Andrew's Library

Introduction

 
    Lightning stretched across the dark shy, illuminating a large castle that stood atop a large cliff. Rain pounded heavily against the stone walls, echoing almost as loudly as the claps of thunder that filled the sky after each flash of lightning. In the center of the stone walls stood a large tower, covered in windows overlooking everything that surrounded the castle. To the south, was the ocean that crashed furiously against the rock cliff hundreds of feet below; to the west and east laid acres of forest as far as the eye could see; and to the north, lay some more forest, but at the end of the trees stood a small village.
Lightning cracked through the dark sky again, lighting up the ground for a split second for one traveler. The figure within the forest was tall and was wearing a large black raincoat, covering his entire body. As another crack of lightning forked across the sky, the figure looked up and watched the stream of light stretch itself across the night sky, as if it was reaching for the highest point on the castle. Lighting up the figures face, it was revealed to be man with very dark and cold eyes. His face was pale, but it couldn’t be told if it was normally like that, or from the freezing cold rain pounding against him. He grinned as he saw the outline of the castle ahead of him, showing two large fangs that came out over his lips. “The throne will be mine Alexander, and there’s nothing you can do about it” the man said to himself as he continued down the rain soaked dirt road towards the entrance to the castle.
The man pushed open the large stone doors that blocked the entrance to the castle and stepped inside out of the rain. Pulling back his hood, he shook his head and got whatever water had accumulated in his black hair out. Removing his raincoat, he tossed it onto the hangers to the left of the front door, and then disappeared into the darkness of the castle.

 ~

 The only lights that were on were found in the throne room, deep inside the castle walls. The size of the room looked like it could fit the entire village found to the north, inside, and it seemed like it was doing just that. The room was filled with people, wondering all over the place, talking to one another, or just leaning against the walls, waiting for something to happen. At the head of the room, sitting on a large golden chair, was a powerful looking man. His eyes were dark, like two droplets of dried blood, his short, straight black hair, partially covered his pale, studious face. He looked like he was very intelligent, and he was. He was wearing a black shirt that was lined with gold. Golden symbols ran down the sleeves meaning The Blood of the Covenant. His pants were black as well, and were lined with gold also. In his right hand was a large glass full of a red liquid, his left hand was empty. Standing at his sides were two rather tall figures, cloaked in shadows, his guards. In front of him, stood a young girl with long dark blue hair that reached to her mid-back. Her face was also pale in colour. She was wearing a black dress with dark blue lining. She had a look of seriousness in her face.
“Are you positive my child?” asked the man sitting on the throne. His voice was filled with control and power. His dark eyes were fixed on the girl standing in front of him.
“Yes my Lord” said the girl. Her voice was very soft, enchanting, and quiet, yet was loud enough for half the room to hear what she was saying. The man sitting on the throne grunted and took a sip of his red liquid.
“So your father is on his way to kill me as we speak” said the man, “Eivan, you fool” he added as he put his glass on the arm rest of his chair before standing and walking towards the girl. “Rose, my child, he mustn’t see you here. If he finds you you’ve warned me about his intentions, he’ll kill you as well” said the man. The girl looked up as he placed his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. “I wouldn’t want any harm to come to you” he finished with a small smile. Large fangs also hung out of his mouth. She nodded and stood up in front of him.
“Where should I go my Lord?” she asked.
“Go to my tower. He’ll be coming here for me and won’t bother looking there” said the man. He pointed to a doorway behind the throne. “Go my child, hurry before he arrives” he said as he pushed her through the doorway and closed it behind her.
“Lord Alexander, do you intend to fight Eivan?” asked one of the cloaked guards standing beside the throne. Alexander turned from the hidden door to the man speaking to him and nodded his head.
“If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he’ll get” Alexander answered as he took his seat again and drank the rest of his red liquid. “More blood” he ordered the other cloaked figure. The figure nodded, picked up the empty glass and disappeared into the shadows.

 ~

 Eivan through open the throne room doors and stepped into the room. He looked around the room and noticed that over two hundred people were in the room, including Alexander and one of his guards. “Alexander!” Eivan shouted across the large room. “I’ve come for you” he said as he slowly began to walk towards Alexander. His eyes darted across the faces of everyone he passed. He hadn’t expected this many people to be here, killing their ruler might be harder than it thought.
“Come for me?” Alexander asked as he took the glass of blood from his second cloaked figure after it appeared out of nowhere. He took a drink of it before placing it on the arm rest and standing up. “What’re your intentions Eivan?” Alexander asked.
“I’m tired of the way you’re ruling our people” Eivan answered as he reached the stairs that ascended to the throne, where Alexander stood. “I’ve come to relieve you of your duties” he added, staring into Alexander’s eyes. “Just me and you, right here, right now” Eivan stated as he continued to stare up at Alexander.
Alexander looked over the large room; everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on him, wondering what he would do. Looking back to Eivan he nodded. “Alright” he said, “Whoever wins gets the crown” Alexander said as he removed his cloak and handed it to one of the guards. ‘Make sure Rose stay’s safe’ he whispered into the guard’s ear. The guard nodded and disappeared into the shadows again. Turning to face Eivan again, Alexander drew a large sword from the sheath that hung from his waist. He didn’t give Eivan a countdown or anything, just appeared in front of him and slashed down at him.
Eivan stumbled back from the blade cutting into his shoulder. Grunting he drew his own weapon, a large sword as well, and clashed it against Alexander’s sword. Their swords clashed against each other until Eivan had managed to push Alexander against a wall. Kicking Alexander’s chest, he forced him to drop his weapon, now he had the upper hand. “Looks like you’re out of the crown” Eivan said as he dug his blade into Alexander’s chest.
Coughing up packets of dark red blood, Alexander collapsed onto the floor, the blade still in his chest. He looked up at Eivan; his eyes were growing darker and darker until they had been clouded in darkness; his skin began to lose its colour, getting lighter and lighter as his life dripped out onto the floor. His eyes quickly glanced around the room and settled on a female in the distance. Seeing what he wanted in his eyes, she quickly disappeared out of the room and headed towards the village to the north. Looking back to Eivan, Alexander grunted again. “Don’t get too comfortable. You’ll lose that crown eventually, my death will be avenged” he said as he collapsed onto the blade, dead.
Eivan turned to look at the people in the room, shock filled their faces. “Bow to your new leader!” he ordered. The entire room stayed silent, but the sound of clothing shuffling could be heard as all two hundred of the people in the room bowed to him.

 

