You Can't Go Home Again
You Can’t Go Home Again
Liars and Vampires, Book 3
Robert J. Crane
with Lauren Harper
You Can’t Go Home Again
Liars and Vampires, Book 3
Robert J. Crane
with Lauren Harper
Copyright © 2018 Ostiagard Press
All Rights Reserved.
1st Edition
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Author’s Note
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
Chapter 1
I was being hunted by a vampire.
It probably looked strange to passersby seeing a seventeen-year-old girl running down a sidewalk, stumbling past deserted side streets and alleyways. It was just now getting dark, but since this was Tampa, Florida, that didn’t mean it was getting any cooler. All of the streetlights overhead flickered into life, creating pools of light on the street below, bathing everything else in darkness.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadows.
I chanced a glance over my shoulder. The long, dark street behind me, tinged with the faint scent of saltwater carried in from the Bay, was deserted, but I knew better. I wasn’t alone.
My chest hurt, my breath coming in heaving gasps, the warm air providing little relief to my overheated, exhausted body. Sweat trickled steadily down my back, making my blouse cling to me as I pumped my arms, trying to push myself to run even faster.
The city buildings were packed tightly together, giving my super-powered assailant way too many places to hide. Every sound, every movement I caught out of the corner of my eyes made my heart constrict painfully.
I had been running in a straight line for too long. That was strategically as good as suicide. The next opening I saw to the right, between a donut shop and an antique store, was just wide enough for me to squeeze through.
The narrow gap was full of trash, which crinkled and snapped beneath my feet. A fresh flood of fear pumped through my veins like acid. If my pursuer had by some miracle lost me for a second, he would know where I was for sure now.
And look how easy I made it for him! Trapped and unable to move much faster than a turtle through molasses, I squeezed along. I hoped that this narrow passage would throw him off for even just a second. Every advantage helped.
The back of my shirt kept catching on the bricks behind me as I pushed myself along as quickly as I could. Bursting free, I reached the other side of the alley, peered around the corner. There was what looked like another alley, filled with back entrances used for deliveries to the businesses on the main road.
Silence. The quiet in the alley was eerie. A look over my shoulder revealed no evidence of my vampire follower. But then, vampires had a nasty habit of showing up when I least expected them.
Left or right? I couldn’t stop here; I only had a fraction of a second to decide.
A car horn blared into the night a few streets over, and with a jolt of my heart, I threw myself across the alley and into another tight gap on the other side.
There were too many open spaces, too many nooks and crannies, too many shadows. As I pounded against the pavement, running in the night, I looked desperately for an escape.
Wood. Where could I find wood? Something, anything that I could use as a weapon.
I broke free of the small cutover between roads into yet another alley, dark and shadowed. Not good.
I needed light. I needed to see. Ahead, there were street lamps, lit against the dusky night. I ran, trying to keep from gasping. Trying to hold it all together.
Breaking out of the shadows, I found myself back on a main street, the lights shining brightly against the darkening sky.
I had to hide. He was still behind me. A shoe scuffed on pavement, back the way I’d come.
I took off. Now a siren howled into the night, in the distance. Not nearly close enough.
Déjà vu washed over me in its eerie way.
I’d fled like this before. Under a darkening sky, the cool air growing warm and stifling, I’d hurtled along deserted streets countless times, evading a vampire foe dead set on catching me. Sooner or later, I was going to get caught.
Another side street. Distance. I needed distance.
My palms were slick as I caught myself on the concrete wall, the stone rough as I wheeled myself around the corner. My chest heaved, my breathing was raspy. I didn’t know how much longer I could go. My cardio game was weak. Apparently I needed to start marathon training if I was going to keep this up.
The buildings around were closing in around me. Claustrophobic, confused—in my panic downtown had become a maze. Footfalls echoed on concrete. Mine alone? Or was he right behind me?
A long line of dumpsters spewed their putrid, rotting smell into the tight space, making me sputter and gag as I dashed past it.
Focus, Cassie. Keep an eye on the goal. Avoid the vampire, avoid death.
Who was I kidding? He was toying with me.
I gritted my teeth.
Finding people wouldn’t help me. He’d kill me anyway. Daylight was nine hours away, maybe ten. I had no idea where I would find enough fire to protect me.
It came back down to wood. And I was without a stake.
I skidded into another side street, another wild dart to throw him off my tail—then gasped with excitement. Wooden pallets! Sidelining for now the question of whether or not this was theft, I lurched forward, hands out—
With effortless silence and unnatural speed, a dark, hooded figure slipped into the space between me and my prize.
