The Ties That Bind: An as I Lay Dying Novel

By Katie Miller

Deathtraps, kidnapping, and murderthis is the new life Emily Hampton has awoken to and she's discovering it's not at all what she bargained for. When Dante turns her world upside down, Emily finds solace in Damien's arms, but Emily doesn't realize how much she cares until another woman shows up and threatens to upset the balance she has created. Spending months on the run, she learns more about herself and the new world she's been thrown into, despite the constant danger that lurks near.
Emily's search for Uriah finally pays off, but at a devastating price. With misery, heartache, and death hanging around at every turn, will she survive round two of her enemy's games?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491815212

Katie Miller

Katie Miller, also known as codemiller, works as an OpenShift Developer Advocate at Red Hat. Katie is a polyglot programmer with a penchant for Haskell. The functional programming enthusiast co-founded the Lambda Ladies online community and co-organizes the Brisbane Functional Programming Group. Katie is a familiar face at an array of Meetup groups spanning a variety of programming language communities, including Java, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. The former newspaper journalist has presented at conferences and Meetups across Australia and New Zealand and as far afield as Budapest, Hungary. Katie is passionate about coding, open source, software quality, languages of all kinds, and encouraging more girls and women to pursue careers in technology.

Book preview

The Ties That Bind

an As I Lay Dying novel

KATIE MILLER

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 by Katie Miller. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/13/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1522-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1520-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1521-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013916370

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dedicated to my amazing husband Derek

who has always supported me in my writing.

Acknowledgements

Iwould like to thank my husband w ho not only believed in me, but also pushed me to achieve my dreams.

I would like to thank both my parents for their sound advice throughout my entire life.

Finally, I would like to thank all the beta readers who tested out the book before publishing. Your time and feedback mean the world to me.

Chapter One

Emily pulled out the journal that she had stashed in the bottom drawer of her nightstand. When her mom discovered she had been writing again, she bought her a fresh journal from a stationary store up in New York. The day she received the new journal, Emily hid the previous one in a small box behind the air vent in her closet. The vent was well hidden behind a rack of clothes and it was only accessible by prying off the cover plate with a flat head screwdriver. Anything of any importance to her was hidden in that place, and the journal was no different. Many secrets were buried deep within, not just of her own, but of Dante’s and Damien’s as well. She wasn’t about to let the journal, or anything else she stashed inside the vent, be found.

Emily hadn’t written in a journal—except for the few times after the three guys in her life had kissed (or almost kissed) her—for several years, almost ten to be exact; but after she met Dante it seemed necessary. When she had no one else to talk to, she’d spill everything in writing. She couldn’t confide in her best friend, Beth, because she didn’t know a thing about vampires; and second, without her escape into her hours of writing, she’d have gone crazy those days she and Dante weren’t fully together.

Over the past couple months, her head had been in such a fog that if she hadn’t written in her journal, she wouldn’t have remembered much of it. Her mother always said that love seemed to cloud one’s mind. Her dad always said she was nuts, but Emily was beginning to think that maybe she was right all along.

Emily opened up the front cover of the small, black, leather-bound book and wrote ‘Emily Hampton’ on the inside cover. She turned to the first blank page and started writing her first entry.

October 24th—

It’s been a few days since I’ve written and much has happened. First, Uriah turned out to be evil—who would have thought that? I thought he was my guardian angel, but as it turns out, he was just lying to me the whole time; and of course, trying to blame me for it. He said I assumed him to be good; but truthfully, a guardian is good! I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I should have been more open to the idea of Uriah being one of the bad guys. I was too trusting. Looking back, I let him into my life way too easily. Well, what can I do about it now? Nothing. Well, maybe there is one thing . . .

I can’t just sit here and waste my time thinking about what I should or should not have done. What’s done is done, right?

In the end, Dante and Damien killed Uriah. Well, we all thought they did anyway. After we thought he was dead, we double-checked the body and it wasn’t Uriah, it was a shape-shifter that went by the name of Yuri. And you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Yuri was Damien’s grandson! Shocker, I know! Oh, and the reason I went after Uriah was because he murdered my brother Chris. Chris was tailing him because Uriah murdered a lot of people in New York. Unfortunately, Chris didn’t know he was after a half-demon, half-vampire lunatic and that he didn’t have much of a chance. Uriah killed Chris because Chris was getting too close to him, and then he came after me. Well, technically he still IS after me.

