Chapter - One

It was mildly chilly outside in the English air as I clutched my forearms. I shivered despite wearing the light coat I'd snatched off a hook before departing home all those hours ago. To get to my house was a half-hour walk along the back streets. Normally, I would never dare to walk alone at night, especially during the seasons where the sun set quicker over the horizon, leaving the streets bathed in midnight black sky. But tonight I had no other options and figured if I stuck to the lit streets and kept up a brisk walk, I'd be quite fine. So I continued past a rogue convenience store as its neon sign flickered ghoulishly. The pathway disappeared and reappeared each time it shut down and back on again.

A Halloween blow-up figure in someone's front yard cackled maliciously, the sound making me reel backwards in fright. A witch's face with charcoal eyes that flashed beneath a streetlight made me clutch at my chest. Something about its evil, hollow laughter made me stumble. I shook off the fear and tightened my grip around my phone and wallet. It was a busy night for the event. People of all ages were out and about, swiping sweets from strangers. My only hope was that they weren't anything more than friendly as I made my way home.

I tapped the screen of my watch, the white light making me scrunch up my nose. It was just past two in the morning, and I was definitely past my curfew. Quick as a flash, I shot out a text to my mother, letting her know I was safe and would be home soon. The evening had been spent at a party with friends, but I had grown too tired to continue drinking and had instead left before the alcohol could make walking home impossible. I was about to click the send button on my text when a voice piped up out of nowhere.

‘Well, that was hardly worth the trip into town.'

I whipped around on my heel and searched the misty streets but saw no one. Get a grip, Tabitha. You're just drunk. I continued walking, forgetting about the voice.

A few seconds passed and someone replied, ‘I thought we specifically said no old people!'

I drew in a breath – there were two voices now.

‘So?'

‘He was old! And you broke his phone. Poor thing. Can't we leave him an apology on a Post-it note or something?'

I spun around, still finding no one around me. My pulse spiked. I had sworn the voices had come from behind me and much closer this time.

‘That's a stupid idea.' Whoever spoke let out a huff of annoyance. My eyes flickered to the house beside me, but it was cast in darkness. Who the hell is speaking?

‘Why?' the second voice whined.

‘For starters? I don't carry around Post-it notes.'

‘You're in luck; I'm always in ready supply of stationery items.' Then came a sound like someone ruffling around, then quiet, before a person sighed.

‘Fine. So we have Post-it notes. What do you suppose we do, stick it to his forehead?' The layers of sarcasm rolled off the man's tongue, his words crisp in the dark night.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I listened into the conversation.

‘I was thinking of leaving it on his phone. But his forehead works too. We could write it backwards so he'd look at it in the mirror!'

‘We're not leaving him an apology, Calum.'

I raked in a breath and waited, my nerves singing beneath my skin. I tried hard to tune into where this conversation was taking place. Again, it went quiet, and with a shrug, I turned around to continue walking home. Perhaps it had been a townhouse I'd passed by; a conversation on a balcony shielded by trees. With my head down low, I almost barrelled into something, or someone, a scarce few moments later, frightening us both.

‘What do you think you're doing?'

A gasp escaped me. I looked up from my feet to the face of a young man. His dark brown hair was in loose curls falling over his forehead. The sides of his head were shaved short, his eyes an eerie metallic silver. He wore thick, black-framed glasses that sat neatly on his perfect nose. It struck me first that he was gorgeous and second, that I shouldn't be checking him out. I stumbled away from him as we both straightened up and eyed each other off.

But my backwards steps led me straight into another young man behind me. A scream choked itself in my throat as I turned around. This man had a nearly shaved head, his skin the colour of gold rum and striking cheekbones. He wore a tropical print button-down and yet he wasn't shivering in the cold air. As we made eye contact, he shot me a beaming smile. Harmless. I directed my eyes back to the brunette. Not so harmless.

The buzzed headed one spoke up as I glanced between the two of them. ‘She looks lost.'

‘Are you lost?' the brunette asked.

I found my voice. ‘I'm walking home.'

The dark-haired man quirked an eyebrow. ‘Were you listening?'

I noted a smudge of red on his lips, like crimson lip-gloss. ‘To you?' I asked. He nodded slowly, his eyes never straying off mine. ‘Of course not. I'm just going home after a party.'

Buzzed head grinned. ‘Come on Fifi, leave the girl alone.' He cocked his head at me, but it wasn't threatening. ‘Looks like someone's drunk a little too much at said party, hmm?'

I struggled to reply, my mouth opening and shutting without sound.

‘Are you drunk?' the brunette asked, drawing a little closer.

The name Fifi struck me as odd for a young male who looked as he did, with his dishevelled hair and rosy lips, but I moved past it. Fear filled my stomach at the widening of his pupils and the smudge of crimson on his bottom lip.

I swallowed, trying to find my tongue. ‘Uh, kind of, yeah. Why?'

He eyed me off with such intensity that I fidgeted in my outfit. ‘What did you dress as?' he asked, rather than answering my question.

I instinctively covered myself a little more with the jacket. ‘A skeleton.'

‘Cute!' I turned back to the man with short hair. He stood slowly swaying with the wind. With a shake of my head, I looked back to the brunette, not trusting the look in his silver eyes.

The brunette cocked his head. Something about him made me shiver. ‘Do I frighten you?'

‘No,' I said, my heart pounding.

‘Seems like it,' he answered, his tone clipped. ‘You're shaking.'

‘It's England,' I answered. Can I go now? Not to be rude but it's late and I'm minutes from bed. And no offence to this thrilling conversation, but bed is winning.'

Buzzed head waved a hand between them. ‘See you round, bones. Stay warm.'

