“I have no objections,” Katie said. “It will be nice to have some female company here.”
Craig forced his focus away from JD and looked around the table. One by one they all nodded their agreement. “Doc?” he asked. If Doc said no, nobody else’s views would matter. He ran the Sanctuary so his permission was essential.
“Alright, but make it this Saturday. I will be working in the evening so it’s unlikely you’ll be called out on a hunt.”
Craig breathed a silent sigh of relief. One down, one to go. He had permission to bring Sarah to his home, but he still needed the okay to show her the arena.
JD said nothing, waiting until he was sure that Craig’s attention was solely on him. “Don’t make me regret this,” was all he said.
“Thank you,” Craig said. “Everyone. One last thing. Jonathon, I don’t want you here.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“You know why. Find yourself a girl for the night. I’m sure it won’t be too hard.”
Jonathon grinned at him. “I’ll have to meet her eventually.”
“I know, but later rather than sooner is preferable.”
————————————-∞————————————-
Sarah was nervous as Craig drove her closer and closer to his home. On the way he had told her more about the people she was about to meet. She understood that he thought of them as family rather than friends, making this an even bigger occasion than she had first imagined.
“You will like them all, I promise,” Craig said. “JD takes a little getting used to, but everyone will make you feel welcome. They’ll all be there, except for Jonathon. I’ve asked him to keep away.”
“Why?”
“He’s a player. He goes through women like water. Trust me, it’s best to get to know the rest before experiencing him.”
Sarah was intrigued. “It sounds like you plan on this not being my only visit.”
“I certainly hope it isn’t.”
A short while later Craig pulled off the main road and followed a wide drive up to a set of gates. Pulling over in front of them, he entered a code into the keypad and they swung open.
“Welcome to my home,” he said as he drove past the house and around the back to the garage.
“Just how many cars can you store here?” Sarah asked, noting the number of doors in front of the car.
“Lots.” Craig pressed a button on his keyring and one of the doors opened. As he slowly drove in, Sarah looked around her at the collection of cars already in the garage.
Craig switched off the ignition and opened the door. Before leaving the garage, he pointed out the other vehicles. “Katie drives the Mazda, Scott the Ford. Simon has the BMW, Silvia’s is the little Fiat, Doc has the Range Rover and the Merc is JD’s. The only one missing is Jonathon’s Ferrari.”
“Ferrari?”
“He likes to show off.” There were two non-descript cars at the far end of the garage. From that distance Sarah couldn’t see what make they were. Craig pointed to them. “Those two are the ones we take when we go hunting. Fake number plates. Completely untraceable.”
Sarah didn’t ask why they needed untraceable cars; she wasn’t sure she would have liked the answer.
He smiled at her. “Come on. It’s time to meet the crowd. Nervous?”
“A little.”
“Don’t be.” He took hold of her hand and led her toward the house. It looked like a mansion.
“This place is huge. How many rooms does it have?” Sarah asked.
“Doc and Silvia have the back suite above the medical unit. Other than that there are eighteen bedrooms, all ensuite, a dining room, lounge, TV room, games room, kitchen and a number of offices. And the arena, of course.”
The building looked more like a place for a romantic getaway than the home of a group of friends who spent their spare time hunting vampires. It appeared to be old, but well cared for. Ivy covered the front, trees surrounded it and there was even a pond to one side. It seemed quiet and peaceful, but Sarah was expecting it to be very different once she was inside.
Craig unlocked the front door and led her in. The hallway was warm and well lit. There were a number of doors on each side, most of them ajar.
“One of the rules of this place,” Craig said, pointing to the doors. “If the door is open, you can go in. If it’s closed, you have to knock. As you can imagine, there isn’t a lot of privacy here. Following the rules helps.”
He chose a door on the left and took her into the room. Inside was a bank of televisions and every type of games console on the market. Only one was currently in use. A young man with scruffy hair and a week’s worth of stubble was glued to the screen, frantically tapping a controller with his fingers. The words ‘game over’ appeared and he looked up at his visitors.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Scott.”
“Scott, this is Sarah. Sarah, meet the baby of the family.”
“So you are the ‘friend’ we have heard so much about.” He used his fingers to put inverted commas around the word ‘friend’. Craig rolled his eyes. Everyone had promised to be on their best behaviour. He should have known they were lying to him.
“Friend?” Sarah asked, mimicking the gesture and raising an eyebrow at Craig.
“Get used to it,” he said. “They’re probably all going to be making comments like that. They seem unable to understand that there’s nothing going on between us.”
He turned his attention back to Scott. “You could at least have made an effort to tidy yourself up a bit.”
Scott shrugged. He was dressed in baggy jeans and a t-shirt. “I’m a student. This is my uniform.”
“You weren’t much different at that age,” Sarah said.
“That’s not the point. Come on, let’s find the others.”
“I think Katie is in the TV room. Simon is still training with JD,” Scott said.
“Thanks for letting me come over,” Sarah said as she was dragged out of the room.
