Steve woke with a jerk, his stomach rumbling, hungry for blood. He looked around, not knowing what to do about it. In the rooms above, Lyra felt him wake and headed down to their sleeping chambers. When she entered, Steve asked, “What should I do?”

“Are you hungry, luv?” she asked and he nodded. She handed him a bottle and said, “Drink this, it should help.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“What you need, luv, now drink it,” she said patiently. He drank deeply from the bottle and sighed with a breathy, “Thank you, Lyra.”

“You’re very welcome. We try to avoid the need to kill as much as possible nowadays. Too noticeable,” she laughed. She sat down next to him and said seriously, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so let’s get on with it, okay?”

Steve stared at the floor and said, “Am I a, well, um, a vampire now?”

“Yes, luv,” she said quietly. “Just like me. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have brought you across, but you were going to die otherwise.”

“Guess being a vampire is better than being dead,” he said slowly. “I guess I just have one other question. Why did I know you before I met you?”

“OH,” she said, “I was hoping you’d hold off on that one, it’s got a very long answer.”

“Well, I really need to understand it, though,” he answered.

“Let’s go upstairs and get you another drink before I tell you my story. You need to hear it to understand what’s happened here,” she said, taking him by the hand and leading him to the kitchen. She handed him another bottle and said, “This place is my home. It’s a castle that’s even older than I am.”

Steve looked around at his surrounding, taking them in slowly. There were few modern conveniences evident. A huge firepit took up one wall, obviously dating from a time when it was the only way to cook. The center of the room was dominated by an ancient oak dining table and chairs. The only modern thing Steve saw was the small refrigerator she’d gone to for his bottle. Looking through the door into the living area, he could see old oak tables and ancient furniture in there as well. The walls were covered with heavy paneling and the floors were still the bare stone they’d been for centuries, covered here and there by throw rugs. Steve finally said, “You can tell this place is old!”

“Well, I’m around nine hundred fifty, so it is,” she laughed. “Well, let me start at the beginning, okay? Pull up a chair, this could be a long one.” Steve sat down, looking at Lyra expectantly.

Lyra took a deep breath and started her tale.

“I was thirty-five years old, married, with one grown son. My husband Ronan was in the lord’s warband and our son was training to go along with him when the battles got close to home. I was terrified when Ronan took Dovic with him, but what could I say? He was old enough to learn the warrior’s life then and his father decided it was time. When I heard of the battle so close to our home, I went to see if I could help with the wounded. When I reached the battlefield, I went through the camps to find my family. They weren’t there, so I walked the field, terrified at what I might find. And my fear was justified. I found my son’s body first, dead at the enemy’s hands. I cried and wailed as I held him, wanting to wake from my nightmare. But I couldn’t. Then I heard Ronan’s voice. He was laying not far from Dovic, dying from his wounds. I ran to him and begged him not to leave me. Unlike most married people of the time, Ronan and I really genuinely loved each other and I couldn’t bare to live without him. I held him close to me as three figures walked out of the twilight evening. One woman and two men. Terror returned to me as I looked at them, though I didn’t know why. The woman was a small beauty, her auburn hair hanging to her waist as she studied me. I could see the pity in her eyes as she watched me with my dying husband. She held her hand up to her companions and I heard her say something to them in a low voice, though I couldn’t hear her words. Then she came over and knelt down by Ronan. She whispered in his ear and he nodded through his pain, agreeing to whatever she had suggested.

She bent to his throat as he lay in my lap and I saw her terrible fangs descend into his body. I tried to scream, but no sound would come out. Then suddenly the woman bit into her own wrist and put her wound to Ronan’s lips. After a moment, he sucked hungrily at her, pulling the blood from her veins as I watched in disbelief. She brushed his long dark curls back from his face and said softly, “We’ll be here when you wake.”

Ronan’s arms closed around me as I heard his breathing slow. Then it stopped and I screamed, the agony of my loss to great to bear. I looked up at the woman and found her staring down at Ronan with a smile on her lips. Just as I was about to rage at her, she looked up at me and said, ‘You have a decision to make now. Either you can come with him into our world or you can lose him forever.’

I told her, ‘I can’t lose him! Please, tell me what I need to do!’ Then I watched as one of her companions, a man with shoulder length red gold curls, a full beard and very strong arms, bent down and picked Ronan up as though he were simply a small child. Then the larger of the two men bent down to me, his long brown hair blowing in the wind as he held his hand out to me. I took it, still in shock from Ronan’s death, and he pulled me to my feet quickly. Then he picked me up and all three of them looked around to see who was nearby. As it turned out, Ronan and I had been nearly alone on the field at that moment. Then I felt the man’s powerful body coil and spring into the air, taking flight. I screamed and fainted, not knowing anything else for a long while.”

