Meeting: Vampire Hunter Saga Book 1 Read online

  Meeting: Vampire Hunter Saga

  Book 1

  by

  Charlene Sands

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Table of content

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Prologue

  Smiling, the two children ran about, playing tag in the little girl's back yard. Their laughter filled the air as they skidded through the fallen autumn leaves.

  "Wait up, Ty!" The little girl shrieked happily, grabbing fistfuls of leaves in her hands and throwing them at him.

  "Alex, I'm not supposed to!" Ty insisted. "That goes against the rules of the game!"

  "But you're always faster than me," she pouted, running her fingers through her red hair. "It's not fair."

  Ty opened his mouth to say something else, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, the boy found his father standing over him.

  "Come on, Ty," Rick Sanders said quietly. "Time for you to go home."

  "But Dad-" Ty began to protest, then fell silent as he looked into his father's eyes. They were different from his; instead of a warm brown, they were a hard, steely blue. Ty turned to his friend. "Sorry, Alex, I have to go."

  Alex frowned. The seven-year-old kicked the leaves in front of her, forlorn—but she knew there was no fighting Mr. Sanders. "Ok. Bye."

  "Bye." Sighing heavily, Ty followed his father out of Alex's back yard and to their large SUV. Once they were far enough away from Alex, he spoke, sliding into the front passenger seat. "Dad, why'd I have to leave so early this time?" Then again, his father was always unfair and strict.

  "There's something we need to talk about, Ty," Rick began carefully. "Since your ninth birthday is only three days away."

  "What does my birthday have to do with it?" Ty's face showed his confusion.

  Rick started the car. "There's just something you need to know about yourself at this age, Ty. Something that's going to happen—something that's expected of you..."

  Six Years later...

  "I just think he's kind of lame, that's all," Ty mumbled, throwing the basketball through its hoop. "Doesn't he seem like an idiot to you?"

  Alex stood on the blacktop with him, hand on her hip. "I'll give you this: he isn't the smartest guy in the world. But I'm just thirteen. It's not like I'm going to marry the guy." She cocked her head, studying her best friend, a mischievous smile on her face. "What, you jealous?"

  "You wish," Ty grinned briefly, dribbling the ball in place. But his smile was short-lived. "Seriously... I've heard the guy isn't that great. You should stay away from him."

  "All he did was ask me to the dance," Alex muttered, holding up her hands for Ty to pass her the ball. "And it's not like I get that many date invites, Ty. Besides, you're only fifteen. You shouldn't be worrying about these kinds of things. Live a little!"

  Ty rolled his eyes. "You're taking my words way out of proportion, drama queen."

  "And you're acting like I'm made of china." Though Alex tried to dodge Ty as she dribbled, he suddenly snatched the ball from her hands and swung it through the hoop again. "Jerk."

  "What?" His mood instantly lightened, and he held up his hands in a 'what can you do?' way. "Someone getting a little mad because she sucks at basketball?"

  "Oh, don't get ahead of yourself," Alex said, feigning seriousness as she hit him in the shoulder. "Ow. Stop injuring my hand."

  "Stop hitting me," he retorted. But though Alex couldn't see it, there was slight worry still lingering in Ty's eyes as he watched her attempt to get the basketball through the net (which resulted in it bouncing off the board and nearly hitting her in the head).

  "What you lookin' at?" She asked curiously, catching his gaze.

  "Nothing," Ty said quietly, running a hand through his short, light brown hair. "Just... nothing."

  Another three years later...

  "You know what's great about today?" Alex murmured, lying down on the ground of her back yard with Ty.

  "What?" He asked, turning his head to look at her.

  "Duh, idiot," she smirked, laughing slightly. "Today, as you very well know, is my sixteenth birthday. And I thought I was stating the obvious there."

  "I'm not a mind-reader!" Ty protested. "How am I supposed to know what you're happy about? Maybe you were happy about what I got you for said sixteenth birthday."

  "And I can't see into the future," Alex replied ruefully. "I have no idea what you got me. It would be really nice if you gave it to me before anyone else gave me theirs..." Her voice was wheedling.

