Avalon stared up into the face of an angel. Too bad the owner of the face wasn't so sweet. Edaniel was over her in a second, standing between her and her attacker. Marcus, Jack's mirror image, was her worst enemy. Most of the vampires hated Avalon, but none like Marcus. Avalon understood why he hated her so much, she'd been the whole reason he would never see his brother again. That only gave him the right to kill her, not to turn her into a beast and then kill her. She got to her feet and stood behind Edaniel.

"Marcus, just leave the girl alone. At least wait until she isn't here." Edaniel stated, arms crossed over his chest.

Despite his size, Edaniel looked and sounded menacing. Avalon looked around them. The music hadn't stopped, but it might as well have. Everyone had turned to stare as the scene unfolded in front of them. She knew a lot of them hoped that Marcus would kill Avalon right there, but then Marcus would be struck down by Edaniel.

"She is rightfully mine to kill, Edaniel." Marcus snapped.

"She was, but you lost your chance and now it isn't your choice. You should have killed her when you had the chance, but you toyed wit her instead by killing her family and turning her into one of us. Isn't that punishment enough for the sins she has committed against you?" Edaniel asked.

"She should have to suffer being burned at the stake, just like Jack! Even that wouldn't be enough to clear her name. I'd find her in the underworld and torture her for eternity!" Marcus bellowed.

Avalon shrank back from the man. Kirima reached across the counter and pulled Avalon over with strong arms. Marcus' eyes followed her closely, but he didn't dare pull his attention away from Edaniel. Kirima pushed Avalon to the floor next to her and tapped on a door in the ground with her foot. Kirima glared at Marcus, giving nothing away.

Avalon took the hint and pulled the door open. She lowered herself into total darkness. Soon her vision came to her and she realized she was in a bedroom. There was no door but the one she'd just come through. She didn't even look for a light switch, just sat down on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest.

 

Don't be scared of people, be scared of what their intentions are.

Her father had told her this one when she was still taking lessons. He'd tried to stomp fear out of her with such sentences. It had never worked. She was always the only one in the family who never took risks. She took precautions. When she'd net Jack, that was the day she stopped being cautious. She didn't need to be anymore. Jack was always there to protect her from the bad things in life.

 

 

Lost in thought, she didn't notice when someone opened the door above her head and swung in gracefully. Only when he shook her did Avalon realize that Edaniel crouched in front of her. She hustled to her feet and stared at the floor. He explained about how Marcus had left, but he wasn't going to give up trying to kill her. Avalon sighed and was grateful when Edaniel helped her pull herself back up to the main floor.

"Who's room is that?" Avalon asked.

"It's mine. I don't use the same rooms as the guests do. That reminds me, if you want to stay here tonight you can. Marcus isn't going to come back again. It isn't his style to be humiliated by someone half his size twice in one night." Kirima laughed.

"Or, you can still stay with me! I'd love to have you over." Edaniel chirped from beside her.

Avalon hadn't noticed Mercedes walk up, but sure enough she joined into the conversation. "Even though Marcus isn't stupid enough to come here twice in one night, couldn't he just have someone else come and do his dirty work for him? He's done it before. So, the safest place would probably be with Edaniel."

Avalon just nodded. She knew that if she didn't talk, they'd just decide on their own. She didn't feel like talking at the moment. She was glad she'd made the throbbing pain in her stomach disappear, but being hunted by her ex-lover's brother had dulled the feeling of joy she'd had after she'd killed Heather.

"Avalon? Can't you hear us?"

Avalon shook her head and looked at the people surrounding her, "What?"

"You're going to be staying with Edaniel for a little while. I know I only said one night, but a week or so might be safe. Are you okay with that?" Kirima asked, concern filling her eyes.

Avalon just nodded her head. Kirima smiled and gave her a hug before Avalon realized she was in front of a giant house. It looked to be only two stories, but it stretched a great distance. She was confused until Edaniel stepped in front of her and waved his hand at the property.

"This is my home. I'll show you to your room. It's the one you were staying in before we left to quench your thirst." Edaniel smiled.

Avalon followed the small boy into the house and her mouth dropped open at the sight she saw. If she'd ever seem something elegant, it didn't compare to this house. The main entrance connected to the grand staircase and two rooms leading off to the sides. The walls were painted black with white swirling designs bringing life to what would otherwise seem dead. On the ceiling four chandeliers connected to a larger one in the middle of the room. They were made out of black tinted glass with brightly lit white lights.

"You seem surprised." Edaniel grinned at Avalon.

"It just doesn't seem like a house fit for a child." Avalon breathed.

"You have to remember, I'm not really a child. I've had 900 years to acquire my tastes."

"So that's house old your are."

"917 to be exact."

