{Prologue}

“Are you sure you don’t want a hand home young lady?” The old man asked the young maiden.

“No, no sir, I’ll be fine. I’ll be back again tomorrow.” The young girl said, offering one last smile to her employers before pushing through the door and walking out onto the street.

The cold, severe air whipped against her pale brown skin as she tightened her tattered jacket around her. She rubbed her hand over her protruding pregnant belly as an act of protection and set off on her journey home. She passed drunks and old homeless men on the street corners and on the stoops of old buildings. She watched the wealthy pass by in their horse-drawn carriages out of the corner of her eyes, wishing that that was her life.

The year was 1734. She young maiden was at the tender age of 17, pregnant with her first child. She came from a poor slave family, her mother a seamstress for the rich, her father a doll maker. Her parents originated from France, but had long since resided in Transylvania. Her pregnancy was an unwanted one, being raped after a night of work by a man old enough to be her father. But the first time she felt her little son or daughter kick, she fell in love. She wanted nothing more than to care and love the child, for he or she would be all that she had.

Back then, if you were born in the gutter, you stayed in the gutter. She learned this lesson well and had grown to except it. So day after day, night after night, she rolled her pregnant body out of bed and headed with her mother to the houses of the wealthy, helping her sew new dresses for the beautiful, rich women. At night, she went to work for the old doll maker that knew her father and would do anything to help the young girl out.

Another gust of wind wiped across her body and her hand threw instantly to her belly again, to calm her moving child. She quickened her pace, she had to get home. She walked through the dirty streets, keeping her head low and avoiding the drunks and pimps that littered the dim light streets. She turned a corner, only a few paces from the dirt road that led to her home and smacked right into a group of young men.

“Look what we have found, a young unattended woman on her way home.” The tall, dark haired one said, giving her a menacing smile.

The girl put her head down, trying to stay calm, “Please sir, I just live-“

“I know who you are,” Another one said, “You’re the town whore; the pregnant one.” He said, running a finger down her lace dress.

She shrunk away from his touch and positioned her arms over her belly. The men surrounded her, calling at her and reaching out to touch her. She slapped their hands away, hot tears starting to wet her eyes, “Leave me alone! I just want to get home.”

“Oh, we’ll let you go home. But not until we get to enjoy what you have underneath this pretty dress.” The third man said, quickly shoving his hand under her dress and lifting if up.

The young girl swung violently at the third man, connecting her palm with his face. He stumbled back, stunned that she had been so brave, “You are going to pay for that you little wench!”

She let out a scream when his hand lifted air into the air but a crack behind them startled the three men. Just then, a wealthy couple rounded the corner and halted when they saw the three men and young girl before them, “Young lady?” The wealthy man called, “Are these men bothering you?”

“We were doing nothing of the kind, just making sure that she got home safely.” The tall, dark haired man said, eying the young girl.

When the wealthy couple did not move, the three men took off in the opposite direction, shooting glares at the young girl. She waited until they were out of site to turn slightly and bow to the rich couple, thanking them politely for helping her. The couple followed her a few steps more, until she turned onto the dirt road and waved at her graciously as her steps quickened.

She could see her mothers’ candles flickering in the windows; she was so close to being under the protection of her beloved parents. She continued to walk down the dirt path, smiling to herself as she drew nearer and nearer to her cottage. When she could practically feel the heat from the little house, a large, rabid animal jumped from behind the bushes, latching its teeth into her delicate skin.

The young girl screamed as she was thrown into the dirt. She fought violently as the animal continued to maul her, sinking its teeth into her as many times as possible. It growled and slobbered all over her, not loosening its grips one bit.

“Father! Father! Help me, help me please!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The door of the little cottage flung open as her father bolted from the small house once he heard his daughters screams. Her mother watched in horror as the father ran over to the wild animal that was attacking their daughter and began beating it violently. During the first few attacks from the father, the animal only deepened his teeth into her skin. The father kept beating the animal harshly, screaming and cursing out of shear desperation.

