Red

Waste · 08-07-2008

Red
Part One: Autumn Jesse Dark

He stood at the top of the worn stone steps, they were ancient, almost as old as he was and like him they did not crumble under the feet of the world. He surveyed the buildings that spread out in front of him and listened to the sound of a thousand sleeping. A baby was crying in the distance, un-heard by it’s parents, but he heard it.

A cool breeze tousled his copper hair, in the sunlight his soft locks would shine red, but there was no longer any light for him. His skin was pale and silvery under the shine of the distant moon, if he listened hard enough he could hear it whispering. Or was that just the soft rustle of the breeze over the trees that spread behind him, encircling The Tower.
He began to descend the chalky white steps, no need to hurry; he had all the nights in the entire world, only the sun could stop him now. The inevitability of the suns rays peaking over the horizon was all that would halt the descent into his bloody world.

When he reached the bottom of the steps he had to arch his neck to see the tops of the houses, they had seemed so insignificant before yet now that they towered above him he was reminded that the insignificance was in fact himself. He moved through the night a lot faster now, his sleek, strong body powering him forward, his black clothes rustling around him, pointless garments, built to keep in warmth the that he did not have.
He stopped outside the house where the baby still cried, ignored by its parents. That disgusted him, how could the adults in this house ignore their own kin and… another breeze blew over him sending the scent of blood rushing through him and a fresh pool of venom into his mouth. Now he understood, as the baby’s cries stooped to quieter sobs; Regal Ebony Dark understood.

He turned to walk away but the smell was too alluring and he found himself wanting to return to the house, the monster inside of him lusting for an easy kill. A night off of the chase, drain the blood from the already dead parents, take the baby as well.

He slipped into the house through the broken front door, and slinked down the pastel green hall, he could already tell from the hall that the child’s parents were wealthy. He scented the air and found that the scent trails split in two directions, one came from the direction of the baby’s cries the other from a room off to his left.
He went into the room to his left first; a male body was spread across the floor, a hole in his forehead still seeping blood. His hair was red with blood and had apparently once been blonde, and his eyes were pale and empty. A fresh slick of venom filled Regal’s mouth and he spat it out.
He stooped and ran his finger tips through the pool of blood on the wooden flooring, then lifted them to his lips and run his tongue over them, the taste made his throat scream for more. He ignored the dull ache and got to his feet, looking around the room. The walls were painted red and had pale squares on them where paintings used to be, the room was full of bare tables and shelves. This was a burglary gone wrong, or maybe it had gone exactly as planned, but surely any murderer would have killed the baby and finished the job.
Regal realised that he should leave the victims in their current states seeing as if he moved them their killers would never be caught, he frowned, since when did he care about such things? He turned slowly and walked back into the hallway, and followed the child’s sobs until he reached a pale yellow door. He pushed it open and entered the baby’s room.
The room was sky blue with fluffy white clouds stencilled onto the walls, during the day the room would probably be lit by the suns light pouring through the huge bay window that was next to a white cot, but the only thing the window was letting in was the moons silver glow, making the room feel eerie and strangely quiet. The baby had stopped crying the moment Regal had entered the room.
A woman was sitting on the floor, her dead body leaning against the cot, she also had a hole in her forehead but her body was completely naked, she had been raped. She had blonde hair, matted with blood. Even with the hole in her head and her face a film of pasty death she was beautiful. Regal approached the cot and stared down at the baby girl, lying in the pool of her mother’s blood that had crept into the cot after the woman had been shot, the force of the bullet exploding the back of her head.
He reached into the cot and delicately picked up the baby, he held her away from his cold body, studying her with his pale green eyes, fresh life, how badly he wanted to take her. The humans would know no different, he was a secret, how could they ever link this child’s death to a secret. He brought the girl closer to him and she squirmed in his arms, but didn’t cry.
Her gorgeous blue eyes showed no fear when she looked up at him from under her long eyelashes, her mothers blood ran down her back and covered Regal’s hands. She must have been under a year old yet those eyes had already witnessed great horrors. Anger bubbled inside of him as he thought about how she must have been woken by the gunshot that had killed her father. He could almost see her mother running into the baby’s room to protect the precious child, and was probably over powered by the murderer who had raped her in front of her daughter and then shot her, close range execution, he fought back the impulse to hunt down the people who had done this, the scent was still fresh, he could do it. If it wasn’t for the baby, he had to make sure she was safe first.
He took a final look at the dead woman, staring up at him with blank eyes, he held the girl against his body with one strong arm and stooped in front of her mum, he reached out and closed the woman’s eyes with his pale long fingered hand.
“Don’t worry” he whispered “I’ll protect her.”

