Tentacle Trouble: The Hunter Vampire Chronicles, #6

By Juliet Boyd

The lines between life and death can get blurred.

Whether you call it a psych, a psycho, or a psychopomp, makes no difference, when its sole purpose is to get you to move on. Lori doesn't want to go. Her friends don't want that, either. But that's not their only problem. There's something in the marshes that has tentacles and a long reach. It's about time that creature was returned to its rightful place, which is under the supervision of Overlord. Time to juggle priorities.

In this novella, it's the lives of the Hunter Vampires and their friends that are at risk. Can they survive? Or will death win out, second time around? Buy this novella today, and immerse yourself in the world of the Hunter Vampires for another trouble-filled adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliet Boyd
• Release date: Aug 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386394198

Juliet Boyd

Juliet lives in Somerset in the south-west of England. She used to work in administration, but now writes full-time. Her main writing interests are fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, horror and flash fiction. Details of her work are available on her website.

Book preview

TENTACLE TROUBLE

The Hunter Vampire Chronicles

Part 6

JULIET BOYD

Copyright © 2018 Juliet Boyd

All rights reserved.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and situations portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Any reference to an actual event, product or location is used in an entirely fictitious manner.

Discover my other work now at

www.julietboyd.com

Chapter 1

Flynn stared at her pained face reflected in the mirror. She’d woken with an oppressive, groggy feeling pressuring her head and it hadn’t eased up. It was the kind of feeling that, before she became part vampire, might have indicated she’d been up studying half the night for a school test. It was only the overuse of her magic that did it to her these days, usually an after effect of their frequent encounters with monsters. There was another possibility, of course, that Lori was sitting in Flynn’s head. Her thoughts always felt a little heavier when that happened. However, her friend hadn’t said a word and that would be beyond unusual, if she was there. Even more unusual was that no one had heard from Lori that morning.

The outside also looked as if it were groggy. Dull, metal-grey skies that went on forever over the levels, which she could only see because Emilia’s house was raised up on the only piece of ground in the whole of Midbury that wasn’t flat. She had no desire to go outside.

She also had no desire to stay inside.

Vampire genes enhanced contrariness, it seemed.

Using Emilia’s house as a temporary residence had, perhaps, not been the best of ideas. It was all very well having a sister, but when you hadn’t known her as you were growing up, and she was older than you, even though, technically, if you counted all the years Flynn had been in the cave during her childhood, Emilia was younger, it didn’t lead to easy conversation. She couldn’t help remembering that Emilia had once been her schoolteacher and not one she’d particularly liked. She also couldn’t help remembering that Emilia had inherited all the powers that had been destined for her, because Flynn had chosen to live. She had chosen to let her vampire genes take hold. There was little point in worrying over drunk blood. It couldn’t be changed. They’d already proved that.

She heard a tap on the door. Can I come in?

Talking of Emilia. Yes. I’m not doing anything I shouldn’t be doing.

A nervous titter of a laugh preceded the slight creak of the hinges, probably not even audible to normal, human ears. Are you okay? Everyone else is downstairs. They’re talking about going out for a walk.

Flynn frowned. Walking for the sake of it was unlikely. You mean a search? For monsters?

Well, yes.

Flynn slumped down onto the bed and lay back, her legs dangling over the end. Emilia sat down beside her.

You don’t want to?

As if it were her vocation, rather than a despised job.

I don’t know what I want. It’s odd being back here. She pushed up onto her elbows. It’s not the same. Of course, it wasn’t. How could it be?

Emilia looked down at her hands and began to pick at her nails. No. We lost too many.

But everyone is carrying on as if they hadn’t. I was expecting this huge fug of sorrow, but there isn’t one. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?

Emilia shrugged. Not really.

You don’t think so? It certainly did her. It made her think of old sci-fi films, where people appeared bland and it turned out they had been subdued against their will.

Emilia lifted her head and stared blindly out the window. I … I thought it was better. I panicked. Too many people were going around as if the world had ended, which it hadn’t. It had been saved. They couldn’t see that. So … I might’ve done something to remedy that.

Flynn sat up straight. There wasn’t much that surprised her these days. You? I was convinced it was vampires. We all were.

There are no vampires left. Weren’t. You all scared the hell out of them with the pyre. Burning demons gets you a reputation.

You helped.

I know. Silence swept over them for a moment. I don’t think anyone can honestly see me as a threat. I mean, look at me. I’m too proper.

Flynn bit back the retort that was biting at her tongue. Don’t you have to be if you’re going to stay at the school? Aren’t teachers supposed to act better than everyone else?

It’s a myth, though. Most don’t.

But you think they should?

Emilia nodded. I can pretend all I like, but I’m not. Not inside. Which is why I’m considering leaving the school. That and reversing the spell. It’s like you say, there’s no life in the place anymore. People are empty and I made them that way. I shouldn’t have done it. I shouldn’t have interfered. The feeling of loss has to run its course, otherwise it eats at you inside. I think it’s still doing that to these people, but they don’t know why.

Flynn considered the possibility for a moment. You can’t just bring everything back. That would be just as bad.

I know. Has there ever been a mass amnesia event, anywhere?

Flynn snorted. "I am not the person to