Craig opened the door to another room and Sarah’s eyes fell on a slim young woman with long dark hair who was stretched out on the sofa, watching some sort of romantic comedy. She switched it off as soon as Craig led Sarah into the room.
“Finally one of the boys has brought a girlfriend home,” she said.
Craig looked at Sarah. “I told you.”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” she said.
“Yeah right. I’m Katie.” She held out her hand and the two young women shook. “You’re the first outsider ever to visit here. I hope you don’t let the others make you regret it.”
“I’m honoured,” Sarah said with complete sincerity.
“Can I ask you one question?” Katie continued. “Did you believe Craig when he told you about us or did you only ask to come here to call his bluff?”
“He has never lied to me before, other than about where he lived and how he got his injuries, so of course I believed him.”
“You really are insane.”
“Are JD and Simon in the arena or outside?” Craig asked.
“Arena I think.”
“Come on,” Craig said as he took Sarah’s hand once more. “You’re going to love this.”
He led her down the corridor to a set of stairs. “Up goes to the bedrooms,” he said. “Down leads to the arena. This door goes to the balcony. The doors into the arena are locked when it’s in use, for safety reasons, so we’ll have to watch from up here until JD and Simon have finished.”
He was about to open the door on their right when he heard movement from below. “Good timing. It sounds like they’re just leaving.”
Two men walked up the stairs. One was tall, athletic, extremely well-toned and rather attractive. The other was shorter and broader, but full of muscle.
The smaller of the two was the first to spot Sarah and Craig and he grinned. “You must be the enigmatic Sarah we have heard so much about.”
“Don’t believe everything Craig tells you
,” Sarah said with a smile.
“Don’t worry, it’s all been good. I’m Simon.” He held out his hand and they shook. “Please accept my apologies,” he continued, “but I need to shower. I’ll see you later.” He then ran up the stairs and disappeared from sight.
Craig turned to the other man. “JD. This is Sarah.” He sounded nervous. Sarah looked at him, surprised by his tone. She didn’t notice as JD looked her up and down, assessing her. He, too, had heard the worry in Craig’s voice and understood the reason. Although he had been given approval to show her the arena, he was concerned that JD might still change his mind.
JD took Sarah in in one quick glance, noting her long, shapely legs, her almost too thin waist, her small but adequate breasts and her strong arms and shoulders. She had a fighter’s body and he was impressed.
He then glanced at Craig. His fit lean body was the perfect match for Sarah’s. She was wearing thigh length high heeled boots, making her almost the same height as him. They looked good together.
He returned his gaze to Sarah, noting that she kept her long blonde hair tied back out of the way so it wasn’t hiding her face. She was pretty, but not to the extent that it would be distracting. Going by looks alone, JD could understand what Craig saw in her.
Then his eyes met hers and he almost gasped. He felt a jolt inside and he knew, instantly, that he wanted this girl. He had never felt anything like it before and had to quickly look away. It wasn’t lust and it certainly wasn’t love; love at first sight was just a myth created by romantic fiction writers. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he was afraid that if he looked into her eyes again he would feel the same rush.
“Come on down,” he said and turned his back on them both before Sarah or Craig could notice how uncomfortable she was making him feel. Craig grinned at her and they followed JD down the stairs.
At the bottom were two sets of doors, a smaller one to the left and a large one to the right. It was this one that JD opened. He and Craig walked into the room, leaving Sarah standing on the threshold, staring in in amazement. The arena was large, much larger than she had been expecting, and the walls were lined with every hand weapon imaginable.
Her eyes flicked from a bow and quiver of arrows to some Nunchucks, from a pair of Kama to a set of Sai. There was a line of different types of knives and axes. Dragon stars and Shuriken occupied a small section of one wall, underneath a Flail and a Mace. There was even a Slingshot and a Boomerang. The list was endless. A large urn stood in the corner, containing a number of Bo staffs.
One entire wall was taken up by dozens upon dozens of swords. All were the same type, but the handles and sheaths were of differing patterns and colours. The only thing missing seemed to be guns.
Sarah stood transfixed, her mouth hanging open as she took everything in. She momentarily forgot that anyone else was present until she heard Craig walk up beside her and say, “Breathe Sarah.” She hadn’t realised that she had been holding her breath.
“I think I have died and gone to heaven,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Craig laughed.
“You can come in,” JD told her and, without being asked, she slipped off her boots before entering the room. Almost in a daze, she walked around the walls, her left hand not quite touching the weapons within her reach.
JD walked up to Craig as they both watched her. “It’s a pity for you that you don’t want to get her into bed.”
“Why?”
“Because you would have just succeeded. I’ve never seen a woman react like that to a room full of weapons.”
“Not quite what you expected, is she?”
“Unique is definitely a word that springs to mind.”
She completed her circuit and returned to where they were standing, close to the door. “Do you have licences for all of these? I’m sure some are illegal to own.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Craig replied.
“So what would happen if the police ever visited?”
“Watch this.” Craig pressed a concealed button in the doorframe and decorative wooden panelling slid down to completely hide all of the weapons. Soon only the staffs could be seen.