Steve stared at Lyra, all attention as she told him her story. She gave him a gentle smile and asked, “I’m sure you’re wondering what any of this means to you. I’ll get there, you just have to be patient with me, alright, luv?”

“Sure, it’s just such a fascinating story!” he said with a smile.

Lyra smiled at him and continued her story, “When I woke up, I was in a soft bed, the first one I’d ever slept in. I looked around and my eyes fell on the fellow who had picked me up. Walking quietly over to the bed, he sat down and said, ‘Hello, pretty one!’ Now I was far past pretty by this time of my life, worn out by years of childbearing and childrearing. While Dovic had been our only son to reach manhood, I had given birth to six children all together. All but Dovic had died in infancy or very early childhood. It was a common fate in those times. Anyway, I stared up at him and thought, ‘Truly, HE’S the pretty one here.’ Then I whispered, “Hello.”

I looked around and found three others sitting in the room, this tall gorgeous creature’s two companions faced me while the third had his back to me. When he turned around, I nearly fainted. He was the exact image of my Ronan as he’d been when I’d married him. I very nearly fainted again as he made his way over to me and sat on the other side of the bed. I pulled away quickly and heard him whisper, ‘Alyria, luv, don’t you recognize your Ronan?”

I screamed, wondering what kind of witchcraft they’d used on him. The woman came over and slapped me, saying, ‘Girl, it will do you no good to go into hysterics.’ All I could mumble was that my Ronan had died, who was this man? He spent the next several minutes going over stories that only Ronan could have known, while the others listened patiently. Amazed, I looked to the others who were all just waiting for me to accept this and move on. Finally, I looked to the woman and said, ‘Who are you?’ She said gently, ‘I am Siona,’ motioning to the dark haired man sitting next to me, she continued, ‘this is Gregor and this is Connor,’ she said as she waved her slender hand at the red haired man. Then she looked at me and said, “We are vampires.”

The way she said it left no doubt in my mind that she meant it. I tried to pull further away from the two men on the bed, but hit the wall. Ronan looked down at me and said, ‘Lyra, my love, come with me. Join us, please!’

I just stared at him, still not believing it completely. But I let him take my hand and felt his thumb run over it the way he’d always done. Then I knew who he was. With our son gone and Ronan leaving unless I decided to go with him, my choice was clear. I smiled at him and said, ‘I’ll go with you, Ronan.’

He looked to Siona and she said quietly, ‘Well, I think Ronan should bring her over, but he doesn’t have the strength without feeding again. Gregor, will you stay with her while Connor and I take Ronan out to hunt?’

‘Of course,’ Gregor said with a small smile. ‘I imagine she’ll want to rest anyway.’ And I was very tired, so I nodded quietly in agreement. Ronan leaned over and gave me one of the sweetest kisses he’d ever given me, then said, ‘I’ll be back, my love.’ I was asleep shortly after they left while Gregor sat in a corner reading.

I woke again when Ronan sat down on the bed next to me a few hours later. He laid in bed next to me and pulled me into his arms, whispering, ‘Sleep now, luv. Siona wants to wait until tomorrow night for you to cross.’ So I curled up in his arms and slept. When I woke, it was mid-afternoon and the sun was shining brightly outside. I wondered around their castle, this castle, most of the day. I could hear someone crying in the lower reaches, but I refused to go down there, afraid what I might find. I wandered the garden and bathed in the sunlight, knowing it would be my last time feeling those warm rays on my skin. I found the cliffs near here and sat watching my last sunset for eight hundred years. Then I headed slowly back the direction I’d come. As soon as I walked into the castle, I found Ronan looking for me. He was so worried! He thought that I’d left him, changed my mind and turned my back on our love for each other. But I hadn’t, I’d turned my back on my life and I told him I was saying my goodbyes. He hugged me close and led me into the room where the others waited.

Siona looked at us and said, ‘Ronan, it’s time. She must have time to hunt before the night ends.’ Ronan nodded and lowered his head to mine, taking my lips for a long, loving kiss, before going slowly down to my throat. As his fangs descended, he looked into my eyes for a moment and his beauty was spellbinding. I knew I was trusting my life to him, but it wasn’t the first time he’d been in control of what happened to me. I knew he wouldn’t let me down.

