by J A Campbell
“What? Oh, yes. I’m just...enjoying the sunrise.”
“Umhm.”
Maybe he thought I was on drugs or something, but I dropped my hands and looked back out across the ocean as the sunlight bathed me in its light for the first time in centuries.
This changed so many things.
Powers
South Carolina, Early 2010s
“You know, you don’t have to come, Mom.” Jin smiled as we loaded bags into Kevin’s sedan.
“I’m not going to let your Aunt Margaret keep me from your sixteenth birthday, honey.” I gave her a quick smile before I shut the trunk.
“Good. Can I drive?”
I tried not to twitch. Kevin had been kind enough to let me teach her to drive with his car. I had actually taught her a few years back, and we often let her drive when we were in the country, as long as I was along just in case she got pulled over. She had taken lessons on a race track, so she knew how to handle high-powered cars. It wasn’t like she didn’t know what she was doing. I just didn’t like being a passenger.
“You have to ask Kevin. It’s his car.”
Jin smiled again. She knew how hard it was for me to surrender the wheel. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll see what he says.” She headed back into the house.
Kevin’s car was a lot more comfortable for family road trips, since he had a full-size back seat. We typically took it with us when we went to the mountains to visit the kids’ relatives, after buying it four years prior.
Shielding my eyes, I glanced up at the sun. Though still early in the day, it had risen hours ago. It wouldn’t take too long to get to the mountains where Margaret and Walter lived.
Margaret had moved in with Walter a few years prior, saying he shouldn’t be living alone. He hadn’t had the heart to say no, and I think he was mostly happy with the arrangement.
Jin came back with keys in her hand. Kevin locked the front door and got into the back seat. He really was extremely easygoing. Not much fazed him any longer.
I slid into the passenger seat, and Jin adjusted the driver’s seat until she was comfortable.
She pulled out as I stared straight ahead and tried to relax. Jin was a very talented driver, especially for her age. I kept telling myself that as she navigated through Charleston and headed onto the interstate.
“So, what did you get me for my birthday?” Jin asked, jerking me out of a light doze.
“Um, you’ll find out tomorrow, on your birthday.” I was surprised at the progress we made toward her grandpa’s house. Kevin breathed softly in the back seat. He must have fallen asleep. I suspected that Jin woke me to help keep focused.
“Aww.”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Do you think Grandpa will be able to help me with some of my Hunter training?” She flipped on her blinker before taking the exit that would send us to the mountain roads where he lived.
“Of course. He said that was part of why he wanted you to come up.”
“Good.” She smiled.
Jin had grown into a very beautiful young woman. Long blond hair that blazed golden in sunlight. Sky blue eyes and a ready smile. She was tall, fit, reasonably muscular, and more than capable of holding her own in a fight. Hawk and Victor had started letting her train with the bouncers at the club, under supervision of course. She was getting her ass kicked there, but it was good for her to remember she wasn’t as fast or as strong as a vampire, or to take us for granted. That was something I did worry about: being raised with vampires, she had very little fear of us.
“Think any of my cousins are coming?”
“I’m sure Margaret has rounded up every relative she can think of. She likes large parties. I know she sent invitations to your father’s family too.” We hadn’t been as good at keeping up with Alex’s family, because, before I had met Alex, his parents had died in an accident. Walter was Jin’s only living grandparent. Alex had two brothers, both close in age, and Jin had cousins on both sides that were younger and older than she was. They lived in North Carolina, so not far either.
“That will be fun.”
I could see her plotting how best to get her cousins involved in some of her favorite games, such as tag in the forest and anything else that kept her moving.
“Let’s get gas here before we get into the mountains,” I said.
Jin pulled off the main road onto a side road that wound through the hardwood forest. It didn’t take long before we reached the gas station where we usually topped off. It was more necessary for the Firebird than it was in Kevin’s car, but it never hurt to have a full tank of gas.
Two older pickups filled up at one fuel island. Jin pulled up at the other. Kevin grumbled something in the back seat as I got out of the car. Jin joined me as I swiped my card at the pump.
Two men came out of the convenience store. Jin and I both zeroed in on them instantly. Werewolves.
“Mom, are they?” She whispered, not taking into account their enhanced hearing.
I grunted, hoping she would take the hint. She did. We finished fueling, but unfortunately, we had also attracted their attention.
The two men were both white, taller, muscular, and stereotypically hairy. Jeans, cowboy boots, and tight t-shirts completed the country hick look when they came around the front edge of the red pickup.
“Are they what?” The darker haired said.
I didn’t pretend Jin hadn’t been talking about the two men. There was little point, and I didn’t truly need to diffuse the situation, though I would rather avoid a direct confrontation. Gas stations had video cameras. Hopefully the werewolves would keep that in mind.
“She wanted to know if you’re real hicks.” I shrugged. “The old pickups kind of gave it away.”
Jin’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and I winked at her.
“What’s it to you? She’s a city girl.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. It was kind of rude,” Jin added.