  "Ok..." Ty fished into his pocket, then brought out something that glimmered in the sunlight. Alex gasped once she realized what it was.

  It seemed to be a perfectly tear drop-shaped ruby, small but definitely there, hanging from a silver chain. Ty placed it in her palm, and she stared at it for a moment, dazzled—before offering it back to him. "I can't accept this."

  Ty sat up, looking down at her. "Why not?" Disappointment-and something more-was in his eyes. "You don't like it?"

  "No, I love it..." Now Alex sat up as well, fingering the jewel. "It's just... too much. Way too much. I mean, you're my best friend, I know that, but you can't give me something like... this."

  "But I just did," Ty said adamantly, closing her hand around it. "I really want you to wear this, Alex. It doesn't mean... you know. Anything like that." He didn't need to define that. "I just wanted to give you something that you deserve. And you deserve this necklace."

  "But I don't," Alex protested weakly, eyes startled. "I'm nothing special, Ty. Not like the necklace."

  He sighed heavily, realizing that he wouldn't be able to convince her that, in his eyes, she was special enough. Not without passing over awkward grounds. "Look, please take it. For me?"

  After a moment, Alex nodded. "Ok, ok. I'll wear it. Happy?" There had been a weird strain in Ty's voice... Like she had to wear the necklace. Weird. She held the gift up, sweeping her hair out of the way and fixing the clasp so that it hung nicely.

  Ty gave a smile. "It looks great on you." His words sounded relieved.

  "Thank-you." Alex touched the jewel, and she gave a cautious smile before leaning forward to give her friend a kiss on the cheek. "Thank-you."

  Chapter 1

  One more year later...

  "These chocolate sundaes are going to be the death of me," Lulu muttered—as she ate yet another bite of the chocolate sundaes our school was serving.

  "So stop eating them," I shot back, shifting from one foot to another. Unlike Lulu, I didn't have a chocolate sundae. For I was too excited—and not about said sundaes. I was excited about why our school was serving sundaes: it was the last day before summer vacation. Unfortunately, since we still had fifteen minutes until the bell rang, we juniors had to wait in the cafeteria.

  "I just... can't!" Lulu moaned, her eyes big and pleading. "They call to me, Alex!"

  I snorted in laughter.

  "This is serious! I'm getting fat."

  "You're not fat," I assured Lulu. Although, she had always been a little chubby. But not fat. Just... how did they describe it back in the days when people were polite? Oh, yeah. "Pleasantly plump". Lulu was pleasantly plump.

  "Sure," she mumbled through more ice cream. "Yo
u're just saying that because you're my friend."

  OK, so saying she wasn't just a little overweight would have been lying. But I never said that she wasn't overweight. I just said that she wasn't fat. "No I'm not."

  "Yes you are."

  Rolling my eyes, I sat down at the lunch table with her, glancing at the clock. Just a few more minutes until freedom...

  I'm not a huge fan of school, especially since Ty left. I mean, what do you expect from a seventeen-year-old girl? Besides, Ty's been my best friend since I was six and he was eight. Eleven years. Lulu's great—my best female friend. But I'd never have a bond with her like the one I had with Ty. And he'd been gone for the last three months on some stupid father-son thing with his dad. For some reason, he'd chosen to skip college. But today was the day he'd be coming back to the small town of Great Falls, Montana. Which was good, because, even though I've lived here all my life, I can'tstand it.

  Anxiously, I toyed with the necklace Ty had given me a year ago for my sweet sixteen. His face came to mind as I did so, boyish but grown-up at the same time, a lot of the age in his big brown eyes. Sandy brown hair, cut short and out of the way of his eyes. Yep, he'd been popular with the girls when he went to high school. Not that I had a problem with that...

  Well, OK, I'd had a tiny problem with it. But that's natural, right? To be a tiny bit jealous of girls who flirted with your best guy-friend? I'm sure it was.

  Finally, the bell rang, and I jumped to my feet, grabbing Lulu's wrist and pulling her along. Protesting mildly, she managed to toss her sundae in the trashcan near the cafeteria exit.

