Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Vampire’s Hunter

  Izella Pristin has roamed the Earth as a vampire for over two centuries. Having loved and lost during her time as an immortal, the time has come for Izella to aid her brethren against the threat of a magical stake that can kill even the oldest of vampires. The only problem is: the stake is located at the heart of Hunter Academy, and breaking in could cost her everything. In the wake of forbidden love, Izella must rise from her grave and into the heat of battle, as the war between vampires and hunters crawls dangerously close to the brink of chaos.

  One

  Izella

  A crack in my glass coffin jolted me awake. I stared at the stake jammed into the tinted glass. The pointy end stopped a hair from my nose.

  The human yanked the stake back and slashed at a young vampire beside him, leaving behind cobwebbed fractures.

  Who were they anyway? I didn’t remember giving anyone permission to visit me in my manor. In fact, I had made it clear to all my acquaintances that I was not to be disturbed.

  There was more shuffling, then furniture got knocked down and blood gushed out—so much blood.

  Even for an old vampire like me, who didn’t latch onto every bleeding arm, the smell was sweet.

  And then the noises stopped.

  “Let me go!” the vampire said, a slight tremor in his voice.

  A flush of shame coursed through me. I didn’t know the vampire, but no vampire of my time would’ve shown fear, especially not to some measly human.

  “My sire is Vampire Lord Trevor. He would suck you dry for this,” the vampire said.

  “Only if he found out.” The human’s tone was confident and arrogant.

  Vampire Lord Trevor. Could it be the same Trevor I’d given my blood to?

  The human drew back his stake and thrust it into the vampire’s chest.

  I sighed.

  In a motion that rivaled the speed of light, I burst out of the coffin, grabbed the human’s neck, and slammed him to the floor. I was about to sink my fangs into his neck when I noticed his eyes: brown. Not just any brown. A brown the perfect blend of chocolates and coffee, like that vampire hunter from so many years ago.

  I shouldn’t have hesitated, for he wrestled me to the stone floor at the first opportunity. He looked like him, too. I stared at his chiseled face and straw hair. A dull pain radiated from my chest.

  “You’re a hunter,” I stated rather than asked.

  Normal humans didn’t have the same speed or strength as him, nor did they go around carrying stakes.

  There was a moment when he gazed into my eyes and got lost in them. My sire once told me I had the most stunning grayish green eyes that could hypnotize anyone without even trying. I disagreed. If that were true, then Jayson would’ve stayed with me.

  The young-looking vampire slipped on some broken glass on his way out, waking the hunter up. The hunter threw his wooden stake straight for the vampire’s heart. His aim was impeccable. The stake would have pierced through its target and turned the vampire into dust if I hadn’t grazed the stake with my hand, changing its direction.

  The side of my hand hurt, but only for a moment. By the time I raised it to lick my wound, my skin had already healed.

  The hunter’s eyes grew wide. “Who are you?”

  “Izella Pristin.” I sat without effort, as if there were no palms pressing down on my shoulders and his strength meant nothing.

  I could tell he was trying his hardest to resist me, but his hardest was not enough. To an old vampire like me, he was but a babe.

  “You’re the Izella Pristin, a descendant of an Original?” The vampire scrambled to his feet.

  “I’m not aware there is another.” I seized both of the hunter’s wrists. His bones yielded in my hand, ready to crack.

  The surprised expression on the hunter’s face turned to pain.

  “Now tell me, what are you doing in my manor?” I asked.

  “He followed me here!” the vampire said. “He and his brother killed many of us. I had no choice but to come back here to find Lord Trevor. Give the hunter to me. I’ll make him pay.” He bared his fangs and growled. For a second, his boyish handsome face turned into that of a monster.

  The hunter yanked his wrists from my grip and slashed at me with his stake.

  “Why did you kill them?” I asked the hunter.

  “I don’t need reasons to kill vampires.”

  That line sounded familiar. I must have heard it a hundred times, and I must have seen the same sneer a thousand times. Somehow, the words and expression on his face—his chocolate-eyed handsome face that looked so much like Jayson’s—hurt more than they should.

  Staring at him, I saw the vampire hunter from two hundred years ago. That was a mistake, because the hunter pulled out another wooden stake and jammed it into me. If I hadn’t moved fast enough, it would’ve pierced my heart instead of my shoulder. Even a descendant of an Original, the oldest and most powerful vampires, couldn’t survive a stake through the heart unscathed.

  The wound burned and sizzled. I steeled myself to pull the stake from my body and drop it to the ground.

  That was it. The game was over.

  I bared my fangs and growled, just like the vampire had done earlier. In the large basement, the sound echoed off the high ceiling and amplified several times. I launched myself at him, pinning his arms against the wall as my teeth sank into his neck.

  I must’ve slept for a good year, the maximum time I could go without feeding, because after the first taste, I couldn’t stop. The rush of his blood warmed my perpetually cold body. His struggles and the flexing of his muscles only heightened the excitement. The more he fought, the sweeter he tasted and the harder I sucked, slurping down his blood like a starved monster.

