Blood and Snow Volumes 1-4: Blood and Snow, Revenant in Training, The Vampire Christopher, Blood Soaked Promises (21 page)

His expression
softened. “Sorry. I was worried.” He held the longer sword
—what had Professor Pops called it—a katana,
in one hand.
Gabe came around, and stood extra close, so that his body hugged mine.
“Let’s begin.”
He took my right hand and placed the
sword in
it.
I bit my
cheek
, nervous about his nearness.

He doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want you
. He
doesn’t
want you
, my inner voice chanted
, rudely
.

“Your heart is beating so fast. Are you… craving my blood?” His face was so close to mine; I could feel his five o’clock shadow, not to mention the increased beating of his heart. And I realized he was scared.

Of me.

That knowledge hurt.

“No, I’m nervous about being so close to the blade,” I lied.

He swallowed, a loud gulping of his fear. Why choose to train me if he was afraid?

Gabe might as well shove that pointy thing in your heart, my inner voice quipped snootily.

For once I agreed whole-heartedly.

Stepping away, I turned. “How about you demonstrate the correct way to hold it and I’ll copy you?”

I watched his jaws clench. He nodded. “Spread your feet shoulder’s width apart.”

I did as he said.

“Now bend your knees.”

As I bent them, he walked over and set the sword on the counter, then came over to me.

Yeah, it’s just me.
Your best friend.
Sheesh! Scowling, I said, “Like this?”

He smacked me on the butt. “Tuck that under, and hold in your lower abdomen.”

I tried to do as he said, but it felt weird.

“Come on, Snow. It’s not that difficult,” he growled.

Anger snapped to attention and bloomed like a rose in my chest. How dare he be so rude? “I’ve never done anything like this before, so forgive me if I’m not a pro in two point five seconds,
Gabriel
.”

“Well, hello there, Snowflake.” He smirked, and I realized he was goading me.

He picked up his sword, and took another off the wall, handing it to me. I took it, and glared.

“During battle, anger is good, necessary in fact, but it must be controlled.” He’d started to circle me, and my senses heightened. I copied the way he held his blade, and followed him. “If you can learn to control your anger, you’ll be a force to reckon with.”

I snorted. “What about tripping over my feet?”

He stopped. “C’mon, Snow. This is serious. You’ve got to be prepared. The Hunter is working to make sure you become the next queen. And, others,” he waved his unarmed hand upward, “are planning your demise.”

At his words, the poisonous arrow Christopher pulled from my leg crossed my thoughts.

Gabe’s right, my inner voice scolded. 

“Ugh. Fine,” I snapped. “Stop chitchatting, and show me what to do!”

Chapter 10

A
fter an hour and a half of training, I finally started to get the hang of how to stand with my butt and stomach tucked in. I figured out how to hold the blade correctly—not too tight, not too soft, and how to move with more agility. I didn’t stumble, or cut myself once. Even Gabe had been impressed.

By the time we finished, Gabe lightened up, and though the training was intense, I felt like, on a personal level, he and I were better. Maybe back to being friends.

“Good job, Snowflake,” he said placing the blades on the wall. “You surprise me.”

“Gee, thanks,” I replied, my voice thick with sarcasm, but the compliment made me lightheaded.

He tossed a white hand towel at me. I caught it, and patted my forehead. The front of Gabe’s grey shirt clung to his flat stomach. His arms and neck glistened with sweat. I’d worked just as hard as he had, but I hardly perspired.

You’re a revenant now. Get over yourself, my inner voice muttered.

The thought made me smile. Yes. I. Am!

Gabe lifted a brow, questioning my sudden, silly grin. He draped the towel around his neck and hung on. Even sweaty he was hot. “I’ve got to hit the books, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

My smile deflated. “Oh, okay. Later.”

As he walked by he patted my arm.

Great, back to awkward, I thought, containing my sigh. I followed him out, and Gabe locked the door.

“I’ll be by to take you to school in the morning,” he said, sounding odd. I wanted to shake him, forcefully require him to get over his weirdness, and bring back my best friend, Gabe. Instead I waved to his retreating back.

After he left, I browsed around the Museum of the Supernatural, casually checking out each creature, but I’d already decided which one I wanted to research first.

The Hunter.

I hadn’t forgotten the look on Christopher’s face when he saw the carved bear. It’d been filled with a mixture of excitement, fear, and joy. That had to mean something didn’t it? I wanted to see if the answers to my questions, including my finding a token belonging to Christopher before he’d turned, could mean.

