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  Caitlin just nodded, gritting her teeth as a yearning need to be with her daughter swelled within her.

  “She’s in danger, Caleb,” Caitlin said, holding back the tears that threatened to choke her.

  Caleb looked back out the windshield and set his jaw. “We’ll be with her soon. I promise you. Everything will be okay.”

  Caitlin desperately wanted to believe him but a part of her was skeptical. Scarlet had flown willingly to this place, to this castle filled with vicious Immortalists. As her mother, Caitlin had felt she had no choice but to follow. As a vampire, Scarlet was certainly in more danger than your average teenager.

  Another pang of longing struck Caitlin. But this time it was worse than before. It wasn’t just the pain of separation from her daughter that Caitlin was feeling, it was something even worse.

  Scarlet was in mortal danger.

  “Caleb,” Caitlin said hurriedly. “She’s down there and she’s in trouble. We have to land. Now.” The urgency in her voice made her words come out in a hurried whisper.

  Caleb nodded and leaned his view to the side. Below them, the black waves churned.

  “There’s nowhere to land,” he said. “I don’t want to attempt a water landing. It’s far too dangerous.”

  Without missing a beat, Caitlin said, “Then we’ll have to eject.”

  Caleb’s eyes grew wide. “Caitlin, are you mad?”

  But even as he spoke she was reaching for the parachute pack and strapping it on.

  “Not mad,” she said. “Just a mother whose daughter needs her.”

  No sooner had the words left her lips than the aching need for her daughter flooded through her again. She could just about make out a shape in the distance and thought that perhaps it was a building.

  Raindrops had begun to fall, drawing lines down the glass and reflecting the bright moonlight, and Caleb’s grip tightened on the tiller.

  “You want me to ditch the plane,” he said, calmly, more as a statement than a question.

  Caitlin clicked her parachute pack into place. “Yes.”

  She held out another pack to Caleb. He just looked at it, the expression on his face one of incredulity.

  “There’s nowhere to set the plane down,” Caitlin added firmly. “You said so yourself.”

  “And if we drown?” Caleb said. “If the waves are too strong? The water too cold? How can we help Scarlet if we’re dead?”

  “You need to trust me,” Caitlin said.

  Caleb took a deep breath. “How sure are you that Scarlet’s near?”

  Caitlin leveled her gaze with Caleb as another pang of longing rushed through her. “I’m sure.”

  Caleb sucked air between his teeth then shook his head.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he said.

  Then he quickly slipped off his shoulder straps and slipped the parachute pack on. Once he was ready, he looked over at Caitlin.

  “This won’t be fun,” he said. “And it might not end well.”

  She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know.”

  Caleb nodded but Caitlin could see the fear on his face and the worry in his eyes.

  And then he slammed his palm onto the eject button.

  All at once a rush of air swirled around them. Caitlin felt her hair tangle in the ice cold wind and felt herself propelled upwards at a rate so fast her stomach seemed to drop as though left behind.

  And then they were falling.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Vivian woke with a start to find herself lying on a chaise lounge in her back yard. The sun was long gone, and moonlight glittered off the surface of the swimming pool. From the windows of her family’s mansion, a warm orange glow spilled across the perfectly manicured lawn.

  ___Vivian sat up and was hit by a wave of pain. It seemed to radiate from her very pores, as though every single one of her nerve endings was on fire. Her throat was dry, her head pounded, and there was a pulsing sensation like daggers behind her eyes.

  Vivian gripped the sides of the chaise lounge to steady herself as nausea rippled through her.

  What’s happening to me?

  Memories began floating to the surface of her mind, of teeth bearing down on her, of an excruciating pain in her neck, of the sound of someone’s grotesque breathing in her ear, the smell of blood filling her nostrils.

  Vivian gripped the sides even harder as horrifying memories flashed through her mind. Her heart beat hard and her stomach plummeted as she remembered all at once the moment Joe___ had turned her into a vampire. In her grasp, the chaise lounge cracked.

