Fire and Fantasy: A Limited Edition Collection of Urban and Epic Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  No vampire would risk the dangers of becoming as weak as humans just to see the sun. If we did this, it meant we would be the hunters’ game for three whole days. Whether or not we survived to escape Hunter Academy was another story.

  I tried to remember what I was like before I turned, and I shuddered. I would definitely not make it out of the academy alive.

  “You lot are crazy if you’re considering reversification.” Oscar folded his arms across his chest. “We’re not that desperate to retrieve the ensorced stake.”

  “Actually, we are.” Blake’s permanent smile faded a little. He didn’t elaborate, and I couldn’t shake off the unease his words stirred within me. “But we could wait for Celtric. He might have a safer plan.”

  I pressed my lips together. Celtric again. I didn’t understand why someone like Blake would rely on anyone for anything. He didn’t seem to be a vampire who needed hand holding.

  “When is he coming?” I frowned.

  “Soon.”

  That told me absolutely nothing. I stared at the academy gate long and hard. To charge through it meant getting burned, probably to death. To use reversification meant crossing the gate in a condition as weak as a babe. Both probably led to the end of my existence, unless … unless I could somehow walk into Hunter Academy without anyone recognizing me for who I was.

  The thought got stuck in my head. It was nearly impossible, for many hunters had seen my face. Even if I managed to change my appearance, the hunters were not stupid enough to welcome strangers at this critical time.

  “Come, let us return to Izella’s mansion and wait for Celtric,” Blake said.

  I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to get that stake and walk through the house Jayson had lived in so many years ago. The night was still young. We had hours before us. We could use it on something better than waiting for the vampire who was too busy to come.

  “Izella!” Oscar cried over his shoulder.

  I wanted to tell him to leave without me, but I didn’t know what else I would be able to do here. We needed a plan, something better than what we had right now.

  As I turned to go, a freckle-faced hunter cried, “Yeah, get out of here while you can. When our reinforcements come, none of you will get to leave.”

  I spun around to face him, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat. His expression froze. He looked absolutely terrified as I stared down at him. I pranced closer until we were at talking distance. “What did you say?”

  “N-nothing,” he stuttered.

  “What reinforcements?”

  “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” He stumbled back a step and whipped around to disappear into the academy.

  My gaze passed over the remaining hunters one last time before I walked away.

  Reinforcements. I wondered who they’d called to deal with us.

  Wait!

  That meant they were expecting someone or a lot of someones. They would open the gate for them.

  I wondered how well they knew their reinforcements and how many there were. An idea sprang to my mind, and my lips stretched as wide as Blake’s.

  “How do you perform reversification?” I asked Symphony when we were back at my mansion. Blake and Oscar had already returned to their rooms.

  “Why do you need to know?” she asked.

  “No one ever told me about it before. Count me curious.”

  She stared at me with her young but ancient eyes that seemed to see right through me. For the first time, I wondered exactly how old she was. She wasn’t as famous as Blake and Celtric, but she couldn’t be younger than me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known something as obscure as reversification.

  She blinked, and the disinterested look was back on her face. “Reversification is like transitioning from our feral state to a rest state, except it goes further.”

  That didn’t tell me much, but she didn’t stay to explain. She hugged her bunny and headed down the hallway to her room.

  The moment she left, I took off for Hannah’s Bed and Breakfast.

  Eleven

  Rune

  I zipped down the cold stone hallway of the academy dorm, straight to Room 105. The quietness of the night and the silence of the ancient building failed to calm me. Anger must have been written all over my face, because even the blond girl I always bumped into didn’t try to make small talk like usual.

  I was about to pull open the heavy door to enter my room when someone patted my shoulder. My arm swung out on instinct. He seized it just before it connected with his face.

  “Whoa, Rune. It’s me.” Brydon circled around into my field of vision.

  “Sorry. I didn’t see you.” I didn’t even notice he was so close behind me. Our instructors always taught us to be aware of our surroundings, and normally, I was.

  I stuck my key in the lock, twisted the knob, and yanked open the door.

  The tiny cell-like room was just large enough to contain two twin beds and a few pieces of mismatched furniture. Clothes spilled over the drawers, no matter how many times I stuffed them back in the previous days. Lost socks were scattered here and there, and the smell emanating from them was entirely too strong.

  I walked straight to my bunk bed and sat on top of the white sheets. I pulled out my stake and shaved the edge with a knife.

  “You nailed Izella Pristin. You should have seen the look on everyone’s face,” Brydon said.

  The scent of lilies and roses filled my nostrils, as though I was still there, outside the gate, so close to her I could smell her.

  “You shouldn’t have released her. She was more useful as a captive.” He pulled a chair over and sat across from me. “Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure she was the one who injured me and fucked with my mind.”

  I knew she was. An average vampire couldn’t have overpowered Brydon and sucked him dry. “She won’t get away the next time.”

  “Why did you let her go this time?”

  My hands paused for a moment. “She could escape with or without me trying to stop her.”

  “But you didn’t even try.”

  “I did.”

  “You didn’t try your best. I know you.”

