CHAPTER 3

azure stepped silently through the dark hall on her way to dagan's bedroom. azrael, pandora, and aurelian were locked in another room, talking about something that they had insisted did not concern azure or dagan. she knew that dagan would be in his room, and she did not want azrael to find her there because she was sure the result would be disastrous.
looking around, azure carefully slipped through dagan's door, closing it softly behind her. she turned around to find dagan laying across the bed, clad only in his leather pants. his shirt had been tossed over the headboard of the bed, and he was sleeping.
azure stood over him for a second before his eyes shot open. he had been able to feel her presence, and he had sensed the familiarity of her aura. he sat up quickly, a shocked expression on his face.
"um... what are you doing in here?" he asked, visibly confused. he stared at her, letting his eyes travel the length of her body and admiring her outfit. he thought that she looked amazing in her short, black, tight leather skirt and black tanktop which said, "live fast, die prey." across the front. the boots she had been wearing earlier that day still clothed her feet, showing a definite contrast between their black leather and the pale skin of azure's legs.
"i'm going out. i thought you might want to come with me," she answered, feigning innocence, though dagan knew that she was probably going to be looking for trouble.
a wide smile crossed his face. "what did you have in mind?"
she stepped closer, resting her left knee on the bed, so her face was only inches from his. "let's be creative," she said in a low, seductive voice. she could not help smiling as she caught a hint of what he was thinking. she was well aware of the amount of control that she held over dagan, and sometimes she felt the incredible urge to take advantage of his vulnerability.
she took a step back, dropping her leg to a normal standing position. dagan was currently in the process of buttoning his shirt, and when he finished, he jumped to his feet next to azure. she quietly led him across the hall, through azrael's room, and to the balcony that protruded off that side of the house. closing the door tightly behind her, she turned toward the banister that lined the outside edge of the balcony. she placed her palms across the cool wooden surface and hoisted herself to a sitting position atop the banister, her legs swinging out over the ground thirty feet below.
she appeared thoughtful for a moment before she turned back to face dagan. "well, are you coming or not?"
"um..." he started as he leaned over the railing and looked down. "how do you expect to get down there?"
azure laughed mischievously. "very carefully," she stated. she stood, balancing herself on the railing. "i guess i'll see you down there!"
dagan had no time to think before azure jumped, disappearing over the edge. he quickly ran to the banister and looked over just in time to see azure land gracefully on her feet, obviously unharmed. she turned around, staring up at him expectantly. he laughed slightly at his fear that she would severely hurt herself; he had forgotten the incredible agility that came with the transition from mortal to vampire. he quickly imitated her actions, smiling when he landed next to her on the ground.

azure stepped through a small grove of trees into the woods, letting the crisp night breeze whip her hair around her face. she looked up at the sky, a silken sheet of blue-black blanketed with an endless number of stars that stuck out like jewels. the moon shone brightly in its pallor, its soft green glow peeking through openings in the canopy of trees above her. she sighed.
azure loved the night, a typical characteristic of most vampires, but she had loved it even in her mortal life. she loved the freedom that the darkness allowed; she revelled in the security of the facade provided by blackness. to her, the world was amazing in a state of darkness; she had witnessed life at its greatest moments of passion and tranquility at night, all of which seemed to disappear at the rise of the sun and the beginning of the day.
"ugh! i need to feed," dagan groaned, leaning against a tree. he looked at azure, who seemed to be full of energy. "how do you survive if you never feed?"
"i feed. i don't need to do it as often because azrael's blood keeps me alive. but, i fed today."
"you did?" he smiled. "who was the lucky victim?"
"a girl... probably 16 or 17. i almost couldn't do it; she seemed so innocent, ya know? i hate to feed off people unless they give me a reason to kill them. i had to probe her thoughts for a while before i found the motivation i needed to continue. apparently, she had just left an abortion clinic after killing an innocent 3-week old, unborn baby. she deserved it." azure laughed, the sound penetrating the thick night air and echoing across the tree tops. "i swear. mortals will do anything to make themselves feel better. people are so selfish it pisses me off."
"oh, azure. i'm so sorry to hear that," came a sarcastic reply from somewhere behind azure and dagan.
azure whirled around to face her offender. she rolled her eyes at the short, blonde girl who had just appeared. "gwyneth." the name was like venom as it rolled off her tongue. "what the hell are you doing here? this isn't your territory."
gwyneth stepped forward and met azure's eyes. "are you going to make me leave?" she challenged.
azure shook her head. "please, gwyneth. you're a little far from the coven to be fucking with a vampire, don't you think?"
gwyneth's small lips curled into an evil smile as her fingers closed around the handle of a jewelled dagger that hung around her waist. she gasped in mock terror. "is that a threat?"
