The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5)

by Jonathan Yanez

  Jack watched as Abigail continued her sparring session with her new mentor. In the weeks that had passed since their induction to the New Order, both warrior and wizard had grown by leaps and bounds, and Jack was reminded of how daunting a figure Abigail could be.

  She launched herself at her instructor. She held two katanas out behind her as she advanced. The weapons were a work of beautiful craftsmanship. Saber was equipped with the same sword but only held one in defense of Abigail’s attack. Sparks filled the air as steel struck steel. Abigail was a fury; her attacks were so quick, Jack had a difficult time tracking their movements in real time, she was such a blur of motion.

  Abigail forced Saber back to one of the square room’s walls. Just when Jack thought there was no way for Saber to win, the single-eyed leader of the New Order sacrificed his sword to draw a pistol from his back.

  The lost katana flew through the air. It ended up quivering, blade first, into the wall on the right.

  Abigail was forced to halt her attack, both katanas posed over Saber’s head for a killing strike. The only problem was Saber held his pistol pressed against Abigail’s forehead.

  Jack had to remind himself this was only a training session since every muscle in his body told him to run to Abigail’s aid. He didn’t for more than one reason, but the reason he gave credit to was he knew she wouldn’t want him to interfere with her training.

  “Yield.” Saber pressed his pistol into her forehead. “You’ve lost.”

  “And you cheated to win.” Abigail’s chest was moving up and down in rapid succession. “That’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, girl.” Saber glared at her through his one orange eye. “Do you think fighting vampire soldiers will be fair? They’re stronger and faster than us. The only advantages we have are surprise and skill.”

  Jack’s breath held in his chest. Abigail’s hands clenched the handles of the twin swords so tight he could see the whites of her knuckles. For a split second, Jack thought he might have to intercede after all.

  “I’m going to get you next time.” Abigail slowly lowered her weapons as if the act actually caused her pain. “You know it’s only a matter of time.”

  “Maybe.” Saber smiled at his apprentice. He also lowered his weapon, then holstered it behind his back. “Time will be the judge of that.”

  “He’s all yours, Jack.” Abigail sheathed her own swords in two cases that stuck up behind each shoulder blade. “Be careful with him. He’s had a rough day of training.”

  Saber ignored Abigail’s words.

  Abigail grabbed her water bottle and towel as she joined Jack at the room’s only exit. Jack was falling in love with her deeper and deeper every day, and her transformation into a full-fledged warrior only made her more attractive.

  Jack’s heartbeat quickened as Abigail pressed her lips against his. He grabbed her sweaty body in his arms, ignoring the wetness.

  “You must really care about me.” Abigail laughed as she pulled away. “You’re covered in my sweat now.”

  “It’s a small price to pay.” Jack winked at her. “Let’s do something tonight.”

  “Don’t we do something every night?” Abigail teased. “I’ll save you a seat in the mess hall.”

  “No, I mean it.” Jack cleared his throat. “I have something to tell you.”

  “If we can break up the love fest, kids.” Saber’s gruff voice cut through the moment like a katana. “Young Jack here has a training session of his own.”

  “Okay.” Abigail gave Jack one last kiss good-bye. “Come grab me from my room when you’re done.”

  Jack nodded. He turned his attention from the girl he loved so much to the instructor he never realized he needed.

  “How are your studies coming?” Saber draped his own towel around his neck. “Have the books Sasha brought you been helpful?”

  “They have.” Jack walked back to the bench he’d sat on while watching Abigail and Saber practice. “Where did you find books on magic like this? Some of the stuff in there has to be hundreds of years old. There are spells I didn’t even know existed.”

  “Good. Read, learn as much as you can every day.” Saber nodded to the books. “The texts come from a sorceress in Azra who has been part of the New Order since the beginning. She’s foreseen the rise of the queen and what it would take to stop her, before any of us. You should really be studying under her, but she is needed in Azra for the time being. That means you’re stuck with me for now.”

