Blood Hunters

By John W Partington

Jessie Jain had a good life: college freshman at an ivy league school on an athletics scholarship, good grades, unattached but with prospects, and a cat. All that changed when she was kidnapped by a Blood Hunter, who attempted to turn her into a vampire against her will. She was rescued by William, a vampire from a rival faction, before the transformation was complete but after it had been initiated. Straddling the world between normal and bizarre, Jessie must figure out how to survive in her new reality. Plus, deal with a war amongst vampires in which she is now a reluctant soldier.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John W Partington
• Release date: Apr 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9781989973554

John W Partington

I have been writing for most of my life: as a child, as a soldier, and now as an independent author. My favourite colour is purple. I have two cats, who choose to annoy me most when I am trying to write. I'm a middle aged white dude suffering from psychosis, but with medication am perfectly stable (except for singing to my cats).

Book preview

Blood Hunters

John W Partington

Published by John W Partington

Blood Hunters

© John W Partington 2024

ISBN: 978-1-989973-55-4

Thank you for choosing to support an independent author. This is a work of fiction. It’s all made up, but please respect the work of this author. Any reproduction of the material in this book requires permission of the author.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my editing team: Lori Holloway, Ailsa Allan, and Gerry Kroll. They each bring their own talent to editing, which allows me to write the story unfettered by fear of a dangling participle. I get to concentrate on story telling.

Note from the Author

This is a book for my wife. She likes vampire romance, and challenged me to write her a story. I put my own spin on vampire legend. I got that right, and I tried to put the erotic romance in but that’s not my interest. I tried really hard to make this sensual for my wife. The characters had their own ideas. It is an urban vampire adventure.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Note from the Author

Chapter One – Blood Donation

Chapter Two – Monday Afternoon

Chapter Three – The Initiation

Chapter Four – At the Safe House

Chapter Five – Thursday Morning

Chapter Six – Down on the Farm

Chapter Seven – Saturday Tournament

Chapter Eight – Dinner Party

Chapter Nine – Exams

Chapter Ten – Raid

Chapter Eleven – Interrogation

Chapter Twelve – The End

About the Author

Also by John W Partington

Chapter One – Blood Donation

Is this going to hurt? Jessie asked.

I promise I won’t feel a thing, the phlebotomist joked. Seriously, Miss Jain, it’s a small prick. Is this your first time donating blood?

Yes, Jessie replied.

Don’t worry. It’s easy. I have to set up some equipment, but while I’m doing that, I’ll distract you with small talk. What arm do you want the needle in? We usually put it in your non-writing side.

It doesn’t matter. I’m ambidextrous.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a student, Jessie answered.

Really? Here in town?

Yup. I hope to be a lawyer when I graduate.

So, you go to an Ivy League school, the nurse sighed. Young, pretty, smart, and rich. You hit the lottery.

Young, average, hardworking, and a sports scholarship, Jessie replied.

What sport? Rowing or basketball?

No.

Swimming then? You look like a swimmer.

Fencing, Jessie answered.

Fencing?

Yup. Fighting with a sword. I hope to make the next Olympics.

I wish you luck. The nurse smiled. You’re hooked up. The blood is flowing. It should be ten to twenty minutes, depending on how much you relax. If you feel faint, let us know, and we’ll stop the procedure and help you. You get juice and cookies after this. Do you know your blood type?

No, Jessie admitted. That’s why the coach wanted us all to donate blood.

The coach wants you to know your blood type?

We fight with sabres. They’re capped, but sometimes accidents happen. It’s best to know your blood type just in case it’s needed.

That’s… morbid, but you’re already a fifth of the way full and don’t look flush. Relax, dear, it’ll only take a few minutes.

Jessie waited fifteen minutes until the bag attached to a rocking mechanism under her chair chimed. She looked over and saw the bag full of red fluid and felt faint.

Whoa. The phlebotomist eased her back into the seat by the shoulders. Don’t bend over like that while giving blood.

I feel a little woozy, Jessie admitted.

You leaned over to take a peek. That put your head on level with your heart, and you got the dizzies. Do you normally faint at the sight of blood?

No, Jessie answered.

We’re typing your blood now from the starter sample. That takes between ten and twenty minutes, so you should know by the time you’re done here. I thought you might like to know sooner than the mail system gets it to you just in case you run into a sword.

Thank you. Jessie smiled. You mentioned juice and cookies?

You have to sit in the rest bay for ten minutes first. Jessie waited in a lounging chair, and then after a quarter hour, was led to a small café-like lounge where there were indeed juice and cookies. She started to munch on a chocolate chip cookie when the nurse who took her blood came over and sat down beside her. The woman put a small stack of pamphlets on the table.

I’ve got good news and bad news, the nurse said.

Bad news about donating blood? Jessie asked.

