by Jayme Morse
Professor Fleur nodded at her understandingly, the long ponytail that he wore bobbing with his head. “I do feel his pain. You see, my life partner, Ricardo . . . He created me, too. He died a few years ago, and I was simply devastated.” He paused. “It is a very special thing—a certain bond—we have with our creators. But I’m sure that you are wise enough to understand that by now.”
Rhonda nodded. “I do. And because of that connection, I feel his pain, so I want to be there for him. That’s why I haven’t been around much lately.”
“I understand that,” Professor Fleur replied. More hesitantly, he added, “But, Rhonda, dare I say that I hope you are able to attend class more in the future because I believe you can do great things?”
“What do you mean?” Rhonda questioned. Did Professor Fleur know about the mind-control she had over other vampires and, even more so, over humans? She hadn’t been around the man more than a few times and as far as she could remember, she hadn’t used mind-control around him at all. It seemed unlikely that he knew her secret. Unless he had the ability to read minds . . .
“I mean, it is not very often that I see a student here at Huntington who I believe is capable of doing remarkable things. We’ve had a few vampire hunters who have gone on to kill vampires in large numbers, but none of them have killed the most powerful ones. You are one of the two vampire hunters in training who I’ve had the opportunity to teach in recent times who I feel is capable of extraordinary things.”
“Who’s the other hunter in training?” Rhonda questioned, mostly out of curiosity, but also because part of her wondered if the other vampire hunter he was talking about was Gabe. She liked to believe that her creator was a powerful vampire and that, together, they would be able to take on the world.
“The other hunter is on her way over here right now,” Professor Fleur said, pointing his chin in the other direction.
Glancing over her shoulder, Rhonda turned to see two blonde-haired people strolling into the gymnasium, hand-in-hand, smiles on their faces. Two people who she saw often because the dorm room that they shared was right next to her own.
Rhonda turned back to Professor Fleur. “Lexi Hunter?”
He nodded. “Oui. She is a Hunter, so it is only natural that she should be very powerful.”
Rhonda stared back at Lexi, who didn’t seem to notice that she was there because she was so deeply involved in a conversation that she was having with Dan Nichols, the guy who Rhonda had tried, but failed, to seduce.
Even though Gabe no longer had a chance with Lexi, Rhonda knew that, deep down, he still wanted one. There had been a few times when Rhonda and Gabe had walked past Lexi in the hallway, and he had frozen in place, enchanted by just the sight of her.
It made Rhonda wonder if, in Gabe’s eyes, she would ever live up to being as good as Lexi had been for him. As of right now, it didn’t seem like it. Rhonda might be able to trick his mind into believing that she was the right one for him, but somewhere, deep inside his heart, he was always going to have feelings for Lexi. That was probably why he had been acting so mopey lately.
Rhonda wondered what she could do to change that. And then it hit her. She knew what she had to do to make Gabe stop worrying so much about Lexi and start focusing on what really mattered: his relationship with Rhonda.
She had to get him as far away from Lexi as she possibly could, at least long enough for him to realize that he had feelings for Rhonda instead.
Chapter 3
Anna Lancefield paced back and forth in the Headmaster’s office at Huntington High, waiting for him to arrive. Even though she had been going to the school for a whole year now, she had never actually met the Headmaster, Chris Morton. When she’d applied to the school and ever since then, he had been off hunting down vampires of his own. It was surprising that Anna had managed to make an appointment with him now.
While she waited, Anna stared at the Thomas Kinkade paintings that lined the ivory-painted walls. The paintings all featured his signature winter scenes, complete with powdery snow and lights that glowed from the cabins and cottages that were nestled between the pine trees.
As hard as Anna tried not to look at the painting, as much as she tried to ignore them, the more she felt herself drawn to them. The fact that Thomas Kinkade’s beautiful artworks were featured in the Headmaster’s office probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference to any other student at Huntington High, but it mattered to Anna.