I guess I don’t need to tell you much about that first bite. His teeth sank into my flesh with a white hot pain, then there was the tingling as he pulled my blood from my veins. You may not remember this, but I know I could feel my life slipping away from me. There was a moment of blind panic, wondering if he knew when to stop. Then, just as I was about to lose consciousness, he pulled away. A moment later, I got my first taste of blood when he slashed his wrist and fed me. His blood was so sweet as it crossed my lips! I drank until Ronan pulled away it away from me. Then he took me in his strong arms and held me as my body died. The last thing I heard as I died was Ronan’s voice, whispering, ‘I love you, Lyra!’

I barely remember waking again. Just the pain of my thirst for blood and the madness that pain brought on. I could smell the fresh blood in Ronan and Gregor and I attacked Ronan without knowing what I’d done. At least, that was what they told me. I’ve never clearly remembered it. Then they said, when I’d taken quite a bit from Ronan, Gregor pulled me off and bared his throat to me, letting my first hunger burn away with his own blood. As I pulled away from Gregor, I finally came back to myself. I looked around, seeing things for the first time with a vampire’s eyes. The beauty of everyone in the room was breathtaking! I felt so ugly and out of place among them and wondered why they’d bothered with me. And I told them as much. Siona took me by the arm and led me to a mirror, showing me what the vampire blood had given me. I was as beautiful as they were, looking as though I’d gone back in time to when I’d been given to Ronan as his wife. When I turned to Ronan, he smiled at me and said, “You’re lovely, Alyria!”

“Wait, Lyra,” Steve said quietly. “Last night, you seemed like you already knew almost everyone in the band. How was that?”

She looked down at the floor and said softly, “Well, this is rather hard to understand. Do you know what reincarnation is?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it, but I never believed it was possible,” Steve said quietly.

“Well, luv, it is,” she said quickly. “You and your bandmates, at least some of them, are the reincarnated souls of my former coven.”

“Am I one of the people you’ve mentioned so far?” Steve asked, still not quite believing what she was telling him.

She looked at him and said, “Steve, two days ago, did you believe in vampires? No. You’ll have to trust me on this one. And no, I haven’t mentioned you yet. So far, only Sav and Joe’s souls are in the story so far, and I believe possibly Rick’s as well. As for Siona, I’ve heard she is still walking around alive somewhere, probably still searching for Connor to be reborn. And I think I’ve found him in Rick. Now, I have only to find Siona again.”

“Then who are the others? Joe was...” Steve said slowly.

“Gregor, luv,” Lyra sighed. “And, yes, Rick Savage is the same soul I was once married to, Ronan. I recognized him as soon as I looked into his eyes, which isn’t surprising given that we were together for five hundred years. But I’ll get to that later.”

“Okay,” Steve said uncertainly. His head was reeling with her revelations as she started again.

“That first night, Siona, Gregor and Connor explained what life as a vampire was like. There were no marriages among vampires, which worried Ronan and me. Gregor said that instead, your coven was your family and they shared everything with each other. Including bonds of love, and yes, sex. We were shocked, wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into. Ronan slipped his arm around me as Gregor sat down beside me. Siona went to Ronan’s side, whispering softly into his ear. Then I watched helplessly as Siona led Ronan by the hand into one of the chambers. Gregor and Connor looked at me, wanting me to relax with them. I felt their hands on me and simply closed my eyes, trying to remember that I had wanted this life and I couldn’t turn back now. Connor picked me up carefully and carried me into a second chamber as Gregor followed. Their lips covered me as they removed my rough dress. The sensations were amazing as they touched every part of me, gentle, soft hands everywhere. Gregor moved between my thighs and I wondered for a moment what he was doing. Then I felt his tongue move out, touching my most private parts and sending shivers through my body. Ronan had never done THAT before, I can tell you. Meanwhile, Connor suckled my breast like a child, his warm tongue giving me great pleasure.

