Melcher must have parked across the street or next door because there'd been no ominous black sedan in the driveway to warn me of his presence. He sat in our armchair in his gray suit. It was the first time I'd seen Melcher without Crist hovering nearby.
I stormed into the center of the room and glared at my mom. "What the hell is he doing here?"
Mom frowned. "Aurora, don't - "
Melcher interrupted with a smile. "Your mother tells me you've been getting into fights and missing class, Aurora."
"So?" I plopped down on the couch and slung one leg over the other.
"I understand transition period is confusing. You're not like the other kids at school anymore. You're special."
Great, just what I needed, Melcher going all student counselor on me. I didn't need a pep talk. I didn't plan on fighting any time soon. I was happy now.
"Do you mind if I have a moment with your daughter, Mrs. Sky?"
Mom stood up immediately. "Of course not. I'll be in the other room if you need me."
I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Melcher.
He sighed and spoke in a low, articulate voice. "You've been called to serve a greater purpose, Aurora. It's frightening at first, I know. We put you face-to-face with evil and you won. You have a gift. A vampire is like any other terrorist target, and we've never been better equipped to win the war on terror. The important thing to remember is they're not human. They're pure evil. I think you're ready for training, Aurora."
"I'm not ready. I have senior year to finish." And a boyfriend who deserved all my free time.
"This won't get in the way of school. I was just explaining to your mother that we've assigned you a mentor. I've chosen Dante for you. I think the two of you will find you have a lot in common."
"So he's a vampire hunter?"
"That's right."
"Fine. Whatever." I stood up. "Thanks for stopping by."
Agent Melcher got up. "Don't mention it. You can expect Dante tomorrow afternoon."
Maybe if Melcher had given us a time to expect Dante, we wouldn't have wasted the better part of Saturday afternoon peering out the window any time we heard a car on the road. Regardless of the wait, it would be nice to meet someone like me.
Finally, shortly after four thirty, the doorbell rang. When Mom opened the door, one of the cutest guys I'd ever seen stood outside. He grinned from ear to ear, his thick brown hair framing a tanned face. His muscular build was tight in all the right places. It didn't matter that his veins were filled with toxic blood - he had a smile that could kill.
"Sky residence, I presume? I'm Dante."
"Come in. Come in," Mom gushed. "Please, have a seat."
My mom wiggled her brows at me the moment Dante's back was turned. He looked around the parlor and settled in the armchair Melcher had occupied the day before, but unlike Melcher, Dante slouched all the way back into the cushions.
"I made cookies. Would you like one?" Mom asked him.
Dante's eyes lit up. "Cookies? You've discovered my weakness, Mrs. Sky."
Mom returned from the kitchen in a matter of seconds, holding out a plate of home-baked chocolate chip cookies to Dante. He grabbed not one, but four.
"I'll get you a paper towel," Mom said.
I sat on the edge of the couch on the end closest to our good looking guest. "So you're my mentor."
Dante stuffed down half a cookie and talked with his mouth full. "Mentor is one of Melcher's terms. I prefer to think of us as a team."
"Have you always lived in Alaska?" Mom asked, handing Dante a napkin.
"Thanks, Mrs. Sky. These cookies are fantastic. I grew up in Fairbanks. Now I'm working on my degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage."
"How do you like UAA?" Mom asked.
"Small classes, top of the line professors, and in-state tuition - paid for courtesy of the government. You can't beat that."
Mom smiled.
Dante had the build of a jock and face of a Hollywood heartthrob. I couldn't imagine him in one of Melcher's messy white rooms.
"So, how did you die?" I asked.
Mom clicked her tongue. "Aurora..."
