Revenant in Training (Blood and Snow series) (2 page)

I shuddered at the thought of skin peeling away.

Professor Pops continued, “
When the Queen is within
twenty
years of her need
to
shed,
she sends out drone vampires.”

I
must have had a confused expression
because he said, “Think about bees in a hive.
There is
one Queen,
over
fifty thousand
bees, and one out of
every hundred is a worker. They
are also female. Then there are the drones, which are the mal
es. Their
job,” he shifted uncomfortably,
“
is to mate with the Queen.”

My jaw dropped
.

“
Within the hierarchy of the Vampire Queen
’s hive
, we know
within her army are
many, many
more females. We also know
the male drone vampire’s job is
…” he trailed off, and cleared his throat before continuing, “
slightly different.
”

“C
orrect,”
Kenmei
said, taking over
.
“
The
drones are sent
into the world searching for the most exquisite
female humans
.
Once they find one, they mark her.
”
Professor Pops leaned
close;
his hands
hovered
near my
right arm.

Without him lifting my shirtsleeve I
knew what he hoped to find
. I had a
dark
birthmark
, near my shoulder, in the shape of a star. It’d appea
red around my fifth birthday.
I’d
been getting dressed one morning, and believed the mark to be a bug, at first.
Worried, I’d shown my
mother
. She’d said it was nothing
to worry about. “A kiss from
magical fairies,” had been her answer
. At the thought of my mother, tears ga
thered on my lashes
.

“May I?”
Pops
asked.

I pulled up the sleeve
. “
So a drone vampire marked me
?”
I heard
the raw pain in my voice, but
pretended it
didn’t matter
, and
moved my shoulder so
he and Kenmei
saw
it.

“Yes,” Kenmei said
, his face growing soft
.

“Why don’
t I remember?” I
let go of my sleeve, and tucked my hands under my legs. Keeping my eyes down, I
stared at my
white tube
socks
—boy socks
.

“You were young, and the mark was most likely placed on you
in your sleep,” Professor Pops said.

At his words, something clicked.
“How do you know about all of th
is?” My stomach clenched
.
Was
Professor Pops
’
friendship only pretend? Was he somehow involved?

Kenmei answered by
moving his shirt.
Where
his
shoulder met his arm an evil-looking blade had been tattooed.

“What does that mean?” I asked after
looking, and
sitting back
. My heart had begun to beat rapidly, which ma
de me happy. I still had one
.

“When a drone
vampire
is chosen
to be a Hunter
by the Queen, she marks him with one of these.” He touched
the blade
hesitantly,
before covering
it.

“D-did you mark me? Are you t
he one who bit me?” I stood,
jumped over the desk, and pulled open the door, before I gra
sped what I’d done. Fear occupied
my veins.

“No, Shiryo-san.”

Bo
th Professor Pops and Kenmei
rose
in unison, as though their movements had been synchronized
. Professor Pops had his arms o
ut, a look of pleading on his face
.

“We were a part of the Queen’s hive many, many years ago, but we left. For me, it’s been over a thous
and years. For Kenmei,
almost
six
.”

M
y hand dropped from the handle. “S
ix
thou
sand years? You’re so old.
”
I
also remembered the man who’d bitten me was much taller than Kenmei
, his body firmer, younger
.
The way he’d smelled. Like Heaven, my mind whispered. I closed my eyes, trying to regain focus.

He bowed. “Yes, Shiryo-san. I was the first Hunter. With my help the Queen transferred into a new body. With my help the Queen became the first Snow White
, the fairytale child which is your namesake
.”

Chapter 2

“Y
ou’re saying that
the
Snow White
from the movie
was real?” I needed
to sit
be
fore I fell
. On rubbery legs, I
walked back over to my chair.

“Yes, Shiryo-san. She was real, and very beautiful, just as you are.
Though
the story was
more of a Brother’s Grimm tale, and even they were way off.
”

It seemed strange to have
others say I was beautiful. I didn’t think I was ugly, just plain.
I looked down, studying some nonexistent lint on my jeans.
After a few moments of silence, I asked, “Am I the only one the Vampire Queen is after?”

Kenmei smiled. “You are one of many. Hundreds. Adam Henry and I have made it our life’s m
ission to help the marked,
the chosen.

“I am your Protector,
”
Professor Pops stated.

I
caught
what
Pops said, but
couldn’t fathom
the meaning behind them at the moment
. Instead
I
fixated on what Kenmei had said.
“There’s hundreds?
She only needs one body. Why not just take mine, or one of the other’s right
away? What’
s she waiting for?”

The two men looked at each other, and something I didn’t understand passed between them. “A lot
must happen
for the body of a chosen one to be ready
. Many will die,” Kenmei said.

Professor Pops continued, “In order for the Vampire Queen’s magic to work the revenant must
drink
the
blood
of
her true love
, and consume his heart
.”

The memory of my dream, where I’d tasted the heart,
and his blood,
filled my mind. It’d been the heart of my true love.
A warm hunger rushed through my body, and
I shuddered. Professor Pops noticed.

“What is it, Snow?”

“I dreamt
of a heart. Of drinking blood.”

Both men
started, I
somehow perceived their
panic
.

“Tell us everything. Leave nothing out,” Kenmei said.

I told them a
bout the guys, and that I
’d known
the heart had
been my true
love
’
s
, but
I hadn’t cared. When
I finished they didn’t speak for what seemed like forever. Finally, Professor Pops asked, “What did the boys chant?”

I thought a moment. “Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love’s blood, become the Vampire, Snow White,” I repeated. As I said the words, a thick darkness filled the air. It was as though
the Queen
entered
me
.

“This is
worse than we believed
,” Professor Pops uttered.

“Yes,” agreed Kenmei. “It seems she may have a
distinct
interest in
this one.
Perhaps it’s her name, or her beauty.
I must admit, she does
have something extra special.
”

The tremor in my hands travel
ed into my arms, and down my body
. “Is there nothing
we can do
?”

Professor Pops patted m
y hand. “Yes, of course
. But we’ve shared enough with you tonight. Let’s get you home.”

I wanted to yell, tell him I nee
ded to know everything right then
. I didn’t
, though
.
He
pick
ed
me up, tucking my head against his chest. Kenmei said something about the tea, and he set my shoes on my lap. I thanked him, and closed my eyes.

When Professor Pops stepped into the alleyway, I
recognized
the
odor
.

“Were you one of her Hunters too?” I whispered.