Prologue
“Louis!” Screamed the young vampire girl, pleading for help.
“Louis?” The older woman asked hysterically. “Louis?! What did you do?”
He watched helplessly as both his female travel companions were being hoisted away. It was his fault, and they were going to die because of him, yet he couldn’t seem to do anything. Soon the only thing left of them were their screams as they burned in the bright morning sun.
“Don’t leave me!” the small girl sobbed. How could this happen? Everything should have been perfect. Mama was supposed to be coming home a week ago, but she never showed.
Now her mirror image, vampire counter-part had to leave too.
“I have to go, Kari,” her twin said softly, trying to comfort her.
“But, Sherry.”
“Kari, if I don’t go then Daddy will hurt me.”
“Can’t I come with you?”
Sherry placed a hand on her twin’s sopping wet cheek. “It’s too dangerous.”
Seeing a tall masculine figure standing in the door frame. Louis. “I have to go now, Kari,” she hugged her twin for the last time. “I’ll come back for you. I promise!” She was then lifted away.
“Papa, please! She’s just a little girl!” The young boy grabbed hold of his father’s arm, a futile attempt to stop the angry man.
“Michael, stay outta this.”
“But, Papa—“
“She’ll grow up not remembering the existence of vampires until I tell her. She’ll be raised to hate them.”
“What about Sherry? You can’t erase her twin!” Michael tried desperately to make him see reason.
“Oh, yes I can!” His father challenged.
Michael’s gaze travelled down to his last remaining younger sister. Helpless and unconscious on the floor in the center of the magic circled chalked out in white.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye again, not without blabbing the secrets that his father was locking away. Tears streamed down his face.
I’m sorry, Kari…
“Are you sure this is the only way?”
“If you don’t go my dad will hurt you. You’re half of what he hates,” Michael replied somberly.
“Bu so are you, Michael,” the young girl tilted her head to one side.
“Yes, but he’s overlooking that.”
The girl nodded in understanding. “Alright, just promise me that we’ll meet up again later,” she ordered.
Michael was taken aback, then regaining his composure he leaned in and hugged her. “Of course, Nina. You know I would never go back on our promise.” Though they were only both seven, they had promised to get married when they were older.
“Nina?” She pulled away and turned to see her mother. She hastily pecked him on the cheek before disappearing.
“He killed your father, and you’re still going to go with him?!” Nina shouted at the younger girl.
Midnight was close to tears, but she still nodded meekly.
“Don’t yell at her!” Sherry shouted back. “Sure, he’s the one who made all of this happen, but he didn’t mean to!”
Sure her father was causing a lot of damage, but she didn’t hate him. Not like Nina hated her own father.
Louis knelt down in front of his daughter. “Please forgive me, Nina.”
“So these two will be taking over?”
“Yes, when Michael is ready, they will follow him.”
Brisko stared at the twin boys being held by their parents. “Twins among our kind are extremely rare. No doubt great things can be expected from them.”
“Claudia?!” Claude shouted out. “Where are you?!”
“Daddy?”
Looking down the hall he saw his youngest son, “Kain!” Running he snatched him up in his arms.
“Claudia? Eric? Stephan?” Not one of them answered his calls.
The small boy in his arms coughed uncontrollably. He turned to go down the stairs, to the entrance to get them both outside.
He knew who started the fire all too well. But he couldn’t bring himself to hate him, no matter how much he should. He knew he would react the same if faced with the situation.
Finally outside he paced over to a tree in the front yard and set the boy down.
He was still coughing when he asked, “Daddy?”
“Kain,” Claude smiled sadly down at him. “I’m sorry that we’re all leaving you. You must be strong, remember what we taught you. Find the school,” he ruffled his ow sobbing son’s hair for the last time.
“You’re the new Vampire Lord.”
He kissed his head before getting up, and walked back to the mansion.
Time was up…
“Daddy?!” Kain cried aloud. “Mommy? Eric? Stephan?” No answer from his parents or two older brothers. He was alone.
From somewhere in his memory, a voice spoke in his mind:
In a time when peril descends upon us, everything will change. Two half breeds will find a way to be together. A twin will fall in love with another. Two enemies will change the cycle forever. The New Vampire Lord will find True Love in one of the two Keys, so long as she is in vampire form. Many disasters will be fall them, but their hope shall not waver so long as they help each other to overcome every adversary.