Dante sat up and grinned. "No really, that's my favorite question. It happened last winter. Maybe you heard about it on the news. Some friends and I were flown to the top of the Chugach Mountains to snowboard. Man, the powder rocked that day. So I got on my board and headed down - not my first time up there, mind you. I'm boarding, surfing the white wave," Dante said, swishing side to side in the armchair. "Then I go over a small cliff, like I've done a hundred times before, and land not on my board, but my shoulder. Next thing I know I'm somersaulting down the mountain, crashing through brush and trees, gathering speed like a human avalanche. There's cloud coverage everywhere. I'm tumbling and I can't tell the snow from the sky. Then I'm tossed over the next cliff side and land a hundred feet down into a pile of fucking rocks. Excuse my language, Mrs. Sky."
Mom was too busy holding a hand to her heart.
I grinned. "And next thing you know you wake up in a white room?"
"Good as new," Dante said and winked.
"I'm sure you haven't gotten on a snowboard since," Mom said.
Dante leaned back. "Au contraire. The moment I was patched up I ran straight up to Alyeska and did a double-black diamond. Well, I shouldn't say right after - there was that little sabbatical I took first."
My face hurt from smiling. I liked this guy in a big brother kind of way. Melcher had finally done something useful.
"Can you stay for dinner?" Mom asked.
"I'd love to."
Mom radiated with pleasure every time Dante helped himself to more chicken tenderloins and mashed potatoes. Dante hummed with pleasure at each bite.
"Do you know how long it's been since I've had a home-cooked meal?" he asked.
"You should come over for dinner again soon," Mom said.
"I won't turn down an invitation."
While Dante scooped another heap of potatoes onto his plate, Mom shot me another one of the 'he's a keeper' looks.
I returned it with a narrow eyed 'leave me alone.'
I cleared my throat. "Would you like something besides water to drink? Soda or juice?"
"Water's good, thanks." Dante chewed heavily and looked up suddenly. "Sky, how can you not eat with all this delicious food in front of you?"
Oh, he was winning points with Mom, all right. I glared at him.
If he noticed, he ignored me and continued. "You should eat up. We have a long drive ahead of us."
I gaped at Dante. I must have heard wrong because I swear he just said 'drive.'
"Training," Dante said between mouthfuls. "Got a mission planned in Fairbanks."
"Fairbanks!" I don't know which had me more flabbergasted.
"Sorry to spring this on you, Mrs. Sky - agents' orders."
Mom shifted in her seat. "Did Agent Melcher not tell you that Aurora was in a car accident?"
Dante stopped chewing. "I know it's difficult, but Aurora has to get over her phobia if she's going to get the job done. Unless, Aurora doesn't feel up to the task." Dante squinted at me. "Well, Sky, are you game?"
Oh, he was good, goading me like that. The last time I did something for the agents I ended up with a bloody neck. At least Dante wanted to take me out on field work. I could do without the locked rooms.
I grumbled under my breath. "And you want to leave now?"
"No time like the present." Dante leaned back and smiled. "We'll be back by bedtime tomorrow night. Promise."
I hesitated.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and we'll have a long drive on which to answer them."
I scooted back and stood. "Fine. I'll go pack a few things."
Dante grinned. "That a girl."
"You will take your cell phone with you?" my mom called after me.
"Yeah, Mom."
I ran up to my bedroom and threw an extra pair of pants and a heavy sweatshirt inside a backpack. Who knew if this thing would be as messy as my orientation?
I ducked into the hallway and trotted back down the stairs. "Ready."
As I came into the kitchen, Dante stood and nodded to Mom. "Mrs. Sky, sorry to eat and split. This was fabulous. Don't worry. I'll see to it your daughter stays safe and sound."
My mom nodded slowly. "Please do, Dante."
I gave my mom a quick peck on the cheek and headed outside with Dante. A white Jeep Rubicon was parked in the drive. I stopped in front of it. "Let me guess. Government issued?"
"Even better, government paid. I'll even let you drive her." Dante tossed me the keys. I caught them instinctively and stared into my palm. "Come on, Sky, it's all about getting back in the saddle."
I threw the keys back. "I can't."