  Jack ran his hand over one of the leather-bound covers. It was worn and cracked in multiple locations. Each day the books were teaching Jack more—how to channel power longer and perform different kinds of magical incantations he never before thought possible.

  “Are you ready to begin?” Saber asked, as if Jack had any other option but to say yes.

  “I’m ready.” Jack shrugged off his long, brown jacket. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and walked to the center of the training room with Saber standing in front of him.

  Saber began his session like he did every time. “I know nothing of the sorcerer’s order, but I know how to train a soldier to be mentally strong enough to overcome anything. Now, tell me what have you learned.”

  “I’ve been reading the Sacred Order of the Anderle Code.” Jack closed his eyes, recalling the text. “It’s a spell to hold and harness power longer than a sorcerer should be able to.”

  “And how long can you use and harness your power over magic?” Saber asked, walking around Jack in a circle, more predator than teacher at the moment. “How long, Jack?”

  Jack thought about the question for a moment. He recalled his previous battles. Without a wand or a staff to help harness and hold the magic, his best attempts at channeling the magical current that ran though him had ended after minutes of use. The weight of bearing raw magic was too heavy to hold for longer than that.

  “I’ve held it for ten, maybe fifteen minutes without an instrument to channel it through.” Jack opened his eyes to see Saber glaring at him.

  “That was the Jack from before. The Jack now will channel the magic for as long as necessary.” Saber motioned with his head to Jack’s hands. “Show me.”

  Jack swallowed hard. Saber wasn’t exactly the most understanding teacher. Jack had learned that over the past few weeks. But he couldn’t argue with the results, either. Under Saber’s tutelage, Jack had rapidly developed as a sorcerer, covering months’ worth of learning in a matter of weeks.

  Jack took a deep breath, preparing to summon and hold the drain of magic for as long as Saber asked, both hands open out in front of him. Jack forced the current of magic running through him to take physical form in his hands. At once, two flames of green magic burst to life, one in each open palm.

  “You said ten to fifteen minutes was the longest you’ve been able to maintain the magic without a way to channel it” Saber went to a locker set alongside one of the walls in the training room. He opened one of the steel doors and rummaged inside. He came back a moment later with a steel stopwatch. “I’m going to start this now. I don’t want you to shoot for a certain time. I want you to hold it and don’t give it up, no matter what. You’re not aiming for time. Your mindset right now is that you can hold this magic forever, if that’s what it takes.”

  “Understood.” Jack set his jaw, settling in for what was looking to be a long training session. He couldn’t help asking, “You sure we shouldn’t just try for a certain time? We can just aim for sixteen minutes, and then every time we train, increase the time I hold the magic by a minute.”

  Saber’s deadpan stare told Jack what he already knew.

  “I had to try.” Jack let out a deep breath as he stared at the dancing green flames in his hands.

  Saber left Jack to his thoughts.

  Telling time in such a way was beyond impossible for Jack. Had a minute already passed? Two? Ten? Or was it all in his head?

  Soon Jack’s body began to ache. It was like he was holding a small
amount of weight out in front of him for a very long time. It was easy at first, even child-like. It would have been easier to use the magic in spurts to conserve his energy, just like lifting a weight as opposed to continuously holding it out would be easier. Today, that was not an option.

  Sweat began to form on Jack’s brow and in his armpits as he held the burning magic in his hands. Soon, his mind was the only thing strong enough to keep the magic going. His body was beginning to quiver. The pain that accompanied extreme exhaustion was beginning to descend. His body felt like real fire was burning across every muscle and fiber in his being.

  “What if victory depended on you using your magic for a minute, or a second, longer?” Saber leaned in close to Jack’s right ear. “What if your life, Abigail’s life, hinged on you being strong enough to channel your magic for just a moment longer?”

  Jack’s entire body was shaking now. He closed his eyes, trying to take his mind elsewhere, anywhere, but here in this room at this moment when his strength was gone and his mind was the only thing holding him together.

  AHHHHH!

