Author: N. L. Hoffmann
Category: Vampires
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We would contact the rest of the families tomorrow and tell them Mom’s vision. If they didn’t believe us, we would show them the cave, Mom having told us the location. In fact, that was our next stop. We needed to see if Cathal had left anything behind. Maybe the whole story was bullshit. Mom had never seen the cave before. Neither had my grandfather or his father. It could all just be a myth. A story thought up to scare children. Unfortunately, though, Mom’s previous visions had all turned out to be true. She said he stumbled out of the cave and killed the man who’d released him because he was starving. Maybe we would find the body up there.
This was when I wished I had someone to comfort me, but we only had ourselves. We didn’t seek comfort from one another, thinking it bizarre. Instead, we coped in silence, hoping to make it another day. It was nice when our mother was lucid. She would occasionally offer kind words, but just before we left the hospital, her gaze had glassed over and she was no longer there. When she unexpectedly became combative, they took her back inside. It was hard to watch, but at least we got to speak to her before it happened. Maybe she would be cured one day and we could go back to being a family again. Or maybe I was being ridiculous and hoping for something only kids wished for.
I suddenly saw a shadow move across the curtain, breaking me out of my thoughts. My eyes began to water from the surge of fear flowing through my body. I knew I should be brave, but this was one of the few moments I didn’t feel heroic. Did I get up to check it out? Did I stay in bed, hiding? Was the door locked? Would that even help? Vampires were powerful creatures. There was no way a door would stop one.
Reaching under my pillow, I gripped the stake I’d hidden there. It was the best weapon against a vampire. A stake right through the heart. Mom didn’t say anything different with Cathal.
I saw the shadow again and pulled the stake out, clutching it close to my chest. Shivering, I pulled the covers tighter around me, gaze on the curtains. Was it just people passing by outside? Did I alert Seth? I didn’t know what to do, but I had a bad feeling Cathal was here, watching.
I waited several minutes, but nothing happened. It had to have been my imagination.
When I felt a finger lightly brush along my cheek, I leapt out of bed, swinging with the stake at the same time. Panting, I looked around the dark room, not seeing anybody. Someone had touched me. I could feel it.
Slowly moving toward the light switch, I kept my gaze roaming around the room. I wanted to alert Seth, but I didn’t want to forewarn whoever was here. Quickly, I flipped on the light, blinding me. I blinked furiously, trying to clear my vision. No one was in the room. I crept toward the bathroom, finding that completely empty, as well.
It must have been my imagination. Turning around, I screamed, jumping back into the coat rack area, tumbling to the floor. Seth stood there, staring at me, a confused expression on his face.
“What the hell are you doing, Demi? Why do you have a stake in your hand?” He studied me for a second, then sighed. “You’re freaking out over this vampire, aren’t you?”
Embarrassed, I scrambled up and hurried past him. “I thought someone was in the room.”
He smirked. “Mom scared the shit out of you with a story.”
“She had a vision, Seth.” I was irritated he wasn’t taking this seriously.
He rolled his eyes, walking to the mini fridge to grab a soda. “It could have been the result of her illness.”
“So that stuff you said about contacting the families was a lie?” I stepped up to him, glaring. “You lied to our mother?”
“I had to. She would have flipped out had I said she was probably imagining everything.” Seth popped open the soda. He took a long drink, then set it on the table.
“You aren’t even going to contact the families? What about visiting the cave? Are we going to do that?”
“No. We’re taking a break. Forget the damn vampire. We have nothing to worry about.” He walked past me and into the bathroom. “Go back to bed.”
Frustrated, I went back to my bed. Taking a second to look out the window, I frowned. Could Mom have been imagining everything? It was hard to say, considering her condition. But I knew what just happened to me wasn’t my imagination. That meant there was an unknown. But it seemed I was the only one who believed it.
