It was on my 13th birthday that I was told about The Lost Boys.
Mom had been adamant on making sure I knew about the horrific history of the family, while Dad was a bit more hesitant.
In the end, Uncle Sam and Uncle Laddie sided with Mom and the story was revealed.
A lot of strange things happened when kids turned 13, so it seemed.
Around 1998, a group of Enchantresses came out of hiding.
They were the only supernatural beings ever acknowledged by the public, though the women made vague comments about how they were "not alone."
They had developed a system that society quickly put into effect; rings of fate. Much like the strings that connected two soul mates in mythology, these were similar in concept. While not connecting two people in a literal sense, these rings would remain a solid black until the wearer was in the close presence of their soul mate, and then the ring would shift into a burning red.
The world seemed to like the idea of two people knowing they were destined for one another.
It had become a crime to not wear them after it was bestowed upon you once you were 13 or older, unless you had already found your "one."
I was mixed on the idea when I was old enough to understand it.
It didn't help when 5 years passed after I was given the ring and I was still alone. Everyone I knew was mated; it made me feel like an outcast.
That is skipping ahead in the story, though. My apologies.
I had a hard time believing the story presented to me by my family. I distinctly remember wondering what drugs they were on to think that I would believe in vampires. It wasn't until my mother was in tears that I truly began to listen and believe..
"You're not joking," I scoffed as I twirled the black ring around on my pointer finger. The adults all shook their heads. "Holy crap."
"That was my reaction," Sam laughed.
Laddie moved beside me and placed a hand on my back, "It's a lot to process."
"You think?" I snapped and quickly retreated at the glare from Mom. My eyes softened as I looked up at Laddie, "Sorry, Uncle L. It's just…"
"We know," Dad sighed. "We just want you safe, honey. Your mother thought you knowing might help."
"But, they're dead," I darted my eyes around the room. "The four of them, I mean."
"That doesn't mean there aren't others somewhere," Mom chimed in.
"You must be careful, Rhiannon."
My family had never run across any vampires since they left Santa Carla.
Laddie had spent some time as a hunter, and was thoroughly convinced that they were a dying breed.
In the present, there was no danger. That said nothing for the past.
The past.. It had no significance anymore. They got through it, and that was all that mattered.
Things weren't that simple for me, though.
It was the summer after my graduation from High School; mere weeks before I was scheduled to start at UCLA with a major in performing arts.
I was tired… lonely.
Most of the kids in school would go out and party until they found their mate; there was no need to miss out on life until then.
I had adopted that philosophy for a short while, and had a few flings, but refused to get serious with anyone.
The idea of true love appealed to me.
While I was a teenager with hormones that I couldn't always control, I refused to attach myself to anyone seriously.
I had witnessed it one too many times and it always led to heartbreak.
My parents hated seeing me like that. It was unusual that I had found no one yet, while everyone else around me had.
"Michael, It's not right," Star whispered into the darkness of the kitchen.
"I know," Michael breathed out in a grunt. "She looks so broken all of the time."
"There is sadness in her," Star rested her head against her husband's chest.
"We need to do something," Michael pressed a kiss to her forehead with a frown.
That was why Mom, Dad and Uncle Laddie decided to take me to the enchantresses.
They normally didn't speak to others, except in extreme or rare circumstances.
This was one, in their eyes.
I sat uneasily in the plush chair at the center of the room, keeping my comments about how it looked like a gypsy's tent at a fair to myself.
The three adults sat around me while I rested my head against Laddie's shoulder. He had always been the closest to me; it caused my father to make snide, playfully jealous comments on a frequent basis.
"Ms. Emerson?"
My head perked up as an older woman of about 50 stepped out of the shadows and took a seat on the other side of the table across from me, "Yes, that's me."
"I was most curious to meet you, dear," The woman crooned as she ran her hand over the cards, glass vials and globes over the desk, arranging several things in front of her. "I'm Mirela. Now, if you'll please…" She waved her hand and my seat moved closer, pressing my waist against the narrow table. "Thank you."
I held her hand out over one of the glass orbs, already having heard the drill from the receptionist in the lobby. Mirela smiled as she pulled a small needle out and pricked my palm several times to draw up three beads of blood to the surface.
In a swift motion, she flipped my hand down onto the orb just long enough for the blood to make contact before allowing me to return it to the safety of my lap, holding back a wince at the dull pain.
The three drops seemed to swirl past the glass and inside the orb, and Mirela informed them it would be a few minutes before that would be ready.