My feet nearly slipped out from underneath me as I flailed my arms, trying to gain my balance. A strangled scream burst from me, just half a second. Then I clamped down on it. Already turning, I forked away, chest heaving—Damn it, damn it, damn it! I’d been so close. Down another side street, an alley between two shops, one boarded up and long
closed.
A chain-link fence blocked my way.
Climb. Unless you want to—
No need to finish that thought. I knew what awaited if I didn’t evade the vampire. Pointed teeth and defeat.
I raced to it. Grasping the cold metal, I dragged myself higher. But the footholds were too small, and my feet flailed. Cold metal bit into my fingers as I fought for height.
I was just about to the top when I saw the same hooded, black shape standing just on the other side of the fence.
I gasped, and my fingers slipped.
I slammed into the dirty ground below, a spasm of pain running through my back, the force of impact knocking the wind from my lungs.
Rolling over onto my side, I grasped my aching ribs, sputtering, trying in vain to draw in a breath. I could taste blood in my mouth from my split lip.
“End of the line, Cassie,” the voice said, a deep laugh behind the words.
He leapt into the air and cleared the fence easily, landing lightly without a sound in front of me.
It was too late. I had lost.
He had me.
Chapter 2
I grasped at the ground, fingers sliding on the loose dirt and gravel beneath the tips, scrambling to get away, trying anything to prevent him from getting to me.
He snatched at the back of my shirt, his grip like iron, unyielding and powerful.
A low laugh came from below his hood as I tried to pull away from him.
I reached in my jeans pocket for a small, glass vial. Biting down on the tiny stopper, I yanked it open. Cold, clear water sloshed onto my hand before I tossed it over my shoulder.
A loud hissing came, along with a snarl of anger, but his grip on me released, and I fell to the ground as he leapt away from me.
Without turning to look, I ran back down the alley toward the street.
He was there in front of me again, black cloak flaring in the night wind, barring my escape.
“I don’t think so …” His voice was a low growl of malice. I guess the holy water had made this personal.
He lunged for me again, lightning fast. I jumped aside, anticipating his strike. That was the best you could hope for with a vampire. They were so quick, unless you knew which direction they were going to go, there was no avoiding their attack.
Beside me, snaking up the side of the building, was an old, rusty fire escape. I grabbed onto the metal ladder, paint flaking off under my fingers, and started up it.
But he was right behind me.
He latched onto my ankle. I kicked out, my foot colliding with the side of his head with a satisfying thud. It was maybe not enough to hurt him—vampires were rock solid, like living statues—but it caught him off guard: he released me, and I pushed myself higher.
I had made it up to the next level when he jumped into the air and met me there, on the fire escape.
“That was a pretty dumb move, girl,” the shadowed face laughed. “Trapped yourself again.”
“Not so much,” I replied, and I snatched a small, wooden planter box from the windowsill leading into the building. I smashed it against the wall, creating a jagged knife of sorts.
I held it out in front of me.
The vampire hesitated for only a moment before he swiped to knock it out of my hand.
But I was already tearing it through the air. It made contact with his arm, slashing through the black fabric, leaving a shallow but long slash.
He grabbed onto his arm, hissing in pain, the acrid stench of black vampire blood filling the air.
I turned and slid back down the ladder to the ground, preparing for the next assault.
Which came almost immediately. He was there, now growling with every step.
I moved into a fighting stance. Don’t lock your knees. Listen. Don’t turn away from your opponent. Remember he’s faster and stronger than you.
Don’t get cocky.
He dashed for me once more, and I dodged, knocking his injured arm out of the way. It was like hitting an iron pipe swung at your face: I couldn’t stop it; all I could do was redirect it slightly.
That done, I ducked underneath his extended arm and started for the street again. If I could somehow slash his arm again, incapacitate him long enough to prevent him from following—
“All right, Cassie, that’s enough.”
I stopped. The growl was gone. The voice was familiar again.
“What, we’re done already?” I asked, turning to face the hooded vampire. I tossed the broken wooden planter to the ground near a dumpster.
The vampire stood straight, lowering his hood.
Mill.
He glowered at me, his dark, thick eyebrows furrowing together. He pulled his gloves off in a huff, stuffing them into his pockets.
I walked back down the alley toward him slowly so my heart could have a chance to calm down.
Wincing as he pulled at his sleeves, he glared at me again. Black blood ran down his forearm. “Was that really necessary?”
