by Heather Karn
The general studied me. “You seem to not only know a lot about the various species, but the laws for each one. You’ve done a lot of studying.”
“I have a photographic memory, Sir, and I remember most information that I hear as well.” It was both a blessing and a curse at times.
He leaned forward, a sinister smirk crossing his lips. “Then let’s try a little harder to test your memory. Tell me all you know about a vamlure.”
My eyes widened. Of course he’d bring them up to stump me. There wasn’t much known about the species. Half of the information out there was rumor anyway.
Releasing a slow breath, I kept his gaze and spilled what I knew. “They’re known as the vampire’s cousins, though they aren’t blood crazy like a vamp. They can survive on regular food and water all their lives, but blood helps strengthen them, and they don’t drink blood until they are past puberty and enter maturity. I’ve never read anything about how they choose mates or family relationships. To be honest, our textbooks don’t give much more information than that, and I don’t want to say anything else in case it’s not accurate. Fact is far better than rumor.”
The general nodded and stood. “What you’ve said is accurate. Is it not, Captain?” He turned to a man who leaned against the wall to my left, his arms crossed.
My eyes locked with the Captain’s, and I had to stifle a gasp at the sharp, magenta tone of his irises. His jet-black hair was the same shade as his uniform and was longer and styled to cross over his face. Dark eyebrows accented his light-colored eyes, and they were furrowed, making him appear threatening. Like the general, the absent sleeves on his uniform showed off muscles that could compete with the general’s. We had one similarity, and that was that I rivaled the new man in height, and he was taller than the general by a few inches. He had to be in his mid-twenties, putting him about five years or so older than me.
“Yes, it is accurate,” the captain murmured in a silky, deep voice as he studied me. “Would you allow me the honor of testing her physical prowess?”
The general nodded, motioning to a large mat on the floor behind me. “Be my guest, but don’t break her.”
Pushing away from the wall, the captain led the way to the practice mat and took a defensive stance. I mimicked him and sent a prayer heavenward that I wasn’t about to get my butt handed to me in front of these people. With my heart thundering in my ears and my fists shaking, I lifted them and prepared to be pummeled.
His body betrayed me. Instead of punching like he appeared to be prepping for, the captain kicked out, his long leg reaching me before I could block him. I stumbled backward, my thigh burning where he’d struck. Mentally beating myself, I focused harder.
By sheer luck I was able to block his next strike, a fist aimed at my belly, and somehow avoided the next potential blow to the side of my face. That was the last bit of luck I had. Ten minutes later I was flat on my back, praying not to puke. The captain grunted and returned to his place against the wall and I rolled to my feet and hobbled to the yellow X on the floor.
“Well, that was entertaining,” the general grumbled, obviously not impressed by my abilities.
“Quite,” the captain drawled, “But now that the testing is ending, I’d like to know why she lied to you earlier.”
I jerked, startled by his accusation. The general turned his attention back on me and arched an eyebrow. “You lied to me?”
“No,” I stammered, looking back at the captain, who hadn’t even broken a sweat while we’d fought, or rather while he’d kicked my butt. A rumble filled the room as the other occupants spoke to one another, likely wondering what my lie was about. I only wished I knew. “What do you think I lied about?”
“Your species,” the captain responded, pushing himself from the wall to stalk toward me. “Or is it that you don’t even know what you are?”
My eyes never left him, but my voice shook, no matter how hard I attempted to keep it steady. “And what race do you think I am? And how would you even know?”
“Because a male vamlure always recognizes a female vamlure.”
If my eyes could have gotten any wider, they would have. As it was, my mouth was flopped open, my jaw hitting the floor. No, it had long ago hit the floor and was making its way to the center of the Earth. There was no way I’d heard what I thought I had.
“You’re wrong,” I accused in a soft whisper, which was the only volume I could muster. “I would know.”
“Would you now?” he asked, his voice haughty as he stared at me. “You said you were adopted. How old were you?”
“A baby.”
“And no one knew supernaturals existed, which means your mother never told your adoptive parents what you are. You’re a vamlure. Don’t argue it. I know it for a fact.”
I shook my head, the rest of the room forgotten. “Look at my eyes. They’re green. Rumor has it, and you’re living proof, that vamlures have purple eyes.”
He crossed his arms, staring down the one inch difference that separated us in height, unphased by my verbal assault. “Have you tasted blood yet?”
The thought sickened me. “No, of course not.”
“Then your eyes wouldn’t be purple. They don’t change until after the First Blood. You should start craving your first drink soon. General?” He addressed the man, bringing the room back into focus.
“Yes, Captain?” The man looked intrigued, and not in a good way.
“I request permission to be her trainer.”
My eyebrows shot up. A trainer. Only Elite had trainers. The general’s reaction was much like mine, only his expression mixed with disbelief.
“You tested her physical abilities personally, and even I saw how pathetic they are. You can’t expect me to accept her based on her race alone.”
“Yes, I do expect that,” the captain countered. “Even you still don’t know everything about my race. I can already tell you that without her first taste of blood, she is weak, but afterward, she will be far stronger. And when her venom comes in, she’ll be an even deadlier weapon.”
