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CHAPTER 1
Piper
SWEAT DRIPPED DOWNMY brow. I swiped a hand over my face and ducked just as a blast of air slid over my head. I barely missed getting kicked in the face by a grinning Mizuki.
Mizuki's long black hair was swept up into a tight ponytail, the tail of it long and brushing the bottom of her backside. She moved as gracefully as a ballerina in her all-leather outfit that looked more appropriate in an S&M dungeon than in a training room. Smirking at me, Mizuki twisted the handle of the practice sword in her hand, so it was pointed downward in some kind of samurai pose. Hell, most of the hunters here were trained in several types of martial arts on top of weapons training. Why the hell I thought Billy could make me one of them, I'd never know.
"Come on, vamp bait," Mizuki sneered, her olive complexion not even breaking a sweat. unlike me, who was about to pass out from overheating. "I thought you were superhuman fast. So far, you've only gotten knocked on your ass how many times now?"
I opened my mouth to answer.
"Six."
I snapped my mouth closed and glared at the man on the sidelines. "Thanks, Bishop, but when I want your help, I'll ask for it." He started to respond, but I cut him off with a hand up. "I never want your help."
"Never say never." Mizuki purred, crossing one leg over the other like a cat as she stalked me. "You never know, one of these nights, you might have Bishop at your back, and you will pray for his help."
"That's a scary thought," I muttered, shifting around the training room, so Mizuki didn't end up behind me.
Bishop snickered, crossing his muscular arms over the tank top stretched over his chest. He had one of those military cuts where his blonde hair didn't touch his collar or ears, but he kept it a bit longer on the top. If he hadn't been such an asshole, Bishop could be called attractive by some. Unfortunately, while I had the extra abilities as a human servant to Antoine, I couldn't go arm in arm with the guy and win. Bishop wasn't even one of the most prominent vampire hunters in the Atlanta Headquarters. Still, he had quite a bit of muscle on him. I trusted him to kill the vampires but not to keep me alive. There were several other vampire hunters I trusted over Bishop any day. Even Mizuki would do in a pinch.
Sure, Mizuki was supposed to train me to be a badass vampire hunter like herself, but she made no illusions that she liked me or the task she'd been assigned. I had a feeling she thought her skills were better used elsewhere. Couldn't say that I blamed her.
"Are we going to just dance around the mat all day, or are we going to train?" I tightened my grip on my own sword and held it up by my ear. I didn't have any fancy martial arts training over the basics that Billy had taught me. I'd basically been hoping my supernatural speed and strength would get me through most situations. Mizuki had already taught me how wrong I'd been.
Mizuki's red-painted lips curled up slightly, and then she came at me. Taunting Mizuki was a little like poking a snake. You knew it was a bad idea, and yet you did it anyway. It was only a matter of time before she lashed out at you, but I wanted it to be on my terms, not on hers.
This time when Mizuki came for me, I ducked low, sweeping my leg behind hers. Mizuki fell to the ground, using momentum to roll before doing one of those impressive backbend jumps to land back on her feet. Even I was in awe.
"Neat." I quipped. Mizuki didn't respond. She came at me fast and hard, swinging her wooden sword at a rapid pace. Each hit I blocked sent a shock wave up my arm. I couldn't take much more of the pressure before Mizuki was going to break through my guard.
Not wanting to give her a chance, I pushed back from her, giving myself some distance. I did a fancy spin thing that I'd seen on television once, not really expecting to land a hit but wanting to confuse her enough to get a hit in.
Mizuki whacked me on the shoulder with her practice sword as I came back around. I grabbed her sword with my free hand and jerked her close. She glared at me behind eyes so dark and full of anger, it would make any vampire quake in place. Mizuki's other hand reached out to stop my sword from hitting her, but I had something else in mind.
Quickly before she could realize what I intended to do, I angled my head back and slammed it against the front of her nose. A crunching sound followed. Mizuki instantly released me, stumbling back to grip her nose, now dripping with blood.
I tensed for retribution. It never came.
Mizuki spit off to the side, leaving a blob of blood on the training mat and grinned victoriously. "Good. Again."
I limped into the Durand manor several hours later. My whole body felt like one big bruise. My bruises had bruises, and I had to do it all over again tomorrow.
Thankfully, it was still light outside, so the Durand family would be in bed. Or they should be. Antoine might be upstairs in his office working, but the others wouldn't come out of the basement until after dusk.
I tilted my head to the side, wincing—even that hurt.
Listening for either Gretchen or Darren moving around the house, I sighed happily when there was nothing. Hopefully, that meant I had enough time to get something to eat and then take a shower before I had to explain myself to my newest beau, Darren.
I loved the guy, but he could worry with the best of them. Even Gretchen didn't give me as much of a hard time as Darren did.
Each step through the foyer, through the dining room, and into the kitchen felt like I was getting hit with Mizuki's sword all over again. I'd hate to be put up against her with a real weapon.
Opening the refrigerator, I pushed aside the silver metal containers labeled with the guy's names on it. Drake had accidentally drunk Rayne's once, and it had taken a week to keep him from jumping the bigger vampire. In the case of vampire strength, bigger did not mean stronger.
My hand wrapped around one of my sports drinks, enjoying the cold bottle against my palm. I contemplated drinking the drink here in the kitchen but had a feeling I wouldn't be so lucky to be left alone that long.
Groaning, I made my way to the backstairs used for the servants of the household. While I technically wasn't a servant anymore - I couldn't very well be a maid and a vampire hunter at the same time, there just wasn't enough time in the day - it just didn't make sense to go all the way around to the main staircase.
