by R. Sullins
“Are Kane and Crispin close?”
“Yes, they are very close. Crispin is one of the only ones that know how to contact Kane at all.”
“How old is Kane?”
“No one knows for sure, but since he was born at the beginning of mankind he is very old.”
The entire subject was fascinating. I had so many more things I wanted to ask but I figured maybe I shouldn’t ask any more personal questions about either vampire. But there was one more subject I wanted to ask about.
“Rhys, Crispin had explained about vampires having abilities if they were powerful enough. I’ve seen Crispin move things without touching them and I swear the night we met that there had been a wolf standing where he had appeared before I passed out. But it seems like either hardly anyone has abilities or no one uses them?”
“All of the sentinels have abilities that we use when necessary. You have to be pretty strong in order to even be considered for sentinel. But we are also aware that we can’t use our abilities in the general public so we learn to not use them unless we need them. Crispin uses his wolf when he is hunting revenants because his senses are stronger in that form. So, yes, we have abilities, some pretty neat ones to be honest.” He grinned at me through the rearview mirror. “But we avoid using them unless needed.”
I nodded my head in understanding. Having superpowers would be great but I could see where it wouldn’t be wise to use them all the time and be seen by a random person.
We finally arrived at home where Rhys explained that he would stay outside the house, on guard just in case. I didn’t want to think about what the “in case” was. He assured me that he would be perfectly comfortable where he was, so I reluctantly bade him goodnight and went into the house. The light was on in my sister’s room, so I went in to check on her. We hadn’t spoken much in the last couple of weeks, and I was still too raw from her attack before, but I couldn’t let any more distance separate my sister and me than there already was.
“Iris, how was your night?” I walked over to her bedside where she was tapping away on her keyboard, obviously in one of her chat rooms that she is always in.
“It was quiet as usual. Jim has been keeping me company.” I was surprised by her calm tone. She was being polite, and it had been a very long time since she had been pleasant. I decided to push my luck and sat down near her feet.
“Who’s Jim?” I pushed a bright smile on my face and adopted an interested, teasing tone. I hoped she would open up to me and we could talk like we used to when we first started talking about boys.
The typing immediately stopped, and her eyes jumped to mine before narrowing on me. The malevolence in her eyes broke my heart. “Jimmy,” she said slowly, “is none of your goddamn business.” Her eyes returned to her computer and the typing resumed.
I had obviously been dismissed so I stood up and quietly told her goodnight before going to the bathroom to shower. There was no yelling, screaming, or throwing things so I considered it a good night for us.
After showering, I lotioned my legs and brushed out my hair. I was thinking about how unpleasant tomorrow would be at the diner. I would have to tell them I was quitting. And somehow, I had to tell Sandy too. I groaned into my pillow. How was I going to explain any of this to Sandy? I couldn’t tell her the truth. I should have asked Crispin what he thought I should say.
Crispin. I hugged myself and rolled to my side. My core heated at the memories of us kissing and so much more tonight. He was a fascinating man. There was so much to him that I was anxious to figure out. I was amazed that he chose me. It wasn’t just what Rhys said in the car about not having seen Crispin this way before. I could feel it in my soul. We were special together.
As I drifted off to sleep I felt a whisper-soft touch to my mind, like a gentle caress. I slept with a smile on my face.
“You are going to work for your new boyfriend?” Sandy was sipping her coffee, her eyes wide in shock.
I suppose it was a shock considering I had always been so adamant about not having a boyfriend and being independent. I was still independent, I just had an awesome new boyfriend thrown in the mix. “Well, I won’t really be, like, an employee or anything.” I stumbled over my words. I had figured I could just explain that Crispin had hired me so I could stop working at the diner, but it was getting harder to figure out a plausible excuse without coming up with an obvious lie. Or the truth. “He said that there is plenty I could do for him as his personal secretary, so I am not on my feet 8 to 12 hours a day. He was trying to be nice. And, Sandy, I really want to be able to do this job for him. I’m so tired of smelling like grease and burnt coffee all day every day. He’ll send a car for me and I’ll work for a few hours and come back. My hours will still be the same, probably less but my pay will be better.”
“But, honey, what happens if you two break up? What will you do then without a job?” I could hear her concern and it would be a legitimate one if he weren’t a vampire master and I a Hunter. My job was secure no matter what. If we did break up, which I knew in my soul that we wouldn’t, it would be awkward, but he couldn’t fire me from being a Hunter.
I just smiled at her and touched her hand lightly with mine. “I appreciate your concern. I just want you to be happy for me. You were the one that was pushing me anyway, right?” I grinned at her. Her smile was wide and her eyes were shiny from tears that she was holding back.
“I’m so happy for you, honey.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand in gratitude.
I stood up and rinsed out my coffee cup before grabbing my bag off the table. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Call me if you need me for anything.” I kissed her cheek, inhaling the sweet scent of her usual pear body spray. Sandy was special to me and took the place of my mother for the past 6 years. Her acceptance of Crispin in my life was a relief to me.
