Free Kindling by Abigail Colucci Page A

are you and who is Heike?”
    Braith sighed. I could tell he was becoming aggravated, although I’m not sure if it was towards me or his inability to make me understand what he was trying to say. “I’m Braith Hywel. I’m a tracker. I track vampyres. You’re father, Heinrich Van Helsing, is a Hunter. He hunts and kills vampyres. Those guys we kicked the shit out of tonight, why do you think they weren’t hurt despite you breaking their bones? You snapped a neck, Kitty, or don’t you remember that? No one walks away from a snapped neck. But those bloody twats didn’t get a mark on them except for the one, right? And you saw it fade, didn’t you? I know you watched it disappear. It faded as we bloody stood there. How do you explain that?” He paused but I didn’t answer. “Tell me what they are, then? If they’re not who I say they are than who are they?” For a long time we were both silent. I didn’t have an answer because I didn’t know what they were. No one could have gone through that fight without being wounded - hell, I probably had bruises all over me and I could feel warm blood congealing down my face - but, no matter what I did, nothing hurt those guys. But, they couldn’t be vampyres. Vampyres didn’t exist. I was speechless. “I’ll tell you, Kitty, I’ll swear to you. Heike and I are Vampyre Hunters. Heike is a Van Helsing. He’s a big name in our world and that’s why they were sent to you. Your family is one of the oldest families in the Hunter World. Those vampyres were sent to you because they haven’t killed yet and whoever sent them knew Heike can’t kill them. It’s a code. We can’t kill one unless they’ve killed. They were here to scare you because you’re ...” he paused.
    “Van Helsing’s daughter?” I ask, cynicism dripping from my voice.
    He paused, so I knew that there was more to his weirdo story. “Yeah, Van Helsing’s daughter. You are Katherine Van Helsing.” He got quiet and we faced each other. The brightness of the full moon made our shadows intertwine. It would almost be romantic, if I was attracted to him and if he wasn’t insane.
    All I could hear were the sounds of the night - a breeze rustled the dried grass, an owl cawing somewhere in the distance as it hunted its prey - and Braith, a little out of breath because he was so upset. I noticed he was pale and looked fatigued, but before I could suggest going inside I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I jumped and startled Braith, who shouted a curse word.
    “Kids, it’s me, relax,” my papá said. “Come inside. Heike and I will talk to you now.” I didn’t say anything as my papá ushered us both in the house. “Go change, Catalina,” papá said.
    “It’s ok,” I said.
    “No, it’s not,” papá spat. He was really annoyed. “I’m sure one of your friends gave you that. Allie?” I shook my head. “Sadie?” I shrugged. He sighed and looked at my dress, torn and bloodied in various places, but I know he was mainly upset about the length of the skirt. I had just been in this terrible fight and he was more concerned about the length of my skirt?
    “I’m fine,” I grumbled.
    “Go put clothes on,” he said through gritted teeth. When I didn’t move, he said. “¡Ahora! ¡Rápido!”
    I didn’t want to listen, but I didn’t really have the energy to start a fight with him. I wanted answers and I didn’t want to wait another minute. But I was exhausted and ready to collapse and too tired to argue with him, so I gave in and limped upstairs. My leg was beginning to ache.
    I rustled through my drawers to find a clean outfit - I didn’t want to smell like baked road kill. There weren’t many, but I finally found a t-shirt and yoga pants. Then I looked in the mirror and - holy crap! - I looked awful. I had a big gash on my forehead. Dried blood stuck to my hair and cheeks and forehead. My right cheek was swollen and red. My jaw already had a black bruise forming. And my hair