A Sampler Pack

by Jill Cooper

  Part of Natalie felt like she’d see him again. She couldn’t believe he was really gone, and something in her soul said she’d see him again. Natalie knew she wasn’t in love with him, not really, but he was handsome… and way too old for her. Besides, she had a boyfriend.

  They headed toward the old-style Victorian home refashioned into a bustling restaurant. With its yellow shutters and stained-glass windows, it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. It was dusk, and the bright lights from town shone against the backdrop of the green mountains. Vermont had never looked so beautiful.

  The French doors were decorated with multicolored glass, and around the side were sweeping bay windows that allowed patrons to gaze out at the city. Through the glass, she could see the life of the busy restaurant as they went inside and found their tables.

  Food was already at the table, and sitting side by side in a booth was the rest of her team. Michelle Tracker, a friend Natalie had recently reconnected with, and Charles Buckle. But her eyes settled on Tristan, and her heart thumped an intense beat at the sight of him. He was relaxed in a t-shirt and jeans, but something about the way he breathed and chewed his bacon was enough to cause a stirring in her soul.

  They’d been friends their entire lives, and Natalie had been more than surprised when he’d professed his love for her, but she’d been downright astonished when her own feelings for him intensified. When he looked at her and their eyes connected, a small smile played on his lips, and Natalie was overcome with a warm glow, like standing in the sun after a rainy day.

  She settled with sliding beside him into the booth. His arm tucked around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. For a moment, Natalie nuzzled her nose against his neck and took a deep breath. His cologne was spicy but sweet and made her heart gallop faster.

  Someone cleared their throat, and it wasn’t Charles Buckle, but rather Kenneth in the booth beside theirs. He was seated alone with his plate of pancakes, but he was surrounded by a towering display of books and study materials.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “Bacon gone down the wrong way. Just go about your business and pretend I’m not here.”

  Charles gave him a sharp look. He pursed his lips and his brow furrowed before wiping the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “Any luck?”

  Michelle rolled her eyes. “You talk about it like she was out searching for some car keys.”

  Charles and Tristan shushed the redheaded beauty before she gave anything away.

  Natalie glanced at Kenneth and saw that he was again writing something down. It left her distracted. “Yup. Vampire’s dead,” she said simply.

  Two people in the booth the other side of them to Kenneth’s turned to stare, pieces of bacon hanging from their mouths.

  “Way to go with just blurting stuff out, Natalie,” Michelle said sarcastically.

  “I didn’t say it that loud, did I?” she scowled.

  “Loud enough,” Charles said with a sigh and sipped his tea. He nodded his head toward Natalie so she would know to pick up the thread.

  She took a deep breath, not used to talking in front of groups of people greater than two, but she was getting better at it since her custodian had forced her to do it almost daily. “Miss Farbaker is being buried tomorrow. She might rise from the grave being all… you know… fangy.” Natalie watched the booth in front of her to make sure no one turned around this time. “We need to stake her out, and if she rises from the grave all undead, then we need to… umm… stake her.” Natalie scowled at her poor sentence structure, but it was too late for a do over.

  “All night?” Michelle asked with a roll of her eyes.

  Natalie’s eyes were on Kenneth. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Michelle. We can handle it without you.”

  “Or,” Michelle said with a grin, “we could bring Marcus to keep me company.”

  Everyone at the table groaned. It wasn’t the first time Michelle had tried to get Marcus to join their paladin party.

  “C’mon. He really wants to help. I told him about all the cool stuff we do.” Michelle folded up half a pancake and stuffed it in her mouth.

  Kenneth cleared his throat and took a sip of water. “Sorry… you people do realize that slaying vampires is a life or death situation, don’t you?”

  Natalie’s heart leaped with nerves, but Michelle was oblivious to her discomfort. “So?” Michelle bounced in her seat and batted her eyelashes at Charles. “Please, Chuck.”

