Chapter 1 (The First Meeting)-
On a bright, sunny day in Scotland, Analyn picks up speed to hurry for class. Her kid brother, Tony, gets in her way and makes her lose her footing. All of her school supplies cascaded to the ground and scattered about. She picked up her things and started walking again, looking ahead as her brother and his friends laughed at her, also heading for class. Analyn looked up at the school and noticed that something flew on one of the gargoyles, which sat upon the roof's peak of the school. She could have sworn that she saw a bat.
At the age of sixteen, she is now a sophomore in high school. Tony, her kid brother, is in one of the elementary classes, fifth grade. As Analyn sat in her desk by the window and took her pen out, a flying silhouette caught her eye.
"Was it the bat again?" she asked herself.
"Class, we are studying about comets and meteor showers. Now, if a comet comes upon a night of a full moon, what might happen? If any of you can answer this correctly, I'll add five bonus points to your next quiz," the teacher explains.
"My kid bother confuses it as an eclipse," said Sandy, Analyn's friend who happens to be sitting next to her. Analyn has been watching something out of the window since class started. It is making Mrs. Twilight wanting to ask Analyn the question to make sure that she is paying attention to the lesson.
"Analyn? Can you answer my question, please? I'm sure that the rest of the class would like to know." As soon as Mrs. Twilight called her name, Analyn immediately looked at her science teacher and was about to answer until she saw the bat flying again.
"Oh, um, well, when a full moon and a comet meet together at night..." she paused, taking another quick look to find the bat outside. She couldn't tell the class that a comet and a full moon was a gathering of vampires. That would make her "class clown" for the rest of her school years! That was only a dream that she had last night, wasn't it?
"Analyn?" Mrs. Twilight called again.
"Oh, sorry, Mrs. Twilight. Um, the answer to your question, it is called 'The Comet's Pass." Analyn let out a silent sigh as she finally answered Mrs. Twilight's bonus question. "Why are we studying about this at a time like this?" Analyn asked herself. "And why do I keep seeing this bat? Am I the only one seeing it?"
"Analyn, do you think that you can give us a more specific and scientific term, as though it might be on our next quiz?" asked Mrs. Twilight.
"The, um, apocalypse?" Analyn answered quickly, as though she didn't want to make herself seem anymore suspicious and worrisome.
"You are correct. Now, let's continue on..."
The school bell seems to have alerted Mrs. Twilight that waiting on Analyn to answer her question has made class go by a bit too quickly.
"Oh, class dismissed. It seems that we have ran out of time. I'll expect that y'all have read pages 21-30 out of your textbook by tomorrow. Have a good day, now!"
"'Have a good day?" Analyn repeated. "How am I supposed to have a 'good' day with an abusive mother and an annoying brother wanting to taunt me when I get home everyday?" Analyn asked herself. "Whatever, it's life."
Taking a deep breath, Analyn steps out to the schoolyard and decides to hurry home before her brother does. With relief of knowing that her mother and Tony weren't home yet, she quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She always leaves her room dark to help her mother save energy. She turned on her light next to her bed, leaving an amethyst glow in her room. Her eyes sparkled with a tear falling down on her face when she looked at a photo of her father with her when she was little.
It was already dark when her mother came home with her brother. Her mother came up to her room yelling in agony. Her brother followed. Her mother slapped Analyn on her left cheek, leaving a hand print.
"Why were you not at school when I picked your brother up!"
Analyn kept her head down as she responded, "I wanted to walk home on my own today. I just didn't want to be a bother."
"Well, you're a very lucky little witch, aren't you? A sixteen-year-old, walking home on her own. What if something happened?"
Analyn had just about had enough of her mother's coddling. She accidentally snapped back without thinking fast enough, "Why do you care if something happens to me? You didn't care when dad passes away after he was born! I'd rather die than suffer here!" Analyn pointed at her brother who stood in the doorway to her room.
"Well I guess you're implying the fact that you and your father are just alike! He was nothing more than a scoundrel! You would know better!" her mother yelled.
"My father was never a scoundrel! He was always loving and generous! He gave what he could! Even the last drop!" That being said, her mother finally left the room and left the door open. Her brother still stood there, waiting for their mother to be out of hearing.
"Oooo! You're in trouble!" Analyn started to dart after her brother until he left her room. "Loser!" Tony yelled.
"Shut up, you little dweeb!" Analyn yelled just before Tony got to his room at the opposite end of the hall and closed his door.
Her mother came back up to her room. She looks as if she forgot to tell Analyn something. "By the way, Lord McAshton invited me to attend his party tonight. You need to stay home and keep an eye on Tony. He needs to be in bed by nine o' clock. You, on the other hand, since you're old enough, I'll let you go to bed by midnight. That should give you enough time to make sure that Tony is in bed on time. No parties, no strange visitors, and don't wake Tony up if he shall go to bed earlier than expected. Got it?" her mother ordered. "Yes, ma'am," Analyn responded, with her nose stuck in her book. Her mother left the room rather quietly, heading for Tony's room.
Analyn closed her bedroom door once she knows her mother is no longer upstairs. She decides to draw a picture while she is still up. After she got her art supplies set up, she went downstairs to get something to drink and came back up to her room with a soda in her hand. She opens it, takes a sip, and begins to draw. About an hour later, she is halfway done with her drawing as her mother came up the stairs for a third time. "Alright. I'm leaving in a few minutes. Don't forget to do as I asked," her mother reminded. "Yes, ma'am." "Tony is ready for bed. He said that he'd go to bed sooner, right after I'm gone. Keep an eye on him." "Yes, ma'am. I will," Analyn said, a little bit annoyed. Her mother left the room strangely quiet again.
Analyn went to her balcony just beyond her window of her room too watch her mother drive away to the party. She didn't want to be seen by her mother so she ducked until she couldn't see the headlights anymore. She loves to sit out on her and read a book so she returned to her room only to get the book she was previously reading and went back out to her balcony. A strange vehicle just outside their gate came past it. Analyn kept down so in case the stranger doesn't see her and continued to read when it was gone. Just before she put her nose back in her book, sh heard a noise of which something squealed.
"Could that be a...bat?" Analyn asked herself. She calmed herself down and went back to reading.
Something struck speedily past her and landed into the fireplace that she never uses. She gets up from her balcony and slowly goes toward her fireplace but still keeps away from it. She sits on her trunk at the end of her bed and leans over to her right side and peeks into her fireplace.
"Come closer. I won't hurt you. I'll only protect you," said the strange voice in her fireplace.
Analyn knew that one day her curiosity would kill her but she couldn't help herself so she obeyed the strange voice.
"You're Analyn, right?" asked the strange voice.
"Yes. Who are you?"
Analyn aw teeth bare as the voice responded, "My name is Gregory. I've seen you before at the markets and here we are officially meeting."
"How come I never met you then instead of now?" asked Analyn.
"Because I don't like daylight. I was hiding. I only wanted to meet you but now I did."
"Why me?" Analyn asked.