Chapter One

Jacely looked out across the vast fields of snow and trees. Why her mom just had to move to Alaska was a mystery to her. She had been happy living on the reservation even after her father died, it had been a hunting accident. Or at least that was what her Mother had told her. She sighed, her mom would not let her out to run in the forest until their things were unpacked which would take like forever in Jacely's mind. Her mother called her and reluctantly she went into their new house.

"Jacely could you help me move this box?" Her Mother asked. Jacely grabbed one corner of the box and her Mom the other. Together they lifted it upstairs to the second part of the house.

Her one-year-older brother Jason was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. "Hi Mom." He said suddenly surpising them both so that the box crashed down the stairs.

"Jason don't do that, and how many times have I told you to help out?"

"I did I just moved one of the boxes for your room." Jason replied, Jason had decided that he was going to get the muscular body their father had by working out.

"Thank you Jason, luckily despite how heavy that box was, it was just some blankents so no harm done." Their Mother told him.

"Do you want me to take it upstairs for you mom?" Jason asked.

"Go ahead, just be quiet, Jacoda is having his nap." Their mother replied mentioning their baby brother.

"I won't wake him, the thing I need the least is a screaming toddler." Jason replied and hurried down the stairs although quietly. Together they finished unloading the truck and then Jacely's Mother spoke the magical words.

"You can go explore now, thank you both for helping me unload the truck." Their Mother told them.

Jacely was out the door before her Mother had finished talking. She ran into the woods surrounding their house. She lover the freedom of running. The earth beneath her feet the soil between her toes, her hair flying back in the wind. Just her and the forest no one else. She never ran when there were people around always when it was just her and the forest. At the reservation it had been a way for her to say hello to her ancestors that lived off the land. Now just the joy of it remained. Thuda thuda thud, thuda thuda thud. Her feet as they stepped on the twigs and depreciate left on the ground. This was the closest thing she had to flying.

Jacely slowed down once she saw the giant house, it was right in the middle of the forest. Beyond the place where most people would ever go. She stopped and stared wondering who would build such a giant house in such utter wilderness. She had thought that her house was isolated enough for anyone a hour away from the nearest town. These people however were living so far away from everything. She wondered why but it was none of her busyness.

Suddenly a boy emerged from the house and Jacely's whole world changed. The trees the house the clearing was all gone and all there was, was him. She just managed to stop herself from running towards the stranger at full tilt. She stepped towards him slowly, at a pace that she would normally consider a crawl and he stepped towards her at an equally slow pace.

"Edwin" a voice called from inside the house.

"Just a minute Mom." Edwin called back.

"Hi, as you can tell my name is Edwin, what is yours?"

"My name is Jacely. I suppose I am your closest neighbor." Jacely replied, "My house is just through those trees, we just moved in a short time ago."

"Really so did we, my dad works at the hospital in town." Edwin said.

"That's cool, my mom wanted a change of scene so she packed up my brothers and we went to Alaska of all places."

"It is rather wild here admittedly. My family likes living far away from everything." Edwin told her.

"So do you have any siblings?" Jacely asked.

"I have six, three girls and three boys." Edwin replied. "We are adopted however so there isn't much family resemblance."

"You were adopted?" Jacely asked.

"Yeah, my birth parents were murdered." Edwin replied not mentioning that a vampire had killed them.

"Oh I am so sorry." Jacely said. "My dad died in a hunting accident a little under a year ago that's why my mom wanted us to move."

"That makes sense." Edwin said. "Would you like to come inside and meet my family?"
"Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do at the moment." Jacely replied thrilled with his suggestion.

"Come on then lets go." Edwin said and took Jacely's hand. An energy passed between them in that moment. "Wow you are warm."

"I am?" Jacely asked.

"Yeah like a oven, and your giving off electricity." Edwin told her.

"Really that's weird I don't usually do that." Jacley said.

"I bet you don't." Edwin replied. "My mom baked some cookies only a short time ago,"

"Sounds good." Jacely said and together they entered the house. At once Jacely was hit with an over powering stench that burnt her nostrils and smelled like a thousand flowers had died in the room.

"Edwin, why is there such a strong odor in the house, have you been taking off your sweaty sneakers in the living room again?"

"No Mom, I just met our neighbor, they just moved into the Macarthur place." Edwin replied.

"Really well then I am in the kitchen, and the cookies are almost finished will you be my guinea pig?"

"Sure Mom, can Jacely have some too?" Edwin asked.

"Plenty to go around." His mother replied, stepping out with a tray full of cookies, which she promptly dropped and would have wound up, on the floor if Jacely had not caught the pan in her hand.

Edwin's mom stared at her for a full minute before saying, "Who are you?"