And then, it was all over. Without a second glance, the animal removed itself from the girl and ran off into the night. The father dropped to his knees and grabbed his bleeding, pregnant daughter into his hands while screaming at the mother to boil some water. He jogged back to the little house and busted through the door, heading straight to his daughters room.

The young girl moaned and screamed slightly, clearly delusional from the trauma and loss of blood, “Do you have the water Evelyn?!” The father screamed in desperation while ripping his daughters dress off to asses the wounds.

“Yes father, right here.” The mother said, running into the room with a pot of water.

She set the pot and medications on the floor and kneeled down beside her husband and cried softly as her eyes scanned over her severely hurt daughter. She stroked the young girls’ hair and whispered softly into her ear as her father dropped the liquid medication onto the wounds. The young girl wailed in pain and arched her back off of the bed, fighting her mothers’ attempts to keep her still.

“Keep her still!” The father screamed, “It’s okay baby, we have to clean your wounds.”

The young girl then passed out from the pain, her body going limp on the bed. The father and mother worked helplessly through the night, changing the bandages every few hours for fear that infection would set in. The young girl slept the entire night and well into the next day. When she awoke it was night time again and she was unsure of what had happened.

“Father?” She whispered groggily into the candle-lit room.

Within seconds, her mother, father and a strange man walked into the room. Her parents kneeled on either side of the bed, smiling and rubbing their hands up and down her arms, “This is Doctor DuPont, he’s been looking after you for the last few hours.” Her mother whispered.

“Why? What happened? Wait, is their something wrong with the baby?”

The young girl’s hands again went straight for her belly. When she felt her considerable baby bump, her muscles soften and she relaxed again. She closed her eyes and shifted slightly, causing pain to rip from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.

“Calm now child, you have to stay as still as possible.” The doctor said rushing to the side of the bed and feeling her chest with his cold hand.

“What happened?” The young girl asked again.

“You were attacked last night child, by some crazed animal. By time we got to you, the animal already had you in the dirt.” Her father said, running her hand slowly across her forehead, “But the Doctor says that you are fine and your child will be fine.”

The young girl looked up at the Doctor, “Are you sure my child will be alright?”

He nodded softly, “As long as you keep changing the bandages and you take this every couple of hours, you and your child will be up and moving again.” He said, setting a tiny bottle of liquid on the stand beside the bed, “Make sure you get plenty of rest in these next few days young lady.”

“I will. Thank you for everything.”

“Farewell.”

The parents thanked the Doctor graciously for staying as long as he had to help their only daughter. As the young girl drifted off to sleep again out of pure exhaustion, they had no idea that the rabies disease was ripping through her body. It had already poisoned her blood and was slowly making its way into her unborn child. Her wounds soon heeled and she went back to work, but her child would never be the same.

************

The young girl writhed in pain as sweat dripped from her forehead and drenched the pillow beneath her. Her mother sat perched between her knees, wiping away the blood that seeped from her daughter. They young girl arched her back off of the bed and let out a violent scream as the contractions ripped through her tiny, young body. She pushed as hard as she could, wanting nothing more than to push her child out and end the pain.

The mother stayed calm and tried to relax her daughter but knew all too well the pain of childbirth. The young girl pushed again and gripped the sheets between her fingers so hard that her knuckles turned stark white. When she couldn’t push any longer, her body collapsed back on the bed and she closed her eyes as tears streamed out of the sides of them.

Her mother quickly rushed to her side and wiped her forehead, ridding her temporarily of the sweat. Another contraction ripped through her body and her back arched again. The mother ran back and perched herself between the young girls legs and smiled as the head of the long awaited child finally began to show.

“You are almost there daughter, just keep going.”

The girl gripped into the sheets again and pushed with all of her might, a long, deep scream coming from deep in her chest, erupted out of her mouth. She gritted her teeth and blew out air harshly, making her wet hair shiver from its place in front of her eyes. She locked her legs and pushed again, screaming loudly and cursing the day that the drunk man forcefully shoved himself inside of her.