  "It's about time, isn't it?" I asked eagerly, speed walking towards the doors of the school.

  "Sure, yeah," Lulu panted, struggling to keep up with me. I'm not very athletic myself, but she's admittedly kind of pathetic. "Man, you're anxious to see Ty again."

  "Of course," I replied quickly. "He's been gone for months, and hasn't even been allowed to call me often."

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lulu roll her own eyes, and sighed. Sometimes she wondered about my friendship with Ty—she wondered if it was just a friendship. Honestly, why can't a guy and a girl just be friends without anyone wondering about it? Give us a break.

  Opening the heavy doors of the school, I ran out onto the front steps, scanning the street in front of the playground. Sure enough, a slightly beat up car was waiting there, the window rolled down.

  "Yes!" I whispered, then turned to Lulu. "He's here. Come on—you called your parents and told them you were hanging out with me and Ty, right?" Lulu has very protective parents.

  "Yeah, no problem," she assured me, beginning to make her way down the steps at my side.

  As we got closer to him, Ty stepped out of his car. Laughing, I ran up and wrapped my arms around him in a hug—he'd put on a bit more muscle, I noticed. He's six feet tall and pretty lean, but not without being fit.

  "Hey," he said, sounding a bit surprised by my greeting. "I'm guessing you're happy to see me..."

  "Oh, so no 'I missed you, Alex'?" I questioned playfully, taking a slightly awkward step away from him. "Gee, thanks."

  "I'm kidding," Ty smiled, reaching down to ruffle my red hair. I tried to dodge him, but failed. You see, my hair is my pride and joy. As previously said, it's red, and wavy, falling just beyond my shoulder blades. Since my skin is kind of pale and my eyes are gray, I think it's the thing that stands out the most on me.

  Ty looked seriously at me. "Of course I missed you, idiot. How could I not miss my favorite annoying redhead?"

  "And how could I not miss my favorite stupid jerk?" I replied sweetly, then turned my head to Lulu. "Told you he hasn't changed."

  But the truth was, he had, just a bit. Besides the extra muscle. There was a new maturity to his face, even though he was only nineteen, and a weird look in his eyes... Like there was a weight on his shoulders.

  "Hope your trip with your dad went well," Lulu added. She and Ty weren't that close, but they got along well enough.

  A vein near Ty's jaw tightened a bit. He and his dad didn't get along that much, and his mom had died when he was five years old. "It was fine." He looked down for a moment, turning his head slightly.

  I gasped, shocked. Since his head had been turned a different way before, I hadn't been able to see it, but... Now... On his cheek, not that far under his right eye, was a scar. It wasn't that long, and not disfiguring, but definitely there.

  "What happened?" I asked sharply, reaching up to trace the scar with my finger.

  Ty pulled away from me. "We were four-wheeling and I fell."

  Weird. The scar was so straight... But I decided not to bother him anymore about it. For now. "You never even told me where you were going..."

  "I told you that Dad said it would be a surprise," Ty said, though I didn't remember this. "It turned out to be Alaska. Pretty cool."

  "Then I'm glad I didn't get to go," I shuddered, sticking out my tongue. "You started out in the spring, and it takes forever for that place to warm up."

  "It wasn't that bad," Ty argued quietly. Abruptly, he changed the subject. "Come on, let's get in." He opened the car doors.

  I offered Lulu the front passenger seat, but she declined, as usual. According to her, that was where I belonged when we were riding with Ty. Those words made me feel so weird... Like I had assigned positions when we hung out with Ty. Like I was his right hand. Then again, I could see how Lulu felt that way.

  Ty and I had met at a playground. It had been three years since his mom's death-which he can barely remember-and he'd basically lost all his friends while he mourned her. His dad was forcing him to get out.

  At six, I was trying to learn how to play basketball, and I sucked at it. Ty, on the other hand, found my antics comical, and tried to teach me. Despite that, I still sucked-and still do-but it was the start of our friendship.

  "So," Ty began as he started the car. "Where do you two want to go?"

