Obsessed (Book #12 in the Vampire Journals) (2 page)

A vampire war.

The sea below
Caitlin was as black as night. She listened to the sound of the thrumming
engine as the small military plane soared through the clouds, the words
repeating themselves over and over in Caitlin’s mind. She could hardly
comprehend how it had gotten to this, how her daughter had flown off into the
night, leaving her and Caleb to chase desperately after her. The worry she felt
for Scarlet was all consuming, making butterflies of panic take flight in her
stomach.

Caitlin felt a
strong, primal sensation stirring within her. Scarlet was somewhere nearby.
Caitlin was certain. She sat bolt upright and gripped Caleb’s arm.

“You can sense
her?” he said, studying her expression.

Caitlin just
nodded, gritting her teeth as a yearning need to be with her daughter swelled
within her.

“She’s in
danger, Caleb,” Caitlin said, holding back the tears that threatened to choke
her.

Caleb looked
back out the windshield and set his jaw. “We’ll be with her soon. I promise
you. Everything will be okay.”

Caitlin
desperately wanted to believe him but a part of her was skeptical. Scarlet had
flown willingly to this place, to this castle filled with vicious Immortalists.
As her mother, Caitlin had felt she had no choice but to follow. As a vampire,
Scarlet was certainly in more danger than your average teenager.

Another pang of
longing struck Caitlin. But this time it was worse than before. It wasn’t just
the pain of separation from her daughter that Caitlin was feeling, it was
something even worse.

Scarlet was in
mortal danger.

“Caleb,” Caitlin
said hurriedly. “She’s down there and she’s in trouble. We have to land. Now.”
The urgency in her voice made her words come out in a hurried whisper.

Caleb nodded and
leaned his view to the side. Below them, the black waves churned.

“There’s nowhere
to land,” he said. “I don’t want to attempt a water landing. It’s far too
dangerous.”

Without missing
a beat, Caitlin said, “Then we’ll have to eject.”

Caleb’s eyes
grew wide. “Caitlin, are you mad?”

But even as he
spoke she was reaching for the parachute pack and strapping it on.

“Not mad,” she
said. “Just a mother whose daughter needs her.”

No sooner had
the words left her lips than the aching need for her daughter flooded through
her again. She could just about make out a shape in the distance and thought
that perhaps it was a building.

Raindrops had
begun to fall, drawing lines down the glass and reflecting the bright
moonlight, and Caleb’s grip tightened on the tiller.

“You want me to
ditch the plane,” he said, calmly, more as a statement than a question.

Caitlin clicked
her parachute pack into place. “Yes.”

She held out
another pack to Caleb. He just looked at it, the expression on his face one of
incredulity.

“There’s nowhere
to set the plane down,” Caitlin added firmly. “You said so yourself.”

“And if we
drown?” Caleb said. “If the waves are too strong? The water too cold? How can
we help Scarlet if we’re dead?”

“You need to
trust me,” Caitlin said.

Caleb took a
deep breath. “How sure are you that Scarlet’s near?”

Caitlin leveled
her gaze with Caleb as another pang of longing rushed through her. “I’m sure.”

Caleb sucked air
between his teeth then shook his head.

“I can’t believe
I’m doing this,” he said.

Then he quickly
slipped off his shoulder straps and slipped the parachute pack on. Once he was
ready, he looked over at Caitlin.

“This won’t be
fun,” he said. “And it might not end well.”

She reached out
and squeezed his hand. “I know.”

Caleb nodded but
Caitlin could see the fear on his face and the worry in his eyes.

And then he
slammed his palm onto the eject button.

All at once a
rush of air swirled around them. Caitlin felt her hair tangle in the ice cold
wind and felt herself propelled upwards at a rate so fast her stomach seemed to
drop as though left behind.

And then they
were falling.

Vivian woke with
a start to find herself lying on a chaise lounge in her back yard. The sun was
long gone, and moonlight glittered off the surface of the swimming pool. From
the windows of her family’s mansion, a warm orange glow spilled across the
perfectly manicured lawn.

