The Vampire War

CHAPTER TWO

“Damn it,” said the sorcerer, lowering his hand and staring at the dumpster with a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. “That was my favorite knife. Now I’ll never get it back.”

Personally, I thought that the fact that a dangerous vampire just got away was more noteworthy than the fact that this guy lost one of his favorite weapons, but I didn’t say that aloud. I just got to my feet, dusting off my jeans and jacket and checking myself to make sure I was okay. Aside from a few scrapes and bumps, I seemed fine, though that made sense, because I didn’t do a whole lot of actual fighting. At least, nothing on the same level as this sorcerer guy anyway.

“Thanks for saving me,” I said, looking at the sorcerer. “I thought I was a goner there.”

The sorcerer turned around, and my jaw fell open despite myself. He was beautiful. I didn’t know how else to put it. He had the face of a model, with high cheekbones, penetrating black eyes, and a well-defined jawline. His long hair just added to his handsomeness. That it was messy from all of the fighting he did just added to his attractiveness, in my opinion. It helped that his chest was also pretty big. As I suspected, he must have hit the gym a lot.

“You’re welcome,” said the sorcerer with a bow. “I despise vampires, especially vampires that attack pretty young women like yourself. But don’t feel the need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”

“Uh huh,” I said, nodding. My eyes couldn’t stop drifting to his silver ax. My vampire side was sending my brain warning signs about it, while my human side told me to calm down and not freak out.

Despite that, the sorcerer must have noticed what I was looking at, because he said, “Like my ax? I’ll let you hold it if you want, though I think a girl as petite as you would probably have difficulty holding it up.”

I shook my head and looked the sorcerer in the eyes. “Oh, no, it’s fine. I was just … I don’t see people walking around with big silver axes like that all the time.”

The sorcerer shrugged. “Most vampire hunters prefer swords or knives due to their lightweight nature, but I’ve always preferred my ax. Once you master the weapon, it is actually even more effective at beheading vamps than a sword is. Combine it with magic and you’ve got a terrifying killing technique that would make even a Vampire Lord hesitate.”

“So that was magic you did earlier?” I said. “The invisibility?”

“Correct,” said the sorcerer, nodding. “Invisibility is a difficult magic to master, but like the ax, once you learn how to do it, it becomes indispensable for dealing with vamps. Vamps tend to have better senses than humans, but they still rely on their sight more than the others and never expect humans to use magic to hide ourselves like that. That’s why all those vamps were so scared, because they weren’t used to dealing with a sorcerer who can use invisibility.”

I didn’t tell him that I had been scared myself. Until I actually saw him, I thought he might be some other vampire, maybe from the Order, who was taking out those other guys just to get at me. Maybe that was paranoid, but given how I still didn’t know the full extent of vampire magic, I felt it was a justifiable fear. I relaxed a bit now, though, knowing that he was just a sorcerer and therefore a human who probably had nothing to do with the Vampire Council.

“That’s interesting,” I said. “I can summon fireballs and energy barriers, but my magical skills aren’t nearly as advanced as yours.”

“Comes with experience,” said the sorcerer. He snapped his fingers. “Oh, excuse me, I haven’t introduced myself yet. Batholomew Reynolds, vampire hunter, at your service, though you can just call me Bart for short.”

“Bart,” I said, nodding. “Well, I’m—”

“Tara Lee,” Bart interrupted. “Daughter of Richard Lee, the famous Hunter, correct?”

“How did you know?” I said in surprise. “Have you been stalking me?”

And then I thought, Would I be upset if a sorcerer as handsome as him was stalking me?

“Not exactly,” said Bart, shaking his head. “The Vampire Hunters Guild keeps up-to-date information on all members, retired and active. I simply looked up the Hunter’s file and found a picture of you, though I think it must have been from a few years ago because you look slightly older than you did back then.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Bart hadn’t actually been stalking me, but aloud I said, “Wait, what Vampire Hunters Guild? I’ve never heard of it.”

