The Huntress

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Johanna’s POV

“They’re feeding girls to Diablos’ sons.” Selena told Kevin when they all took a seat at the table.

I didn’t want to be in the same room as Seth at the moment because I was afraid I might strangle him, so I stayed on my feet and leaned against the wall instead with my arms crossed over my chest.

Kevin’s eyes widened. “What?”

“That’s what one of the vampires told us.” Holden said.

“Where did you see these vampires?” He asked them as he moved to his computer.

“At this farm off of Gillespie Road.” Selena said. “There were like eight of them over there.”

“Eight?” Kevin exclaimed and shot his gaze up to mine.

I rolled my eyes. “I was set on waiting it out. But one of your newbies had to show off.”

He let out a sigh, looking back at his computer. He typed in something and then smirked. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Furrowing my brows, I made my way over behind Kevin and leaned against the back of his seat to get a better look at the screen. It was the red dot thing again. There seemed to be even more now than before.

But now, there was a pattern. I raised a finger to the screen and traced the red dots until it stopped just outside of Vermont. I hadn’t even realized that the farm we went to was in Vermont. Just barely.

A grin creased my face as well. “Diablos has finally slipped up. He showed us exactly where he is.”

“Seriously?” Selena squealed. “Finally!”

“You mentioned him before. Who is Diablos?” Holden asked us.

Selena glanced at him. “He’s the leader of the vampires. We’ve been looking for him for years.”

“And that vampire said that the heirs are given human sacrifices.” Seth said. “How many kids did he have?”

“Three.” Kevin said. “But one of them is dead. Jo took care of him.”

“Wait!” Selena spoke up suddenly. “Dmitri was there at the farm. He was fighting with Seth. I don’t even remember us killing him.”

“Dmitri?” Holden asked.

“One of Diablos’ sons.” She answered.

“I would’ve had him if Johanna hadn’t cut in like she did.” Seth muttered.

I glared at him, annoyed that he couldn’t just say thanks for saving his life and also irritated that he even thought about killing Dmitri. For some reason, I didn’t want him dead. And I think I’ll do just about anything to insure that. “You would’ve been ten feet underground if I hadn’t cut in like I did, Seth.”

“But did you kill him Jo?” Selena wondered.

I shook my head. “He got away.”

“Again?” She raised a brow. “I understand you getting away from him once but twice? Do you have some kind of vampire repellent? If so, I’d love to have some of that stuff.”

I thought about Dmitri and my last two encounters and couldn’t help but blush. I cleared my throat just as the blush started to reach my face. No one seemed to notice or care too much, but Holden did. His blue eyes studied mine as if he was trying to figure something out.

“I guess I’m just lucky.” I said. “Where’s Faye?”

“In the guest bedroom.” Kevin told me.

I turned around and walked into the bedroom. Faye was sound asleep on the bed. It was just about three in the morning. Of course she was asleep.

Silently, I closed the door and decided to talk to her when she woke. I walked back out into the living room, ignoring all the stares of the others, and stepped out into the cool night air.

When I shut the door, I undid my bun and let my hair fall freely. I ran my fingers through it soothingly. I heard the door open and shut and closed my eyes. If it’s Kevin coming to nag at me, I really didn’t want to hear it.

“Are you okay, Johanna?”

I looked up in surprise to see Holden instead. He threw me a charming smile and I couldn’t help but smile back. Then I stopped when I realized what I was doing. I brushed past him down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk. I sighed in frustration when he followed.

“Did I do something wrong?” He asked me.

“No.” I assured him and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m just…I don’t know.”

“Oh.” He whispered, digging his hands into his pockets.

We walked in silence for the next couple of minutes.

“Do you know Dmitri?” Holden asked me, breaking the silence. “I mean the face you gave back there when Selena mentioned him made me think you know him personally or something.”

“No.” I answered a little too quickly.

He kept quiet for a little while longer before he spoke again. “I saw him run after you when he came to back at the farm. I wanted to come back after you, but Selena had told me to stay back with the other vampire.”

When I didn’t speak, he grabbed my arm to get me to stop. If it was Seth, I would’ve punched him in the face for even thinking about touching me, but with Holden I didn’t. He turned me to look at him. “Are you okay?” He asked. “Did he…do anything to you?”

I shook my head. “We just fought a little then he ran off. He probably realized that it was one-on-four was impossible to win.”

“If he’s the son of the leader of the vampires, I don’t think four humans would be much of a match for him.”

I pursed my lips. “Maybe he’s not as strong as you think.”

He stared down at me, his blue eyes stunning me for a moment. “Maybe.”

I nervously looked away from him. I kept my eyes on the ground as we walked, thinking if I look at him my eyes will give too much away.

“How long have you been doing this?” He asked.

I shot my head up. “Huh?”

“Vampire hunting.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Since I was ten. Kevin’s family took me in. They were born into this kind of stuff.”

“What about your parents?”

“Why the questions?” I looked up at him to find him actually curious. I was kind of suspicious at first.

He blushed a little. “I’m sorry. I talk a lot when I’m nervous.”

“Why’re you nervous?”

He turned even redder and had to look away. “I’m always nervous around girls I like.”

Now it was my turn to blush. I stared at him, trying to see if he was lying or not.

He wasn’t.

“You…” I crossed my arms over my chest as my face flushed. “Like me?”

He let out a dry laugh. “You make it sound horrible.”

“Because it is.” I said, not one hint of a smile on my face. “I’m dangerous to be around.”

“Because you’re the Huntress, right?”

I glanced at him. “You’ve heard of me?”

“Yeah. And how you fought was a dead giveaway.”

I pressed my lips together and stopped talking altogether. I didn’t want to get close to Holden. I didn’t want to get close to anyone. They only die because of me. Just like my parents.