Wait, venom? “Hold up.” I held my hands up to both men. “You lost me.”
The captain’s eyebrows drew low. “Where?”
“The whole thing, but mostly the venom part.”
He ignored me and turned back to the general. “You either accept my training of her, or I will be taking a leave of absence to do so. It is up to you.”
A wicked smile lifted the general’s lips as he picked up his pen and wrote on the bottom of my sheet. After a quick flourish that had to be a signature, he set the paper in a small pile on the edge of his desk.
“Congratulations, Captain. You now have your first student. Don’t get her killed. That involves too much paperwork. Now escort her out of here. I have to go snatch our next Interviewee.”
A strong hand gripped my bicep and hauled me past the general’s desk and out the back door of the building. His grip was almost painful, but my mind spun and refused to focus. Even after the dull light of the fluorescents had been blown away by the midday sun, my brain still buzzed.
I’d gotten what I wanted, but this wasn’t happening. What was that saying, be careful what you wish for? Yeah, I’d learned that the hard way, and the journey was only just beginning.
mybook.to/FirstBlood1
Sneak Peek of Gargoyle’s Kiss by Heather Karn
Chapter One
The aroma coming from the kitchen was delicious enough to have every co-ed in the on-campus apartment complex sticking their noses into our living space…again. To deter them, I’d locked our apartment door and closed all the windows. It was a chilly autumn evening, so I didn’t mind keeping the heat inside, and the smells.
My mouth salivated while I stirred the frying meat and vegetables as the apartment door swung open. The jingling of keys confirmed someone hadn’t broken in to reach my cooking, but that my roommate, Finley, was back from her final class of the day. Since it was Friday, my classes had ended before noon
whereas her Fridays always ran late.
A masculine moan proceeded a squeaky chair and a thump, and I groaned inside. So, Finley wasn’t alone. She’d brought Marshall, her boyfriend, home for dinner. I’d hoped for a quiet night. Marshall was anything but quiet, or even calm for that matter. He was far too spontaneous for my calmer nature, but since Fin was a fireball of energy too, they fit well together.
“Larissa, I’m half tempted to pay you to cook for me the rest of my life,” he called to me. His words were a bit muffled since his face was buried in his arms while he continued to rest his dirty head on my clean table.
“Not going to happen, Marsh,” I yelled over my shoulder. “I don’t care how rich you’re going to be or how much money your family already has, it’s never going to happen. Now get your head off my table.”
It was times like this that had earned me the nickname of “Mother” throughout our floor of the complex. With almost everyone on this floor younger than me, both with age and maturity, I found myself often barking out orders when Fin brought over visitors. Most of the visitors were hers since I had few friends and she was friends with everyone. If I had to repeat myself to half of them one more time about keeping their grimy feet off my coffee table, I’d throw them out of the apartment. That was especially true for sweaty man feet.
While Marshall continued to grumble to himself as he lifted his head, Fin joined me in the kitchen. She leaned over the pans, her caramel brown hair almost dipping inside the pan.
“Girl, back up or pull your hair out of the way. Either you’ll start yourself on fire or we’ll have hair in our food.” She backed up with a satisfied moan while I pulled the salad out of the fridge, as well as a fancy Jell-O dish I’d prepared last night. “You do remember this was supposed to be our night, right? No boys?”
Fin cringed at my whispered words, but she looked far from apologetic. “Please don’t be upset. Marsh begged me to let him come. You know how much he loves your cooking.”
“He likes free food he doesn’t have to cook himself. If he keeps this up, I’m going to start charging restaurant rates.”
“Okay, how about next time he and I cook for you?” She grabbed the salad off the counter and took it to the table before I could answer. Even in the fading light of early fall, her copper skin glowed. The girl never went to a tanning salon. She didn’t need to. One minute in the sun and she was a shade darker, which made her appear even more beautiful. With my strawberry blonde hair, the only color I turned was red, which brought out my freckles.
Draining the noodles, I threw them in the frying pan to mix with the vegetables before taking the rest of the food to the table. “You can stay tonight, Marshall, but you’re on dishes duty.”
He snorted and arched an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
I met his stare without blinking. “Really. I am not your mother, even if you do call me by that name.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed, running his hands through the waves of his russet hair.
Instead of repeating myself for the three hundredth time for him not to call me that, I stayed quiet and dished food onto my plate. If he’d been a southern gentleman, I would have allowed it, but this punk was anything but southern. He was a pain in the butt, and the only reason I could see Fin falling for someone like him was the price tag he brought with him. Whenever I thought that, he did something sweet that earned him back his place as my friend and not just Finley’s boyfriend. He walked a fine line.
After the first few bites, my irritation wavered. Who could stay mad at anyone when food tasted this good? Marsh moaned before waving his fork in the air as he chewed and swallowed.
“Yes, this is amazing. I will gladly clean the dishes for food this good. Heck, I’d almost clean your bathroom for takeout of this meal.” He raised a hand when Fin piped up with spewing excitement. “Almost, my lady. Almost.”
