Blood, Fire and Vampire Slayers: Jasper Hale love story Book #2

2: Blood Spilled

On Thursday afternoon Astrid was the first to leave the gym after dancing. Her grandmother was already waiting for her in the car.

"Elizabeth?" By now it was totally normal for Astrid to call her grandmother by her first name. Elizabeth preferred it that way. She was not the type of woman who wanted to get attached to things, which made for a strange relationship. Astrid sometimes felt more like a much younger roommate than a granddaughter.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Do you know anything about the Hoffman's?"

Elizabeth paused with her hands above the steering wheel. "Why?" she asked, putting them down.

"I'm asking about Klaus Hoffman. He's a new student and the Cullen's find him suspicious because their powers don't work on him."

"Oh," said Elizabeth. She chuckled a little.

"So, you know something."

"I do, but if you're taking your family connections to the magical world seriously, you should probably learn how to do your own investigations."

"So you aren't going to tell me anything?"

"I can drive you to the library and pick you up when you're done. Don't trust the internet. Books are far more reliable when you want information on real magic." Elizabeth pulled a library card out of her handbag and gave it to Astrid.

"Can't you just tell me? It's a simple question."

"You're taking martial arts lessons, I assumed you might want to be more savvy when it comes to the supernatural. You might be dating one of the fallen, but you need to be self-sufficient."

"Don't call them that," said Astrid. "The fallen. And the martial arts classes are just something I wanted to do for general safety. I'm not taking them with any kind of slayer history in mind."

"Well, you should be," said Elizabeth. "Anyway, if you want the information, you can search through the books I have at home, or you can go to the library." They drove in silence for a while.

"You know, the Cullen's are good people." Elizabeth nodded. "So why are you judging me for being with Jasper?"

"I just think that given Jasper's particular struggle and who you are-"

"Jasper has trouble sometimes, but he's not a monster. And we're both cautious."

"You are a half-elf and no amount of caution will change the fact that your blood is valuable, not just on the black market, but to a vampire it's like taking Captain America superserum with a line of coke. And you need to focus on school anyway. You don't have time for a regular boyfriend, let alone one who wants to rip your throat out."

"He does not want to rip my throat out. And I'm a little more mature than you seem to think I am!" Astrid snapped. "I think I can handle school and a relationship. I survived my dad's murder, I survived the fire that killed my mom and brother and I survived James. I think I can handle a date."

"Oh, I'm sure," said Elizabeth sarcastically. "And do you know who killed your father?" The question astonished Astrid. "Do you know who started the fire that killed your mother and your brother?"