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Olivia grew up in a ramshackle little dump in Tennessee, her mother a raging alcoholic, and who knew where her father had gone. He’d disappeared long before Olivia started Kindergarten. The only thing Olivia looked forward to was ballet. The local dance instructor had taken pity on Olivia and given her lessons in return for help around the studio. She would stay late and clean or help organize costumes and paperwork. Now that she was older, she rarely had time to dance though. She’d given up dancing for a job that paid at the local sandwich shop.
Throughout school, she had been a mediocre student making at best- average grades. There was no parent at home who encouraged her to live up to her potential, no support for her to do well in life and grow to be anything more than what she already was, a poor little girl who the other girls at school teased.
Then one day as she cleaned up empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts while her hung-over mother slept, the sound of a car grabbed Olivia’s attention. She’d assumed it was the good church people her mother constantly ran off who would occasionally drop by to offer food and pray with Olivia. Instead, she spied a beautiful black Mercedes pulling up in the weed-ridden grass next to her house. A beautiful woman with long dark auburn hair stepped from the car. Her dress had obviously been purchased somewhere else; no store in that little Tennessee town offered anything close to what the lady wore. Then Olivia noticed the license plates read “Knox County, Ohio.” She knew no one from Ohio. She didn’t even know anyone from out of state at all. Maybe the woman was lost.
The excitement of a fancy visitor quickly turned into something else altogether. Olivia was too embarrassed to invite the woman into her home, so they sat on the porch and spoke for a bit. The woman’s name was Lily Drake, and she claimed to be a vampire, and she wanted Olivia to be a vampire too. Not because something was wrong with her, but instead because she was unique.
Initially, Olivia assumed the mean girls were pranking her. Who else would find it funny to make her think there could possibly be anything special about her? Although the idea that she too, could be a vampire, was also very intriguing.
Whether she believed the offer was real or not, Olivia wasted no time packing up her things and leaving with Lily. Even if it was a hoax, she’d never been in a car that expensive and couldn’t wait to leave behind the nightmare of a life she’d endured for the last nineteen years. The woman didn’t look like a serial killer, although she was nearly sure she was crazy. Vampires couldn’t possibly be real, could they?
Only a small bag with few personal belongings, some clothes, and the $284.00 she’d managed to save and keep hidden from her mother were the only things Olivia took with her. As the car pulled away and Olivia left the shack, a single tear trailed down her face. She was finally escaping. Her prayers had been answered. She’d finally been rescued from her miserable life.
She didn’t speak for almost half an hour until the car merged onto I-75 and Olivia saw the welcome sign for her town disappearing behind them in the side mirror. The reality of what was happening truly began to sink in.
“Where did you say we were going?” Olivia excitedly asked.
“Mount Vernon, Ohio. That is where our training center is.”
“And I’ll be made into a... vampire?” Olivia whispered the last word.
“You will. If you want, that is,” Lily replied with a smile.
“What happens then? Do I have to go back home for ten years? You said I could live in the same place for ten years after I am turned.”
“Yes, you can return to Tennessee and your mother.” Assurance filled Lilly’s voice..
“Do I have to? Can I stay in Ohio? I can’t go back there. Please don’t make me go back there, Miss Lily.” Olivia pleaded.
Lily Drake pulled the car over to the side of the road. She took a long look at Olivia, and then cautiously reached out, slowly placing both hands on each sides of Olivia’s face. Lily smiled and spoke softly, as though she were trying to calm a wild animal.
“You never have to return there if you don’t want to. You are about to become one of the strongest, most fierce things on this planet, my little Olivia. No one and nothing will ever hurt you again. You will do what you want. You will have everything you need in life. You will have a place to live as long as you desire. You will have money to buy the things you need, and you will have a family that will always look out for you. I promise you, I will always look out for you.”
“Do you have any children?” Olivia asked.
“I have a boy. His name is Keaton. He’s a few years younger than you.”
“I hope he knows how lucky he is.” Sadness tinged her voice.
“He’s very lucky. He is about to meet a very special person from Tennessee who is going to become a part of our family.”
Olivia flung herself across the seat and hugged Lily with all her might.
***
The welcome sign to Mount Vernon sent Olivia’s stomach into flips. They were almost there. Soon they’d arrive at Lily’s home and they would train her to be strong, independent and tough. She would someday have to fight bad vampires, but that didn’t scare her. What scared her most was being a vampire herself. She had always been small and picked on by her peers. What if she wasn’t very good at it? What if she let Lily down?