500 Years Later

Chapter 2

 
“So how was the boat ride?” Brandon asked as Tyler and Katie stepped into the cottage. He was lying on the couch, one leg pushed up; resting one of his arms on it, the other foot was hanging off the side of the couch, planted on the ground. His one hand was empty, just resting on his left knee, his right hand held a green apple, that was missing one half of it. He was in the middle of chewing a piece of the apple as he spoke to them. He didn’t have his headphones in his ears, for once. They dangled just out of the collar of his shirt; his music was still playing though, at full blast, Tyler could hear the bass pounding out of them. He often wondered how Brandon could stand his music that loud, yet still is able to hear perfectly well after abusing his eardrums like that for so many years.
“It was great. The owner’s daughter showed us where we could and couldn’t go” Katie responded. She let go of Tyler and walked into the kitchen. She was hungry and was sure that everyone else was hungry. Brandon watched her go into the kitchen and then took another bite of his apple.
“They’ve given us boundaries?” Brandon asked while chewing on the bite of apple he had just taken. Tyler was still standing in front of the door; he was watching Katie as she moved around the kitchen, getting everything ready for dinner.
“Yeah, a few of the islands are privately owned and they don’t really like people landing on them” he answered as he looked back to Brandon. Brandon nodded his head and took another bite of the apple in his hand. The bites he took were rather big, so by this point he had finished the apple, and was just holding the core. He stood up and moved to the kitchen and tossed the core into the garbage can that was under the sink.
“So what’s for dinner?” he asked, always thinking with his stomach. Katie shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t up to cooking a full meal tonight, not after that long drive up and that boat ride they had just gone for. She was hungry enough to eat that big of a meal, but didn’t want to have to cook one.
“Burgers?” she suggested. Easiest thing she could think of that they had. Brandon shrugged his shoulders, clearly not caring, as long as it was food. “It’s only 5 o’clock” she said as she turned to look at him, she could hear the heavy bass from his headphones from where she was standing. “I’ll start in an hour” she said.
When the clock above the couch chimed six o’clock, dinner was being made. Tyler was standing just off of the porch cooking the burgers. Their cottage had come with a small barbecue that seemed to be working perfectly so far. Four patties sat on the blackened grill, juices squirming out of them, trying to escape the heat from the fire below them. Brandon sat behind him on one of the wooden chairs that were circling a small fire pit. One of his headphones was in his ear, the other hung out from the collar of his shirt, pounding the heavy bass songs he listened to into his chest. They weren’t saying much, but every now and then Brandon would ask a question about him and Katie, and then go silent for a few more moments.
On the inside of the cottage, Katie and Jasmine were preparing the rest of the food to go with the burgers. Katie was standing in front of the sink with some lettuce and other vegetables making a simple tossed salad. Jasmine was wondering back and forth between the table and the cupboards in the kitchen, and the fridge, putting what needed to be on the table. By the time she finished, there were 4 plates, 4 bowls for the salad, dressing for the salad, forks, ketchup, mustard, cheese whiz, and a knife for the cheese whiz, relish, hamburger buns, cups, and a large jug of Ice Tea that she had finished making a few minutes earlier. When everything was set, and the bowl of salad was placed into the middle, was time to eat.
“Alright, so who was it that wanted cheese on their burger?” Tyler asked. One of the patties had a slice of cheese melted right onto it. He placed the plate beside the bowl of salad and then took his seat beside Katie. Jasmine raised her hand slightly and stabbed her fork into that patty before the plate was on the table. She didn’t like cheese whiz on her burger, she liked it melted on, not just smeared with a knife. Covering her burger with ketchup and a little bit of relish, she closed the buns and began to eat. Everyone else did the same, took some salad, and filled their glasses with Ice Tea. The wind had died down outside to a small breeze that would feel comfortable on your feet in the hot summer nights back home. Tyler hoped to get out for a leisure ride in the boat after this, now that the waves would have calmed down. “So does anyone want to go for a leisurely boat ride after we finish eating?” he asked. If they didn’t want to, he’d happily go with just Katie with him, would give them some privacy. Now that Taylor wasn’t going to be in the boat with them telling him what to do, where to go, and how to get there, he thought it would be an excellent little thing for the four of them to do.
Brandon was taking a bite out of his hamburger when Tyler asked, but that didn’t seem to stop him. “Mwall gwo” he said, the burger hanging out of his mouth. Tyler smiled and shook his head with a small laugh at the response he was given. Brandon and Tyler had been good friends since Public School, and Brandon hadn’t changed a bit, still talked with his mouth full of food. He nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. He then looked to Jasmine. If she didn’t want to come, he wasn’t going to force her, but he wanted to give her the opportunity to do this while the water’s were as calm as the breeze was.
“I guess…” she trailed off, taking a sip of her ice tea like she was royalty drinking out of a royal glass, “you’re not going to get us lost are you?” she asked after placing the glass back down on the table. Tyler laughed slightly at her response.
“No, I won’t get us lost. They’ve got a GPS Tracker on there, so we’ll know exactly where we’ve been, and how to get back to the dock” he answered her as he took a drink of his ice tea as well. About fifteen minutes later, they had all finished eating expect for Brandon, he was on his fifth burger, but noticed they were all finished and ready to go, so he finished it quickly. Once he was done, Katie and Tyler took all the dirty dishes and began to wash them off in the sink. Jasmine put the ketchup, mustard, and anything else that needed to go in the fridge, into the fridge, while Brandon just flopped onto the couch and waited for everything to be put away and cleaned off. By the time the four of them were ready, it was six thirty.
Locking the cottage behind him, Tyler took Katie’s hand and walked beside her down to the docks. Jasmine was slightly ahead of them, talking over her shoulder at them. Brandon was out of sight, probably already down at the dock waiting for them to show him which boat they were using. The leaves on the trees danced lightly in cool breeze that pressed against them from the north. The cottage next to them, which had seem vacant earlier, now had two elderly people sitting out front around the fire pit, watching the flames dance in the wind as well. Tyler raised an arm and waved over to them with a smile. The elderly woman noticed and waved back. Once they reached the beach, Tyler spotted Brandon out on the docks, standing still like he had seen a ghost. He noticed them out of the corner of his eye and turned to face them. “Which boat is ours?” he called over to them, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice over to them.
Tyler cupped his mouth and called back. “The blue one with the number five on it”.
Brandon turned and looked over the boats again, then noticed the large number five plastered on the side of the boat right next to him. He waved his hand as thanks, and then climbed in and waited for them there. Katie laughed slightly. “He’s such a funny character” she said as she held onto Tyler’s arm as they crossed the dock. Even if there weren’t any waves, the dock still rocked back and forth like a see-saw as they walked across it. It felt very unstable underneath her. As soon as the boat was within range, she let go of Tyler and climbed in, thinking she’d be safer in the boat than on the docks if a huge wave came crashing towards them.
Once the four of them were safely in the boat, Tyler untied it from the docks and pulled it out. The breeze was a lot stronger out in the open waters than it had been back on the beach, or within the trees around the cottage. Tyler was sitting near the back of the boat where the steering wheel was located. His left hand was resting on the black leather steering wheel, turning it slightly to steer the boat away from the rock formations that seemed to surface all around them. His right hand was resting on the leather shift stick that sat between his chair, and the hull of the boat. The shift was pressed forwards to rev the engine, causing them to speed up and pulling the shift back, caused the boat to slow down to an eventual stop. Brandon sat behind Tyler on the small couch like seat that stretched the stern of the boat. Both of his headphones were in his ears, so he couldn’t hear the motor that was right underneath his seat. Now that they were out in open water, the wind blew over them like they were standing in front of an industrial sized fan, tossing Tyler’s dark brown hair around like a flame at night. Despite his hair covering his face partially from the wind, Tyler managed to keep his eyes focused on three distinct things, all of which lay in front of him.
The first thing he kept his eyes on was his beautiful girlfriend: Katie. She was sitting at the bow of the boat with Jasmine. The front of the boat had like a U cut out, and cushioned padding was lain down on top of more compartments to store things. He couldn’t hear what the two of them were talking and laughing about, but as long as she was enjoying herself, he was happy. The setting sun shone on her face, making her look even more beautiful than he could ever remember. More beautiful than when he first met her, first kissed her, and even when he first made love to her and they had become one mentally and emotionally. He continued to stare at her for a few more minutes till she noticed him. She turned to look at him and blew him a kiss. He smiled and blew her a kiss back; His eyes were also fixed on the rock formations that were passing by them very quickly. These rocks just seemed to surface out of nowhere in an attempt to grab the boat, rip through its hull and pull them underwater with it, however they all missed the boat. After passing by the boat, the rock formations seemed to just disappear into the water again, waiting for the next boat to come close enough; and the final thing that Tyler’s eyes kept constant watch on, was the large black mansion that stood ahead of them in the distance. It was the same mansion that Taylor had pointed out to them, warned them to stay away from. He wanted to make sure he had it in site at all times, so they wouldn’t accidentally cross over and get in trouble. As they moved towards it, heading in that general direction anyways, Tyler noticed that the mansion didn’t seem to be getting any closer. It didn’t bother him too much, as long as they stayed away from it, but he just found it weird that only two hours ago, Taylor had them speeding around the island.

 
~

 
Brandon had been watching the waves spread out from behind the boat the entire ride and could tell when the boat had come to a stop. The waves rode up the rear of the boat and almost over the back and onto him, but the momentum forced the boat forwards slightly, keeping the oncoming wave underneath itself. He glanced over his shoulder at his friends and then looked back at the waters behind the boat. Tyler had stopped the boat, deployed the anchor, and was now sitting up front beside Katie. By this point, it was quarter to eight o’clock and the sun was setting behind the distant horizon, casting a purple-orange hue into the sky above them. The mixture of those two colours set a rather romantic mood for Tyler and Katie.
Tyler wrapped his arm around Katie and leaned towards her ear to whisper something to her, ‘We should come out here one night, just the two of us’. She wrapped her arm around him in return and rested her forehead against his with a bright smile. Jasmine had been friends with Katie for longer than Brandon and Tyler had been friends, they had been neighbours since their earliest memories. Katie had told Jasmine everything that ever happened to her, so she had a better understanding when it came to their relationship than Brandon had. Without even having to hear what Tyler had said, she could almost guess exactly what he had whispered. She smiled slightly at the two of them and then turned to gaze into the sky as it rippled between different hues of purple and orange.
Brandon on the other hand, hadn’t been paying any attention to the other three; his full attention was placed on his reflection staring back at him. The calm waters made it possible to see the lake bed below them. He stared into the reflection of his eyes, as if looking for the meaning of his existence, hoping to find an answer to how he had managed to live to this day, that surprised him. He had grown up in a horrible environment. His father, Kevin Conley, was an angry man that took everything out on Brandon’s mother. He beat her, yelled at her, accused her for things that she had nothing to do with. He hadn’t done it all the time though; he started when Brandon had turned ten. Three weeks after Brandon’s tenth birthday, Kevin got fired from his job because he had been arguing with his boss, calling him names, and threatening him and his family. He came home that night frustrated beyond anything Brandon or his mother had ever seen him. Brandon could picture that night like it had happened yesterday, play it back like a movie in his mind.
 

~

 
The sound of car screeched outside of a small housing complex. A white pickup truck came to an abrupt stop just at the end of the driveway to house number eleven. The drapes covering the windows of the house slid back and a young boy peered out the window at the vehicle. He instantly recognized the vehicle and the man that climbed out of it. The young boy’s name was Brandon Conley; he lived with his mother Catherine and father Kevin in this housing complex. Brandon turned to his mother who was sitting on the couch behind him. “Mom, why is Dad home early?” he asked innocently. His mother looked to him for a moment before she stood and looked out the window as well. She spotted the large man storming towards the front door and she could tell right away that something bad had happened. Kevin had never looked that frustrated before. They stood at the window watching him till he had gone out of sight. Suddenly the front door flew open, crashing against the wall, sending splinters in all directions as the hinges snapped. Kevin turned to face Catherine and immediately began yelling at her.
“You whore!” he began, pointing his large index finger at her. She stared at him, startled that he had just called her that.
“What? What did I do?” she asked, confused. He grinned and kept his finger extended out towards her.
“You know what you did you whore” he called her again. Frustration, hatred, and a few other emotions were boiling inside of him, and Catherine was the only person he could take it out on. She stared back at him, not knowing what he was talking about. “You and Mr. Edwards have been having an affair haven’t you? That’s why he fired me isn’t it? You put him up to it” he continued. Mr. Edwards was Kevin’s boss. His eyes were bloodshot and he was sweating pretty heavily.
“What? Have you lost your mind?” she asked, yelling back at him now. She couldn’t take this anymore. He was always making up stories and blaming everything on her. She had never even met Mr. Edwards before, and Kevin knew that, yet he still blamed her. “You know just as well as I know, that I’ve never met your boss” she added. Kevin growled and took a few steps towards her. She backed away from him.
“That’s a lie” he said, his voice booming like thunder, “You and him were having sex behind my back. I know you were” he said. He continued to step towards her till he had pinned her against a wall. Catherine stared at him as he placed his arms at either side of her, pinning her against the wall. He was gritting his teeth, seething, he had never been this angry before. He slapped her across the face before putting his hand back at her side, pinning her again.
Catherine gasped for air as her head was jerked to the side from the force of his hand hitting her check. She raised a hand and placed it on her cheek. Her eyes focused on his again. He slapped her again and again until tears began to pour out of her eyes and trickle down her flushed cheeks. She could hardly see Kevin now between the tears that had attached themselves to her eyelashes. She felt his hand on her leg now, rising up under her dress. She slammed her fists into his chest, but he didn’t seem to feel it.
Kevin took hold of both of Catherine’s legs and lifted them up and began to thrust himself into her. He could feel her body closing on him and could see the shock in her face as he moved in and out of her. He paid no attention to her pounding her fists onto his chest in an attempt to get him away from her, and continued to thrust. After an hour of slapping her repeatedly and raping her, Kevin lost all the energy in his body, and just collapsed to the floor.
Catherine stood against the wall, tears running down her cheeks still. She had been crying so much, that the tears soaked through her blouse and had caused her make up to run down her face. She eventually fell to her knees and curled up in the corner of the room. Brandon, petrified of what he had just witnessed, ran over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her best he could. He fell asleep in the corner with his mother and the next morning, they packed their clothing and moved to his aunts, where they lived till they could afford their own house.