  His hands lost strength little by little. His legs went limp. I had the suspicion that if I released him, he would fall face first. I could almost feel the life draining from him. Another moment, and he would be dead.

  I retracted my fangs and drew my head back. His eyes had become glassy—the chocolate and coffee eyes that I loved so much.

  “Izella, let me finish the job for you.”

  The young vampire closed in behind me. I could almost see the drool on his lips.

  “No.” I let go of the hunter’s arms, and he fell into a heap on the ground. “Get out of my house.”

  “But I can’t.” The vampire faced me. “I’m not safe outside.”

  “How so?” I arched an eyebrow.

  “Everyone knows Vampire Hunter Brydon has an even more powerful twin, Rune. If I leave, I’m toast.”

  “And how is that my problem?”

  “My sire is Trevor, and his sire is you,” he said like it explained everything.

  It didn’t. Vampires were not sissies. The vampires of my time would never seek protection behind another’s back.

  I looked at him under hooded eyes. As the seconds dragged, he shifted his feet in unease.

  “Go fetch me a clean dress,” I said, deciding against sending him right back to his maker.

  The relief on his face was palpable. He scrambled to do as I asked and got out of my sight without a second word.

  Ah, I was a mess. My long raven hair fell in clumps around me. Blood stained my face. I patted my black gown and a puff of dust dissipated in the air. The material, which I remembered as soft and satin, was now stiff and hard. I couldn’t wait to peel it off and take my first bath in Hades knew how long.

  The young vampire came back with a sleeveless black and burgundy dress.

  “Watch him. Don’t kill him,” I told the vampire.

  Two

  Izella

  Warm water lapped at my body, and a sigh of pleasure escaped my throat. I grabbe
d a rose-scented bar soap and worked a lather on my skin.

  Bless the soul who’d invented all of this. I could still remember the time when bathing required the inconvenience of boiling water and pouring it into a wooden tub. Even a modestly wealthy merchant like my father couldn’t afford to allow me a full bath more than twice a week.

  After scrubbing every inch of my skin, I leaned back on the padded headrest and closed my eyes. I should get out and dress. I should go check on that hunter who must be dehydrated from all the blood loss—asking a vampire to look after him certainly wouldn’t help with his condition—but the water was so warm and relaxing that I didn’t feel like getting up.

  After a few minutes, footsteps outside disturbed the quietness of the room. I furrowed my eyebrows. I’d asked the vampire to stay in the basement and feed the hunter some water. He shouldn’t be walking around on the second floor.

  The footsteps paused outside my room. I waited for him to find his senses and go away. He pushed open the door and walked in instead. My master bedroom might be dusty and sporting some out of fashion red velvet sofas and a four-poster bed, but it was huge. It took him a moment to reach the archway and enter the bathroom.

  “I told you to—” I stopped in midsentence.

  There, under the vaulted archway of my bathroom was him.

  I might have forgotten exactly what he looked like, but I recognized him the moment I saw him. There was no one else who had his eyes. Brydon came close, but it wasn’t exactly the same. They were a mix of the darkest chocolate and coffee. Distant, but warm. Withdrawn, but compassionate.

  He stopped at the doorway without entering. An uncomfortable expression crossed his face, and he turned his back to me.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Jayson.” The name slipped from my lips.

  “What?” When I didn’t respond, he said, “I’m looking for a tall man with short straw blond hair. Have you seen him?”

  He must be referring to the hunter in the basement. They looked so similar that they had to be related.

  “Tell me your name first,” I said, waking from a temporary fantasy. No matter how much he looked like Jayson, he couldn’t be him. Jayson had died two hundred years ago. I’d snuck to his funeral and saw his corpse myself. Even if he were still alive, he would be an old man over two centuries old, not a young lad with broad shoulders and a lean physique.

  “You saw him? Where is he?” he asked.

  “Your name?” I asked right back.

  “Rune,” he said.

  Brydon’s twin brother. “He is in the basement.”

  “Thanks.” He paused at the door. “This manor is a stronghold for criminals. I wouldn’t stay here for long.”

  He meant it was a stronghold for vampires. Brydon was a hunter, and so was his twin brother. I was surprised he didn’t attack me. But then, old vampires didn’t smell the same as young ones, and descendants of Originals did have shadows and reflections. As long as I didn’t betray my age through my choice of clothing or manner of speech, no one, not even a hunter, could tell what I was at first sight.

  The door clicked close behind Rune. I rose from the tub and stepped out, letting water drip down my body onto the white tiles. Without bothering to dry myself, I threw on the sleeveless burgundy and black dress. Though not a perfect fit, it was certainly better than the faded ones collecting dust in my closet.

  The wooden stairs leading to the basement creaked with every step I took, and cobwebs amassed in the corners of the unadorned gravel walls.

  When I was descending the steps, Rune pinned down the vampire with his knee and seized both of the vampire’s wrists in one hand. His other hand held a stake. He yanked back the stake, ready to strike. It could be a trick of light, but I thought his stake glowed an eerie blue. No, it wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me. The stake was glowing brighter and brighter by the second. Before I had time to react, he jammed the stake into the vampire’s chest, and the vampire exploded into a pile of dust. The look on the vampire’s face just before he perished lingered in my mind. There were fear, shock, and a little hope. Was he hoping I could somehow stop Rune in time to save him?

