When Darkness Falls (Book 1, the Darkness Falls Series)

Chapter Nine

I was glad to hear that, but I couldn't help thinking about the injustice of it. No matter how angry and frustrating I found my family, they were still my family, and if anything ever happened to them I'd want revenge. I didn't know what Nolan had lost to vampire hunters, but I understood why he'd wanted to go after them. It didn't seem fair that hunters pursued vampires across the world, slaughtering them for crimes they may or may not have committed, but the vampires were willing to turn the other cheek.  

"The clan's most recent addition is Madeleine," Luke said. "We picked her up about two years ago. Apparently she'd heard of Samuel and his mission to save other vampires from a dark path, and she wanted to join us. She didn't drink human blood and she wanted to help our clan teach other vampires to live the same way." Luke gave another shrug. "And that's my family. We're cobbled together from survivors and nomads." 

My throat went dry. "That's how I'd describe my family," I said, forcing the words around the cotton-wool that seemed to be lodged in my lungs. 

Luke's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Seriously?" 

"I've got my parents, Noah and Ava, and Noah's best friend, Marc, who's lived with us for as long as I can remember. I guess if we were a normal family I'd call him Uncle or something, but Noah doesn't like familial tags. I'm not even allowed to call him Dad." 

Even as the words left my mouth I realised that my family, while so similar to Luke's, lacked the bonds he described. His family considered each other family whereas mine . . . we were just people who lived together. 

Swallowing down the spike of pain in my chest, I continued. "Ethan's lived with us for years. He lived on the streets after his family were killed, and then one day Noah and Marc rescued him from a vampire attack.  

'Sophie works as our medic. She used to be a hunter before a vampire attack left her disabled. She didn't want to abandon the hunting life so she found a new way to make herself useful. Ironically, I think she's the only one of us who isn't blinded by hatred for vampires, despite what they did to her. 

'Lastly there's Clara. She's only been with us for about a year, but she's very serious about what she does." An image of her gruesome vampire-fang necklace flashed through my mind. "She doesn't like to talk about herself, but I know she wasn't raised a hunter, so I can only guess something happened in her past to make her turn to vampire hunting." 

Luke slowly nodded. "I didn't talk about what happened to me for a long time. As I grew up, I became consumed by hate. I wanted to find the hunters that had killed my parents, find them and punish them. Maybe I would have done if I hadn't had Samuel to guide me. He taught me to let go of my anger, to accept the past and move on." 

He shot me a sideways look. "This conversation is running a little deeper than I expected." 

He was right. Usually I kept my emotions wound in a tight ball inside me, but when I was around Luke, it felt like everything was unravelling. 

"You're just . . . easy to talk to. I feel comfortable with you," Luke said. 

Warmth pooled deep inside me, ballooning out through my body. I could almost pretend we were a normal boy and a normal girl, and not a vampire and a hunter who should be trying to kill each other. I could pretend that Luke was just some boy from college and not the vampire that was turning my world upside down.  

All too soon the woods petered out and we were back among concrete pavements and lamp-posts. I paused a street away from my house. 

"I guess this is where we say goodbye. It's not a good idea for you to get close to my house," I said. 

Luke's eyes darkened. "You don't trust me?" 

"Of course I do. But I can't risk my parents seeing you, for your sake." I should have been worried that Noah would spot me with a boy and let rip about how I could never date, culminating in him forbidding me from seeing Luke again. But that was just a flicker in my mind. I was far more concerned that Noah would spot Luke and somehow know what he was. If he knew, he would come after Luke with everything he had. Protectiveness surged through me. No way would I put Luke in that kind of danger.  

I turned to leave and Luke caught my hand. I knew from first-hand experience how strong he was, but his touch was gentle, his fingers curling around mine as if I was made of glass.  

He lifted my hand to his mouth and gently kissed my knuckles. His eyes never left my face. "Goodnight, Kiara," he whispered, his breath warm on the back of my hand. 

Then he was gone and I was alone on the street. My hand tingled where his lips had touched my skin. I stayed like that for a few minutes, staring at the space where Luke had been and wishing he was still there. I barely knew him, but it was like I was trapped in a world of darkness and Luke was the light guiding me through.  

A car rolled past, its headlights washing over me and snapping me out of my trance. I hurried on my way home.  

My ivy ladder was no less daunting on the way up than it had been on the way down, but I had thoughts of Luke to buoy me up. I felt so light I could have floated to my window. 

I'd forgotten Sophie saw me go until I wriggled back through the window and came face to face with her. She was lying on her side, her head propped on her elbow. Some of the elation drained out of me, replaced by dread. She hadn't told anyone about me going, but that didn't mean she would  keep my secret permanently.  

"Um . . . hi," I said weakly. 

"Where have you been, Kiara?" 

My mind flailed, trying to think of a story that didn't involve Luke. In the end I decided the truth was the best option - at least part of the truth. 

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a run." 

"Uh-huh." The sceptical tone in Sophie's voice told me she didn't believe me.  

"I did -" 

Sophie waved a hand and cut me off. "Kiara, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I know how hard it is for you being raised into this life, and I know how much you want to be a normal teenager." 

I stared at her, my heart racing. 

"I think it's important for you to exercise your right to a little rebellion and a little bit of normalcy." Sophie's voice turned serious. "You don't want this life to consume you. Just because we hunt doesn't mean you can't be anything but a soldier. It won't hurt you to live a little or" - she shot me a knowing look - "to show some interest in boys." 

My heart skipped a beat. Sophie was dangerously close to the truth. "That's not where I was - " I tried saying but Sophie shook her head, cutting me off again. 

"It's okay, Kiara, you don't have to tell me. It's written all over your face." 

It was? I put my hands up to touch my face, half-expecting it to be carved with guilt.  

"There's a glow about you, a twinkle in your eye that I've never seen before." A smile split Sophie's face. "I was a teenager once, Kiara, I know that look." 

I started to deny it again, then stopped myself. This could be the perfect cover. If Sophie thought it was good for me to sneak out and see a secret boyfriend, then she wouldn't object if I did it again. And I was going to. I didn't know quite how, but something had started between me and Luke and it was something I wanted to explore. And this way I wasn't even lying. I really was sneaking out to meet a boy, I just wasn't telling anyone the part about him being a vampire. Sophie might be the most understanding member of my family, but that was a step too far, even for her. 

I climbed into bed without bothering to change, and fell asleep dreaming of Luke's storm-grey eyes and the soft feel of his lips on my hand.