The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(15)

“Thank you, Chloe.” He leaned over and gave me a side hug.

I shrugged like it was nothing. “No prob.”

The entire day was full of activities I didn’t want to do. Everyone was singing carols by the piano and playing charades in the living room, so I found a comfy spot on the window seat by the Christmas tree.

Even with all the people around, I still felt lonely. The lights on the tree blinked their colored pattern over and over again: red, blue, green, yellow, white, red, blue, green, yellow, white, lighting up the whole tree with their beautiful glow.

“What’s the matter?” Drew asked. He sat beside me.

“I want to see my mom,” I told him without looking away from the tree.

“You know that isn’t possible, Chloe.”

“No, I mean, I want to go to her grave. I haven’t seen her since the night she died. I don’t even know where she is buried.”

“I can take you.”

I looked up at him. His eyes were soft and sympathetic, not his usual intensity. “Do you know where she is?”

Drew nodded and brushed some of his blond hair away from his eyes. “She’s here, in the cemetery.”

“You guys even have your own cemetery?”

“Do you want to go tomorrow?”

“No, I want to go now.”

Drew raised his eyebrows. “Tonight? It’s dark outside.”

I looked over at him and rolled my eyes. “I don’t care if it’s dark. I want my mom.”

He jumped to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on.”

So we bundled up in our winter gear and headed out the door. I expected Luke to spot us and ask where we were going so late, but no one seemed to notice us when we slipped out the door.

The night was partly cloudy, allowing the moon to shine down onto the blanket of snow, giving the world an almost greenish glow.

As we rode through town in Drew’s rumbling old truck, I stared out the window. Twinkling Christmas lights and yard ornaments lit up the streets, and this year, the decorating committee had really gone all out. It reminded me of watching old movies, the whole town covered in holiday cheer. Lamp posts held wreaths and gigantic red bows. Every establishment had painted windows and colorful lights. Everywhere I looked, there was something shiny.

My mom used to climb up on the roof by herself every year and staple the lights onto the perimeter. She also had me lug out an entire nativity scene that was to be placed on the lawn in front of the winter wilted rose bushes.

The cemetery was on the farthest end of the small town. When we arrived, Drew parked the truck in front of the large wrought iron gates. I hopped out of the truck and looked around. The cemetery had florescent street lights scattered among the gravestones. Great big maple trees provided a cover for most of the plots, so minimal snow had accumulated on them.

Even though I said I wasn’t nervous, I suddenly felt chills, and not from the cold.

Drew came around from the driver’s side. He must have sensed my sudden case of nerves because he reached out and took my gloved hand in his. “Ready?”

I nodded. As soon as we passed through the gates, I felt something. The only way I could explain it would be that it felt like a rush of power.

“Over here.” Drew directed me toward a bunch of plots near the gigantic roots of a tree.

There had not been a funeral for my mom. She had left it in her last will and testament that she didn’t want one. Knowing my mother, she probably thought it would be easier for me.

It wasn’t.

I saw the gravestone then. It was a simple but large rectangle with a curved top.

Felicia Annabeth Kallistrate

Loving mother and loyal hunter

Gone but never forgotten.

“Mom.” I released Drew’s hand and fell to my knees, brushing away the little bits of snow that had managed to get through the branches of the tree. There were tons of flowers all over her grave, still colorful and vibrant but frozen from the snow and cold.

“Mom, its Christmas today.” I organized some of the flowers over the dirt while I spoke to her. “My first Christmas without you.”

Tears that I had assumed had been all cried out surfaced from the corners of my eyes and slid down my cheeks. Not really knowing what to say to someone I love who would never answer back, I just sat there and cried and cried some more.

Drew didn’t say anything, but I knew he was back there watching me. Normally, I wouldn’t want him to see me blubbering all over the place, but for once, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be near her. It wasn’t because I had a whole speech prepared or wanted to sit and ramble about my days. I needed our souls to touch, like they used to.

And so, for a whole half an hour, I sat on her grave and sobbed.

Drew let me be until snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. “Come on, Chloe. We have to go now.”

With tears still staining my cheeks, I gave my mother’s grave one last caress and then stood. “All right, I’m ready.”

Drew took my hand again and led me between the plots as best as we could manage. The air outside had chilled even more than when we arrived. It was cold. Really cold. When we approached the gates, warmth suddenly filled my stomach and spread through my body.

“Oh, my… what the heck?” I clutched my stomach as the tingling spread all the way into my fingertips.