Taking hold of my mug,I stood. “No, just until I find a job where my skill set willactually be some use.”
Without another glanceat my father, I moved round the table and headed toward thebasement door.
“Danielle, dinner’salmost ready.”
“I will eat later,Ma,” I called, halfway down the stairs.
***
“You’ve been down herea long time.”
My mother’s apron wasgone. Left in jeans and a cream sweater, she looked like shebelonged down here in the family training room. Arms folded, sheleant against the door frame, watching me.
“Just training,” Ireplied, and threw a punch at the red leather bag hanging beforeme. “Don’t want my dull day job to cause my joints and abilitiest’rust up.”
To an outsider, thisspace would look like a gym—whitewashed walls, white spotlightsbeaming from the ceiling, grey carpet, and all the usual exerciseequipment knocking around the place, plus a sparring area andfridge full of water. At the other end of the room, through thethick wooden door, you’d find the sauna and showers. Yeah, it wasall just a harmless home gym with some added luxuries.
However, if they hadchosen the door across the way from the one my mother leantagainst, the more serious-looking aluminium door, which was stoodnext to the second security panel—the first one being situated atthe basement door at the bottom of the stairs leading from ourkitchen—they would be surprised to find an armoury, slash familymuseum, slash archive that basically took up the remaining space ofthe basement.
As a child, ourfreakishly large basement had reminded me of those rooms you saw inJames Bond films, the ones that were hidden and full of gadgets andmen experimenting with them. Our basement was very much a secretagent’s headquarters, or rather, a Vampire Hunter’s trainingground.
“You should justignore your Da.” My mother moved farther into the room. “He’s stilladjusting to the fact y’have a job.”
A sharp laugh escapedme.
“Do you have any ideahow ridiculous that sounds? You don’t adjust to the idea of yourtwenty-five-year-old daughter getting a job.” I belted the bag oncemore. “Having a job is normal. It’s a normal part of a person’slife.”
“Not for hisfamily.”
“So, are we all justdoomed t’walk in the same steps as everyone before us? Times havechanged. Being a Vampire Hunter might have worked well in themedieval ages where you were going t’die young anyway.” I walkedover to the fridge, pulling the door open and retrieving a bottleof water. “Plus, you were poor and career options were practicallynon-existent for women, but this is the twenty-first century, whichmeans I really only have two options: I either move somewhere withmore activity and continue t’fight the good fight and fulfil myapparent, ongoing purpose in this age old family legacy, or …”
“Or?” she promotedafter a moment.
I unscrewed the lidand turned to face her.
“I lay down my swordand try and have a normal, Vampire-free, life.” I shrugged. “Is itso wrong that I might want that?”
“No.”
“Well, you should letDa know.” I took a mouthful of water and swallowed. “He acts as ifI’ve stabbed him in the back.”
“I love your father,Lord knows I do, but it would be a lie for me t’say that this washow I envisaged my life. So, I’d be a damn hypocrite if I said Ididn’t want something better for you, sweet pea.” She perched onthe edge of the bench press. “Naturally, I want you t’be alive andhappy, not fighting your way to an early grave, but just know thatif you’re really meant t’do a certain something with your life, gosomewhere, be with someone, fate is going to take you thereregardless of how hard you fight against her.”
“What are you gettingat, Ma?”
“It’s not wrong foryou t’want t’have a ‘normal’ life, but honestly, I don’t think thisfamily will ever truly be free t’have any form of life until Markois dead.”
“And once he is?”
“None of us know forsure, but we all believe, have done, that there should at least beless Vampires walking the Earth after his demise, weaker ones,which after the last four centuries, I think it is safe t’say wehave made our peace with that.”
So many members of ourfamily had died for this insane cause—my uncle Jean and cousinAlexis being the more recent two. Sofia at least had died fromnormal causes, not that cancer was a good way for anyone to die,but it was more natural than being shredded to pieces by one of theundead.
I slumped on the chairof the weight machine, elbows on my knees.
“I’m so fed-up, Ma,and I’m sick of sitting around, twiddling my god damn thumbswaiting day after day for a Vamp t’show up just so I can kill itand kid myself into thinking that the world is a little safer.” Irolled the plastic bottle between my palms, watching the water moveon the inside. “There are traces of evil everywhere. It’s not justthe undead we should be concerned about.”
“Then become asupernatural private investigator.”
I laughed. “Da wasn’ttoo thrilled when I decided t’go and get m’self a part-time jobjust to fill the void. What makes you think he would be pleased ifI decided to teeter off the path and put my unusual skill sett’some actual use?”
It shouldn’t havemattered what my father thought, but it annoyed me that he couldn’tsee past this life, that he couldn’t want more than what he hadbeen thrust into. He’d already lost the use of his legs due to afatal blow to his spine during a Vampire attack which occurred whenI was fourteen. You’d have thought that—amongst a million otherreasons and family deaths—would have hit home for him, made himrealize that life is fragile and this crazy family legacy of ourswas really freaking dangerous, life-threatening.
But no, the loss ofhis legs naturally pissed him off and therefore made him moredetermined for revenge, for vengeance. Unfortunately, he couldn’tcomprehend the reality of our current situation. The Vampires hadvanished once Heather and Sofia had left. It had been two years,and activity hadn’t picked up. Staying here in Wicklow waspointless if any of us wanted to be any use. None of us couldfulfil our purpose where we were. I couldn’t do shit here.
“Has this currentevaluation of your