 ~

 
The wind picked up for a quick moment, sending a wave crashing into the side of the boat, knocking Brandon out of his thoughts. He grabbed onto the handle next to him so he didn’t lose his balance and fall out of the boat. Once the waves had died down and he could once again see himself in the water, but something was different about his reflection, it was no longer his reflection; it was the reflection of a girl. She had deep grey eyes and midnight blue lipstick. He stared at her for a moment thinking she was just a hallucination, but when she blew him a kiss and winked at him, he thought otherwise. The reflection rippled in the wind and was once again his reflection. What was that about?  He asked himself as he stared at his reflection again. Was she real, or just a figment of my imagination? His question was answered as the girl appeared once again. This time she was floating just out of his reach. She had long black hair, almost pitch black, and it was fanned out in the water behind her. Her face was pale just like Taylor’s and the Owner’s was.
“Brandon Conley?” she asked. Her voice was soft and enchanting. She spoke quietly as to keep the others unaware of her presence. Brandon nodded his head; his eyes were locked with hers. “You’re very handsome” she said as she swam closer to him. Once she was in range, she reached out to him and placed her hands on his cheeks. She watched him shiver as she touched him, her skin felt almost like ice against his. She stared in his eyes almost as if she was looking into his mind, reading over his thoughts and watching his past. “So much pain and suffering” she said quietly, still hiding her presence from the other three passengers.
Brandon continued to stare into her eyes, he couldn’t look away, it was as if she had anchored his eyes on her, and was forcing him to look into hers. He couldn’t move his body either; it was like she had frozen his muscles and his bones. It hurt to try to move. He watched her as she moved her face closer to his and he knew right away what she was going to do. As she placed her lips against his, he felt as if he was being drained of his emotions, like his soul was being sucked out of him, but at the same time, he felt better than he had ever felt before.
“Brandon, are you alright?” Tyler asked, noticing that he was hanging out of the boat; as if reaching for something that was just out of reach. Hearing Tyler’s voice, Brandon snapped back into reality and almost fell out of the boat. The girl had disappeared almost instantly as Tyler spoke, but he could feel her cold lips on his and her cold fingers on his cheeks.
‘Meet me on the beach at midnight’ echoed in Brandon’s head. He looked around for a moment before turning to Tyler.
“Yeah...” he trailed off, “just got a little lost in my thoughts” he said.
Tyler nodded. “Well we’re heading in, it’s late”. Brandon nodded and slid back into his seat so he wouldn’t fall out of the boat.

 ~

 
By the time they reached the docks it was about eight thirty and by this time, the romantic glow in the sky had been replaced with a dark cloudless sky. Stars filled the sky, located light years out of reach of them from where they were standing. The moon hung in the sky like a large stage light, beaming down on the play that was the human race. The water was once again calm, resting quietly against the wooden legs of the docks. The air was quiet around them; the only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of the bushes in the light breeze, and the heavy bass pounding from Brandon’s headphones. No one really seemed to care how loud his music was at least he wasn’t causing any trouble. He was lost in his thoughts again, stuck on that girl. What had she wanted? What had she done to him? He wondered repeatedly, but could never come to a conclusion, hopefully, when he spoke with her at midnight, she’d be able to answer them, if not raise more questions than he already had running around his head.
They hadn’t left any lights on inside the cottage, leaving it pitch black against the night. The only source of light they had was from a group of fireflies that hovered above the front door. Tyler slid the keys into the lock and opened the door. The darkness from within the cottage exploded outwards onto the porch and enveloped them. Tyler was the first to enter the darkness, obviously not intimidated by it. Once inside, he reached out his left hand and flicked the light switch that hung to the left of the front door. The lamp hanging above him flickered to life, breaking through the darkness, bringing back the lost souls that withered within it. Tyler took a seat on the couch in the living room and exhaled roughly. He was exhausted.
Katie was following right behind him. She covered her eyes as the light flickered to life above her. The initial brightness felt like it would burn the back of your skull if you looked into it. She walked slowly across the room and stopped in front of the master bedroom. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight you guys” she said in a sleepy voice.
“I’ll be right behind you. Just need to use the washroom” Tyler said as he looked over his shoulder at her. Jasmine followed behind Katie.
“I’m hitting the hay as well. Goodnight” Jasmine said as she climbed over the furniture in the living room to get to her bedroom door. Brandon was the last one to enter from the darkness outside. He closed the front door behind him to keep the bugs out.
“Goodnight you two” he said, not indicating whether or not he was going to bed or not. Katie smiled at him before she disappeared into hers and Tyler’s bedroom. Tyler disappeared into the washroom before he went into his bedroom with Katie. Closing the bedroom door behind him, Tyler walked across the room and wrapped his arms around Katie, who by this time had stripped to her bra and underwear. She giggled as she felt his hands slide across her stomach. He kissed her neck, but knew she wouldn’t do what he wanted to do, at least not with Brandon in the living room, and Jasmine next door separated by a single wall that he could probably easily punch through.
“Not tonight” she said, exactly as he thought.
“I know I just wanted a taste” he said playfully, kissing her neck again. Then he let go of and striped off his own clothes to his boxers before he would climb into bed with her, curling up together, and eventually falling asleep.

Chapter 3

 
As the night progressed on, Brandon’s anticipation grew stronger and stronger. He was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching his watch. He knew it wasn’t the best thing to be doing, watching the time while waiting for it to reach a certain time, always felt like you were watching a turtle try and finish a race. When his clock ticked quarter to twelve, he decided he’d head down to the beach and wait for her to arrive there. The lamp next to the couch was the only thing illuminating the cottage, keeping it safe from darkness. Standing up from the couch, Brandon made his way over, slowly as to not wake the others. One of the cupboards in the kitchen had a few flashlights, the only one in there that hadn’t come with the cottage, was the large red one that Tyler had brought with them. Brandon reached into the cupboard and grabbed one of the black flashlights that had come with the cottage, he didn’t want to use Tyler’s without asking him, and he knew Tyler was probably sound asleep by now.
Leaving the lamp next to the couch flickering, Brandon headed outside into the night. Flicking on his flashlight, a beam of white light spread out in front of him, banishing the darkness around him. There was a slight breeze blowing through the air, rustling the leaves on the trees and the grass at his feet. Waving the flashlight in front of him, taking in every detail of his surroundings as he could making sure no one was watching or following him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that whoever or whatever that girl was, there was probably more like her. The breeze had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end and gave him the feeling that someone was watching him. Spinning around he pointed the flashlight back at the cottage in the distance, the lamp beside the couch illuminated the small window in front of the couch. He couldn’t see anyone anywhere and knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Once out of the trees, Brandon made his way across the beach, the sand crunching and giving way under his weight.
The moon hung high in the air like a spotlight on Brandon, illuminating him from the darkness. He felt safe now that he could see all around him. Flicking off the flashlight he looked around, hoping to find the girl already here. “Thank you for coming” said a cold, enchanting voice, and right away Brandon knew it was her.
“I’ve got some questions” he said as he turned around and looked into her eyes, and immediately he felt like she had anchored them there. His body began to clam up and sweat began to drift down his forehead, his body became almost impossible to move. He watched as she walked towards him, slowly, gracefully, without a care in the world, a smile was on her face, it was as if she knew that he was trying to speak, but some unseen force was halting him. She was amused by the look on his face.
“I’ve got the answers” she said with a small giggle. She knew he couldn’t ask them now, she had him in her trance, in her spell, and there was no way for him to get loose unless she broke it. She ran her index and middle finger up his arm and then rested her hand against his cheek. She smiled as Brandon shivered, the same cold feeling rushed through his body as her skin touched his. She pressed her body against his and smiled as he stiffened further. The cold jumped off of her body and leeched onto his, freezing all his nerves. She tilted her head and pressed her lips against his, but kept her eyes opened, stealing his gaze.
Brandon gasped as her lips touched his, the cold spread faster through his body, freezing every ounce of his being. After a few minutes he felt like if she pushed him, he’d fall and shatter on the ground. He could feel himself getting weaker and weaker by the minute. What the hell is she doing to me? He asked himself as she kept her lips against his. His arms and legs began to sting as the feeling of frostbite nipped at them. His eyes felt like they were freezing in their sockets, like he was just launched into outer space without oxygen or a space suit. She was stealing his identity, his life, his soul. His vision slowly went blurry as his body began to lose conscience, and just when he thought all was lost; a bright shooting pain shot up through his body, filling him with energy. His eyes widened and he quickly closed them afterwards, breaking her spell on him. As soon as his eyes were closed he felt his body warming up, he could move his limbs again. Quickly rising his hands, he pushed her off of him and then stumbled back as his body was still slightly numb.
Her eyes widened as she stumbled back as well in complete shock. She couldn’t believe that he had managed to get out of her spell. “What are you?” Brandon asked as he regained his stance in the soft sand. He was trembling franticly, his body still felt like they were completely frozen; it hurt to move a muscle. She wouldn’t say anything for a long moment, she just stared into his eyes, like she was trying to capture him again, but it wasn’t working anymore.
“You...” she trailed off, still surprised, “You broke my spell” she finally got out. Her voice was quieter than normal, it sounded like she was scared of him. “No one’s ever been able to break my spell” she added. Her eyes darted franticly around the empty beach, looking for someone who she knew had the power to break her spells, but no one was there.
“Can you just answer my question? I’m not going to hurt you” he stated. He found it hard not to look into her dark eyes, even if she wasn’t anchoring them there with this spell she kept talking about. Her eyes locked onto his again and she suddenly looked like she knew the answers to her questions. She froze up, didn’t move a muscle, as if he had reflected her spell back at her, and now he was in control. “Hello?” he asked, waving his hand in front of her. She shook her head no, sending her pitch black hair waving around her before she disappeared in the blink of an eye. Brandon blinked a few times after she just seemed to vanish into thin air. There seemed to be an outline of her floating where she had been standing, it was like she had moved so fast, the particles that were around her didn’t have time to react and just sat there, outlining her still.
‘I’m sorry’ echoed into Brandon’s head, bouncing off the walls of his mind.
“Wait!” he called out, turning around hoping to see her running off into the trees in the distance, but she wasn’t there. He let out a sigh and decided to head back to the cottage. Flicking the flashlight on, he disappeared into the darkness under the trees.
 

