Chapter One – Promises

'You can't just sit around doing nothing! We have to at least try to continue the Peace Pact!' Vlad yelled determinedly, but letting his nerves show through.

Ingrid Dracula laughed and took another swig of The Duke of York, 1788. 'The slayers have given up on your stupid plans, Vladdy. They never worked; look at Erin and Malik. Your so–called girlfriend and your brother biting breathers? They were never going to stand for that.'

'I agree – for once – with your sister. It was obvious from the beginning that this foolish plan of yours would never work; this latest slaying is just proof of that.'

Vlad momentarily disappeared, only to reappear once more just inches from his father's face. 'What slaying?' He demanded.

The Count frowned, and looked to Ingrid, who replied, 'It's all over the papers – haven't you read the latest copy of Biters Weekly?'

Vlad stepped backwards, so that both his father and sister were in his line of sight. 'Who was it? Who did they slay?'

Rather than outright answering him – perhaps because she knew how he would react, and that he wouldn't believe her – Ingrid thrust a copy of the aforementioned newspaper into her brother's hands. Vlad sank into a chair, his eyes scanning every word of the article in just a few seconds. 'No,' was all he could manage at first. 'No, no, no, no, no,' he whispered. Looking up, he continued, 'This is a joke, right? They're lying? This can't be true ... she can't be–' He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

The Count nodded mock–sympathetically. ''Fraid so, Vladimir. Staked in Madrid, I hear, after going on a rampage through the city with your good–for–nothing brother.'

'Her dust was found yesterday, in the morning.'

Vlad's eyes widened. He stared up at his sister with a look of utter desperation etched across his face. 'Are they sure it was her? Not just another vampire? How about Mal–'

'Sorry, little bro, it was definitely her.' The voice came from behind Vlad and it was scarily spun round on the spot and glared at his eldest sibling, his nostrils flaring in anger. Malik smirked. 'Did you miss me?'

'You! You let her die – you let her be slayed! How could you!'

'Woah, easy there Vladdy,' Malik laughed as Vlad tried to throw himself at the elder boy, only to find his arms being pinned back by Ingrid and his father. Neither of them looked particularly pleased to see Malik, but they were much better at controlling their emotions than Vladimir. 'Besides, don't blame me. Blame your precious friend Jonno – he was the one wielding the weapon, not me.' Vlad frowned. It seemed an unlikely story. 'Anyway, you should be grateful – she was tedious. This way, you don't have to even pretend to like her.'

Vlad snarled back, 'I wasn't pretending!' Pushing Ingrid and The Count away, he turned back and sighed. He was lost in thought for a moment or two, before hissing back, 'And don't you dare go lying about Jonno like that!'

Ingrid held the paper up solemnly, pointing to a small image in the bottom right–hand corner, which clearly depicted a man that looked worryingly similar to Jonno, holding up a stake. 'He's not lying, Vlad.'

Vlad stared, not blinking, at the paper for a good few minutes. Malik rolled his eyes. 'Should I just assume my old room then, or...?'

Vlad glared at him, then looked over to his father who looked somewhat sheepish, then back at Malik, until finally his eyes rested on his father once more. 'He is not staying here!' To Malik, he yelled, 'Didn't I make it clear enough last time that if I saw you again I would dust you?'

Malik grinned. 'And yet, here I am – still undusted. That speaks volumes about your "promises".'

The Count smirked. 'Besides, I told him he could stay here – he's got nowhere else to go. He's your brother, Vladimir. Your own flesh and blood.' Sensing that this wasn't really changing Vlad's mind, he continued, 'And while you're both in my house, you live by my rules – Chosen One or not. I say he stays, so he stays.'

Malik smiled down at Vlad. 'Don't worry Vladdy, I'll be as good as gold.' He laughed, then disappeared off to his room. Ingrid vanished too, no doubt bored of the conversation thus far and not particularly looking forward to whatever was to come.

