The Reborn (The Reborn trilogy book 1)

Chapter 13

You're a what?

With Lola queueing up for some snacks for the road, I head outside. The temperature has dropped from when we entered the theatre but I find it refreshing. After a few hours watching a film the crispness to the air is a welcome change. Moving out the way of the door I find a stretch of wall that doesn't look too dirty to lean against.

I lean back, tilting my head to look up at the stars. That's when I get the feeling I'm being watched again. My head snaps to the side where a man and woman have appeared. They're eyes are on me. Straight away I can tell they are not human. Shit. They slow to a human pace but still quick enough to surround me. I straighten up, keeping the wall behind me as a shield. Unfortunately, it also blocks me in. I'm screwed, I don't have the pace or strength to take them on, the only thing I have left is my attitude. I refuse to look weak.

"Connie Walker." The guy says making it sound like a question and a statement at the same time. I take it as a statement and don't respond. Seeing my silence, the guy continues. "Your something of an enigma at the moment. A born again that's been able to carry on a human life. Very strange."

"What's so strange about that? I'm human again so I can't exactly live like a vampire anymore, what else was I going to do?" I find myself asking against my better judgement.

The man chuckles. "She doesn't know." He says to the woman.

The man may have bulk on his side to make him look intimidating but it was nothing compared to the look that the woman was giving off. She was the serious threat of the two. "What do you expect with who sired her? Imbeciles the lot of them. They don't teach their children; they just use them for their own entertainment."

"Very true." He addresses the woman before turning back to me. "Now, little pet, our Mistress is very interested in how you avoided the blood lust when you were reverted." Mistress? This is so not good. "She wants to meet you. Offering you the rare chance to join her lineage."

Join her lineage? They want me to become a vampire again. My cool and steady demeaner is knocked off balance as my heart starts racing. Damn them and their vampire hearing, a small upturn of the lips letting me know they can hear it. "Thank you for the high honour but I'm going to pass."

The small smile turns into a full-on grin on both their faces. While they might have pleasurable faces the look of these grins was nothing but sinister.

"I think she misunderstood us." The man says.

"Definitely misunderstood. You see, we weren't giving you the option to come with us." The woman says with malice enthusiasm. "Oh no, no, no. We are here to take you with us one way or another." She finishes grabbing my arm with intended pressure.

"And yet the answer is still no." A voice says from behind the man. A voice that causes a cold feeling to slip down my spine. A voice that I could pick out in a football stadium. Lola's voice. No, she can't get involved in this. I can't lose her.

I need to do something, anything to protect Lola. Yet before I can even shout out a warning the man screams before slowly breaking into dust.

For a moment morbidity hits and I take a second to think that could have been me a year ago. Just a pile of dust to mark my end. Then time catches up to me. My jaw hits the floor as I take in the scene of Lola standing there victorious.

"Hunter." The woman hisses before discarding me to take on my girlfriend.

The scene before me becomes a blur of movement as Lola takes on the vampire. Seemingly able to hold her own against the vampire. At one-point Lola takes a hit that has her stagger back a few steps. My heart is in my throat as the vampire lunges on this vulnerable opportunity. I choke out a warning as Lola deftly twists and positions the stake. The vampire in mid-flight lands on the stake with a startled yelp, before joining her buddy on the floor.