Struck (A Vampire Novel) ✔

Forty-Seven (Part Two)

Part Two

My head was throbbing massively, pain beginning to pulse behind my eyes. My stomach was tight with pangs that felt similar to nausea. The muscles in my limbs were beginning to ache, but I tried not to shift too much while hitching this ride to wherever my father was planning on taking me. I felt downright exhausted at this point, but my nerves prevented me from seeking rest. Despite the fact that I was in the presence of family, he was still a stranger.

"Are you feeling okay? You look like you're going to be sick," Zachary inquired with concern from beside me in the vehicle. He threw me a glance from the driver's seat briefly.

"I think I'm coming down with the flu or something. Maybe all the excitement..." I didn't continue, in case he felt it was an opportune time to ask what all excitement had occurred in my captivity. I honestly didn't want to talk about my time with the vampires. I didn't think any hunter would appreciate what I had to say, either.

Zachary instead reached back with one hand to shift through a duffel bag settled on the floor of the backseat while keeping an eye on the road. For a moment, I sat tense and wary as he searched for something; was it a weapon? I was completely paranoid at this point in my life. But he only pulled out a silver flask, which he then held out to me determinedly.

"Have this. It's something we hunters drink when we've been in battle for a while. It should ease the pain," He told me simply, but I only looked at the flask carefully. Another drugged liquid? Was it magic as well? Or just roofied?

"What's in it?" I asked suspiciously. Zachary smirked from his seat, amused.

"Nothing dangerous. It's just tea with some herbs from our medicinal garden. I'll show you the garden when we're at the reservation," He replied easily, shaking the flask slightly in front of me. I grasped it from his hand, looking it over carefully. Herbs, I told myself, no magic. I opened the flask and took a timid swig, hesitating at the burst of cool flavor that coated my tongue. But then I immediately took a larger drink, sighing as I felt the immediate effects of my pain ebbing away. When I looked at Zachary, I noticed he had been peering at me from the corner of his eye almost curiously. I blushed, feeling self-conscious and embarrassed for no particular reason.

"You said we're going to a reservation?" I asked slowly, trying to make a bit of small talk.

"Yeah. We're stationed on a rather large part of land, highly guarded, and pretty well-hidden. It's sort of like a home and a school. We train our hunters there starting young; in things like fighting styles, strategic planning, along with the science of vampires in order to maximize on their weaknesses. We have facilities varying from classrooms to hospital wings. I think you'll like it there," Zachary explained with fervor, apparently extremely proud of his hunter reservation. I felt slightly anxious, wondering if they were expecting me to become a trained vampire killer. I didn't think I'd have the heart for it.

"Are there... lots of other Monets?"

Zachary chuckled at the question. "The Monet bloodline is practically hunter royalty. You'll meet a lot of your family at the reservation. Cousins, aunts, uncles, the works. We originated from France as far back as the 1200s. Possibly earlier than, even. Some of the Monet line branched off to North America in the 1500s, so if ever you traveled overseas you could depend on protection from your family there as well." I was watching him as he spoke about that family name; a name I had only seen as a curse for months now, but one he obviously cherished with pride.

"We do take in other hunter families at the reservation, though. Especially those younger hunters who have lost their family. That's how Clio Lenne knew of me. She was trained at our reservation after her parents passed away," I jumped when he mentioned Clio, remembering her determination when I had helped her escape. She had reached out to my father after all. I recalled the lost members of Jacobi's coterie and felt a flush of shame, but kept my eyes low to hide it from Zachary. "Clio told me how you freed her from the Master vampire in Missouri. I must admit, I felt a bit proud, knowing you were able to do that without proper training. But being my daughter..." He seemed to falter at the statement, obviously the term almost foreign on his tongue after so many years of being apart from me.