The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(13)

Halfway to the truck I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. Drew stopped in his tracks and gazed around at the other people leaving the theatre for their own cars.

“Let’s get to the truck,” he told me quietly. I sensed a ‘don’t argue’ tone in his voice.

We continued to the truck and climbed inside. I didn’t know what was going on, but what I did know was that we both sensed something. That couldn’t be good.

“What is it?” I whispered as soon as we were in the truck with the doors shut.

“Vampire,” he whispered back.

Oh, crap.

I knew having a good day was too much to ask. I had no idea what to do.

“Should we just go home?” I asked.

“No.” He looked away from the crowded parking lot long enough to glance at me, his green eyes flashing. “We have to kill it.”

okay, I was scared. The last time I had a run in with vampires, they murdered my mother and tried to kidnap me. It took a whole group of hunters to kill just one of them when they had come to my rescue. “How do we know there’s only one?”

“We don’t.”

Time passed with complete and utter slowness while the parking lot emptied. People chatted with each other and took their sweet time getting in their cars and driving away. Finally, there were only two people left in the parking lot: a couple who were making out against the door of an awesome bronze-colored Chevelle.

“It’s them. He is the victim,” Drew whispered.

I don’t think he was whispering to me; it was more like he was thinking out loud.

The woman had the guy pushed up against the door of the car. When she lifted her leg, he reached around and boosted her up. He then turned around so she was the one with her back against the door. Snow fell onto to them and stuck in their hair and on their clothes, but they were oblivious.

Drew reached behind him and pulled his gun out.

“You were carrying that around all day? In the mall!” I hissed. “We could have been arrested.”

“Shut up, Chloe.” He didn’t take his eyes off the couple, but I saw his hand reach up and turn off the dome light so it wouldn’t shine when he opened the door. He rested his hand on the door handle and pulled it up slowly, silently, so the door wasn't completely shut.

“Stay here,” he whispered, so quietly I could barely hear him.

I nodded acknowledgement and slid down in the seat a bit while he crept out of the truck and across the parking lot. I watched the couple making out and waited for Drew. After about a minute, clear as day, I saw the woman’s eyes lift and look at me.

Fear ripped through my body like a wave. While she looked at me, her eyes suddenly flashed and glowed a blinding red in the darkness and then she smiled. I saw teeth, white as the snow. In an instant her fangs appeared. She threw her head back and laughed, which that guy probably assumed was just a flirtatious giggle. She continued to stare at me while she snuggled back into his neck and bit him.

I knew I would be next if we didn’t kill her.

His scream filled the air. I watched, horrified while he tried to push her away. He clawed desperately at her hair and clothes, but soon all he could do was weakly flail his arms. Oh, where was Drew? I didn’t want to watch anymore. Finally, the guy's arms dropped down to his side and his stiffened body went slack.

She dropped his body onto the snow-covered parking lot and wiped her mouth with her arm. I realized I needed a weapon and searched the truck for something I could use to defend myself. I glanced up and couldn’t believe what I saw: She stole that guy's wallet. Damn it, not one thing in Drew’s truck was even remotely close to being considered a weapon. Some vampire hunter he was; he didn’t even carry a wooden stake or two around.

Damn, damn, damn.

Frantically, I fumbled and sifted through everything in the truck and found nothing.

And then she was there.

I looked up, and when I saw her, every ounce of fear I had rushed out in a blood-curdling scream. She stood in front of the truck, her red eyes boring into me, her arms folded across her chest. The breeze outside whipped the snow and her long black hair crazily around her pale face. She wore the stereotypical long black trench coat and her scarlet lips matched her glowing red eyes. I back-peddled my feet against the floor of the truck and screamed.

Drew appeared on top of the Chevelle, where she had left the body in the blood-laden snow. She must have seen my gaze shift, because she turned toward him. He had his gun raised and held it steady with both hands in front of him. I had the weirdest thought: He looked like one of the gods we were descended from. His hair whipped around in the wind. His black hoodie was zipped snug against his body. His eyes flashed a green fire comparable to emeralds in sunlight. I could not see her face, but I was sure her confidence turned to fear.

Drew fired.

When the bullet penetrated her body, a glowing white light erupted and exploded. I had stopped screaming when I saw Drew, and I watched with awe while the white light seeped through her and ate away at her body like a spreading disease. It literally dissolved her away, bit by bit, while she screamed in agony. Within minutes, she was reduced to a pile of gray ash that marred the otherwise pure white snow.

I breathed a gigantic sigh of relief, and Drew hopped down from the Chevelle. He climbed in the truck with me, and we raced home as fast as the icy roads would allow. Neither of us said anything until we pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition.