by Amanda Carol
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Acknowledgments
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Amanda Carol
Editor: Carmen Richter at CPR Editing
Proofreader: Angel Nyx at Horus Proofreading
Cover Artist: Lenka Ashani Siberova at Ashani Graphics
Interior Book Formatting: Clara Stone at Reader Central
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
Independently published.
“How lucky am I to have something, that makes saying goodbye so hard.”-Winnie the Pooh
To Grandma, I will always love you.
We are sitting at the dinner table waiting for Declan to emerge from his room.
“Aria, please go and check to see what is taking your brother so long,” my Dad, Preston, requests as he starts to put some meatloaf on his plate.
Ugh, meatloaf again? Gross.
“I know you guys are eighteen now, but this is one of our last meals together as a family before the both of you are off to college,” he insists. “You know your brother will be at football camp most of the summer and you’re going to go back to New Orleans with Abby.”
I roll my eyes. “Why don’t you go and get the stubborn mule?”
He’s right, though. Declan and I do have a busy summer before school starts in the fall. And my parents have always been big on family dinners.
“Aria Elizabeth Matthews, watch your attitude,” my Mom, Debora, scolds from across the kitchen. She grabs a bottle of wine from the wine rack and two wine glasses before walking back over and sitting down at the other end of the table.
I huff as I push myself from the table and stomp my way up to my brother’s room. When I walk by my art room, I think about just sneaking in there for a few minutes to pass the time it would take to grab Declan. I’ve already had to cover for him all day. The least he can do is show up to dinner on time. But, being the best sister ever, I decide to wait until after dinner to finish my painting.
Without even knocking, I storm right into Declan’s room and see him face-down in his bed. I march right over to him and yank away the covers, which earns me a groan.
“Hey, fuckface, get up. Mom and Dad want you downstairs for dinner,” I say, dropping his blankets on the floor next to his guitar case and crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’re chipper this evening,” Declan grumbles, rolling around and putting his hands on his head. “Just tell them I have a headache or something. Which isn’t that far from the truth.” He winces, rubbing his temples.
“Oh, no. I already covered for you earlier today. Wait, you’re still hungover from James’ end of the year bonfire, aren’t you?” I ask, laughing. Serves him right.
Last night, we both snuck out to our mutual friend James’ house. Every year, he throws a bonfire party to celebrate making it through another school year. Although last night was epic because it was our last one. We’d finally made it through high school.
My best friend, Abby, and I left the party early. But when I went to check on Declan this morning, he wasn’t home, which meant he’d stayed the whole night. I had to do damage control, so I’d told our parents that he mentioned something about playing a game of flag football with the guys since most of them were leaving for vacations with family.
“Please stop talking so loud.” Declan groans again, which makes me laugh even harder.
Turning on my heel, I leave his room and head into our shared bathroom to grab him some ibuprofen and a glass of water.
“Here.” I say, handing it to him.
He takes the pills from my hand, popping them in his mouth and then taking a big gulp of water.
“You know, you owe me big time for covering for you all day. You know Mom and Dad don’t like James,” I tell him, sitting down next to him.
“Thanks,” he sighs, draping his arm around my shoulders and kissing me on the cheek. “You’re the best sister I’ve ever had.”
“And don’t you forget it.” I chuckle, nudging him with my shoulder.
I’m about to say something more, but then we both hear a crash and a bone-chilling scream downstairs. Declan’s wide gaze locks with mine and we both stand up at the same time.
He rushes toward the door with me right on his tail. Once he gets to the top of the steps, he stops dead in his tracks.
I run right into him and I’m about to throw out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush, but he turns to steady me, then puts a finger to his lips to shush me. If it wasn’t for the look of terror on his face, I would probably still cuss him out, or at least hold up three fingers and tell him to read between the lines. He turns, grabbing my hand, and we both walk slowly down the stairs.
At the bottom, we round the corner to the kitchen and, with one glance, the image in front of me is now permanently imprinted in my memory. Our dad is on the floor, bleeding from his neck. I was just talking to him less than ten minutes ago, and now he’s gone.
I’ll never forget the glassy look in his eyes.
I start to scream, but a hand covers my mouth. Declan must feel me jerk my hand back, because he turns abruptly to face me, eyes wide and ready to fight. His face relaxes slightly, and I hear my mother whisper in my ear, but loud enough for Declan to hear as well.
“Keep quiet and follow me,” she hisses.
I clutch both my mother’s and my brother’s hands, and we quickly make our way back up the stairs and into my parents’ bedroom. Mom releases our hands, then turns to lock the door behind us.