  Vivian leapt up, alarmed by her strength. As she did, the pain she’d been feeling immediately dissipated. She felt different, almost as though she were inhabiting a new body. A power that had not existed before surged through her veins. As a cheerleader she had been strong and athletic—yet what she felt now was something more than just peak physical fitness. It was beyond strong. She felt invincible.

  It wasn’t just power. There was something else building up inside of her. Anger. Rage. The desire to cause pain. The desire for revenge.

  She wanted to make Joe suffer for what he had done to her. She wanted to make him hurt as much as he had hurt her.

  She’d just begun walking toward the mansion, determined to pick up the pieces, to find him, when the patio doors flew open. She stopped in her tracks as her mother, dressed in her pink fluffy pom-pom slippers, silky dressing gown, and Prada sunglasses, peered out. Typical that her mother would wear sunglasses even when it was dark. Her hair was in rollers, a sign she was preparing to go out, probably to one of her stupid society functions.

  At the sight of her mother, Vivian’s newfound rage began bubbling to the brim. She clenched her hands into fists.

  “What are you doing out here?” her mother cried, using the high-pitched critical voice that set Vivian’s nerves on edge. “You’re meant to be getting ready for the Sandersons’ party!” She paused as Vivian took a step into the light. “Dear God, you look like death! Come inside quickly so I can sort out your hair.”

  Vivian’s long, blond hair had once been her pride and joy—the source of envy amongst her school peers and a powerful magnet for hot boys—but right now, Vivian couldn’t care less about how it looked. All she could think about were the new sensations ricocheting through her body, the gnawing hunger in the pit of her stomach, and the desire to kill that pulsated through her veins.

  “Come on!” her mother snapped, making the rollers on her head quiver. “What are you just standing there for?”

  Vivian felt a smile tug up the corner of her mouth. She took another slow step toward her mother. When she spoke, her voice was cold and emotionless.

  “I’m not going to the Sandersons’ party.”

  Her mother glared back, her glance filled with hatred.

  “Not coming?” she cried. “That is not an option, young lady. This is one of the most important events on the calendar this year. If you don’t come all kinds of rumors will start flying. Now hurry, we only have an hour before the car arrives. And look at your nails! You look like you’ve been crawling through dirt!”

  She wore a look of incredulity, mixed with disbelief and shame.

  Vivian’s anger only deepened. She thought of the way her mother had treated her her entire life, always placing her prized society functions first, only caring about Vivian inasmuch as she fit into the perfect image she wanted to project to the world. She hated this woman, more than she could say.

  “I’m not going to the Sandersons’ party,” Vivian growled, as she stepped ever closer.

  She realized then that there was a word for what she was doing: stalking. It was what pack animals did in the wild as they approached their prey. A thrill of anticipation ran through her as she watched her mother’s expression change from frustrated to fearful.

  “I’m not going to the Sandersons’ party,” Vivian said again, “or the Johnsons’, or the Gilbertons’, or the Smythes’. I’m not going to
another party ever again.”

  The look in her mother’s eye was something Vivian never wanted to forget.

  “What’s gotten into you?” she said, this time a nervous tremble in her voice.

  Vivian stepped closer. She licked her lips and cracked her neck.

  Her mother stepped back, horrified.

  “Vivian…” she began.

  But she did not get a chance to finish.

  Vivian pounced, teeth bared, hands outstretched. She grabbed her mother, wrenched her head back, and sank her teeth into her neck. Her Prada sunglasses flew to the ground and she trampled them beneath her feet.

  Vivian’s heart beat faster as the sharp metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. And as her mother fell limp in her arms, Vivian felt an overwhelming sense of triumph.

  She let go and her mother’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, nothing but a heap of twisted limbs and designer clothes. Her dead eyes stared directly at Vivian, unseeing. Vivian stared back down and licked the blood from her lips.

