Reborn in Fire Read online

  Reborn in Fire

  By: Kimberly Grafton

  Copyright © 2020 Kimberly Grafton

  All rights reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter One

  The shadows of the alleyway provided me with constant cover as I waited. My throat burned, and my stomach clenched. I was trying to maintain control, but there was a consistent pounding in my head which made it hard to concentrate. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from shrieking out in pain and fury. It hadn't been this bad since I first turned. It was my mistake that I waited so long to quench my undying thirst. A strong wind swept its way through the alley in which I hid and it caused the sweet, heavy scent of blood to scorch its way down my throat. I clamped my lips shut, which immediately stopped my breathing altogether. The wind stopped, but I didn't dare breathe in again.

  Focus! Focus!

  I backed up against the brick wall and shut my eyes. The sounds of the nightlife rose up around me. A few blocks away a club was pounding with the beat of the music, a couple was arguing on the first floor of an apartment complex a building over, and glasses clanged and shattered from a bar fight a couple yards down. My eyes opened to the crescent moon above me, watching the few stars that shone through the harsh lights of the city.

  Immediately, the light sound of footsteps grabbed my attention. The steady beating of a stranger's heart drowned out everything else. The monster within me emerged, struggling to rip its way to the surface. My whole body tensed, and I took an involuntary step toward the street.

  As the sound grew closer, I gripped the wall roughly as I fought to hang on to the last bit of self-control I had left. I waited, trying to keep my impatient growl inside. I edged closer to the mouth of the alley and stayed there until the right moment. Closer and closer the heartbeat grew until it was only a foot away. I stumbled out in front of the stranger and managed to keep my face hidden by my hair. I glanced up at the man automatically zoning in on the pulsing vein of his neck. He stepped back in surprise but immediately came to my aid.

  "Are you okay, Miss? Is there something wrong?" His deep voice boomed in my ear which caused my head to throb. I fought against my old human instinct to breathe. My nails dug into my palms as I sensed the other humans around in their homes. This was a dangerous line I was treading. All it would take it for someone to glance out their window. My gaze darted around. “Anya?” The stranger’s voice sliced through my head only this time he had said my name. I only allowed myself to freeze for a moment before my feet slid back in the alley, leading him.

  "Please, you have to help my friend! She's hurt!" Panic and hysteria colored my plea as I feigned sobbing while I scanned his face. My memories were a fog which I searched through for that split second. Nothing. No recollection went through me, only the pounding of his heartbeat, urging the monster within to the surface.

  "Yes, of course! Where is she?" he replied immediately, eager to help a damsel in distress.

  We walked into the alleyway, into darkness as the thirst inside me began to take over. The man had pushed ahead of me, trying to reach the victim quicker. Little he did know, he had just become the victim.

  Guilt flashed through me as he headed on with genuine concern. The end of the alley came into view with no injured human in sight. He glanced back at me in confusion which quickly turned into terror. I could only imagine what he was thinking as he took in my changed appearance: my teeth bared, and my eyes darkened to a deep shade of red which was a dramatic contradiction to my pale skin.

  Before he could muster up the energy to even open his mouth, I crouched low and leaped behind him, gripping his head between my hands. He started to struggle, gasping desperate pleas for his life. He huffed my name one last time. I didn't even blink as I snapped his neck.

  No one suffered from my hands. Not anymore. Then the thirst became too much and I finally let myself give in. I sank my teeth deep into the soft skin of his neck. A low groan sounded from within me as the thick, sweet blood poured into my mouth. I tightened my grip on the limp body, draining it completely dry.

  I grunted in frustration as the pain of my throat dulled but still burned. Nothing was ever enough. I dropped the man and peeked out of the mouth of the alley. A relieved smile formed on my lips as I spotted the bar I had heard earlier down the other side of the street with no humans in sight. The street lamps were mostly broken besides the occasional flicker of light. Even if anyone saw me, it would appear as if I was helping a drunk friend home. It was perfect.

  My footsteps made no sound as I made my way back. My steps came to a stop a few inches from him. He had known my name. Completely impossible. Anyone who could know me was from the other side of the country. No one in this new life I met lived to remember me. Only when I crouched down to slide my arms around his body did it hit me. The scar at the hairline. Mr. Funder, an old teacher. I didn’t remember anything past that. I shook my head. It didn’t matter anyway. I couldn’t let it matter or the guilt would eat me away. Heaving the body off the ground, I took a step back towards the bar.

  Poor guy. He should've known not to get into any bar fights. They never end well.

  I stopped suddenly and stood as still as a statue. The feeling of being watched was tangible in the air around me. The smallest of sounds came from behind me. A noise any human would never have been able to hear. I dropped the body and spun around, already crouching in defense.

  I was taken aback when I saw a man leaning casually against the wall like he had been there the entire time. He was observing me with an almost bored expression. Something must've been seriously wrong with the guy. He was only a meager five feet away. Jumping, I landed directly where he was standing, but he was gone. I looked all around me, but the alley was completely devoid of life. Confusion rattled through me as my eyes darted around the alley.

  Out of nowhere, an iron grip captured both my wrists from behind. Before I could react, I was thrust against the wall in front of me. I felt my skin split open as the side of my face scraped against the bricks. A growl erupted deep from my throat as rage filled me. No one was stronger than me. The grip on my arms loosened just enough for me to break free. I spun around with my teeth bared. The fear I still expected to see on the man's face was not there, instead, he slammed me back against the brick wall with an annoyed look. I twisted and fought against his grip on my shoulders, shocked that he could hold me off. What bothered me the most was that it looked as if he was hardly putting up any effort at all. I drew my foot back and thrust it forward with all the strength I could muster. It connected with his stomach and caused his grip to slip. It was only for a split second, but it was enough.

  I didn't hesitate. I broke free and grabbed his head, bringing it down hard against my knee. The crack seemed to echo through the alley. I dashed toward the end, planning to scale the back building, but
his strong grip captured my ankle. A loud gasp escaped my lips when I crashed down onto the cement. He wasted no time. He was on me in an instant.

  I fought against him, but soon he was on my back with my whole body pinned against the ground. The glass shards and debris that littered the alley dug into my skin. A frustrated grunt sounded deep in my chest, and I heard his laughter above me. He leaned over me, and his bright red eyes met mine. He smirked as he lightly brushed a piece of my black hair away from my eyes. I spat in his face.

  He jerked back with a sound of disgust, wiping his cheek. "You're a persistent little thing. I'll give you that," he admitted. "You know at least a little bit about defending yourself but make no mistake. You are no match for me. I have centuries on you, little girl. So, if you try to fight me again..." He chuckled darkly. "Well, look how this little encounter went for you."

  I gritted my teeth and nodded, resisting the urge to run when he yanked me up to my feet by my arm. He kept an iron grip on me as he led us back to the darkest part of the alley where my victim still lay.

  Questions were storming through my head at a rapid pace. Who was this guy? How did he find me? What did he want from me? How was he stronger than me? One thing was for sure, I wasn't the only one of my kind. Fear scattered through my veins at my next thought. Was he going to kill me?

  He gave me a stern look and, when he was sure that I would not run, released my arm. My feet automatically backed away a few steps just to keep some distance between us. He seemed to pay me no mind as he glanced over the body at our feet. I watched him closely, studying his features. He only appeared a few more years older than me. My assumption of his age was only because of his six-foot height, giving him about four inches on me. My eyes skimmed over his muscled torso and I noticed that he was wearing all black, making him blend in with the night. Even the waves of his hair matched the darkness around us.

  He bent to pick up the body and then paused to look at me. "Are you just going to sit there and watch? Or are you going to help?" His tone came out light and playful, but he didn't fool me. No matter how relaxed he seemed, the red of his eyes gave away that he was still on the defensive, just like me.

  I crossed my arms over my chest as my eyes met his. I would not play his game. "Who are you?" I was surprised when my voice came out even since I was so on edge.

  He sighed and dropped the body, appearing as if he was hoping to avoid this. His eyes flashed a brighter red as he stepped towards me, which made me rephrase my question.

  "What are you?" I thought I knew the answer, but I wanted him to confirm it.

  To my surprise, he laughed. "I thought that was the easiest part to figure out even for a little neonate like you." His tone was mocking, and his eyes glinted with humor.

  I glared at him, and my hands twitched. Finally, I registered what he said. "What did you call me?"

  His smile widened. "A neonate. A newborn. A fresh-off-the-blood immortal." He stepped closer with a mocking smile. He was trying to get under my skin, but I focused on my curiosity.

  "I am immortal? So, you can't kill me," I said as I took a step back with a new confidence.

  His eyes followed my movements, not missing a beat as he answered. "Yes, we are, but that does not mean we're invincible. Our kind can still die," he emphasized as he inched towards me. Our kind. The words echoed in my head. "In fact, it's very easy for newborns to be killed." His tone remained light, but the threat was clear.

  "I'm not a newborn! Stop treating like I'm a child!" I snapped. I hated the way he was talking down to me. My reaction only seemed to please him more.

  He feigned a sorrowful look. "Oh, my fault! How long have you been like this, hmm? A few weeks? Maybe even a month?"

  I gritted my teeth together. "Try over two years!" I spat out.

  His face immediately dropped. "That's not possible," he muttered almost to himself. He sounded angry, but his expression was worried.

  I ignored it. "Well, here I am so it kind of is," I said sourly, but he paid me no attention which only confused me. “Why do you think it’s impossible?” I asked finally after he continued to look like he was trying to work out a difficult puzzle.

  He ignored my question entirely and began pacing the small width of the alleyway, muttering to himself. It was like I wasn't even there anymore. “Two years! How could we have missed it? How could we not have known?”

  I realized as he was pacing that my chance of escape was this moment, but he had left me rattled. My eyes were glued to him as he paced so I noticed when he stopped and turned back to me.

