Taken (Book #2 of the Vampire Legends) (5 page)

Emily: Hey
there! Wanna come to the mall tomorrow? We’re all gonna go after school and
then hit the movies after.

Rachel didn’t know how to respond. She
knew she was grounded for the rest of her life, and that the answer would be
no. She didn’t dare go downstairs to ask her parents, but she didn’t want to
say no to her friends. She was stuck.

She took out her phone and began to
type.

Rachel: Yeah,
I’ll try to come!

Before she could even think about what
she had written, she pressed the send button.

She would have to find a way to get out
of the house.

Chapter Six

Benji loved taking road trips. He
especially loved taking trips to upstate New York in the fall, when the leaves
were changing and the weather turned cooler. He sat there with his right hand
on the clutch, revving the engine of his motorcycle and speeding up Route 22 on
his way to visit his twin brother, Hunter, at The Mount Pines Preparatory
School in the Catskill Mountains.

Benji didn’t see Hunter often, but he
knew he had to see him to tell him he broke the ancient code of their coven.
Benji had been feeling guilty since he let his secret out on the bridge after
the dance that night. He knew he shouldn’t have told Rachel, but he couldn’t
have kept it inside any longer. She was his first true love, and he didn’t want
to ruin things between them. Especially because he felt Rachel was giving him
an ultimatum.

Now Benji felt like he really messed
things up between them. Rachel was scared of him, he knew the police were
trying to hunt him down, and he feared what Hunter would say when he told him
what had happened.

As Benji was stopped at a red light,
right outside of the Mount Pines campus, he felt his phone vibrate in his
pocket. He squeezed his hands into the tight pockets of his black skinny jeans,
and pulled out his phone.

He was hoping it was Rachel. They hadn’t
talked since he told her he was a vampire and it was eating him up inside. He
so desperately wanted to call her, but he was scared at how she would react if
he did. He didn’t want to create any more drama for her.

1 New
Message:

Benji flipped open his phone hoping to
see Rachel’s name.

Hunter: You’re
late. I’ve been waiting here for 25 minutes. I’m at Campus Coffee.

Benji closed his phone and put it back
into his pocket. He drove into the long entrance of the school. To the right,
he saw the soccer field where the team, dressed in white and green uniforms,
was practicing. To the left he saw the girls track team, and in the distance he
could see the football team running up and down the field doing sprints.

Benji turned off his motorcycle, put his
black helmet under the seat, took the key out of the ignition and slipped it
into his pocket along with his cell phone. He was getting anxious as he
approached Campus Coffee, but he knew he had to tell his brother the story. He
needed advice, and didn’t know who else to turn to.

As Benji pushed open the door to the
coffee shop, he heard the bells ring at the top of the door. He could smell the
delicious aroma of coffee, which infused the air. He looked around but didn’t
see Hunter. He wondered if this was the right place.

Benji walked up to the counter and
looked through the glass at all the baked goods and sweets.

“Can I get a mocha latte and a Danish
please?” Benji asked the woman behind the counter.

“Sure,” she replied. “Take a seat, we
will bring it over to you.”

Benji paid the woman, and then turned to
find a seat. At that moment the bathroom door swung open, almost hitting Benji
in the face.

“Hey Bro!” Hunter said. “Way to be on
time.”

“Oh, hey man,” Benji, said. “Sorry, got
caught up.”

The two walked over to a small table
that was located in the back corner of the coffee shop. Benji knew that table
would give them privacy to talk about what happened.

“So, what’s the urgency?” Hunter asked,
looking quizzically at Benji.

“Well, there’s this girl I like. Her
name is Rachel,” Benji paused,
“and we’ve been out a few times. I really like her.”

“That’s why you came up to see me?”
Hunter laughed, beginning to stand up.

Hunter took everything very seriously.
He and Benji were complete opposites, and sometimes Benji couldn’t help but get
frustrated by his meticulous and critical ways. Hunter spent his days in the
art studio, where he painted miraculous pieces of art. He had been studying art
for hundreds of years, although nobody knew that. Hunter was always dressed
immaculately, he wore a suite and tie with a crisp white collared shirt—  “Mount
Pines Est. 1832” embroidered on the pocket. He was clean-shaven and well
groomed, never a hair out of place. Hunter never seemed to have time for
anything or anyone. He was a loner who enjoyed spending his days painting and
sculpting things. He had been at various prep schools for as long as Benji can
remember. He didn’t like living at home; he didn’t like having the rules of the
coven constantly hanging over him. Not to mention, Hunter liked being in the
mountains. He liked to hear the howling of the wolves at night, and seeing the
dark night sky. He felt invigorated and inspired by them, and it sparked his
creative juices to be in that environment.

“No, that’s not the only reason I came
up here,” Benji snapped back. “Geez, why do you have to be so short with me?” 

“I’m sorry, go on. I just have to get to
class in fifteen minutes. We are studying the realm of darkness today, and I
don’t want to be late,” Hunter said.

“I, um, she’s incredible. She has
beautiful eyes, soft skin, warm hands.”

“Did you taste her?” Hunter interrupted.

“NO! Never. Don’t ever say that again,”
Benji yelled.

“I didn’t realize you were so sensitive,
Benji. What has come over you? I don’t even recognize you.”

“Listen, Hunter,” Benji said as he
leaned into the center of the table. “I did something.”

Hunter leaned in, “What did you do? Did
you sleep with her?”

“No. I did something else,” Benji
whispered.

“What are you talking about?” Hunter
asked.

“If I tell you, Hunter, you have to
promise to stay calm. And you can’t tell anyone.”

