Captivate

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

            A big hand clamped itself around, cutting off my supply of air. I struggled as he lifted me off the ground. I tried to kick out at him, and scratched my nails down his arms and hands, but this only seemed to make him laugh louder. Darkness started to cloud the edges of my vision and I knew it was only a matter of time before it was all over.

            Suddenly the man’s grip on my throat loosened and I fell to the concrete grasping for breath. Confused I looked up to find the man was staring straight ahead and then slumped over to the ground beside me. Standing there with a concerned look on his face was Blake.

“You!” I said, scrambling to my feet.

“I would think you would be a little more grateful, considering I just saved your life,” he said, brushing off imaginary dirt from his shirt.

“I think you should have let him kill me, considering you ruined my life,” I retorted, hotly.

“Whatever do you mean Kara?” His lips quirked up at the corners, letting me know he knew exactly what I was talking about.

I pushed past him and started walking back in the direction I had come. My heart was heavy and the last person I wanted to see at that moment was Blake. I could hear him keeping pace behind me though. I decided it was best if I ignored him.

He followed me all the way back to Landon’s apartment building. I got in my dad’s car, home was the only place for me to go. Blake leaned over and tapped on the window but I ignored him. I stared up at Landon’s building, silent tears slid down my cheeks. Starting the car, I pulled out of the circle drive. I looked back in the rear view mirror to see Blake standing there, a huge grin on his face. My fist throbbed with pain as I slammed it repeatedly off the steering wheel.

“I will get revenge on you Blake,” I muttered, staring out the windshield.

The drive passed without incident, but as soon as I pulled in the driveway my parents came hurtling out of the house. I had forgotten that they didn’t know I was free yet and guilt washed over me. How worried they must have been.

“Kara,” my dad said as he pulled me from the car and gave me a bear hug.

My mom came up behind us and stood there, looking off to the side. I knew she had a hard time showing she cared. I pulled out of my dad’s arms and gave my mom a hug. At first she was stunned, but suddenly I felt her arms wrap around me.

“We were terrified,” she whispered.

“I’m okay mom.”

I pulled out of her embrace and stepped back.

“I need your help,” I said, looking at each of them.

Once we were all seated in the living room, I explained everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks.

“You’ve been marked?” my dad asked, sadness evident by his low tone.

“Yes, and I need you to tell me how I can break that,” I said, pleading with him.

My dad rubbed his chin with his hand, clearly thinking about it.

“I’m not sure if it can be done, but if there is an answer to this problem it surely has to be in one of my books in my study,” he said.

Getting up, I followed my dad to his study. Out of all his books, nothing looked like it would contain anything related to vampires. I had looked over these shelves many times in my life and had never once seen the word vampire on one of the spines.

My dad went over to the shelves beside his desk and pulled out two separate books. Suddenly the shelf swung open, revealing a small closet like space. It was lined with more shelves which in turn were lined with really old looking books.

“You have a secret stash of books?” I asked, coming up behind my dad.

“Yes, every vampire hunter does.”

He stepped inside and started perusing the shelves. I couldn’t fit inside with him, so I had no idea what the books were actually about. He reached his hand forward and pulled an ancient looking book off a shelf and stepped back out of the closet, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to his desk and sat down and immediately started flipping through the yellowed pages. I went and stood beside him looking over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of what was on the pages. From what I could tell it was in some kind of foreign language, but nothing that looked even remotely familiar.

“Ah, here it is,” my dad said, causing me to jump.

“What does it say? I can’t read whatever language that is.”

“This is the ancient language of the vampire. They have been around for thousands of years and so of course they have their own language, but it is rarely used anymore. Most vampires have adapted to their surroundings and adopt the language that is spoken where they live,” my dad said, his eyes never leaving the page in front of him.

“Well how can you read it?” I asked.

“Every vampire hunter is required to learn it,” he said, still looking down at the book.

“Does it say anything about breaking the connection between a human and a vampire once they have been marked?” I rocked back and forth from foot to foot, anxious for my dad to find the answer I so desperately needed.

“Yes it does,” he said turning in his chair to face me. He looked sad and my heart started to race.

“It says that the only way for a marked human to break the bond with the vampire who bit them is to stake them in the heart. If the vampire dies by any other hand than the human who has been marked, the bond can never be broken.”

My heart fluttered. “What exactly is a marked bond anyways?”

“The vampire that marks a human can sense the human’s emotions and in some instances be able to read their thoughts. That usually only applies to really old vampires,” my dad said.

“That must be how he found me earlier,” I muttered to myself.

“Found you?” my dad asked.

“I was attacked by a gang member earlier and I think Blake killed him. The only way he could have known where I was, was by either following me or by the bond we share. He could have felt my distress and came to the rescue,” I told my dad.

“The vampire is responsible for the human he has marked, and since he just marked you I can’t see him letting you get killed.”

I ignored what my dad said, creeped out by the whole thing.

“So in order for me to break the bond I have to kill Blake, right?” I asked, my brain already spinning with ideas.

“Yes,” my dad said, smiling sadly at me.

“Fine then, you have to teach me how to be a vampire hunter so I can kill Blake.”