by Lilly Wilder
© Copyright 2019 by Lilly Wilder All rights reserved.
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Indebted To The Vampires
By: Lilly Wilder
Table of Contents
Indebted To The Vampires
Foreward
Come Stalk Me!
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One Morning, I Woke Up And Realized I’d Lost It All: My Parents, My Hopes, My Life. Nothing Would Ever Be The Same.
Following the death of my parents, I found myself attending Ridgeview Academy, a secret education facility reserved only for vampires and Halflings, those with only one vampire parent.
The school bully caught up with me on the very first day, as if she could smell fear on me.
Then three guys sparked up some possible romance!
But I wondered, what are they really after?
More importantly, could I trust any of them?
On the surface, it all looked nice, just like their manicured lawns and polite ways, but I could feel the darkness within the campus.
There was an unspeakable, blood-curdling evil present in Ridgeview Academy, and it was up to me to force it out into the light.
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Ever Notice How Life Turns Upside Down When You Least Expect It To?
I was always the good girl.
I was never a risk taker.
I always followed the rules.
Then along came Rick and Dalton.
One night, I was out on the town, dancing with my friend, when they rescued me.
Suddenly, I had two new protectors watching over me.
I thought they were just a couple of regular guys at first.
Then I learned what they truly were.
It shocked me, but it also intrigued me.
How was I to know my world was about to be rocked?
How was I to know they were lion shifters?
And how was I to know I wanted them as much as they wanted me?
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I Dreamed Of Being With Him In High School… But Now I’m Getting More Than Expected…
There’s nothing more difficult than keeping a secret in high school.
That’s actually the reason I didn’t want to attend my 10 year reunion.
But that changes when I find out a close friend is attending.
We were just friends back then, but I always had a crush on him.
A part of keeping my secret meant I could never tell him that.
We casually catch up at the reunion, about him playing in the NFL, and we end up at his hotel room where his boyfriend is staying.
What follows is a passionate whirlwind of hot, male threesome action where all my high school dreams come true.
Was it just a one night stand or is there more to our story?
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Carol Has Never Been Able To Keep A Single Man... But Maybe She Can Keep Two Men
Carol Burton had always been unlucky in love and she had no idea what she was doing wrong. She may not have been for everyone, but surely there was somebody out there that wanted her for who she was and not what they wanted her to be.
Carol thought that her options were limited, but her friend Tammy put her on to a speed dating night. The pickings are slim until she meets Jesse Peters and his twin brother Jacob. She thinks that it’s a joke that they are here together and the looks that they have received have not been kind. They have tattoos, long hair and beards to match their...
Foreward
My name is Elsa Carpenter and if you were to look at me you’d think I’m just an ordinary 18 year old girl, but I’m not. I’m a Slayer with an ancient duty to fight against evil. It turns out vampires were the least of things I had to deal with. Upon my acceptance into the prestigious Angel Academy, I crossed the strict headmaster, who was always on my case and this bled over to some…disagreements with my peers. I started to get bullied. Can you believe that? A Slayer getting bullied by ordinary people! I couldn’t use my Slayer skills. I had to be smarter.
Then, my world was thrown into even more disarray when I met three hot vampires who helped me out of a tight spot. I know I was meant to hate them, but loving them was so wrong, it felt so right.
Indebted To The Vampires
Chapter One
It was a dark street. The moon hung brightly in the sky, like a lantern. The stars glittered around them. The city was empty, dead. It was the time of night when most sane people were in bed with their loved ones, either sleeping or fucking. That was how normal people lived, but I wasn’t normal. I clenched my jaw and continued walking. There was something in the air, something deadly. The rain had been falling all day, but now the sky was dry. I avoided stepping in puddles, not wanting to give away my position. This was the time of night when monsters came out to play, and my job was to put them down.
I peered into the shadows. That’s where they liked to hide, vampires, the scourge of my existence. I remember clearly, the first day I’d learned of their existence, I mean their actual existence, not their place in the mythical pantheon of horror. There was truth to the story, more truth than people would like to admit. More truth than they could handle. I’d doubted myself, even when all the proof had been staring me in the face. It wasn’t until I was standing there, pinning a vampire to the ground with a wooden stake, that I was a true believer, and I had to be, because I was a Slayer.
A long time ago, bloodlines had been blessed with strength and power. Those bloodlines had been nurtured and protected through the years. In every generation, one woman rose and embodied that strength and, this generation, it just happened to be me, little old Elsa Carpenter.