“So close,” Finley muttered, her mood sobering before it picked back up again, this time aimed at me. “Marshall and I are going out for a movie tonight. You want to come with us?”
“To a movie? With the two of you? I don’t think so. Been there and done that. No thanks.”
Fin’s whiny voice emerged, which usually won me over with her puppy dog eyes. Not this time. “Please, Lari. It’ll be so much fun. I promise, we’ll be good this time. Nothing like the last time you came with us.”
“Are you kidding? It’s going to be another black movie theater, and you’re going to want to sit in the back, and you’ll end up making out…again. Do you know how awkward that was?”
“Enough to make you get up and leave,” Marshall smirked while Fin turned a slight shade of pink.
“Keep it up, Romeo, and you will be cleaning our bathroom with a toothbrush, and absolutely no more free meals,” I warned him. That sobered him immediately, wiping the smirk from his face.
“You really don’t want to come?” Fin asked, sounding a bit too mournful. She wanted me to come, but she also wanted an excuse to be alone with Marshall, and likely make-out in the process.
“As much as I want to spend some quality time with my roommate and her boyfriend in a movie theater, I have to study for Monday’s exam.”
“But it’s Friday night?” Fin argued. “You can’t spend Friday night inside studying by yourself!”
“That’s right. Friday nights were made for fun and being crazy.” Marshall began a dance routine in his chair, and while Finley laughed outright, I hid my giggle at his antics behind my hand. “See, you know you want to party with us.”
“Sorry, guys. Not tonight.”
Fin set her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “Then tomorrow morning you get to hang with us, and we’ll go somewhere awesome. Seriously, Lari, if you don’t take a break you’re going to drive yourself insane and be brain dead by Monday and fail the exam anyway. Just take a few hours in the morning and come with us. Then you can go back to studying. Please.”
Rubbing my eyes, I conceded that she had a point. I was burning the candle at both ends trying to keep my grades up, and I was taking far too many credits and tackling a part-time night shift position at the university rec center.
“Fine. I’ll hang out with you tomorrow if you stop begging me to go to the movie tonight.”
Fin bounced in her chair releasing a squeal that could be heard all the way across campus. “Yay! I’m so excited. You’re going to love it.”
“Want to warn me about what we’re doing?” Ripples of anxiety crossed my skin, leaving the hairs on my arms standing erect. The sly twinkle in her eye let me know that maybe I shouldn’t have agreed so fast.
“Nope. All I’ll tell you is to be dressed and ready to go by ten o’clock. I’d wear sturdy shoes.”
“We’re hiking?”
“Can I come?” Marsh asked at the same time.
“Yes, you can come, and yeah, we’re hiking. Enjoying nature. Now, let’s clean up, babe, so we aren’t late for the movie.”
I helped them clear the table, and soon after ushered them out of the apartment. They were having way too much fun starting a water war, and it took them no time to form a puddle in the center of the small kitchen, which I almost slipped in. If not for Marsh’s quick reflexes, I would have landed flat on my back. When they were gone, I cleaned up the excess water and finished the dishes before heading to my room.
Since I wasn’t expecting anyone else tonight, I changed into a pair of midthigh shorts and a ratty t-shirt. It may have been cool outside, but I slept hot, even with my window open. Heading to the bathroom I shared with Finley, I grumbled when I spotted the countertop I’d cleaned and organized this morning before class. Somehow she’d managed to fling every hair and makeup product she owned all over it yet again. If I didn’t like the girl, I would have moved out within weeks of her moving in. Okay, not really. Since my Mom was a history professor, I got free on-campus housing, and I wouldn’t mess that up by moving out. Fin was by far one of the better roommates I’d been paired with.
I’d put up with a bit of clutter in the bathroom. Gosh, I really was like their mother.
With my teeth clean, face washed, and hair pulled back in a ponytail, I headed for the desk in the corner of my room. Flipping on the lamp above it, I opened my business textbook to reread the chapters the exam would cover and compared the text to my notes. It wasn’t how I’d prefer to spend my Friday night, but this was how my life went nowadays. In high school, I’d been the first to hang out with any of my friends, but college was a different animal for me.
All my life, for as long as I could remember anyway, I’d wanted to grow up to be a master chef and work at the best restaurants. That dream had died when Dad had all but threatened to cut me off if I didn’t become a lawyer like him, or a doctor. Since Mom had been silent on the subject, she likely agreed with him. I hadn’t been in a good financial situation to be cut off, but for a few years I’d worked a full-time job to save money in hopes of accomplishing my dream without their help. In the end, I’d decided to give up on my dream and follow Dad’s career path, which was why, as a junior, I was older than the majority of freshmen and sophomores on my floor.
When the words on the page began to blur into one another and I’d reread the same sentence ten time without comprehending it, I closed the book and studied my notes. Fin had come home already and had shut herself in the room across the hall, likely already asleep. The girl could fall asleep faster than anyone I knew. When my notes began to blur, it was time for bed. Climbing under the covers, I prayed my spunky friend didn’t have anything weird, crazy, or illegal planned for the morning. I couldn’t risk being kicked out of college now, especially not when I’d stayed up until almost two in the morning studying some silly business textbook.