Prologue
(From the Journal of 12-year old Charles Cullen)
Honor thy father.
I have to write these words everyday to remind myself why I do not openly criticize my father for taking my brother, Carlisle, away from me, even though it is only temporary. My father made him lead a hunt for a vampire. Carlisle and I agree these hunts are ridiculous, that our father is too quick to judge those he calls vampires, witches, or werewolves, and feel the only results of these hunts are the deaths of innocent men and women. I asked Carlisle why he continues to lead hunts at our father's request when he is against them, and he replied with the words "You know the fifth commandment as well as I, Charles."
The fifth commandment: "Honor thy father and thy mother".
Honoring our mother is not difficult for Carlisle and I. She never asks us to kill innocent men and women. Honoring our father is much more difficult. God forgive me if writing about my father in this fashion violates your fifth commandment.
But I will not have to remind myself of the fifth commandment for long. The hunt is due back today, and then I will be with my brother once again. On the day he left, Carlisle promised me we would spend the day together, once he had given his father the report about the hunt.