  Charles shook his head as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “Absolutely not. Having two non-paladins going out on missions is enough to have WOMP on my case as it is. I can’t explain one more. Not without the boss becoming even more furious with me than she already is.”

  Michelle narrowed her eyes and stuffed a fork full of hash brown in her mouth. “I can’t believe you guys won’t even let him try. He’d be a really good sidekick.” Michelle tossed down her napkin and made her escape, pulling down her dress a little as she stood.

  Natalie wanted to rush after her, but Tristan’s hand on her thigh steadied her.

  Charles cleared his throat, and his eyes were on Kenneth when he spoke. “By standard rules, there should only be the paladin and the custodian. We are already an unconventional team, I think its best we not draw attention to ourselves any further.”

  “Slayer dudes, there can only ever be two! The master and the apprentice!” It was Marcus with his crazy shaggy haircut and Austin Powers glasses. That night he was wearing a yellow t-shirt and a black jacket with a black striped tie swinging around his neck. He flopped down in Michelle’s seat and pulled Charles’ plate of pancakes over. “Are you done with this?”

  “She’ll be okay, Nat.” Tristan pulled her hair from her neck and gave her a kiss.

  Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She loved it when he did stuff like that, even if they were in public. Under the table, her hand crept over to his knee and gave him a squeeze. His hot breath was against her lips in an open-mouth kiss, and desire built inside her. They may have been alone at the table for all she knew, and Natalie couldn’t have been happier.

  Their moment was interrupted like a needle grating against a record.

  “How’s everything?” a woman asked as she stopped by their table. Natalie recognized her as the owner of the restaurant, Evelyn Drake. She was in her customary brown uniform with a long white apron, which was decorated with a bottle of maple syrup, tied around her waist. She was a simple woman, and the only accessory she wore was a blue pendant around her neck.

  “Great.” Natalie smiled meekly as Marcus gave her two thumbs up while eating the last of the hash browns. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her probation officer making more notes. She felt so closed in when he was around and wanted to scream, but that wouldn’t help her cause at all.

  “Oh, Mr. Buckle, hello.” Evelyn blushed as she said his name. Natalie watched with growing concern; ‘Mr. Buckle’ was her name for him.

  Charles immediately stood to address her and bumped his knee on the table. He grimaced while Evelyn gave a short chuckle, covering her mouth delicately with her hand. “Ms. Drake, it’s good to see you again, of course.” A silly grin came over his face as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  “You too. I hope your pancakes were good.”

  “Oh yes, he’s just a food-stealing menace.” Charles gestured to Marcus, who was shoveling food into his mouth by the truckload.

  “Well good, glad to hear it. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Two?”

  Charles nodded. “I’ll be there.”

  Be where? Natalie wanted to scream but didn’t. Did they have a freestanding appointment? And if so, how come she was just hearing about it? Her custodian couldn’t date, could he?

  “Good.” Evelyn gave him a grin before moving on to the next table.

  Natalie and Tristan’s mouths were open in shock. “Chuck, you have a… date? With a woman?”

  �
�It’s not unheard of. I do occasionally socialize with adults.” Charles took his seat in the booth but glowered at Kenneth. “Mr. Parsons, does that really need to be noted? I am afforded a social life.”

  Kenneth sipped his water and didn’t look up. “A thorough report is a good report, Agent Buckle.”

  Charles sighed in resignation.

  “At least we know why he always wants us to discuss our missions over pancakes.” Natalie smirked, but the idea of her custodian dating made her feel possessive enough to blush. “I’m going to go check on Michelle.” Natalie gave Tristan a parting smile and headed down the rows of tables.

  She took a deep breath, allowing her jealous feelings to flow off of her, but it still nagged at the back of her mind. Charles was an adult, and if he wanted to date, he was allowed to. She dated, and it was nice. Everyone should have a chance at happiness, and there was more to life than just slaying vampires.

  Natalie was happy for him—really.