___Vivian sat up
and was hit by a wave of pain. It seemed to radiate from her very pores, as
though every single one of her nerve endings was on fire. Her throat was dry,
her head pounded, and there was a pulsing sensation like daggers behind her
eyes.

Vivian gripped
the sides of the chaise lounge to steady herself as nausea rippled through her.

What’s happening
to me?

Memories began
floating to the surface of her mind, of teeth bearing down on her, of an
excruciating pain in her neck, of the sound of someone’s grotesque breathing in
her ear, the smell of blood filling her nostrils.

Vivian gripped
the sides even harder as horrifying memories flashed through her mind. Her
heart beat hard and her stomach plummeted as she remembered all at once the
moment Joe___ had turned her into a vampire. In her grasp, the chaise lounge
cracked.

Vivian leapt up,
alarmed by her strength. As she did, the pain she’d been feeling immediately
dissipated. She felt different, almost as though she were inhabiting a new
body. A power that had not existed before surged through her veins. As a
cheerleader she had been strong and athletic—yet what she felt now was
something more than just peak physical fitness. It was beyond strong. She felt
invincible.

It wasn’t just
power. There was something else building up inside of her. Anger. Rage. The
desire to cause pain. The desire for revenge.

She wanted to
make Joe suffer for what he had done to her. She wanted to make him hurt as
much as he had hurt her.

She’d just begun
walking toward the mansion, determined to pick up the pieces, to find him, when
the patio doors flew open. She stopped in her tracks as her mother, dressed in
her pink fluffy pom-pom slippers, silky dressing gown, and Prada sunglasses,
peered out. Typical that her mother would wear sunglasses even when it was
dark. Her hair was in rollers, a sign she was preparing to go out, probably to
one of her stupid society functions.

At the sight of
her mother, Vivian’s newfound rage began bubbling to the brim. She clenched her
hands into fists.

“What are you
doing out here?” her mother cried, using the high-pitched critical voice that
set Vivian’s nerves on edge. “You’re meant to be getting ready for the
Sandersons’ party!” She paused as Vivian took a step into the light. “Dear God,
you look like death! Come inside quickly so I can sort out your hair.”

Vivian’s long,
blond hair had once been her pride and joy—the source of envy amongst her
school peers and a powerful magnet for hot boys—but right now, Vivian couldn’t
care less about how it looked. All she could think about were the new
sensations ricocheting through her body, the gnawing hunger in the pit of her
stomach, and the desire to kill that pulsated through her veins.

“Come on!” her
mother snapped, making the rollers on her head quiver. “What are you just
standing there for?”

Vivian felt a
smile tug up the corner of her mouth. She took another slow step toward her
mother. When she spoke, her voice was cold and emotionless.

“I’m not going
to the Sandersons’ party.”

Her mother
glared back, her glance filled with hatred.

“Not coming?”
she cried. “That is not an option, young lady. This is one of the most
important events on the calendar this year. If you don’t come all kinds of
rumors will start flying. Now hurry, we only have an hour before the car
arrives. And look at your nails! You look like you’ve been crawling through
dirt!”

She wore a look
of incredulity, mixed with disbelief and shame.

Vivian’s anger
only deepened. She thought of the way her mother had treated her her entire
life, always placing her prized society functions first, only caring about
Vivian inasmuch as she fit into the perfect image she wanted to project to the
world. She hated this woman, more than she could say.

“I’m not going
to the Sandersons’ party,” Vivian growled, as she stepped ever closer.

She realized
then that there was a word for what she was doing: stalking. It was what pack
animals did in the wild as they approached their prey. A thrill of anticipation
ran through her as she watched her mother’s expression change from frustrated
to fearful.

“I’m not going
to the Sandersons’ party,” Vivian said again, “or the Johnsons’, or the
Gilbertons’, or the Smythes’. I’m not going to another party ever again.” 

The look in her
mother’s eye was something Vivian never wanted to forget.

“What’s gotten
into you?” she said, this time a nervous tremble in her voice.