“Mom, what the hell is going on? What happened to dad? We need to call 911!” I exclaim.
My mother walks right over to me and puts her hand on my mouth again. My breathing is ragged and my heart feels as if it’s about to burst through my chest.
“Aria, baby, please. I don’t have much time,” she whispers. “I need you to be quiet and listen.”
I nod, and she releases me. She grabs Declan and I into her arms and hugs us tight. When she pulls away, I notice for the first time that she’s covered in blood and there’s a gash on her forehead.
“I love you both so much, and I’m so proud of the man and woman you have become. I need to tell you something that I have tried very hard to protect you from. But it seems like we’ve run out of time.”
Releasing our hands, she rushes over to her closet and grabs a shoebox from the top shelf. She rummages through it, then pulls out two necklaces. They’re silver, and both have circular charms. One has a sun in the center, the other a moon. She gives the sun necklace to Declan
and the moon one to me. Then she reaches into her pocket, tossing Declan’s car keys to him.
“Take this. It will explain everything you need to know,” she says, handing me a journal that I didn’t know she had. “Listen to me very carefully. I need you to put these necklaces on and, whatever you do, never, ever take them off. There are things in this world that are more terrifying than you can imagine, but right now you need to understand that vampires are real and they’re dang—!”
She’s cut off by the door swinging open, and she abruptly turns and pushes us behind her. Declan and I quickly put the necklaces on. I stare wide-eyed at the man in front of us while I grasp the back of Mom’s shirt. Declan puts a protective arm around me, inching us backward.
“I really wish you would stop running from me, Debora.” He rolls his eyes, then glances behind Mom at us.
He grins and licks his lips. Oh God, there’s blood around his mouth, and…oh God…is that my dad’s blood?
“Ah, I see you’ve saved me some dessert!” he chuckles.
“You’re going to have to go through me first!” Mom threatens the man.
He steps forward and I finally get a good look at him. His hair is jet black, he has the eyes to match, and his skin is a stark contrast to those features, so pale that it’s almost pure white. I suck in a harsh breath and clutch my mom tighter, trying not to think about the blood around his lips. My dad’s blood.
“Is that so?” the pale man challenges, taking another step forward while my mom takes another step back.
I bump into the windowsill, and then I realize what Mom is doing. She’s helping us escape. The window is slightly cracked, and I feel the cool summer breeze on my back. I glance up at Declan and meet his gaze. He knows as well. Call it twin intuition.
“Mom!” I plead, tugging her closer. Tears fill my eyes and one slips free.
She turns her face toward me and gives me a sad smile. She knows these are our last moments together. She mouths I love you to me, and another tear falls.
“Mom, please!” I cry.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet. I’m sorry to interrupt this touching family moment, but—wait. No, I'm not.” The pale man opens his mouth and a hiss comes out as his fangs appear. “Time’s up.”
The man lunges forward, and Mom pushes Declan and I back toward the window and meets the man—er, vampire—head-on. I fall, landing on my butt, and my head hits the windowsill. I’m momentarily stunned, but seeing our Mom fly backward and hit the wall pulls me from my stupor.
“Mom!” I shout, just as Declan grabs me and hauls me up.
I’m still holding the journal and Declan has somehow managed to get that damn window completely open.
“Aria! Declan! Get out of here!” Mom gasps as the vampire grabs hold of her throat.
I didn’t see her grab a knife, but suddenly it’s in her hand, and she manages to stab him in the shoulder. He lets out a roar and tightens his grip.
“You’re going to have to do better than that, Debora. Silver doesn’t affect me!” The vampire throws my mom back against the wall with a loud thud.
“Screw you,” Mom says, wiping her lip and standing up. She throws herself at the vampire again.
“We have to go. Now!” Declan exclaims, grabbing my arms and pushing me out the window.
I hit the ground with a thud and air whooshes out of my lungs. I try sucking in a breath, but it’s hitched. I hear Declan land right next to me. He picks me up and grabs my hand and we start running toward his Honda HR-V.
We honor our mom’s final wish.
We never look back.
I pop in my earbuds, set my music player to my running playlist—which is mostly a lot of 90’s grunge music—and, after shutting the door to the motel room, take off on my nightly run. Running is not something that I’ve ever enjoyed doing, but it sure as hell beats doing yoga.
No offense to people who do yoga. It’s just not my thing.
I took one class and almost laughed out loud. We were supposed to be clearing our mind and focusing on our breathing. My brain decided at that moment to have anything, and everything that was funny pop through like the Kool-Aid guy did in those commercials. My twin brother, Declan, bet me twenty bucks that I’d never go back, and I bet him twenty just to prove him wrong.
