Chapter Eight
While her mom struck up a conversation right away with Sandra and Carlos, Tabitha didn't know what to say or do. What was the proper etiquette for having two married vampire hunters and an actual vampire over for dinner? Would Sebastian even eat any of this stuff?
Sebastian put some pieces of chicken and a salad onto his plate and took a bite, proving he could. Tabitha stowed that away in the back of her mind. Vampires could eat regular food if they wanted to.
“So, Tabitha, have you... thought about our offer?” Sandra asked, cutting through her thoughts.
Tabitha glanced at her mom who gave her a pleading look that said, “please don't embarrass me.” Try to act civil.
Tabitha shrugged and glanced between Sandra to Carlos and ignoring Sebastian's burning gaze on her face. “I have... and I'm still not sure. I've been doing pretty good on my own.”
Sandra nodded slowly, taking a bite of her food. Carlos cut into the conversation. “I understand. Your dad was a very independent man, but his father trained him extensively. When his dad passed away, he asked for our organization to train him. He learned far more than he did from his own father.”
That didn't mean Tabitha needed to be taught anything from them. “Maybe my dad was just… not as good.”
Her mom’s eyes widened at Tabitha’s words. Sebastian choked on a laugh and when she turned to glare at him, he covered his mouth with his fist.
He shook his head and grinned, coughing. “It's nothing... just that your father was an excellent hunter. Maybe he didn't have as strong of instincts as you do, but he was far more competent and better trained that you are when he was seventeen.”
Tabitha narrowed her eyes and scowled. She set down her fork, folding her hands into fists on her lap. “So, your saying I'm horrible? How is that I've survived this long then, huh?”
From the other side of the table, she caught Sandra giving Sebastian a warning look, but he ignored her, facing Tabitha. “I'd say sheer luck. You're untrained, and your instincts are all over the place. Don't you remember the other day? You didn't even get close enough to touch me with one of those little stakes of yours. Do you really think you could take down other real vampires?”
Tabitha seethed. “Real vampires? What do you think I've been doing the last two years? It certainly wasn't hunting fake vampires.”
“No but they also weren't the most powerful ones. They were scouts or just regular vampires going about their lives. The ones that have been turned in the last century. Not the powerful ones. The ones that you should be scared of and should be learning how to take down. They lurk in the shadows, far too clever and old to be caught by a common hunter,” he pointed his fork at her.
Tabitha forgot all about being civility. Anger flared up inside her, unleashing her hunter instincts. In one quick, fluid motion, she grabbed her fork and jabbed it down with all her strength into his thigh. Sebastian sucked in a sharp breath of surprise and fell out of his chair. Chairs screeched against the floor and suddenly everyone was on their feet.
Tabitha scowled and stood, throwing her napkin onto her plate. “Would you look at that. I just stabbed a real vampire in a matter of seconds.”
Sebastian glared up at her and pulled the fork from his thigh, blood coating the silver surface and leaking over his crisp, perfect pants. Tabitha found great pleasure in the grimace of pain and flash of controlled fury on his face.
Tabitha smirked and folded her arms watching as he pulled himself to his feet and set the fork down hard enough to rattle every plate on the table.
“Sebastian, leave it,” Sandra warned. Carlos had snuck around the other side of the table and stood a few inches away from Sebastian, his face pale. Did they actually think he would kill her right there? He was a good vampire. He didn't feed from people and he didn't hurt people. He acted more human than monster.
Sebastian glared at her and bared his fangs, sharp and white and pointy. Tabitha's mom gripped the edge of the table. “Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea...” she murmured under her breath.
Tabitha stood her ground. Did none of them think she could handle herself? Sebastian didn't seem all that big and bad.
“I most definitely am not a good vampire as you think Tabitha. You don't know me at all,” Sebastian growled as if reading her mind. He gripped the chair in front of him and in one swift motion threw it against the wall. It shattered with a crash into a bunch of splinters. While everyone else jumped or flinched Tabitha didn't move or make a sound.
“Sebastian please. Just leave it be. Let's go,” Sandra begged.