~

 
“Oh My God!” cried a voice as the front door to the Campground Office opened. A tall female walked in. Long pitch black hair waved behind her as she glided through the room. Her skin was as pale as the moonlight. It was the girl that had just met with Brandon on the beach. Across the room was a couch, a girl who looked almost identical sat on the couch; the only difference between the two girls was their hair colour. The one on the couch had long red hair, Taylor.
“What's wrong?” Taylor asked as she heard, and saw, her twin sister storm into the room. Taylor had been reading a book at the time, so when she didn’t receive a response from the other girl, she slipped her bookmark between the two pages she had been on, and followed after her sister. It was obvious something had happened to her. The two of them shared a dark room at the end of a hallway. Two beds occupied the far wall of the bedroom, a bookshelf stood at the foot of one of the beds, crammed full of all different kinds of books; and shelves and candles hung from the walls, giving light to the windowless room. “Rose, what happened?” Taylor asked again, hoping to get an answer this time. Rose collapsed onto the bed without the bookshelf at the foot of it, and buried her face into the pillow. Taylor sighed and sat down next to Rose and began to flick Rose’s shoulder repeatedly until she had annoyed her enough. Rose rolled onto her back and swatted at Taylor’s hand.
“One of those boys from cottage number five” Rose began. Taylor listened, waiting to hear what had happened. “He managed to break my spell on him at the last second” she added. She was staring at the ceiling.
“What boy? There are two boys staying at that cottage” Taylor asked.
“The loner one” Rose answered. “His soul tasted so good. It was full of pain, suffering, and hatred. Perfect nourishment” she continued, still staring at the ceiling. “I almost got it all, but at the last second, something clicked inside of him, and he broke away from me” she finished.
“Are you sure it was him?” Taylor asked.
“I saw it in his eyes. Deep down, he’s like us” Rose answered.
“Like us? Like us how?” Taylor asked.
“I don’t know, but deep down inside of him, there’s something he’s unaware of, and it felt so familiar to me, but I can’t place my finger on what it was” Rose answered. “What if he’s the one Dad talked about?” Rose asked.
“You think he’s the one in the prophecy?” Taylor asked in return. Rose nodded.
Centuries ago, their father, Eivan, had killed the ruler of their kind, and his last dying words were: “One day you will lose the crown. My death will be avenged”. Three years afterwards, Eivan took his daughters to this remote location where they could live away from civilization. Taylor and Rose could tell that he was afraid of that day to arrive.
“You should go see them in the morning. See if he’s immune to your powers” Rose suggested. Taylor couldn’t believe her sister believed that this random boy that just happened to be renting one of their cottages was the descendant of Alexander, their first ruler before their dad killed him and took his crown.
“You’re coming too” Taylor said as she stood up and headed towards the door to leave the room.
“What! You can’t be serious” Rose shouted. She jumped out of bed and ran over to Taylor, grabbing her arm and forcing her to look at her. “If he sees me again, he won’t leave me alone” Rose stated.
“Well I’ll need you to point out what it is you saw in him” Taylor lied. She just wanted to bring her sister along it would be good for her. “At lunch, when they’re all awake, we’ll go down and meet them” she said and then left the room. Rose let out a sigh as her sister disappeared out into the hallway. Had Brandon not broken her spell earlier that night, she probably would be more optimistic about going to meet them in the morning, but she knew Taylor always got what she wanted one way or another, so knew she’d end up going even if she fought back with all her might. She didn’t want to show Taylor how she really felt.

 
~

 
By five-thirty, Sunday morning, the sun had lifted itself over the edge of the world, the horizon. It’s grasping on the world slowly getting stronger with each passing moment, pulling itself higher and higher until it replaced the moon as the spotlight for the world.
Brandon had fallen asleep on the couch a few minutes after he had returned to from the beach. His body had collapsed on him, gone into complete shock from the turn of events that had happened to him earlier. The lamp next to his head was still on, but didn’t seem to bother him too much neither did the sound of Katie in the kitchen. She was standing in front of the fridge holding the door open, staring into it. A silky white dress hung from her shoulders, ending just below her butt. Underneath she was wearing her black bra and underwear that she had worn to bed. Her dress was partially see through, so she liked to have clothing on underneath, even if it was just her underwear. She dug one hand through the fridge, looking for the carton of milk. In the master bedroom, Tyler lay on the bed. He was awake, but was just lying there, staring at the ceiling. “I swear I’m blind. Where’s the milk?” Katie asked him. Tyler rolled over on the bed and looked out into the kitchen at her.
“Did we even pack milk?” he asked. He stood from the bed and stood behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and kissed the back of her neck. She giggled and took the hand from the fridge and placed it on the back of his head, tilting her head to the side and placed her lips against his. While holding her lips against his, Tyler reached into the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk. He pulled back with a smile. “Here you go” he said.
Katie giggled again, “Thank you” she said with a smile. She watched Tyler move over to the table and take a seat, she moved to the counter behind her where an empty bowl, a box of Frosted Flakes, and a spoon sat, waiting. She poured the cereal and the milk into the bowl before joining Tyler at the table.
Brandon rolled over on the couch, still asleep.
Tyler watched Katie as she ate her cereal. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her brown hair, even if it hadn’t been washed yet, was still as beautiful as ever. Katie looked up at him from her bowl and smiled. “You’re so beautiful” Tyler said with a smile back. He ran a finger up her bare arm. She giggled slightly, but continued to eat her cereal.
“You tell me that too much” she said.

 ~

 
Once the sun had reached its highest point in the sky, eleven o’clock, Taylor and Rose were finishing getting ready to meet with all four of the renters of cottage number five, but they were really only interested in meeting Brandon. Taylor was already ready, standing outside of the Office waiting for her sister. Her long red hair was partially wet still; she had just gotten out of the shower not too long ago. It was also very straight, not a single knot tangled it. She was wearing a black netting top, which could be seen through, so she wore a red blouse underneath that ended just above her belly button, revealing a Dragon Tattoo that wrapped around her mid-section. Her belly button was pierced and happened to be in the place of the Dragon’s eye. She was wearing a pair of black shorts that cut off just below her knees. Taylor had gotten up two hours after Rose, but still managed to eat, shower, dress, and get ready before Rose had picked out her clothing yet. Rose was too picky with her appearance and always took too long to decide on what she was going to wear. “Hurry up. They’ll have already eaten lunch by the time you’ve picked out a shirt to wear” Taylor yelled into the house.
“I’ve got my shirt”
“Fine, your pants”
“I’ve got my pants”
“Then what’s taking you so long?” Taylor asked.
“You used my comb”
“Use mine then”
“Ewwww” Rose cried out. She really was picky when it came to her appearance.
Half an hour later, at eleven-thirty, Rose had finally put aside the disgustingness of using Taylor’s comb, and combed her hair. She was wearing a dark blue tank-top that showed off her long slender arms. She also had a tattoo, hers was on her shoulder. It was a dark blue rose, it was the same colour as the clothing she was wearing, the lipstick she had on, and the colour of her hair when it wasn’t wet or looked at, at midnight. She was wearing almost the exactly the same pair of black shorts that Taylor was wearing, except hers were dark blue, like everything else. It was her favourite colour, simply put. “About time” Taylor said as she stepped out of the way so Rose could step out of the front door.
“Shut up” Rose snapped and walked passed her. “You’re the one who wanted me to come with you” she stated as she headed towards cottage number five. Taylor followed behind her with a grin on her face.

Chapter 4

 
“Can you just answer my question? I’m not going to hurt you” Brandon stated as he stared at the girl standing in front of him, Rose. She stared back at him, fear had entered her eyes now, replacing whatever it was that forced him to look into her eyes. For a few moments they stared at one another not speaking, not moving, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was the only sound that filled the night air. Even the crickets seemed to sense the tension in the air around Brandon and Rose and disappeared for a calmer place to play their music.
Rose looked out to the ocean and watched the reflection of the moon float on the surface of the water. “I’m...I’m...” she trailed off having a hard time finding the words she wanted to use to answer his question.
“I just want to know what you are” Brandon asked again, making sure she still knew the question he wanted answered. She looked to him again and let out a soft sigh.
“I’m a Vampire” she answered, her dark eyes softening a bit, like she was ashamed of what she was. Brandon’s eyes widened as he heard her answer.
“A... A Vampire?” he asked. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He didn’t think Vampires existed, only in Comics and in Movies. “But Vampires don’t exist” he added, still shocked.
Rose nodded her head in return. “Well...” she trailed off, opening her mouth and showing him two large fangs that sprung out from her gums. “We do exist” she added as she closed her mouth and looked out to the ocean again.
“Then, how come your spell stopped working on me?” he asked. The pale skin, the addiction to dark colors, the fangs, it all made sense now, but she still found it hard to believe that she was what she said she was.
“Because--” she began, but was cut off by a large racket echoing around Brandon. Opening his eyes Brandon sat up on the couch and looked around, confused, dazed, wondering where he was, but he eventually remembered he was camping out with three of his friends. He cursed under his breath. What if whatever she was about to tell him, was actually true, and was the real reason behind whatever she was doing to him last night not working. He looked to the kitchen and spotted Katie and Jasmine opening and closing the fridge and cupboards. Katie noticed him out of the corner of her eye and smiled.
“Good morning sleepy head” she said with a small laugh. “Sleep well?” she asked.
Brandon nodded his head. “Yeah I did. What are you two doing?” he asked as he rubbed his eyes, getting the sleep out of them.
“Washing last night’s dishes so we can use them for lunch today” Katie said as she took some plates out of the sink and put them into the cupboard to her left. Brandon nodded again and looked out the front window and spotted Taylor and Rose headed straight for them.
Shit he thought to himself. What does she want this time? He asked himself as he stood up and looked out the window. “We’ve got guests” he said as he watched the two of them head towards their cottage. Katie walked out of the kitchen and looked out the window next to Brandon and spotted the two girls walking towards their cottage.
“What do you think they want?” Katie asked as she stepped away from the window and returned to the kitchen to continue washing the dishes.
“I have no idea” Brandon answered with a shrug of his shoulders. We’ll find out in a minute anyways. He thought as he stepped away from the window and opened the front door for their two guests.

