A full moon was glowing above Kyle, making the trees that lined Vivian’s suburban street look like skeleton silhouettes. He licked the dried blood off his lips, savoring his delicious kill, recalling Vivian’s expression of fear and terror. It sustained him. She would, he resolved, be the first of many, the first victim in the vampire army he was about to build.The high school. That would be next. He had a burning desire to find the girl who’d turned him—Scarlet. Perhaps she would be there—or someone would who knew where she was.If not, it was just as well—there would be an endless supply of young kids to turn. Ever since feasting on Vivian, he’d gotten quite the taste for teenagers, and he liked the idea of an obedient little army following him around. More than that, he liked the idea of wreaking havoc on this town—and on the world.Kyle began jogging along the sidewalk, then he stopped short and laughed to himself. He remembered he was a vampire now, with the strength and skill
Police officer Sadie Marlow peered through the small glass window into the room. In the otherwise bare room, she saw that there was a bed against one wall. Sitting upon it was the girl she’d been sent here to speak to.The psychologist standing on one side of her pulled a swipe card from his pocket. But just before he swiped it against the door lock to allow the officers entry, he paused and turned to face them both.“You know we haven’t been able to get an intelligible word out of her yet,” the psychologist said. “All she says is ‘Scarlet. Scarlet. I have to find Scarlet.’”It was police officer Brent Waywood’s turn to speak up. “That’s why we’re here, sir,” he said, pointing to his open notebook. “Scarlet Paine. That name keeps cropping up in our investigation.” The psychologist pursed his lips. “I understand why you’re here,” he replied. “I just don’t take kindly to the police interrogating my patients.”Brent flipped his notebook shut abruptly, making a smacking noise. He
Scarlet coughed and wiped dust from her eyes. Her mind swirled as she tried to make sense of what was happening around her. One moment the Immortalists had been advancing on her and Sage, the next moment there’d been a tremendous explosion that rocked the castle. Then the ceiling had caved in, bringing with it brick, wood, and heavy slate tiles.Scarlet looked around and found that she was in a cocoon of rubble. It was so dark she could hardly see. Thick dust clogged her lungs, make it difficult to breathe.“Sage?” Scarlet cried into the darkness.Something stirred beside her.“Scarlet?” came Sage’s voice. “Is that you?”Scarlet’s heart leapt as she realized her beloved was still alive. She scrambled over boulders and debris toward the hunched shape of Sage. Once she reached him, she pressed her lips against his.“I’ve got you,” she whispered.“Scarlet, it’s too late,” he countered.But Scarlet wasn’t listening. She slipped her arms around his naked torso and pulled him to sitt
Caitlin struggled to catch her breath as she fell though the night sky. One moment Caleb had hit the eject button, and the next, the plane was suddenly no longer around her. She was in the black air, falling toward the raging ocean.She glanced right, looking for Caleb. He wasn’t there. Feeling anguished, she looked about her—and finally, she spotted Caleb above her, his parachute deployed. He was pointing to his parachute cord. She couldn’t hear him over the sound of the roaring air.Then she realized: he was trying to tell her to pull her cord. She did and all at once the plummeting stopped as her body snapped. All was suddenly peaceful. She was hovering, floating, the white parachute spread open above her like angel’s wings.Caitlin took some deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She looked back up at Caleb and saw him giving her two thumbs up. Caleb, who had far more experience with this sort of thing, managed to maneuver himself so that they were almost level. “It’s going to
Lore stood on a mound of rubble amongst the ruins of Boldt Castle. The blades from the lowering helicopter made wind whip his torn clothes and ruffle his hair. He glanced around, surveying the damage the plane had caused. Hatred filled him to the brim.He cried, shaking his fist at the gaping hole in the side of the ancient castle. Then he took a deep breath. There was no time to waste. His people would be dead, eradicated, by the end of the night. Their only hope was to find the girl who had stolen his cousin’s heart. And that meant killing anyone who stood in their way.But the Immortalists were panicking, startled by the presence of the helicopter. They began zooming around the great hall, some streaming out of the castle altogether, running off to their inevitable deaths. “What are you thinking, son?” a voice beside Lore said, breaking him from his reverie.He looked down to see his mother gazing up at him. Though Immortalists experienced parent-child relationships differently
Vivian felt the air rush past her as she flew over the small town, her heart beating fiercely in her chest. She didn’t know exactly where she was going; she just had a compulsion to fly, to let the shackles of her old life melt away. She felt exhilarated, and the world felt suddenly so full of possibilities she could hardly contain her excitement.But the longer she flew, the more a new sensation began to swell within her. It was a sort of gnawing emptiness. The human part of her had died and had been replaced by this awesome, powerful new creature. The death of her mother—at her own hands, no less—was not the source of it. The feeling was more primal.Vivian swooped past a flock of birds. As she flew, she tried to decipher the new feelings within her. Hunger was of course the most prominent. Anger came a close second. Then she realized with startling clarity that the other feeling overwhelming her was the need for a mate.And that meant Blake.At once, Vivian changed her course, h
As Kyle paced up the steps of the church, he sensed this was it. He’d been to several churches in the area, but something told him this would be the right one. The windows were all boarded up with plywood, and he could sense that evil had visited this place. He could almost smell the girl in the air.He found the door of the church open and scoffed to himself. Warmth and light spilled out of the crack, sliding down the steps like honey. The beauty of it was lost on Kyle. The tranquility of church was just something else for him to destroy. He’d left his teenage vampire army behind to continue the rampage he had started, and would return for them just as soon as he found out where Scarlet Paine was.Kyle barged his way through the doors, making them screech. The place was candlelit. Light danced off the ceiling from the little flames being stirred by the breeze. The church was mainly empty, but a handful of people were dotted around in the pews, praying or thumbing through the dog-e
Deep underground, Lore, Octal, and the Immortalists trudged through the debris of the destroyed castle, heading in the direction of the caves. The smell of airplane fuel and smoke wafted behind them, a pungent reminder of the ordeal they had endured. They reached the jagged mouth of the dank caves. The silence from within them was thick, almost tangible. The only sound was the steady trickle of water coming from far away.A sensation inside Lore told him that Scarlet and Sage were not to be found. He pushed it away and gestured for the Immortalists to enter the cave.“Search everywhere,” he said, feeling a wave of desperation inside his gullet. “Do not stop until you find the girl and my cousin.”The small army began filing in, weaving past the stalactites that hung from the ceilings. The rock face was damp and slippery underfoot. Lore shivered as he watched them go. It was cold in the caves and there was an eerie vibe, like the very stone held secrets. Lore started when Octal c