This is like the opening page and a half of the part.
Let me know your thoughts
xxx

RainOfWolf · 08-11-2008

Honestly,this is one of the most interesting passages I've ever read.It kept me interested all the way through, and it is not very common for me to become absorbed so easily...ask my teachers...hehe.Hurry up and post more...I'm looking forward to it!..Do you have an idea how long your planning to make it?Cos this could turn out to be something extraordinary...Very nice^^

Waste · 08-11-2008

“Don’t worry” he whispered “I’ll protect her.”

He got to his feet and tucked the baby under his jacket, holding her awkwardly against his hard cold body, he left through the front door and stole away down the darkened streets, his throat aching for the girl the whole time, but he couldn’t bring himself to take her. Not when she was so innocent.

He had a memory, of a time when he was a lot younger when he was human. Nine years old. It was something that he rarely thought of, even after so many years it brought icy pain to his still heart. It brought with it a reminder of the great loss he had suffered; he could still feel the heat of the fire against his face from when he had watched his house burn taking his family with it. His mother, his father, his little baby sister.

When he had looked at the little girl, so unbelievably like his sister, and saw what someone had done to her parents he could not bring himself to hurt her further, even a babe feels pain. Even as she gurgled against his chest he knew she was hurting, and he had saved her. Even though he was well aware that a human family would have eventually found her the fleeting moment he had spent gazing into her beautiful eyes had told him that she would grow to be a beautiful woman. How could he trust a human family to protect her from the men she would face as she grew? He simply couldn’t.

He reached The Tower in the shortest time, having not taken the long route and not dawdled, and ran swiftly up the stone steps. He reached the door and rapped on it a total of three times, it swung inwards to reveal a grand foyer. It took up the whole of The Tower’s base and was lit by a roaring fire with a silver stair case in the centre that reached to the higher levels.
Black sofas were spread around the room, curved to fit neatly against the wall, there was a glass table that curved around the stairs, only broken where the stairs started, various items were strewn over the table, books and pens, sheets of paper, DVDs, CDs and a black Raven that watched him with narrowed black eyes.

The door slammed shut “What is that smell?” a delicate voice asked. Regal took a slow breath and turned to face his wife, Emelae was gorgeous, with flowing black hair and amber eyes held in a smooth rounded face. She had skin as pale as the moon and a small slim body; she wore a dark blue dress that out lined her curves and flowed around her feet. She had been brought up in Victorian times and had always loved the dresses, they were the one thing from her past that she never let go of.

“It is a baby. Her parent’s were murdered, I couldn’t leave her” he explained, keeping his voice quiet.

“Why? If the murderer was gone she was perfectly safe.” Emelae snapped, keeping her distance as the scent of blood put fresh venom in her mouth. “Why is there blood on it?”

“It’s her mother’s blood.” Regal whispered, pulling the baby out from under his coat.

“Oh my…” Emelae came forward, her wide amber eyes peering down at the baby. “Isn’t she lovely.” She reached out with a pale hand and stroked the baby’s head.

“Do you see now why she is not safe in these times Emelae?”

“Is she safe here Red?” Emelae used the name for Regal that she had used since the first time they had met and he had told her his full name. She also knew that the name warmed him as it reminded him of the colour his hair would go in the sun before he had been plunged into darkness.

“I’d never hurt her, would you?”

“No. I’ve always wanted a child.” It was true, she had wept for weeks when she had first found out that it was impossible for their kind to have children. All of her anger had disappeared the moment she had seen the baby, she reached out and took her from Regal’s arms.

“I’m going to give her a bath, wash away the horrors. “ She said, her voice light and airy as she walked up the stairs. Thirst was still burning in Regal’s throat, he knew his wife was also hungry but she was able to control it. He walked up the stairs to the next floor which was split into two rooms one of them was the bathroom, he could hear the taps running and Emelae talking quietly to the baby. He carried on up the stairs, passing through the third floor, which was a huge library, then the fourth, another room split into two, a kitchen and Jesse’s bedroom, he passed through the fifth which had a huge television and a few comfortable sofas and finally he reached the top floor.
The top floor was one big bedroom, with two huge wardrobes, one for Regal and one for Emelae. There was a curved white bed to the north of the room under a wide black curtained window that looked out over a large black lake. Not that the bed was really needed, vampires didn’t sleep.