  “Goodbye, Mother,” she said.

  She turned and ran across the shadowy garden, running faster and faster, and the next thing she knew she was flying, up into the night air, over their immaculate estate, and into the cold, cold night. She would find the man who did this to her—and she would tear him limb from limb.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A full moon was glowing above Kyle, making the trees that lined Vivian’s suburban street look like skeleton silhouettes. He licked the dried blood off his lips, savoring his delicious kill, recalling Vivian’s expression of fear and terror. It sustained him. She would, he resolved, be the first of many, the first victim in the vampire army he was about to build.

  The high school. That would be next. He had a burning desire to find the girl who’d turned him—Scarlet. Perhaps she would be there—or someone would who knew where she was.

  If not, it was just as well—there would be an endless supply of young kids to turn. Ever since feasting on Vivian, he’d gotten quite the taste for teenagers, and he liked the idea of an obedient little army following him around. More than that, he liked the idea of wreaking havoc on this town—and on the world.

  Kyle began jogging along the sidewalk, then he stopped short and laughed to himself. He remembered he was a vampire now, with the strength and skill beyond anything a human could dream of—and most importantly, the ability to fly. It was the one thing he hadn’t fully tried yet. And now he wanted to feel it all, and to feel it fully. He wanted to soar into the sky and look down at those insignificant ants going about their dull little lives beneath him. He wanted to swoop at them and hunt them down like an eagle picking off its prey.

  He grinned to himself as he took two big steps and took to the air.

  It was exhilarating. Wind rushed past him, tousling his hair as he flew higher and higher into the sky. Beneath him, he could see the small town lights twinkling. He thought of all the people in their homes, ignorant to the hell he was about to unleash. He laughed to himself, picturing the chaos he would soon create. Nothing would give him more joy than to ruin each and every one of their lives.

  Soon Kyle saw the high school in the distance, far below. The police had set up a blockade around a large area of the neighborhood, including every road that led to the school. Each route was lined with police cars.

  Idiots, Kyle thought as he flew straight over them unnoticed.

  They were being willfully ignorant. Clearly, the idea of a vampire killer on the loose was too much for their little brains to handle, so they’d downgraded him in their minds to just a run-of-the-mill killer. They had no idea.

  As Kyle neared the entrance to the school, he could see bits of police tape flapping in the wind from where those two men had tried to gun him down. He could see his own blood on the concrete. He clenched his fists and thought about how no one could stop him. He was immortal now. Cars, bullets, nothing could stop him.

  He decided then to take the back entrance. He swooped over the athletics field, where football practice was taking place under the glare of the floodlights, and set himself down in the shadows. Using his super keen eyesight, he honed in on the two police cars parked just slightly around the corner, thinking themselves out of sight. Perhaps, Kyle thought with a smile, they were out of sight for a human. But not a vampire.

  The place was in disarray. Smashed glass and litter were all over the pavement. He wondered how on earth they’d managed to convince any of the kids to stay at school. It was that willful ignorance again, he decided.

  He paced toward the closed gym doors, considering it to be his best route into the school. Here, he noted, there was also extra security. Kyle could see they’d stationed a big burly guy by the doors, bigger even than he was. He was the sort of security guard who’d be better placed at a rough downtown nightclub than a high school. Kyle just smiled to himself, relishing the challenge of taking the man on.

  He sauntered up to the security guard confidently, noting the way the man’s hand slid down to his waist. Kyle guessed he would be reaching either for a gun or a walkie-talkie to radio for backup. Neither fazed Kyle. Guns couldn’t kill him and even a hundred police officers would do no more than slow him down.

  “You’ve got some nerve coming back here,” the security man said as Kyle strolled up to him. “You’re a wanted man. Every cop and security personnel in the city has got your picture. The whole city is on the lookout for you.”

  Kyle smirked and spread his arms wide.

  “And yet, here I am,” he replied.

