Love & War Book 1 in the Arcadia Falls Chronicles Read online

  “Wonderful,” I moaned.

  Our audience was disbanding and going back to their workouts.

  Drew held his hand out and helped me to my feet.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” he told me, bringing me close to him for another super-awesome kiss.

  “I won’t,” I mumbled against his lips.

  I couldn’t help but think of Gavin’s lingering words about fighting for me. At least he would be gone for a while, and we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

  I just wished they could get along so we could be friends.

  ~~~***~~~

  “The whole gym was watching you guys!” Alice exclaimed.

  She was placing about fifteen candles around the bedroom.

  I lay on the bed watching her. “Yeah, it was super embarrassing, but I’m glad it happened.”

  “I wish I could have been there to see it.”

  “I imagine it was probably a good show. I’m sure people are going to be talking about that one for a while.”

  Alice finished setting up her last candle and rubbed her hands together. “Okay, are you ready?”

  I nodded and she stood in the center of the room and closed her eyes. I felt a rush of air sweep through the room and then all the candles flamed to life. I smiled.

  “Open your eyes, Alice.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at all the burning candles in amazement.

  “I don’t understand how this is possible,” she whispered.

  “I don’t either,” I told her softly, “but fact is, this world is full of stuff we don’t understand. There are vampires, mythological demigods and angels. I have fire power. What’s wrong with throwing in a little magic to even things out?” I smiled. “Imagine the great things you’ll be able to do, Alice.”

  She blew out all the candles, one by one.

  “Well, I don’t know about all that, but at least I know that I’m capable of something.” She looked over at me. “I wish I’d had this when you fought Trevor. I could have helped.”

  “That is behind us,” I told her stiffly. Mostly, I just didn’t want to talk about it.

  My bedroom door flung open, and I expected Drew or Oscar. Luke always knocked. But it wasn’t any of them.

  It was Christina. “All right, you Boring Betties, we are going out!”

  “What the hell?” I exclaimed, jumping off my bed. “Why would we want to go anywhere with you? How did you get up here to my room? And why are you even asking us?”

  She placed her hand on her hip and flipped her long black hair with the other hand. Today her little skirt was plaid, and her button-up top was red.

  “Look, Chloe, I’m not about to pretend we're friends, but I need Drew to come with me for something. I know he won’t go unless you tag along.” She flicked her eyes up toward Alice. “You and that hot siren may as well come along, too. I wouldn’t mind seeing him shake his ass on the dance floor.”

  Alice turned beet red and clenched her fists. I had no idea why Christina was harassing Alice. The only logical explanation was that she was threatened by Alice.

  I shook my head in Alice’s direction, trying to tell her silently to ignore Christina, because she was harmless.

  “First of all, Christina, I’m not going anywhere with you unless you tell me where it is that you want to go and why we are going there. Most of all, why do you need Drew for it?”

  “Oh, relax! It’s nothing, really.” She grinned wickedly. “We are going to find out who this mysterious vampire slayer is.”

  I should have known. Most of Arcadia Falls read the papers, and probably all of them were onto this story. “How do you even know where he is going to be?”

  “I’ve got a tip from a friend in the city.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked again.

  “We are going to a club downtown.”

  “Uh, Christina, I don’t know if you have been thinking this over very well. None of us are old enough to get into a club.”

  She flipped her hair again and shifted the large bag she carried on her shoulder. “For god's sake, Chloe. I am not an idiot! It’s a club for ages sixteen and up. You know, those clubs meant to keep the kids off the streets and all that.” She waved her hand in the air like people trying to help kids avoid drugs and trouble was unimportant to her.

  “Well, let me see if Drew even wants to go.”

  “No need. I saw him on the way up. He’s fine with it as long as you come. I’m here to help you get ready.”

  How annoying. “I’m perfectly capable of getting myself ready.”

  She set her bag on my bed. “Uh, no, you are absolutely not. This isn’t yoga class. We are going out dancing, and your idea of outing wear is stretch pants and a tank top. You need my help.”

  Caught off guard by her blatant dislike of my attire, I reached up and smoothed down my hair. “I’m still capable of doing it myself.”

  I stalked off to my closet to see what I had to wear.

  Alice went to the door. “I’ll go call Oscar. I’ll be back to get ready in a few.”

  “See ya’.” Christina waved her off.

  I didn’t even know what a person wore to go out dancing. I’d never been before. I flipped through the hangers, and I became more annoyed by the second. I was beginning to think Christina didn’t actually have any friends. Why else would she be bothering us with this?

  “Don’t worry,” she called from behind me, “I have the perfect thing for you to wear.”

  Oh, no.

  “It better not make me look like a hooker.”

  I turned to find she was holding up a sophisticated-looking, bright red shirt dress type of thing. If anything it was the opposite of hooker. The top was tight fitting with short sleeves that ended just after the shoulders, and instead of an impossibly low neckline it had a turtle neck. Below the breast area of the dress it began to loosen and hang comfortably.

  “I knew you’d like it,” Christina smiled. “You need to wear this with black stretch pants and those leather boots I saw you wear once.”

