CHAPTER 1
Annie Hartman knew she shouldn't have drunk so much - or be operating a moving vehicle for that matter.
It had started to drizzle outside and the roads were getting quite slippery, but that didn't stop Annie from taking off in her brand new red Mazda Miata. In fact, all she wanted to do was get away from the party – fast.
Tears started to well up in her eyes as she replayed the evening's events in her mind. The night had begun as a fun and harmless start of the year party at her friend Chelsea Middleton's house - that is until she walked in on Chelsea straddling Mark Adler, Annie's steady boyfriend since middle school. Annie didn't give them a chance to explain themselves, she just fled.
The rain was now pelting heavily against the windshield partially obstructing Annie's view but she was oblivious as numbness overcame her. Annie gripped harder onto the steering wheel as she accelerated down the dark and winding road, blanketed by tall cedar trees.
She couldn't believe they would betray her like this. Even though she was only sixteen, Annie had always thought that Mark was the one. Her soulmate.
Annie had known Chelsea since they were little and sure, she was an attention seeker and extremely flirtatious in nature, but the two girls were always on cordial terms and Annie would have never expected her to make a move on Mark.
As she turned towards Wicker Bridge, her thoughts travelled back to her twelfth birthday, when Mark had asked her to meet him here and surprised Annie with a gift. It was a heart-shaped pendant with both their initials carved on the inside. Annie was so touched she kissed him. That was their very first kiss.
Instinctively, Annie touched the same cool silver pendant that was resting upon her neck and felt nauseous. Ok, maybe that mixed drink was a bad idea, she thought to herself dryly. As she winded down the windows to get some fresh air, Annie noticed a silhouette standing on top the bridge paling. In fact, he was dangerously close to edge.
When the car came closer, she realised that the guy was around her age. He had wavy blonde hair and was dressed in a pale blue shirt and dark pants. He briefly glanced in her direction before turning away. Although it was only for a split second, Annie caught his extremely handsome features.
Just as the car was about to pass him, the guy let go of wooden column that was supporting him and fell forward, straight into the river.
Annie screamed and immediately hit the brakes.
Devon was emerging from the sycamore grove when a red convertible sped past. It was raining heavily but Devon managed to catch a glimpse of a teary-eyed girl behind the wheel. Devon continued to watch as the car swerved unsteadily onto the foot of the bridge. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the driver was not in the best condition to drive.
From the corner of his eye, Devon noticed a blue flash surge past him. Devon cursed under his breath. He should have known that Isiah would get distracted. He loved toying with people and this was no exception.
Isiah was standing idly on the bridge railing, the light from the car illuminating his figure on its approach. Isiah turned to Devon briefly, flashing his signature smug grin before leaping off the bridge.
Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt, spinning wildly as the tires gave way to the moist road. For a moment, Devon thought it would crash into, or worse, crash through the railing but the convertible eased into stationary with just a few inches to spare.
Everything was eerily quiet now and the rain was starting to gradually subside. Devon raked his eyes over the water and the bushland around it, but much to his frustration, there was no sign of Isiah.
This is getting ridiculous, Devon thought to himself. He knew he should have come alone – at least then he could be more focused on the task at hand. Devon was just about to step out onto the embankment when he heard the car door open. With one swift motion, he returned to the shadows.
Devon watched as a shaky figure emerged from the car. The girl looked about sixteen or seventeen, with long wavy auburn hair that was fairly dishevelled. In the moonlight, her ivory skin glowed in an ethereal and hauntingly striking manner.
The girl rushed to the edge of the bridge, with a hand over her mouth. She was peering over the railing frantically and calling into the darkness, to no avail. After a few seconds, she kicked off her shoes, nudged her white lacy dress up just a little and attempted to pull herself up onto the railing.
Don't fall for it idiot, Devon berated in his mind, but it was already too late. The girl's right leg had slipped on the railing and she lost her balance, tumbling into the black murky water below.