He strode over to his wardrobe and pulled it open, taking out a pair of black tracksuit bottoms and a white cotton shirt. He pulled off his clothes that were smeared with blood and dropped them to the floor; he’d have to incinerate them.

Regal pulled on his fresh clothes and sat down on a large red sofa. He put his head in his hands, he had evidently not thought any of this through, how could a human grow up in a house of vampires? Even with vampires who could control their needs it was dangerous, yet he was sure that it would be more dangerous for her to live away from them.

“Jesse!” he called, a small pale boy with a head of sooty hair raced up the stairs and slid to a stop in front of Regal he looked about eighteen, he’d looked that age for fifty years.

“Regal.” He grinned, a smear of blood in the corner of his mouth, “You’re lucky I just got in.”

“Have you met our new addition?” Stupid question really Jesse would have smelt the baby the minute he’d arrived.

“You mean the human?” Jesse spat, he’d always disliked humans, but he had his reasons, and they were good enough for his hate to be marginally rational.

“Yes, I mean her.” Regal said gently, he knew how hard it would be for Jesse to accept her in fact he was scared that he wouldn’t at all.

“Why have you brought it here Regal?”

“Have you seen her?”

“No, I don’t need to, it’s human. What else is there to see?” Jesse’s voice was sharp. “I want it out Regal.”

“That is not your decision to make.”

“I live here as well.”

“And while you still do you will live under my rules.” Regal growled.

“But there is no way you can raise it in ignorance of our kind.” Jesse protested.

“I don’t plan to.”

“What happens when it realises what we do? When it realises that dearest daddy and mummy drink the blood of her kind?” Regal froze; he had him there, Jesse’s thin lips curled into a smile. “What if one day it sees you feeding? She’ll run screaming, it will be no different from any other human Regal!”

“We’ll raise her right, if we raise her to live by our rules…if we start feeding on animals, if we love her we can do it.” Regal said calmly, realising that what he was saying would be the foundation of the way he would be living for the next couple of decades,

“Feed on animals? I won’t live like that Regal.”

“You will live how I tell you to, I made you.” Regal cried,

“Then I’ll leave.”

“What?” Regal’s face dropped, Jesse could see a spark of sadness in his eyes.

“I won’t live here with that…thing.” Jesse hissed the last word.

“She isn’t going.”

“It is me or her Regal.”

Regal threw his hands into the air and jumped to his feet, “Don’t be stupid” he cried, anger sparking through him. “How can you expect me to choose?”

“It can’t be hard, your own kind or the human.”

“You haven’t looked at her. You haven’t seen what someone has done to her parents. She needs me Jesse.” Regal was suddenly quiet again, he ran his hand though his coppery hair and looked almost vulnerable. “I have to protect her.”

“What is wrong with you?” disbelief coloured Jesse’s tone.

“I don’t know, I just need to look after this child. I know that I have to do this.”

“Then do it without me.” Jesse said in a hard voice. He turned around and went to run down the stairs but Regal had his arm. Holding him back.

“Don’t leave Jesse, after 50 years, you can’t leave us.”

“I can. I won’t live with a human, they are evil creatures, and I can’t do it.” Jesse shook his head as he spoke, “They are our food! Not something we look after.”

Regal let his hand fall to his side, releasing Jesse, “It disappoints me that you think like that. Do me a favour, say goodbye to Emelae before you leave.”

“I will.” He turned and walked quickly down the stairs just like that, Jesse was gone, Regal stood at the top of the staircase, and listened to him speaking with Emelae, he heard Emelae give out a small sob and then the rustle as Jesse packed, it wasn’t long before the door slammed and Jesse had walked out of their lives. Regal could barely believe that it had happened so fast, it was the only time he had ever hated the way that vampires could move so quickly. He moved away from the stairs, feeling as if he was in a trance and sat on the bed. He heard the stairs creaking and seconds later Emelae appeared clutching a bundle to her chest with one arm, she put her finger to her lips.

