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  She slowed to a jog. No sense in rushing into an ambush. She crouched behind a large rock and peered out over the path ahead. She’d lost sight of her prey. The vampire had already disappeared into the cave. He would have sensed she hadn’t followed, but it may have baffled him because he was arrogant enough to think an ambush would work.

  Morgana knew from her days spent casing this target she would be a great deal faster than most of the newly-turned vampires in the caves, but she was never able to determine the age of this creature. The dreaming tales of the Aboriginals don’t really have a linear timeline.

  Morgana remained hidden, contemplating her next move when she felt the presence of two familiar vampires. She growled. What are they doing here?

  The naïve vampires inside the caves were not likely to notice the new presence. But this was her mission, and hers alone. Morgana steeled her shoulders, determined to prove her ability. She stepped out from behind the rock and raced into the cave.

  Her eyes adjusted quickly to the gloom. At first glance, the cave appeared empty, but she sensed a vampire approaching from behind. She ducked before it could grab her, swung her right leg out in a 360-degree motion and laid the vampire flat on his back. Pulling a stake quickly from her holster, she plunged the weapon through the vampire’s heart. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another vampire fast approaching. This time a female, she snarled, lunging for Morgana’s neck. Morgana grabbed her opponent in mid-flight and threw her against the cave wall. The female vampire’s spine cracked upon impact. Her body laid still, but it wouldn’t be long until she rejuvenated and revived. Morgana stepped forward to stake her unconscious form when another vampire lurched out of the shadows to attack her. Morgana plunged the stake into his heart. Two more emerged from the blackness, striking at her in a wild, undisciplined manner. She spun around, staking the vampire on her left through his back, penetrating his heart, then with one swift motion, she planted her right foot on the side of his head, sending him crashing to the cave floor. She turned just in time to catch the other by the jaw, grabbing the back of his head with her other hand and broke his neck before driving a stake into his heart. But Morgana was only getting started.

  The female with the broken spine was reviving, and three more vampires had appeared. Morgana huffed. This group seemed smarter than the others—more coordinated. She dodged one and spun around to the other two working in unison. But Morgana was over four hundred years old, and her strength and speed surpassed any newly-turned vampires. Their arrogance was their greatest weakness. One of the over-confident vampires grabbed her arm. She returned the gesture. Gripping his wrist tightly, she swung him around, knocking another out of the way. Morgana did a backward flip over the other vampire, stabbing him in the heart through his back as she landed.

  The female with the broken spine had recovered. Cracking her knuckles and hissing, she flashed her fangs at Morgana, then rushed toward her. Morgana side-stepped, thrusting a stake through her heart with minimal effort. The other two unconscious vampires had begun to stir. Morgana drew two more stakes out of her holster and leaped over to their bodies, simultaneously staking them both.

  Morgana’s chest heaved. The smell of rotting flesh wrinkled her nose. She looked around at the dead bodies piled around her. Her perp wasn’t there. She tried to sense his whereabouts in the cave, but all she could hear were her parents on fast approach.

  “Nice job,” Oscar said, nodding continued approval as he assessed the scene.

  Morgana’s mother, Vivienne, gasped, her ice-blue eyes were wide, staring over Morgana’s shoulder.

  Morgana sensed him. Her target had arrived on the scene. Grabbing Morgana, his fingers tightened around her neck. He spoke in his native tongue. She couldn’t understand any of it and struggled against his hold. The walls of her throat were pressing together, her air diminishing.

  Vivienne hissed, baring her teeth at her daughter’s attacker. She crouched, preparing to strike.

  Oscar remained calm. Faster than anyone could see, he was behind the vampire. Grasping his hair and skull, he tore the monster’s head clean off his body. Thick, dark red blood sprayed in every direction. Oscar seized the torso with such strength, he ripped the body from its limbs, the monster’s hands still wrapped tightly around Morgana’s neck. Oscar, producing his own stake, plunged it into the vampire’s heart all while holding up the mangled torso. With a petulant snarl, he tossed the stump of a body aside. The perp may have been stronger than Morgana, but not many are a match for Oscar.