 
~

 “Good morning” Taylor called to Brandon as she spotted him step out of the front door of the cottage. She waved a hand to greet him, and smiled as he returned the wave. “Would you guys be interested in joining us for brunch?” Taylor asked as she now stood at the bottom of the stairs to the porch. Katie must have heard her ask through the screen windows and stepped out onto the porch.
“Sure” she answered. Brandon looked to her and let out a sigh. As much as he wanted answers from Rose, he didn’t want to be hearing them with the others there. He was pretty sure that Rose didn’t want to have to deal with the other three teenagers along with him. The two of them were staring at each other now, eyes locked on one another. She had a small smile on her face and waved shyly. He didn’t know why she was acting so shy around him, she hadn’t been like that the night before, or when she encountered him on the boat earlier the other day, why now? “Tyler’s just in the shower, come in” Katie invited them in and stepped out of the way of the front door so they could enter. Taylor smiled and entered the cottage, Rose following behind her.
Jasmine looked over and spotted the two girls entering the cottage and got a questioned look on her face. “Who’re they?” she asked. Katie followed behind Taylor and Rose, but Brandon stayed on the porch for a few moments.
“This is Taylor, the Owner’s daughter” Katie introduced as she pointed out Taylor, the one wearing black and red, with long red hair. Jasmine held out her hand and shook Taylor’s gently. “And I’m not sure who this is”.
“This is my sister, Rose” Taylor introduced. Jasmine and Katie shook her hand and said hello. “I hope you don’t mind us showing up this early” Taylor said as she leaned against the back of one of the chairs in the living room.
“Not at all, we were just cleaning up the dishes from yesterday” Katie responded. “We hadn’t started to make anything yet” she added with a smile. She was leaning against one of the wooden kitchen table chairs.
“That’s good” Taylor said as she looked around the room, then outside at Brandon still standing on the porch, staring out towards the water. “Something wrong with him?” she asked, looking back to Katie.
Katie glanced outside at Brandon and shrugged her shoulders. “Not that I know of, no” she responded. “Though he’s normally a quiet kid, he rarely talks unless he has to or if he needs something” she added before looking back to their two guests. Taylor nodded her head. She understood. “So why are you guys inviting us for brunch?” Katie asked, “There’s got to be some reason” she added.
Taylor nodded her head. “Our father thought that because you guys were our age that we should hang out a bit. I don’t really know why he thinks we need to, but we’ve got nothing better to do” she answered. It was far from the truth, and both she and Rose knew that wasn’t the reason at all. Rose stayed quiet though, still standing next to Taylor, leaning back against one of the chairs in the living room.
Tyler came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped in his tracks and noticed Taylor and Rose in the living room with Katie and Jasmine. He quickly disappeared into the bedroom before they could see him. Tossing on some clean clothes he stepped out of the bedroom and walked over to the four girls. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Taylor and her sister Rose invited us to have brunch with them” Katie answered. “We were just waiting for you to get out of the shower” she added. Tyler nodded his head with a smile.
“Sweet” he said as he stood next to Katie. “Shall we get going then?” he asked. He was starving and was anxious to get some food into his stomach. Taylor nodded her head before pushing off of the living room chair.
“You’re all ready?” she asked. She didn’t want to pull them all away from their cottage till they were all ready to leave. Katie, Tyler, and Jasmine nodded their heads. She smiled and led them outside and off towards the Office building. Brandon followed behind them, staying away from their group. Taylor glanced over her shoulder and spotted him in the back, and then nudged her sister who sighed and fell back and walked next to Brandon.
“Listen” she said quietly, making sure the others didn’t hear her speaking to him. “I’m sorry for what I did last night” she apologized. Brandon’s eyes widened as she apologized to him. “I wasn’t aware of who you are” she added. Brandon’s eyes filled with confusion.
“What do you mean ‘Who I am’?” he asked, turning his head slightly to look at her. She looked back up at him and continued to walk along beside him.
“I’ll let you know later. My sister wants to find out if I’m right or not” she stated as she looked ahead of her again at the group in front of them. Brandon looked even more confused now than he did before.
“How the hell’s she going to find out that?” he asked. He tried to keep himself quiet because he also didn’t want the others to find out what was going on between him and the two sisters. Rose shrugged her shoulders.
“She’ll find out, one way or another” Rose answered as she continued to walk. The Office building could be seen between the trees in the distance. “Just don’t fight back against her. I don’t want her to hurt you” she added as she followed the group around the corner and up to the front door of the building. Brandon nodded.
“Does her method hurt?” he asked. Now he was curious to what was going to happen to him once he stepped into the building. Rose shook her head.
“No, but if you don’t let her get what she wants, she might resort to violence so she can perform it” Rose answered as she stepped through the doorframe into the building. She held the door open for Brandon, who followed quickly behind her.
“Alright” he said as he wiped his shoes off on the mat just inside the room and followed behind the group towards the kitchen.
“Make yourselves at home. Rose, can you start the food?” she asked. Rose looked from Brandon to Taylor and nodded before looking back to Brandon and then hurried off into the kitchen to begin preparing the food. Brandon walked towards his friends before he got an idea that would allow Taylor get the answer she wanted easier.
“You need any help?” he called to Rose before she disappeared into the kitchen at the end of the hallway. Rose stopped and turned around to look at him with a confused look on her face, but quickly discovered what it was he was planning. It was easy for her when she could see his thoughts. Nodding her head, she disappeared into the kitchen, and Brandon followed behind her. Tyler watched and laughed a bit.
“I think Brandon’s got his first crush” he said as he turned to Katie and Jasmine. They had taken a seat on the large brown leather couch that sat against one of the walls in the living room. Tyler took a seat in one of the brown leather chairs that stood on the opposite wall.
“It’ll be good for him. He’s always spending his days alone” Jasmine said with a smile and a small laugh as well. Katie giggled a little as well.
“Whatever it that you and your sister are, I don’t care” Brandon said as he moved around the kitchen, helping Rose out with making brunch, “or whatever you did to me last night” he added as he poured some milk into a container before handing it to her. She listened to him as she danced around the kitchen as well, turning knobs, flipping pancakes, pouring milk and water into mixtures, among other things. The words he wanted to say next floated around his head for a few minutes as he focused on what she was having him do, but he never got to say them. Rose knew what he wanted to say and answered without him even speaking the words.
“I feel the same way” she said as she flipped the pancakes again before placing them onto a plate and moving them aside before continuing to cook the rest of the food. “When I saw you yesterday for the first time, I fell in love with you too” she continued, “but if what I believe about you is true, then...” she trailed off as she finished cooking the remainder of the food that was to be served first. “We’re meant to be together” she quickly finished before wheeling the cart of food out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into the dining room. Brandon stood in the kitchen after hearing what she had just said, shocked, confused, speechless. Rose entered the kitchen again and grabbed Brandon’s arm. “Come on, you’re not going to get any food if you stay in here” she said as she dragged him out to the dining room.
The dining room table was dark brown wood and the chairs matched it. Taylor was sitting at the head of the table, Rose sat to her right, Brandon had been forced to sit next to her; Tyler sat to Taylor’s left, Katie next to him, and Jasmine at the foot of the table. In the center of the table were pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice, and apple juice, and milk, different kinds of meat, butter, tomatoes, lettuce for sandwiches; salt, pepper, home fries, syrup, beagles, raisin bread, coffee, and tea. Rose had managed to cook quite a lot in such a short amount of time. “So how long have you guys been working up here with your father?” Tyler asked as he began to fill his plate with whatever he thought looked good, which was all of it actually. His plate was overflowing with food. Taylor filled her plate with a small selection of the food in front of her before answering.
“Few years now” she answered as she took a drink of Orange Juice. “We stay up here until the first sign of snow, then we close up and head south” she added with a smile on her face. Tyler nodded as he stuffed bacon, eggs, and pancakes rolled in toast and covered with syrup into his mouth. Katie shook her head with a laugh as she watched him pig out. Taylor smiled and laughed a bit in response.
“Where’s your father?” Tyler asked as he swallowed his large mouthful of food. He waited for her to answer before he would shove his mouth full of more food.
“He left to go into town to pick up some supplies” Taylor answered as she took another drink of her Orange Juice. “Not sure when he’ll be back” she added as she took a bite of her bacon. The way she was eating made her look like she wasn’t hungry, like she was just using this brunch get together as a means to get one of them out of the room without any suspicion, but luckily for her, none of them suspected it.
“He seemed like a nice guy” Katie said as Tyler was stuffing his face again. She had eaten only a little as well, she wasn’t too hungry; she was just enjoying being here, and not having to cook. Taylor didn’t respond to Katie’s statement. A few minutes later, they had all finished their meals, leaving all the plates on the table relatively empty, save for a few crumbs here and there.
“Well hopefully you enjoyed it” Taylor said as she stood up and brushed herself off.
“It was wonderful. Thank you” Tyler said with a smile as he too stood up. “I guess we should get out of your hair now. I’m sure you’ve got other things to attend to” he said as he moved towards the door. Katie and Jasmine followed behind him.
“I’m going to stay here you guys. Help them clean up and hang out with Rose” Brandon said. He was trying to play off that he was attracted to Rose, which he was, but Tyler, Katie, or Jasmine didn’t know that yet. They had only assumed. Tyler turned to face Brandon and nodded his head with a smile.
“Sounds good, just don’t overstay your welcome” he said with a laugh and then led the two girls back to their cottage, leaving Brandon alone in the house with Rose and Taylor.
“Wow” Taylor said as she looked to Brandon, “You must really be interested in my sister to ditch your friends like that” she said. She knew exactly why he had done it though; she was just playing around with him now.
“Well I figured I’d give you the perfect opportunity to find out if your sister is correct about me, whatever it is she’s trying to prove” Brandon said as he picked up his plate and began to take his friends plates to the kitchen.
“We’ll get to that after we clean up. My father doesn’t like us making a mess and then leaving it for him to clean up” Taylor said with a smile on her face, glad Brandon was giving into this as easily as he was. Brandon nodded his head.

 ~

 After all the dishes had been brought into the kitchen and cleaned up, and everything that needed to be put away, was put away, Taylor took Brandon into their bedroom. The room was pretty dark save for the candles mantled to the wall. Brandon took a seat on Taylor’s bed and waited patiently for her to begin whatever it was she was going to do to him. “Rose, I need you to stay out here and watch for dad” Taylor ordered her sister. “If he finds out what Brandon is, he’ll no doubt try and kill him” she added. Seriousness now filled her voice. Rose nodded her head.
“Alright, no funny business with him” she said as she turned and headed to the living room where she would be able to watch for their father. Taylor grinned.
She’s already falling in love with him, how cute she thought as she turned and headed back into the bedroom and Brandon. Sitting in front of him, Taylor held out her hands. “Give me your hands” she ordered. Her eyes were fixed on his, waiting. Brandon looked into her eyes and nodded slightly before placing his hands in hers. The instant his hands touched hers his body filled up with energy. He was kind of nervous, afraid of what her powers would do to him in the process of what she was trying to do. As the moments passed, his body began to get hotter and hotter until it felt like he was sitting in a sauna. Taylor’s powers were almost the exact opposite of Roses, instead of freezing you from the inside out, she burned you, melted you from the inside out. Sweat began to drip down his cheeks, his skin turning a light red colour as the skin continued to boil from underneath.