Mount Vernon was small, not like she had imagined. It, of course, was much larger than the craphole little town she had left earlier that day, yet it was nothing like Louisville, Cincinnati, or Columbus. She had always dreamed of leaving her hometown behind and moving to a place where she would make something of herself, a huge city with skyscrapers and thousands of people to meet. Instead she’d wound up in another little town with a few restaurants, a cute little court square with a statue of some important man in the middle, and a bunch of really old looking buildings. Although it wasn’t what she had fantasized about, it was new and exciting. It was wonderful.
The car spun around a corner and took a side street with funny little tall houses and small, well-trimmed yards. They made another hard turn and whipped into a long drive with brick columns and an open gate at the street. Olivia tried to see how far the gate went around down the street and focused on the black wrought iron until the car stopped and before her sat an expanse of house like nothing she’d ever seen, even on television.
“Holy crap!” Olivia exclaimed, and then threw her hand over her mouth.
“I’m so sorry, that was so rude! I’ve just never seen a place this big. It’s beautiful.” Olivia tried to control the fear in her voice.
“Yes,” Lily laughed. “And you are going to live here for a while.”
Olivia’s mouth flew open. She stared at Lily for several long moments. Finally Lily broke the silence with a laugh.
“Would you like to see inside?”
“Would I ever!” Olivia replied.
To Olivia the house was fantastic. A chandelier hung about the entranceway, and it was almost as big as the shack where she’d lived. Paintings hung on every wall, most of which were of two handsome men who were easily the best looking fellows of their time. Olivia concluded they were probably some ancestors of Lily’s, because she was so beautiful. One had probably been her great granddaddy.
As she gawked at one particular painting of the two men, a voice rang out from the second story and footsteps down the staircase drew her attention to the man who had shouted.
“It’s about time my beautiful wife got home!”
A blur of motion flew down the last few steps, and Olivia was shocked to find one of the men in the old painting hugging and kissing the woman who had driven her for the last few hours.
“We have a houseguest, baby!” Lily embarrassingly whispered and motioned toward Olivia.
“Welcome! I am Valentine, Lily’s husband. You can call me Val, or if you like you can just refer to me as Lord Valentine, the most handsome vampire in all of the world.”
“Yes, sir. I mean Lord,” Olivia stuttered.
“Oh stop!” Lily punched her husband in the arm and rolled her eyes.
“He’s joking. Call him Val, or the crazy one that I married.” Lily laughed.
Olivia realized she was pulling at her fingernails and had become really nervous.
“Are you hungry?” Val asked.
Olivia nodded and he motioned for her to follow.
Lily excused herself as the two began trekking through the mansion and made their way to a massive kitchen. It looked like something from a restaurant, one way bigger than the sandwich shop she had worked in. A boy who appeared younger, yet taller than her sat at a stainless steel preparation table and dropped the pizza he had been slamming down as their eyes met.
“Keaton, this is Olivia. She is the lovely recruit your mother just picked up from Tennessee. Finish chewing your food and say hello.” Valentine’s voice held a hint of laughter.
“Hellooooo, Olivia.”
Although the boy appeared to be in his early teens, Olivia got the distinct impression he was flirting with her. She knew she was small, but surely he didn’t think she was interested in him that way. She’d just met him.
“Hi Keaton. Nice to meet you,” she answered.
“Want some pizza? I only left a couple slices, but you’re welcome to them.”
“Thank you. I’ll have one.” Olivia’s stomach growled at the thought of food.
“I’ll take the last one.” Val grabbed the final slice, but Keaton grabbed it from his hands.
“I said she was welcome to them. If she doesn’t want one, I’m eating it! I only offer up my pizza to fine looking ladies,” Keaton warned.
Olivia almost choked on the bite she took, but covered by a quick cough and averted her gaze to the shiny kitchen equipment that surrounded her.
When she had the nerve to once again face the boys, Olivia noticed Valentine giving Keaton a stern look, but said nothing. They looked into each other’s eyes for some time, when Keaton finally replied.
“You’re the one who taught me. Mom doesn’t have to know unless you tell her,” Keaton argued.