Sebastian's green eyes, once charming and cunning were now predatory and focused wholly on Tabitha. Nothing else seemed to matter.
Tabitha reached for another fork on the table and he let out a dark, humorless laugh. “Do you really think a fork is going to stop me? You caught me by surprise. You only get one chance at that. Now you're going to have to fight to take me down.”
And before Tabitha could react, Sebastian threw aside the second chair–Tabitha's chair–and in a blur swatted the fork from her hand, pinning her against the wall.
Tabitha didn't even have time to scream before one arm pressed against her throat and the other held her left arm to the wall. Air rushed from her lungs. Her adrenaline and instincts faded into panic and she gasped for breath, grabbing at Sebastian's arm. He didn't move. He just stared at her with intense, intimidating eyes that scared Tabitha half to death. She clawed at his arm, leaving deep bloody gashes across his skin. He didn't so much as blink.
“Sebastian! Stop!” Carlos shouted.
Tabitha gasped as black dots swam in her vision.
Sebastian leaned forward, his nose caressing her ear. “If you want to learn to defend yourself from vampires like me, I suggest you take up my offer,” he murmured. Tabitha scowled and whipped her hand out, hitting him in the chest. He didn’t even flinch.
“I don't want to see you hurt or killed by monsters like me. Do you want to be able to survive so that next time a vampire attacks, you'll be able to defend yourself?”
Tabitha nodded again, darkness starting to swallow her thoughts and her vision. She could just make out Sebastian's face and eyes. His eyes had gone bright red with the thirst for blood. Tabitha's heart quickened at the sight of them.
“Good,” he whispered. And just like that he stepped back and let her go. Tabitha crumbled to the ground, coughing and choking, sucking in sweet air.
Sebastian slipped back as her mom ran over and grabbed her shoulders. “Tabitha, are you all right?”
She nodded, her throat dry and scratchy. She didn't dare look up from the floor, humiliation heating up her face. Sebastian had threatened her and almost suffocated her to prove a point. To put her in her place. He may look and act like a normal human teenager, but tonight was a very real reminder that he was not. Sebastian may not be like other vampires, but he was still a vampire. He still had that bloodthirsty look in his eyes. He still had fangs and the hunger for blood, the hunger for a good hunt and for a good kill. Much like Tabitha did herself.
She rubbed at her throat and stood up, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. Somewhere nearby Tabitha could hear Carlos scolding Sebastian who didn't say a word. Not until Tabitha opened her eyes and found his face from across the dining room. He leaned against the far wall that led into the kitchen with his arms folded and relaxed posture. Sebastian once again looked like a normal, harmless teenager. No fangs, no vicious snarl and no bloodthirsty hunger in those eyes. Just a cocky triumphant smile on his face and a dull, almost bored amusement in his eyes.
Tabitha held her burning throat and ignored her mom trying to ask her if she was all right and if she needed to go to the hospital.
Sebastian was a monster in disguise and after tonight, Tabitha could never let herself forget that. She'd been playing with fire. A child who'd forgotten who really the upper hand and she had had hated that. Tabitha wanted to know how to defend herself. How to never l
et Sebastian get the upper hand ever again. Ignoring her mom, she pushed herself to her feet, clutching the wall. She flashed Sebastian a glare and threw her fist back. Before he had time to react, she got him in the stomach. He gasped and doubled over, eyes widening as he glanced up at her.
Tabitha smirked and straightened, nodding as her gaze slid to Carlos and Sandra. “I'll do it. I want Sebastian to train me.”
The room fell silent and shock blanketed the room. Sebastian rubbed at where she’d gotten him but dipped his head at her in understanding. As if he approved of her choice. Not that Tabitha needed or wanted his approval. She folded her arms, ignoring the way her throat still felt tight and her mom's hand on her shoulder.
“Are you sure Tabitha... after...?” she asked quietly. As if Sebastian couldn't hear every word, she said under her breath.
Sebastian shrugged. “I'll teach you, Tabitha. It won't be easy or particularly fun, but you will learn how to defend yourself so that I can never pin you again.”
