Adults tend to think that teenagers are too impatient, that we want what we want when we want it, and that we just keep complaining until we get it. And I guess that’s true, for the most part. I mean, it had been for me anyway. I had wanted to be a Vampire Hunter so bad that I ended up doing the most dangerous thing possible and almost got myself killed in the process. That was four months ago, and even though I tried to go back to school and my normal life, with everything that had happened to me, I just couldn’t adjust. How could I keep going to high school with a bunch of kids who had no idea what they didn’t know? So… I found a way to get what I wanted. Only, now that I’m here at LIGHTS (Lincoln International Guardian and Hunter Training Station) I’m not really sure this is what I want either. Perhaps it’s because there is no one else like me in the world—not another Vampire Hunter/Vampire Hybrid. Or perhaps I am just one of those
“You ready, Cassidy?” Aurora asked, looking down at me as I stood in front of The Hill, this incredibly steep, mountainous obstacle we practice on. I knew I was having trouble focusing, mostly because I could feel my sister’s eyes on me all the way across the gymnasium. She was in one of the rooms across the hallway running on a treadmill, something she does every morning, but that morning she seemed particularly fascinated with my progress for some reason. I wished there were curtains over those windows.“I’m ready,” I assured Aurora. I tipped my head up to look her in the eyes, but that’s hard because she’s well-over six feet tall. She smiled down at me and blew her whistle, and I took off up The Hill, trying my best to beat my time from before.I figured out a long time ago that it’s faster to jump up and down the hill, but that doesn’t do much for my endurance, and that’s what I was working on. So I
“Sorry,” I mumbled at Aurora, who smiled at me and continued with her directions. I could see in her eyes that she was also wondering what was going on with Cadence and Aaron, but she didn’t say anything, and I returned my attention to the obstacle course just in time to see Addy completely wipe out on one of the hurdles. Since she is usually rude to me, I wanted to laugh, but I kept the giggle stifled and turned away. Tara had her hands over her mouth in shock that Addy might be hurt, and I wished I was as kindhearted as she is.Addy was up like nothing had happened and back on her way, and soon it was another girl’s turn, then Tara, then me. I flew through the course with no problems, scoring the fastest time, which made me proud but only won me the applause of Aurora and Tara. I figured the rest of the girls would just be nice to me since I’m already on this team, but I think there might be something else besides that going on now. Maybe they
“Are you all right, Cassidy?” Tara asked, and I realized I’d slipped off again. “Sometimes you get this look in your eyes, like you’re not really here.”“I’m sorry. It’s just—Jamie was the one who saved me, you know. I was thinking about that.”“Right,” Tara said, but I don’t think she quite got it, and I wasn’t exactly sure what she knew and what she didn’t. I definitely didn’t want to talk about it.“Well, I know why I’d want to stay here,” Mika was saying as she got dressed. “And it’s nothing to do with that doctor man.”I cocked my head to the side and looked up at her as her damp, curly hair sprung out of the top of her T-shirt. “What is it, then?”“Yeah, why do you want to stay here?” Tara asked, her forehead as crinkled as mine.“Seriously?” she asked in her thick
The apartment was quiet when I got there, which always makes me happy. Cadence and Aaron have an office on campus a few blocks away, but sometimes Cadence likes to work from here. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s afraid she’ll drive Aaron crazy with her disorganization, or if he drives her crazy telling her not to put her feet on the desk or to quit bouncing her knee, but whoever thought it was a good idea to put them in the same room, even if it’s a big one, probably didn’t think it through. So a lot of times, when I get back from training, she’s here. Luckily, this was not one of those days.I dropped my gym bag on the floor inside my room. (I learned a long time ago you never drop your bag by the door if you don’t want to have it flung at your head in the middle of the night by a Guardian who doesn’t sleep much and keeps a pretty tidy ship.) My stomach was growling, but I decided to call Brandon on the IAC and let him
I decided to change the subject. “Did your dad leave this morning?” I asked Brandon.“Uh, about an hour ago, I think,” he said, now looking uncomfortable himself. I know he didn’t want his dad to go talk to his mom, but I had a feeling things would turn out for the better because of it. “I’m not sure what he’s going to do all day since my mom won’t be home until 5:30 or so, depending upon the line at the liquor store, but I’m sure he’ll figure something out.”He’d just slipped that shot at his mom in there. I couldn’t blame him for it, though. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to notice it or not, so I didn’t go back to it. “Knowing Elliott, he’ll stop at a few truck stops along the way.” We both chuckled because Elliott has always been an eater, but ever since he came back from the dead, he seemed to be eating for two or three people. It was unbelievable.
I walked into the dining room to find Brandon lighting a candle, two plates of chicken and pasta ready to eat, with cloth napkins and the good silverware. “Would you like your pop in the can or on ice, my lady?” he asked, taking the stance of a waiter with his arm out in front of him.Laughter pealed out of my mouth before I could even thank him for going to so much trouble. “You really didn’t have to do all of this,” I said, shaking my head.“My pleasure, my lady,” he replied in some odd British-ish sounding accent. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Can or ice?”“Oh, the can’s fine,” I replied, taking a seat. I spread the napkin over my lap and waited for him to return before digging in. I really was starving. The pasta was a little overcooked for my liking, but other than that, it was great. I remembered the first time he’d cooked for me, for my whole family actually, when he and
I hadn’t really tried reaching out to the Vampires using my telepathy much lately, not since I’d spent so much time in Gibbon’s demented head, but every time I did it, I got better at it, and it didn’t seem like they even knew I was there most of the time. Not unless I wanted them to. “Okay,” I said to my sister again, this time a little more quietly. “What do you want me to find out from the Vampires exactly?”“Most of all, what’s going on. Where are they headed, why are they acting so strangely all of a sudden,” Cadence said, speaking slowly like she was contemplating whether or not she’d covered everything.“They are Vampires. They always act strangely,” Brandon remarked and then looked at me to see if I was offended. I was feeling more Hunter than Vampire at the time so I didn’t say anything.“Fine,” I said, nodding.“Great.” Cadence let o
I’m not sure if a few stories make a huge difference when you’re trying to reach out into the universe with your mind, but I wanted to be as close to the cosmos as possible, and Brandon was kind enough to humor me. Rather than going up to the roof of our perfectly good building, he accompanied me across the street to the slightly taller trainee building, and we took the elevator up to the top and then, with the help of Juan Diego, the lead custodian who is very fond of both of us (but terrified of Elliott), we were able to access the roof through a door normally kept locked so that the trainees didn’t go up there and mess around. I wasn’t sure what difference it made until I got up there and saw there were a lot of mechanical components housed there and decided it made sense to just keep the door locked. He trusted us, though, despite Brandon looking so much like his dad, and when Brandon moved one of the large wicker chairs from the tenth-floor balcony hango