Share
EIGHTY-EIGHT | ASCELINA
She smiled. It was a truly wicked smile, slow and devious and made all the more gruesome by the blood dripping down her chin. Light headed as I was, I still felt a chill as those dark, otherworldly eyes met mine.
“Didn’t quite go to plan, did it, little hunter?”
I smiled right back at her. I had an idea. I couldn’t doubt myself – I didn’t have any other options.
“Yes,” I said, falling to the ground and grabbing the makeshift stake, hoping with my whole heart that it would work, that it would kill her, “it did.”
Propelled by my movement, Alice fell with me. In one smooth roll, I landed on top of her and drove the stake through her heart.
The smile died on her lips, her eyes forever held wide with shock. I stared down at her face, at the ugly jut of her chin, at the curve of her large nose. The colour drained from her skin
Related chapters
The Hunter and the Vampire EIGHTY-NINE | ECHO
Firm hands hauled me up, dragging me from under my armpits and heaving me onto my feet. The world swirled around me, so I kept my eyes closed and allowed myself to be manhandled.“You can’t fall asleep on me again, Cals,” Harper muttered. “I have to get you home so I can take a proper look at that arm.”I winced at the word home. I hoped Harper thought it was related to the throbbing in my forearm, rather than his word choice.My body did not feel entirely my own as Harper slung one of my unresponsive arms across his shoulders, tucking me tightly against his side. My legs dragged across the uneven ground, dried leaves and broken twigs mounding at my toes.“You know,” he said, his tone attempting to sound casual, conversational, “I always thought you seemed… more. More than everyone else around you. Otherwordly, almost.”
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY | ELIXIR
“Cyrus?” My heart grew whole at the sight of him. He looked utterly unruffled, despite the glint in his ocean eyes that spoke of his violent, furious panic. He held me close, his hands gentle as he settled me into a sitting position beside him.Sheer relief stopped me from pushing him away and seating myself. He winced at my bloody forearm, and took a step back, his pupils growing. The relief turned to acid in my stomach.“No,” Harper snapped, stepping between us. “You get the hell away from her.”I could have rolled my eyes. With a groan, I dragged myself to my feet, leaning heavily on a nearby tree trunk. “Both of you, stop it,” I said, before aligning my back with the trunk and sliding down it. “I can fight my own battles.”Cyrus’s eyes danced with mischief, and his lips twitched into a smirk. Even so, his ha
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-ONE | COBALT
The silence in the car was unnerving. After so much action, so much noise, to sit with no sounds save for the low rumble of the engine and our steady breaths was soothing, but uncomfortable. My head pounded, desperate to fill in the sounds that it expected to hear.I turned to face Harper, sat alone in the back. His gaze was fixed on the rolling trees and verges rushing past outside. I smiled at him, a tiny, grateful smile that said more than words could. He ignored it.He’d lied for me when my Dads had arrived at the woods. He’d lied for me, and it was clear on his face that he regretted it. I’d been spared the agony of continuing our barbed conversation by the arrival of my Dads, tyres screeching as they pulled up at the edge of the sparse trees. Cyrus had disappeared in a sudden flash of darkness. I hadn’t had time to wonder where he’d gone – or why he’d left.Dad and Paps had
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-TWO | BURNING BLOOD
The meeting took place in the underbelly of Torre’s house, in a room I’d never seen before. She claimed that it was more secure than where we normally met, and infinitely safer than the town hall. I entered with a sense of trepidation – what was decided here would come to fruition as soon as we left, so I trailed my fingers along the ornate banister as we wound down and down, down into the darkness. Gently, Paps lifted my hand from the smooth wood, shaking his head at me slightly.The tension had eased dramatically since Harper’s sudden departure. And, though I was concerned about him, I couldn’t deny that I was glad he’d gone. I doubted he’d tell anyone anything – who would believe him? He was a man scorned, turned vicious with jealousy over my new relationship. At least, that’s what I hoped people would think if Harper started spouting truths about the supernatural. A pang of guilt clenched my gut,
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-THREE | THE HEATH
I held the darkness close, using it to shroud me as I crept towards the building. I’d been home only briefly between the conclusion of the meeting and arriving at The Heath, and there I had found my phone placed carefully on my pillow. The sight had filled me with warmth, and something akin to homeliness, now that I knew who was behind the return of my lost items. Though he’d never said it, I’d assumed that Cyrus had returned the obsidian necklace to me, too – before I’d left it with Veronica. The screen of my phone was smashed, but it worked well enough after a quick charge for me to call Cyrus and fill him in.There was no word as of yet from Harper. I was glad of it – I didn’t have the energy to help him work through his fear. I had enough of my own shit to work through in the short time I had without worrying about him.I’d re-laced my boots before I left, and with each tight crossing I rem
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-FOUR | THREADS
Pain flared, pulling all of my focus to that single, tender spot. I felt the incision of each of her fangs, felt the slow pull of my blood being extracted from my body against my consent. I roared and writhed against her. She held me down, hardly breaking her concentration, so little an effort it was to keep me pressed down against the floorboards.I acknowledged death as an equal, as a friend. To die in battle was honourable. To awaken as a vampire – I shut out the thought, and redoubled my efforts. I would not allow her to turn me into one of them. I had accepted Veronica, and I had accepted Cy, but this – I could not accept this.My hands were pinned against my sides. If I could wiggle them free – even just a little, affording them some small amount of movement – I could dig my nails in to her skin. It would hardly hurt her, but it might distract her for just long enough that I could dig my stake into her
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-FIVE | OATH
My eyes were unfocused, glassy, as I watched Cyrus scream. The sound was raw, unlike anything I had ever heard before, least of all from him. The hot pulse of blood streaming from my neck eased, and I let my hand fall. I hardly knew what I was doing. My entire being was honed in on that awful, curdling scream.Even though I had done nothing, I had broken our agreement. I was a vow breaker. I had destroyed the burgeoning trust between us.I felt no sorrow for his Nanny, not really. Her eyes were as glazed at mine, but through my own haze I could see her smiling. Cyrus clutched her to his chest, sobbing openly, tears falling on her weathered face. But through it all she smiled, and placed a weak hand atop one of his.Something in his expression broke me, though. It crumpled, the skin pulling taut as he screamed his throat raw. But it was not the cries or the shaking or the pull of his mouth that twisted the knife in my hea
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-SIX | ALONE
Through the white haze of the too-bright lights, shapes and surfaces began to take form. As I found my way back to myself I felt around for the thing in my chest, an instinctive movement that I did not fully understand.A shell had been constructed around my heart, black and cold and utterly unyielding. I probed at it, trying to find a way in, but it had been shut off from me as completely as if it had been removed from my chest.Perhaps it had. Perhaps it had, because fragments of memory were returning to me, and – and I could have sworn that I’d had many visitors here, wherever I was, and that none of them had come bearing well wishes or even good news. I swam upwards through the black, inky seawater, watching through swollen, tired eyes as the white shape around me became a bed.Once I could see it, I could feel it: feel the too-hard mattress beneath my sore back, the lumpy pillows propping up my head. And
Latest chapter
- The Hunter and the Vampire 116 | EPILOGUE
- The Hunter and the Vampire 115 | SWORD
- The Hunter and the Vampire 114 | LIGHTNING
- The Hunter and the Vampire 113 | SANDBAR
- The Hunter and the Vampire 112 | RIFT
- The Hunter and the Vampire 111 | BLOOD MOON
- The Hunter and the Vampire 110 | FAMILY
- The Hunter and the Vampire 109 | NOSTALGIA
- The Hunter and the Vampire 108 | HARPER
