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FIFTY-SEVEN | TRAINING
I threw the first punch. Dad dodged, his French plait swinging to the side. He grinned at me.
“You’ve lost your edge, Cals.”
I bounced back, re-adjusting my stance. “Just giving you a chance.”
We circled one another, the morning sun glinting off my Dad’s hard-lined face. He dropped his smile, his eyes flicking from my head to my chest to my legs. They hovered for half a second too long on my legs, and I stepped back just as the kick came.
I’d awoken early after my accidental sleep the night before, and I’d felt surprisingly fresh considering that I’d slept at an awkward angle on the sofa. Someone – most likely my Paps – had pulled my boots off and covered me with a throw, which I attributed my good mood and well-rested mind to.
He fell back, watching me closely. He’d given himself away with his eyes; I wasn&r
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The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-EIGHT | BURIED
The creaky sign rocked back and forth in the winter wind. Waypavers. I’d not been back here in a while, and never for so long as when I’d brought Cyrus here. It felt oddly fitting, if a little perverse, that I was meeting Harper here for our last coffee together.Of course, there had been more to my suggestion of meeting here than a mere love of cyclicality. It had been Veronica’s workplace, and her family still ran it. If anyone had noticed her going missing, it would have been them.I was glad I’d have a distraction while speaking to Harper. A few good nights of sleep and a busy mind had helped me to lock away the last vestiges of my feelings for him, though I was sure that spending one-on-one time with him would bring them back to the surface. I’d steeled myself as best I could before leaving, but I knew my preparations would be worthless when I met his eyes with mine.I pulled my jacket
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-NINE | WESTCLIFF
I smoothed down the lapels of my blazer before shutting the car door behind me. Gravel crunched underfoot. I dug my heel of my boot down, making a tiny hole in the neat ground.I’d never been to the University of Westcliff before, though it wasn’t any further away from Seafall than Bournehurst was. When I’d been applying to university this had been one of my options, but it wasn’t sat on the coast, so I’d put it low down on my list.I locked the car and hefted my bag up higher on my shoulder. The car park I was in looked fancy, with barren trees secured in iron fencing scattered across its expanse. Cyrus had told me this one was closest to the building his office was in, but I’d driven past a few others on my way here. The campus seemed bigger than Bournehurst’s, but that had been halved, with the humanities clustered together on one side of town and the sciences on the other. Perhaps together they w
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY | OBSIDIAN
Giddy with excitement, I clung to Cyrus’s hand as he pushed open the door to his office. He shared it with another lecturer, he’d told me, perhaps worried that I was overestimating what I was about to see in my head.It still felt odd to hold his hand, but not because it was unpleasant. No – it was quite the opposite, in fact. I gave it a tiny squeeze, testing the feel of his palm against mine. A shockwave of pleasure tingled from the point of contact, arching up my arm and to the tips of my fingers. He squeezed back, and smiled at me.“This is it,” he said, lightly, almost teasingly. “Room J two-hundred and eleven.”He held the door open for me. Part of me wanted to close my eyes, to amp up the drama of the reveal, but I didn’t understand that part of myself. It was childish, immature, and it didn’t make any sense. I’d long since lost my attachment to the drama
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY-ONE | AFLOAT
I tucked the necklace under my collar before walking inside. The jolt of cold against my skin was fresh and reviving, and I smiled to myself as I unlocked the front door. Everything was falling into place.I’d asked my Dads to organise a trip to The Heath with me sometime soon, and I’d hoped to catch up with them when I got back from Westcliff. Kicking off my boots, I called out to them.“Dad? Paps?”There was no reply. Shrugging to myself, I slipped off my coat and hung it up. It was nice, if a little odd, to have the house to myself. I worked far more than either of them, which meant that, unlike when I’d been living with Harper, someone was almost always in the house when I was home.Though I had a free afternoon, the sense that I should be acting out against the vampires remained prevalent. There wasn’t much I could do – we were out of leads, save for The
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY-TWO | EYES
I flopped in the doorway, my chest heaving as I panted, struggling for breath. I slid down the door, letting my head drop back against the hard wood. I felt safer with something solid behind my back – nothing could creep up on me from behind – and I needed a moment to gather myself before I went inside.The feeling that I was being watched had chased me the whole way down to the beach. I’d done a few half-hearted hill sprints, before chastising myself – nothing had happened yet, so I may as well just get on with it – and managing to push myself to go faster, and to ignore the itch at the back of my head that swore someone was there with me.Wanting to distract myself, I pulled out my phone. Cyrus still hadn’t replied, which wasn’t weird as of itself, but was strange considering that he’d gone from responding instantly to not at all. Then again, I often missed messages, forgot to reply, or
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY-THREE | SHADOWS
“She was dead.” My Dad’s voice was firm, the hazy edge of the rum gone in an instant. “We all saw her body.”“It’s impossible,” Paps said, scrubbing a hand across his short hair.“Improbable,” Dad corrected.“Bethan looked dead, too,” I said slowly, thinking of her blue lips, her waxy skin. “I don’t think we should rule it out. I mean – maybe I was imagining it. I don’t know. But those eyes looked real, and that prickling feeling that someone was there, watching me, stayed with me the whole way home.”“Why would she be watching you, though?” Paps clucked his tongue. “No offence, Cals, I’m sure you’re very interesting. But you weren’t close, not really, were you?”“We always got on,” I said, considering it. “But most of t
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY-FOUR | SECOND CHANCE
The hand reached out again, white against the dark, and rapped on the glass. I drew my hands up, covering my face with my left and preparing to strike with my right. This had to be an intimidation tactic – otherwise, they were giving me all the time in the world to prepare for their attack.This time, however, a face followed the hand. It peered curiously in through my bedroom window, blue-grey eyes wide and scared. Rosebud lips drew downwards, pulling into a frown.I stumbled backwards, staring at her as she ran a hand agitatedly through her strawberry-blonde curls. It was Veronica.It had to be a trap – didn’t it? I inched closer, my eyes fixed on hers. She was crouched close to the windowsill, most of her weight supported by the tree that dangled its gnarled, naked branches across the glass.I swallowed, my throat tight and my mouth dry. She looked the same as she had before, and
The Hunter and the Vampire SIXTY-FIVE | STARLIGHT
We sat beneath a shaded grove of trees, leaning our backs against their rough bark. The cold blistered my skin, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from shuddering.“Would you like my coat?” Veronica whispered, turning to face me with wild, petrified eyes.I shook my head, confusion gnawing at my insides. She looked the same and sounded the same. I couldn’t theorise any longer. I had to know.“Are you a vampire?” I whispered back. My eyes searched hers, blue-grey and brimming with tears. I’d never seen a vampire cry before. Her chest heaved, and she nodded.“I – I think so? Oh, God,” she moaned, dropping her chin to her chest. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, Callie. I woke up, covered in blood and mud and soaked through with rain, up at that creepy old castle – Blackwood, I think it’s called, though I don’t
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