“You should probably know up front, Keaton has the ability to read minds. You will often see his mother or myself looking at him but saying nothing. He knows to try not to read the thoughts of people unless they wish for him to, but on occasion he can’t seem to control or help himself,” Val informed Olivia.
“Whoa. Seriously? Like you can tell what I’m thinking right now?” Olivia began thinking about green elephants as hard as she could. Then a passing thought went through her mind, and she wondered how old the boy actually was or if he was already a vampire.
“I am human, like you are right now. I’m younger than you, yes. How old do you think I am? And why would you think about green elephants, that’s just a little weird.”
“Whoa!” Olivia slapped her hand to her mouth.
“So, how old do you think I am?” Keaton reminded her of the question.
“Um... sixteen?”
“Sure, we will go with sixteen, but I know you don’t actually think that. You were trying to be nice,” Keaton answered.
“You really can read minds! How do you do that?”
“Wish I knew. I just do it. Wanna tour around the house?” Keaton winked.
“Absolutely!”
Keaton led her through the kitchen door; her arm entwined through his, pizza in her other hand.
***
The final room Keaton had shown her was a beautiful bedroom with three large beds. He had asked if she preferred her own room or if she would like to be in a room with the other two recruits who would arrive the next day. She had decided to stay in the room with the others. It would be nice to meet other girls like her who would probably be as shocked about the revelations Lily had thrown upon them. Olivia carefully placed the few belongings she had packed into drawers and realized she had no nice clothes to wear to dinner that evening.
Keaton had informed her about the family dinner later but she would have time to rest and shower. It was already almost six. She had only an hour to find some way to look presentable for her new friends. She had been on the road for almost seven hours, by the time she had gotten there, toured the house and put her stuff away, she was still starving, even after the slice of pizza Keaton had given her.
A couple t-shirts, one pair of jeans and a nightgown were all she had brought. Olivia felt sick at the idea of wearing an old beer t-shirt to a fancy meal with these people. She would find Lily and politely decline, then hope she was allowed to venture into town the next day to pick up something appropriate before the other girls arrived. Then a thought came. What if the other girls were like those she had left behind in Tennessee? What if they were mean to her and made fun of her? There was no way she was going to throw away this opportunity to reinvent herself only to be thought of once again as poor white trash.
Olivia opened the bedroom door and ventured into the hallway. She had no idea how she would find Lily, but she would wander around the mansion until she did.
“Hey there! I thought you’d be asleep after the long drive you had today,” Val asked.
“Do you know where Miss Lily is? I really need to speak with her.”
“Sure, honey, she’s on the third floor. That’s where our residence is. Just take the stairs up one more flight and turn to the right. It’s the door right down from the big double doors that go into our training facility.”
As Olivia climbed the last few steps, the two doors Val had described were propped open. It sounded like chaos erupting inside, and it soon became clear a struggle was taking place.
Olivia peeped inside to see a very large, muscular man atop Lily choking her. She began running to Lily’s side to help, when Lily kicked out her feet, simultaneously pushing the man to the ground and put her foot on his neck, holding him down.
Olivia stopped in her tracks. Lily offered her hand to the man and helped the man who Olivia recognized as the other fellow with Val in the paintings, to his feet.
“I think this little one was rushing to your aid, Lily.” The man turned and regarded Olivia with his prying eyes. “Is that what you were doing, little one? We’re you coming to help her?”
“Yes. I... um... didn’t realize you were practicing.” Olivia stammered.
“Damn. Looks like you’ve got one good one already. She’s not even vampire, and she’s running in to protect you and take me out. I hope I don’t get a bunch of duds.”
“Ignore him, Olivia. This is Mathias. He is Valentine’s cousin and will be training the male recruits that will be here tomorrow. Somehow he’s turned this into a competition and thinks his boys will be better vampires than my girls.” Lily rolled her eyes.
“Not a chance. No one will try harder than I will, Miss Lily, I promise,” Olivia pledged.
“Great, she’s polite too,” Mathias mumbled as he sauntered by and left the training room.
“He’s just jealous. Don’t worry about him.” Lily giggled.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but can we talk?”
“Of course, honey. Are you nervous about being here? About the transition? Did the fighting scare you?” Lily fired questions in rapid succession.
“No, not at all. I’m just really tired and thought maybe I could skip dinner.” Olivia bowed her head and stared at the ground. She always knew she was a horrible liar.
