Cutting off my mom's distant protests, I stepped out onto the front porch. And stopped.All the bad feelings of the morning rushed over me again. The anxiety, the fear. And the certainty that something terrible was about to happen.Charles Street was deserted. The tall Elizabethan houses looked strange and silent as always, as if they might all be empty inside, like the houses on an abandoned movie set. They looked as if they were empty people, but full of strange-looking things. That was it; something was watching me. The air was stifling and I could feel that someone or something was watching me.I caught sight of something dark in the branches of an old quince tree in front of the house.It was a crow, sitting as still as the yellow-tinged leaves around it. And it was something that was watching me.I tried to tell myself that this is ridiculous, but I have seen crows like this in the shadow world. It was big and sleek, with rainbows shining in its black feathers. I could see every

The first light of dawn was flashing in the night sky.Corner watched it from the window of his room."How was your first day at school?" A voice said as Corner turned to look at his brother Noah."It was lousy, I mean, those humans were lousy.""What have you been up to, by the way?" He asked."Trying to find the location of our princess."He swallowed and looks at Corner. "You are not telling me everything.""What do you mean?""We are the Scilas brothers. We don't keep things from each other, now spill it!""Noah." Corner began tightly, "I found the princess."Noah stood surprised. "Great, let's take her in and offer her to the king."Corner swallowed hard. "She is more powerful than you think Noah..."Noah did not even blinked. "You've fallen for her," he said instead."No, what I'm saying is that she is powerful and we can't defeat her...the blood of King Cain runs through her even though she doesn't know that...she is the chosen one and also the most powerful Dhampir. She will r

We finally took a seat next to the window when the waiter placed the menu in front of us. "You come here often?" I asked. "Yeah, I love coming here when I feel lonely and sad or if I want some alone time." He said as he drank from the cup of water he had ordered earlier. "So, what about you?" "What?" I asked, clueless. "Where do you go when you feel lonely? What cheers you up?" I looked around pointedly, as if my answer was obvious. "I don’t have one. I just go with the flow." I smiled warmly. "That’s weird but cool." He gave a light smile. "You think?" He laughed at me and tilted his head. "Actually, no, but... I guess you can come here anytime. This place has a great view, and especially at night, it’s more beautiful and colorful." "Really?" I asked as I stared out the window. "Yes." Chase said as he got to his feet. "Inez, I will be back in a minute." As Chase left, I looked down at my menu and read through the endless possibilities of fish and other assorted seafood. I w

The thud of thunder was all I could hear as I rolled over in my bed, my pillow covering my ears. It was exactly 5:30am. The smell of the woods came through my open window, and I could also smell humans from a far distance. That doesn’t seem right, unless my fangs were out and that meant trouble. It was more painful this time, as if I had eaten myself up in my sleep. I looked over my bed and my off-white bed sheet was flooded with my own blood. That has never happened, and it was definitely not a dream. I looked in the mirror but I was not bruised, I looked completely normal but one thing was different. My eyes were red, and this was the first time it would bring that color out. It was strange. My mouth started to crave blood as I began to destroy objects in my room. It was as if I was becoming something, but I was trying so hard not to become that thing. The sound woke up my family, and in a few minutes, I heard someone knocking on my door. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Mom said, behind

"Am I getting my personal guard?" I asked and he stood up and walked towards me. "No, she is your age and she is here to help you find the monster and protect you." "But I have Bookie." "Who is Bookie?" he asked. "The supernatural book," I replied. "So you gave it a name?" he asked me as he focused on me. "Yup, he likes it." I smiled. "He? Do you realize it’s just a book?" "Not just any kind of book, it’s a magic and ancient book, which means you should respect it." "Come in here." He said and the door opened. A girl about my height walked in. She was wearing a black leather jacket and faded black jeans with a bow around her shoulder and arrows on her other shoulder. She has long hair, reaching her back length, and what shocked me most was that I was looking at myself in her. A Doppelganger they call it. "Impossible." I whispered as I almost broke down. I swallowed hard. "What’s wrong?" the head of the council asked. "I have a twin sister and you didn’t tell me?" I yelled