ReVamped
Page 19
On the other side of the room, Brooke perched on Seth’s shoulders in what looked like a two-person cheerleading pyramid. Their limbs entwined, they became a unique battle machine. Seth, the big and robust base of the combat robot, used his hands to hold the rogue vamps still, his large frame supporting Brooke while she kicked each of the vampires square in the head. Together, the duo took out three assailants in a row.
Suddenly, Amelia gasped. I followed her gaze, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach. Viktor held Ethan tightly against the wall, clutching his throat with one hand. In the other hand, he gripped his sharp dagger, preparing to strike.
I need to stop him! I thought, alarmed, as Viktor started to swing at Ethan. At that precise moment, Sebastian caught a hold of Viktor’s disfigured arm, preventing the blade from making contact with Ethan. Viktor grimaced, swinging Ethan into Sebastian, sending them both tumbling right under the vent.
“Ethan!” Amelia yelled, pounding on the grate. The metal below us gave way, plunging Amelia directly on top of Ethan and Sebastian. Sebastian’s gaze shot up toward the vent, relief flooding his face at the sight of me. As Amelia pulled Ethan out of the line of fire, I hopped down to join the fight.
Together, Sebastian and I charged at Viktor, attacking with all our might. He was stronger than he had been when I fought him earlier in the day. The bright red smears on his fully-extended fangs indicated that he had recently fed on fresh human blood. Just as Sebastian and I began to gain momentum against him, Brooke screamed. Two rogue vamps had pulled her off of Seth’s shoulders and were holding her in mid-air. A third pressed a gun to Seth’s temple. Sebastian shot me an anxious look.
“Go! Help them!” I yelled as he rushed to Brooke and Seth’s aid, leaving me alone with Viktor.
Viktor smiled a crooked smile. “You really like to play rough, huh?” he leered. “Well, you give me no choice!”
He frantically sliced at me with his knife, failing to injure me, but succeeding in knocking me off balance. I blocked his strikes, for the first time realizing that I was fighting without any weapons at my side. It didn’t matter. I focused all my rage on the monster in front of me, wanting desperately to make him pay for everything he had done.
I was fighting for myself, for my friends, for my father—and even for Aurora.
And I was going to win.
My body filled with a sudden surge of confidence. In three swift movements, I disarmed Viktor, wielding his dagger in my own hand. As he lunged toward me, madly screaming in a fit of rage, I plunged the knife deep into his heart, making sure I didn’t miss my mark.
Viktor lay on the ground, slowly disintegrating into a messy mass of blood and tissue. I shuddered. From my coma dream, I knew that one of his goons had murdered Aurora in the exact same way. With the very same knife.
Poetic justice, I thought bitterly.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Goodbye, Dawn!” Elisa cried, hugging me tightly as she sniffled into the thin strap of my black tank top.
It was the first week of September and we were standing on the wide marble steps in front of the Scarlet House. The day was clear and sunny, but there was a slight crispness in the air, foreshadowing that fall was just around the corner.
Everything was changing.
I smiled, looking past Elisa’s shoulders, sighing gently as I bid a silent goodbye to the familiar glittering windows and the brilliant animal statues. The beautiful mansion I had called home for nineteen years now had a brand new vampire owner. President Twitbrook’s campaign had won him the position of being my father’s successor. Not that there was any competition anyway. Out of respect for my father, no one else had entered the campaign. Twitbrook’s only opponent would have been Viktor, had our team not managed to derail his malevolent plan of murdering me and running for office.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Elisa asked for the hundredth time that day.
As a reward for my recent display of bravery in bringing down Viktor and BloodCorp, President Twitbrook had offered me the esteemed position of Commander-in-Chief of the entire vampire presidential army. I had declined, deciding to permanently leave the headquarters. Without my father’s presence in every corner of the house, especially in his dimly lit office, the magnificent building no longer felt like home.
“Yes, Elisa, I’m sure,” I replied, smiling brightly. “And are you sure that you don’t want to come with me?” I already knew the answer to that question. Though we shared a profound bond, Elisa felt it was her duty to stay at the Scarlet House and look after the young vampire trainees.
“You’re such an accomplished young lady, Dawn,” she said, gently running her hand across my check. “You no longer need your old nanny.” When I opened my mouth to protest, Elisa quickly added, “And to tell you the truth, I fear that President Twitbrook will corrupt those poor little vampire children. He had already announced his plans to replace weapon and combat classes with media training.”
I laughed. Things certainly were changing.
Especially for me.
Over the past few weeks I had been forced to transform into a new person. But I was proud to say that it was a person I knew. One I understood. A girl I believed in. After taking some time to mourn the loss of my father and recover from my showdown with Viktor, it was inevitable that I address my future. The more I thought about it, the easier the decision became.