  Vivienne rushed over. “Are you all right, darling?” Loosening the fingers one by one, she pried the vampire’s severed arms away from her daughter’s neck, somehow managing to avoid getting any blood on her white blouse.

  Free from his grasp, Morgana lunged forward, gasping for air. Quickly gaining her composure, she stood straight and rubbed her neck. “I’m fine, Vivienne, neck’s just a bit stiff. Nothing a flask of blood won’t fix.” She looked down at her blood-splattered clothes. “And a hot shower.” She flicked a chunk of flesh off her pant leg. “What are you guys doing here, anyway?”

  “We came to see you, dear. You’ve been on this mission for almost a year now.”

  “Yeah, looking forward to a break.” Morgana cracked her neck in each direction.

  Oscar’s face was grim. “I’m afraid you won’t be taking much of a break. The Council has issued us another mission.”

  “Us? What do you mean us?”

  “It’s a family mission.”

  Morgana shook her head. “No. No. The Council knows I don’t do family missions anymore. Whatever it is, I can handle it on my own.”

  “From the intel The Council has received, this is far too big for just one agent alone. Besides, the cover story requires a family.”

  “Well, then get Jonas or Hector to do it.”

  “Your brothers are already on assignment, and besides, Randalf requested you specifically.”

  Morgana rolled her eyes. “Of course, he did.”

  Oscar arched an eyebrow at Morgana. “You’ve been friends with each other for a long while now. He just wants to make a good impression in his new role.”

  “Besides,” Vivienne began, pushing back a loose strand of hair, “we haven’t spent any family time together for far too long.”

  Morgana took a step back, trying not to flinch when she saw the hurt in her mother’s eyes. Vivienne’s touch was comforting, but Morgana hadn’t been a child in a very long time.

  “Why are you going to be there?” she asked Oscar.

  “The other Council Elders want me to keep an eye on Randalf to make sure they made the right decision promoting him.”

  “And Randalf will be happy with all of this?” Morgana crossed her arms.

  “He will do as The Council says. As will we all.” Oscar’s tone was firm.

  Morgana nodded. One of the ‘dead’ vampires twitched. Morgana walked over to his body, pushing the stake further into his heart with the heel of her boot. “We can discuss the details later. We better start burning these guys off before they re-awaken.”

  “We’ll burn all the bodies in one of the eucalyptus forests to make it look like a bushfire,” said Oscar.

  Even though her father had suggested it, she had to agree with him—it was the most logical plan. Generally, she didn’t have to dispose of more than one or two vampires and would set fire to each body by lighting the end of the stake in the heart. This many bodies would inevitably ignite nearby flora. The humans would think it was just another bushfire, which is quite common in these parts. The Aboriginals use the fire to drive out animals to hunt. Some of the native flora will even germinate once the plants have been burned. Morgana nodded in approval and began gathering bodies.

  They carried the dead bodies into the forest, piling them in a heap. Oscar produced a small lighter to set them ablaze. It wasn’t long before the acrid smell of burning flesh filled their nostrils.

  “We’re going to have to report this back
to The Council,” Oscar said. The bright orange and blue flames danced in the glassy surface of his dark brown eyes.

  “Fine, but I’ll do it. It was my mission,” Morgana replied.

  “If you insist.”

  “What are the details of this new assignment, anyway?” she asked, watching black ashes float up and away from the roaring flames.

  “It begins in a month, and it’s someplace you’ve never been before,” Oscar answered. “We’re going to America.”

  “Should have known, with Randalf being in charge and all,” Morgana scoffed.

  Vivienne gave her a sympathetic nod. “He’s not going to be there, you know.”

  “Fine. I’ll accept the mission.” She put her hands on her hips. “But I want a holiday first. There are parts of this country I’d like to explore.”

  Oscar nodded, his eyes still watching the intense flames engulfing the vampires’ bodies.

