Prologue
It was eleven in the evening; a most inappropriate time for a lady to be out, all alone in the streets of Chicago. The families were asleep, the thugs guarded every alley, and everyone else was enjoying themselves at speakeasies with powder under their noses and clouds of smoke covering their faces. They were the ones who, despite the commute a few hours later, would be able to kill time because they practically run the company. But not Addison Montgomery – she had no time to waste. In fact, time was of the essence, and it was running low fast.
While the city was clouded in lights and smog, Evergreen Park an entirely different story. It was one of Chicago's few suburbs; a peaceful community with white picket fences for young families and their relatives. That was what the cop said anyway, but it did look like it, for there was no one in the streets and the only sources of light came from the faint glow of candles and small light bulbs in the houses. Addison pulled her hat closer as she looked up to look for the sign.
Addison first heard about the Seek in a pub in Europe. A friend gave her a spare ticket and she immediately accepted it, right on time for La Fete Nationale. The night of fireworks gathered all kinds of people to the streets. With Jacques' guidance, they steered their way out of suspicion and into the lively alley of Montmartre. Under the influence of absinthe, he spilled about the one called "the Seek," a woman who could see past the present, and expose disguises. It was a rite of passage for all of them to visit her – if they could find her. Only the lucky ones were able to. So after the fog had disappeared, Jacques waved her away to the nearest train station. "Ma chère mademoiselle Montgomery, vous devez le faire vous-même," he said wistfully as the conductor blew on his whistle. "We all did."
So for the past five years, Addison traveled the world for a meeting with this Seek. She didn't know if she was going to believe or not. But she wanted to be a lucky one. It turned out to be a daunting task with obstacles like dead ends, deceitful informants, and exhaustion. Shaleha was her last informant. A jolly, plump woman from Asia, she was also the last known person who saw the Seek, and Addison found her in the midst of the New Year's ball drop. Shaleha was the one who told her about Evergreen Park. Before she left, Addison had to ask her what she looked like. She probably deserved it already at this point. However, the other woman shrugged, a coy smile gracing her chapped lips. "She is different for everyone, Addison. You must go."
Addison finally saw it. It's the rickety house at the end of the street. The compass on the chimney cackles in electric blue and ruby red. Nobody knows why. Aside from that, it looked like every other house in the neighborhood. There was a picket fence, beige exterior, front porch – where a lady was quietly knitting in the dead of night.
"Good evening Addison," the Seek greeted her nonchalantly as she cautiously walked up the stairs. The other woman motioned for her to sit down, and she did just that, and also placed her purse on the table. Addison looked at her carefully. The Seek's hair was streaked with grey, her mischievous (purple?) eyes glistened through her horn-rimmed glasses, and her able, stubby fingers continued to knit as she was also looking at her. She was old, but she still had a bit of youth in her.
Addison cleared her throat. "Um…am I supposed to call you Seek or…?" Her legs shifted under the table; she slid her left foot out of its shoe. Who knew what power this woman possessed? Every one of her informants was vague as a drunken man in a pub.
The Seek laughed softly at that, and put down her knitting materials. "Dear, you can call me Violet." Her Southern drawl was both unfamiliar and welcoming.
"Is that your real name?" Addison snapped. "Violet" shrugged and gave her a smile. She wasn't going to get her answer. She rolled her eyes; she didn't go all the way here for her name anyway. She held out her right palm.
Violet laughed again. It was getting to her nerves very quickly. This should be done and over with. "An eager beaver, I see." Violet held her hand with one hand and pressed her glasses to her eyes with the other. Her calloused fingers crossed over and over her smooth skin.
"Hmm…interesting," Violet let go of her hand and looked up at the dim bulb above them. Addison wondered if she gets all her answers there. She should've just stayed with Tom Edison then. The man who invented the thing wanted to give her a role in one of his moving pictures. Violet finally looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow. "You, my dear Addison, will find a great love."
That was it? Five years of finding and searching for that – a great love? Addison had no time for love of any kind. Love was for lovers. Love led to rejection. There were more important things in the world besides love, like culture, pictures, and fashion. Fashion, especially. She will definitely head for Paris after this. She had to see Coco Chanel.
Violet chuckled. Again with the laugh – Addison slid on her left foot back in its heel, ready to leave. She was going to give Jacques a good spanking. "You didn't let me finish Addison. Besides, your friend Jacques took seven years to find me. Stop complaining and let me continue." That stopped her from rolling her eyes. "This love that I am talking about will come, very, very far in the future. I suggest you just let things happen." Gladly, she thought. "In fact, I have seen that you will find, nay have, a family of your own."
Addison had to blink a couple of times to register. "Did you just say family?"
"Oh, so now I've got your attention." Addison gritted her teeth. This woman would just not stop laughing. If she wasn't an old lady she would've decked her ten minutes ago already. "Yes Addison, you will have a family. How, I cannot tell you. But it will happen – soon. A painful heartbreak is also foreseeable. From what, you will have to wait and see. However, I can tell you that it will be the hardest thing for you. See that bulb up there? Imagine it shattering into a million pieces. That will happen to you."
Addison scoffed at every word. Her heart was already shattered to begin with.
"You think that now, dearie, but I tell ya, it'll bite when you least expect it. I'll get us some tea. It's dangerous out there for a pretty girl like ya." Violet stood up, and suddenly paused in her tracks. Addison looked at her intensely, waiting if there was more. Instead, the other woman started trembling from head to foot, and collapsed to the floor, landing on her side. Addison shot up to help her up, but the woman continued to convulse. Her fingers wiggled like an octopus's tentacles, until they reached Addison's pale white cheeks. Violet's purple eyes now swirled in cackling blue and red, the same colors of her famous compass. "Listen to me," her voice became weak but eerie.
"In fifty years' time, a formidable vampire will be born in city lights to become the most powerful of his kind. When the date strikes again, a ferocious wolf will emerge from the rain to lead her pack to dominion. Once the moon embraces the sun, the truce shall be broken and blood will be shed. Fang and fur will fight for a world that is not theirs, but the bite of pure love will change it all."
Many years have passed since then, and try as she might, Addison could never forget her sole encounter with the Seek. Ever since that fateful night, she became more than a lucky one. Everyone started to know her name. Addison Montgomery had been the first and only one to hear it from her. It wasn't just a prediction – it was a prophecy.