The mother placed her hands on the head of the child and pulled gently, coaxing the baby out of her daughter, “Just one more good push and the child will be out daughter. Just one more push.”

The daughter grunted loudly and pushed into her bottom harshly, squeezing her eyes tightly, forcing the tears out. The mother gave one last pull and the daughter felt of rush of relieve flood through her body as she felt the child leaving her opening. She collapsed against the bed again, breathing harshly as her mother cleared the child’s throat and eyes. The daughter lay in a state of delusion, staring at the ceiling with her mouth hanging open.

The mother quickly cut the cord that was still connecting the child to its mother and wrapped the baby in a clean sheet. She smiled and turned back to her daughter, tears in her eyes as well and lifted the little boy for his mother to see, “You’re little boy daughter.”

The daughter smiled when her eyes landed on her child for the first time but her body wouldn’t allow her to be happy for to much longer. She grunted in pain and squeezed her eyes shut again as the mother handed the baby to the father out in the other room and then went back to attend to her daughter.

“You need a name for your son daughter.” The mother whispered after getting the girl to relax and calm down.

“Nicolai.” The young girl whispered as she drifted off into a deep slumber.

After removing the sack from her daughter, she threw it into the fire and watched it burn. She then turned back to her now sleeping daughter and pulled the thin sheets up to her neck. She kissed her daughter gently and whisked some of the stray hairs out of her face and smiled as the hot tears soon returned to her eyes.

“Good job daughter, good job.” She whispered.

The seemingly okay baby slept peacefully in his grandfather’s arms. For no one knew at that moment that the child was no longer a child, but a product of the disease that the animal had carried. It took years for the effects to actually materialize but when they did, the family did everything they could to keep him under control.

Years went by and the young girl was now not so young. They had buried her father years previous and her son was growing weirder and weirder as time progressed. The first thing that they noticed about the son was the color of his eyes and skin. Within the first few days of birth, his skin color drained to an even paler shade of brown and his eyes were as haunting as a ghost, with a strange yellow hue to them.

As his teeth grew in, the family noticed that every tooth grew in perfectly except for the two corner teeth. They were longer than the other teeth, and sharper than a sword. Even as a tiny baby, he had a taste for meat and blood. When he was old enough to feed himself, his mother found him often feeding on small rats and birds.

Not knowing what to do, they kept the boy from school and from the other children. They home schooled him and kept him in the house during the daytime, for the boy had a sensitivity to light. The boy’s mother was questioned often about her son and why he was never seen out. She responded that he was sickly and that the sun shine would only worsen his condition. And that’s how it went, for 14 years.

But nothing could keep the mother and grandmother from loving the boy; and he loved them as well. His mother continued to work, even took over the grandmothers business as grandmother got older and older. Then one day, she just didn’t wake up. Sad and angry, the young boy rushed out into the night, pushing his mothers screams out of his head.

He walked and walked for miles, the cold air filling his lungs and making them burn. Why did life have to be so cruel? Why did the only people that loved him have to be taken away? As the 14 year old boy stalked the streets that cold night, a deep hunger soon took over him. It wasn’t a hunger for rats’ blood or bird, not for pig or chicken blood but something... deeper. He continued to walk, while trying to figure out this new longing for something different.

Just as he was about to turn and head home, he spotted a drunken boy, slumped over on the street. Nicolai walked slowly over to the lifeless body, his mouth hanging open slightly as he inched nearer. Once he was over the man, he kneeled down and swept the long hair off of the man’s neck.

Nicolai’s heart began to race as he gazed at the man’s beautiful, long, milky neck. He dragged his tongue slowly over his teeth as the urge to bite the man took over his body. He looked away from the drunken man, scanning the area for any other humans. When he spotted some just a few hundred feet away, he grabbed the shirt of the man and dragged him into the alleyway.

Kneeling back over the man and his neck, Nicolai swallowed deeply as his breath become shorter and quicker. His heart was not pounding in his ears as he opened his mouth wide and started descending his head down to the mans warm flesh. Nicolai stopped mere centimeters away from the neck as his eyes searched wildly into the dark. Was he really about to drink the blood of a human?

