HEARTLESS
CHAPTER SIX
I pushed the door to the diner open, stepping in from the cold. With only five days until Christmas, it looked like it was going to be a white one. It had just started to snow and little white snowflakes were clinging to my dark coat, already melting in the heat of the room.
Luna rushed up to me, dressed in her waitress uniform of a dark black skirt and white top. She was smiling, which was incredible given the events of the night before. "I thought I'd be seeing you here at some point."
"You still doing breakfast?" I asked as she walked me over to one of the booths. I sank into a vinyl seat with a sigh, shrugging off my coat.
She glanced up at the clock. "It's two in the afternoon, Anne. We finished breakfast ages ago."
"Any chance I could still have a waffle or something?"
Luna sighed heavily, her exasperation apparent in her expression. "I don't see why you can't have lunch like everyone else here, but I'll see what Pete can do," she said. "Want some coffee? I'm on my break in a few minutes. We can talk about last night." At this she gave me a pointed look.
After I'd stumbled into the apartment at four in the morning after several unsuccessful attempts at hailing a taxi, which had led to me walking most of the way back anyway, I'd hardly had the energy to do anything more than check Luna was okay and collapse into bed. I didn't even know if I could've mustered up the energy to save her if she hadn't been okay.
"No coffee," I said. I was tired, but not tired enough to resort to coffee just yet. "Do you have any tea here?"
"Yeah, I guess."
I grimaced. "It'll taste horrible, won't it?"
"I don't know," she said, a faint smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "I'm not British. I don't drink excessive amounts of tea."
"That's so stereotypical. Can't I order tea without getting judged?"
"Seeing as no one here has ever ordered tea except for you, yes, you can get judged," she said, already turning to walk away.
"I still want that tea," I called after her as she headed to the kitchen door and disappeared through it.
I leant back in my seat, unfurling the paper that I'd been carrying. There was no mention of what had happened last night, just as I'd expected. The bodies of the dead had either disintegrated or been carried away by the other vampires, and nobody in their right mind would own up to seeing a pack of wolves running through the streets.
The headlines were all drearily normal - a baseball team had won some sort of important game, a huge charity collection was going on for Christmas, someone political had done something stupid and someone had written a long, demanding list about what they expected from the city next year, now that New Years was less than two weeks away. The festive articles only made me feel worse. I'd spent almost every Christmas since I'd run away alone. It was hardly what I'd call a holiday. All it did was remind me of how much I was missing.
I threw the paper onto the seat next to me, sighing. Now that I'd started thinking about my family I couldn't stop.
From my bag, I took out a ballpoint pen and a small paper bag. I opened the bag, taking out a stack of postcards wrapped together with brown string. I'd purchased the bundle for a few dollars down at a store that was full of all sorts of strange things. They were postcards from all around the states, perfect for someone who wanted to send mail but didn't want to be found. Of course, getting different postage stamps each time was difficult, and sometimes the office would stamp them, but you couldn't say I didn't try.
I slid a card out of the pack. 'Greetings from Maine!' it said in capital letters that nearly covered the whole postcard, the spaces in between the lettering showing a picture of the sea. I scrawled my old home address on the back, putting the recipient as Marcus Forbes.
I pursed my lips. Who should the postcard be from this time?
'Dear Marcus and Kate,' I wrote down carefully, making sure that the handwriting was different from my own. 'Have a very happy Christmas. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it - maybe next year. I hope you are well.' I hesitated, thinking before finally adding, 'Love from your Great Aunt Clara'.
They'd know what it meant. Great Aunt Clara had died ten years ago, when I was just nine years old. I barely remembered her, but my parents had said that she was austere and old fashioned, comfortable to live out her long years in solitude in her little bungalow in Leister. She definitely wouldn't be the kind of person to send a 'Greetings from Maine!' postcard - it would be too garish and besides, she wouldn't have left England even if you paid her.
When Luna came back, the postcard was still on the table and I was frowning down at it, trying to work out if Kate and Marcus would know who the sender really was. She held a tray in one hand, with two steaming mugs balanced on top, and a plate in the other.
"Don't expect us to do this for you every morning," she said as she put the plate down in front of me with a clatter. "Pete had some mix spare and the washing up guy hadn't done the waffle iron yet."
"I feel so special," I said, immediately picking up my knife and fork and cutting off a piece.
