by Kasi Blake
“Don’t you know anything about Oberon,” Trick asked Cowboy. “You must have heard rumors or stories over the years. Think.”
To Cowboy, the process of thinking meant screwing up his face as if constipated and staring a hole through Trick’s chest.
Minutes passed.
Cowboy lifted his gaze to Trick’s face, and his eyes seemed to clear. “He’s like ten thousand years old and rumored to be the most powerful being in all nine realms.” Cowboy jabbed a finger in the air. “And if that isn’t enough, he’s immortal.”
Trick shrugged. “We’re immortal, dude.”
“No.” Cowboy shook his head. “Creatures of the night love to throw around the word, but none of us are truly immortal. We’re just harder to kill than regular people. You and I, for instance, we don’t explode in sunlight like other vampires, but we’ll die if we get staked. We can also be killed by having our hearts ripped out and decapitation. Werewolves can take us down with just a scratch.”
Trick teleported to the living room without warning Cowboy. He collapsed in the nearby chair and put his feet up on the ottoman while he waited for Cowboy to find him. Listening to the other vampire could be tiresome. Trick needed a five-minute break. Why did it seem like it took hours for Cowboy to make a point?
When Cowboy popped into the room several minutes later, Trick asked, “Are you saying Oberon can’t be killed no matter what I do?”
Cowboy gave him a dirty look. He didn’t like it when Trick teleported in the middle of a conversation. Maybe it was rude, but Trick needed to escape sometimes just to give himself a moment to think.
“That’s the rumor,” Cowboy said.
If it was true, if Oberon was one-hundred-percent immortal, what could they do? It didn’t matter how much power Trick had if the guy couldn’t die. Talk about an unfair advantage.
But if anyone could do it, it was him.
Cowboy opened his mouth to say something else. Trick could tell it was going to be another long-winded speech. He glanced at his watch and realized he was supposed to meet Dani behind her house in less than two minutes.
“I would love to sit here until morning and hear about how invincible Oberon is again and again, but I’m late.” Trick pushed to his feet. “We’ll talk later.”
Cowboy growled in obvious frustration. “I’m sensing you aren’t taking this as seriously as you should.”
“Later,” Trick repeated.
Juggling being a vampire and a social life wasn’t easy. Dani rarely brought up his fangs. He got the feeling she needed to pretend they didn’t exist for her own peace of mind. Things were a lot more complicated than he’d intended.
He teleported home, the lovely Dani on his mind.
♫
Trick and Dani met in secret each night. He wanted to get to know her without anyone watching. During the past six weeks she had shared her dreams with him, her goals for the future, and her innermost thoughts. The girl had a big heart. She wanted to change the world. For years he’d thought her petitions and protests were just a way to pad her college applications, but she was the real deal. She wanted to help people.
After some gentle prodding from her, he’d opened up a little too. He told her about his love for hunting. That was the only subject he felt secure enough to share. When she talked about missing her mother, he wanted to talk about his, but he couldn’t. Every time he opened his mouth to talk about his feelings, an emotional lump blocked his throat, making it difficult to speak. So he chose to listen rather than share. When was the last time a girl had complained about a guy being a good listener?
Halfway down the path between their houses he heard her new dog bark. Good. Carter was doing his job, warning her of an approaching threat. Him. He had given her the dog for Christmas last week. The three-year-old Doberman had been trained to protect her when Trick couldn’t be there. He had wanted to get her a sweet floppy-eared puppy, but that wasn’t what she needed. She was his person, the one he had to keep safe no matter what.
He rounded the corner, and Carter stopped barking. “Good dog,” Trick said. He patted the Doberman on the head while smiling at Dani. “How you doing?”
Sitting on the swing, her eyes teased him with a playful light. Because it was cold her clothes were concealed by a long black coat. She jumped off the swing, ran to him, and jumped into his arms. If he hadn’t caught her, she would have landed on her butt near his feet. Her denim-clad legs wrapped around his waist, and her arms encircled his neck.
