I kept thinking about the ice melting beneath my feet and the soles of my shoes touching the earth beneath it. My feet felt like they were on fire.
“Chloe…”
I heard my name, but I didn’t stop because I didn’t want to give him the chance to pass me again. I had the lead.
“Chloe!” He called again. “Stop!”
I skidded to a halt when his shout carried that tone I had come to know as warning. I turned to face him. “What? What is it?”
He only pointed. I looked down at my feet and there were small flames flickering around my shoes.
“What the—” I jumped back and shook one of my feet. “Ah, what is this?” I turned quickly and stuck my foot into one of the snow banks on the side of the trail. Nothing happened; the flames only melted a gigantic hole where I had plunged it into the bank.
“Stop it!” I screamed, shaking my foot again. The flames immediately went out on both shoes.
“Oh, my god. What was that?” I panted and looked up at Drew, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring down the trail that we had just run.
I followed his gaze and saw why he was staring down the trail like an idiot. The path was clear. Where I had run, the snow was gone and the earth beneath had been exposed.
“Drew, how…wha…?”
“You melted the snow, Chloe.”
“No! My shoes were on fire!” I hollered at him. “My. Shoes. Were. On. Fire!” I punctuated every word to make sure he heard me.
He turned to look at me and awe was clearly written across his face. “I think you have the gift of fire.”
“Whatever. I’m not even sixteen yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. How else can you explain what just happened? What were you thinking about?”
I was still panting, not because I was tired, but because I was scared. My freaking feet had caught fire. “That the ice would melt. That I hated running in the snow.”
He nodded knowingly. “See, it’s your gift.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s some kind of freak accident.”
“Can you do it again?”
“I don’t think so.” More like I didn’t want to try again.
“Come on, try again.” He glanced all around us, looking for something. Finally, his eyes settled on a tree. “If you don’t want to set your shoes on fire again, do that tree.”
“Drew, I am not setting fire to a tree.”
“Come on.” He was practically begging. I couldn’t stand seeing him look like that. He was usually so confident and had this whole ‘whatever, I’m just gonna stand here and look awesome’ attitude going on.
“Fine.”
I thought he might jump up and down, he looked so excited. I adjusted my stance so that I was staring at the tree, squinted my eyes, and thought about it catching fire. Nothing happened.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this. It’s not working.” I told him.
He stared thoughtfully at the tree. “I think you just need to practice. Think about how you were feeling at the time.”
“Drew, I’m done with this. I just want to go home.”
“Chloe.”
“I can’t do it. Why don’t you understand that?” I stomped my foot and flung my hand toward the tree. “I can’t make the stupid tree catch fire.”
With a ripping sound, several branches of the tree burst forth sparks and erupted into large flickering flames. Both Drew and I stood with our mouths open. My arm was still extended while we watched the flames crawl along the branches until they reached the tips. I lowered my hand and looked at Drew, who must have felt quite proud of himself, because his open mouth was replaced by a gargantuan sized grin.
“Knock it off,” I told him.
“Chloe… Do you know what this means?”
“Yeah, it means I’m more of a freak than I already was.”
I didn’t want fire. I didn’t want a gift I couldn’t control. In the course of twenty minutes, I had set my shoes on fire and made a tree go up in flames without even trying.
“I’m going home.” I swiveled and marched off down the trail.
Drew chased after me. “This isn’t bad, Chloe! You can learn how to control this. You’re going to have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“Why are you fighting this? This could be the one thing that helps you get what you want most! If you want to kill Trevor, fire is an ultimate weapon, especially if he doesn’t see it coming.”
I stopped in my tracks. He was right, absolutely, perfectly right. I could blow Trevor right off the face of the planet if I wanted to.
As if reading my thoughts, Drew said “But you have to learn how to use it first.”
I nodded. “Yes, I do.”
Once we got home, I stormed up the stairs and into my room. I wanted to get a shower and change so I could go to the library. I wanted to do as much research as I could, and when I had school, I didn’t have much time to go the library. Between training, school and hygiene, I didn’t have much time for anything.
Drew said we would work on honing my new firepower after he got back from the mission. That left me all day to ponder the visit from Sostrate, not to mention setting stuff on fire. Instead of worrying about that stuff, I headed out to the library.
Of all the places in the community, the place I loved most, besides Luke’s house, was the library. It was so quiet there, and the air inside was always perfect. It smelled like history. I entered the two-story stone building and greeted the librarian. “Hi, Linda.”
She sat behind the counter and organized a cart full of books into piles. “Oh, hello, Chloe. What are you looking for today?”
She pushed back her chair and smoothed back her hair while she stood. Her glasses sat somewhat crooked on her nose. She looked sort of flustered.
I shifted my book bag to the other shoulder. “I want to look up vampire children today. I thought I’d just start with the computer.”
She waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “No, you never know where that information is coming from. Yeah, it can be helpful, but the books are better.”