And that was exactly what Tabitha wanted. She shrugged off her mom's hand and stepped forward. “When do we start?”
Sebastian smiled, pleased, a mischievous, wicked glint in his eyes. “Tomorrow.”
Chapter Nine
The next day Tabitha didn’t go out of her way to avoid Sebastian, but she was also OK with the fact that they didn’t really bump into each other a ton either. It gave her more time to mentally prepare for what she had agreed to do tonight. What had possessed her to say yes to him? She didn’t have to… but she wanted to be a part of the Moirai. That was what it was. Tabitha wanted to be the best of the best like her dad. What better way to do that then to learn from a vampire how to kill one of their own? Plus, she respected his head on, in your face approach to getting her to agree. Anything less and Tabitha would have pegged him as a coward or pathetic vampire. He had guts taking her on in front of Sandra, Carlos and her own mother.
That didn’t mean she didn’t think there was something fishy going on here. Sebastian hadn’t been telling her the whole story, and she knew her mom and the Gonzalez’s hadn’t either. They were keeping something from Tabitha, and she planned to find out what that was. The best way to do that was to go straight to the top. Or at least as close to the top as she could get without being suspicious.
Which was how Tabitha found herself loitering near the soccer field after school waiting for Jonas to finish up. Coach whistled and told all the guys practice was over. Tabitha jumped off the bench she’d been sitting on and made her way over to where Jonas jogged over to the cooler, grinning at some of his buddies and joking around.
“Hey Jonas,” Tabitha called, grinning.
His smile deflated as he grabbed a water bottle and straightened, meeting her gaze. “Tabitha, what are you doing here?”
Tabitha smirked, folding her hands in front of her and eyeing his friends until they got the message and backed off. Once they were alone Tabitha stopped behind the cooler. “I need a favor.”
“Not interested,” he said, spinning around.
“Uh-uh, you owe me,” Tabitha insisted, lunging around the cooler and grabbing his arm, pulling him to a stop.
Jonas jerked free as he turned around and scowled at her. “How do you figure that?”
“I got you tickets to that band Casey likes last month and I got her to go with you. So you owe me.”
“You said those were totally free. A gift.”
Tabitha shrugged, giving him her best perky smile. “I lied.”
He let out a heavy sigh and glanced around to make sure no one was around. “You aren’t going to give me a break until I say yes, are you?”
“You know me too well.”
“Unfortunately,” he deadpanned.
“Look, it’s an easy job. I just need you to check out Sebastian.”
“I already am doing that.”
Tabitha sighed and stepped closer to make sure no one was listening and whispered, “Not just him. People are lying to me about why he’s really here. After dinner last night, I know for sure. Mom and the Gonzalez’s are in on it. I just need you to poke around your parents’ files and see what you come up with.”
“You sound paranoid Tabitha. People are lying to you? Maybe you don’t need to know everything that goes on around here. Maybe some people like to keep their business to themselves,” he snapped back.
Tabitha frowned and folded her arms. “I don’t care. I want to know. If nothing turns up, you can tell me I told you so. If not, then at least then we’ll both know the truth.”
Jonas gave her a dubious look, but she could already tell he was caving. “Fine,” he said at last. “But is it true that you’re going hunting with Sebastian tonight? You’re actually letting him train you?”
“Yep. I want to be the best. I want to pass the Moirai trials.”
“We both know you could do that with or without a little extra vamp teaching.”
“Yeah, but you know me,” Tabitha said, patting him on the shoulder with a grin. “I’m an overachiever. Let me know what you find, K?”
“Sure thing Tab. Not like I got anything better to do,” he called as Tabitha spun around and walked away.
She raised her hand in a farewell as she marched off the soccer field and toward the parking lot. One item checked off her to-do list for the day. Now to go for a little evening hunting with Mr. Tall, Dark and Dangerous.
