“Perfectly understandable,” I said. “I would feel the same way. I’m okay with you both staying here.”
Luke looked up at Drew with a question in his eyes. “What about you?”
Drew shrugged his shoulders. “I’m okay with it, I guess.” He looked around. “It’s kind of crowded, but temporarily… it’s not so bad.”
“All right, then,” Luke addressed Oscar and Alice, “you can both stay until you find other accommodations. If you stay long enough in the community, perhaps become a part of it somehow, the board will discuss you getting your own homes in the community.”
Alice and Oscar agreed. So it looked like we were going to be a full house for a while.
Luke scooted his chair out and got up to deposit his cereal bowl into the sink. “Looks like we have a birthday to celebrate today.”
I waved it off. “Nah, I have everything I want. We don’t need to celebrate.”
Drew refilled his water bottle from the faucet.
“Well, maybe we want to celebrate.”
He took swig off the water and capped it, then walked out of the room.
“Where are you going?” I called after him.
Alice, Oscar and Luke followed Drew out of the room, so I had no choice but to follow. In the living room, I had totally missed the huge stack of presents that sat on the coffee table.
“Oh, you guys! You didn’t have to do this.”
Although I was sixteen now, the child in me rushed forward to rip into all my gifts. Alice gave me a pair of boots that would be nice for school. Yeah, I had to go back to school. Oscar gave me a leather-covered journal with a carved bow and arrow on the front. Luke gave me a new gun, this one a pink and black Glock, and it rocked! I was totally excited about having my second gun, but nothing would ever compare to my first baby Drew had given me.
My last present on the table was from Drew. It was a tiny box. I opened the box and found a bullet dangling from a silver chain.
“Drew,” I breathed. Normally, a girl would be excited about a diamond or any other kind of necklace, but this was, for sure, my kind of gift.
He cleared his throat when I handed it to him and moved my hair aside so that he could help me put it on. “I wanted to get the bullet that you were shot with, but that wouldn’t look good on a necklace. So this is supposed to be symbolic of your battle wound.”
“I love it!” I told him as he let my hair fall back down. “It’s perfect.”
“I hoped you would like it.” He backed away.
Suddenly, the room became very warm. “Is it hot in here?” I asked.
Before anyone could answer, I got my final birthday gift. A mist filtered into the living room and Sostrate appeared in her jungle hunter outfit, only this time she held a long wooden spear in her hand.
“Greetings, my children.”
Drew and I had seen her before, but Luke, Alice and Oscar looked like they were going to pass out.
“I come today because Chloe has reached her sixteenth year.” She eyed me with a loving look. “Soon, she will reach the full potential of her gifts and must hone them to perfection.”
Drew smirked. “I think she is doing a fine job of that, so far.”
Sostrate shook her head and chastised Drew with her eyes.
“Andrew, Chloe will need your help.” She lifted her free hand and gestured to Alice, Oscar and Luke. “She will need all of your help. Your paths have not crossed with this young hunter’s for no reason. You all bear special gifts that will help her to win the coming war.”
“What?” I slammed my fist on the table, causing even Sostrate to jump. “Are you kidding me? A war? I thought this was over!”
“Chloe!” Luke hissed. Apparently, I was not supposed to sass the demi-goddess.
“No! Damn it! I just escaped from evil vampires. I don’t want to fight a war with them.”
Sostrate moved closer to me.
“My child, you are a hunter. The war will never be over until the vampires are eradicated. The war is brewing already, and you must all train.” She ran her eyes up and down Oscar and Alice. “Yes, even you two. You are not hunters, but you are descended from those who bear great power.”
To everyone’s surprise, Alice spoke up. “I beg your pardon, goddess, but I am no one special. I have no power.”
With a slow and delicate movement, Sostrate crouched down before Alice.
“My child, you do not know your power, because you did not know your family. You are a child of the earth. Some call them witches, but the earth is in you, and you bear the power to call upon it.”
Alice didn't appear to believe her. “I don’t understand.”
“You will, child; you will.”
Oscar and Luke sat spellbound and stared at the beautiful demi-goddess.
“I need your word that you will all work hard to train, plan, and support each other in preparing for and fighting this war.”
“No!” I called out. “I don’t want a war.”
“Child, there will be war regardless of whether you want it or not. Whether you win or not depends on you.”
“You have my word,” Luke and Drew said in unison.
“And mine,” Oscar whispered.
“And mine,” Alice finished.
I sighed and lowered my head in defeat. I couldn’t say no when everyone else was committed. "You will thank me later, child. I know this is hard for you. With these powerful people and their weapons to help you, hunters will be victorious.” She backed away from us slowly, and the mist closed around her. “Goodbye, my children, until we meet again.”
Oh, great. Impending war, just what I wanted.
The one thing that stuck in my head through all of that was that this war would never be over until the vampires were eradicated. She was right, and I would never really have avenged my mother until they were all gone.
So, now… Chloe Kalistrate, vampire hunter, was going to hunt the world for vampires and kill every single one.
Well, perhaps I was getting ahead of myself. I wasn’t going anywhere, yet… not until after the birthday cake.
Look for more Chloe in the future series called
The Arcadia Falls Chronicles
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About the Author
Jennifer Malone Wright resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children. Between the craziness of taking care of her children, whose ages range from fourteen all the way down to six months, and being a homemaker, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on freelance work or her beloved fiction.
When she grew up, Jennifer always had her nose in a book. She has been writing stories and poems since grade school. This love of the written word and her strong interest in the paranormal is what has led to her first novel “The Birth of Jaiden.”
In addition to being a mother and homemaker, Jennifer is also a very proud military wife. Moving around the country for the last ten years has made her a bit of a nomad and she finds it difficult to be in one place for too long.
Jennifer is also the author of The Birth of Jaiden, a paranormal novel filled with action, suspense, and even a love story.
Find out more at www.jenniferwrightauthor.com
Table of Contents
PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV
PART V
PART VI
ete Collection
The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection Page 24