Avalon was about to speak but was silenced by the sight of a woman at the top of the stairs. She'd seen the girl somewhere else, but she wasn't sure from where. The woman glided down the stairs and up to Edaniel. She bowed to Edaniel and took his hand to kiss it.

"Avalon, this is Bell; Bell, I'd like you to meet Avalon." Edaniel took his hand back and slid it around Avalon's waist.

"I know where I've seen you before! You're revolutionary model Bell Blackheart." Avalon gasped.

Bell didn't seem to care, "Edaniel, what is this girl doing here. She isn't one of us."

"Of course she is. Avalon, you aren't the only one staying in my home. There are a few others you will probably meet before your stay is over. Don't feel alarmed though, because if they know what's good for them they won't touch you." Edaniel smirked.

++++++++

 

Edaniel stayed with Avalon for a long while, watching her drift off into a peaceful sleep. He smiled at the face the girl made, carefree in dreamland. Jack had been right to choose this girl for the one he loved. She wasn't meant to be human in the first place. Behind her human habits lurked the blood lust and fury of a vampire.

"What really made you choose her Jack? If I'd met her before she was like this, I probably wouldn't have given her a second glance." Edaniel whispered to himself.

She looked small and fragile in the middle of the queen sized bed. Edaniel felt the urge to climb in next to her and curl up in the warmth that radiated off of her even in the death that she'd been served. He shook off the feeling and quietly exited the room with a last glance in her direction. If he weren't a little kid, he'd make a move on her, but the way he was, it wouldn't work.

 

++++++++

 

Avalon woke early in the morning and stretched herself. An armoire faced her on the other side of the room. As she suspected, when she opened it beautiful expensive clothes stared back at her. Out of all the things that she found, nothing seemed to fit what she wore on a regular basis. She picked out a simple black dress with slits crossing down her back and cutting up her thighs. She sighed and wondered what she would do.

"I want to go back to my library." She sighed.

Could she get out of the house without being seen though? She glanced over at the large window that took up half one of the walls to her room. She crossed to it and without much difficulty pulled it open. She looked out and down at the ground. It was still fairly dark out, and she hoped everyone would still be asleep. She jumped through the window and breathed a sigh of relief as she landed gracefully on the ground. He dress fluttered in the wind behind her as she ran from the property.

Going through the town she was surprised to see how many Night Walkers were up at this hour. They all turned to look at her. She didn't care as much anymore. They could all hate her if they wanted. She could feel the muscle she had developed beneath her skin and the power she now held inside.

"Why am I walking then?" She asked herself.

She laughed at herself. She'd forgotten she could do everything the others could do. She wasn't sure if she could be precise, but she'd try it. She closed her eyes and thought of the mausoleum where she'd spent many afternoons studying for the researcher society. She didn't feel anything and let out a sigh. She opened her eyes in defeat. She squealed. She was inside the mausoleum. She tripped over her own feet and barely caught herself from falling down the stairs she stood at the top of.

Once she'd lowered herself through the door in the ground, she sighed and sat down on the floor. She smelled the air around herself. It held the scent of aged books and papers. There was an overwhelming sorrow that was trying to consume her as she thought about all the times she'd shared with her family in this sanctuary.

"Don't worry. I'll never leave this place, it'll always be my home when I have none. I love you guys." With that last statement, she felt herself fall apart.

She felt tears stream down herself as she collapsed into a pile of tears on the cold floor. She screamed into the carpet. She was angry at herself for falling apart, but she couldn't pull it together. It was so horrible to think about. She could still smell their blood in the air mixed with the heavy remains of the fire that had led to their end.

Avalon wondered if they'd ever seen it coming, because she hadn't. She didn't even remember it happening. She knew she still had bruises and cuts to show for it, but she just couldn't remember anything other than going to sleep and waking up the next morning with her life changed forever.

She sat up and wiped her face on her hands. She stood up and dusted off the dress hoping she hadn't gotten it too dirty. She started walking around the shelves staring at all the dusty unused books that her family had mostly abandon after she'd begun her relationship with Jack. She never got why her whole family stopped their study when it was only her who had deserved to be cast away.

Avalon pulled a book from the shelf. It was one she knew very well. She'd read it fifty-two times since she'd met Jack. She flipped to her favorite page and engrossed herself in reading. It was the only page about to fall out of the book because it had been read so many times.

 

 

 

"This book is clearly outdated. He hasn't lived in Los Angeles for fifteen years." Avalon smiled to herself.

On the page next to this description, was a picture of Jack. When he died he'd looked exactly the same. His hair too long to be normal, his skin to tan to be a vampire, his teeth so white they were blinding. Avalon smiled at his portrait.

She flipped the page and glared at what she saw. It was the description of Marcus Lucas, Jack's brother. The description was a mirror of Jack's but with a different name and different locations. His picture was the same though. She wondered which one was the fake. When she had first met Marcus, she had mistaken him for Jack. She laughed at her mistake them, but now she felt like it was a mistake that she should never have made.