“If this was real, definitely.” I looked at the pale skin, tinged inky by his blood. Kinda gross.
He ripped his shirt above where I had cut him and attempted to staunch the wound with the fabric. “You’re getting better,” he said. “But you were still way too reckless.”
“Reckless?” I asked. “I was running almost the entire time. How was I reckless?”
“The narrow alley, the fence, the fire escape?” Mill replied. Using his teeth to grip one end, he moved to tie his makeshift bandage in place, but I rolled my eyes and stepped over, finishing off the knot for him. Way more artfully and with fewer teeth.
“Thanks,” he said. His glare did not soften. “I’m serious. You should have focused on distance, not clever maneuvers.”
“You’re a vampire. Superhuman strength and speed, remember? How could I have possibly gotten away from you?” I asked. “You can smell me from a mile off.”
“Maybe cut back on the perfume, then, for the sake of other vampires,” he said.
I took a step back. “You don’t like my Viva La Juicy?”
“I like it fine,” Mill said, and I caught a hint of discomfort, like he’d accidentally stepped in something uncomfortable and wished he could retreat. “I said ‘for the sake of other vampires.’”
“Mmm hmm,” I said, not really buying it. “Regardless … you were right on top of me the entire time. Perfume or no, you can smell a human from a mile off—”
“Not so,” he said. “Our sense aren’t that finely tuned. But when we do get a good whiff … it is possible to track a distinct human for at least some distance. Which is why you have to use your surroundings to your advantage. We’ve discussed this at least a dozen times. Don’t make it easier for the vampire.”
“That’s exactly what I was doing, though, using my surroundings.” I waved at the dumpsters. “See? Trying to cover my scent.”
“Didn’t work,” Mill said.
“Oh yeah?” I set my feet, crossed my arms in front of me. “Then how would you recommend I do it?”
His response was lost on me as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to check. “Whoa, never mind, hold the critique,” I said. “It’s ten to eight. I have to get home, like, now.”
“I know,” Mill sighed. “That’s why I called off the exercise.”
“Then why didn’t you say that?”
“I was just about to—you know what? Never mind.”
It was my turn to glower.
“You are getting better, Cassie,” Mill said, his gruff voice a little gentler. “You executed the defensive position well. And even though I’m not exactly happy with it, I am impressed with your improvisation with the wooden planter. That was clever.”
A roll of thunder sounded overhead. No rain yet, and when it came it would be hot and stifling. But it might dispel some of the clammy humidity in the air, making our next session less grueling. “Well, thanks. I’m getting good at finding makeshift stakes.”
“And that’s
why I insisted that you go into this fight without them tonight,” Mill went on. “Better to learn how to deal without them instead of relying on them too heavily.” His long brow arched. “But still, carry them whenever possible. There’s no point in having to hunt one down if you don’t have to.”
“Makes sense.” I paused. “Also … were you making a pun with ‘point’?”
His eyes flickered, and there was no amusement there. Guess it wasn’t intentional. “Come on, let’s get you to the car,” he said. “Don’t need your mom murdering you after I almost did.”
“You so didn’t,” I said. “I would have gotten away.”
“Yeah, okay,” he said, ruffling my auburn hair like I was some sort of kid.
We stepped out of the alley and back onto the main road, the lamp posts sparkling merrily. Cars rumbled by, their headlights like stars against the blackening night, the smell of exhaust heavy in the sticky air.
“I still don’t think I could take a vamp head on,” I said, shoving my hands deep into my pockets, “but I do feel more confident that I could hold one at bay.”
“Maybe,” Mill said slowly. “I don’t think that you’re quite ready to tackle another Roxy situation again, though. Not any time soon.”
“That’s for sure,” I said, goose bumps rushing over my skin as I thought back to that night with horror mingled with fury.
A sleek, black Mercedes town car was idling beside the sidewalk a little ways down the road. It was parked outside of a pizza parlor, and the smell of garlic made my stomach flip over hungrily.
“Oh my gosh, that smells so good …” I grabbed my stomach. “I haven’t eaten since lunch.”
“I’d buy you a slice, but you need to get home,” Mill said.
Another sensation took the place of the hunger. Butterflies.
My cheeks flushed. “Maybe some other time?”
“I’d like that,” he said.
“Even with the garlic?” I teased, stepping up beside the limo. Vampires and garlic.
“Garlic doesn’t bother me.” He smacked his lips. “I mean, it does some damage to your breath, but otherwise, it’s fine.”