  "You should choose," I said, glancing back at Lulu, who nodded. "After all, you're the one who's been gone so long."

  "Well..." Ty seemed hesitant. "I guess Tammy's would be OK."

  Tammy's was a small restaurant we 'young people' frequented, run by Tammy Jenson, Lulu's twenty-nine-year-old cousin. It had been up for five years now, and it was one of my favorite places in town.

  "Sure," I smiled, "what about you, Lulu?"

  Lulu blushed and ducked her head. Like most people would, she thought her cousin was completely embarrassing—though Tammy was actually pretty cool. "Sounds good."

  As we made our way towards Tammy's, Lulu and I gave Ty a summary of what had been going on at school while he was gone. He liked to be updated with what went on, even though he'd graduated last year. However, this time, he seemed strangely distant, and often seemed lost in his own thoughts. I dismissed it as jet lag.

  We now reached Tammy's. It was a little building, light blue with its name scrawled across the front in red script. The inside was checkerboard and kind of old fashioned. The three of us got out of the car and walked inside, coming up to the front bar where Tammy was.

  "Ty!" She grinned, leaning over to give him a quick hug. "It's been a while since I've seen you!"

  "I was on a trip with my dad," Ty explained in his quiet voice. I gave him a worried glance. Why did he seem so distracted?

  Tammy gave us all a wide grin. She had the same dishwater blond hair as Lulu, and the same hazel eyes as well. But she was tiny and stick-thin, often wearing a tank-top and skinny jeans. After all, that was a good way to bring in male customers.

  "How've you been, Tammy?" Ty asked, dodging questions about himself.

  "Oh, fine," she sighed, beginning to fix some drinks. "Just kind of bored. And depressed. I can't believe I'm almost thirty."

  Though Ty and I laughed at her dramatics, Lulu blushed bright red. I elbowed her, smiling. When would she get over that?

  Tammy passed us each a drink. "Pepsi for Lulu, Lemonade for Alex, and, if I rememb
er correctly, a Mountain Dew for you, Ty. On the house."

  "You got it right," Ty smiled tiredly at her. "But you don't have to give them to us, I can pay."

  I stared at him. What...? Before he left, Ty hadn't had a job, not even a small one. And he'd still lived with his dad.

  "You got a job?" Tammy voiced my thoughts.

  "Yeah," Ty answered, "one with my dad's business." Rick Sanders, Ty's father, was some businessman. His job was complicated—so complicated, Ty couldn't really specify exactly what the business was. "I have my own apartment now, too."

  "Really?" Lulu sounded stunned.

  "Congratulations!" I grinned, though inside I was more confused than ever. "That's great. Really great. So, when do I get to see the new place?"

  "Tonight, if you want," Ty shrugged.

  Tammy raised her eyebrows, and surprise was written over Lulu's face, but I wasn't worried. Ty and I had seen each other a lot at night before. Some people questioned our relationship, but really, all it was was friendship. There had been only one time when we'd voiced any problems with one's relationship, and that was four years ago.

  I'd been in eighth grade, and Ty was a sophomore in high school. We weren't able to see each other as much, since we went to different schools. Maybe that's why I'd turned to Joshua, another eighth-grader.

  For a thirteen-year-old, he was gorgeous. No, correct that: he was gorgeous for any age. And he'd asked me to our Spring Formal. The problem was, Ty completely disapproved. Now, he didn't dictate my love life, but there had been something in his voice as he spoke to me about Joshua... almost desperation... That had worried me, so I turned Joshua down. I never saw him again, since he moved out of town shortly before summer vacation.

  I'd long since dismissed that a long time ago. Ty had probably heard some shady things about Joshua. The hot ones were always bad news.

  Well,I thought, looking at Ty. Not all of them.

  Yeah. As much as I hated to admit it, my best friend had gotten hot over the years. Not only was he popular with the typical girls who have no preference in guys-you know who they are-but I thought he was good-looking. Great-looking. But still, I had no worries about going to his apartment. In fact, I felt like I should go... He'd been acting so weird.