Climbing back into bed, I tucked the stake under my pillow, then pulled the covers up under my chin. For the sake of the families, I hoped none of this was true. On the other hand, for the sake of believing our mother, I was going to check out that cave. Even if Seth didn’t approve.
Chapter Three
Almost immediately after we got up in the morning, Seth could tell I was up to something. I wasn’t my usual, bubbly self, which made him suspicious. He stared at me, eyes narrowed, as if trying to figure it out. Screw him. I had to see for myself whether the cave was real.
As I started to walk toward the bathroom, Seth stepped into my path, arms crossed.
“What’s on your mind, sis?”
“Getting dressed.” I shoved him to the side, hurrying into the bathroom before he could ask me another question.
This would be a tough plan to pull off. I knew Seth could stop me if he wanted to, so I hoped to be able to take off before he knew what was happening. One of our rules was we didn’t go off alone. We tended to stick together...for obvious reasons. Now I wanted to pull away from the group because I believed our sick mother? Did our sisters realize Seth didn’t plan on checking out her story?
Finishing up in the bathroom, I walked back into the room. The door was open, Seth carrying our belongings out. I saw Ruby and Blair talking by the SUVs, both glancing at me.
As I made my way out of the room, they came up to me. “You don’t plan on leaving us, do you?”
I sighed, opening the driver’s door, making sure Seth couldn’t hear. “It’s not pointless to check out the cave. If some nasty vampire is out there, killing innocents, I think it’s a good idea to find out all we can about him.”
“Seth is going to be so pissed.” Blair shook her head.
Ruby glanced over her shoulder at Seth, who was digging through his pockets, probably trying to find where he put the room keys. “I’m going with you, Demi.”
“That’s a bad idea. It’s easier if I go alone.”
I climbed into the SUV, looking at Seth just as he looked at me, brows furrowed. He stopped what he was doing and started walking in our direction.
“Oh shit,” Ruby whispered, running to the passenger side and hopping in, slamming the door. “Go! Go! Go!” she shouted, slapping the dash.
When Seth started to run, I put it in reverse and quickly backed out, tires squealing when I put it back into drive. In my rearview mirror, I saw him and Blair hop into the other SUV. He was a good driver, but I was better, actually taking the same driving classes the police did.
Hitting the gas, I shot out to the road, turning the vehicle right at the last second. Cars honked, but I didn’t care. I had to get as far away from Seth as possible. Turning down a few side streets, trying to lose him, I sped through neighborhoods, narrowly missing pets and their owners. People shouted for us to slow down, but I couldn’t. I refused to let Seth stop me from finding out the truth.
“I think you lost him,” Ruby said, a grin on her face as she looked behind us. “You’re one badass driver! Those classes paid off.”
Laughing, I glanced over at her. “I know, right?”
Settling back in her seat, Ruby put her feet on the dash. “This cave is about three hours away. Do you know how to get there?”
I pointed to the GPS. “Enter the coordinates. They’re inside the glovebox.”
She reached in and pulled them out. “Ooo, you stole this from Seth.” She shook her head. “He is going to be so pissed.”
“That’s the only copy, too. He’ll have to hope Mom has a lucid moment in order to get the information again.”
“Or he contacts one of the families.” Ruby and I looked at each other and s
hook our heads. “Nah, he wouldn’t do that. He’s got too much pride.”
I was a little surprised Ruby wanted to tag along. Neither one of us usually went against Seth. Blair was the one who refused to listen most of the time. Our brother was typically right about most situations, but this time, I was confident he was wrong. I loved him, but if any of us girls had an opinion about anything, he barely took a moment to consider it. Sometimes he’d come up with the same plan one of us just pitched to him, taking the credit. The guy could be a serious butthead at times.
The drive was a long one, but I had a feeling it would be worth it. Cathal was loose. I could feel it. Now we were all in danger. Who was dumb enough to let him out? Was it one of the families? We were the only ones who knew about the cave, right?
