“Such animosity,” he said as he followed me around the house, Chance silently lagging behind. “Maybe we should work on finding a way to channel all that energy into your training. It would definitely speed up the process.” I chose not to look at him as he spoke, knowing he would have a mischievous grin on his face that would do nothing but set me off. I had to keep my cool so I could focus on what I needed to learn. The faster I got what he taught me, the faster I could get my life back.
“Why don’t we just not talk and work on teaching me something.” I was impressed with how calm I remained considering I couldn’t stand being so close to him. Besides the fact he was a pompous ass, the smell of his dead blood was turning my stomach. But the foul odor gave me an idea.
“Can we start on how I can track a vampire?” I knew it was all about the smell, and no matter how bad I hated the odor, I needed it. Aldric moved closer to me, the stench of dead blood growing stronger. I turned up my nose in protest.
“Notice the difference?” he asked, stopping a few feet away. “The closer a vampire gets, the stronger their scent. That’s the easy part. You just need to learn how to find that scent when they’re not so close.” I was grateful he was finally using simple English.
“How do I do that?” I was much calmer now, actually somewhat eager to learn. I was slowly becoming accustomed to the idea that accepting my fate might be much easier than raging against it. Aldric clearly picked up on my sudden change in attitude.
“So nice to see your interest, Ava. It really will make the learning process easier.” I had a split second to decide which response to give: polite or pissed off. I quickly chose the first one and smiled.
“Take a seat,” Aldric said coolly, using his hand for emphasis. I looked around, noticing the absence of any sort of structure to sit on, before realizing he meant the ground. I slowly crouched down, tucking my feet beneath me. The chill of the crunching snow beneath my body actually felt good against my skin. Aldric smiled and sat down across from me, making it easy for each of us to see the other.
“Now,” he started with a whisper, “close your eyes and try to block out anything you hear other than my voice.” I reluctantly did as he said, stealing one last look at Chance before I let my eyelids shut out the world around me. He smiled, though I know he didn’t want to.
“Remember to listen to only my voice,” Aldric continued, his words melodic and soothing. My body instantly relaxed, the sounds of chirping birds and wind rustling through leaves slowly falling away from my ears, until there was nothing but darkness and Aldric’s voice inside my head. “Now I need you to allow the scent of my blood to flood your mind. Let it swim around every crevice, every corner, until it consumes you.” Without realizing it, I did as he said. I could feel the odor of decay leave his body and travel through my mind, taking over my senses until the smell of him was the only thing I could focus on. I no longer needed my eyes. I knew exactly where he was.
“Keep your eyes closed, Ava, and use my scent to track me down.” I felt the burst of air as he sped away from me. With my eyes tightly shut, I stood and inhaled deeply through my nose. The rancid odor of death flooded my nostrils again, and I took off after him. I ran faster than I ever had before, cutting through the trees and overgrown brush of the forest, all the while keeping my eyes closed and my sense of smell on high alert. I allowed the scent to lead me through the woods, ignoring the harsh sting of branches nicking my skin as I sped past them. I hurdled over fallen trees and exposed roots with expert precision, not allowing anything to stop me or slow me down. My mind was so fixated on finding the source of the scent that someone could have shot me and I wouldn’t have let up.
After fifteen minutes of winding through the woods, the smell grew even more intense. It blasted my brain like a cannon, sending waves of endorphins throughout my body. My system kicked into overdrive, heightening my senses even more. It was like I could see Aldric’s lingering scent in front of me. Like I could reach out and grab it with my hands and pull myself along to where he stood. I ran even faster, the branches jutting into my path feeling like barbed wire slicing my skin. I ran through the pain. I wanted to find him. And I wanted to kill him.
I broke free of the confines of the forest, the freedom of an open field fueling my fury even more. I ran as hard as my body would allow, the smell of Aldric’s death hitting me in the face like bricks. I knew I was drawing nearer to him, and after a few more seconds, all of the adrenaline working to keep me going suddenly stopped, and I stopped with it. I could smell his scent stronger than ever, and without even opening my eyes, I knew I had found him.
“Well done, Ava.” His voice flooded my ears as I opened my eyes and focused on his face. He was less than a foot away from me. Had I been wielding a stake, it would have been half-deep into his chest. I noticed right away that we were almost exactly where we started. I could see Chance standing beside his truck about fifty yards in front of me, the faded facade of the house jutting out beside him.
“Thanks,” I replied to Aldric’s compliment. I noticed, too, that after fifteen minutes of running faster than humanly possible, I wasn’t the least bit winded. My lungs felt more alive than they ever had, which was funny considering I was half dead. My muscles didn’t ache, didn’t even burn. It was like I hadn’t moved an inch.
“So what’s next?” I asked, staring at Aldric as he smiled creepily at me. I might not like him—actually hate was a better description—but he definitely was an excellent teacher. One lesson and I had perfected my tracking abilities.
“Not so fast,” he interjected. “I believe one lesson at a time is sufficient.”
“I don’t have time to move at a snail’s pace, Aldric. I need to learn fast.” The results of my first test were fueling my desire to move forward.
The faster I get what he teaches me, the faster I get my life back.