"If I loved you as much as I thought I did, I would have never thought a man like him was you." Avalon growled at herself.

Before she could think of anything else she heard knocking above her head. She ran to the door in the ceiling and stared up at it. This close, she could hear voices now. She slapped a hand over her mouth and listened closely to the people above.

"I heard from Avalon's brother that they did their studies here. He told me it was in this mausoleum. I don't know what he meant though." Came a strikingly familiar teenage girl's voice.

Another voice she recognized answered, "I don't know, when did he tell you this. Are you sure he wasn't lying?"

"I'm sure. It was when I was over at Avalon's studying one time. I liked her brother and I guess he liked me, because he said that this place was a family secret."

Avalon growled. She closed her eyes and imagines herself at the top of the stairs to the mausoleum. She opened her eye and she grinned at herself. She had done it right. She stared at the backs of two girl's dressed in black. Avalon cleared her throat loudly and leaned against the wall next to her. She was careful to keep the dress from touching the dirty wall, but that didn't seem to matter once the girl's turned around.

Avalon straightened up and put a hand to her mouth in shock. Their names were Jackie and Leah. They looked almost the same as Heather, but with paler skin and flatter hair. They'd been good friends of Avalon's, that was, before she started dating Jack.

"Avalon!" Jackie squeaked.

"So we weren't just going crazy when you came to school yesterday!" Leah breathed.

"Why are you here?" Avalon asked, having composed herself.

"We thought that it was a lovely place to eat. I guess we were wrong. We should probably go now." Jackie giggled nervously.

"I don't think so. I know why you're here. I can't believe my brother would have been so stupid. Unless you were lying. You always liked to lie Jackie. You probably just overheard my parents talking about it." Avalon snapped.

"I swear I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to see what was down here!" Jackie squealed.

Avalon smiled to herself. She didn't realize, but every second she was losing a little more of herself to her vampire side. She didn't notice as the pain started to seep back into her stomach. She did notice when their beating hearts drowned out their words. She could feel the pain now, and she knew what she had to do.

"So, which one of you wants to leave here?" Avalon asked, her voice deep and menacing.

"What?" Leah asked, confused.

"Leah, you were always the one to catch on to things last. I can see that Jackie already knows what I mean by that. Come to think of it, Jackie, you were the one who turned Heather against me. She was willing to forgive me for Jack, but you couldn't let it go. Leah, go ahead and go. I have something to discuss with Jackie in private." Avalon smiled down at them.

Jack shrank back against the wall. Leah didn't move. Avalon locked eyes with the girl and pointed towards the door. Leah squealed and ran past her. Avalon waited for the door to slam before she started down the stairs towards Jackie.

 

++++++++

 

Avalon woke up with blood crusting her mouth. She licked her lips and hissed at herself for it. She looked around and she was on the ground in the middle of a street that she knew from somewhere. She pulled herself to her feet and scratched the blood from her face with sharp fingernails. She looked around and realized she was in front of Kirima's club. It was sunset and people were watching her from windows of buildings.

Avalon stumbled in the door of the club and looked around. There were a few people there and Kirima sat behind the bar talking to Mercedes. She was directly behind Mercedes before Kirima noticed her. Kirima put a hand to her mouth and jumped over the bar.

"What happened to you? You look like shit!" Kirima gasped.

Mercedes whirled around, "Oh my goddess, you do look horrible. I like your dress though."

"Not helping Mercedes." Kirima snapped.

Images flashed in her head and she smiled. She'd left Jackie on the property where her house used to stand. She was losing herself to the Night Walkers. Once she realized that she felt sick to her stomach. She hugged her arms around herself and scowled.

"What's wrong?" Kirima shook Avalon's shoulders.

"Nothing, I just don't feel well. I just got back from getting a drink. If you know what I mean." Avalon put on a cheap smile.

"Oh, so you killed someone else. Good for you." Mercedes smiled.

It didn't feel very good to Avalon though. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep so she didn't have to think anymore. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in bed at Edaniel's. She gave a small smile when she opened her eyes to find herself next to the bed. She stripped from her dress and slid under the covers falling into darkness seconds later.

 

'Name: Jack Lucas

Age: 643 years

Place of origin: Liverpool, UK

Date of Birth: unknown

 

Jack Lucas has an odd affinity for fire. Lights the house of his victims on fire and leaves them to fend for themselves. Despises humans with his whole being. Travels only with his brother Marcus, the more docile of the two. His whereabouts for 300 years was unknown till he killed a researcher in London, England. This killing started a string of slaughters across the city. In 1752 his location was lost and he wasn't located again till the year 1964. Now, in the year 1986 he resides in the city of Los Angeles, California.'