“She’s asleep.” She said needlessly as she approached, something in her eyes told Regal that mentioning Jesse would be a bad idea. She sat next to Regal, pulling her legs up under her. “She’s perfect Red.”

“She still needs a name.”

Emelae looked down at the baby in her arms, a frown on her flawless face after a few seconds she whispered a name “Autumn.”

“Autumn Dark.” Regal rolled the name around in his mouth. It sounded right, fit nicely.

“Autumn Jesse Dark.” Emelae said, even quieter. “I like that better,”

Regal put his arms around his wife and pulled her against his chest, he gently kissed her forehead, and she turned her head so she could cry into his shoulder. He put a comforting hand on her back and pressed her against him holding her tighter, being careful not to crush Autumn.

“After all these years you’d expect me to have grown used to loss, it hurts me to know that we have just created another loss for us that I fear will come too soon. How are we going to do this Red?”

“Do you love her?” Regal asked.

“Yes”

“Then we can do it. We will have to make a few changes. Emelae you do realise that there is only one way that we can fail at this.”

“What’s that?”

“Lie to her.” Regal whispered into his wife’s hair. She looked down at the babe in her arms and pressed her forehead against Regal’s, they sat in each others arms and watched Autumn sleep.

RainOfWolf · 08-11-2008

I feel bad for you having to type that much again...but thanks again...very good as usual^^

**BlueSano** · 08-14-2008

amazing.....i was totally absorbed in the story.....your way of writting is captivating...i love how you discribe things ....you know the way you take care of the details it really gets you to sink more in the story...i actually lost connection of the world around me while i was readin ...looove story line and your chain of thoughts cuz it's so organized.....keep it up i can't wait to read more^o^

Waste · 08-19-2008

In the next month Regal noticed that his wife smiled a lot more, even though living on animals was not enough to fully satisfy them, they had to get by. For Autumns sake. It was a struggle at first, in the first week Regal found that he had to lock himself away to keep from hurting anyone, venom was a constant taste in his mouth and a permanent reminder of what he could do.

It was coming up to summer and as the days grew longer and brighter Regal had to limit how much time he spent outside, although direct sunlight would not kill him it would cause him to become very hungry very fast and he could not afford that, they took every precaution they could around Autumn.

Emelae hardly ever left the house, they couldn’t risk putting Autumn on show, the police were looking for her. Regal had often spoken to Emelae about moving out of the town but she always refused, saying that she didn’t want to move away from the place where she had been born, of course that was a complete lie, he knew that she was waiting for Jesse to return, not that they ever spoke about that.

After a long day of trying to keep Autumn from crying, she was teething; Emelae sat at the kitchen table spooning a concoction of apricot and banana into Autumns mouth. Regal was out hunting, he was collecting blood for her and would be back any minute,

“Come on eat something, Red will be back soon.” Emelae told Autumn, with a smile on her rounded face. Regal and Emelae had already agreed that Autumn wouldn’t know them as Mummy and Daddy Regal had been adamant that it would be an insult to Autumn’s real parents.

Autumn gave Emelae a look that said ‘are you kidding me?’ and clamped her tiny mouth shut refusing to eat anything else. Emelae set the spoon down and looked into the child’s gorgeous blue eyes, tears appeared in them and Autumn gave a small whimper and held her arms out for Emelae to pick her up. Emelae scooped the delicate girl into her arms and held her close singing sweetly to her as she did every night when it was time for bed.

“Say sweet child say,
Where goes the beautiful day?
Love sweet child love
I’ll take you on a jour-ney
Listen to me Autumn
Sing sweet child sing
Where goes the day my beauty?
Sleep my Autumn. Sleep.”

By the time she had finished the song that she had made up Autumn was asleep in her arms. She kissed her small forehead and couldn’t keep the smile off of her face. She heard the front door slam a few floors below and it was not long before Regal stormed in clutching the day’s newspaper between his long fingers, he slammed it onto the kitchen table waking Autumn who began to cry . His face was a mask of pure hatred

“Red?” Emelae frowned. Bouncing the baby in her strong arms.

“Read it.” Regal growled.

Emelae scanned the front page, reading faster than humanly possible. Her expression went from confusion to shock to realisation.

