The Hunter's Den: Dead of Midnight Book 1

by Byron Thorne

  She couldn’t blame herself, though. After all, there was a lot going on inside her head and her body, like vamp blood. Except, that was no one’s fault but her own. She made the decision to drink the vial and the choice to hunt the vampire, no matter what the consequences might have been.

  Jules racked her brain, trying to retrace her steps from the previous night. She started with the end, with Daniel. She clearly remembered his hassling about her going out earlier. About how it was too dangerous, about how she didn’t know what she was doing, and about how she was going to get hurt. Something about how she didn’t know what vampires were really capable of. Mostly the same “I know what’s best for you” diatribe that he’s been on lately.

  Daniel was right about one thing. That vampire had messed with her head pretty good.

  Jules sat up and her head swam. All she had was a few ounces of vamp blood, but it was enough to make her feel like she’d drank a whole bottle of tequila. And not the good stuff, either, but the plastic bottle kind.

  OK, so what happened before Daniel got there? She figured maybe it would be easier to start at the beginning. Hollywood, got it. Vamp blood, yup, still there. That’s when things started to get a little hazy. She remembered being able to see more clearly than ever before, and everyone having weird auras. Everyone except for the vampire Morgan.

  They chatted for a bit, just a nice, casual conversation. Then, she shot him. She felt strangely embarrassed for shooting him. It was probably just his perfect cheekbones. Even if he was just a vamp, he was just about the most attractive thing she’d ever laid eyes on. No, that couldn’t be the reason- Jules wasn’t that materialistic. After she shot him with the crossbow, he played like he was innocent. He said he had no idea about Sam, that he never killed anyone.

  For a moment last night, she believed Morgan. She couldn’t decide whether she still did. What she did know was that she wanted to get to the truth. There was more to it than that. Something inside of her needed to get close to him again. Maybe it was just the power of the dream, or maybe he really did have some kind of hold over her. If that was the case- Jules fully intended to break that hold. Either way, this wasn’t the time to run away. She had found him once before, and she could find him once again.

  Jules looked at her phone. Two missed calls from Daniel, and that was about right. That guy had to learn how to text sooner or later. She really needed a third party to talk to about all of this- specifically, her strange, enthralling dreams. Imagine describing dreams about any other guy to Daniel, let alone one about a vampire. He’d throw a fit or something. This was the biggest downside of her failure to keep close girlfriends. She wasn’t much for shopping or pedicures, but she definitely missed having an actual feminine opinion.

  Besides, it was getting so difficult to talk to Daniel about anything she was going through. He was always there for her, but at the same time, it seemed like he was mostly just interested in giving out advice. She was still trying to piece the facts together in her own head, and her heart as well. Adding a big pile of judgment into the mix didn’t seem like the most helpful thing in the world at the moment.

  She shot him a text. Gotta go to work, I’ll see you later tonight. She wasn’t going to work- she had more important things to take care of. But this was something she needed to figure out on her own.

  13

  The Hunter’s Den

  Jules couldn't decide if she had woken up late or early. The sun was still out, but that didn't mean much. The truth was she was beginning to feel more comfortable when the moon was out in the sky. Besides, she had never been a morning person anyways. The advantage to hunting during the day was obvious: vamps burned in the sun. Of course, she'd never seen it happen. The biggest problem was finding them- they were so good at concealing themselves until the sun went down.

  The time from dusk until dawn needed to become the domain of the hunter. It was the only way they could actually find the monsters they wanted to hunt. Of course, it simply wasn't practical to become completely nocturnal. That meant a fair amount of daylight hours were just waiting to be killed by bored hunters. That's where the Hunter’s Den came in. Sure, it was a crusty old place, but so were the hunters that hung out there.

  Jules stuck out like a bad party crasher in that place when she was in there with Daniel. It would be even worse when she waltzed in there all by herself. Whatever, she could handle it. If she could walk away just fine from a solo fight with a vampire, she could handle anything.