HIKING WAS NOT ONE of my favorite things. Once we made it to the top of the large hill, I bent over, trying to catch my breath. Ruby looked around, pushing her damp hair back. When my cell phone rang in my pocket, I grabbed it and glanced down, frowning when I saw Seth’s name. I hit ignore. We probably didn’t get much of signal out here anyway.
“Where’s the fucking cave?” Ruby panted, agitated. I guessed I didn’t think about how hard it would be to actually find the cave’s location.
Looking around, I tried to find footprints in the dirt. Nothing. Sometimes I wished I were a vampire so I could use my sense of smell. Instead, I was just a boring human with no special skills. I was sometimes surprised I’d lived this long.
“Oh! I think I found something,” Ruby yelled from several feet in front of me.
Climbing over some rocks, almost falling on my face several times, I managed to get to her side. Ruby chuckled, amused by my lack of coordination. Leaning over her shoulder, I saw a red piece of cloth tied to a tree.
“Looks like someone left clues to find their way back,” I said.
Nodding, Ruby started down the rough path. I grabbed her arm to stop her. “You should slow down. That vampire could be out here.”
“I doubt it, Demi. He is probably long gone.”
Swallowing hard, I hoped she was right. We started in the direction we hoped led to the cave. A few minutes later, we came to another piece of red cloth tied to a tree. Feeling like we were onto something, I glanced at Ruby.
“You know, Seth is going to be pissed,” I said, grinning.
Ruby shrugged. “Not checking this out is stupid. Sometimes I wonder about him. He doesn’t think things through like he should. We have something that can potentially kill us, yet he wants to blow it off as one of mom’s delusions? Seems a bit risky to me.”
I nodded in agreement. Seth was jeopardizing a lot on a supposition. I thought it strange we’d never heard the stories about the vampire. Maybe it was because he’d been locked away for so long. After a while, people tended to forget. Now he was supposedly free. If he were as old as they said, he could wipe us out with just a thought. We would be nothing but a bump in the road for him.
This hike was ridiculous. My mouth was dry, sweat trickling between my breasts.
Ruby chuckled, glancing over at me. “You need to get in shape.”
“Shut up. You’re sweating so bad your lipstick is running,” I panted.
Ruby gasped, wiping her fingers around her lips. “Bitch.”
“Whore.”
Then I saw it.
It looked like the opening had been blasted. Rocks were scattered around, some as big as a car, making it difficult for us to get to it. When we saw a body lying at the entrance, Ruby hurried forward.
“Me first! I want to see who it is first!”
Well, this was mature...and somewhat morbid. “What makes you think we know who it is?”
Ruby stopped at the body, bent, then glanced over her shoulder. “Looks like Jimmy Landers.”
I gasped. “Are you fucking serious? He was the last of his family.”
Hurrying over, I looked down at the body. His throat was completely ripped out, blood splattered all over the rocks, his face frozen in horror. What was he trying to accomplish?
“Maybe he has something crucial on him.” Ruby started checking Jimmy’s pockets.
“You can’t rob a dead man. That’s just wrong.”
She gave me a look of disgust. “I’m not trying to rob him. I’m looking to see if he has anything that may explain why he was even here.”
Nodding, I wiped my forehead with my arm.
Ruby pulled out a piece of odd-looking paper. It looked like it was torn from a much larger piece of...parchment? She opened it, examining what was on it, then handed it to me. “I don’t know what any of that means.”
Taking it from her, I glanced down. It was in another language. Irish maybe? There were a couple sketches...one of a man, some of bodies with spears through their hearts. I folded it back up and tucked it into my pocket.
“We’ll have to find someone to translate it.”
“Let’s go inside.” Ruby started for the cave.
I grabbed her arm. “Wait. We don’t even know what’s in there.”
“That’s why we brought these.” She pulled a flashlight from her pocket, pushing the button to turn it on, then she grabbed a stake from her back pocket. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Rolling my eyes, I pulled out a stake and flashlight, grumbling to myself, “This is dangerous. There could be animals, maybe a bear. Shit, the damn vampire might still be here.”