Vivian stepped
closer. She licked her lips and cracked her neck.

Her mother
stepped back, horrified.

“Vivian…” she
began.

But she did not
get a chance to finish.

Vivian pounced,
teeth bared, hands outstretched. She grabbed her mother, wrenched her head back,
and sank her teeth into her neck. Her Prada sunglasses flew to the ground and
she trampled them beneath her feet.

Vivian’s heart
beat faster as the sharp metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. And as her
mother fell limp in her arms, Vivian felt an overwhelming sense of triumph.

She let go and
her mother’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, nothing but a heap of
twisted limbs and designer clothes. Her dead eyes stared directly at Vivian,
unseeing. Vivian stared back down and licked the blood from her lips.

“Goodbye, Mother,”
she said.

She turned and
ran across the shadowy garden, running faster and faster, and the next thing
she knew she was flying, up into the night air, over their immaculate estate,
and into the cold, cold night. She would find the man who did this to her—and
she would tear him limb from limb.

A full moon was
glowing above Kyle, making the trees that lined Vivian’s suburban street look
like skeleton silhouettes. He licked the dried blood off his lips, savoring his
delicious kill, recalling Vivian’s expression of fear and terror. It sustained
him. She would, he resolved, be the first of many, the first victim in the
vampire army he was about to build.

The high school.
That would be next. He had a burning desire to find the girl who’d turned
him—Scarlet. Perhaps she would be there—or someone would who knew where she
was.

If not, it was
just as well—there would be an endless supply of young kids to turn. Ever since
feasting on Vivian, he’d gotten quite the taste for teenagers, and he liked the
idea of an obedient little army following him around. More than that, he liked
the idea of wreaking havoc on this town—and on the world.

Kyle began
jogging along the sidewalk, then he stopped short and laughed to himself. He
remembered he was a vampire now, with the strength and skill beyond anything a
human could dream of—and most importantly, the ability to fly. It was the one
thing he hadn’t fully tried yet. And now he wanted to feel it all, and to feel
it fully. He wanted to soar into the sky and look down at those insignificant
ants going about their dull little lives beneath him. He wanted to swoop at
them and hunt them down like an eagle picking off its prey.

He grinned to
himself as he took two big steps and took to the air.

It was
exhilarating. Wind rushed past him, tousling his hair as he flew higher and
higher into the sky. Beneath him, he could see the small town lights twinkling.
He thought of all the people in their homes, ignorant to the hell he was about
to unleash. He laughed to himself, picturing the chaos he would soon create.
Nothing would give him more joy than to ruin each and every one of their lives.

Soon Kyle saw
the high school in the distance, far below. The police had set up a blockade
around a large area of the neighborhood, including every road that led to the
school. Each route was lined with police cars.

Idiots
, Kyle thought
as he flew straight over them unnoticed.

They were being
willfully ignorant. Clearly, the idea of a vampire killer on the loose was too
much for their little brains to handle, so they’d downgraded him in their minds
to just a run-of-the-mill killer. They had no idea.

As Kyle neared
the entrance to the school, he could see bits of police tape flapping in the
wind from where those two men had tried to gun him down. He could see his own
blood on the concrete. He clenched his fists and thought about how no one could
stop him. He was immortal now. Cars, bullets, nothing could stop him.

He decided then
to take the back entrance. He swooped over the athletics field, where football
practice was taking place under the glare of the floodlights, and set himself
down in the shadows. Using his super keen eyesight, he honed in on the two
police cars parked just slightly around the corner, thinking themselves out of
sight. Perhaps, Kyle thought with a smile, they were out of sight for a human.
But not a vampire.

The place was in
disarray. Smashed glass and litter were all over the pavement. He wondered how
on earth they’d managed to convince any of the kids to stay at school. It was
that willful ignorance again, he decided.