The men clearly hadn’t expected us to be so direct. The darker haired one who had spoken crossed his arms, and I swear he flexed to make his muscles seem bigger. I wanted to punch him on principle.
Video cameras, I reminded myself.
The blond glanced at his friend and I guessed the darker haired guy was the leader between the two of them.
“Yeah, well, take a good look honey. Real red-blooded mountain hicks.” Dark hair shook his head and turned back to his truck before pausing and looking at me. “You smell funny.”
I snorted. “Yeah, well, you smell single.” I wrinkled my nose in an exaggerated gesture.
His jaw dropped and I smiled sweetly. “I took a shower today. Maybe it’s my body wash. They sell that in the store, along with regular soap. Might try it sometime.”
He glanced at the sky and back at me, frowning.
“Come on, honey, we’ve got places to go.” I gestured Jin toward the passenger seat and very deliberately walked from the shade of the fuel island out into the sunshine hitting the back of the car. I didn’t take my attention away from the werewolves, but they clearly didn’t know what to do with two women who were clearly unimpressed and didn’t care about showing it. While they probably would have recognized my scent in the dark, it was out of context in broad daylight—and I really had used a fairly heavy body wash just in case since we were in were territory—that they couldn’t figure it out.
Jin got in the passenger seat and handed over the keys as I adjusted the seat for my shorter legs.
She started to talk and I waved my hand. The wolves were still watching as we pulled out.
“Safe now,” I said.
“Sorry about that.” She glanced at her hands.
“Yeah, what happened back there?” Kevin asked.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw him watching out the back window.
“I forgot werewolves can hear almost as well as vampires.” Jin sighed.
“Those were werewolves!”
“Yeah. Don’t beat yourself
up, Jin. It’s okay.”
“They might be following us,” Kevin said, voice tight.
“That’s why I’m driving.”
The pickups approached around the bend and I decided I didn’t want to deal with them, so I pressed the accelerator until we were taking the curves deeper into the mountains where Walter lived at speeds that would tip a pickup. They dropped back and I took a side road. It would take us a little longer, but I didn’t want to lead them straight to where we were staying, either.
They followed for about forty-five minutes at a large distance. I couldn’t quite lose them since Kevin’s sedan wasn’t made for the kind of punishment a modern sports car would have been. Even my car would have been hard-pressed to handle the curves the way I wished I were actually taking them, but finally I sensed that they were far enough back that I could take some turns and actually lose them.
Another half an hour, and I was sure we were in the clear, so I found the main highway and headed back the way we had come.
“Oh, thank the gods,” Kevin groaned in the back seat.
Jin looked a little green, too, when I glanced at her.
“Do I need to pull over?” I had forgotten about humans and car sickness.
“No, just tell me we’re not far away,” Kevin said.
Glancing in the rearview mirror didn’t show me Kevin’s face, so I thought he was lying down in the back seat.
“We’re not, and this road is a little gentler.”
“Are they going to be a problem later?” Jin sounded tense.
“Hope not. We will have to talk to Walter and see what he knows. Not much we can do about it right now, anyway.”
“Sorry,” Jin said.
“Honey, they didn’t follow us because of what you said. They followed us because they caught my scent.” I wrinkled my nose again. “Even through the whatever-heinous-scent this body wash is. They didn’t know what they were smelling because it was so out of normal context for meeting a vampire, and I’m sure the soap helped confuse them. There’s a really good chance they would have come over to us without you saying anything, so don’t worry about it. We’re in were territory, and up to now we’ve been lucky not to encounter any.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. Hey, look, we’re almost here.” I grinned and took the turn off the main road onto the narrow road up to Walter’s house.
We wound through the trees until we reached his property. Several cars parked along the driveway and a few tents graced the front yard. Walter had a reasonably sized house, but camping was fun for the kids, so they often brought tents instead of crashing in the basement like they did in the winter or if the weather was bad.
“See, all sorts of people here to eat cake with you.” I smiled and found a spot to park the car. We all got out and I tossed Kevin the keys to his car.
“I’ll grab the bags later,” Kevin said.
“Thanks,” Jin replied.
She ran up to the steps when Walter came out on the porch. Kevin wasn’t far behind. I followed more sedately, raising every shield I possibly could, and said a silent prayer to any deity that might happen to listen to a vampire that Walter would yet again fail to notice I was a vampire.
I was as ready as I was going to be by the time I reached the porch and gave Walter a quick hug. He smiled at me.
“What?” He seemed extremely happy.
“You’ve done good with them, Kat.” He clapped me on the shoulder.
“Uh, well, I had a lot of good to work with.” I shrugged.
“Just say thank you, and then come on inside.” He opened the door for me.
“Uh, thank you.” I really didn’t feel I could take any credit for Jin and Kevin. They were good kids.
I followed Jin and Kevin’s voices to the living room where they were saying hi to everyone in the house. Someone was playing video games and I heard Margaret greet Jin. My best human friend’s older sister looked a little like my memories of Charity. She had taken after their mother more than Charity had, both in lacking any hint of Hunter ability at all and in her dark curly hair and shorter build. She stayed in shape, but nothing like Charity had. Still, I could see hints of my friend in her facial structure. It always tore at me, especially since Margaret hated me.
