To Honor: Vampire Assassin League #22 by Jackie Ivie Page A

washed over her. And regret. An immense sense of sadness. What the hell was she experiencing sorrow for? She’d been having ‘day-mares’ about approaching a health care provider with this. How was she to explain anything without being sent to a psycho ward? She’d be a subject of ridicule...and then the truth would manifest. She’d probably be sent to a Hazmat section of some underground exploratory laboratory so a bunch of scientists could poke. And prod. And take notes.
    She decided she felt relief. That was just fine. Although now she had to go and purchase another kit. Conduct the fifth test.
    Christine did the routine. Shred everything. Discard it in the receptacle. Wash her hands. Maybe she should accept this one as final. No. It could be a false negative. Then again, the other two could be false positives just as easily. She was testing at the earliest timeframe. There was always a chance of a false reading. She was becoming an expert on these tests. They worked by measuring the amount of human chorionic gonadotrophin hormone. She’d bought one with the highest sensitivity this time, one with the lowest mlU/ml rating. But, could she be sure?
    Well. Loveland might have another all night market. Otherwise, Fort Collins was the next city up the road. She might as well find out. The bell above the door tinkled at her exit. It sounded happy. She almost snarled at it.
    The snowfall rate had picked up. More fun. She wasn’t afraid of a little snow. She’d had good winter driving skills before her infusion of vampire blood. Now that she had hyper sensitive reactions, well. Worry over this kind of weather could just take a holiday. She had bigger troubles. One more test. And then the fallout.
    White flakes filled the air, putting a blanket of quiet on everything. Christine stopped and inhaled. Deeply. The air was crisp. Clean. Cold. Her heart was beating hard. The sound echoed weirdly through her ears.
    And it sent an ache all the way through her.
    Snow formed moving pyramid shapes in the glow shed down from every light pole. Her pickup looked lonely by itself between two of them. Christine shoved a hand into a jacket pocket. The other one held the truck key. Damn, it was cold out here. This wasn’t like her at all. She hadn’t prepared for this trip. She didn’t even have gloves. Perhaps if she’d tuned into the world over the past week, she’d have known what to expect from the weather. She’d have brought a thicker jacket. Worn snow boots rather than hiking boots. Maybe she should just go back to Boulder.
    She was almost to her pickup when a group of men loomed out of the night. Eight. No. A quick glance showed nine of them. They were big guys. A lot bigger than her. Everybody was dressed in winter camouflage. Including their weaponry. Their arrival was sudden. Silent. And scary. Christine jumped. Dropped her keys. That immediately caused a burst of anger. Another thing that wasn’t remotely like her.
    “You assholes!”
    “Whoa! Sister. Wait.”
    One of them held up a gloved hand.
    “Who the hell—? No. What the hell are you guys?”
    “Hunters. Isn’t it obvious?”
    He chuckled after that statement as if it was funny. It wasn’t. He had a sinister look to him. The gray and white paint across his face didn’t help.
    “Hunting season is over,” she told him.
    “Not for our prey, honey.”
    More than one hoisted what looked like a crossbow high enough she couldn’t mistake it.
    Crossbow?
    More of them joined in on the weapon show. She saw several swords. Some spigots for spraying something. And somebody had a wicked-looking gun that seemed to glow.
    “I’m afraid to ask,” she said.
    “You going to tell us or not?”
    “Tell you what?”
    “Where to find your boyfriend.”
    Takeshi?
    And here was another thing somebody should have mentioned. It was beyond weird, but she should have guessed if there was such a thing as a vampire, there would be vampire hunters, too.
    “We know he’s around.