I was so lost in what they were doing, I didn’t realize that Gregor had moved until I felt him inside me. This was nothing like what I’d done before with Ronan. Then he pulled move over, rolling me on top of him. I could still feel Connor’s hands on me and as much as I was enjoying the feelings they were giving me, I was still embarrassed. Then Connor moved behind us and I wondered what he was doing. Then I felt his manhood pressing against my ass. Here was something else I’d never even thought of doing. He pushed into me and there was a sharp pain. I cried out, begging him to stop, but he didn’t. They both caressed me and cooed that everything would be all right, the pain would pass and I would enjoy what they were doing. And slowly, I did. After a few moments, I was moving with them, my body in heaven and my soul in torment. Anything that felt this good had to be a sin. When it was over and all three of us were satiated, I looked at the door and found Ronan standing there with his arm around Siona. She pushed him toward me and motioned for the others to leave us. I cried in Ronan’s arms, apologizing for what I’d done, but he told me that it was okay, that we would learn this new life together. He made love to me then, the sweetest it had ever been. And just as we climaxed, we both had the urge for blood, needing to complete that union. I bit him first, and he latched on to my throat seconds later. And we laid there for a long time, absorbed in the blood kiss. Then I heard Connor in the doorway, saying, ’You both need to hunt now, before the sun rises.’

That first hunt was trying, to say the least. They instructed us like children, who to kill, when to kill and where to dispose of the bodies so that we wouldn’t be found out. The first few weeks, at least Gregor went with us every night, so we never forgot. Siona and Connor were past the need for blood every night, so they only joined us occasionally. I found out that Siona was the oldest in the coven, at nearly seven hundred fifty years old. She’d brought Connor across a few years later, when they’d begun a passionate love affair that lasted the whole time they were together. They’d met many vampires in their time, ones that always wanted them to stay and become part of their coven. Their travels together began in their homeland of Russia and they’d wandered all over Europe by the time we met them. When they’d decided to leave Europe and head for Britain, they brought a young vampire that Siona had created with them, Gregor. The three of them were quite fond of each other, sharing emotions different from humans. They had a bond among them stronger than any marriage. But Siona had come from a rather large coven originally, about ten vampires in all, and she missed the security of it eventually. They had begun talking about bringing others across shortly before they’d come across the two of us on the battlefield. Gregor had only been with them about a hundred years by that point in time.”

Lyra looked at Steve and realized he was fidgeting in his seat, not really able to pay attention to what she was saying any longer. Laughing, she asked, “Have I bored you, luv.”

“No, it’s just, well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but when you were talking about that first night, you know, what happened between you and Gregor and Connor, I, well...” Suddenly, it dawned on Lyra that her recounting of that night had roused the sensual vampire nature so new to Steve. She walked around the table and one glance at his jeans gave Lyra all the confirmation she needed to know his condition. She leaned down and kissed him, her tongue immediately finding the soft inside of Steve’s mouth. He waited only a second before he started to undress her, peeling her clothing off quickly. His lips found her breasts quickly, his tongue swirling gently over her nipples as he lifted her onto the giant table. She pulled his wide leather belt open and unfastened his pants, pushing them down over his slim hips. He moved her slowly to the edge of the table, his hands wandering over her as she guided him into her body, gasping at the size of him. Steve held her close while she threw her head back in pleasure. He moved carefully, slowly, each thrust bringing a moan from Lyra’s throat. But neither of them could stand this patient motion for long. Soon he was pumping hard into her body, each thrust far more intense than the last. Lyra started to gasp his name as her climax took her over. Then, just as she felt his throbbing cock beginning to pour his cum into her, she leaned forward and bit deep into his throat. Within seconds, Steve had that same desire, the need to taste her life. He attacked her neck, his vicious bite bringing only moans of desire from Lyra. They were still deep in the blood kiss when Lyra heard movement in the next room of the castle. Without warning, two female vampires wandered into the room, stopping when they saw the entwined pair on the table.

The taller of the two cleared her throat, causing Steve to pull away from Lyra quickly. Embarrassed, he pulled up his jeans and threw himself back into his chair, not looking at either of the newcomers. There was no sense of urgency as Lyra picked up her clothes and got dressed. She looked at the others and said with a smile, “Good evening, ladies.”

The two women just stared at her, knowing Lyra was the last person to be so careless with an unfamiliar vampire. Finally, Lyra looked at Steve and said, “You have to turn around so I can introduce you to them, luv.”

His pale skin was flushed as he turned to face them. As soon as he looked into the eyes of the taller vampire, she fell to her knees in front of him and whispered, “My God! Lyra, you found Rafe!”

Steve looked up at Lyra, confused by this name. She put a hand on the woman shoulder and said, “Steve, luv, this is Lisel. And over there we have Leesha.” The other woman nodded at Steve, then walked closer, looking into his eyes to see if she recognized him. Then Leesha nodded again, more slowly this time as tears bloomed in her eyes, saying, “You’re right, Lis, he is Rafe.”

