Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1

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For my wonderful husband, Tommy, who proved his love many times over by doing mountains of dishes and laundry, enabling me to write this book. Also for my wonderful sons, Travis, Troy, and Trace, who, along with their father, are the loves of my life.

Also, to my mother, Donna Davey, and my father, Todd Cranmer, who always knew I could do it.

Love you all and thanks for the encouragement!

First and foremost, to my husband, Tommy, thank you for all that you do, and for being the best father and husband a family could want. Thanks for believing in me. And thanks to my children, who never cease to make me smile.

To my mother, Donna Davey, and father, Todd Cranmer who always knew I could do it.

To Nikki Shah, who hosts writing contests on the Stephanie Meyer Facebook fan page, creating a wonderful forum of writers, and for giving us an avenue within which to hone our craft.

To Danielle Lee Zwissler, my first publisher with Firefly and Wisp Publishing who believed in my writing, and to all the writers who have become my publishing family at Firefly and Wisp Publishing.

To my fans on my Facebook pages, Theresa Oliver’s Short Story Page, Theresa Oliver author, and Write More Publications, who first read and loved Star and my other stories. Thanks for believing in my work. You guys rock!

Thanks to my fans, for without them, this book would not have been published.

To all my students I ever taught! Keep up the good work! And keep reading and writing! You can do it!

“You can have a seat, Ms. Star,” Rachel, a pretty receptionist in her mid-twenties, greeted me with a friendly smile. “I’ll let Dr. Abbott know you’re here. He’s expecting you.”

Nodding curtly, my stiletto heels tapped rhythmically as I walked toward the seat she had indicated. I like high heels. They make me look older. I know, usually women want to look younger, but I’m not like most women.

Most women aren’t vampires.

Seated, I looked around the sparse, metallic room and breathed in a sigh, feeling the rush of air fill my lungs. I really don’t need air to live. In fact, I can go for long periods of time without the life giving substance, hours, possibly a day if I have to. But to go without it for an extended period of time feels more and more uncomfortable the longer I go without it, until finally my lungs feel as if they might explode if I don’t breathe in. Breathing deeply now, feeling the air rush into my lungs, feels comforting, life giving.

But although I don’t need air to live, blood is another thing altogether. Yes, I eat human food and it sustains me for a time, but not for long. But blood? That is my primary source of nourishment. Fulfillment, I guess is more the word. For you see, blood is life giving, too. It flows freely through my veins like a human’s, but my body actually metabolizes it for food, unlike a human. For humans, blood renews itself creating an unending source of life. But within my body, blood isn’t renewed. It’s used. Blood carries oxygen throughout my body like for a human, but it’s also used for food.

This leads me to my primary source of replenishment.

Relax, I once fed on humans. In fact, human blood tastes better and is more satisfying than any other source. Luscious, life-giving, human blood carries oxygen and metabolizes better within my body than any other kind, probably because it’s closer to my own, since I once was human. But I swore off human blood long ago. After all, how can I protect humanity if I’m destroying it? It’s an oxymoron, really. A contradiction. You can’t protect the sanctity of life if you’re taking it, so I swore off human blood.

My heart beats and my body functions just fine on animal blood, thank you very much. But I don’t like rabbits, squirrels, and Bambi. I prefer big game. They present more of a challenge. I like the fight, the hunt, and the kill. I guess the killer instinct within me never left, even though I’ve sworn off killing humans centuries ago.

But I don’t kill unless it’s necessary. In fact, I will go out of my way to keep from killing, but just don’t piss me off. Even though I’ve sworn not to kill humans doesn’t mean I haven’t been known to slip upon occasion.

As for the sun, I don’t suddenly burst into flames, and I don’t sparkle; I shimmer. My skin glows and shimmers in the sun as if I had just slathered baby oil over my skin. My shimmering skin is not enough to keep me out of the sun, but it is enough to draw the attention of the humans. So I cover up in the sun, unless I’m at the beach, of course. Even though we try not to draw the attention of the humans, there are some of us that relish the attention. Hence, super models. Let’s just say that many supermodels and I have a lot in common.