Luna sat down opposite me, putting the tray down on the far side of the table. She picked up the postcard. "Writing to them again?"
"It's Christmas. I'm just trying to spread some cheer," I said, my mouth still full of waffle.
She peered down at the address. "I've never heard of this place you've written down."
"It's rural... I don't think anyone really knows where it is. Anyway, you have no idea where anything is in England." I picked up a jar of syrup from the table and drizzled it over.
"That's not fair. Tell me what city it's near and I'll know."
I looked up at her, raising my eyebrows. "Okay. It's near Bristol."
"Bristol? Isn't that in Rhode Island?"
"My point is proven," I said, taking another bite.
"Okay, okay. Maybe I don't know the geography that well. So what?" She reached over to the tray she'd carried over, picking up one of the mugs. I smelt the strong aroma of coffee and made a face. I really couldn't handle the smell.
"I've found your kryptonite," Luna said. "It's not vampires or strange metals or cute boys, it's coffee."
I groaned, picking up my cup of tea and taking a sip. It was scalding hot, burning my tongue and searing my insides all the way down. "I hate to interrupt your eureka moment, but actually I don't mind it. I just hate the smell of it."
"Hey speaking of cute boys, who was that guy who was with you last night?"
'Nice segue," I said, avoiding the question.
"You owe me this much at least."
I sighed, looking down at my tea. Steam was still rising from it, hitting me straight in the face. I breathed it in, trying to relax. The subject of Hunter had already put me on edge."He's someone from the past-"
"Ooh, mysterious."
"And he's not important," I said flatly, cutting her off, "because I'm never going to see him again." I took another sip of tea.
"Well I can guess that he's a hunter, of course. Was he the reason why you got into hunting?"
"No. He was just along for the ride at that particular point of my life."
Luna had been right in a way. Hunter had been a reason why I'd started killing vampires. He'd taught me the skills, put his trust in me when no one else had - though that had more been him not giving a damn about my safety than confidence that I'd get things right.
"So he knew you?"
I shrugged, paying more attention to the plate in front of me than her questions. I scooped up another forkful of food. "In a sense."
"You're being way too vague, Anne. At least give me a clue."
"Didn't we make a deal that we'd never talk about each other's pasts?"
"This guy's not your past, anymore. He's the present, and probably the future."
I put my knife and fork back down with a clatter. "Okay. He was part of a group of hunters I knew a while back. They tried to help me, but they failed miserably. Do you know why there are only two names on that postcard? Because the rest of my family is dead, and its all their fault." I paused for breath, letting that sink in. "I don't want to see him again. It's too much."
"I'm sorry about... well, your family."
"Don't say that. Everybody did back then. People asked how I was, but the truth was they didn't really care. They never do care, in the end. They just have nothing else to say."
She stared at me, frozen for an immeasurable amount of time, but then seemed to shake herself. "So what's this guys name?"
"Hunter," I said, smiling slightly. "Hunter the vampire hunter. Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?"
Luna laughed. "It's like he was born for the job."
"Anyway, I don't think that we'll be seeing him again. I've told him to stay away, at least."
"Why?"
"Because I don't like him."
She shrugged. "That's fair enough. Is he acting alone, or are there others with him?"
I sighed, taking another swig of tea. "That's the thing," I said. "There are more hunters in the city than we ever knew about. Tonnes of them, from what he said."
"Do you trust him?"
"Generally? No. But I trust him on this. He wanted me to go to their headquarters to see."
"Did you?"
I looked up. "I think you'd know if I did, Luna. I refused, of course. I've already told you that I don't want anything to do with him or any of the rest of the hunters."
"Did he tell you anything else?"
I shrugged. "I guess he did."
Luna slid my plate over to her side of the table."You talk. I'll eat."
My fork was suspended over the table, a piece of waffle hanging off. I popped it in my mouth and then threw the fork to Luna. She caught it in one of her lightening fast movements. "I'm not paying for that all if you're just going to eat it," I said.
"You ate some."
"Consider that a bribe for me talking to you now."
She neatly cut a square of waffle and popped it into her mouth, chewing. "Talk, then," she said, her mouth full with food.
I told her all about the night before, leaving out any detail that might tell her more about my past. I still wasn't ready to talk to her about Chris just yet. All she needed to know was that I had known Hunter before I'd moved away and that his return wasn't exactly welcome.