  Her other choice was to hunt for Morgan's daytime resting place. Her dream about him had felt so real. Any semblance of truth might help her find him. She figured she would probably be better off spending the day gathering as much useful information as possible. Then, she could meet Morgan back on his turf later that evening. Unless, of course, he found her first.

  Coffee could only do so much for Jules’ poor blood-hung-over brain. She drank some anyways. She needed to get her head on straight before she talked to the hunters at the Den. No hesitations, no signs of weakness- she needed to be viewed as an equal. In a way, she was. She might not have had a full kill under her belt but how many of those guys had even successfully shot a vamp and got away with it? Probably not many.

  Maybe she was just trying to talk herself into it, but confidence was crucial. Fortunately, nothing made Jules feel more confident than a high-powered crossbow resting softly inside of her jacket. She finished getting ready and looked into the mirror. She looked the part, at least. Besides, hunters were normal people- she got along just fine with Daniel and Sam. The regulars at the Den were mostly just a few decades older.

  Jules stepped out into the blazing sun and called for a rideshare. A car pulled up in a minute, the backseat full of two girls in sundresses and one in fashionably ripped shorts. She got in the front seat and smiled as the reality of how much she had already changed dawned on her. All it took was those girls in the backseat that made her realize how strange her own getup probably looked during the day.

  “Aren’t you hot in that jacket?” the girl in the middle asked, presumably the ringleader. To be fair, Jules was actually pretty hot. But she didn’t appreciate the sentiment. Why did she choose the carpool option? Mistake number one of the day.

  “I’m, uh, going to an audition,” Jules said. It was basically a get out of jail free card in LA.

  “Oh, that makes sense!” she said, relieved. Then, the girl went back to chatting with her friends about whether they should have ordered one more bottle of champagne at brunch. The consensus was yes, but it was too late for them. Oh, to be so carefree. Jules remembered brunch. Now it was just an old word from back when times were simple and easy. Now she’d swapped the mimosas for vamp blood.

  The driver dropped Jules off and she gave a courtesy wave goodbye. Those weren’t her people anymore. Her people didn’t spend their days in the sun; they used it as a weapon. They lurked in the shadows and out of sight, just like the vampires they were hunting. That must be why they kept the Den so dark. Your eyes don’t have to adjust if you never look at the light. That or everyone inside was just so ugly it was better for business that way.

  Jules stepped inside and received the now-familiar series of stares. And here she thought these were her people. She was starting to feel like maybe she didn’t fit in anywhere. But she couldn’t doubt herself now- appearances were too important.

  She looked towards the back of the room and spotted that grizzled, grey-bearded face from the last time she set foot in the Den. Maybe the man never left. Despite the fact he was clearly a regular, he didn’t seem to be much for company. That was twice in a row he sat all by himself. That was fine by Jules; she could use it to her advantage.

  She walked over to the table in the back, ignoring the sideways glances from the rest of the denizens. “Is this seat taken?” she asked.

  “It is now. Go ahead,” the man murmured, the movement of his mouth nearly undetectable under his beard. Jules obliged and took a seat across from him
. “Didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said.

  “What, you mean in here by myself? Or you mean you thought I was going to run away.” Jules asked.

  “No. I never doubted your independence. I didn’t think you’d run away, either. As a matter of fact, I thought just the opposite. I thought you’d run after that vamp in Hollywood, all by yourself, and find him, too.”

  So far, Jules felt pretty good. Maybe it was just Daniel who didn’t believe in her.

  “Then, after you found him,” the old man continued, “I figure you’d get yourself killed.”

  “Oh, I get it. Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said.

  “It’s nothing personal, kid; I’ve seen a lot of youngsters come through those doors. Most of them stop coming sooner, rather than later.” The old man took a sip from his glass. The smell of the whiskey caused a lump to form in Jules’ throat, but she forced it back down.

  “You’re right about one thing. I did find the vamp. And yet, here I am.”

  “Here you are. The question I have, is why? Not that I mind the company of a beautiful young woman.”

  Jules realized she hadn’t actually planned out what she was going to say. “I shot him. With an arrow.”

  The old man raised his eyebrows and nodded his head a few times as if he was impressed. The gesture didn’t look overtly sarcastic, but Jules couldn’t be sure.

  “I stuck him to the wall,” she continued.

  “Impressive,” the old man ran his hand across his beard. “You must be a good shot. Then what happened? Did you fire another arrow into its heart, or did you opt to take its head off?”

  Jules thought about it for a moment, but her mind was coming up blank. “I’m…I’m not really sure,” she muttered and looked down at the table.

  “Ah. There’s the problem, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s the problem.”

  “So, let me get this straight. You somehow managed to tag a vamp with an arrow, incapacitating him. This was either through your innate skill, or more likely, blind luck. Then, rather than delivering the killing blow, you got cold feet and ran away.”

  “I didn’t run away.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I went up close; I wanted to talk to him.”

  “Him? This was a male vamp. Let me guess, a real good looking one, too.”

  Jules fought the urge to blush. She wasn’t just embarrassed, she was angry the old man wasn’t going to take her seriously.

  “Yes, he was a man, and I didn’t pay attention to what he looked like.” That was a lie. It’s not like that was a crucial detail to the story.

  “OK, fair enough. You don’t need to convince me. So let me finish the story. You wanted to have a conversation with him. Maybe tell him how much damage his kind had caused you. How much pain, blah, blah, blah. Only you didn’t get the chance, and you aren’t so sure how you’re sitting here right now.”

  “No, not exactly, but…yeah, basically.”

  “Well, that’s the question, isn’t it, miss...what’s your name?”

  “It’s Jules.”

  “Jules, right. Simple answer, Jules, is he probably charmed you something fierce. That’s why you don’t get close to vamps, and that’s why you sure as hell don’t talk to them. Now, the problem is that you’re not asking the right question.”

  “What’s the right question, then?”

  “Think about it, Jules. You’re a hunter, at least in the eyes of a vampire.”

  “Look, just because I’m younger than the dinosaurs in here doesn’t mean I’m any worse a hunter.”

  “OK, calm down. If you did manage to shoot it, I’ll give you that. The point is: why would a vamp let a hunter, in this case, that’s you, live? That’s the question you need to be asking.”

  The old man sat back into the booth and resumed staring at his drink. The name Levi sat faded across his equally old military fatigues. Jules thought about his question. Maybe she just got lucky. Maybe some witnesses came out in that alleyway, and Morgan had to make a quick getaway so he wouldn’t be spotted. Then, that raised the question of how she ended up home instead of asleep in the gutter.

  “I guess you’re right,” Jules finally said.

  “Oh I know I’m right. But I get the feeling there’s more to your story. Something you’re not telling me. Then the question becomes, why would you ask for my help at all if you didn’t really want it? Surely there’s better things for a girl your age to do on a weekend then spend it inside of a broken down old bar.”

  Jules thought about it for a moment. What was she supposed to do, go eat some avocado toast with the girls? This was way more interesting. But, the old man was right about one thing. There was more to the story, and perhaps she was keeping it from herself just as much as she was keeping it from this stranger. The problem was there was no reason to.

  “I think I got bit,” Jules blurted out.

  The old man’s eyes went wide for a moment and then went back into hiding. “Now we’re getting somewhere. But that doesn’t answer the question. It makes even less sense, if he went to the trouble of biting you, he could have drained you dry.”

  “What do you know about vamp bites?”

  “I know I’ve never been bit. Hunters don’t get bit and live to talk about it. Vamps drink to live, got it? It doesn’t do them much good to leave a trail of dead bodies leading to their haven. Don’t misunderstand, though, they got no concern for human life. They got no problem killing if it means self-preservation. This happened to you last night?”

