Prophecy: Child of Light

Trapped.

That’s what she was, what she had been for as long as she could remember.

The walls around her had seemed to close in as the years rolled on, making the mansion increasingly unbearable, and drawing her ever more to the world outside her bedroom window.

Rain rattled against the windowpanes, creating an eerie melody when combined with the howl of the wind cutting through the power lines. Watching the streaks of water coursing down the windows, Prophecy ignored the ramblings of her blood-mother, Iona, and kept focus on the outside world.

She slowly ran the brush down her long auburn hair, smoothing away the knots and tangles while she stared out into the night.

Something stirred in the darkness and her gaze shifted there. The hunting group crossed the grounds towards the gates. There were eleven of them tonight, one less than last night because one had fallen. Talk of it had reached her even before her mother knew. The walls had ears in this house and Prophecy knew the owner of them.

A chance meeting with the other bloodline that lived in this city had led to a fight in which her family had lost a son.

Not that she cared.

What was it to her who died out on the hunt? She didn’t know them, didn’t know anyone outside a set sphere of people.

Her brown eyes followed the group as they reached the gates and she watched them slip into the darkness beyond. She knew where they were going. They were heading down into the city, down to a place she’d never been. Losing sight of them, she glanced at the high stone wall that surrounded the grounds.

It was the final barrier between her and the city. The outside wall of her prison.

A wall she longed to breach.

“Where do they go?” she said in a distant tone of voice, sounding as disinterested as possible.

She heard a swish of material and felt her mother close behind her.

“To hunt,” her mother replied in a matter of fact tone. She took the brush from her.

Prophecy mused her mother’s answer while she stared at the rain-soaked scenery and felt the brush in her hair, her mother’s delicate fingers working through the knots.

To hunt.

It sounded so enthralling, so dangerous and dark. She wished she knew what it was to hunt, but she’d never been allowed out into the night with the others, not even with her so-called brother, Arkalus.

“Can I go too?” she asked, knowing what the answer would be, but hoping that tonight it might be different from the thousands of times that she’d asked in the past.

“I am afraid not,” her mother replied and smoothed down her hair.

“Why not?” Prophecy challenged and turned to face her mother.

Iona didn’t look at all concerned by Prophecy’s outburst. Her face was a mask of calm, and Prophecy’s eyes roamed over it, taking in the luscious black of her mother’s curled hair and the wicked red that smeared her lips. Her eyes were surrounded by layers of black and brown, making them sinfully dark and alluring against her creamy pale skin. In all the years that Prophecy could remember her, Iona had always looked this way—like a true child of the night. Her mother was a fitting master of their bloodline, never straying from the tradition of dress or habit. Never straying from the laws.

All her life Prophecy had been taught to obey the rules of their society and of their house, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to obey her mother. She could feel the lure of the outside world keenly, as though it was in her blood, and she could no longer ignore it. She had tried. She had spent night after night resisting the call of the city and the promise of excitement it whispered in her ear. Now her blood was screaming at her to escape the confines of the mansion and taste the thrill of the hunt, to take hold of it and live the life she was born to.

“You’re too young.” A fond smile teased her mother’s lips and she raised a slim hand. She pushed Prophecy’s hair behind her ear, clearing it from her face. “Soon, maybe.”

Prophecy allowed herself a small smile. It was the first time her mother had said that she would be allowed to hunt soon and it ignited a spark of hope inside her. She glanced at the window, still smiling serenely as her eyes followed the spatter of the raindrops against the glass.

“But first, you must complete your training.”

A sigh escaped Prophecy’s lips while she thought about that. Each night she woke and went through the rigmarole of training, and each night she was held back while the others went out to hunt. All she wished for was one night of freedom.

One thrilling night out hunting, even if it were with Arkalus.

Then she would be happy.

Then she would gladly spend eternity cooped up in the mansion.

She watched her mother leave and turned her attention back to the rain-soaked world outside her window. In the distance, she could see the pinpricks of light that were the buildings in the centre of the city.

Prague.

She longed to go there.

During her studies in the library, she’d read every book about the city and its dark history, even when she was supposed to be reading about her family and their own black and bloodied past. She didn’t care much for them or the other family that presided over the city; she just wanted to be out there in amongst the people, and feeling the thrill of the chase.

She wanted her first taste of a kill.

Standing, she ran her fingers around the smooth white column of her throat while thinking about killing her first victim and her large dark eyes scanned the horizon. She caught sight of two guards patrolling the grounds.

How was it everyone else was allowed to hunt when she was forced to stay at home? She’d done her training, knew how to execute a clean kill, and could defend herself from the other family if she needed to.

She was ready.

Why didn’t anyone see that?

Why was she being held back?