Uriah almost succeeded in killing me before he vanished. He stabbed me, bringing me really close to death, but when I kissed Damien, he turned me into a vampire (kissing him was my price for him to turn me). Then something totally unexpected happened. When I kissed Damien, I felt something even stronger for him than I expected. Talk about your turn of events.

As for what happened with Damien—well, I knew my feelings of hate toward him had left long ago, and that over the past several weeks he’d been amazing, but I didn’t expect that my tolerance of him would turn into having actual feelings for him. And during the blood exchange, I told him I loved him.

Me.

I said that.

I’ve never said that to anyone outside my immediate family. Not even Alex whom I’ve been with for six years, nor Dante, who I’ve been dating for a few months now. I said it to Damien, who I’ve never even dated one single day of my life.

True, I was dying and it felt like my last moment to say anything. But my blood was almost completely drained from my body. I was delusional. Right? I mean, I couldn’t have fallen in love with someone in such a short time period of time. Could I?

I guess it doesn’t really matter. I just had a long talk with Dante a few minutes ago. I told him I wanted to get back together. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but after telling Damien I was falling in love with him, it made me think of Dante. And that part makes complete sense. I’m running away from my feelings for Damien. Just running the opposite direction. I’m terrified of commitment. I care about Dante, a lot, but I haven’t told him I loved him. It kept things uncomplicated and that works well for me. So I’ve pushed Damien to the back burner, at least I’ll try to, and Dante and I will pick up where we left off. Now there’s just the issue of telling Damien . . .

I’m confused on my feelings, but that’s not a shocker. I’ve never been able to commit to anything of this nature before.

Speaking of shockers—Damien’s mother showed up. He thought she was dead. Well technically, she is dead, she’s a vampire too. I have to admit, I was jealous of her at first. Damien was obviously connected to her, and I thought she was his wife. I shouldn’t have been jealous, he’s not my boyfriend. Oh! And then guess what his mom told me? Damien’s dad is supposedly looking for me and won’t stop until I’m dead.

Awesome, right?

Why is it I bring trouble with me no matter where I go? Oh well, I’m over it. I may attract trouble, but ultimately I got what I wanted. I’m a vampire. Unfortunately, there’s one thing out of all this I didn’t accomplish, but I’ll be damned if anybody stops me. I will have my revenge.

Emily stopped writing and placed the pen down on her desk. She heard Damien and Mina still talking downstairs, so she shut the journal and walked over to her bed. She planned on picking it back up where she left off, so instead of putting her journal away in the vent’s permanent hiding place, she looked for a temporary one. Looking all around her room, her eyes shifted down to her bed. She lifted up the comforter on the right side, lifted the mattress, and pushed the journal as far as she could toward the middle, ensuring she would be able to reach it the next time she wanted to write. She pulled her arm out and fixed the sheets, tucking them neatly back under her mattress.

When she got downstairs, she noticed Damien still trying to pry information out of his mother, subtlely of course.

The woman, Mina, had just arrived a couple hours prior. She was the only female vampire Emily had ever come into contact with and she was even more beautiful now than she was even an hour ago. I am honestly not sure, but I will protect you as much as I can. You’re my son, she said as she reached her hand out to him.

He took her hand and hugged her. He whispered in her ear, Mother, I have to get Emily away from here—far away from him.

He doesn’t know where you are, she said, the lines in her forehead creasing to show her concern. You’re safe here.

Damien broke the hold he had on his mother and took a step away. Then how did you find us? he asked sharply. It was easy to tell he was suspicious of her. You could tell by the look on his face—furrowed brows, narrowed eyes. But Damien could shield his mind so effectively that no one knew even an inkling of what he was truly thinking or feeling.

Mina hadn’t noticed, and if she had, she didn’t show it. She answered her son freely and without hesitation. I followed Yuri here. He got a call from Hiru stating that he was here, in Lakeshore. Hiru told him that he should come when he could, but to not let your father know. Yuri left a couple weeks after the call, arriving here two days ago.

