The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 158

[Melissa]

My room was disgusting. I'd pulled my blankets back last night to find used condoms in my sheets. There were more on the floor and cups everywhere.

I had cleaned it just enough to sleep and spent most of the day cleaning every room people had been in. It was one of the things I had to do to get my parents to agree to let me have a house party. I would clean the whole mess, no matter how long it took. Starting with my room, then moving on to my brother Alex's room. Mom and dad had locked their room and the workroom up, so I only had to get all the other rooms set to rights.

Every time I went through the living room and kitchen, I picked up more cups, bottles, and cans. It was how I was going to get them mostly decent. I finished my room and Alex's by lunch time. My main focuses next were the halls and bathrooms upstairs. Someone had brought a keg later in the evening, so I was dealing with a lot of cups of beer and some vomit around the toilets and in the sinks. Who the hell did that? It was so gross.

Was it worth it, though? I would say yes. I ended up making out with a couple of football players when we were playing spin the bottle. Lots of people, especially popular people, showed up.

It was a party worth being talked about. I was betting people would still remember it at the five-year reunion. A few of the popular girls had ended up dancing on the furniture and Kylee Tate got caught making out with some geek in a closet.

I grinned as I thought of it. They had kissed during one of the games of spin the bottle and disappeared soon after. Even if she somehow forgot about it, he would remember it for the rest of his life. Kylee was one of the top five hottest girls in school. Though I was pretty hot, I didn't make the official list. It was Harmony Gale, Rosario Adair, Kylee Tate, Gemma Hightower, and Pansy Klein. That new girl who was hanging out with everyone in the last few months, Echo, had almost beat Pansy out, but not many people knew her.

I couldn't believe someone could come in and push me out of my group like that. She brought Sean, Elle, and Terry into the group. If not for her, Rosario wouldn't have started dating Sean.

More than anything, I wished I had seen him first. He stopped wearing his glasses in the last week of school and I realized, he was actually hot. It was more than just him being a good boyfriend, he was a legit cutie.

"Mel, stop treating my decorations so rough. Make sure they go back where they were before your party." Mom scolded. "Sorry, mom."

I went back to arranging her porcelain figures on the shelves in the hall and stairway. I'd gone through and wrapped them carefully before putting them into mom and dad's room last night. I wasn't going to go try to find these old collectables with the money I saved. I made sure they were safe.

When the hall, stairs, and bathrooms were done, I went to the kitchen. I wanted to get it cleaned before dinner. Mom and dad said they'd order pizza tonight because of all the cleaning that needed to get done.

I opened cupboards to collect garbage, dumped out the coolers of melted ice and carried out the empty keg from the breakfast nook. At least there had been some benefit to all dad's training. I was strong enough to carry the huge metal container, at least, while it was empty.

My hard work was paying off. I had gotten to the point of sweeping and mopping the floor. My whole body ached from working nonstop. I just didn't want to have to do anymore cleaning tomorrow.

All I would have left was the living room and the family room once I was done with the kitchen. With luck, I could have it all done by midnight, then I would just sleep in tomorrow. Thank God for summer break.

After school, I would do what my brother did. Intensive training for a year, then college while I started my first hunts. Just like mom and dad did. They actually met in the training camp.

Maybe I'd meet some hot guy and come back with a boyfriend. Mom and dad hunted for ten years before settling down with each other and having Alex. He was home recovering from a hunt gone wrong near La Grande.

He told us that rogue werewolves had started hunting hunters. It worried my parents. Most of Alex's hunting party hadn't come back from that attack.

I didn't know why those monsters were fighting so hard to live. They were freaks of nature and abominations. Who would honestly want to live half their life as a wolf? It was so gross. Think of the fleas and stuff.

They were animals. Not real people. That was how I was able to deal with it when my dad and brother would tell stories of the wolves they killed.

If I ever saw one, I would do the right thing. They didn't deserve to live. I mopped the floor while daydreaming of meeting a hot hunter boy. We would be a force to be reckoned with.

I dumped out the mop water in the utility room and grabbed some bags before heading into the living room. I was glad we had leather furniture and I was able to just wash off foot and shoe prints from the cushions. "Melissa!!" My dad shouted.

Jumping, I rushed to where he was. He was in the family room. It was still a disaster.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I haven't gotten to the family room yet." I panted.

"That's not what's important." He growled before heading to the doorway and calling for my mom and brother. "Sit."

I sat on the couch. He paced like a caged animal. I wondered what had happened.

My brother came in and looked around the room with disgust. I hadn't touched anything in this room at all yet, but I planned to get it done next. He sat on the couch next to me heavily.

Alex was about 5'11 with toned muscles and a haughty resting expression. When I was young I always wanted to marry a boy just like my brother. All the guys I'd dated had been like him to some degree. That was one of the many reasons I didn't even look at Sean until he was with Rosario.

He wasn't strong and arrogant. He was smart and polite. I hadn't found that attractive, but then I started thinking that maybe that was why I couldn't find a guy that I liked enough to keep. Maybe I needed someone different.

"Mitchell? What's going on?" Mom asked when she came in.

"Sit down, Sarah. You need to see this." Dad said, shaking his head.

Mom sat between me and Alex, holding each of our hands. Mom was the cement that kept our family all together. She taught us how important family was from a very young age. She lost three of her older brothers in wolf hunts. She wouldn't let us leave the house without resolving our issues.

She always said that we never wanted to regret the last interaction with anyone in the family. I loved that about her. She was the reason I knew Alex wasn't really upset with me about the mess, he was just really organized and hated disorganization.