 ~

 

A dark grey convertible pulled into the driveway and a tall man stepped out, Eivan. Spotting him before he had gotten out of his car, Rose ran to the bedroom to warn his sister. “He’s here” she said as she attempted to catch her breath. Taylor let go of Brandon and turned to her sister.
“Well you were right. It is him”
“It’s who?” asked a dark voice from the darkness behind Rose. Rose’s eyes widened as this voice echoed into her mind, she saw Taylor and Brandon’s face seem to lose their colour as well. Turning around, Rose stared directly into her father’s eyes. “Well? Who is he?” he asked again, looking down at his daughter before looking up to Brandon, who was still sitting on the bed. Brandon’s eyes met with Eivan’s and they stared at one another for a long time before Eivan’s eyes narrowed and he grinned. “So you’ve finally shown yourself, huh?” Eivan said as he pushed Rose aside and walked over to Brandon. “I’ve been waiting for you” he added. His dark eyes dug deeper into Brandon’s soul, looking for the answers to some of his questions.
Just then a ball of fire crashed into Eivan’s side and sent him crashing into the wall at the opposite side of the room. A few books fell off the bookshelf that belonged to Taylor, and one of the candles fell off its perch on the wall and broke in half as it landed on the floor. Eivan winced slightly as he had not expected his own daughter to attack him. “Rose, get him out of here” Taylor ordered as she tossed another ball of fire at her father. The man no longer seemed phased by the attempt to hurt him. Swinging his arm at the ball of fire, he cut through it. “Now!” she yelled at her sister, who by this time had grabbed Brandon’s hand and disappeared outside.
“You mean to protect him?” Eivan asked as he stood up and brushed himself off.
“Alexander was a much better Lord than you could ever be”
“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for”
“Well that’s the only one you’re getting from me”
“Too bad” Eivan said.

Chapter 5

 

Brandon ran alongside Rose; fear had replaced the burning in his body that Taylor had put there just a few moments ago. They ran across the grass and the sandy beach towards the dock, she was planning on taking him out onto the water. “Cut the ropes off the boats” Rose ordered as she handed him a knife that she pulled out of her pocket. Brandon took the knife and nodded. Each of the boats was tied to the dock with a single piece of rope which kept it from floating away with the waves. Slicing through the piece of rope, Brandon then kicked the boat gently and caused it to float away from the dock. “My father can’t swim, so this’ll distract him for a few seconds” Rose added as she cut through the ropes on her side of the dock with her sharp nails that had seemed to grow out of nowhere. A wicked breeze had filled the darkening sky and was sending large waves into the dock, rocking it back and forth, and sending the now de-attached boats crashing into one another out in the open waters. The only boat that wasn’t cut was the large silver boat that waited at the end of the dock. Brandon helped Rose into the boat before climbing in and cutting the rope as well. Rose took the driver’s seat and quickly sped off into open waters, leaving the boats floating behind them.
“What the hell was that all about?” Brandon asked, fear clearly visible in his face and his voice. Rose didn’t turn to look at him, she kept her eyes on the waters ahead of them, and making sure they didn’t hit any of the surfaced rock formations and disable them in the middle of the lake.
“I guess it’s about time you found out” she said as she dodged around a rock formation. Brandon turned and looked at the quickly disappearing beach behind them, looking for Eivan, but listened at the same time. “500 years ago there was a very powerful man named Alexander. He was our Lord, the Vampire Lord” she began. Brandon’s eyes widened. So what she had told him in his dream was true, they were Vampires. “Eivan, my father, that maniac that is currently fighting my sister, hated Alexander with all of his heart. For years he had been planning to kill Alexander and take the throne for himself” she continued, dodging around another rock formation. “Then one day he finally decided to go through with it. I managed to escape from my father’s house and get to Alexander’s castle before my father did, and warn the Lord of my father’s intentions. At exactly midnight that night, my father crashed the Royal Ball that was being celebrated, and killed Alexander right in front of all his guests” she said.
“And what does this have to do with me?” he asked, still watching the beach as it disappeared behind them.
“I’m getting to that” she answered, “Before Alexander died, he cursed my father with a single line. ‘Don’t get too comfortable. You’ll lose that crown eventually, my death will be avenged’” Rose said.

 ~

 A single bead of sweat dripped down the side of Eivan’s face as he stepped out of the now burning office building. Raising an arm he wiped it off. Blood dripped off a long silver blade that was held in his other hand. Holding up the blade he licked the blood off of it and then sighed. “I didn’t want to have to kill you” he said. On the ground in front of him lay Taylor, curled up in a ball. She was shaking and covered in her own blood. Her skin had lost its colour and was now almost pure white. Her eyes slowly turned pitch black as a cloud began to fill them up. “You were always my favourite daughter” he said as he now stood directly over her. He raised his blade, wrapped both of his hands around the handle and then dug it into her chest. A deafening scream escaped Taylor’s lips as the blade tore through her skin and pinned her to the ground beneath her. Within a few seconds her heart stopped beating and her life escaped her, dead.

 ~

 “Alexander had been having an affair behind everyone’s back. I was the only one he ever told, he trusted me, and I really don’t know why he did. When he died, his girlfriend, I guess she could be called, ran as far away from his castle as she could, because she knew that if Eivan found out about her being pregnant with Alexander’s child, he would seek her out and kill them both” Rose continued with her story. “For 50 years, she lived in solitude in a village far away from the castle, living amongst humans, she had given birth to Alexander’s child, a baby girl, your mother” she said. Brandon quickly turned to face her, now that the beach was out of sight; he no longer needed to watch it.
“My mother was a vampire?” he asked, shock now replaced the fear that had been in his face and voice only minutes ago. Rose nodded her head before she continued.
“When your mother was 5 years old, Eivan found out about them and hunted them down, but your grandmother managed to save your mother from him by sending her to an orphanage. Luckily for her, Eivan didn’t know she had been pregnant, he only knew that she had been having a relationship with Alexander, and might try to overthrow him as Lord. Then for 450 years, your mother lived amongst humans, fearing every day, wishing my father wouldn’t find out about her” she continued.
“How do you know all this?” Brandon asked, the shock in his voice was gone now, and now confusion was there as he was told his entire origin of birth by a girl he had only met yesterday.
“Your grandmother and your mother both talked to me. I kept it a secret from my father” she answered before continuing with the story. “Eventually she met Kevin, your father, and fell in love with him” she said.
“Bastard” he interrupted. Rose giggled a bit.
“She got pregnant with you, and because he was a human, and she was a Vampire, you’re technically the Prince of the Vampires, a Half Blood, but the Prince none the less” she added. Brandon was shocked that all of this had happened to his mother and grandmother, but had never known about it until now. By this time they had reached their destination, the Island that had apparently forbidden.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to land here?” Brandon asked as he looked up at the mansion that now towered over them.
“That was just a lie to get tourists away from this place. This is actually Alexander’s Castle, your Castle” she said as she parked the boat at the dock and moved back to Brandon. “My father made small little changes in the design, but on the inside it’s still the same” she said as she placed her hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes. “This is where it all ends. Either you kill him, or he kills you” she said as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. The freezing sensation he had felt the night before when she had kissed him on the beach didn’t flood into his body, but instead warmth and feelings flooded his body. “So regardless what happens to us from here on out, I love you” she said with a smile on her face, water beginning to build in the corner of her eyes. Brandon ran his hands up her arms and kissed her back.
“I love you too” he said. Just then a large black figure appeared in the distance. Rose quickly broke away from him and looked into the sky.
“My father’s on his way. We need to hurry” she said as she grabbed his hand again and lead him out of the boat, up the large stone stairs, and into the dark castle.

 ~

 Eivan had anger, hatred, and the look of death in his eyes as he soared over the lake towards the island with the mansion on it. He had transformed himself into a winged beast, his true form, must stronger and faster than he was in his human form. His large black wings spread wide as he flapped them to keep himself airborne. He had gotten close enough to the island to see Rose and Brandon disappear into the large double stone doors that marked the entrance.

 ~

 The hallways of the castle were dark, musky, and filled with cobwebs. It looked like no one had been in the castle for centuries and it had been left alone all this time. Every painting that hung on the walls was covered in dust and cobwebs, making it impossible to tell what the picture was. Stone statues filled the corridors as well, statues of other Vampire’s or just of humans posing. Eventually coming to the main forum of the castle, the two of them stopped in the center of the room. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, cobwebs dangling from them. “We’re going to need to split up” Rose said, her hand gripping Brandon’s like her life depended on it. She had really fallen for him.
“Are you sure?” Brandon asked as he looked around the deserted room at the artefacts that lined its walls. “Wouldn’t we be better off facing him together, as a team?” he asked as he looked back at her again. She nodded.
“If you knew how to use your powers, that would be a good idea, but you don’t, so you wouldn’t be able to do anything to him” she answered, still gripping his hand, regretting the decision she had just made. “Just find somewhere to hide, he’ll come looking for us, and eventually, we’ll be able to sneak out and get away from him forever” she said. Brandon nodded his head. It made sense.
“Alright” he said as he pressed his lips against hers quickly and then took off running, looking for somewhere he could hide until it was safe to escape the mansion. Rose smiled and then ran off in the opposite direction, looking for her own place to hide.

 ~

 Eivan was now inside the mansion, wondering the cobweb filled, dust coated hallways that Brandon and Rose had just recently passed through. The stench of the mould clouded his senses, making it almost impossible for him to follow their route to exactly where they were hiding. Only thing he had now was the footprints left in the dust that also covered the floor, and the doors that they had left open. Clearly they hadn’t thought about covering their tracks to make it harder for him, and he thanked them for not doing exactly that. Eventually walking through the large double doors that led to the forum, he took a look around, and then sniffed the air. He could easily follow his daughters scent; it was so much heavier than that of Brandon’s. He glanced to his left and slowly made his way down that hallway. He would get his daughter first, for disobeying him.

 ~

 Brandon ran through the hallways until he came to large doors that were closed. He stopped in front of them and looked up at them. They were lined in gold and had what looked like it was made of red velvet carpet rather than stone or wood like the other doors he had passed by. Wrapping his hands around the large handles, he pushed one of the large doors opened and slowly stepped into the throne room. A red velvet carpet was lain straight out in front of him, ascended a stair case and stopped at a large chair that stood at the top of the stairs, the throne. Large stone pillars lined the room, reaching high to the ceiling above him, holding it up as if some unseen force was pushing back on them. To Brandon’s right was a large painting that covered almost an entire wall. It was the only painting he had seen in this place that was actually visible. It was a landscape scene of the lake that lay all around the island. The sun was setting in the distance and had turned the sky that same purple-orange it had been the other night when he had been out in the boat with his friends. Trees lined the bottom of the picture, indicating a forest was in front of the lake at the time the picture was taken. To the right side, the castle stood, painted in dark colours indicating the shadows that crept up as darkness fell over the land each night.
To his left was a large stone fireplace. It was about half the size of the picture on the right wall. Statues and other artefacts lined the mantle, cobwebs stretching across them. It was like heaven for spiders. Another large painting hung above the fireplace, but was covered in dust like all the other ones, and was impossible to make out. Little did Brandon know that a secret room lay behind both the fireplace and the large painting. He climbed the stairs to the throne and stood in front of the large chair that once sat his great-grandfather. The only place he could think of hiding was behind the chair, against the stone wall. Stepping around the chair he slid behind the chair, and waited for the right moment to sneak out of the mansion.