I opened the drawer next to the statue of a vampire Hunter, pulled out the book, and placed it on the strange podium in the center of the room.

“Chapter one,” I said, and the pages flipped until they reached the correct page. On the facing page was a fully colored picture of a young man. He looked to be of Asian descent, with deep olive skin, black eyes, and long, black hair. He posed regally in a navy blue robe, decorated with intricate designs. He seemed familiar.
Something about the eyes.
Under the picture was a caption: Kenmei
Yamata
.

“Kenmei,” I murmured, and started to read. 

B
efore the time of man, vampires ruled the earth. They
lived in harmony with
all creatures, both great and small.
The trolls, and the goblins.
The pixies, and the pixilettes.
The dragons of the air
,
and
of the
sea.
The griffin and the mermaid.
The elf, and the dwarf.

After a thousand years, one vampire rose up from the rest, her magic more powerful than all others. She was beautiful, the most beautiful in the land. Creatures fell at her feet to worship her.

She was also greedy,
hungry for power,
her heart filled with enmity. She subjected others with her authority, and became the Vampire Queen.

But there were those who resisted, and war broke out. Both sides suffered abundant losses. In the end, the Vampire Queen, and her followers were forced into hiding.

Then came the time of man.

Dis
covering their usefulness, the q
ueen created the first Hunter.

“Kenmei
was the first Hunter.
” I
whispered, remembering the conversation between Professor Pops, Kenmei, and I
.

“That’s right,” Professor Pops said and I jumped. I hadn’t heard him come in.

Recovering, I closed the book. “So vampires
lived
before humans?” I asked, swallowing. “They didn’t start out human?”

“If b
y human, you mean
like we are now, then no.” He shook his head, moving closer to the book. “Appendix A,” he said. The book quietly flipped toward the back, its pages stirring the air with the smell of old paper. When it stopped, I unconsciously withered away from the pictures on the page, finding it difficult to
grasp what I saw
.

“What are those things?” I finally asked. The creatures
had
dark and
hairy bodies
. The
ir
arms and legs were the same length, similar in proportion to an ape. Large, pointy claws extended from their appendages, and spreading from their backs,
was
a set of glittering, web-like wings. That wasn’t even the oddest
part. Their heads were human
, covered in smooth skin the color of a
baby
fawn.

Cherubic, my inner voice said.

Yes. That was the word, cherubic
.
The faces of angels.
Each one seemed more attractive, more exquisite than the one before. The eye colors ranged from blue, to violet, to yellow, to orange. The hair growing from their heads matched their eye color, as did their lips.

“Those, Snow, are what vampires looked like in the beginning.”

“They’re
creepy, yet somehow… regal. It’s weird.”

Professor Pops chuckled, and the warmth of his laugh calmed me. “I understand.” He placed
an
hand
on my shoulder. “That’s enough for today. Why don’t you head on home? Gabe s
aid you did well during
training.”

“
He did?” Maybe he was more
comfortable with me than I thought.

“Yes, he did. Now get some rest, and I’ll see
you after school
.”

“Okay. Plus, I’ve got a lot of hom
ework to do.” Christopher
flashed across my mind, and my legs
turned to mush. I wanted
him. Jogging toward the door, I stopped before heading up the stairs, and said, “See
ya
, Professor Pops.” 

“One moment.”

“Yes,” I said turning.

His countenance changed to sadness or maybe it was concern. “As your Protector I’m here for you.
No matter what.
You understand that, right?”

Did he somehow know what I was doing with my Hunter? I hoped not. How humiliating. I didn’t want to discuss that—my feelings—with him, or anyone else.

Thankful for the low lighting in the room, I gulped. “Yes, thank you. It’s good to hear the words. I’ll remember.”

His tense face calmed. “Good.” He rubbed his fingers against his jawline, making a scratching sound. “And…” he paused, and I stopped breathing. Did he expect us to talk now? I couldn’t. No way.

But I didn’t need to worry. His uneasiness was replaced with joy. “Have you had a chance to look through the dresses? Did you notice the red one near the back? That’s the one I’d pick for you.”

Confused, I racked by brain to figure out what he meant. Then I remembered the book of dresses from Vera Wang.
Ohhhhhh
. I hadn’t spotted a red dress, but then I hadn’t gone through the entire book yet. I wanted to tell him the red dress would be perfect, just to get the whole ordeal over with. I did not understand fashion. But, if Cindy found out I’d had an exclusive book full of couture dresses and hadn’t let her look through it, well, my life would be over.