  “You need to come with me.” His voice was sharp with a sudden urgency and he reached out to grab me.

  I took several steps back before answering. “You must be dreaming to think that that’s going to happen,” I snapped.

  He took on a more dangerous tone as he answered. “You want to fight me on it?” We glowered at each other as a moment of silence passed. “If you’re so against the idea, why haven’t you left? I imagine you have enough sense to know that you can scale that wall behind you.” He inclined his head, and I glanced at it, knowing that he was right. I should’ve left before, but he had answers I hadn't even known existed until now.

  He seemed to know the direction of my thoughts. His hard expression softened. “I can show you another way to live. You don’t have to be alone anymore.” He held out a hand, and I found myself wanting to go with him.

  “Why should I trust you?” My voice came out harsher than I meant it to, which caused his face to harden back to the intimidating mask.

  “Because I can kill you in an instant?” he suggested, dropping his arms to his sides.

  I chose to ignore him and asked a different question. “Earlier you kept saying ‘we’ like you aren’t alone. Who were you talking about?”

  He shook his head and glanced around as if expecting someone else to appear. “I’ll explain that later. Come with me. We have to go.” The same sense of urgency from before was now more pronounced.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you until you give me answers.” I backed away until my ankles hit the wall. My hands brushed up against the bricks and the urge to escape spiked my adrenaline.

  “It’s dangerous here. We need to leave,” he demanded, coming towards me. His eyes flashed a dangerous shade of crimson.

  “And coming with you is safe? No!” I jerked back when he reached for my arm.

  “Are you not listening to me?” he snapped. “We need to move. I don’t have time to answer your stupid neonate questions.”

  I jerked back at his harsh words as if he had slapped me. “Get away from me,” I hissed out from between my teeth. “Don’t come looking for me again. I’m fine on my own.” With that, I turned and scaled the wall, finding easy handholds in the bricks. Once my bare feet had hit the solid cement of the rooftop, I started running. I ran to escape the strange, enticing man behind me. I ran to escape the fear and questions that he had left me with. Mostly, I ran to escape the truth.

  Chapter Two

  It’s dangerous. We need to move.

  I flipped over once again and tried to shut his voice out of my head. I squeezed my eyes closed and ignored the persistent questions that had been running through my mind for the past month. It seemed longer than it has been since I met him, but his words were still fresh in my mind.

  Our kind can still die. Our kind. You don’t have to be alone anymore.

  I sighed and sat up, pulling my legs to my chest. The old bed started creaking underneath me, and I realized that I was shaking. I stood up and started pacing about the abandoned hotel room. I had run out of Chicago to a neighboring city that night, afraid that the mysterious vampire would track me down again or worse, that whatever he was afraid of would find me. He was afraid of something or someone. It didn’t sit well with me, so I left the city that night. Now I wished that he would find me. He had had answers to this new life and I had pushed him away. I had started regretting my decision once I was alone again in
a new city to hide away and feed like the parasite that I was.

  I went over to the spiderweb-covered window and pushed aside the dirty, decaying curtains. Before, the clouds of dust and dirt that formed would've made me cough and sneeze, but I wasn't normal anymore. I was immortal, and it was still hard to believe. Never would I be able to go back to my senior year in high school that had started two months ago in September. My return to my deadbeat dad and my innocent little brother would never come. The most painful— never knowing how he’ll grow up because if I went back I wouldn't be able to make myself leave even if I couldn’t let him see me. I had to stay dead in that fire. No matter how tempted I was at times, I would not turn his world upside down.

  I hadn't realized that during my thoughts, I had been gripping the border of the window until it crumbled away in my hands. The old wood floor rattled quietly when I brushed the wood chips from my palms. The walls seemed to be closing in on me. The rusted lock of the window squealed as I unhooked it. This hotel seemed to have been out of business for years based on its state and the rusted lock on the door, but they still hadn’t demolished it which was lucky for me. It meant that I was able to sleep on a bed instead of crappy rooftops or in dirty alleyways not that it mattered much anymore. I had discovered that I could go weeks and even months without sleep, but everyone needs a break from the reality once and a while.

  The window took some force, even for me, to open, but I managed. The moon shined bright overhead, and a gust of wind rushed over me. I breathed in the clean air, relieved that my thirst had dulled to a minimum due to some recent feedings. I perched on the windowsill and then swung my legs out.

  Much better.

  A sigh escaped my lips as I turned my face up to the moon. Thoughts of my old life constantly haunted me. The memories of my brother streamed through my mind again, and I was overcome with a deep sadness. I couldn't protect him anymore. I was useless to him, to anyone really. All I did was kill everywhere I went. How could my world completely change twice? I had thought that I was alone. I had thought that I was doomed to be this monster always looking for its’ next meal, but there were others like me that seemed to have a different life. I could’ve gotten a different chance too if I had accepted, but I hadn’t. I was too scared. A wave of self-directed anger overcame me. I was so stupid. I lashed out and hit the side of the window. The whole building seemed to shake. I had to calm down.