Casting a glance around her dimly lit room, she stopped when her eyes came to rest on her wardrobe. A mischievous smile wove its way across her lips.

She would see this city. She would feel the excitement of the hunt and learn the taste of fresh human blood, and no one would even know about it.

Tomorrow, the night was hers.

* * * *

The city was dark and clouds hung heavy in the air, weighing down upon it as they threatened rain. Prophecy slipped through the black shadows. Quieter than a cat, she moved from street to street, invisible to the people walking them as the nightclubs turned out.

She froze when she entered the cemetery, hurriedly crouching low and turning her face to the sky as a rumble of thunder echoed overhead. Her eyes narrowed and ran over the clouds, assessing just how long she had before the downpour reached her.

Just enough time to hunt.

She listened to the chatter of people as they passed by on the other side of the wall, unaware of the creatures they shared their world with.

Creatures like her.

She couldn’t remember a time she had been like them. She’d never been able to remember it. Her kin barely spoke about their lives as humans, but she knew they could remember them. On the rare instances they’d mentioned them, she’d always been listening from the shadows. Their conversations had left her wondering about her life before she was a vampire and why she couldn’t remember it.

The voices drifted into the distance and she stood up. She moved swiftly into the inviting darkness of the graveyard, allowing it to envelope her and hide her from the world.

She slipped from tomb to tomb, sharpening her senses more and more with each passing second and waiting with baited breath for someone to stray from the human world and into hers.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She pressed her back flush against the wall of a crypt when her sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps heading towards her. Her eyes closed as the person neared and she listened to their erratic movements. Inhaling deeply, she tried to catch their scent in the damp air.

Lightning forked in the distance, the thunder rolling above her just a few seconds later.

She only had a short time before the rain came, but it was all she was going to need.

She grinned when the man she was tracking stumbled and fell.

This man had been drinking.

Smoothing her clothes, she checked her appearance and then slipped out of the shadows and into the path of her quarry.

He stopped, his eyes raking over her as she stood awaiting him.

“What do we have here?” he breathed in a thick Czech accent.

She braced herself when he took a step towards her, his smile widening. Her stomach tightened with nerves and she struggled to keep her focus while she repeatedly went over what she needed to do in her head.

She managed a smile, dipped her head slightly and looked up at him through hooded eyes, luring him in. She fluttered her eyelashes when he stumbled forwards. The stench of alcohol came off him in waves and intoxicated her senses as it mixed with the scent of his blood.

He wasn’t a large man, barely the same height as her and nearly as thin. His sandy hair hung in loose, wet curls, like a shaggy mop on top of his head. She wondered if someone had dunked him in one of the city fountains. He couldn’t have been caught in the rain because it hadn’t reached them yet.

“All alone…pretty girl like you…city like this,” he slurred.

She kept her smile steady, holding her nerve and waiting for the right moment to strike.

When he came within arms reach, she lowered her head completely, turning it away from him so she was almost looking behind her.

So her face was hidden in shadow.

“I don’t come out often,” she said, hesitating while she built up the courage to take her first life.

“Shame…not enough girls like you in this city. You shouldn’t hide away.” He stepped up to her.

His fingers brushed against her cheek. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Anticipation curled like a snake in the pit of her stomach and she was ready to strike.

“Not enough girls like you in the world,” he murmured and she smiled.

“You’d be right there.” She raised her head as her fangs descended and in one swift move, she was on him.

Grasping his arms, she bit deep into his neck, hoping her aim was true and she would catch a vein strong enough to drink from.

Her hands wrestled with his. He struggled against her in a desperate attempt to break free. She sank her teeth deeper into his neck and was rewarded with a mouthful of blood. It tasted sweeter than the rarest wine as it slipped down her throat and she couldn’t stop herself from drinking deeply. It was intoxicating. He started to cry out and she covered his mouth roughly with her hand, stopping him from drawing attention to them. She held him tighter and tried to contain him so she could feed properly. He was wriggling against her now and it only served to drive her on, heightening the thrill of her first kill. The taste of fresh, warm blood made her fingers curl and she didn’t even notice that her nails were digging into his flesh.

All she could think about, all she could feel, was the all-consuming pleasure of his blood.

His heart stopped and she released him, hearing him slump to the ground at her feet.

Her head fell backwards and she lost herself in the sensations running rampant through her, potent feelings she’d never experienced before. Her mind swam with desire while she savoured the divinity of what she’d tasted.

* * * *

From the shadows, Valentine watched her, his eyes following her every move. She wiped her fingers across her mouth, licking and sucking every last drop of blood off them as though it would be her last. He’d never seen one take so much pleasure from the hunt and the kill. He’d never witnessed one lose themselves so much in the feed.