She whispered in his ear. “Claudia and Dad have company, so we can do this and not worry about getting caught.”
This turned out to be kissing.
Her mouth blossomed beneath his. After she initiated the kiss, he took over and added fuel to the passion she was already stirring inside of him. Before turning vampire he had enjoyed touching her. Now that everything was heightened he had trouble keeping his hands to himself. Her kisses were sweet like a stolen peach plucked fresh from an orchard tree and just as forbidden.
If John Foster caught them, he’d probably kill Trick on the spot.
Her legs loosened, and she slid down him until her feet were on the ground.
Trick lifted his face an inch. “Your parents have a visitor?” He kissed her again, making them both breathless. “Who?”
“Some guy. I think he’s a hunter. Carter wouldn’t stop barking, so Dad told me to take him outside while they talk business.” She took a step back. Laughter burst past her lips, and she twirled around with arms outstretched. “It’s such a beautiful night,” she said. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”
“You are in a good mood,” he said. Which was strange since she’d fallen to pieces after being kidnapped and nearly killed by the Shadow Faerie. For a while, he had wondered if she would learn to deal with the fact monsters exist. “Are you drunk?” he asked.
“I woke up in a dark place this morning,” she said. “It’s a familiar place. I’ve been there for months. Then I remembered that today is the first day of a brand new year. Just because last year sucked doesn’t mean this year has to. My grades fell, my dog died, and I found out monsters are real. Things have got to get better.”
He smiled despite his troubled mind. “Wow. You’re way more mature about this than I would be... if I didn’t already know about monsters.”
“That’s why you love me.”
They let the L word hang as neither of them spoke. He let it go unchallenged, but he didn’t admit to it either. Did he love her? Maybe. He definitely cared enough not to want to see her get hurt. But love? No. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Something inside of him was broken, something that might never be fixed. He couldn’t admit to loving his adoptive parents. It was doubtful he could admit—even to himself—that he loved a girl.
“I have adopted a new motto,” she said. “Live every day like it’s your last.”
He had a motto too: Hunt. Kill. Survive. But he couldn’t share that with her. Her motto was positive; his was dark. Dani didn’t need to hear his twisted thoughts.
“I refuse to hide in my closet or bury myself under the covers. No stupid monster is going to ruin my life.” She placed a hand flat on his chest. “Hey, let’s go to prom together.”
The junior/senior prom was snowballing into a big deal for the upperclassmen. He couldn’t care less. Even if the king of faeries didn’t want him dead, school dances were at the bottom of his list. They were boring with a capital B.
He blinked. “Prom? That’s like four months away.”
“I know.” Her smile grew brighter, and her eyes sparkled. “But I’m really excited. I’m on the prom committee. I have to help decorate, find the perfect dress, and make a list of awesome bands to audition. I want to get the date part out of the way now. Will you go with me?”
The future was a fill-in-the-blank mystery to him. He didn’t want to promise her a date when he might not be around. In about two and a half months he’d be eighteen, and he had vowed to leave town on that day.
Even if he decided to stick around for graduation, he might go full-tilt vampire by then.
Not wanting to wreck her great mood, he agreed. “I’ll be your date for prom. Sure. Why not?”
She beamed at him. “Now that that’s settled, isn’t tomorrow night your family dinner with Summer?”
He nodded.
“What if Summer does something to give herself away?” Dani asked. “She could expose your secret.”
“I’ll cover for her if she makes a mistake.”
“Call me after it’s over. I want to hear all the details.”
“You can be there if you want.” Was it too soon to invite her for dinner? He quickly added, “I mean, if you want to make it official.”
“We agreed to keep us a secret for a while? Believe me, my dad is the last person you want to know about it.”
He bit his lower lip and changed the subject. “Wear those cute pajama shorts tonight, the orange ones with the monkeys on them.”
