"Ugh, it's so nice to relax," I said, leaning back in one of Mom's comforters in the living room and closing my eyes. "Itex is gone, the kids are all safe and okay, we have a bed to sleep in every night and enough food – it's so wonderful just to have a stress free life."

Fang, the only other person in the room, stayed silent. Big surprise.

I sighed, straightening up. "I have to go talk to Nudge," I told Mr. Tall, Dark and Silent, who watched me carefully but still did not speak. "Apparently she-"

Something caught my eye at that very moment. No, wait, not something – someone. He was outside the window, standing in the middle of my mom's lawn, his bright blue eyes staring at me. I wanted to call out to Fang, ask him what the hell was going on, but this man intrigued me too much. Not only were his eyes freakishly blue, but around them he had intricate tattoos that swirled around his face. In the middle of his forehead, at the centre of the tattoos, was a sapphire blue crescent moon. This man was odd, but it wasn't until I opened the window to ask him what he was doing here that I felt it. This man – he had some kind of darkness radiating off him, some kind of evil stalking about his aura.

And it scared the crap outta me.

I moved to close the window, but it was too late. The guy had extended one pale, white finger towards me and spoke as if he were in some kind of trance.

"Maximum Ride! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"

That's when the pain exploded inside my head, ten times worse than any brain attack I've ever had.

Life just can't be easy for me, can it?

I opened my eyes, but the lighting was painfully bright and I snapped them shut again.

"Uggghhh," I moaned, clutching my hands to my head. I squeezed open one eye, to see Fang's worried face hovering above me. "Hi," I said meekly, smiling up at him. I sat up and leaned my back against the wall, and the centre of my forehead burst out in another round of pain. I clutched one hand to it, but it didn't help. The pain wasn't too bad, but it was traveling down my nose, along my cheekbones and I had this shuddery feeling I was about to throw up.

"Max," Fang said, sounding curious and a little worried. My eyes flickered up to him. Fang didn't do the whole emotion-in-the-voice thing. "What's that thing on your forehead?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was being so weird and trying to trick me, but the look on his face told me that he was totally dead serious.

I stood up, and cautiously turned to face the window. The weird demon guy was gone, but I caught sight of something else: my reflection. Exactly where the pain in my forehead had started, was a crescent moon like on Demon-o's face, except mine was just a faint black outline – his had been coloured in and was the same freakish blue as his eyes.

"Whaa?" I questioned no-one, sounding like the idiot I truly am. Then a second later:
"MOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!" I yelled at the top of my voice, because she was the one person I needed right now.

Of course, the Flock, being the nosy little buggers they were, arrived first.

"What's going o-" the Gasman began to question, but as soon as he caught sight of the bizarre…thing on my head he fell silent.

Nudge opened her mouth, probably to express all her thoughts and opinions about the new tattoo on my head, but she snapped it shut as my mom came in.

I ran into her arms, and hugged her tight.

"Max? What's wrong?" Mom asked, the worry evident in her voice.

I pulled away so Mom could get a good look at my forehead. I watched her expression change from worried to shocked, then back to worried again.

"What is it?" I whispered, scared to death. Was it something I should be worried about?

"Ah," Mom said, sounding sad. "I think it's time you and had a little chat, Max."

"Okay, so what's going on? Who was that guy? What is this thing on my forehead? What…?" I asked, closing the door to Mom's study behind me as I entered the room.

Mom held a finger against my lips and I realized I was babbling like Nudge. She motioned towards the sofa bed, and I sat with her.

"Let me tell you," she said, frowning slightly. "But you aren't going to like it." I didn't say anything, but I urged her with my eyes to continue.

"All around us, every day, are a different race that walks the streets. Usually they cover up the feature that makes them unique, because a group of people called the People of Faith believe their kind is evil."

I nodded at her. I'd heard of the People of Faith – they were some weird religious group that had something to say about everything. I wonder what they'd say about our bird-kidness. Hm.

"But they aren't. They can be as innocent or as cruel as a human, only they're more powerful so people are scared of them.

"There is a place, called the House of Night, where youngsters new to this way of life – to becoming a non-human – go and live and learn how to manage themselves without being a danger to others. This race, is a race of vampyres."

I splurted out a bit of the water I had been drinking, and chuckled.

"You're kidding, right? Vampyres don't exist! They're mythological creatures made up by some old guy who got to bored one day!"

"They do Max. And you know the Mark I was talking about? The thing that defines them, but they cover up? It's right in the centre of your forehead, Max."

I burst out laughing again. She was definitely kidding now.

"Okay, okay you got me. I'm turning into a vampyre. Whatever. Now seriously, what is this thing on my head? I kinda need to know."

I looked at my mom, hard, and I could see she wasn't kidding. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"What was that about a House of Night?" I asked, and she smiled slightly as she knew I started to believe her.

"The House of Night is a vampyre finishing school – where the kids that have been Marked go and live and learn about their new way of life and how to handle it."

"So the – wait, did you say live?"

"Yes Max. The House of Night is a boarding school."

"No! I'm not going there! I'm not leaving the Flock! I can't! We promised we'd stick together. There is no way I am leaving them."

Mom looked up at me, a grim look on her face.

"You have to, Max." she said in the most timid voice I'd ever heard her speak in.

"Or what?" I yelled, suddenly angry.

"Or you die." she said simply. Then for the second time that day, everything went black.