Scarlet ran down the stairs of the tower as fast as her legs would carry her. She held the precious vial of immortal blood tightly in her fist, and prayed that when she found Sage he would still be alive.Her mind was swirling from her encounter with the three sisters. The experience was like nothing she’d ever had before and it left her reeling, feeling disconcerted and confused. Part of her felt like she couldn’t trust the women but the other part of her felt she had no other option. If she didn’t get Sage to the vampire city then he would die anyway, so she may as well cling onto the last sliver of hope the women had given her.When Scarlet burst out of the tower door, she found that the forest was in complete disarray. The storm had torn up leaves and branches, strewing them haphazardly around. It was almost impossible to find a path through the dense foliage, and Scarlet was frequently blocked by a fallen tree. The stream she’d leapt over on the way here had burst its banks to b
Caitlin made her way down the cliff path, towards the vampire city. She’d never seen anything quite like it. In all her travels back in time—the memories of which kept flashing back at her in waves—she’d never seen anything like this.The architecture was unworldly, a combination of ancient Egyptian mud-brick temples and vast columns, all carved into the cave sides like the lost city of Petra. It was breath-taking, and Caitlin felt a strong sense of belonging. This is where her people came from, where they had lived and thrived unharmed for centuries. Along with her flood of memories, Caitlin had realized that the vampire race was not necessarily cruel or evil. There had been good people amongst the vampires, herself included, and she felt a great sense of loss over their extinction.As Caitlin wandered through the streets of the city, this place felt abandoned, like a giant tomb, an ode to another time. Glancing in awe at the tall buildings, one in particular caught her attention. S
Vivian soared through the sky, her veins on fire with exhilaration. Thanks to Scarlet’s idiot of an uncle, she was within a hair’s breadth of ending her nemesis’s life. As she flew, she could feel the stake in her back pocket, urging her to kill again, reminding her of just how powerful and addictive that sensation was.As Vivian flew she wondered whether Blake would have turned yet. Nothing would be sweeter for her than having him by her side as she ended Scarlet’s life.She decided then to take a quick detour past his house. If he had indeed turned, she could bring him along for the ride. That way she’d witness his all his firsts—his first feed, his first flight—just like a good sire should.When she reached Blake’s house, the first thing she noticed was the sprays of blood on the window. She leapt onto his porch roof and peered in through his bedroom window. Her heart dropped. Blake wasn’t there. His bed was messy, as though he’d thrown off the covers she’d placed over him in has
Police Officer Sadie Marlow was sitting in her patrol car, preoccupied by thoughts of Maria, the mentally unwell girl she’d met in the hospital, and the police chief’s reaction to Maria’s premonition of an impending vampire war. After the girl had descended into silence, Sadie and her partner, Brent Waywood, had been ushered away, told to go back to the station and await further instruction. Then it had been hours of silence, of evasion, of Sadie’s questions going unanswered. And so, as the night began to draw to an end, bringing with it the last hour of Sadie’s shift, she’d found herself in her patrol car with Brent responding to a residential disturbance, none the wiser about what was going on.She was just pulling up to the curb of the house in question when the patrol car’s radio crackled and a voice sounded out. It wasn’t the usual emergency call operator’s voice, but the police chief’s.“Officer Marlow, I need you in the center of town. Now.”Sadie leaned forward and hit the r
Kyle sauntered along the road. Shady walked by his side, his right hand man. Together they’d turned a dozen men from inside the prison and had let another fifty loose on the streets. By the time they’d finished their rampage on the prison, there wasn’t a single guard left alive.Now they were ready to unleash terror on the streets of this town. They followed the trail of destruction that had already been left for them by the escaped inmates, passing over turned cars and burning houses on the way, Kyle leading the small band of newly turned vampires. His group comprised all the men he’d been closest to whilst behind bars, the ones who’d backed him in scraps or who had beaten up another inmate on his behalf. They were men who were loyal to him and grateful for the freedom and power he had gifted them with. It was a gratitude that extended far beyond the usual sire bond. These were men who would lay their lives down to serve him.Kyle wanted to make sure his followers got a good show on
Caitlin felt sick to her stomach as the world swirled around her. Clutching onto Caleb for dear life, she worried that if she let go he may disappear into the ether and become stuck between realms. All around them, lights and colors flashed. It was impossible to tell if they were facing up or down. All they could feel was the terrifying forward momentum and the sloshing sensation as though they were in a boat on the waves.Then all at once, everything stopped. They found themselves standing on the banks of a river.“The Hudson?” he asked.“Yes!” Caitlin cried, relieved that they had survived the journey through time and space.Then she saw a sight that made her heart lurch.“Look!” she cried, pointing into the sky. “It’s Scarlet! It’s really her!”Caleb watched his daughter race across the sky, heading for the estate on the banks of the Hudson.“Come on!” he cried, grabbing Caitlin’s hand.They began to run towards the mansion. But they hadn’t gotten more than five paces when a