  Jack’s hands and arms were numb, but he held on.

  “There it is,” Saber yelled somewhere past the pain. “This is what you are truly capable of. This is how you will grow and become stronger every time. Hold it, Jack! Hold it like your life and those you love depend on it, because one day that may very well be the case.”

  Jack was gritting down on his teeth so hard, he thought he might actually break a few. A moment later, he collapsed onto the floor. The fire in his hands went out. It already hurt to close the fingers on either palm.

  Jack brought his hands in close as if that would help ease the burning pain that lanced through his entire body but came to a head at his hands and arms.

  “Not bad, kid.” Saber squatted down next to him, showing him the timepiece. “Twenty-one minutes. And you would have settled for sixteen.”

  Jack managed to move himself into a sitting position. His breathing was coming down from a heavy pant to a controlled regiment of long breaths.

  “Don’t tire yourself out too quickly.” Saber went to the locker and brought back a bottled water. He placed it onto the floor next to Jack. “We’re going on a field trip tonight.”

  “Field trip?” Jack had repeated the words as if he’d never heard the term before. “Where?”

  “The queen’s armory.” Saber grinned. “It’s time we upgraded our weapons.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jack

  “Well, so much for our special date night,” Abigail said, pulling the black cloak and hood around herself tighter. “Do you think he’s serious? You think we’re really going to the palace?”

  Abigail’s voice wasn’t nervous in the least, which scared Jack. He knew she was more than eager to see her sister and bring her back from the palace. The only thing keeping her from doing this on her own was the lack of experience she had. Her training over the last few weeks had resolved this issue, though.

  “I think he is serious.” Jack licked his lips, searching for the right words that didn’t exist. Anytime he broached the subject of Abigail’s sister, Abigail became defensive. “If she’s there, if we see her, tell me you’ll be careful.”

  “She’s my sister, Jack.” Abigail stared out into the night sky. The two stood on the roof to the hideout the New Order called home. It was one of the tallest buildings in this section of the city. This, coupled with it being dark, meant they would be free of any prying eyes.

  Jack didn’t say anything else. Instead, he stared at the partially obscured sky. Dark clouds promising rain were coming in from the east. They had a few hours, maybe less, before the downpour began.

  “What was it you were going to say to me tonight?” Abigail asked, changing the subject. “When I left the training room, it sounded like it was important.”

  Jack had imagined this conversation so differently in his mind. The many times he had played the scenario over, none of them had the two of them standing side my side in long, dark cloaks about to depart on a mission to raid the queen’s armory.

  “I … uh…” Jack bottled his courage. Somehow, these few words were just as hard to get out as holding the magic had been earlier in the day. “We’ve known each other for a few months now. I know that isn’t long in the grand scheme of things, but what we’ve been through together is … well, it’s made me appreciate our time together. I want to tell you something, because I don’t want anything to happen to us before I get the chance to. I—”

  “For crying out loud, kid!” Saber entered the rooftop from the trapdoor leading into the building. He carried two brown packages in the crook of his left arm. “I tried to give you some privacy, but you’ve got a lot of air in those lungs. Just tell her already. We’ve got to be going.”

  “I … uh—” Jack tore his eyes from Saber, back to Abigail. She was grinning from ear to ear, her own eyes catching all the illumination the moon had to give. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

  “Maybe just a little bit,” Abigail teased. She closed the distance between them, rising on her tiptoes to reach Jack’s lips. “I love you, too.”

  The next instant, Jack felt lightheaded as his lips pressed against hers. In that moment, all of his worries fell away. He was lost in the feeling of love verbalized by someone he had never cared for in this way before.

  “Okay, you two.” Saber moved to join them at the edge of the rooftop. He looked them up and down. “By the looks of your dress, I’m assuming neither of you have ever been on a night op before.”

  Abigail shook her head.

  “My father and I used to hunt supernatural creatures in the Outland.” Jack looked down at his cloak. “I’d wear a coat not too different from this.”

