Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

catch her before she made it to the gates.
    He frowned when he sensed other vampires, strong vampires, and made a lunge for her. Dragging her into the bushes that lined the opposite side of the road to her mansion, he placed his hand over her mouth to silence her.
    Prophecy thought about biting into his hand as it clamped down over her mouth. She dug her nails into it, trying to prise it off her, and wriggled to get free.
    She stopped the instant she saw why he’d dragged her into the trees and undergrowth.
    Arkalus.
    And he wasn’t alone.
    Her hands relinquished their grip on her captor’s arms and she watched the scene unfold in front of her.
    Arkalus was with one of the other family, one of stature. Was this the lord of the vampire now holding her captive? He was strong, and old. She could sense the power in him when he turned to face her brother at the gates.
    He signalled and several guards appeared and moved off to a distance as he waved a dismissive hand. Her eyes strayed to them. If they were the guardsmen of Aurorea, then she had been right about the vampire who was holding her. He wasn’t a guard. He was something above that position.
    She returned her gaze to her brother and thought about that.
    “Then it is settled.” Arkalus smiled broadly at the lord of Aurorea. “We shall join forces and hunt the abomination together.”
    “For the safety of our kind.” The other vampire grinned back at her brother and firmly shook his hand.
    “We thought we could contain her. Iona was a fool not to listen to me. She is not worthy of running this house.” Arkalus’ smile faded, leaving his expression cold.
    Her stomach dropped. Abomination? Safety of our kind? Aurorea and Caelestis working together? She felt lost and struggled to comprehend what they were saying. Was she the abomination they were to hunt?
    The vampire who was holding her had said that he had revealed her existence to his family, and her brother was saying that they had thought they could contain her.
    What was happening?
    She didn’t even notice the gates closing and the other family leaving. The vampire behind her let go of her and she slumped against a tree, staring at the dirt beneath her.
    They were talking about her. Her own brother wanted to hunt her down and kill her. A vampire from the house of Aurorea wanted to protect her. Her head pounded as she tried to make sense of everything. Who was she? How was she a danger to their species? She was barely twenty, had never left her home before tonight.
    They’d kept her hidden, just as the vampire had said. She’d broken the rules of her mother and gone out into the night, and this is what had happened.
    If she went back, they were going to kill her.
    She looked over at the mansion, letting her eyes take in the sight so she could always remember it and the sense of safety it had once given her, and then looked back at the man beside her.
    “I’ll go with you, but I need to know some things first.”
    He nodded. “I will answer all your questions as truthfully as I can but we must get to safety before the sun fully rises.”
    Her eyes moved to the lightening sky. She hadn’t even realised that she was in danger. The whole night seemed like a confusing whirlwind of events that had spiralled beyond her control.
    She felt lost and empty, unable to deal with the things that were happening. She didn’t want to know everything. She looked at the man again. He was watching her, his eyes intently locked on hers. She just wanted to know enough to make her feel it was all right to go with him.
    She followed his lead in silence as he stood and began walking down through the trees to the path. Giving her home one last look, she started along the street, back to the warehouse.
    The words of her Arkalus and the lord of Aurorea haunted her.
    She was an abomination in the eyes of her kind.
    She was a danger to them all.
    She frowned.
    Just what was she?

Chapter 5
    Prophecy walked wearily into the building. She could feel the sun rising but she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to clear her head, wanted the man she was with to make all the confusion and pain go away. She believed that he had some answers, at least enough to keep her walking the path she’d now chosen. Each step that brought her farther away from her family brought her more pain. She could never return home. Arkalus and the lord of Aurorea would kill her if she did. They would bring her to justice for a crime she didn’t know