***
“Tabitha... he tried to kill you last night,” her mom shout whispered up in Tabitha’s room. The instant Tabitha got home her mom and ambushed her and was now trying to get her to change her mind. Even though Tabitha was fairly certain she had been in on them bringing in Sebastian. Maybe she realized this wasn’t the best idea after all. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Mom,” Tabitha said as she pulled on her yellow combat boots. She'd changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. “He only did that to prove a point. I've been hunting vampires with kid gloves on. Sebastian's the real deal and he's going to help show me how to fight him and win. Besides, isn’t this what you wanted?”
Her mom hovered at the entrance to her room, not looking at all comforted by that fact. “Not at all. Why would I want this?”
Tabitha shot her a suspicious look. “You had nothing to do with him being here?”
“No.”
“Well he said the Moirai called him in.”
“It was the Carters. Not me. You know I worry about you when you’re out,” her mom insisted.
Would the Carters really think Tabitha was that weak or that bad of a hunter to need vampire help? She would prove them wrong. Next year when she did the trials, they’d realize what a mistake they made in underestimating her.
“I knew him when I was in high school and I know how alluring he can be. He's a real charmer. Don't let him trick you into thinking he's an innocent eighteen-year-old.”
Tabitha shook her head, pulling her leather black jacket on and sweeping her hair over a shoulder. “Yeah I know. But that's the thing. All the other vampires I've killed and hunted down don't try to hide who they are. They aren't as cunning or clever as he is. He can trick people into trusting him and I need to know how to fight that, how to resist. Plus, he can walk in the sun and compel people. That's more than any vampire I'd ever killed could do.”
She grabbed her yellow gloves from her desk and headed downstairs with her mom on her tail. “I know he's not human. He's a vampire, and he can't be fully trusted. That doesn't mean I can't learn from him. Besides, I just need a few lessons and then I’ll never see him again. If the Carters brought him in to train me then they must have had a good reason for it.”
Silence fell as Tabitha shoved her gloves into her pockets. Her hunting weapons were locked in the trunk of her blue bug, safe and sound where no prying eyes would find them. She reached for the knob and stopped, turning to her mom to give her a tight smile.
The minute of silence passed, and careful resolve spread ac
ross her mom's face. Tabitha held back a sigh of relief. “Fine. You go and train with him but... I want you to be careful. Don't trust him and don't get too deep into his web. Don't let him get to you with his charm. He may have given up killing but… he can still be dangerous.”
Tabitha nodded and cracked open the door. “I know mom. I'll be back by eleven. Promise.”
She frowned but nodded and stepped forward, kissing her forehead. Tabitha closed her eyes, soaking in the moment of normalcy before opening the door and stepping out into the chilly evening air. Sebastian stood leaning against the passenger door of her car. Without looking back at her mom or at Sebastian, she went around and got in, starting up the car and turning the heat on.
Sebastian slid in beside her and tapped a hand against the dashboard. “Head into the city and I'll show you the best place to hunt.”
“For humans or vampires?” Tabitha asked, giving him a sly look as she backed out of the driveway.
Sebastian gave her a roguish, hungry smirk, fangs and all. “Both.”
Chapter Ten
Sebastian watched Tabitha drive out of her neighborhood with confident hands, replaying the huge shouting match Sandra and Carlos had had with him last night.
“You can't just go around suffocating people,” Sandra had shouted, throwing her hands up.
Carlos had not looked pleased with his way of getting Tabitha to comply. Little did they know that that had been the only way to get Tabitha on their side. She was too stubborn to take anything less. Sebastian suspected she wouldn’t have agreed if he hadn’t shown her how serious he was about this.
Carlos and Sandra wouldn't understand that because they didn't have the instincts of a vampire... Not like he and Tabitha did. Tabitha's hunter instincts were so strong–he had caught a glimpse of them when she jammed that fork into his thigh–that they bordered on vampire worthy instincts. The kind that told her to kill first, ask questions later. The kind that thirsted, needed and craved the hunt and the kill. Sure, Sebastian craved the hunt, feed and kill of humans and Tabitha thirsted for the hunt and kill of far more deadly predators but in the end, they were much more alike than Tabitha would ever care to admit.
Sterling Silver: (Sterling Hunter 1) Page 5