PROLOGUE

It had been decades since she had been back. It should have been a distant memory, but like everything for her it was as vivid as if it had been just yesterday she had called this place home.

She walked up to the old home…it was more quiet than she remembered, but then she should have expected that. After the incidents that caused her to flea this town and never look back it should not be a shock that people had moved their families on. It was not just her that was affected…the whole town had suffered that night.

She opened the door and walked though into the dull entrance hall. In its glory this house had been stunning and the family that lived here had everything and wanted for nothing.

She walked up the grand staircase slowly, her hand ghosting over the banister remembering the times she had spent with her sister sliding down them hoping their parents wouldn't catch them. Finally she reached the top and walked the familiar path down the hall to her right and into what used to be her bedroom. She paused briefly before entering the room and looked at the large glass mirror at the end of the hall.

It was true what people said her beauty was astounding. Her long deep brown hair, her olive sun-kissed skin, her absolutely perfectly curved body and her mesmerizing blue/green eyes. She looked in the mirror as she had done so many times before and all she saw was the lie that people believed when they took in her appearance but she knew better, she was not the sweet innocent teenage girl she appeared to be. While she looked only 17 she had known many years past this age, seen and done so many things a 17 year old could never think up in there darkest nightmare. She finally met her reflections gaze. It was her eyes that gave her away, at least to people who took the time to notice. She finally looked away, continuing into the bedroom.

It was just as she had left it, as she was sure so many other people's homes were. The bed, while covered in dust, was still freshly made. Her closet filled with clothes exactly where she had left them, including the bloodied discarded prom dress, which had been hurriedly removed and strewn on the closet floor.

She looked to the left of the dresser at the pin up board that hung there. Filled with photos and keepsakes. So many memories assaulted her making her smile and flinch at the same time. The pictures mocked her…the smiling faces, her friend and family and of course her first love. A constant reminder of what she had lost and the knowledge that she alone could have prevented it. If only she had listened. If only she had believed…

That was the past and not why she was here. She pulled her gaze away from the photos and set them on the truck at the end of the bed.

Walking over she opened it revealing her childhood dolls and books, but they were also not why she was here. What she was here for was resting beneath the keepsakes, hidden from all but her.

Removing the top layer to reveal the hidden compartment she smiled. What she had come for after all was not to dredge up the past so she could throw a pity party for herself; she had lost too many year feeling sorry for herself. What she had come for were the weapons lying beneath.

She reached in and pulled them out one by one and then finally the duffle bay below which she used to start loading them in.

She piled them in until she came to the last 2 items both of which had been gifts. The fist was was a Rapier 9mm. The impressive looking gun was the opposite of inconspicuous with it's gold plated accents, it's custom "holy Mary" grip and the gold cross that hung from the grip, but it meant a lot to her as the person who had it made for her was long gone but would always hold a place in her heart.

The gun was an odd gift as the giver had always been the one constantly reminding her of the importance of blending in and not bringing any unwanted attention, however upon giving the gift he had told her " You are one of a kind, Just like this gun, it stands out when it should blend in just like you. But also just like you it is a powerful, lethal weapon with mesmerizing beauty that cannot be matched. I fear you were born to stand out, even though what you are forbids it, perhaps it is just the thing you predecessors lacked. Perhaps it is what will make you a survivor."

She tucked the gun into the back of her jeans and picked up the second item, a samurai sword. Unpractical most would say, but then nothing about her was practical. Her weapon of choice handed down to her from her predecessor. She placed it into the bag with the rest figuring it was not the easiest weapon to conceal.

She walked out the room, down the stairs and back out the front door to her car parked across the street. It started to rain so she pulled her hoodie, which was tucked beneath her her heather jacket, over hear head. As she walked to the drivers door and opened it she cast one finial look at the house before climbing into the black escalade and took off down the street as fast as the car would take her.

She finally made it onto the highway, glad to have the ghost town behind her. She looked over to the gun she had placed in the passengers seat and smiled, most people wouldn't need a weapon like that but then again most people weren't a slayer.