“Of course, you can. Rest up, we will have plenty of time tomorrow to eat and talk and work things out.”
“I was hoping tomorrow I could maybe go into town and get a few things I need.”
“I’m sorry honey, we can’t allow you to leave until you’ve transitioned. It’s a rule with our society. We can’t go telling people about vampires, and then let them loose to scare the human population. Not that I don’t trust you, but I could get into big trouble for that. What is it you need? I could pick things up for you.”
“I forgot to bring any of my nice clothes.” Again, Olivia fibbed. She had no nice clothes.
Lily seemingly picked up on the truth that hid so closely behind Olivia’s lie, gave the girl a knowing smile and put her arm around her.
“Don’t you worry about those things you left behind. I can make sure you have everything you need. You’re a few sizes smaller than me, but I might have something that you could wear should you need something soon. How about we go look in my closet?”
Lily’s closet was huge and absolutely full of clothes. Everything from formal gowns to yoga pants. Olivia couldn’t believe her eyes.
Lily pulled out a few dresses and held them to Olivia.
“My insane husband loves to buy me new things, but sometimes I think he goes out and buys them drunk. What would ever give that man the idea that I could fit into some of this stuff is beyond me. Here’s a couple dresses he came home with after we got married that are a size four. Let’s just say that unless you can wear them they are going to be a total waste. I’ll never be a four.”
Olivia immediately fell in love with the beautiful dresses Lily handed her, each one as beautiful as the others, and all made of soft and sometimes sparkly fabric.
“I know you said you were tired, and if you’d like to rest this evening, I completely understand. However, if you are anything like me, you don’t like to look out of place with all these crazy new gorgeous people. If you were just afraid you would stand out and not have anything to wear to dinner, I’d love for you to join us this evening. Remember, I haven’t been a vampire that long either. I remember how overwhelmed I was when I met these guys and how beautiful and well-dressed they were.”
“But you’re beautiful and so well put together too. How could you ever feel out of place?” Olivia sincerely questioned.
“You haven’t met my Aunt Rose yet, honey. She could make a beauty queen in a formal gown and a tiara feel underdressed.”
***
Dinner was fantastic, the table was full of meats, cheeses, fruits, breads, you name it. It was also full of beautiful people. The men wore suits, the ladies wore beautiful dresses, and Olivia met more new people, who were just as Lily had described – intimidating.
Aunt Rose was the most beautiful woman Olivia had ever seen, and although she had been told by Keaton that Rose was over a thousand years old, she appeared to look no older than Olivia. Perfect blond hair, ice blue eyes, and a dress that undoubtedly cost thousands of dollars made the woman appear nothing short of perfect.
Another gentleman named Burchard, sat across from her. He was jovial and funny, even a bit awkward, which put Olivia at ease around him, despite the fact the man was sized more like a mountain than a person. He was the only person at the table who seemed as out of place in the fancy threads as Olivia.
Keaton, however, wore the same clothes he had earlier in the day, jeans and a Black Sabbath tee. Lily had chided her son when he came to dinner wearing the casual outfit, but later laughed as Rose commented on her nephew’s inappropriate attire.
“Dear, do you have any questions about the transition?” Rose inquired.
“Well, actually, just one at the moment. Does it hurt?” Olivia asked.
“Like hell!” Burchard answered and was met with two fists hitting him on each side belonging to Lily and Mathias.
“I won’t deceive you, child. It is painful, but nothing that is unbearable. Every vampire at this table went through it, and it is different for each of us.”
“What about you, Miss Lily? Did you think it hurt?” Olivia inquired.
“It did hurt, but I had an excellent companion by my side through the whole transition.” Lily smiled at Burchard.
“She also had a purpose to block it out. She hadn’t even full transitioned before she was out maiming and killing,” Burchard added.
Olivia’s eyes grew wide, but she refrained from speaking, not knowing what to say to the last declaration.
“Let me explain. Keaton had been kidnapped by the vampires I warned you of. I was human at the time, and the only way to bring him back alive was to go through the change and fight to keep my baby safe.”
“Mom! Come on!” Keaton threw his hands down on the table and the entire table began to laugh.
“Sorry. Sorry. Anyway, I had much more important things on my mind than the pain. I could only think of saving my son, so if you ask me, it was very tolerable, and it was made easier by Burchard’s company.”
“Will someone stay with me like that?”