I belonged in Angel Creek.
When I announced to Brooke, Sophie, Hunter and Seth that I would be joining them as one of the official town guardians, it garnered a full-blown celebration. Today, the four of them, along with Sebastian and Ethan, were helping me move the contents of my old Scarlet House bedroom into the secluded little cottage in Angel Creek. My father had paid for the property when he purchased it for the training, so all it would need to become a permanent home was a minor facelift. Brooke had expressed her excitement about redecorating, and while I was grateful at the offer, I also shuddered at the image of the bright pink house I would surely end up with. Ethan had also pledged his carpentry skills, should I ever need them. He had taken on a permanent position at the Angel Creek Diner; his plan was to stick around the area while his mother continued her recovery. Relocating to Angel Creek was the right decision for me. I needed a fresh start and I already knew that I would fit in with the vampires in town. Plus, having a cute and chivalrous neighbor wasn’t going to hurt either, I thought, as I watched Sebastian load up one of my large suitcases into the trunk of his car.
“That’s the last of the boxes!” Sophie announced triumphantly as she and Brooke joined me on the steps.
“I was really tempted to throw away all your boring, black tanks and jeans, but Sophie stopped me.” Brooke said, rolling her eyes. “I’m so totally giving your wardrobe a complete overhaul when we get to Angel Creek!”
“Maybe I’ll let you take me shopping,” I teased, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from the blonde girl. Sophie jumped back, startled by the sound.
“Just maybe.”
Seth and Hunter joined us, holding in their arms an array of my prized weapons.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl with a bazooka for a pet.” Hunter looked both amazed and slightly frightened.
“That’s Kitty,” I said, pointing to the large weapon in his arms. “I got her for my tenth birthday.”
“Too cool!” Seth was practically drooling. “Do we get to play with her?”
“We’ve been revamped, after all,” Hunter added.
He was right. A little over a month ago, the four vampires would never have stood a chance against Viktor and his goons. They had barely even grasped what it meant to be a vampire, let alone understood how to work on a team. But just last week, they managed to not only help me defeat one of the most vicious vampires in the world and bring down an organization threatening the extinction of the entire vampire race, but they also played an important role in saving my life. There was a lot of hard work still ahead of us, but there w
as no denying that the Brooke, Sophie, Hunter and Seth were revamped.
I nodded. “We’ll get to play with the toys,” I promised the team. “But most importantly, we’re going to train,” I said, smiling brightly.
The phrase train garnered a negative reaction. The foursome dispersed toward the parking lot, grumbling and groaning about my impending tyranny.
“My truck is fully loaded,” Ethan said, appearing beside me. “Are you ready?” he asked, gently touching my shoulder.
“You go ahead,” I told him with an appreciative smile. “I have to do one last thing.”
I bid Elisa a final goodbye, and leisurely walked to my favorite place on the entire property—the grand, marble fountain. I stood in front of it for a very long time, watching the water cascade from one tier to the other, only to ascend back up and do it all over again.
“If you start to miss your special place, I’ll let you borrow my gazebo,” Sebastian murmured huskily from the other side of the fountain.
For the first time all week, we were completely alone. He slowly made his way to where I was standing, planting his tall frame next to mine. His left arm brushed against my right, setting my entire body ablaze in response to his touch. The air between us pulsated with a surge of electrifying current. From the intense way he looked at me, I could tell that I was not the only one feeling the tension.
“Shall we go?” he asked, extending his hand out to me.
“Yes,” I sighed, secretly wishing that we could stay frozen in this particular moment. I placed my hand in his, an exhilarating shiver running down my spine as our fingers touched. He turned to lead us away from the fountain, but I boldly pulled him back.
“Wait,” I gasped breathlessly, as his body collided with mine. “Wait,” I repeated again as he pressed his hand against the small of my back, drawing me closer. I melted into him, trembling in anticipation as his cool breath caressed my neck.
“Dawn,” he whispered. His voice was tender, but his silver eyes blazed with desire. Threading my fingers though his long, dark curls, I closed my eyes, pulling him into me.
“One last ‘first’,” I breathed, as his soft lips dissolved into mine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Many people sing in the shower. I write scenes in my head and act them out.”
In her career as an actress and a writer, Ada currently spends most of her days immersed in imaginary worlds. Much like the characters she enjoys playing and writing about, Ada is a martial artist with a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. She is also a big proponent of lifelong learning, and has attained Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (it aids in creating characters with unique quirks!) as well as a Master’s of Science in Education.
Ada strives to bring a fresh voice and perspective to fiction. She has been writing creatively for many years, and ReVamped is her debut novel.
She lives in Toronto, Canada, and enjoys adventurous nature hikes with her adorable puppies Cara and Oreo.
Table of Contents
Title page
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR