Halina shook her head, her long, dark hair slid over her shoulders, catching and refracting the harsh lab lights. “Wasn’t too long ago that having a dangerous vampire hunter in your midst was a problem easily solved.”
Looking over her shoulder, I glanced at the exit. “Yeah, well, times change. I’m going to go speak to him. See what he’ll tell us.”
Halina crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say nothing. He’s a hunter being held captive in a vampire nest. He won’t tell us anything of use.”
Dropping my fangs, I gave her a one-sided smile. “We’ll see.”
I made to leave and Halina moved like she was going to follow me. Gabriel stopped her with a question she didn’t want to hear. “Halina, will you stay a while?”
I watched a sulk form on her face that a five-year-old would have been proud of. “Why?”
Gabriel stepped toward her, not in the least insulted by her expression. “I have missed you, and I would like to talk to you.”
“We’re talking now,” she muttered.
Placing a hand on her arm, he calmly told her, “I wish to speak to you alone.”
Her face still as stone, she airily told him, “Well, you know what they say about wishing, don’t you?” I wanted to roll my eyes. She even sounded like a five-year-old.
Grabbing her shoulders, I pulled her forward, and then pushed her toward Gabriel. This was getting ridiculous. She needed to stop being so damn stubborn and start talking to her boyfriend. My suddenness surprised her, and Halina crashed into Gabriel with a squeak. Then she turned and hissed at me. I found the reaction ridiculously funny, a far cry from when I was human. “Knock it off and talk to him,” I informed her, then stalked off before she could threaten to whittle a hole through my heart with a dull butter knife or something.
I hurried into the hallway, closing the door behind me. Before it sealed shut, I heard Halina mutter, “Men.”
Cleo’s normal ears didn’t catch that, otherwise I was sure she’d be smiling too. Her dark eyes watched me as I walked across the hall toward her. Pointing at the door, I said, “I want to talk to him. Open the door.”
She frowned, but she twisted around and unchained the door. She trusted me to do the right thing, make the right decision. Plus, she was probably going to come inside with me, and make absolutely certain nothing happened to me. As with most of the women in my life now, she was a bit overprotective.
The man was sitting on the bed when I entered. The bed was pristinely made. Aside from the section he was sitting on, there wasn’t a rumple anywhere. He either hadn’t slept at all, or he’d made the bed to military perfection. I was guessing the former. Other than look up at me, he didn’t move when I entered the room.
Cleo tried to follow me, but I held my hand up to stop her. “Wait outside, please.”
Her eyes narrowed as they shifted to the man on the bed. I knew what she was saying without her even having to say it. Smiling, despite the irritation crawling up my spine, I said, “He’s been cleaned of his weapons and there is nothing in the room he can hurt me with.” That was fairly true. There was a chair but it was a cushiony recliner, a dresser, but it was too heavy to break apart into stake-like pieces, and all of the decorations were round in nature. No sharp edges anywhere. I affectionately called this room the Dr. Suess room. Cleo still didn’t seem convinced, so I added, “And, I know you haven’t had a real chance to see it yet, but I’m pretty strong. I think I can take him if he tries anything.”
I smirked at her, hoping she’d get the message and leave me in peace with the man. Her expression wasn’t pleased about it, but she eventually closed the door. The man broke the silence before I could. “She’s human. Why didn’t you just compel her to leave?”
Not sure if he’d buy my answer, I told him, “I’d rather not compel anyone, if I don’t have to.”
He snorted. Definitely didn’t believe me. “A vampire who doesn’t love controlling those around him? Yeah, that’s new.”
I ignored his taunt as best I could. What else did he have on his side right now but hateful words? I couldn’t fault him for that. “What’s your name?”
He raised his eyebrows in question. “You asking or compelling? Because you know that crap doesn’t work on me.”
I raised my palms in an expression of peace. “Just asking. I’d like to call you something other than ‘hunter’ which happens to be my name.”
The man regarded me for a minute, and then said, “Name’s Jake.”
I thought of extending my hand to him to formalize the introductions, then thought better of it. Jake didn’t appear to want much to do with me, and probably didn’t want to touch me. Having been in his shoes at one point in my life, I understood. Jake was on the small side for a man, not much bigger than Nika. It gave him the illusion of being harmless, but I knew otherwise, and even though my posture was relaxed as I crossed over to the recliner, I was on full alert. My ears absorbed the rapid beating of his heart, my eyes pinpointed the beads of sweat near his temple, the way his dark eyes flicked from me to the door. I could practically smell the emotion bubbling to the surface within him. He was very nervous to be alone with me.
With a mellow, unintimidating voice, I began my futile attempt at finding out some information. “Jake, I’m curious about something.”
His response was instant, his thin smile mocking. “Everyone is curious about something.”
I almost laughed. He reminded me a little of my father. And Halina. Jake probably wouldn’t like the comparison to my pureblood creator or the comparison to my biological creator. “True. Well, what I’m curious about is you.”
His small smile not budging, he replied, “You’ll be disappointed then. There’s not much to tell about me.”
I did laugh then. “From all I’ve seen so far, I doubt that’s true.” Like every hunter I’d ever met, I was sure Jake had quite the interesting story to tell.
While I was seemingly distracted, I saw Jake’s eyes dart to the door, like he was debating making a run for it. “I’m faster than you, you won’t make it.” His eyes returned to mine and his smile faded. With a shrug, I added, “And Cleo out there…well, I have no desire to hurt you, but not everyone here feels the same. I’d just sit tight for now, if I were you.”
Even though I was giving him sage advice, he looked like he wanted to finish the job he’d started earlier. “Hunter. Hunter Evans, right?” Surprise washed through me that he knew me. Or knew of me. I slowly nodded and so did he. “I knew your father, ages ago. He’d be horrified to see what you’ve become.”
Pain erupted in my chest like he’d finally staked me. My father’s face floated through my mind, the disappointment in his eyes, the condemnation. Closing my eyes to banish the vision, I whispered, “He’s the one who made me this way.” Not wanting to give Jake too long to make a move on me, I quickly reopened my eyes and said, “And yes…he was horrified.”
Jake made a face like he was about to spit on the ground. “I suppose you killed him then? Did you drain him of his blood? Did you feed on him?”
I found that remark really offensive for some reason. Probably because I now found blood drinking to be such an intimate act, one I only wanted to share with Nika. The thought of biting anyone else was disturbing. “Yes, I took care of him…but…I didn’t drink a drop of his blood. Nor will I ever drink from a human.” I made my voice sound as firm as possible, so he would understand I was being completely serious.
It didn’t matter though. “Sure,” he scoffed, clearly disbelieving me.
It made my gut twist that he doubted me, but that was to be expected. Prior to my conversion, I would have doubted anything a vampire said too. “Believe me or don’t, it doesn’t change the truth of the matter.”
“If you say so, demon.”
His disgusted face grew almost comical, and I smiled. Was that what I had looked like? “You sound just like I used to.”
His expression eased at seein
g my humor. I doubted very much he wanted to amuse me. “Back when you were on the right side.”
I sighed. This was exactly why talking to someone with a set-in-stone prejudice was impossible. “There doesn’t have to be a side. That’s exactly the sort of mentality I’m trying to change.”
He made a noise that was somewhere between a harrumph and a cough. “Right. By forcing people to see things your way. Sounds real ethical.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
“War doesn’t always follow ethics.” Involuntarily, my voice hardened. He didn’t understand what it was like being unfairly hunted. He was only seeing one side of the coin. There was too much at stake, too many innocents who could be hurt, if I didn’t do the things that needed to be done. I was letting the hunters live. That was a lot more than others of my kind would do.
Jake leaned over his knees, regarding me. “No, it doesn’t, which makes me wonder…since you can’t warp me into your twisted little army, and you say you’ve no desire to kill me or drink from me…what are you going to do with me?”