  “Well, we aren’t in the Outland, kid.” Saber motioned with one hand for them to remove their cloaks. “Anything that could flap in the wind, get caught, or shift in a shadow should be left behind.”

  Jack compared his attire with Saber’s. The leader of the New Order wore a skin-tight black suit. He was armed to the teeth, from the handle of a combat knife sticking up from his left boot, to the single katana that peeked over his right shoulder. Not to mention the twin pistols snug on his hips, or the bandolier of throwing knives resting across his chest.

  “Here.” Saber threw one of the brown paper packages to each of his young trainees. “Dress quickly, we’re losing time.”

  Jack opened his package to reveal a black suit much like Saber’s. It would fit him tightly, with a high collar and long sleeves.

  “No peeking,” Abigail said to Saber as she began taking off her cloak.

  “Please, child”—Saber turned his back on the two—“I’m interested in one thing tonight, and that’s relieving the queen of some of her weapons. Though I’m sure Jack will be eager to sneak a quick glance or two.”

  “What?” Jack felt a rush of red burn his face as he pulled his own cloak over his head. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “And if he did, I wouldn’t mind,” Abigail’s voice reached Jack’s ears through the fabric of the shirt he was pulling over his head. “Haven’t you heard? He loves me.”

  Jack stood on the roof, shirtless. Hearing Abigail so happy that he had proclaimed his love for her made him smile in her direction.

  She was down to her underwear when he looked over, the light of the moon painting her skin in a glow that made her look like an angel. In that moment, he knew he would die for her.

  “If he does love you, I didn’t hear him say it.” Saber still had his back turned to the pair.

  “I do—what? I did.” Jack ripped his eyes from Abigail. He took off his own boots and pants before redressing in the clothes Saber had provided. “I did, right?”

  “Actually…” Abigail sat down to lace up her black boots. “I don’t think you did, and I saw you peek over at me.”

  “Attakid,” Saber chuckled.

  “Wait, how do you know I peeked over if you weren
’t looking at me?” Jack caught Abigail’s eyes now with a grin. “And I do love you.”

  “All right, pull up your pants, kids.” Saber turned around, but still didn’t look at them. “Joking is over until we get back. We move on the rooftops for as long as we can. When we can’t, Jack will lift us through the air. We’ll enter the palace through the front door. As soon as we do, we’re on the clock—in and out in three minutes. Any questions?”

  Jack looked over at Abigail, stunned. Her face was a mirror of his own.

  “Uh, yeah. A ton of questions.” Abigail raised an eyebrow as she reattached her shoulder harness with her katanas in it over her new outfit. “Jack can’t fly or hover, let alone make anyone else hover.”

  “Is that right, kid?” Saber turned his orange eye to Jack now. “You can’t?”

  “I’ve only done it to myself, and only in training.” Jack shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do it to all of us at once.”

  “How come you didn’t tell me you could fly?” Abigail was pulling her hair into a ponytail. “That’s huge.”

  “I can’t fly.” Jack shook his head again, going to the edge of the roof and looking down at the fall. “There was a chapter in one of the books I’m studying that taught me how to levitate.”

  “Well, I have faith in you, Mr. Twenty-one Minutes.” Saber jumped up onto the ledge of the roof as if it were as easy as taking a single step. “Besides, you won’t have to move us all at once. You can do it one at a time. And you won’t have to do it more than a few times. Abigail and I can make it from rooftop to rooftop most of the way.”

  “So, okay, wait a minute.” Abigail joined Saber on the roof ledge. “Even if we can get there undetected while floating, how are we going to get through the front door?”

  “We have friends willing to do one last favor for us.” Saber looked at Abigail and Jack. “Time to do or die.”

  Without another word, Saber leaped from the building. Jack’s stomach twisted into a knot as he ran to the edge and looked over. Saber had landed on the rooftop next to their own. It was a jump over a small alley and down to the building’s rooftop a story below. Saber rolled when he hit the ground to absorb the impact.