If you were to look at me you’d never think I was a monster hunter. I was about 5’4, petite, and I’d only just had my eighteenth birthday. I was struggling with trying to get into the prestigious Angel Academy where only the brightest minds were accepted, while at night I was hunting the creatures of the dark. I guess that was the trick of it, for us Slayers to hide in plain sight. I knew there were more like me out there but I wasn’t allowed to know of their existence. Letting any vampires know our true nature was a Very Bad Thing, indeed, as I was told by my mentor, the ever reliable Arthur.
All I wanted was to be a normal girl but I wasn’t allowed to be. Apparently my ancestors had made a pact that rippled out through the generations, until it touched me and forced me into a life I hadn’t chosen, and I wasn’t about to run from it now. I knew how dangerous vampires could be. I’d seen what they were capable of and if I can stop them, then I had to try, I just had to hope that I could balance my own life as well.
Movement in the shadows. I know he’s there. I reach down and pull out the wooden stake, a trusty weapon. I crouch, using my heightened senses to try and pull away the veil of the night. An ordinary human wouldn’t stand a chance and even though I have enhan
ced abilities the odds are still stacked against me. I hear a noise and shift to the left but no, it’s a distraction. I notice too late.
To the right there’s a screech and the pale face of a vampire leers at me. Its fangs are bared and its hands are outstretched, its spindly fingers tinted with sharp tips, ready to tear my supple flesh apart. My heart thunders inside but I keep my cool. I’m a Slayer. This is what I was born for. I twist back and evade its attack, arching my body, then bringing my legs up to kick it in its head. It rears back. My blow shocking him more than anything. It takes more than physical damage to bring these suckers down. I get into a defensive stance and watch the pale creature stare at me with its beady eyes. Its mottled skin shows that it has been starved of blood and is desperate. I can see the ravenous hunger, the rage. I lick my lips and keep my breathing steady. I know it’s smelling my sweat, listening to my heartbeat, thinking how succulent it would be to sink its teeth into my flesh.
It should be taking more care. It should be more deliberate in its movements, but the hunger is driving it mad. The creature lashes forward, its mouth opened wide. I see the path it is taking. My instincts kick in and, at the last moment, I dive down and slide across the ground, sending up a splash of water as my feet hit a puddle. I thrust my arm up and slam the stake into its heart. There’s a slight whimper, and then, I close my eyes as dust falls around me.
Once again, I’m disgusted by the ash that settles on my clothes, arms and hair. I do my best to not breathe it in. I’ve made that mistake already and the aftermath was not pleasant. I holster the stake and brush away the dirt, taking pride in another successful kill. I know they won’t all be this easy. The city is teeming with these creatures. It’s plagued with a mass of evil and I’m the cure, but for now they’re going to get one more night of mercy because I have to sleep. I have an interview tomorrow to see if I’m accepted into the Angel Academy. God knows how I’m going to balance my studies with my extra-curricular activities but I’ll find a way. I have to. I’m a Slayer.
I turn my back and walk through the empty streets. I look up at the houses and know that no one in them is ever going to thank me for keeping them safe. It is better they don’t know, because then the whole world would go mad. I wonder how many vampires are out there now, watching me.
*
“How was your patrol tonight?” Arthur asked, when I returned home. Home was an old building that had been used by Slayers for generations. The organization was a global one, with operatives in many different countries and plenty of resources and assets. Investments had been made wisely over the years and once my powers developed I came to live with Arthur in our expansive townhouse. It was filled with all manner of artifacts and books. Arthur loved his books. He was a balding, round-shouldered man who had devoted his life to the study of vampires. We never had many guests, but we still tried to hide our specialized equipment just in case anyone ever came around. It was better to keep up appearances and hide our truth.
“It was standard,” I said, grabbing a drink from the kitchen. “There were a few roaming about but I made sure they didn’t get any victims.
“Good.”
“Have you managed to track down any information about their nest, or who the local master is?” I asked.
“Unfortunately not, and it’s proving to be quite vexing.”
There was always a master, someone who was driving the vampires to achieve some agenda and who normally turned many of them to engender their loyalty to him. Occasionally, there were places where random vampires gathered and roamed about of their own accord. These were usually dealt with quite easily, but the infestation here, convinced us that the vampires were being led by a master, and a master who was likely in a high place in society. Some of the kills had been out in the open and there hadn’t been a public panic yet. This meant that either the authorities were covering up the nature of the deaths for the sake of the people’s sanity, or they were hiding the truth to protect their brood. I wasn’t sure which one was more likely, but it sure made me suspicious.
