Every summer, I make it a goal to re-read Night Huntress series. I always find new jewels of awesomeness no matter how many times I've already read the books. This time I re-read NH novels two new story ideas popped into my head. I'm still working on the other story concept but will publish it before summer ends. I thoroughly enjoy writing FanFiciton stories for the Night Huntress book universe.
This story takes place 10 years after Up From The Grave (Book 6)! It gives a glimpse into the life of Katie Russell (aged up to 17 years old). I will be mainly writing from Katie's POV but might occasionally alternate between other characters' POV.
Warning: There are MAJOR spoilers from Up From The Grave. If you haven't read the entire the Night Huntress series, I'd highly recommend it. You'll better understand the character dynamics and plethora of book references sprinkled in this story.
This is rated T for mild to strong swearing and possibly some suggestive content.
Disclaimer: Night Huntress characters belong to the the amazing Jeaniene Frost, not me.
Now you're ready to start reading The New Normal! I'd greatly appreciate your constructive feedback! Hope you enjoy my story! R&R!
~Katie's POV~
Sending a powerful roundhouse kick across the vampire's face, he instantly crumpled to the ground as a low growl escaped his lips. There was an audible snap of his neck. This injury would have easily killed a mere human. Yet, his reflexes and healing time were sure as hell faster than mine. Within a few seconds, the black-haired vampire was back on his feet in a defensive stance. His lips curled into a taunting smirk. I was going to wipe that smugness off his face!
I had a good strategy: jump on the vampire's back and use the element of surprise to distract him before stabbing the knife right into his chest.
Jumping onto his back, one of my arms firmly locked around the vampire's neck as my legs wrapped around his waist. The other free hand gripped the wickedly curved knife. The vampire's balance teetered while attempting to loosen my vise-like grip on him. I used this distraction as momentum to raise the blade and proceed to bury it into his chest cavity. Conceptually my fighting technique was brilliantly, unfortunately my plan rapidly backfired on me. Two things happened in the next instant: the black-haired vampire carried out a forward flip sending me flying through the air and painfully crashing against the hard ground. My curved knife slipped from my hand and clattered to the ground. Dammit it was way out of my reach!
"Son of a bitch" I barked out in aggravated frustration. Powerful waves of agonizing pain reverberated through my entire body. Definitely a mild concussion and some cracked ribs. Each breath jostled the cracked ribs. I've built up a high pain tolerance over the past few years. Despite the dual vampire and ghoul nature in my DNA, it still took me longer to recover from my injuries. Thankfully, it was damn near difficult for anyone, regardless if they're human or undead, to kill me.
The black-haired vampire casually crouched on his haunches while flashing a fanged smile in my direction. In my current condition, it was still too painful to shift into an upright position to glare at the vampire. "Next time, princesa," Juan mockingly remarked.
He had hardly broken a sweat during our training session and looked ridiculously flawless despite his shoulder-length hair falling messily onto his tanned face. Gracefully rising to his feet, he straightened out the wrinkles in his black t-shirt. Juan grabbed the curved knife from the ground and sauntered towards my supine body. The sharp, curves blade sliced deep into his palm. He extended the bloodied hand to me. Without hesitation, I accepted it and swallowed several gulps of blood before the wound closed up. The healing properties were immediately working to fully mend my injuries.
I'm not your average seventeen year old girl. Ever since I was a young girl, my family emphasized the fact to never be ashamed of ghoulish and vampiric DNA. Instead I should learn to use it to my advantage. For the past two years, I trained twice a week with Dave, Juan, or Denise to become a stronger, resilient fighter against any undead species. Vampire. Ghoul. Demon. I want to make my family proud by establishing a formidable reputation within the undead communities one day. Until then I'm doing what most normal teenagers partake in.
My family is also anything but normal...yet we are pretty function despite our dynamic personalities. My immediate family includes: my mother, father, stepfather, grandmother, and uncle. They're all vampires. I have a wide variety of non-immediate family members consisting of close family friends. Also, I'm close with some members under my stepfather's and uncle's lines. I've grown up my entire life around supernatural beings. I don't have to hide what I am to them. Although being around humans isn't always easy for me.
It was a Saturday evening and the night was still young. Unlike most kids my age, I found absolutely no appeal in recklessly partying until I forgot my own name. My undead DNA naturally gives me a high alcohol tolerance. I was in no mood to meet up with any of my friends tonight. I showered right after my training session and changed into a baggy band t-shirt and yoga pants. My long golden brown hair was neatly plaited into a French braid. Flopping on my comfy bed, I drowned out everything around me as Within Temptation blasted from my Beats headphones. Lingering soreness seeped into my bones which provided little motivation to move from my bed. Typically, I'd fully recovered from my injuries within a day. Vampire blood tends to sped up my recovery time.
I had no idea what the exact time was but my nocturnal body clock notified me it was at least late evening. I couldn't think of any other better way to spend my Saturday night than simply unwinding and relaxing in my room.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of The New Normal!