Those words flashed in my mind again, bright and prominent. Now that I knew I could do it, and that it wasn’t going to kill me, I planned on getting this whole training thing out of the way fast. Of course, he disagreed.
“You will learn at the speed I want you to learn.” His statement was simple but forceful. I knew it would be impossible to change his mind. “Going into this headstrong and unprepared will get you killed. I won’t allow that.” Something flashed across his face for the briefest of moments before it was gone, replaced by the stone coldness he always wore. But it had been there, if only for a second. And he knew that I saw it.
It was compassion.
1
1. GROWTH
I gave into Aldric’s wishes, agreeing to one training lesson per day. I didn’t, however, agree to wait for my training to be done before going vampire hunting. If I waited, I’d be, like, thirty before I reached a hundred kills—if aging was even an issue for me any more. No way was I waiting that long. But, I kind of understood his reasoning on staggering my training sessions—at least to one a day. I wouldn’t be a very effective hunter if I was exhausted, so we planned on meeting again tomorrow after school.
“Are you okay with all this?” I finally asked once Chance and I were in his truck headed home. I got the impression from his tense demeanor that he was having trouble dealing with seeing me embrace my vampire side. But I wasn’t embracing it—not really. I was simply learning to live with it, but only for the time being. I still fully planned on killing it the first chance I got.
“No,” he answered honestly. “But I know it’s what you want, and I’m going to support you.” He kept pulling his eyes off the road—and it was slick with the sudden wintry mix. I could sense his sincerity, which made me feel both safe and uncomfortable. I still didn’t trust him completely, though that was wearing thin with each passing day. I hated that the choices I was making were hurting him, but I had to make them. The end goal was something we both wanted, and this was the only way to get there.
“I’m going to be fine,” I said, trying to sound promising. He didn’t look at me, keeping his e
yes focused on the road, but a tiny smile crossed his face. I knew he didn’t believe me. I also knew that he would do whatever it took—even risking his own life—to make sure nothing bad happened to me. Knowing that made me crazy.
We made it into town just as the storm intensified. Thick, fast sheets of cold, icy rain pelted the windshield of Chance’s truck, making it nearly impossible for him to see. I could tell he was paranoid of sliding off the road and into the deep ravine looming beside us, so I offered to drive.
“I can see through this, you know?” I added after he politely refused to let me behind the wheel. “One of the perks.” I didn’t add “of being a vampire”; I knew he hated that word.
“I’m good,” he said, his large hands in a death grip on the wheel. “I think I can handle a little rain.” I detected a note of hurt pride in his voice.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just thought I’d offer.” Chance didn’t respond, so we drove through town in silence, something the two of us seemed to do very well. I turned my attention to the tiny shops and cafes slowly passing by, watching people dart from their cars to the cloth awnings jutting out from the sides of the buildings, hoping to not get too wet. I found it relaxing focusing on such a human characteristic. It was also relaxing not being able to smell every single person’s blood thanks to the rain masking the scents. It gave me a much-needed reprieve. Getting lost in the mundane lives of everyday people helped push the ever-present darkness within me a bit farther away from the surface, but no matter how much people-watching I did, or how many trivial things I focused on, nothing could distinguish the ever-growing fire I felt boiling inside me. I knew my vampire side was growing stronger, and I had a bad feeling that I was going to be powerless to stop it.
“Are you hungry?” Chance’s question pulled my eyes from the drenched town outside my window. “I doubt my mom cooked.” He smiled as he spoke, apparently used to having very few home-cooked meals at his house.
“I can always eat.” He laughed at that, and the tension that had been building between us disappeared, replaced by warmth and comfort. When we weren’t playing the Quiet Game, we worked well together. I had no past relationships to compare ours to—well, none I could remember—but I felt our forced friendship was growing strong. And I was grateful that he had been there that night in the cemetery—that he had been the one who saved me.
Chance pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Kelly’s, apparently the only eatery deemed “fine dining” by the locals—at least according to the sign out front. I felt my stomach tighten as we parked and sprinted through the sleety rain to the door, fearful of the blood scents I just knew were waiting to invade my senses again once I was inside.
The heat in the diner was thick and hung heavy on the air. Even though I was half vampire, I still noticed my body kick into overdrive to cycle the stagnant air through my lungs. I had barely felt the bitter cold outside—one of the new things about me I actually liked—but I thought having the heater and fireplace simultaneously going was overkill. I made sure we got a table away from the roaring flames at the back of the room. When the waitress seated us I immediately flipped open the menu to the beef section. I found the All-American Burger with fries, and when she asked if we were ready to order I couldn’t answer fast enough.
“Easy there, speedy. They’re not gonna kick us out.” Chance laughed as he spoke, something that I had come to enjoy hearing. His personality and charm were infectious when he laughed. The sound of it made me want to be around him always.
“Funny,” I threw back, mock anger on my face. I smiled at him, totally enjoying the normalcy of the moment. Of course, nothing good in my life seemed to last very long. Just as I caught sight of Chance’s eyes, soft and warm and carefree, I also caught sight of something much less desired coming in my direction: Kayla.
