Chapter One
I followed the scent like a bloodhound. Something warm had passed through here, something human, something we were supposed to find. The other vampires swarmed around me. Our numbers were down to nineteen now. I remembered just a night before; Sarah and another vampire had gotten into a fight. I winced as I remembered the horrible ripping and tearing sounds as they tore each other apart.
I couldn't think about that now though. Riley had told us that another coven would be at the end of the path we followed. This other coven wanted to defeat us and take our land, but we weren't going to let them. Riley had said it would be easy; they would be nothing against our newborn strength.
While most of my expanded mind concentrated on following the throat-burning scent, the rest was remembering the events of my short life. I ran quickly through my vague human memories. I remembered my parents as they took care of me, and then that night. That human memory stood out well among the others. I'd only been playing in the backyard when something sprang out of the shadows at me. It glittered like diamond and I was mesmerized. It was a woman, a beautiful woman. I opened my mouth to scream, but she covered my mouth with one strong hand. Her skin was ice cold against my face and I struggled, but it did me no good. Her mouth brushed against my throat before I could even begin to resist.
The three days that followed were the worst in my life. I remembered every minute of scalding pain with perfect clarity. It felt like being burned alive, hit by a train and trampled by a bull all at once. I couldn't tell where I was or anything else that was happening. A couple times, I thought I heard voices, but these were just vague recollections covered my memories of the pain.
Eventually, the pain ended. I could feel my heart stop and I thought I was dead. Then I opened my eyes. It was like seeing the world in a whole new light. At first, I thought I'd gone to heaven and then I noticed the horrible scalding pain in my throat. It drove me mad. I let my instincts completely take over. I followed a particularly appealing scent all the way to the park. There was a boy vandalizing the park benches. Before I could even think, I sprang. He didn't feel a thing. Once I was finished, I realized what I had done, what I had become. Disgusted, I tried to hide the evidence, but it did no good, the police soon found the boy.
I killed again and again, consumed by that horrible burning sensation in my throat. Finally, Riley found me. He explained what I had become in detail. He told me about the other coven and brought me to the other newborns. He wouldn't tell us who created us, only that this was what they wanted. At first, I was happy that there were others like me. Maybe they could help, but soon it became evident that they were no help. The fighting broke out almost immediately and even Riley was powerless to stop it. Our numbers dropped at a regular rate and now here we were, nineteen strong, about to attack another smaller coven.
We were getting close now I could feel it. The smell of blood burst my throat into flames and obliterated all other thoughts. I only knew that a human was nearby and I was thirsty…