"I was looking over my videos from last night, just to make sure no one got into the workroom. We have a problem." Dad said sternly as he turned the TV on.

I could see the door to the workroom on the screen. A few people tried the door before moving on down the hall. I saw Gray being pulled by that girl, Echo.

She tried the handle before grabbing him and disappearing. I don't mean wandering out of range of the camera. They were there, then they weren't. "Holy shit." I gasped. "Where'd they go?"

Dad typed some stuff into his computer and the night vision view of the workroom came up. They appeared by the door. Echo pushed Gray against the door. "You are mine." She growled before pulling him into a kiss.

He turned and pressed her into the door. Dad paused the video as she opened her eyes. They were glowing. Not like light reflecting or the night vision feedback, but actually glowing.

"What is she?" I asked.

"She's one of your guests. You tell me." Dad pressed.

"I thought she was human. She eats solid food, but a lot of it. Not as much as the football players and other athletes. She's pale and pretty quiet." I answered. "Maybe she's a witch of some sort. Gray, the boy she's with, didn't seem surprised. He must also be something. From his size, attitude, and the amount he eats, I would say some sort of shapeshifter."

"I would guess a werewolf, but they never go to school with humans." Alex added.

"There were a few kids over the last couple years who transferred into your school. I'm betting they're all supernaturals of some sort. What's the girl's name? I can check with our old ledger of witch surnames."

"Echo Nightshade." I replied dutifully.

I'd had a crush on Gray when he first moved into the school. He was so big and strong. He definitely had that arrogant air about him. Was it because he was a werewolf? Maybe he was a ranked wolf then. I could imagine the ones who were slated to take over were like that.

"Did you say Nightshade?" Alex asked.

"Yes."

"She's the human servant of the Master of the territory. She's probably a witch, but the vampires claim their servants by changing their surname to match their master." He told me.

"Can witches teleport?" I asked.

"I've never heard of a spell like that. She didn't seem to use one before they did it. Watch this, though." Dad said and started the video again.

We could hear everything they said. Gray knew what it was, but Echo didn't. They talked about 'going early' and contacting others. I didn't know what they meant.

She stopped in the center of the room and started chanting in another language. After a minute or two, there was a bright flash of light. Gray grabbed Echo and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Let's go, angel. I don't want you here any longer." He murmured and kissed the top of her head.

After a few seconds, they disappeared. Dad stopped the video and turned to us. He had a look on his face that I didn't like. I couldn't believe I brought supernaturals into the house.

"I'm so sorry, daddy. I didn't know." I whispered.

"It's not your fault, baby. They blend in with humans so they can choose their victims and hide in plain sight. I'll contact some of my friends who are experts in witches to figure out what spell she did in there." Dad said as he turned back to the computer. "I'll get together a party." Alex said. "They know we're hunters and they know where we live. This is too dangerous to hope they'll keep it secret."

"It's been a few years, but I'm up for hunting a couple teenaged abominations." Mom smirked.

"Let me go, too." I requested. "I want them to be my first hunt. They tricked me into thinking they were human. I ate lunch with them. They were probably laughing at how stupid humans were the whole time." "Mel, baby, you're too young to hunt." Dad sighed.

"I think it's a marvelous idea. We can lead the hunt as a family. I was about her age the first time I hunted, Mitchell. My family was always a little tougher than yours." Mom said.

"I can help. I have the student directory and I know who all their friends are. I can find out where they live. I didn't even know there was a pack here." I muttered.

"Go get your yearbook and your student directory. We'll get the family room all cleaned up while you're gone. You did a great job on the rest of the house." Mom replied, patting my hand.

I got up and dashed off to my room. I'd gotten a lot of people to sign my yearbook. I was rather proud of it. Now, it would serve a new purpose. I would hunt down those freaks and wipe them out.

After digging out the student directory and the yearbook, I grabbed my cellphone. I could make some phone calls and text some people to gather all the information I needed.

By the time I got downstairs, Alex was on his phone with some fellow hunters and the family room looked like it normally did. I was relieved to have a little less work. I could focus all my attention on the hunt.

This is what I lived for, what I'd always looked forward to. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I'd be fighting by the side of my family against the monsters. I smiled at my mom and sat down with her on the couch, opening the yearbook.

"Echo looks a lot like this girl, Harmony Gale. She has a twin brother named Valor Gale. I think they're related to her. I think they said cousins. That has to mean they're witches, too. Their address is in the directory, but hers isn't. She came in for the last two months of school. She's not in the yearbook either." I told my mom.

I couldn't believe I spent so much of junior high and senior high chasing after a witch. They were probably all supernaturals. They probably laughed at me too. Stupid human chasing the approval and friendship of the beasts.

That wouldn't be me anymore. The only thing I wanted now was their blood. I wouldn't be laughed at again.

"I know that Harmony's boyfriend is Gray's best friend. With the way wolves stick together, I bet he's a werewolf too. I think their entire group of friends is something like that. A werewolf or a witch." I said.

"You're thinking like a hunter now. I'm so glad to see you taking this seriously." Mom smiled.

"You have no idea how seriously I'm taking this, mom. These creatures pretended to be my friends, then they shunned me after I made a little mistake and spread rumors about me. All I was to them was a form of entertainment. If they had ever been real friends to me, I would have some trouble with this decision. I want them all dead." I growled.

Mom laughed. "That's my girl. Let's order some pizza and start making our plan for wiping those things off the face of the earth."

This is what I was meant for. What I was born to do. I was going to kill Echo Nightshade and her cousins, then, I'd kill Gray and Cam for good measure. Those monsters would pay for what they did to me.