“Wife and husband found dead in there home.
Last night Julie and Brandon Andrews were found dead in their home to the east of Creeds. Police are not giving out much information but it has been said that the killings show similarities to those of Sandy and Gareth Nickels, who were murdered a few weeks ago, police are still searching for their missing child and the murderer…”

Emelae reached out and touched Regal’s arm, tracing her fingertips over his strong muscles and down to where his fist was clenched, the tendons prominent on the back of his hand. His breathing was coming in short angry gasps. Emelae got to her feet and pulled him into a one armed hug, he was shaking all over.

“What if they had had a child Emelae?”

“I don’t know.” She whispered.

“I can’t let this carry on, that’s two families in one month” He put one hand on Autumn’s head and rubbed gentle circles into her cheek with a thin thumb trying to calm her gentle sobbing, it was as if she knew what he meant. He pulled out of Emelae’s embrace and headed towards the stairs.

“There is a bag of blood on the glass table.” Regal said, not an ounce of emotion in his voice. What he was going to do would push him to his limits, kill and not indulge.

“You don’t have to Red,” Emelae whispered, even though she knew that he did.

Regal turned and walked out of the room without looking back, he descended into the foyer and then out into the dark night. The night sky held no moon so the stars, which gave off just enough light for his highly advanced eyes, lit his way. He took the steps two at a time and when he reached the bottom he scented the air; blood was still fresh on the wind.

He jogged down the narrow streets following the scent of human blood, venom was flowing into his mouth, even though the scent was not strong, he had not tasted human blood for a month, he had been dead for over one hundred years and he had never gone so long.

He finally found the house where the murder had taken place, the door was barred with yellow crime scene tape, he slipped under it and walked through the house, the smell of blood was stronger in the living room, he breathed in the scent, a male was killed in the living room, just like Autumn’s father. He didn’t go looking for the female’s scent; he just spat out another wave of venom and scented the air. It didn’t take him long to find a scent, nearer the same age as the blood spill and from a person who was very much alive, one male. The murderer. No, he took in another deep breath, murderers. Plural.

Regal left the house, following the scent of three men through the darkened streets; the lampposts were both dim and too far apart, but once again his eyes were able to seek out the smallest amount of light and use it to his advantage. It surprised him when the scent did not disappear, and stopped right outside the door of a shabby bungalow, just a ten-minute drive from the house where the couple were murdered, and five minutes from The Tower; it made him sick to think that the people who murdered Autumn’s parents lived so close.

He cautiously approached one of the filthy windows and tried to look inside, but it was covered with black drapes, it was three am and the house would be dark, which really wouldn’t help Regal, sight was essential in what he needed to do, but it looked like he would have to rely purely on scent.

He crept around the front of the bungalow to the front door, keeping low to the ground. The door opened easily with a small crack, the locks were pathetic, revealing a dingy hallway littered with food wrappers. Regal crept inside; staying in a crouched position, ready to pounce. He could not see a thing. The house was pitch black as he had guessed it would be, but not silent. He could hear somebody moving about in the next room, evidently woken up by Regal opening the front door.

“Jeff, oi Jeff, there’s someone in the ‘ouse” a rough Irish voice was hissing urgently.

“Go back ta bed Frank.” Jeff said, stupid man, he was being too loud for his own safety, Regal now knew that Jeff was lying in the far corner of the room that’s entrance was a few feet in front of him.

“Jeff, I’m bein serious man!” the frightened Irish voice belonged to a man a lot younger than he should have been, how could a murderer sound so young and innocent? Regal took in the scents of the house and sure enough there were only three men there, all three of them had been at the crime scene.

The room a few feet in front of Regal was suddenly full of light that slipped out into the hallway, stupid men. “Oi turn that light out boy!” A man who wasn’t Jeff cried.

“There’s someone in the ‘ouse Luke. Shut ya mouth will ya?” Frank hissed.

Regal took a few steps forward so he was standing in the doorway to the small bedroom crammed with three beds and littered with cans of beer. He could smell the blood of the victims strongly in the room, possibly on the men’s shirts that were hidden somewhere.

The man in the corner, whom Regal took to be Jeff, quickly sat up in his filthy bed, his face a picture of pure horror. He had thick brown hair that looked incredibly greasy, he said nothing. But the other man in the bed at the opposite end of the room, Luke, cried out in shock and pulled a gun out from under his pillow. Frank stood in the middle of the room, not moving.