The urge was so strong; it almost felt… right. Nicolai dug his teeth into the flesh of the man and he began to suck. The warm, dark red blood oozed from the neck and into Nicolai’s mouth. Nicolai didn’t miss a drop as he continued to drain the man of his blood, his body reacting richly to the new blood. When he was finished eating, he threw his head back and stared into the night sky, his mouth and lips still red with blood.

He smiled wildly as the panic and adrenaline rushed through his body. This is what he was meant to do. This is what he had been feeling for so long, that something that wouldn’t be soothed by rat and chicken. He sucked his teeth until he could no longer taste the heavenly poison and he quickly exited the alleyway and headed back to the little cottage that he called home. He kept the murder of the man to himself as he soothed his mother and helped her bury the body of his grandmother.

Another five years went by and the young, somewhat fragile boy had grown into a man. His beautiful mother was now 36 and still caring for her odd but otherwise lovely son. She had no idea that her son was the cause of the hundreds of mysterious deaths over the years. People speculated that the two puncture wounds on the neck her caused by some sort of animal but Nicolai knew the truth. He wanted to himself and be free but he loved his mother, and her thoughts of him were still very important.

“Where do you go at night, my son?” She asked one evening as Nicolai put on his shirt.

“I just go walking mother.”

She got quiet as she watched him dress and check his teeth in the mirror, “You know I love you Nicolai.”

The boy turned and fell to his knees by his mothers side in the chair, “And I love you mother. I owe you my life.” He laid his delicate lips that had killed so many softly on her hand and he kissed her gently, “I’ll see you in the morning.” He said, getting back to his feet and walking to the front door.

Just as he was about to step out into the night, his mothers soft voice stopped him, “I know it is you Nicolai.”

Nicolai stopped in his tracks and turned slowly back to her, “You know what is me mother?”

“The strange deaths. You’ve been feeding on them for years now. I know you my son. I have also realized that you don’t look a day older than 16. You haven’t grown or aged a bit since then. Don’t you find that odd?”

“Mother, I-“

“No, do not apologize for your dark gift. It was given to you before you were even born.” His mother rose to her feet and walked over to her tall son, “I love you now as I will always love you. Nothing that you do will ever stop me from loving my son.”

She ran her small hand down his silky, pale skin, wiping away the tears that were staining his cheeks. He rubbed his face into her hand as he threw his arms around her body, “I didn’t want you to hate me mother! It’s just- I have a need. I need to feed on them mother. Chickens and rats just don’t satisfy the hunger anymore.”

“Quiet my son. I told you, nothing you can do will ever stop my love for you. I- I want what you have Nicolai.”

Nicolai stepped back from his mother and stared at her, his yellow eyes wide and wet, “What do you mean?”

“I want to protect you always and I can’t do that if I’m dead.”

“I don’t understand mother.”

“You do not age anymore Nicolai. And if you do not age, you will not die and I want that. I want to be with my son throughout eternity.”

“But, I kill them mother. I do not make them into what I am, I- I don’t even know if that’s possible.”

“It is, my son.”

She turned from his and walked over to the bookcase that shelved all of the literature that had they had amassed through the years. She plucked a thin book from its place and walked back over to him and handed it to him.

“This is the story a certain type of bat in Africa,” She began to explain as he flipped through the book, “They feed on each other for sustenance but can revived the dead with a drop of their blood. The Africans, our ancestors, call these creatures Vampire bats”

“But how do you know that if we do this, it will turn you into what I am?”

“I don’t but I have a hunch that it will.”

Nicolai shut the book and handed it back to his mother. He looked up into her warm, dark brown eyes and ran his finger down the side of her face, “I love your eyes mother. Mine are so ugly.”

“Your eyes are beautiful, Nicolai. Don’t you ever forget that. You were given a gift and I would like to share it with you. Please Nicolai, let me love you forever.”