"Then buckle up, baby, 'cause I'm driving."
I glanced over my shoulder, knowing full well I'd look like a sissy if I ran back inside my house. Training couldn't be any worse than orientation. Nothing could.
A golden retriever stared at me from the backseat when I climbed inside the Jeep. My anxiety dissipated at once.
"Who's this?"
"Sky, meet my best bud, Tommy. I named him after Tommy Moe."
I raised a brow.
"Olympic Gold medalist in men's alpine skiing," Dante said as though I was daft. "Ninety-four, first American male skier to win two metals in a single Winter Olympics, and he was an Alaskan resident at the time."
I resisted the impulse to say something snarky and reached back to pet the silken fur on top of the retriever's head instead. Tommy slapped a very large tongue over my fingers. I pulled my hand away.
"Watch out for that dog - he's a lover."
I settled back into the passenger's seat and buckled in. A long ride up north sounded relaxing...until Dante started driving.
He ripped into Jewel Lake Road and floored it onto Minnesota Avenue. I reached for the roll bar overhead.
"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled.
Dante rammed the clutch into fourth gear. "I'm going to drive the terror out of you, Sky. By the time we get back, you'll be spinning wheelies in parking lots."
"I've never liked wheelies."
"You will soon."
"You're a real jackass, you know?"
"And you're a backseat driver."
"Backseat driver? I'm not a backseat driver! Have I told you to slow the hell down or watch out for cars changing lanes?"
Dante chuckled. "Relax, Sky. We're superhuman, remember? Danger is what we do best."
I folded my arms over my chest. "Whatever."
I glanced back. Tommy must have been used to Dante's driving because the dog moved with the car.
Dante spared me from yelling at him again by slowing down.
"So what do you want to know about our fanged foes and how we've been recruited to rid this world of evil? Fire away."
"All right, are there really vampires?"
"I was told you were initiated."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It should. The beast bit you, didn't it?"
"Yeah, but any crazy person can bite someone."
A smile worked its way up Dante's cheeks. "Did this one drink blood straight from your vein?"
"Yeah..."
"Welcome to the world of the demonic, Sky."
I stared out the window at the shadowed storefronts as we passed through downtown. There was a certain thrill to leaving town even if we were headed deeper into the darkness.
I shifted in my seat. "Did you believe the agents when they told you there were vampires?"
Dante shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, anything's possible. What I didn't believe is that they'd doped me up on some kind of noxious blood that'd knock a creature out."
"And then they initiated you."
Dante was quiet a moment then laughed. "Oh, yeah. Who forgets their first bite? It's more memorable than the first time you have sex."
"That's gross."
"You'll understand once you have a chance to compare."
Well, I could compare. Not that it was any of Dante's business. Sex and bloodsucking were seriously overrated in my opinion.
I cleared my throat. "I believe we were talking about vampires. Was yours rabid?"
"He was a mess."
"How did you finish him?"
"Shotgun."
"And then you entered a transition period or whatever, met with your mentor, and got to work?"
"Then I skipped town; left the country."
I leaned forward, mouth hanging open. "What? Where'd you go?"
"Netherlands."
I choked out a laugh of disbelief. "What? And then the agents found you?"
"Yep. Caught up with me in Amsterdam where I was smoking more weed than a hippie at Woodstock."
I stared at Dante. I stared until he glanced over, and we both burst into laughter.
"What did the agents do to you?" I asked.
"I'll tell you what they wanted to do - ship me off to some underground facility in Siberia."
"How'd you get out of that one?"
"I said, 'Hey, I was just taking a little holiday before I reported to duty. Give me a chance to prove myself. You got to have some kind of assignment you can give me. See how I do. Trust me, guys, you want this assassin on active duty, not wasting away in some ice cave.' So they gave me a shot."
"And you've been slaying vampires ever since."
"Roger that, Sky."