By the time that I'd finished Luna had cleared the plate and finished her drink. She considered me for a long moment.
"Do you know what I think?" she said.
"I don't want to."
"I think," she said, completely ignoring my last words, "that you should find this guy again. He seems useful."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to see .him again?"
"What happened to make you hate him so much? I mean... I understand completely about your family, but that wasn't just him, was it? You don't seem too mad about those other hunters you mentioned."
That was a good question. He left me alone with a homicidal vampire, he never looked for me after my family had died, he was an arrogant prick. "He did something unforgiveable," I said instead.
"What?"
"He left me."
"Were you two...?"
"No!"
"Sure."
"Don't even make me think of that. There's no way in hell that I would ever..." I stopped. This was useless. "Listen, do you have some change I can borrow?"
"Why?"
"I need to use a payphone." I'd been thinking about this for a while. There was something I wanted to do... something I needed to do, and that need had been building up for weeks, reaching breaking point when I'd put my pen to a postcard to reconnect with my past.
"To call Hunter?"
"Even if I did have his number, I wouldn't. I don't want anything to do with those hunters."
Luna reached into her pocket and took out a few coins. "Will this do?"
I took them. "Yeah, thanks," I said, getting up. I picked up my coat and put the postcards back inside my bag, swinging it over my shoulder. "I'll see you in a few. You're paying for my breakfast, by the way."
She shrugged. "I'll get employee discount," she said, getting to her feet as well. She stopped down to pick up the empty breakfast plate, piling the rubbish from the table on top of it. "I'd better get back to work."
I started to walk away, calling over my shoulder, "See you back home. I'm staying in tonight." The last thing I felt like doing was going out to find vampires, especially if I might bump into one of the vampires from the night before or, even worse, one of the hunters.
I paused at the door to put my coat back on, and then stepped out into the streets. It was bitterly cold and the air was thick with snowflakes. My feet crunched against the layer of snow that had already collected on the ground.
From experience I knew that there was a payphone just around the corner, secluded enough that no one would take any particular notice of me or my conversation. I gripped Luna's change tightly in my hand, the metal warm against my cold palm.
I ducked through crowds of last-minute Christmas shoppers, weaving my way quickly through them as they headed about their separate ways. Every street was bustling with activity, congested with so many people that it was hard to move unless you were heading in the same direction as everybody else.
The phone wasn't in use when I reached it after slipping down a less crowded side street.
I quickly inserted my change and picked up the receiver, taking a slip of paper out of my bag and typing in the number from it. The paper had been folded several times, a jumbled mix of lines creasing it all over, and was torn and faded around the edges.
The phone rung one... two... three times before the other end picked up. I sighed in relief.
"Hello?" said a groggy voice.
"Hey," I said quietly, smiling.
"Do you know what time it is?" they demanded.
"Gee, you're really glad to be talking to me, aren't you?"
"Anne?"
"The one and only."
"You haven't called for ages. Where have you been?"
"Doing the usual."
"Are there even any more vampires to kill where you are?"
"There are always more vampires to kill, Claire. It's not like they can run out," I said. "Where's Sam?" I wanted to speak to her too. I'd missed my best friends more than anything. Leaving them behind without so much as a goodbye had been hard, and getting back in touch with them had taken some effort. We were limited to a few phone calls a year at most.
"She went out with this guy last night and stayed at his."
"Is he a nice guy?"
"Nice enough. He's okay for a History student, at least."
Sam and Claire were both studying English at the same university, living up to their title of 'the twins'. The events with Chris had threatened to put a rift between them, especially when Claire had been keeping the supernatural world a secret from her friend for years. To make a long story short, Sam's ignorance had nearly resulted in her death. Now we all tried to be upfront with each other.
"Listen, there's something I really need to talk to you about," I said quickly, a sense of urgency creeping into my voice.
"I've got something to tell you too..."
"Hunter is here," I interrupted. "All of the hunters are. They found me."
Claire was diverted from her previous trail of thought in an instant. "How?" she demanded.
"I'm not sure. But they want me to go with them and I don't know if I can do that, Claire. I can't stand them anymore."
"Okay," she said calmly. "Think about this logically. What good would come out of meeting them?"
"Well they have quite a lot of information, I guess."