Bart frowned, as if wondering if I was joking or not. “The Vampire Hunters Guild is the sole vampire hunting organization among the sorcerers. Every vampire hunter is a member of it, though you don’t have to join it if you don’t want to. Still, there are a lot of benefits for joining, which is why pretty much everyone is a member. Your dad was a well-known member back in his youth. Did he never tell you?”

There were a lot of things Dad never told me about, at least in regards to the sorcerer community and his time within it. But aloud, I said, “No, he never did. In fact, I didn’t know magic even existed until about a month ago. Dad never saw any reason to tell me about it.”

“He didn’t?” said Bart. “Interesting. I heard that the Hunter had left the sorcerer community, but I thought that was just a rumor. Perhaps there’s more truth to it than I thought.”

Although Bart didn’t seem like a bad guy, I realized that I didn’t actually know him or know if he was even really a vampire hunter. He was definitely a sorcerer, but that didn’t mean he was friendly or a good guy. I had to be careful with what I told him, especially given my nature as a half-vampire. Dad made it clear that sorcerers didn’t like half-vampires anymore than vampires did, so I needed to be careful that I didn’t reveal my nature to him and make Bart decide to put that ax of his in my neck.

“So how long have you been following me?” I said. “And why did you save me?”

“I haven’t been following you very long,” said Bart. “I followed you to church and then I followed you here. I intended to reveal myself in your apartment, where we would have some privacy, but when those vamps attacked, I decided to do what I did best and kill the bastards. I apologize if I frightened you. It wasn’t my intention.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said, waving my hands. “I appreciate that you save me, but, um, why were you following me in the first place? What made you want to look for me?”

“I need to see your father,” said Bart. He rested his hand on the hilt of his ax, though it seemed more like a habit than a sign that he was going to draw it again. “There’s been some dangerous developments in the sorcerer community and I need his help.”

“What kind of developments are we talking about?” I said. “And why are they dangerous?”

Bart looked away for a moment, as if uncomfortable. “I don’t feel comfortable discussing them out here, where someone might eavesdrop on us. Best to discuss this in private with your dad, especially as it concerns him. He will have the context necessary to understand what’s happening.”

I frowned. Bart seemed to be telling the truth, as far as I could tell. Something bad had happened in the sorcerer community and he felt like he needed Dad’s help dealing with it. I couldn’t help but wonder what this problem was, but I didn’t think I would be able to convince Bart to tell me what it was ahead of time.

“I’m not sure,” I said, rubbing the spot on my neck where I had been bitten what seemed like a lifetime ago now. “Dad doesn’t really have much to do with the sorcerer community anymore, so he might not be interested in helping. And besides, while I’m thankful for your help just now, I still don’t know you well enough to—”

“I know your secret.”

I froze. “What?”

“Your secret,” Bart said. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said with a gulp. “I have no secrets. I mean, not any secrets that most people don’t have—”

“Don’t lie to me,” said Bart. He pointed at me. “You’re a half-vampire. I overheard those vamps call you that and you didn’t deny it.”

My eyes widened. I considered running away, but after seeing Bart take out all those vampires like they were nothing, I didn’t think I would be able to get very far before he caught me. “All right. I’m a half-vampire, but please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to die.”

“Oh, I won’t tell anyone,” Bart said, “on the condition that you take me directly to the Hunter so I can talk with him about what’s been happening in the sorcerer community.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“Of course,” said Bart. “Do you have a problem with that?”

I bit my lower lip. I was about to say yes, but then I realized that I was actually impressed with Bart’s blunt honesty. That was a pretty rare thing to find in most people today and it served only to make him even more attractive to me, maybe even outright sexy. There was no way I could honestly say I was bothered by that.

So I slowly said, “No, I don’t. But I’m surprised you haven’t killed me already like you did to those other guys.”

“I need you,” said Bart simply. “Besides, the daughter of the legendary Hunter couldn’t be evil, even if she was turned into a half-vampire.”

I could tell that Bart, despite his bluntness, had other reasons for sparing me, but I chose not to say that aloud. “Well, then I guess it’s time for us to leave.”

“Great,” said Bart with a winning smile. “We’re going to the Hunter’s house. Tell me where it is and we can head there without delay.”