I glanced out the window. We were no longer in town, but on the highway headed north. Mountains turned to shadows, surrounding us from every angle. The snow along the highway was a glimmer in the headlights.
"Why run in the first place?" I asked. "I mean, don't we turn into vampires if we don't take Melcher's special antidote?"
Dante shrugged. "At the time I didn't care if I turned into a vampire. Who wouldn't want to live forever? Then Melcher explained there was no way of knowing what kind of vampire I'd turn into. They've infected us with everything: rabies, porphyria, typhus, cholera. If it's fatal, it's in us."
Dante tapped his fingers over the steering wheel. "If the rabies turned me, I'd be Schizo. Crazy. Worse than dead."
"At least you got in one last hurrah," I said. "Do we ever get out-of-state assignments?"
"I wish, but we've got our hands full in the Great North. The vamps are moving in on us. Cold. Dark. It's like Florida for seniors."
"So they can't go out in the daylight?"
"Oh, they're free to roam at any time. They just don't like to - light sensitivity and all."
"Any other repellents I should be aware of? Crosses? Holy water? Garlic?"
"No, no, and yes. Rabies vampires can't stand garlic."
"Why?"
"It's their disease. They're supersensitive to any olfactory stimulation, which includes garlic. Then you've got your porphyria vampires, whose skin is hypersensitive to sunlight. The real irony about a vampire is that their disease is keeping them alive. In most cases, their families or entire villages were wiped out, but some kind of freaky chemical reaction with their blood both killed and preserved them in a state of reanimation."
"Their AB negative blood."
"Yep. And now, thanks to the green revolution, scientists have discovered a way to trigger the dormant deadly virus inside vampires using modified organisms. They just needed a way to get it inside the creatures' system. That's where we come in."
"I still don't get why these organisms are toxic to them, but not to us. Don't we share the same blood type?"
"Affirmative."
"Then why isn't it toxic to us?"
"The antidote." Dante looked over and winked. "It counteracts the toxin running through our veins."
"What happens if they run out of the antidote?"
How could Dante act so calm? A shot of liquid was the only thing preventing us from becoming one of those creatures.
"Don't worry, Sky. If you turned Melcher would send in an assassin to put you out of your misery. Maybe me."
I grumbled. "Comforting."
Dante laughed. "Next question."
"Have you ever experienced any side effects?"
Dante smacked his lips together. "Nope. Besides feeling awesome. Have you noticed anything funny?"
"For a while I had trouble looking at myself in a mirror."
"Ah," Dante said with a smile.
"Ah, what?"
"That would be the pellagra. Victims of the disease become perturbed when faced with their reflection for some reason. They're also sensitive to sunlight."
Just another perk of being a vampire hunter." I grumbled under my breath. "How many of us are there?"
"Don't know."
"How long have vampire hunters been around?"
"Probably as long as there've been vampires. We genetically altered AB negative lab rats are the latest and greatest in the history of vampire hunters. Our kind has been around twenty years, tops."
"Do vampires know about us?"
"They're learning quickly and spreading the word. Not that many have an opportunity to talk. You never want to leave behind any witnesses."
"What about human witnesses?"
"Don't take out a vamp in front of a human."
"What if one bites you in front of people?"
"Don't let it."
"What, it's that easy?"
"Here's a little secret, Sky. You're not going to run into many rabid vampires. The agents round those ones up, contain them, and sic 'em on new recruits. The kind of creatures we're after are cagey. They know how to blend in, and they're certainly not going to tear into your flesh the first chance they get. They feed on the feeble-minded."
I pictured my Mousketeers: Noel, Whitney, and Hope.
Dante continued. "And then they feed on them again and again. There are the hunters, of course, who enjoy the kill, but the crafty ones find willing sources to supply them."
"Why would anyone willingly let a vampire bite them?"
"Like I said, Sky, better than sex."
"And again, ew."
"Makes people feel alive."
"What about you? I don't see any bite marks on your neck."
