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FORTY-EIGHT | BROKEN
Lightening split the sky overhead, and the rain continued to fall. It shone purple for an instant, and then, once more, darkness overcame the world. I gripped the wheel with white-knuckled, trembling hands. My heart clenched, and my lungs shivered with sobs.
I sped away from my old home, and I tried not to look back. I knew that, if I did, I would only see heartbreak in its purest form, and Harper’s cries would overwhelm me. I stared forwards, my eyes fixed on the rain-drenched road, and despite my tremors I kept my foot steady on the accelerator. My numb hands began to loosen as I drifted further away from Harper, from my raw past, and my jaw hardened and set. I would not look back.
I had to focus if I was going to go through with it. I had to, if I was going to confront Cyrus. I didn’t know what he was for sure; this was the only way to know. I’d taken too many chances, let too many people die.
Despit
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The hour between the phone call and the meeting slipped through my fingers, too fast to hold on to. I sped to my Dads’ house, desperate for a hot shower, no matter how quick, and a hot drink to take with me. The endless rain had settled with a chill deep into my bones, and I didn’t want to see Cyrus with bedraggled hair and sodden clothes.I was not, however, desperate to talk to either of my Dads about the breakup, or where I was going in such a rush. I barged through the door, winced as it slammed behind me, and sprinted up the stairs, barely taking a second to kick off my wet boots.“Callie?” My Paps called up after me. “Is that you?”I scrubbed at my sore eyes, certain that, one way or another, I’d come face to face with him before I was ready. I raked my windswept hair back into a straggly ponytail, and ran to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. I’d already
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY | MIST
There was a light, somewhere deep within, shining through the fog and reaching towards me. It was a reminder, though I could not draw myself away from Cyrus’s lips for long enough to register it.But it continued to nag and, eventually, I peeled myself away. Gasping for breath, I placed a hand on his chest to steady myself. Similarly dishevelled, he smiled down at me.“Am I forgiven?” He asked, his voice dark and teasing.I scoffed, but I was grinning, too. The push and pull of duty and (potentially fatal) attraction toyed with me, and I found that touching him was the opposite of grounding. Reluctantly, I slipped my hand away.The water roared behind us, frothing at the mouth as it tumbled into the darkness below. Up here, it was timeless: the sun hadn’t managed to break through the cloud cover, and the constant grey made it impossible to know if it was morning, noon, dusk, o
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-ONE | SEA
My eyebrows shot up. It was a declaration – a big one at that – and the news that Cyrus had found a job here meant that he intended to stay. A swelling tide, my heart fluttered helplessly in my chest. He intended to stay – because of me.I smiled, ducking my head. But Cyrus wasn’t done.“It’s a permanent post, at the University of Westcliff,” he continued. “I’ll be teaching, but I’ll be researching, too. It… it sounds perfect for me, Callie. Which is why I want to make sure nothing will get in the way of the future I’ve begun to envision.”I dug the toe of my boot into the wet earth. My stomach dropped, and my breaths sounded too loud in my ears as I waited for him to say something – anything – else. I could feel my pulse, thrashing wildly against my wrists, my temples, beneath my jaw. I swallowed, and I waited for the sea of blood
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-TWO | BLACKWOOD CASTLE
Trigger strode across the castle grounds, her boiler suit slipping into view every other stride as her coat flapped open. Every now and then she’d turn, marching in a new direction only to spin back around again moments later.Surprisingly, we’d all made it to the castle with no hassle. I’d expected police tape, at the very least, but the grounds were all open and back to normal. We’d taken ourselves off to one side, in the hopes that we’d avoid the few people eager to take a stroll around a dilapidated castle as dusk rolled in, and so far we’d seen nobody else. If we did bump into a well-meaning civilian, we would simply claim to be a group of bird watchers, waiting for a barn owl that we’d heard nested in the old remnants of the keep.“She’ll be here soon,” said Diamond, shaking her head at Trigger with a fond smile.“I know, doll,” Trigger called
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-THREE | RIVEN
My bedroom door closed behind me, and I fell apart. My bruised heart had endured too many hits, and it fractured, bleeding broken love upon my bed sheets as the rain fell outside.The craggy clouds covered a curious moon, slyly peeping through their gaps whenever it found the chance. It watched as I stumbled, drunk with agony, and collapsed face-first onto my duvet. It watched as my hands raked, claw-like, against my pillows, clutching and tearing as my thoughts did at my beaten heart.Sierra’s words had cut me, stripped my skin into ribbons and left me bare, exposed. I’d expected this, prepared for it, even, but there was nothing I could have done to ease the wave of pain as it hit.I was confident, at least, that my Dads would leave me alone. They’d been quiet on the drive back, mulling over Sierra’s revelation. It was as though Veronica had never existed.But every time I t
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-FOUR | RADIO STATION
With my head full of plots and plans, I could face the day. I even managed to crack a smile at the thought of sneaking up on a vampire, catching it by surprise and staking it through the heart.No matter what, I decided, I wouldn’t think of Harper. He was well and truly out of my mind, and I was proud of myself for that. In fact, I felt positively radiant – despite my bed hair and the bags beneath my swollen eyes – until I barged through the door to the diner and saw Harper sat at the bar.Well, shit. My heart plummeted down through my stomach, making me feel sick. All of my carefully constructed walls crumbled. I ducked my head. How was I going to avoid him?I took an unsteady step backwards. If I sprinted, I might be able to make it round to the creepy back door and sidle in through the bins. I checked my watch. I had less than a minute to clock in. With a sigh, I clenched my fists, steeled m
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-FIVE | SEAGULL ROAD
The day passed with surprising ease after Harper left. Nick and I shot jokes back and forth, and Giles, in the kitchen, joined in whenever he could. Mae watched on fondly, chiding us gently when our insults became too barbed. The diner remained quiet, so we jived to Elvis as we wiped down tables, to Buddy Holly as we did the washing up, and to Ray Charles while we swept the floors.When Sydney arrived, the atmosphere relaxed somewhat. She studied at Bournehurst, and only worked at the diner during the holidays; I’d been in her position up until fairly recently, so we fell into an easy conversation about the campus, the union, and the nights out. A few customers came and went, but unlike after Ben’s attack, the diner was almost entirely empty after the lunch rush, and it didn’t seem as though it would pick up for dinner.It seemed that Sierra’s research rang true. If anything, Veronica’s death was worse than when
The Hunter and the Vampire FIFTY-SIX | MOON AND STARS
In an instant my tiredness had been swept away. I yanked my keys from the ignition and kicked open the door. Shock had held me back as he’d passed, but I could still catch him.He’d given me this address, after all – perhaps it was not so strange that he was here. Rather than think about it, wasting time trying to uncover a mystery with no evidence to go on, I leapt from the car and jogged after him. I didn’t want to scare him by sprinting after him – the high hedges and swinging lanterns were spooky enough on their own; I did, however, want to catch up with him.My aching legs strained as I pushed them to go faster. The sound of my boot soles slapping against the pavement rang in my ears and vibrated through my skull, a rhythmic thumping that drilled all other thoughts from my mind. I had to reach him. The words fell into time with the tempo of my feet, thudding over and over. I had to reach him.
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