She placed her hand on the side of her head and closed her eyes. She concentrated on all her surroundings, trying to pinpoint the two voices she was searching for, but when she couldn’t locate them, the look on her face was one of utter confusion. She glanced around the house and out the window. It suddenly dawned on Emily who Mina was searching for. Where are they anyhow? Mina asked.

Hiru and Yuri are dead, Damien said rather bluntly. He never was one to skirt around the truth.

Mina paused in thought, like she hadn’t heard him at first, and then said, What did you say?

You heard me.

I don’t understand. They’re part of the Old Coven. Not just anybody could have taken them out. Who could have possibly done such a thing? Mina was rattled, clearly unnerved by the information Damien tossed ever so callously at her.

Me. I killed them, Damien said nonchalantly. He had always been very forward. It was something even Emily had to get used to, and she grew up with Beth for a best friend.

Hiru was Mina’s grandson, Yuri her great-grandson. She turned away from him and faced the window to look outside. Emily expected her to fly off the handle with emotion, but she didn’t. Despite everything, she remained calm. Why? How could you kill your own flesh and blood? she demanded to know from him.

They tried to kill Emily, he explained. Hiru attacked her in my home, leaving her paralyzed. I had to heal her with my blood. The second time, when Yuri attacked and stabbed her, her injuries were too vast, my blood would not have healed her completely. The only choice I had was to turn her. And I didn’t know it was Yuri that I killed. He had shape-shifted into an enemy of ours and his true form didn’t surface until after he was decapitated.

Mina turned to look at Emily, causing her to shudder. Emily knew it was her fault that Mina and Damien had lost their family. Mina was one of the Old Coven; she could obliterate Emily if she chose. But the look on Mina’s face didn’t portray one of anger; instead, she simply hung her head. I did notice the two had turned dark, probably because of your father, she replied, her voice quivering and her face saddened by what looked like years of pain.

Seeing Mina reminded Emily of her own mother after Chris and Summer were both killed, and because of that, she wanted to reach out to her. Emily crossed the room and gently laid her hand on Mina’s arm. Stay, she spoke softly, as if trying to soothe a broken child. Please, there is plenty of room. We would love to have you.

Mina sighed, I need to return before he suspects that I left. You are such a sweet girl and Damien is very lucky to have you. She leaned in and kissed Emily on both cheeks before turning to look at her son. Take care of yourself. Damien simply nodded and then Mina disappeared out the front door and into the night.

Well? Emily asked after a few minutes of silence.

I don’t trust her.

Damien, she’s your mother.

Your point? We may very well share a bloodline but that does not mean I have to trust her, he said irritably.

Okay, I’m sorry, she said, throwing her hands up in defeat. She knew there wasn’t any point in arguing with him. It would take her absolutely nowhere. She looked out the large bay window and tried to focus her thoughts on anything other than their visit with Mina. She could sense Damien’s anger cool down to an acceptable level almost immediately. Then as if a switch had flipped inside of him, he was light-hearted and happy. There was no doubt in her mind that he was thinking of his mother’s words.

She didn’t even have to look at him to know what he was thinking. And when she finally turned to face him, he was grinning from ear to ear like a kid on Christmas morning. Damien, we’re not really together, you know that, she had to remind him.

Yeah, but it looks like we are.

Why did your mother take the news of Hiru and Yuri’s deaths so well? Emily changed the subject, the question just popping into her mind. When Summer and Chris died, my mom was hysterical for the first few weeks, and then she became numb and started drinking a lot. I know she seems put together, like she doesn’t mourn them anymore, but she completely falls apart when she’s alone. But never once has she been as calm as Mina was just then.

Your mother is human. Humans cry, grieve, and get angry. They have all this emotion that they can’t always control. A vampire can turn off their emotions, feel nothing but emptiness. It’s easy to do, sometimes much easier than to deal with the rawness of emotions. Not only is it easier, it’s useful. You watched my mother do just that. She turned it off. Damien slipped behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling the hair away from her neck, he tenderly kissed the spot where he bit into her earlier. Emily felt the quickness of her heart. Damien, there’s something I need to tell you.