The brunette said nothing, something sinister lingering in his gaze. I gave Buzz-cut a tiny smile and ducked between the two men. My breath drifted into the air in a cloud of white as I carried on walking. My light coat didn't help fight the chill I felt sinking through my skin. Neither of the young men were creepy, but something about them set alarm bells ringing in my head. I stumbled on the cracked pavement as my sneakers caught on the uneven cement. Somehow, my drunk-self managed not to fall over. I watched the sign on the convenience store flicker out, leaving me washed in darkness.

My survival instinct told me I wasn't safe yet. And as I turned the corner of my street, I heard them again. Voices. The same two voices I'd just left behind.

‘She smelt like pudding,' a dark voice murmured.

A shudder passed through me. Four houses until I was at my door.

‘I thought you preferred savoury?'

Three houses. A dog barked, making me jolt off the pavement a little.

‘Not when she smells so sweet.'

Two houses. I could see my porch light, moths shuddering around the glow.

‘She's just a bystander, Fifi. Don't take your hunger out on her.'

One house. The oak door of my house was well lit and I wanted to run. Hunger?

‘She'll barely feel it. I just need a taste.'

That was all it took. I snapped and ran towards my door, the nearness of the light spurring me on. But they were quicker. One of the men wrapped an arm around my waist as a hand clamped over my mouth to stop the scream erupting from my throat. He knocked me down to the ground with enough force to wind me and I caught a glimpse of teeth as my spine met the footpath. I threw out a fist instinctively and felt my hand connect with his jaw. The brunette appeared in my blurry vision, frowning and rolling out his jaw. But otherwise he didn't seem affected by my lack of strength. Before I could catch my breath, he smothered my mouth with one hand and knotted the other hand in my head. His body pressed down over mine to pin me to the cold pavement.

‘Missed me?' he snapped, a mean grin on his face. I tried to bite down on his hand but he pressed it harder against my mouth, almost making my jaw break. My teeth almost shattered in my mouth from his force. ‘Thought so. How's about you stop struggling and just let me get this over with, yeah?'

He rolled his eyes as I screamed against his hand.

‘You humans are so frail. It's sad how easy I could break every bone in your body. So why don't you relax and let me finish this quickly, hmm?'

Tears poured from my eyes and I struggled, but he was too strong.

He tugged my hair sharply and my head knocked the pavement. From the weight of his body on mine, I knew I would bruise. ‘If you move, it'll hurt more,' he said. His silver eyes shone like moonlight in the dark fog. ‘You might feel a pinch.'

He bent his head down and I had a brief thought that he was going to kiss me. But then his lips skimmed my earlobe. The action made me shiver and I tried to scream against his hand. No sound came out as the hand holding my hair withdrew to brush some hair off my neck, exposing the vein. And then he did something I did not expect.

He bit into my neck.

I thrashed around at the fierce pain that exploded through my throat, but he pinned down my legs with his knees and pushed his weight onto my body. His hand pressed down harder onto my mouth as he drank from my neck. His lips forced my blood past his teeth and tongue as he continued to drink. A tingling in my wrists told me I was losing blood, and quickly.

Eventually I stropped struggling against him, feeling too faint from loss of blood to fight. The brunette was crouched over me still, but I felt him release my hair from his vice like grip. A murmur of pleasure rippled out of his mouth as I went limp against the concrete. I soon felt like I would pass out, and it was only then that I felt his teeth retract out of my skin. Blood gurgled from the open wound as he pulled himself up off me.

I gaped at him, my eyes glossy with unshed tears. He sat back and wiped the back of his mouth clean with his sleeve. At I caught sight of my blood staining his teeth, nausea rolled through my stomach until I shuddered. The brunette lifted himself off me as I rolled over to the gutter and emptied the contents of my stomach down the storm drain. I felt someone pick up my hair and hold it back so it didn't get in the way. When I'd finished being sick, I rolled back over onto the pavement, gasping for breath.

The brunette dropped my hair as I stared up at him. He cocked his head to the side and gave me a soft, pleasant smile. ‘See? Wasn't so bad, was it?'

I tried sitting up despite the hollow feeling in my limbs. He helped lift me to my feet, the cold metal of the rings he wore biting at my exposed skin. Somewhere in the back of my mind was fear of what had just happened, but I couldn't do much more than focus on not falling over. It clicked in my mind that this man couldn't be mortal. This was a chance to find out the unknown.

‘What are you?' I whispered to him.

He swept my hair off my shoulder, helping fix the rumple to my shirt. ‘The technical term is a child of death. But you mundanes like to call us vampires.' A snort flew from his mouth. ‘Quite unoriginal.'

‘Vampires? No … vampires aren't real. It's a bad dream, just a bad dream. I had too much to drink at the party…'

He licked the sides of his mouth. ‘Yes, I could taste all that alcohol in your bloodstream. I feel a bit woozy from it myself.' He grinned, revealing two bloody teeth shaped like fangs.

‘What are those?' I asked, my voice only a smidgen above a whisper.

‘Canines,' he answered. ‘It's how we feed.'

My mouth popped open to let out a wail but the brunette was quicker. He shot out a hand and choked the scream out of my windpipe. Then he quickly let go and moved to me. His fingers pressed into my temples as he stared deep into my eyes. I tried not to blink as his pupils widened. After nothing happened, he stepped away, plastering a kind smile on his mouth. He held out an arm.

‘I do hope you are alright, miss,' he said, nodding a little. ‘That was a nasty fall, after all.'

I blinked. He thinks I don't remember the drinking.

‘Get away from me!' I screamed out, backing away. Shock made the brunette freeze. My knees buckled as I tried to retreat. ‘Leave me alone!'

A burst of stars exploded behind my eyelids. The light made me fall to the ground. The last thing I saw was his forehead creased in confusion as the darkness swept me underneath it.