  “Do you mind if we join you? I hear there’s a place where you can swim with dolphins?” Vivienne smiled.

  Morgana dropped her arms, her face softening. In truth, she had missed her parents. “Of course.”

  Vivienne’s eyes lit up, and a grin spread across her blemish-free porcelain face. She clapped once. “Good!”

  Oscar smiled, pulling his daughter into a hug, despite her protests.

  Morgana rolled her eyes. She always preferred to work alone, but her parents seemed so happy, she ended her protest.

  Oscar kissed her temple. “Good to have you back on the team.”

  Chapter Two

  Gareth hurried past the massive red oak tree growing in the town center. According to the town’s history, the tree had grown and thrived for nearly a hundred years, with each new generation of children playing around it or climbing up into its branches. Various lovers had carved their initials into the bark framed in arrowed hearts. He never cared for such sentiments. Love and relationships were just another way to get hurt. He wasn’t a huge fan of parks either since they drew the lovey-dovey sort of crowd, but a new candidate for mayor was addressing the town for the first time today. Oak Wood Hills was a small town. As such, it seemed the entire population had gathered to hear the mayoral candidate’s speech.

  Gareth’s eyes scanned the crowd, quickly spotted his best friend, Alastor, with Ava—Alastor’s human girlfriend—sitting up front in the second row. Alastor’s copper-toned locks stood out in a sea of blonde and brown hair but was especially distinct next to Ava’s bright-blonde beach waves. He made his way over to them, sliding into the empty seat next to Alastor.

  “Glad ye could finally make it,” Alastor said dryly, his Irish accent still as strong as the day he’d left the Emerald Isle.

  “I had to stop by the market to pick up new shades.” He pointed to the sunglasses on his face. “I haven’t fed for a while, don’t want to freak out the humans.” His and Alastor’s blood bag supply was getting low, and his usually bright-blue eyes had begun to dull. The locals usually shied away from him when he began appearing like something straight from their nightmares. Gareth breathed in deep, and slowly exhaled the smell of the fresh blood surrounding him. Saliva was gathering in his mouth, and his fangs pressed against his gums as they longed to break through their fleshy prison. He hadn’t had fresh blood since coming to live in this town. He longed for it.

  “Should have drunk the remaining blood we have left before coming here.” He rubbed his chin.

  “Yeah, we’ll need to organize another raid after this campaign rally wraps up,” said Alastor, his green eyes looking slightly dead as well. He cleared his throat, adjusting the collar of his blue shirt. Even though he was more accustomed to being around humans than Gareth because of Ava, Alastor still struggled to ignore the pull fresh blood had on him, especially within a large crowd.

  “The sooner, the better,” Gareth said.

  “Oh, come on, Gareth, isn’t this exciting!?” Ava clamped her slender hand onto Alastor’s forearm. Her hazel eyes darted around the crowd. Her father was the editor for the local paper, and he’d assigned his daughter to the campaign trail. On her lap were her notepad, pen, and a digital camera, which slid off every time she turned around. Alastor’s quick reflexes often saved them from falling to the ground. Even though Ava’s passion was investigative journalism, she never knocked back any chance to report a story.

  Gareth found the whole ordeal stodgy. He rolled his eyes, crossing his toned arms over his broad chest and slouched back in his chair. He really wasn’t interested in what the new candidate for mayor had to say. But Ava insisted a new mayor could affect their small town’s way of life. Their way of life.

  “I’m only here because you convinced me to come.” He always kept his word.

  Alastor, a tall and lanky vampire with a cheeky personality, and who had been his only friend since turning, winked at him.

  The crowd hushed as the candidate for mayor, Oscar Van Wilden, walked onto the stage with his wife and daughter. He stepped up to the podium to begin his speech. The wife sat behind her husband, smoothing the skirt of her designer suit outfit every rich woman in town would likely be wearing variations of next week. Gareth stiffened and sat upright, noticing Alastor do the same.

  “Well, now this just got interesting,” Gareth said.

  “Jaysus,” Alastor cursed under his breath.

