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FORTY-FIVE | STORM
I was filled with a sudden sense of urgency, which did not abate even as I threw back more whiskey and allowed myself to be prodded upstairs to bed. The alcohol dulled it, but my stomach churned as I considered all of the possible ways that Veronica could have died.
Could Cyrus have done it? Or was I simply fixating on him as the only possible suspect? Our other leads had gone nowhere, yet I kept circling back to him.
I wanted to admonish myself for feeling fear towards him, but this was a new, strange circumstance for me. My life, and morals, had always been black and white: monsters were evil, humanity was good. I fought to protect the good, the innocent, and I fought against the evil.
I rolled over in bed, facing the window. I’d left my curtains open, and my body was like lead against the mattress now; they would have to remain open tonight. The sky was moonless, clouded, and even the pinprick stars had disappea
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The Hunter and the Vampire FORTY-SIX | TEMPEST
The rain thundered down as I drove to the house I shared with Harper. The familiar roads felt alien to me, shrouded in darkness by the thick grey clouds. Raindrops lashed at my windows, and my wipers struggled to keep up with the onslaught.My Dads had wanted to take me shopping for a Christmas tree this morning, but I’d been insistent that I had to do this first. Then the drizzle, remnants of last night’s storm, turned to a downpour, and they decided that Christmas shopping was best left for another day.To distract myself from what was to come, I imagined running my fingers down the lengths of pine trees, their needles pricking my fingertips. I pictured the three of us struggling to force the tree into my Dads’ car – no matter how big their behemoth car was, somehow we always found a tree that was bigger.The picture morphed as I neared our house. It was no longer my Dads by my side; in their pl
The Hunter and the Vampire FORTY-SEVEN | SUNSET
A coarse wind howled outside, but it was drowned out by Harper’s abrupt, gut-wrenching sobs. I’d expected tears, but this was worse; guttural, world-ending tremors that wracked his body. I held him tight in my arms, fearful that he might splinter across our old, worn sofa.The firelight felt less dangerous, now. It was just firelight, and I was just a girl. The room opened up, warm in its familiarity, and as I tucked Harper’s head beneath my chin I felt wholly at home. Perhaps it was strange, to feel so welcome in the face of such anguish, but it felt as though, at long last, my life was beginning to align. Harper’s, too, though he did not know it yet.I’d had time to process this decision. He had not.His lips quivered as he rose from my embrace, but his eyes held mine with a strength I had not anticipated, but was grateful for. I loved him; crushing his spirit had never been my inten
The Hunter and the Vampire 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
The Hunter and the Vampire FORTY-NINE | ETHEREAL
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
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