Yes, that was the dilemma now. He’d tried to kill me and two other vampires. There had to be some sort of punishment for that. But what? In his eyes, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Not knowing the answer, I told him, “I honestly don’t know what will happen to you. That will be up to the panel to decide. For now, my only intention is to speak with you a moment.”
A sneer twisted his lips. “Well then, mission accomplished, you’ve spoken with me. Congratulations.”
Ignoring his comment, I asked the question I really wanted an answer to. “Do you know why I wasn’t able to affect your mind?” The man contorted his face, like he was digging a piece of food out of his teeth with his tongue. He’d already said once that he wasn’t going to tell us anything. Guess he was sticking to that. I hoped to shock him into a response with my next question though. “Did you know you’re part vampire?”
He stopped picking at whatever he was trying to get loose and gave me a blank stare. His eyes were wider, but I had no idea if he’d known that or not. I seemed to recall him being surprised by the fact that Julian had been immune to silver. That would suggest he didn’t know about mixed vampires, so he probably didn’t know what he was. Either that or he was faking it, because a vampire hunter with vampire DNA in him wouldn’t go over too well in some circles.
As Jake straightened his stance, I leaned forward. “There are vampires in the world as alive as I used to be. They live, they die, and they occasionally give birth to other living vampires. Their children have fewer and fewer of the vampiric side effects and benefits. In fact, I know a man who appears to be a completely normal human being, except he can’t be compelled. That was how we knew he wasn’t entirely human. He’s a mixed vampire…same as you.” Silence met my statement. “A tiny fragment of your blood is demonic, as you put it. That’s how you avoided my compulsion. That’s how you’re protected.”
“Lucky me,” he growled. Jake clamped his mouth shut tight, and I still couldn’t tell what he knew. His heartbeat was faster than a man’s at rest, but calmer than when I’d first come in here.
Taking a shot in the dark, I asked, “You were already aware of your heritage then? You knew?”
“Does it matter?” His eyes narrowed to a glare.
Gritting my teeth, I bit back the comment I really wanted to make. Instead, I told him, “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’d like to know what you know.” This runaround conversation was frustrating. It’d be so much easier to just compel the truth out of him.
“And I’d like freedom. Guess we’ll see who gets what they want first.” Jake smiled at me, a cold, cruel smile that made me want to hiss at him like Halina had hissed at Gabriel. Yep. Definitely easier to compel him.
TONIGHT WAS THE night the panel was going to decide the fate of the man who had attacked Hunter, Halina and my sister. The three vampires were completely healed from the silver they’d ingested, you wouldn’t even know they’d been injured. The man, Jake, had been staying at the ranch for the past couple weeks while panel members had listened to the testimony of the people who’d been there, and then debated amongst themselves about what should be done with the guy. Several suggestions had been thrown around.
Rory, one of the converted hunters who followed Hunter around like a puppy dog, wanted the man dead. That seemed pretty harsh to me. I mean, Jake hadn’t actually killed anyone—at the meeting, at least. I was sure he had the blood of quite a few vampires on his hands. But he’d been ambushed while doing his job. I couldn’t sentence him to death for that.
One of the panel members had mentioned letting him go with one of the other converted ex-hunters, as a guard of sorts. He said someone could drive him hundreds of miles away, and make sure he never returned to Salt Lake. Almost everyone shot down that notion though. One, Jake could easily escape his escort and sneak back into the city. And two, Jake could warn other hunters about what we were doing here. The only reason it was working, was because we were taking hunters by surprise. If they came into the home aware of the trap awaiting them, it would mean a fight. And I for one had had enough of fights.
Some of the other converted hunters on the panel had suggested a lifetime of confinement. But that seemed cruel too. Weren’t we trying to prove that we were fair and just? But what was fair and just—and safe—in this case? It gave me a headache whenever I thought about it.
“Dude? You want some? You look like you could use it?”
Trey held the end of a short joint out to me. It used to be that it wasn’t very often when I sat with Trey while he got high, but now that school was out and Nika was asleep all day, I’d found myself watching him get baked more and more frequently. He usually didn’t ask me to partake though. The last time I’d said yes, bad things had happened. Very bad things. I had no desire to repeat that night. I needed to keep my senses about me.