azure's eyes darted to gwyneth's anthme. she knew that if the knife hit her in the right place, it would kill her. magic and sacred weapons were among the few things that could kill a vampire instantly. azure cast dagan a sideways glance, and he rushed to her side, ready to fight on her behalf.
gwyneth looked behind her and gestured toward a group of shrubs as if signalling to someone. in an instant, four others had joined her in front of the two unsuspecting vampires.
azure stared at them. she recognized malachi and tabitha, gwyneth's 15-year-old brother and 14-year-old sister. the whole family was of wiccan practice and had been a threat to the local vampires for several millennia. two others, who appeared to be fairly new to the coven, especially caught azure's eye. she studied them, mouth agape, as she realized that they were sean and macen, whom she had met at ranen's house earlier that day.
gwyneth was pleased at azure's reaction. she was not often successful in catching a vampire off guard. she sheathed her anthme, ready to attack, and her fellow witches followed suit. azure stepped behind dagan, shielding herself. she knew that gwyneth would not kill dagan; he was the reason that gwyneth wanted to kill azure.
when dagan had still been alive, he was dating gwyneth. when azure appeared in town on a quest for fledglings, he had been instantly drawn to her. azure and gwyneth had battled to decide dagan's fate because gwyneth had wanted him to convert to wicca, and aurelian and pandora had sensed strong vampiric qualities in him. azure had won out in the end, but gwyneth's promise of revenge hung over her head like a stake aimed at her heart.
sensing gwyneth's intentions, dagan felt his strength amplify as he sought to protect azure. he stood taller in front of her, hoping to conceal her from view. gwyneth stepped toward him, her anthme held at arm's length, pointed at him.
"step back, dagan," she warned. "this isn't your fight."
he clenched his jaw as he stared down at her. "if you want to kill her, you'll have to kill me first." he knew that she would not rise to the challenge, but he also knew that she would not give up so easily.
"that's sweet, dagan. i'm touched," she commented sarcastically. "but don't tempt me."
dagan laughed, infuriating her. "empty threats never get you anywhere," he whispered, leaning forward until she could feel his breath on her face. he cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "i know that you could never kill me."
she shuddered under his touch, locked in his gaze. but that did not stop her from signalling to malachi and sean. while dagan was attempting to lure gwyneth away, sean and malachi attacked azure from behind, pinning her to the ground in one swift movement.
"get off me!" azure yelled, wriggling helplessly beneath their force. her strength was useless in such a situation because the witches' magic overpowered her.
"kill her," gwyneth commanded, shoving past dagan. "or maybe i should have the honors." she raised her anthme high over her head above azure's fitful body.
azure screamed as she caught sight of the dagger's luster in the moonlight. sean's strong hand clamped over her mouth as gwyneth lowered the knife toward azure's heart.
azure squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the attack, but when she opened them again, she saw dagan quickly grab gwyneth around the waist, hurling her against a tree. she fell to the ground with a loud moan.
azure screamed in pain, and her eyes moved to her arm, where gwyneth's anthme had fallen and pierced the skin. noticing that sean had not yet removed his hand from over her mouth, she wasted no time extracting her fangs and plunging them deep into the soft flesh of his palm.
the sweet taste of blood rolled across her tongue as sean screamed, desperately trying to tear his aching hand from her teeth. finally, she let him go and sat up. a small drop of blood rolled from the corner of her mouth, and she quickly licked it away, smiling at the excruciating pain she had inflicted upon sean.
he stared down at his hand with terror-stricken brown eyes. blood continued to rush from his torn skin, and azure's fangs had punctured through his palm all the way to the back of his hand. macen ran to him, examining his hand meticulously. her eyes widened at the sight of the two holes left by azure's teeth, and she quickly looked up.
azure still sat on the ground, holding her wounded arm. she pulled her fingers away, dripping with rich, crimson blood, and she licked them instinctively. macen stepped back in shock as she took in the scene, noticing how the gash in azure's shoulder seemed to disappear in a matter of seconds.
"what are you?" macen demanded through clenched teeth, her eyes narrowed. azure looked at her but said nothing. she merely smiled wickedly, exposing her fangs. it was then that macen realized where she had seen azure before, and she could feel the fear rising in her stomach. "and what do you want with my brother?"

mandella stretched her arms above her head as she let herself fall onto her back, cool grass waving slowly around her head. ranen stared down at her, smiling lazily.
it was midnight. the deep black sky above them glowed with soft, green moonlight and sparkling stars. a warm breeze blew, settling both of them into a few moments of serenity.