Frank was a young boy of about twenty-four; he had bright ginger hair, green eyes and a bad case of acne. “Who are ya?” he asked in a shaky voice. Regal couldn’t blame him for the fear, it wasn’t every day that you saw a man with a face like his, contorted with hate, he glared at the men.

“I know you killed the Nickels and the Andrews.” He said, his voice a low growl in the back of his throat.

“You got the wrong people man.” Jeff piped up, his voice unwavering.

“No, I haven’t.”

“I think we’ll be the ones who decide that don’t you?” Luke took the safety off of his gun with a fatal click. Regal took a quick step towards Luke, and a gunshot echoed through the house, Regal took a step to the side, dodging the bullet.

“Nawh man, that’s not right.” Frank gasped.

“Now, did you boys kill the Nickels family?” Regal asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“No!” Luke cried.

Regal leapt across the room, dodging another bullet, he slammed Luke against the wall, the gun dropped to the floor. “Tsk Tsk, I don’t like liars Luke.”

Jeff was on his feet now, “Prove it! You have no evidence!”

“Oh but I do, I can smell their blood on you Jeff,” Regal hissed turning his head to look at the beast of a man, in his late thirties, who had stepped in front of Frank.

“Smell it? What are you some kind of animal?” Luke cried. Regal returned his attention to the man he had pinned up against the wall.

“And you, I can smell her all over you, Mrs Nickels I mean. You raped her Luke, then shot her in cold blood.” Regal opened his mouth wide exposing his teeth.

“Vampire.” Luke whispered, the colour left his cheeks; his eyes were suddenly filled with realisation, and fear. Sweet fear. Regal closed his hand around Luke’s neck and snapped it with a flick of his wrist; he dropped the man to the floor in a crumpled heap and turned to face Jeff and Frank.

“I’m going to ask one more time.” He kept his voice low and menacing. “Did you murder the Nickels and Leave their only child in a bath of her mother’s blood?”

Frank nodded silently; his eyes empty pits that just showed that he had given up. Regal flicked his gaze to Jeff who was holding a gun in his left hand. “Regal Ebony Dark.” Jeff hissed, “I know what you are now, I’ll kill you.”

“And on what do you base your assumptions?”

“My father used to tell me stories of you, and your wife, living up in that tower. You’ve been there for over a hundred years, you thought that each generation would simply forget you, but my father never did!”

Regal’s mouth stretched into a thin smile, “Now I have to kill you,” He ran forward and dodged out of the way of the third bullet, he spun around the human with so much speed that he was just a blur. He put a muscled arm around Jeff’s throat and yanked him down; he hit the floor with a bone-breaking crack. The gun flew out of his hand and landed at Frank’s feet, the boy had been standing silently in the corner, unmoving.

Regal dropped to a crouch beside Jeff and placed his strong hands on the mans chest, “I like the way you thought you could ever win this,” Regal laughed cruelly. “But how could you, you are just a man.” He raised his hands and slammed them onto Jeff’s chest causing the ribs to brake, puncturing the lungs and crushing his heart. He got to his feet. “Two down.” He hissed.

He walked towards Frank, so casually that under different circumstances he could have been walking up to his best mate in a park. Frank was holding the gun in a steady, pale hand. He pointed it at Regal.

“That can’t help you boy.”

“I know,” Frank turned the gun around and held it out for Regal to take. “Make it painless,”

Regal weighed the weapon in his pale hands and dropped it to the floor, he couldn’t risk spilling the blood of these men, he took Franks frail neck in one of his hands and tightened his grip.

“Would it help if I said I were sorry?” Frank asked.

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to, I didn’t loose my parents a month ago.”

“You have her don’t ya? The baby.”

“Yes. She is safe with me.”

“What is her name?”

“If you are stalling for time, nobody is coming.”

“Even if someone did come all you would have to do is flick your wrist,” Frank said, locking his eyes with Regal’s.

Regal considered this for a moment, “She is called Autumn, Autumn Jesse Dark.”

“I’m sorry Autumn” Frank whispered as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Regal twisted his wrist, breaking the boys neck. A painless death, much more than he deserved.

Regal left the house, and walked silently back to The Tower, a single thought whirring in his mind, Jeff and Luke knew about vampires. How many more people did? By the time Regal reached his bedroom, where Emelae was sitting on the bed Autumn asleep in her arms, he had made a decision that would change their lives.

“Emelae, we have to leave, we aren’t safe here.”

end of part one.