I had called the diner first thing in the morning to talk to Maggie, the owner and explained that I needed to quit but didn’t want to leave her without a waitress. If they needed me to keep working until they found one I was going to do it, no matter what Crispin said. I owed a lot to Maggie for her quick hire and easy acceptance of me in the beginning. I had little experience but needed to start working quickly. Maggie was sweet and kind, though she ran a tight ship as fierce as a drill sergeant did his troops. Which is why, even though the cook was overly flirtatious, he had never crossed a line and I never felt in any type of danger from him.
Luckily, Maggie had said that there was a young girl that had come in looking for a job the night before. According to Maggie the poor girl had a couple of bruises on her arms and was skittish. Maggie gave her a job even though we didn’t need another waitress at the time so me leaving worked out perfectly.
Jared drove me the few blocks to the diner and got out with me so I could get my last paycheck and a sweater I had left in my locker the last time I had worked. The bell over the door rang as I walked in the front instead of the back as I normally would have. I felt like I didn’t have the right to do that anymore.
There was a small woman with reddish-blond hair about my height pouring coffee at one of the tables. I assumed that was the new girl, Jenna, I think her name was. I saw Jared stumble a little from the corner of my eye and grinned. Interesting.
I walked into the back after waving hello to a few of the customers to grab my sweater. The cook looked over at me and looked so heartbroken. I almost laughed at the expression. His face brightened back up, which didn’t surprise me, I knew he had been faking, his expression had been just a bit too dramatic to be real.
“I know no means no girl, but do you think you could spare a hug before you go?”
“Of course.” I gave him a quick one-armed hug and dodged any further contact while laughing and went into Maggie’s tiny office.
“Knock knock.” I tapped lightly on the doorframe and waited until she lifted her head from what looked like an order form. There was an envelope sitting at the end of the desk with my name on
it. I nodded towards it and asked, “That for me?”
Maggie looked me up and down, scrutinized my face for something and then smiled. “You look good Ivy. I’m going to miss you around here. Hell, we’re all going to miss you, but I have never seen you look so happy. You are almost glowing. So, whatever you are doing… keep doing it.” She pushed the envelope towards me with one finger and looked back down at her worksheet. “Now get out of here, I have a business to run.”
I smiled as I picked up the envelope and tucked it into my bag. As I turned around and stepped back into the kitchen area Maggie spoke up one more time. “Don’t be a stranger girl, yeah?”
I looked at her and nodded once before turning around again, wiping the stray tear that had fallen.
Chapter 14
*****
Crispin could feel the pull of exhaustion weighing him down. The sun was high in the sky and all of the other vampires in residence were already to bed, but he was sparring with his Hunter once again. He’d have to call an end to the match soon, but he was enjoying the time he had with her. The late morning training had become special to him when it was just the two of them. They often spent time just talking quietly, sometimes kissing.
Just that morning he gifted his Hunter with two daggers, one to keep in her boot at all times and one to wear at her thigh. They were old and treasured, ones he’d had crafted by a master blacksmith centuries ago. He was a father figure that he would have gladly had Turned but the blacksmith was adamant that he was never meant to live in the dark and he had no desire to live forever.
Few people in his long years ever meant anything to Crispin, most beings were nothing more than a blink of time to him, but some he had enjoyed and treasured what small amount of time he had with them. There was no better place to see the daggers than on the woman before him.
Another few weeks had passed during which her training had become intense and she had improved exponentially. She was living up to her title in the experience she showed during her training and sparring. It was time to let her outside and see what she could accomplish against the enemy.
*****
I was anxious as the car drove back down the mountain in the darkness. Just that morning Crispin explained that he thought I was ready, he did not think there was much more he could teach me in a training room environment, that any more I needed to learn could only be taught with real experience.
For the last few weeks, we had been going through exercises with me attacking him, him attacking me, hand to hand, sword to sword. The sword fighting had made me very nervous at first. I didn’t want to hurt him and I didn’t want to be hurt but once I realized how good he was and wouldn’t accidentally hurt me and that I was much better with a sword than I could ever imagine, it became more fun than frightening.
Tonight, we were going to be patrolling. There was a city park that one of the local vampires reported hearing a screech that sounded like a revenant the night before. The sentinels hadn’t found anything so that’s why I was going. The idea was that I would draw the revenant to me. No reports were made of any murders last night though so Crispin didn’t have high hopes of seeing any action tonight.
Rhys was staring at me occasionally through the mirror, watching me gnaw on my fingernail. “You’ll be fine, there will be others there in case there are any revenants. Besides, you are fully trained. Crispin told me how you have exceeded his expectations for your abilities.”
I smiled gratefully at him. Rhys had turned into my biggest cheerleader, he always seemed to know when I was feeling unsure of myself. On the other hand, Jared was like an annoying, but loveable big brother, always teasing me. Both were encouraging and had become good friends.