I should have expected nothing less from Linda. “Okay. Well, point me in the right direction.”
She smiled and beckoned me to follow her. “Down this way.”
We went to the old section where I’d found all the books on vampire hunter history, but several rows over.
“Do you know what the child of a vampire and a mortal is called, Chloe?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“A child created by a vampire and a human is called a dhampir.” We stopped at a shelf with big, thick books.
“Chloe, you may have a harder time looking up vampires than you did vampire hunters.”
I raised my eyebrows in question, but remained silent.
She continued with, “There are many different kinds of vampires. The vampire legends range from the most common, the European vampires, to the rarest vampires, like the bat vampires from Africa and South America.”
She lifted a book and hefted it over to me. “I know that you are looking for stuff about being a dhampir, so we can start there.” She grabbed another book off the shelf and plunked it on top of the one I was already holding. “But when you start researching vampire breeds and histories, you will have a lot of work ahead of you.”
She pulled another leather bound monster book off the shelf and held it in her arms.
“This should do it for now,” Linda said.
We hauled the books over to the tables and deposited them onto the wooden surface.
“All right, then.” Linda pushed her glasses farther up onto the bridge of her nose. “I’ll let you get to it then. Come find me if you need any help.”
“Thank you, Linda,” I told her. I pulled a chair out to sit while she wandered back through the stacks of books that led back to her desk.
I took the first book off the stack and examined the cover. It was titled Vampires throughout H
istory. The cover was leather and so old it was stiff and cracked in spots. The pages showed signs of age too, yellowing and stiff to the touch. There was no table of contents, so it looked like I was going to have to scan the entire book for what I was wanting. I flipped the pages carefully, so as not to tear any of them.
After an hour of scanning and about half way through the book, I found something referring to vampire children.
~~~
Although extremely rare, the natural-born offspring of vampires exist throughout the world. These rare beings are called the dhampir. Dhampir are usually the product of a vampire and mortal. The most common of these unions is a male vampire impregnating a mortal woman. Vampires, both male and female, are seductive in nature and some mortals came willingly to these unions. However, the majority of dhampir born were produced through an act of rape.
Solitary by nature, it is uncommon for a vampire to settle with any one mate for long. The children of vampires, the dhampir, more often than not exhibit all the characteristics of their vampire parent. The strength, speed and agility are the usual hereditary traits that the children develop. They are not always born with these traits but develop them as they grow into adulthood.
The dhampir are day walkers. Some of these children are sensitive to the sunlight but will not perish in the direct rays. Most have no sensitivity at all. Drinking the fresh blood of mortals is also not usually required of the dhampir; however, some have a liking for it. Very few actually need it to survive.
Most dhampir are rejected by the vampire species because of their mortality and weaknesses. Mortals often reject the dhampir, as well, due to their vampirism, so they frequently remain outcast.
Dhampir are known for becoming vampire killers. Their closeness to the vampires and their vampire characteristics make them powerful vampire hunters. The unique ability to track and kill vampires is specific to only the dhampir and the mythological race of vampire hunters.
Historically, dhampir became vampire hunters as a trade. Towns and villages became plagued by vampires who were terrorizing their homes and killing their people. The dhampir accepted contracts in exchange for monetary payment and used their likeness to their vampire counterparts to exterminate the vampires.
~~~
Holy crap, that was a lot to process. The more I read the passages, the more I understood that my being a hunter was more than my heritage; it was my history and my future. Everything about my bloodlines had hunters involved.
I slammed the book shut, not happy about the realization or any of the information the book had given me. Opening another book and scanning, I found a lot of the same information, only there was some new stuff about the legends of the dhampir originating in the Balkans. Apparently, in these histories of vampires, dhampirs were considered real, whereas a race of vampire hunters was considered mythological. To me, that sounded weird.
I spent the entire day reading through the books and taking notes. My hand began to hurt from all the writing I did. It was almost dinnertime when I realized how long I had been gone. So I packed my stuff, returned the books to their places and headed out.
“See you later, Linda, and thanks for your help.”
“Anytime, Chloe.” She waved as I passed the desk.
I couldn’t wait for Drew to get home so I could tell him all of this. I had to tell Luke, too. I’d rather tell them both at the same time than have to repeat all the information.
The sidewalks were so icy that I couldn’t walk on them. I stepped down onto the road and walked in the accumulated snow. It was slushy and brown from the passing cars. I was concentrating so hard on my footing, that I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me.
“Chloe, wait up!”
My head snapped up, and I spun around. Well I tried to spin around, but, my foot stuck in the snow and the rest of my body tried to turn. Just as I saw Gavin Turner rushing toward me, I fell butt first into the slushy, dirty snow.
His hand was stretched out in front of me. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for you to fall.”
I grasped his hand, and he yanked me up out of the snow with ease. I could not believe this was happening. Gavin was one of the more popular guys at school, and I didn’t see him that often because he was a senior. I did see him enough to gawk at him and his dark-haired, green-eyed hotness from afar. Falling in front of him was complete agony.