He paced toward
the closed gym doors, considering it to be his best route into the school.
Here, he noted, there was also extra security. Kyle could see they’d stationed
a big burly guy by the doors, bigger even than he was. He was the sort of
security guard who’d be better placed at a rough downtown nightclub than a high
school. Kyle just smiled to himself, relishing the challenge of taking the man
on.

He sauntered up
to the security guard confidently, noting the way the man’s hand slid down to
his waist. Kyle guessed he would be reaching either for a gun or a
walkie-talkie to radio for backup. Neither fazed Kyle. Guns couldn’t kill him
and even a hundred police officers would do no more than slow him down. 

“You’ve got some
nerve coming back here,” the security man said as Kyle strolled up to him.
“You’re a wanted man. Every cop and security personnel in the city has got your
picture. The whole city is on the lookout for you.”

Kyle smirked and
spread his arms wide.

“And yet, here I
am,” he replied.

The security man
tried not to let his worry show on his face, but Kyle could see straight
through it.

“What do you
want?” he asked, his voice tremulous.

Kyle nodded his
head toward the gym doors. He could hear the pounding beat of music coming from
inside and could imagine all the cheerleaders inside in mid-practice. He wanted
to turn each and every one of them.

Kyle walked up
to the security guard and grabbed him round the neck, lifting him clean off the
ground. Even though he was bigger and taller than Kyle, Kyle’s strength was
greater. The man felt barely heavier than a child.

“I want to make
an army,” Kyle whispered in the man’s ear.

The man let out
a strangled wail and kicked. Kyle bent his head low and bit the security
guard’s neck. The man tried to cry but Kyle’s grip around his neck was too
tight. He could make no sound as his blood drained from him.

Kyle dropped the
man to his feet, knowing that he had created his second vampire. When he woke,
reborn, he’d be in his army.

Soldier number
two.

Kyle threw open
the gym doors and loud pop music burst out along with the smell of sweat and
the cheers of the girls in practice.

“Hey!” a girl
shouted from the bleachers. “You can’t be in here.”

She was wearing
the same cheerleader outfit as the rest of the girls. She stormed over to Kyle
and stopped in front of him, peering up with a frown.

“Get out of
here!” she demanded.

Kyle ignored her
demands.

“Do you know
Scarlet Paine?” he said.

She grimaced.
“That freak? I know
of
her.”

Behind the girl,
the other cheerleaders turned to watch what was going on.

“Where is she?”
Kyle asked.

The girl
shrugged.

“How should I
know?” she said.

Kyle lunged
forward and grabbed her, hauling her above his head. The other girls began to
scream.

“If any of you
know where Scarlet Paine is,” Kyle shouted at them, “you sure as hell better
speak up now.”

The cheerleaders
cowered. The girl Kyle was holding above his head squirmed. Only one of the
watching girls was brave enough to say anything.

“I don’t know
where she is,” she said, trembling. “But her friends Becca and Jasmine are in
the school choir. They’re practicing down the hall.”

Kyle narrowed
his eyes at the girl. “Are you telling the truth?”

She pressed her
lips together and nodded.

Finally, Kyle
put down the struggling girl in his arms. She ran over to the rest of the girls
and they pulled her into a huddle, keeping her safely behind them, some of them
crying.

Kyle went over
to the wall and wrenched a climbing ladder down. He snapped off one of the long
pieces of wood and used it to secure the gym doors by slipping it through the
handles.

“No one moves,”
he instructed the terrified girls.

He still wanted
to turn them, but he had to follow up on the lead first.

He could hear
the muffled weeping behind him as he left the gym and went into the school
corridors. Despite the earlier altercations and gunfire, the place was still
packed with kids. Kyle laughed to himself as he realized they must have thought
that surrounding the school with police cars would be enough to keep him out.
They were trying to keep everything normal so as not to scare any of the kids or
parents in the community.

“How dumb do
these people get?” Kyle thought to himself as he smirked.

Kyle walked up
to a group of alternative-looking kids hanging by the lockers. They looked like
the sort of kids he’d hung around with when he was at school, the type that
would drop out without diplomas and be destined to work in bars for the rest of
their lives.