"i love the dark," mandella whispered. "it should be night time more often."
ranen nodded. "it is peaceful."
mandella sat up, looking around her. "it is. but did you ever actually think about it? the night always brings out people's most beautiful and romantic qualities. it's almost like the darkness transforms them and gives them a freedom that they will never have at any time during the day."
ranen slid his arm across her shoulders. "that's pretty deep. but what about all the bad stuff that happens at night?"
mandella shrugged. "it's still romantic in a way, if you think about it. but it's so hard to explain. it's just amazing how wonderful everything can be before the acid sunrise."
ranen looked at her, raising his eyebrows. "the acid sunrise? what the hell is that?"
she shook her head. "it's a term i like to use to describe the imposition of daylight. i mean, think about it. acid is one of the most painful substances on earth, right? well, the sunrise is like a brutal call back to reality, which can also be pretty painful. 'cause it's the time when you look out your window and wish that you could go back to the night instead of facing the day. nothing is ever the same after the acid sunrise because it leaves you longing for the night until it finally comes again. but each night, the experiences are relatively new, and you'll never relive the same night twice. it wouldn't be that way if the sun never rose to begin with."

ranen's eyes flew open as his entire body jolted. he franticly looked around him, unsure of his surroundings. he was surprised to find himself in the familiar environment of his bedroom, and he slowly began to calm himself.
another vivid memory. they had been plaguing him all day, and he could not escape them. this one had been one of his fondest of mandella. she had always been unusually deep and philosophical, and that was the quality he admired most in her. the night she had explained to him her theory of the acid sunrise had marked their one-month anniversary and the first time he had ever let himself fall in love.
but his feelings were to no avail because aurelian had taken mandella away from him. ranen remembered when he had seen aurelian leave the cemetery after mandella's burial. curious, he had followed aurelian to an unknown lair where aurelian and pandora talked about how amazing it had been to suck every drop of blood from mandella's whithered body. at that moment, ranen knew that mandella had been right. they were vampires, and now ranen would do anything in his power to avenge the death of his girlfriend.
"oh, good, you are here!" macen exclaimed as she and sean rushed into the room and closed the door behind them. she turned on ranen's lamp, illuminating the usually dark room.
"uh... can i help you?" ranen asked, glaring at sean.
"as a matter of fact, you can," she replied. she grabbed sean's wrist, pulling the bandage from his wounded hand. the blood had been cleaned off, all that remained were two large holes, each no bigger than the point of a pencil. "look at this." she shoved sean's hand in ranen's face, making sure that he could see the marks.
ranen wrinkled his nose in disgust. "yeah, so?"
"do you know what this is?"
ranen looked again and shook his head. "did things get a little too rough with your boyfriend last night, sean?" he asked, laughing rudely.
"fuck you, man," sean retorted. "i told you he wouldn't help, macen." he turned to leave, but macen grabbed his arm, forcing him back.
"we're not going anywhere until you listen to us, ranen." she crossed her arms adamantly over her chest, her eyes challenging.
ranen sighed, looking up at her. "fine. what do you want? what are the marks from?"
"these..." macen gestured toward sean's hand. "...are bite marks. do you know what kind of bite marks?"
ranen rolled his eyes. this conversation was pointless. "a dog?" he guessed, humoring her.
"no. these bite marks were a little gift to sean courtesy of your new friend, azure. anything you'd like to explain?"
ranen's eyes widened, but he tried to hide his shock. "yeah, right," he said, refusing to believe what he already knew was true. azure was one of them.
"ranen, i'm dead serious. she's dangerous."
"what? is she a vampire?" he asked, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "is she gonna suck your blood too?" he laughed, trying to hide his fear. "this is ridiculous."
"it may be, but it's true." she was silent for a moment. "and one other thing... did it ever occur to you how much azure resembles mandella?"
ranen whirled his head around to face his sister, but he had no words. the truth was that he had noticed the resemblance, but he had chosen to ignore it. hearing someone else say it aloud caused goosebumps across his skin and made his heart race. he knew what macen was implying, and he did not want to hear it. without uttering a word, he jumped to his feet and ran from the room, not stopping until he had left his house several blocks behind him.

"are you okay?" dagan asked, helping azure to her feet. the witches had disappeared after sean's injury, carrying gwyneth with them. she still had not awakened from dagan's harsh blow, but they knew that she was not dead.
azure eyed the spot in her shoulder where gwyneth's anthme had struck, no trace of a wound left anywhere. she was thankful for the fast-healing power bestowed upon her during her conversion. "yeah, i'm fine. the wound's healed already."
"next time she shows up around here, i'll kill her. she was so close to killing you."
azure smiled, resting her hand on his cheek. "it's nice that you want to protect me, but you can't kill her."
"why not?" he demanded defensively.
"because she drew blood when her knife hit me. she has blood. only i can kill her... no one else has the power now."
"oh." dagan's eyes dropped, and he tried to hide his disappointment. he had wanted to be the one to save azure in hopes of finally convincing her to take his blood in place of azrael's.