  I looked at Brydon, into the depth of his eyes, and felt naked before my twin. A terrible feeling weighed down my chest. I knew Izella Pristin had injured my brother, I knew she was a vampire, the kind of monster who killed my father, and I knew she exposed the location of Hunter Academy. I shouldn’t have let her go, no matter how fragile and innocent she looked, because Izella Pristin was neither fragile nor innocent.

  “She tricked us,” Brydon said. “The council has yet to punish us for leading a descendant to the academy. Rune, remember what history said about her. She lured hunters and vampires alike to do things against their will. Most of her victims offered her everything without a fight. She—”

  “I know!” I jammed the knife into the stake and hacked a good piece of the wood off. I’d consulted the history book after discovering who she was. Some said she was the most dangerous of all descendants. We could overcome the other descendants with strength. With her, strength was not enough. She erased Brydon’s memory with ease and influenced me into bringing her to the academy. “She will pay for what she did to you,” I said, more to myself than to Brydon. It was a promise, and I always kept my promises, especially to Brydon.

  Twelve

  Izella

  I put on a pair of oversized sunglasses as I rapped on the white Victorian house. The sign Hannah’s Bed and Breakfast hung off two iron rings on a pole, swinging every now and then in the direction of the wind.

  The door creaked open after ten minutes and a midget of a woman stuck her head out.

  “Hannah?” I asked.

  “Yes, what can I do for you?” She gave me a once over. Her gaze lingered on the sunglasses, which I guess humans didn’t normally wear at night. I only wore them in case someone could recognize me.

  “Bed and breakfast.” Well, perhaps not the break
fast part. “I need a private room.”

  “Do you have your ID?” she asked, her small frame blocking the entrance. The door was opened just barely enough to show her face.

  “A what?” I asked.

  “ID. Identification. Driver’s license. You know, the card with your name and picture on it.”

  “I don’t have one.” There’d been no such thing two hundred years ago when I was still human, and I’d never bothered to get one.

  She shrank a step back into the house. The crack in the door grew narrower. “I’m sorry. We can’t service you without an ID. Find another place to spend the night.”

  She swung the door shut. I planted my palm on it, preventing it from closing in my face. It was clear she thought she could overpower me. Her face turned red as she tried to close the door with everything she had.

  “There is no other place to stay for twenty miles,” I said. Not that twenty miles was anything to me. “You see, I don’t have a car.”

  “Then how did you get here?” Her round eyes narrowed at me.

  “I walked here.”

  Her gaze scanned me from head to toe. The suspicion in her eyes grew. Perhaps I didn’t look like I’d walked twenty miles. She tried to shut the door again, but of course, it didn’t budge. Fear grew in her eyes. She turned and cried over her shoulder, “Robert, can you come here for a moment?”

  I sighed and lifted the sunglasses off my face. She was about to abandon the door and run to Robert when I seized her arm.

  “Hannah, I am a guest in your home,” I said.

  “What are you doing? Let me go! I have strong friends who live close by. Don’t try something funny on me, missy.”

  I grabbed her head and looked her directly in the eye. My own eyes warmed. “You will take me to the darkest and quietest room in your house. I am to stay as long as I want.”

  Footsteps pounded ever closer. A male voice shouted in the background.

  “I showed you my ID. You will take me to the darkest and quietest room in your house,” I repeated.

  A hairy hand grabbed the edge of the door. Just when that man ripped it open, the light in Hannah’s eyes dimmed.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” An oversized man stepped into my personal space. Beside him, Hannah looked like a child.

  “You must be Robert.” I put my sunglasses back on. “Hannah was just going to show me to my room. Weren’t you, Hannah?”

  “Yes, I was.” Hannah blinked. She had the look of someone who had just woken from sleep. “This way, Ms. …”

  “Julia. Call me Julia.” I gave her the name I’d used when I was still human, before my sire changed it. The name now sounded foreign in my ears, as if it belonged to another person, the girl from so long ago who could barely haul a bucket of water from the well.

  “Of course, Julia.” She shook her head and pounded her temple with her fist. “Sorry, Julia, I must be tired. My body is not what it used to be. Follow me.”

  She nudged Robert out of the way. I sidestepped him as she led me up the wooden stairs to a room in the corner of the house shaded by an overgrowth of trees. Dark and quiet, just the way I wanted.

  “If there is anything else you need, don’t hesitate to holler,” Hannah said.

  I glanced around the modest room with peeling yellow wallpaper and worn furniture before my gaze settled on Hannah. “Who else is currently renting a room here?”

  She frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t disclose my other customer’s information, Miss Julia.”

  I narrowed my eyes on her. “Hannah, you have to answer every question I ask. Who else currently rent a room here?”

  “No one else, Miss Julia.” Her hands flew to her mouth as soon as she spoke.

  My brows drew together. I thought since Hannah’s Bed and Breakfast was the only accommodation around Hunter Academy, the people who were coming to help the academy would stop here. Was I wrong or just too early?

  “There is a person I am expecting later tonight.” She bit her lip once she leaked the information.