Dante chuckled. "That's vanity for you. I don't let them bite my neck."
I faced forward and rolled my eyes upward. "I don't even want to know."
"Sure you do. Chest and biceps work equally well; occasionally I'll throw in a wrist if I have to."
"So if they started out with human teeth, how do they pierce the skin to get to the vein?"
"Most of them sharpen a couple back molars. It's rather thoughtful of them, actually, more like a sharpened needle piercing the skin above the vein than a rusty nail."
"Can't we take them out before they bite us?"
"What's the fun in that?"
"I don't think any of it sounds fun, but I'll avoid getting bitten if I can."
"Believe me, Sky, you're going to have a lot easier time taking these things out when they're twitching on the floor. Are you really up for hand-to-hand combat?"
I shrugged and stared out the window as we passed through Wasilla. The city was like one long strip mall paved with parking lots leading to supermarkets, sporting good warehouses, restaurants, liquor stores, gas stations, and gun shops.
"This is one ugly ass town," I said.
"This isn't the real Wasilla," Dante said. "It's just a front. Think of all the beautiful lakes and mountains in the area."
Great, more mountains. I found them repressive.
I didn't want to know how fast Dante was driving for us to have reached Wasilla already. There were still around six hours left to go - well, that would be the case if he'd obeyed the speed limit.
Once we passed Willow, there was a whole lot of nothing. Only, it was pitch-black out, so I couldn't see the nothing. But I could feel it out there - great empty expanses of wilderness. It was the middle of the night, and we were the only vehicle on the road.
Dante pulled off the Parks Highway into an empty parking lot at mile 135.2 to let Tommy take a pee. The retriever leapt from the Jeep as soon as Dante opened the back door. He sniffed the snow and began marking. I stepped out to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. Maybe not the best idea. The air was the kind of cold that hurt to breathe. I hugged myself in my arms and danced in place.
Dante walked to the end of the lot and stared in the distance. I joined his side.
"I always pull off here," Dante said. "It's one of the best views of Mount McKinley...when you can see her."
He seemed like he was trying awfully hard to see through the dark. I knew why he did it, because I could feel it out there, too - a majestic presence.
I turned and headed back to the Jeep.
"Tommy," Dante called. "Let's go."
Tommy ran back as soon as Dante opened the back door. The blast of the heat felt good on my legs.
Dante had the Jeep in fifth flying back down the highway in no time.
"So what's the assignment?" I asked.
"Got a target that needs taking out. Calls himself Ivo. He's been snacking on college freshmen. Last month he strangled a girl and sucked her dry."
I flinched. "She's dead?"
"Yep. Ivo hangs with another vampire named Patrick. Patrick's not violent, but he's a feeder nonetheless. I figure two of them...two of us..."
"And you want me to take Patrick?"
Dante grinned. "No, I want you to take Ivo."
I crossed my arms. "Of course you do."
"First conquer the mountain."
"What are you? A psych major?"
"Nope. Environmental studies."
"Of course."
"What about you, Sky? Got a major in mind after high school?"
"I like to read and write."
"I imagine you'll find yourself with plenty of material. It could be worse. We could be dead."
"...or in Fairbanks." I leaned forward in my seat. Were we there already? The time on the dashboard clock read two twenty-five.
The roads were deserted. The temperature on a bank display board said negative fifty-three degrees. Seriously, how did anyone other than vampires live here?
"Got to make a quick pit stop to pick up my informant."
"You have your own informant?"
"Not exactly. Melcher prefers we don't meet them at all. He likes informants to report to him and then he passes the intel onto us. But sometimes we work together."
"How do informants get chosen?"
"Like us. They die, the agents and their surgeons step in, but the transfusion doesn't take. The procedure costs a fortune. Might as well make some use out of them."
"So I guess we're lucky."
"Ain't that the truth. Informants have to pose as vampire junkies, getting the juice sucked out of them time and again while we swoop in and save the day. We've got it made, Sky."