~

 Rose hadn’t found a place to hide yet. She was still roaming through the corridors looking for somewhere she could hide. The corridor she was currently in had a large window as a wall. The sun had set in the distance now and the moon once again had replaced it as the spotlight for the world. A wicked breeze had conjured itself and whipped against the stone walls, howling as it attempted to get inside. The sky was slowly filling up with dark clouds, rain was about to arrive unexpectedly. The wall opposite the window was lined with shelves filled with artefacts and books. Paintings hung above the shelves, covered and impossible to make out like the rest. As she reached the end of the corridor she came to a stop. The entire mansion was quiet for a split second, and she managed to hear someone else breathing. Turning around slowly her eyes focused on the man standing at the other end of the hallway, Eivan, her father.
“I’m very disappointed in you Rose” Eivan said. His blade was visible on his waist, sheathed in its case. It was clear he was going to use it. “Just tell me where he is, and I won’t hurt you” he said as he began to step closer to her. Rose stood her ground and didn’t speak to him, just kept her eyes focused on his. “You really do love him don’t you?” he asked, “That’s why you’re taking his side” Eivan stated as he was now about half way through the corridor, half way to her. Stopping in the center of the hallway he glanced out the window, sighed, and then looked back at her. “I really don’t want to have to do to you what I did to your sister” he said as he laid his hand on the handle of his blade. Rose’s eyes widened as he said this.
“You killed her?” she asked, shock filled her voice, and tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes. “You killed her!” she shouted again, this time not a question. “You bastard!” she yelled. The room began to get colder until the point where both their breath could be seen bubbling out in front of them. The large window began to freeze over, cracking, pieces of it breaking off and landing on the ice covered floor. Her eyes turned a bright blue, like the colour of the ice that now encased the hallway they both stood in. Her finger twitched slightly and a series of large icicles sprang out of the walls, floor, and ceiling and shot towards Eivan. By this point the room had dropped below absolute zero, and any normal human being would freeze almost instantly if they stepped into the hallway. The blood in their veins would freeze over, their organs would turn to chunks of ice, and they would turn into a statue of ice.
Eivan grinned as he watched the icicles spiralled towards him. Quickly unsheathing his blade, he began to cut them down, but they continued to grow and push him out of the hallway, across the ice covered floor. Eventually he had been pressed against the wall at the end of the corridor, but continued to fight off the icicle spears that attempted to stab into his heart. To his sudden surprise the icicle spears fell back, but only to let Rose through. She had launched herself spiralling through the air directly at her father’s heart. Her right arm extended, frozen over into a piercing blade of ice. Not having enough time to react to the turn of events, Eivan attempted to block his heart with his own blade, which worked for a few moments. The momentum of which Rose had launched herself with was causing Eivan a hard time keeping his own blade centered in front of his heart. Losing control, his blade tilted to the side, sending Rose’s ice blade directly into his shoulder, pinning him against the wall. Wincing as the blood in his right arm began to freeze, making that arm completely useless to him now. Raising his left hand, he swatted Rose in the face, knocking her to the floor. “Wench!” he shouted at her. Taking hold of the blade that was stuck in his shoulder, he tore it out and tossed it to the ground, shattering it into pieces next to Rose. Ripping the sleeve off of his right arm, he tied it around the wound, which would keep the ice from spreading out of his arm, and keeping the rest of his blood from going into his arm.
Rose turned over onto her back and looked up at her father; he was now towering over her. Unluckily for her, he was ambidextrous and could wield his blade in both his right and left hands perfectly. She watched as he picked up his blade from the floor, and stabbed it through her right shoulder, pinning it to the ground. She screamed out in pain as the silver blade dug into her shoulder. Eivan then took one of the blades that hung in an X on the wall, and stabbed it through her other shoulder, pinning her to the floor completely. “I’ll deal with you later” he said with a grunt as he took the second blade from the wall and then disappeared out of the hallway to find Brandon.

Chapter 6

 

Forks of lightning lit up the dark ground every few seconds as they forked across the night sky. Tyler stood at the front door of cottage number five, staring out into the distance. “Wonder what Brandon’s doing over there. He’s been there for hours now” he said out loud. Katie was sitting in one of the chairs behind him, and Jasmine was in the washroom, showering before she went to bed.
“Maybe he told her how he feels and is having some fun with her” Katie said with a small laugh. Tyler laughed as well and then turned to face her.
“Maybe we should have some fun ourselves” he said as he walked over to her and leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked as she licked his lips.
“When Jasmine’s done in the shower, why don’t we take one” he suggested as he flicked her tongue with his. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Sounds like a date” she said as she kissed him again. Few minutes later Jasmine emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her pink pj’s.
“Goodnight you two, don’t worry too much about Brandon. He can take care of himself” she said as she walked through the living room and disappeared into her bedroom. Once she was gone, Katie and Tyler headed into the washroom and closed the door behind them. The fan was still going from Jasmine’s shower, so that muffled the sounds they would start to make as they began to remove one another’s close and explore each other’s bodies. Once the water was hot enough, they both jumped in and began to have their fun.

 ~

 The rain pounded against the windows that were set high into the walls of the throne room. The lightning lit up the room briefly for a few seconds before it vanished, then the clap of thunder echoed through the stone walls, as if shaking the entire island. Thumps could be heard through the floor, echoing through the stone. Brandon wasn’t too sure what it was, but he had a few ideas. It could be the waves crashing heavily against the island; it could be a clock ticking somewhere that for some reason was still in working condition; it could have been their boat clashing against the wooden dock outside, or it could be Eivan coming up the stairs behind him. His fear had made his senses more attuned, making him completely unsure of what he was hearing anymore. The thumping eventually stopped and Brandon knew what it was then. The waves would still be crashing into the island, the chance of a clock still being in working condition after 450 years was probably impossible, and the chance that his fear had enabled him to hear the boat outside banging against the dock was too farfetched for him to keep as a theory. Peering around the corner of the throne he spotted Eivan standing at the large doorway into the throne room. He had been stupid and left the door open, now he was trapped and there was nothing he could do to fight back against Eivan. “You can run, but you can’t hide forever” Eivan shouted into the room. His voice bouncing off the solid walls, echoing almost as loud as the thunder outside did. It was dark enough where Brandon was hiding, that he could have half his face peering around the chair, and not be seen.
Eivan stepped into the room and closed the large door behind him, sealing Brandon in the room with him. “There’s no where you can run to now, so just come out and face me like a real man” Eivan called. He wasn’t sure where Brandon was hiding, but knew if he was hiding behind the fireplace, the large painting, or behind a pillar, he would be able to hear him.
This is the end, I’ve got to face him now, or he’ll kill me for sure Brandon thought as he pulled his head back behind the chair. He decided that he would wait a few minutes, let Eivan check the large room before he would show himself, that sounded good to him.
“I’m sure Rose would want you to fight for both of you, seeing as she couldn’t fight too well for herself” Eivan said as he moved towards the fireplace first. Brandon’s eyes widened. Had he killed her? That bastard! He wanted to show himself now, and kill the man for what he had done to his own daughter, to Brandon’s first real love. Eivan ran his left hand over the mantle of the fireplace and eventually came to a statue. Grabbing the head of the statue, he pulled it which caused the fireplace to creak and spin around, revealing a secret room. “They both failed to protect you” Eivan said as he moved across the room to the large painting opposite of the fireplace. Brandon’s eyes began to fill with tears. He had killed both of his own daughters for the sole purpose of being able to stay Lord of the Vampires, and now all that remained was him. Eivan ran his left hand over the painting until it rolled itself up, revealing another secret room behind it. “And now it’s time for you to die along with all of them” Eivan finished as he ascended the stairs towards the throne.
Brandon’s eyes were now filled with tears, making it almost impossible for him to see anything. He was so angry, so mad at Eivan for killing two innocent girls, one of which he had fallen in love with, the first girl he had ever really had feelings for.

 ~

 ‘Brandon, you can beat him. I believe in you’ said a voice inside Brandon’s head. An image of Taylor appeared in front of Brandon and smiled at him. ‘You have the blood of a great and powerful man in you. If you can’t defeat my father, no one can’
‘Avenge your Great-Grandfather, make the Royal Family proud to have you as their Prince’ said another female voice. An image of Brandon’s mother replaced the image of Taylor. She was smiling at him. ‘I will always be proud of you son’
An image of Tyler, Katie, and Jasmine then appeared in place of the image of his mother. The four of them were sitting in their math class, which was the only class the four of them had together this year. ‘Mrs. Morrow, Brandon did almost all the work for that project. He should deserve all the credit for it’ Tyler said.
‘He may seem like someone who doesn’t do a whole lot of work, but when he puts his heart and mind to it, he can do anything he wants’ Katie added. Brandon smiled and tears began to run down the side of his face.
Lastly, an image of Rose appeared in front of him. Even if it was just his imagination, the image moved closer to him and kissed him on the lips and he could swear it felt as real as the kiss she had given him a while ago, before they split up in the forum to look for separate places to hide. ‘He didn’t kill me Brandon; he’s just saying that to make you emotional, to make it easier for him to kill you’ she said, ‘my entire being is with you on this fight. I love you more than I’ve ever loved any other mortal of Vampire before’ she added as her image began to vanish. ‘Go get him tiger’ she finished as she disappeared from his imagination, leaving him sitting behind the throne with Eivan advancing slowly. Just then another image appeared to him: Alexander, even though he had never seen the man before, an image of him appeared in front of him.
‘You have been granted all of my powers, and then some from being a half blood’ said Alexander. ‘You are more powerful than he thinks you are. Make me proud’ he finished. At that exact moment Brandon felt a wave of energy race through his body. He instantly began to feel stronger, more alive, and immune to anything that would be thrown at him. His mouth began to burn, as two fangs began to grow out of two teeth that were previously already nestled in his mouth. His eyes began to turn to a dark red colour, and with one final crack of thunder, Brandon’s transformation into a Vampire was complete.