“Impressive.”
Craig pressed the button again and the panels rose once more.
Sarah walked forward, stopping in front of the swords. “Why do some of them seem to be in pairs?”
“Because they are,” Craig said. “Once we pass our assessment, we’re each given our own swords. One of the set is always razor sharp. We call them live blades, kind of like shooting live bullets instead of blanks. We use those for hunting. Its partner is blunt. We usually train with those. Less likely to kill ourselves, or each other. The rest that you see here are for use by visiting hunters, if they don’t bring their own with them, or for those in training who have yet to be assessed.”
She extended her arm forward, but didn’t touch any of them. “May I?” she asked JD and he nodded his head.
Her hand reached for a white one. It was stunning to look at and was by far superior to any of the others. Before her fingers came into contact, however, Craig grabbed her arm.
“Not that one. That’s JD’s. Nobody is allowed to touch a trainer’s sword except its owner.”
Nodding in understanding, she took down a different sword, one without a partner, and removed it from its sheath, admiring the design etched into the blade. She then spun it round a few times, getting a feel for the way it moved.
“You’re right Craig, it is heavier than mine.” Then she realised what she had said. “Hang on a minute, how do you know how heavy mine are?”
Craig refused to look at Sarah as he answered. “I may have tried one when you weren’t in the room at some point.”
“After I expressly asked you not to touch them?” Craig nodded. “We’ll discuss this later,” she continued. “Unless, of course, you show me how good you are.” She handed the sword to Craig, who glanced at JD, silently asking his permission.
Instead of answering, JD took down his own sword, unsheathed it and returned the sheath to its place on the wall.
“Don’t worry,” he said to Craig, unable to keep the smile off his face. “I promise I won’t show you up in front of your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” “I’m not his girlfriend,” they both replied at the same time.
Craig locked the door then JD pointed at Sarah. “You, up there.” She had been so transfixed by the weapons that she had failed to notice a balcony above her running around half the arena. In the corner were a fireman’s pole and a set of steps. She climbed up and watched as the sparring began.
They were good. They were very good. Their movements were fluid, their weapons seemed like extensions of their arms and their speed stunned Sarah. She didn’t realise that she was holding her breath until she began to feel dizzy.
Every foot placement was precise, every stroke perfectly controlled and every block well timed. These two men were professionals and every movement showed it. Their ability far exceeded anything she had ever seen. They looked like they were trying to kill each other, though Craig was smiling; he was enjoying himself. He was good, but JD was better. Every now and then Sarah could detect where Craig overextended, blocked a fraction later than he should have done or slashed at slightly the wrong angle, but JD never took the advantage this gave him. He had said he wouldn’t show Craig up and was keeping his promise.
Sarah soon found her attention was solely on JD. He did nothing wrong; every movement he made was perfect.
“Enough,” he eventually called out and stepped away from Craig, who was breathing hard. JD looked like he had barely worked up a sweat.
He looked up at Sarah. “Craig says you know how to use a sword. Come down here and show me what you can do.”
“I can’t do what you just did,” she protested. “That was amazing.”
JD shrugged. “Craig usually does better than that. I think having you watching was putting him off. Now get down here. I won’t
tell you again.”
Sarah glanced at Craig, who nodded his head. “It’s always best to do as he says.”
Reluctantly she climbed down the steps and Craig handed her the sword he was holding.
“I only know routines. I have never fought anyone,” she said. “And compared to what you two just demonstrated, to say I’m an amateur is an understatement.”
“Don’t put yourself down,” Craig said. “Once we’re on the balcony, just do what you did at your last grading.”
“I need a belt and the scabbard,” she said, hoping she could get out of doing what JD was asking.
“Not for your last routine you don’t.” She swore at Craig under her breathe and watched him leave the arena floor.
Once both of the men were safely out of her way, she went through a couple of practice swings to get used to the feel of the sword. Then she closed her eyes, going through the routine in her mind. She slowed her breathing and forced herself to relax. She felt strangely nervous.
When she opened her eyes once more she didn’t look up to where Craig and JD stood on the balcony. Instead she looked directly in front of her and performed her routine.
It wasn’t perfect, but was not far off it. As soon as she had finished, Craig slid down the pole, closely followed by JD.
“Sloppy footwork, weak arms and ineffective blocks,” he said as Craig took the sword out of Sarah’s hand and returned it to its place on the wall. “But your handling of the sword is good and you can control it equally well with both arms. Your balance is adequate and your eyes are where the enemy is, not where your sword is. Not bad for an amateur.”
“From him, that’s a compliment,” Craig told Sarah before she could react to the criticism.
“Playtime is over boys and girls,” JD said. “Get out of here.”
As Craig unlocked the door and led Sarah from the arena, JD watched them. He had liked seeing her with a sword in her hand more than he cared to admit and, despite the flaws in her training, she showed a lot of potential.
“Thank you for letting me see all of this,” she said before Craig dragged her out of sight.
“Did you enjoy that?” Craig asked as he led her to the lounge.
Vampire Hunters, #1 Page 2