He made twenty bucks that night.
Since I’m stuck in a car for most of the day, sometimes longer, running helps release pent-up energy and works my muscles. Don’t get me wrong, I take Jiu-jitsu and Krav Maga classes to help keep me in shape too, but running seems to be the only thing that helps me forget about that night three years ago. What started out as a typical evening for my family turned out to be the night that would forever change the world as I knew it. But if I hadn’t seen my parents killed by a vampire with my own two eyes, I would never have believed that vampires even existed.
I don’t blame Declan for getting us out of there the way he did. He’s always been the logical one out of the two of us. Mom always told me that I let emotions cloud my thoughts.
I’ve toughened up since that night, though.
Once we got our inheritance money and left our hometown of Frederick, Maryland, we sat down and read mom’s journal. We both believed that vampires existed at that point. In the journal, Mom explained the ways to kill one.
A stake through the heart is the most effective. It doesn’t have to be wood, but you do have to actually puncture the heart all the way through. Silver doesn’t kill them, but it does wound them. But the older the vampire is, the less effective it is on them. As time goes on and the vampire gets stronger, its effectiveness wears off until eventually it just doesn’t work at all. Mom wrote that it would stun them and prevent them from healing quickly. Of course, you can always behead the damn things, which is my go-to move. I get a sick satisfaction from it. I don’t know what that says about me.
We aren’t sure why mom told us to wear the necklaces or what they do, but Declan and I never take them off. It was the last request Mom had.
Declan and I have been on a mission to track down the vampire who killed our parents. We find leads on the web or local newspapers by looking for key words like “animal attack” or “severe blood loss.” We’ve traveled to almost every state and killed every vampire we’ve come across. We haven’t found him yet, but we will.
Three years’ worth of training and self-defense classes have made Declan and I stronger. Although we have noticed that we are much stronger and faster than we ever used to be. We wondered why at first, but then realized that it doesn’t really matter. It makes hunting vampires easier.
I’ve just rounded the corner of an office building, and I suddenly get the tingly feeling in my bones that a vampire is near. Slowing my pace, I take out my earbuds. At first, all I can hear is my own heavy breathing. Then a scream pierces the night.
I don’t even think. I charge toward the scream.
I sprint along the pavement toward the direction the scream came from, and I hear the same shrill sound, followed by the soft thud of a body hitting something. I slow my pace, stopping just outside an alleyway.
I can sense that a vampire is near.
That’s a new thing too. Declan and I can sense when a vampire is near, but I’m better at finding their exact location. I know Declan’s a bit jealous of that, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.
Luckily, since it’s midnight, not many people are out. Vampires don’t immediately turn to dust like in that show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although that would be super convenient. Then I wouldn’t have to answer questions from unsuspecting strangers.
The victim, which I now see is a girl, tries to get up and run, but the vampire quickly blocks every exit. The son of a bitch even laughs at her. I inch around the corner.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?” I yell.
I reach for the silver dagger from the back of my leggings. I don’t pull it out, not yet, but I need to make sure it’s there. A while back, I m
anaged to sew a little hilt into all of my leggings so I can safely wear it while running. I never leave the motel without it.
The vampire stops, turns around slowly, and glares at me, the girl behind him now forgotten. He has light hair, so he isn’t the vampire who killed my parents. But he’s still going to die.
We haven’t run into any vamps for weeks and I’ve been chomping at the bit for a good fight. Like I said, I’ve toughened up in the last three years. What I’m not prepared for is how quick this guy is. I know vampires are fast, but this guy is faster than any other we’ve come across so far. For a fleeting second, I wonder if he’s going to say “meep meep” and drop an anvil on me. I’m just glad I’m quick on my feet.
A second ago, he was holding this poor girl, and now he’s right up in my face. I flinch. Right, Mom mentioned in her journal that the older the vampire is, the faster and stronger they will be. I quickly recover, never breaking eye contact. I’m not afraid of vampires, and if he notices me flinch, he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he leans in close—too close—and he…he sniffs me.
“Interesting,” he whispers. “If I couldn’t hear your heart beating, I would have thought you weren’t human. What are you?”
The bloodthirst can make them hear heartbeats—if they’re close enough, that is.
“I’m Aria, the girl who’s about to kill you,” I state flatly, ignoring his comment.
The vampire laughs, and I use that distraction to my advantage. Vampires are smart, but they suck at being on the offense because they’re cocky bastards. Lifting my hands, I grab his head, allowing my knee to make contact with his nose. I hear a satisfying crunch and then I bring my fist upward. His head shoots up and backward.