Shh. Less talking, he whispered as he spun her around to face him. He leaned in to kiss her on the mouth but she dodged his approaching lips and spun out of his arms to put distance between them. He looked at her questioningly. Okay, we can talk. What’s on your mind?

She shook her head. I can’t do this right now.

Dante’s words suddenly entered her mind, putting her in a trance-like state. You will not remember tonight. You will cover your wrists for the next twenty-four hours until the bite marks have healed. Dante was a short distance away, manipulating the human he had fed off of. Put on your brown sweater, it will cover your marks.

Dante’s coming soon, Emily said aloud. She couldn’t help but wonder why Dante was feeding on a human. He told her he always preferred an animal because he couldn’t live with the guilt of forcefully taking blood from a human, especially if they died because of it.

When she pushed the thought of Dante away, she became aware of something new—her throat. It was really rather dry, as if she had eaten a bunch of cotton. It quickly intensified and it soon felt as if the inside of her throat was on fire. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. She wanted relief and fast. She started to head for the kitchen for a glass of water when Damien’s voice stopped her.

Emily, he called out. Can you do something for me?

She looked back at him. Of course.

I need you to feed.

What?

You’ve been a vampire for several hours now. Most newly-born vampires need to feed within minutes of turning, he explained. That burning sensation you have in your throat right now is hunger. Your body is in need of blood and the sooner the better. He saw the questioning look on her face and added, Since you drank my blood, and I drank yours, I have a deep connection with you. I feel everything you feel, remember?

She nodded, she did remember. Okay, she said, feeling more than nervous. I’ll feed. She had known he was right, she hadn’t felt the hunger until she thought of the blood. She knew she needed to feed, she would die without it, but she just couldn’t bear to bite into anyone.

The moment she started to feel uneasy, Damien was quick to help, I know you’re nervous to bite a human, but they will give you the much needed strength your body needs right now. And I’ve actually already got a human for you to feed off of.

You do? Where? Emily asked with much excitement. Her anxiousness had quickly passed and she badly yearned for something to eat. She could feel her throat burning more and more as each second passed.

I’ll bring him in to you. Control your impulses as much as you can, I’ll help you if you need it, he assured her. Oh, and Emily? Damien stopped himself halfway out of the room.

Yes?

The human is willing.

What did he mean by the human is willing? Does that mean the human knows about me? she wondered.

When he left the room, it seemed as if he had left for days. Emily’s hunger overpowered her thoughts, making them disappear altogether. Nothing else mattered but the blood. Her throat felt as if it were coated with hot lava. She became quite anxious and restless the longer she waited. She let out an impatient groan.

Damien strolled back in the room and stood beside Emily. Are you ready?

Yes, she said rather eagerly. She started to fidget as she waited for the person to enter.

Come on in, Damien called out.

A tall man with dark, tanned skin, light blonde hair and vivid green eyes stepped into the room. No! Not Alex, she begged of Damien. Alex had been Emily’s boyfriend for six years, until she broke up with him to be with Dante. Though she and Alex had dated for a long time, they hadn’t ever done anything more than kiss. What Damien was asking her to do was a bit unnerving, and doing something so intimate with Alex would be awkward to say the least. Please, I don’t want to hurt him!

Em, I’m willing to help you. I know you need this and we have a history together. It seems only right, Alex assured her, making her give in rather easily. Within seconds, she lunged at him. She hit him straight in the chest, flinging him backward onto the hard floor. His body tensed in surprise, then relaxed. Damien informed him of her impulses as a new vampire and what he should expect to make the feed go as smoothly as possible.

Emily took Alex in, all of him—his scent, his look, his voice. She opened her eyes and Alex gasped.

Damien knew what he was seeing. Alex, it’s alright, he said calmly, trying to talk him through the attack.

But her… he started to say, but couldn’t complete his thought.

It’s still Emily, Damien tried again, but it didn’t help. Alex’s body was rigid, tenser than Emily had ever seen him before.

Alex, relax, Damien instructed. Tensing is what causes the pain.