His mother turned her head to the side, exposing her neck. Nicolai closed the gap between the two of them and nuzzled his head into her neck, resting his chin on her shoulder, thinking of what he was about to do. He closed his eyes when he felt her hand run from the base of his neck and through his dark hair, something she had done since he was a boy to calm his nerves.

“Do it Nicolai.” She whispered.

Nicolai opened his mouth and bared his teeth. Without a second thought, he sank his teeth into her flesh, causing a gasp and a small scream to escape her mouth. He forced himself to keep draining her as she screamed and tried to fight against him. He kept drinking her, holding her tight to his body until he felt her go limp. He released his mouth from her teeth and laid her gently on the ground and flipped through the book that she had handed to him.

Just a drop of blood

Nicolai raised his wrist to his mouth and sank his teeth into his own flesh, just long and hard enough to draw blood. He then lowered his wrist over her mouth and let the droplets of blood drip into her mouth. Her eyes shuddered lightly and then opened again as he continued to drip his blood into her mouth. She opened her mouth wider and grabbed his wrist, bringing it closer to her mouth and biting into his flesh.

Nicolai grunted and moaned as his mother sucked his blood, moaning softly as she started her new life. Nicolai struggled to rip his arm away from her as he pushed against her head harshly to get her to stop feeding on him. With one strong push, his mother fell to the ground and started breathing deeply and harshly as a frightened Nicolai backed into the corner of the room.

He watched his mother’s body convulse violently on the floor as he clasped his hands over his head, cursing what he had just done. Then, everything stopped. His mother stopped convulsing, she stopped grunting, and she stopped screaming. Nicolai stood up from his spot on the floor and a single tear fell from his yellow eye and fell to the ground. Then, without warning, his mother jumped to her feet, making Nicolai jump slightly.

Her once dark brown eyes were now a vivid purple, her pale skin became even paler. Her thin hair curled wildly and tightly around her face and two long, sharp teeth protruded from the corners her mouth. She smiled gently at her son and sucked her new teeth.

“I’m hungry; show me how you do it.”

And thus was the birth of the ancient Damien dynasty.

They were the soul creators of the Vampire race.

{One}

Nicolai stumbled into the house that had been his for centuries. Blood seeped from his weakened body but he had to get to his daughter. He slammed the door shut and fell to his knees, trying to stay conscious. His maid for many years, Victoria, ran from the kitchen and gasped when she saw her master on the floor.

“Sir Nicolai, what has happened to you?” She asked, running to his side and kneeling beside him.

“Not to worry, my girl. Help to the couch and call my beautiful daughter.”

Victoria struggled to help the old Vampire to his feet and she screamed violently for his daughter to join them. Once she had him on the couch, she screamed for the girl once more and then ran into the kitchen to gather some gauze and antibiotics to rub into his wounds.

Lamiai, his beautiful daughter stirred inside her coffin. She heard the faint screams of the woman who had helped raised her for many, many years but couldn’t understand a word she was saying. She opened her vivid purple eyes and stretched out before lifting the top of the coffin off and setting it to the side. She stepped out and took a deep breath, unaware that her father lay dying just right down stairs.

Lamiai sighed deeply as her bare feet drew her closer to the French doors that led to her lanai. She grabbed the champagne glass that sat on the mantel, licking her lips when the fresh, warm blood trickled into her mouth. She glanced at the digital clock that hung on the wall; 9:05pm.

She pushed open the doors and stepped out on the balcony, overlooking her birth land. The rolling, lush, green hills reached out as far as her eye could see. Beautiful four story mansions sprouted from beneath the trees; their old, Romanian architecture making them easy to recognize.

She jumped and whipped around when Victoria busted through the doors of her room. Lamiai ran over to the woman who had stayed young over a 100 years and lifted her face with her index finger, “What is wrong?”

“It’s your father young Lamiai, he’s downstairs. He’s… he’s bleeding profusely.”

Without another thought, Lamiai bolted out of the room and down the stairs with Victoria right behind her. When she dashed into the living room, the new lit moon had cast dark shadows on her father’s body. She fell to her knees and crawl over to him, her tears already cascading down her soft cheeks.