I brushed at my soaked jeans. “Oh, no.”
“Are you okay?” he asked me, taking my bag from me so I could use both hands to uselessly brush at my clothes.
“Yeah, I’m all right. I guess I was just off in space, and you scared me a little. I didn’t hear you coming up behind me.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I do have a tendency to walk lightly. It’s a hunter trait.”
“Well, I don’t have it.” I told him. There was an awkward silence. We both stood there, facing each other without saying anything. Finally I asked, “Were you calling me for a reason?”
“Oh, yeah,” He handed me back my bag. “I was just wondering if you wanted to… uh, if you would like to come to the New Year’s Bash with me?”
Stupid took over my personality altogether. “Like a date?”
“Yeah, like a date.” He grinned.
The New Year’s Bash was a big deal in town. Drew had told me everyone in town always attended, and the dress was formal. And a formal occasion meant having to find a formal dress. “I’d love to go with you!” exploded past my lips. I wanted to sink into the ground. Why couldn’t I have said something cool like, ‘Sure’ with a dainty hair flip, and then called out ‘Pick me up at seven.’ No, I just wasn’t that good. I was a clumsy kid whose crush had just asked her out.
“Okay, how 'bout I pick you up at seven, then?”
I giggled. How ironic. “Seven sounds great. If you don’t mind, I really need to get home and change before I get sick from being in these wet clothes.”
“Oh, I’m really sorry about that.”
I had already started to walk away. I just wanted to get away from him before I said anything else I’d regret.
“I’ll see you soon.” I called out and started to fast-walk through the slush.
“Hey, Luke,” I called when I opened the door.
I heard his raspy voice holler from the kitchen, “In here.”
I pulled off my boots and peeled off my socks and then went into the kitchen where I found him preparing steaks, seasoned rice and a big green salad. Everyone in the community was a health food addict, but I was so glad they still ate meat. I didn’t know what I would have done if I’d had to go vegetarian.
“Let me go change my clothes real quick, and I’ll come and help you with dinner.”
Wondering why I would want to change my clothes, he glanced over at me. “What happened?”
“I fell, walking home from the library.”
His gray hair bobbed and he nodded. It wasn’t unlike me to do something like fall down while I was walking home. I ran upstairs and quickly threw on a different pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that said ‘Whatever’ on the front. I hurried down to help Luke. When I arrived, he was just putting on the steaks.
“Will you get the plates and silverware out and set the table, please?”
“Sure,” I nodded. “Hey, Luke?”
"Humm?"
I pulled plates out of the cupboard. “Could you not cook my steak too much? It tastes funny to me when it’s well done.”
“Rare it is,” he told me as he flipped the meat.
Just then, the front door opened and closed. Drew.
I ran to the kitchen door and peeked out. It was him. “Hey, I thought you were going on a mission tonight?”
“We will. We leave in about four hours.” He threw his bags on the ground by the door. “What’s for dinner?”
“Luke is making steaks,” I told him and went back to setting the table. Drew had followed me into the kitchen.
“Drew,” Luke looked over his shoulder, “I’m glad you’re here. Is the
mission planning going well?”
“Yeah.” Drew pulled out the chair at his spot, and I set silverware and a napkin in front of him.
“You should wash your hands,” I told him, eyeballing his fingernails. Dirt was caked underneath them and had been ground right into his fingertips. He rolled his eyes and got up, but only headed to the sink after I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.
After all three of us were seated and the food was on the table, Luke cut into his meat.
“How are you two doing today? I haven’t seen either of you all day.”
Both Drew and I glanced at each other. We knew we had to tell him everything, including the appearance of Sostrate. I didn’t want him to think we were crazy. I’m pretty sure Drew was thinking the same thing, but we had to tell him.
“Well, it’s actually been pretty eventful since last night.” I grabbed the salad dressing and doused my salad with it. “We went to the cemetery last night, to see my mom.”
Luke swallowed a piece of his steak. “I was wondering when you were going to want to do that. I’m glad you went. Drew did take you, right?”
“Yeah, and I’m glad he did.”
“Why is that?”
Again I looked at Drew and gave him a pleading look to explain it to Luke. He knew Luke better than I did, anyway. I was so afraid he was going to think I was nuts.
Thank god, he acknowledged the plea and cleared his throat. “We saw Sostrate, in the cemetery last night.”
Luke immediately paused his chewing, raised his eyebrows, and then proceeded to finish chewing. “So the warrior woman showed herself to you?”
We both nodded.
“And she spoke to you?”
“Yes, and she gave me a present.” I cut into my meat and forked a big piece of it.
“Chloe! That’s gross!” Drew pointed at my steak.
I looked down. “What?”
I didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“It’s bleeding all over.”
“Well, I like it this way. Okay? Leave me alone about it.” I shoved the steak into my mouth and chewed.
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