"Could they help you find Chris?" Claire knew all about my mission. She and Sam had expected nothing less of me after they'd learnt what had happened. They knew me better than anyone did.
"I suppose so," I replied noncommittally. I stared at the wall of the payphone as I thought, which was covered in all sorts of flyers and graffiti. Call this number for... Ben + Lucy = 5ever... Head down to...! "But it's not like I can't find him on my own."
"It's been years, Anne," she said quietly.
"I'm getting close, though."
"You say that every time you call us, but it never gets better."
"I mean it this time, Claire. I'm close to finding Chris's maker. He's somewhere in the city and he's planning something big. Give me a few more weeks and I can probably gain access to him," I said eagerly. "If I can just find Edric Hardy then Chris will be easy..."
"Okay, okay," she relented. "I'll believe you. Just don't go running into things now that you've found this vampire, okay?"
"I've waited far too long to mess it up. I'm going to do things properly."
"Doing things properly would involve asking those other hunters for help," she said levelly. "You need to consider putting that before your old grudges."
"This isn't just a small thing, Claire. These hunters let my family die."
"They didn't. They never wanted your family to die and you bloody well know that. The only reason they weren't there when Chris came was that they were trying to stop him and the others from getting to you."
"Exactly. They were too idiotic to notice that Chris was tricking them."
"Then blame Chris. He's the one who made sure that the hunters weren't near."
"I do blame Chris."
"Then why don't you focus on getting to him rather than a slip-up that the people who were trying to help you made?"
I paused for a second, turning around to look at the people on the street. They were passing me by without a second glance, intent on their own issues.
"It isn't that simple," I finally said.
"It seems simple to me," Claire replied. "If Chris has friends like Edric Hardy, you're going to need some friends too."
"I have you."
Claire snorted. "That wasn't what I meant, Anne, and you know it. You need someone who can help you kill vampires, not someone who will fuck it all up. The hunters will help you find him and keep you alive. If you don't start working with them then you might as well already be dead - you're outnumbered."
The funny thing was that she didn't know how outnumbered I actually was. I hadn't told her about my visit to the vampire hideout the night before, or the hundreds of vampires that I had seen crowded in there.
"Are Alexis and Brittany still with him?" Claire asked suddenly, breaking my train of thought.
"I'm not sure. I haven't heard anything about them, but then again they're pretty low ranking vampires."
"What about Jev?"
"The hunters caught him, remember? I think they must still have him with them. Hunter would've told me if he'd escaped," I said confidently, though I was anything but. Why would Hunter have told me that in the first place? He'd hardly had time to talk to me, anyway, and Jev's whereabouts weren't exactly a priority.
"That's good," she mused.
I ran through the list of Chris's friends while we were at school, ticking them off one by one. Alexis and Brittany, no idea; Jev, captured; Dan, dead; Darren...
"This is about Darren isn't it? You want to know if I've seen him there."
"No," she protested. "Anne that's definitely not-"
"You can't keep on being hung up on this guy, Claire."
"I don't-"
"He's a werewolf, for god's sake. Not to mention he's insane."
"He's not like that, Anne," Claire said heatedly. "Not at all."
"I don't trust him, Claire. It's as simple as that. It was a good day when he went out of your life and you should-"
"Shh," Claire hissed suddenly. I heard the door creak on the other end of the line and then static as she covered the phone with her hand to muffle her voice when she called out.
"Is it Sam?" I asked, but my question got no answer, since Claire was still talking.
A second later, Claire put the phone back to her ear again. "Listen, Anne, I have to go."
"Is it Sam?" I repeated.
"No. We'll both call you when she gets back," she said impatiently. "Look, I really need to go."
"Who's in there with you?"
"Just a friend, but we can't carry on this conversation while they're here," Claire whispered down the line.
"Why not?"
"Why do you think? Have you stepped back to consider what somebody might think if they listened to our conversations out of context. They aren't exactly based around normal, everyday things. You live in a different world to the rest of us, Anne."
I sighed. "I guess I should say goodbye, then."
"Call back soon," she said. "You need to get a phone so we can actually contact you."
"I've told you before - mobile phones can be traced easily. It'd do all of us more harm than good if I got one."
"We miss you," Claire said.
"I miss you guys too. Tell Sam that I said that, okay?"
"I will," she said. "And Anne?"
"Yes?"
"Talk to those hunters."