I didn’t particularly like her either. She ignored me, which was fine with me. I had actually made Walter stop forcing her to acknowledge me years back. It still pissed him off, but he had grown somewhat used to it.
Kevin sat down with Nicky and Derik in front of the game system and they handed him a controller. Jin ran outside and shouted for her cousins who already played in the woods.
Normally I wouldn’t have spared her another thought, but today’s encounter had me worried. I glanced at Walter and gestured toward the back porch. Frowning, he followed.
“Are there any new werewolves in the area?” I said quietly once we were reasonably alone.
“What happened?”
“We stopped for gas at the normal place and two werewolves were filling up there. We, unfortunately, had a brief conversation with them and they followed us for a while. We took a very scenic route to get here.”
“Was wondering why you were late. Figured you would call if something was really wrong, though.”
I nodded.
“Yeah, a new pack has moved in to the area. Martin and his pack have always been on good terms with me. This new group—” Walter shook his head. “Well, they’re causing problems for Martin. Don’t know if they even know I’m up here. Let’s hope it stays that way.” He sighed.
“Yeah.” I frowned, wondering if I should do something to protect Walter. Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary.
“Try to relax, Kat.” He patted my shoulder and then headed back into the house. Reluctantly, I followed.
Later that afternoon, Walter pulled Jin and me aside. “I want to see what you’ve learned. Spar with Kat.”
Jin grinned at me, knowing I couldn’t pull any dirty tricks in front of Walter.
I smiled back and motioned for her to hold on a moment. I slipped the silver bladed knives I wore in forearm sheaths out and handed them over to Walter. I wasn’t currently wearing a gun. He took them without comment.
Then I stepped away and gestured for Jin to attack.
After a quick moment, she did. We sparred a lot, but she had been training with the vampires a lot recently, so she surprised me with how fast she moved. I dodged, but she was a lot closer to making contact without my allowing it than I had expected. Of course, I couldn’t use my vampire speeds, so this might be close.
Jin laughed and I swept her feet. She was quick though and jumped.
“Walter, what are you three doing!”
“Ugh,” Jin said, stepping back and giving a quick bow to signal she was done for the moment.
“We’re sparring, Aunt Margaret,” Jin called.
“Always fighting.” She tisked.
“If she says something about how young ladies shouldn’t fight, I’m going to strangle her,” I muttered.
“Get in here, it’s time for dinner.” She disappeared into the house.
I sighed. Meals were the hardest since I couldn’t eat anything. I could drink, but that was it. At a restaurant it wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was very rude not to finish your food around relatives. I’d managed a system with the kids that worked most of the time.
“I’ll go. Why don’t you two critique me behind my back?” Jin smiled. “If Margaret gets mad, I’ll make something up.” She ran off before we could reply.
Walter handed my knives back and I sheathed them. “Whoever you have working with her is doing a good job.”
I nodded.
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not.” He knew I was on good terms with at least one vampire, because he had met Hawk when I adopted the children.
Walter sighed. “Will she be able to pull the trigger when she’s confronted with an actual enemy?”
“I su
re hope so. That’s not something you can really teach except out in the field.”
“You’ll keep her safe?” Walter leaned against a maple tree and stared out into the forest.
“As safe as I can, Walter.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t relish the idea of Jin actually becoming a full Hunter. I knew the time would come when I wouldn’t be there to protect her, so I had to make sure she was as prepared as possible.
“Go eat, Walter. You know she didn’t set a place for me anyway.”
He clenched his fists.
“I can raid the fridge later. It’s fine.”
“It’s disgraceful, but I guess it is what it is.” He headed for the house.
I slipped into the woods to hunt deer. I wasn’t sure I’d manage to get away again this weekend so it was as good a time as any.
“Happy Birthday, honey.”
Jin, always an early riser, joined me on the porch with a cup of coffee in her hands. “Thanks, Mom.”
I smiled.
“So, am I supposed to feel any different? Everyone keeps saying I come into my full Hunter powers today, but I don’t know what that means.”
I glanced around to make sure we were alone before I replied. “Ask Walter,” I said quietly.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She sighed. “At least I can get my driver’s license now.”
I laughed.
“Have you slept yet?” Jin sat next to me on one of the deck chairs.
“No. I’m fine, though. I’ll grab a nap this afternoon, maybe.” I looked out into the forest. “I kept watch.”
“Anything?”
I shook my head.
“Good. I guess.” She sipped her coffee and we sat in silence for a while before Walter joined us, his own cup in hand.
“Happy Birthday, Jin.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.” She hugged him. “So, now that I’m sixteen, should I, like, I don’t know, feel any different?”
He laughed. “I think you’ll notice your reflexes really speed up this year, and your senses will get sharper. It’s not a completely sudden thing, but this is about the time your Hunter genes will really kick in.”