  “Yeah, I woke up this morning in my apartment, I had all these…well, I had a ton of crazy dreams about Mor- about the vampire.”

  The old man cocked an eyebrow.

  “Not like that. Like, he was trying to talk to me or something,” Jules explained.

  “Hm. I’ve heard the bite can have strange effects like that. Vamps, they want humans to feel close to them, see? The same way a cow doesn’t run from a human. They’ve got special powers to make that happen. It’s why you should never look one in the eye. It’s why, for some people, that bite feels good. But the bite’s like heroin. Just because it feels good, don’t mean that it’s good for you. In fact, it’ll kill you,” the old man said.

  “So, the dreams are just a leftover reaction to the bite?”

  “Probably. But it sounds to me like this vamp is trying to set you up to be its own personal blood bank.”

  “That’s disgusting.”

  “You don’t like it, you got two options. One. You could try and kill it. Although, that didn’t end up so good for you the first time. The second time will probably go worse. Two, you get outta dodge.”

  “Well I’m not running, that’s for sure. I could have run away a long time ago. I didn’t.”

  “You still trying to talk me into it? Or are you trying to talk yourself into it?”

  Jules figured it was a little bit of both. “Honestly? I’m not even sure. I’m not even positive this is the right vampire. He told me he had no idea what I was after.”

  “More likely, he was lying to save his skin. And it seems to have worked. Look, kid, there’s no shame in running. But if you’re going to do it, do it now. The first bite? It’s nothing compared to the second. You make it to the third, you’ll never get the chance to leave.”

  Jules stood up to leave. “Thanks for talking to me. Thanks for your help.”

  “I should be thanking you for giving me all that attention. If I was a little younger, I might offer to go with you. Too bad. Good luck, Jules, and nice knowing you.”

  14

  Best of Friends

  The sun still had a few more hours of life to it. Jules checked her phone and found a text rather than a missed call waiting for her. Maybe Daniel really was learning. It read:

  Let’s work out

  She didn’t have anything else to do until nightfall. Working out also brought with it several advantages. For starters, Jules figured a sweat might kill
the vamp blood hangover that was still working its way through her body. Plus, her head was swimming with the abundance of new information that she had gathered over the past few days. Maybe taking a little downtime to process it would be the best thing for her.

  On top of that, she could patch things up with Daniel. Even though he could be overprotective at times, he was still her best friend. She thought things tended to work best for them when he acted like her friend, not her bodyguard. Or worse: her parent. Either way, they had both been acting a little weird towards each other and it would be great to get things back to normal. At least, as normal as they could be, considering how their lives were anything but that. She texted him back:

  Your place? Come pick me up.

  After about five seconds, Daniel texted her back.

  See you in a few

  Jules had to book it back to her place before he got there. She’d tell him about her trip to the Den, but later. He would hassle her about it for sure. Daniel was nothing if not consistent. He always showed up on time, no matter what. He always texted her back as soon as possible. And, he was always guaranteed to give her advice whether she asked for it or not. Usually, she didn’t ask for it. That was just part of who he was- maybe it was the biggest downside to keeping guy friends instead of girls. Sure, she avoided the drama that was often accompanied by a group of girls. On the other hand, it meant a whole lot of trying to fix the problem when she just wanted to talk about what the problem actually was.

  Sooner or later she would get another car. Just as soon as she figured out how to get somebody to pay her for all the work she’d put in to become a hunter. Daniel always told her the pay was terrible. Although at this point, terrible was better than nonexistent. Jules never really liked driving much anyways, so she sold her wheels to cover the bills while she figured something else out. That’s future Jules’ problem, she liked to tell herself.

  There were definitely downsides to not owning a car in LA. It had its perks, too. No traffic, for one. It was definitely a hassle to get to the beach, but she mostly stayed out of the sun these days anyways. There were plenty of grocery stores within walking distance. For everything else, she had Uber and Daniel.