Alex loosened up a little as Emily pulled his head back, exposing his beautifully tan, muscular neck. She couldn’t help but lick up a stretch on his neck which, in turn, caused his artery to pop out. She watched the blood beneath it pump and in an instant she knew his pulse to be seventy-eight beats per minute. The warm, copper smell of his blood filled her senses as she heard the "swoosh" of his blood circulating throughout his body. She watched as the artery throbbed against his skin in a rhythmic manner before her fangs came out instantaneously and she bit down on him. His smooth, rich blood poured out easily from the wound as she drank.

When Dante drank Emily’s blood, she thought that was the best feeling in the world, but as soon as Alex’s blood touched her lips, those feelings changed entirely. Human blood was the best thing she had ever tasted, and it soothed her body like none other. Not only was his blood necessary for her survival, but at that moment, it became an addiction. She wasn’t giving up human blood for anything.

She could have relished in his blood forever; but she didn’t want to hurt or kill him, so she pulled away after she had only a couple pints. It was one of the hardest things she ever had to do, but she couldn’t bear to hurt Alex and that gave her the strength to stop the feed. Damien was staring back at her, utterly shocked at her ability to maintain control. What’s wrong? Emily asked as she wiped a drop of blood off the corner of her mouth.

I’m surprised you were able to stop. I was getting ready to pull you back, but you were able stop on your own, he replied, his face still frozen with surprise.

Okay… ?

Most newborns kill their victims the first year because they haven’t learned any control, he clarified. Alex looked up with a horrified look plastered all over his face, so Damien added solely for his benefit, I was going to teach you control from the start so you wouldn’t kill your victims. I know Alex means a lot to you and I wouldn’t jeopardize that.

Evidently, the comment was enough to relieve Alex. He got up off the floor and made his way to the seating area. He was slightly dizzy from the blood loss, but felt a bit better when he sunk down into the overstuffed armchair.

Alex, you would do best if you kept this to yourself. I won’t manipulate you because I know Emily wouldn’t want that, but don’t do anything that would make me doubt you. It wouldn’t be good for you, Damien warned.

With his eyes fixated on the floor, he said in an almost inaudible tone, I won’t. Emily feeding on him was embarrassing. He felt things he’d never felt before, which confused him. But no matter what or how he felt, he knew he couldn’t hide from Emily, and that she would eventually figure him out. She always did. She knew him too well not to know what he was thinking or feeling most of the time. So to keep his thoughts and feelings hidden, he decided to tackle the awkwardness head on. He turned to face Emily, a measure he took to get him over the embarrassment, and noticed something with her had changed. Hey, your eyes are back to normal.

She looked straight to Damien for an answer. What’s he talking about?

He was clearly speaking to Alex, but he never took his eyes off of Emily. It’s just another part of what we are. Our eyes change to black when we’re hungry or angry. Either way, it’s not good for the humans that are around us. Emily knew exactly what he was talking about. She had seen both Damien and Dante’s eyes black as coal, and it was absolutely terrifying. Now hers were the exact same.

How often do I need to feed? Emily changed subjects.

As often as you need, but I’m sure you’ll need to feed every other day for awhile. As you get older, the less blood you’ll need, he said as he walked toward her. He was a few feet from her when he reached over and took hold of her hand.

I wish she was still with me. I’ve always loved her more than anything. What does she see in him? Emily heard Alex’s thoughts. She had heard his thoughts prior to her feeding on him; only now they were much more pronounced. It was as if he were standing right next to her.

Damien took a step closer.

Oh my god, is he going to kiss her? Say no, Emily. Push him away, Alex’s voice in her head said more frantically.

Alex hadn’t known Damien and Emily could read minds. For some reason, Emily had a feeling Damien was going to play this out to his advantage. And sure enough, just as she thought it, he put his hand on her cheek and placed his forehead on hers, staring deep into her eyes.

Oh crap. I don’t want to watch this.

Damien was having entirely too much fun and Emily, not wanting anything to do with it, pushed him away from her. She wouldn’t hurt Alex like this, not when she had just hurt him a few months ago. Those wounds were still fresh in her eyes. They hadn’t entirely healed yet.

Yes. Go Emily!

She laughed a little on the inside.

Damien, stop hitting on my girlfriend, Dante said as he appeared in the hallway. He walked over to her with a small box in his hand. Emily, he said softly, greeting her with a kiss. She smiled as he put his arm around her waist.

