Free Vampires 101 (Twilight Hunters Book 1) A Vampire Romance by Lorraine Kennedy

“Too late. They’re already awake.”
    Without giving her any kind of reply, I turned around and made my way back to the couch and my chips. Shadow followed, shutting the door behind her.
    “What happened last night?” she asked. “One minute you were there, and then you were gone. If your friend hadn’t have been standing there looking all confused, I would have thought he killed you.”
    I hadn’t the slightest idea where to begin explaining something that I didn’t understand myself. I decided on the condensed, but mostly uncut version. I did leave out the kissing parts, but I told her about Damian, and waking up in my car. I thought I’d also better tell her about Killer Tom’s body going missing from the morgue.
    By the look on her face, I wasn’t sure if she was ready to laugh at me, or slap me silly for telling her some kind of tall tale. Surprisingly, she did neither of those things. Instead she seemed to withdraw into a place of quiet contemplation. Quiet being the keyword, since she was rarely that. At least that’s what I’d noticed during our short acquaintance.
    I had just gotten back to watching the Munsters when she asked, “What do you know about the ancient gods?”
    “Like what gods?”
    “You know … like the old Babylonian and Greek gods.”
    “Well nothing really,” I admitted, before shoving another handful of potato chips into my mouth. History was one of my most hated subjects in school, and I knew next to nothing about mythology.
    “Those are going to kill you,” she said, grabbing the bag of chips out of my hand.
    “Hey! I was eating those!” I yelled, but since my mouth was full of chips, my words came out sounding more like baby gibberish.
    Rolling her eyes, she said, “We need a crash course in ancient mythology. Do you have a computer?”
    “What? Why?” I managed once I’d swallowed the chips.
    “I’ve always heard that there was a connection between the ancient gods and the first vampires, that’s why. And you have to agree, from what you told me … it sounds like they might have god-like powers.”
    Twisting my face into one of my, don’t screw with me scowls, I leaned over and snatched the chips back. “There’s a reason why it’s called mythology … like it isn’t real.”
    “Oh really?” Shadow cocked her head to one side. “Up until a few days ago vampires weren’t real either. We can’t leave any stone unturned.”
    Ok, she had a point.
    “The computer is in my bedroom,” I pointed down the tiny hall that led to the bathroom, and the only bedroom. “But I hope this doesn’t lead to anymore of your crazy ideas. Damian already thinks you’re a bad influence.”
    “Really,” she said, taking offense. “You forgot to include that detail.”
    It was true. I hadn’t told her about that detail, but mostly because I thought he might be onto something.
    Switching off the TV, I followed her into the bedroom. Not so much because I thought she was going to make any great discoveries online, but because I didn’t like the idea of a vampire rummaging around in my room, unsupervised.
    The first thing she did was switch on my light and then stop to stare at all my pirate accessories. She was really getting off on my huge pirate flag. “So do you like pirates much?” she asked.
    I didn’t much care for the sarcastic tone of her voice. “Well yeah. I think I was a pirate in my last life.”
    “Hmm … maybe so. I can tell you for sure that you’re a total nerd in this one.”
    “Hey Neon Girl … I didn’t ask you to follow me around and try to be my friend you know,” I shot back. How dare she call me a nerd, twice even?
    “Friends is a bit of a stretch,” she grumbled before turning the computer on.
    It took half the night, but by the time we were done, we’d amassed an entire notebook full of information. The first vampire type beings dated back to about 4000 BC - to the ancient Sumerians. According to myth, the Sumerian gods, known as the