My Favorite Nightmare by Abigail Livinghouse (ebook audio reader TXT) 📕

the ordinary. I looked around, looked up, then down, and that’s when I saw the ashy blond head ducking into the trees. My eyes widened. What the hell?  Chapter Fourteen

When I woke up the next morning I heard mother yelling for me to get up. I groaned, rolling over and pulling the covers over my head.

 

“Kyla! I’m going to the Square and the girls are coming with me. Do you want anything?” She shouted up to me.

 

I didn’t respond, I just shut my eyes tight and hoped that if she was leaving she’d get on with it. I heard her sigh.

 

“Alright then. We’ll be back soon.” She yelled. I heard the door open, then close behind them as they left.

 

I opened my eyes and peeked out the window, wondering if I’d see anything odd when there wasn’t darkness to play tricks on me. I saw nothing that shouldn’t have been there. There was our small garden where mother grew her herbs for tea, and then there was the trail of a few trees leading to the forest beyond that. I sighed, then got out of bed. I showered, got dressed, and took another look outside.

 

It was a cloudy day, with a fog setting in over the horizon. The sun was nowhere to be seen. The clouds were a dark gray, chasing each other around as if they were angry. I immediately thought of Pearce’s intense eyes. I blinked a few times and shook my head. Why would I think of the vampire who had tried to kill me? I shook my head again and grabbed my bag, sliding down the railing of the stairs then heading out the door. Looked like a good day to go hunting and besides, I needed something to keep my mind off of everything going on.

 

       Walking into town I heard whispers that last night the vampire who had trespassed in our village had been spotted. I slowed my pace, hoping to catch more of the conversation. “. . . he was seen over by that girl’s house. The hunter.”

 

I stopped in my tracks, my heart picking up speed, thundering loudly as if it was going to jump out of my chest. I knew they were talking about me, and I was going to hear the rest. I listened closer.

 

“I wonder if she noticed him there.” A boy said.

 

A girl shrugged, joining in. “I wonder if she led him there on purpose.”

 

“Why would she do that?” The boy asked quizzically.

 

The girl gave another shrug. “Why else? To capture him and collect the reward for herself. I heard her family’s really poor.” Her voice dropped to a whisper but the boy just snorted.

 

“Yeah, she needs the reward just as much as anyone else in our village does.” He said and she nodded in agreement.

 

I walked away from them, fuming. I guess I could rule coincidence out of seeing gray eyes and a blond head last night near my house, since apparently Pearce had been spotted. Damn it. When I got to the edge of the forest I saw that I was not alone in my idea to go hunting. Trine was also there, polishing off his stake and knife.

 

“Hey”, I said, sitting down on the ground a few feet away from him. He nodded, not looking up from his shining.

 

“Did you hear?” He asked.

 

“What?” I asked absently, distracted by the few birds that were nesting in the nearby trees above us. Trine looked at me, abandoning his weapons.

 

“That the vampire was spotted near your house last night. Did you not notice him?” He asked sternly. I shook my head. “No.”

 

Trine sighed. “Well, I suppose you didn’t considering he’s still alive. If you would’ve caught sight of him, then he would be dead by now.”

 

He gave me a smile, I supposed that was meant to be a compliment. I smiled back. “Yeah.”

 

Trine shook his head. “Nope. The game’s just begun now, and I have a feeling it’s going to go on for a while.”

 

I scowled, standing up and moving towards Trine. “What game?” I asked seriously.

 

He shrugged, turning his attention back to his polishing. “Oh, some of the hunters in town are placing bets on who’s going to capture the immortal that raided our village first. I wasn’t surprised when I heard your name come up a few times. To them, this is all a game.”

 

My scowl deepened. “Do they not understand how deadly this is? That more people could die with the high stakes from hunting with so many? Not to mention that since the vampire has been spotted in town, it seems he’s having no trouble getting past our meager defenses?”

 

Trine looked up at me, his brown eyes emotionless. “It just makes the game more interesting.” 