  “Who?” I snap my head to face her.

  “Tessa Hampton.”

  The name didn’t sound familiar. I had no idea if she was one of the people I wanted. “Thank you, Hannah,” I said.

  She left, and I walked over to the only window in the room. The window looked out to the front wooden fence of the house, a prime location to wait for a certain someone.

  Thirteen

  Izella

  I was practicing reversification in my mind when headlight flashed outside the window. In the quietness of the night, I couldn’t have missed the roar of the car engine even if I wanted to.

  A black truck pulled into the driveway of Hannah’s Bed and Breakfast, and a woman hopped out as soon as the car stopped and the engine died. She swung a duffel bag over her shoulder and shut the car door. A moment later, she disappeared from my view to hit the doorbell.

  The downstairs lights flickered on. There were some voices and muted sounds. Judging from the noises, Hannah or Robert had situated her across the hall from my room. That was all the better for me, although there weren’t really that many rooms to choose from.

  I waited for two more hours after Hannah and Robert left. Now, in the deep of the night, the entire house was quiet and everyone else must have gone to sleep. I swung open my door and crept over to twist the doorknob of Tessa’s room.

  It was locked. I used a bit more force to yank the door open. Splinters and wood chips flew all over the place.

  Everything was dark, but it was not difficult for me to make out the drawer, the TV stand, and the queen-sized bed. Tessa was lying on the bed, her sheets bunched around her bare legs.

  She looked to be in her thirties with a strong chin and generous lips. Her nose was more prominent than usual but fitted with her features.

  I strolled to her side until I was looking down at her. My hand was an inch from her chin when she sprang open her eyes and seized my wrist. She leaped, twisted my arm backward, and pinned me onto the bed, all under three seconds flat.

  Interesting. I was impressed.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Her voice was like her appearance. Hard, icy, and no nonsense.

  I turned my head to look at her. “Tessa Hampton?”

  Her gray eyes narrowed. “Who told you my name?”

  “Are you heading toward Hunter Academy, Tessa?”

  “Why does it matter to you?”

  I gave her my most disarming smile. “Then we are going to the same place. Mind if I tag along?”

  “What business do you have in Hunter Academy?”

  The position she had me in was hurting my shoulder, so I stood up. Her lush brows locked together as she tried to keep me where I was. She was strong, but I was stronger. I stretched and shrugged her hand off.

  “You are a vampire.” She planted her feet in a solid stance, ready for a fight. “What is a vampire doing here?”

  “Waiting for you.” Even as the satisfaction of overpowering her glowed inside me, disappointment settled in the pit of my stomach. Being practically invincible was a lonely feeling. “Tessa, I need you to bring me to Hunter Academy as your apprentice.” I stared into her eyes.

  “You’re not my apprentice. I will bring you to Hunter Academy, but only as a captive.” She swung a blow at my head.

  I leaned back to dodge the blow. Her fist barely missed my nose. Before I could straighten, she karate kicked me, each time faster than the last. I humored her for a while, playing along with her game and giving her the impression that if she tried hard enough, she could win. Then she knocked over a lamp. The small thing hit the floor in a thump. If we continued, we would sure to wake up Hannah and Robert, and I would have to silence all of them.

  “Tessa.” I grabbed her fist an instant before it slammed into my face. “Listen to me. You are to bring me to Hunter Academy and introduce me as your apprentice.”

  “I will do no such thing.” Her words came out between hard brea
ths.

  “Tessa.” I leaned so close to her our lashes touched. “I am your apprentice, Julia. You are teaching me to become a vampire hunter. You are going to bring me to Hunter Academy to help defend the academy.”

  “You’re crazy if you think—”

  “You will bring me to Hunter Academy. Julia is your apprentice. I will accompany you to Hunter Academy,” I repeated the words over and over again.

  Her gray eyes dimmed and brightened in succession. She tried to yank her fist back, but I didn’t allow her.

  “You are Izella Pristin,” she said during one of her lucid moments.

  “I am your apprentice, Julia. You taught me how to fight for the last five years.”

  “They warned me about you. They said—”

  “Tessa, how were my combat skills? Did I pass your test?”

  “Stop playing games! You are Izella Pristin, a descendant of an Original.”

  “I am Julia, the girl you rescued from vampires five years ago.”

  “Izella.”

  “Julia. You supported me after my parents died in a car accident.”

  “The vampire who …”

  “Julia. You left me in a condo you rented and came back every now and then to train me.”

  “Julia.”

  I leaned back in relief as her eyes dimmed. It’d taken more time and effort than expected to brainwash her. To be safe, I told her more about us. How we met and how we got to know each other. Then I extracted information from her.

  She was a graduate from Hunter Academy who’d made it her life’s mission to eradicate vampires. Over the past ten years, she’d traveled across the world, tracking down vampires and turning them into dust along the way. Others killed vampires to save humanity. She killed vampires to avenge her fiancée who had died at a vampire’s hand.

  When her eyes refocused, she pulled her fist back and frowned. “Julia, what are you doing here this late at night? Sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

  I smiled at her and nodded in satisfaction.