Thomas Kinkade had been her mother’s favorite artist.
Anna’s mom had loved the simplicity of Thomas Kinkade’s paintings, the fact that—unlike many other artists—there never seemed to be a dual meaning behind his artwork. What you see is what you get, her mom had always said.
When her mother had been killed, Anna had taken down all of the Thomas Kinkade paintings that hung in their foyer. She’d stuffed in a box that she hoped would never see the light of day again. She’d even toyed with the idea of selling them in a yard sale or disposing of them in some other sort of way, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do so.
That was before Anna came to Huntington. It was long before she’d even heard of Huntington. The way in which she’d heard of the school was strange in and of itself.
Anna had never believed in vampires before. When Anna’s mom had been killed—a gash to the throat, the police had said—Anna had thought it was the work of a sick, twisted serial killer who was obsessed with slitting women’s throats. It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when the package had arrived on her front doorstep that she’d realized that vampires had been involved. Until the package had arrived, Anna hadn’t even known that vampires even existed . . .
At that moment, the office door swung open and a dark-haired woman came into the room. She was tall—she loomed over Anna by a good foot—and as she looked over at her, the woman cleared her throat. “Anna? Please have a seat.”
As the woman sat down at the desk, Anna plopped down into the leather chair across from her. “Was Headmaster Morton unable to make it today?” Anna asked, surprised to see a woman standing in front of her instead of him.
The woman laughed. “I am Chris Morton, Anna.”
Anna held in the gasp that formed in the back of her throat. Chris Morton was a woman? She hadn’t been expecting that. “I-I’m so sorry, Headmaster Morton. I didn’t realize—” she started to apologize.
Chris Morton’s glossy lips tilted upwards. “Please, Anna. Don’t even worry about it. Most of the students who go here and who’ve never met me usually assume I’m a man because of my name. ‘Chris’ is short for Christina. I no longer go by that name because of . . . well, reasons,” she explained, obviously changing her mind about going into the details of why. She folded her hands on the desk in front of her. “Anyway, you requested to speak with me?”
Anna nodded and nervously twirled a lock of pink highlighted hair around her finger. “Yes, um, the reason I came here—to Huntington—was because my mother was killed by a vampire,” she began to say.
Chris Morton nodded knowingly. “Yes, I am aware of that. It’s all in your file.”
“Oh.” Anna was surprised that Chris Morton had even had the time to glance at her file, considering she was such a busy woman. “I’ve recently received a tip about the vampire who killed my mother. Well, it was sort of a tip, I guess you could say. Someone sent me a letter from Briar Creek telling me that if I meet them in Ohio, they’ll provide me with more information about who killed my mother. Anyway, I was just wondering if I could have permission to go to Ohio and then pursue this vampire if the tip turns out to be a valuable one without losing my place at Huntington.”
Chris tapped her finger against her chin hesitantly. “What makes you think this isn’t some sort of setup?”
Anna shrugged. “I . . . I don’t know, honestly. It could be, but I have a feeling this might lead to something.” She paused before adding, “I have a feeling this could lead me to the information that I’ve been looking
for all along. I don’t want to risk missing out on it.”
Chris stared Anna for a few moments before sighing. “Even though I’m not one hundred percent convinced that this is the best idea, I’m not going to be the one to tell you not to go for this. I know this is the whole reason you came to Huntington, and I fully understand how important it is for you to find your mother’s killer.” She hesitated. “I would offer to accompany you, but I’ve already committed to other obligations. Do you have anyone else who would be able to come with you for this mission? I always encourage students to have at least one other hunter join them—especially for their first mission.”
“My boyfriend will come with me,” Anna blurted out. Even though she knew that Austin would be willing to come with her, the truth was, she was volunteering him because she didn’t want to be away from him for any length of time. Just thinking about being away from him while she went to Ohio made her feel an intense longing deep inside her heart; there was no way they could be apart for that long.