Looking mortified, her jaw dropped. “You can see my pajamas from your house?”
“Only when you have your curtains open, the light on, and you’re pacing in front of the window.” He shrugged. “I have vampire vision.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m closing the curtains from now on.” She shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “And what do you wear to bed, Mr. Donovan?”
“Boxers. You know that. You saw them when I ran out of the house that time without thinking.”
She laughed and hair fell forward to hide part of her face. “Oh yes. They were adorable.”
“Nothing I wear is adorable. Take that back.”
“Make me.”
“Oh, I will.” He began to tickle her beneath her ribs.
She squirmed, trying to get away from his fingers.
“Danielle!” Her father yelled from inside the house. “It’s late. Get inside.”
Dani pushed Trick around the corner so her father wouldn’t see them if he stuck his head out the terrace doors. Trick’s hands remained on her waist. He wasn’t afraid of her father, but he didn’t want to make trouble for her. “We need to be more careful,” she said. “Especially when my father is home.”
“Gotcha. Wave to me from your bedroom window later.” He winked. “And don’t forget those pajama shorts.”
Her arms went around his neck, and her body pressed against his as she hugged him close.
Somehow his face wound up against her throat. For the first time, he smelled the blood pumping in her veins. Intoxicating. Unbidden, fangs slid out of his gums. The urge to bite her quickly turned to a fiery need. Desire. More than anything he wanted to...
“Danielle!” John Foster yelled. He sounded closer like he was about to step outside. The fear of being caught by a hunter, fangs out and the guy’s daughter in his arms was enough to douse the flames of desire. Too bad the desire was more for her blood than her body.
Trick lit a cigarette and took a deep drag off it, not caring if he got caught smoking. Keeping himself from losing control and biting Dani, that was his main focus. Later, he would teleport to his bedroom. He could shower and change before getting near Sean or Laura. He released the smoke through his nostrils. The scent of her blood faded, but he still pushed her away. Before he could make a flimsy excuse he spotted movement near the front of her house. Then he remembered the Fosters had a visitor. The man left their home and headed for the black jeep parked on the street. Trick didn’t have to see his face to know it was his father’s old friend.
Unwilling to waste an excellent opportunity, Trick raced down the cement path between their homes. “Hey! Can I talk to you a sec?”
Bash turned around, grim expression on his weathered face. “What do you want, kid?”
“I’m Ian Carver’s son.”
“So you said.” Bash’s scowl deepened, and Trick could smell the violence on him. It radiated from every pore like beads of sweat. Grim-faced, Bash repeated, “What do you want?”
“To be a great hunter.”
A snort of derisive laughter burst past the man’s lips. “Yeah, okay.”
“I want you to train me.”
“Not interested.”
“But—”
“Not interested,” the hunter repeated in a firmer voice.
Bash turned away and started to open the driver’s side door.
Trick circled him to place a hand on the door, keeping it from opening all the way. He knew he was taking a big risk. He wasn’t mortal anymore. A vampire working with a hunter wasn’t the smartest idea, but he wanted to train with the best. Since he didn’t have the usual vampire problems he figured he could fool the hunter for a while.
“My father didn’t look up to a lot of people.” Trick clenched his fists but kept them below his waist. “He preferred to work alone and thought other hunters just got in the way. But he admired you. He said you were better than anyone else in the business and that included him.” Anger pushed Trick to reveal more than he intended. “My father is dead now, so he can’t train me. That’s why I need you.”
Bash stared at him through dark, wavy side bangs that blocked part of his face. The man could have played Tarzan in a movie. Or maybe he’d be better in a dark thriller. He looked like someone recently released from prison after years of lifting weights and planning vengeance on those that wronged him.
“No.”
And that was it, a simple no. The guy didn’t even take a moment of his precious time to explain why he wouldn’t do it. He jerked the door out of Trick’s grasp, climbed into his Jeep, and gunned the engine.