 ~

 Eivan now stood at the top of the stairs, looking at the throne. He knew Brandon was hiding behind it; there was no other place for him to be hiding. And he could smell Brandon now, so he knew that he was somewhere in the room. A low growl came from behind the chair and Eivan ducked as the chair was sent flying through the air, just barley tearing his head off. Looking up to where the chair once stood bolted to the ground; Eivan set his eyes on the new Brandon. Eivan smiled wickedly and stood up. Blood had stained his white shirt from the wound in his shoulder. “So you’ve unlocked your true power, huh?” Eivan asked as he placed his left hand on the handle of his blade.
Brandon’s dark eyes focused on Eivan and growled. “You killed Taylor, you harmed Rose, you have no pride in what you do” Brandon said, a deep growl echoing from his throat. “I’ll avenge them all and return what’s rightfully mine to the Royal Family” he finished as he lunged towards Eivan, sharp claws heading straight for the man’s face. Eivan stepped back and drew his sword with his left hand and blocked the oncoming attack. The momentum Brandon threw behind his attack sent Eivan toppling down the stairs behind him. Brandon stayed at the top and just watched at the man tumbled down the stairs. “You’re at a disadvantage” Brandon said as he slowly began to descend the stairs towards Eivan.
“I don’t need both my arms to fight” Eivan said as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, struggling with only one hand to do it with. Brandon was now standing directly in front of Eivan. Before Eivan could get an attack off, Brandon swung at him again, ripping through his face and sending him spiralling to the floor again.
“What’s the matter Eivan?” Brandon asked, growls still rumbling from his throat. “Fight like a man” he said with a wicked laugh. He walked over to Eivan’s sword and picked it up. “Swords won’t prove which one of us is stronger” he added as he bent the blade and tossed it away. Eivan groaned in pain as he struggled to stand to his feet again. “Or are you that afraid of me that you won’t even fight back?” Brandon asked as he walked towards Eivan again.
“You will not kill me, I’ve lived longer than you can possibly imagine” Eivan said as he finally got to his feet. He looked up to where Brandon was, but was surprised to see him not there anymore. “Now you’re the one ru-” he began but was cut off by a searing pain entering his shoulder. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Brandon standing behind him, stabbing his index and middle fingers into the stab would Rose had given him.
“She hurt you pretty badly” Brandon said as he looked at the wound. “Enough to paralyze your entire arm” he added as he pulled his fingers from the wound. Eivan winced in pain and grabbed onto his own shoulder, trying to stop the pain. Brandon grabbed the torn shirt that he had wrapped around the wound and tore it off, slowly letting the blood flow into his arm again.
“What’d you do that for you idiot?” Eivan shouted as he felt the ice in his vein spreading throughout his body once again. He fell to the ground once again as his right half of his body had lost all the blood to it, the veins frozen over and spreading to the organs next. Brandon stood there, watching this all happen in front of him, he didn’t know Rose had caused that much to him. As the ice travelled through his veins and froze everything it touched, Eivan fell to the ground, crying out in pain as each part of his body began to fail and freeze over inside of him.
“Looks like I didn’t have to kill you” Brandon said with a laugh as he turned to leave the room, heading towards the large double doors leading into the hallway. The last of Eivan to go was his eyes. The ice froze them over, turning them pure white like the rest of the organs in his body. Once his heart froze over and stopped pumping blood to whatever organs weren’t frozen yet, his brain died, taking him with him. Collapsing on the ground, his reign as the Vampire Lord died along with him, and the throne was given back to the Royal Family, to Brandon.

 ~

 Sirens filled the night air, bright red and blue lights flashed around the trees, lighting up the night sky, replacing the lightning that had filled it a few moments ago. Tyler and Katie had finished have their fun in the shower and had joined Jasmine outside at the Office Building which had completely burned down to the ground. Paramedics and Police Officers rushed over to them to make sure they hadn’t been harmed in the process of what had happened. “What happened here?” Jasmine asked as she looked around at the other people who were renting cottages that now stood just beyond the yellow police tape that kept them from getting too close to the wreckage.
“I’d like to know that myself” answered the officer who stayed with them after the rest went to check on the rest of the people. “Somehow the house caught on fire and burned down to the ground” he added. That was about all he knew.
“Was anyone inside?” Tyler asked as he looked back to the office from the wreckage that smoked behind him. The office turned to look at Tyler and nodded his head with a sigh.
“It, wasn’t from the fire though, I can guarantee you that” he said as he looked behind him at the smoking remains of the house. “A young girl was lying on the ground outside, with a sword through her chest, piercing her heart” said the officer. “She was killed instantly when the blade entered her most likely” the officer added. Tyler’s own heart sank to the bottom of his chest when he heard it was a young girl. He was relieved that Brandon hadn’t been in the house, but he was upset to hear that either Taylor or Rose had been killed because of it.
“Wait, you said she was stabbed through the heart with a sword?” Katie asked. The officer turned to her and nodded his head. “What did she look like?” she asked.
“Well, it was kind of hard to tell, by the time we got the call and got here, she had lost a lot of colour in her skin. Why?” he asked.
“We were friends with the owner’s two daughters. We had just had brunch with them this morning” she answered. The officer looked at her for a moment before taking her hand.
“Would you three come with me” he ordered. He lifted the yellow tape and allowed the three of them to move closer to the wrecked home. Near one of the Ambulances, was a body covered in a white sheet. It was lying on a wheelie cart, waiting for the coroners to come take it away to be probably examined and buried. The officer pulled back the sheet from the face of the body, revealing Taylor’s face. Her pale skin had been replaced by pure white skin, almost the colour of freshly fallen snow. Her hair had gone from a dark red colour to a light pink. Katie gagged and buried her face into Tyler’s chest to hide her tears from the office. “Do you know her?” asked the officer.
Tyler nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s one of the owner’s daughters, Taylor” he answered. He was going to be sick if he looked at it any longer. Jasmine had already turned and walked away, not being able to take it all in. The officer walked over to the Ambulance and picked up a bag that contained a rather long silver blade.
“This was the sword we found in her chest. Either of you seen it before?” he asked. He held it carefully as to not let it rip the packaging and accidently stab himself. Tyler looked at it for a moment, but shook his head. Katie took a quick look and nodded.
“That was hanging from the wall in the living room of their house” she answered. The officer nodded and put it back into the Ambulance.
“We’re going to look for prints on it when the Coroners get here. They’re got all the equipment for it. Maybe we’ll find out just who exactly stabbed her” stated the Police Officer as he walked them back to the other side of the yellow tape. “Thanks a lot for your help. And sorry about your friend” he said as he waved goodbye and then headed back to perform the remainder of his duties.

 ~

 The mansion was even quieter than it had been previously. The rain was no longer pounding against the stone walls, wind no longer howled against the windows that lined the walls of the corridors, and Brandon could no longer hear himself breathing out of fear. He eventually made his way back to the forum where he had last seen Rose. He stood in the center of the room for a few minutes, looking in all the directions that broke off from the forum until he had decided upon the direction opposite of where he had come from. The hallways were exactly the same in this direction, dusty and full of cobwebs, but as he proceeded further down the corridors, it began to get colder and colder until he could see his breath. Stepping through a doorway he spotted Rose lying on the floor, her eyes closed, and two swords stabbed into her shoulders. “Rose!” Brandon yelled as he knelt beside her and pulled the blades from her shoulders and tossed them aside. “Rose! Speak to me!” he shouted at her. He wrapped one arm under her head and lifted it into up and pressed his other hand against her chest, feeling for a heartbeat. Tears trickled down his face as he held her head against his chest. “I don’t want to lose you. I need you to help me through this” he said, muffled by deep breaths and tears. As his tears continued to trickle down his face and drip down onto Rose’s, a small heartbeat began to arise from the depths of her chest. Feeling the light thumping against his hand the tears in his eyes began to flood down his face faster as the thought of her not being dead filled his mind.
As the moments passed, the beating in her chest got stronger and stronger until it had brought conscience back to her. Coughing and gasping for air, she clung to Brandon and dug her nails into his back. Brandon closed an eye at the pain that entered his back, but it wasn’t anything too bad. Rose’s eyes slowly opened and looked up at Brandon, tears filled her eyes as he came into focus, and she saw that he had become one of them. “Did you get him?”
“Shhh, don’t talk” he said as he placed a finger over her lips to keep her from saying anything more. He slowly stood up and cradled her in his arms. “Everything’s going to be ok” he whispered to her as he headed towards the entrance to the mansion, out to their boat at the docks. Their boat was still attached to the dock, but was full of water from the massive downpour they had received. Brandon sighed. “Want to try flying?” he asked. A hint of sarcasm was in his voice, but when Rose agreed to it, he decided to try it. The blood in his body began to boil and he could feel his muscles tearing and his bones stretching and changing shape. Soon he had turned himself into a large winged beast, the true form that Vampires hid away beneath their Human casings. Flapping his wings he took off into the air and carefully made his way back to the mainland.
“Brandon...” Rose trailed off. Clearly it hurt for her to talk. “Thank you” she said as she nuzzled her face into his chest with a smile on her face.
“I should be thanking you. It was you that brought me to this. I saw you in my head, and after that, something clicked inside of me, and I turned into whatever I am now. The Prince of the Vampire’s” he said as he flapped his wings again, keeping them airborne. Rose smiled a little bit more, but didn’t say anything more.

Epilogue

 

Three weeks later Rose had recovered from her wounds and took Brandon to meet the rest of his kind, where he was crowned the new Vampire Lord and was joined together with Rose in holy matrimony. Afterwards they returned to Rose’s father’s Cottage Resort, rebuilt the Office, and opened the Resort for customers soon after. They kept the island with the mansion off limits, but left it no longer abandoned, they moved into it, and cleaned the whole place up.
Tyler stayed with Katie and Jasmine in cottage number five for the remainder of the week his parents had paid for them to stay. Shortly after leaving he proposed to Katie and is now engaged to the girl who is pregnant with his child. He successfully got into the State University and is starting his job as a businessman.
Katie is pregnant with Tyler’s child and loves every moment of it, spending entire days writing down every name she can think of, dreaming of what their child will be. She was given a grant to get into a College and is taking it slow, trying to decide what she wants to do with her life.
Jasmine, met a very attractive young man who was renting one of the other cottages before their week was up and fell head over heels in love with him. Giving him her phone number, email address, and a few other things, they now keep in touch at least once a day. She headed straight out of High School and into the work force, not needing a College or University Degree for the course of work she was looking into.
Taylor’s corpse was buried on the Mansions front lawn, a large stone tombstone erected above her: Here lies Taylor Valentine, a loving sister and friend. May your soul Rest in Piece is carved onto the stone. The few books that were saved from the house fire had been appraised and it turns out, each of the titles she owned were worth around one thousand dollars each. Deciding it was better to keep the books in memory of her sister, the remainder of Taylor’s books are lining bookshelves in the Library in Rose’s and Brandon’s new mansion. Eivan’s corpse was burned until not even ashes remained of him. Any attempt to keep him from arising from the grave wasn’t too much for them to put him through.