“Maybe I should continue with my story now,” Lyra said with a smile. “There more you need to hear to understand why they’re so excited to see you again.” Lisel laid a quiet hand on Steve’s knee as Lyra went on with her tale.

“The five of us were quite happy together for well over a hundred years before we came across a pair of jokers who changed our lives. Siona and I had gone into a tavern, hunting once again. These two were telling tall tales about their adventures in France, laughing and drinking as the prostitutes pawed all over them. I was fascinated by one of them, a tall thin blond with a ready laugh for any jest. And I could see by the way Siona watched the smaller man, she was equally taken with him. We sat and listened to them, laughing at the absurdity of their stories, which the other mortals were taking as absolutely true. A while later, as Siona and I watched, the taller man got up and went outside. After a very short discussion, Siona shooed me outside after him. We’d both decided to bring them over, so I walked outside and found him with one of the brothel girls. I stood in the shadows, watching him until somehow he noticed me. With his arm around the girl, he walked over to me and asked, ‘Can I do something for you, luv?’

I smiled at him and said, ‘Yes, you can.’ I walked over to him and kissed him, leaving the girl standing there completely amazed. Then I whispered very softly, ‘Do you want to live forever, luv?’ He stared at me for a moment, wondering what I meant. Then I said, ‘I can give that to you.’ He just looked at me, then said, ‘Who doesn’t want that? Of course I do!’ I gave him one last chance to turn me down, then grabbed him quickly by the shoulder, my fangs sinking quickly into his throat. The whore started to scream, but I reached out and grabbed her by the neck, silencing her quickly. When I’d drained him to the point of death, I fed him from my wrist, then let him lay down slowly as his body died from my blood. As for the prostitute, I looked deeply into her eyes and held her gaze until she lost awareness of what was going on around her. While he lay there dead, his friend came out of the tavern with Siona and she headed away from me without even glancing my way. A while later, I felt the man stirring and moved back, letting him take the young whore as his first victim. He drained her quickly, then turned on me, taking out the rest of his hunger with my blood. When he finally pulled away from me, I said quietly, ‘My name is Alyria. You’ll have to come with me.’

Puzzled, he looked at me and said, ‘I’m Rafael. But I can’t leave without my traveling companion!’ I could only smile as I said, ‘No need to worry, luv, he’ll be coming along as well.’ Then I heard a scream. Rafael’s companion had woken and was after his first blood. We made our way slowly over to where Siona waited on him as he finished off a second whore that had wandered into the alley by mistake. Siona told me his name, Tomas. She had apparently told him more than I had told Rafael before she’d brought him over, and now she explained things to Rafael as well. Then I looked at Siona and said quietly, ‘I don’t think the others will be pleased with what we’ve done here tonight.’ She merely laughed and said, ‘No worries, young one, I will take care of them.’

The flight back to the castle was a short one and when we landed, we were in for a surprise of our own. There was another newborn vampire inside the castle with the men we’d left behind. Much to my surprise, Siona had already discussed this with the others, wanting once again to expand our little group. Connor had gone out and brought back this young woman who sat now on my husband’s lap.” Lyra motioned to Lisel and said, “This woman, only not so young as she was then.”

Lisel laughed at her jest, saying, “I’m not the only one here not as young as she once was!”

Steve looked at me once again and asked, “They both called me Rafe, should I assume I was this Rafael you are talking about?”

“Yes, luv. And if what I’ve heard about your former life is true, I’m guessing that your friend Phillip was once know as Tomas among us. That night, Rafael and Ronan were both in my bed, Gregor slept with Lisel and Tomas and Connor stayed with Siona. And after that night, either Gregor or Rafael was in bed with us almost every night. And once in a while, I slept with them while Ronan went to Siona’s bed. Connor would never leave Siona, though there were a few brief encounters between us. All of us were very close and no one would have even thought of bringing in another. We were all very happy.”

“Yes, we were, weren’t we, Lyra. At least, until...” Lisel started, but couldn’t finish her sentence.

“What happened? It sounds like everyone was very good to each other,” Steve said, puzzled once again.

