her chest. The breeze outside whipped the snow and her long black hair crazily around her pale face. She wore the stereotypical long black trench coat and her scarlet lips matched her glowing red eyes. I back-peddled my feet against the floor of the truck and screamed.
Drew appeared on top of the Chevelle, where she had left the body in the blood-laden snow. She must have seen my gaze shift, because she turned toward him. He had his gun raised and held it steady with both hands in front of him. I had the weirdest thought: He looked like one of the gods we were descended from. His hair whipped around in the wind. His black hoodie was zipped snug against his body. His eyes flashed a green fire comparable to emeralds in sunlight. I could not see her face, but I was sure her confidence turned to fear.
Drew fired.
When the bullet penetrated her body, a glowing white light erupted and exploded. I had stopped screaming when I saw Drew, and I watched with awe while the white light seeped through her and ate away at her body like a spreading disease. It literally dissolved her away, bit by bit, while she screamed in agony. Within minutes, she was reduced to a pile of gray ash that marred the otherwise pure white snow.
I breathed a gigantic sigh of relief, and Drew hopped down from the Chevelle. He climbed in the truck with me, and we raced home as fast as the icy roads would allow. Neither of us said anything until we pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition.
I was in shock. The first time I had any experience with vampires, I had literally not been able to do anything. One of them had been holding me so tightly. With this vampire, I had been able to fight. I had been able to do something about it, and I didn’t do anything.
It was an eye opener. I knew I needed to train harder and be more open to learning how to fight.
I finally found my voice through the fear. “What about that guy’s body? We can’t just leave it out there.”
“He wasn’t dead.” Drew squinted through the snow flurries obstructing his vision while he drove. “She didn’t kill him. He will wake up in about half an hour and wonder what the hell happened. The bite marks will still be there, but will only look like a couple of mosquito bites. Even if he remembers what happened to him, we don’t have the ability to make him forget.”
The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection Page 4