Vlad stood and turned, about to leave as well, when his father interrupted with, 'Not just yet.' Vlad stopped in his tracks. 'I've been thinking: since that awful Erin has gone for good now, and Adze too–' Vlad turned to stare at his dad, not liking where this is going. 'You need another BloodBride.'

Vlad sighed and shook his head. 'Why? Why on Earth would you think that?'

The Count waved away his son's worries, informing him, 'Don't worry; I won't push you into it like I did last time. And besides, I think you're going to like this girl.'

Out of the corner of Vlad's eye, just behind his father, a lamp quickly flickered on, then off again. Tiny sparks shot out from plain air and the hairs on Vlad's neck stood on end. In the blink of an eye, the once–empty space in the corner of the room contained a girl. Undoubtedly more beautiful than Adze, and far more striking than Erin, the girl had long, flowing ebony hair and skin paler than any he had seen before. Her eyes were a deep emerald green and she wore a dress of pure, purple silk that swirled around her feet. Vlad was confused. A girl like this ... wanting to marry him? He still hadn't quite got used to the status that came with the whole 'Chosen One' thing, but still... This seemed utterly impossible. Count Dracula smiled at his son's breathlessness in the face of this stunning creature.

She took the few steps required to be in line with The Count, then bowed before Vlad. Vlad frowned. 'Er...rise?'

The girl did so, but laughed at Vlad's obvious insecurity. The Count chortled slightly too. 'This, my dear boy, is Caedia Malum – granddaughter of the late Grand High Vampire, orphan under the guardianship of the High Council. A perfect choice, don't you agree?'All of the moisture had gone from Vlad's mouth, he found himself utterly speechless. The Count clapped his hands together with glee, 'Yes, I see that you two will make a perfect item! I'll leave you alone, shall I?' With that, he vanished without a trace.

The girl sighed once The Count had gone, rubbing her eyes of sleep and shrugging off her jacket. Gracefully, she stepped out of her dress – to which Vlad widened his eyes but was unable to look away. Fortunately for her modesty, Caedia was fully dressed underneath, though Vlad couldn't help but sense that she would have been equally confident had she been naked but for her dress. 'Ugh,' she said, stretching her arms and wrinkling up the t–shirt that she was now wearing. 'I hate that fucking dress. Don't you think it's positively hideous?' Vlad didn't, but decided not to say so. 'Quiet, aren't you? For bats sake don't be like that all the time, please. I could do without another boring–as–fuck–and–dumb–to–boot guy slathering all over me.'

'No, right, yeah, sorry, I ...uh–' Vlad stumbled over his words.

The girl simply laughed. 'Don't worry, I heard about Blondie being slayed, so I'll just pretend that's the reason for your inability to speak, shall I?'

'Uh...'

More laughter. Caedia began to wander around the room, her hands stroking ancient ornaments and brushing against furniture forged long before her own birth. As she touched the items in the room, each seemed to preen and come to life before her hands. The whole room, while still being dark and old as ever, suddenly took on a new lease of life. Vlad was astounded by the peculiarity of it all. Caedia circled the room once and was just beginning to move around again, when Vlad felt someone's breath against his neck.

'Mm,' Malik whispered, licking his lips audibly. 'Who is that?'

Somehow hearing his quiet speech from the other side of the room, Caedia appeared before Malik and smiled. 'My name's Caedia,' she smiled politely. 'Who the fuck are you?'

Malik grinned at her sickly–sweet smile juxtaposed against her confident profanities and replied, 'Malik Dracula. Eldest son of Count Dracula, brother to this little weasel,' he nodded in Vlad's general direction.

'That's interesting,' Caedia replied, not sounding interested at all. 'Neither of them mentioned you.'

'He's not important,' Vlad explained, showing her out of the room. 'I'll take you to your quarters, shall I?' Caedia waved an all–too–innocent goodbye to Malik, before allowing herself to be directed out of his way. Malik was still smirking at the disappearing girl. Vlad glared at him. 'If you try anything, Malik, I swear to Lucifer that I will dust you.'

Malik chuckled to himself, 'Promises, promises.'