It happened so fast that Annie didn't even have time to comprehend what was going on until she hit the icy river and felt the pain – like a thousand needles piercing through her body. It was only when she reached the surface that Annie snapped back into the moment and realized what a dire predicament she was in. She couldn't swim. Panic started to mount as she splashed around desperately, her yells for help muted by the mouthful of water that was gradually choking her.
Annie was aware of the darkness around her, growing by the second, engulfing her. She felt a strange warm sensation within, almost like it was trying to help her fight off the inevitable, but deep down she knew that her will alone wasn't enough. She was out here on Wicker Bridge in the middle of the night - any chance of a passerby was slim.
The water was now filling Annie's lungs and her energy was rapidly waning. Her eyes were starting to feel heavy, but the tightness around the chest was easing. Annie felt a wave of calmness wash over her as the darkness descended. Then everything went black.
Devon stood there frozen, as the girl hit the water.
"Hey, why that glum face?" A familiar voice piped up behind him.
A completely dry Isiah was leaning against the tree, his arms folded across his chest. He shook his head and tsk tsk-ed.
"Humans, such do-gooders. When will they ever learn?"
Devon didn't know why but he wanted to smack the arrogant smirk off his friend's face.
"Why the hell did you have to go and do that?" Devon snapped.
Isiah raised an eyebrow, obviously taken aback by the outburst.
"It was just for a bit of fun, I've done it before – you know that. Why are you so upset this time?" Isiah asked, sounding a tad wounded.
Devon didn't even take in what Isiah had said, because he was too focused on the scene unfolding before his eyes. The girl had surfaced, but she seemed to be struggling and was trying to scream for help.
"She can't swim," Devon realized in horror.
Isiah snorted. "So what? I was hoping we'll have her as a treat later."
Devon felt a strange tugging inside his chest. He couldn't explain it and certainly didn't understand it, but all he knew was that he had to help her. The girl was now submerged in the water and without another thought, Devon rushed to her. Within seconds he had reached her and carried the girl back to land, gently placing her on the grassy embankment.
"You're kidding me right?" Isiah asked in an incredulous tone. "Don't tell me you're going soft now."
Devon ignored his friend as he looked for signs of life. The girl wasn't breathing, but she still had a faint pulse. Devon cast his eyes away from her slender and ever-so-inviting neck and leaned forward to resuscitate the limp form in front of him. He didn't want to be crude, but he couldn't help noticing how soft her lips were on his or how it seemed to radiate a warmth that Devon could not describe.
He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the girl - she was still lifeless.
"Come on, wake up damn it!" He shouted exasperatingly, bending over again.
All of the sudden, he felt a jerk and the girl stirred, coughing violently. Devon leaned back in relief as her long dark lashes fluttered open. She looked around slowly, looking very confused at first. Then, she turned to Devon who was kneeling beside her. Their eyes met and Devon felt a rush of electricity through him. Her emerald eyes continued to study him, her delicate heart-shaped face in complete awe.
"Who…who are you?" She finally choked out. The girl tried to get up, but her arms and legs gave way and Devon managed to catch her just in time.
"I'm Devon," he replied softly. "Are you okay?"
"You saved me," she simply said, her eyes still on him. "Thank you."
Her gaze suddenly shifted to something behind Devon and she let out a cry.
"I saw you jump!" She was standing up straighter now, trying to break away from Devon's grasp. "But you're completely dry! How could that be?"
The girl appeared to be getting slightly hysterical as she stared at Isiah in disbelief. "I saw you fall from the bridge, you can't possibly ….Who are you people?"
"It's all right," Devon interjected, his voice soothing. He was stroking her back gently, hoping it would calm her down. "He didn't fall. I think you hit your head on your steering wheel, you must have thought you'd seen him jump."
Devon maneuvered her around so that she was facing him squarely.
"Now, what happened was you were driving in the heavy rain and lost control on the bridge. Right?"
The girl blinked at Devon for a moment. Finally, her eyes started to glaze over and her shoulders relaxed.
"I…I guess you're right," she replied, sounding more reassured. "I must have hit my head and imagined it all."