Chris Morton nodded and gave her a small smile. “I’m glad to hear that he’ll be willing to accompany you, and the fact of that matter is, that’s probably a good idea. No one is more protective over us than someone we love. But there is a problem with him going with you.”
“What?” Anna questioned, a knot forming in her stomach. Was the Headmaster going to tell her that she couldn’t bring Austin with her? Maybe Chris Morton was one of those vampires who didn’t believe that men made good vampire hunters. A lot of vampires only believed that women were good at hunting—or anything else in life—due to their seductive nature.
Chris Morton laughed. “No, I don’t think men are bad fits for hunting, Anna. There are many men who have gone on to be successful vampire hunters.”
Anna held in the gasp that she wanted to let out. Had she said her thoughts aloud without even realizing it?
Chris laughed again. “No, you didn’t say anything out loud. Being able to read minds is one of my abilities. Anyway, what I was going to say is that the problem I see about your boyfriend going with you is that it’s easy to become distracted. You’ll want to be aware of your surroundings at all times, but that might be harder for you to do when you have a love interest along for the ride.”
“I understand,” Anna replied. “So, are you saying that he shouldn’t come?” She knew that the disappointment at the idea had to be obvious from the tone in her voice.
“No, I’m not saying that . . . per se. I do think it would be beneficial for you to bring another hunter along with the two of you—someone who will be able to act as a referee for any type of distractions you might encounter.”
“I can bring Lexi,” Anna blurted, instantly feeling a tad bit guilty. Even though she was positive that Lexi would be up for the trip, it still would have been more polite to do the right thing and ask if she wanted to come, rather than just volunteering her.
“Lexi Hunter?” Chris Morton’s golden brown eyes lit up with a look of interest.
Anna nodded. “Yes, Lexi is my boyfriend Austin’s cousin.”
“That’s fascinating. I’ve heard many good things about Lexi from Professor Fleur. He believes her to be one of the most talented students he’s ever taught,” Chris commented. Tapping her fingers on the hardwood desk, she added, “He also thinks very highly of a new student here named Rhonda. I’m sorry to admit that I haven’t had the opportunity to be introduced to either of these students yet. I simply haven’t had the time.”
Ick, Rhonda, Anna thought, trying not to roll her eyes. Did she want to tell Headmaster Morton the truth about Rhonda, or should she just let it slide? Even though she hadn’t gotten to spend that much time around Rhonda and Gabe lately, it was still obvious to Anna what Rhonda was doing to him.
When Anna glanced back up at Chris Morton, the look on the Headmaster’s face told her that she had been listening in on her thoughts again.
“I’m sorry, Anna. I don’t mean to listen, but I can’t really control it. If there’s something you feel I need to know about Rhonda, I would really appreciate it if you would tell me.”
Sighing, Anna explained, “I think Rhonda has been using mind-control over Gabe.”
The Headmaster’s eyes widened. “What makes you think that?”
“He does things lately that are really out of character for him. Rhonda has been forcing him to do whatever she wants.” Hesitantly, she added, “It’s really starting to scare me.”
“What do you believe her motivations for doing this are?” Chris asked.
Anna shrugged. “I think she’s in love with him, personally. But it’s some sort of sick, twisted love. She wants Gabe all to herself, and she feels threatened by Lexi.” When Chris raised her eyebrows, Anna explained, “Gabe’s in love with Lexi. Even though he hasn’t been acting like it much lately, I know he still is.”
“Hmm. Well, thank you for sharing this with me, Anna. As I’m sure you’re already aware from your studies, vampires who are able to use mind-control are known to go on to be some of the most powerful—and often, the most evil—vampires in existence.”
Anna nodded. “Yes, I am aware of that. I’ve also been noticing Rhonda’s physical transformation as well.”
“Oh?” Headmaster Morton raised her eyebrows in interest.
“I know you’ve never seen her yet, but . . . Rhonda is very beautiful. The thing is, when I first met her, she wasn’t that pretty. I mean, Gabe had already changed her, so she was pretty . . . It’s just that she wasn’t quite as stunning as she is now.”