“What has happened to you father?”

“That doesn’t matter now my beloved daughter, I have much to tell you.”

He grunted in pain and gripped his chest and Victoria tried to best to clean to many puncture wounds on his body, “Tell me who did this to you father. I will go out right now and make sure that they never see another sunrise. Tell me who did this!”

“Hush my daughter! I must tell you many important things and who did this to me is not one of them. Now is my time, sweet daughter, my time to die.”

“No father! Please tell me who did this! I will make them pay!” She cried to him, grabbing his hand and rubbing her face into it.

“It is my time Lamiai. If it wasn’t, that young vampire wouldn’t have been able to defeat me. But you have many things to do now my love, many important things.”

“What must I do?”

Nicolai stared into her purple irises and ran his hand down the side of her face. His mother’s face instantly flashed in the front of his mind and the love that he had for her, “You look just like my mother. Her eyes were the exact shade of yours.”

“I know father, you have told me before.” Lamiai whispered.

Nicolai shuddered under the pain again as Victoria rubbed and poured more liquid onto his skin, trying desperately to save her master, “Listen to me now child. You have much to do before the first full moon of the New Year. I have been trying for years to produce another child so you would never have to deal with the prophecy, but I have failed. The burden now falls upon you now that I am dying.”

“What prophecy do you speak of father?”

“It is an ancient prophecy my dear. Now that I am dying, you are the only original family member left. The rest of us have been killed off throughout the years, and you must continue our bloodline.”

“But, I don’t understand. Our family has single-handed created out race of people. There are millions of us all over the world father, how am I the only one left?”

“You are the only living member of the original family my love. Yes, the rest of the vampires are products of us but their blood has been diluted and tainted as time has progressed. As the years passed, one by one, our family members have been plucked from this earth and you are the only one to succeed us now.

The prophecy states that the last family member must fall deeply in love and produce a child from that union before the first full moon of a new year. If the prophecy is not fulfilled, the last living member will die and the blood of the original family will be drained from every other vampire, killing them all.” Nicolai said, his breath becoming short.

“But you just said that our blood has become diluted and tainted. How will the others die if they are not pure?”

“Although the blood is tainted, it still needs ours to survive. If our bloodline dries up, our race is doomed my sweet girl. They will all die by the end of the year of the first full moon. You can not let this happen to us, Lamiai. Our family was worked for centuries to create our world, you can not let it parish because of my stupid pride. I should have just left that young vampire to his own.”

“What did he do to you father?”

“He stabbed me with the fang of a serpent. Pure bloods are severely allergic-“ More pain ripped through his dying body, his yellow eyes glazed over and turned a pale gray, “This is it my daughter, make me proud.”

Victoria and Lamiai wept over his body, “I love you father, forever and always.”

A faint smile rose on the old Vampire’s face and then his hand went limp in hers. His smile fell from his face and his eyes went cold. His chest stopped in mid-rise and his skin turned an ash gray. Victoria threw her body over Lamiai’s and held her tightly as the two women cried for the loss of their leader, mentor and father. Victoria rocked them slowly and whispered sweet words in Lamiai’s ear, trying to calm the girl.

They sat like that for hours, Lamiai still holding on to your fathers’ dead hand. Victoria soon left her, calling close friends of the family’s and moving his coffin into the living room. The house was soon full of old and young vampires, mourning the death of the man who had created them all. They soothed and calmed Lamiai, bringing her gifts and telling her that they would always be there to care for her.

Lamiai thanked them graciously and kissed her father one last time before his body was lowered into the coffin for the last time. Desmond, Nicolai’s closest friend, threw his arm over the still shaking Lamiai and led her outside after the coffin was put into a horse drawn carriage. Desmond and his wife Luna, Lamiai and Victoria piled into the carriage behind the one that held her fathers coffin, and took off into the dark night to lay him to rest.