  The next thing I knew, Alice was back, and we were all squeezed into my bathroom to do our hair and makeup. Well, they got to do their own. I was subjected to the application of ten tons of eyeliner and mascara. Christina, having taken over doing my makeup, applied a very dark brown eye shadow along with all the black. At least she let me use a pale lip gloss instead of a slutty red one.

  Next, she tackled my hair. She left it down, but tied up the top half of it, pulling out a few strands of bangs around my eyes.

  “There!”

  Christina turned me around so I could look in the mirror.

  “You look like you’re five years older now, at the very least.”

  She packed all her things into her bag. She had changed, too, and now her outfit consisted of a tight black dress with short sleeves and lots of zippers. Surprisingly, it did not look as slutty as I thought it might: One zipper for the whole dress and two pocket zippers on the hips, along with two pocket zippers on the breasts. She had on a pair of insanely tall high-heeled black boots. Her normally straight dark hair was done in full, bouncing curls.

  Alice, who had picked out a blue-jean skirt and a shimmery white tank top that hung loose down over her hips, eyed Christina curiously. “How can you wear heels all the time? Isn’t it hard to fight with them on?”

  Christina zipped her bag shut. “Nope.”

  “Well, where do you keep your weapons?”

  With a slightly annoyed tilt of her head, Christina turned to face Alice and lifted her skirt to show us her thighs. “First of all, I have these.” She had a knife, sheathed and strapped to each thigh. “Then there are the guns, knives and pepper spray in my bag, and this,” she reached into her boot and extracted another large knife. “There is always a place to keep a weapon. Hunter Girl 101.”

  I opted to keep my gun in my purse instead of trying to find a place to hide it on my body. Alice didn’t even carry a gun. We had given h
er lessons, so she did know how to use one. She didn’t like carrying it though

  “All right, you guys,” I put my lip gloss and my cell phone into my purse beside my gun and an extra magazine of UV bullets “we'd better go downstairs and get a few extra weapons. Alice needs a gun.”

  Downstairs, the guys waited for us. Of course, being guys, they were already done getting ready. They had beaten us to the punch and were huddled together in front of the secret weapons closet, discussing the effectiveness of the UV bullets.

  “Well, don’t you two look nice!” Drew and Oscar both looked up when Christina announced our entrance.

  She was right. They both wore nice pairs of jeans and their combat boots, but Oscar had on a white short-sleeved, button-down shirt and Drew had on a black one. He had his blond hair styled in a sort of punk look. It wasn’t very long, so he normally just let it lay down.

  Both of them looked up when we had entered the room. It was an awkward moment, because both guys took an excruciatingly long time examining us. I didn’t dress up that often. I liked to look cute, but I didn’t normally take a lot of time with all that primping some 'normal' girls did.

  “Let us in there, you guys.” I squeezed in between them. “We need a few things.”

  “What do you need?” Drew slammed a loaded magazine into his gun and lifted his shirt so he could holster it. He had a double holster, a gun on each side. His holster also had special-made pockets on the straps for his throwing stars.

  “Alice needs a gun. She doesn’t have her own yet.”

  Alice frowned. “I wish I could take a sword, but I don’t think that would fly.”

  I smiled, picturing Alice waltzing into a club with a sword strapped to her hip. It seemed more like a way to land herself a night in jail than to keep herself safe.

  Drew handed me a .380, a small silver handgun that was extremely lightweight.

  “Here take this one.”

  “Oh, this is perfect for her.” I checked the magazine, replaced it and handed it to Alice. “Here. This should fit in your purse.”

  “Thanks.” She accepted the gun, holding it like it was a grenade, and tucked it into her purse. Drew loaded an extra magazine for her and gave her that, too.

  “Just in case,” he told her.

  She nodded, knowing she had to be prepared.

  “Can we go now?” Christina stood by the staircase with her bag over her shoulder and one hand on her hip, looking bored.

  “Calm down,” Drew told her. “We'll leave soon enough.”

  Luke came around the corner just then and narrowed his eyes when he saw us all crowded over the arsenal in the closet. “What are you guys doing?”

  I didn’t like lying to Luke, and I wasn’t about to start.

  “We’re going to find that guy from the news, the vigilante vampire killer.”

  Luke narrowed his eyebrows. “And you know where to find him?”

  “Christina has a source.” Drew folded the closet doors shut. “Do I look like I’m packing?” He smoothed down his shirt. “Or should I wear a jacket?”

  “You look great!” I told him with a grin.

  Christina rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Seriously, can we go now?” She jingled her keys. “I’m driving.”

  Luke examined us carefully, a group who claimed to be going out on a mission but looked like we were headed to a party. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

  “Don’t worry. We will be fine,” I told him.

  He nodded. “I know. Call if you need anything.”

  Oscar slid his leather jacket on and held Alice’s jacket for her. We might have looked great, but it was still freezing out there and we needed coats. Christina had already gone out to start her car.

  “I don’t know why we have to ride with her,” I mumbled. I put on the thigh length leather jacket I had found in my mother’s things.

  Drew held the door open for me, shooing me out. “Because she is the only one with a car we can all fit in. We can’t go in my truck or on Oscar’s bike."

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but still, hanging out with Christina isn’t my idea of the ideal evening.”

  “Ignore her,” Drew told me and shut the door behind us.