“That is a one of the very first signs of mind-control. The reason is because vampires who use mind-control allow you to see them the way they want you to. So, while her appearance may not have actually changed, it changes to everyone around them. Well, everyone who they want to view them as more beautiful,” Chris Morton murmured. Sighing, she asked, “And you say this Gabe, the one who you believe she has mental control of, is the vampire who turned her?”
“Yeah, he is,” Anna replied. When she saw the look of concern on the Headmaster’s face, she quickly added, “Please don’t hold it against Gabe for turning her. You see, he gets these visions—he can predict the future. When he gets them, though, they drain him and he has to drink from someone. He accidentally drank too much from Rhonda, so instead of letting her die, he did what he thought was the kinder thing and changed her.”
Headmaster Morton nodded. “I can understand why he would try to save her. It must not have been an easy decision for him to make, to let her live or die. It’s the same decision the vampire who created me needed to make.”
“I didn’t know you were a vampire,” Anna replied quietly. No one ever spoke too much about Huntington High’s Headmaster, so Chris Morton was pretty much a mystery. Anna had assumed that, like some of the other professors at Huntington, the Headmaster was strictly a vampire hunter.
“Well, I was a vampire hunter before I was changed,” Chris Morton explained. “I was staying a little too close in radius to a high number of vampires in Italy on a vampire hunting exhibition. There was a vampire named Maldano there and he was really hungry, and well . . . you can guess the rest of the story.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Anna said softly. It often occurred to her that if she continued on her chosen path as a vampire hunter, she would be put in similar situations. And, the truth was, she really enjoyed being a human lately. She was actually beginning to wonder if she ever wanted to become a vampire.
“Anyway,” Headmaster Morton said, rising to her feet. “I really do need to be going. I have a few other things I need to take care of before I leave the school again. I do want to give you my number, though.” She pulled a business card off her desk and handed it to Anna. “If something unexpected should happen to you while you’re in Ohio, please don’t hesitate to call me. Where in Ohio is it that you’re going to be meeting this other vampire at?”
“A town called Anders. It’s about a half hour away from Cincinn
ati.”
“When will you be leaving?”
“I’m planning to leave tonight. Sometime around eight o’clock,” Anna replied. “As long as I can get Austin and Lexi—and probably her boyfriend, Dan—on board and ready to go.”
Headmaster Morton nodded. “Well, I hope this visit brings you one step closer to finding the vampire who killed your mother. Please do be careful, though, Anna.”
“I will. Thanks,” Anna said, leaving the Headmaster standing in her office. On the way out, she glanced at one of the Thomas Kinkade paintings again.
Suddenly, Anna felt good about her visit to Ohio. The paintings on the wall were a sign that her mother was watching, encouraging Anna to avenge her death.
Chapter 4
Rhonda held her breath as she watched Anna walk past her, taking her time to glance over her shoulder at the paintings on the wall in Headmaster Morton’s office. Once Anna was down the hall that led to the dorm rooms, Rhonda allowed herself to breathe normally again.
Rhonda had been across the hallway in the girls’ bathroom, just to get away from her Stakeology class. There were so many students in there—so many human students—that she could barely control herself. They all smelled so delicious, and Rhonda was so hungry. It had only been a day since she had drank from one of the boys in his dorm room, but it didn’t matter. Rhonda was always hungry lately.
Right now, her hunger didn’t matter, though. The only thing she could think about was what she had just overheard Anna telling the Headmaster on her way back from the bathroom. When Rhonda had heard her name, she’d crept down behind a plush recliner outside the office and listened to the rest of their conversation.
The Headmaster was now onto Rhonda and the control she had over Gabe . . . all because Anna had opened her bitchy mouth. Rhonda found herself growing angry just thinking about what Lexi’s friend had done. How could Anna think it was okay for her to give away her secrets without there being any consequences?