The Vampire Hunter's Daughter The Complete Collection (22 page)

He played a slow ballad, a song I did not
recognize, but it was beautiful and moving all the same. Even more
amazing was when he sang. Oh, my god, I wanted to melt in to a
puddle of goo. Wishing the song would never end, I leaned forward,
resting my chin on my hands. What I really wanted to do was close
my eyes and lose myself in the music, but I just couldn’t take my
eyes off of him.

When his fingers strummed the last chord of
the song, I felt my heart sink. I wanted more. “Can you play
another one?”

“Just one more, and then we have to get on
with learning.” He adjusted himself in the chair and played again.
This time, the tune was faster, but my reaction to it was the same.
I’d never felt such a pull to someone before, not even Gavin.

That day, he left his guitar in my room and
every day thereafter he would play me a song before we started
lessons. Alice came into the room for the song as well, and we
would both sit like star-struck kids and watch him play.

If, anything, it made the days enjoyable.

Months passed far faster than I expected they
would. The wet, colorful days of spring turned into summer, and I
was able to spend more time outside. I didn’t like being in the
house all the time. It was too confining without any windows to let
the light in.

One day in July, after a practice session
with my fire power ability, I quietly slipped inside the house and
took my shoes off by the front door so I wouldn’t track anything
all over the beautiful floors Alice had spent so much time
cleaning. I hurried upstairs.

The silence of the house was thick. I had
noticed several times recently that I could almost hear the air as
it passed by my ears. On my way down the hallway, I heard a slight
clanking noise coming from the opposite end of the hall from my
room.

Knowing Alice was downstairs asleep and
Trevor’s rooms were also downstairs, I decided to check it out. I
turned around and crept silently over the carpet, listening as
closely as I could.

I was actually a little afraid some random
vampire might be roaming around, and I had nothing to protect
myself.

Wait, I did have something.

I stopped for a moment and closed my eyes. I
flexed my hands by opening and closing them, pulling energy from
around me, letting it fill me up. I opened my eyes and continued
down the hall. Another sound came from the room Trevor had said not
to go in because he used it for his office. I was kind of nosey,
but I had never had the urge to go in there. The noise sounded more
like a squeak that time.

I came to a stop in front of the door and
took a deep breath, wondering if it would be better to try to open
the door quietly or to fling it open and storm inside. I flexed my
hands again and reached for the knob.

“Stop hovering out there and open the door,
Chloe.”

I jumped back away from the door at the sound
of Trevor’s voice. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath and
my heart was beating rapidly in my chest. I let out a long, slow
breath before I grasped the handle and opened the door.

The first thing I noticed about his office
was the gigantic desk made of a heavy dark wood. It was littered
with stacks of books, and papers were scattered across it. It was a
little shocking, because Trevor was normally such a neat freak. The
laptop sitting amongst the clutter kind of ticked me off, too.

The next thing I noticed was that the room
had a window. It was covered by thick curtains, but they were left
open just a crack, just enough to let sunlight stream through,
leaving a long strip of light that cut across the carpet.

Trevor sat leaning back in his office chair
with his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the
ankles. He was staring at the stream of light that was only mere
inches away from his feet.

“What are you doing?” I asked, approaching
him.

He looked depressed. He looked how I felt
when I thought about everyone at the community. I missed them
something fierce.

His gaze didn’t stray from the light. “I am
dreaming of the past and wishing for the future.” He waved his hand
toward the chair on the other side of his desk. “Please, sit with
me.”

I dragged the chair beside his so we could
stare at the strip of sunlight together. Like him, I kicked my feet
out in front of me and crossed them. After about three minutes of
complete silence, I asked him “Why are you sitting here staring at
sunshine on the floor.”

He almost cracked a grin. “Do you know what a
vampire most desires, Chloe?”

“Blood?”

He shook his head. “No, most vampires detest
having to drink blood. We do love it, and we do desire it, when the
bloodlust kicks in, but it is most certainly
not
what we
desire most.”

“Well, I don’t know then.”

He rocked his chair a little bit. “I have not
rested my eyes upon a sunrise for almost a thousand years. I rarely
see any sunlight, other than shafts shining onto a floor or wall.”
He gestured at the floor, “The daylight is my enemy, an enemy I
shall never defeat. A vampire most desires what he cannot have, the
sunlight. The day.”

I bowed my head. “Oh.”

“What do you most desire, Chloe.”

I thought for a moment before answering.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I don’t know… my mother I
guess, if we're talking things we want but can never have.”

He ignored my sass, like he usually did. He
simply nodded.

About two months later, we were having dinner
and Trevor made a surprising announcement. “Chloe, tomorrow night,
we are going to entertain some friends. I think it’s time I
introduce you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why haven’t you asked
them over before to introduce me?”

“I’ve asked them to stay away to give you
time to adjust.” He pushed his full plate away, looking irritated.
“Alice,” he called out. She popped her head around the corner.
“Would you bring me a glass of the reserve wine?”

“Yes, Mr. Trevor.” She disappeared.

“Well, I don’t know why you would ask them to
stay away just because I’m here. There is no reason to live your
life any differently than you did before,” I told him. Really, the
last thing I wanted to do was meet any of his blood-sucking
buddies.

“I was concerned with how you would react in
a room full of vampires. Now, you are more acquainted with our
ways, so it will not be such a shock, and my friends will be coming
around more.”

I sensed there was more to it than just my
needing to adjust. “Is that the only reason?” I questioned. “Should
I be worried about something?

Trevor sighed and pushed his chair out a bit,
then crossed his legs.

Curious, I caught his eyes and raised my
eyebrows in question.

Finally, he relented and explained. “I simply
could not take any chances with you, your mother…”

I felt my spine stiffen. “What about my
mother?” I demanded.

He ran a hand through his dark hair,
smoothing it down. “Your mother lived with me for about a year.
During that time, she was attacked by one of my men. I will not
take that chance with you.”

I think I snorted a little bit. “Really?
Because, when you had all your goons attacking my family all those
times, that was me in danger… that was you taking a chance with
me.”

“That is hardly the case, Chloe. I had
ordered that you were to be taken alive.”

I felt myself heating up. “Are you crazy? I
was still in danger of being killed!”

“Why must you always be so insolent? I simply
will not continue to tolerate your attitude. You are here now and
must accept things the way they are.”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “What should I
wear?”

He looked thoughtful, tilting his head and
staring at me as if he were imagining me in a certain dress or
something. “There are several dresses in the armoire in your room.
You should pick out one of those to wear.”