Vivian chased Scarlet through the skies, right on her tail. Scarlet must have known she was being chased because she kept looking back over her shoulder. Blake was lagging behind but he still followed Vivian dutifully on her quest to cause pain.No matter how fast Scarlet was as a vampire, she couldn’t out fly Vivian, who had been more athletic in her human form than Scarlet. Scarlet had just reached the roof of a mansion when Vivian caught her by the ankle.The two girls went skidding across the rooftop, scraping a path over the tiles and making them fly up all around them. Vivian was immediately in fight mode. She grappled with Scarlet before pinning her down by her arms. Scarlet thrashed like a woman possessed.“Let go of me!” she screamed.Vivian laughed maniacally. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of all along—and she was going to squeeze every ounce of pleasure out of it that she could.“What the hell happened to you?” she sneered. “You look like crap.”Scarlet was w
Reeling from what had just happened on the rooftop, Scarlet tried to force all thoughts of Blake from her mind. She instead landed on the drain pipe and burst into one of the upstairs windows in Sage’s vast estate. Time was short, and she had to stay focused.Scarlet knew she was walking into a trap, but no longer cared. If she could just give Sage the potion in her pocket, maybe she’d be able to convince him to go to the vampire city with her, to give up his immortality for love. The sisters had made it seem like he would never do such a thing, but Scarlet felt that deep down he loved her enough to make that sacrifice.She heard voices coming from downstairs and ran towards them, down a huge, stone spiral staircase that opened up into a cavernous, ancient living room. She drew to a halt. There, on a red velvet sofa, was Sage. He was alive. He was awake.Scarlet bolted towards him.“Sage!” she cried, flinging herself to her knees.She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her clo
A cold gray morning light settled over the mansion. As the fire fighters trudged out, having put out the large fire that had raged in the bedroom, an eerie sort of calm settled over the manor and the people still within it. The high schoolers were weeping, huddling up together, mourning the loss of friends who had been killed whilst vampires and would not be returning to their human form.All morning a series of prison vans had come and gone, taking with them the inmates that had remained humans, along with those who’d had the brief pleasure of being vampires before reverting back to human form. A series of undertakers had also come and gone, removing the police and army personnel who’d lost their lives in the fight.Standing in the middle of the whole thing were the stone statues of Octal and Lore’s mother. Then further into the living room were Lore and Lyra in their lovers’ grip, together forever like a work of art.Finally, the stone body of Sage lay in his position on the sofa.
Caitlin and Caleb ran through the mansion doors. They’d seen the vampire army descend on the estate, followed by the police and military. But knowing their daughter was inside was enough to make them enter, too. They braced themselves for carnage—but what they saw was far worse than they’d ever imagined.There, lying on the floor, bleeding, was Scarlet. Her breath was rapid. She was covered in mud and dirt. She looked like she’d been dragged through Hell and back.Scarlet’s friends were watching her with looks of horror on their faces. A police woman was standing solemnly beside them.Caitlin screamed in anguish and rushed forward to her daughter. She grabbed her limp body and pulled her into her chest.“Drink, Scarlet,” she said, offering her arm to her dying daughter. “Drink. Please!”Scarlet was trying to say no but she couldn’t make a sound at all.“Listen to me,” Caitlin said sternly. “I’ve read all the prophecies, all the texts and books and literature. I’ve been transporte
Scarlet was bereft. She was so engulfed by grief she didn’t even care when she heard the hammering on the front door of the mansion or the sound of glass smashing. It was only the sound of chaos and anarchy, the jeering, screaming sounds of murderous rage, and the thudding sound of hundreds of boots on the marble floors that made her turn around.As soon as she did, she took in the sight of a vampire army. Amongst them were kids she knew from high school, the jocks and cheerleaders still in their uniforms, the goth kids from freshman year, the glee club. Then behind them was a savage looking group of thugs, with shaved heads and tattoos all over their faces, necks and arms. They were wearing uniforms, and it dawned on Scarlet that they were escaped prisoners.Scarlet had no idea what was going on but she knew instantly that it had something to do with her. This army, made up of kids and convicts, was here to kill her.She sprung into action, leaping into the air and heading towards
