Cave of Terror
Highland Press
www.highlandpress.org
Copyright ©2008 by Highland Press
First published in 2008, 2008
For my daughter, Ashton, the inspiration for my story.
I whipped my head around to glance at Ryan just as he decided to do the same—our faces just an inch apart, our lips an inch apart. I drew in a quick breath. Before I had a chance to exhale, he pressed his lips to mine, sending unfamiliar sensations rippling through me. He opened his mouth a little and I followed, allowing the kiss to deepen. Tingles shot straight to my lower abdomen. He tasted like popcorn and Dr. Pepper—a salty and sweet combination that curled my toes. It wasn't as scary as I had imagined, yet so much more amazing than I had ever dreamed.
Amber Dawn Bell
Copyright ©2008—Amber Wentworth
Cover ©2008—Amber Wentworth
Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web—without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information, please contact
Highland Press Publishing,
PO Box 2292, High Springs, FL 32655.
www.highlandpress.org
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names, save actual historical figures. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
ISBN: 978-0-9818550-3-5
HIGHLAND PRESS PUBLISHING
Young Adult
Paranormal
My deepest thanks go out to these invaluable people: Ed and Pam for their awesome photography work, Lily and Sandra for their honesty in sharing their feelings about the reality of high school and being a teenager in today's world, Christy for going along with whatever I asked, Sam & David and everyone at Inner Space Caverns for all their cave knowledge, Lindsay and Venetta for critiquing, and my publisher, Leanne, who had faith in me from the start and gave me the chance to realize my dreams.
And thank you, Bob, my wonderful and supportive husband and biggest fan, who refuses to read anything I write because he knows that no matter what he said it would be the wrong thing.
Aperare—clice; guardians of the race; live among humans; shift as needed
Bloodcrave—body's signal alerting the need to blood supplement; hunger
Bloodlust—body's reaction to going too long without supplementing; violent
Blood Supplement—vitamin-like pill containing necessary blood supplements
Bond—ceremony; exchanging of blood between a male and female
Clice—a vampire clan
Lifemate—a bonded vampire mate; for life
Liliac—original vampire clice; evil; hunted by the Pantere; can shift into bats or other flying creatures
Luptã wolf-shifting clice; werewolves
Pantere—clice; live among humans; some can shift into panthers
Vnetor—hunter of evil; born once every 500+ years; belong to clice Pantere
My sixteenth birthday totally sucked.
Instead of having a rockin’ party, I was initiated into a vampire
clice
.
Nothing like finding out your parents are blood suckers on the most important day of your life. I mean, how had they hid it for all those years? And why the heck hadn't they told me until now?
I've always considered myself to be a logical person living in the real world where Dracula existed only in the minds of wacko writers. Sure, the movies are good for a laugh and an occasional scare, but they aren't factual.
Vampires don't really exist.
Well, apparently they do and I'm one of them. Nice. Somehow, the excitement over getting my driver's license faded in light of this new development.
Instead, I fixated on more life-altering thoughts like would I be able to walk in the sun or would I have to actually drink blood? Or would I have to sleep in a coffin? I'm claustrophobic, so that wouldn't be the greatest sleeping arrangement for me.
After thinking about it, I realized both my mom and dad go out in the daylight hours. They have normal jobs, after all. My dad owns a computer software company, and my mom is a psychologist. Yet, we never really spent extended hours in the sun, and we've never had a family vacation that included the beach.
I think I'd know if they slept in a coffin or drank blood. Wouldn't I? Every night they had wine or at least a liquid that appeared to be wine. It's not like I ever took a drink or anything. Surely, they wouldn't be gulping down the DNA of another human right in front of me. That's just plain nasty.
Can you imagine all the crazy thoughts going through my head? One minute I'm a normal teenager turning sixteen, and the next I'm being led into some kind of ritualistic coming-of-age gathering full of vampires congratulating me on reaching maturation. So much for thinking my parents had planned a sweet sixteen party all my friends would envy. Guess I wouldn't be starring in the reality show, My Super Sweet 16.
My mom and dad had promised to answer all my questions after the induction. And questions they answered. I don't think they knew what hit them.
One thing was for sure, everything I thought I knew about vampires went straight out the window. Well, almost everything.
Sunlight won't burst vampires into flames, reducing them to a pile of dust. Thank goodness for small favors. There's no such thing as the living dead. Vampires are very much alive with a beating heart and everything. Sunday morning church congregations include vampires. Holy water is just blessed water. Vampires put on their make-up in front of a mirror like everyone else. Garlic is a tasty addition to many dishes. Crosses make nice fashion accessories. Coffins aren't part of a vampire's bedroom set. And wooden stakes aren't any more deadly than other weapons, which brings me to a rather disturbing and disappointing fact.