  I stood on the third to the last step, my face half hidden in the shadows. I felt the raw magic and power from where I was. Rune was one of those rare gifted ones who had both the strength of hunters and magic of mages.

  Rune crouched near his twin. His coat formed a pool around his legs. “Brydon, can you hear me?”

  I stepped out of the shadows and walked toward him. “He’s dehydrated.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

  I guess I shouldn’t witness the slaying of a vampire without fainting or gasping in a terrified fit. Now even my age couldn’t conceal the fact that I wasn’t a normal human.

  I didn’t have anything to hide. I was a vampire. I’d never had a problem admitting that before, but the stake he tucked under his belt and the look on Jayson’s face when he had found out what I was made me hesitate.

  “Your magic just has to cover the point of the stake for the same effect. Everything else is wasted,” I said instead of answering his question.

  “You’re a witch?”

  I remained silent, neither agreeing nor denying the claim. I didn’t do magic, but I’d seen others used it. Over the centuries, I’d learned a thing or two about it.

  Then noises from above diverted his attention.

  He threw Brydon over his shoulder, as though his twin weighed nothing. I followed him as he climbed the steps out of the basement.

  There was a little light flooding through the windows from the moon outside. I knew my way around even without looking, and my vampire vision certainly was a plus. We hurried down the carpeted hallway to the exit, but the noises got closer. Someone was chasing us. Their footsteps practically pounded in my ancient mansion.

  This wouldn’t do. If they were vampires, especially those who recognized me, they would blow my cover.

  “Rune, take your brother away to a safe place. I’ll take care of them,” I said.

  “I can’t leave you behind.”

  I stared after his back for a moment, not sure if I’d heard him correctly. He didn’t know me. He didn’t even know my name, yet he would forfeit a chance to get out of a vampire den alive for an act of chivalry? He was a fool, but for this alone, I would make sure he left here unscathed.

  I stopped dead in my tracks. He turned around to look at me.

  “I know a trick to stop the vampires,” I said. “Go ahead without me. If you don’t get your brother to a hospital, he won’t survive the night.”

  Something flashed in Rune’s eyes. I could tell he was torn. I shoved him out the door, making the decision for him. “Go!”

  I bolted the door and locked him outside. The arched double door formed an impenetrable barrier. I stood there, waiting for the group behind to catch up with me.

  “Look at what we have here. A girl!” A high-pitched male voice taunted behind me.

  “I swear I heard more than one person,” a deep voice said. “Hey you! Are you alone? What do you think you’re doing here?”

  I turned to face them. There were three of them—an overly thin vampire, a monster-sized one, and a handsome vampire with silver blond hair and sea green eyes.

  “What am I doing here? Why, I live here.” I spread out my arms to gesture at the dark mansion.

  The moment Silver Blond saw me, all traces of amusement left his lips.

  “And I live in a castle.” The thin vampire sneered.

  “Stephan, stop,” Silver Blond said.

  “Our dinner has an odd sense of humor.” Stephan looked me up and down. “After you, Trevor.”

  I guessed right. Silver Blond was Trevor. I’d almost forgotten what he looked like.

  The monster-sized vampire scowled. “Cough up before I make you. What are you doing here?” He stared me down, looking like he was ready to leap at me at
the first sign of movement.

  I smiled and took a step forward. He growled and pounced at me. His human face instantly twisted into that of a ferocious beast. He was fast, closing the gap between us within seconds, yet I could see his every movement as if I was watching an action show in slow motion.

  Once he was within arm’s length, I seized his shirt and slammed him against the wall. The fabric ripped, exposing his bulging chest. His monster face snarled. He was about to charge at me again when Trevor held him back with both arms.

  “Brian. Stephan. Stop!” Trevor said. “Izella, please forgive them.”

  “I-Izella.” Stephan choked on his saliva. “The Izella?”

  I didn’t know why everyone had started adding an article in front of my name. Maybe it came with age. Of course, my sire, one of the Originals, might also have played a part.

  “Control your people, Trevor, and get out of my house,” I commanded.

  If I had more time, I would have stayed to make him understand I’d only allowed him to live here temporarily. The invitation wasn’t supposed to be long standing and certainly didn’t extend to his friends. Now hunters were aware of my den, and this place was on their radar. The truth was, I didn’t have time. There was one particular hunter I needed to catch up with and figure out why he was so similar to Jayson. I turned around and unbolted the door.

  “Izella, have you seen any other vampires besides us?” Trevor took a step toward me.

  “The one with brown hair and green eyes?” The boyish vampire was the only one I had seen.

  “Yes.”

  “He was dust.” I yanked open the door and walked out to the night.

  “What? What do you mean?” Trevor grabbed my hand to turn me around.

  “He’s dust,” I repeated. Although his grip was not strong enough to make me feel pain, it was still tight and uncomfortable. “If you go down to the basement, you will see his remains beside my coffin.”

  His handsome face twisted. I could almost make out his true vampire visage underneath.