“I’m not just some stupid kid.” Desperation made Trick ask, “Haven’t you heard of me?”
Shouldn’t his name be on the lips of every vampire and hunter by now? According to Claudia Baxter, Dani’s step-mom and his former shrink, her husband’s hunting group knew more about him than he did. Wasn’t this guy one of them?
Bash glared at Trick. The seasoned hunter obviously thought Trick should go do his homework or play a video game. Bash didn’t believe Trick had what it took to be a great hunter. That much was obvious.
Trick’s gaze went to the Foster home. Was it possible John Foster had told Bash what he thought of Trick? That wasn’t good. John hated him. If he found out Trick was dating his daughter, he’d go nuclear.
“Are you with John Foster’s hunting group or not?” Trick asked.
The question was met with dead silence.
Without a word Bash drove away.
“Jerk,” Trick said under his breath before flicking his half-dead cigarette into the gutter.
Dani placed a hand on his back and stood way too close to him. Once again the scent of her blood pushed him toward the edge, the place of no return. He reminded her that her father had already called her twice, and he hurried to his front door without saying goodbye. Instead of opening the door he teleported to his bedroom, confused. Cigarette smoke usually kept odors at a bearable level for an hour or two after lighting up. Why hadn’t it worked this time?
♫
CHAPTER FOUR
Summer
Summer hated winter; sweaters were bulky and unattractive. She couldn’t wear cute clothes for months even though freezing weather didn’t bother her. People would notice if she wore shorts and a crop top while the ground was covered in snow. The average person might not get she was a vampire, but a smart hunter definitely would. Unfortunately, they were everywhere and blended in better than her kind. She had tried to talk Cowboy into an island vacation, but he refused to leave their new buddy on his own for a whole weekend. Everything was about Trick these days. It was almost as if she didn’t exist. The two boys rode motorcycles, played pool, and went on adventures without ever asking her to join them. Cowboy didn’t mind leaving her alone. She was beginning to feel like an uninvited guest in her own home. It had to stop.
What was so special about Trick anyway?
Yes, he’d killed a Shadow Faerie. Luck, pure and simple, not to menti
on he’d had the help of a Sugar Bomb. Even with that advantage, he’d nearly died. What would have impressed her was if he’d reaped the benefits from killing the Shadow Faerie instead of letting the werewolf gain more power. Jersey Clifford had pushed Trick out of the way at the last second. Thanks to Trick’s incompetence the werewolf would be impossible to kill.
It was early afternoon when Summer went to Matt’s work to visit him. She didn’t bother to call first. They were at that stage in their relationship where being apart was unbearable.
A few surprising things about Matt: he was her boyfriend, he was mortal, and he was Trick’s brother. She wasn’t sure what made her nerve endings twitch the most. It wasn’t like her to fall so fast for a boy, but Matt was special. He reminded her of the man she’d been engaged to before getting turned.
Complicated defined her relationship with Matt.
She shoved the bookstore door open and stepped into the large musty room, made smaller by the fact it was crammed full of books. It reminded her of her grandfather’s den when she was a kid. He had smoked a pipe and told ridiculous stories that couldn’t possibly be true; she’d hung on his every word.
Matt’s head popped up from behind a stack of books like a surprised gopher. “Hey? Did I forget a date?”
She shook her head. “Had to get out of there. Just because it’s a mansion doesn’t mean it isn’t crowded.”
“Scarlet getting on your nerves?”
“A thousand times, yes.”
But it was more than that. Scarlet kept to a few rooms, so they didn’t have that much interaction. It was Trick’s constant visits with Cowboy that bugged Summer. She didn’t trust the hunter. He could be playing them, setting them up for extermination. Fangs didn’t make him one of them. The hostile hunter continued to kill vampires on a regular basis. Why couldn’t Cowboy see how wrong it was to kill their own kind? Now Trick had her best friend hunting with him. Sometimes she wanted to stake them both.