“Of course, honey. You will also need to choose who you would like to turn you. I know we discussed it would need to be a man and a woman, but you need to decide who. It’s your choice,” Lily informed Olivia.
“Does it make a difference?” She asked.
“Goodness, child, yes! Sometimes you will possess the same special powers that the vampire who turns you possesses. We all have different gifts,” Rose explained.
“I think I would like Lily to turn me.”
“Sweetheart, Lily is very special to us. She will be the one who saves us, and we have decided it would be best if no other possess any her skill,” Rose answered.
Olivia began to open her mouth to say she understood and apologize for asking, but Lily immediately interrupted.
“Of course I can be the one. Rose is being overprotective. If you want to honor me in such a way, I would be thrilled.” Lily’s smile faded as she cut her eyes to her aunt in an apparent warning.
“I have to also pick a man?” Olivia asked in an attempt to ease the awkwardness of the situation between Lily and her aunt.
“Yes, and anyone here would be flattered, and no one’s feelings will be hurt, whoever you choose,” Rose declared.
“Can we do it tonight?” Olivia asked.
The table became silent. Each looked to one another.
“Don’t you want to think about it first, or at least get some rest from the long trip today?” Lily asked.
“I’m too excited to be tired, and I want to get it over with if it’s going to be painful. I don’t want to dread it. As for having to think about it, there’s nothing to think about. This is the best thing to ever happen to me. I have nothing to go back to in Tennessee and I want this.”
Rose began clapping and stood from the table. “So be it! Tonight is the night! I only wished it had been this easy with you, Darling Niece!”
Lily shot her aunt another unhappy glance and rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s get to it. I’ll loan you some comfortable, baggy clothes of mine and we can get started.”
***
Lily escorted Olivia to her own personal bedroom. She asked Olivia to get comfortable on the big bed and fluffed a couple pillows behind her head. Then she ran everyone else out of the room with the exception of her husband, Valentine. Lily sat on one side of the bed, Val on the other. A knock came at the door and Lily called for the visitor to enter.
Keaton slowly opened the door peeping in.
“Can I get you anything, Olivia?”
“Keaton, she has everything she needs. I’m sure she doesn’t want anyone else gawking at her as she turns.”
Keaton began to exit, when Olivia called behind him.
“He can stay!”
Lily furrowed her brows and questioned Olivia.
“You don’t have to be kind right now, honey. Do you really want him in here?”
“Yes, you said Burchard helped you. Keaton likes some of the same things I do. I thought if he didn’t mind he could talk to me. I had a really nice time with him today as he showed me around.”
“Absolutely. Keaton, get in here and sit down.” Lily motioned and threw her arm around her son as he sat on the bed next to her.
“Ready?” Valentine asked.
Olivia nodded her head, and immediately, both vampires on each side of her bit into her neck. The sting of the bite wasn’t nearly as bad as she had expected, but what came a few moments later was worse than anything she had imagined.
“It’s starting,” Val said.
Lily began rubbing a cool cloth across Olivia’s forehead, and Valentine squeezed her hand.
She was certain her eyes were going to pop from her sockets and it felt as though burning acid ran through her veins. Olivia gritted her teeth and squeezed Val’s hand until she was sure she would break it. Minutes felt like hours and the torturous pain didn’t seem to subside.
“You doing okay?” Val asked.
“Yeah, peachy! I’m just burning alive from the inside!” Olivia shouted.
Lily giggled, just as Olivia realized she had snapped at the man who only wanted to help.
“I’m so sorry!” She apologized.
“No, no, you are doing fine. Scream, cuss us out, even hit us if you feel up to it. We know what you’re feeling, and we won’t be angry.”
“Can you please stop rubbing my head?” Olivia asked Lily.
Lily jerked her arm back and smiled. Olivia hoped she hadn’t offended.
“Maybe I should be...alone,” Olivia mumbled between grunts and painful sighs.
“You need someone here with you,” Lily answered.
“Can you just leave me here with Keaton?”
Lily looked to Keaton and he nodded, then he motioned with his eyes toward the door. Reluctantly the gorgeous vampire couple left.
“If you need something just ask. I’ll be right here,” Keaton reassured.
The pain was too excruciating for Olivia to answer.
“So I guess I should try to keep your mind off this. Want me to tell you about my parents?” Keaton asked.
Olivia nodded.
