“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I say with a roll of my eyes, suddenly feeling a lot lighter.
I hop out of the car and meet him on the long-paved path that leads to a small cottage-style house. Dark green leaves of ivy almost completely consume the walls of the cottage while a citrus tang hits me as a light breeze rustles the leaves of the surrounding, overgrown trees. This place almost seems magical. It’s as though it’s like a scene out of a fairytale, you know, the good kind. Not the ones my life are made out of. This is the kind of place you’d imagine fairies and pixies had a hand in creating for their runaway princess. God, it would have been a dream to grow up here.
Rylan laces his fingers through mine and warmth spreads through me. “So, what happened to us not doing the whole sneaking around thing, and you strictly being my instructor?” I ask.
He looks down at me with a smile playing on his lips. “As much as we shouldn’t be sneaking around,” he starts as his deep eyes sparkle. “You’re just too damn irresistible. Not being with you was driving me crazy.”
I stop in the middle of the pathway and look up into his eyes. “You know, I’m really glad you’ve got shitty self-control.” He shakes his head at me once again and leans down to give me a kiss.
“RYLAN,” I hear a feminine voice screeching. “BABY BROTHER!”
Rylan, who’s still looking down at me, smirks. “Come and meet my crazy sister.”
I look away just in time to see the female version of Rylan barreling down the pathway from the open door of the small cottage. She flings her small body around her brother and he catches her easily. “God, I’ve missed you,” she says as she holds onto him for dear life.
“I’ve missed you too,” Rylan whispers in her ear.
A smile creeps across my face at the heartbreaking scene before me as joy fills my heart with the reunited brother and sister. Kaylee begins to sniffle and reaches up to wipe her wet eyes. She catches sight of me next to Rylan and pulls away from him. “Oh, shit. I’m being rude,” she exclaims. “You must be Bianca,” she asks then throws her arms tightly around me before I have the chance to respond.
I glance up at an amused Rylan who gives me the slightest shrug of his shoulders. “And you must be Kaylee,” I say, returning her hug.
She eventually lets me go and ushers us down the rest of the pathway and into her home.
We sit in her cozy living room as she fusses about, getting us drinks and homemade muffins which I must admit are absolutely delicious. “Would you sit down and relax?” Rylan orders her in a brotherly tone.
She huffs and quickly glances around her to make sure she’s being the best hostess possible. A grin creeps across my face knowing that would never be me. “Fine,” she says coming and sitting before us.
Kaylee relaxes into her chair as the siblings fall into an easy conversation. They catch up on the details of their lives, giving me a moment to study the woman before me. Her dark hair stands out against her pale features, which compared to Rylan’s, flawless tanned skin, is probably the only difference between the two, you know, apart from the obvious girl/boy stuff.
Her dark eyes, which resemble the ones I love so much, glance towards me. “Bianca,” she says with a smile, “I hear you’ve been keeping my brother in line.”
Rylan scoffs beside me as he throws his arm over my shoulders and pulls me into him. “Definitely the other way around. Bianca here is a bit of a wild card, though I’m pretty sure I’ve managed to tame the beast,” he jokes.
A sadness flashes behind her eyes and is gone within moments. “Be careful with the wild ones, they tend to cause trouble,” she says with a wink. Though I’m almost certain she’s talking about her own past on that one.
“Don’t I know it,” he mumbles to himself.
The morning flies by in light conversation and soon enough Kaylee and I are in the kitchen working on lunch as Rylan does his brotherly duties and takes himself around the old cottage with a toolbox fixing anything and everything he possibly can, while also sending me into absolute heart failure.
“So, Rylan mentioned you just finished your midterms? That must have been pretty exciting?” she asks, sending me into a full-blown discussion of what I’ve now been referring to as ‘hell week.’
“Hold on,” she demands fifteen minutes later. “You mean to tell me that you actually beat Rylan in the weaponry fight? Woah, I was under the impression that he was unbeatable,” she comments with laughter in her voice.
“Nah,” I joke. “He’s not that good.”
“Oh, really?” the deep voice from my dreams asks from behind me.
I turn on him, giving every last part of confidence within me. “Really,” I confirm.
His eyes heat. “You want to prove it?” he demands.
“Why? So you can show Kaylee how you’ve lost your edge?” I tease. “You know, I beat you at paintball, then with the target accuracy, and the weaponry fight, oh and I also managed to punch you in the face last night,” I say as Kaylee breaks into laughter beside me.
“You know, I let you win at paintball, right?” he smiles. My face drops as I take in every last memory I have of that day. Nope. There’s no way. I won that fair and square. Right? “And,” he continues, “I think you’re forgetting the hundreds of times I’ve annihilated you during training. Which happens every day. Frequently.”
“I don’t see any witnesses who can prove your theory,” I state.
He shakes his head in exasperation and throws his hands up. “You’re such a smart ass.” A grin comes alive on my face.
I win.
“So,” I say turning back towards Kaylee. “Where was I?” I laugh.
We sit down at the table and begin to dig into our lunch. “So, I’m assuming the Academy is pretty impressed with you at the moment?” Kaylee asks.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
She glances up at my tone. “Oh?” she asks, fishing for more.
