Aurora Sky Vampire Hunter - By Nikki Jefford Page 0,51

outside my English class when first period ended.

"Want to get out of here?"

No, Aurora. Just say no.

I smiled. "Yeah."

As we headed for the double doors, I caught a quick glimpse of Noel. Her eyes widened. She shouldn't look so surprised. Wasn't she the one who told me Scott Stevens was herbal tea? I would think Fane Donada was the type of guy who merited the Mouseketeer stamp of approval.

"Are you ready to try out the tank?" Fane asked when we reached his car.

He opened the passenger door for me. And they said chivalry was dead. Turns out it came in the most unexpected places.

I raised a brow before climbing in. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want."

"How about Portage Glacier?"

"Hop in."

Oh, I was bad skipping class...again. This time I wasn't even staying on school property. It's not like I could concentrate on a word my teachers said, anyway. Not with Fane on the brain 24/7.

Math and science just didn't mean as much when I'd faced death three times. Four, counting Dante's driving.

Unlike Dante, Fane handled his car with care. I nearly giggled. Fane drove a piece of shit. He probably had to be gentle or she'd fall apart over the first speed bump.

Fane hadn't lied, the tank moved at a steady, slow speed, even after Fane got onto the highway going south.

I stared out the window as Fane wound his way along the base of the Chugach Mountains. The Seward Highway skirted the shores of the Turnagain Arm. Admittedly, I lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Still didn't mean I wanted to freeze my ass off half the year.

"I love this drive," I said.

"I'm impressed."

I raised a questioning brow.

"You seem completely at ease while I'm driving," Fane continued.

"I don't think it's you so much as the tank."

He smiled. "Are you hungry? I could pull off in Girdwood."

"No, keep driving."

I faced the ocean on the right. It was gray and full of silt-crusted icebergs floating in and out on the tide. I only looked away when Fane pointed out mountain goats on the left. He had an uncanny ability to spot them, even with his eyes on the road.

The parking lot at Portage Glacier was empty when we pulled in.

My memories of the place were of the summer time and great glossy icebergs floating by in Portage Lake as Mom and I watched from the edge of the parking lot. The glacier itself had receded over three miles in the last century. I'd never walked across the frozen lake to the edge of the glacier in the winter, but now it sounded like a good idea.

I tightened my scarf before stepping onto the ice. I couldn't actually see it with all the snow coverage.

Fane drifted silently by my side. I felt like we were walking on the moon. There wasn't another human in sight. The lake was covered in snow that crunched beneath our shoes. Fane and I blazed a trail across the expanse of white.

We rounded a corner carved into the lake by a mountain and saw the glacier in the distance. I wondered if Fane was as drawn to that great river of ice as I was.

We walked up to the jagged edge of the glacier. Chunks of white ice glowed unnaturally blue. The pieces looked as though they were lit from within.

"This really is an amazing place," I said.

"It's the last frontier," Fane said.

"Too bad it's so cold and dark."

"Are you kidding? That's my favorite part."

"We should turn back," I said. "My bus is going to be leaving soon."

He laughed. "I can drive you home now, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true. We should still turn back. I really need to do my homework. Oh, and start going to class. I don't want to spend my summer in school or worse...next school year at Denali."

The way to the glacier felt like a journey of many miles, but the way back was quick.

"What about you?" I asked. "Do you plan on going to college?" I sort of doubted it.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it lately. I guess it's time to move on to a higher education. Meet new people."

"You mean friends who aren't junkies?"

"They aren't junkies."

I raised a brow.

"Well, I guess they are sort of junkies, but I can't judge them."

"What's your roommate into?"

"Besides foreign films and rare books - not much."

"Real barrel of sunshine he is," I said.

"He's depressed."

"Maybe Alaska's not the best place for him."

Fane huffed. "He's like that