Depends on your point of view. The phlebotomist smiled reassuringly. Your blood type is AB-negative. That’s as rare as it comes. Only one percent of the world population has AB-negative. That means we’d like you to come back as often as possible to donate, but we won’t press the issue because the blood affects so few people it’s not worth collecting in large quantities.

Is that the good news? Jessie asked.

Yes. The bad news is that you’ll need O-negative if you ever get in an accident. That’s the universal donor. Anybody can take O-negative blood, especially in your case where there isn’t likely to be a supply of AB-negative or perhaps time to match.

The good news is you won’t ask me to donate much and the bad news is I get screwed if hurt because I’m only a match for one percent of the world population?

And the seven percent O-negative population. Basically, try to lead a charmed life because only eight percent of the possible donors can save you. Quite frankly, it wouldn’t be a problem if everyone eligible donated blood, but only about four percent of people who could donate blood, do donate blood. It’s a sad state of affairs. You can go now, but please read this information. She pointed to the pile of pamphlets. It will provide you with aftercare instructions and information about donations. Take it easy for the rest of the day, and possibly tomorrow.

I’ve got fencing practice tomorrow, Jessie sighed. Easy isn’t an option.

When Jessie got home to her meager apartment, she found her superintendent taping a notice to her door.

What’s up? Jessie asked, her hands full with two grocery bags.

You’re being evicted, the super answered.

What? Jessie squawked.

Officially, it’s noise complaints about your cat, but between us two, I think the building is going condo. They can reno your apartment for ten thousand and then sell it as a condo for a few hundred thousand. Sorry Jess. It’s the way of the world.

I don’t have a cat. At that moment, a scream somewhere between that of a distressed animal and a banshee came from behind her apartment door. At the same time the seam on one of her grocery bags split, spilling tins of cat food into the hall. The super raised an eyebrow.

No cat? the super asked.

He’s a kitten. An older kitten, like a feline teenager.

You’ve got a week to move out. I can give you some boxes. I know a guy with a truck that runs small loads from point A to point B. It would be cheaper than hiring a truck. Another howl from the apartment pierced the conversation. Frustrated, Jessie put down her bags, gathered the wayward tins, and then unlocked her door.

Inside, it looked like a small hurricane had blown through. Nothing was damaged or broken, but many of her few possessions were knocked over or out of place. Halfway up the window curtains that provided the one decent view in the apartment, something small, black, and furry thrashed about. Jessie put down her bags and walked over to the entangled cat. The creature paused its attempts to extract itself and looked at Jessie with large, dark eyes. There was pleading and defiance in the look.

Vlad, Jessie sighed as she cradled the cat in the crook of her arm while pulling the curtains away from his polydactyl claws. What are we going to do? I have to move out in a week, even though that’s totally illegal. I haven’t received a thirty-day notice, and there is no court order. I could fight this. She looked at her kitten, then sighed again. But that would only delay the inevitable.

Mew, the cat purred.

I know. Feed the cat.

Jessie got the boxes from the superintendent and packed all her possessions, which were mostly clothing. She looked at the short-term rental ads in the classified section. It was too close to the end of term to take a full lease, and after finals, she would be going home for a few months while waiting for the fall term to start. She circled a few ads and began to make calls.

After an hour, she secured a likely boarding room in a basement with an immediate vacancy. It wouldn’t be comfortable or private, but it wouldn’t be permanent either. She tied the curtains up in a bow to keep them out of the kitten’s reach and then left to see the boarding room. It was going to be a while on the bus.

The room was underwhelming but clean, and the price was right. Jessie reminded herself it was only until the end of term. She signed a two-month lease and went back home. She got the guy the super suggested to move her stuff and collected her cat. The whole process took a day, and by the end, she was exhausted. She crumpled into her bed with Vlad in the crook of her arm and went to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to a furry gargoyle sitting on her chest, staring at her.

Feed the cat, Jessie muttered.

Mew, Vlad agreed but didn’t budge. Jessie picked the cat off her bosom and put him on the side of the bed, but he climbed back onto her torso.

Right, Jessie yawned. She held the cat, stood up, and dumped him on the bed. She started her day with breakfast in her pyjamas before moving to the shower and getting ready for school. She packed her haversack, which had a three-foot-long case attached by straps on the side.

At her new digs, Jessie walked up the stairs, out the front door, and then down the front steps onto the street. She had a basement window facing the street, from which she saw glistening green eyes track her. Vlad then curled up in the window and went to sleep.

Hey, new girl, a voice called. Jessie turned around and realized that maybe she hadn’t picked the best neighbourhood to live in. Three rough-looking men leaned against the property fence. The spokesman butted out a cigarette in a can on the ground. They looked to be labourers who had gotten off work from a night shift or were starting their day without pride in their appearance. This is a tollbooth, the smoker continued. "How