Revamped (6 page)

He turned around to face me, the feverish look in his eyes causing me to take a slight step back. “I don’t really embrace this whole
vampire fad
. I’m not interested in anything related to vampires, being a vampire or serving the Vampire President. Got it?”

“What about your obligation to protect humans?” I questioned.

“I’m not interested in humans either, not even the sad, vulnerable ones so many vampire idiots fall for. You could say, I'm only interested in myself.” He smirked, his tone once again reaching sub-zero temperatures. “So, if you wouldn’t mind leaving, I’d love to get back to work.”

“But, but…you can’t do that. When I tell the President that you’re here, he’ll order you to join the group.” I was grasping at straws.

All of a sudden, Sebastian charged toward me, thrusting his face into mine. He was so close our noses almost touched. As I raised my eyes to meet his, the raindrops from his glistening locks dripped onto my forehead. I resisted the temptation to blink as droplets of water fell onto my eyelashes, not wanting to show him any weakness.

“For the past century I’ve been doing exactly what I want, when I want. I don’t owe anything to any human or vampire—
especially
not the President. Now, leave before I make you leave!” he said through clenched teeth.

“
Fine
!” I yelled, pressing my fists tightly against my legs in an effort to prevent myself from striking him. “But, just so you know, you’re a really
sucky
vampire.” I mentally kicked myself for the lame retort, also chastising myself for having wanted this aggravating snob to join the group.

“Please don’t come around here anymore.” With those final words, Sebastian stormed off into the house, slamming the heavy door behind him. I was left alone on the wet driveway; feeling confused, angry, and somewhat excited by our meeting.

That evening, nestled in the small, cozy cottage in the depths of the Angel Creek forest, I glumly surveyed the vampires gathered around the dining room table. Hunter was resting his head on the linen tablecloth, struggling to stay awake. Every so often, he would succeed in lifting his heavy lids and focusing his eyes on me, only to instantly retreat into his intoxicated coma. Sophie sat to Hunter’s right, her forehead scrunched tightly as she squinted at the tiny print of her historical fiction novel. Her pupils moved at lightning speed as her eyes traversed the pages of the book, hungrily devouring the story. Across from them, Brooke was polishing her nails with a sharp, pink file. She paused after each stroke to carefully inspect her nails and ensure that she was creating the perfect shape. Seth sat at the foot of the table, a large head of garlic in his hand. He peeled off a clove and popped it into his mouth, wincing as the bitter flavor reached his taste buds. All the while, he shot dirty looks in Brooke’s direction.

Drawing in a deep, calming breath, I launched into a short speech I had prepared earlier in the day. “Congratulations new vampire recruits! The four of you are now the official guardians of Angel Creek. This is both a great honor and an important task. Are you ready to band together and work with me?” I asked with as much excitement as I could muster.

“Hmm?” Hunter murmured, raising his head.

“Y-Yes.” Sophie whispered.

“Okay,” Brooke said. “But it better make me super popular.”

Seth narrowed his eyes at Brooke. “As long as I don’t have to work too closely with
her
.”

It was the best I was going to get, I realized.

“Tomorrow morning we begin our train—” Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, a sudden blur of movement in the woods caught my attention. I only saw it for a split second, but it was enough to convince me that someone was lurking outside.
Someone had found our secret location.

Not wanting to panic the recruits, I casually made my way to one of the dining room windows. Wiping away layers of dust that clouded the glass pane, I pressed my forehead against its cool surface, scanning the horizon for the origin of the activity. It was difficult to make out through the thick sheets of rain, but right at the edge of the forest, concealed by the shadowy trees, stood a tall, dark silhouette. From its frame alone, I could not tell if it belonged to a human, a vampire, or some other being altogether. I was only sure of one thing—it was watching us. I rushed outside to investigate, but by the time I had reached its hiding spot, the stranger had vanished into the darkness.