  The security man tried not to let his worry show on his face, but Kyle could see straight through it.

  “What do you want?” he asked, his voice tremulous.

  Kyle nodded his head toward the gym doors. He could hear the pounding beat of music coming from inside and could imagine all the cheerleaders inside in mid-practice. He wanted to turn each and every one of them.

  Kyle walked up to the security guard and grabbed him round the neck, lifting him clean off the ground. Even though he was bigger and taller than Kyle, Kyle’s strength was greater. The man felt barely heavier than a child.

  “I want to make an army,” Kyle whispered in the man’s ear.

  The man let out a strangled wail and kicked. Kyle bent his head low and bit the security guard’s neck. The man tried to cry but Kyle’s grip around his neck was too tight. He could make no sound as his blood drained from him.

  Kyle dropped the man to his feet, knowing that he had created his second vampire. When he woke, reborn, he’d be in his army.

  Soldier number two.

  Kyle threw open the gym doors and loud pop music burst out along with the smell of sweat and the cheers of the girls in practice.

  “Hey!” a girl shouted from the bleachers. “You can’t be in here.”

  She was wearing the same cheerleader outfit as the rest of the girls. She stormed over to Kyle and stopped in front of him, peering up with a frown.

  “Get out of here!” she demanded.

  Kyle ignored her demands.

  “Do you know Scarlet Paine?” he said.

  She grimaced. “That freak? I know of her.”

  Behind the girl, the other cheerleaders turned to watch what was going on.

  “Where is she?” Kyle asked.

  The girl shrugged.

  “How should I know?” she said.

  Kyle lunged forward and grabbed her, hauling her above his head. The other girls began to scream.

  “If any of you know where Scarlet Paine is,” Kyle shouted at them, “you sure as hell better speak up now.”

  The cheerleaders cowered. The girl Kyle was holding above his head squirmed. Only one of the watching girls was brave enough to say anything.

  “I don’t know where she is,” she said, trembling. “But her friends Becca and Jasmine are in the school choir. They’re practicing down the hall.”

  Kyle narrowed his eyes at the girl. “Are you telling the truth?”

  S
he pressed her lips together and nodded.

  Finally, Kyle put down the struggling girl in his arms. She ran over to the rest of the girls and they pulled her into a huddle, keeping her safely behind them, some of them crying.

  Kyle went over to the wall and wrenched a climbing ladder down. He snapped off one of the long pieces of wood and used it to secure the gym doors by slipping it through the handles.

  “No one moves,” he instructed the terrified girls.

  He still wanted to turn them, but he had to follow up on the lead first.

  He could hear the muffled weeping behind him as he left the gym and went into the school corridors. Despite the earlier altercations and gunfire, the place was still packed with kids. Kyle laughed to himself as he realized they must have thought that surrounding the school with police cars would be enough to keep him out. They were trying to keep everything normal so as not to scare any of the kids or parents in the community.

  “How dumb do these people get?” Kyle thought to himself as he smirked.

  Kyle walked up to a group of alternative-looking kids hanging by the lockers. They looked like the sort of kids he’d hung around with when he was at school, the type that would drop out without diplomas and be destined to work in bars for the rest of their lives.

  “Dude,” one of the boys said, nudging the friend standing next to him. “Check out the bum.”

  Kyle walked right up to the group and slammed his fist into the lockers beside them, making a dent. The group jumped with shock.

  “What’s your problem, man?” the boy said.

  “Choir practice,” Kyle grunted. “Where is it?”

  One of the girls in the group, a goth with long black hair, stepped forward. “Like hell we would tell you.”

  Before any of the group could blink, Kyle had grabbed the girl and pulled her into him. He sunk his teeth into her neck and sucked. In a matter of seconds she turned limp in his arms. The rest of the group screamed.

  Kyle dropped the girl to the floor and wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

  “Choir practice,” he repeated. “Where is it?”