“This is bad,” Hunter said, now looking
at Benji with a serious look. “What did you do?”

Benji swallowed and cleared his throat.
He could feel his body getting colder and colder. “I told.”

“Told her what?” Hunter asked.

“I told our secret,” Benji said
remorsefully. “I had to.”

“What do you mean you
had
to?”

“I mean what I say. I had to tell her.”

Hunter stared back in total disbelief.
Benji had never seen him so shocked.

“How could you do this to us? Do you
know what could happen to us, to our family?”

“I know, I do. But I trust her. You have
to believe me. She is just like us.”

“What do you mean she is just like us?
She is a human.”

“I know, but there is something so
radiant about her, you will see.”

“I will not see anything. I don’t ever
want to meet her. Especially now,” Hunter snapped. “This could cost us our
lives, Benji. I can’t believe that because of some stupid high school romance
you would betray our coven like this.”

“I didn’t mean to betray the coven. I
think when everyone gets to know her; they will feel the same way I do. I know
she won’t tell.”

“You don’t know anything. You don’t know
how the human mind thinks.”

“Listen Hunter, she is special, OK? Stop
reprimanding me.”

“If our parents were here now, what they
would do to you…” Hunter said, shaking his head.

“Oh would you stop,” Benji said. “You
have no idea what I’ve been going through in Westchester. It gets lonely, really
lonely. You wouldn’t know what that’s like. You’re still alive, living here
with friends and other vampires.”

“Stop belittling me, Benji. Every time I
see you, you put me down, I don’t need to take this from you anymore.”

Hunter stopped and looked at Benji.
Benji could tell that Hunter had taken this too far. There was nothing either
of them could do at this point. The damage was done, and now they had to work
together to recover from this.

“Benji, we need to figure out a way to
fix this. You can’t do it on your own -- you are not thinking clearly.”

“Yeah, spoken from a guy who does
nothing but paint,” Benji said with a smirk.

“Fine, if you don’t want my help, then
deal with this one on your own. I am the only person who can help you get out
of this. If you tell anyone else, they will have you terminated.”

“I’m sorry, Hunter,” Benji said,
regretfully, “Let’s figure something out.”

The bells rang and Benji jumped. He
turned and saw a pale-skinned girl with dark black hair enter the coffee shop.
Benji could smell her. She reeked of the after-scent of blood and immediately
he knew she was one of them.

“Stop speaking,” Hunter said to Benji as
he looked at the girl and squinted his eyes.

“Why?” Benji asked.

“Change the subject, anything, say
anything.”

“I got a new bike, you wanna see it?”

“Yes,” Hunter said, as he jumped up from
his chair and out the front door.

Benji didn’t know what was going on but
he got up out of his chair and followed Hunter out of the coffee shop.

As Benji left he could have sworn he saw
the girl make a gesture at him. He didn’t know what she meant by it, though,
and figured he better get out fast. He’d never seen Hunter act like this and he
figured it was for a good reason.

When Benji got outside, he felt the
weather changing. The sky grew dark and the trees were howling in the wind.
Benji couldn’t understand what was going on.

Benji looked for Hunter, but he was
nowhere to be found. Benji then went out to the parking lot and saw Hunter,
sitting on his bike waiting for him to arrive.

“Benji, do you know who that was?”

“What’s going on, Hunt? This is weird.”

“Her powers, she can hear anything and
everything. I should have warned you but I didn’t think she was on campus.”

“Who?” asked Benji.

“Violet— the girl who came into the coffee
shop, long black hair, remember her?”

Of course Benji remembered her, he knew
something was up with her, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Benji couldn’t stop
thinking about the gesture she gave him.

“You’d better get out of here,” Hunter
said. “She’s bad news.”

“Yeah, I’ll go. I just wanted to tell
you what happened.”

“You will be shamed,” Hunter said as he
put his hands on his head.

“I’m going back to our ancestral home,
to get away from things for a while,” Benji said as he took his motorcycle
helmet out.

“Please stay away from here. If I need
you, I know where to find you,” Hunter said. “It’s not safe here now.”

The two brothers stared long and hard at
each other, then suddenly, quickly, Hunter turned and fled, hurrying down the
path. As Benji watched him go, he felt a sense of sadness that his brother wasn’t
more understanding, didn’t take his side. It made him wonder why he’d come all
the way up here to begin with. He remembered a different Hunter, one from
centuries ago, who used to always listen carefully and advise him on the best
solution. Now, Benji felt more alone than ever.

As Benji drove out of the long windy
driveway of Mount Pines, the sky opened up, and it began to pour. He drove
faster and faster, and didn’t ever want to stop.

Chapter Seven

As Hunter walked back from the parking
lot, he knew he had to do something, and quickly, to fix the problem his
brother, Benji, had created. Now, his coven was in danger.

Hunter felt a cold tap on his shoulder
and he quickly turned around.

“What’s that I hear?” Violet said, in a
shrill tone.

“Nothing,” Hunter snapped back.

“I heard what your brother told you,”
Violet continued. “Now what are you going to do?”

“You didn’t hear anything,” Hunter said.

“I heard every word. It rang through the
walls of my dorm, and I came right over. Don’t question my abilities, Hunter.
That will never serve you well.”

Hunter was scared. He didn’t know how to
get out of this one. Violet was the most evil Vampire he had ever met. She was
part of a different coven, called the Greslin Coven. She was so nasty – one day
she would be your friend and the next, she would completely turn on you. Hunter
had seen this go on for years now, so he would typically stay out of her way,
but now, he knew she was on to him.