CHAPTER THREE

By next morning, the rain had ceased. Bright rays of sunshine penetrated the second-floor cottage window, bathing the rustic hardwood floors of my small bedroom in a golden glow. The warm light playfully announced the beginning of a new day, though for me it was the start something even bigger. I had spent the entire night awake on the soft, lumpy bed, competing for space with a frilly flower duvet, and plotting out a full training program for the recruits.

When I first received the mission, I had anticipated being in Angel Creek for two or three days at most—a sufficient amount of time to go over a few simple rules and responsibilities with the newly appointed town guardians. Instead, I was faced with four vampires who were in far worse shape than I could ever have imagined. It would take a couple of weeks before my trainees would even be capable of taking care of themselves, let alone could succeed at protecting the humans in town.

I swiftly rolled off the bed, making a mental note to call my father and update him on the current situation. Just as I was about to exit the room, I saw a glimpse of my disheveled reflection in a large, antique mirror hanging on a wall next to the bed. The image staring back at me made me curse the fact that the whole “vampires have no reflections” thing was just a myth. My long hair was matted from yesterday’s rainstorm, my clothes wrinkled from overnight wear. My usual tank and jeans attire just didn’t seem to cut it this morning. I had never been the type to fret about my appearance, so this unexpected desire to look good caught me by surprise.

I picked up a hairbrush from a nearby dresser and attacked my long locks with it. The cute bartender Ethan’s face flashed through my mind, causing me to blush—
in theory
—at the sudden bout of self-consciousness I was experiencing. My thoughts of Ethan were abruptly interrupted by an image of Sebastian’s enigmatic gray eyes. Eyes so full of mystery, allure, even danger. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I recalled the warning look he flashed me. There was something so unnerving about the way he stared at me, yet my pulse quickened in memory of his rain-drenched face, mere inches away from mine. Alarmed by my own wild imagination, I threw the brush back on the dresser and hurried out of the room.

I pushed Sebastian out of my mind as I descended the narrow stairwell and prepared to meet the team. Upon entering the large, open-concept main floor, I found each of the vampires in the same position I had left them the night before. Sophie lay curled up on the brown living room couches, a new novel in her hand. Brooke sprawled across the floor, drenching her nails in a thick coat of bright pink polish. Seth was watching a movie on a laptop he had brought along with him, while Hunter lazed on one of the reclining chairs, his eyes firmly shut.

Due to the high levels of caffeine in
Blood Cola
and other energy drinks like
Blood Bull
, most modern vampires went days without sleep, often only requiring it when over-exerting their bodies or healing from an injury. Despite this fact, I had asked the entire group to rest for the night, wanting them to be in top physical and mental form before we commenced the training. Judging by the montage in front of me, I could tell that they hadn’t obeyed my request.

“Alright, guys!” I exclaimed in an attempt to energize them. “Training time!” My dynamic voice had the desired effect, causing all four vampires to jump to their feet.

So far, so good.

“I’m going to get some tools from my car. Meet me in the meadow behind the cottage in five minutes,” I ordered, adding, “Don’t be late!” All the while, a joyful smile tugged at the corners of my lips. It wasn’t going to be a simple task to revamp the misfit vampires, but I was delighted to finally be on a mission. More importantly, I was determined to succeed.

Minutes later, Brooke, Sophie, Hunter and Seth were standing on a grassy clearing, positioned side-by-side in a straight line. They studied me inquisitively as I paced in front of them, clutching an array of ancient weapons in my arms. I handed each trainees a sword. Before I had a chance to give out any instructions, Seth let out an animalistic roar and, laboriously holding up the heavy weapon with two hands, charged at Brooke. I stepped between them, intercepting his attack and shooting him a stern look. I had wrongly convinced myself that I had succeeded in persuading Seth to put the incident with Brooke behind him. I thought that by assuring him that real heroes took the high-road when it came to those who had wronged them, he would absolve his grudge against his sire. Unfortunately, it was clear that there was still unresolved tension between the two. I now not only had to worry about training the entire gang, but also keep them from killing one another.