“We were. I was about to get to it,” Lyra said quietly. “Siona and Connor went do to France, just to get away for awhile. It was about a hundred fifty years after Lisel and the others were brought over. When Siona returned alone, we knew there was trouble. She was crying, blood running down her face, and barely coherent. Two men had picked a fight in a tavern with Connor and one of them had run him through with his sword. But Connor didn’t die of it, he was just very weak. Siona tried to get him away, but they wouldn’t let her. And she couldn’t kill them all. By the time the town doctor arrived, Connor’s wound had healed completely and the residents started crying witchcraft. They shackled Connor, who had the sense to tell Siona to get away before she was accused as well. The following morning, they’d chained Connor to a stake in the middle of the town and burned him as a witch. Siona had watched from the shadows, hoping against all hope she would be able to get him away before it was too late. But she couldn’t and she had to watch her lover of a thousand years die a horrible death. She went mad. She could live in the sun again and by night fall, the residence believed the spirit of the witch had sent a plague among them. A full quarter of those who had witnessed the burning were dead, though no one knew how. And everyone one who had accused Connor was dead.”

“I knew something had happened, but I was too young to know what,” Lisel said. “The blood bond had told me Connor was in trouble, but I didn’t know how to read what it was telling me. If only I’d known, maybe we could have saved him!” Bloody tears washed down Lisel’s face as Lyra whispered, “There is no blame on you, luv. We may have all died in the attempt.”

Lyra went on, “We all tried to calm Siona, but nothing we said or did worked. Finally, just before sunrise, Ronan and Gregor took her into her chamber and held her, letting her cry herself out. When we woke the next night, Siona and Ronan were gone. Ronan had told Gregor he was going with her, to keep her from hurting herself. Ronan didn’t return for nearly a hundred years, saying that Siona had finally just left him one night without a word. None of us have ever seen her again. In the meantime, when they had been gone fifty years, I brought over the last member of the coven, Leesha.” Leesha nodded to Steve with a bright smile. “I’d found her in much the same situation that Siona and the others had found me, only her husband was already dead. She crossed easily and fit in with our little group quite well. She and Tomas were quite the pair, usually dragging Rafe and Lisel into all kinds of mischief! Not the Tomas and Rafe didn’t cause a good stir when they went out alone! The brothels were never safe from their tricks!

As for Gregor and myself, we lived quietly, both still mourning the loss of our elders. And I dreamt many nights that Ronan would return to me. He finally came back about fifty five years after Leesha crossed, sliding back into our lives as though he’d never left. He told us that Siona had vowed for the last twenty years to search until she found her love reborn. And he gave me the deed of the castle, saying Siona had given it to me and that I needed to hold the others together now that she was gone.”

“You did a wonderful job of that,” Lisel said, smiling up at Lyra. “And we weren’t always easy to handle! Especially Rafe and Tomas!”

“Yes, they were a handful!” Lyra laughed. “But we carried on, living and loving, hunting and killing, together for another three centuries. Even surviving the arrival of the Dark Child.”

“Who was that?” Steve asked curiously.

“His nickname came from his mane of wild black hair. His name was Josef and Siona had created him back in Russia before she and Connor had left. He and another vampire, a female named Carina, arrived about a hundred and seventy five years after Ronan had returned. He was another joker! Good Lord, the havoc he created with Tomas and Rafe! Sometimes I really thought I would lose my mind trying to keep those three out of the fire! Some nights, I thought we would drown each other in our tears, laughing at their exploits! Unfortunately, the woman Carina was our downfall.”

Lyra stared into the fireplace, not wanting to rethink the old pain that still tore at her heart. When she didn't continue, Leesha took up the story. “All the men decided to go into Germany, just on a lark one night. Carina wouldn’t let Josef go without her, so she went along with them. But she had many enemies we didn’t know about. When they took refuge in a small house that morning, one of her enemies fell on them and burned the house down over them. None of them survived the blaze. Lyra woke from her sleep, screaming in pain. Her creator, Ronan, and her fledgling, Rafael, as well as a vampire with whom she had shared blood with often, Gregor, all died in one night, nearly crippling her. When night fell, we flew into Germany and Lyra found the vampire who’d killed them. I can still remember his screams as she tore him into pieces, never to rise again.”

Lisel shuddered at the memory, while Lyra just stared away, unable to hide her tears. Lisel started speaking, saying, “We all vowed never to create another of our kind, unless we found the spirits of our dead lovers. No one could take their place in our lives. There have been mortal lovers, but never an vampire.”

Steve stared at the three of them, not knowing what to say. Lyra looked around and said, “Steve, it’s nearly sunrise. Time for all good vampires to head back to bed!”

Looking at Lyra, he asked, “Will you be joining me?”

“If you’d like me too,” she said quietly. He led her quietly back to her chamber and said, “Thank you for telling me what happened before. It does make things much clearer now.”

She snuggled into his shoulder, letting him hold her as she said, “I’m glad you understand. Now sleep, luv, morning is on it’s way.”