"hey, don't do that," she said, reading his thoughts. "just because you can't save me in the future, it doesn't mean that i'm not grateful that you saved me now. she would have killed me if you hadn't done something." she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him and closing the distance between them.
dagan smiled at their closeness and the feeling of azure's cool breath on his neck. he pulled away, his arms still tight around her waist.
"i know what you're thinking," azure declared, smiling flirtatiously. "and you might as well do it before i do it first."
dagan wasted no time. he pulled her toward him and kissed her longingly, relishing in the moment. when he finally pulled away, he looked down into her abysmal brown eyes. stepped forward, raising herself onto her tiptoes and pressing her lips firmly against his. the kiss unfolded passionately, and she closed her eyes, melting in his arms.
"you shouldn't do that." azrael's voice penetrated azure's mind like a thick knife, and she quickly pulled away from dagan. shit! she thought. he got through! how the hell did he get through?!?! she waited for his voice again, but it never came, and she eased up a bit.
dagan stared down at her in confusion. "what happened?" he asked.
azure sighed, sliding her arms from around his neck and pushing him away. "it's azrael. he... he got through my mental blockade." she breathed heavily. "he'll kill you," she warned. "i wouldn't doubt it if he did." she appeared thoughtful for a moment. "maybe it would be best if you don't go home tonight."
"why not?" he asked, confused.
"let me talk to azrael. i mean, a kiss may not seem serious, but i just took a step toward breaking my blood bond with him. he will not be happy."
dagan nodded, although reluctant. "okay. i guess i'll find you some time tomorrow."
azure said nothing but watched him turn and walk away, and she collapsed against a nearby tree.

ranen wandered aimlessly through the woods, not yet wanting to return home. his mind whirled with thoughts of what sean and macen had said. he did not want to believe that azure was a vampire, and he refused to accept the likeness between azure and mandella as anything more than a coincidence.
"god, why does this stuff always happen to me?" he asked aloud as he leaned against a tree. he let out a frustrated sigh.
"i think we all wonder that at some time or another," a voice replied.
ranen looked upward in the direction of the sound. he surprised to find azure sitting high in the tree among a group of whithering branches. she smiled as she jumped down, landing in a standing position next to him.
"hi," he said, slightly confused. he raised an eyebrow at her.
"hi," she replied. she stepped back to look at him. he wore a pair of black jeans, black boots, and no shirt. she smiled at the way the moonlight fell across his bare chest. "did you leave your house in a bit of a hurry?" she teased.
ranen looked down, blushing as he realized that he had forgotten to grab his shirt before he left. he laughed, slightly nervous. "yeah, i guess i did. i had to get away from my sister."
azure's eyes widened. "your sister? she's home already?"
ranen's eyebrows arched in confusion. "how did you know that she had gone anywhere?"
azure stayed silent, trying to find a plausible lie. "um... i saw her with sean as i was on my way here. i talked to her for a few minutes, and she was talking like she wasn't planning on going home for a while. i was just trying to make conversation."
ranen nodded but still was not convinced. he wanted to know the truth about azure, and he hoped that macen and sean would be proven wrong. "yeah. she cut her evening short," he said, playing along.
azure shook her head. "you don't believe me," she stated. her eyes narrowed as she concentrated on reading his thoughts. "why don't you tell me why you're really avoiding sean and your sister?" she stared at him expectantly, resting her hands on her hips.
ranen's eyes filled with fear, and he stepped backward, stumbling slightly. "how the hell did you know anything about that?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "what are you?"
azure walked toward him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "ranen, in all honesty, i think you already know. and, if you have to ask, you're not as smart as i thought you were."
ranen's head shot to attention as she confirmed his suspicions. she was, without a doubt, a vampire, and ranen assumed that she had not met him by coincidence. he looked at azure, who seemed to be lost in thought, staring spitefully at the sky.
"shit," she said suddenly. "it's almost daylight." she scowled as she turned to face ranen.
"will you explode or something?" ranen joked.
azure slightly laughed. "no. it's just that the night is so awesome compared to everything that happens after the acid sunrise." she slumped against a tree, sighing wearily.
ranen's eyes widened, and he started walking toward azure. he stopped inches in front of her, leaning toward her. "what did you just say?"
azure stared at him, confused by his sudden anger. she could not even search his thoughts to find out why his mood had changed so rapidly. she pulled back as much as possible to avoid his glare. "i, uh... i just said that the night is awesome compared to everything that happens after the acid sunrise." she did not know why she was afraid of him; her strength was far greater than his. but her confusion had taken over her ability to act because she had found something in ranen's mind that seemed familiar, though she feared she would never be able to know why.
ranen studied her, curious yet wary. he caught her gaze and searched the depths of her eyes. the strange pang of familiarity stung him again; only this time he knew why. his heartbeat raced as his vision became more clear, and he saw what he had been trying to ignore since the moment he had first seen azure. his own voice startled him as he blurted, "oh my god. mandella?"