Companions of the Night © Vivian Vande Velde

Companions of the Night


Prologue


Undeniably, I am, once again, on the run—from peering eyes and persons far too curious for their own good. I suppose I could kill them all to keep them from pursuing me, but the sudden death of twelve people would beg for more noise than peace. With that in mind, it wasn't a hard decision to flee. To be quite honest, it wasn't difficult as my days were planned meticulously. I expected suspicion and I expected the aggressive pursuit every time I stepped into a new city. One had to have the cynical view when one is a—dare I say it, vampire.

Anyway, as I've said, it wasn't difficult to leave a city and travel to another. I myself had several names under my belt—quite literally! All I had to do was pick one out of my wallet and go. As so happens, this time I picked out the name Ethan Bryne. A boring name really, one that didn't possess the ability to be unique or outstanding. I tried to remember where the name came from, but at the end of the day it didn't really matter.

Ethan Bryne lived in Brockport, New York. It was perfect really; I already knew that there were others like me in the city. Not a lot, but that was better than plenty. A small community of vampires would lead to a few deaths—if it can't be helped. It also wouldn't be difficult to find a new place to live at, and I don't look like it, but I do like to live in a somewhat luxurious environment. Another plus was the college. Alcohol and college mixed well and I will say it now, where there are incapacitated college students, one can find me lingering just around the corner! So then, I, now going by the name Ethan Bryne, hurried along to Brockport, New York where I could live my life as quietly as I can.

That is until I meet Kerry Nowicki.