Chapter Fifteen

It was a slow hunting day, and we only caught a girl and a boy, mates, traveling through our forest. Trine hauled them both onto his shoulders, telling me that it was fine and he could carry them by himself. While he walked, we discussed plans for tomorrow night. We figured since it was so slow today tomorrow hopefully we’d get more purchase. After we collected our earnings from Sal we went our separate ways, Trine to his house and me to mine.

 

When I came inside the house was empty. Mother and the twins must still be shopping. I wasn’t surprised, I had only been gone for about three hours. I headed upstairs, tossed my bag in the corner and removed my hunting boots. I laid down on my bed, staring up at my ceiling.

 

We usually got more than just two vampires a day. Why the flow of immortals has suddenly slowed is a hard question for me. I heard something tap against my window pane. I paid no attention to it. It was just the tree outside, being rustled by the wind. So when the tapping became a steady knocking you could imagine my surprise.

 

       I jumped up from the bed, snatched my bow and an arrow from my bag, and flung the window open. All that greeted me was the chilly night air and darkness.

 

“No use hiding.” I called. “I know you’re out there.”

 

No one but the howling wind answered me. I gritted my teeth, my temper rising. “Come out.” I yelled, my voice louder this time.

 

I saw the top of his head first, and then he came all the way up so that I could see his whole face. His hands rested on the sill, supporting him. At the sight of the vampire I jumped.

 

“Ah shit”, I cursed, coming forward with my bow still poised. “What the hell are you doing here?” I said, softer so that the people in the homes around us wouldn’t hear.

 

Pearce smiled his devilish grin, beginning to climb through the window, into my room. I had a few options. I could shoot him, which would mean he would either fall or die instantly from the impact of the wooden arrow in his heart. I could just shove him away from the window, which was appealing. And then the last and possibly the most idiotic choice I could ever make, I could let him in. I considered all of the choices I had, wondering why I had even come up with the last one. Vampires were the prey, and I was the hunter. But I felt so small and insignificant. So much like our roles had been reversed. I shook my head.

 

“I must be out of my mind”, I mumbled as I dropped my weapons. Pearce looked at me, waiting for an answer. I waved my hand. “Just come in before I change my mind and shoot you.” I said uneasily. Pearce’s grin widened almost in triumph as he pulled himself all the way into my bedroom. I had a vampire in my room. Yep, I was crazy. 

Chapter Sixteen

Pearce stood with one hand leaning against the window sill. He was really tall, his head almost hit the ceiling. He was taller than me, which was saying something, since I was the tallest in my family. His ashy blond hair fell over half of his face, only one gray eye peeked out from behind his curtain of hair. He was smiling at me, a sneaky grin that said he knew something you didn’t know.

 

“Nice seeing you.” He said. “Why, I’m surprised you didn’t shoot an arrow into my heart on the spot. What brought on this sudden burst of kindness?” He asked, the eyebrow that I could see raised.

 

I swallowed, my hands feeling horribly empty without my bow or stake in them. My stake was in my bag, all the way across the room next to my bed, where Pearce was standing. And I had dropped my bow to my side, but still it was inconvenient. I swallowed, realizing that I was completely defenseless. Pearce could be across the room in one minute and kill me the next. I was such a dumbass! Pearce chuckled.

 

“Ah love, why would I kill you?” He asked, amused.

 

“Because you’re a freaking vampire and I hate your kind!” I spat, shaking my head. He shrugged.

 

“So? You hate my kind, however you never said you hate me.” He pointed out with a smirk.

 

I snickered. “My mistake. I hate you Pearce. I hate you because–”

 

“Because I get in your head?” Pearce cut in, taking a step towards me. I took one back. “No, I–”

 

I began again, but he spoke over me. “Because you can’t kill me? Because you don’t find me revolting like the rest of my kind? Or is it because I talk to you like you’re a real person, not a hunter?”

 

I swallowed roughly, gripping the edge of my bedframe, feeling my head swim with Pearce’s words. He was wrong.