The Vampire Hunter's Daughter The Complete Collection (20 page)

Tears slid down my cheeks and soaked the
pillow. I sniffled and sighed, and then I turned off my phone. As
much as I wanted to, I couldn’t call them.

I just couldn’t.

When I woke, I couldn’t even tell if it was
morning, because there were no windows to let in the light. I
rolled over and looked at the clock. It was almost nine in the
morning. I never,
ever
, slept that late. Even on vacation
days from school or during the summer, I still woke up at the butt
crack of dawn to go for my run and train.

I pulled back the covers and sat up on the
edge of the bed. I wondered what I was supposed to do all day. I
assumed Trevor would be asleep, being a vampire and all. I picked
out an outfit to wear and then hurried to the bathroom. After I’d
showered and dressed in jeans and a plain black tee-shirt, I
wandered into the sitting room and immediately smelled food. A
quick glance around the room proved there was, to my surprise, an
entire breakfast sitting on the little table in the corner of the
room. On closer inspection, I saw an omelet, hash browns, a bowl of
fruit, coffee and orange juice. My stomach rumbled, and I realized
the long rest overnight had stirred up my appetite.

“I hope you like it.”

“Ahhhh!” I jumped back and reached for my
gun—that wasn’t there—on instinct. When I realized it was Alice who
had spoken, I put my hand on my heart and released a big sigh.
“Jeez, Alice. You scared me!”

“I’m so sorry.” She held out a little dish
with toast on it. “Please, don’t tell Mr. Trevor I scared you so
badly. I was just getting the toast off the cart over there.”

I was still catching my breath from the
scare. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell
Mr. Trevor.
You didn’t do
anything wrong. I was just surprised; that’s all.” I pulled out the
chair and sat. “Would you sit and have coffee with me?”

She shook her head quickly. “Oh, no. I
couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Uhm… I just… I—I don’t think I’m supposed
to. I’m just the help.”

“Well you’re not
just
'the help' to
me.” I pointed at the chair across from me. “Sit,” I ordered.

She smiled shyly and sat.

“Well, now, that’s more like it.” I handed
her the coffee mug and took the orange juice for myself. “Tell me
about this place, Alice.”

“What would you like to know?”

“I want to know everything. Do you like it
here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know much else
any more."

"How long have you been here?" I asked
her.

"Since I was thirteen.”

I set my orange juice down so hard it sloshed
over the sides. “Wow. And how old are you now?”

“I am twenty two. Mr. Trevor found me
sleeping in a rest room at a bus station. He asked me if I wanted a
better life, asked what I was willing to give up for that better
life. Then he brought me home.”

For a moment, I wondered if her blood was the
only thing she had given up.

“Are you happy here?” I leaned in, speaking
softly.

“Like I said, Miss, I don’t really know much
else any more. I’m not unhappy.”

I nodded. Perhaps, it was a better life for
her. I, however, refused to accept that bringing a
thirteen-year-old kid home to drink her blood, and do whatever else
with, was an acceptable thing to do.

“This place is beautiful, but I’m wondering
what I’m going to do all day.” I looked around the room.

“Mr. Trevor says you can go anywhere in the
house or on the grounds, as long as you don’t leave.”

I nodded. “I kind of figured that.”

She slid out her chair and stood. “Miss,
Chloe, I really should be going. I have several things to do, and
then I nap in the afternoon so I will be awake when Mr. Trevor
wakes.”

“I’m sorry to have kept you,” I told her.
Actually, I was a little sad to see her go. I didn’t want to be
alone in a gigantic house with nothing to do. I glanced at the
bookshelves. I guessed I’d find something.

“Goodbye,” I called to her while Alice
quietly slipped out the door.

After I ate some of the breakfast she’d
brought up for me, I decided to take a walk on the property and
explore. I needed to know who was out there watching, where the
exits were, that sort of thing. I strapped my gun on and then
bundled up, even though I didn’t know what it looked like outside.
I hated not having windows. It made me feel even more like a
prisoner.

Outside it was brisk, cold and snowing. The
clouds covered the sun and a thick fog had settled in, misting like
smoke in the trees. I wondered then if Trevor was the kind of
vampire who could actually come out as long as there was no direct
sunlight. Maybe he had to actually sleep during the daylight hours.
I realized I had no clue.

I couldn’t even see the fence. The property
was outlined by trees and the fence ran along the inside of the
tree line. I walked the perimeter, staying on the snow-laden lawn,
where it would look like I was simply out for a stroll.

I didn’t see any guards along the way. They
must have been hidden, because I was certain there were guards. It
also occurred to me that during the day, they had to be human. Oh
crap, if I had to escape and a human tried to stop me… I didn't
know if I could handle killing a human being.

I could just hear Drew in my head:
They
aren’t human, Chloe. They are evil… we kill
evil.

I just don't think I could do it.

I tried hard to come up with a plan of
action. I’d come to this house with Trevor to kill him. It actually
wouldn’t be that hard for me to kill him, but the odds of my
killing him and then getting away weren’t so good, if he really did
have guards posted everywhere.

When I wandered into the backyard and saw a
deep rectangular in-ground pool underneath a huge covered patio
area. The pool had steam rising from it; it was warm and ready for
use. Beside the pool was a miniature hot tub version of the pool. A
large brick grill was built into the patio and two patio tables
accented the area with their bright blue chair cushions.

Thinking about getting in the pool and
stretching my muscles made me wonder if Trevor had gym equipment in
this house. I couldn’t see why he would, because he was a vampire
and vampires didn’t need to work out. Did they?

Back inside the house, after finding out that
there were more bathrooms than I thought anyone would ever want, a
theater entertainment room, and a recreation room with a pool
table, I did indeed find a large room with gym equipment. There
were only a few weight machines, a treadmill and a rowing machine,
but beggars couldn’t be choosers. I hadn’t trained for a few days,
and I couldn’t afford to let my muscles go like that.

Yeah, like I could ever overpower a
vampire.

I needed to keep telling myself I was a
vampire hunter. We overpowered vampires all the time, but it did
bother me that I was so weak compared to a vampire. The other thing
that bothered me was I needed to practice my special ability, my
fire power. I couldn’t really do that in Trevor’s house. I was
pretty sure he knew about it anyway, from that one little vamp who
had gotten away during the attack. But maybe he didn’t know, and if
he didn’t, then I sure as hell didn’t want him to find out.

When Trevor woke around sundown, Alice
informed me that I was expected for supper in the dining room in
thirty minutes. Somehow, the properness of this request made me
feel I should change my clothes. So, I took off my jeans and put on
a pair of slacks with my pink blouse. While I changed, it became
clear I was going to need more clothes than I had brought with me.
I still didn’t want to wear anything he had picked for me, simply
on principle.

Once downstairs, we sat across from each
other at the dining table. It was much like it had been the night
before, only this time he tried to have a conversation with me.