Even though the sun itself poses no threat, fire is my biggest enemy. When humans are burned, their skin blisters and peels, but when a vampire is burned, that part which was burned disintegrates, vanishing completely with no hope of repair.

While we’re on the subject, let’s clear up a few myths. Many myths were created with the sole purpose of giving humans the idea that they stood a chance against us, or else they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. So go on believing and rest easy tonight, safe in your bed.

Sure.

Anyway, the myths: (1) Yes, a stake in the heart will kill me, that is, if you can catch me first. Of course
!
 
My heart beats, although much more slowly than a human, therefore, it is fallible. It can stop. And if it stops for any length of time, I will die, but my rib cage is as strong as steel, so my heart is well protected. (2) Yes, I have super-human strength and reflexes. I can move at lightning speed, faster than a human’s eye can see. (3) I don’t have fangs, but I do have venom, and my venom can kill or turn a human into a vampire. If I bite a human, I must drain them completely, taking their life, or they will become like me. And they would not be happy with me once they recover. But most don’t mind. (4) Garlic is great over pasta. (5) Coffins are for the dead. I only sleep when my body needs to rejuvenate itself, then I go into almost a coma, appearing to be dead, until I awaken. Once, I gave a coroner a heart attack, literally, when I sat straight up on the table in the morgue.

He didn’t suffer.

I’ve been trained in every mode of self defense known to man. I’m a 4
th
degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, but would probably be a 5
th
degree if I tested. I am a master at Jujitsu, Judo, Karate, and Kung Fu, as well. For a good work out, I do Kickboxing and Kumdo, which means “way of the sword” in Korean.

As for weapons, I am a master at all types of swords and guns, especially standard military issue weapons such as the M-16 rifle, the AA-12 automatic shotgun, Scar-H assault rifle, Barrett 50 cal sniper rifle, M-134 Gatling Gun, and grenade launchers. The usual. Also, I’m well versed in many ancient weapons that are currently obsolete such as the musket, and modern illegal weapons such as the Uzi and Ballistics Knife, a projectile knife primarily used by Russian military personnel.

Oh, and I’m the military’s greatest, most deadliest weapon.

I have experience in every war since the Revolutionary War, and yes, I am American through and through. Why am I the military’s greatest weapon? Because I’m a covert CIA operative. I don’t exist, as far as the military is concerned.

The government caught word of my existence when I got a bit sloppy single handedly wiping out some mobsters in Chicago in 1929. They called it the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, but they promised to keep my identity—along with the fact that vampires exist—a secret. I mean, could you really sleep at night knowing we exist? It would cause mass panic and change the world as we know it.

Getting back to the CIA, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse—monetary, of course—and promised me the opportunity to save the world. I really didn’t need the money since I was already very wealthy, but the opportunity to save the world?
That
I couldn’t refuse. I’ve been working for the CIA since it’s indoctrination during WWII, but I’ve been working for the government in some form since the Revolutionary War. Military intelligence has been important to the government since the time of George Washington. Believe me. I should now.

Like I said before, I work for a covert branch of the CIA that doesn’t exist, and Dr. Sam Abbott is my contact. Or, at least, that’s the name I know him by. This branch is so secretive and covert that we are only called in times of utter emergency to do a job. It doesn’t take many of us. Yes, don’t be so shocked, I’m not the only one. Anyway, a few of us can go in without anyone knowing and create the devastation of a whole army. Ten of us can take down a human army with ease. Then, of course, humans take the credit. That suits me just fine, since our existence must remain secret.

Also, vampires are not made frivolously. For one thing, most of us do not want to take over the human race. Notice I said
most.
But every few years, a sadistic idiot comes along that wants to take over the human race and thinks he can rule the world, then we’re called in to take him, or her, down quietly. Does Hitler ring a bell? Another oxymoron. He wanted the perfect human race, but if they only knew what he was … anyway, we were called in to make sure the job was done correctly.