“My mom has only been a vampire for a little while. She was human. She’s way cooler now that she’s a vampire. Not many guys can say their mom is badass, but I totally can. My mom is crazy tough. Which is also not all that cool if you think about it, but it mostly is.
“So Val is my stepdad. He’s been a vampire for hundreds of years, like five or six hundred or something, but he wasn’t the only vampire my mom dated.” Keaton had whispered the last part.
“Go... on!” Olivia demanded.
“So my mom first hooked up with Mathias. He was totally in love with her. He’s a great guy, but she lost her crap over Val. By the way, she doesn’t know I really know all this, but remember, I read minds. Not to brag, but I know more than pretty much anyone in this house about what’s happening around here.”
Olivia watched Keaton’s face as he spoke. I still can’t believe he reads minds...but then yesterday I didn’t believe in vampires either.
“So before mom and Val got married, she refused to be turned. She thought she’d have to leave me in ten years. Like I wouldn’t choose to be a vampire, too. Since I’m from the same bloodlines, they will ask me to join too. Sometimes, she can be really dumb. I can’t wait. Well, the vampires didn’t want mom to go around telling people they were real and all, so they erased her memory. Well, they thought they did, but they must’ve fried my mom’s brain a little by doing that memory-erasing thing so much and she started remembering things about them she wasn’t supposed to. Actually, she knew all about them and remembered everything.
Olivia squeezed Keaton’s hand encouraging him to go on.
“Here we are pretending like we don’t know vampires are real. I can’t tell my mom I know anything because I’m totally freaking out she will be ticked that I can read her mind and we are locking the doors, using surveillance cameras and wondering if we are going to be killed. Well, mom was anyway. I have a pretty good radius on the mind reading stuff, so I knew every night that there was a vampire somewhere in our yard looking out for us. Sometimes it was Rose, other times it was Val and a lot it was Mathias. I really liked Rose best. Do you have any idea how creepy it is to know that there are two dudes who are totally into your mom and thinking all kinds of disgusting things about kissing her and crap? It’s your mom, ya know? Like people that old should even be thinking about that stuff. And it’s your mom! Ewww.”
Olivia giggled, and Keaton joined in.
“I’m feeling better. Tell more,” Olivia pleaded.
“Okay, so this douchebag vampire that smelled bad kidnapped me. He thought if he held me, he could get my mom to trade her life for mine. Well, I knew he was going to kill me too, but that’s what he told my mom, that he’d trade my life for hers. He was the leader of the bad guy vamps. Like I said, total douche. So, he has me tied to a chair and tells my mom where to meet so she can turn herself in and save me. Well, he totally underestimated my mom. She was human, but had Burchard and Rose bite her just before, then went all crazy and killed pretty much everyone to come get me.
Olivia’s eyes widened at that last part.
“Don’t let me freak you out or anything. Mom is cool. She is normally pretty nice, but she totally lost her crap. She’s like that with her family, real protective and all. She kept telling me to shut my eyes as she was killing like a whole roomful of people. It was actually kind of funny as I think about it. Who does that, right? ‘Mommy’s coming to save you and make a bloodbath of bad bloodsuckers. You’ve been kidnapped, but shut your eyes so you don’t have nightmares!’”
Again Olivia laughed. Keaton leaned in real close and began whispering.
“She and Val are out in the hallway now listening to us. They are saying that you’re doing a great job. She totally does this to me all the time. She’s so nosy!”
“She’s. A. Good. Mom,” Olivia groaned as another wave of pain washed over her. This one was less painful than before.
“Yeah, she is. Not many people can say they know for a fact their mom would die for them.”
“I know no one ever felt that way about me, especially my mom,” Olivia whispered.
“Hey, you sound better.”
“Yeah, I am feeling much better. It still hurts though. Can we keep talking?”
“Of course! You mean me talk?” Keaton asked.
Olivia nodded.
“Well, let’s see. So I was kidnapped, mom turned into a vampire, then she married Val. So here’s the deal with Val. He used to be a total player. As disgusting as this sounds, I guess mom digs the bad boys. The two of them used to hunt together, hunt austere that is. Those are what we call the bad vampires that feed on humans. They feel in love back then. You know, a family that kills together, stays together or something.”
Olivia laughed, and then grabbed her side.
“Crap. I’m sorry. Making you laugh makes it worse.”
“No!” Olivia shook her head in disagreement.
“Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. Rose is psychic. Yeah, she totally has dreams and they come true. She sees the future. She saw my mom like saving the whole race and everyone talking about how Lily Drake was the reason the vampires survived. I think she got that one wrong, maybe. My mom is awesome, but the idea of her being like the savior of all vampires is insane. Mom is nuts. Oh, and Burchard can see his dead mother.”
“What?” Olivia screamed.
Lily burst through the door.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, mom. We’re just talking.”
“Liv, are you alright? Do you want to keep talking to Keaton?”
Olivia emphatically nodded, so Lily left, shutting the door behind her.
“You liked it when my mom called you Liv?”
Olivia nodded.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it sometimes. I just accidently get inside heads if someone thinks something really hard. If you want, instead of me just talking, you could think answers instead of having to speak and I could read your mind.”
That’s kind of cool.
“Okay, I’ll do it really light, so maybe I don’t pick up on anything you don’t mean to tell me.”
Thanks.
“No problem.”
“So did you like Tennessee?”
HATED IT.
“I think it’s nice down South.”
It is. The people I knew weren’t. Everyone was mean to me.
“Why? I’d figure you were the most popular girl in town?”
Are you making fun of me???
“No I’m serious! Why wouldn’t I be?”
My mom is a drunk. We were poor. Everyone gave me a hard time. I was sick to death of being in that awful place.
“Well, they were probably just jealous.”
Why on earth would you think that?
“Because you’re really cool, and smoking hot!” Keaton replied. “Sorry, I figured since I can read your mind, you might as well know what I’m thinking.”
That’s sweet, but you’re way too young for me.
“For now, maybe. You know you’re about to be nineteen forever.”
Oh my gosh. I’ll never be able to order a cocktail at a bar or rent a car.
“I think you can rent a car at eighteen, but no worries. They’ll get you fake identification. They could always say you were twenty-one.”
For real?
“Yeah, these guys have been around forever, they can’t keep using the same names. They have to have new identities.”
So what do you know about the other recruits?
“One of the other girls is Burchard’s great niece. She plays in a band and when mom looked her up she said she is the spitting image of Burchard. Something about a giant redhead. The other is Scottish or Irish or something.
“The guys I don’t know much about. Mathias seems all excited about training them to be better than you girls, but he has no idea how competitive my mom is. Don’t freak out, but this may end up like boot camp if it gets out of hand. But that’s going to be cool. You will be able to do crazy stuff. You’ll be super-fast and strong not to mention tougher than you’ve ever imagined. Plus, you got mom’s blood, and you know how they told you it was because of your bloodline on your dad’s side that made you a good candidate to be a vampire?”
Yes?
“Mom came from two bloodlines. Told ya, she’s badass. So you will probably be a killer vampire. No pun intended.”
Like what all can I do?
“Everything. You will be tougher than any human. You will be able to fight and run and do crazy stuff. My mom can do flips and she’s really agile or whatever. Before my mom was a total klutz.”
That’s so cool. So when will you get to be a vampire?
“I hope when I turn 18 or graduate high school, but mom doesn’t want me to rush it. I just want to get as tall as I can then turn!”
You’re already really tall. You’re taller than me!
“Almost everyone is taller than you.”
Olivia frowned.
“No, don’t take that wrong, it’s totally cool. You’re cute and no one will ever expect you to be as tough as you will be because you will be small and look so sweet, but really you’ll be kick butt.”
Your mom said I would be a part of the family... Did she mean that? You will be like my little brother?
“No way. I mean, yes, we are all like family. We all look out for each other and love each other, but don’t be thinking silly crap like I’m your brother. Someday you will want to go out on a date with me, and that would just be weird, ya know?”
Olivia smiled and laughed, and then Keaton joined.
Lily slowly cracked the door and peeped her head inside.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I heard you two laughing. Are you doing alright, sweetheart?” Lily asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m feeling much better.” Olivia answered.
“Would you like for me to get you something to eat or drink?”
“I think I’d actually like to go up to the third floor to that gym,” Olivia beamed as she spoke.
“Why on earth would you want to go up there?” Keaton asked.
“Because I want to see how much butt I can kick! I feel like I’m ten feet tall!”
Lily and Keaton began laughing at Olivia’s statement and with her now superior hearing she could hear Valentine, Mathias, Burchard and Rose in the hallway giggling as well.