“I’m pretty much on the verge of guys dropping their pants and asking me to sign their asses,” I smirk. A scowl suddenly comes over Rylan’s face which has us girls breaking into yet another round of laughter.
“I bet the Council would have had something to say about your performance.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. They’re hoping I’m going to roll over at their will and become their precious poster girl for the doomed.”
She pulls a face that mimics the one on my own. “That’s rough. Be careful. You’re their princess now,” she says. “If only they knew you were sneaking around with your instructor,” she laughs. “I’m sure that would change their minds.”
I take a second to consider the risks involved in actually spilling everything to the Council Members. Anything has got to be better than becoming their poster girl.
“Woah, Bianca,” Rylan scolds. “That shit that you’re thinking needs to stop.”
I glance at him and take in the petrified look on his perfect face. I reach out and take his hand. “Stop stressing, as if I would do anything to risk being with you,” he holds my gaze as a million messages pass between us.
An hour later, we’re saying our goodbyes and heading down the long path towards his SUV. “How much does your car mean to you?” I ask as an amazing idea begins to form.
“A lot, why?” he asks cautiously.
I give him a sweet smile and even bat my eyelashes. “Do you think I could drive?”
Indecision crosses his perfect features as he considers not wanting to tell me no and the safety of his car. He looks between me and the car a few times, his face scrunching up. “Shit,” he groans, digging in his pockets and pulling out his keys.
“Are you serious?” I screech as he hands them over. I jump up and down and kiss him on the cheek.
“Don’t make me regret it,” he warns.
I run to the driver’s side and hop in. I adjust the mirrors and move the seat as far forward as it can possibly go to accommodate my small size. Rylan smirks as he watches my little routine
but wisely remains quiet. I start up the car and smoothly pull away, feeling extremely badass with my boyfriend’s running commentary.
Not long after, I pulled off the freeway into the gas station to fill up. Rylan fills the tank while I head inside to find all the different chocolates that Jacinta loves but we can’t get at the Academy. Five minutes later, Rylan joins me inside and we head over to the old man behind the counter.
We go about paying when a sign behind the man’s head demands my attention. A picture of a young couple with the word ‘MISSING’ has an awful feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. “What’s that?” I ask the man, hoping for as many details as possible. Rylan's focus quickly draws on the sign as his eyebrows pull together.
The man with the name tag that reads ‘Charlie’ turns around to figure out what I’m talking about. “Oh, awful shame that is,” he grumbles. “They went missing from here last week. Lovely couple they were, came asking for the bathroom and never came back,” he says as he finishes ringing up our purchases.
Rylan gives me a sideways glance, confirming he’s thinking exactly what I am. Vampires. “So, you haven’t heard anything since then? There have been no sightings?” he asks Charlie.
“Nope, nothing. Apparently, there’s been a few disappearances ‘round here lately. Serial Killer if you ask me,” he says.
I pick up Jacinta’s chocolates and head for the door with Rylan trailing behind me, my eyes suddenly alert. That same strange feeling settles in my stomach as we near the car. Rylan suddenly shoots his arm out across my chest, stopping me in my tracks.
My eyes search frantically for whatever it is that Rylan can sense. I look towards the car and hear the slight whoosh of air and realize all four tires have been slashed. “Stay right on my ass, Bianca” he orders in a way that’s far more than just my instructor, but one of a natural-born leader.
He heads towards the back of the gas station which is surrounded by forest, the most likely area someone would go to snatch up a victim. He reaches behind him and slowly pulls the gun from the waistband of his jeans before handing it back to me. We step further towards the back section of the petrol station and I quickly check over the gun, the same way Rylan has always taught me to.
A dark figure sprints across the opening of the forest, way too fast to be human. Rylan and I take off like two bats out of Hell, our training pushing us harder and faster than any normal human. The vampire heads further into the forest, slowing his speed as we come up behind him. He turns on us with a wicked grin spreading over his face.
“Ah, you make this too easy,” he laughs. “What kind of idiots come after someone in a forest?” Ah. Mindless banter, he must be a newbie, one who most likely has no idea who the Front Lines of The Guard are. This loser thinks he’s about to get the drop on us, but the surprise is on him today.
He flashes his fangs and disappointment clouds his eyes as he takes in our lack of fear and shock. “So, are you just going to stand here with all your chitter-chatter, or are we going to get this show on the road? Because I’ve left my best friend’s chocolates sitting out in the sun and I’m going to be really pissed if they melt.”
He lets out a booming laugh. “Of course, of course. We’ll move this right along,” he says as a wicked grin creeps across his pale face. He begins to stalk forward and Rylan stays controlled and motionless. The look on the vampire’s face suggests this is going to be easy pickings.
He gets close enough to be in striking range and Rylan doesn’t skip a beat. He kicks out his leg, hitting the vampire hard in the chest. He stumbles backward as shock and rage register on his face. Rylan hardly gives the vampire a chance to recover before he’s on him again. He pulls a dagger from who knows where and gets to work.