  ~~~***~~~

  It was clear and cold out. The night sky was bright with stars and a huge almost-full moon. For me, there was no such thing as a perfect night any more. The darkness brought vampires, and as long as they were around, the night would be my enemy, too.

  Alice sat in the front next to Christina, while I sat in the back in between Oscar and Drew. The city was always crowded, day or night, so the traffic was thick. It seemed to take forever, but we finally arrived downtown. We found a place to park about a block from the club. I guess that wasn’t too bad, considering the busy street. There was no line outside the club like I'd on television. The club was just a hole in the wall.

  “Christina, are you sure we can go in there?”

  She led the way, about five steps in front of us.

  She sighed. “Yes, Chloe, I’m sure. Why would I have brought you here if you couldn’t go in?”

  I frowned. “It’s just that it looks, well… trashy and adult.”

  “It is trashy. We aren’t exactly in the most upscale part of town. There is a guy just inside the door who will check your ID, so get it out so he doesn’t see your gun. He will stamp your hand so it says you’re underage so the bartender won’t serve you booze.”

  The deep bass of the techno music met us long before we arrived at the entrance. I opened my purse and took out my ID before we got to the door. It was a little creepy. The door didn’t even have a sign on it telling us the name of the club. I wondered what people called the place if it didn’t have a name.

