Vivian chased Scarlet through the skies, right on her tail. Scarlet must have known she was being chased because she kept looking back over her shoulder. Blake was lagging behind but he still followed Vivian dutifully on her quest to cause pain.No matter how fast Scarlet was as a vampire, she couldn’t out fly Vivian, who had been more athletic in her human form than Scarlet. Scarlet had just reached the roof of a mansion when Vivian caught her by the ankle.The two girls went skidding across the rooftop, scraping a path over the tiles and making them fly up all around them. Vivian was immediately in fight mode. She grappled with Scarlet before pinning her down by her arms. Scarlet thrashed like a woman possessed.“Let go of me!” she screamed.Vivian laughed maniacally. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of all along—and she was going to squeeze every ounce of pleasure out of it that she could.“What the hell happened to you?” she sneered. “You look like crap.”Scarlet was w
Reeling from what had just happened on the rooftop, Scarlet tried to force all thoughts of Blake from her mind. She instead landed on the drain pipe and burst into one of the upstairs windows in Sage’s vast estate. Time was short, and she had to stay focused.Scarlet knew she was walking into a trap, but no longer cared. If she could just give Sage the potion in her pocket, maybe she’d be able to convince him to go to the vampire city with her, to give up his immortality for love. The sisters had made it seem like he would never do such a thing, but Scarlet felt that deep down he loved her enough to make that sacrifice.She heard voices coming from downstairs and ran towards them, down a huge, stone spiral staircase that opened up into a cavernous, ancient living room. She drew to a halt. There, on a red velvet sofa, was Sage. He was alive. He was awake.Scarlet bolted towards him.“Sage!” she cried, flinging herself to her knees.She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her clo
Scarlet was bereft. She was so engulfed by grief she didn’t even care when she heard the hammering on the front door of the mansion or the sound of glass smashing. It was only the sound of chaos and anarchy, the jeering, screaming sounds of murderous rage, and the thudding sound of hundreds of boots on the marble floors that made her turn around.As soon as she did, she took in the sight of a vampire army. Amongst them were kids she knew from high school, the jocks and cheerleaders still in their uniforms, the goth kids from freshman year, the glee club. Then behind them was a savage looking group of thugs, with shaved heads and tattoos all over their faces, necks and arms. They were wearing uniforms, and it dawned on Scarlet that they were escaped prisoners.Scarlet had no idea what was going on but she knew instantly that it had something to do with her. This army, made up of kids and convicts, was here to kill her.She sprung into action, leaping into the air and heading towards
Caitlin and Caleb ran through the mansion doors. They’d seen the vampire army descend on the estate, followed by the police and military. But knowing their daughter was inside was enough to make them enter, too. They braced themselves for carnage—but what they saw was far worse than they’d ever imagined.There, lying on the floor, bleeding, was Scarlet. Her breath was rapid. She was covered in mud and dirt. She looked like she’d been dragged through Hell and back.Scarlet’s friends were watching her with looks of horror on their faces. A police woman was standing solemnly beside them.Caitlin screamed in anguish and rushed forward to her daughter. She grabbed her limp body and pulled her into her chest.“Drink, Scarlet,” she said, offering her arm to her dying daughter. “Drink. Please!”Scarlet was trying to say no but she couldn’t make a sound at all.“Listen to me,” Caitlin said sternly. “I’ve read all the prophecies, all the texts and books and literature. I’ve been transporte
A cold gray morning light settled over the mansion. As the fire fighters trudged out, having put out the large fire that had raged in the bedroom, an eerie sort of calm settled over the manor and the people still within it. The high schoolers were weeping, huddling up together, mourning the loss of friends who had been killed whilst vampires and would not be returning to their human form.All morning a series of prison vans had come and gone, taking with them the inmates that had remained humans, along with those who’d had the brief pleasure of being vampires before reverting back to human form. A series of undertakers had also come and gone, removing the police and army personnel who’d lost their lives in the fight.Standing in the middle of the whole thing were the stone statues of Octal and Lore’s mother. Then further into the living room were Lore and Lyra in their lovers’ grip, together forever like a work of art.Finally, the stone body of Sage lay in his position on the sofa.
From the roof of the ancient , Scarlet Paine could hear Sage’s agonized screams. They echoed through the cold November night, each one feeling like a knife slicing into her heart. She could not bear the thought of it, of Sage being tortured to death by his own kind because he loved her, because he would not kill her in order to live two thousand more years. Scarlet had never dreamed she would be loved so fiercely by someone, so fiercely that they would actually die for her. And yet here she was, about to do the same for him.Lore, Sage’s cousin, had lured her to . The Immortalists’ two-thousand-year life span would be over once the moon waned, and Lore was desperate to take her life—the only way to save theirs. She, the last vampire on Earth, had to be sacrificed. Even though Scarlet knew it was a trap, she had to come. She knew her life would end here tonight, yet it would be worth it for a chance to save Sage.Another one of Sage’s screams pierced the night. Scarlet couldn’t bear t
A vampire war.The sea below Caitlin was as black as night. She listened to the sound of the thrumming engine as the small military plane soared through the clouds, the words repeating themselves over and over in Caitlin’s mind. She could hardly comprehend how it had gotten to this, how her daughter had flown off into the night, leaving her and Caleb to chase desperately after her. The worry she felt for Scarlet was all consuming, making butterflies of panic take flight in her stomach.Caitlin felt a strong, primal sensation stirring within her. Scarlet was somewhere nearby. Caitlin was certain. She sat bolt upright and gripped Caleb’s arm. “You can sense her?” he said, studying her expression.Caitlin just nodded, gritting her teeth as a yearning need to be with her daughter swelled within her.“She’s in danger, Caleb,” Caitlin said, holding back the tears that threatened to choke her. Caleb looked back out the windshield and set his jaw. “We’ll be with her soon. I promise you
Vivian woke with a start to find herself lying on a chaise lounge in her back yard. The sun was long gone, and moonlight glittered off the surface of the swimming pool. From the windows of her family’s mansion, a warm orange glow spilled across the perfectly manicured lawn. ___Vivian sat up and was hit by a wave of pain. It seemed to radiate from her very pores, as though every single one of her nerve endings was on fire. Her throat was dry, her head pounded, and there was a pulsing sensation like daggers behind her eyes. Vivian gripped the sides of the chaise lounge to steady herself as nausea rippled through her. What’s happening to me?Memories began floating to the surface of her mind, of teeth bearing down on her, of an excruciating pain in her neck, of the sound of someone’s grotesque breathing in her ear, the smell of blood filling her nostrils. Vivian gripped the sides even harder as horrifying memories flashed through her mind. Her heart beat hard and her stomach plum