“We’ll get him,” I said, confidently. Arthur gave me a weak smile. He evidently wasn’t as convinced as I was.
“And how are you feeling about tomorrow?”
I shrugged and wiped some lingering orange juice from my lips. “I’m trying not to think too much about it. After all, it’s not the end of the world,” I joked.
“No, but you don’t want it to be the end of your world. The Angel Academy will be good for you and open up many doors later on in your life. It will provide you many opportunities to progress.”
“That’s if the end doesn’t happen before I get that old,” I said dryly. That should be ‘The End’, with capital letters, an ancient prophetic warning that the undead would take this world in its grip and overwhelm humanity with an eternal curse. Some scholars dismissed it as ravings of an insane vampire who vastly overestimated the strength of his brethren, but some took it more seriously, especially vampires.
“You shouldn’t talk about these things so lightly,” he said.
“I know I’ve seen a lot of things that I never would have believed in had I not seen them with my own eyes, but I don’t think words written hundreds of years ago have any bearing on what happens now. The Slayers have kept vampires in check so far and we’ll keep on doing that. It’s not like the line is going to be broken. Even if I die, someone else is going to take my place.”
“Elsa, don’t speak like that!” Arthur exclaimed, horrified.
I shot him a sideways glance. “Ever since I received this power, I’ve known my time is going to be short. What’s the average life expectancy for a Slayer?” I asked.
Arthur licked his lips and his gaze darted to the floor.
“Exactly,” I said, as he offered nothing in reply. “And I’ve made my peace with that. I’m going to try and enjoy myself for as long as I’m here, and I’m not going to try and think too far ahead. Because there might not be a far ahead.”
My words were harsher than I intended them to be and I could see that Arthur was visibly hurt. I understood why. He had been my Aunt’s handler, after all, the Slayer before me. But in truth I had been used to the idea of dying before my time, ever since I was young, in fact, since my parents had died in the car crash. They had been young too, and it seemed wrong that I should live past the point they did.
“I know that being a Slayer is a difficult task, and one that you didn’t ask for, but that doesn’t mean you have to be reckless. You can still have a long and happy life, if you put the work in. Elsa, I know you can succeed in whatever you do. Please, for my sake, try to get in to the academy. It will mean so much for your future prospects. This could be life-changing.”
“As life-changing as being told that I have the power of a Slayer and that for generations my family has been fighting the undead forces of a vampiric army?”
“Perhaps not that life-changing,” Arthur said, after a pause, “but unfortunately you need other talents to progress in the world, and it’s healthy for you to form relationships outside of this circle. You shouldn’t ever have to feel alone.”
“Oh, how could I feel alone when I have you Arthur?” I replied somewhat flippantly. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, I mean, who can resist my natural charm? You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll kill the interview, just like I kill vampires.”
I shot him a wink, although he still looked troubled and didn’t seem comforted by my attitude at all, but Arthur was always cautious. I suppose I couldn’t blame him, considering that he was just a mortal and felt vulnerable against vampires and, also, because of what happened to my aunt. I should have gone a little easier on him, considering that he was the only family I had, but he was such an easy man to tease because he took everything so seriously. I suppose it would be good to at least broaden my social horizons and have some friends my own age, although making friends had never been something I was particularly good at.
*
I retreated upstairs to my room and put aside my weapons, placing them back into the drawers where most girls my age would keep make up and pretty jewelry. Instead of those trinkets I had a silver dagger, stakes, and a vial of holy water. I gazed out of my window at the starry sky and the silver moon, and I wondered how many vampires were still roaming around unchecked. It was impossible to tell exact numbers, since only Arthur and I were working the area, and I wasn’t about to go and try to take a head count. However, I encountered some every night, and I was slowly working my way through the trickle of them, trying to find where they were all spawning from. My work as a Slayer was never done, and somehow the interview with the Angel Academy paled in comparison, when I thought about the importance of the two. But, then again, it wasn’t as though the wider world would ever know of my efforts as the Slayer.
I was reminded of that old philosophical thought about a tree falling in a wood making no sound, and I found a similarity in my own situation. If the rest of the world never knew about my exploits did they really matter? I think that’s why Arthur was so insistent on me attending the academy; so that I had something other than slaying vampires to fill my days and nights. Saving the world could easily become an obsession, but it wasn’t as though there was an end in sight. Vampires were present all over the world and us Slayers, were spread out far and wide, so we could never commit to an all-out assault. All we could do was manage their population and limit the damage they could do. We were caught in a balancing act.