Damien’s eyebrows rose as his mouth grew in a tight line. Girlfriend?

Dante smiled. We got back together. Didn’t Emily tell you?

Guess she forgot to mention it, he replied with a fake smile.

Emily swallowed, refraining from looking in Damien’s direction. She hadn’t known how to tell him. It looked like she didn’t have to worry about that now, though she’d probably have damage control to contend with.

Dante leaned in and whispered in Emily’s ear, Why don’t you go on upstairs and clean up. I’ll watch Alex and make sure Damien behaves himself.

She nodded, glad to have an excuse to get out of the awkward moment, and rushed upstairs. She glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible. She had blood smeared all over her mouth and shirt. Her appearance had always been presentable, but not now. She didn’t realize how messy it was to feed. Surely it would get better with time. She changed out of her clothes rather quickly and within the minute, she was back downstairs.

Yes, I’m definitely willing. Anything for her, Alex was agreeing to something Emily hadn’t heard. She was in the dark, again.

What’s going on? she projected the thought to Dante.

Damien thought it would be a good idea to bring Alex with us for you to feed off of when you need him. I think it’s a horrendous idea, he replied.

You’re letting your feelings for Emily cloud your judgment. It’s always what’s best for her, Damien was arguing his point, while Alex looked from one to the other. He wondered why they were all staring at each other.

No, I’m not. Alex could get hurt, we can’t protect him if we’re out in new territory. Dante and Damien bickered back and forth.

Fine. Let Emily decide, Damien thought and they both turned to her.

First off, where are we going? Emily asked aloud.

We need to leave Lakeshore. It’s not safe for you here anymore, Dante chimed in.

We don’t know how long it will be before my father shows up. I, for one, don’t want you anywhere near here, Damien added.

Emily remembered Mina’s words and shuddered. Why do I need him specifically to feed off of? she asked, this time in private to keep Alex from hearing her.

Humans you already have a connection with will give you more power than a stranger, Damien explained. We aren’t sure why this works the way it does, but it’s very beneficial.

Emily thought about it shortly, though not thoroughly, before she threw the entire idea out the window. I will find humans along the way to feed from. My answer is no.

She agreed with Dante, and he couldn’t have been more relieved with her answer. When she turned to face Damien, she heard Alex’s thoughts, Emily, please don’t shut me out. I want to help you, please let me.

You could get hurt, I won’t let that happen, she automatically answered.

"So you can read my mind," he exclaimed.

Yes, we all can, she admitted.

I still love you, Emily. Please, take me with you. We’re connected to each other. We’ve always been connected, you know that. Alex tried every angle to get her to agree. He wanted to convince her to take him with them.

Emily sighed and let out a groan. She understood Dante’s perspective, she really did. Bringing Alex would mean he was more likely to get hurt; but if Damien was right, Alex would make her stronger. The stronger she was, the more she’d be able to protect Alex, and she vowed she would keep him out of danger. Fine, she agreed. You can come.

We need to leave Lakeshore, soon, Damien reminded the group. I’m not sure how much time we have, but I’m pretty sure we will have a full day, at least.

Emily looked out the bay windows and saw the dark-shaded skies. She wasn’t sure why, but the time 4:33 came to mind. Between the two windows was an old antique clock that her father inherited from his father; and when her eyes sat upon it, she noticed it read 4:33. Just by looking at the shade of the sky, she had known what time it was. We need to rest, we’ll figure out a plan in the afternoon, she said.

But what about the sunlight? Alex asked.

It weakens us, but doesn’t kill us, she answered, but not once did she so much as glance in his direction. She kept her eyes focused on outside. Though you should probably start getting used to being awake at night, that’s when we’re at our strongest. We’ll need to be for this. Thankfully she had already gotten use to the night life since she had been dating Dante for the past couple months.

That shouldn’t be a problem.

She turned to Alex and Damien with instructions. Alex, you can sleep in the study; and Damien, you can have my room. She pointed up the stairs. They’re both to the right at the top of the stairs… you know where they’re at.

They retreated to their rooms leaving Dante and Emily alone at last. Dante smiled. I missed you so much.

Emily returned the smile. I missed you too.

He pulled