The vampire attempts to fight back and while he has incredible strength, he has absolutely no training in combat, making his movements extremely sloppy, which for Rylan, is a piece of cake. The vampire goes down in what must be record time. “Damn, that one was easier than I thought” he muses as if he was up for a challenge. He looks up at me. “Are you okay?” he asks.
I give him a reassuring smile as I hand him his gun. “Yeah,” I say. “Let’s get out of here.”
We walk back towards the car as Rylan pulls out his phone. “Who are you calling?” I ask when he begins typing numbers into the keypad.
“The Alchemists. Believe it or not, there’s a hotline for dealing with dead supernatural.”
“Well, that’s kind of weird,” I mumble to myself, leaning down to grab Jacinta’s chocolates and cheering when I find they’re all still solid.
Rylan finishes on his phone as we approach his car. “This sucks,” he murmurs, looking at his precious car.
“Don’t cars come with spare tires? Can’t you just change them?” I ask.
He gives me a small grin. “You don’t know much about cars, do you?”
“That would be a negative.”
Rylan shakes his head and refuses to answer my car questions from here on out.
We head back inside the gas station and Rylan gets the number for the local tow truck company. I sit and chat with Charlie, who tells me all about his grandchildren, identical twins, Ava and Sammie who apparently are 5th graders and love ballet.
Twenty minutes later, the tow truck shows up and Rylan and I head out to help load up the car.
“How long is this going to take?” Rylan asks the driver.
The man gives a slight grimace. “Well, the local garage closed at midday, so unless you have another form of transport, you’re stuck here for the night. The garage will be open at seven in the morning, so you can pick her up after that,” he says as he begins getting to work.
Oh shit. Rylan looks down at me with an unsure look on his face as he comes to the same conclusion as me.
Looks like I’m spending the night with Rylan.
Chapter 9
The driver drops us off at the local motel, with some inappropriate comments about hoping we enjoy our night and finishing it off with a sleazy wink.
We head into the reception area and get ourselves a room. Minutes later, we stand awkwardly in front of the door, knowing what could possibly come from a night together inside this room, and to be honest, a nervous excitement fills me.
“Shit, I should get another room,” Rylan whispers under his breath.
“Don’t be stupid,” I scold as I snatch the keys from his hand and begin unlocking the door. “Besides, we’re both adults. I think we can control ourselves.”
He groans as I push the door open to the average room. Bed. Bathroom. TV. Very original.
“If you start to feel uncomfortable, you let me know,” he demands.
Ha, like that’s going to happen. “Promise,” I say with a roll of my eyes as I try to hide my grin. I glance around the room, realizing that there’s quite literally nothing to do. “So, what do you say we order a pizza and a movie like the regular humans do?” I ask with a smirk.
It’s his turn to roll his eyes now. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he grumbles, but sure enough, he orders a pizza.
Rylan 0. Bianca 1.
I flop down on the uncomfortable double bed and switch the button to turn the TV on and groan as the screen remains black. “Damn, it doesn’t work,” I grumble to myself.
Rylan smirks and crosses to the TV. “This might help,” he says, holding the power cord in his hands. He plugs it in and switches the TV on, bringing up some infomercial with a lady who looks like she’s stuck in the eighties doing some ridiculous form of exercise.
I begin to flick through the channels, searching for something worth watching. Rylan sits down on the bed beside me and pulls me into him, I relax into his chest. “You never did tell me what all those new tricks are that got you through the exams,” he says as I settle on some awful black and white movie.
“As if I’m going to tell you that. I might need those moves one day,” I smile.
He looks thoughtful for a short moment. “Y
ou know I’ll work them out eventually,” he promises confidently.
“Okay,” I grin as a plan begins to form. “If you can beat me now, I’ll spill all my trade secrets, but if you can’t, you have to admit that I’m the best and you didn’t let me win paintball because I know I kicked your ass fair and square.”
He smirks at me. “You’re on,” he says, getting up and making his way around the bed to the open area of the room, expecting me to follow behind. I stand up on top of the bed and run full bolt ahead, launching myself off the edge.
I fly through the air for the quickest moment, possibly making some sort of battle cry, but who can be sure? Rylan turns quickly, his eyes widening as he sees me flying towards him. He stretches out, adjusts himself, and catches me mid-flight. “Sorry, babe. You’re going to have to try harder than that,” he says, throwing me back to the bed.
I land with an ‘oomph’. “I guess you’re playing dirty then?” he asks, trying to figure out the rules to our little bet as he stalks towards the bed and reaches for my leg.
I scramble back towards the headboard and get to my feet once again. “Yep,” I confirm as I stare him down. “You know I’d do just about anything to win.”
“Oh, I know,” he grumbles, waiting for me to make my move. “You really think you’ve got this in the bag, huh?”
I give him a wicked smirk and point both thumbs towards myself. “Predator,” I say, turning my hands over and pointing towards him. “Prey.”
He laughs at my ridiculous comments and soon enough the smirk on his face is resembling the one on mine.
There’s a knock at the door and Rylan steps backward while digging in his pocket. He pulls out a twenty and keeps his eyes locked on mine the entire time. He opens the door, grabs the pizza, which I might add smells amazing, hands over the money, and slams the door once again.
Heart and Revenge: Slayer Academy (Book 2) Page 8