Ruby chuckled. I’d be the first to admit she was the more adventurous one. But one of us had to use our head.
The beams of lights bounced off the walls, lighting up the cave. Except for some debris, the cave floor was pretty clear. The farther we went, though, the more we could smell something rancid. Faces scrunched up, we soon ran into animal bones scattered around, some piles several inches deep, some fresh kills. Looked like he stuck around for a while after killing Jimmy, probably trying to regain his strength. By now, he had to be strong enough to hunt humans.
Shaking my head, I began to wonder what the fuck Jimmy Landers had been thinking. He should have known better, been more careful. Why would he want to face something so dangerous? It didn’t make any sense.
Tripping on a pile of bones, I swore, ignoring Ruby’s small giggle. How far back in the cave should we go? The place reeked. She stopped, her light pointing at a wall. There were deep grooves all over, almost like scratches. I had no love for vampires, but this had to be one of the worst things you could do to one. Starve them knowing they had no way to die. It was long-term torture. I almost felt bad for him...until I remembered what my mother said he did.
“Wow. I wonder how many humans he had to feed on to get his strength back.” Ruby shook her head, sweeping the light across the floor. They’d left him with nothing. He just sat there, day in, day out.
Anxious, I started back toward the opening. “I don’t like it in here. Let’s get going.
Ruby sighed. “What is your problem this time? What makes the vampire so different from all the other supernatural beings we’ve hunted?”
I knew if I told her about the fear eating at me, she would never let me live it down. Instead, I shrugged, leading the way out. “Let’s get going,” I repeated. “We need to let Seth know the story is true. Then we need to contact the other families. Things just got serious.”
“It’s always serious,” she whines. “When are we going to have some fun, Demi? It’s always about the job. I was looking forward to that break Seth mentioned. Then this shit comes up, ruining everything.”
“I guess we could have ignored Mom’s vision and not come up here.”
Glaring, Ruby shook her head, turning back into a hunter. “And have my throat ripped out in the middle of the night? No thanks. I want to be prepared for that asshole when he shows up.”
“No shit.”
Chapter Four
We arranged to meet Seth at the Collins’ home, one of the other families. I’d only been out there once for a dinner years ago when Mom was still able to be
social. It had been awkward and uneventful. I did get to know the kids a little bit, but they were snobs. It seemed like they looked down their noses at us because we were adopted, even though our lives were similar.
The Collins’ home was a large house on several hundred acres of land secured by a large gate with an alarm system, several cameras pointed at it and the surrounding area. They were prepared for intruders, whereas our home was a small farm with no security. Though we hadn’t been there for more than a few days in over a year because of having to constantly be on the road for work. We lived in motel rooms, and honestly, it was the way I preferred it. The farm had too many memories.
The gate slowly opened to let us through. The white gravel driveway was long, rocks crunching under the tires. Eventually, the house appeared, Ruby and me looking at each other. It was fucking huge. Bigger than I remembered.
It looked more like a two-story log cabin, the wood looking as if it had been recently cut. Flowers decorated the front. Did they pay people to keep up the grounds? Hell, we didn’t even know who to trust half the time.
As we pulled up in front, the doors opened to reveal two young men, an older one following as they strode down the porch steps. My gaze traveled over them, admiring how well built they were. They were impressive, years of fighting under their belts. Just like Seth.
Climbing out of the SUV, I placed a hand on my back and arched it, trying to stretch it out. When I looked up, I came face to face with one of the Collins boys. He grinned down at me, standing at least a foot taller.
“Uh, hi.” I looked away, not sure why he was in my personal space. If he wanted to keep his balls, he needed to take a few steps back.
“Don’t recognize me?” he asked, smile still on his face.
I examined him for a second. His disheveled dark hair. Dark eyes entirely focused on me. Strong jaw and full lips. He was really good looking, but should I remember him?