They came to a stop in a lush field, vivid memories of Nicolai and Lamiai running through the field flashed in her mind. She could still hear his laughter as they played hide and seek when she was a child, causing more sheets of tears to fall down her ashen skin. They piled out of the carriage, Desmond and Luna taking Lamiai and Victoria’s hands into their own. The hundreds of Vampires watched silently as the hole was dug, women and men shedding silent tears into the unusually warm night.

Desmond released Lamiai’s hand only long enough to place his palms onto the lid of the coffin. He recited an old, Romanian prayer and urged all of the vampires to join him. Their voiced filled the night air and sky, chanting along in the old prayer. Their voices could be heard from miles around, the air filling their lungs and coating them like warm butter coating a piece of toast. At the end of the prayer, Desmond pulled his palms from the lid of the coffin laid a gentle kiss upon.

“Sleep well my beloved brother. You will be sorely missed.”

He stepped back and grabbed Lamiai’s hand again as two vampires lifted the coffin from the ground and began lowering it into the cold dirt. Lamiai stepped away from Desmond and ran over to a bush of roses that sprouted near a tall, old tree. She plucked one of the deep red roses from it’s place and jogged back over to the hole that now held her father.

When the coffin was positioned in its’ final resting place, Lamiai knelt down and sat back on her knees. She kissed the rose gently and the sweet smell from the waxy petals filled her mourning body. A single tear fell into the rose and she dropped it into the hole, the rose landing right on top of his coffin.

“I love you father, I will not fail you.” She whispered as the two vampires began throwing the dirt into the hole.

One by one, the other vampires came to the edge of the grave and placed flowers and offered Lamiai their condolences. She smiled sweetly and snuggled into Desmond’s arms as they all filled out one by one. When they were the last ones left, Desmond turned to Victoria and whispered something in her ear. She nodded at him and then smiled softly.

“Let’s get you two home before the sun rises.” Luna said, leading them back to the carriage.

When they were back in front of the home that Nicolai had built for his family, Desmond kissed the tips of Lamiai’s fingers and ran his hand down her pain-stricken face, “You have much to do my child in such a time of despair. I will be here to help you whenever you get lost my dear, do not forget that.”

“Thank you Desmond, my father loved you dearly. I love you dearly.” She whispered.

“And Luna and I love you two all the same. Hurry now child, the sun will be rising any minute.”

They gave their final goodbyes and Desmond jumped back into the carriage just as the sun began rising over the trees. Lamiai and Victoria ran back into the house and quickly slammed the curtains shut to block out the deadly light.

“Head to the basement my Lamiai. I have something to show you.”

Lamiai did as she was told and walked slowly down into the dark basement. She lit the candles that lined the staircase and then the ones the sat on the mantel and table in the basement. She sat on the old Victorian couch, pulling her legs underneath her. She wrapped a blanket around her still shivering body and bowed her head as more hot tears rolled down her face.

Victoria soon made her way down to the basement, carrying a silver platter. She sat the platter down on the table and handed the young girl a tall necked champagne glass of blood. When Lamiai refused the nourishment, Victoria sat the glass back down, “You must eat my dear girl. You need your strength.”

“I can not eat knowing my father will never eat again. I simply can not Victoria.”

“But it’s your favorite sweet girl, the blood of a young girl I found just before your father stumbled in.”

“It is old blood, we can not drink the blood of the dead.” Lamiai hissed back.

“Watch your mouth Lamiai, I know what we can and can not do. I would never serve you blood of the dead. I kept her alive and killed her just now so you could eat, now drink.”

Lamiai noted the forcefulness in Victoria’s voice and she promptly grabbed the glass and took a sip of the warm, thick liquid. She felt a little better as the blood warmed her naturally arctic body but nothing could take away the pain in her heart. She looked into Victoria’s brilliant blue eyes. Victoria was practically her mother. Nicolai had made Victoria especially for Lamiai after her natural mother had been tortured and thrown into the sunlight while in Egypt. Hundreds of years later, Victoria was still there, caring for the two people that she had loved the most.