“Dude,” one of
the boys said, nudging the friend standing next to him. “Check out the bum.”

Kyle walked
right up to the group and slammed his fist into the lockers beside them, making
a dent. The group jumped with shock.

“What’s your
problem, man?” the boy said.

“Choir
practice,” Kyle grunted. “Where is it?”

One of the girls
in the group, a goth with long black hair, stepped forward. “Like hell we would
tell you.”

Before any of
the group could blink, Kyle had grabbed the girl and pulled her into him. He
sunk his teeth into her neck and sucked. In a matter of seconds she turned limp
in his arms. The rest of the group screamed.

Kyle dropped the
girl to the floor and wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

“Choir
practice,” he repeated. “Where is it?”

The boy who’d
first spoken pointed a trembling finger down the hall. Beside him, two of his
female friends were crying and hugging, their frightened stares locked on the
body of the dead girl.

Kyle made to
leave but had only gotten two paces when he turned back and grabbed the two
crying girls. He bit one first, then the other, draining the blood from their
necks in turn as their pained cries turned finally to silence. He dropped them
at his feet, stepped over them, and headed down the hall, leaving the rest of
the group gaping.

Kyle followed
the sounds of singing until he reached the room where the choir was practicing.
He slammed open the doors.

The group could
tell the instant he entered that they were in danger. Their singing ceased
immediately.

“Jasmine.
Becca,” he demanded.

The two
trembling girls came forward. He grabbed them both by the necks, hauling them
off the floor.

“Scarlet Paine.
Tell me where she is.”

The girls kicked
and writhed in his grip. Neither could speak as Kyle’s grip was too tight on
their necks.

“I know,”
someone said.

Everyone turned,
surprised. Kyle dropped Becca and Jasmine and looked at the girl.

“Who are you?”
Kyle said.

“Jojo,” the girl
replied. She twirled some hair in her fingers and smiled. She was wearing a
Ralph Lauren top. Clearly one of Vivian’s friends.

“Well?” Kyle
said.

“I…” the girl
began but stopped. “We were at a party together the other night.”

“And?” Kyle
demanded.

“I saw her. With
this guy. Really hot guy actually.”

Becca and
Jasmine exchanged a look. Jojo coughed and carried on talking.

“They were
talking about how they couldn’t be together forever because he was, like, dying
or something.”

Kyle’s patience
ran dry. He flew across the floor to the girl and hauled her into the air.

“Skip to the
end!” he cried.

The girl clawed
at his hand round her neck. “Church.”

Kyle studied her
for a moment then put her down. “Church?”

The girl nodded,
her eyes wide with terror. She rubbed her neck.

“Church. Or
castle. Or cathedral. Something like that. They... flew off together.”

Had the girl
said such a thing earlier, her classmates would have ridiculed her. But moments
after witnessing Kyle fly across the room at her, the idea of Scarlet Paine and
some handsome boy flying into the moonlight together suddenly seemed less far-fetched.

From her heap on
the floor, Becca flashed angry eyes at the girl.

“Why would you
tell him that, Jojo?” she cried. “He clearly wants to hurt her!”

“Vivian
loyalty,” Jasmine replied scathingly.

Kyle’s ears
pricked up. He thought of Vivian’s sweet blood. He turned to Jojo.

“You’re one of
Vivian’s friends?” he asked.

The girl nodded.

Kyle grabbed her
hand.

“You’re coming
with me.”

The choir watched
in horror as Jojo was dragged from the room and into the hallway. Kyle dragged
her along the corridors with him. The whole place was a scene of chaos. The
kids he’d turned had begun feasting on one another. Those who had yet to be
turned were running and screaming, trying to get out. Kyle nodded to the goth
girl and her friend as he passed them, watching them sucking the blood of their
school mates. Beside him, he felt Jojo quiver.

He reached the
gym and hauled open the doors to find the cheerleader girls had attempted to
form a human pyramid to get out through one of the top windows. The pyramid
tumbled as soon as they realized their capture had returned and foiled their
plot.