“No thanks.” Shaking my head, I looked away toward the bright sun making its afternoon descent through the sky. “Besides, I think I’m getting loopy just taking in your fumes.” I’d have to remember to shower as soon as I got home, so Mom and Dad didn’t think I was the one smoking. I’d been doing that more and more often too. Showering to mask my activities. Seemed devious to me. Childish. And I was trying to be more grown up. Oh well, baby steps. And gigantic leaps, like tonight. Man, I didn’t want to condemn a man to die.
“You sure? You look like stressed. Worried about Saturday?”
I dropped my head into my hands. “Saturday. Damn it…I forgot all about that.” Saturday was the raging party that the school had decided to have at my house. The party that I still hadn’t mentioned to my parents. The party that I was pretty sure was going to happen now, regardless of what I said to people.
Groaning, I stretched out on the picnic table behind me. The sunshine slipped under the edge of my sunglasses, momentarily blinding me. Overhead, I could hear birds chirping a merry melody in the leafy tree canopy. Somewhere else in the distance, I heard a lawnmower. Even though it was a typical, lazy summer day, I felt anything but typical. What fate should I choose for Jake?
Trey leaned back on the table with me. Even though it was hot out, he still paired his cargo shorts and light t-shirt with a tightly knitted stocking cap. It made me sweat just looking at him. He took a long drag of his pot-cigarette, held it a few seconds, and finally released it. “How did you forget your own birthday party?”
I rolled my head from side to side against the table; the ridges in the wood felt good against my scalp. “I don’t know. Busy, I guess.” I rolled my head completely to the left to look at him. “Besides, my actual birthday is Wednesday.”
Trey nodded. “I know. I’m excited to hang with the Adams clan again.” Trey smiled a lazy smile. “Your mom is so freakin’ hot.”
I just about gagged, but laughed and slugged him in the arm instead. My mom was pretty, but I didn’t want to think about her in the way Trey was thinking about her. And he meant Starla anyway. Trey knew noth
ing about my real life. Halina had made sure of that. He only knew the fantasy. For a minute, I envied him.
The park we were resting in was teeming with dogs; Trey and I had seen more than a few meander past with their owners. They almost always stopped to sniff our way, thanks to my friend’s odiferous habit. A couple of dogs snarling at each other on the other side of a shallow duck pond got my attention. Their owners were furiously pulling on the dog’s restraints, trying to keep the creatures from killing each other. It was clearly a struggle for the owners. Whatever animosities the two canines had, it was bad enough that they wanted blood. It reminded me of humans and vampires, and the natural inclination they had to kill each other. And the league was like the owners, holding onto their leashes, trying with all their power to keep the two fighting mutts at bay. Would that tiny little strand of leather holding onto the beast be enough?
Trey was oblivious to the chaos nearby. While I sat up on my elbows to watch the struggle better, he asked, “You talked to Arianna yet this summer?”
One dog across the way bit into the flank of the other dog, but thanks to Trey’s comment, I was the one who felt the puncture. Arianna. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since the last day of school. And when I wasn’t contemplating a man’s future, I was thinking about her. Wondering what she was up to, how she was feeling, if she was happy…if she missed me too. She leveled my mood when I was down, and made me feel exhilarant when I was happy. She made me monstrously sad too. The loss of her was always with me.
“No,” I whispered, sinking back down to the table. I didn’t want to watch dogs maim each other anymore.
Trey exhaled a smoky breath, and then gave me an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, man. I’m sure she’ll dig you eventually. Just don’t give up.”
I looked at him, smiled, then looked up at the cloudless blue sky that matched the color of my eyes. Eyes Arianna had loved looking into. “I don’t plan on it.”
As the day cooled and shadows lengthened, my thoughts firmly centered around Arianna. She’d been apprehensive but accepting when she’d first found out what I really was. I wondered if she’d still react that way, now that she no longer loved me. Now that we were just…friends.