  “What is it?” Ava whispered out of the corner of her mouth, not taking her eyes off the stage.

  Alastor leaned over and whispered in her ear, “They’re vampires, love.”

  The candidate for mayor and his wife appeared more human than vampire. But you couldn’t mistake what they were. They were also out in the daylight like Alastor and Gareth were. Gareth didn’t know many vampires—apart from Alastor and his creator—who would be out during the day. From what he had heard, not many vampires chose to live amongst humans either.

  “Yeah, you’re right, Gareth, this story did just get more interesting.” Ava smiled. Her camera now aimed at the stage.

  “Ye sure they’re goin’ to show up on camera?” Alastor joked.

  “Ha ha, very funny.” Ava rolled her eyes, fighting a smile.

  Alastor’s green eyes lit up at Ava’s attempts to ignore him while she concentrated on taking the perfect shot. Either these pictures were going to go on the front page, or Ava would use them later to study the Van Wildens.

  Gareth shook his head. Now her interest was piqued, and Ava wouldn’t stop until she had dug up every scrap of information about the Van Wildens she could possibly find. Having a vampire boyfriend who’s able to spy by listening in on distant conversations greatly benefited her.

  Gareth focused on the stage as Oscar Van Wilden began his speech.

  “First, I’d like to thank you all for turning out today and for welcoming my small family to your town. It’s a friendly place full of neighbors willing to give you a hand. A place where my daughter can spend quality time with her parents before she heads back to college, and my wife and I can build a home. In fact, I grew up in a similar town to Oak Wood Hills. Unfortunately, my hometown no longer exists.”

  This incited gasps and murmurs from the audience.

  Gareth’s eyebrows furrowed.

  “Now, now, nothing tragic.” Oscar held his palms up and grinned at all of them. “Over time, it was left undeveloped, and the good townsfolk like yourself began moving away.

  “Oak Wood Hills is lucky because of the recent investment by DESCO, the company spearheading the developments—”

  “And the ones funding his campaign,” Gareth muttered.

  Ava shushed him. “I’m trying to listen.”

  Oscar prattled on at the podium:

  “… who have cleverly constructed new developments in town, carving these estates into the heavily forested hills surrounding the town, bringing us into the modern era without destroying any of our cherished, historical landmarks. As many of you know, the idea was to integrate the old with the new, preserving the few remaining Victorian homes l
ocated on the outskirts of town by extending residential zoning districts and surrounding them with sleek, modern, urban homes. Meaning Oak Wood Hills can now live up to its full potential. As mayor…”

  Gareth was losing interest again. He and Alastor shared one of the existing Victorian homes Oscar spoke of, and Gareth had followed news of the developments. Ava’s apartment block was also retained, in part due to its historical value. The trio had been very much in favor of the growth and development. The influx of new residents helped to make this the perfect place for Gareth and Alastor to discreetly settle in and begin a new life.

  Oscar’s motive eluded Gareth, so he spent considerable time assessing his appearance and stature. From a typical human perspective, Oscar Van Wilden seemed to be in his late thirties, possibly early forties, but it was difficult to tell. To Gareth, the man appeared ageless. Only the streak of gray through the left side of his dark brown hair betrayed the youthful sheen and boyish complexion, though it accentuated his distinguished persona. Gareth suspected every word from the mayoral candidate’s mouth was calculated as was his consistent eye contact with specific members of the crowd.

  Hyper-attentive, the wife gazed at her husband adoringly. She seemed to be in her late thirties as well, maybe younger. Her sleek blonde hair was pulled back into a French bun. Her smiling blue eyes seemed to sparkle like jewels. Gareth noticed Oscar and his wife didn’t have that dead look in their eyes. From the way they were impeccably dressed, these vampires were rich, meaning they could afford to be well fed. As vampires go, he considered them almost as boring as the crowd of humans clamoring for their approval. But why were they in Oak Wood Hills running for a public office? It was definitely something you wouldn’t see every day. But what truly piqued his interest was the daughter.