Devon eased his grip, but kept his eyes locked on hers. "Good, so you'll fall asleep now and when you wake up you won't remember us or this incident, okay?"
The girl nodded slowly. "You're cute," she commented giddily, glancing up at him briefly with a sheepish grin, before falling into his arms in an unconscious heap.
Devon was about to carry the girl away, when he felt a firm grip on his arm.
"What are you doing?" Isiah asked, turning him around.
"I'm cleaning up the mess you made," Devon replied coldly, shaking Isiah's hand away.
Isiah looked at him skeptically. "Are you serious? Rescuing a human?"
Devon made his way towards the red convertible. "You should have thought about that before you pulled your stupid stunt."
He opened the car door and placed the girl in the backseat. She was in deep sleep and there was no chance she would wake up anytime soon.
"So we're just going to leave her here?" Isiah asked, sounding frustrated. He was pacing around impatiently beside the car. "Come on, we haven't fed properly for almost a day. I'm famished."
"I said no!" Devon hollered. Immediately, he regretted losing temper because Isiah was now eyeing him with growing interest.
"I don't believe it," Isiah said slowly, his mouth curving upwards into a knowing sneer. "How the mighty have fallen. You're protecting this human, aren't you? Why else would you be so against the idea of us draining her?"
Devon felt his body tense up. He had his back to his friend, hoping Isiah wouldn't notice his clenched fists.
"I'm sure Hunter is going to be absolutely thrilled, losing another Redfern heir to the Daybreakers ," Isiah added, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Devon felt his blood boiling and something in him snapped. He spun around so quickly that Isiah did not have the chance to react. Devon slammed Isiah against the car – pinning him down.
But his best friend looked at him with no trace of fear, just anger.
"I hear your cousin Ash and his sisters have become human sympathisers," Isiah continued unperturbed. "Not to mention that good for nothing Rasmussen - turning a human girl into one of us. The Night World Council is aware of his breach and they're furious. There will be repercussions, just you wait and see."
Devon felt his canines sharpen, as he hissed at his best friend.
"It will be the same for us too, if you let your emotions get in the way," Isiah pressed on, with a grim expression on his face. "They're vermin, you've said so yourself. Why risk it all just because this pretty little thing happens to be your poison? I'm thinking about us both Devon, I don't want us to suffer the same fate as the rest of your clan."
Devon loosened his hold. He was starting to feel light-headed as various thoughts and emotions ran through him. While he understood where Isiah was coming from, he couldn't bear to let anything bad happen to this girl. I need to reason with him, Devon decided.
"Look, I'm sorry," Devon began, running his hand through his dark hair. "I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just stressed about this assignment. I need to prove to Hunter that I am a worthy Redfern."
Isiah was still looking slightly hostile, but at least he seemed to have relaxed his stance.
"If we feed on her, do you think it would go unnoticed? We were given strict orders and I'm not going to screw up this assignment just because you can't control yourself." Devon noticed the girl's bag in the front seat and reached for it.
"Besides, the last thing we want to do is red flag the Daybreakers," Devon continued coolly, rummaging through the contents of the bag. He felt Isiah's gaze on him - examining carefully.
Devon hoped his friend would buy his explanation. Finally, he heard a long exasperated sigh.
"You're right, I suppose," Isiah conceded begrudgingly. He crossed his arms and nodded his head in the direction of the back seat. "So what are we going to do with Sleeping Beauty back there?"
Devon flashed him the girl's license. "We'll have to drive her back home – leaving her out here will just fuel suspicion. I think I saw a map in the front seat, you'll have to navigate for me."
Isiah jumped into the passenger side of the car. "Okay, found it. What's the address?"
As Devon raked his eyes over the information on the license, something caught his attention. Two words in bold: Annie Hartman. Devon felt a lump forming in his throat. How could this be? He thought to himself in shock. It must be a mistake.
Devon's head started to spin, as he the dreaded realisation dawned upon him: She's the girl we're here to kill.
-TO BE CONTINUED -