Vampires aren't immortal.
Sure, they live longer than the average human—a lot longer, heal abnormally fast, and aren't plagued by most human diseases and ailments, but they don't live forever. Talk about a bummer. Immortality was the one bright spot in the whole situation.
I'd saved the one big question for last. Was I expected to go around biting people and sucking their blood? I mean, wasn't that what vampires were supposed to do? My mom laughed and my dad shook his head and grinned. I didn't get what was so funny.
My mom explained that centuries ago, before the convenience of modern technology, vampires didn't have a choice and had to take nourishment directly from humans. I shuddered. I mean, how gross is that? But, over hundreds of years, they had evolved. They no longer needed long fangs to pierce skin. Eye teeth shortened and now only extend when threatened or angry. Or when a vampire doesn't feed regularly and goes into a full
bloodlust
. I didn't even want to go there.
Bloodlust
? No, thank you. I was quite happy to find out I'd be able to continue eating the same foods I've always eaten. I'd just have to start supplementing my diet with, you guessed it, blood. Yick!
I did find out something rather cool. Every female vampire acquires a special ability unique to her physical make-up on her sixteenth birthday when she reaches maturation. I couldn't wait to find out what special power I had. I just hoped it wasn't something too weird or too noticeable.
Since I'm a gymnast, I spend five hours a day in the gym training. It's hard enough to fit in without being a freak. I don't have much time for a social life, so that makes me a big enough freak as it is.
I've never had a boyfriend to speak of. Not unless you count the cute boy in kindergarten who rubbed sun block on my back on water day. I don't know if boys are afraid to ask me out because I don't have the time to devote to them or if it's because I could quite probably kick their butts with little or no problem. That's what five hours in the gym gets you.
What can I say? Gymnastics is my life. I've been doing the sport since I could walk. I don't plan on quitting now so some silly boy can drool all over me. Ain't gonna happen.
Anyway, I spent the rest of my birthday waiting for my
special
ability to show itself. It never did. I went to bed very disappointed and frustrated, thinking I must not have any powers. Figures.
I was a powerless vampire. And I still had to drink blood.
Where was the silver lining? Where was the something good to go along with the whole bunch of bad? It just didn't seem fair.
The next day at school, during a biology fieldtrip, everything changed. This is where my story begins.
Before you turn the page, I think it's only right to caution you. If you are faint of heart, stop now before it's too late. This is no Cinderella story. It's a true account of my life and will forever change how you see the world and the creatures that live on it.
You have been warned.
The alarm echoed through my throbbing head. Reality rudely invaded my sleepy mind. I jerked to a sitting position, grabbing my head between my hands. Tiny soccer players kicked my brain to mush. Sheesh, if this is what being a vampire feels like, I don't want any of it. I slapped my alarm clock off and fell back on the bed. Roxie lifted her furry head and yawned, then scooted closer, sliming my face with doggie drool.
My door banged open and I groaned. Roxie jumped off the bed, eighty pounds of dog trampling me in the process.
"Cheyenne, it's time to get up. How are you feeling?” my mother asked with actual sympathy.
"Peachy, Mom. What can I say? This vampire gig is fantabulous."
I'd have rolled my eyes, but it required more energy than I felt like exerting.
"It's normal to feel bad the next day. Your body is trying to assimilate the increased awareness of your senses.” Mom smiled like it was an everyday occurrence.
"Huh?"
"You'll begin to hear sounds you never heard before and at long distances. Your vision will be better than any human ever dreamed of having. You'll be able to pick up a person's scent a mile away. All your senses will be heightened. Unfortunately, it takes a little getting used to, hence the headache.” She tapped the side of her head.
"Great. Just what I need. And today is the fieldtrip to the cave."
Mom pursed her lips and glanced up as if in deep thought. “Under the circumstances, I'll allow you to stay home. You probably need a little time to get used to things before going back to school. Don't make it a habit though.” She raised one eyebrow for emphasis and fixed me with a stare. You know, the ‘mom’ stare.
"I have to go. It counts as a major grade. And I can only imagine what I'd have to do to make up for it.” I sighed and pulled the covers over my head.
"If that's the case, you better get your little self out of bed and out the door.” Mom grabbed my comforter and yanked it off, leaving me bare to the cool air. She turned to leave, then said over her shoulder, “Have a good day, sweetheart. We'll talk more later about the changes your body will be going through. I know it's scary."