I gave Chance a ‘behind you’ nod with my eyes. He glanced over his shoulder just as she approached our table. I stole a quick peek in the direction she came; a woman not much older than Kayla herself was staring at us from a table near the fireplace. I figured it was Kayla’s mom, which I found reassuring. Serial killers or stalkers didn’t typically have dinner with their moms. Or so I hoped.
“Hey Kayla,” I said as politely as possible. She smiled, shifting her feet uncomfortably as she stood next to our table. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she murmured. “Just saw you guys sitting over here and thought I’d come say hi.” She looked more like a child at that moment than she ever had. I smiled across the table at Chance, who didn’t look too happy she was there.
“Hey,” Chance said, not looking up at her. Kayla didn’t seem to notice his sour attitude, though. The chipper look on her face didn’t waver.
“So I thought that maybe since you guys were already here, and I’m here too, that we could talk now, instead of waiting until tomorrow.” Kayla managed to keep her face neutral when she spoke, but I knew that she was super nervous. I could smell it in her blood. I looked again at Chance, who surprised me with the look on his face. He agreed with her.
“Sounds good,” he said, snagging a chair from the empty table behind us and pulling it up to our table. I cut my eyes at him and he flashed a smirk. I knew he had wanted to get this conversation over with back at school earlier, so he was obviously more than happy to do it now. Kayla smiled and waved back to her mom before circling the table and taking a seat. I watched her mom turn her attention to the giant flat screen TV hanging in the corner of the room.
“So, have you guys thought about including me in your vampire killing club?” Even though Kayla spoke softly, I went into a panic in fear of someone overhearing her. I held my breath and scanned every face in the room, exhaling only after I realized the other patrons were too busy with their own conversations or the sporting event on the TV to even notice us.
“Maybe we could leave that word out of the conversation?” I said, hoping she knew which word I meant.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Kayla whispered back with an apologetic smile.
“If we tell you everything, you have to promise to die before telling anyone about Ava.” Chance and I hadn’t even discussed Kayla—and whether we both wanted her to know what was going on—so I was a bit surprised with his sudden change of heart. He spoke softly as well, but there was much more conviction in his voice than in Kayla’s. Thankfully she picked up on the seriousness of his tone.
“Absolutely,” she replied. “I have no intention of telling anyone any of the stuff you guys tell me.”
“Not even your mom?” I asked, glancing over at the lady at Kayla’s table still engrossed in the TV and her meal. “Are you two close?”
“Yeah,” Kayla admitted. “And normally I tell her everything. But no way am I telling her any of this. Not that she would believe me anyway.” She picked up the water sitting in front of her and took a giant gulp. I refrained from telling her that it was mine; she obviously needed it more than me. “If you hadn’t done what you did, I probably wouldn’t believe it, either.” I didn’t know if she was talking about me showing my fangs during lunch today or when I intentionally flashed them for her after she confronted me. Either way, I knew what she meant.
“Whether you believe us or not doesn’t matter,” Chance interjected. “All that matters is you keeping your mouth shut.” The anger he felt toward Kayla earlier was showing itself again. I glared across the table at him and he lowered his eyes, playing with the straw in his soda.
“Got it,” Kayla said with confidence. “And I know neither of you know me, but I’m not a liar. If I say something, I mean it. And I mean that I won’t tell anyone. No matter what might happen to me.” I doubted she really knew what could possibly happen to her, but I didn’t want to be the one to fill her in. I didn’t plan on letting her get anywhere near another vampire anyway, or any other situation where her life might be in danger.
“What do you think?” I asked Chance, staring across the table at him. Before he had time to answe
r, our server showed up with two burgers and fries. I watched Chance drown his burger in mustard, holding my gag reflex in check. Just the thought of eating mustard—especially that much mustard—was gross. And yet the thought of drinking human blood was starting to grow on me. Ugh, I was so messed up.
“I’m leaving it up to you.” Chance finally answered my question after taking a bite of his burger. I saw honesty in his eyes, and even though I somehow knew I would regret it, I gave in and told Kayla what she had been waiting to hear.
“Okay,” I began, looking over at her watching us eat. “You’re in.” It sounded like the CIA or something. Kayla practically squealed with excitement. “But if I get even the tiniest inkling that you’re not telling me something you might know, or that you’re going back to your mom or your friends and filling them in on the resident vampire, you’re out.” I hoped the seriousness in my voice and on my face was getting my point across. Kayla stared at me a moment before standing up, her entire demeanor suddenly different, darker somehow.
“I already told you not to worry about my mom,” she said, stepping back around the table. “And as far as friends go, that won’t be a problem, either. Other than you guys, I’m kind of all alone.” She turned and crossed the dining room, taking her seat across from her mom. I felt a little sad for her. Being new here, too, I got how she felt about not having any friends. At least I had Chance. Maybe being friends with her wouldn’t be so bad. I watched her pick at her food and fake a smile every now and then when her mom said something meant to be funny. I couldn’t help but feel that Kayla was looking forward to hanging out with a vampire more than I had thought.
“Okay,” I said after downing half my burger, “we need to talk.” I did my best to sound pleasant, hoping Chance would finally give in and tell me what he had been hiding.
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