 

"This book is clearly outdated. He hasn't lived in Los Angeles for fifteen years." Avalon smiled to herself.

On the page next to this description, was a picture of Jack. When he died he'd looked exactly the same. His hair too long to be normal, his skin to tan to be a vampire, his teeth so white they were blinding. Avalon smiled at his portrait.

She flipped the page and glared at what she saw. It was the description of Marcus Lucas, Jack's brother. The description was a mirror of Jack's but with a different name and different locations. His picture was the same though. She wondered which one was the fake. When she had first met Marcus, she had mistaken him for Jack. She laughed at her mistake them, but now she felt like it was a mistake that she should never have made.

"If I loved you as much as I thought I did, I would have never thought a man like him was you." Avalon growled at herself.

Before she could think of anything else she heard knocking above her head. She ran to the door in the ceiling and stared up at it. This close, she could hear voices now. She slapped a hand over her mouth and listened closely to the people above.

"I heard from Avalon's brother that they did their studies here. He told me it was in this mausoleum. I don't know what he meant though." Came a strikingly familiar teenage girl's voice.

Another voice she recognized answered, "I don't know, when did he tell you this. Are you sure he wasn't lying?"

"I'm sure. It was when I was over at Avalon's studying one time. I liked her brother and I guess he liked me, because he said that this place was a family secret."

Avalon growled. She closed her eyes and imagines herself at the top of the stairs to the mausoleum. She opened her eye and she grinned at herself. She had done it right. She stared at the backs of two girl's dressed in black. Avalon cleared her throat loudly and leaned against the wall next to her. She was careful to keep the dress from touching the dirty wall, but that didn't seem to matter once the girl's turned around.

Avalon straightened up and put a hand to her mouth in shock. Their names were Jackie and Leah. They looked almost the same as Heather, but with paler skin and flatter hair. They'd been good friends of Avalon's, that was, before she started dating Jack.

"Avalon!" Jackie squeaked.

"So we weren't just going crazy when you came to school yesterday!" Leah breathed.

"Why are you here?" Avalon asked, having composed herself.

"We thought that it was a lovely place to eat. I guess we were wrong. We should probably go now." Jackie giggled nervously.

"I don't think so. I know why you're here. I can't believe my brother would have been so stupid. Unless you were lying. You always liked to lie Jackie. You probably just overheard my parents talking about it." Avalon snapped.

"I swear I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to see what was down here!" Jackie squealed.

Avalon smiled to herself. She didn't realize, but every second she was losing a little more of herself to her vampire side. She didn't notice as the pain started to seep back into her stomach. She did notice when their beating hearts drowned out their words. She could feel the pain now, and she knew what she had to do.

"So, which one of you wants to leave here?" Avalon asked, her voice deep and menacing.

"What?" Leah asked, confused.

"Leah, you were always the one to catch on to things last. I can see that Jackie already knows what I mean by that. Come to think of it, Jackie, you were the one who turned Heather against me. She was willing to forgive me for Jack, but you couldn't let it go. Leah, go ahead and go. I have something to discuss with Jackie in private." Avalon smiled down at them.

Jack shrank back against the wall. Leah didn't move. Avalon locked eyes with the girl and pointed towards the door. Leah squealed and ran past her. Avalon waited for the door to slam before she started down the stairs towards Jackie.

 

++++++++

 

Avalon woke up with blood crusting her mouth. She licked her lips and hissed at herself for it. She looked around and she was on the ground in the middle of a street that she knew from somewhere. She pulled herself to her feet and scratched the blood from her face with sharp fingernails. She looked around and realized she was in front of Kirima's club. It was sunset and people were watching her from windows of buildings.

Avalon stumbled in the door of the club and looked around. There were a few people there and Kirima sat behind the bar talking to Mercedes. She was directly behind Mercedes before Kirima noticed her. Kirima put a hand to her mouth and jumped over the bar.

"What happened to you? You look like shit!" Kirima gasped.

Mercedes whirled around, "Oh my goddess, you do look horrible. I like your dress though."

"Not helping Mercedes." Kirima snapped.

Images flashed in her head and she smiled. She'd left Jackie on the property where her house used to stand. She was losing herself to the Night Walkers. Once she realized that she felt sick to her stomach. She hugged her arms around herself and scowled.

"What's wrong?" Kirima shook Avalon's shoulders.

"Nothing, I just don't feel well. I just got back from getting a drink. If you know what I mean." Avalon put on a cheap smile.

"Oh, so you killed someone else. Good for you." Mercedes smiled.

It didn't feel very good to Avalon though. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep so she didn't have to think anymore. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in bed at Edaniel's. She gave a small smile when she opened her eyes to find herself next to the bed. She stripped from her dress and slid under the covers falling into darkness seconds later.