Doing the best impersonation of my poised, commanding father I could muster, I took Seth’s sword away and said, “The four of you are a team.
Rule Number One
: always protect your teammates.” I looked at each group member. “
Rule Number Two
: No intentional hurting. Ever. Or you’ll not only be expelled from the group, but will also have to answer to me.” Pausing for dramatic effect, I firmly asked, “Is that understood?”

Seth nodded sheepishly. The rest mumbled in agreement.

“Forget the weapons,” I sighed, looking at the vampires in front of me. “We’re not quite ready for that yet. Break off into sparring pairs and show me what you can do. Hunter you’re with Seth, and Sophie, you’re Brooke’s partner.”

Mere moments into observing the group’s feeble attempt at combat, the realization that I was dealing with four of the weakest, most unrefined vampires I had ever seen, finally sunk in. Sadly, this statistic included even my youngest vampire pupils like Eddie and Julie. Once a human became a vampire, they were naturally stronger, faster and more skilled at many things. The group in front of me was, without a doubt, a colossal anomaly.

Over the next couple of hours, I worked one-on-one with each vampire, as the others loitered nearby, practicing simple kicks, blocks and punches. Sophie, despite having been a vampire for an entire century, was like a deer in headlights. She yelped in pain every time she punched or kicked me, as if
I
was the one hurting
her
. Her strongest hits felt like gentle taps and her small body looked so brittle I was afraid that, at any moment, she would break in half.

Brooke, on the other hand, was surprisingly strong and agile. The years of cheerleading had been good for something, after all. Regardless of her power and speed, she did everything in her power to avoid training.

“My nails!” she whined, showing me a tiny scratch on her perfectly manicured finger.

After his outburst, Seth settled down and tried his best to emulate the noble video game characters he looked up to so dearly. His best efforts fell short, due to his extreme lack of coordination and stamina. A simple jog around the field left him bent over in agony, gasping for air.

Hunter, the strongest of the four, was the least focused one. Since he was under strict orders to not drink any tainted blood, he was beginning to experience harsh symptoms of withdrawal. Everything from sound, to light, to simple directions irritated him, continuously escalating his foul mood. Every time I asked him to do something, I would have to endure rude gestures.

My patience with the group was rapidly dwindling, so I made the decision to call for a recess. It came just in time to prevent me from breaking the rule I myself had established earlier, by physically hurting one—or perhaps even all—of the team members.

We stretched out in the clearing, feasting on a quick snack of garlic pizza and
Blood Cola
. I had brought enough food to last for a few days, ensuring that the team, especially Brooke, would stay away from any human appetizers. We ate in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Brooke had not taken her eyes off of me the entire time. No matter how hard I tried not to look at her, I couldn’t avoid her judgmental glare. She was studying me intently, as if trying to figure out a secret of some sort. Finally, she spoke.

“So, Dawn. What’s your story?” she purred sweetly. “How did you get to be so good at everything?” Despite the syrupy charade, there was an edge to her voice.

“Honestly, it was mostly due to my father’s insistence that I get so good at everything,” I attempted to lighten the mood.

“It must be
so
nice to be a Daddy’s Girl,” Brooke retorted in a cool voice.

I wish I knew what it really felt like
, I thought wistfully, opting not to share that particular musing with the group.

Before I had the chance to respond to Brooke’s verbal attack in a less depressing manner, Seth cut in. “You must be one of those super old, all-powerful vampires, right?” he asked excitedly.

I contemplated his question for a moment. “Actually, I’m one of the youngest here. I only turned nineteen a little over two weeks ago.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “I think he means
vampire years
, genius. I’m technically
fifty-five
,” she whispered the last part, shuddering at the number. “But if we’re going by the age were
made
, then I’m seventeen and, therefore, younger than you,” she said, twirling one of her blonde locks around her finger.

Suddenly, Sophie’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, my! You’re one of the special vampires, aren’t you?
The
Born
?”

“What’s a
Born
?” Seth looked at me curiously.

I took a moment to explain to the newbie vampire the difference between the Born and the Made, sharing with the group what little I knew about my background. As I spoke, Brooke’s mood grew even darker.