The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(21)

“Good lord.” Luke leaned against the back of his chair. “You have to tell me everything. Can I see the bow?”

I started to tell him he could but before I could speak, loud wailing sirens filled our ears. My hands flew to my ears.

“What is that?” I yelled.

Drew had already jumped to his feet and Luke was on his feet and running. Yeah, he was running.

“We’re being attacked!” Drew hollered at me over the sirens.

“What? Attacked?”

“Go get your bow and your gun!” Drew pointed at the stairs. When I didn’t move, he pushed me. “Run!”

I took off up the stairs. I saw Luke yanking open a set of double doors, a closet. Inside the closet, there was an arsenal of weapons. Drew and Luke began loading themselves up while I ran up the stairs.

I ran as fast as I could, grabbed my bow and the quiver. I took my gun out of its case and dropped the empty clip and slammed a full one into it. After grabbing the extra clips, I bolted down the stairs.

“Drew! Give me some of those UV bullets for my gun!” I yelled at him.

Without even looking hard, he plucked three full clips off the shelf and handed them to me. He must have had them ready for me, because I was the only one in the house who had a forty-five, and they fit my gun.

The three of us went out to the porch. The sirens were still wailing and the smell of smoke was wafting through the air. I couldn’t see any flames, but that tingly feeling started to come back. My gun was stowed in the back of my jeans, and I had an arrow nocked and ready to fire. These bastards were not going to take away the only safe place I knew.

“I wonder how they got past the wall?” I thought out loud. The community was gated, surrounded by a gigantic stone wall, and had security checkpoints around the perimeter. It looked like a jail from the outside. Inside, it just looked like any other town.

“Shhh.” Drew put his finger to his mouth.

Luke stood at the ready. I don’t think I ever admired him as much as I did at that moment. He stood on the stairs, a gun in each hand and a full bandolier tossed over his shoulders. The moonlight reflected off of his grey hair, causing a beautiful silver glow around him.

Suddenly, the sirens stopped. Drew turned one direction and listened, then the other direction. “They got to the alarm.”

I was freaking out. But, thank god I still had my senses. Thinking, Sostrate, I need you to help me with this. I chose the bow and arrow above the gun because of what Drew had told me about guns not working as well on the older vampires, and also because the bow and arrows were given to me by a demi-goddess; maybe they had their own superpower.

If vampires had made it to the alarms, that meant they had gotten to the hunters manning the security building. That was definitely not a good sign for us.

A prickle on the back of my neck made my spine straighten. I glanced at Drew and Luke. They felt it, too; I could tell. Both of them stood back to back on the stairs so they could fully cover the circumference around them.

I took a moment during this scary and traumatic time to feel stupid. I didn’t know what to do, so I remained by the front door, with my bow and arrow at the ready.

We sat there waiting, in silence, for what seemed an eternity. It was unbearable, knowing we were going to be attacked but not knowing how or when. Plus, I was scared crapless.

In the distance, we heard the smallest crackle, probably a fallen twig in the woods being stepped on. I spun toward the noise. Suddenly, there was a flash and a vampire appeared. He grabbed Luke. Luke didn’t utter a word but did drop his gun when his hand flexed open in surprise. The vampire towered over Luke, his burnt auburn hair and pale skin completely visible in the dark. He held Luke in a headlock, like he was going to snap his neck.

“Stop!” I shouted, surprising everyone, including myself. I aimed my arrow at the vampire. Luke’s head was covering the vampire's heart, but I knew I could hit his shoulder. I never missed.

“Let him go, or you die,” I said, my voice as cold as I could make it.

I felt my blood rush through my veins, the power, flowing through me.

The vampire laughed, and my anger boiled. No more of my family were going to die. Sostrate had told me to think of how much I loved my mother when I fired, but all I felt was a hot hatred when I released my arrow.

“Burn in hell!” I screamed as the arrow flew.

With the same ripping noise as the tree, the tip of the arrow caught fire and plunged into the vampire’s shoulder. He released Luke and screamed a high-pitched noise that could only be associated with death. I nocked another arrow and thought of how much safer the world would be with one less vampire. The arrow sailed into his heart, and he fell to his knees. When he crumpled, he began to burn away until all that was left was a mess of blackness on the snow.

I had killed my first vampire and I felt triumphant. But, there were more, I was sure.

Luke looked at me like I had just farted in church.

“Chloe?” he whispered. I shrugged and put my finger to my lips. More were coming.

We heard them approaching. They weren’t even trying to be quiet now. I shook off the nerves that threatened to come back.

You are a vampire hunter, Chloe. Don't let them win.

I turned in the direction of the noise. Drew and Luke fired before the vampires emerged from the woods. They missed a lot, but between all of us, we managed to take them all down. Still more came.