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SIXTY-EIGHT | ILLUSION
I slammed the car door irritably behind me. My phone was ringing – again.
With a sigh, I declined the call and shoved it into my pocket. Cyrus had started the day with a text, and my lack of reply seemed to have panicked him. Good. He deserved to feel as hurt as I did.
I crossed the car park, stepping around puddles in potholes as I made my way towards the flickering neon sign. Ella’s was the last place I wanted to be tonight; I didn’t have the energy to pretend that the most stressful thing in my life was my breakup with Harper. In truth, I’d hardly thought about Harper since we’d last met – my focus had been on Veronica and her forgetful family, not the tragedy of my own collapsed relationship.
I smoothed down my top, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.
It was fairly busy, with a smattering of people sat at the bar and most of the tables full across the floor. Smiling at
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I ran my fingers over the note, tracing the creases and squinting down at the faded letters. With a tiny, quiet sigh, I pocketed it.Staring at myself in the mirror, I scraped my hair back behind my ears. My body was decorated with weaponry: a stake down each sleeve, a thigh holster holding a gun tight to my leg, a switchblade strapped to each ankle. Even so, I didn’t feel prepared.I took a deep breath, watching as my chest rose and fell. It was only Veronica. I didn’t have to face Cyrus; at least, not tonight. He’d called me only once more while I’d been at work, and I’d sent him a quick text to put him at ease. I needed to buy myself more time, and I feared that ignoring him would rouse suspicion rather than give me the space I needed.I shoved my feet into my boots and crouched down to lace them. It helped me to think in actions rather than thoughts, to focus on the mundane rather than t
The Hunter and the Vampire SEVENTY | FARYSAIG
I wanted to run to Cyrus, to confront him, eyes blazing and mouth shouting and fists pounding. Instead, I slowly unclenched my hands and smoothed out the fresh page of my notebook, focusing on the texture of the paper beneath the pads of my fingertips.After meeting Veronica last night, I’d woken my Dads – both of whom had fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for me to return – and told them everything I knew. Eager as we’d been to storm over to Seagull Road and take The Heath by storm, we’d learnt one major piece of information through Veronica’s misfortune: we didn’t know as much as we thought we did. As such, the three of us had taken the day off work once the morning had rolled around, and our plan was to spend the day researching.I’d felt awful calling in sick, but I’d decided that it was a necessary evil. If making Mae jiggle the rota around saved her life, then it was worth it. It wa
The Hunter and the Vampire SEVENTY-ONE | HEART
Once I’d added the new information about Bethan to my ever-growing list of mysteries, I returned to the book Cyrus had given me. Hope swelled in my chest, but I shoved it down every time it tried to resurface. I couldn’t afford to have misplaced hope – especially when the odds were stacked against him.Even if he had killed Bethan, that did not absolve him of his other possible crimes. The story of Lady Luna had built the bonfire, and the possibility that Cyrus – the only other person in Seafall that we knew of who had knowledge of the vampires – had staked a vampire had sparked the match.Face down on the far side of the desk, my phone vibrated. I ignored it for a while, intent on reading as much of the book as I could before night fell, and it was time to meet with Veronica again. Though she had to stay out of the sun, she had promised to try to see who was bringing her bags of blood. So far, she’d said,
The Hunter and the Vampire SEVENTY-TWO | CROW
“I wasn’t sure which text it was what you wanted to look at, exactly, so I thought it would be easier if you just came in,” Sierra said, holding the front door open for me.“Thanks,” I said, smiling as I passed her. She flicked her honey-toned hair over one shoulder before following me inside.“Sorry about the mess,” she said sheepishly. I hadn’t noticed it.“Oh. Don’t worry about that.” I paused before softening. “I kind of have tunnel vision today, anyway.”I nodded her head to one side, gesturing towards a towering stack of books beside a brimming bookcase. Behind, through the window, the sea shifted, shades of grey blurring as the sky met its shuddering surface.“Then you’ll want to have a look through these,” she said, crouching down beside the staggering pile. “I tried to r
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I took the stairs two at a time as I sprinted up to my bedroom. I’d returned home to gather the last of my evidence, as well as my weapons, and to fill my Dads in on my plan. It wasn’t fully formed yet, and it wouldn’t be until I’d spoken to two more people. I glanced outside; though the day was grey and clouded, it still looked bright. I swore under my breath as I slammed through my doorway.I slid out my phone and checked the time with one hand as I rifled through my weapons drawer with the other. I’d spent too long at Sierra’s flat, and I was running out of time. The hunters were primed to scout and attack tonight. Fortunately, the winter days drew the darkness in earlier. Even without any obsidian, Veronica could meet me in the afternoon – if I hurried up.The message I’d received earlier was from Cyrus. I’d forgotten about it. But I couldn’t ignore him – not today. I dump
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I slammed my foot on the brake, hurtling too fast towards the next bend in the road. Time was ticking by, and I needed answers. With every passing second another innocent person could be taken by the darkness. I swung out of the corner and forced the accelerator down, as far as it would go.I’d shoved my head through the doorway when I’d stopped at home to grab my car. My Dads needed to know what was happening, and I’d wanted to get changed. Veronica’s blood was soaked into my thin jumper, and it coated the sleeves of my jacket. Then I’d remembered the trick I’d used the night my face had been cut, leaving it forever scarred: blood was the best bait there was.With blood covering my torso, there was no way Cyrus would be able to hide his vampiric nature from me. It would give me a definitive answer, one that even his charm and seduction could not evade.“What’s going on, Ca
The Hunter and the Vampire SEVENTY-FIVE | BLADE
The darkness abated slowly, the light streaking across my eyes like the first quivering rays of a sunrise. I forced myself to blink, my body unwilling to face the misery I knew, even in the abyss, would be present when I awoke.I wasn’t dead, at least. That was something.As harsh as it was to my eyes, the light in the room was dim. I wasn’t even sure that it was a room – it was cavernous, the walls cut into to make hollow spaces, within which gas lanterns burned. I couldn’t make out any windows, but it was dark outside, so they would be harder to see through blurry eyes, in any case.I was surprised by my steady, rational thoughts, and then surprised by my surprise. I was a hunter, not born or bred but as good as. Rational thoughts in times of crises were par for the course; my recent over-emotional state had clouded my judgement, and was to blame for my being in this situation in the first place
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The one-two click-clack of the mysterious footsteps drew closer. I held back a shudder, desperately trying to keep up my pretend display of unconsciousness. I longed to crack an eye open, but I held still and took another deep breath.The footsteps came to a halt beside me. I exhaled, as steadily as I could. Something piercing and cold touched the bare skin of my knee, digging in to the graze there. Hot blood pooled around the point of contact. I winced.“I know you’re awake,” a nasal, woman’s voice drawled. “I can hear your heart beat. It’s quicker, now.” Slowly, she dragged the pointed object away from my knee.With a sigh, I opened my eyes. She was pulling off her heel to wipe it clean – red soled, I noted: a Louboutin. I only recognised it because Rebecca had spent more hours staring at them online than studying when we were at college, and I had never been so glad for
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