Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

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 her throat while thinking about her first kill and her large dark eyes scanned the horizon. She caught sight of two guards patrolling the grounds.
    Why was everyone else 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 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 when 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. Had someone dunked him in one of the city fountains? The rain couldn’t have soaked him because it