  She dodged several high-speed waitresses as she came to the bathroom door by the entry into the kitchen. The waitresses raced by like they had wheel on their feet, balancing trays full of plates with towering pancake stacks. And on the wall, Natalie saw dainty bottles of syrup in a row. Some were full and some nearly empty, but all were amber in color.

  She pushed through the swinging door to the restroom, and the fragrant aroma of flowers hit her immediately. There was a giant green vase against the wall filled with gorgeous lilies, sprays, and leafy garland. The walls were painted brown, like chocolate, and each of the vanity sinks were separated by a small bowl of potpourri. The smell was so strong, it was like stepping into a florist shop.

  Crouched down on the floor, Michelle was vomiting, and there were tears streaming down her face. Natalie raced to her side, but her friend shook her head and pointed to the open bathroom stall, the one where blood pooled on the floor.

  Natalie pushed into the bathroom stall to find a woman still sitting on the toilet. Her head was leaned back, and her panties were around her calves as if it was just a regular bathroom visit, but her body was covered in blood. It was matted in her hair and streaked down her limbs like she’d bathed in it. Her hands gripped at her abdomen, but she wasn’t alive. Natalie could tell from the way her head was rocked back with her eyes staring up at the ceiling. But whatever had happened to her, her mouth was drawn in a single line as if she was asleep or peacefully resting.

  The stench of blood hit her all at once. Natalie swallowed back the racing vomit, and her paladin instincts kicked in, pushing the rest of her emotional responses to the side.

  She studied the victim from a distance at first. The woman couldn’t have been older than eighteen, and had beautiful hair once. She wore sneakers paired with a short clingy miniskirt and a pink button blouse. Everything was stained red, and as Natalie studied her, she could still see the slow dripping of blood. It was everywhere.

  Natalie stepped farther in, trying not to step in the growing puddle, but she found it near impossible. She grabbed some toilet paper and used it to tilt back the woman’s head. It looked free of injury, but as the paladin tried to move the woman’s arm away from her abdomen, the sweet smell of flesh blood hit her.

  The woman’s blouse was half-unbuttoned, and her hands weren’t merely resting against her abdomen, they were inside it. The skin was nonexistent, torn away as if a bomb had gone off inside her. Shreds of muscles hung from her abdomen cavity like drapes made of beads, and shards of broken bone fragments clung to her flesh. Her hands were bright red, as if dipped in red paint, and underneath each fingernail were long strands of flesh.

  It wasn’t a vampire.

  It wasn’t suicide.

  This was something much worse.

  “Natalie,” Michelle’s voice sobbed. “Your hair…”

  Turning to the mirror, Natalie saw what Michelle was talking about. Her hair was tinged blond at the roots, just like the slayer’s. Eyes widening with shock, Natalie witnessed her irises turn from brown to blue.

  Something inside her was changing. Natalie groaned like she’d been punched in the stomach. She gripped the door stall and found Michelle was at her side. “I think I’m going to pass out.”

  “Again?” Michelle’s nose wrinkled. “Should I get you a pillow or something?”

  Natalie let out an exasperated breath, and her vision flashed with swirls of grass. She could smell salty water and hear happy squeals from children. Putting a hand to her forehead, she saw a lake filled with boats, and her feet were damp.

  Her body thudded to the ground as her world faded into darkness.

  Dawning Apocalypse

  Book 3 in The Dream Slayer Series

  Protection, murder, deception.... 

  No one can know Natalie works for a supernatural protection agency and is charged with protecting Meadow’s Creek from vampires. But as their numbers swell, their presence doesn't go unnoticed throwing her town under the microscope from the local government and the FBI. 

  Natalie’s job is pushed even further into the shadows where she must dodge the police, concerned citizens and even her own parents. Meanwhile a deadly plague grips the town and Natalie suspects it’s more than just a hacking cough. 

  While the stress of working overtime erodes her relationships she will race against time, illness, to face a familiar enemy, save an old friend, and stop an undead seize that wants nothing more than to suck Meadow’s Creek dry.