"Now, dear," Mirela fanned the tarot cards out in front of me and instructed me to pick five without looking. I pointed to five with ease and pushed them towards the woman, no hesitation in my actions which made the old woman raise an eyebrow. "Curious."
"What is?" Mom perked up from behind me.
"Most people take their time, Mrs. Emerson," The enchantress informed us. "Your daughter didn't need time. She didn't need to think about it." Mirela smirked only for a moment, until she flipped the cards over in front of her. "You're very intriguing, Rhiannon."
"How so?" My bell like voice whispered as I looked down at the cards. These were not normal tarots, as I could tell just by the arrangement. However, those that I had seen before were merely fortune tellers and gypsies… this was something different. "Please explain them to me."
Mirela nodded as she pushed each forward and began.
The first card was the broken lovers, two twisted beings who were just out of reach of one another, "There is love, but it is not without cost and distance."
The second was an hourglass, but the picture was flipped, "Out of the ordinary… it refers to the past, but you haven't met your mate."
The third was a heart with swords jammed in different angles, the cloudy sky behind it being broken through by a bright sun, "War and sorrow, heartache and tears; the establishment of it always being darkest before the dawn."
Mirela reached the fourth card, a princess bathed in moonlight, "This is you. You must be isolated. You're one of creative spirit, but I'm sure you know that." I nodded with a small smile. "You desire help, but keep things to yourself. Your imagination is wild, and you have a most useful gift… you have the gift of dreams and travel."
I was more confused than ever as Mirela flipped the fifth card, "The prince of night. He is charming and passionate, yet ruthless and cunning. He's easily loved." I sucked in a harsh breath as she continued. "Pain follows him. He lives under a mask of darkness and death. There will be blood."
"I'm going to be sick," Mom mouthed to Dad from behind me. They both shared a silent look with Laddie, who nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so… I'm confused," I had tears in her eyes as I tried to piece things together. "Are you telling me… that he's dead?"
"I'm sorry, dear," Mirela gulped as she pushed the cards to the side. "There must be a mistake…"
"How is that possible?" Laddie asked.
"It shouldn't be," Mirela responded as she shushed them before she lifted the orb into her hands. The blood shot through it like lightning going through a fog. "Your hands," She waited on me to face my palms upwards so all four hands between the two of us could touch it.
I let out a yell as my eyes twisted into the back of my head and I slipped away into a fantasy in my mind, unaware of my surroundings as the glass pressed into my palms.
Star clasped her hand over her mouth as Laddie grabbed her to keep her from reaching for her child. Michael stepped up to the side of the table with a fierce frown, "What's happening to her?"
"She's searching for him," Mirela responded as she fought to keep their hands steadied.
Moments later, the glass and blood melted between our hands and I slumped back into my chair with a raspy breath as I was brought back into consciousness.
"Honey," Dad pressed a hand to my cheek to lift it upwards. "Where is he?"
"Santa Carla," My face was hard as stone. "He died in 1987." I turned my light green eyes upwards. "I couldn't tell which one he was… There were four, and I couldn't pick him out."
"Four?" Mom asked shakily as Laddie felt his heart skip a few beats.
"Marco… Paul… Dwayne… and David," I hissed out in anger, unable to control my temper. "I saw all of them die. I saw you three, and Uncle Sam and Grandmother. I saw Max."
I wasn't sure how I could put names to the faces, but now I knew them.
It felt so intimate watching someone die.
If only I knew which I should have really been watching…
"Your mate," Mirela breathed out heavily as her eyes searched the room. "I can fix this." The girl is mated to a dead vampire. How strange. The girl's power of travel… I could send her back. "You'll have to be alone, and fight. But, you can find him and make your own choices."
"No!" Mom shrieked. "She will not! You… you find her someone else! Another true love! One who's alive and not… evil!"
"So eloquent, Mom."
"It doesn't work that way!" Mirela bellowed as her eyes flashed black and we all silenced under her glare. "I don't know how this happened, but we can't change who Rhiannon's destiny is."
The woman finally seemed to find the vial she was searching for and quickly poured the few droplets of my blood from her hands into the pink mixture and I watched it turn to a bright blue. Mirela capped it and shoved it into my hands, her eyes visibly frantic before me. "Put one of your hairs in it. Have a bag packed, on your person. Anything you need. It will take you back to the time of the vampires."
"Are you serious?" I yelped as I clutched the vial like a life line. My eyes scanned it as I ignored the venom in her voice at the acknowledgement of the undead. "This will… take me to the past?"
"Yes."
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