  With my ID in one hand, I took Drew’s hand in my other and took a deep breath when he pulled open the heavy door to let us in. The air was heavy with the salty scent of sweat. A gargantuan man with his head shaved bald stood just inside the door. He wore a black tee shirt that stated he was security.

  “Hey, Mike.” Christina waved.

  “Christina!” Mike lifted his massive arm and gave her a side hug. “Where’ve you been girl?”

  She returned his hug.

  “Just been busy.” She gestured to us. “I brought my friends this time.”

  I could not believe she actually hung out here. I glanced at Drew and raised my eyebrows in question. He just shrugged in response. I guess he didn’t know anything about it either.

  “Okay, crew, I’m going to need to see your IDs.” Mike held out his hand, and without asking for her ID, he stamped the back of Christina’s hand. It was a fluorescent pink stamp with large black letters that said ‘Minor’.

  I lifted my arm, ID in hand and let Mike look at it and give me a stamp, too. We all got one except for Alice and Oscar.

  “There you go. You’re all set,” Mike told us.

  “Thanks, Mike. This way, you guys.”

  We moved on, into the belly of the club. I’d never been any place like it before. It was both fascinating and frightening at the same time. The place was mostly dark, except for flashing colored lights and some dim hanging lamps above the bar and the tables.

  Somehow, we managed to squeeze through the hot sweaty bodies and follow Christina to the far wall, where there were several sets of couches and coffee tables. Anxious to get away from the crowd, I lunged for the couch and sat on the black, velvety cushions. Everyone else, except for Drew, followed. We crammed ourselves into the small area. Drew preferred to stand where he could see everything going on.

  “So what now?” I yelled over the music at Christina.

  She leaned over the coffee table from her spot on the couch across from me.

  “Just keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks suspicious,” she yelled.

  Great, guess I better get out my big magnifying glass and search for clues.

  “I’m going to get something to drink,” I hollered at Drew. He held his hand out,
indicating he would go with me.

  After another round of pushing and shoving through the crowd, we finally made it to the bar.

  “What’ll it be?” the bartender asked after he finally made his way over to us.

  “Two sodas,” Drew told him, reaching for his wallet.

  “Make that four.”

  Oscar appeared behind us, holding up a twenty dollar bill.

  The bartender nodded and quickly poured the fizzy beverages.

  “Here you are,” he hollered.

  “Thanks!” I yelled back, trying to make sure he heard me.

  I reached for the drinks, which happened to be in classy plastic cups, and turned to face the crowd.

  “So what are we looking for, exactly?” I asked, handing Drew his drink.

  He shrugged. “Hard to say.”

  He plucked the straw out of his drink and flipped it onto the bar. “Just keep your eyes peeled for suspicious behavior.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “You know, someone who acts the way a vigilante vampire hunter might act.”

  “This is so weird.” I sighed, leaning back against the bar.

  Oscar leaned back next to me. “Christina sure is vague about her tip.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  Drew shook his head. “Christina might not tell us everything, but she is usually right. She has friends all over the place.”

  Oscar swished his soda with the straw, but then he opted to toss it on the bar like Drew had. “How? Don’t you guys usually stick to yourselves? I mean, to your own community?”

  Alice approached while Drew rolled his eyes. “Oscar, we can go outside the community when we aren’t on a mission. We aren’t locked in.”

  “I know that,” Oscar fired back with slanted eyes. “I just mean, most of you don’t want to go out into the city.”

  He handed Alice her soda.

  Drew shook his head. “No, we don’t, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know anyone else. As for Christina, she is one who actually likes to frequent the cities. We shouldn’t complain. Her contacts have helped us with a lot of missions.”

  Man, he was always defending her. I guess that’s was just how it was for the folks in Arcadia Falls who have known each other their entire lives. Still, it bugged me, mostly because I knew Christina and Drew had dated. But, hey, what could I do?