We drove through the city streets I hadn’t been back to in years. Memories of the night of the car accident washed over me. The pain, the fright. Watching as my mother turned to leave. Seeing my sister’s body, crushed because she was on the side of the car that it had rolled onto. The same as my dad, only he didn’t survive. I still didn’t know what caused the accident, I hadn’t been paying attention, I was texting my boyfriend and making plans to sneak out of the house so we could hang out. I knew what he wanted from me, but I wasn’t willing to do more than make out and maybe some heavy petting.
It had happened so fast, I was texting and could hear my mom and dad talking in the front about dinner. My sister was staring out the window, singing with the radio. It was so mundane, just a normal drive, in a normal car, in a normal city. Now, 6 years later, I found out absolutely none of my life had been normal. It certainly won’t be again.
We slowed to a stop and I looked out the window to see a large city park with a statue nearby and park benches along a cement trail. It wasn’t one I had been to before, we lived on the other side of the city, but I knew it was Centennial Park.
My door was opened and there stood Crispin. I was used to seeing him in a fancy suit and I was used to seeing him in workout gear, but I had never seen him the way he looked tonight.
He was wearing black jeans and a tight black t-shirt. He had a weapons belt crisscrossing his chest and a belt slung low across his waist. He was also wearing an absolutely fabulous black leather jacket. I could see the hilts of his two swords peeking out of the back of his jacket, which explained why he was wearing one, for concealment. He had knives along the straps of his chest belts and waist. I also saw a gun. I raised an eyebrow at that.
“Don’t worry baby, I’ll teach you to shoot.” He grinned at me and held his hand out. I climbed out of the car and saw a few of his other men standing there, including the female sentinel Ariel, her long brown hair in a tight braid down her back, ready for war if the assortment of weapons they each had were any indication.
I nervously tightened my ponytail and pulled my black tank top back down to cover my stomach from where it had ridden up. I was dressed similarly to Crispin, all black with combat boots that held the special dagger he had given me. My sword would go on my hip instead of on my back like his did and my other dagger was on the opposite side from my sword, strapped to my thigh. Looking around I felt under weaponized.
Crispin lifted my chin with his finger before leaning down to kiss my lips softly. “Relax, my Hunter. You were made for this and I will be right by your side all night, ok?” His smoky gray eyes searched my eyes and then nodded at whatever he saw there. Apparently, he deemed me ready, I wish I were as confident.
I was surprised to see James and Katerina standing back by the cars. They didn’t look like they were there for fighting, both of them dressed too formally as usual. I met them a couple of times. James was too lecherous for my taste and had received more than one glare from Crispin for kissing my hand or making a suggestive comment. Katerina usually stayed silent, looking frail and beautiful.
“Hey Princess, you ready for this?” Jared walked up to me holding my sword and scabbard. He said he wanted to do something for me this afternoon when he dropped me off at home. When I looked at the scabbard I burst out laughing so hard I hard to wipe my eyes. He must have taken it to a leatherworker because burned into the leather were the words Badass Princess and a set of vampire teeth. Crispin just shook his head, a small smile trying to escape, before helping me latch the belt on my waist.
Jared was human but apparently was a special forces soldier and highly trained in combat. He had been trying to decide if he wanted to be a vampire or not. His brother had shared with him that he was going to be turned into a vampire. Unfortunately, the vampirism didn’t take and he devolved. Jared was the one that had taken him out. When he approached the Regional that was supposed to have turned him, an inquest was made and he found out that his brother got impatient and had his vamp girlfriend do it. She was just a low power “normal” vampire so it was no surprise that she created a revenant instead of another vampire.
Her punishment was swift and severe. Crispin took her head as a warning to others not to try the same thing she did. After the whole event, Jared requested to work f
or Crispin so he could find out more about vampirism and decide if he wanted to become one as well. When Jared had told me about all this I questioned him why he would even want anything to do with vampires after his brother had been basically killed by one and he said that it was his brother’s choice, one that he couldn’t blame him for after he had spoken with both the Regional and Crispin. He said they were both good guys and didn’t treat him like just a pesky human-like he expected. They showed him respect and remorse and he appreciated that a whole helluva lot.
Crispin took my hand and we begin walking. The group spread out, two in each direction. Everyone had small radios attached to their ears for communication.
We didn’t talk while we walked, just enjoyed each other’s company while trying to stay alert for any signs of trouble. We passed a homeless guy on a bench when Crispin stopped me and walked up to the guy. He used a compulsion to send the guy to a motel around the corner and put a stack of twenties in the guy’s pocket. I watched the guy walk away with his head held high and his shoulders back. I wondered what else Crispin had told him while he was whispering to him.
We kept following the path for a while longer, coming to a pond and some trees. So far it had been very quiet, but then we had only been walking for about 15 minutes at most. We skated around the pond and I admired the beauty of it as we continued into the trees.
It was when we hit the trees that I started to get nervous. I was brought back to my last encounter with the revenants. I hadn’t known what they were at the time but there was no mistaking the fact that they were hideous and monsters. Hideous monsters. That scream and drip black goo from their mouths. I shivered and wished I had brought a jacket like Crispin’s. Maybe that’s what I can do with my next paycheck? My mind was a jumble of thoughts as I tried to reign in my nervousness.