Slipping out of the darkness, he walked towards her, moving silently for fear of alerting her to his presence before he was willing to make himself known.

She was enthralling. Still wrapt in delight, she ran her fingers down her body, clearly buzzing from the fresh blood in her veins. He arched a brow at her when he stopped at a distance, close enough to see who she was, but far away enough that she still didn’t notice him. She ran her tongue along her soft full lips, clearing them of any remaining blood.

“And what have we here?” he said.

Prophecy started as the velvet-edged, strong voice roused her from her haze. For a moment, she thought about answering him by mentioning that he’d just said exactly what her last victim had, but then she caught his scent and froze.

He wasn’t human.

He was a vampire.

Her eyes shot open and she stared at him, her senses becoming painfully sharp when he stared straight back.

His eyes were sharp, narrowing as he studied her. “Who are you?”

She remained mute. She could sense a power in him that was nearly as strong as her mother’s and she knew instinctively that he was from the other family. Her eyes remained fixed on him when thunder rumbled threateningly overhead and she blinked rapidly when fat raindrops began to fall. The sound of them filled the silence. She was saturated in a matter of seconds.

Those seconds seemed to stretch into minutes while she stared at him and he looked back at her. The dead body of the man she’d killed lay prostrate between them, marking a line that she chose as the boundary between her and the newcomer. If he stepped near it, she’d bolt in the opposite direction and head for the safety of home.

Until then, she would stay where she was and stand her ground as she’d been taught.

Lightning illuminated the turbulent blanket of grey above them. She noticed that his hair was black against his skin; a tangled spiky mess that made his slim face look even thinner. He stood straight, his head tilted back a fraction and his focus wholly on her. His eyes were as green as hers were when she was in her vampire guise and she was drawn to looking into them as he stared at her with a critical coldness.

He took a step towards her and she moved back one, keeping the distance between them steady.

“Why are you alone?” His words were an obvious attempt to get her to speak. She kept silent. “Not hunting with the pack?”

She felt like turning that question against him, but she was trapped in his gaze and answered without thinking.

“They won’t let me. I’m still learning.” It came out sounding sulky and she lifted her chin in defiance when he pulled an expression of mock sympathy.

“Learning what?” He took another step towards her. This time she remained standing in the same spot, not letting him back her up any more.

“To hunt,” she said.

Her senses stretched out and assessed all avenues of escape around her. Now that he was closing the gap, she could feel just how powerful he was and her instincts were telling her to run before he got too close. She knew she would be able to outrun him. He was taller than her, but had a slightly heavier build, which would slow him down, even with his heightened abilities.

He laughed mockingly and then gave her a serious look when he took another step towards her, cutting the distance between them down to only a few feet.

“To hunt is in your blood.” His voice lowered, his intimate tone sending a shiver down her spine. He looked deep into her eyes and held her gaze while he moved towards her. “To kill, your nature.”

She blinked.

“Who is your sire, little one?” He purred the words at her, his sensuous voice lulling her. Her eyes closed for a split-second before she got the better of herself and they shot open.

She raised her head in an attempt to show him that she wasn’t scared of him. She wasn’t going to answer his questions and she could see he wasn’t pleased about that when a shadow of annoyance crossed his face.

Her eyes widened when his teeth extended, his eyes shifting into their blue state as he revealed his true self. She gasped when he closed the gap between them and caught hold of her before she could move. She should have run when she’d had the chance. She shouldn’t have come out alone.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she felt as though the tables had been turned on her while she struggled against him, trying to escape his grasp like her victim had attempted to break free of hers. She flinched away from him when he held her firm and whispered words to her.

“Do not be frightened. You know what I am going to do,” he said and she closed her eyes, leaning away from him when he neared her neck.

She had to block him, had to stop him from seeing the visions of her past from her blood like he wanted to. She desperately tried to remember what she’d been taught, but forgot it the instant his lips brushed against her skin, sending shivers of desire racing through her, washing away all fear.

She swallowed hard and grimaced when his sharp incisors penetrated her, sinking deep into her. She stilled for a moment as pain swept through her, clearing the clouds of desire from her mind. He pulled on her blood and his fingers tightened around her upper arms. She struggled against him.

Escape.

She needed to escape.

* * * *

As the images that were swimming in his head came into order, Valentine stumbled backwards and stared at her. She was standing before him, clutching at her neck, her eyes wide and full of fear. He blinked once, twice, and then frowned when she bolted out of the cemetery gates, leaving him alone in the darkness.

He stared at the place where she’d been not two seconds before and then brought his fingers up to his mouth. He brushed the blood from his lips and thought about what had just happened. He thought about what he’d seen.

Could it be?

He glanced at the blood staining his fingers.

“Prophecy.”