Reeling from what had just happened on the rooftop, Scarlet tried to force all thoughts of Blake from her mind. She instead landed on the drain pipe and burst into one of the upstairs windows in Sage’s vast estate. Time was short, and she had to stay focused.Scarlet knew she was walking into a trap, but no longer cared. If she could just give Sage the potion in her pocket, maybe she’d be able to convince him to go to the vampire city with her, to give up his immortality for love. The sisters had made it seem like he would never do such a thing, but Scarlet felt that deep down he loved her enough to make that sacrifice.She heard voices coming from downstairs and ran towards them, down a huge, stone spiral staircase that opened up into a cavernous, ancient living room. She drew to a halt. There, on a red velvet sofa, was Sage. He was alive. He was awake.Scarlet bolted towards him.“Sage!” she cried, flinging herself to her knees.She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her clo
Vivian chased Scarlet through the skies, right on her tail. Scarlet must have known she was being chased because she kept looking back over her shoulder. Blake was lagging behind but he still followed Vivian dutifully on her quest to cause pain.No matter how fast Scarlet was as a vampire, she couldn’t out fly Vivian, who had been more athletic in her human form than Scarlet. Scarlet had just reached the roof of a mansion when Vivian caught her by the ankle.The two girls went skidding across the rooftop, scraping a path over the tiles and making them fly up all around them. Vivian was immediately in fight mode. She grappled with Scarlet before pinning her down by her arms. Scarlet thrashed like a woman possessed.“Let go of me!” she screamed.Vivian laughed maniacally. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of all along—and she was going to squeeze every ounce of pleasure out of it that she could.“What the hell happened to you?” she sneered. “You look like crap.”Scarlet was w
Caitlin felt sick to her stomach as the world swirled around her. Clutching onto Caleb for dear life, she worried that if she let go he may disappear into the ether and become stuck between realms. All around them, lights and colors flashed. It was impossible to tell if they were facing up or down. All they could feel was the terrifying forward momentum and the sloshing sensation as though they were in a boat on the waves.Then all at once, everything stopped. They found themselves standing on the banks of a river.“The Hudson?” he asked.“Yes!” Caitlin cried, relieved that they had survived the journey through time and space.Then she saw a sight that made her heart lurch.“Look!” she cried, pointing into the sky. “It’s Scarlet! It’s really her!”Caleb watched his daughter race across the sky, heading for the estate on the banks of the Hudson.“Come on!” he cried, grabbing Caitlin’s hand.They began to run towards the mansion. But they hadn’t gotten more than five paces when a
Kyle sauntered along the road. Shady walked by his side, his right hand man. Together they’d turned a dozen men from inside the prison and had let another fifty loose on the streets. By the time they’d finished their rampage on the prison, there wasn’t a single guard left alive.Now they were ready to unleash terror on the streets of this town. They followed the trail of destruction that had already been left for them by the escaped inmates, passing over turned cars and burning houses on the way, Kyle leading the small band of newly turned vampires. His group comprised all the men he’d been closest to whilst behind bars, the ones who’d backed him in scraps or who had beaten up another inmate on his behalf. They were men who were loyal to him and grateful for the freedom and power he had gifted them with. It was a gratitude that extended far beyond the usual sire bond. These were men who would lay their lives down to serve him.Kyle wanted to make sure his followers got a good show on
Police Officer Sadie Marlow was sitting in her patrol car, preoccupied by thoughts of Maria, the mentally unwell girl she’d met in the hospital, and the police chief’s reaction to Maria’s premonition of an impending vampire war. After the girl had descended into silence, Sadie and her partner, Brent Waywood, had been ushered away, told to go back to the station and await further instruction. Then it had been hours of silence, of evasion, of Sadie’s questions going unanswered. And so, as the night began to draw to an end, bringing with it the last hour of Sadie’s shift, she’d found herself in her patrol car with Brent responding to a residential disturbance, none the wiser about what was going on.She was just pulling up to the curb of the house in question when the patrol car’s radio crackled and a voice sounded out. It wasn’t the usual emergency call operator’s voice, but the police chief’s.“Officer Marlow, I need you in the center of town. Now.”Sadie leaned forward and hit the r
Vivian soared through the sky, her veins on fire with exhilaration. Thanks to Scarlet’s idiot of an uncle, she was within a hair’s breadth of ending her nemesis’s life. As she flew, she could feel the stake in her back pocket, urging her to kill again, reminding her of just how powerful and addictive that sensation was.As Vivian flew she wondered whether Blake would have turned yet. Nothing would be sweeter for her than having him by her side as she ended Scarlet’s life.She decided then to take a quick detour past his house. If he had indeed turned, she could bring him along for the ride. That way she’d witness his all his firsts—his first feed, his first flight—just like a good sire should.When she reached Blake’s house, the first thing she noticed was the sprays of blood on the window. She leapt onto his porch roof and peered in through his bedroom window. Her heart dropped. Blake wasn’t there. His bed was messy, as though he’d thrown off the covers she’d placed over him in has