“I wish this hadn’t have happened my child, you have a long journey a head of you now.”

Victoria pulled a long, rolled piece of parchment paper from under her dark dress and handed it across the table, “Read this, it will answer all of your questions.”

Lamiai grabbed the old paper and unrolled it, her eyes scanning over the old Transylvanian words, “What is this?” She whispered.

“It is the prophecy that your father found through his reading hundreds of years ago. Turns out, the animal that had bitten your grandmother had been written about before. The animal had one objective, and that was to find the perfect person to pass his gift along to. And that my dear girl, is the prophecy that you must fulfill to satisfy the animal.”

Lamiai’s eyes scanned over the old words as she translated them in her head, mouthing them silently to herself as her journey became clear to her.

The animal has chosen The Damien's as the birth family of the Vampire race. Without them, none of us will prosper. One the eve of the death of the second to last family member, the last of the family must begin their journey. If the last family member is not able to succeed in their task before the first full moon of the New Year, he/she will be murdered and the rest of the race will parish by the end of that year.

The last member must find a love to continue the blood line. They must produce a child out of love and nothing else, or the prophecy will not be fulfilled. This deed must be completed by the eve of the first full moon of the New Year or the gift the animal has given will be taken away.

“I must find love and conceive a child?” Lamiai exclaimed breathlessly.

Victoria nodded her head slowly, “Yes but like the prophecy states, you must find a king to help you control the throne. You must be in love and the child must be conceived in a fit of pure, unadulterated passion for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Anything less than that, and you along with the rest of us, will be killed.”

Lamiai rolled the prophecy back up and set it gently on the table as her mind began to race. She sipped on the blood slowly as her plan began to formulate in her head, “When is the first full moon of the New Year?”

“Exactly one year from tonight, January 17th, 2008.”

Lamiai laughed sarcastically and slammed the champagne glass back onto the platter, “So you are telling me, that I have one year to fall madly in love with someone and produce a child when I have no idea where to begin?”

“I know it is a lot but it will come you sweet Lamiai. You are a smart girl and I know that you will not let us down. It will come to you, I have faith in you.”

“Then you alone have faith in me, I haven’t the slightest clue what love for any other man but my father feels like.”

“Oh, you’ll know Lamiai, you will know. I said the same thing before I first laid eyes on your father, from then on, I’ve been completely devoted to him, taking care of him and his infant child.”

Victoria stood up from her seat and picked up the platter once more, “It has been a long night and you have been awake for 12 hours now. Climb back into your coffin and get your rest, I’ll collect dinner as usual at dusk tonight.”

Lamiai nodded and followed Victoria back up the stairs to the main level. Lamiai caught a glimpse of the corpse of the young girl that they had just drunk lying motionless on the counter in the kitchen. Lamiai then turned and headed up another flight of stairs, creeping past the windows and flattening her body against the walls to avoid the tiny slivers of sunlight that had still managed to burst through the thick curtains. Once back in the safety of her dark room, she locked the door behind her and through herself on the large, four post bed the sat in the middle of the large bedroom.

Her mind raced with thoughts and doubts that filled her body at that moment. Hatred for the young vampire that had taken her father soon rushed through her body like the blood that flowed through her veins. She wanted to do nothing more than find the young one and make him suffer. If only her father had woken her from her slumber and let her go with him, she could have protected him.

But that was all in the past now, and she had to keep her people alive. It made her angry that she had to work so hard to keep the very vampire that had killed her father alive, but many, many others would parish if she didn’t fulfill the prophecy. Everything that her father and early family members had worked for would be washed away like the banks of the mighty rivers of the world. She couldn’t let that happen, she couldn’t.

As she climbed into her coffin again and slid the top back over, she swore that she would being that very evening to find her dark prince. Nothing would keep her from fulfilling that prophecy. And nothing would keep her from letting her father down. As she shut her brilliant purple eyes and drifted off into a surprisingly peaceful slumber, she vowed that the young vampire would die a very unpleasant death.

A very unpleasant death indeed.